Hoopdarshan Episode 24: The Kobe Episode

Hoopdarshan, the Indian Basketball podcast, has reached its 24th episode, which means that it's just about time to pay homage to Mr. 24 himself, Kobe Bean Black Mamba Bryant. After 20 years in the NBA, Bryant will be retiring at the end of this season. Co-hosts Kaushik Lakshman and Karan Madhok are joined by hoops enthusiast Kunal Mathew to discuss the highs and lows of Kobe's career, his most-memorable moments, his legacy, and his place in the 2016 NBA All Star Team.

Listen to Kaushik, Karan, and Kunal talk about many faces of Kobe, including the cocky teenager Kobe, failed rap star Kobe, Shaq's friend/foe Kobe, Mr. 81 Kobe, Beijing Olympics Kobe, MVP and 5 rings Kobe, and finally, elder statesmen Kobe. We also discussed our favoured All Star teams for Toronto next month, and dove into the Chicago Bulls' chances in the Eastern Conference.



Hoopdarshan aims to be the true voice of Indian basketball, and since we're such hopeless fans of the game, it will become the voice of everything basketball related we love, from the NBA to international hoops, too. On every episode of Hoopdarshan, we will be inviting a special guest to interview or chat to about a variety of topics. With expert insight from some of the brightest and most-involved people in the world of Indian basketball, we hope to bring this conversation to a many more interested fans, players, and followers of the game.

Make sure to follow Hoopdarshan on Soundcloud or search for 'Hoopdarshan' on the iTunes Store! Auto-sync Hoopdarshan to your preferred podcast app NOW!

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Gasolina: A celebration of Pau Gasol as one of basketball’s All Time great international players

Few international players have had his measure of success in the modern era as Pau Gasol, who helped usher in Spain's golden generation and made La Roja the world's most feared basketball team outside of USA. Here's a celebration of Gasol's stellar international career.

Click here to read the full feature.

Yao Ming lifted basketball in China, gave hope to the game in India

There is a major reason that we have hope in the rise of basketball in India today. A reason why we feel that, one day, the game can grow in India, one day we can produce our own NBA superstar, and one day, we can challenge the world's best hoop-playing nations at the biggest stage.

And that reason is China.

Of course, we have our own way of doing things, our own history in the game, and our own legends of the game, but it has been China's sudden rise that has allowed Indian basketball to hope that one day we can too turn our basketball potential into actuality. Over the past 12-13 years, basketball has seen a meteoric rise in our northern, (sometimes unfriendly) neighbours. It has risen above all to become one of the most popular sports in the country, along with football and table-tennis. In a little over a decade, the Chinese basketball team has gone from strong performances in Asian championships to making a mark amongst the world's best country's, including the US, Spain, Argentina, Serbia, etc. In that same time span, the Chinese Basketball League (CBA) has become a lucrative venture, even attracting former NBA stars Bonzi Wells, Stephon Marbury, and Steve Francis to star in the league. From the grassroots development of the game to the popular fan-frenzy for the Kobe Bryants and the Allen Iversons... China has gone from becoming a sleeping giant in the game to the NBA's largest market outside the US.

And there is a major reason why basketball is so popular in China today. A reason why Stephon Marbury played in the CBA. A reason why China ranks 10th in the FIBA rankings. Why more and more Chinese youngsters want to grow up and become basketball stars. Why Iverson jerseys flew off the shelves across the country over the past decade.

And that reason is Yao Ming.

Two days ago, news leaked that Yao Ming had told the Houston Rockets, the only team for whom he had ever donned an NBA jersey, that he was planning to retire. The announcement brought a sudden, depressing, yet not wholly unexpected end to a short, brilliant, and much-maligned career. China's biggest sporting icon, the man who had opened more possibilities than ever for basketball in the world's most populous country, and thus given hope for a future in basketball for us in India, the second-most populous country, was calling it a day.

By most standards, Yao Ming did not have a super-spectacular career on the court, yet as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! NBA argues, it is his global impact on the game of basketball that should be enough to make him a Basketball Hall of Famer. The 7-foot-6 giant was the first pick of the NBA draft in 2002 by the Houston Rockets, a choice that immediately brought the NBA to China and had more Chinese fans wearing Steve Francis Rockets jerseys than American ones. That was bound to happen, right - Yao was the icon, but it was his teammate Francis whose game and size fans could relate to more. After Francis left Houston, it was Tracy McGrady. And all this because of Yao.

From 2002-2011 Yao spent just nine seasons in the NBA, averaging 19 points and 9.2 rebounds per game over his career. After a quiet first season, he soon became a force to be reckoned with. He arrived into the NBA just as Shaquille O'Neal sipped on the champagne of his third straight NBA championship with the Lakers. I still remember how Yao was supposed to be the guy to one day match Shaq. The behemoth clash never really lived up to its fullest potential. By the time Yao got into his prime (2006), Shaq was already done with his. The best thing that ever happened of the Shaq-Yao media-hyped-rivalry was a mixtape rap song released by Shaq called 'How to Rob the NBA League', where O'Neal hilariously bragged: "I got three rings, fool; Yao Ming, who?"

Yao didn't have the rings, but he did have a popularity to match Shaq. With or without injury, Yao was voted eight times as an NBA All Star, mostly thanks to his devoted fan-following in China. It is bitter irony then that, within one month, NBA fans have had to bid farewell to both these memorable giants.

Yao never played a full NBA season after his second one. His injury troubles began in 2005-06. From 2005-2008 three seasons, Yao only managed to average 53 games during the regular season. This injury-riddled time also coincided with his peak, as he averaged 22.4 ppg and 10.1 rpg during this time. This fact makes the Yao tragedy perhaps even more tragic - it was in his worst years where he was at his best.

Yao recovered valiantly to play 77 games in 2008-09, but then sat out all of the 2009-10 season, and only managed to notch five games in his attempted comeback in 2010-11. Through this time, his most gifted teammate, Tracy McGrady, also suffered from various ailments, and the talented duo could never have the success together that they deserved to enjoy.,

His injury list during this period has been long and horrifying, from developing osteomyelitis in the big toe on his left foot, breaking his right knee, getting a stress fracture in his left foot, and a broken bone in his left foot. It was the stress fracture on his left ankle that was finally aggravated again last season and took him out of the game for good.

Even Yao Ming's giant legs weren't strong enough to carry the weight burdened on to him. The weight of expectation from all of China, the expectation of carrying both the Rockets and the Chinese National team, and carrying them as often as he could. His knees had been overworked, his feet had run up-and-down the court way too many times. Big men are notoriously infamous for having career-riddling injuries - Yao was amongst the biggest of them all, and even though injuries shortened his career, he was still able to make the most of his time on the court.

New Delhi, India, thousands of miles away from Yao's hometown of Shanghai, and thousands more from Yao's adopted hometown of Houston. I'm watching the teenager supposed to shoulder India's basketball aspirations, the 15-year-old, seven-foot-one gentle giant, Satnam Singh Bhamara, who has already drawn unfair comparisons to Yao Ming solely due to the similarity in the country's from which they both hail, the potential of where India stands now in world basketball as compared to where China stood 15 or so years ago, and of course, their size. Bhamara is playing for Junior Nationals Championships for Punjab, dominating the competition with a sleek combination of size, strength, speed, and dexterity. His potential, like Yao's potential, is scary good.

Yao's story, for the sake of Satnam and others, should be a lesson learnt, a parable for how to be responsible superstar carrying the homes of ones countrymen, and how to be careful as a big man and make sure to elongate a potentially great career the way Yao unfortunately couldn't. Satnam may just be the first, but from henceforth, every talented seven-footer from India will be compared to Yao, until the first one makes the breakthrough into global basketball for India the way Yao did for his country. For this, he will never ever be forgotten.

I'm going to finish with this: My most vivid memory of Yao Ming took place off the court. It was the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The opening ceremony of sport's grandest stage was the grandest opening ceremony of them all, marking China's "coming out party" economically and culturally into the West and the rest of the world. It was an occasion where China got to showcase the best it had to offer in its history, its tradition, it's economy, and ultimately its sport.

And there was a man carrying Chinese flag on this opening ceremony, the man who led the Chinese contingent, who was chosen ahead of all the others, towering over, giving the athletes and the rest of his countrymen the confidence and the belief that they could stand tall with the rest of the superpowers in the world.

That man was Yao Ming.

Dwight Howard vs. Pau Gasol: Battle of the India visitors

You knew this was inevitable, didn't you? After being relatively starved of NBA star-power for years, the world's finest basketball league decided to spoil us this summer. I already feel that August 2010 will go down in NBA India lore as the summer/monsoon season where India took its biggest splurge towards becoming a large NBA market.

In the space of two weeks, All-Star Orlando Magic Center Dwight Howard and All-Star Los Angeles Lakers Power Forward/Center Pau Gasol landed in India. Now apart from being recent fans of India, these two players have a lot more in common: they are both big players hovering around the 7 foot range, they are both in successful teams who have been going deep in the playoffs the last few years, and they are both devastatingly talented players.

But the question remains: which one of the NBA's All Star visitors to India is a better player: Dwight Howard or Pau Gasol? The two players faced each in the 2009 NBA Finals where Gasol, Kobe and the Lakers beat the Howard and the Magic 4-1. I'm going to lay down my stats and opinions, and finally my choice.

But first, I must answer the more important question of "What is better?" Is the better player the one with the better statistics? Is the better player the one who wins more? Is it someone who can carry a team better? Is it someone who performs better in tougher circumstances? Is it someone with a bigger worldwide influence?

Maybe it's a combination of all these things. And I'm going to use all of those factors, and then finally determine it through a final determining factor: "If I am starting a new team today, which player would I pick first?"

So here we go...

Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic): 24 years old, 6"11, 120 kg, Center
Pau Gasol (Los Angeles Lakers): 30 years old, 7"0, 113 kg, Power Forward/Center

Basic Individual Statistics: 2009-2010 season - PPG: points per game, RPG: rebounds per game, APG: assists per game, BPG: blocks per game, SPG: steals per game.

Howard: 18.3 ppg, 13.2 rpg, 1.8 apg, 2.8 bpg, 0.9 spg
Gasol: 18.3 ppg, 11.3 rpg, 3.4 apg, 1.7 bpg, 0.6 spg

Howard and Gasol averaged the same points per game, despite Gasol being the second option in his team (behind Kobe) whereas Howard being his team's "main man". In his last full season in Memphis before going to the Lakers, Gasol averaged 20.8 ppg. Howard, who is the two-time reigning defensive player of the year, scores better in rebounds and blocks (where he has led the NBA), and other important defensive factors that don't appear on the scoresheet.

The "Real Season", as many believe, actually begins in the playoffs, where the games are much tougher and a player's talents are tested more. Here are the statistics from last season's playoffs for both these players: Gasol played 23 games and went on all the way to win the title, whereas Howard's Magic were knocked out in the Conference Finals after playing 14 games.

Basic Individual Statistics: 2009-2010 Playoffs

Howard: 18.1 ppg, 11.1 rpg, 1.4 apg, 3.5 bpg, 0.8 spg
Gasol: 19.6 ppg, 11.1 rpg, 3.5 apg, 2.1 bpg, 0.4 spg

Both players improved on their blocks average, but as you can see, there is a sharp rise in Gasol's scoring and a slight fall in Howard's in the playoffs. Howard also became a worse rebounder. Most of these struggles are due to the Celtics Conference Finals series.

Team Success

This is where the intangibles begin - I place a lot of importance on team success to determine a player's value. Dwight Howard, still only 24, joined the Magic as a rookie in 2004. After closely missing the playoffs in his first two seasons, Dwight has led the Magic for four straight years. For the last three years, Magic have been the best team in the Southeast division over the regular season. In 2009, Magic went all the way to the Finals only to lose to the Lakers. In 2010, they lost in the Conference Finals to the Celtics.

Gasol has had a lot more success with his teams. He has been in the NBA for nine years, six of which he spent with the Memphis Grizzlies. The team moved from Vancouver to Memphis in his first season there. In six full season's with the Grizzlies, Gasol saw Playoffs three times, each time to lose out in the first round. To be fair, the Grizzlies were a much inferior team who overachieved every year in a tough conference. But Gasol immediately showed his class after being traded to the Lakers half-way through the 2007-08 season. The Lakers became a world-class team again and made the NBA Finals for three straight years, winning the Championship twice. What is more astonishing is that he Lakers have only lost three straight games once in the Gasol era!

Both Howard and Gasol have had international success with USA and Spain respectively. Howard followed the "disappointment" of a Bronze medal in the 2006 World Championships with a Gold over Gasol's Spanish team at the 2008 Olympics. Gasol's Spain won the 2006 Championships Gold (with Gasol named the MVP of the tournament) and his team won Silver at the 2008 Olympics. In the FIBA European Championships, Gasol and Spain have won Gold (2009), Silver twice (2007, 2003), and Bronze (2001).

Howard never got the opportunity to star in a packed US squad filled with players like Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, etc, whereas Gasol has always been the first option for Spain.

More Valuable?

The last few categories may have made the questions of better statistics, better performance under pressure, and more team success, but the question remains: Given the same set of circumstances, which player would perform better? Would the Lakers win even more games if they traded Dwight Howard for Pau Gasol? Would the Magic continue to perform so well consistently if they had Gasol instead of Howard in the middle for them?

Gasol has had the luxury of having one of the NBA's best players in Kobe Bryant, the NBA's best coach in Phil Jackson, and an amazing supporting cast including Andrew Bynum, Ron Artest, Lamar Odom and others backing him. Howard's Magic may not be as star-studded, but they are certainly one of the deepest teams in the League, with talent pouring out of even their 11th and 12th best players. Last season, Dwight was surrounded by players like Jameer Nelson, Vince Carter, Rashard Lewis, Matt Barnes, Brandon Bass, Adonal Foyle, Jason Williams, Mikael Pietrus, Marcin Gortat, and others. Stan Van Gundy isn't a bad coach, either.

My opinion is this: Gasol wouldn't be able to carry his team as far as Howard does every year. But conversely, I don't think Howard has the ability to carry a team with a different system (like Spain), or be able to play an ideal complementary player to someone like Kobe in LA. The biggest reason for the Lakers' consistent success since the Gasol trade has been the fact that Gasol eases can ease between being a main player to a complementary team player with ease. His shooting and passing make him stand-out in Phil Jackson's system, something that Howard would've struggled with.

The two also have a curious distinction: Howard is a stronger player physically whose biggest drawback may be his mental ability. Gasol is a relatively softer player but has shown championship caliber and toughness - especially against Garnett and the Celtics these last finals. I am actually of the opinion that Gasol should have been named the Finals MVP this time instead of Kobe.

The other major difference is in offence and defence: Gasol is one of the best offensive big men in the league (perhaps second only to Dirk Nowitzki), but has been exposed for his defensive problems in the past. Howard is a two-time defensive player of the year, a monster in the paint on defence, but hardly has any offensive post moves to stand amongst the greats.

There is one other clear advantage Howard has - he is about six years youngster than Gasol, and thus can be potentially a much greater player.

So, who do I pick?

So if it comes down to it today: I'm starting a new NBA franchise, I have no player on my team yet, and can make my first choice between Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol. There is also no guarantee how good my supporting cast will be - it could be LeBron James and Dwyane Wade or it could be Mo Williams and Jamario Moon.

And with my first pick I choose... (drumroll)... Pau Gasol!

He may be older and lacking in some of the raw atletism that Howard is gifted with, but Gasol will guarantee me a competitive team with any kind of roster.

Phew! Do you think I'm right? Or do you think I need to get some more sleep to think clearly? Both of them came to India, but who do you choose for your team - Dwight Howard or Pau Gasol?

The Ricky Rubio Article

One day, Ricky Rubio will be my favourite player in the NBA.

It was about time that I wrote this. See, every thoroughbred basketball fan has that one player that, for some inexplicable reason, he or she supports no matter the circumstances. Whether the player succeeds, fails, or spends his career in the purgatory of the mediocres, the fan will side by him, give him the benefit of the doubt, and write in a vote for him in the all star game.

In April 2007, Lang Whitaker of the SLAM Magazine found a lanky little 16-year-old kid in Spain named Ricky Rubio and exposed him to me and the rest of the world. The title of this article was something close to 'El Prodigio: The best player in the world you've never heard of'.

At his young age, Ricky was being compared to everyone from Pete Maravich to Drazen Petrovich to Steve Nash to Magic Friggin Johnson. He was six days short of his 15th birthday when he became the youngest player to ever play in the Spanish ACB League, probably the most competitive basketball league in the world outside of the NBA. Ricky appeared for the side DKV Joventut for four years.

With Joventut, Ricky was named FIBA Europe Young Player of the Year in 2007 and 2008, was voted the Spanish League's best point guard in 2008, and was named the league's Defensive Player of the Year in the 2008-09 season. In his four years, he won a FIBA EuroCup championship and the ULEB Cup championship with Joventut. Ricky was recognized as Europe's overall best basketball player by being named Mr. Europa in 2008.

He was 17.



The more I followed his game, statistically and on YouTube, the more I liked it. Here was a youngster who overpowered opponents with his basketball IQ more than any other weapon. He seemed to be a intelligent floor leader who did whatever was necessary to win, with a delicate balance of efficiency and spectacular flair to the game that recalled the Maravich/Nash/Magic comparisons. In his fifth year as a pro (all in his teenage years), Ricky has largely dominated the game against talented full-grown adults in his prolific young career.

2008 was the same year that Ricky was selected in the Spanish senior national team for the Beijing Olympics. The team was one of the favourites of the tournament, and Ricky stood amongst experienced NBA-known names such as Pau Gasol, Marc Gasol, Jose Calderon, Rudy Fernandez, Raul Lopez, Jorge Garbajosa, and Juan Carlos Navarro. This was the first time that I got to watch Ricky play outside of grainy YouTube videos, and he impressed me tremendously. At 17, he was playing point guard maturely for essentially the second-best team in the world. He started in the final against Team USA, and showed incredible offensive and defensive vision in a losing effort. Ricky was later part of the Spain team that won the EuroBasket 2009.

At 18, after declaring for the NBA draft, and promptly taken by the Timberwolves as their 5th pick, Ricky decided not to go to the NBA, or rather the Timberwolves, and his contract was bought from Joventut by FC Barcelona, with whom he announced that he will stay for at least another two years before crossing the Atlantic.



His Barcelona squad are now the best team in Europe, and Ricky is probably the best point guard in the entire continent.

Still only 19, Rubio is sure to be one of the most exciting players to watch in the future. My Knicks have always had an interested eye on him, and tried several times after the draft to snag him away from the Timberwolves.

It now seems that they're trying again, says the NY Post:

Ricky Rubio, whom the Wolves drafted sixth, is playing in Spain this season, switching teams to FC Barcelona. That actually turned out well for the Knicks, who are still marking his progress.
Knicks international scout Kevin Wilson, who's responsible for their pick of Danilo Gallinari, lives in Barcelona and the Regal Barcelona team is his hometown club. It has been well-documented Wilson is friends with the Rubio family and Ricky's parents would love to see the Timberwolves deal him to New York.
Wilson is in town this week as the Knicks have their scouting meetings as a prelude to the Feb. 19 trading deadline and discussing available point guards will be a priority.
Knicks president Donnie Walsh told The Post the last time he spoke to Wolves president David Kahn, his former assistant in Indiana, he was told Minnesota wasn't accepting trade offers now. Rubio is averaging 5.6 assists for Barcelona and showing marked improvement, but he's still leery about spending his career in Minnesota.
"David has told me he wants to bring Ricky over for next season," Walsh told The Post.
Beyond signing a maximum free agent, the Knicks will be in the market for a point guard this offseason since Chris Duhon and Nate Robinson will become free agents and aren't likely to be re-signed.

Come on, Donnie, bring down the future best PG in the league to the MSG. LeBron/Wade/Bosh could use his help. Hell, if the dream offseason turns out to be a nightmare, at least Lee, Gallinari, Chandler, etc. will be assured that someone decent is bringing the ball upcourt every possession instead of useless Chris Duhon. D'Antoni could use Ricky's style well, too...

See for yourself, non-believers:



Whether he joins the Knicks, or the Timberwolves, or anyone else; and whether he comes to the league this offseason or in 2011, I know that I will be voting for him in the All-Star team, senselessly defending his slumps, and buying my nephew his signature shoes for years to come...

Update: A representative for Rubio's agency in Spain believes that the Knicks don't have much of a chance of getting Rubio. Oh, well...