K SUMP ON SPORTS

The history of the National Basketball Association is broken up into three very distinct eras in my opinion. The Alpha Era is the beginning, the creation of the league itself. On June 6, 1946 in New York City, the Basketball Association of America was founded. Merging with the National Basketball League after the 1949 season, the eight-team National Basketball Association was official, with teams in smaller cities moving to larger cities and playing in larger arenas. The quality of play was said ...

15. Kevin Garnett – Basketball Hall of Fame 2020, 1x NBA Champion, 0x Finals MVP, 2x Conference Champion, 1x MVP, 10x All-NBA: 4x First Team 2x Second Team 4x Third Team, 0x All-Star MVP, 10x All Star, 1x Defensive POY, 8x All-Defense, All-Rookie, 4x Rebounding Champion, 2000 Olympic Gold Medalist.

NBA #18 All-Time Scoring Leader – 26,071 points

NBA #9 All-Time Rebounding Leader – 14,662 rebounds

NBA #18 All-Time Steals Leader – 1,859 steals
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This writer’s Top 30 NBA Players of All Time is confined strictly to the Modern Era, 1980 and after. Each player named played all or the bulk of their career in this era, because not only was the sport played at a much higher level, but it also has the key benefit of have being watched and evaluated in real time by the writer. No disrespect to Russell, Chamberlain, West, Robertson, Mikan, Lucas, Cousy, Sam Jones, Walt Frazier, Willis Reed, Wes Unseld, Elgin Baylor, Elvin Hayes, Nate Archibald, John ...

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The Thunder bounced back well enough with a 55-27 regular season and a 3rd seed in the West, but they were behind the 67-15 Spurs and the record-setting 73-9 Warriors, the defending NBA Champions. The path to the championship would go through the both of those great teams. After dispatching the Mavericks in five games, it would be the Spurs up next, and the Thunder was up to the task by winning in six games and sending Tim Duncan into retirement after 19 stellar seasons, ...

The 2007 NBA draft was judged to be a two-man draft by most basketball experts. The Portland Trailblazers had the top pick and the choice was stark: Ohio State’s 7-foot Center Greg Oden or Texas’s 6’10” Forward Kevin Durant. Oden, a powerful post player, led the Buckeyes to the NCAA Championship Game along with Mike Conley Jr. in his only season where they lost to Florida; Durant, a long and lanky pure scorer with unlimited range, was the consensus National Player of the Year in his lone season. ...