J-Speaks: Hornets Longtime Broadcaster Going to Virtual Reality

For nearly a decade-and-a-half, a Takoma Park, MD native has provided analysis on as a sideline reporter and for the pregame and postgame as part of the Charlotte Hornets’ television team since the team returned to Charlotte, NC in 2004. Last week though was her last with the franchise as she is leaving for another broadcast opportunity. 

Last Saturday night’s 129-100 loss by the Hornets versus the Los Angeles Lakers was the final broadcast for longtime sideline reporter for the Hornets, formerly the Bobcats Stephanie Ready, which was confirmed in Wednesday’s edition of the Charlotte Observer. 

She will be moving from FOX Sports Southeast, formerly FOX Sports Carolinas to do virtual reality telecasts of NBA games for Turner Sports on a full-time basis. 

Last season, Ready, who Ebony magazine named “The 56 Most Intriguing Blacks of 2001” split her time between doing Hornets telecasts and Turner Sports’ experimental venture in broadcasting NBA games in virtual reality. 

Ready’s career resume also includes doing radio commentary on Furman basketball; doing part-time sideline work for Turner Sports in the 2006 and 2007 NBA Playoffs and the WNBA Playoffs for ESPN 2 in 2006; and sideline reporting during the first and second rounds of the 2006 and 2007 Women’s Final Four of college basketball.  

Ready, who played basketball and volleyball collegiately for the Coppin State University Eagles in Baltimore, MD confirmed to the Observer before the Hornets tilt versus the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday that this would her final week on Hornets telecast.

In that same report, Ready said that she was not yet authorized to discuss her next move in her broadcasting career but spoke very fondly of her opportunity that she received when professional basketball came back to Charlotte 14 years ago. 

“I’ve loved it,” Ready said of her time in Charlotte. “I’ve built so many great friendships and grown so much as a broadcaster. This changed my life-put me on a different path.” 

Before she made a name for herself as a broadcaster, Ready made history as the first woman to coach in a men’s professional league when she was an assistant coach for the now defunct Greenville Groove of the then National Basketball Developmental League (NBDL), now the G-League, the minor league of the NBA. 

After graduating from Coppin State cum laude with a BA in psychology in 1998, where she finished second, fourth, eighth and 10^th on the all-time list in steals, assists, points and rebounds respectably in her four-year career, Eagles’ athletic director Ron “Fang” Mitchell urged Ready to hold off going to graduate school and pursue coaching. 

He hired Ready to coach the women’s volleyball team two weeks before the start of their and the team in her first season snapped a 129-match losing streak. 

At that time Ready was one of the youngest Division I volleyball coaches in the U.S. She was in that position for three years, until she resigned in the spring in 2001. 

Mitchell called Ready to coach again, this time for the Eagles’ men’s basketball team. Ready broke the so-called “glass ceiling” as she joined Jennifer Johnston of Oakland University in Michigan and Bernadette Mattox, who coached at the University of Kentucky from 1990-95 under then coach Rick Pitino as the only women to ever coach Division I men’s college basketball. Ready though was the only one of the three allowed to recruit off campus. 

“It was a no-brainer,” Mitchell told blackvoices.com of the decision to hire Ready. “She’s very detail-oriented and one of the most organized people I’ve had a pleasure to work with.” 

Before Ready resigned from Coppin State in 2001, Mitchell gave her a ringing endorsement to NBDL’s senior director Karl Hicks and Rob Levine, who said to blackvoices.com, “I don’t think the NBDL is constrained by the folks who are going to be skeptics. We want to be a league that breaks old paradigms and provides opportunities. 

Then Groove guard Merl Code said to USA Today about them bringing Ready onto the coaching staff, “We don’t have time to worry about who’s coaching us. Coach Ready is there to help us and we want to let her help us.” 

To Barnes felt Ready was a major help to the Groove as she helped Barnes in putting together the players’ manuals, that included the team’s strategies on both offense and defense as well as team rules. 

The Groove won the NBA D-League championship in what was the first season of the league, but the team folded two seasons later. 

Ready said to Sports News Editor of CNN Jill Martin in an interview back in 2015 that her time with the NBDL prepared her for broadcasting saying, “That experience was a once-in-a-lifetime situation.” 

“Not only because I was so young and starting out in my coaching career—that was the fourth year I had ever coached in any sport—but it taught me a lot about the game of basketball. It taught me a lot about the business side of basketball, and it also just made me tougher.” 

Ready said to the “Sporting News” in an interview on Nov. 1, 2017 that she started to look for ways to stay close to the game that she loved by doing local collegiate games on the radio as well as inquiring information from friends she had on the business side of basketball. She also did some collegiate basketball analysis and sideline reporting for ESPN and she found the opportunity to do something that kept here close the game.

Ready would then take the position of assistant coach in the summer of 2004 for the WNBA’s Washington Mystics. Later in that summer she would get the job that moved her to Charlotte, NC to become the sideline reporter for the expansion Bobcats, for the short-lived regional sports network C-SET, working alongside now Toronto Raptors play-by-play commentator and former NBATV studio anchor Matt Devlin and color analyst Adrian Branch. 

Ready would continue doing broadcast work for the then Bobcats when they change telecast from Spectrum cable to now FOX Sports Southeast. 

Two seasons back, Ready broke another barrier as she became the first woman to be a full-time color analyst for the Hornets. She and her co-pilots for Hornets game in current play-by-play analyst Eric Collins and former standout Hornets sharpshooter Dell Curry became the first African American trio to broadcast games locally for an NBA team. 

“I think it’s amazing, man,” current Hornets forward Marvin Williams said of Ready glass breaking ceiling moment two seasons back. 

Ready was told this summer though that she would be heading back to the sidelines after FSSE made an adjustment to her role as well as hosting “Hornets Live” pregame with Ashley ShahAhmadi and postgame. 

FSSE’s senior vice president Jeff Genthner said to the “Charlotte Business Journal” that moving Ready back to the sidelines and pregame and postgame hosting duties came down to the fact that Ready’s absence from her prior roles left a gap from getting information out the viewing audience of when an injury occurred to a Hornets player or when other breaking news occurred during the game. 

That explanation was not satisfying to Hornets fans who voiced their displeasure on social media through the hashtag #DontSidelineStephanieReady. 

Even host Rachel Nichols of ESPN’s “NBA: The Jump,” which can be seen weekdays at 3 p.m. on the “World Wide Leader in Sports” touched on the happening on her show 

Ready called the response by Hornets fans and what Nichols did in an interview with “Sporting News” on Nov. 1, 2017 “overwhelming” and “humbling.” 

She added “Who knew I’d get chocked up talking about it? It means a lot to me. It’s nice to know that you’re appreciated, that you’re valued. And the fans, I feel like they’re a part of my family, and I think they feel the same way about me. When you’ve been coming into someone’s living room or someone’s kitchen or someone’s barber shop for the last 14 years, and you’re genuine, true self on the air, people get to know you. And it happens all the time in the street. People stop and want to talk and want to take pictures, and I don’t mind that. But to answer your question, it was extremely humbling and amazing to see. It makes your heart warm.” 

Ready also said that to this day her father still laughs and said to her once, “It’s about time you’re getting paid to run that mouth of yours.” 

She added, “I’ve always been a talker, so it’s been a good fit for me.” 

The game of basketball has also been a good fit for Ready’s family in her husband Perry and their two children in son James and daughter Ivy. 

Ready has been a solid as both a great broadcaster and as a mom is from some solid advice she got from her best friend, who is a CEO of her own company, with two kids of her own. 

She said to Ready, “The thing that’s going to help you survive is to be 100 percent in wherever you are. If you’re at work, you’re 100 percent into your work. If you’re with your family, you’re 100 percent into your kids.” 

“You can’t have guilt either way. Because you can get them both ways. That’s helped me a lot.” 

Ready said that she has an amazing life partner in Perry who he calls a saint, a terrific parent, and her biggest cheerleader. She also said that it has helped that her kids have been on this journey with her from the beginning. 

She remembers that when she was first pregnant with her son he would respond to the sound of bouncing basketballs in her womb. 

When Ready would watch video of opposing teams that the now Hornets would play, her kids would used that to their advantage to where they would stay up late and cuddle next to their mom and watch the contest with her. 

“They’re so used to it, and I think a part of it is there generational thing with the devices and screes because I’ve been Face Timing them and Skyping with them since they were babies,” she said. 

“So, seeing mommy on a screen, it’s every day. That’s how they’ve been raised. I have a feeling that it’s gonna hit them at one point that their friends don’t get to their parents on TV when they’re away from work like their mom, but so far, they’ll just sit there and color, build Legos. If they hear something, they’ll be like, ‘Is that mommy?’ Then they’re back to it. Doesn’t faze them.” 

The same can be said for detractors of Ready, though she has not had many of them. For the ones that have said the proverbial a woman’s place is in the kitchen, all that Ready has done is just continued to perfect her craft and appreciate those that have is just give her a chance and she has earned the respect of viewers and of the players and coaches she has interviewed with her knowledge of basketball. 

“She’s played the game,” NBA Hall of Famer and former Hornets assistant Patrick Ewing, who is now the head coach of Georgetown University, his alma mater said three years ago. “She’s done all the work. She done her homework. She’s studied her craft. She’s good at it. That’s the bottom line. She’s good at it.” 

Curry, the father of two-time Kia MVP and three-time champion with the Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry and reserve guard for the Portland Trail Blazers Seth Curry concurred by saying, “Whoever doesn’t think she’s qualified for, come ask me or ask any player or coach in the men’s locker room.” “The know that she’s qualified and she can do the job.” 

That same forward thinking is how many women have been hired in major spots in the four major North American sports, like current MLB analyst for ESPN Jessica Mendoza, who became the first woman ever to call a regular season game back in 2015. San Antonio Spurs’ assistant coach Becky Hammon, who became the first full-time female assistant coach in the NBA and Jen Welter, when she worked with the inside linebackers of the Arizona Cardinals during training camp and the preseason three years ago, and the first woman to hold a coaching position of any kind in the NFL. The NFL also had its first female official in Sarah Thomas back in 2015 as well. 

In the span of nearly two decades, with 14 of them in Charlotte, Stephanie Ready became a trailblazer who showed that it does matter your gender or sex, if you are knowledgeable and willing to be the best at your craft, you can become great at anything you want to. You can also change the minds of few along the way and show others who have those same dreams that it is possible for them to be in the same position or even better. 

Ready said to “Sporting News that she did not know what she would do beyond working for FOX Sports Southeast doing Hornets broadcast. She hoped to one day host a big show and be an analyst. 

As another chapter of Ready’s life closes in her basketball journey that has taken her from Takoma Park, MD, to Baltimore, MD, to Greenville, SC, to Washington, DC to Charlotte, NC and new one begins, the one guarantee that can be set in stone for sure is she will put her best foot forward to be great as an announcer for Turner Sports VR broadcast. 

“That is what my aspirations are,” Ready said when she was moved back to sideline reporting and doing the pregame and postgame for Hornets broadcast. “Being in this role-the change role, I guess-I’m also hosting the show again. I missed that the last two seasons. So, long term, I don’t really know exactly how to answer that question because, especially in broadcasting, there’s so many twists and turns, and so many different ways you could go. I would say 1A and 1B would be hosting a big show and being an analyst.” 

Information and quotations are courtesy of 12/4/15 https://www.cnn.com story, “Stephanie Ready No Stranger to History as NBA’s First Female Full-Time Analyst,” by Jill Martin; 12/1/17 www.sportingnews.com story “Hornets Analyst Stephanie Ready on Moving Back from Booth to Sideline: ‘I was Shocked,’” by Jordan Greer; 12/12/18 https://www.charlotteobserver.com story, “Observer Exclusive: Longtime Hornets TV Personality Stephanie Ready Leaving,” by Rick Bonnell; and https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephanie_Ready.

J-Speaks: Lakers' James and Ball Make Triple-Double History

Back in March 2010 Hall of Famer and six-time NBA champion with the Chicago Bulls Michael Jordan became owner of the then Charlotte Bobcats, now Hornets. One player that his team has had no success against in the eight seasons since then has been four-time Kia MVP and three-time NBA champion LeBron James who has own them winning 27 of the 28 matchups. James added to that misery on Saturday night as the first year Los Angeles Laker along with his teammate made some history in front of the Hornets fans. 

In fitting fashion, James registered his second triple-double on the season and the 75 of his 16-year career with 24 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists while his teammate Lonzo Ball registered his third career triple-double with 16 points, 10 boards and 10 assists as the Lakers (18-11) won at the Hornets (14-15) 128-100 last night.  

It was just the second time in franchise history that two Lakers recorded a triple-double since Hall of Famers and James’ boss Earvin “Magic” Johnson and fellow Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who led the Lakers to five Larry O’Brien trophies in the 1980s did it in a 123-111 on Jan. 22, 1982 versus the Detroit Pistons. 

“We just try to do a little bit of everything to help our team win,” James said of what he and Ball try to do each night on the hardwood. “We’re one in the same when it comes to our playmaking ability.” 

“We are always looking for our teammates and that’s the greatest satisfaction when we see our teammates score the ball. We’ve always been pretty good rebounders for our position. Him [Ball] at the guard spot, me at the four [power forward] spot, and then being able to put the ball in the hole as well.”

“We just try to be aggressive, attack the rim, make shots from the outside when guys disrespect us and we showed all of that tonight.”  

In that contest, Abdul-Jabbar, “The Captain” had 19 points, 10 rebounds and 10 block shots, while Johnson, who is second all-time in triple-doubles with 138 to the 181 of Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson had 26 points, 16 rebounds and 12 assists. 

The last set of teammates to record a triple-double in the same game came on Apr. 7. 2007 by the then New Jersey Net twosome of current Atlanta Hawks reserve swingman Vince Carter and recent Hall of Famer Jason Kidd. 

In the Nets 120-114 win versus the Wizards, Kidd, who was enshrined at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA back in September had 10 points, 18 assists and 16 rebounds with four steals. Carter in his 21^st season with the Hawks this year had 46 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists, along with three block shots on 16 for 28 from the field, including 7 for 13 from three-point range.

Nearly two decades prior, Jordan and his running mate that was a big part of the six titles he won with the Chicago Bulls Scottie Pippen, current studio analyst for ESPN, frequently scene on “NBA: The Jump” both recorded triple-doubles on Jan. 3, 1989 versus the Los Angeles Clippers. 

In the Bulls 126-121 overtime win that day, Jordan had 41 points, 11 assists and 10 boards, with six steals and Pippen registered 15 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds. 

The first pair of teammates to record a triple-double were the Hall of Fame tandem of Larry Bird and Robert Parish, who did it on Mar. 29, 1987 versus fellow Hall of Famers Julius “Dr. J” Erving and Charles Barkley and the Philadelphia 76ers. 

Bird, who had 59 triple-doubles in his career, No. 7 all-time had 17 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists on the day, while Parish, who register the only triple-double of his 21-year career on this day registered 14 points, 10 boards and 10 assists.

Ever since he came into the NBA as the No. 1 overall pick in June of 2003 James has drawn comparisons in terms of his play on the floor to Jordan and his all-around game to Johnson. 

While he has not exceeded Jordan in terms of titles, six for MJ to just three so far for LBJ, he has had a similar impact in terms of being the best player in the league and like Johnson has made his teammates better. 

That was clearly the case for Ball on this night, where he scored a season-high of 16 points, on 7 for 11 shooting and became the first Laker to register a triple-double with five steals since Johnson did it in 1989. 

“Ever since he got here, it’s been a dream come true for me,” Ball, who scored in double-figures for the 13^th time this season said of what James has meant to him joining the Lakers back in the summer. “Like I said, I watched him my whole life, and my idol growing up, and now were both getting triple-doubles in the same game.” 

“I don’t know if I’ve even dreamed of that before. So, like I said it was a good day today.” 

James added, “Any time you can put yourself in the same conversation of Laker history, all the guys that have come through this franchise, it’s pretty special.” 

The other similarity between James, Jordan, and Johnson is this that when they come into your team’s home arena the house will be packed. The 19,461 in attendance at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC on Saturday night was the largest crowd to see a game in that arena’s history. 

On Saturday night one of the greats of today’s NBA LeBron James along with his teammate Lonzo Ball put on a show in front of an owner who was one of the best to ever play the game in Michael Jordan. Both James especially registered his aforementioned 75^th career triple-double in front of a player that he said of his first encounter with Jordan, “It was Godly. I’ve said that over and over before but it was like meeting God for the first time.” 

James this past weekend was Godly as he continued his dominance over Jordan and the now Hornets beating them for the 28^th time in the last 29 opportunities as the Lakers continued their improvement winning for the 16^th time in their last 22 games after a 2-5 start. Even head coach Luke Walton was surprised about the history that James and Ball made in the game while throwing in a little joke. 

“I know it’s not easy There have been a lot of good players in the Lakers history and I figured Walton and Kobe (Bryant) would have done it a few times,” the former small forward with the “Purple and Gold” said. 

Information, statistics, and quotations are courtesy of 12/16/18 1 a.m. edition of ESPN’s “Sportscenter” with John Buccigross and John Anderson; www.nba.com/games/20181215/LALCHA#/recap; https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/198201220LAL.html; https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/200704070NJN.html; https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/198901030CHI.html; http://www.basketball-reference.com/leaders/triple-double-most-times.html; and www.espn.com/nba/player/gamelog/_/id/4066421/lonzo_ball.

J-Speaks: The Last Game Between LBJ and D-Wade

Nearly two decades ago, two Midwestern basketball players, a teenage phenom from Akron, OH and an Oak Lawn, IL native, who went to school at Marquette met at the 2003 NBA Draft scouting combine and began a life long friendship that has continued in their NBA careers to this day. They started as Eastern Conference rivals for their first seven seasons. They were then teammates in South Florida making four consecutive appearances in June winning two Larry O’Brien trophies and spent the half of last season together in “The Land.” They had one final showdown in the “City of Angels” on Monday night for all to see and it was one they both savored. 

In their last joint chapter on the hardwood of the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA four-time Kia league MVP and three-time NBA champion LeBron James nearly had his second triple-double of this season with 28 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds in leading the Lakers (17-11) to a 108-105 win versus 2006 Finals MVP Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat (11-16) 108-105. Wade in his final matchup with his great friend and former teammate finished with his first double-double of the season with 15 points, all in the second half and 10 assists. 

Wade, who said he intends to retire at the conclusion of this season was sent out in style by the capacity crowd of 19,060 in the arena who gave him multiple standing ovations along with a tribute video in the opening period. Among those 19,000-plus in attendance was Wade’s better half in actress/entrepreneur Gabrielle Union, who saw her husband play 32 minutes in the contest and helped get his team back into the game in the second half. 

“This was the last time I was going to be able to guard him, so I waited until the end,” Wade, a 12-time All-Star, who was 6 for 19 shooting in the contest said after the loss. “He knows my moves just like I know his moves. I just wanted to enjoy the competition for the last time.”

The perennial All-Stars missed key shots down the stretch, but James connected on two key free throws with 22.5 seconds remaining. Wade and James also got a chance to guard one another down the stretch of the game as their respective teammates stepped back so they can both take in the moment. 

Wade even had a chance to tie the game in the closing moments, but his fallaway triple hit the backboard. His teammate Justise Winslow, who led the Heat with 28 points off the bench, going 11 for 20 from the floor, including 6 for 10 from three-point also had a chance to tie the score but his three-pointer was short as well as the final buzzer went off. 

After the final horn, the two future First-Ballot Hall of Famers embraced each other with a big hug surrounded by photographers and then exchanged jerseys after that with Wade even saying to the 14-time All-Star and three-time Finals MVP, “I appreciate you letting it end here.” 

James in the postgame interview with NBATV’s Dennis Scott said of the final tilt between him and D-Wade, which he now owns a 16-15 mark in their head-to-head matchups, “Like I’ve been saying all week it’s bitter sweet man. Every possession you was just like, ‘the next one is getting closer and closer to the last one.’” 

“So, a lot of emotions going on right now for me just knowing that I’m losing a brother in this game that I’ve had so many wars with. So many wars each other together and separate. So, there’s no better way to end it in Staples Center man and this is my guy man. This is my guy.” 

Wade echoed those same emotions with Scott saying about the game that this is why you play the game. To have the opportunity to go against or in his case to also play alongside one of the best. 

The 2010 All-Star Game MVP and three-time NBA champion played with and against a player that brought the best out of him and vice versa, and who said afterwards is very “thankful” to be in the same draft class as LBJ, where Wade was drafted No. 5 overall out of Marquette University and James was selected No. 1 overall out of St. Vincent-St. Mary High School. More than just teammates, Wade and James had a friendship that extended beyond the hardwood that we all got a chance to see unfold right in front of our eyes.

That friendship began at the 2003 NBA Pre-Draft camp where Wade was sitting in the training room waiting for a long time when suddenly James strolls in. 

Wade said he was sitting there because as he told Rachel Nichols, host of ESPN’s “NBA: The Jump” in an interview a season ago when Wade just joined James and the then defending four-time Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers that as soon as James entered the room, the doctors checked him out right away. 

That began a friendship that culminated when James and Wade, along with fellow perennial All-Star Chris Bosh joined forces in South Florida in the summer of 2010. 

While the Heat reached The Finals in their first season together in 2010-11, they lost to the Dallas Mavericks and future Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki in six games. 

Wade said to Nichols that setback, which put the so-called “Big Three” in as vulnerable a moment as you could possibly be as a professional athlete helped his relationship with James grow. 

That growth began when the two vacationed in the Bahamas, where in the first couple of days the two sat around the kitchen table of a house they rented and stewed over that setback that ultimately got the wheels rolling to where they won back-to-back titles the next two seasons taking down the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs in five and seven games respectably. 

Beyond climbing that mountain, Wade was dealing with some personal struggles of his own as he was divorcing his high school sweetheart Siohvaughn Funches, who is the mother of his two sons. 

In the process of the breaking of this union there a very rough custody battle, which Wade did win. 

Wade said having James in his corner at the moment where he became a full-time father was as he said to Nichols was “huge,” because he was able to do what he needed to do away from the floor and that he and his teammates have his back on the court. 

“The example that set coming from someone that never encountered a father growing up, to see one of your best friends gain custody of his kids. Fight for and say like, ‘I want my kids.’ That like helped me become a better father as well,” James said of the impact of what Wade went through had on him. 

To put this into context, Wade said that he called James asking him advice on what time his eight and three-year-old should go to sleep? 

Like a true friend, James was right there to lend his ear and his voice as best he could and that as what Wade said that the public does not see in which a tight bond is formed and eventually strengthen. 

“People see LeBron James and Dwyane Wade that plays basketball,” Wade said. “People don’t see the real-life humans. Two real-life people that have a relationship and a bond, and similar things that go on in their lives, and things that they help each other with in their lives.” 

That tight bond and respect these two had on the hardwood was just as powerful and respectful on the hardwood. 

We have to remember when James took as he said in that famous interview with then ESPN’s Jim Gray called “The Decision,” that he was “taking his talents to South Beach,” he had yet to win a championship while Wade already won one in 2006. 

In that famed introductory showing of Wade, James, and Bosh days later that summer at the American Airlines Arena Wade was introduced first and along the way James let his ora and his work ethic do his talking for him. 

What also took place is Wade, James, and Bosh made the decision as one to come together to what had never been done, form a super team via free agency.

Before that, teams like the Los Angeles Lakers of the “Showtime” era of the 1980s, the great Boston Celtics teams of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s and other great teams happened organically via the draft. 

On top of that, the “Big Three” had a focus and togetherness that helped them get through some rough times to when they first got together the whole NBA nation from diehard fans to casual fans, and just sports fans in general were rooting for them to fail, especially in Cleveland for how LBJ left. 

Perhaps the telling moment of how much respect D-Wade and LBJ have for one another as close friends was four summers back when James decided to opt out of the final year of his contract and return to the Cavaliers as a free agent. 

When ESPN.com’s Ramona Shelburne asked Wade about how hard it was for James to make that decision, he said to her, “I just said go do what’s best for LeBron.”

“I’m your friend. I’m going to care about you no matter what. And if this is what’s best for you, I want what’s best for you.” 

The other great lesson that LBJ and D-Wade showed in their 16-year journey in the NBA is they were going to be themselves and make their own decisions regardless of the opinions of others. 

Before they joined forces in the summer of 2010, James, and Wade when they were opponents in Cleveland and Miami, they stayed together in each other’s homes during opposing road games and even went out to dinner on a few occasions. 

That made a lot of people, especially many who played in the 1980s and 1990s of the NBA that Hall of Famers Larry Bird, Julius “Dr. J” Erving, and Earvin “Magic” Johnson would never be seen being chummy with one another, except maybe during All-Star Weekend. 

We kind of forget “Magic” Johnson and Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas had a friendship off the court and were very close being from the Midwest and Thomas learned how to become a champion by seeing Johnson do it first and we all know what happened after. 

What James and Wade did is that they made their friendship public and they brought the best out of each other both on the floor and off of it and became great friends who happened to be two of the best to ever play in the National Basketball Association. 

“We got a chance to see just greatness,” NBATV analyst and NBA champion in 2003 with the San Antonio Spurs Steve Smith said on Monday night. “We know on the court, but what I love is they matched their greatness on the court with their off the court as people.”

Thomas, now an NBATV studio analyst said on Monday night that Wade along with the great Michael Jordan and former Laker great and future Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant are “game changers.” 

“When you talk about generational players, okay Dwyane Wade was a generational player along with Kobe. Along with Michael who set the standards for their generation.” 

Hall of Famer and fellow NBATV studio analyst Kevin McHale said that he admires the most about Wade is that he was an all-out player who had no problem getting on the floor to get a loose ball or attacking the hoop to score. 

He originally thought though that he would not last long in the league because of that all-out play but he added an in-between floater and expanded his range on his jump shot to match his ability to post-up and attack the rim.

“If you told me that he would have 22,000 points in his career I would’ve said, ‘No way,’” McHale said about Wade’s career production. “No jump shot. There’s no way that guy will be a scorer. He turned himself into a great pro.”  

At the start of this week in Los Angeles, CA the NBA nation and sports fans across the United States and even the world saw the 31^st and final meeting between two future Hall of Famers, who struck up a friendship that has gone beyond the hardwood. Both as opponents and as teammates they brought the best out of each other. They enjoyed the good times together and were there for another in the rough times both on and off the court. Above all they established a lifelong bond that we all got a chance to see unfold and represented a true definition of something that we all hope and wish to have. 

Last night the basketball chapter of Dwyane Wade and LeBron James may be over but this will not be the last time we see these to great basketball players and people together having an impact. 

“The friendship that we have you guys that’s beyond basketball, but I’m [gonna] missed this,” Wade said to Scott. “Like I’m gonna miss the [expletive] out of this man.”

James followed that by saying about Wade, “He’s one of the greatest players to ever play this game and just as privileged he is to enter the league with me it’s beyond mutual. So, we’re going to miss flash man, you know. We’re going to miss him in this league, that’s for sure.”

Information, statistics, and quotations are courtesy of 12/10/18 3 p.m. “NBA: The Jump” on ESPN with Rachel Nichols, Ramona Shelburne, and Marc J. Spears; 12/11/18 10:30 p.m. NBATV “Players Only,” broadcast of Miami Heat versus Los Angeles Lakers with Greg Anthony, Candace Parker, Steve Smith, and Dennis Scott; 12/11/18 2 a.m. “Players Only” edition of NBATV’s “Gametime,” presented by Kia with Chris Webber, Isiah Thomas and Kevin McHale; www.nba.com/games/20181210/MIALAL#/boxscore/recap; www.espn.com/nba/player/gamelog/_/id/1966/lebron-james; www.espn.com/nba/player/gamelog/_/id/1987/dwyane-wade; www.espn.com/nba/game?gameid=40107182; www.espn.com/nba/standings; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/LeBron_James; and https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwyane_Wade.

J-Speaks: The Passing of a Great Public Servant

He was one of the greatest public servants in our country. A war hero, a diplomat as a proud member of the United States military, a Congressman and eventually the leader of the free world. He was a devoted and loving husband, father, and grandfather. Above all this proud man born in the Northeast part of the country believed that our country was stronger together regardless of what side of the political line you were on. This weekend the nation said goodbye to this great servant to our nation. 

George Herbert Walker Bush, the 41^st President of the United States of America passed away late Friday night at his home in Houston, TX. The cause of death of the 94-year-old, was not disclosed. 

Since Bush 41’s passing, a memorial of flowers and notes has grown outside his home in Houston, the family through the Bush Family Foundation is sharing home videos and recordings of the former president reading a letter to his children.  

Across the country flags flew at half staff in honor of the 41^st President from the White House to the George Bush Library and Museum on the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station, TX.

The spokesperson for the Bush family Jim McGrath said that Mr. Bush died shortly after 10 p.m. that evening-seven months and 13 days after the passing of his beloved wife of 73 years and former First Lady Barbara Bush, who he called in his last interview with former ABC News’ “Good Morning America” anchor Diane Sawyer “the leader of his family.” 

He added that his wife was a kind person that had an amazing spirit, was unselfish to where they always said a prayer together before bed, and never went to bed angry and never stayed angry. 

The late Mrs. Bush said that she married a man that was “the most decent, honorable, wonderful.” 

“Nobody’s ever been as lucky as I’ve been, and I want people to remember him as courageous. I want them to remember him as he is.”

The Bush’s are survived by five of his six children in George Walker Bush, the 43^rd President of the U.S.; John Ellis “Jeb” Bush Sr., the 43^rd Governor of Florida from 1999-2007; Neil Mallon Bush; Marvin Pierce and Dorothy Walker “Doro” Bush Koch. 

Between the five kids, they gave their parents 14 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. The most well known of the grandchildren are Barbara and television reporter and frequent host on the NBC News’ “Today” Jenna Bush Hager and her sister Barbara, the children of George W. and Laura Bush. 

Bush Hager produced a touching tribute to her grandfather on her Instagram page that brought those who read it to tears according to the Sunday edition of the New York Post, that also included a photograph of a joyous moment of the two along with her twin sister Barbara, that was placed in the article by Mary Kay Linge. There was also a photograph of a young Jenna and Barbara listening to a story with fellow Bush grandchildren Pierce, Marshall, Lauren, Ashley, and Sam LeBlonde on Christmas Eve 1991.

That touching tribute went like, “Waking up missing this giant of a man who gave me everything. He taught me and my family about service, family, decency, the power of gentle words and a beautiful heart. I will miss him desperately but so happy he and my Grandmother are back together.

The Bush’s second child Pauline “Robin” Robinson died of leukemia two months shy of her fourth birthday in 1953.  

In a report from ABC News’ Elizabeth Hur on Saturday night, Mr. Bush’s simple burial instructions were released. He wanted the military song played called “The Last Full Measure of Devotion.” As for his grave stone, he wants something plain with his Navy number on it and a quote dedicated to his late wife who was known to loved ones as “Bar” that says, “He loved Barbara very much.” 

The final send-off for America’s 41^st Commander-in-Chief began on Monday morning when his coffin was flown aboard Air Force One from Ellington Field in Houston to Joint Base Andrews in Prince George’s County, MD. The flight carrying Mr. Bush’s body was called “Special Air Mission 41.”

There was an arrival ceremony at the Base that took place at 3:30 p.m., which was followed by an arrival ceremony at the U.S. Capitol at 4:45 p.m. Members of Congress got a chance to pay their respects in a bicameral arrival ceremony that began at 5 p.m. The general public got their chance to say farewell starting at 7:30 p.m. at the base and Mr. Bush will lie in state there until 8:45 a.m. Wednesday morning. 

A departure ceremony will take place at the U.S. Capitol at 10 a.m. on Wednesday morning with a funeral service at Washington’s National Cathedral at 11 a.m. A departure ceremony will follow at the cathedral at 12:30 p.m. and then Mr. Bush’s casket will depart from Joint Base Andrews back to Ellington Field in Houston at 1:15 p.m. He will lie in repose at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church from Wednesday at 6:45 p.m. to Thursday at 6 a.m. There will be an honor guard in attendance. 

Funeral services will take place at the church at 10 a.m. Mr. Bush’s remains will then be transported via motorcade to Union Pacific Railroad Westfield auto Facility in Spring, TX. The casket will then be transported to College Station, TX. 

Bush 41 will be laid to rest at 4:15 p.m. right behind his presidential library in a family plot right alongside Barbara, his wife, and their daughter “Robin.” 

Mr. Bush’s service dog Sully has been alongside his casket on his final journey to his funeral that will take place on Thursday morning at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church back in Houston at 10 a.m. is his service dog Sully and McGrath tweeted a photo of Sully lying next to his casket early Sunday night with the caption “Mission complete. #Remebering41.” 

Bush 43 said that the Labor door will go back into service to help veterans at the Walter Reid National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, MD. 

There are many who say that when the elder Bush was sworn in as the 41^st President of our great nation in 1992, following the man he had just served alongside as Vice President in No. 40 Ronald Reagan he became one of the most qualified people to be elected Commander in Chief of the U.S. history. 

He served as Congressman representing Texas’s 7^th District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1967-71. The 10^th Ambassador to the United Nations from 1971-73 for President Richard Nixon. The 2^nd Chief of the U.S. Liaison Office to the People’s Republic of China. The 11^th Director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and for eight years as the right-hand man to the previously mentioned late Mr. Reagan. 

When Mr. Bush became leader of the nation, he said in his inauguration speech in 1989 about the direction of our nation that, “A new breeze is blowing and a world refreshed by freedom seems reborn.” 

Mr. Bush also stressed the importance of public service, a concept that was an important driving force in his journey of life as he was born into privilege on June 12, 1924 in Milton, MA to former U.S. Senator Prescott (R-CT) and Dorothy Walker Bush. 

He was raised in Greenwich, CT, where he lived on Grove Lane and attended The Greenwich Country Day School. Mr. Bush and his family practiced their faith at the Christ Church in that town of Connecticut. 

Senior Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) remembered the former leader of the free world as someone who had a twinkle in his eye when he talked about where he lived during his youth and the fond memories of New Haven, CT as well as Greenwich. 

Governor Dannel Malloy has ordered flags be flown at half-staff for the next 30 days in honor of Bush 41. 

The young Bush’s life would change dramatically when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, he postponed continuing his education after high school and he enlisted to fight in the Navy in World War II becoming the youngest pilot in history at age 18. He flew 58 combat missions, but during one of those missions was shot down over the Pacific. 

Mr. Bush was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and was sent back home to the Northeast.

The U.S. Navy marked the passing of the 41^st President from their Twitter page @flynavy saying, “Naval Aviation mourns the passing of our 41^st President George H.W. Bush, a Naval Aviator, statesman, and humble public servant. His legacy lives on in those who don the cloth of our great nation and in the mighty warship which bears his name, @CVN77_GHWB. May he Rest In Peace.”

On Monday, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point honored the 1994 Thayer Award recipient by firing a cannon from Trophy Point at every half hour from reveille, the start of the day to retreat, the end of the day from 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

It was in New York in he would meet the love of his life while on leave from World War II. She was Barbara Pierce of Queens, NY, who he married in 1945 and who would be by his side for 73 years. 

Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) has ordered all flags be flown at half-staff at all state buildings beginning on Tuesday until President Bush’s body is laid to rest. 

Mr. and Mrs. Bush’s journey would take him to the baseball diamond where he played the game at Yale University from 1947-48. The first baseman, who captained the Bulldogs in first two College World Series. 

The NBA’s New York Knicks had a moment of silence before for Mr. Bush before their tilt versus the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday afternoon, while the Houston Rockets before their tilt versus the Chicago Bulls had not only a moment of silence but a video tribute that featured images of Mr. Bush sitting courtside at several games and posing for pictures with various former players and coaches of the organization. 

After earning his undergraduate degree in economics, Bush and his family moved to West Texas where thanks to his father’s connections ventured into the oil business eventually starting Bush-Overbey Oil Development company in 1951 and two years later co-founded the Zapata Petroleum Corporation. 

The journey would eventually take Mr. Bush Sr. and former U.S. Senator and Congressmen from Indiana Dan Quayle to the highest office that and into a world that he called rich with promise and one where he would rewrite how the United States did foreign policy. 

One of those historic moments in foreign policy under Bush’s watch came on the night that the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 and the Soviet Union collapsed two years later, bringing an end to communism as the planet new it in Eastern Europe. 

That was followed by the Persian Gulf War and the liberation of Kuwait from the Iraqi armed forces, with Bush said of that moment, “A line has been drawn in the sand.”

In addressing the nation back then, the elder Bush said about the ending of the Cold War and the demise of communism, “Eastern Europe is free. The Soviet Union itself is no more.” 

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, who was the Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff under Bush 41 said to “NBC Nightly News” anchor Lester Holt on the Saturday evening broadcast about when the press asked him what he was going to do.

Powell said that Mr. Bush simply said, “This will not stand. This invasion. This evil thing words to that affect.” 

Powell, who was watching his television at his home as Bush made that statement and he knew right then that if this confrontation cannot be solved peacefully that military force was the next option. 

Victory was achieved without one single shot being fired thankfully and that victory in the Gulf earned Mr. Bush great popularity. That however did not stem the tide of a faltering economy and a growing budget deficit weakened his presidency. It was his inability to keep a campaign promise that he made back three decades back would cost him dearly. 

“Read my lips. No new taxes,” he said at the Republican National Campaign in 1988.

Mr. Bush only served just one term in office as the Democratic challenger Bill Clinton defeated him in the 1992 Presidential Election. 

Even after a brutal campaign that makes the elections of today seem tame, Mr. Bush showed his trademark decency in leaving a letter of support for the incoming Commander-in-Chief in Mr. Clinton on Inauguration Day of Jan. 20, 1993 in the White House for him to read.

That letter, which would begin a modern presidential tradition that continues today, which the Bush Library tweeted @Bush41Library on Oct. 21, 2016 and was recently retweeted said, “Dear Bill: When I walked into this office just now, I felt the same sense of wonder and respect that I felt four years ago. I know you will feel that too.” 

“I wish you great happiness here. I never felt the loneliness some Presidents have described. There will be very tough times, made even more difficult by criticism you may not think is fair. I’m not a very good one to give advice; but just don’t let the critics discourage you or push you off course.” 

“You will be our President when you read this note. I wish you well. I wish your family well. Your success now is our country’s success. I am rooting hard for you. Good Luck. George/.”  

It would not be the last time though that a Bush would occupy the White House as his previously mentioned son George W. was elected to the highest office in the land for two terms in 2000 and 2004. The Bush’s became the first father-son presidential duo since 1825 when John Quincy Adams followed his dad John to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., Washington D.C. Adams.

Bush 43 would finish a task his father began in taking down Saddam Hussein 12 years later.

The 43^rd President of our country George W. Bush remembered his father as quote, “A man of the highest character and the best dad son or could ask for.”

In retirement, Mr. Bush continued that pursuit of life doing activities like parachute jumping and watching baseball. 

For his 90^th Birthday back in 2009, he went skydiving, carrying on a tradition he started on his 75^th birthday and his 80^th. 

He also teamed up with his former adversary in Mr. Clinton to raise funds for hurricane and tsunami victims. He also teamed up with the 44^th President of the United States Barack Obama to promote volunteerism. 

Mr. Clinton and his wife, former First Lady, United States Senator of New York, Presidential Candidate, and the 67^th U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recognized Mr. Bush’s military, diplomatic and political achievements saying over the weekend, “Few Americans have been-or will ever be-able to match President Bush’s record of service to the United States and the joy he took every day from it.”

Mr. Clinton added in a tweet @BillClinton on Friday evening, “Hillary and I mourn the passing of President George H.W. Bush and give thanks for his great long life of service, love and friendship. I am grateful for every minute I spent with him and will always hold our friendship as one of my life’s greatest gifts.”

These two simple acts promoted something that is very much missing from our nation, the ability to connect with someone that you disagree with on most things politically but when it came to promoting things that should never have any partisan thinking that is what makes our nation better and bridges the gap that divides and deludes our greatness as a whole. 

“He easily could have chosen a life of comfort and privilege and instead time and again when offered a chance to serve he seized it,” Mr. Obama said of the Senior Bush’s ability to act when called upon to give back. 

He added by saying in a statement, “America has lost a patriot and humble servant in George Herbert Walker Bush. While our hearts are heavy today, they are also filled with gratitude.” 

Mr. Obama's wife and former First Lady Michelle Obama, who is currently promoting her new book "Becoming" announced on Sunday that she will be postponing several stops on book tour to attend Bush 41's funeral services. 

"It's important to me to join the Bush family in celebrating President George H.W. Bush's exemplary life. This will unfortunately  preclude my visits to Paris and Berlin," Mrs. Obama tweeted @MichelleObama on Sunday morning. "I've been deeply touched by the enthusiasm for my memoir, and I'm working to reschedule my trip for next year." 

"I hope readers and ticket holders will understand my decision regarding my desire to attend President Bush's funeral, and join me in paying tribute to him and his tremendous contributions to our world." 

Mr. Quayle echoed those same sentiments saying, “I have often told my children, ‘If you want a role model in your life-look to President George Herbert Walker Bush.”

In a world today where it seems that the ability to respect one another on both sides of the political spectrum seems to be as lost as ever, Mr. Bush always seemed to find a way to get along with not just his Republican colleagues but Democrats as well as every day Americans. He had a humility and decency that crossed not just the political spectrum. 

The current occupiers of the White House in President Donald J. Trump, who has governed at times with very little compassion to say the least and his wife-First Lady Melania showed their respects to the former leader of the free world saying, “President Bush set the bar higher. Inspiring Americans to be, in his words, ‘A Thousand points of light,’ illuminating the greatness, hope, and opportunity of America to the world.” 

Mr. Trump, who was in Argentina over the weekend for the G20 Summit said he called members of the Bush family to offer his condolences and said to reporters at the summit of the 41^st President, “He was a very fine man. I met him on numerous occasions. He was just a high-quality man who truly loved his family. One thing that came through loud and clear. He was very proud of his family.” 

That is quite a turn from what took place during the 2016 Presidential Election when Bush 41 called Mr. Trump a blowhard. 

Other than that moment though, the elder Bush tried to stay above all the craziness that took place, despite Mr. Trump’s attacks on his son’s and his own policy. 

Mr. Trump, who did not attend the funeral services for U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) when he passed in late August will be in attendance for the services to Bush 41 this week and on Saturday issued a proclamation declaring this Wednesday a National Day of Mourning to remember Bush 41.  

Governor Cuomo called Mr. Bush a great unifier, as WNBC 4 New York’s Government Affairs reporter Melissa Russo said that he governed in the oval office in the so-called mold of the “greatest generation,” that was about humility and patriotism that was above partisanship. 

One person who had a front row seat for that ability to govern was former New Jersey Governor Thomas Kean (R), a person who he shared a life-long family friendship with before running both the elder Bush’s Presidential elections. Mr. Kean said Bush 41 always worked to make others feel comfortable.

“He carried our area in the election,” the 48^th governor of the “Garden State” and Chairman of the 9/11 Commission said to Russo. “So, he wasn’t unpopular here.”

Mr. Bush among his many gifts was the ability to connect with others and that connection was especially true in Kennebunkport, ME where Bush 41 spent much of his early life and returned to the family compound every summer.

Mr. Kean mentioned how Mr. Bush singled out his wife Deborah Bye at campaign events so that she felt a part of the moment. After doing that few times Mrs. Bush came up to Kean and asked, “Have I got a rival?”

Congressman Peter King (R-NY) remembers meeting Mr. Bush at the conclusion of his presidency when he was an incoming Congressman in 1993 when he invited a group of them down to the White House to welcome them to D.C. and to say see you later at the same time. 

“I was really eerie like walking down the White House and all the cardboard cartons were packed up because he was moving out, but he could’ve been more friendly,” the Congressman from New York’s Second District said. 

Late Friday night, the nation said goodbye to a great man who served our country as well as you could in every aspect of it. As a member of our military; as a businessman; as a vice president; the C.I.A.; a U.S. Ambassador; as Vice President and then President. More than anything George Herbert Walker Bush was a devoted husband, father, grandfather, and great grand father who passed on his love of service and dignity to his entire family and earned the respect and appreciation of this entire nation and the world. He governed the way his lived his life with honor, dignity, respect, and enthusiasm and developed long lasting friendships with those he campaigned against and those of the opposite party. Bush 41 in his own way taught all of us that we are stronger together than we are apart. 

As Mrs. Obama put in a tweet on Saturday that was accompanied by a photo of her receiving a kiss on her cheek from Mr. Bush during a White House visit when her husband was in office saying of the 41st President, "As a public servant, father, and grandfather, President George H.W. Bush was an extraordinary example for us all. His spirit of service and decency will be missed by many, including our family. I hope his memory will be a guiding light for our country and those around the world." 

Information and quotations are courtesy of 12/1/18 6 a.m. edition of WABC 7 “Eyewitness News This Morning,” with Michelle Charlesworth, Toni Yates, and Weather Anchor Amy Freeze, with reports from Bill Ritter, Lynda Lopez of ABC News and Marcus Solis; 12/1/18 11 p.m. edition of WNBC “New 4 NY at 11,” with Adam Kuperstein, Jummy Olabanji, Weather Anchor Erica Grow and Sports Anchor John Chandler, with reports from Chris Pollone, and Government Affairs reporter Melissa Russo; 12/2/18 11 p.m. edition of WABC 7 “Eyewitness News” with Joe Torres, Sandra Bookman, Weather Anchor Jeff Smith, and Sports Anchor Sam Ryan, with report from ABC News’ Elizabeth Hur; 12/3/18 6 a.m. edition of WPIX 11’s “PIX11 Morning News at 6 a.m.” with Dan Mannarino, Katie Corrado, Weather Anchor Byron Miranda and Traffic Anchor Marissa Torres; 12/1/18 www.nytimes.com article “Bush’s Letter to Clinton Cemented a Presidential Tradition, Historians Say,” by Julia Jacobs; 12/2/18 Newsday article “No Higher Honor Than to Serve,” by The Associated Press; 12/2/18 New York Post articles “Final Goodbye ‘I Love You, Too,’” by Mary Kay Linge and “A Thousand Points of Lightheartedness; A Daredevil Cornball & ‘Sock Man,’” by Laura Italiano;

12/2/18 www.usatoday.com story, “Michelle Obama Postpones Several Book Tour Stops to Attend George H.W. Bush’s Funeral,” by Cydney Henderson, with contributions from Aamer Madhani, Kirk Bado, and Dalvin Brown; 12/4/18 www.abc7news.com story, “National Day of Mourning for President George H.W. Bush: What you need to Know;” 12/4/18 11 p.m. edition of “Chasing News,” with Bill Spadea on WWORDT-TV 9, New York, NY, with report in Washington, D.C. from FOX News’ Ray Bogan http://www.nba.com/games/20181201/CHIHOU#/recap; http://www.nba.com/games/20181201/MILNYK#/recap; www.google.com; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_T._King; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Kean; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Quayle; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yale_University; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prescott_Bush; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W._Bush; and https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_H._W._Bush.