HOOP January/February 2011
108
AN OFFICIAL NBA PUBLICATION $4.99 USA Greatest-Ever Slam Dunk Contest What About Cleveland? 1 LOVE Derrick Rose, Rajon Rondo, Russell Westbrook and Brandon Jennings are ushering in the era of the point guard, along with flip over Aaron Brooks, Tyreke Evans, Stephen Curry and John Wall.
description
I LOVE Derrick Rose, Rajon Rondo, Russell Westbrook and Brandon Jennings are ushering in the era of the point guard, along with Aaron Brooks, Tyreke Evans, Stephen Curry and John Wall.
Transcript of HOOP January/February 2011
AN OFFICIAL NBA PUBLICATIONAN OFFICIAL NBA PUBLICATION
$4.99 USA
Greatest-Ever Slam Dunk Contest What About Cleveland?
1 LOVEDerrick Rose, Rajon Rondo, Russell Westbrook
and Brandon Jennings are ushering in the era of the point guard, along with
fl ip over
Aaron Brooks, Tyreke Evans, Stephen Curry and John Wall.
Client: Jordan Billing #: NSAJORM11002 eCD: Jerome Austria/Kevin Proudfoot CW: Luke Behrends BleeD: 17.75” x 11.375” gutter: 0.25”
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WARMUPSAndrew d. Bernstein/nBAe/Getty imAGes
Kobe Bryant has said many times how as he’s gotten more
experienced, the game has “slowed down” for him on the
court. If that’s the logic, does that mean after the final
buzzer sounds, things speed back up? It certainly looks that
way from this captured moment.
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WARMUPSBarry GossaGe/NBae/Getty ImaGes
For the third straight year, the Phoenix
Suns hosted an outdoor exhibition game at
the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. In al fresco
fashion, the Suns dispatched the Dallas
Mavericks, 98-90.
WARMUPSsam GreeNwood/Getty ImaGes sport
Sometimes you don’t realize how high Dwight Howard can
jump until you see it captured in freeze frames. Just look at
Howard’s leap as he soars to send a shot back. No, that’s
not a little guard whose shot he is swatting; that is Darko
Milicic—who at 7-0 is 2 inches taller than Howard.
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HOOP 005
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WARMUPSGlenn James/nBae/Getty ImaGes
Dallas’ Jason Terry, entering his 13th NBA
season, shows Chicago’s Keith Bogans that
he’s still got plenty of fuel left in his “Jet.”
WARMUPSlayBe murdoch/nBae/Getty ImaGes
Much has been made of his long wingspan
helping him on the offensive end, but
Kevin Durant can also use his long reach
on the defensive side of the ball. Just ask
Emeka Okafor.
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February 18-20
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HOOP10
The GameplanFeaTures
Jan/FeB 2011
For decades, the League belonged to the big men. Where the dominant centers went, the championships followed. Times are quickly changing as waves of transcendent
point guards are crashing onto every NBA shore. These playmakers are no longer just looked upon to walk the ball up and toss it into the post. They are now the focal
points of teams and changing the way the game is played.
52 FacebrookWe’re still waiting to hear back from Brook regarding
our friend request, but we imagine his profile includes
Nets franchise center, co-captain of the team,
likes DC comic books with a wall post that reads,
“Working hard to become the best center in the
game.” Just please don’t poke him.
Black History Month Spotlight72 Keeping Up with The Jones
Forgotten among the great shooting guards is a
man who is second to the immortal Bill Russell in
championship rings, known for his clutch ability
and one of the first to perfect the bank shot. More
importantly, Sam Jones has paved the way for future
minorities with his stand for equal rights.
PosterMonta Ellis on one side; Earl “The Pearl” Monroe on
the flipside.
40 The Other Guys
Yes, those two guys in Utah—Paul Millsap and Al
Jefferson—are slowly becoming the best big man
duo in the game. It’s just too bad no one has even
noticed.
46 B.D. (Before Decision) /A.D. (After Decision)Time heals everything, but even after six months
has passed since LeBron James left, how is the
city that has had a long history of #23s breaking
its hearts coping?
46
40
58Point Break
HOOP0102-TOC.indd 10 12/14/10 4:25 PM
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CONSUMER: Limit one coupon per purchase on product specified. Void if reproduced, transferred, used to purchase products for resale or where prohibited/regulated by law. Consumer pays sales tax. Redeemable at participating retail stores. RETAILER: UNILEVER, P.O. Box 880460, El Paso, TX 88588-0460 will reimburse the face value of this coupon, plus 8¢, if submitted in compliance with our redemption policy, available upon request. Cash value 1/100th of 1¢. Any use of this coupon not specified herein constitutes fraud. Expiration Date: 04/01/2011 ©2010 Unilever
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Departments
Jan/FeB 2011
HOOP012
35 24 Seconds with
Joakim Noah
80 Call-Out
NBA players giving back during the
holidays.
102 Stepback
Question: Who is the shortest
NBA player sitting atop the all-time
career scoring leaders? The answer:
The Answer.
83
2 Warmups
15 The Point
17 Jumpball
Brack-It: The greatest Slam Dunk
Contest of all time is...; straight
shooter: Kevin Love on love,
basketball movies and rebounding;
First Five: Luis Scola, Darren
Collison, Glen Davis, Wesley
Matthews, Thabo Sefolosha;
Head2Head: Marc Gasol vs.
Brook Lopez; Bread & Butter:
Shane Battier on taking charges;
In His shoes: Doug Christie relives
the heartbreak of Robert Horry’s
buzzer beater in Game 4 of the
2002 Western Conference Finals;
peripheral Vision: Clipper Darrell;
Good Looks: Style editor Caron
Butler’s tips on looking hot during the
cold of winter; transition Game:
Chris Andersen; Best of Five: Andre
Iguodala takes on Brandy; and more.
104 Final Exam
Does Carmelo Anthony make the
grade?
tHe GamepLan
35
102
24
85
83 Check It
spin moves: Omri Casspi has adapted to American pop culture;
triple-Double: Music editors Carl Landry and Thaddeus Young
compare notes on Kanye West, Nicki Minaj and Ke$ha; the
Goods; teched: Tech editor Shane Battier gets close with the
Norelco SensoTouch 3D; Gear: reviews of the Under Armour Micro
G, Li-Ning BD Defend, Ektio Post Up, adidas Beast Commander
and more; Wear: what to wear on and off the court.
HOOP0102-TOC.indd 12 12/15/10 3:33 PM
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Check your local listings for channel location or call your local service provider today
www.nba.com/nbatv
NBA TVWatch
AMAZING
on
WHERE YOU,
THE FAN,PICK THE LIVE GAME
GAMETIME
DELIVERS DAILYNBA ACTION & ANALYSIS
TM & © 2010 Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. © 2010 NBA Properties, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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HOOP 015
Volume 39, No. 2
Editor-in-Chief Ming Wong #2
Design Director Kengyong Shao #31
Editor-at-Large Jeramie McPeek #4
Copy Editor Trevor Kearney #8
Tech Editor Shane Battier #31
Style Editor Caron Butler #4
Straight Shooter Kevin Love #42
Videogame Editor Nate Robinson #4
Music Editors Thaddeus Young #21, Carl Landry #24
Movie Editor Danny Granger #33
WNBA Editor Lois Elfman #40
Senior Writer Michael Bradley #53
Contributing Writers Christopher Cason #24, Jon Cooper
#10, Anthony Gilbert #1, Brian A. Giuffra #17, Melody
Hoffman #34, Darryl Howerton #21, Andy Jasner #27,
Trevor Kearney #8, Holly Mackenzie #32, Brett Mauser
#25, McG #93, Jeff Min #12, Brett Olson #36, Rob
Peterson #9, Earl K. Sneed #23, Kyle Spelling #35
Illustrator Matt Candela #52
Retired Numbers #6, #11, #13, #30, #99
Professional Sports Publications519 8th Avenue, New York, NY 10018Tel: (212) 697-1460 Fax: (646) 753-9480
Executive VP Operations Jeff Botwinick
Executive VP, Business Development Martin Lewis
Executive VP, Sales Steve Farkas
Executive VP, Sales Mitch Gibbs
Executive VP, Team Relations Dave Gerschwer
Executive Administrative Director Julie Wong
Manager, Marketing Services Aron Sawyer
Production Manager Jaime Ziegler
NBA Publishing/NBA PhotosSenior VP, and Executive Producer, Production, Programming, and Broadcasting Danny Meiseles
Senior VP, Multimedia Production Paul Hirschheimer
Senior VP, Entertainment & Player Marketing Charlie Rosenzweig
Senior VP, Marketing Communications Mike Bass
Senior Director, NBAE Production John Hareas
Executive Vice President, Global Merchandising Group Sal LaRocca
Vice President, Licensing Mary Pat Gillin
Manager, Global Media Programs Felecia Groomster
Senior Directors & Senior Official NBAE Photographers Andrew D. Bernstein, Nathaniel S. Butler
Senior Director, NBA Photos Joe Amati
Director, Photos Imaging David Bonilla
Official NBAE Photographer Jesse Garrabrant
Senior Photo Editor Brian Choi
Photo Coordinator Kevin Wright
All NBA photos appearing in this magazine, unless otherwise indicated, are copyright of NBA Entertainment. All WNBA photos appearing in this magazine, unless otherwise indicated,
are copyright of WNBA Enterprises. All NBDL photos appearing in this magazine, unless otherwise indicated, are copyright of NBDL Enterprises. HOOP is published monthly, December
through June, by PSP. © 2010 Professional Sports Publications. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without permission of publisher is prohibited. To subscribe to HOOP,
call (800) 829-3347. PRINTED IN THE USA
THE POiNT
Ming Wong #2
BONUS POINTS1. I’m also often asked: “What are NBA players like?” My answer is: “Like you and I, except they
wear shorts and sneakers on the job and when they’re not available to work, they wear a suit and tie.”
2. Hakeem and MJ. I will admit that I occasionally reach for Russ in the middle.
3. What’s with Cavs fans serenading LeBron with chants of “Scot-tie” during his return to the Q? I
could think of plenty of worse things than being labeled a Top 50 Greatest HOFer with six rings.
4. It really shouldn’t require any thought: With a win percentage of .700, two MVPs, four titles and
three Finals MVPs in his first 13 years, no other in his position even comes close.
5. I can run point and this squad would go 99-1 over a 100 games. I’m also 99.99 percent sure the
one loss would be on account of me dribbling the ball off my foot at a crucial moment.
6. No disrespect to Nate Archibald, Bob Cousy, Clyde Frazier, Pete Maravich, Oscar Robertson, Lenny
Wilkins and other point gods that I was too young to have watched play.
7. Consider this my personal tribute.
8. The teardrop and shimmy was just gravy.
9. I’ll bet that there are retired NBA PGs who still wonder to this day how Stockton beat them.
10. The classic moment of Glove would be him bobbing his head up and down while jawing at his
opponents with that cocksure sneer on his face before ripping the ball away from them.
11. I’m sure Ice Cube wrote that line thinking of Magic.
12. Tim Bug’s shot floated through the net like a knuckleball.
13. I never saw Sam get that shot blocked. I bet he can still unfurl it now over cats half his age.
14. The one where he goes behind his back and off his elbow in the 2000 Rookie Challenge is
unforgettable even though Raef LaFrentz didn’t convert.
I’m often asked1 who’s my all-time favorite player at every position. When it comes to
the center and shooting guard spot, I instinctively reply with the same two names.2 The
3 and 4 spots? Given some thought, I will choose Scottie Pippen3 and Tim Duncan.4
Who’s running the show for this holy grail of teams?5 If I had to pick just one name,
I’d go with Magic. His combination of size, showmanship, infectious team play, passing
and running the fastbreak would be too good to pass up. But being my favorite position
in the game, it’s tough for me to choose. Which makes this the perfect segue for all the
1s whom I’ve admired6 for various qualities over the years (in no particular order):7
Mark Jackson: The lookaway bounce pass to Ewing had me sold on the Knicks forever.8
John Stockton: The ultimate Billy Hoyle—you think he can’t play, but he’ll rip your heart out.9
Kevin Johnson: Even if he did nothing else, that one yam over Hakeem puts him on this list.
Rod Strickland: Always amazed me at how he finished around the basket over/under/
around dudes.
Mark Price: Best overall shooter from the position until…
Steve Nash: Ups the Price ante and raises it with his knack of finding every conceivable
angle to pass.
Gary Payton: The king of PG swag who intimidated10 guys a foot taller.
Jason Kidd: “Messed around and got a triple-double.”11
Spud Webb: An inch shorter than me and did dunks that taller guys could only dream of.
Muggsy Bogues: Seven-footers come and go but there’s still only been one 5-3 player
who made a mark in the League.
Fat Lever: Outside of Big O, Magic and Kidd at the position, Lever was triple-doubles.
Isiah Thomas: Moxie and guts were unsurpassed.
Tim Hardaway: It wasn’t a pretty shot,12 but it always seemed to drop when it counted
the most. Oh, and the killa crossover.
Penny Hardaway: Coolest shoes and commercials.
Allen Iverson: Forget practice, no one played harder or cared more.
Stephon Marbury: When I saw him as a high-school prodigy, I really thought he’d be the
greatest 1 to ever play.
Sam Cassell: His one go-to move—the dribble, stepback J—was the skyhook13 of PGs.
Terrell Brandon: Best midrange shooter.
Jason Williams: My generation’s version of the Pistol.14
And all the countless savvy PGs during pickup games who were able to coolly control
the game and made it so much easier to play (and watch) and win for the other four
guys on the team.
The game is as point-guard-friendly as it’s ever been, and with this new generation
of playmakers who continue to remix the position controlling the rock, the League is
certainly in good hands. And the above list is undoubtedly going to get longer.
HOOP0102-ThePoint.indd 15 12/13/10 8:55 PM
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Numerology
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HOOP 017
The 123s of The NBA
$145,000,000
31-31
The sum the NBA has donated to charity through its NBA Cares program, exceeding the goal of $100 million that Commissioner David stern set when the charitable initiative was launched on october 2005. In those 5 years, teams and players have completed more than 1.4 million hours of community service and created more than 525 recreation and learning centers.
41-15 54The number of points the Indiana Pacers scored in
the 3rd quarter on 11/9/10. It was the 4th-most points in a quarter in NBA history
and 4 points shy of the record. The Pacers almost
went perfect from the field, converting on their first 20 shots and going 13-of-14
from 3-point range; the only miss was a Josh McRoberts’ 3-pointer (don’t boo Josh; he did collect 10 boards and 5
assists in the game)
Blake Griffin’s points and rebounds on
11/20/10 against the New York Knicks.
It was only the 4th time since the ABA-NBA merger that a
rookie topped 40 and 15. The other 3 guys: Shaquille O’Neal (46-
21 in ’92-93), David Robinson (41-17 in ’89-90) and Michael Jordan
(49-15 in ’84-85)
9 First-quarter points by the MiaMi heat in the big three’s regular season debut.
82The number of assists Rajon Rondo totaled in his first 5 games of the season to break John Stockton’s former record of 81 in ’89-90. At this pace, Rondo will be only the 4th player to eclipse 1,000 assists in a season, joining Stockton (7 times), Isiah Thomas and Kevin Porter. It would also mean he would surpass Erick Dampier’s 15-year total of 791 dimes.
the number of points
and rebounds that
Kevin love scored
and pulled down on
11/12/10. it was the
first time any player
has seen the 30/30
mark since Moses
Malone pulled off a
38-32 in 1982.
The number of years
since the Golden
State Warriors
have had a player
represented at the
All-Star Game, the
longest current
drought of any NBA
team. The last Warrior
All-Star was Latrell
Sprewell in 1997.
All numbers as of press time
14
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HOOP018
So now that you’ve experienced a
little taste of the NBA, how does it
compare to life in the Big East?
It’s kinda the same speed, [the players are]
just bigger. The people are bigger but the
same speed, so that makes a difference.
So, as a rookie, what do you have to
do in order to get on the court for a
veteran Mavericks squad?
I’ve got to make myself better in order to
make us better because we’re already a
good team. The better the players are, the
better the players work off the court, the
better the team will be on the court. I can’t
be a rookie this year. I can’t play like a
rookie, can’t look like one.
What’s it been like playing next to two future Hall of Famers like Jason
Kidd and Dirk Nowitzki?
Just being around Jason Kidd, Dirk Nowitzki, Jet, all those guys, it’s like every day is
my birthday.
Well, you grew up in Lake Wales, FL, which is about 45 minutes outside
of Orlando. So, were you a Magic fan?
I was a little bit, when D.A. [Darrell Armstrong] played there, just because
everybody from where I was from liked the Magic and he was the point guard.
And now, coming into the League, do you have a favorite player or a guy
you’re looking forward to playing against most?
I mean, I’m looking forward to playing against everybody. I don’t have an idol. I feel
like I’m my favorite player.
As a shooting guard, you’re not looking forward to going head-to-head
with Kobe and D-Wade?
I just feel like if D-Wade or Kobe is my favorite player, how do I approach that when
it’s time to play against them? So, I feel that I’m my favorite player. No idol. I’m just
ready to play every time I step out here.
Are you cool with any of the other rookies in the League, or do you just
view them as competition for the ROY?
I think everything is business. The only friends I want to have are the players on
the Mavs. I might have a couple of them that I knew through college or from high
school. But, you know, I feel like I’m representing the Mavericks. So, when I see this
person or this person, if we’re in a certain environment, we might clown around.
I don’t go taking their numbers like, “Hey, we should be cool.”
How has your rookie initiations been?
[laughs] I’ll carry bags. I’ll do that to pay my dues. But I’m not for all that cutting
hair stuff.
You cool with the bag-carrying?
Oh, yeah. It’s a vets’ league. So you come in, you pay your dues. And then when
I’m 10 years in the League, there will be another set of rookies coming in to pay
their dues. So, it’s only right. [laughs]
Earl K. SnEEd #23
KNOW YOuR NEWB
dominiquE JonES
That was a game that was actually really hard to regroup from,
but it wasn’t because of our team. Normally, right after the games,
the guys had a good time and we’d leave it on the floor and move on
to the next game. That one was more difficult because we knew the
prize was so big.
I remember Kobe going around and I was playing D on him and
he missed the shot and all of a sudden it was tipped by Vlade Divac
and I had the flashback of that game Magic Johnson had against
Portland in the ’80s and I started running without looking. It’s like
Vlade couldn’t have passed the ball better. [laughs] And then I was
like, what is Robert Horry doing out there? He’s a power forward,
he should be down low rebounding. [laughs] Chris [Webber] and
I were running and jumping towards him and I had my back turned
when he shot it. I kinda knew. It was like a bomb went off in the
building, it got so loud. I looked at my wife in the crowd and it was
like what just happened? I just thought, we gotta go, it’s just another
game. That was such a great game though. That’s the game Mike
Bibby hit all those the big shots. Guys just had to let it go and we
had to pay the next game.
When we lost to the Lakers the in the 2001 playoffs, 4-0, we were
in every game and we thought to ourselves we were right there.
They were a measuring stick after that. We won games against them
and knew it didn’t matter what time of year it was. You had Shaq and
Kobe in their primes, they were such a superstar team and we were
a true team of individuals who came together and made something
special. doug ChriStiE aS told to mCg #93
IN HIS SHOES
Doug Christie on robert horry’s Shot in game 4 of the
2002 Western Conference Finals
HOOP 019
bil
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By Steve Hunt #29First Five
Some players abstain from competitive basketball during the
offseason, preferring to rest or work on their game. Rockets forward
Luis Scola is glad he got to play for his native Argentina1 at the
FIBA World Championship where they finished as a quarterfinalist.
“It keeps me in shape and makes me a better player,” he says.
“The high level [of competition] and intensity you can never find
anywhere else in the world.”
So far this season, it’s hard to argue those extra minutes have
had any ill effects. After 17 games, he was averaging 20.6 points
and 9.1 boards, both career highs.2
Even growing up where soccer is king, Scola never was fond3 of
the beautiful game.4
“I did for a year. It’s pretty much mandatory there but I never really
liked it and I wasn’t very good at it,” he says.
Sticking with basketball allowed him to get noticed by NBA
scouts during the 1998 Nike Hoop Summit5 in San Antonio. Scola
was subsequently drafted by the Spurs in 2002 before getting
traded 200 miles east to Houston. The Spurs probably wish they
could get a do-over on that trade as the fourth-year forward has
upped his scoring every year he’s been in the League.
Despite his newfound 20-ppg status in the early going this
season, Scola doesn’t fancy himself as a scorer.
“There are many different ways to contribute,” he says. “Scoring
is one of them and sometimes you have to do other stuff. You need
to focus on being productive for the team.”
Luis
scoLa
04 - Forward - Houston Rockets
BONUS POINTS
1. Scola holds the record for most points by an Argentine in the FIBA World Championship with 331 and also the single-game
scoring record with 37 points.
2. After 17 games, he was also averaging 33 minutes a game, another career-high.
3. Always the consummate team player, Scola laments that despite his better numbers the Rockets hadn’t won more games early
in the season.
4. Scola is also a big fan of tennis but only likes to watch it. He admits after he first picked up a basketball at age 7, he never
really thought about playing another sport again.
5. Among the other future NBA players in the 1998 Nike Hoop Summit: Al Harrington, Rashard Lewis and Dirk Nowitzki.
HOOP0102-FirstFive.indd 19 12/13/10 8:46 PM
HOOP020
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the
’85
cha
mp
(Niq
ue),
the
’86
cha
mp
(Spu
d W
ebb)
and
the
’85
run
ner-
up, J
orda
n. D
ue to
inju
ries,
onl
y M
J sh
owed
up. S
ome
nice
dun
kers
in th
e m
ix c
ompe
ting (
Cly
de D
rexl
er, R
on
Har
per,
Tom
Cha
mbe
rs, J
erom
e K
erse
y, G
eral
d W
ilkin
s, T
eren
ce
Sta
nsbu
ry)
but i
t was
MJ’
s sh
owca
se th
at in
trod
uced
the
wor
ld
to th
e ev
olut
ion
of D
r. J’
s fr
ee-t
hrow
line
dun
k (h
e ta
kes
off
a fe
w
inch
es f
urth
er, b
ends
the
knee
s, p
ulls
the
ball
back
and
of
cour
se,
thro
ws
in th
e to
ngue
wag
).
That
sai
d, t
he m
emor
able
bat
tle a
gai
nst
MJ
and
the
Hum
an
Hig
hlig
ht F
ilm in
’85
was
legen
dary
.
The
wor
ld w
aite
d w
ith b
ated
brea
th t
o se
e D
om
iniq
ue-J
ord
an
II in
’86
, but
bec
ause
of
a Jo
rdan
foo
t in
jury
, it
gav
e th
e w
orld
a
chan
ce t
o w
itness
the
wond
er o
f a
5-7
Spu
d W
ebb
defy
ing
all
rule
s of
phy
sics
and
gra
vity
. Stil
l the
sho
rtest
con
test
win
ner
in
hist
ory,
the
hom
etow
n ki
d w
on o
ver
the D
alla
s cr
ow
d w
ith h
is
seem
ing
ly im
poss
ible
jam
s—in
clud
ing
a d
ouble
-pum
p num
ber,
a fe
w 1
80
s an
d a
n of
f-th
e-b
ackb
oard
dun
k th
at lo
ok
like
he
jum
ped
up 2
0 f
eet
to
catc
h an
d bring
hom
e—th
at D
om
iniq
ue
coul
dn’
t ove
rcom
e.
Thre
e-ye
ars-
in-t
he-m
akin
g, t
he M
J-H
HF
II m
atch
up
was
the
rar
e oc
casi
on w
here
the
act
ual e
vent
exc
eede
d th
e hy
pe.
As
far
as fi
nals
mat
chup
s in
the
con
test
, ’8
8 is
stil
l the
one
by
whi
ch a
ll ot
hers
will
be
judg
ed. T
here
was
sty
le, o
ne-u
psm
ansh
ip,
dram
a an
d te
nsio
n—th
e ea
rmar
ks o
f
any
goo
d co
mpe
titio
n.
This
was
the
tou
ghe
st fi
rst-
roun
d m
atch
up b
etw
een
two
clas
sic
cont
ests
, but
eve
n th
e fe
el-g
oodn
ess
of W
ebb
cann
ot
beat
out
19
88
.
Tech
nica
lly, t
he 1
976
con
test
bel
onged
to
the
AB
A, b
ut
as d
unk
cont
est
hist
ory
goe
s, it
all
star
ted
in D
enve
r w
ith
Dr.
J goi
ng m
ile-h
igh
from
the
fre
e-th
row
line
to
capt
ure
the
first
pro
fess
iona
l dun
k co
ntes
t. D
r. J
had
to b
eat
out
Dav
id “
Sky
wal
ker”
Tho
mps
on f
or t
he t
itle,
but
als
o w
ent
up a
gai
nst
the
likes
of
Art
is G
ilmor
e, G
eorg
e G
ervi
n an
d
Lar
ry K
enon
. A f
unny
sid
enot
e to
the
eve
nt w
as t
hat
of
the
four
judg
es, t
here
was
a l
ongtim
e el
derly
Nug
get
s
fan
and
a lo
cal h
igh
scho
ol s
tar
(it w
as t
he A
BA
).
Ano
ther
mat
chup
of
form
er D
unk
cham
ps, 2
00
9 w
as
also
the
cla
ssic
Dav
id v
s. G
olia
th, o
r ra
ther
Kry
pto-
Nat
e vs
. Sup
erm
an, w
ith N
ate
Rob
inso
n an
d D
wig
ht
How
ard
in t
he fi
nals
. Slig
htly
gim
mic
ky, b
ut n
onet
hele
ss
mem
orab
le, R
obin
son
won
the
con
test
with
his
kryp
toni
te g
reen
uni
form
, sho
es a
nd b
all s
oarin
g o
ver
How
ard
in h
is S
uper
man
cap
e.
Com
ic-b
ook
prop
s m
ake
for
goo
d tim
es, b
ut t
here
is
no w
ay it
bes
ts t
he g
enes
is o
f th
e D
unk
Con
test
.
The
19
95
con
test
was
the
firs
t tim
e th
e tw
o pr
evio
us
dunk
con
test
win
ners
wou
ld m
eet
each
oth
er in
the
final
s. Is
aiah
Rid
er w
as d
efen
ding
his
titl
e ag
ains
t th
e
’93
cha
mp,
Har
old
Min
er. M
uch
like
thei
r N
BA
car
eers
,
ther
e w
as a
lot
of h
ype
goi
ng in
to it
, but
litt
le s
izzl
e as
the
two
didn
’t pr
oduc
e an
ythi
ng n
ew a
nd p
rett
y m
uch
regre
ssed
fro
m t
heir
prev
ious
con
test
s. T
he r
est
of t
he
field
? Ja
mie
Wat
son,
Ant
onio
Har
vey, T
im P
erry
and
Tony
Dum
as. N
ever
hea
rd o
f th
em?
Exa
ctly
.
The
20
00
Con
test
fea
ture
d V
ince
Car
ter.
That
’s a
ll
that
nee
d be
sai
d.
1985
vs.
1987
1976
vs.
2009
1995
vs.
2000
1986
vs.
1988
HOOP0102-BrackIt.indd 20 12/13/10 8:06 PM
HOOP 021
By Ming Wong #2
The
’88
con
test
was
spe
cial
on
so m
any
leve
ls: T
he d
ram
atic
rem
atch
in t
he fi
nals
bet
wee
n D
omin
ique
’s r
aw p
ower
and
ver
tical
agai
nst
Jord
an’s
gra
ce, fl
air
and
artis
try. It
ess
entia
lly e
nded
the
deba
te b
etw
een
who
’s b
ette
r be
twee
n th
e tw
o (r
emem
ber,
at t
he
time,
peo
ple
wer
e st
ill t
alki
ng a
bou
t Jo
rdan
and
Wilk
ins
in t
he
sam
e br
eath
). It
esse
ntia
lly p
ut t
he A
ir Jo
rdan
sho
e on
the
map
as
MJ’
s Jo
rdan
IIIs
imm
edia
tely
bec
ame
mus
t-ha
ves
afte
r he
roc
ked
them
dur
ing t
he c
onte
st. I
stil
l rem
embe
r sc
ourin
g s
uper
mar
kets
for
the
serie
s of
pos
ters
fro
m t
he c
onte
st g
iven
aw
ay o
n W
heat
ies
box
es. A
fter
the
win
, eve
ryon
e tr
uly
wan
ted
to “
Be
Lik
e M
ike”
and
laun
ched
the
Jor
dan
era
of t
he L
eague
.
In 2
00
0, t
he L
eague
was
just
com
ing b
ack
from
a lo
ckou
t an
d th
e
dunk
con
test
was
just
ret
urni
ng f
rom
a t
wo-
year
hia
tus.
The
con
test
itsel
f w
as g
ettin
g a
litt
le s
tale
and
on
life
supp
ort.
Car
ter
serv
ed a
s
defib
rilla
tor
to t
he e
vent
with
his
eye
-pop
ping
per
form
ance
. It
can
be a
rgue
d th
at t
he f
our
afor
emen
tione
d du
nks
he u
nfur
led
are
in
the
top
five
all-
time
of c
ompe
titio
n du
nks
and
the
betw
een-
the-
legs
off
the
bou
nce
is t
he b
est
ever
.
Onc
e ag
ain,
Car
ter’s
20
00
con
test
bea
ts o
ut a
Jor
dan/
Wilk
ins-
led
cont
est.
Lik
e V
C p
rocl
aim
s af
ter
his
mom
ento
us d
unk:
“It’
s O
ver.”
It’s
hard
to
argue
agai
nst
the
first
of
anyt
hing
, but
if y
ou s
crut
iniz
e
it (g
o ah
ead,
You
Tube
it)
it w
as p
rett
y ta
me.
It w
as g
roun
dbre
akin
g
cert
ainl
y, b
ut a
s un
fair
as it
may
be
to ju
dge
it ag
ains
t m
ore
mod
ern
cont
ests
, it
was
lack
ing. T
he f
orm
at w
as s
light
ly d
iffer
ent,
but
othe
r th
an D
r. J’
s el
ectr
ifyin
g f
oul-
line
take
off,
it w
as d
unke
rs
inex
perie
nced
in t
he f
orm
at a
nd a
cro
wd
that
was
equ
ally
as
new
to
the
exhi
bitio
n.
A d
ozen
yea
rs la
ter,
the
cont
est e
volv
ed a
nd w
as r
egar
ded
as
TH
E e
vent
of
All-
Sta
r. It
was
als
o th
e Fra
zier
-Ali
of th
e S
lam
Dun
k
Con
test
, the
rem
atch
bet
wee
n Jo
rdan
and
Wilk
ins
from
thei
r
dunk
-off
in ’8
5. A
nd it
did
not
dis
appo
int a
s th
e tw
o m
et in
the
final
s
and
trad
ed 5
0s
(Niq
ue: a
one
-han
ded,
off
-the
-rim
cat
ch-a
nd-d
unk
from
abou
t fou
r fe
et f
rom
the
bask
et; M
J: a
rev
erse
two-
hand
ed
doub
le-c
lutc
h du
nk)
befo
re N
ique
took
the
lead
with
a b
asel
ine
two-
hand
ed w
indm
ill (
50
) w
hile
MJ
got
rob
bed
(in m
y op
inio
n) w
ith
a 47
for
his
brin
g-it-
dow
n-bot
h-kn
ees
join
t. Th
e th
ird a
nd fi
nal d
unk
saw
Wilk
ins
play
ing it
saf
e w
ith a
noth
er tw
o-ha
nded
win
dmill
and
the
judg
es s
eem
ed to
doc
k hi
m 5
poi
nts
for
esse
ntia
lly th
e sa
me
dunk
prev
ious
ly. S
o th
is s
et th
e st
age
for
the
crea
tion
of th
e A
ir Jo
rdan
myt
h. W
hile
Jor
dan
didn
’t br
eak
gro
und
with
his
Dr.
J-in
spire
d bu
t
rem
ixed
dun
k fr
om th
e ch
arity
str
ipe
(he
actu
ally
unv
eile
d it
in ’8
7
and
wen
t to
it in
the
sem
ifina
l rou
nd),
it ea
rned
him
the
trop
hy a
nd
exac
ted
reve
nge
agai
nst W
ilkin
s fo
r M
J’s
’85
loss
.
As
muc
h as
we
dig A
BA
nos
talg
ia, a
s a
cont
est,
1976
has
got
noth
ing o
n 1
98
8.
It w
as o
nly
the
seco
nd y
ear
of t
he N
BA
Dun
k C
onte
st a
nd f
ans
wer
e tr
eate
d to
pos
sibl
y th
e g
reat
est
amas
sed
field
of
dunk
ers
in a
ny o
ne c
ompe
titio
n: M
J, N
ique
, Ter
ence
Sta
nsbu
ry (
a ve
ry
unde
rrat
ed d
unk
cont
esta
nt, b
ut n
ot m
uch
of a
n N
BA
car
eer)
,
Dr.
J (a
litt
le g
rey
and
min
us t
he f
ro, b
ut s
till f
orm
idab
le),
Lar
ry N
ance
(a
gra
cefu
l 6-1
0 le
aper
), D
arre
ll G
riffit
h (a
ka D
r.
Dun
kens
tein
), O
rland
o W
oolri
dge
(a p
ower
dun
king
sw
ing
man
)
and
Cly
de D
rexl
er (
Glid
e di
d co
-fou
nd P
hi S
lam
ma
Jam
ma)
. The
cont
est
boi
led
dow
n to
Jor
dan
and
Wilk
ins
goi
ng m
ano
a m
ano,
the
Lea
gue
’s t
wo
prem
ier
athl
etic
sco
rers
fac
ing
off
in a
for
mat
bas
ed
on a
thle
ticis
m a
nd c
reat
ivity
. It
was
pos
sibl
y ev
eryt
hing
you
wan
ted
in a
dun
k co
ntes
t ex
cept
…
It di
dn’t
feat
ure
Vin
ce C
arte
r. S
ay w
hat
you
will
abou
t C
arte
r’s
play
ing c
aree
r, bu
t th
ere
is li
ttle
dou
bt a
bou
t hi
s du
nkin
g p
row
ess.
We
won
’t ev
en g
et t
o th
e re
st o
f th
e fie
ld b
ecau
se C
arte
r ha
d th
em
so f
ar la
pped
. Aft
er h
is o
peni
ng d
unk—
a re
vers
e 3
60
win
dmill
—he
brou
ght
eve
ryon
e in
the
are
na, t
heir
livin
g r
oom
s, a
t th
e ba
r to
the
ir
feet
and
for
all
inte
nts
and
purp
oses
won
the
con
test
(pi
ty p
oor
Jerr
y S
tack
hous
e w
ho f
ollo
wed
him
with
a n
ifty
36
0 t
omah
awk
that
was
met
with
wha
t so
unde
d lik
e cr
icke
ts c
ompa
red
to t
he a
ppla
use
Car
ter
got
). Th
e ne
xt t
hree
of
the
four
dun
ks?
They
wer
e ju
st m
ind-
alte
ring. A
18
0-w
indm
ill f
rom
beh
ind
the
bask
et (
a fir
st o
f its
kin
d),
a be
twee
n-th
e-le
gs
off
a bou
nce
(mor
e on
thi
s la
ter)
and
the
elb
ow
dunk
tha
t le
ft t
he c
row
d si
lent
fro
m s
heer
aw
e.
It re
ally
say
s so
met
hing
whe
n C
arte
r co
uld
beat
out
tw
o du
nker
s
from
the
dun
k pa
nthe
on in
Jor
dan
and
Wilk
ins.
Be
st s
la
M D
un
k C
on
te
st: 2
00
0
1985
vs.
2000
1976
vs.
1988
1988
vs.
2000
HOOP0102-BrackIt.indd 21 12/13/10 8:07 PM
DaviD Sh
erm
an (2); anD
rew
D. Ber
nStein; layn
e mu
rD
och; Fer
nan
Do m
eDin
a/nB
ae/Getty im
aGeS
HOOP022
straight shooter
Kevin Love
I would say for a big man,
definitely getting dunked on is worse
than getting your ankles broken
because you’re more likely to be on
a poster and more likely to be on
SportsCenter’s Top-10.
Yes...that’s easy. Dump your girlfriend.
Rebounding is all about position
and having a knack for the ball and
assuming everything is a miss. You
don’t have to be the most athletic or
tallest guy in the world, but don’t count
me out. I’m not the most unathletic guy
in the world...I am in the NBA.
Yes, coaches are definitely like
teachers. You can learn a lot from
every single one. They all have a
different approach to the game, but all
want to win. Some have favorites on
certain teams, and there are a couple
favorites on our team that stick out to
us, but I’m not going to get into that
too much.
I’ve been asked to give elderly ladies
a kiss before. I respectfully declined.
He’s not really a trash talker, but a
funny guy who I’m good friends with is
David Lee. He’s a pretty witty guy and
a very funny talker on the court.
Definitely not Hoosiers. I’d have to
say He Got Game is my favorite. It’s
also possibly right up there with my
favorite movie of all time.
got a question for Kevin? email it to [email protected]
What’s worse? Getting dunked
on or getting your ankles
broken?
I’m 16 and trying to move up in
the rotation on my basketball
team, but my girlfriend says I
spend too much time practicing.
Any advice for me, Mr. Love?
Like you, I’m not a great jumper
and I’m not the tallest, but I
want to excel at rebounding
the ball.
Are coaches like teacher?
Do they have favorites? If so,
who’s Coach Rambis’ fave on
the team?
What’s the weirdest thing
you’ve received from a fan?
Who’s the funniest trash talker
in the NBA?
What’s your favorite basketball
movie?
Kevin is donning his Straight Shooter specs. Doesn’t he look
sharp? Oh, he knows.
Opponent or teammate—it
doesn’t matter—they’re all
Kevin’s rebounds.
Kevin doing his best to not
be a poster on some kid’s
bedroom wall.
In an attempt to get into his
good graces, Kevin attends
Game 2 of the Finals with
head coach Rambis.
When it comes to boards and wit, David Lee is a worthy
adversary (and friend) to Kevin.
The Minnesota big man aims for honest answers to your questions
“Normally, they’re
worried about that
first step. i’m so
slow, it’s about my
eighth step by the
time i get there.
—Brad Miller
“You can put
robin Williams
and eddie Murphy
next to Kevin and
he’s going to be
Kevin garnett.”
—Doc rivers
on whether
the addition of
shaquille o’Neal
has tempered
garnett
“one of the
philosophies
is who is more
important—who’s
giving up more,
the chicken or
the pig? the pig
is definitely that
guy, because
he’s giving up his
whole body. Now
i’m not calling
glen a pig, but he
does give up his
body.”
—ray allen on
glen Davis taking
charges
“sometimes i
don’t even want to
go for a rebound.
if i can get one
more rebound and
somebody else
can get it, let them
have it. What am i
going to get, five
rebounds? i’m still
not going to be
president with five
rebounds.”
—ron artest
HOOP0102-StraightShooter.indd 22 12/14/10 2:16 PM
HOOP 023
steve b
ab
ineau
/n
bae/G
etty im
aG
es
By Holly Mackenzie #32First Five
Celtics Forward Glen Davis spent his summer in
Vegas. No, not on the strip; he was sweating it out in
the gym. When Davis reported to training camp, the
work he put in over the offseason1 was apparent. He
was noticeably trimmer. The 24-year-old says he has
shed more than 30 pounds since Boston’s Game 7
loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals last June.
“It has a huge effect on how you perform,” Davis
says, of his slimmed-down physique. “I feel so
much like a better player. Losing weight gives you
confidence. I feel really good.”
It’s easy to see that Davis is feeling lighter on
his feet. At press time he is leading the League in
charges taken. That focus on defense has Davis
averaging a career-high in minutes per game. The
summer of hard work proved to his coaches that he
has matured2 and is ready for added responsibility.
On a team full of superstars, Davis not only knows
his role, he relishes in it.
“My job on this team is not to score,” he explains.
“Who is the guy on the team that does the little
things? Who is going to make sure he gets a charge
every game, makes sure he’s going to get a loose
ball? Players that teams need to win championships—
that’s how I want to stand out3 on my team.”
From little-used reserve as a rookie out of LSU4 to
integral part of the rotation, Davis describes his game
as “blue-collar.”
“Just a hard worker,” he says. “I don’t jump that
high, I don’t run fast, but in some ways I feel like I play
at a high level of IQ so that’s the way I look at it. I’m a
little bit of everything.”
Doing all of those little things, he desperately
wants to get back to the Finals to take care of
unfinished business.
“Champagne campaign,” Davis says of his goal
this season. “That’s what it’s all about. Trying to get
banner No. 18.”
Glen
Davis
11 - Forward - Boston Celtics
BONUS POINTS
1. Davis recently paired with author John Goode for a children’s book titled “Basketball with Big Baby.”
The book has Davis spelling out the word basketball with different adjectives that he believes are
important to keep in mind while playing the game.
2. While the “Big Baby” nickname worked to his advantage for the title of his book, Davis has said
publicly that he would prefer to be known by his given name after having the nickname bestowed upon
him by a youth league coach when he was 9 years old.
3. During the offseason, Davis posted a video to YouTube of himself dancing to the song “Teach Me
How To Dougie.” The video went viral overnight and was an instant YouTube-sensation. The clip was
viewed more than 300,000 times by December.
4. Davis first met teammate Shaquille O’Neal when at 15 he attended O’Neal’s basketball camp during
the summer of ’01. When it was time to go to college, the Baton-Rouge Davis chose Louisiana State,
O’Neal’s alma mater.
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HOOP024
1Round
Scoring: Both Gasol and Lopez are relative throwbacks
as centers who play primarily with their backs to the basket.
Both are effective around the rim: Last season, Gasol made
good on 64 percent of his attempts in the paint while Lopez
connected 59 percent of the time. Neither guy would be
mistaken for Hakeem on the post, and both rely heavily on
their right hands, but they get the ball through the rim on the
regular. As for midrange jumpers off the pick and roll, Gasol
has a better touch, but Lopez is much more effective at the
line at 81 percent for his career. A quick look at their career
points per game would suggest Lopez is the superior scorer,
but dig deeper and it’s more a result of playing more minutes
and getting more attempts. This is a tough call, but we’d have
to give a slight edge to Lopez despite his poor shooting start
this season since he’s only a jumper away from being the
most polished offensive center in the game.
Winner: Lopez
2Round
Floor Game: Like most European-bred players, Gasol
entered the League with a varied skill set in place. Despite
his obvious size tailored to play center, Gasol is not lacking in
abilities found in guards. A fine passer out of the post, Gasol is
adept at finding Rudy Gay or O.J. Mayo cutting to the basket
and an overlooked outlet passer following a rebound. And
although he’s slower and less athletic than Lopez, Gasol is
more seasoned in the pick and roll, thus better at using his big
body on screens and sliding over to pop the J or lumber to the
basket. Lopez, on the other hand, is still working on passing
out of double-teams. On the break, Lopez is one of the best
in transition. His speed allows him to beat every center in the
League (not named Dwight Howard) down the court. As a
whole, Gasol gets the check for this category.
Winner: GasoL
3Round
Defense: As anchors to their teams’ interior defense,
Gasol and Lopez do a phenomenal job of controlling the
middle. Lopez relies on his speed and quickness over
opposing centers and a good timing to erase baskets while
Gasol is more about being an immovable object that forces
guys outside of their comfort zones. The one thing that both
guys do equally well is stay away from the silly fouls that take
most young centers out of game. Neither guy is a stalwart
at defending the most important play in the NBA, the pick
and roll. Gasol and Lopez’s (especially Gasol) lack of lateral
quickness means offenses can exploit them on situations
when they are switched off onto a fleet guard. Gasol does
make up for the shortcoming with quick and dexterous
hands that he relies on for for some strips and steals. As
legit 7-footers, both guys have yet to crack the 10-rpg mark,
although Gasol is better between the two. And for what it’s
worth, Marc, with his intimate knowledge of big brother Pau
(perhaps the most skilled big in the NBA), might defend him
the best.
Winner: GasoL
heaD 2 heaD
Marc GasoL vs. Brook Lopez Big men in the NBA typically take some time to develop, but that wasn’t the case with Marc Gasol and Brook Lopez. Both young pivots were thrust into the middle as rookies and
have shown to be quick studies in the center position. But which third-year center is better?
no
sh g
raham
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aE/g
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Marc GasoL Center 7-1, 265 pounds
MeMphis GrizzLies
HOOP0102-H2H.indd 24 12/14/10 5:52 PM
HOOP 025
4Round
Clutch: Clutch is tough to determine with Gasol and Lopez, with their small body of work
while coming up with teams that are going through growing pains. With budding shotmaker
Rudy Gay on the Grizzlies, Gasol will likely not get his number called in the closing moments, but
with his defense and ability to run offense through him, he’s certainly a big piece of head coach
Lionel Hollins’ game plan when it counts. The same can’t be said of Lopez as he’s the Nets’
centerpiece. The ball might be in the hands of Devin Harris, but the team will look to feed it to
Lopez to make something happen. In today’s NBA, game-winners don’t usually find their way into
the hands of centers, but Lopez is a big that we can envision making one.
Winner: Lopez
5Round
Leadership: Taking the lead is something difficult for any young player in the League,
especially when you’re still learning the ins and outs of the position. Gasol and Lopez have
excelled from day one at manning the middle, so bearing the mantle of leadership isn’t out of
the unattainable even at their 25-and-under age. Gasol may have the experience of being a key
player on the Spanish national team and a former Spanish League MVP on his résumé, but he
isn’t looked upon to pave the way for the Grizzlies. Lopez is already seen as the team’s “man” as
co-captain of the Nets, and he’s given every opportunity guide the team.
Winner: Lopez
The VerdicTThe gap between the two young centers is so narrow that it comes down to some speculation on our part. While it could
be argued that Gasol is better at this very moment, we think that Lopez will likely surpass the best that Gasol will ever
offer. Even as it stands now, Lopez’s slow start withstanding, he might have a slight edge. Coupled with the better potential,
we’re going with the New Jersey center.
Gasol Lopez
PPG 11.4 19.2
APG 2.5 1.2
RPG 7.4 6.2
SPG 1.2 0.5
BPG 1.2 1.7
FG% .587 .453
3PT% .000 .000
FT% .730 .843
EFF +17.71 +17.17
‘10-11 stats as of press time
Pau
l B
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wil
l/N
Bae
/Get
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“I was going to
spank him. He
may not hurt. It
may hurt me.”
—Doc Rivers
on how he
might punish
Shaquille
O’Neal for
being late to a
practice.
Brook Lopez Center 7-0, 265 pounds
New Jersey NeTs
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HOOP026
Bread and Butter
I have made a nice career out of exploiting one of the most controversial plays
in basketball: the charge. I get asked all the time about the secret to taking a
charge. The answer is simple. You need three things: anticipation, quick feet and,
for a lack of a better phrase, cojones.
Any great charge-taker must be able to anticipate where the ballhandler is
going to dribble three or four steps before he actually gets there; some call this
defensive awareness. Once you know the path of the ballhandler, you must have
quick feet to beat the offensive player to the spot. The toughest part of taking a
charge is the actual impact of the collision. This is the single greatest reason that
guys don’t take charges—they don’t like the contact. Once you know that you have
beaten the defender to the spot on the floor, the last thing you do is, ahem, protect
yourself and take the impact of the collision. I have taken well over a hundred
charges that have been called offensive fouls in the last 10 years and well over a
few hundred that have not. Like a stuntman, you learn how to fall to minimize the
impact on your body. Usually I land on my bum and slide across the floor.
I think I am the only living person to take a charge in the open court from both
Yao Ming and Shaq (and lived to tell about it). That is the pinnacle of charge-
taking, one that hopefully I will not have to repeat anytime too soon. I am brave but
I’m not dumb. Shane Battier #31
Shane Battier Taking a Charge
“Very
embarrassing.
Very, very
embarrassing.
Very
embarrassing.
If I had to sum it
up in one word:
embarrassing.”
—Hawks head
coach Larry drew
following a loss
“Honestly, I just
black out. I stop
thinking about
everything, cause
when I think, it’s
not really too
good.”
—Michael Beasley
describing what
he went through
after his game-
winning shot
against the L.a.
Clippers on 11/
17/10
06
090807
01
Watch more highlights by following us at twitter.com/HOOPmag and joining us on Facebook!
02
04 05
03
HOOP110102-BButter.indd 26 12/13/10 9:01 PM
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HOOP 027
“I will take getting dunked on for the rest of the year, every single game, if we
get the win.” ”
—Ronny Turiaf
“He is the sweatiest guy in the NBA. He needs a sweat catcher every time he
runs up and down the court.”
—Cole Aldrich on teammate Nick Collison
3 pTs
Derrick Rose
“Not at all. I’m a guy where I don’t let anything get
under my skin. So those calls that they’re calling now
haven’t affected my life at all. I’m sleeping easy. I’m
sleeping good. It’s probably affecting some people.
All those fines might change the way guys act
towards people. But I’m doing fine.”
Baron Davis
“It’s only enhanced my life. It’s made me more in touch
with my chi. Since I can’t yell at the refs, I don’t yell at
anybody else in life either.”
Jason Richardson
“No. I have had to release some of the energy that I
have on the court off the court, so I don’t get fined.
So I’m going home and yelling at my wife, ‘That’s
a bad meal!’ [laughs]. If I come home after a bad
game and am arguing, she’s like, ‘You need to get a
technical.’ But that’s how they’ve changed the game.
I guess they want it emotionless, so we’ll just go out
there like zombies. [laughs]”
Has the new technical foul rule on on-court complaining this season affected your life off the court?
peRIpHeRAl VIsIoN
Clipper Darrell
Clippers fans need
no introduction to him,
but for the uninitiated,
Clipper Darrell is quite
possibly the team’s
biggest fan, one who
wears his fandom on
his sleeve—literally;
his trademark suit is
Clipper blue and red,
right down the middle
(same for his car, too).
The origin story of
Clipper Darrell took
place in 2001 when
a former boss told Darrell Bailey he would never
amount to anything. When Bailey came home that
night, he heard a TV broadcaster say the same thing
about the Los Angeles Clippers during a game.
So right then, two peas in a pod, Bailey decided to
commit himself to Clipper Nation, for better or worse.
What’s it like to be the Clippers’ No. 1 fan?
I think it’s fun. It’s an experience similar to winning a
race. At the end of a race, you got the crowd going
crazy. That’s how I feel. I’m like an Energizer bunny for
the team. It’s a fun thing for me also. I love doing it. I
love being the life of the party.
Your half-red, half-blue suit is recognizable all
the way across court at staples Center. Are you
always in red and blue?
On game days, away or home, I have a ritual that
I have to wear something Clippers. Clipper shirt,
Clipper hat, Clipper jacket, it has to be something
Clippers on game day. If it’s not a game day, I don’t
have to wear it. Sometimes I’ll wear a suit if I’m going
to a meeting or whatever. It used to be I could go
incognito. I could get away with a pair of jeans, a
shirt and just get in my truck and go. But now people
know me even without the red-and-blue suit.
especially when you’re driving your customized,
tricked-out Clipper car?
If I drive that, it’s over with then.
Do you drive that car everyday?
Yes, that’s my everyday car. When I go on a business
meeting, I jump in that. But when I don’t want to be
Clipper Darrell for a second or two, I jump in my
truck. But it still happens, I get recognized, so I don’t
even fight it anymore.
You’ve got your “MVp” chant for Blake Griffin
and “UsA” for eric Gordon, what are the fans’
favorite chants?
The one that people love the most is “U-G-L-Y.” That’s
the one. The most popular one is, “Let’s go Clippers!
Let’s go!” Everybody looks forward to that one.
I read where leBron James even chanted that
U-G-l-Y one to you once.
I was at his hotel where they were staying at. He
drove up in a van and he’s hanging out the window
and he was saying, “U-G-L-Y, you ain’t got no alibi,
you ugly!” He saw me because I was in my suit and
everything. He was running up after the game. It was
about 1 or 2 in the morning. He came out and started
dancing, doing my little dance. It was so cool, man.
It was like a priceless moment. Being known by the
superstars, man, it’s like the greatest thing for me.
From Tracy McGrady to Chris Paul to Kobe Bryant.
Guys that respect me and say, “I respect what you
do.” It’s a good feeling.
Who’s your favorite Clipper of all time?
I don’t have one. As long as you wear that red, white
and blue uniform, I got love for you. And when you
leave and you move on, I still got love for you. But
within that 48 minutes that you’re on the court, you
ain’t got no love unless you wear that red, white and
blue.
Darryl Howerton #21
For entire interview, log on to Hoopmag.Com
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HOOP028
Gorgeous California girl Marisa Miller—often referred to as
America’s ultimate supermodel—may be known for her feminine
attributes, but she’s a jock at heart. For her, being on the cover of
the iconic Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue is an opportunity to
share pages with the athletes she so greatly admires. Even her
endorsements are ultra guy-friendly—from being official spokesperson
for the NFL and Harley Davidson to her own Captain Morgan ads,
her own line of sneakers for Vans and a paddleboard line for Surftech
that she designed for female riders. Of course, you can catch her
donning angel wings for Victoria’s Secret, but you’re just as likely to
find her courtside at a Chicago Bulls game.
What sports were you into growing up?
I was the type of girl who played the sports. I wasn’t really a
cheerleader or a girlie girl. I was more of a tomboy. I grew up surfing
and playing basketball and volleyball.
How does one go from being a tomboy to a supermodel?
My life took a crazy detour after I met Mario Testino, who is arguably
one of the best photographers in the world. It just kind of rolled from
there. It wasn’t something that I went after or thought would ever
become my career. It’s cool now because it’s kind of circling back to
the things I love. I get to choose what I want to do now and be a part
of the NFL and be invited to NBA games. I’m also a big fan of the
San Francisco Giants. I’ve seen them win the World Series.
What does being on the cover of the Sports Illustrated
Swimsuit Issue mean to you?
Sports Illustrated is a big part of American culture. The women that
have been in the swimsuit issue are icons. To be a part of that group
is a huge honor. My dad has been a subscriber to Sports Illustrated
since I was little. I always remember seeing the issues. They’re still
in my house now. When you can do something in your career that
is that big professionally it’s great when you have an awareness of
it from early on and it’s a part of your personal life
that makes it bigger. When your grandma and your
grandpa hear that you’re doing Sports Illustrated,
they get excited because they know what that is. It’s
not like doing a high fashion magazine they’ve never
heard of.
Were you any good at basketball?
At first, I was a bit of a ball hog. Then I learned to give
the ball to my teammates. Look around before I took
a shot—that was my big lesson. As a teenager you
learn healthy competition and you have your coach’s
support. I look back at my childhood with really good
memories of being able to have that support with my
teammates and my coaches. It really toughened me
up. I’m disciplined because of that. Obviously now
with my job and being fit and healthy, it definitely
made some good tools for me for the rest of my life.
Most of the products you’re associated with are
guy-type things—why is that?
I don’t know how it worked out like that, but it sure
makes my job a lot more fun. It’s fun breaking down
the stereotypes.
What was the first NBA game you saw live?
I went to a Sacramento Kings game in the seventh
or eighth grade and saw how physical the game
was. Before that, you think in basketball, you can’t
touch anybody or you get a foul. We had floor seats.
I couldn’t believe how big the guys were. They were
giants. And how much physical contact they had and
how aggressive it was.
Does watching a game courtside give you a new
perspective beyond what you see on TV?
Especially when you’re on the floor because you have
that eye level view. The endurance they have, all the
running, the jumping. Basketball players are really
amazing athletes.
What’s your favorite team these days?
Obviously, I love the Lakers. They’re such a great
team to watch. But personally I really love the Chicago
Bulls. They have such a great history with how many
championships they have. They’ve invited me to
games. One home game I went to happened to be
Derrick Rose’s career high; he had 39 points. They
were playing the Boston Celtics. To see Kevin Garnett
and these guys in person was great. It was great to
see Derrick have the game of his life. The fans were
going crazy—the whole arena in red. At one point
Garnett bumped into me and the person next to me.
You could feel the power. These guys are like warriors.
Favorite NBA player?
Derrick Rose without a doubt. Lois ELfman #40
Check out hoopmag.com for extras from the interview.
celeB roW
marisa miLLEr
TrANSITIoN GAMe
Chris andersen
2001
2002
2004
2005
2008
2009
2010
2003
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By Brett Mauser #25First Five
HOOP 029
While Kevin Durant has his face chiseled on
the modern-day NBA’s Mount Rushmore,1 Thunder
teammate Thabo Sefolosha is busy guarding the rest
of them. LeBron, Kobe, Melo, D-Wade, CP3—name
one of today’s megastars and Sefolosha’s drawn
them on D.2
Without his lockdown defense, there’s no telling
if Oklahoma City would have taken the Lakers to six
games last year, or if the West’s eighth seed would
have made the playoffs at all. The Swiss sensation3 is
judged not by how many highlights he makes but by
the ones he prevents from happening.
“It’s a challenge that I like,” Sefolosha says. “I try
to bring the energy and slow down one of the main
guys on the other team. It’s great to see that my job
is appreciated4 and it helps our team win.”
That Sefolosha doesn’t fill up the scoring column
doesn’t mean he couldn’t. In Oklahoma City, he just
doesn’t look for his shot5 nor does he need to. He
knows what his team needs. It’s the job of Durant,
Russell Westbrook, Jeff Green and others to get
buckets for the explosive OKC squad; it’s up to
the Thunder’s defensive stopper to make sure the
opposition’s wings have a heck of time getting theirs.
“The young guys we have, we’re all still growing,
still learning,” Sefolosha says. “What made us good
is everybody accepted their role. I try to do my part
on the defensive end.”
It’s all happened fast for the Thunder, who went
from a meager 23 wins in ’08-09 to 50 last year
to this year’s optimistic expectations of possibly
meeting the Lakers again for the right to represent
the West in the Finals. Sefolosha defers to the likes
of Durant and Westbrook when OKC’s on the attack;
when it comes time to defend, the Thunder have one
of the game’s best.
“Everybody’s staying humble and working hard,”
Sefolosha said. “Experience is what’s going to take
us to the next step. I think we’re definitely on the right
path with the pieces that we have.”
ThaboSefoloSha
02 - Guard - oklahoma City Thunder
BONUS POINTS
1. Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln make
up the real-life Rushmore. In the League, can anyone argue against a monument of LeBron, D-Wade,
Kobe and KD?
2. When asked who the most difficult assignment was, Sefolosha says: “LeBron. If he starts hitting
jump shots, it’s really tough to stop him.” Sefolosha also lauded Paul. “He can really dribble the ball,
and he gets a lot of picks.”
3. Sefolosha became the first Swiss-born player ever drafted when he went 13th to the 76ers in 2006.
He was immediately dealt to Chicago for Rodney Carney and cash. In ’09, Sefolosha was traded to
OKC for a first-rounder, which ended up being Taj Gibson.
4. He made his debut on the NBA All-Defensive Second Team last year, joining Wade, Tim Duncan,
Josh Smith and Anderson Varejao.
5. In 88 games last year, Sefolosha hit double figures just 15 times, in large part because, while
he played 29 minutes a night, he averaged just over five shot attempts. His career high is 22,
accomplished twice during his second season in Chi-town.
HOOP0102-FirstFive.indd 29 12/13/10 8:47 PM
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HOOP030
It was part of some playful rookie
hazing, but ALWAYS avoid the red
and baby blue tuxes that Clipper
rooks Al-Farouq Aminu, Willie
Warren and Eric Bledsoe were
forced to wear.
good looks
Talking winTer fashion wiTh Caron BuTler
inTerview By earl k. sneed #23
HOOP: So, since the
season started have
any new fashion trends
popped up around the
League?
CB: Well, I’d have to say
I’ve seen a lot of cargo—
cargo pants with the
sweaters look. I’ve seen
that the diamond game—
the diamond watches
and the jewelry—has kind
of died down, too. Guys
have converted to more
conservative watches.
I’ve seen a lot of V-neck
sweaters, cashmere
sweaters, jackets with the shirt and tie and still going with the
Euro look. Guys are still wearing things much more fitted as
of late. And I’m still seeing a lot of suits, because, you know,
that’s the easy way out always—just a nice color scheme and a
nice suit.
HOOP: Have you tried any new looks this season?
CB: I’m gonna get out there and start doing some different
things and start putting different things together. I’m traditional
with the suits early on, always. It’s standard going with my suits,
and then when I go to colder cities I’ll switch it up some with
sweaters and layer up a little more.
HOOP: Have you seen any players step their fashion game up
a little more this season?
CB: I mean, I see a lot of dudes that usually are always dressing
well and keeping it consistent—Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant—
and even some of my teammates. You know, J-Kidd, Shawn
Marion, guys that like dressing and take pride in it.
HOOP: Have you seen any fashion don’ts this season?
CB: [laughs] You can’t wear Sean John jeans with custom-made
tops. You can’t just put any types of jeans on with it. You gotta
match it up right. You just can’t throw anything with anything,
especially when you’re a pro. You gotta look together at all
times. Somebody is always watching, and every day is an
interview.
HOOP: Rumor has it that your rook, Dominique Jones, had a
fashion don’t of his own?
CB: [laughs] Oh, yeah, he blew our minds. He came in and
he had Ralph Lauren pajama pants on, at least that’s what it
looked like. But it was actually jeans that had horses all over
them. And then he had the Polo top, and he thought that was
OK because it was name brand. That’s a big fashion no-no.
HOOP: So have you seen any rookies that have brought a
good fashion sense to the League?
CB: You know, honestly, we’ve only had the opportunity to play
one rook that I took notice of, and that was John Wall. That
was actually in preseason. And you know, he came and he was
suited, so he was really professional and had a nice suit on. But I
haven’t seen any of the guys behind the scenes with their outfits
on. But I’ll definitely be looking and I’ll keep my eye out for them.
HOOP: Have you given Dirk [Ed note: Nowitzki is a
notoriously bad dresser] any fashion tips?
CB: [laughs] I mean I always do, but “Dirty” is gonna be “Dirty.”
And he’s not changing. He’ll have his dress shoes on and he
may wear slacks every once in awhile with his collared shirt and
he’ll call it a day.
HOOP: Are there any new designers catching your eye?
CB: I mean I’m still sticking with the same people that I’ve
always stuck with. And as I read up in magazines, I’ll put you up
on something new, but I’ve just been so focused on basketball.
HOOP: Any new trends in the casual game off the court?
CB: I mean Ferragamo, they stepped their game up heavy. A
lot of people always have their Js or their Nikes or some Louis
Vuitton loafers, stuff like that, with their casual game. But
Ferragamo, and Cole Haan has got some nice, nice loafers and
tennis shoes that you can go either way with on the casual side.
You can just go with the jeans and mix it up however you want
to do it.
HOOP: And on the court, what do you think about the new
Revolution 30 uniforms?
CB: They’re hot! It’s a different look, a different feel and they
look good on camera, too. So, you know, I like ‘em.
HOOP: You like the fitted look, too?
CB: Yeah, I like the fitted look. It really does look good and it’s
light. And as far as the sweat standpoint, it don’t stick on you
like the other jerseys did.
HOOP: More players are wearing sleeves on their arms,
headbands, wristbands, extra padding, etc. Are these things
becoming fashion accessories on the court?
CB: I think it has a lot to do with fashion. I don’t think that
many players are injured like that, [laughs] or trying to protect
themselves like that. I just think it’s a trend. If some of the bigger
superstars in the league are wearing kneepads, then to each
his own.
HOOP: So as we move into winter, any fashion trends we
should know about?
CB: You’re gonna see a lot of layers. You’re gonna see the
cashmere jackets. When you go into certain cities you’re gonna
see cats pulling out the minks. It’s gonna be a combination of a
lot of different things, but I think suits and layered-up is the way
to go, especially in the colder cities.
One of the dapper players in the
League, Derek Fisher does it
right with a layered look of fitted
sweater over a shirt and tie; Deron
Williams keeps warm in chilly Utah
with a finely detailed button-up
sweater and understated watch.
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By Brett OlsOn #36First Five
Most NBA players start their career with a
handshake from David Stern in front of a raucous
Madison Square Garden crowd, or at very least
having their named called among the 60 players
selected on draft night.
Portland Trail Blazers guard Wesley Matthews
took the road less traveled, in basketball standards.
After the 2009 draft, the former Mr. Basketball for
Wisconsin didn’t have an NBA home.1 He eventually
worked his way through Summer League invites from
the Kings and Jazz onto Utah’s training camp roster.
“In training camp I knew I had to distinguish myself
from the other players,” Matthews says.
And Matthews did that, filling a role no NBA team
can have too much of: a hustling player, willing to
work hard on defense and who can make a high
percentage of shots behind the arc. Matthews made
the roster, eventually becoming the starting shooting
guard opposite Deron Williams.2
In the playoffs, the former Marquette Golden Eagle3
gained the attention of the League with his defense
on Kobe Bryant. He didn’t shut him down—a feat yet
to be accomplished on the hardwood by anyone—but
he made the Black Mamba work for everything he got.
“Kobe is a player who I look up to,”4 Matthews
says. “Especially his work ethic.”
The Trail Blazers5 saw Matthews and liked his work
ethic, so much that they made him a key piece of a
team hoping to compete against the Lakers in the
West.
“I’m excited to be here to make this team better,”
Matthews says.
And with his play early this season, he’s done
exactly that.
Wesley
MattheWs
02 - Guard - Portland trail Blazers
BONUS POINTS
1. Of the 60 players taken that draft, only seven scored more per game than Matthews’ 9.4 per game
last season.
2. Matthews scored a then-career-high 29 points when starting against the OKC Thunder.
3. His 1,673 points in college are eighth all-time at Marquette.
4. Another person Matthews looks up to is his dad, Wes Matthews Sr., a nine-year NBA veteran who
had stints with Washington, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Chicago, San Antonio and the L.A. Lakers.
5. Portland offered Matthews a frontloaded, five-year $35 million contract.
HOOP0102-FirstFive.indd 31 12/14/10 2:23 PM
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HOOP: You’ve been an NBA dancer for five years.
What’s the routine like for you now?
Nicole: The ins and outs of every day are pretty
similar, but each year is a new experience. We have
new girls that come into our squad
each year, new players on every
team. It really never gets old for
me. There are always surprises
and new things going
on. I’m really looking
forward to seeing
Blake Griffin play
throughout the season.
HOOP: You were part of
the groundbreaking
2006-07 Celtics dance
team, the first time
Boston ever had NBA
dancers. What was that
like?
Nicole: It was my first
year, the Celtics’ first year.
Everything was brand new.
We were trying to work
out the kinks as a group. Of course, dancing for the
Celtics was completely amazing there.
HOOP: So with that experience under your belt,
did that make things easier for you when you
came back and tried out for Clippers Spirit?
Nicole: That was really nerve-wracking actually. It’s
a grueling audition process. The first round you go
across the floor and do your kicks, your turns and
leaps and then they make a cut. On the spot. Then
you have to learn a jazz routine, you learn it on the
spot and they make another cut. Then you learn a
hip-hop routine and it’s the same thing until you’re a
finalist. But I was really nervous because I wanted it
really bad. It ended up all working out. Even though it
was tough, it was a good experience in the long run.
HOOP: I’m sure you were surrounded by more
celebrities in L.A. than in Boston.
Nicole: Definitely. I remember Eva Longoria coming
to a game. We were all awestruck. David Beckham
has been here with his wife Victoria. It’s exciting
because you want to look at them, but we’re also part
of the entertainment, so we don’t get to be starstruck.
They’re there to watch and observe the game and we
want to let them have their time, but it is always fun
when we get to see them in the crowd.
HOOP: Do you kind of have a teacher/mentor/
captain role with the Clippers Spirit?
Nicole: I think so, a little bit. We don’t actually
have captains on this year’s squad, but I think the
girls respect us. Brittany and I are the fourth-year
members and we try to lead by example. We always
dance all-out, we always come early, make sure
that we’re on time, we keep them on track, keep
them informed and be as helpful to them as we can
because we were rookies once, too.
HOOP: I know you’ve been dancing since you
were 3. In a sense, are you living out your little-
girl dreams?
Nicole: I think I’ve surpassed my childhood dreams.
There’s really no experience like dancing at the
Staples Center. When you’re center court and you
have all your teammates behind you, it’s a really, really
fun experience. And I’m so grateful that I’ve had the
opportunity to do it and do it as long as I have. It’s
definitely not something you should take for granted.
But, yes, I’ve had a wonderful experience.
Darryl Howerton #21
LOG ONTO HOOPMAG.COM FOR MORE OF NICOLE’S
INTERVIEW
DANCE LIFE
BEST OF FIVE
nICole
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS SPIRIT
a match of wits between a famous person and an nBa baller where we decide who wins
BranDy vs. anDre IguoDala
What’s the best gift you’ve ever received?
Brandy: My daughter (Sy’rai) is the best gift I’ve ever received.
She’s amazing. If you could meet her, you’d fall in love with her.
Andre: My mom got me a desk; that was a great present. Just to be
able to draw, write, do other things, I remember that.ScOre: Brandy 1, Andre 0. You can’t compare a desk to a person.
How old were you when you realized Santa Claus
wasn’t real?
Brandy: My parents used to sing this song “It ain’t no Santa, it ain’t
no Claus, it’s nobody but your mama and your pa.” So when I was
3, I knew Santa Claus wasn’t real. We still had the Christmas tree,
but we told our parents what we wanted instead of writing a letter
to Santa.
Andre: I don’t think I ever believed in Santa Claus.ScOre: Brandy 2, Andre 0. It would’ve been a tie, but Brandy’s song put it over
the top.
What’s one movie you can recite almost every line to and
what’s the most memorable line?
Brandy: The Notebook. The most memorable line for me is, “If you’re
a bird, I’m a bird.”
Andre: I’m a movie buff so there’s a lot: Coming to America,
Friday, He Got Game…but in Coming to America: “When I tell
you the boy has got his own money, I mean the boy has got his
own money!”ScOre: Brandy 2, Andre 1. Andre gets on the board as Coming to America was
one of Eddie Murphy’s finest roles.
What was your most embarrassing moment in high school?
Brandy: I was tutored most of the time during high school and it
was actually pretty uneventful.
Andre: Chasing after a friend of mine in the cafeteria and I slipped
and fell in front of everybody—aw man…that one was funny.ScOre: Brandy 2, Andre 2. Brandy ceded this point to Andre’s hilarious
cafeteria wipeout.
If you could be any person for a day, who would it be and why?
Brandy: I would be Michelle Obama for a day because I would love
to see what her life is all about. You see it in the public, but you
don’t know the behind the scenes. She seems like an amazing
woman. Going around teaching and being a speaker. I would love
to see what that’s like.
Andre: I’d be myself. I’ve learned so much through life the past
couple of years, seeing the difference in being strong in my faith
and weak in my faith, and I’m just really blessed and enjoying
myself and seeing how life goes and what’s really important.FiNAl ScOre: Brandy 3, Andre 2. As great as it may be to be yourself, Dre
loses points for not properly answering the question.
setH Berkman #91 anD loIs elfman #40
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By Jeff Min #12First Five
One of the early-season surprises, the Indiana
Pacers have crept up as a force to be reckoned with
in the Eastern Conference. By early December, the
Pacers were sitting a game above .500 and sixth in
the East, notching impressive victories over playoff
contenders Denver,1 Miami and the L.A. Lakers. The
Pacers haven’t looked this confident since Reggie
Miller was still raining threes for the team, and a big
part of that newfound swagger can be attributed to
the development of second-year point guard Darren
Collison.
As the 21st overall pick by New Orleans2 in the ’09
draft, Collison spent the first half of his rookie season
as a backup to Chris Paul, which is an ideal situation
for any young point guard to find himself in. After Paul
went down with a season-ending knee injury midway
through the ’09-10 season, Collison stepped up big
time,3 showcasing not only his ridiculous skill set, but
the levelheadedness he developed as CP3’s protégé.
Pacers team president Larry Bird immediately took
notice of Collison’s midseason maturation and it didn’t
take him long to get the wheels rolling on a deal for the
budding star. During a press conference announcing
the acquisition, Bird let it be known that Collison
would be a key component in the Pacers’ return to
prominence. Taking on such a responsibility is a lot to
ask of a second-year player and so far the transition
has been a work in progress.
“I think playing without the ball [was the biggest
change],” explains Collison. “In New Orleans I had
to dominate with the ball in my hands. I was there to
make plays, be in more control. This year it’s more
about equality where everyone has the opportunity to
make plays.”
As a playmaker, Collison is adjusting to head coach
Jim O Brien’s equal opportunity system, often times
splitting minutes with veteran guard T.J. Ford. He’s had
moments of brilliance, but inconsistency has plagued
him thus far. The adjustments he’s had to make could
easily stunt the growth of a lesser player, but so far
Collison has shown patience and a willingness to
learn.4
“I see everyone on the team as a real important
part,” Collison says. “Larry [Bird] has always expressed
the team being so young and the need to have a lot
of veterans around us to help us grow. I definitely see
myself as one of the young players who can improve.”
That positive attitude has helped Collison inject
new life into Indiana, and now it’s just a matter of time
before the Pacers get back to a winning tradition.
Darren
Collison
02 - Guard - indiana Pacers
BONUS POINTS
1. Against the Nuggets, the Pacers set a franchise record by scoring 54 points in the third quarter.
Collison went 3-of-3 and had 4 assists in that stretch.
2. Collison spent all four years at UCLA, where he finished his career 16th in points scored, tied for
first for career games played, fifth in assists and second in steals.
3. Last season with the Hornets, Collison logged close to 40 mpg while Paul was out. In that stretch he
averaged 18 ppg and 9 apg.
4. This past summer, Darren went back to UCLA to earn his degree in history.
HOOP0102-FirstFive.indd 33 12/13/10 8:47 PM
NBA ALL-STARJAM SESSION
LOS ANGELES CONVENTION CENTERFEBRUARY 18-21, 2011
presented by adidas
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NBA ALL-STAR 2011Tickets on Sale NOW!
TEAM_JamSession.indd 1 TEAM_JamSession.indd 1 12/2/10 6 :05 P M12/2/10 6:05 PM
HOOP: Is it true Patrick Ewing introduced you to basketball?
NOAH: Kind of. My father and mother had a restaurant in New York, and he used to go there a lot
when I was a baby. Apparently he put a little basketball in my crib one day. So symbolically, yes.
HOOP: You grew up a Knicks fan, right?
NOAH: Huge Knicks fan1 growing up. I was a fan of Patrick, Charles Oakley, John Starks and
Derek Harper, all of those guys, and the later teams when they had guys like Larry Johnson and
Marcus Camby.
HOOP: So that explains why you disliked Jordan so much.
NOAH: Exactly. I was an anti-Jordan2 fan. But you know what? Even though we used to hate
Mike, we had a lot of respect for him.
HOOP: We saw you after your double-OT win at Phoenix and you were wincing in pain.
How sore are you after games?
NOAH: Really sore. During the game, everything is numb, because you’re so into it. But when
you come down from all that adrenaline, that’s when the aches, bumps and bruises kick in.
That’s when you feel the elbows.
HOOP: What’s the first thing you look at in the box score?
NOAH: I check if we outrebounded our opponent as a team. That’s important. Plus/minus is
pretty good, too. I like that one. There is no lying in the stat sheet.
HOOP: You’re having a great season.3 What’s been the biggest difference for you?
NOAH: Just being more in tune with my body. Now that I’m in my fourth year, I understand that
everything matters. Drinking a lot of water, sleeping—little things. Your body is your temple.
HOOP: We were just listening to “Vic the Brick” in L.A., who said he thought you were
going to be a bust after your rookie year, but you’ve impressed him. What do you think when
you hear things like that?
NOAH: It feels good, but at the end of the day, that’s not why I play the game. It’s not to get love
from a commentator. Whether they like me or not, I just want people to say: “That guy gives it
everything he has on the court.”
HOOP: It seems like fans either love you or hate you. Do you enjoy that dual relationship
with NBA fans?
NOAH: Yeah. It’s been like that for me since I was a little kid. Some teachers loved me, some
teachers hated me. To be honest, I don’t know why, but it’s something I’ve come to grips with.
HOOP: You’re a laid-back guy off the court. Where does the intensity and fire come from
that you show on the court?
NOAH: I just know I have to play with a certain intensity to affect the game and I try to do that to
the best of my ability.
HOOP: Have you ever hurt yourself pounding your chest?
NOAH: I do try to do it a little bit less now, because it does take some energy out of you.
HOOP: Have you ever scared anyone when you scream?
NOAH: I don’t know. I’m in my own world.
HOOP: We hear you’re just as intense when you’re bowling?
NOAH: I’m real bad at bowling. I just suck at it. My form is terrible and I hate the bowling shoes.
I wish they’d just let me wear my sneakers. I need the grip.gary d
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Joakim NoahBy Jeramie mcPeek #4
24 seconds
HOOP0102-24 Seconds.indd 35 12/13/10 8:04 PM
HOOP: How would you describe your fashion style?
NOAH: Comfortable. I think comfort is the most important thing. The second
adjective I would say: funky.
HOOP: Tell us about your draft wardrobe.4 What was the fashion
statement that night?
NOAH: It’s crazy, that was four years ago and people still talk about it. It was an
exciting day for me and my suit symbolized that. The seersucker look is a great
look. I really enjoy that style. And the bow tie went great with the suit.
HOOP: Have you worn a bow tie since?
NOAH: No. I never wear bow ties. I don’t wear regular ties either.
HOOP: Anyone ever pull your hair during a game?
NOAH: No, nobody ever pulled my hair. You better not write that or you might
give people some ideas [laughs]. I wouldn’t be too happy about it if they did.
HOOP: Tell us about your shoes.
NOAH: I’m the only player in the League that wears the Le Coq Sportif. Arthur
Ashe used to wear the shoe and he found my dad when he was 12 years
old. My father became a tennis player because of him and ended up wearing
Le Coq Sportif. So it’s kind of like a family heritage. It’s more than just a
marketing deal.
HOOP: You’re the only player with a rooster on his shoe, as well.
NOAH: I always tell my teammates, there are a lot of ducks in the NBA, but I’m
the only rooster.
HOOP: We’ve got to ask you about your dancing.
NOAH: [laughs] What about it? I don’t really have a dance style.
HOOP: What did you call that dance after your 2007 NCAA
Championship?
NOAH: The dance of joy. I was really happy that our team had won a
championship. The Gator song was on, our fight song, and I just started
messing around. It was pretty funny; the people at school loved it.
HOOP: What’s your favorite dance music?
NOAH: I love a lot of different music, but I listen to mostly reggae. It’s
conscious music. It has a good beat and a good rhythm, but it’s the kind of
music that puts things into perspective. It’s music for the people.
HOOP: What’s your favorite Bob Marley lyric?
NOAH: “Until there’s no longer first class or second class citizens of any
nation, there will be war.”
HOOP: Your father5 is now a singer and your cousin is a rapper. Do you
sing at all?
NOAH: Only in the shower.
HOOP: Are you an artist?
NOAH: No, my mom6 is an artist. But I like going to art exhibitions and looking
at art. Every time we go to L.A., I go and check out the street artists. What’s
so cool about a piece of art is everybody has their own interpretation of it, and
there’s no wrong answer.
Bonus Points
1. Noah attended the Knicks’ summer camp as a kid and won the camp championship.
2. Noah was at the infamous “Double-Nickel” game in 1995 when Jordan scored 55 in his first game back at Madison Square
Garden after coming out of retirement. “I remember that like it was yesterday.”
3. At press time, Noah was averaging career-highs with 15.6 ppg and 13.2 rpg.
4. Don’t remember Noah’s draft night handshake with Commissioner Stern? Google it. It’s classic!
5. Joakim’s father, Yannick, won the French Open in 1983 and is now a successful singer in Europe.
6. Joakim and his mother, Cécilia Rodhe, launched the Noah’s Arc Foundation,
“empowering youth through the means of sports and arts.”
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HOOP0102-24 Seconds.indd 36 12/13/10 8:04 PM
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The OTher By Michael Bradley #53
HOOP0102-f-Millsap-Jefferson.indd 40 12/15/10 11:24 AM
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Guys
(that’s them)
As frontcourt duos, Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson
would likely not be the first set of names—or
second or even third, for that matter—that come
to mind, but they could very well develop into the
game’s best
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forward C.J. Miles says. “It shows. They have clicked. They’re great together. They play
together. They’ve started to pass to each other. They complement each other.”
As the calendar turned to December, Millsap was in the middle of a performance that had
jaws dropping throughout the League. If Boozer was Mr. 20-10, Millsap was The 18-8 Kid.
Despite the impressive start, few have taken notice of Boozer’s replacement. Perhaps
even the League didn’t expect such output from Millsap, as his name was unfortunately
left off the All-Star ballot of Western Conference forwards.
“I’ve been fine with that,” Millsap says about the snub. “It’s not a big deal.” Jefferson,
meanwhile, was finding his way through the complicated Jazz system—new players
have been known to spend years at sea in attempts to navigate a path to safe harbors—at
first with mixed results but later with resounding success. Like that 21-point, 8-rebound
outburst in the win over Orlando or those 23 points and 10 boards against the Hornets.
There have been comeback wins. Streaks. More team success than Jefferson has ever
experienced and more time on the court than Millsap has ever had. It’s an odd pairing,
one that few people could have figured would work. But it has, and the Jazz are flowing
because of it. All of a sudden, the team that had been recast and remade and rejected looks
like a real Western threat.
“We knew coming in with the pieces we had and the additions we were going to be pretty
good,” Millsap says. “We can compete in this league. We’re getting the feeling right now.”
•••••
If you ever see Paul Millsap staring at a boxscore with an angry look on his face, don’t
assume he’s just another selfish player upset with the lack of points at the end of his line.
He wants to score, of course, and a 2-of-10 shooting night is definitely scowl-worthy. The
lava will bubble up more quickly if the rebounds aren’t there. He’s a power forward, after all,
and that’s the job description: Bang and board.
“Points are good, but rebounds are great,” he says. “That’s what got me into the League.”
That fact cannot be disputed. After becoming the first player in NCAA history to lead
the nation in boards three consecutive years (Millsap left after his junior season, or he
Whether you are thousands of miles from Salt Lake City, or maybe even
so close that your backyard is a Wasatch Mountain1 foothill, when you learned of Carlos
Boozer’s summer departure, you might’ve concocted an immediate obituary for the Jazz.
Without Mr. 20-10, you reasoned, the team had no chance, even if Deron Williams is the
best point guard in the game and it’s never a good idea to bet against Jerry Sloan.2
Face it, there were even rumors that Williams was angry about Boozer’s departure, and
not because his former teammate went for the cash. Williams wants to win, and Boozer
was somebody who could help him do that. Gloom. Doom. Boozer’s departure fit in well
with the team’s decision to return to its original blue-gold-green color scheme, because, for
some, the team was headed back to the futility of its New Orleans days.
Admit it, you thought the idea that Paul Millsap could handle the load in Boozer’s
absence was as silly as the concept that the Mormon Tabernacle Choir3 would issue a hip-
hop CD. Nice guy. Hard worker. Great story. All-Star forward? No way.
It was sort of the same thing with Al Jefferson. He’s had some nice stats but with losing
teams. The Celtics got rid of him to become good. The moribund T-Wolves didn’t even want
him. Let’s try to get this straight: Big Al and Millsap are going to team up and make people
forget Carlos Boozer. Yeah, and Jersey Shore is headed to Masterpiece Theater.
Turns out, that isn’t such crazy talk, after all. In fact, the Millsap-Jefferson tandem has
not only replaced Boozer, it has surpassed him. Through one-quarter of the season, Boozer
was no more missed than Karl Malone, Truck Robinson,4 Mark Eaton or any other former
Jazz frontcourt luminaries. Boozer’s name wasn’t being stricken from the record books,
but his replacements were doing a great job helping Jazz fans—and some players—work
through the five stages of grief. A couple more months of play like this, and the locals may
have to consult the history books to remember exactly why they were so upset when
Boozer signed with the Bulls.
“[Millsap and Jefferson] obviously talked before the season and got pretty cool,” Jazz
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might have made it four straight), he entered the NBA with something of a reputation, and
it wasn’t for three-point shooting. It’s rather interesting things worked out that way for
Millsap, because when he was a kid, his sport was football.
Born in Monroe, LA, Millsap moved to Denver at age 2. Sports for him started under
center, and he honed his quarterbacking skills at the University of Colorado summer
camps while entertaining dreams of playing college ball. “I felt like I would have been able
to play at the [college] level,” he says. A couple things conspired to change his path. First,
he grew to about 6-8 in eighth grade. There have been some tall signal-callers before, but
there are limits. Also, Millsap and his family moved back to Louisiana when Paul started
high school. After a year at Downsville, he ended up at Grambling High School. Believe it or
not, the school named for the institution Eddie Robinson5 made famous for football was
really all about hoops.
“I had to change my sport,” Millsap says.
Had to?
“My family wanted me to play basketball. I didn’t have a choice.”
Millsap’s uncle, Johnny Simmons, was an assistant coach at Louisiana Tech when it
came time for Millsap to make a college decision. The young forward had offers from many
schools, but he wanted to stay close to home—Grambling is 10 miles from Louisiana Tech’s
Ruston home—and chose the Bulldogs. It was a wise move, since he not only dominated
the backboards at Tech but he also averaged 18.6 ppg and was a two-time all-WAC
performer. Still, it wasn’t as if he was topping anybody’s 2006 draft boards. When it came
time for Utah to make the 47th pick, Millsap was still available, and the Jazz jumped at him.
It wasn’t a glamorous pick, but the Jazz have had some luck in the past when it came to
drafting power forwards out of Louisiana Tech.6
Millsap didn’t care where he was chosen. Didn’t care that Boozer was entrenched at his
position. All that mattered was that Sloan was a fan of hard-working, productive players.
“He was going to be fair,” Millsap says. “If you work hard and show you’re capable, he’s
going to play you. That’s why I saw time.”
Sloan, whose ability to steer opponents around the court with his vise-like hand check
earned him “The Clamp” moniker, was impressed with Millsap’s commitment to hard work.
That’s why the second-rounder stuck on the roster.
“When he first came here, we hoped he got better, but we didn’t know what he’d be able
to do until we had him for a year,” Sloan says. “But he showed all the good work habits you
could ask for. That’s why he made himself a better player.”
Making the team and getting reserve minutes were pretty good first steps for Millsap,
who played about 20 minutes a game his first two seasons and was as good as advertised:
a rugged inside player who could go get the basketball. Year three brought an opportunity.
In November, 2008, Boozer underwent arthroscopic knee surgery, and Millsap stepped
into the starting lineup. He finished the season averaging 13.5 ppg and 8.6 rpg. He didn’t
dominate, but he proved he could do the job, even though some doubted him.
“I was a little upset people weren’t trusting me to step in and play the position and fill
the role,” he says. “I took it as a challenge. It was a fun time for me to get out there and
show what I can do.”
Millsap performed, but Boozer returned. Came back last year, too, even though he could
have opted out of his contract’s final season. Millsap went back to the bench, satisfied
he could handle full-time work at the four position but realistic enough to understand he
wasn’t going to supplant an All-Star. He kept working and waiting. When Boozer moved on
to Chicago, Millsap was ready. “I guess I didn’t exhale when I got into the League,” he says.
“I stayed hungry.”
Some in his position might fill their bellies and enjoy a little rest. Not Millsap. He’s
becoming a better shooter, as evidenced by the three three-pointers he hit during a
46-point outburst against Miami. “That was all a blur,” he says. “It happened so fast. I got
the ball, put it up there, and it fell.” He’s learning the nuances of defense (you had better do
that if you play for Sloan), handling the ball better and fitting in with Jefferson. It helps to
have Williams on your side, too. “He creates for a whole lot of people,” Millsap says. But this
isn’t about the point guard or the new pivotman or Sloan or even Boozer. Millsap is starting
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because Millsap deserves to start. If Boozer had stayed in Salt Lake City, you can bet
Millsap would have been somewhere else in a year or two pounding away inside.
“I tell people every time they bring up Paul’s name that when he got into the League he
wasn’t known for anything but rebounding,” Jefferson says. “The scouting report said, ‘Box
him out.’ But every year he got better and better. When I was in Minnesota, I always had
the utmost respect for him. He came from the bottom and worked his way up. He proved
that if you work hard, you can become one of the better players in the game.”
•••••
When Jefferson was traded to the Jazz last summer, he was a little scared. It had nothing
to do with learning Sloan’s complicated system or fitting in with his new teammates.
He was worried about the people in the seats.
“When I used to come and play against [the Jazz] when I was with Minnesota, I didn’t
think the fans liked me,” he says.
Come on, Big Al. They just didn’t know you. And after seeing him give Utah an improved
post presence, big rebounding numbers and that irrepressible AJ25 personality, things are
a lot different. Jazz fans love their new center, and Jefferson definitely is warming to his
new home.
How couldn’t he? During his previous six years in the League, he was like a construction
worker, always working for teams that were rebuilding. The Celtics played in one playoff
series during Jefferson’s rookie year,7 and after that, it was Lotteryville for Boston. When
the C’s dished Jefferson to Minnesota in the deal for Kevin Garnett,8 things got even worse.
So, you can imagine how happy Jefferson is to be playing on a team that is winning. And
how much he would like to stick around.
“They do everything the right way here, from the GM to the coaching staff to the players
to the ball boys,” Jefferson says. “They’re all on one page. I’ve been on young teams and—
no disrespect—it hasn’t been that way. I would love to be part of this going forward. The
fans are great here, and they support us.”
A big topic of conversation since Jefferson came to Utah was his ability to blend in
with his new teammates. It has been described as a “process” and a “work in progress.”
Jefferson doesn’t dispute that. He has had to adjust his game before, first as a new player,
fresh from Prentiss High School (MS), and then with the arrival of Kevin Love in Minnesota.
This is a completely different situation, because he has joined a fully developed operation.
Sloan has coached the Jazz since the days when Brigham Young and the Mormon
Pioneers9 arrived in the state. Or so it seems. Williams has ascended to the top of his
position and has a specific way of doing business. Veterans like Millsap, Andrei Kirilenko
and even C.J. Miles understand the team, its scheme and its coach.
“The offense is pretty difficult,” Millsap says. “There’s a lot of screens and cuts, and
you’ve got to be able to pass the ball and move and keep your eyes open every play.”
Jefferson can play that way. The trouble is being comfortable with it every night. That’s
why he’s had some great games and some, ahem, not-so great games. There was that two-
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Quality bigs have always been in short supply in the
League. Most teams are just thankful to just have one
big man on the floor; when a team can trot out two of
them together, well, that’s just an embarrassment of
riches. Here are the best center/power forward combos
in NBA history.
1. Robert Parish and Kevin McHale
The Parish-McHale connection, although certainly
not lacking in numbers, did not compare to the peak
production of the other two duos on this list. But
what they did have was longevity and being perfect
complements to each other. McHale would torture dudes
on the low-post and draw double-teams. The Chief
would take advantage of said double-teams, clean up
the boards and putbacks and protect the rim. During 13
seasons manning the 4 and 5 spot, Parish and McHale
totaled an eye-popping 36,420 points, 18,915 boards
and 3,503 blocks, and this doesn’t even include the
deep playoff runs that the Celtics saw every year. As
individuals Parish and McHale might fall short of the
some of the guys on this list, but as a whole, there is no
better center-power forward tandem.
2. David Robinson and Tim Duncan
The Spurs struck gold in ’87 when Lady Lottery smiled
upon them with the right to select consensus top pick
Robinson in the draft. Ten years later, another can’t-miss
seven-footer in Duncan was the Lottery prize and as luck
would have it, San Antonio experienced déjà vu. Although
Robinson was coming off injuries and entering the
twilight of his career at 32, the as-good-as-advertised
Duncan revitalized him as together they averaged 42.7
ppg, 22.5 rpg and 5.1 bpg. Statistically, that was their
best season together as Robinson ceded the reins to a
deserving Duncan and took a supporting role soon after.
Robinson and Duncan combined for championships in
’99 and ’03 and each individually won MVPs.
3. Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson
For two years, from ’84-85 to ’85-86, the NBA’s original
“Twin Towers” of 7-0 Olajuwon and 7-4 Sampson wreaked
terror on opposing frontcourts on both ends as they
combined to average 42.5 ppg, 22.4 rpg and 4.9 bpg.
They spurred a fad in the League where a bunch of bad
imitators tried to replicate the Rockets’ pair. The duo hit
their peak in ’86 when they beat a very good Lakers team
in the Western Finals only to hit a brick wall of a Celtics
team that had a better duo (see No. 1 on list). Had it not
been for Sampson’s career petering out due to injuries,
this duo might have changed NBA history in the ’80s as
they were both young and hitting their peak.—#2
BONUS POINTS
1. The Wasatch Mountains begin at the Utah-Idaho border and constitute the western edge of the
Rocky Mountains.
2. In his 23rd year of coaching the Jazz, Sloan has only had a losing record once, in ’04-05 when Utah
finished 26-56.
3. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir is based in Salt Lake City, has 360 volunteer members and was
dubbed “America’s Choir” by then-president Ronald Reagan.
4. Leonard “Truck” Robinson played one-and-a-half seasons (1977-79) with the Jazz and led the league
in rebounding in 1977-78 with 15.7 rpg. He averaged 15.5 ppg and 9.4 rpg for his career.
5. Eddie Robinson coached for 56 years at Grambling and amassed 408 wins. More than 200 of his
players went on to play in the NFL and AFL.
6. Lousiana Tech forward Karl Malone was Utah’s first-round pick (13th overall) in the ’85 draft.
7. The Celtics lost that series to Indiana in seven games. They didn’t get back to the postseason until ’08.
8. On 7/31/07, Jefferson was traded to Boston along with Gerald Green, Theo Ratliff, Ryan Gomes,
Sebastian Telfair and two first-round picks for Garnett.
9. The Mormon Pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on 7/24/1847.
10. Minnesota won 27, 24 and 15 games during Jefferson’s three years with the team.
point performance against the Heat November 9, which he followed up with the aforementioned beauty against the Magic.
Later that month, he managed just 10 points and four boards against the Clippers, only to come back the next night and hit
the Bucks for 22 and 11.
Throughout the period of acclimation, Jefferson has relied on Sloan’s steady hand. “He’s an amazing, right-down-the-
middle guy,” Jefferson says. “He’ll tell you what he expects you to do. If you can’t do it, he’ll find someone who can.” He has
also relied heavily on Williams, whose game is quietly efficient but who has matured into a more vocal leader during the
past couple seasons. Because of that, he has been providing constant input to Jefferson, who doesn’t mind at all. In fact,
there are times when he asks for more of it.
“He’s always in my ear,” Jefferson says. “I’ve watched a lot of film of [Williams] last year with Carlos Boozer and how they
ran the pick-and-roll. I’m learning little things that help me. Sometimes, he says, ‘I feel like I’m talking to you too much.’ I
say, ‘No, I need it.’”
He and Millsap have blended as well. Jefferson is a low-post force—“If people don’t double-team him, he scores,”
says Miles says—who has benefited from Millsap’s emerging long-range shot. Millsap can work in the post, too, because
Jefferson is comfortable stroking it to 18 feet or so.
Jefferson has also adapted well to the Jazz’s workaday mindset that stresses continuity and constant effort, rather than
a season-long parade of highs and lows. A lot of that has to do with Sloan. “He’s seen everything,” Jefferson says. “Nothing
impresses him.” And much of it has to do with the Jazz’s desire to play well in the postseason, not just from November until
April. “When you win here, it’s what you’re supposed to do; now get ready for the next game,” Jefferson says. “Every win in
Minnesota was like we won the championship.”10
The goal, of course, is to win the actual NBA title, not enjoy periodic success. Jefferson, who has matured considerably
from his early days as one of the last prep stars to make a direct move to the NBA, understands that he is in a place that will
allow him to chase big things, provided he continues to take care of the little ones.
“With a Jerry Sloan team, the sky is the limit,” he says. “The effect he has with his mindset makes you willing to do
whatever it takes to bring a championship to Utah. We can hang with the best of them.”
At the rate Millsap and Jefferson are going, it won’t be long before they are among “the best of them.”
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A.D. { After Decision )
The decision radically changed the NBA landscape, LeBron James’
legacy and a city that had always seen itself come up on the losing end of things.
How is Cleveland coping now that every vestige of LeBron is all but gone?
By Andy Jasner #27
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all of us, which isn’t all bad. We’re all expected to play up to our ability each and every night.
Would we all like to have LeBron back? Of course. That’s not realistic because he’s in Miami.
We are what we are and that’s a team. I think we are motivated to have a very good season.”
There have been a number of changes since last season—not just with King James
leaving. His departure signified an end of an era and housekeeping was in order.
Highly successful coach Mike Brown was replaced by Byron Scott. General manager
Danny Ferry’s contract was not renewed and assistant GM Lance Blanks accepted a
position in the Phoenix Suns’ front office. New Cavaliers GM Chris Grant took over.
Also gone are center Shaquille O’Neal and Delonte West, who both signed with the
Boston Celtics. Popular center and 12-year Cavs veteran Zydrunas Ilgauskas joined James
in Miami.
“People may not realize, but it was a hard decision for LeBron,” Ilgauskas says. “He really
wasn’t sure for a long time. He loved Cleveland. He had so many friends there. He knew
once he decided to leave, there was going to be negative reaction. He did what was best3
for him and his family. That’s tough to be negative about. This is what he wanted and it’s an
honor to play with him again. He made me a much better player in Cleveland. I owe so much
to him and I will always support him.”
The 2010-11 version of the Cavaliers understands the daunting task that lies ahead.
They know it will never be easy. They don’t expect it to be.
Scott4 actually enjoys all the skepticism. It drives him.
“When I was first speaking to the Cleveland organization about this coaching job, I knew
LeBron might leave,” Scott says. “I wanted this job. I wanted to be here. This franchise has
a lot of history and I wanted to get it back going in the right direction. I have always viewed
myself as an underdog. I really like that. Let people have no expectations for us. That’s
great. That should give a lot of extra motivation to our players.
“We have to go forward with what we have. And what we have is pretty darn good. We
are starting a new era in Cleveland with this group and the fans can expect our players to
give it their all every night. I really believe we will win a lot of games. I expect us to be in the
playoff hunt. I think our players will tell you that they expect it, too. No one here is negative.
Enough time has passed
since the “decision” was made. Fans still
haven’t come to terms with what transpired.
Bar owners are instead excited about the
direction of the NFL Browns. At some point
in the distant future, LeBron James1 will
probably come back to Cleveland and he
might even be praised.
But not now. Not yet. Not for a long while.
There is simply too much venom still left
from James’ choice to leave the Cavaliers for
the Miami Heat.
Take his return to Cleveland on December
2. Forget the buzz from six years ago about
whether or not Kobe and Shaq would shake
hands prior to their first appearance as
opponents; everyone waited with bated breath on whether or not LeBron would do his
trademark pregame chalk toss that he once blessed the hometown crowd with. The game
itself was more an afterthought as the emotional rallying of a city was not enough to
overcome the obvious talent that James provides an already stacked Miami deck.
The #6 jersey doesn’t look quite right along with the Heat logo. It never will to die-hard
Cavaliers fans, who always believed a parade would be looming with James leading the
way. Maybe even multiple championships. A Hall of Fame enshrinement in wine and gold. A
#23 retirement ceremony. Any mistakes by the lake would be erased by the “Chosen One.”
But in an instant on ESPN, James made the announcement that took pressure off the
former most reviled man in Cleveland, Art Modell.2
The King was leaving his throne and preparing to join Chris Bosh as king’s men to
Dwyane Wade in Miami.
How could James depart a team that won 66 and 61 games respectively the past two
seasons and saw a Finals appearance as recently as 2007? How could he abandon his
hometown team? How could he even think of making a change?
Lots of questions and not many answers.
“You know what, I had the same reaction,” Cavaliers guard Mo Williams says. “I was
upset, frustrated and didn’t really understand. It didn’t make sense to me because we
had a group here that was as good as anyone in the League. I thought we could win
several titles. And it would have been awesome. As a close friend, ultimately, I just had to
understand his decision. I’ll never truly get it, but what can you do?
“I love the Cavaliers and everything that this organization stands for. I was so excited
for the season with our whole team coming back. But then, it’s like, ‘boom,’ and you don’t
have the leader. I was really hurt for a while and just needed time alone. Even though I don’t
think I’ll ever get it, I had to come back energized for my teammates because this group of
Cavaliers is committed to winning.”
Even with some growing pains, the Cavaliers are determined to move forward.
“We have a lot of talent here,” guard Daniel Gibson says. “We have shooters, rebounders
and guys who can do multiple things. It’s going to take complete efforts every night from
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We’re all positive.”
Still, this is Cleveland, where these feelings can linger. Just look at the history of the
Browns and what took place with Modell.
James wasn’t just a basketball superstar. He was so much more than that. Try a
marketing icon. Try a global sensation. Try the pride of the city who hailed from the
backyard town of Akron.
In Cleveland, business owners, vendors and sports bars all capitalized on James. The
team was winning and so were they. Those #23 jerseys were everywhere. You saw kids,
adults, even grandmothers donning those jerseys. The giant downtown Nike billboard that
hung across the street from the Quicken Loans Arena became a tourist destination.
When James went away, so did the jerseys. They’re hard to find now, though a small
sampling of Heat #6 James jerseys do pop up around the city. It’s not common. And
definitely ill-advised.
Those vendors don’t get the same cash now as they did before. It’s a fact of life, but that
doesn’t take away the hurt feelings.
“I was crushed,” says Joe Middletown of Cleveland, who sold thousands of Cavaliers
T-shirts across the street from the Q. “Now, I’ll be lucky to sell one or two hundred. We’re all
proud of these current Cavaliers. They embody Cleveland. It
was a stab in the back when LeBron left. I really thought, in
the end, he would never leave. Never say never.”
At Lancers restaurant in Cleveland, business used to boom
during the LeBron era.
“Now, it’s busy for Browns football,” says restaurant
manager George Dixon, Jr. “The Cavs game is always on, but it’s not the same buzz. The
fans still resent what happened. I don’t know if they’ll ever forgive him. If the Cavaliers
can somehow win a championship someday, it might even mean more because of the
challenge that it took. I know the fans will love it. You can bet there will be words for LeBron
on that very day, too.”
Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert’s anger toward LeBron has been well-documented since
the summer.
In a letter to Cleveland fans posted on the team website, Gilbert wrote, “You simply don’t
deserve this kind of cowardly betrayal...I PERSONALLY GUARANTEE THAT THE CLEVELAND
CAVALIERS WILL WIN AN NBA CHAMPIONSHIP BEFORE THE SELF-TITLED FORMER ‘KING’ WINS
ONE. You can take it to the bank.”
Season tickets barely declined in the aftermath of LeBron’s decision. Home games at
the Q are certainly different than they have been, but the passion of the fan base is still
evident. Instead of centering around a single figure to wow and win games, the vibe is
more about rallying together to show the world that Cleveland can continue even with a
void as large as the one left by James’ exit.
“I teared up when I saw the reaction from our fans,” Williams5 says. “It was pretty surreal.
They cheered for us and never stopped. They had our back. People think because we’re
making millions of dollars that we don’t have feelings. Yes, this is a business. We’re all
human. To see our fans be that much behind us was unbelievable. We so badly want to win
for them. We want to give them a product to be proud of every night.
“It takes a team effort in this league and that’s what we have here. We are determined
to do right by them. They deserve it. For us, I think we all agree this is going to be a special
season because of the changes that went down. I’ve gotten the chance to talk to a lot of
our season-ticket holders, and they have said, ‘Thank you for staying.’
“Can you imagine that? They made me feel so good. We all appreciate it. And we will
do all we can to win as many games as possible for them. They’re supporting us and we
definitely have their backs.”
Moral victories aside, do the Cavaliers have what it takes to win games and maintain the
run they had during the LeBron era?
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They’re certainly younger.
Twelve-year veteran Antawn Jamison is the elder statesman. Williams and Anthony
Parker are next.
Anderson Varejao is still wreaking havoc in the middle. Forwards J.J. Hickson, Jamario
Moon and center Ryan Hollins are clearly improving. Rookie6 forward Samardo Samuels
has a chance to be terrific.
Another draft choice, maybe a free agent or two combined with the current group and
the Cavaliers could be well on their way.
Right?
“In the NBA, you’re one mistake or one setback away from going backwards,” says TNT
analyst and former NBA great Charles Barkley. “Losing LeBron won’t be easy. Personally, I
didn’t agree with it because I always wanted to be the main guy to win. I can’t understand
why he would leave. I had the competitive fire to try and win it by myself. I can’t speak for
LeBron. It was his choice.
“There are a lot of good, young players left on the Cavs. Mo Williams and Daniel Gibson
are very talented and they’ll have to step up their level of play every night. They can’t afford
an off night and expect LeBron to carry them because LeBron won’t be there. Varejao is
tough in the middle and you have Jamison and a terrific young player like Hickson. The
fans need to be patient. There will be ups and downs. They may lose by 25 one night and
win a tough game the next time out. It will be tough every night.”
One thing about these Cleveland fans, though: They’re nothing if not resilient.
They’ve been kicked around for so many years between the Browns, Indians and
Cavaliers7 that a tough shell is inevitable. All three franchises have had chances to win a
championship in the last 25 years, only to experience agony.
When things go sour—and they have so many times—they learn to deal with it.
“We have a saying around here—it’s Cleveland,” says John Sporadica, who owns a sports
bar about 30 miles from the city limits. “We get over bad stuff pretty quickly. We have to.
I don’t know. Maybe we’re used to it. Sounds awful, I know. But it’s a fact. We have learned
to cope. We’ll come back from this. Maybe not right away. We have a solid owner, a great
arena. Cleveland isn’t the Cleveland it used to be where nobody wanted to play for the Cavs.
It’s different now. I’m going to stay positive like I always have and ride through the tough
times. The good times will be so much better down the line.”
But before anyone pens their obituary this season, these Cavs aren’t the ’09-10 New
Jersey Nets.
The Cavaliers will win games. Especially playing in the weaker Eastern Conference.
Truthfully, it doesn’t really matter how many victories they can accumulate this season.
As long as they’re competitive and the players improve, it’s a step in the right direction.
The hardest part is getting that top-notch draft pick. When you win 30-plus games, you
may not get the can’t-miss franchise pick that you need: A Shaquille O’Neal. A Tim Duncan.
Or a LeBron James.
That’s OK. The Cavs are certainly not wallowing in a woe-is-me state.
“I expect us to play our rear ends off every single night,” Williams says. “We are all
competitors here. We all have tasted winning and what that feels like. We don’t want to lose
that feeling. We are coming into every game—and I mean every game—with incredible
passion and desire to win. The intensity is there. We don’t need to be pumped up. We are
already feeling that way.”
Is that because they believe that James quit on them?
“Not at all,” Williams says. “He did what he did. That’s over and done with. It’s not
something we can ever change. I think all of us were surprised and maybe caught off
guard. It is what it is. We have a new team and this is a brand new era for Cleveland
Cavaliers basketball. We are darn proud of who we are and what we stand for. We’re
moving forward.”
The rest of the league isn’t feeling sorry for the Cavaliers. Quite the contrary.
The Cavaliers don’t expect teams to relax their game with LeBron gone.
“In this league, guys get hurt, guys move on,” Varejao says. “You have to play through it
all. It’s not every day you lose a franchise player like LeBron. But it happened. It won’t be
reversed. We’re the new Cavs. We can’t rely on him to carry us.8 We have to carry ourselves.
This is who we are.”
And the fans are fully behind them.
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Taking More Than His Talents to South Beach
When LeBron made the move to Miami, he packed more than his Nikes. Upon his
arrival, the city and NBA franchise of Miami was given a boost. Like his jersey
number, here are six things by the numbers.
$500 million - $1 billion—The estimate of the economic impact that James’ move to
Miami will mean to the city and the Heat franchise.
250—According to FanSnap, a live event ticket search engine, the percentage of
value increases in Heat season tickets upon James’ arrival. Heat season tickets
were worth about an average of $3,238.61 before Decision and jumped to $8,249.99
following his announcement.
0—The number of Maimi Heat season tickets left for sale immediately following
LeBron’s decision to join the Heat.
1—The number of spa treatments named after LeBron. The “LeBroyal Treatment”
(offered at the Seven Seas Aveda Spa & Salon at the Newport Beachside Hotel)
consists of six items (an homage to James’ jersey number): massage, manicure,
personal training session, jet-ski rental, gift package and a six-pack of beer.
$2,500—The cost of a the “Heat Suite” at The Gansevoort Hotel in Miami Beach,
which includes a Ferrari F40 rental, private cabana access, a selection of LeBron’s
fave snacks and an iPod loaded with his favorite music.
3—The ingredients in the LeBron Burger served up at OneBurger in Coral Cables:
Kobe beef patty, an onion ring (to represent a championship ring) and jalapeños (to
symbolize the Heat).
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BONUS POINTS
1. In August, James took out a full-page ad in his hometown newspaper—the Akron Beacon Journal—but he didn’t mention the city of Cleveland, where he played
for seven seasons with the Cavaliers in his thank-you sendoff.
2. Then-owner of the Cleveland Browns, Modell relocated the franchise to Baltimore in 1996, where they became the Ravens. Cleveland would subsequently see
a return of its NFL team in ’99.
3. James averaged a career-best 31.4 points per game in ’05-06, his third season in the League.
4. Scott was the 2007-08 Coach of the Year after leading the New Orleans Hornets to 56 wins.
5. Williams was a unanimous selection for SEC Freshman of the Year in 2001-02 at the University of Alabama, and he was also named to the SEC All-Freshman
Team by the league’s coaches.
6. LeBron is now teammates with four other guys who made their rookie debuts in the ’03-04 season: Chris Bosh, Udonis Haslem, James Jones and Dwyane Wade.
7. The first game in Cavaliers history took place on 10/14/70.
8. In James’ rookie season, the Cavaliers missed the playoffs by just one game. The following season, despite a 42-40 record, they missed out on the playoffs on
a tiebreaker. In James’ last five seasons with the Cavs, they made the playoffs every year and averaged 54 wins.
Time may heal things, but for now, the wounds are still too fresh and too deeply etched
in the back of their minds.
“I’m a die-hard Cavs fan,” says Jimmy Smithson, who has attended at least 20 Cavaliers
games per season for the past 25 years. “I would go to every game except for the fact that
my job has me traveling a good bit. When they’re on the road, I would go to the Fox and
Hound in Mayfield Heights. The bar would be packed every night during the LeBron era.
We all braced ourselves for what could happen. I guess we all just hoped he would change
his mind. He didn’t, obviously. I will still go to the games. These players give it all they
have. They make me proud to be a ticket holder. I will never stop being a Cavs fan. I will root
for the Heat to lose as much as possible. I know it’s a business. But we’re talking about
LeBron. He is Cleveland. At least we thought he was. I guess not. We go forward. Go Cavs!”
A basic theme has emerged since July. James is not liked or respected for the most part
in Cleveland as well as other cities. Those vendors and business owners won’t have James
to push their sales. Sports bars aren’t buzzing like they once did. This isn’t earth-shattering
news on any front. It’s just reality.
But it likely will always be a bitter reality because of what could have transpired.
“I think the ESPN special was wrong as well as his decision to leave for Miami,” Barkley
reiterates. “I would not have done it. Michael Jordan wouldn’t have done it. Magic Johnson
wouldn’t have done it. Larry Bird wouldn’t have done it. We were all just trying to lead our
team. We wouldn’t have chosen to join with other free agents to team up. LeBron did it
differently. It’s his life. He knew what he was doing and what the backlash would be in
Cleveland. If LeBron doesn’t win multiple championships in Miami, he’ll be viewed as a
failure. Imagine if the Cavs do win one first. Wow. I don’t think it will happen. Think about it.
That would be something, man.”
The Mistake by the Lake? Only time will tell whose mistake it was.
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facebrookThe Nets’ social
network is growing rapidly, thanks to
brook Lopez
by Darryl Howerton #21
Brook Lopez is not your typical basketball star. He’s not your typical comic-book nerd either.
Shoot, he’s even not your typical Stanford brainiac.
Even though he is a twin, he is a one-of-a-kind prototype.
If you were to play the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon game with Brook Lopez, you would be able to connect
the eclectic center to NBA superstars, comic-book superheroes, real-life world leaders, international rap
stars and Disney World characters. And you’d be able to do so in two moves or less.
His is a small world after all.
Best way to describe Brook Lopez: He has become Facebrook—a social network unto himself,
connecting with all around him on their level.
It’s what he subconsciously aspires to be. Ask the New Jersey Net what he would be like if he were an
actual superhero, and he says his alter ego would be a much more fun guy to hang out with than the real-
life Brook Lopez.
“Superhero Brook would be more popular than me,” surmises the 7-0, 265-pounder. “Probably does more
stuff than I do. The Brook Lopez in real life is very mild-mannered. Not out-and-about. You might confuse
him with a stay-at-home mom.
“I don’t know if he would have any powers, other than being much more social than I am and vastly
popular.”
That’s why we call him Facebrook. Not only is he a spin-off of the most popular social tool of this
generation, but he also has connections that are just so damn interesting.
His team’s majority owner is a Russian billionaire. Another Nets shareholder is a global hip-hop
impresario. His respected coach is also a caricature, spawning dozens and dozens of voice impressionists
trying to duplicate his vocal stylings. His twin brother starts at center for the Phoenix Suns. And his new
basketball teammates are rewriting history this season, transforming themselves from one of the worst
teams in NBA history to one of its most improved squads.
What other 22-year-old has friends as diverse as this? What other NBA star pays weekly visits to
Batman, Green Lantern and Green Arrow1 (at comic shops across the country) while also paying homage to
Mickey Mouse and Walt Disney (at Disney World and Disneyland whenever he’s in town).
That is why The Facebrook had to be created for Brook Lopez—to show the world this self-described
homebody has indeed created a unique network of friends that is reminiscent of Facebook itself.
The parallels are endless and obvious.
Heck, if the Winklevoss Twins—that other well-known world-class athlete crew of two—helped Facebook
get started years ago at Harvard, why couldn’t Brook and his fellow world-class athlete twin Robin have
done the same at Stanford?
“I’m 7-foot, 265 and there are two of me,” I could hear him saying. Of course they could’ve gotten it
done.
After all, Palo Alto—Brook’s previous residence in California—is the hub of creativity this 21st century.
It’s where famous Harvard dropout and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg moved to after he left college
his sophomore year, living near our protagonist, Brook, who moved there in summer 2006 to play
basketball at Stanford.2
See where I’m going with this?
“Not really because I haven’t seen The Social Network movie yet,” says Lopez. “But I do have a Facebook,
if that’s any consolation.”
Facebrook, Brook...remember, this is your social networking story.
Okay. So anyway, our journey begins—just like The Social Network guy—with Lopez dropping out of a
prestigious university after his sophomore year to follow his heart and life calling, which would later make
him millions along the way.
The fresh-eyed Lopez, no longer a teenager, makes the grown-up move to the Meadowlands in summer
2008 to play professional basketball in New Jersey. He joins Nets newbie Devin Harris, where they play
alongside longtime NBA star Vince Carter.
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The team is in flux, however, loses more than it wins and starts burning assets following a 34-win season, later trading
Carter to Orlando in summer 2009.3
It is here that our tale turns dark. In ’09-10, the Nets only win 12 games, teetering precariously close to a line that nearly
makes them the NBA’s worst team ever. It is a unit so bad it makes Washington Generals look like Harlem Globetrotters.
But Lopez goes through that fire, hard as iron. Harris goes through that fire, unbending like steel. And when the flames
finally smolder, the Nets center and point guard are the only survivors from a squad first assembled in Summer 2008. Last
Nets standing, if you will.4
It is spring 2010. What to do now?
By design, the two remaining Nets become the cornerstones of the team. And this christening also serves as a reward,
for they have earned co-captain status. The captains report to new ownership—a new management group that has since
taken over.
Nets’ shareholder Shawn Carter, the hip-hop mogul and global icon Jay-Z who became a team part owner in 2004,
welcomes Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov as the majority owner.
The flamboyant foreign visionary tells the world he plans on transforming the Nets into NBA champions within five
years. And Prokhorov is serious about doing so.
The man who dines with world leaders charms the entire NBA and its massive following immediately. The Nets’
marketing department unveils a billboard on enemy turf, a block from Madison Square Garden with Jay-Z and Prokhorov’s
giant faces adorning a bold message: “The Blueprint For Greatness.” The movement is coined The Prokhorov Effect by
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leading Nets blog Nets Daily.
Prokhorov further details on pushing forward the team’s plans to move to Brooklyn, building a state-of-the-
art home in Barclays Center at Atlantic Yards for the 2012-13 season. And he confirms the team’s plan to play in
Newark’s Prudential Center in the two-year interim.
Prokhorov then spends big bucks to hire Avery Johnson, the inspirational leader known as Little General who
captained a Spurs team to the 1999 NBA championship on the floor and also won 2006 NBA Coach of the Year
award while on the Mavs sideline.
Prokhorov. Jay-Z. Little General. In one fell swoop the Nets franchise is headed by a man who has made
billions, a man who made classics and a man who made winners.
Lopez is entering his third NBA season and it is this type of mentorship that a developing mind like his needs
in order to prosper.
It is something Harris, who is 27 now, knows all too well, remembering his time as a 23-year-old Dallas
Mavericks point guard when he—thanks to Johnson’s coaching—helped lead his team to the 2006 Finals. It is
because of this memory that he led a loud campaign for Little General to become new Nets boss.
Prokhorov’s front office then signs role players Travis Outlaw, Anthony Morrow and Jordan Farmar to $15
million annually over three seasons to surround Lopez. Management makes another $15-$20 million of cap
room available to potentially land a star player for next season.
And most importantly, the Nets use their No. 3 spot in the 2010 NBA Draft to select another future stud,
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The Lopez twins’ desire to create their own comic-
book series is well documented. Like in basketball,
the two have spent years honing their craft and
networking in their field so that this dream, too, could
also become reality. If things go according to plan,
their longtime dream could come to fruititon in a
comic shop near you in the very near future.
Brother Robin, when not starting at center for the
Phoenix Suns, lends his artistry talents to Brook’s
writing creations, and the wonder twins, in turn, write
some of the tallest tales two 7-footers could ever
conceive.
What they are specifically, Brook won’t say.
“I mean, you saw The Social Network. You know how
people steal ideas, right?”
So as the Lopi keep things under wraps, Brook does
reveal that one (or more) of these side endeavors will
be green-lit in the next year or two.
“I’ve been in the DC offices multiple times,” says
Lopez, “talking about our projects, pitching our own
ideas of stuff we’ve created, pitching ideas for original
characters of theirs such as Batman and stuff like
that. We’ve also talked to a few other outlets, TV
outlets in general, about various television series,
screenplay/feature films, books and stuff like that
as well.
“I’m pretty confident something is going to
happen. It takes awhile to get projects off the ground,
but I think we’re right on the cusp of something
happening.”—#21
The Wonder Twins
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BONUS POINTS
1. Lopez told HOOP two years ago that Batman, Green Lantern and Green Arrow were his favorites.
2. Brook, along with his twin Robin, was a 2006 McDonald’s All-American at Fresno’s San Joaquin
Memorial High School. He repeated the All-American act in college at Stanford, where he was a third-team
All-American in 2008.
3. Lopez earned All-Rookie honors in 2008-09, while averaging 13.0 points, 8.1 rebounds, 1.8 blocks
in 30.5 minutes per game. His Player Efficiency Rating was 17.94, which ranked ninth among centers
in value added.
4. Brook finished his second season in 2009-10 averaging 18.8 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in
36.9 mpg. His PER was 20.11, which ranked fourth among centers in value added.
5. Through 12/8/10, Favors was averaging 6.5 points and 5.4 rebounds in 18.9 mpg. His PER was
13.49 while ranking sixth among all 2010-11 rookies in value added. At the same age (19) in ’04-05,
Dwight Howard posted one of the best teenager seasons ever, averaging 12.0 points and 10.0 rebounds
in 32.6 mpg, with a PER of 17.27.
6. Michael Jordan first coined the phrase The Breakfast Club with the ’90s Bulls championship teams,
when he convinced Scottie Pippen and Ron Harper to join him at his house for an early-morning workout
with his personal trainer Tim Grover. The three then would be fed breakfast by Jordan’s personal chef,
before heading over to team practice at the nearby Berto Center.
Derrick Favors. The supremely athletic 19-year-old impressively measures in at 6-10, 245 pounds, 6.4 percent body fat with
a 7-4 wingspan—very similar framework to another Superman at that age, Dwight Howard.5
The fiscally-responsible Nets are now indeed renewed and improved, which is amazing given that the average age of
their main 10 minutemen is 23.8 years old, with Harris being the oldest one of the bunch.
“I think we have more of a—it’s a very cliché and corny thing to say—but we now have a never-say-die attitude,” says
Lopez. “There have already been a few games, both preseason and regular season, where we could have folded. Games that
got a bit away from us toward the end, but we just didn’t give up. We fought back into it.”
In 2010-11, they’re on pace to double—or perhaps even triple—their win output from a year ago. Attendance is naturally
up. And the young Nets truly believe greatness awaits them.
Johnson tells Lopez and Favors they remind him of Spurs greats Tim Duncan and David Robinson, two of his former
teammates on that 1999 NBA championship team. Because of that, Coach puts his young bigs through additional early-
morning workouts, separate from the rest of the team. He calls the regular ritual The Breakfast Club, which creates yet
another social network for Nets teammates to follow Lopez’s lead.6
If Nets practice is at 9:45 a.m., Lopez shows up at 9 for The Breakfast Club with Johnson. They’ll hit the weights with a
trainer, while Coach hits the treadmill. It’s the perfect way for the team’s captain to set the example, especially when the
team is full of impressionable youngsters. Other teammates also may come in for extra work. Then they’ll all hit the floor for
some on-court action before everyone else arrives for practice.
“Brook helps me a lot in The Breakfast Club,” says Favors. “He’s been lifting weights early in the morning with me. We’re
putting in a lot of hard work in the weight room. And with the extra practice, I’ve gotten stronger and more confident.
“It’s helped a lot—getting up shots, working on little things like post moves. It helps with the adjustment to the NBA.”
Lopez adds, “Our coach Avery was very lucky enough to play with both Tim and David. He’s had us do similar workouts
that they did, in helping us improve. You know, that’s a duo that we’d really like to emulate. Any comparison toward them is
obviously a huge compliment.”
It’s the perfect imagery for Lopez—raising the level of his teammates’ play the Spurs’ way. He’s always admired
Duncan’s game from afar, so to have the Little General as a conduit to the The Big Fundamental’s game is invaluable.
It’s a Facebrook connection Lopez feels privileged to have.
“Duncan has always been an idol of mine,” he says. “He’s someone whose game and demeanor I try to emulate. Some
say he’s a boring player, boring to watch. But if you really have a true appreciation for the game like I’ve grown to have,
playing the game all my life, you see how deadly a player he is, and how precise he is. He’s just tough to stop. His game’s
very slow, but very precise as well. That’s what I want to be one day.”
“I’m a more traditional big man—playing back to the basket. I can play from both elbows to the top of the key. Him being
a 4, myself being a 5, we have different skill sets that complement each other very well.”
Lopez is now a top 10 center, and at age 22, an emerging leader. He has good inside game, draws fouls, doesn’t turn it
over, blocks shots, plays heavy minutes and has never missed an NBA game.
As he grows into his leadership role, becomes a better outside shooter and a more versatile team defender, the center’s
status in this league will only rise.
It’s inevitable he’ll become one of the league’s smarter players, a la Duncan. He’s got too much going on upstairs for that
not to happen.
That’s why the Little General likes to push Lopez harder than anyone else.
When the Nets center lost a key free throw rebound and missed an easy layup in the closing seconds of two close road-
trip losses at Sacramento and Denver in late November, the general chewed out his captain.
Lopez showed how he responds to such criticism the next game when he blasted the Atlanta Hawks for a season-high 32
points and 9 rebounds to lead a 107-101 overtime victory.
“They’ve been challenged behind the scenes,” Johnson told the assembled press of his co-captains after that win
in Atlanta. “Two guys that we rely heavily upon came through. Now what I’m showing Brook and Devin is if they can
consistently have that aggression and that attacking attitude, it makes us a better ball club. They don’t have many nights
with this team where they can take off.”
That’s the mindset Lopez needs to have—be a leader at all times.
It fits the credo of his character. After all, he is a comic-book hero at heart, with his superhero fascination well
documented in NBA circles.
He also is such a Disney fan that he has to go to Disney World practically every time New Jersey plays at Orlando during
the season. Ask him anything about Disney—Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, Captain EO —and be prepared to
be astounded.
Let’s put it this way: Brook is such a fanatic, minutes after viewing Disney’s animated film Tangled, he wrote on his
Facebook page: Yay Tangled! Gotta love Mandy ☺
He’s talking about Mandy Moore, the voice of the movie’s protagonist, but the same could be said of Lopez, his potential
All-Star status and the rise of the Nets as a playoff team.
It’s all inter-related, just like a social network.
Indeed, indeed. These Brooklyn Brook-Led Nets surely are on the cusp of something happening.
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Point
One might be the loneliest number but not anymore.
With the latest wave in the NBA being point guards the
League is seeing an abundance of quality at the position.
By Rob Peterson #9
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long enough after a regular-season game to give a player from the next
generation heartfelt, if profane, words of encouragement.
“It was huge,” Rose says of the moment. “Kobe’s somebody I look up
to. He has that killer mentality of going out there and playing hard every
single game.”
If he wanted to, Bryant doesn’t need to look far to see other new-school
point guards who match the 2009 NBA Rookie of the Year’s level of skill
and share that old-school desire to win. As a matter of fact, in last year’s
first round playoffs series between the Lakers and Oklahoma City, Bryant
paid a similar compliment—albeit with actions, not words—to Oklahoma
City’s Russell Westbrook2 by requesting to guard him throughout the
pivotal Game 6 of the series.
That night, the Lakers would notch a 96-95 win to advance to the
second round, and they would eventually go on to win a second straight
title. But Kobe found out firsthand what all point guards in the NBA have
since learned.
“There’s not a night off,” Houston guard Aaron Brooks says. “Every team
has a great point. You have to bring your A-game every night.”
At no other time in league history has the NBA been blessed with such
they had just fought fiercely for 48 minutes
and it appeared the Los Angeles Lakers couldn’t wait to get off their home
floor and away from the Chicago Bulls, who had just given the defending
NBA champs all they could handle.
After the final buzzer at Staples Center, the teams were rushing in
opposite directions to their locker rooms when Kobe Bryant stopped, spun
and sought out Bulls point guard Derrick Rose. The veteran approached the
third-year phenom and embraced him with a bro hug—half-handshake,
half hug—and draped his left hand across the shoulders and the back of
the familiar Bulls red and black as an official would hang a medal.
In a way, Bryant was commending Rose for his impeccable
performance on November 23. Bryant and the Lakers had won the war,
98-91, but Rose played as if he was a one-man wrecking crew and scored
many personal victories throughout the battle.1 While the final score might
have indicated he wasn’t ready to pass the torch, Bryant was ready to
pass along advice and adulation.
“Keep it goin’, baby,” Bryant said. “You’re a bad ...”
The rest may be best left to lip readers, but it speaks volumes then
that one of the game’s most cold-blooded competitors would pause
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an abundance of good young point guards. Once upon a time, skilled
back-to-the-basket big men who roamed the paint at either end of the
floor dominated the NBA. Those days are largely gone; you can count the
number of franchise centers on one hand. Today, point guards are players
who hold their franchises—and by association, the Association—in their
very talented hands.
So how gifted is this elite eight of young PGs: Brooks, Stephen Curry,
Tyreke Evans, Brandon Jennings, Rajon Rondo, Rose, John Wall and
Westbrook? Let us count the ways.
The last two Rookie of the Year award winners—Rose and Sacramento’s
Evans3—play point guard; in fact the top three vote getters in last year’s
ROY voting (Evans, Golden State’s Curry and Milwaukee’s Jennings) man
the position. Two of the last three No. 1 overall picks—Rose in ’08 and John
Wall in 2010—and five of the top 10 picks in 2009, including Milwaukee’s
Jennings, are point guards. And Rose and Boston’s Rondo are legitimate
Most Valuable Player candidates this season.
Boston coach Doc Rivers, who played point guard for four teams in 13
NBA seasons,4 welcomes the influx of talent at the position.
“Seven years ago, we were in a deficit, we had none,” Rivers says. “When
I played, it was the era of the center. We had Hakeem Olajuwon, Patrick
Ewing, David Robinson and all those guys. We even had Shaquille O’Neal at
the end. And the 2s and the 3s have always been solid in our league.
“But we’ve gone back to the point-guard era. We needed to go back
there. It was a point of interest for a lot of coaches.”
It was easy to see why coaches were worried about the lack of qualified
floor generals. In the late ’90s and early ’00s, the game had grown ugly, a
nightly grind filled with one-on-one isolation plays, a lack of ball movement
and poor shots launched with the shot clock ticking close to zero.
That aesthetically unpleasant game is largely gone from today’s NBA.
Fans have not only the plethora of talented players to thank for this, but
also two significant rules changes made in the last 31 years.
When the NBA introduced the three-point line in 1979, many basketball
traditionalists saw it as a gimmick, a fad from the recently folded ABA.
But it wasn’t. It was democracy in action. For decades, bigger had always
been better. But the three-point line was an equalizer, giving the guards a
fighting chance and rewarding success with an extra point.
It took time for coaches to realize what an asset the three-point line was
for their offenses. But they eventually began to see how the shot could
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stretch defenses, open passing and driving lanes and how it could be a
psychological lift for the offense and demoralizing for the defense.
Yet, the traditional floor general—the “pure” point guard who initiated
the offense by passing the ball and moving away, scoring when needed
and playing rugged on-the-ball defense—still keyed most NBA offenses.
And point guards pretty much continued to play that way until another
seismic rule change in 2005 outlawed hand-checking. Gone were the days
when one player could sink a hand into an opponent like a meat hook and
drag him around the court or tenderize a dribbler’s kidneys with a forearm.
Now guards, armed with the ability to fire away from three-point range,
could also move freely without being manipulated like a marionette. The
floor—and the floodgates—had opened. Best of luck defending them, says
Mavericks guard Jason Kidd,5 who has played in both the hand-checking
and non-hand-checking eras.
“The offensive player definitely has the advantage because there is no
hand-checking or no bumping once the player has the ball,” Kidd says. “The
biggest thing is now you’ve got so many guys that are athletic, if you give
them that advantage, nine out of 10 times they’re gonna score.”
It may be a coincidence that two of the best point guards in the
game—New Orleans’ Chris Paul and Utah’s Deron Williams,6 both drafted
in 2005—thrived in this environment, but it’s not hard to see why they
have been successful.
Like the great guards before them—Oscar Robertson, Walt Frazier,
Earl Monroe, Magic Johnson, Isiah Thomas, John Stockton, and the still-
trucking-along Kidd and Steve Nash—today’s young point guards can do
everything well, especially putting the ball in the hole.
Scoring doesn’t seem to be a problem for this crop, and they won’t
hesitate to go viral by going vertical. YouTube has seven clips with more
than a combined quarter-million views of Rose’s vicious two-handed flush
over the Suns’ Goran Dragic in January of 2010. Westbrook’s one-handed
dunk over the Rockets’ Shane Battier in November of 2010 was an instant
Twitter sensation.
Playing the position, however, requires more than just social media
superficiality. This generation has substance that goes deeper than 140
characters. If you need a starting point for when this group announced
that it had arrived, you look to the 2009 first round series between the
then defending NBA champion Celtics and the upstart Chicago Bulls.
The teams battled throughout an epic seven game series that featured
seven overtimes and numerous memorable moments. Yet, the standout
performances belonged to Rose, then all of 20, and Rondo, 22.
In Game 1, Rose tied Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record for most points in a
playoffs debut with 36,7 as the Bulls stole one from the Celtics in overtime.
The rest of the series, however, belonged to Rondo; who averaged 19.4
points, 11.5 assists and 9.3 rebounds. His brilliance throughout carried
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the Celtics to the next round and more than made up for the
absence of Kevin Garnett, who would eventually miss the playoffs
because of an injured right knee.
“Rajon Rondo makes great decisions from an offensive
standpoint,” says Ernie Grunfeld, president of the Washington
Wizards. “And he’s destructive from a defensive standpoint.
Rondo’s calling card has always been the ability to harass
opposing points with his long arms and speed. His outside
shooting has improved gradually since he entered the League,
but he’s still no Ray Allen. Despite the lack of range, Rondo has still
found a way to be effective on offense by locating teammates for
buckets. In fact, he’s on pace to be the first player in 19 seasons
(John Stockton, 17.7 in ’91-92) to top 13 assists per game and
he’d also be the second player to average more dimes than points
(the first is Johnny Moore who paced the League with 9.6 assists
while averaging 9.4 points). Rondo’s familiarity with the Boston
offense has helped, but he’s always possessed confidence and a
competitive streak.
“That’s what you’re seeing from today’s point guards; they’re
terrific competitors. The harder they compete, the harder their
team competes.”
Grunfeld, meanwhile, thinks the Wizards have found a player
similar to Rondo in Wall, this season’s No. 1 overall pick.
“He’s very coachable, he’s very competitive,” Grunfeld says.
“He has great size at the position to go with his speed. I don’t know
if there are too many players who are faster with the ball in
their hands.
“So it’s the intangibles, such as his maturity and his knowledge
of game, that are really impressive.”
That “knowledge of the game” adds another layer of depth to
these physically gifted players, making each player in the group a
triple-double waiting to happen. Jennings nearly notched one in his
first NBA game. Wall recorded a triple-double in just his sixth. 8
While they make it look simple, success hasn’t come easily.
Every one of them gravitated to the position for different reasons
and has earned his stripes in different ways.
Before working his way into the Rockets’ starting lineup, Brooks
was one of five point guards on the Houston roster. Many wondered
if Curry, who wasn’t recruited by many Division I schools before
putting up big numbers at Davidson College, had the chops to
run an NBA team. Still others wondered if Rose and Evans, who
played in John Calipari’s dribble-drive offense at the University of
Memphis, could handle the complex NBA sets. Rose has clearly
proven to belong at the 1, while the jury is still out on Evans being a
HOOP 063
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The Best Point Guard
is Chris Paul…
Even at a time when quality point guards
are in abundance, Chris Paul remains
the best in the game. Deron Williams?
Don’t get me wrong, Williams is stellar
and in a class of his own, just a rung
below Paul. Some may gauge it based
on Williams’ commanding edge in their
one-one-one matchups in every way,
most importantly in wins (15-4, entering
’10-11), but a few games a season a
career doesn’t make.
Statistically, Paul is superior, but
to judge the two based on numbers
would be unfair as their teams play at
different paces and systems. So forget
that Paul sports a better career shooting
percentage (including three-pointers
and free throws), assists per game,
points per game, turnovers per game,
steals per game—all key numbers when
evaluating PGs (OK, so I lied about
ignoring numbers).
Paul can control an entire game when
he is on the floor. His ability to get to any
spot on the floor means a defense has to
send extra help, freeing up teammates.
That formula has made David West an
All-Star, gotten Tyson Chandler noticed
by Team USA and kept the Hornets
competing in the West despite some very
weak supporting casts. Single-cover or
sag off him and Paul will be practicing
layups and runners all night. On the
defensive end, Paul can single-handedly
disrupt an offense with his harassment
of the point guard—he’s League’s
preeminent ball thief. It’s this ability to
impact nine players on the court (throw
in the opposing team’s head coach) while
wowing the fans that makes him the
complete PG package.—Ming Wong #2
HOOP0102-f-Point Guards.indd 63 12/15/10 1:54 PM
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HOOP064
Ranking the League’s Starting 1s
1. Chris Paul
After a year where he missed
half a season, Paul is back to
reclaim the top status. When
he’s on the court, Paul is the
rare player who makes those
around him better. He’s got
everything you want in a
traditional point guard along
with an often overlooked
competitive mean streak that
shows itself when the stakes
are high.
2. Deron Williams
You can certainly make a point
for D-Will at No. 1 and still be
right. His durability, patience
and understanding of Jerry
Sloan’s system makes him look
almost perfect every night. For
those who gripe at Williams’
lack of pizazz, it must be noted
that he might perhaps own the
League’s most lethal crossover
that has left in its wake many
defenders clutching their ankles.
3. rajon ronDo
Five seasons ago, Rondo
wouldn’t have cracked the top
20 and now his name is tossed
around in best-PG discussions.
His defensive ability alone
puts him in the top 10. But
now that he’s mastered the
orchestration of the Celtics’
offense, he’s passed the other
contenders and is only a
jumper away from possible No.
1 status.
4. russell Westbrook
Putting Westbrook ahead
of Derrick Rose was tough
(Rose is going through a
breakthrough year himself),
but we went “Why Not?”
Westbrook is a better defender,
and if he develops a threeball,
he would move up another
level. Of anyone on this list,
Westbrook is the best triple-
double threat. In a few seasons,
Westbrook and Rose might be
jostling for the top spot.
5. DerriCk rose
His defense, while better
this season, still needs some
work. Unlike Westbrook, the
Bulls need Rose to conserve
himself on the offensive end
(Westbrook has Kevin Durant
to score) so it may or may
not be fair. The rest of Rose’s
game, save for a three-point
shot, is aces. Outside of Paul
and perhaps Williams, no one is
better at getting penetration.
11. mike Conley
After being the first PG taken
in the ’07 draft (fourth overall
pick), Conley has played the
part of a draft disappointment.
In his first three seasons,
Conley has had difficulty
grasping the demands of the
position. This season looks to
be a revelation. Much like how
he uses his blazing speed and
ballhandling skills to turn the
corner on a defender, Conley
has showed signs of doing the
same with his career.
12. anDre miller
Virtually ignored for so long
in his career, some folks have
just “rediscovered” how good
and Miller has been over his
12 years running an offensive
game plan to perfection. Miller
might not be particularly fast
(but he’ll get by defenders),
possess a textbook jumper
(but he’ll consistently make
them) or be a staunch defender
(he’s amaster at stripping
balls), but he’ll rarely make
a mistake and always comes
through with heady play.
12. stePhen Curry
He entered the League
known more for his shooting
(Stephen’s dad is former NBA
sharpshooter Dell Curry), but
has proven to be an able PG.
While he can still light it up
from outside (44-percent from
three-point in his first 100
NBA games), Curry has shown
flashes of being able to run a
team and get others involved.
The fact that defenses have
to respect his range means
defenses can’t go under on the
pick and roll, a huge advantage.
14. jason kiDD
If this was based on lifetime
achievement, Kidd’s name
would be No. 1. The days of
being a defensive force and
trip-dubs on the regular might
be behind him, but Kidd remains
an above-average point man
thanks to his basketball smarts.
It’s Kidd’s development of a late-
career weapon, the three-point
shot, that has helped. Had he
discovered this shot earlier in
his career, he might have a few
MVPs and championship rings
to his name.
15. branDon jennings
He made headlines last year
with his double-nickel game
and surprised everyone by
leading the Bucks to a stirring
seven-game first-round
playoff scare of the Hawks.
The natural skills—speed with
the ball and first step—are
there but he needs to tame
his streaky shot and learn to
make better decisions. If he
can do those two things, we’ll
be seeing Mr. Jennings in the
top five very soon.
HOOP0102-f-Point Guards.indd 64 12/15/10 1:55 PM
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HOOP 065
6. steve nash
Even at 37 in February, Nash
is still holding it down for the
elder PGs in the L. Written off
seven seasons ago by some,
Nash has only copped two
MVPs since and might go down
as the best shooting point
ever. No one might be better at
the pick and roll as Nash—his
triple-threat ability to thread
a pass, finish with both hands
and wet a J has flummoxed
most defenses.
7. tony Parker
It’s hard to believe that TP is
“only” 28 despite starting as
the Spurs’ PG since the start of
last decade. Still more a scorer
than a true point, Parker is on
pace to cop a career high in
assists this season. A clever
finisher around the basket, his
only Achilles heel is the lack of
three-point range. Other than
Derek Fisher, no other PG can
boast of Parker’s three rings.
8. raymonD Felton
It’s funny how running point
for a Mike D’Antoni team can
do wonders for your career. The
improvement in numbers were
expected (going from Larry
Brown to D’Antoni is worth a
50 percent bump on offense)
but the newfound confidence
and shooting touch has been
a nice surprise. Seeing Felton
unleashed is reminding folks
why he was drafted right after
Williams and Paul in ’05.
9. jameer nelson
Whether it’s due to his small
size, lack of flash or absence
of any eye-popping stat,
Nelson always seems to be
overlooked. What cannot
be overlooked is Nelson’s
invaluable ability to be another
shooter in Orlando’s Dwight
Howard-centric offense that
makes the team so deadly.
Above all, the Magic just seem
to play better when Nelson is
on the floor.
10. john Wall
Cracking the top 10 as a rook
might be premature on our
part, but the early returns on
Wall—amazing numbers that
even Paul or Williams never
sniffed when they were bag-
carriers—is scary to fathom
because he’s doing it on sheer
talent alone. Assuming he
learns the nuances of the NBA
better, he can be in the top five
by his sophomore year.
16. Devin harris
Harris will probably never be a
high assists guy because his
best skill is scoring. He has a
decent jumper (he just needs
to expand his range) and is
adept at shedding defenders
with his elusiveness. His lithe
frame means his defense is
predicated on quickness and
playing passing lanes. Harris
needs to improve on taking
care of the rock before he
cracks the top half of this list.
17. aaron brooks
A 2 trapped in a 1’s body,
Brooks is a bit like Allen
Iverson—a small scorer who
needs a high volume of shots
to be effective. He’s plenty
fast, but his small frame and
lack of court vision means he
gets stuck in the paint with
no where to go sometimes.
Brooks does have a nice high-
arcing jumper that makes him
a danger when he gets going.
18. jrue holiDay
At just 20, Holiday is only a few
years removed from getting
his driver’s license. That
hasn’t stopped the Sixers from
handing Holiday the keys to
the team. He’s still learning the
ropes of the position, but has
already shown good judgement
with the ball. Like many young
PGs, he still needs to work on
his jumper to complete his
game, but he certainly has time
on his side.
19. tyreke evans
In the early going this season,
it looks as if the Rookie of
the Year is afflicted with the
sophomore jinx as a nagging
foot injury has his numbers
slipping a bit. Even though he
started the season out as a
PG, Evans will likely eventually
slide over to the shooting guard
spot which better suits his
skills. He’ll be a stud, just not
as a point guard.
20. jose CalDeron
Two seasons ago, Calderon
was viewed as an effective
playcaller who had a knack
for distributing the ball and
burying a jumper, especially
from three. He still is, albeit
at a lesser rate. His defensive
deficiencies are seen on a
nightly basis as his lack of
lateral speed puts him at the
mercy of the opposition. If he
asserted himself more, the
comparisons to Nash might
be valid.
HOOP0102-f-Point Guards.indd 65 12/15/10 1:56 PM
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HOOP066
21. Dj augustin
It’s never easy to play the
1 when Larry Brown is the
coach, but on the flipside,
there’s no better to learn the
position under. Augustin took
a step back in his sophomore
year, but has bounced back
this season. The one thing he
already has is a solid jumper,
but he needs to turn that
threat into penetrations to the
basket in order to free up his
teammates.
22. roDney stuCkey
Like many of today’s points,
Stuckey is one who looks to
score first and pass second.
Detroit fans were hoping he’d
develop beyond the 16-ppg and
5-apg player he’s stagnated
at, but it looks like that’s what
they’ll be stuck with. In order to
unstick himself from the middle
pack, Stuckey needs to get
his teammates involved more
and develop some range on his
perimeter game.
23. ChaunCey billuPs
Like Parker, Billups is equal
parts scorer and distributor.
At 34, he remains effective
because of his basketball
smarts, a knack for hitting
the clutch shot and his ability
to use his body to get an
advantage on younger and
faster opponents. Billups, this
year, has seen a noticeable
drop in his production. That
said, Billups is still an asset as
a leader on any team.
24. Darren Collison
This was supposed to be the
year Collison breaks out as a
top-10 PG. After subbing in for
Paul admirably last season,
Collison was subsequently
traded to the Pacers and given
the starting job where he was
was expected to blossom
Instead he has struggled
in head coach Jim O’Brien’s
offense and found himself
watching TJ Ford finish games
in the fourth quarter. The
potential remains there.
25. mo Williams
It might be a common
assumption to think Williams’
game took a dip this season
because of LeBron’s departure,
but his numbers were actually
better pre-LBJ. That said,
he’s a scoring point who is a
streaky player whose game is
predicated on his jumper. When
it’s not there, the rest of his
game goes, too.
26. baron Davis
At his best, Davis is a top flight
PG who can get to the rim, raise
him teammates’ game and
excite the fans. At his worst, he
will take bad three-point shots
(32-percent for his career),
play matador defense and
commit turnovers. Davis’ older
age, mounting injuries and
poor conditioning have caught
up to one of the former top
point guards in the game and
likely means his best days are
behind him.
27. mike bibby
Even at his peak in Sacramento
during the start of the century,
Bibby wasn’t the type of
player that would dominate
a game. His strengths lie in
steadily guiding the offense
and knocking down shots. Now
that’s he’s older, Bibby has
trouble staying in front of the
mercurial PGs that he sees on
a nightly basis, making him
a liability on defense. But his
experience and shot-making in
the clutch is still valuable to a
contending Hawks team.
28. Derek Fisher
D-Fish is beloved in Lakerland
for his many heroics—
especially during the playoffs—
for the purple-and-gold. But
as far as being a starting PG,
Fisher is a liability. He still
possesses basketball smarts
(especially in the triangle),
heart, and an above-average
three-point stroke, but his
defense is lacking and he gets
to the basket once a week. He’s
really around for his clutch
play come May and June.
29. jonny Flynn
Flynn was in over his head as
a starting PG as a rookie and
it showed. He had difficulty
adopting to head coach Kurt
Rambis’ triangle; he struggled
with knowing when to pass or
shoot and with taking care of
the ball. He has an excellent
combination of speed and
quickness but needs to learn
how to harness it, especially
on the defensive end. Flynn
opened the season on the IR, so
this low ranking is more a result
of an incomplete grade.
30. Carlos arroyo
Playing with LeBron, Wade
and Bosh means not needing
much from your point guard.
The Heat’s point guard job
description just requires
someone to take care of
the ball and knock down an
occasional jumper to keep
defenses honest. Good thing,
because that is what Arroyo is.
His defense is below par and is
really better suited as a backup
on a team.
HOOP0102-f-Point Guards.indd 66 12/15/10 1:56 PM
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PG who might eventually shift over to the other guard spot.
Then there’s Rondo. In 2008, critics sniped Boston won the title
because of its three future Hall of Famers—and in spite of Rondo,
who couldn’t knock down a jumper to save the Celtics’ life. After
his brilliant performance in the 2009 postseason, the C’s dangled
Rondo as trade bait. Now, Rivers says he doesn’t know where the
Celtics would be without him.
“Rondo is clearly very important to our team and our offense,”
Rivers says. “He may be more important in a lot of ways because
we have so many weapons. He’s the guy who has to keep the pulse
on the balance of our offense.”
If this group of point guards has maintained anything from the
past, it’s the traditional of being an extension of the head coach on
the floor.
“He calls the plays and the execution of our offense,” Rivers
says of Rondo. “Like a quarterback, he makes passes to a guy
before he’s there. It takes a lot of talent to get to that point. A lot of
it is feel and a lot of is trust.”
Building this trust takes time. It helps that six of the point
guards play for head coaches who played the position in the NBA
and are able to impart their institutional knowledge. And students
must be sponges, soaking up the tendencies of their teammates
and opponents. They must study game plans and game film. They
need to listen, observe and learn to process the complexities,
and more important, the subtle nuances that will lead them to the
most important aspect of playing point guard: making the right
decisions.
That’s one of the aspects of Curry’s game that impressed
Warriors general manager Larry Riley.
“One of the first things that caught my eye was that he was a
very good passer,” Riley says. “I could see he could make a short
pass or a long pass and he’d try to get the ball to the right guy.
“I remember seeing him do that in a game against Purdue, a
good defensive team. They stacked the whole defense against
him. He didn’t have a particularly great game, but he made a lot of
the right decisions and a lot of good passes.”
The evolution of Curry’s game was evident on November 11
against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. It seemed
as if the Warriors were getting to the rack at will, not only in
transition, but in the flow of the halfcourt offense as well. When
presented with options, Curry always seemed to pick the right
one. He finished with 25 points, eight assists and six rebounds in a
122-117 Warriors win.
The Golden State guard attributes his finely tuned decision
making to being as quick with the remote control as he is with the
release of his silky jumper.
“I watch film every day to see the games and what decisions
opponents make,” Curry says. “I press pause on the video, see
what options I had and learn that. The more I watch film, the more
I see things.”
gar
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HOOP068
No Way, the Best PG is
Deron Williams…
The best point guard in the NBA needs
a new nickname. Utah Jazz point
guard Deron Williams—D-Will—had the
unfortunate timing of coming into the
League when first-initial-slash-first-
surname-syllable monikers—think
“C-Webb,” “T-Mac” and “J-Rich”—were all
the rage. Williams hasn’t been handed a
handle as rhythmic as Chris Paul’s “CP3”
or blessed with a sobriquet as unique and
alliterative as Rajon Rondo’s.
What Williams does have, however,
is the most complete point guard game,
while proving to be durable, playing
at least 76 games during four of his
first five years. D-Will’s completeness
deserves more than an abbreviated
description, don’t you think?
How about “D-Train?” At 6-3 and 210
pounds, Williams possesses a rare
combination of size, strength and speed
for a PG. Or “Double Dare?” It would
not only help educate folks who still
mispronounce his name (DARE-on), it
would also allude to his averages of 19
ppg and 10.6 apg—a double-double—
over the last three seasons.
Then again, “D-Will” seems to fit his
low-key persona. The Jazz have been
dishing up a steady diet of pick-and-roll
basketball for more than two decades.
It’s a testament to Williams that
Utah’s offense—which looks simple,
but requires a high basketball IQ and
exquisite sense of timing—hasn’t missed
a beat since he arrived two seasons after
the great John Stockton retired.
On second thought, “D-Will” is fine. But
if you find that too boring, you can just
call him what he is: the best.—#9
HOOP0102-f-Point Guards.indd 68 12/15/10 1:56 PM
Sure, it’s just a tire. Like the Golden Gate is just a bridge.
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But just watching doesn’t reveal everything. Some point guards,
like Curry, Brooks and Rose,9 gravitated to the point guard position
because they were often the smallest guys on the court.
“I didn’t start growing until seventh and eighth grade,” says
Rose, who grew up playing on Chicago’s South Side. “But I’ve
always been able to dribble—anybody from Chicago is always able
to dribble.”
Still, handing over the offense to players so young is not without
its risks. No guard represented more of a risk than Jennings,
who famously eschewed college to play professionally in Italy for
Lottomatica Virtus Roma. Even Milwaukee general manager John
Hammond didn’t know what the Bucks were going to get when
they drafted Jennings 10th overall in 2009.
“What we said initially was that he has All-Star potential because
of his speed and quickness with the ball,” Hammond says. “But
how he would develop his other skills, we were uncertain of.”
It didn’t take long for the Bucks to find out what they had.
“Last year, we opened up the season in Philly and he almost had
a triple-double the very first game of his NBA career,” Hammond
says. “Only guys like Oscar Robertson had done it. And we all sat
there thinking, ‘Wait a minute, is this for real?’
“Two weeks later, he scored 55 against the Warriors.10 He put the
Milwaukee Bucks back on the basketball map.”
Before getting caught up on the youngsters, don’t forget the
veterans that continue to teach lessons for the younger cats. Kidd
and Nash continue to defy their birth certificates with starter’s
minutes against guys 15 years their junior. Entering the League
right before the turn of the millennium, Andre Miller is old-school
enough to remember going up against John Stockton. A dozen
years later, his career is shaping up to mimic Stockton’s longevity
and no-frills effectiveness.11 Chauncey Billups and Baron Davis,
while seeing some drop-offs in production, still get it done by
relying on their vast experience to remain effective. Even at just
28, Tony Parker has been playing long enough to remember the
last time the League had as many quality playmakers.12
And don’t forget the bevy of scoring PGs who are equally deadly
setting the table and clearing it: Guys like Devin Harris, Rodney
Stuckey and Mo Williams might not be high dime droppers, but
they supply their team’s offense.
If putting franchises on their shoulders has been a burden, this
generation of point guards hasn’t shown it. On the contrary, they
have borne it well, not only in the NBA, but on the international
stage, too. Westbrook, Rose and Curry helped Team USA win gold at
the 2010 World Championship in Turkey. For Westbrook, playing for
the men’s national team was just another laboratory in which he
could develop the chemistry necessary to build a winner.
“It was great to be with those guys,” Westbrook says of the
World Championship experience. “It’s a more physical game, it was
a different game, but it definitely helped me with confidence.”
Considering this class of talented and tenacious floor generals
already brims with confidence, it appears that the position is in
good hands for a long time to come.
BONUS POINTS
1. Rose had 30 points, eight assists and five rebounds in a 98-91 loss.
2. Westbrook had averaged 20.4 points, 5.4 assists and 6.2 rebounds in the first five games of the series.
3. Sacramento GM Geoff Petrie won Rookie of the Year as a guard with the Portland Trail Blazers in 1970.
4. Rivers averaged 10.4 points and 5.7 assists for his career.
5. Kidd shared the Rookie of the Year award in 1994 with Grant Hill.
6. Deron Williams finished ninth in MVP voting in 2010 while Paul finished second to Bryant in 2008.
7. Kareem made 10 field goals and was 10-of-13 from the free-throw line in a 125-118 win over the Sixers in 1970.
8. Wall had 19 points, 13 dimes and 10 boards against the Rockets on 11/10/10; Jennings had 17 points, nine assists
and nine boards in his debut.
9. Tyreke Evans said his mom wouldn’t let him play ball in the house, so if he saw a new move he wanted to try, he’d
have to go to the court near his house to try it out, even if it was raining.
10. Jennings scored 55 points after going scoreless in the first quarter. It was the most points by a rookie since Earl
Monroe poured in 56 in 1968.
11. Like clockwork, Miller is almost guaranteed to be good for 80 games, 14 ppg and 7 apg per season.
12. During Parker’s rookie run in ’01-02, the NBA’s top assists leaders that year were: Andre Miller (10.9), Jason
Kidd (9.9), Gary Payton (9.0), Baron Davis (8.5) and John Stockton (8.2).
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Or is it Rajon Rondo?
When Rajon Rondo was just a second-
year player, Kevin Garnett said the slight
6-1, 170-pound PG in charge of leading
Boston’s Big Three could become a Hall of
Famer. Most people scoffed.
Now Rondo is in his fifth season and
Hall of Famer and Celtics great John
Havlicek chimed in, saying, “He is unlike
any point that I’ve ever seen.”
He’s been to two Finals, winning a ring
the first time with a sparkling 21-point,
8-assist, 7-rebound, 6-steal effort in
the title-clinching Game 6 over the L.A.
Lakers in 2008, and nearly put up a
triple-double (14 points, 10 assists, eight
rebounds) to try to win a second in the
Game 7 loss to L.A. in 2010.
Through the first six weeks of the
season, Rondo was leading the League in
assists per game (13.7) and was second
in steals per game (2.37). His excellence
on both sides of the ball quietly boosted
Boston out to the best record in the East.
Among PGs, Rondo often comes behind
Chris Paul and Deron Williams, yet
Williams has never beat the Lakers in the
playoffs, and Paul has only been on the
court for 267 out of 328 games in the last
four seasons (Rondo’s only missed 12
games during that time frame). His name
even gets lost in the shuffle with Derrick
Rose, Russell Westbrook and John Wall,
names considered to be the next wave of
1s vying to be No. 1.
But comparing all of those guards
against one another is like comparing
apples to apples. Havlicek knows that
comparing Rondo to the rest of the group
is like comparing apples to oranges.—
Kyle Spelling #35
HOOP0102-f-Point Guards.indd 70 12/15/10 1:57 PM
Konami (DecaSports).indd 1Konami (DecaSports).indd 1 9/29/10 3 :37 P M9/29/10 3:37 PM
Maybe it’s his common first and last name that keep Sam Jones from being more recognized in NBA lore. It’s
not like his basketball accomplishments—Jones is second only to the mythical Bill Russell in championships with 10, he’s
a Hall of Fame inductee, and a member of the NBA’s 25th Anniversary Team and 50 Greatest Players in NBA History—are
lacking. Known for his perfect form on the jumpshot and putting it off the backboard, Jones had a reputation as a clutch
scorer, especially during the playoffs.
More important than his on-court accolades were Jones’ achievements in life. From his humble beginnings in
Wilmington, NC, Jones went on to star in North Carolina Central University, a historically black college and university in
Durham, NC, where he graduated. Following a stint in the U.S. Army, Jones entered the NBA during an era of turbulent times.
As an advocate of civil rights, Jones was a part of the NBA’s first all-African-American starting five with the Celtics and he
and his teammates stood together—not only on the court with a common goal of winning championships, but off the court
as well for equality.
Now 77 years steeped in wisdom, few can match Jones’ insight on basketball, breaking down barriers and playing for the
legendary Boston Celtics organization.
HOOP: When did you begin playing basketball?
Sam Jones: I started playing basketball in junior high school, in Laurinburg, NC. I played for an outstanding coach by the
name of F.H. McDuffie, and I certainly wanted to play on his team. I found out that a few of the players that had played
before me...had gone to college on a full-scholarship. The only way to go to college back in those days was on some type of
scholarship, so I played four years for Mr. McDuffie and got a scholarship to North Carolina Central University, then known
as Carolina College at Durham. There I played for Coach John McLendon, one of the first African-American coaches to go
into the Hall of Fame. Getting that scholarship was one of the greatest things to ever happen in my life because through
basketball I was able to get my college education; I thought that was an outstanding situation at that particular time.
KeepingUp With the
Jones
By AXG #1
Black History MontH spotligHt
Through his life and basketball career,
Boston Celtics legend Sam Jones has
paved a way for others to follow
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HOOP074 HOOP074
HOOP: Talk about Coach McLendon.1
Jones: My mother was the reason for me going to North Carolina Central University.
Because the coach and my mother’s house were back to back from each other, she told
the coach: “If you’re looking for a basketball player, you should recruit my son.” The coach
started looking at me in junior high school, and he felt that I could play for him at North
Carolina Central University, and he recruited me. Now I only played for him for one year
because Hampton University offered him a lot more money than my college at the time
could give him. He later went on to become the first African-American to coach in the pro
league.
HOOP: Can you describe your game, and what were the types of things you worked on
to get better?
Jones: First of all, I had an outstanding junior high school, and middle school junior varsity
coach...his name was Coach McDaniels and he is what we call a no-non-sense coach.
In other words, he believed in the fundamentals, and he taught us that. So when we got
into high school, we were fundamentally sound and we were ready for anything that the
varsity coach could give us. It was a tough team to make, and I figured the best way to
make the team was to be a team player. I could always shoot, I could always jump, I could
always run, but I had to play within what the coach wanted, and that’s what we did. I
perfected my shot, by what people call, shooting off the boards...it’s [now] called a bank
shot, and I perfected it so well, that it was like making a layup. Fifteen feet and in was like
me making a layup, because I had so much confidence in that shot. That shot got me into
college. And when I got to college, I was the only one who shot that shot consistently off
the backboard. People didn’t know what I was doing because they had never seen anyone
consistently shoot off the backboard. It was something new that I also brought to the
NBA. It became Sam Jones’ shot, because I shot it so well. I think the reason I got from
high school, to college, to the pros, is because I played team basketball...that’s what made
me so successful.
HOOP: Now you see fundamentally sound players today like Tim Duncan and Kobe
Bryant shoot off the backboard.
Jones: That’s true, and even Dwyane Wade uses it a little bit, too.
HOOP: What was it like growing up during the times of Jim Crow laws?
Jones: I would like to say this: Growing up in North Carolina, we were not allowed to play
white teams, because the schools were segregated. And because of segregation, the
state did not allow us to play everybody, and so the black schools had to play all the
black schools. When I was in high school the whites and the blacks got along pretty well.
Coaches from the white school would come and watch us practice because we were so
good. They wanted to see what our coaches were doing to make us so good. We won four
state championships [but] it wasn’t an outright state championship because it was just
the black schools playing against each other. And that’s one of the tragedies of North
Carolina, South Carolina, or Georgia. We were not honored—we were not in the paper, we
didn’t get the perks like the other schools. In order to find out about us you had to come
and see us play. It was a tough transition. It wasn’t hard for me because, like I said, in
Laurinburg, we knew most of the white kids. We just could not participate in sports or go
out with them. That’s just the way it was, and that was all throughout the South. Those
were the type of things that I think made America bad. You had segregated bus and train
stations, segregated movies, you had to ride on the back of the bus, you had to give up
your seat if a white person came in and all the seats were taken—they had the right to
take your seat. Those were the types of things that happened.
HOOP: Would you say you played a role in the change of America as a professional athlete?
Jones: I feel that I helped the change when I went into the Army. In 1948, President
Truman said there would be no more segregation in the military. That really didn’t happen
because in 1954 I was in service stationed in Columbia, SC. [Even though I was] in an
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Army uniform and serving my country, there were places that I could not go in the town
of Columbia—that’s how bad it was and it made me wonder the possibility that I could be
killed fighting a war to keep Americans here safe and come back home and not be able
to eat in a restaurant or go to a movie and sit where I want to sit. So I began to speak up
about that—and in the Army, when you speak up about things—they ship you someplace
else and that’s what happened to me. There were things that happened to me as a black
man that made me feel really small. Then when you bring prisoners of war into the United
States and they can sit where you couldn’t sit, [meanwhile] they were fighting against
you, that tells you something about how America was at that time.
HOOP: Talk about playing with the Celtics, and players like Bill Russell, and K.C. Jones.
Jones: I will tell you this about Boston, we played under one of the greatest coaches to
ever coach basketball, a fellow by the name of Red Auerbach. Boston was one of the first
teams to bring in a black player.2 Boston was the first to have a black coach, Bill Russell.
Boston was also the first to start five black players3—Russell, Willie Naulls, Satch Sanders,
K.C. Jones, and me—and we were very, very successful. And when I say successful, we
went to the NBA Finals and we won it. We gave something back to the blacks, but when
you look up in the stands, there were white people, so we were not only playing for black
people, we were playing for everybody.
HOOP: Were there times when you had to take a stand or speak up as a professional?
Jones: There were times even in the NBA when we had to say we’re not playing. This
happened in Lexington, KY. We played an exhibition game at the University of Kentucky...
we got in that day, and we stayed at a hotel downtown, but the black players could not eat
in the restaurant. And because we did not eat, we boycotted the game. And when I say we
boycotted the game, not only did we not eat, we left Lexington and returned to Boston.
We didn’t want to be in a place that allowed us to show our talents but they wouldn’t let
us eat. They didn’t need to see us. So Bill Russell, K.C. Jones, Satch Sanders and I got on a
plane and came back home. We wanted to let the League know that we were not going to
stand for any place that was going to keep us from being Americans.
HOOP: You are a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, as are Bill Russell, K.C. Jones,
Oscar Robertson, Wilt Chamberlain and others. Did being in a fraternity help you as a
professional?
Jones: I’m glad you bought that up. It was good, especially in my day, because now you
can go any place you want to but when you’re on the road and your Kappa brothers know
you’re there, they would come and pick you up, and take you places where you could
enjoy yourself and relax. My frat brothers would call me and pick me up, and this was in
the early ’60s. That’s when you could really enjoy it back in those days. The brothers would
pick me up, introduce me to the city, and we would have a good time.
HOOP: Talk about the championship teams and the winning that you helped accomplish
with the Boston Celtics.
Jones: I can say that it was an accomplishment from us just having fun. My very first
year I didn’t play that much but I got a chance to play in the championship and we lost,
and I think we lost because Bill Russell got hurt. He hurt his ankle just before the sixth
game and we lost [Game 6] in St. Louis, but we played well. And for the next eight years,
from 1958 to 1966, we won eight straight NBA championships. We felt that that we were
probably the best4 team ever assembled. In the 1966-67 season the Philadelphia 76ers,
with Wilt Chamberlain, Lucious Jackson, Hal Greer, Billy Cunningham, Chet Walker, and
Wali Jones, beat us 4-1 [in the Eastern Division Finals] and they won the championship.
They were the ones that dethroned the Boston Celtics. Then in my last two years we
won the championships. So when I left, I had played 12 years5 and I had been to 11 NBA
Finals, and we won 10. When people talk about Michael Jordan and his six rings, I don’t
even think about it. For some reason, if you take 10 people...and you ask them how many
championships did Sam Jones win...they couldn’t tell you, but ask about Michael Jordan,
HOOP0102-f-SamJones.indd 76 12/15/10 12:07 PM
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HOOP078
everyone knows he won six. People don’t know what we did, and what we accomplished
under so much adversity. We had a team, and I will tell you this: Bob Cousy, Tommy
Heinsohn, Jack Nichols and Frank Ramsey, they are some of the greatest guys I’ve ever
played with. We were a team, and the reason why I knew this is because: One time we were
in St. Louis—back then, we could eat in the hotel we stayed in, however we got in late, and
the hotel dining room was closed, so we had to go across the street. We went across the
street and they guy said “I cannot serve you guys.” He was talking about me, Russell, and
Satch [Sanders]...and when the rest of the team heard that we couldn’t eat there, they
walked out with us, and that’s when I knew we had a team. I knew they were hungry but
they walked out with us and that made a huge statement of what we were about.
HOOP: What does being a member of the 50 Greatest NBA Players mean to you?
Jones: It’s a great honor6 to me because it was voted on by my peers. In 50 years of
basketball, I was one of the greatest players to play. When you get that kind of honor, it’s
a huge recognition. I was also voted one of the greatest players in [the first] 25 years of
NBA basketball. It’s the 25th anniversary team, and nobody knows about that. The 25th
Anniversary Team doesn’t even have 25 guys, it has only 10 guys.7 I was on that team
with Bill Russell and nobody knows about that. I’m also in the Hall of Fame. I didn’t play
basketball to go into the Hall of Fame, I played basketball to make a living. Basketball to
me was a job, and it probably was the best job of them all. It was something that I had
been doing all my life so there was no pressure. I never looked at basketball as pressure.
I never looked at games as pressure. I think the fans had more pressure because they
wanted you to win, but when you come up through junior high school, through college,
through the Army, and you have been playing basketball all of your life, why would that
have any pressure? It is something that you do. You have to deliver, and if I had to take a
last-second shot, I didn’t even think about it because this is what I do.
HOOP: Is there any significance to you wearing #24?
Jones: I was born on June 24, and when I went in the service and came back to school I
was 24. I had one more year of school, and when I got married I was 24 years old, and I
didn’t have a chance to choose my jersey when I was with the Celtics like players do now.
I was given #24.8 What’s strange is the last game I ever played in, I scored 24 points. My
last game that I ever played in was the championship game and for some reason I scored
24 points.
HOOP: How would you sum up your accomplishments?
Jones: We made it better for a lot of players.
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BONUS POINTS
1. John McLendon is a legendary coach who attended Kansas University in the 1930s and learned the nuances of basketball from Dr. James Naismith.
2. Chuck Cooper was the first black player drafted by an NBA team. The Celtics took him in the second round of the 1950 draft.
3. In the 1963-64 season, the Celtics became the first NBA team to start five black players.
4. In 1962-63 season, Jones paced the Celtics in scoring with 19.7 pgg.
5. Jones totaled 15,411 points and averaged 17.7 ppg over his career.
6. Jones played in five All-Star games and was a three-time All-NBA Second Team selection.
7. The 10 were: Paul Arizin, Bob Cousy, Bob Davies, Joe Fulks, Sam Jones, George Mikan, Bob Pettit, Bill Russell, Dolph Schayes, Bill Sharman and coached by
Red Auerbach.
8. The other HOF guys who have worn #24 in their careers: Rick Barry, Bill Bradley, Dennis Johnson and Moses Malone. Kobe Bryant has a good chance to one
day join the hallowed list of #24.
HOOP0102-f-SamJones.indd 78 12/15/10 12:07 PM
HOOP 079
HOOP Promotional Section
Directory of Historically Black Colleges and Universities
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HOOP0102-f-HBCUs.indd 79 12/14/10 12:47 PM
HOOP080
01
Nene, George Karl, Gary Forbes and several Denver Nuggets Dancers
posed for a picture with a patient during a visit to the Rocky Mountain Hospital for
Children at Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center on December 2, 2010.Garrett ellwood/NBae/Getty ImaGes
04 0503
01
04
In this case, one-size-fits-all means one shirt can
actually fit all of them at once; Grizzlies big man Zach
Randolph poses with Memphians who received some
clothing from the All-Star power forward during the
26th annual Memphis Thanksgiving Dinner for the
Homeless and Hungry on November 26, 2010.Joe murphy/NBae/Getty ImaGes
03
The usually sleepy-eyed James Harden
widened his eyes for a picture with some fans when
the Thunder served up Thanksgiving meals on
November 23, 2010 at the City Rescue Mission in
Oklahoma City.layNe murdoch/NBae/Getty ImaGes
02
Through the Ray of Hope Foundation, Ray Allen assists youth with realizing
their potential through sports-related programs. During the foundation’s
Thanksgiving Dinner Giveaway, Allen addresses a group of children at the Boston
Center for Youth and Families Center in Mattapan, MA.BrIaN BaBINeau/NBae/Getty ImaGes
05
No, the Los Angeles Lakers did not decide to
trade their trademark gold for Clippers’ red. The
donning of red warmups was just a part of a League-
wide recognition of World AIDS Day.BIll BaptIst/NBae/Getty ImaGes
02
call out
HOOP0102-Call Out.indd 80 12/13/10 8:42 PM
Own all of your favoritemoments from all your favorite seasons.Award-winning HBO Original Series, now available on DVD and Blu-ray.
®TM
© 2010 Home Box Office, Inc. All rights reserved. HBO® and related service marks are the property of Home Box Office, Inc.
AVAILABLE AT
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* According to 2000-2011 erankings.com and NPD data. © 2005-2010 Take-Two Interactive Software and its subsidiaries. All rights reserved. 2K Sports, the 2K Sports logo, and Take-Two Interactive Software are all trade-
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property of NBA Properties, Inc. and the respective NBA member teams and may not be used, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of NBA Properties, Inc. © 2010 NBA Properties, Inc. All rights reserved.
Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and the Xbox logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies and are used under license from Microsoft. “PlayStation” and the “PS” Family l ogo are registered trademarks of
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2K S ports.indd 12K Sports.indd 1 9/1/10 4 :13 P M9/1/10 4:13 PM
HOOP 083
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Feet on FireDepending on where you reside, the winter months can be brutal
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HOOP0102-CheckItOpener.indd 83 12/15/10 11:42 AM
BY DARRYL HOWERTON #21
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HOOP084
Omri CasspiSacramento Kings
As the NBA’s first Israeli-
born basketball player, Omri
Casspi became a rockstar
his all-rookie year, always
repping Israel well. With
aplomb and grace by day,
he’d sign pictures, jerseys
and even Israeli flags for
his many national and
international fans, and then
by night, the small forward
would stake his claim as a
future star on the court as
well. Off the court, Casspi’s
tastes are just what you’d
expect from a 22-year-old
in his position: one part
Israel, one part Americana.
Omri’s Movies“I really liked the movies Seven Pounds and The Pursuit of Happyness with Will Smith. He’s a
great actor. Another one of my favorites is the trilogy of The Lord of the Rings. And I also liked the
new movie about the bank robberies in Boston, The Town, starring Ben Affleck. It’s action-packed
and based on a real story that happened in Boston.”
Omri’s TV“I watched LOST. I got lost in LOST—somewhere in the fifth season. I
watched Prison Break and Wipeout, too. That’s been about it.”
Omri’s Books“Most of the books that I read are Israel stuff, but I read a book recently in English, The Accidental
Billionaires. It’s about Facebook and got made into the movie, The Social Network. It was really
good.”
Omri’s Videogames“I like PlayStation 3. I have one. And I like playing NBA games—NBA
2K10, NBA 2K11. I like action games. I like a lot of sports games, too—
football games, NFL games.”
Omri’s Music“I like all kinds of music. I like hip-hop. I like everything from Black Eyed Peas to country music to
Israel music. I like to listen to everything that’s on the radio. I have a lot of good friends in Israel who
are great artists: Eyal Golan, Muki, Idan Amedi.”
SPIN MOVES
CHECK IT
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HOOP 085
CHECK IT
Three albums. Two players. One dynamic pair of music critics
Kanye’s back with his fifth studio album. The sound Kanye introduces in this album combines aspects from his first four albums, showing that he continues to grow as a rapper. After the first listen, I understood why My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy reached No. 1 on the charts. The album starts with a very soulful “Dark Fantasy,” which features Nicki Minaj. I gotta love “Power,” an instant hit, with a very cool and artistic music video; I listen to it to get me pumped for games. There is a beautiful sadness to “Runaway” with the piano playing throughout, and the string instrumentals at the end. “Blame Game” featuring John Legend has a similar sound. I love all of the collaborations—Jay-Z, Rick Ross and Kid Kudi to name a few. “All of the Lights” is a great song I can really get into. Overall, I really enjoyed the album, and will continue to listen to it.
Kanye seems to push the envelope each time he drops a new album. I think it is safe to say that everyone has a favorite album or a Kanye verse they like; this one will only add to it. Leading up to My Beautiful Dark Twisted
Fantasy’s release, there were several tracks in heavy rotation on the radio already, giving the album a lot of buzz and anticipation. Like always, the album did not disappoint. I think the most special part about Kanye’s music tends to be the “what’s next?” factor. He’s always on something new, always something thought-provoking and there’s always something humorous. “All of the Lights,” “Power” and “Runaway” are outstanding tracks. I found myself getting caught up in the beats and had to keep replaying the tracks to catch the lyrics. I decided to purchase the deluxe version of the album on iTunes because I heard a lot of talk about the “Runaway” short film and wanted to see it. After listening to the album a few times, I really appreciate the “Runaway” film more. It is a great summary of the entire album. I am really feeling the new Kanye project and suggest that anyone who appreciates good music give it a strong listen.
After a bunch of single releases and Cannibal is Ke$ha’s first extended play album. Ke$ha’s poppy style is not exactly my favorite genre of music. I do respect Ke$ha for reaching #15 on the charts for this album. There are a number of catchy beats, but overall not too much substance. The single “We R Who We R” debuted at No. 1, a song I listen to more than I would like to admit. The song promotes individualism, and taking pride in who we are. It’s not an album I would listen to again, but I certainly won’t change the station when Ke$ha hits come on the radio (and that’s often).
This album caught me by surprise. I had no idea who Ke$ha was and never listened to her music in the past. Although Ke$ha is classified in the pop music category, she shows some versatility by rapping and singing on several of the tracks. Ke$ha drops shocking language and very catchy hooks. The entire album has an upbeat party sound. I found myself humming the “Cannibal” track after one listen. If I had to pick a song I enjoyed the most I would say “We R Who We R” was pretty solid. Other than that, not much here I could enjoy. I do think that Ke$ha has some talent, but I am just not a fan. I would not suggest purchasing this album for your kids due to some racy content, but it may be the right listen for some of you party animals—or cannibals.
Nicki Minaj is the hottest female rapper right now. She’s sexy, talented and has an attitude. I really enjoy “Right Thru Me.” She sings the chorus, demonstrating her range of vocal skills. “Fly” featuring Rihanna is an inspirational song, with a very catchy beat, and the lyrics are relevant to my career, especially the line: “I came to win, to fight, to conquer, to thrive…” I am very happy for Nicki for her debut album Pink Friday reaching No. 2 on the charts. “Blazin’” featuring Kanye West is another track I really like. It has a different feel than the other songs on the album, where they rap about their success. The hit single “Your Love” has been all over the radio for months, and also shows her lyrical range. Nicki Minaj has a hit in her debut album Pink Friday.
Nicki Minaj has had a ton of hits on guest appearances with some of the heaviest hitters in hip-hop this year. She is not only the hottest female hip-hop artist in the game right now, but has created a name for herself outside of hip-hop with her crossover appeal. Lyrically, Nicki is a beast. Her rhymes are quick and witty. I immediately checked the track list to see who the guest appearances were and attempted to predict which tracks will be big radio successes. “Your Love” and “Right Thru Me” are already getting a lot of spins and I anticipate she will have at least two more big singles left on here, maybe three. Nicki collaborated with some well-known players—Kanye, Drake, Eminem, Will.i.am and Rihanna. There are several songs on this album that feature a very “poppy” sound, such as the “Check It Out” track with Will.i.am and the “Last Chance” track with Natasha Bedingfield. Kanye did a number on the “Blazin’” track and Drake and Nicki did not disappoint on “Moment 4 Life.” I was not a big fan of the “Fly” track with Rihanna, however, I can see the song getting a lot of attention because of the Rihanna hook. All in all, I feel the album was very pop heavy and not exactly what I expected, but well put together. I am sure the true Nicki fans will love it.
Kanye West
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Nicki Minaj
Pink Friday
Ke$ha
Cannibal
Carl laNdry
TrIplE doublE
Thaddeus yOuNg
HOOP0102-TripDub.indd 85 12/15/10 12:17 PM
HOOP086
the goodsJawbone JamboxKnown for its high-end Bluetooth headsets, Jawbone’s Jambox is equally luxe with Jambox, its first Bluetooth speaker. The size of about six Hershey’s chocolate bars stacked together, the Jambox is compact enough to travel with, but not quite portable for say, your pocket. The rubberized body looks light, but pick it up and you’ll notice the hefty steel construction that lies beneath. We just couldn’t find fault with the audio quality (keep in mind we’re judging it relative to similar portable speakers) or its cool design (it’s available in black, silver, blue and red) and although it doesn’t add to the performance, we dug the way it emits a stirring rumble when you turn it on and a chirping sound when you power it down. The unit’s premium price tag means it’s just as costly as the portable device the Jambox will provide audio for, but its fetching features and looks make it worth the price of entry.
$199
HTC SurroundWindows is forcing its way back into the crowded mobile OS field currently dominated by iPhone OS, BlackBerry and Android with its updated Windows Phone 7 creeping onto a slew of smartphones. The Surround, geared towards a user who consumes multimedia, features a slide-out speaker strip (sorry, no keyboard), a button for virtual surround sound and a pull-out kickstand in the rear for personal hands-free tabletop movie-watching. The 3.8-inch 480 x 800 resolution touchscreen is bright but the key element to the Surround is its speakers. It beats the pants off typical tinny audio from a mobile device, but that’s not saying too much. The 5-megapixel camera is very usable and responsive and it captures decent HD (720p) video. Another plus is the updated Windows Phone 7 interface. It’s very intuitive and cuts down the number of clicks to do things that plague other OSes, but there is a bit of a learning curve.
$199.99 (with 2-year AT&T phone contract)
Dremel TrioThe Trio is a triple-double of small power tools. One tool allows you to cut, sand and rout for small projects. The interchangeable bits swap out for different tasks and the 90-degree pivoting head provides control and flexibility. The telescoping foot offers exact depth during cutting or routing and a variable speed (10,000-20,000 RPM) dial means you can go from precision to power. The kit comes with bits and a hard storage case.
$99
Rover PuckPerfect for the traveler who craves untethered connectivity, the Rover Puck is a 4G hotspot that requires no contracts and uses pay-as-you-go options for daily, weekly and monthly offerings for unlimited 4G access (provided you’re in its coverage area). Up to eight devices can be connected to the puck-sized (hence the name) hotspot. We experienced good speeds (in New York City) but we recommend you check your coverage area before committing.
$150
Where to Buy:
Rover Puck, rover.com; HTC Surround, att.com; Jawbone Jambox,
jawbone.com; Dremel Trio, dremel.com; Black & Decker Pilot Vac 18V,
blackanddecker.com; HP Envy 14 Beats Edition, hp.com; Grace Innovator III,
gracedigitalaudio.com; Journey to the Ring, amazon.com
HOOP0102-Goods.indd 86 12/15/10 12:34 PM
HOOP 087
CHECK IT
HP Envy 14 Beats EditionGeared towards the audiophile, the Envy 14 Beats edition pairs a stocked laptop (Intel Core i5 2.53 GHz dual core processor, 4GB of RAM, 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon graphics, 500GB hard drive, 14.5-inch screen) with a dedicated Beats by Dre button that provides, discerning ears will confirm, deeper bass and fuller sound. The red backlit keyboard and Beats-branded logo round out the premium Beats package. Users looking for an even deeper experience can opt for the Beats by Dre Solo on-ear headphones.
Envy 14 Beats: $1,149.99
Headphones: $199.95
Journey to the RingThe Lakers championship DVD is great for a frenetic look back at the Purple-and-Gold’s 17th title run, but a coffee table-style book is a much more introspective journey of their season. With intimate black-and-white, on- and off-court photography (many never published before) by NBA senior photographer Andrew D. Bernstein paired with insightful anecdotal captions by Phil Jackson, you almost feel like you’re a 16th man on the Lakers’ 2010 chip. Our favorites? A rare glimpse of the team in the locker room before Game 7 of the Finals, Jackson preparing Thanksgiving dinner at home and Ron Artest playing touch football on the beach with some of his Twitter followers.
$35
Black &Decker Pilot Vac 18VThe venerable DustBuster that mom used to pull out to clean up your cereal crumbs gets a total body makeover and returns with some new head-turning features (literally—the head of the vac swivels like a G.I. Joe figure to reach almost any angle and tight spot and to store compactly) and added power. The cordless Pilot Vac sports 18V of muscle and all the necessary tools (brush and extendable crevice tool) are built into the unit. The washable filter and removeable dirt bowl means that cleaning up the device that cleans up your life will be just as easy.
$108
Grace Innovator IIIWe all grew up listening to FM radio but no amount of nostalgia can replace the frustrations of staticky reception and limited programming. Paired with a WiFi connection, the Innovator III delivers an always crystal-clear broadcast with an almost-endless variety of genres and programming. And it does so in a glossy and smooth white (black also available) compact package that would look great on any tabletop. The unit can also stream your digital music collection from your computer (PC and Macs) or music device (via a 3.5mm audio input) and an app turns your iPhone or iPod Touch into a remote (it also comes with a remote control).
$169.99
HOOP0102-Goods.indd 87 12/15/10 12:38 PM
HOOP088
the goods
CheCK It
Where to Buy:
FreeDarko Presents the Undisputed Guide to Pro
Basketball History, freedarko.com/history/buy
HTC G2, tmobile.com
Conservetec Envi, eheat.com
DECODED, amazon.com
Merkur Safety Razor + The Art of Shaving Kit,
theartofshaving.com
FreeDarko Presents The Undisputed Guide to Pro Basketball HistoryThe follow-up to 2008’s The Macrophenomenal Pro Basketball Almanac by the popular NBA blog FreeDarko, TUGTPBH is a broader look to the game from their one-of-a-kind point of view. It begins with the birth of the game and takes it to almost current 2009. Great writing and perspective aside, the FreeDarko folks are also known for their uniquely distinguishable illustrations that complement and pontificate their points (one of the dopest ones in the book is the one of Michael Jordan “overshadowing” a cadre of Hall of Fame players).
$25
Conservetec Envi Forget those oil-filled radiator heaters (eyesore) and those red-coiled space heaters (fire hazard). Besides the aforementioned drawbacks, they are typically energy hogs. Step up to the Envi, the equivalent of a flat-panel TV for space heaters. At just 2 inches deep, the Envi can easily be mounted on the wall, is completely silent and uses convection heating for consistent warmth (no cycling on and off causing temperature swings). The adjustable-temperature heater uses just 450 watts and can heat rooms up to 130 square feet.
$119.95
DECODED by Jay-ZLike the Andy-Warhol Rorschach that graces the cover of his debut book, Jay-Z is many things to onlookers—multi-platinum recording artist, the best MC in hip-hop, an entrepreneur, an icon. DECODED takes the reader on his journey from Shawn Carter to Jay-Z through his life and lyrics. Even the most hardcore Hova fans will discover something they never knew about the man, and for the uninitiated, DECODED will give you an understanding of one of the most influential artists of this generation.
$35
HTC G2The follow-up to the G1, the first mobile phone to run the Android OS, the G2 is, in our opinion, the best Android device with a physical keyboard. For those who still prefer thumbing on actual keys, the G2’s slide-out keyboard is amply laid out. The numerical and alpha keys can be tough to distinguish, but the keyboard was a joy to type with. The G2 gets a peppier engine from its predecessor at 800MHz—slower than the 1GHz benchmark of top of the line smartphones—but we didn’t notice a difference. The 5-megapixel camera (also capable of HD video capture), like most camera phones, fared better when taken in bright outdoor settings. The 3.7-inch touchscreen doesn’t compare to the vividness of a super AMOLED screen, but it’s plenty bright and sharp. The big selling point, especially for those who loved the G1 but hated its aesthetics, is the G2’s improved design. The awkward “chocolate bar” look is gone, replaced by a curvier silhouette with hints of brushed metal.
$199.99 (with T-Mobile contract)
Merkur Safety Razor + The Art of Shaving KitTake a step back in time before the era of multi-bladed (and expensive) cartridge razors and shave the way grandpa used to with a double-sided single blade razor. Merkur has been handmaking these razors in Solingen, Germany, for over 100 years. Although called a safety razor by name, the heavier razor requires a more precise hand to operate. The best way to shave is to let the weight of the razor and the blade do the work and take your time. Of course, the best way to complement this old-school shave is to pregame the face with pre-shave oil, lather up cream with a fine badger hair brush and finish with some aftershave balm.
Safety Razor: $50Shave Kit: $100
HOOP0102-Goods.indd 88 12/15/10 12:35 PM
HOOP 089
Tech ediTor and gadgeT junkie Shane BaTTier TeST-driveS The laTeST in Tech goodS.
in ThiS iSSue, he TakeS on The norelco SenSoTouch 3d.
I don’t know one little boy who didn’t watch their dad shaving and wish they could be like their father and
have his daily shave. We didn’t know it at the time, but how wrong were we? Shaving, for most, is a necessary
evil—time-consuming, monotonous and sometimes treacherous. Men, however, do not have the luxury of
roaming the earth like cavemen—hairy, swarthy, and free—not in cultured civilization anyways.
There have been many entrants into the world of electric shaving. Over the years, we have been sold the
premise that the next electric shaver would revolutionize the way men shave. We’ve all been waiting for the
Michael Jordan of electric shavers since cavemen used sharpened stones on their five o’clock shadows.
This month we review the Norelco SensoTouch 3D. Norelco promises that the SensoTouch 3D provides
its closest shave yet. Combining Gyroflex 3D (flexible shaving system that contours to face), Ultratrack
heads (specialized shaving channels, slots for the long hairs, channels for the longer hairs and holes for the
shortest, making sure no hair gets missed) and SkinGlide (low-friction surface), the 3D promises a closer
shave in less strokes. Where have I heard this before?
The SensoTouch 3D is a wet/dry shaver. You can use it with or without shaving cream and gels; in and out
of showers. It also contains a trimmer for “skin-friendly precision for your moustache, goatee or sideburns.”
The 3D takes about an hour to fully charge and provides up to 60 minutes of cordless shaving and retails
for about $200. After a full charge, I decided to shave half of my face using shaving cream and opted for a
dry shave on the other side. Obviously, it is easier to see where the 3D has cut on the dry side, whereas the
shaving creamed side took longer because I had to continually re-lather to hit the missed areas.
Results were a mixed bag. The 3D actually did a surprisingly good job shaving my beard above the neck.
It took about 10 trips of the razor around an area to fully remove the hair, but when the hair was finally gone,
it was surprisingly smooth. There was very little irritation on my beard above the neck. So far, so good.
The problems started when I tried to shave my mustache around my nose. The SensoTouch 3D is
somewhat bulky and had trouble navigating the moustache area. I found I had to touch up the area with a
straight edge razor when I was finished.
I found the SensoTouch 3D too bulky for a close shave on my neck. As a result, I pressed a tad too
hard trying to get good results. Poor choice. After I had finished, not only were some of the areas shoddily
touched by the razor, but I had terrible razor burn. It looked like someone raked her nails all over my neck. No
bueno! In fact, the razor burn was so widespread, my teammates asked me who scratched my neck up and
down in that night’s game.
If I had to handle light shaving, I might be able to get away with the SensoTouch 3D. But I am a man.
A testosterone-filled man’s man with a man’s beard. I need a man’s electric razor and this one just does
not cut it. Until then, I will continue to wait for the Jordan of electric shavers.
Norelco SensoTouch 3D $199.99
For video reviews of Shane’s TECHed page, check out hoopmag.com
ProS:
+ Quick charging
+ Smooth finish on face
+ Wet/dry shaving
conS:
– Terrible razor burn
– Does poor job on the rough spots
– Can’t reach certain moustache areas
– Bulky, not ideal for travel
After seeing Shane’s ill-advised ’stache look, a razor review was in order.
where to buy:
philips-store.com
tech ed
Issac B
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n/n
BaE/G
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HOOP0102-TechEd.indd 89 12/15/10 1:49 PM
HOOP090 HOOP090
Converse
SicksPrice: $75.00
Weight (size 9): 14.25 oz.
Ektio
Post UpPrice: $199
Weight (size 9): 16 oz.
Now that Dwyane Wade has left the Converse roster, the brand can go
back to what it does best: making quality basketball shoes that won’t
cost a benjamin (Wade’s signature models were the only shoes in their
basketball lineup to be priced at $100). At $75, the Sicks gives great
bang for the buck.
Converse’s two big heritage pillars lies in the Chuck Taylor All Star
and the Weapon. The previously reviewed Star Player Evo (Nov/Dec
’10) takes inspiration from the Chucks while the Sicks is based off of the
Weapon. Fans of the Weapon will dig the Sicks’ similar DNA. Of course,
the updated amenities include a lighter weight without the stiff upper and
a slick visible Balls technology cushioning system (more on that later).
Fans of retro shoes (or those old enough to get nostalgic about it) will dig
the Sicks’ upper construction. Devoid of any mesh, patent or newfangled
tech, it’s almost a breath of fresh, but familiar, air in shoes. While it didn’t
knock our socks off in performance, the Sicks didn’t raise any red flags. In
every key performance area—lateral movement, stop-and-go, cushioning—
the Sicks met all minimum requirements. The cushioning, a full-length Balls
midsole (visible from a translucent outsole) gave a nice feel on landings,
although some testers lightly complained that it felt a little “mushy.” Overall
it felt a little like a softer version of Zoom Air. The one thing Sicks lacked
was a good traction; the combination of the translucent material and wide
pattern on the outsole made for some slipping.
Rarely is any shoe perfect, and the Sicks has its minor flaws, but at
such a budget-friendly price with some features of a shoe priced $15-20
higher, we highly recommend getting Sicks for your winter basketball
league or pickup gym.
Construction:
Comfort:
Playability:
Value:
Style:
Innovation:
gear
As any seasoned basketball player knows, the ankle sprain is as common
as a layup in the sport and it has left many a player sidelined. Start-up
brand, Ektio, makes big claims that its shoes will prevent ankles sprains.
Invented by a podiatrist and orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Barry Katz, the
Post Up’s two key features lies in the strap and the side bumpers on
the lateral side. Unlike most midstraps that are cosmetic and superficial,
the one found on Ektio shoes is more elaborate, going into the shoe
and cinching the foot down, essentially making it a built-in ankle brace.
The pronounced side bumpers jut out about half an inch from the shoe,
serving as an anti-roll guard for the foot.
In our testing, the shoe’s ability to prevent ankle sprains was
admittedly tough to prove or disprove. We couldn’t try to purposely turn
our ankles during testing. And while we’ve occasionally experienced an
ankle turning during testing, we’ll rarely ever note that, preferring to chalk
up the unfortunate mishap to to the law of averages.
The Post Up’s ankle brace does give a nice lockdown feel. We initially
imagined the side bumpers would limit our lateral movement, but were
proven wrong. The traction left a lot to be desired as the outsole’s wide
herringbone, one-piece design gave little court feel. The heavy upper left
the foot feeling like two pairs of shoes were being worn. Aesthetically,
the shoe isn’t too bad, save for the garish branding on the strap’s face.
It’s difficult to judge any product that touts a preventive device as its
main selling point. At this price point, it’s tough for us to recommend
it, especially since we don’t know for sure how well it works, but for
someone who suffers from chronic ankle ailments, the Post Up might
very well be a cure to your woes, which to us, makes this a specialty
product. For now, we’ll stick to advocating low-cut shoes for ankles since
it doesn’t restrict the foot’s natural movement.
Construction:
Comfort:
Playability:
Value:
Style:
Innovation:
CHeCK IT
HOOP0102-Gear.indd 90 12/15/10 4:12 PM
HOOP 091HOOP 091
adidas
InflitratePrice: $90
Weight (size 10): 16 oz.
Based on the AdiZero line that stresses speed through weight reduction,
the Infiltrate is team-based shoe that continues the philosophy. Ounces
are shaved off with breathable mesh replacing a large portion of the upper.
The heel counter and the ankle collar is patent with GeoFit (foam inserts
inside the foot collar that molds to your individual foot) on the inside. More
weight is jettisoned on the tongue that is comprised of more mesh.
We can’t say we loved the shoe’s design, but on the court, the Infiltrate
gave us a solid shoe to ball in. We were wary of the heel counter in the
beginning, but we didn’t encounter any negative feedback. The foot
stayed locked against the shoe the whole time. The outsole is similar
to the ones we’ve been seeing in adidas’ lineup this season: Three
PureMotion pods provide traction and responsiveness at key points of
foot and the wavy adiPrene outsole pattern gives good traction. We would
have preferred a lower ride, but our guess is that adidas had designed
the Infiltrate to be an all-around shoe for as many types of players, so they
tried to aim for a sweet spot down the middle. The other small gripe is the
stiffness of the forefoot where your foot bends the most. It required some
time to properly break it in before it stopped pinching down on the foot.
Otherwise, it’s a solid in every other performance area that hit average to
above average grades in mobility, cushioning and traction.
Adidas has had a solid lineup of performance shoes this season but
loses points again for playing it safe on design. Other than the AdiZero
Rose, every shoe from adidas has been a bit unimaginative. But as we
keep stressing, the style grade we dole out is the most subjective of all
and should be taken with a grain of salt.
Construction:
Comfort:
Playability:
Value:
Style:
Innovation:
Under Armour
Micro G Black IcePrice: $109.99
Weight (size 10.5): 14.75 oz.
It took almost two years since Brandon Jennings signed with Under Armour before his
signature joints hit the market. The Micro G coincides with the launch of the brand’s basketball
initiatives and Under Armour has put their money on Young Buck. On the court, Jennings did
not disappoint, putting up a debut that was good for third in ROY voting. His shoes did even
better; the fact that they weren’t available of them just stirred greater interest.
No strangers to footwear, UA has been a player in the football, baseball, soccer and
training categories. Aesthetically, the Micro G hits all the right notes for the fan of the
understated. The upper medial and lateral is a simple perforated pattern, topped off with
a irridescent top cap and a rubberized forefoot strap (more decorative than functional).
UA branding is found on the heel counter, the side of the toecap and the tongue. Jennings
markings? Nothing, save for his signature embroidered on the inner ankle collar.
With the swift guard in mind, the Micro G is not a big man shoe. The first thing you’ll
notice when you slip them on is the low ride. This is achieved by the Micro G, the low
compression foam that provides bounce back in a low profile package. The insoles are also
pretty high quality, something nice to see, especially reassuring at the shoe’s relatively
high price point. Micro G is very responsive and gives you the feeling of energy on the toes.
Lateral movement is excellent but the outsole felt a little stiff in the onset, but after some
ample break in, it went away. Traction could’ve been better. The translucent ice outsole has
a “shattered ice” pattern. Cool as it may look, it could be improved on with a tighter pattern.
Cushioning is good for a guard shoe, but as we said earlier, a big man should look elsewhere.
Overall, the Micro G is a worthy debut and competitors should take notice. The product
commands a high price tag but it’s also a premium product with high production values. The
tested colorway is based off the Bucks’ colors, but coincidentally it’s very similar to Gucci’s
signature colorway, for what it’s worth.
Construction:
Comfort:
Playability:
Value:
Style:
Innovation:
Where to Buy:
Converse Sicks: converse.com
Ektio Post Up: ektio.com
Under Armour Micro G: underarmour.com
adidas Infiltrate: adidasbasketball.com
HOOP0102-Gear.indd 91 12/15/10 4:12 PM
HOOP092
Li-Ning continues their push into the American market with the follow-
up to their US debut, the BD Doom, Baron Davis’ signature model. For
the sequel, Li-Ning doesn’t deviate too much from the original. Gone
are the holes that make up the BD Doom I’s upper; it’s replaced with
faux crocskin overlays and a unique accordian-like synthetic that makes
up the vamp (a boon for those who can’t stand their toe caps getting
creased up from wear). The crowd-pleasing Beardman logo makes a
return on the tongue, this time it’s encased in a bubble and serves as a
sleeve to tuck your shoe laces in. The DNA of the shoe stays the same—
it’s a rugged shoe that follows the lead of Davis, a beefy guard who
relies on power and size.
We had high hopes for the BD Defend initially since the shoe felt
very comfortable once our feet entered it. The good vibes ended when
we took it for a test ride. Our feet felt wobbly in the shoe, moving every
which way during cuts, so we made sure to strap on the shoe tighter.
It improved a little, but we still didn’t feel the shoe provided enough
stability. We couldn’t really isolate the problem, but narrowed it down to
three things: the lacing system that didn’t properly lock the feet down,
the inner foot bootie that could’ve been tighter on the foot and the
midsole (compressed foam) that left a rocking feeling between the upper
and the outsole.
The BD Defend is tough to recommend despite being pretty
comfortable. In fact, we regret to say we wouldn’t recommend it
as a basketball shoe. There was just too much movement in the foot
to our liking.
Construction:
Comfort:
Playability:
Value:
Style:
Innovation:
Nike
Zoom Kobe VIPrice: $130
Li-Ning
BD DefendPrice: $100
Weight (size 9): 16.75 oz.
gear
As of presstime, we were unable to
review the Zoom Kobe VI. Please log on
to hoopmag.com for the full review.
HOOP0102-Gear.indd 92 12/15/10 4:12 PM
HOOP 093
Nike
KD IIIPrice: $88
As of presstime, we were unable to
review the KD III. Please log on to
hoopmag.com for the full review.
Where to Buy:
Nike Zoom Kobe VI: nikebasketball.com
Nike KD III: nikebasketball.com
Li-Ning BD Defend: li-ningusa.com
CHeCK IT
By AXG #1KICKIN’ It with Evan turner
The Philadelphia 76ers’ top pick (second overall)
Evan Turner made headlines this summer after signing
a footwear deal with the Chinese based sports
footwear and apparel brand Li-Ning. Turner recently
expressed his thoughts on everything from why he
chose Li-Ning to his future aspirations with the brand.
Talk about your decision to go with a Chinese-based
company rather than starting your career with an
established domestic brand.
I think with anything you have to look at what’s best
for you in regards to this business. I thought Li-Ning
presented me with the best opportunity for things I
wanted to do. They’re going to headline me as one
of the main athletes and give me an opportunity to
start my own line. The better I play and the more
successful I get on the court will lead to better things
off the court and I feel that Li-Ning is coming up and
they’re going to make a big splash here if the right
steps are taken. They showed confidence in me, and
it’s a great opportunity. Li-Ning has a rich tradition in
China and they are looking at me to help them grow,
as I personally look to grow my brand.
How does it feel to enter the NBA with a shoe deal?
It’s pretty cool…it’s a dream come true! Not many
people have an opportunity to be a front man guy,
and as a kid you dream of being in the League, and
having your own shoe.
Was Li-Ning giving you your own brand something
that Nike or adidas didn’t offer you?
Yeah...I think they really didn’t need it, you know.
Nike definitely really didn’t need it—they’ve got like
50 players. Jordan didn’t really need it...sometimes
you have to go to other spots. You see John [Wall]
went to Reebok—I had to go across the waters, so
it’s all about being realistic of doing what’s best for
you once again and just start off right. I want to help
carry the brand from China to get people to wear the
brand here in the United States.
Were you able to speak to some of the other
Li-Ning athletes…did you speak to Baron Davis
about Li-Ning before you signed…and now you
join him as an ambassador...what have you learned
from him?
No, I haven’t spoken to him or Shaq about them
yet…but, I know Baron Davis has a great deal...they
really market him well overseas, and he has his own
line. I’m pretty sure he’s happy about that.
You flew to China this summer…what was that
experience like?
I had never been to China before, and they are
basketball crazy over there! I flew first class 13.5
hours from DC with my mom and agent…and I got
the full experience, including a trip to see the
Great Wall.
One of the good things is that besides basketball,
I feel that I’m in a good situation with [Li-Ning]…
off the court and on the court. I took a tour of their
campus and saw the future direction of the brand.
Were you able to try on and play in the footwear
before signing the deal?
I tried them on and saw a couple of pairs. I just
figured shoes are shoes…I’ve never been the type of
guy to say I need these shoes or this and that. [Most
shoes] are made in China, so it’s all good.
Now it’s your turn to follow in that same path, or
create your own.
Yeah, definitely…like I said, I want to build the
Li-Ning brand here in the United States, as well as
establish myself as a brand.
HOOP0102-Gear.indd 93 12/15/10 4:12 PM
HOOP094
gear
CHeCK IT
For more:
LOG ON TO HOOPMAG.COMFollow us on
Facebook (HOOP Magazine)
and Twitter (@hoopmag)
Where to Buy:
adidas Beast Commander: adidasbasketball.com
adidas
Beast CommanderPrice: $100
Weight (size 9): 15 oz.
Dwight Howard, the Three Stripes brand’s other premier athlete (along
with Derrick Rose) also gets his signature model, the Beast Commander.
Like Slim Chin proclaims from his lady pyramid: “Fast Don’t Lie” so like
Rose’s adiZero Rose, the Beast Commander is all about speed.
Staring with its light weight, the BC features the same SprintSkin
insets that drops ounces off the shoe’s weight, while maintaining
integrity, and offering breathability. Although tailored for Howard, his
unique athleticism at his size makes him anything but the traditional big
man; the shoe reflects that as it’s not the typical chunky, heel-oriented
cushioning, heavy shoe. The chassis is actually very similar to the adiZero
Rose, the biggest difference being the addition of PureMotion pods in
the heel and midfoot (adiZero Rose only has them in forefoot). The pods
are based on the natural contact points of a foot and is essentially an
evolution from the Feet You Wear tech from adidas’ archives. The pods
do an excellent job providing some cushioning and traction. The midfoot
pods feature an east-west direction for lateral movement while the
forefoot and heel pods are north-south for stop-and-gos. The outsole’s
circular grid pattern gives great traction as the little circles grip the foot
like suction cups, while the midfoot Torsion System gives stability. The
low-profile mid and outsole (one of the lowest we’ve experienced in a
shoe made for a big man) makes us think even a guard can wear the BC.
The BC’s design was a bit unimaginative, surprising given the fact that
Howard has such a gregarious personality. Other than a few call-outs
to Howard—signature on ankle collar, “Man Child” on tongue and a
“Hey Wooooooooooooooooooorld!” (@DwightHoward Twitter followers
should be all too familiar) on the heel lateral—it’s pretty bland. We want to
stress that we didn’t hate the BC’s looks, we just wish it could’ve been
more. Performance-wise, it’s one of the best and most versatile shoes
we’ve come across this season.
Construction:
Comfort:
Playability:
Value:
Style:
Innovation:
HOOP0102-Gear.indd 94 12/15/10 4:12 PM
we are youth basketball
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Untitled-3 1 Untitled-3 1 10/21/10 1 1:22 A M10/21/10 11:22 AM
HOOP096
wear
(Clockwise from top left) Columbia
Heat Elite Jacket, $170; Reebok x
Pickyourshoes.com Iverson 2000 All-
Star Pack, $109.99; Reebok Rebound
Vulc Low, $54.99;
Their line of battery-powered boots might be a little extreme in the name of staying warm, but Columbia’s Omni-Heat technology doesn’t require any recharging between wears. The lining is actually comprised of little silver dots that reflect the body’s heat back; Columbia claims this will keep you 20 percent warmer than typical linings. The space between the dots allows the jacket to vent excess heat and moisture out, making sure you don’t get too hot and sweaty.
It was All-Star 2000 in Oakland and Allen Iverson was supposed to lace up these Question Mid make-ups during the game. But he didn’t. The Answer would’ve copped MVP had the East not lost as he scored 26 points and dropped 9 dimes in the losing effort. A decade later, these golden Questions are now seeing the light of day as a pickyourshoes.com exclusive. Based off of the Golden State Warriors’ gold and navy, the Question Mid comes with a matching Deuce Brand watch, Good Wood NYC beaded bracelet and a mouse pad (not pictured).
HOOP0102-Wear.indd 96 12/15/10 1:45 PM
HOOP 097
CHeCK IT(Clockwise from right) Rumba Mercer
Collection Watch, $175 (each); The
North Face Decker Jacket, $149; Reebok Dash Runner, $64.99
Where to Buy:
Columbia Heat Elite Jacket: columbia.com;
Reebok x Pickyourshoes.com Iverson 2000
All-Star Pack: pickyourshoes.com; Reebok
Rebound Vulc Low: reebok.com; Rumba Mercer
Collection Watch: rumbatime.com; The North
Face Decker Jacket: thenorthface.com; Reebok
Dash Runner: reebok.com
HOOP0102-Wear.indd 97 12/15/10 1:45 PM
HOOP098
(Clockwise from right) LRG On to
the Next One Beanie, $18; New
Balance Sonic 1574, $85; Columbia
Bugathermo Techlite, $350; adidas
Originals Fortitude Mid, $90;
HOOP0102-Wear.indd 98 12/15/10 1:46 PM
HOOP 099
CHeCK IT
wear
(Clockwise from top) Timberland Earthkeepers Cupsole 2.0 Canvas Deck Chukka, $80; adidas Originals, Superstar 2 (Hemp Pack), $60; LRG Dart Academy M65 Jacket, $110
Where to Buy:
LRG On to the Next One Beanie, Dart Academy M65
Jacket: l-r-g.com; New Balance Sonic 1574: newbalance.
com; Columbia Bugathermo Techlite: columbia.com;
adidas Originals Fortitude Mid: David Z and Dr. Jay’s
in New York City; Superstar 2 Hemp: journeys.com;
Timberland Earthkeepers Cupsole 2.0 Canvas Deck
Chukka: timberland.com
HOOP0102-Wear.indd 99 12/15/10 1:46 PM
HOOP100
CHECK IT
(Clockwise from top left) LRG Core
Collection Overshirt, $84; adidas
Originals Freemont Mid Snoop, $95;
P.F. Flyers Center Hi, $55
wEar
Multiplatinum-selling hip-hop artist. Actor. Reality TV star. Now you can add shoe designer to the long list of things that Snoop Dogg has accomplished in his career. Collaborating with adidas, Snoop has designed his own basketball lifestyle shoe, the Freemont Mid Snoop, that drew inspiration from his team, the L.A. Lakers. Laker purple and gold accent a premium leather upper sits atop a vulcanized sole for the laid-back California vibe. The shoes will also hook with a coordinating adidas track suit and be available exclusively at Shiekh’s in Los Angeles beginning February 18.
HOOP0102-Wear.indd 100 12/15/10 3:44 PM
HOOP 101
(Clockwise from right) Columbia Vector Parka, $224; adidas Originals Ace Driver (Driving), $70; Abington 7-Eyelet Moc Boot, $180
Where to Buy:
LRG Core Collection Overshirt: l-r-g.com; adidas Originals
Freemont Mid Snoop: Shiekh’s in Los Angeles (available
February 18) adidas Originals Ace Driver (Driving):
journeys.com; P.F. Flyers Center Hi: pfflyers.com;
Columbia Vector Parka: columbia.com; Abington 7-Eyelet
Moc Boot: abington.timberland.com
HOOP0102-Wear.indd 101 12/15/10 1:46 PM
HOOP102
STEP BACK
D. Clarke evan
s/nBae/G
etty ImaG
es
Febrary 28, 1998 san antonIo spurs vs. phIlaDelphIa 76ers alamodome, san antonio
In their lone meeting in the Lone Star State in 1997-98, the Spurs defeated the Sixers, 100-88.
Coleman (1990), Iverson (1996) and Duncan (1997) were all No. 1 picks in the NBA Draft.
The flight from Philadelphia to San Antonio is 1,507 miles according to TravelMath.com.
The Spurs played at the Alamodome from 1993-2002, including Games 1 and 2 of the 1999 Finals, in which they won their first championship.
D. Clarke Evans has been the Spurs’ team photographer since 1989.
Tim Duncan led the way on this night, recording 27 points and 17 boards in the win. Derrick Coleman scored 35 for Philly.
Duncan would go on to win NBA Rookie of the Year honors in ’97-98, a year after Iverson earned the award.
Iverson was named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player in 2001. Duncan won the following two MVP trophies.
The popular playmaker scored a career-high 60 points on 2/12/05 vs. Orlando.
After going unsigned by an NBA team this past offseason, Iverson signed a two-year contract with the Turkish club Besiktas in October. His debut was broadcast on NBA TV.
Theo Ratliff has played for nine teams over his 16 NBA seasons, including two stints with Philadelphia.
Coleman was traded from New Jersey to Philadelphia in November 1995 in a multi-player deal for Shawn Bradley.
An 11-time NBA All-Star, Iverson started for the Eastern Conference in his final All-Star appearance, last season at Cowboys Stadium.
A.I. averaged 26.7 points and 6.2 assists a game over 14 NBA seasons, won four NBA scoring titles and led the Sixers to the 2001 Finals.
HOOP0102-Stepback.indd 102 12/13/10 8:52 PM
WATCH YOUR FAVORITE TEAM,
AT HOME, ON THE ROAD,–ANYWHERE
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CALL YOUR LOCAL CABLE, SATELLITE, OR TELCO PROVIDER TODAY
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TEAM_League P ass.indd 1 TEAM_League Pass.indd 1 12/2/10 6 :06 P M12/2/10 6:06 PM
Does Carmelo anthony make the graDe?
Garrett e
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HOOP104
final exam
HOOP0102-FinalExam.indd 104 12/13/10 8:45 PM
XL Parts.indd 1 11/24/10 3:34 PM
If your day had its own highlight reel, would your commute be on it? With the 274-hp,
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Gunning past Granny
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April 22nd, 8:21:07 am
Initiative.indd 1 Initiative.indd 1 11/23/10 3 :24 P M11/23/10 3:24 PM
