Getty LeBron James and Marreese Speights.
The 2014-2015 Golden State Warriors team will always be one to remember. After lightning up the NBA to a 67-15 record the team was able to eventually defeat the LeBron James led, sans Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, Cleveland Cavaliers in 6 games to win the NBA title.
One aspect that made the team so much fun to watch was how well they all played together within their respective roles. Whenever someone needed to show up for a big moment they did without question. A key player for the Warriors who showed up time and time again to help them win it all was former Florida Gator Marreese Speights.
Speights earned the nickname “Mo Buckets” that season after leading the Warriors bench in scoring. The name happened to be so good, that it translated to NBA 2K where Speights became a key player within certain modes of the game. While having Mo Buckets on your team may have helped improve some aspects of the game, Speights is looking to now help the next generation turn their created My Player dream into a real-life thing.
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Giving The Next Generation An Opportunity
GettyMarreese Speights #5 of the Golden State Warriors stands on the court during their game against the Dallas Mavericks.
Winning a championship is a remarkable thing, yet Speights might be able to top that soon with the news of him opening his own school. Per Heavy.com’s Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson, Marreese Speights will soon be opening The Marreese Speights Academy in St. Petersburg Florida.
Warriors champ Marreese Speights announces that he’s starting his
Marreese Speights Academy in St. Petersburg Florida.
Per @Mospeights16: it’ll be a post grad to give players a 2nd opportunity outside of AAU to help kids get into college.
Full statement below:
With the announcement, he discussed why opening this basketball academy is so important to him and the plans he has for it.
“It’s been a long wait, but I am announcing that in 2021 I NCAA/NBA Marreese spigots will be officially opening up TMS Academy! A Post Grad to give players a 2nd opportunity outside of AAU to help kids get into college! This was same exact route I had to take that got me to where I am today, so what better way to give players the same opportunity that someone gave me@ I love helping and seeing players develop and better themselves on & off the court! I also under that there are many different routes tor each success in the game of basketball and this is one of them. We truly are looking forward to the experience and the opportunity to build on the best programs in the country!”
Speights’ Still Got It
GettyMarreese Speights of the Guangzhou Long-Lions celebrates with teammates during the second half against the Washington Wizards.
Over the course of the last year, Speights has been involved in heavy NBA rumors and had a monster season in the CBA. During the 2019-2020 NBA season, reports had him among the big men being considered for the eventual NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers after their former backup, and now Houston Rockets, center Demarcus Cousins injured himself before the season began.
While the team ultimately went with Dwight Howard due to his defensive abilities, Speights would have been able to provide a different look to the team being that he is a much more capable offensive player and threat at this point in his career. Over his NBA tenure, Speights shot 35% from beyond the three-point line. His reliable jumper was on the reasons he was so important during his stretch with the Warriors.
Additionally, it’s one aspect that has helped him transition during his CBA, Chinese Basketball Association, play. As a member of the Guangzhou Loong-Lions, he’s averaged 20.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, and is shooting 35% still from the three-point line.
Hopefully, with the vast experience he has and still being able to play at a high level, Speights will be able to show his students how to be great both on and off the court.
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Former Warriors Champion Opens Their Own Basketball Academy