1984 NBA Draft - Some things you may not have known

Everybody knows that the 1984 NBA Draft class is considered one of the best ever featuring such names as Jordan, Hakeem, Barkley and Stockton.

But did you know, back in '84 the draft had not two but TEN rounds of picks?!

With the 131st pick in the sixth round, the New Jersey Nets selected Brazilian and Olympic legend Oscar Schmidt.  However, Schmidt turned down the offers to play in the NBA and stayed to play in Italy and later in Brazil. He played in five Olympics and was the top scorer in three of them. He finished his career with 49,703 points with various clubs and the Brazilian national team, more than the NBA's career scoring leader, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who scored 38,387 points in his NBA career.

BUT ... the funniest fact that I think I knew but forgot, was ... with the 208th pick in the tenth round, the Chicago Bulls select ... University of Houston track and field athlete Carl Lewis! Despite never having played college basketball the Chicago Bulls picked the soon to be Olympic legend. Not surprisingly, Lewis stayed with his athletics career and went on to win nine Olympic gold medals and eight World Championship gold medals.

NBA Draft 2010

After the NBA Championships were over, the next major event on the calendar is the NBA Draft. While there were no big-name Aussies in the draft to wait for (like the travesty that was last year with Patty Mills), its still a fun event to watch. Having not had the chance to watch a lot of college ball this year, I didn't know many of the players but since it was quiet at work, I watched coverage of the first round.

If you missed the draft, here are the highlights:

Stephen Curry

Coming in to the draft, I'd heard about Stephen Curry. He was described as the "best shooter" in the draft and that's probably when I started to take a bit more interest in him. I've mentioned it before but a good basketball shooting tip is to watch great shooters in action, success leaves clues.

As I don't get to watch college basketball (although with One HD now I will be able to next season) and I tend to follow the NBA from a fantasy basketball perspective, I don't usually take too much interest in rookies until they have proved themselves in the big show. I didn't even realise until last week that Stephen is the son of former NBA great Dell Curry.

As mentioned last week, I was able to watch the NBA draft for the first time and heard the angry NY crowd go nuts as Curry was drafted by the Warriors, who got to pick before the hometown Knicks. I heard Dickey Vitale numerous times throughout the coverage shower praise on Stephen and say that the team's who didn't draft him were crazy and that he would definitely win Rookie of the Year.

So today, with the phone not ringing in the office, I decided to do some more research in to Stephen Curry.

Firstly, here's an excerpt from a great article by the crew at Dime (click on the title to read the full story):

Stephen Curry: Lethal Weapon | Dime Magazine (www.dimemag.com) : Daily NBA News, NBA Trades, NBA Rumors, Basketball Videos, Sneakers

“Nothing about my success here over the last three years has changed me at all, because I live in the moment,” says Curry. “I’m not worried about what’s going to come next. I’m not worried at all. I do everything one step at a time, and I try to be as confident doing so as possible.”

For Stephen to achieve everything he sets his mind to, he needs to believe it completely. And right now, he believes that he can do anything. That mantra is inscribed on the forefront of his sneaker, penned as “I Can do all things…” (Editor’s note: The full quote is “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13) Tomorrow won’t come across his radar until tomorrow. But when it rolls around, know that he’ll have the same confidence and faith that he has today.

And here's some video footage of him in action:

NBA draft mistakes

I'm still shaking my head that Patty Mills slipped to 55th in this year's draft. 55th?? CJ Bruton got drafted 53rd by the Vancouver Grizzles back in '97 and NO one was talking about him in the lead up to that draft. Mills meanwhile had made some of the top guards looks silly (and slow) in Beijing.

Anyway ... I have to move on and I'm hoping Mills turns his pain in to motivation, makes Portland's roster and then seeks revenge on the team's that passed him over (read: every other team in the league).

Speaking of draft mistakes, thanks to the crew at Dime and NBA Mate, I came across the following articles about the worst picks in NBA draft history. First is this from NY Daily News and then The Sport Count picked their 10 worst draft picks of the last 10 years.

Its funny looking through those lists and remembering watching some of the busts in action. An interesting thing you notice tho ... how many of those busts are guards?? Ummm, I don't think any, they were all power forwards and centres. The old addage goes, "you can't teach height" and maybe this is why NBA execs are so keen to believe the next "big thing" is in fact a bigman ... but obviously, quite often it isn't.

NBA Draft '09

Yesterday was a mix of emotions ...

The good, was getting to watch the NBA draft "live" as it happened on channelsurfing.net. This is the first time I've ever been able to actually watch the draft and it was great! It would've been even better if I knew more of the players but now that I have One HD I'll get the chance to watch more college basketball from now on.

The bad, was waiting and waiting and waiting as team after team failed to pick Aussie Patrick Mills. I was e-mailing friends updates and we were all shocked and amazed at how far Patty fell. By the time we got to the second round of the draft, I was literally shaking my head as I watched team's pick players not named Mills, random euro-players that have done nothing on the world stage, players that would be "shelved" for a couple of years until they were more ready for the NBA. Meanwhile, Patty Mills who has proven himself on the world's biggest stage at the Olympics against the USA and the rest of the world's best, had to wait until pick # 55 when his name was called by the Portland Trailblazers.

I wasn't alone in my shock at the fall that Patty took, he was believe to be going mid to late in the first round. Check out the live draft coverage from Dime yesterday and all the comments about Mills ... sure, they were all probably Aussies, but that's not the point. LOL

Here are some highlights from the early picks in the 2009 NBA Draft:

NBL & NBA news

After saying yesterday what a quiet week it had been in the basketball world, the last 24 hours have been BIG!!

With the NBA draft taking place tomorrow, several pre-draft trades have gone down. It started with:

• Toronto trading Jason Kapono for Philly's Reggie Evans
• Then big one was the Bucks sending Richard Jefferson to the Spurs for Kurt Thomas, Fabricio Oberto and Bruce Bowen
• Oberto didn't last long in Milwaukee as they then traded him to Detroit for Amir Johnson
• The Timberwolves and Washington on Wednesday struck a deal that gives Minnesota the No. 5 overall pick, its fourth first-round draft choice, along with Wizards forwards Etan Thomas, Darius Songaila and Oleksiy Pecherov. The Wizards receive guards Randy Foye and Mike Miller

Today, news has:

• Warriors guard Jamal Crawford going to Atlanta for Speedy Claxton and Acie Law
• And finally, a deal has apparently been done that sends Shaq from Phoenix to Cleveland for Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic

Obviously the final deal sending Shaq to Cleveland is the BIGGEST news, but we'll talk more about that when its confirmed.

In NBL news, as things slowly move forward to the new league/season, the NBL office has officially released its new logo ... hearby ending all hummer jokes.

NBA Draft '09

Its been a week since I last posted ... can you tell its pretty quiet in the basketball world right now??

In the (new) NBL, teams are signing players and getting themselves organised for the upcoming season. There are still plenty of announcements yet to happen and plenty of quality talent waiting to get picked up (John Rillie anyone?).

In the NBA, since the Lakers took care of business in the NBA Championship Series a little early, all the talk at the moment is about the upcoming draft. From an Aussie perspective, there's plenty of interest around Patrick Mills and if he will go in the first round. Then, once his name has been called, the interest surrounds Joe Ingles and where/when he'll be drafted.

Hopefully Patty will be picked up a team that can give him some minutes straight away. Ideally a team with a good point guard that he can learn from. As for Ingles, the question is whether he'll be signed to a contract by his team or if he'll be the next Brad Newley/CJ Bruton (drafted but yet to play in the NBA).

John Rillie found a couple of interviews with Patty and Joe, click here to check them out.

The team at Dime have had plenty of stories about the draft so check out their site and stay up to date with everything that's happening.

Draft ‘09 Stock Watch: Patrick Mills

Nice to see Patty Mills getting some love on Dime today. With all the hype in the draft going to Ricky Rubio, Austin sticks up for Mills who has seemingly been forgotten about heading in to the NBA draft.

Patty started slowly in the draft camps but dropped 30 points at the Reebok Eurocamp that should see his stock rise again.

Click on the title below to read the full article. Good to see some Aussies in the comments representing Mills.

NBA Draft ‘09 Stock Watch: Patrick Mills | Dime Magazine (www.dimemag.com) : Daily NBA News, NBA Trades, NBA Rumors, Basketball Videos, Sneakers

By Austin Burton

Here’s what I don’t get: While you can’t make it five minutes into a Ricky Rubio argument without somebody supporting his case with the concept that he “held his own” against grown men overseas and against Team USA in the Olympics, Patrick Mills gets zero credit for not just holding his own, but putting in serious work against the Redeem Team and other international juggernauts.

In almost every major test he’s faced, Mills has proven himself. As the focal point of each NCAA defense that went against his Saint Mary’s squad this year, the sophomore Mills averaged 18.4 points on 40% from the field and 85% at the line, plus 2.2 steals per game. Mills got the better of Stephen Curry in their NIT matchup, putting up 23 points and 10 dimes in a blowout win. Before that he dropped 27 points in an NIT win over Washington State, and despite missing nine games during the season due to injury, still clocked 10 games of 20-plus points.

Patrick Mills keeping name in NBA draft

The wait for the NBA Championship Series means this is a looong week in the life of a basketball fan. Up to this point we've been spoiled having a finals game virtually every day, but now there is almost a week between game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals and game 1 of the Championship Series. It seems like forever!

In the meantime tho, one of my friends sent me an update on Patrick Mills in the lead up to the NBA draft. Until now, Patty has been sitting on the fence regarding his future in the NBA, choosing not to sign with an agent which meant that he could return to college if he didn't get drafted high enough to get a guaranteed contract. From the article below Mills has decided he's ready for the NBA and he's not looking back.

Due to a broken hand suffered midway through the college season, the hype around Mills has died down considerably from where it was after the Olympics. Its great to read that the hand is fully recovered and hopefully his workouts with NBA teams go really well and he gets in to the first round of the draft.

Click on the title below to read the full story.

Mills keeping name in NBA draft - NBA - Yahoo! Sports

By JANIE McCAULEY, AP Sports Writer

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP)—Patty Mills is prepared to test his talent in the NBA.

The Australian Olympic star and point guard from Saint Mary’s College said Monday he will forgo his final two years of college eligibility and keep his name in the NBA draft.

“In my head, I’m 100 percent in,” Mills said. “There’s a great opportunity for me to play in the NBA this year and I’m trying to make the most of the opportunity.”

The 6-foot, 175-pound Mills was among 12 players to work out in two separate sessions Monday for 21 NBA teams at the Golden State Warriors’ practice facility. He even campaigned for the Warriors to select him on draft day June 25 so he can stay in the Bay Area.

“It’s home away from home for me at the moment,” Mills said, wearing navy blue Warriors practice gear and sporting a Golden State towel around his neck.

He said the only way he would return to school would be if enough teams told him before the draft that he should play another college season.

“I haven’t heard that as of yet,” Mills said.

What number pick do you think Mills will be drafted?

NBA Playoffs and draft news

I was going to blog about the opening round of the NBA Playoffs, but John Rillie has beaten me to it. Click here to find out who is playing who and JR's picks for each series.

In NBA draft news that will surprise no one, future Aussie superstar Patrick Mills has declared for the draft. Hopefully he goes high in the first round and is picked up by a team that will give him plenty of minutes. Click on the title below to read the full story.

NBL > News

Australia’s Olympic Games standout Patrick Mills has decided to nominate for this year’s NBA draft.

The 20-year-old point guard has just completed his sophomore year at St Mary’s college in California, and now has the toughest basketball competition in the world in his sights.

“I’ve come to decide that I want to chase my dream and really push myself and challenge myself at the next level,” Mills said on Friday.