A little piece of Utah died today. The announcement that Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan is resigning after 22 and a half seasons with the team came as a shock to those outside of the organization and marks the end of an era for the NBA. We will likely never see a coach who sticks around with one team as long as Sloan, not to mention one who defines his team’s identity as much as Sloan.

When Sloan was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009, Dime reader and Jazz fan/blogger Amar penned this piece on the legacy of a true pro’s pro: Read More »

As the NBA regular season approaches, we preview the upcoming campaign with the “Highs and Lows” system — predicting the respective ceiling and basement for each team.

Added: Cole Aldrich, Daequan Cook, Morris Peterson

Lost: Etan Thomas, Kyle Weaver, Kevin Ollie Read More »

Quick, name the top point guards in the high school class of 2003 playing in the NBA right now. There is Chris Paul, who has solidified himself as one the top guards in the world. You have the reigning Most Improved Player in Aaron Brooks. There’s Shannon Brown, who has two rings with the Lakers. And now you may have to add Mustafa Shakur to this list after singing with the New Orleans Hornets this summer. Read More »

Ladies and gentleman, the Oklahoma City Thunder have arrived. After starting their inaugural season in OKC with a 3-29 record and finishing 23-59, Year 2 saw a marked improvement, as Kevin Durant led the NBA in scoring and the Thunder won 50 games on their way to a playoff berth.

The transition from small-time to showtime has been one of the quickest turnaround the NBA has seen, and keep in mind the Thunder didn’t make any major roster changes. Coach Scott Brooks just let his young players mature and learn from their early struggles. Read More »

Derek Fisher was the fill-in host on Jim Rome’s ESPN talk show yesterday. (This is why guys want to play in places like L.A. and New York. Sure, the network could’ve flown in a personality like Mo Williams or Aaron Brooks, but Fisher is right down the street.) Among the studio guests for 1-on-1 interviews with Fish were Brandon Jennings and Kobe Bryant. While Jennings used the spot as ad space for his new Under Armour kicks, Kobe talked about championships and legacies … Kind of funny to see Fisher all suited and booted while Kobe was rocking shorts and a track jacket. Read More »

In the least-surprising turn of events since the backlash against Barack Obama for not instantly fixing a broken system, the NBA announced it will put Heat/Lakers on center stage as its Christmas Day main event, as well as put the Heat, Lakers and Celtics on display for Opening Night in October.

The League announced a lot of other marquee national-TV games last night, too, most of which aren’t being talked about much this morning. Here are some of the hidden gems just in opening week: Read More »

Welcome to the first day of the rest of the NBA offseason. While so much attention has been focused on LeBron and now the Miami Heat, there are 29 other teams and a couple hundred other players with business to take care of before training camp.

Not everybody was waiting for LeBron, D-Wade and Bosh, either. From the eve of the NBA Draft to the early stages of free agency, those who were active have been rewarded. Here are the five best offseason moves that may have slipped under the radar: Read More »

The Raptors and Thunder are two teams heading in starkly different directions. The Thunder were one of the feel good stories of the NBA this past season. They have one of the best young cores in the League, and a team chemistry that is not often seen. On the other hand, Toronto struggled this past season with chemistry issues, underachievement, and now faces the likely loss of star forward Chris Bosh. While these two teams are going in opposite directions, they can both help each other greatly. Read More »

So it wasn’t exactly Willis Reed or Daniel LaRusso, but the scene in Portland when Brandon Roy stepped back onto the court yesterday was pretty amazing nonetheless. After the Blazers got bass-taped by Phoenix twice in a row, they activated their superstar at the last minute for Game 4, about a week following his knee surgery. Clearly far from 100 percent and all but dragging his leg around, Roy (10 pts, 4-10 FG) still gave the team and the crowd an emotional lift and managed to play a key role as Portland pulled even in the series … Read More »

One of the commentators on ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” said it best earlier this week: Upsets are the life-blood of the NCAA Tournament. Even if it’s at the cost of a busted bracket, people want to see Cinderella stories and have lovable underdogs.

Case in point: When Michigan State benefited from a couple shaky referee calls to knock off 12-seed New Mexico State in this year’s tourney, the crowd was loudly booing as the upset bid fell short. Read More »