SWISH 8 by HOOPSWORLD

SWISH Letter from the Editor MAGAZINE MAY 2007 Volume 3 Issue 2 PUBLISHER & EDITOR IN CHIEF Steve Kyler skyler@swishmagazine.com EXECUTIVE EDITORS Bill Ingram bingram@swishmagazine.com Jason Fleming jfleming@swishmagazine.com Andy Regal aregal@swishmagazine.com EDITORIAL STAFF Bill Ingram, Jason Fleming, Joel Brigham, Andy Regal CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Steve Kyler, Jessica Camerato, Kealin Culbreath, Wendell Maxey, Jr., Travis Heath, Bill Ingram, Jason Fleming, Eric Pincus, Joel Brigham, Nikola Olic, Tracy Graven, Greg White DESIGN & LAYOUT Impact Graphic Design production@swishmagazine.com PHOTOS Mike Queen, Steve Kyler (Basketball News Services) Cover Photo Glenn James (Getty Images/NBAE) D. Clarke Evans (Getty Images/ NBAE) Some Photos Courtesy of the Houston Rockets and Phoenix Suns PROMOTION AND MARKETING Steve Kyler skyler@swishmagazine.com ADVERTISING & SALES adsales@swishmagazine.com 866.430.3640 CIRCULATION & SUBSCRIPTIONS Subscriber Relations subscribers@swishmagazine.com SWISH Magazine c\o Basketball News 12157 W. Linebaugh Ave Suite 329, Tampa FL 33626

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It’s All About the Post-Season… The 2007 NBA Playoffs are now underway, and with that in mind we wanted to focus this issue of SWISH Magazine on those players and situations powering the run to the 2007 NBA Championship. I know we have being saying this in virtually every issue, but this is one of our best issues yet. We hope you agree with us. Whether it was meeting a great product like vitaminwater (a product I drink almost exclusively) or getting inside the mind of Ben Gordon and Jason Terry, this issue features some of the most in-depth insider stories we have ever published and we really think you’ll enjoy the journey. Injuries have been rampant this season, and we take a detailed look at the teams whose fortunes were changed by the injury bug. We also salute one of the game’s best executives in Houston’s Carroll Dawson, who is retiring this summer after an impressive and almost unprecedented 27-year run with the Houston Rockets. This issue of SWISH also marks an interesting milestone for us as a writing team. Last October we merged Basketball News Services with our new parent company – Fantasy Sports Ventures. Since October, FSV has grown to encompass and represent more than 30 major websites across a number of notable digital content publishers and brand names. One of those brand names is Basketball News. Beginning with this issue of SWISH, and moving forward throughout the summer, we will be transitioning all of our resources to the Basketball News brand. We’ve grown up a lot over the past ten years, and taking over operation of Basketball News is just one of the many new advancements you can expect from us. This move will help unify our brand name and make sure that all of our products have a very clear and descriptive identity. This will include a new website replacing HOOPSWORLD slated for July of 2007, as well as larger distribution and availability of our print products and more exposure on radio and television in the coming months. We are very excited about all the changes coming our way this summer and we’re sure you’ll be equally excited after getting a glimpse of what is in store from the new Basketball News in this issue of SWISH.

Steve Kyler Editor & Publisher Swish Magazine skyler@swishmagazine.com

05.07

Table of Contents Features

A Day in the Life: Jason Terry Get in step with Dallas Mavericks guard Jason Terry as he prepares for a game, from the minute he gets up in the morning until Jet takes the floor for gametime.

Last Guy Off the Floor Playing in the shadow Michael Jordan casts over the Chicago Bulls franchise, Ben Gordon continues to excel and improve.

A Champion Knows When to Step Away

A New Generation

Seasons Lost

A Fluid Situation

Houston Rockets General Manager Carroll Dawson retires at season’s end after a long and varied NBA career.

It’s a new era in Utah, but the coach remains the same. The young Jazz are primed and ready to compete in their playoff foray.

Injuries seemed to take an inordinate amount of stars off the court this season – can anything be done about it?

There is a new entrant into the sports beverage market with a whole new way of doing things.

departments 6 7 10 11 17 18 24 25 26 32

Still Standing The Man Behind the Name The Veteran Underrated & Underestimated

Sophomore Season Heart and Soul Perspectives Inside the Arena Up Close Most Valuable Player

33 34 35 42 43 44 51 56 57

Visions of Winning High Flyers The Man Behind the Name The Lifestyle The Rookie International Collectors Corner Dog With a Bone The Last Word

SWISH MAGZINE is a quarterly basketball news publication, produced by Basketball News. With more than 50 basketball writers and contributors in almost every major basketball city, Basketball News Services offers year round coverage of basketball and the NBA. For more information please visit http://www.swishmagazine.com

SWISHMAGAZINE.COM / MAY22007

STILL STANDING

James Posey

Don’t Tell James Posey He Can’t Play By Jessica Camerato Don’t tell James Posey he plays too tough; he’s going to keep hustling. Don’t tell James Posey he’s out of shape; he’s going to hit the gym even harder. Don’t tell James Posey he can’t play basketball; he’s going to fight his way back onto the court. Posey has been grinding through the NBA for eight years, and after playing on three losing teams, won a championship last season in his first year with the Miami Heat. This is the ultimate prize, and Posey pushes himself to defend his title. “That’s why you play — to have the opportunity to win the championship at this level,” said Posey, adding, “You’ve got to raise your game to a different level [in the playoffs]. I just rise to the occasion.” The 6’8,” 217 pound guardforward strives to bring back another trophy. That’s why he was caught off guard by a January suspension for exceeding the team-enforced eight percent body fat limit. “I was surprised because I never was faced with that issue, as far as being out of shape or anything like that,” said Posey. “People who know me [know that] my name and conditioning, or being out of shape like that, doesn’t really go together.” Posey, along with teammate Antoine Walker, was benched for more than a week, but the 30-year-old shed the pounds and moved on. “I just kept working. They had us on a pretty strict routine for the most part, working out four times a day. That was all it was for one percent,” he said, calling the incident, “a little bump in the road.” Posey knows he can bounce back from any adversity. He has done it before, his rough style of play occasionally drawing the anger of opponents - just ask the 6

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Chicago Bulls. On three separate occasions Posey has been punished for vicious fouls. In game three of the first round of the 2006 playoffs, he was ejected for a hard foul on Kirk Hinrich. Early this season he was involved in a

play that broke the nose of rookie Tyrus Thomas, and in December Posey was suspended for a flagrant foul on Luol Deng. Posey says he was playing tough, not dirty. “I don’t think those fouls were intentional or trying to hurt anybody,” he said. “I’m not that type of player. I go out there and play hard … [It depends on] who you ask if those fouls were flagrant or intentional. To me, it was good.” Posey adds, “If I was on their team, I know they’d like me.” The Cleveland native has had to adjust to increasingly strict officiating. During his rookie season, he was called for 207 personal fouls. Eight years later, he has

committed nearly 200 fouls playing the same number of minutes, but only one third of the games. What may have gone unnoticed before is being whistled today. “The game’s changed for the most part,” said Posey. “Back in the day [with] those fouls, you just brush yourself off, go to the free throw line, shoot your free throws, and you just keep playing the game. But now it’s changed a lot. You have a lot of phantom fouls and it’s just all on the interpretation of the referee. It’s just unbelievable now how the game is being called and being played.” As the NBA cracks down on rough contact to protect its players, Posey finds it more and more difficult to play without being a detriment to his team. He has averaged nearly 10 points and five rebounds over his career, and these numbers come from hustle and toughness. Posey finds that it’s not always easy to play ball if you’re name isn’t Kobe or LeBron. “[For] a lot of guys, if you have a name, you don’t really have to earn anything. It’s already given to you,” said Posey. “For guys like me, everyday you go out there, you’re hustling and grinding it out, and you don’t get the same respect, or they don’t like how you play because of that. It makes it tough for me trying to go out there and do my job.” Despite the criticism and consequences he faces, Posey won’t change the way he plays. He has confidence in himself and doesn’t discuss his concerns with his coaches or teammates. “I’m secure with how I approach the games and what I bring to the table” he said, adding, “I love playing basketball. I’m going to play regardless [of the suspensions]. Everybody asks me, ‘How long are you going to play?’ I say, ‘They’re going to have to kick me out of the league.’“ Don’t tell Posey he can’t play basketball; it will take more than a foul call or a few extra pounds to keep him away.

THE MAN BEHIND THE NAME No Moore Traveling Man By Wendell Maxey Jr. Mikki Moore can’t stop moving. Sitting on the visitor’s bench watching pregame warm-ups, Moore’s hands are in constant motion dribbling a ball between his legs and discussing his candidacy for the league’s Most Improved Player award. It’s hard for the journeyman to fathom such recognition after all he has experienced. “That would be lovely. I’ve been through a lot. I’m going to write a book when I’m through,” says the New Jersey Nets’ dreadlocked forward. Coach Lawrence Frank would purchase a copy. He’ll particularly love the chapter where the basketball vagabond lands in East Rutherford to salvage a season nearly lost after center Nenad Krstic tore the ACL in his left knee. “In many ways he’s helped save the kind of season we’ve had,” Frank explains about the energetic 7-footer who was acquired from Seattle last summer. “He took advantage of the opportunity to start and hasn’t let go of it.” Chances are Mikki won’t loosen his grip. He’s too busy holding on to hope, and possibly a lengthy contract extension after a career season. In 2006-07 Moore posted career-highs in points (9.8), rebounds (5.1), and starts (55). “I want to be here until they tell me they don’t want me anymore,” Moore admits. “This is a first class organization and believe me, I know. I’ve been in some scary situations.” Now in his second stint with New Jersey, Mikki’s unconventional voyage to the NBA began in 1997 after going undrafted out of Nebraska. Nine years, seven NBA teams, minor league stints, and an unforgettable trip overseas later, Moore never surrendered the dream of staying in the league. After two seasons in the CBA, Moore chose playing in Greece over riding in Greyhounds. He was living in a two-story

Mikki Moore

mountainside home overlooking the Aegean Sea in Greece and life was beautiful. At least Mikki wanted to believe so. “They cut my heat off. I wasn’t getting paid and the team wasn’t paying my landlord so I had to sleep in front of the stove. They gave me fake wire receipts and wouldn’t send me my money. I was real bad off in Greece.” Moore, 32, admits determination and faith carried him through trying times when all doors to the NBA appeared closed. It wasn’t until he played with the Detroit Pistons in 1999 that Mikki realized he belonged - but his perceived security was short-lived. After two seasons and 142 games in Detroit, then-coach Rick Carlisle’s plans didn’t include Mikki. “I had to make the best of it. My first few seasons in the league were like that. I wasn’t in the equation. Plain and simple. I gave back half-a-million dollars to get out of my contract in Detroit just so I could go play in the minor leagues.” It was the wisest investment Moore ever made. Over the next two years he polished his skills in the NBDL with the Roanoke Dazzle and a pair of ten-day contracts with the Boston Celtics and Atlanta Hawks. Eventually Mikki found himself back in Roanoke knowing there were more dues to pay. “I really didn’t ponder why I was where I was. I worked hard and never wallowed in the depression. I used it as motivation and already knew I was supposed to be in the NBA. It all depended on the situation I got in.” Moore’s a South Carolina country boy at heart and cherishes his days in the minors. He’s extremely grateful to numerous coaches who were “second fathers” to him and the brotherhood who keep their dream alive. “That’s a fraternity to me. When I see guys work hard and get called up, I congratulate them because I’ve been cut by so many teams.” Despite three seasons of uncertainty among the New Jersey Nets, Utah Jazz, Los Angeles Clippers, and Seattle Supersonics, Moore learned several invaluable

lessons during his travels. “This is a business before it’s basketball. It’s never personal. That’s one thing I had to learn for myself. It took me four or five years to learn that.” Learning that lesson was a turning point for Mikki, who turned the negatives of the business side of the NBA into a tangible determination to succeed. “He loves the game and has had a rough road,” says former Seattle teammate Jerome James. “I’ve always believed he had the potential to be this caliber of player. He just had to be placed in the situation. Hopefully his team will make a true investment in him.” According to Coach Frank, Mikki’s success extends beyond the court. “For a guy that has been around, he never got cynical about the whole process. When you don’t get cynical and keep your mind open then you are able to embrace opportunities.” Mikki Moore sits unsure what the future holds in East Rutherford. He wants to stay. The feeling should be mutual. Until that call comes Mikki prepares himself for the journey ahead, all while keeping his dribble alive. SWISHMAGAZINE.COM / MAY22007

SHOTS

THE QUESTION Who is the most dangerous player or coach to face in the playoffs? We asked the players… “Chauncey Billups is probably the toughest one because you know he can shoot it or post you up. He’s big and strong, but people underestimate his deceptive speed.” Rafer Alston, Houston Rockets “I ain’t got no picks, bro. They strap-up just like we strap-up. Everybody puts their stuff on just like we do.” Carmelo Anthony, Denver Nuggets “Least? Man, to me that sounds like you’re scared of somebody. You don’t have any choice, anyway.” Allen Iverson, Denver Nuggets “Probably Shaq. He’s just so big and dominant and he out-weights me by like 100-pounds or something like that. He’s just such a load down low and you really can’t do anything with him.” Marcus Camby, Denver Nuggets “Kevin Garnett. He’s so long and has agility. It’s hard because when he =stretches out he’s 7’2". Just a long player, a great player. He’s a tough match-up for me. I’ve gotta bang with him, get him low and hit him. He’s one of the best five forwards in the league.” Zach Randolph, Portland Trail Blazers “Because they’re tough to play defense on, Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady. Those are the players that you don’t want to play against because they’re so good, but at the same time you have the motivation to play against them and you want to see how you can do against them. Those are the players that you watch a lot, you learn a lot from them.” Carlos Delfino, Detroit Pistons

We asked the coaches…

“Most teams in this league are extremely well-coached. Very rarely do you say to yourself, ‘Wow, they don’t do a good job with their team.’ It comes down to how good the players are.” Jeff Van Gundy, Houston Rockets “Jerry Sloan, because he kicks my ass all the time.” George Karl, Denver Nuggets “I’m just focused on who we’re playing now.” Sam Mitchell, 2007 NBA Coach Of The Year, Toronto Raptors 8

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THE VETERAN

Tayshaun Prince

Carrying the Experience of a Prince into the Playoffs By Travis Heath In May of 2004, Tayshaun Prince was enjoying just his second taste of the NBA playoffs. The skinny kid from Compton, California was trying to find his way as a professional player while simultaneously searching for some clarity with regard to his role on a loaded Detroit Pistons team. Already trailing the Indiana Pacers 1-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals, Detroit was at risk of seeing its championship hopes dashed in only the second game of the series. It was then that Detroit’s fortunes and that of Prince changed forever. With the clock ticking down under 20-seconds to play, Reggie Miller of the Indiana Pacers glided in for what looked to be an easy game tying layup. The only problem for Miller and the Pacers was Prince never quit on the play. Racing in from halfcourt, Prince caught Miller and blocked his shot with 17.9 seconds on the clock, and in doing so, helped propel the Pistons to an NBA championship. “That’s my job. That’s just what I do,” Prince said modestly of one of the most memorable plays in Piston franchise history. Three years later, not much has changed. And that’s just fine by Prince. “With the line-up we have I try to play on an even keel and consistent as much as possible. We have a lot of guys who are capable of doing a lot of things in the starting line-up.” While Prince’s defense is still as valued as ever, it’s his versatility that makes him such a unique player. “There are games where I have to score more, and there are games where I have to concentrate on defense more. It’s not to a point where I try to get 20points a night or anything like that. I just try to give the team what it needs. If I can do that then I think it puts the team in good shape.” The Pistons were in good shape for 10

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most of the regular season, emerging as the class of the Eastern Conference. Heading into playoff basketball, Prince – like many of his teammates – is now a seasoned veteran. Don’t let his youth fool you, either. He may be just 27-yearsold but he’s already played in 81 NBA playoff games. “It helps out a lot because you’ve got players who have been there before,” Prince said of the experience he and his teammates have gained over the last

five-years. “Whenever you’ve got players who have been there before they know how to make adjustments quicker and understand things a lot more. Even the guys that we have now who are veterans who weren’t there (in the 2004 NBA Finals), they still have an edge up because they’re veterans in the league.” Prince believes this rendition of the Pistons might be just as good as the 2004 championship team, but for different reasons. “The difference was the team that

won it, we were more of a post-up team coming off the bench – you know, (Mehmet Okur), Corliss (Williamson). We had more action as far as coming off the bench. Then we also had guys who could defend. With this team, there are still similarities in the starting line-up, but off the bench we are more of a team that’s got to move the ball and get everyone involved. And whoever has the hot-hand, that’s who we’ve got to revolve around. There are some similarities to both teams, but other teams in the NBA have gotten better as well. We’re looking forward to the challenge.” If you listen to the mainstream media, the real challenge for the Pistons would be matching up with the best the Western Conference has to offer in the NBA Finals. This doesn’t scare Prince, though, primarily because he’s heard it all before. “The thing about it is when we won the championship nobody gave us a shot against the Lakers. The East is a very defensiveminded conference – us, the Pacers, Miami. I feel the Western Conference is more of a scoring conference, get the ball up and down. I think why the East has been successful lately is because they can grind out games when the games are close. I think that’s why we won it and why Miami beat Dallas (in the 2006 NBA Finals), because when those games are grind-it-out and 90-90 with a minute left, I think the East has an advantage because the East is always playing close games. I think that helps us down the road. “Sooner or later you’ve got to face the best,” Prince added with a grin. Led by Prince and the rest of one of the league’s most veteran-laden rosters, there’s a very good chance that the best, come the end of June, will again reside in Detroit.

UNDERESTIMATED & UNDERRATED Avoiding the NBA Limelight By Travis Heath Imagine for a minute a player who averaged more rebounds per game than Rasheed Wallace, Shaquille O’Neal and Eddy Curry. Now, imagine if that same player averaged more points than Emeka Okafor and had virtually an identical per-game average to O’Neal and Manu Ginobili. Well, the guy currently in your imagination actually exists as a member of the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets. His name is David West. So why is it that so few casual NBA fans have heard of him despite the fact he averages about 17 points and over eight rebounds per night? “I’m not a big spotlight guy,” West explains in a soft voice as he calmly leans back in his chair. “I don’t chase the spotlight or chase accolades or anything like that. I kind of just maintain and just try and do what I do.” West is a man who knows who he is. He is also an NBA player who is not afraid to deviate from the norm. While other players are busy chasing endorsements and hanging with the latest “in” crowd, West can be found refining his skills on the tuba – an instrument in which he is already quite accomplished – or quietly reading a book. “I don’t necessarily feel like I have to be somebody who’s a follower. I’ve never been a follower, someone who blended in, or someone who thought if somebody else is doing it I have to do it, too. I have a mind of my own. Regardless of NBA or no NBA, it’s not something I’m willing to lose or give up.” Perhaps it’s this fierce drive to maintain his individuality that ultimately keeps West flying under the mainstream NBA radar. However, if being an NBA superstar was based on play alone, West would be well on his way. Don’t misunderstand, though; the road to being one of the NBA’s better power forwards hasn’t been completely

David West

smooth. Besides being a virtual unknown prior to being drafted by the Hornets with the 18th overall pick out of Xavier University in 2003, West also has had to overcome various injuries before getting a chance to truly show he was capable. “I’ve been injured. My rookie year I played some, but it was more or less a learning experience. I think just being able to have an opportunity to be on the floor finally helped.” Getting on the floor more in his second and third seasons definitely helped as West improved by leaps and bounds. In fact, he improved so much he finished second in the voting last season for the NBA’s Most Improved Player award. “I just think more development, every summer coming back adding something and putting something new into my game, is important. As long as there’s room to improve you have to make sure you go out there and do everything you can do to improve.” Not surprisingly, West grew up emulating the play of both Tim Duncan and David Robinson. Robinson was known for his unique mixture of physical strength combined with his quickness and agility on the outside, while Duncan is perhaps the most fundamentally sound player of his generation. Both men are also classy, humble and never seem to chase the spotlight. For West, these were qualities he could easily identify with. However, the quality he always admired most in Duncan and Robinson can be summed up in one word: winner “I just want to win,” West said of his future NBA ambitions. “If you develop personally and individually and bring more to the collective table as a team, then you’ll be that much better as a unit.” With a young nucleus including Chris Paul and Tyson Chandler, the Hornets

have a chance to be a threat in the Western Conference for many years to come. If they are going to make the jump into the upper echelon of the conference, West’s versatile game will likely have to be a catalyst. The 26-year-old appears ready to answer the call. As far as growing to embrace the more commercial side of being an NBA superstar, don’t expect to see West’s image on a television screen anytime soon promoting the next big must-have product. “I don’t really chase fame and stuff like

that,” West said shaking his head. “I’m not really into that.” What West is into is trying to be one of the best big-men in the game, and he’s got a simple philosophy on how to achieve that goal. “Just making sure that I stay levelheaded, humble and hungry. That’s kind of been my recipe for success.” Sometimes a little humility and simplicity can solve even the most complex NBA riddles. SWISHMAGAZINE.COM / MAY22007

A Day in the Life: Jason Terry The Jet is on the Runway By Bill Ingram

The media would have you believe that the life of an NBA player is all cake. They get up, play some PS3, drink some Sprite, eat some McDonaldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, and head down to the arena to play some ball. Most fans envy the lifestyle they see portrayed by the marketing folks, rarely giving a second thought to the sacrifices that come with the fame and fortune of professional athletes. Your reality check begins now, as we take you through a day in the life of Dallas Mavericks star Jason Terry. 12

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Sun Up on Game Day “On any given weekday at my household you’re getting up anywhere between 5:00 and 8:00 in the morning because I have children: age 2, Jaida, age 6, Jalayah, and age 9, Jasionna,” explains Terry. “My two-year-old still sleeps with me and she’s always waking up. I may have my six-yearold come in the middle of the night needing to go to the bathroom, so I wake up and walk her to the bathroom. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a game day or not, that’s your fatherly duty. You’re going to get up in between 5:00 AM and 8:00AM. My wife will get them dressed and they’ll come give me a kiss on the cheek and they’re out the door.” What about making lunches, making sure homework is done, and attending parent/teacher conferences? “That’s all my wife, Johniyka. People don’t really understand that an NBA wife has more responsibility than you think. A lot of people think that an NBA wife just wakes up, puts her make-up on, goes to the mall, shops all day, comes home and that’s it. For me, if I didn’t have my wife it would be chaotic. She’s definitely at home making sure everything’s stable, and she’s basically taking care of the girls. Over an 82-game season I’m never there. Even if I come home off a road trip, I come in and they’re already asleep, homework’s already done, they’ve already taken their baths. I wake up in the morning and they’re already dressed and gone, so I really don’t see much of them during the season. It’s something you get used to, but it’s hard. It’s probably the hardest part about being in the NBA. I don’t get to spend that quality time with my kids doing homework, going to soccer games, going to basketball games, just being there. “When I am in town and we don’t have an early shootaround I make it a point to take the girls to school. That’s big. They may be asleep in the back seat, but when they wake up they know their daddy took them to school and you can see the smiles on their faces and how much it means to them. After I take the kids to school I head to the arena and I’m usually the first or second one in the gym.”

Morning Shootaround “I like to be the first one there and the last one to leave. I get my bowl of Life cereal. I’ve gotta have that; I’m superstitious. Get my Life cereal, coach will come in and we’ll watch film. I’ve always been a guy that watches film. Even in Atlanta when we weren’t winning very much I would always watch film to get an advantage on the opponent, or even to look at my game to see what I was doing wrong or right. It always helps to see it so you can visualize it. Then you can go out there and perform it.” The man in charge of helping Jason’s visualization process is Mondrick “MJ” Jones, the Mavericks’ Assistant Video Coordinator. “During film sessions we usually go over the attributes of the players and try to learn their tendencies,” says Jones. “We look at what Jet did against them the last game and what they did against him so we can try to get an advantage. I give him a DVD of the other players’ tendencies and a pie chart of what they like to do on the court so there

won’t be too many surprises when we see them.” “He’ll have a DVD ready for me with five to ten minutes on whatever our theme is that week,” confirms Terry. “One week it was ‘Jet in transition,’ with me trying to get easier baskets in transition. It’s looking at my tendencies and looking at what I was doing a couple of weeks prior. He’s even gone back to my Atlanta days to see where my sweet spots were in transition. So he’ll have that broken down in five or ten-minute segments and I’ll watch that before each game. In the morning, when I come in, he has a pie chart ready for me that shows the other players’ tendencies, where they like to get their shots – anything to gain a little advantage. That’s the difference between a championship-contending team and teams where people are cleaning out their lockers in April.” Whether Terry spends more time on his own game or on his opponent’s game depends on who the opponent is. “If it’s somebody like Steve Nash it takes a little longer because he has so many tricks in his bag,” says Jones. “That’ll be a long DVD. Looking at Kobe Bryant winds up looking like a highlight reel trying to pinpoint his weaknesses. You can have a hand right in his face and he still hits the shot. That was still good defense, but he hit the shot anyway. So it really depends on the player and how many tricks they have.” The number one thing MJ works on with Jason? “Pick-and-roll coverages. How teams guard him in the pickand-roll and how he guards against the pick-and-roll. That’s what most teams like to do with their points, so we spend a lot of time on pick-and-roll coverages.” After his video session, Jason steps over to the pool table that sits just outside the Mavericks’ locker room. “Win, lose, or draw, we have to play pool at home. That’s against strength and conditioning coach Robert Hackett.”

The Pool Tournament Jason picked up pool when he came to the Mavericks because Darrell Armstrong made everyone play. “It was different, because on a losing team no one plays golf or pool together, you just go home,” explains Terry, who points out a hand-drawn bracket on the wall that shows he’s almost as good at pool as he is at basketball. Robert “Hack” Hackett is no slouch, either, and the two take seven games to determine the winner of the bracket. We won’t talk about who won, but we can reveal that Dirk Nowitzki is the worst pool player on the team. There was a separate bracket on a smaller sheet taped up next to the “official” chart. It was in distinct German scrawl . . .and Dirk wasn’t too high on that one, either. “Shooting pool soothes the mind,” says Jason. “It’s sort of a yoga of the mind for me. It gets me relaxed and focused – then I can go enjoy my lunch.”

Palomino’s and the “Lunch Bunch” “I ate chicken fingers before every game in Arizona and we won the national championship, so I continued that through my whole career in Atlanta. But when you’re in Atlanta you SWISHMAGAZINE.COM / MAY22007

don’t have a nutritionist. They tell you to continue to do whatever you’re used to doing and hope that it works. When I got to the Mavericks their nutritionist told me pasta is the best thing. Now I eat a form of chicken pasta before every game. I still keep the chicken in there, but it’s a little healthier and it helps my performance.” Jason’s “Lunch Bunch” includes his personal assistant Derrick Elliott, Mavericks Media Relations Director Sarah Melton, and his dad, Curtis Terry. “How nice is it? It depends on what day it is,” says the elder Terry, laughing. “You know, he has his bad days, too. But we all do. I get to see it all. It’s a great feeling to be able to have lunch with my son every day and we just hang out like boys. I think I’m over the initial shock of his stardom now. I’m just glad that he’s having fun now and getting to do some things that he deserves as far as interviews and commercials and that kind of thing. He’s worked hard. I’m just sitting back and enjoying it. I’m proud of him.” Elliott, who was also one of Jason’s high school teammates, talks about the important role he plays in his friend’s life. “I’m a buffer. From the media to the people that see Jet on TV, they see him as a superhero. But to us that’s Jason Terry. He relaxes and he’s calm around us and he’s a normal guy. People talk about Dirk Nowitzki signing a $60 million extension and they think that the $60 million is just sitting in his bank account right now. They see Jason on there and they see that he’s a multi-millionaire, but they don’t see that he has three kids, a fourth on the way, a mom, a dad, cousins – they don’t see all that stuff. That’s why I have four cell phones and I keep two of them off. It’s easier for me to say no than it is for him. People won’t always understand if Jason says no. They say he’s a horrible guy because he said no to them. Well, he said no for a reason. That’s just my job. His job is to focus on basketball and his family. I’ll say no. I’m the No Man.” With the Lunch Bunch in place, food is the next order of business. “Palomino’s serves our team meals sometimes, so I got accustomed to their dishes,” says Jason. “The people there are so nice – they take real good care of me. When 14

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I come in I don’t even have to order. I have my cranberry juice waiting for me, my bottled water, so if the visiting team wants to poison me,” he chuckles, “they know where I’m at. I order the same thing every time.” For the past six months LaJuana McQueen has been serving up Jason’s favorite lunch. “I’ve been serving Jet for six months, so I know exactly what he wants when he walks through the door,” says McQueen. “I get his appetizer cooking right away; then I give him a few minutes to enjoy it before I put his regular order in.” Lunch is often a time when some business gets done, as well. On this particular day Jason was working on the launch of his new clothing line, called Team Takeoff, so he had a call or two to make while he was waiting for his appetizer. “In Atlanta I toyed with the idea of starting a clothing line, back in 2002, when the All-Star Game was there. We had these velour sweat suits made up and I had all of my family in them. We didn’t have a logo yet because there wasn’t an actual brand. They were calling me Jet Terry then, too, so we had the name Jet Terry on them and I wore it to the dunk contest. They had a shot of me in Sports Illustrated in that sweat suit, standing up cheering for Jason Richardson as he was winning. It looked hot! I kept getting compliments that whole weekend with people asking me if I had my own clothing line and when it was coming out. So I decided to do it and from there it was just a timing thing. I played with the idea, had a couple of shorts sets that I would wear to various events in the summertime. This year, after being in the Finals and seeing my popularity as a Mavericks player grow, we figured we had the Jet, so we just needed to come up with a brand and a logo. The logo is excellent, a silhouette of me doing my Jet thing as I come out on the court and they say ‘the Jet is on the runway.’ From there it just kind of took off. “Derrick really came up with the idea in terms of what kind of clothes and who we’re going to cater to and actually what kind of product we’re going to put out there. So we call it everyday wear. It’s not urban wear or high-end business wear; it’s more everyday wear. It’s sweat suits for men, women, and kids, baseball caps, golf shirts, t-shirts, stuff that fans can wear to games. Stuff that soccer moms can wear to a soccer game on the weekend or something. It’s stuff that’s comfortable to wear around the house. The women’s line is real hot. We’ve done sweat suits for Avery’s wife, for all of the Maver-

icks’ female staff, and they like it. It’s catching on and we’re having fun with it. I have a lot of creative input and I’m very hands-on. It’s my business, it’s my brand, and I get to sign off on everything we do.” With business completed, thoughts return to food. Jet’s regular order starts with seasoned waffle fries smothered in Gorgonzola cheese sauce. The main course is a Caesar salad followed by a triple-baked four-cheese ziti pasta dish with alfredo sauce and a grilled chicken breast. He then adds Palomino’s special BBQ sauce. Don’t knock it ‘til you try it. It’s worth going back for! Ask for LaJuana and tell her you want the Jason Terry special.

Countdown to Game Time!

Sometimes he’ll work on something he was doing wrong in the previous game. We talk about where his shots come from and where he gets certain shots against certain teams.” Warmed up, relaxed, and ready to start thinking about the game at hand, Jason takes one more look at the opposition before the team takes the court. “After my warm-up with Joe I come back and watch some film. Then – this is something that’s crazy, but it’s my superstition – I have to be the last one out of the locker room as we go out on the court 20 minutes before the game. If I go out and somebody snuck behind me, I’ll go all the way back to the locker room and come all the way back. Then I shake everybody’s hand, we go into our huddle, do our break, and go out. The Jet is on the runway!”

After lunch Jason heads to his downtown condo (his home is in Frisco) for a 30-minute video session and a two-hour nap. Then it’s into the shower, on with the suit, and back to the American Airlines Center. “It’s all about routine. I’m a firm believer in having a rou“I warm up with assistant coach Joe Prunty. On a game day tine, and it’s been working.” it’s more about getting your rhythm, getting your body awake. How much has the routine changed now that Jason’s For players basketball is a game of rhythm. You have to get starting for the league’s top team after starting his pro cainto a mindset. Some players reer with one of the worst like to get mad before a game. teams in the league? I’m a happy-go-lucky guy. I like “My routine in Atlanta JET’S GAMEDAY SCHEDULE to feel good. I want my energy was the same. I always 5:30 AM Get the girls up and ready for school level high. I like to be upbeat. felt that preparation was I have a routine that I do evbig. Winning team or los7:00 AM Take the girls to school ery day where I do my spot ing team didn’t matter – I shooting, do my three-pointhad a job to do. That hasn’t 9:00 AM Breakfast at the American Airlines Center ers, then I go off the dribble changed, but it has been and get to the spots I like to enhanced since I joined 10:00 AM Shootaround and film session get to on the floor and start the Mavericks. Now I have consistently making shots. ten minutes more game 11:30 AM Jet’s Pool Challenge “It’s all about routine once I film. The way they break get back to the arena. I park down the opponent is 1:00 PM “Lunch Bunch” at Palomino’s in the same spot; I walk more detailed. That’s the through the same door. With difference between losing 2:30 PM Film session at condo 90 minutes on the clock I go teams and the teams that back, grab three heat packs, are fighting for a champi3:00 PM Nap at condo place them on whatever part onship every year. It of my body I feel needs to be seems like little things, but 5:15 PM Warm-up at American Airlines Center warmed up, and I go to chapel to me it’s huge. I’ve seen for 15 minutes. When I come the difference in my 6:00 PM Pre-game media, training prep back from chapel there’s game. My focus on every maybe 70 or 65 on the clock. possession and every situ7:30 PM The Jet is on the runway! I go through a light massage ation as a point guard has and a tape job. When there’s been unbelievable. I see about 50 minutes on the clock the improvement.” I go down to meet with Joe Prunty.” Of course, a big part of that improvement is related to “He’s a relentless worker, he really is,” says Prunty. “He Jason’s relationship with his head coach, Avery Johnson. has a routine that he does before every game where he takes “First and foremost, Avery’s firm belief in his faith and a certain number of shots. Before a game he typically does his journey to be the type of player and the coach he is some spot shooting, where he makes five from five spots. now is tremendous. I look up to him for help spiritually You don’t want to do so much that you get tired, and he’s and guidance and he’s taken me to whole new level. That’s really good about knowing his body and what he can and can’t one area. The other is at the point guard position, actually do. He’ll do some stuff off the dribble, then shoot some threes. being the leader of a team. He’s not only had breakfast

The Importance of Routine

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meetings with me, but film sessions, on-court workouts, summer workouts in different cities. That quality time a player spends with his coach is important, especially a point guard, because as the point guard you’re the extension of the coach. You hear that all the time, but with Avery it’s for real. He really takes the time to walk you through different situations and explain how to be a player. The respect I have for him and the respect that he shows back to me is tremendous. That’s why I’m able to perform the way I am because he instills that confidence in me and has that trust in me.”

Handling the Media “They taught me during rookie seminar how to answer questions. A lot of times you want to be honest, you want to be right to the point, but there are some times when you really have to avoid confrontation. That’s what you have to do as a player; you have to know how to pick your spots. There’s a thing they say in the league, they call it bulletin board material. You don’t want to put something out there for the other team to get motivated by it. There are a lot of guys, even superstar players, who don’t care. They’ll just say anything. But a guy like myself, I like to be honest, but at the same time I don’t want to give anybody ammunition to come at me or help motivate the other team.”

Showing the Fans Some Love “I probably spend 30-45 minutes a day doing things for fans outside of the game – signing autographs or jerseys or what have you. During the game I’m very fan-friendly. That’s my time, there. As a kid growing up I would go into a locker room after a game and get people’s wrist bands, shoes, whatever I could get my hands on. I feel, as a player, that I owe that to the fans. If I can throw a headband or a wristband to some fans after a game or find some kids and slap them high-fives during a game it makes their day. It was kind of weird in Atlanta because I did some of the same things, but since we were losing people were looking at me saying, ‘Why is he so happy?’ or ‘What is he doing?’ That didn’t make me feel too good. I was disappointed in that whole situation, but I continued to do it. It was funny, too, going back to Atlanta the last 16

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three years, I see the same lady I used to see and give her a high five before every game. She always has my same Atlanta Hawks jersey on. That tells me that I’ve made an impact on fans and I hope to continue to do it in Dallas. The Mavericks have the best fans I’ve seen since college. They really love their Mavericks. It may be Cowboys Country, but it’s Mavericks Town.”

Leading the Fight Against Cancer “Every time I make a threepointer my foundation, The Jason Terry Foundation, donates $100 to Gilda’s Club, which fights cancer. We always try to do something in correlation with cancer funds. We’re doing a dinner this year that benefits the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Foundation in Seattle. I’ve had three relatives die from cancer, including my aunt Sandra, who I was very close to. She died at the age of 44 from colon cancer and she’s the reason I play sports. She was the one rebounding for me, the one taking me to all the games – Washington Huskies football games and Seattle Sonics basketball games. Growing up she was the one who was there for me. I figure the only way I can give back is to do what I can to help find a cure for cancer. “Gilda’s Club is a special place. It’s not just for cancer patients, but also for the families that are impacted. Say a kid’s mother is going through cancer treatments. They can go together as a family. They go to this house and they have tons of activities – painting, reading, day care for the kids, exercise classes – it’s a beautiful thing.”

The Sun Sets on a Championship Hopeful Jason Terry makes it look easy out there on the court, guiding his team to the NBA’s best record, but it’s far from easy for him to balance all of the demands on his time. Whether it’s trying to be a great father despite a hectic travel schedule, starting his own clothing line, showing some love to his fans, helping find a cure for cancer, or working on his game, Jason Terry’s days don’t allow him a lot of time for video games and fast food. Don’t believe everything you see in commercials. It’s hard work being Jason Terry, but at the end of the day the rewards make it all worthwhile.

SOPHOMORE SEASON Growing Up on the Court By Eric Pincus With the tenth pick in the 2005 NBA Draft, the Los Angeles Lakers made history by selecting a 17-year old center straight out of high school. Two years later Andrew Bynum found himself starting 53 games as an integral part of the Laker rotation. The team would ultimately finish with 42 wins, securing the seventh seed in the Western Conference. With limited playing time throughout his first year, Bynum had an up and down run in what was essentially a second rookie season. “It’s a new experience for me because I’m actually getting minutes,” said Bynum. “I’m doing pretty well. I hope to just get better from here.” Getting used to the grind of 82 games has been a challenge. With teammates Kwame Brown and Chris Mihm hurt to start the season (Mihm eventually would be lost for the year), Bynum got the opportunity to play more than ever expected. Early on, his development was impressive. On opening night he punished the Phoenix Suns with 18 points, nine rebounds and five assists. A week later he dropped 20 points and 14 boards against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Bynum was a huge part of the team’s strong first half that reached a pinnacle of twelve games above .500 with a victory in San Antonio over the Spurs. Unfortunately injuries would later overwhelm the club, decimating their front court and putting regular starting center Brown on the mend for half the season. With the added minutes and pressure to perform, Bynum struggled to carry the load. “He has to learn. I did it in grade school. He has to do it in the NBA,” said Bynum’s mentor and

Andrew Bynum

dedicated personal coach, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. “It’s a lot different when your parents and a couple of people in the neighborhood are watching as opposed to the whole nation. “That’s the path he has to walk.” The Lakers are fully aware seven-foot centers with a true back to the basket game are rare commodities. They’re willing to be patient. “There are times when I think Andrew is really motivated, but at times he just doesn’t have enough energy to put into the game,” said Coach Phil Jackson. “He’s playing a whole hell of a lot more minutes than we ever anticipated. We actually talked about how we’d get enough time for Andrew. He’s ended up really having himself a great primer for his career; a great base from which to work on.” Jim Buss, key decision maker and eventual successor to his father, Laker owner Dr. Jerry Buss, told local radio (KLAC 570) that Bynum “is still ahead of the curve that I wanted him to be on. We’re missing a fire, but he’s 19 years old. He’s learning the game.” One of only two Lakers to play all 82 games, Bynum recognizes the many months of basketball eventually overwhelmed him.

“It’s pretty hard to maintain your energy level all throughout the season. That’s something you need to learn. The longer you’re here, the more comfortable you become with that schedule.” Taken in whole, Bynum had a strong sophomore season. His offensive production was an efficient 55.8% from the field, while also showing a knack for blocking shots at 1.56 per game clip in 21.9 minutes. “He’s got talent, great hands, a long reach, and is a good-enough athlete in this game,” said Jackson. “We want to see him become an intense competitor.“ Bynum needs to develop as a rebounder and defender. He needs to become a steadier low-post option, taking advantage of smaller opponents. With such a raw talent, the Lakers are faced with a difficult dilemma. While they have a Hall of Fame coach in Phil Jackson and a superstar in Kobe Bryant, the franchise does not yet appear to have enough talent to win another title. Bynum may one day bloom into a perennial All-Star, but he still has a lot of maturing to do. That’s the challenge for General Manager Mitch Kupchak, who gets frequent calls from other teams hoping the Lakers will sacrifice the long-term to win in the here and now. Kupchak recently extolled patience when discussing Bynum and his season, saying, “It’s been great for him, but perhaps it was just a little bit too much. Expectations based on his early play maybe were a little bit higher than they should have been. “We’re very high on him and we hope to see him grow old in Los Angeles.” Everything the Lakers know about championships (they have 14, the second-most in league history) start at the center position. The list is long and impressive: George Mikan, Wilt Chamberlain, AbdulJabbar, and Shaquille O’Neal. The way things stand now, the team is not willing to give up a player who they believe may be the next great Laker center. SWISHMAGAZINE.COM / MAY22007

HEART & SOUL

Derek Fisher

Making an Impact - One Student at a Time By Bill Ingram As Derek Fisher takes the court you’ll notice two Chinese tattoos on his right forearm. The first means “Faithful,” the second, “Heart, Mind, and Spirit.” On the court Fisher is known for leadership and clutch performances. Off the court his heart, mind, and spirit reflect his commitment to the community. “I always try to keep in mind that as a young person growing up in my community there were always other people – from teachers to coaches to family members to church members – who went out of their way to say an extra prayer or lend an extra hand. I learned from a great number of adults, including my parents, to remember how important it is to respect other people’s situations and understand that even though sometimes you feel like you have it bad, there are so many more people out there who have it worse than you do. I grew up with the mentality that I am never above anyone, no matter what I accomplish.” Fisher is acutely aware that much of the praise and adulation which we heap upon our sports heroes fails to take into account the bigger picture that exists for professional athletes. “The focus is usually on the athletic accomplishments on the playing court,” explains Fisher. “For a lot of people that’s the end-all. They really don’t get to see what goes on day-to-day for professional athletes, whether it’s raising children or being married and being family men and husbands. Because entertainment is such a big part of our culture now they almost visualize themselves being in that position with the lights on, but never when the lights are off. That’s really the most important time to be solid as a person.” When Fisher isn’t putting his veteran leadership on display in Salt Lake City, he spends his time trying to be a positive influence at the University of Arkansas Little Rock. In April of 2005 he established The Fisher Fellows, a foundation that works in conjunction with Fisher’s alma mater to develop responsible young men and women. 18

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“We bring in counselors and specialists and we help these students to understand the importance of a balanced life – from nutrition and those things related to the student athletes, to handling credit card debt and student loans. We feel like if we can help young adults to become more solid adults as they go out into the community, then they’ll be better equipped to help the next generation of kids coming behind them.” Our culture is growing more and more challenging for young adults. Life’s pitfalls have increased exponentially at a time when the breakdown of the family unit, which would normally help young people navigate them, has reached an all-time high. This is where Fisher’s program tries to fill in some gaps. “I definitely think being a young person now is tremendously more difficult than what it was when I was a kid,” admits Fisher. “Suicide rates and depression rates are just off the charts for teenage kids and young adults in college. I know technology and the advancements of our society make some things easier and faster, but in terms of the pressure to be successful – to be at a certain weight, to be of a certain complexion, to live in a certain community, to drive a certain car – all of those things have intensified. I think our young people have a certain vision of what success is and most of it revolves around just money or just power and not the full circle of being a wealthy person from within. That’s really where your wealth comes from is the fulfillment that you get spiritually and person-

ally. I think those of us that are in a position to help have an obligation to try. We can’t just say that young people are messing things up and just point fingers. We have to be willing to get involved and do everything we can to help out. “One thing my parents told me at a young age that has always stuck with me is that in life you want to really be able to have some options. In order to have those options you have to be educated, you have

to have an understanding of more than just one thing in life. For athletes it’s important to be confident that if you could not continue to play your sport you would have skills and have an understanding of other things in life; where you would still be able to have passion and get fulfillment and everything in your life doesn’t rest on that basketball bouncing around up and down the court. Hopefully it’s a message that young people can continue to understand. “We have to keep pushing the message so we can slowly start to turn things in a better direction – one young person at a time.”

SHOTS

THE PLAYOFFS It’s gotta be the shoes… Name the player that owns each shoe.

2007 NBA PLAYOFF POOL In 1951 the NBA first put together a pool of money to reward its playoff teams. That amount was $50,000. Times change though, and with it the amount of money the league has to offer. In 2007 the NBA Playoff pool is worth $10 million, broken down 39 ways: • Best Record in NBA: $288,421 • Best Record in Conference, $252,369 each (x2): $504,737 • Second Best Record in Conference, $202,842 each (x2): $405,684 • Third Best Record in Conference, $151,421 each (x2): $302,842 • Fourth Best Record in Conference, $119,000 each (x2): $238,000 • Fifth Best record in Conference, $99,158 each (x2): $198,316 • Sixth Best Record in Conference, $67,632 each (x2): $135,263 • Teams Participating in First Round, $149,243 each (x16): $2,387,895 • Teams Participating in Conference Semifinals, $177,579 each (x8): $1,420,632 • Teams Participating in Conference Finals, $293,447 each (x4): $1,173,789

• Losing Team, NBA Finals: $1,173,474 • Winning Team, NBA Finals: $1,770,947 • Total Playoff Pool: $10,000,000

1. Carlos Boozer 2. Dwight Howard 3. Grant Hill 4. Jermiane ONeal 5. Pau Gasol 6. Ron Artest

Answers:

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Ben Gordon Last Guy Off the Floor By Joel Brigham

The clap of bouncing basketballs echoes through the fluorescently-lit gym of the Chicago Bulls’ practice facility as Ben Gordon takes his final shots of the day. Beat writers waiting for Gordon must do so patiently, burning dead time watching Tyrus Thomas practice curls with a shooting coach or Luol Deng race leisurely on an exercise bike. All the while, players saunter off the floor one at a time as Gordon continues to shoot. “You may have to wait,” a friendly gentleman with the local TV station warns, “Gordon’s usually the last guy off the floor.” “He works hard,” admits former college teammate and close friend Emeka Okafor, now the starting power forward for the Charlotte Bobcats. “That’s what makes Ben so dangerous is that he’s a guy with a lot of talent who works as if he’s got no talent. He works that hard. That’s what makes him so confident on the court; he’s so good, plus he knows he’s put in all those extra hours.” As Gordon approaches, wiping his brow with his practice jersey, there’s a calm composure about him— something almost regal—and this soft-spoken rising star born in London, England and raised in Mt. Vernon, New York sits to face the microphone mere feet from a case holding six shining NBA championship trophies. The spirit of what those trophies represent is ready for a reemergence, and Gordon hopes he’s a huge part of that. “I want to be remembered as someone who every night he played, his team had a chance to win,” Gordon says about his time in Chicago. “That I always was able to keep my team in the game, or come up with a big play to 20

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help my team win. I always was a clutch player who was able to rise to the occasion whenever he was needed by his teammates. Somebody who won championships in the NBA.” The people of Chicago hope that Gordon accomplishes this in the Windy City, and as a result the bar has been set very high for a player the city thinks should lead its team back to championship glory. Luckily for the fans, the expectations of the team and the expectations of Ben Gordon himself match those of the people. “I really don’t know (what the expectations are for me),” he admitted, “but my own expectations probably exceed those of the fans, anyway. I work really hard at the game in the offseason, and it’s my goal to become an All-Star player. “Along with that, I want to get my team back to the championship days that the fans remember. That’s the only thing I’m trying to do.” Ben Wallace, a new addition for the Bulls this year, quickly became one of Gordon’s good friends on the team, as their lockers are tucked away in the same corner of

Chicago’s home locker room. Wallace was happy to clear up Ben’s confusion as to what the team expects of its starting shooting guard. “We rely on him as a teammate to come out and attack the defense for us, force guys to pay a lot of attention to what he’s doing on the floor. We use that to get other people shots, so we rely on him heavily.” Bulls coach Scott Skiles agrees with Wallace, adding, “We just expect him to get better. He’s a hard worker and a conscientious guy, so there’s no reason to believe he won’t… He’s always going to be a good scoring guard. It just depends on those other areas—trying to work on becoming more wellrounded as a player. I wouldn’t put any limits on him; he can be as good as wants.” Well, Gordon wants to be the best. Always has, even as a kid playing pickup ball on his neighborhood hoops in Mt. Vernon. “I grew up right next to a basketball court and I’d always go over there and play with my friends, with the older guys, or I’d just play by myself. I started to love it… I always wanted to be better than the people I was playing against. It all spurred from just wanting to beat my friends, beat my peers, and in that I found I was really passionate. I would get upset when I lost, so that would push me to go and work harder so it wouldn’t happen much.” But he was pushed along even more when he got to the University of Connecticut, where he played alongside Okafor under well-respected college coach Jim Calhoun, even winning a championship during his three years with the team. This experience helped push along Gordon’s development, and he has no trouble acknowledging exactly how valuable his UConn experience was. “Playing for a Hall of Fame college coach like Jim Calhoun, who has produced many pro guards who were successful on the next level, helped me because he knew what it took to get guys to that next level. He worked us every day—he worked me everyday—and demanded nothing but our best. I think that really helped me as far as getting to the next level and playing winning basketball and knowing what it takes every night to be competitive and win games.” Okafor remembers his time on this team fondly, especially recalling when Gordon “put the team on his back to win the Big East tournament our last year together.” But more importantly, Okafor admits, “I learned a lot about my work ethic from him—just a year-round tenacity that he has. He’s just fearless… He’s always been that go-to guy when you need a bucket. He’s always been a great scorer, a great basketball mind.” Coming out of college the expectations for Gordon rose quickly, as his performance at pre-draft workouts wowed a number of teams, shooting his stock up quickly to the high lottery. The Bulls at this time were still a little bitter from the previous year, when they felt sure that Chicago native Dwayne Wade would fall to them with the seventh pick, only to have the Miami Heat snatch him from under their noses. Grabbing Gordon felt like a second chance at that sort of superstar at the time, and the Bulls used their third pick to take the 6’2” guard out of the University of Connecticut.

Being taken so high, however, presents a whole new set of expectations for young players. “It puts some pressure on you because of the anticipation,” Gordon concedes. “People want to see what you’re going to do in a new city, and usually when you get drafted that high the team isn’t that good, so all eyes are on you. I faced that early on, and I struggled. The team struggled, and I probably took as much criticism as anybody could’ve gotten because I wasn’t having as much success and the team wasn’t doing well. “I think the challenges just came from learning the NBA game itself. There was a lot I had to learn, night-in and nightout, about defensive schemes. It was totally different in college. The new rules, it was just tough altogether for me. “The difference in college… I was usually the best player on the court, so I could make mistakes and still go out there and have a decent game. Here, I wasn’t always the best player on the court, so I struggled with trying to learn the game and not being as successful. It was kind of tough to do it early on. “I think as the year went on,” Gordon continues, “I started SWISHMAGAZINE.COM / MAY22007

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to prove to people that I did deserve to be picked that high—that I wasn’t a fluke or a bust. It’s a lot of pressure, but at the same time, I just had to work through it and get some experience.” He knows, though, that he couldn’t have fought through those early struggles without the support of the Chicago fan base. “Playing in the United Center is one of the best arenas in the NBA—not just because I play there, but because of the fans and the energy in the stadium. There aren’t too many like it. “One thing I noticed from day one was the loyalty from the fans. My rookie year I came here, we were terrible. We started off 0-9, but every game was sold out. The fans were with us. I was really impressed with that. It wasn’t like some of the arenas in the league where there’s really no crowd and the energy’s just not there. Every night we go in the United Center it’s easy to get up because the crowd’s behind you. It’s a great city… just a really nice place to play.” By the end of that first year, Gordon had secured himself as one of the city’s sports darlings, becoming the first rookie to ever win the Sixth Man of the Year Award and helping lead the Bulls back to the playoffs for the first time since the Jordan Era. So strong was the love, in fact, that Ben quickly became known as “Air Gordon,” an alliterative tribute to the man whose statue stands proudly outside Gordon’s current home stadium. To some, this type of comparison could be daunting, but not for a laid back kid like Gordon. “Playing here, especially with a great tradition, you always feel like you’ve got something to prove, and you want to reach the levels those guys reached back in the day.” He doesn’t shy away from the Jordan talk any more than he shies away from last-minute shots, which has become his specialty since coming into the league almost three years ago. “I like making and taking those shots, even if I miss. I can live with that. What I can’t live with is being at the end of a game and not having the opportunity to close it out or make a big play to help one of my teammates. I think as someone who strives to be a great player, you can never shy away from that end-game pressure.” Having such confidence and cool-headedness has made him a very desirable and affordable commodity not only to the Bulls, 22

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but to other teams as well. Almost every time a trade rumor hums around The Chicago Tribune, Gordon’s name seems to be involved. He says, however, that the rumors are laughable. “At the end of the day I look at it as, ‘As long as I’m playing the game, I’ll be happy.’ I joke about it with my friends to kind of take the serious edge off it because I’ve got no control over it. At the end of the day I’ve got to come to grips with the fact that this is a business. This happens all the time.” Still, he makes it no secret that his heart is in Chicago. “Hopefully I can retire here because this is the team that gave me my first chance, so my loyalty is with the Bulls.” So far Bulls GM John Paxson has been reluctant to trade Gordon because there’s just no telling what his ceiling might be. In Gordon’s first two years he was on-again/off-again with his scoring spurts, putting up 30 one night and 12 the next, causing many to cite concerns about his consistency. But as a thirdyear player, Gordon believes the issue of irregularity is behind him. “It’s easier for me now. I’m averaging over 20 points per game, so I don’t think you can say that consistency is an issue anymore. You can’t average 21 points a night in the NBA and be inconsistent. I think that was something I struggled with earlier in my career. “The NBA’s tough, and I’m a 6’2” shooting guard. I think I’ve got it the toughest at one of the hardest positions in the NBA. It takes a lot of experience, a lot of perseverance, so when I get in a slump I just get into the gym and work on those things. I fine-tune my game so that my confidence is still there. That’s it, really—just continue to work through things and know that it’ll get better.” As he does get better, and as his scoring average continues to jump exponentially with each year of experience, he’ll be involved in an increasing number of conversations for All-Star consideration. In fact, many thought he could’ve been part of the team in 2006-2007. This school of thinking naturally included Gordon himself: “I thought I should’ve made [the All-Star team] this year. We had the second-best record in the East at the time, and I was playing really well. But a lot of times you get snubbed the first couple of times you’re supposed to make it. “The thing that mattered to me the most was all of the players around the league telling me, ‘I thought you should’ve made it, Ben.’ I mean, as long as I have the respect of the

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players, that means more to me than anything because those are the guys that know who works hard. The respect… that right there is more important to me than anything else.” That respect certainly comes from all corners of the league, but it starts right in Gordon’s own locker room. Fellow backcourt member Kirk Hinrich, for example, cites Gordon’s “ability to score, the ability to bail you out. You could have a really bad offensive possession, and then he gets the ball and will make a tough shot with the clock running down.” For Wallace, the argument for getting “Little Ben” into AllStar Weekend’s main event comes from his clutch shooting and team play. “He’s right there at the top,” Wallace admitted, “Clutch shooters, scorers, guys who can break the defense down, guys who can create for their teammates - he ranks right there at the top.” P.J. Brown, a wise and well-traveled veteran, couldn’t say enough about Gordon’s abilities and respect for the game. “He’s definitely one of the better players I’ve played with, with his ability to score the ball. There’s not a lot of guards I’ve played with that can find a way to get the ball to the basket the way Ben does… I think he’s one of the most humble guys I’ve known who I’d consider a star. He just goes about his business, works hard, brings his best effort to the game, and he just does it on a consistent day-to-day basis. You’ve got to love that in a young guy.” But don’t misunderstand the propaganda; Gordon doesn’t want in just for individual accolades. He understands that AllStars help win titles, and the Chicago Bulls haven’t had either one of those two things since the Jordan Era. “I know I’ve got to be a great player individually for my team to win a championship—things like making the All-Star team, hopefully at the end of my career making the Hall of Fame, things like that. And that just comes from watching the greats as a kid growing up. Obviously MJ, guys I admired like Isaiah Thomas, Gary Payton, just trying to look up to them and emulate what they’ve done.” What those three gentlemen have done is help bring Larry O’Brien trophies to their respective franchises. With that in mind, it would appear as if Gordon has chosen the right basketball role models. However, just wanting something isn’t good enough. It’s going to take more than just desire for Ben Gordon to bring a seventh trophy to the glass case in the Berto Center. Fortunately for the city of Chicago, motivation and victory seem to go hand in hand when it comes to this young man. “I always get motivated by any little bit of success I have. In high school, I won a championship; in college, I won a championship. So I’m coming in here looking at it like, okay…” he chuckles openly, “Hopefully my NBA career will be way longer than my high school and college careers, so I’ll have a lot more chances to win a championship. I think that’ll probably make my basketball career complete if I can win on every level I’ve played.” For now, there’s still one level left to beat, but that’s exactly the reason why Gordon is, as they say, “the last guy off the floor.” SWISHMAGAZINE.COM SWISHMAGAZINE.COM//MAY22007 MAY 2007

PERSPECTIVES

Playoffs on Two Continents

Rasho Nesterovic Has Seen Them Both By Nikola Olic If you met Rasho Nesterovic’s humble, kind parents it would become clear there are many fine qualities that could dominate their son’s persona, but none are stronger than humility. The fact that out of 450 active NBA players, only he and Manu Ginobili won both an NBA title and an Euroleague title would not impress the Slovenian center much. Yet there is an elegant way to further narrow it down that even Nesterovic would approve of. He is the only European in the league to have won both titles. That distinction is what makes his perspective unique and his story worth telling. “I was just a kid, only 22 years old,” recalls Nesterovic of his playing days in Bologna, Italy, where his international basketball career started. “I was playing with some of my childhood idols. That place was for me something special, something new.” Of the eighteen teams fighting for Coppa Italia, only two teams share the same city and its tireless basketball fans: the beautiful city of Bologna. It was on the famed Piazza Maggiore square that the city celebrated the 1998 Euroleague title which Nesterovic helped secure. “Nobody had to tell the fans how to celebrate, it was all spontaneous. They closed the center of the town down, they closed all the streets down. Its a 40-yearold basketball tradition that the town and the team had shared.” The description is no different than when he helped bring the title to San Antonio in 2005, except for one word which reminds Nesterovic of his days in Europe — spontaneous. Life in Italy happens fast, he explains. There is no time or reason to plan everything out. When he moved to Italy a decade ago, it took him three months to understand Italian and another three months to speak it. But the fans he understood immediately. “European fans are there for basketball, they are there to enjoy the game. Here, it is a planned social event, fans 24

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come to eat, drink, talk, and sometimes...”, Nesterovic says with an exaggerated gasp, “even watch the opposing team’s players. That is almost unheard of in Europe. In the NBA, it is a show. In Europe, it is all serious business, pure game. There is really no comparison.” When given the microphone during the Spurs’ 2005 Championship celebration in San Anotonio, Nesterovic, a humble man of few words, could only verbalize his jubilation in an excited grunt, a spontaneous “Auushh!” Above him a banner read “One Team, One Goal,” a slogan that now helps him put the two titles into perspective. “In the NBA you are thinking about one thing only, the NBA title. Europe has two fronts you are always competing on: the national title and the European title. We won our 1998 European title on a Thursday, and were back fighting for an Italian championship that same weekend. But San Antonio carries a special place in my heart. So many people play in this league

and they don’t win a title. It was magical.” A decade from now, when he is relaxing somewhere in central Europe, Nesterovic will look at this 2007 season the same way. In just one season he helped completely turn around the Toronto Raptors, a team with five players and one chief executive from Europe. Getting traded to such a team, and a city whose motto is ‘Diversity: Our Strength’, is a coincidence Nesterovic is happy to be a part of. “I was a lucky guy coming to Toronto. All our guys, international or not, are great players. It is definitely easier to be with people that share your past, your language, your lifestyle, and that can more easily happen with people that are used to being around other international people. On the court you don’t know who is foreign and who is not. The court is 94 feet long, with a basket on each end.” European scouting reports, in their original hand-written form, are not exciting until they leave the arena and are tabulated, typed, and prepared for official use. Players that performed well in the Euroleague tournament are circled in red, with their averages scribbled just outside the margins. Nesterovic’s numbers and contribution were impressive enough to lead him to the NBA just a year later. “When you play on a big stage in Europe, you have a greater chance of being noticed in the NBA. But once you are here, you are starting from scratch. You are just getting your foot in the door and you have to prove yourself again. I think NBA is harder, playoff series are seven games, and you have 82 games before that. But we are all professionals, everybody plays hard here and in Europe. We all know what it means to win the NBA title or the Euroleague title.” That may be true, but there are only two that understand what it means to win both, and luckily for the Toronto Raptors, the larger one suits up for them.

INSIDE THE ARENA Wizards of Awes By Tracy Graven Home. Every sports team has an arena they call their “home,” but how many really make you feel like you’re at home? The U.S. Airways Center (formerly America West Arena) is the brainchild of Suns President and USA Basketball CEO Jerry Colangelo. It’s “home” to the Phoenix Suns, and everyone they welcome inside their doors. First conceived in 1988, the arena sprang to life five years later. Still, the 15-year-old structure has a down-to-earth feel of a building that’s been there for much longer. More than the concrete and steel that make up its foundation, its cornerstones are the warmth and friendliness of the people inside. Game Operations guru Kip Helt hails from Olatha, Kansas and has been pulling the levers and blowing the flash pots for over ten years behind the curtain with the Suns. Helt often puts in 18+ hour days, as unnoticed as the mythical Wizard of Oz himself, who also worked his magic shrouded in mystery. And everything comes off smoothly each time. You’d hardly know if he were hitting it in Hour 1 or Hour 18. That’s amazing since the USAC is not only home to the Suns, but also the WNBA’s Mercury, the AFL’s Rattlers, and the ECHL’s Roadrunners. Helt has had his hands in running the show for all of them. The man under the spotlight as master of ceremonies, Cedric Ceballos, is nearly a decade removed from wearing purple (both with the Lakers and Suns) is front and center at every pause in the action. His mastery of emceeing even earned him the honor of doing so at the 2007 NBA All-Star Weekend in Las Vegas this year. “I couldn’t tell you how much I value Ced,” said Helt. “We couldn’t do this without him.” On one of the biggest days of the year, Helt and his team arrive anywhere from 4-5 a.m. to prepare for a nationally-tele-

US Airways Center

vised noon game with the rival Dallas Mavericks. Rehearsals, meetings, and review of some of the best-laid plans in the NBA are the theme of a very long and busy day. Arduous, sure - but Helt wouldn’t trade it for the world. “If I had to add up the hours, it’d probably be scary,” says Helt. “But I love what I do. I’m blessed because I haven’t had to do any real work in my life.” Radio station giveaways, Fox Sports’ remote studio gracing the east side, fans showing their game with the rock, mem-

”I try to be as good as Mike D’Antoni and the Suns are,” says a humble Helt. “It’s tough to do. Nobody does as good a job as Mike and his players.” At the end of the third quarter Phoenix offers arguably the best quarter-change entertainment in the league on a consistent basis. There’s little doubt that everyone’s familiar with The Gorilla. Famous for his costume changes, interactions with the crowd and orange chopper rides, The Gorilla and his Sol Patrol thrill and chill fans with their gravity-defying,

bers of the Suns’ sinfully hot dance team greeting you on the way in along with members of the Adio Sol Patrol (who deejay pre-game and entertain alongside the world-renowned Gorilla throughout the game) - all of this and more awaits Suns fans as they arrive on the scene. And then there’s the game. Of course, you get quality basketball anytime you watch Steve Nash, Raja Bell, Boris Diaw, Amare Stoudemire, Shawn Marion and Leandro Barbosa streak up and down the court, but the product that Helt and his crew deliver is equally as entertaining. For instance, there was the time in November when he ran a parody of 12th man Pat Burke for Congress, because as Burke says, “I’ve got plenty of time on my hands.”

acrobatic dunks night in and night out. Just like the Inside the Arena experience Helt and his crew have cooked up for them. As the final horn sounds, Helt is already busy behind the curtains of the next event, conjuring his next great formula for success. When heading to your car, you’re not only relishing another Suns win over Dallas or a victory over the Lakers in the playoffs, but you walk away wanting to come back for more. Back home again, because when it comes to the Phoenix Suns and U.S. Airways Center, there’s no place like home. If you can find him behind the curtain, be sure and pay your respects to Helt, the wizard of awes. Dreams can come true, and he makes them happen every day. SWISHMAGAZINE.COM / MAY22007

UP CLOSE

Eddy Curry

Knicks New “Big Fella” Ready To Ride By Wendell Maxey Jr. A black Cadillac Escalade emerged from underneath Madison Square Garden on an overcast Sunday afternoon and slowly approached the security gate. A small crowd gathered to catch a glimpse of NBA life while security guards scurried to remove the barrier. As the SUV stopped, a tinted backseat window slid open and two autograph-hungry fans were ushered through an opening. A large tattooed hand

quickly grabbed an outreached marker and scrawled across a tattered blue New York Knicks shirt. This epitomizes Eddy Curry’s season: facing double-teams and leaving his mark on the game. “Every night he requires a double-team and some nights a triple-team,” says Knicks head coach and team president Isiah Thomas. “That’s what good players command every single night.” In a late-season game against the Toronto Raptors, Curry spent two-and-a26

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half hours being pounded in the paint by everyone Sam Mitchell could throw Eddy’s way. First it was Rasho Nesterovic and Chris Bosh. Then it was Andrea Bargnani and Bosh. During one stretch all three piled on. The beating eventually took its toll. Curry finished with 5 points in the loss. It just wasn’t his day. Good thing a reporter reminded Curry of it by asking if his struggles were possibly mental. “That’s no mental wall. That’s two people I’m hitting.” Thomas dove deeper with the explanation. “People play very rough with him and they’re allowed to play a different kind of game than they are with most centers. He’s gotten beat up a lot.” Despite the hardwood hassle Curry receives nightly, the 6’11”, 285-pound center admits the extra attention he’s drawn is a harsh reality he’ll likely face from here forward. “For the rest of my career it’s going to be double- and triple-teams. It’s extremely frustrating, but it comes with the territory. At this point no team is going to let me have my way with them. This is what I grew up dreaming about. I look at it as a sign of respect.” Reverence hurts sometimes, especially when it’s self-inflicted. After he was snubbed in favor of Eastern Conference reserve centers Dwight Howard and Jermaine O’Neal during All-Star selection this past February, Curry arrived at Knicks practice after the break sporting a new tattoo across his chest: “Bruised Never Broken.” Since his nightly 19 points and 8 rebounds didn’t make the league listen, he figured the ink would. “He’s still learning the nuances and the mentality of the game,” says Knicks legend Walt “Clyde” Frazier of Curry’s maturation. “With the quantum leap from high school, to the pros, to sitting on the bench, he really didn’t get better. All of a sudden he got it. I was surprised how quickly he changed.”

Opposing players and coaches confess they’ve never seen anyone Curry’s size possess such agility and mobility. Words even flowed freely around the Garden comparing the 24-year-old to Shaquille O’Neal and former Knicks great Patrick Ewing. Thomas propped Curry on that pedestal early and suggests Eddy’s numbers were the added lift. “The most amazing thing is you look at the stat sheet at the end of the night and it still says 20 and it still says 19. Somehow he scratches out 19 or 20 points a night. That is pretty incredible, and none if it appears to be easy.” While courtside critics chide Eddy’s conditioning, sparse rebounding, and defensive woes, his dexterity is imperative to die-hard Knicks fans. They’re hooked on Curry and so is his head coach. “I’m not a drug addict, but he’s my number one drug.” Stephon Marbury, once the face of the franchise, has shown his support of the maturing center by deferring to Curry in Thomas’s offense the entire season. Now that Curry has become the new face of the New York Knicks, the question is whether Curry can shoulder the load and return the Knicks to prominence like the original “Big Fella” once did. “He has the capability of doing it,” said Frazier, who played alongside Willis Reed and watched Patrick Ewing over his 17year-career. “In a couple of years he can be dominant like Patrick.” Positioned in the playoff hunt until the last weeks of the season, team-wide injuries depleted the Knicks’ chances of returning to the postseason for the first time in four years. Through all the distress the man in the middle remained stoic. Forget the unfair comparisons to other centers. Forget the tats. Forget facing double-teams and signing post-game autographs from a smooth ride. Eddy Curry may be lounging in the back on a Sunday afternoon, but he’s already in the driver’s seat for the New York Knicks.

A Champion Knows When to Step Away A Tribute to Carroll Dawson By Bill Ingram

Rockets GM Carroll Dawson can honestly say he’s been there and done that. From repossessing cars to selling sneakers to scouting for the Dallas Cowboys to winning NBA championships – Carroll Dawson has seen it all. He will retire this summer, ending an amazing and unprecedented 27-year run with the Houston Rockets. Over that span he’s been a part of four trips to the NBA Finals, two championships, Hall of Fame careers like those of Moses Malone, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Clyde Drexler, and the rebuilding of a franchise around All-Stars Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady. All of this from a man who had to practically re-invent the game as a child growing up in East Texas. “I was back in East Texas living in a small town and we didn’t have a basket, so I was shooting with a syrup bucket,” says Dawson. “I had a syrup bucket and I took the handle off. I put some sand in a toe sack to make it balance and I started shooting with that. That’s how it started. Here it is, sixty years later.” Sixty years later Dawson is amazed at the turn his career took. It’s certainly a long way from where it started. “I got out of the service and I was going to try to play for the Philips Oilers AAU team,” he recalls. “In the ’50s, when I got out of school, the NBA was eight teams that played back East that nobody around here cared about. I knew about the St. Louis Hawks because they had Bob Pettit and I would watch them a little bit, but I didn’t even think about playing in the NBA. Everybody around here wanted to play for the Phillips Oilers or Denver Truckers AAU teams. If you played for them, you worked for them the 28

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rest of your life. I had a tryout, but then my old school called and asked me to be their assistant coach. At the time I was repossessing cars and getting shot at. I asked if I would get shot at and they said they didn’t think they would ever be that bad. I said, ‘OK, I’ll take it!’ ” He took it, and wound up staying for 16 years before life carried him one step closer to the NBA. Next Dawson went to Dallas, hoping to land a job with Merrill Lynch. That was when his roommate from college ran into him and knocked his life off course again. “He asked me if I would like to work for the Cowboys. I told him I didn’t know which end of the football you throw with; I had never played. There were only 36 students at my high school and 26 of those were girls. We didn’t have a football team and could barely field a basketball team. This was about 1976 and there was an anti-trust suit going on and they thought the NFL Draft

was going to be done away with. They wanted me to head up a recruiting team they were putting together because I had kind of a reputation for recruiting. So I said I would do it. The verdict came back they hadn’t done away with the draft, but they had cut it from 17 rounds to 12, so I thought I was out of a job. But they put me on signing free agents, running the war room. I worked there for two years.” That’s when fate once again intervened, this time in the guise of then-Rockets head coach Del Harris. “I’d known Del for a long time when he called and asked me to be his assistant. I said, ‘You’ve never been a head coach in the NBA and I’ve never been an assistant – we’d get killed.’ So I didn’t do it, but he came back the next year and had to hit me over the head with a twoby-four, but I took the job.” “My first year as head coach I was on a one-year contract,” recalls Harris, now an assistant coach with the Dallas Mavericks. “We had a little problem with our assistant coach situation. In those days you only had one assistant coach per team. My assistant coach had a heart problem that developed right before training camp that turned out not to be major, but it required him to miss training camp. When he came back it just never quite worked out. We had made it to the second round of the playoffs and been beaten by the Boston Celtics Larry Bird’s rookie year. I decided the best way to go was to hire a friend and somebody that I really trusted, and (Dawson) had become my best friend in Houston. He had coached before at Baylor and been a good player himself, and at that point had also scouted for the Dallas Cowboys and was the Converse shoe representative for Texas. I told him he didn’t have any business selling shoes; he needed to be coaching and I needed him. He gave me that ‘aw shucks’ routine, but he decided it wasn’t that bad an idea after all, and he’s been there ever since.” “I remember my first season with Del we made it to the Finals,” recalls Dawson. “It was a big surprise because we beat the Lakers in the first round, which no one thought we would do. The first round was best-of-three back then. In fact, that series is the reason we went from a best-of-three first round to best-of-five. But Moses made the comment to the media that he could pick four guys off the street and beat the Celtics. That didn’t go over too well in Boston and they beat us. The most striking thing to me was that Boston was using this brand new video technology to prepare for games and also at half time to show their team what they needed to work on for the second half. This was really state-of-the art technol-

ogy at the time - it was the latest thing. I remember the video room was on the way from the visitors’ locker room to the court, so Del and I stopped to look inside. We both kind of stood there with our mouths open, and then I turned to Dell and asked him if I thought that could beat what we had on our clipboard, because that was all we had.” “That very first year he came in with me we went to the NBA Finals,” beams Harris. “He’s been there three times since then and won a couple and it took me 25 years to get back (with the Mavericks last season). In the meantime we’ve both had wonderful careers. We were two small-town boys, one

from Indiana and one from Texas, who got united by basketball. We’ve done things and seen things that we probably never thought possible when we were growing up.” Dawson was Rudy Tomjanovich’s lead assistant through the Hakeem Olajuwon Era, which yielded the Rockets two NBA championships. His only regret is that the Rockets traded Hakeem away before he retired. “The trade was a mistake,” says Dawson of the deal that sent Olajuwon to Toronto. “I think if Dream was here he would say he should have stayed here where he was comfortable, where he wasn’t expected to do as much at that stage of his career. Ultimately, I talked to (the Raptors) about doing something special for him, he came back here and we had a big ceremony and he retired here. So it came out well, and it should have because there’s no one who deserves a good ending SWISHMAGAZINE.COM / MAY22007

more than Olajuwon - what he’s meant to this franchise and to this city, and truly to just basketball. I still watch him when the classics come on. I’ll sit there sometimes and watch and I still marvel at Dream’s talent. I’ll watch on a big screen, somebody going for a lay-up and he’s not even in the picture, then he comes from out of nowhere and he blocks the ball into the stands.” Olajuwon was the focal point of the Rockets team that won the 1994 NBA Championship – the first in franchise history. To help defend the title the Rockets orchestrated a deal that brought Olajuwon’s best friend and former University of Houston Phi Slamma Jamma teammate Clyde Drexler to town. Clyde helped the Rockets win their second consecutive title, but retired a couple of seasons later when many thought he was still capable of helping the Rockets contend.

tion and he told me, ‘You know, you promise yourself something, you think it’s the right time, I did in my heart and I left.’ I said, ‘You ever regret it?’ He said, ‘No.’ I said, ‘You weren’t ever tempted to call me and ask for a ten-day contract?’ He said, ‘Well, maybe once.’ (laughing) But he never did. For him it was the right thing, but I just didn’t think anybody could do that. It was real surprising.” When the era of Olajuwon and Drexler came to an end the Rockets spent some time in limbo. It wasn’t until the 2002 NBA Draft, when they landed international basketball sensation Yao Ming with the top overall pick, that the franchise began to reestablish its identity. It was a risky move, but one that has paid off handsomely for Dawson and the Rockets. “It’s amazing to me that he made the decision to pick me in the 2002 draft,” says Yao. “I wasn’t playing in Europe, where a lot of teams do their scouting. I was in a country that hasn’t had many players come to the NBA before. It took a lot of courage for him to take a chance on me and I appreciate what he did. He was in a difficult position in trying to negotiate for me to come here. I’ve worked throughout my career to make sure I don’t let him down.” Two seasons later Dawson would make another major move, sending Steve Francis to the Orlando Magic in a package deal that brought perennial scoring champion Tracy McGrady to Houston. It was an exciting trade, but also one that handicapped the team for the next couple of seasons, as Dawson relates. “Here’s what nobody understands. We’re over the cap three years ago, and we trade three starters for Tracy. That means we’ve got one good player, but we’ve lost a lot of players. So we’re still over the cap, still have no money, so all we can do is sign minimum players or make trades. I got lucky and traded for Jon Barry, David Wesley, and Mike James and we went on and won 50-something games. But you can only get oldertype players like that. We had to start acquiring some assets, so last year we still had older players. (Bob) Sura went down, then we lost Barry, then we lost Rafer Alston – we wind up losing seven of our top eight players to injuries at that time and we couldn’t beat anybody. That was my 27th year in the league and I had never seen anything like it.” The NBA rarely sees anything like Dawson’s 27 years of

“While no one should have to be compared to Red Auerbach, when I think of CD’s impact it reminds me of Red’s impact on the Celtics.” Rockets Assistant GM Daryl Morey “I still get on Clyde about retiring when he did,” says Dawson, shaking his head. “He could have played for another five years. You know, his second year here, right after we won the championship he told me he was retiring at the end of his contract. I remember like it was yesterday and it was ten years ago. I said ‘you’re lying. You’re at the top of your game, I don’t care what your age is.’ He was such a high-efficiency player, even at that age at that time. I told him he could play another ten years. He said, ‘No, I made myself a promise. When this contract’s up I’m going to quit.’ I said, ‘Well, you may have made that promise, but there’s no way in hell you’re going to leave, as well as you’re playing.’ So we made a bet on that and I’ll be darned but I lost. I still can’t believe it to this day. He’s working for us now (broadcasting) and I’m with him all the time. I asked him not too long ago about that whole situa-

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service to the same team, either. The Rockets have an outstanding core group that, if healthy, should be able to compete for a championship in the near future. It seems a perfect time for the man who has seen it all in Houston to step away and let someone else take over. “CD has meant a tremendous amount to the Rockets and the entire Houston community,” says Rockets owner Les Alexander. “One of the things I have admired most about Carroll over the years is his undeniable loyalty to this franchise and this city. He has always made sure to put the needs of the organization first. CD saw this organization grow from humble beginnings to world champions. He has been a very important part of our team success on and off the court. “I think our team is in a very good place right now,” Alexander continues. “We have built for the future with two young superstars in Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming and surrounded them with very good young role players such as Shane Battier, Rafer Alston and Luther Head. CD has been an important part of that process. He may be stepping away from his current responsibilities, but I still want to have him involved with our organization for as long as we can.” The man taking the reigns from Dawson is Daryl Morey, who came over from the Boston Celtics to serve as assistant GM for the 2006-07 season. “CD has consistently been one of the top GMs in the league and will be an extremely tough act to follow,” says Morey. “He has won two titles and put together the current core of Yao and Tracy that makes us a strong playoff competitor in the very difficult Western Conference.” “Carroll’s a great GM,” agrees McGrady. “He’s somebody I can call up at any given time and talk about anything – any issues, non-basketball-related, anything. It’s always good to have a great relationship with the GM who’s willing to have an open ear when you want to voice your opinion about making your team better. He’s that type of guy.” Morey sees Dawson’s impact on the Rockets as being similar to the impact another legend had on his former team. “While no one should have to be compared to Red Auerbach, when I think of CD’s impact it reminds me of Red’s impact on the Celtics. Both as a coach and general manager he has shaped a franchise that has won multiple titles during his tenure. I feel confident in the player and organizational foundation CD has established. Owner Leslie Alexander has smartly organized a

streamlined succession plan that will likely involve CD serving as an advisor to the Rockets after his retirement into the foreseeable future. Both CD and I see ourselves as stewards of this franchise for the fans of Houston and view it as a deep responsibility to continue the championship success the franchise has experienced in the past into the future.” Dawson is very much looking forward to spending some quality time with his family, but he admits that basketball is still in his blood as much as it ever was. “I’m going to miss it terribly. You miss the misery, you really do. There’s a lot of misery in this. I’ve always said you’ve got to win at least two-out-of-three to make it and you really do.

The highs are only so high, but the lows are tremendously low. So to even it out you’ve got to win two-out-of-three to even be close and it’s hard to win two-out-of-three in this league. That’s a .667 winning percentage and you’ve got a good team if you’re doing that. Over the years we’ve had some good teams and we’ve had some poor teams. I’ll miss the relationships. I’ll miss talking to Joe Dumars or Randy Pfund or Jerry West every day. Geoff Petrie . . .all those relationships you have and all of the people in Houston. I’ve been very fortunate. I’ve had three great jobs and I tell myself this every day: Don’t take anything for granted.” Carroll Dawson now steps away from the job, the team, the family that is the Houston Rockets. Whether it be his championship rings, his relationships with the players over the years, or the love he has for the team and the city they represent, “CD” is truly a special part of Houston’s rich sports history. SWISHMAGAZINE.COM / MAY22007

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

Chris Bosh

Looking For Raptors Leader? Just Ask Around By Wendell Maxey Jr. Somewhere tucked away in the confines of The Palace of Auburn Hills, Joe Dumars has to be kicking himself. Back in 2003 the Detroit Pistons, in need of post scoring, opted for Darko Milicic with the second pick instead of a 6’10, versatile power forward from Georgia Tech named Chris Bosh. Milicic never quite panned out in Motown, but what has Bosh done for the Toronto Raptors since being drafted fourth that same year? “He’s the key to our success,” says point guard T.J. Ford, who has known Bosh since their high school days in Texas. “I’m just glad to be next to him. He’s one of the rising stars in the NBA and showing he’s an All-Star by taking his game to the next level.” After four seasons in the league, Bosh is reaching for a new plateau: MVP. The distinction suits him perfectly and would add another achievement to Chris’ already impressive career. The cover of the Raptors media guide projects Bosh as a triple threat: All-Star, USA National Team member, and Toronto’s team leader. Add “MVP” to that list and you’ve got yourself a foursome. Bosh is again leading Toronto in nearly every offensive category and is the catalyst for the Raptors clinching their first playoff birth since 2002, bringing the Atlantic Division title north of the border. Maybe now those front office types who passed on Bosh will understand how valuable he truly is. His teammates, however, are already aware. “I think I’m going to be his agent,” admits Anthony Parker, who played six seasons in Europe before joining the Raptors this year. Last October Parker stood slack-jawed in awe of Bosh while Parker’s Maccabi Tel Aviv team played an exhibition game in Toronto. Parker immediately recognized Bosh’s raw athleticism. He’s never seen anything like it. “Seeing him play last year really 32

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made an impression on me. He’s an agile big man that can finish, pass, shoot, and has an outside game. He’s unselfish and a mismatch for everybody. He’s also an All-Star and only 23 years old. It’s a little scary.” Raptors guard Darrick Martin has played in the league for eleven years, not to mention stops in the CBA, ABA, overseas, and the Harlem Globetrotters; Martin’s seen it all. Yet, there is an aura about Bosh that leaves the vet amazed. “Sometimes I’ll watch him make a move and it’s like, ‘Wow!’ I won’t say anything to him but I’m like, ‘Wow!’ Watching him progress has been a joy for me.” Martin feels Bosh’s success on the court is directly related to his quiet assurance and character away from the bright lights and cameras. “A lot of the superstars you see in the league are in commercials promoting

themselves. They’re into self promotion; it’s about me and my shot attempts and the money I can make. Chris just goes about his business day to day. Nothing is ever about him. His personality is not to be in the limelight. It’s not something he thrives on. To see a young guy have that these days is a rare commodity.” Although Martin’s compliment defines Chris’ quiet confidence, T.J. Ford says not to be fooled by the silent type. Between the lines, Bosh is strictly business. “He’s quiet but has fire in him and definitely showcases that during the game. He lets his emotions show.” When asked what they admire most about Chris, his teammates usually agree one attribute sets Bosh apart: his strong work ethic. “That was one of the things I noticed right when I got here,” Martin explains. “He’ll come in early and leave late to work on his game. Just to see him improve game by game and month by month, it’s been fun to be around. He’s dedicated to being the best NBA player he can be.” “There’s no excuses,” adds Parker. “His All-Star play trickles down and makes the rest of the team better. He works hard, if not harder, than anyone else on the team. You see it paying off and other guys on the team see that and think, ‘Chris Bosh has to do this? Then I have to do it to.’ That really sets the tone for our team.” Although Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki and Phoenix’s two-time reigning MVP Steve Nash will likely battle it out for Most Valuable Player, Chris Bosh shouldn’t be left out of the discussion. Toronto had only 27 wins all of last season; this year, thanks to Bosh’s indispensable production, the Raptors have the biggest turnaround for victories in the league and an Atlantic Division championship. Better yet, ask Joe “D” who deserves the MVP. He would certainly think twice about selecting Chris Bosh.

VISIONS OF WINNING

Mark Cuban

Trust your Teammates, Trust the System By Bill Ingram The story of the amazing success that the Dallas Mavericks are enjoying starts and ends with one man. He started as a man with a vision – not only of a better basketball team, but also of a presentation that would make basketball more fun for fans of all ages. “I was a Mavs season-ticket holder,” explains Mark Cuban. “I went to the opening night of the 1999-2000 season against the Warriors. It’s wasn’t a sellout; there wasn’t the energy that opening night should have. I thought, ‘This is crazy! I can do a better job than this.’ So Mark Aguirre introduced me to Ross Perot, Jr. and I made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. “A big part of our audience is kids,” Cuban continues. “A 5-year-old and a 10-yearold have different expectations than a 40year-old. That 40-year-old who’s bringing their kids wants them to be entertained. Ultimately, want it to be fun. I can’t control what happens with wins and losses, but I can control the experience. I think we have the best in all of professional sports.” The journey to having the best team in professional sports was not as easy as building a stunning new state-of-the-art arena and filling it with a plethora of entertainment possibilities. It started with former head coach Don Nelson’s strategy of bringing in as many All-Stars as possible, one Cuban originally supported, but the Mavericks owner eventually recognized that such an approach wouldn’t work. That all changed when Avery Johnson came to town. “I thought Nellie would be a great one for Avery to learn from, but when Nellie got sick, Avery got to coach. It was immediately obvious that guys respected him and trusted him. We talked about bringing in a system instead of a freelance environment like Nellie had. Avery agreed and tried to create a system that was the best of both worlds. Now his mantra to his players is: ‘Trust your Teammates, Trust the System.’ So I got to see Avery in action,

and when Nellie gave up on us he was right there, ready.” Avery was ready, and with him came a new mentality that would take the Dallas Mavericks to heights they had never before achieved. “I remember one year the Spurs got off to a great start, and I realized they had corporate knowledge,” explains Cuban. “(Jerry) Sloan has the same thing with the Jazz – a system that everybody knows. They’ve got corporate knowledge. People don’t realize that we had to go through a180-degree cultural turnaround for this team from run-and-gun to winning with our defense. To go from a former coach not thinking we could get out of the first round to the same personnel getting to the Finals, my hope was that by keeping these guys together we could accomplish more with more corporate knowledge. So we signed extensions for everybody.” The Mavericks’ new mentality, which involves developing young players instead of trading for stars, has been an important part of their evolution as a franchise. First-year All-Star Josh Howard is a perfect example. “I remember during his rookie year Josh didn’t get as many minutes as he thought he should,” says Cuban. “I told him good things would happen to him if he worked hard; now look where he is. I’m taking no credit because he worked very hard on his game, and he has a lot of natural skill. Guys on this team recognize that you improve your game over the summer and they work hard at it. They also understand that you get smarter and learn the system better during the season, and they work hard at it. There’s a different commitment and a different maturity level in terms of improving guys’

games now because Avery demands it from them. ‘Trust your Teammates, Trust the System’ is a huge cultural change that has really had an impact on all the guys, Dirk included. “Dirk has learned to trust the system. You can see it in him this year, getting everybody involved. His assists are way up, but he still knows that when the game’s on the line it’s his job. It’s really a tribute to Dirk that he could make the adjustment from one system that he played in for six or seven years and then do a complete turnaround to a new system.” Despite all of the success Mark Cuban’s Mavericks have enjoyed, there was a moment last summer when he considered selling the team. Having seen the ugly side of NBA politics, Cuban briefly thought it was better to just get out of the business. Thankfully, that moment passed. “My stance hasn’t changed at all,” explains Cuban. “If the NBA makes me crazy enough I will – I came close last summer. Fortunately, these guys are so special that that flew out the window.” To a man, the Dallas Mavericks feel their owner is pretty special, too. SWISHMAGAZINE.COM / MAY22007

HIGH FLYERS Enter “The Matrix!” By Greg White When NBA fans talk about the Phoenix Suns and the first name that comes up is usually Steve Nash. After Nash it’s Amare Stoudemire. Perhaps, if the conversation goes on long enough, they’ll get around to discussing one of the most overlooked players in the game. Despite making four All-Star appearances and being named to the NBA All-Defensive team four times, Shawn Marion hasn’t quite become the household name that players of his caliber usually are after eight seasons on one of the league’s most consistently good teams. For the past three seasons, Marion has spent most of his time playing out of position, yet he has ranked in the top 10 in both rebounds and steals. He can, over the course of one game, guard Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker – displaying amazing versatility. As a direct result, his team has been one of the top title contenders in the league and he has been to two consecutive Western Conference Finals. Even so, Marion is often upstaged by his MVPcaliber teammates. While this has been a sore subject for Marion, he still goes out every night and produces. He does all of the little things it takes for his team to win. He defends, rebounds, and scores, all the while not getting a single play run for him throughout the course of the game. Despite this, he takes it all in stride. When asked how he deals with not getting the publicity others get, or the plays drawn up for him, he puts the 34

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Shawn Marion

team first. “There are drawbacks to everything, but it has its pros and cons,” said Marion. “But you have to learn to think that when you are on a team you need to do certain things to help the team win. You have to do those things. A lot of people don’t want to or know how to do some things (defense and rebounding) without doing the other stuff (scoring) and that is why some teams suck. Some players don’t want to do that extra step that it takes to

win. You need someone to do all the other stuff that it takes to win. I understand that it is what you gotta do sometimes.” Once he was drafted by the Suns with the ninth pick in the 1999 NBA Draft, Marion had officially arrived. “People knew from my third or fourth preseason game what I could do,” says Marion. “I always have been an impact player even from training camp. People saw me do stuff that other people couldn’t do, and I have always been doing it. For my size I am

a good rebounder and I use my size to my advantage. I do a lot of things other people can’t do so I just play, man.” It was at that time TNT’s Kenny Smith bestowed upon him one of the best nicknames in the NBA: “The Matrix”. “It felt good man. It was hot. The movie was hot at the time and just ran with it once people saw what I can do.” Like Neo from the movies, Marion does it all. With Amare out for all but three games last season, Marion had to shoulder most of the load. Marion was the only NBA player ranked in the top twenty in points (T-15th), rebounds (3rd), steals (5th), blocks (17th), field goal percentage (T-10th) and minutes played (T-7th). He finished in the top five in rebounds and steals for the second consecutive season, a feat accomplished only one other time since the league began to keep track of steals in 1973-74 (David Robinson, 1991-92). He also recorded the Suns’ highest rebounding average (11.8) since Charles Barkley averaged 12.2 in 1992-93. Despite the fact that Amare was out, the Suns still finished with the fourth-best record in the league and came one win from the NBA Finals. The synergy between Nash and Marion is like watching an art form, but to Marion it is pretty simple as to why they work so well together. “I’m good at moving without the ball and he is good at finding people without the ball. You just have to make yourself available.” While Nash and Amare continue to rack up the accolades, Marion will continue to do all of the things it takes to win. Perhaps if the Phoenix Suns win an NBA title Marion will get recognized for being one of the best and most versatile small forwards ever to play the game.

THE MAN BEHIND THE NAME “Tough Juice” By Kealin Culbreath For the sixth-year man from the University of Connecticut, it has been one of many great strides. Not only has Caron Butler become an integral part of the Washington Wizards’ success, he has also established himself as one of the best small forwards in the NBA. A member of the heralded Big Three (along with Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison), his commanding presence on the court has earned the respect of his peers and coaches throughout the league. With a career-best season in terms of points (19.1), rebounds (7.4), steals (2.1), assists (3.7), field goal percentage (46.3), free throw percentage (86.3) and minutes played (39.3), Caron Butler has officially arrived. But the road to reach this level hasn’t been easy. Known to his teammates as “Tough Juice” because of his intimidating style of play, Butler also feels the name is appropriate because it symbolizes his journey to the NBA. “The name fits me,” says Butler. “I’m a tough guy. I go out there and play tough on both ends of the court. I also think I’m tough in life. I won’t accept ‘no’ and I won’t accept failure. That’s me.” When Caron was 14 years old, he was sentenced to 14 months in a Wisconsin juvenile facility for drug possession. The experience was a turning point in his life. Realizing the life he was leading at the time could only end in an early death, Caron used his natural abilities on the court to help start a new life. “That’s when I first started realizing that basketball could be my way out,” says Caron. “That’s where the toughness comes from. Now, when I put my mind to doing something, I know I can do it.” After college Butler was drafted tenth overall by the Miami Heat in 2002, but his stint with the

Caron Butler

Heat was short-lived as he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Shaquille O’Neal trade in 2004. The following year he went to Washington in exchange for Kwame Brown. Recognizing that he had great potential, the Wizards signed Butler to a five-year, $45 million contract. “I feel great here,” says Caron. “The community has accepted me. I mean, I received a long-term extension without even playing a game, so there’s nothing I won’t do for this organization. Showing a commitment to me like that financially, the least I can do is go out there and perform at a high level every day.” Caron has kept his promise to the organization and the fans by absolutely leaving everything on the floor every single night. He has continued to grow as a professional athlete and has been the most consistent member of the Big Three throughout the season. “I’m a listener and I’m well aware that in order to have success in this league,

one, you have to listen to the coach, and two, you have to put in the time and effort,” says Caron. “I’ve put in my time studying the game, I put in my time after practice and do the extra things, and it’s finally starting to pay off.” Now armed with killer mid-range and post-up games, as well as the ability to take a defender off the dribble, it is no wonder the league has taken notice of Caron’s exploits. Chosen by the coaches as a reserve member of the Eastern Conference All-Stars (his first selection), Caron was thrilled and humbled by the recognition. “I’m extremely happy and grateful to be selected as an All-Star,” said an emotional Caron. “I want to especially thank the coaching staff for believing in me and giving me the confidence and the freedom to be me. I have become a better player because of that, and this honor is a tribute to that.” The regular season was indeed magical for the young Wizard, but tragically his season ended in early April as Caron sustained a second metacarpal fracture in his right hand, causing him to miss the next six weeks. To emphasize how important Caron’s presence is to the young Wizards, with Butler out of the lineup this season the team has gone a paltry 4-15. In effect, Butler’s injury may have ended any chances that the Wizards had of making a deep run in the playoffs. “We’re going to miss the numbers, plain and simple,” said a deflated Head Coach Eddie Jordan. “His mind-set, his toughness, his blue collar, hard hat approach. We’re going to miss all of that.” Arenas may be the team’s best player, but without a doubt “Tough Juice” is the team’s heart and soul. As a player he embodies everything the city represents - hardworking, talented, and resilient . This minor setback will not hamper his development, and next season Caron will pick up exactly where he left off. SWISHMAGAZINE.COM / MAY22007

A New Generation Walking Through the Fire

An Inside Look at Utah’s First Playoff Appearance Since Stockton and Malone By Travis Heath In May of 2003 the unthinkable happened in Utah. The two players who had defined the Jazz organization for well over a decade played their final game after being eliminated four games to one by the Sacramento Kings. After the loss, John Stockton rode quietly into the sunset while Karl Malone headed to Tinseltown for one last shot at the NBA championship which had eluded him for so long. The Jazz were left without an identity, and many pundits predicted the worst. Just three years after being left for dead by the rest of the NBA the Jazz have once again ascended to the top of the Western Conference behind a young and exciting nucleus of Carlos Boozer, Deron Williams and Mehmet Okur. It seems the once inevitable demise of the Jazz was greatly exaggerated. “We were really fortunate because we signed

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a couple of players as free-agents, and obviously with the bad year that we had (in 2004-05) – we only won 26 games – we got a good player in the draft,” explains head coach Jerry Sloan. “I think those three players have helped us a great deal to become a little bit more competitive. They’re young and obviously we’ve got a lot of work to do to try and get better. But they have certainly given us a big lift. I don’t know how we could have fared without Boozer, Okur and of course Deron Williams.” With a solid young core and a couple of savvy veteran playoff performers, the new generation of Utah Jazz basketball is primed to walk through the postseason fire for the first time since the 2002-03 season, and for the first time in over 20 years, without the legendary combination of Stockton and Malone.

Youth is Served The new-look Jazz came together faster than anyone could have imagined this season and quickly established themselves as one of the top five teams in the Western Conference. However, as March quietly rolled into April the Jazz were forced to acknowledge a harsh bit of reality; Boozer, Williams and the majority of Utah’s young nucleus had never experienced even a single game of playoff basketball. This fact left many around the league wondering just how much success Utah could expect to find in the postseason. “Well, we’ll find out,” Sloan asserts in a genuinely curious tone. “Making the playoffs is one of the things we thought was important for us to start the season. We said that had to be the goal. Otherwise, guys might play ten years in this league and never experience that. Consequently, they have no frame of reference to work from during the season when they get into tough games or tough parts of the season. Hopefully by playing games in the playoffs – because it is a different ballgame – it will give them an opportunity to know how to fight through and at least experience that.” The experience of playoff basketball Sloan references is something Utah’s young players are yearning to engage in. “I can’t wait, man,” beams Carlos Boozer. “I’ve been waiting for this my whole life. You know, getting into the playoffs, seeing how good my team can be and seeing how we respond to tough situations. I’m so excited, man. This is what you work so hard in the season for to get to the playoffs. Now we’re finally here, I’m finally here, and I’m going to take full advantage.” “We talk about it all the time,” C.J. Miles says. “Everybody’s just excited, especially coming from the last couple of years. The year before last we had a really bad season, and then last year being 41-41 and a couple of games out. Then this year being able to make that jump to be one of the better teams in the league, everybody’s excited to get in there, play hard and

see what it’s like. A lot of us young guys were just excited to show what we can do and try and win it all.” “Aw man, I’m too excited,” adds point guard Deron Williams. “I don’t know what the feeling is going to be like. I’ve only heard about it from some guys on this team, you know, only a couple of guys on this team have been in the playoffs. I think as a team we’re excited about the playoffs and hopefully we can get our confidence going.” Excitement and confidence heading in is one thing, but having the poise to execute in crucial situations is a very unique challenge in and of itself – especially for young players. “The pressure all of a sudden changes in a different direction,” Sloan says of playoff basketball. “You know, you miss a couple of shots and we don’t have ten or fifteen minutes to get ourselves going,” Sloan explained. “Players have got to learn if they can’t get going, then we’ve got to get them out a little bit quicker than we would in the regular season, and hopefully somebody else can hold down the fort a little bit until we get someone else ready to play. Those are things that I think are going to be important for our younger guys.” If Miles’ rhetoric is any indication, it looks like Sloan’s message to his younger players might be sinking in. “When the playoffs come around, everybody is going to be on top of their game. Every possession is going to matter and we’re going to have to play our style of basketball, not get outside our game and just execute what we do.” Despite the maturity of some of Utah’s young players and the tutelage of a future Hall of Fame coach, there remains only one tried and true method for preparing inexperienced players for playoff basketball; throw them into the fire and hope things don’t get too hot. “Well, it’s just something where they are going to be thrown into the fire and they’ll find out for themselves,” veteran Matt Harpring explains. “We all did it when we were young, and SWISHMAGAZINE.COM / MAY22007

they are going to do it now. It will be great experience for them. Then guys who haven’t been there before realize what it’s all about and what it takes to win in the playoffs.”

Priceless Veteran Leadership While Utah is young at some very key positions, it’s not as though they are entering the playoffs without any veteran leadership. In fact, the Jazz already has two players at their disposal who have won NBA championships in Derek Fisher and Mehmet Okur. Their experience and leadership, along with that of Harpring, will be pivotal if Utah hopes to advance deep into the playoffs. “D-Fish has been in every battle,” asserts Boozer. “Matt Harpring’s been in many battles, and Memo’s been in many battles. You know, we’ve had guys that have been playoff tested and hit big shots in the playoffs. I’m sure there’s going to be plenty of times when we look to them for big shots, guidance and leadership. The great thing about it is that they’ve been there for us all year. They’re not going to be shy or unprepared. We are so excited to have them on our team because they are going to help lead the way.” One would be hard-pressed to find a better leader anywhere in the NBA than Fisher, who won three NBA titles while playing for the Los Angeles Lakers. His new Jazz teammates have taken notice. “I’m sure he’ll have some words of inspiration for us,” Williams says of Fisher. “He’s been through it all and he has three rings. He knows what it’s about. He knows what it takes to win. He’s been there and done that. We are definitely going to look to him for a lot of leadership and a lot of everything in the playoffs.” “Leadership is important,” confides Fisher. “There are several different aspects of leadership in sports. Part of it is performance, and the other part of it is leading by example and combining those things so that your younger players can look to you. They can use you as an example, use you as motivation, and use you as a guy where they can see whether things are going good or things are going bad, this guy handles his business the right way.” Fisher has been a leader now for many years, but for a player like Okur, the process of evolving into a leader is still ongoing. However, the experience he got as a reserve on Detroit’s 2004 NBA championship team will no doubt pay dividends for both Okur and his teammates in Utah. Okur offers these words of advice for his Utah comrades: “I had two years with Detroit which was a great experience for me in my career, but the playoffs are a different level. We are such a young basketball team right now. You have to play 100% in the playoffs. Like they say, it’s win or go home. It’s not going to be easy for us, but we’ve got to bring our ‘A’ game night-in and night-out.” Even though Okur won a title in Detroit, his role was somewhat limited. For the Jazz, he will be expected to play a much more substantial role. 38

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“Okur is in a different position,” Sloan explains. “He’s a guy we count on to score points right off the bat. “It’s not like he’s coming in to back up Rasheed Wallace or somebody like that,” Sloan adds with a chuckle. Sloan’s message appears to have been received by Okur, and the big man from Turkey seems ready to accept more responsibility in the playoffs. “When I was in Detroit I used to have to play like 15 or 20 minutes a game,” Okur says. “Right now I play like 30 to 35 minutes. I just need to bring my experience to help us win basketball games.” If anyone understands how important veteran players are come playoff time, it’s probably Sloan, who has coached over 150 career playoff games. This experience has taught the veteran coach the tangible effect veterans can have on postseason games when those games get tight coming down the stretch. “It’s so important for us to learn how to fight through some tough times,” Sloan says. “Veteran players who have been around a long time and had a lot of ups and downs say, ‘Okay, we’re gonna win the game.’ Young players say, ‘Let’s see if we can hold the lead.’ There’s a big difference when you go out there and you know you are going to try to win the ballgame instead of just trying to tread water and keep from losing.” Despite the fact that Utah has some veteran players who have been through the playoff wars of yesteryear, Fisher knows that it’s going to take more than a couple of veterans for the Jazz to get where they ultimately want to go. “It’s really about continuing to learn and experience how to become winners collectively,” adds Fisher. “It’s not enough to have one or two guys who have won before, but it’s about a team learning how to win. You know, we’re going through that process right now, but we feel good about where we can go.”

Forging on Towards the Unknown Jazz supporters have pointed to the team’s record in the regular season against the top-five teams in the Western Conference – a record well above .500 – as a reason to be optimistic about Utah’s chances in the playoffs. Rookie guard Ronnie Brewer shared such sentiment. “If you’ve watched us over the season when we’ve played teams such as Dallas, Phoenix and San Antonio, we’re definitely capable of beating teams with some of the best records in the NBA. I definitely think our team plays up to the competition. We are capable of playing with these teams, if not beating them in the playoffs. We just have to be consistent, stay healthy, and I think anything’s possible.” While Utah’s record against the best in the West during the regular season was no doubt impressive at 51-31, it’s no secret that the regular season and the playoffs are two completely separate beasts. People can speculate to their heart’s content, but the reality is that no one knows how a player SWISHMAGAZINE.COM / MAY22007

will respond to playoff pressure until he gets a chance to look that pressure directly in the eye. This is a phenomenon Sloan understands all too well. When asked if Utah’s stellar performance against the best the West had to offer in the regular season was a sign of things to come in the playoffs, Sloan responded: “Well, we hope so . . . but I don’t know because none of these guys have ever been in these situations as a group. That’s something that we’ll find out.” While being able to predict the future is something no NBA player or coach has mastered as of yet, Fisher knows a championship-caliber team when he sees one. In fact, he sees some striking similarities between this Jazz outfit and the title-winning teams in Los Angeles that dominated the NBA during the early part of this decade. “I do see a lot of the same ingredients. I see All-Star level play from key guys in Boozer and Williams. And then Mehmet who has hit big shots for us all season and really does a lot of things for us, not just shooting the basketball, but rebounding as well. I see a guy in Andrei Kirilenko who does everything for us from blocked shots, deflections, steals and also coming up with big scoring nights. I see key guys coming off the bench like myself and Matt Harpring. We also have some young guys that are doing some good things for us. When you combine all of that with Hall of Fame level coaching . . . I feel like it’s a great fit.” Still, there is one major defining difference between this Jazz team and other top teams in the West: playoff experience. While Utah will gain some this post-season, they will enter the 2006-07 playoffs with far less experience than some of their top competitors. “We can only get to that level by doing it in the playoffs,” explains Boozer. “You know, those teams have been successful in the playoffs. Dallas has been all the way to the Finals, and Phoenix has been all the way to the Western Conference Finals. We have to do that in the playoffs. We’re not there yet, but we are working towards that direction. We are moving the right direction, I think.” The question that remains is whether or not moving in the right direction will be enough to get Utah out of the first-round this season. While the question is a simple one, the potential answer is much more complex and intriguing. It’s so intriguing, that even Sloan is eagerly anticipating the outcome. “Does a little pressure get to us, or do we deal with the pressure much better once we’ve been involved in it?” asks head coach Jerry Sloan rhetorically. “I’m anxious to see how we play. I’m anxious to see how we come out, whoever we play.” The rest of the NBA is just as anxious, but that anxiety is rooted in the realization that with the young core Utah now has in place, the likelihood they will go a decade or more without missing the playoffs as they did in the Stockton and Malone era is once again a very real possibility. 40

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“Does a little pressure get to us or do we deal with the pressure much better once we’ve been involved in it? I’m anxious to see how we play.” Jerry Sloan “I’ve been waiting for this my whole life.” Carlos Boozer “Well, it’s just something where they are going to be thrown into the fire and they’ll find out for themselves. We all did it when we were young, and they are going to do it now.” Matt Harpring

THE LIFESTYLE

Paul Pierce

The Best Player Not in the Playoffs By Jessica Camerato Paul Pierce wants what he can’t have. After all, team captains and All-Stars aren’t guaranteed championships, so he gets as close as he can to the NBA Finals to remember what he is playing for. Just being near the glory of a title leaves him hungry for one of his own. Last year, Pierce traveled to Miami and sat in the stands while former teammate Antoine Walker won it all. ”I went to a lot of the playoff games to watch them because it motivates me for the next year,” said Pierce. “I see these guys having something to play for and I see the joy of winning. That’s what drives me to be in that position.” Pierce has spent his entire nine-year career with the Boston Celtics. He has been to the AllStar Game more times than the playoffs, and his individual accolades have left him yearning for a chance to show his greatness. ”Sometimes you feel like you waste years away when you don’t have opportunities to show the type of player I am, because I think great players are made in the playoffs,” said Pierce, nicknamed “The Truth.” At 29 years old, Pierce isn’t getting any younger. He says he still has a lot of games left to play, but he can never get back those missed opportunities. ”I think the last couple of years, yeah [I’ve been wasting years away],” he said. “I just want the opportunity to be named among the best, and the only way you can do that is by getting to the playoffs and showing it.” Pierce thrives on the intensity of the postseason. He has averaged nearly 25 points, nine rebounds, and five assists in four playoff series. He gives it his all during the regular season, but the forward elevates his game in the playoffs. 42

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”It’s a whole other level of basketball, more energy. I feel like it’s a whole new season,” he said. “This is where the best players step their game up. This is something that I enjoy being part of… I welcome the pressure of being in the spotlight.” Pierce was in the spotlight this season as the backbone of a bruised Celtics

squad. He posted more than 20 points a game for the seventh straight year, but his efforts were not enough to carry the team to a winning record. Pierce knew that making the playoffs with such a young team would be a stretch, and his foot injury in December did nothing to help his postseason hopes. ”We knew if we were going to make the playoffs, it was going to be a tough road because you had so many young players,” he said. “With past playoff teams, you knew going into training camp, ‘We’re going to be in the playoffs.’ Guys kind of

had that swagger from day one.” The Celtics are in line to receive a lottery pick in this year’s draft. However, Pierce believes that it will take team chemistry, not another young talent, to turn the Celtics into a championship contender. ”It’s going to take a lot of hard work, a veteran supporting cast,” said Pierce. “It’s not an individual thing. You’ve got to have the teammates, guys that want to sacrifice. You’ve got to have the chemistry and it’s all got to come together at the right time.” Pierce has been the face of the Celtics for nearly ten years and, as another championship eludes him, he can’t help but feel frustrated by his unfulfilled efforts. He would consider making a move for a better shot at the title. To Pierce, being a role player on a winning team means more than being a superstar on a losing club. ”I’d rather be a piece that can help win it all,” said Pierce. “If you got that opportunity, I’d take it. I’d sacrifice individual things for a team and glories and championship-type things.” Players around the league sympathize with Pierce and believe that he should start putting himself first. Walker played with Pierce for six years and knows firsthand just how hard he works to be one of the best. “I feel for him,“ said Walker. “[He] wants to win [and] be in the playoffs … He’s at a point in his career with his skill level, it’s only right that he plays in a situation where he can win.” While Pierce is in a Celtics uniform, he will have to carry his team as far as he can, no matter how heavy the load. “I’ve learned that complaining and pouting [isn’t] going to get you anywhere,” he said. “We’re going to make the most of the situation we’re in right here. I feel like my time is going to come.” Pierce hopes his time will come as a Celtic. The truth is that Pierce feels he deserves more.

THE ROOKIE

Daniel Gibson

Words of Wisdom Go a Long Way By Wendell Maxey, Jr. Daniel Gibson has heard it all during his first year with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He was told he wouldn’t make the league. He was told to watch and learn. He was even told to fetch coffee and doughnuts. Then there was the night in Oakland where the rookie’s name was called as the starting point guard for the Cleveland Cavaliers. A month later an injury stole that joy away. Yet through it all Gibson reverts back to some words of wisdom from his childhood: Don’t let hard times make you a hard person. “My grandma always used to say that. Coming up we really didn’t have too much,” the 21-year-old Gibson said humbly. “She tried to stop me from becoming a bad person and doing things I wasn’t supposed to. Then I found basketball.” “Even if I was playing or if I was mad, I just tried to be that kind of person. She said try and find something positive and do something you want to do and use that as your outlet.” Gibson’s grandmother should be proud not only for the basketball player he’s become but more importantly for the person Daniel is. Chances are the former 42nd pick in the 2006 draft will continue to hear praises and positive reinforcement alike as his first season in the league comes to a close. Those nine invaluable words have helped Gibson overcome the uncertainty of life in the NBA, especially for a rookie. “Coming in, I knew I was going to have to work to be able to play. I said at the beginning it might not be all roses. There are going to be hard times I’m going to have to go through, but I can’t let it change the type of person I am.” Known to his friends and teammates as “Boobie”, a nickname his mom gave him as a kid, Gibson learned about first-

year obstacles even before he ran the fast break with LeBron James. Despite harsh criticism, Gibson declared himself eligible for the draft after only two years at the University of Texas. Some people found fault. Gibson found inspiration.

“I used it as motivation. I was looked at as somebody nobody knew. This entire time I’ve been playing with that chip on my shoulder. I felt I made the right decision. Some people told me I should and some said I shouldn’t. I’m doing this for a reason.” After playing pick-up minutes early, “Boobie” finally got his chance to start against the Golden State Warriors in late January. He finished with 12 points and 2 assists. It’s a memory he still can’t believe but hopes his critics will remember.

“It was kind of a surprise. I told myself if I was put in that situation and given the opportunity I was going to make the most of it. It was a weight off my back from those who thought I wasn’t going to do it. I accomplished it and want to keep playing with that added motivation.” A month later Daniel missed eight games with a sprained left big toe which moved him back to Mike Brown’s bench in favor of Larry Hughes. Gibson admits it was a very tough time but is thankful 11-year-veteran Eric Snow was there to listen. “I don’t know what I would do if he wasn’t here,” Gibson said shyly. “Everything he tells you, you know it’s right. He’s been in my same situation coming into the league where he didn’t get many minutes. I’m happy he’s here with me.” Snow’s happy the kid is around too. Who else would grab his breakfast? “Yeah. I still am. They make you go get doughnuts, the newspaper, and coffee. They say I’m a rookie until my first game next year. So I’m still bringing doughnuts”. Gibson doesn’t mind. He’s too stoked about the Cleveland Cavaliers’ promising postseason and run for an NBA ring. “It’s been a roller coaster ride. As a rookie you’ve never experienced the postseason or know what it takes to get it done. Going in not knowing what I’m getting into has kind of helped me.” That’s not the only thing: Don’t let hard times make you a hard person . The phrase holds true in countless ways for Daniel “Boobie” Gibson, who cherishes his grandmother’s saying as much as he does Eric Snow’s timely mentoring. It’s hard to think where he would be without them. As the eager youngster waits patiently for the postseason, Gibson can look back knowing the hard times this rookie season haven’t turned him into a hard person. Not by any means. SWISHMAGAZINE.COM / MAY22007

INTERNATIONAL

Beno Udrih

After a Time, Foreign Doesn’t Matter By Nikola Olic For a man of few words, having a locker room with famous sayings plastered everywhere is very practical. Spurs’ coach Gregg Popovich can just point to the one that supports his ideas and then get back to teaching basketball. Pop might be strict, but his team is still a democracy; every saying is available in all languages spoken by the Spurs - enough framed wisdom to fill most of the otherwise bare walls. First one on the left, in the hallway leading to the locker room, is for Beno Udrih.

The creative lefty guard grew up in Slovenia and played in the farthest reaches of Europe before finally calling the NBA his home. More than a figure of speech, it’s an important part of Udrih’s basketball success: knowing how to make every new team and every new country his home. “I always liked to give myself a lot of space and time,” he says, “and I think 44

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that’s why I never had problems adjusting to new places. I left home to play basketball in another country before I was twenty years old. Once you make that decision you can’t go back. When I came here to the NBA I didn’t expect anything special. I concentrated on basketball and everything else came easy.” When Udrih joined the San Antonio Spurs three years ago, Popovich helped make it feel like the right thing to do. Udrih was familiar with the last name Popovich hails from his part of the world - but soon realized that his coaching style was anything but familiar. Since then, Beno’s minutes have been as unpredictable as the weather on the Slovenian mountains. “European coaches know everybody on their teams. If somebody in the starting five has a bad day, they know which player on the bench will come in and take his place. In the NBA, a starter can shoot 0-10 while the backup has a double-double. It would not make any difference. Starters always start.” Ironically, the player ahead of Udrih on the Spurs’ depth chart is an international player he went up against a few times while still on the Old Continent. When they were juniors, Udrih once torched Tony Parker for 35 points. With those days now far behind, Udrih is not concerned with who has become the senior point guard as much as he is with just getting an opportunity to play. “Parker is great, but I also want my chance. No coach ever came up to me and told me what I needed to change. I can’t change anything, I can only practice hard. I don’t know what else I can do. A year ago I was told I will play no matter what. And look how things are: I

am not playing, and I am not really expecting to play.” There is no better assessment of what is happening in the NBA than by asking the players themselves. Beyond what the media can ask or dig up, and beyond what press conferences make official, players themselves like to talk and philosophize on what is happening in the league. “After a few years, it doesn’t matter anymore if you are an international player,” Udrih continues. “Just a few players in this league would find success on any NBA team. All other players are role players that take care of other business. And all they need is for their coach to have trust in them.” For international players, success in a new country is in part based on how well they stay in touch with their home country. Peja Stojakovic talks to his father twice a day and Darko Milicic has the most influential basketball editors from back home on his speed-dial. Beno Udrih has taken it one step further and keeps in touch with thousands of fans and friends through the Internet, using websites such as MySpace.com. Slovenian media, on the other hand, has been harder to deal with. When Udrih won the NBA championship a few years ago, his cell phone would not stop ringing. Now, Udrih doesn’t even wait for the question to be asked. . . “Nobody calls me. I will probably not even play for the Slovenian national team and I know that the press will criticize me heavily. I have my own reasons not to play, but our media will never ask about those. There are a few good journalists back home, but most are interested in cheap, sensationalist journalism.” Thinking back at how his NBA career started, Beno recalls the single expectation he did have. He had enough NBA posters growing up to know what New York City meant. The coincidence does not escape him; a city that historically welcomed internationals of all kinds also welcomes the basketball kind. And it did not disappoint. “I really love it here. It is the best league in the world; it’s very good basketball and a very good life.”

Seasons Lost Injuries Derail Many Hopes By Eric Pincus Shaun Livingston expected to be on the floor for the Los Angeles Clippers’ final game of the year, not in street clothes addressing the crowd at the Staples Center. “With the injury and all it’s been some trying times. Without the fans and all the support it’d be a lot harder to get through this. Let’s cheer this team to a win tonight!” Unfortunately for the Clippers, they’re eliminated by the Golden State Warriors well before their game is over. The night’s lone highlight is seeing Livingston walk. Injuries played a major role in determining the final standings of the 2006-07 NBA season. Big-name players like Shaquille O’Neal, Dwyane Wade, Yao Ming and Paul Pierce all sat for extended periods. With roughly 20% of the players missing more than a dozen games each, how many seasons were lost because of injury? It was back on February 26 when Livingston’s seemingly harmless fast break lay-up attempt went horribly awry. As he landed, his left leg buckled underneath him awkwardly. The weight of his own body came down full force on his knee, dislodging it 46

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from the socket. He rolled back and forth in agony as Clipper physician Steven Shimoyama rushed to attend. Shimoyama grabbed Livingston’s leg and with great force jammed the knee back in place. After the game his teammates were pale with concern. Few could put into words what they had just seen, but Sam Cassell gave it a try. “That was tough to see. I saw his leg and knee pop out,” said Cassell overcome in the moment. “Wow. It’s tough.” Livingston tore just about everything there was to tear. “I’m not in the best of health myself,” interjected Cassel, an unwelcome omen for the Clippers. Cassell would end up missing 24 games with a number of nagging injuries. Without their floor leaders LA would finish the year two games behind the Warriors, who earned their first playoff berth in 13 seasons. While Baron Davis (knee) missed 19 games overall, the Golden State point guard was good to go for the final 17. In that stretch the Warriors went 13-4.

Sometimes it’s not the extent of the injury; it’s the timing. The Washington Wizards will attest to that. All-Stars Gilbert Arenas (knee) and Caron Butler (hand) both started their summers a month early following season-ending injuries. Danny Ainge, Executive Director of Basketball Operations for the Boston Celtics, sympathizes with the Wizards. “We’ve had our share, that’s for sure. It seems like every day someone else is going down - knee surgery, broken hands - but I’ve never seen anything like what happened to Washington. Your two best players go down at this time of year? I’m not sure I ever remember that happening.” The Celtics were among the worst hit, leading to the league’s second-worst record. The question isn’t who got hurt, but rather who didn’t. Most notable were the losses of Paul Pierce (foot, elbow) and Wally Szczerbiak (ankle) for a combined 85 games. Most exasperating was Tony Allen tearing up his knee while dunking after the officials had whistled for a dead ball. “We’ve been very consistent with our injuries. We started out early and we really maintained it throughout the year,” Coach Doc Rivers can only joke. “It’s the damnedest thing. I’ve never seen anything like it.” At least the Celtics can boast a high probability of a top-two pick in the 2007 NBA Draft. With two franchise-caliber prospects in Greg Oden and Kevin Durant, Boston hopes to reap some benefit from the tumultuous season. The only team that lost more games than the Celtics was the Memphis Grizzlies, who have begun rebuilding after getting swept out of the playoffs two years in a row. Hastening the process, the team’s lone All-Star, Pau Gasol, broke his foot while leading the Spanish National Team to an FIBA World Championship last summer. Gasol sat the first 22 games of the season; the Grizzlies won just five. “Any time you miss a 20 and 10 guy it’s hard,” said teammate Mike Miller. “When he comes back, he’s not going to be the same for awhile. He’s got to get in shape. We tried to dig out as much as we could but it’s been a tough season.” In addition to Gasol, most of the remaining veterans were hurt as well. Though injuries may not be the root of the problem in Memphis, the experience frustrated Gasol enough to request a trade. “Some say that it’s good because it’s supposed to be a good draft year,” he said. “But personally I don’t see any positive. I’d rather be winning the division and being in the first spot of the West and playing for a championship.” With the team looking for a buyer and having an under-developed roster, it will be interesting to see what the Grizzlies do with Gasol this summer. The Houston Rockets were thrilled to acquire Shane Battier from the Grizzles. Coming off a disappointing 34-48 season in which All-Stars Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady missed a combined 60 games, the Rockets were last year’s poster child for injuries. This season Houston was dealt another setback when Yao broke his knee. “You play your whole life in sports. It’s the best season of my career and I get hurt,” said Yao. Instead of falling apart in his absence, the Rockets rallied. “I think the guys who were here from last year went through

a lot,” said Battier. “I think that gave them a will so that when the same thing happened this year they were much more prepared to deal with it. They played at a much higher level.” Yao would sit for 32 games, but the Rockets still ended up a 52win team. “It’s a great accomplishment being able to play so well without having Yao, especially being in the Western Conference,” said Tracy McGrady. “Any time you keep your head above water when one of your star players goes down it’s a great accomplishment.” Still, for both Yao and Gasol, playing for their respective national teams may have been too much to handle. “For some of the players that play for the national team in the summer, it’s very hard; particularly for some of the older ones like the [Toronto] Raptor who got hurt [Jorge Garbajosa],” says Yao. “I feel bad about him.” Toronto had a breakthrough season despite rotating players in and out of the lineup all season: Chris Bosh, TJ Ford, Anthony Parker and Andrea Bargnani each missed between seven and 17 games. The only significant setback was to Garbajosa, whose broken ankle was only slightly less vicious than Shaun Livingston’s knee and caused him to miss the season’s final 15 games and the SWISHMAGAZINE.COM / MAY22007

“It’s the damnedest thing. I’ve never seen anything like it.” – Boston Coach Doc Rivers playoffs (though Shavlik Randolph of the Philadelphia 76ers reportedly horrified teammates in practice when he broke and dislocated his ankle). The Miami Heat started their quest for a repeat title without Shaquille O’Neal. By the time the center was healthy, Dwyane Wade went down with a separated shoulder. The Los Angeles Lakers were impressive to begin the year, climbing as high as 12 games above .500. Then they lost Lamar Odom, Kwame Brown, Luke Walton and Vladimir Radmanovic for major chunks of the season. Chris Mihm didn’t play a single game. Through all his years as a head coach, Phil Jackson had “never had a team this beat up.” Both the Heat and Lakers made the playoffs, but neither had home-court advantage. Other teams with playoff hopes would fall short. Both the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets and Milwaukee Bucks were ravaged all year. “Overall I think the season was a success. Our record was 3943, a little bit better than it was last year,” said Hornets Coach Byron Scott. “If we had been as healthy this year as we were last year, I think we’d have had a much better season.” “It definitely got us,” said Bucks forward Charlie Villanueva. “Injuries have played a role in our season significantly because we lost [Michael] Redd for 20-something games, me and Mo Williams. These are key players.” Villanueva left out starting forward Bobby Simmons, who missed the entire year, and center Andrew Bogut, who sat for 16. In the meantime, Michael Redd had to make the best of his time on the sidelines. “You have a chance to sit back and evaluate how the team is playing, how different teams are playing and what guys’ tendencies are on the opposite team,” he said. “You really appreciate the game of basketball when you sit out that long.” Other teams hit significantly by injury include the Charlotte Bobcats (Emeka Okafor), Seattle SuperSonics (Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis), New York Knicks (Quentin Richardson and Jamal Crawford), New Jersey Nets (Nenad Krstic and Richard Jefferson), Atlanta Hawks (Joe Johnson) and Portland Trail Blazers (Brandon Roy, Zach Randolph, LaMarcus Aldridge). Ultimately every franchise has a story to tell, but the question is why are there so many injuries? How can they be prevented? “We’ve discussed that as a coaching staff a number of times and with the trainers,” said Lakers coach Phil Jackson. “Are we playing too much basketball? Are we 48

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doing too much during the off-season? Is our training too intense? “How much time do these players need off in the off-season to regenerate and heal so that they can come back as healthy as they possibly can for another year?” Celtic Coach Doc Rivers has some ideas on how to diminish the number of injuries. “I would take the [pre-season] games down to five or six and give the guys another week of camp before you started preseason games,” said Rivers. “I really think that’s important. I think guys would get in great shape and I think all that makes for fewer injuries.” But will the NBA implement such a dramatic change? “It’s not going to happen,” admitted Rivers. “One, players aren’t going to vote for an extra week of practice. Two, the owners are not going to vote for three less pre-season games.” “What’s too many games? 75?” asked Jackson. “Whatever it would to take just to [cut out the] seven games in 14 days that we play - even if you had to extend the season a week just to help these players have a better opportunity to perform and not perform under fatigue, which is when they get hurt.” Long-time Lakers trainer Gary Vitti is on the front lines, trying to keep his players as healthy as he can under trying circumstances. Vitti credits the 82-game schedule with creating “attrition that translates into injuries and reduces the quality of the game. We play so many games you can’t see the players at their best.” Looking at the modern era, he explains, “The game is much different today. We have much better athletes in terms of speed, quickness and power. The game is played at a higher velocity and above the rim more. The greater the velocity, the greater the force this generates; the greater the force, the greater the trauma. “Along with the season being so long, the offseason has become quite intense. Players are playing for their national teams as well as in constant training mode,” continues Vitti. “It becomes a matter of attrition. As a head athletic trainer I am working over 300 days a year between training camp, regular season, playoffs, draft, summer league and off-season training. The more people you have training and playing the more injuries you will have, statistically.” “I know playing with USA Basketball there are a lot of commitments,” said Michael Redd. “A lot of games, a lot of pre-season games, plus a seven-game series every round in the playoffs. It takes a toll on your body. A lot fans may not understand why we get the salaries we get but they don’t see the other side of it sometimes, with the rigors our bodies go through.”

So if the intense, year-round schedule won’t change, what can be done to protect the athletes? “I think that players should try to do everything right. Not just train hard, but train smart, eat right, hydrate and get plenty of rest,” advised Vitti. “I also think there is a psychological effect that competition has on athletes that needs to be dealt with.” Rick Mathes, Director of The Egoscue Clinic in Austin, Texas, offers a view from outside the NBA locker room. The Egoscue Method focuses on optimizing posture so that joints bear weight efficiently. A properly positioned joint can greatly reduce the risk of injury. Some of their patients include the NFL’s Junior Seau and John Lynch as well as MLB’s Trevor Hoffman. “Many of these injuries are entirely preventable,” said Mathes. “Restoring the proper position to their load joints is essential for minimizing injury risk. The core problem isn’t the pounding the athletes are taking. It’s the position their bodies are in when they take it.” Coach Jackson recognizes the psychological impact injuries and losing have on the team. “I think losing begets injuries a lot in the NBA. That’s some of the reason why teams don’t recover; it seems like there’s a shadow over them,” said Jackson. “Repetition of defeat sets in and becomes a pattern they need to break through and break out of.” Often injuries can give a bench player minutes in a starter’s absence. Though it can be a great opportunity, in many cases the team flounders. “Some guys are facing that defeatism that they’ve been bench players and they have a chance to have a job, but not finishing the job,” said Jackson. That feeling of failure can often reduce their confidence once they return to their role as a substitute. “It’s an unpredictable thing. It’s not like you can say we have a great team and we’re going to win,” said Utah Jazz Forward Andrei Kirilenko. “Then you find the next week someone broke his ankle, the other broke his hand, and somebody sprained something.” And when it goes south it can ruin a team’s season. “I look at it as a disappointment from the standpoint if you had your whole compliment of players, where would you be?” asked Hornets Coach Byron Scott. Or it can put a young player’s career in jeopardy. Clipper Sam Cassell looks at his fallen teammate and says,

“Some guys don’t get no breaks in this league.” A simple glimpse at the standings shows how important health can be. “Teams like Dallas have kept their lineup basically intact. They’ve had minuscule things and it’s a big difference,” said Phil Jackson. “Phoenix had [Kurt] Thomas go down with an elbow for ten games, but most of the top teams have been able to stay clean and clear.” Complicating matters for injured players are internal and external pressures to hasten rehab. “When you have injuries, you can’t play,” said Utah Jazz forward Carlos Boozer. “Sometimes when you’re hurt you can. At a point everybody has something wrong with them and you play through those. When you’re injured that’s a whole different story. You have to be careful. There’s a fine line.” “Kevin McHale played with a broken foot; he’s still paying for that. I remember Dennis Johnson played with a broken wrist,” said Danny Ainge. “You pay a price for it at some other point if guys play with some of the injuries they have. That’s what we’re dealing with now, the matter of risk and reward.” When is the pain too much for a player to bear? When are they risking their career? Will playing impact their quality of life? Unfortunately there are no perfect answers, no magic solutions. “If I knew that answer I’d bottle and sell it for a couple of million. It did seem like it hit a little bit of everybody . . . a lot of big-name guys,” said Byron Scott. “I don’t know what they can do. It’s just one of those things I guess.” “You can’t go your whole career and every season is just a great season,” said Tracy McGrady. “I feel like any time that I’m healthy I can go out and make anything happen on the basketball court regardless of who I’m out there with.” What percentage of injuries can be avoided is impossible to tell. Ultimately there may not be any way to truly prevent players from getting hurt given the size and speed of today’s athletes. Sadly, the players suffer, the game suffers, and so do the fans an ugly but inescapable truth inherent to the game of basketball. “There is just bad luck sometimes when it comes to injuries,” concludes Vitti. With the economics of the game restricting change, the only answer may be to stay in the best shape possible and pray. Pray for good luck. Pray for good health. SWISHMAGAZINE.COM / MAY22007

SHOTS

THEY SAID IT

Around the league...

“I’m not even the best coach in my family, so I couldn’t be Coach of the Year. Know what I mean? When you’re the third in your family you have no shot at coach of anything.” Houston Rockets Head Coach Jeff Van Gundy, on his chances of winning Coach of the Year “I wish you guys wouldn’t go in there and relay these messages from other teams to them. They need to stay focused and win a basketball game.” Raptors Head Coach Sam Mitchell, humorously chiding the swarm of reporters for spreading rumors between locker rooms.

“It’s like watching your little kid brother get into a fight, and someone’s holding you back from helping him.” Boston Celtics Paul Pierce, on watching his teammates lose during his injury problems this season. “It has to be more, much more than that... A young kid is not going to make a whole lot of difference. It is going to take the right free agents, the right moves, get guys who are ready to compete.” Memphis Grizzlies Pau Gasol, on what it would take to keep him in Memphis next season. “It’s not going to be easy... A lot of guys got pride. If guys come out and try to play the right way, we’re going to be tough to beat.” Denver Nuggets Allen Iverson, on the Nuggets’ chances in the 2007 playoffs. “Just have fun. Just play ball.” Phoenix Suns Steve Nash, on the quote that Mike D’Antoni gives credit for being the mantra that kept the Phoenix Suns on track all season long. “I figured I’d just shoot threes the rest of the game since they were going in.” Sacramento Kings Mike Bibby, after shooting 9-12 from threepoint territory in a home victory over the Suns this April. “They’re not my favorite, let’s just leave it at that.” Bulls Head Coach Scott Skiles, in reference to the team’s green St. Patrick’s Day uniforms. 50

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“Baron is just as important as our uniforms. We can’t play without our uniforms. We can play without Baron, but we’d rather not. He’s that important to our team.” Golden State Warriors Stephen Jackson’s attempt at an analogy regarding the value of teammate Baron Davis. “Every player gets that, especially when I see how they booed Ben (Wallace) in Detroit, and I didn’t win any championships here.” New Orleans Hornets Tyson Chandler, on the jeers he received playing in the United Center for the first time since being traded from the Bulls. “Retiring? No, no ... that’s, that’s ... I’m ... no ... wow.” Indiana Pacers Jermaine O’Neal, hearing a rumor he was going to retire. “That’s what keeps me driving - our fans - because they deserve better than what I have been giving them the past five years. They deserve a winning team because they’re so loyal and so supportive.” Golden State Warriors Jason Richardson, on giving the playoffs to the Golden State fans. “It’s great! It’s not like I’ll ask them who they’re dating or take them to go see a movie, but there’s nobody that I can’t talk to.” Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, on his relationship with his players. “I made a business decision and that’s what I’m sticking with. I don’t think about that at all, honestly. I know we had our chance, but there’s nothing we can do about it now.” Atlanta Hawks Joe Johnson, on if he ever looks back at leaving Phoenix. “He literally doesn’t have to touch the ball and yet the fact that he’s standing around the basket affects how you rotate defensively, it changes everything. And I don’t think people really get that, how important he is to a basketball game.” Boston Celtics Head Coach Doc Rivers, on Shaquille O’Neal “It was a tough year, but in the same sense I think no one stopped believing, no one stopped working, no one stopped trusting, and we’ve gotten to the place where we thought we could get.” Nuggets Head Coach George Karl.

COLLECTORS CORNER

Bringing Back the Past

Legends: The Latest Trend in Today’s Products By Jason Fleming There are names in basketball lore only spoken with utmost reverence; names like Wilt Chamberlain, Larry Bird, Bill Russell, Oscar Robertson, and Michael Jordan. For the collectors of today’s trading cards the idea of holding a card of one of those legends used to be out of the realm of possibility for all except the richest, but not anymore. It started with only the rarest of chase cards, such as a very limited autograph or piece of game-used memorabilia. Today, whole sets revolve around former players from the greatest of the great to the fan favorites of our youth. Thanks to Topps, Press Pass and Upper Deck everyone can have a piece of history. “The inclusion of former players in sets along with current players has been taking place for the past few years in all sports card products, from baseball to NASCAR,” said Scott Kelnhofer, editor of Tuff Stuff magazine, a trading card reference for prices and trends. “Because of the number of adults who now collect trading cards, the inclusion of former players in sets has been fairly popular... especially when the element of autographs and/or memorabilia from those players is added to the set. “I think hobby retailers like the inclusion of retired players because it helps them attract older collectors who may have been out of the hobby for a few years and might be tempted to get back in if they see some of their old favorites on cards again.” “When you can add the likes of Bird and Magic to any basketball product, it’s going to draw interest,” said Clay Luraschi of Topps. “The feedback we were getting back from collectors is that they wanted to see more of these players in the products.” Ty Buttars, a long-time trading card aficionado from Toronto, Canada, is one of those collectors. “Initially, when card companies started creating card sets that included ex-players, I was pretty excited,” said Buttars. “Sets

like the Top 50 set that Topps produced (Topps Stars) and the UD Century Legends set were a lot of fun. These types of sets appealed to both the modern and vintage card collector.” The novelty seems to have worn off a little bit. “It seems that there is hardly a set that is issued today that does not have some ‘legend’ component in it, and that doesn’t seem right,” said Ty. “I would like to think that today’s players would be able

“I have all of them. I put them in a book, and I have about two or three books that have all the cards from throughout my career. My son and I look them over.” Rolando Blackman to sell a product without any artificial help. Even Upper Deck’s high-end Exquisite product includes legends.” Ty, like many collectors, would be the first to point out that so many options are available that all types of collectors can find something to match their tastes. Luraschi agrees. “The response from collectors has also been very positive. They like products that offer an assortment of subjects from yesterday, today and tomorrow. And from our standpoint it’s good because it widens the collector base.”

“The only complaints we usually hear about the inclusion of former players is from collectors of those players,” said Kelnhofer. “For instance, someone who prided themselves on having a complete collection of Larry Bird cards from his career now becomes frustrated at having to chase more cards now that he’s retired — especially if some of those newer cards are very rare and hard to find.” As for the legends, they seem to enjoy being included. “The response has been very positive,” said Luraschi. One of those players is Rolando Blackman, the legendary Dallas Mavericks guard who is now their Director of Player Development. “Those kinds of things are always fantastic,” said Blackman. He also thinks having legends in today’s products is a great way to connect the present with the past. “I love the players that are around now, talking about the LeBron Jameses and the Dwyane Wades. Man, those guys can hoop! I think it’s good to understand the Rolando Blackmans and the Magic Johnsons, the Julius Ervings, Earl Monroes, Walt Fraziers - let the fans know there were some players in this league called the NBA.” In fact, Blackman has used a collection of his own cards to show the past to his son. “I have all of them. I put them in a book and I have about two or three books that have all the cards from throughout my career. My son and I look them over. I keep them as a memento; it traces my time from when I first started to when it was all over.” One thing is clear: this trend is not going away. From legends to collectors to industry experts, the trading card companies have listened to what consumers are looking for in any new product. As long as the demand is there and former players are willing, these cards will provide a chance for today’s fans to connect with the past. SWISHMAGAZINE.COM / MAY22007

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MAY 2007 // SWISHMAGAZINE.COM MAY22007 SWISHMAGAZINE.COM

Storming the Sports Drink Empire By Bill Ingram Turn on any NBA game and you’ll see things that defy belief. You’ll see men fly through the air with apparent ease; you’ll see clutch three-pointers made despite double-teaming defense; you’ll see last-second heroics turning the tide on a team’s entire season. During a commercial break you might even see a professional athlete guzzle down a sugar-loaded soft drink. Think about that for a moment. How many soft drinks do you really believe elite athletes pour into their systems? We’re talking about some of the top athletes in the world, who by definition have to be concerned about everything they put into their bodies. Kobe Bryant and LeBron James may be depicted drinking soft drinks during every TV timeout, but when the world’s top athletes are out there competing at the highest level they’re looking for something more. In fact, fully half of the 2007 NBA All-Stars reach for something that wasn’t originally intended to be a sports drink. “I was actually a part of vitaminwater before I even signed with them,” says Houston Rockets star Tracy McGrady. “I was drinking it way back when I was playing for Orlando. I just felt like it was something different. I’m really not a big fan of Gatorade. I probably shouldn’t be saying that, but I’m really not a big fan of Gatorade. I just found something that really works for me and that’s vitaminwater . Every time I worked out and I played in games that’s what I was drinking. It seemed like my recovery and everything was really up when I was drinking the water. When they came to me and asked me to be a part of it I was down with it.” Detroit Pistons guard Chauncey Billups was especially intrigued by the idea of having something that’s both healthy and tastes good. “vitaminwater was pretty intriguing to me,” says Billups. “I used to drink a lot of Propel and I liked it, but when I tried vitaminwater I enjoyed it even more. They have such a variety, too, and every flavor is for a different need, with a different source of power or energy. There are actually vitamins in the water and this is actually healthy! It also tastes good, and most stuff that’s supposed to be healthy doesn’t taste all that great. To be able to get both in one drink is a huge plus.” The Washington Wizards’ wisecracking Gilbert Arenas tried to be diplomatic, but eventually had to admit that one drink stood out for him. “Truly, I drink Gatorade, Powerade – I drink them all. vitaminwater pays me, so vitaminwater’s the best (laughing). No, but really – vitaminwater is great for athletes because it gets into your system faster and fights dehy-

dration right away. Gatorade has a lot of sugar in it and it takes a while to get into your system. During performance, once you get started, Gatorade is fine. Before that, to get hydrated, vitaminwater is better.” Phoenix Suns All-Star Shawn Marion had never tried any of Glaceau’s products, but it didn’t take long for him to come around once he did. “It was brought to my attention and I like vitaminwater,” relates the Phoenix Suns’ Shawn Marion. “They’re doing some nice stuff and I was like, ‘You know, why don’t I try it out?’ It’s nice, it’s very nice. When they asked me to become a sponsor it was basically a privilege, because everybody’s gonna be drinking that pretty soon. It’s healthy for you and I love it.” Ironically, when Glaceau president Michael Repole set out to bring vitaminwater to the market they weren’t looking to compete with the likes of Gatorade and Powerade. “We actually didn’t build the brand vitaminwater to go after sports drinks,” says Repole. “Unlike a sports drink that’s focused on a period of playing sports, vitaminwater is a drink that people can drink all day long. People drink it in the morning instead of orange juice, midday they’ll either have a Focus or an Energy to get them a little bit more focused on what they’re doing. At night, for a workout, they might drink Endurance or Power C. If they had a little too much to drink they might have a Revive (laughing). So it wasn’t built to be a sports drink and it’s not a sports drink. It was a brand that was built for consumers who needed hydration all day. “What we started to notice, probably about two or three years into the brand, was that athletes were drinking it on the sidelines and in dugouts just on their own. Shaquille O’Neal was getting home delivery in Los Angeles. Tracy McGrady was getting home delivery when he played for the Orlando Magic. What happened at that time was the trainer for the Lakers or the trainer for the Orlando Magic would let us know that Tracy was drinking the product and he wanted to have it there at all times, during practice and before games. Eventually our marketing team started noticing that more and more athletes were drinking it on their own.” Something that makes vitaminwater unique is that unlike other companies, who pay athletes to endorse their products, vitaminwater primarily approaches athletes who are already drinking it. “I was actually drinking the product before I knew they even had interest in me,” explains Billups. “It was easy for me to decide if I wanted to be involved with them because I was already buying the product with my own money at the grocery store. For me to suit their needs was perfect be-

cause now I get the stuff shipped directly to my house. My favorite one is the Grape Revive. It really makes me feel refreshed.” According to Seattle SuperSonics guard Ray Allen, “vitaminwater came to me because I think I somewhat embody what they’re looking for in an athlete... I began drinking the water early on and I like the way it tastes, so entering into a partnership was great for both parties. For me it means I get to drink something for free that I was already paying to drink.” “vitaminwater was very interesting to us because Allen likes to live right,” says Gary Moore, Allen Iverson’s personal assistant. “He likes to drink the right things, but he doesn’t really like the different taste of the vitamins that he needs. So what an idea for someone to put those vitamins in water, put a little flavor in it and have all the nutrients that one needs. And who would be a better spokesperson for that than A.I., a guy who wants to be in tiptop shape all the time?” “I was looking for a substitute for the stuff that’s already out there, you know, the Gatorades and just regular water,” adds the Los Angeles Clippers’ Elton Brand. “I tried it out and I really liked it, especially because it’s all-natural. I don’t want to sound like a commercial, but it has taurine (for vitality) and things like that for an energy boost and I enjoy the flavors. I was already drinking it and my people let them know I was drinking it. It kind of went from there.” “The reason why athletes are drinking it is because the product works for them,” explains Repole. “They love the product, but it works for them and helps them perform at their best. It really is not coincidence that some of the best athletes – and this is not just in the NBA – some of the best athletes across all sports are choosing vitaminwater. So when we saw so many athletes drinking the product it made sense to put together a sports marketing strategy behind Brian Urlacher and LaDainian Tomlinson in football, David Ortiz and David Wright in baseball, and the group of NBA All-Stars that includes McGrady, O’Neal, Josh Howard, Gilbert Arenas, Allen Iverson, Chauncey Billups, Ray Allen, Tony Parker, Elton Brand, and Shawn Marion. So far it’s been great. We had more players at the 2007 NBA All-Star game than Coke, Pepsi, and Gatorade combined, and these are players that we built relationships with.” Quality relationships are not built through simple endorsement deals. Players don’t always have a lot to do with that side of their business, they’re too busy playing basketball. In the case of vitaminwater, however, the players are intimately acquainted with the product they endorse. They use it, they invest in it, and – most importantly – the product invests in them, as well. SWISHMAGAZINE.COM / MAY22007

“We don’t really look for sponsorship or endorsement deals with players, whether it’s basketball or other sports,” explains Repole of his company’s unique approach. “We look for partnership deals. Many of these players drank us before they knew anything about us. All we did was formalize a partnership with them where they’re very involved in a lot of the creative advertising around them and the brand. We partner up with a lot of their charity events. Many of them have been given the opportunity to invest in the company at an early stage and many of them are shareholders. Obviously they invest in the company because they believe in the product, it works for them, and they have faith in what we’re doing.” “I’ve got shares of stock, they give everybody shares in the company,” says Dallas Mavericks swingman Josh Howard of his relationship with Glaceau. “They’ve also shown my camps a lot of support over the last year and a half. They come out to my underprivileged camps. When I was out there in Vegas (for AllStar) I did some events for them, just trying to help put their name out there. I’m pretty involved and I appreciate them. It’s really a family-oriented business and an up-and-coming company, so Gatorade better watch out.” “We’re talking about putting some things together this summer,” adds Billups. “I do a few youth camps over the summer and they’re interested in being part of those camps or anything else I do, really. They’re going to be a part of my charity golf event at the end of July. That’s a big plus with this company is that anything you do, even outside of the sport that you play, vitaminwater likes to do things in the community and give back. It also gets their water our there so people can try it. They’re not just on the court or on the field, they’re willing to do things in the community, as well. That is something that they do differently. I deal with a few different shoe companies and other companies and the vitaminwater people try to extend themselves a little more than those other companies do.” “The first thing they said to me was that they were interested in being a part of anything that I’m doing,” explains Allen. “I’ve had a foundation here in Seattle, the Ray of Hope Foundation, that’s been in operation for about 11 years now. We partnered up with QFC to raise money for the Boys and Girls Club in March and vitaminwater was there to help present the check to the Boys and Girls Club. They definitely stand behind their word and help support what we’re doing in the community, which is also an endeavor that most partnerships groups don’t do. They might say they’re going to do it, but they don’t always do it. vitaminwater is willing to supply product for events, co-sponsor kids camps, or whatever it may be.” 54

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Co-sponsoring camps is one thing, but how many companies really go out of their way to get involved in the lives of their players? Glaceau showed just how far they were willing to go when Gilbert Arenas came to them for help with his AllStar campaign. “Gilbert was drinking the product last year, and if Gilbert wasn’t an All-Star and the NBA’s third-leading scorer he would probably be my vice president of marketing,” says Repole. “He is so excited about creative, and out of all the NBA players he’s probably the one who’s the most involved. We worked together with him for the ‘Vote for Gilbert’ campaign in DC, which helped to make the push to get him into the All-Star game in Vegas. So we came up with the ‘Vote for Gilbert’ campaign together and obviously it worked because he was elected to the All-Star team. We had bus posters, we had teams handing out buttons that said ‘Vote for Gilbert,’ consumers had a chance to accompany Gilbert to Vegas by creating their own ‘Vote for Gilbert’ posters and there were two local winners that won trips to Vegas through that radio campaign. Gilbert was excited about being a part of the process and it was great.” “I really have (Glaceau) to thank for making the All-Star team – it was awesome,” beams Arenas. “They did a great job with the All-Star voting. They went out of their way and did more than I expected. Instead of just attacking TV and radio they had billboards, they had it all through the underground train stations, they had it on buses, they were in Vegas. I really have to thank them for the great job they did. We caught Vince Carter in the voting! That was the difference because before that I was 200,000 votes down. vitaminwater is the best!” It took a while for Repole and his marketing group to understand the potential the vitaminwater family had as alternatives to sports drinks. Now that they’ve wrapped their minds around that potential, they’re seeing the floodgates open as more and more athletes look to get on board. “There are athletes across every sport that are asking for the product,” says Repole. “Right now we’re talking with Orlando’s Dwight Howard, who’s a big fan of the product. He’s getting it through the Magic and he’s a big fan. I’m confident that by midMay he’ll be a part of our team. We also just signed Shaquille O’Neal, which is a very unique situation as compared to the other players. We were doing an Alonzo Mourning golf event in New Jersey and Shaq came up to us for a second time and said he would love to do a deal with vitaminwater. He actually called me directly. When we talked about Shaq, obviously he’s a pretty big guy, and we were planning to launch our new 32-ounce size nationally in May it was a great coincidence that Shaq is #32 and he’s getting behind our 32-ounce. It’s going to be the largest grassroots marketing initiative in the history of our company. It

will also have a label that focuses specifically on Shaq. Shaq read the label, had some input into it, and the slogan will be: ‘Size matters.’ “I think at the end of the day, in a true partnership, they have to believe in our brand and we have to believe in their brand. Their brand is obviously the player. All of the athletes that we partner up with are really into charity, really into giving back to consumers and fans. I think that we share a lot of the same genuine beliefs that they do. So when we talk about our brand and they talk about themselves, which is their brand, we have a common thread. There are so many things that they’re doing that we would love to be involved in, and vice versa. It just makes for a perfect partnership. We believe in the players that we partner up with as much as they believe in our products. It’s so different from a sponsorship, so much more than an endorsement.” “It’s all about quality,” explains Allen. “Most businesses have a gimmick or they give away things, but when you benefit the community and you’re trying to make a positive impact on the community, that’s when your company is going to stay around for a long time. You become a household name. That’s the business model that vitaminwater has. As an athlete I’ll be gone in the future and there will be more athletes who come along. All those young men will know about me is what people say about me. I think vitaminwater will be successful, not because of how much money they make, but by their track record and how people speak about them. I haven’t seen too many companies over the years who put as much energy into what athletes are doing off the court as vitaminwater does.” “We’ll just keep doing what we’re doing, we’re progressively growing,” says McGrady of the company’s future. “We’re not going to overtake Gatorade because it’s been around so long. But we’ll continue to put it out there and get some big name athletes and big name celebrities to drink it and it’ll get out there. We’ll try to overtake this industry.” Success is always determined by people, and Glaceau is a peopleoriented company. They are conscious of the quality of player they get involved with and they are equally conscious of creating a true partnership with those players – on and off the court. “It’s really a genuine partnership that works for both parties,” concludes Repole. “At the end of the day, these guys are the best athletes in the world. They’re not going to put something in their bodies that doesn’t work for them. They’re here to perform at their best and our products help them perform at their best. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the best athletes in the NBA are choosing vitaminwater.” For best results, stick it in the fridge. SWISHMAGAZINE.COM / MAY22007

A DOG WITH A BONE

Gilbert Arenas

A Man Who Defies All Labels By Eric Pincus It’s late March and the Los Angeles Clippers are making a late, desperate charge to salvage a season gone wrong. They’ve just won their fourth straight by beating the Washington Wizards 111-105 in LA. I’m there to catch Wizards All-Star Gilbert Arenas (shortly before he would suffer a season-ending knee injury).

I had approached him pre-game but he insisted I speak to him afterwards. That’s often code for “I’m blowing you off.” Hopefully he’s not that kind of basketball player. Post-game interviews with the losing team can be pretty dicey, but he’s fielding questions from the amassed reporters openly. One of the LA regulars hands Arenas the official stat packet from his last visit to Staples three months earlier when he scored a career-high 60 points against the Los Angeles Lakers. “I’ve got this for you, I don’t know if you keep stuff like that?” says the re56

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porter shyly. “It was a great performance; I wanted you to have it.” I wait for the mob to disperse and ask him about a signed Sam Cassell Clippers jersey draped across his locker room chair. “I’ve got Cassell. I’ve got Elgin Baylor. Anywhere from 550 to 575, that’s how many jerseys I have right now,” he replies. “What kid watching the NBA didn’t want to collect jerseys? “ On the court Arenas plays with a contagious swagger, often willing his team to victory. He’s one of the most dangerous clutch shooters in the game. I find it surprising that despite his cachet, in person he comes off as humble. “My ego is on the basketball floor and that’s where I think everybody’s ego should be. On that basketball floor I don’t think anybody can stop me,” he states confidently. “We have a life on the court between those lines. Once you get off, you’re back to normal. Some people don’t know how to grasp the two.” So how does he reconcile being Gilbert Arenas the basketball star and the Gilbert Arenas off the court? “It’s just the way I was raised. I’m a fan,” he answers. “I don’t consider myself a basketball player. I was a fan first before I started basketball. “I’m not going to sit there and become a basketball player. Basketball players have egos. Truthfully, I can’t stand to sit in a room with a whole bunch of basketball players.” Excuse me? “Their egos. The whole phenomenon. They just try to swag each other. “I used to watch Penny Hardaway. He was just soft-spoken, really didn’t say much. Shaq was my other favorite and he’s outgoing,” Arenas remembers. “You know, somehow I want to combine those two … and I guess that I have. Off

the floor I don’t really do much, play video games and sit in the house. When the cameras are on I’m a showman.” He shares a glimpse of his “Penny” side on national TV via his ad for adidas in which he says, “If no one believes in you, anything you do is a positive. It wasn’t about basketball anymore. It was about proving them wrong.” Arenas wears the number, bearing the self-professed moniker “Agent Zero” to always remember those who have had no faith in him. It’s his form of self-motivation. Of course it’s my duty to bring up the “Shaq” side as well … Correct me if I’m wrong, but a couple of years ago I was at a Laker playoff game and they showed you on the screen … “On the JumboTron,” he confirms. And you were with a lady and . . . “And I licked her face. “That’s just me. Come on. We all look at the ‘Kiss Me Cam’ and you know everyone laughs at the funniest one, whoever gets wild. So I decided, ‘Hey, I’m going to lick her.’” Considering the corporate environment of the NBA, Arenas doesn’t seem to fit neatly within the lines. “Truthfully I do,” he answers, pausing for emphasis. “If there’s a line there, I’m going to test it and see how far it is. You never know how far the line is until you step over it. Then when they say get back, you get back.” You just need to toe the line. Why? “Just to see.” A week earlier Arenas welcomed a son into the world, his second child. “You know the girl I licked . . . “ Well I’m glad that worked out for you. We talk kids and fatherhood for a few brief moments. I thank him for his time. Gilbert Arenas. Agent Zero. Fanatic. It’s refreshing to talk to a basketball player so compelled to be himself. As a journalist, I’m not supposed to admit this (so please don’t tell anyone): I too am a fan. A fan of the NBA. A fan of Gilbert Arenas.

THE LAST WORD Money Doesn’t Buy Happiness… Winning in an 82-game season is not an easy proposition. Every season 30 teams enter October with the belief that they can compete, and every year fourteen teams go home in April pondering what went wrong. As fans of the game it’s easy to say, “My team didn’t spend enough,” but does spending money really equal wins? The New York Knicks, for instance, had a payroll of over $139 million that bought them 33 wins. The Philadelphia 76ers had a payroll of over $88 million that bought them 35 wins, the Portland Trail Blazers got 32 wins for their $72 million, and the Minnesota Timberwolves received 32 victories for their $65 million investment. Of the non-playoff teams, the Knicks lead the league in “cost per win,” notching an amazing $4.2 million price tag for each. Of the elite teams in the NBA Playoffs, the Chicago Bulls and Phoenix Suns come in with the cheapest “cost per win” at just over $1 million. The league-leading Dallas Mavericks spent $1.3 million for each of their 67 victories. Now, these numbers are skewed a bit since most of the teams mentioned are still carrying massive contracts they bought out, but the message is still pretty clear: money does not always equal wins. The Orlando Magic, Detroit Pistons, Toronto Raptors and Chicago Bulls - all playoff teams - rank in the bottom 10

Steve Kyler

in NBA payroll. The Bulls have the third-lowest payroll in the league, yet won 49 games and earned homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs. So the next time you hear someone say, “We need to spend more money,” remind them the Knicks spent $139 million this season and didn’t even get to the playoffs.

See You, Seattle… The word from Seattle is that new ownership is planning to move the team at the end of the 2007-2008 NBA season. Sonics owner Clay Bennett and his group spent millions of dollars lobbying for a new building because they believed far more money could be made in a mature sports market like Seattle than in a less mature, smaller market like Oklahoma City. In the end the money was spent, and the results were the same. The legislative body is simply not going to spend the money on a new building for the Sonics, leaving the team with little recourse. It’s obvious Oklahoma City is where the Sonics will land. After all, Clay Bennett was instrumental in helping get the New Orleans Hornets in OKC after Hurricane Katrina. For those that will say, “Oh, this was planned from Day 1,” it wasn’t. Bennett was genuine in his pursuit to keep the team in Seattle, and he spent countless hours and days of his personal time trying to make it work. The fact that he has a good back-up plan only makes him the smarter businessman. It’s a shame Seattle will lose the

Sonics. The fans have always supported the team, but one city’s loss is often another city’s gain.

The Value of the Role Player… There are twelve active players on every NBA roster; of those twelve, maybe three are viewed as “stars.” It’s those players that are the face of the marketing efforts. They are the players whose box scores end up in the highlights, and whose jerseys are seen around town. So in the world of high profile sports, when was the last time you saw a kid wearing a Leandro Barbosa jersey? Trevor Ariza? How about DeSagana Diop? Every coach and general manager in the league will tell you having star players is how you win fans, but you win games with a solid bench and guys who understand their roles. It’s the role players that make good teams great, and it’s the lack of role players that make good teams bad. There is not enough value placed on the guys that do the “dirty” work. The Haslems and Turiafs of the NBA - the guys that set the table so the “Big Dogs” can eat. Maybe it’s naive to believe the star system in sports will ever change. Until it does I will applaud the McGradys and the Bryants of the NBA world, but I’ll cheer for the guy sitting next to the Gatorade cooler, because in the playoffs he’s going to be the guy that wins games. And that’s The Last Word…

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