Chuk-a-what? With the 56th pick in last night’s NBA Draft, the Los Angeles Lakers left a lot of viewers (and analysts) scratching their heads by selecting Chukwudiebere Maduabum. Besides being 6-9, 20 years old and from Nigeria, not much is known about Maduabum, who was quickly shipped from the Lakers to the Denver Nuggets for a future second-round pick. Here’s what could be scrounged up from a few minutes of research. Read More »

After an outstanding three-year career at Kansas, which included a 2008 NCAA Championship and three Big 12 titles during his tenure, Cole Aldrich was a Lottery pick this June. First selected by the Hornets before being trading to the Thunder on Draft Night, the Bloomington, Minn. native gladly returned to the Midwest. So with everyone’s expectations for the Thunder going through the roof this season, we decided there was no one better to turn to for the inside scoop on life in OKC. In his third entry, Cole talks about rookie hazing and life in the NBA D-League. Read More »

I still remember watching Kwame Brown in his first Summer League for the Washington Wizards up in Boston. It was free and I was a fiend, looking for some No. 1 overall pick love. I can remember telling my boys after his first game, “Don’t worry. Kwame will pick it up. He’s only a high school kid.” Ahh, too bad.

Summer Leagues get their exposure from No. 1 picks, second-year standouts and once-in-a-blue-moon explosions from unheard of players. Below that though, there are always interesting subplots. Here are the Top 10 guys to look out for in this year’s Orlando Summer League: Read More »

With the 2010 NBA Draft class rounding into shape, this is looking to be a big year for one-and-done freshmen: John Wall, Derrick Favors, DeMarcus Cousins, Xavier Henry, Avery Bradley, Hassan Whiteside, Lance Stephenson, Daniel Orton and Eric Bledsoe are all projected to get picked in the first or early-second round.

Another one-and-done that should hear his name called on June 24 is Latavious Williams. A product of Starkville, Miss., who did a fifth prep year at the Christian Life Center in Humble, Texas, Williams spent his “freshman” year getting paid in the D-League, but is eligible for this year’s NBA Draft. We profiled Williams in Dime #56: Read More »

While the Celtics, Cavs, Mavs and Lakers were taking care of business at home last night, so were the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. In front of a sellout crowd of 6,198 (the largest ever to see a Vipers game), the Vipers defeated the Tulsa 66ers in Game 2 of the D-League Finals to take home the title. But in case you didn’t catch the series, here are five amazing things that you missed. Read More »

This last Thursday, forward Latavious Williams became the first high schooler to jump straight to the NBA since the League instituted its age limit in 2005. Oh, did I forget to mention that Williams went from graduation right into the NBA’s Development League?

You read right: the D-League. Read More »

Just when you thought Latavious Williams was going to be the first big-time recruit for Memphis’ new coach Josh Pastner, the 6-8 forward from Christian Life Center in Humble, Texas has decided to head to China. Following in the footsteps of Brandon Jennings and Jeremy Tyler, Williams is opting to get paid while he plays next season. Read More »