Basketball from a fan’s perspective

1977 NBA Draft

This was a different NBA draft for a number of reasons, it had nothing to do with Bernard King and Jack Sikma being drafted that year. Both would later be enshrined in the Naismith Hall of Fame however that’s not the focus. This would be the first draft without seeing the evidence of “war” that had existed in prior years. Founded in 1967 the American Basketball Association or ABA after many teams went out of business or continued hemorrhaging money surrendered to the NBA. Four ABA teams moved into the older and more established NBA. You might notice I no longer use the term merger any, if a true  merger had occurred all the teams would have moved into the NBA similar to football.

In 1966 American Football League teams merged with those in the National Football League. With the 7 pick in the first round New York Nets now a member of the expanded NBA would chose the aforementioned Bernard King. Drafting in the 9 position would be the Denver Nuggets also drafting for the first time as an NBA club, they would have pick number 21 that year as well. Each of the teams had picks in the second round however I hope you see the significance of this particular draft. These former ABA clubs (Nuggets, Spurs, Nets and Pacers) were participants for the first time with their NBA counterparts. After years of competing for talent in addition to losing money the two leagues would now become one.

NBA arena news

My hope was to update you on plans for future NBA arenas, unfortunately there’s not a great deal of activity going on so this account will be brief. Steve Ballmer’s palace the Intuit Dome is on schedule. As noted previously this is the last season the Clippers play in Crypto.com arena, in the fall of 2025 the Clippers begin play in their new home in Inglewood. The Intuit Dome will contain seating for 18,000 fans. In addition there will be several fan amenities on the outside portion of the arena. In December 2023 citizens of Oklahoma City voted approval for an arena to replace Paycom Center.

Searching the net I was unable to locate any updated information, I can guess at this point work is being done behind the scenes. Even more interesting, unlike issues of this type there’s been no mention of a possible location in the city, stay tuned for additional developments. In San Antonio it would appear a degree of progress is occurring. “The University of Texas regents have approved a motion that gives the City of San Antonio the exclusive option to buy or lease land where the Institute of Texan Cultures sits and immediately begin negotiations with UTSA about the property. Now it looks like the Spurs arena is set for the ITC property across Highway 281 from the Alamodome.” This portion you just read is from news4sanantonio. The last stop is Philadelphia and the Sixers attempt to find a new home. There remains citizens concern regarding 76 Place at Market East the planned home of the Sixers.

Unlike Oklahoma City and maybe San Antonio a site has been chosen however entities representing the public remain at odds with the project. Will the Sixers find themselves a new home, I believe it will eventually occur for a variety of reasons. You might be aware anytime projects of this type are proposed there is always opposition, eventually they are resolved although I can state not to all party’s satisfaction. The portion you might find most interesting I certainly did was Las Vegas news. I’m sure the NBA remains determined to head there in the future however talk regarding a new arena has disappeared.

Larry Bird territory

I read an article that made me go wow “I didn’t realize that.” The Indiana State Sycamore team of Larry Bird finished the 1979 season with a 33-1 record, since then there have been only three times the Sycamore’s earned an NCAA berth. This is not going to be a deep dive to determine the why of the matter it’s a declaration of a return. This is written the first week of March, no invitations have been issued however the Sycamores likely have their ticket punched. 

They have a 25-5 record and in week 15 rated the number 23 team in the nation by the AP. They have now dropped out of the polls but that fails to take into account the fact they continue to play good basketball. The leader of this team is a sophomore center named Robbie Avila a 6-foot 10 240-pound center In a manner of speaking Avila reminds us of Clark Kent or for some former Showtime Laker Kurt Rambis as he wears glasses, perhaps that's the basis for the nickname applied to him in a number of social circles. Several reading this might not be aware Kareem Abdul Jabbar wore goggles due to a safety concern for his eyes. While at UCLA Lew Alcindor (Abdul Jabbar) experienced a detached retina after being scratched. Back to Avila, I'm unsure about his goggles or glasses however they have brought about a nickname. 

He's been tagged Cream Abdul Jabbar, I'm unsure if it's the goggles or something else at work here. Avila averages 17.4 points 7 rebounds, 3 assists on 54.8% shooting. Because he's a sophomore there is no requirement to rush his development, in addition his name appears on no mock draft sites. The video I see he appears to be slight bit slow a foot. Is the NBA in his future, I have no idea however if there is it should be interesting with his outstanding passing skills. 

How about this

The top basketball player from each major city, I begin with New York City. The Big Apple certainly has produced a large share of basketball talent over the eons. For me there is a single player who stands head and shoulder over the others. Part of it has to do with his height, Lew Alcindor stands 7 feet 2 inches in height. It’s true there are probably 20 other players born in the 5 boroughs that could have been chosen mine is Lew Alcindor later to become Kareem Abdul Jabbar. Next up Boston, I’m going to cheat a bit here, Patrick Ewing was born in Kingston Jamica but grew up in Cambridge outside the city. Georgetown standout, NBA legend for the Knicks that’s it. should you.

Philadelphia basketball and our thoughts would focus on Wilt Chamberlain, Wilt the Stilt. Washington D.C. belongs exclusively to the Elgin Baylor “the bridge” between the Minneapolis and Los Angeles. Atlanta Georgia and Clyde immediately comes to mind, Walt “Clyde” Frazier former Knicks great. If we travel to Chicago it’s a tie between Dwayne Wade and Isiah Thomas, I cannot decide on which guard so I will leave it tied for now. In Detroit, the only name I can think of is Dave DeBusschere, in addition to an outstanding NBA career mostly playing for the Knicks he was also a major league baseball pitcher. Opps, forget Chris Webber from Detroit who experienced an outstanding NBA career. This is a brief list and certainly not intended to be complete of the best basketball player born in each of the city’s mentioned.