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Point Gods airs next weekend on Showtime. High quality do entary on NYC PGs like Strick, Starbury, Rafer, Shamgod, Kenny Anderson.
Man got scared a second, thought Johnny died and I never heard from your post. I'd have been fine with losing Strickland if they at least got someone useful to team with David for him but no, nothing whatsoever.
Point Gods airs next weekend on Showtime. High quality do entary on NYC PGs like Strick, Starbury, Rafer, Shamgod, Kenny Anderson.
Two other great memories: I was there the night the Spurs beat the Lakers twice (!) and was lucky enough to sit near the hoop the first time Akeem Olaguwon played us and Artis giving him an NBA education. I loved Artis as a Spur.
Mr Gilmore is a very large man
I got to see Moses Malone play a game from the floor right by the basket and holy he was a bad man. Game looked so much more physical from there than any place I had ever watched a game. Like they always say it's war in the paint but it really looked like that watching Malone battle for position and just beat the out of everyone while they all beat the out of him. And then watching David courtside, holy didn't look human at all the speed and athleticism this guy had when you saw it right up close. There is nothing that compares to sitting on the court when a superstar is playing.
fcking dbl post
Artis was the ultimate gentle giant off the floor. But watching how compe ive he was and seeing him e the ball off various Bums' faces when they'd play volleyball at the cookouts makes me think he must have been a really nasty guy to deal with in an NBA game.
I wish I could’ve been court side enough to hear players talk. Did you still get seats like that through the Timmy years? Any good stories you have from being close enough to hear players talk?Artis was the ultimate gentle giant off the floor. But watching how compe ive he was and seeing him e the ball off various Bums' faces when they'd play volleyball at the cookouts makes me think he must have been a really nasty guy to deal with in an NBA game.
I remember seeing the Mavs, Nuggets, and Blazers at Hemisphere. I remember sitting behind the pole once, that sucked, but I was just a kid. According to my Dad and brothers, when I was an infant and toddler we used to sit damn near courtside in the ABA days.
I got to see David outplay Hakeem and Ewing live. I got to see the Cavs twice, but both times LeChoke was out. I got to see Philly, but I think Iverson was injured. I got to see the Pacers. My bro and I went to game 1 of the Finals against the Nets. I saw us play the Mavs, the game where Dirk ran into his own man twice, fell down and they called the foul on Bruce. Also, when he did one of his fade aways and fell down, Bruce was not even close to him, but was whistled for the foul. I already couldn't stand the guy, but that night cemented my hatred for Dirk. Oh and I saw the Jazz when they beat us in the playoffs and had to watch Stockton and Malone celebrate. I think I saw the Bucks once. Other than that, I cannot remember the other games I went to.
The one that got away was the Lakers. My little sis had Spurs Lakers tickets back when we had the twin towers and the Lakers had Shaq and Kobe. She gave them away without asking me or my other bro even....not even a call or text to ask us. I am still bitter about that one.
I never got to see Michael or Isaih live, so that was a bummer.
Nah I lived in LA for most of Tim's prime and courtside got super expensive anyways. One time I won a contest to sit courtside and another my doctor gave my dad his tickets because he was going to be out of town. Plus after trading Ice the team was so bad you could usually just go sit courtside in the fourth quarter. My dad got this great shot of Barkley doing a two hand jam when we snuck to the courtside seats and then gave Charles a print of it the next year the Sixers came to town. My dad probably should have sold that photo to Fleer for a basketball card.
Back in the 80s you had such access to the players. You could show up at Hemisfair at like 4:00PM and go rebound for most guys. Except Bird, he didn't want to talk anyone. You'd think this lowly February game in San Antonio was Game 7 of the Finals the way he'd be shooting before games with perfect form on every release and laser focused on locking his shot in. Actually, Jordan was like that too, but at least he'd sign autographs on the way back to the locker room his first 2-3 years in the league.
Walter "The Truth" Berry
Zarko "The Original Chainsmoker" Paspalj
Caldwell "Pops" Jones
Greg "Cadillac" Anderson
Dwayne "Lobster Hair" Schintzius
David "Alleged Rapist" Wingate
Herman "J.R." Reid
Reggie "Silk" Williams
Vernon "Mad Max" Maxwell
Frank "Brick"owski
Johnny "Pooh" Dawkins
Willie "Chill" Anderson
Lloyd "Couldn't Guard A Mannequin" Daniels
Just a few of the Spurs when I was growing up.
When I was reading Pearlman's Showtime book was pretty surprised to find out Brickowski was one of the hardest partying Lakers, he used to hang out with Charlie Sheen all the time and .
We used to sit in those 7dollar seats right behind the basket floor level , usually rows 3 thru 7 or so. I told people we were so close you could see the lines of their jock straps and hear their shoes squeak on the floor. That would be from mid to at least end of the 70's. Work changed things a bit after that.
That’s unimaginable, which is crazy because I started seeing games at Hemisphere Arena. Shows the commercial impact of the Bird/Magic/Jordan. Crazy!
Could you pick a top 3 favorite non-Spurs and worst non-Spurs based on how they were with fans?
I remember watching Rod Strickland and thinking "Jordan killer" at the age of 5
Games at the hemisphere and my dad nearly having a coronary when strickland went behind the back vs por in the playoffs
Probably the three players of the 80s (non-Spurs) who seemed to most enjoy talking to fans were:
1. Magic Johnson - Was at the airport one time to pick my grandmother up and saw the Lakers waiting for their flight so went up and told Magic I was a huge fan of his and Magic invited me to come sit and talk with him for about 15 minutes or so. Told him I saw him hit a halfcourt shot on CBS the previous week and that I hated the Celtics and always rooted for the Lakers over them when they would meet in the Finals. Of course he signed something for me too, probably my notebook or something I brought. I think he got James Worthy to sign for me too.
2. Julius Erving - His last game in San Antonio he was out with a broken finger so he was happy to talk to fans before the game. I got a photo of his waving goodbye as he was going back to the locker room but because of that splint on his middle finger it looked like he was giving the bird.
3. Charles Barkley - First time he met him he told me oh you're looking for the white guy right? Told him he was my favorite player not on the Spurs and he'd from them on always let me rebound for him when Philly came to town if it was really early before the game.
Honorable mention to Jazz coach Frank Layden too. That guy loved what he did and would always come shoot the with fans 3 hours before the game. If we counted Spurs though Ice would be right after Magic. Used to get my dad to take me to watch practices at Incarnate Word sometimes during Christmas break and spring break and Ice was an assistant and once practice was over I'd go play basketball with his son Gee and Terry ming's son TJ, who both ended up being college stars. Challenged Ice to a three point shooting contest one time and I think he let me win 2 to 1 in a best of 3.
Three worst were:
1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: I think I might have been in Pearlman's Showtime book where one of the rookies couldn't believe Kareem turned down a kid at the airport asking for his autograph. Because I asked him for an autograph that time I saw the Lakers at the airport that I talked about above and he said no. Maybe he was just shy. But an impossible autograph to get. Funny story but the only way I ever got my 86-87 Fleer card of him autographed was by mailing it to the Lakers and asking them if they could get him to sign. For years I thought it was fake because it looked nothing like the autograph on his official poster that was sold in every NBA arena. But a few years ago I saw something authenticated as legit that matched my card exactly so maybe someone in the Lakers approached him and said can you sign this for my kid or something. Because I'm pretty sure it's legit now.
2. Larry Bird: Don't know if it was anger or just being completely focused on the game, but Bird usually wouldn't take a second to acknowledge fans. Also hated signing for adults. If you could get him at just the right moment as a kid he'd sign his full name, but he'd only sign LB for adults. Took me years to finally get him to sign my 86-87 Fleer card.
3. Patrick Ewing: None of the Knicks seemed to like any of the fans.
Crap, forgot Manute Bol. I saw him one time just taking a walk outside the Marriott across the street from Hemisfair after a game and he came and walked with my mom, dad, and I to the parking garage when we saw him. He was a really nice guy and it was insane being a little kid and walking and talking with 7'7" Manute Bol. God he was enormous when you're standing two feet away from him. I was so sad to hear the way he died a few years ago after all the money he put into his home town and will always root for his son Bol to succeed.
Charlie Sheen sat courtside with decent frequency when Brick was playing for the Spurs. One of the few celebrities that did at the time.
Ha the party days for sure. Bud Fox Charlie Sheen.
I read a story a few years back that featured Robinson talking about the early days and guys coming into practice still smelling like booze and were obviously doing way worse lol.
Last edited by KingKev; 07-26-2022 at 10:51 AM.
What is the backstory on how Popped came to be in San Antonio?
During his time as head coach at Pomona-Pitzer, Popovich became a disciple and later a close friend of head coach Larry Brown at the University of Kansas. Popovich took off the 1985–86 season at Pomona-Pitzer to become a volunteer assistant at Kansas, where he could study directly under Brown. Popovich returned to Pomona-Pitzer and resumed his duties as head coach the next season.
Following the 1987–88 season, Popovich joined Brown as the lead assistant coach for the Spurs. From 1988 to 1992, Popovich was Brown's top assistant, until the entire staff, including R. C. Buford, Alvin Gentry and Ed Manning, were fired by owner Red McCombs. Popovich moved to the Golden State Warriors for a brief stint in 1992, serving as an assistant under future Hall of Famer Don Nelson and bringing with him Avery Johnson, who had been cut by the Spurs.
^ didn’t Pop even sleep on LBs couch for abit? i thought I read that years ago…
Walter Berry vs Alvin Robertson. I’ve always thought that Alvin was the one chasing Walter with a butter knife, but then I read the opposite years later. To me that was one of the most amusing parts of the Dark Ages between Ice and Robinson.
I remember Walter used to have this huge gold rope chain like the ones Run DMC wore. Can't imagine how much that cost. Thing was heavy as and don't think it was plated or anything.
Walter Berry also gave my dad a pair of his shoes after a game. Man the Spurs players really loved the fans in the 80s. I'm sure they still did in the 90s and beyond too, but David's rookie year they really tightened the ship and would only let you in the arena starting around 6:00 or 6:30 and you didn't get the kind of access to players you used to. I guess because the team knew they were a le contender again and that was enough to fill the stands. Plus the NBA was getting much bigger by 89-90 thanks to Jordan blowing up.
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