Vintage Hoops

🏀 CRAIG HODGES:

ONE OF THE GREATEST SHOOTERS OF HIS ERA 🎯

Before the NBA embraced the three-point shot, Craig Hodges was already proving just how deadly it could be.

A two-time NBA champion with the Chicago Bulls, Hodges carved out a role as one of the league’s premier long-range specialists and remains one of the greatest three-point contest shooters in NBA history.

🏀 Career Highlights:
• 🏆 2× NBA Champion (1991, 1992)
• 🎯 3× NBA Three-Point Contest Champion (1990, 1991, 1992)
• 🔥 Made a then-record 19 consecutive shots during the 1991 Three-Point Contest.
• 📈 Career 40.3% three-point shooter
• 🇺🇸 Won a gold medal with Team USA at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

Hodges played for:
🔹 San Diego Clippers
🔹 Milwaukee Bucks
🔹 Phoenix Suns
🔹 Chicago Bulls

Although never a high-volume scorer (8.5 PPG for his career), his shooting forced defenses to respect him long before floor spacing became a cornerstone of modern basketball.

Off the court, Hodges was also known for speaking out on social issues. After the Bulls won the 1991 NBA title, he attended the White House wearing a dashiki and later presented President George H.W. Bush with a letter urging greater attention to issues affecting underserved communities. His willingness to speak his mind made him one of the NBA’s most outspoken players of the era.

🎯 Question:

Where do you rank Craig Hodges among the greatest pure three-point shooters in NBA history?

Guess who?

🏀 BOB KAUFMAN

Bob Kaufman may not be a household name today, but for a brief stretch in the early 1970s, he was one of the NBA’s most productive forwards.

After beginning his career with the Seattle SuperSonics and Chicago Bulls, Kaufman was selected by the Buffalo Braves in the 1970 Expansion Draft—and immediately became the face of the new franchise.

In the Braves’ inaugural season (1970–71), he averaged:

🔥 20.4 PPG
💪 10.7 RPG
🎯 4.5 APG

His outstanding play earned him:

⭐ 1971 NBA All-Star
🏆 All-NBA Second Team (1971)

A versatile 6’8” forward, Kaufman could score inside, rebound, and create offense for his teammates—an uncommon skill set for a power forward during that era.

Unfortunately, chronic knee injuries quickly derailed what looked like a promising career. He retired after just six NBA seasons, finishing with career averages of:

📊 12.5 PPG | 7.9 RPG | 2.3 APG

Despite his short career, Kaufman will always be remembered as the first All-Star in Buffalo Braves history and one of the franchise’s earliest stars.

Sometimes the NBA’s brightest careers burn the shortest. Bob Kaufman is one of those stories.

🏀 How many of you remember Bob Kaufman?

Dirk vs KG

2004 ARGENTINA OLYMPIC TEAM 🥇🇦🇷

Starters:

🇦🇷 Pepe Sánchez | Manu Ginóbili | Andrés Nocioni | Luis Scola | Fabricio Oberto

Key Reserves:

Rubén Wolkowyski | Alejandro Montecchia | Hugo Sconochini | Walter Herrmann | Gabriel Fernández | Carlos Delfino | Leo Gutiérrez

Head Coach: Rubén Magnano

Record: 6–2 🥇 Olympic Gold Medalists

Results

Preliminary Round

🔸 Defeated Serbia & Montenegro, 83–82
🔸 Lost to Spain, 76–87
🔸 Defeated China, 82–57
🔸 Defeated New Zealand, 98–94
🔸 Lost to Italy, 75–76

Medal Round

🔸 Defeated Greece, 69–64 (Quarterfinal)
🔸 Defeated USA, 89–81 (Semifinal)
🔸 Defeated Italy, 84–69 (Gold Medal Game) 🥇

⭐ Starting Five Stats (Per Game)

Pepe Sánchez
2.9p | 3.1r | 5.3a | 1.0s

Manu Ginóbili (Tournament MVP)
19.3p | 4.0r | 3.3a | 1.4s

Andrés Nocioni
13.6p | 4.5r | 1.9a | 1.1s

Luis Scola
17.6p | 5.1r | 1.3a | 1.0s

Fabricio Oberto
8.1p | 5.0r | 1.5a | 1.0b

🏀2008–09 Orlando Magic

Starters:

PG – Jameer Nelson (Rafer Alston started during most of the playoff run after Nelson’s injury)
SG – Courtney Lee
SF – Hedo Türkoğlu
PF – Rashard Lewis
C – Dwight Howard

Key Bench:

Rafer Alston | Mickaël Piétrus | Marcin Gortat | Anthony Johnson | J.J. Redick | Tony Battie | Adonal Foyle

Head Coach: Stan Van Gundy

Record: 59–23 (No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference)

2009 NBA Playoffs:

🔸 Won East 1st Round (4–2) vs Philadelphia 76ers
🔸 Won East Semifinals (4–3) vs Boston Celtics
🔸 Won East Finals (4–2) vs Cleveland Cavaliers
🔸 Lost NBA Finals (1–4) vs Los Angeles Lakers

Regular Season Stat Leaders (Per Game)

🏀 Points – Dwight Howard (20.6)
💪 Rebounds – Dwight Howard (13.8 )
🎯 Assists – Jameer Nelson (5.4)
🔒 Steals – Rafer Alston (1.😎
🚫 Blocks – Dwight Howard (2.9)

⭐ Dwight Howard won his first NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award and led Orlando to its second NBA Finals appearance in franchise history.

This Magic team helped popularize an NBA formula of surrounding a dominant interior big man with elite three-point shooters. It proved to be a tough matchup for many opponents during their run to the finals.

🏀 REMEMBER HAROLD MINER?

Long before every explosive dunk went viral, Harold Miner had NBA fans believing they were watching the next high-flying superstar.

Nicknamed “Baby Jordan” because of his athleticism and resemblance to Michael Jordan, Miner starred at USC before being selected 12th overall by the Miami Heat in the 1992 NBA Draft.

While injuries prevented him from reaching the superstar level many expected, he still left his mark on the league:

🏀 2× NBA Slam Dunk Contest Champion (1993, 1995)
🏀 Consensus First-Team All-American (1992)
🏀 Pac-10 Player of the Year (1992)
🏀 USC No. 23 jersey retired
🏀 Averaged 9.0 points per game over a four-year NBA career

His NBA career ended at just 25 years old because of chronic knee problems, making him one of basketball’s biggest “what could have been” stories. Despite that, his dunk contest performances remain among the most memorable of the 1990s.

🎉 Happy Birthday, Ray Allen! 🎉

One of the greatest shooters the game has ever seen.

🏀 2× NBA Champion
🏀 10× NBA All-Star
🏀 Olympic Gold Medalist (2000)
🏀 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame (2018)
🏀 Over 24,500 career points
🏀 NBA’s all-time leader in made three-pointers when he retired

From Milwaukee to Seattle, Boston, and Miami, Ray Allen built a career defined by elite shooting, professionalism, and clutch performances.

And of course…

💥 Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals.
One corner three-pointer changed NBA history forever.

Happy Birthday to one of basketball’s purest scorers and one of the greatest shooters to ever touch a basketball. 🎂🏀

Where does Ray Allen rank on your all-time shooting list?

🏀 Jarrett Jack: One of the NBA’s Most Reliable Backup Point Guards

Jarrett Jack carved out a 13-year NBA career by doing whatever his team needed. Whether he was starting or coming off the bench, he brought steady ball-handling, leadership, toughness, and a knack for making the right play.

Drafted 22nd overall by the Denver Nuggets in 2005, Jack went on to play for nine NBA franchises, earning a reputation as one of the league’s most dependable veteran guards.

Career Highlights:

🏀 867 NBA games
🏀 10.8 points per game
🏀 4.6 assists per game
🏀 3.0 rebounds per game

Jack was never an All-Star, but he was the type of player coaches loved having on their roster. He could run the offense, defend multiple guard positions, hit timely shots, and provide veteran leadership in the locker room.

Jarrett Jack consistently proved that championship-caliber teams need dependable role players—not just superstars.

Sometimes the best backup point guard is the one you never have to worry about.

🏀 Darrell Griffith (“Dr. Dunkenstein”)

Before the Stockton & Malone era, there was Dr. Dunkenstein.

The Utah Jazz selected Darrell Griffith with the 2nd overall pick in the 1980 NBA Draft, and he made an immediate impact by averaging 20.6 points per game on his way to winning 1980–81 NBA Rookie of the Year.

An explosive athlete with a smooth outside shot, Griffith became one of the NBA’s earliest long-range specialists. During the 1983–84 season, he led the league in three-point field goal percentage (.361) while setting an NBA single-season record with 91 made three-pointers. The following season, he broke his own record with 92 made threes.

A devastating foot injury forced him to miss the entire 1985–86 season, and although he returned, he was never quite the same explosive scorer. Even so, Griffith spent his entire 10-year NBA career with the Utah Jazz, helping lay the foundation for the franchise’s rise in the 1980s.

Career Averages:
🏀 16.2 PPG | 3.3 RPG | 2.1 APG

His No. 35 hangs in the Delta Center rafters—a fitting tribute to one of the most beloved players in Jazz history.

Dr. Dunkenstein was must-see basketball. 🔥🏀