Basketball from a fans perspective

Published daily except Tuesdays & Thursdays

It’s far too early to determine

AJ Dybantsa had no games scheduled therefore he took the opportunity to fly to Paris last week. Imagine that a 17-year old flying to Europe on his own money, that’s what NIL will do for you. That’s a story for another time and place, what was the purpose? Dybantsa made the trip to see the NBA Paris Games and mentioned he was thrilled with the play of Wemby, more on that later. He’s headed to BYU in the fall for his freshman year.

In case you might not be aware Dybantsa has been mentioned as the top draft pick in the June 2026 NBA Draft by several mock draft sites. The 6 foot 9 Dybantsa indicates “I want to play with Wemby” however exciting as that might sound there are several issues that might prevent that from occurring. We are attempting to determine the order of the 2025 draft, no one has entertained who might draft Dybantsa if he is available. It’s possible he could be available when it’s time for the Spurs pick. Second or maybe first, we need to determine if he’s got an NBA game, we believe he does however there is no guarantee of that as a fact.

What is the issue?

I’m unsure of the why, former NBA players such as Gilbert Arenas manage to push my buttons with his takes. I can now add Paul Pierce to the list based on his podcast statement. I’m paraphrasing his comment but he indicated the Suns should trade Kevin Durant to the Thunder for Chet Holmgren. No such trade has been mentioned except by Paul’s assertion. This is the basis for his trade, he claims the Thunder haven’t really missed the injured Holmgren in the lineup, he played the first 10 games and that’s been it. According to Pierce you can plug Durant into the structure of the Thunder easily or something similar. What’s wrong with this trade, plenty in my mind.

There are championship aspirations by the Thunder for this season no doubt…but. Durant is now 36 (37 years old in September), Holmgren is 22 years old. This is no criticism of Durant he remains one of the NBA’s greats but what team even one chasing a championship trade a 22 year old for a player about to turn 37. Thunder GM Sam Presti has been running the team since the Seattle days, does Pierce think Presti’s going to all of a sudden become excited about Durant? Some might remember Durant was originally drafted by the Sonics and moved to Oklahoma when the franchise relocated there. This is the second bizarre thing expressed by Pierce, he suggested Hollywood should make a movie about LaVar Ball based on the story two sons becoming NBA players…what!

The standings

If you check the college basketball standings on Sunday January 26 they look peculiar. For the first time in recent memory Missouri basketball is outstanding compared to that being played in Lawrence Kansas, what you just read is distressing to fans of Jayhawk Nation. After Saturday’s action Kansas has 14 wins and 5 losses, they have 5 wins and 3 losses in the Big XII. Across Stateline Road and 150 miles down Interstate 70 lies Columbia home of the Tigers. Currently their record is 16 wins and 4 losses, they are 5 wins up and 2 down in the SEC.

Not only do the Tigers have a better won-loss record they also have a victory over their border neighbors. Understand this on December 8 these same Tigers beat the Jayhawks 76-67, could the Missouri victory have occurred in Lawrence…probably not but it wasn’t played there. The weekly poll will be out by the time this is read, currently Kansas is 12 in the AP Poll and 11 in the Coaches Poll. As for Missouri they sat at 22 and 24. After Missouri’s upset victory over Ole Miss and the Kansas loss to Houston how will the polls appear for the border teams? It seems Kansas has “magic” with voters so I have doubts they drop extremely far, as for Missouri a question exists will they rise significantly?

The sports fan

This definition comes from vocabulary.com: “an enthusiastic devotee of sports,” synonyms: fan, rooter.” That’s a bland definition from reality because most sports fans live vicariously through the wins and losses of their favorites. They cannot get enough discussion with their friends and acquaintances or listening to radio and television mention of their favorite team. When reviewing the team “they” is often exchanged for “we” as if the individual is on the team’s roster. The most difficult role of fandom is to remain faithful especially during difficult periods of time.

I could use me as an example, my (notice the possession) Lakers won back to back NBA Championships in 2009 and 2010. From that point up to 2020 was quite trying as they always fell short of the mark. Laker Nation is experiencing a similar experience each season since that championship, we have found them lacking the ultimate prize. What occurs for Laker Nation and me, nothing changes, we are disappointed but continue to love our team despite the downturn. What takes place for Laker Nation in 2025, I have no idea. I hope June will see them crowned NBA Champions however if that fails to occur I will remain that…a fan and member of Laker Nation. I believe I can place myself in the realm of “rabid fan.”

“Build it and they will come”

The headline is from the 1989 Kevin Costner movie classic, the shorten version of the story his character built a baseball diamond on his farm. The “Build it they will come” belief no longer exists for a variety of reasons. Last spring voters in Jackson County Missouri rejected plans for a downtown Royals baseball stadium and renovated Chiefs Arrowhead. Here me, opposition not only exists in Kansas City and Jackson County but all over. Remember the Sixers and their desire for a downtown arena, it’s coming but not in downtown Philly. It’s going to be eventually built near the existing Wells Fargo Center which is south of the planned location.

In San Antonio there appears to be no boisterous opposition to a new arena only of the quiet variety, allow an explanation. Once again the plan is for a downtown Spurs arena to replace Frost Bank Center, the present arena was opened in 2002 however the Wemby factor is part of this effort. One of the Bexar commissioners said this, “What’s to become of Frost Bank, will it sit in a manner similar to the Alamodome?” For those unfamiliar with the story the Alamodome was built with the hope San Antonio would eventually become home to an NFL team, that never came. The building served as home for the Spurs until AT&T (now Frost Bank) opened. In closing the question becomes is there a requirement for citizens to underwrite most of the costs for these sports palaces? I like new as most folks might but there is a point that becomes too far for citizens.