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Larry O’Brien Legends, Part 5: Trae Young Soars

The Hawks were very difficult to pick for, at least initially. I tried avoiding the obvious at first, but realized that there was no better time to acknowledge it than now. It’s easy to forget with how his career has played out since, but Trae Young was once seen as one of the most promising players in basketball. In 2020, Bleacher Report ranked him as the 2nd best player under the age of 21, only behind fellow 2018 draft class member: Luka Doncic. The consensus on Trae was that he was an incredible offensive player who was held back by poor defense, but his offense was so good that it was worth the drawback. Trae finished 2nd in 2019 Rookie of the year voting, then finished top 5 in points and assists per game in his second season while single-handedly elevating the Hawks’ offense from bad to good. If he can get the right pieces around him, he could take the Hawks far. In the 2021 playoffs, everything clicked. The Atlanta Hawks entered the playoffs as a team that people thought could be fun, but not dangerous to true contenders and likely just a small bump in the road for their first round opponent, the New York Knicks. Only 3 ESPN analysts picked the Hawks to win. Instead, the Hawks gave the Knicks a beating. Trae set the tone in game 1 when he won the game with a last second floater and proceeded to average 29 points and 10 assists throughout the series as Atalanta knocked off New York in just 5 games. It is a series New York STILL hasn’t gotten over as Trae Young played the villain perfectly. His 36-point performance in game 5 to clinch the series was the most by a Hawk in a playoff game since 2016. Heading into round 2, Atlanta met the Joel Embiid-Ben Simmons 76ers. Sure, it was fun watching the Hawks destroy New York and expose them as frauds, but surely Philly would crush them with ease. Embiid was questionable going in, but he played game 1 and put up nearly 40 points, with the help of 15 free throws. Too bad it didn’t matter as Trae Young put up 35 and 10, including a lob to John Collins for a dunk on Embiid’s head, for the win. Trae’s 2nd 35+ point performance made him the first Hawk to have multiple 35+ games since Dominique Wilkins in 1988. Philly went on to win the next 2 games before Atlanta won game 4 to tie the series. Trae Young then proceeded to put up nearly 40 points in game 5 to reach the doorstep of the conference finals. I’m willing to bet you all remember this part. Ben Simmons has his meltdown and destroys his basketball career in game 7 as Atlanta completes the upset and makes it back to the conference finals. What you may not remember is Trae shot a putrid 22% from the field in game 7. In hindsight, that was perhaps a sign of things to come in his career, but at the time, it didn’t matter, Trae Young had just led his team to the conference finals where they would meet Giannis and the Bucks. Once again, the Hawks won game 1 and Trae Young had the best game of his career. 48 points, 11 assists and 7 rebounds on 50% shooting. It is the 2nd most points in a playoff game for an Atlanta Hawk, only trailing 50-point games from Bob Petit and Dominique Wilkins. All of a sudden, the Hawks looked like they could actually make it to the NBA finals. Sadly, a combination of injuries and poor play hampered Trae for the rest of the series and the Hawks lost in 6. At the end of Trae’s first ever playoff run, he had guided the Hawks back to the conference finals while setting Hawks records for the most points and assists in a single playoff run. It’s easy to look back on this run, see it as a fluke and criticize the Hawks heavily for not realizing that. At the same time, Trae allowed Hawks fans to experience something they rarely do. 2021 isn’t just the last time Atlanta won a playoff series, it is 1 of just 2 times since 1970 that they’ve made it to the conference finals and unlike 2015, the Hawks had a real chance and gave genuine hope to Atlanta basketball. Trae Young is a quintessential example of the NBA ‘catching up to him’ and making his play-style obsolete. However, only remembering his faults would be a disservice. For 1 year, Trae Young soared and became a Larry O’Brien Legend. He just flew too close to the sun.

Hawks

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Hawks Win NBA Finals: Today in Sports History

On April 12th, 1958, the St. Louis Hawks won Game 6 of the NBA Finals over the Boston Celtics 110-109, securing their franchise’s first championship. Bob Pettit led all players in points and rebounds, with 50 and 19 respectively. Pettit's 50 points set a new Finals record for most scored by a player in a series-clinching game, a record that would be tied by Giannis Antetokounmpo in 2021. Bill Russell injured his ankle in Game 3, which may have contributed to the series upset. This was the last Finals until 1967 that wasn’t won by the Celtics, and the last Finals until 1971 won by a team in the Western Division/Conference.

@FlameRaptorRaven

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.