NBA Basketball Key (image courtesy Wikimedia) These are the best 5 NBA franchises of all time, in my opinion. I include the team’s best point guard, shooting guard, small forward, power forward, center, and 6th best player. I also calculate chemistry. For example, Steph Curry, Michael Jordan, Kevin Durant, Charles Barkley, and Shaq would not be the best team ever, even though they are some of the best players ever. There is only one ball, so five of the best scorers who just aren’t great passers would not work. 5. Golden State Warriors PG: Steph Curry SG: Klay Thompson SF: Kevin Durant PF: Draymond Green C: Wilt Chamberlain Sub: Tim Hardaway It’s surprising to see Draymond Green as the Warriors best power forward. You’re probably thinking, “there had to be someone better, right?” I know some old Warriors power forwards who weren’t as good as Draymond Green, but I can’t think of any who were better. The reason the Warriors are not 3rd or 4th best is only that they have too many pure scorers. 4. Chicago Bulls PG: Derick Rose SG: Michael Jordan SF: Scottie Pippen PF: Dennis Rodman C: Artis Gilmore Sub: Jimmy Butler For this to work, it would have to be the MVP, uninjured Derick Rose. Artis Gilmore is a Hall of Famer, along with Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, and of course, the G.O.A.T. [Greatest of All Time], Michael Jordan. Jimmy Butler is a rising All-Star for the Timberwolves, but I still count him as a Bull. 3. San Antonio Spurs PG: Tony Parker SG: George Gervin SF: Kahwi Leonard PF: Tim Duncan C: David Robinson Sub: LaMarcus Aldridge This is the opposite of a selfish team. If you watch the Spurs play, you can see their ball and player movement, and also their unselfishness. Adding “The Iceman” and ‘The Admiral” would be safe because neither one of them were selfish players. 2. Los Angeles Lakers PG: Magic Johnson SG: Kobe Bryant SF: Elgin Baylor PF: Kareem Abdul Jabbar C: Shaquille O’Neal Sub: Jerry West The hardest thing about this was positioning Kareem and Shaq. They are both almost the definition of center. Kareem is a bit more athletic than Shaq, so I put him at power forward. Hopefully Magic Johnson will make up for Kobe’s selfishness. Having Mr. Clutch (Jerry West) definitely helps. 1. Boston Celtics PG: Kyrie Irving SG: Paul Peirce SF: Larry Bird PF: Kevin McHale C: Bill Russell Sub: Bob Cousy What???!! Kyrie Irving? He hasn’t even played ten games for the Celtics! But, he has the most points of any Celtic for his first five games. It’s hard to argue that they are not the best team though. Which other team has 17 championships? This is like combining all of the NBA’s eras. First, the earliest era (Bob Cousy). Then, the Bill Russell era. Then, the Bird/Johnson era. Then, the beginning of the modern era (Paul Peirce). Then, the Future era (Kyrie Irving).
sports
Art Activity: Depict being in the center of the game with ‘Soccer Game,’ by Brett Penman, 10
Introduction to this Stone Soup Art Activity This picture is from New Zealand. Brett Penman, age 10, shows us what it feels like to play soccer when the ball is moving fast and both teams are on the run. To get across the tension, speed, and emotional feelings of being on the field playing a hard game, Brett depicts the players as big, bold, and wild. The boldness of the picture matches the boldness of the game. Project: An Exciting Moment Most pictures of sports show athletes from the point of view of the spectators—the people standing outside watching. For a change, make a picture, like this soccer picture, that shows what it feels like to be involved in an athletic activity at an exciting and challenging moment. In baseball, this moment might be when you jump up to catch a fly ball; in jumprope you are doing doubles and the count is 85; in hopscotch you are on one foot reaching for a rock that is almost too far away and you are doing everything you can to keep your balance. When making your picture, make strong shapes, show bodies stretched and distorted in unusual ways. Don’t be afraid to show the world upside down from the point of view of a person who has fallen down and is winded or from the viewpoint of a person turning cartwheels. Make your picture as exciting as the sports event you are depicting. From the September/October 1985 issue of Stone Soup Soccer game, by Brett Penman, 10, New Zealand
Writing Activity: make the feeling of competitive sport come alive
Introduction to this Stone Soup Writing Activity This activity is built around a story by 11-year-old Ted Nelson, “A Definition of Happiness,” published in Stone Soup in September/October 1985. Winning a medal in a sporting event requires physical strength. It also requires concentration. In “A Definition of Happiness,” Ted concentrates on winning. Win, win, win, he thinks with each stroke. While swimming, Ted also thinks of the “humiliation” of losing. Finally, Ted stops thinking, apparently loses an awareness of his body and where it is, and so he ends the race in a manner he hadn’t dreamed of. Read the story, consider the techniques that Ted has used to tell the story, and work on your project. Project: Write a Story About a Race Unlike Ted who thought only of winning (and his fear of losing), create a character who is aware of his or her body, of how it feels, of where it is going. Make your readers feel what it is like to be an athlete moving quickly. If you are not very athletic yourself, use your imagination. If you write about a swimming race, make us feel how your character pulls through the water, reaching, reaching, stretching arms, kicking legs, feeling the water rush by. If you write about a different sport, think about the specific movements the sportsperson is making, the feeling of the muscles as they run or jump or throw, the thoughts going through their mind. Maybe your character will win. Maybe your character won’t. That doesn’t matter, but give us a character who enjoys working hard, moving fast, having a specific focus, and being strong.
