NBA Finals Reaction

Congratulations to the Golden State Warriors for winning the NBA Finals and to Andre Iguodala for winning the Finals MVP. To me, Iguodala wasn't even the best player on his own team. Steph Curry scored more points, and was the catalyst behind huge fourth quarter comebacks. It could be said that Iguodala was the more consistent player, but consistency doesn't matter as much when the series doesn't stretch to 7 games. It seemed like LeBron deserved the MVP more, but what do you guys think?

Clearly LeBron was the best player. He put up historic numbers and many analysts have said that it was the best Finals performance they have ever seen. But somehow, the guy guarding him ended up winning the MVP... something seems fishy. Does the best player deserve the MVP, even if he is on the losing team? Maybe if Lebron still wore his headband, the Cavs would have won... We'll be sure to send him one if he asks.

Speaking of memorable NBA Finals performances, when Magic Johnson was a rookie in 1980, he reached the Finals with the Lakers thanks in no small part to Kareem Abdul Jabaar. Unfortunately, after a dominant first 5 games, Kareem went down with a bad ankle sprain and couldn’t play in game 6. Despite being the starting point guard for the first 5 games of the Finals, Magic started game 6 as the Laker’s center. He did the jump ball at tip off and everything. He recorded 42 points, 15 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals in a 123–107 win, while playing out of position. This caused him to become the first ever rookie Finals MVP. 

 

Another amazing NBA Finals performance came from my favorite player: Shaquille O’Neal. Really, it was 3 consecutive amazing Finals performances. From 2000-2002, Shaq and the Lakers won 3 consecutive NBA Championships, and Shaq was named the MVP each time. In 2000, he averaged 38.0 points, 16.7 rebounds and 2.67 blocks to lead the Lakers to a 4-2 victory over the Indiana Pacers in what was the most dominant player’s most dominant season. 

We really think that LeBron’s headband gave him the ability to win in the Finals with the Heat, so pick up a headband from us here so you can Ball Better.

Dress Like Your Favorite Superstar

There are several players that are known for wearing specific accessories every time they step onto the floor.
Allen Iverson is the best example of this, he is the whole reason why we wear shooting sleeves now. He said it was to prevent bursitis in his elbow, but we all know the truth: he just wanted to look cool.



Dwyane Wade often wears a shooting sleeve, and Kobe has worn them occasionally throughout his career.

When LeBron was in Miami, he constantly wore a headband. This caused him to be the butt of many jokes about his receding hair line, but everyone remembers that game in the 2014 playoffs where his headband fell off and he just left it there while he completely took over the game and produced a triple double
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Paul Pierce and DeMarcus Cousins are two other plays who always wear headbands. It must be effective at keeping the sweat out of their eyes for them, because they both have very high shooting percentages. 

Carmelo Anthony takes accessorizing to a whole new level. Not only does he wear two shooting sleeves every game, he also has a headband and knee brace. He really goes all out, and apparently it works. Ever since he took Syracuse to a National Title, Melo has been a prolific scorer.

 

Whenever you picture Michael Jordan, you see him in his red Chicago Bulls uniform. But did you know that he always had the same pair of blue shorts on underneath his red ones? They're a carryover from his days as a UNC Tarheel, and he was so superstitious that he swore he would lose a game if he didn't wear them. One time, someone stole his jersey before a game so he had to play with a number 12 jersey instead of his legendary 23, but had his shorts been stolen, I doubt he would have ever set foot on the court again. I wonder if he managed to keep those shorts on when he played baseball too

You can buy shooting sleeves, headbands and lucky shorts from our store here.

Like Father, Like Son

In appreciation of Father’s Day, we thought we’d talk about some father-son NBA families. There have been more than you think throughout the years, such as Kobe Bryant and his dad Joe Bryant, and the great Bill Walton and his son Luke Walton.

Everyone knows how great Kobe is, but most people don’t know that he inhereited his skills from his father, Joe. Joe Bryant played in the NBA for a couple years, but he spent most of his time overseas playing in Italy. This is where Kobe grew up, and we’re lucky that there wasn’t enough Italian influence to make him choose soccer over basketball.

The Splash Brothers, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, are coming off an NBA title this year as a dominate pair of sharpshooters. While they aren’t actually brothers, they both have some family ties within the NBA. Steph’s dad, Dell, is most well known for the decade he spent playing for the Charlotte Hornets. In fact, he’s still their all time leader in 3 pointers made. Klay Thompson’s dad Mychal was also in the NBA at the same time that Dell Curry was. He was the #1 pick in the draft and won 2 NBA championships with Magic Johnson and the Lakers.

 

 

Luke Walton isn’t quite as famous as the other current NBA players listed above, but there were high hopes for him when he came into the league. His father was Bill Walton, one of the all time greatest college basketball players, and a Hall of Famer who played for the Portland Trailblazers. Unfortunately, Luke didn’t live up to his father’s legacy, and retired early to become an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors.

There is one unique father-son pairing where they are both on the same team, but not as players. Austin Rivers plays point guard for the LA Clippers, where his dad Doc Rivers is the coach. Doc Rivers was a pretty good player, but he really made his name as a coach and is considered one of the best in the game. Austin Rivers isn’t much of a player, and when the Clippers traded for him last year, it was thought that Doc was trying to save his son’s career.