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A core memory of my childhood as it relates to basketball is watching and rooting for the Chicago Bulls with my dad in the back half of their 1990s run of titles.
Michael Jordan was the key driving force in that fandom, which effectively ended with his retirement and the dismantling of the team in 1998. But before his exit, I had learned to appreciate every player who had a role in winning those championships. I knew the names of everyone on the roster and kept up with their careers after they left the Bulls.
So, imagine my surprise when I saw the story on ESPN today about how Luc Longley couldn’t appreciate those days the same way.
If you’re too young to remember Longley, he’s the most decorated NBA player from Australia and was the starting center for the Bulls’ final three championships — though you might have missed him in ESPN’s The Last Dance documentary because he wasn’t featured much.
His career went downhill after ‘98, starting with a trade to the Phoenix Suns up until his last season with the New York Knicks in 2000. As he explained in the profile by Olgun Uluc, those later years soured the good feelings he had from Chicago so much that he kept his rings in a safe out of sight.
“Candidly, the ending of my career was a scripted nightmare,” Longley said. “I had a miserable end of my NBA career. I had an ankle that was degenerating, and I had a couple of bad years in Phoenix. As it was exploding, I was in New York not able to really train. Coming out of Chicago, where it had been such a basketball utopia sort of a situation where we’re winning… to have my body break down at the same time, and not be able to play well. … I hated it; I was really sad about it.”
Longley was embarrassed by the end of his career, and man, that sucks. He played 10 years at the highest level and won three titles on the most popular team of all time. That’s something to be proud of, which brings us back to The Last Dance.
Longley’s omission from the documentary apparently created an uproar from people wondering why he wasn’t in it, and that noise was enough to remind Longley how much people cared, particularly in his home country. It brought him back out of the shadows.
The following year, ABC produced a story on Longley’s rise to the NBA, and now, NBA.com has a documentary out today focusing on Longley and the Bulls’ second three-peat through his eyes. I haven’t watched it yet, but I can’t wait to dive into more content around a team that meant a lot to me.
It sounds like I’m not the only one.
🇦🇺 A trailblazer of Australian basketball, Luc Longley reached the summit of the NBA with the @chicagobulls.
The NBA celebrates Luc’s lasting impact on the sport with a new 4-episode documentary, which premieres on Wednesday, August 2 on https://t.co/B0749IWAnz & the NBA App. pic.twitter.com/iIx9YRK5lV
— NBA Australia (@NBA_AU) August 1, 2023
“I had one young man tell me stories about how he watched it with his dad, and that’s how he remembers his dad. That’s how they connected,” Longley said. “Then, you have someone else with their baby named ‘Pippen’. It’s just really quite wild how connected people still are to that era of basketball. I underestimated it.”
The Tip-Off
Some NBA goodness from around the USA TODAY Sports network.
Because the NBA can’t go a day without being unnecessarily dramatic, the latest in the association is a feud that maybe never actually existed between all-star Bradley Beal and potentially the best young prospect in basketball, 16-year-old Cooper Flagg.
FTW’s Bryan Kalbrosky has all the details here, which come from a story shared by Brian Scalabrine that has been denied by Beal, which … this is all just ridiculous. But here’s what you need to know:
Flagg, who was named the 2022 USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year, has previously trained with former NBA big man Brian Scalabrine. The big man has called Flagg a “generational” talent.
The prospect recently attended the inaugural Jayson Tatum’s Elite Camp in St. Louis. According to Scalabrine, the high schooler was matched up against three-time All-Star guard Bradley Beal.
From there, according to Scalabrine, Flagg was able to get under Beal’s skin with his play. Beal calls cap, and I’m inclined to believe him, but only the people who were in the gym that day truly know.
Shootaround
— The Orlando Magic donated $50,000 to Ron DeSantis’ campaign
— Mike Breen was saddened, surprised by ESPN cutting Mark Jackson and JVG
— An NBA fan hilariously failed to recognize Mac McClung despite wearing his jersey