People complaining about parity must be new to the league. The NBA has never had parity. Two of the franchises have almost half the titles in their entire history. When did this so called parity exist? The 80's when two teams won 8 of 9 titles. How about the 90's with the Bulls dynasty? Since Jordan retired in 98, the Lakers, Spurs, Heat and Warriors have almost all the titles. The NBA can be great, but it has never had parity.
Has the NBA become a joke?
- Thread starter Ipartiedwithhopgood
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Sure there is a reason his teams have always been crap. He doesn't make your team better despite some good stats. He is like Hassan Whiteside in that regard.
It really is startling that it took this long for the longball game to become mainstream. No one caught on quicker in college basketball than Rick Pitino. In his first year at UK, they were averaging 29 3PA a game; that was back in 1990. That average would put a team at 6th in country in 2021. Alabama was the only P6 school this year with more 3PA attempts than the '90 UK team. Pitino knew exactly what he was doing.
Took K a few years to catch on, but it quickly became a main staple for Duke. I remember one reporter asking Coach K why his team took so many three pointers (maybe the early 2000's.). K said something along the lines of, "three points is worth more than two." It's not rocket science, folks. Making 33% of your threes is the same as making 50% of your twos.
Pitino is one of the best basketball coaches ever. His ego is bigger than the sun though and it's killed him. In an alternate world he stays at UK and probably has more titles than K. Alas that's not what happened.
It really seemed like he was building a dynasty in the mid 90's. Freakishly talented teams. I think it's conceivable that he could have matched K, absolutely. Possibly could have exceeded five titles. It's one of the major what-if questions of the past quarter century. And yes, definitely one of the all-time great coaches.
It truly is kind of hard to believe. Especially with how short the college distance used to be.
Maybe saying he'd win more than 5 is false. It is really hard to win titles in modern basketball, which is why K is the GOAT in my books. But I think he'd be close for sure. I wonder if they beat Arizona in '97 if he stays. Going for a threepeat would have been mighty enticing.
Winning 5 titles ain't easy, that's for sure. But, I do think it was feasible given Pitino's brilliance as a coach, his clout, his tournament success, Kentucky's stature as a program, their resources, and the recruiting momentum which he carried. He left UK with only one title, but certainly deserves an assist for the '98 title. Who knows what he could have done in the past 24 years?
Although, not sure I'm understanding your point about the Arizona title game. He was the coach in '97. They easily could have three-peated. Perhaps a healthy Derek Anderson would have been enough to put them over the hump.
