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Basketball from a fans perspective

Game changing athletes   

Best ever NBA draft pick, will Victor Wembanyama’s name be mentioned in the same tone as the others you are about to read? We toss out the term generational athletes however it’s my contention the time frame for entry of great players might be a lesser period of time. Generally we use the term generation indicating about a 20-year interval. It’s my contention that great players have arrived in the NBA in a shorter timeframe. With that said let’s begin the roll call, who are the athletes on my list who changed how the game is played? I begin my list with Bill Russell who was drafted into the NBA in 1956,

Russell was followed in 1959 by Wilt Chamberlain. It would be 10 years (1969) before the game added Lew Alcindor who would become Kareem Abdul Jabbar. 10 years later (1979) the NBA draft witnessed two names being added, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. In 1984 Michael Jordan became the next name added to the list, in 2003 the name LeBron James would be added to completing the list to the present day. Consider this fact since 1947 thousands of athletes have played in the NBA, in my view those named significantly changed how the game is played. Did I omit a number of players? That certainly is a possibility however you are free to add those you believe I might have missed. Will Wemby’s name be added to the list several years from now?

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Apparently Bradley Beal is now a member of the Suns. The Wizards guard was acquired in a trade for Chris Paul, Landry Shamet and a host of second round draft choices. My first thought, we can forget the Laker talk about Paul headed to play for them. My initial response caused me to smh, why you might ask? There is no argument on my part that Devin Booker, Kevin Durant plus Bradley Beal make for an offensive juggernaut. We can toss in Deandre Ayton to the mix, it should be clear to you they are a complete team…maybe?

Shamet was the capable first reserve and he’s apparently gone now, is there someone on the roster to replace him? I’m sure members of Suns Nation believe I’m trashing the team that is certainly not the case. There is one other factor to consider…injuries, we don’t like to discuss them however they do occur. Booker, Durant and Beal with the Wizards missed games this past season. The Lakers did eventually compete but a large number of the losses they suffered can be attributed to LeBron James and Anthony Davis missing in action. I’m never going to say never however I’d rather adopt a wait and see how this move plays out.

What he said

We’ve heard from a number of parties regarding Victor Wembanyama and his thin frame. They detailed accounts how NBA veterans will push the slender rookie all over the court. We really have no idea of the Gregg Popovich plans for Wemby but hopefully he follows a course laid out by Sam Mitchell. Mitchell, an NBA TV analyst former player and coach made a statement recently about Wembanyama. It certainly made sense to me, see what you think.

This from Mitchell, “I wouldn’t play him (Wembanyama) against Embiid or Jokic, I’d play him at small forward. After he’s been in the league awhile and gained weight I then move him to the power forward.” Wemby at 7 foot 5 (in shoes) is 210 or 230 pounds depending on your source. Playing small forward would allow the youngster time to adjust to NBA play without being pushed around by centers or power forwards. On the surface I believe he should be able to compete with most small forwards. The Spurs have made it known Wemby will only play a few Summer League games.

Bits n Pieces

In news of a humorous nature this circulated on the net. At least one source claims the Sixers James Harden had acquired a Ph. D recently. My first thought was that’s valuable, I was aware Harden attended Arizona State although I knew practically nothing about his academic background once he reached the NBA. Turns out James Harden does have an advanced degree however this James Harden doesn’t play in the NBA for the Sixers. This Harden is also black, he received his Ph. D from the Stanford School of Medicine’s Immunology Program last year.

Wilt Chamberlain’s rookie season of 1959-60 was certainly notable for a multitude of reasons unheard of until his entry. That season Chamberlain won not only Rookie of the Year but was also selected as the NBA’s Most Valuable Player, this would only occur one other occasion in NBA history (Wes Unseld). Last week the jersey Chamberlain wore that rookie season was sold at auction, it was sold for $1.79 million. Both the jersey and shorts were authenticated prior to the record sale, it’s been reported this was the largest merchandise sale in history for apparel prior to 1980.

I almost missed this one, Bob Huggins, a veteran college basketball coach at West Virginia resigned this past Saturday. This move was prompted by two incidents since the close of the basketball season. The first incident Huggins uttered a homophobic slur on a radio program. As a penalty Huggins would be suspended 3 games once the season started and receive a $1 million reduction in salary. This past Friday the former coach was arrested while driving under the influence, on Saturday he resigned. Huggins is 69-years old so his coaching career is over but what about the other? He was just enshrined in the Naismith Hall of Fame last September.

Did you receive your email?

One of the emails in my flow read Adam Silver. My first thought it was spam or junk email, but that turned out to not be the case. Please keep in mind I don’t feel special, all I did was follow the game I have long loved. Perhaps you received an email too, congratulations to you. Below is the email I minus the headline reading Thank You:

Dear_______

 

I hope you enjoyed this NBA season – one of the most competitive and unpredictable seasons in the history of our league. And none of it would have been possible without passionate and dedicated fans like you.

Fortunately for basketball fans everywhere, there is so much to look forward to this summer with the NBA Draft and NBA Summer League around the corner and the WNBA season in full swing. Stay up to date on the latest league news with the NBA and WNBA Apps.

On behalf of the NBA and our teams and players, thank you for all your support.

Sincerely,

Adam Silver

NBA Commissioner