When Kevin Garnett came into the NBA as the fourth preps-to-pros phenom, he was a gangly, 6-11, 220 pound player with unmistakable skills and a burning passion and insatiable appetite for the game of basketball. He entered the league when Patrick Ewing was a dominant player, and last night his 15 points against New Orleans moved him past Patrick Ewing for 16th on the all-time scoring list. [Read more…]
The two biggest names in this game we love remain Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. And as free agency slows to a crawl after three frenetic weeks, the basketball world’s focus is on Barcelona, Spain, where Bryant, James and the rest of Team USA practiced and held court with the international media, one day before their “friendly” vs. Argentina on Sunday. In terms of popularity, Bryant is the unquestioned king. His jersey is the top seller internationally, while James is third, trailing Derrick Rose.
One of the minor effects of Magic Johnson’s revelation that he was HIV positive was that a new term was added to sports writing and we all had to learn how to spell it. Human Immunodeficiency Virus. Beginning with Johnson’s announcement that he was retiring on November 7, 1991, I wrote that term many more times than I would have preferred. HIV wasn’t supposed to be part of the sports section. It belonged somewhere else. Ultimately, however, the intrusion of HIV into basketball
Perhaps the most important trait that separates great ones from The Greatest of All Time is the relentless drive to be the very best. It is not a learned trait. It is natural. Kobe Bryant has it. Other current NBA players may have a dose of it, but it is negligible when compared to Bryant, who has spent much of his career – particular the late ’90s and early 2000’s – being compared to the fanatically driven Michael Jordan. To his credit, Bryant
By Chris Bernucca This NBA lockout is a 12-inch stupid sandwich. The owners have been stupid in believing they could get back in one negotiation everything they have given away over the last 12 years. The players have been stupid in underestimating the backlash from a fickle fan base hit hard by a nationwide economic malaise. And both sides have been extremely stupid in coming close enough to shake hands, then refusing to with the childish insistence of “You first!” It is another in