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My New All-time Favorite NBA Player
As the 2021–2022 National Basketball Association season begins, I think back to all the players whose careers I have followed through the last 60 years or so. Some of them are truly great players whose accomplishments will never be matched. Others, meanwhile, were players from the area where I live, so I had a long, rooting interest in their basketball exploits. My newest favorite player falls into that latter category, but he’s still early in his NBA career, so, perhaps, he, too, will make a name for himself in the record books before he retires. Before I tell you who he is, though, let me review some of my previous favorites.
Wilt Chamberlain. Growing up, I was always the tallest kid in my class and somewhat self-conscious of my height. Naturally, all my friends introduced me to basketball, and when I first heard that “Wilt the Stilt,” at seven foot one, was the tallest player in the game, I wanted to be just like him, so I watched him play on TV whenever I could. Though his Warriors, 76ers, and Lakers often finished second to the amazing Boston Celtics and though I was never as good as the big guy, I loved to watch not only his dunks and his shot blocking but also his soft fadeaway shot and his gentle finger roll. He was an amazing all-around athlete who eventually won two NBA championships, and he still holds the record for most points in a single game: 100. Yes, you read that…
