Where's the Love for Uncle Sam?

I feel as if the childhood concept of favorite players fades into a more nondescript state of admiration once we grow a little bit older. Whereas when we were kids we always had one or two players in each sport who were definitely our favorites, now we simply have a collection of guys who we like. In fact, I find myself just as likely to have a group of guys I adamantly dislike as a group I would call my favorites.

For instance, when I was in High School my favorite players were Tim Hardaway and Shawn Kemp (pre-lock-out, before he ballooned to like 350 lbs). I loved “the other Hardaway” for his killer cross-over, his knack for taking and hitting the big three point shot and in general, his “Skillz”. I loved Shawn Kemp for his emphatic dunks. Whether it was on the receiving end of a perfect alley-oop pass from Gary Payton, or going up over an entire defense, Kemp finished every dunk with the authority that earned him the moniker, “The Reign Man” (and if this often meant he grabbed his crotch while hanging on the rim, I was for it all the more...). He was, in my opinion, the most athletic big man of all time. I remember with clarity his segment of the “Superstars of the NBA 3” video, with Pearl Jam as the chosen band to accompany the video montage. It was so packed full of dunks, it energized me every time I watched it to the point that it used to be a part of my buddy Josh and I’s pre-game ritual.

But since High School, I haven’t really had many favorite players. There just haven’t been many guys that I watch play, and I feel as if I need to buy their jersey. I’d be more likely to buy a jersey to support my favorite team, but I always get hung up on the fact that I can’t decide on which player’s jersey I’d like to have.

There is, however, one NBA player today who I can honestly say is my favorite. He hasn’t’ always been my favorite, nor was there a distinct point in time where I could say a light switch went on for me. It has been more a body-of-work type of realization than a break-through performance. He is a player who has many nicknames. He is a man who is perceived with mixed impressions. His name is Sam Cassell. ‘Sam I am’, as he is now often referred to. My friends and I often make reference to his odd shaped head and call him ‘the Alien’. Sam will often remind listeners and readers alike that Cassell is spelled with ‘Two S’s, Two L’s’.

For all the good things he is, Sam Cassell isn’t sexy. He might be one of the ugliest men in the NBA since Patrick Ewing “graced” Madison Square Garden with his presence. His game isn’t sexy either. He shoots the mid-range jumper rather than the three most of the time, he dribbles out in front of his body, rather than cradling the ball at his side. He lays the ball up, instead of dunking (his ability to actually dunk could be questioned here, but that’s not the point). Sam Cassell plays the game his own way. It’s why he has always insisted he is a “Lead-guard”, not a point guard. He does what he needs to do to win, even if it’s not conventional.

One thing about Sam Cassell is that he will always be somewhat misunderstood. He’s bounced around the league, never quite finding a true home. He won two championships his first two years in the league with the Houston Rockets (making many clutch plays in the process), and has been an NBA vagabond ever since. He’s spent time (off the top of my head) with the Nets, Bucks, Timberwolves and now the Clippers since leaving Houston. He found a somewhat permanent home with the Milwaukee Bucks for a while, but contract issues and a team that started to quickly head in the wrong direction after almost making it to the finals had him heading out of town for almost nothing in return in a trade to the T-wolves.

What people don’t understand about Sam, is that he’s always wanted to be a part of the long-term solution. Yes, that kind of role also means he wants the kind of long-term, lucrative contract that a team gives to its franchise point guard. In Milwaukee, while unhappy with his contract, he was reported to have showed up at practice every day with his sweat pants pockets turned out to emphasize his point. But team after team has picked him up as a fill-in, or a quick-fix. No one has him embraced him as their ‘lead guard’ for now and the future.

Sure, he’s getting older, and that day may never come to full fruition, but Sam Cassell can still help teams win. He’s won at every stop of his NBA career. It started with the two championships, he helped turn around the Nets to the point where they were once considered one of the top up-and-coming teams in the East with a core of Cassell, Jayson Williams (the rebound king turned murderer) and Keith Van Horn. Look at the other two guys that were considered the core of the team and think about it for a second. CLEARLY, Cassell was doing something right to make people think those two guys were not just quality, but big-time players in the NBA.

His next stop was Milwaukee, which quickly became the best young team in the NBA. The three-headed monster of Ray Allen, Glenn Robinson and Sam Cassell was a scoring machine. Add the rising star Tim Thomas (isn’t the NBA ironic?), and this team was a matchup nightmare. After almost making the finals, the Bucks made a ridiculous trade of Ray Allen for an already too old Gary Payton and it was clear Sam I Am’s days in Milwaukee were numbered. Next stop, Minnesota…

In Minnesota Sam did nothing but lead the T-Wolves to their first ever (and still only) playoff series win. It was only a hip injury to Cassell that prevented the T-Wolves from having a great chance of going much further into the playoffs. The next year, things went sour as the T-Wolves failed to extend Cassell or Latrell Sprewell’s contracts (poor Latrell’s starving children). Once again, Sam wanted to made a part foreseeable future, but it was not to be.

All this brings us to this season. It brings us to Sam Cassell ending up with the laughing-stock of the NBA, the L.A. Clippers. A team that perennially spends high lottery pick after high lottery pick to not on young, talented players who never amount to anything. A franchise that has made the playoffs only once, and has always played little-brother to the Lakers. So what does ‘lead guard’ Sam Cassell do with a team of underachieving misfits? He makes them better, but not just better, he makes them good. 'Sam I Am', has played the role of Uncle Sam.

Currently Sam Cassell is averaging almost 18 points and almost 7 assists a game for the season. The Clippers are 11 games above .500, and ahead of the more highly touted Lakers. The Clippers aren’t just going to make the playoffs, I’m not sure anyone wants to play them in the First Round either.

So what has Sam Cassell gotten, as far acclaim goes for his remarkable career? With career averages over 16 pts/game and over 6 assists/game, Sam Cassell has one All-Star performance to show for it. After being the All-Star snub that no one talked about this year, he’s about to get snubbed for another award. Wherever you read, the NBA MVP voting is a race between defending MVP Steve Nash, Chauncey Billups, Kobe Bryant and Dwayne Wade. Where is Cassell, a guy who has single handedly turned the Clippers around from being losers to winners, and had a great statistical season to boot? Not mentioned, that’s where.

Do I think Sam Cassell is the NBA’s MVP? No, I think that honor goes to Steve Nash. But I sure as heck think he deserves to be on the list ahead of ball-hog Kobe Bryant, Chauncey Billups (who I love, but who might not be the most important player on his team), and Dwayne Wade (who stars with Shaq on an under-achieving Heat squad). Even teammate Elton Brand, who is having a career year by all measures, is getting more MVP hype than Cassell. How come Steve Nash gets credit for making his teammates better, but Sam Cassells teammates get all the credit for having career years, the year he (coincidentally) arrives?

Why doesn’t Sam Cassell get the credit he deserves? I’m not sure. Maybe it’s the cocky attitude. Maybe it’s the fact that he’s been a vagabond, bouncing from team to team for a large part of his career. Maybe all the sports writers out there just forgot how to spell his name. I’ll remind them: it’s spelt with “Two S’s, two L’s”…