Kobe Bryant is now within 219 points of surpassing Michael Jordan (32,292) on the career scoring list. I covered all five of Kobe’s championships, along with the final three of Jordan’s six. I was a little kid when I watched Oscar Robertson play in person, and I grew up watching Kareem Abdul-Jabbar dominate the NBA, both with the Bucks and the Lakers. I have only faint memories of watching Wilt Chamberlain play on TV, and I never saw Bill Russell play —
Over the weekend, LeBron James called his slumping, underachieving Cleveland Cavaliers “a fragile team.” James is partially right. As a group, the Cavaliers aren’t dealing very well with the lofty expectations put upon them by pundits like me. Right now, they look like a typical front-running team that lacks mental toughness and gives in at the first sign of trouble. That was evident Saturday, when the Cavaliers sprinted to a 26-8 lead in the first eight minutes – and were overwhelmed thereafter
Thursday afternoon the NBA unveiled the 2013-14 NBA All-Rookie Team, celebrating this past season’s top young athletes. One name you will not see on the the team is the Cleveland Cavaliers’ No.1 overall draft pick Anthony Bennett, who only played in 52 games, averaging 4.2 points and three rebounds in just 12.8 minutes per game. He is just the fifth top overall draft pick to miss the All-Rookie team in 26 years. There were quite a few young rookies deserving of the
Tuesday night Dallas Mavericks power forward Dirk Nowitzki moved past Oscar Robertson on the NBA career scoring list with an 19-foot jump shot at the start of the fourth quarter against the Utah Jazz en route to a 95-83 victory. Nowitizki scored 21 points, moving him to 10th among the all-time scorers’ list with 26,714 points thus far in his career. Many players took time to congratulate Dirk on his career accomplishment last night. One player who didn’t get the chance to congratulate him
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
What was for most of the season all but an inevitability is now a reality. Portland Trail Blazers rookie point guard Damian Lillard is the Kia Rookie of the Year. [Read more…]
Following an unannounced week off for the holidays, The Bernucca List is back. First, let’s tidy up old business. The previous list was “active players who are all-time scoring leaders for a franchise.” Newcomer Ody P. nailed the right answer less than an hour after publication and now has a win on his ledger. Brian Rivel leads the horde with three correct answers, one more than Brian C. OK, on to new business and another test of your obscure NBA knowledge with this
NEWS If any doubt remained, the Phoenix Suns’ Steve Nash established his bona fides as one of the organization’s all-time greats on Feb. 1, when he blew past Kevin Johnson as the franchise’s all-time leader in career assists. (Nash also holds team records for three-pointers made and attempted, as well as three-point and free throw shooting percentages.) Now, he’s on the cusp of passing an NBA icon. With Phoenix set to host the Los Angeles Clippers tonight on TNT (10:30 p.m. ET)