The Mystery of the Bakersfield 3: Two friends disappeared, a third died in a drive-by shooting. Their families suspected the crimes were linked. How did Baylee Despot, Micah Holsonbake, and James Kulstad end up in the middle of an arms trafficking and murder plot in their California city?
Over the course of 34 days in the spring of 2018, three unsettling crimes played out in the city of Bakersfield, California. The families of the three victims realized their children all knew each other and ran in the same circles, and they began to suspect that all three crimes were connected. But what began as a crusade for justice among grieving parents took a shocking turn when investigators discovered that the so-called Bakersfield 3 were embroiled in a criminal underworld of black-market weapons smuggling, the Hells Angels, unspecified ties to drug cartels, torture and kidnapping, and a convicted felon nicknamed “The Boogeyman of Bakersfield.” This is a genuinely bizarre case, and while I’ve never written up a case for this sub before, I’ve been following this story closely for the past couple years. The last time it was mentioned on here over a year ago, but there have been some huge recent developments in the last year that I thought deserved as comprehensive a telling as possible. And despite all that, it's nowhere near resolved. So without further ado... Part 1: Missing On March 23,2018, Micah Holsonbake, 34, went missing in East Bakersfield near the intersection of Flower Street and Mount Vernon Avenue. Micah was a clean-cut dad who worked in finance, a former high school debater who loved karaoke despite not being any good at it. He was presumed endangered missing until August 22, 2018, when teenagers swimming near a local park found an arm in the Kern River that was identified as his. The rest of his body has never been found. On April 18, 2018, James Kulstad, 38, was murdered on a quiet block in Southwest Bakersfield. A father of two daughters, James was a serial entrepreneur described as the type of man who “could sell a dollar bill on the side of the road for a million dollars if he could just get 5 minutes with you.” His brother Ryan heard the gunshots from the next street over, but didn’t see the shooter, and he claims he held James as he died in his arms. On April 25, 2018, Baylee Parrent-Despot, 20, disappeared from Rosedale, the upper-middle-class neighborhood in Northwest Bakersfield where she’d grown up. Baylee described herself as a “flower child” who had been born in the wrong generation. After facing a number of serious challenges, she was struggling to get her life back on track, and was said to be pregnant and trying to leave her boyfriend when she went missing. She has never been heard from again. Local media christened Micah, James, and Baylee the “Bakersfield 3” after the victims’ families discovered that all three victims knew one another. In the wake of the links between all three disappearances coming to light, Micah’s father told a local news reporter, “Just to be blunt, something happened to Micah… and a month later something happened to Baylee, and I think it’s because she knew what happened to Micah.” And in between them, there was James Kulstad, who ran in the same drug-fueled circles as Baylee and had helped Micah move just weeks before they both were killed. Bakersfield is a city of half a million people, but on a social level, it can feel as insular as any small town — you’re rarely more than one or two degrees removed from anyone you meet — and even in a city where everyone seems to know everyone, it’s hard to buy three friends all going missing within the space of a month by sheer coincidence. But as time went on with few official developments in the investigation, it seemed like people largely lost interest in the case by late 2019. Then, in 2020, the Kern County District Attorney’s office charged three people with a total of 34 different charges, ranging from first degree murder, torture, kidnapping, assault with a firearm, and illegal manufacturing of assault weapons. Two of the defendants were already in custody — and the third may not even be alive. Part 2: Some Local Context By every metric, Bakersfield is just a flat-out terrible place to live. It’s my hometown, I left for a reason, and the reason is that it sucks. Kern County suffers from a slew of serious socioeconomic and public health problems, the largest of which is probably related to economic and income inequality. A fifth of the population is under the poverty line, and crime rates are sky-high, especially drug-related ones. Opioid abuse is rampant, though it still falls second to methamphetamine, the most widespread drug in the area. There’s a significant issue with white supremacist gang violence. When I was 16, my 70-year-old next-door neighbor got stabbed in a biker gang fight at a tattoo parlor by a Hells Angel called “Delano Mike.” A high school chemistry teacher was literally arrested for trying to make meth in his classroom three months before Breaking Bad even premiered. This is a region with a lot of serious problems that go deeper than any one symptom, but suffice it to say, there’s a reason I moved away as soon as I tuned 18. The other thing you need to know is that despite being one of the most conservative cities in California, there’s a widespread distrust of law enforcement outside of the police and courts themselves — and, frankly, for good reason. Corruption in the justice system is widespread, and basically a local tradition dating back to the tenure of longtime district attorney Ed Jagels, perhaps best known for ramming through 36 false convictions of ritual child abuse at the height of the satanic panic. (34 were eventually overtured, and the other two people convicted died in prison and never saw justice.) Jagels’ history of prosecutorial misconduct is also the subject of Mean Justice, a 600-page doorstopper by Pulitzer-winning author Edward Humes about the wrongful conviction of Pat Dunn, who is currently serving a life sentence for the murder of his wife despite a wealth of evidence that would suggest his innocence. In 2002, Jagels’ protege, an assistant district attorney named Steve Tauzer, was murdered by a former Bakersfield police deputy, Chris Hillis, after Hillis allegedly learned that Tauzer had a sexual relationship with Hillis’ 22-year-old son, an addict in recovery; facing first-degree murder charges, he pled out to manslaughter and received a 12-year prison sentence. In 2015, The Guardian published an in-depth exposé about how widespread corruption within the local law enforcement community led to Kern County having the highest rate of police killings in the country: the deadliest cops per capita. And over the past several years, the Kern County law enforcement community has been mired in a police corruption scandal in which members of the BPD abused asset forfeiture laws to illegally seize guns, drugs, and money from suspects, which they in turn trafficked for personal gain. All this is to say that Bakersfield cops and prosecutors have not engendered much public trust outside of their own communities. In a city with high rates of violent crime, law enforcement has consistently put its own interests above public safety, justice, or victims’ rights. That's just something to keep in mind while reading. Part 3: Down the Rabbit Hole Micah In the weeks and months prior to Micah Holsonbake’s disappearance, his family could tell that something was troubling him. Lance and Cheryl Holsonbake both recalled their son behaving erratically in the days before he vanished. But none of it seemed to make any sense coming from someone like Micah, whose family described him as intelligent and hard-working. He had a comfortable upbringing in Rosedale and worked his way into a lucrative career as a financial advisor despite only one year of college. In the photo his family circulated following his disappearance, he wore the suit and tie and placid smile of someone posing for a corporate headshot. But Micah was going through a dark time following a rocky separation from his wife and family, and had been struggling with a painkiller addiction for the past two years. The year before, he’d been laid off from his job after going on disability leave due to depression. According to court documents, Micah owed drug-related debts to members of the Hells Angels as well as “the cartel.” One friend of Micah’s told police his life seemed to be headed in a downward spiral after he lost the ability to see his son, and often got in fights with others at bars. In one witness statement, an unidentified woman told police of a prior incident when she and Holsonbake were kidnapped at gunpoint and driven to an orchard in west Bakersfield. Holsonbake bolted from the vehicle as it was moving, she told police. That account was corroborated by a friend of Holsonbake's who told police that he said he had been kidnapped at gunpoint. He told his parents that he feared for his life, frequently thought he was being followed in his car, and rambled about various people he believed were out to get him, but they mostly wrote it off. James Micah had been hanging around with James Kulstad for some time before he disappeared. It’s not clear when they first met, but it appears they become friendly through the drug scene. Like Micah, James first became addicted to prescription painkillers after being hit by a car, before progressing to fentanyl patches and eventually heroin. He’d been a single father to his daughters Camryn and August. His obituary characterized him as a free-wheeling surfer who held a patent for an action sports product and earned the nickname “Joe Vegas” for his love of gambling and table games. Camryn, now 19, says she and James had an especially close relationship after her mother died when Camryn was an infant, and James often warned her against getting involved with drugs and partying in a clear-headed way, which made it even harder to watch him spiral downward in the years before his death. “I felt like I lost him before I even lost him, but I worked so hard,” she told a reporter. “I was working so hard on everything I could do to make him get better… I was hanging onto hope and whoever killed him took that away from me. I don’t have that anymore, I don’t have hope.” In the wake of her father’s death, Camryn says that a number of stories and rumors about his life surfaced, further complicating her grief. “Some of the stories I’ve heard is that he was a really bad person these last 3 years,” she said in 2019. On the night of his murder, James reportedly drove to an acquaintance’s home in Southwest Bakersfield where his brother Ryan Kulstad was hanging out. Ryan claims that the homeowner allegedly owed money to James and told Ryan that if James came over to his house, he’d “call his boys and they’d come over there strapped,” which Ryan says he didn’t interpret as a serious threat. Ryan and James reportedly argued about this on the phone, and James showed up at the house a couple hours later. Ryan says he had just returned from driving someone else home and noticed a driver in a silver sedan behaving suspiciously as he returned to the house. Moments later, Ryan and his unidentified male passenger heard gunshots on the next block: an unknown gunman opened fire on James from another car, causing him to crash into a parked trailer. The same silver sedan was seen speeding away from the scene. The owner of the home where this all took place was Dr. Sukhjeet Bajwa, who at the time was a chiropractor with a local practice. Bajwa lived in a quiet subdivision in Southwest Bakersfield. It was an unlikely setting for a drive-by, and according to initial news reports, police were at a loss for the motive behind the killing, or what James was even doing in the neighborhood at all. Then things began to unravel: Bajwa, it turned out, had been arrested twice in 2016 and 2017 after driving while impaired, and in addition to liquid heroin, Xanax, and hydrocodone, police also found two unregistered, loaded guns in his car, an AR-15 and a .22LR semi-automatic rifle with a fake silencer attached. All of this was detailed in a disciplinary complaint filed by the California Board of Chiropractic Examiners, and after Bajwa’s name began repeatedly surfacing in connection with the shooting, a rumor began to circulate about a black-market gun and drug trafficking ring in which Bajwa was supposedly a central figure. It was the type of conspiracy theory most people instinctively write off as too bizarre to be credible. But it must have rung a bell to Lance Holsonbake. Before Micah’s disappearance, he told his father that he was “putting together guns for people,” according to a 2019 interview. Lance said he reacted in disbelief to this confession, because the idea that Micah would risk his career by getting involved in illegal gun manufacturing just didn’t make sense. “If you’re this afraid, just stop,” Lance recalls telling him. “And he’d say, ‘I can’t do that I can’t do that.’ He was afraid he did that they would hurt his family.” He wrote it off as paranoia exaggerated by his son’s drug use, and didn’t know how much of it was real and how much was in Micah’s mind. According to Lance, Bakersfield police initially suggested that Micah had left town of his own volition after getting mixed up in criminal activity and, from what I can tell, didn’t make much of an effort to investigate. Though the family says he was last seen on March 23, 2018, Bakersfield police claimed he wasn’t reported missing until April 4, and it appears they waited until April 13, when he’d been missing for almost a month, before BPD made its first public statement regarding his disappearance. After James was murdered a few days later, the Holsonbake and Kulstad families grew increasingly frustrated with the apparent lack of interest in investigating either case, and told the media later that as they began digging into the circumstances surrounding both cases, one name kept coming up with everyone they talked to: Baylee Despot. And within a week, Baylee Despot had also gone missing in Bakersfield. Baylee Baylee Parrent-Despot was 20 years old when she was reported missing in April 2018, and the families say that it was her disappearance that finally motivated the police and local news to start investigating the links between all three cases, for reasons that seem obvious to anyone who has ever seen the media react to a pretty white 20-year-old going missing. Her sister, Katelyn Parrent, describes her as “a girl that’s grown up in a good neighborhood, raised by good parents, had a good childhood, could’ve had everything she ever wanted,” much like James and Micah. And beneath the surface, she was as troubled as either of the men: after graduating high school, she’d run off to Vegas to marry her boyfriend, but their rocky relationship turned into an abusive marriage that ended just a year later in 2017. In the aftermath, she wrecked her car, lost her job, and in her mother’s words, “Her life just spiraled out of control.” In July 2017, Baylee was arrested for disorderly conduct in front of her friend Micah Holsonbake’s house. This came as a surprise to her sister, who had at one point been friendly with Micah herself — she didn’t realize he and Baylee even knew each other. But even though he was 14 years Baylee’s senior, Katelyn remembered him as a clean-cut guy who worked at a bank, and their mother, Jane Parrent, says Micah helped her get a restraining order against an abusive ex-boyfriend. They didn’t see any cause for concern. Still, Baylee’s life continued to spiral out of control. The following month, she was drugged and gang-raped at an acquaintance’s apartment complex. She disappeared for days at a time and resurfaced with “horrible stories” or pleading phone calls begging to be picked up. On one occasion, Katelyn remembers, “She had none of her belongings, no shoes… A couple nights after that there were two vehicles that came to pick her up and we could tell by the look on her face that she didn’t want to go, but if she didn’t go, we didn’t know what would happen.” Matthew Not long after that incident, Baylee had a new boyfriend. Matthew Queen was 43 years old, a convicted felon, and an all-around bad dude. Not much is known about his background, with one major exception: in the early 2000s, he plead guilty to one count of making a false statement to a federal firearms dealer after he used a false address, but his real name, to purchase $11,000 in guns from dealers in Indiana. Many of those guns were later recovered at crime scenes in Detroit and Chicago. If you want an idea of what type of criminal mastermind we’re dealing with here, I recommend reading just the final ruling on that case from the 7th Circuit court of appeals:
“We reject Queen's argument that gun buyers may lie about a street address so long as they live within the state where the gun is sold . . . Queen in fact had once lived in an apartment at 2072 Egret Court, but he did not live at this address when he completed the forms and bought the guns because he was evicted on December 18, 2000, for nonpayment of rent."
Great. Sounds like a great guy. Lest you assume Matthew Queen might have hypothetically seen the error of his ways and cleaned up his act after this early foray into gunrunning, he absolutely did not. In December 2017, just a couple weeks into Matthew and Baylee’s relationship, they were arrested after police found four unmarked, unregistered, loaded assault rifles in Matthew’s car during a traffic stop. Neither he or Baylee said a word to the police, but while Matthew (who, as a convicted felon, was prohibited from carrying any guns or ammunition at all) was charged with several felonies, while Baylee pled no contest to a lesser misdemeanor and received three years probation. Later that month, she moved in with Matthew, his mother, and his estranged wife. Baylee’s family saw and heard even less from her. And in April, a month after Micah’s disappearance and just one day after she and Matthew attended a court date for the weapons charges, Baylee went missing. Her mother believed she was pregnant with Matthew’s child and was trying to leave him at the time. Matthew told police that she had connections through her father's side of the family with a Mexican drug cartel and believed they had something to do with her disappearance. Local interest in the case reached an even greater frenzy after Micah’s severed arm was found in the Kern River in Hart Park on the east side of town, not far from from where he was last seen. It was positively identified in late December 2018. By this point, the family of the Bakersfield 3's investigation had amassed around 10,000 followers on Facebook and another 5,000 in a private group, and the story was a fixture on local news. Another curveball came around this time too, when a former friend of Baylee’s named Sara Wedemeyer, 21, filed a restraining order against Baylee’s mother, Jane Parrent. As it was reported, Sara had moved in with Matthew mere weeks after Baylee disappeared, and she was four months pregnant with his child when she attempted to take out legal action against Mrs. Parrent, whom she claimed was harassing her and her “fiancé” by hanging up missing person fliers in their neighborhood. The restraining order wasn't granted, but Queen allegedly began making disturbing social media posts about Baylee, Micah, and the Parrent family, with Mrs. Parrent as the primary target. And in mid-2019, the investigation seemed to grind to a halt. Part 4: New Developments On May 27, 2020, roughly two years after the first developments in the Bakersfield 3 case, the Kern County District Attorney held at a press conference to announce they believe Baylee Despot and Matthew Queen “deliberately and with premeditation" murdered Micah Holsonbake. Despot and Queen, along with a third man, Matthew Vandecasteele, were charged with the alleged kidnapping, torture, and first degree murder, as well as unlawful manufacturing of assault weapons, conspiracy relating to the murder and torture plot, and a slew of other assault and gun charges (34 in total). Queen and Vandacasteele were both in custody at the time the charges against them were filed, but even though Baylee still has not been seen or heard from since 2018, the DA’s office issued a warrant for her arrest, leading some to speculate she may still be alive. According to court records, Matthew Queen allegedly believed that Micah Holsonbake had stolen a .44-caliber revolver from him. He and Baylee Despot kidnapped Micah, zip-tied him to a chair in Matthew Vandecasteele’s garage, and attempted to torture him in order to extract information from him. A blood stain in the garage matched Holsonbake’s DNA. Vandecasteele told police that he didn’t see or hear Micah on the night he was killed, but knew that the other two had brought him there to question him. After several hours, Baylee allegedly returned to the apartment seeming “flustered” and changed her clothes in a back bedroom. Before they left, “Queen told Vandecasteele that he had cleaned everything up and it was OK to go inside the garage.” The next day, Queen returned to Vandecasteele’s apartment and said he “needed help disposing of something” in a large black storage container in the trunk of his car. Vandecasteele claims he refused to help with disposing of the body, but according police reports, his Google history during that period of time included searches for “lye chemical formula,” “lye for sale” and “how long does it take to dissolve a human body,” as well as browsing for lye on the Home Depot and Lowe’s websites. Queen, Despot, and Vandacasteele allegedly manufactured and sold AR-15s from gun build kits. Other witness testimony released by the courts described various kidnappings that witnesses allege Queen, known as “the boogeyman of Bakersfield,” committed. In one incident, Queen allegedly handcuffed one victim to a chair and put an electric dog collar around his neck because he believed the man had stolen a gun part from him. Another witness said that Queen and Vandacasteele showed up armed at his hotel room after the witness told Baylee where he was staying, and that he believed they intended to kill him because he’d been arrested “with a large quantity of narcotics that he was fronted or given without paying for them and the people who had gave him the narcotics could have been upset.” (According to the police report, surveillance footage from the hotel corroborates this account.) It’s also believed that he made anonymous calls to the police tip line to misdirect the investigation away from himself: one such caller referred to Baylee as a “sugar momma,” a phrase which Queen reportedly used to describe her when he spoke to investigators in August 2019, and he also used the same pseudonym on the tip line that he did on social media. When police questioned him around this time, he denied being part of a criminal enterprise and claimed he could barely pay his bills. Then, while out on bail for unrelated gun charges in January 2019, Queen allegedly kidnapped another man at gunpoint and forced him to walk into the Kern River while Queen accused him of snitching to the cops. He’s been in custody since July of 2019 due to this kidnapping. Part 5: No Body, No Crime So where is Baylee Despot? According to official statements from law enforcement, no one knows. After the warrant was issued for her arrest, a wave of speculation followed that she had faked her own death or fled to Mexico with the help of unspecified “cartel connections.” That story seems less and less likely as more details have emerged from court documents. Vandecasteele told the police that Despot was “falling apart mentally” after murdering Micah. He and Queen both suspected that she was cooperating with police on an investigation relating to the illegal weapons charges, called her a “snitch” in one interview, and told investigators he believed Queen “made her disappear.” In one interview, a female witness said Queen kidnapped her at gunpoint, took her to an orchard, and held an AR-15 to her head while he questioned her about whether Baylee was faithful to him. When police questioned him about Baylee’s disappearance in July 2019, he said was depressed and off her medications, and she had said she wanted to die. When the investigator told Queen there had been allegations of domestic violence involving him and Baylee, some of which resulted in bruises, Queen said he never laid a hand on anyone. He told the detective she was clumsy. Despite all of this, Jane Parrent says that police have told her that they don’t consider Matthew Queen a person of interest in Baylee’s disappearance, and that there is "no known physical evidence that definitively confirms her possible death." She is now offering her own personally-funded $1000 reward for information about her daughter’s location. The rest of Micah Holsonbake’s body has not been recovered, though according to court documents, investigators believe Queen may have buried him in the hills near Taft, a rural area about 45 minutes west of Bakersfield. There have been no developments in the investigation of James Kulstad’s murder since 2018. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Bakersfield Police Department at (661) 327-7111, or the Kern Secret Witness program at (661) 322-4040. A reward of up to $10,000 is being offered for information leading to an arrest in this case. Ultimately, what really frustrates me about this case is that even after this avalanche of charges, so many questions remain unresolved, and not just what happened and who did it, but why. If the investigation concluded that James Kulstad’s death was unrelated to the disappearances of Baylee and Micah, who ordered his murder, and what was the reason? To what extent was the chiropractor involved with Queen and Vandecasteele’s trafficking racket? Was Sara Wedemeyer involved with Baylee’s disappearance, and if not, how’d she end up living with Matthew and expecting his child just two months after her “friend” went missing? Why did Sara and Matthew harass Baylee’s mother for months after the disappearance? More than anything, I’m still lost as to Baylee Despot’s motivation for any of this. Did she just find herself in too deep with no way out? Did she actively make the choice to become a gunrunner? Did Matthew, looking to settle a grudge against Micah, seek out a relationship with Baylee with the intention of using her to get to him? Did he kill her because she was cooperating with the cops, because she attempted to leave him, or because he was just a sociopath who felt she was no longer useful? Or is there a chance that law enforcement knows more than they’ve let on? When investigators told Mrs. Parrent that Matthew isn’t a suspect in her disappearance, was that an indication that she may, in fact, be alive? Probably not. But at this point, anything is possible. Sources:
“‘Bakersfield 3’ member Micah Holsonbake was afraid of murder suspect Matthew Queen, became increasingly paranoid before he disappeared, documents say,” 6/17/20
Best Run in terms of anything Ingrid Bergman: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Casablanca, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Gaslight, Spellbound, The Bells of St. Mary’s, Notorious, June Night, Adam Had Four Sons, Rage in Heaven, Saratoga Trunk, Swedes in America, Arch of Triumph, American Creed, Under Capricorn, and Joan of Arc. Olivia De Havilland: The Snake Pit, Santa Fe Trail, Their Boots On, The Heiress, To Each His Own, In This Our Life, My Love Came Back, The Strawberry Blonde, The Male Animal, The Well Groomed Bride, Hold Back the Dawn, Thank Your Lucky Stars, Devotion, The Dark Mirror, Princess O'Rourke, and Government Girl. Judy Garland: Andy Hardy Meets Debutante, Strike Up the Band, Little Nellie Kelly, Meet Me in St. Louis, Presenting Lily Mars, For Me and My Gal, Thousands Cheer, Girl Crazy, Babes on Broadway, Life Begins for Andy Hardy, Ziegfeld Girl, In the Good Old Summertime, The Pirate, Words and Music, Easter Parade, The Harvey Girls, Till the Clouds Roll By, and Ziegfeld Follies. Gene Tierney: Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake, Heaven Can Wait, Laura, Leave Her to Heaven, Dragonwyck, The Razor’s Edge, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Tobacco Road, The Return of Frank James, Hudson's Bay, The Shanghai Gesture, A Bell for Adano, China Girl, Sundown, Belle Starr, Thunder Birds, Rings on Her Fingers, The Iron Curtain, and That Wonderful Urge. Bette Davis: In This Our Life, Thank Your Lucky Stars, The Man Who Came to Dinner, The Little Foxes, The Letter, Now, Voyager, Beyond the Forest, Winter Meeting, June Bride, A Stolen Life, Deception, Hollywood Canteen, Old Acquaintance, Mr. Skeffington, Shining Victory, The Bride Came C.O.D., Watch on the Rhine, All This, and Heaven Too, and The Corn Is Green. Joan Crawford: When Ladies Meet, Possessed, Mildred Pierce, Hollywood Canteen, Humoresque, Flamingo Road, It's a Great Feeling, Daisy Kenyon, Reunion in France, They All Kissed the Bride, Strange Cargo, Susan and God, Above Suspicion, and A Woman's Face. 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Rita Hayworth: Gilda, Cover Girl, Blondie on a Budget, Tales of Manhattan, You Were Never Lovelier, The Lady from Shanghai, The Strawberry Blonde, You'll Never Get Rich, The Loves of Carmen, Affectionately Yours, My Gal Sal, Susan and God, Down to Earth, Tonight and Every Night, Blood and Sand, Angels Over Broadway, The Lady in Question, Music in My Heart, and Blondie on a Budget. Joan Fontaine: Rebecca, Suspicion, The Constant Nymph, Jane Eyre, The Affairs of Susan, Ivy, Letter from an Unknown Woman, This Above All, Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, The Emperor Waltz, From This Day Forward, You Gotta Stay Happy, and Frenchman's Creek. Jennifer Jones: The Song of Bernadette, Since You Went Away, Love Letters, Duel in the Sun, Madame Bovary, We Were Strangers, Portrait of Jennie, and Cluny Brown. Hedy Lamarr: Comrade X, Come Live With Me, H.M. Pulham, Esq., Samson and Delilah, Tortilla Flat, Dishonored Lady, Ziegfeld Girl, Boom Town, Crossroads, The Strange Woman, White Cargo, Experiment Perilous, The Conspirators, Let's Live a Little, I Take This Woman, and The Heavenly Body. Ginger Rogers: The Barkleys of Broadway, Tender Comrade, Kitty Foyle, Tom, Dick and Harry, I'll Be Seeing You, Roxie Hart, The Major and the Minor, Lucky Partners, Primrose Path, Week-End at the Waldorf, Once Upon a Honeymoon, Lady in the Dark, Magnificent Doll, Heartbeat, and It Had to Be You. Barbara Stanwyck: East Side, West Side, Hollywood Canteen, Ball of Fire, The Lady Eve, Sorry, Wrong Number, Double Indemnity, Meet John Doe, You Belong to Me, Remember the Night, The Gay Sisters, The Great Man's Lady, Flesh and Fantasy, Lady of Burlesque, California, My Reputation, The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, The Bride Wore Boots, Christmas in Connecticut, Cry Wolf, The Two Mrs. Carrolls, Variety Girl, The Other Love, The Lady Gambles, and B.F.'s Daughter. Veronica Lake: Sullivan’s Travels, This Gun for Hire, The Glass Key, I Married a Witch, So Proudly We Hail, Bring on the Girls, Miss Susie Slagle’s, The Blue Dahlia, I Wanted Wings, Forty Little Mothers, The Hour Before the Dawn, Ramrod, Hold That Blonde, Duffy's Tavern, Miss Susie Slagle's, Out of This World, Slattery's Hurricane, The Sainted Sisters, Isn't It Romantic?, Star Spangled Rhythm, and Saigon. Setsuko Hara: Late Spring, Toyuki, Hebihimesama, Totsugu hi made, Onna no machi, Futari no sekai, Shimai no Yakusoku, Anî no hânayomê, Ôinaru kanô, Kêkkon no seitaî, A Story of Leadership, Kibô no aozora, Seishun no kiryû, Wakai sensei, Midori no daichi, Haha no chizu, Hawai Mare Oki Kaisen, Hawai Maree oki kaisen, Ahen senso, Bôrô no kesshitai, Toward the Decisive Battle in the Sky, Searing Wind, Suicide Troops of the Watchtower, Ikari no umi, Young Eagles, Shôri no hi made, Kita no san-nin, Koi no fuunjî, Midori no kokkyô, Reijin, Midori no kokkyô, No Regrets for Our Youth, Yuwaku, Kakedashi jidai, A Ball at the Anjo House, Onnadake no yoru, Sanbon yubi no otoko, Toki no teizo: zengohen, Fujisancho, Taifuken no onna, Kofuku no genkai, President and a female clerk, Tonosama Hotel, Ojôsan kanpai, Aoi sanmyaku, and Zoku aoi sanmyaku. Betty Grable: Down Argentine Way, Mother Wore Tights,When My Baby Smiles at Me, The Dolly Sisters, Pin Up Girl, Springtime in the Rockies, Coney Island, The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend, Tin Pan Alley, Sweet Rosie O'Grady, A Yank in the R.A.F., Footlight Serenade, I Wake Up Screaming, Song of the Islands, Diamond Horseshoe, Do You Love Me, The Shocking Miss Pilgrim, Four Jills in a Jeep, Moon Over Miami, and Hollywood Bound. Deborah Kerr: The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, Black Narcissus, Contraband, Penn of Pennsylvania, A Battle for a Bottle, Love on the Dole, Major Barbara, Major Barbara, Edward, My Son, Hatter's Castle, The Day Will Dawn, If Winter Comes, Perfect Strangers, and I See a Dark Stranger. Donna Reed: Shadow of the Thin Man, Calling Dr. Gillespie, It's a Wonderful Life, Convicted Woman, The Get-Away, Babes on Broadway, The Courtship of Andy Hardy, The Bugle Sounds, Mokey, Apache Trail, Eyes in the Night, Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case, The Human Comedy, The Man from Down Under, Thousands Cheer, See Here, Private Hargrove, Green Dolphin Street, Chicago Deadline, Beyond Glory, The Picture of Dorian Gray, They Were Expendable, Faithful in My Fashion, and Gentle Annie. Kim Hunter: A Matter of Life and Death, When Strangers Marry, You Came Along, The Seventh Victim, Tender Comrade, and A Canterbury Tale. Alida Valli: The Third Man, Piccolo mondo antico, The Paradine Case, The Miracle of the Bells, We the Living, T'amerò sempre, I pagliacci, Apparizione, The Song of Life, The Two Orphans, The First Woman Who Passes, Light in the Darkness, The Secret Lover, Manon Lescaut, The Last Enemy, Red Tavern, Beyond Love, Schoolgirl Diary, Invisible Chains, Stasera niente di nuovo, The Za-Bum Circus, Life Begins Anew, and Eugenia Grandet. Anne Baxter: 20 Mule Team, The Magnificent Ambersons, Five Graves to Cairo, The Razor's Edge, Yellow Sky, The Great Profile, Swamp Water, Charley's Aunt, Sunday Dinner for a Soldier, The Fighting Sullivans, The North Star, Smoky, The Purple Heart, The Eve of St. Mark, Guest in the House, You're My Everything, The Walls of Jericho, Homecoming, The Luck of the Irish, Blaze of Noon, Angel on My Shoulder, and A Royal Scandal. Teresa Wright: The Little Foxes, Mrs.. Miniver, Enchantment, Shadow of a Doubt, The Best Years of Our Lives, Pursued, The Trouble with Women, The Pride of the Yankees, The Little Foxes, Casanova Brown, and The Imperfect Lady. Mary Astor: The Maltese Falcon, The Palm Beach Story, The Great Lie, Act of Violence, Meet Me in St. Louis, Fiesta, East Side, West Side, Young Ideas, Blonde Fever, Turnabout, Brigham Young, Across the Pacific, Claudia and David, Little Women, Any Number Can Play, Desert Fury, and Cynthia. Ann Sheridan: They Drive by Night, The Man Who Came to Dinner, Kings Row, Nora Prentiss, I Was a Male War Bride, Honeymoon for Three, One More Tomorrow, City for Conquest, Torrid Zone, Castle on the Hudson, It All Came True, Navy Blues, George Washington Slept Here, Wings for the Eagle, Juke Girl, Silver River, The Unfaithful, Edge of Darkness, Thank Your Lucky Stars, Cinderella Jones, Shine On, Harvest Moon, and Good Sam. Ida Lupino: They Drive by Night, Devotion, In Our Time, The Sea Wolf, High Sierra, Thank Your Lucky Stars, Out of the Fog, Life Begins at Eight-Thirty, Moontide, Ladies in Retirement, Hollywood Canteen, Forever and a Day, The Hard Way, Pillow to Post, Road House, The Man I Love, Escape Me Never, Deep Valley, Not Wanted, Never Fear, and Lust for Gold. Joan Bennett: Man Hunt, The Woman in the Window, Scarlet Street, The House Across the Bay, The Man I Married, The Son of Monte Cristo, Green Hell, She Knew All the Answers, Wild Geese Calling, The Reckless Moment, Secret Beyond the Door, Hollow Triumph, The Woman on the Beach, Margin for Error, Twin Beds, Confirm or Deny, The Wife Takes a Flyer, Colonel Effingham's Raid, The Macomber Affair, Girl Trouble, and Nob Hill. Tallulah Bankhead: A Royal Scandal, Stage Door Canteen, and Lifeboat. Jane Greer: Out of the Past, Pan-Americana, Two O'Clock Courage, Sinbad the Sailor, George White's Scandals, The Falcon's Alibi, Dick Tracy, The Bamboo Blonde, Station West, Sunset Pass, They Won't Believe Me, and The Big Steal. Margaret O'Brien: Jane Eyre, Meet Me in St. Louis, The Unfinished Dance, Our Vines Have Tender Grapes, Lost Angel, Three Wise Fools, Big City, Little Women, Tenth Avenue Angel, The Secret Garden, Music for Millions, Bad Bascomb, Journey for Margaret, You, John Jones!, and The Canterville Ghost. Lucille Ball: Without Love, Ziegfeld Follies, Dance, Girl, Dance, The Big Street, Du Barry Was a Lady, The Marines Fly High, You Can't Fool Your Wife, A Girl, a Guy and a Gob, Too Many Girls,Thousands Cheer, Seven Days' Leave, Easy Living, Abbott and Costello in Hollywood, Look Who's Laughing, Valley of the Sun, Lured, Easy to Wed, Two Smart People, Her Husband's Affairs, Sorrowful Jones, The Dark Corner, Lover Come Back, Best Foot Forward, and Meet the People. Cyd Charisse: Ziegfeld Follies, Escort Girl, Something to Shout About, Thousands Cheer, Mission to Moscow, The Harvey Girls, Till the Clouds Roll By, In Our Time, Three Wise Fools, Fiesta, The Unfinished Dance, On an Island with You, and The Kissing Bandit. Susan Hayward: The Lost Moment, Smash-Up, the Story of a Woman, My Foolish Heart, Adam Had Four Sons, Sis Hopkins, They Won't Believe Me, Canyon Passage, And Now Tomorrow, Deadline at Dawn, Hit Parade of 1943, Star Spangled Rhythm, A Letter from Bataan, Young and Willing, Tulsa, The Saxon Charm, House of Strangers, Tap Roots, Among the Living, Reap the Wild Wind, The Forest Rangers, Jack London, The Fighting Seabees, and The Hairy Ape. June Allyson: The Secret Heart, Music for Millions, Best Foot Forward, Meet the People, Two Girls and a Sailor, Girl Crazy, All Girl Revue, Her Highness and the Bellboy, The Three Musketeers, Good News, The Stratton Story, Words and Music, High Barbaree, Till the Clouds Roll By, The Sailor Takes a Wife, Two Sisters from Boston, and The Bride Goes Wild. Susan Peters: Young Ideas, Tish, Santa Fe Trail, The Big Shot, Random Harvest, Keep Your Powder Dry, Song of Russia, Assignment in Brittany, The Sign of the Ram, Dr. Gillespie's New Assistant, Andy Hardy's Double Life, A New Romance of Celluloid: Personalities, Sockaroo, River's End, Meet John Doe, The Strawberry Blonde, Scattergood Pulls the Strings, Three Sons o' Guns, Young America Flies, Money and the Woman, and The Man Who Talked Too Much. Betty Hutton: Duffy's Tavern, Hollywood Victory Caravan, Dream Girl, Red, Hot and Blue, Star Spangled Rhythm, One for the Book, Happy Go Lucky, Strictly G.I., Skirmish on the Home Front, The Miracle of Morgan's Creek, Cross My Heart, The Perils of Pauline, The Stork Club,Here Come the Waves, And the Angels Sing, Incendiary Blonde, The Fleet's In, and Let's Face It. Celeste Holm: Road House, Gentleman's Agreement, Come to the Stable, The Snake Pit, Everybody Does It, Chicken Every Sunday, A Letter to Three Wives, Three Little Girls in Blue, and Carnival in Costa Rica. Celia Johnson: In Which We Serve, Brief Encounter, This Happy Breed, Dear Octopus, and A Letter from Home. Jane Wyman: Brother Rat and a Baby, Bad Men of Missouri, Johnny Belinda, The Lost Weekend, An Angel from Texas, Flight Angels, Gambling on the High Seas, My Love Came Back, Tugboat Annie Sails Again, Honeymoon for Three, You're in the Army Now, The Body Disappears, Larceny, Inc., My Favorite Spy, Footlight Serenade, Princess O'Rourke, Make Your Own Bed, The Doughgirls, Crime by Night, One More Tomorrow, Night and Day, The Yearling, Magic Town, Cheyenne, A Kiss in the Dark, and The Lady Takes a Sailor. Angela Lansbury: National Velvet, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Gaslight, The Harvey Girls, The Private Affairs of Bel Ami, If Winter Comes, The Hoodlum Saint, Till the Clouds Roll By, The Red Danube, The Three Musketeers, Tenth Avenue Angel, State of the Union, and Samson and Delilah Jean Simmons: Hamlet, Kiss the Bride Goodbye, Give Us the Moon, Black Narcissus, The Way to the Stars, Great Expectations, Caesar and Cleopatra, Meet Sexton Blake, Mr. Emmanuel, Sports Day, Adam and Evelyne, The Blue Lagoon, The Woman in the Hall, Uncle Silas, and Hungry Hill. Jane Darwell: The Grapes of Wrath, My Darling Clementine,Untamed, Brigham Young, Private Nurse, Chad Hanna, Thieves Fall Out, Youth Will Be Served, The Devil and Daniel Webster, All Through the Night, It Happened in Flatbush, Young America, On the Sunny Side, Men of Texas, Small Town Deb, Music in Manhattan, Captain Tugboat Annie, Three Wise Fools, The Dark Horse, Sunday Dinner for a Soldier, She's a Sweetheart, I Live in Grosvenor Square, The Ox-Bow Incident, Gildersleeve's Bad Day, Tender Comrade, The Great Gildersleeve, The Impatient Years, Reckless Age, Stage Door Canteen, Government Girl, Train to Alcatraz, 3 Godfathers, Red Canyon, Keeper of the Bees, The Red Stallion, The Loves of Edgar Allan Poe, and Highways by Night. Jeanne Crain: A Letter to Three Wives, Centennial Summer, Pinky, Leave Her to Heaven, In the Meantime, Darling, Margie, State Fair, Apartment for Peggy, The Gang's All Here, Home in Indiana, The Fan, You Were Meant for Me, and Winged Victory. Linda Darnell: My Darling Clementine, Chad Hanna, The Loves of Edgar Allan Poe, A Letter to Three Wives, Unfaithfully Yours, Forever Amber, The Mark of Zorro, Star Dust, Rise and Shine, Blood and Sand, It Happened Tomorrow, The Song of Bernadette, City Without Men, Sweet and Low-Down, Summer Storm, Buffalo Bill, The Great John L., Hangover Square, The Walls of Jericho, Anna and the King of Siam, Centennial Summer, Fallen Angel, Everybody Does It, and Slattery's Hurricane. Alice Faye: Fallen Angel, The Gang's All Here, Hello, Frisco, Hello, Tin Pan Alley, Four Jills in a Jeep, The Great American Broadcast, That Night in Rio, Little Old New York, Lillian Russell, and Week-End in Havana. Deanna Durbin: Christmas Holiday, Lady on a Train, For the Love of Mary, Something in the Wind, Up in Central Park, Because of Him, I'll Be Yours, Can't Help Singing, The Amazing Mrs. Holliday, It Started with Eve, Nice Girl?, It's a Date, Hers to Hold, His Butler's Sister, and Spring Parade. It’s Gene Tierney or Rita Hayworth for me
[OC] What would rosters look like if you took the top 950+ players in WS/48 and put them on teams they grew up near?
If this seems familiar, I actually did a version with 700 players and minimum 15000 minutes played. I dropped the minutes requirement to 10000 to include players who spent most/all of their career in the ABA and players who burned bright but had injury troubles (Brandon Roy and Doug Collins). If you're not a fan of reading a lot of text, here's the imgur link to rosters, although you should know I added 25 new teams! There is a TL;DR at the bottom!
Inspiration
Ever since LeBron went back to Cleveland, it's always fascinated me on what rosters would look like if everyone went home. I did this during the shutdown for the current rosters (all 514 players that played a game in 2019-2020 before the shutdown plus Jusuf Nurkic, who would have returned had the season continued normally)!
Player Pool and Team Pool
I used the top 957 players who have at least 10000 minutes played in their career. Why 10000 minutes played? Because that's the lower standard set by Basketball-Reference to get on their ABA career leaderboard (15000 MP for NBA). I added George Mikan, because even though he hasn't played enough minutes, he's featured in All-Time ESPN NBARank and Bill Simmons Hall of Fame Pyramid. I started off with the current 30 teams. To split up the Lakers and Clippers, I gave the Clippers their proposed Inglewood site. As I looked at the map of player hometowns, I realized that there were:
some areas that had a lot of players, but few close NBA teams.
conversely, some areas that had bloated rosters with too many players
Based off city population and arena size, I added 25 new teams. I relaxed my arena restrictions (minimum capacity before was 10000).
I obviously had to give Seattle their team back
Birmingham, North Little Rock and Shreveport helped to split up the South
Pittsburgh and St. Louis were big cities without teams
Berkeley added to siphon off San Francisco
if I add Oakland, it takes away too many players
Anaheim and Westwood added in Southern California (Clippers & Lakers)
Winston-Salem and Raleigh to pare down Charlotte
Lansing to prune Detroit
2nd Atlanta team in suburb of College Park
2nd Washington team and Baltimore
2 more teams in Chicago (Rosemont and South Side) + a team in Gary
2nd Indiana team + Louisville & Lexington
2nd Philadelphia team in suburb of Wynnewood
3 more teams in the New York Area (Newark, Queens and Long Island)
New Teams:
Team
Arena (Capacity)
Notables
Anaheim Amigos
Honda Center (18336)
Kawhi Leonard, Reggie Miller, Bill Walton
Baltimore Bullets
Royal Farms Arena (12289)
Dominique Wilkins, Carmelo Anthony, Sam Cassell
Berkeley Bears
Haas Pavilion (11858)
Bill Russell, Damian Lillard, Paul Pierce
Birmingham Barons
Legacy Arena (17654)
Charles Barkley, Eric Bledsoe, Artis Gilmore
Capital City Go-Go
Entertainment and Sports Arena (4200)
Allen Iverson, Kevin Durant, Moses Malone
College Park Skyhawks
Gateway Center Arena (3500)
Dwight Howard, Josh Smith, Norm Nixon
Gary Steelheads
Genesis Convention Center (6500)
Shawn Kemp, Jack Sikma, Glenn Robinson
Indianapolis Jaguars
Indiana Farmers Coliseum (6800)
Jerry Lucas, Zach Randolph, John Paxson
Lansing Spartans
Breslin Student Events Center (14759)
Magic Johnson, Devin Booker, Draymond Green
Lexington Wildcats
Rupp Arena (20545)
Hal Greer, Neil Johnston, Dave Cowens
Long Island Knights
Nassau Coliseum (14500)
Julius Erving, Tobias Harris, Calvin Murphy
Louisville Colonels
KFC Yum Center (22090)
Larry Bird, Rajon Rondo, Wes Unseld
Newark Americans
Prudential Center (18711)
Kyrie Irving, Rick Barry, Shaquille O'Neal
North Little Rock RimRockers
Simmons Bank Arena (18000)
Scottie Pippen, Sidney Moncrief, Joe Johnson
Pittsburgh Ironmen
PPG Paints Arena (19100)
Pete Maravich, John Havlicek, Maurice Lucas
Queens Red Storm
Carnesecca Arena (5602)
Bob Cousy, Kemba Walker, Anthony Mason
Raleigh Cougars
PNC Arena (19722)
Michael Jordan, John Wall, Sam Jones
Rosemont Rush
Allstate Arena (17500)
Dan Issel, Shawn Marion, Bill Laimbeer
Seattle SuperSonics
KeyArena (18600)
John Stockton, Steve Nash, Detlef Schrempf
Shreveport Storm
CenturyLink Center (13000)
Karl Malone, Joe Dumars, Willis Reed
South Side Sky
Wintrust Arena (10387)
Dwyane Wade, Derrick Rose, Anthony Davis
Spirits of St. Louis
Enterprise Center (22000)
Bradley Beal, Andre Iguodala, Harry Gallatin
Westwood Bruins
Pauley Pavilion (13800)
Gilbert Arenas, Gail Goodrich, Jrue Holiday
Winston-Salem Demon Deacons
Lawrence Joel Coliseum (14665)
Jerry West, Chris Paul, Bob McAdoo
Wynnewood Hawks
Hagan Arena (4200)
Kobe Bryant, Wilt Chamberlain, Kyle Lowry
The Process
I started off gathering hometowns due to this fantastic database by Reuben Fischer-Baum (original article source here). But I wanted to get more granular, and try to pinpoint neighborhoods. Basically, I searched up "[player name] grew up neighbourhood" and variations of that, which is how I found out that:
Kyle Lowry grew up at 20th and Lehigh
Wilt Chamberlain grew up at 401 N Salford Street
Julius Erving grew up at 90 Pleasant Ave
big shoutout to Ted Silary's site, which was a godsend to divide Philly
Next, I used the haversine formula to find which arena a player is closest to
one exception was in Connecticut where the distance formula would go over Long Island Sound (a body of water), so all players east of Hartford were given to Boston
I created rotations to the best of my ability, but I am not proclaiming these as the be-all, end-all
I took a glance at stats (lean modern if stats are close) and playing reputation
I moved positions around to maximize talent, but tried to keep it realistic
Next phase was to add international players
I assigned them to their American “hometown" which was a combination of biggest impact (most win shares accumulated) and most memorable stop
These usually agreed w/each other, a few exceptions covered below
Dikembe, Divac were some borderline cases
Gave Dikembe to Atlanta over Denver (iconic upset against Seattle when in Denver, won 2 of his 4 DPOYS + had best per-minute impact in ATL)
Divac- Kings over Lakers (but he’s more known as a component of the fun early 2000s kings teams w/C-Webb, Peja, White Chocolate)
Don’t really see people talk about his stint as the bridge between Kareem and Shaq
And with that, here are the all-time hometown rosters including internationals in italics! (If you're more of a visual person, here's the imgur link where I also included regular season stats and career accolades)
Anaheim Amigos
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
darren collison
reggie miller
george yardley
kawhi leonard
bill walton
greg anthony
jim barnett
greg ballard
cliff levingston
mark eaton
paul neumann
jared dudley
bryon russell
keith van horn
bob rule
cj watson
adam keefe
steve johnson
scott williams
coby dietrick
Atlanta Hawks
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
walt frazier
dale ellis
shareef abdur-rahim
larry nance
dikembe mutombo
sedale threatt
lou williams
mike mitchell
horace grant
al horford
matt harpring
chris morris
harvey grant
dale davis
jeremy lamb
willie anderson
al-farouq aminu
jim fox
shandon anderson
alvin scott
jj hickson
kelvin cato
jodie meeks
zaza pachulia
Baltimore Bullets
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
sam cassell
reggie lewis
carmelo anthony
dominique wilkins
marvin webster
muggsy bogues
will barton
rudy gay
billy owens
gene shue
dudley bradley
reggie williams
dave twardzik
Berkeley Bears
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
gary payton
damian lillard
jason kidd
paul pierce
bill russell
lester conner
phil chenier
bruce bowen
paul silas
antonio davis
jon barry
brent barry
drew gooden
brook lopez
nate williams
cliff robinson
robin lopez
bison dele
Birmingham Barons
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
eric bledsoe
andrew toney
john drew
charles barkley
artis gilmore
wesley person
robert horry
antonio mcdyess
ben wallace
tr dunn
gerald wallace
larry kenon
theo ratliff
derrick mckey
clarence weatherspoon
leon douglas
reggie king
demarre carroll
buck johnson
Boston Celtics
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
dana barros
vinny del negro
vin baker
andre drummond
michael adams
rick mahorn
marcus camby
travis best
matt bonner
johnny egan
Brooklyn Nets
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
lenny wilkens
chris mullin
bernard king
connie hawkins
ray felix
stephon marbury
world b free
billy cunningham
rudy larusso
zaid abdul-aziz
carl braun
rolando blackman
roger brown
taj gibson
len elmore
mark jackson
vinnie johnson
doug moe
john salley
george thompson
jr smith
jim mcmillian
john roche
bob verga
walter simon
Capital City Go-Go
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
allen iverson
paul pressey
bob dandridge
kevin durant
moses malone
ty lawson
victor oladipo
walt williams
joe smith
alonzo mourning
gerald henderson
delonte west
allan bristow
ed davis
mark west
jarrett jack
dante cunningham
jr reid
Charlotte Hornets
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
stephen curry
ray allen
james worthy
kevin garnett
brad daugherty
darrell armstrong
david thompson
alex english
bobby jones
jermaine o'neal
sleepy floyd
walter davis
khris middleton
antawn jamison
hassan whiteside
jim cleamons
anthony morrow
xavier mcdaniel
trevor booker
clifford ray
anthony johnson
tyrone corbin
mikki moore
pervis ellison
bismack biyombo
Chicago Bulls
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
isiah thomas
jeff hornacek
mark aguirre
terry cummings
george mikan
doc rivers
hersey hawkins
luol deng
toni kukoc
joakim noah
patrick beverley
michael finley
andres nocioni
mickey johnson
nazr mohammed
corey maggette
jim brewer
luc longley
Cleveland Cavaliers
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
cj mccollum
michael redd
lebron james
charles oakley
nate thurmond
larry jones
kevin martin
james posey
gus johnson
zydrunas ilgauskas
antonio daniels
alvin robertson
ruben patterson
anderson varejao
eric snow
dick snyder
phil hubbard
tom boerwinkle
earl boykins
larry siegfried
kosta koufos
College Park Skyhawks
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
norm nixon
jeff malone
sam mitchell
josh smith
dwight howard
charlie ward
kentavious caldwell-pope
jae crowder
derrick favors
tree rollins
lloyd neal
elmore smith
wayne cooper
joe meriweather
Dallas Mavericks
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
deron williams
ricky pierce
dennis rodman
dirk nowitzki
chris bosh
mookie blaylock
marcus smart
willie naulls
larry johnson
lamarcus aldridge
micheal williams
damon jones
cj miles
kenyon martin
tony battie
spud webb
dave stallworth
julius randle
alton lister
jj barea
kurt thomas
greg ostertag
oliver miller
Denver Nuggets
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
chauncey billups
micheal ray richardson
danilo gallinari
paul millsap
nikola jokic
chuck williams
reggie jackson
scott wedman
james johnson
nene hilario
eric piatkowski
eduardo najera
pat garrity
Detroit Pistons
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
archie clark
steve smith
george gervin
chris webber
mel daniels
bj armstrong
ralph simpson
shane battier
dave debusschere
dan roundfield
paul seymour
jalen rose
campy russell
rudy tomjanovich
kevin willis
kelvin ransey
voshon lenard
steve mix
grant long
derrick coleman
johnny davis
terry tyler
terry mills
tim mccormick
jonas jerebko
Gary Steelheads
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
scott skiles
dick barnett
chet walker
shawn kemp
jack sikma
quinn buckner
kendall gill
glenn robinson
mason plumlee
craig hodges
junior bridgeman
eddy curry
rod higgins
Golden State Warriors
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
kc jones
phil smith
willie wise
kenny sears
rich kelley
jeremy lin
mickael pietrus
aaron gordon
red rocha
eddie house
tom meschery
darnell hillman
kurt rambis
andris biedrins
kevin restani
dennis awtrey
Houston Rockets
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
slater martin
clyde drexler
jimmy butler
hakeem olajuwon
yao ming
joe caldwell
rashard lewis
luis scola
deandre jordan
dwight jones
zelmo beaty
emeka okafor
kendrick perkins
chris andersen
Indiana Pacers
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
oscar robertson
dick van arsdale
gordon hayward
george mcginnis
clyde lovellette
louie dampier
kevin grevey
terry dischinger
alan henderson
rik smits
mike conley
jon mcglocklin
bojan bogdanovic
ian mahinmi
jeff teague
mike woodson
larry steele
jim price
courtney lee
randy wittman
bill keller
jerry sichting
Indianapolis Jaguars
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
john paxson
jim paxson
bonzi wells
jerry lucas
wayne embry
george hill
gary harris
zach randolph
kent benson
allen leavell
eric gordon
johnny green
jim davis
kyle macy
ron harper
goose ligon
john mengelt
Lansing Spartans
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
magic johnson
devin booker
morris peterson
draymond green
brad miller
dan majerle
jason richardson
loy vaught
javale mcgee
trent tucker
jay vincent
ben poquette
Lexington Wildcats
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
glen combs
hal greer
louis orr
neil johnston
dave cowens
freddie lewis
clem haskins
barry clemens
brian grant
arnie risen
george king
tyrone hill
dave robisch
jack coleman
chuck share
patrick patterson
lasalle thompson
Long Island Knights
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
calvin murphy
wally szczerbiak
julius erving
tobias harris
jeff ruland
foots walker
randy smith
charles smith
tom gugliotta
mike gminski
mike james
john williamson
danny green
frank brickowski
Los Angeles Clippers
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
russell westbrook
james harden
demar derozan
dave greenwood
swen nater
dennis johnson
bill sharman
tayshaun prince
curtis rowe
elden campbell
mack calvin
paul westphal
bob gross
andre miller
byron scott
josh childress
reggie theus
kyle korver
jan van breda kolff
brandon jennings
jay humphries
arron afflalo
Los Angeles Lakers
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
baron davis
michael cooper
paul george
sidney wicks
pau gasol
darwin cook
stacey augmon
marques johnson
mel hutchins
john block
lucious harris
cedric ceballos
amir johnson
darrall imhoff
tracy murray
trevor ariza
john williams
rick fox
dorell wright
Louisville Colonels
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
rajon rondo
frank ramsey
cliff hagan
larry bird
wes unseld
don buse
darel carrier
allan houston
les hunter
clyde lee
ted mcclain
derek anderson
greg smith
felton spencer
butch beard
greg buckner
chris whitney
Memphis Grizzlies
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
anfernee hardaway
adrian smith
corliss williamson
bailey howell
spencer haywood
tony delk
bingo smith
otto porter
michael cage
marc gasol
thaddeus young
sam lacey
terry catledge
lorenzen wright
popeye jones
Miami Heat
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
derek harper
mitch richmond
eddie jones
otis thorpe
rony seikaly
goran dragic
tim hardaway jr
raja bell
udonis haslem
neal walk
james jones
otto moore
Milwaukee Bucks
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
terry porter
fred brown
latrell sprewell
giannis antetokounmpo
andrew bogut
devin harris
wesley matthews
caron butler
ersan ilyasova
jim chones
nick van exel
carlos delfino
don kojis
carl landry
kevin kunnert
bill hanzlik
paul griffin
kurt nimphius
luc mbah a moute
Minnesota Timberwolves
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
ricky rubio
ron boone
harrison barnes
vern mikkelsen
kevin mchale
kirk hinrich
dick garmaker
mike miller
bob boozer
gorgui dieng
devean george
mark olberding
raef lafrentz
kris humphries
randy breuer
nick collison
joel przybilla
New Orleans Pelicans
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
dj augustin
kerry kittles
danny granger
bob pettit
demarcus cousins
mo williams
don chaney
purvis short
hot rod williams
al jefferson
avery johnson
mahmoud abdul-rauf
cincinnatus powell
brandon bass
greg monroe
chris duhon
bobby phills
reggie evans
george johnson
marcus thornton
glen davis
mike green
othella harrington
erick dampier
cornell warner
harvey catchings
New York Knicks
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
tiny archibald
charlie scott
metta world peace
dolph schayes
kareem abdul-jabbar
rod strickland
jeff mullins
tom sanders
tom heinsohn
patrick ewing
bobby wanzer
mario elie
jamal mashburn
elton brand
sam perkins
vern fleming
david west
billy paultz
olden polynice
Newark Americans
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
kyrie irving
bob weiss
rick barry
troy murphy
shaquille o'neal
brian taylor
kelly tripucka
al harrington
karl-anthony towns
larry brown
eric williams
tim thomas
andrew bynum
al attles
kenneth faried
chris gatling
brevin knight
nenad krstic
mark bryant
eric murdock
North Little Rock RimRockers
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
derek fisher
sidney moncrief
scottie pippen
larry smith
caldwell jones
joe johnson
glen rice
wil jones
joe barry carroll
eddie miles
ronnie brewer
anthony tolliver
andrew lang
fred jones
charles jones
Oklahoma City Thunder
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
mark price
john starks
thabo sefolosha
blake griffin
alvan adams
darnell valentine
craig ehlo
maurice evans
serge ibaka
steven adams
jim king
wayman tisdale
enes kanter
antoine carr
Orlando Magic
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
dee brown
tracy mcgrady
vince carter
amare stoudemire
darryl dawkins
chucky atkins
otis birdsong
hedo turkoglu
truck robinson
nikola vucevic
eddie johnson (78-87)
evan fournier
chandler parsons
red robbins
matt geiger
carlos arroyo
marreese speights
will perdue
kwame brown
clemon johnson
Philadelphia 76ers
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
jameer nelson
earl monroe
paul arizin
larry foust
samuel dalembert
bill melchionni
geoff petrie
tyreke evans
warren davis
chris dudley
chris ford
michael kidd-gilchrist
jim washington
jason thompson
matt guokas
ollie johnson
ray scott
malik rose
Phoenix Suns
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
fat lever
leandro barbosa
richard jefferson
sean elliott
channing frye
mike bibby
jerryd bayless
arthur becker
kenny thomas
Pittsburgh Ironmen
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
norm van lier
pete maravich
john havlicek
armen gilliam
maurice lucas
brad davis
billy knight
jack twyman
len chappell
pat cummings
johnny moore
stu lantz
jack marin
ron williams
george king
Portland Trail Blazers
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
terrell brandon
klay thompson
nicolas batum
kevin love
arvydas sabonis
damon stoudamire
danny ainge
mike dunleavy jr
ac green
mychal thompson
steve jones
terrence ross
mel counts
mike newlin
dave gambee
Queens Red Storm
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
bob cousy
richie guerin
lamar odom
anthony mason
leroy ellis
kemba walker
gus williams
mike riordan
ed pinckney
tom owens
dick mcguire
ben gordon
rodney mccray
bob kauffman
kenny anderson
brian winters
malik sealy
charlie villanueva
kenny smith
ray williams
maurice harkless
rafer alston
ernie grunfeld
Raleigh Cougars
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
john wall
michael jordan
cedric maxwell
buck williams
walt bellamy
nate mcmillan
sam jones
jerome kersey
pj tucker
randy denton
phil ford
bryant stith
jerry stackhouse
chris wilcox
john lucas
ml carr
chucky brown
ramon sessions
rodney rogers
henry bibby
Rosemont Rush
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
flynn robinson
nick anderson
shawn marion
dan issel
bill laimbeer
shaun livingston
anthony parker
robert covington
bob netolicky
dave corzine
don nelson
aaron williams
Sacramento Kings
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
kevin johnson
matt barnes
omri casspi
peja stojakovic
vlade divac
beno udrih
francisco garcia
ryan anderson
bill cartwright
jim eakins
james donaldson
chuck hayes
San Antonio Spurs
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
tony parker
manu ginobili
robert reid
tim duncan
rasho nesterovic
david wesley
marco belinelli
bo outlaw
boris diaw
luke jackson
patty mills
bill bridges
jeff foster
Seattle SuperSonics
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
john stockton
steve nash
detlef schrempf
carlos boozer
byron beck
isaiah thomas
brandon roy
doug christie
marvin williams
james edwards
nate robinson
jason terry
martell webster
vladimir radmanovic
steve hawes
mario chalmers
jamal crawford
mike lewis
luke ridnour
rodney stuckey
blair rasmussen
Shreveport Storm
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
jimmy jones
joe dumars
calvin natt
karl malone
willis reed
james silas
orlando woolridge
elvin hayes
robert parish
bob love
benoit benjamin
john beasley
pj brown
stromile swift
ervin johnson
South Side Sky
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
derrick rose
dwyane wade
cazzie russell
juwan howard
anthony davis
maurice cheeks
tony allen
eddie johnson(81-99)
bill robinzine
red kerr
tim hardaway
quentin richardson
ron anderson
jason maxiell
rickey green
sonny parker
bobby simmons
kevin porter
darrell walker
Spirits of St. Louis
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
jo jo white
bradley beal
andre iguodala
harry gallatin
ed macauley
lucius allen
donnie freeman
jerry sloan
david lee
gene moore
andy phillip
warren jabali
bill bradley
laphonso ellis
steve stipanovich
tyronn lue
doug collins
alec burks
jon koncak
anthony peeler
kevin gamble
bob ferry
john brown
Toronto Raptors
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
larry costello
george carter
clifford robinson
tristan thompson
bob lanier
jose calderon
cory joseph
christian laettner
jonas valanciunas
kelly olynyk
jamaal magloire
andray blatche
danny schayes
walter dukes
Utah Jazz
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
joe ingles
andrei kirilenko
tom chambers
rudy gobert
fred roberts
mehmet okur
phil jackson
shawn bradley
Washington Wizards
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
steve francis
adrian dantley
grant hill
elgin baylor
david robinson
sherman douglas
dave bing
dennis scott
thurl bailey
ralph sampson
gene littles
austin carr
jerome williams
kenny carr
roy hibbert
johnny dawkins
dell curry
danny ferry
kermit washington
marcin gortat
hubert davis
jeff green
jerami grant
curtis perry
john battle
michael smith
john tresvant
Westwood Bruins
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
gilbert arenas
gail goodrich
chris mills
kiki vandeweghe
tyson chandler
jrue holiday
steve kerr
jamaal wilkes
lonnie shelton
chris childs
austin croshere
Winston-Salem Demon Deacons
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
chris paul
jerry west
josh howard
happy hairston
bob mcadoo
jason williams
lou hudson
johnny newman
danny manning
brendan haywood
bobby jackson
jj redick
george lynch
jimmy walker
rod thorn
Wynnewood Hawks
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
kyle lowry
kobe bryant
richard hamilton
rasheed wallace
wilt chamberlain
walt hazzard
aaron mckie
tom gola
donyell marshall
sam bowie
alvin williams
cuttino mobley
roy hinson
marcus morris
tom mcmillen
bob sura
mike bantom
markieff morris
mike gale
gene banks
trooper washington
hakim warrick
Best Positional Groups (in my opinion)
(in reverse alphabetical order) Best Guards: Winston-Salem, South Side, Seattle, Queens, LA Clippers, Indiana Best Wings: Washington, North Little Rock, Long Island, Baltimore, Brooklyn, Charlotte Best Bigs: Shreveport, Portland, New York, Houston, Detroit, Dallas, Birmingham
TL;DR
What did you do?
Created all-time hometown/territorial rosters
Why did you do it?
always been fascinated with it ever since Bron came home
Who did you use?
player pool was top 957 in career ws/48 (min 10000 mp) from basketball-reference, plus George Mikan (listed in ESPN's AllTime NBARank and Bill Simmons Basketball Pyramid but didn't meet the minutes requirement)
team pool was originally 30 teams, added more teams where there were an abundance of players
New Teams:
Team
Notables
Anaheim Amigos
Kawhi, Reggie, Bill Walton
Baltimore Bullets
Dominique, Melo
Berkeley Bears
Bill Russell, Dame, Paul Pierce
Birmingham Barons
Barkley, Eric Bledsoe, Artis Gilmore
Capital City Go-Go
AI, KD, Moses
College Park Skyhawks
Dwight Howard, Josh Smith
Gary Steelheads
Shawn Kemp, Sikma
Indianapolis Jaguars
Jerry Lucas, Zach Randolph
Lansing Spartans
Magic, D-Book, Draymond
Lexington Wildcats
Hal Greer, Cowens
Long Island Knights
Dr J, Tobias Harris
Louisville Colonels
Bird, Rondo, Unseld
Newark Americans
Kyrie, Rick Barry, Shaq
North Little Rock RimRockers
Pippen, Sidney Moncrief, Iso Joe
Pittsburgh Ironmen
Pistol Pete, Havlicek
Queens Red Storm
Cousy, Kemba
Raleigh Cougars
Michael Jordan, John Wall
Rosemont Rush
Shawn Marion, Laimbeer
Seattle SuperSonics
Stockton, Steve Nash, Schrempf
Shreveport Storm
Mailman, Dumars, Willis Reed
South Side Sky
Dwyane Wade, D-Rose, Anthony Davis
Spirits of St. Louis
Beal, Iguodala
Westwood Bruins
Arenas, Jrue
Winston-Salem Demon Deacons
Logo, CP3
Wynnewood Hawks
Kobe, Wilt, Lowry
How did you do it?
Googled "[player name] grew up neighbourhood" and variations of that
Offseason Blueprint: the Miami Heat have their hands full right now, so we'll take a look ahead to their offseason for them
The Miami Heat are locked in a tough battle with the L.A. Lakers right now, and they need every ounce of focus to pull out of this 3-1 hole. They can’t even think about the offseason right now. But we can. In order to lighten their load, we wanted to look ahead with the penultimate edition of the OFFSEASON BLUEPRINT series. In each entry, we preview some big decisions and make some recommendations for plans of attack along the way. step one: don't tinker with the formula After Jimmy Butler signed with the Miami Heat, fans and pundits expected them to be pretty good. Their oveunder in Vegas extended as high as 43.5 wins. Most predicted that they would return to the playoffs after missing out in 3 of the previous 5 seasons. Some even thought they could be competitive in a R1 series. Turns out, the Miami Heat were much better than we all expected, as they roared past Milwaukee and Boston on their way to the NBA Finals. Much has been made about how Jimmy Butler is a great fit for the Miami culture. He's tough and rugged. He's well conditioned. He's a "dog." All that is true. However, what's underplayed is how great of a fit Jimmy Butler is for Miami's particular roster. Butler isn't a very good shooter from deep (down to 24% from three this year), but he excels offensively when he's able to attack the basket. If you surround him with shooters, he becomes a handful. He can draw contact and get to the line -- where he shot 83% on 9.1 free throw attempts per game. He can also utilize his passing ability; this year he averaged 6.0 assists per game. This roster fits like a glove around Butler's skill set. The team has shooters all over the court, from Duncan Robinson to Tyler Herro to even their stretch big reserves like Kelly Olynyk and Meyers Leonard. When your two best players (Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo) aren't great shooters, that spacing becomes so crucial. The Miami Heat realized that, adding the talent that fit them, and subtracting the talent that did not (like the higher-usage Justise Winslow.) Going forward, the Miami Heat need to keep that formula in mind. They're going to continue to try and improve, but they don't need to reinvent the wheel here. Adding another player who's going to take the ball out of Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo's hands may be a mistake, especially if that player isn't a great shooter themselves. step two: bring (some of) the band back together Everything clicked for the Miami Heat in the bubble, but free agency will test that newfound chemistry. They have several notable free agents, including Goran Dragic and Jae Crowder. Role players like Derrick Jones Jr., Meyers Leonard, and Solomon Hill will also be free agents. In theory, Kelly Olynyk could be as well, but I'd expect him to pick up his $13.6M player option. Goran Dragic represents a difficult decision. At age 34, he's still a very good player. He can slash and attack, but he can also be effective from deep (37% this year, 36% career.) He thrived as a Sixth Man this year in the regular season, and showed he can still be a viable starter in the playoffs. While he's not a great defender, his 6'3" size helps him hang on that end. From Miami's perspective, they need to figure out how "replaceable" Dragic would be. With Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo handling the ball so often (combined, those two averaged 11.1 assists), the team doesn't need a traditional playmaking PG. Could they get away with starting scorers like Tyler Herro or Kendrick Nunn? Probably. That depth at guard puts Miami in a position of strength when negotiating Dragic's contract. If he wants to return next year on a short-term deal (1 year, $12M?) then it's doable. If he demands a larger role or a longer deal, then maybe you roll the dice with your younger players instead. The team has less leverage when it comes to Jae Crowder. Crowder had been struggling over the last few seasons as a SF, but he thrived when switched over to a stretch PF here in Miami. Not only did that help him on defense, but it helped him find some more shooting space on offense as well. He hit 44.5% of his threes in the regular season for Miami. He also matches up well with some of the bigger forwards in the league on the defensive end. Again, no one's going to confuse him with a "stopper," but no one's going to make a point to exploit him either. Every team is looking for players like Crowder -- a supply and demand problem that will become Miami's problem soon enough. Frankly, he's going to get overpaid. He caught fire at the right time and saw his national profile skyrocket with a strong playoff run. There's a fairly sizable chance that Crowder's shooting will sink down to Earth, and his defense will decline as the years catch up with him (now at age 30.) Miami will probably need to re-sign Crowder, but they should try their best to keep the deal within reason. Not only will that keep their own cap hit down, but it will also keep him as a tradeable asset going forward. step three: don't settle for second best When the Miami Heat traded for Andre Iguodala, I didn't think much of it. Iguodala was probably too old and rusty to be much impact this season. Meh. Whatever. When they extended Iguodala to a big contract ($15M + $15M team option), my eyebrows raised in disbelief. WTF? On face value, a 37-year-old Iguodala is worth half that salary, if that. Quickly, my skepticism turned into suspicion. Iguodala's $15M salary doesn't make a lot of sense... aside from it being $15M in salary. Suddenly, the Miami Heat have a mid-sized contract to float in trade packages. If you factor in Olynyk's $13.5M, then suddenly the team can match contracts anywhere in the range of $15M-$30M. Of course, other teams aren't going to trade for empty salary because they want to help Miami win a title or because Pat Riley helped them bury a dead hooker a few years back. They need some motivation or asset in return. R1 picks may be enough. Tyler Herro would be more than enough. Barring a Herro trade, Miami would be looking at "distressed assets" in return. We may need to focus on teams that are nearing a divorce with their current player. Among the biggest names that fit that bill would be Indiana SG Victor Oladipo ($22M contract.) The fit with Oladipo is better on the defensive end than on offense, where he plays a similar attacking role to Jimmy Butler. Still, if Miami can get him for a modest return, it's worth a conversation. I'm not sure Miami can put enough assets together to snag Jrue Holiday ($26M + $27M), but it's worth a call as well. If the team doesn't re-sign Dragic, Holiday could slide right in and play PG-SG for them. Lesser players to mention: Chicago SF Otto Porter would make a good replacement for Jae Crowder. Porter's overpaid ($28M option) but is on an expiring deal so he couldn't hurt you too badly. I'd also consider making a call to Brooklyn about Taurean Prince ($12M + $13M). Prince had a bad year, but he has solid size for the wing and could play some SF and PF. You may prefer Iguodala to Prince in a clutch playoff situation, but the difference in age (36 to 26) is hard to ignore. No doubt, the biggest name (and biggest contract) we should mention is Chris Paul ($41M + $44M), since he's been linked to the team in the past. It's hard to see the math working out here for me personally, but Pat Riley has more tricks up his sleeve than I do. step four: stay flexible for the future One reason that I'd be reluctant to commit huge money to someone like Chris Paul is because I'd like Miami to maintain their cap flexibility going forward. Prior to free agency, they have $80M committed on the books this upcoming season, but only $43M the following year. To be honest, free agency isn't a great gameplan for about 80% of the franchises in the NBA. Superstars aren't flocking to small markets, or cold markets, or bad rosters and shoddy organizations. Miami is the exception to all those rules. They've hit a grand slam in free agency before, and they could theoretically do the same again. Allegedly they're going to be players in the potential Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes, and they're going to be players in the sweepstakes for every star free agent before and after. It's an appealing situation, an appealing roster, and a prestigious coaching staff and front office. For Miami, that target year of 2021 is crucial. Not only is that the year that Giannis' contract expires, but it's also the time when they'll have to pony up for an extension for Bam Adebayo. If they can grab a star before they sign on the dotted line for Adebayo, then they can vault into the title conversation for the next several years to follow. Giannis is going to be the big prize of the summer, but other stars slated for Free Agency 2021 include Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and current Finals opponents LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The fact that Miami can shoot for the stars is another reason they have to be careful about their current offseason. If you overpay Goran Dragic or Jae Crowder, you not only hurt your cap space going forward but you also lock yourself into contracts that may be hard to trade. Miami signed off on quite a few of those in the past (Dion Waiters, James Johnson, etc), and somehow Pat Riley managed to be Harry Houdini and escape from them. As great as he may be, he should avoid trying that type of risk again. previous offseason blueprints ATL, BKN, BOS, CHA, CHI, CLE, DAL, DEN, DET, HOU, IND, GS, LAC, MEM, MIL, MIN, NO, NYK, OKC, ORL, PHX, POR, SA, SAC, TOR, UTA, WAS
[OC] What would rosters look like if you took the top 950+ players in WS/48 and put them on teams they grew up near?
If this seems familiar, I actually did a version with 700 players and minimum 15000 minutes played. I dropped the minutes requirement to 10000 to include players who spent most/all of their career in the ABA and players who burned bright but had injury troubles (Brandon Roy and Doug Collins). If you're not a fan of reading a lot of text, here's the imgur link to rosters, although you should know I added 25 new teams! There is a TL;DR at the bottom!
Inspiration
Ever since LeBron went back to Cleveland, it's always fascinated me on what rosters would look like if everyone went home. I did this during the shutdown for the current rosters (all 514 players that played a game in 2019-2020 before the shutdown plus Jusuf Nurkic, who would have returned had the season continued normally)!
Player Pool and Team Pool
I used the top 957 players who have at least 10000 minutes played in their career. Why 10000 minutes played? Because that's the lower standard set by Basketball-Reference to get on their ABA career leaderboard (15000 MP for NBA). I added George Mikan, because even though he hasn't played enough minutes, he's featured in All-Time ESPN NBARank and Bill Simmons Hall of Fame Pyramid. I started off with the current 30 teams. To split up the Lakers and Clippers, I gave the Clippers their proposed Inglewood site. As I looked at the map of player hometowns, I realized that there were:
some areas that had a lot of players, but few close NBA teams.
conversely, some areas that had bloated rosters with too many players
Based off city population and arena size, I added 25 new teams. I relaxed my arena restrictions (minimum capacity before was 10000).
I obviously had to give Seattle their team back
Birmingham, North Little Rock and Shreveport helped to split up the South
Pittsburgh and St. Louis were big cities without teams
Berkeley added to siphon off San Francisco
if I add Oakland, it takes away too many players
Anaheim and Westwood added in Southern California (Clippers & Lakers)
Winston-Salem and Raleigh to pare down Charlotte
Lansing to prune Detroit
2nd Atlanta team in suburb of College Park
2nd Washington team and Baltimore
2 more teams in Chicago (Rosemont and South Side) + a team in Gary
2nd Indiana team + Louisville & Lexington
2nd Philadelphia team in suburb of Wynnewood
3 more teams in the New York Area (Newark, Queens and Long Island)
New Teams:
Team
Arena (Capacity)
Notables
Anaheim Amigos
Honda Center (18336)
Kawhi Leonard, Reggie Miller, Bill Walton
Baltimore Bullets
Royal Farms Arena (12289)
Dominique Wilkins, Carmelo Anthony, Sam Cassell
Berkeley Bears
Haas Pavilion (11858)
Bill Russell, Damian Lillard, Paul Pierce
Birmingham Barons
Legacy Arena (17654)
Charles Barkley, Eric Bledsoe, Artis Gilmore
Capital City Go-Go
Entertainment and Sports Arena (4200)
Allen Iverson, Kevin Durant, Moses Malone
College Park Skyhawks
Gateway Center Arena (3500)
Dwight Howard, Josh Smith, Norm Nixon
Gary Steelheads
Genesis Convention Center (6500)
Shawn Kemp, Jack Sikma, Glenn Robinson
Indianapolis Jaguars
Indiana Farmers Coliseum (6800)
Jerry Lucas, Zach Randolph, John Paxson
Lansing Spartans
Breslin Student Events Center (14759)
Magic Johnson, Devin Booker, Draymond Green
Lexington Wildcats
Rupp Arena (20545)
Hal Greer, Neil Johnston, Dave Cowens
Long Island Knights
Nassau Coliseum (14500)
Julius Erving, Tobias Harris, Calvin Murphy
Louisville Colonels
KFC Yum Center (22090)
Larry Bird, Rajon Rondo, Wes Unseld
Newark Americans
Prudential Center (18711)
Kyrie Irving, Rick Barry, Shaquille O'Neal
North Little Rock RimRockers
Simmons Bank Arena (18000)
Scottie Pippen, Sidney Moncrief, Joe Johnson
Pittsburgh Ironmen
PPG Paints Arena (19100)
Pete Maravich, John Havlicek, Maurice Lucas
Queens Red Storm
Carnesecca Arena (5602)
Bob Cousy, Kemba Walker, Anthony Mason
Raleigh Cougars
PNC Arena (19722)
Michael Jordan, John Wall, Sam Jones
Rosemont Rush
Allstate Arena (17500)
Dan Issel, Shawn Marion, Bill Laimbeer
Seattle SuperSonics
KeyArena (18600)
John Stockton, Steve Nash, Detlef Schrempf
Shreveport Storm
CenturyLink Center (13000)
Karl Malone, Joe Dumars, Willis Reed
South Side Sky
Wintrust Arena (10387)
Dwyane Wade, Derrick Rose, Anthony Davis
Spirits of St. Louis
Enterprise Center (22000)
Bradley Beal, Andre Iguodala, Harry Gallatin
Westwood Bruins
Pauley Pavilion (13800)
Gilbert Arenas, Gail Goodrich, Jrue Holiday
Winston-Salem Demon Deacons
Lawrence Joel Coliseum (14665)
Jerry West, Chris Paul, Bob McAdoo
Wynnewood Hawks
Hagan Arena (4200)
Kobe Bryant, Wilt Chamberlain, Kyle Lowry
The Process
I started off gathering hometowns due to this fantastic database by Reuben Fischer-Baum (original article source here). But I wanted to get more granular, and try to pinpoint neighborhoods. Basically, I searched up "[player name] grew up neighbourhood" and variations of that, which is how I found out that:
Kyle Lowry grew up at 20th and Lehigh
Wilt Chamberlain grew up at 401 N Salford Street
Julius Erving grew up at 90 Pleasant Ave
big shoutout to Ted Silary's site, which was a godsend to divide Philly
Next, I used the haversine formula to find which arena a player is closest to
one exception was in Connecticut where the distance formula would go over Long Island Sound (a body of water), so all players east of Hartford were given to Boston
I created rotations to the best of my ability, but I am not proclaiming these as the be-all, end-all
I took a glance at stats (lean modern if stats are close) and playing reputation
I moved positions around to maximize talent, but tried to keep it realistic
Next phase was to add international players
I assigned them to their American “hometown" which was a combination of biggest impact (most win shares accumulated) and most memorable stop
These usually agreed w/each other, a few exceptions covered below
Dikembe, Divac were some borderline cases
Gave Dikembe to Atlanta over Denver (iconic upset against Seattle when in Denver, won 2 of his 4 DPOYS + had best per-minute impact in ATL)
Divac- Kings over Lakers (but he’s more known as a component of the fun early 2000s kings teams w/C-Webb, Peja, White Chocolate)
Don’t really see people talk about his stint as the bridge between Kareem and Shaq
And with that, here are the all-time hometown rosters including internationals in italics! (If you're more of a visual person, here's the imgur link where I also included regular season stats and career accolades)
Anaheim Amigos
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
darren collison
reggie miller
george yardley
kawhi leonard
bill walton
greg anthony
jim barnett
greg ballard
cliff levingston
mark eaton
paul neumann
jared dudley
bryon russell
keith van horn
bob rule
cj watson
adam keefe
steve johnson
scott williams
coby dietrick
Atlanta Hawks
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
walt frazier
dale ellis
shareef abdur-rahim
larry nance
dikembe mutombo
sedale threatt
lou williams
mike mitchell
horace grant
al horford
matt harpring
chris morris
harvey grant
dale davis
jeremy lamb
willie anderson
al-farouq aminu
jim fox
shandon anderson
alvin scott
jj hickson
kelvin cato
jodie meeks
zaza pachulia
Baltimore Bullets
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
sam cassell
reggie lewis
carmelo anthony
dominique wilkins
marvin webster
muggsy bogues
will barton
rudy gay
billy owens
gene shue
dudley bradley
reggie williams
dave twardzik
Berkeley Bears
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
gary payton
damian lillard
jason kidd
paul pierce
bill russell
lester conner
phil chenier
bruce bowen
paul silas
antonio davis
jon barry
brent barry
drew gooden
brook lopez
nate williams
cliff robinson
robin lopez
bison dele
Birmingham Barons
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
eric bledsoe
andrew toney
john drew
charles barkley
artis gilmore
wesley person
robert horry
antonio mcdyess
ben wallace
tr dunn
gerald wallace
larry kenon
theo ratliff
derrick mckey
clarence weatherspoon
leon douglas
reggie king
demarre carroll
buck johnson
Boston Celtics
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
dana barros
vinny del negro
vin baker
andre drummond
michael adams
rick mahorn
marcus camby
travis best
matt bonner
johnny egan
Brooklyn Nets
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
lenny wilkens
chris mullin
bernard king
connie hawkins
ray felix
stephon marbury
world b free
billy cunningham
rudy larusso
zaid abdul-aziz
carl braun
rolando blackman
roger brown
taj gibson
len elmore
mark jackson
vinnie johnson
doug moe
john salley
george thompson
jr smith
jim mcmillian
john roche
bob verga
walter simon
Capital City Go-Go
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
allen iverson
paul pressey
bob dandridge
kevin durant
moses malone
ty lawson
victor oladipo
walt williams
joe smith
alonzo mourning
gerald henderson
delonte west
allan bristow
ed davis
mark west
jarrett jack
dante cunningham
jr reid
Charlotte Hornets
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
stephen curry
ray allen
james worthy
kevin garnett
brad daugherty
darrell armstrong
david thompson
alex english
bobby jones
jermaine o'neal
sleepy floyd
walter davis
khris middleton
antawn jamison
hassan whiteside
jim cleamons
anthony morrow
xavier mcdaniel
trevor booker
clifford ray
anthony johnson
tyrone corbin
mikki moore
pervis ellison
bismack biyombo
Chicago Bulls
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
isiah thomas
jeff hornacek
mark aguirre
terry cummings
george mikan
doc rivers
hersey hawkins
luol deng
toni kukoc
joakim noah
patrick beverley
michael finley
andres nocioni
mickey johnson
nazr mohammed
corey maggette
jim brewer
luc longley
Cleveland Cavaliers
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
cj mccollum
michael redd
lebron james
charles oakley
nate thurmond
larry jones
kevin martin
james posey
gus johnson
zydrunas ilgauskas
antonio daniels
alvin robertson
ruben patterson
anderson varejao
eric snow
dick snyder
phil hubbard
tom boerwinkle
earl boykins
larry siegfried
kosta koufos
College Park Skyhawks
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
norm nixon
jeff malone
sam mitchell
josh smith
dwight howard
charlie ward
kentavious caldwell-pope
jae crowder
derrick favors
tree rollins
lloyd neal
elmore smith
wayne cooper
joe meriweather
Dallas Mavericks
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
deron williams
ricky pierce
dennis rodman
dirk nowitzki
chris bosh
mookie blaylock
marcus smart
willie naulls
larry johnson
lamarcus aldridge
micheal williams
damon jones
cj miles
kenyon martin
tony battie
spud webb
dave stallworth
julius randle
alton lister
jj barea
kurt thomas
greg ostertag
oliver miller
Denver Nuggets
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
chauncey billups
micheal ray richardson
danilo gallinari
paul millsap
nikola jokic
chuck williams
reggie jackson
scott wedman
james johnson
nene hilario
eric piatkowski
eduardo najera
pat garrity
Detroit Pistons
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
archie clark
steve smith
george gervin
chris webber
mel daniels
bj armstrong
ralph simpson
shane battier
dave debusschere
dan roundfield
paul seymour
jalen rose
campy russell
rudy tomjanovich
kevin willis
kelvin ransey
voshon lenard
steve mix
grant long
derrick coleman
johnny davis
terry tyler
terry mills
tim mccormick
jonas jerebko
Gary Steelheads
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
scott skiles
dick barnett
chet walker
shawn kemp
jack sikma
quinn buckner
kendall gill
glenn robinson
mason plumlee
craig hodges
junior bridgeman
eddy curry
rod higgins
Golden State Warriors
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
kc jones
phil smith
willie wise
kenny sears
rich kelley
jeremy lin
mickael pietrus
aaron gordon
red rocha
eddie house
tom meschery
darnell hillman
kurt rambis
andris biedrins
kevin restani
dennis awtrey
Houston Rockets
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
slater martin
clyde drexler
jimmy butler
hakeem olajuwon
yao ming
joe caldwell
rashard lewis
luis scola
deandre jordan
dwight jones
zelmo beaty
emeka okafor
kendrick perkins
chris andersen
Indiana Pacers
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
oscar robertson
dick van arsdale
gordon hayward
george mcginnis
clyde lovellette
louie dampier
kevin grevey
terry dischinger
alan henderson
rik smits
mike conley
jon mcglocklin
bojan bogdanovic
ian mahinmi
jeff teague
mike woodson
larry steele
jim price
courtney lee
randy wittman
bill keller
jerry sichting
Indianapolis Jaguars
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
john paxson
jim paxson
bonzi wells
jerry lucas
wayne embry
george hill
gary harris
zach randolph
kent benson
allen leavell
eric gordon
johnny green
jim davis
kyle macy
ron harper
goose ligon
john mengelt
Lansing Spartans
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
magic johnson
devin booker
morris peterson
draymond green
brad miller
dan majerle
jason richardson
loy vaught
javale mcgee
trent tucker
jay vincent
ben poquette
Lexington Wildcats
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
glen combs
hal greer
louis orr
neil johnston
dave cowens
freddie lewis
clem haskins
barry clemens
brian grant
arnie risen
george king
tyrone hill
dave robisch
jack coleman
chuck share
patrick patterson
lasalle thompson
Long Island Knights
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
calvin murphy
wally szczerbiak
julius erving
tobias harris
jeff ruland
foots walker
randy smith
charles smith
tom gugliotta
mike gminski
mike james
john williamson
danny green
frank brickowski
Los Angeles Clippers
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
russell westbrook
james harden
demar derozan
dave greenwood
swen nater
dennis johnson
bill sharman
tayshaun prince
curtis rowe
elden campbell
mack calvin
paul westphal
bob gross
andre miller
byron scott
josh childress
reggie theus
kyle korver
jan van breda kolff
brandon jennings
jay humphries
arron afflalo
Los Angeles Lakers
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
baron davis
michael cooper
paul george
sidney wicks
pau gasol
darwin cook
stacey augmon
marques johnson
mel hutchins
john block
lucious harris
cedric ceballos
amir johnson
darrall imhoff
tracy murray
trevor ariza
john williams
rick fox
dorell wright
Louisville Colonels
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
rajon rondo
frank ramsey
cliff hagan
larry bird
wes unseld
don buse
darel carrier
allan houston
les hunter
clyde lee
ted mcclain
derek anderson
greg smith
felton spencer
butch beard
greg buckner
chris whitney
Memphis Grizzlies
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
anfernee hardaway
adrian smith
corliss williamson
bailey howell
spencer haywood
tony delk
bingo smith
otto porter
michael cage
marc gasol
thaddeus young
sam lacey
terry catledge
lorenzen wright
popeye jones
Miami Heat
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
derek harper
mitch richmond
eddie jones
otis thorpe
rony seikaly
goran dragic
tim hardaway jr
raja bell
udonis haslem
neal walk
james jones
otto moore
Milwaukee Bucks
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
terry porter
fred brown
latrell sprewell
giannis antetokounmpo
andrew bogut
devin harris
wesley matthews
caron butler
ersan ilyasova
jim chones
nick van exel
carlos delfino
don kojis
carl landry
kevin kunnert
bill hanzlik
paul griffin
kurt nimphius
luc mbah a moute
Minnesota Timberwolves
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
ricky rubio
ron boone
harrison barnes
vern mikkelsen
kevin mchale
kirk hinrich
dick garmaker
mike miller
bob boozer
gorgui dieng
devean george
mark olberding
raef lafrentz
kris humphries
randy breuer
nick collison
joel przybilla
New Orleans Pelicans
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
dj augustin
kerry kittles
danny granger
bob pettit
demarcus cousins
mo williams
don chaney
purvis short
hot rod williams
al jefferson
avery johnson
mahmoud abdul-rauf
cincinnatus powell
brandon bass
greg monroe
chris duhon
bobby phills
reggie evans
george johnson
marcus thornton
glen davis
mike green
othella harrington
erick dampier
cornell warner
harvey catchings
New York Knicks
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
tiny archibald
charlie scott
metta world peace
dolph schayes
kareem abdul-jabbar
rod strickland
jeff mullins
tom sanders
tom heinsohn
patrick ewing
bobby wanzer
mario elie
jamal mashburn
elton brand
sam perkins
vern fleming
david west
billy paultz
olden polynice
Newark Americans
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
kyrie irving
bob weiss
rick barry
troy murphy
shaquille o'neal
brian taylor
kelly tripucka
al harrington
karl-anthony towns
larry brown
eric williams
tim thomas
andrew bynum
al attles
kenneth faried
chris gatling
brevin knight
nenad krstic
mark bryant
eric murdock
North Little Rock RimRockers
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
derek fisher
sidney moncrief
scottie pippen
larry smith
caldwell jones
joe johnson
glen rice
wil jones
joe barry carroll
eddie miles
ronnie brewer
anthony tolliver
andrew lang
fred jones
charles jones
Oklahoma City Thunder
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
mark price
john starks
thabo sefolosha
blake griffin
alvan adams
darnell valentine
craig ehlo
maurice evans
serge ibaka
steven adams
jim king
wayman tisdale
enes kanter
antoine carr
Orlando Magic
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
dee brown
tracy mcgrady
vince carter
amare stoudemire
darryl dawkins
chucky atkins
otis birdsong
hedo turkoglu
truck robinson
nikola vucevic
eddie johnson (78-87)
evan fournier
chandler parsons
red robbins
matt geiger
carlos arroyo
marreese speights
will perdue
kwame brown
clemon johnson
Philadelphia 76ers
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
jameer nelson
earl monroe
paul arizin
larry foust
samuel dalembert
bill melchionni
geoff petrie
tyreke evans
warren davis
chris dudley
chris ford
michael kidd-gilchrist
jim washington
jason thompson
matt guokas
ollie johnson
ray scott
malik rose
Phoenix Suns
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
fat lever
leandro barbosa
richard jefferson
sean elliott
channing frye
mike bibby
jerryd bayless
arthur becker
kenny thomas
Pittsburgh Ironmen
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
norm van lier
pete maravich
john havlicek
armen gilliam
maurice lucas
brad davis
billy knight
jack twyman
len chappell
pat cummings
johnny moore
stu lantz
jack marin
ron williams
george king
Portland Trail Blazers
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
terrell brandon
klay thompson
nicolas batum
kevin love
arvydas sabonis
damon stoudamire
danny ainge
mike dunleavy jr
ac green
mychal thompson
steve jones
terrence ross
mel counts
mike newlin
dave gambee
Queens Red Storm
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
bob cousy
richie guerin
lamar odom
anthony mason
leroy ellis
kemba walker
gus williams
mike riordan
ed pinckney
tom owens
dick mcguire
ben gordon
rodney mccray
bob kauffman
kenny anderson
brian winters
malik sealy
charlie villanueva
kenny smith
ray williams
maurice harkless
rafer alston
ernie grunfeld
Raleigh Cougars
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
john wall
michael jordan
cedric maxwell
buck williams
walt bellamy
nate mcmillan
sam jones
jerome kersey
pj tucker
randy denton
phil ford
bryant stith
jerry stackhouse
chris wilcox
john lucas
ml carr
chucky brown
ramon sessions
rodney rogers
henry bibby
Rosemont Rush
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
flynn robinson
nick anderson
shawn marion
dan issel
bill laimbeer
shaun livingston
anthony parker
robert covington
bob netolicky
dave corzine
don nelson
aaron williams
Sacramento Kings
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
kevin johnson
matt barnes
omri casspi
peja stojakovic
vlade divac
beno udrih
francisco garcia
ryan anderson
bill cartwright
jim eakins
james donaldson
chuck hayes
San Antonio Spurs
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
tony parker
manu ginobili
robert reid
tim duncan
rasho nesterovic
david wesley
marco belinelli
bo outlaw
boris diaw
luke jackson
patty mills
bill bridges
jeff foster
Seattle SuperSonics
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
john stockton
steve nash
detlef schrempf
carlos boozer
byron beck
isaiah thomas
brandon roy
doug christie
marvin williams
james edwards
nate robinson
jason terry
martell webster
vladimir radmanovic
steve hawes
mario chalmers
jamal crawford
mike lewis
luke ridnour
rodney stuckey
blair rasmussen
Shreveport Storm
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
jimmy jones
joe dumars
calvin natt
karl malone
willis reed
james silas
orlando woolridge
elvin hayes
robert parish
bob love
benoit benjamin
john beasley
pj brown
stromile swift
ervin johnson
South Side Sky
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
derrick rose
dwyane wade
cazzie russell
juwan howard
anthony davis
maurice cheeks
tony allen
eddie johnson(81-99)
bill robinzine
red kerr
tim hardaway
quentin richardson
ron anderson
jason maxiell
rickey green
sonny parker
bobby simmons
kevin porter
darrell walker
Spirits of St. Louis
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
jo jo white
bradley beal
andre iguodala
harry gallatin
ed macauley
lucius allen
donnie freeman
jerry sloan
david lee
gene moore
andy phillip
warren jabali
bill bradley
laphonso ellis
steve stipanovich
tyronn lue
doug collins
alec burks
jon koncak
anthony peeler
kevin gamble
bob ferry
john brown
Toronto Raptors
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
larry costello
george carter
clifford robinson
tristan thompson
bob lanier
jose calderon
cory joseph
christian laettner
jonas valanciunas
kelly olynyk
jamaal magloire
andray blatche
danny schayes
walter dukes
Utah Jazz
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
joe ingles
andrei kirilenko
tom chambers
rudy gobert
fred roberts
mehmet okur
phil jackson
shawn bradley
Washington Wizards
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
steve francis
adrian dantley
grant hill
elgin baylor
david robinson
sherman douglas
dave bing
dennis scott
thurl bailey
ralph sampson
gene littles
austin carr
jerome williams
kenny carr
roy hibbert
johnny dawkins
dell curry
danny ferry
kermit washington
marcin gortat
hubert davis
jeff green
jerami grant
curtis perry
john battle
michael smith
john tresvant
Westwood Bruins
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
gilbert arenas
gail goodrich
chris mills
kiki vandeweghe
tyson chandler
jrue holiday
steve kerr
jamaal wilkes
lonnie shelton
chris childs
austin croshere
Winston-Salem Demon Deacons
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
chris paul
jerry west
josh howard
happy hairston
bob mcadoo
jason williams
lou hudson
johnny newman
danny manning
brendan haywood
bobby jackson
jj redick
george lynch
jimmy walker
rod thorn
Wynnewood Hawks
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
kyle lowry
kobe bryant
richard hamilton
rasheed wallace
wilt chamberlain
walt hazzard
aaron mckie
tom gola
donyell marshall
sam bowie
alvin williams
cuttino mobley
roy hinson
marcus morris
tom mcmillen
bob sura
mike bantom
markieff morris
mike gale
gene banks
trooper washington
hakim warrick
Best Positional Groups (in my opinion)
(in reverse alphabetical order) Best Guards: Winston-Salem, South Side, Seattle, Queens, LA Clippers, Indiana Best Wings: Washington, North Little Rock, Long Island, Baltimore, Brooklyn, Charlotte Best Bigs: Shreveport, Portland, New York, Houston, Detroit, Dallas, Birmingham
TL;DR
What did you do?
Created all-time hometown/territorial rosters
Why did you do it?
always been fascinated with it ever since Bron came home
Who did you use?
player pool was top 957 in career ws/48 (min 10000 mp) from basketball-reference, plus George Mikan (listed in ESPN's AllTime NBARank and Bill Simmons Basketball Pyramid but didn't meet the minutes requirement)
team pool was originally 30 teams, added more teams where there were an abundance of players
New Teams:
Team
Notables
Anaheim Amigos
Kawhi, Reggie, Bill Walton
Baltimore Bullets
Dominique, Melo
Berkeley Bears
Bill Russell, Dame, Paul Pierce
Birmingham Barons
Barkley, Eric Bledsoe, Artis Gilmore
Capital City Go-Go
AI, KD, Moses
College Park Skyhawks
Dwight Howard, Josh Smith
Gary Steelheads
Shawn Kemp, Sikma
Indianapolis Jaguars
Jerry Lucas, Zach Randolph
Lansing Spartans
Magic, D-Book, Draymond
Lexington Wildcats
Hal Greer, Cowens
Long Island Knights
Dr J, Tobias Harris
Louisville Colonels
Bird, Rondo, Unseld
Newark Americans
Kyrie, Rick Barry, Shaq
North Little Rock RimRockers
Pippen, Sidney Moncrief, Iso Joe
Pittsburgh Ironmen
Pistol Pete, Havlicek
Queens Red Storm
Cousy, Kemba
Raleigh Cougars
Michael Jordan, John Wall
Rosemont Rush
Shawn Marion, Laimbeer
Seattle SuperSonics
Stockton, Steve Nash, Schrempf
Shreveport Storm
Mailman, Dumars, Willis Reed
South Side Sky
Dwyane Wade, D-Rose, Anthony Davis
Spirits of St. Louis
Beal, Iguodala
Westwood Bruins
Arenas, Jrue
Winston-Salem Demon Deacons
Logo, CP3
Wynnewood Hawks
Kobe, Wilt, Lowry
How did you do it?
Googled "[player name] grew up neighbourhood" and variations of that
Legal online gambling is now one step closer in Indiana after Representative Alan Morrison published a bill proposing the legalization and regulation of the activity. The newly introduced House Bill 1406 proposes a tax rate of 18% on adjusted gross revenues and an initial $500,000 fee for interactive gaming operators. INDIANAPOLIS (Inside INdiana Business) — Indiana’s gaming industry hit a new high as it closed out 2020, but it is also beginning 2021 with a new bill to expand the industry in the Hoosier state. An online gambling bill is back on the table in Indiana, and this time it includes online poker.. Sen. Jon Ford first drafted legislation to bring online casinos to Indiana in October 2020.Ford did not include online poker in the bill’s initial draft, believing it might hurt its chances. But after discussions with fellow lawmakers and industry representatives, he saw fit to add online poker ... Major Gambling Bill Awaits Indiana Governor’s Signature. The Indiana Senate and House have approved an amended sports betting legalization bill; The bill will legalize both physical and online sports betting in the state; There will be an initial $100,000 license fee and an 8.5% tax rate The bill comes as the state set a new monthly record for sports betting. Whether the bill has a legitimate chance to pass remains to be seen. We will give our take on the future of this bill. SB 417 Filed in Indiana. On Tuesday, news broke of a new online gambling bill in the Hoosier State. SB 417 was filed by State Senator Jon Ford of Terre Haute. An effort to legalize internet gaming in Indiana will include online poker after all.. Sen. Jon Ford introduced his interactive gaming bill Monday. The internet casino bill was issued as a response to the coronavirus pandemic that shut down casinos.. In his first draft for the bill in October, Ford left out online poker. Indiana State Senate will have a busy start of 2021 pending the discussion of the online casino bill, as well as the introduction of VTGs inside of bars and restaurants. Measures to Boost the Gambling Industry and Small Business Owners. Indiana’s General Assembly will discuss two important legislations during its... A new bill has been introduced in Indiana that will legalize online casino gambling in the state. Last year was a good year for gaming in Indiana. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the state hit record highs in the industry. Now as 2021 begins, one lawmaker looks to expand on that success. Indiana State Senate will have a busy start of 2021 pending the discussion of the online casino bill, as well as the introduction of VTGs inside of bars and restaurants. Measures to Boost the Gambling Industry and Small Business Owners Add Indiana to the states that could consider internet casino gambling legislation in 2021.. Sen. Jon Ford tells PlayIndiana that he is already working on language for an online casino bill. “With COVID, we’re still at 50% capacity at our casinos,” Ford said. “I have no idea when that might be lifted. If we had iGaming, it would give those casinos a way to drive revenue for them and ...
TOP 4 MOST ICONIC POKER FIGHTS OF ALL TIME! - YouTube
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