Last Tuesday, Jack Taylor of Grinnell College sent shockwaves through the basketball world when he set an NCAA single-game scoring record with 138 points. This week in Bidding Basketball we scavenge eBay’s “infinite inventory of NBA junk” for rare, memorable and/or quirky basketball memorabilia from the three NBA players who hold their own scoring records in the NBA: David Thompson, Kobe Bryant and Wilt Chamberlain. Read More »

The best arguments are the ones you can’t prove. And today on First Take, Skip Bayless called Deion Sanders – the man who recently suited up his new Hall of Fame bust with his signature bandana – the best athlete of all-time. Neon Deion was by far the best cornerback of all-time, maybe the best return man, a great baseball player and in high school, he was an all-state basketball player in Florida which is like being the smartest kid at an Ivy. Read More »

One of the questions I posed to the Dime crew over All-Star Weekend made it into this morning’s Smack:

Doesn’t Nate Robinson have to be considered one of the greatest NBA dunkers of all-time?

Write me off as a Seattle homer if you want, but honestly, I’d be saying the same thing had Nate grown up in Miami or Madrid. Because not only do the facts work out in Nate’s favor, almost any basketball fan’s subjective view of what makes a great dunker also matches up with Nate’s aerial resume. Read More »

After the Hall of Fame festivities ten days ago, reader J.Tobias hit us up wanting to share his personal HOF experience. While the majority of the world was watching from home, J actually made it to Springfield. Here is his story: Read More »

For the second day in a row, the two marquee teams at the FIBA European Championships didn’t look that good. Spain was upset by a scrappy Serbia squad over the holiday weekend, then on Tuesday they struggled again with a team they rightfully should have 20-pieced. Playing without Ben Gordon or Luol Deng (or Michael Olowokandi — although that’s probably a good thing), Great Britain gave Pau Gasol and Co. all they could handle, taking a brief lead in the fourth quarter before Spain (sparked by a Pau three-pointer) got it together in time to hold on for a win. Gasol dropped 27 points and 11 boards, while Rudy Fernandez scored 13 and Ricky Rubio added five points and six assists. In case you’re wondering, Rubio is starting at PG ahead of Raul Lopez. His regular competition, Jose Calderon, isn’t playing in this tournament … Read More »

Not much happening basketball-wise on this side of the ocean for Labor Day, but in Europe it was all about the FIBA European Championships. And right away there was a huge upset, with Serbia knocking off Spain on the first day. It’s pool play, so Spain isn’t eliminated or anything, but it’s still and alarming loss for a squad that’s a favorite to win the whole thing. In Spain’s defense, Rudy Fernandez didn’t play, and Pau Gasol (9 pts, 7 rebs, 1-8 FT) is dealing with a broken finger on his left hand. (Ricky Rubio had six points and three assists.) Serbia made a big run at the end of the first half and led by 15 at the break, eventually winning by nine. Nenad Kristic led the winners with 17 points and six boards … Read More »