Jim O'Brien – From Way Downtown

Willis Reed: The Game I’ll Never Forget, 1970

I had some nerve going up against the greatest all-around center in NBA history in my condition, but I’m glad I made the effort. It was worth it.

Austin Carr: He’s Number One, 1971

But Carr isn’t just a gunner. He is the complete offensive ballplayer. He rarely commits a ballhandling error and says that he likes to play without the ball, too.

Connie Hawkins: The Hawk Ages Gracefully, 1991

At 48, The Hawk can still fly, but he prefers to lay low and stay close to his nest in the Pittsburgh suburbs.

Billy Knight: The Pacers’ Newest Star, 1975

Billy Knight is only the second rookie in the Pacers’ history to crack the starting lineup right away. McGinnis was the first.

Baltimore Bullets: All Blood and Guts, 1971

We visited the Bullets in their dressing room that night. The pungent odor of various liniments assailed the nostrils. Without Band-aids and painkillers, the Bullets might not have gotten this far.

Julius Erving: The Greatest Show on Earth, 1973

Did Erving need the big-time to feed his ego, feeling perhaps that he’d suffer the sort of way Henry Aaron did by playing in towns where he didn’t get much national publicity? “No, I don’t feel that way,” said Erving. “All during my basketball career and life, the acknowledgement of me has been in a very limited sense.”