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
Since when do we hear about teams offering up draft picks to acquire a head coach? Strangely, that’s what has been happening with Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers, who has been all over the rumor mill as of late due to his tenuous situation with the team. At first, he was rumored to be a part of the deal that would send Kevin Garnett to the Los Angeles Clippers for DeAndre Jordan and other moving parts. Then the proposed offer broke
Younger NBA fans have been spoiled by Game 7s. Tonight’s showdown in Miami between the Heat and Spurs is the third Game 7 in the NBA Finals in the last nine years. Prior to that, there had been just one in the previous 16 years. Game 7’s are like tax returns, pizza and sex; they’re never really bad. But they can be really good, and as Game 7’s go, we haven’t had a really good one in a long time. [Read more…]
It is almost as if Gregg Popovich and Erik Spoelstra knew this was coming all along and have been preparing for this two-week journey against each other for many, many months. Before we dive into our betting preview for the NBA Finals, it is important to learn how we got to this point. [Read more…]
The Miami Heat’s pursuit of the Los Angeles Lakers’ record of 33 consecutive victories caused many of us to reflect on records that seem insurmountable. I saw lists that included Joe DiMaggio’s hitting streak, Cal Ripken’s consecutive games streak, Oklahoma’s college football winning streak, the college basketball winning streaks by UCLA’s men and Connecticut’s women, and many more. All I could think about was Wilt Chamberlain, who made the phrase “record that will never be broken” a cliche. [Read more…]
No, I didn’t answer my own question. What fun would there be in that? That would be like throwing a surprise party for yourself. The previous edition of The Bernucca List was correctly answered by a reader named Chris, who offered, “NBA players who have been named MVP without winning a championship.” [Read more…]
Which player is the most consistent winner for his own team in NBA history? That is the question I asked myself a couple of years ago, in February 2007 to be precise. In an effort to find an answer, I decided to rank all NBA “franchise players” since the 1979-80 season. This winter, I updated the research, taking into consideration every player that has played in the NBA. [Read more…]
A forgettable season for Cleveland Cavaliers center Anderson Varejao somehow got worse on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Varejao, who has been out with a leg injury, will reportedly miss the rest of the season after developing blood clot in his lower right lung, from NBA.com: [Read more…]