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We all love listening to NBA players answer stupid questions, and there are a ton of stupid questions (shout out to the people who ask awesome ones). From interviews to post game pressers, we care about what these players say and lose our minds when they go against popular opinion.
Now I know the NBA does a great job holding press conferences and handing out big trophies for deserving players. Even the NBPA wanted to get fancy and hand out their “Players Awards” on BET (guess they weren’t that fancy). With everyone seemingly giving away awards, we here at Off the Glass decided we wanted to hand out hardware (but not really) to celebrate accomplishments from the past NBA season.
For our final award in the OTG awards series, we asked four handsome OTG writers:
Who provided the 2014-15 NBA soundbite of the year?
Chris Stewart – Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan have always been brothers. Each had a warrior's mentality when on the court, but were tied at the hip when off it. The spirit of brotherhood in professional sports is usually not a topic of discussion. It just doesn't come into play. The stakes are too high and winning a championship is the name of the game in the NBA.
Nevertheless, the Jordan-Barkley relationship has been endeared up until recent years. MJ has not taken kindly to Barkley's analysis of the Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets as of late, which has led to a falling out between the two.
There has never been another "His Airness" since Michael Jordan's final retirement in 2003. As a player, he performed at a level all to his own. However, M.J.'s basketball decisions in Charlotte should be analyzed by Charles Barkley, just as they should be by any NBA analyst.
It's no secret that Charles Barkley has been known to rub fans and viewer's the wrong way with his TNT basketball analysis. His straightforward and assured style can be hard to hear at times, but his criticism of Jordan was not inaccurate.
Barkley was only doing his job…But it makes sense that M.J. would feel this way. Who wouldn't? As the old saying goes, sometimes the ones that love us the most cause us the most pain. Let’s look forward to the day when Michael and Charles are back on the golf course together.
Derek Steiner – The 2014-15 NBA All-Defensive Team voting was conducted by a panel of broadcasters and sportswriters, and...Tony Allen. Though Tony’s vote technically didn’t count, his on court machismo put him on the forefront of all voters’ minds. Too often a small market team like Memphis gets overlooked when it comes time for All Star votes or off season accolades. Tony wasn’t chancing it.
To set the stage, we’ve got Grizzlies versus Warriors, Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals. Klay Thompson dares to drive the paint, but Tony’s waiting, ready to pounce when – he rips the ball from Klay’s hands, crashes to the ground, and ignites a fast break. Thus taking us to the soundbite of the year – the moment where the best defensive guard in the NBA made sure everybody knew it. Take it away (no pun intended).
Kory Waldron – The NBA season creates great basketball drama, showcases outrageous get-ups and has plenty of quotables that’ll withstand the test of time. There’s only one soundbite that immediately comes to my mind from last season and it came during the NBA Finals.
Following the Cleveland Cavaliers, Game 5 loss to the Golden State Warriors, LeBron James, who to this point was carrying the depleted Cavs, delivered one of the most memorable lines. When asked if he felt less pressure about this finals run due to key injuries; the King calm, cool and collected responded in bold fashion, “Nah, I feel confident cause I’m the best player in the world.” This mentality, despite being in a losing effort, will forever be what separates the greats like LeBron from those who cower in the face of pressure.
Parth Goradia – When’s the last time you played pickup basketball and some old head hit a lucky game winner? If that isn’t bogus enough, dude acts like he meant to do it. That exact playground moment found its way onto the NBA hardwood during the 2015 Eastern Conference semifinals.
I know you’ve done this for years Paul Pierce, but that was luck. Amidst the jubilation, the Truth lived up to his nickname (or not) and provided the NBA world with the soundbite of the year. ESPN reporter and insider Chris Broussard asked Pierce if he called bank, to which Pierce, in dope-ass fashion, responded, “I called game, GAME.”