10 Sports Facts That Seemed Impossible One Year Ago
One year ago, the sports landscape looked a lot different than it does today. Chip Kelly was in charge of the Philadelphia Eagles, Chelsea was battling atop the Premier League and Ronda Rousey was pound-for-pound the best fighter in the world.
Things have sure changed.
The plan here was to address 10 sports facts that seemed impossible a year ago. Things we couldn't dream of happening. Visiting a ton of sports leagues and entities, we put together the following list of impossibilities.
Kristaps Porzingis Would Blossom into a Playmaker
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Draft night 2015 for fans of the New York Knicks was full of convoluted thoughts gently placed on a bag of mixed emotions—this YouTube video shows you exactly what we mean by that.
When the team selected Latvian big man Kristaps Porzingis No. 4 overall, not a single CBS Sports' analyst had him pegged for the Big Apple—although two did have Porzingis going No. 3 overall to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Porzingis has quickly become a household name not only in Madison Square Garden, but also in the grand scheme of all things basketball. He's currently averaging 14 points, eight rebounds and two blocks per game over 28.2 minutes of play.
Despite being gifted, this rapid turnaround has been a little surprising. Take a look at what the folks over at DraftExpress wrote about the 20-year-old being a raw prospect, and you'll understand why his heroics have been littered with skepticism.
It's safe to say, besides a handful of basketball purists, not many thought Porzingis would blossom into a star around this time in 2015.
Chip Kelly Would Become Head Coach of the San Francisco 49ers
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A year ago, Chip Kelly and the Philadelphia Eagles were coming off another 10-6 campaign. The Eagles were No. 5 in total offense, per ESPN.com, and the future looked bright under Kelly's tutelage.
A year later, after coaching the Eagles to a 6-9 record—interim coach Pat Shurmur was in charge during the team's seventh win of the season—Kelly suddenly became the 20th head coach in San Francisco 49ers history, per the Niners' Twitter account.
It's been an eerie transition for a guy who seemed to be locked into the "City of Brotherly Love." Now, Kelly takes over a San Francisco team that just finished up a 5-11 season where it scored 238 points—the lowest total since '07.
Will his fast-paced offensive ways be enough to turn this club around? Only time will determine whether Kelly's second, surprising NFL stop can be deemed a success.
Chelsea Would Fall Apart
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Winning the Premier League during the 2014-15 campaign put Chelsea in a good spot. They were well managed, built for success and entertaining on the pitch.
After posting a Premier League-high 87 points, Chelsea's 2015-16 campaign went off the rails early. That mess led to manager Jose Mourinho being relieved of his managerial duties in December, per BBC Sports editor Dan Roan.
As of this writing, Chelsea is ranked No. 14 in the Premier League. Teams like West Brom, Watford and Everton all are in front of the Blues. Who would have guessed that outcome just a year earlier?
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The Carolina Panthers Would Host the NFC Championship Game
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Cam Newton is a special, radiant player, and because of it, his Carolina Panthers are on the brink of playing in Super Bowl 50.
Around this time last season, the Panthers entered the NFL postseason with a 7-8-1 record. They would get past a decimated Arizona Cardinals team in the opening round before falling to the Seattle Seahawks the week after, per NFL.com.
A year later, the Panthers finished with a 15-1 record and captured the NFC's No. 1 seed in the process. Even without key pieces like wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin—who was lost due to a torn ACL during the summer—Newton and the defense stepped up and conquered.
The NFL is a league that can change in the blink of an eye. Newton and the Panthers' sustained success is a testament to that very notion.
Stephen Curry Would Become the Best Basketball Player in the World
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Calling Stephen Curry the best player in the world isn't necessarily fact—LeBron James is still lurking around. But based on his production this season and the Golden State Warriors' 38-4 record, it's not an obscene argument to make.
Lately, Curry has been distancing himself from the rest of the league. Take his 35-point squashing of the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday, as the NBA.com box score reflects, for example.
Simply put: no one shoots the ball and controls the floor quite like No. 30. He was fantastic last season, however nothing compares to what he's done for the Warriors during the 2015-16 NBA voyage.
Ben McAdoo Would Be Named the New York Giants Head Coach
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Tom Coughlin and the New York Giants' mutual decision to part ways after 12 seasons didn't come as a shock considering how the 2015 season played out—the Giants wound up missing the playoffs for the fourth straight season with a 6-10 record.
What came as a bigger shock was that the Giants decided to promote within, appointing offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo as the team's latest head coach, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
A year ago, not many pundits and fans out there would have been able to guess that McAdoo would become the next head coach of Big Blue. But it is important to note, as the coaching search progressed this season, the odds did shift in his favor, according to Odds Shark.
Leicester City Would Be Battling for the Premier League Title
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As stunning as Chelsea's nosedive in the Premier League has been, Leicester City's ability to thrive has taken back the masses as well.
With 44 points to date, this club sits behind only Arsenal atop the standings. To put this turnaround into perspective, last season Leicester City scored a grand total of 41 points. That placed the club 14th among all Premier League teams.
It's been the combination of "Boardroom stability, astute scouting and an emphasis on youth," that's driven this team toward the top, as Samuel Stevens of the Independent wrote.
Only in sports can such rapid and enthralling turnarounds occur.
Ronda Rousey Would Lose a Fight
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It was unimaginable a year ago to think that Ronda Rousey would be recovering from a brutal knockout at the hands of Holly Holm.
That's not a knock on Holm. It's more about how popular, destructive and magnetic of a force Rousey became over the last five years. Take February 2015 for example: Rousey was coming off a 14-second submission of Cat Zingano, via ESPN.com, and looked completely unstoppable.
A turnaround so dramatic like getting flushed out of the ring by Holm in November wasn't simply an upset. It was a actually a changing of the proverbial guard.
Luke Walton Would Be Considered for Coach of the Year
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When Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr sustained a back injury in October, he was forced to take a leave of absence, as ESPN.com's Ethan Sherwood Strauss reported.
That thrust former Los Angeles Lakers forward Luke Walton into the lead role. Since Walton has been at the helm of the Warriors, all the team has done is go 38-4.
As the Warriors attempt to hunt down and destroy the competition, Walton has started to gain coaching notoriety. Benjamin Hoffman of the New York Times wrote about Walton winning NBA Coach of the Month for October and November.
Does this make him a candidate for Coach of the Year honors despite Steve Kerr getting credit for his wins? More importantly, who thought we'd even ask this question a year back?
John Scott Would Be Named Captain at the 2016 NHL All-Star Game
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John Scott being named captain of the Pacific Division squad during the 2016 NHL All-Star Game is the ultimate way of NHL fans using their power for good—they voted him into that slot.
Scott has always been a journeymen defensive player. He's never turned heads with his production and skill, as Sarah Goldstein of ESPN.com divulged. In that same piece, Goldstein learned why most NHL fans voted the former Arizona Coyote and now-Montreal Canadien into the game.
The responses were overwhelmingly focused on him being an underdog.
Regardless of the fact that he was dealt to the Canadiens midseason, the NHL has decided it will allow Scott to play in the big game, according to ESPN's Pierre LeBrun.
Who in the world would have pegged that as a major storyline leading into the 2016 NHL All-Star Game?
All stats and information provided by Sports-Reference.com unless noted otherwise.
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