Episode #9
Ep. 9 The Tragedy That Changed the NBA
Before Bill Russell or Wilt Chamberlain, Maurice Stokes was the NBA’s first Black superstar. But after just three seasons, he woke up in a hospital bed unable to move. Stokes blew people’s minds by scoring, passing, and rebounding like a 1950s Nikola Jokic or Magic Johnson. But after a traumatic brain injury during a 1958 playoff run, Stokes was cut by his team and left without income. The people who helped him were other NBA players, specifically his teammate Jack Twyman. This episode of Posters goes back to the 1950s, with appearances by Oscar Robertson, Wilt Chamberlain, Red Auerbach, and a teenage Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. It’s the story of how a quiet hospital room and a Catskills charity game built the NBA Players Association, led to free agency, and created some of the awards and massive contracts we now associate with the NBA. Created by James Hamilton and Eric Parrie Host, writer, producer: James Hamilton Executive producer, co-writer, graphics: Eric Parrie Edited by Footage Finesse Producer: Ashish Yamdagni “Posters Theme Song” and music: Jon Lampley Recorded by Alexis Boling Title animation: Bryan Booth
