ESPNDB Debuts NBA Finals “Living History” Audio Interviews as Part of Second Content Package
ESPNDB, the in-development sports information archive and encyclopedia-style content database, is bringing fans its second content package focused on the NBA Finals. The package is highlighted by “ESPNDB Living History” original audio interviews with more than 20 NBA Finals stars and legends, sharing an oral history of their NBA Finals experiences and stories.
The “ESPNDB Living History” interviews were all conducted between May 19 and June 3 by ESPNDB and include discussions with:
· Angelo Musi (1947 Warriors)
· Red Klotz (1948 Bullets)
· Slater Martin (1950, 52-54 Lakers, ’58 Hawks)
· Bob Wanzer (1951 Royals)
· Dolph Schayes (1955 Nationals)
· Ernie Beck (1956 Warriors)
· Tom Heinsohn (1957, ’56-65 Celtics as player, ’74 & ’76 Celtics as coach)
· Bob Pettit (1958 Hawks)
· Dr. Jack Ramsay (1967 76ers as GM, ’77 Blazers as coach)
· Willis Reed (1970 & ’73 Knicks)
· Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (’71 Bucks, ’80, ’82, ’85, ’87-88 Lakers)
· Jerry West (’72 Lakers as player, ’80s and ’00s Lakers in front office)
· Al Attles (’75 Warriors as coach)
· Elvin Hayes (’78 Bullets)
· Lenny Wilkens (’79 Sonics as coach)
· Michael Cooper (’80, ’82, ’85, ’87-88 Lakers)
· Billy Cunningham (’83 76ers)
· Bobby Jones (’83 76ers)
· Joe Dumars (’89-90 Pistons as player, ’04 Pistons as GM)
· Scottie Pippen (’91-93, ’96-98 Bulls)
· Robert Horry (’94-95 Rockets, ’00-02 Lakers, ’05, ’07 Spurs)
· Avery Johnson (’99 Spurs)
· Steve Kerr (’96-98 Bulls, ’99 and ’03 Spurs)
Select highlights from the interviews include:
“That was the first year of the 24-second clock. Without the clock, we probably never would have won, because Ft. Wayne had some excellent ball-handlers and they would have held the ball.”
– Dolph Schayes (1955 Nationals) on how the shot clock helped Syracuse overcome a 16-point deficit.
“It proved that regardless of what you looked like, you could ascend to have that kind of success. The thing that made it even more special was that neither K.C. nor I even thought about it very much.”
– Al Attles (1975 Warriors) on his historic coaching matchup with K.C. Jones:
“It almost didn’t seem right to win after we’d lost so many times.”
– Jerry West (1972 Lakers), on finally breaking through for his first championship in his 8th trip to the Finals.
“I got a phone call from my high school coach… a phone call from my college coach… and everyone’s saying ‘hey big guy, you gotta play.'”
– Willis Reed (1970, 1973 Knicks), on deciding to play in Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals.
“It’s a shot that I had practiced a million times, and a lot of times it didn’t go in.”
– Avery Johnson (1999 Spurs), on his game-winning shot in Game 5 of the 1999 Finals.
“As it says in one of the greatest books of all time, ‘it was the best of times; it was the worst of times.’ Obviously winning the world championship, repeating as champions, the best of times in a person’s career. Obviously the worst of times, because I lost my father right in the middle of that series.”
– Joe Dumars (1989-90 Pistons) on losing his father during the 1990 NBA Finals.
In addition to the “Living History” interviews, ESPNDB’s NBA Finals content package includes:
· Profiles on all players and coaches of both the Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Lakers;
· Histories of every NBA Finals series going back to the days of the BAA in the late 1940’s;
· Extensive notes, stats and trends from ESPN Research;
· Live ESPN Research-related Twitter feeds during the Finals games;
· ESPN Research trivia questions written by Howie Schwab;
· Newly-designed multimedia gallery containing photos and videos – including select videos featuring the unique ESPNDB clickable video interface powered by VideoClix, which allows users to click on or mouse over various images on-screen, which activates a box containing additional editorial information.
· Profiles of select Finals MVP’s.
ESPNDB will continue to build its data foundation in the weeks and months ahead as it moves towards a full release. When complete, ESPNDB will combine the far-reaching resources of ESPN with the unique output of the company’s industry-best Stats & Information Group to give fans an immersive experience and make use of technologies that harness the collective knowledge of the world’s sports fans. It debuted its first content package in April around the NFL Draft, offering more than 500 pages of content.
-xxx-
Recent Comments