Follow the player or the team??

JR, On Fire: "Since Reggie has given it away (He teased me last offseason.) I still watch just as much NBA as ever, just ask my wife, but I have not attached myself to anyone like I did with Moses and Reggie.

Kobe is probably the closest I have come to replacing these legends but I'm certainly not on the same level with him as a fan. I have no Kobe merchandise to speak of.

Is there any other fans out there that follow players more so then teams?"


I was reading the above on John Rillie's blog this morning and couldn't agree more. Originally I was a "team" follower ... first the Celtics (with Larry Bird, McHale, Parish, etcc) but like JR said in his article, I like to be different so became a fan of the Atlanta Hawks. Why? Because of players they had ... not how the team itself was doing. This was back in the days of Dominique Wilkins and Spudd Webb ... but I stayed with the team as they brought on Mookie Blaylock and Stacey Augmon. I probably stopped following the team when they traded 'Nique and made Kevin Willis their focal point ... uggghhh

None of the aforementioned were really my favourite players ... that honour went to Tim Hardaway. Back in his Golden State early years he was a FORCE ... long before injuries slowed him down and his short-lived commentating gig (we won't speak about that). In the days of TMC, the Warriors were the 90's version of the recent Phoenix Suns teams ... run'n gun, no defence required. I loved his game because he was the under-dog, the little man in a big man's sport. He did what I wished I could ... kill players off the dribble and had no fear in putting up shots (over and over again). I went to the US in '96 and unfortunately Rick Adelman was then in charge of the Warriors and had benched Hardaway (and Mullins) ... in favour of BJ Armstrong?!! I remember sitting in the crowd begging for them to sub Timmy in. Thankfully he was later traded to Miami and after more injuries he fought back to show the sort of player he was and how much heart he had. I enjoyed nothing more than seeing him KILL the Knicks in the playoffs time and time again.

When Timmy's career was ending (think of his time in Denver, Indiana and Dallas) it was time to find a new favourite player ... that came in the form of Steve Nash. No, not when he got to Dallas ... before that ... even before he was sitting on the bench behind KJ and Kidd at the Suns in his early years. I was on the Nash bandwagon from his days at Santa Clara and when he met his idol Magic Johnson and was nicknamed "Little Magic".

Back to JR's article tho and the question about following a team or a player. With so many trades in the NBA, its hard to stay loyal to a team unless you actually live in that city. Also ... being a fantasy NBA player, the game teaches you to follow a player's numbers and has nothing to do with their team's wins and losses.

Who's your favourite player? Let me know