LeBron James has famously reached the NBA Finals 10 times, ranking third in conference titles behind only Bill Russell and Sam Jones. This is a pretty amazing feat considering he has played in a 30-team era where three playoff rounds are required to …
LeBron James has famously reached the NBA Finals 10 times, ranking third in conference titles behind only Bill Russell and Sam Jones. This is a pretty amazing feat considering he has played in a 30-team era where three playoff rounds are required to make the championship series, compared to often just one in the 1960s when Russell and Jones played.
However, there’s a caveat: while Russell played in the toughest conference (or division, as it was called then) in each of his seasons in the league, LeBron has only done so in five of his 21 years as a pro – just 23.81 percent of the time.
Among the greatest players ever, this puts him near the bottom in terms of conference difficulty faced, per HoopsHype research.
In contrast, Dirk Nowitzki spent 19 of his 21 years in the league playing in the strongest conference, the most of any player. That he made all those playoff runs under those circumstances and without All-Star sidekicks says a lot about how underrated his career is.
Below, we’ve ranked the players in our HoopsHype78 based on how frequently they competed in the toughest of the two conferences (defined by the most regular season wins).
HoopsHype ranks the 40 greatest European basketball players in history, led by the likes of Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Pau Gasol and various other stars.
Outside of North America, Europe is by far the biggest basketball hotbed in the world – as proved by the large contingent of players from the Old Continent in the NBA in the last three decades.
Do you think we will ever see the two best European players on the same team?
Welcome to Layup Lines, For the Win’s basketball newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Have feedback for the Layup Lines Crew? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey. Now, here’s Bryan Kalbrosky.
It may sound like Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki is writing fan fiction about Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic as teammates.
But the reality is that Nowitzki’s dream of seeing Doncic and Jokic on the same team one day, while improbable, is not impossible. During a send-off for longtime NBA guard Goran Dragic in Slovenia last week, Nowitzki spoke about the possibility.
Here is what the 2011 NBA Finals MVP said about the 2023 NBA Finals MVP potentially playing alongside Doncic one day (via Eurohoops.net):
“They both have a great relationship with each other, they respect each other and like each other genuinely. They spend time with each other. I’m not sure, but of course, we want Luka in Dallas as long as we can. Hopefully, he finishes his career there, but I love Jokic’s game, how he plays the game with passion, and the skill level as a big is unbelievable. They’re both incredible players.”
During an interview with his teammate Michael Porter Jr. last season, Doncic was one of the first names that Jokic mentioned when asked who he felt were the best players in the league.
Last season, Jokic said that he would be open to teaming up with Doncic in the NBA. However, he added that he doesn’t want to leave Denver and that Doncic could join him on the Nuggets if he decides he is done with Dallas.
Cooper Flagg Sneakers
Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports
Cooper Flagg is attending Duke next season. Duke is a Nike school. But the projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft just signed a deal with New Balance.
“This wasn’t supposed to happen. We’re not supposed to be here. Cooper Flagg is not supposed to be signed to New Balance today.
Yet, here we are.
This morning, New Balance released a promotional video featuring Flagg. It showed him shooting hoops in a driveway until a paper boy throws a newspaper in the driveway with a headline announcing Flagg’s decision.
New Balance labeled Flagg’s choice as “The Intelligent Choice,” seemingly taking a shot at the competitors around them. This was the brand’s announcement that they’d signed the newly minted Duke basketball star to a shoe deal.”
All of these players did the Irish proud before making the jump.
Nobody on Notre Dame’s veteran-laden team from this past season will be selected in Thursday’s NBA draft. In fact, given the inexperience across the board on the upcoming season’s roster and under a new coach no less, it could be quite a while before we see another Notre Dame player drafted. On the bright side, that means no early departures except via the transfer portal. Then again, it sure would be nice to have NBA-ready talent in South Bend.
The only way to deal with a challenging present and short-term future is to look to the past. In this case, the way to go about that is to look at former players who heard their names called on draft night over the past several years. Of the 62 former Notre Dame players who have suited up in the NBA or ABA, 41 have entered professional basketball via the draft. Here are the most recent ones:
Dirk Nowitzki on Alperen Sengun: “I’m really impressed by his game, honestly. The versatility, the passing, the scoring… he’s having an incredible season.”
Alperen Sengun and the Houston Rockets narrowly lost the battle in Tuesday’s close loss at Dallas, but the third-year center clearly earned respect from an all-time Mavericks and NBA legend.
Dirk Nowitzki, now in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, has become something of a comparison for Sengun in recent weeks after the 21-year-old developed a fadeaway jump shot off one leg that reminds many of the Dallas legend’s iconic move.
At Tuesday’s game, in which Sengun finished with a team-high 31 points and 9 rebounds, Nowitzki spoke about his play with Vanessa Richardson of Houston’s Space City Home Network.
It looks pretty good [the one-legged fadeaway shot]. Obviously, it’s a work in progress.
But I’m really impressed by his game, honestly. The versatility, the passing, the scoring… he’s having an incredible season. I’m happy for him. I’ve never really met him, but he seems like a good dude, every time I hear something from him. So, I’m really happy for him, and hopefully he can keep it up.
You want to get better from year to year. You want to go home in the offseason, work hard, add some stuff to your game… especially when you’re young, and come back a more complete player. That’s what he’s been doing with the year-to-year improvement, so I’m looking forward to him having an impact season.
Nowitzki, who won the 2010-11 championship with Dallas, is known as one of the best European big men in NBA history. To say the least, it’s a career arc that Sengun would love to emulate.
Richardson’s full interview with Nowitzki — who also had kind words for Houston’s growth as a team — can be viewed below.
“They made some key improvement with veteran players,” Nowitzki said of the 2023-24 Rockets to date. “That always helps. Of course, they need to improve on the road [0-7 record] a little bit, but they’re super tough at home [8-1]. So, after a couple disappointing years, they’re having a great season. Hopefully, they can keep it up.”
[lawrence-related id=118417,118350]
Truly appreciate the legend Dirk Nowitzki taking the time to chat with me briefly during pregame about Alperen Sengun’s development!
Sengun, who is arguably having the best season of anyone in his draft class, enjoyed a big game against Houston’s in-state rival Dallas Mavericks during the final seeding game of the NBA’s In-Season Tournament.
On the broadcast for the Mavericks was Basketball Hall of Fame power forward Dirk Nowitzki. So when Sengun hit a fadeaway jumper that looked awfully like what we would see from Nowitzki during his NBA career, fans got to hear an instant reaction from the longtime Dallas superstar.
"That's beautiful right there."
Dirk was feeling this Alperen Sengun fadeaway jumper 🎙️🙌
Nowitzki called the shot “beautiful” and seemed legitimately impressed by Sengun’s shot.
But this wasn’t the first time we saw Sengun try the one-legged fadeaway during a game. He also recently used the move during a match against the Nuggets.
Sengun spoke about why he feels confident enough to take these attempts (via Chron.com):
“I worked all summer on that shot,” Şengün said. “I’m attacking good. When I’m dribbling I can be dangerous with that. And now players are scouting you and they give you that space now I can use that shot.”
“When I’m really dangerous in that shot it’s going to be difficult to guard me.”
If he keeps pulling this out with any level of success, the Turkish-born big man may earn the nickname “Turk Nowitzki” that is floating around Twitter.
Explaining how he used the snub as motivation, Pierce said, “Coming out of college, I was a first-team All-American, a projected No. 2 pick,” continuing on by naming every franchise that doubted him. “Thank you for passing on me and adding fuel to my fire,” he explained. “I appreciate that.”
But who were those teams, and who did they go with instead? Let’s look back at the top nine picks of that draft, and whether there were any teams that didn’t end up regretting their selection.
WATCH: Where should we rank Celtics legend Paul Pierce among the NBA’s 50 greatest players? https://t.co/TVurEjxvKU
Former Boston Celtics head coach Rick Pitino was targeting Dirk Nowitzki before taking Paul Pierce in the 1998 draft, according to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated.
Franchise icon Hall of Famer Paul Pierce was with the Boston Celtics for 15 years, picking up All-Star appearances in 10 of those seasons. He averaged fewer than 18 points per game once during his tenure in Boston: his rookie season. The Truth was, for all intents and purposes, a stud. He almost did not come to Boston as Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix wrote in his story on the Celtics’ legend.
Before Pierce was drafted No. 10 overall in 1998, then-head coach Rick Pitino had been targeting Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki with the pick, he told Mannix. He went as far as telling Nowitzki to skip the draft combine and called up Red Auerbach, longtime Celtics head coach, to help seal the deal.
“I went home,” said Pitino, “thinking we had our guy.”
Kevin Garnett's grandmother once got out a shotgun when a recruiter tried to bribe him https://t.co/v3XM1oyfol
When he’s healthy, Los Angeles Lakers superstar big man Anthony Davis is one of the NBA’s very best players. But he is also one of its unique players.
At 6-foot-10, he has the type of guard skills rarely seen in a player his size. But he can also bang down low like a traditional big man. And, of course, he is a beast defensively and on the boards, which Lakers opponents saw firsthand in the 2023 playoffs.
Former Lakers forward A.C. Green was asked by Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson while on “Scoop B Selects” who in his era reminded him of Davis. Green responded by comparing Davis to Dirk Nowitzki and Karl Malone.
“A.D. has a little bit of Dirk Nowitzki in him,” said Green. “He has a little bit of Karl Malone from a power standpoint at times in the paint. He plays big and dominant, but he was one of those big guys that almost was the big trend. Kevin Garnett, who can be powerful but also has that perimeter, he’s got his own little teeth in his own little niche, so you gotta like that.”
Garnett is another former big man who is at least somewhat comparable to Davis because of his all-around game, athleticism and defensive dominance. However, Davis may be a better scorer than Garnett was. Garnett never averaged 25 points a game in a season, something Davis has done five times in 11 years.
