Basketball from a fan’s perspective

We don’t know

The 10-block shot effort of Victor Wembanyama is certainly outstanding. What if I told you that’s not the highest number ever registered? What if I told you we have no idea how many shots Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain blocked? The single game block shot record is held by a player few in this generation are familiar with, his name Elmore Smith and he played for the Lakers. The number below represents the highest individual block shots in a game:  

Elmore Smith 17

Shaquille O’ Neal 15

Manute Bol 15

Manute Bol 15

Mark Eaton 14

Mark Eaton 14

Elmore Smith 14

Elmore Smith 14

Shawn Bradley 13

Bol, Eaton and Smith had multiple games of blocked shots, that's the basis for their names appearing more than once. Now for the real puzzle, we don’t have any idea of the Russell-Chamberlain blocks for one reason…the time period. Russell was drafted in the NBA in 1956 and Chamberlain 1958, the league didn't began tracking block shots until the 1973-74 season. Russell retired from the NBA in 1969 while Chamberlain retired the year before they began tracking block shots.    

LeBron’s last season?

This might be the last season for LeBron James in a Laker jersey if his situation unfolds as I believe it might. The future is clearly based on two moves, the decision of Bronny James to leave or remain in college. A number of mock draft sites project him as a mid to late first round pick. Based on this IF Bronny decides to submit his name for the 2024 draft the next move will be LeBron’s. 

This is in the area of speculation, the Lakers may or may not be in a position to draft Bronny. I don’t believe they would be willing to draft him for one simple reason. The one area the Lakers have a plethora of is guards, the possibility of adding Bronny to the roster just doesn’t compute. So this occurs ______ drafts Bronny, at that point LeBron asks the Lakers to trade him to said team. LeBron ends his Hall of Fame career with his son playing alongside him, I could foresee this occurring.

Top 25

The Sycamores of Indiana State have a rich history, for two seasons the legendary John Wooden served as head coach. In 1975 an athlete by the name of Larry Bird enrolled at Indiana State, his basketball exploits allowed the school to become known nationwide. They were so good the Sycamores earned a Top 25 ranking, of course that left after Bird departed. The Sycamores continued to play good basketball however there was little national notice.

I’m sure every time the team made the news someone would say, “Isn’t that Larry Bird’s school.” Fast forward to February 2024 the Sycamores have returned, the latest Top 25 AP Poll places them the number 23 team in the nation. Two things, this is not the final poll and second to that this disclaimer. I stated recently to ignore Top 25 polls instead preferring the NET, with the nostalgia associated with Indiana State it was noteworthy to bring it to your attention, Go Sycamores. This is the school’s first inclusion in the poll since the 1978-79 season, they have a 22-3 record as this is written.

The Knicks

As one of the three Basketball of America teams remaining its good. You might remember the BAA begin play in 1946 with 16 teams. In 2024 only the Celtics, Knicks and Warriors remain, the Warriors are the only team relocating from their original home. In any event it is good the Knicks are competitive again but is a successful NBA team in NYC a necessity? From my perspective I say no, I speak with no voice of authority I’m simply looking at the history. The Knicks have been winners since the arrival of coach Tom Thibodeau in 2020, before that it was a different matter.

In 2001 Jeff Van Gundy left the Knicks and they finished with a 30-52 record, it would be losing season after losing season until the 2010-11 season. The Knicks finished with a 42-40 record, although the win-loss record wasn’t great they did earn playoff berths for the next three seasons under Mike D’Antoni and when he left Mike Woodson. It was the 2020-21 season and the hire of Thibodeau before the Knicks became competitive again. They will earn a playoff berth this season, the front office has made several moves that might be considered for the stretch run. As you might note the league functioned without an effective team in NYC, the league will always do that. Despite my statement it is good to have an effective team playing at the Garden, in addition are they true contenders this season?

My Top 10 NYC basketball players  

This from an earlier publication, it’s worth a second glance I believe. Over the generations New York City basketball has turned out a who’s who list of outstanding basketball talent over the years. Once upon a time the majority of the city’s talent remained in the metro, they attended St. John’s, Columbia, Iona, Rutgers, and others. All that’s changed now in more recent years, high school talent has left the city in droves for other programs throughout the country. 

Metro NYC continues to produce some of the best basketball talent in the nation it’s just visible in other portions of the country. A recent example would be the Knicks 2020 pick Obi Topping, born in Brooklyn he played his basketball at the University of Dayton. As for the history even basketball hotbeds like Chicago, Los Angeles and others cannot compete with this list. Keep in mind we are discussing high school talent; we are excluding any pro career they might have experienced. 

Kareem Abdul Jabbar 

Julius Erving

Nate ‘Tiny’ Archibald

Kenny Smith

Kenny Anderson

Stephon Marbury

Billy Cunningham

Roger Brown

Connie Hawkins

Bernard King

Our list is the top 10 athletes believe to represent the best of the best high school basketball talent.  There are several others who could have been included but were omitted, it certainly wasn’t intentional your list might contain them. We could have included Albert King, Felipe Lopez, Lance Stephenson, Sebastian Telfair, Rafer Alston and Ron Artest who barely missed my cut. Although my decision was difficult, I must state the names mentioned and perhaps others were excluded due to space rather than talent in choosing my Top 10 All-Time greatest list.