At one point he made an assist while sprawled on the floor: From his end of the court, he made a one-armed throw to a teammate, who streaked coast-to-coast for a quick bucket. That season ended with an epic showdown in the NCAA championship game against Magic Johnson and Michigan State. Magic got the better of Bird in that game, but the contest had wider repercussions.
It's somewhat similar to spring or autumn outings when we were kids. In the past, it was about getting children out of the classroom environment; now it's about getting them away from the digital environment. This digital detox initiative reflects Yao's perspective on modernizing traditional approaches to child development and wellness in an increasingly technology-dependent society.
I think my experience and my knowledge of how this works, recruiting and going on visits, because I've been there, I've done it. I was the No. 1 one guy in the country who had to deal with these type of things. My message to him was, I want you to enjoy this recruiting process. Just enjoy it. Take the visits, go on the visits you want to go on.
"This whole MVP thing, I don't understand why his name is not getting talked about some as well," James said. "Like, nobody gave them [the Celtics] a shot to start the season. And he's averaging what, 30? Just under 30? It's a popularity contest sometimes, I tell you."
De'Anthony Melton knows that every backcourt partner of Steph Curry will, fairly or not, be compared to the Golden State standard set by Klay Thompson. The five-time All-Star was the starting shooting guard next to Curry for all four of the team's modern-day titles, providing defense and the perfect off-ball complement to Curry's dynamism. Melton, who is rounding into form after missing an entire year rehabbing from left ACL surgery, had plenty of time to study Thompson as he rehabbed.
Mets legend David Wright's Hall-of-Fame credentials had been pretty cut and dry. When healthy, he was on a fast track to Cooperstown, but spinal stenosis derailed his career during his age-32 season in 2015, relegating him to one of the more prominent what ifs? in recent baseball history. Yet the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) appears to be taking his entire journey, and just how good he was during his peak years, into consideration, which surprisingly bodes well for potential enshrinement down the road.
Syracuse wasn't expected to win it all that year. But Melo played with the calm of someone who'd already read the last page. Midrange fadeaways, smooth like butter. Big shot after big shot. Bucket after bucket. When the confetti fell in New Orleans, the Carrier Dome back in upstate New York would never be the same. Syracuse, a program that had long flirted with greatness but never sealed the deal, had its first-ever national championship. And it had its forever king.
"I was definitely hyped," Allen told ESPN. "I had Paul Pierce in my ear telling me, 'Get ready! You stick me every day [in practice]. You should be ready. Let's go! That's Kobe Bryant!'" The No. 25 pick in the 2004 draft was trying to soak everything in and get himself in the right frame of mind for the 54th game of his young NBA career.
