Sports Winners and Losers During Pandemic

 

Winner – Michael Jordan

How can MJ ever be classified as anything but a winner, with his 6 championships (and 0 Finals losses). And with the sports world on hold, Jordan became the focal point in sports talk over the last 5 weeks with ESPN’s The Last Dance series. The show reminded viewers that Jordan truly is the greatest of all-time and debating this is a waste of time.

The show also turned Jordan into America’s #1 meme. For so long, “Crying Jordan” had been one of the top memes, but now his newest meme is laughing at an iPad.

Losers – Chicago Bulls

While Jordan comes across as a winner from The Last Dance, the Bulls, to me, come across as losers. What this documentary showed was the dysfunction inside one of the greatest runs in sports history – they won 6 championships in 8 years, yet the General Manager (Jerry Krause) had every intention of replacing Phil Jackson, refused to pay Scottie Pippen, and was willing to let Michael Jordan walk away because of those two. Just so that he could build a new dynasty around Eddy Curry and Tyson Chandler.

On that last note, this series also reminds fans of the never-ending rebuild the Bulls have endured. That’s partially due to horrible drafting. But after winning 6 titles in 8 years, the Bulls have won just 5 playoff series in the 21 years that have followed.

Winners – Los Angeles Lakers

At age 35, Lebron James is averaging 35 minutes per game. While it may hurt their momentum on the court, these 3-4 months of rest will be extremely beneficial to James as they begin the playoffs.

That, plus the fact that this team was suffering from significant mental fatigue. The death of Kobe Bryant no doubt impacted this team more than any other, because of the connections. For the Lakers players and coaches to take a step back and reflect and recover, will be important in the long run.

You can make a case for almost every NBA team, that they will come back healthier and mentally prepared, but given the pre-season expectations of this team and the obstacles they have faced, it’s fair to say they top the list of winners.

Winners – Houston Astros

Remember them? Astros were the talk of the town before the worldwide lockdown began. Everyone couldn’t wait to boo the Astros. Now, it’s possible (and likely) that the entire MLB season is played without fans, allowing the Astros to once again escape punishment. After suffering just a slap in the wrist from the baseball commissioner, fans won’t get the satisfaction of booing and telling Astros players how they feel.

Losers – Oregon Ducks

Unfortunately, I consider Oregon the biggest losers during this stretch, with the students and fans suffering the most (in a sports-sense).

First, due to the cancellation of the NCAA Tournament, the women’s team lost out on the chance to do something special, led by Sabrina Ionescu. Ducks had the best year in program history and were poised to make a run to their second (straight) Final Four and contend for their first Championship.

The men’s team won the PAC-12 regular season and led by excellent coach Dana Altman, guard Payton Pritchard, and a depth of good shooters and defenders, the Ducks certainly would have been in contention for the Final Four, given the lack of truly dominant teams in the sport in 2020.

What happens with college football this fall is a huge question mark, but I think one thing that is certain is stadiums filled with 80,000 fans will not be happening. That takes some serious steam out of the highly anticipated Oregon vs Ohio State game at Autzen Stadium. These schools last met in the 2015 CFB Championship Game, and will have major playoff implications in 2020. Oregon fans lose out on a shot to see a potential classic, and players lose out on playing in a deafening home stadium.

Winners – NFL

College basketball’s championship was cancelled, NBA and NHL are on hold, while MLB, MLS, and WNBA are all delayed. The NFL, meanwhile, has dominated news outlets, not skipping a beat. Luckily for them, this pandemic has occurred during their off-season. Sure, the NFL Draft was different in it’s virtual setting and free agency was a little weirder since players couldn’t visit teams, but all the events still went off without a hitch. Outside of some cancelled practices and a lack of face-to-face interactions, NFL has been business as usual and has insisted they will play the 2020 season as scheduled.

Dropping the Mic on Jazz vs Bulls

 

Chicago Bulls vs Utah Jazz is one of the first NBA Finals series I truly remember watching. Watching it from the point of view of the Last Dance, gave some stories a new meaning.

Karl Malone and greatness

Growing up in the ’90s, I don’t remember every detail of basketball. I remember the duo of John Stockton and Karl Malone were great and I have since read and watch extensive highlights of both. But it never hit me until last night how great Karl Malone really was. I was wondering why David Stern congratulated Jordan at one point on his 5th MVP. How’d he not get 6? It’s because Malone won MVP in 1997. That shows his greatness. I think, in hindsight, he might be one of the most underappreciated superstars of all-time.

In today’s game, everyone is buddy buddy with each other, high-fiving and tweeting after games. We always hear about how everyone in the ’90s hated each other. And while that’s mostly true, seeing Karl Malone actually walk onto the Bulls bus after the Finals was something else. That is an all-time class move, to make sure he showed his appreciation to Jordan in person.

What I miss about the ’90s

For starters, the actual basketball. Watching The Last Dance, one of the best parts is seeing scores in the 60s and 70s in the fourth quarter. THAT is basketball. Slow tempo, mid-range jumpers, drawn up set plays, pick-and-rolls, that’s all basketball. Shooting 50 three pointers a game and scoring 130 points is not as pleasing. Not to me, at least. My wife was watching with me and couldn’t comprehend the low scores. Especially, because she enjoys watching the Warriors. But having been a Knicks fan growing up, these low scores are what got me into basketball.

I miss real centers like Shaq, Ewing, Olajuwon, and even Rick Smits. Guys who post-up with their back to the basket. Mid-range jump shooters like Malone. Today, if you can’t shoot a three, you can’t play in the NBA.

I also miss the warm up jackets. Those Bulls jackets were legendary. The Jazz warm ups and the jerseys with the mountains are top 5 jersey design in all of sports. Nowadays, every team has the same generic Nike hoodie to warm up in, with a small logo and no design. And the same jersey with generic word marks. You can read more about the 90s jerseys and logos. But I do very much miss these Bulls warm ups.

How about Jordan walking into the Finals holding a CD player? I wonder how many people reading this article are too young to have ever owned a CD player. I owned several and in a sick, nostalgic way, kind of miss swapping out the CDs on the bus to school. I also very much enjoy flipping through songs on my iPhone too.

Last thought, there was no “maintenance” days in the ’90s. No load management. You played every game unless you physically were unable to play, per doctor’s orders.

The Pizza Game

Shaking my head, Michael…

I have a few issues. For one…

the only time four guys delivering one pizza was acceptable during the 90s. pic.twitter.com/14K65SY5q1

— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) May 18, 2020

Who is Michael’s security crew?? No one thought 5 dudes delivery a pizza was shady? No one thought , “hm let me try a slice first. This way, we know if it’s poisonous.”. No one vetted the pizza company to make sure it’s legit? I just feel like there’s way more questions then answers. I also think it’s pretty funny that a Utah pizza company poisoned MJ.

But can we PLEASE stop debating who the GOAT is now? Jordan played an NBA Finals game less than 24 hours after being food poisoned. He played 44 minutes and scored 35 points, including the game winner. That’s your GOAT. Now and forever.

NWO…For Life!

Look, growing up I was a huge wrestling fan. I was all into the NWO and Hulk Hogan and all that was going on in WCW. But I was a kid. Dennis Rodman was a grown man, who was paid millions of dollars to play professional basketball. I cannot get over the idea that instead of being at practice, he showed up to WCW to be with Hogan and the NWO. That’s just….. I don’t know. I don’t have words. It’s wild!

I did dig up this gem though. Later that summer, Rodman and Malone, who had their moments in the Finals, opposed each other in a WCW ring. 

 

The Bulls Rebuild

As The Last Dance went off the air, they noted 1998 was the final year with the Bulls for MJ, Phil Jackson, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, and Steve Kerr. And the rebuild began….and has been ongoing for over 20 years.

More on the Bulls rebuild and the horrible NBA Draft run they had.

After beating the Jazz in the 1998 Finals, Bulls had won their 6th Finals in 8 years. Since then, (between 1999-2019), they have won a grand total of 5 playoff series.

4 more random notes

Why did Jordan have to play for the Wizards? That final shot was so epic, so perfect, so MJ. He ruined the ultimate moment by coming back.

Byron Russell was on Michael Jordan’s “list”. A guy who talked trash to MJ, pissing him off and giving him added motivation. That’s why I find it fascinating that in Jordan’s final season, the Wizards signed Russell in 2002-03.

Jeff Hornacek wasn’t featured much Sunday night, but he was a key member of the Jazz. Which reminds me that he was a really bad coach for the NY Knicks

Pacers and Knicks are the two biggest losers from The Last Dance. Both had plenty of chances and both had tons of talent and probably deserved a championship. Knicks made it in ’94 and ’99 post MJ retirements and Pacers made it in 2000. Neither team succeeded.

Why Michael Jordan is Forever Connected to the 2004 NBA Finals

 

 

2004 NBA Finals saw the Detroit Pistons beat Los Angeles Lakers in 5 games. This was the first championship of the post-Michael Jordan era.

Even though Jordan had nothing to do with this NBA season his finger prints are all over this Finals series.

Pistons vs Lakers

For starters, Jordan is very familiar with both teams.

Jordan lost to the Pistons in three consecutive post-seasons (1988-1990). Two of those series was in the Eastern Conference Finals. Joe Dumars was a key member of those Pistons teams, dubbed the “Bad Boys” that gave Jordan fits. Later in life, Dumars was the General Manager, responsible for putting together this championship Pistons team.

When the Bulls did break through, their first NBA Finals victory in 1991 was against the Lakers.

Kobe Bryant, Lakers

Jordan and Kobe Bryant had a very strong relationship. Kobe entered the league in 1996, looking to become the next Jordan. After Jordan left in 1998, Bryant won 3 straight titles between 2000-2002 and would go on to win two more in 2010-2011. He finished his career 1 championship behind Jordan and won all 5 in total, all with Phil Jackson, whom coached Jordan to all 6 of his.

Shaquille O’Neal

When Jordan returned from baseball in 1995, the Bulls lost to Shaq and the Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals. That was the only playoff series Jordan lost between 1991-1998.

Gary Payton and Karl Malone, Lakers

That Lakers team, in addition to Kobe and Shaq, included Gary Payton and Karl Malone, who both joined the Lakers in hopes of winning a title.

Jordan’s second three-peat began in 1996 with a Finals win over Payton and the Sonics. And the next two seasons ended with the Bulls beating Malone and the Jazz in ’97 and ’98.

Richard Hamilton, Pistons

This Pistons team was led by Richard Hamilton, whom Jordan’s Wizards traded away before the 2002 season, for Jerry Stackhouse. Stackhouse led the Wizards in scoring during Jordan’s final NBA season. He is the only teammate of Jordan’s to own that distinction. Hamilton averaged 20 ppg as Jordan’s teammate in 2001-02, his third year in the league.

Hubert Davis, Pistons

Davis was also part of that aforementioned trade, going from Washington to Detroit, after playing with Jordan in 2001-02. Davis was also impacted by Jordan as a member of the Knicks in the 90s, losing 2 out of 4 seasons in the playoffs to him, before they became teammates. Now, Davis is the head coach of Jordan’s alma mater, UNC.

Byron Russell, Lakers

Byron Russell might be the most famous guy from the 1998 Jazz Finals team, if only because it was him guarding Jordan on the final, game/series-clinching shot. Russell teamed up with Jordan in Washington in 2002-03, before joining this Lakers team, reuniting with Karl Malone, in hopes of winning a title.

Horace Grant, Lakers

Grant played 55 games for this Lakers team. Grant was with the Bulls from 1987-1994. He left Chicago after that and signed with the Magic, where he and Shaq beat the Bulls in 1995 to advance to the Finals.

Elden Campbell, Pistons

in 2004, Campbell was a 35 year old vet, who would play more one season after this. He averaged 13.6 minutes per game in the 5 Finals games, backing up Ben Wallace at center. Campbell began his career as a rookie on the Lakers, during their 1991 Finals loss to the Bulls. Campbell was the Lakers’ 5th leading scorer (7.7 ppg) and 3rd in blocks (0.7 bpg) during the Finals.

Luke Walton, Lakers

Walton was a rookie on this Lakers team. Walton was the 32nd pick in the 2003 Draft, months after Jordan retired (and the same draft Lebron went #1). Luke is the son of legendary Hall of Famer and current commentator Bill Walton. Bill ended his NBA career on the Celtics from 1985-1987. In both of his seasons in Boston, the Celtics swept Jordan’s Bulls 3-0 in the first round (’86 and ’87 playoffs). In addition to playing with Kobe in LA, Walton coached Lebron in LA for one season in 2018-19.

Washington Wizards Teammates of Michael Jordan from 2001-2003

 

Sunday saw the conclusion of The Last Dance documentary series ESPN produced about Michael Jordan. While the show was mostly about the 1997-98 NBA season, it did a great job covering pretty much Jordan’s entire career and key moments of his teammates as well.

The show was titled Last Dance because it was the last season for Phil Jackson, Scottie Pippen, and Jordan as members of the Bulls.

However, as we all know, it wasn’t MJ’s true Last Dance. That happened years later in Washington, when he played two, mostly uneventful, seasons with the Wizards.

Coach – Doug Collins

Doug Collins was the first coach Jordan was able to connect with in Chicago. It didn’t work out with Kevin Loughery or Stan Albeck and Collins took over in 1986, during Jordan’s third season.

In their second season together, Jordan won league MVP and won his first playoff series, that epic game winning shot in game 5 against the Cavs. Collins coached three seasons and was fired after 1989, to make way for Phil Jackson.

Wizards were 37-45 in both the 2001-02 and 2002-03 season, missing the playoffs each time.

Carolina Connections

Jerry Stackhouse was acquired from the Pistons in a trade for Richard Hamilton during the summer of 2002. Stackhouse is the only teammate to ever average more points than Jordan (21.5 ppg to Jordan’s 20 ppg).

Hubert Davis was on the Wizards in 2001-02, before being part of the aforementioned trade that sent Hamilton to the Pistons for fellow Tar Heel Jerry Stackhouse.

Brendan Haywood was drafted #20 in 2001 by the Cavs and immediately traded to the Wizards. Jordan had to surround himself with Tar Heels. Haywood averaged 5.6 and 5.1 rpg in his two years with Jordan.

Old friend

Charles Oakley began his career on the Bulls with Jordan in 1985 until 1988, when he went to the Knicks. They went from friends to rivals, but reunited in 2002-03, where a 39 year old Oakley played 42 games.

Rivals

To end the 1998 NBA Finals, Jordan hit a legendary shot over Jazz guard Byron Russell. After 9 seasons in Utah, Russell joined Jordan on the Wizards in 2002. He averaged 4.5 ppg in 20 mpg.

Christian Laettner is arguably one of the most hated basketball players ever, if not, the most hated Duke player. Laettner was 32 years old when the famous Dukie played with the famous Tar Heel. In those two years Laettner averaged 7.2 ppg and 5.7 rpg.

Lottery Picks

Jordan joined the Wizards at a time when they were terrible. Terrible enough to earn the #1 pick in the 2001 Draft. Rather than go the route of taking an established college star like Jason Richardson, Shane Battier, or Joe Johnson, Wizards took Kwame Brown out of high school – the first high school ever drafted #1.

In 2002, Wizards took Jared Jeffries 11th overall. Jeffries had a really successful career at Indiana as an All-American and Big Ten Player of the Year.

Connections Between Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Lebron James

 

Michael Jordan IS the GOAT. Not sure why ESPN, CBS, and twitter folks continue to debate and discuss this. He is now and forever will be the best who ever played. But Lebron James is up there. He is absolutely one of the all-time greats. Lebron is just more Magic Johnson then Jordan. Kobe Bryant, on the other hand, is more Jordan then Lebron is.

All three of these men, given their larger-than-life statures and their place among the all-time greats, are all connected in many ways.

NBA Circle of Life

Both Kobe and Lebron made their first NBA Finals appearances in year 4. Year 4 was when Jordan won his first playoff series.

Kobe made his first All Star appearance in 1998, while MJ made his last appearance as a Bull in his initial “last dance”. Kobe’s third NBA title in 2002 coincided with the conclusion of Michael’s first year as a Wizard. MJ’s official last season in 2003, was the end of Kobe’s three-peat.

In 2003, as Jordan walked away, Lebron James stepped in, becoming the #1 pick by the Cavs a few months after MJ’s final retirement.

Tyronn Lue

Tyronn Lue is the ultimate connection between Jordan, Kobe, and Lebron – no player was a teammate of all three men, but Lue was a teammate of two and a head coach of the third.

Lue began his career in 1998 as a member of the Lakers and teammate of Kobe Bryant. Together, they won the NBA Finals in 2000 and 2001.

Lue then spent two seasons in Washington, both with MJ from 2001-2003. In 26.5 mpg, Lue averaged 8.6 ppg, 3.5 apg in 2003.

In 2009, Lue’s final NBA season, he was a sparingly used bench player for the Orlando Magic. The Magic eliminated Lebron’s Cavs and advanced to the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Lakers, in Kobe’s first non-Shaq NBA title.

Lue was promoted to Cavs head coach mid-way through the 2016 NBA season and led Cleveland to their first NBA title, overcoming a 3-1 series deficit, helping Lebron James achieve his goal of bringing an NBA title to his home state.

Utah Jazz

Jordan’s second “last dance” came in 1998. His final game was game 6 of the NBA Finals when the Bulls beat the Jazz. Jordan hit the famous jumper over Byron Russell to seal the deal on his 6th NBA title.

Kobe’s last dance came 18 years later, also against the Jazz. The stakes were much lower, as the Lakers were one of the worst teams in the NBA. Kobe scored 60 points in a game with a Finals-like atmosphere.

Lebron’s last dance is still TBD, but his highest scoring average against a single opponent is 29 ppg vs the Jazz (also has 29 ppg vs Celtics).

Steve Kerr

Kerr was Jordan’s teammate for 3 of his championships in Chicago and then won 2 in San Antonio. The 2 with Spurs came the year before Kobe’s first and the year after Kobe’s third.

Kerr coached the Warriors to 73 wins in 2016, breaking the regular season record set by the Bulls in 1996. Unlike those Bulls, Kerr didn’t win the NBA Finals, as the Warriors lost to the Cavs, giving Lebron his third ring and the first for Cleveland. Kerr is 3-1 as a head coach in NBA Finals against Lebron.

The night Kerr and the Warriors got their record-breaking 73rd win, was the night Kobe played his final NBA game, when he scored 60 points in the finale.

Luke Walton

Luke is the son of legendary Hall of Famer and current commentator Bill Walton. Bill ended his NBA career on the Celtics from 1985-1987. In both of his seasons in Boston, the Celtics swept Jordan’s Bulls 3-0 in the first round (’86 and ’87 playoffs).

Luke was the #32 pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, 31 spots after Lebron went #1. Luke played with Kobe in LA from 2003-2012, winning the NBA title in 2009 and 2010.

In 2018-19, he was head coach of the Lakers, during Lebron’s first season in LA. The Lakers finished 37-45, the exact record Jordan had in each of his two seasons with the Wizards.

Byron Scott

Kobe’s last dance was in 2016 with the Lakers, coached by Byron Scott. Before Scott coached the Lakers for two seasons, he was the coach of the NJ Nets when they lost the NBA Finals to the Lakers in 2002 – Kobe’s third straight (and third overall) title.

Long before Scott was a coach, he was a player who started 4 (of the 5) games in the 1991 NBA Finals for the Lakers, who lost to the Bulls giving Jordan his first NBA championship.

In between his head coaching tenures in NJ and LA, Scott coached the Cavs from 2010-2013, as he was hired to lead Cleveland in their post-Lebron James world after he departed as a free agent to sign with the Heat.

Other connections:

Shaquille O’Neal – In 1995, MJ announced his return to the NBA after retiring to try baseball. He played just 17 regular season games and the Bulls would lose to Shaq and the Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals. Shaq later left Orlando to join Kobe in LA, where they won 3 NBA titles between 2000-2002, playing for Phil Jackson. Shaq played one year in Cleveland (2009-10), where he averaged 12 ppg and 6.7 rpg in 53 games as Lebron’s teammate.

Mike Brown – Brown was an assistant coach on the Spurs in 2003, when they won the NBA title during Jordan’s last NBA season and ended the Lakers (and Kobe’s) three peat. Brown coached Lebron in Cleveland from 2005-2010 and then coached Kobe in LA from 2011-2012.

Larry Hughes – Hughes played with Jordan on the Wizards during the 2002-03 seasons, averaging 12.8 ppg. He was later traded to the Cavs. He started 68 games and averaged 14.9 ppg during the 2006-07 season when Cleveland advanced to the NBA Finals (lost to Spurs).

Phil Jackson – Phil coached Jordan to 6 NBA titles in Chicago and coached Kobe to 5 NBA titles in Los Angeles.

Lebron never played for Phil Jackson and didn’t really like him.

Misery of the Post-Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls

 

After 14 straight playoff appearances and 6 NBA titles in 8 years, the Bulls finished the 1998-99 season with the NBA’s worst record. It would be 7 years before they made the playoffs again (2005).

After their 6th title in 1998, Michael Jordan and Phil Jackson “retired” and Dennis Rodman was released. Scottie Pippen was traded to the Rockets for Roy Rodgers and a second round pick (became Jake Voskuhl in 2000). Rodgers appeared in one game for the Bulls, who would have been better off acquiring the fast food chain then the player. Steve Kerr was traded to the Spurs for Chuck Person and a first round pick that became Dalibor Bagarić.

The Bulls acquired NOTHING for 5 legends and were set up for a very long and challenging rebuild. Toni Kukoc averaged 18 ppg and was the “star” of the Bulls that year.

There were many reasons why the Bulls rut lasted so long. Beyond that, they had awful luck and decision-making in the draft.

Here’s a look back at 7 years worth of draft picks, ranging from 1999-2006.

Draft picks

1999 – Elton Brand #1
This made sense at the time and still does in hindsight. Steve Francis and Baron Davis went 2 and 3, respectively. Lamar Odom, Richard Hamilton, Andre Miller, Shawn Marion, and Jason Terry are notables in the top 10. In two seasons, Brand averaged 20.1 ppg and 10 rpg.

Bulls also drafted Ron Artest #16.

2000 – Marcus Fizer #4, Chris Mihm #7 (traded to Cleveland for Jamal Crawford)
Fizer averaged 10.5 ppg in 4 seasons with the Bulls. It was an odd pick, given he played PF, same as Brand. But if you think deeply, it made sense – Fizer played for Iowa State, where he was recruiteded by Tim Floyd, now the head coach of the Bulls. Regardless, wing/guards Mike Miller and DerMarr Johnson were the next two picks and would have been better fits.

With another top 10 pick, they drafted Chris Mihm, only to immediately draft him for Jamal Crawford, whom the Cavs drafted 8th. Crawford played 4 seasons in Chicago before being traded to the Knicks.

2001 – Tyson Chandler #2 (traded Elton Brand for him); Eddy Curry #4
In the Bulls’ defense, it could have been worse – Kwame Brown was the #1 pick in this draft. This is when the fascination and trend of drafting high school players with potential began.

Clippers drafted Chandler #2 and immediately traded him to the Bulls in a trade for Brand, two years after drafting him #1. Two picks later, the Bulls took ANOTHER center, Eddy Curry. Chandler had a nice 5 year run in Chicago, averaging 7 ppg, 7 rpg, 1.4 bpg, before being trade to New Orleans in 2006.

Curry’s career was bad and while it was mostly his own doing, he did lead the league in field goal percentage in 2004-05, the year the Bulls returned to the playoffs. However, his season was cut short due to an irregular heartbeat. That major health issue, along with inconsistency and weight problems, didn’t stop the Knicks from trading two first round picks and a package of players for Curry (more on those picks later).

2002 – Jay Williams #2
This one is just a bummer. Williams was college basketball’s player of the year in 2002 and helped lead Duke to a National title in 2001. His career lasted 75 games, where he averaged 9.5 ppg and 4.7 apg. Injuries suffered from an off-season motorcycle accident ended his career after one year.

2003 – Kirk Hinrich #7
Hinrich was the most successful Bulls pick during this time. He played 11 seasons in Chicago, mostly as a starter at point guard, but also played a bench role too. The disappointment for the Bulls is that 4 of the first 5 picks in 2003 are future Hall of Famers (Lebron, Carmelo, Wade, Bosh).

2004 – Ben Gordon #3
Dwight Howard went 1, Emeka Okaford went 2, leaving Gordon to go #3. Gordon was a member of UConn’s 2004 National Championship team, so a well-known scorer made sense for the Bulls here. He was great as a rookie, winning both Rookie of the Year and Sixth Man in 2005. He averaged 18.5 ppg in 5 seasons, before signing a big money contract with the Pistons as a free agent.

2006 – LaMarcus Aldridge #2 (via Knicks in trade for Eddy Curry) – traded to Blazers for #4 pick Tyrus Thomas
This was one of the picks the Bulls acquired in the aforementioned Eddy Curry trade. The Knicks stunk, so the Bulls lucked in to the 2nd pick. However, like most of these picks, they messed it up. Aldridge is a 7x NBA All Star, while (outside of 2 games in 2015) Tyrus Thomas hasn’t played an NBA game since 2013.

Recapping 2003 Sports Year

 

Watching “The Last Dance” on ESPN has made me think about the real last dance of Michael Jordan, when his career officially ended in 2003. A lot of historic events took place in sports in 2003.

Top NBA Moments

Michael Jordan plays final game on April 16, 2003 in Philadelphia as a member of the Washington Wizards. MJ scored 13 points.

Cleveland Cavaliers drafted Lebron James #1 overall in the NBA Draft. Other notable picks include Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, and Carmelo Anthony.

San Antonio Spurs win NBA Championship, defeating the New Jersey Nets in 6 games. It was the franchise’s second NBA title.

Spurs center David Robinson plays final NBA game as the Spurs won the NBA Finals. Robinson scored 13 points and grabbed 17 rebounds on June 15.

Jazz stars John Stockton and Karl Malone play their final game together – Stockton announced his retirement on May 2, after 19 seasons with the Jazz (made the playoffs every season. Malone played one more season, and did it with the LA Lakers.

Top NFL Moments

Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Raiders to win Super Bowl. This was the last time the Bucs won a playoff game.

Ravens RB Jamal Lewis sets single-game rushing yards record with 295 yards against the Browns on September 14.

Cowboys released Emmitt Smith, the all-time leading rusher in NFL history. After his “mutual” release, Smith went on to play two more seasons as a member of the Arizona Cardinals.

Bengals draft Carson Palmer #1 in the NFL Draft. Other notable picks include Andre Johnson, Terrance Newman, Terrell Suggs, Troy Polamalu, Jason Witten

Top MLB Moments

Florida Marlins beat Yankees to win World Series. Like the Bucs above, they haven’t won a playoff game (or made an appearance) since winning game 6.

Sammy Sosa hit his 500th career homerun out of 609 career HRs.

Alex Rodriguez hit his 300th career homerun out of 696 career HRs. He also played his final game as a Texas Ranger.

David Ortiz signed as a free agent with Boston Red Sox, and helped Boston win 3 World Series championships.

Cincinnati Reds open Great American Ballpark and Ken Griffey Jr got the first hit.

Top NHL Moments

NJ Devils beat Anaheim Mighty Ducks to win Stanley Cup in 7 games.

Legendary goaltenders Mike Richter (Rangers) and Patrick Roy (Avalanche) play their final games

Goalie Marc Andre-Fluery was the #1 pick in the draft. He later helped the Penguins win three Stanley Cups and helped lead the Vegas Knights to a Cup appearance.

Top College Football Moments

Ohio State beats Miami in the Fiesta Bowl to win an epic BCS Championship Game to end the 2002 season

Oklahoma and USC finished 1 and 2 in the 2003 season.

Oklahoma QB Jason White won the 2003 Heisman Trophy

Ole Miss QB Eli Manning won the Maxwell Award, given to college football’s player of the year.

The Big East consisted of 8 teams – Miami, Virginia Tech, Boston College, West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Rutgers, Temple

Notable teams under .500 – Alabama 4-9, Penn State 3-9, Notre Dame 5-7

Top College Basketball Moments

Syracuse beats Kansas to win the NCAA Tournament led by Carmelo Anthony. Syracuse beat Texas and Kansas beat Marquette (led by Dwayne Wade).

Texas PG TJ Ford won Player of the Year Award (Naismith and Wooden)

Following Kansas’ loss, head coach Roy Williams resigned and took the job at North Carolina. Kansas replaced him with Bill Self.