Kobe Bryant is one of the most polarizing figures in sports. He’s part Michael Jordan, part Alex Rodriguez. No player in the NBA fills both ends of the spectrum like Kobe Bean Bryant. He plays the hero and the villain better than anyone. When Kobe finally decides to hang up his Nikes, it’ll be a … [Read more…]
The Glove. The nickname fit Gary Payton like Isotoners. He got his nickname “The Glove” when Payton’s cousin called him during the 1993 Western Conference Finals series against Phoenix and told him, “you’re holding Kevin Johnson like a baseball in a glove,” and the nickname was born. The only point guard ever to win the … [Read more…]
Kobe Bryant accomplished a rare feat at his age last night in the Lakers’ 113-106 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. According to Elias Sports, Bryant’s 47 points, five assists, and three steals made him the third player (since steals became an official statistic in 1973-74) to go for 45-plus points, five-plus assists and three-plus … [Read more…]
Basketball is king in the state of Indiana and Reggie Miller is the undisputed prince of the Pacers. Very few basketball studs play their entire careers with one team, and Miller was blessed to play his entire 18-year NBA career with the Indiana Pacers. He was the 11th overall pick in the 1987 draft, but … [Read more…]
Twenty years ago, when NBA players were allowed to participate in the Summer Olympics it changed the entire landscape of the sport of basketball. The global impact of the 1992 U.S. men’s basketball team — also known as the Dream Team — was enormous. They opened the door for international players such as Pau Gasol, … [Read more…]
This is the dream matchup for the NBA. You have arguably the best team from the West playing against arguably the best team in the East. And each side boasts arguably the two best players in the game. The NBA Finals has not had this kind of salacious showdown since Magic Johnson’s Lakers faced Michael … [Read more…]
Derrick Rose grew up idolizing Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. Rose was born and raised in Chicago, so he knows full well the degree of difficulty that comes with winning a championship for the Windy City and the massive shadow cast by Jordan’s legacy. If you take away Jordan’s Bulls, the city of Chicago … [Read more…]
Kobe Bryant is not the same superstar that could carry a team by scoring 40 points over a 10- or 12-game stretch. Father Time is slowly starting to catch up to him, as evidenced by the third-lowest shooting percentage (43%) of his 16-year career. Sure, he is playing with torn ligaments in his wrist and … [Read more…]
Kobe Bryant reached a milestone during the 2012 NBA All-Star game in Orlando, Fla. when he passed the great Michael Jordan to become the No. 1 scorer in All-Star game history. It happened with about five minutes left in the third quarter when Bryant took a pass from Western Conference teammate Kevin Durant near halfcourt … [Read more…]
Before we go completely gaga over Blake Griffin’s thunderous dunk (or throwdown) over Kendrick Perkins, let’s take a step back and avoid being a prisoner of the moment. Griffin’s aerial assault on Jan. 30 against the Oklahoma City Thunder was spectacular and deserved all the attention it received the past couple of days. But to … [Read more…]