A basketball fan’s perspective

Monday, Wednesday, Friday & Sunday

Hold on for a moment

I’m unsure if these are Sixer fans or those of the NBA, the excitement is over the top. One letter writer claimed, “This team (Sixers) averages 121 points (last season’s numbers) and could win 74 games during the regular season.” That was an example of the types of letters I’m reading from fans and you are as well, the excitement is understandable but hold on for a moment. This letter writer that I just mentioned and others appear to believe all coach Nick Nurse must do is roll the ball onto the court and this collection will come together as a competitive team. Before someone accuses me of being a “Doug Downer” allow a further explanation.

There are keys to the success of these Sixers, the first is the health of Joel Embiid. I happen to believe that he is one of the best centers in the NBA and at times excels over The Joker. As most are aware he’s had difficulty remaining on the court for an extended period, hopefully that changes. The other four starters (Maxey, Brown, Edgecombe and Bron) must adjust their game to the new teammates. It will be imperative for Sixer reserves to do their part to raise the level of play to championship status. I will end this exercise on an up note, this new Sixer team appears exciting and very capable of reaching the highest of heights. The question can they mold themselves into that championship team? That subject and others can only be fully answered once we begin regular season play.

Meanwhile….

Despite the name, TJ St. Louis has no connection to St. Louis, Missouri; he hails from Brampton, Ontario, Canada. Brampton lies in the greater Toronto metro, as for the athlete he’s a 7-foot 266 pound post player and a Rivals 3-star prospect. On July 20 St. Louis committed to play for Alabama and coach Nate Oats, he will head to Tuscaloosa next month and prepare to undergo the rigors of playing college basketball. St. Louis becomes the 5th commit joining 4-star prospects small forward Qayden Samuels along with Jaxon Richardson another small forward and shooting guard Tarris Bouie.

It’s  only Summer League play so I try not to become too excited but the 2026 Laker team might be one of the best since their 2017 squad. That team contained Lonzo Ball who would be named MVP for the summer and introduced most of us to Kyle Kuzma. Injuries severely handicapped Ball’s NBA future however Kuzma has continued to play good basketball all these years later. The 2026 team contained Arthur Kaluma who’s already been mentioned but there were two others who played outstanding basketball. Keep the names Adou Thiero and Chris Carr in your memory, although once the season begins the minutes will dwindle for all three however expect them to make significant contributions to the 2026-27 Lakers.

I’m sure those in Jayhawk Nation will not be pleased with what they are about to read. I checked AI Overview for the Way Too Early Basketball Rankings and it reads Houston, Arizona, Kansas, Iowa State and Texas Tech. That is how AI Overview looks at the race in July 2026. The displeasure for Jayhawk Nation is evident, no longer is Kansas the dominant basketball program in the Big 12 Conference. Am I surprised Houston and Arizona both are ranked above Kansas prior to the start of the season----the answer is no. The real test has nothing to do with AI or rankings, it’s how these teams match up against one another when the on court action begins.

The beginning

There’s a proverb that says; “The journey of 1,000 miles begins with the first step.” That’s what occurred for a number of NBA players who would become stars in the league, their journey toward the NBA began at smaller sometimes lesser known schools across the nation. There are several names although several names might be more familiar than others but here goes. Larry Bird arrived in the league from Indiana State, from Southeastern Oklahoma State came Dennis “The Worm” Rodman and then we have Dame Lillard from Weber State.

Steph Curry perfected his shooting form at Davidson College and we knew Scottie Pippen as a star with the Bulls before most of us knew where Central Arkansas was even located. The basketball world first took notice of Ja Morant at Murray State an institution most of us were unfamiliar with. Although both would finish at four year institutions Jimmy Butler (Tyler Community College) and Ben Wallace (Cuyahoga Community College) traveled the community college route first prior to finishing their college careers at 4-year institutions. Paul George Fresno State, Derrick White Division II University of Colorado-Colorado Springs along with Duncan Robinson Division III Williams College. The bottom line; it doesn’t matter where you begin the journey, the reward can often be viewed at the end of the race.