Eddie Jones, the forgotten NBA star
Review of Air, 80 for Brady, John Wick 4, and Kings vs. Warriors
Past: Eddie Jones was great, but we never talk about him. Who is next?
Eddie Jones was drafted out of Temple by the Los Angeles Lakers with the #10 pick in the 1994 NBA Draft. He had made the Western Conference All-Star team by his third season and quickly became one of the best two-way guards in the NBA. In 1998, at the age of 26, he was once again named to the all-star team and was the 2nd best player on a Lakers team that made it to the Western Conference Finals.
He was in commercials and on the cover of video games. He was a star. However, I bet that before you opened this Substack this morning (it could be the afternoon or evening, but I like to think my readers all read this with a cup of coffee first thing in the morning), you hadn’t thought of Eddie Jones in years. Or maybe ever. And, if you told me you had never heard of Jones before, I wouldn’t doubt it. He is a forgotten star.
Why is this the case though? Why don’t we remember Jones? Well, if you need a refresher on what was also happening in La La land when Jones was making those all-star teams, here is a quick one: Kobe Bryant. While Jones and Shaq were getting the Lakers to the conference finals in 1998, Kobe was already in his 2nd year in the NBA. He had also made his first all-star appearance that year and despite being only 19 years old and only starting one game (looking back, pretty strange he made the all-star team that year). By the lockout season of 1999, Kobe was starting and slowly starting to resemble the player he would one day become and although Eddie Jones was the all-star shooting guard on the team, he was no match for Kobe.
Eddie got traded halfway through that season to the Charlotte Hornets, where we made All-NBA Third Team in 2000. He then caught on with the Miami Heat where he had a few solid seasons before ending his career by having a cup of coffee in Memphis and Dallas. He never made another all-star team after the 2000 season in Charlotte and since his retirement in 2008, he has faded away from most of our memories until today.
If Eddie Jones stays in Los Angeles, do we remember him more today? Absolutely. I think him and Kobe could have easily co-existed and he would have at minimum, three rings to show for his time with the Lakers. He would probably already be in the Basketball Hall of Fame. However, that is not what happened. He was one of the up and coming players in the NBA and soon became an afterthought. This is not something anyone watching the league in 1998 would have been able to comprehend, which makes me think about the league today. Which great players today won’t think about 20-25 years from now.
For me, Bradley Beal comes to mind. Hasn’t made an all-star game in two years. Currently, has 3 all-star appearances and one All-NBA Team appearance to his name, same as Jones. Played 50 games this year and averaged 23.2 PPG, but never really came up on my radar of players I was watching or talking about. Bradley turns 30 and has time to engrain himself into my NBA memory, but time is running out. But with a Wizards team that doesn’t look like it is going anywhere fast, Beal could fall into the Eddie Jones bucket of forgotten stars and I could be writing the same things about him in 2050.
To listen to our podcast with Neil Paine, click here. Neil is the acting sports editor at FiveThirtyEight.
Present: I saw a lot of movies last week. Let’s discuss.
I was on a movie binge last week and went to the theater twice; once to see “Air” and once to see “John Wick 4.” You read that correctly. I left my couch, walked to a theater, and twice watched a movie with a group of people I have never met before . Movies are BACK!
Anyway, besides my adventures to the cineplex, I also streamed “80 for Brady” twice. You read that correctly. Once on Friday at my house and then once with parents on Sunday. I enjoyed a movie I thought would crash and burn as much as I enjoyed John Wick’s 146th kill. My quick thoughts on each:
Air: A movie with Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Chris Tucker, Jason Bateman, and Viola Davis about Nike signing Michael Jordan. A lot would have had to go wrong for me not to like this movie. Tucker stole his scenes and Davis crushed it as Mrs. Jordan. I am a huge Affleck fan and he once again delivers as a director and as Phil Knight, the oddball CEO of Nike. Even though I knew how the story ended, I was still in suspense throughout the film. I will say, the movie did feel like an Adam McKay production. Think “The Big Short” but with lower stakes and basketball. Special shoutout to Chris Messina as super agent David Falk and Matthew Maher as Nike designer Peter Moore. They came in hot during all of their scenes and wanted them back in the movie anytime they left.
John Wick 4: About three weeks ago, I started hearing chatter about the upcoming release of John Wick 4. At that time, I had never seen a John Wick presentation. So, I did what every red-blooded American would do in this situation: I binged John Wick 1-3 over the course of a few days. I was hooked. If you are a fan of the franchise, you will not be disappointed by the 4th installment of John Wick. A lot of kills, little dialog, and exotic locations are once again back and better than ever. In the Wick power rankings, I have this movie coming in a cool second place, right behind John Wick 2.
80 for Brady: When I first saw this movie advertised, I was somewhat certain it was an piece “The Onion.” However, this movie is very real. And despite Tom Brady’s awful acting, very good. Jane Fonda, Sally Field, Lily Tomlin, and above all, Rita Moreno, absolutely crush it as four older women who crash the infamous Super Bowl LI. The jokes hit and in all seriousness, made hanging out with your best friends as an older person look like the greatest thing ever. Although I wish the last 20 minutes of the movie went a bit differently, it by no means ruins an otherwise excellent sports movie.
Future: Please let the Kings vs. Warriors go seven.
The Sacramento Kings beat the Golden State Warriors on Saturday in a 126-123 thriller that came down to the final minute. The Kings backcourt (and former Kentucky backcourt) went off, with De’Aaron Fox dropping 38 points and Malik Monk recording 32 points, outscoring the splash brothers 70-51.
This was notably the Kings first playoff game since 2006. Since they last played a postseason game, the Golden State Warriors have won four NBA championships. Quite different profiles for teams that represent cities just 88 miles apart.
By far my must watch series of the 1st round, I have Sacramento winning in seven. Winning the first game was a must for Sacramento to show they belong, as most consider the Warriors to be the favorite in the series despite Sacramento being the higher seed.
The Golden State dynasty is officially on its last legs. Steph Curry is 35, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson 33. Meanwhile, the Kings are the up and coming team of the golden state. Fox is just 25 years old while star center Domantas Sabonis is 26.
It is hard to imagine an NBA landscape where Sacramento is the basketball hotbed of California, but a young Kings team defeating the Warriors in a playoff series would be a serious step in the right direction.
Regardless of the outcome, I just hope for six more games. As basketball fans, we deserve it.