There has been enough debate on the MVP award, including three columns on this site — all in favor of James Harden. Which, of course, means he will finish second. Or maybe not. I do know this: It is going to be interesting to see exactly how close the vote is from a historical perspective. And speaking of history, I have a little (OK, a lot) of my own in the NBA. So today, I’m going to share a few personal stories and
Schayes: Divorce Court for Coaches and Players; A Magic Johnson tale
There are few things that indicate futility more than when a coach loses the connection with his team. When that happens there is nothing to fix, nothing to do, nowhere to turn. It is over. The wonder of team sports is the coming together of a group of people willing to put personal agendas aside for the common goal of winning. When that happens you truly get a whole bigger than the sum of the parts, and magic happens. When people
Schayes: In the NBA, Sometimes You Can Go Home Again
Last week, stars Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett played a road game. But not just any road game. It was perhaps the most significant road game of their careers. The future Hall of Famers returned for the first time to basketball-bonkers Boston, the city where they won hearts and championships. The former Celtics were given a warm welcome that included video tributes and had an emotional evening. In this era of free agency, many players have a similar experience. They move from a
Schayes: Home (Team) for the Holidays
Happy Thanksgiving from the Marriott. As the marketers get more and more influence over the business that is the NBA, there are more and more changes that benefit the fans and the networks. They don’t benefit the players or their families very much … but that isn’t much of an issue. Lets face it. For most teams, it is getting harder and harder to find time to yourselves on TV. The NBA used to start training camp in the middle of September and
Schayes: Coaches are Hired to be Fired, But This is Ridiculous
Every professional sport lives by the famous adage, “Coaches are hired to be fired.” It is well known that when things go south, it is the coach and not the players who get the blame and the ax. In the NBA, with 15 players collectively making somewhere north of $60 million in salary and being almost impossible to replace, it is no wonder that the coach and his assistants are the usual fall guys for poor performance. Few jobs carry so
Schayes: On NBA Coach of the Year, and Coaches in General
With the NBA season winding down, award season is right around the corner. The Coach of the Year award this season is a very tight race. I have a tremendous history with coaches. It started by growing up with an NBA Coach of the Year living across the hall from me for my entire childhood. That helped me grow up to have an 18-year NBA career playing for 15 different coaches. And when you consider that I had one coach (Doug Moe)
Five reasons to feel positive about the Denver Nuggets
(This is another in a series of 30 guest columns that will run in October, when optimism reigns supreme across the NBA. The theme will be “Five Reasons to Feel Positive About … ” We encourage you to follow the authors on Twitter and visit their sites. – CS) In the wake of the Carmelo Anthony trade and the departures of Kenyon Martin and J.R. Smith – the ending of the “Thuggets” era – Denver Nuggets vice president of basketball operations