I hope Oscar Robertson was watching Saturday night. I hope he saw Stephen Curry answer his ridiculous, attention-starved musings as definitively as possible. I hope he wasn’t too jaded to see Curry handle the ball in a way Robertson only wished he could. I hope his eyesight still works well enough to see from where Curry was launching – and making – his shots. And I hope Robertson and a number of NBA stars from bygone eras will just shut up and
The NBA’s color barrier was broken in 1950. Chuck Cooper became the first black player ever drafted and Earl Lloyd was the first black player ever to play in a game. Bill Russell became the NBA’s first black head coach when he was designated player-coach of the Celtics following Red Auerbach’s retirement in 1966. [Read more…]
What would it take for Kobe Bryant to win the 2015-2016 NBA MVP award? As we handicap the MVP race for the 2015-2016 season, we’ll take a look at last season’s top five finishers— Stephen Curry, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis and LeBron James— along with Kevin Durant. But a question many Angelenos and basketball fans around the world have is what kind of numbers would Bryant have to put up in his age-37 season to take home the crown? To
Red Auerbach won the NBA title in each of his final 8 seasons as an NBA head coach. He is the only coach to win an NBA title in his final season. [Read more…]
LeBron James is back everyone. Okay, so he’s been back for almost a week now, but I mean he’s really back. He helped lead the Cavs to an impressive win on the road over the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night that could be a telling sign for their future. Cleveland had lost six in a row before their win over the Lakers on Thursday night in their first of a back-to-back in LA, and were 1-8 without the King. [Read more…]
Kobe Bryant is now within 219 points of surpassing Michael Jordan (32,292) on the career scoring list. I covered all five of Kobe’s championships, along with the final three of Jordan’s six. I was a little kid when I watched Oscar Robertson play in person, and I grew up watching Kareem Abdul-Jabbar dominate the NBA, both with the Bucks and the Lakers. I have only faint memories of watching Wilt Chamberlain play on TV, and I never saw Bill Russell play —
In a story that has seemed to get little attention Thursday, Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell collapsed while speaking at a corporate event in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. Russell, 80, has made a second career out of public speaking since retiring from basketball with 11 NBA championship rings. Understandably so, as many companies greatly desire the “team” concept amongst their employees. He was reported to have been feeling faint throughout the event before collapsing. He did, however, remain conscious, and was transported to a
In returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron James took a maximum salary. But he did not take a maximum contract length. James declined the maximum four-year, $88 million deal available to him as a 10-year veteran and instead signed a two-year, $42.1 million contract with the Cavaliers. The deal has an opt-out clause after next season, which means we could have Decision III as early as a year from now. Does that mean James is hedging his bets on returning home and