Gabe's Favs: Legacy Moments From Luka Doncic, Katie Benzan, and Omar Cook
Three very different players made me feel all types of basketball feelings this week.
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This is the second installment of Gabe’s Favs. A (hopefully) weekly look at some of my favorite basketball players that I’m thinking about at the moment. You can see last week’s favs and a longer explanation of what this is here. Let’s hit it.
Luka Dončić
Luka may be the biggest name that will ever be featured in Gabe’s Favs. To be fair, there probably isn’t a bigger name in the game of basketball right now. His Game 7 performance to end the Phoenix’s season has dominated Twitter feeds and headlines almost as much he dominated the Suns. Luka was incredible before AND after the game.
The man flat-out tortured Phoenix in pick-and-rolls.
Those three plays all took place within the first six minutes of the game. At first, the Suns gave the switch and Luka converted an easy-for-him stepback corner three over DeAndre Ayton. Then, the Suns tried showing Ayton with Luka’s defender going over the screen. He throws Mikail Bridges with his forearm into the screen and hits a three, then drops a dime to Maxi Kleber after a re-screen. The Mavs created even more chaos with actions like this one.
I could go on with videos. But, as posited in this video on the Ball and Order Tik Tok Channel and YouTube Channel, the real impact of this game won’t be how Luka beat the Suns or how he (and all of Twitter) roasted them afterwards. It’ll be how we look back on this moment in the context of Luka’s career. We all believe that Luka could be a generational NBA player. Some believe that he’s already proven that he will be and may already be at that level. This game cements the latter idea, regardless of what happens in the Western Conference Finals.
A lot of NBA legends have a breakthrough playoff moment before the championships that sticks on their career highlight reels. Jordan had his shot over Craig Elho in 1988. Lebron scored 29 of Cleveland’s last 30 points to beat Detroit in 2007. Dwyane Wade had his game-winning floater against Charlotte in 2004.1 Kevin Durant hit an awesome game winner for OKC against the Mavericks in 2012. Karl Malone had his entire career.2
This was Luka’s first playoff triumph3 and I think we’ll be talking about it throughout his hopefully legendary career. And if the Mavs end up winning the title, this game will be the moment we knew they could do it.
Katie Benzan
Let me start by saying that I’m not shocked that Katie Benzan could play in the WNBA. She was a deadeye shooter at Harvard and Maryland while capably running the offense when called upon. While Benzan is limited defensively at a maximum height of 5’6”4, she’s smart on that end and effort is never an issue.
However, I still a bit surprised about the phenomenon now known as Benzanity. The Dominican (!!!) point guard was calling softball games on Maryland’s radio station six days before signing with the Mystics. As Jenn Hatfield detailed for The Next, Mystics coach Mike Thibault essentially told Benzan that she wouldn’t make the team (according to Maryland coach Brenda Frese).
But Benzan didn’t flinch. She came into training camp and showed Washington what she could bring the team with her shooting and speed. While her skill set impressed, Benzan’s work ethic and courage (as Thibault put it) really shone through.
“On her first day here, I get in really early to get ready for practice,” said Elena Delle Donne, who typically arrives to the Mystics facility hours before practice to get her still-recovering body ready. “And I hear the ball going. I’m like ‘who is that? Someone's been out there forever.’ I look and it was [Benzan] shooting threes. Then, the ball is still bouncing an hour and a half later. I was like, ‘Are you going to shoot your arm out before your first WNBA practice?’”
Benzan making the roster was enough of a feel good story. Then, she outscored 2020 WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson and perennial All-Star Chelsea Gray COMBINED as the Mystics came back from a 14-point deficit to beat the Las Vegas Aces last week. I’m cherry picking stats here,5 but Benzan had a big impact on the game. On the play below, you can see her grasp of the offense as she fades for a three instead of curling off the screen with the defender shooting the gap and her quick release as she buries the trey.
Unfortunately, part of the journey is the end. The Mystics released Benzan’s hardship contract on May 16th in order to activate Kennedy Burke, who returned from Europe. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Benzan return to the Mystics or another WNBA team on a hardship contract later in the season, especially with shooting ability. I also wouldn’t be surprised if she’s hosting a really good podcast soon. Regardless, Benzan made her mark on this league and proved that all she needed was a chance.
Omar Cook
Omar Cook es un leyenda. The older crowd will remember him as a New York playground and Christ The King High School star who took the nation by storm as a freshman at St. John’s freshman in 2001. He declared for the NBA Draft after his freshman year, which was a mistake. Cook would be drafted, but not until the 2nd round. As a raw 19-year old prospect, He wasn’t ready for the next level and played just 22 NBA games from 2001-2004 among stints in the infant NBA D-League. For many, that’s where Cook’s story ends and he serves as a cautionary tale as a player who left college too early.
Of course, that was just a chapter in Cook’s life. 17 years after his last NBA game and at age 40, he may have just played his last professional basketball game. As he announced his likely retirement in a unmistakeable New York accent, a reporter responded in a thick Spanish accent that he was a legend in the second best league in the world, Spain’s ACB.
Cook’s basketball journey took him to Belgium, France, Russia, Serbia, Lithuania, Montenegro, and Italy. He even became a Montenegrin citizen and played for that country in international tournaments. While he won championships across Europe, he spent most of his career in Spain. His career 5.4 assists per game in the ACB is the best mark in league history. As you can see below, Cook showed off his New York City flare in Spain and the pass-happy Spanish fans ate it up.
I love basketball for a lot of reasons. The symphony of coordinated teamwork and creative individual brilliance produces a game that’s beautiful and rugged at the same time. There are millions of complicated plays and actions to learn about. Then, there are millions of moments where the only response is “wow” because the athletic feat is almost indescribable.
But as I get deeper into the sport, I think the thing I love most is that you never know where that little orange ball is going to take you. It’s taken me to places that 10-year old me would freak out about. For Omar Cook, it took him around the world and up to the mountain top.
He may serve as a cautionary tale to those who stopped paying attention to his career. But to me, Cook and Benzan should serve as reminders that loving basketball, working hard, and seizing opportunities are the only pre-requisites for a successful basketball journey. As Cook says here, he wouldn’t change a thing about his basketball career. With the legacy that he has left in Europe, it’s hard to disagree with him.
Apologies to the following players for not including them: Isabelle Harrison, Nia Coffey, Azurá Stevens, James Harden (for helping the Heat beat the Sixers), Maxi Kleber, and Bob Lanier (RIP).
Admittedly, this moment may be a bit more niche. But I bought my first of 7 Dwyane Wade jerseys after that game so it’s very important to me.
I did consider his performances against the Clippers in the past. But I do think losing the series ultimately tarnishes those moments and puts them in a different context.
Based on the eye test, Benzan is not two inches taller than the 5’4” Japanese sensation Rui Machida despite being listed at 5’6”.
Benzan had 12 points as Wilson had 10 and Gray had 2.