Basketball from a fans perspective
He wasn’t selected a starter
Jerry West was omitted from the starting lineup. Newarena.com compiled its
All-Time NBA teams for each franchise. It was interesting in that players from different eras were combined to form a starting five. Naturally assembling an all time team would entail some players switching positions. As for the teams themselves the Lakers finished in first place the Celtics second. Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant comprise the backcourt, James Worthy at the small forward with Shaq and Kareem rotating at the center/power forward position.
Jerry West would come off the bench as the 6th man, where’s Wilt Chamberlain you ask? He’s a member of the Warriors franchise team. As for the Celtics they had the legendary Bill Russell at center and Kevin McHale at power forward. John Havlicek or Larry Bird would be the shooting guard with one moving to the small forward, Dennis Johnson at the point. Paul Pierce makes the team as the 6th man. I know what you are thinking where is Bob Cousy, good question they omitted the Celtic point guard. I thought this was an interesting twist and certainly interesting.
He laid it out before us
It should be clear to all Kyrie Irving might be an excellent poker player. I didn’t watch the entire program however he was on ESPN’s First Take on Monday. He answered every question directed at him by co-host Stephen A. Smith and Max Kellerman. Whether we agree or not Irving never gave any indication of a problem between him and LeBron James. He made it clear it was time for him to provide leadership for his “own” team. At this point that team would be the Celtics.
One of the greatest ever
This past Monday you read of NCAA Championship games held in Kansas City, perhaps one of the greatest ever might have occurred in 1957. The North Carolina Tarheels faced Wilt Chamberlain and the Kansas Jayhawks, the game would become a triple-overtime thriller with the Tarheels eventually winning 54-53. Entering the game North Carolina had a 29-0 record while Kansas was 24-2. Despite being double and tripled team most of the game Chamberlain’s offensive and defensive presence almost overcame a stifling North Carolina team and his Kansas team almost won the game. Chamberlain would score 23 of his teams 53 points while pulling down 16 rebounds.
Chamberlain a notoriously poor free-throw shooter was 11-16 from the line .688. Lennie Rosenbluth a 6-5 small forward from New York City led the way for North Carolina scoring 20 points. In the NBA the careers of Rosenbluth and Chamberlain were polar opposites; despite All American accolades Rosenbluth drafted by the Philadelphia Warriors played but two years 1957-1959. He was unable to translate his collegiate success to the NBA level. As for the late Wilt Chamberlain he would become twice NBA Champion, MVP four times. His scoring and rebounding records are far too numerous to mention them all. In 1979 Chamberlain would be enshrined in the Naismith Hall of Fame. In 2006 he would be honored in a similar manner by the College Basketball Hall.
My we’ve come a long way
The 1946-47 Basketball Association of America predecessor to today’s NBA witnessed the Washington Capitols finishing the season in first place in the Eastern Conference. The Western Division winner was the Chicago Stags. The Warriors would defeat the Stags 4 games to 1. Some of the other teams in the BAA were the Providence Steamrollers, St. Louis Bombers, Cleveland Rebels and Pittsburg Ironmen. Never heard of those teams I would guess, the early NBA would see a number of teams begin play and either move or cease operations. The Boston Celtics, New York Knicks and Philadelphia Warriors are the only teams remaining from the inaugural season.
The Warriors would later move to San Francisco and later Oakland becoming the Golden State Warriors. The National Basketball League had begun play in 1937 over the course of its history 38 teams once played under the banner. Several of the NBL teams would merge with the BAA forming the National Basketball Association. A number of the NBL teams would continue the Detroit Gems would move to Minneapolis and changed the team name to the Lakers. The Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons would later move to Detroit and the Rochester Royals would move to Cincinnati and then Kansas City and finally Sacramento.
