A fans perspective

Published Monday, Wednesday and Friday through Sunday

It’s not just Wemby

The San Antonio Spurs are much better than last season, enough to compete for a championship? That question remains just that for the time being but they have gotten better but a closer inspection is required. Wemby is vastly improved over his sophomore season and that must be at the top of the list. His impact against the Thunder, when Wemby is in the game their % of shots at the rim is 11% versus 20% when he’s on the bench. Their percentage of mid-range especially SGA 42% when Wemby is on the floor against 49% seated. The defensive rating on is 88.9 off its 118.4 with Wemby seated. How about the offensive rating, 88.9 Wemby on and 115.1 when he’s on the bench.

Those numbers only represent his impact against the Thunder, it’s got to be close to that against other NBA teams. The second key is guard play, there were questions why the Spurs drafted guard Dylan Harper when they had Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle and had added De’Aaron Fox in trade. Well that three guard tandem has caused plenty of problems especially for the defending NBA champion Thunder as you can see by the numbers. This is the neat thing, the three guard tandem is never on the floor at the same time despite their impact. The reserve unit has stepped up especially Luke Kornet and Keldon Johnson. This ‘love fest’ closes with a salute to Spurs coach Mitch Johnson, I’m sure he talks to coach Pop but this is clearly his Spurs team. Watching a baby take his or her first few steps is always exciting, that’s my belief in checking out the baby Spurs, we are watching their grow before our eyes.

Is he the key

We’ve been reading since the beginning of the season, “The Los Angeles Lakers need Andrew Wiggins to win it all.” As most are aware the veteran forward plays for the Miami Heat and at a point we read “The Heat want too much (players) in a trade to acquire Wiggins.” That becomes my chief concern, over the course of Wiggins career for several NBA teams he’s been a lights out shooter especially from deep. For Wiggins career it’s been nearly 36% and this season for the Heat he’s at 37.1%. There is no doubt on the ability of Wiggins to stretch the floor with his shooting it’s the other stuff.

The question becomes do you break up a cohesive lineup hoping to win a championship. The subject is posed in this manner because NBA basketball like all other forms remains a team game. In addition will he be able to do the things a Rui Hachimura is able to accomplish? Once upon a time the Lakers made such a trade and it aided their championship aspirations. They acquired Klay Thompson’s father Mychal and he provided immediate dividends for the Lakers. If there is a belief that acquiring Wiggins will help in the Laker effort to win a championship I’d say go ahead and do it. My chief concern is breaking up the team and then not gaining any reward in doing so. Laker management has a decision in front of them, my hope is that whatever is accomplished will prove fruitful in the long run.

Meanwhile….

Players have attempted to remain close to the game in a variety of different roles. In most instances they become coaches, examples would be Jason Kidd, JJ Redick, Tyronn Lue. Leon Wood, who was also a player, took a different route, by now you are scratching your head trying to figure out who Leon Wood is. I will help you with that, Wood was the 10th pick in the first round of the 1984 draft by the Philadelphia Sixers. He would play for a number of NBA and Euro teams before his playing career ended in 1994. Talk about reinventing oneself that’s exactly what occurred for Wood, in 1996 he became an NBA referee the first former NBA player to take on that role.

As mentioned earlier the final score of the game read UCF 81 KU 75 which left the Kansas faithful upset with the outcome. My response to Jayhawk Nation better get ready as the landscape has changed, no longer will Bill Self and crew be dominate in the Big 12. They will certainly win their share of games but to run the table as they once did in the past ain’t happening. There are several reasons why the change in Big 12 play has come about. 1. NIL, no need of going into a great deal more detail on it. 2. A bevy of coaches unafraid about playing in Allen Fieldhouse, they have taken the mystique out for their teams as well. 3. The conference itself is just as much to blame. Continuing to add competitive teams such as Arizona, UCF, Houston or BYU to the conference and expect everything to remain the same, it simply doesn’t work in that manner. In addition Kansas must entertain improved play from Iowa State, Baylor and Oklahoma State.

One of my social media feeds called the 2000 NBA draft the worst ever, so I decided to take a closer look. First off, it's important to note that achievement in basketball doesn't always reflect success in life more broadly. Interestingly, none of the players from that draft have been inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame. In terms of scoring, Michael Redd—chosen 43rd overall by the Milwaukee Bucks—had perhaps the most notable career. Jamal Crawford, selected eighth by the Cleveland Cavaliers, is another standout. While the 2000 draft may not have produced superstars, it did yield many valuable role players. Whether it truly was the worst draft ever can be debated, but it certainly ranks among the top five least memorable drafts in NBA history.

For those who might be unfamiliar with the names Charlie Ward and Reggie Theus both had extensive careers in the NBA as players. Now both are retired and have moved into the coaching ranks, Ward was hired as head coach at a historical HBCU school Florida A&M in April 2025. As for Reggie Theus he was appointed Athletic Director and head men’s coach at Bethune-Cookman also an HBCU school in July 2021. The time spent in the NBA never saw these two guards matched against one another. Theus was ending his playing career at the time Ward arrived in the NBA, although they never met on the basketball court as players they did as coaches. Recently Theus’s Bethune-Cookman won the game 87 to 83 over Ward’s Florida A&M team.

The NBA’s all-time won-loss record established by the 2015-16 Warriors is no longer in jeopardy. That Warriors team finished the regular season winning 73 games and losing only 9. The fast and meteoric start by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2025-26 season had some stating “The NBA record established by the Warriors is in danger.” That was then this is now, on Sunday night Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns sunk a three-point basket as the buzzer sounded for a 108-105 win. The record setting year the Warriors suffered loss number 6 in their 55th win mark, the loss to the Suns was number 6 at the 30 win mark. Don’t  misunderstand me, I’m not saying the Thunder will not defend their championship, they just might however they won’t do it eclipsing the Warrior record.