The 2014 Basketball World Cup is finally here. And you need to take it seriously, because everyone else does. Thanks to NBC and the other fall-in-line media outlets, most Americans believe the Olympics is the premier international basketball event. Globally, nothing could be further from the truth. With 24 teams and no automatic bid for the host, the World Cup is twice the size of the Olympics. It doesn’t share the spotlight with track or swimming. And most of the players will
In years past, Americans have considered the Olympics to be the only relevant international basketball competition. Stateside, the other quadrennial tournament formerly known as the FIBA World Championship went largely unnoticed until Team USA embarrassed themselves in 2002, losing three times in Indianapolis and finishing sixth after never having lost with NBA players. The rest of the world sees things differently. Other basketball federations have been viewing the World Championship as the more important international competition. Also, because the very best Americans play
Could LeBron James and Dirk Nowitzki join forces in 2014-15? As Carmelo Anthony’s tour concludes Thursday with a meeting in Los Angeles with the Lakers completed and a meeting with the New York Knicks underway. Wednesday night, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban met with Anthony to make a pitch for his services. A day later, he and Dirk Nowitzki made a statement for the younger star free agents to take notice. They want a championship contending team. In addition
As someone who wrote these here blog things during the Dwightmare, I have mixed feelings on the incredibly protracted trade dramas that the NBA is so often subjected to. On the one hand, they take forever, they’re basically one big headache, they’re never resolved in a satisfying manner, and after about a week more people are talking about how they’re sick of hearing about the trade possibilities than are actually talking about said trade possibilities. On the other hand, they make
Wednesday the All-NBA Teams were announced, and with them came a slew of congratulatory, confused and frustrated tweets. Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant led all vote getters as the lone unanimous selection to the First Team, followed by Miami Heat forward LeBron James, Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah, Houston Rockets guard James Harden and Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul. Much to the chagrin of 124 NBA writers with voting privileges, Chris Sheridan, our esteemed Editor-in-Chief, was the lone vote preventing
Phoenix Suns point guard Goran Dragic, once [presumably] hailed as Steve Nash’s heir-apparent, made great strides this year, leading his team to 48-34 record—a 23-game improvement from 2012-13, just missing the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. His play was markedly better, improving his scoring from a career average of 9.5 points to 20.3 this year. That’s an impressive amount of growth. His play earned him the NBA Most Improved Player Award. Our own Chris Sheridan broke down Dragic’s performance and
NEW YORK – Phoenix’s Goran Dragic, who helped lead the Suns to a 23-win improvement while establishing career highs in scoring and field goal percentage, is the winner of the 2013-14 Kia NBA Most Improved Player Award, the NBA announced today. Dragic received 408 of a possible 1,134 points, including 65 first-place votes, from a panel of 126 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Lance Stephenson of the Indiana Pacers (158 points, 13 first-place votes) and Anthony Davis of
In a break with tradition, I am casting my NBA awards ballot after the 81st game, not the 82nd. It’s a rarity, but this season I will not hem and haw and sleep on it until the afternoon after the final day of the season. You’re welcome. I have been an official NBA postseason awards voter for nearly a decade, and it would have been longer if not for a rule at the Associated Press, where I worked from 1987-2005, forbidding