NBA History Conversations: Basketball Record

Adam & Aaron celebrate the 30th anniversary of Michael Jordan's (1984) arrival in the National Basketball Association. This episode covers: - Chicago Bulls' negotiations to sign Jordan - Details of Nike's efforts to secure Jordan's signature - Chicago Bulls' 1984-85 training camp and preseason games In this episode, we discuss the lead-up to the Bulls' signing of...

Adam & Aaron celebrate the 30th anniversary of Michael Jordan's (1984) arrival in the National Basketball Association. This episode covers: - Team USA's gold-medal run in the 1984 Olympic Games The olympians swept their way to gold, putting the sword to every team they played at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. In this episode, we recap each game along the way - settle in and p...

Adam & Aaron celebrate the 30th anniversary of Michael Jordan‘s (1984) arrival in the National Basketball Association. This episode covers: - Team USA’s 1984 pre-Olympic Exhibition Games versus NBA Stars The Olympians played a total of nine exhibition games in just under five weeks, as a build-up to the 1984 Olympic Games, in Los Angeles. You’ll learn facts, figures and tidbits from each of th...

Utah Jazz great, two-time Defensive Player of the Year and NBA All-Star, Mark Eaton. Few players have ever experienced a rise from near-obscurity to NBA All-Star, like Mark Eaton. We discuss Mark's incredible transition from auto-mechanic to NBA-draftee and ultimately, Defensive Player of the Year (twice) and All-Star honors. We chat about Mark's two seasons at Cypress Junior College, th...

Adam & Aaron celebrate the 30th anniversary of Michael Jordan's (1984) arrival in the National Basketball Association. This episode covers: - Team USA 1984 Olympic Training Camp - 1984 NBA Draft - NBA TV's Original Documentary: 'THE84DRAFT' - Roland Lazenby's book - Michael Jordan: The Life The most prominent players mentioned in this episode, include: Michael Jordan,...

Adam & Aaron celebrate the 30th anniversary of Michael Jordan's (1984) arrival in the National Basketball Association. Our special, debut episode covers: - Michael Jordan's final season (1984) with the North Carolina Tar Heels - Team USA 1984 Olympic Trials (including a chat with Roosevelt Chapman) - Lead-up to the 1984 NBA Draft A wide-array of players are mentioned in this episode....

Dayton Flyers' all-time leading scorer and NCAA star, Roosevelt Chapman. Adam & Aaron welcome Roosevelt to the podcast, with an in-depth discussion of his very successful, well-traveled, yet largely-unheralded basketball career. If ever a guest warranted featuring on the show, Roosevelt 'Velvet' Chapman is that guy. In 1984, within the span of just three months, he starred in th...

Michael Jordan's lifelong friend and confidant, David Bridgers. A unique episode. Ross Franco is a North Carolinian friend of mine. We connected, through my podcast - one of the many great outcomes I've experienced, since creating the show. Ross is a great friend of David Bridgers. Ross and I have previously discussed the possibility of inviting David on the podcast, as a guest. When the...

One of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, Rick Barry. Rick discusses his first sporting love of baseball - he talks fondly of his hero - the reason behind his choice to wear the iconic jersey number 24. Incredibly, as a high-school senior, Rick almost gave up on his future Hall of Fame career, due in large-part to his then-coach. We chat about the origins of his unique, underhanded free-throw...

High School All-American, NCAA great and NBA All-Star, Jeff Ruland. Jeff discusses his early sporting life and the major growth-spurt that coincided with his decision to focus on basketball. He was named High School All-American in the same class as Magic Johnson and was heavily recruited across the country. We chat about his decision to remain in New York and commit to Iona College, led by future...

Adam and Todd discuss Michael Jordan's record-breaking Playoff game - April 20th, 1986 - MJ scored 63 points in the Chicago Bulls' double-overtime loss to the Boston Celtics. We discuss all the key aspects of the game. We talk about the CBS broadcast and its commentary team of Dick Stockton, Tom Heinsohn and Pat O'Brien. We chat about the contrasting nature of Boston and Chicago&apo...

NCAA All-American, All-Star and five-time NBA Champion, Bill Cartwright. Bill discusses his early years, growing up in California and playing baseball - his first sporting love. He became a highly-recruited basketballer, but chose to remain in his home state, developing into a standout at the University of San Francisco. We also chat about Bill's first memories of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird...

Illinois Fighting Illini great and NBA star, Kendall Gill. He talks about growing up in the city of Chicago - where he played baseball and took up boxing - before his family moved to the suburbs and he started playing basketball. Kendall starred at Rich Central High School and played four seasons at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He was named 3rd Team All-American, his senior seas...

NBA Sixth Man of the Year, Illinois great, TV analyst and author, Eddie Johnson. The timing of this episode is perfect. Eddie was recently honored , in a half-time ceremony, at Illinois, commemorating the 35th anniversary of his game-winning jumper, against Magic Johnson and the Michigan State Spartans. We learn about Eddie's early sporting career and how he first became involved with basketb...

Marquette star and seven-year NBA veteran, Jim McIlvaine. In part two of this special double-episode, I welcome back Marquette great and NBA veteran, Jim McIlvaine. If you missed part one , we discussed Jim’s college career in-depth, where he was a stand-out at Marquette. He talked about his selection in the 1994 NBA Draft and first three NBA seasons – including, a completely open and honest asses...

Marquette star and NBA veteran, Jim McIlvaine. In a first for the podcast, this conversation will be released in two installments. Our chat was almost two hours, in length – I’m pretty sure that Jim’s wife had the authorities on speed dial, ready to report him missing – however, all’s well that ends well – Jim returned to normality at its conclusion and I couldn’t be happier with the finished epis...

Adam and Aaron discuss the 1988 NBA All-Star Game - one of the greatest ever. Michael Jordan scored 40 points, en route to Most Valuable Player honors. We devote an entire episode to our favorite All-Star Game, ever. We cover a multitude of topics, including how and when we first watched this game - plus, its ongoing effect on our NBA-fandom. We talk about the CBS television coverage, pre-game pla...

Adam and Aaron discuss the 1994 NBA season - the first, following Michael Jordan's shock-retirement (October 1993). The in-depth conversation covers the entire season. We talk about great games and memorable moments, including David Robinson's all-time highest-scoring performance, that ousted Shaquille O'Neal, for the individual scoring title in The Admiral's regular-season fin...

Adam and Aaron discuss Michael Jordan's all-time highest scoring game. MJ scored 69 points in the Chicago Bulls' win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. We break down all key aspects of the game. We discuss TNT's broadcast, the commentary team of Bob Neal and Doug Collins and the Cleveland newspaper article that possibly led to Michael Jordan's explosive, all-around excellence. We di...

Three-time NBL Champion, four-time Australian Olympian and NBA player, Mark Bradtke. Mark talks about his entry into competitive basketball and we discuss his quick rise into Australia's basketball elite. We chat about his time at the Australian Institute of Sport and later, playing for the Adelaide 36ers, in Australia's NBL. We talk about Mark's decision to move interstate, to play...

Professional photographer (formerly, 23 years with the Boston Celtics), Steve Lipofsky. Steve has been a professional photographer in excess of 25 years. We talk about his entry into photography as a youngster, the early years spent honing his skills, plus, his wide-ranging experiences, including, working with former and current Presidents (Clinton and Obama). Steve's work has appeared in num...

High School All-American, University of North Carolina star and NBA veteran, Joe Wolf. We discuss EuroBasket 2013, where Joe was an assistant coach to Mike Fratello, steering Ukraine to a sensational 6th place finish; earning the team a guaranteed spot in the 2014 FIBA World Cup. Joe talks about his amazing high school basketball career, where he was (2005) named Wisconsin's greatest ever pla...

NBA Coach of the Year, TV Broadcaster and The Czar of the Telestrator, Mike Fratello. We discuss EuroBasket 2013, where Mike coached Ukraine to a fantastic 6th place finish; securing the team a spot in the 2014 FIBA World Cup. We then revisit Mike's high school years, where he was a star athlete. He talks about his foray into coaching and the opportunities that would lead him all the way to t...

New York City royalty, NCAA legend and NBA All-Star, Kenny Anderson. We talk about his childhood, playing basketball and how he handled the intense media spotlight in HS and college. He chats about his key role with Team USA, between his freshman and sophomore seasons at Georgia Tech. We delve into his NBA career, including the 1991 Draft, held in his native New York. Kenny talks about European le...

Widely-respected Australian broadcaster, journalist and news-breaker, Bill Woods. Adam and Todd discuss the origin of the NBA (early 1990s) on Australian (commercial) TV - further, Bill's key involvement as host of weekly, hoops-related programs, during basketball's golden age of popularity. Bill talks fondly of his co-hosting memories with Steve Carfino, plus, his memorable interviews w...