Basketball from a fan’s perspective

G-League Team Elite

I wanted to briefly revisit the commissioners discussion involving the Team Elite. My research indicates several players playing for Team Elite can earn up to $1 million dollars annually. That’s certainly a significant amount of money however the advent of NIL has placed them in second place. “There are at least three college basketball players earning above that amount with Bronny James earning $5.9 million. On the surface it would appear Team Elite is not going out of business however it no longer becomes the draw it was intended when originally begun. Fact, all basketball players in college are nowhere close to earning million-dollar salary’s however you can see the dilemma it presents for the NBA. 

“Did I do that?”

An American television comedy program titled Family Matters began in 1989 and ran for 9 seasons. A minor character named Steve Urkel (Jaleel White) came to the forefront and was actually to become the star of the program. Urkel was a first-class nerd, whenever he did something that caused a catastrophe the first words out of his mouth were, “Did I do that?” I feel like Urkel after I was singing the praises of UConn recently and the fact they were the number one college basketball teams in all polls.

This rise in the polls occurred on Monday and they were number one on Tuesday. Tuesday evening saw the Huskies were matched against the Creighton Bluejays 85-66. I wasn’t able to view the game but the after comment I found entertaining and wanted to share it with you. Coach Dan Hurley said, “Coaches did a bad job coaching, and players did a bad job of playing.” Despite the loss to Creighton I continue to maintain UConn will likely be there at the first Monday in April. Of course that’s barring an upset someplace in the NCAA Tourney.

Trae shoots from distance…splash

Will that be the announcement from Laker television broadcaster Bill McDonald next winter? You are probably saying to yourself, “Doesn’t Trae Young play for the Hawks?” Yes, that would be the case for Young as this is written in February 2024. Are the Lakers looking past the time LeBron James will be leading them, that well could be the case? A story has been circulating that the Lakers will make a trade to acquire Young.

Who do the Lakers trade to acquire the All-Star caliber point guard? D’Angelo Russell’s got to be at the top of the trade list although I would be reluctant to include him in any trade however that’s my observation, not management. Other than Russell the Lakers have a significant amount of talent to include in a trade. On the other end would the Anthony Davis-Trae Young combo be lethal to opposing teams? Young is a streaky shooter, my description of him…volume shooter. Despite Young’s shooting I’d have to admit he’s a superior assist man over Russell.

Nicknames

It seems as though nicknames have generally fallen out of favor in recent years. Based on that fact we must return to the past to cover most of them. We could begin with Julius Dr. J. Erving, he was supposed to have been given that name do to the manner he operated on the court. Another name from the past was the late Marvin Bad News Barnes, he was in a sense unwelcome news when he arrived on the court. Wilt Chamberlain had a couple of nicknames, The Big Dipper and Wilt the Stilt are the two most common. Shaquille O’ Neal went outside of basketball naming himself The Big Aristotle. Paul Pierce was nicknamed The Truth one I never figured out.

Another nickname confusing for me, Kevin Garnett certainly was large but how did he become The Big Ticket? Allen Iverson simply became The Answer or for some it was AI. A nickname for Giannis Antetokounmpo I never liked is The Greek Freak indicating he’s some kind of creature. We have Charles Barkley, The Round Mound of Rebound or Sir Charles. Anthony Davis is more commonly known as AD or The Brow. Kevin Durant has several nicknames but is generally referred to as KD, next up is Isiah Thomas of the Pistons, he was given the nickname Zeke. This story is closed out with another name from the past George Iceman Gervin, how he was tagged with the name is an unknown. Those are just a few of the names I uncovered in my research…there are many, many more.

What to expect

I mentioned recently I had become part of an American Basketball Association social media group. My hope was to pick up bits of information regarding the ABA unknown to me. Since I am not personally acquainted with any of the group’s members I have no idea of the age range. I have gained insight into the league that made the NBA take notice of them. As you were aware the recent NBA All Star Game was held in Indianapolis, of course the city was an original member of the ABA. I must explain that part to inform you of the next portion and my view.

At least two group members expressed disappointment that the ABA was not mentioned once. Think about that for a moment, the NBA consumed the ABA, they took in the players but not the records. Why would the NBA desire to entertain a discussion on a league that no longer exist? There was a discussion I found very entertaining. Three Hall of Fame players Larry Bird, Reggie Miller and Isiah Thomas discuss Indiana basketball. Bird of course played his high school basketball at French Lick and Indiana State, Miller spent his NBA career with the Pacers and Thomas begin his NBA career at the University of Indiana.