Once Upon A Dribble

The Thunder were the Warriors before the Warriors. Well, except for the titles. Young, homegrown talent emerges as a dominant force in the league, consistently vying for the NBA championship. This straightforward strategy, exemplified by the successes of Oklahoma City and Golden State in the 2010s, is seldom as effective as they made it appear. However, the OKC's inability to clinch an NBA cha...

It’s easy to look back now and wonder how Oden ever could have been selected ahead of a superstar like Kevin Durant. After all, KD had averaged 25.8 points and 11.1 rebounds a game as a lanky freshman at Texas, leading the Big 12 in both categories, as well as blocks. Durant was a sure thing, like Michael Jordan was in the 1984 draft … so why draft Sam Bowie? Because Greg Oden was never supposed t...

In 2023-24, the Minnesota Timberwolves are seeing a resurgence as one of the premier teams in the league as we head towards the 2024 NBA playoffs. How far do you have to go back to find the last Timberwolves playoff run? 20 years in fact. 2004 is the last time the Wolves won a playoff series. In that year Kevin Garnett was MVP and got them 2 games within the NBA Finals. Join Josh and Calvan as the...

Today we continue in part 5 of a 10-part series at Once Upon a Dribble! During the 2022 playoffs the NBA began awarding MVP awards to the best performing player of each conference finals: the Larry Bird Eastern Conference Finals Most Valuable Player Award and the Magic Johnson Western Conference Finals Most Valuable Player Award, named for the two players credited for building the league up to gre...

We are going back to the year of 1999. Picture this: the New York Knicks, one of the most iconic brands in sports, a team that defied the odds, embraced the role of Cinderella, is etching their names in basketball immortality amidst age, lockouts, injury and more. But as the saying goes, heroes emerge in the face of adversity.  From unexpected stars stepping into the spotlight to unforgettable vic...

NBA Christmas day games have been an annual tradition since the league's second season in 1947. Let’s take a step in the NBA time machine and look at some of the best moments in NBA Yuletide Lore.

In 1987 Michael Jordan averaged 37.1 points per game. In 2006 Kobe Bryant put up 35.5 points per game. And in 2019 James Harden lit up the stat sheets to the tune of 36.1 points per game. These three marks rank as the best individual scoring seasons of the modern era And how those 3 prolific scorers achieved those historical remarks was in extremely different ways. Harden attempted 13 threes per g...

Being a team leader during the regular season and playoffs is vital to a team’s success and a chance at a championship.  Normally, there are 1 or 2 guys who step up when their team needs it the most to go get themselves a clutch basket or completely take over on the offensive end.  There are also the guys who elevate their game when their backs are against the wall. They are players who leave it a...

Today we continue in part 4 of a 10-part series at Once Upon a Dribble! During the 2022 playoffs the NBA began awarding MVP awards to the best performing player of each conference finals: the Larry Bird Eastern Conference Finals Most Valuable Player Award and the Magic Johnson Western Conference Finals Most Valuable Player Award, named for the two players credited for building the league up to gre...

Here we are! The 2023-24 NBA season will be here before you know it. Opening night is just around the corner, it's time to prepare for what should be another season of intense competition. There are plenty of storylines to follow and Calvan takes you through the wild, wild West for what promises to be a memorable race to the playoffs.

Here we are! The 2023-24 NBA season will be here before you know it. Opening night is just around the corner, it's time to prepare for what should be another season of intense competition. There are plenty of storylines to follow and Josh takes you along the East coast to keep an eye out for what should be a top heavy race!

We all remember the memes. “Golden State blew a 3-1 lead”. The unfortunate demise of the NBA’s record-breaking 73-win team that failed to win a ring. While we remember the astonishing efforts of LeBron James to bring a championship to Cleveland against impossible odds, we often overlook the events that occurred just before that. Losing a series after going up 3-1 is a tough pill to swallow. But ma...

He’s regarded as one of the top 10 basketball players of all-time, maybe even top 5, and the story of his rise from relative obscurity to Boston Celtic legend is one of the most unlikely of all-time. The story of Larry Legend is one that Celtic fans have passed down through multiple generations. For Josh as a life-long Celtics fan, it’s a story that’s rooted into his basketball DNA. And In today’s...

Today we continue in part 3 of a 10-part series at Once Upon a Dribble! During the 2022 playoffs the NBA began awarding MVP awards to the best performing player of each conference finals: the Larry Bird Eastern Conference Finals Most Valuable Player Award and the Magic Johnson Western Conference Finals Most Valuable Player Award, named for the two players credited for building the league up to gre...

An 82-game regular season has been the norm in the NBA for the better part of 5 decades now. In a regular season where action takes place every night, even the most dramatic of moments can be fleeting, especially in today’s age of social media where it’s all about clicks and impressions before our brains starve for the next piece of content. Rightfully and fairly so, the greatest NBA moments belon...

Hakeem Olajuwon and Charles Barkley are widely known as two of the game's greatest players. Both have incredibly unique and fascinating stories of how they triumphed all odds to make it to the pro ranks and scale the NBA hierarchy until twice in the mid 1990s their teams met as they were at the peak of their individual powers. Join Calvan and Josh as they deep dive into the fascinating stories...

In today's micro episode of Once Upon a Dribble (@OnceDribble), Calvan (@CJRealHoops1) begins a new mini-series: Random Game Rewind. January 2nd, 1992, was a freezing cold day in Salt Lake City, Utah. But the NBA action in the newly built Delta Center was as hot as can be, as the World champion Chicago Bulls, in pursuit of their 2nd straight NBA title, landed in the salty city to take on the U...

Join Josh as he takes a look at the top 10 picks of the 2010 NBA draft class and deems if the pick was a "hit" or a "miss" for the team that drafted them. Do you agree or disagree? Give us your thoughts!

At the end of the 1983-84 NBA season, the owner of the San Diego Clippers made the bold decision to move the franchise 120 miles north up the California coast to the city of Los Angeles. While it can be argued if an attempt to share the City of Angels with the NBA’s hallmark franchise was or was not a 'slam dunk' of a business move, there were certainly no slam dunks being made on the cour...

Join Calvan and Josh as they review their predictions for the 2023 NBA season by looking at how some of the big teams fared this year. Calvan and Josh review their win, playoff and award predictions and see how close they actually were to how things played out!

The NBA was founded on June 6, 1946. In the 77 years since, we’ve seen dynasties rise up and then crumble apart, and superstars ascend and then fade away. Throughout that time, there have been several transcendent moments and quintessential teams that have shaped the history of basketball as we know it. But how would some of these remarkable teams fare in today’s NBA? In an ever-changing and evolv...

Today we embark on part 2 of a brand new, 10-part series at Once Upon a Dribble! During the 2022 playoffs the NBA began awarding MVP awards to the best performing player of each conference finals: the Larry Bird Eastern Conference Finals Most Valuable Player Award and the Magic Johnson Western Conference Finals Most Valuable Player Award, named for the two players credited for building the league...

Today we embark on part 1 of a brand new, 10-part series at Once Upon a Dribble! During the 2022 playoffs the NBA began awarding MVP awards to the best performing player of each conference finals: the Larry Bird Eastern Conference Finals Most Valuable Player Award and the Magic Johnson Western Conference Finals Most Valuable Player Award, named for the two players credited for building the league...

At some point within the 2022-23 NBA season, LeBron James will become the all-time leading scorer in NBA history. In a paramount career, LeBron has established himself as an undisputed top 3 player ever, and in the opinion of many, the Greatest Of All Time. But even GOATs have to take their lumps. Today, Josh and Calvan take the NBA time machine back to June 2007, when LeBron led the Cleveland Cav...

In the annals of NBA lore, former 76ers and Nets center Darryl Dawkins stands out as perhaps the most boisterous and active in perpetuating his own mythology.  He was funny, confident, playful, clever, and articulate. Long before the NBA had seen the likes Shaquille O’Neal or even Charles Barkley, Dawkins was THE one-man quote machine. Not many players would name each of their dunks, let alon...