Basketball from a fans perspective

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Big Game

James Worthy is one of the Lakers’ greatest players, he was one of the keys to the Showtime Lakers of the ‘80’s. After his retirement Big Game James as he was nicknamed would be enshrined in the Naismith Hall of Fame. Worthy was given the tag because it seemed whenever the Lakers had an important or Big Game he almost always performed well. The history how the Lakers acquired the 6 foot 9 Worthy is a story in itself, after all they were already a good team when he was acquired.

Truth is in 1982 (the Worthy draft) the Lakers had won 57 games during the regular season they concluded by winning the NBA championship. Yesterday you read a portion of the history why Ted Stepien of the Cavs was the worst owner in NBA history, sorrier than Donald Sterling. In 1979 the Lakers acquired the Cavs number one pick in a trade that resulted in the Lakers choosing Big Game James Worthy. Although this exchange was made prior to the later imposed “Stepien Rule” it provides evidence of how miss-managed the Cavs organization had become under this owner. It’s unclear how scouting was conducted at the time however Worthy must have been at the top of everyone’s list of talent in 1982. Can you imagine this series of events, one of the best college players in the nation being selected by a team that already contained Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Magic Johnson and Bob McAdoo to name just a few on the roster. 

You cannot make this stuff up, it occurred. This is but one more example why NBA owners were assured someone other than Stepien should be the owner of the Cleveland franchise. Fans don’t support losing teams and attendance began to suffer, with that Stepien threatened (his prerogative) to move the team several times. He said publicly “the NBA had too many black players and not enough white ones, the league should be more balanced.” It was not as much what he said it was the manner he said it.

NIL

The headline has become familiar to those of us who follow college basketball. It’s Name, Image & Likeness…simply stated college and now high school players can earn income. The days of most college athletes lacking finances no longer exists provided they have a NIL contract in hand. For a number of old timers this is the dawn of a new day, the line between amateur and professional athletes has become very much blurred in the 21st Century. This is only an observation but NIL and the transfer portal have impacted college coaching.

Several high profile basketball coaches have retired over the last 2-3 years due to these twin reasons. The latest beneficiary of NIL is the top rated college prospect for 2025 AJ Dybantsa, he’s a 6 foot 9 200 pound forward. Dybantsa at Utah Prep recently signed a $4 million deal with the Nike brand. I’m going to raise an issue and this is the example. Kansas is an Adidas school, if Dybantsa played for the Jayhawks would he be able to wear his Nike apparel. The latter portion is speculation, the Nike contract is for real and to my understanding Dybantsa is the first high school talent to secure such an agreement.

He’s activated

If you are a member of Laker Nation you realize a fact. The Lakers need a Big Man (besides AD), as this is written I’m unsure if there is a trade involved, a free agent signing (Dwight Howard) or someone else. Although he appears raw and untested could that Big Man be Christan Koloko? Tuesday evening came the announcement Koloko had been activated, this is certainly much sooner than this member of Laker Nation expected.

What does he bring to the table, I’m happy you asked the question. As a reminder Koloko from Cameroon stands 7 feet in height and weighs 230 pounds but it’s the other thing he possesses. Koloko has a 7 foot 5.25 inch wingspan which places him near the top of current NBA players. Of course the Spurs Victor Wembanyama’s 8 foot wingspan is number one. I’ve never witnessed Koloko in action so he becomes a work in progress. Expect to see him in the Laker lineup over the next few weeks as JJ Redick moves him into the ensemble of the team. (He played last night against the Sixers briefly). 

Revisionist history

Some of you reading this might remember the late Tex Winter, this longtime head coach served as an assistant to Phil Jackson with the Bulls and Lakers. You might remember the triangle offense employed by both teams, Winter didn’t invent it but was responsible for incorporating it into the NBA. Now that’s out of the way the subject at hand Patrick Ewing. I am unsure why this 1998 interview in Slam Magazine is being highlighted in 2024, nothing changes except the thought.

It’s Winter’s view the Knicks utilized Ewing in not the most effective manner to help the team. Winter claims the center became the focal point for the offense when it should have been in another area. *“They utilized him on the post as a scorer more than anything else, and he could have been more effective if they had concentrated on him being more of a feeder and a rebounder. The team has not been as effective as it should be with a dominant center like that, but I don’t know if that’s Patrick’s fault. He’s not the coach.” Some might remember at Georgetown that was primarily the role Ewing played, his offensive game was limited. So all these years later in the words of Tex Winter the Knicks failed to utilize Ewing in an effective manner from his viewpoint. To hear this from a distinct perspective I did this.

I have a friend from New York now living in KC, I contacted him with the Tex Winter account. These are the thoughts and words of David. “Tex is a shmuck. You know, it’s great that he produced the triangle offense, but keep in mind that didn’t go into effect until Phil Jackson instituted it in the 90’s. Pat (Ewing) was the #1 draft pick, completely dominant for 4 years, and when he came to the Knicks, he wasn’t the focal point…Bernard King was and then even after that he and Bill Cartwright were sharing the spot as the twin towers.” As you can see my friend has a completely different view over that expressed by Tex Winter.  

*Slam Magazine

No NBA TV?

Each professional sport has branched out creating its own network. The NFL operates the NFL Network, for baseball it’s MLB Network, even hockey has the NHL Network. The NBA has NBA TV for now, it might not exist at some date in the future. No, the NBA is not going away however the channel that provides game updates, draft information and nostalgia programming might be forced to cease operations. The network is operated by Warner Brothers Discovery, by now you are aware beginning in the 2025-26 season will see new broadcast members.

Among the missing will certainly be TNT and possibly NBA TV. There are factors at work which a few years ago would be unimaginable just a brief time ago. According to reports viewership numbers have been sliding for the past few years with no explanation. NBA TV is a source for me for a select number of games, under the new broadcast agreement a smaller number of games will be available with the leagues new deal with ESPN, NBC and Amazon. This is me talking (or typing), I cannot imagine the NBA not operating NBA TV in some method once the agreement becomes official next season.