On a side note, what do you all think would be Wembanyama's pro comparison?
Personally, I see a lot of Kevin Garnett in Wemby. Both of them could be insane defensively both on the perimeter/rim protection with fantastic weakside protection while also simultaneously have excellent handles/jump shots for bigs of their size while having. an average first step.
The main difference would be that KG was a great passer and Wemby has yet to demonstrate that capability.
I don't hate it. JaMychal made contributions last year, so why not DH? His wingspan is 7'5". We can use someone to obstruct opponents and protect the rim. Even if he stays on the bench, practices with him in the mix could benefit younger players who haven't experienced much of that style of play, and they could compare with Sarich. It could be interesting: Podz, get that floater over DH! JK, can you dunk on him? 🤔
I have no idea if we can do better than Howard in free agency at this point... I could see the case for him over JTA if he's in shape, since JTA's role overlaps more with young guys we know we'll want to find time for. And I'm sure we could do worse.
Happy Dwight Howard Day to those that celebrate! Speaking of athletic 7 footers (and with apologies to Bud Olsen), it is only Wilt Chamberlain (#13) days until training camp!
I'm sure pretty much everyone knows Wilt, and many know a lot more than I do, but there is a lot to find out about this interesting character.
First, he disliked "Wilt the Stilt", and preferred the nickname Dipper or The Big Dipper, which his friends gave him in high school because of how he had to dip down to walk through doorways. So of course, all the clips of him have him being introduced as Wilt the Stilt, cringe.
He still owns a significant chunk of the NBA record book, including a few records that are just never going to be touched let alone broken. Almost everyone will know about his 100 point game, but how about his average minutes of game, regular season, of 48.52, or total minutes played of 3882? Load management, anyone? Adam Silver would have loved this guy.
He's the only player to have his jersey retired by 3 different teams that he played for. Actually, four, since the Harlem Globetrotters also retired his jersey. How's that? Well, I didn't know this, but after his junior year of college at Kansas, he got frustrated with the games where they other teams basically had 4 guys guard him, and then freeze the ball when they got it, so the scores would be 61 - 44 or 42 - 48, and so Wilt decided to skip his senior year. In those days, the NBA would not let you play until your college class had graduated, so he took a "gap year" and played with the Globetrotters. Here's a few clips:
Another note, reportedly when growing up Wilt thought he would play for the Globetrotters, who predate the NBA by a few decades, and was the premier pro team for black players. The NBA also had unwritten rules against teams hiring black players for its first few years. Fortunately for all of us, that color barrier was broken in 1950 by a few pioneers. There is a film that was recently made about the first black NBA players that I plan to check out (https://www.sweetwatermov.com/home).
As a freshman at Kansas, he was rumored to have a unique free-throw style, no, not the Rick Barry one, but he'd start a few feet behind the line and basically long jump to a dunk. He also competed in track and field, and was the three-time Big 8 high jump champ, but unfortunately never got to use that form in a college or NBA game because they changed the rules to make it illegal. I mean, how cool would that be to see Kuminga or Giannis or other athletic big men use that style for free-throws? C'mon NBA, bring back the jumping free throw!
That was one of several rules that got changed due to him, along with widening the lane, instituting offensive goaltending and revising rules governing inbounding the ball.
After the gap year, Wilt was drafted by the Philadelphia Warriors and played for the Dubs for 5 1/2 seasons. He helped the team get to the Eastern Finals twice, but lost to Bill Russell's Celtics both times. After his 3rd year, the owners moved the team to San Francisco, and many of the players and the head coach decided to quit or ask for a trade instead of move to the West Coast. They did manage to get to the finals the following year, but lost to Bill Russell's Celtics.
Unfortunately, despite having one of the top stars and a pretty good team, the Warriors struggled financially, so the owner traded Wilt for a few players and some cash back to Philly, where the once Syracuse Nationals had moved to become the 76ers. He ended up meeting Boston in the playoffs 5 more times, with the only series win being in 1967, when he went on to beat the Warriors in the finals for his first NBA championship. He was then traded to some team down south, but wasn't quite done being tormented by Russell, as the Celtics beat the Lakers in the 1969 finals. He did get one more championship beating the Knicks in 1972.
Wilt was not always the most supportive of teammates, and unfortunately because of his record, "only" winning 2 rings in 6 trips to the finals, he was labeled as a great individual player but not a winner. A few had some pretty harsh words about his game, here is Rick Barry from from Confessions of a basketball gypsy: the Rick Barry story
---
A lot of people have said that Wilt is a loser, but few of them have been players. Few players have the guts to say this about a guy who might be their teammate or who might take anger out on them on court. But I’ll say what most players feel, which is that Wilt zs a loser. He has a complex about this. He thinks the world is picking on him. He resents criticism, but he does not take advantage of his incredible natural ability. He is so inconsistent it is incredible. In some games he is simply awesome. He could be and should be awesome in most games, but he is not. He is terrible in big games. He knows he is going to lose and be blamed for the loss, so he dreads it, and you can see it in his eyes; and anyone who has ever played with him agrees with me, regardless of whether they admit it publicly. When it comes down to the closing minutes of a tough game, an important game, he doesn’t want the ball, he doesn’t want any part of the pressure. It is at these times that greatness is determined, and Wilt doesn’t have it. There is no way you can compare him as a pro to a Bill Russell or a Jerry West. If Jerry West had been a center, his team would have won as many championships as Russell’s. These are clutch competitors.
---
Ouch.
Overall, his team went 16 and 19 against Boston, which seems pretty even, but people only remember the end series results of 1 for 8. Wilt pointed out that he took Boston to a game 7 four times, and lost those four game 7s by a total of 9 points. Had he won even 2 of those 4, his team probably would have been champions, giving him a record of 4 and 2 in the finals, which is pretty good. But, it was not to be.
Clearly he was a prolific scorer (uh, both on and off the court, but this is a family site so I won't say any more about that), but he is the only NBA center to have led the league in assists, in '67-'68. He also was a monster on the boards, grabbing 2052 rebounds in the '61-'62 season, hmm, I think even Steve would play this guy. But, one of the most impressive stats was that he never fouled out of a game due to personal fouls in his entire career, though he was ejected for his second tech at least once.
Here is a longer video about the 100 point game, of which there is no footage because it was played in a neutral site with no TV coverage. Including some words from our good friends Tom Meschery and Al Attles:
And, since we still have a few weeks until exhibition games start, if you have time to kill you can check out the 1984 film Conan the Destroyer, where he plays Bombaata.
Dwight Howard is coming to the Bay...to talk with the Warriors
Wow, just finished watching the Liberty - Mystics game, that was crazy entertaining.
In the Shannon Sharpe interview, Dwight said he sees himself contributing 20-25 minutes per game.
https://youtu.be/JgsuIPGFpBU?si=wr8GZY5wTbVNKZ1u&t=240
https://youtu.be/JgsuIPGFpBU?si=8fz3ndmIVpE-xl0p&t=472
Damian Lillard would rather 'lose every year' than play for hometown Warriors: https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/damian-lillard-would-rather-lose-every-year-than-play-for-hometown-warriors/
Dame, you’re already losing every year while not playing for the Warriors.
Did I miss Dubsnerd posting in happy __ jersey number days til season starts post?
Im frantically scrolling and cant find it!
Maybe it wasnt dubsnerd, maybe it wasnt even real and I just dreamt about this wonderful posting idea! 🤔
Dubs Talk: Dalton talking about Dwight and Destiny Guzman
EDIT here’s the link https://youtu.be/6MqIM_oQNss?si=gPe8i5F1etqUVjb-
Can't believe we're really about start the season with Chris Paul soon....... still doesn't feel real.
On a side note, what do you all think would be Wembanyama's pro comparison?
Personally, I see a lot of Kevin Garnett in Wemby. Both of them could be insane defensively both on the perimeter/rim protection with fantastic weakside protection while also simultaneously have excellent handles/jump shots for bigs of their size while having. an average first step.
The main difference would be that KG was a great passer and Wemby has yet to demonstrate that capability.
Short clip of CP3 and DG23 working out together https://youtube.com/shorts/8YGkoeNZSRQ?si=1raBcxw0oX6Wft_b
Steph helping out the state champs:
https://www.ktvu.com/news/steph-curry-surprises-oakland-basketball-players-shopping-for-sneakers
Evan Turner and JJ Redick Passionate Debate About "Embracing Your Role" (w/ Andre Iguodala) | JJ Redick: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaBYHjR1DAI
I don't hate it. JaMychal made contributions last year, so why not DH? His wingspan is 7'5". We can use someone to obstruct opponents and protect the rim. Even if he stays on the bench, practices with him in the mix could benefit younger players who haven't experienced much of that style of play, and they could compare with Sarich. It could be interesting: Podz, get that floater over DH! JK, can you dunk on him? 🤔
OT: Can This CRAZY Free Throw Work In The NBA?!? | BBallBreakdown: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42d39A1MAp8
Who else feels like JaVale would've been a better fit than DH, and wonders why MDJ didn't try harder to sign him?
I have no idea if we can do better than Howard in free agency at this point... I could see the case for him over JTA if he's in shape, since JTA's role overlaps more with young guys we know we'll want to find time for. And I'm sure we could do worse.
Ahoy, mateys! Happy International Talk Like A Pirate Day! Arrrrr
Happy Dwight Howard Day to those that celebrate! Speaking of athletic 7 footers (and with apologies to Bud Olsen), it is only Wilt Chamberlain (#13) days until training camp!
I'm sure pretty much everyone knows Wilt, and many know a lot more than I do, but there is a lot to find out about this interesting character.
First, he disliked "Wilt the Stilt", and preferred the nickname Dipper or The Big Dipper, which his friends gave him in high school because of how he had to dip down to walk through doorways. So of course, all the clips of him have him being introduced as Wilt the Stilt, cringe.
He still owns a significant chunk of the NBA record book, including a few records that are just never going to be touched let alone broken. Almost everyone will know about his 100 point game, but how about his average minutes of game, regular season, of 48.52, or total minutes played of 3882? Load management, anyone? Adam Silver would have loved this guy.
He's the only player to have his jersey retired by 3 different teams that he played for. Actually, four, since the Harlem Globetrotters also retired his jersey. How's that? Well, I didn't know this, but after his junior year of college at Kansas, he got frustrated with the games where they other teams basically had 4 guys guard him, and then freeze the ball when they got it, so the scores would be 61 - 44 or 42 - 48, and so Wilt decided to skip his senior year. In those days, the NBA would not let you play until your college class had graduated, so he took a "gap year" and played with the Globetrotters. Here's a few clips:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuSdzZr2z8Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDxj1TWssfE
Another note, reportedly when growing up Wilt thought he would play for the Globetrotters, who predate the NBA by a few decades, and was the premier pro team for black players. The NBA also had unwritten rules against teams hiring black players for its first few years. Fortunately for all of us, that color barrier was broken in 1950 by a few pioneers. There is a film that was recently made about the first black NBA players that I plan to check out (https://www.sweetwatermov.com/home).
As a freshman at Kansas, he was rumored to have a unique free-throw style, no, not the Rick Barry one, but he'd start a few feet behind the line and basically long jump to a dunk. He also competed in track and field, and was the three-time Big 8 high jump champ, but unfortunately never got to use that form in a college or NBA game because they changed the rules to make it illegal. I mean, how cool would that be to see Kuminga or Giannis or other athletic big men use that style for free-throws? C'mon NBA, bring back the jumping free throw!
That was one of several rules that got changed due to him, along with widening the lane, instituting offensive goaltending and revising rules governing inbounding the ball.
After the gap year, Wilt was drafted by the Philadelphia Warriors and played for the Dubs for 5 1/2 seasons. He helped the team get to the Eastern Finals twice, but lost to Bill Russell's Celtics both times. After his 3rd year, the owners moved the team to San Francisco, and many of the players and the head coach decided to quit or ask for a trade instead of move to the West Coast. They did manage to get to the finals the following year, but lost to Bill Russell's Celtics.
Unfortunately, despite having one of the top stars and a pretty good team, the Warriors struggled financially, so the owner traded Wilt for a few players and some cash back to Philly, where the once Syracuse Nationals had moved to become the 76ers. He ended up meeting Boston in the playoffs 5 more times, with the only series win being in 1967, when he went on to beat the Warriors in the finals for his first NBA championship. He was then traded to some team down south, but wasn't quite done being tormented by Russell, as the Celtics beat the Lakers in the 1969 finals. He did get one more championship beating the Knicks in 1972.
Wilt was not always the most supportive of teammates, and unfortunately because of his record, "only" winning 2 rings in 6 trips to the finals, he was labeled as a great individual player but not a winner. A few had some pretty harsh words about his game, here is Rick Barry from from Confessions of a basketball gypsy: the Rick Barry story
---
A lot of people have said that Wilt is a loser, but few of them have been players. Few players have the guts to say this about a guy who might be their teammate or who might take anger out on them on court. But I’ll say what most players feel, which is that Wilt zs a loser. He has a complex about this. He thinks the world is picking on him. He resents criticism, but he does not take advantage of his incredible natural ability. He is so inconsistent it is incredible. In some games he is simply awesome. He could be and should be awesome in most games, but he is not. He is terrible in big games. He knows he is going to lose and be blamed for the loss, so he dreads it, and you can see it in his eyes; and anyone who has ever played with him agrees with me, regardless of whether they admit it publicly. When it comes down to the closing minutes of a tough game, an important game, he doesn’t want the ball, he doesn’t want any part of the pressure. It is at these times that greatness is determined, and Wilt doesn’t have it. There is no way you can compare him as a pro to a Bill Russell or a Jerry West. If Jerry West had been a center, his team would have won as many championships as Russell’s. These are clutch competitors.
---
Ouch.
Overall, his team went 16 and 19 against Boston, which seems pretty even, but people only remember the end series results of 1 for 8. Wilt pointed out that he took Boston to a game 7 four times, and lost those four game 7s by a total of 9 points. Had he won even 2 of those 4, his team probably would have been champions, giving him a record of 4 and 2 in the finals, which is pretty good. But, it was not to be.
Clearly he was a prolific scorer (uh, both on and off the court, but this is a family site so I won't say any more about that), but he is the only NBA center to have led the league in assists, in '67-'68. He also was a monster on the boards, grabbing 2052 rebounds in the '61-'62 season, hmm, I think even Steve would play this guy. But, one of the most impressive stats was that he never fouled out of a game due to personal fouls in his entire career, though he was ejected for his second tech at least once.
A few highlights from his Kansas days:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZoWdJKRIus
Here is his profile on NBA.com:
https://www.nba.com/news/history-nba-legend-wilt-chamberlain
and a highlight video from the NBA:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xr3i9jpiTE
Here are some clips of the '64 finals
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vCb-i8XpaQ
Here is a longer video about the 100 point game, of which there is no footage because it was played in a neutral site with no TV coverage. Including some words from our good friends Tom Meschery and Al Attles:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mniPj8inPbM&t=1591s
And, here is a tour of his crib in LA from 1972:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGa2nmOqI6s
And, since we still have a few weeks until exhibition games start, if you have time to kill you can check out the 1984 film Conan the Destroyer, where he plays Bombaata.