Some Basketball Randomess

I havn't had time recently to make any purchases and that will probably still be the case for a few more days. So I figured I'd talk about my basketball viewing history. I started watching basketball during the 94-95 season. I was very young back then so my memory of the season is a blur at best. I do remember however watching Hakeem Olajuwon's Rockets whoop the crap out of Shaq's Magic.

That was also the year that Michael Jordan made his comeback. The following season Magic Johnson made his comeback. I remember my uncle taking me to some type of sports bar to watch the Lakers Bulls game, in other words MJ vs MJ. The only thing I remember about that game was Nick Van Exel clocking one of the refs into the scorer's table. And then came the Bull's three peat. Being a kid and a victim of the NBA's marketing machine, I couldn't help but fall in love with the Bulls.

Jordan inevitably became my idol. All his memorable playoff moments certainly fueled my admiration for him. But since I lived in Los Angeles, I also naturally supported the Lakers. My support of the Lakers eventually surpassed my liking of the Bulls when Shaquille O'neal arrived. Kobe Bryant's arrival didn't hurt as well. During their first season in a Lakers uniform, my uncle took me to my first live NBA game at the Great Western Forum. The game was between the Lakers and Raptors. Eddie Jones was the fan favorite. I remember the game going to overtime and the Lakers eventually won. But despite Shaq's and Kobe's arrival, the Lakers were constantly met with playoff disappointments. I remember very well during Kobe's rookie year when he threw up airball after airball against the Jazz in the playoffs.

^Pardon the anti-Kobe nature of the vid but I'm just trying to illustrate the disappointment I felt at the time. Meanwhile, The Bulls kept destroying the rest of the league. They already broke the regular season win record with 72. They mopped the floor with the Sonics. The following year they defeated the Utah Jazz. And then during the 97-98 playoffs, the Bulls faced the Indiana Pacers. I remember watching that series and gaining a newfound respect for Reggie Miller. That man gave Jordan a taste of his own medicine: he stuck a dagger into the opposing teams hearts.

But of course Jordan's Bulls went on the prevail. Then came the infamous series between the Bulls and Jazz and we all know what happened after that. So that was my viewing history up till Michael Jordan's last days as a Bull.