What is your earliest memory as a basketball fan?

[Thunder Muscle]

Technically the Bulls first championship vs the Lakers. But I think the '92-93 season was when I first heavily got into the NBA. The Suns/Bulls finals were when I first got invested. The following season Blue Chips came out and Penny joined Shaq in Orlando. Fall of '94 NBA Live '95 was now on SNES, and my cousin introduced me to Above the Rim on VHS.

We are probably the same age. I loved those 1993 Suns and the John Paxson 3 just about killed me. That is probably the first time I was invested in a basketball team.

As for the definitive Movie of the time. It was definitely White Men Can't Jump for me. Definitive Video Game was NBA Jam.

It is probably because of the age I was but 1993-1996 was a golden age of basketball movies. White Men can't jump, Blue Chips, Above the Rim, The Air up there, Basketball Diaries, Hoop Dreams, and Space Jam were all awesome.

There aren't to many basketball movies that have come out since then that could hold a candle to any of them. He Got Game is the only one I can think of and that was just 3 years later.

Overall it was a great time to be a kid.

No doubt. Loved 90s NBA eve if Bucks were mediocre. I was kind of a Nuggets fan (Mutombo 55 was 1st jersey) but once Bucks got that 94 #1 pick, it was all Bucks.

But man I loved NBA ON NBC. Great theme. Peter Vecsey breaking news.

Penny Hardaway was a favorite. I remember those Shaq Pepsi Big Slam 24 oz sodas or some ****.

Above the Rim was very good, great soundtrack. REGULATE.

NBA JAM. Tecmo Basketball. NBA Live on PlayStation 1.

Bill Walton & Snapper Jones going at it.

What a time to be alive.

[midranger]

3 words.

Re. Act. Juice.


Seriously though, first series I remember was the bad boys Pistons second. Got hooked on the KJ, Barkley, and Marjele Suns. Crushed when they lost to the bulls. Never stopped watching since.

[Mtsportsfan]

When I was 9 or 10 listening to Eddie Doucette on my transistor radio tucked under my pillow so my mom couldn't hear. Eddie was the best!

[Dobber-16]

My earliest connection with basketball was watching games with my grandfather before and after Sunday afternoon dinner. ABC had the NBA on Sunday's, Jack Tyman and Chris Schenkel calling the games. It seems like the Boston Celtics were on every week, with either the Sixers or the Lakers as their opponent. Wilt against Russell, or West and Baylor against Havicek and Russell.

To this day, I think that that 1967 Sixer team is the greatest of all-time.

Watch on YouTube

[stellation]

The earliest clear memory I can recall is being perplexed by Gazey's Seton Hall being robbed of victory in the NCAA championship.

Watch on YouTube

[Johnlac1]

My earliest connection with basketball was watching games with my grandfather before and after Sunday afternoon dinner. ABC had the NBA on Sunday's, Jack Tyman and Chris Schenkel calling the games. It seems like the Boston Celtics were on every week, with either the Sixers or the Lakers as their opponent. Wilt against Russell, or West and Baylor against Havicek and Russell.

To this day, I think that that 1967 Sixer team is the greatest of all-time.

Watch on YouTube

I remember they didn't start broadcasting those games until the start of the second quarter. That directive probably came from Roone Arledge who ran ABC sports at the time.
So every time people go on about the great Roone Arledge, I'd like to throw a few rotten tomatoes at his memory. I didn't care much about European barrel jumping....I wanted to see full NBA games.
Modern fans don't realize how great they have it now. You can see virtually every NBA game and a million college games. They didn't start telecasting the NCAA finals until Lew Alcindor's (aka KAJ) senior year. And that was only the championship game. That was the very first time I ever saw KAJ play anywhere.
And even during the Maravich-Murphy-Mount era very few games were televised. I never saw Murphy play in college and Maravich only twice on tv. We did get a Big Ten network package, so I saw Mount play a number of times.
Imagine the ratings if they had those three playing now.

[GHOSTofSIKMA]

I remember watching my older cousins(who I idolized) tear up when we lost to the sixers early 80s. no idea what year or which time. but we lost and they started crying. i might have been 9 or 10.

I was visiting them in Germantown from ny where I lived at the time and from that point on the bucks were my team.

[Pachinko_]

I remember watching my older cousins(who I idolized) tear up when we lost to the sixers early 80s. no idea what year or which time. but we lost and they started crying. i might have been 9 or 10.

I was visiting them in Germantown from ny where I lived at the time and from that point on the bucks were my team.

You have a Germantown in WI? Must've been fun for those living there in WWII

[AntetokounmBros]

Earliest... I very vaguely remember my older cousins playing NBA Jam and I thought the Heat logo looked cool, but they told me the Heat sucked.

I also remember seeing a random Knicks vs. Suns game on TV (Ewing vs. Barkley) and my dad telling me they were both really good. I thought they were the best teams in the NBA.

My first actual game was around that time too...Bucks vs. Raptors in their first season. I was a big fan of Vin Baker and Damon Stoudamire after that.

[trwi7]

I remember watching my older cousins(who I idolized) tear up when we lost to the sixers early 80s. no idea what year or which time. but we lost and they started crying. i might have been 9 or 10.

I was visiting them in Germantown from ny where I lived at the time and from that point on the bucks were my team.

You have a Germantown in WI? Must've been fun for those living there in WWII

Milwaukee was known as German Athens early in its history. It's still heavily German. And it's not like Germantown was called Hitlerville or something.

[blazza18]

Lil' Bow Wow punking Jason Kidd in Like Mike.

[Dobber-16]

My earliest connection with basketball was watching games with my grandfather before and after Sunday afternoon dinner. ABC had the NBA on Sunday's, Jack Tyman and Chris Schenkel calling the games. It seems like the Boston Celtics were on every week, with either the Sixers or the Lakers as their opponent. Wilt against Russell, or West and Baylor against Havicek and Russell.

To this day, I think that that 1967 Sixer team is the greatest of all-time.

Watch on YouTube

I remember they didn't start broadcasting those games until the start of the second quarter. That directive probably came from Roone Arledge who ran ABC sports at the time.
So every time people go on about the great Roone Arledge, I'd like to throw a few rotten tomatoes at his memory. I didn't care much about European barrel jumping....I wanted to see full NBA games.
Modern fans don't realize how great they have it now. You can see virtually every NBA game and a million college games. They didn't start telecasting the NCAA finals until Lew Alcindor's (aka KAJ) senior year. And that was only the championship game. That was the very first time I ever saw KAJ play anywhere.
And even during the Maravich-Murphy-Mount era very few games were televised. I never saw Murphy play in college and Maravich only twice on tv. We did get a Big Ten network package, so I saw Mount play a number of times.
Imagine the ratings if they had those three playing now.

You have got to remember the UCLA vs Houston Cougars game back in 1968. The game was televised on a Saturday night in the Housto Astrodome. Lew had been scratched in the eye in a previous game so he was probable for the game. The Astrodome was packed, largest crowd to date at that time for a basketball game. Elvin Hayes vs Lew Alcindor. I can still remember this game, that's when I became a Abul-Jabbar fan.

Watch on YouTube

[Pachinko_]

Milwaukee was known as German Athens early in its history. It's still heavily German. And it's not like Germantown was called Hitlerville or something.

German Athens? Well that's confusing... I can't think of a more un-German place than Athens

You know how Germans are known for being organised, keeping everything in order and good at producing stuff like machines and cars etc? Athens is exactly the opposite LOL

[Jez2983]

90's Jordan teams, which also included NBA Jam at the local deli (I was in the country then and there was no arcade ). I remember NBA Live first coming out, and my best mate averaging 70 a game with Sprewell. He lived Spree. I collected Mutumbo cards and had 60-70. They were pretty big in Australia in the early 90's.

Interest faded, occasional local games or following Aussies on the news. Re-interested 2004 when a mate started fantasy. I remember liking David West's bench production then! I knew of Redd being pretty clutch around then, the NBA has some Nestle-sponsored stat for it! Then Bogut got drafted and i ended up here. My mate showed me realgm but I don't think he ever signed up himself.

[RiotPunch]

Seeing a lot of NBA Jam and other bball movie love...





I played/watched the sh*t out of those two.

[Ill-yasova]

My first memories of Milwaukee Bucks basketball were the Todd Day, Eric Murdock teams. I would say what really hooked me up in basketball in general was first of all the dream team, and then watching Reggie Miller carve up the New York Knicks in the ECF.

[ReddRum]

My dad and I sat courtside back in the late 1980's and Bango took me out on the floor and was dancing with me during a timeout. I was probably 7 years old. I know Terry Cummings was on the team back then and was my favorite player...

[crkone]

NBA Jam, Grandmama on Family Matters, and the overrated Charlotte Hornets in the early 90s.

[Perishable517]

I remember watching my older cousins(who I idolized) tear up when we lost to the sixers early 80s. no idea what year or which time. but we lost and they started crying. i might have been 9 or 10.

I was visiting them in Germantown from ny where I lived at the time and from that point on the bucks were my team.

You have a Germantown in WI? Must've been fun for those living there in WWII

Before the world wars, Milwaukee was known as the Berlin of the West as there was a HUGE German culture here.

[Perishable517]

I remember watching my older cousins(who I idolized) tear up when we lost to the sixers early 80s. no idea what year or which time. but we lost and they started crying. i might have been 9 or 10.

I was visiting them in Germantown from ny where I lived at the time and from that point on the bucks were my team.

You have a Germantown in WI? Must've been fun for those living there in WWII

Milwaukee was known as German Athens early in its history. It's still heavily German. And it's not like Germantown was called Hitlerville or something.

Berlin of the West.

edit: Wikipedia states German Athens. But, point being, the city has a very German heritage.