...my mini Book of Basketball...

(I don’t want this to start negative, but I just want to say all my NBA thoughts are clouded by the fact that there may be a lockout next year. I can’t escape the idea of a lockout. That is the only time I’ll mention it this article).

I was trying to fall asleep last night and I was making, in my head, a list of my top 5 favorite basketball players of all time, trying to find the reasonable mix of hometown favorite, outstanding player and teammate, ambassador for the game, love of the game, skill set, work ethic, etc.

But to name my top 5 players first required me to think about the era’s in which I cared about basketball. I know this reads almost exactly like Bill Simmons’ Book of Basketball, but while he may be able to claim the style of writing, I’ll be damned if he were to claim the way I think about sports as his own – this is how I have been thinking about teams, players, lists, history and hoops for a long time.

MY ERAS:
Hilltop Basketball (1983) to Len Bias (1987):
I had a fairly hands off approach to basketball during this time, which, ironically, is when the Celtics were completely dominant, and a Golden Age of basketball (Jordan, Bird, Johnson, Thomas, McHale, tail end of Kareem, etc…) existed. I had a fairly hands off approach to both playing basketball and caring about it. I remember caring about basketball cards, and I remember details here and there, but I didn’t attend a single regular season NBA game during this era.

I do, however, remember the death of Len Bias as a National story, and feeling like it was a big deal. I don’t know, something about it made me think about basketball.

Dunk Contests (1987 & 1988) to Jordan Part 1 (1993):
I had very strong memories of watching, live, during daylight hours, the Slam Dunk contest in Chicago with Jordan dueling Wilkins for the crown – this was during the era in which I resented Jordan for his stature – I’d like to say it was b/c I was sophisticated and not impressed by a 37 points per game scoring average, but instead valued team winning over individual achievement – but that wasn’t the case. I think I just saw him as someone who got whatever he wanted, and that feeling continued through his first 3 championships, but I do know I watched basketball during these years, and I started playing as well. Playing a lot, and getting better. I was inspired to go to the courts b/c of the 3 point and dunk contests, and I continued to get interested in, and play, basketball.

It should also be noted that it was during the 1991 season where I went to my first game at the Boston Garden – a game in which Bird played sparingly and Sherman Douglas led the team to a victory. I remember him executing a behind the back fake, and the crowd going absolutely bonkers. My memory of that game is something I have stuck deep in my brain, and it comes out only on special occasions.

Hakeem (1994) to Jordan Part 2 (1998):
My love for the game exploded during this time. The spring of 1995 is when I became the best basketball player I had ever become. I scored 30 in a church league game (I went 10-10 from the line that game, which was remarkable for me). I remember spending time on the basketball court after Spring track practices Senior Year. Myself and Mike Duclos beat Jeff Wright and one other person, it may have been Tom Rudick, 36-0, by ones. I remember these details.

Hakeem destroyed the Knicks and Magic in consecutive seasons, and I think the Jordan absence only gave me the ability to pause and realize how remarkable and special he was. The death of Reggie Lewis in 1993 – I remember where I was when I found out he was dead. I was actually just cruising with Marc and Jeff, on our way to or from McDonalds no doubt, on a Saturday night in July. It surprised me how much I was moved by his death – I felt like I was cheating on baseball, like there was only enough room for 1 sport.

My Freshman year at Coker College was a time when I went to the gym at night and played basketball with the Basketball team – a group of guys taller, stronger, faster, but I started to get a feeling inside of me that recognized Hustle. I started to watch sports differently and see that not all pros were created equally – that some of these guys on the Coker College hoops team were physically gifted enough to be on a D1 team, but mentally they were lazy and I’d steal the ball from them. Or they’d check out in their brain when going for a loose ball and I’d pounce.

Basketball started to evolve into a metaphor instead of a sport – I was losing my ability to play baseball b/c of vision, and I was losing my faith in it because of lockouts and boredom, but basketball started to happily creep in its place.

Sandbox (1998) to adidas (2006):
Sandbox sports was an online fantasy league site – predating ESPN and yahoo and all the other fantasy league sites you know about. I started playing sandbox before I had daily access to a computer, and this fantasy league changed my life. No longer was it a hobby to read box scores, it was a necessity. No longer was it unique to talk about free agents and trades, it was a part of my every day life. I needed to know, on a daily basis, how many rebounds Webber got or how many assists Tim Hardaway had. There was no part of me that wanted to be apart from basketball starting in 1998.

It is completely overwhelming and amazing that I went from that, to where I was in 2006 when I started working for adidas.

I have a perfect night in my head, a night that I honestly consider to be the perfect combination of everything. I don’t know how many times It happened, but it included the following. Sawtelles Hamburger Pizza, Doritos, The Celtics on TV v. Anyone, A 2 liter of Pepsi, and Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia. The 1998 to 2006 Celtics were incredible, they were everything I cared about. They were on an island, and I felt like I was one of the few people there with them. Every single victory felt monumental – every single loss felt like a building block.

Eric Williams and Bryant Stith have no right taking up such a huge place in my heart – they were amazing teammates, and amazing people. They also happened to serve as a reflection on my own life, surrounding myself on the ultimate field in college at this time with friends who embodied the same things that these players embodied. The Celtics drafted Walker and Pierce during this timeframe, and became their team. They advanced, miraculously, to an Eastern Conference Final in the spring of 2002, and they did it despite everyone. Except me and my friends.

Antoine Walker was a player whose personality and style of play offended many, and I don’t have the energy or the heart to defend him anymore, but everything can be summed up about Antoine in 1 game – the 2001 Eastern Conference Final in which they overcame the largest 4th quarter deficit in NBA history to beat the Nets and go up 2-1 in the series – which they ultimately lost. It was his shining moment as a leader, as a captain. I swear Paul Pierce is a different player b/c of that game, I am certainly a different person b/c of that game, and I am not lying. It meant so much to me to see them win it.

In 2004 I attended my first All Star weekend in Los Angeles. I worked the floor of Jam Session for Reebok, selling gear and getting a whiff, but only a whiff, of what was out there to experience. I was so angry that I didn’t get a ticket to anything – I did pass up a ticket to the Dunk contest to visit Disneyland, I just remembered that.

In 2005, however, I was given the ability to attend the All Star Game in Denver, while still working with Reebok. It was a last second invite, and I was able to watch the first half in a great seat, and the 2nd half in the Reebok suite. It was an incredible night, and I made a promise to myself, as corny as it sounds, that I would absolutely 100% never forget how I felt at that moment, and how lucky I was to be where I was. I told myself to think, “remember when you were at Kevin Carrigan’s house watching Kenny Walker win the 1989 Dunk Contest, or where you were when Magic came out of retirement to hit an off balance 3 pointer in the 1992 All-Star game, making you smile at something Magic did for the first time?

I absolutely recall thinking how lucky those people were to be there, and now I was there. There are a million ways to be a better person in life, and if I only hit one 1 of them, it is that I will never take those kinds of moments for granted. I think about it almost every time I go to a regular season game, never mind some of my other experiences. Little did I know how much things would change starting in September of 2006.

Vegas All Star (2007) to Unemployed (2008):
It is amazing what one can do, and see, in a matter of a few short years. From September of ’06, to January of ’09, these are the things I did/witnessed in regards to NBA basketball:
• 2007 All-Star weekend events in Vegas, including Celebrity game, Dunk Contest/3 Pt Contest, All Star Game)
• 2007 NBA Finals Game 1, San Antonio TX
• 2007 NBA Draft Lottery – Celtics get ruined, earn the #5 pick while hoping/planning to be in the top 2
• 2007 NBA Draft – Celtics make an odd deal for Ray Allen. Little did we know?
• 2008 All-Star weekend events in New Orleans, LA
• 2008 Regular season games in: Boston, Seattle, Los Angeles, New York, Orlando, Cleveland, Indiana, Phoenix, Houston (my personal favorite – the Celtics in town to snap Houston’s 22 game win streak…so nice)
• 2008 NBA Playoffs – Game 1 of the Atlanta Series, Game 1 of the Detroit series, Games 1 & 7 of the Cleveland Series, games 1, 2 and 6 of the Finals

And I swear to you, I didn’t go to one of those events without the same level of appreciation I had the night I went to the All-Star game in Denver. I’d think about how absolutely furious I was that night in my hotel room in Los Angeles that I was working at the All-star events but didn’t get a chance to go, and I thought about how excited the 1995 Senior in High School Nick would be to talk to the 30 year old Nick and what he was up to.

It wasn’t just about the games and events, either…I had the chance to work on a daily basis with the League, talk about the League, talk to players on some occasions, but more importantly, talk to the people who help make the league come to life at retail, on TV, in the papers, public relations, etc. It was an incredible experience.

Just a Fan (2009-Present):
In a way, I’m back where I started. I had a lull for a bit. I’ve been less excited to go to Celtics games. I’ve been less excited to watch NBA on TV. But that is changing, big time. Starting in about December, I came to realize how amazing this sport is, and how much I love its professional ranks. I started to lose all the baggage I had carried around from work, from being laid off, from thinking of the league from a dollars and cents perspective, and started thinking about it as a fan. I’m now seeing the league in a whole new light – and what I’m recognizing is the amazing development of players that is coming about.

There are more than this list, but in reality, I can think of 5 players drafted in the last 3 seasons who have the chance to be future completely amazing players, and I can’t wait to see them develop.
5. Jeff Green, Oklahoma City Thunder. I saw him make a defensive play earlier this year that reminded me of Tayshawn’s unbelievable, incredibly incredible, 100% amazing block in the playoffs a few years back, when I think he was a rookie. Jeff Green is a phenom, and when this Thunder team starts making the playoffs (this year?), next year?
4. Al Horford, Atlanta Hawks. Made his All-star game debut this year. It isn’t common where you see picks #2 and #3 both being the right picks, but it looks like they were in the 2007 Draft.
3. Tyreke Evans, Sacramento Kings. The only rookie on the list. He can score so easily, and is so fast and so strong. Why isn’t he a household name? Oh yah, I know why. Arco Arena, that’s why.
2. Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls. Have you seen his dunks this year? His dunks!? He is a point guard, who is actually a fantastic point guard, but he can DUNK!
1. Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder. At the time of writing this, Durant has 25 consecutive games of over 25 points. This is approaching some serious rare air (and yes, that is the name of a book I cherished by Michael Jordan). Jordan reached 40, Wilt has the record at something stupid like 125 (See Simmons’ Book of Basketball to be completely convinced that Wilt’s records are 100% dumb. I mean Ricky Davis rebounding his own intentional miss for a Triple Double kind of dumb).

So this actually brings me all back to the point of this post in the first place, who were my top 5 favorite players, and now that you have some context, here is where I ended up:

5. Allen Iverson – I would say his dominance fell on the heels of my personal rebirth in my interest in basketball, specifically NBA Basketball. I was starting to feel like I was sophisticated enough to separate players into groups, and even individuals into leadership categories. I always said that Iverson was the fastest guy with the ball I had ever seen, while Latrell Sprewell was the fastest without the ball I had ever seen. People were always amazed by Reggie Miller and his coming off of screens – if he, or Allan Houston, had Latrell’s physical gifts, they’d have scored 40/night.

4. Clyde Drexler – No player captured the ingenuity and creativity of the early dunk contests for me like Clyde. He had a rhythm and a fluidity I could only be in awe of. Jordan elevated it to another level, and Dominique just flat out hammered the ball through, like he was going to dunk whether or not you were there to see it…but Drexler was making it an art form – he was a dunk virtuoso, and I loved his soft demeanor as well…what a combination of heart and athleticism. Man, Jordan wrecked those Blazers.

3. Antoine Walker – Everyone hates him, and I wish I could say I don’t care. I know his life has become a joke and a complete mess, and I am sure his on the court demeanor was horrible, and he was a pain in the ass to all coaches. But I know this. He led an unskilled team to an Eastern Conf. Final with a legit shot to make the finals, and the worst team in the Division ended up winning the Division after they reacquired him, including a run which included 14 wins in 15 games, to win the Division. The team ended up 45-37 that season. When they acquired Walker, they were 27-28, toiling under .500. With Walker, they went 18-9, won the Atlantic Division, and lost a 7 game heartbreaker of a Series to Indiana. When he was on this team, and the team was his team, they won.

2. Paul Pierce – My wheelhouse player. He was drafted in 1998. Had an incredible rookie season. He was everything to this team, and eventually won an NBA Finals game. He has put his number in the rafters upon his retirement. He has remained loyal. He has evolved. He has matured and never strayed. He has been fair to the people of Boston and the Celtics and he cares. He cares about winning, and he cares about contributing. I want the ball in his hands.

1. Michael Jordan – No question. His DVD Box set of career highlights and important games is something I absolutely cannot believe I don’t own. His “sick game” v Utah, and his last shot are things of legend. I saw him beat the Celtics on a buzzer beater when he was with the Wizards. I saw him go from a 37/ppg player to a 6 time champion who could have won 8 straight, without any question whatsoever. I am actually still stunned they didn’t win the 2005 championship in his “45” ¼ season he played. How did they lose to the Knicks?!

And I think it is always fun and fitting to add a list to the end of things, so I am going to list my top 5 Most Memorable NBA related moments of all time – hopefully something will top these someday soon.

5. 2005 NBA All-Star Game, Denver Colorado.
4. Magic Johnson’s HIV announcement, November 7th, 1991 (I remember that date exactly off the top of my head, I promise).
3. Michael Jordan v. Utah, the last shot, Game 6 of the NBA Finals, 1998.
2. Celtics v. Nets, the comeback, Game 3 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals, 1992.
1. Celtics v. Lakers, NBA Finals Game 6, 2008.