Basketball History 101

Damon Bailey was probably the most hyped 13-year-old basketball player ever. In rural Indiana people were already predicting that Bailey would dominate the NBA someday. He even made the cover of Sports Illustrated. But he never played a single NBA game. Bailey is one of thousands of players who showed NBA potential, but did not make it.  CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jac...

Only two players can say that they played for both the best team in NBA history and the worst team in NBA history. Leroy Ellis and John Trapp were those two players. They played for both the 1972 LA Lakers (69-13) and the 1973 Philadelphia 76ers (9-73). This is their story.  CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisher   MUSIC "Disco F...

The story of Len Bias is a modern tragedy. Coming from the University of Maryland, Bias was a player that had the potential to be another Jordan, or even better than Jordan. Unfortunately, he was pronounced dead just 36 hours after being drafted #2 by the Boston Celtics. This is the story of that tragedy.  CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and...

 Immaculata College won the first three women’s national championships in 1972, 1973, and 1974. It was a tiny school with only 500 students and they did it with virtually no budget. They did not even have their own gym. They had to play their home games at a local high school. This is the story of those three championships. CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Edi...

Earvin Johnson was only 15 years old when a local sportswriter started calling him Magic. The name caught on quickly and soon everyone was referring to this young basketball phenom as Magic. This is that story.  CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisher   MUSIC "Disco Funk" by Jam Morgan "Horizons" by Roa   SPORTS HISTORY NETWO...

 Sam Bowie was drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers in 1984 while Michael Jordan still available. Bowie then suffered a series of significant leg injuries who severely limited his playing time and overall production. He gets a bad rap for being taken ahead of Jordan, but we take a fresh look at his story and realize it was not such a bad idea, at the time. CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, w...

 Yao Ming’s journey to the NBA was filled with roadblocks and other problems. We share how Yao overcame legal and political hurdles to reach the Houston Rockets and the NBA. CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisher   MUSIC "Ancient China by Mostakim Harun" by "Horizons" by Roa   SPORTS HISTORY NETWORK sportshistorynetwork.com...

 The two most entertaining players of the 1970s were Pistol Pete Maravich and Dr. J. For about a week they were teammates on the Atlanta Hawks. In this episode we cover how this pairing happened and how it quickly fell apart. CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisher   MUSIC "Disco Funk" by Jam Morgan "Horizons" by Roa   SPORTS...

 When it comes to team chemistry, the 1989 Detroit Pistons epitomized the concept of a complete team. They had the perfect balance of offense, defense, team leadership, and commitment to winning above individual statistics. CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisher   MUSIC "Rock You" by RockSounds "Horizons" by Roa   SPORTS HIS...

 What is the perfect body type for an NBA player? You might be thinking really tall, right? Well, that is part of it. In this episode we will look at wing span, long legs, and narrow hips as physical patterns that we see all over the NBA and have a direct impact on performance. CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisher   MUSIC "Flas...

Why does the NBA have a draft in the first place? And which draft class was the best and worst? We will answer those questions in today’s episode.  CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisher   MUSIC "Horizons" by Roa   SPORTS HISTORY NETWORK sportshistorynetwork.com sportshistorynetwork.com/podcasts/basketball-history-101/ &nbsp...

We share the story of the Lakers' 18th championship, or rather, their first of 18 championships. This is the story of how the Minneapolis Lakers won the 1948 NBL championship before joining the NBA where they won 17 more championships.  CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisher   MUSIC "Slow Dance" by Doug "Horizons" by Roa   S...

 Over the course of their time together on the Celtics, Bill Russell and Red Auerbach became incredible friends. The two could not be more different. However they were both incredibly competitive and wanted to win championships. They recognized in each other a partner that could help win games. CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisher &...

 Marty Blake is not well known to the casual NBA fan, but he is considered a genius within the professional basketball community. He was the NBA’s first Director of Scouting and advanced the science of scouting a player to heights never known before. His contributions to basketball are immeasurable. CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publis...

I  n Game 4 of the 1984 NBA Finals, there was one play that turned the entire series around. Kurt Rambis was on his way in for a dunk when Kevin McHale clotheslined him and nearly injured him. This one play changed the series momentum from the Lakers to the Celtics. CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisher   MUSIC "Rock You" by Roc...

 Julius Erving, better know as Dr. J, was one of the most entertaining players of all time. He spent his first five seasons of his pro career in the ABA. Unfortunately, there is painfully little video of his time in that league. Stories about his exploits grew into mythical status because there was no video to prove otherwise. Some claimed that he dunked the ball from the 3-point line. The storie...

 The Spirits of St. Louis was one of the wildest teams in the ABA, and that is saying something. They had so much talent, but could not find success on the court. They had players like Marvin Barnes, Moses Malone, Mike D’Antoni, and Fly Williams, and still could not win consistently. This is their story. CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and p...

We bring you the final entry into our series on the lost teams of the ABA: the Houston Mavericks. Eventually, they relocated to become the Carolina Cougars, and finally became the Spirits of St. Louis. They were a wild team at a wild time.  CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisher   MUSIC "Disco Funk" by Jam Morgan "Horizons" by Ro...

 Today, we continue and conclude our interview with author, Bob Kuska, on his new book “Balls of Confusion: Pro Basketball Goes To War (1965-1970).” BUY BOB'S BOOK! Click here for Amazon link! CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisher   MUSIC "Horizons" by Roa   SPORTS HISTORY NETWORK sportshistorynetwork.com sportshistorynetwo...

 Today we interview author Bob Kuska to discuss his new book “Balls of Confusion: Pro Basketball Goes To War (1965-1970)” He goes deep into the ABA’s attempt to put pressure on the NBA by rivaling it in talent, hoping for a merger... BUY BOB'S BOOK! Click here for Amazon link! CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisher   MUSIC "Horiz...

 For this Christmas bonus episode, we're re-airing Episode 177 from January 2, 2024. We had done a redux of our very first episode, telling the story of basketball's first game, and if you missed it then, this is our present to you now! From all of us here at BBH.101, we wish you a very merry Christmas!  CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and...

 The NBA’s two original high school players entered the league in 1975. They were Bill Willoughby and Darryl Dawkins. They each had different levels of success, but neither were all-time greats, and it was because of this that no high school player would attempt the jump until Kevin Garnett in 1995. CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publis...

 Watching nationally televised college basketball is extremely common today. But this was the first regular season game televised nationwide. It was 1968 and it featured #1 UCLA vs. #2 Houston. It also featured two future Hall-of-Famers in Lew Alcindor (later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and Elvin Hayes. CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and...

 The National Industrial Basketball League (NIBL) was an alternate to the NBA. They attracted some top talent by paying more than the NBA in some cases. However the player had to be a full time employee of a sponsoring company and then play basketball for free. So, what was this all about? CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisher  ...

 The San Diego Conquistadors were the final team to join the ABA and only lasted just over 3 full seasons before going out of business. However, they did sign Wilt Chamberlain to be their head coach -- probably the worst decision they ever made. CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisher   MUSIC "Disco Funk" by Jam Morgan "Horizons"...