Shaquille O’Neal officially announced his retirement on June 1, 2011, and it took the Los Angeles Lakers just two years to honor The Diesel by raising his No. 34 jersey in the rafters at Staples Center on April 2, 2013. In classic Shaq fashion, he gave Lakers fans one thundering messaged: “Can you dig it!” … [Read more…]
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…]
For someone who likes playing the role of superhero, Dwight Howard has gotten real good at being a villain. LeBron James and Kobe Bryant now have company at the top when it comes to polarizing figures in the league. We can never refer to Howard as Superman ever again because Superman would have never left … [Read more…]
Drama seems to follow Dwight Howard wherever he’s at. He was like a petulant child in his final days in Orlando, holding the team hostage for months because he couldn’t make up his mind. Now, the drama has shifted to Los Angeles where Howard is again at the center of a firestorm that will undoubtedly … [Read more…]
Shaquille O’Neal took some heat on Twitter Tuesday night during his jersey retirement ceremony for not mentioning his Laker teammates, especially Kobe Bryant. Can we just drop this whole Shaq-Kobe hate thing? That was so 2008! Los Angeles Times columnist Bill Plaschke reopened old wounds when he tweeted this Tuesday night: “Stunned that everyone … [Read more…]
No matter how much they try to detach from each other, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant will forever be linked in Lakers lore. The duo brought home three consecutive championships to the franchise and reached the NBA Finals four times in five seasons. The Shaq-and-Kobe era gave Laker fans a multitude of unforgettable moments, including … [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…]
Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant are arguably the best 1-2 combination in the NBA. But whenever you have two headstrong 23-year-old superstars on the same team playing for the same goals chances are they’ll have some disagreements. That ugly scenario played out in a game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday, Dec. 28, as Durant … [Read more…]
Shaquille O’Neal playfully boasts that he is the last true dominant center in the NBA. He would even gloss himself with nicknames such as MDE (Most Dominant Ever) or Wilt Chamberneezy, an ode to the late great Wilt Chamberlain. But is Shaq right? Is he the last of the prolific big men who commanded double … [Read more…]
Shaquille O’Neal has become exactly what he dreaded: a token NBA center. This week, O’Neal agreed to terms with the Boston Celtics, his sixth NBA team and fourth in three years. He had previous stops in Orlando, Los Angeles, Miami, Phoenix and Cleveland. He will make the minimum salary of $1.4 million for the Celtics … [Read more…]