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Basketball from a fans perspective

What’s in a legacy?

One of the local talking heads applauded Joel Embiid for winning the NBA MVP award. He made special mention of this because Embiid had played his college basketball at Kansas. His co-host questioned if Embiid had established a legacy at Kansas, this is his statement. “He (Embiid) was only at Kansas for his freshman year, because he wasn’t a regular starter maybe half the KU faithful might not have seen him play. Embiid was injured and by the time the Big XII post season tournament occurred had been out of the lineup for several games. Paul Pierce played at Kansas for 3 seasons we could say he identifies more with Kansas basketball; the Warriors Andrew Wiggins only played his freshman season and doesn’t identify with the school.”

I thought for a moment talking head number 2 might be onto something. If a basketball player spends little time at a school how can any type of legacy be established? Across State Line Road Michael Porter Jr. (in my view) has become an outstanding player for the Nuggets. I can say he attended Mizzou but playing only 3 games it might be easy for some to ignore where he attended college. This is not intended as a knock on any of the athletes’ names, it’s purely an esthetics thing. I believe all acknowledge the college a particular athlete played but is it really that important? Important in the sense that athlete might have only been there one year? We can take this one step further with a brief look at the legendary Wilt Chamberlain. Chamberlain left Kansas after his junior year of school and never acknowledged he played there until shortly before his death.

Teammates

As an international prospect in the 2023 NBA Draft why do you need a second rundown? If you are a teammate of Victor Wembanyama, it almost demands you receive a slight bit more coverage than perhaps other international prospects. Some of you were first introduced to Bilal Colibaly from Mali by way of France, he’s been acquainted with Wembanyama since he was a 12-year-old teammate. Although Colibaly stands 6 foot 7 and 194 pounds he’s got a 7-foot 2-inch wingspan which should aid him defensively. Colibaly is ranked the number 26 prospect in ESPN’s draft projections.

As for other mock sites, nbadraft.net projects him as an early second round pick at 34. One other, nbadraftroom.com lists Colibaly as the number 19 pick in the first round. I’m no assessor of NBA talent, however you can do as I did, check out video of him in action. Colibaly moves smoothly on the court offensively and defensively, of course it’s him in action for Metropolitans 92 against other French teams and not the NBA. Colibaly has two things going for him…his athletic ability and youth. At 18-years of age a team has ample time for him to adjust to the rough and tumble world of NBA play. It would appear the NBA is in his future even if he’s drafted and remains in France for “grooming.”

The NBA is headed to Vegas

How can I be so sure the NBA is headed to Las Vegas; just check the news and what exists currently? The recent past has seen the expansion NHL Golden Knights birth and later the NFL Raiders departed Oakland for the city. The latest news reports the Athletics have purchased land in Las Vegas with the expressed intent to build a baseball stadium. The baseball situation could change; however it appears the Athletics have been unable to procure a new baseball stadium in the Oakland metro. With two professional sports teams already at play and a third on the way can the NBA be far behind?

Las Vegas had a basketball and NBA connection long before the other professional sports. Not as prevalent now but UNLV basketball under Jerry Tarkanian might have ranked second to gambling in notoriety. The city has a relationship with the NBA through Summer League play and the Lakers have scheduled exhibition games in the city for years. In addition NBA G-League Team Elite moved to Henderson a 30-minute drive from the Vegas strip. The city also serves as host for one (maybe more) national AAU Tournaments. With that data you can see why this is the proof Las Vegas is right behind Seattle once the NBA undertakes expansion.

What to do

The NBA Draft Lottery occurs on Thursday (May 16), the top slot will be confirmed. You know that’s which team with the number one pick drafts Victor Wembanyma. The balance of the draft, who is chosen and in what position. In addition there are always surprises, especially in the second round, however there is one more question I’d like to pose. This question has been asked in the past, does an NBA team draft for needs or the best talent available? Other than Wembanyma the question is a valid one, allow me to cite a few examples.

It’s my belief NBA teams at or near the top of the heap will draft differently from the Rockets, Spurs or Hornets. No rookie, I repeat that no rookie unless it’s the second coming of LeBron or Kareem is going to be inserted in the starting lineup for the Warriors, Suns, Lakers or Sixers it just ain’t gonna happen. Now that I’ve made that bold statement allow me to further explain Wembanyama will become a starter immediately. The huge difference between one of the four teams with the opportunity to draft him is very good; I have serious doubts if his draft rights are traded to a contender. So there you have it, other than the French teen most mock sites believe they know the order…maybe.

This is an old story

You can stop reading ahead of time, once again I am questioning Doc Rivers coaching record. What is it with Doc Rivers, why in the world is he considered such a good coach? I will give him credit if you check out his regular season won-loss record with the Celtics, Clippers and Sixers they look good. As for the playoff record that’s another story, is it the teams he’s coached or is it the coach? Rivers has won over 1700 games in his coaching career during the regular season, as for the playoffs his record is barely over .500 (104-100). In 2008 we can claim everything came together as his Celtic team won the NBA Championship beating my Lakers 4 games to 2.

For me it’s more than simply winning championships, it’s the other things. I intend to personalize this rant a bit, this back to the time Rivers coached the Clippers. The two L.A. teams share (for now) the same arena, the Lakers have been hanging retired jerseys since the Forum days. This pattern was carried over once the team moved to Staples (Crypto.com) Arena. Vinny Del Negro then Clippers coach had no issue with the jerseys being displayed during Clipper games. This pattern didn’t set well with Rivers once he took over the team. For Clipper games Rivers had maintenance people cover the jerseys. I’m unsure if this pattern is still in place with current Clipper coach Tyronn Lue.