Claim OwnershipOnce Upon A Dribble
Subscribed: 3Played: 23
Subscribe
© Josh Medeiros & Calvan Johnson
Description
Once Upon A Dribble is a podcast all about the history of the NBA, and how the modern game came to be.
Join your hosts Josh Medeiros and Calvan Johnson as they take you on the NBA time machine to look back on the most noteworthy events in basketball history
Join your hosts Josh Medeiros and Calvan Johnson as they take you on the NBA time machine to look back on the most noteworthy events in basketball history
58 Episodes
Reverse
NBA Christmas day games have been an annual tradition since the league's second season in 1947.
Let’s take a step in the NBA time machine and look at some of the best moments in NBA Yuletide Lore.
In 1987 Michael Jordan averaged 37.1 points per game. In 2006 Kobe Bryant put up 35.5 points per game. And in 2019 James Harden lit up the stat sheets to the tune of 36.1 points per game. These three marks rank as the best individual scoring seasons of the modern era
And how those 3 prolific scorers achieved those historical remarks was in extremely different ways.
Harden attempted 13 threes per game during his campaign, Bryant only tried 6.5. But the leader of them all, MJ, attempted less than 1 per game, averaging just 0.8 threes per game
3 all-time great, 3 unique and distinct play styles.
On today’s episode, we take the NBA time machine across several stops, as we into the history of the 3 Point shot, how it has evolved over some 40 years, and imagine what may lie ahead for the game we all love.
This is Once Upon a Dribble
Being a team leader during the regular season and playoffs is vital to a team’s success and a chance at a championship.
Normally, there are 1 or 2 guys who step up when their team needs it the most to go get themselves a clutch basket or completely take over on the offensive end.
There are also the guys who elevate their game when their backs are against the wall. They are players who leave it all out on the floor when they are facing elimination from championship contention.
These guys do whatever it takes to keep their team’s hopes alive for at least one more day.
There are also the situations where you are one game away from closing out a series, or even a championship, and you need your best guy to give their team that final push across the proverbial finish line.
These guys do whatever it takes to ensure the job is finished, the guys who smell blood in the water and go for the kill.
And we are the guys who will take you through NBA history talking about some of the GREATEST elimination and close-out games of all time.
Here we are! The 2023-24 NBA season will be here before you know it. Opening night is just around the corner, it's time to prepare for what should be another season of intense competition.
There are plenty of storylines to follow and Calvan takes you through the wild, wild West for what promises to be a memorable race to the playoffs.
Here we are! The 2023-24 NBA season will be here before you know it. Opening night is just around the corner, it's time to prepare for what should be another season of intense competition.
There are plenty of storylines to follow and Josh takes you along the East coast to keep an eye out for what should be a top heavy race!
We all remember the memes. “Golden State blew a 3-1 lead”. The unfortunate demise of the NBA’s record-breaking 73-win team that failed to win a ring.
While we remember the astonishing efforts of LeBron James to bring a championship to Cleveland against impossible odds, we often overlook the events that occurred just before that.
Losing a series after going up 3-1 is a tough pill to swallow. But many forget that Golden State overcame a 3-1 deficit themselves just days before.
The 2016 Western Conference Finals is perhaps one of the greatest playoff series in NBA history, for both what happened on the court, and the shocking aftermath.
Join us today as we take the NBA time machine back just seven years in real time, but find ourselves in a place that feels like a whole different era to many NBA fans.
This, is Once Upon a Dribble.
He’s regarded as one of the top 10 basketball players of all-time, maybe even top 5, and the story of his rise from relative obscurity to Boston Celtic legend is one of the most unlikely of all-time.The story of Larry Legend is one that Celtic fans have passed down through multiple generations. For Josh as a life-long Celtics fan, it’s a story that’s rooted into his basketball DNA. And In today’s special episode of Once Upon a Dribble, he is passing the story down to Calvan, a lifelong Jazz fan, of just how Larry Bird became the face of basketball in Boston.
Hakeem Olajuwon and Charles Barkley are widely known as two of the game's greatest players. Both have incredibly unique and fascinating stories of how they triumphed all odds to make it to the pro ranks and scale the NBA hierarchy until twice in the mid 1990s their teams met as they were at the peak of their individual powers.
Join Calvan and Josh as they deep dive into the fascinating stories of Hakeem and Chuck as well as their pivotal playoff matchups in 1994 and 1995 and how those series shaped their careers.
This is Once Upon A Dribble!
Join Josh as he takes a look at the top 10 picks of the 2010 NBA draft class and deems if the pick was a "hit" or a "miss" for the team that drafted them.
Do you agree or disagree? Give us your thoughts!
At the end of the 1983-84 NBA season, the owner of the San Diego Clippers made the bold decision to move the franchise 120 miles north up the California coast to the city of Los Angeles.
While it can be argued if an attempt to share the City of Angels with the NBA’s hallmark franchise was or was not a 'slam dunk' of a business move, there were certainly no slam dunks being made on the court as over the next 26 years the Clippers would produce just four playoff berths on just three .500+ seasons, as they flopped to an overall record of just 730-1370, a winning percentage of just .347
In an era in which the Lake Show won 8 championships, the 'Clip Show' would finish dead last in the regular season standings 6 times.
Despite often finding themselves in an advantageous draft position, the Clippers often failed and failed miserably, selecting only 3 future all-stars in 26 years. However, fate finally changed for the NBA’s most hapless franchise in 2009 when they used the #1 overall pick to select the national college player of the year out of Oklahoma, Blake Griffin, followed by the acquisition of the Point God himself, Chris Paul, just two years later
Over the next six years, the eclectic duo would lead the Clippers to six straight playoff appearances, and title aspirations became a regular expectation for the newly dubbed “Lob City Clippers”... but in the end, a blue and red banner never joined the many purple and gold banners hanging from the Staples Center Rafters, as the team fell short, time and time again.
This is the story of how Lob City, turned to Sob City, squandering championship potential in dramatic fashion
This, is Once Upon a Dribble!
Intro Music: Beat Chill Trap - MMS
Outro Music: Corrupt Kind - DJ BAI
Join Calvan and Josh as they review their predictions for the 2023 NBA season by looking at how some of the big teams fared this year. Calvan and Josh review their win, playoff and award predictions and see how close they actually were to how things played out!
The NBA was founded on June 6, 1946. In the 77 years since, we’ve seen dynasties rise up and then crumble apart, and superstars ascend and then fade away. Throughout that time, there have been several transcendent moments and quintessential teams that have shaped the history of basketball as we know it. But how would some of these remarkable teams fare in today’s NBA? In an ever-changing and evolving game, would the greats of yesteryear still be great if they played in 2023?In today’s episode, Josh and Calvan take the NBA Time Machine across three different stops, as we project how some of the most iconic and unique teams of the last 35 years would stack up in the modern NBA.{3:21}: 1988-90 Bad Boy Pistons{16:10}: 1994-95 Shaq-Penny Magic{28:36}: 1999 Twin Tower Spurs
At some point within the 2022-23 NBA season, LeBron James will become the all-time leading scorer in NBA history. In a paramount career, LeBron has established himself as an undisputed top 3 player ever, and in the opinion of many, the Greatest Of All Time.
But even GOATs have to take their lumps.
Today, Josh and Calvan take the NBA time machine back to June 2007, when LeBron led the Cleveland Cavaliers to their first ever Finals appearance only to fall horrendously to Tim Duncan’s San Antonio Spurs.
What went so wrong?
Find out as Once Upon A Dribble reviews how the Spurs showed the world how to kill a king!
In the annals of NBA lore, former 76ers and Nets center Darryl Dawkins stands out as perhaps the most boisterous and active in perpetuating his own mythology.
He was funny, confident, playful, clever, and articulate. Long before the NBA had seen the likes Shaquille O’Neal or even Charles Barkley, Dawkins was THE one-man quote machine. Not many players would name each of their dunks, let alone claim to be from the planet "Lovetron, a place where love is the only currency".
Join Once Upon The Dribble as we dissect the man, the myth and the legend with a heart of gold, Chocolate Thunder.
In Part 2 of a two-part podcast, join Calvan and Josh as they make their picks for the 2023 regular season win totals in the Western Conference as well as give their picks for all of the season awards and discuss some fun long shots!
In Part 1 of a two-part podcast, join Calvan and Josh as they make their picks for the 2023 regular season win totals in the Eastern Conference as well as give their picks for the conference finals!
Today we continue in part 4 of a 10-part series at Once Upon a Dribble!
During the 2022 playoffs the NBA began awarding MVP awards to the best performing player of each conference finals: the Larry Bird Eastern Conference Finals Most Valuable Player Award and the Magic Johnson Western Conference Finals Most Valuable Player Award, named for the two players credited for building the league up to greater popularity in the 1980s.
This begs the question, with the award just being handed out for the first time last season, who are the deserving winners from the previous 50+ years of NBA history?
Find out today as Josh tackles the Eastern Conference in the 1980s!
1980: Los Angeles Lakers vs Seattle SuperSonics - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (03:33)
1981: Houston Rockets vs Kansas City Kings - Moses Malone (07:06)
1982: Los Angeles Lakers vs San Antonio Spurs - Magic Johnson (09:54)
1983: Los Angeles Lakers vs San Antonio Spurs - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (12:13)
1984: Los Angeles Lakers vs Phoenix Suns - Magic Johnson (15:05)
1985: Denver Nuggets vs Los Angeles Lakers - James Worthy (22:16)
1986: Houston Rockets vs Los Angeles Lakers - Hakeem Olajuwon (25:18)
1987: Los Angeles Lakers vs Seattle SuperSonics - James Worthy (31:28)
1988: Dallas Mavericks vs Los Angeles Lakers - Magic Johnson (35:19)
1989: Los Angeles Lakers vs Phoenix Suns - Magic Johnson (40:21)
Final award tally - (42:00)
Today we continue in part 3 of a 10-part series at Once Upon a Dribble!
During the 2022 playoffs the NBA began awarding MVP awards to the best performing player of each conference finals: the Larry Bird Eastern Conference Finals Most Valuable Player Award and the Magic Johnson Western Conference Finals Most Valuable Player Award, named for the two players credited for building the league up to greater popularity in the 1980s.
This begs the question, with the award just being handed out for the first time last season, who are the deserving winners from the previous 50+ years of NBA history?
Find out today as Josh tackles the Eastern Conference in the 1980s!
1980: Boston Celtics vs Philadelphia 76ers (03:10)
1981: Boston Celtics vs Philadelphia 76ers (07:17)
1982: Boston Celtics vs Philadelphia 76ers (09:50)
1983: Milwaukee Bucks vs Philadelphia 76ers (12:00)
1984: Boston Celtics vs Milwaukee Bucks (15:53)
1985: Boston Celtics vs Philadelphia 76ers (20:00)
1986: Boston Celtics vs Milwaukee Bucks (22:59)
1987: Boston Celtics vs Detroit Pistons (26:30)
1988: Boston Celtics vs Detroit Pistons (29:21)
1989: Chicago Bulls vs Detroit Pistons (30:38)
Final award tally - (33:57)
Calvan and I collaborated on a research piece about the lost-to-history 2002 Sacramento Kings, a team that came a single Game 7 away from playing in the NBA Finals and defeating the dynasty Lakers.
In this piece we look at the story of the early 2000s Kings, and more specifically, the 2002 Western Conference Finals between Sacramento and Los Angeles.
Game winners, inconsistent officiating, poisoned room service, the road to the last Laker three-peat, this story has it all. Join us as we cover the final chapter in one of the greatest rivalries in recent NBA history.
The Celtics are recognized as one of the premier brands in the NBA. They are amongst the most iconic franchises in the sport alongside the Lakers, Bulls, Sixers, Knicks and so on. They have 17 championships to their name, tied with the Lakers for most in league history.
Yet for all the success, they’ve only won 1 championship since 1986. What happened in the post-Bird era that led to a relatively dry run of success for a franchise so accustomed to winning and winning again?
It was poor drafting, bad coaches, natural league expansion and above all some tragedy and bad luck.
Ironic for a team whose logo is the shamrock.
Join us as we look into those important events and why the Celtics found out that it’s not so easy being green. This is Once Upon a Dribble!
Comments
Download from Google Play
Download from App Store
United States