Steve, I was a huge NBA fan from about 1989 through to 1995. (The NBA went through a real boom from about 1992 to 1996, in Australia. It enjoyed excellent coverage on free-to-air commercial television each Saturday from about noon. This coincided with the worldwide phenomenon of Michael Jordan. However, like many fads, it did not last, and following the second retirement of Jordan, the NBA disappeared from free-to-air television.) My interest started to taper off after I left school but I still followed the game through till 1998. Unfortunately, I missed the great Lakers-Celtics rivalry, but I still have a pretty good knowledge of NBA history, especially from about 1980 through to 1998 due to my extensive reading, and viewing of basketball shows. When I first started watching, the Pistons were on their way to back-to-back titles, with their hard-nosed defense changing the way the game was played. It wasn't pretty, but they really had the Bulls' number for a good 4 or 5 years, and I felt that they probably helped to mould the Bulls into the team that they became. So while the Bulls' may not have had that one rival to challenge them during their title-run (though, the Knicks put up a pretty good fight in 92-93, as did Utah, to a lesser extent, in 97-98), they certainly had to go through some testing times, against the Pistons, before they were able to become champions. To be honest, I think I was lucky to see the game when I did, because I get the impression that the current NBA doesn't stack up against the game of 10 years ago. Admittedly, I haven't seen much play in the past few seasons, but the game seems to lack the depth of quality players that were around in what I regard as the game's "classic" era. There were so many great players around in the late '80s to early 90's - Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Isiah Thomas, Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, David Robinson, (H)Akeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, John Stockton, Joe Dumars, Chris Mullin... the list is endless. I felt that while the middle-of-the-road player got better as time went by, not as many stars emerged. Do you agree? Whatever the case, I feel lucky that I got to see, in my opinion, the most remarkable sportsman that has ever lived - Michael Jordan. There have been other great sportsman throughout history, but surely none has performed their sport with as much style as Jordan did, or has left people wandering if they really saw what just happened as often as Jordan did. He is the only athlete that I know of that has to be seen to be believed. He was so much better than his hype, and so much more than just a fancy ballplayer. A superb athlete, freakishly talented, complete at his chosen game, and as mentally tough as they come. As you said, Jordan was seemingly always in his prime - in fact, I can't remember him ever being in a form slump during his entire career (not including his comeback year of 1995, where he had virtually no preparation). Simply amazing. As for the game in Australia, it's been through some ups and downs. Nationwide, the NBL became quite popular during the boom period for basketball, 1992-1996. It was on free-to-air television, had decent crowds, and pretty good media exposure. In Brisbane, my home city, the Bullets had their own period of success, from the late '80s through to the early '90s. They were one of the nation's top sides and often drew sellout crowds of over 10 000 people to their matches. In fact, during this period, their profile was not that far behind the Broncos. However, that was then, and, currently, basketball is struggling as a spectator sport. It has no major sponsor, no free-to-air coverage, and dwindling crowds in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. From what I hear, the Adelaide and Perth teams are relatively successful and have quite a profile, but this probably has a lot to do with the fact that those cities do not have as many sporting teams as their eastern counterparts. Basketball's one big strength, in Australia, is that it has very high levels of junior participation. I'm led to believe that it is neck and neck with soccer as the nation's most popular junior sport. Andrew Gaze is undoubtedly Australia's best ever player. Including NBA players, he was one of the world's best shooters. As you said, he was probably a bit slow to be an NBA star, but I really feel like he was never given a fair opportunity to show his wares in America. He actually had two back-to-back 10 day contracts with the then Washington Bullets and played the entire season for San Antonio during their championship year. However, he got very little game time and was well into his 30's during this time. I honestly believe that, if given the right opportunity, Gaze could have been an excellent sixth man due to his shooting ability and all-around basketball savvy. Another Aussie who has had a bit of NBA experience is Shane Heal. He is probably best known in North America for challenging Charles Barkley to a fight in an exhibition match, in 1996, in the leadup to the Olympics. Barkley needlessly shoulder charged Heal just after he had released a three-point attempt and sent him to the ground. Heal, who is about 6 feet tall, ran after Barkley and gave him a shove. Barkley looked surprised more than anything else, but has admitted to having a healthy respect for Heal ever since. In fact, Heal, who is another fantastic shooter, lit the US up that night, and put up a big score. Following the Boomers' loss in the Olympics' semi-final to the US (Gaze was on fire for this match), where they put up a good battle, Barkley claimed that the Aussies were the toughest team that the US had faced, and that Heal and Gaze should be playing in the NBA. Subsequently, Heal played a year for the Minnesota Timberwolves, and had a couple of standout shooting performances. In fact, in one game, he set a record for 3-pointers made for Minnesota. However, Heal only got very limited court time and elected to leave the NBA. He lacked the athleticism and playmaking skills, for a player his size, to be a success in the NBA, but certainly not the attitude. In fact, during the leadup to last year's Olympics, in another exhibition match against the US, Heal, once again, showed no fear in getting in the face of a much bigger player after a minor altercation - it may have even been Vince Carter. Anyway, I hope that helps out a bit. If you want to discuss the NBA pre-1999, I'd be happy to participate. And, as I have finally gotten pay-tv, I might even start watching this year's season as well.