With the James Harden trade to the Clippers in the news, I’ve recently looked back on the first time Harden was traded in his career in 2012:

When Harden was traded to the Rockets, it was pretty clear he was a good player that would be a starting guard on almost any NBA team.

However, it became clear very quickly that his offensive ceiling was a lot higher than people expected when he dropped 37 points then 45 in his first two games as a Rocket.

I just remember the excitement of those first few games where it was apparent this guy had a level to his game that not many could have foreseen based on his time in OKC.

  • leafhat355@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    My earliest vivid NBA memory is watching Jordan vs Magic in the '91 Finals on a portable black-and-white TV that had something like a 5 inch screen. It ran on like 12 C batteries. I was supposed to be sleeping.

    To this day, I still stay up too late watching the NBA. But my TV setup has slightly improved.

  • FrnklndaTurtle@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    January 96’, my father got some media passes that allowed access to just outside the locker rooms, Suns lost to the Mavs in overtime and I wanted to get Michael Finleys autograph because I brought a rookie card of his. so as we were waiting in the corridor for Finley (he never came out). I did get Jason Kidds autograph on the back of the media pass when he came out. Which was neat but I was disappointed at time.

    Fast forward beginning of the next year and my boy Finley was traded for JK. So I have an autograph of “Jason Kidd #5” on the back of a Phoenix Suns media pass. He wore number 32 in Phoenix.

  • BionicSix@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    Ralph Sampson tip in, Michael Cooper on the floor in disbelief. Next day in school, kid logic took over and we all talked ourselves into thinking the NBA will let the Lakers give them another chance because they were defending champs and needed to be in the Finals against Boston.

  • WhyyyLuigi@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    My earliest memories of basketball are all of Shaqs (Lakers) antics lol his dances, looking at his hand n shit or high stepping/stomping down the court celebrations after he absolutely posterized someone down low

  • barstoollanguage@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    In high school, my sister was a die hard lakers fan, I was a spurs fan (still got a David Robinson rookie card), and in 2003 in the western semis, game 6 my sister said to me with such confidence the lakers will blow them out by 28 points…

  • mofongo5620@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    My 12 year old self was watching his first NBA Finals between Pistons vs Spurs, rooting for Puertorrican hero Carlos Arroyo. When the Spurs won, I asked my grandfather that if they are supposed to give the Finals MVP to best player in the series, why didn’t they give it to that Manu Ginobili guy. My gramps said because Duncan played better. Miss you grandpa!

  • andcanigettahottub@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    As a kindergartner in a city just outside of Sacramento our school had morning assemblies. The year is 2001 and it’s toward the end of the year.

    The school had a pretty nice courtyard where grades K-8 could all gather as one with a platform in the middle for student council.

    As many of you know, the Kings and Lakers met in the Playoffs that year. So basically, we had a chant off.

    The student council first told all the students that were Kings fans to chant “BEAT LA!” and the all the Lakers fans to chant “GO LA!”

    Each kindergartner had their “8th grade” buddy with them.

    He told me that we want the Lakers to win. So we chanted “GO LA!” and I went home and told my mom. She told me we wanted the Kings to win, not the Lakers.

    I was 6 and really had no idea what was going on until a few months, when I started my first year of little dribblers.

    I ended up becoming a passionate Kings fan over the next few years until they traded CWebb, but still remember chanting “GO LA!” as a kindergartner to this day.

    I ended up becoming a nomadic bandwagon fan after the CWebb trade, but will always have a liking for both the Kings and the Lakers because of how impactful they were growing up in the 2000s.