More NBA stars in town

The flood of NBA stars visiting Manila this summer could have been triggered by the Philippines’ recognition as the MVF (Most Valuable Fan) Best Country awardee at the FIBA World Cup in Spain last year. Filipinos are the most passionate basketball fans in Asia by far and it is often mentioned that the Philippines and Lithuania are the only countries in the world where basketball is the No. 1 sport.

The invasion began last May when the Los Angeles Lakers’ Jordan Clarkson, Utah Jazz’ Trey Burke and NBA legend Horace Grant blew into town for a viewing party of the playoffs. Then, came the Milwaukee Bucks’ Khris Middleton, Utah Jazz’ Alec Burks and NBA legend Brian Shaw who promoted the NBA Fit program last month. Next up was the Indiana Pacers’ Paul George followed by the Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James and the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Ricky Rubio who were both in Manila at the same time endorsing their rival footwear and apparel brands last week. Clarkson returned last Monday and Golden State’s Steph Curry is scheduled to fly in for a one-day visit on Sept. 5.

Today, the Denver Nuggets’ Kenneth Faried and San Antonio Spurs’ Danny Green will meet the media at the Diplomat Hall of the Marriott Hotel. They’re here to grace the NBA 3x event at the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall this weekend. It’s the fifth straight year that the NBA will stage the 3x extravaganza highlighted by 3x3 competitions in the U13, U16 and U18 categories for boys, U16 for girls, open classes for men and women and a by-invitation-only celebrity division. With Faried and Green in the visiting party are the Golden State Warriors cheerdance team and the Philadelphia 76ers mascot Franklin.

Faried and Franklin were recently in Johannesburg to participate in the NBA’s first-ever event in Africa. A game between Team World and Team Africa, starring NBA players, was the main feature of the event. Franklin made his Philadelphia debut in the NBA only this year. He’s suited up like a blue dog with “perky ears and a wagging tail,” wearing a signature paw on his Sixers jersey instead of a number.

Both Faried and Green have incredible stories to tell. Faried, 25, is a big supporter of gay rights as his mother Waudda tied the knot with another woman Sister Manasin, or Carol Copeland, in a civil union in 2007. When NBA player Jason Collins came out of the closet, Faried openly applauded the bold move. Faried’s mother is afflicted with lupus and has had a kidney transplant. Green, 28, was cut by Cleveland and San Antonio before the Spurs gave him another look and last July, inked a $45 Million, four-year contract to stay with the team.

Most fans know about Paul George and LeBron and even Rubio because he’s a star with the Spanish national team. But Faried and Green are players who are just as inspiring because of what they went through to make it big in the NBA.

Faried is nicknamed the Manimal because of his ferocious play on the court. He played four years with the Morehead State varsity of Kentucky and could’ve opted to renounce his last season of collegiate eligibility to turn pro.  But Faried resisted the temptation and finished up at Morehead, in the process breaking Tim Duncan’s career rebounding record in the NCAA Division I. Faried wound up with 1,673 rebounds in 136 college games while Duncan grabbed 1,570 boards in 128 games at Wake Forest. The stats were compiled since the NCAA admitted freshmen to the senior ranks in 1973.

Faried was on the US team that won the gold medal at the FIBA World Cup last year and led the squad in rebounding. For a 6-8 power forward, Faried is a monster off the boards and once plucked down 25 against Minnesota. At the 2013 Rising Stars Challenge for first and second year players in a side event to the NBA All-Star Game, Faried was named MVP for scoring 40 points on 18-of-22 field goals and collecting 10 rebounds.

Faried has played four years with the Nuggets, learning from coaches George Karl, Brian Shaw and Melvin Hunt. This season, his coach will be Michael Malone who piloted the Sacramento Kings to a combined 39-67 record the last two campaigns. One of his former Denver teammates was JaVale McGee, recently signed by the Dallas Mavericks. McGee was once a candidate for naturalization to play for Gilas.

Faried is in the US pool for the Rio Olympics along with newcomers like Victor Oladipo and DeAndre Jordan. With the Nuggets this season, he’ll join a team that has players from Italy, Serbia, France, Bosnia and Greece. Faried himself is half-Jamaican so it’s not as if the international flavor is a strange thing. He wears dreadlocks like former PBA imports Devin Davis of Alaska and Renaldo Balkman and Arizona Reid of San Miguel Beer. A Muslim, Faried wants to lead Denver back to the playoffs after missing the bus the last two seasons.

Green was the Cavaliers’ second round pick in 2009. He played 20 games for Cleveland then was cut. Green was subsequently given a tryout by the Spurs. But six days after he played two games, Green was given the pink slip. He saw action in the NBA D-League then got another call from the Spurs. During the lockout, Green found his way to Slovenia where he played for KK Union Olimpija. When the NBA reopened shop, Green was back in a Spurs uniform, this time to stay.

In the 2013 NBA Finals, Green reset the record for most threes in a title series with 27, eclipsing Ray Allen’s mark of 22. And the next year, he earned his first championship ring as San Antonio exacted sweet revenge on Miami. Not too many fans know that Green is one of only three University of North Carolina products to play on championship teams in the NCAA and NBA. The others are Michael Jordan and James Worthy.

This season, Green is expected to play a major role in the Spurs bid to bounce back from a first round playoff dismissal by the Los Angeles Clippers. Gone are former teammates Tiago Splitter to Atlanta, Marco Belinelli to Sacramento and Aron Baynes to Detroit. His new teammates include veterans LaMarcus Aldridge from Portland, David West from Indiana and Jimmer Fredette from New Orleans. Another teammate is former San Miguel Beer import Reggie Williams who was on the Spurs lineup last season but never got to play a game.