With the NBA playoffs approaching, there is perhaps no more appropriate way to take a look back at the 2013-14 NBA season than with the new commissioner, Adam Silver, and three of the league’s biggest stars: Doc Rivers, Dwyane Wade and James Harden.
ESPN will do just that on Friday, April 18 (7 p.m. ET; 11 pm on ESPN2) with SportsCenter Special: NBA Face to Face with Hannah Storm, the seventh in the series of hour-long specials featuring long-format, in-depth interviews with sports’ biggest names.
For a behind-the-scenes look at Face to Face
Among those interviewed for previous Face to Face specials have been Vernon Davis, Clay Matthews, J.J. Watt , Russell Wilson, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard and Carmelo Anthony).
Friday’s NBA Face to Face with Hannah Storm
Preview Doc Rivers
“I think the patience has grown. I’ve gotten better in that– for sure, and definitely with the point guards. I’ve had a lot of good point guards over my coaching career, and we’ve had great relationships, but at times, we’ve had to talk about it, you know? That’s the way I like to say it.” – Doc Rivers on how he’s evolved as a coach
Preview James Harden
“I was sad. I was on a plane, my headphones on, just staring out the window. Entirely new organization, new teammates, new coaches, new city. Not knowing what to expect. Coming off the bench to a starter. It was so many things going through my mind that, that I just had to go out there and just be free.” — James Harden, on his first flight to Houston
Preview Adam Silver
“I remember they used to allow people to smoke back then and when you’d first walk into Madison Square Garden you’d come out into the main part of the bowl, there was that huge cloud of smoke that would sit there for the whole game. I remember as a kid thinking that’s so odd. You know, these guys are playing basketball out here. Now that I’m friendly with some of the players, they would say, ‘Smoke in the arena? We were smoking in the locker room. It was a cup of coffee and a smoke at halftime. What do you think we were doing in there?’” – Adam Silver on attending Knicks games in the ‘70s
Preview Dwyane Wade
“I can’t imagine it, no. I love the city. My family loves this city. I love what I’ve been able to accomplish here. But, I also have to put on that business-guy hat and understand that it is a business, and make the best decision for myself when that time comes.” – Dwyane Wade, on opting out of Miami
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