Last night Shannon Brown won his second-straight NBA Championship. A Viper during the 2007-08 season, Brown helped the Lakers beat the Magic last year and the Celtics this year (how incredible is it to think that the last time we saw the Celtics they were busy losing to the Rockets at State Farm Arena and the next time we see the Magic they'll be playing the Rockets on the Vipers' court as well?).
Most would see the NBA Playoffs as the official end of basketball season, but last year, I saw it as more of the beginning. Vipers season was over, but we weren't going away, and we made that clear right away. We were already gearing up for 2009-10, and NBA playoffs watch parties were the start.
That was the springboard into new highs in season tickets that helped us to create a home court advantage thanks to the best sixth man in the league (the fans) that helped to fuel the fire of a team that tied a record for home wins in a single-season while putting the Rio Grande Valley on the map in nationally televised games... topped off by the greatest thing of all... an NBA Development League Championship.
While that was going on, as many as 10 Vipers alumni at a time were playing in the NBA... exactly where all of the Vipers wanted to be and why they worked so hard this season.
As the NBADL playoffs went on, the NBA Playoffs began with four Vipers alumni in action, but the one who got the most significant action was Brown. So how perfect is it that he's the one that gets the ring?
Brown almost didn't make it. He was assigned to the D-League, traded, re-assigned, bounced around a little more... Who thought he'd not only still be in the NBA by now, but a significant contributor who is loved by Lakers fans (see: website created to get Brown in dunk competition)?
Well, he worked hard and proved what is possible.
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