When you really break it down, the whole history of the NBA is still a relatively short amount of time. At 79 years old, there are still many people around who have a living memory of the first NBA season.
The league celebrated 50 years in 1996, with a special reveal of the top 50 players of all-time up to that point, as voted on by media, former player, general managers, and other notable figures.
For the first 50 years of the league, there were several individuals who were obvious locks to make the top-50. Michael, Kareem, Larry, Dr. J and many others easily made the list... but what if we told you that a 9-time All-Star, who at the time sat on 8th on the NBA’s all time scoring list did not make the top 50?
In today’s episode, we take the NBA time machine back to the 80s and 90s, and explore the life and times of one of basketball’s most underrated players of all time, the one and only Dominique Wilkins.
00:00 Introduction
03:43 Early Life, College Years and the Draft
13:41 Superstar Rising - 1982-90
24:50 Achilles Tear and The Trade
35:40 The Twilight Years - Gone Overseas?
45:10 The Legacy of Mr. 51st
On April 19, 2020, ESPN and Netflix released a landmark documentary series that was over two decades in the making, chronicling a behind the scenes look at the supremacy of Michael Jordan’s last years in ChicagoAs Americans and people all across the globe were settling into an entirely new life of pandemic quarantine madness, The Last Dance was a much needed escape, and a fascinating glimpse into the life of one of the most popular figures in the history of sportsBut lost in the spectacle of MJ’s unprecedented greatness, and ultimately reduced to something little more than a footnote in the pages of NBA history, the Utah Jazz came away emptied handed again and again, despite fielding a team that likely could have hoisted a championship banner, had they played in any other eraLed by a dynamic duo of John Stockton and Karl Malone, two players who still stand among the top 10 of all time at their respective positions, the Jazz had spent much of the late 80s and 90s just on the cusp of taking those final steps into championship gloryBut always for one reason or another, the stars never perfectly aligned for the team from Utah, and Stockton and Malone would find themselves forever on another and far less desirable all-time list: as some of the best players to never win a ring.In today’s episode, we take the NBA time machine back to the 1990s, and explore the rise and fall of the team that tried and failed to steal the last dance, and find out just what went wrong for the Utah JazzThis is Once Upon a Dribble!(04:30) The Foundation - Background on the '80s Jazz(18:14) The Slow Climb - The Ups and Downs of the Early and Mid '90s(41:29) The 1996-97 Utah Jazz season(01:08:56) The 1997-98 Utah JazzCopyright Disclaimer: - Under section 107 of the copyright Act 1976, allowance is mad for FAIR USE for purpose such a as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statues that might otherwise be infringing. Non- Profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of FAIR USE.
Today we continue in part 9 of a 10-part series at Once Upon a Dribble!
During the 2022 playoffs the NBA began awarding MVP awards to the best performing player of each conference finals: the Larry Bird Eastern Conference Finals Most Valuable Player Award and the Magic Johnson Western Conference Finals Most Valuable Player Award, named for the two players credited for building the league up to greater popularity in the 1980s.
This begs the question, with the award just being handed out for the first time last season, who are the deserving winners from the previous 50+ years of NBA history? Find out today as Josh tackles the Eastern Conference in the 2010s!
2010: Boston Celtics vs Orlando Magic - Paul Pierce (03:10)
2011: Miami Heat vs Chicago Bulls - LeBron James (11:35)
2012: Miami Heat vs Boston Celtics - LeBron James (20:03)
2013: Miami Heat vs Indiana Pacers- LeBron James (28:33)
2014: Miami Heat vs Indiana Pacers- LeBron James (36:04)
2015: Cleveland Cavaliers vs Atlanta Hawks- LeBron James (42:35)
2016: Cleveland Cavaliers vs Toronto Raptors- LeBron James (49:28)
2017: Cleveland Cavaliers vs Boston Celtics- LeBron James (54:39)
2018: Cleveland Cavaliers vs Boston Celtics- LeBron James (01:00:22)
2019: Toronto Raptors vs Milwaukee Bucks- Kawhi Leonard (01:11:11)
2020: Miami Heat vs Boston Celtics- Bam Adebayo (01:19:35)
2021: Milwaukee Bucks vs Atlanta Hawks- Khris Middleton (01:28:16)
Recap/Outro: (01:37:04)
(04:48) What led to the Decision? The Breaking Point in Cleveland
(26:00) The Villain Season - 2010-11
(53:48) Redemption, "It's About Damn Time" - 2011-12(01:10:54) Supernova, Back-To-Back - 2012-13
(01:32:00) The Burnout - 2013-14
July 8th, 2010. A 25-year-old phenom sat across from Jim Gray… and set the basketball world on fire.
"'I’m going to take my talents to South Beach.'"
Seven words that shattered Cleveland... united superstars... and turned a beloved MVP into the NBA's greatest villain overnight.
This is the story of The Heatles. Of dominance. Of legacy. And of how one decision changed the course of basketball history.
But before the championships, before the 27-game win streak, before the redemption...
There was heartbreak.
There was pressure.
And there was a reason he had to leave.
From Cleveland’s collapse… to South Beach’s rise… to the fall in 2014—this is the LeBron Miami saga, as you've never heard it before.
(04:50) Background on basketball in Philadelphia and on Wilt
(23:18) Let's meet the 1966-67 Sixers and look at their regular season
(46:05) The Sixers finally overcome Boston
(55:05) The 1967 Finals
When it comes to the NBA’s all-time greatest players, few can match the raw statistical dominance of Wilt Chamberlain.
From the iconic 100-point game, to the 50 points per game season, to 12 straight seasons averaging over 20 rebounds, Chamberlain’s numbers are simply unbelievable.
But despite statistical dominance, Wilt the Stilt struggled for years to carry his teams over the final hurdle, as year after year, championships eluded him.
While Bill Russell was winning 11 rings in 13 years, Chamberlain was often left watching and waiting .
Finally, in 1967, 9 years into his NBA career, Wilt finally earned his ring, and delivered the first ever NBA championship to the city of Philadelphia .
The story of how Chamberlain and the Sixers got there, however, is one few people know.
In today’s episode, we take the NBA time machine back nearly 60 years, and learn how the 1967 Philadelphia 76ers managed to defeat the nearly-undefeatable dynasty of the Boston Celtics.
This is once upon a dribble!
Today we continue in part 8 of a 10-part series at Once Upon a Dribble!
During the 2022 playoffs the NBA began awarding MVP awards to the best performing player of each conference finals: the Larry Bird Eastern Conference Finals Most Valuable Player Award and the Magic Johnson Western Conference Finals Most Valuable Player Award, named for the two players credited for building the league up to greater popularity in the 1980s.
This begs the question, with the award just being handed out for the first time last season, who are the deserving winners from the previous 50+ years of NBA history?Find out today as Josh tackles the Western Conference in the 2000s!
2000: Los Angeles Lakers vs Portland Trail Blazers - Shaquille O'Neal
2001: Los Angeles Lakers vs San Antonio Spurs - Shaquille O'Neal
2002: Los Angeles Lakers vs Sacramento Kings - Shaquille O'Neal
2003: Dallas Mavericks vs San Antonio Spurs - Tim Duncan
2004: Los Angeles Lakers vs Minnesota Timberwolves - Shaquille O'Neal2005: Phoenix Suns vs San Antonio Spurs - Tim Duncan
2006: Dallas Mavericks vs Phoenix Suns - Dirk Nowitzki
2007: San Antonio Spurs vs Utah Jazz - Tim Duncan
2008: Los Angeles Lakers vs San Antonio Spurs - Kobe Bryant
2009: Denver Nuggets vs Los Angeles Lakers - Kobe Bryant
In a lot of ways, an NBA locker room is like a family. With all the good times, and the bad times, the brotherhood, and the infighting, family is the perfect metaphor.
But the family dynamic in the NBA often extends to actual family, over 10% of the 4500 players to have ever played in the NBA are directly related either as brothers, as father and son, as cousins, as grandfather and grandson, or as uncle and nephew.
In many cases, one family member outshines the rest. But occasionally, multiple branches of the same family tree achieve stardom.
Today, we take the NBA time machine back to the late 90s and 2000s, and explore the lives of two family members who hit the highest echelons of the NBA, but failed to take the final steps into NBA immortality
Join us in PART 1 OF 2 as we look at the lives and times of two cousins from Flordia who became NBA household names: Vince Carter, and Tracy McGrady.
Today Calvan talks to us about T-Mac. In Part 1 Josh talked about Vince.
This is once upon a dribble!
In a lot of ways, an NBA locker room is like a family. With all the good times, and the bad times, the brotherhood, and the infighting, family is the perfect metaphor.
But the family dynamic in the NBA often extends to actual family, over 10% of the 4500 players to have ever played in the NBA are directly related either as brothers, as father and son, as cousins, as grandfather and grandson, or as uncle and nephew.
In many cases, one family member outshines the rest. But occasionally, multiple branches of the same family tree achieve stardom.
Today, we take the NBA time machine back to the late 90s and 2000s, and explore the lives of two family members who hit the highest echelons of the NBA, but failed to take the final steps into NBA immortality
Join us in PART 1 OF 2 as we look at the lives and times of two cousins from Flordia who became NBA household names: Vince Carter, and Tracy McGrady.
Today Josh talks to us about Vince. In Part 2 Calvan will talk about T-Mac.
This is once upon a dribble!
Remember that time, like, that 10-season span when the Charlotte Bobcats were an NBA basketball team?
Us too, but barely. Josh and Calvan did a DEEP dive into the interesting, awkward, yet always entertaining history of the Charlotte Bobcats. Join them in the NBA time machine as they talk about the success of the original Hornets, their move to New Orleans, the establishment of the Bobcats, MJ, Larry Brown, Gerald Wallace, George Shinn, Adam Morrison, Kemba Walker and EVERYTHING in between.
You won't want to miss it!
Today we continue in part 7 of a 10-part series at Once Upon a Dribble!
During the 2022 playoffs the NBA began awarding MVP awards to the best performing player of each conference finals: the Larry Bird Eastern Conference Finals Most Valuable Player Award and the Magic Johnson Western Conference Finals Most Valuable Player Award, named for the two players credited for building the league up to greater popularity in the 1980s.
This begs the question, with the award just being handed out for the first time last season, who are the deserving winners from the previous 50+ years of NBA history?
Find out today as Josh tackles the Eastern Conference in the 2000s!
2000: Indiana Pacers vs New York Knicks - Reggie Miller (01:41)
2001: Milwaukee Bucks vs Philadelphia 76ers - Dikembe Mutombo (06:10)
2002: Boston Celtics vs New Jersey Nets - Jason Kidd (13:31)
2003: Detroit Pistons vs New Jersey Nets - Jason Kidd (20:00)
2004: Detroit Pistons vs Indiana Pacers - Ben Wallace (24:08) 2005: Detroit Pistons vs Miami Heat - Richard Hamilton (26:16)
2006: Detroit Pistons vs Miami Heat - Dwyane Wade (32:24)
2007: Cleveland Cavaliers vs Detroit Pistons - LeBron James (37:26)
2008: Boston Celtics vs Detroit Pistons - Kevin Garnett (44:18)
2009: Cleveland Cavaliers vs Orlando Magic - Dwight Howard (49:41)
Every NBA team at some point in their history has hit a drought so to say. A drought from success that keeps them out of the postseason picture. It can be injuries, poor coaching, bad management, whiffed draft picks or a combination of it all.
In this segment Josh and Calvan look at EVERY NBA franchise and dissect their longest absence from NBA playoff basketball and ask the question, "what went wrong?"
Even the driest of droughts see rain once again and there is light at the end of every tunnel.
In part 2 of this 2 part series, Calvan tackles the Northwest, Southwest and Central divisions. In part 1 Josh covered the Atlantic, Pacific and Southeast.
Minnesota Timberwolves (01:00)
Denver Nuggets (03:04)
Utah/New Orleans Jazz (05:05) Portland Trail Blazers (06:59)
Oklahoma City Thunder (08:47)
Milwaukee Bucks (11:25)
Indiana Pacers (13:34)
Cleveland Cavaliers (15:33)
Detroit Pistons (17:47)
Chicago Bulls (20:16)
Dallas Mavericks (23:00)
San Antonio Spurs (25:03)
Refresher on the Phoenix Suns (27:11)
Memphis Grizzlies (29:18)
Houston Rockets (32:05)
Every NBA team at some point in their history has hit a drought so to say. A drought from success that keeps them out of the postseason picture. It can be injuries, poor coaching, bad management, whiffed draft picks or a combination of it all.
In this segment Josh and Calvan look at EVERY NBA franchise and dissect their longest absence from NBA playoff basketball and ask the question, "what went wrong?"
Even the driest of droughts see rain once again and there is light at the end of every tunnel.
In part 1 of this 2 part series, Josh tackles the Atlantic, Pacific and Southeast divisions. In part 2 Calvan will cover the Northwest, Central and Southwest.
Boston Celtics (01:55)
Philadelphia 76ers (04:29)
New York Knicks (06:11)
Toronto Raptors (08:10)
Brooklyn Nets (10:25)
Los Angeles Lakers (13:15)
Golden State Warriors (16:25)
Los Angeles Clippers (18:29)
Sacramento Kings (21:08)
Phoenix Suns (24:11)
Miami Heat (27:31)
Charlotte Hornets (29:36)
Washington Wizards (32:22)
Orlando Magic (35:51)
Atlanta Hawks (38:10)
If there is a Mount Rushmore for NBA teams that feel like symbolic soulmates for their city, then the 2004 Detroit Pistons are on it.
This team represented the Motor City in every sense of the word. Everyone played a part, constantly being calibrated and re-calibrated toward something greater.
They embodied the qualities of a tough team that the fans living in a tough city needed: Nerves as hard as steel and a burning desire to defy expectations.
20 years ago, the Pistons stood at the brink of a bruising but ultimately dominant championship march over the Los Angeles Lakers, a team brimming with Hall of Famers. To this day, the Pistons’ 4-1 is considered one of the greatest upsets in NBA history.
It's tough to picture this special championship run happening anywhere but Detroit. From the underdogs who made up the starting lineup to their surprising victory over a more glamorous, well-known rival, Detroit seems like the only place where our unexpected heroes could have truly emerged.
Today we dive deep into the Miracle at Motown, the story of the 2004 Pistons. And THIS is Once Upon a Dribble.
After back-to-back championships, the Rockets were suddenly trending in the wrong direction after a turbulent 1996 season. Charles Barkley, over in Phoenix, had grown impatient in the Valley of the Sun. The stars aligned for both parties in the summer of 1996 when the Rockets made a blockbuster trade to form one of the "Big 3s" of yesteryear by acquiring Barkley to pair with Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler.
In today's bonus episode Josh details those years in Houston to determine if the Barkley trade was really worth the gamble.
Today we continue in part 6 of a 10-part series at Once Upon a Dribble!
During the 2022 playoffs the NBA began awarding MVP awards to the best performing player of each conference finals: the Larry Bird Eastern Conference Finals Most Valuable Player Award and the Magic Johnson Western Conference Finals Most Valuable Player Award, named for the two players credited for building the league up to greater popularity in the 1980s.
This begs the question, with the award just being handed out for the first time last season, who are the deserving winners from the previous 50+ years of NBA history?
Find out today as Josh tackles the Western Conference in the 1990s!
1990: Phoenix Suns vs Portland Trail Blazers - Terry Porter (03:10)
1991: Los Angeles Lakers vs Portland Trail Blazers - Magic Johnson (07:14)
1992: Portland Trail Blazers vs Utah Jazz - Terry Porter (10:35)
1993: Phoenix Suns vs Seattle SuperSonics - Charles Barkley (15:13)
1994: Houston Rockets vs Utah Jazz - Hakeem Olajuwon (21:34)
1995: Houston Rockets vs San Antonio Spurs - Hakeem Olajuwon (26:15)
1996: Seattle SuperSonics vs Utah Jazz - Shawn Kemp (31:48)
1997: Houston Rockets vs Utah Jazz - John Stockton (35:52)
1998: Los Angeles Lakers vs Utah Jazz - Karl Malone (41:36)
1999: Portland Trail Blazers vs San Antonio Spurs - David Robinson (44:36)
Jerry West, who was selected to the Basketball Hall of Fame multiple times in a storied career as a player and executive and whose silhouette is considered to be the basis of the NBA logo, passed away earlier this month.
Few people have ever seen the game as clearly — from so many angles and across so many different eras — as West did. His the influence he had on his profession is profound and will be felt for generations to come.
Join Calvan and Josh in a brief tribute to Jerry, talking about his early life, resiliently elite NBA career, impeccable executive career and the lasting impact he had on his peers.
Long live the Logo. S/O: Foobas Sports on YouTube for the audio in the intro.
Phil Jackson is the most successful coach in NBA history, the owner of 11 rings, and the architect of some of the most iconic basketball moments of all time.
From his roots in small town North Dakota, to Chicago, Los Angeles, and even the Big Apple, his career in basketball has taken him all over the country.
His style of coaching and his unorthodox approach to life earned him one of the most recognizable nicknames in sports: the Zen Master.
You can’t tell the story of the NBA without mentioning the coaching of the great Phil Jackson... but just how was Jackson able to sustain so much success for so long?
Come along with us in today’s episode, as Josh and Calvan take a look at the life and times of one of the most accomplished coaches in all of sports. This is Once Upon a Dribble.
The first ever NBA All-Star game was played on March 2, 1951. Since that time, 454 players have played in that game. Thousands of other NBA players have never played in the game.
In today's episode of Once Upon A Dribble, Josh and Calvan go over four of the most baffling All-Star game snubs. Players who had great careers, but for one reason or another, never received the Star call.
We dive deep into the live and times of some of the finest players in the game, who never had their greatness properly recognized.
The Thunder were the Warriors before the Warriors. Well, except for the titles.
Young, homegrown talent emerges as a dominant force in the league, consistently vying for the NBA championship. This straightforward strategy, exemplified by the successes of Oklahoma City and Golden State in the 2010s, is seldom as effective as they made it appear.
However, the OKC's inability to clinch an NBA championship is integral to their story, just like their enduring success. Equally integral is the element of excitement. Few teams have engaged in as many thrilling matches with iconic players, all within the passionate embrace of one of the league's most fervent fan bases.
Whether victorious or defeated, the Thunder's inaugural decade in the NBA was an exhilarating ride. Here at Once Upon a Dribble, Calvan and Josh bring on OKC superfan Prhymate as we recount the standout moments, beginning with the team that defined the decade.
Check out Prhymate's YouTube basketball content here:
https://www.youtube.com/@Prhymate777
It’s easy to look back now and wonder how Oden ever could have been selected ahead of a superstar like Kevin Durant. After all, KD had averaged 25.8 points and 11.1 rebounds a game as a lanky freshman at Texas, leading the Big 12 in both categories, as well as blocks.
Durant was a sure thing, like Michael Jordan was in the 1984 draft … so why draft Sam Bowie?
Because Greg Oden was never supposed to be Sam Bowie. Oden was Hakeem Olajuwon.
That narrative, that four-letter word, haunted him for a long time. It hurt to hear. It hurt to explain. But that word doesn’t capture the spirit of his struggle, his journey, his resilience, his joy, and, most importantly, where his path has taken him today
Article by Mirin Fader quoted: Greg Oden's Long Walk Home
Music: Signal to Noise by Scott Buckley, all credit to him.
