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Larry O’Brien Legends, Part 2: A Hippy and a Team

The Trailblazers had a couple obvious options and their names were Damian Lillard and Clyde Drexler. I strongly considered Drexler’s 90s squads and Lillard’s playoff heroics in 2019 and the 2020s. Then, I got a better idea. The Blazers only have 1 championship and that team has become massively overlooked in NBA history. By the time the 1974 draft was approaching, it was well-known an imposing UCLA big man could completely change the fortunes of a team. Kareem had done exactly that for the Bucks and Bill Walton was expected to do the same for whoever earned his services. At this time, the 1st overall pick was decided in a coin flip between the worst team in each conference. In 1974, that was the Portland Trail Blazers and Philadelphia 76ers. The coin flipped and the Blazers won the chance to draft Bill Walton. Walton had been easily the best player in college basketball for the last 3 years. He won 2 National Championships, 2 AP Player of the Year awards, 3 Naismith awards and named a consensus All-American each season. He did all this while AVERAGING 20 points, 16 rebounds and 6 assists. Walton shares more similarities to Kareem besides UCLA dominance, he also was an activist. He famously was one of 52 demonstrators arrested on UCLA’s campus for protesting the Vietnam war. He was a true hippy that loved the Grateful Dead which made him stand out in the buttoned up world of college, and eventually, professional basketball. On the court is where the two UCLA bigs differed. While Kareem was a ball dominant scoring freak with incredible defense, Walton was more of a playmaker. In some ways, he’s like Nikola Jokic without a jump shot, but with tremendous defense. The Blazers realized what they had and got to work building a team around him. Unfortunately, Walton had injury issues from the get-go which caused him to miss games in his first 2 seasons, but in 1977, Walton was finally healthy. He finished 2nd in MVP voting and was on the All-NBA 2nd team. The only reason he wasn’t on the 1st team was because of Kareem who was also the reason why Walton finished 2nd in MVP voting on a team that finished with the 49 wins and a playoff spot. Heading into the playoffs, the Blazers were easily the youngest and most inexperienced team. Only 1 player was 30 or older, Herm Gilliam, who was 30 exactly. That lack of experience was expected to cost them dearly despite a wonderful season. That inexperience seemingly came into play in round 1 against Chicago when they struggled to take care of the vastly inferior Bulls. In round 2, Walton met an old nemesis, David Thompson. Thompson had ended Walton’s UCLA career when he led NC State to a National Championship. Now Walton had a chance at revenge, which is exactly what he got when the Blazers won in 6 to set up a Western Conference Finals matchup with the Lakers and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Kareem was the best player on Earth, full stop. Walton knew he had his toughest challenge of the season trying to defend and score in Kareem. Kareem was magnificent, averaging 30 and 16 on 60% shooting. Yet, Portland swept the Lakers and made it to the Finals in their first ever playoff experience. Waiting for them was the Philadelphia 76ers. The 76ers were the most exciting team in basketball thanks to their new stars. In the very first season of the NBA-ABA merger, Julius Erving, Dr. J, the best ABA player, joined Philly and instantly turned an okay team into a great one. Alongside fellow ABA-alumni George McGinnis, the 76ers were HEAVY favourites to win the finals. That consensus only got more definitive when Philly went up 2-0 in the series. The Blazers proceeded to win the next 4 and clinch the championship. Bill Walton averaged 19, 19 and 5 in the series along with 4 blocks as the Blazers became just the 2nd team ever to win a championship after going down 2-0 in the finals. Only 3 other teams have done it since. Portland also became the youngest team ever to win a championship and remain so to this day. The 2025 OKC Thunder are the 2nd youngest at 25.56, the 77 Blazers had an average age of 25.03. Considering they did this in the era where players didn’t enter the draft until their 20s, it is insane that Walton led this team to a championship. He was deservedly awarded Finals MVP for his efforts. If you know Bill Walton, you know how the rest of his career plays out. Injuries tore him down before he was revived in Boston and won another championship. His career may not have lived up to the hype, but for 1 year, he became what he was expected to be, a Larry O’Brien Legend.

Trail Blazers

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Blazers Reign Supreme: Today in Sports History

On June 5th, 1977, the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 109-107 to win their first NBA Championship. The Blazers became the first team to win four straight games after losing the first two in the NBA Finals. This feat would be unmatched until 2006, when the Miami Heat did the same. Bill Walton took home Finals MVP averaging 18.5 points, 19.0 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game. Walton closed out the series with 20 points, 23 rebounds, 7 assists and 8 blocks in Game 6. In fact, all of Portland’s Game 6 starters finished with double-digit scoring. This managed to thwart a combined 68 point effort from 76ers Julius Erving and George McGinnis.

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Larry O’Brien Legends, Part 11: The Big Ticket and Big Balls

Despite a disappointing season, the Minnesota Timberwolves are undeniably in their best era. It’s the first time ever they have won a playoff series in 3 straight seasons and they have made more conference finals in the last 3 years than they did in the 34 seasons before. I believe it is worth revisiting the 1 season it happened. In 1995, the Timberwolves made their best draft pick in franchise history when they selected Kevin Garnett 5th overall. After a promising rookie season, Garnett quickly established himself as a young star before ascending to superstar in the 2000s. His insane intensity, prodigious defensive IQ and deep toolbox turned him into a nightmare on both ends of the floor. Sadly, because the Timberwolves were poorly ran, they struggled to build a team around KG, until 2004. They finished with 58 wins in the regular season, a franchise record to this day and the 2nd best record in the 03-04 season. Of course the biggest part of that was KG himself. The future Hall-of-Famer averaged career highs in points and rebounds while remaining a top tier defender. However, it was the supporting cast that helped the team finally ascend and it all happened thanks to 2 trades to acquire veteran Sam Cassell and the erratic Latrel Sprewell. Garnett, Cassell and Sprewell formed a formidable trio. Them along with shooting from Wally Szczerbiak and Fred Hoiburg and defense from Micheal Olowokandi made the Timberwolves a real threat. Now it was time to prove it. In the first round, the 1st seed Timberwolves faced rookie Carmelo Anthony and the Denver Nuggets. The Wolves chewed them up, spit them out and beat them in 5. Carmelo had averaged 21 points per game in the regular season and the Timberwolves held him to 15 on horrific 32% shooting. Nevertheless, this series included a 40-piece from Sam Cassell to win game 1 and a 31-point game from Sprewell to win game 2 while KG averaged 26 points and 16 rebounds throughout the series. The trio was locked in. In round 2, the Wolves met the Sacramento Kings. Forget their reputation today, back then they were one of the very best teams, often thought of as the cream of the crop in the West alongside the Lakers and Spurs. They boasted a loaded starting lineup that included Mike Bibby, Peja Stojakovic and the man that made it all work, Chris Webber. Garnett would be tasked with shutting down Webber. Sam Cassell put up another 40-point game in game 1 of this series, but the Kings managed to overcome it and steal a 1-0 lead. The Wolves would come back and get game 2 behind Garnett’s 28 points. After a hard-fought series, it all came down to game 7. Heading into the 4th quarter of that game, the Wolves clung to a 2-point lead thanks to a Sam Cassell 3. After a few minutes, the Big Ticket took over. He proceeded to score Minnesota’s next 13 points. It culminated with a 3-pointer to put Minnesota up 7 and then a block on Webber to keep that lead. It came down to the last possession. Kings had the ball, down 3. Garnett blocked Brad Miller’s layup attempt and Webber missed a 3 to clinch Minnesota’s first conference finals appearance. KG finished game 7 with 32 points, 21 rebounds, 5 blocks and 4 steals in a legendary performance. He is 1 of just 7 players to ever have a 30-20 game in a game 7 and the only one to do it in the 21st century. In the conference finals, the Wolves ran into the Kobe-Shaq Lakers. This was the infamous Kobe-Shaq-Mailman-Gary Payton super team. The Wolves were obviously the underdogs, but they presented a real challenge. After losing game 1, Minnesota won game 2, but at the cost of Sam Cassell. He hurt his hip literally 43 seconds in. Miraculously he played game 3, but was MIA for the rest of the series. It was a crushing blow for a team that relied on him to be the 2nd best player beside KG. KG did his part and averaged 24, 14 and 4 in the series, which included a brilliant 30-point outing in game 5 to keep his team’s chances alive. But the Wolves ultimately lost in 6 games. At the time, KG’s 2004 playoff run had the most points, rebounds, assists and blocks of any Timberwolf ever. Only the points and assists have been surpassed since, by Anthony Edwards in 2024. It wasn’t just KG setting records. Sam Cassell became the 26th player in NBA history to put up multiple 40-point games in the same playoff run… yes really. Even better, Sam Cassell’s 2004 playoff run alone gave him more 40-point games in the playoffs than the following current and future Hall-of-Famers: James Worthy, Dr. J, David Robinson, Klay Thompson, Paul George and Demar DeRozan Although this era didn’t last long, Minnesota can finally say they have a better era of Timberwolves basketball and they can look back on this season with rose coloured glasses as the year Kevin Garnett became a Larry O’Brien Legend and Sam Cassell solidified his Larry O’Brien legend in stone.

@FlameRaptorRaven

Larry O’Brien Legends, Part 10: Worthy of Centre Stage

Oh boy, I had a bunch of options here. The problem was finding a moment/run that isn’t talked about ad nauseum. I don’t need to regale you with the story of the 2020 Lakers or Kobe Bryant or Magic. Instead, let me tell you about the time James Worthy became Big Game James. If you know anything about NBA history, or watched Winning Time, you know about the Showtime Lakers. Magic and Kareem combined to make one of the greatest duos in NBA history as arguably the greatest point guard and centre respectively. However, don’t forget about James Worthy. Thanks to an asinine trade made by the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Lakers got the 1st overall draft pick after winning the 1982 championship and picked James Worthy. He was coming off a stellar career at North Carolina that culminated in a National Championship alongside a freshman named Michael Jordan. Unfortunately, Worthy missed the 1983 run with an injury, but quickly established himself as a playoff riser after that season. However, it would be 1988 when Worthy earned his iconic nickname. Kareem was 40-years-old so James Worthy was expected to be Magic’s #1 option during their playoff run beside leading scorer Byron Scott. The first series wouldn’t see that from Worthy, but it also didn’t need it, as the Lakers swept the Spurs with ease. Klay Thompson’s dad (Mychal Thompson) was 2nd in scoring behind Magic with Worthy being in 3rd. The Lakers met a young Karl Malone and John Stockton in round 2 and proceeded to have a hard-fought 7 game series. Worthy finished the series 2nd in scoring behind Byron Scott and helped close out the series beside Scott’s 29 points with 23 of his own, granted, on rough shooting splits (41%). It would be the last 2 series where Worthy would make the biggest impact. In the conference finals, Worthy and the Lakers met the Dallas Mavericks and their star forward Mark Aguirre. This is notable because the Lakers actually nearly traded James Worthy to the Mavericks for Aguirre, a fact that Worthy was very aware of. This information gave Worthy a chimp on his shoulder and he played like it. In another hard-fought 7-game series, James Worthy was the clear-cut #1, averaging 23, 5 and 5 on stupendous 57% shooting. This includes a legendary game 7 performance when Worthy put up 28, 7 and 7, out-duelling the man he was nearly traded for. Even with all he had done, the Finals would present his greatest challenge. The Lakers met the Bad Boys Pistons, a team that shifted from a high-scoring team of the mid-80s to become an unselfish, brutish defensive team. They ranked top 3 in both defensive rating and opponent points per game in the regular season. They had all the names you think of: Zeke, Dumars, Laimbeer and a young Dennis Rodman. The Lakers needed Worthy to perform in order to overcome this challenge. Worthy delivered, through 6 games, Worthy averaged: 20, 6 and 4, but in game 7, he played the best game of his life. Worthy put up 36, 16 and 10, the first and only triple double of his Hall of Fame career. At the time, he was just the 3rd player ever to put up a 30+ point triple double in a game 7 and only the 2nd to do it in the Finals (Jerry West did it in 1969). To this day, Worthy is the last man to pull it off. That performance gave him series averages of 22, 7 and 4, thus he was rewarded with Finals MVP. The Lakers made it back to the Finals 2 more times, 89 against the Bad Boys and 91 against Jordan’s Bulls, only to get crushed in both series. If not for Worthy’s legendary performance in 88, the Showtime Lakers have 1 less ring. That makes him worthy of being a Larry O’Brien Legend.