This record-breaking hot summer may be coming to an end, but I’ll still share my secret on how to beat the heat:

Score more points then them.

🎉 Happy birthday BJ Armstrong, Luc Mbah a Moute, Shane Battier, Walter Davis, Dan Marjerle, JR Smith, Drew Timme, and Jordan Nwora! 🎉

First off, Rest in Peace to Jerry West, a true legend amongst legends.

In his 2011 autobiography West by West, The Logo shared his dream game. 22 players, 4 coaches, all of them Hall of Famers. It would be played in Madison Square Garden (duh) with everyone in their athletic prime, which West deemed to be between 26-29.

A perfect game. Basketball Nirvana cultivated by a man who gave 53 years of his life to the NBA. Don’t get tripped up by the inconsistent conference names. Rather then draft across geographic lines, West sought to create an All-Star battle of philosophies.

Red Auerbach’s Eastern Conference can slow the game down and grind out wins. Kobe and Larry Bird are more then comfortable scoring in the half court. Throw in Russell, Wilt, Duncan, Rodman, Barkley… good luck getting on the glass against these dudes.

Meanwhile, Pat Riley’s Western Squad is ready to get out and go. LeBron and Mike are the two greatest players ever. Like what more do you need? Riles also keeps two of his Showtime staples (Kareem and Magic), while adding West himself and his old running-mate Elgin Baylor.

It’d be impossible to definitively choose a winner between such stacked rosters. That being said, who wants to check out some numbers!?

Per West’s rules, we’ll only be looking at the totals from each player’s 3 year athletic prime:

What stands out to me the most is the similarity in Win %. Both sides are neck in neck, 63.7% for the West and 63.3% in the East. Across an 82 game season that’s good for ~52 wins.

With such all-time players, restricting them to just a 3 year sample size is limiting. Let’s take a look at the career trophy cases! NBA and ABA stats, with and coaches will be included in the tally. There will be no double counting!

For example: Kareem and Pat Riley have 6 rings, while Magic has 5. Rather then counting for 17 titles, we have 8 unique titles. Kareem-Magic-Riles won 4 together, Magic-Kareem got 1 in 1980, then Kareem’s ‘71 ring in Milwaukee. Riley won in ‘72 as a player, then ‘08 coaching the Heat. So we have 8 UNIQUE rings.

Still with me? Good, cause this is the fun part:

The “East” features stars from the 60s/80s Celtics, 2000s Spurs and Lakers, and the 90s Bulls. That’ll help with the ring count for sure.

One final consideration; how do you decide starting lineups? I’ll toss my picks out, but again there’s no objective answer:

“East” Starting 5: Oscar Robertson, Kobe Bryant, Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell

Reserves: Julius Erving, Dwyane Wade, Tim Duncan, Dennis Rodman, Steve Nash, Charles Barkley

“West” Starting 5: Magic Johnson, Micheal Jordan, LeBron James, Hakeem Olajuwon, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Reserves: Shaquille O’Neal, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Rick Berry, John Stockton, Karl Malone

Again, West by West was released in 2011, before guys like Steph Curry or Kevin Durant became the players they are today.

Now that all the pieces are laid out, I put the (metaphorical) ball in your court. Who wins Jerry West’s Dream Game and why? Tweet your reasoning to @enjoybball and we’ll give it a repost!

The FIBA Woman’s World Cup Group Stage is wrapping up

The USA Women’s team got back on the right foot after a narrow 55-52 escape from Italy. They hammered the Czech Republic 105-64, led by a calm 19/7/6 from Breanna Stewart. The blowout gave the American’s young stars (Paige Bueckers, Caitlin Clark, Angel Resse) a chance at some extended run, which could prove crucial in allowing this golden generation to get more comfortable on the international stage.

The United States will take on Hungary in the quarterfinals on Thursday- with Hungary qualifying for their first QF in 40 years! They beat a tough Japanese squad to get there, featuring Saki Hayashi who hit a tournament record 9 threes in a single game two days prior against Mali. History all around!

USA should cruise past the talented but overmatched Hungary roster, but it’s no walk in the park to bring the trophy home. The official FIBA website has France listed as the #1 ranked team in the tournament- and for good reason.

Led by Golden State’s Gabby Williams and Seattle’s Dominique Malonga, France has looked like world beaters thus far. In their Group Stage games, their average margin of victory has been by 42.3 POINTS a night. They say the mark of a great team is dominating when you’re supposed to. Safe to say Les Bleus have held up that end of the bargain.

Grizzlies, Pelicans Swap Young Talent

With Memphis and New Orleans both thinking about the future, the two teams quietly swapped some unproven players in hopes of taking another step towards contention.

Memphis receives: Jordan Hawkins, Micah Peavy, a future 2nd and a future 2nd round swap

New Orleans receives: AJ Johnson, Taj Gibson

Why Memphis said yes: It’s become a very crowded developmental room in Bluff City. With plenty of guards already needing minutes, the Grizz opted to kick the can down the road and pick up two ever-valuable 2nd round picks for a player that they simply didn’t have room for. Hawkins remains an impressive shooter, but according to reports Memphis will likely waive him, Kris Murray, D’Angelo Russell, and Walter Clayton Jr. to slim their roster down to the NBA required 15 standard contracts. Outside of the aging Russell (who may certainly attract attention himself), each of these youngsters offer intriguing upside should a team want a second-draft situation

Why New Orleans said yes: AJ Johnson has now infamously been traded 4 times at just 21 years of age. The 23rd pick in the 2024 draft was seen as a project before entering the league, and has dealt with some unfortunate luck as Milwaukee, Washington, Dallas, Memphis, and now New Orleans have all been franchises in constant flux. Johnson remains a livewire athlete in a 6’ 5” frame. Should he be given the opportunity stay in one place and grow, there’s a legit NBA player here. New Orleans is betting they can be the team to do it. They’re also bringing Taj Gibson so that Deandre Jordan doesn’t get lonely being the vet in the locker room.

As always, thank you for taking the time to read this edition of the Enjoy newsletter.

If you’re bored this week and need a movie to watch, I can’t recommend Wake Up Dead Man enough. Rian Johnson tones it down and creates a captivating mystery with a unique perspective and engaging character work. Then Benoit Blanc shows up talking like Foghorn Leghorn and the whole thing just becomes perfect.

Ben Gordnier