One of our boys sent this over this morning and it’s pretty much everything you would want in a throwback ’80s video: Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, James Worthy, an incredible Bill Wennington mustache, lots of feathered hair, and a soundtrack by Hall & Oates:

What happens when you let Jerry West, James Worthy and the Clippers Spirit Dance Team fill out an NBA All-Star ballot? This. If you don’t have time to watch the video, check out their selections after the jump. Read More »

Who do you want your offense to run through with the game on the line? Counting down from 30th to 1st (one per team), I’ve ranked the League’s go-to guys…

TIM DUNCAN, San Antonio Spurs You know how I know Duncan is old? Justifying his spot as a Top-10 clutch performer in the NBA isn’t as tough as justifying his spot as the No. 1 option on the Spurs. Read More »

After Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley weighed in with their thoughts on Miami’s “Super-Friends” collaboration, now Magic Johnson is having his say:

“We didn’t think about (superstars teaming up) ’cause that’s not what we were about,” Magic told reporters during a visit to New York. “From college, I was trying to figure out how to beat Larry Bird.”

That’s following Jordan’s comments over the weekend that he never would have teamed up with Magic and Bird because, “In all honesty, I was trying to beat those guys.” Read More »

The NBA Draft is typically overstocked with two types of big men: (1) High-profile guys who went to high-profile schools and have teams just as intrigued with their potential as they are afraid they’ll be a bust, and (2) So-called “undersized” bigs who go underrated annually and have to prove themselves in an uphill battle from Day One.

Hassan Whiteside doesn’t fit either description. The 7-foot freshman was an unheralded recruit who burst onto the scene this season at Marshall, leading the nation with 5.4 blocks per game. Whiteside is projected to go anywhere from the Top-10 to later in the 20′s, but whichever team gets him, odds are their fan base won’t know anything about their new project. Read More »

While I missed the majority of Lakers/Celtics Game 6 for my cousin’s high school graduation, everyone I know who watched the game had to come up with something to talk about during L.A.’s cold-blooded beatdown.

During the third quarter, one of my boys texted me: “Best role player ever in the NBA? Pippen?”

Depends on how you define a role player. To me, Scottie Pippen doesn’t count because he was too good. Read More »

If you can’t teach height, then you can’t coach height, and so in that case you can see why the Celtics are in trouble. Remember how every Lakers fan claimed the ’08 Finals would have gone their way had Andrew Bynum been healthy, and every Boston fan responded by asking how their ass tastes? Last night we all saw what happens when L.A.’s big men are healthy and playing like they have some hair on their chests, before Kobe came in and delivered the fatal shots … Right off the bat L.A. looked to go inside, while Kobe looked to drive and put pressure on Boston’s defense. Read More »

Norm Nixon isn’t walking through this door. Elgin Baylor isn’t walking through this door. Silk Wilkes isn’t walking through this door.

I was born in 1982, and I didn’t begin to understand NBA basketball until sometime around 1988. So before I roll out a list of my all-time favorite Los Angeles Lakers, I should point out that I missed a lot of the “Showtime” era (though ESPN Classic has helped rectify that), and I never watched Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain when they wore purple and gold. Read More »

If Vince Carter is the 2010 Most Disappointing Player of the NBA playoffs, Rasheed Wallace took the crown during the regular season. But while Vince’s untimely no-show helped deny the Magic a return trip to the Finals, ‘Sheed is still in position to sneak out of his letdown of a season with a championship.

Vince and ‘Sheed share another legacy. They are two of the most talented players to ever come out of the University of North Carolina, and at the same time, could be Exhibit A and Exhibit B of a trend I’ve noticed: Over the last 20 years or so, the North Carolina NBA register looks more like a ballot for the Da Vinci Code All-Stars. Read More »

We know you were missing Eric Newman’s Throwback Thursdays column yesterday, so today we’re bringing you something special. If you’re a Lakers fan, then you both remember and love what “Big Game” James Worthy brought to the team in the late 80’s and early 90’s, and of course you remember the 36-16-10 he dropped on the Celtics in Game 7 of the 1988 NBA Finals to secure the Finals MVP award. In preparation for Games 3 and 4 of Lakers/Jazz, we’ve teamed up with our friends over at LakersNation.com to give away an Authentic James Worthy Mitchell & Ness Jersey in a sweepstakes. LakersNation does not miss anything when it comes to the Lakers, so if you’re a Lakers fan you have to check it out. Read More »