Before Drake, Toronto had Vince Carter.

Twenty years from now, when Carter’s career is long over with, NBA junkies and even casual observers will remember his name. They’ll remember him for his performance in the 2000 NBA Slam Dunk Contest. They’ll remember when he miraculously jumped over the 7-2 Frédéric Weis en route to a slam dunk during the 2000 Olympics. Read More »

Sometimes an early test is all a top seed needs to get themselves going in March Madness (think Tyus Edney for UCLA in ’95). Ohio State had theirs yesterday against Iowa State, and are still alive because they have one of the best leaders in college basketball … Read More »

If you’re trying to beat Miami, there are a few specific things you can’t do. You can’t let LeBron dominate an entire second half. You can’t let Chris Bosh shoot the same jumpers he takes in the pregame all night long. And if you have a look at a wide open, game-winning triple, you can’t shoot an airball. All of this happened in Houston’s 113-110 loss to the Heat last night, a game that LeBron James just wasn’t going to let South Beach lose. Read More »

Reggie Miller will officially become an NBA Hall Of Famer later this week, so this should be a week of celebration. But former teammate and current Golden State head coach Mark Jackson, who was simply trying to laud his HOF-bound teammate, stirred up a bit of controversy by elevating Miller’s place in history to the third greatest of all time. Here’s what he said to the Indianapolis Star: Read More »

With Madden NFL 13 releasing today, we’ll probably be stuck on that for a while. But NBA 2K13 will be here before you know it – it’s barely more than a month away. We’ve already seen some cool control developments, and now here is a look at the All-Star Weekend events. It sounds like you’ll need to preorder the game to get access to these modes. Read More »

Jalen Rose is the last relevant member of the Fab Five, parlaying his NBA career into an ESPN NBA analyst job and Grantland podcaster. Well, apparently Jalen doesn’t consider himself a part of the everyday media machine, even though he’s a part of the 30-second attention-grabbing proclamations that berate us through the television day in and day out. In a recent radio appearance, Rose took the opportunity to reproach the recently nicknamed “Fab Five” U.S. women’s gymnastics team under the guise of laziness, even if this was only a veiled defense of his own unique distinction as one of Michigan basketball’s five fabulous freshmen. Here’s what Jalen had to say: Read More »

Last weekend I watched one of my favorite “Curb Your Enthusiasm” episodes, “Palestinian Chicken.” I tried coming up with my Mount Rushmore for Curb episodes but then my OCD kicked in and this sentence turned into a 20-minute meltdown – in case anyone was wondering. Now, for those who haven’t seen this episode or don’t watch the show, Larry David attends a dinner party with some close friends. As dinner is winding down, Juliet, the host, asks everyone how the potatoes were. The following takes place: Read More »

The one salvation for all long-suffering fans in the NBA is this: anyone can be traded. At any time. It doesn’t matter how egregious their contract is or how awful their production is. We’ve seen everyone from Gilbert Arenas to “Theo Ratliff‘s expiring contract” be moved for one reason or another. One man’s garbage is another man’s treasure, and as long as we have GMs in the league who love to needlessly make moves (Kaaaaahn) or make moves while smoking Cubans on the 10th hole (MJ), bloggers will continue to have things to complain about. Since burying his game in a grave somewhere in the Windy City, Ben Gordon has done nothing but frustrate fans in Detroit. They’ll probably be happy to know he’s gone: the Pistons traded the former Ben Jordan to Charlotte for Corey Maggette and his expiring contract. Read More »

There was a point in the third quarter where you could see it on LeBron James‘ face. New Jersey was flowing. Miami was in a trance. And LeBron was annoyed. A late regular season game in New Jersey isn’t exactly the NBA Finals, but it’ll do for now, especially when he puts together a performance that had shades of 2006, Game 5 in Detroit. LeBron scored 17 straight for Miami to bring the Heat charging back in a 111-108 W, all while everyone in the building screamed “MVP!” Read More »

The grave for the one-team superstar is not a new plot. When the game’s best players stick around with one team for an entire career, it’s the exception, not the rule.

Kobe Bryant is the only player in the NBA’s career top-10 in scoring who has played with one team. His story intertwines with that of Peyton Manning up until this week: precocious young players who became MVPs and world champions, and whose own identities completely meshed with that of the franchise they played for. Lucas Oil Stadium was Peyton’s place; Staples Center is Kobe’s domain. Read More »