Over and Back: Stories About NBA History

In NBA and ABA history, there have been nearly 600 50+ point games. Most of them were from legends like Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. There were also ones from Willie Burton, Walt Wesley and Andre Miller. In this episode, we explore the most random, improbable and unlikely 50-point scorers in NBA history including Cleveland Cavaliers' forward Walt Wesley, our only ABA entry...

In Part 1 we worked our way through the early days of the NBA, the Boston Celtics' dominance in the 1960s and the continued and consistent parity of the 1970s. In Part 2, we look at the 1980s including changing legacies for Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics, Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers striking out in the early parts of the decade and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar failing to live up to loft...

The annual tradition continues as Jason and Rich welcome guests Curtis Harris (ProHoopsHistory.com & Sixers History) and Reinis Lacis (The Handle Podcast) as they live commentate one of the greatest games of all time: the 1981 Eastern Conference Finals Game 7 between Philadelphia and Boston.  Watch along at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djvvm_tA4L4 Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.co...

We are regular-season stans here at the Over and Back Classic NBA podcast. What if we valued the best team in the regular season as much or more as the NBA tournament winner? The regular season is obviously longer with a greater sample size — you could argue it's more reflective of the quality of the team that season (obviously a lot of people would argue otherwise) How would it change how we...

Jason Mann and Rich Kraetsch take a look at the NBA's Silver Anniversary team announced in 1971 and what it says about where the NBA stood at the time in the latest episode of the Over and Back Classic NBA Podcast. Topics discussed on the episode: The merits of the actual choices of the team (Paul Arizin, Bob Cousy, Bob Davies, Joe Fulks, Sam Jones, George Mikan, Bob Pettit, Bill Russell, Dolp...

Jason and Rich attempt to circumvent Pat Riley's trademarks to discuss failed attempts at winning three NBA championships in a row. We look at each and every team that failed to make it three in a row, what may have caused them to miss out, roster changes in the offseason, internal turmoil and much more.  Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle....

Jason and Rich look at notable one-year stints with an NBA team that didn't work out as expected. Examples include Scottie Pippen going to the Houston Rockets, Dwight Howard's run as a Los Angeles Lakers, Paul Westphal's brief run as a Seattle Supersonic and many more!  Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Jason and Rich look at the greatest games for 2018 Naismith Basketball Hall of Famers Ray Allen, Maurice Cheeks, Jason Kidd, Steve Nash, Grant Hill and Charlie Scott.  Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

We celebrate the career and legacy of the great Manu Ginobili and look back at his greatest performances in the latest edition of the Over and Back Classic NBA Podcast. We talk about how Ginobili's creativity and craft helped redefine the NBA, how odd the Spurs will seem without any of their Big Three for the first time in 21 years, Ginobili's place among the all-time greats, how his low m...

Jason and Rich examine the longest tenures with an NBA team in history, discuss Dirk Nowitzki setting the NBA record for most seasons with one franchise, other players who stayed with one franchise for their entire careers and those with long tenures on a team but who couldn't quite finish their career with just one.  Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https...

Ben Taylor (Backpicks.com) joins Jason Mann to chat about Larry Bird's last great NBA performance, a 49-point triple-double in a 152-148 double OT win over Clyde Drexler and the Blazers, in the latest episode of the Over and Back Classic NBA Podcast. We discuss a thrilling game with two buzzer-beaters from Bird and Kevin Gamble, how rare it is for two teams to score more than 148 points in the...

We're beginning a new series on the Over and Back Classic NBA Podcast looking at the last great game for all-time greats in NBA history. In this multi-part series we will examine and reveal the last great game for each player that made our revised NBA 50 Greatest Players ever list. We begin today with Part 1 looking at the last great games for: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kobe Bryant Kevin Garnett All...

Jason Mann and Rich Kraetsch continue their NBA 20 Years Ago series with a look at the news, notes and games of the NBA 20 Years Ago. This episode will focus primarily on the 1998 NBA Playoffs featuring an upstart Los Angeles Lakers team, Karl Malone, John Stockton and the Utah Jazz looking to get back to the NBA Finals and Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls' last stand as they try for a thr...

We discuss Hakeem Olajuwon dominating David Robinson in the 1995 playoffs, the much more even career head-to-head battles, and the Michael Jordan-less interlude where big men dominated in the NBA in the latest episode of the Over and Back Classic NBA Podcast. Corbin Smith and John Wilmes of the Take It or Break It! podcast join the show to look at the fascinating 1995 Houston Rockets, Olajuwon&#39...

We look at the biggest free agent signing in every NBA team's history in the latest episode of the Over and Back Classic NBA Podcast. Adam Johnson of Basketball Pantheon joins us for a wide-ranging discussion -- from the biggest free agent decisions such as LeBron James to the Heat and Cavs, Shaquille O'Neal to the Lakers, and Kevin Durant to the Warriors, to less-heralded but still signif...

Jason and Rich look back at the 2018 NBA Finals and what history was made including asking if the Golden State Warriors are now a dynasty. We try to come to a definitive definition of what a dynasty is in basketball, what teams of recent and past vintage would be classified as dynasties, whether or not the Spurs during the Tim Duncan-era could be considered a dynasty, what to make of the early 200...

Jason and Rich look at the historical comps for four straight NBA Finals matchups, the history between the Warriors and the Cavaliers as well as LeBron's incredible run of eight straight NBA Finals. Topics include Golden State and Cleveland meeting in their fourth straight NBA Finals — where does that rank historically? What other NBA Finals repeat matchups have we seen throughout history? We&...

Jason Mann and Rich Kraetsch look at the best and worst playoff performances of LeBron James' career in the latest episode of the Over and Back Classic NBA Podcast. We discuss some of his best games in series from 2009 vs. the Orlando Magic and Atlanta Hawks, 2016 vs. the Golden State Warriors, 2018 vs. the Toronto Raptors and Indiana Pacers, 2010 vs. the Chicago Bulls, 2014 vs. the Brooklyn N...

Jason and Rich look at the 2018 NBA Conference Semifinal matchups through a historic lens. Jason and Rich look at the history of playoff matchups between the Toronto Raptors and Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics, New Orleans Pelicans and Golden State Warriors, and finally the Houston Rockets vs. Utah Jazz. Topics include: An upstart 50-win Raptors team trying to stop a his...

Over and Back's NBA 20 Years Ago project takes us to the final month of the NBA regular season in 1998 with heated playoff races, injuries to some of the game's biggest stars and Michael Jordan's farewell. On today's episode we spotlight four players: Clyde Drexler, Bryant Reeves, Alonzo Mourning and Jason Kidd. All four are making news in the NBA's final month with Clyde annou...

Part two of an in-depth look at the NBA players who have had their jersey numbers retired, as well as notable omissions and future candidates, in the latest episode of the Over and Back Classic NBA Podcast, with special guest Reinis Lacis of The Handle. We talk about whether Carmelo Anthony might get his jersey retired by the Nuggets, Carroll Dawson's contributions to the Rockets, the Thunder...

We take an in-depth look at the NBA players who have had their jersey numbers retired, as well as notable omissions and future candidates, in the latest episode of the Over and Back Classic NBA Podcast, with special guest Reinis Lacis of The Handle. In part one, we discuss the teams who have yet to retired a jersey (Raptors, Clippers, and Grizzlies) and who might be the first, players such as Bobb...

Jason and Rich bid adieu to Milwaukee's Bradley Center and discuss historical and upcoming NBA arena changes. The end of the Bradley Center is significant as it is currently one of the NBA's oldest active NBA arenas only behind the New York Knicks' Madison Square Garden and the Golden State Warriors' Oracle Arena. We discuss some of our memories of the Bradley Center, its history a...

Who remembers who finished in second? We do! Rich and Jason looked at the runners-up in NBA MVP voting from 1956 to 2017 and what lessons we can glean from them in the latest episode of the Over and Back Classic NBA Podcast. We look at how close multiple-time MVP awards like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, LeBron James, Magic Johnson, Bill Russell, and Wilt Chamberlain came to add...

We look at the events of February and early March 1998 in the NBA. We look at Tim Duncan coming into elite form as a rookie, Karl Malone passing milestones and making a run at MVP again, Hakeem Olajuwon showing signs of slowing down, Nick Anderson helping carry the Magic, Larry Bird pushing the Pacers, early tension between Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal, the Timberwolves and Nets turning th...