Perhaps it never occurred to Rajon Rondo’s loudest critics that the NBA All-Star point guard has rarely been a big-time scorer because he’s rarely had to be.

From his star-making high school senior year at Oak Hill Academy, to his collegiate run at Kentucky, to his pro tenure with the Celtics, Rondo has gone from one loaded powerhouse of a team to another. He shared the court with All-American and eventual NBA standout Josh Smith at Oak Hill, with Joe Crawford at UK (the school’s 19th all-time leading scorer), and has played alongside future Hall of Famers Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Shaquille O’Neal in Boston. The last time Rondo was asked to carry the scoring load for a team, he dropped 27.9 points per game as a junior at Eastern High School in Louisville. Read More »

We told you about the tournament, but if you weren’t one of the select few that made it to Alcatraz on Saturday night for the 2011 Red Bull King of the Rock tournament final, see what went down.

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It was the greatest 8-to-6 basketball game you’ll ever see.

Andre Emmett, formerly of the Memphis Grizzlies and Bobby Knight’s Texas Tech program (where he is the all-time leading scorer), was going 1-on-1 with Vili Morton, a relative unknown who played college ball at California-Riverside and now manages basketball training programs at 24 Hour Fitness gyms in the Bay Area. On paper it shouldn’t have been close. Read More »

This is it. After battling it out on the red hot blacktops of the world’s playgrounds all summer, 64 of the best one-on-one players from the United States, Europe, and Asia have punched their tickets to Alcatraz Island in San Francisco for the finals of The Red Bull King of the Rock Tournament. The grand prize is $10,000 and winner takes all this Saturday. Read More »

On Saturday morning, we were on hand in Norfolk, Virginia for the latest qualifier in the massive Red Bull King of the Rock tournament. We had already witnessed some serious talent in “major” cities like NYC, Philly, Boston, and Washington, D.C. (the winners of each market all have a legit shot at taking the whole thing on Alcatraz), so we didn’t know what to expect in Norfolk. What we found was that Virginia may have brought the most overall talent of any qualifier anywhere to the courts at Lafayette Park on Saturday morning. These guys were killers, battling to the very end in stifling heat and humidity, nobody going out without putting up a savage fight to the finish. Read More »

What do they always say about an NBA playoff series? Never pick against the best player when things are pretty even. We guess that tip works well for playground ball as well. Kevin Durant was the star of stars last night at Trinity University in Washington D.C. for Capital Punishment, scoring 44 points, winning the MVP and hitting the game-winning free throws with 21.5 seconds left as Goodman beat the Drew League 135-134. Some of the Dime crew was in the house and while KD was THE man, John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins killed as well for Goodman. On the other side, James Harden – who was going at KD all night long, the two of them taking advantage of being on opposites sides for once – and Brandon Jennings were the two best. Read More »

You saw the TV spots during the NBA Finals, all of the sick teasers online, and now it’s finally here – the Red Bull King of the Rock tour is ready to take over Virginia this Saturday. The best part is, whether you want to play and compete for prizes and a trip to run on Alcatraz Island or if you want to check out some great 1-on-1 basketball, you can be a part of this free event. This is what you need to know: Read More »

This summer on the Red Bull King of the Rock tour, somes players that have played have been hooked up. In addition to jerseys, headbands, sweatbands and special collabo tees, those players also received a limited edition Deuce Brand x Red Bull King of the Rock watch. Now we want to share part of the experience with you, giving a lucky reader the chance to win one. Check it out: Read More »

While the action this weekend in Boston at the Red Bull King of the Rock tournament was fast and furious, I still found the time to sit down with some of the best players from the afternoon, guys like Daniel Munn, Marcus Barnett, Aljo Mrkulic, Sedale Threatt Jr. and Tony Lee. Read More »

On an overcast morning at Boston’s William Smith playground, faith was rewarded.

Marius Bausys arrived at the playground early yesterday after a day of traveling. Less than 24 hours before he first stepped foot onto William Smith’s blue and silver courts, Bausys was in Washington D.C. trying to punch his ticket to Alcatraz for the 2011 Red Bull King of the Rock world championship.

The outcome at the D.C. qualifier was one Bausys was familiar with: for the third straight time, he failed to reach the finals and advance to the world championship. Read More »