It's now officially mid-May and there's still no basketball. Two months without the NBA. Sure, there's been some talk, the Draft lottery has been postponed, the Wizards have offered season ticket holders refunds and I've gotten an email from the Mystics to ask me about when I'm ready to come out and support the team. But basketball? No. Any meaningful event to slake the thirst of Wizards die-hard fans? Also no. And Scott Brooks' haircut doesn't count there.
And on the Mystics front...I'd love to come back and see a winner. Start the season and let me see how it goes with crowds in building at live sporting events and I'll be right there. But just expect me to be a late adopter about returning to crowds of strangers in enclosed spaces.
But the Wizards did manage to break up the ennui of mid-March to mid-May and beyond by hosting a live chat on Zoom with two time Wizards All-Star and general all around legend Antawn Jamison this afternoon. OK...so chat means a chat between AJ and Dave Johnson but it was still worth me tuning in at 1:30 this afternoon to see what the current Wizards Director of Pro Personnel was up to these days and maybe get a story or two from the seasons that made up four consecutive playoff runs in the mid-aughts.
When I got this invite earlier this week I leapt at the chance to participate, especially since the session was limited to just 500 season ticket holders. I signed up as soon as the email hit my in box, entered a question into the question jar that I knew would never see the light of day with this ownership group and then prayed I'd make the cut. I did.
The topics in the almost 50 minute chat ranged from Antawn's thoughts on ESPN's 10-part The Last Dance series on the Chicago Bulls championship teams to musings about how to build a team in an era of positionless basketball to comments on the relationships between the Wizards, Mystics and Capitals. He also covered how it feels to be back in the Wizards organization and just a brief description of what he does as Director of Pro Personnel. This last one I didn't actually know but it sounds like he does anything behind the scenes to get the Wizards better on the court.
All that was well and good, but I wanted to hear about those 2005 through 2008 playoff teams and the seasons that led to those four straight postseason trips. And we did get some of that.
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| Unshaven and unshowered is becoming the norm these days. With bobblehead Antawn Jamison on the call. |
On how he made those crazy and unorthodox shots in games...
Apparently AJ never really learned any technique in high school. He just did what he wanted and was more athletic and just plain better than anyone he played against. When he went down to the University of North Carolina, he had to learn the fundamentals but he also had to face players bigger than him guarding the basket. Apparently getting those looping, scooping, underhanded and push shots got him around those guys. Seemed natural. Never practiced it. Doc Rivers apparently didn't believe it; swore it was scripted.
On how the mid-aughts Wizards would fare in the NBA today...
What's he going to say here? That the Wiz wouldn't cut it? He spread the love around to himself, Caron Butler (would score from anywhere), DeShawn Stevenson (can defend multiple positions) and Brendan Haywood (would be effective at both ends). But his highest praise was for Gilbert Arenas who he called James Harden and Russell Westbrook before those guys were around. High praise. And you know what I wanted to hear more than anything was stories about Agent Zero.
On his favorite moment as a Wizards player...
Clinching the playoffs in 2005 and the look on Abe Pollin's face when he came in to the locker room after the game. I still remember that night. After the Wizards won their game against the Bulls at MCI Center, we stayed in our seats and the players stayed on the court to watch the end of the Nets-Pacers game and celebrated when New Jersey knocked off Indy. It was clear that Antawn took great pride in leading a team starving for playoff action from a postseason outsider to the first round of the playoffs.
On his favorite places to eat in Washington...
Home. Although he did mention Georgia Brown's as a top spot. I used to work a block from Georgia Brown's and used to take people there who I wanted to make an impression on. Good stuff!
Of course, Antawn also had to take a little swipe at Andray Blatche (the only other Wizards teammate that he mentioned besides the four above and Larry Hughes) by talking about what leadership means. How could he get on Seven Day Dray to get in the gym and work if he wasn't leading by example? He also made a couple of dubious claims, comparing the work ethic of Gilbert Arenas favorably with that of Kobe, Shaq, LeBron and MJ, and claiming the Wizards are looking for players with "Championship DNA" to the roster. Really? To both of those last two claims.
Finally, and because LeBron ain't...MJ is the GOAT.
And my question that I knew wouldn't get asked? What does Gilbert Arenas and this current ownership group need to do to get Agent Zero back to D.C. and part of the Wizards extended family. Told you there was no way current ownership would let that one out of the box.
This was a good break from the boredom of my 10th consecutive working at home week. It's sometimes good to reminisce about the good times.
Two final things. First, there was no need to worry about being one of the first 500 to sign up for this thing. Attendance on the Zoom call surged to 34 at one point in the conversation and that included Dave Johnson, AJ and whoever at the Wizards was hosting. Finally, I appreciate the personal shoutout from Dave Johnson on the call, who never seems to forget how we bumped into each other in the airport in Reykjavik in 2016. Thanks, Dave!
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| Glorious stuff! I still have this in my file cabinet from 2005. |
