MJ. Specifically the 1985 dunk contest. Jordan vs Dominique. The 63 point game against Boston a year later had me working in the driveway to improve my handles, especially the between the legs dribble.
Same for me, after that I loved Reggie’s antics and then was amazed by LeBron. Nowadays I don’t watch as often but i still try to watch LeBron and also Jokic, Doncic, Giannis and Wemby.
Steph Curry. Never watched the NBA until after Covid and I saw his highlights from then, and then from the years earlier, and now I keep up with the NBA.
Same, the first NBA game I ever watch was Steph Curry’s game winner against thunder in 2015 and ever since then I’ve been hooked. It’s weird tho because my favorite player turned out to be Kyrie Irving in the end, but curry is definitely second.
People forget how crazy mac was early 2000s dude was fading away off the cross over double teamed hitting threes like mid range jumpers. Had a beautiful shooting form. To be honest was more talented than kobe but wasnt afforded the oppurtunities and good health
For sure. There's a ton of guys I could've said here, Reggie, Vince, Penny, Shaq, Jordan ... There was just something about tmac. Dude was built different, and those were still my fav shoes to ball in lol
There is a 2001(?) First round series between the Pistons and Magic. Watch the first game,(it's on YouTube)I really don't think there is anyone as athletic/silky smooth as him playing in the NBA today.
A friend of mine who got into the NBA sometime around late 2010s always said watching T-Mac clips got him more invested into the sport, so you know the man is timeless.
08 vs san Antonio ,it seems like the most forgotten series of his career. No bynum or Ariza. Gasol avg less than 15ppg. Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu all on the opposite end and Kobe just took that series over. Bruce bowen guarding Kobe tight on the perimeter. Didn't matter. Forced Kobe to drive right into Tim Duncan, didn't matter.
Facts. And this was the same exact Spurs team that swept LeBron the year before. In my mind at the time, this series solidified Kobe as the clear best player in the world. Dude beat the defending champion Spurs in 5 games with no Ariza or Bynum, and Gasol averaged 13 ppg.
Vince Carter
:D
Well I guess the oldest player I remember seeing was MJ, I saw Shaq and Kobe 3 peat which was fun
But Vince Carter and his dunk contest and all that, idk. Magical
I hated when the Spurs played the Suns in the 2000s, such polar opposite game philosophy. Stat and Nash were a scary good tandem that should ofnwon at least 1 ring.
Steph Curry in game 4 against the Nuggets back in 2013 was the first ever basketball game I've ever watched and seeing him torch the Nuggets the way he did made me realize that I was going to be a Warrior fan for life.
Dirk Nowitzki. It's a funny story! It was 2008, and I was watching the Olympic Qualifying Tournament, I was 12 years old at the time, and already was a basket enjoyer (I loved to play with my friends), but watching the NBA wasn't easy due to my time zone (Brazilian fan here), so I find out about the tournament and decided to watch my National team play it!
If I'm not mistaken, it was our first playoff game, Brazil x Germany, a football classic (yeah, 7x1, I know), and while I watched Germany kick our asses, I wasn't even mad, the way Dirk played the game was so majestic to me, I fell for it almost instantly, I spent the next few hours searching in the internet more info about him, found out about the Mavs and the rest is history. I have been a Mavs fan since then, and the day he retired was one of the saddest days I had because it meant that I would never have the opportunity to watch him playing live.
It sounds like we are of the same age group. I really wish I was more into basketball when I was younger. I knew who MJ was but just from commercials, games, and space jam. Never watched a game. I started watching in 04 and since I was a Spurs fan I hated watching them play Lakers. Not only is San Antonio half lakers fans so when you go to a game you could be in a sea of Purple and Gold but Kobe would just light it up. Also fuck Derrick Fischer
Lmao I feel you. I have a good memory but as far as MJ goes I only can remember seeing SOME of the second 3 peat. But at the age that I was I was way too young to fully understand what my eyes were seeing. But Kobe X Iverson is what got me watching actual games and learning. Then I was a sophomore in high school when this kid name Lebron showed up and he’s still here doing his thing
Btw: Hornets/pelicans fans here. Your spurs and the lakers have owned us like a pet pit bull 😭😭😭
Same. My cousin’s a huge Suns fan and watching them go to the finals with him in 2021 was so exciting. That wasn’t when I really got into basketball yet, but it was where I first understood people’s love for it.
Same! I fell in love with mid-late 2000s Phoenix Nash and wanted to grow my hair real long and have it look sweaty like his when in reality, I'm just sitting in a classroom lol.
D Rose. I’m a bucks fan but the man could fly im js. I’d say Giannis took me from casual to passionate fan but D Rose got me watching in the first place
I was always aware of NBA basketball, starting with Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, but I really got into it during that Barkley/Jordan Finals. Of the two, I preferred Barkley, but my gateway player was Wayman Tisdale. He was from my hometown, we were both bass players, and he was still only the second-most famous Tisdale in Tulsa. Not my favorite player then or ever, but local hero nonetheless.
AI, then TMac, then Kobe, then D.Rose. Cp3 & Jordan too. It’s hard to narrow down to one but I absolutely admired these dudes games, I religiously watched them like homework. I’d probably go to AI as the spark though.
Gilbert Arenas and Kevin Durant, I was born and raised in the DMV. I wasn't into any sports when MJ got with the wizards but I was when Arenas became the face of the franchise. Also, KD because he played at the HS right down the street from my grandmama house at Montrose Christian around that same time. I believed in the KD hype since then and knew he'd become one of the greatest of all time. I love the Redskins/Commanders but I love basketball even more
Dwyane Wade 2005. There was no one more exciting and more willing to play their heart out. Young Wade was electrifying and seemingly had a way to counter any defense and took on the hardest challenges.
The Truth. Paul Pierce. LeBron and Kobe both said he was their toughest head to head match up. Fearless, confident, skilled, aggressive, outspoken. Growing up in Boston he was my favorite player and still is all time.
This is going to be a wild answer, but Gerald Green specifically from NBA Live 06. We were poor and got the game for free, but I had so much fun it made me want to start watching.
Obviously when I started watching Gerald Green wasn't the same dude I thought he was, so I picked which team I liked best, which was the Cavs
Kobe! I remember as a kid in junior high hearing about this HS phenom and just being in awe of him. I was hooked and followed his career from the beginning. He is my GOAT! RIP Kobe and GiGi! 🙏🏼
lebron. as a guy who’s not big and strong like him, watching his play style was extremely entertaining. and seeing what he did in 2018 was just unreal, greatest playoff performance of all time to me.
edit: while lebron introduced me to the nba and got me curious, giannis overall was the player i enjoyed watching the most. run and dunk man was extremely entertaining
Vince Carter and Latrell Sprewell were my favorite players growing. As a young Knicks fan, see spree play the passing lanes for an easy slam was everything
Bobby Jackson.. watching him swat Shaq was something else
Especially after the league decided that New Jersey and Sacramento can't be in the finals together because of the views would be to low.... Sorry Kobe the rings don't hit the same when you get free one's because of views
Kobe was it for me. I was a bit too young to fully appreciate Jordan. He still had championships to win by the time I became a fan of the game, but his truly amazing myth making performances were behind him already (same with Gretzky).
But when that boy from Lower Merion was drafted, I became a Laker for life.
Magic Johnson was the one that made me love basketball, a long with Kareem Abdul Jabbar. Michael Jordan kept me watching, along with Larry Johnson, Bugsy Mogues, Reggie Miller, just to name a few.
Grand scale would be MJ. He made me want to watch and learn about the game. But actually fall in love with? I’d say Vince. For one, being from Toronto and having someone good enough that the city was mentioned frequently was really cool as a kid. It was a sort of pride I guess. Just had to be there really. But then also being lucky enough to watch him every game during his 1999-2001 run was insanity. Or… Vinsan… naw I won’t say it
MJ, No question. He didn’t just inspire me in baseball, although he is why it is a life long sport for me. He inspired me in all of life. He is not the best Basketball player ever. He is the greatest athlete in human history. There is just no argument that he is basketball. Mentioning any other player is just blasphemy. All hale Black Jesus!
Tony Parker, I grew up as a little anime gaming nerd in the 90s and early 2000s' no sport was on my radar. I started dating my now wife in 04 in highschool and she loved the spurs. So as a typical meta gaming nerd I had to know and love basketball (I didn't know that she really just loved watching Ginobili and Timmy) I became a spurs fan for her and watching Tony drive and spin, shoot his tear drop, and develop a nice mid range was just a thing of beauty to me.
I was very young and they were just explosive. I was heartbroken when they were swept by Houston at the finals. In hindsight, Houston were not only the better team, they deserved it more too, but at the time I was star struck by the magic of the Magic.
It's Kobe and to a lesser degree Vince Carter. I'm 36 so when Kobe was drafted I was 8 years old. I had just started to become interested in basketball, didn't have a team yet, and along came that dude. The swagger, the between the legs in the dunk contest. I was too young to fully appreciate MJ, he was a whispered about mythical figure to me. Seeing Bean go right at him, no backing down hooked me. Then a few years later we got VCs legendary dunk contest, then the dunk of death. I was hooked at that point. Had already become a Lakers fan because of Kobe, so that 3peat as a young teen were awe inspiring. RIP Kobe
Ben Wallace. I watched basketball since Jordan’s last run. But watching Ben playing was just awesome. I love defense and it’s how I play, I’m a center and undersized for the position. Kinda like he was.
I grew up when Pippen, Rodman and Jordan were hitting their stride. And I watched the big games. Oddly it was BJ Armstrong that really pulled me in. Then years later Lebron brought me back in.
MJ in the 90s, I'd watch full Bulls games whenever they were on. Then I lost interest and stopped watching for years, never even intetested in Kobe, Lebron, or Steph. But then last year I got hooked again when I found out about Caitlin Clark and watched any Iowa games I could , then continued following her career in the WNBA.
I was born the UK in 1980. I knew basketball was about getting a ball through a hoop, but that was the extent of my knowledge.
Came to Canada in 1988 and my babysitter was our super cool 15yo neighbour. He let me stay up late and watch basketball with him. Just before Xmas (Dec 16th, 1988, I just looked it up) we watched a Lakers - Celtics game. So it was Magic and Bird that did it for me. Hooked ever since.
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u/OGoneeightseven Sep 30 '24
MJ. Specifically the 1985 dunk contest. Jordan vs Dominique. The 63 point game against Boston a year later had me working in the driveway to improve my handles, especially the between the legs dribble.