NBA All-Star Saturday Night’s signature events are, without question, the Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout and the Sprite Slam Dunk Contest. Dime Magazine was in Houston to check out the action live and have grades on the performances of each participant in both events (we can’t be the only other ones who nearly slept through the Shooting Stars and the Skills Competition). Be forewarned: this isn’t exactly a fair grading scale. Expectations played a role in their grades. Remember one of the worst things in the world is wasted talent – at least that’s what they say in the movie A Bronx Tale. Read More »

How long have you been waiting for tonight? A couple of weeks? Maybe a month? Well, if you’re James White, you’ve been waiting a decade. Flight White was put on this planet to do one thing. He was born to dunk, and yeah, he’s won some dunk contests over the years (and, somehow, lost a few too). But this will be his biggest stage yet. Read More »

It’s been said that rock ‘n roll can change the world. It’s a truism most recently on full display with the 12-12-12 Concert for Sandy Relief that raised some $50 million for those affected by Hurricane Sandy.

Rock ‘n roll’s power to motivate and mobilize the masses doesn’t always have to be on such a grand (or serious) scale. This fact is made evident by the current, growing grassroots movement dominating the twitter feeds and Facebook pages of some of music’s best indie rock bands know as “#LetBonnerShoot” – a campaign to get Matt Bonner into the NBA Three-Point Contest at All-Star Weekend in Houston this February. Bonner, who currently leads the NBA in three-point percentage, has done so in previous seasons, and is 12th all-time in the category, has never been invited to participate in the contest. Read More »

San Antonio Spurs forward Matt Bonner is known league-wide as “The Red Rocket.” The origin of the nickname is, in part, the subway system (TTC) that Bonner rode to games while he was a member of the Toronto Raptors. For his part, Bonner is mostly grounded himself, knocking down set shot threes at a career .417 rate. Read More »

Friday meant the final day of the preseason, which means there are no more chances to prove why fringe players are worthy of making a 15-man roster. There are about three dozen guys or so around the league keeping their cell phones charged and nearby in the next 24 hours. Stressful? Yeah, we’d say so. Read More »

Two hours from the start of his sixth annual Sneakers and Speakers charity concert, Matt Bonner was putting the final touches on the event’s silent auction and raffle. The final touches included standing on a milk crate to hang up an autographed Spurs jersey (Bonner is 6-10!), and writing with a sharpie on blank pieces of paper what the actual silent auction and raffle items were. Bonner was not asking the staff of the venue, Plymouth, New Hampshire’s The Flying Monkey, to help; he was doing it all by himself. Now this seems like a good time to remind you that he signed a 4 year, $13.89 million dollar contract back in 2010; yes this is a millionaire not using an event planner to setup and run an event. Read More »

“This is probably the only NBA player’s camp that the player is actually there the whole time,” explains Luke Bonner, younger brother of San Antonio Spurs forward Matt Bonner, about the annual Matt Bonner Basketball Camp held in their hometown of Concord, New Hampshire. This is clearly evident as Bonner is not just there to make speeches or take pictures and sign autographs. He is running around to check out the action on different courts, stepping in to run drills or ref games, and engaging participants to become not just better players but more well-rounded individuals. Read More »

Two days ago Tim Duncan had one of the best dunks of the playoffs, but in Thursday’s Thunder win Kevin Durant laid down the trump card — on Duncan. With just over three minutes left in a low-scoring first quarter — one that had already seen a big alley-oop by James Harden — KD turned the corner past the Spurs’ blown assignment and hammered a slam on Matt Bonner and Duncan. Hit the jump to check out where he takes off from. Read More »

What is it with Spurs fans and shaving their heads into the likenesses of their favorite players? Earlier we showed you the cut that combined Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili on one dome. That was intense, yes — but did it earn anyone an in-school suspension? Only Matt Bonner can claim that. Read More »

Beast of the Night: Kevin Durant finished the first half of the season to the tune of 33 points, four rebounds, six assists, three steals, one block and two three-pointers. He shot 55 percent (12-22) from the field, 100 percent (7-7) from the charity stripe and had two turnovers. Durant has been a stud, as expected, so far this season. He’s improved his field-goal percentage, rebounding, assists, steals and blocks from their marks in his 2010-11 campaign. Read More »