In the last week, Kobe Bryant became the fifth-leading scorer in NBA history and Paul Pierce surpassed Larry Bird and now trails only John Havlicek as the leading scorer in Celtics history. Although each achievement was exceptional, such feats are not allowed to stand on their own. Not in sports. When records are set, there is a larger discussion – is that player the greatest of all-time in that sport or for that franchise? And if not, it is absolutely mandatory
Wanna see Ricky Rubio throw lobs to Blake Griffin? How about John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins teaming up again, as they did at Kentucky? It could happen in the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge, which revealed its player pool Wednesday. As we reported Tuesday, the Rookie-Sophomore Challenge is no more. NBA assistant coaches picked the pool of nine rookies and nine sophomores listed below, but TNT analysts Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal will serve as GMs and draft teams Feb. 16 on the
// Who will be snubbed in All-Star reserve voting? Someone from the Sixers? Someone from the Cavs? One of the more productive power forwards in the West? CineSport’s Brian Clark & SheridanHoops.com’s Chris Sheridan discuss that question, along with the significance of Kobe Bryant’s scoring milestone and whether the Oklahoma City Thunder are potential champions.
Kobe Bryant needed 22 points to pass Shaquille O’Neal on the all-time scoring list and got them in the first 21 minutes. He looked like he was on his way to 50, a great way to celebrate his annual trip to his hometown. The Lakers held a 55-30 advantage in rebounds. Andrew Bynum (20 points, 20 rebounds) and Pau Gasol (16 and 11) looked like they were playing against children. And LA held a seven-point lead with less than five minutes to
In fairness to the basketball expertise possessed by Jim Dolan, trading for a superstar usually works out great for the receiving team. The cliché in the NBA is, in fact, never trade away a superstar because you can’t get value. The danger in analyzing trades that are not even a year old and involve key players in their 20s, however, is that change can occur unexpectedly. That was the case in 1971 when the Baltimore Bullets sent sensational guard Earl Monroe to
NEW YORK — You want news? There ain’t much. The union’s executive committee is meeting today in New York to discuss how to proceed forward in stalled lockout talks, so there might be an update of sorts after they are finished. I am planning to meet up with the Birdman, Chris Andersen, tonight at a Converse event he will attend along with Lou Williams and Kyle Korver. I have one question I want to ask all three of them, but I am
By Chris Bernucca “There’s a lot of woofing going on in the league. Guys do a lot of talking. What I would like to see, since television seems to be promoting everything, is an off-season boxing tournament for NBA players. Let them put on 16-ounce gloves and fight three two-minute rounds. One thing it would do … it would stop a lot of the woofing going on.” – “Pistol” Pete Maravich, in a 1977 Sports Illustrated article My son plays AAU basketball. He’s not