NBA Alchemy: Green + Purple = Gold

Which brings us to Frank Selvy. Selvy never quite fulfilled the promise of the days when he was known as "the Corbin Comet" and, as a college senior at Furman, scored 100 points in a single game. Still, he was a solid journeyman pro through nine seasons in the NBA, the final four with the Lakers. During that '62 season he had proven to be a nice complement scorer, averaging 14 points a game. In Game 7 it was Selvy, not Baylor or West, who provided the late heroics. He had scored the last two baskets to tie the game at 100, and the Lakers had the ball—with a timeout and a handful of seconds left on the clock. Here's how I remember it: Selvy inbounded the ball to "Hot Rod" Hundley, who had designs on the game-winning shot. But the Celtics played off Selvy and double-teamed the ball. Selvy cut to the baseline and got a return pass, leaving him with a wide open 10-foot jumper for the championship and for Laker immortality. But Selvy bricked it, the rebound skying straight up where Russell, far above the fray, grabbed it and cradled it for overtime. The Celtics went on to win 110-107.

They would beat the Lakers again the next year, again in '65 and '66 and again in '68 and '69, that last one another seven-game series and the triumphant finale of Russell's career. The Lakers would exact their revenge with Magic's magic. And it may still be their era today. I find it hard to argue with the conventional wisdom that Kobe Bryant's singular talent and the Lakers' depth will tip the scales. But the lustrous matchup of Kobe vs. the Celtics' new Big 3 (Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen) seems, at the very least, a worthy successor to what has come before.

Like most of my generation, I enjoy looking back as much as, if not more than, looking ahead. And sometimes I think that had Selvy sunk that shot, basketball history might have been very different. It might now be the Lakers shooting for a record 16th championship. "Hot Rod" Hundley used to tell reporters how, periodically, he would call his old pal Selvy, say "nice shot" and hang up. For his part, Selvy admitted that he would have traded all the baskets in his life for just that one short jumper. As for me, I wouldn't trade the precious memory—even for another Celtics title. And as much as I may root for an 18th banner to hang in Boston Garden, what I hope for most of all is a memorable series that will still stir today's young fans' juices come 2054.

© 2008