Mighty hard to beat live LeBron
Has there been a player (or players), past or present, who really stood out to you watching live, that made you go wow? For me, it had to be watching Tim Duncan years ago in person, and just how much bigger and stronger he was live, combined with skill and quickness, compared to on TV. Another one for me would be going to a RapsWizards game and watching how fast John Wall actually was prior to injury. — Hasan
There have been so many, to tell you the truth. Especially big, huge men who move so fluidly and quickly despite their size. None, to me, have been more impressive than LeBron James. I don’t know if people truly realize just how huge he is — tall and wide and strong and powerful, yet so quick and fast. It’s amazing, it really is. I’ve seen ’em all in the last quarter-century and he stands out above all others. The other one I can think of is Hakeem Olajuwon. There was a fluidity to his movement that belied his size.
My current random thoughts concern NBA players who stayed with one team through their whole careers. I sort of have the impression that this has declined in frequency over time (especially since the very early days), in part due to the power shift between players and teams ... As far as I can remember, there have been no career Raptors — outside of players who got one 10-day contract with them, or possibly sat on the bench for a season. Is this accurate? — Jim
I’ll give you the great Jorge Garbajosa as someone who started and ended his NBA career in Toronto, but there were extenuating circumstances to his departure as we know. Outside of him, some 10-day guys who never resurfaced and our old buddy Uros Slokar (about 20 games and then nothing, I believe) I can’t come up with anyone.
With the Raptors’ training facilities now “open,” how are players who went home getting back to the Toronto area? Specifically, with the border closed to non-essential travel, I don’t see how one gets from the U.S. to Canada. — Bob
As of Wednesday, when we last spoke to the Raptors, no player who went home had come back. If they want to return and can, they’ll be subject to the same two-week quarantine that exists today for everyone who crosses the border into Canada. They don’t want, expect and shouldn’t be given any special dispensation.
I wonder what your thoughts are on the select group of players who had a conference call where I believe they (decided) they would be in favour of having the season resume. Was there anyone that was part of the players’ union present, or would they represent the voice of the majority of players? Do you foresee the NBA season resuming? — Monty
I don’t know precisely who was on that particular call, but every indication I’m getting from people I talk to and stories I’ve read is that those players are of the same opinion as many: They would love to see the game back, but only under the safest circumstances possible for all. What exactly those are is still open for debate and discussion. I think the league will resume in some form at some point.