Hoist ‘em up! 20 years ago, ON THIS VERY DAY, Andrew ‘Gazey’ Gaze — aka the Aussie Larry Bird, aka The Grey Mamba — had the GAME OF HIS NBA LIFE.
Brought in to get his San Antonio Spurs over the hump in a 29-point win over the L.A. Clippers, Grey Mamba slapped on the K-Mart Signature Edition Dunlop Gazey 1s, and did what Gazey did best: fill it up quicker than old Baz down the local Caltex… and had himself an NBA CAREER HIGH!
Showing why Larry Bird is now called ‘The American Andrew Gaze’, the most feared scorer in NBA ‘Straya history (though Ben Simmons & his levelling-up Insta-Kardashian game is giving him a run for his money) had the longest on-court stint he’d have for the Spurs — 9 whole minutes — and went at the Clippers with a ferocity like my mate Tall Kane spying a slab of VB and a pack of chicken Twisties.
With textbook-perfect form, Gazey put up 4 shots — ALL OF ‘EM THREE POINTERS — and hit two from what was later described in hushed whispers as ‘the gosh darn carpark’.
Gazey also had two rebounds SO fundamentally sound that The Big Fundamental himself, Tim Duncan, wept tears of joy upon witnessing them.
Drewy also handed off a single assist so dazzling that Gregg Popovich commissioned Reg Mombassa to paint a tribute to it.
It was a performance that left the Alamodome — and the Clippers themselves — so in awe that they considered calling the game right then and there with 4 minutes left, because basketball perfection had been achieved.
With his six points — and 50% 3-PT shooting — the Grey Mamba tied his NBA career high (with identical shooting splits) set five years prior, ALMOST TO THE BLOODY DAY, with the Bullets back in ’94.
That’s more of a bloody ripper than the time Glenn Archer made Wayne Carey flinch and pack his dacks at Telstra Dome in ‘03!
Just think: Gazey’s Per-36 numbers of 24 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists are roughly in line for what we’d expect from the Aussie Larry Bird, just accounting for him — like the bloody Geelong Cats — playing down to the competition… Imagine what he could’ve done if he wasn’t kept pinned to the bench by David Stern and his anti-Strayan bias of not allowing the Spurs to make the #NBA too unfair by playing the Aussie Larry Bird! It would’ve been all over red rover.
Didn’t matter though: Gazey’s mere presence was so inspiring the Spurs won their first ever NBA title later that year! So don’t forget to smash a tin in honour of the 
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🐐 today…
#ONYA Gazey!
