The Longshoremen of Long Beach...HistoryIn 1911 the Port of Long Beach was founded. It and the Port of Los Angeles directly adjacent to it are the two largest container ports in the US. The port along with the discovery of massive amounts of oil in 1921 led to rapid growth for Long Beach and the establishment of the town's blue collar culture.
After the massive Long Beach Earthquake of 1933, the city banded together together to rebuild, and a group of port workers would start barnstorming the West Coast as a basketball team known as the Long Beach Longshoremen.
While dominant against their competition, they were under the radar compared to east coast teams like the New York Rens and the Original Celtics, and when the original national leagues formed, they were sadly left out. Fortunately though in the era of rapid expansion through the 1970s, the ATFDL allowed them to join the league which they've been in ever since, through good times and bad.
ColorsOriginally sand and sea, the design has been refined to reflect the industrial backbone of the city with the inspiration of copper patina from the 1929 completion of the Villa Rivera, shown here with the beach, ocean, oil islands in the background:
The jerseys themselves are often described as green & gold:
The Current Players, by TenureJoe Dumars, 12th Year in Long Beach, Co-CaptainJoe came to the Longshoreman relatively unheralded from McNeese State. At the time the team was on the tail end of having been a contender, and so initially he wasn't given much responsibility. He would eventually break out with the new core as an outstanding defender and an all-star level scorer and general offensive player. Over time, he's further carved out his niche as an off-guard known for killing teams with the 3. His man defense isn't what it used to be, but with the advent of rules which allow defensive players to work together, his incredible intelligence continues to make him incredibly effective at making whoever he's guarding work harder than they normally have to to get a good shot off.
His teammates though think of him as a sage. Not only does he act as a coach on the floor telling other players where to go and what the other team is doing, he's a marvel off the floor. Go into the Longshoremen locker room after a game and you'll typically see him sitting down with young players going over specific plays that Joe noticed them struggling with during the game and giving wily veteran tricks.
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WISE GUYS WITH JOE DUMARS'S SAGE COUNSEL, DETROIT'S GRANT HILL IS THE TOP NBA ROOKIEWes Unseld, 10th Year in Long Beach, Co-CaptainThere are some men whose sheer presence make us stand a little straighter and walk a little taller. Wes Unseld is one of those men. Built as if sculpted out of solid granite. The immovable object, both on and off the court. His bone-crunching picks, so solid and unexpected, would leave an opponent flat on his back wondering what he was doing with his life. His ability to carve out territory, leaving taller and even heavier men pushed helplessly out of position with Wes’ core strength, center of mass, cleverness, and methodical patience.
In the locker room, Wes’ arrival began a new and better era for the Longshoremen. When he came to Long Beach, the team jolted to its now history streak as reliable contenders, and they formed a new identity that has since come to define a type of player. Guys who aren’t necessarily big scorers, but who are incredibly intelligent, disciplined, and always seem to do the little things right are sometimes called “future Longshoremen”. And this is true both of college prospects and of professionals freshly surrounded by toxic franchise issues beyond their control. When dissatisfied stars fantasize about going somewhere where they do things right, they think about coming to Long Beach.
Because Wes’ relatively short height compared to other big men, he’s long been a polarizing figure for analysis. No one disputes the things he did, he did incredibly well. They look at his height and his lack of scoring though, and many suspected he was a product of a system who would be exposed after a few years. When this didn’t happen, people prognosticated defiantly that he’d never survive an era dominated by 3-point shooting where the game’s move to the perimeter seemed in general to make big men less valuable.
What they missed though was that 3-point shooters need guys to pass them the ball and screeners to get them open. And there’s been no one in the history of the game more adept at both of things together than Wes Unseld. The eyebrows of statisticians accelerated upward as they noted that when Wes was on the court, 3-point shooting on the Long Shoremen increased both in volume and accuracy.
Of course, one cannot talk about Wes without mentioning those beautiful outlet passes. None were better and finding streaking teammates racing down the floor, and none were better at getting the rebound in the first place, and in the pace & space era, people marveled at how perfectly Wes seemed to fit in.
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Wes Unseld BioJerry West, 8th year in Long Beach, co-captainWhile Wes may embody what it means to be a Longshoreman, there’s no denying that Jerry West is the greatest in the history of the franchise. Some have said that had Jerry arrived in the league back in the 1960s he’d have come in seen as a star prospect, but while Jerry dominated the college game at West Virginia, teams just didn’t see him as a sure thing…and as a result the wily Long Beach franchise scooped him up with a relatively late 1st round pick.
In the wake of his success of course, everyone’s an expert on why they knew he’d become a superstar, though it’s pretty easy to understand how you could convince yourself you never doubted him. How many players have the ability to volume shoot from 3, a ridiculous wingspan, and intelligence so keen that people half expect General Manager Doctor MJ to simply hand the job to Jerry as soon as he’s retired as a player.
When Jerry led the Longshoremen to their first ever championship, no one thought it was a fluke. It was clear at the time that the team wouldn’t be so dominant that a dynasty was expected, but Jerry and his team were serious competitors that would put you through hell every time you stepped on the floor against them.
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The also-ran was a championAlonzo Mourning, 4th year in Long Beach, 7th year in ATFDLWhile Wes established the culture of the Longshoremen, the moment when it hit home how powerful of a force it was, and when Longshoremen-mania reached a fever pitch, was when all-star Alonzo Mourning left the Atlantic for the Pacific and joined the team. Many had expected that Zo would spend his entire career in Charlotte and eventually become the permanent face of the franchise and the loss of him is a blow with sting that only seems to get more devastating with each passing year to Hornets fans.
With his arrival, the Longshoremen gained a momentum that kept growing until it peaked with champagne in the locker room and rings for everyone at the end of Zo’s 2nd year, June before last. While Jerry won the Finals MVP, everyone knew that such success wouldn’t have been possible without the defense that was anchored by Zo.
There simply isn’t anyone who plays with more intensity than Zo, which frankly is astonishing to see in a man of his dimensions. It’s part of what allows him to be such a force on both sides of the floor in an era some might say isn’t built for giants. While Zo may have scored more had he played in earlier eras, at least we can say we’ve had the pleasure of seeing him become a legend finishing on the fast break, and any team hoping to ignore him on defense is soon exploited as he scores capably from the rim out to mid-range.
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Mourning's intensity, passion made him specialSteve Kerr, 3rd year in Long Beach, 4th year in ATFDLIf Jerry was underrated as a prospect, Steve could be said to have not been noticed as a prospect at all. While the University of Arizona is a national power now, it was over the course of Steve’s career their that that tide rose. Nicknamed “Ice”, he played with a cold anger that seemed to focus him rather than leave him raving.
That layer of detachment has melted away some in the pros especially after the Longshoremen acquired his services, but he remains a player with a kind of granular intelligence that leads him toward continued learning and improvement. Some say he has the makings of a fine coach.
Steve first came to prominence for having one of the best shooting strokes around in an era that craved that ability more than any before it. On a team with so many brilliant passers, he couldn’t be in a better place. It does a disservice to the player though to imply he just sits somewhere waiting to catch & shoot. Steve is always active and moving. He utilizes screens very well, and he makes great passes off the dribble. Truly on another team one might wonder if he’d turn into a great ball dominant point guard, but on the Longshoremen what he presents is yet another player making smart moves both on and off the ball.
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The assassination of Steve Kerr's father and the unlikely story of a championBuck Williams, 2nd year in Long Beach, 10th year in ATFDLBuck, the former future Longshoremen, now seems like he’s been here forever. After being the classic good guy in a bad situation in Jersey, he came to Long Beach and has played as if he has a second shot at life. No one in the entire league can match the sheer unleashed life with which he is playing and his presence makes the entire court feel claustrophobic to our opponents.
The strength of a power forward with the aggression of a linebacker, he still has the flexibility to take on smaller, quicker players without falling prey to mismatch. A smart decision maker with great efficiency on the court, off the court he’s proven a shrewd thinker and negotiator, and may well end up leading the ATFDL players as a whole in some capacity or starting some unrelated company before all is said & done. Who knows? For now, Long Beach is proud he chose to call us home.
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Celebrating Our Heritage: Buck WilliamsLarry Bird, Rookie.Larry Bird is the difference this year. Last year the team was as good as their previous championship year, but in the ATFDL, the competition is ever fiercer than anything the basketball world has seen before, and the Longshoremen didn’t quite have enough this time.
As happens so often with already excellent teams, the Longshoremen had reached a point that left outsiders wondering whether they’d reached their ceiling. An excellent team no doubt, but it they needed to get better still, how could they even do it? They’d need a player who could come in and not require any of the other players to really change what they were doing. To simply recognize opportunities others would miss and act on them knowing how his teammate would react to these situations. But how can you simply add someone like that?
The Longshoremen had a card up their sleeve however. They had drafted Larry Bird the year before knowing that Bird would stay in college another year, and it would turn out that Larry is even more impressive than they had hoped.
What we’ve seen this year is argued by many to be the single greatest rookie season in history. This wasn’t simply a rookie landing in the right situation, it was like an alien landing on planet basketball. A guy said to be “playing chess” while everyone else “played checkers”.
Analysts have talked about how much harder it is to lift an already good team than a bad one. What we appear to have seen with the arrival of Bird is a player more “portable” than anything we’ve seen before, and thus better able to have impact on a great team than possibly anyone else in history.
Larry instantly became a massive scoring threat as a scorer and especially a 3-point shooter, but he basically seems to be able to play most every role featured by the time, alternating based on the needs of the lineups on the floor and the context of the moment. He can do the Wes Unseld rebound & outlet seemingly as well as the master, his passing lane intuition emulates Jerry’s, and the motor with which fills the court helps strangle opposing offenses.
After leading this team back to the #1 seed, many are talking about him as a strong MVP candidate including fellow superstar teammate Jerry West.
The story of how rookie phenom Larry Bird led the NBA's greatest turnaround seasonPaul Millsap, RookieWhile Larry was hyped this year as a strong candidate for ROY and future stardom, Paul out of Louisiana tech came in totally off the radar despite leading the college ranks in rebounding 3 straight years.
Beginning in the draft camps, to the summer, through this season, what we’ve seen from Millsap is an ever-hungry need to keep working and keep getting better. With his locker right next to Joe’s, he eagerly soaks up the wisdom from a locker room filled with more wisdom than many believe has ever existed. Paul couldn’t be in a better place, and has responded by becoming a “nothing off the table” guy.
While others on the team certainly help the team more while playing bigger roles than Paul, he remains humble and focused, and whenever he’s on the floor he’s finding a way to make sure all impact he has is in the right direction.
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Utah Jazz found a hidden gem by drafting Paul MillsapOn DefenseThe team gleefully takes advantage of recent innovations in defensive strategy made possible by rule changes. This will be a team of guys who play as if on a string together, but also have an energy to them that resembles a swarm of bees. Every single one is known for playing with intelligence and heart, and the result will be teams simply won’t get worry free shots.
Zo is our defensive anchor without question. When he’s on the floor the perimeter can afford to funnel guys in to Zo if they see the potential to trap the ballhandler down there. Zo is a frightening presence down on the interior who is at least as much bite as he is bark.
It must be noted though that above and beyond Zo, the defense is designed with the idea of forcing quick decisions from the opponent. This is an era where you simply cannot linger with the ball in your hands near the basket, and while there’s an opportunity there for a pass whenever a double occurs, the margin for error here will be considerably smaller than it is against typical opponents.
This will be at its most clear as a philosophy when Zo is on the bench. Wes, Buck, Larry, and Paul will all expect to have to help where needed if the interior is attempted to be pierced by the opponent.
Jerry and Larry will have more leeway than other players when it comes to gambling for steals, rebounds, etc. Both have phenomenal intuition and a history of success on this front without burning their team very often.
Beyond them, a veteran Joe and mid-career Steve are not going to be the absolute quickest on their feet, but they are incredibly savvy, and they’ll have exceptionally solid and savvy guys behind them. No opponent should mistake them for true weakness. Everything here will be harder to work against than the opponents in the ATFDL have seen before.
Our defensive rebounding will be very, very good. People need to remember that defense gets most of the rebounds no matter what happens so long as the defense works together, which smart teams do. We form impermeable barriers, and we do so being near psychic in knowing where the ball is going to end up.
On OffenseThis team will operate with virtuosity. Joga Bonito I believe the Brazilians like to say. Quite literally, there’s never been a team assembled outside of a Dream Team that could even claim to have the kind of vision, prowess, and unselfishness that you’ll see from this team.
In Wes and Larry we have guys who can start the break with outlet passing that will bring tears to your eyes, and basically everyone else can make great decisions minimizing the effectiveness of any defender, no matter how good he is.
We’ll also be able to finish the break not simply with dunks but with 3’s as there will more than 1 outstanding 3 point shooting option on the floor at all times.
In the half court we’ll be operating with something in the mold of the Princeton. Players will constantly be on the look out for opportunities to move without the ball to receive an open pass, and that includes players who just passed the ball of course. It’s a scheme that would be difficult to pull off with normal players, but with guys this smart, it’s what they’ll do naturally.
Pick & roll will certainly be featured, and while this will occur between various guys who live on the perimeter (including Paul & Buck at times), no one is better and springing his teammate some daylight with picks than Wes.
We’ll be taking a large amount of 3’s by all historical standards, and the passing will be gorgeous, but this is note remotely a finesse offense. Players with their movement will dive toward the interior regularly, and we have the wherewithal to thread those needles from bounce pass to alley oop.
On the offensive boards to be perfectly honest we’ll be cautious as most are in pro ball nowadays. Our players are smart and experienced and have earned the right to decide to go for it when they judge it appropriate, but they also understand how substantial the risks are in this age where teams are so aggressive in transition.
Player UsageJerry West (38 minutes) – to the extent we have a point, he’ll be it when he’s on the floor
Alonzo Mourning (38) – clear cut for us on the interior, though he can hit the mid-range
Larry Bird (36) – the jack of all trades. In some ways a big, in some ways a wing, in some ways a point, and he’ll play each in accordance to the team needs. For example, he’ll take on more of an on-ball role when Jerry is on the bench
Joe Dumars (36) – wing, does his job, moves, makes life easier for his teammates, and makes you pay whenever you lose track of him
Wes Unseld (32) – definitely slotted as a big, though he’ll be able to be able to wander further from the basket depending on who he’s out there with
Buck Williams (24) – similar to Wes with a little more tendency toward the perimeter
Paul Millsap (18) – similar to Buck with even more tendency toward the perimeter, particularly on offense. Can work on the dribble and hit 3’s.
Steve Kerr (18) – the super off-ball wing, though really can handle fine and an excellent passer. The most underestimated of the lot, and he will have his revenge.
Welcome to Long Beach...