Forgotten Seasons

The 17-Foot Assassin, David West, joins the show to relive the rise of the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets in the mid-2000's. West was drafted to the Hornets 18th overall in the legendary 2003 NBA Draft, joining the team for their first season in New Orleans. But just two years after West and the Hornets' arrival in New Orleans from Charlotte, they needed to move again due to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Just a month before the 2005/06 season tipped off, it was determined that Oklahoma City - who had no other major sports teams - would be the Hornets temporary home until New Orleans was rebuilt (enough). From 2005-2007, the Hornets played nearly all of their home games in Oklahoma City. And to their surprise, Oklahoma City welcomed them with rabid support. This successful foster parent-like relationship laid the groundwork for the city being able to swipe the Sonics from Seattle just a few years later. Coinciding with the Hornets temporary move to Oklahoma City was the emergence of the team, led by West and the young point god, Chris Paul. In 2008, the Hornets were back in New Orleans and won a franchise-record 56 games. They would fall to the Spurs in 7 games in the West Semis, and according to West, his injured back was the only thing that kept the Hornets from making the NBA Finals. West details the rapid ascension of his team, reveals the origin to his signature mid-range jump shot, gives his opinion to why the Hornets eventually fell apart and much more. Follow Forgotten Seasons (@forgottenseasonsnba) for more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tony Allen arrived in Memphis in 2010 and tried to establish a similar culture of his last team, the Boston Celtics. Allen won a ring with the Celtics in 2008 and observed the work ethic of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, James Posey, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo. Before Allen got there, the Grizzlies had a grand total of zero playoff wins as a franchise in their 15+ years of existence. Most players on the team, besides Allen, had no playoff experience. Pretty soon after his arrival, Allen's influence rubbed off on the rest of the team, and Grit 'N' Grind was born. The Grizzlies made the playoffs as the 8-seed and beat the 1-seed Spurs in six games. In Round 2, they took the eventual Western Conference champs to 7 games but lost. In this week's episode, Allen relives his journey from Boston to Memphis, explains how he implemented a culture, breaks down his chemistry with Zach Randolph and goes in depth on his perimeter matchups with Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant and LeBron James. Follow Forgotten Seasons (@forgottenseasonsnba) for more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mike Bibby and the 2002 Sacramento Kings had one of the most heartbreaking playoff series of all-time versus the Shaq and Kobe Lakers. We dive deep with Bibby on handling that devastating loss, his views on today's player development philosophies, and the underrated players from his era that don't get enough credit. The former point guard doesn't hold back, providing raw insight into the controversial officiating conspiracies that clouded that iconic 2002 Western Conference Finals. Bibby reflects on the lasting impact and what-ifs from that crushing defeat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Paul Pierce's journey is something out of a movie. In September, 2000, Pierce was stabbed 11 times in a nightclub and came millimeters away from dying. He nearly became the third Celtics forward in less than 20 years to tragically die. Not only did Pierce survive, he became one of the greatest Celtics of all time. In this week's episode, Pierce takes us through his journey returning to the court a month after the stabbing incident. In the 2000/01 season, Pierce played all 82 games and was coined "The Truth" by Shaquille O'Neal after dropping 42 points on the Lakers. Following his breakout 2001 campaign, Pierce leveled up in 2002, earning his first All-Star selection and bringing the Celtics just two games away from the NBA Finals. Plus, he explains how he developed his patented mid-post game, talks "Club Shiznit" and much more. Follow Forgotten Seasons (@forgottenseasonsnba) for more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amin Elhassan peels back the curtain and brings us inside Phoenix's front office during times of great change. Elhassan spent six years inside Phoenix's front office from 2005-2012 and had a front row seat to glory and turbulence. He provides detailed recounts of several unanswered questions from his tenure. Why couldn't they get past San Antonio? Why did Steve Kerr trade Shawn Marion for Shaq? Why did the Suns players rebel against Terry Porter? Was Shaq really a child movie star? All and more is revealed on this week's episode. Follow Forgotten Seasons (@forgottenseasonsnba) for more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Matt Barnes is a fighter. From 2003-2010, he signed six one-year contracts with six different teams. In this week's episode, we hone in on Phoenix in 2009, where the Suns were entering a new phase. Mike D'Antoni, the architect of the '7 Seconds or Less' Suns, fled to New York, and Terry Porter took the helm as head coach. Porter was quick to dismiss D'Antoni's run-and-gun offense. "If you look at the history of the game, no team that has played that running style has had much success,” said Porter before the season. Porter's defense-first approach did not go well, and he was fired before the trade deadline. Phoenix finished 46-36 but missed the playoffs in a loaded Western Conference. It's one of the highest win totals in NBA history for a team that missed the playoffs. Follow Forgotten Seasons (@forgottenseasonsnba) for more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From 2000-2006, no Laker (other than Kobe Bryant) logged more games than Devean George. Drafted to LA out of Division 3 (!) Augsburg College in 1999, D George arrived in La-La Land just in time for three consecutive championships. On today's episode, George recalls his first days in LA, a memorable draft workout with new head coach Phil Jackson, Kobe vouching to front office for him during contract negotiations, "Santa" Shaq and much more. George is the only player other than Kobe that saw the glory of the 3-peat and the unraveling that followed. Follow Forgotten Seasons (@forgottenseasonsnba) for more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Josh Smith joins the show and takes us back to getting drafted by his hometown Atlanta Hawks straight from Oak Hill Academy. Smith was one of 21 players that were drafted straight from High School between 2003 and 2005. Getting drafted to your hometown team sounds like a dream. But what if your hometown team also happens to be one of the worst teams in NBA history? Well, the 2005 Hawks went 13-69, good for the 8th worst winning percentage in the modern NBA (since 1980). Smith opens up about his rookie year, his complicated relationship with Head Coach Mike Woodson, Joe Johnson, Antoine Walker and more. Smith had a hell of a career. He's one of six players since 1990 to put up 100+ steals and 200+ blocks in a season (Hakeem, David Robinson, Andrei Kirilenko and Ben Wallace). He made an All-Defensive Team. And he probably should have made an All-Star Game. Follow Forgotten Seasons (@forgottenseasonsnba) for more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amar'e Stoudemire joins Forgotten Seasons to talk about his record-setting 2005 Playoff run, why the 'Seven Seconds or Less' Suns never won a championship, Tim Donaghy, the Horry Hip Check, his Knicks tenure and more. To many, these Suns teams are in contention for best team to never win a championship. When Steve Nash joined the Suns for the 2004-05 season, the Suns exploded. They began the season 30-4 and were DESTROYING teams. Phoenix finished the season 62-20 with (by far) the #1 offense in the league. In the playoffs, at 22-years-old, Stat averaged 30 and 10 (!) against some of the best power forwards of all-time, Pau Gasol, Dirk Nowitzki and Tim Duncan. Follow Forgotten Seasons (@forgottenseasonsnba) for more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dee Brown joins the show and opens up on a turbulent 90's decade in Boston. Brown is the lone Celtic that played Larry Bird and Reggie Lewis AND played for coach Rick Pitino. In this episode, we begin in 1990, when a rookie Brown becomes a Celtic in the midst of a major transition for Boston. After winning three championships and making eight straight Conference Finals in the 80's, Boston lost in the first round in 1988 and 1989. Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish's championship window was closing, but a young phenom, Reggie Lewis, seemed ready to take the torch and define a new era. In 1991 and 1992, Lewis averaged 25 points per game in the playoffs and the Celtics won over 50 games each year. But Boston's seemingly perfect bridge between the Bird and Lewis era suddenly collapsed in the summer of 1993. Lewis' 1993 season was cut short after he mysteriously collapsed in a playoff game. Shortly after the season, doctors cleared him, but as he was training at Brandeis University, he suffered cardiac arrest and died. He was just 27 years old. In the years following Lewis' death, the Celtics tanked out. They failed to win over 35 games from 1994-1996, and in 1997, they went 15-67, by far the worst season in franchise history. Enter Rick Pitino in the Spring of 1997, who was named the savior, but disaster would turn out to be the more accurate label. Midway through Pitino's first season as Head Coach and Team President, Brown was packaged in the infamous Chauncey Billups for Kenny Anderson trade. We hope you enjoy this episode. Rate and subscribe, and follow Forgotten Seasons for more. www.linktree.com/forgottenseasons Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tim Thomas joins the show to talk late 90’s Sixers, 2001 Bucks and mid-2000’s Knicks. He also highlights his rise to the league as the #1 player in the Class of 1996 and his rivalry with Kobe Bryant in high school. We use the “ahead of his time” label pretty lightly these days. But Thomas, at 6’10” with a sweet stroke and guard-like handles was…definitely ahead of his time. Philadelphia was his landing spot in the 1997 Draft, and Thomas joined a squad featuring a young Allen Iverson and Jerry Stackhouse. Thomas dispels the narrative that AI and Stackhouse hated each other and dives deep into his relationship with Larry Brown. Less than two years into his Sixers tenure, Thomas was shipped to Milwaukee, where he'd play alongside Ray Allen, Glenn Robinson and Sam Cassell. The Bucks had the number offense in the league in 2001 and beat Indiana and Charlotte in the playoffs before facing Philly, Thomas' old team, in the Conference Finals. The epic 7-game series came down to the last shot, which Glenn Robinson missed, and Philly advanced. After Milwaukee, Thomas had successful stints with New York and Phoenix. To wrap up the episode, we talk about Tim Thomas Playaz AAU program, which has ushered more than 25 players into the NBA with tens of millions in contract dollars earned. Follow Forgotten Seasons (@forgottenseasonsnba). This episode is co-hosted by Dylan Dreyfuss and Jelani McCoy.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To properly tell the story of the Miami Heat becoming one of the NBA's most prestigious franchises, you have to start in the Spring of 1995. Pat Riley was on the last year of his contract with the New York Knicks, where he was the Head Coach for four years. Riley had taken the Knicks from sub .500 to Eastern Conference Champions in just a few years, and he wanted a compensation package that properly reflected his value. Riley asked Knicks management for a big contract, a hefty ownership stake, and total control of the team's basketball operations. The Knicks balked at Riley's demands, so he shifted his attention to Miami. The Heat - who joined the NBA as an expansion team in 1989 - failed to win more than 42 games in their first seven years in the league. Mickey Arison took control of the team in 1995 and didn't want to settle for mediocrity. Through a mutual friend, Arison started talking to Riley while he finished out his last year in New York. Riley presented a similar list of demands to Arison. He wanted a $50 million contract, a 10% ownership in the team upon signing, an additional 10% over time, a limo service to and from games, and a $500 per-diem. In addition to all of that, he asked that the Heat buy his homes in LA and New York. Arison agreed, and Riley took the command in 1995-96. During his first season in Miami, Riley traded for 30-year-old Tim Hardaway, a 3x All-Star who some thought was over the hill. On this episode, Hardaway takes us back to his first days in Miami and the Heat's breakout 1996-97 campaign. Joining Hardaway in South Beach in 1997 were Alonzo Mourning, Dan Majerle, Jamal Mashburn and PJ Brown. They won 61 games and had the #1 defense in the league. In the playoffs, they beat Orlando in Round 1, followed by an iconic 7-game, fight-filled ECSF vs. the Knicks, Riley's old team. Subscribe to Forgotten Seasons! New episodes every Wednesday, Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Charlotte Bobcats existed for 10 seasons and racked up a grand total of zero playoff wins. The pinnacle of the franchise came in 2009/10, when the Stephen Jackson and Gerald Wallace-led Bobcats made the playoffs and ranked first in defense. Stephen Jackson arrived in Charlotte nine games into the 2009/10 season after being traded from Golden State. Stak was just two years removed from making history with the 2007 We Believe Warriors. That Warriors core - featuring Baron Davis, Matt Barnes, Jason Richardson and Al Harrington - dismantled quickly following their magical run. By 2009, Captain Jack was the lone sailor left, and he wasn't happy. He publicly requested a trade in the summer of 2009 and was shipped off to the Bobcats in December. Directly following the trade, reporters asked Bobcats head coach Larry Brown if he was worried about Jackson joining his locker room. Stak had a bad reputation following the Malice at the Palace, and more recently from a sideline blow-up with his old Warriors coach, Don Nelson. But Brown was not worried at all. Jackson, he said, shared certain qualities with his former student, Allen Iverson. "I can deal with (high-maintenance) kids. All you have to do is be straight with them,’ Brown said. ‘After six years with Allen (Iverson in Philadelphia), I don’t look at anybody as a challenge. (Jackson) wants to play and he’s a competitor. Guys like that you can make work in your locker room." With Jackson, Wallace, Tyson Chandler and Boris Diaw, the Bobcats won a franchise-high 44 games and made the playoffs for the first time in their history. Despite getting swept in the first round, this 2010 season is a source of great pride for Jackson. Catch new episodes of Forgotten Seasons every Wednesday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Dylan Dreyfuss and Jelani McCoy break down two fascinating subjects. 01:20 - Vince Carter’s Ugly Breakup with Toronto 21:15 - The Mind Games of Phil Jackson  First, we discuss why Toronto turned against Vince Carter. VC put the Raptors on the map and inspired a golden generation of Canadian basketball players, yet today, he is despised by much of the Raptors fanbase. Why? Well, it’s complicated, and unless you were actually inside the Raptors organization, you probably don’t know the truth. Lucky for us, we’ve got J-Mac. Jelani played 67 games for the Raptors in 2002/03 - the same time that VC and Toronto started to turn against each other.  Next, we attempt to enter the complicated mind of Phil Jackson. Jelani spent the entire season with the Lakers in 2001-02, which was the third leg of their three-peat. He recalls the novel that Phil handed him at the beginning of the season, Kobe’s transformation from garden snake to black mamba, why he thinks Shaq was the best veteran Kobe could’ve had and much more. We’ll be back with new episodes every Wednesday from here on out! You can also catch episodes every Wednesday at 8PM EST on DraftKings Network.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf was having a career year in 1996. The 26-year-old guard was averaging 20ppg and 7apg on a 40% clip from deep. But when Joe Williams, a local Denver radio host, brought up on air that Abdul-Rauf hadn't been standing for the National Anthem, everything changed. The backlash came in like a tidal wave – from both the public and from the NBA – and a few months later, he was out of Denver, and eventually the league entirely. In this episode of Forgotten Seasons, Dylan Dreyfuss is joined by Abdul-Rauf to relive the forgotten and iconic moments of his career. The two discuss Abdul-Rauf's rookie season, where he was part of the worst defensive team of all-time, Denver's historic upset in the First Round of the 1994 Playoffs, a promising 1996 Nuggets squad and much more. Follow Forgotten Seasons (@forgottenseasonsnba) and Showtime Basketball (@shobaskebtall) for more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Nuggets were one of the most consistent franchises in the NBA all throughout the 80's. But the 90's couldn't have been any different in Denver. There were all-time bad teams, record-setting seasons (the bad kind), historic upsets, missed draft picks, a National Anthem controversy and much more. In this bonus episode of Forgotten Seasons, Dylan Dreyfuss breaks down what exactly what went wrong in the Mile High City in the 90's. Follow Forgotten Seasons (@forgottenseasonsnba) and Showtime Basketball (@shobasketball) for more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ricky Davis has come a long way. He entered the league as a 17-year-old kid from Davenport, Iowa, and over the next 12 years would share the court with some of the best players to ever lace up. FS creator Dylan Dreyfuss is joined by 8-year NBA veteran and current media mogul, Jelani McCoy. Jelani and Ricky are both members of the 1998 NBA Draft class and were teammates with the 2003/04 Cleveland Cavs. Davis relives many of the stops in his journey, most notably the early 2000's with the Heat and Cavs, a 2005 season in Boston in which he finished runner-up in the Sixth Man of the Year voting, and his final stops in Minnesota and Miami. Over his career, Davis was labeled as a journey man, and sometimes even worse as a "good stats, bad team" guy. While he was aware of some of the narratives clouding him, it only fueled him to keep going and do what he loved most: getting buckets. Other conversation points include NBA accessory culture in the 2000s, the great/forgotten Dajuan Wagner, 2005 First Round matchup vs. the Malice Pacers, the fabled UCLA Men's league, his infamous triple double, baptizing Steve Nash and more. Follow Forgotten Seasons (@forgottenseasonsnba) and Showtime Basketball (@shobasketball) for more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join Jeff Probst, the Emmy Award-winning host and showrunner of Survivor, to go behind the scenes of the reality competition like never before. Using episodes from Survivor 44 as a jumping off point, each episode of the podcast takes you inside from the producers point of view. Explore the parts of the show you have always had questions about, from how they build challenges to how they select the castaways, the inner workings of their art department, all of those idols and advantages, and every other element of making the show. Watch all new episodes of Survivor, Wednesdays on CBS and streaming and on demand on Paramount+ and then catch all-new episodes of “On Fire with Jeff Probst” right after the show, starting March 1st. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

D-Will joins the show to talk about his breakout second season in Utah. After a rookie campaign in which he got spotty minutes, D-Will comes out strong in year #2, putting up 16ppg and 9apg. He became the first second year player since Jason Kidd to put up 16/9 a game. Surrounding Williams were a pair of All-Star big men in Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur, and rounding out the rotation were Andrei Kirilenko and Derek Fisher. Utah won 51 games and finished with the #3 offense in the league. In the playoffs, they defeated T-Mac and Yao's Rockets squad in a seven-game First Round series. Then, they took care of the We Believe Warriors in Round 2 but fell to the eventual champion Spurs in the WCF. This was the first of four consecutive postseason trips for D-Will's Jazz teams. Follow Forgotten Seasons (@forgottenseasonsnba) and Showtime Basketball (@shobasketball) for more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Daniel "Booby" Gibson joins the show to relive the 2007 Eastern Conference Champion Cavs' season. The main storyline of the Cavs season is the 22-year-old phenom LeBron James. He has the defining moment of his career to this point, scoring the last 25 points for the Cavs in Game 5 of the East Finals vs Detroit. But, what people forget, is that in the following game, it was Booby who stole the show to close out the Pistons, pouring in 31 points and finishing 5/5 from deep. Surrounding Booby and LeBron was Larry Hughes, Big Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Anderson Varajao, Drew Gooden and Eric Snow. Cleveland finished with 50 wins, 2 seed in the East and the #4 defense in the league. Booby counters the opinion that East was weak, explains why Tony Parker was his "welcome to the NBA" matchup, talks through why the Cavs couldn't get back to The Finals, and more. Follow Forgotten Seasons (@forgottenseasonsnba) and Showtime Basketball (@shobasketball) for more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices