Despite having coached the Danny Manning–led Kansas Jayhawks to the 1988 NCAA title, and despite having coached the Allen Iverson–led Philadelphia 76ers to the 2001 NBA Finals, the job Larry Brown was doing with the Pistons was his most remarkable work in a 32-year sideline career. Detroit’s roster featured zero future Hall of Famers, and zero

peak. At 30, the great low-post scorers were at their greatest. At 30, Bill Russell was averaging 14.1 points and 24.1 rebounds for the 1964–65 world champion Boston Celtics. At 30, Wilt Chamberlain was averaging 24.1 points and 24.2 rebounds for the 1966–67 world champion Philadelphia 76ers. At 30, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was averaging 25.8 points and

He just knew it. “A team always beats a group of individuals,” he said. “We picked a poor time to be a group of individuals.”

This was eating at Burger King following a nine-course bonanza at Per Se. The Nets were a 52-regular-season-win team with one superstar, point guard Jason Kidd, and a slew of mehs who would be sixth and seventh men in Jackson’s rotation.

When Denver’s Ricky Pierce went after Payton, the Glove snapped, “I’ll kill your family.”

“When he’d go up and dunk, it reminded me of a Christmas tree, with defenders hanging off of him like ornaments,” said Greg Kite, Orlando’s backup center. “Or they were the bowling pins, and he was an enormous 300-pound ball.

At the behest of his wife, Ann, he hired a designer to create www.delharris.com, then charged visitors $20 for a one-year membership that included (as written on the home page) “these great benefits”: an autographed photograph, an “official” Del’s Club membership card, a quarterly newsletter, and a birthday card. Fewer than 100 people subscribed.

When I mentioned how Bryant had coined his own nickname (“Black Mamba”) and referred to himself as “Mamba” with odd earnestness, O’Neal grimaced. “Now,” he said, “you understand what I had to deal with.”

“Every great team has a one-two punch,” Jackson said. “This is your team, Shaq. And Kobe, you’re gonna be our floor leader. You guys don’t like that, let me know now and I’ll trade you now. You’re gonna do what I say, and if you don’t, you’re out of here.”