As an NBA fan, few experiences rival receiving the number one pick. And to get the number one pick, your team either has to be very bad or very lucky.  So, for today’s episode, we’re going to dissect the seasons that resulted in teams landing the grand prize. From tank commanders to coin flips, the history of the best number one picks ever runs deep.  Timecodes: 00:00 Start 01:37 Who are the 5 best #1 picks ever?  07:37 Hakeem to the Rockets (1984)  23:44 Spurs Masterful 1-Year Tank Job for...

There are a lot of narratives swirling the web about former Mavs All-Star forward, Josh Howard. Most notably, one video with 4M views titled "how a YouTube video ENDED an NBA career." In today's episode, Howard clears the air on those false narratives and relives the beginning to his career with the Mavericks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After losing in 7 games to the Pistons in the 2005 East Finals, Heat President Pat Riley knew he had to make moves fast. With an aging Shaq and a ready-to-win-now Dwyane Wade, Riley knew Miami's window was shrinking. That summer, Riley completely re-hauled the roster, bringing in veterans Antoine Walker, Jason Williams, James Posey and Gary Payton. But when the team - led by Head Coach Stan Van Gundy - stumbled out of the gate, Riley took matters into his own hands, firing Van Gundy and...

Gary Payton, Jason Kidd and John Stockton. These are the only three point guards in NBA history that logged more games than today's guest, Andre Miller. If there's one thing Miller embodies, it's being a floor general. And in today's league, it seems like floor generals are endangered, maybe even extinct. Miller candidly walks us through his thoughts as to why the true point guard is being phased out of the league. He also takes us back to memorable pockets from his rich 17-year career,...

Boogie Cousins is comfortable where he is. After 11 years in the NBA, which included four All-Star appearances and record statistics, he's began a new chapter as an overseas star. Most recently, he won Finals MVP for the Taiwan Bear Leopards. In this episode, he reflects on the ups, the downs, and everything in between from his 11 years in the NBA. 00:00 Beginning, Kentucky Beginnings 06:35 John Wall the phenom 14:23 Kings 36:50 2018 Pelicans, Achilles injury 56:55 Overseas journey, Stephon...

Devin Harris played in over 1,000 games from 2005-2019, and he had a front row seat to plenty of historic moments. In this episode, Harris shares what it was like guarding Dwyane Wade in the 2006 Finals, losing to the We Believe Warriors in the 2007 First Round, playing for Mark Cuban, mentoring Luka Doncic and Jalen Brunson in his last year and more. Timecodes: 0:00 - Intro 01:07 - Key to lasting 15 years in the league 05:22 - How many players can Devin name from the 12-win, 2010 Nets?...

Trevor Ariza is one of 149 players in NBA history to play over 1,000 career games. His 18-year journey included a rocky start with Stephon Marbury and the New York Knicks, a 2009 Championship with Kobe Bryant and the Lakers and a front row seat to the James Harden show in Houston with the Rockets. In today's episode, TA shares untold stories about Kobe Bryant, how he almost went Latrell Sprewell on Larry Brown, the D'antoni-fication of the Houston Rockets and much more. Follow Forgotten...

Were the misfortunes of Sam Bowie and Greg Oden karma for the Blazers gross mismanagement of Bill Walton's feet? Did Michael Jordan really bring Charles Oakley into Wizards practice just to mess with Kwame Brown? The most notorious "busts" in NBA history deserve for their stories to be rewinded and analyzed. Follow Forgotten Seasons (@forgottenseasonsnba) for more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Forgotten Seasons dissects some of the biggest "swing and miss" trades in league history, examining the risks taken and consequences suffered. We break down the ill-fated merger of Allen Iverson and Chris Webber in 2005, the Pistons' disastrous 2008 Iverson trade, the Lakers' bold moves in 2008 and 2012 and the Rockets trading for an aging Charles Barkley in 1997. Strap in for a candid look at when big risks failed to pay off for NBA franchises. (00:00) - Intro (02:44) - Allen Iverson &...

The 17-Foot Assassin, David West, joins the show to relive the rise of the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets in the mid-2000's. West was drafted to the Hornets 18th overall in the legendary 2003 NBA Draft, joining the team for their first season in New Orleans. But just two years after West and the Hornets' arrival in New Orleans from Charlotte, they needed to move again due to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Just a month before the 2005/06 season tipped off, it was determined that...

Tony Allen arrived in Memphis in 2010 and tried to establish a similar culture of his last team, the Boston Celtics. Allen won a ring with the Celtics in 2008 and observed the work ethic of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, James Posey, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo. Before Allen got there, the Grizzlies had a grand total of zero playoff wins as a franchise in their 15+ years of existence. Most players on the team, besides Allen, had no playoff experience. Pretty soon after his arrival, Allen's...

Mike Bibby and the 2002 Sacramento Kings had one of the most heartbreaking playoff series of all-time versus the Shaq and Kobe Lakers. We dive deep with Bibby on handling that devastating loss, his views on today's player development philosophies, and the underrated players from his era that don't get enough credit. The former point guard doesn't hold back, providing raw insight into the controversial officiating conspiracies that clouded that iconic 2002 Western Conference Finals. Bibby...

Paul Pierce's journey is something out of a movie. In September, 2000, Pierce was stabbed 11 times in a nightclub and came millimeters away from dying. He nearly became the third Celtics forward in less than 20 years to tragically die. Not only did Pierce survive, he became one of the greatest Celtics of all time. In this week's episode, Pierce takes us through his journey returning to the court a month after the stabbing incident. In the 2000/01 season, Pierce played all 82 games and was...

Amin Elhassan peels back the curtain and brings us inside Phoenix's front office during times of great change. Elhassan spent six years inside Phoenix's front office from 2005-2012 and had a front row seat to glory and turbulence. He provides detailed recounts of several unanswered questions from his tenure. Why couldn't they get past San Antonio? Why did Steve Kerr trade Shawn Marion for Shaq? Why did the Suns players rebel against Terry Porter? Was Shaq really a child movie star? All and...

Matt Barnes is a fighter. From 2003-2010, he signed six one-year contracts with six different teams. In this week's episode, we hone in on Phoenix in 2009, where the Suns were entering a new phase. Mike D'Antoni, the architect of the '7 Seconds or Less' Suns, fled to New York, and Terry Porter took the helm as head coach. Porter was quick to dismiss D'Antoni's run-and-gun offense. "If you look at the history of the game, no team that has played that running style has had much success,” said...

From 2000-2006, no Laker (other than Kobe Bryant) logged more games than Devean George. Drafted to LA out of Division 3 (!) Augsburg College in 1999, D George arrived in La-La Land just in time for three consecutive championships. On today's episode, George recalls his first days in LA, a memorable draft workout with new head coach Phil Jackson, Kobe vouching to front office for him during contract negotiations, "Santa" Shaq and much more. George is the only player other than Kobe that saw...

Josh Smith joins the show and takes us back to getting drafted by his hometown Atlanta Hawks straight from Oak Hill Academy. Smith was one of 21 players that were drafted straight from High School between 2003 and 2005. Getting drafted to your hometown team sounds like a dream. But what if your hometown team also happens to be one of the worst teams in NBA history? Well, the 2005 Hawks went 13-69, good for the 8th worst winning percentage in the modern NBA (since 1980). Smith opens up about...

Amar'e Stoudemire joins Forgotten Seasons to talk about his record-setting 2005 Playoff run, why the 'Seven Seconds or Less' Suns never won a championship, Tim Donaghy, the Horry Hip Check, his Knicks tenure and more. To many, these Suns teams are in contention for best team to never win a championship. When Steve Nash joined the Suns for the 2004-05 season, the Suns exploded. They began the season 30-4 and were DESTROYING teams. Phoenix finished the season 62-20 with (by far) the #1 offense...

Dee Brown joins the show and opens up on a turbulent 90's decade in Boston. Brown is the lone Celtic that played Larry Bird and Reggie Lewis AND played for coach Rick Pitino. In this episode, we begin in 1990, when a rookie Brown becomes a Celtic in the midst of a major transition for Boston. After winning three championships and making eight straight Conference Finals in the 80's, Boston lost in the first round in 1988 and 1989. Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish's championship...

Tim Thomas joins the show to talk late 90’s Sixers, 2001 Bucks and mid-2000’s Knicks. He also highlights his rise to the league as the #1 player in the Class of 1996 and his rivalry with Kobe Bryant in high school. We use the “ahead of his time” label pretty lightly these days. But Thomas, at 6’10” with a sweet stroke and guard-like handles was…definitely ahead of his time. Philadelphia was his landing spot in the 1997 Draft, and Thomas joined a squad featuring a young Allen Iverson and...

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...

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...

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...

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...