The NBA is a wonderful league. Even those who do not understand anything about basketball, if placed in front of even a medium-level game, can only be delighted. A little bit is for the all-American ability to make every occasion special. A little because of the incredible athleticism of the players. A little for the exhibitionism that players of that talent always know how to put on the pitch. A little ‘also for the talent of the Italian reporters. However, US basketball games are hard to put into words.
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Beyond the results and the point-to-point fight to win the match, an important element in this great show is the technical gestures. Paradoxically, in a sport that is the triumph of the collective and the organization, sometimes it is precisely these gestures that inflame the public. A dunk, a circus shot, a buzzer-beater (ie a basket that overturns the fate of the match at the last useful second) are the things that remain most impressive.
Wilt Chamberlain on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
In Los Angeles Lakers – Milwaukee Bucks
American basketball is a sport of confrontation. It may be due to the great weight given to statistics – that is numbers that must be compared with other numbers – but there is no sample today that is not analyzed in parallel with yesterday’s samples. Is LeBron James or Michael Jordan stronger? Steph Curry or Pete Maravich? The Derrick Rose of today or that of a few years ago?
However, there is a player in NBA history with whom no comparison is possible: Wilt Chamberlain. All the statistics speak in favor of him. The only one in history to have scored 100 points in a single game, the best rebounder of all times, fifth-best scorer ever, with a career points average that is second only to that of Michael Jordan. And while he was a champion in the offensive game, he was also a great stopper.
In the video below you can see him at work against none other than a young Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, future star of the Los Angeles Lakers. In this match, between Chamberlain’s Lakers and Jabbar’s Bucks, we can witness a true generational confrontation, between a champion close to retirement and a new one who appears on the scene. And that he gets blocked twice in a row, even when he tries his famous skyhook.
Michael Jordan on Patrick Ewing
In Chicago Bulls – New York Knicks
It is January 30, 1988. Two Eastern Conference teams meet in Chicago for the regular season: the Chicago Bulls hosts and the New York Knicks. They are two teams in the making. Inside they have future champions who, however, are not yet able to express themselves at their highest levels. The Knicks field Patrick Ewing, in his third NBA season, Billy Donovan, current coach of the Thunder, Bill Cartwright, and Rick Carlisle, current coach of the Dallas Mavericks. The Bulls have their star Michael Jordan, a late-season regular-season MVP, and defender of the year. However, they will not be able to win the title for a few more years.
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The game is drawn and played point to point. At the last minute of the last quarter, the score is still at 89 to 89. The ball is in the Bulls, who strike up an imprecise shot. Jordan takes the rebound and tries to repeat towards the basket but is stopped with losses by Ewing, dominant under the basket. Young Michael’s face is not the best.
The Bulls hit the lineout and lose the ball badly, giving the Knicks a chance to move forward. The New York team starts on the attack and about 30 seconds from the end gives the ball to Ewing in the low post. The center turns, and looks at the basket but does not see Jordan coming like a train from the right, who places a very powerful block on him, putting the situation back on track. The game then ended 97 to 95 for the Bulls after extra time.
Hakeem Olajuwon on Rod Strickland
In Houston Rockets – Portland Trail Blazers
“Hakeem gave it to you, and Hakeem took it from you.” The commentator’s voice has this almost biblical pace that you can also hear below when he comments on one of the most extraordinary blocks by Hakeem Olajuwon, a specialist in the sector. On the other hand, the action develops from a weak pass by Olajuwon, who is intercepted by the opposing guard, the more than discreet Strickland. His flight to the basket, however, is interrupted by an incredible recovery from the center of the Rockets, who manages to send the ball to the stands.
Born in 1963, Nigerian by birth, and American by adoption, Olajuwon played for most of his career in Houston, first in the Houston Cougars university team, then in the Rockets. With this franchise he has played more than a thousand games, becoming the greatest scorer in history (and the tenth overall in the NBA). He has also won two consecutive titles, expressing himself at legendary levels.
Powerful in attack and decisive in defense, he was once named MVP of the regular season, twice defender of the year, twice best rebounder, and three times best blocker. In addition, he is the absolute record for the highest number of blocks: he has made 3,830 in his career, an impressive number.
Dikembe Mutombo on Alvin Williams and Antonio Davis
In Toronto Raptors – Philadelphia 76ers
Originally from Africa, and in particular from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, he is also a former great blocking specialist like Dikembe Mutombo. Not surprisingly, the player boasts the second absolute record for the number of blocks (3,289 in total) and is famous for the phrase he often repeated to blocked opponents, “Not in my house”, “Not at my house”.
Quite limited in attack, he was a phenomenal defender, earning the title of best of the year 4 times and winning the rebounding ranking twice, and blocking three times. In his career, he has wandered a lot, but never managed to win a title. He started with the Denver Nuggets but never made it past the Conference semifinals. Then he moved on to the Atlanta Hawks, also losing the semifinals of the East twice here, against the Bulls and Knicks.
In 2000 he then moved to the Philadelphia 76ers, Allen Iverson’s team that closed the season in the first place and reached the Finals, lost to the Lakers of Phil Jackson, Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, and Derek Fisher. He finally returned to the final in 2003 with Jason Kidd’s New Jersey Nets but played as a reserve. Again he was defeated, this time by the Spurs of David Robinson, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili.
Nate Robinson on Yao Ming
In New York Knicks – Houston Rockets
We were the ones who said that to be a good stopper you need to have a series of characteristics and among these also the height. But the rules are meant to be proven wrong. The video that you can admire below is, in this sense, one of the most significant of what it means to be athletes who manage to overcome their limits.
The protagonists are two very different players. On the one hand, with the Houston Rockets jersey, Yao Ming, is a Chinese player of 2.29 meters in height. On the other hand, with the New York Knicks jersey, Nate Robinson, is 1.75 meters but an unpredictable character and athleticism. The effect of this strange combination is a sensational block that the second places on the first. On the other hand, Robinson is famous for his elevation, which has also allowed him in the past to win three times in the All-Star Game dunk competition.
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