Sports generally and the NBA specifically have always been pioneers, years ahead of society when it comes to racial issues. Black players entered the NFL in 1946, MLB in 1947 and the NBA in 1951, all more before Brown vs. Board of Education in 1954 and over a decade ahead of the pivotal civil rights events of the 1960s. The NBA has continued to be a leader with more African-American players, coaches, GMs and owners than any other league. Even the fans
With much of the national discourse centering on Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, the reality of the matter is that a lifetime ban and a $2.5 million fine is the limit to what NBA commissioner Adam Silver is capable of doing. The rest falls on the shoulders of 29 team owners, as they—according to the NBA’s Constitution and By-Laws—must vote with a 3/4’s majority to force the sale of the team. Players, media pundits and people all across the nation
NBA commissioner Adam Silver cannot just suspend Clippers owner Donald Sterling for the rest of the playoffs. Silver cannot just suspend Sterling for a year and drop a seven-figure fine on him the way his predecessor did to Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor in 2000. Taylor broke the rules. Sterling broke the game. Silver has no choice but to suspend Sterling indefinitely, as in until he sells his team. And when Silver suspends Sterling, it is important that anyone and everyone with an opinion on
The Jordan Brand Classic introduced us to the game’s future stars. And from the looks of it, the future is bright. Top recruits from Duke, Kansas and Kentucky dazzled in the All-American Game and showed why each program has drawn considerable buzz heading into next season. Seton Hall – which had five recruits named to the Jordan Brand Classic – dominated the Regional Game. Canada shined in the International Game once again thanks to Jahvon Blair’s MVP performance with the help of his
Kobe Bryant has been sidelined for much of this season due to a couple of devastating injuries, and the Los Angeles Lakers have toiled in the bottom of the conference as a result. Of course, that’s not to say that all would have been well and the Lakers would have been a playoff team if Bryant played, but their record would certainly be better than 22-42 – 1/2 game better than the Utah Jazz who have been in tank mode
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
The Atlanta Hawks are on the road Tuesday night facing the Chicago Bulls, the team his airness Michael Jordan put on the map with six championships in the 1990s. With their hometown set to embrace snowpocalypse 2.0, they begin a three-game road trip that ends after the NBA All-Star break. The game against the Bulls didn’t start so well, however. They fell behind by as many as 25 in the first half, eventually going into halftime facing a 58-39 deficit. What was
BROOKLYN – Kevin Durant treated the league like a game of NBA 2K14 on a nightly basis in January. Durant is a 7-footer with the handle of a guard, the shooting ability of a sniper, the leaping ability of a kangaroo and the rebounding ability of a power forward. Basically, he’s the player we all created from scratch in a video game as kids with the ratings boosted as high as possible. Recently, Durant added “Slim Reaper” to his list of nicknames