Basketball Beckett

I have to face the facts. Josh Beckett is now a fully-converted San Antonian. He may still have a giant palatial home in north Houston, but he lives full-time in the offseason in San Antonio, hunts at his ranch outside San Antonio… and is now officially no longer a fan of his hometown Houston Rockets. Josh has been a Spurs fan for a few years, has season tickets to their games, and can regularly be found in his seats right near the visiting team’s bench at the AT&T Center- and he told the San Antonio Express his days of rooting for the Rockets are over.

Though he grew up rooting for the Rockets, Beckett said it was easy to become a Spurs fan.

“I like watching them,” he said. “What’s great about teams like the Spurs is that after a game, you can’t tell whether or not they’ve won or lost. I see the same thing with the Patriots right now. They’re not jumping around when they win and when they lose … well, they haven’t lost a game this season … but you can’t tell.

“The Spurs are the same way. They know, ‘Well, we’ve got to go get them next game.’ They’ve got a goal in mind that they’re trying to do. It’s obviously ‘Let’s win today. But if we don’t win today, win tomorrow.’

“It’s kind of cool to watch great teams in other sports and the way they approach things like that.”

What would Beckett do if the Spurs and Celtics matched up in this year’s NBA Finals?

I’d still have to be a Spurs fan. I’d just be rooting for some good games. I could never root against the Spurs, because a lot of them show up for my charity events. So I definitely would be pulling for a good series.

Josh also talked about his own basketball career, back in high school.

A self-described “pretty fair forward” as a junior high schooler in Spring, Beckett understood early where his athletic talents would take him. As a ninth-grader he gave up basketball for full-time focus on baseball. It was a good choice.

So who are Josh’s Top 5 favorite basketball players?

1. Tim Duncan: No surprise that a pitcher whose bread and butter is the good, old fastball likes “The Big Fundamental.”

2. Matt Bonner: “Because he’s my ‘boy,’ and he’s from the Boston area.

3. Dwyane Wade: “He’s just so athletic and exciting to watch.”

4. Tony Parker: “Keep it simple: He was MVP of the Finals. Besides. Sometimes I run into him at the gas station.”

5. Hakeem Olajuwon: “As long as it’s OK to have a favorite who’s retired, I’ve got to include Hakeem.”

Awwww, he still loves Hakeem! He couldn’t ditch all of that old Rockets love!