Highlights from the just-wrapped-up NBA All-Star Media Day:
* LeBron was asked who’s better between him and Kobe: “Kobe. No question,” LeBron said very seriously. Pressed to elaborate, ‘Bron kept saying that “Nobody is better than Kobe.”
* The crowd surrounding Kobe was by far the largest of the day, ahead of Yao Ming and Steve Nash. […]

D-Wade
After checking out the most absurd event of all-time, we got in some clutch post-midnight eats over at Harrah’s hotel courtesy of Converse. The buffet was spectacular; even the most serious consumers in the DIME family were satisfied with the robust display of eggs, pancakes, waffles, bacon, sausage, biscuits and fruit. But no one was […]

Photo. Monte Isom
Kobe’s right pinky has become a serious problem. It’s official that he has a torn ligament in that finger as a result of the February 5th dislocation against the Nets.
Mamba said that after giving it some “rest” during the break, he’d prefer not to have surgery until after the Olympics. On TNT’s telecast […]

David West (Photo: NBAE/Getty Images by Bill Baptiste)
David West is one of those guys whose game speaks volumes about his personality. Whether his 20 and 10 (technically 19.8 points and 9.2 boards per) comes from mid-range jumpers or battling under the boards with bigger centers and power forwards who trump his 6-9, 240-pound […]

At last year’s All-Star Weekend in Las Vegas, one of the coolest things was the amount of NBA guys you’d see just walking around, cruising the Strip or hanging in the casinos. We haven’t been in New Orleans long, but so far haven’t had as many run-ins with ballplayers.
However, as myself, Andrew and Pat were […]

Laurel Elementary Mural (Painted by Shakor, shakorart.com)
The best thing about the League’s decision to host All-Star weekend in N.O. is the impact that it’s having on the community. The festivities were the perfect excuse for NBA Cares to team up with Midway, the makers of NBA Ballers: The Chosen One. At the previously devastated Laurel […]

LeBron
Earlier today, LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Brandon Roy were among those involved with Nike’s “Let Me Play” program, which included dedicating a basketball court at New Orleans’ St. Bernard Community Center. The day also featured LeBron cutting the ribbon on a brand-new playground on the St. Bernard property that he built through his LeBron […]

The Dime crew is officially all in New Orleans now for NBA All-Star Weekend. Some of us flew in from NY on Wednesday, and the rest today, with various layovers in between. So of course, that means we saw a few NBA types along the way.
In the Charlotte airport, we bumped into Matt Carroll, Jared […]

Need4Sheed posted this clip a a few days ago, but we thought we’d share it with our readers this morning. It’s footage of Rip Hamilton practicing for the three-point contest - dude doesn’t even touch the rim on any of his shots.
Complete with a Rasheed Wallace intro countdown…

Quick reactions to the All-Star reserves, who were just named moments ago:
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Starters: Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Carmelo Anthony, Yao Ming.
Reserves:
Chris Paul — No-brainer, even if the game wasn’t in New Orleans. CP is knocking on some historic numbers this year; he could be the first-ever to record 20 ppg, 10 apg, 3 […]

J.J.
If you haven’t heard already, Joe Johnson slipped up and revealed to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he’ll be on the Eastern Conference All-Star team, hours before tonight’s official unveiling of the ASG reserves.
Is Joe deserving of a roster spot? He’s averaging 21.2 points, 5.3 assists and 4.4 rebounds, and the Hawks are currently in 7th […]