Forgotten Seasons

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Tim Hardaway Sr. Jan 17, 2024

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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.

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Stephen Jackson Jan 10, 2024

Show notes

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.

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Vince Carter's Ugly Toronto Breakup, Inside the Mind of Phil Jackson Jan 04, 2024

Show notes

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.

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Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf Apr 11, 2023

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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.

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Disaster Decade: 90''s Denver Nuggets (Bonus Episode) Apr 11, 2023

Show notes

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.

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Ricky Davis Mar 28, 2023

Show notes

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.

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Deron Williams on the 2007 Jazz Sep 20, 2022

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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.

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Booby Gibson on the 2007 Cavs Sep 13, 2022

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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.

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Kenyon Martin on the 2002 Nets Aug 30, 2022

Show notes

K-Mart joins the show to dive deep into a historic 2002 Nets season. New Jersey lands Jason Kidd for Stephon Marbury in July of 2001, a move that proved to be one of the best trades of the decade. With Kidd at the helm, the Nets finished as the #1 seed in the East and also boasted the league's best defense. Outside of Kidd and K-Mart, the Nets rotation featured Kerry Kittles, Keith Van Horn and a rookie Richard Jefferson.

Heading into the season, New Jersey was dubbed as a fringe playoff team. Squads like Milwaukee (Ray Allen + Glenn Robinson), Philly (defending EC Champs w/ Allen Iverson) and Orlando (T-Mac and Grant Hill) were all pinned as safer bets as New Jersey. Ultimately, the Nets' stout defense and run n' gun offense led them to the top of the Eastern Conference. In the postseason, they beat #8 seed Indiana in a five-game Round 1, handled Charlotte in Round 2, and defeated Boston in the ECF to advance to the franchise's first NBA Finals. In the Finals, they were mopped by the Lakers in four games, a common occurrence for early 2000's playoff teams.

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Kenny Anderson on the 1993 Nets Aug 23, 2022

Show notes

Point God Kenny Anderson joins the show to talk about the 1993 Nets, his second year in the league and the only true look we got at an Anderson/Petrovic/Coleman Big 3. The Nets won 43 games but Anderson broke his wrist in late February from a hard John Starks foul. This was Drazen Petrovic's last season in the league; he tragically passed away in the summer of 1993. His last season was his best – he put up 22 PPG and a shot a ridiculous 45% clip from deep.

Anderson dubbed Derrick Coleman as "the best player he's ever played with." DC averaged 21/11/4 and was one of the most versatile bigs in the league. Chuck Daly joins the picture in New Jersey this year fresh off Gold at the 1992 Olympics with the Dream Team. The Nets fell to the Mark Price Cavs 3-2 in Round 1 of the playoffs.

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