From an ugly fallout with his former label Def Jam, to combating erroneous claims surrounding his relationships, Joe Budden has been on the opposing end of a disastrous battle against the world. He was virtually playing one on five. His candor served as a double-edged sword. Read More »

Laker fans should slow down. They’re better than they were earlier this year, but San Antonio has showed them recently how far they still have to go. The Spurs took it back in time, unleashing their vaunted Big Three on the visitors in an easy 121-97 W. Kobe played and scored 18, and it didn’t matter. Tony Parker (20 points, 10 assists) blended them up and turned the Los Angeles defense into a milkshake in the first half. Tim Duncan (21 points) outplayed Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum nearly by himself. And Manu Ginobili (20 points on nine shots) turned in one of those crazy lines he’s known for … Read More »

The grave for the one-team superstar is not a new plot. When the game’s best players stick around with one team for an entire career, it’s the exception, not the rule.

Kobe Bryant is the only player in the NBA’s career top-10 in scoring who has played with one team. His story intertwines with that of Peyton Manning up until this week: precocious young players who became MVPs and world champions, and whose own identities completely meshed with that of the franchise they played for. Lucas Oil Stadium was Peyton’s place; Staples Center is Kobe’s domain. Read More »

*Who was the best rookie point guard in NBA history? Think it through because the best comments/responses below will be printed in the next issue of Dime.*

Somewhere along the way Kyrie Irving picked up a few haters. Maybe it’s the Duke pedigree or the too-fast college career or the fact that he doesn’t jump out at anyone the way 2010′s No. 1 pick John Wall did. But either way, as the saying goes: With success comes the haters. You’ve made it once the snakes show. With his college career being so short, Irving had plenty of doubters heading into his rookie season, but so far he’s done what he can to shut them up. Through six games, he’s averaging 14.2 points, 5.3 assists and even 3.7 rebounds… all in under 26 minutes a night. Even more impressively, the Cavs are a rock solid 3-3. Read More »

This piece first appeared on the Foot Locker Unlocked Blog

Without a doubt, Blake Griffin had a great rookie season last year averaging 22.5 points, 12.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. He played in the All-Star Game, won Rookie of the Year and made his team better overall. But does he crack the list of the Top 10 Rookie Seasons In NBA History? Not even close. With that, take a minute to see the 10 most amazing freshman campaigns ever. Read More »

Icons, immortals or institutions of the game.

Label them however you would like, either way it all spells out the same in the end. In most circles the debate for the best point guard of all-time starts and ends with a 6-9 215-pound legend that produced “Magic”. For the historians in the group they take it a bit further, back to a time where a 6-5 205-pound triple-double machine known as “The Big O” roamed the NBA landscape. Read More »

When I had a chance to preview NBA 2K12 this week, I honestly came in ready for a let down. NBA 2K11 was out of this world, plain and simple. Without question the best sports game of the year, and arguably the best video game of the year. But even though the hype for 2012 was there, I wasn’t quite buying into it. Oh, how I was wrong. Read More »

Look who’s at it again. After making some disparaging remarks towards D-Wade and LeBron after Game 3 (calling the duo “great actors”), our boy DeShawn Stevenson is back again – this time calling out LeBron for “checking out” in Game 4. Now usually Abe’s commentary has us thinking “What did he say?” but this time the dude might be on to something. Read More »

How annoyed are some of the NBA’s older generations about all of this talk on GOATs and Best Evers only including Michael Jordan and LeBron James? Ask Oscar Robertson about it.

Well, the Dan Sileo Show did and as expected, the Big O had other ideas. Read More »

Jason Kidd is the NBA’s ultimate chameleon. It’s been 17 years and he’s still reinventing himself. He’s gone from a suped-up jet called “Ason” to the league’s most dangerous and valuable guard to a three-point shooting, shut-‘em-down-defensively old vet. Malcontent to team leader to grandpa. From Dallas to Phoenix to New Jersey and back again to Dallas. Full circle. Read More »