Five NBA Things I may or may not have Liked: Taj, 3PT Share, Wemblocks, Magic’s Bane, Magic City

Taj Gibson

The Memphis Grizzlies have signed Taj Gibson to a two-year deal for $3.8 million in 2026-27, with his 2025-26 salary being for a prorated $3.8 million. That’s a decent chunk of change for a player who will turn 41 in June, but I think he’ll be worth every penny.

An NBA team’s 15th or 14th man is functionally dead money. They’re never going to play real minutes, and if they do, then your season is absolutely cooked, or you found a diamond in the rough. So, instead of wasting a few million on the one in ten thousand chance your 15th man is actually a tenth man, why not bring in a veteran to teach the youngbloods how it’s done?

Gibson is a testament to the idea that if you want to stick around in this league for as long as possible, professionalism and vibes are paramount. In all honesty, based on talent, Gibson stopped being an NBA-quality player close to four seasons ago. However, teams have been willing to pay for everything else that he brings to a team. When it’s all said and done, Gibson will walk away with around $11 million extra in his career, thanks to being a guy you want around.

3PT Share

In the Houston Rockets’ 128-97 victory over the Sacramento Kings, something caught my eye. Reed Sheppard attempted 16 of the Rockets’ 39 3-pointers. In a league where nearly everyone is expected to shoot threes, Sheppard accounting for 41% of the Rockets’ threes seemed like a ton, but I needed to know if it was.

Thanks to Luke McCartney, I now know that it is indeed a ton, but also far from historic. For the 2025-26 season, Sheppard’s 41% 3-point share was the 27th highest single-game share. In first is Zach LaVine at 47.6%; however, that was primarily driven by the Kings only attempting 21 total 3-pointers.

A big shoutout to Grayson Allen, who managed a 43.5% single game 3-point share in a game where his team took 46 threes. Hoisting 20 threes in a single game is insane person behavior, and I absolutely love it.

However, McCartney’s research found a statistical gem that I must share. In the 21st century, among games where a team attempted 35 total 3-point attempts, the highest 3-point attempt share belongs to Damon Stoudamire.

On April 15, 2005, Stoudamire hoisted 21 of the Trail Blazers 37 threes for a 56.8% 3-point share. While that’s a truly Herculean performance, that actual performance is even funnier. Stoudamire played all 48 minutes and only hit five of his 21 threes in a game the Trail Blazers lost by 20. He did chip in 11 assists and 12 rebounds to secure the sixth and final triple-double of his career, but one has to wonder why he was hoisting with such reckless abandon.

The Blazers averaged 14.2 3-point attempts per game that season, and only eclipsed 21 attempts a total of seven times. Needless to say, those 37 attempts were a season high. He may not have known it at the time, but Damon Stoudamire had the most 2025 game of 2005—a true visionary.

Wemby Blocks

Not counting last night, Victor Wembanyama racked up 20 blocks over his previous four games. While averaging five blocks a game, on its own, is nonsense behavior, the manner in which he blocks shots defies all logic. Just bask in three minutes of unhinged basket protection.

Wembanyama makes the impossible appear trivial. His ability to contest shots at skyscraper heights is a show unto itself, but the sheer entertainment obscures just how efficient he is. Since one was a double block, there were 19 total possessions up for grabs. In 13, the Spurs came away with the ball, while only three went out of bounds, and the swatted side recovered another three.

The fact that Wembanyama is blending pure cinema with the dullest of fundamentals is even more impressive to me. He is such a talented technician that he can make magic out of the mundane. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, he is already the greatest defensive player in history.

Magic’s Bane

First, the NBA’s official press release, reading “Magic’s Bane Fined,” is very funny to me. Magic’s Bane sounds like an item from one of the million Dungeons and Dragons offshoots that exist. In fact, there is a literal axe called Magic’s Bane, with its own lore, according to this smith on Reddit.

While I find the phrasing to be humorous, what Desmond Bane has been doing to defenses recently has been anything but. Over his past eight games, he is averaging 27.1 points per game on 54.2% shooting on threes and 67.2% shooting on twos. Despite a slow start, Bane has rounded into form and is providing the Magic with everything they had hoped for when they traded four first-round picks and a pick-swap for him. The rest of their season has not gone according to plan, but the Magic’s Bane has been a critical hit.

Pure Atlanta

I’m a sucker for hilariously creative promotions, and the Atlanta Hawks have gone out and done the funniest possible thang. On March 16th, the Hawks will have a Magic City tribute night. If you’ve never heard of Magic City, buckle up. Magic City is the famed strip club where Lou Williams allegedly broke COVID containment protocols to procure lemon pepper wings. Perhaps those wings really are the tits, or perhaps the tits are the tits, and wings were the cover for the tits. We’ll never know, but the legend of the lemon pepper wings will live on.

I wish more franchises would scrape the bottom of the barrel for Minor League Baseball quality promotions. Sure, they’re tacky, but that’s part of the fun. Also, according to GQ, Magic City is “America’s most important club.” If you’re going to honor a strip club, why not honor the best? All I know is that a random March game between the Hawks and Magic will be a blast for everyone in attendance.

For any inquiries about work, discussion, and the like, you can email me at nevin.l.brown@gmail.com.