A fans perspective 

Published Monday, Wednesday, Friday & Saturday

The season has begun

We are witness to the fast start by the Thunder and Spurs, the defending NBA champion Thunder not a great surprise. The Spurs a bit more of a surprise, them being undefeated as this is written. The shocker if I can refer to it in that manner is the Chicago Bulls, they haven’t begun a season this spectacularly since like forever. Forgive me I exaggerate a bit, the 1996-97 Bulls began the season with a 12-0 record, they started the 2021-22 season 4-0. The 2025-26 season thus far has seen them race out to a 5-0 record as this is written Saturday morning.

I must admit to all the Bulls have been missing from the list of teams I watch on a continuous basis. Part of the problem for me the last several years they were in the “left lane” of traffic while others were passing them in the right lane. The Bulls appeared to have a collection of talent, a coach with a good reputation (Billy Donovan) but something was missing. As this is written I am unable to convince you the missing piece has been found. I began this exercise by pointing out this version of the Bulls is an unknown entity to me. This I intend to do in this early season, follow them a great deal closer to determine how they are facing the task of winning in the NBA. The United Center has been a den of rabid Bulls fans win or lose, it appears fans have even more to cheer for in this early season.

Luka magic

He returned to the lineup Friday night and resumed his role with the Lakers. Of course the reference He refers to Luka Doncic point guard for the Lakers, what did he accomplish you ask? In 39 minutes of action on the court we saw him produce 44 points on 52% shooting which resulted in 12 rebounds along with 6 assists. NBA basketball remains a team effort and his backcourt partner Austin Reaves also made a major contribution scoring 21 points along with 4 assists, the duos scoring and leadership  led the way to a 117-112 win over the Grizzlies. The Lakers playing in Memphis fell behind early but came roaring back in the 3rd and 4th quarter of the game.

The Lakers finished the game shooting 51.2% compared to the 44.1% of the Grizzlies. Ja Morant leader of the Grizzlies managed only 8 points in 31 minutes of action. The Grizzlies had a balanced scoring attack however Jaylen Wells and Jock Landale led the way with both contributing 16 points. Laker center Deandre Ayton suffered a left finger sprain and lower left leg contusion only playing 17 minutes in the game, he indicated he would be ready for the next game. Jaxson Hayes didn’t score much but managed to fill a degree of the absence of Ayton with 7 rebounds and 5 assist and 1 blocked shot. Reserve forward Jake LaRavia had 13 points on 63% shooting. It remains too difficult to consider the Laker effort with LeBron and a couple of others remaining sidelined.

This is why

Some are aware there is an NBA Academy on the African continent. It’s not just there for show it’s to train an ever increasing number of African youth the game of basketball, some might not earn an NBA invitation but the training is invaluable. If not the NBA then a U.S. college might be the destination. Over time the best of the best to emerge from the continent has got to be Hakeem Olajuwon, his college and NBA career led him to be enshrined in the Naismith and FIBA Hall of Fame, as most are aware Olajuwon is originally from Nigeria.

Also in the Naismith Hall is the late Dikembe Mutombo, his place of birth the Democratic Republic of the Congo before Georgetown and the NBA. Please note, the academy was founded long after these two retired from play. A number of NBA players were born in the U.S. after their parents immigrated here, the number is much larger than you might think. Of the number the majority probably didn’t attend the academy however a few did and are a part of the count. The following are just a few of the countries on the African continent whose players have spent time on an NBA roster. This fails to take into consideration those who played the game in college but never earned an NBA promotion, with that said here are the all-time numbers:

Nigeria 30

Senegal 14

South Sudan 9

Cameroon 7

Democratic Republic of the Congo 6

Ghana 3

Ivory Coast 3

Mali 3

Egypt 2

Gabon 2

Libya 2

Uganda 2

He begins the quest

I believe a brief wait was required prior to a glance at the Mavs Cooper Flagg. The point guard (which is confusing to me) has placed moderate numbers on the board so far, they will likely have changed by the time you read this. He’s 13.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game on 41% shooting. These are certainly not overpowering numbers but those I believed would occur early on. I assumed Flagg would adjust to the NBA at a gradual pace, those who expected a “show” by Flagg or probably disappointed. We need to look back at his performance at Duke, he was the clear leader as a freshman.

 It appeared to me Flagg preferred the college game come to him, in my view he “dominated” the game in a different manner. I have only witnessed glimpses of his play with the Mavs so there is the adjustment to the NBA which must occur. In addition how will he appear in January-February, the period when rookies begin to wear down after playing the equivalent of a college season. The question, which is unanswered for now, will he replace Luka Doncic in the eyes of Mavs fans? For now at least that is certainly unsolvable in a mere 5 games. In my view the only area of concern for me currently is the position he plays, the Mavs have Flagg playing point guard which I have difficulty understanding the WHY despite his skill.