How good was LeBron James this season? Put it this way: We were going to put “NBA Rumor” at the beginning of this headline, but it’s really not even a rumor to report that LeBron is going to win the league’s MVP award.

The announcement is not yet official, but media outlets from the Cleveland Plain Dealer to the Associated Press are citing sources today who say LeBron has indeed won his second straight MVP, and will be presented the trophy during a press conference Sunday and again on Monday before Game 2 of Cavs/Celtics. Read More »

Converse has a rich history in sport, music and culture, and so does Atlanta. The synergy between a trendsetting city and a game-changing brand has resulted in The Converse Takeover, an action-packed weekend merging community, music and basketball. And I’ll be keeping you posted the whole way. Read More »

While teams like the Spurs and Mavericks can carefully audition young role players to eventually take over as “The Franchise” once the time is right, others are under the gun — both basketball-wise and at the box office — to find out ASAP precisely who they’re going to hitch their wagon to and take their best shot at a championship.

The Detroit Pistons are in that second group. After snapping an eight-year run of making the playoffs, which included an NBA title in ’04, an NBA Finals loss in ’05, and four other appearances in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Pistons landed in the Lottery this year. And for a fan base and front office that’s grown accustomed to success, that’s not going to cut it for too long. Read More »

Remember back when the 2009 NBA Draft class was almost universally panned as weak and top-heavy, with Blake Griffin pegged as the only player even resembling a future All-Star?

Sometime around the middle of this season, it became clear a lot of experts were wrong. Even with Griffin out injured for the year, Tyreke Evans, Brandon Jennings and Stephen Curry led an ’09 class that turned out to produce what looks like a handful of future All-Stars and a couple certified superstars. Read More »

The other night when Dwyane Wade was on his way to another first-round playoff exit, Aron and myself were e-mailing back and forth over a hypothetical I posed: Imagine the Internet riot D-Wade would cause if he went on Twitter tonight and wrote something real vague like, “Tough loss. We tried, Heat fans. On my way to Chicago.”

Of course, that fictional tweet could’ve meant Wade was going back to his hometown to vacation or work out with his trainer. But given that he’s a free agent, any perceived tiny hint of his plans would get jumped on immediately. Read More »

A lot of people were surprised to learn that — before his Phoenix Suns advanced to the conference semis last night — Grant Hill had never been past the first round of the playoffs. (And yet he doesn’t catch nearly as much hate as T-Mac, but that’s another story…) Anyway, Hill’s accomplishment had us talking earlier today about his prime years in Detroit, before the injuries. This is from February 1999, when Hill dropped a career-high 46 points on the Wizards.

Is 2Pac overrated?

Before the Hip-Hop Police break into my condo and take my West Coast pass, let me say clarify that I’m only asking this question in the “devil’s advocate” tradition.

During the LL Cool J argument the other day, naturally a lot of people named 2Pac as their G.O.A.T. pick, or at least had him in their top three. Read More »

When Brandon Roy made his surprising return to the court in Game 4, a mere eight days after knee surgery, nobody thought it was possible. But even B-Roy’s biggest fans can’t be too upset that he and the Blazers got bounced from the playoffs last night, because now the superstar can take some time to rest and heal. But even though we won’t see Roy on the court for a minute, take a look at the Nike Air Max Hyperfly (specifically designed for him) in two colorways and more detail after the jump. Read More »

When it came time to separate the men from the Mavs, last night’s Dallas/San Antonio game was decided by the grizzled vets who have been through these wars before: Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki, Manu Ginobili, Jason Kidd and the rest.

But leading up to crunch time, two of the most valuable players on the court were 23-year-old George Hill and 22-year-old Rodrigue Beaubois. Read More »

If you were to tell me that Grant Hill blocked Jerryd Bayless, I would assume it was a blocking foul. But for a 37-year-old, who’s missed as much time due to injury as he has, Hill’s still got it. Watch as Bayless tries to take it to the rim at the end of the first half in last night’s game. Not happening.

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