“I talked to a couple of other doctors, a couple of other friends and they really kind of told me the same stuff that these guys told me. It’s not that I didn’t believe (Raptors doctors), but (friends) called me because they heard I wasn’t going to wear the mask and they said, ‘Don’t be stupid.’” – Hedo Turkoglu to The Toronto Star, February 7, 2010

Dear Hedo,

Let us start with some history. Read More »

Two things stood out to me when Jerry West was being interviewed on NBA TV last night. Fielding questions about Kobe Bryant, whom earlier in the evening had passed West as the L.A. Lakers’ all-time leading scorer, Mr. Clutch admitted, “I don’t have contact with [Kobe] anymore,” in a spot where guys will usually at least fake it and say, “We talk every now and then.”

The other time was when West said Kobe will ultimately go down in history as the greatest Laker of all-time — even if a lot of L.A. fans are “mad or disappointed” to hear that.

Therein lies the most complicated part of Kobe’s enduring legacy. Read More »

Maybe you’ve noticed the formula whenever the Orlando Magic play on national TV: Dwight Howard does something good on offense — a hook shot, a drop step, a jumper, basically anything beyond an alley-oop or a Chocolate Thunder dunk — and the announcers inevitably start talking about Patrick Ewing and his role as Dwight’s big-man mentor as the camera zooms in on Ewing looking like a gigantic History professor.

And maybe you’ve noticed the other half of the formula: That whenever Dwight has his stretches of invisibility or fails to show any offensive growth since high school, Ewing is never mentioned. Read More »

Who are your sports heroes?

I don’t know why, but when I was growing up and coming into my identity as a Black male, I felt I was supposed to pick a side between Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Whether it’s the same old divisiveness that’s stood in the way of progress for decades or it’s something else, I can’t explain it. But that said, I was more of a Malcolm fan: Read the autobiography, bought the posters, romanticized “By any means necessary” even if I didn’t completely understand what it meant. Read More »

Working at Dime Magazine, a ton of headlines, news and opinions pass through our website each week. Everyday a new story breaks and we change our focus to the next game on the schedule. Before this week gets started, I’ll take the time to reflect on what the NBA taught me last week. Read More »

Yesterday, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar revealed to the LA Times that he has Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia, which is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow that produces cancerous blood cells. This is news you never like to hear, but Abdul-Jabbar is confident about his long-term prognosis. Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow that produces cancerous blood cells. Read More »

Contrary to what Chris Webber said last night, the Celtics are not going to win the 2010 championship because they picked up Rasheed Wallace. While ‘Sheed will definitely play a role, Boston isn’t winning jack (or Larry) unless Paul Pierce performs up to Paul Pierce standards. Last night was vintage Truth, as Boston downed the Cavs in the opening game of the new season, a rare home loss for Cleveland. With a little over a minute remaining in the fourth and the Celtics up by four, Pierce (23 pts, 11 rebs) ran a pick-and-roll with KG near midcourt against LeBron and Shaq. Advantage: Boston. Shaq reached, Pierce teached, then stuck a jumper from the top of the key that was essentially the dagger. Read More »

Even though there was no NBA game action last night, there was tons of activity in the League. As we mentioned yesterday in Smack, while there were certainly some memorable plays in the tune-up games, this preseason will be known for two things: a lack of “real” NBA refs and injuries. Thankfully the former has been cleared up after the NBA reached an agreement with the referees, but unfortunately the latter seems to be an overwhelming reality for many of the League’s standout players … On the eve of the season opener, which includes a matchup between the Lakers and Clippers in a battle for Los Angeles (well, not really), it appears the Clippers will be without their superstar. Announced late last night, Blake Griffin may miss up to six weeks with a stress fracture of his left patella. Suffered during the Clippers’ last preseason game against the Hornets on Friday, this is horrible news for the No. 1 pick and Rookie of the Year favorite … Read More »

When Andrew Bynum told the media last month that he could be an All-Star this season, it’s fair to say that not a lot of people probably took him seriously. But so far in the preseason, the fifth-year center is backing up his words by averaging 20.4 ppg, 7.4 rpg and 1.2 bpg in the Lakers’ first five contests. If the preseason is any indication of things to come, than the rest of the league should be very worried. Read More »

Watch as the Hall of Fame center momentarily forgot that Bill Walton ever existed.