Links: NBA Friday VII

by Lang Whitaker

That time again. we’re getting deep into our NBA Friday series, so deep that we’re about to hit the point where I lose my knowledge of Roman numerals.

Anyway, today for NBA Friday, our weekly visit from Joel Kimmel, the official illustrator of The Links. This week’s team is the Philadelphia 76ers, and I think you can see what Joel came up with.

“I decided, with the help of the readers, to go with an Old School NBA Friday,” Joel says. “I wasn’t really excited about doing any of the current Sixers, so I decided to paint Julius Erving and Charles Barkley instead. I portrayed Erving standing on the hoop to quite literally suggest his above-the-rim style. As Barkley was a more forceful player, I put a broken rim in his hand to suggest that. I’ve wanted to paint these guys for a long time, especially Barkley who was a favorite player of mine. It was great to have a reason to do them both in the same week.”

Awesome work, Joel.

Next week’s team is the Golden State Warriors. As always, your suggestions are welcome.