The Mis-Education of Noah Baldwin (2027 - ???)

[Agent]

Quite the career. 11 titles. For DB, losing isn't an option. Looking forward to the next part of the article.

[chosenone58]

Damn definitely coming back to read all that. GOAT stuff.

Quite the career. 11 titles. For DB, losing isn't an option. Looking forward to the next part of the article.

Thanks fellas. Gotta recap the legend of the GOAT

[The JZA]

DA MUH FCKN GOAT!!...KING GOAT!!

[chosenone58]

DA MUH FCKN GOAT!!...KING GOAT!!

One of the best to ever do it.

[djp73]

Looking forward to more of the retrospective fo sho

[chosenone58]

Looking forward to more of the retrospective fo sho

As we proceed....

[chosenone58]

CALIFORNIA LOVE (2016-2020)

There were a list of about 10 teams that were interested and could realistically make an offer for him that summer. He and his team met with seven of them. And only one team seemed to offer the complete package: new ownership with a great vision, the chance to play in a major market, a solid roster, a great contract, and he was able to wear his college number.

“The Clippers checked all the boxes. I would have been crazy to pass it up. I wanted to do everything to prove to them that they made the right decision signing me. It turned out to be the best four years of my career at the time.”

Of course, the critics wondered how he would fit into the Clippers’ scheme. Having Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and Derek Baldwin could be a gift and a curse. There would be firepower, but maybe it was too much firepower. The trio played well in Rio as Team USA took home the gold, but things would be different went they returned stateside and got into the grind of an 82 game season.

And they did get off to a rough start, losing their first three games. But they managed to hit their stride and found themselves sitting second in the Western Conference with a record of 34-16 by the All-Star Break. Baldwin was having a phenomenal year as a Los Angeles Clipper. He broke the team’s scoring record by dropping 58 points on his former team in January and then two months later he broke that record by one point, and when they faced the Chicago Bulls again, he broke that record with a 64 point performance against the Bulls in Staples Center. A performance that rivaled Kobe Bryant’s 81 point game over Toronto.

“Those games were wild,” said Blake Griffin. “He cranked it up to another level every time we played Chicago. Like he needed them to understand what they gave up.”

“That fueled my performances for sure,” laughed Baldwin. “I felt disrespected and I made it a point to wear them out every chance I got. I was ready to embarrass whoever they thought was going to come in and replace me. I think I had a double-double that night.”

He did. He had 11 assists to go along with those 64 points.

Los Angeles finished the season with a record 54-28, claiming the third seed in the Western Conference. They were one of the most efficient teams in the league, shooting over 52% from the field and had the second fewest turnovers with 12 per game. Baldwin was named MVP again and he was named to the All-NBA and All Defensive First Teams. Derek Baldwin had become a bonafide star in Los Angeles. But the job wasn’t finished. It was time to strike.

“We had the total package. We felt like the championship was ours to lose,” said Griffin. “We had shooters. We had me and Dre [Jordan] dominating inside and then we had Derek and CP3 just doing their thing on the perimeter. You got scoring and defense out of them.”

The Clippers swept the Jazz in the first round. They took the Thunder down in five games, but as Derek had done all season, he broke yet another scoring record. This one held by His Airness, Michael Jordan. A record that was set 18 months before he was even born.

“The record was not on my mind. Records never are. We were trying to go up 3-1 in that series. We won by like 8 or 9 points. I was trying to secure that win.”

The sports world was going crazy. Fans, athletes, and analysts were stunned by Derek’s level of play.

“That night was other worldly,” said Chris Paul. “I was there and I still can’t believe it happened. To be part of history like that was crazy.”

Baldwin received a text from the man himself that night.

“It wasn’t the first time he reached out. The first time was after the first championship in Chicago. It was just a simple congratulations. This time he kind of ragged on me a little about breaking his record.”

The Houston Rockets were up next in the Conference Finals. Houston had rebuilt their roster and was looking to make some noise in the West as the fifth seed, knocking off the top seeded Portland Trail Blazers to advance to the Western Conference Finals.

“We definitely felt like we had been ignored all season,” said James Harden. “We made significant changes and had stepped up. But this summer was all about where Derek Baldwin was going to end up. So, we were under the radar and surprised quite a few teams on our way to the Western Conference Finals.”

Despite having success against Houston during the regular season, winning all three games, they were pushed in the postseason. Finding themselves down 2-1 in Houston.

“That series was hell,” said Baldwin. “But a lot of fun. So much trash talk during that one on both sides. You got me, Chris and Blake, then you got Pat Bev, Harden, Dwight Howard, and Amare Stoudemire. It was a dog fight.”

Before Game 5 of the WCF, Derek Baldwin was quoted as saying he was looking forward to Game 6 of the series. A lot of people around the league felt that he was letting his mouth write checks that he might not be able to cash. But a combined 50-point performance seemed to quiet the critics. They returned to Houston for Game 6, where Baldwin put up another 50-piece to end the series.

For the first time in Clippers history, they had reached the NBA Finals. Los Angeles vs. Miami. Now that Baldwin was no longer in the East, Miami had returned to prominence. Jamal Crawford was back to face his former team. The Big Threes of the East and West were on display. Who would emerge victorious?

“This series was highly anticipated, despite this being familiar territory for Derek Baldwin, this was new ground for the Clippers organization,” said Stephen A. Smith. “Both teams had stars on stars and it was just going to be a chess match.”

After overcoming a 7-point deficit at halftime, the Clippers won Game 1 of the NBA Finals by five points. LeBron James struggled with Derek Baldwin in Games 2 and 3. Chris Bosh seemed to disappear the entire series. He averaged less than 10 points per game in the Finals.

The series ended in a sweep. And despite how well Derek played throughout these playoffs, it was Chris Paul who was announced Finals MVP. Derek had nothing but praise for his teammate after the Finals.

“It was well-deserved. This guy is our leader. He had the best all-around averages. He was ready to claim his first title, to finally separate himself.”

The second season got off to rocky start as well as Finals MVP, Chris Paul seemed to struggle early on. Critics were saying he had gone MIA. His production dipped and then he announced that he was testing Free Agency the following summer. Was this turning into Chicago all over again? Was Derek Baldwin’s emergence as the face of the Clippers organization posing a problem?

“It definitely put the pressure on us to win another championship in L.A.,” said Derek. “We didn’t want Chris to have a reason to leave a good situation.”

It was rarely discussed in the media as the team felt it would only be a distraction and they wanted to focus on the task in front of them. Los Angeles finished with another 54 win season, but they were at the top of the Western Conference. They swept the Warriors and the Thunder on their way to the NBA Finals. And this one was the biggest yet.

Clippers vs. Bulls. The two regular season matchups were among the most watched in history and these Finals were no different. Everybody wanted this. No one more than Derek.

“I’m not gonna hold you, but this is one I had been hoping for,” said Baldwin. “I wanted this matchup and I wanted it real bad. Everybody on the team knew it. This is what people remember.”

After tying the series in Chicago, Los Angeles defended their turf, winning three straight games to close the books on the Bulls in 5 games. Baldwin finished with 50-points in the Game 5 victory, scoring 26 points in the third quarter. Averagaing 45 points per game in the series, Baldwin was crowned Finals MVP for the third time in his career.

“That championship meant everything to me,” said Baldwin. “I bet on myself and I won. That was all I needed. I felt like I really avenged myself.”

After Chris Paul signed a huge three year deal with the Clippers, all was right with the world. Baldwin’s, Griffin’s, and Paul’s contracts would all expire in 2020. Paul turned down the opportunity to return home and join the Charlotte Hornets and an opportunity to return to New Orleans and team up with the NBA’s newest phenom, Anthony Davis.

After an uneventful, but still wildly successful third season, the Clippers soon found themselves on a quest to win their fourth straight title, something that hadn’t been done since the Boston Celtics won 8 straight championships in the 60’s. Derek’s final season in Los Angeles was tumultuous off the court.

“Year three was too good to be true. I had won a championship and gotten married. Then everything that could have gone wrong was going wrong the following season. I missed a month with my ankle then I got the most devastating news I had ever received in my life.

Derek’s mom had been diagnosed with breast cancer. It was in that moment, that he had first considered retirement.

“I was going to quit on the spot. To hell with it, you know? This is my mom we’re talking about. But she told me to finish what I started and said she’d even do her treatment in Los Angeles.”

“I didn’t want him to give up on his dreams,” said his mother, Patricia Baldwin. “He worked hard to get to this point. So, if it took my going to Los Angeles, I was willing to do just that.”

The Clippers were behind him every step of the way.

“Although I was scheduled to play, Coach Clifford gave me a few days to get everything sorted out before returning to the court. That was just a testament to how great this organization was. Those four years for me, for the organization, was all about stability and consistency. That’s what allowed us to build that dynasty in Los Angeles.”

Once things seemed to settle down, Derek began having problems with his knee around March. Even though he skipped the slam dunk contest that year, he had landed awkwardly after an in-game dunk and he played limited minutes until the playoffs began. Load management, is what the Clippers were calling it. It paid off, as he was needed to carry the Clippers through to the NBA Finals, where they defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in six games, making Baldwin a six-time NBA Champion.

“As many rings as Jordan, more rings than Kobe,” joked Baldwin.

[Agent]

We're just at ring count #6 in the story. Forget Michael, forget Kobe. DB is coming for Russell.

[djp73]

[chosenone58]

We're just at ring count #6 in the story. Forget Michael, forget Kobe. DB is coming for Russell.

At that time we didn’t know it. He was ready to walk away in 2020 after Tokyo.