So What?

I had to watch Tom Chambers dunk on Mark Jackson several times this morning to get a proper screengrab, and I can’t say that I didn’t enjoy it. After enduring years of “mama, there goes that man” and “hand down, man down” (does anyone have any idea what either of those things actually mean?) on ESPN and ABC, it was quite fun to watch Chambers jam his knee into Jackson’s throat over and over again. Seriously, click on the photo if you haven’t seen the dunk or need a refresher. It’s wonderful. So happy birthday, Tom. And thank you from TV viewers everywhere. (It’s also Derrick Coleman’s birthday today — whoop de damn do.)

Sam Perkins didn’t actually sleep through his entire NBA career — that’s just how he looked. Looks, actually. Big Smooth seemed to have a blood pressure of roughly 12 over 2, never getting flustered, making even “Never Nervous” Pervis Ellison look like a basket case. His career was forever intertwined with the other guy in this picture — from winning an NCAA championship alongside him in 1982 to hitting a game-winning three against his Bulls in Game One of the 1991 NBA Finals. The Bulls went on to win the next four games and the title, but Smooth had made his mark. Happy birthday, Sam.

Happy birthday to Kendall Gill, who we’d rather remember as a high-flying Fightin’ Illini than the dude with frosted tips who seemed to enjoy lotioning-up postgame a bit too much. Also, he became a boxer.

My collection of game-worn NBA shoes is kind of strange — you’ll see. Nike Air Force 2 Lows, Dale Ellis PE. Somewhere I have a Dale Ellis Nike poster (“The Silent Assassin”) where he’s wearing the same shoes (and note the Jordan IIs in the bag). (h/t to Got ‘Em Coach for the poster image find)