There’s no better time-waster than YouTube.com, where celebrities can be exposed, pop singers can be discovered and classic sports moments can be relived.
With Game 1 of the 2008 NBA Finals soon to begin, we thought we’d poke around YouTube and see what we could find among the 300 or so entries that pop up when you search “Lakers vs. Celtics”:
The commercials preceding this clip from Game 7 of the 1984 Finals are priceless — especially “Forever in Stamps” (20 cents apiece!). The outcome isn’t a happy one for the Lakers. Had I seen Kareem’s weak follow shot in this clip, I might’ve retracted my vote for him on the all-time Lakers team.
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This one’s much happier — Nick Van Exel hitting a winning three at the buzzer to beat the Celtics in ‘95. Chick Hearn’s call is spot-on: “It’ll count if it goes … It went! It went! It went! … A miracle at Boston Garden!”
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This highlight montage — capped by a Kobe reverse jam — will flat-out get you fired up for the Finals.
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This 10-minute clip from NBA TV (10 minutes … and it’s Part 1 of 2!) profiles Magic and Bird and the impact they had on the growth of the league. I believe that’s Billy Cunningham commenting at the outset, though it’s hard to tell behind those Harry Caray-sized glasses. Also worth noting: Bird’s wispy ’stache.
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Ah, here’s Part 2:
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Here’s another one from NBA TV, featuring the Top 10 plays from the 1987 Finals. The bottom five feature James Worthy at his best. No. 5 features bad D by an aging Kareem. No. 1, of course, is Magic’s baby hook, which never grows old.
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Finally, to get you revved up for Game 1, here’s the Kobe-KG split-screen “There Can Only Be One” NBA playoff spot. How they get the participants to talk in perfect sync remains a mystery.
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