At the end of the 1952-53 season, the NBA recognized an individual player for the first time when it presented the Rookie of the Year award to Don Meineke of the Fort Wayne Pistons. Three years later, Bob Pettit of the St. Louis Hawks won the first Most Valuable Player award. Later, the NBA either created or sanctioned awards honoring the best coach, executive, sixth man, defensive player, most improved player and even the best citizen . There has been one significant oversight,
With a new era in the NBA that features the league dictating the Clippers are blessed and the Lakers are not, it is obviously time for an advanced way of thinking that requires everyone to not only accept changes, but also embrace them. I read many predictions before games began on Christmas Day and it was clear that the majority of media has yet to adjust to the new NBA. I will have to admit that I made it only halfway
LOS ANGELES — Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses… I know, it’s the inscription on the Statue of Liberty. They’re also thinking of inscribing it on the statue of Blake Griffin and Chris Paul going up outside Staples Center to welcome Laker fans fleeing the oppression of paying $2,700 to sit courtside for geriatric basketball. Wait a moment, am I sleeping? It was all just a dream! It looked so real! They had an exhibition game and the Clips, with five
When he visits NBA arenas during the season, David Stern often makes a grand entry into each team’s locker room before the game to mingle with the fellows, perhaps giving them a brief but very inspiring pep talk and showing them the king has his common-man side. Usually, the commissioner is welcomed with smiles and handshakes and appreciation. When you have a leader who helped the average salary balloon north of $5 million, it’s only proper to be respectful. Plus it’s
Well, I put the over/under at 5 p.m. EST, and we are still awaiting word on whether the league office will approve an amended version of the three-team trade that would send Chris Paul from the New Orleans Hornets to the Los Angeles Lakers. So the over wins. ESPN was the first to report the re-submission of the deal, and there is no definitive word yet on what additional pieces have been added by the Lakers to give the Hornets more than
Here is the latest news. So far, two guys are getting amnestied: Gilbert Arenas and Chauncey Billups. Richard Jefferson was expected to be a third, but he showed up at Spurs training camp and participated. Vince Carter was bought out, as was Richard Hamilton, and Brandon Roy was told to retire. Also, Mark Cuban revealed that he was one of the five owners who voted against the new labor deal. He also came out in support of David Stern for vetoing the
This was just sent out from NBA headquarters: “Since the NBA purchased the New Orleans Hornets, final responsibility for significant management decisions lies with the Commissioner’s Office in consultation with team chairman Jac Sperling. All decisions are made on the basis of what is in the best interests of the Hornets. In the case of the trade proposal that was made to the Hornets for Chris Paul, we decided, free from the influence of other NBA owners, that the team was better served with Chris in a
NEW YORK — I was standing outside the St. Regis Hotel enjoying some tobacco last night when David Stern came walking by, we shook hands and I offered him a cigarette. He said he’d prefer a big, fat cigar, and then he kept walking. I found it curious that he was not being escorted by his usual security guy (who loves this site). Alone walked Stern down East 55th Street, about an hour before word got out that he had vetoed