Paris Honey Bees

Season 2013: Conference Finals defeat at the hands of the Brooklyn Rage.

After a hiatus of more than a decade the WBA returned! The Paris Juggers commenced the inaugural 2013 season as defending champions. In 2012, Oregon and Paris had met for the second time in the finals with Paris ending Oregon’s dynasty with a 116-113 victory in game seven.

Now nostalgic enigmatic owner Gustavo Follana brought back virtually the same squad led by Al Lee, Jay Vasquez, and Scott Lio. With a balanced offensive attack and respectable defense the season culminated in 50 wins and a number 3 playoff seed. The Juggers disposed of the Disco in a round one sweep only to fall down three games to zero to the upstart Toronto Dinos led by Walt Jackson and a fresh faced Jervan Timmons. However, displaying championship pedigree, and good fortune with an injury to Timmons, the Juggers turned the series around sweeping the next four games!

The Juggers would proceed to hit a brick wall against number one seed Brooklyn. With a young Mario Bailey and Jarius Miles, Brooklyn’s supporting cast shined with Shane Strom, Al Herbert, and Omar Jefferson racking up players of the game in a 4-1 convincing victory over the Juggers. The lone win for Paris came via Scott Lio’s heroics as he outplayed Mario Bailey for one legendary night he still tells his kids about.

 

Season 2014: Dinos get round one playoff revenge!

And so things quickly turned south for Paris. Gustavo Follana proved unable to keep up with the times with no noticeable roster upgrades. Instead the teams core aged as Al Lee and Jim McCarthy virtually retired. The bright spot on the team was Anthony Curtis who averaged 24 points a game. However, the team offense, formerly top ten the season before now sank to the bottom ten in the league with an atrocious overall field goal percentage.

The Juggers would squeeze into the playoffs as the number 8 seed only to suffer a humiliating defeat to the Toronto Dinos led by a healthy Jervan Timmons and MVP caliber Walt Jackson. The lone win for the Juggers came from former proud champion Jay Vasquez who tallied 30 points in Paris. However, Walt Jackson and the Dino crew would be way too much to handle as the Juggers lost the series 4 games to 1.

 

Season 2015: Missed Playoffs with 37 wins and 43 losses.

The season started with hope but things only got worse. Gustavo Follana made a big splash in free agency offering a max contract to sign Marquez Houston for 111,128,505 over 5 years.

Nonetheless, this addition did not move the needle for the team either offensively or defensively. The players simply did not mesh well as the team struggled to score with the worst free throw percentages in the league. Talk about ugly!

Defensively the team boasted an average defense incapable of causing turnovers. They could not steal a bib from a baby. On top of all this they drafted a Bangerter with their first round selection. It seemed Follana had lost his touch, his patience or both as the Juggers spiraled under .500 and missed the playoffs entirely.

 

Season 2016: Missed Playoffs with 34 wins and 46 losses.

And so it seemed Follana had lost his passion for the game. During his tenure he demonstrated a rebellious, independent, stubborn spirit that culminated in a championship. He is remembered as a great GM when he actively participated in securing the best for his team.

This departure led to a new era for the franchise labeled as the Paris Predators “led” by “Brittani Avery” of the K.G. Avery family collective. It is a sad chapter in the league’s history that one single GM controlled up to five franchises at a time manipulating the league behind the scenes. Unfortunately, Paris would fall victim to these charades beginning with the orchestrated salary dump of Anthony Curtis involving two other Avery controlled teams.

As these Predators began to rebuild they continued to play poorly remaining the league’s worst free throw percentage with the same scoring woes that plagued the team the last several seasons. So once again the team missed the playoffs entirely.

 

Season 2017: Jervan Timmons Arrives

In a flurry of orchestrated trades with the Toronto Dinos fictitious owner “Guillermo Thomas” the Avery’s managed to completely rebuild the Predators via several salary dumps to acquire the best point of all time the one and only Jervan Timmons. The things one does for family! Did Brittani Avery know she was trading with her father K.G. Avery or did she think “Guilermo” was a real person? Just how far this scandal went nobody really knows.

These atrocious moves allowed the team to completely rebuild and get better at the same time by unloading the bad contract of Marquez Houston while securing a franchise cornerstone in Timmons. The hard truth is that cheating led to the franchise’s first playoff berth in over two seasons. As justice always prevails the Predators would get steamrolled by Pat Fullum and the Cancun Outlaws 4 games to 1 in the first round of the playoffs.

 

Season 2018: Missed Playoffs with 37 wins 43 losses

As the adage goes cheaters never prosper as K.G. Avery was sniffed out by league detective Pablo del Pino aka Mos Bears. As the scandal leaked all Avery related monikers resigned. This was a rough period for the entire league leading to an eventual hiatus. Paris was left without a GM but to the rescue returns Gustavo Follana!

Reminiscent of the Marquez Houston signing, not sure what Follana saw in Jim Koons but he is signed to 5 years for $57,259,472, despite only averaging 11.8 points the season prior. And despite a 25 year old Jervan Timmons winning Defensive Player of the Year the team once again did not mesh as they were drastically out rebounded night after night. With gaping holes the team goes on to miss the playoffs entirely.

 

Season 2019: Honey Bees miracle trip to the League Finals!

Former Cape Town GM Adrian Arceo returns to the WBA recruited or some say harassed by Gabon GM Simon Drapeau to pick up the reigns of a newteam. As Cape Town had a GM, Arceo chose Paris or rather he chose Jervan Timmons. Eventually the entire team was swapped with only Timmons remaining from the squad the season prior.

With some help from Cancun GM Pat Fullum, Arceo manages to unload Timi Rambuka while securing defensive phenom Marcus Rogers in free agency. He also proceeds to sign one of his favorite players and former Zulu, shooting ace George Bissett while drafting defensive stalwart Klemens Eberle.

These moves pave the way for a miraculous turnaround leading to Timmons’ best season in the WBA and 60 wins for the newly brandished Paris Honey Bees.

The playoffs would see the number two seed Honey Bees struggle early on with a home loss to the Mayhem in which they were drastically out rebounded. After a lineup change in which the team goes even smaller the Bees get out rebounded by an even larger margin! However, the Bees prevail with George Bissett going off for 27 points!

From that point the Bees win 11 of their next 12 games including a sweep of number one seed Albacete Burning Hell and reach the league finals. In these finals, the Bees are ceremoniously swept by the overpowering Brooklyn Rage. But what a season for the ages!

 

Season 2020: Bees win the Championship!

Riding the success of last season’s playoff run the Bees have a historic season in which they remain undefeated at home for the entire 2920 season culminating in 73 wins and a league championship.

The personnel remained largely the same augmented by increased chemistry and all time great Ahmed Dougherty turning back the clock. Dougherty’s pairing with Timmons resulted in the best shooting numbers of his career and another all star selection. The Bees literally hit on all cylinders averaging over 120 points per game! Defensively the team was not too shabby either leading the league in steals.

These were Honey Bees on a mission to protect the hive! And the mission they accomplished only losing one game on the way to the finals. Here they faced a familiar despised foe the Brooklyn Rage. This time the Bees got the job done disposing of the Brooklyn dynasty once and for all.

The league celebrated with glee!

 

Season 2021: Round two playoff loss to Gabon Giants

Fresh off a championship the Bees were poised for a fantastic off season with a plethora of cap space. If only Jervan Timmons would hold off re-signing for a few days the Bees could potentially sign up to two max players to pair with him for many seasons to come. However, the communication was poor and Timmons signs right away taking away all available cap space and leaving the team without a mid level exception. As such, it became difficult for the team to improve.

On top of that the team loses Ahmed Dougherty to a high offer from Albacete. As such the mighty Bee offensive firework show is dampened via atrocious shooting from a young trigger happy Bobbie Mason. Arceo hoped an improved defense could offset the reduction in offensive firepower but alas it was not so!

The team held onto a remarkable 37-3 home record but entered the playoffs as the number 3 overall seed. The lack of home court would be the difference as the team faced off against power house Gabon who overpowered the Bees in a 79 to 104 butt wooping in Gabon.

Oh well on to the next season!

 

Season 2022: Abdiel Gordon becomes a champion!!

It was Arceo’s dream ever since he drafted Abdiel Gordon: get him a championship! Well the dream actually began after Gordon started showing his true talents. Gordon had fallen to number 17 in the draft and was just a project his early years. But he blossomed into the greatest power forward of all time! Now he was joining the Paris Honey Bees on a two year contract at the age of 35.

Gordon turned back the clock averaging 15 points with efficiency comparable to his best years in the league. This was the best team Arceo had ever put around Gordon and his best chance at a championship. The Bees were all in!

But it would not be easy. The Bees had won 70 games securing the number one seed in the league. Right behind were the California Fighting Cocks and Gabon Giants with 68 wins a piece.

Round one would see the Bees make a statement with a sweep over the Mayhem. GM Esposito was secretly happy to see Sheldon Gorman emerge victorious. Round two would see the Bees tame the incomparably talented league MVP Benet De Gama. Up next were the dreaded Gabon Giants. After three victories in a row it seemed the series was in for a sweep. However, GM Drapeau had a lineup change up his sleeve and went on to win the next two games in convincing fashion. Luckily the Bees were able to prevail in Gabon led by Marcus Rogers’ defensive acumen shutting down Isidore Masquely.

What came next was a drawn out chess match with the Fighting Cocks. The Bees blew the opening game giving up 56 points to Hassan Watt. Watt was phenomenal but other than that outpouring the Bees believed they played the better overall game. So naturally Arceo panicked by making a lineup change inserting Bobbie Mason into the starting lineup. Luckily this resulted in a win allowing Watt to have his points but shutting down Matias Gutierrez. Next came a loss in which Gutierrez showed his offensive acumen by scoring 34 points. So Arceo panicked again and moved Mason from shooting guard to small forward where he was to remain the rest of the series winning the next two games. Just when all seemed well the Bees lose Klemens Eberle to injury followed by Timmons limping on a sprained ankle.

This was a nightmare scenario for a game seven. As luck or destiny would have it the Bees end up scoring 138 points in this last game in Paris. The most in the entire playoffs. Who filled the void in the starting lineup? None other than Abdiel Gordon.

Gordon scores 25 points. Shoots 4 for 5 from three point land. Gordon gets his ring.

Paris wins the championship. What happens next in Paris nobody has yet to understand.

 

Season 2023: Jervan Timmons shipped to Miami!! 

Unprecedented in the history of championships is the immediate trade of the best player on the team, and in this case the greatest point guard of all time, Jervan Timmons. Indeed, just weeks after the championship parade in Paris news broke of Timmons heading to Miami Xtreme in exchange for the 5th pick in the draft, Scott Farmer and two future 1st round selections. What? Which bee hive in all of the natural world replaces the queen? Which team in all competitive sports rebuilds after a championship? Well it seems the Bees do. With Klemens Eberle, Fulgencio Lurdes, Heinrich Stoebener, Hilton Fulton all hitting free agency and Jervan Timmons taking up a third of the team’s cap space it seemed it was inevitable to part ways in order to have a chance at resigning the team’s entire young core. What the Bees didn’t know was that Fulgencio Lurdes was secretly plotting to sign with the Gabon Giants. There had to be a Judas in the bunch.  

And so it was a tumultuous off season which saw championship squad lose the starting center and point guard in exchange for a few rebuilding pieces. Led by Bobbie Mason, in points, rebounds, and assists, somehow the team heroically managed to clinch the Euro division with 57 wins. The squad even managed to peak right into the playoffs though had to rely on rookie Eusebio Blow for an inside scoring presence. Blow came through with 20 points a game and the team swept the first two series against the Eskimos and Badgers yet the hive would come crumbling down in Gabon with a twenty point blow out to be exact. Even with Artie Duggons going down for the season Paris still could not steer momentum the Bees way. The team managed to make it a respectable series winning two games in Paris though could not get close to stopping Gabon from reaching the franchises first ever finals. In the end Gabon took Fulgencio Lurdes and the series. How will the Bees rebound in 2024?