With Lakers guard Kobe Bryant becoming the fifth and fastest player in NBA history to score 30,000 points, Dime is looking at all angles of the five-time champion’s career today. (Hey, we already called him the greatest player since 2000.) It’s equal parts celebration and examination of one of the NBA’s most polarizing and talented players in history. Read More »

I never called Nick Van Exel shy. Too many jumpers early in shot clocks proved he had no conscience. I never called him timid either. Too many arguments with Del Harris proved that. I also never called him faint-hearted. He had enough street cred to get name-dropped in a song by Jigga. I figured he had a little Cypress Hill in him when he shoved Ron Garretson into the scorer’s table. And busting out “the monkey” midgame, against the Jazz no less (I doubt anyone on that team had even heard of “the monkey”), should’ve been all the evidence needed to sum it up: Van Exel had himself some big ol’ Sam Cassell-sized balls. Read More »

Over the weekend, rumors surfaced suggesting Trail Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard‘s days with the team are numbered. This would have seemed crazy not too long ago, when Pritchard was treated like a rock star in Portland and credited with building one of the League’s hottest up-and-coming young contenders. So what’s the problem now? Two Dime writers debate just how important (or expendable) Pritchard is to the Blazers: Read More »

My favorite team wore green, too. No, the Seattle Supersonics don’t perfectly blend into the St. Patrick’s Day theme — we damn sure aren’t lucky, although the whole situation does make you feel like drinking sometimes — but I’m going to steal Aron’s idea anyway and commemorate the holiday with my 10 favorite Sonics: Read More »

Score a few more votes for Lionel Hollins in the Coach of the Year race, because he may have just figured out the best way to guard Kobe Bryant at the end of a game. Last night the Grizzlies were up two on the Lakers with 21 seconds left when Mike Conley blew a chance to ice the win and bricked two free throws. Then it was Kobe’s turn, and as he was going into his move to get space for his trusty mid-range jumper over O.J. Mayo, Marc Gasol switched onto him. The 7-footer kept his arms up the entire time, and was quick enough on his feet to stay in front of Kobe long enough to force him to pass. Kobe did find Ron Artest wide open on the wing, but he missed and Memphis won. Read More »

The first bromance moment caught on national television was when Zeke and Magic met on court before Game 6 of the 1988 Finals and exchanged a kiss showing their deep friendship. In memory of that relationship, which effectively ended last week, I have compiled a list of bromances from the NBA. For those of you unfamiliar with the term the definition is as follows. Bromance (n.) is a close but non-sexual relationship between two men; see also: Man-Crush; related words: Pause. Read More »

These days, the business of basketball is good for the Portland Trail Blazers. However, not too long ago, the City of Roses tagged their only pro sports team by another name: the Jail Blazers.

The era of the Jail Blazers is an interesting and lengthy time period, through which it extends from J.R. Rider’s heyday, until really 2005. Whereas, the Blazers had been branded with this label for a while, I chose to further examine Burnside’s best from ’01 through the ’04 season. Read More »

Trail Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard is already on the fast track to made-man status in Portland. Having used some shrewd (and some no-brainer) moves to turn the franchise around from the “Jail Blazers” of Darius Miles, Ruben Patterson and Qyntel Woods to a media-friendly exciting playoff team featuring Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge and Rudy Fernandez, Pritchard has arguably done a better job than any NBA front-office exec over the last 3-4 years. Read More »