LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Let's call these NBA Playoffs what they are:
The Derby Classic NBA Playoffs.
In the Eastern Conference, you have the top-seed Cleveland Cavaliers led by former University of Louisville star Donovan Mitchell.
Mitchell flashed his NBA potential at Freedom Hall, scoring 21 points in the 2015 Derby Classic.
In the Western Conference, you have the top-seed Oklahoma City Thunder led by former University of Kentucky star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
He flashed his NBA potential at Freedom Hall, scoring 29 points in the 2017 Derby Classic.
That game ended a tradition that began in 1973. The Derby Classic disappeared, a victim of declining attendance, unfair competition from all-star games favored by powerful apparel companies, a stiff-arm from former Kentucky coach John Calipari and other changes in the basketball culture.
I argued for the return of the Derby Classic last year after Calipari fled for Arkansas. No reason to repeat my plea. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn't happen, we'll always have memories.
The appearance of Gilgeous-Alexander and Mitchell as the featured stars of the top contenders in each conference for the 2025 NBA title are prime memories as the playoffs begin.
Gilgeous-Alexander — or SGA, as he is called by many — is favored to achieve something no former University of Kentucky player has achieved:
Win the NBA MVP award.
He's in line to make a list with Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Steph Curry.
That is the path a player takes on the way to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, especially if SGA can direct the Thunder to something the franchise failed to achieve when Kevin Durant, James Harden and Russell Westbrook were on their roster — an NBA title.
The Thunder won 68 games this season, 16 more than any Western Conference team and four more than Mitchell and the Cavaliers. They are the title favorites, and Gilgeous-Alexander is the face of the favorites.
He led the league in scoring at 32.7 points per game and finished in the top 15 in assists and top five in steals. He defends without fouling, makes better than 40% of his three-point attempts and is nearly automatic at the free throw line (84.9%).
John Wall, Anthony Davis, Karl-Anthony Towns and other UK products went into the NBA with more acclaim, but SGA positioned himself to succeed James and Curry as the league's next great player.
Greatness is what he showed in the 2017 Derby Classic. The game was fortunate to recruit him, because, unlike other more acclaimed members of his UK recruiting class, SGA didn't earn invitations to the bigger name all-star games that Calipari persistently preferred.
SGA looked like the best player on the floor during the first practice at Male High School. He was a bright, enthusiastic kid with a megawatt smile. He directed his team to a 122-109 victory by making 12 of 15 shots, scoring a game-high 29 points with team highs of nine rebounds and six assists.
That's a pro.
That's what I remember several of us saying about SGA in Freedom Hall that night.
Not everybody was convinced. The recruiting gurus ranked SGA behind Hamidou Diallo, Nick Richards, Kevin Knox and two other members of UK's 2017 recruiting class.
Opting for Quade Green, Calipari did not move SGA into a permanent spot in UK's starting lineup until Jan. 9. He averaged 14.4 points and shot 40% from distance on a UK team that finished fourth in the Southeastern Conference and was upset by Kansas State in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament.
The NBA scouts whiffed on SGA, too. He was taken 11th in the 2018 draft, behind Marvin Bagley of Duke (No. 2), Mo Bamba of Texas (No. 6), Wendell Carter of Duke (No. 7) and Knox (No. 9). Ouch.
Today, the odds are that SGA will be the guy who denies Denver center Nikola Jokic his fourth MVP.
You know Mitchell's story. I wrote about it Tuesday. But as a reminder, Mitchell was ranked No. 37 in the 2015 high school recruiting class (behind No. 1 Ben Simmons and No. 2 Skal Labissiere) and taken 13th in the 2017 NBA Draft (behind Markelle Fultz, Frank Ntilikina and Dennis Smith) by the Cavaliers. Double ouch.
Now Mitchell is the best player on the best team in the Eastern Conference, and Gilgeous-Alexander is the best player on the best team in the Western Conference as the Derby Classic NBA Playoffs begin.
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