Big wins are nice. They make players feel great, and they make fans happy. Big losses? Those are the things that stick in players’ heads for years and years and years. That truism comes from ex-player Danny Schayes, whose column this week deals with Kentucky’s loss in the NCAA championship game and how it will impact those five freshmen going forward. As Schayes notes, the games and the moments that stick out in his mind the most are games in which he ended
Every player with a long career has experienced amazing triumphs and agonizing defeats. What is remarkable is that if you ask most athletes about those events years later, most will admit that the losses stay with them and are more impactful than the wins. After this year’s NCAA Championship game, Kentucky coach John Calipari could only talk about the missed opportunities. His team missed free throws, turned the ball over or missed shots at crucial times. He rarely mentioned the tremendous
There is a curious thing happening right now. As the search for the replacement Executive Director for Billy Hunter at the NBA players’ union drags into its second year with no end in sight, there is a tremendous void not being filled. The league and Commissioner Adam Silver, being bright and experienced, have decided to take this opportunity and fill it themselves. The missing element is the voice of the players. And their silence is deafening. As the NBPA office continues to shrink
Danny Schayes is making his on-camera debut in this post, so make sure to tweet him at @DanSchayes and tell him how ugly he looks. But also make sure you congratulate him on making a strong point — and exposing the shenanigans that are going on at the Players Association as they search for a new executive director to replace the deposed Billy Hunter. As Schayes writes in his latest column, the two leading candidates for the post are going through an
As the NBA Players Association’s search for a new executive director drags on, one can’t help but wonder if it will have a happy ending. Right now, that’s hard to foresee. The search has been plagued by inefficiency from the beginning. The low level of transparency has opened the search up charges of manipulation as various factions from inside and outside the union try to exert influence over the process. Add to all of this the horrible timing of the process and
There is a curious thing happening right now. As the search for the replacement Executive Director for Billy Hunter at the NBA players’ union drags into its second year with no end in sight, there is a tremendous void not being filled. The league and Commissioner Adam Silver, being bright and experienced, have decided to take this opportunity and fill it themselves. The missing element is the voice of the players. And their silence is deafening. As the NBPA office continues to shrink
The Zen Master himself has returned to the NBA as the newest Big Kahuna of the Knicks. Of course, he is about the fifth in a long line of saviors who have entered the black hole known as the Knicks front office. The job suffers from the common malady known as “responsibility without authority.” Basketball experts come and go under the whim of owner James Dolan, and the team is famous for its ability to go backward a lot faster than
Something I have noticed about the NBA: “The Game” is fighting a losing battle with those promoting the game. While that may sound a little confusing, it has become increasingly obvious that the promotion around the game is more important than the game itself. And this discussion looks very different depending on which side you are on. Last week LeBron James scored a career-high and team-record 61 points in a game. A few games later he lays an egg (by LeBron standards)