Our writers give their verdicts on the new season, which tips off Tuesday night. Can New York or Oklahoma City thwart a Boston repeat? And will Bronny James make it to the show?
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Hubie Brown was the only coach I truly never got along with. Sure, throughout my career, other coaches and I had our spats. That’s normal. Professionals butt heads sometimes. But Hubie and I never got on the same page. I tried, but he was disrespectful to players and to me, especially. He talked to us like children. I remember reading something about him saying he was naïve at his past stop as the coach in Atlanta (from 1976–81). Prior to that, he was with the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA (as an assistant) and the Kentucky Colonels in the ABA (where he’d won a championship). His team had been full of drug users, and he just hadn’t known what to look for. Now, as he came to New York, he was set to exert control.
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Born in Lubbock, Texas, on April 11, 1955, Michael Ray Richardson grew up to be a star college basketball player at the University of Montana. From there, drafted by the New York Knicks’ Willis Reed in 1978 with the 4th overall pick, Richardson, known by many as “Sugar,” became a four-time NBA All-Star and one of the first players to lead the league in both steals and assists in a single season. Indeed, before Magic Johnson, Richardson was one of the first big point guards in the NBA.
Later in his life, he became a star in Europe, dominating Italian leagues and ushering in the era known as “Sugarmania.” But it was in between those times when things went south for the stalwart player. Famously, Richardson became the first player ever banned for life by the NBA and then-commissioner David Stern. But he is also the first player ever to be reinstated after such a punishment. For years, Richardson jeopardized his career due to a severe drug addiction. And all of that can be read in his new memoir, BANNED, which is out November 26.
Here below, check out an excerpt from that book.
When Paul Mokeski traveled to China several years ago to teach a month-long basketball clinic, he says he couldn’t help but feel like Godzilla. For the 7ft former NBA center, who played 12 years in the league, many of them on a Milwaukee Bucks team that battled Larry Bird’s Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals, it was a familiar feeling. People would come out of stores and point as if they were seeing a giant from a storybook. “That’s all part of the gig when you’re as tall as I am,” says Mokeski.
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On August 20, wife and husband duo KEXP DJ Eva Walker and local journalist Jake Uitti released their new book, The Sound of Seattle. Published by Sasquatch Books it dives into the city’s music history from Bing Crosby to Ayron Jones (with grunge, rap, and jazz mixed in between), and includes decade-specific essays with local luminaries, from Nancy Wilson to Sir Mix-a-Lot. Below, Sir Mix-a-Lot talks about living in the city in the 1990s as the music landscape was exploding.
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One of the most wonderful things about being a musician is that it’s a lifelong journey. There is no endpoint or destination when learning an instrument. As writer James P. Carse says, some ambitions we encounter are “finite games,” and some are “infinite games.” The former includes sports or solitaire, while the latter comprises art and music.
Yet even decades of pursuing music can include significant ups and downs—challenges that can be difficult or dissuasive. Thank goodness others can help us through these pitfalls. These accomplished performers share insights about what it means to follow their love of music. From rock and roll frontwomen to Grammy-nominated artists to songwriters to the stars, these are the musicians putting time and effort into achieving their sonic dreams. Find out what they have to say about starting out and beyond.
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Think of the quintessential Seattle band and you might, understandably, reach for the grunge icon of your choice, but from Hendrix to Heart, the city is steeped in guitar playing history.
Now KEXP DJ and frontwoman of the Black Tones, Eva Walker, alongside her music journalist husband, Jake Uitti, have penned a love letter to the music history of the Seattle-area, The Sound of Seattle.
From Thunderpussy to Ayron Jones, Kurt Cobain to Ben Gibbard and The Sonics to Sleater-Kinney, the book, which is out on August 20, chronicles some 80 years of songs and innovations in the Emerald City.
Included are also a number of interviews with Seattle luminaries, from Jack Endino to Sir Mix a Lot, alongside a healthy chunk of guitarist talent.
Below the authors have shared an excerpt from one of the city’s most iconic players – and a Rock & Roll Hall of Famer – Nancy Wilson, of Heart.
For the guitarist who co-wrote songs like Barracuda and Magic Man, her hometown of Seattle – and its place as one of rock ’n’ roll’s foundational cities – is reflected in another bastion of music, the UK...
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When playing for Team USA in the Olympics, it can feel like a no-win situation for a professional basketball player. Though it was invented by Canadian James Naismith, the sport has become the quintessential American global game. The United States men’s team has won the dominant share of gold medals in the competition, taking home the top prize 16 times, silver once in 1972 and bronze twice in 1988 and 2004. But ever since America brought the pros in to play in 1992, beginning with star-studded Dream Team, it has been more pressurized. If Team USA wins, it’s expected. If they lose, it’s a failure. That is the same for the women’s side, too, though they’ve been even more dominant than the men through the decades.
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At the start of the year, Alexandre Sarr was playing in Australia’s NBL, where the average salary is around $100,000. Reed Sheppard was playing in college where, NIL deals aside, he earned nothing. Now, after going No 2 and No 3 overall in June’s draft, they are millionaires. Sarr is guaranteed $23m from his rookie contract with the Washington Wizards, while Sheppard will have to make do with $20m from his deal with the Houston Rockets (both contracts could end up paying the duo north of $45m each). It’s not just the top picks who suddenly have access to wealth either. Nine players in the second-round of this year’s draft – guys who may not ever have a meaningful career in the NBA – have signed multimillion dollar contracts with their teams.
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Billy Mac remembers being in the broadcast booth in 2019 when Félix Hernández pitched his final game for the Seattle Mariners. Hernández, a Cy Young Award-winner and six-time All-Star who also threw a perfect game, came up in the big leagues with the team in 2005. But over the course of his 15-year career in the Pacific northwest, he was often the lone bright spot for a franchise that at one time had a 21-year playoff drought (a streak that finally fell in 2022). From his first All-Star season in 2009 until his final one in 2015, Hernández boasted a stunning 2.83 ERA, winning 104 games and losing only 65. Yet, he never once made a postseason pitch. But for Mac, a fact like that is all too familiar for the team he’s rooted now for decades – a team that was established in 1977 and remains the only active MLB franchise to never make a World Series.
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In the 1970s, the NBA was sputtering. Playoff games were on tape-delay. Many of the league’s teams were in debt, baseball was still firmly America’s game and lesser-known small market franchises were winning titles. But then an influx of talent changed the entire operation. The 1979-80 NBA season saw rookies Magic Johnson and Larry Bird explode on to the scene with the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics, respectively. But even then, the two were known quantities and so, too, was their budding rivalry. It all began in college the year prior. The 1979 NCAA title game featured Johnson’s Michigan State team defeating Bird’s Indiana State in what is still the most-watched basketball game ever in the US. It was a matchup that featured Magic’s flash and charisma against Bird’s quiet genius. Two skilled passers making their teams better. Fast-forward 45 years and history is repeating itself, this time with the WNBA’s Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark. Just ask Magic himself.
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Each year during the June NBA Draft, new players enter the league’s ranks. Decades ago, many were college seniors, coming into the pros in their early 20s after graduation. More recently, though, that trend changed and often new entrants are only in their late teens.
Here below, we wanted to take a look at the youngest players ever to be drafted into the NBA by each of the 30 franchises.
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When it comes to 17-year NBA veteran Kevin Durant, a few things are certain. He’s one of the best scoring forwards of all time, a two-time Finals MVP and a 14-time All-Star. And since he’s entered the league, he’s become something of an NBA nomad.
Where is Durant’s NBA home?
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It’s said that the NBA is a league rooted in stars. But even more than that, it’s one that thrives on rivalries. When two of its marquee players are pitted against one another, that’s when the tension is ratcheted up and interest rises to the highest level.
In the 1960s, it was Bill Russell versus Wilt Chamberlain. In the 1980s, it was Magic Johnson versus Larry Bird. More recently, we’ve seen LeBron James and Steph Curry battle over four consecutive NBA Finals. But what about the NBA’s GOAT? Who was Michael Jordan’s biggest rival?
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Former NBA champion Jim Chones, who won a ring with the 1980 Showtime Lakers, believes the relationship between fans and players has changed since his era. In decades past, the NBA was purely a sports league, one that provided entertainment to those in the seats or watching on television. Now, though, he says, it’s an entire “social network.”
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