Basketball from a fans perspective

“The report of my death was an exaggeration”

Mark Twain American writer and humorist of the 19th Century coined the phrase above. Reports had circulated he’d died or was seriously ill. What you are about to read is a retreat on my part from an earlier opinion. I stated at the time Kawhi Leonard first appeared in the Clipper lineup he failed to impress me. A statement was made by me indicating he should consider retirement. Well the crow I ate for lunch didn’t taste particularly good but I was forced to eat it and my words. Leonard will never again be the player we witnessed lead the Spurs to a championship.

He’s not even the same player we saw later lead the Raptors to their only NBA Championship. He can still play, apparently it took time for him to become fully acclimated to the game again. So what occurs for the immediate future, the Clippers will earn a playoff berth thanks in part to Leonard. I don’t believe they are a quality championship team for this season but there remains a question. Without Leonard in the lineup on a nightly basis they don’t win, for those who might believe I’m shortchanging the Clippers that is not the case, the pieces are in place. This team needs Leonard at 100% and right now in my opinion he’s at 97 or 98%.

Meanwhile…..

I stated at the time if Mark Cuban were in charge Luka Doncic would still be wearing a Mavs jersey. The former majority owner of the team confirmed he wasn’t consulted on the trade to the Lakers nor did he have the power to reject it. Cuban had sold his majority share of the team to the Adelson family from Las Vegas in 2023. Cuban still retains 27% interest in the team however he’s got no authority now to control the day to day operations of the Mavs. So the Mavs have traveled from NBA champion runner up in 2024 to perhaps missing the playoffs in 2025. It’s not just the trade, the Mavs have been struck by an assortment of team injuries which has them teetering on the edge.

Ben McCollum needs to send Dennis Gates a thank you tweet, Drake’s victory over Mizzou provided a reward. It’s being reported McCollum has been hired to take over the basketball program at the University of Iowa. If you remember his history at Northwest Missouri State he led this Division II program to four (4) NCAA Championships. His Drake team won 30 games prior to the Bulldogs playing their first game in the tournament. This was no quick move in a sense, McCollum had remained at NWMSU for several years before Drake hired him for the 2024-25 season. Although he’d won national championships few were acquainted with him other than those of us in the Kansas City metro, NWMSU is located about 100 miles north of here.

Did you know

How about celebrities who played basketball prior to their present pursuit? One name is that of Denzel Washington star of The Equalizer, Malcom X, Training Day and a host of other movies. This Hollywood icon played his ball at Fordham University but theatre won his heart over hoops. Two time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali first matriculated on the basketball court of St. Mary’s for four seasons. He’d received a basketball scholarship. The Undertaker (Mark Calaway) demonstrated his talent on the basketball court before the ring, he played at Texas Wesleyan.

How about 2Chainz, the rapper then known as Tauheed Epps played at Alabama State for two seasons. Nowadays he’s known as Frank Regan on Bluebloods, he’s veteran actor Tom Selleck. Standing 6 feet 4 he played one season for Southern Cal. Jason Sudeikis of Saturday Night Live fame received a basketball scholarship to Fort Scott (KS) Community College, he played as a point guard. Snoop Dogg as Calvin Broadus played at Long Beach Polytechnic High in Long Beach (CA). Actor George Clooney played basketball and baseball player while in high school. Those above played the game in college but I cannot close this without mentioning the musical genius Prince. The late musician, despite his short stature (5 foot 2) was good enough to play at the high school level.  

Is it fair

Before I delve into the subject allow me to state this, it’s not written anyplace that life is supposed to be fair. With that out of the way I will proceed with the question and my observation. Is it fair we use a championship ring or lack thereof to measure an athletes success? I’m changing sports however the success of the NFL Chiefs is very much in the sports news. They appeared in the Super Bowl once again but lost to the Eagles. There are players no longer with the team walking around with championship rings, their role might have been as a reserve player however they possess a ring.

Remaining with the NFL for a moment I remember reading this statement. Dan Marino’s Dolphins earned a Super Bowl trip in his second year, they lost. He said, “I’ve got another opportunity” or similar words but it never occurred. Marino would play 15 more seasons and his Dolphins were never able to return to the Super Bowl. How about the NBA, Charles Barkley had a brilliant NBA career leading to a Naismith Hall of Fame induction. I could make a similar statement regarding Patrick Ewing also enshrined. On the other hand Adam Morrison has two championship rings (2009, 2010), he was a reserve player with the Lakers, he left the game with a 7.5 ppg average. The most important ingredient to a championship is to play for a good team, how does that occur? If I knew the answer to that question I’d be a rich man. In closing I believe we should cease judging an athletes career based on a ring or lack of one. There are far too many factors required in just winning one ring.