Basketball from a fans perspective

Stadiums & Arenas

In September 2019, the 18,000 seat Chase Center was opened for the Warriors and other entertainment venues. Again, in September this time 2021 a groundbreaking ceremony was held in Inglewood California. The Intuit Dome will be completed in time for the Clippers to begin the 2024-25 NBA season. What is the significance of these two arenas besides both being located in California? It’s the financing, it is our understanding neither facility is utilizing public funds, all costs are absorbed by the owners. In Kansas City we have the Jackson County Sports Complex, Geha Field at Arrowhead and Kaufman Stadium sit across the parking lot from one another.

Arrowhead home of the Chiefs and Kaufman of the Royals are not new stadiums however both have been refurbished over the years. There is talk of the Chiefs moving across State Line to Kansas and the Royals moving to downtown Kansas City (MO). In both instances ownership is looking at additional revenue which is certainly not a terrible thing. The issue this writer has is one raised at the beginning; ownership directed projects at taxpayer expense. Despite my apparent love of sports, I’ve grown tired of taxpayers paying for multi-million-dollar sports developments for billionaire owners. If the Chiefs want to move to Kansas City Kansas and the Royals to downtown Kansas City so, be it, these moves should not be made at the expense of taxpayers.

Larry Legend

All these years later we continue to read stories about Larry Bird, this is one more. Shawn Kemp was a talent when he first arrived in the NBA, Kemp from Indiana too was almost a high school legend. I broke a lot of Larry Bird’s Indiana records. “I’m a rookie (NBA)…It’s only Larry Bird, He puts his shorts on the same way I do. He let me know what he was gonna do. He said, “You’re the one who broke all my records?” I said “yes.” He said, “I have something to show you tonight.” He had 40 points, 10 reb, 10 ast (and called every shot). There are some reading this unfamiliar with Kemp’s name, with the Sonics he was a force early in his NBA career.

How did we arrive here?

If not for the Buffalo Braves today’s Clippers wouldn’t exist, confused so you telling me a west coast team owes its being to one that existed on the east coast at one time? NBA expansion in 1970 saw the NBA move into Buffalo New York. The Braves were terrible on the court although they managed to draft a number of outstanding players. Adrian Dantley would play for several NBA teams before his retirement and induction into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2008.

From their inception until their departure in 1978 the Braves had 7 head coaches, 3 owners and 3 playoff appearances. That would become the last season the team would spend in cold, cold Buffalo, warm San Diego would become home in the fall of that year. The move called for a name change too as they became the Clippers, they remained in the city until 1984 when then owner Donald Sterling moved the Clippers to Los Angeles without NBA approval. This would become the only time in history a franchise relocated without first being sanctioned. Thus ends the short story how the Buffalo Braves became the San Diego Clippers and later Los Angeles Clippers.

“No layups”

The headline above represented the NBA of the Pistons Bad Boy teams and others in and around that era of basketball. Playoff basketball meant you shoot the ball in the basket that’s one thing however “No layups.” If you were on the receiving end expect to be fouled and fouled hard in an effort to prevent the ball from going through the hoop. It appears at least in the Warriors-Grizzlies series that looks to be the case as the teams are battling one another to advance.

In the first game it was the Warriors Draymond Green who was the culprit, in game two it was Dillion Brooks of the Grizzlies. Both players were ejected from the game, on Friday came news the NBA laid down the law. As for Green he was fined $25,000 for middle finger gestures toward the Memphis crowd. As for Brooks his outcome was different, his flagrant foul will cost him $84,000. That figure represents his loss revenue from his suspension for Game Three. A feud now exists between these teams, conceivably good basketball will return without the flagrant fouls and suspensions.

The NBA on television

Television was the key contributor to the growth of the NBA game. Today there are 30 teams spread throughout the nation and one in Canada. The game started in smaller markets, but television allowed the game to grow, it created larger audiences unable to attend in person. The league signed its first contract with the defunct Dumont Television Network in 1953-54. Due to this networks lack of stations across the nation saw the league games moved to the NBC television network; this relationship lasted until April 1962. As an additional note the Dumont Network ceased operations in August 1956.

This next portion is a little confusing, the history indicates Sports Network Incorporated held the coverage during the 1962-63 and 1963-64 seasons. This network would later become the Hughes Television Network. In 1964 the ABC Network began its broadcast run; this would last until 1972-73 when the CBS Network took over. We skip ahead to 1990 and NBC, thanks to Magic and Larry the league moved out of the “tape delay” era for its championship games. The games were briefly aired on the USA Cable Network but that was short lived. The 2007-08 season saw coverage divided between 3 carriers (ABC, TNT & ESPN), in 2010-11 NBA TV began broadcasting games too. Some might not believe this, but its clear television has been the driving force in many becoming fans of the NBA.