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All-Time NBA Draft Winner GoBigBlueFanGA

Nique! One of the most exciting players to watch in his prime and went toe-to-toe with Larry Legend in a Game 7 at the old Boston Garden.

My favorite player growing up. He dunked everything with authority. Got to meet him in 88 when Atlanta played the Clippers in a preseason game at the Henderson Center in Huntington, WV. The Hawks had some damn good teams in the late 80s but the East was loaded. The game you mentioned might be the best back & forth duel between 2 stars that I’ve ever seen, particularly the 2nd half. I’ll admit that I’m biased as a Hawks fan & a converted Larry Bird fan. But, it was incredible & the stakes were huge. Broke my heart, lol.
 
Got to meet him in 88 when Atlanta played the Clippers in a preseason game at the Henderson Center in Huntington, WV. The Hawks had some damn good teams in the late 80s but the East was loaded. The game you mentioned might be the best back & forth duel between 2 stars that I’ve ever seen, particularly the 2nd half. I’ll admit that I’m biased as a Hawks fan & a converted Larry Bird fan. But, it was incredible & the stakes were huge. Broke my heart, lol.

That's awesome getting to meet Dominique. I guess he's a pretty good guy since you still like him. The 80s were a terrible time for a team to try and break through. The C's were loaded throughout the 80s, the Pistons took the torch from them late and then you had Dominique and the Hawks, Jordan and the Bulls and some solid Milwaukee teams below the C's and Pistons, but could certainly push them. Then the Lakers in the West. Yeah, GL with that.

Thing about games like those is to enjoy them while they last. And unfortunately, they'll break your heart at times lol
 
That's awesome getting to meet Dominique. I guess he's a pretty good guy since you still like him. The 80s were a terrible time for a team to try and break through. The C's were loaded throughout the 80s, the Pistons took the torch from them late and then you had Dominique and the Hawks, Jordan and the Bulls and some solid Milwaukee teams below the C's and Pistons, but could certainly push them. Then the Lakers in the West. Yeah, GL with that.

Thing about games like those is to enjoy them while they last. And unfortunately, they'll break your heart at times lol

He was great with the kids & very gracious with his time. I was 14 & wearing the Dominique caricature T-shirt, if you remember those. But, he commented on the shirt & asked if I played basketball & a cpl other random questions. He didn’t seem bothered in the slightest. Spud Webb, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. He kept his head up, looking straight ahead & never stopped. Ridiculous. You would’ve thought he was MJ, lol. Or he seemed to think that, maybe. He was too big time to be bothered with a bunch of fans. Several ppl booed as he smugly walked by. 🤣 I rooted against him from then on.
 
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He was great with the kids & very gracious with his time. I was 14 & wearing the Dominique caricature T-shirt, if you remember those. But, he commented on the shirt & asked if I played basketball & a cpl other random questions. He didn’t seem bothered in the slightest. Spud Webb, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. He kept his head up, looking straight ahead & never stopped. Ridiculous. You would’ve thought he was MJ, lol. Or he seemed to think that, maybe. He was too big time to be bothered with a bunch of fans. Several ppl booed as he smugly walked by. 🤣 I rooted against him from then on.

At first I read caricature shirt comment and thought 'what the heck is that?.' I looked it up, and I've seen those shirts, but I guess I didn't know or didn't remember what they were called. That gives me more respect for Dominique. He seemed to understand that aside from the athletes themselves, the fans are another major component of why professional sports are as big as they've become. Unfortunately, there are a few like Spud Webb who are a lot less gracious about having fans. I still respect Spud as a player, or at least as an athlete anyway. You wouldn't think someone so small could jump so high, but somehow he could sky with the best of them.
 
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Lol I knew that would happen. CP3 was one of the two guys I wanted. That's how it goes sometimes, though. So my third round pick will be the one guy I wanted that's still available. He offers me versatility, unselfishness, great defense and an all-around offensive game. He also played with Bill Russell, my first round pick.

With Pick 36, last selection of Round 3, I select John Havlicek aka 'Hondo'
 
Lol I knew that would happen. CP3 was one of the two guys I wanted. That's how it goes sometimes, though. So my third round pick will be the one guy I wanted that's still available. He offers me versatility, unselfishness, great defense and an all-around offensive game. He also played with Bill Russell, my first round pick.

With Pick 36, last selection of Round 3, I select John Havlicek aka 'Hondo'
Nice, my favorite player growing up. Who's the top pick in round 4?
 
And with Pick 37, first pick of the fourth round, I'll take a different point guard. It's debatable as to whether he's the best one still on the board, but I want some outside shooting in addition to tremendous ball handling Can't win in today's NBA without it. So give me Steve Nash.

Back to you, @BigBlueFanGA
 
Draft strategy with the first of these two picks was easy. 'Hondo' is one of the greatest winners (he played with Russell and Co.) and defenders the NBA has seen. He was always in motion on the floor. He estimates he ran 3 to 5 miles per game, so I'm getting a non-stop motor there. Like Russell, he was an unbelievable competitor who would do anything to win. 'Hondo' was a master at making shots on the run, and while his outside stroke wasn't his forte at first, he got much better with it over the course of his career. He's also the all-time leader in defensive win shares amongst wing players (either the 2 guard or small forward), just eeking out the flashier Dr J. You could count LeBron in there, who I'm sure will pass 'Hondo' in defensive win shares in the not too distant future if he hasn't already, but he's a mix between a wing, point guard and power forward. And as I said, I know I can play 'Hondo' at the 2 or 3 spot and also think about whether I want him to start or come off the bench. He was always more than happy to come off the bench, relishing that 6th man role.

With all the point guards that went off the board before me in Round 1 (Magic, Curry, Oscar and Stockton), I decided I'd wait until this turn to grab one. Chris Paul was my target for both his outside shooting, ball handling, ability to run a fast break and defensive prowess. Unfortunately he got swiped just before my turn, so I went to Steve Nash. He's not Chris Paul on the defensive end, but he's just as good as CP3 (or close to it) in all the other areas. MVSteve/Nashty will keep opposing defenses honest after I went with two bigs with my first two picks.
 
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Like that a lot. Ewing was the best recent big guy still available. Too bad for him that he could never lead the Knicks past Michael and the Bulls (which hurts his legacy a bit in some eyes), though nobody really accomplished that aside from Shaq with the Magic, and that was when Michael was still coming back from baseball.
This is what, in a way, makes it difficult to take anyone in their prime from the 90s era. It was the Bulls and then the Rockets back to back (94 & 95) when Jordan tried his hand at baseball.

I’ve often wondered how the Bulls would’ve fared against those Houston teams. They would’ve had a huge advantage with Olajuwon in the paint. They also had a damn good backcourt.

I believe that the Bulls would’ve won both times most likely. I also believe it would’ve been Jordan’s biggest challenge of any Finals series.

EDIT: Olajuwon was probably the best player in the league in 94 & 95. Most definitely the best big man. Crazy, because there were so many elite big men then.
 
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My favorite player growing up. He dunked everything with authority. Got to meet him in 88 when Atlanta played the Clippers in a preseason game at the Henderson Center in Huntington, WV. The Hawks had some damn good teams in the late 80s but the East was loaded. The game you mentioned might be the best back & forth duel between 2 stars that I’ve ever seen, particularly the 2nd half. I’ll admit that I’m biased as a Hawks fan & a converted Larry Bird fan. But, it was incredible & the stakes were huge. Broke my heart, lol.
Noticed the other day that you were from Ashland. I never knew that. I reckon I can just refer to you as, “neighbor”, from now on? 🤔

😆

EDIT: We used to party up Huntington a whole lot back in my wilder days. Wild might be stating it a little mildly. 😊
 
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