NBA Throwback Thursday: Marion's game winning oop from Kidd

/

A game winning ally oop off the inbound pass with .4 seconds remaining down 1 is tough , a game winning ally oop off the inbound pass with .4 seconds remaining down 1 with 7'6 Yao Ming standing in front of the guy throwing it in is nearly impossible. The Dallas Mavericks were fortunate enough to have the magician Jason Kidd be that guy making the perfect pass to Shawn Marion who lays it in to win the Mavs their last preseason game and give them momentum heading into the regular season. 

NBA Throwback Thursday: Shaq vs Olajuwon '95 Finals, Game 4

/

Two of the the greatest centers in nba history faced off in the 1995 finals. Game 4 was especially exciting as the two titans of Shaq and Olajuwon squared off in Houston. The two scored 60 points and pulled down 28 rebounds between them in this finals classic. 

NBA Throwback Thursday: Karl Malone dunks on Michael Jordan

/

Karl Malone is the second highest scorer in NBA history for two reasons, longevity and being nearly unstoppable. Karl was probably the greatest big man in transition, running like a deer while being the size of small bus had something to do with it. On this play the Jazz come up with a steal and Malone's running mate John Stockton finds him in transition where he proceeds to dunk over Michael Jordan. 

NBA Throwback Thursday: Larry Bird's 60, 30 years ago today

/

On March 12, 1985 Larry Legend put on one of his greatest performances on the hardcourt. It was a home away from home game for the Atlanta Hawks as the game was played in New Orleans, a great place for hardcore Celtics fans to congregate to watch their amazing team. And boy were they in for a treat that night. Bird scored 32 points in just over 14 minutes during the second half beat-down on route to the 126-115 win over the Atlanta Hawks. The 60 points broke the Celtics single game scoring record that Kevin McHale dropped on the Detroit Pistons only nine days prior. Larry Bird's 1984-85 season was one of his best as he averaged 28.7 points and 10.5 rebounds while shooting 52.2 from the field and 42.7 from beyond the arc. Larry also led the league in minutes per game and earned his second of three straight MVP awards in one of the greatest seasons of his hall of fame career. 

NBA Throwback Thursday: Remembering Jerome Kersey

/

Jerome Kersey the versatile forward and one of the greatest teammates in NBA history passed away at the age of 52 due to blood clot complications. He will be missed in the league but his legacy will never be forgotten. The NBA put together a great video in his honour. 

NBA Throwback Thursday: Shawn Kemp posterizes Alton Lister

/

One of the best dunkers ever, Shawn Kemp, absolutely demolished Alton Lister with this posterizing slam. Kemp was never afraid to drive the lane with force and let you know about it afterwards. Fantastic finish and classic celebration. 

NBA Throwback Thursday: Bill Russell teaches defensive rebounding

/

One of the greatest players to ever hit the hardwood shows you how to properly box somebody out so you can gobble up all of the defensive rebounds. Russell finished his 13 year career with 11 championship rings playing the center position so if anybody knows how to box a man out, it's him. 

NBA Throwback Thursday: Kevin Johnson dunks over Hakeem Olajuwon

/

Hakeem Olajuwon, who has more blocks than anyone else in nba history, gets posterized by Kevin Johnson in game 4 of 1994's western conference semi-finals. You gotta do something special to dunk with the greatest shot blocker ever guarding the paint and Johnson did just that going up high and finishing with the hoop and the harm. Extra credit for hitting the free throw. 

NBA Throwback Thursday: Pistol Pete Maravich scores 68

/

In 1977 one of the best players of his generation, and all time, "Pistol" Pete Maravich put his talents on display as he scored 68 points in a game against New York.  The 1976-1977 season was his best ever as a professional player. He led the league in scoring with an average of 31.1 points per game and scored 40 points or more in 13 different games which includes the 68 point masterpiece.  

NBA Throwback Thursday: John Stockton clutch in game 4 vs Kings

/

One of the best John Stockton comes up clutch when it matters most. Stockton was 3/8 through the first 3 quarters but shot 3/3 in the 4th quarter including the go ahead bucket with only .7 seconds left on the clock. The Jazz would win the game and hold off elimination by the Sacramento Kings. 

NBA Throwback Thursday: Clyde Drexler 3 pointer with 0.9 to go

/

After the Bucks made a desperation three pointer to tie the game Clyde Drexler hits what may be the most difficult shot of his career. Drexler went to the Houston Rockets in 1995 where he won an NBA Championship with his college teammate and friend Hakeem Olajuwon. 

NBA Throwback Thursday: Olajuwon's block to force game 7 of the 1994 finals

/

You probably know Hakeem Olajuwon for his patented unguardable dream shake move but Olajuwon can also be argued as the best defender in NBA history. Hakeem holds the all time blocks record with 3,830 averaging 3.09 blocks per game across his hall of fame career. Olajuwon has many highlight blocks but the one he may be remembered for the most occurred in the 1994 NBA finals. Patrick Ewing and the New York Knicks led the series 3-2 but the Houston Rockets were up 86-84 with 7.6 seconds left in game 6. The ball came into John Starks and Ewing set the pick forcing Olajuwon to switch onto Starks. The rest is history. After a slight stumble Hakeem recovered to get the block on Starks forcing a game 7 that the Rockets would go onto win. We will never know if the shot would've gone in but considering that Starks had 16pts in the 4th quarter of that game my guess is that it would've been splash. Hakeem may no longer be the highest scoring international player but his all around skill make him a true baller. 

NBA Throwback Thursday: Ewing posterizes Mourning

/

Nothing is more special in sports than seeing two guys go at it, especially when the two guys in question would one day be inducted into the hall of fame. Ewing got the ball baseline and for half a second there was a pause as he looked at Mourning, both men aware that something spectacular was about to happen. Mourning thinking block of the year and Ewing thinking of the poster. To the disappointment of the crowd in Miami Patrick Ewing was victorious. If I was a kid growing up in New York during the 90's the image of Ewing dunking over Zo would plastered all over my bedroom. 

NBA Throwback Thursday: David Robinson's Quadruple Double

/

This weeks nbatbt comes courtesy of the Admiral, David Robinson. A quadruple double was not possible in the NBA until the 1973-1974 season since before then they didn't record blocks and steals. Since then only 4 instances of a quadruple double has occurred. Robinson had the most recent quadruple double and did so on Feb 17, 1994. The other 3 guys were Hakeem Olajuwon, Alvin Robertson and Nate Thurmond. Robinson finished the game with 34pts 10rebs 10ast and 10blks in the 115-96 win over the Detroit Pistons. The Admiral spent his entire 14 year career playing for the San Antonio Spurs and won two championships (1999, 2003). Robinson was apart of the 1992 dream team and was inducted into the Naismith memorial basketball hall of fame in 2009 along with Michael Jordan and John Stockton. Over 20 years is a very long time to go without seeing a quadruple double but I have a feeling that if anybody in the league today were to accomplish this feat it would be The Brow, Anthony Davis. Davis didn't get his growth spurt until late in his high-school career so he spent most of his time playing as a point guard. This in combination with his fantastic scoring, rebounding and blocking skills gives me enough reason to believe AD will have the next quadruple double although it probably won't happen for another few years when he is in his prime. 

If you're interested in watching the almost full (part of the 1st q is missing) quadruple double game here it is below.