J-Speaks: Lobo Enshrined Close to Home

While the University of Connecticut Lady Huskies today are known as a collegiate basketball powerhouse that has produced some of the best women to ever play on the hardwood, there was a time that this now great program under head coach Geno Auriemma was just another team dreaming of being in the same sentence as that of the University of Tennessee, led by the late Hall of Famer Pat Summit. That rise to greatness began with the recruitment of a Southwick, MS native who set the standard that all other Lady Huskies would follow. Her basketball career gave her the chance to achieve her dreams, but gave other little girls and young women after her the courage to dream of playing professional basketball in the United States. Two Fridays ago, this proud legend of the hardwood, who now works for ESPN received the highest honor one could ever receive for a second time. 

On Friday, Sept. 8 in Springfield, MS not too far from where she grew up, Rebecca Lobo was enshrined into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the 2017 class. The same place where she got married to Sports Illustrated writer Steve Rushin.

Lobo, who is now a women’s college basketball and WNBA studio and color analyst for ESPN, was inducted in the 11-member class that consisted of the all-time winningest boys’ high school coach Robert Hughes; two-time NBA scoring champion, and an ESPN basketball analyst Tracy McGrady; Notre Dame women’s head coach Muffet McGraw; University of Kansas men’s head coach Bill Self; Nick Galis; George McGinnis; Mannie Jackson; Tom Jernstedt, and the late great Jerry Krause. 

“I grew up 15 miles from here,” Lobo said to NBATV’s Rick Kamla on the Red Carpet that evening. 

“I came to the old Hall of Fame building. I’ve been to the new one so many times. Understanding the magnitude of what it meant for all those players to be in, I couldn’t be more excited.”

For Lobo, who is also a member of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame as part of their 2010 class, adds another honor to a that took her from her home in Massachusetts; to Storrs, Mansfield, CT; to New York City, where she played for the Women’s Basketball Association’s New York Liberty from 1997-01; to the then Houston Comets in summer of 2002 and ending her playing career with the Connecticut Sun in 2003. 

This journey of Lobo playing basketball came from her wanting to be like her older siblings that she adored very much. Her brother Jason, who played collegiately at Dartmouth College, and is now a judge in Connecticut, and her older sister Rachel, who she played with for two years at Southwick-Tolland Regional High School, played collegiately at Salem State College. 

Lobo in her high school career playing for Jim Vincent scored at the time a Massachusetts record 2,740 points. 

Lobo said in her acceptance speech that she learned from Vincent and her middle school head coach taught her how to play, and that the people in her town helped raised her to be the person that she is today, and she hoped that they take a great deal of pride in this proud moment. 

She also gave thanks to the people that did help raise her and drove her to basketball practice and sacrificed for her to achieve her dream were in her father Joseph, who is of Cuban descent and her late mother RuthAnn, who is of German and Irish heritage. 

When it came time to choose where to go to college, Lobo chose to attend the University of Connecticut, because it was close to home and that the institution matched her belief in academic excellence. 

She also went because she wanted to play for Auriemma, and Associate Head Coach Chris Dailey. 

Lobo called it the best decision of her life, and that when she is in an arena calling games now or doing studio work, she gets text messages from Dailey, with half of them that said, “I just pressed mute.” 

Her reply on stage that evening to that was, “So C.D., whose here tonight, you can’t press mute tonight. Thank you so much for the role you had in getting me here and the role you’ve had in my life.” 

After three solid seasons of individual success where she accumulated averages of 14.3, 16.7 and 19.2 points and 7.9, 11.2 and 11.2 rebounds, she and UConn broke through in the 1994-95 with a perfect 35-0 season, which was capped off with a 70-64 win in the National Championship. 

Lobo was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four that season, and it was one of many honors she received that season. She became the first basketball player ever to win the ESPY for Outstanding Female Athlete; was named the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year; the NCAA’s Women’s Basketball Player of the Year; won the Women’s Sports Foundation’s Sportswoman of the Year; won the Wade Trophy, and received the Honda Sports Award for basketball. 

While Lobo was the headliner of that title team a little over two decades ago, she gave a lot of credit to the rest of her teammates in Jamelle Elliott, Jennifer Rizzotti, Pam Webber, Kara Wolters, and Carla Berube. 

 “Thanks for making that such a fun ride,” Lobo said about her teammates. 

She also gave a special shout out to Rizzotti, who attended the festivities, and Lobo said that she is one of her best friends and teammates she ever had and thanked her for being by her side for a great deal of her basketball career. 

“She was the first nationally known player that we were fortunate enough to get,” Auriemma said. “Next thing you know, everybody in America is talking about University of Connecticut Women and Rebecca Lobo.” 

That UConn team also became just the fifth Division I women’s basketball program to go undefeated on their way to a title; just the second team to do it in the NCAA era, dating back to 1982, and the first NCAA team, men or women of all divisions to go unbeaten and win 35 games in the process.  

Prior to that season, the UConn Women’s team had made just one Final Four appearance and never won a National Championship. Since that first title, the Lady Huskies have added 10 more championships to that one. 

While Lobo made a solid name for herself in the WNBA, she will always be remembered for what she did at UConn taking a team that had just one Final Four appearance prior to her arrival to a team that under Auriemma has won 11 National titles and a produced some of the greatest players, not just women to ever play on the collegiate, professional, and international hardwood. That is all because of him and Lobo, who said that and then some of her former college coach at the end of her induction speech.  

“When you recruited me, you knew I belonged at UConn. You knew I was meant to play for you, and fortunately I knew that too, and I followed my heart. You have completely changed my life, and for that I thank you. You have changed my life, and I’m here tonight completely because of you. Thank you.”

After an outstanding career at UConn, Lobo was part of the 1996 Olympic team, that captured Gold in Atlanta, GA. Lobo teamed with basketball legends like Teresa Edwards, new Women’s National team head coach Dawn Staley, Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie, Jennifer Azzi, Ruthie Bolton, Katrina McClain, Carla McGhee, and Katy Steading.

“Rebecca was the youngest one on the team, and I remember a young kid that was willing to do whatever it took,” Edwards, a member of the 2011 Hall of Fame class said

One year later, the WNBA was formed and began its inaugural season, and Lobo was assigned to the New York Liberty during the league’s first player allocations on Jan. 22, 1997. 

Former WNBA President Val Ackerman, from 1996-05 said that the signing of Lobo to the WNBA gave this new women’s league was legitimate and one that was going to be special and long lasting. 

“She was a phenomenon in many ways, and she played a key role in the surge that brought women’s basketball into primetime,” Ackerman said.

One of the lasting images from that inaugural campaign, that has become iconic was a promo that featured Lobo, and fellow Hall of Famers Leslie, and Swoopes walking down a tunnel with WNBA bags with the slogan at the end saying, “We Got Next.” 

Another lasting promo from that time was one of Lobo working out on the floor of Madison Square Garden in New York, NY. During that promo, Lobo can be heard saying that when she in sixth grade, she wrote a letter to the late great Hall of Fame multi-winning championship head coach, and executive of the Boston Celtics Arnold “Red” Auerbach that she would be the first girl to play for the C’s. The promo ended with her with her hands on her knees looking up into the sky with sweat coming down her face and she said, “Sorry Red. I’m booked.” 

While that dream did not become a reality right away, thanks to former NBA Commissioner David Stern, current Commissioner Adam Silver, who was the Deputy Commissioner then, Ackerman, Lobo was able to realize her dream of playing professional basketball in the WNBA.

While the numbers she did not have the kind of impact she had at UConn, Lobo was a big part along with her then teammates like Teresa Weatherspoon, Sue Wicks, Kym Hampton, Sophia Witherspoon, and Coquese Washington in helping the Liberty to get to the WNBA Finals in 1997, 1999, and 2000. Their championships were dashed at the hands of the then Houston Comets and Swoopes, Hall of Famer Cynthia Cooper-Dyke and Tina Thompson. 

“In the infancy of the WNBA, we needed to make our fans feel like they were family and Rebecca was the perfect person for that,” Cooper-Dyke, member of the 2010 class said. 

While those Liberty teams never won a title, they brought to fruition a dream for all young girls that there was a professional basketball league for them to watch on television, and to be drafted in one day if they were good enough in college. 

One person that Lobo and Weatherspoon left that aspirational impression on Lauren Thomas, the daughter of Hall of Fame guard Isiah Thomas, who is now the President of the Liberty. 

“Rebecca Lobo and Teresa Weatherspoon. They gave my daughter a dream,” the two-time NBA champion with the Pistons said to Kamla during the Hall of Fame Red Carpet Show on NBATV that night. 

“Because my daughter couldn’t dream of playing professional basketball in the WNBA, until they came along. They gave a whole generation of women the dream to be professional basketball players, and they did it with such class. They did it with such grace.” 

That dream became realized by fellow UConn legends, champions, Gold medalists and future Hall of Famers in All-Stars Diana Taurasi of the Phoenix Mercury, who played at UConn from 2000-04, and Sue Bird of the Seattle Storm. 

“She started that waive of passion, and of winning,” Taurasi, the WNBA all-time leading scorer said of Lobo. 

Bird, the WNBA all-time leader in assists said that Lobo and the 1996 Gold Medal winning Women’s team that, “inspired this whole generation of women’s basketball players.” 

Lobo also said in her acceptance speech that she can watch her oldest daughter light up when she talks about some of the young rising stars in the WNBA like All-Star Breanna Stewart of the Storm, a former UConn star and champion, or her 11-year-old daughter beam when she sports her jersey of Liberty All-Star center and former Lady Husky Tina Charles, who also played at UConn. 

“I have three daughters, who play basketball. So, the WNBA means even more to me now, then it did when I was playing in it,” Lobo said of her children Siobhan, Maeve, Thomas and Rose.

Over the next two seasons, Lobo would play for the Comets, and Connecticut Sun, where she would retire in 2003. 

After retiring from playing basketball, Lobo began the next chapter of her life as her kids put it, “talk ballgames,” as a broadcaster, working as a reporter and color analyst for ESPN, where her focus on Women’s College Basketball and the WNBA. 

“I’m thankful to Pat Lowry and Tina Thornton for giving me the opportunity to do this job that I love,” Lobo said. 

That journey began as a sideline reporter working UConn Women’s games. One time she saw her old head coach and Auriemma said to her that when she interviews him could she wear high heels. She gladly obliged that request every time that she has interviewed him. 

When Lobo asked Auriemma over the summer if he would be her presenter for her induction into the Hall of Fame, she promised to take off her heels. Auriemma said that he would present her if he let him wear her heels. 

She went on to also say that no one tells you how to become a broadcaster, except for everyone with a twitter account. 

For Lobo, she had the advantage of having who she calls two great mentors in her corner, who she also calls her friends in Holly Rowe and Doris Burke.  

“You are great friends, who’ve been with me along this ride, and I thank you for being her tonight,” she said about two of the best side line reporters in the game today. 

One of the great things about becoming a Hall of Famer is that is gives you a chance to put your critics in their place. For Lobo, one of those critics early in her career was her now husband Steve Rushin of Sports Illustrated. 

The two first met at dive Irish bar in New York, NY in 2001. Lobo said that she reade all of her now husband’s columns, but about two weeks before they met, he wrote this article in SI, which featured what she called a throwaway line that said, “Much like Wilt Chamberlin, I too slept with 8,000 women last night. I was at a New York Liberty game.”

That night when Lobo met Rushin she said, “I know who you are. Are you the guy that wrote that joke about the New York Liberty?” 

He blushed and said that he was. Lobo asked him how many games have you been too? Rushin said none. 

Lobo said in response about the attendants at MSG games for Liberty games, “Well obviously, or else you would have been sleeping with 12,000 women, cause that’s how many fans we average.” 

Lobo then invited him to one of her Liberty games and they have been together ever, when they got married 23 months after that. Rushin, Lobo said has been to hundreds of WNBA and women’s college games, and most exciting for their family 10-year-old girls AAU basketball games.   

Lobo however would not have reached this pinnacle of her basketball journey had it not been for her late mother advocating for her to play on the boy’s team back when she was in third grade when only two girls signed. 

Her mom said no, and that means she would have to let her play on the boy’s team. Lobo’s mother brought her down, but the other girl dropped out making Lobo the only girl on the squad. Mrs. Lobo said to the coach that he wanted her daughter treated the same as all the other boys. 

That meant if she had to run sprints, she had to run sprints. If they were getting yelled at, she needed to be yelled at. 

The one exception was that if the team was divided into shirts and skins, Lobo always had to be on the shirts team. 

“No one would have appreciated this hall of fame honor more than my mother,” Lobo said of her late mom. 

Nearly three decades ago, a young lady by the name of Rebecca Lobo went from being a high school star in Southwick, MS to Storrs, CT and became a star, champion, and trail blazer. She then became an Olympic Gold medalist, a WNBA All-Star and legend, and today is an in-studio and color basketball analyst for “The Worldwide Leader in Sports,” at ESPN. You can also call her as her tv partner for WNBA games the past few years in Ryan Ruocco at the start of each broadcast, “The Hall of Famer Rebecca Lobo.” 

Information and quotations are courtesy of the 9/8/17 7:30 p.m. NBATV broadcast of the 2017 Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony; http://www.usab.com/history/national-team-womens/1995-96-usa-basketball-womens-senior-national-team; www.uconnuskies.com/sports/w-baskbl/mtt/chris_dailey_389986/html; http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connecticut_Huskies_women%27s_basketball#Rebecca_Lobo_era; http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_New_York_Liberty_season; http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca_lobo; and www.google.com.  

J-Speaks: Celtics Road Back to Title Contention

Just four seasons back, the now reigning defending Atlantic Division Champions and this past season’s No. 1 Eastern Conference Seeded Boston Celtics were going into rebuilding mode after trading future Hall of Famers Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to the Brooklyn Nets. Entering this season, the C’s following a serious roster makeover which consisted signing and acquiring respectably two All-Stars, and drafting one of the best scorer in the draft this past June, they are poised to be a serious threat to the back-to-back-back Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers. The question is how did they get to this point?

General Manager Danny Ainge and Assistant GM Mike Zarren, started their reconstruction of the roster when they went outside the box to find their next head coach, and pinpointed undervalued players that formed the team’s chip-on-their shoulder core that turned the team into consistent playoff participants the last three seasons, which included their runner’s up in the East this past season. Along the way, they stockpiled future draft picks from other teams.

The head coach the Celtics chose to lead them into the future was Butler University head coach Brad Stevens, who they signed to a six-year $22 million contract on July 3, 2013.

Nine days later, the C’s pulled off a blockbuster trade sending Pierce, Garnett, Jason Terry, D.J. White, and a 2017 Second-Round pick to the Nets in exchange for Gerald Wallace, Kris Humphries, MarShon Brooks, Kris Joseph, Keith Bogans, and First-Round picks in 2014, 2016, and 2018, and the Celtic’s option to swap 2017 First-Round picks with the Nets.

The initial reaction of saying goodbye to Pierce and Garnett was not a good one from the Celtic faithful because the players the team received back were nowhere near equal value and the future draft picks did not have the sparkle of a diamond in the ruff.

What seemed on the surface of the Nets getting the better end of the deal, they went from a title contender to now a team rebuilding themselves with a long road back to respectability, let alone making the playoffs.

That deal laid the foundation for them to snag Isaiah Thomas for basically peanuts and a note pad. Stevens squeezed every single drop out of each player that passed through the organization—and there were a high number, and that caught the eye of some big name free agents and without hesitation hightailed to join up.

While the Celtics won just 25 games in Stevens’ first season on the bench in 2013-14, he offered a glimpse of his ability to get the most out of the unit he had. One example of that how he turned guard at best in Jordan Crawford into the Eastern Conference Player of the Week in December 2013.

Even with the Celtics making the postseason the last three years in succession in Stevens first four seasons on the bench, Ainge was unsatisfied about the team’s prospect of winning a title and made the decision to strip the team down to were just four players will return from the roster this past season. Of the 11 new faces to join the squad will be new starting lead guard Kyrie Irving, who the team snagged in late August from the Cleveland Cavaliers, who beat them 4-1 in the Eastern Conference Finals this past season. Before that, they signed Gordon Hayward in free agency. More on these moves later.

In total, the Celtics dating back to the summer of 2013 made a total of 78 moves, which consisted of 22 trades, that netted 16 future draft picks.

The first of those draft picks came in 2014 when they C’s drafted guard James Young at No. 17 out of the University of Kentucky. The used their 2016 First-Round pick to select forward Jaylen Brown out of the University of California at No. 3 overall, and the Celtics traded their 2017 First-Round pick, which was the No. 1 overall pick they traded to the Philadelphia 76ers for the No. 3 pick, which they used to select talented scoring forward Jayson Tatum out of Duke University.

To put into context the reconstruction of the Celtics roster from the summer of 2013 to now, dealing this past season’s starting shooting guard Avery Bradley to the Detroit Pistons for forward Marcus Morris, not one single player remains on the roster from the 2013-14 NBA campaign.

Despite Young not panning out from where he was drafted in 2014, the Celtics hope that Brown, and Tatum, who the Celtics traded down for the No. 1 overall pick that the Sixers used to select guard Markelle Fultz out of the University of Washington, guard Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier will become huge parts of their drive to win championships over the next few years.

Other notable transactions that took place during the Celtics remolding of their roster during 2013-14 consisted of them dealing Fab Melo to the Memphis Grizzlies for Donte Greene on Aug. 15, 2013. They traded guard Courtney Lee on Jan. 7, 2014 to the Grizzlies for guard Jerryd Bayless and forward Ryan Gomes. Eight days later, Crawford and Brooks were dealt as part of a three-way deal with the Miami Heat and Golden State Warriors in exchange for center Joel Anthony and three future Second-Round picks, which ended up being center Jordan Mickey; forward Deyonta Davis, whose rights were dealt to the Grizzlies, and Ben Bentil. On June 26, 2014, the Celtics drafted Smart with the No. 6 overall pick out of Oklahoma State University and the previously mentioned Young at No. 17.

The last part of the Celtics championship team from the 2007-08 campaign was traded on Dec. 18, 2014 when All-Star lead guard Rajon Rondo and forward Dwight Powell were dealt to the Dallas Mavericks for forward Jae Crowder; center Brandan Wright, and guard Jameer Nelson. The C’s also garnered a Top 3 protected First-Round pick; another First-Rounder in the range No. 15-30 in 2015; Top-7 pick from 2016-20, and an unprotected pick in 2021. The Celtics used that 2016 pick, to selected at No. 16-Guerschon Yabusele.

The Celtics also received in the Rondo deal a $12.9 million trade exception, and a 2016 Second-Round pick, which they used to draft Demetrius Jackson at No. 45, who is now with the Houston Rockets.

While the blockbuster deal with the Nets is often referred to as the best of Ainge has made in this span, the 2014-15 campaign was a true art in reshaping an NBA roster.

Trading Rondo, the 15^th team captain in franchise history, brought them Crowder, who blossomed into a primetime perimeter defender; a fabulous three-point shooter, which earned him a team-friendly contract five-year $35 million deal on July 27, 2015.

The 2017-18 Celtics roster will feature two rookies from this deal in Yabusele, and forward Semi Ojeleye, who was selected at No. 37 overall in June.  

In a seven-month span, the C’s made 11 trades, which included in one stretch in January that year of making four swaps in the span of seven days. The team carried a remarkable 41 different players during that regular season, but emerged from all that wheeling and dealing with Crowder who solidified himself as one of the best perimeter defenders in “The Association,” as well as one of the best three-point marksman, and earned himself a new five-year, $35 million deal.

On Feb. 19, 2015, the Celtics made a trade that eventually turned them into a major player in the East, when they acquired guard Isaiah Thomas from the Phoenix Suns for guard Marcus Thornton, and a 2016 First-Round pick, which was Skal Labissiere at No. 28 out of Kentucky, whose draft rights were traded to the Sacramento Kings.

Thomas went from the No. 60 and last pick in the 2011 draft into a two-time All-Star, who finished fifth in MVP voting in 2016-17, while also earning first All-NBA selection.

He was a big part of getting them to the playoffs as the No. 7 Seed, but they were swept in the opening round by the Cavs 4-0.

Thomas endeared himself to the fans of “Beantown” this past postseason when he played exceptional throughout the 2017 NBA playoffs in memory of the sudden passing of his 22-year-old sister Chyna’s passing from a car accident prior to beginning of this past postseason.

Even with all that, Ainge made him the centerpiece of a jaw-dropping trade with the Cavs who sent them home in five games in the Eastern Conference Finals that netted them the much younger Irving, who is just 25 years of age, and with two years left on his contract.

The notable transactions for the Celtics made during the 2014-15 season consisted of them dealing a conditional 2015 Second-Round pick, that was not exercised to the Cavs for center Tyler Zeller; Thornton, a the 2016 First-Round pick, which turned out to be Labissiere.

On July 15, 2014, Bradley signed a new four-year $32 million deal. Four days later, Humphries was dealt to the Washington Wizards for a conditional 2015 Second-Round pick, that also was not exercised.

On Sept. 25, 2014, Bogans, and two conditional future Second-Round picks, that were not exercised were dealt to the Cavs for Powell, Erik Murphy, Malcolm Thomas, John Lucas III, a 2016 Second-Round pick, where the C’s selected at No. 58 forward Abdel Nader, and a 2017 Second-Round pick, which turned into Kadeem Allen at No. 53.

On Sept. 29, 2014, the Celtics signed now Portland Trail Blazers swingman Evan Turner to a two-year $6.7 million deal.

Jan. 9, 2015, the team deals Wright to the Suns for two future Second-Round picks, that turned into Rade Zagorac at No. 35 overall, and Ojeleye. Three days later, they sent now Cavs forward Jeff Green as part of a three-way deal with the Grizzlies and the Pelicans for forward the now retired Tayshaun Prince; now Los Angeles Clippers guard Austin Rivers; newest Chicago Bulls’ swingman Quincy Pondexter, and a future First-Round pick.

Jan 15, 2015, C’s dealt Rivers as part of a three-way deal with the Clippers, and Suns in exchange for guard Chris Douglas-Roberts, forward Shavlik Randolph, and a 2017 Second-Round pick, that turned into Jabari Bird at No. 56 overall.

On Feb. 19, 2015, the team dealt Prince to the Pistons for now Utah Jazz forward Jonas Jerebko and Gigi Datome.

In the 2015 draft that June, the Celtics selected Rozier at No. 16 out of Louisville; guard R.J. Hunter at No. 28 out of Georgia State; Mickey at No. 33 out of Louisiana State University (LSU) and Thornton at No. 45.

Coming into the 2015-16 season, Stevens craved for continuity with the roster. The C’s front office as a result were quiet at the trade deadline in Feb. 2016. The team won 48 games that season, but in a mind-blowing four-way tiebreaker knocked the Celtics out of having home court in the opening round against the No. 4 Seeded Atlanta Hawks. The No. 5 Seeded C’s put up a good fight in the series, but fell in six games.

They did make enough of an impression on their opponent where in that off-season the Celtics the Hawks All-Star forward/center Al Horford signed a four-year $113 million deal two months later.

In free agency, the C’s on July 9, 2015 they signed forward/center Amir Johnson and forward Jonas Jerebko to two-year deals worth $24 and $10 million respectably.

On July 27, 2015, the team dealt Wallace and Chris Babb to the Golden State Warriors for All-Star forward David Lee.

The summer of 2016 was the first time in nearly 20 years that the Celtics had cap space to sign two max players to long term deals.

Ainge made a swing for the fences in trying to lure prized free agent that summer in 2014 league MVP and perennial All-Star Kevin Durant to the 17-time champions, but he decided to sign with the Warriors, who he helped lead to their second title in the last three seasons back on June 12 when they beat the Cavs in Game 5, to win the series 4-1.

In the 2016 draft, the Celtics used their three First-Round picks turning the Nets pick at No. 3 into the previously mentioned Brown out of University of California; the previously mentioned Yabusele at No. 16, and Ante Zizic at No. 23, who both played overseas. In that same draft, the C’s selected Jackson at No. 45; Bentil at No. 51, and Nader at No. 58. In that same draft, the C’s traded the draft rights of Davis and Zagorac to the Grizzlies for a future First-Round pick.

In free agency, the C’s signed forward Gerald Green to a one-year $1.3 million deal, and re-signed Zeller to a two-year $16 million deal.

The team limited their trade activities again, and were well rewarded as Thomas and Horford led them to 53 wins, their first 50-plus win season since 2010-11; captured their first Atlantic Division title, and landed the No. 1 Seed in the East for the first time since 2007-08.

In the 2017 Playoffs, the Celtics defeated the No. 8 Seeded Chicago Bulls in six games. Defeated the Wizards in the Semifinals, in a classic seven-game series with both teams winning every home game, but their magical carpet ride ended at the hands of the Cavs in five games in the Conference Finals.

Their chances really took a dive when Thomas forced out after succumbing to a nagging hip injury in the second half of Game 2.

After what just took place in the Conference Finals, Ainge, and the Celtics organization new that if they were going to give themselves any kind of a chance to dethrone the Cavs for supremacy in the East, they were going to have to make some major moves this off-season.

That began in this past June’s draft as the Celtics on June 19 traded the No. 1 overall pick and a future First-Round pick to the Sixers for the No. 3 overall pick. They selected the previously mentioned Tatum at No. 3; Ojeleye at No. 37, Allen at No. 53, and Bird at No. 56.

In free agency, they signed Hayward to a four-year $128 million deal, reuniting him with coach Stevens, who he played for as a collegiate at Butler.

The signing of Hayward meant that the Celtics needed to say goodbye to some key players that got them to the point of being a threat to the Cavs supremacy in the East.

They waived Zeller on July 2. Sent the previously mentioned Bradley, and a 2019 Second-Round pick to the Pistons for Morris one day earlier.

On July 19, they signed in free agent center Aron Baynes to a one-year $4.3 million deal, and to close the month on July 31 signed guard Shane Larkin to a one-year $1.5 million deal.

When asked in the aftermath of taking a sledge hammer to the Celtics roster that if the team was finished making moves, Ainge said that he would not conclude in searching for making the roster better.  

That was no joke as when on Aug 22 came the surprise, but long awaited big fish that the organization had been waiting to catch as the acquired Irving from the Conference rival Cavs for Thomas, Crowder, Zizic, who signed a five-year, $15.4 million deal back on July 1, and the Nets’ 2018 First-Round pick.

The deal was somewhat in jeopardy when Thomas injured hip was shown not to have completely healed when he took his physical. So, to make the deal over the finish line, the Celtics included the 2020 Second-Round pick via the Miami Heat on Aug. 30, and the deal went through.

When the Celtics begin the 2017-18 season, they will only be bringing back just Horford, Brown, Rozier, and Smart from last season’s squad.

Even with the talented roster that they have, Ainge has not hinted at adding more top-notch depth to the Celtics’ roster as they have positioned themselves to garner title No. 18 in franchise history.

Those hopes hinge on Irving, who asked to be moved out of the shadow in impending free agent and four-time league MVP in LeBron James earlier this off-season, can emerge as a clear-cut elite player in the NBA this year.

He showed a major flash of it in Game 7 of the 2016 Finals at the Warriors where he sank the game-winning triple that gave the Cavs a 93-92 victory and earning Northeast Ohio’s first pro sports title in 52 years.

If Irving, who as mentioned earlier has two years left on his five-year $90 million deal that he signed in 2014 can be every bit of the guys that in the past six seasons according to NBA.com is No. 1 in field goal percentage and three-point percentage respectably in the fourth quarter/overtime with the score within three points, those dreams of bringing title No. 18 can become a reality.  

The Celtics entered this summer armed with the No. 1 overall pick thanks to the fortuitous option of swapping picks with the Nets in the 2013 K.G./Pierce trade that seemed to get better and better for them; a treasure chest of picks and solid amount of salary cap space.

The turned that No. 1 pick into Tatum, who displayed an NBA-ready offensive arsenal in summer league. Signed the best available free agent in Hayward. Acquired one of the most talented guards in the league in Irving, whose is motivated to show he was more than just a Robin to LBJ’s Batman.

Even more remarkable is that the Celtics treasure chest of assets is far from empty. They will still have as many as five First-Round picks over the next two drafts, including a Top-5 pick from the Los Angeles Lakers, and possibly 13 First-Round picks in the next five drafts combined.

Top level organizations in pro sports have a plan for success. They know how to take a plan and execute it. The Celtics have had plan and have executed very well and find themselves with an opportunity to contend for championships for the next several years. They stayed patient, received short term rewards, and have a chance to be rewarded big time for a long period of time.

Information, and statistics are courtesy of 8/16/17 ESPN.com article, “The Four-Year Rebuilding Project That Has Transformed the Celtics,” by Chris Forsberg, and Luke Knox; the 8/30/17 NBA.com article, “Boston Celtics Include Second-Round Pick To Complete Trade With Cleveland Cavaliers,” by Tom Withers of “The Associated Press;” www.espn.com/nba/team/roster/_/name/bos/boston-celtics; www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/3059273; and http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Boston_Celtics_seasons.

J-Speaks: Cavs Introduce I.T., Crowder and Zicic

As the month of August concluded, the back-to-back-to-back Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers off-season consisted of hiring a new General Manager in 34-year-old Koby Altman; re-signing Kyle Korver and signing guard Jeff Green; veteran guard Jose Calderon, and former MVP in guard Derrick Rose. Then like a bolt of lightning, the team’s All-Star starting floor general Kyrie Irving ask for a trade and the Cavs granted his wish by dealing him to their conference rival. The good thing is that they not only got some solid players in return, they also got two very important assets that will help them at the end of this upcoming season. As far as the players they got in return, they were introduced by the team at a press conference at the close of this week.

On Thursday, the Cavs led by their new 34-year-old GM Koby Altman and head coach Tyronn Lue introduced their newest additions in guard Isaiah Thomas, forward Jae Crowder, and center Ante Zicic, who they acquired from the Boston Celtics on Aug. 22 for Irving. The team also received the Brooklyn Nets’ 2018 First-Round pick.

“This is an extremely exciting day for the Cavaliers; our organization and the city of Cleveland as we welcome the newest members of our Cavaliers family,” Altman said as he introduced Thomas, Crowder and Zicic.

“This is a great day for our franchise in terms of adding these players to our team. These guys are going to add a whole lot to this franchise.”

This blockbuster deal though was in jeopardy because when Thomas, who ranked third in the league in scoring with a career-high of 28.9 points per game this past season took his physical and his left hip that he injured back in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals back in the spring that ended his season had not heeled. The C’s included a 2020 Second-Round pick in the trade and both teams agreed to the trade.   

Before the new Cavs players, Coach Lue and GM Altman took questions, the players were formally introduced with jerseys. Thomas, who wore the No. 4 in his time with the Celtics will be wearing the No. 3. Crowder will continue to wear the No. 99 as he did with the C’s, and Zicic will wear the No. 41.

Once the Q&A began, one of the first questions asked was to Thomas and it was how his hip was doing and if there was a timetable on when he will be ready to play for the Cavs.

Altman addressed the question by saying, “To be fair to Isaiah, we’re not going to address any specifics on his hip injury. We’re also not going to put a timetable on it.”

He also said, “We’re not going to rush it, at all. This is not going to turn into the Isaiah Thomas hip press conference.”  

Despite walking the tight rope around the health of the newest member of the Cavs team by Altman, Coach Lue revealed that Thomas will miss the beginning of the season, which means that the two-time All-Star floor general will still be rehabbing that hip for the first five to six weeks at least. That means the point guard duties for the Cavs will be on Rose and Calderon.

Altman also said that the Cavs are very fortunate to have the best doctors in the world at the Cleveland Clinic as well as the best performance team in the NBA that has a well thought out and established plan that Thomas has already started, with the goal of getting Thomas back and being able to play at the level that made the Celtics a 53-win team and the No. 1 Seed in the Eastern Conference in 2016-17.

Specifically, the man that has been referred to as I.T. the last few years addressed the question by saying he has been getting treatment on that hip each day, while also doing a lot of strength work in the weight room.

“Like Koby said, we have a plan set, and we’re just going to attack that plan, and get me back to 100 percent as soon as possible,” Thomas, who this past season averaged career-highs of 46.3 percent from the field, a career-high tying 37.9 from three-point range, and shot a career-high of 90.9 percent from the foul line, ranked second in the league said.

Even though he was not present for the presser of the new additions, one very important name that was brought up was four-time MVP and three-time Finals MVP LeBron James and it was asked by ESPN’s Dave McMenamin if Thomas, Crowder and Zicic had any interaction with him since the trade 19 days ago.

Thomas, who will be a free agent at the end of this upcoming season, said that James has communicated with him, and Crowder and how excited he is about what they can bring to the table and how they can help the team get back to The Finals for the fourth year in succession.

“To speak for myself, I’m excited to play with the best player in the world,” Thomas said. “I’ve been in situations before where things been a little tough, and we’ve haven’t had the best players, but we just kept fighting, and worked with what we had. Being put in this situation on the court is everything. To play with the best player in the world. To play with a guy like Kevin Love, and J.R. Smith, and Derrick Rose, and to be coached by a guy like Tyronn Lue, whose played in this league for a long time, it’s like I said in my ‘Players Tribune’ piece yesterday it’s like a match made in heaven. It’s a scary thing if everything is able to click with the guys we have coming in and the guys we have on this team. I’m excited, and I can’t wait to get going.”

In that piece Thomas did in the “The Players Tribune,” he talked how he found out about the trade when Celtics’ President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge called him as he was driving home from a Seattle, WA airport from celebrating his one-year wedding anniversary with his wife Kayla in Miami FL.

At first Ainge could not reach Thomas, but when he did, Ainge told Thomas that he had traded him to the Cavaliers for Irving.

“And that’s when, like—man. You ever been on the phone and someone says something…and then all of a sudden, all you can think about after is, I don’t want to be on the phone anymore? Not even in a rude way. Just, like, your willpower to have a conversation shuts down. That’s what it was like for me in that moment,” Thomas said in his piece.

Thomas understands being traded because, he was dealt twice in his career. Once by the team that drafted him with the No. 60 and final pick in the draft in 2011 by the Sacramento Kings, which ironically is the same draft where Irving was chosen No. 1 overall by the Cavaliers. The Kings dealt Thomas to the Phoenix Suns on July 12, 2014. The Suns then traded him to the Celtics at the trade deadline on Feb. 19, 2015.  

This time however, the trade Thomas said caught him off guard, but also woke him up in answering the question from Comcast SportNet New England’s A. Sherrod Blakely. That the NBA is a business, and that unless your name is LeBron James, Kevin Durant, or someone of that caliber, you can be dealt to another team in a heartbeat.

“I prayed on it. I thought about it. I slept on it, and I’m thankful for this opportunity,” he said. “I’m blessed to be able to be traded to a situation where realistically we can win a championship next year. I couldn’t ask for anything better.”

Even with that, the trade still hurt from being dealt by the C’s, but the trade can serve as a good lesson for all NBA fans.

Thomas said that it made him think back to last off-season where Durant decided to sign with the Golden State Warriors as an unrestricted free agent and how people ridiculed him and called him a villain just because he wanted to join a team that had a better chance at winning a championship.

He wanted his trade to show that no matter how much you do to help your prior team win, like playing through the playoffs with a heavy heart after losing your sister to a tragic car accident which happen to Thomas young sister Chyna before the start of this past postseason, you can still be dealt.

The NBA is a business and teams will do whatever they need to do to win, especially win a championship, which the Warriors did back in June for the second time in the last three seasons, when they beat the Cavs in five games.

“I want them to see how my getting traded—just like that, without any warning—by the franchise that I scratched and clawed for, and bled for, and put my everything on the line for? That’s what people need to fix their perspective,” Thomas said in his piece.

“And like I said, there’s no hard feelings. But, I just hope that the next time a player leaves in free agency, and anybody wants to jump on him or write a critical story or a nasty tweet about him, maybe now they’ll think twice.”

The other thing that Thomas can be excited about this trade besides teaming up with LBJ is that two of his teammates from the Celtics in Crowder and Zicic are with him on this new chapter in their respective careers.

In Crowder, the Cavs have a sharp shooter, who averaged 13.9 points and 5.8 rebounds this past season with the Celtics, while also shooting career-highs of 46.3 percent from the field and 39.8 from three-point range.

The former Second-Round pick by the Cavs, No. 34 overall in 2012 also can guard the oppositions best perimeter player and brings a toughness and tenacity that every title contending team needs.

His new opportunity was the last thing on the mind of Crowder because his mother, Helen Thompson, who had been battling cancer passed away just minutes after he told her of the trade.

“There was a lot going on that day, obviously” Crowder said at the presser on Thursday. “The good thing about the whole ordeal was I was able to whisper it to my mom before she passed. I was with her. I just told her, ‘We’re going to Cleveland.’ Five minutes later, she passed.”

With all that lies ahead for the Cavs, and what they want to accomplish, the question is will the team have enough time to get it all together when Thomas does come back.

Coach Lue feels the team will have enough time to put it all together and have the team prepared when we get to spring time and the postseason.

“When you add in an All-Star. A guy who was up for MVP. Fifth in the MVP votes, and you add LeBron James who can play with anybody in the world, it’s not going to take long for those guys to click,” Lue said about Thomas, and James meshing together.

“I think we’ve added the right pieces to this team and Koby has done a great job of doing that, and our main goal, and main focus is being healthy when the playoffs start…We know once we hit the playoffs and we’re healthy, we’re going to be a tough team to beat.”

Before this trade, the Cleveland Cavaliers were a team that on the surface had a look of a team that could make through the East, but were going down hard in The Finals to the Warriors again and that would be it for James. This trade has put the Cavs in position to be at the same level as the Warriors if they make it back and meet them in The Finals for the fourth straight season. It has also put them in position if things do not work out that they are in position to reconstruct their team in a better way than they were when James left the first time back in the summer of 2010.

No matter which way the pendulum swings, it will be full of excitement and it will begin for the Cavs and the Celtics when they meet at Quicken Loans Arena in Northeast Ohio on Tuesday night, Oct. 17 at 8 p.m. on TNT.

Information, statistics, and quotations are courtesy of 9/6/17 NBA.com article, via “The Players’ Tribune,” “Isaiah Thomas Opens Up About Trade, Shows Love For Boston in Letter;” 9/7/17 Introductory Press Conference for newest Cavaliers Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder and Ante Zicic, via Cavs.com; 9/7/17 ESPN.com article, “Cavaliers Mum on Isaiah Thomas’ Hip Injury During Introduction,” by Dave McMenamin; 9/7/17 www.sports.yahoo.com article, “Jae Crowder Says His Ill Mother Passed Minutes After He Told Her He was Traded,” by Kurt Helin;  www.espn.com/nba/player/stats/_/id/6472/isaiah-thomas; www.espn.com/nba/player/stats/_/id/6581/jae-crowder; www.espn.com/nba/statistics/player/_/sat/free-throw and http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaiah_Thomas_(basketball).     

J-Speaks: Celtics Introduce Irving and Hayward

Two weeks ago, the blockbuster deal between the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers was delayed and in jeopardy of being rescinded because of findings after looking at the injured right hip of All-Star guard Isaiah Thomas. After some renegotiation of another draft pick from the C’s, the mega-trade was completed as announced by both teams on Thursday in a joint statement and on Friday, Sept. 2 the C’s along with their front office introduced their new floor general and the other prized acquisition, who the team hopes leads them to the promise land.

Led by General Manager/President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge; Head Coach Brad Stevens, and Chief Executive Officer, and Governor Wyc Grousbeck had a press conference at TD Garden in Boston, MA to introduced their two newest additions in All-Star guard Kyrie Irving, who they acquired from the back-to-back-to-back Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers on Aug. 22 for forward Jae Crowder, Thomas, center Ante Zicic, a 2018 First-Round pick via the Brooklyn Nets and a 2020 Second-Round pick via the Miami Heat. They also introduced prized free agent signing Gordon Hayward, who the team signed on July 14.

The festivities got underway with introductory pictures where Irving and Hayward received their new Celtics jerseys. Hayward will continue to dawn the No. 20, which he wore during his first seven seasons with the Utah Jazz, but Irving will go from sporting the No. 2 that he had in his first six years with the Cavs to dawning No. 11.

“Just to say on behalf of the Celtics, since 1946, we’ve been a championship driven organization. We believe we’ve added two players here that are championship quality players on the court, and championship quality people off the court and in the community,” Grousbeck said.

“The more I’ve gotten to know them recently, and the more I’ve watched them over their careers, but even recently getting to know the qualities of their intense desire to be the best they can be on and off the court makes me convinced that there a great fit for “Celtic Pride,” and our drive towards banner 18. So, I personally want to thank Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving for joining the Celtics.”

For Irving, who averaged career-highs of 25.2 points per game, on 47.3 percent from the field, 40.1 percent from three-point range, and 90.5 percent from the charity stripe this past season, this trade presented him a new opportunity to lead a team the top of the NBA mountain, without having four-time MVP LeBron James by his side. It also meant for him a chance to be with an organization that has stability from the top on down. He will also have the assistance of another All-Star in Hayward to do it with.

“Getting the opportunity to be a part of such and illustrious organization such as the Boston Celtics,” Irving said.

“I grew up watching so many different films and I asked Danny when we were at dinner if I could get a few of his VHS tapes from those championship runs that they had.”

Irving went on to say that getting this unique opportunity to be a part of a special organization like the Celtics and for them to do everything possible to acquire him to come to their organization is something to be very thankful and appreciative.

He also said that he looks very much to getting onto the practice court and eventually into real game action to put on full display his array of skills and talents to help lead the C’s to banner No. 18.

Hayward feels that same way, especially being reunited with his former collegiate head coach at Butler University in Stevens, who helped him grow from an unknown First-Round Pick, No. 9 overall in 2010, into All-Star player. A guy who in his first seasons with the Utah Jazz increased his scoring and his overall game each season to where he averaged career-highs of 21.9 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, shooting 47.1 percent from the field; 39.8 percent from three-point land, and a career-best 84.4 from the free throw line.

“The people that are here at this organization. The history that they have. Coach Stevens. I think that I kind of scratched the surface of what I can become, and I think being here with the city, and the fans, it’s really exciting to be here. I think it’s going to be a great year, for sure we can all improve and get better,” he said.

Hayward also said about his former college coach, “I don’t know if I would’ve imagined 5:45 a.m. workouts at Brownsburg High School [Brownsburg, IN] we both would be sitting here one day.”

Stevens joked saying that his former player could not even grow a beard when he last saw Hayward.

Hayward also said that Stevens was the first person, who believed in his dream of playing basketball at the pro level and to be reunited with him again is an exciting feeling and that he is chomping at the bit to get in the gym and getting to work.

For both Irving and Hayward as they begin this next chapter in their careers, they will be the headliners and not just parts of a puzzle.

As mentioned earlier, Irving was Robin to James’ Batman, and Hayward grew into being the No. 1 option in the Jazz offensive attack.

They both left situations that most pro athletes pray and work to be a part of. There are not a lot of people that would ever leave the side of LeBron James unless they were traded by the organization or not re-signed. Particularly going back to his time with the Heat, James has been in the last seven Finals in a row.

Irving mentioned at the press conference that he has not spoken to LBJ since he went to Cavs’ owner Dan Gilbert asking to be dealt, but he did talk about the special bond he, James, J.R. Smith, Tristan Thompson, and Iman Shumpert did develop especially over the past three seasons, will remain with him forever.

“I’d be sitting up here telling you guys a lie if I didn’t tell you how much I learned from that guy,” he said.

“The perfection of the craft comes in a variety of forms, and you watch, and you ask a lot of the great players, ‘What does it take to be great?’ I’ve had the unique opportunity to play with one of the greats, and it was awesome…When you look back, and you’re eternally grateful for the moments that you’ve had, and you’ve shared. You’re able to put piece with that journey, and start anew. This was a very challenging decision at first, but after a while when you understand, and you have that confidence in yourself to understand the magnitude of what you actually can accomplish, and potentially can do with other great people.”

In Hayward’s case, he just left a team in the Jazz that won 50 games for the first time since 2010; made the playoffs for the first time since 2012, and advanced past the opening round of the playoffs for the first time since 2010 when they defeated the Los Angeles Clippers in seven games. On top of that, he was with a group of players in Rodney Hood, Rudy Gobert, Derrick Favors, Alec Burks, Dante Exum and Joe Ingles that was really building something, and they just acquired Ricky Rubio to be their new starting lead guard.

For both All-Stars, they are expected to be the top guns in not just leading the Celtics offensively, but being the so-called leaders who set the tone for the rest of the squadron from the practice court to how they take care business on gameday. How they handle wins and losses, and how they bring it when it comes to the postseason.

For Irving, he had the best example to learn all of this from in James, who had that weight of expectation right from the jump of his NBA career and he has lived up to that hype from the outside and from inside the Cavs and Heat.

It is something that Irving said the prior Friday that he has grown to understand, even in the early stages of his career where he and the Cavs lost more than they won, and then in the last three years where they made it to The Finals the last three seasons in succession, and winning it all as mentioned earlier in 2016. Irving said that he appreciates what he learned in his first six seasons in Northeast Ohio and welcomes that weight of expectations that come with being a part of the Celtics.

“It took a few things for me to go through in Cleveland for me to understand that. Of learning the hard way,” he said. “But, we’re all human beings, and I think we all been through a few hard times to where it’s changed the landscape of what you think and what you feel. It was my time to do what was best for me, in terms of my intentions, and that’s going after something bigger than myself, and honestly being in an environment that conducive to my potential.”

With the dust settling, the Boston Celtics will a different mix with the headliners now being Irving, Hayward, and Al Horford, with the supporting cast of Marcus Morris, Marcus Smart, Terry Rozier, Aron Baynes, Jaylen Brown, and No. 3 overall pick in this past June’s draft Jayson Tatum.

This is a very talented team on paper. As well all know though, games are not won paper. They are won on the hardwood, and for this team to get into a position to be a team that wins a great deal in the regular season, and in the postseason, it takes time and commitment from the players to the coaching staff. Getting this collection of talent to live up and surpass that 53-win group from this past season will be up to Stevens.

“Each team its own entity, and even when we’ve had more guys back, and more continuity the last couple of years, you still go into the season, and you have to work on all the important things that add up to ultimately giving yourself just the chance to win,” Stevens said.

“It can only happen if your best players are guys that want to really be a part of something special as a group, and appreciate and value what everybody brings to the table. We’re starting off with a great foundation, and I think with these guys [Irving, and Hayward], and Al, and with some of our young players, it’s going to be a fun growth process.”

The Celtics will have an opportunity to show how ready they are to take on the challenge of garnering banner No. 18 from via that hard work and commitment right from the jump when they and Irving travel to meet his former squadron to open the season when they travel to Cleveland to meet up with the Cavs on Tuesday, Oct. 17 at 8 p.m. on TNT.

Information, statistics, and quotations are courtesy of the 9/1/17 11:30 a.m. introductory press conference of Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward by the Celtics on NBATV, via Celtics.com; 9/2/17 6 a.m. edition of NBATV’s “Gametime,” with Casey Stern, and Mike Fratello; www.espn.com/nba/player/stats/_/id/4249/gordon-hayward; www.espn.com/nba/player/stats/_/id/6442/kyrie-irving, http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Hayward; and http://en.n.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Utah_Jazz_seasons.

J-Speaks: Storm's Bird New Assist Leader

From her stellar high school career for Christ the King in Queens, NY; to the University of Connecticut; with the Seattle Storm of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), to her stellar career overseas, Sue Bird has been a winner wherever she has played. She has been a champion many times over; a perennial WNBA All-Star and above all, well respected by her teammates, peers, and opponents. On Friday night, one of the best floor generals to ever grace the collegiate and professional hardwood added another accomplishment to her resume.

In the Storm’s (15-19) 110-106 overtime setback at the Washington Mystics (18-16), Bird in the opening quarter surpassed former WNBA point guard Ticha Penicheiro of the then Sacramento Monarchs to become the all-time assists leader in the history of the WNBA.

Bird tied the record at the 4:06 mark of the opening stanza with a pass to Carolyn Swords that she scored on a layup over two Mystics defenders.

She would break the tie with assists number 2,600 on a pass again to Swords off a pick-and-roll that she scored on uncontested at the 3:35 mark of the first period. It was the third of a season-high 13 assists on the night for Bird, one shy of her career-high. She also scored 19 points on the evening in the nation’s capital.

Bird now has 2,610 assists for her career as Penicheiro is now in second place with 2,599. Minnesota Lynx lead guard Lindsay Whalen with 2,249. In fourth is former San Antonio Stars floor general and current assistant coach for the five-time NBA champion San Antonio Spurs Becky Hammon with 1,708. In fifth is fellow UConn Lady Huskie and champion guard for the Phoenix Mercury Diana Taurasi with 1,656.

“Congratulations to Sue Bird for setting the WNBA career assists record. Passing the great Ticha Penicheiro is a remarkable accomplishment that reflects Sue’s selfless approach to the game and provides yet another reminder of her sustained excellence over 15 seasons,” WNBA President Lisa Borders said in a statement on Friday night.

Penicheiro echoed those same thoughts of Bird by stating, “Records are made to be broken and if somebody is going to take your ‘crown,’ you want it to be somebody like you. You do it with class, charisma, passion, humility, efficiency, professionalism, and creativity… always leading your team and your teammates.”

For the past few weeks fans and the media have been counting down to when Bird was going to break the record, but that was never on the mind of the Storm’s lead guard.

“Truthfully, I’m not just saying this, it’s not something I paid attention to,” she said last Tuesday, sitting just 12 assists shy then of breaking Penicheiro’s all-time mark.

The mark had not even been on the radar until the start of the 2017 WNBA campaign when a reporter mentioned to Bird that if she averaged a certain number of assists that she would be on track to become the new all-time assists leader.

Bird’s response was, “It seemed like a high number, so I was just like ‘Oh yeah, whatever.’ I didn’t really think twice about it,” Bird said. “Then probably about a month ago it came up again where it was like now you’re only this many away.”

That is not to say that Bird was not dismissive at what she achieved at the Capitol One Arena on Friday night, but individual accomplishments are not what drives her or is a part of her makeup. Bird for much of her career was a player that strived to find the proper balance between scoring and putting her teammates in position to score to help her team win every night the Storm took the court.

That selflessness as was described by WNBA President Borders earlier is why the likes of former teammates Lauren Jackson, Camille Little, Swin Cash, Janell Burse and Betty Lennox, and current teammates Crystal Langhorne; last season’s Rookie of the Year Breanna Stewart, Jewell Loyd, Alysha Clark, and Tanisha Wright had many opportunities to make plays offensively thanks to Bird’s ability to find them.

“Honestly, to be able to just play with Sue it was a dream of mine,” Stewart said. “She’s the best point guard in the game, and she deserves to be the all-time leader in assists. She sees the floor unlike anyone else, and I’m grateful to be here playing with her, and just learning from her.”

“You know, Bird can see anything from any different angle and that’s is Sue Bird. She sees the play before the play,” Minnesota Lynx’s All-Star and teammate on that 2016 Gold Medal winning women’s team Seimone Augustus said.  

To put Bird’s accomplishment into context, 624 of her 2,610 career assists went to Jackson, and that is a major reason the Storm won titles in 2004 and 2010.

Of the top 30 scorers in WNBA history, only Bird and Whalen have more than 2,000 assists and just those two along with Taurasi, Hammon and Cappie Pondexter of the Chicago Sky have more than 1,500 assists.

Bird is also ninth all-time leading scorer in league history and is just a point shy of passing Hammon for eighth place.

Penicheiro, who Bird as mentioned just passed finished her 15-year career, with 12 of those with the Monarchs finished with as many assists, 2,599 as points scored in her career with 2,747.

“Playing against her was always tough,” Bird said of her matchups with Penicheiro early in her career. “This is what makes Ticha so special; you knew what Ticha did, you knew what she did well, you knew what she was trying to do and you still couldn’t really stop it. You knew that when she penetrated she was always looking for her teammates and even knowing that you still couldn’t stop her from doing it.”

One player on the receiving end of a number of those assists during their time as Olympic teammates was Taurasi, who called Bird, “the best point guard to ever play in the WNBA.”

“I’m so proud of her. I know how much time she’s put into it, and I’ve been lucky to share the court with her in a lot of ways, and I’ve taken so much away from the way she approaches basketball, that there’s no one like Sue. She’s one of a kind.”

The greatest thing that a legend of the game can do is inspire others to reach her level of excellence in terms of their play on the court. That is what Bird has done for the likes of Courtney Vandersloot of the Sky, Layshia Calerndon of the Atlanta Dream, and Skylar Diggins-Smith of the Dallas Wings.

“I think truthfully what’s even more impressive is, yes I’m having a career year in assists, and then there are still two players who are having better years in assist-wise,” Bird, who is averaging a career-high of 6.6 assists per contest in this her 15^th season. “It’s the year of the assist, so it makes me happy. Because I think assists and what that means in our game in terms of point guard play at times can be undervalued. So now you have Courtney Vandersloot who is filling it up, Layshia Clarendon is having a career year, so it’s great to see point guards doing their jobs.”

Bird also said, “And I think what you see now is situations where you look at Skylar Diggins-Smith as an example, Tanisha Wright even before Skylar is another example in her last couple years in New York. You had these guards who can really put up big numbers in the scoring column playing that point guard spot.”

There are very few players that have played in the NBA or WNBA that have complied the kind of resume Sue Bird has done in her career. Ten All-Star appearances; four-time All-WNBA First-Team selection; three-time All-WNBA Second-Team selection; three-time WNBA assists leader; selected to the WNBA’s Top 15 Players of all-time; selected to the WNBA Top 20@20; a member of the WNBA All-Decade Team; two-time WNBA champion; four-time Olympic Gold medalist; five-time Russian National League champion and four-time EuroLeague champion. Add to that the WNBA all-time leader in assists. That is a resume that will land her in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame when she decides to retire. On top of that, she has left a legacy that has inspired her peers and earned the respect of her current and former teammates, coaches, and opponents.

As for her assists record being overtaken, players like Vandersloot, Clarendon, Diggins-Smith and other point guards will have their work cut out for them to challenge Bird’s record, which has no end in sight. When you consider the fact that she is averaging a career-best in assist per game in this her previously mentioned 15^th season, and with no signs she is slowing down, she could push that mark toward 3,000 if she chooses to play a few more seasons.

Knowing Bird’s makeup, that is not what is going to drive her to play more beyond this season and any season after.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Bird said. “I didn’t necessarily come into this league thinking about this milestone so I don’t really think on my way out I’ll be thinking about it either. I’ll just let the chips fall where they may.”

Information, statistics, and quotations are courtesy of 9/1/17 wnba.com article, “Sue Bird Reflects on Becoming WNBA’s All-Time Assists Leader,” by Brian Martin; 9/2/17 6 a.m. edition of NBATV’s “Gametime,” with Casey Stern and Mike Fratello; http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Layshia_Clarendon, and http://en.m.wikpedia.org/wiki/Sue_Bird.