Four first-time dunkers are competing in the All-Star Weekend Dunk Contest this year, and they’ve got 28 years of history to live up to when it comes to dramatic dunk debuts.

Chase Budinger, Derrick Williams, Paul George and Jeremy Evans take part in Saturday night’s Sprite Slam Dunk Contest in Orlando, where they’ll be chasing the precedent of the best dunkers in their first contest. From Spud to Kobe to J.R. and Jordan, we bring you the top 10 of those moments here. Read More »

It’s been a minute since we hard from Isaiah “J.R.” Rider. But he’s one of those late ’90s stars who came, left an imprint, and then bounced too quickly. Before YouTube, Twitter and social media, Rider was a physical beast that could put down a windmill just as easily as a fadeaway. He averaged at least 16.1 points a game in six of his first seven seasons in the NBA, but then went to the Lakers and within two years was out of the NBA. Maybe now we’ll find out where he’s been.

He hit us up on Twitter early today to show off this exclusive trailer for his new documentary, “My Testimony: Raw And Uncut.” It looks pretty dope. Read More »

When people talk about the most infamous teams in NBA history, it’s always fun to reminisce about the Portland Jail Blazers. Damon Stoudamire. J.R. Rider. Rasheed Wallace. The basketball world (and local authorities) couldn’t get enough. Now, continuing their signature “Dynasty” series, UNDRCRWN has teamed up with Portland’s Compound Gallery to give you a chance to own a piece of history. Read More »

Tony Parker basically just predicted a title. “If I play the entire season, we’ll go for the title,” he told the French daily L’Equipe. Did we catch you? He’s not talking about an NBA championship. Parker just signed to play with ASVEL Villeurbanne, the French League team of which he is a part owner. Should the lockout continue to drag on, TP will be in Europe balling for $1,995 a month, and he says if he’s there all season, the squad is going to win a title. Pretty lofty expectations. It could just be a reflex of being in a lockout and away from the Spurs. Read More »

Sports fans in cities like New York and L.A. don’t know how good they have it. With multiple franchises across the four major sports leagues, there’s always a team to cheer for or a game to go to. In Portland, Ore., on the other hand, everything revolves around the Trail Blazers. And this month, the Rose City’s illest sneaker spot, Compound Gallery, is holding a Blazers-inspired group show titled, Blazer Mania. Curated by 138creative founder Nathan Tabor, Blazer Mania showcases pieces from local and regional artists that touch on everyone from Brandon Roy to Rasheed Wallace to Kevin Duckworth. On view through the end of the month, if you can’t make it out, check out some of my personal favorites below. Read More »

There are certain players that you always wonder what could have been. But because of poor decisions, bad luck or both – they never reached their NBA potential. Jay Williams, Eddie Griffin and Michael Ray Richardson are just a few names that come to mind. Probably the biggest example of someone who had a chance to be special but fell well short of his potential is Isaiah “J.R.” Rider. Read More »

First Isaiah Rider wants back in the NBA, now Greg Ostertag? The 36-year-old former Utah Jazz center has told the Lawrence Journal-World that he is attempting to make an NBA comeback.

“Watching the playoffs last year got me excited. My wife said, ‘Why not go try it again?’ One day I said, ‘What the heck. I’ll get in shape and get back on the court and give it a try.”

“I’ve got nothing to lose.” Read More »

Here’s one straight from the Go Somewhere And Sit Down files: After Michael Jordan jokingly called out Bryon Russell during his H.O.F. speech, of course somebody had to go track down Russell for his reaction. And of course the 38-year-old Russell — who as recently as this summer was talking about trying an NBA comeback — had to go make himself look like the “Can’t let the game go” retired ballplayer, challenging MJ to a battle. “I’ll play his ass right now,” Russell told Yahoo! Sports. “This is a call-out for him to come play me. He can come out here in his private jet and come play. He’s got millions of dollars. He can pay for the jet. He can meet me at the Recreation Center in Calabasas. We can have Mark Jackson do the commentating. We can have Mitch Richmond do the officiating. We can put it on TV and see if Michael’s still got it.” Read More »

If media overhype isn’t your thing, or if you’re one of those people who was never a big Michael Jordan fan, you may want to stay in bed and keep away from the TV and Internet today. As you may have heard, MJ (and David Robinson, John Stockton, Jerry Sloan and C. Vivian Stringer) will be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame today, so it’s gonna be all-Jordan/all-day on pretty much every sports outlet. Some of the Dime crew will be in Springfield, Mass., for the HOF festivities, where we’ll be providing live updates on Dime’s Twitter page. You should also check out @mitchell_ness on Twitter for updates from the VIP point of view, plus the latest on the hottest Jordan product ever released. They may be sold out already at the NBA Store, but we’ll let you know where you can get yours … Now about those “other” H.O.F. inductees: Don’t worry, we didn’t forget about them. Read More »

While I’ve been so caught up seeing where free agents are signing in the NBA, I’ve wrongfully overlooked the American Basketball Association. Word out of Fort Worth, Texas is that the North Texas Fresh, an ABA expansion team set to begin play in the 2009-10 season, is close to signing Isaiah Rider. Read More »