J-Speaks: J-Speaks: The NBA: 2010s "A Decade To Remember"

There are times in life that what happens in the past can give you a glimpse into the future. That is for sure the case for the National Basketball Association (NBA) as the history making performances, game-changing moments, and teams that defined the 2010s and teens that began on Jan. 1, 2010, which served as a prelude of what was to come in this new decade that is now one year old, was documented in NBATV’s series “Basketball Stories: A Decade To Remember” that re-aired on Saturday afternoon hosted by Matt Winer.

Records And Runs that Revised NBA History

Ray Allen Becomes All-Time Leader In Threes Made

On Feb. 11, 2011, Hall of Famer Ray Allen then with the Boston Celtics hit a three-pointer with 1:48 left in the first quarter versus the then defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers on TNT, his 2,561^st career made three-pointer, unseating fellow Hall of Famer of Indiana Pacers Reggie Miller for the most in NBA history. After making the shot that moved the former University of Connecticut and two-time NBA champion to the top of the all-time three-pointers made list in NBA history, he went over the NBA on TNT broadcast table and first shook the hand and then gave a hug to Miller, while then Lakers’ center Andrew Bynum was at the foul line on the ensuing Lakers possession.

Allen made 2,973 three-pointers in his 18-year NBA career with the Milwaukee Bucks, then Seattle Supersonics (now Oklahoma City Thunder), Celtics, and Miami Heat, with current two-time Kia MVP Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors not too far behind at 2,832 career made three-pointers entering this upcoming season.

Jason Kidd Becomes No. 2 All-Time in Assists 2010 and Steals In 2012

Before he became an NBA head coach first with the Brooklyn Nets, then the Bucks, then an assistant coach with the Lakers, and now head coach of the Dallas Mavericks, Hall of Famer Jason Kidd played 19 NBA season (1994-2013) with the Mavericks (for two stints), Phoenix Suns, the then New Jersey Nets (now aforementioned Brooklyn) and New York Knicks.

On Nov. 25, 2009, Kidd in the early minutes of the four quarter of the Mavericks 130-99 win at Houston Rockets registered his seventh assists of the night, which gave him 10,337 for his career, moving him past Mark Jackson, current NBA on ESPN/ABC television color analyst for the second most in NBA history, only trailing the 15,806 by fellow Hall of Fame floor general of the Utah Jazz John Stockton.

In the Mavericks 89-73 win versus the Celtics Feb. 20, 2012, on TNT, Kidd had three steals and surpassed fellow Hall of Famer and NBA champion, six times over Michael Jordan into second on the all-time steals list, which gave him then 2,517 for his career.

Kidd finished his 19-year NBA career No. 2 all-time in assists (12,091) and steals (2,684), both trailing fellow Hall of Famer John Stockton’s 15,806 and 3,265 career totals in assists and steals respectably.

“I’ve just been in the right places at the right time, understanding guys’ tendencies, watching film early on in my career and just being lucky to be in the league long enough to get in the way of some passes,” Kidd said back then.

“Just being able to pass [Jordan] in something is an honor in itself. When you talk about defense, he played both sides of the ball. [John] Stockton and [Michael] Jordan are the two best at what they do. When you talk about guards, those two are the best all-time.”

Historic Winning Streak By 2012-13 Miami Heat

On route to their second straight championship, and third overall in franchise history, the Miami Heat won a franchise record 66 games, which included a 27-game winning streak that began with a 100-85 win on Feb. 3, 2013, at the Toronto Raptors to Mar. 27, 2013, a 101-97 loss at the Chicago Bulls on ESPN.

The Heat’s 27-game winning streak is second only to the 1971-72 World Champion Lakers 33-game winning streak.

“It’s a special team. It’s a special ride right now that we’re on,” four-time Kia MVP currently with the Lakers LeBron James said of the streak. “Every team is going to give us a good shot, no matter their record. No matter whose out on the floor. We’re going to get their best and we should enjoy that. We should embrace that.”

Warriors Record Setting Regular Season

Coming off their first title in four decades, the then defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors roared into the 2015-16 season with a 24-0 start, which was not only the best start to a season in NBA history, but the best in the four major North American sports (NBA, NHL, MLB, and NFL). That historic start led to a 73-9 mark for the 2015-16 regular season, the best regular season in NBA history, which was one more win than the 72 victories by the Hall of Fame trio led Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, and head coach Phil Jackson of the Bulls.

Start of Russell Westbrook’s Triple-Double Bing

Prior to the 2016-17 season, the most triple-doubles any player had in a single-season in NBA history was the 41 registered in 1961-62 by Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson, who was is the only player to that point in NBA history to average a triple-double for a single-season as well in NBA history.

That all changed in the 2016-17 season when now the newest member of the Lakers Russell Westbrook registered a single-season NBA record 42 triple-doubles with the Oklahoma City Thunder on his way to winning Kia MVP.

“Every night I try to bring some joy to the game,” Westbrook said once after a game during that season. “You know, put smiles on people’s faces. I’ve been blessed to play this game, and every night I try to leave it on the floor.”

While he put smiles on the faces of his teammates, Westbrook broke the hearts of fans of the Denver Nuggets as he hit the game-winning three-pointer to cap his 42^nd triple-double of that season with 50 points, 10 assists, and 16 rebounds in the Thunder’s 106-105 win at the Nuggets on Apr. 9, 2017. Westbrook set a new single-season triple-double record with his 42^nd, breaking Robertson’s then 55-year-old mark of 41.

In four out of the last five NBA seasons now, Russell Westbrook has registered a triple-double

Most Triple-Doubles In Single-Season In NBA History

Russell Westbrook: 42 2016-17 with Thunder

Oscar Robertson: 41 1961-62 with Cincinnati Royals

Russell Westbrook: 38 in 2020-21 with Washington Wizards

Russell Westbrook: 34 in 2018-19 with Thunder

Wilt Chamberlin: 31 in 1967-68 with Philadelphia 76ers

Historic Statistical Games Of 2010s

Kevin Love’s 30/30 (Points/Rebounds) Game

Before he was a five-time All-Star, two-time All-NBA Second Team selection, and NBA champion in 2016 with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Kevin Love was a player that like most young players at the start of their NBA careers just trying to prove that he belonged in “The Association.” On Nov. 12, 2010, Love put together that signature game that made people take notice as he registered 31 points and set a franchise single-game record with 31 rebounds in helping the Minnesota Timberwolves overcome a 21-point third quarter deficit to win 112-103. It was the first 30/30 (points/rebounds) since the late Hall of Famer and NBA champion with the 76ers in 1983 Moses Malone had 32 points and 38 rebounds for the Houston Rockets in a game against the then Supersonics in 1982.

Love had 15 of those 31 boards in the third quarter, which was on the heels of registering 23 points and 24 rebounds in a loss the previous game against the Lakers.

“I just got into a great rhythm on the offensive and defensive glass,” Love said of his performance that night. “I had 31 rebounds and 28 points, and with two minutes left I got the three at the top of the key.”

“That was definitely a special night for me, and probably the best game I’ve had in my NBA career. And it was kind of almost my ‘Welcome to the NBA’ moment.

Two Future Hall of Famers: Stephen Curry and Carmelo Anthony Lights Up MSG Scoreboard

Any NBA player that has gone on to legendary status in their career has always had a signature scoring night at the “Worlds Most Famous Arena,” of Madison Square Garden in New York, NY. Last decade, two more future Hall of Famers etched added that to their career resumes.

Before he was a perennial All-Star, three-time NBA champion, two-time Kia MVP, and one of the best three-pointer shooters in NBA history, Stephen Curry was mainly known as the son of fellow all-time sharp-shooter Dell Curry, current color analyst for the Charlotte Hornets of Bally Sports Southeast. That began to change on Feb. 27, 2013, when he scored a then career-high 54 points with seven assists, and three steals on 18 for 28 from the field, including 11 for 13 from three-point range in a 109-105 loss at the New York Knicks on MSG.

Nearly one year later on Jan. 14, 2014, future Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony, now with the Lakers not only a career-high of 62 points on 23 for 35 shooting, including 6 for 11 from three-point range and 10 for 10 from the free throw line in a 125-96 win by the New York Knicks over the visiting then Charlotte Bobcats (now Hornets). Anthony not only set a new Knicks single-game scoring record as well as a new single-game scoring record by any player to play at “The Garden.” He scored 37 of those 62 points in the opening-half that he capped with a halfcourt three-pointer at the buzzer.

“It’s just a zone you get in sometimes,” Anthony said postgame to then MSG sideline reporter Tina Cervasio, now the sports anchor for WNYW FOX 5. “Only a certain group of people know what that zone feels like, and tonight was one of those zones.”

James Harden’s Breaks Rockets Single-Game Scoring Record

Current Nets perennial All-Star and 2018 Kia MVP James Harden has been no stranger to putting up big time numbers in games for nearly the past decade from his years with the Rockets and now with the Nets.

Harden like Anthony got into one of the scoring zones scoring 18 of his 60 points as part of the NBA’s first 60-point triple-double in its history in the Rockets 114-107 win versus the Orlando Magic on Jan. 30, 2018.

Harden, who scored 18 of his 60 points in the fourth quarter, to go with his 11 assists and 10 boards not only broke the Rockets single-game all-time record of 57 points scored by Hall of Famer and Rockets pre-game and postgame television analyst Calvin Murphy in 1978.

Roaring Offensive Explosion By Suns’ Devin Booker At TD Garden

In the history of the NBA, there have been only seven players to score 70 points or more in a game, with one player doing it three times in two different seasons. On Mar. 24, 2017, young player just two years into his NBA career etched his name into that historic group.

In the Phoenix Suns 130-120 loss at the Celtics on that aforementioned night of Mar. 2017, Devin Booker scored 70 points on 21 for 40 from the field, including 4 for 11 from three-point range and an incredible 24 for 26 from the foul line.

Booker, who added eight rebounds, six assists, and three steals to his point total scored the most points in a game since the late Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant scored 81 points in 2006 versus the Raptors.

Most 70-Plus Point Games In Single-Season In NBA History

Wilt Chamberlin: 3 1962-63 with San Francisco Warriors

Wilt Chamberlin: 3 1961-62 with Philadelphia Warriors

Devin Booker (PHX): one in 2016-17

Kobe Bryant: one in 2006-06 with Lakers

David Robinson: one in 1993-94 season with San Antonio Spurs

David Thompson: one in 1977-78 with Denver Nuggets

Elgin Baylor: one in 1960-61 with Lakers

“I know you can’t take nothing for granted in this league, and your opportunity can be gone in one day,” Booker said once. “So, every time I get out there, I try to play my hardest.”

That hard work and dedication has certainly paid off for Booker, especially this past season leading the Suns with help from Hall of Fame lead guard Chris Paul and head coach Monty Williams to their first playoff berth in 11 seasons and they reached The Finals for the first time since 1993. They won the first two games of the series, but the Bucks led by Finals MVP and two-time Kia MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo won the next four games to earn their first NBA title since 1971 led by Hall of Famers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Lew Alcindor then) and Oscar Robertson.

Historic Sharp-Shooting Nights By Other Half of Warriors “Splash Brothers” Combo

While two-time Kia MVP Stephen Curry might be the face of basketball revival in the Bay Area, he was not the only Warrior lighting up scoreboards from the perimeter whether it was in front of “Dub nation” or in opposing arenas. The other half of the “Splash Brothers” duo in fellow perennial All-Star Klay Thompson had three magnificent nights his backcourt mate has not matched.

In the Warriors 126-101 win versus the Kings on Jan. 23, 2015, Klay Thompson had an NBA record for a single-quarter with 37 of his then career-high 52 points on 16 for 25 from the field, including 11 for 15 from three-point range and 9 for 10 from the foul line.

Thompson on this night did something that not even some of the most prolific scorers in the history of the game like Hall of Famers Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Michael Jordan or the late Kobe Bryant or Wilt Chamberlin or the Lakers’ LeBron James to score 37 points in a quarter.

“You always dream of it,” Thompson said of the night he had. “Being a big-time scorer, big-time player. Whenever I be putting up shots in the park or my backyard, I dream about it.”

On Dec. 5, 2016, the Pacers got a glimpse of how explosive Klay Thompson can be as he scored an NBA season-high and career-high 60 points in 29 minutes going 21 for 33 from the field, including 8 for 14 from three-point range and 10 for 11 from the charity stripe.

Thompson not only had the best scoring night of his NBA career, but it was the most points by a Warriors player in more than 42 years, and Thompson did it in just three quarters, with 40 of those 60 points in the opening-half in just 18-plus minutes.

Thompson joined Hall of Famers in the late Wilt Chamberlin, Rick Barry, and Joe Fulks as the only players in Warriors history to score 60 points in a game, with Barry the last to do so with 64 points on Mar. 26, 1974, against the Portland Trail Blazers.

The only person that cooled Thompson off on that night was Curry, who deuced him with ice during his postgame interview with NBC Sports Bay Area’s sideline reporter Ros Gold-Onwude, who now works with ESPN.

When asked by Gold-Onwude if Curry cooled him off, Thompson’s reply was, “No. I’m still hot.”

After a cold shooting star to the 2018-19 season, Thompson found the mark on Oct. 29, 2018, in the Warriors 149-124 win at the Bulls as he had 52 points on 18 for 29 shooting, including hitting an NBA single-game record 14 three pointers on 24 attempts, breaking Curry’s all-time single-game record of 13 made triples.

“I just knew I was due for a big night, I just knew it,” Thompson said in his postgame presser about his historic performance.

Most Career Games With 10-Plus Made Three-Pointers NBA History

Stephen Curry (GS): 10

Klay Thompson (GS): 5

James Harden (BKN): 3

Damian Lillard (POR): 3

Zach LaVine (CHI): 2

Tim Hardaway, Jr. (DAL), Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart (BOS), Danilo Gallinari (ATL), Fred VanVleet (TOR), Terry Rozier (CHA), Duncan Robinson (MIA), Devonte Graham (NOP), Buddy Hield (SAC), Paul George (LAC), Kemba Walker (NYK), Wesley Matthews, Kyrie Irving (BKN), Trevor Ariza (LAL), Terrence Ross (ORL), Chandler Parsons, C.J. Miles, Joe Johnson, and Deron Williams all have had one game of making 10 or more threes in their NBA careers.

These three nights showed how accurate, efficient, and seemingly effortless Klay Thompson can be from the perimeter and after missing the last two seasons respectably be because of a torn ACL in his left knee and a ruptured Achilles, the Warriors hope there are more prolific sharp-shooting nights this upcoming 2021-22 season and beyond from the son of fellow NBA champion with the Lakers Mychal Thompson.

Blockbuster Trades and Free Agency Signings In 2010s

James Teams Up with Wade and Bosh In South Beach

For many years in the NBA, there have been franchise changing moves where star players changed teams either through blockbuster trades or free agency in search of that elusive championship. In the 2010s though player movement not only put certain teams in position this movement incorporated not just one star player, but two sometimes three stars joining up to win a title whether they came together or were joining a star player’s squad.

It all started in the summer of 2010 when two-time Kia MVP LeBron James announced on national television in a half-hour special with then ESPN’s Jim Gray that he was as he said “taking my talents to South Beach” to join the Miami Heat. James teamed up with good friend and fellow members of the 2003 NBA Draft class Dwyane Wade, who already helped the Heat win their first title in 2006 and former Raptor Chris Bosh.

In four years together, James, Wade, Bosh led the Heat to four straight NBA Finals appearances winning back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013. James won first of his four NBA titles in South Beach, capturing Finals MVP both times.

Returns To “The Land”

Then in summer of 2014, James returned to the team that he spent the first seven years of his career in the Cleveland Cavaliers in free agency.

“My city, I love you I’m back,” James said four off seasons back to Cavaliers fans he once spurned to join the Heat.

After falling short in the 2015 Finals against the Warriors, James led the Cavaliers back from a 3-1 series hole to take down the defending champion Warriors in seven games and brought the first pro sports title since the NFL’s Cleveland Browns won it all in 1964.

“The Beard” Is Dealt To “Clutch City,” Joined Along Way By Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook

On Oct. 27, 2012, James Harden was dealt from the Thunder to the Houston Rockets.

“It’s a new journey for me. It’s a new growth for me to move and do something special,” Harden said at his introductory presser with Rockets that offseason. “I’m very excited to be here.”

In his seven full seasons with the Rockets, Harden blossomed into one of the best scorers and player makers, being in the Top 3 for Kia MVP, winning the award in 2018.

The Rockets also as a team became true title contenders, especially when Harden was joined in “Clutch City” by fellow perennial All-Star guard in Chris Paul summer of 2017 and then by former Thunder teammate Russell Westbrook in 2019.

“Looking forward to hit,” Westbrook said at his introductory presser summer of 2019. “Obviously, it’s change.”

The Rockets got close, but never reached The Finals in their three chances of getting their falling in 2015 and 2018 Western Conference Finals to the Warriors in five and seven games respectably. They also lost to the Warriors in 2016 First-Round of the Playoffs 4-1 and the 2019 West Semifinals 4-2. In 2017, the Rockets also fell in West Semis to the Spurs 4-2 and in 2020 Playoffs in the restart in Orlando, FL, the Rockets were taken down in the West Semis by the eventual NBA champion Lakers 4-1.

Rockets in 2018 West Finals lost Paul in Game 5 to a hamstring injury that kept him out for Games 6 and 7.

KD Goes To Dub Nation

After losing to the Cavaliers in 2016 Finals, after leading the series 3-1, the Warriors in building their squad for a rematch hopefully with the now defending NBA champions the summer of 2016 went out and signed 2014 Kia MVP Kevin Durant.

“I figured that it was time for me to try something new, and try a new challenge,” Durant said at his introductory presser flanked by Warriors head coach Steve Kerr and General Manage Bob Myers.

Behind the trio of Durant, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, the Warriors reached The Finals three straight years, five straight years in total and won back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018 with Durant earning back-to-back Finals MVP. The Warriors however lost in 2019 Finals in six games to the Eastern Conference representative Raptors.

That summer Durant, who ruptured his right Achilles in Game 5 of The Finals left in free agency to team up with fellow free agent Kyrie Irving with the Nets.

Raptors Acquire Kawhi Leonard, Result: NBA Title

The Warriors were on the wrong end of the 2019 because they did not have Kevin Durant, but also because they had no answers for the Raptors key offseason addition in Kawhi Leonard.

After falling in the Playoffs three straight seasons (in 2016 East Finals, and 2017 and 2018 East Semis) to the then LeBron James led four-time defending Eastern Conference champion Cavaliers, the Raptors behind Finals MVP Leonard finally reached The Finals and won their first NBA title in franchise history.

Leonard and George Team Up With Lakers So- Called “Little Brother”

The 2018-19 season would be the lone season for Leonard in Canada as he left in free agency to team up with fellow perennial All-Star Paul George with Los Angeles Clippers the summer of 2019.

“Now, I’m on my next journey,” Leonard said at his introductory presser about joining the Clippers. “I think we got a great future. We can make history here.”

After falling short of expectations falling in the 2020 West Semis in seven games to the eventual Western Conference runner-up Denver Nuggets, after leading the series 3-1, the Clippers under now head coach Tyronn Lue, who replaced now 76ers head coach Glenn “Doc” Rivers made it to Western Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history, but lost in six games to the Suns, and did not have Leonard, who was lost in Game 5 of the West Semis versus the Jazz with what was at the time a right knee sprain, but ended up being a partial tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in that right knee that required surgery. Right now, there is no timetable for Leonard’s return next season, meaning that the Clippers hopes of winning a title next season got little tougher, especially in an even more stacked Western Conference.

LBJ And AD Teaming Up in L.A.

The Clippers were not the only L.A. squad adding A-Listers to their roster. After adding LeBron James in free agency in the summer of 2018, in 2019 they acquired from the New Orleans Pelicans perennial All-Star big man Anthony Davis.

“When I got traded here, my goal was to bring a championship here,” Davis said in his introductory presser.

That dream became a reality as James and Davis led the Lakers to the 2020 title in the restart in Orlando, FL, giving the Lakers their 17^th Larry O’Brien trophy, tied with the archrival Celtics for the most championships in NBA history.

All-Star Moments In 2010s

The 2010s more than any other time in NBA history was defined by All-Stars and some of the best in the game of that time changing zip codes team up to chase an NBA title together. The groundwork for these dynamic team ups happened at the NBA’s unofficial annual midseason celebration, All-Star weekend where we saw the last decade specifically many indelible moments.

The 2010 All-Star Game took place at Cowboys Stadium on Valentine’s Day 2010 was memorable not because future Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade had 28 points, 11 assists, six rebounds, and five steals on his way to winning All-Star Game MVP, but the 108,713 people in attendance set an all-time record for a basketball game (professional or college), with the previous record of 78,129 in attendance for a game between the University of Kentucky and Michigan State University. The previous record for attendance at an NBA All-Star Game was 44,735 at the 1989 contest at the Houston Astrodome. The 2010 All-Star Game also broke the record for the single largest indoor event, which was previously held by WrestleMania III in 1987.

“To be a witness of the largest crowd ever to the game and to play in it is an honor for all of us,” Wade said.

While the All-Star Game is the main and conclusion for the NBA’s weekend of celebration, it is also a weekend showcase for the future stars of the game. That was definitely the case at the 2011 Slam Dunk Contest.

It was the coming out party for now Nets perennial All-Star Blake Griffin who put on a showstopping display of athleticism and aerial creativity, that included him dunking over a car.

The lights during the 2015 All-Star Weekend in New York, NY were on the Three-Point Contest at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY that featured the “Splash Brothers” tandem of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, newest member of the Heat Kyle Lowry, Kyle Korver, Wesley Matthews, J.J. Redick, Nets James Harden and Kyrie Irving, and Marco Bellinelli.

On that night, it was Curry who was the best shooter in the building winning the contest, going 27 for 34 in the final round. It was the first of two wins in the Three-Point Contest for Curry who won it at the 2021 All-Star Game in Atlanta, GA.

The 2016 NBA All-Star Weekend in Toronto, Canada had the lights again on the Slam Dunk contest where Bulls All-Star guard Zach LaVine, then with the Minnesota Timberwolves and then Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon, now with Nuggets had a duel that had remind fans of how Hall of Famers Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins went at it back in the late 1980s.

Both LaVine and Gordon put on a display of aerial creativity and sky-high moves that had everyone from the fans to their NBA peers dropping their jaws. They did everything from windmill dunks, reverse dunks, one-handed between the leg’s dunks.

On one of his last dunks, LaVine brought back memories of Jordan when he took off from the foul line, put it between his legs, and finished it off with a one-handed throw down.

LaVine won the 2016 Slam Dunk contest but beat Gordon narrowly by just three points (200-197).

“We did some crazy stuff, man. It came down to it, man. This was ridiculous,” LaVine said after the contest.

Gordon concurred saying, “It was really quiet. You know, two of the most athletic people in the league. Zach just closed it out with the last dunk. It was crazy, man.”

One of the great joys of All-Star Weekend is being the unofficial host for your team in your city during the NBA’s unofficial weekend celebration.

That was the case for then Pelicans big man Anthony Davis, who scored in route to winning All-Star Game MVP scored an All-Star Game record 52 points on 26 for 39 from the field with 10 rebounds in leading the Western Conference to a 192-180 win over the Eastern Conference.

“I’m grateful that I can be an All-Star, here in the city of New Orleans,” Davis said of this achievement in his career. “I’m going to play my hardest.”

In an effort to make the All-Star game more competitive, the NBA for the 2018 unofficial mid-season classic made a change where the top two vote-getters from the East and West would serve as captains and just like in pickup ball would choose their squad from other All-Stars regardless of conference.

The 2018 NBA All-Star Game was captained by then Cavaliers perennial All-Star LeBron James and Warriors Stephen Curry.

The other change to the game was that each team would pick a charity to play for and the winning team would receive $100,000 for each player to present to the selected charity, while the losing team would earn $25,000 per player to donate to their respective chosen charity.

Team LeBron took down Team Steph in the inaugural All-Star Game under the new format 148-145 in one of the most competitive All-Star Games in recent years.

“Since I’ve been playing in the All-Star Game, this is the best one, you know,” Kevin Durant said after the game. “It’s because of the format. All the guys came out and played hard.”

NBA Rookies Of The Year In 2010

The pinnacle for any basketball player is the NBA. Each player hopes to have a major impact for the team that selects them either in the First-Round or the Second-Round of that year’s NBA Draft. For each player that enters the NBA, their main goal is to win the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy as that season’s Rookie of the Year. In the 2010s, the players who won this individual honor to start their NBA journeys was the precursor of the high trajectory of their NBA careers, while for others has them possibly searching for the league’s ultimate prize elsewhere.

Blake Griffin, No. 1 overall pick in 2009 NBA Draft out of University of Oklahoma by the Clippers, who missed his rookie season after injuring his left knee cap the final preseason game, returned for the 2010-11 season, and won Kia Rookie of the Year.

He helped to turn the Clippers into a playoff perennial, but injuries from 2015-18 took away a lot of the explosiveness that made him a perennial All-Star in the early part of his career and in late January 2018 was traded to the Detroit Pistons.

While Griffin regained his All-Star form in 2018-19 season with the Pistons, a left knee injury that hampered him during the close of the 2018-19 season and required season-ending surgery in early January of 2020. Things did not better for Griffin this past season in Detroit for Griffin and on Mar. 5 was bought out of his contract and three days later was signed by the Nets, making his debut on Mar. 21.

Griffin re-signed with the Nets this offseason and is now an integral role player that hopes to make his mark in helping the Nets to their first NBA title this upcoming season.

With the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 draft, the Cavaliers selected Kyrie Irving out of Duke University.

It did not take long for Irving to establish himself as one of the upcoming talents in the NBA, and four years later when LeBron James returned to town, and with the acquisition of All-Star Kevin Love, the dreams of winning a championship started to become a reality for the Cavaliers, which they made reality in 2016.

But after three straight trips to The Finals, the summer of 2017 Irving requested the Cavaliers trade him because he wanted to be more of a focal point of his own team instead sharing alongside James.

Irving got his wish that August 2017 when he was traded to the Boston Celtics. At first, this marriage between Irving and the Celtics seemed like one that could go the distance, but injuries to Irving and the inability to mesh with rising stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, and a poor 2019 postseason fractured the marriage between the Celtics and Irving.

He moved on in two summers ago in free agency and teamed up with his buddy Kevin Durant in Brooklyn. The injury bug hit Irving again as a lingering right shoulder injury shelved him or 26 games early on and eventually cut his season short again as he required season-ending surgery on his right shoulder on Feb. 20, 2020.

The 2020-21 season, Irving was a good one for Irving individually becoming the just the nineth player in NBA history to join the 50/40/90 club as he shot 50.6 percent from the field, 40.2 percent from three-point range, and 92.2 percent from the foul line in helping the Nets to the second-best record in the Eastern Conference.

After defeating the Celtics in five games of the opening-round of the 2021 Playoffs, the Nets fell to the eventual NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks in seven games of the 2021 East Semis, and Irving was on the bench for the final three games of the series after spraining his right ankle in Game 4 after landing on the foot of 2021 Finals MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The Nets as the enter this upcoming season hope for good health from Irving and the other two members of their trio in Kevin Durant and James Harden and to make a run to NBA title this spring.

The 2013 Kia Rookie of the Year was the No. 6 overall pick by the Portland Trail Blazers Damian Lillard, who has led the Trail Blazers to the postseason for eight straight seasons the longest current streak in the NBA.

Aside from reaching the Western Conference Finals two seasons back, falling to the Warriors in a four-game sweep as well as falling to the Warriors in 2016 West Semis 4-1, and to the Spurs in the 2014 West Semis also 4-1, the Trail Blazers have been ousted in the First-Round of the postseason in five games twice (2015 against the Memphis Grizzlies and 2020 to the eventual NBA champion Lakers), swept 4-0 in back-to-back postseason (to the eventual NBA champion Warriors 2017 and Pelicans in 2018), and falling this past postseason in six games to the Nuggets.

That has led to speculation that Lillard, a six-time All-Star will be traded all though he has not said so publicly.

Going into this season with a new head coach in season No. 10, the Trail Blazers hopes of continuing to be a playoff team and hopefully a championship contender hinges on Lillard, who signed a four-year, $176 million contract extension two summers back, which begins this upcoming season remains in “Rip City.” If they get off to a slow start and are not in the mix by the trade deadline at the beginning of this spring, the rumblings about Lillard being dealt will only get louder.

The 2013-14 Kia Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams, No. 11 overall pick out of Syracuse University showed a lot of promise, but after two years with the 76ers in the early stages of their rebuild dubbed “The Process,” Carter-Williams has bounced around playing for the Bucks, Bulls, Charlotte Hornets, Rockets, and currently with the Orlando Magic.

In 2014 and 2015, the Timberwolves selected No. 1 overall in back-to-back drafts taking Canadian swingman Andrew Wiggins out of University of Kansas, and big man Karl-Anthony Towns out of University of Kentucky, who both earned Kia Rookie of the Year in respective seasons of 2014 and 2015. But while both put up great numbers in their rookie seasons, and earned rookie extensions, the Timberwolves only made the playoffs in 2018 season.

The Timberwolves moved on from Wiggins trading him to the Warriors at NBA trade deadline on Feb. 6, 2020, getting back D’Angelo Russell in return.

After playing just one game together after the trade from the Warriors, Russell and Towns did play a little more together this past season, all be it just 23 games because of injuries to both during last season.

With a full offseason together healthy as well as a fully offseason under head coach Chris Finch, who replaced the fired Ryan Saunders in late February, the Timberwolves hope that a healthy Towns and Russell and another season under Coach Finch’s system is the start of better days ahead for a squad that has missed the playoffs in 16 of the last 17 seasons.

In 2016-17, Malcolm Brogdon, the No. 36 overall pick out of the University of Virginia became the first Second-Round pick and the lowest overall drafted player in NBA history to win Kia Rookie of the Year.

Two seasons later, Brogdon became one of only nine members of the aforementioned 50/40/90 club in NBA history, averaging 15.6 points and 4.5 boards on 50.5 percent from the field, 42.6 percent from three-point range, and a league-leading 92.8 percent from the foul line in 2018-19 in helping the Bucks to their first appearance in Eastern Conference Finals since 2001.

Unfortunately, by signing other players deemed more important at the time during free agency, there was no more room under the salary cap to keep Brogdon, a restricted free agent in summer of 2019 and was dealt in a sign-and-trade to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for future draft picks. Brogdon signed a four-year, $85 million deal that offseason.

For Brogdon moving, who averaged a career-high 21.2 points and 5.3 rebounds on 45.3 percent shooting and 38.8 three-point percentage, it is all about remaining healthy as after missing just seven games his rookie season has played just 48, 64, 54 and 56 games respectably the last four seasons because of injury.

The last three winners of Kia Rookie of the Year in Ben Simmons, No. 1 overall pick out of LSU in 2016; Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks, No. 3 overall pick in 2018; and Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies, No. 2 overall pick in 2019 have all been nothing short of sensational.

All three have had individual success and have gotten their respective teams back to the postseason.

Both Simmons and Doncic have earned Rookie Max contract extensions, with Morant surely to get his when the time comes.

In the case of Simmons and Doncic, they are at the point in their careers where it is all about winning a championship. For Simmons that may possibly be elsewhere after this past postseason, where the No. 1 Seeded in the East in 76ers fell short of their expectations of making The Finals falling to the upstart Atlanta Hawks in seven games in the 2021 East Semis.

For all the great things that Simmons does from his ability to rebound, finding open people and guard multiple positions, his ability to not only make but take shots outside of five feet and his ability to knock in free throws consistently really hindered the 76ers chances of advancing this postseason, and has caused a fracture between him and the organization. So much so, that he is not even speaking to head coach Glenn “Doc” Rivers, any of his teammates nor the front office.

While the 76ers would like to possibly move on from Simmons, two things make that really hard now. One, his value is very low because of he performed in the 2021 Playoffs, particularly how poor he shot at the foul line shooting an abysmal 34.2 percent.

While the futures for Luke Doncic and Ja Morant seem bright at the moment for the Mavericks and Grizzlies respectably, the future is very cloudy for Simmons in the “City of Brotherly Love.”

MVPs of 2010s

The 2010s provided one of the most transformative players to win the NBA’s most coveted individual award in honor of “The Associations first commissioner (then president) Maurice Podoloff, Kia MVP. Some of the greatest players in NBA history took turns passing league MVP to one another in one of the most mercurial in the annals of the NBA. The glorious past, present, and future of the NBA was well represented in MVP ranks in an undisputed list of all-time incredible talents with each and every one of these winners still thriving in the NBA at the start of this decade.

The 2010s began with current Laker LeBron James winning his second straight Kia MVP in 2010, winning two more in back-to-back seasons in 2012 and 2013 with the Heat as the leading man of the Heat’s back-to-back title squads.

James’ reign was interrupted in 2011 by current New York Knicks’ guard Derrick Rose while with the Bulls, becoming at age 22 and six months the youngest to win Kia MVP in NBA history, surpassing the late Hall of Famer Wes Unseld, Sr., who won Kia MVP in the 1968-69 at 23 years and two months old.

Rose’s explosive athleticism and ability to score off the dribble lifted “Windy City” fans in a way that they have experienced since the days of Michael Jordan.

Current Net Kevin Durant put his name in the spotlight winning Kia MVP in 2014 with the Thunder and told the world in his acceptance speech of the real MVP was in Oklahoma City in his mother Wanda, who got him to the level he reached then and has gone even higher to be a two-time champion, a two-time Finals MVP, a perennial All-Star, and the face of the trio in Brooklyn that hopes to win.

“We wasn’t supposed to be here. You made us believe. You went to sleep hungry. You sacrificed for us. You’re the real MVP,” Durant said in his acceptance speech to his mother, who cried tears of absolute joy of the kind words her son said about her.

For the next two years, the league’s highest individual honor went to the Warriors Stephen Curry, who captured the honor behind his team’s “Strength In Numbers” mantra.

“Just want to say thank you to the fans, all of Dub Nation for your support all year long,” Curry said in his acceptance speech after winning his first Kia MVP in 2015.

Curry, regarded as the greatest pure shooter in NBA history, the next season became the first unanimous Kia MVP in NBA history.

In the 2016-17 NBA campaign, newest Laker Russell Westbrook won Kia MVP behind his 42 triple-doubles, setting a new single-season NBA record passing the 41 by aforementioned Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson in the 1961-62 season. Westbrook also became just the second player in NBA history to average a triple-double for a single-season, joining Russell and has averaged a triple-double in four of the past five seasons.

“When Russell was on this journey, I felt that I just had to be here,” Robertson said before a Thunder home game late that season. “I think that what he has done has been historic in nature.

Westbrook could not hold off his former teammate with the Thunder and for the 2019-20 season with the Rockets James Harden in a tight race for Kia MVP in 2017-18 season, finally getting recognized for his exceptional accent as one of the league’s most diabolical scorers after finishing a close second a couple of seasons before in MVP voting.

Harden put himself into the conversation for winning back-to-back MVPs in the 2018-19 season, which he would have won if not for rise of the “Greek Freak” in Milwaukee and the future face of “The Association” Giannis Antetokounmpo, who authored a statistical season that Bucks nation had not seen since Hall of Famer, six-time NBA champion Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was racking up one of his NBA-record six Kia MVPs.

Antetokounmpo averaged career-highs of 25.5 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 2.0 block shots on 57.8 percent shooting and 4.9 assists in leading the Bucks to a league 58 wins.

“Two years ago, you know, I had the goal in my head that I’m going to be the best player in the league,” Antetokounmpo said while shedding tears during his acceptance speech at the NBA Awards Show the summer of 2019. “I’m going to do whatever it takes to help my team win, and I’m going to win the MVP.”

Antetokounmpo came back even better the next season winning Kia MVP again behind new career-highs of 29.5 points and 13.6 boards, and 5.6 assists on 55.3 percent from the field in helping the NBA’s best record for a second straight season with a 56-17 mark.

While Antetokounmpo did not win a second straight Kia MVP this past season, he did help the Bucks get to The Finals for the first time in five decades, and they took down the Phoenix Suns to win their second title in franchise history.

With the like LeBron James, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Stephen Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and the current reigning MVP Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets still in the prime of their respective careers, it is fair for one’s imagination to run wild with the inclination of what these superstars have in store for us as the 2020s rolls on.

The Conclusion of Iconic NBA Careers In 2010s

The past decade saw the introduction of some of the best players in the NBA today from Paul George, Kyrie Irving, Joel Embiid, Blake Griffin, Klay Thompson, Kawhi Leonard, Jimmy Butler, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard, Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic and Anthony Davis to name a few, who are leading the NBA to start this decade. Their arrival meant the torch was being passed from some future Hall of Famers who took their final bows in the 2010s.

In 2011, we said goodbye to one of the most dominant and entertaining big men in NBA history in current NBATV/NBA on TNT studio analyst Shaquille O’Neal, who retired in 2011 after 19 seasons with the Magic, Lakers, Heat, Suns, Cavaliers, and Celtics. He won three NBA titles and three Finals MVPs with Lakers (2000-02) and one with the Heat (2006). He was inducted in the 2016 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

Joining him as a part of that 2016 Hall of Fame was No. 1 overall pick in 2002 by the Rockets Yao Ming, who played his entire 14-year NBA career in “Clutch City.” Ming was an eight-time All-Star and five-time All-NBA selection.

Also, a part of that 2016 Hall of Fame class was No. 1 overall pick of the 1996 NBA Draft out of Georgetown Allen Iverson, who retired in 2011. He earned in his 15-year career with the 76ers, Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, and Grizzlies 11 All-Star selection, winning the game’s MVP twice (2001 and 2005), won 1996-97 Kia Rookie of the Year; was a seven-time All-NBA selection; four-time scoring champion and three-time steals leader, he changed the culture of basketball where he made other players comfortable being who they were from wearing tattoos and having their hair braded.

Off the floor, while he was small in stature, Iverson played like he was seven feet tall and each time he got knocked down, he got back up, which endeared him to fans that watched him play on television or in person, especially in Philadelphia.

In 2013, Tracy McGrady retired, one of the best wing scorers in NBA history retired in 2013 after 14 seasons in the NBA playing for the Raptors, Magic, Rockets, Knicks, Detroit Pistons, Hawks, and Spurs. The seven-time All-Star selection; seven-time All-NBA selection, two-time scoring champion (2003 and 2004), and 2001 Kia Most Improved Player averaged 19.6 points for his career, averaging 20-plus points for eight straight seasons (2001-2008), with his highest of 32.1 points (led NBA) in 2002-03 season.

“T-Mac wanted to be great. He wanted to dominate,” his cousin and teammate at the start of his career with the Raptors, Vince Carter, who now works as an NBA analyst for ESPN said.

After 19 seasons in the NBA, the aforementioned new head coach of the Mavericks Jason Kidd retired in 2013 and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2018.

Also retiring in 2013 was co-Kia Rookie of the Year with Kidd in Grant Hill, who was drafted one pick behind Kidd in 1994 draft at No. 3 overall by the Detroit Pistons. Hill played 13 seasons with the Pistons, Magic, Suns, and Clippers. Named an All-Star seven times; five All-NBA selections; and was a three-time NBA Sportsmanship Award recipient. Hill’s NBA career was on the heels of a remarkable collegiate career where he led Duke University to back-to-back NCAA titles in 1991 and 1992.

More than anything, Hill’s NBA career was an example of fortitude and perseverance because there were many times where he could have called it quits after a lingering foot injury in the middle part of his career shelved him for most of his time with the Magic. But he kept fighting to get back on the court and he did and left the game on his own terms.

In 2014, the NBA said goodbye to two of the most underrated guards in the NBA in 2004 Finals MVP Chauncey Billups and 2018 Hall of Fame member Ray Allen.

Billups, who was dubbed “Mr. Big Shot,” and the new head coach of the Trail Blazers played 16 NBA seasons with the Celtics, Raptors, Nuggets, Timberwolves, Knicks, and Clippers, while Allen, No. 5 overall pick in 1996 draft played 18 seasons for the Bucks, Supersonics, Celtics, and Heat.

One of the all-time best shooters in NBA history lived up to that billing when he made a three-pointer in the final seconds of Game 6 of the 2013 Finals that helped the Heat tie the game and they won it in overtime and won that series in seven games to capture their second straight NBA title.

Another member of that famed 1996 draft class called it a career one year later in current Nets head coach in Steve Nash, who after being chosen No. 15 overall out of the Santa Clara University played 18 seasons with the Suns, Mavericks, and Lakers. He won back-to-back Kia MVPs in 2005 and 2006; was an eight-time All-Star; seven-time All-NBA selection; five-time leader in assists; and four-time member of the 50/40/90 club in the NBA.

He definitely lived up to the promise he said on draft night back in 1996 that he was going to “work as hard as he could” to be a great player and that hard work paid off.

In 2016, NBA said goodbye to two of the best big man to ever play the game in future Hall of Famer Chris Bosh and Tim Duncan, who many call the greatest power forward to ever play in the NBA.

While the career of Bosh was cut short because of blood clots in 2017, he put together a 13-year career first with the Toronto Raptors as the No. 4 overall pick in 2003 out of Georgia Tech and the final half of his career with the Heat, where he was an 11-time All-Star and a two-time NBA champion. Above all, Bosh served as a prime example of putting your ego to the side to make the team better. That is what made it work when he joined forces with LeBron James and Chris Bosh in the summer of 2010 with the Heat, which resulted in four consecutive trips to The Finals from 2011-14 and two titles.

“It’s your determination. It’s your will. You have to keep fighting. That’s what being a rebounder is about,” Bosh said at his jersey retirement on Mar. 26, 2019.

The Spurs at the start of the 1990s were one of the best teams in the NBA led by Hall of Famer David Robinson. But they never got to the championship round until they drafted Tim Duncan No. 1 overall in 1997 out of Wake Forest, winning 1998 Kia Rookie of the Year. Two years later they won that elusive title and added four more along the way.

Individually Duncan did it all in his career winning Kia MVP twice (2002 and 2003), was a 15-time All-Star, winning co-MVP of 2000 All-Star with Lakers’ Shaquille O’Neal. Duncan was a 15-time All-NBA selection and 15-time NBA All-Defensive selection.

More than anything, Duncan, and Robinson, and then Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili set a standard for excellence in the Alamo City to where it was not until these past two seasons since Duncan’s retirement that head coach Gregg Popovich’s squad had missed the playoffs in back-to-back seasons.

That is why Coach Popovich once said of the Duncan that he is “the greatest player at his position that’s ever stepped on the court.” Because he was a pro both on and off the court. He brought every night. Held himself accountable and his teammates accountable, and never changed who he was.

Ginobili, the No. 57 overall pick by the Spurs in 1999 retired in 2018 after 16 seasons (2002-2018) with the “Silver and Black,” with two All-Star selections, two All-NBA Third team selections, and 2003 Kia Sixth Man of the Year on his resume. He also has a Gold and Bronze Medals as a member of the Argentina National Olympic squads in 2004 games in Athens and 2008 games in Beijing.

“That was my role on the team. To bring that juice. To bring that energy,” Ginobili said of his role with the Spurs.

Tony Parker, No. 28 overall pick in the 2001 draft retired in 2019 after an 18-year career in the NBA, with his last season playing for the Hornets after 17 seasons with the Spurs.

It has been famously noted that Parker did not make a good first impression with Coach Popovich when he did not perform well in his first work out. Parker more than made up for it over his Spurs career turning into one of the best floor generals in the game with his ability to score in a multitude of ways at the rim with the ability to knock down perimeter shots when called upon.

The jersey numbers of Duncan (No. 21), Ginobili (No. 20), and Parker (No. 9) no stand in the rafters of the AT&T Center in San Antonio, TX and it would not be surprising that this magnificent trio is all in enshrined in Springfield, MA one day also. Duncan was the first of the three to become a Hall of Famer as part of the 2020 class.

We also in 2016 said goodbye to recently inducted Hall of Famers in the class of 2020 in Kevin Garnett and the late Kobe Bryant, who passed away in Jan 26, 2020, in a helicopter crash. Garnett, Bryant, and Tracy McGrady that showed that you can be drafted out of high school and be great in the NBA if you have the work ethic to do it.

Garnett, No. 5 overall pick in 1995 draft by the Timberwolves out of Farragut Academy in Chicago, IL had that work ethic and it made him a 15-time All-Star selection, winning the game’s MVP in 2003; 12-time All-Defensive team selection; four-time rebounding champion (2004-07); and 2004 Kia MVP.

While he helped turn the Timberwolves from doormats into a consistent playoff participant (1997-2004), he could never get them to the championship round. That mission he accomplished when he got dealt to the Celtics in the summer of 2007 teaming up with Paul Pierce and fellow Hall of Famer Ray Allen and they won it all in 2008 defeating the arch-rival Lakers in six games.

Bryant, who spent his entire 20-year NBA career with the Lakers began the past decade by leading the Lakers to their 5^th and final title behind him as they took down the Garnett, Allen, and future Hall of Famer Paul Pierce and the Celtics in seven games.

He also during this time period surpassed fellow Hall of Famer and the man who pulled off the trade on draft night of 1996 to acquire his draft rights from the Hornets, who selected Bryant No. 13 overall out of Lower Merion High School in Philadelphia, PA as the all-time leading scorer in Lakers’ franchise history.

Bryant also surpassed the man that he was always compared to in Michael Jordan into No. 3 on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, now standing at No. 4 (33,643 points) having been surpassed by the Lakers’ current leading star LeBron James at 36,367 points and counting.

In his 20-year NBA career, Bryant along with winning five titles, which included him being names Finals MVP in 2009 and 2010, won Kia MVP in 2008; was an 18-time All-Star winning the game’s MVP four times; earned 15 All-NBA selections; was a 12-time member of the All-Defensive team; two-time scoring champion (2006 and 2007); and won the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest at All-Star Weekend in Cleveland, OH.

Perhaps what made Bryant one of the most unique players in NBA history is that he had his No. 8 and No. 24 jersey numbers that he wore each for a decade retired and hang in the rafters of Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA.

Paul Pierce, the 2008 Finals MVP when the Celtics beat the Bryant and the Lakers in 2008 Finals hung up his kicks in 2017 after 19 seasons (1998-2017) in the NBA with the Celtics, Nets, Wizards, and Clippers.

The future Hall of Famer, chosen No. 10 in the 1998 draft by the C’s, where he played the 15 years of his NBA career was a 10-time All-Star and four-time All-NBA selection, and has his No. 34 jersey hanging now in the rafters of TD Garden.

There was a time where though that Pierce may not finish his career with Celtics because his only desire as his career progressed was to win a championship. That became a realistic dream when Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen were dealt to “Beantown” in the summer of 2007 and behind a total team concept on both ends of the floor, they became champions in 2008 taking down the previously mentioned arch-rival Lakers in six games.

The decade of goodbyes concluded with the end of the careers of three-time NBA champion with the Miami Heat Dwyane Wade and of NBA champion Dirk Nowitzki, who led the Mavericks to their first and only title in 2011 taking down Wade, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh in the six games.

Before Wade’s arrival as the No. 5 overall pick in the 2003 draft by the Heat, the franchise reached the Eastern Conference Finals only once (1997-lost to the eventual NBA champion Bulls 4-1). In Wade’s first 13 seasons with the Heat, they reached the East Finals five times, including four straight appearances (2011-14) led by Wade, James, and Bosh, which had them in the NBA Finals all those years, winning two NBA championships in 2012 and 2013.

After a contract dispute following the 2015-16 season, Wade left in free agency to play for his hometown squad in the Bulls but played for the team for only the 2016-17 season. After reaching a buyout with the Bulls, Wade teamed up again with James with the Cavaliers in the 2017-18 season. That team up only lasted a few months and in an overhaul of the roster, the Cavaliers on the Feb. 8, 2018, trade deadline dealt Wade back to the Heat, where he would finish his career.

That stellar career for Wade consisted of 13 All-Star selections, winning the game’s MVP in 2010; the aforementioned three NBA titles; 2006 Finals MVP; eight-time All-NBA selection; three-time All-Defensive selection; and a Gold Medal recipient from the 2008 Team USA squad at the Olympics in Beijing.

“This whole journey has been special,” Wade once said of his NBA career that will land him at the Naismith Hall of Fame not too long from now.

Wade first title came against fellow future Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki, who played his entire 21-year NBA career, the most with one franchise by a player in NBA history with the Mavericks, who retired at the end of the 2018-19 season.

When Nowitzki first got to the Mavericks after having his draft rights acquired from the Bucks, who took the Wurzburg, Germany native No. 9 overall in 1998 draft, they were at the bottom of the NBA cellar. Led by Nowitzki they went from the cellar to the top of the NBA mountain winning it all 2011 over the Heat, winning Finals MVP.

Nowitzki was a 14-time All-Star; 12-time All-NBA selection; one of nine members NBA history of the 50/40/90 club; won the Three-Point Contest at 2006 NBA All-Star Weekend. ; and in 2017 was named the Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year.

“I left Germany over 20 years ago, and I became a Texan. So, thank you guys for having and see you soon,” Nowitzki, who now works as a consultant in the Mavericks front office said at his final home game of his career at the close of the 2018-19 season.

Kobe Bryant’s Final Act On Hardwood

What made the late Kobe Bryant one of the most remarkable players to ever play on the NBA hardwood was his determination to be great on his own terms. There are many players that would let a devasting injury like to their Achilles or shoulder put an end to their careers. It did end the career of Bryant, who wanted to go out on his own terms. He went out with a memorable bang in his final game of Apr. 13, 2016, in front of a national television audience on ESPN and a full house of fans and the famous at Staples Center.

On his last night wearing the “Purple and Gold” of Lakers, Bryant scored 60 points in helping the Lakers to a 101-96 win versus the Utah Jazz on ESPN.

From making jumpers, to scoring at the rim, from three-point range, mid-range, at the foul line, Bryant scored in every which way and each score brought those in attendance at Staples Center to their feet.

When asked by then Lakers’ head coach Byron Scott, the man who helped mentor Bryant in his rookie season back in 1996-97 if he had 7:30 left in his body of his, Bryant’s answer, “absolutely.”

There as feeling in the air that an offensive explosion like this from Bryant was possible when he said to Spectrum Sportsnet’s Mike Trudell pregame that he was “excited” to play in his final NBA game.

“I’m happy. I’ve had so many great memories. Doing it one last time is pretty cool,” Bryant added.

When the game was over, Bryant took to the microphone and said to those in attendance and watching television across the country how he grew up a diehard Lakers fans and being able to spend two decades playing for the city of L.A. “you can’t write something better than this.”

“What can I say, Mamba out,” Bryant said at the conclusion to the fans at Staples Center.

When the dust settled and Bryant headed out of Staples Center for the final time of his playing career, he did so with his wife of 19 years Vanessa, who he met when she was 17 years old and Bryant was 21 years old and his two oldest daughters in Gianna, who also passed away with her father and seven other individuals in the aforementioned helicopter crash outside of Los Angeles Jan. 26, 2020, and Natalia.

“It’s a beautiful time,” Bryant said after his final game as he exited Staples Center alongside his family. To be able to have this moment with my family and have the finish that we’ve had. It’s amazing how fast time goes, man. Just extremely blessed and extremely appreciative, you know. A dream come true.”

Big Shots In Playoffs During 2010s

Longtime NBATV/NBA on TNT studio analyst and owner of two titles with the Rockets back in 1994 and 1995 Kenny Smith has said that the NBA regular season where you make your name. The NBA Playoffs is where you make your fame. You especially etched your name in annals of the NBA Playoffs when you make a big shot in the closing moments of a playoff game. In the 2010s, there were several players whose ability to make shots under major pressure got them and their teams to the top of the NBA mountain and etched their names into postseason lure.

Throughout his NBA care Trail Blazers’ floor general Damian Lillard has made it a habit of ripping the heart of the opposing team in the closing minutes of game both in the regular season and postseason.

His first did it in the 2014 Playoffs with the game-winning three-pointer with 00.9 seconds left in regulation that sealed Game 6 of the First-Round and sent the Rockets home in six games. It was the Trail Blazers first playoff series win since 2000, where they lost in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals to the eventual NBA champion Lakers.

Lillard did the same thing in opening-round of 2019 Playoffs hitting a deep three-pointer at the buzzer to take down the Thunder in five games and ending the Thunder careers of now Lakers guard Russell Westbrook and Clippers swingman Paul George, who both were dealt respectably to the Rockets and Clippers that offseason.

In their journey to their first NBA title in four decades, the Warriors’ Stephen Curry made a corner three-pointer in the closing seconds of regulation in Game 3 of the opening-round at the Pelicans that tied the score, and the Warriors won it in overtime and swept the Pelicans 4-0 on their way to the title.

In the early part of his career, LeBron James received criticism for not taking the final shot at the end of the game whether in the regular season or postseason. He rose to the moment quite a few times in the postseason in the 2010s.

In Game 4 of the 2015 East Semis at the Bulls, James hit a corner three-pointer at the final buzzer right in front of the Bulls bench that tied the series 2-2. The Cavaliers won the series in six games.

That was on the heels of now Knicks’ guard Derrick Rose hitting the game-winning triple and the horn to sink the Cavaliers in Game 3 to put the Bulls up 2-1 in the series.

Twice in the 2018 Playoffs, James snatched victory from the jaws of the defeat in the closing moments. First hitting the game-winning three-pointer from the top of the circle to take down the Pacers 98-95 in Game 5 to put the Cavaliers up 3-2. The Cavaliers won the series in seven games. James did it again in Game 3 of the East Semis versus No. 1 Seeded Raptors by hitting a floating runner of the glass at the buzzer to win Game 3 (105-103) and taking a commanding 3-0 series lead. The Cavaliers dominated Game 4, winning 128-93 and taking the series 4-0.

That offseason, the Raptors traded perennial All-Star DeMar DeRozan to the Spurs in exchange for 2014 Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard.

After being on the wrong end of a buzzer in recent years in the playoffs, it was the Raptors who sent their opponent home when in Game 7 of 2019 East Semis versus the 76ers Leonard’s fadeaway jumper hit the rim five times and then dropped for a 92-90 win, sending the visiting 76ers home for the summer. The Raptors would take down the defending NBA champion Warriors in the 2019 Finals to win their first NBA title in franchise history. They also became the first NBA champions outside of United States.

Lakers and Celtics Meet In Another Classic Finals Tilt

In a decade where it seemed like new NBA individual and team records were set at a high pace, there is one record that has a good chance for lasting quite a long time. That is mark of times two teams met for the chance at winning the Larry O’Brien Trophy, which is held by two of the most storied franchises in the NBA.

The 2010s began with 12^th tilt in The Finals between the 17-time champion Boston Celtics and the 15-time NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers.

The then reigning champion Lakers entered the 2010 Finals with a lot to prove having lost to the Celtics as mentioned earlier in six games two years prior.

It was a classic series where both teams did not give one square inch. Scratching and clawing for every and any advantage.

As the great late Kobe Bryant said during that series that his philosophy was that if the Lakers were going to repeat as NBA champions, that they were going to have to “take it” from the Celtics.

“And these guys, they’re not going to give you anything, especially us,” Bryant added.

These two arch-rivals battled to an even 3-3 tie setting up for a classic Game 7 at Staples Center in L.A. that came down to the final 12 minutes.

In that final quarter, it was the Lakers who overcame an early double-digit deficit outscoring the Celtics 30-22 in the fourth quarter. The former Ron Artest, now Metta World Peace hit a key three-pointer in late in the final period that gave the Lakers some breathing room and they held on for the 83-79 win, capturing their second straight title and 16^th overall in franchise history.

Bryant, who struggled offensive in Game 7 going 6 for 24 from the field, including 0 for 6 from three-point range scored 10 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter, grabbing 15 rebounds and going 11 for 15 from the foul line in capturing his second straight Finals MVP.

LeBron James Streak of Finals Appearances

When the Dallas Mavericks took down the LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh led Miami Heat squad in the 2011 Finals, little did anyone know that was the start of an incredible streak of Finals appearances for the four-time Kia MVP.

From 2011-2018 in splitting his time with the Heat and Cavaliers, LeBron James would appear in The Finals eight consecutive times as he split those Conference titles amongst two dominant teams with him as the headliner in a decade that was defined by them.

During that eight-year run of reaching The Finals, James led the Heat to their second and third titles in franchise history in 2012 and 2013. Three years later in his second stint with the Cavaliers, they overcame a 3-1n series deficit to take down the 73-win Warriors in seven games to earn their first title in franchise history and the first pro sports championship in Cleveland, OH since the NFL’s Cleveland Browns won it all in 1964.

“To be able to accomplish something like that with a group of guys that you genuinely care about and genuinely love, there’s no better feeling in the world,” James said of winning the title in 2016 with the Cavaliers and All-Star teammates Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.

In his postgame interview with ESPN/ABC’s Doris Burke, James said after that epic Game 7 win at Warriors, “Cleveland, this is for you!”

James said the loss in the 2011 Finals was “the best thing that ever” happened to him because it “refocused” him.

James added that he was able to “regain” who he was both on and off the court.

After losing Game 1 of the 2012 Finals at the Thunder, James and the Heat won the final four games of the series to take down a Thunder squad led by three future Kia MVPs in Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden. James earned the first of four titles and the first of four Finals MVPs.

“This is the best feeling of my life. This is why we came together,” James said during the postgame champagne celebration in the Heat locker room after Game 5 win.

In the 2013 Finals, the Heat faced off against a dynasty from the previous decade in the four-time champion Spurs.

Facing elimination in the final seconds of Game 6, the momentum of the game and the series swung the Heat’s direction thanks to a key offensive rebound grabbed by Bosh, who found Ray Allen in the right corner for one of the most iconic three-pointers in NBA history that he hit to tie the game. The Heat won Game 6 in overtime and won Game 7 to capture their second straight title and third in franchise history.

“For us, it’s about doing what we came together to do, and that is to win championships,” Wade said of the Heat winning their second straight title led by him James, and Bosh, adding, “and we’ve been able to do that. And now, we’re a part of history.”

The Spurs one year later would end the Heat’s reign as two-time champions as they took down the Heat in the 2014 Finals in five games, capturing their fifth title in 16 seasons, getting revenge for their collapse in The Finals the previous season.

Strength In Numbers Warriors Become NBA Champions

For five straight years (2014-19), the Golden State Warriors behind their unique style and mantra ushered in a new era of basketball.

In the 2015 Finals, they had the LeBron James led Cavaliers on their heels and eventually won the series in seven games capturing their first title since 1975.

“It’s just a moment of just pure joy,” two-time Kia MVP Stephen Curry said of winning his first title. “And nothing I would rather have than celebrate with my brothers on the court.”

The Warriors and Cavaliers would lock horns again in the 2016 Finals, but this time it would be the Cavaliers that would be on the winning end overcoming a 3-1 series deficit to win the series in seven games to as mentioned capture their first title in franchise history.

That game seven was highlighted by two plays that would live in basketball lure. The block of 2015 Finals MVP Andre Igoudala’s fastbreak layup attempt. Then moments later, Kyrie Irving hit the three-pointer that would end up being the game-winner.

The Warriors swung the balance between them and the Cavaliers back in their favor as Kevin Durant, who was added in free agency in the summer of 2017 helped the Warriors win two more titles over the Cavaliers capturing back-to-back Finals MVPs in the process.

“We’re remembered as a team that did it together. Not one man was bigger than the group,” Durant said of that three-year run with him, Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green as the headliners of those Warriors title squads that won three titles in a four-year span. “That’s the sign of a true team.”

The NBA in the 2010s provided us a plethora of excitement. The emergence of a crop of star players, who have had stellar careers both individually and have taken their respective teams to exceptional heights. We saw several individual all-time records be broken as well as players move up some of the NBA’s all-time charts. This decade is where we saw the conclusion of some exceptional careers that landed several greats in the Naismith Hall of Fame.

What was displayed in the 2010s in the NBA was a whole lot of spectacular moments and if this next decade is anything like what was displayed in the 2010s, we are in for even more exceptional moments that will add to what has been 74 years of fantastic NBA moments.

J-Speaks

Monday, August 23, 2021

J-Speaks: The NBA: 2010s "A Decade To Remember"

No comments:

Post a Comment