We’ve been waiting all season for LeBron James to pull a Kevin Durant and go for 40 or more points, and the wait has ended. Did LeBron’s 42 against Dallas last night earn him some love in these rankings? Well, sort of. IMHO, James is the best player in the NBA. But “best” player does not equate to Most Valuable, as the operative word when determining that award is “valuable.” A year ago, Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe felt that Carmelo
This past week, NBA TV released excerpts of an extended interview with LeBron James (airing in its entirety Monday night) in which Steve Smith asked “The King” to name his Mount Rushmore of basketball. James offered a quartet of Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Oscar Robertson. But it’s really an unfair question, because in addition to those four players, there are at least three more – centers Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Russell – who are in the
It is time to ask the rhetorical question: Is the MVP race over? Has Kevin Durant wrapped this thing up already by guiding the Oklahoma City Thunder to the highest win total in the NBA (30 games over .500) despite the absence of Russell Westbrook? It was about this time a year ago that LeBron James started creating the separation that would ultimately make him the near-unanimous choice (Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe was the only voter who cast a ballot
Sometimes the best way to evaluate the Most Valuable Player is to watch him ride solo for a while. Yes, stats count. So does his performance in close games, his output against the better teams, his showdowns with fellow candidates and his overall leadership. However, a true indicator can be how the player performs when he has to go it alone. This season, we have all marveled at Kevin Durant. The perennial MVP candidate has been truly spectacular. But what has elevated
Adam Silver is in a tough spot. Silver became the NBA’s fifth commissioner on Saturday. He follows David Stern, whose 30 years as the league’s top executive likely will be unmatched by anyone in any sport. Silver begins his term without facing a major problem that needs immediate fixing or a hot-button issue that requires immediate attention. With TV contracts running through 2016, labor peace assured until at least 2017 and most of the top stars in their 20s, the NBA is
Martin Luther King Day is more than a day of celebration and reflection for the NBA, which probably has done more positive things for race relations than any other sport in the Civil Rights Era. It also has become the unofficial midway point of the season. By the completion of Monday’s action, more than half of the league’s 30 teams will have played half their games. With that in mind, we present our midseason awards with this reminder from the bookie of hopeless
We all knew it would be sooner rather than later. It always is with Kobe Bryant. As improbable as it was for him to tear his Achilles in April and return by the first month of the NBA season, here he is, practicing like he never left. In today’s story of the day, Kobe Bryant discusses why a November return is not out of the question. So really, why should we question him? [Read more…]
