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Do you think these "don't give a " guys ever cared about basketball or do they see the payout as the grand prize?
I see Bynum making a total ass out of himself and I can't help but relate to Bill Simmons' "superstars who got paid early so they don't give a ".
Today is definitely a bigger and worse version of the 70's when they used to dole out large contracts to players who didn't deserve it and then saw them not give a or engage in drugs.
Do you think these "don't give a " guys ever cared about basketball or do they see the payout as the grand prize?
Some of them did, but some of the guys with off the charts natural skills or height, the freaks of nature, they played baskeball because they had everyone telling them they had to at that height or "with those gifts". It's like people whose parents expect them to be a lawyer or something -- they don't love doing it, they're just doing it because they're "supposed to."
Some of those guys don't love the game the way guys do who had to fight the whole way to prove they were good enough. I bet Nate Robinson loves the game of basketball a hundred times more than Andrew Bynum does.
That doesn't change the fact that Bynum, when he wants to, can do a whole lot more to help you win a game than Nate can, though. But keeping a guy like Bynum on track? It's a whole different kind of challenge than coaching guys who really want to succeed.
Its a really good book if you like basketball, you'll learn a lot. I've only been watching basketball since 1992 and even then I was just a kid, so it's pretty cool to get inside the head of someone who was a fan then and in the good old days too.
I was in Vegas last month and went to the Wynn specifically because I remembered Simmons talking about a topless pool in one of the chapters (I think when he met Isiah Thomas?)
NBA community by nature is more lazy, image driven & superficial. All goes back to Hip Hop
I finally finished the book, it's probably one of my favorite books ever.
I've got a copy of the book.
I'm surprised Simmons didn't put Hondo in the Pantheon (just a L4 cut-off guy) considering how he ed himself over every Hondo anecdote in the book.
But then, he moved Kobe from L4 to the Pantheon...
Simmons completely destroyed Wilt in that chapter. The stories about Wilt quitting on D when he got a fourth foul are particularly damning, though the one where all the Lakers players overwhelmingly voted against acquiring him in 1965 is pretty nasty too. Dude never hesitates to make an excuse for Russell though (lol Philly only winning in 68 because Russell was a rookie coach).
Also, did anyone feel that LeBron was ranked too high? He was even ranked higher than Pippen (24). To me, Pip was a sure inside-20 guy.
I stopped at 8 (Kobe) because my vision is already feeling weird from all the reading.
you can't have a favourite book if you've only ever read one.
Simmons also do ented David Robinson the bible-thumper.
He's gotta be the only person in the media who still remembers Rodman screwing the Spurs over in the 95 playoffs.
Well aren't you just a clever indivdual.
lol, so the Spurs did tank not only once, but they did twice. And it netted them Robinson and Duncan. If you're on the Keyser Söze chapter, it's under the 1987 Lakers, when the Spurs gifted Mychal Thompson to LA.
That trade was actually really good for the Spurs. Thompson was terrible his half season in San Antonio, while Brickowski put up 3 really solid seasons there before the team stupidly traded him to Milwaukee for Paul Pressey.
Side note, my dad and I almost lost our season tickets for putting a banner in the upper deck of Hemisfair calling Thompson soft that year. Dude was traded a few days later.
that's awesome. Mychal was so instrumental in the Lakers because Kareem's dead body could not afford to play physical basketball.
And here's the 34 points in 11 minutes by Sleepy Floyd against the Lakers in 1987. He abso- ing-lutely torched the Lakers.
I also found the 1986 Celtics' 36-6 (24-0 run) quarter against Atlanta
If you're done with the Book of Basketball, you may want to check this out:
http://www.austinbell.tv/bookofbasketball.html
Shame most of those links are dead.
Does anyone believe that FILA ruined Grant Hill's career?
Probably not, but we'll never know for sure.
All I know is that if I were a professional athlete, I wouldn't take a chance -- I would sign with the company that's the best at performing that kind of analysis and producing optimized gear.
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