A very wise woman, who also happened to be my mother, once told me: “If you know something good or hear something good about somebody, you should pass it on.” Today I’m doing as instructed by telling you about a few gems I stumbled on recently.
I’m not that big a basketball fan (the American construction would be “…not that big of a basketball fan.” Strange.) but there’s an American television series called ‘Open Court’ that is probably the most entertaining sports programme on the tube. It’s all talk, minimal footage of plays, with 8 or so of the best who ever played in the NBA, speaking spontaneously and candidly and at length – not just sound bites. Reggie Miller, Isaiah Thomas, Grant Hill, Charles Barkley, Chris Webber, Steve Kerr, Dennis Scott, Shaq, John Starks, are some of the names, and they’re deep inside the sport giving you revealing insights you would never otherwise hear on a range of intriguing topics: the best “big man” ever; what makes a “great player”; the impact of stars such as Isaiah Thomas and Magic Johnson interacting with college players; the role of neighbourhood
pickup games in developing skills; the personalities and quirks of NBA and NCAA coaches; the players with the best moves, and how they learned them; the process of winning; the culture of the game (Isaiah Thomas is profound on this); the locker room; the funniest players; the best dream team; and on and on. It’s enthralling stuff, simply done but so compelling because it is coming from a group of renowned basketball icons, and you don’t even have to
