Picking up the most exciting moments of the National Basketball Association can be very celebrated and subjective. Many people link the most notable iconic moments with their favourite team, which is not necessarily correct, or some may not remember past exciting events by teams and individual players. NBA is one of the most followed and popular leagues across the globe, particularly in the United States of America, and is rich in history with unforgettable games and moments in the world of sports.
Since the NBA’s inception almost seventy-seven years ago, the game has rapidly grown in popularity and was and still is enriched with enthusiasm and strong viewership. Many punters enjoy sports betting not on Gamstop to place bets on the NBA, and others want various sportsbook NBA wagers. Still, most NBA matches attract the attention of a vast number of fans around the world and are an oasis for gamblers and the betting industry. Undoubtedly, players as Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and James Lebron have immensely contributed to the game’s popularity and entertained basketball fans with their athletic skills.
Basketball’s Chuck Cooper becomes the first player of colour to enter the NBA
Back in the fifties, the social situation in the world was somewhat different from the social structure we live in today. Racism was rampant in the United States, not limited to job opportunities and political aspirations. It also ventured into the sports arena, including basketball. It was challenging for dark-skinned players to break the racist barrier and make it to the NBA’s league. It was in the 1950s that the barrier was broken, with Chuck Cooper being the first coloured player to play in the NBA. Cooper was the fourteenth pick of the 1950 draft. A few months later, Nat Clifton and Earl Lloyd were recruited by the Knicks and the Capitals, signifying the first steps toward racial integration within the NBA’s league. This was followed by the beginning of the NBA’s unofficial quota system for coloured players, and in 1960, the NBA reached its full social integration. The full integration process was a glorious victory and a strong message towards the eradication of racism in the United States and paved the way for basketball fans to enjoy the skills of coloured players like Michael Jordan, James Lebron and many others.
Wilton Chamberlain, tall in stature and in basketball greatness
Wilton Norman Chamberlain, with his seven feet one-inch-tall body, played in the NBA for fourteen years and is today considered one of the greatest basketball players to walk the court. The Wilt’s one hundred pointer remains one of the greatest moments in the NBA’s history. On the day, Wilt dominated the court and broke the scoring barrier by scoring one hundred points. With his body and skill, he was unstoppable and outmatched everyone on that eventful day, taking sixty-three shots. This record has stood for over sixty years and could stand for more years. In addition, Wilt achieved more records, including being the only player in the NBA’s history to average thirty points and twenty rebounds in each game in a particular season, an achievement he accomplished seven times.
Lebron James is the real GOAT
In July 2010, James Lebron declared that he had decided to join the Miami Heat with his utterance – “I am going to take my talents to South Beach and join the Miami Heat”. This remarkable announcement by Lebron changed the face of the NBA. Together with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, they formed a team that won two championships in four finals. The Player Empowerment Era (the same happened in European football with the Bosman Rule) saw several basketball superstars follow Lebron’s lead by switching teams through free agency and forced trades, creating new alliances, and forging new sports culture. Lebron’s decision to move to South Beach brought a seven-year stint with his hometown basketball team – the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavaliers had recruited Lebron in 2003. During his time with the Cavaliers, the player had at least fifty wins, including sixty-six wins in 2008/2009, two most valuable players and a finals trip in 2007.
Micheal Jordan, the athlete that brought basketball to the spotlight
Michael Jordan’s individual talent and skill to score and lockdown opposing players are probably unmatchable. Jordan’s six-time NBA Champion was never on the losing side in the Finals and assisted the Chicago Bulls in achieving a great franchise. Jordan’s success in the NBA is the outcome of hard work and a strict regime that was unmatched by other players during his playing career. For most sports fans, Michael Jordan is considered the greatest all-time basketball player.
The merger of the American Basketball Association with the National Basketball Association in the seventies was a sagnificant event. The union provided a window of opportunity to expand the number of teams in the league and discarded the competition to sign college basketball players. It also allowed the NBA to welcome some of the greatest players to play in the league, like Julius Erving, Artis Gilmore, and Dan Issel. It also gave the NBA a faster pace of play, which spilled over from the faster games played in the ABA.
Magic Johnson is a pro in the tabloids and on the court
The 1984 NBA Finals was the first match-up between the legendary Magic Johnson’s Lakers and Larry Bird’s Celtics. Many young basketball fans today cannot fantom and feel how the NBA used the tool of rivalry to promote the NBA to the standard of Major League Baseball and the National Football League. Before promoting the NBA to higher stakes and popularity, NBA games were broadcast on local television stations with a weekly game over the weekend with limited followers. Following the 1984 NBA Finals, basketball games were shown across the United States on prime-time television.
Not so exciting moments that made it to the press for the wrong reasons
Like in any other sports, basketball had its villain days. Probably the NBA’s worst villain event ever was when Kermit Washington punched Rudy Tomjanovich shattering his face nearly costing Rudy his life and it was crudely referred to as the most brutal punch thrown in an NBA game. During the 1992 Olympic Games held in Barcelona, Charles Barkley created an international incident when he elbowed a member of the Angolan basketball player. This incident drew massive criticism, and media reports referred to Barkley and US basketball team as the “Ugly American”. Despite this unwarranted event, the US basketball team, called the “Dream Team”, managed to win the gold medal and establish a new era for Olympic basketball.
These are just a few of the NBA’s exciting moments. There are other moments like Magic Johnson’s hook shot in the 1987 Finals or Lebron’s first game back as a Cavalier. Past and recent NBA history is enriched with magic moments that will remain so in the foreseeable future.
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