On this date in 1984, the Chicago Bulls signed their 1st-round pick, Michael Jordan to his first professional contract. Jordan reportedly made about $600,000 as a rookie. **Jordan is one of three players in NBA history to win at least 5 MVP awards and 5 NBA titles, joined by only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Russell. [Read more…]
THE BEST OF THE BEST: On June 25, the Hornets drafted Frank Kaminsky with the 9th overall selection in the 2015 NBA draft. Later in the offseason, Charlotte added free agent Tyler Hansbrough. The duo will join Larry Johnson (1990-91) as the only Naismith award winners to play for the Hornets. And there are also two more in the front office. Hornets Naismith Award Winners Role 2014-15 Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin Current Player 2007-08 Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina Current Player 1990-91 Larry Johnson, UNLV Former Player 1984-85
BROOKLYN — It’s incredible how a building’s mood can change so drastically every five minutes. From the roaring approval for Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell to the acidic, vitriol for the Knicks’ pick of Kristaps Porzingis, nothing satisfies a sports fan’s need for instant gratification like reacting to an NBA draft pick. But there were great moments behind the scenes that you could not see. A proud multi-generational basketball family sharing a special moment in a back room. A fashion statement that added to
Drafted No. 4 overall in the 2004 NBA draft and suffering a potential career-ending knee injury in 2007, Golden State Warriors guard Shaun Livingston believes playing in the NBA finals is “a special moment”, especially for him. In 2007, Livingston, in his third season with the Los Angeles Clippers, tore his ACL, MCL, PCL, a lateral meniscus and had a dislocated kneecap all in one knee. Even the Clippers’ team physician hadn’t “seen a lot of these” happen in one knee.
It’s certainly not a stretch to say that the winner of Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night likely will the championship. If the Cleveland Cavaliers win, they will have a 3-1 lead and have three chances for LeBron James to snag one more victory for the city’s first pro sports title since 1964. If the Golden State Warriors win, they will have evened the series at 2-2 while reclaiming home court advantage, They also will have reclaimed some of
See that guy? That white silhouette inside the red and blue? That’s Jerry West. He’s the NBA logo and has been since 1969, when he was still playing. Jerry West’s nickname was “Mr. Clutch.” Former Boston Celtics radio announcer Johnny Most, who disliked every player not wearing green and white, used to call him “Gentleman Jerry.” To my knowledge, Jerry West and Julius Erving are the only visiting players who ever received polite applause upon entering the lion’s den known as Boston
For the fifth straight year, LeBron James is going to the NBA Finals. How do his numbers stack up this season versus the past four seasons? It’s quite interesting. James is deserving of all the praise he’s getting after becoming the first player to reach five consecutive NBA Finals since the dynastic Boston Celtics of decades ago. James has been asked to do more for the Cleveland Cavaliers on offense than even in his early-career Cavs days, and it’s taken a toll
BROOKLYN – The Jordan Brand Classic introduced us to the country’s top recruits. From the looks of it, the future of college basketball is bright. Top recruits from Kentucky, Florida State, Arizona and more starred during the event, giving schools hope they can wrestle the NCAA title away from Duke next season. Speaking of wrestling a title away, France’s Jaylen Hoard and Bosnia’s Njegos Sikiras took home MVP honors during the International Game – which has been dominated by the Canadians in