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PODCAST

Basketball History 101

I am your author and host, Rick Loayza. This is the blog and podcast where we bring to life some of the forgotten stories from basketball history. I love basketball. I love watching it. I love reading about it. I love learning about its history. I am, for all intents and purposes, a basketball junkie. I’ve coached all three of my kids in youth basketball. In fact, I still coach my youngest each winter. Something just happened to me when I was 11 where I was bitten by the basketball bug. And starting

sports basketball

All Episodes

17:20

Episode 252 - The Game's Greatest Innovator

Basketball History 101 ·

2025/06/10

Clair Bee is one of the greatest coaches in basketball history. But, he is rarely included in the conversation. He won 82% of his games as a college coach. He also contributed three new ideas that are still used today throughout basketball. And he wrote 24 novels for young readers. He might be the largest contributor to basketball outside of Naismith himself.CREDITSRick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voiceJacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisherMUSIC"Happy Days" by Chuck Sims"Horizons"

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19:55

Episode 251 - Building a Championship with the 2008...

Basketball History 101 ·

2025/06/03

The 2008 Boston Celtics were built in one summer and then won the championship. This is the story of the two trades that the Celtics made in the summer of 2007 to bring in Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett.CREDITSRick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voiceJacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisherMUSIC"Broken" by AJ PRO"Horizons" by RoaSPORTS HISTORY

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25:41

Episode 250 - The Zev Eleff Exclusive: The Greatest...

Basketball History 101 ·

2025/05/27

Today, Rick finishes his interview with Rabbi Dr. Zev Eleff, president of Gratz College and professor of Jewish-American history, as well as the author of recent title The Greatest of All Time: A History of an American Obsession. Here in the second part of this two-part interview, Rick and Zev dive into the qualities that define greatness for us, and how that impacts who we actually view as being the greatest.Buy Dr. Eleff's book here!CREDITSRick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voiceJacob

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27:21

Episode 249 - The Zev Eleff Exclusive: The Greatest...

Basketball History 101 ·

2025/05/20

Today, Rick hosts an interview with Rabbi Dr. Zev Eleff, president of Gratz College and professor of Jewish-American history, as well as the author of recent title The Greatest of All Time: A History of an American Obsession. Here in the first part of this two-part interview, Rick and Zev dive into what qualifies something to be considered the greatest, how that applies to a discussion of basketball players, and the uniqueness this category seems to be to the United States.Buy Dr. Eleff's book

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19:08

Episode 248 - The Point of Potential & Damon Bailey

Basketball History 101 ·

2025/05/13

Damon Bailey was probably the most hyped 13-year-old basketball player ever. In rural Indiana people were already predicting that Bailey would dominate the NBA someday. He even made the cover of Sports Illustrated. But he never played a single NBA game. Bailey is one of thousands of players who showed NBA potential, but did not make it.CREDITSRick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voiceJacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisherMUSIC"Take Care" by Julian Avila"Horizons" by RoaSPORTS HISTORY

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15:01

Episode 247 - From First to Worst

Basketball History 101 ·

2025/05/06

Only two players can say that they played for both the best team in NBA history and the worst team in NBA history. Leroy Ellis and John Trapp were those two players. They played for both the 1972 LA Lakers (69-13) and the 1973 Philadelphia 76ers (9-73). This is their story.CREDITSRick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voiceJacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisherMUSIC"Disco Funk" by Jam Morgan"Horizons" by RoaSPORTS HISTORY

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19:12

Episode 246 - The Tragedy of Len Bias

Basketball History 101 ·

2025/04/29

The story of Len Bias is a modern tragedy. Coming from the University of Maryland, Bias was a player that had the potential to be another Jordan, or even better than Jordan. Unfortunately, he was pronounced dead just 36 hours after being drafted #2 by the Boston Celtics. This is the story of that tragedy.CREDITSRick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voiceJacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisherMUSIC"Take Care" by Julian Avila"Horizons" by RoaSPORTS HISTORY

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20:12

Episode 245 - The Might Macs

Basketball History 101 ·

2025/04/22

Immaculata College won the first three women’s national championships in 1972, 1973, and 1974. It was a tiny school with only 500 students and they did it with virtually no budget. They did not even have their own gym. They had to play their home games at a local high school. This is the story of those three championships.CREDITSRick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voiceJacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisherMUSIC"Disco Funk" by Jam Morgan"Horizons" by RoaSPORTS HISTORY

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19:33

Episode 244 - From Earvin to Magic

Basketball History 101 ·

2025/04/15

Earvin Johnson was only 15 years old when a local sportswriter started calling him Magic. The name caught on quickly and soon everyone was referring to this young basketball phenom as Magic. This is that story.CREDITSRick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voiceJacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisherMUSIC"Disco Funk" by Jam Morgan"Horizons" by RoaSPORTS HISTORY

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19:05

Episode 243 - Sam Bowie

Basketball History 101 ·

2025/04/08

Sam Bowie was drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers in 1984 while Michael Jordan still available. Bowie then suffered a series of significant leg injuries who severely limited his playing time and overall production. He gets a bad rap for being taken ahead of Jordan, but we take a fresh look at his story and realize it was not such a bad idea, at the time.CREDITSRick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voiceJacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisherMUSIC"Take Care" by Julian Avila"Horizons" by

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21:26

Episode 242 - Yao Ming's Unusual Journey to the NBA

Basketball History 101 ·

2025/04/01

Yao Ming’s journey to the NBA was filled with roadblocks and other problems. We share how Yao overcame legal and political hurdles to reach the Houston Rockets and the NBA.CREDITSRick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voiceJacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisherMUSIC"Ancient China by Mostakim Harun" by "Horizons" by RoaSPORTS HISTORY NETWORKsportshistorynetwork.comsportshistorynetwork.com/podcasts/basketball-history-101/FACEBOOKm.facebook.com/Basketball-History-101-103801581493027/BUSINESS

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14:04

Episode 241 - Dr. J & Pistol Pete

Basketball History 101 ·

2025/03/25

The two most entertaining players of the 1970s were Pistol Pete Maravich and Dr. J. For about a week they were teammates on the Atlanta Hawks. In this episode we cover how this pairing happened and how it quickly fell apart.CREDITSRick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voiceJacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisherMUSIC"Disco Funk" by Jam Morgan"Horizons" by RoaSPORTS HISTORY

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15:38

Episode 240 - Team Chemistry & The 1989 Pistons

Basketball History 101 ·

2025/03/18

When it comes to team chemistry, the 1989 Detroit Pistons epitomized the concept of a complete team. They had the perfect balance of offense, defense, team leadership, and commitment to winning above individual statistics.CREDITSRick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voiceJacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisherMUSIC"Rock You" by RockSounds"Horizons" by RoaSPORTS HISTORY

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16:56

Episode 239 - The Genetics of the NBA

Basketball History 101 ·

2025/03/11

What is the perfect body type for an NBA player? You might be thinking really tall, right? Well, that is part of it. In this episode we will look at wing span, long legs, and narrow hips as physical patterns that we see all over the NBA and have a direct impact on performance.CREDITSRick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voiceJacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisherMUSIC"Flashing Lights" by MokkaMusic"Horizons" by RoaSPORTS HISTORY

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21:14

Episode 238 - The Best NBA Draft Classes

Basketball History 101 ·

2025/03/04

Why does the NBA have a draft in the first place? And which draft class was the best and worst? We will answer those questions in today’s episode.CREDITSRick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voiceJacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisherMUSIC"Horizons" by RoaSPORTS HISTORY NETWORKsportshistorynetwork.comsportshistorynetwork.com/podcasts/basketball-history-101/FACEBOOKm.facebook.com/Basketball-History-101-103801581493027/BUSINESS CONTACTbballhistory101@gmail.com

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18:17

Episode 237 - The Lakers' 18th Championship

Basketball History 101 ·

2025/02/25

We share the story of the Lakers' 18th championship, or rather, their first of 18 championships. This is the story of how the Minneapolis Lakers won the 1948 NBL championship before joining the NBA where they won 17 more championships.CREDITSRick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voiceJacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisherMUSIC"Slow Dance" by Doug"Horizons" by RoaSPORTS HISTORY

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17:29

Episode 236 - Russell and Red

Basketball History 101 ·

2025/02/18

Over the course of their time together on the Celtics, Bill Russell and Red Auerbach became incredible friends. The two could not be more different. However they were both incredibly competitive and wanted to win championships. They recognized in each other a partner that could help win games.CREDITSRick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voiceJacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisherMUSIC"60s and 70s Rock" by Hyde"Horizons" by RoaSPORTS HISTORY

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19:05

Episode 235 - Marty Blake: Scout Extraordinare

Basketball History 101 ·

2025/02/11

Marty Blake is not well known to the casual NBA fan, but he is considered a genius within the professional basketball community. He was the NBA’s first Director of Scouting and advanced the science of scouting a player to heights never known before. His contributions to basketball are immeasurable.CREDITSRick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voiceJacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisherMUSIC"Funky Retro Funk [Funk Music] by MokkaMusic"Horizons" by RoaSPORTS HISTORY

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19:45

Episode 234 - When Kevin McHale Clobbered Kurt Rambis

Basketball History 101 ·

2025/02/04

In Game 4 of the 1984 NBA Finals, there was one play that turned the entire series around. Kurt Rambis was on his way in for a dunk when Kevin McHale clotheslined him and nearly injured him. This one play changed the series momentum from the Lakers to the Celtics.CREDITSRick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voiceJacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisherMUSIC"Rock You" by RockSounds"Horizons" by RoaSPORTS HISTORY

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18:52

Episode 233 - The Myth of Dr. J

Basketball History 101 ·

2025/01/28

Julius Erving, better know as Dr. J, was one of the most entertaining players of all time. He spent his first five seasons of his pro career in the ABA. Unfortunately, there is painfully little video of his time in that league. Stories about his exploits grew into mythical status because there was no video to prove otherwise. Some claimed that he dunked the ball from the 3-point line. The stories began to grow out of control until he joined the NBA and people could see how good he really was. And

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