I pride myself on knowing a bit about NBA history. I’m not a professional historian like Todd Spehr or Adam Criblez, but I know enough to lament the Trail Blazers passing on Larry Bird in the 1978 NBA draft, or argue about the racial politics of the Celtics/Lakers rivalry of the 1980s.
I’m also a long-time Trail Blazers fan. I’ve watched every second I can find of Bill Walton, refuse to watch the 2000 Western Conference Finals again, and get teared up thinking about Brandon Roy’s last game.