As time passes, the faces change, but the game stays the same. As a result, it’s easy to notice similarities between NBA players from different eras.

The Golden Age for me as a basketball fan was the early-1990s. Those days were filled with a lot of up-and-comers with plenty of style like Shaq, Penny and Kenny Anderson. Add to that the stars from the ’80s like Isiah, Michael and Hakeem who were able solidify their careers and win the ultimate prize within that period, and a host of other memorable characters. Read More »

As it stands now, Kobe Bryant has five NBA championship rings. If his L.A. Lakers were to win it all again this upcoming season, that would give Kobe the illustrious sixth ring and fuel another round of Michael Jordan comparisons. And while Kobe has always dealt with critics saying he’ll never live up to Jordan’s standard, a sixth title puts him in serious consideration to be recognized as equal to — or better than — the man they call “G.O.A.T.” Read More »

Welcome to the “extreme” era of sports media. Thanks to an increasing number of outlets having to fight for an decreasing attention span of the audience, we’re not getting an overabundance of extreme arguments: Everything is “the best” or “the worst,” a smash hit or a bust, an all-time epic or an utter disaster. The point is, say something that makes people listen to you and put down the remote or chill on the left-click.

Charles Barkley is good for throwing out those extreme statements. Read More »

Pretend for a second that the Raptors make the playoffs and have a chance of beating the Cavaliers in the first round. If Chris Bosh‘s face heals up and the rest of the frontcourt can bottle whatever they had during last night’s must-win at Detroit, this team actually matches up pretty well with Cleveland in the same way Orlando’s front line gave LeBron‘s squad problems last year … Andrea Bargnani (33 pts, 5 threes) was a sniper against the Pistons akin to Rashard Lewis on a good day; Hedo could recapture his actual game from the Orlando days; Sonny Weems could be utilized on the wing like Pietrus to harass LeBron; Read More »

Rajon Rondo isn’t the only guy making his national magazine cover debut this month. On the other half of our Dime #56 double-cover we have Jared Sullinger, the first-ever Dime/2K Sports National High School Player of the Year.

If you haven’t seen Sullinger play yet, you can still catch him at the Jordan Brand Classic on April 17, or you can wait until he’s ripping it up at Ohio State next season. Read More »

There’s nothing people like to see more than small guys dunking. Just ask three-time slam dunk contest winner Nate Robinson. And thankfully NBA TV analyst Eric Snow has given us a list worthy of debate: the top 10 dunking point guards of all time. Check out the list (with video evidence) after the jump. Read More »

If all it takes to earn a reputation for toughness is a couple of confirmed badass stories that can morph into tall tales in due time, Dirk Nowitzki might be on his way to shedding that “soft” label he’s had hung on him for years by his harshest critics. In the second quarter of Mavs/Rockets, Dirk was driving the lane when his elbow caught Carl Landry in the mouth — or more accurately, his elbow caught some of Carl Landry’s mouth — while drawing a foul. Multiple teeth were lost in the collision, one of them, amazingly, wound up embedded in Dirk’s elbow flesh. Gross. Dirk gets tough-guy points for shooting the ensuing free throws with his left hand and even making one, but he also might lose some points with some people because he left the game after that and didn’t return. Read More »

As of late, a lot of former NBA players have pursued some interesting post-hooping careers. Kevin Johnson is the Mayor of Sacramento, Rony Seikaly is a DJ, Todd MacCulloch is a professional pinball player and now Derrick Coleman is the athletics commissioner for Detroit’s public schools. Read More »

Now this is just plain wrong. You don’t do this to KJ.

From the San Mateo County Times:

SAN FRANCISCO — Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson, former Cal and NBA star, was reportedly robbed on the streets of San Francisco over the weekend, KCRA-TV in Sacramento is reporting. Read More »

We argue. You decide.

TIM HARDAWAY (by Austin Burton) The first thing you have to understand about Tim Hardaway is that he was more than just a big crossover and a smile.

Maybe not Hall of Famer, maybe not even truly deserving of having his number retired by the Heat or the Warriors, Hardaway still put a stamp on the NBA that should be bigger than one iconic move. He cracked 5,000 points and 2,500 assists faster (at the time) than anyone since Oscar. He was a five-time All-Star and ranks seventh all-time in threes made, 13th in assists. Read More »