Wrote this article on 14th April while watching the two big matches that were on TV.
As I'm writing this, Stephen Curry just hit his 400th 3-point field goal this season. The Bulls' record of 72 wins in a season is finally going to be broken after 20 years. However, that's not what this article is about. Twenty years ago, something else legendary happened - something that Sports Illustrated described as the second best of its kind. I'm talking about the NBA draft. The 1996 NBA draft is considered second best only to the 1984 draft where 'His Airness' Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, John Stockton and Hakeem Olajuwon were drafted.
As a 90's kid in India, I started watching basketball around the year 2000, and started playing it everyday in school. A lot of people from the '96 draft were already established players by then, while some were still blooming. All my friends were already talking about the killer crossovers by this guy called Iverson and tried to emulate his moves. Some were talking about this guy called Kobe who could score over anyone. I still hadn't found my calling, but it was because of these two guys and the likes of Vince Carter that my initial love for basketball began. Soon, I found myself making jump shots and telling people that I'm going to be the next Kobe Bryant one day. Luckily for me, I realized that passing the basketball was way more fun than shooting it. That's when I saw this guy called Steve Nash, who with his insane passing abilities and unorthodox one legged runners, impressed critics and fans alike. Yet another product of the 1996 draft. He and Jason Kidd changed the way I looked at basketball. I used to wake up early every morning just to watch these guys put on a display of creative magic day after day. You had to choose one of those styles as a kid. You're either a scorer or a passer. You can't choose both.
I just changed the channel to the other game and saw Kobe hit a 3 against the Jazz in his final game. He now has 35 points. That's what this article is about. It's about how these guys changed my life. As Kobe retires today, I think it's fair to say that the 1996 draft era comes to an end. Iverson retired a few years ago, Nash retired last year and Kobe, today. A lot of players have come and gone. A lot of records broken. These guys came into the league when Jordan was still winning titles and they had huge shoes to fill when he retired. Though Iverson was Draft pick #1, Nash and Kobe were picks #15 and # 13 respectively. I don't know if anyone would have believed that those two would be the best of their class. Though, players like LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh came in pretty soon, they were no match for the likes of Kobe, Nash, Iverson and Ray Allen. One thing that stood out about these guys was their crazy work ethic. The number of 3's Allen practiced everyday, the number of hours that the undersized point guard from Canada spent working against his back problems and the number of hours that Kobe spent in the gym, were inspiring for all teenagers in my time. I read somewhere, that despite being the best player in the league, Kobe was the first player to enter practice and the last one to leave. Watching these guys play, helped me survive school and college. Today, I may not be a great basketball player, but the things that I learnt from all of them is what helps me at work and keeps me going in life.
I hated Kobe and the Lakers as a child. The buzzer beater during game 4 of the 2006 playoffs against the Suns was heartbreaking. I remember being very upset all day. Luckily for us, we won games 5, 6 and 7 and went on to win the series. I remember chanting "Kobe sucks" to all my friends for the entire week after that. The 2007 playoffs was my favourite because we thrashed the Lakers 4-1 with Nash dishing out 23 assists in one of the games. But every single game, these guys brought their 'A' game to the court. Not once did they come in, as the best players in the world, but rather came in as underdogs. At least Nash and the Suns did. Allen and the Supersonics too. I think I have played every installment of the EA sports NBA 2K series. I always played as the Phoenix Suns and used to trade Dirk Nowitzki and Kobe into my team. I would then continue the Nashty and Dir(k)ty partnership in my virtual dreams. I intentionally would bench Kobe and did not let him play any game so that I could humiliate him in my virtual world, and also because if he played for the Lakers, he would score a lot and I would lose to them.
I'm changing channels now, the Warriors have hit 120 and the Grizzlies are nearing 100. I now know that the Bulls record is surely going to be broken. Meanwhile, Kobe just hit 50. I am completely torn. I don't know which channel to watch. One channel has the past, that most of us choose to cling on to, while the other is telling me how the league is going to be, henceforth. As an NBA fan, it's time to move on. I saw the Warriors record-breaking win, and then changed the channel just in time to watch Kobe hit 60 and walk out of the court with his chest held high. I hated that guy through my childhood but all I'm left with now, is respect.
It is truly the end of an era. My dad and I were animatedly watching the games.
Me: Kobe hit 50
Dad: No, he hit 60
Me: I was talking about field goal attempts
#OneLastKobeTaunt #KobeSucks #GoodbyeMamba #GoodbyeChildhood
As I'm writing this, Stephen Curry just hit his 400th 3-point field goal this season. The Bulls' record of 72 wins in a season is finally going to be broken after 20 years. However, that's not what this article is about. Twenty years ago, something else legendary happened - something that Sports Illustrated described as the second best of its kind. I'm talking about the NBA draft. The 1996 NBA draft is considered second best only to the 1984 draft where 'His Airness' Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, John Stockton and Hakeem Olajuwon were drafted.
As a 90's kid in India, I started watching basketball around the year 2000, and started playing it everyday in school. A lot of people from the '96 draft were already established players by then, while some were still blooming. All my friends were already talking about the killer crossovers by this guy called Iverson and tried to emulate his moves. Some were talking about this guy called Kobe who could score over anyone. I still hadn't found my calling, but it was because of these two guys and the likes of Vince Carter that my initial love for basketball began. Soon, I found myself making jump shots and telling people that I'm going to be the next Kobe Bryant one day. Luckily for me, I realized that passing the basketball was way more fun than shooting it. That's when I saw this guy called Steve Nash, who with his insane passing abilities and unorthodox one legged runners, impressed critics and fans alike. Yet another product of the 1996 draft. He and Jason Kidd changed the way I looked at basketball. I used to wake up early every morning just to watch these guys put on a display of creative magic day after day. You had to choose one of those styles as a kid. You're either a scorer or a passer. You can't choose both.
I just changed the channel to the other game and saw Kobe hit a 3 against the Jazz in his final game. He now has 35 points. That's what this article is about. It's about how these guys changed my life. As Kobe retires today, I think it's fair to say that the 1996 draft era comes to an end. Iverson retired a few years ago, Nash retired last year and Kobe, today. A lot of players have come and gone. A lot of records broken. These guys came into the league when Jordan was still winning titles and they had huge shoes to fill when he retired. Though Iverson was Draft pick #1, Nash and Kobe were picks #15 and # 13 respectively. I don't know if anyone would have believed that those two would be the best of their class. Though, players like LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh came in pretty soon, they were no match for the likes of Kobe, Nash, Iverson and Ray Allen. One thing that stood out about these guys was their crazy work ethic. The number of 3's Allen practiced everyday, the number of hours that the undersized point guard from Canada spent working against his back problems and the number of hours that Kobe spent in the gym, were inspiring for all teenagers in my time. I read somewhere, that despite being the best player in the league, Kobe was the first player to enter practice and the last one to leave. Watching these guys play, helped me survive school and college. Today, I may not be a great basketball player, but the things that I learnt from all of them is what helps me at work and keeps me going in life.
I hated Kobe and the Lakers as a child. The buzzer beater during game 4 of the 2006 playoffs against the Suns was heartbreaking. I remember being very upset all day. Luckily for us, we won games 5, 6 and 7 and went on to win the series. I remember chanting "Kobe sucks" to all my friends for the entire week after that. The 2007 playoffs was my favourite because we thrashed the Lakers 4-1 with Nash dishing out 23 assists in one of the games. But every single game, these guys brought their 'A' game to the court. Not once did they come in, as the best players in the world, but rather came in as underdogs. At least Nash and the Suns did. Allen and the Supersonics too. I think I have played every installment of the EA sports NBA 2K series. I always played as the Phoenix Suns and used to trade Dirk Nowitzki and Kobe into my team. I would then continue the Nashty and Dir(k)ty partnership in my virtual dreams. I intentionally would bench Kobe and did not let him play any game so that I could humiliate him in my virtual world, and also because if he played for the Lakers, he would score a lot and I would lose to them.
I'm changing channels now, the Warriors have hit 120 and the Grizzlies are nearing 100. I now know that the Bulls record is surely going to be broken. Meanwhile, Kobe just hit 50. I am completely torn. I don't know which channel to watch. One channel has the past, that most of us choose to cling on to, while the other is telling me how the league is going to be, henceforth. As an NBA fan, it's time to move on. I saw the Warriors record-breaking win, and then changed the channel just in time to watch Kobe hit 60 and walk out of the court with his chest held high. I hated that guy through my childhood but all I'm left with now, is respect.
It is truly the end of an era. My dad and I were animatedly watching the games.
Me: Kobe hit 50
Dad: No, he hit 60
Me: I was talking about field goal attempts
#OneLastKobeTaunt #KobeSucks #GoodbyeMamba #GoodbyeChildhood
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