A fans perspective 

Published Monday, Wednesday, Friday & Saturday

Can he continue

Xavian Lee played three years at Princeton, although his production increased after his freshman year we tend to question the skill set of Ivy League athletes. Although Lee was a 2-time first team all-Ivy League my guess he wanted tougher competition, therefore he transferred to Florida and will soon be playing for Todd Golden. As for his physical makeup Lee is a 6-foot 4 180 pound point guard who raised his numbers as he adjusted to the college game. His bio indicates he was born in Toronto but has dual citizenship in the U.S. and Canada. What lies in the future for Lee after play at Florida for this point guard? Well nbadraft.net places him in the second round of the 2026 NBA draft, nbadraftroom.net indicates (at least for now) the same status.

Did you know

I read a story on the Clippers and this upcoming season, while studying it I discovered information that should have been familiar to me but wasn’t. I posed the question in another story I wrote, the query, will the Clippers play for an NBA championship in the 2025-26 season? If they accomplish the task in front of them the number will be reduced to four…you are wondering what number am I referencing? I “discovered” there are 5 NBA teams who never have made it to the NBA Finals however the Clippers are not unique in this instance. Also sharing the record with them are the T-Wolves (1989-90), Hornets (1989-90), Grizzlies (1995-96) and Pelicans (2002-03). The season behind each team is the first year they began play in the NBA. Keep in mind the league started in 1946 so this month becomes the 79th year for the NBA, in that time we have witnessed the Celtics winning 18 championships while the Lakers have 17 trophies in their display case. That’s an astounding 35 championships between the two storied franchises of the NBA.

Who am I

Check out the information below, who am I? Based on the time indicated you can safely conclude I played in the ABA and NBA. “My jersey has been retired by two NBA teams, number 2 by one team and 24 for the other. In addition I was voted a member of the 50th and 75th Anniversary NBA team. I was given the nickname “Chairmen of the Boards” for my rebounding prowess. “I was notable for rebounding and scoring off my own misses, possessing the strength, quickness, and zeal to recover the ball before my opponents. This led to some contending that I intentionally missed shots to pad my rebounding statistics. I was not a very good passer. When an assistant coach suggested I needed to improve my passing this was my response, "They ain't paying me to pass.” Who am I?

NBA champion 1983

NBA Finals MVP 1983

3× NBA Most Valuable Player 1979, 1982, 1983

12× NBA All-Star 1978–1989

ABA All-Star 1975

4× All-NBA First Team 1979, 1982, 1983, 1985

4× All-NBA Second Team 1980, 1981, 1984, 1987

NBA All-Defensive First Team 1983

NBA All-Defensive Second Team 1979

ABA All-Rookie Team 1975

6× NBA rebounding leader 1979, 1981–1985

NBA anniversary team 50th, 75th

ABA All-Time Team

No. 2 retired by Philadelphia 76ers

No. 24 retired by Houston Rockets

National high school player of the year 1974

First-team Parade All-American 1974

Fourth-team Parade All-American 1973

My name is:

__   __  S __ __        __ A__ __ N ___

My Top 10 NYC basketball players

Over the generations New York City basketball has turned out a virtual who’s who list of outstanding basketball talent over the years.  Once upon a time the great majority of the city’s talent remained in the metro, they attended St. John’s, Columbia, Iona, Rutgers, and other schools.  All that’s changed now in more recent years, high school talent has left the city in droves for other programs throughout the country. Despite that fact Metro NYC continues to produce some of the best basketball talent in the nation it’s just visible elsewhere in the nation. As for the history, even basketball hotbeds like Chicago, Los Angeles and others cannot compete with this list I’ve compiled.  Keep in mind we are discussing high school talent; we are excluding any pro career they might have experienced.  

   1.Kareem Abdul Jabbar

    2.Julius Erving

    3.Nate ‘Tiny’ Archibald

    4.Kenny Smith

    5.Kenny Anderson

    6.Stephon Marbury

    7.Billy Cunningham

    8.Roger Brown

    9.Connie Hawkins

  10.Bernard King

My list represents the top 10 athletes believed to be the best of the best high school basketball talent in the metro ever.  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.