Posts

Showing posts from 2018

Was this the greatest one-two punch in NBA history?

Image
We’ve seen Jordan and Pippen, Magic and Kareem, Bird and McHale, Kobe and Shaq, Leb-ron and Wade, and so many other dynamic duos dominate and thrill the NBA with their individual skills and their impressive chemistry. However, there was a duo from back in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s that could rival and possibly beat any of the duos we men-tioned. Image source: bleacherreport.com This pairing comes the Milwaukee Bucks, and consists of two of the all-time greats – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar “The Big O” Robertson. Before Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then-Lew Alcindor) entered the league, the Bucks had a rough initial season, losing 56 of their 82 games. However, the introduction of the tal-ented UCLA center would turn things around pretty quickly. The arrival of Kareem transformed the Bucks from bottom-dwellers to powerhouses in the span of an off-season. They won 56 games and made it to the Eastern semi-finals, losing to the New York Knicks, who would go on to win the

Kobe or Magic: Who is the King Laker?

Image
Kobe Bryant or Magic Johnson – who is the greatest Laker of all-time? They both spent their entire careers playing for the Lakers and delivered five championships to the city of Los Angeles, all the while leading their respective teams in their respective eras. While this is a debate that will probably rage on forever, we’d want to take a stab at it. If we were to base it on career stats, Kobe Bryant has the distinct advantage, leading the Lakers in all-time statistics in several categories. Magic didn’t have that chance since his career was cut short. However, stats are only a part of the greatness debate. Any fan who argues that his player is the best but only relies on statistics has lost. Let’s now look deeper. Kobe was a fierce competitor, as was Magic. Kobe was more of a scorer, much like Michael Jordan, and much like Michael Jordan, Kobe developed a leadership quality that inspired fans more than players. Magic on the other hand, could do it all. He coul

The greatest shot in NCAA history.

Image
Many of my readers may probably be too young to remember what many sports historians refer to as college basketball’s greatest shot. I myself, wasn’t born yet when that happened, but I’ve heard stories and I’ve seen the footage. And I have to agree. “The Shot” is the shot . It was the quarterfinals of the 1992 NCAA Tourney, and the Blue Devils from Duke battled it out against Wildcats of Kentucky. Everyone expected the Blue Devils to end the game even before the halftime bell rang, but the Wildcats were prepared for war. Kentucky played like they had nothing to lose, and it worked to their favor. The entire game was a close back-and-forth affair, with a number of hard fouls and controversial calls, the most memorable of which being Christian Laettner’s foot stomp on Aminu Timberlake’s chest. Laettner wasn’t thrown out of the game, and this stroke of luck would pay huge dividends for the Blue Devils in the end. The game going into overtime wasn’t surprising at all, with th