I’ve worked in basketball for 16 years now and can honestly say this season has been 10 seasons wrapped up in one. For years, I believed one week in the NBA in normal circumstances is about the same as one month in regular life. S o much happens and …
I’ve worked in basketball for 16 years now and can honestly say this season has been 10 seasons wrapped up in one. For years, I believed one week in the NBA in normal circumstances is about the same as one month in regular life. So much happens and changes so fast. This year that has been in overdrive.
For me, the season began on opening night walking into a client’s house to ride to a game with him. Instead, I ended up going to a hospital for a birth. At the time, it was a reminder that life is so much bigger than just what you do. It has also been the underlying theme to this entire year.
In so many ways, it feels like the current situation came up out of nowhere, but looking back it seems clear the impending danger was coming.
I ignored it.
We ignored it.
I remember hearing the story of the Chinese League shutting down in January and thinking, ‘Well, that’s China’. In reality, I have flown to China and back in the span of three days for a two-hour meeting before, so if anyone should have been aware of how small the world is it should have been me.
But I like everyone ignored it.
Two days before all of this happened, Bruce Arthur from the Toronto Star asked me if I had made plans for the season being impacted and I indignantly said to him that I didn’t even think the NBA would have to play in empty arenas, let alone postpone games.
Within 24 hours of saying that, the Utah-OKC game had to be stopped. It seems almost surreal to be that wrong.
I have always been a firm believer in the theme of opportunity in every situation. My life and career is a living breathing reflection of that. As I have looked at this situation, I have been trying to figure out what that is and what the path forward looks like – once the world around us hopefully begins to repair itself, which obviously is the only thing that matters.
In a lot of ways and on a much smaller scale in the context of sports, I equate the scope of emotions with all of this with the range of emotions that occurs when a client gets hurt.
First, there is the shock. Injuries come up out of nowhere so unexpectedly and you never consider them until you are sitting in a room with a doctor getting an answer that you don’t want to hear.
Second, there is the initial wave of energy that comes from support. An athlete’s brain is built to thrive on challenges, so once a path of overcoming an injury is laid out, elite’s athletes make that rehab their new form of competition and they embrace it.
Third,it’s when the monotony sets in and the reality of how long the path ahead is and how much the entire ordeal sucks. This is also the phase where self-doubt sets in, where in private moments the thoughts of ‘what if’ creeps in for every reasonable-minded human being.
The fourth stage is the final stage and it is the rebirth; the rebirth looks different for each person. Sometimes it is everything you want it to be, sometimes it is more, sometimes the completion of the rehab is the finish line itself. You never know until you know.
I remember watching my client Jimmy Butler go through his rehab when he hurt his knee in Minnesota and when he got to the finish line. It was time to test himself for the first time with other moving bodies so I went to Minnesota and watched him play 3-on-3 with twobench players, an intern and coaches. It was the first time I had seen Jimmy play since he got hurt in Houston, so obviously there was some nervous energy and excitement to see where he was at.
In the 30 minutes they played, and we watched him, he stunk. Justin Patton and Amile Jefferson looked like All-Stars. My old client John Lucas III, who was a coach in Minnesota, started considering a comeback and Kodjoe, an intern in Minnesota who played college basketball probably thought in the car ride home, “I knew my college coach was a hater.”
But when Jimmy walked off the court and I asked him how he felt, he said great… Somehow, he knew. A few days later he played his first game back in L.A. Minnesota had to win their last three games to make the playoffs. I walked into that arena with no clue about what was about to happen and very nervous beyond, but also super mindful of how far the path to even get to that point was. I stood in the tunnel feeling like I was going to puke but very early in that game it was clear that Jimmy was the best player on the floor and it wasn’t even close. A few days later, he scored 31 points in a must-win game against Denver to get Minnesota into the playoffs for the first time in 14 years. The entire ordeal taught me the lesson and value of perseverance and appreciation of the process itself, what made the other side of that experience so enjoyable was everything it took to get there and it’s a lesson I’ll never forget and it’s a lesson that I apply to now.
The path forward for the NBA is highly unknown, but the values and the lessons of this experience remain. In my opinion, thisleaguehas the most recognizable players in the world and I have always felt that the connection comes from a common bond – people can relate to the stories of the players, the players themselves are so accessible and social media fuels that feeling of connectivity.
NBA players have a way of participating in the narrative and stories by being self-deprecating and, just in general, getting it. Right now there is no more equalizer of humanity then what we are going through. We can go onto Steph Curry’s IG live and hear him tell stories about having to learn how to home school his kids and how hard it is. (Side note: When this all blows over, I am going to represent any and all teachers for free and there won’t be one of them that doesn’t get a max deal). We can tune into Jimmy’s IG Live and see him looking like The Weeknd because he can’t get a haircut.
These are all themes and struggles we can relate to right now. No matter who you are, what you have or what you do, at the core of it all you are a person flying around on a rock with a bunch of other people.
What we are missing right now is leadership. For the most part, we don’t know who to look, to listen to and to help us navigate this all. As easy as it is to exchange information right now, we have never been more disconnected. Ever! But again, with every void comes opportunity and into that void will come the adaptability of the NBA and its players. The leadership that composes the NBA is second to none, especially when challenged and no professional sports league has been as challenged in recent memory as the NBA has been this year. Coming out of this, the NBA is going to play 3-on-3 with some low-min guys and some interns and it is going to show up at its first game back in two months and within four minutes it is going to scream to its own bench as it runs back down the court after completing a back door alley-oop “I’m f****** back.”
Until that time, though, I can’t stop thinking about every arena worker, bus driver, bell person, restaurant server, security guard and store clerk that I interact with on a daily basis in my travels around the league and I can’t even imagine the impact this is having on them and their families. I can’t wait to see them again soon as we all rebuild together. Until then if we could all, in the words of the great Samuel L. Jackson, just stay the f*** home so we can hurry this up. By the way, if anyone has a Dr. Fauci throwback jersey from high school, let me know.
Mackenzie Salmon caught up with BJ Armstrong to discuss the upcoming 10-part series which highlights the Bulls’ run to the 1998 NBA title.
Mackenzie Salmon caught up with BJ Armstrong, a former teammate of Michael Jordan, to discuss the upcoming 10-part series which highlights the Bulls 1997-98 run to an NBA championship.
2020 NBA Draft prospect Cassius Stanley has already accomplished quite a bit but continues to set tremendously lofty goals for himself.
2020 NBA draft prospect Cassius Stanley has already accomplished quite a bit, but he continues to set tremendously lofty goals for himself.
Stanley, 20, won back-to-back state championships when he played high school basketball for Sierra Canyon. As a senior, when his program won the trophy in the California Open Division, Stanley averaged 17.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game and earned USA TODAY All-USA 3rd Team honors.
This season, he earned ACC All-Freshman honors averaging 12.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.1 three-pointers per game during his sole collegiate season at Duke.
He recently caught up with HoopsHype about his pre-draft process and how he is preparing for his transition to the NBA.
Thanks so much for your time today. How have you been keeping busy?
Cassius Stanley: Pretty good. I just worked out, now it’s back to quarantine. I’ve been taking online classes. I have had a good amount of classwork and homework to do, essays and things like that. It’s honestly what I would have been doing if there wasn’t a quarantine.
What are some things you have done to reconcile with the fact that the NCAA season was cut short right before Duke could have made a run?
CS: That was definitely pretty tough. We definitely thought we were going to be playing in Atlanta for the Final Four. We definitely thought we were going to be there. But we all keep up on the group texting. When the whole thing was going down, we were all talking to each other and keeping each other happy and upbeat and letting each know how good we were. It was very disappointing.
Duke is obviously known for its brotherhood. How was your relationship with the players on the team?
(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
CS: My relationship with the guys on the squad is really tight. You hear about the brotherhood on the outside, then you get into it, and you still don’t really know the extent of it until you get into a real battle mode with the guys in practice or big-time games. Early in the season, we were tested in different tournaments and non-conference games. But then in conference games on the road, that is when the brotherhood gets tighter and stronger, especially when things happen like the coronavirus – we all were sitting in the hotel together in Greensboro for the ACC Tournament. That was the closest we have all been. We were just sitting there and talking it all out with all of the coaches. We all came to the conclusion that the smartest thing was to not play. Then, it got ruled that everything would be shut down a couple hours later. I think that was when the brotherhood was most serious.
What were some of those conversations like with your teammates during the whole process?
CS: The conversations were great. Coach [Mike Krzyzewski] was a great leader. He told us what he knew and what he thought. He let us talk it out and make a decision before there was a decision made by a higher power. We just talked about how we love the game and we want to play the game but at the same time, we want to be smart and we want to think about ourselves and we want to think about our families and we want to think about other people involved. We can’t just think about going out there and playing. We have to think about being in such close contact with other players, refs. Then we would have interacted with our families, coaches, everyone. We can’t think about just ourselves. We had to think about the bigger picture and the people who it would impact.
I am so, so sorry that you were not able to play March Madness. What were some of the things you felt you improved most on during your time at Duke?
CS: I would probably say just being more versatile. I felt like I was improving just being able to impact the game in any way from any position, one through three. I felt my shooting was improving day-to-day. I think just being a competitor, too, and becoming the best player that I could be, which was improving every day. I think that we would have been really special if we had the chance to play in the postseason. Because I felt like while I was improving a lot, we were all improving a lot.
Have any former Duke players given you advice on taking this next step?
CS: Yeah, the brotherhood is really real. In the summer, even before going there, I ran with so many NBA players. I worked out a lot with Justise Winslow. I also worked out with Austin Rivers and Seth Curry and Rodney Hood. They were all great and telling me to go into it with the mindset of learning everything you possibly can from Coach because he knows exactly what he is talking about. That is exactly what I did. I came in as a sponge, just trying to soak everything I could.
I think you were incredibly underrated all season. Can you think of any reason for this?
Back in August 2019, we wrote: "Why aren't 2020 NBA mock drafts including Duke guard Cassius Stanley?"
CS: I didn’t really think about it that much. People can say it’s my age or that I’m playing on teams that have other good players or whatever, so I’m not going for 30 or 40 points every game. I’ve heard it all. I just know that I win and my record speaks for itself. I’m not really worried about what people were saying or why they were devaluing me. I just know that every time I step on the court, I get the job done since high school, Peach Jam and Nike Skills Challenge. I’m a winner. That’s all I know.
One thing people that people do not realize is you have the ability to play the one. Can you share your history as a combo guard?
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CS: I am a combo guard. I am a one and a two. I’ve worked on my ballhandling skills every single day. Coach tested me with the ball in pick-and-roll situations or just creating in isolation situations. So I’m very comfortable with the ball at the one and the two.
I also loved watching you push it as the ballhandler in transition like Russell Westbrook or Lonzo Ball. You ranked in the 99th percentile for points per possession on these looks. How will that help you in the NBA?
CS: I learned that young. Being a rebounding guard, you can set the tempo and you don’t have to wait on an outlet pass or anything like that. You start the break. You can create for yourself or others off of that. I’ve always been a big guy on making sure I’m a rebounding guard on offense and defense.
You were a perfect 10-for-10 on transition leak outs, in a style similar to a team like the New Orleans Pelicans. You had no turnovers. Plus, you drew a couple fouls. How did you develop your skills there?
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CS: It actually started, I think, in the summer during film sessions, just talking to Coach. He really emphasized running the break and running and running and making sure you get a good run out. Because he was telling me he saw in the summer that I was kind of jogging and waiting for the ball. He was just big on getting out there, getting a good sprint, because he felt like he knew I was very fast. He was like: If you beat everyone down the court and you get the ball with your good stride and a good dribble and everything like that, you are going to either get fouled or you are going to convert on the play. After that, I kind of just… if I had the ball, I’m sprinting out with it. If I don’t have the ball, I’m sprinting down the court waiting for the ball and just beating people down the floor.
You played for one of the best coaches of all-time in Coach K. What were some of the lessons he taught you that you are most grateful for now?
Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
CS: I would probably say accountability. He runs the program like a pro team. He supports his players a lot. He taught us so many things. He taught us off-the-court stuff. He would teach it himself or he would have other people just stressing it. We had a nutrition staff, we had a strength-and-conditioning staff. Everything was high level. He taught me and he taught all of us how to be real men and be professionals.
How did your body change during your year with the Duke staff?
CS: I think I gained seven or eight pounds, which was exactly where they wanted me to be. Maybe a pound heavier. But they really told me that this is what I had to do. And the results came immediately. I was in the weight room every time they wanted me to be. I would take all the supplements that they wanted me to take. It helped me a lot to get my body right.
Even at your orientation, you immediately broke the record set by Zion Williamson for the best vertical in program history. Has that changed at all?
CS: My mom ran track and field in college. She was an alternate on the Team USA Olympic team. That’s where I get my leaping ability from, it’s definitely her. As a young kid, she would tell me different things on how to jump high and after that it just became natural. It is probably higher than 46 inches now. I think that was maybe just where I topped out that day. I really think I can jump higher. I could probably max out at an inch and a half more.
You put down some highlight-reel dunks as a freshman. I’d love to hear about your dunking style and how you use your vertical to help you as a basketball player.
CS: I use my vertical ability for rebounding, blocking shots and obviously for dunking. In the summer, I learned a lot of things. [Coach] would always say to stop playing around near the rim – just dunk it. Every time you get near the rim, just dunk it. He wasn’t just directing that towards me. He was directing that at everyone. So I picked up on that. So every chance I got, I put it down.
How do you think your jump shot has improved since high school and where is your confidence in it right now?
CS: After my junior year of high school, I really started to lock in and things started to click. I feel like ever since then, I have been really confident in my jumper and even throughout this past year, I felt like I was really confident in my jumper I put in a lot of work. Late nights, early mornings with managers and coaches and they definitely helped me tweak a couple things with my performance. But they let me shoot the ball how I wanted to shoot it. I think that’s one of the biggest things. They weren’t trying to change my jumper. They were trying to tell me they were confident it and just keep shooting it.
You shot almost 50 percent on your three-pointers taken from the corner. Why is this such an important part of your game?
Cassius Stanley on 3-pointers from the corner (via Synergy Sports)
CS: I actually didn’t know that. But I know just from talking to some of our video coordinator guys that are big on the numbers that if I can knock down that shot consistently, that’s a big deal because it really spaces the floor. I’d always try to go deeper in the corner during practices and shoot it because I know that the deeper I can shoot it, the more space I can get – especially at the next level.
You also shot 43.8 percent on three-pointers off the catch. How do you see yourself as a catch-and-shoot player moving forward?
CS: I’m very confident in my catch-and-shoot ability. I feel like I am pretty much knockdown if I can get my feet set. It’s going to go in most of the time. I feel that way off the bounce, too. I might not have hit the same amount off the bounce, but I feel very confident in that too.
What are some of the things you can do to improve your three-point shooting above the arc?
Cassius Stanley on catch-and-shoot 3-pointers (via Synergy Sports)
CS: I think I just need to get more reps out of that. I didn’t really rep that out that often during the year because I wanted to simulate more game shots like things I would get from the wings and the corners and the slot.
What are some of your goals for your basketball career?
CS: I just want to have the best career that I possibly can. I want to be an All-Star. I want to win championships. I really just want to be the best player. Simple. I definitely want to win a championship and be MVP and be an All-Star. I want to be the best player in the league.
What about eventually participating in an NBA slam dunk contest?
Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports
CS: [Laughs] We’ll see. I don’t want to say I will, but I definitely will highly consider it. I’ve thought about it every year since, like, sixth grade.
How old were you when you first dunked a basketball on a 10-foot rim?
CS: I was either 11 or 12 years old. I had a lot of friends who were like two or three years older than I was, so they were dunking before I was. But in my grade and in my age group, I was first. It was crazy. I was always close. Everyone knew that one of these days, I was going to get it. It was like before school started in the summer, some orientation day and I was in a Polo and Vans.
Who are some players who you’ve watched that you feel like you can emulate?
CS: I’d say Russell Westbrook and Zach LaVine. I actually grew up a USC fan, though. But I started gravitating toward UCLA a little bit when Lonzo Ball came around.
BACKGROUND
What are some of your fondest memories of playing basketball at a big high school like Sierra Canyon?
CS: I’d say probably winning two state championships back-to-back. That’d be it. That’d be it, for sure. That’s a great school. It’s a great environment with great people there from top to bottom. It’s a family. It’s a warm environment. I think they’re going to be very successful every year because people want to go there. Not even just for basketball. Just when you get on campus, you feel at home. I think they’re going to be very successful every year. They are just going to keep getting elite players.
What is it like seeing Drake rep your school and rocking Sierra Canyon gear?
CS: Oh, yeah. It’s pretty crazy. We definitely had our fair share of people there too, though, so I’m not surprised to see it get to that level. We had Kanye at a game. We’ve had many other people. It’s always great to have celebrities rep your school. It’s pretty interesting how I went from Sierra Canyon in a spotlight to Duke in the spotlight. It’s really interesting to see how not much has changed from both environments.
What are the biggest similarities and differences between Sierra Canyon and Duke? That is a path that Marvin Bagley III took as well.
CS: I think both schools are very well-run. Both schools want the best and want to be the best and know how to teach players and kids how to be the best at whatever they are trying to do.
What was it like playing in front of someone like Kanye West and the Kardashians while in high school?
CS: It was pretty fun. It definitely gets you prepared for the next level of college and especially the NBA. The NBA, you are going to see all kinds of people at your games. So it’s very interesting to have had that in high school and it’s very unique.
What are you currently studying in school for your online courses?
CS: Right now, I’m taking the History of Hip-Hop as well as computer science and a classical musical class and ancient sports in Greece.
Do you think that you’ll eventually try to earn a degree from Duke?
CS: Oh, yeah. Definitely. Not in the beginning years of my career because I really want to sit down and focus on basketball and being the best player that I can be. But towards the back end of my career, I definitely want to get back to Duke and finish out. That is one of the biggest things my dad preaches, getting a degree. I would like a degree either in economics or in law because I want to be in those two fields. My main goal is to end up being the commissioner of the NBA.
Oh, wow. That is amazing. Please do tell me everything about that goal.
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CS: It has been a thing of mine since probably a couple years ago. Maybe even junior high school. That’s about the only dream job probably for me if anyone had to ask. I feel like the sport of basketball is the field I want to take on. So right now, I’m obviously working on the playing field in that sport. But I feel like you are only going to play the game for 10 or 12 years max, if you are lucky. After that, you have a whole life story. I feel like I want to stay in the field of basketball and I feel like I don’t really want to be a broadcaster or a coach, so I feel like being the commissioner would be the best thing. I’m really interested in it. I’ll see what I can while I’m playing, what internships and things I can do to get involved.
What are some things you would want to do as the commissioner of the NBA?
CS: I just want to be in a position to help the younger generation and help the guys who are going to be coming after me and then after them and make the league better for them.
Could you see yourself being involved with the NBPA and the union?
CS: Oh, yeah. Definitely. I think I could definitely be a team rep. And just attend meetings and meet the right people and be involved.
What were some of the biggest things you learned from your father, who is an NBA agent?
CS: I’d probably say keeping a routine. Stability in life is one of the most important things I’ve taken from my dad. Trying to keep things stable. A lot changes. It’s hard to deal with, especially if you are doing the change. So a routine, doing everything the same way and mastering it, is important. He has helped a lot. I definitely have a good head on my shoulders when it comes to making decisions when it comes to athletics. But also academics with my dad being a lawyer. I think I got a good mix of both.
What are some of the biggest things that you learned from your mom?
(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
CS: I’d say being competitive. Being aggressive. Be the best. Try to win everything. I was going to gravitate toward sports in some way. My mom is an athlete and my dad represents athletes.
What do you like to do when you are not playing basketball?
CS: Obviously, I’m big into school. Education and knowledge is key. I take school really seriously. After that, I’m really big into listening to music. I like to explore music and many different genres. I’m a big article reader. I like to read a lot of different articles.
You mentioned a wide range of music. What are some of your favorites?
CS: I definitely listen to Drake. I listen to Kanye West for sure. I listen to Travis Scott. I’ll listen to jazz. I have a wide range of jazz. I like to listen to Herbie Hancock and Miles Davis. My dad got me into jazz. That is pretty much all he listens to. That and Motown and soul. I’m not as into that. But I picked up on the jazz.
What are some things that you like about listening to jazz music?
CS: You aren’t going to have many lyrics in your jazz. But you can still pick out tone and what the artist is trying to convey in whatever instrument they are playing.
I love that. Do you like to play any kind of video games at all?
CS: Ah. Not really. But lately, I have been just because the options of doing things during the quarantine have been very low. But I’ve always been a guy who tries to stay away from video games because I feel like it just hurts my head. It just kills my brain cells. I’ll maybe play an hour or two because I can not play it all day. It hurts my head. I’ll do movies or TV shows instead.
Any movies or TV shows that you’ve seen that you’ve liked recently?
CS: I am watching “The Sopranos” right now. I watched “Entourage.” I’ll pretty much go on HBO and Showtime. I’m getting around to watching Netflix, too. I’m trying out all kinds of shows. Like, I just finished “All-American.” I felt like season one was better than season two. It deviated away from the sport.
Even if not the top scorer in NBA history, Michael Jordan is probably the best scorer we’ve seen on a basketball court. It was not very often that an opponent (or a teammate) put more points on the board than him. Actually, only one player outscored …
Even if not the top scorer in NBA history, Michael Jordan is probably the best scorer we’ve seen on a basketball court. It was not very often that an opponent (or a teammate) put more points on the board than him.
Actually, only one player outscored MJ in their matchups during his Chicago years. And then he did it again when His Airness was a member of the Wizards…
NBA agents discuss how they’re handling the NBA stoppage, what they’re telling their players, what they’re hearing from the league and more.
On March 11, the NBA suspended the 2019-20 season due to the COVID-19 outbreak immediately after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the virus.
HoopsHype checked in with four NBA agents to find out how they’re handling the NBA stoppage, what they’re hearing from the league office and the Players’ Association, what they’re telling their players and more. The agents spoke on the condition of anonymity since they were sharing sensitive information.
THIS IS BIGGER THAN BASKETBALL
Each NBA agent stressed that while their life typically revolves around basketball, there are much more important things to worry about while navigating this situation.
AGENT 1: “You have people who are dying. There are some players whose family members are really sick. It’s awful. This is so much bigger than basketball. Dave Edwards, who was an underrated point guard and a great guy, passed away at 48 years old. You see stories of people who are in their 30s or 40s and they were really healthy, but now they’re dead or on a ventilator. People are fighting for their lives. That’s all I can think about when I’m asked about whether I’m upset that the season is suspended or anything basketball-related. I love basketball. I love what I do. But seeing people pass away, this is so much bigger than basketball. Do you think Karl-Anthony Towns cares about the basketball implications right now? No. When the draft process starts or free agency starts, I’ll be prepared. But right now? I’m not going to worry much about that. I just want my guys and their families to stay healthy.”
AGENT 2: “First and foremost, we’re trying to make sure that everyone stays safe. I think everybody is concerned. My mother is in her 70s, so I’m nervous like everyone else. When you start seeing players and people you were somewhat connected to testing positive, so much is unknown with this so you immediately start to think, ‘Who else is infected? Am I infected?’ There’s no question that I travel a lot, so it was scary; no doubt. For players, they are young and tend to think they’re invincible. But I think the unknown makes this scarier, even for them.”
AGENT 1: “One of my relatives is a doctor and he contracted the coronavirus. He’s in his 50s and he’s doing okay right now, but it’s very, very serious. Very serious. I’m not judging anybody when I say this, but anybody who is worried about the Collective Bargaining Agreement or free agency or anything like that right now, their priorities are messed up. We just need to stay patient and stay safe for now. There’s nothing else we can do.”
AGENT 3: “At this point, there’s no work to be done. It’s very disingenuous for an agent to reach out to a business or an outlet and try to create an opportunity in the middle of a pandemic when many people aren’t even able to go to work. What, are you going to call ESPN and try to get your guy on TV when there’s nothing NBA-related to talk about? And if you’re a player, you have to be careful about putting yourself out there at this time because you don’t want to be discussing this when you have no idea what you’re talking about. As for business, there’s no marketing budget floating around. Who’s going to market anything at this particular time? People are just trying to stay safe. Sometimes you just have to understand that there’s nothing to be done. That may seem scary for agencies, but it’s the truth.”
AGENT 4: “There are people’s lives on the line right now, so there are things greater than basketball to focus on. We just all have to be informed and be smart moving forward.”
AGENT 3: “Some people have said that this allows players to focus on other businesses and off-court endeavors, but I don’t know what they can do right now. It’s not like you can have meetings or business calls at this time. Who the hell are you talking to? If you want to be the guy who sees a pandemic as an opportunity, well, be careful with that. People are dying and you’re trying to find business opportunities? I think guys should just focus on staying healthy and being with their loved ones. There’s no business to be done right now; most companies are stuck in a holding pattern. I think the best thing that you can do is reach out to people you want to work with and say, ‘When this is all over, I hope we can reconvene and work together.’ But until then, just stay safe.”
Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images
WHAT AGENTS ARE TELLING THEIR PLAYERS
Many players have had questions about how this situation could play out. Even though everything is up in the air and nobody is sure what the future holds, agents are doing their best to go over possible outcomes with their players and address any of their concerns.
AGENT 4: “We got in touch with all of our players. We didn’t want anyone to panic, but we definitely wanted to take precautions and just make sure everyone is informed. We’ve had a lot of conversations with our players since this is getting crazy. I’m not sure what’s going to happen, but I think we’re all pretty hopeful that the season will come back. We’re just making sure that everybody is taking the necessary precautions, staying safe and staying in shape.”
AGENT 1: “We’re telling our players to follow the rules. Listen to your body and pay attention to what’s going on around you. A number of my guys were tested – all were negative – and all of my guys self-quarantined for at least 14 days. More than anything, we want to make sure that they’re following their team’s rules and paying attention to their body. The main questions that I’ve gotten from my players is about getting back to playing. They want to get back on the court. But, again, this situation that we’re faced with is way more important than basketball.”
AGENT 2: “Players have asked me about working out. I have one player who is back at home and his parents’ house has a gym in the garage – not a basketball court, an actual gym – so he’s been able to work out there. For some players, teams are sending them workout equipment to make sure that they have what they need to stay in shape. But, man, it’s a tough thing. Some players are in areas that are in full lockdown, but other players are in areas that aren’t in full lockdown – although the NBA is encouraging social distancing and that seems like the norm at this point. But it’s tough. The questions that are coming from players aren’t the typical questions because we aren’t in a typical environment.”
AGENT 1: “I’ve told my players that they should try to get some cardio in. Don’t just sit around and get fat. You don’t know when the season will pick back up, so you have to keep yourself in some kind of shape. A lot of guys are just doing a lot of cardio at their home. Some NBA teams have given players an exercise bike or treadmill for them to use at home, so some teams are ahead of the curve and trying to help their guys stay in shape.”
AGENT 3: “I think players are struggling. When have NBA players not been able to get in a gym? Maybe never, right? That’s very tricky.”
Many players have asked their agent whether they’ll continue to be paid in full. On a recent hour-long call with NBA agents, Michelle Roberts and other NBPA executives warned that players may have a portion of their salary withheld. For players who received most of their salary up-front, they could actually be forced to give back a requested amount.
One agent explained that the NBA holds 10 percent of players’ paychecks annually in an escrow account to see if the league’s revenue meets its projections for the year. The NBA holds 20 percent of each paycheck during the first six months of the year and then 0 percent for the final six months (to get to 10 percent for the year). This agent speculated that the NBA could continue holding 20 percent of players’ paychecks in an escrow account for the final six months of the year too.
AGENT 2: “Is it possible that the league and NBPA come together and decide to continue the 20-percent escrow payments in the event that league revenue is down 20 percent and players have to sacrifice 20 percent of their income? I’d say that’s possible. If I had to bet, I’d say that’s more than possible, but it’s total speculation on my part.”
In addition to keeping in touch with their players, many agents are regularly speaking with individuals from the league office and the Players’ Association to check for updates.
AGENT 1: “I’m having a lot of different conversations with the league and the Players’ Union, just trying to keep my finger on the pulse as far as what the next move will be. Everything is up in the air right now – nobody knows anything for certain. But I’ve been staying in touch with those guys to see what they think is going to happen and see if there are any updates. There really haven’t been many updates, but I’ve just stayed in contact so that I’ll know if anything changes.”
AGENT 2: “The league office and the people with the Players’ Union don’t know what the outcome is going to be. The virus is unpredictable and, unfortunately, the numbers continue to climb around the country (especially in a few areas that are being hit really hard). That’s tough to predict.”
AGENT 3: “My days haven’t changed a whole lot, other than the fact that I’m not traveling. I’m still making a bunch of phone calls from home, talking to my players. I’m still talking to the league and talking to the Players’ Association. I’m still doing some pseudo-recruiting with seniors and players who are declaring for the draft – the guys whom I’ve had a relationship with or talked to earlier. I’m just trying to stay in touch with everyone. I think as agents, we’re doing what we’ve always done (minus the travel). The phone doesn’t stop ringing, the questions don’t stop coming and we still have to guide our players. But as far as the basketball end of it, we can’t control any of it.”
AGENT 2: “The whole basketball world is on hold. Everyone is stuck at home, but I continue to work. I continue to talk with potential recruits and to my guys around the league. We’re trying to do what we can. Usually, I can turn to the CBA or the league office and find an answer to just about any question, but now we’re dealing with so many unknowns and so much uncertainty. It’s a different world. A lot of things are just in a holding pattern.”
(Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports)
HOW THIS IMPACTS THE DRAFT AND FREE AGENCY
The 2020 NBA draft is scheduled for June 25, 2020, but most agents expect the event to be postponed. Still, it’s very possible that this will be a very unique pre-draft process – with no workouts, combine and no face-to-face interviews (similar to what the NFL is experiencing right now).
AGENT 1: “I can’t go into too much detail, but we have put together a COVID-19 contingency plan and we’ve been sharing that with these draft prospects and their families. Basically, it’s so they know some of the things that we’re going to do while we’re going through this pre-draft process.”
AGENT 2: “For young players who are trying to go through the draft process, this is very difficult. Training facilities aren’t open since the health department and federal government is advising against that. It’s been tough and there’s a lot of stuff that’s moving slower than usual. The draft is scheduled for June 25; if I had to bet, I’d say that the draft isn’t going to happen on June 25. Actually, now that I think through it, there’s probably a 0 percent chance that the draft happens on June 25. There are usually a lot of trades during the draft, but teams aren’t going to be trading players in June if the season is continuing at some point after that. Playoff teams wouldn’t want to make any trades because they want to make a run when the season resumes. I think the draft happening on June 25 is toast. That means that the draft probably happens in August at the earliest. The bottom line is that this throws a lot of things off.”
AGENT 4: “It just sucks that these collegiate players don’t get to finish their season, and they don’t get to compete in the combine or other pre-draft workouts. That’s going to hurt certain guys’ draft stock since they can’t showcase their game.”
AGENT 2: “Some players who were hoping to help their stock with workouts and interviews may return to school just so they can go through a normal pre-draft process next year. I think that’s probably going to be the case for some guys, but it’s tough because age is such a huge factor in the draft. Also, there’s no ‘testing the waters’ this year because there’s potentially no workouts or combine. For the players who are declaring or strongly considering it, maybe there isn’t as much urgency to declare simply because the deadlines are all up in the air.”
How will the NBA’s free-agency period be impacted by the NBA stoppage? Will the drop in league revenue cause the salary cap to drastically decrease?
AGENT 2: “Free agents have a lot of questions. There’s a 99 percent chance that free agency doesn’t happen on July 1, so nobody knows when that will happen. I’m used to my job revolving around the draft and free agency, so it’s strange for those things to be up in the air.”
One agent believes that the NBA will try to avoid having the salary cap drastically drop this summer because they don’t want another situation where the cap rapidly spikes next offseason when things (hopefully) return to normal. After all, the league likely doesn’t want a repeat of the 2016 offseason when the cap drastically increased due to the NBA’s new TV deal.
AGENT 1: “I think what’s most likely is that the cap will go down some when the league and the Union get together to determine that number, but they’ll try to mitigate any possible spike that would occur in 2021. I think there will be a somewhat muted impact, but nobody really knows. Cap smoothing is a possibility, but I think both sides will just make an effort to avoid the cap radically dropping and then radically increasing going forward.”
At this point, these are just everyone’s best guesses, as the league hasn’t made any decisions about the season, paychecks, the draft or free agency. Agents are trying their best to stay informed and play out every scenario to see how it would affect their clients and their business.
1:50: This is Yaron’s first book. He discusses how it came together and why he chose to write about the 76ers’ tanking.
3:50: Yaron writes that he initially thought he was writing the NBA version of “Moneyball,” but he quickly realized that wasn’t the case when Sam Hinkie chose not to participate. He talks about that challenge and how the book he wrote differs from the one he initially envisioned.
6:35: The Sixers didn’t participate either, which Yaron discusses.
9:40: Yaron discusses the process of writing this book and how it differed from writing articles for Bleacher Report.
12:10: In the book, Yaron writes about Allen Iverson’s departure from Philly, Doug Collins refusing to use analytics and the awful Andrew Bynum trade – all of which helped Hinkie initially get hired.
15:10: Yaron discusses Hinkie’s background. Hinkie actually got his start in the NFL, working for the San Francisco 49ers and Houston Texas before moving over the NBA.
18:00: Yaron talks about some of his favorite behind-the-stories that he learned while doing the interviews and research for this book.
21:05: Many NBA agents were adamantly opposed to “The Process,” which Yaron details in the book. He discusses why agents were so unhappy and shares a story about Excel refusing to do business with Hinkie.
23:35: What was the mood like around those tanking 76ers teams? On one hand, there were no expectations. On the other hand, Yaron says that Michael Carter-Williams and Nerlens Noel butted heads behind-the-scenes.
25:25: Would those young 76ers teams have benefited from more veteran leadership at times?
29:30: In addition to finding Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, “The Process” also allowed the 76ers to find diamonds in the rough like Robert Covington, TJ McConnell and Jerami Grant among others.
31:30: Not only did Hinkie load up on draft picks, he improved Philadelphia’s technology, facility and player-development staff (which often gets overlooked).
33:30: Yaron discusses Embiid’s background. When he moved to the United States, he was shy, didn’t speak much English and had no friends. Yaron discusses his upbringing and how he was able to come out of his shell.
37:00: What are some things that Hinkie should have done differently?
40:05: One of the most interesting chapters in the book is about Markelle Fultz and his struggles after being drafted No. 1 overall. Yaron talks about what he learned while researching that chapter.
42:45: Yaron also writes about Bryan Colangelo losing his job because of burner accounts, with details about what was tweeted from the burner accounts, how those tweets came to light and much more.
46:00: Will we ever see a tank like “The Process” again?
Excerpted from The Victory Machine: The Making and Unmaking of the Warriors Dynasty , published on April 14, 2020 by PublicAffairs. On November 12, 2018, in Los Angeles, Durant cut into Green after Draymond failed to pass him the ball on a bungled …
On November 12, 2018, in Los Angeles, Durant cut into Green after Draymond failed to pass him the ball on a bungled end-of-regulation play. He challenged Draymond’s pride, which prompted Green to go nuclear. Draymond would call KD a “bitch” multiple times and assail him for dangling his impending free agency over everyone else. In the aftermath, attempts at reconciliation were made. The two continued to work together. But the incident served as a kind of demarcation point. Perhaps the Warriors season was already there, just not so publicly. The event, though, darkened it. It was an incident Kerr expressed concerns about at the time, using the following metaphor when asked about the incident: “Sometimes, team chemistry is like a balloon. You worry about if there’s a point where it pops.” The argument made news, locally and nationally. In the story of a dynasty, there are only two modes: rise and fall.
The game after KD and Draymond’s famous November feud, I asked AndreIguodala about it. “Shaq and Kobe ain’t like each other,” he said matter-of-factly. I responded, “But that ended in a way you wouldn’t want this to end, right?” Andre replied, “They won three championships in a row. Ain’t that what you want to happen?” “I guess all things come to an end,” I said. Andre nodded and put a bow on the brief conversation: “Everything come to an end.”
What followed was a dragging kind of regular season, one in which the Warriors managed to get a one seed, absent much apparent esprit de corps. Such was their advantage over the league that this qualified as underperforming. More than the basketball, it was just the overall vibe that brought down onlookers. Just as KD’s better moods can be contagious, his worse ones can be the bad kind of infectious. This was a regular season in which Kevin Durant was halfway out the door and in no way loving that status.
In January 2019, I wrote about how the Warriors worked hard to make Kevin Durant happy, in terms of offensive approach. A mutual friend told me that Kevin was livid over the article, so I braced for conflict. Some stars can get mad over a headline. I’d been on the receiving end of that. A couple sentences into the dressing down and you realize it’s all based on a tweet. You ask if they read the article and receive a, “I don’t HAVE to read the fucking article to . . . ” And so forth.
Not KD. He reads everything and takes issue with specific sentences and phrases. A few in particular had inspired his ire, or so I heard. So I entered the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento with certain expectations.
I figured I might get a muttered, “Hater in the house,” a phrase KD favors with the disfavored. In any event, I was primed for an interesting exchange. We, the huddled media, received our permission to enter the arena court and trudged on in. It’s common at a shootaround to walk onto the floor, in the out-of-bounds area. The moment my feet touched hardwood, a practicing Kevin Durant ditched his shooting drill, and speed-walked in my direction.
The ball KD abandoned was still bouncing when he spat, “How can you write that shit!?” He was off and running, venting about the article as media members gawked on. I went into the auto pilot mode I’ve developed over the years. You can never argue your way out of these, or at least I never had any luck with it. The star will never say, “Gee, that’s a good point you made,” or, “Ohhhh, I now see that’s a metaphor.” So I tend to drone, “What’s your perspective?” and wait it out, in case some of that perspective comes through and I learn something. Maybe they’ll express a truth I need to grasp. Maybe they’ll experience catharsis. I just know this tends to be a one-way street. KD inveighed that I didn’t know what I was talking about, and that I didn’t know him. Finally, he closed as his voice rose, with a slight tremble. “You don’t know me! You don’t know what makes me happy!”
The media peanut gallery heard that last line. It was too loud and too strange to forget. Among colleagues, the catchphrase would follow me the rest of the season. Anytime I offered an idea on where to get something to eat before the game I was liable to get, “You don’t know what makes me happy!” in response.
Later that same day, I showed up to pregame locker room availability. The Old Media Code dictates that, if you’ve pissed someone off, you have to be available. I suppose it’s about accountability and honor, such as we have any in this business. So there I was, available, staring at the TV of an empty locker room. ESPN’s Nick Friedell, just before leaving the locker room, mentioned that KD was glaring at me from the training table behind the locker room. Great.
KD made his way from the training table to his locker. He motioned me over with a hurried gesture. Maybe, in retrospect, this interaction could have gone better. I sometimes wonder if what is sought in these matters is mere apologetics. That if I only cave and grovel, we actually get somewhere approximating peace. That certainly isn’t the Old Media Code, but it is likely the most expedient process.
I started with that. “Look, I appreciate you being direct with me . . . ” But the olive branch was instantly swatted aside, interrupted by more venting. He was big on how I had not included comments from his postgame press conference. He kept repeating this. It confused me, because he was talking fast without context. He assumed I knew everything he’d said in that press conference, including whatever detail he believed pertinent to the article.
His perspective on the matter wasn’t wholly insane. If my job is to follow him around and tell stories about what he says, then I must have archival knowledge of everything he says publicly. It doesn’t quite work that way, though, at least not for me. Typically, I’ll attend the coach press conference, before the locker room is open. The player press conferences that follow happen concurrent with locker room availability. I generally prefer the locker room to the pressers because there’s actually a chance I might get information nobody else has. Also, there’s just a better shot at seeing something hilarious or having a memorable conversation. Press conferences are usually a bore.
I started responding. “Look, I think . . . ” But KD interrupted me, and just in the way I’m used to. He swiveled his head around the locker room. “Not so loud, bro,” he said. “Everybody don’t need to be hearing this.” Confused, I whipped my head around, seeing nary a threat. Quinn Cook, an affable friend of Kevin’s, was next to us, but the Kings’ impressively capacious locker room was otherwise empty. Why was KD worried about our conversation getting overheard by teammates when he wasn’t even establishing that this was off record? What was the big problem here?
I tried to make a few points, saying I didn’t begrudge him for having leverage with his contract, and insisted that I had good reason to write what I wrote. KD wasn’t impressed and accused me of trying to “rile up Steph’s fans.” He expressed that this was a constant theme in the Bay. All of us local guys just wanted to kiss Steph’s ass at his expense. This was KD’s consistent lament. He would frequently squabble in direct-message conversations with the Warriors fans of Twitter, frequently accusing them of favoring Steph at his expense. In one such exchange that foreshadowed things to come, he was asked by the WarriorsWorld account whether two-time MVP Steph Curry or Kyrie Irving was the better player. “I gotta really sit down and analyze it,” Durant demurred.
I ended up telling KD that, if this kind of thing made him mad, I could actually come to him next time and get his perspective on it before running with something. A reasonable request maybe, but for the athlete, it just promises more interactions with the person they currently despise. KD curtly told me, “Just do your fucking job,” and walked off. I looked and shrugged at Cook, who laughed uncomfortably.
Well, it was time to do my job, whatever that is. What it sometimes is, is bullshitting around a basketball court as players warm up. Pregame offers the opportunity to walk about the court and schmooze about the NBA cafeteria scene. I shook hands with Warriors broadcaster Jim Barnett and talked about the advance scouting profession for a spell. I joked around with Warriors assistant coaches. Afterward, Friedell told me that KD was glaring at me through his whole warmup routine. I didn’t know what made him happy, but I was getting a sense of what could make him obsessively pissed.
Guys had gotten mad at me before, but not like this. They’d shown anger, but betrayed no obsession. Generally, you get a blast of scorn, but the underlying idea is that you’re a pissant who, after the initial transgression, isn’t worth a further thought. KD made you feel as though he thought more about you than the other way around. He almost flattered you with his spite. Or, it would be flattering if the spite wasn’t so KD-focused. You were only hated insofar as how you reflected on him.
New Mexico State Aggies senior wing Trevelin Queen shared his inspirational background as he prepares for the upcoming 2020 NBA Draft.
New Mexico State Aggies senior wing Trevelin Queen shared his inspirational background as he prepares for the upcoming 2020 NBA draft.
Queen, who is 6-foot-6, averaged 13.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game in 2019-20 while leading his conference in defensive rating (89.1), box plus-minus (8.9) and Player Efficiency Rating (25.5).
The wing caught up with HoopsHype to tell us about what he would bring to a professional basketball team.
How have you been holding up during quarantine?
Trevelin Queen: I’ve been good, just hanging in there. I’m just at the crib in New Mexico. I’m just trying to keep a positive outlook on everything hoping it will come to an end soon hopefully. I’m outside with a face mask jogging and stuff. I’m out here doing yoga in the house and stuff like that. I’ve never done that before.
How did you take the news when it came out that the rest of the season was getting canceled?
TQ: It was devastating. But being a normal person, when I saw the NBA was postponed, it was obvious that collegiate players also weren’t getting to play. I was thinking about that in the back of my head. Once I got the meeting with the coaches, he confirmed and it hit me that my college career was just over.
What were some of the things that you appreciated most about your time in the NCAA?
(Photo by Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images)
TQ: I’d have to say the relationships. There are a lot of different people in this world. Everyone has their own story. You never know who you are going to meet and what they’ve been through and what type of bond you are going to get. If I didn’t build these relationships, I wouldn’t be in this situation. And I got an associate’s degree and I’m working on my bachelor’s now.
BACKGROUND STORY
How did you first fall in love with basketball? What brought you to the game originally?
Nathan J Fish/Sun-News, Las Cruces Sun-News via Imagn Content Services, LLC
TQ: Sheesh. I was probably three or four years old. I just love being around a ball. Basketball wasn’t even my best sport growing up. I was probably a lot better at baseball. Basketball, being in the garage or the baseball, shooting in a little hoop my mom and dad bought me. We couldn’t get a ball so I would use socks or shooting trash in a trash can. Then when I got older and got to high school, I had a growth support and realized basketball could be my main sport. I fell in love with it again. I realized if I devoted myself to it then I could go far.
That’s awesome. What position did you play when you were playing baseball?
TQ: I was a shortstop and a pitcher. I was better at baseball than I was at basketball and football. I stopped playing sophomore year. My high school didn’t really have much of a baseball team. It was more of a hobby for them. And that took the love away from me. If I could get another chance, I would try. But no, it’s over with. But yessir if I stuck with baseball, I would for sure be a professional baseball player. Facts. Derek Jeter is my favorite player of all-time.
How did being a multi-sport athlete help you get to where you are today?
TQ: It helped a lot actually. If you play different sports, you know you have different drills and different exercises and different workouts. Some workouts I learned from baseball or football may have pushed my buttons more than I got from basketball. So being able to fight through those little challenges or those little tweaks or bumps or bruises, it kept giving me strength and helped me build it all up to now. Having played more than one sport, I just have that mindset where there are switches I can flip. I can get through this. I’ve been in this situation. I’ve felt this pain before.
How important is it for you to get your degree and become a college graduate?
(Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
TQ: It’s a great feeling. I’m going to have two degrees. And no one in my family had been to college. Basketball isn’t guaranteed. You can get injured. So having a degree to fall back on is a great feeling. It’s also a great feeling for my family to realize it is never too late to get yours. Anybody can do it. It’s just motivation for them to see me turn a negative into a positive and I know they love that.
Can you share what the “negative” was that you turned into a positive?
TQ: The negative was that growing up, I was in hard situations. There are always doubters. I was always getting in trouble. So to be able to turn my life around, get two degrees, have a chance at making my dreams come true is so amazing.
There are some amazing success stories of players going from playing at junior college to the NCAA to the NBA, like Jae Crowder and Jimmy Butler. What are some things you’ve done to be the net guy in that line?
TQ: I never quit. If you go to JuCo, you have to understand that you are not the only person struggling. You are not the only person going through some situations. My goal was to never quit. If I can do it, anybody can do it. I went to three different junior colleges. All three were different in every single way possible. I kept going, kept going. It gets better if you really love what you do.
Can you tell me a little bit more about the path you had to use to get here?
Juco wing Trevelin Queen announces on Twitter that he won’t be attending Western Kentucky after all. Queen was one of the nation’s most prolific JUCO scorers, averaging 26 ppg last season.
A departure was always likely, as the Hilltoppers were over the scholarship limit. #CUSA
TQ: My sophomore year of high school, I got moved up to varsity basketball for the last playoff game. Then I moved to Florida as a junior but I didn’t get to play because I transferred too late. So I missed a whole year. I came back to my old high school as a senior in Maryland. We had a new coach. But then I played only nine games under him. I continued to work out in the summer. I didn’t have any real offers so I went to play at the community college where my AAU coach was coaching. I got a little better out there. Then I went out to California, where I was in the third richest county in America, Marin. It was like, a burger and fries were $20. I can’t afford that. That was a struggle. I ended up going to military school. Lord knows how I ended up there. My uncle emphasized it. But it turned out it was a good school for education and for basketball. It was the hardest ten months of my life, though. It definitely taught me a lot of lessons. After that, I committed to Western Kentucky. But something happened with their coach. Then I got an offer from New Mexico State. It was one of the first offers I ever got out of JuCo, they all came and watched me. Even the head coach came out to watch me play at a military school in the middle of nowhere.
Your story is absolutely wild! If you’ve made it this far with all of those challenges…
TQ: That isn’t even half of it. I didn’t even get into the details. I was homeless, kicked out, hungry. I didn’t know what was next. When I was in California, there were 15 of us from rougher areas in Detroit, Baltimore and Chicago. We were in a retirement home and it was so small that if I farted, the neighbors could hear it. We had two bedrooms and nine air mattresses. We all got kicked out. Three teammates and I, and I had just met these kids two or three weeks prior, moved to East Oakland in a 1982 Delta on Bancroff Avenue. We were all like 6-foot-2, 6-foot-4, 250 pounds. We had all our clothes in the backseat. You put us in there and the gasoline starts to leak and to get to our school was 45 minutes. And gas in California isn’t cheap. Every time gas started to leak, we had to pull over on the side of the road and fill it back up manually. The first week, we were living in the Delta. My teammate didn’t know that he had some family in East Oakland. His mom told him to go there. We were living in the car three streets down from his mom. So us four went there and they already had like eight people living in there. We had to shower with slides on. No towels, nothing to eat. There were shootouts every day. I was living on an air mattress with a hole in it. But that gave me so much strength, too. I went through all that. This was before Cash App or Venmo. So I went to the Western Union to get money but I was damn near scared to walk by myself. It was so hard. I was always questioning myself but I stayed positive.
After all of that…to win MVP of your conference tournament in 2019.
TQ: Damn. I got chills just thinking about it. You know I came halfway through the season that year. I was naked. Everything felt Chinese to me. New system, new coaching staff. New players and everything like that. I wasn’t even a starter. I was a role player off the bench. They rotated like 12 or 13 players. So to have that impact in the tournament when it was needed was such a great feeling. If you watch the film, every time I scored, I looked at my family. I pointed to them. Like I’m really here. And you’re the reason why I do this. Every time I saw them, I blacked out. Everything felt like a dream. None of the pictures of us holding the trophies, I don’t remember any of it. I was just crying. I couldn’t believe it was real. Dreams came true.
I also love the picture of you with your nephew holding the trophy. What is it like being an influence on him?
(Photo by Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images)
TQ: When I was growing up, I didn’t have any motivation like that that had accolades. I wish I did. My older brothers were into cars. But to give him a positive impact that can take a different route will be good for him. At such a young age, for him to see the bright lights and the tears and mixed emotion. I just want to give him options. Knowing I’m getting closer to the NBA, to put myself in that situation to be able to provide for my family, I’m always going to be there for them whether it’s basketball or not. But to have basketball is an even better feeling. I just love basketball. I could see myself loving it for the rest of my life. So to use my platform to motivate them is a great feeling every day.
How was your family as helpful motivators during this whole process?
TQ: Parents for sure. Plus, my immediate family. If you ask anybody about me, all I talk about is my family. That is why I do what I do. I want to be able to take care of them. I want to show them that anything is possible. They tell me to keep a close corner and not to let anybody in who is there just because you are doing what you are doing. Always make sure that everyone is there to look out for you. There is this Bible quote my grandma gave me and I live by it. Philippians 413: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” So no matter what you’re going through, you can get through it. I live by that every day.
BASKETBALL SKILLS
How would you describe your game to someone in an NBA front office who has never seen you play?
(Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
TQ: I would say I’m an all-around player. I’m a two-way. I want to be the best on the offensive end and the defensive end. I like to get my teammates involved in any way possible. If I’m on the bench, then I’m giving motivation and words of encouragement or help them with the scouting report and to just keep their heads in the game. I know whatever role they have me playing, I’m going to play 100 percent. Whether it’s coming in and getting the steal or getting the charge or getting a bucket, my role is going to be on both ends of the court. I’m going to be on both ends of the court. I want to be able to score and then defend the best player if I have to. I want to be a great two-way player. I’m also an emotional player. You can always see it on the court. I’m willing to put any amount effort into everything. I’d fully be willing to run a thousand miles for a team to play at the highest level. This is my dream.
You are a strong defender with a very high steal percentage. Tell me a bit about your defensive mentality.
(Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
TQ: It is to beat my man to the spot and dictate the possession. Where do I want him to go? Whether it’s off-ball or on-ball, I want to make sure I am in the right spot. I want to be ahead of the offense. Days before the game, I will watch film on who my matchup will most likely be. I try to find his weakness and get him to the weak spot that they don’t like and get them uncomfortable. Especially if I see my matchup is tired, I like to get up in him even more. But I know when I’m tired, I can play some of my best basketball because I will get so locked in so that is an advantage for me.
I think you are especially good at defending the pick-and-roll. How did you get so good at making those reads as a defender?
TQ: I have to give all credit to head coach Chris Jans. He gave us the right foot angles with the big, what part of the court you want to use. Coming into JuCo, I didn’t learn the basic textbook pick-and-roll game. But then at New Mexico State, I learned whether I should go under, force and lift, bring them back to the screen, stuff like that. He opened that door for me wide open.
What is your confidence level in your jump shot right now?
TQ: My confidence with my jumper is really good right now. But if anybody knows that has watched me play basketball, I had a minor UCL tear so last year there was a hitch in my shot. My jump shot was not 100% last year for that reason. It feels really good sometimes, though, when some of the muscle memory comes back during pregame. When you watch my film, some shots I elevate higher based on the situation.
You were one of the best in the country unguarded coming off the catch, shooting 42.1 percent from 3-point range on these looks. What are some of the ways you can capitalize on that in the NBA?
Trevelin Queen, Unguarded off the Catch (via Synergy Sports)
TQ: Coach used to always get on me talking about not dribbling so much. He said I didn’t have to always dribble every time I caught it. So my mindset for just a week straight ended up being to catch it, shoot it. Catch it, shoot it. I realized that my catch and shoot is really gold. I don’t think about it. I heard Steve Kerr say that a shooter is always ready before they get the ball. When I shoot it, I always am ready to catch it. Shoot it. So I keep that in the back of my head because I know if I get on a team that allows me to be a catch-and-shoot option, I’m going to be a great asset for them.
You were one of the most efficient players in the open court, especially when you were a ballhandler, shooting 12-for-13 on these opportunities. How will that translate to the NBA?
TQ: I just feel like I’m effective in transition because, especially if I’ve got numbers in any situation, I feel like my athleticism can make me take over and get above the rim. I have the passing ability so if I have a teammate with me or he is trailing, I’ll be able to make the available pass whether it is giving it up or getting it back or just creating an open spot for my shooters or whatever. I just feel like in transition, I make the right reads and play off the defender. It depends on what situation I’m in — if we got numbers matched up or anything like that. I feel like in transition, I’m really good at downhill situations.
You’re also fantastic at cutting to the basket. How did you develop the confidence to be so effective on those plays?
TQ: Sometimes, on the scouting report, it might say “offensive threat” or something like that. I don’t want people to think of me as an offensive threat with the ball in my hand. I can set a screen, slip, set a screen, pop. But my favorite thing is the cut. It’s the backdoor cut or the 45 cut or whatever it is. Because I tend to, on defense, watch the help defender that’s guarding me kind of … They can’t really scout because they don’t know when it’s coming or when I’m going to do it, stuff like that. So it’s just like an advantage for me on the offensive end.
What are some things that you can do to improve your finishing as the ballhandler in pick-and-roll sets?
TQ: I can come off more patient with my head up. I always tell myself this. Because I always come off predetermined with what I want the defense to do based on what happens in their reaction I can read and react. So I need to just come off lower and patient with my head up.
What are some of your goals in your life as a basketball player?
TQ: Of course, I want to win a championship. But I also want to just touch an NBA floor. I want to put a jersey on and compete against the best in the world. I have so many nights picturing myself in a Celtics jersey, because I’m a fan, getting my first bucket. I’ve already pictured myself in any situation against whoever. And to get paid to do what I love to do is crazy.
Interesting. How did you become a fan of the Boston Celtics?
TQ: It’s because Ray Allen is my favorite player of all-time. When he first got traded to them, I just picked them. I’ve always liked his demeanor and attitude. I also always used to find four-leaf clovers when I played baseball. It was so weird! I like clovers. So my mom got me Paul Pierce jerseys, Ray Allen jerseys. I got them in green, white, all colors.
So how would it feel, then, to maybe get drafted by the Boston Celtics?
TQ: I don’t even know how to put that into words. That’s some in the moment stuff. [Deep breath] That would be so emotional. When stuff happens in your life sometimes, you just have to ask is this real? So it probably would be like that type of moment.
LIFE OUTSIDE OF BASKETBALL
What are some of your goals besides playing in the NBA?
TQ: Oh, I’ve been waiting for this question. My goal is first to take care of my family. I want to put them in a situation where they never have to worry about anything. After that, I want to invest in a homeless shelter or a shelter for those who are less fortunate so I can help people that don’t have a lot so they can get back on their feet. You only get one chance at life. If you see someone walking on the street and they look homeless, you are about to go home and they are not. I always have this feeling that I have to give more. It is hard to talk about it. Since I was little, I’ve always wanted to do something like this. Give them a restart at life. Everybody makes mistakes. There is no reason for anybody to have to be homeless. You should be able to eat and to shower. I’ve been there. That’s the only thing in life I want to do.
I noticed you have a pretty expansive tattoo sleeve on your arm. Would you tell me a little about what it is?
(Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
TQ: It is a stairway to heaven because my grandma had recently passed away. It has Jesus’ hands with a rosary hanging from heaven and there is a basketball. I just know she is up there holding the basketball with me and praying for me and watching me. I know that one day we will meet again. She loved watching me play basketball. Most of my tattoos are spiritual. That is who I am. I am an emotional, spiritual person for real. Everything I do has a message behind it.
Anything else that you think would be cool to add for a story like this one?
TQ: Sure, I’ll go rapid fire. I play NBA 2K. I play Call of Duty a little bit. I’ve got two dogs. I just got a new one. It is an Alaskan Saint. Her name is GiGi, a girl dog who is younger than Kobe. I have another dog that is a pit boxer border collie. His name is Kobe and I’ve had him since before the tragedy. Rest in Peace. I got chills talking about it. My whole body got chills. I’ve got a girlfriend. I have four brothers. I have four sisters now. Oh my God. My favorite color is orange. My favorite artists of all-time are Meek Mill, Lil Wayne and Jadakiss. My favorite food is any type of Alfredo. My favorite ice cream is strawberry shortcake, easily. That’s about it, my guy. That’s all of my favorite stuff right there.
What do you do when you play NBA 2K? Are you playing in MyPark?
TQ: Oh, yeah. I’m a superstar. I’ve got two builds. I have a 3-and-D wing, he is kind of like me in real life. Then I have an all-around two-way. Those are my two builds right there. Elite company. Everyone wants to join me. I’m on X-Box. My ID is @Trevupnow.
Are you excited to potentially play as yourself in NBA 2K next year?
TQ: Oh my God! Listen here, listen here, listen here. If I play with myself on NBA 2K next year, I will not even buy the game. It will not feel real. I would not be able to play as myself because I wouldn’t be able to breathe regularly. Just knowing I’m in a video game now? I don’t have to make my MyPlayer anymore? I have my real ratings? Even though I’ll boost them up a little bit, obviously. But just to be able to do that without having to create it, that’s definitely it right there. I’ve been creating myself since I can remember. I’ve just been a gamer my whole life.
We take a look back at Michael Jordan’s playoff performances against every team he ever faced in the postseason.
With a history as deep and illustrious as Michael Jordan’s in the playoffs, it becomes easy sometimes to forget some of his smaller accomplishments, like how he did against teams prior to facing them in the Finals. As such, we decided to go back in time and examine how Jordan fared against every single franchise he ever faced in the postseason, of which there are 18 in total. Spoiler alert: He had a winning record against 15 of those teams and a losing record against just two.
That Jordan guy was pretty special in the playoffs.
Jordan and the Bulls faced the then-Washington Bullets in the 1997 playoffs, winning the series in three games by a combined 18 points, with His Airness leading the way. That included a 55-point performance by Jordan which came on nearly 63 percent shooting that evening:
Quick, painless dominance for M.J. over the Bullets.
NEW JERSEY NETS
Win percentage: 100 percent (3-0)
Stats: 36.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.3 spg, 52.9 FG%
The following year, Chicago saw the then-New Jersey Nets in the first round, likewise dispatching their overmatched opponents in three games by a combined 23 points. Jordan didn’t have an explosion that series like the 55-point performance against Washington, but he was consistently excellent against the Nets anyway, dropping 39 points in Game 1, 32 points in Game 2 and 38 in the decisive Game 3, which was a 15-point road win for Chicago.
Jordan’s Bulls faced off with the Miami Heat in three separate playoff series, first in 1992 (a three-game sweep which Chicago won by an average margin of victory of 18), then in 1996 (another first-round sweep where the Bulls won by a total of 69 points) and finally in the 1997 Eastern Conference Finals, where Miami was finally able to secure a victory against Jordan, though still succumbing in five games.
His best performance came in Game 3 of the 1992 series when the legendary 2-guard dropped 56 points on 20-of-30 shooting:
The Heat were so blown away by Jordan’s performances against them that Pat Riley went so far as to retire his jersey in Miami, despite Jordan never suiting up for Miami. No, seriously.
Jordan saw the Atlanta Hawks eight total times in the playoffs, with three of those games coming in the first round of the 1993 playoffs and the other five occurring in 1997. The Bulls went 7-1 in that stretch, as the first-round matchup was a sweep for Chicago in which they outscored Atlanta by 49 total points and the second-round matchup in ’97 was a 4-1 victory for the Bulls.
The second series did contain some drama, as the Hawks took home-court advantage away from Chicago after winning Game 2 at the Bulls’ house 103-95 behind 53 combined points from Mookie Blaylock and Steve Smith, and a 19-point, 15-rebound, 2-block performance courtesy of Dikembe Mutombo. Atlanta held Jordan to just 27 points on 29 field-goal attempts that night, too. Regardless, the Bulls took back control of the series in Game 3 by winning in Atlanta by a 20-point margin, going on to win the series two games later.
LOS ANGELES LAKERS
Win percentage: 80.0 percent (4-1)
Stats: 31.2 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 11.4 rpg, 2.8 spg, 55.8 FG%
The Bulls only faced off with the Los Angeles Lakers once during Jordan’s time there, but it just so happened to take place on the biggest state in basketball, in the 1991 NBA Finals.
A series that saw Jordan and running partner Scottie Pippen match up against five-time champion Magic Johnson and fellow Hall-of-Famer James Worthy had all the makings of an all-time classic, especially following Game 1. That night, L.A. took home court from the Bulls by winning in Chicago thanks to a clutch Sam Perkins triple with 14 seconds remaining, when the Lakers were down by 2 (assisted by Magic, because of course, it was). Jordan actually got a great look at a potential game-winning bucket with under seven seconds remaining, but his pull-up mid-range jumper trickled in and out of the rim, leading to a 93-91 win for Los Angeles.
However, the rest of the series was pretty anti-climatic, as the Bulls won the next four games by a combined 51 points behind typical M.J. brilliance. For the five-game matchup, Jordan averaged 31.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, 11.4 assists and 2.8 steals, earning the first of his six Finals MVP awards for his efforts.
Meanwhile, Jordan and the Bulls saw the Philadephia 76ers 10 total times while the explosive shooting guard was there, winning eight of the contests and dropping just two (by a combined eight total points).
People may remember Jordan’s playoff battles with Charles Barkley from the 1993 NBA Finals, but many don’t remember that Jordan actually saw the Hall-of-Fame power forward two separate series before that, both when Barkley was still a Sixer. Chicago and Philadelphia faced each other back-to-back years in 1990 and 1991, with both matchups taking place in the second round.
Jordan was absolutely spectacular in his matchups with the 76ers, but Barkley was great in his own right too, putting up 23.8 points, 17.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists in the 1990 series against Chicago and 25.6 points, 10.2 rebounds and 5.4 assists the following year, but without much help, he had little chance against Jordan.
The Charlotte Hornets own an interesting place in Jordan lore historically, as they were the first team Chicago faced in the playoffs following the all-time great’s return from retirement in the 1995 postseason.
And, as if he needed to remind everyone of what he was capable of in the playoffs, Jordan dominated the Hornets in Game 1 of the opening-round series, going off for 48 points on 18-of-32 shooting while chipping in nine rebounds, eight assists and one steal and block apiece.
The Bulls would win that game 108-100, and eventually the series three games to one, before falling to the Orlando Magic in the second round. More on that later, though.
Chicago would see Charlotte in the postseason again three years later, in the second round of the 1998 playoffs, and the series would follow a similar pattern; the Bulls took control early, the Hornets would take a game to make things relatively interesting but never truly challenge Jordan and Co. before falling in five.
NEW YORK KNICKS Win percentage: 70.4 percent (19-8)
Stats: 33.1 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 6.0 apg, 2.1 spg, 47.0 FG%
Out of the 18 teams Jordan faced in postseason action, the New York Knicks were by far his most frequent opponent; the two sides saw each other for a total of 27 games during Jordan’s playoff career, with the first time coming in the 1989 playoffs and the final time coming in 1997, for a total of five series between the two teams.
Jordan’s best playoff scoring performance against New York came in Game 4 of the 1993 Eastern Conference Finals when he went off for 54 points while hitting 60 percent of his 30 field-goal attempts in what was a 105-95 win for the Bulls.
Chicago would go on to win that series in six games.
To their credit, the Knicks did beat Jordan’s Bulls in the playoffs eight times during his time in the NBA, the second-highest total of any Jordan adversary, and were even able to push Chicago to a seven-game series in the second round of the 1992 playoffs.
So what happened in that Game 7?
Well, Jordan exploded for 42 points on 51.7 percent shooting that night (that was after he shot 41.2 percent combined in Games 5 and 6 and played uncharacteristically poorly against New York’s tough defense) – and helped lead the Bulls to a series-clinching 110-81 victory.
The second-most memorable shot of Jordan’s career came against the Cleveland Cavaliers, who he faced 20 times in the playoffs, 14 of which were Bulls wins.
The Cavs were never able to take a series from Chicago, but they did play Jordan and Co. close, rarely getting obliterated like a lot of their counterparts and even blowing the Bulls out on a couple of occasions.
Regardless, the moment everyone remembers of Cleveland vs. Jordan came in the deciding Game 5 of the first round of the 1989 playoffs. With Chicago down 100-99 and roughly three seconds left on the clock, Jordan wiggled away from multiple defenders before catching the ball on the wing, took two hard dribbles left with Craig Ehlo tightly on him, pulled up from about the free-throw line, double-clutched the jumper to let Ehlo’s contest float harmlessly by him – and sank the series-winning shot as time expired.
Iconic.
Jordan would see the Cavaliers two more times in the playoffs after that, once in 1992 and once more in 1993, though no moments throughout those series would come close to topping The Shot.
Jordan boasted a 66.7 percent win rate in the playoffs against four opponents: the Phoenix Suns, Portland Trail Blazers, Seattle SuperSonics and Utah Jazz.
Interestingly enough, all five of those matchups (not four, because Chicago and Utah saw each other twice in consecutive years) for the Bulls came in the Finals, as Jordan became notorious for vanquishing non-Lakers opponents in the Finals in six games, never requiring a Game 7 to win a championship series.
Two of those foes carry very juxtaposed positions in Jordan’s history as opponents, as the legendary player averaged his highest playoff points per game total against the Suns, but his lowest (and worst field-goal percentage) against the Sonics.
Versus Phoenix, Jordan averaged an astounding 41.0 points per contest (along with 8.5 rebounds and 6.3 assists) in the 1993 Finals, including a four-game stretch between Games 2 and 5 where he poured in 45.5 points nightly and shot 51.0 percent from the floor. That stretch included a 55-point masterpiece by M.J., which took place in the pivotal Game 4 with the series at 2-1 in favor of Chicago.
Against Seattle, on the other hand, Jordan would average merely 27.3 points over six games while shooting 41.5 percent from the floor, making the Sonics one of just two teams (along with Atlanta) to hold Jordan under 30 points per game in the playoffs.
It didn’t really matter, of course, as the Bulls won the first three games of the 1996 Finals against Seattle, taking firm control of the series before dropping Games 4 and 5 and ultimately winning the title in Game 6, in Chicago.
Portland and Utah are also crucial pieces in Jordan’s history, of course. After all, it was against Portland that Jordan, feeling slighted by pregame comparisons to another Hall-of-Fame 2-guard in Clyde Drexler, scored 35 points and hit six three-pointers in the first half of Game 1 (one that included an all-time reaction afterwards, The Shrug), setting the tone for the rest of the series.
And it was against the Jazz that Jordan produced two of his most memorable moments: The Flu Game and The Last Shot. In the former, Jordan overcame a reportedly terrible stomach flu that had sapped him of nearly all his energy to drop 38 points, seven boards and five dimes to take home a crucial Game 5 victory in Utah during the 1997 Finals, while in the latter, Jordan hit what was supposed to be the final field-goal attempt of his career, a stop-on-a-dime game-winning mid-range jumper to put the Bulls ahead 87-86 in Game 6 of the 1998 Finals, securing the sixth and final championship of Chicago’s dynasty.
People remember the shot, but what they forget is that Jordan had a crucial strip and steal on Karl Malone the possession before, which saved the game for Chicago, as well as the fact that Jordan scored 45 of the Bulls’ 87 points that night. And what we all wish we could forget is that that didn’t end up being the last shot of Jordan’s career, as he returned for two more seasons with the Washington Wizards three years later.
If only it had ended in 1998, the picture-perfect cap to a historic career.
The first team on our list to actually defeat Jordan’s Bulls in a playoff series, the Magic faced Chicago in postseason play back-to-back years, first in the 1995 Eastern Conference semifinals and then in the 1996 Eastern Conference Finals.
Orlando beat the Bulls in six games in ’95, though it must be noted Jordan had only returned to full NBA action a month prior after a year-plus break from the sport of basketball. Even so, Jordan performed extremely well in that series despite the defeat, averaging 31.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 1.8 blocks while shooting nearly 48 percent from the floor. It wouldn’t be enough for Chicago, however, as Shaquille O’Neal (24.3 points, 13.2 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.0 blocks that series) and Penny Hardaway (18.5 points and 7.5 assists) were close to unstoppable in those six games.
Jordan would get his revenge the next year, though, as the Bulls would sweep the Magic in the ’97 conference finals, in a series that was capped in Game 4 by a 45-point on 16-of-23 shooting road performance by the incomparable M.J.
Jordan clearly had revenge on his mind in that series, and boy, did he deliver.
Chicago only saw the Indiana Pacers in the postseason once during Jordan’s time there, but it took place with rather enormous stakes: in the Eastern Conference Finals during Jordan’s final season as a Bull. And on top of that, the series went to seven games, too.
After pretty comfortably taking Games 1 and 2 by six points apiece, Chicago dropped Game 3 in Indiana by a final marker (107-105) that made the contest seem closer than it actually was. The Pacers were in control of that outing by the end of it, but late-game fouling and a garbage-time Pippen dunk made the score a two-point deficit.
Game 4, however, contained one of the most exciting finishes to any Jordan playoff defeat ever. A clutch jumper by Jordan put Chicago up by three with under a minute remaining, but a Travis Best layup, a Dennis Rodman offensive foul and two missed free throws by Pippen gave Indiana the ball with 2.9 seconds remaining, down by just one. What followed was one of the most clutch shots in playoff history, sunk by Hall-of-Famer Reggie Miller:
The Bulls would bounce back in Game 5 back in Chicago, beating the Pacers 106-87 behind 29 points, seven boards and four assists by Jordan, drop Game 6 in Indiana 92-89 despite an absolute stinker of a performance by Miller who had just eight points on 2-of-13 shooting, and then take Game 7 88-83 thanks to a 28-9-8 evening from their best player.
Here’s a bit of fun Jordan playoff trivia for you: The first team His Airness ever faced in the postseason was the Milwaukee Bucks, who matched up with the Bulls in the first round of the 1985 Eastern Conference playoffs.
That series would just go four games, as Milwaukee, led by Hall-of-Famer Sidney Moncrief, a five-time All-Defensive wing who spent a lot of that series defending a rookie Jordan, was too much for the Bulls, taking the playoff round three games to one. Regardless, even then, we already got glimpses of Jordan’s eventual greatness.
After Milwaukee won Games 1 and 2 by fairly comfortable margins, Game 3 took the series back to Chicago, where Jordan, knowing his team needed a win, had the best performance of his early career, dropping 35 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and four steals, and even sinking the game-winning jumper (from the midrange, because of course) with 22 seconds remaining.
That’s how insanely deep Jordan’s playoff history is, that some of his postseason game-winners just get completely forgotten by the basketball collective.
Milwaukee and Chicago would face off in the playoffs one more time five years later against a more up-to-the-task Jordan and the Bulls returned the favor, winning the first-round series in four games (3-1) behind 36.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 7.0 assists from Jordan.
One more fun fact about Jordan’s playoff history regarding Milwaukee: Two-time All-Star Terry Cummings is the only player ever to outscore Jordan in a postseason series. It happened in 1985, Jordan’s rookie year, with Cummings dropping 119 points that series to Jordan’s 117.
One of just two teams against whom Jordan had a losing playoff record, the Detroit Pistons went 12-10 against Chicago in the postseason during Jordan’s time as a Bull.
The Pistons became notorious for their extremely hard style of defense they used to stifle Jordan, which became known as the Jordan Rules. Detroit would try their best to force Jordan to start plays at the top of the key, as opposed to on the baseline, where he was so dominant, force him left and collapse defenders on top of him after he’d inevitably get by the first line of defense. And on situations where they were flat-out beat, rather than give up an easy basket, the Pistons would just foul Jordan as hard as the rules would possibly allow. With a roster featuring undeniable bad boys such as Rodman, Isiah Thomas, Bill Laimbeer, Joe Dumars and many others, Detroit had the method for slowing down Jordan in the postseason down to a T.
And their method worked. For three straight postseasons, from 1988 to 1990, Detroit and Chicago met in the playoffs, with all three series going to the Pistons.
It wasn’t until the 1991 playoffs that Jordan was able to gain the upper hand on Detroit, and when he did, it got ugly for the Pistons. That postseason, Detroit and Chicago met in the Eastern Conference Finals, and the Bulls, led, obviously, by Jordan, took them out in four games by a combined total of 46 points.
Jordan shot 53.5 percent from the floor that series, averaging 29.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 7.0 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.8 blocks. Utter domination from Jordan against the team that thought they had the secret to defeating him.
After his rookie-year loss to the Bucks in the first round, Jordan would go on to get bounced by one of the greatest dynasties in NBA history, the ’80s Boston Celtics, in the first round each of the next two seasons. And he went out both times by getting swept, making Boston the only team Jordan faced in the playoffs to have never suffered a defeat to him.
Of course, the odds were stacked against Jordan, as the Celtics were in peak form led by Larry Bird, arguably one of the 10 greatest players ever, along with Kevin McHale, Robert Parrish, Dennis Johnson and Danny Ainge, giving a young Bulls team little chance to put up much of a fight.
And yet, Jordan did put up a fight, including a historic 63-point outing in Game 2 of the first round in the 1986 playoffs, which is still the league record for most points scored in a single postseason contest.
The fact Jordan did that in just his fourth playoff game ever is just mind-blowing, even if it came in a four-point defeat, and it led to Bird essentially calling Jordan’s performance that night God-like.
Even so, Jordan was never able to beat Boston in a playoff game, despite averaging 39.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.8 assists in six contests against them. The Celtics were just on another level back then.
You can follow Frank Urbina on Twitter: @FrankUrbina_.
