Welcome to Layup Lines, For the Win’s basketball newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Have feedback for the Layup Lines Crew? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey. Now, here’s Mike Sykes
Happy Friday, folks! Welcome back to Layup Lines. Thanks so much for joining me today. I hope you’ve had a good week so far.
My Friday was going great…until I heard Jaylen Brown rapping on a new song with A$AP Ferg.
And, look, I’m not anti-athletes rapping. I actually enjoy it when we see athletes get into a different bag than the one we’re used to.
Damian Lillard is great at it, obviously. You know who else is really good? Flau’jae Johnson. She’s got star potential on and off the court, which is pretty impressive. That’s the same stuff Shaq used to do.
You know who isn’t very good at it? Jaylen. Brown. This was…not great.
When I heard him rhyme monogamy with astronomy I knew it was time for me to check out. Let’s just say this wasn’t for me.
WARNING: There is some NSFW language included in this tweet
Jaylen Brown x A$AP Ferg 🚨
“Just Do It” 📀
How y’all feeling it? pic.twitter.com/MjbTjMutoQ
— REVOLT (@revolttv) August 23, 2024
I get what Brown was trying to do here. Vocally, he sounds like a mix of early Dom Kennedy and current Larry June. It kind of works, but it’s just not that smooth. This is somewhere between better than Dwyane Wade (yikes, this was bad) and worse than Kevin Durant (Still not great!).
I’d give Brown an A for effort here. But, uh, you should probably stick to your day job, Mr. Finals MVP.
Rest in peace, Al Attles
On a more serious note, the game lost one of its legends this week.
Warriors legend Al Attles died on Wednesday, the team announced on social media.
He played for the Warriors for 10 years from the 1960-61 season through the 1970-71 season. During that time, the team transitioned from Philadelphia to San Francisco. It’s remained in the Bay Area since.
He was a bruiser — a physical player they nicknamed “The Destroyer” because of how relentless he was on the court.
Remembering Alvin Attles (1936-2024) pic.twitter.com/k8r7FbVg4Q
— NBA History (@NBAHistory) August 22, 2024
He transitioned to being a player-coach during the 1969-70 season and became the full-time coach from 1970 until 1983. On the court, Attles led the Warriors to a 1975 championship over the Bullets in a four-game sweep. He has 557 wins, which still stands as the most in franchise history.
As good of a coach as he was on the court, he meant a lot more of it.
Attles was one of the first Black head coaches in the NBA, following in Bill Russell’s and the Celtics’ footsteps. Without him, the league wouldn’t be where it is today.
What a legend. We’ll miss you, Al.
Shootaround
— They had the Warriors all over the DNC this week. Sheesh.
— Sue Bird has three teams she wouldn’t want to play in the playoffs this year, including Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever. Meg Hall has more.
— The NBAPA could probably learn a thing or two from the CBA the NWSLPA put together. This is incredible.
— This cool moment between Tina Charles and Diana Taurasi is what sports is all about, man. Here’s Cory Woodroof with more.
That’s a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for rocking with us today. We appreciate you. We’ll have more next week. Talk to you then.
Peace.
-Sykes ✌️
