Every couple of decades a team comes along that is just magical. They are a team fans talk about for years after and what rising teams get compared to. The 1995-96 Bulls team was one of those, and this years Warriors team is another. In fact, this years Warriors team may be the team all future great teams get compared to.

The 95-96 Bulls went an astonishing 72-10 and were able to finish it up with a 69-13 campaign the next season and a 62-20 season the following year. In 3 season the Bulls won 203 of 246 regular season games. What is even more impressive is that during those same 3 years that Bulls team won 45 of 58 post season games and 3 NBA championships.

The Warriors have not yet had the time to accomplish this feat, so as it stands at this point in history the Bulls are still the watermark for what all other future dynasties are going to be compared.

Back in December, the Miami Heat knocked off Oklahoma City, 97-95. The Thunder sat at 11-8 after that loss, on the fringe of the playoffs in the Western Conference. When the two teams met again this week, the Thunder rolled to a 99-75 rout, taking their 30th win of the season against just a dozen losses.

That's right -- the Thunder have gone 19-4 since that loss to the Heat and are now firmly in the conversation when it comes to contenders to take the Western Conference this year (and have the unenviable prospect of facing an even more determined Cavaliers crew in the NBA finals this summer). So how have they gone from mediocre to elite?

One change has been the return of a healthy Kevin Durant, of course. As the career of such big men as Bill Walton and Sam Bowie showed, and Joel Embiid seems to be showing now, if you can't put foot problems in your rear view mirror, your career will suffer. He is back from his foot issues and is playing well on both ends of the floor.

Schayes was a star big man in his basketball career for the Syracuse Nationals, the precursor to the Philadelphia 76ers. Thought, unlike, other bigs of his era, Schayes possessed the ball handling skills of a guard. His ball handling and passing ability made him nearly unstoppable and ranks him second in the early NBA era of big men behind only George Mikan.

He was drafted by the Knicks of the BAA and by the Waterloo Hawks of the NBL, but the Hawks sold his rights to the Syracuse Nationals. The Nationals offered Schayes more money than the Knicks, so high signed there instead of joining the bigger market Knicks.

When the Golden States Warriors walked off with the 2014-2015 NBA Championship last June, conjecture immediately began regarding the future prospects for the team and its star players, league MVP point guard Stephen Curry and shooting guard Klay Thompson. Only three games into the 2015-2016 season, some of those questions are being emphatically answered.

To begin with, the Warriors have served notice that they intend to go undefeated through the entire season. Of course, that isn't going to happen, but decisive victories over the New Orleans Pelicans (111-95), Houston Rockets in Houston (112-92) and again over the Pelicans in New Orleans (134-120) has to have other teams in the league wondering. If it's possible for a team that finished 62-20 to come back the following season and be significantly better, than the rest of the league is surely in trouble and playing for runner-up status.

As for Curry, his performances this year have been nothing short of spectacular. The truth is he has turned the NBA into his own personal playground and he owns the ball. On the season, he is averaging 39.3 PPG (hello Wilt Chamberlain). He is shooting 58.8% from the field (mostly perimeter shots), 48.6% from beyond the 3-point line, and 95.5% from the charity stripe. As if that isn't a big enough contribution, he has also contributed 7.3 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game. At this point in time, he has no rival to which he can be compared.

Most people know the origins of basketball; how in the winter of 1891 James Naismith invented the game to keep students active in the winter. But what most people do not know is how coaching the game of basketball got started. In the early days of basketball most teams did not have a coach as there was very little strategy to the game - most players relied on their athletic prowess rather than their brains to score. Even the games inventor, James Naismith, did not believe that basketball needed coaching. In his word you "Just play the game". But as the game got more popular players started figuring out how to manipulate the outcome of the game by doing things to prevent the other team from scoring; such as zone defenses.

There were many early attempts at coaching in basketball, even the games inventor was coaching, but the most impactful early coaching advocate was Forrest "Phog" Allen. Allen was a multi-sport star athlete - who was mentored by Naismith at the University of Kansas. After graduating from Kansas, Allen took a few years off of basketball to become a doctor

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The NBA and college basketball are filled with some of the world's greatest athletes and sports minds. At the player level, the beauty and grace of a jump shot is something to behold. In the front office, brilliant coaches, general managers and owners make decisions everyday the affect the direction of their respective teams and the spending of hundreds of millions of dollars. Unfortunately, these are still mortal men who are subject to being fallible at exactly the wrong moment in time. Here is a fun and often painful look at some of the biggest blunders in basketball history.

The National Basketball Association has seen its fair share of record holders from most points to most rebounds the NBA has a treasure trove of statistics that will make you think these players are from another world. Typically “stealing” has a bad connotation but as we look at the careers of some players in the NBA we see that it can also be a very celebrated skill.

Utah Jazz’s John Stockton is the leading “steal” player. Stockton is the only NBA player to have crossed the three thousand mark in steals. Stockton is leading this pack with over seven hundred steals over second placed all time star Michael Jordan.

Malone was known by his now famous moniker "Chairman of the Board", a title he earned because of his uncanny ability to rebound the ball, especially on the offensive end of the court. Not only was he known as a great player, teammate and leader, he was also known as a great man who became one of the NBA's most important ambassadors.

It has already taken books to chronicle the career and accomplishments of the NBA's fifth best rebounder of all-time. After being offered a scholarship to play college ball at Maryland, Malone decided to turn professional and was drafted in the 1974 ABA draft as the first high school player to go straight to pro ball. After two highly successful years in the ABA with the Utah Stars and Spirit of St. Louis, Malone ended up with the Houston Rockets after the 1976 merger between the ABA and NBA.

Surprisingly, unlike most sports whose origins are somewhat obscure, often being the combination of other sports and developed gradually through time, basketball has a very precise and fully known origin. Even the date of the very first game is known, December 21, 1891.

It was all started by Dr. James Naismith, the son of two Scottish immigrants to Canada. By 1891, Dr. Naismith was teaching physical education in Springfield, MA at the YMCA International Training School; which today is Springfield College. While there, he was asked by the director of physical education, Dr. Luther Gulick, to come up with a new game students could play indoors during the winter that would help keep track and field runners in shape and would be relatively safe to play - particularly that it would have a small amount of physical contact so that the players wouldn’t get injured in this game.

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The Utah summer league is back, and NBA Hoops Online will be covering all 3 days. The Utah Summer League, which was formerly known as the Rocky Mountain Revue, was one of the oldest and most respected summer leagues in the NBA before falling on hard times in the mid 2000s. A number of NBA legands got their first taste of NBA action in Utah, including NBA greats Tim Duncan, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash, Karl Malone and John Stockton as well has all-stars like Amare Stoudemire, Tony Parker, Paul Millsap, Deron Williams, and many others.

This year's reboot will feature 4 teams; the San Antonio Spurs, Philadelphia 76ers, Boston Celtics and host Utah Jazz.

MVP, MIP and all the others. Who won what?

If you are like most NBA fans you probably have not paid much attention to the Utah Jazz or their best player Gordon Hayward, but if you have not been paying attention to Hayward you have been missing out on one of most interesting young players in the NBA.

This past off-season the Jazz signed Hayward to a four year sixty-three million dollar contract. A contract at the time that made a lot of Jazz fans nervous.

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The NBA playoff system has been a source of contention and annoyance to NBA fans for the last couple of decades. Routinely very good western conference teams are sitting home during the playoffs while their much worse eastern counterparts are still playing and often winning series. Recently, NBA commissioner Adam Silver has suggested that the NBA may abolish its current playoff system and establish a new system; but what would the system look like and how would it help?

The most common suggestion on how to improve the playoff system is to just take the best 16 teams and have them play regardless of conference affiliation.

With Phil Jackson on board, the Knicks instantly become a viable team in the East, right? The savior for the New York Knicks this season is the Zen Master’s implementation of his famous triangle offense, through the new head coach of the team, who knows this system very well, Derek Fisher. There is one problem though, the Knicks don’t have the players ready to make the triangle offense work.

Triangle: A proven attacking system
The triangle offense has been proven to work and no one has achieved more with the triangle than Phil Jackson. The issue with that comment; was that a product of the system or the players using the system? Phil had the likes of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen in Chicago, then moved onto the Lakers with Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal. Jackson used the triangle almost throughout his tenure in the two powerhouses back then. Yes, this offense works. But can the New York Knicks take advantage of it this season?

Basketball is a business. Icons from certain teams are sometimes traded when the time is right. Whether they are unhappy or aging or haven’t meshed with the coaching staff, trades are a part of the business that is the NBA. Here are the top 10 trades in NBA history (in no particular order):

Scottie Pippen for Olden Polynice

The six-foot-eight small forward from the University of Central Arkansas was traded after being drafted fifth overall in the 1987 NBA Draft. He was traded from Seattle to the Chicago Bulls for Olden Polynice. Polynice was a quality big man but Pippen would go on to become one of the greatest players ever. Playing the role of “Robin” to Michael Jordan’s “Batman” Pippen was one of the league’s best all-around players. He was a top-notch defender and excellent on the offensive end as he went on to win six NBA titles.

As we wind down summer and thus the NBA off-season who have time to reflect on the crazy off season that was the summer of 2014. The off-season was, to be put simply, dominated by the Cleveland Cavaliers. First, the won the highly coveted #1 pick in Junes draft, than they landed the coups of all coups and got Lebron James to come back to Cleveland four years after he took his talents to South Beach to win two NBA titles, and just yesterday they acquired Kevin Love.

The Cavs will also dominate the NBA regular season as well. They may not dominate on the court, though that is highly likely, but they will dominate in the media. The eyes of the world will be on the Cavaliers and the trio of Lebron James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving. With all the big acquisitions that the Cavs have made they have also quietly assembled a solid core of role players.

KYLE LOWRY
Toronto Raptors are solid on both sides of the ball, averaging 105.9 (points for) to 100.9 (points against) for a +5 differential. The Raptors’ point guard Kyle Lowry is potential starter for Eastern Conference team. Since joining Raptors franchise he steadily improved his game and became one of the cornerstones of the team which is now playing its best basketball in years. Currently he's regular starting point guard and is averaging more than 35 minutes per game with around 20 points per game and more than 7 assists. His presence on the court made Raptors dangerous both home and away. Kyle Lowry is also only second Raptor to be named Eastern Conference player of the month in history of the team. All that speaks volumes how valuable Lowry is and what impact he might have on the 2015 NBA All-Star Game.

With Phil Jackson on board, the Knicks instantly become a viable team in the East, right? The savior for the New York Knicks this season is the Zen Master’s implementation of his famous triangle offense, through the new head coach of the team, who knows this system very well, Derek Fisher. There is one problem though, the Knicks don’t have the players ready to make the triangle offense work.

Triangle: A proven attacking system
The triangle offense has been proven to work and no one has achieved more with the triangle than Phil Jackson. The issue with that comment; was that a product of the system or the players using the system? Phil had the likes of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen in Chicago, then moved onto the Lakers with Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal. Jackson used the triangle almost throughout his tenure in the two powerhouses back then. Yes, this offense works. But can the New York Knicks take advantage of it this season?

MVP, MIP and all the others. Who won what?

MVP, MIP and all the others. Who won what?

When we are talking about the top 10 players of a position in the NBA, we have to take many things under notice. It’s not enough for a player to record one of two good seasons in order to make it to the list. Having one strength in one aspect of the game won’t help either. The power forward spot, the one we will examine today, has changed over the years. Some years or decades ago, the power forwards, much like the centers were players who playing close to the hoop, into the paint. They were bulky and sized players, who had great rebounding and defensive skills. If we had to pinpoint one more difference from today’s power forwards, that would be the limitation in their range. Some power forwards have evolved to sized shooting guards nowadays, with Kevin Love and Chris Bosh being just two of the many examples. Let’s break down our list with the top 10 power forwards of all time in the NBA.

The point guard position is one of the most important ones in the NBA, maybe the most important one. And that has always been the story in the NBA. The point guard is the one who has the responsibility to set up the team on offense. He is the one who advances the ball past the half court, trying to figure out the best way the team can score easy baskets. He is the one who has to find out which the strengths of his teammates are and at the same time which the weaknesses of the opposing defense are so that he chooses to play the right play. Of course, at the same time, he has to contribute by scoring baskets and on the other and of the floor, he is the first line of his team’s defense. In a way, he is the on-court coach or at least, that’s how things are supposed to be.

Of course, nowadays, we’re seeing players other than point guards playing the spot. Shooting guards, small forwards and even power forwards sometimes play the role of the playmaker, with LeBron James and Kevin Durant being just two of the many examples. But things were not always that way. We’ve seen a bunch of great point guards passing from the courts of the NBA through the history of the league. Let’s examine the top 10 of them.

The Chicago Bulls as of March 3rd are the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. This might come as a shock to the casual NBA fan, because losing Derrick Rose to injury (again) and Luol Deng to Cleveland (trade) seemed to put them out of the race for the playoffs. Derrick Rose went down with his second knee injury on November 22, 2013, and since then, the Bulls are 26-18. Granted, Rose only played in 10 games this season, and was coming off of a devastating knee injury, but losing a former MVP is a blow regardless. In those 10 games, he had more minus games...

Basketball is a special sport that I remember playing as a kid up to my late teens. And as much as being able to remember any particular game or moment, recalling those days brings back the sensations I had when I arrived at an unfamiliar gym or stadium, put my bag down courtside, unzipped my tracksuit and put on my court trainers, and started throwing hoops and doing lay-up drills to release some tension before the game.

And with all that has changed in a world that has, we can safely say, truly gone mad, basketball is thankfully still there, more or less unchanged, ready to impart the very same excitement and emotion on our kids.

From a parent's perspective, basketball would have to rank as one of the better sports in terms of developing coordination, balance and motor abilities, as well as building fitness and stamina. And it has an element of physical contact and strength contests that I personally regard as being healthy for boys and girls alike

The summer league in Vegas is an event I think every NBA fan needs to experience. The games are fan and there is an energy which you usually do not see in other summer leagues. I have been to games in Orlando, San Antonio, Minnesota, Los Angeles and Salt Lake City and none compare to Las Vegas. The one issue I have with the Vegas league is it’s length. I love basketball but 10 days is a little long and drawn out, plus you do not get to view the star players like you should.

I would love to see other summer league coming back and thin the herd a little bit. I recently herd that the Utah summer league will likely be back next year and that New York is trying to start one.

MVP, MIP and all the others. Who won what?

With the Olympics just a few days away our thoughts turned to the subject of internationally-born NBA players, some of who are playing in London, others of whom are not. So here's our 12-man roster of the best foreign-born players in the Association at the moment;

There's a lot to choose from at the guards spots.

Canadian Steve Nash, now of the Los Angeles Lakers, may be 38 years old, but we figure he's got a couple of productive seasons left in him, especially now that he's got a realistic chance at a ring. It will be very interesting to see how he meshes with Kobe this upcoming season in LA.

Frenchman Tony Parker may be 30, and with some mileage on him, but he just put up some of the better numbers of his career last year, averaging 18 points and a career-high eight assists per game. Now, if he could just steer clear of the bar fights...

The USA team is the clear-cut favorite to win the gold at the Olympics but that doesn't make them an automatic.

It shouldn't be a surprise whatsoever that the American squad is the one made up of the most NBA players.

LeBron, Kobe, Durant, Carmelo, CP3. The list just goes on and on. Every player on the team is an elite player in the NBA, save for rookie Anthony Davis. Even so, it won't be long before he's tearing it up in the league either.

With the Olympics just a few days away our thoughts turned to the subject of internationally-born NBA players, some of who are playing in London, others of whom are not. So here's our 12-man roster of the best foreign-born players in the Association at the moment;

There's a lot to choose from at the guards spots.

Canadian Steve Nash, now of the Los Angeles Lakers, may be 38 years old, but we figure he's got a couple of productive seasons left in him, especially now that he's got a realistic chance at a ring. It will be very interesting to see how he meshes with Kobe this upcoming season in LA.

Frenchman Tony Parker may be 30, and with some mileage on him, but he just put up some of the better numbers of his career last year, averaging 18 points and a career-high eight assists per game. Now, if he could just steer clear of the bar fights...

There will be a small market vs big market match up this year in the playoffs no matter who makes the finals. So this could turn into one of the most exciting finals in awhile, the two teams that make it to the finals this year aren't only fighting for a championship, they're also fighting for which way is the better way to build a team either drafting your star players (Spurs/Thunder) or trying getting them through trade/buying (Heat/Celtics). As everyone knows you can't have one without the other, you have to make trades as well as draft and get free agents to join your team, but there are some options that out weigh the others and I believe both the Spurs and Thunder have figured it out.

Why these teams have succeed

the formula is really simple actually, these two teams drafted very well every year and got three guys to commit to one goal and contend as a team. It is very much a team effort and both R.C. Buford and Sam Presti would tell you that, but every team does well based on the caliber of their star players as well as how much those stars try to win. Both of these teams went after a star player first (although to be fair, Robinson was already there when the Spurs got Tim Duncan). These two guys have always been one of the best players in the league and both are very commited to winning. Next they got the star players to surround these two players who can also take over when their franchise guy isn't doing so well. Though these two teams did it differently, the Spurs had to take two really late guys and turn them into stars because they were still trying to contend for championships. The Thunder were still in rebuilding mode when they got Durant thus got their two guys in the top 5, but it's still the same result. Then both teams put players to compliment their big 3 and continue to build to this day (although, that road is almost over for the Spurs).

Being in a small market might be a blessing in disguise, chances are you won't attract big time free agents unless it's their hometown ot the team has a winning tradition. So they save their money in that sense and will hardly ever go way over the luxury tax, thus giving them flexibility down the road. Which is why the Spurs didn't really have a hard time retooling, they didn't really have any huge deals besides Parker's, Ginobli's and Duncan's (also Richard Jefferson, but they managed to move him to Golden State for Stephan Jackson) and thus was able to add Boris Diaw and Jackson this year. Also they have alot of young guys still on their rookie deals such as Leonard,Green and Splitter. I doubt a team like the Lakers, Celtics or Knicks could ever retool like that so quickly without cutting a massive amount of cap.

Hello all, and welcome to this latest blog from me, as always, please feel free to comment, mock, admire, adore, pick holes in and generally get your teeth into this and let me know what you think. Ok then, lets kick this off....

I have had a plethora of life, career and generally personal defining moments this past year, and I felt it would be nice to mark my return to the site after a long absence by sharing some of those experiences with you, and give you some insight into how things have developed for me on and off the court this year. This blog is therefore in 2 parts; Part 1 is centered around the deeper and more meaningful things to come out of this past year.. a more serious reflection on life. Part 2 will get back to the game of basketball, focusing on the pending conference finals and my thoughts on the upcoming match-ups. I hope you are able to take something away with you from this latest offering, so enjoy.

Over its 60 plus years of existence the NBA has been intertwined with American life and events that have shaped America have left lasting impacts on the NBA. Evens such as the 1970s gas shortages have give us the 2-3-2 format in the NBA finals. But what does the future have in store for the NBA? How will future events such as terrorism, and global warming mean for the NBA? Well, you are about the find out.

This article will look at ever increasing 10 year spans of time starting with the year 2020 and going until the year 2060. How will the next 50 years look, and what changes will it bring?

This is just one persons interpretation of how things will look in 50 years, I am not Michele De Nostradamus or any seer for that matter. My interpretations come from my knowledge of history and patterns in history as well as predictions made by leading scientist and historians.

8) Vlade Divac
Many people forget about Vlade, but he was key in the playoff runs of the Kings in the early part of the decade. Arguably one of the best passing big men in the history of the game, Divac helped get the Kings within a game of the NBA finals in 2003. He was also an NBA all-star in 2001.

9)Marcus Camby DPOTY
One of the most underrated players of the decade. For year Marcus Camby anchored the defense for the defensively hapless Denver Nuggets. He was DPOTY in 2006-07 and lead the NBA in blocks four times.

10) Dikembe Mutombo DPOTY
A long time NBA veteran who has survived nearly two decades of the physical grind of NBA basketball, Mount Mutombo has become one of the more dominating defensive presences in the NBA. He helped the Sixers make the NBA finals in 2001, and played for the Nets in the finals in 2003. Many have forgotten his defensive impact over the years, but in the first three years of the decade he was one of the best.

The best Power Forward of all time… there are many great candidates from many different eras and they way to judge would be so hard, you could go on individual success (stats awards etc.) players like Karl Malone and or you could do it on winning and success of the team they were in, then the top of that list become McHale, Tim Duncan and Dennis Rodman all of whom have been very successful, however I have made my list of the top few PFs on a mixture of both success in stats and success in play offs and regular season. The other problem is distinguishing a PF from the C because of the lack of height many of the larger forwards ended up playing center.

NO.10 Dirk Nowitzki,
Dirk is one of the better shooters of all time, his name is often compared to greats like Larry Bird and Kevin McHale. Dirk over his career he has averages of 22.4 points a game, along with 8.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists a game defensively he averages just less than a steal and one block a game. Dirk shots efficiently with 47 percent from the field and 38% from beyond the arch he is also a very successful line shooter, at 87% from the line (he has his routine in which he hums whilst taking his shot) Dirk has won an MVP, and in the same season(06-07) his Dallas mavericks won 67 games, He has been selected to seven All Star teams, and he has been selected to eight All-NBA teams, with three of them as a first-team member. He is also the first and only player from Europe to win an MVP. His style is more of finesse than brute and strength you seem him do some really good mid range jumpers do open up his inside game, as many bigger men struggle with guarding a player with his permitter abilities.

NO.9 Dave Debusschere
Dave was one of the first super Power forwards nicknames “D” and “BIG D” which stood for defence, he was an amazing player with unreal hustle and determination definitely in his times top handful of defenders. In 1996 he was recognised at being in the top 50 players of all time and is unlucky not to be higher on this list. Everyone who ever came up against would leave bruised, he is one of the most physical players of all time. He was never afraid of trading elbows and really fighting for a rebound or lose ball. He was also known for his Amazing Defensive skills, which helped earn his nicknames, he made the All Defensive 1st team 6 times. In his career he averaged a solid 16.1 points and 11 rebounds a game as well as getting 3 assists and shooting 43.2% from the field. A player like him in more recent times was Dennis Rodman, however Dennis didn’t have nearly the same offensive game as Dave. His style of play almost the opposite of Dirk’s as Dave would power it home more often.

Well before James Naismith invented the game of basketball in 1891, the peoples of Mesoamerica had a very similar game where the point was to get a ball though a hoop. The games origins date back as far as one-thousand years before the common era. The game has gotten many names over the years such as; juego de pelota in Spanish; pitz in classical Mayan; and ullamaliztli in Nahuatl. Each area had a variation of the game with different rules and customs but generally the game was the same. The game, which combined aspects of modern basketball, soccer and modern American football, was popular in both secular and religious life before the Spanish invasion of the area starting in 1520.

The game is played with a rubber ball called an ulama and depending on the region can either be played like soccer were a ball must go into a ground goal or like basketball were the ball must go through a stone “hoop” mounted above the playing court. Like the game itself, the courts vary in size and structure as well; from the very small courts found through-out small Mexican villages to the huge courts found at places such as Chichen-Itza. The size and scale of the game and court had an impact on exactly what type of game was going to be played. Much like in modern sports in areas were equipment is rare, the players had to make do with any substitutes they could find. This appears to be exactly the case with the Mesoamerican ballgame, and is a likely reason as to the variations of the game. In the more rural areas the game is played much lower to the ground and the ball is kicked or struck with the lower body more. In the more urban areas where materials and equipment is readily available the game is played higher up on the body, and decorative protective masks are sometimes worn.

There are many strange connections in history and politics, but maybe none as strange as how an eventual NBA commissioner would play a role in bringing down a president. Before David Stern’s monarchial grasp on the office there was Larry O’Brien. A Massachusetts native of Irish decent born in the birthplace of basketball, Springfield, Massachusetts.

Before he became the commissioner of the NBA, O’Brien had been one of the most successful political strategist in American politics. He had a natural talent for politics and got his very first campaigning job when he was 11 years old in 1928. O’Brien slowly moved through the ranks of the Democratic party until in 1952 a young Massachusetts war hero approached him about leading his campaign for Senator; that young mans name was John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

O’Brien did such a successful job on Kennedy’s election campaign that in 1959, when the Senator was running for president, he asked O’Brien to be in charge of his election campaign. After Kennedy won the 1960 presidential election O’Brien became a special assistant to the president.