Much of Spain’s talented roster has spent significant time in the NBA. They know mind games when they see them, and more importantly, they know how to play them. Of course, none of them are as affluent in playing possum as Gregg Popovich or Phil Jackson are. But that’s beside the point. They just have to be somewhat believable, and in an event like the Olympics where so much is on the line in so little time, that can make a Boris Diaw-sized difference. The two best teams in the Olympics square off today at 4:30 ET on ESPN2, and while it’s only an exhibition, it feels like so much more. Read More »

Derrick Rose believes in the process. In fact, he says “My biggest concern is don’t worry about me. I know I’m going to be all right” (that doesn’t really make sense). The fallen Chicago star took to YouTube yesterday to provide a rare update for his fans on the status of his injury. Of course, reports say his knee is ahead of schedule, but what did you really expect to hear? Most are saying Rose won’t be ready anytime before the turn of the new year, and we sincerely hope the Bulls take their time with him. They aren’t winning the title next year, and we’re not trying to see another Gilbert Arenas instance go down, where it felt like every comeback from injury was rushed. Read More »

Before Dwight Howard‘s made-in-Disney World start in Orlando devolved into a Dwightmare, The Dream gave Houston management insomnia in the 1990s. Yes, Hakeem Olajuwon has more than just footwork lessons tying him to Howard, the disgruntled Magic center whose demands to get out have bookended a short-lived claim to return. Read More »

As we showed you earlier today, Kyrie Irving and Kobe Bryant have agreed to play one-on-one for $50,000, which will go to charity. This isn’t the first challenge issued among stars, however. Back in 1990, Magic Johnson was supposed to play Michael Jordan, but that got cancelled. Perhaps the most famous one-on-one challenge was supposed to be between Shaquille O’Neal and Hakeem Olajuwon. The game had a sponsor in Taco Bell, a venue in the Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City and was supposed to go down on September 30th, 1995. The “Taco Bell One-On-One Championship,” otherwise known as “The War on the Floor,” was going to be a pay-per-view event available nationwide, but sadly it was cancelled due to Hakeem’s ailing back. Read More »

The Lakers aren’t the Lakers only because they’re in L.A., the city has great weather and a lot of plastic women, and the team has tradition. They’re the Lakers because while many other teams chase their tails for 12 months a year, and then blow it up and start all over again, L.A. has a plan and are patient enough to let it grow. The fact they’ve gone this far without Kobe flipping out and pulling one of his weapons of mass destruction from out of his closet seems to indicate they know what they’re doing and have let their franchise player know everything is going to be okay. Of course, this basically means Pau Gasol is gone. No matter what Jim Buss says, Gasol is a likely goner if the Lakers are looking to make a big move. The problem? L.A. might be asking for too much in return. Read More »

Ninety-four percent of all playoff series that went to 2-0 were won by the team with the first two. When the figures about the teams that have escaped that hole and won are broken out, it’s never to inspire hope in a rally; instead that percentage is like hearing your probability of living after a grisly diagnosis. You have a 94 percent chance of not making it past the next month. Alert your kin. When we were bringing out those figures just a week ago in these NBA playoffs, though, we didn’t see the defibrillator being brought in the back door. Read More »

If we believe that every cliche begins as at least of kernel of truth, I can confidently say that Tim Duncan is the player that “individual accomplishments don’t mean anything to.” Case in point: He became the career leader in playoff blocks but couldn’t have cared less. Read More »

You know what would’ve made an awesome matchup? Hakeem Olajuwon‘s versatility, explosiveness and skill against Tim Duncan‘s unwavering consistency and positioning. Two of the greatest big men who ever played met last night… in the record books. On this play in the second quarter, Duncan tied the Dream for the second-most blocked shots in NBA Playoff history (472). He’d later pass Olajuwon with another block, and now sits just three behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for No. 1 all time in the playoffs. 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 »

It’s safe to say that the sneaker game has changed. Just as NBA players want to play in big markets, guys are bucking the trend and joining up-and-coming sneaker companies in order to make a name for themselves. First we saw this with the influx of Chinese brands such as Li-Ning, PEAK and ANTA, and have recently seen it from the likes of Under Armour and Above The Rim. Now, getting back in the game, is Spalding. Read More »