Retired 15-Year NBA vet and current Oklahoma City Thunder color analyst, Michael Cage is today’s guest on Episode 3 of Scoop B Selects Presented by the National Basketball Retired Players Association.
The NBA’s rebounding champion during the 1988 NBA season, Cage discussed a multitude of topics including why he believes Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was robbed of the NBA’s Most Valuable Player of the Year award. “I thought he deserved it,” Cage shared on Scoop B Selects.
“I thought he had the SAME stats as Michael Jordan did when he won his MVPs. I’m not just throwing stuff out there. Look at his numbers. What he did on the defensive end for us was remarkable: Led the the NBA in steals, you know? Top 3 in scoring? That’s amazing! Most players don’t have the energy to play on both sides of the floor like that. He’s really a unique player. He can play in the midrange, he can shoot the three, he’s an excellent ball handler and he’s very unselfish. He’s one of those guys too, who commands a lot of attention and he has a high IQ to put the basketball where it needs to be put and that’s really unique, you know? Because Shai’s very humble, man, you know? He’ll never say I thought that I should’ve won MVP. He’ll say, You know what? I just gotta keep working… I really admire the character and the fabric of a guy like that, especially being so young.”
Isaiah Hartenstaein & Alex Caruso’s Addition To OKC Thunder
After a strong preseason with a 4-1 record, the Thunder open up the 2024-25 NBA regular season on Thursday against the Denver Nuggets. OKC made a splash in the offseason by signing big man, Isaiah Hartenstein via free agency and in acquiring Alex Caruso in a trade with the Chicago Bulls.
“They’ve just made some smart, calculated moves,” he said.
“You gotta give credit to our GM Sam Presti for being a wizard to have that happen.
“And then for us to get a caliber of player like that? If I’m a player in the league I’m saying to myself, I like what this team has done over the decades. Not just in the last year, not a Johnny-Come-Lately but I like what they have done consistently. And we got back there consistently by drafting and making smart moves and with these two guys, the acquisition of them in the summer is no different.
“Sometimes it’s like chess, you know? I’m making a move to make a move to make a move and then sometimes it’s checkers when you just make one quick move when it’s there. It doesn’t always work this way and it will really be interesting to see how these two guys will get meshed and woven into what we already have. I’m really excited about that.”
While Hartenstein will miss at least five weeks with a fractured left hand injury that he sustained in the preseason, Cage believes that the Thunder will continue their upward trajectory from last season coupled with their offseason success. The team will seemingly look to maintain the health of Gilgeous-Alexander while looking to capitalize on their draft position and continuing to establish themselves as serious title contenders. “We have Shai, we have Lu [Dort], we have Chet Holmgren… we have all of these young gifted players that these guys will compliment,” said Cage.
“And don’t bring up J-Dub [Jalen Williams], man! That kid is gonna be special”
Charles Barkley & Larry Bird Smack Talk
While Cage is currently a Thunder broadcaster, the San Diego State Aztecs legend and former 14th overall pick in the 1984 Draft was dubbed Windexman for his ability to clean the glass by rebounding the basketball.
An interesting anecdote about Cage: During the 1987-88 NBA season, Cage had a rebounding duel with Charles Oakley who was a member of the Chicago Bulls at the time.
Cage, who was a member of the Los Angeles Clippers, needed to register 28 rebounds in his final game of the NBA’s regular season to beat out Oakley for the rebounding title.
Cage ended up grabbing 30.
While Oakley was a workhorse, Cage who not only played for the Clippers but the Seattle SuperSonics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia 76ers and the New Jersey Nets shared that Charles Barkley was crafty with his wordplay on the court. That guy just talked,” he said.
“We did it back to him and it was par for the course, right? And if you didn’t, you were gonna get more of it. So you just had to throw it back but, he was throwing more. Charles was great at it, man. He was a master at trying to get into your head in that regard.”
Cage also indicates that Larry Bird was in a league of his own when it came to trash talk.
“He’s a great trash talker,” said Cage.
“I loved it. Him? I loved the fact that he could talk trash.”
Bird’s trash talk was on another level.
Cage confirmed a trash talk story that Xavier McDaniel shared on the No Nonsense With Tim Thomas & Scoop B show earlier this year when Bird told Shawn Kemp during a 1989 game: “It’s gonna be a f**ked up night for you” and “I’m the best f***ing player from Indiana,’ while shooting a three pointer on Kemp.
“He’s Larry Bird, Larry Legend.” said Cage, who was Kemp’s teammate and shared the floor during that game.
“You just look at him and he did EXACTLY what he said, “Look. I’m gonna go to this corner and I’m gonna make a three and I’m going to come down and make another one…” and he did it and we looked at him and we were like, “This is unusual because nobody can foresee what’s going to happen and then make it happen when you’re trying to stop it from happening!” That’s how unique Larry Bird was. But people don’t give him credit.”
Michael Jordan’s1984 Draft vs. Allen Iverson’s 1996 Draft
Cage who was part of the legendary 1984 NBA Draft class that included eventual Naismith Hall of Famers in Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Hakeem Olajuwon and John Stockton says that he enjoyed the transition into the 90s which included another legendary 1996 Draft class that included the likes of Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Ray Allen. “When I first came to the league in ‘84 in that draft class with Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley, Sam Perkins, John Stockton… all Hall of Famers,” he said.
“It was a transition period where Bird and Magic were still there but there had to be something behind it and now you’re talking about ten years later, there has to be something behind it and that [1996] Draft Class was another transition period that came into the NBA; hip-hop was more on the front burner and we were all in love with the connection of the music, the dress; the whole involvement of that era with that draft class moving forward. I thought that the NBA had to reinvent itself and it’s hard to do that when you’re following Magic and Bird, Michael Jordan’s era… Olajuwon, Isiah Thomas and all those championship teams and here comes this young, brash — really young; I mean it wasn’t like these kids were 3-4 year college players, a lot of them were straight out of high school like you’re talking about with Kobe Bryant. So there was a lot of potential, there was a lot of promise and there were a lot of expectations that don’t always get met that WERE met with that [1996] Draft Class.”
Nets Days With John Calipari, Kerry Kittles, Kendall Gill, Sam Cassell
Cage had a front row seat to the ‘96 Draft class. During the twilight of his career, Cage played on a Nets team that included Kerry Kittles who was picked No. 8 out of Villanova. Under head coach John Calipari, Cage played a reserve role on a team that included Sam Cassell, Jayson Williams, Kendall Gill and Keith Van Horn that made some waves in the NBA’s Eastern Conference but were no match for Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman and the Chicago Bulls. Cage says that those days in New Jersey were fun. “I just remember that I was on the back end of my career and being able to be with a great group of guys that would listen, you know,” he said.
“Kerry, Sam… all great people. Sherman Douglas, you know? Really good people and I got a chance to mentor them, you know? Because they were just so impressionable like a sponge. And just sitting and talking with them on flights and John Calipari’s looking at me and he’s asking me, “How do you coach in this league?” and I said to him, ‘Patience. This is NOT college.’ and I remember a lot of those times when you were able to have that down time with some really great individuals.”
Michael Cage was a wealth of knowledge on episode 3 of Scoop B Selects Presented by the National Basketball Retired Players Association. Make sure to check out the full interview by clicking here.
