YouTube Gold: Len Bias vs. David Robinson

When the NBA named its 75 greatest players for the 2021-22 season, which was the league’s 75th season, David Robinson was on the list. Someone who could not, and can never be on that list, was Len Bias, who infamously died on draft night in 1986 of a cocaine overdose.

Had he lived, Bias might well have been on the list. He was that good. Michael Jordan’s competitive desire separated him from all of his contemporaries, but talent wise? Bias ws right there.

All of which makes this 1985 tournament game between Maryland and Navy that much more interesting because we believe it was the only time the two faced off (Maryland won, 64-59).

It was a spectacular time for basketball in DC: Georgetown was still in the Ewing era, Navy had a very rare talent in Robinson and Maryland was riding high with Bias. Today, while Maryland is competent, they’re not outstanding but looking better than recent years. Navy is back to the normal level you’d expect from a service academy and Ewing has, quite sadly, coached Georgetown into the ground.