We all know Blake Griffin is a rising star, but today it was announced the All-Star starter is one of 18 chosen for the 2012 BBVA Rising Stars Challenge during All-Star weekend in Orlando.

The Rising Stars Challenge is a switch on the former Rookie/Sophomore game, though it was still voted on by assistant coaches. Now, they’ll be mixed together with Charles Barkley and Shaq choosing and coaching the teams. Each squad gets nine guys.

Here are the players on the list: Read More »

Last night, Denver ran away from L.A. in the Staples Center because they dominated at points in the second and late in the third quarter. George Karl trusts his bench, almost too much in fact. His goal this year might be to coach this team like its intramurals. That’s just speculation, but with the way he hands out minutes, 11 guys all average double figures, we wouldn’t be surprised. Having a decent bench is always important, but it’s never been stressed like this. Five games in six nights will leave your team playing more up and down than a seesaw if the second unit can’t hoop. Read More »

There’s something purely Americana about the hometown kid making good in front of the hometown crowd.

Whether it’s David Freese blasting home runs to lead his St. Louis Cardinals to a World Series title, or Chauncey Billups going from prep legend to college superstar to NBA bust back to NBA superstar in Denver, or even Jerome Bettis winning a Super Bowl in Detroit in his final NFL game while playing for another team, we like these stories. In a sports culture where free agency and stressed-out GMs eager to trade make it increasingly tougher for fans to claim one group of players as “our guys” for any length of time, hometown ties remain nearly impossible to break. Read More »

The best team in the NBA against the worst. Blowout right? But Washington grew tired of getting jumped and walking around embarrassed the rest of the day. So they put together by far their best performance of the season in their surprising 105-102 win over the Thunder. On a night where Andray Blatche got booed in the pre-game introductions, and then booed again just three minutes in when he started his lackadaisical routine by shooting air balls, eventually everything turned to gold because John Wall took over in the fourth quarter. Read More »

Now that the season is underway, everyone is enjoying the extended free preview of NBA League Pass before it goes away. And if you want to see Evan Turner break some ankles this season, I suggest you signup. For those of you wondering what he has on his feet, check out his first signature shoe, the Li-Ning TURNINGPOINT MID 001. Read More »

We mentioned it in today’s Smack, but it deserves it’s own look here: In last night’s preseason Wizards/Sixers game, near the end of the third quarter, John Wall dusted Evan Turner with a crossover and then unleashed hell on Craig Brackens.
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Sometimes when you’re putting together an issue it takes on a life of its own. That was definitely the case for Dime #66. Typically this would have been our NBA Preview Issue, looking at all the stars and storylines for the upcoming year. But with the 2011-12 NBA season indefinitely on hold until a new collective bargaining agreement is in place, a central theme began to arise while we were planning. Read More »

The Philadelphia 76ers have fantasy value pretty evenly spread across each position on their roster – except for the center spot. While there’s no outright stud, the Sixers have plenty of appeal throughout the middle and late rounds of standard-sized drafts. Read More »

Last week I was on Twitter when a good friend of mine, Vanderbilt shooting guard John Jenkins, changed his Twitter icon. I asked him where he his new picture came from, and he told me that Brendan Lunn (twitter.com/NBAguy11) had made it for him, and that he made wallpapers for a bunch of college and NBA players. I looked up his stuff on Twitter and was very impressed. After I followed Brendan, he reached out to me saying he was a big fan of Dime Magazine, and then proceeded to ask if some of his work could be featured in Dime. I responded that I would ask my editor. Read More »

Anxiety, or at the very least excited curiosity, builds up inside us during this time of year. Offseason trades, the draft and coaching moves spur questions and concern. Of course, we were treated to LeBron James‘ “Decision” last season.

So today, without knowing when our questions will be answered and our basketball-loving jitters quelled, let’s play a LeBron-like game of “What should I do?” for some intriguing NBA players that I’m most curious about. Sure, it’s jumping ahead, but these questions also will evolve throughout this downtime and whenever free agency kicks off. What should each player do, and what will happen if they take Route A instead of Route B? Read More »