A First Time For Everything


They say there is a first time for everything.  That is about as true as it gets. 


First breath
First steps
First bite of pureed beets
First day of school
First friend
First basketball shot
First book
First locker combination
First win
First loss
First car
First car accident
First date
First dance
First kiss
First broken heart


Oh the stories we have to tell.  Imagine us all sitting around a room taking turns with these.  We’d be cooped up for days, maybe months. 


First death of a loved one
First job
First paycheck
First speeding ticket
First college class
First wedding night
First home
First woodworking project
First baby
First NBA game…


Yeah, you heard me.  First NBA game!  I remember it well enough to still be awed by it all… both mine and my son’s. 

Mine

November 22, 1991.  I was 15 years old.  By then I had abandoned my youthful plan of playing in the NBA when I grew up, but I had settled well into a love for the game of basketball and the still larger than life professional athletes that held court from October to June.  My Dad knew all this about me and my brother, so he bought us all, including some cousins, tickets to attend a game. 

The game that night featured my home team, the Seattle Supersonics, and my favorite team, the Chicago Bulls…with my favorite player, Michael Jordan. 

 




The Bulls were kind of a big deal that year.  They were fresh off their first ever NBA Championship.  Organizers of the game imagined big crowds.  The 17,000+ seats available in the Seattle Coliseum (now Key Arena) wouldn’t do.  But the Kingdome would. 

Opened in March 1976, the month and year I was born, the concrete hulk of a building would seat up to 40,000 people for a Supersonics game.  40,000 people for an NBA game?!  Not a chance, skeptics said. 

They were right.  Attendance for that night’s game between Seattle and Chicago swelled to a mere 38,067…for an NBA game!  Our tickets were 100-level.  Not courtside by any means.  But not 300-can-I-borrow-your-breathing-tube-level either.

The details of the game are blurry at best.  I remember the Bulls won, and I think Michael Jordan fouled out (because of what I’ll tell you next), but I couldn’t have told you yesterday what the score was, if the Supersonics kept pace with the World Champs, or how Michael Jordan played over all.  However, I can tell you today because I Googled the game and found the stats…

The Bulls did win – 112 to 109 – in overtime.  And Michael Jordan did foul out.  But not before he put up 31 points and 6 rebounds!  Now that I know the stats, I imagine I must have been jumping out of my seat.  At least until the game was down to the last couple minutes, because that’s when I made my move.

Now, I don’t know if it’s because times were different then, maybe security was less an issue, or if I was just determined enough to make a “first” happen, but somehow I ended up standing floor-level near courtside of the Bulls’ bench at the mouth of the team locker room tunnel!  My hunch is my brother and cousin were with me, but I don’t remember.  I had but one thing on my mind.  Any guesses? 

Like any star-struck NBA enthusiast past or present, I wanted to see my favorite player, Michael Jordan, as up close as possible.  I probably had ideas of autographs in mind, but by the end of that moment I was perfectly content with what happened. 

The minutes on the clock clicked down to seconds.  Knowing the score now, I’m sure the moment lasted longer than what it seems.  I’m sure I had to wait through timeouts and free throw shots as both teams battled for the win.  But finally, the last second ticked away.  The game was over.  The Bulls eeked out a win in front of a record number crowd.  That’s when things went into slow motion.

Michael Jordan had taken a seat near the end of the bench when he fouled out.  Just as soon as the buzzer sounded, he stood up and began looking around.  I remember he didn’t go onto the court.  He didn’t go after Derrick McKey or Benoit Benjamin or Ricky Pierce to greet them, each of whom had put up solid numbers for the night.  Instead, he moved in a couple directions, and then turned toward the tunnel…where I was standing…and headed right toward me!

Within seconds he was barely ten feet away.  There was a crowd all around.  Jordan himself was surrounded by three or four team assistants.  But at 15 years old I was 6’ 4”.  He was 6’ 6”.  We both were a good few inches taller than the swarm.  Then the moment…

I wish I could say I got Michael’s attention by calling his name, but I don’t rightly remember.  Honestly, it doesn’t matter though.  For whatever reason Michael Jordan looked toward where I stood and he and I held an eye lock for about ten minutes…  Or maybe ten seconds, or maybe not even that, but you know how there are moments as a kid that lasted longer in our minds than in real time so as to burn the memory into a deeper place than just the brain? 

No matter the length of time, Michael Jordan passed by…along with others, I suppose, from the Bulls’ team.  I suppose Scottie Pippen passed by shortly after, since he had fouled out too.  I suppose Horace Grant, with those spectacle goggles on his head, passed by.  Probably John Paxson and Will Purdue and B.J. Armstrong and on and on.  But Michael – his tall strong mass, dark victorious eyes, confident strut – Michael Jordan was the one I remember. 

A first time for everything indeed.  First NBA game and first star-struck moment.  A “first” that relit my plan to play in the NBA again, even if only for a few days.  A “first” I would have never imagined then, but later would hope to share with my kids.

My Son’s

Josiah is 12 years old and he has loved basketball since before he knew there was such a thing as the NBA.  Now he knows though.  And as of a few years ago, he still held to a plan of playing in the NBA when he grows up.  While he is teetering on the edge of bigger and better plans now, my sense is he still dreams of the idea from time to time as he follows his favorite players who hold court from October to June. 

As his Dad, knowing this about him has compelled me to think more than a few times of taking him to an NBA game.  The challenge, however, is the Seattle Supersonics “left the building” 10 years ago and haven’t come back to Seattle.  Now our nearest team is the Portland Trailblazers, who Josiah really has no interest in.

Well, rumors started kicking around last spring that the Golden State Warriors’ organization was eyeing Seattle as a possible location for a pre-season exhibition game.  There are some unique ties between them and the former Seattle Supersonics.  The idea would be to honor the legacy of the Supersonics in Seattle and give the local fans a taste of the NBA after starving for a decade. 

Late in August I stopped by the house between meetings.  Amy had learned that tickets for the rumored game were going on sale in mere minutes.  My next meeting could wait.  I had tickets to buy.  Of course when you’re grappling with tens of thousands of other starving NBA fans online for seats that won’t cost an arm and a leg, it takes several minutes to actually grab a pair and buy them.  Finally, though, I secured a couple seats that were closer to the ceiling than the floor, but I was determined to make the most of it. 
  
The game that night featured the Sacramento Kings, and Josiah’s favorite team, the Golden State Warriors…with his favorite player, Kevin Durant, who started his career as a Supersonic in 2007. 

The Warriors are kind of a big deal right now.  They have won three of the last four NBA Championships, including the past two in a row.  Organizers of the game couldn’t have imagined the number of fans that might turn out, but the 17,000+ seats available in Key Arena (formerly the Seattle Coliseum) would have to do, because the Kingdome is as gone as the Supersonics and the two larger stadiums are open air.

Getting into downtown Seattle at 4:00pm in the afternoon proved trickier than I imagined.  I’m admittedly naïve to the reality of city living…and driving.  We got to know a few back roads and side streets though, eventually landing in a parking garage a couple blocks from the arena. 

 Josiah had his Sharpie, his Golden State Warriors hat and a determination to get some autographs, so we wanted to get in as early as possible.  We killed some time with a monorail ride and barbeque dinner before getting in line for the doors to open at 6:00.  And when the doors opened we bolted inside.  We made our way toward the Warriors’ tunnel, but security was heavy and the available railing space was already crammed with eager autograph hunters.  What was available were open aisles and seats right behind the basket where the Warriors would be warming up.


We camped out there and looked on as one by one the team emerged to shoot around…  Andre Iguodala, then Coach Kerr, then Klay Thompson, then the moment Josiah had been waiting for. 


 

The pressing crowd near the tunnel had swelled to a hoard.  People were nearly climbing on the backs of those in front of them to catch a glimpse of who might come out next.  There were only a couple possible players left.  Security had loosened their grip.  Clearly these people had gone years since having an NBA team of their own. 

Then in a blink the volume of the hoard near the tunnel, as well as others in the arena within eye shot of the tunnel, increased exponentially. Guess who it was?

Kevin Durant paused only briefly to sign a shirt or a picture or something like that, and then proceeded to the court to shoot around.  The best part of it all for this Dad was watching Josiah watch Kevin Durant saunter calmly onto the court to play basketball.  For several minutes we sat by and watched Durant prepare for the big game.  Spin moves over and over and over again.  Jump shots from just feet away, one after the next after the next.  Dribbling back and forth, cutting this way and that way and this way again.  Free throws and lay ups and all the basic fundamentals that you’d think would be old tricks for him by this time in his career. 


 



Josiah never looked away.  I bet the moment lasted way longer for him than it did for me.  I bet it lasted long enough to burn the memory into a deeper place in him than just his brain.  And while he never got an eye lock with Durant – or an autograph for that matter – he certainly got a first star-struck moment that he won’t forget.

Eventually we had to retreat to our seats, further up and further in.  The nice thing about Key Arena though is there really are no bad seats.  We were able to see quite well and Josiah was able to pick out players without hesitation. 







The Golden State Warriors organization did a top-notch job honoring the legacy of the Supersonics.  Players and coaches from as far back as Seattle’s inception into the league were invited to the game and presented to the sold-out crowd with an atmosphere of celebration.  Kevin Durant himself got in on the action by donning a Shawn Kemp jersey when he was introduced.  Maybe it was missed on folks, maybe not, but I thought it was a particularly meaningful tribute to one of the greatest Supersonics of all time who has in recent years fallen on hard times and for whatever reason was not present at the game. 

The game proceeded as expected.  The veteran talent of the NBA Champions overtook the rookie-roster of the Kings with ease, 122 to 94.  Kevin Durant finished with 26 points in 26 minutes played.  Klay Thompson put on a three-point show going 6 for 10 and finishing with 30 points.  Jordan Bell finished with 6 points and 4 assists…  But why would I mention him?  Because he became a “first” that Josiah had been hoping for.

We waited around after the game near the team tunnel, along with hundreds of other hopefuls, imagining that maybe some of the guys would return to the court to sign some autographs.  After a half-hour or less we decided to throw in the towel.  I don’t think Josiah was disappointed by any means.  He showed every indication of having had a great time from start to finish.  But I think there was a noticeable gap in his experience.  So I came up with an idea. 

The players had to arrive at the arena somehow, which means they would have to depart from the arena in like manner.  Generally teams employ a bus to transport to and from airports or hotels and arenas, though often the more famous players find rides of their own.  Never-the-less, it made sense to me to take the long way back to the car by walking around the arena.  Coming around a corner then, wouldn’t you know it, there were a couple buses parked on the curb near a long gated corridor leading into the arena. 

Now it made sense to wander over where a small crowd of folks apparently had the same idea and hang out for a bit, just wait and see who might be trying to catch the bus.  Peeking through the slats in the fence, we saw our hometown hero, Luke Ridnour.  Surely he was invited to the game.  He was a Supersonic for the first 5 years of his NBA career. 

Then came a real tall dark skinned guy with big hair.  Josiah knew him right away.  An all-American from the Duke Blue Devil’s, drafted second overall by the Kings in the 2018 draft, rookie Marvin Bagley III.  Lots of folks wanted a picture and an autograph with him.  I don’t blame them.  Josiah got right in there.  I held his GSW hat and got a good picture of the two of them.  Still no autograph though…until now.

For whatever reason, from behind us, coming from the opposite direction as the other players, comes another tall dark skinned guy with big hair.  This time it was former Oregon Duck standout, Jordan Bell.  Josiah grabbed his hat from under my arm and I had the pen in his hand before he could even ask…

“Mr. Bell, Mr. Bell, would you sign my hat please?”

I was so excited for Josiah.  Jordan Bell stopped before getting on the bus and turned to sign the bill of his hat.  Josiah turned around with the biggest smile.  His first NBA game, first star-struck moment, and now first autograph. 




Not the most famous player in the NBA.  Not even a standout on the Warriors team.  But a “first” moment non-the-less.  Perhaps even a “first” that relit his plan to play in the NBA, even if only for a few days.  Certainly a “first” he would never imagine now, but later will likely hope to share with his own kids.


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