This is what happens when Jeff Van Gundy wishes upon a star… Read More »

The NBA tends to come full circle. I mean, did we ever think that after the Mavericks watched the Heat celebrate on their home floor that they would come back to South Beach a mere five years later and return the favor? Did we ever think that the great Phil Jackson could have even had a chance to win 12 titles, coaching two different teams in three different decades? But the NBA has been around a long time, and while we may not have anything on a Red Sox–Yankees level, there are several matchups that come back to rear their ugly head, again and again, kind of like a bad Freddy vs. Jason movie. In honor of this week’s Sox-Yanks series, here is one of our favorite rivalries, Knicks vs. Celtics, which has been renewed from decade to decade. Read More »

With the Western Conference Finals starting tonight, the NBA has graced us with their fourth commercial spot for the 2011 NBA Finals. Watch as the official basketball of the NBA (this time voiced by Roy Firestone) sits down with Magic Johnson to talk about his favorite shot and moment of his storied career.

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As much pain as Ben Wallace‘s swollen ankle may have caused him while sitting at home Tuesday, his eyes would have been hurting more had he watched League Pass last night. Big Ben, Gary Payton, Bruce Bowen, Alonzo Mourning, Dikembe Mutombo, Mookie Blaylock — anybody who’s ever made a living shutting down NBA scorers would have cringed at some of the comical “defense” on display … In Denver, the Suns showed up for about 15 minutes before the Nuggets started shooting holes in their D like a game of Duck Hunt. Read More »

When we talk “rivalries” in sports, the first question that needs to be asked is the following: Have both teams been competitive during the same established period of time?

The answer, of course, when it comes to the Knicks and Celtics is “No.” We are not talking about Boston vs. New York, which has been dominated by Yankee/Red Sox in terms of a sports rivalry with sprinkles of Jets/Patriots and even Giants/Patriots (Super Bowl XLII) recently mixed in. Read More »

Before LeBron lived up to the hype, Brad Daugherty was arguably the greatest player in Cleveland Cavaliers history. After the events of last summer, Daugherty at least reclaimed his spot as the best player whom Cavs fans actually like, as LeBron has become as welcome in Cleveland as Bill was welcome at Beatrix Kiddo’s wedding.

The No. 1 pick of the 1986 NBA Draft, Daugherty played eight seasons with the Cavs before back injuries forced him into retirement at 28 years old. In that time he averaged 19.0 points and 9.5 rebounds per game, making five All-Star Games and finishing his career as the franchise’s all-time leader in total points and rebounds. Read More »

It’s funny how people start pitching trade ideas and forget that both teams would actually need a reason to pull off said trade.

For example, with everybody trying to figure out the best trade for Carmelo Anthony, some of the ideas are just terrible: ‘Melo straight-up for Andrei Kirilenko (why would Denver do that?), ‘Melo for Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum (why would L.A. do that for a one-year ‘Melo rental?), etc. With some of the crazy offers being considered, I began to think about some of the all-time worst trades in NBA history: Read More »

While the 10-story “We Are All Witnesses” banner in downtown Cleveland came down in a matter of days following LeBron James‘ departure from the Cavaliers, there’s still no way to tell how lasting LBJ’s impact on the franchise will be. Some would argue that LeBron “made” the Cavs and the organization will flop without him, while others say LeBron’s tenure with the team ultimately won’t matter much because he didn’t win a championship.

In the Dime office the other day we were kicking around the question: Should the Cavs retire LeBron’s No. 23 jersey? Read More »

After Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley weighed in with their thoughts on Miami’s “Super-Friends” collaboration, now Magic Johnson is having his say:

“We didn’t think about (superstars teaming up) ’cause that’s not what we were about,” Magic told reporters during a visit to New York. “From college, I was trying to figure out how to beat Larry Bird.”

That’s following Jordan’s comments over the weekend that he never would have teamed up with Magic and Bird because, “In all honesty, I was trying to beat those guys.” Read More »

Last night, NBA fans were given something we’ve never seen before. No, not just LeBron James‘ widely-criticized but highly-viewed “The Decision” TV special, but we saw an unprecedented collection of three superstar teammates form like the Justice League … Think about all the other “Big Three” combos: Bird, McHale and Parish were nowhere near as athletic as Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh. Jordan, Pippen and Rodman were a different bunch, consisting of one explosive scorer, one Swiss Army Knife in the flesh, and one defensive/rebounding savant. Read More »