NBA Finals 2019

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A Letter From The Commissioner

May 30, 2019 Dear Fans, Fifty years ago, Game 7 of the NBA Finals came down to the final minute. Only a few points separated the Boston Celtics, led by Bill Russell and John Havlicek, and the Los Angeles Lakers, led by Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor. With seconds left the Lakers came within two points, but the Celtics held on to squeak by with a 108-106 victory and capture their 11th championship in 13 years. They were legends and rivals who went the distance in one of the most storied Finals in league history.

Three months after that game, Russell announced his retirement saying one of the most beautiful things to see is a group of people “coordinating their efforts toward a common goal – alternately subordinating and asserting themselves to achieve real teamwork in action.”

As you will see tonight at the 2019 NBA Finals, those values remain unchanged.

The NBA Finals caps off a regular season and playoffs full of excitement, drama and historic team and player performances. Thirteen different players scored 50 points or more in a game during the regular season, a new NBA single-season record; we celebrated the careers of two of the game’s all-time greats in Dwyane Wade and Dirk Nowitzki; and the playoffs saw thrilling Game 7’s and iconic buzzer beaters.

It all culminates with two extraordinary teams. The Toronto Raptors are hosting the Finals for the first time in franchise history and it marks the first time that the Finals will be played outside of the U.S. The Golden State Warriors are in the Finals for the fifth straight season as they seek their third consecutive title. Together, they continue an annual NBA tradition that includes service projects and community events – and where 1.6 billion fans from around the world on social media celebrate the power of basketball to bring people together.

To our host cities, partners and, you, the fans – thank you. Tonight, you will watch the world’s greatest basketball players compete for the Larry O’Brien Trophy and achieve real teamwork in action.

JENNIFER POTTHEISER/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

Sincerely,

Adam Silver

THE FINALS / 2019

3

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CONTENTS

NBA Finals 2019 Commemorative Program Features 34 Beyond Zion

Zion Williamson might be the top prize of this year’s NBA Draft, but if you look past all his jaw-dropping dunks, athletic ability and incredible size—OK, Williamson might be pretty good—you’ll see a draft teeming with potential. We review the top prospects who will be some of the first players to shake the Commissioner’s hand on June 20.

Editor in Chief Ming Wong Design Director Kengyong Shao Associate Editors Phil D’Apolito, John Martin Assistant Editor Sean Connolly

45 Offseason of Change Makes Way for New-Look WNBA

The premier women’s basketball league debuts a new logo, but an offseason filled with changes, injuries and emerging new stars have made the WNBA’s 23rd season filled with intrigue. We try to predict all the uncertainty in the preview of the 2019 WNBA season.

Copy Editor Trevor Kearney Contributing Writers Michael Bradley, Jon Cooper, John Fawaz, Brian Kotloff,

52 Celtics Endgame

Darryl Howerton, Jeramie McPeek

62 Good to Be Bad

519 8th Avenue, New York, NY 10018 Tel: (212) 697-1460 Fax: (646) 753-9480

Even the greatest of dynasties—and few have been longer and as fruitful as the Boston Celtics’ dominance in the ’60s—have to come to an end. But before ceding their reign, the Celtics made sure to crash the celebration party of the Los Angeles Lakers one more time.

Professional Sports Publications

The popular but inaccurate narrative paints Detroit as the physical team who bullied its way to the 1989 NBA Championship, but many forget it was the Pistons who were strong-armed by the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers throughout the decade before overcoming the two titans and breaking their grip on the decade.

72 Spurring a Dynasty

The San Antonio Spurs closed out the millennium with their first championship, but unbeknownst to anyone at the time, it would also signify the beginning of two decades of success that would produce five titles, spawn a number of Hall of Fame players, and become the modern standard of excellence in the NBA.

83 Lore of the Rings

NBA players all talk about it as their ultimate goal, players’ legacies are defined by it, it is the symbol of basketball immortality—the NBA Championship ring is all those things, but each edition is unique in the stories and moments that led to the precious jewelry at the end of a championship.

Departments

97 Rewind 2018-19

This season saw the rare sighting of a defending MVP somehow build upon his award-winning season, yet might still be overshadowed by a freakish player who defies logic and basketball conventions. There were two legends—who have twice battled each other on the NBA Finals stage—took their final bow on an NBA court. And two rookies captured the imaginations of fans and bouyed their franchises with hopeful potential. We review the 2018-19 season through the lens of great photographers that captured the biggest moments of the NBA season.

3

A Letter from the Commissioner

147 2 018-19 NBA Monthly and Weekly Award Winners 150 Jr. NBA 152 NBA G League 154 NBA Digital 156 All-Time NBA Finals Leaders 160 All-Time NBA Finals Results

The NBA Finals Teams 8 All Points North

22 Three for the Money

14 T he Who, What, When, How and Kawhi

28 Steph Back Jumper

16 Toronto Raptors Roster

32 Golden State Warriors Stats

18 Toronto Raptors Stats

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2019 / THE FINALS

30 Golden State Warriors Roster

Executive VP Operations Jeff Botwinick Executive VP, Business Development Martin Lewis Executive VP, Sales Steve Farkas Executive VP, Sales Mitch Gibbs Executive VP, Team Relations Dave Gerschwer Executive Administrative Director Julie Wanjon Director of Business Development Aron Sawyer Production Manager Jaime Ziegler Production Assistant Will Kilcommons

NBA Publishing/NBA Photos President and Executive Producer, Content Danny Meiseles Senior VP, Corporate Services Jarad Franzreb Senior VP Content, Production Paul Hirschheimer Senior VP, Entertainment & Player Marketing Charlie Rosenzweig Executive VP, Communications Mike Bass VP, Editorial & Daily Content John Hareas Editorial Assistant Morgan DeChalus President, Global Partnerships Sal LaRocca Sr. Vice President, Global Partnerships Matt Holt Manager, Media Partnerships Felecia Groomster Associate Manager, Global Partnerships Harley Opolinsky Coordinator, Global Partnerships Alex Holdstein Vice President, NBA Photos Joe Amati Director, Photos Imaging David Bonilla Senior Photo Editor Brian Choi Senior Photo Coordinator Kevin Wright All NBA photos appearing in this magazine, unless otherwise indicated, are copyright of NBA Entertainment. All WNBA photos appearing in this magazine, unless otherwise indicated, are copyright of WNBA Enterprises. All G League photos appearing in this magazine, unless otherwise indicated, are copyright of G League Enterprises. The NBA All-Star Program is published annually, by PSP. © 2019 Professional Sports Publications. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without permission of publisher is prohibited. PRINTED IN THE USA

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Eastern Conference Champions

ALL POINTS NORTH After years of postseason heartbreak, the Toronto Raptors are ready to get the attention they deserve.

By Michael Bradley ROCKY WIDNER/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

8

2019 / THE FINALS

N

o one would have blamed the Toronto Raptors and their fans if they spent a little extra time staring at the 2019 postseason bracket, just to make sure. The standings said Cleveland had won just 19 games—tied for second fewest in the NBA— and were a full 39 games behind Toronto in the standings, 22 away from the last spot in the Eastern playoff hierarchy.

But given the last three seasons, it was appropriate for everybody to double-check.

As it turns out, the Cavs were indeed out of it. Way out of it. That meant they couldn’t torment Toronto. There would be no LeBron-led playoff victory and no crushing disappointment at the hands of the Raptors’ nemesis.

James was in L.A., trying to figure out how to make the Lakers great again, and Toronto had a more reasonable path to the Finals.

THE FINALS / 2019

9

Eastern Conference Champions OG Anunoby

Pascal Siakam

Chris Boucher

Patrick McCaw

Malcolm Miller

Jeremy Lin

10

2019 / THE FINALS

that they find themselves where no team in franchise—or Canadian—history has been, they can shake free of their disappointing recent history and focus on becoming champions. That may sound crazy to some, but to those who have followed the Raptors this season and throughout the playoffs, it isn’t at all unreasonable.

While much of the Eastern Conference focus was on the Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Celtics’ struggles to find a way that their standout core could play winning basketball together, and Philadelphia’s excellent starting lineup, Toronto quietly won 58 games and the Atlantic Division while posting the second-most wins in the League.

Some of the anonymity comes with geography, since the Raptors are the only Canadian team in the League. Some of it came from a team whose lead performer is a quiet, unobtrusive type—until he gets the ball in his hands. And part of it was due to Nurse, who is near the bottom of the coaching ranks in terms of recognition quotient, thanks in large part to his 16-year stint coaching in England. (Although the electric blue jacket he wore in November as a tribute to the late Turner sideline reporter Craig Sager sure made him more visible.)

There are myriad causes for the team’s inability to stand out, but as the rest of the East has discovered, sometimes the quiet

Norman Powell

ones can be the most dangerous. Toronto’s personality may be somewhat muted when compared to some of the League’s more boisterous teams, but its fans have certainly been quite noticeable over the past several years.

So, Toronto took its “We The North” slogan and charged down from Canada into the NBA fray this season, hopeful that Leonard would give it the necessary star power it needed to thrive. That’s no offense to DeMar DeRozan, the centerpiece of the trade for Leonard; it’s just that the former Spur is perhaps the NBA’s best two-way player. The Raptors were determined to prove that they were more than just foils for the better teams in the NBA. Even though they had bowed out in the Conference Semifinals the past two years, they were convinced that better things were ahead. Sometimes, it takes a shakeup to create the necessary momentum for improvement.

By acquiring Leonard and later in the season Marc Gasol for Jonas Valanciunas, who had spent his first six years in the League with the Raptors, there was no doubt basketball operations boss Masai Ujiri was not afraid of change. As it turns out, his moves and the team’s ability to adjust and move forward resulted in the franchise’s first-time trip to the NBA Finals.

RON TURENNE (2); ISSAC BALDIZON; DAVID LIAM KYLE; FERNANDO MEDINA; LAYNE MURDOCH JR. (2); NATHANIEL S. BUTLER/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

That’s not to say beating Orlando, Philadelphia and Milwaukee was as easy as holding the court throughout an afternoon of pickup runs at the local YMCA. But after losing to the Cavaliers in the Eastern Finals in 2016 and falling to them in the Semifinals the past two seasons, it had to feel pretty good not to see those wine-and-gold uniforms at all during late April and May. As it was, there was no guarantee the Raptors would lose to the Cavs again, even if No. 23 was still there. The Raptors are a different team this season, thanks to the additions of Kawhi Leonard and Marc Gasol and the big jump forward of Pascal Siakam. Throw in the veteran leadership of Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka and coach Nick Nurse’s quiet stewardship, and you have a new winning combination. One even capable of settling old scores—not that it had to.

“We know what we are, and what we can be,” Lowry said after Toronto dispatched the Magic in the first round. “We got some great veterans, and guys that [have] been through it.

It’s been pretty fun to be part of a team that’s just kind of staying the course—no ups, no downs. We’re just going to ride it.”

While the Cavs were searching for a new head coach and praying for NBA Lottery magic, the Raptors looked ahead. Now

Kawhi Leonard

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Eastern Conference Champions Jodie Meeks

Marc Gasol

Fred VanVleet

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2019 / THE FINALS

Eric Moreland

Kyle Lowry

here and there. We saw a steal there late. We saw a charge. We saw a couple more plays.

There were some rebounds and tap-outs. We know what he does. We know what he brings to the table. That stuff is not negotiable. He brings it every night.”

Leonard and Lowry were expected to be big for the Raptors, but no one could have predicted Siakam’s jump from solid reserve to significant piece. He upped his scoring from 7.3 ppg to 16.9 ppg, grabbed a careerhigh 6.9 rpg and had 3.1 apg, another career best. Siakam provided great energy, hit some three-point shots and made Toronto a far more dangerous team. Ibaka was, as usual, a force inside. He scored 15.0 ppg, led the team with 8.1 rpg and was a fine defender. Adding Gasol, a low-post weapon who is a great passer and a fine long-range shooter was a master stroke by Ujiri. Long-range bomber Danny Green, who arrived to Toronto from San Antonio along with Leonard, made 45.5 percent of his threes, and VanVleet proved he could back up and play with Lowry in the backcourt, giving Nurse plenty of roster flexibility.

It added up to another great regular season, but more importantly, the next step for a team that had been dying to take it. Toronto has no reason to look back at its past disappointments.

It need only look ahead.

NATHANIEL S. BUTLER; RON TURENNE; DAVID DOW (3); JESSE D. GARRABRANT (2); /NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

“Growing, it’s not always on your terms,” Gasol said before Toronto took on the Sixers in Game 7 of the Semifinals.

“You’ve got to continue to grow whether you like how it’s going or not. And it’s especially when things don’t go your way that you show your growth.”

Obviously, Leonard was a huge reason for that development.

Toronto had been good for a long time, very good, in fact. It has won five of the last six Atlantic titles and surpassed 50 wins in each of the last four seasons. In 2017-18, its 59 victories topped the Eastern Serge Ibaka Danny Green Conference. The Raptors were a stretch in December followed the fast start, the strong, successful, consistent team, Raptors were able to rebound in the new year, but they couldn’t translate regular season going 18-6 in January and February, a run that success into a thriving postseason. That’s included a seven-game winning streak. why Ujiri made the difficult decision to send That just about did it for the division race. face-of-the-franchise DeRozan, a four-time Philadelphia was unable to get too close, and All-Star who had played all of his nine seasons Boston was never a real threat. The Raptors in Canada, to San Antonio in the Leonard won the Atlantic by seven over the Sixers and deal. DeRozan had been a huge reason why left the C’s nine games in the rear-view.

Toronto had grown from an Atlantic also-ran Leonard was outstanding, reclaiming his to a division champion. But the Raptors as spot as an All-Star while leading the Raptors constituted were not able to go from good to with 26.6 points per game and showing the great. The decision to acquire Leonard helped kind of all-around game that shook away any make that happen. doubts about his health and desire to excel.

It wasn’t without risk. An injury limited Lowry was his usual excellent self, scoring Leonard to just nine games in the 2017well, handing out 8.7 apg and even grabbing 18 season, so there was concern that he 4.8 rebounds per game from the point guard might not be able to reach the same level of spot as he was named to his fifth All-Star effectiveness he had in previous seasons. Also, team. In the decisive seventh game against would he be able to blend with Lowry, the Philadelphia, he had a pair of key offensive Raptors’ elder statesman, the most identifiable rebounds in the second half that helped keep player during the run and not to mention, Toronto in it when the Raptors were struggling DeRozan’s best friend? from the field. He was everywhere, as he has As one can surmise easily from the Raptors’ been all season, imbuing the team with his season to date, Leonard could, and he did. pugnacious attitude.

Toronto started the season hot, going 20-4 “That’s what he does,” Toronto guard through the first six weeks of the season. Those Fred VanVleet said after the series win over expecting an old-fashioned, PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia. “That’s who he’s gotta be. He Boston fight for the division title were left does everything. He means so much to this wondering if either team had what it took to team without scoring. He makes a big shot catch Toronto. Neither did. Although a 7-7

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Eastern Conference Champions

THE WHO, WHAT, WHEN, HOW AND KAWHI Kawhi Leonard has done what no other Raptors star has been able to do: Propel Toronto to the NBA Finals.

By Michael Bradley

U

ntil that moment, that wild, improbable conspiracy-theory-inspiring, physics-defying, world-stoodstill, career-defining moment, Kawhi Leonard may have been the most ordinary and stoic superstar in professional sports history. Known more for his catcher’s mitt-sized hands, tentacle-like arms and quiet excellence—which included a Finals MVP in 2014—first with San Antonio and then with Toronto, Leonard had no defining performance and few highlight-reel plays.

Then came the final seconds of Game 7 against the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, and Leonard was suddenly a completely different guy. You have all seen it—and if you haven’t, you might want to reconsider your status as an NBA fan. Leonard curled around the top of the key, barreled toward the baseline, executed a violent pirouette, reared back, launched a parabolic prayer and then waited.

And waited.

FERNANDO MEDINA/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

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2019 / THE FINALS

BARRY GOSSAGE; JESSE D. GARRABRANT; ZACH BEEKER/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

Had Leonard merely hit the game-winner that propelled Toronto into the Conference Finals against Milwaukee, he would still have been celebrated throughout Canada by poets and songwriters for generations to come. But it was the way in which the whole thing happened that turned Leonard’s epic shot into a legend.

The ball bounced four times on the rim before falling. It executed an improbable forward spin that has since spawned conspiracy theories (magnets!) and required explanations from physicists. After a pause so pregnant it could have produced triplets, the ball finally fell through the net, spawning a delirium North of the Border not experienced since Joe Carter’s 1993 home run gave the Blue Jays the World Series championship.

The shot is amazing, but so is the theater surrounding it. One iconic photo captures the moment indelibly. Leonard squats along the baseline, tongue sticking out, eyes fixed on the basket, while the Sixers’ Joel Embiid agonizes and Toronto reserve Jordan Loyd—not suited up for the game—crouches nearby, arms extended, his face filled with wide-eyed anticipation. There seems to be an unlimited collection of pictures of the moment and a variety of videos that capture perfectly the uncertain moments as the ball completed its trip around the rim, followed by utter delirium by those assembled in and outside of the arena.

Havlicek stole the ball. Jordan hung over Craig Ehlo to hit the shot. Reggie stuck it to Spike Lee. And Kawhi hit The Shot.

Despite eight stellar NBA seasons, three All-Star appearances, an NBA Championship

and now a chance at another, Leonard is— and likely will always be—remembered for one incandescent moment where outstanding talent and ridiculous good fortune birthed a mythic outcome: The only buzzer-beating end to a seven-game NBA playoff series. But this was no ordinary end. This was magic.

“I just went into my shot, and just shot it as high as I could and I got some loft on it,” Leonard deadpanned afterward. “It felt great.”

Those who worried about Toronto’s decision to trade long-time franchise fixture DeMar DeRozan and other assets to San Antonio before the season for Leonard have had their concerns allayed. Even if the Raptors don’t win it all, and even if Leonard finds a new home for next season and beyond, he will always be remembered for that moment, and that’s enough.

But it isn’t everything, not about Leonard.

This wasn’t some nondescript player’s scribbling his name into the history books.

This was one of the NBA’s best and arguably its top two-way player creating a signature for his career and his image. Vince Carter couldn’t do it in 2001, when Toronto lost a seven-game Semifinal decision to the Sixers; Chris Bosh couldn’t get the Raps past the First Round; DeRozan got the Dinos as far as Game 6 of the East Finals; but Leonard got the Raps to the Finals.

“He hit a tough one,” Sixers guard Jimmy Butler said. “You tip your hat to that. He’s an incredible player. We know it. Y’all know it. And there’s not much more you can say about that.”

Let’s not forget that Leonard isn’t just that shot. He scored 41 points in that win and for long stretches of the final quarter was the only

Raptor capable of handling the pressure and delivering offensively. That’s not surprising.

Over the past four seasons, Leonard has developed into one of the League’s most productive and dependable standouts. He can shoot from deep, humble those trying to guard him off the dribble and finish at the rim with an autocratic authority. He defends with a singular tenacity and can attack the backboards ruthlessly.

Jason Terry, who retired after last season and has had his share of experience seeing Leonard up close, was emphatic in his assessment: “Kawhi Leonard, bar none, is the top two-way player in our League and will go down as one of the best in NBA history next to Scottie Pippen,” he said. “I mean, this kid is phenomenal.”

That’s the danger of assessing Leonard simply through the historic shot. He is so much more. While it’s possible that he could have a new address next season, what isn’t unclear is that he is only getting better. Leonard is 27 years old and this year posted career highs in points (26.6 ppg) and rebounds (7.3 rpg).

He was the obvious star of the Raptors and the primary reason they have reached the Finals. And The Shot was just a small part of that. We tend to apply broad designations to individual moments, using them alone as proof of greatness. Leonard will be remembered for his, but over the remaining seasons of his career, he will continue to display a fully excellent game that speaks loudly, even when he doesn’t. He will always be remembered for that pose as history was unfolding, but we should all look past that to appreciate the full majesty of a career beyond a few glorious seconds.

THE FINALS / 2019

15

Eastern Conference Champions

TORONTO RAPTORS

Nick Nurse

OG Anunoby

Chris Boucher

Marc Gasol

Head Coach Born: 7-24-67 College: Northern Iowa Year Coaching in NBA: 1

No.: 3 Position: Forward Height: 6-8 Weight: 232 Birthdate: 7-17-97 College: Indiana Year in NBA: 2

No.: 25 Position: Forward Height: 6-10 Weight: 200 Birthdate: 1-11-93 College: Oregon Year in NBA: 2

No.: 33 Position: Center Height: 7-1 Weight: 255 Birthdate: 1-29-85 Country: Spain Year in NBA: 11

Serge Ibaka

Kawhi Leonard

Jeremy Lin

Kyle Lowry

Patrick McCaw

No.: 14 Position: Guard-Forward Height: 6-6 Weight: 215 Birthdate: 6-22-87 College: North Carolina Year in NBA: 10

No.: 9 Position: Center-Forward Height: 6-10 Weight: 235 Birthdate: 9-18-89 Country: Republic of the Congo Year in NBA: 10

No.: 2 Position: Forward Height: 6-7 Weight: 230 Birthdate: 6-29-91 College: San Diego State Year in NBA: 8

No.: 17 Position: Guard Height: 6-3 Weight: 200 Birthdate: 8-23-88 College: Harvard Year in NBA: 9

No.: 7 Position: Guard Height: 6-1 Weight: 196 Birthdate: 3-25-86 College: Villanova Year in NBA: 13

No.: 1 Position: Guard Height: 6-7 Weight: 185 Birthdate: 10-25-95 College: UNLV Year in NBA: 3

Jodie Meeks

Malcolm Miller

Eric Moreland

Norman Powell

Pascal Siakam

Fred VanVleet

No.: 20 Position: Guard Height: 6-4 Weight: 210 Birthdate: 8-21-87 College: Kentucky Year in NBA: 10

No.: 13 Position: Forward Height: 6-7 Weight: 210 Birthdate: 3-6-93 College: Holy Cross Year in NBA: 2

No.: 15 Position: Forward-Center Height: 6-10 Weight: 238 Birthdate: 12-24-91 College: Oregon State Year in NBA: 4

No.: 24 Position: Forward-Guard Height: 6-4 Weight: 215 Birthdate: 5-25-93 College: UCLA Year in NBA: 4

No.: 43 Position: Forward Height: 6-9 Weight: 230 Birthdate: 4-2-94 College: New Mexico State Year in NBA: 3

No.: 23 Position: Guard Height: 6-0 Weight: 195 Birthdate: 2-25-94 College: Wichita State Year in NBA: 3

COACHING STAFF Assistant Coaches: Adrian Griffin, Sergio Scariolo, Nate Bjorkgren, Phil Handy, Patrick Mutombo, Jim Sann, Eric Khoury, Jeremy Castleberry Assistant Coach/Director of Sports Science: Alex McKechnie Head Athletic Trainer: Scott McCullough 16

2019 / THE FINALS

RON TURENNE (15); JACK ARENT/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

Danny Green

UNCOMMON LEARNING,

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Eastern Conference Champions

TORONTO RAPTORS

Head Coach: Nick Nurse Assistant Coaches: Adrian Griffin, Sergio Scariolo, Nate Bjorkgren, Phil Handy, Patrick Mutombo, Jim Sann, Eric Khoury, Jeremy Castleberry Assistant Coach/Director of Sports Science: Alex McKechnie Head Athletic Trainer: Scott McCullough NO. 2 43 9 7 17 23 14 33 24 3 17 55 20 0 15 13 25 1 8 4 15 22

PLAYER Kawhi Leonard Pascal Siakam Serge Ibaka Kyle Lowry Jonas Valanciunas Fred VanVleet Danny Green Marc Gasol Norman Powell OG Anunoby Jeremy Lin Delon Wright Jodie Meeks C.J. Miles Greg Monroe Malcolm Miller Chris Boucher Patrick McCaw Jordan Loyd Lorenzo Brown Eric Moreland Malachi Richardson TEAM TOTALS OPPONENTS

G 60 80 74 65 30 64 80 26 60 67 23 49 8 40 38 10 28 26 12 26 4 22 82 82

MIN 2040 2548 2010 2213 564 1760 2216 648 1126 1352 433 897 104 562 423 67 163 344 55 212 38 103 19880 19880

FIELD GOALS FG FGA PCT 560 1129 .496 519 945 .549 464 877 .529 304 739 .411 149 259 .575 246 600 .410 293 630 .465 87 187 .465 193 400 .483 183 404 .453 58 155 .374 127 293 .433 21 39 .538 70 206 .340 74 161 .460 11 26 .423 34 76 .447 24 54 .444 8 18 .444 23 71 .324 3 7 .429 9 29 .310 3460 7305 .474 3302 7352 .449

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2019 / THE FINALS

PCT .371 .369 .290 .347 .300 .378 .455 .442 .400 .332 .200 .333 .444 .314 .000 .476 .324 .333 .500 .214 1.000 .320 .366 .345

FREE THROWS FT FTA PCT 364 426 .854 237 302 .785 135 177 .763 161 194 .830 77 94 .819 97 115 .843 37 44 .841 40 52 .769 62 75 .827 36 62 .581 34 42 .810 53 61 .869 1 1 1.000 35 44 .795 35 61 .574 3 4 .750 13 15 .867 13 15 .867 9 11 .818 3 3 1.000 0 0 — 4 5 .800 1449 1803 .804 1399 1829 .765

Kawhi Leonard averaged a career-best 26.6 points per game.

REBOUNDS OFF DEF 78 361 124 425 156 445 41 271 54 162 21 146 60 257 24 148 16 123 58 139 6 54 39 86 1 11 12 56 60 96 1 4 16 40 7 38 1 8 5 26 4 13 2 11 786 2920 867 2804

TOT 439 549 601 312 216 167 317 172 139 197 60 125 12 68 156 5 56 45 9 31 17 13 3706 3671

MISC. AST STL 199 106 248 73 99 29 564 91 29 13 307 57 126 73 101 24 91 39 47 46 50 9 110 46 8 1 22 18 16 13 1 1 2 6 27 21 6 0 28 12 4 1 0 1 2085 680 2012 622

BLK 24 52 103 31 23 20 53 23 13 22 6 15 1 10 8 1 24 2 0 5 1 0 437 368

POINTS PTS AVG 1596 26.6 1354 16.9 1112 15.0 926 14.2 384 12.8 701 11.0 821 10.3 237 9.1 516 8.6 469 7.0 161 7.0 337 6.9 51 6.4 218 5.5 183 4.8 35 3.5 93 3.3 69 2.7 29 2.4 55 2.1 7 1.8 30 1.4 9384 114.4 8885 110.5

An All-Star for the fifth straight season, Kyle Lowry led the Raptors in assists.

GARRETT ELLWOOD; FERNANDO MEDINA; NOAH GRAHAM/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

Pascal Siakam improved on almost every statisical category in 2018-19.

3-POINT FG FG FGA 112 302 79 214 49 169 157 453 9 30 112 296 198 435 23 52 68 170 67 202 11 55 30 90 8 18 43 137 0 4 10 21 12 37 8 24 4 8 6 28 1 1 8 25 1015 2771 882 2559

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Western Conference Champions

THREE FOR The Golden State Warriors want to cement one of the greatest five-year runs in NBA history with a threepeat.

By Darryl Howerton

NOAH GRAHAM/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

22

2019 / THE FINALS

THE MONEY E

verybody has his or her favorite Golden State Warriors team.

Some love the 2015 NBA Champion Warriors, who were led by the O.G. starting lineup of All-NBA Splash Brothers Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, along with Harrison Barnes, Draymond Green, Andrew Bogut and sixth man Andre Iguodala, who later was named 2015 Finals MVP. It was the first one, the Warriors still had the new shininess to them, and there was the unknown.

Some enjoyed the 2015-16 Warriors, who lost in the 2016 NBA Finals but whose 73-9 mark broke the League record for wins, previously held by the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls at 72-10. That Warriors squad was led by the same sextet, with three of those Warriors earning All-NBA honors for the first time together (back-to-back MVP Curry, Thompson and Green).

And then there are those Dubs devotees who preferred the 2017 and 2018 NBA champion Warriors, when new addition and eventual two-time Finals MVP Kevin Durant joined this super team, playing alongside fellow All-Stars Curry, Thompson and Green.

Which brings us to today and the current amalgam of squads from Warriors past that we now have before us in these 2019 NBA Finals.

In a sense, this 2018-19 Warriors season really has become a blend of all recent Golden State super squads, coming together as the fifth episode in a Finals feature now playing out before our very eyes.

This truth became first noticeable in March when Golden State management was lucky enough to bring back Bogut, a 34-year-old fan favorite who spent last season recovering from various injuries that curtailed his 2016 Warriors postseason, while spending this season playing MVP- and Defensive Player of the Year-worthy ball in Australia’s National Basketball League.

THE FINALS / 2019

23

Western Conference Champions Damian Jones

Jordan Bell

Kevin Durant

Andre Iguodala

24

2019 / THE FINALS

DeMarcus Cousins

were back in 2015 and 2016 mode again, where we had to play with a lot of pace and a lot of movement,” says Green at a playoff press conference.

“With Kevin in the lineup, you have that luxury where you can kind of be lazy because you know you can just throw the ball to K and he’s going to go get a bucket. To not have that luxury was a big change for us. It definitely made us feel like we were in a little throwback era, for sure.”

After all, Durant led this team the opening two rounds of the 2019 playoffs, once again showing the world he intended to maintain claim as the game’s premier player from April to June, upping his 2019 postseason scoring average to an NBA-best 34 points per game and .655 true shooting percentage until that May day he went down.

It was at that point Kerr officially remade his current squad into the aforementioned retro model of the 2015 NBA Champion Warriors.

By starting Bogut, Green, Iguodala, Thompson and Curry in that pivotal Game 6 in Houston—and continuing to bring longtime backup guard Shaun Livingston off the bench—Kerr essentially resuscitated the “Strength In Numbers” Warriors for all to see.

In retrospect, “that win became one of the most satisfying victories on this run,” says Kerr.

Shaun Livingston

Andrew Bogut

“Our bench was amazing—from a group of guys who had not played as much as I probably should have been playing them.”

The subsequent contributions made by Quinn Cook, Alfonzo McKinnie, Jonas Jerebko and Jordan Bell will go down in Golden State lore when the story is retold.

It was truly against the odds for a variety of reasons.

After all, “there is not one person on this team that can make up for what we lose with Kevin, on both offense and defense,” says Green.

For another, “we had to be more diligent with the ball,” says Thompson at a playoff press conference. “We had to be more crisp with our passes, and the room for error is a lot less, compared to when Kevin is out there. It’s just not the same without him. He is one of the greatest players to ever play, the best scorer in the world, and he’s our best player, too.”

It is one thing to win in the regular season, but it is quite another to win a stacked Western Conference for a fifth straight season.

“They are giants,” said Kerr. “They are champions. These guys are a historically good basketball team.

“You don’t do what these guys have done without an incredible combination of talent and character.”

CHRIS SCHWEGLER; NOAH GRAHAM (3) ANDREW D. BERNSTEIN (2); GARY DINEEN; SAM FORENCICH/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

By picking up the Sydney Kings center two months ago upon his Aussie exit, the Warriors seemingly went back to the future for some center depth in uniting a former starting Warriors center with the new starting Warriors center DeMarcus Cousins along with possibly a future starting Warriors center in rising longtime sub Kevon Looney.

But this Warriors’ throwback edition truly did not become evident until this current postseason, when injuries to Cousins and Durant forced Golden State into playing a new, yet familiar, brand of basketball.

With both stars out for parts of the postseason—Cousins with a quad injury incurred in the first week of the playoffs and Durant with a calf strain incurred in Game 5 of the Warriors-Rockets second-round series on May 1—Kerr thought it was only natural to revive some of the old precepts and make Bogut his starting postseason center once again.

After all, with KD out, every Warrior on deck had to step up. Or did they just have to step back?

One could not help but notice the similarities to the 2015 NBA Championship team, with seemingly the only thing missing being former starting small forward Harrison Barnes, who now plays for Sacramento.

“There were some times where it felt like we

Jonas Jerebko

Western Conference Champions Draymond Green

Jacob Evans III

Quinn Cook

26

2019 / THE FINALS

Stephen Curry

Kevon Looney

There on Twitter was LeBron James himself, feeling the need to pitch in on Curry’s behalf, saying, “NEVER underestimate the heart of a champion,” while Dwyane Wade likewise tweeted, “Y’all better stop disrespecting Stephen Curry just because he’s a team-first guy and is willing to sacrifice in moments doesn’t mean he’s not still a beast.”

This is how the credit is shared in the Golden State.

As Green would say, “When Klay is in attack mode, he is obviously one of the greatest shooters in the world,” Curry is just as likely to add, “There is no way to gauge what Draymond brings us every single night.”

It has genuinely become a mutual admiration society here, with All-Stars praising All-Stars just as likely as six potential Hall of Famers in Golden State are likely to praise the role players they share the ball with.

It truly is a special collection of talent here.

And if that statement where we just dropped the phrase “six potential Hall of Famers” did not catch your attention, it is only because Durant, Curry, Thompson, Green, Iguodala and Cousins are not playing for themselves right now.

They have a bigger legacy in mind at the moment.

That is what makes them Warriors.

MARK SOBHANI; LAYNE MURSOCH JR.; ANDREW D. BERNSTEIN; ZACH BEEKER; FERNANDO MEDINA; BILL BAPTIST; ROCKY WIDNER/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

What a storybook season it has been for these Warriors.

In retrospect, it all began in the summer of 2018, while Golden State was celebrating its third NBA Championship in four years.

It was then, out of the blue, that GM Bob Myers signed an injured DeMarcus Cousins to a mid-level exception contract.

To the rest of the League, it was a case of the rich getting richer, with the Warriors landing a fifth 2018 All-Star to add to their stellar quartet of Curry, Thompson, Durant and Green.

It was not fair, critics cried.

Klay Thompson Alfonzo McKinnie But Cousins’ healthy return was roles as playmakers on both ends of the no sure thing either, which is why he court.

Says Kerr: “Everybody sees how hard was able to come to Golden State for a lessDraymond plays night in and night out,” and than-market contract.

“Andre makes you feel comfortable out there, Indeed, the torn Achilles rehabilitation like when your kids are at home and there’s a process was long and arduous for the 6-11, babysitter there.”

270-pound center who was not able to play in Likewise, team elders—like 33-yeara Warriors uniform until January 18, and did old Livingston—continued to contribute not round into stellar form until after the 2019 (Green: “Shaun adds that calming presence NBA All-Star break in mid-February. for us.”), while youngsters—like 23-year-old Nonetheless, the Warriors coasted to a Looney—continued to blossom into strong 57-win season, good enough to earn the West’s role players (Kerr: “Looney has been a rock for No. 1 seed for the fourth time in five seasons. us all year.”).

Granted, the Dubs did not dominate the It not only made you respect the talent, it NBA like they had in their record-setting made you respect the culture.

73-win season in 2015-16 or their 67-win Where else do you readily see teammates— seasons in both 2014-15 and 2016-17. and long-time rivals—openly praising their But these dynasty Dubs still got the point teammates’ accomplishments over tooting across with a well-rested veteran squad focused their own horn? on becoming the first team to threepeat since Where else? the 2000-02 NBA Champion L.A. Lakers.

There was Curry, following the Warriors And with rings on the mind, Golden State’s win in KD’s absence, being the first to tell an usual suspects did their thing again, with Curry ESPN SportsCenter audience, unprompted, (27 points per game), Durant (26 points per that Durant was still The Man on this team, game) and Thompson (22 points per game) all despite the fact he had just dropped 33 points averaging 20-plus points as a Warriors trio for in a half, saying, “Kevin is the best player the third straight season. in our League.”

Meanwhile, Green and Iguodala— with There was Thompson, also concurring, “If their top-shelf D, point-forward passing we want this threepeat, we desperately need skills and ability to morph into different roles Kevin back. He’s our best player.” depending on the situation—played pivotal

Devastation after the hurricane in Haiti.

Western Conference Champions

STEPH BACK JUMPER

By Darryl Howerton

28

2019 / THE FINALS

ROCKY WIDNER/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

Stephen Curry took a step back for the team the last three seasons, but he quickly reminded everyone he’s got plenty of range.

D

uring the famous Golden State Warriors free-agent recruitment retreat at the Hamptons in the summer of 2016, Stephen Curry told Kevin Durant he had no problem handing over the keys to the car if it meant Durant was going to sign on.

“I just want to win,” Curry implored.

When Durant did come, they did win big, with the Warriors putting up 2017 and 2018 NBA Championship banners alongside the group’s 2015 one (the franchise had an existing banner for its 1975 title) at Oracle Arena.

True to his word, Curry played Robin to Durant’s Batman, so that he and fellow longtime Justice Leaguers Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston all could become three-time champions.

For his contributions, Durant was named 2017 and 2018 NBA Finals MVP, and the Warriors lived happily ever after.

Everything was still going according to the Hamptons plan in these playoffs—that is, until Game 5 of the West Semifinals against Houston when Durant went down with a serious calf strain.

The injury knocked KD out of the Warriors’ Western Conference battles, and put the NBA Finals in jeopardy.

Nonetheless, Curry put his best game face and Batman mask on, stepped into the driver’s seat, and did what Steph does best.

GARRETT ELLWOOD; ANDREW D. BERNSTEIN; BILL BAPTIST/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

He drove. He led. He got the Warriors where they needed to go, helping them finish off Game 5 with a Dubs win (scoring 14 points in the 14 minutes Durant missed after leaving the game), clinching the Rockets series with a Game 6 road victory (scoring 33 points in the second half), then winning Games 1, 2 and 3 of the West Finals by scoring game-highs of 36, 37 and 36 points, respectively.

All the while, Thompson rode shotgun and resumed his Splash Brothers role, scoring 24-plus in nearly every game after KD’s injury, while Green rallied his troops in the back, with the Warriors’ role players bringing out their “Strength in Numbers” mantra from the 2015 NBA Championship season—hello Andrew Bogut!—as head coach Steve Kerr played at least 11 Warriors each game, as opposed to his previous nine-man rotations.

With those changes in place, the Dubs continued driving through Houston and Portland en route to yet another NBA Finals.

“When you’re missing someone like K who can produce points, how-ever-many rebounds and creates so much attention, it changes the way you play a little bit,” said Curry at a playoff postgame presser.

“But when we have those opportunities to be aggressive, we do what we do and feed off the other guys that are out there. We are moving without the ball, just taking shots that we know we can take and make and keep playing with that aggressiveness. That’s normal for us. Leadership-wise, in terms of what we’re saying, how we’re handling ourselves, the energy we play with, that never changes.”

Welcome to what life is like hanging with Mr. Curry.

The steadying influence the 6-3, 190-pound

quarterback provides in the midst of devastating developments is truly inspiring, no matter which chapter you review in the Warriors’ fiveyear Finals run.

“Every time something like this happens, we all look at each other and say, ‘He’s still going to get 30 and hit the biggest shot and win the game,” Kerr said at a playoff postgame press conference.

“Like, that’s who he is. He makes some plays that you just can’t even believe. Steph is an incredible basketball player and a wonderful leader for our team.”

When all is said and done, Curry will go down as one of the greatest point guards of all-time, with basketball historians already linking his name with the only other multiple NBA MVP and NBA champion point guard, Magic Johnson.

Unlike Magic, who goes down in NBA history as the best passer in the game, Curry’s legacy is as the game’s greatest shooter, with stellar career percentages in threepoint (.436), two-point (.514) and free throw shooting (.905).

No other career 20-points-per-game scorer boasts a true shooting percentage close to Curry, who averages 24 points all-time at a .624 clip.

And, at age 31, Curry is only getting better, as his 2018-19 numbers indicate (27 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists per game on a .641 true shooting percentage).

It seems like every month he writes a new chapter in NBA annals.

In the opening round of the 2019 playoffs, Curry moved past Ray Allen in the all-time record books with his 486th career playoff three-pointer, and it is only a matter of time (two years?) until he passes

Allen on the all-time regular season threepoint charts as well (Curry has 2,483 career treys; Allen, 2,973).

All of the above are why past Finals MVPs like LeBron James and Dwyane Wade tweeted out they were not surprised when Curry stepped up his game to MVP-level following Durant’s injury.

“Champions recognize champions and what it takes to win close playoff games, and do what we’ve been able to do these last five years,” Curry said when asked about the tweets.

“Hopefully, there is more of that to come.”

Three rings and two NBA MVP awards topped with six All-NBA accolades (assuming Curry earns his sixth this season, as expected) is the type of success attained by only a handful of players by their 10th NBA season.

To think Curry did all this while sacrificing his piece of the pie to Durant for three years running only leads credence to his rep as being one of the best leaders in the game while also remaining the most selfless.

“I don’t think about legacy in those terms,’ Curry said at a playoff press conference. “The context of what this five-year run has been doesn’t really dominate my mind when we’re out there competing. We know what’s at stake and what we’re chasing this year, this series, this game. That’s the only way that you can put your best foot forward in terms of trying to get back to the mountaintop.

“We’ll have plenty of time when we hang the sneakers up to go back and think about all the different experiences—the highs and lows—but right now, we’re playing for another Finals experience. It’s all pretty special.”

Nobody knows that better than Curry, who remains as special as they come.

Year in. Year out.

THE FINALS / 2019

29

Western Conference Champions

GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS

Steve Kerr

Jordan Bell

Andrew Bogut

Quinn Cook

Head Coach Born: 9-27-65 College: Arizona Year Coaching in NBA: 5

No.: 2 Position: Forward Height: 6-9 Weight: 224 Birthdate: 1-7-95 College: Oregon Year in NBA: 2

No.: 12 Position: Center Height: 7-0 Weight: 260 Birthdate: 11-28-84 College: Utah Year in NBA: 14

No.: 4 Position: Guard Height: 6-2 Weight: 179 Birthdate: 3-23-93 College: Duke Year in NBA: 3

Stephen Curry

Kevin Durant

Jacob Evans III

Draymond Green

Andre Iguodala

No.: 0 Position: Center Height: 6-11 Weight: 270 Birthdate: 8-13-90 College: Kentucky Year in NBA: 9

No.: 30 Position: Guard Height: 6-3 Weight: 190 Birthdate: 3-14-88 College: Davidson Year in NBA: 10

No.: 35 Position: Forward Height: 6-9 Weight: 240 Birthdate: 9-29-88 College: Texas Year in NBA: 12

No.: 10 Position: Guard Height: 6-6 Weight: 210 Birthdate: 6-18-97 College: Cincinnati Year in NBA: 1

No.: 23 Position: Forward Height: 6-7 Weight: 230 Birthdate: 3-4-90 College: Michigan State Year in NBA: 7

No.: 9 Position: Forward-Guard Height: 6-6 Weight: 215 Birthdate: 1-28-84 College: Arizona Year in NBA: 15

Jonas Jerebko

Damian Jones

Shaun Livingston

Kevon Looney

Alfonzo McKinnie

Klay Thompson

No.: 21 Position: Forward Height: 6-10 Weight: 231 Birthdate: 3-2-87 Country: Sweden Year in NBA: 10

No.: 15 Position: Center Height: 7-0 Weight: 245 Birthdate: 6-30-95 College: Vanderbilt Year in NBA: 3

No.: 34 Position: Guard Height: 6-7 Weight: 192 Birthdate: 9-11-85 High School: Peoria Central Year in NBA: 15

No.: 5 Position: Forward Height: 6-9 Weight: 220 Birthdate: 2-6-96 College: UCLA Year in NBA: 4

No.: 28 Position: Forward Height: 6-8 Weight: 215 Birthdate: 9-17-92 College: Wisconsin-Green Bay Year in NBA: 2

No.: 11 Position: Guard Height: 6-7 Weight: 215 Birthdate: 2-8-90 College: Washington State Year in NBA: 8

COACHING STAFF Assistant Coaches: Ron Adams, Mike Brown, Jarron Collins, Bruce Fraser Assistant Coaches/Player Development: Chris DeMarco, Willie Green Head Athletic Trainer: Drew Yoder 30

2019 / THE FINALS

JACK ARENT (15); ADAM PANTOZZI/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

DeMarcus Cousins

W ITH O UT

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Western Conference Champions

GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS

Head Coach: Steve Kerr Assistant Coaches: Ron Adams, Mike Brown, Jarron Collins, Bruce Fraser Assistant Coaches/Player Development: Chris DeMarco, Willie Green Head Athletic Trainer: Drew Yoder FREE THROWS

REBOUNDS

NO.

PLAYER

G

MIN

FIELD GOALS FG

FGA

PCT

FG

FGA

PCT

FT

FTA

PCT

OFF

DEF

TOT

AST

STL

BLK

PTS

30

Stephen Curry

69

2331

632

1340

.472

354

810

.437

263

287

.916

45

324

369

361

92

25

1881 27.3

35

MISC.

POINTS AVG

Kevin Durant

78

2702

721

1383

.521

137

388

.353

448

506

.885

33

464

497

457

58

84

2027 26.0

11

Klay Thompson

78

2652

655

1402

.467

241

599

.402

129

158

.816

37

262

299

186

84

47

1680 21.5

0

DeMarcus Cousins

30

771

178

371

.480

26

95

.274

106

144

.736

43

204

247

107

40

44

488

16.3

23

Draymond Green

66

2065

188

422

.445

47

165

.285

63

91

.692

60

421

481

454

95

70

486

7.4

4

Quinn Cook

74

1059

204

439

.465

81

200

.405

20

26

.769

22

135

157

116

20

3

509

6.9

5

Kevon Looney

80

1481

217

347

.625

1

10

.100

65

105

.619

194

223

417

123

46

53

500

6.3

21

Jonas Jerebko

73

1218

163

355

.459

69

188

.367

64

80

.800

72

216

288

96

27

18

459

6.3

9

Andre Iguodala

68

1578

151

302

.500

48

144

.333

39

67

.582

48

204

252

216

61

51

389

5.7

15

Damian Jones

24

410

53

74

.716

0

0

—

24

37

.649

31

44

75

28

12

25

130

5.4

1

Damion Lee

32

375

56

127

.441

27

68

.397

19

22

.864

8

56

64

13

13

0

158

4.9

28

Alfonzo McKinnie

72

1003

134

275

.487

42

118

.356

27

48

.563

81

166

247

31

18

15

337

4.7

32

Marcus Derrickson

11

67

16

33

.485

10

20

.500

4

5

.800

8

5

13

1

0

1

46

4.2

34

Shaun Livingston

64

967

109

210

.519

0

2

.000

40

51

.784

42

75

117

114

31

27

258

4.0

12

Andrew Bogut

11

134

18

36

.500

0

0

—

3

3

1.000

12

43

55

11

3

8

39

3.5

2

Jordan Bell

68

788

99

192

.516

0

2

.000

25

41

.610

55

129

184

76

20

51

223

3.3

Jacob Evans III

30

204

18

53

.340

4

15

.267

0

1

.000

6

19

25

23

5

3

40

1.3

TEAM TOTALS

82

19805 3612

7361

.491

1087

2824

.385

1339

1672

.801

797

2990

3787

2413

625

525

9650

117.7

OPPONENTS

82

19805 3315

7471

.444

955

2753

.347

1535

1987

.773

886

2750

3636

1989

630

295

9120

111.2

10

2019 / THE FINALS

Stephen Curry’s 354 3-pointers was the second-highest total in his career.

For the seventh consecutive season, Klay Thompson surpassed 200 3-point field goals.

NOAH GRAHAM/ (2); ROCKY WIDNER/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

Kevin Durant led the team with a career-best 457 assists.

32

3-POINT FG

NBA Draft Preview

BEYOND ZION

Zion Williamson

Usually the consensus No. 1 pick appears to be the guy with the highest ceiling— and in this case, the highest vertical jump—but below the show-stopping Zion Williamson are a number of prospects who will make a future impact.

By Michael Bradley

I

34

2019 / THE FINALS

STREETER LECKA; JUSTIN K. ALLER/GETTY IMAGES

t has happened throughout the history of popular music: A headliner distinguishes him or herself within a group and then embarks on a solo career.

Bobby Brown bolted from New Edition. Justin Timberlake said bye-bye-bye to ‘NSync.

Beyonce bid adieu to Destiny’s Child.

And so it is with Zion Williamson. The Duke forward spent one year with the college set and has now moved away from all of them and is the clear-cut, no-questions-asked top front man of the 2019 NBA Draft.

“He’s one of the best prospects of the last 10 years,” an Eastern Conference executive says.

That’s true. Williamson is the story of the Draft. Anyone looking for comparable plot lines will be pretty disappointed. There are some other players with great potential, like Murray State guard Ja Morant and Duke wing R.J. Barrett. After those two, it’s not so easy.

“In a draft devoid of chalk, teams are going to take some chances.”

Here is a look at the top 15 prospects and their NBA potential.

Height: 6-7 Weight: 280 College: Duke Projected Position: Forward It is practically impossible to imagine a scenario in which the Pelicans don’t take the Blue Devil powerhouse, who distinguished himself as a dominant performer during his year in college. The Western Conference executive likens him to Blake Griffin, the top overall pick in 2009.

“He’s a high flyer with great skills and the body and explosiveness of a power forward,” the Western exec says.

“He can play as a small five man or a big four. You can play through him at the elbow.

“He’s the slamdunk No. 1 pick.”

Williamson arrived in Durham with a highlight reel of monster jams and proved during this year with Duke that he is more than just a dunking machine. He is a competitor who played hard every night but who must work hard to improve a shot that right now is ordinary, and upgrade his ballhandling.

Still…

“He gets an A-plus in strength, speed and effort, and he has very good natural instincts and basketball IQ ,” the Eastern exec says.

MADDIE MEYER; STREETER LECKA (3)/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

Ja Morant

Height: 6-3 Weight: 175 College: Murray State Projected Position: Point Guard Although there is no clear consensus No. 2 pick, any team in need of a point guard would be crazy not to take the highly productive Morant. He has shown during his two years with the Racers that he can score, hit from deep, set up teammates and lead.

“He is a very, very good athlete and a good competitor whose IQ is high,” the Eastern exec says. “He turned the ball over a lot, but that was a product of having the ball in his hands a lot. He can read the game, makes good passes, and while his shot is a work in progress, he can make a shot.”

The Western exec says Morant “can really pass and is an elite athlete.” He considers him to have great defensive potential and doesn’t worry about his jumper improving. At a position that is crucial in the NBA, Morant is an exciting prospect and has the potential to be charismatic leader.

“The kid loves to play and is a great kid,” an Eastern Conference personnel man says.

R.J. Barrett

Height: 6-7 Weight: 210 College: Duke Projected Position: Shooting Guard The big question any team thinking about drafting Barrett must answer is which version of him will show up and stick around.

“There is the selfish, me-first guy who messed up Duke, whose father was in the stands like it was an AAU game, and the R.J. Barrett who played for Team Canada and was shooting, passing and leading the team,” the Western exec says.

Barrett has tremendous talent, and there are those who believe he was vying with Williamson for top billing in Durham. He has the ability to create off the dribble and thrive in the pick-and-roll. He’s a good shooter and a fine rebounder from the guard spot. However, like most of the players in the draft, he must improve his shot.

“So much will depend on his jump shot,” the Eastern personnel man says. “But he has a great knack for getting to the basket.

He’s shifty and crafty.”

De’Andre Hunter

Height: 6-7 Weight: 225 College: Virginia Projected Position: Guard-Forward No team is going to boost its season-ticket sales appreciably by drafting the Cavalier swingman, but he will be able to contribute right away. No part of Hunter’s offensive game stands out, but he comes to the NBA with a good defensive profile and enough of a shot to put some pressure on opponents. His potential may not be that of some of his Lottery brethren, but he starts at a higher “floor” than many.

“I think he’s a very good defender; that’s what he does,” the Eastern exec says. “He can defend multiple positions and has good length. He’s mobile. Offensively, he’s not great in any one area, but he can make a stand-still three. If you get someone who can defend multiple positions and make a three, that’s a good start.”

Cameron Reddish

Height: 6-8 Weight: 215 College: Duke Projected Position: Guard-Forward Before the season, Reddish was considered a lock for the top three spots, but one word has dropped his stock: motor.

Simply put, there were some nights last season when he didn’t play hard, and that creates a lot of questions. “He’s not a consistent effort guy,” the Eastern personnel man says.

Some also believe that Reddish deferred to Williamson and Barrett this year and if he gets on a team where he can get a comfortable role, he will succeed. There is a lot to like about Reddish, and in a Draft that does not include many standouts, he could well be worth a high spot, thanks to his tremendous skill level.

“He might be the most gifted player in the Draft, in terms of his size and ability to handle the ball,” the Western exec says. “He moves his feet and has a stroke. He could be a 6-8 wing who bangs down shots, like [Milwaukee’s] Khris Middleton. But if doesn’t want to play every night, he could be like [Milwaukee’s] Tony Snell.”

THE FINALS / 2019

35

NBA Draft Preview Jarrett Culver

Height: 6-6 Weight: 195 College: Texas Tech Projected Position: Shooting Guard A lot of people “discovered” Culver during the NCAA tournament, when the Red Raiders made a run to the final game. At Tech, Culver proved he could defend, shoot, dribble and pass. He may be without a true position, because he is so versatile, but that isn’t a problem in today’s NBA. Plus, he is able to produce in clutch situations.

“I like his disposition and demeanor,” the Eastern exec says.

“He doesn’t get too rattled. He has a good versatility to his game, although he’s not great in any one area. He can handle a bit, play pick-and-roll, make a shot and defends. He’s a terrific kid who is a great worker and a mature person in the locker room.”

2019 / THE FINALS

Height: 6-2 Weight: 175 College: Vanderbilt Projected Position: Point Guard A lot of whether Garland remains a top-10 pick will depend on his pre-Draft workouts, because the Commodores’ point man played in only five games during 2018-19, due to a torn meniscus in his left knee.

That leaves teams with a small college sample size and his high school resume, which was good enough to earn him five-star status among recruiting analysts. He has a good pedigree, because his father, Winston Garland, played seven NBA seasons. Garland’s strength is his shot, which he can drill off the dribble or after catching the ball. He doesn’t have elite court vision, but he can set up his teammates.

“He’s a shifty, quick ballhandler,” the Eastern personnel man says. “You have seen guards like him have success in the NBA. Shooting is a coveted commodity, but his assist numbers this year weren’t great. It’s a small sample size, so you have to ask whether his teammates miss shots, or did he not pass well.”

Coby White

Height: 6-5 Weight: 185 College: North Carolina Projected Position: Guard Whereas Morant is more of a playmaker, White is a scoring point guard. That’s a positive in an NBA. Add in some good size, and some team is going to get a valuable piece.

“I think you can get with him a really, really good version of Jamal Crawford or Lou Williams,” the Western exec says.

The question is whether White is a heat-up-fast scorer or if he can run the team. The Eastern personnel man thinks he can do both.

“He did a better job at point guard this year than many people predicted he would,” the East personnel man says. “He played with great passion. You bet on kids like that. He’s 6-4, 6-5, can shoot and plays hard.”

Jaxson Hayes

Height: 6-11 Weight: 220 College: Texas Projected Position: Forward-Center Although the players to this point, after Williamson, haven’t exactly been guarantees, this is where the draft becomes extremely difficult to discern which project or which flawed prospect is going to hit.

Hayes is clearly in that grouping, and fans of whatever team picks him will have to be patient. He’s quite thin and possesses a rudimentary offensive game. “It will be a huge developmental year for him,” the Eastern exec says.

Hayes can protect the rim, rebound some and will convert some lobs into dunks his first year. He’s a late bloomer who needs time.

“He’s a solid college player who is more prospect than player right now,” the Eastern personnel man says. “He has good coordination and some tools to work with.”

TOM PENNIGTON; SAM FORENCICH; CHRISTIAN PETERSEN; CHRIS COVATTA/GETTY IMAGES

36

Darius Garland

NBA Draft Preview Sekou Doumbouya

Height: 6-9 Weight: 210 Country: France Projected Position: Power Forward Doumbouya is as raw as any prospect in this draft, but his potential is high since he doesn’t turn 19 until December.

“He’s 6-9 and athletic,” the Eastern personnel man says.

“He dribbles pretty well, but his shooting has a long way to go.”

Still, Doumbouya is explosive and showed that he can defend well last season in the French league, after he recovered from a hand injury. He doesn’t have much offensive polish at all, but he will be an intriguing prospect for a team with the time and patience to develop him.

Brandon Clarke

Height: 6-8 Weight: 210 College: Gonzaga Projected Position: Power Forward Throughout the year, most fans following the Zags focused on Clarke’s teammate, Rui Hachimura. However, Clarke has demonstrated NBA-ready skills that could make him someone capable of contributing right away. Some might look at his age—he turns 23 in September— as a drawback, but to a team looking for someone who won’t need a lot of time to get on the court, Clarke could be a good pickup. During his one year in Spokane (he transferred in from San Jose State), he averaged 16.9 ppg, 8.6 rpg and 3.2 bpg.

“He can pass, shoot and switch on the pick-and-roll,” the Western exec says. “He can make the mid-range jumper and is an elite passer. He’s springy off the floor.”

Bol Bol

Height: 7-2 Weight: 235 College: Oregon Projected Position: Center According to the Western exec, in a draft like this one, with few sure-fire prospects beyond the first few players, there comes a time when a team must “take a swing.” There isn’t a bigger shot at the fences than Bol—literally and figuratively.

The son of former NBA giant Manute has a sweet stroke but played in only nine games for the Ducks as a freshman, thanks to a stress fracture in his foot.

He showed the ability to score inside and out, rebound pretty well and block nearly three shots a game. All of that comes in a 7-2 package.

But there are some serious downsides to Bol’s game. He has an injury history. “You don’t know if he’ll hold up,” the Eastern personnel man says. And there is a question about his engagement and willingness to work. “One of the questions with him is, ‘Does he love basketball?’” the Eastern exec says.

Romeo Langford

Height: 6-6 Weight: 215 College: Indiana Projected Position: Shooting Guard Even though Langford struggled with his shot during his one year in college, like most of the other NBA Lottery prospects, he is “intriguing,” according to the Western exec, thanks to his ability to score and sturdy frame.

“He goes downhill and doesn’t mind contact,” the Eastern exec says.

Langford arrived in Bloomington with a five-star pedigree, and though he didn’t become the star Hoosier fans had hoped he would, he flashed talent and enough potential to get some NBA teams interested in him.

“He’s pretty darn good at everything, except shooting,” the Eastern personnel man says.

TOM PENNIGTON; ELSA; MICHAEL HICKEY/GETTY IMAGES

38

2019 / THE FINALS

POSITION RANKINGS

2019 NBA Draft Order*

1. J a Morant, Murray State 2. Darius Garland, Vanderbilt 3. Coby White, North Carolina 4. Carsen Edwards, Purdue 5. Ky Bowman, Boston College 6. Shamorie Ponds, St. John’s 7. Jordan Bone, Tennessee 8. Tremont Waters, LSU 9. Justin Robinson, Virginia Tech 10. Jared Harper, Auburn

1. N ew Orleans 2. Memphis 3. New York 4. Los Angeles Lakers 5. Cleveland 6. Phoenix 7. Chicago 8. Atlanta 9. Washington 10. Atlanta (from Dallas) 11. Minnesota 12. Charlotte 13. Miami 14. Boston (from Sacramento via Philadelphia) 15. Detroit 16. Orlando 17. Brooklyn 18. Indiana 19. San Antonio 20. Boston (from LA Clippers via Memphis) 21. Oklahoma City 22. Boston 23. Utah 24. Philadelphia 25. Portland 26. Cleveland (from Houston) 27. Brooklyn (from Denver) 28. Golden State 29. San Antonio (from Toronto) 30. Milwaukee

NBA Draft Preview

TOP 10 POINT GUARDS:

TOP 10 SHOOTING GUARDS

Nassir Little

Height: 6-6 Weight: 215 College: North Carolina Projected Position: Small Forward Little’s arrival in Chapel Hill created tremendous excitement, but he spent much of the year trying to figure out how to play college basketball. There were many nights he appeared as if the answer had eluded him.

“He didn’t know when to shoot, when to drive and when to post,” the Eastern personnel man says.

“He made the wrong decisions when given those options. He didn’t see the game.”

However, there are several good things teams will see in Little, such as his physique, athletic ability and ceiling. Little could be a strong rotational piece, provided he is willing to take coaching.

“A team would be betting on its ability to develop him,” the Eastern exec says. “It will depend on whether the kid comes in and acknowledges coaching and works his butt off. He could have a bright future if he does that.”

2019 / THE FINALS

Height: 6-8 Weight: 230 College: Gonzaga Projected Position: Power Forward Hachimura proved during his time with the Zags that he is quite accomplished from about 15 feet and in. In the West Coast Conference, where opposing big men are not all that imposing, that kind of game is enough. In the NBA, it isn’t.

“He needs to work on stretching it out to the three-point line,” the Eastern personnel man says. “His passing isn’t very good, and he has some speed of game issues, maybe because he picked it up so late.”

But Hachimura “took a big step from his sophomore to junior year,” according to the Eastern exec, and brings good size to the League. If he can improve his shot, which given the lack of time he has played—his youth sports choice was baseball—is a good possibility, he could be a good weapon down the road.

TOP 10 SMALL FORWARDS 1. D e’Andre Hunter, Virginia 2. Cam Reddish, Duke 3. Nassir Little, North Carolina 4. Talen Horton-Tucker, Iowa State 5. KZ Okpala, Stanford 6. Keldon Johnson, Kentucky 7. Matisse Thybulle, Washington 8. Cameron Johnson, North Carolina 9. Admiral Schofield, Tennessee 10. Louis King, Oregon

TOP 10 POWER FORWARDS 1. Z ion Williamson, Duke 2. Sekou Doumbouya, France 3. Brandon Clarke, Gonzaga 4. Rui Hachimura, Gonzaga 5. P.J. Washington, Kentucky 6. Grant Williams, Tennessee 7. Eric Paschall, Villanova 8. Nic Claxton, Georgia 9. Isaiah Roby, Nebraska 10. Dedric Lawson, Kansas

TOP FIVE CENTERS 1. B ol Bol, Oregon 2. Goga Bitadze, Georgia 3. Mfiondu Kabengele, Florida State 4. Bruno Fernando, Maryland 5. Daniel Gafford, Arkansas

SECOND ROUND 31. B rooklyn (from New York via Philadelphia) 32. Phoenix 33. Philadelphia (from Cleveland via Orlando and New York) 34. Philadelphia (from Chicago via Los Angeles Lakers) 35. Atlanta 36. Charlotte (from Washington via Orlando, Denver and Atlanta) 37. Dallas 38. Chicago (from Memphis) 39. New Orleans 40. Sacramento (from Minnesota via Portland and Cleveland) 41. Atlanta (from Los Angeles Lakers via Cleveland and Indiana) 42. Philadelphia (from Sacramento via Brooklyn and Milwaukee) 43. Minnesota (from Miami via Charlotte) 44. Atlanta (from Charlotte) 45. Detroit 46. Orlando (from Brooklyn via Memphis and Charlotte) 47. Sacramento (from Orlando via New York) 48. LA Clippers 49. San Antonio 50. Indiana 51. Boston 52. Charlotte (from Oklahoma City) 53. Utah 54. Philadelphia 55. New York (from Houston) 56. LA Clippers (from Portland via Detroit and Orlando) 57. New Orleans (from Denver via Milwaukee) 58. Golden State 59. Toronto 60. Sacramento (from Milwaukee)

JAIME SQUIRE; ETHAN MILLER/GETTY IMAGES

40

Rui Hachimura

1. R .J. Barrett, Duke 2. Jarrett Culver, Texas Tech 3. Romeo Langford, Indiana 4. Tyler Herro, Kentucky 5. Kevin Porter, USC 6. Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Virginia Tech 7. Luguentz Dort, Arizona State 8. Ty Jerome, Virginia 9. Jaylen Nowell, Washington 10. Jordan Poole, Michigan

FIRST ROUND

NEVER TRUST A BAT TERY T O D O A D U R AC E L L® J O B .

© 2019 DURACELL

This flu season, consider a flu shot designed specifically for adults 65 and older.1 to fish at my favorite spot

As you age, your immune system may weaken. Traditional flu shots may not work as well for older adults compared to younger adults.2,3 FLUAD is a flu shot for adults 65 and older that contains an immune-enhancing ingredient and is proven to provide a strong immune response to help protect against the flu.1

Learn more at FLUAD.com

It’s time to ask your doctor or pharmacist about FLUAD Important Safety Information What is FLUAD? FLUAD is a vaccine that helps protect against the flu. FLUAD is for people aged 65 years and older. Vaccination with FLUAD may not protect all people who receive the vaccine.

Who should not get FLUAD? You should not get FLUAD if you have had a severe allergic reaction to any of the ingredients in the vaccine in the past, including egg protein, or a severe reaction to a previous influenza vaccine.

Who may not be able to get FLUAD? Tell your health care provider if you: • Have ever had Guillain-Barré syndrome (severe muscle weakness) after getting a flu shot. The decision to give FLUAD should be made by your health care provider, based on careful consideration of the potential benefits and risks.

• Have an allergy to rubber latex. FLUAD does not contain latex, but the tip caps of the prefilled syringes contain natural rubber latex, which may cause an allergic reaction in persons sensitive to latex.

What if I have a weakened immune system?

Tell your health care provider if you have problems with your immune system, as your immune response to the vaccine may be reduced.

Seqirus Inc.

Holly Springs, North Carolina 27540

© 2017 Seqirus Inc.

Designed for adults 65 and older

What are the most common side effects of FLUAD? • Pain or tenderness where you got the shot • Muscle aches • Headache • Fatigue These are not all of the possible side effects of FLUAD. You can ask your health care provider for a complete list of possible side effects.

Ask your health care provider for advice about any side effects that concern you. You may report side effects to the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) by calling 1-800-822-7967 or by going to http://vaers.hhs.gov.

To report SUSPECTED ADVERSE REACTIONS, contact Seqirus Inc. at 1-855-358-8966 or VAERS at 1-800-822-7967 and http://vaers.hhs.gov.

For more information, please see Brief Summary of Prescribing Information for FLUAD on the following pages.

References: 1. FLUAD [package insert]. Holly Springs, NC: Seqirus Vaccines Limited; 2017. 2. Reber AJ, Chirkova T, Kim JH, et al. Immunosenescence and challenges of vaccination against influenza in the aging population.

Aging Dis. 2012;3(1):68-90. 3. Goodwin K, Viboud C, Simonsen L. Antibody response to influenza vaccination in the elderly: a quantitative review. Vaccine.

2006;24(8):1159-1169.

June 2017

US/FLUD/0617/0038

FLUAD (Influenza Vaccine, Adjuvanted) Suspension for Intramuscular Injection 2017-2018 Formula Initial U.S. Approval: 2015

Table 1. Percentages of Subjects ≥ 65 Years of Age With Solicited Local and Systemic Adverse Reactions in Days 1-7 After Administration of FLUAD or AGRIFLU (a U.S. Licensed Comparator) NCT01162122 Study 1

BRIEF SUMMARY:

FLUAD (Na=3418-3496) Percentage

AGRIFLU (Na=3420-3488) Percentage

Any

25.0

12.2

Moderateb

3.9

1.9

Severec

0.3

0.2

Any

21.1

11.2

Moderate

3.0

1.0

Severe

0.1

0.2

Any

1.2

0.5

25 to ≤ 50 mm

1.1

0.5

51 to ≤ 100 mm

0.2

<0.1

See package insert for full prescribing information.

1 INDICATIONS AND USAGE

FLUAD is an inactivated influenza vaccine indicated for active immunization against influenza disease caused by influenza virus subtypes A and type B contained in the vaccine. FLUAD is approved for use in persons 65 years of age and older. Approval is based on the immune response elicited by FLUAD. Data demonstrating a decrease in influenza disease after vaccination with FLUAD are not available. [see Clinical Studies (14)]

Local Injection site Pain

Tenderness

4 CONTRAINDICATIONS

Do not administer FLUAD to anyone with a history of severe allergic reaction (e.g. anaphylaxis) to any component of the vaccine, including egg protein [see Description (11)], or to a previous influenza vaccine.

5 WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS

5.1 Guillain-Barré Syndrome If Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) has occurred within 6 weeks of receipt of prior influenza vaccine, the decision to give FLUAD should be based on careful consideration of the potential benefits and risks. The 1976 swine influenza vaccine was associated with an elevated risk of GBS. Evidence for a causal relationship of GBS with other influenza vaccines is inconclusive; if an excess risk exists, it is probably slightly more than 1 additional case per 1 million persons vaccinated. [see References (1)] 5.2 Preventing and Managing Allergic Reactions Appropriate medical treatment and supervision must be available to manage possible anaphylactic reactions following administration of the vaccine.

5.3 Latex The tip caps of the prefilled syringes contain natural rubber latex which may cause allergic reactions in latex sensitive individuals. [see Description (11)] 5.4 Altered Immunocompetence The immune response to FLUAD in immunocompromised persons, including individuals receiving immunosuppressive therapy, may be lower than in immunocompetent individuals. [see Concurrent Use With Immunosuppressive Therapies (7.2)] 5.5 Syncope Syncope (fainting) may occur in association with administration of injectable vaccines including FLUAD. Ensure procedures are in place to avoid injury from falling associated with syncope.

5.6 Limitations of Vaccine Effectiveness Vaccination with FLUAD may not protect all vaccine recipients against influenza disease.

6 ADVERSE REACTIONS

6.1 Clinical Trials Experience Because clinical trials are conducted under widely varying conditions, the adverse reaction rates observed in the clinical trials of a vaccine cannot be directly compared to rates in the clinical trials of another vaccine and may not reflect rates observed in clinical practice.

Solicited adverse reactions were assessed in a multicenter, observerblind, randomized controlled study (Study 1) conducted in the United States, Colombia, Panama and the Philippines. The safety analysis set included 3545 FLUAD recipients and 3537 AGRIFLU (Influenza Vaccine) recipients. The enrolled subject population in Study 1 was 65 to 97 years of age (mean 72 years) and 64% were female. Within each treatment group, 53% were Asian, 28% were Caucasian, 18% were Hispanic, 1% were Black, and fewer than 1% each were Native American/Alaskan, Pacific Islander/Hawaiian, or Other.

Solicited local (injection site) and systemic adverse reactions were collected from subjects in Study 1 who completed a symptom diary card for seven days following vaccination. The reported frequencies of solicited local and systemic adverse events from Study 1 are presented in Table 1.

Erythema

Induration

Swelling

> 100 mm

0.0

0.0

Any

1.3

0.5

25 to ≤ 50 mm

1.0

0.5

51 to ≤ 100 mm

0.3

0.0

> 100 mm

0.0

0.0

Any

1.2

0.4

25 to ≤ 50 mm

1.0

0.4

51 to ≤ 100 mm

0.2

<0.1

> 100 mm

<0.1

0.0

Any

14.7

9.7

Moderate

2.6

1.8

Severe

0.3

0.7

Any

13.3

10.4

Moderate

3.1

2.4

Severe

0.4

0.6

PLTd

0.0

<0.1

Any

13.2

11.2

Moderate

3.0

2.6

Severe

0.4

0.6

PLT

0.0

<0.1

Any

8.5

7.8

Moderate

1.6

1.6

Severe

0.2

0.6

Any

6.7

4.7

Moderate

1.5

1.2

Severe

0.3

0.3

PLT

<0.1

0.0

Any

4.8

4.5

Moderate

1.3

0.9

Severe

0.3

0.2

PLT

<0.1

<0.1

Any

3.6

3.4

1.8

1.7

1.3

1.3

0.4

0.4

0.1

0.0

Systemic Myalgia

Fatigue

Headache

Arthralgia

Chills

Diarrhea

Fever

≥ 38.0°C to ≤ 38.4°C ≥ 38.5°C to ≤ 38.9°C 39.0°C to ≤ 40.0°C ≥ 40.0°C

(cont)

Systemic (cont from previous page)

Nausea

Vomiting

a

Any

2.9

2.8

Moderate

0.4

0.6

Severe

0.1

0.1

PLT

<0.1

0.0

Any

1.4

1.7

Moderate

0.4

0.5

Severe

<0.1

0.1

PLT

<0.1

0.0

N = number of subjects with safety data.

Moderate: pain, tenderness, myalgia, fatigue, headache, arthralgia, chills, nausea, vomiting defined as “some limitation in normal daily activity”, diarrhea defined as “4 to 5 stools a day”.

b

Severe: pain, tenderness, myalgia, fatigue, headache, arthralgia, chills, nausea, vomiting defined as “unable to perform normal daily activity”, diarrhea defined as “6 or more watery stools a day”.

c

Potentially life threatening (PLT) reaction defined as requiring emergency room visit or hospitalization.

d

Unsolicited Adverse Events (AEs): The clinical safety of FLUAD was assessed in fifteen (15) randomized, controlled studies. The total safety population in these trials included 10,952 adults 65 years of age and older, comprising 5,754 who received FLUAD and 5,198 who received other US licensed influenza vaccines.

The percentage of subjects with an unsolicited AE within 30 days following vaccination was similar between vaccine groups (16.9% FLUAD vs. 18.0% active comparator).

Serious Adverse Events (SAEs) and Deaths: In Study 1, in which subjects were followed for SAEs and deaths for one year following vaccination (N=3,545 FLUAD, N=3,537 AGRIFLU), the percentages of subjects with an SAE were similar between vaccine groups (7% FLUAD vs. 7% AGRIFLU). Four SAEs (1 FLUAD and 3 AGRIFLU) were assessed as related to study vaccination over one year of observation and 2 of these occurred (1 FLUAD and 1 AGRIFLU) within 21 days following study vaccination. There were 98 deaths (n=52 FLUAD, n=46 AGRIFLU) over one year of which none occurred within the first 21 days following vaccination.

In 14 additional randomized, controlled studies, SAEs were collected over a 3 to 4-week period in 4 studies, over a 8-week period in 1 study, and over a 6-month period in 9 studies (N= 2,209 FLUAD, N=1,661 US licensed influenza vaccines). The percentages of subjects with an SAE within 30 days (1.1% FLUAD vs. 1.8% AGRIFLU) or within 6 months (4.3% FLUAD vs. 5.9% AGRIFLU) were similar between vaccine groups. The percentages of deaths within 30 days (0.3% FLUAD vs. 0.6% active comparator) or within 6 months (1.0% FLUAD vs. 1.5% active comparator) were also similar.

Adverse Events of Special Interest (AESIs): Rates of new onset neuroinflammatory and immune mediated diseases were assessed in a post hoc analysis of the 15 randomized controlled studies over the time periods specified above for SAEs. The percentage of subjects with an AESI at any time after vaccination was similar between vaccine groups (0.9% FLUAD vs. 0.9% active comparator).

There were no notable imbalances for specific AESIs. Safety of Annual Revaccination: In 5 of the randomized, controlled trials, subjects were followed for SAEs and deaths for 6 months following revaccination (N=492 FLUAD, N=330 US licensed and non-US licensed influenza vaccines). After the second annual vaccination, the percentages of subjects with an SAE were similar between vaccine groups (6.1% FLUAD vs.

5.5% comparator influenza vaccines); 23 deaths (n=17 FLUAD, n=6 comparator influenza vaccines) were reported. Causes of death included cardiovascular events, malignancy, trauma, gastrointestinal disorders, and respiratory failure. Clinical characteristics of the deaths, including the variable causes, timing since vaccination, and underlying medical conditions, do not provide evidence for a causal relationship with FLUAD. 6.2 Postmarketing Experience The following adverse events have been spontaneously reported during post-approval use of FLUAD in Europe and other regions since 1997.

Because these events are reported voluntarily from a population of uncertain size, it is not always possible to reliably estimate their frequency or establish a causal relationship to the vaccine.

Blood and lymphatic system disorders: Thrombocytopenia (some cases were severe with platelet counts less than 5,000 per mm3), lymphadenopathy General disorders and administration site conditions: Extensive swelling of injected limb lasting more than one week, injection site cellulitis-like reactions (some cases of swelling, pain, and redness extending more than 10 cm and lasting more than 1 week) Immune system disorders: Allergic reactions including anaphylactic shock, anaphylaxis and angioedema Musculoskeletal and connective tissue disorders: Muscular weakness Nervous system disorders: Encephalomyelitis, Guillain-Barré Syndrome, convulsions, neuritis, neuralgia, paraesthesia, syncope, presyncope Skin and subcutaneous tissue disorders: Generalized skin reactions including erythema multiforme, urticaria pruritus or non-specific rash Vascular disorders: Vasculitis with transient renal involvement

7 DRUG INTERACTIONS 7.1 Concomitant Use With Other Vaccines There are no data to assess the concomitant administration of FLUAD with other vaccines. If FLUAD is to be given at the same time as other injectable vaccine(s), the vaccine(s) should be administered at different injection sites.

Do not mix FLUAD with any other vaccine in the same syringe.

7.2 Concurrent Use With Immunosuppressive Therapies Immunosuppressive or corticosteroid therapies may reduce the immune response to FLUAD.

8 USE IN SPECIFIC POPULATIONS 8.1 Pregnancy Pregnancy Category B: A reproductive and developmental toxicity study has been performed in rabbits with a dose level that was approximately 15 times the human dose based on body weight. The study revealed no evidence of impaired female fertility or harm to the fetus due to FLUAD. There are, however, no adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women.

Because animal reproduction studies are not always predictive of human response, this vaccine should be used during pregnancy only if clearly needed.

In a reproductive and developmental toxicity study, the effect of FLUAD on embryo-fetal and post-natal development was evaluated in pregnant rabbits. Animals were administered FLUAD by intramuscular injection twice prior to gestation, during the period of organogenesis (gestation day 7) and later in pregnancy (gestation day 20), 0.5 mL (45 mcg)/rabbit/occasion (approximately 15-fold excess relative to the adult human dose based on body weight). No adverse effects on mating, female fertility, pregnancy, embryo-fetal development, or post-natal development were observed. There were no vaccine-related fetal malformations or other evidence of teratogenesis.

8.4 Pediatric Use The safety and effectiveness of FLUAD in the pediatric population has not been established.

8.5 Geriatric Use Safety and immunogenicity of FLUAD have been evaluated in adults 65 years of age and older. [See Adverse Reactions (6.1) and Clinical Studies (14)] FLUAD is a registered trademark of Seqirus Inc. Manufactured by: Seqirus Vaccines Limited, An affiliate of: Seqirus Inc., Holly Springs, NC 27540, USA 1-855-358-8966

OFFSEASON OF CHANGE MAKES WAY FOR NEW-LOOK WNBA With offseason developments leaving several of the league’s powers mired in uncertainty, the 2019 season is there for the taking.

Who will own Year 23?

I

n April, the WNBA debuted its new logo, new color scheme and new uniforms, accompanied by a two-word statement to define its new look: Make Way. In many ways, though, the league’s landscape had already been changing. The 2018 season produced a Finals matchup that didn’t feature either the Minnesota Lynx, Los Angeles Sparks or Phoenix Mercury for the first time in eight years; generational forwards Breanna Stewart and Elena Delle Donne took center stage in a Seattle Storm championship victory that felt like the start of something bigger.

The 24-year-old Stewart captured both regular season and Finals MVP to cap off a historic third season. Australian center Liz Cambage returned stateside for the first time since 2013 to lead the league in scoring for the Dallas Wings, including a record 53-point game. Electric guard Tiffany Hayes joined her on the All-WNBA First Team, assuming the role of two-way force for the Atlanta Dream—who finished with the league’s second-best record at 23-11—after nine-year veteran Angel McCoughtry went down with a knee injury. The Sparks and Lynx, who’d battled in back-to-back Finals epics, met in the First Round of the Playoffs as the No. 6 and 7 seeds.

MORE CHANGE HAS COME SINCE, SETTING THE TABLE FOR A 2019 SEASON FILLED WITH UNCERTAINTY:

• In April, Stewart suffered a season-ending torn Achilles in the EuroLeague championship game, then in May, Sue Bird was ruled out indefinitely following knee surgery -- devastating blows to the defending champs.

• Cambage requested a trade from the Wings, and nearly five months

By Brian Kotloff

later landed with the Aces. The blockbuster creates a potential new powerhouse in Las Vegas, while leaving Dallas barren; star guard Skylar Diggins-Smith will be sidelined indefinitely after an offseason pregnancy.

• McCoughtry’s timetable for a return is also unclear.

• Minnesota, winner of four of the previous seven titles before last season, will be without five-time All-Stars Maya Moore, who announced in February that she’s sitting out the season to focus on her family and ministry, and Lindsay Whalen, who retired at the end of 2018; the status of another five-time All-Star, Rebekkah Brunson, is unknown based on her health and the birth of her son this offseason.

• Los Angeles ushered in a new era with the hiring of five-time NBA champion Derek Fisher as head coach following Brian Agler’s resignation, and a trade with Connecticut for Chiney Ogwumike, reuniting her with sister Nneka.

Off the court, even bigger news came with the appointment of Deloitte CEO Cathy Engelbert as WNBA Commissioner; the former Lehigh University player will assume the new role on July 17. The league-wide uncertainty on the court, meanwhile, leaves voids in not only many of the 12 teams, but in the league’s power structure as a whole. Can 2018’s best sustain their success in the absence of their stars?

Will a traditional power seize the opportunity to reclaim the throne? Or will so much change make way for fresh faces to emerge?

Answers to those questions started coming into focus on May 24, when the league’s 23rd season tipped off. Here are more questions facing each team:

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CHICAGO SKY: Can new coach/GM James Wade translate potential into results?

Tiffany Hayes

ATLANTA DREAM: Was its late-season surge a sign of things to come?

Look at the Sky’s individual pieces, and the outline of a playoff team is there. Point guard Courtney Vandersloot is perhaps the league’s most underrated player, a one-time All-Star who’s set records for assists per game average and total assists the past two seasons, respectively; she alone provides Chicago with a pace-and-space identity.

Sharpshooting backcourt mate Allie Quigley flies under the radar, too, though perhaps no longer after a record-setting 3-Point Contest display at All-Star. Katie Lou Samuelson, the No. 4 pick in April’s draft, will fit right in. Their 2018 first-round draft picks Diamond DeShields and Gabby Williams each flashed top-notch athleticism and upside—particularly DeShields, who has star written all over her after averaging 14.4 points as a rookie.

Stretch center Stefanie Dolson rounds out the roster at the disposal of James Wade, who was hired in November as head coach and GM. Wade has been a part of winning cultures in Minnesota and Courtney Vandersloot San Antonio before. His task in Chicago will be to lead the construction of another.

“We’ve got a great team. We’ll be back.”

Those were the words of McCoughtry last September, when she grabbed a mic and addressed the home crowd following the Dream’s loss to the Mystics in Game 5 of the Conference Finals.

Would the result have been different had the Dream’s franchise player been in uniform rather than street clothes that day? Atlanta can use 2019 as a proving ground that the rebuilt team, which made an 11-win jump from 2017 to 2018, is here to stay.

A feisty, well-rounded group came within one game of a Finals appearance even without McCoughtry, thanks largely to the efforts of consistency of Tiffany Hayes, Coach of the Year Nicki Collen and Basketball Executive of the Year Chris Sienko. While the foundation is there—the Dream established the league’s top-ranked defense and second-fastest pace—such chemistry and cohesion can be hard to carry over from one year to the next.

CONNECTICUT SUN: What’s needed to make the leap?

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Arike Ogunbowale

DALLAS WINGS: Who will fill the voids of Diggins-Smith and Cambage?

With the guard-center combo of Diggins-Smith and Cambage in tow, the Wings could dream of contention for years to come. Developments this offseason sidelined that dream indefinitely. Diggins-Smith is out for the foreseeable future due to pregnancy. Cambage was traded to Las Vegas for point guard Moriah Jefferson, forward Isabelle Harrison and two draft picks, ending a lengthy saga.

Replacing that level of production from a duo (a combined 40.9 PPG) without significant reinforcements will be a tall task. Glory Johnson and Azura Stevens could form a dynamic frontcourt, while 2017 Rookie of the Year Allisha Gray can re-assert herself. Jefferson battled injuries the past two seasons with Las Vegas, but still holds untapped potential as a former four-time NCAA champion and No. 2 overall pick. Fittingly, Dallas drafted Arike Ogunbowale to also help fill in for Diggins-Smith, a fellow Notre Dame great. They brought in a two-time champion to oversee the rebuilding effort in new head coach Brian Agler.

NED DISHMAN; DAVID SHERMAN; CHRIS MARION; JENNIFER POTTHEISER/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

The Sun’s 2018 season never quite felt like its 2017 breakthrough. Nine wins in its last 10 games gave the Sun another No. 4 seed, but set up a second straight one-and-done playoff stint.

Still, Connecticut’s 42 wins over the past two seasons place it third in the WNBA, and many signs point to the Sun being one of the teams with the most to gain from the absences of stars elsewhere.

For one, the Sun has a star-caliber centerpiece of their own in Jonquel Jones. The 25-year-old Bahamas native experienced visa issues in returning from overseas last year, and her delayed arrival to the team may have contributed to its plateauing. Jones played just 20.5 minutes per game off the bench, though her per-minute production remained strong. Whether she’s more of an annual Sixth Woman of the Year or MVP candidate will go a long way in determining Connecticut’s future potential.

Around Jones, the Sun boast one of the league’s deepest, most talented rosters—with a savvy coach and GM, Curt Miller, to boot. Point guard Jasmine Thomas and forward Alyssa Thomas have both established themselves as Jonquel Jones elite two-way players at their respective positions.

The key to taking the next step in the postseason may simply involve being even better in the regular season; avoiding the do-or-die format of the early rounds would certainly take a weight off the unproven Sun’s shoulders.

LAS VEGAS ACES: Are they primed to become the new “it” team?

Kelsey Mitchell

Between the Aces’ playoff chase (which fell short by a game) and A’ja Wilson’s otherworldly rookie season, Las Vegas got a rousing introduction to the WNBA. The encore could make the league’s newest, glitziest market the place to be in 2019.

The show starts with Wilson, the 2018 No. 1 pick who exceeded expectations with one of the most dominant rookie seasons ever. Her 20.7 points per game ranked second all-time for a rookie and third in the league last season. She also ranked top-four among rookies all time in blocks per game (1.6) and Player Efficiency Rating (24.6), putting her in the company of players like Delle Donne, Candace Parker and Seimone Augustus.

The blockbuster deal for Cambage not only gives Vegas a potentially historic front line perhaps matched only by the Sparks, but also instantly raised the team’s ceiling -- and expectations. It’s difficult to eye the talent on this roster and the notable absences around the league and not view the Aces as a true contender. Of course, that would require them to fastA’ja Wilson track the usual chemistry development process and playoff lessons necessary to reach elite status.

Kayla McBride can now be called a bona fide third star, coming off a career-high 18.2 points per game on 45 percent shooting. Another fortuitous bounce of the ping-pong balls delivered Notre Dame guard Jackie Young — the franchise’s third straight No. 1 overall pick (they nabbed Kelsey Plum from the San Antonio Stars in 2017). Sugar Rodgers already represented a major acquisition, bringing toughness and offensive firepower from head coach Bill Laimbeer’s former team, the New York Liberty.

While the Aces gear up for the franchise’s first postseason run since 2014, Las Vegas will truly take center stage on July 27 when it hosts WNBA All-Star 2019.

INDIANA FEVER: Who’s ready to become the new franchise centerpiece?

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2019 / THE FINALS

Sylvia Fowles Candace Parker and Nneka Ogwumike

LOS ANGELES SPARKS: Will Fisher bring a championship touch back to LA?

The Sparks looked primed to atone for a heartbreaking Finals Game 5 loss with a roaring 11-3 start. Things never quite clicked into place, as Nneka Ogwumike battled an illness and L.A. went 8-12 the rest of the way.

A 32-point playoff loss to the Mystics left a sour taste in the 2016 champs’ mouths heading into a potential bounce-back season. Already with one Ogwumike sister in tow as part of a core four—Nneka Ogwumike, Parker, Chelsea Gray and two-time reigning Defensive Player of the Year Alana Beard return—the Sparks made a splash move before the start of May in acquiring Chiney Ogwumike. Tierra Ruffin-Pratt also replaces Essence Carson on the wing after Carson signed with Phoenix in free agency.

The most significant shakeup comes at the top, where Fisher steps in for Agler as head coach. Fisher is familiar with high expectations in LA, but how will he fare in his second professional coaching stint?

MINNESOTA LYNX: Can the remnants of a dynasty keep this team afloat?

Nowhere will 2019 mark a new beginning more than in Minneapolis. Moore will spend the season on sabbatical after a run of six Finals appearances in her first eight seasons. Whalen can be found at the nearby University of Minnesota, coaching the Golden Gophers team she once led as a player. Brunson, the league’s only five-time champ and all-time leading rebounder, is a question mark at age 37.

What’s left? Head coach Cheryl Reeve is a master motivator whose skills will be tested. Sylvia Fowles alone keeps Minnesota a difficult matchup, dominant as ever on both ends. Seimone Augustus begins Year 14 in need of reassuming the go-to scoring duties she handled in Years 1-7.

By all accounts, the Lynx had a strong draft, nabbing UConn’s Napheesa Collier at No. 6 and Notre Dame’s Jessica Shepard in the second round. They’re eager for an injection of youth after failing to reach 20 wins (18-16) for the first time since 2010, the year before Moore arrived.

BARRY GOSSAGE; TODD LUSSIER; JUAN OCAMPO; DAVID SHERMAN/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

There’s no replacement for a legend, and the last two seasons in Indiana have been Exhibit A. From 2005 to 2016, the Fever strung together a WNBA record 12 consecutive playoff appearances. Not coincidentally, those 12 seasons represented the prime of Tamika Catchings’ career.

Indiana has gone just 15-53 in the two years since her retirement, and a lack of draft lottery luck has only compounded those struggles. Bright spots exist first and foremost in explosive guard Kelsey Mitchell, who finished her rookie season fifth in the league in three-pointers made (70). Six-time All-Star Candice Dupree remains as an ultra-reliable veteran. Mississippi State center Teaira McCowan, the No. 3 pick in April’s draft, joins her in the front court.

Another legend hung up her sneakers when Cappie Pondexter, the league’s No. 4 all-time leading scorer, announced her retirement in April after showing she still had it, averaging 10.2 points for the Fever in 2018.

NEW YORK LIBERTY: Are they due for a rebound?

The wheels fell off at the end of Hall of Famer Katie Smith’s first go-round as a head coach, as the Liberty closed the worst season in franchise history with 13 straight defeats. Lackluster offense had plagued New York even as the team posted the best record in the East three straight times; the collapse of its signature defense (ranked 10th of 12 teams) produced painful results.

Hope for a turnaround isn’t hard to find, however. Tina Charles remains a perennial MVP candidate. No. 2 overall pick Asia Durr could finally give the Liberty another bona fide scorer to pair with her. Kia Nurse showed promise on the wing, including a franchise rookie record 34-point game.

The offseason’s most notable news came in January when the Liberty was sold to Joe Tsai, 49 percent minority owner and alternate Governor of the Brooklyn Nets.

Tina Charles

SEATTLE STORM: Without its MVP and floor general, where does this team head?

Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner

PHOENIX MERCURY: Is the window open for another run?

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Jewell Loyd

WASHINGTON MYSTICS: Can they complete the climb?

The Mystics went 14 years without a playoff series win and 20 without a Finals appearance. They’ve erased those blemishes by reaching the semifinals in 2017 and Finals in 2018. Whether they can achieve the ultimate goal rests heavily on the shoulders of Delle Donne, whose a championship away from sealing her personal resume.

EDD was brilliant in her second season in D.C., though a knee injury limited her playoffs performance. Her health is paramount—she’s missed 45 games in her career. That said, the Mystics’ depth will also be tested after Ruffin-Pratt signed with the Sparks and Monique Currie retired.

Elena Delle Donne Washington will rely on the continued development of instant impact rookie Ariel Atkins and fourth-year breakout point guard Natasha Cloud to take them to the next level. Only Taurasi and Quigley have made more threes the past two seasons than Kristi Toliver, who will again be tapped as a go-to perimeter threat following an offseason spent as a Wizards coach.

GARY DINEEN; BARRY GOSSAGE; NED DISHMAN; STEPHEN GOSLING/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

Perhaps the team with the most to gain from Moore and Stewart being sidelined this season? The Phoenix Mercury, who’s gutted out back-to-back single-elimination wins before being knocked out in the semifinals in each of the past three seasons.

Diana Taurasi has tapped back into Vintage Taurasi mode after retiring from overseas play, posting her best scoring average in seven years in 2018. This could be the season teammate Brittney Griner makes an MVP run.

With DeWanna Bonner back in All-Star form, Sancho Lyttle healthy and Carson signed away from LA to join Briann January on the perimeter, the Mercury have the talent, experience and depth to be considered title favorites.

Expect Taurasi, who will turn 37 this summer, to maintain her peak form with a fourth ring there for the taking.

Stewart’s Achilles tear and Bird’s knee surgery are losses not only for Seattle, but for the basketball community as a whole. Stewart had the league at her fingertips and had arguably seized control of the “Best Player in the World” crown for the foreseeable future. Bird has played in 16 of the WNBA’s 22 seasons and continued to author legendary moments at age 37.

Now the Storm must prepare for a title defense without them. Head coach Dan Hughes faces a road to recovery of his own after being diagnosed with cancer. Few defending champs have opened a season with such adversity.

But while the true title defense will have to wait a year, there will still be plenty of intrigue in Seattle. The Storm have All-Star caliber players in guard Jewell Loyd and forward Natasha Howard, who blended in for the greater good and can now be called upon to carry larger loads. They also have a potential breakout young gun in second-year guard Jordin Canada. If Bird’s recovery goes smoothly, she could return for a possible postseason push.

By John Fawaz

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2019 / THE FINALS

NBA PHOTOS/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

The vaunted Boston Celtics dynasty concluded with— what else—a victory celebration, one that would not include any balloons.

B

ill Russell espied the balloons during warmups for Game 7.

“Russell comes out, and looks up in the rafters, and there’s all these balloons up there,” remembers Chuck Garrity, then the assistant sports editor of the Los Angeles Times. “He nudged me and said, ‘Hmm, somebody having a party?’”

The 1969 NBA Finals had more storylines than an HBO series: the final chapters of the NBA’s greatest dynasty and its greatest individual rivalry; Don Nelson’s lucky shot; Jerry West’s herculean performance; the retirements of Russell and Sam Jones; the Chamberlain controversy; and on and on. But it’s the balloons that everyone remembers. Fifty years later, they are still stuck (figuratively) in the rafters of the Forum, much to the delight of the Celtics.

“I’ll always remember those balloons and that shot, too,” Celtics President Red Auerbach told the Los Angeles Times in 1985. “That made it more special than all the other titles we won.”

Boston’s 1969 championship—its 11th in 13 seasons—was its unlikeliest. The Celtics finished fourth in the East, and for the first time, they entered the Finals as an underdog.

The Lakers, who had lost seven NBA Finals to the Celtics in 10 seasons, were the favorites. The belief that it was L.A.’s time remained unshaken even as the series went the distance. After all, this winner-take-all game would be in Los Angeles (the Lakers had lost two Game 7s at Boston).

Lakers owner Jack Kent Cooke had the celebration all planned. His script called for the balloons to be released after his team defeated the Celtics in Game 7. As they descended, the USC marching band would play “Happy Days Are Here Again” while Chick Hearn interviewed the Lakers’ stars at midcourt.

Russell, the team’s player-coach, referenced the script in his pregame talk.

“There’s a lot of things going on,” Russell said, “but one thing that cannot go on is the Lakers cannot beat us. It’s not something that can happen. They can’t beat us.

“But it’s gonna be fun watching them get those balloons out one at a time.”

Russell and his teammates were about the only ones not surprised to find the Celtics playing in Game 7. Boston had posted its worst record (48-34) in a decade, a mark that included the club’s first five-game losing streak in 20 years and a sub-.500 second half. More worrisome, the Celtics had lost 12 games by three points or less.

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Don Nelson

Elgin Baylor

seeding. Revitalized and healthy, Boston could finally play Celtic basketball.

Oddsmakers took note—the Celtics were favored in both of their playoff series. They polished off the 76ers in five games and the Knicks in six.

Well that was easy. Who’s next?

The Lakers, that’s who, only this time L.A. had a center to contend with Russell. Two months after L.A. lost to Boston in the 1968 NBA Finals, Cooke acquired Wilt Chamberlain from Philadelphia. The Sixers were not willing to meet Chamberlain’s contract demands (a big raise and a say in the hiring of their new coach).

Cooke wanted to make a splash, and what better way than to acquire one of the all-time greats. In his mind, it was a bargain (L.A. sent Philly three players and cash), so he made the deal and signed Chamberlain to a new contract that paid a reported $250,000 per year.

Chamberlain in the middle with Elgin Baylor at forward and Jerry West at guard—it was LeBron James taking his talents to South Beach with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, just 40 years earler. Some were ready to hand the Lakers the title right then.

But there was trouble ahead.

“I know Mr. Cooke thinks that by making this trade he will win a championship,” said Darrall Imhoff, one of the three players sent to Philly for Chamberlain, “but I don’t know if you can have any happiness with three superstars on one team.”

Plus, as Imhoff noted, the Lakers would have to change their running-shooting style of play. Lakers head coach Butch van Breda Kolff preached team basketball and conditioning (sound familiar?), and after a rough start in his first season, the Lakers had roared to a 38-9 finish and the 1968 NBA Finals. It was not a trade van Breda Kolff wanted, and now he faced the daunting task of incorporating a player who didn’t fit his system.

Imhoff was right on both counts. Chamberlain expected to be the focus of the team, its unquestioned leader, but the Lakers already had a captain in Baylor. Meanwhile, Chamberlain’s huge contract paid him a lot more than his teammates, prompting sportswriters to ask whether Wilt was really 2 1/2 times better than West.

The Lakers went 55-27 in 1968-69, only three games better than the previous season and below the heightened expectations that came with Chamberlain’s Hollywood arrival, especially considering the West’s mediocrity (only one other team finished with a winning record). The Lakers ranked sixth in offense, fourth in defense, and first in drama, as Chamberlain’s clashes with Baylor and van Breda Kolff made for a tense locker room.

Though Chamberlain helped the Lakers’ defense, their offense fell off by nine points per game. The Lakers ran when they could; otherwise, they waited for Chamberlain to get situated on the block so they could run their halfcourt sets. Van Breda Kolff’s offense called for his big man to set high screens, but Wilt resisted. He stubbornly went from low post to low post with no stops in between.

Chamberlain put up solid numbers (20.5 points and 21.1 rebounds per game) while Baylor (24.6 ppg) and West (25.9 ppg) both experienced only small drops in scoring from the season before. By playoff time, however, it was clear that age and injuries were catching

“I’ll always remember those balloons and that shot, too. That made it more special than all the other titles we won.”

—Red Auerbach

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2019 / THE FINALS

DICK RAPHAEL (2)/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

Russell, who averaged a career-low 9.9 points per game, had to be carted off the court after a hard fall in February and then missed five games with “exhaustion.” His knees were so troublesome that he rarely practiced, yet the lack of a capable backup forced him to play his most minutes in three seasons. The 35-year-old center had decided to retire at season’s end, though he hadn’t told anyone.

Guard Sam Jones, who was a year older than Russell, had already announced that the season would be his last. Slowed by a leg injury, he posted his lowest scoring average (16.3 ppg) since the 1960-61 season, when he had been a backup.

Though the Celtics had six players average 10 or more points per game, their offense (111.0 ppg) only ranked 10th out of 14 teams.

Forwards John Havlicek (21.6 ppg, and who just passed away in April) and Bailey Howell (19.7 ppg) were the leading scorers. Their defense, which ranked second, was bolstered by a late-season lineup change when the quicker Em Bryant replaced Larry Siegfried at guard. Nelson (11.6 ppg), a Laker castoff, ably filled the sixth man role and Satch Sanders chipped in 11.2 ppg off the bench.

In the East, Boston placed behind Baltimore (57-25), Philadelphia (55-27), and New York (54-28). The Celtics were in an unfamiliar position but they embraced it.

“I guess we’re probably the easy touch,” Havlicek said. “We finished fourth, didn’t we?”

But there would be only one back-to-back in the postseason (Boston had gone 14-14 in the second night of back-to-back games). With only one starter (Havlicek) under age 30, the Celtics needed that extra rest. At season’s end, they had focused on mending rather than playoff

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Sam Jones

John Havlicek

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up to the 34-year-old Baylor. Only one other Laker reached double figures, and after the big three, they were thin. That would be a huge factor in the Finals.

L.A. seemed to be putting it together by season’s end, highlighted by a 108-73 blowout of Boston in late March. But the Lakers stumbled out of the postseason gate, losing their first two games at home to the San Francisco Warriors, who had finished 41-41.

Van Breda Kolff shook up his lineup, inserting rookie Bill Hewitt at forward in place of Mel Counts and veteran Johnny Egan at guard in place of Keith Erickson. Hewitt was able to clamp down on former Laker Rudy LaRusso, while Egan’s shooting helped compensate for a slumping Baylor. Led by West, who averaged 31.8 points per game in the series, the Lakers reeled off four straight wins to advance to play Atlanta. They beat the Hawks in five games, with Chamberlain stepping up in the series and Baylor posting a triple-double (29 points, 12 assists, and 11 rebounds) in the Game 5 clincher.

The stars seemed to be aligned for the Lakers, who entered the Finals as heavy favorites. West said this was “the best basketball team I’ve ever been associated with.”

But the teams were more closely matched than it appeared. The Celtics were running again, in spurts, and their defense made up for the moments when the offense sputtered. The Lakers were still trying to figure out their best lineup, not a promising development at this stage in the season.

Howell, the Celtics’ forward, echoed what the players were thinking: “This is going to be a really close series.”

Like they had done to Philadelphia and New York, the Celtics looked to steal Game 1 on the road. West would have none of it. The Hawks had double-teamed him but Boston played him straight up, and he torched Bryant for 53 points. West made 21 of 41 shots and 11 of 13 free throws, including a pair with four seconds left to clinch the Lakers’ victory. Final score: 120 to 118, in one of the best NBA Finals games ever.

“We were fortunate to win a game like that,” West said. “As a sports fan, I wish I just could have been a spectator.

“It was an incredible game, really a classic.

There weren’t many turnovers or many bad spots. It was just up and down the court.”

On a night when the offenses dominated, the lead changed hands 21 times and neither team led by more than seven. Five Celtics scored in double figures, led by Havlicek with 37 and Jones with 21. Baylor added 24. Chamberlain (15 points and 23 rebounds) and Russell (16 points and 27 rebounds) wrestled to a draw while playing all 48 minutes, a theme that would continue throughout the series.

For Game 2, Coach Russell made some adjustments, first putting Jones on West, then Siegfried and finally Havlicek. Another back-and-forth shootout ensued, only this one was more physical. Spurred by Havlicek (43 points), the Celtics built a 10-point lead in the third quarter. But West (41 points) and Egan (26) sparked a 19-4 run that gave the Lakers the lead.

Boston answered and held a four-point lead with three-and-half minutes to play, but then Baylor took over. He scored 18 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter, including his team’s last 12, to give L.A. a 118-112 victory. In the final minute, Baylor made all six of his free throw attempts to break the 112-112 tie.

The Celtics attempted 112 field goals to the Lakers’ 79, but Boston made only 41 percent of its shots while L.A. made 50.6. More important, the Lakers made 38 of 48 from the foul line, surprising accuracy for the League’s worst free throw shooting team.

“It’s hard to believe that they could lose two games the way they played,” said West.

Chamberlain had made a difference, tying up Russell so he couldn’t help on defense and coming up with clutch rebounds in the final minutes of both games. Then there was Egan. The Lakers had gone 10-1 since he and Hewitt had become starters in Game 3 of the Western Division Semifinals against the Warriors.

“It was a desperation move as [van Breda Kolff] wanted to get some more speed into the lineup,” said Egan, who had grown up in New England rooting for the Celtics. “It has worked out pretty well.”

For the first time, the Celtics were down 0-2 in a playoff series. Not that they were worried.

“Yes, I will see you Thursday for the fifth game,” Russell said as reporters gathered around him in the locker room.

Revved by a raucous crowd, the Celtics upped the defensive pressure in Game 3 and forced 18 first-half turnovers. Off and running, Boston took a 57-40 halftime lead, only to watch the Lakers mount a furious third-quarter comeback to take a three-point lead. The Celtics recovered and the teams entered the final period tied at 78.

Then Havlicek and Siegfried took over. The former Ohio State teammates combined to score 24 of Boston’s 33 fourth-quarter points, helping Boston take a 106-92 lead with 3:30 left. Back came the Lakers, who pulled within 109-105 in the final minute. Havlicek, seeing double after being poked in the eye, made two free throws to clinch Boston’s 111-105 victory. He finished with 34 points.

Siegfried, a nonfactor much of the postseason because of leg injuries, scored 28 points. He helped limit West to 24 points, although he had a little help in that department as the Celtics began double-teaming the Lakers’ guard. In addition, West played the game with a sprained right

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that’s when the gremlins came out.

On the inbounds play, Bryant stole the ball from Egan and passed to Jones, who missed a 15-foot shot. In the battle for the rebound, Chamberlain tapped the ball toward Baylor, who flipped it to Erickson. But referee Joe Gushue whistled the play dead, ruling that Baylor had stepped on the sideline.

“I didn’t go out nor did the ball go out,” an incensed Baylor said.

“I had the ball in the air and I know I didn’t step on the line. But all [Gushue] did was point to the line. He didn’t say anything to me.”

The call gave Boston the ball with seven seconds left. During the timeout, Havlicek and Siegfried convinced Russell to run a “picket fence” play from Ohio State that the Celtics had practiced but never attempted in a game.

Three Celtics were stacked under the hoop. From midcourt, Bryant inbounded the ball to Havlicek, then ran to the top of the key to set a screen. Nelson and Howell set up to either side of Bryant, creating a wall that trapped Chamberlain and delayed West, allowing Jones to circle around and receive a pass from Havlicek.

Except Jones slipped as he caught the pass. The result was an awkward shot, with his feet coming out from under him while The 1969 NBA Finals would be the final duel between Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain. his upper body was still going forward. Russell thought he had missed. So did Jones.

But as any shooter can tell you, sometimes your misses go in. Jones’ shot landed on the front of the thumb, suffered in the closing moments of Game 2. The Lakers’ guard rim, caromed forward into the backboard, bounced back to the front of said fatigue was a bigger factor. the rim—and dropped in. Boston 89, Los Angeles 88. Series tied 2-2.

“I just collapsed physically near the end. Maybe it was the pace of the “Luck won out—no doubt about it,” said Havlicek. game. I was very tired,” West said. “They talk about the Celtics being West, who had scored 40 points despite the Celtics’ double teams, had old; well, we’ve got some old guys, too.” a different take.

West made 9 of 24 shots in the game, including 1 for 9 in the final “That shot wasn’t even a good shot, but we played dumb basketball. period. Baylor scored 11 points, going 4 for 18. He missed his first five Maybe we deserved to lose,” said the Lakers’ guard. shots in the fourth and then spent the rest of the quarter on the bench While the Celtics joked about four-leaf clovers and leprechauns, as Egan (22 points) sparked the Lakers’ rally. the Lakers rued missed defensive assignments and squandered Havlicek and Siegfried would play a key role in Game 4 as well, as the opportunities. Boston made 27 of 31 free throw attempts, while L.A. ghosts of Finals past would come back to haunt the Lakers. made just 18 of 33, with Chamberlain (2 for 11) and Baylor (1 for 6) the Save for the ending, Game 4 was forgettable, the lowest-scoring worst offenders. Can’t blame that on little green men. playoff game in 11 years. At times the teams couldn’t give it away, The Lakers still held homecourt advantage, and West made sure they though they tried—the Lakers had 27 turnovers, and the Celtics 23. kept it, but at a cost. Back in L.A. for Game 5, the Lakers led 49-45 after Boston went 10 minutes in the first half without a field goal yet still led two quarters, their first and only halftime lead in the series. The game by a point. The Celtics showed enough life to forge a 49-41 halftime remained close until Russell picked up his fourth foul midway through lead; West answered with a huge third quarter to give L.A. a 70-67 lead. the third quarter. West completed the three-point play to give L.A. a Siegfried made four buckets to keep the Celtics close, and Boston 60-53 lead and the Lakers went on to win 117-104. managed to creep ahead 86-83 with 4:20 remaining. West kept coming, But West, who scored 39 points, hobbled off late in the fourth quarter scoring five straight points to give a L.A. an 88-86 lead in the final with a left hamstring injury. If this were the regular season, he would minute. Bryant’s free throw cut the lead to one with 15 seconds left, and

“We won because of comradeship, friendship, and teamwork.”—Bill Russell

2019 / THE FINALS

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Jerry West

Larry Siegfried

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miss at least two weeks. The year before, West’s sprained ankle had doomed L.A.’s chances. Four years earlier it had been Baylor’s knee. If the Celtics had the luck of the Irish, the Lakers had the opposite.

Back in Boston for Game 6, Jones received a standing ovation in his final game at the Garden—and then promptly got into foul trouble. Off the bench came Nelson, who had played two seasons with the Lakers before being waived in 1965.

“They had this young kid that looked good. He beat me out,” Nelson says.

Considering the woeful production from their bench in the series, the Lakers must have had a tinge of regret as they watched Nelson score 25.

It would get worse.

Meanwhile, the Celtics evened the series with their best all-around effort in Game 6. Russell, who had been outplayed by Chamberlain in the previous game, bounced back as Boston built a 16-point halftime lead and rolled to a 99-90 victory. With West hurt, most expected the Lakers to rely on Wilt, but he had just 2 points. West couldn’t drive but still scored 26.

Back to L.A. for another Game 7, the 100th game of the season for both teams. The balloons and the script prompted Russell to alter his approach.

“I gave [the script] to him and Russell changed our whole strategy of what we were gonna do in the game,” Jones said. “He said, ‘We’re gonna run ‘em and run ‘em and run ‘em.’”

And they did. The Celtics bolted to a 24-12 lead and made the Lakers chase them. Chamberlain outscored Russell 15-0 in the first half to keep L.A. in the game, and the Lakers finally tied it early in the third quarter. Then Nelson scored 13 to spark the Celtics to a 71-62 lead, and Russell’s three-point play late in the period gave the Celtics a 79-66 lead—and gave Chamberlain his fifth foul.

The lead grew to 17 early in the fourth before West tried to will his way to victory. The Lakers’ guard made shot after shot. Turnarounds, baseline jumpers, pull-ups. Double teams weren’t working. Jones fouled out trying to stop him (the Forum crowd gave him a standing ovation as he left the court) and then Havlicek picked up his fifth.

Boston led 103-94 with just under six minutes left when Chamberlain landed awkwardly making a rebound and hurt his knee. He limped off the court with 5:19 to play, replaced by Counts. The Lakers’

comeback continued, with Counts’ jumper making it 103-102 with three minutes to play.

Chamberlain told van Breda Kolff he was ready to go, but the coach kept him on the bench.

The controversy over Chamberlain sitting on the bench in the final minutes, and whether it would have made a difference, dominated the aftermath of the game and is still debated.

Nelson, who played in the game and then went on to become one of the NBA’s greatest coaches, says there is no right answer.

“Should you let the players who made the comeback try to win the game, or put your starters back in?” Nelson says. “I’ve done it both ways. Won it both ways, and lost it both ways.”

The Lakers failed on three opportunities to take the lead, and Boston was still nursing a one-point lead and trying to kill clock when Nelson made that shot Auerbach remembered so fondly.

Havlicek, dribbling on the right side of the key, had the ball knocked away by Erickson.

Somehow it ended up in the hands of Nelson, who in one motion put it up to beat the shot clock.

“I overshot it for sure. I thought I had to get it up there pretty quick,” Nelson says.

Nellie’s line-drive 15-footer hit the back of the rim and instead of ricocheting off, the ball popped eight feet straight up—and came straight down. Boston led 105-102 with just over a minute left, and went on to win 108-106.

The balloons stayed firmly in place while the Celtics celebrated.

Across the hall, West was inconsolable.

“I just hate to sit here and listen to all that noise over in the other locker room,” West said. “They are a fine team but I think we were the best team. I had no idea we’d lose—even in the last quarter when we were 15 points behind.”

West finished with 42 points, 13 rebounds, and 12 assists in Game 7. For the series, he averaged 37.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 7.4 assists per game. The inaugural NBA Finals MVP Award went to West. He remains the only player from the losing squad so honored.

Chamberlain averaged 11.7 points and 25 rebounds per game while playing every minute of the series but those last five in Game 7. In addition to their identity issues, the Finals exposed the Lakers’ lack of depth. With Baylor struggling much of the series, they had no other options on the wing. Plus they missed 102 free throws in the series, with Wilt performing even worse (37.5 percent) than usual in that department. Shortly after the Finals, van Breda Kolff left to coach Detroit.

Meanwhile, Boston received contributions up and down the lineup, with six players scoring in double figures. Havlicek led the Celtics with 28.3 points per game while playing all but one second in the series. Russell averaged 9.1 points and 21.1 rebounds per game while playing every minute. Of course, the stats only tell part of the story with the Celtics.

“We won because of comradeship, friendship, and teamwork,” said Russell, who would retire as player and coach later in the summer.

Game 7 marked the 142nd and final matchup between Chamberlain and Russell (and those are just the games that counted). Wilt averaged 28.7 points and 28.7 rebounds in those games, while Russell had 14.5 points and 23.7 rebounds per game. But Russell finished way ahead in victories (85-57) and in NBA titles with 11 to Wilt’s 1 (Chamberlain would add a second title while playing for the 1971-72 Lakers).

And the balloons? Cooke donated them to a children’s hospital.

GET REAL. GET NBA GAME WORN. OFF THE COURT. INTO YOUR COLLECTION.

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By Michael Bradley

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The Bad Boys of basketball overcame a pair of legendary dynasties to secure their first NBA Championship and a place in history.

1988-89 Detroit Pistons

ALLEN EINSTEIN; GREGORY SHAMUS/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

hirty years after their first NBA title, the Detroit Pistons remain to most people a group of players for whom basketball was more street fight than free-flowing pursuit. Even some of their nicknames played into the narrative: McFilthy and McNasty; The Baby-Faced Assassin. The “Bad Boys” Pistons were always ready for a fight, and their games were often determined by which team could reach 90 points first. In between the grace and beauty of Showtime and the high-flying Jordan years were two seasons—three, according to the Pistons—when the NBA was hijacked by a group of Rust Belt hooligans intent on giving Dr. Naismith’s game a bloody nose.

That’s the popular narrative, all right. But it isn’t necessarily the whole story.

You can bet Rick Mahorn and Bill Laimbeer liked to bump around a few of their frontcourt opponents. And Isiah Thomas’ sweet smile did indeed mask a ruthless commitment to winning honed on the rugged Chicago streets. Dennis Rodman, John Salley and James “Buddha” Edwards could deliver some well-timed elbows, too. So, the Pistons weren’t at all about finesse and style—unless your idea of “style” happens to be a dirty T-shirt and torn jeans.

It was easy to stereotype the Pistons. It was a good marketing campaign. Good versus evil and all that. But it was a one-dimensional look at a team that captured back-to-back championships, won 63 games in 1988-89, vanquished both Boston and the Lakers—the two franchises that had won the most championships—en route to its first title and ended both the Celtics’ and L.A.’s 1980s runs of prosperity.

“It all fueled us, because we were fighting against the grain,” Thomas says. “The establishment was very comfortable with the Lakers and the Celtics going to the NBA Finals. The writers were comfortable writing that story. They wanted that narrative to go on forever. We came along, and nobody liked our story. We were crashing the party and kicking the door down.

“We were the peoples’ champion, and we liked it.”

Members of the 1989 Detroit Pistons’ NBA Championship team reunited to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the franchise’s first title.

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The Pistons’ history began in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and though it makes sense for a team that plays its games in the Motor City to be identified with an automobile part, the franchise was named by original owner Fred Zollner after the business he started that supplied pistons to Ford, GM and other manufacturers. Although the team was an early power and played in a pair of Finals in the 1950s, it never won a championship and went from 1963-84 (it moved to Detroit in 1957) with just one playoff series win. The franchise began to awaken in the mid-‘80s under Hall of Fame head coach Chuck Daly and GM “Trader” Jack McCloskey and thanks to some shrewd roster-assembling of players like Thomas, Joe Dumars, Rodman, Adrian Dantley, Laimbeer, Mahorn, Salley and Vinnie Johnson, but it remained buried in the Eastern Conference hierarchy behind the Celtics, Sixers, Bucks and Hawks.

However, McCloskey was constantly making deals to upgrade the roster, and the Pistons made progress. They reached the 1987 Eastern Finals, only to lose a crushing, seven-game decision to Boston in a series that included Larry Bird’s historic, lastsecond steal of an inbounds pass that led to a Dennis Johnson layup and a wildly improbable win in Game 5. It was a brutal lesson to learn about the need for 48 minutes of focus in the postseason. “[The Celtics] were very mentally strong,” Laimbeer says. “They had great players and had great mental toughness. They knew how to win. We had to learn that. We learned that through the school of hard knocks.

“Every team has its time.”

The Pistons believed the 1987-88 season was that moment. They won their first division title in 31 years and finally vanquished Boston, four-games-to-two, in the Conference Finals. But the Lakers were on their way to the NBA’s first repeat championship run in nearly 20 years, and the Pistons were not able to prevent history.

It had been a long, painful climb to the 1988-89 season, and Detroit was absolutely ready for its time in the spotlight.

“It was like going up a hill that you couldn’t conquer,” Mahorn says. “We had the

Rick Mahorn

“It was like going up a hill that you couldn’t conquer. We had the right pieces and the right stride. After we got past Boston, it was a relief. Then, we had to go up against another historic franchise. The teams we had to beat had accumulated the most championships. It was an uphill battle, but we finally reached the top.”—Rick Mahorn right pieces and the right stride. After we got past Boston, it was a relief. Then, we had to go up against another historic franchise. The teams we had to beat had accumulated the most championships. It was an uphill battle, but we finally reached the top.”

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NATHANIEL S. BUTLER/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES; JONATHAN DANIEL/GETTY IMAGES

Chuck Daly

When Mark Aguirre played for the Dallas Mavericks, he piled up plenty of points, played in three All-Star Games and feuded often with teammates and coaches. In fact, on February 15, 1989, when the Pistons traded Dantley and a first-round pick to the Mavs for Aguirre, there wasn’t too much sadness in Big D. Dallas forward Sam Perkins was one of the most excited about the deal.

“Yesterday was Valentine’s Day, and today should be an all-day party,” he told reporters.

Meanwhile, Salley, who had come to Detroit as a rookie in 1986, had looked at Dantley as a mentor and was not so delighted with the trade. “I cried that whole day,” he says. “I cried like a baby.”

But the Pistons felt they had a way to make Aguirre a valuable part of their unit, and it began with Thomas, who had grown up in Chicago with the talented forward. The

pair’s friendship would help. But there was more than just a personal bond at work. Despite Aguirre’s reputation, he had substantial offensive skills, and substituting him for Dantley, who was more of a slowdown, low-post player, would open up the Pistons’ attack and allow them to run more after their defensive stops. At the time of the trade, Daly called Aguirre “a major league offensive player” and mentioned that Aguirre was four years younger than Dantley.

“We had to wait in Los Angeles for [Aguirre] to fly in from Dallas, so that we could go to Sacramento,” Salley says. “He got on our jet and then the bus to the hotel, and by the time he got there, he was a Piston. I watched him connect with the guys.”

Those expecting Aguirre to bring a me-first attitude and constant demands for the ball to Detroit had to be surprised by what happened once he joined the Pistons. Instead of being a distraction, Aguirre blended well into the team’s culture. He played five fewer minutes a game, took 6.5 fewer shots per game, improved his shooting percentage and cut way back on his turnovers. Some of the Mavs may have been happy the trade occurred, but the Pistons were delighted with its outcome.

Aguirre’s willingness to step away from a lead role allowed Daly to increase Rodman’s minutes and take advantage of his outstanding defense, rebounding and dynamic approach to the game. The results were two-fold: Detroit became a better defensive team, and it was able to be a more efficient, flexible outfit at the other end, thanks to Aguirre’s passing ability and offensive threats. Detroit was 32-13 before the trade and 31-6 after it.

“It is so underrated and so underappreciated what Mark Aguirre did for the team,” Thomas says. “He arguably sacrificed a Hall of Fame career to win a championship. His individual accolades would have been looked at more now, but back then, it was

1989 Finals MVP Joe Dumars

“It was a total relief. We had been trying for so many years to get there. We had so many heartaches and heartbreak.

The devastating heartbreaks [in ’87 and ‘88] would have crippled most teams. We were able to persevere and get it.”

—Isiah Thomas

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ANDREW D. BERNSTEIN; SCOTT CUNNINGHAM/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

Isiah Thomas

about championships. If he had stayed in Dallas, his numbers would have been better, but he would not have won back-to-back championships.”

The road to that double achievement began with a familiar foe. The Pistons had posted the best record (63-19) in the NBA, and an aging and banged up Celtics team (Larry Bird played just six games and the championship core of Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish and Johnson were all in their 30s) had snuck into the playoffs as the eight seed with a pedestrian 42-40 record. Detroit vanquished their former bullies, sweeping the Celtics in three games (first-round series back then were best-of-five). The Bucks were next, and Detroit dispatched them in another sweep.

That set up a meeting with Chicago, which was ascendant thanks to Michael Jordan, who was gaining worldwide renown and plenty of attention from the Pistons, so much so that they devised “The Jordan Rules” to stop him. The defensive system was focused on two basic tenets. The first was to force Jordan left and then double-team him. “He would take two dribbles and pick the ball up,” Salley says. “He wasn’t good at passing.” The second was to rough him up every time he headed to the basket.

In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Daly explained the second part of the

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“All year long, our depth wore people down. We played physical basketball, pushing and shoving.

That can wear people down. We had the weapons to score, and we didn’t stop for 48 minutes.”—Bill Laimbeer

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doctrine. “The other rule was, any time he went by you, you had to nail him. If he was coming off a screen, nail him. We didn’t want to be dirty—I know some people thought we were—but we had to make contact and be very physical.”

Daly was the perfect coach for this group of players. His sartorial splendor—his $2,000 suits may have even outshone Lakers coach Pat Riley’s much ballyhooed Armani wardrobe—was his style (Daly’s nickname was Daddy Rich). His substance was his ability to manage people. He allowed the Piston players to cultivate their tough image (and certainly fueled it with his “Jordan Rules” decree) and their relentless approach to 48 minutes of basketball.

“He was the best dressed man in the world,” Mahorn says. “He had the perfect demeanor and put the onus on us. He made us accountable. He figured out how Mark Aguirre to tell us something so that we thought it was our idea. He could coach basketball and coach egos.”

In order to rule the East, the Pistons had to get past the Celtics, which they did in ’88. But Jordan and the Bulls were climbing the conference hierarchy, just as Detroit had. Not only did the Pistons recognize the challenge and realize they had to take extreme measures to thwart it, but their fans also understood the Chicago threat and developed a healthy dislike for the Bulls and especially Jordan. That lack of affection only grew when the Bulls took the first game, 94-88, in Detroit. Jordan had 32, the Pistons shot 38.5 percent from the field as a team, and people wondered whether Chicago was going to leapfrog Detroit on the East ladder.

“We were [angry] afterward and probably didn’t play our best game,” Mahorn says. “When you lose the first game, it puts pressure on you to win the next game.

In reality, we knew that team had to beat us three more times. We knew they couldn’t do that. We knew we were the better team.”

Mahorn had been drafted by Washington in the second round of the 1980 Draft and thought he would “be a Bullet for life,” referring to the franchise’s previous nickname. But Washington traded him to Detroit in 1985 for Dan Roundfield, and he and Laimbeer quickly became a formidable frontcourt tandem, providing toughness and a single-minded desire to win.

“Just go win the basketball game,” Laimbeer says. “It didn’t matter who scored.

Rick set screens for scorers, rebounded and played defense.”

People incorrectly stereotyped Laimbeer as a bruiser. Sure, he was tough and unforgiving, particularly in the lane. But he was a stretch five before the term was even in existence, as one of the first deep-shooting big men in the NBA with his barely-off-the-ground slingshot jumper, and played in four All-Star Games in five seasons from 1983-87.

“Bill was the perfect center for today’s game,” Thomas says. “He was heavily criticized back then as a three-point shooting center, a jumpshot center. Our style was unconventional for the NBA. Back then, it was all posting up. Now, it’s pickand-roll. That’s how we played.

“Laimbeer was the best teammate I ever had. He was a great rebounder [he averaged 10-plus boards for six straight seasons] and really, really smart defensively and offensively.

“I’d go to battle with him any day.”

The Pistons won Game 2, but Jordan scored 46 in the third contest and led a furious Chicago comeback that resulted in a 99-97 Bulls victory. People were starting to wonder whether Detroit’s window was closing before they even climbed through. It was a silly question. The Pistons won the next three to return to the Finals, where L.A. was waiting.

The Lakers had swept all three of their playoff series, and it appeared as if Pat Bill Laimbeer Riley’s decision to trademark the term “threepeat” and its other iterations would

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pay off. Detroit was completely unmoved by both L.A.’s postseason success and Riley’s potential windfall. In fact, they thought they should have had the previous year’s title, and remain angry about what they considered a “phantom” foul on Laimbeer in the sixth game of the ’88 Finals, with Detroit leading the series, 3-2.

Even Riley used the term to describe it in a 2014 press conference.

With 0:14 left in that sixth contest, and the Pistons holding a 102-101 lead, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar attempted a sky hook from the right block which hit the rim and bounced out. Although there was slight contact, it wasn’t worthy of a foul call, especially not in the NBA of that time period, when collisions and physical play were de rigueur.

“We got hosed,” Laimbeer says, bluntly. A year later, the Pistons were still angry, but they were also quite certain they would prevail.

Abdul-Jabbar made both free throws, and Dumars missed a last-second shot in a 103-102 Laker win. Two days later, Los Angeles took a 108-105 decision and captured its second straight title.

“We were an extremely confident, dominant basketball team,” Thomas says. “We beat them [both games] during the regular season, and there was no doubt in any our minds we would win the championship. It was just a matter of playing the games.”

It certainly appeared as if the Pistons were dominant in Game 1 at the Palace.

An 11-3 run early in the second half gave them a 66-51 lead. Their largest margin was 97-79 with 6:00 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Lakers, who were already playing without starting guard Byron Scott (hamstring) had several players in foul trouble. Detroit used 24 points from Thomas and 22 from Joe Dumars to cruise to a 109-97 victory.

Of all the Pistons players, Dumars had the lowest profile. Thomas laughs now when asked whether Dumars was underrated. “He’s in the Hall of Fame,” Thomas says. But on a team with so many big personalities and with such a strong collective The Pistons relied on a hard-nosed image, the quiet Dumars was something of an anomaly. But he produced constantly, defensive approach to smother opponents. made big shots and was a sturdy defender.

“Joe was solid,” Salley says. “He was 220 pounds, 6-2. He didn’t turn the ball over.

He didn’t rely on flash. And he guarded Michael [Jordan]. He was quiet. There was never any conflict with him.”

Dumars was especially potent in Game 2, scoring 24 points in the first half. But L.A. still held a 62-56 lead at intermission. Then came the killer for the Lakers. Late in the third quarter, Magic Johnson pulled his hamstring and had to leave the game. Although he tried to go in the third contest, he lasted just five minutes and was finished for the series, and with him, the Lakers. When the Pistons came back to win the second game, 108-105, outscoring the Lakers 24-13 in the fourth quarter, the title was just about theirs.

L.A. may have been crippled by injury, but it defended the Forum turf admirably and even led the third game, 88-86, entering the fourth quarter. But the Lakers lacked the necessary firepower to hold the lead.

Once again, Detroit staged a fourth-quarter comeback and took a 114-110 decision, behind Dumars’ 31 points. The Pistons may not have been more talented than every team they played (although they probably were) but there was never any doubt who held the edge in toughness.

“All year long, our depth wore people down,” Laimbeer says. “We played physical basketball, pushing and shoving. That can wear people down. We had the weapons to score, and we didn’t stop for 48 minutes.”

The fourth game, also in L.A., played out like the two before it. The Lakers held a 35-23 first quarter lead, thanks to a scalding hot 70 percent field goal success and 17 points from James Worthy, who finished with a game-high 40. Los Angeles held a 40-24 lead early in the second quarter, but the Pistons began to fight back, and although they trailed, 78-76, heading into the fourth quarter, they once again owned the final 12 minutes. Finals MVP Dumars led the way with 23 points in a 105-97 triumph that clinched the sweep, ended the Showtime era and brought Detroit to the top of the basketball world—at last.

Laimbeer says the pressure to win the first was huge and that the title was a relief. Mahorn says he didn’t really appreciate what they had done for several years. Thomas looks back on all it took to reach the top.

“It was a total relief,” he says. “We had been trying for so many years to get there. We had so many heartaches and heartbreak. The devastating heartbreaks [in ’87 and ‘88] would have crippled most teams.

We were able to persevere and get it. It was an incredible feeling of relief.

“And joy.”

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eople see the championship celebrations, but few know the origin story of the San Antonio Spurs dynasty.

Fans see the five NBA Championship banners hanging at the AT&T Center from 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014, but they do not realize Gregg Popovich actually began building this championship organization as far back as three decades ago when the current head coach/ president of Spurs basketball was a 40-year-old assistant coach on Larry Brown’s staff following the 1988-89 season.

Back then, under Brown’s direction, Popovich flew from military base to military base to spend time with San Antonio’s 1987 No. 1 NBA Draft pick David Robinson while the center fulfilled his two-year Naval commitment after shaking NBA Commissioner David Stern’s hand.

The Air Force grad (Popovich) and The Admiral (Robinson) would dine together on various road trips, mostly conversing about their shared military bond that was rare in NBA circles, then as it is now.

“Assistant coaches have unique relationships with players, just because they’re non-threatening in a sense,” recalls Robinson. “Head coaches are entirely different beasts, but assistant coaches can build unique relationships with players. I enjoyed Pop a lot in that context. He was a guy I could relate to.”

The 1999 NBA Championship began one of the long-running standards of success in NBA history.

By Michael Bradley

THE FINALS / 2019

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The duo of David Robinson (#50) and Tim Duncan (#21) dominated the paint in the series against an undersized Knicks team that was without injured center Patrick Ewing.

“Tim was a guy that you really had to build your offense around… the guy you post up and go to every single time. He had so many different moves and he was fantastic. I think from that perspective, I did what I needed to do for that team.”

—David Robinson, on ceding the reins to Tim Duncan

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Popovich had a similar relationship with 1989 No. 3 NBA Draft pick Sean Elliott, who earned NBA All-Rookie honors the same season Robinson won 1989-90 NBA Rookie of the Year accolades.

“Even before the season started, Pop and I got tasked with going on a caravan together through South Texas,” says Elliott, recalling the summer before his rookie season. “For nine days, we did Spurs clinics in parking lots at the H-E-Bs [Ed note: H-E-B is a San Antoniobased supermarket chain] and at local gyms, along with autograph signing sessions to drum up interest in the Spurs for people of South Texas.

“Going in, I thought he was the typical hard-ass military guy, but Pop definitely showed he had a softer, more personable side.”

Pop also loved his underdogs, and grew close to undrafted journeyman Avery Johnson, who was in the midst of a vagabond career when he first joined the Spurs in January 1991.

Case in point: When Brown decided to cut Johnson from the Spurs 11 months following his arrival—on teammate Robinson’s wedding day, no less, where Johnson was serving as a groomsman—Pop asked Brown if he could deliver the news himself so that the guard’s release could be done with some humanity.

“One of the things about Pop is,” says Johnson, “when he delivers bad news to you, it’s always with the caveat that there’s some good news around the corner. He basically delivered that bad news face-to-face, man-to-man, but also talked about a plan for me moving forward.

“Afterwards, when we finished talking, the idea was, ‘Go sign a couple 10-day contracts’ and see if I can stick the rest of the year somewhere, which I did.”

Indeed, Popovich was close to all these men, dating back 30-orso years ago, which made things difficult for the Spurs when owner Red McCombs fired Brown halfway through the 1991-92 campaign.

Though several players, including Elliott, endorsed Popovich, McCombs hired college coach Jerry Tarkanian after the season.

Pop would land on his feet, securing a job on Don Nelson’s Golden State Warriors coaching staff for the 1992-93 and 1993-94 seasons.

But Popovich’s Texas ties ran too deep to stay away for too long, and soon, a friend and former Spurs season-ticket holder named Peter Holt came calling with news that he had purchased a significant ownership share in the Spurs.

Holt was able to convince his fellow owners to bring Pop back as the Spurs’ executive vice president.

At the time of Pop’s reunion, before the 1994-95 season, Elliott was in Detroit after being dealt for Dennis Rodman the previous season.

Upon Pop’s return to San Antonio, the new Spurs GM’s first order of business was bring back Elliott, at the cost of the team’s 1994 first-round pick Bill Curley.

Next, Pop signed Johnson to a free-agent contract so that he could make his NBA underdog the new Spurs starting point guard for years to come.

Reunited with his old group once again—his fan-turned-owner (Holt); his friend-turned-exec (R.C. Buford, whom Pop hired as his new head scout); his star (Robinson); his prospect (Elliott); his vet (Johnson)—Pop now had the building blocks necessary to slowly transform San Antonio from a small-market franchise into a dynasty.

The Robinson Spurs would roll out 62- and 59-win seasons, in 1994-95 and 1995-96 with the San Antonio center winning the 1994-95 NBA MVP Award along the way, and Bob Hill serving as head coach during that span.

Unfortunately—or fortunately, depending on your lottery perspective—injuries would take down Robinson for most of the 199697 season and teammate Elliott for half that campaign.

For a long season, the Spurs were now short on starting talent. Pop had already dealt problematic Dennis Rodman to the Chicago Bulls the previous season for backup center Will Perdue, who had since become a Spurs starter in Robinson’s absence. Backed by Holt, who had become

NATHANIEL S. BUTLER/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

Avery Johnson’s big shot in the closing seconds of Game 5 clinched the series and championship.

majority owner in 1996, Pop soon fired Hill after a 3-15 start and named himself head coach while his Spurs would go on to endure their worst season in franchise history, finishing 20-62 in 1996-97.

As fate had it, San Antonio—with the second-best odds of landing the top pick in the 1997 NBA Draft—got lucky in the NBA lottery and leapfrogged Boston (which had a 36.31 percent of getting the first choice) for the No. 1 pick that ultimately led to Tim Duncan.

From there, Robinson, Duncan, Johnson and half of Elliott (he played only 36 games that season due to injury) resuscitated the Spurs back to a 56-26 record in Duncan’s Rookie of the Year campaign.

The team won a playoff series before losing to a Finals-bound Utah Jazz team.

Expectations were high the following year, but an out-of-sync 6-8 start to the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season ignited rumors Pop might be fired any game now.

“I thank God they didn’t have Twitter and social media back then,” Johnson says. “Pop probably would have been fired.”

“We had such a great relationship with Pop…had they fired him, I think we would have protested or walked out or did something.”

But a funny thing happened after that disappointing start to that season, which began in February.

The Spurs started winning … and winning … and doing so in historic fashion.

First, the Spurs closed out the 50-game schedule by winning 31 of 36 games to finish with an NBA-best 37-13 record in the abbreviated season.

Second, the Spurs tore through the playoffs in legendary fashion, beating teams that featured some heavy-hitter bigs, in a time when giants still ruled the League. The Spurs dispatched Kevin Garnett’s Minnesota Timberwolves, 3-1; swept Shaquille O’Neal’s L.A. Lakers, 4-0; and made quick work of Arvydas Sabonis/Rasheed Wallace’s

Portland Trail Blazers, 4-0.

No play better signified the team’s can’t-lose spirit than Elliott’s legendary tippy-toe, game-winning corner three-pointer in the closing seconds of the West Finals Game 2, giving the Spurs a come-frombehind victory on the now-famous “Memorial Day Miracle” shot.

“I think when I hit that shot, I think we all started to believe,” recalls Elliott, who scored 22 points that memorable day. “All the guys on the team and the city started to believe it was our turn.”

After the Spurs swept the Trail Blazers to advance to the franchise’s first NBA Finals—in the process running their postseason streak to 10 straight victories—Elliott privately disclosed to teammate Steve Kerr that doctors had told him in March he needed to undergo kidney surgery.

“No one knew what I was going through because I didn’t want to be viewed differently,” says Elliott. “I still needed Avery to yell at me when he had to yell at me. I needed to get that look from Timmy if I didn’t throw him the right pass or I missed a shot. I didn’t need those guys feeling sorry for me or looking at me differently.”

“For me, I didn’t know if I was going to be able to ever play again.

This could be my last chance to play. I didn’t know if I would be able to come back from a kidney transplant.”

All of this, in turn, set up a marquee matchup in the 1999 NBA Finals between the small-market Spurs and the big-city New York Knicks, who were making their second appearance of the decade.

It was the defining series that would put San Antonio on the basketball map for good.

In Game 1, the Spurs played at home in the Alamodome in front of 39,514 fans, the second-largest Finals crowd ever, only to be topped with Game 2’s attendance (39,554).

The Spurs delivered such devastating defense in the Finals opening game, the Knicks never had a chance.

THE FINALS / 2019

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Sean Elliott

Johnson (#6) passing to Robinson (#50)

“No one knew what I was going through because I didn’t want to be viewed differently. I still needed Avery to yell at me when he had to yell at me. I needed to get that look from Timmy if I didn’t throw him the right pass or I missed a shot. I didn’t need those guys feeling sorry for me or looking at me differently.”—Sean Elliott, on his kidney disease

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“You also have to take into account the Knicks didn’t have Patrick Ewing,” says Robinson. “That’s no small deal. I can’t say it was as fair a fight as it could have been. But at the same time, they did get to the Finals, so they were doing a very good job.”

In Game 2, things only got worse for New York.

The Spurs marched out to an 80-67 victory, in a game that by today’s standards might be a halftime score, but at the time Pop called “the best defensive effort of the season.”

The numbers would also vouch for the Spurs’ defensive greatness, with San Antonio eventually going down in history with the best defense played by an NBA champion when you combine regular season and postseason defensive efficiency metrics (95.7 points allowed per 100 possessions).

The Spurs’ dominance was spotlighted too by the fact they became the first NBA team to win a dozen straight games in a single postseason, a record since eclipsed by the 2017 Golden State Warriors (15 straight playoff wins).

In Game 2, the Spurs’ defensive authority showed in the box score, as the Knicks made only 2-of-14 shots on threes (14 percent), 25-of-68 on twos (37 percent) and took a grand total of 82 field goal attempts to generate a mere 67 points.

To top things off, the Knicks could not net a field goal for a sevenminute stretch late in the fourth quarter, that is until Sprewell made a basket with 1:32 left in the contest.

“There is nothing that makes the game easier for you than knowing you can make stops,” says Robinson. “With Tim and I in the middle, we had two guys who were mobile enough, we could chase anybody around the floor.”

ANDREW D. BERNSTEIN (2)/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

On one end in Game 1, All-NBA First-Team power forward Duncan tortured the Knicks, who were forced to play smaller lineups after losing Hall of Fame center Patrick Ewing to an injury in Game 2 of the East Finals.

The 6-11 Duncan would back down the muscular but undersized 6-6 Larry Johnson and punish the help that came late in the first half for 18 points, and then likewise ignore the swarming defense in the second half to post another 15 en route to his 33-point, 16-rebound performance.

“Tim was a guy that you really had to build your offense around,” says the Robinson, who averaged 16 points per game in 1999, but had been an elite scorer years earlier, averaging a League-leading 30 points per game in 1993-94. There would be no ego getting in the way for the 33-year-old, 10-time All-NBA center, who graciously ceded the low post and spotlight to the 11-years-younger Duncan.

“I think I was the guy who could score, but Tim Duncan is the guy you post up and go to every single time. He had so many different moves and he was fantastic. I think from that perspective, I did what I needed to do for that team.”

On defense, the Spurs’ Twin Towers D featuring Robinson and Duncan and veteran wings—starters Elliott and Mario Elie, along with sixth man Jaren Jackson—slowed the roll of the small-ball Knicks, holding wings Latrell Sprewell and Allan Houston to a combined 38 points on 41 shots, not to mention, nearly shutting them out in the fourth quarter, when they shot a combined 1 for 12.

On the flip side, you could always count on one or two of those before-the-term-was-invented 3-and-D perimeter shooters to heat up each night, with Jackson getting the green light in Game 1, scoring 17 points on 5-of-10 three-point shooting.

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Gregg Popovich in just in his third year as an NBA head coach and in his second postseason.

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Duncan

setting up any random perimeter threat, in this case, Elie, who finished with 18 points on 6-of-9 three-point shooting.

Johnson would finish with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting to go alongside 10 assists, while quarterbacking a balanced starting attack that also saw Robinson (17 rebounds) and Elliott score 14 points apiece as well.

“I’m glad Pop made me go out with my wife,” says Johnson. “We had a great time, which kind of relaxed me and loosened me up a little bit.

And, yeah, fortunately we went on to win the next two games, too.”

In Game 5, the Spurs won with trademark defense.

Duncan scored his customary 31 points en route to winning Finals MVP honors while averaging 27.4 points and 14.0 rebounds with a .599 true shooting percentage for the series.

But the Spurs’ team D really did a number on anyone not named Latrell Sprewell in this series finale, with the non-Spree Knicks scoring only 42 points on 45 shots in the clincher.

However, the Sprewell sideshow took a life of its own in the fourth quarter, with the Knicks wing scoring 14 straight points on a mélange of dunks, pull-ups and three-pointers to keep New York ahead. Good thing for the Spurs they could toss it inside to either Duncan or Robinson time and time again to keep the game in range, which was the case when the Spurs had the ball with less than a minute to go and down by a 77-76 margin.

“It was amazing,” says Johnson, setting up the story of his Finals-winning 18-foot corner shot that came with 47 seconds remaining in Game 5.

“When we’re in that situation, we’re going to call 4 down. We’re going to kick the ball to Tim Duncan on the left side. Everybody is going to get to their spots. For me, I had to make sure I was in my right spot. I wasn’t a three-point shooter. The ball goes in to Tim, the Knicks double-team, and I slide over to the left corner after Tim kicks it out to Sean. The Knicks then got confused in their rotations and basically lost me, and fortunately I get a rhythm shot there when Sean drives and

GLENN JAMES; NATHANIEL S. BUTLER/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

Their offense was good enough, with Duncan again going off, finishing with 25 points, 15 rebounds and 4 blocks en route to the Spurs 2-0 series lead.

Meanwhile, the role players played their roles to the hilt, with subs Jackson, Malik Rose and Kerr called most frequently in the Finals, just as the late Jerome Kersey, Antonio Daniels and Perdue were in previous rounds “When you look back on it, we just had a team of experienced, smart players,” says Johnson, noting members of the 1999 Spurs went on to be involved in NBA ownership (Robinson), coaching (Kerr, Johnson, Elie, Kersey and Jackson), front-office (Rose) and announcing (Elliott, Daniels and Perdue) occupations.

Game 3 gave New York some reprieve as the Knicks found a way to slow Duncan, who labored to 20 points on 16 shots and 12 rebounds in the first game at Madison Square Garden, ultimately won by New York, 89-81.

By disrupting the Spurs’ spacing and passing—creating 20 turnovers—while simultaneously playing good strength-and-position D on Duncan with Marcus Camby, Kurt Thomas and Johnson—New York took a 14-point lead in the first quarter as San Antonio could never get into a proper offensive flow.

With the Spurs uncharacteristically on their heels—having not lost a game in 41 days—the New York wings played like the All-Stars they were to become (Houston) and had already been (Sprewell), with the former pouring in 34 points on drives and pull-ups, while the latter scored 10 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter.

Pop knew Johnson would be a basket case following the Game 3 loss, so he rang his point guard’s hotel room the following afternoon to speak with Johnson’s wife.

“Pop called my room,” Johnson recalls, “and my wife picked up the phone, and Pop was like, ‘What is Avery doing?’ My wife was saying, ‘Oh, you know he’s stressed. We’re not going anywhere. We’re going to stay in this room and watch TV and look at the walls and he’s going to replay the game in his mind a hundred times over.’ Pop told her to give me the phone and he said to me, in the clean version, ‘This is what you’re going to do.’ It was like 2 in the afternoon. He said, ‘You’re going to take your wife out and go shopping and you’re going to go to dinner.

If you come back before 10 p.m., you’re basically not playing in Game 4. So I took my wife out shopping, we went and had dinner and I think I got back to the hotel at 10:01.”

In Game 4, the Spurs’ offense was back running on all cylinders again, with Johnson orchestrating the 96-89 victory, while feeding Duncan his daily diet (28 points and 18 rebounds with 3 blocks) and also

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Elliott, Popovich, Robinson and Duncan

Robinson secured his first championship while Duncan was named the Finals MVP.

“I look back on it and I think, ‘How in the world did we have this 25-year run that we’ve had?’ It’s crazy.

Most teams that built a nice team—you’ve got the Shaq-Kobe team, the LeBron-Wade-Bosh Miami team, today’s Golden State Warriors—those teams seem to last about five years once they win their first championship. So how do you build a franchise that can last?”—Robinson

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says Robinson, of the title win in his 10th NBA season. “I look back on it and I think, ‘How in the world did we have this 25-year run that we’ve had?’ It’s crazy. Most teams that built a nice team—you’ve got the Shaq-Kobe team, the LeBron-Wade-Bosh Miami team, today’s Golden State Warriors—those teams seem to last about five years once they win their first championship. So how do you build a franchise that can last? It really is something in my mind that only God can do that.”

All of this championship frivolity soon faded as the Spurs snapped back to reality when they learned of Elliott’s kidney surgery, which he scheduled after the hoisting the Larry O’Brien Trophy.

“Winning an NBA championship, especially with that group of guys…I didn’t know if that would be my last time on a court,” says Elliott, whose older brother donated one of his kidneys for the surgery.

Elliott said his faith in God grew exponentially during that 1999 NBA season as his brotherly bond with Pop, David, Avery, Steve and all the Spurs grew stronger through all the victories.

“Even after I had my transplant, I had David and Avery and all the guys there,” recalls Elliott. “Those guys saw me in intensive care and they were praying for me when I had tubes coming out of my body everywhere. Those guys are amazing. After that, I had Tim and Malik, the owner and Pop and all those guys came to visit me in the hospital and spend time with me. It was a unique group and it was a different time. It was like a real family.”

Pop’s young men have all grown up now, and they in turn handed the keys to a new generation of Spurs veterans—Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker—who in turn passed the keys to the current generation of Spurs.

It now has become a 20-year tale that never seems to end.

That is the Spurs dynasty origin story, a legend that is still being written.

LOU CAPOZZOLA; GLENN JAMES/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

passes it to me in the left corner.

“When I caught it and shot it, I really felt like it was going in. I had no lack of confidence. That shot was for everybody who invested in me and believed in me—my teammates, coaches, Spurs fans, Spurs ownership, my college coach, my high school coaches, my AAU coaches, my wife, my kids, my mom. That shot was just for everybody.

It really wasn’t about me. It was about a small-market team breaking the mold that you got to be in a major city to win a championship.”

The Knicks had a couple more opportunities, with a last chance to respond to Avery Johnson’s basket by inbounding the ball at halfcourt with 2.1 seconds remaining in the game.

During the timeout huddle before that last play, Elliott says Spurs assistant Mike Budenholzer, now the Milwaukee Bucks’ head coach, correctly predicted the Knicks would run an inbounds play using misdirection to free up Sprewell for a dunk.

“It’s a tricky play that works against your instincts as a player,” says Elliott. “Even though I knew it was coming, I still almost bit on Latrell’s fake screen. Bud called it.”

Charlie Ward lobbed the inbound pass to Sprewell, but he caught it too far under the hoop. Sprewell dribbled baseline, where he was met by both Twin Towers, forcing the Knicks’ swingman to launch a desperation six-footer over the outstretched arms of Duncan and Robinson. The shot only went five feet as the buzzer sounded.

Spurs 78, Knicks 77.

The Spurs are the 1999 NBA champions.

The Spurs win the first title in the franchise’s 33-year history.

The Spurs become the first ABA team to win an NBA title.

The Spurs post a 15-2 postseason record, which at the time was the second-best run in playoff history.

“From a faith perspective, I trusted that God could do anything.,”

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LORE OF THE RINGS

Every NBA Championship ring represents a season of greatness, but each ring tells a unique story of how a team reached its pinnacle.

By Jeramie McPeek

1957-1969 BOSTON CELTICS “The first one is always the hardest and it’s also the most satisfying. Everywhere I went that following summer, I could tell myself, ‘I’m the coach of the world champions.’ And basketball is a world game.”—Red Auerbach on the 1957 NBA Championship

“If we played Boston four on four, without Russell, we probably would have won every series. The guy killed us. He’s the one who prevented us from achieving true greatness.”—Lakers’ “Hot Rod” Hundley on Bill Russell’s 1963 NBA Finals performance

NATHANIEL TKTKKTKTKTKKTKTKTKKTKTKTKKTKTKTKKTKTKTKKTKTKTKKTKTKTKKTKTKTKKTKTKTKKTKTKTKKTKTKTK/NBAE/GETTY S. BUTLER/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES IMAGES

“The first one we got, the owner of the team paid for the rings.

So our owner was borrowing money so he could keep his house from going under. He mortgaged his house, so I can tell you that the rings didn’t have an awful lot of bling to them…

The players were lucky they got them back then.”—Boston’s Tommy Heinsohn

“At the time, the Hawks were the most intense rivalry we had.”—Boston’s Bob Cousy, on the 1960 NBA Finals, the third Finals meeting in four years between the St. Louis Hawks and Boston Celtics

“He was the ultimate team player. Without him there would have been no dynasty, no Celtic mystique.”

—Cousy on Bill Russell during the 1961 Finals

Boston claimed its eighth-straight NBA Championship in 1966, which is still the longest streak in NBA history.

In the April 29, 1962 issue of Sports Illustrated: Russell would become sick upon hitting the locker room after the 1962 NBA Finals, before breaking down into tears. “This one meant more to me than any other. Those Lakers give me the feeling things aren’t going to be the same next year.”

“I was on 11 championship teams and I (only) wear two rings: ‘57, the first championship the Celtics ever won, I wear that ring, and ’69, my last year as a player/coach, I wear that ring. I’m very proud of that.”

—Russell

“If I had a choice of any basketball player in the League, my No.1 choice has to be Bill Russell. Bill Russell never ceases to amaze me.”—Jerry West me.” said after Game 6 of the 1968 NBA Finals

“The thrill never goes from winning. But maybe the reasons change. First, it was just trying to win a title.

Now it is a question of going down as the greatest team of all time. That stimulates you.”—Auerbach on you.” the 1964 NBA Finals

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1997 CHICAGO BULLS After winning a then NBA record 72 games in 1995-96, the Chicago Bulls nearly duplicated the effort coming up three wins shy in 1996-97. But they were not about to come up shy in the NBA Finals, as they looked to win back-to-back NBA Championships.

The Bulls would go on to clinch in Game 6, their fifth of six championships, while Jordan would be named NBA Finals MVP for the fifth of six times in his career.

The Bulls’ 1997 NBA Championship ring featured five trophies on one side and the title “Team of the Decade” on the other.

Game 5, or the “Flu Game,” featured one of the most amazing performances in Finals history. After spending the entire day in bed with what was believed to be food poisoning, Bulls guard Michael Jordan fought through dehydration and exhaustion to play 44 minutes and record 38 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals before collapsing into teammate Scottie Pippen’s arms in the closing seconds of a Chicago win.

“Probably the most difficult thing I’ve ever done. I almost played myself into passing out just to win a basketball game.”—Jordan said about the Flu Game

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NBA PHOTOS/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

“It’s the pinnacle of your career. You work so hard for it and there is nothing that can replace that night and that moment (of receiving your rings), being able to share something that you spent the last eight, nine months with a group of guys, and were finally able to get to the top… Winning an NBA Championship, that’s what the players work day in and day out for. That’s your job. That’s your livelihood. And there is only one team that can be crowned.”—Pippen

1999 SAN ANTONIO SPURS The 1999 NBA season was an unusual one, as a labor dispute resulted in a late start and shortened regular season schedule of just 50 games. The season was also played without Michael Jordan, who announced his second retirement after leading the Bulls to their second threepeat.

Although the San Antonio Spurs had never won a championship, they were the favorites entering the playoffs with a 37-13 record, not to mention the unmatched size and talent up front in the form of veteran center David Robinson and second-year center/forward Tim Duncan.

The Spurs swept the Lakers and Blazers in the semis and conference finals to advance to their first NBA Finals in franchise history, while the Knicks knocked out the Hawks and Pacers to become the first No. 8 seed to reach the championship round.

The 1999 NBA Finals was a defensive series, as neither team scored 100 points in any game.

With the combination of Duncan’s 27.4 ppg and 14.0 rpg, and the Admiral’s 16.6 ppg and 11.8 rpg, the Spurs won the first of their five NBA Championships, defeating the Knicks in five games.

“I know what it felt like when I thought I might retire without a ring and I didn’t like that feeling. But I feel like I crossed the finish line.

We accomplished what we wanted to accomplish and that’s a good feeling.”—David Robinson

NBA PHOTOS/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

With their 11-time All-Star center Patrick Ewing sidelined with a torn Achilles’ tendon and their All-Star forward Larry Johnson hobbled with a knee injury of his own, the Knicks leaned on guard Latrell Sprewell, who scored 26 points and grabbed 6.6 rebounds a game in the Finals.

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2000 LOS ANGELES LAKERS After his team was swept by the Spurs in the 1999 playoffs, Lakers GM Jerry West signed former Bulls head coach Phil Jackson, who brought his famed triangle offense to the “Lake Show.”

Shaq—aka the Big Aristotle—was named the NBA Finals MVP, his first of what would be three-straight such honors to accompany three-straight Lakers championships (2000-02).

The 2000 Lakers championship ring featured the words BLING BLING on the bottom, because Shaq told his teammates during the season that the diamonds on their rings “would go bling bling.”

“I’ve actually never worn a championship ring. As a youngster, my father used to take all of my trophies away. He’d let me look at them for a couple of days, and then put them away. I finally asked him why he did that and he told me, because I didn’t want you to come in and see all of your accolades and be satisfied. So I gave him all of my championship rings and I have knockoffs.”—Shaq, whose rings were size 17

With the NBA’s MVP, 7-1 center Shaquille O’Neal, in the middle and 21-year-old All-Star guard Kobe Bryant on the wing, the Lakers rolled through the West on their way to a 67-15 record. But their path to the NBA Finals was not an easy one. The veteran-laden Portland Trail Blazers pushed the young L.A. team to seven games in the West Finals.

After reaching the Eastern Conference Finals in 1998 and 1999, the Indiana Pacers finally broke through in 2000, led by head coach Larry Bird, the NBA’s Most Improved Player Jalen Rose and veteran All-Stars Reggie Miller and Dale Davis.

2019 / THE FINALS

With Kobe out for Game 3, the Pacers pounced on the opportunity and grabbed a win at the new Conseco Fieldhouse. They had a chance to win Game 4, as well, when Shaq fouled out midway through overtime. But Bryant assured his teammates, “Don’t worry, I got it” and proceeded to score the next six points to give the Lakers the win.

NBA PHOTOS/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

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The Lakers dominated Game 1 at the Staples Center, led

by O’Neal’s 43 points and 19 rebounds, and took Game 2, as well, despite Bryant leaving the game with a sprained ankle and Bird implementing the “Hack-a-Shaq” strategy.

“This is the game I’ve been dreaming about to be honest with you.

I dream about it every day.”—Bryant

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2004 DETROIT PISTONS

After being swept by the New Jersey Nets in the 2003 Eastern Conference Finals, the Pistons hired head coach Larry Brown, who brought a defensive focus to Detroit.

Out West, the Lakers looked to be the favorites to win it all once again. After seeing their streak of three-straight championships come to an end at the hands of the Spurs in 2003, L.A. signed veteran All-Stars Gary Payton and Karl Malone, and defeated the Rockets, Spurs and Timberwolves on its way back to the Finals.

Despite boasting a roster with four future Hall of Famers, the Lakers were stunned in Game 1, as the Pistons’ lockdown defense held everyone not named Shaq or Kobe to a combined 16 points, en route to an 87-75 win.

The Lakers would win Game 2 in overtime, but the Pistons would win three-straight at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Detroit, in the 2-3-2 Finals format, to clinch their first NBA Championship since 1990.

With a physical frontline in Ben Wallace and Rasheed Wallace, and tough-minded backcourt of Richard “Rip” Hamilton and Chauncey Billups, the Pistons won 54 games, including a 13-game streak between December and January, and held their opponents to just 84.3 points a game on the season.

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“It’s a lifetime high whenever I sit back and think about it. I don’t think about one specific moment, I pretty much think about that whole night. That whole day of the parade.

Everything. So it’s a lifetime high.”

—Rasheed Wallace on winning the championship

In addition to championship rings, the Pistons each received a personalized WWE World Heavyweight Championship belt, as a gift from Rasheed Wallace.

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The Pistons and Nets would meet again in the 2004 playoffs, this time going the full seven in the Eastern Conference semis, including a dramatic triple-overtime in Game 5, won by New Jersey. But Detroit would claim the series, holding Nets playmaker Jason Kidd scoreless in the deciding Game 7, and go on to edge out Indiana to advance to the Finals.

Darko Miličić, who was an 18-year-old rookie on the Pistons’ 2004 Championship team, raffled off his ring and title belt to raise money for children with the terminal illness Batten’s disease.

2008 BOSTON CELTICS

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The NBA’s most storied rivalry was renewed during the 2008 NBA Finals, when the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers faced off for the NBA Championship for the first time since 1987.

Although they dominated in the regular season, the Celtics struggled in the playoffs, where they were pushed to seven games in both the opening round vs. Atlanta and the conference semis vs. Cleveland.

After Boston won just 24 games the year before, Celtics GM Danny Ainge pulled two rabbits out of his hat, acquiring All-Star shooting guard Ray Allen from the Seattle SuperSonics and former NBA MVP Kevin Garnett in a 7-for-1 trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Celtics’ trio averaged 60 points, 22.5 rebounds and 11.8 assists combined to lead Boston to a 4-2 series win over the Lakers to win the franchise’s 17th NBA Championship.

Teamed with franchise player Paul Pierce, the Celtics Big 3 led the Celtics to a 42-game turnaround to finish the regular season with 66 wins and the top seed in the playoffs, the only time in the decade that a team from the East would hold homecourt advantage.

This series marked the 11th Finals meeting between the two teams, with the Celtics winning for the ninth time.

The Lakers had gone through some ups and downs in the years since their last trip to the Finals. The franchise traded Shaq to Miami, Phil Jackson retired before later returning and a frustrated Kobe even demanded a trade at one point. But L.A. acquired veteran big man Pau Gasol midway through the 2007-08 season and won 57 games, before dispatching the Nuggets, Jazz and defending champion Spurs to return.

“This is one of my proudest moments, stepping into the arena with a championship ring on my finger.”

—Pierce

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2011 DALLAS MAVERICKS The Miami Heat was the talk of the entire NBA in 2010-11, having lured Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James and Toronto Raptors big man Chris Bosh to South Beach to team up with All-NBA guard Dwyane Wade.

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The Mavs’ championship rings had 31 diamonds around the team’s logo, representing the franchise’s 31 seasons.

Dallas had a solid season of its own, winning 57 games on the shoulders of Dirk Nowitzki (23 ppg, 7 rpg) and a strong supporting cast, including Jason Kidd (8.2 apg) and Tyson Chandler (9.4 rpg). The Mavs surprised the basketball world, however, when they swept the backto-back champion Lakers in the semifinals.

For Dallas head coach Rick Carlisle, it was his second NBA Championship, having won one as a member of the 1986 champion Boston Celtics.

The 2011 NBA Finals was a rematch of the 2006 Finals, which Miami won. But the 2011 series was not a repeat. The Heat won the opening game of the series, led by LeBron’s 24 points and 9 rebounds, but the Mavs won four of the next five games with Nowitzki averaging 26 points and 9.7 boards a night in the series.

“As the clock is running out, your first thought is, ‘This journey, wow!’—It started in October, sitting there in training camp, and you finally crossed the finish line in first. And just looking at each teammate and saying, each guy deserves this ring. There is nobody that doesn’t deserve it, because they all played a part somewhere throughout the season or in the playoffs to help us win it.”—Kidd

TKTKKTKTKTKKTKTKTKKTKTKTKKTKTKTKKTKTKTKKTKTKTKKTKTKTKKTKTKTKKTKTKTKKTKTKTKKTKTKTK/NBAE/GETTY GLENN JAMES/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

Nowitzki became just the second European player ever (Tony Parker, Spurs) to earn NBA Finals MVP honors.

The Heat won 58 games during the regular season, before cruising through the playoffs, beating the Sixers, Celtics and Bulls in five games each.

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2012 MIAMI HEAT LeBron James averaged 27.1 points, 7.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists a game for the Heat in 2011-12, winning his third NBA Most Valuable Player Award. But the 6-8 forward was looking for a different type of trophy, after coming up short in two NBA Finals appearances (2011, 2007).

Out West, the Oklahoma City Thunder entered the playoffs as the No. 2 seed and took down the defending champion Mavs and top-seeded Spurs on its path to the NBA Finals. It was the first trip for the franchise since 1996, when the Seattle SuperSonics lost to Michael Jordan and the Bulls.

Like the Heat, the Thunder had their own talented trio in three-time NBA scoring champion Kevin Durant (28.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg), All-Star guard Russell Westbrook (23.6 ppg, 5.5 apg, 4.6 rpg) and the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year, James Harden (16.8 ppg, 4.1 rpg).

The Thunder won Game 1 of the Finals, getting a combined 63 points from KD and Westbrook, but Miami quickly turned up the Heat and won four straight. Once again, LeBron led the way with 28.6 points, 10.2 boards and 7.4 assists, to claim his first NBA Championship and the NBA Finals MVP Award.

With OKC representing the Western Conference, the 2012 NBA Finals marked the first time in 14 years that no games in the championship series were played in either California or Texas.

The 2012 Finals was the last time the three would play together, as Harden was traded to Houston, where he would grow into one of the top players in the NBA.

Miami’s championship ring was made of 14K white and yellow gold, and featured 219 diamonds.

“To actually see the ring, something I’ve always dreamed about, it was awesome. It was awesome.

I probably won’t wear it much, but I think tonight I probably will. I’ll wear it around my friends and family, so they can see it.”—James ISSAC BALDIZON/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

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2016 CLEVELAND CAVALIERS King James made two more trips to the NBA Finals with the Heat, winning his second championship in 2013, before deciding to return home to Cleveland before the 2014-15 season, having grown up in nearby Akron, Ohio. With LeBron back in The Land, the Cavs returned to the Finals in 2015, but fell to the Golden State Warriors in six games. But they would be back.

The Cavs hit a bump in the road midway through their 2015-16 season, firing head coach David Batt and replacing him with assistant Tyronn Lue, but finished the season with 57 wins and the top seed in the Eastern Conference.

Cleveland cruised through the playoffs, sweeping both the Pistons and Hawks, before facing its first challenge in the Toronto Raptors, who extended the Conference Finals to six games.

Led by the first unanimous Most Valuable Player in NBA history, Stephen Curry (30.1 ppg), All-Star guards Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, and NBA Coach of the Year Steve Kerr, the Warriors went on to set an NBA record for wins in a season with 73.

The defending-champion Warriors started the season on fire, winning their first 24 games, not only the best start in the history of the NBA, but the best in any major professional sport in the U.S.

“I’m nothing without this city. I’m nothing without you all.”

—James

James became the first player in the history of the NBA Playoffs to lead all players in a series in points (29.7), rebounds (11.3), assists (8.9), steals (2.6) and blocks (2.3), and the Cavs became the first to ever overcome a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals.

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The 2016 NBA Championship rings included a line of seven gemstones, three white diamonds for the Warriors’ wins and four “wine” colored garnets representing the Cavs’ comeback, which gave the city of Cleveland its first professional sports championship in more than 50 years (Cleveland Browns, NFL, 1964).

TKTKKTKTKTKKTKTKTKKTKTKTKKTKTKTKKTKTKTKKTKTKTKKTKTKTKKTKTKTKKTKTKTKKTKTKTKKTKTKTK/NBAE/GETTY NATHANIEL S. BUTLER/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

Golden State looked like a lock to win back-to-back NBA Championships, especially after winning three of the first four games in the NBA Finals. But the Cavs were not going to collapse under the pressure. James and guard Kyrie Irving each scored 41 points in a Game 5 win on the road, shifting momentum heading back to Cleveland.

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2018-19 REWIND Calling 2018-19 a breakout season for Giannis Antetokounmpo would be an understatement. The 6-11 position-less player dubbed the Greek Freak spread his wings fully this year, putting up one of the most all-around stat lines in historyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;per-game averages of 27.7 points, 12.5 boards, 5.9 dimes, 1.5 blocks and 1.3 steals.

He was also the leading All-Star votegetter in the East and a favorite to take home the 2019 NBA MVP.

JESSE D. GARRABRANT/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

THE FINALS / 2019

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Rewind 2018-19

LeBron James has on many occasions credited Michael Jordan as being his basketball idol while growing up, so when he passed Jordan for fourth on the all-time scoring list on March 6, LeBron needed a moment to reflect on his accomplishment.

ANDREW D. BERNSTEIN/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

It only looks like Boston’s Al Horford was an adult playing basketball against a group of kindergarteners, but the result of the ill-fated shot attempt was the same.

STEVE BABINEAU/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

On March 25, Phoenix’s Devin Booker dropped 59 points against the Utah Jazz. For most, that sum would be a career high, but for the 23-year-old star, it was 11 points shy of his highwater mark of 70, which he notched last season.

MELISSA MAJCHRZAK/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

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You can take a guess at why Miami’s Derrick Jones Jr. is nicknamed “Airplane Mode.”

OSCAR BALDIZON/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

On February 27 against the defending champs, Miami found itself down two points. Dwyane Wade had his game-winning 3-point attempt blocked with 1.4 seconds left, but he managed to get it back with 0.5 seconds. With one foot inside the three-point line, Wade wisely picked up one foot and shot a desperation trey on one leg, flipping the hashtag from #OneLastDance to #OneLastSecond for the night.

ISSAC BALDIZON (5); OSCAR BALDIZON/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

After a frigid 5-of-36 three-point shooting slump to start the season, Klay Thompson was fire in the eighth game of the season. He typically doesn’t don one, but “Headband” Klay (he wore a headband to help cover a small cut suffered during the game) was hot, setting an NBA record for 3-pointers made in a game with 14 (breaking teammate Stephen Curry’s record of 13), finishing the October 29 game with 52 points in just 26 minutes.

JEFF HAYNES/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

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Rewind 2018-19

It was a meaningless two points at the end of an already-decided All-Star Game, but being the entertainer he is, Stephen Curry decided to showcase his rarely-discussed dunking acumen, bouncing an alley-oop to himself for the reverse jam.

GARY DINEEN/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

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Rewind 2018-19

On April 1, L.A. native Russell Westbrook paid homage to one of his fellow Angelenos, the late rapper Nipsey Hussle, with a memorable night. Wearing one of Hussle’s Crenshaw T-shirts before the game, Westbrook finished the game with 20 points, 21 assists and 20 rebounds, becoming just the second player to ever notch a 20/20/20 triple-double. After the achievement, Westbrook declared, “That’s for Nipsey!”

ZACH BEEKER/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

There have been 295 players who have scored at least 11,154 points, but only Lou Williams can lay claim to doing it off the bench. On March 12, Williams tore off his warmups midway through the game as he’s done 922 times throughout his 14-year career and provided his team with buckets off the bench, scoring 34 points and in the process, passing Dell Curry as the most prolific reserve scorer of all time.

BRIAN BABINEAU/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

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Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons’ jump shot might be a work in progress, but the first-time All-Star has no hesitation when it comes to taking the ball all the way to the rack.

JESSE D. GARRABRANT/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

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Rewind 2018-19

This is an unofficial stat, but based on photos, Sacramento’s De’Aaron Fox leads the League in breakaway opportunities. Much of it is thanks to his quick hands (his social media handles are @swipathefox) that lead to backcourt thefts, but it’s also because he’s one of the fastest players.

ROCKY WIDNER/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

The Wall in Game of Thrones—spoiler alert—fell some time ago, but the Raptors (Night’s Watch?) of The North are staying true to the oath of maintaining the wall against those who dare to scale it.

NED DISHMAN/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

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Oklahoma City’s Hamidou Diallo packed all kinds of tributes into this dunk at the AT&T Slam Dunk. First he leaped over 7-2 Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal, banged it home with a Vince Carter-like elbow dunk, then “unbuttoned” his jersey for the Superman reveal that pays homage to Shaq and Dwight Howard. The spectacular dunk was easily the best of the contest, earning him a perfect 50 en route to the 2019 Slam Dunk trophy.

JESSE D. GARRABRANT/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

The April 9 night started out belonging to Dirk Nowitzki, who before the game, announced that he was retiring at the end of the season before his final home game. By the end of the night, it would be fellow up-in-years veteran Jamal Crawford who would upstage Nowitzki, becoming the oldest player (39) to ever top 50 points in game with 51.

NATHANIEL S. BUTLER/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

THE FINALS / 2019

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Rewind 2018-19

After a few seasons of making his way back from injuries to his previous form, Minnesota’s Derrick Rose was overcome by emotion after a career-high 50-point outing on October 31.

DAVID SHERMAN/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

Basketball is a game of give and take. Detroit’s Andre Drummond understands this fully.

SAM FORENCICH; MARK SOBHANI/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

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Rewind 2018-19

The rudest high-five is the one that looks to dap your shot away from the rim. No one in 2018-19 was better at that than Indiana’s Myles Turner, who swatted away 199 shots.

ROCKY WIDNER/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

One of the most improved players this year, D’Angelo Russell was named an All-Star for the first time and notched a career-high 44 points against the Sacramento Kings on March 19 to help Brooklyn complete a 28-point comeback.

ROCKY WIDNER/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

The Splash Brothers might get headlines for their shooting prowess, but the Oklahoma City duo of Russell Westbrook and Paul George deserve a nickname—Thunder Bros seem too obvious—for their dunking ability.

NATHANIEL S. BUTLER; JOE MURPHY/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

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Rewind 2018-19

The #OneLastDance retirement tour began at the start of the season and the actual last dance for Dwyane Wade took place in Brooklyn.

He was joined by family, friends, celebrities—and the Banana Boat Crew—for his final NBA game. Wade was serenaded by the Brooklyn crowd, who witnessed him go out with a 25-point, 11-rebound and 10-assist triple-double, before getting his last on-court postgame shower from teammates.

ISSAC BALDIZON (2); NATHANIEL S. BUTLER/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

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Rewind 2018-19

No. 21 is the greatest player in Spurs history, but without No. 20, the Spurs’—and Tim Duncan’s—lore might be different. Which is why the franchise honored the four-time NBA Champion and lifetime Spur Manu Ginobili with the jersey immortalization on March 29.

MARK SOBHANI; ANDREW D. BERNSTEIN/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

Triple-doubles might be pretty commonplace in today’s game, but the double triple-double, where two teammates cop one, is still rare.

LeBron James and Lonzo Ball pulled off the elusive dub-trip-dub on December 15, becoming just the eighth teammate duo to pull it off, as LeBron notched 24 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists while Ball collected 16 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

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Rewind 2018-19

The Rockets are not gun-shy when it comes to hoisting 3-pointers. In a season where they set the record with 26 triples against the Wizards and tied the same record versus the Kings, Houston tripled down on things, breaking its own record with 27 3-pointers against the Phoenix Suns. Eric Gordon led the way with 8 treys as the team took 57 long-range attempts.

BILL BAPTIST/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

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It started with a 50-point eruption and ended with the bare minimum of 30, but from December 13 through February 21, James Harden had a streak of 32 games where he scored at least 30 points each game. All told, this was the secondlongest such streak (behind Wilt Chamberlain’s 65-game run) and totaled 1,316 points (almost half of Harden’s 2,818 points for the regular season). During the streak, Harden dropped at least 30 on 23 teams (he would become the first player to score at least 30 against every team in the NBA); there would be a 61-point game, three 50-plus point games and 14 games of 40-plus points (including a streak-within-a-streak of five 40-or-more games). For the entire season, Harden scored at least 30 points 58 times.

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THE FINALS / 2019

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Rewind 2018-19

Dirk Nowitzki has passed many luminaries in his career to finish with 31,560 points. The last person he passed for No. 6 on the all-time scoring list was none other than Wilt Chamberlain on March 18. As expected, it came on a sweet jumper at the top of the key and afterward, Dirk said of the achievement: “The ‘Big Dipper,’ huh? It’s amazing.”

TOM PENNINGTON/GETTY IMAGES

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Rewind 2018-19

It was fitting—poetic really—that Vince Carter’s 25,000th point came by way of a dunk. On November 22, Carter became part of the exclusive 22-person 25K club and one can argue that few did it with more aerial style than he did it.

SCOTT CUNNINGHAM/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

With backcourt mate John Wall absent with injuries most of the year, Bradley Beal became the lone driving force for the Washington Wizards. Beal delivered, playing in all 82 contests while putting up career per-game highs in points (25.6), assists (5.5) and rebounds (5.0), as he was named an All-Star for the second time.

ETHAN STOLER/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

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Rewind 2018-19

Known for splashing threes, Stephen Curry isn’t afraid of diving out of bounds to save a loose ball.

NOAH GRAHAM/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

With the fruits of his labor (two NBA Championships) in the backdrop, Chris Bosh’s No. 1 jersey was honored and raised above the American Airlines Arena on March 26.

ISSAC BALDIZON/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

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Rewind 2018-19

They say aerial objects travel faster and higher in the mile-high altitude of Denver. We’re no physicists, but visual evidence—just ask Houston’s Austin Rivers—in the form of the Denver Nuggets’ Malik Beasley seems to support this claim.

BART YOUNG/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

A picture might be worth a thousand words, but sometimes it doesn’t tell the right tale. After a midseason trade to New York, Dennis Smith Jr. wasted little time trying to make an impression on his new team—and San Antonio’s Davis Bertans—with a dunk. Bertans would deny the highlight, but it was a win-win as Smith still left the Garden crowd abuzz with the anticipation of his potential.

NATHANIEL S. BUTLER/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

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Rewind 2018-19

They say point guard is one of the toughest positions in the NBA for first-year players, but Atlanta’s Trae Young proved he was more ready than most rookies, averaging 19.1 points per game while being second in the League with 653 assists.

MELISSA MAJCHRZAK/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

Despited being outnumbered, Los Angeles Clippers’ Montrezl Harrell finds a way to snatch the rebound.

ANDREW D. BERNSTEIN/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

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Zero plus zero equals two, at least in this case.

Unfortunately for Los Angeles’ Kyle Kuzma, Golden State’s DeMarcus Cousins showed he was fully recovered from a devastating Achilles injury that had sidelined him for almost a year.

GARRETT ELLWOOD/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

Rewind 2018-19

Phoenix’s Josh Jackson opts for the literal definition of splitting the defense.

GARRETT ELLWOOD/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

LeBron James might be the King, but Brooklyn Nets’ Jarrett Allen will defend the throne in his castle.

JESSE D. GARRABRANT/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

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TM & © 2019 Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. A WarnerMedia Company. All Rights Reserved. © 2019 NBA Entertainment. All Rights Reserved. Photo: Getty Images.

Rewind 2018-19

Oklahoma City’s Patrick Patterson gets some experienced help putting together holiday care packages with residents of the Concordia Life Care Community.

ZACH BEEKER/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

The Wizards’ John Wall did not let an Achilles tendon injury stop him from taking part in the Special Olympics at Dunbar High School in Washington D.C. STEPHEN GOSLING/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

Point guards know how to hand out assists, which makes New Orleans’ duo Jrue Holiday and Elfrid Payton—the pair averaged 15.3 dimes per game—very qualified to play Santa’s helpers during a holiday party for the Boys & Girls Club of Southeast Louisiana.

LAYNE MURDOCH JR./NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

Milwaukee Bucks’ first-year player Donte DiVincenzo serves dinner to war veterans at the Zablocki VA Medical Center in Milwaukee.

GARY DINEEN/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

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James Harden led the League in scoring, but overshadowed were his 586 assists (fifth in 2018-19). Few were more impactful than his annual Thanksgiving dinner for Houston families at Christa McAuliffe Middle School.

BILL BAPTIST/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

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Rewind 2018-19

It’s the house that Michael Jordan built, but LeBron James treated the United Center crowd to some aerial artistry that they’re all too familiar with.

NATHANIEL S. BUTLER/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

It was a test of determination—L.A.’s Kyle Kuzma was craving the dunk and Memphis’ Bruno Caboclo was hellbent on denying that outcome.

JESSE D. GARRABRANT/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

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Rewind 2018-19

Named an All-Star for the third straight year, Kemba Walker spent the season as a buzz saw to opposing defenses on his way to a career-best 25.6 points per game.

KENT SMITH/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

Los Angeles Lakers’ Kyle Kuzma was certainly a rising star, pacing Team USA to a 161-144 win vs. Team World in the Rising Stars Challenge, earning the game MVP honors.

NATHANIEL S. BUTLER/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

Is Utah’s Donovan Mitchell shooting the ball or lobbing it up to fast-charging teammate Rudy Gobert? It’s the basketball equivalent of the #WhatColorIsThisDress.

ZACH BEEKER/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

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Rewind 2018-19

Missing most of last season and re-emerging in Toronto, Kawhi Leonard was a good match for the team. The Raptor used his claws to perfection and was once again in the discussion of best two-way player in the League.

BARRY GOSSAGE/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

Teammates of Nikola Jokić—in this case, Mason Plumlee—know to always be aware of an incoming pass. No matter the angle, distance, situation, number of defenders, you can’t rule out a fling-, bounce-, drop-pass delivered with precision from the creative Jokić, who was named an All-Star for the first time this season.

BART YOUNG/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

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Rewind 2018-19

It wasn’t enough for Jusuf Nurkić to unlock the ultra-rare 5x5, the statistical anomaly of accumulating 5 or more stats in at least 5 categories (it’s so elusive that only 17 have been notched over the past 35 years). On January 1, he became the first player to ever achieve the 5x5 with a 20-20. All told, Nurkić’s very busy night consisted of 24 points, 23 rebounds, 7 dimes, 5 steals and 5 blocks.

ROCKY WIDNER/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

Klay Thompson is known for getting hot at a moment’s notice— exhibit A is 37-point eruption in a single quarter in 2015 and exhibit B is his record-setting 14 3-pointers this season—so it wasn’t too off-script for Thompson to hit his first 10 3-point shots on January 22. He finally did miss his 11th attempt, and and said afterward, “I thought I had 11 for a second, but that’s basketball.”

Well, maybe for you, Thompson, not the rest of us.

ADAM PANTOZZI/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

When the ball left Orlando’s Evan Fournier’s fingertips, the score was knotted at 100 against Cleveland, but 0.4 seconds later, the Magic walked off with a 102-100 victory on November 5.

FERNANDO MEDINA/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

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Rewind 2018-19

The Golden State Warriors will be moving to their new home, Chase Center, next season, so Klay Thompson spends a few quiet moments in the stands taking in the memories he’s made in Oracle Arena, the only home court he’s known in his eight NBA seasons.

NOSH GRAHAM/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

The block from behind might be the rudest of all rejections. One minute you’re on your way to the rim, possibly thinking about how the highlight will play out on social media—until out of nowhere, a hand materializes to snatch away the glory, turning the likes into crying emojis. At least this is what we think when we look at this photo of Blake Griffin snatching a dunk away from Orlando’s Nikola Vučević.

BRIAN SEVALD/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

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2019 / THE FINALS

After Giannis Antetokounmpo gathers himself after a swooping dunk, he takes a moment to swing like a pendulum.

GREGORY SHAMUS/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

Not sure if Anthony Davis is much of a pinball player, but but he went full tilt on this opponentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shot attempt.

LAYNE MURDOCH JR./NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

THE FINALS / 2019

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Rewind 2018-19

There are many similarities between a basketball and football player. As Chicago’s Zach LaVine demonstrates, it’s imperative to protect the ball when finding a sliver of space in the defense to exploit.

BROCK WILLIAMS-SMITH/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

After giving up his well-being to save a ball from going out of bounds, Cleveland’s Matthew Dellavedova is contemplating the amount of postgame ice it’ll require to numb the oncoming ache and pain.

DAVID LIAM KYLE/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

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Kevin Durant made good on being the first overall pick in the All-Star draft by winning the All-Star MVP, the second of his career. Durant paved the way for Team LeBron’s victory with 31 points.

ANDREW D. BERNSTEIN/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

Trae Young

Summer League 2018

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Award Winners

2018-19 NBA MONTHLY AND WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS

Giannis Antetokounmpo

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Award Winners

October / NOVEMBER

KIA NBA PLAYERS OF THE MONTH Eastern Conference Giannis Antetokounmpo Milwaukee Bucks Western Conference Tobias Harris Los Angeles Clippers KIA NBA ROOKIES OF THE MONTH Eastern Conference Trae Young Atlanta Hawks Western Conference Luka Dončić Dallas Mavericks

Luka Dončić

DECEMBER

Oct. 29—Nov. 4 Eastern Conference Victor Oladipo Indiana Pacers Western Conference Russell Westbrook Oklahoma City Thunder

Nov. 12—Nov. 18 Eastern Conference Nikola Vučević Orlando Magic Western Conference Anthony Davis New Orleans Pelicans

Nov. 5—Nov. 11 Eastern Conference Pascal Siakam Toronto Raptors Western Conference C.J. McCollum Portland Trail Blazers

Nov. 19—Nov. 25 Eastern Conference Giannis Antetokounmpo Milwaukee Bucks Western Conference Tobias Harris Los Angeles Clipperss

COACHES OF THE MONTH Eastern Conference Nate McMillan Indiana Pacers Western Conference Mike D’Antoni Houston Rockets

Dec. 3—Dec. 9 Eastern Conference Bradley Beal Washington Wizards Western Conference Stephen Curry Golden State Warriors

Dec. 17—Dec. 23 Eastern Conference Giannis Antetokounmpo Milwaukee Bucks Western Conference Paul George Oklahoma City Thunder

NBA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK Nov. 26—Dec. 2 Eastern Conference Kawhi Leonard Toronto Raptors Western Conference Paul Millsap Denver Nuggets

Dec. 10—Dec. 16 Eastern Conference Thaddeus Young Indiana Pacers Western Conference James Harden Houston Rockets

Dec. 24—Dec. 30 Eastern Conference Giannis Antetokounmpo Milwaukee Bucks Western Conference James Harden Houston Rockets

COACHES OF THE MONTH Eastern Conference Mike Budenholzer Milwaukee Bucks Western Conference Steve Kerr Golden State Warriors

Jan. 7—Jan. 13 Eastern Conference Kawhi Leonard Toronto Raptors Western Conference Donovan Mitchell Utah Jazz

Jan. 21—Jan. 27 Eastern Conference Giannis Antetokounmpo Milwaukee Bucks Western Conference Paul George Oklahoma City Thunder

NBA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK Dec. 31—Jan. 6 Eastern Conference Joel Embiid Philadelphia 76ers Western Conference Nikola Jokić Denver Nuggets

Jan. 14—Jan. 20 Eastern Conference D’Angelo Russell Brooklyn Nets Western Conference James Harden Houston Rockets

NBA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK Oct. 16—Oct. 21 Eastern Conference Kemba Walker Charlotte Hornets Western Conference Nikola Jokić Denver Nuggets Oct. 22—Oct. 28 Eastern Conference Giannis Antetokounmpo Milwaukee Bucks Western Conference Stephen Curry Golden State Warriors

COACHES OF THE MONTH Eastern Conference Nick Nurse Toronto Raptors Western Conference Doc Rivers Los Angeles Clippers

KIA NBA PLAYERS OF THE MONTH Eastern Conference Giannis Antetokounmpo Milwaukee Bucks Western Conference James Harden Houston Rockets KIA NBA ROOKIES OF THE MONTH Eastern Conference Kevin Knox New York Knicks Western Conference Luka Dončić Dallas Mavericks

Nate McMillan

JANUARY

KIA NBA ROOKIES OF THE MONTH Eastern Conference Trae Young Atlanta Hawks Western Conference Luka Dončić Dallas Mavericks D’Angelo Russell

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GLENN JAMES; DAVID LIAM KYLE; BRIAN BABINEAU/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

KIA NBA PLAYERS OF THE MONTH Eastern Conference Joel Embiid Philadelphia 76ers Western Conference James Harden Houston Rockets

february

KIA NBA PLAYERS OF THE MONTH Eastern Conference Giannis Antetokounmpo Milwaukee Bucks Western Conference Paul George Oklahoma City Thunder

KIA NBA ROOKIES OF THE MONTH Eastern Conference Trae Young Atlanta Hawks Western Conference Luka Dončić Dallas Mavericks

COACHES OF THE MONTH Eastern Conference Mike Budenholzer Milwaukee Bucks Western Conference Terry Stotts Portland Trail Blazers

NBA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK Jan. 28—Feb. 3 Eastern Conference Giannis Antetokounmpo Milwaukee Bucks Western Conference Nikola Jokić Denver Nuggets Feb. 4—Feb. 10 Eastern Conference Bojan Bogdanović Indiana Pacers Western Conference Paul George Oklahoma City Thunder

Nikola Jokić

march/APRIL

KIA NBA PLAYERS OF THE MONTH Eastern Conference Giannis Antetokounmpo Milwaukee Bucks Western Conference James Harden Houston Rockets KIA NBA ROOKIES OF THE MONTH Eastern Conference Trae Young Atlanta Hawks Western Conference Luka Dončić Dallas Mavericks

COACHES OF THE MONTH Eastern Conference Steve Clifford Orlando Magic Western Conference Terry Stotts Portland Trail Blazers

Mar. 4—Mar. 10 Eastern Conference Andre Drummond Detroit Pistons Western Conference Mike Conley Jr. Memphis Grizzlies

Mar. 18—Mar. 24 Eastern Conference Trae Young Atlanta Hawks Western Conference James Harden Houston Rockets

NBA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK Feb. 25—Mar. 3 Eastern Conference Ben Simmons Philadelphia 76ers Western Conference Donovan Mitchell Utah Jazz

Mar. 11—Mar. 17 Eastern Conference Bradley Beal Washington Wizards Western Conference Rudy Gobert Utah Jazz

Mar. 25—Mar. 31 Eastern Conference Andre Drummond Detroit Pistons Western Conference Damian Lillard Portland Trail Blazers Apr. 1—Apr. 7 Eastern Conference Kemba Walker Charlotte Hornets Western Conference Russell Westbrook Oklahoma City Thunder

MELISSA MAJCHRZAK; STEPHEN GOSLING; GARRETT ELLWOOD; GARY DINEEN; CHRIS SCHWEGLERNBAE/GETTY IMAGES

Bradley Beal

Joel Embiid

Mike Budenholzer

Kemba Walker THE FINALS / 2019

149

Her Time to Play provides girls with equal opportunities to play basketball and learn life skills.

The NBA and WNBA are dedicated to improving access to sports among girls ages 7-14, and through Her Time To Play, will provide hundreds of youth organizations with resources to foster fun and safe environments to teach girls life skills and the fundamentals of the game.

HER TIME TO PLAY

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GIVE YOUR SKIN THE

FULL COURT PRESS

®

NBA G League

PLAYOFF PAYOFF

By Jon Cooper

NBA G Leaguers take the valuable playoff experience gleaned in the minor leagues to the grander NBA stage.

The Long Island Nets’ Theo Pinson faced off against Rio Grande Valley Vipers’ Isaiah Hartenstein in the NBA G League Finals before before both players took their talents to the NBA Playoffs.

T

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CHRISTIAN INOFERIO/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

he Finals is a time when players shine, sometimes in ways you don’t necessarily expect.

In the 2019 NBA G League Finals, Rio Grande Valley’s Isaiah Hartenstein, on assignment from the Houston Rockets, was not expected to be a three-point threat by the Long Island Nets so they backed off him at the three-point line, doubledaring him to take the shot.

Hartenstein, the former second-round pick of the Rockets in 2017 (No. 43 overall), made the Nets pay. The 7-0, 249-pound center, a .274 shooter from deep during the year, went 8-for-9 from three, then hit two more in Game 3, scoring 33 and 30 in the two games, as the Vipers took both games and the series, helping the franchise to its third NBA G League championship.

“I felt a little disrespected,” said the 20-year-old Hartenstein, who would be named MVP of the Finals after averaging 28 points and 16 rebounds as he recorded a double-double in all five Vipers’ playoff games. “I was actually surprised how they defended me in that situation. I just did a good job of using what they gave me. I wasn’t really surprised or shocked at how I played. It’s why I have an NBA contract.”

Vipers head coach Joseph Blair wasn’t surprised either, not even after Hartenstein shot 3-for-10 in the Game 1 loss.

“I told him to stay positive in your shot,’” said Blair, in his second stint with the Vipers and first as the head coach. “I think he took it as a little disrespect the way they guarded him at the three-point line in the first game. He came out and did what he did. You definitely have to respect him as a three-point shooting threat.”

Blair similarly believed in his entire team—including two-guard Michael Frazier (“He was a rock, for us”), 5-11 super-sub Jordan Johnson (“He was the x-factor that really changed things in the Finals”), power forward Dakarai Tucker and point guard Gary Payton II. Rio Grande Valley won the Western Conference with a 34-16 record, earning the tiebreaker over the Santa Cruz Warriors and Oklahoma City Blue, who both also finished with 34-16 records. The Vipers went on to defeat the Memphis Hustle, 135-118, in the first round and then the Warriors, 144-125, in the Western Conference Finals.

“The ability for us to be so cohesive is what took us over the top,” said Blair. “Everyone was really supportive of one another, was happy

to see each other’s success. I know that sounds like it’s something that should be normal, but when you’re in a league when everybody’s trying to move up, you’re not always that fortunate.”

The Eastern Conference regular season champion Nets (34-16) got a dramatic, buzzer-beating three in overtime by two-way point guard Theo Pinson, to beat the Lakeland Magic, 108-106, in the Eastern Conference Finals, then surprised the Vipers in Game 1, roaring out to a 19-point lead after one quarter before winning 117-107. Small forward Dzanan Musa, on assignment from the Brooklyn Nets, and power forward Thomas Wimbush had a team- and game-high 23 points apiece in the opener.

“It was cool,” said the 6-6, 218-pound Pinson, Long Island’s scoring leader and an undrafted free agent despite being part of two North Carolina Final Four teams, including the 2017 National Champion. He caught the Nets’ attention during 2018 Summer League. “We came out and hit them in the mouth early. We played really well. Everyone was contributing. Everyone was making shots, everyone was playing defense at a high level.”

The Vipers went home to brand new Bert Ogden Arena, where they were 18-7, on a mission.

“We had a brand new arena. We had a great year at home. We have great crowd support,” said Blair. “You don’t want to have someone celebrating a championship on your home court.”

Hartenstein made sure it wouldn’t happen, going for 33 and 13.

His three with 3:13 left in the second quarter snapped a 52-52 tie and sparked a 12-4 run to close the half. The Vipers never trailed again, winning 127-116. Pinson had 32 points and 11 rebounds for Long Island.

In the deciding Game 3 back on Long Island, the Vipers led wire to wire, racing out to a 38-24 advantage after one, opening up a 75-47 bulge by halftime, and cruising to a 129-112 win. Hartenstein went for 30 and 18, while Frazier and Tucker each chipped in 24 for RGV, which shot 49 percent. The Vipers limited the Nets to 39 percent accuracy.

“Up until that last game, they had shot the ball from long much higher than their normal percentage,” said Blair, whose team hit the most three-pointers and was second in three-point field goal percentage. “You know it’s going to even out at some point. In that last game it happened to even out for them. They didn’t shoot the ball nearly as well as they had in the first couple of games and we got back up to our regular percentage shooting the ball.”

Both the thrill of the victory and MVP award for Hartenstein and the rush of being in the NBA G League Finals for Pinson were short lived, as they’d both move on to their respective NBA benches for the NBA Playoffs.

Pinson, who played in 18 games with Brooklyn, joined the Nets in Philadelphia for the first round of the NBA playoffs just in time to see the 111-102 Game 1 upset. He’d play in three games.

“The playoff intensity was incredible,” said Pinson. “That was something I went through literally all year. It was a little tougher this time because it was the last game, but you know that you have to get in the car and get to the next city or next arena and get ready to play.”

Hartenstein, who played in 28 games for Houston, joined the Rockets and played in two games against Utah in their first round series, then traveled to San Francisco where he got scout team duty, playing the role of Golden State centers Andrew Bogut and Kevon Looney.

“It’s been fun to help the guys get ready, be a part of the team,” he said. “I’ve been around the team the whole season so it’s not like it’s anything new for me. First playoffs makes it a little bit different, seeing how the guys prepare. It’s another thing to help me for the future.”

It’s a winwin-win-win.

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By Jeramie McPeek

ZEKE-ING OUT NBA Digital

Isiah Thomas has translated his winning ways on the basketball court to the broadcast booth.

Isiah Thomas is flanked by Steve Smith (left) and Dennis Scott (right).

I

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standpoint, which has made it very effective for me being able to communicate.”

Thomas credits former NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol for first suggesting a broadcast career and pairing him with veteran play-by-play man Bob Costas at the courtside table.

Thomas joined the Turner Sports and NBA TV family in 2012 and has served in a variety of roles ever since, doing color commentary, studio analysis and contributing to the network’s Players Only program.

That versatility gives him the ability to play multiple positions for the broadcast team during the NBA Finals, where he’s looking forward to working with his new Bad Boys of broadcasting.

“The great thing about us at TNT and NBA TV, we have an extensive and talented roster of Hall of Famers and champions,” he says, “from Grant Hill to Shaq to [Charles] Barkley to Kenny (Smith), myself, and Chris Webber. So I think they can wake up any night and say ‘You two, you three are covering the game,’ and they will get great knowledge.”

No matter what his role might be on any given night during the 2019 NBA Finals, Thomas admits that he will likely experience a few flashbacks to his Detroit days and, in particular, that first NBA Championship he won three decades ago, as he watches today’s stars compete on the game’s grandest stage.

“You always have those good memories and I’m glad that I can still recall them and feel good about them,” he says with that trademark Thomas smile. “You do try to compare what you were doing and what we were feeling to what they are doing and they are feeling now.

“You know, every time I see a team win a championship, whether it be basketball or football or another sport, I tear up. Because I know what that feeling is like.”

GARY DINEEN/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

siah Thomas never considered he might have a bright future in the broadcast booth or television studio after his playing career was over. In fact, broadcasting wasn’t something he ever even thought about doing.

“When I was playing, I was thinking about trying to win a championship,” says the NBA TV and Turner Sports analyst today. “And outside of the sport I was really focused on becoming an entrepreneur and being involved in business. Those were my two passions.”

A gifted playmaker and floor general on and off the court, Thomas found great success pursuing those passions. The 12-time NBA All-Star led the Detroit Pistons to back-to-back NBA Championships, the first coming in the 1989 NBA Finals when the “Bad Boys” took down the reigning champion L.A. Lakers.

Since retiring in 1994, his business portfolio has included a variety of ventures, from waste removal and recycling companies, to real estate, private jets, a popcorn brand and, most recently, Isiah Imports from Cheurlin Champagne. Cheers!

But having tasted bubbly for the first time when it was poured over his head in that Pistons’ locker room 30 years ago this month, Thomas has since realized that all of his experiences and Hall of Fame accomplishments in the NBA have made him a star broadcaster, as well.

“They say the purest form of education is immersion,” says the 58-year-old, who has more than 20 NBA seasons on his résumé, first as a player, then head coach and front-office executive.

“Being able to tell to the viewer what a player is experiencing at a particular time or particular moment, and also having the benefit of observation, being able to give the viewer both levels I think has truly helped me. I can speak to what a player is thinking and feeling, or where the coach is coming from, from a strategy

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Leaders And Results

INDIVIDUAL, SERIES 4-GAME SERIES

5-GAME SERIES

6-GAME SERIES

7-GAME SERIES

Most points 145 Shaquille O’Neal, L.A. Lakers 2002 131 Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston 1995

178 169

Allen Iverson, Philadelphia 2001 Jerry West, L.A. Lakers 1965 + Kevin Durant, Golden State 2017

246 245

Michael Jordan, Chicago 1993 Rick Barry, San Francisco 1967

284 265

Elgin Baylor, L.A. Lakers 1962 Jerry West, L.A. Lakers 1969

240 237

Wilt Chamberlain, L.A. Lakers 1973 Allen Iverson, Philadelphia 2001

292 291

Bill Russell, Boston 1968 John Havlicek, Boston 1968

345 338

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Milwaukee 1974 Bill Russell, Boston 1962

Highest field-goal percentage (minimum 4 made per game) .800 JaVale McGee, Golden State 2018 .702 Bill Russell, Boston 1965 .739 Derrek Dickey, Golden State 1975 .653 John Paxson, Chicago 1991

.667 .611

Bob Gross, Portland 1977 Shaquille O’Neal, L.A. Lakers 2000

.638 .636

James Worthy, L.A. Lakers 1984 Tristan Thompson, Cleveland 2016

Most field goals 56 Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston 1995

66

101

Michael Jordan, Chicago 1993

101

Elgin Baylor, L.A. Lakers 1962

50

63

Allen Iverson, Philadelphia 2001 + LeBron James, Cleveland 2017 Michael Jordan, Chicago 1991 + Shaquille O’Neal, L.A. Lakers 2001

96

Shaquille O’Neal, L.A. Lakers 2000

97

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Milwaukee 1974

Stephen Curry, Golden State 2017 Kevin Durant, Golden State 2017 + J.R. Smith, Cleveland 2017

25 22

Stephen Curry, Golden State 2015 Ray Allen, Boston 2008

32 27

Stephen Curry, Golden State 2016 Danny Green, San Antonio 2013

1.000

James Posey, Boston 2008

.960

Ray Allen, Boston 2010

.978

Reggie Miller, Indiana 2000 + Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas 2011

.959

Bill Sharman, Boston 1957

Most minutes played 187 Robert Horry, Houston 1995 186 Bob Cousy, Boston, 1959 + Bill Russell, Boston 1959

Shaquille O’Neal, L.A. Lakers 2002

Most three-point field goals made 22 Stephen Curry, Golden State 2018 12 Klay Thompson, Golden State 2018

19 18

Highest free-throw percentage (minimum 2 made per game) 1.000 Dennis Scott, Orlando 1995 1.000 Bill Laimbeer, Detroit 1990 + Stephen Curry, Golden State 2018 + Vlade Divac, L.A. Lakers 1991 .963 Kevin Durant, Golden State 2018 .957 Jim McMillian, L.A. Lakers 1972 Most free throws made 45 Shaquille O’Neal, L.A. Lakers 2002 34 Phil Chenier, Washington 1975

51 48

Jerry West, L.A. Lakers 1965 Bob Pettit, St. Louis 1961

75 67

Dwyane Wade, Miami 2006 George Mikan, Minneapolis 1950

82 75

Elgin Baylor, L.A. Lakers 1962 Jerry West, L.A. Lakers 1970

Most rebounds 118 Bill Russell, Boston 1959 76 Wes Unseld, Baltimore 1971

144 138

Bill Russell, Boston 1961 Wilt Chamberlain, San Francisco 1964

171 160

Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia 1967 Nate Thurmond, San Francisco 1967

189 175

Bill Russell, Boston 1962 Wilt Chamberlain, L.A. Lakers 1969

Most offensive rebounds 27 Moses Malone, Philadelphia 1983 19 Horace Grant, Orlando 1995

31 21

Shaquille O’Neal, L.A. Lakers 2001 Elvin Hayes, Washington 1979

46 41

Moses Malone, Houston 1981 Dennis Rodman, Chicago 1996

35 33

Pau Gasol, L.A. Lakers 2010 Elvin Hayes, Washington 1978 + Marvin Webster, Seattle 1978 + Tim Duncan, San Antonio 2005

Most defensive rebounds 53 Wes Unseld, Washington 1975 45 Moses Malone, Philadelphia 1983

62 58

Jack Sikma, Seattle 1979 Dwight Howard, Orlando 2009

91 79

Bill Walton, Portland 1977 Tim Duncan, San Antonio 2003

72 66

Larry Bird, Boston 1984 Tim Duncan, San Antonio 2005

Most assists 51 Bob Cousy, Boston 1959 50 Magic Johnson, L.A. Lakers 1983

62 57

Magic Johnson, L.A. Lakers 1991 Michael Jordan, Chicago 1991

84 78

Magic Johnson, L.A. Lakers 1985 Magic Johnson, L.A. Lakers 1987

95 91

Magic Johnson, L.A. Lakers 1984 Magic Johnson, L.A. Lakers 1988

Most steals 14 Rick Barry, Golden State 1975

14

Michael Jordan, Chicago 1991

16

20

Isiah Thomas, Detroit 1988

12

13

Charlie Ward, New York 1999

15

Julius Erving, Philadelphia 1977 + Magic Johnson, L.A. Lakers 1980 + Larry Bird, Boston 1986 + Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers 2008 Maurice Cheeks, Philadelphia 1980 + Magic Johnson, L.A. Lakers 1982 + Byron Scott, L.A. Lakers 1985 + Danny Ainge, Boston 1986

17

Derek Harper, New York 1994

17

Shaquille O’Neal, L.A. Lakers 2001

32

Tim Duncan, San Antonio 2003

30

Patrick Ewing, New York 1994

16

Jack Sikma, Seattle 1979

23

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, L.A. Lakers 1980

27

Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston 1994

Robert Horry, Houston 1995

Most blocked shots 11 Elvin Hayes, Washington 1975 + George Johnson, Golden State 1975 + Julius Erving, Philadelphia 1983 + John Salley, Detroit 1989 + Shaquille O’Neal, L.A. Lakers 2002

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Leaders And Results

TEAM, SERIES 4-GAME SERIES

5-GAME SERIES

6-GAME SERIES

7-GAME SERIES

Most points 487 Boston vs. Minneapolis 1959 456 Houston vs. Orlando 1995

617 608

Boston vs. L.A. Lakers 1965 Golden State vs. Cleveland 2017

747 707

Philadelphia vs. San Francisco 1967 San Francisco vs. Philadelphia 1967

827 824

Boston vs. L.A. Lakers 1966 Boston vs. L.A. Lakers 1962

Fewest points 322 Cleveland vs. San Antonio 2007 346 San Antonio vs. Cleveland 2007

399 409

New York vs. San Antonio 1999 L.A. Lakers vs. Detroit 2004

481 492

Utah vs. Chicago 1998 New Jersey vs. San Antonio 2003

594 603

San Antonio vs. Detroit 2005 Houston vs. New York 1994

Most field goals 188 Boston vs. Minneapolis 1959

243

Boston vs. L.A. Lakers 1965

287

332

New York vs. L.A. Lakers 1970

180

238

Boston vs. St. Louis 1961

280

Philadelphia vs. San Francisco 1967 + San Francisco vs. Philadelphia 1967 L.A. Lakers vs. Boston 1987

327

L.A. Lakers vs. Boston 1984

Most three-point field goals made 41 Orlando vs. Houston 1995 37 Houston vs. Orlando 1995

71 66

Golden State vs. Cleveland 2017 Cleveland vs. Golden State 2017

67 52

Golden State vs. Cleveland 2015 Boston vs. L.A. Lakers 2008

94 64

Golden State vs. Cleveland 2016 Miami vs. San Antonio 2013

Highest free-throw percentage .855 Golden State vs. Cleveland 2018 .785 L.A. Lakers vs. Philadelphia 1983

.826 .824

Chicago vs. L.A. Lakers 1991 Miami vs. Oklahoma City 2012

.852 .851

Indiana vs. L.A. Lakers 2000 Seattle vs. Chicago 1996

.827 .805

Boston vs. L.A. Lakers 1966 L.A. Lakers vs. Boston 1962

Most rebounds 295 Boston vs. Minneapolis 1959 268 Minneapolis vs. Boston 1959

369 316

Boston vs. St. Louis 1961 Boston vs. L.A. Lakers 1965

435 425

San Francisco vs. Philadelphia 1967 Philadelphia vs. San Francisco 1967

487 448

Boston vs. St. Louis 1957 Boston vs. St. Louis 1960

82

Washington vs. Seattle 1979

112

Houston vs. Boston 1981

131

Boston vs. L.A. Lakers 1984

72

Detroit vs. Portland 1990 + Detroit vs. L.A. Lakers 2004

111

Houston vs. Boston 1986

127

Seattle vs. Washington 1978

Most defensive rebounds 143 Golden State vs. Washington 1975 136 Orlando vs. Houston 1995

162 161

Seattle vs. Washington 1979 San Antonio vs. New York 1999

240 228

Boston vs. Phoenix 1976 Portland vs. Philadelphia 1977

225 223

Cleveland vs. Golden State 2016 Seattle vs. Washington 1978

Most assists 114 Boston vs. Minneapolis 1959 110 Orlando vs. Houston 1995

147 139

Golden State vs. Cleveland 2017 Chicago vs. L.A. Lakers 1991

192 188

L.A. Lakers vs. Boston 1985 L.A. Lakers vs. Philadelphia 1982

198 192

L.A. Lakers vs. Boston 1984 New York vs. L.A. Lakers 1970

Most steals 55 Golden State vs. Washington 1975

49

Chicago vs. L.A. Lakers 1991

71

Philadelphia vs. Portland 1977

65

45

41

L.A. Lakers vs. Philadelphia 2001

64

Portland vs. Philadelphia 1977 + L.A. Lakers vs. Philadelphia 1982

63

Boston vs. L.A. Lakers 1984 + Cleveland vs. Golden State 2016 Detroit vs. San Antonio 2005

44

L.A. Lakers vs. Philadelphia 2001

60

Philadelphia vs. L..A. Lakers 1980

53

Detroit vs. San Antonio 2005

39

Seattle vs. Washington 1979

59

San Antonio vs. New Jersey 2003

49

Seattle vs. Washington 1978

Minneapolis vs. Boston 1959

Most offensive rebounds 72 Golden State vs. Washington 1975 + Philadelphia vs. L.A. Lakers 1983

Washington vs. Golden State 1975

Most blocked shots 32 Golden State vs. Washington 1975 + Philadelphia vs. L.A. Lakers 1983 29 L.A. Lakers vs. Philadelphia 1983

158

2019 / THE FINALS

MINUTES Most minutes 62 Kevin Johnson, Phoenix vs. Chicago, June 13, 1993 (3 OT) 61 Garfield Heard, Phoenix vs. Boston, June 4, 1976 (3 OT) 60 Jo Jo White, Boston vs. Phoenix, June 4, 1976 (3 OT) Most minutes per game, one championship series 49.3 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Milwaukee vs. Boston, 1974 (345/7) 48.7 Bill Russell, Boston vs. L.A. Lakers, 1968 (292/6) 48.5 John Havlicek, Boston vs. L.A. Lakers, 1968 (291/6) SCORING Most points 61 Elgin Baylor, L.A. Lakers vs. Boston, April 14, 1962 55 Rick Barry, San Francisco vs. Philadelphia, April 18, 1967 + Michael Jordan, Chicago vs. Phoenix, June 16, 1993 53 Jerry West, L.A. Lakers vs. Boston, April 23, 1969 Highest scoring average, one championship series 41.0 Michael Jordan, Chicago vs. Phoenix, 1993 (246/6) 40.8 Rick Barry, San Francisco vs. Philadelphia, 1967 (245/6) 40.6 Elgin Baylor, L.A. Lakers vs. Boston, 1962 (284/7) Most points, rookie 42 Magic Johnson, L.A. Lakers vs. Philadelphia, May 16, 1980 37 Joe Fulks, Philadelphia vs. Chicago, April 16, 1947 + Tom Heinsohn, Boston vs. St. Louis, April 13, 1957 (2 OT) 34 Joe Fulks, Philadelphia vs. Chicago, April 22, 1947 + Elgin Baylor, Minneapolis vs. Boston, April 4, 1959 FIELD GOALS Highest field-goal percentage, game (minimum 8 made) 1.000 Scott Wedman, Boston vs. L.A. Lakers, May 27, 1985 (11/11) + John Paxson, Chicago vs. L.A. Lakers, June 5, 1991 (8/8) .917 Bill Bradley, New York vs. L.A. Lakers, April 26, 1972 (11/12) + James Worthy, L.A. Lakers vs. Boston, May 31, 1984 (11/12) (OT) Most field goals, game 22 Elgin Baylor, L.A. Lakers vs. Boston, April 14, 1962 + Rick Barry, San Francisco vs. Philadelphia, April 18, 1967 21 Jerry West, L.A. Lakers vs. Boston, April 23, 1969 + Michael Jordan, Chicago vs. Phoenix, June 16, 1993 + Shaquille O’Neal, L.A. Lakers vs. Indiana, June 7, 2000 THREE-POINT FIELD GOALS Most three-point field goals 9 Stephen Curry, Golden State vs. Cleveland, June 3, 2018 8 Ray Allen, Boston vs. L.A. Lakers, June 6, 2010 Most three-point field goal attempts 17 Stephen Curry, Golden State vs. Cleveland, June 3, 2018 15 Stephen Curry, Golden State vs. Cleveland, June 7, 2015 (OT) + Stephen Curry, Golden State vs. Cleveland, June 10, 2016 Most three-point field-goal attempts, one half 10 John Starks, New York vs. Houston, June 22, 1994 + J.R. Smith, Cleveland vs. Golden State, June 16, 2015 FREE THROWS Most free throws made, none missed 15 Terry Porter, Portland vs. Detroit, June 7, 1990 (OT) 14 Magic Johnson, L.A. Lakers vs. Philadelphia, May 16, 1980 + Stephen Curry, Golden State vs. Cleveland, June 4, 2017 Most free throws made 21 Dwyane Wade, Miami vs. Dallas, June 18, 2006 (OT) 19 Bob Pettit, St. Louis vs. Boston, April 9, 1958 Most free throws made, one half 13 Shaquille O’Neal, L.A. Lakers vs. Indiana, June 9, 2000

Leaders And Results

INDIVIDUAL, GAME Most free throws made, one quarter 10 Paul Pierce, Boston vs. L.A. Lakers, June 15, 2008 + Stephen Curry, Golden State vs. Cleveland, June 4, 2017 9 Frank Ramsey, Boston vs. Minneapolis, April 4, 1959 + Michael Jordan, Chicago vs. Utah, June 11, 1997 + Shaquille O’Neal, L.A. Lakers vs. Indiana, June 9, 2000 + Austin Croshere, Indiana vs. L.A. Lakers, June 16, 2000 + Allen Iverson, Philadelphia vs. L.A. Lakers, June 10, 2001 Most free-throw attempts 39 Shaquille O’Neal, L.A. Lakers vs. Indiana, June 9, 2000 25 Dwyane Wade, Miami vs. Dallas, June 16, 2006 (OT) Most free-throw attempts, one half 22 Shaquille O’Neal, L.A. Lakers vs. Indiana, June 9, 2000 Most free-throw attempts, one quarter 16 Shaquille O’Neal, L.A. Lakers vs. New Jersey, June 5, 2002 16 Shaquille O’Neal, L.A. Lakers vs. Indiana, June 9, 2000 REBOUNDS Most rebounds 40 Bill Russell, Boston vs. St. Louis, March 29, 1960 + Bill Russell, Boston vs. L.A. Lakers, April 18, 1962 (OT) 38 Bill Russell, Boston vs. St. Louis, April 11, 1961 + Bill Russell, Boston vs. L.A. Lakers, April 16, 1963 + Wilt Chamberlain, San Francisco vs. Boston, April 24, 1964 + Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia vs. San Francisco, April 16, 1967 ASSISTS Most assists 21 Magic Johnson, L.A. Lakers vs. Boston, June 3, 1984 20 Magic Johnson, L.A. Lakers vs. Boston, June 4, 1987 + Magic Johnson, L.A. Lakers vs. Chicago, June 12, 1991 Highest average, assists per game, one championship series 14.0 Magic Johnson, L.A. Lakers vs. Boston, 1985 (84/6) 13.6 Magic Johnson, L.A. Lakers vs. Boston, 1984 (95/7) 13.0 Magic Johnson, L.A. Lakers vs. Boston, 1987 (78/6) + Magic Johnson, L.A. Lakers vs. Detroit, 1988 (91/7) STEALS Most steals, game 7 Robert Horry, Houston vs. Orlando, June 9, 1995 6 John Havlicek, Boston vs. Milwaukee, May 3, 1974 + Steve Mix, Philadelphia vs. Portland, May 22, 1977 + Maurice Cheeks, Philadelphia vs. L.A. Lakers, May 7, 1980 + Isiah Thomas, Detroit vs. L.A. Lakers, June 19, 1988 + Rajon Rondo, Boston vs. L.A. Lakers, June 17, 2008 +Dwyane Wade, Miami vs. San Antonio, June 13, 2013 + Kevin Love, Cleveland vs. Golden State, June 12, 2017 BLOCKED SHOTS Most blocked shots 9 Dwight Howard, Orlando vs. L.A. Lakers, June 11, 2009 (OT) 8 Bill Walton, Portland vs. Philadelphia, June 5, 1977 + Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston vs. Boston, June 5, 1986 + Patrick Ewing, New York vs. Houston, June 17, 1994 + Shaquille O’Neal, L.A. Lakers vs. Philadelphia, June 8, 2001 + Tim Duncan, San Antonio vs. New Jersey, June 15, 2003 TURNOVERS Most turnovers 10 Magic Johnson, L.A. Lakers vs. Philadelphia, May 14, 1980 9 Magic Johnson, L.A. Lakers vs. Philadelphia, May 31, 1983 Most minutes played, no turnovers 59 Dan Majerle, Phoenix vs. Chicago, June 13, 1993 (3 OT) 50 Wes Unseld, Washington vs. Seattle, May 29, 1979 (OT) 48 Rodney McCray, Houston vs. Boston, June 5, 1986

THE FINALS / 2019

159

Leaders And Results

THE FINALS RESULTS YEAR DATES

WINNING TEAM (COACH)

LOSING TEAM (COACH)

GAMES MVP

YEAR DATES

WINNING TEAM (COACH)

LOSING TEAM (COACH)

GAMES MVP

2018

Golden State (Kerr)

Cleveland (Lue)

4-0

1981

Boston (Fitch)

Houston (Harris)

4-2

May 31 - June 8

Kevin Durant, Golden State

Cedric Maxwell, Boston

2017

June 1 - June 12 Golden State (Kerr)

Cleveland (Lue)

4-1

Kevin Durant, Golden State

1980

May 4 - May 16

L.A. Lakers (Westhead)

Philadelphia (Cunningham) 4-2

Magic Johnson, L.A. Lakers

2016

June 2 - June 19 Cleveland (Lue)

Golden State (Kerr)

4-3

LeBron James, Cleveland

1979

May 20 - June 1

Seattle (Wilkens)

Washington (Motta)

4-1

Dennis Johnson, Seattle

2015

June 4 - June 16 Golden State (Kerr) Cleveland (Blatt)

4-2

Andre Iguodala, Golden State

1978

May 21 - June 7

Washington (Motta)

Seattle (Wilkens)

4-3

Wes Unseld, Washington

2014

June 5 - June 15 San Antonio (Popovich) Miami (Spoelstra)

4-1

Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio

1977

May 22 - June 5

Portland (Ramsay)

Philadelphia (Shue)

4-2

Bill Walton, Portland

Boston (Heinsohn)

2013

June 6 - June 20 Miami (Spoelstra)

San Antonio (Popovich)

4-3

LeBron James, Miami

1976

May 23 - June 6

Phoenix (MacLeod)

4-2

Jo Jo White, Boston

2012

June 12 - June 21 Miami (Spoelstra)

Oklahoma City (Brooks)

4-1

LeBron James, Miami

1975

May 18 - May 25 Golden State (Attles)

Washington (Jones)

4-0

Rick Barry, Golden State

2011

May 31 - June 12 Dallas (Carlisle)

Miami (Spoelstra)

4-2

Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas

1974

April 28 - May 12 Boston (Heinsohn)

Milwaukee (Costello)

4-3

John Havlicek, Boston

2010

June 3 - June 17 L.A. Lakers (Jackson)

Boston (Rivers)

4-3

Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers

1973

May 1 - May 10

New York (Holzman)

L.A. Lakers (Sharman)

4-1

Willis Reed, New York

L.A. Lakers (Sharman) New York (Holzman)

2009

June 4 - June 14 L.A. Lakers (Jackson)

Orlando (S. Van Gundy)

4-1

Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers

1972

April 26 - May 7

2008

June 5 - June 17 Boston (Rivers)

Los Angeles (Jackson)

4-2

Paul Pierce, Boston

1971

April 21 - April 30 Milwaukee (Costello)

2007

June 7 - June 14 San Antonio (Popovich)

Cleveland (M. Brown)

4-0

Tony Parker, San Antonio

1970

April 24 - May 8

2006

June 8 - June 20 Miami (Riley)

Dallas (Johnson)

4-2

Dwyane Wade, Miami

1969

2005

June 9 - June 23 San Antonio (Popovich)

Detroit (L. Brown)

4-3

Tim Duncan, San Antonio

2004

June 6 - June 15 Detroit (L. Brown)

L.A. Lakers (Jackson)

4-1

Chauncey Billups, Detroit

2003

June 4 - June 15 San Antonio (Popovich) New Jersey (Scott)

4-2

2002

June 6 - June 12 L.A. Lakers (Jackson)

4-0

New Jersey (Scott)

4-1

Wilt Chamberlain, L.A. Lakers

Baltimore (Shue)

4-0

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Milwaukee

New York (Holzman)

L.A. Lakers (Mullaney)

4-3

Willis Reed, New York

April 23 - May 5

Boston (Russell)

L.A. Lakers (van Breda Kolff) 4-3

Jerry West, L.A. Lakers

1968

April 21 - May 2

Boston (Russell)

L.A. Lakers (van Breda Kolff) 4-2

*

1967

April 14 - April 24 Philadelphia (Hannum) San Francisco (Sharman)

4-2

*

Tim Duncan, San Antonio

1966

April 17 - April 28 Boston (Auerbach)

L.A. Lakers (Schaus)

4-3

*

Shaquille O’Neal, L.A. Lakers

1965

April 18 - April 25 Boston (Auerbach)

L.A. Lakers (Schaus)

4-1

*

2001

June 6 - June 15 L.A. Lakers (Jackson)

Philadelphia (L. Brown)

4-1

Shaquille O’Neal, L.A. Lakers

1964

April 18 - April 26 Boston (Auerbach)

San Francisco (Hannum)

4-1

*

2000

June 7 - June 19 L.A. Lakers (Jackson)

Indiana (Bird)

4-2

Shaquille O’Neal, L.A. Lakers

1963

April 14 - April 24 Boston (Auerbach)

L.A. Lakers (Schaus)

4-2

*

1999

June 16 - June 25 San Antonio (Popovich) New York (J. Van Gundy)

4-1

Tim Duncan, San Antonio

1962

April 7 - April 18 Boston (Auerbach)

L.A. Lakers (Schaus)

4-3

*

1998

June 3 - June 14 Chicago (Jackson)

4-2

Michael Jordan, Chicago

1961

April 2 - April 11 Boston (Auerbach)

St. Louis (Seymour)

4-1

*

Utah (Sloan)

1997

June 1 - June 13 Chicago (Jackson)

Utah (Sloan)

4-2

Michael Jordan, Chicago

1960

March 27 - April 9 Boston (Auerbach)

St. Louis (Macauley)

4-3

*

1996

June 5 - June 16 Chicago (Jackson)

Seattle (Karl)

4-2

Michael Jordan, Chicago

1959

April 4 - April 9

Boston (Auerbach)

Minneapolis (Kundla)

4-0

*

1995

June 7 - June 14 Houston (Tomjanovich)

Orlando (Hill)

4-0

Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston

1958

St. Louis (Hannum)

Boston (Auerbach)

4-2

*

1994

June 8 - June 22 Houston (Tomjanovich)

New York (Riley)

4-3

Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston

March 29 April 12

1993

June 9 - June 20 Chicago (Jackson)

Phoenix (Westphal)

4-2

Michael Jordan, Chicago

1957

March 30 April 13

Boston (Auerbach)

St. Louis (Hannum)

4-3

*

1992

June 3 - June 14 Chicago (Jackson)

Portland (Adelman)

4-2

Michael Jordan, Chicago

1956

March 31 - April 7 Philadelphia (Senesky) Ft. Wayne (Eckman)

4-1

*

1991

June 2 - June 12 Chicago (Jackson)

L.A. Lakers (Dunleavy)

4-1

Michael Jordan, Chicago

1955

4-3

*

June 5 - June 14 Detroit (Daly)

Portland (Adelman)

4-1

Isiah Thomas, Detroit

March 31 April 10

Syracuse (Cervi)

1990 1989

June 6 - June 13 Detroit (Daly)

L.A. Lakers (Riley)

4-0

Joe Dumars, Detroit

1954

Minneapolis (Kundla) Syracuse (Cervi)

4-3

*

1988

June 7 - June 21 L.A. Lakers (Riley)

Detroit (Daly)

4-3

James Worthy, L.A. Lakers

March 31 April 12

1987

June 2 - June 14 L.A. Lakers (Riley)

Boston (Jones)

4-2

Magic Johnson, L.A. Lakers

1953

April 4 - April 10 Minneapolis (Kundla) New York (Lapchick)

4-1

*

1986

May 26 - June 8

Boston (Jones)

Houston (Fitch)

4-2

Larry Bird, Boston

1952

April 12 - April 25 Minneapolis (Kundla)

New York (Lapchick)

4-3

*

1985

May 27 - June 9

L.A. Lakers (Riley)

Boston (Jones)

4-2

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, L.A. Lakers

1951

April 7 - April 21 Rochester (Harrison)

New York (Lapchick)

4-3

*

1984

May 27 - June 12 Boston (Jones)

L.A. Lakers (Riley)

4-3

Larry Bird, Boston

1983

May 22 - May 31 Philadelphia (Cunningham)

L.A. Lakers (Riley)

4-0

Moses Malone, Philadelphia

1982

May 27 - June 8

Philadelphia (Cunningham) 4-2

Magic Johnson, L.A. Lakers

L.A. Lakers (Riley)

Teams with best record (or tied for best record) during regular season in italics. * Finals MVP not named before 1969.

160

May 5 - May 14

2019 / THE FINALS

Ft. Wayne (Eckman)

1950

April 8 - April 23 Minneapolis (Kundla)

Syracuse (Cervi)

4-2

*

1949

April 4 - April 13 Minneapolis (Kundla)

Washington (Auerbach)

4-2

*

1948

April 10 - April 21 Baltimore (Jeannette)

Philadelphia (Gottlieb)

4-2

*

1947

April 16 - April 22 Philadelphia (Gottlieb)

Chicago (Olsen)

4-1

*

The MVP behind the scenes.

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