Basketball from a fans perspective

Scottie…why?

The former Bulls great must have fallen out of bed and bumped his head. Scottie Pippen is at it again with his latest rant and he shows no signs of slowing down. The latest, he ventures back to 1997 for this one. You may have witnessed it live or if too young saw video of it. Michael Jordan telling Steve Kerr to be ready for the pass and you know the story. MJ passes the ball to Kerr who sinks the winning basket. 

Now we find out 24 years later it was a setup or at least that’s what Pippen is claiming. He is asserting MJ orchestrated this for the television cameras. That well could have been the case we don’t know the intention other than perhaps WINNING THE GAME! These are the finals, there are still cameras and television cameras all over the place. There was no reason for MJ to be pandering to the television audience. This is a promise, unless there is a cataclysmic event this will be the last Pippen report in this blog.  

The toddler of professional sports

One of the basketball websites I regularly peruse noted the NBA will celebrate its 75^th Anniversary in the 2021-22 season. That’s a big number however the NBA is a “baby” compared to other professional leagues. The National Football League began play in 1920, the National Hockey League in 1917. Although there have been changes structurally major league baseball began play way back in 1871. Keep in mind there were several professional basketball leagues that played prior to 75 years ago however those leagues went out of business. The National Basketball Association recognizes 1946 as its start date although technically that’s not correct. The Basketball Association of America merged with the National Basketball League in 1949 to form the NBA we recognize today. 

Ed O’Bannon began the change

The NCAA landscape is rapidly crumbly, I thought it might be a good idea to return briefly to the past and the Ed O’Bannon case. Although the NCAA was found guilty there are facts which prompted this landmark court case. UCLA’s Ed O’Bannon had an outstanding college career at the school. In 1995 he led the school in winning the NCAA championship, it was only later the O’Bannon learned what the NCAA had doing all along to him and other athletes.

“In July 2009, Ed O’Bannon, a former basketball player for UCLA who was a starter on the their 1995 national championship team and the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player that year, filed a lawsuit against the NCAA and the Collegiate Licensing Company, alleging violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act and of actions that deprived him of his right of publicity. He agreed to be the lead plaintiff after seeing his likeness from the 1995 championship team used in the EA Sports title NCAA Basketball 09 without his permission. The game featured an unnamed UCLA player who played O'Bannon's power forward position, while also matching his height, weight, bald head, skin tone, No. 31 jersey, and left-handed shot.”

This suit lasted until 2014 and the shorten version the NCAA was found guilty but appealed the ruling. The Supreme Court ruled against the organization, they had to pay the plaintiffs $42.2 million in fees and costs. As you can see by the outcome the highest court in the land slapped down the NCAA for its antitrust actions. There is no telling how much was earned in prior years which went directly in the pockets of the NCAA not included in this settlement. 

Wikipedia

Is he the one?

Jamahl Mosley appears to be the hot coaching candidate, he’s being pursued by two franchises. What do we know about Mosely’s background you ask, he’s 42 years old which when hired will make him one of the youngest head coaches in the NBA? The 6-foot 8-inch Mosely played basketball at Colorado, after college there were several overseas destinations playing the game prior to his move into the coaching ranks. The first job was player development coach for the Nuggets and then assistant with the franchise. From there Mosley moved to the Cavs as an assistant and in 2014 was hired in the same role with the Mavs. Mosley is reported to be the leading candidate for the Wizards and Magic head coaching position. At this point it’s unknown which team hires him, it’s likely to occur in the next week or so we should hear an announcement he’s got a job as head coach.

They were terrible…on and off the court

This is no intention to speak for Seattle residents, but we get it. For several years, the Sonics were winners including 1979 when the team won the NBA championship. In Kansas City it was slightly less glamorous, from 1972 when the franchise relocated from Cincinnati until 1985, they registered four winning seasons. That’s 13 years of delivering poor to average play for fans of the Kings. It’s been stated local fans would often attend the games to see the Celtics, Lakers or Sixers play. Teams playing near the same level of the Kings had difficulty with attendance.

The first few seasons in Kansas City they team was owned by outside interests, later the Kings would be sold to a local group of investors. It was reported at the time the team had 10 owners; we are unsure if all had equal say so in how the franchise was run. A few years prior to the sale to Greg Lukenbill several of the local owners were bought out however there were still five owners in charge. The new owner promised the team would remain in Kansas City however in a little over a year he applied to move the team to his hometown. The selling price for Lukenbill to purchase the Kings was $10.5 million 1983 dollars.