The 2012-13 NBA regular season is right around the corner. For fans, this means it’s time to re-up on your team’s merchandise. Anyone can go to the nearest sporting goods store and pick up a brand new jersey or hat, but what about the unique collectibles that separate the dyed-in-the-wool fan from the bandwagon supporter? These can be found on eBay. In the days leading up to, and after, NBA tip-off, Bidding Basketball will scavenge the online auction site’s “infinite inventory of NBA junk” for rare, memorable and/or quirky basketball memorabilia from every team around the league. Read More »

Okay, so Monday was technically Left Hander’s Day. But you didn’t know that did you? I didn’t, not until about 10 p.m. that night because quite frankly, I never realized we had a Left Hander’s Day. So this post is a little late, but that doesn’t matter. You care about reading up on the 10 best lefties to ever put on a NBA uniform, not when you read about them. Read More »

As we touched on last week, NBA TV’s documentary “The Dream Team” was pretty, pretty, pretty great. While we gave you a look at some of the top plays and what we learned from “The Dream Team,” it’s important to remember that there were two more “Dream Teams” – the 1994 “Dream Team II” and the 1996 “Dream Team III.” Read More »

Finally, we’ve seen the Monte Carlo tapes. I can speak only for myself when it comes to seeing “The Dream Team” documentary that NBA TV debuted on Wednesday that had been 20 years in the making, but watching the full-court scrimmage between one of the greatest groupings of talent, ever, was a long-awaited highlight. Read More »

By now, I’m sure you’ve seen the videos. In this era of technology, Twitter and 24/7 highlights, you probably heard about it not long after Pau Gasol felt it. It gives you an idea of how we value excitement in sports. The Clippers lost last night, Kobe Bryant hit a game-clinching shot and Andrew Bynum was going to work, and yet this morning it’s been all about Blake Griffin un-manning Gasol twice. As we wrote in Smack, he murdered him early, resuscitated him and then killed him again. Twice in one game he smashed all over the Spaniard. Kendrick Perkins and Timofey Mozgov breathed a sigh of relief somewhere. Read More »

This piece first appeared on the Foot Locker Unlocked Blog

Without a doubt, Blake Griffin had a great rookie season last year averaging 22.5 points, 12.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. He played in the All-Star Game, won Rookie of the Year and made his team better overall. But does he crack the list of the Top 10 Rookie Seasons In NBA History? Not even close. With that, take a minute to see the 10 most amazing freshman campaigns ever. Read More »

Whether it’s in a desperate come-from-behind win or a devastating blowout loss, Tebow-mania has officially swept over the nation. Perhaps no athlete with such miniscule professional experience has ever been as celebrated as much as the Mile High Messiah. Certainly not in basketball. J.J. Redick enjoyed some time as college’s nice guy as well as being a top player in the early-to-mid 2000s. Unfortunately for Redick, most fans weren’t too fond of him as Duke became equally as hated as the Miami Heat. Read More »

If you’ve been watching NBA TV at all this summer – and I’m sure you have if you’re like me – you must’ve noticed how often they play Game 3 from the 1994 first round series between Phoenix and Golden State. I’ve seen parts of that game probably four or five times. It was Chris Webber’s first taste of the postseason and one of the final bites in the prime of Charles Barkley’s career. C-Webb seemed at times, for all of his Fab Five-ness, a respectful young kid. But he crossed the line with his infamous regular season dunk over the reigning MVP. You know the one: catch it on the break, flick it around the back for no reason other than because he can, and then shove the ball down Barkley’s throat after stepping off his Flight No. 4. Read More »

This all started a week ago when I stumbled on an old article about Rajon Rondo‘s freakish rebounding numbers. Friends got to talking. People got to arguing. Everyone got to debating. Now, I’m looking through box scores from all over trying to find the craziest numbers. Honestly though, it doesn’t get much more unique than a quadruple-double. Read More »

The 1990s were highlighted by some of the best center play we have ever seen. Game dominators like Hakeem Olajuwon and Shaquille O’Neal were consistently glued to the block in a game that was much more physical and reliant on the big man. Among some of the ’90s greatest heavyweights were Patrick Ewing and David Robinson. Very similar in style of play, these guys were warriors in every single sense of the word. But which center was the better of the two? By going off what my man Kristofer Habbas has done with the point guards, let’s have a verdict by looking at the statistics, best year, playoff success, and historical effect. Read More »