Your Move Dirk…
Posted by Little SK, June 23, 2008 - 9:59 pm
Here’s a quick recap of the top 10 picks from the 1998 NBA draft, as well as where each player has ended up after a decade in the League.
Team - Player, Current Team (Number of teams played for)
1. LA Clippers - Michael Olowokandi, Out of the league
2. Vancouver - Mike Bibby, Atlanta (3)
3. Denver - Raef LaFrentz, Portland (4)
5. Golden State - Antawn Jamison, Washington (3)
4. Toronto - Vince Carter, New Jersey (2)
9. Milwaukee - Robert Traylor, Out of the league
7. Sacramento - Jason Williams, Miami (3)
8. Philadelphia - Larry Hughes, Chicago (5)
6. Dallas - Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas (1)
10. Boston - Paul Pierce, Boston (1)
Here’s an excerpt from Bill Simmons’ column after the Celtics finished off the Lakers:
‘But Pierce …
I mean …
We watched that guy grow up. We watched him become a man. We believed in him, we gave up on him, and we believed in him again. I don’t mean to sound like the old man in “Pretty Woman,” but part of me wanted to walk onto the court Tuesday night and just tell Pierce, “It’s hard for me to say this without sounding condescending, but I’m proud of you.”…We spend so much time complaining about sports and being disappointed that our favorite players never end up being who we wanted them to be, but in Pierce’s case, he became everything we wanted him to be. When he held up the Finals MVP trophy after the game and screamed to the crowd in delight, I don’t think I’ve ever been happier for a Boston athlete. How many guys stick with a crummy franchise for 10 solid years, then get a chance to lead that same team to a championship? Does that EVER happen in sports anymore?’
There IS another guy who has been with the same franchise for 10 years, and had a chance to lead that team to a championship, and he was ironically picked right before Pierce (and immediately traded for Robert “Tractor” Traylor and his bag of Funyuns). Unfortunately, Dirk Nowitzki’s story hasn’t ended as happily…yet. It’s still somewhat fun to imagine what it would be like if it did.
Just a wee bit of hope-mongering on a lazy summer evening.
photographs by John Biever, David E. Klutho, Cnnsi.com
Share