A fan’s perspective

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LeBron James is how old

Sixers fans will see their new main man in his 24^th year in the NBA. A little trivia for you, Michael Jordan (63) is 22 years older than LeBron however LeBron is 22 years older than Cooper Flagg (19). The lengthy career of LeBron has seen him play at a time when the NBA allowed hand-checking which has been outlawed since the 2004-05 season. Understand this information, a candidate for the Naismith Hall of Fame must be retired two full seasons in order to be eligible for entry.

Bet you didn’t realize there are three players from LeBron’s draft class enshrined in the hall of fame, they are Carmelo Anthony, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. Bronny James had his dad as a teammate his first two years in the NBA, Bronny was born in his father’s second NBA season. Mentioning offspring how about this, there are 10 father-son’s LeBron has played against. Early in his NBA career LeBron played the fathers who are retired and now he’s matched against the sons of the fathers. How about this bit of interesting trivia on LeBron James,

Dickey V.

I wasn’t sure if one of the voices of college basketball would return. Former coach and longtime ESPN analyst Dick Vitale has suffered a number of health challenges the last few years. We haven’t been entertained by many of the broadcast phrases he originated when he first began broadcasting the men’s game back in 1979. Dickey V. will return to do what he loves in the 2026-27 season. He’s already announced his All Rolls Royce team for this upcoming season, as for some of his colorful phrases.

“Aircraft carrier” referencing a team’s Big Man, how about “Diaper Dandy” a reference to an outstanding freshman. Then we have “PTP’re” his definition of a prime time player and finally “In the Trifecta Zone” denoting a player who pulls up and shoots a three. Dickey V. is 87-years old now but is there such a thing as retiring especially if you love your job and its clear the pay is good but there is another reason. It’s simple he loves the game. As I indicated earlier health issues have sidelined him for the last two seasons but it appears he’s ready for action  

Work ethic

The man, the myth….the legend, that what I now consider Kobe Bryant far a single reason alone. Since his passing I’ve read more about him in death than I ever did while he was living, this is just one more story. I’m sure there’s another one out there somewhere, in any event lets proceed. This again from his teammate and later head coach Byron Scott. Scott said; “Probably Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter were more talented than Kobe, he had one advantage over both, they couldn’t out work him.” Scott went on to say; “He’d (Kobe) be working out three times to their one.”

In addition we’ve heard stories about Kobe being a difficult teammate and Scott addressed that as well. Scott said, “Kobe believed he didn’t need any friends.” I cannot address any friends relationship for Kyrie Irving however  Patrick Mahomes might possibly be different. From outside appearances it appears Mahomes and Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce have a friends relationship. As for the question of friendship as it relates to sports is it critical to team success? My initial thought it depends, we know the history of Kobe and Shaq. We’ve read other instances where teammates were not friends as well. How about David Robinson and Dennis Rodman or Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton? There are other examples, I just wanted to point out a few.

New faces in new places

Of the major professional sports the NBA is actually the youngest, trading players was more common place in baseball over football although players did move from team to team. In 1946 as the NBA first began play it adopted the principle of trading for talent as well. All that changed in 1974 when Jim “Catfish” Hunter in baseball is recognized as the first modern free agent in professional sports. As free agency began to become the norm more and more baseball players sought out new teams in this manner.

Free agency then moved into the world of football, NFL players began seeking larger salaries and new teams in the same manner as their baseball counterparts. Although NBA teams continue to acquire talent through trades free agency has taken on a dominant role in the league. I’m unsure of the NHL although I’m sure it exists there as well. I have no method to determine an  actual number, I happen to believe there are probably more free agents in the NBA than any of the other major sports. According to AI Overview “the Free Agent Tracker indicates 236 individual player movements and status update for the 2026 offseason.” So the headline above is correct through the NBA draft, trades and mostly free-agency.