(1) Neon Bodeaux, Blue Chips vs. (4) Jesus Shuttlesworth, He Got Game

THE RULES

“You lucky my jumper’s kinda busted right now…”

This isn’t really a dream. It could be, but it’s more like a reflection. A reflection that’s real. If he wanted to, he could reach out and touch it, caress it or slide it through his fingers.

“You look like a cock-a-roach…” Read More »

If we didn’t know any better, off this summer alone, our top five NBA players might read something like this: Kevin Durant…Brandon Jennings…LeBron James…freakin’ Josh Selby…and John Wall. Washington’s finest has been destroying everyone from the blacktop to the gym. As “The Lockout League” has finally taken shape, he’s not doing anything to force us to back off some of the prodigious claims we’ve made about him. He’s going to be a beast, and some of us even think he could eventually be the best point guard in the world. Read More »

(1) Neon Bodeaux, Blue Chips vs. (8) Thomas Shepherd, Above The Rim

THE RULES

It’s pitch dark. Echoing voices are bouncing off buildings. Laughter. A couple of varsity lettermen with their jackets on are playing like they always played. One-on-one.

“Get off me! GET OFF OF ME!”

How did they end up here? He doesn’t know. Something in his mind is telling him he can’t remember. Or maybe that’s because he doesn’t want to remember. He doesn’t even know what he’s doing, can’t control it. But there’s his old yellow and orange jacket, the one he threw into the river after it was all over, so he can tell this was sometime in high school. Read More »

(1) Neon Bodeaux, Blue Chips vs. (16) Kenny Tyler, The 6th Man

THE RULES

We’re all walking, through the swamps, past the railroad, onto the town’s one main road. There are cracks all over the cement, and houses lining the street, some boarded up and some falling apart. You notice a sign to your left. Algiers, Louisiana it reads in red. Where are we? Everyone seems to be thinking.

It takes you back to the meeting you had with a scout three days prior. A dark, rainy night, all you wanted was a drink and a song. It was late. You were tired. But your friend starting talking. Read More »

Honestly, how did it take this long to set something like this up? We may not have the NBA on time, but Las Vegas finally has a team, and their “team” should be loaded. A long-rumored league is finally taking shape in the city of Sin, and should tip off at the start of next week. One of the most well-known trainers in the world, Joe Abunassar, is the brains behind the operation (which is being called “Impact Training Competitive Basketball Series”), saying summer leagues are cool, but there’s nothing like playing five on five with all pros (you might know Joe as the guy who’s helped turn Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Love into all-world players). At least 40 players have already committed to play and everyone is serious enough about it that we’ll have six to eight teams, a playoffs and a championship. Read More »

The line stretches almost around the block. There’s a girl, black hair pulled back in a pony tail, with a Spalding basketball nestled between her arm and torso. A man with an afro squints forward, his eyes panning through the line ahead of him before reaching down with a finger to clean a sliver of dirt off his Jordans and adjusting a device on his ankle. Towards the back, a man dressed in rags is telling anyone that’ll listen that he could once grab a quarter off the top of the backboard. Read More »