#NBA #Straya Never Forget… PLAYOFF EDITION!
18 years ago today, one of Australia’s greatest ever sportspeople — like Liesel Jones, David Boon, Matty Lloyd and Makybe Diva combined — Lucien ‘Luc’ Longley played his LAST EVER NBA playoff game, suiting up alongside Jason Kidd and Penny Hardaway for the Phoenix Suns… while taking on big bloody Shaquille O’ Neal, Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2000 West semis!
And look. If the Lakers learned one thing that series, it was that going into the paint against big Luc Longley is like introducing your wife to Garry Lyon: you just don’t do it.
That’s right, with tried-and-true championship winning experience, in his final playoff game Big Luc — aka Lucky Luc, aka Cool Hands Luc, aka the Thunder from Down Under, aka Aussie Bill Russel — dominated Shaq and held him to only 15 points on 7-of-19 shooting, while Kobe (6-of-16) laid more bricks than a Mallacoota mason!
And considering the Lakers would win the title that year with the big Shaqtus was on his way to his first NBA Finals MVP, that’s more impressive than the fact that Mark ‘Jacko’ Jackson’s ‘I’m an Individual’ was a chart-topping single back in 1985!
Unfortunately for Australia’s OG NBA big man, Luc’s final post-season run came to an end as those spuds J-Kidd & Penny shot 4-of-22 between them and crapped the bed harder than that kid Shaun from high school who in year 11 — after drinking a couple of Melbourne Bitter sixers, about 6 shots of black Sambuca and punching a couple of sneaky cones — destroyed an entire queen bed at Jess’s mum’s house to the point where they had to burn the bloody mattress!
Anyway. The giant Sandgroper only scored 4 points, but that was because he busy playing the role of defensive menace to a tee. See, Big Lucien tore down 6 rebounds with more speed, force and grace than Lowndesy fanging down Conrod Straight, while his 1 assist was prettier than Joe Daniher’s mo, and 100% more manly.
Luc also had a steal so profoundly deceiving that Rick Fox still calls him ‘7-foot Aussie Houdini’, and the one block he delivered proved the title ‘the Thunder From Down Under’ was no joke, as it was so brutal that it literally caused Travis Knight to break down and cry for a full 25 minutes.
And there would be no more fitting way to go out for the Aussie Bill Russell! Having already led MJ, Pippen and the Chicago Bulls to 3 straight NBA titles, Big Lucien bowed out of the playoffs for the final with everything left out on the floor.
The best bit is, rumour has it that for tradition’s sake, as a parting gift Big Luc Longley also reverse kanga’d the visitor dunnies at Staples Center!
#ONYA Big Luc Longley, a true-blue Aussie ledge!!