In spirit of my 150th blog entry, I decided to canvass the Twittersphere and crowdsource my Facebook friends’ list to come up with "150 reasons to love the game of basketball."
For those of you who share in my addiction of Dr. Naismith’s creation, the aggregated and alphabetized list below should keep you sleeping soundly at night. Obviously, by no means exhaustive, though lengthy, I ask you to please leave YOUR unlisted reasons for loving the game in the comments section below.
And, if you don’t mind, please share this list with fellow hoops junkies. Many thanks to all who had participated.
- #15 vs. #2 upsets in NCAA Tournament
- 1979 NCAA Championship Game: Magic vs. Bird
- 1980’s shorts
- A crispy pair of Jordans
- A.C. Green’s 1,192 consecutive games played
- Above The Rim
- Adjustable rims
- Air Force 1s
- American Basketball Association
- And 1 Mixtape Volume 1
- Any Bob Knight interview
- Bill Russell’s 11 rings
- Blue Chips
- Bo Kimble’s lefty tribute
- Bob Cousy dribbling out the clock
- Bob Hurley Sr.’s impact on HS basketball and Jersey City
- Bruce Pearl, exhibit A or B
- Bryce Drew’s buzzer beater
- Cameron Indoor Stadium
- Candace Parker, Chamique Holdsclaw, Carol Blazejowski, Cheryl Miller, Lisa Leslie, Anne Donovan, Nancy Lieberman, Lynette Woodward
- Chain nets and park rims with no nets
- Christian Laettner’s "Shot"
- Chuck Taylors and tube socks
- Cleveland Cavs pregame rituals, including LeBron’s signature chalk throw
- Connie "The Hawk" Hawkins ahead of his time
- Darryl Dawkins naming his dunks: I.e. The Chocolate-Thunder-Flying, Robinzine-Crying, Teeth-Shaking, Glass-Breaking, Rump-Roasting, Bun-Toasting, Wham-Bam, Glass-Breaker-I-Am-Jam
- Derrick Rose’s ability to leap and elude defenses on the ground
- Detroit’s Bad Boys
- Dick Vitale calling a game
- Dikembe Mutombo’s finger wag
- Double Dribble for Nintendo
- Dr. James Naismith inventing the game as a class assignment
- Dr. J’s cradle dunk in the ’80 Final
- Dream Team
- Duke vs. UNC
- Dwyane Wade’s love letter to the game
- Earl "The Pearl" Monroe’s spin move
- Empty gym workouts
- Filling out NCAA brackets
- Final Four Weekend
- First trip to the Basketball Hall of Fame
- Five-Star Basketball Camp
- George Gervin’s finger roll
- Gerry McNamara’s 2006 Big East Tourney performance
- God Shammgod’s signature crossover
- Grandmama
- Grinell College’s offense
- Harry Statham’s 995 wins over 43 years McKendree University
- He Got Game
- Heaven is a Playground, by Rick Telander
- Hoop Dreams: Book and Movie
- Hoop-it-up 3-on-3 tournaments
- HoopsTV.com, now defunct, but never forgotten
- Hoosiers
- Hubie Brown lecturing or breaking down a game
- Indiana’s old high school playoff system
- Jason Kidd’s passes
- Jason McElwain’s 20 points in four minutes
- Jason William’s off the elbow pass
- Jerry West’s silhouette in the NBA logo
- Jim Boeheim’s press conferences
- Jim Phelan’s bowties
- Jim Valvano looking for a hug after winning the 1983 NCAA Tournament
- Joe Jones vs. James Jones Ivy league rivalry
- John Thompson’s towel
- Jordan’s final shot
- Kareem’s sky hook
- Kenny Anderson in HS and College
- Kevin Johnson’s dunk over Olajuwon
- Knee-high socks
- Kobe Bryant’s 4th ring; first without Shaq
- Lakers/Celtics rivalry
- Larry Bird: A Basketball Legend DVD
- LeBron James in high school
- Let Me Tell You a Story, Red Auerbach with John Feinstein
- Life on the Run, by Bill Bradley
- Loose Balls, by Terry Pluto
- Lou Carnesecca’s sweater
- Louisville vs. Kentucky rivalry
- Magic Johnson leading the fast break
- Manute Bol burying 3s and blocking shots
- Marbury vs. Iverson in college
- March Madness opening rounds
- Marv Albert: "a SPECTACULAR move by Michael Jordan!!"
- McDonald’s All-American Game
- Michael Jordan’s entire career (pick one)
- Michigan’s Fab 5
- Muggsy Bogues overcoming a lack of height
- NBA Draft Suits
- NBA Fantasy League Rotisserie
- NBA Jam
- Nike commercials: I’m Not a Role Model, Mars Blackmon, Lil’ Penny, Freestyle, LeBron/Kobe puppets
- Nique and Bird’s duel in ’88
- Olaf Shorts
- Olajuwon abusing the Admiral during the 1995 Western Conference Finals
- One one One with Robbie Benson
- One Shining Moment
- Oscar Robertson averaging a triple-double over an entire season
- Patrick Ewing sweating at the foul line
- Pearl Jam’s original band name: Mookie Blaylock
- Pee Wee Kirkland talking in the 3rd Person
- Pete Maravich’s LSU days
- Phi Slamma Jamma
- President Barack loves the game too
- Princeton’s Offense
- Rebound: The Story of Earl "The Goat" Manigault
- Red Auerbach lighting up a cigar on the sideline
- Redeem Team capturing gold in the 2008 Summer Olympics
- Reebok Pumps
- Reggie Miller owning the Knicks, putting up the choke sign
- Rick Barry’s underhand free throws
- Rock Chalk Jayhawk Chant
- Rodman’s hair
- Rucker Park
- Run TMC
- Scott Odom starting stand-up amputee basketball
- Seeing the Globetrotters as a kid
- Selection Sunday
- Shaq dominating the NBA on Twitter
- SLAM Magazine
- Soul in The Hole
- Spud Webb’s ’86 dunk title
- Squeaking sneakers on a clean gym floor
- Starks heft-handed dunk
- Stephen Curry in the 2008 NCAA Tournament
- Steve Nash’s creativity
- Stockton to Malone
- Tark’s lineup of LJ, Augmon, and Greg Anthony
- Team Flight Brothers
- Texas Western’s ’66 NCAA title
- The Bone Collector, Larry Williams, dominating NYC playgrounds
- The Breaks of the Game, by David Halberstam
- The City Game, by Pete Axthelm
- The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh
- The Harlem Rens’ barnstorming brilliance
- The impossible becomes real
- The Last Shot, by Darcy Frey
- The Miracle of St. Anthony, by Adrian Wojnarowski
- The passion of Drazen Petrovic
- The Wizard of Westwood (his legacy and philosophies on life and the game)
- Throwback jerseys
- Tim Duncan’s bankshot
- Tim Hardaway’s killer crossover
- Venice Beach runs
- Villanova stuns G’town in ’84
- Vince Carter over Frederic Weis
- West 4th Street – The Cage
- White Men Can’t Jump
- Willis Reed limping from the locker room
- Wilt’s 100 point game
