A basketball fans outlook

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DPOY & MVP

The front runners for MVP in the NBA are last season’s winner Shai-Gilgeous Alexander and Nikola Jokic’ a.k.a. The Joker. The leading candidate for Defensive Player of the Year is Victor Wembanyama with Rudy Gobert trailing him. Despite what you just read the Spurs Victor Wembanyama is campaigning to win MVP and Defensive Player of the Year by simply stating he’d like to win it. Just in case you wondered has this feat ever been accomplished in the past, winning both honors in the same season? I’m pleased you asked the question because I researched it and can provide you the answer.

Mark this in your memory bank, the first time this was accomplished was the 1987-88 season. The winner that year was none other than Air Jordan, Michael was the first to accomplish the feat while playing for the Chicago Bulls. It would be several seasons later (1993-94) before we had another winner, this time it was Hakeem Olajuwon of the Houston Rockets. The last to accomplish the feat is still active today, the Milwaukee Bucks Giannis Antetokounmpo was a double honoree in the 2019-20 season. If you think about it this is an amazing accomplishment for Jordan, Olajuwon and later Antetokounmpo and maybe Wemby in the future.

The tournament

On Thursday March Madness begins officially, 68 teams begin play, the national championship game will be played April 6. Just in case you wondered about the history of the tournament it began in 1939 and there were only 8 teams. It remained at that number until 1951 when it was expanded to 16. Two years later (1953) the number was increased to 22 teams, in 1975 the tournament became 32. 1979 it would become a 40 team tournament and one year later it was increased to 48 teams.

1983 the number was 52 and the following year it was increased to 53. 1985 the field was expanded to 64 teams and 2001 saw one additional team added to make for a total of 65. In 2011 the tournament was expanded once again, this time to 68 teams were it stands at the present. The basis behind this history lesson a local sports talk radio host discusses increasing the number of teams again. Currently, there are 352 Division I basketball teams. I question what is this radio guy’s number? Is it 75-80 or 100, surely there is a stopping point somewhere. We cannot continue to add teams that in my opinion add little to the basketball quality we see currently.

It wasn’t Air Jordan

No argument, the Air Jordan brand shoe is sometimes considered the Bugatti of footwear. Despite the fact every other shoe probably falls below it in popularity it wasn’t the first. The truth of the matter Michael Jordan wasn’t the first basketball player to endorse a shoe or what would later become apparel. Much earlier, in fact, the year was 1976, Julius ‘Dr. J.’ Erving became the first basketball player to endorse a shoe associated with his name. That shoe was the Converse Dr J, up till that time the NBA having begun play in 1946 had never had one of its members endorse or promote a shoe.

Even more interesting the history of the shoe worn by Dr. J., although it was a different shoe Converse was more famous for its Chuck Taylor line, the one worn by a number of colleges and many in the NBA. It is my understanding that the Dr. J. shoe was the first to be manufactured using leather. In the 1982 national championship game won by North Carolina the winning basket was sunk by Michael Jordan while wearing a pair of Converse shoes. As for the period Jordan signed his exclusive deal with Nike it was 1984 years after the Dr. J. shoe contract. I thought this information would be noteworthy for sneaker aficionados.

Are they the best 

This subject matter requires research on my part, I wondered if two college teammates have experienced a rookie season similar to that of Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel. These former Duke athletes entered the NBA through the following selections: Flagg was chosen as the first overall pick by the Mavericks in 2025, while Knueppel was selected fourth by the Hornets. It is important to note that, as they are still completing their rookie seasons, this analysis reflects both current performance and anticipated potential. There is no method to project their future based on trades or injury. 

My research was unable to locate any historical evidence of past college teammates although I did uncover the fact there were four instances of remarkable selections in the same draft class. These rookies would go on to have All Star careers although a number of careers were cut short due to injury or developed fully with other teams. At the top of the list must be the 1956 draft of the Boston Celtics, they added Bill Russell (via trade), Tom Heinshohn and K.C. Jones. This trio were vital contributors to the string of championships the Celtics secured over the years. So there you have it, a brief look at what might be the most successful draft (1956) in NBA history.