24 And Counting

If you haven't caught SportsCenter in the past 12 hours or so, just thought you should know that The Miami Heat are on a 24-game win streak, closing in on a 40-year-old record set by Wilt Chamberlain's Lakers of 33 straight. In doing so, they obliterated a TWENTY-SEVEN point (27!!) lead the Cleveland Cavaliers had over them in the third quarter of last nights game. Also, there was a rain delay, a crazed teen boy stormed the court, LeBron nabbed a triple-double, and...well folks, March Madness came early and those college kids can't hold a candle to what's going on in Miami right now. Watch the videos!

23! Plus, the new DUNK OF THE YEAR!!

LeBron James officially began his hunt for supremacy when he led his team to the finals, for the third time, and captured title number one in 2012. In rising to the top, personally, I value variety. I believe there are many ways to achieve basketball greatness, and the ultimate champion and dominant superstar must seek out weakness and overcome it in many forms on the way to new feats. Wilt obliterated most every scoring record and rebound stat there is on his way to a couple championships. Larry Bird and Magic Johnson snagged MVP's, scoring records, triple-doubles, 3-point contests, and vanquished each others' squad year-in and year-out, adding notches to their belts along the way. And Michael topped them all, in my opinion, with everything from Rookie of the Year and Dunk contest champ, to Defensive Player of the Year and best team record ever. Well, now LeBron adds a new piece to his status: 23 wins in a row...and counting! Few phenomena heighten the excitement and hype during the NBA regular season like a streaking team on fire. With the Heat, the ball moves all game long. The two best one-on-one players (perhaps in the world) are kicking the ball out to the perimeter, finding the open man, and moving that rock. It's fun to watch. It's intelligent basketball. Everyone stays interested, everyone's engaged and asked to fill their role. It's working and it's producing wins, lasting habits, and occasionally, some of the nastiest highlights ESPN can handle (see above). King James returns again to Cleveland tonight to stretch it to 24. Dan Gilbert...looking at you, dude.

The King's Dream

I had heard about this mentoring session, but never saw the footage. This is it. This is the reason. It's the reason the smaller Heat team has won. It's the reason James' shooting percentage has improved. It's the reason the Heat will continue to contend for a title. The best player in the world, leading the best team in the world, seeks out the perfect "post" exemplar to learn footwork and balance and how to approach the game. Others have sought out the wise basketball sage before, but others haven't had the combination of size, skill, power, and quickness. Others weren't already dubbed "the greatest", and LeBron has used these lessons to put together one of the more dominant seasons as a result. I love the patience and the attentiveness shown by James. He's respectfully stealing some of the nicest moves and "shakes" to ever grace the hardwood. This is probably some of the most boring footage to many people that stumble upon it on YouTube, but for me, it is a unique look into the beautiful subtleties of basketball. It's reminiscent of so many Saturday mornings in the gym. It's something the kids should all pay close attention to. Skip ahead to 07:58, and hear the brief conversation between Olajuwon and James. It's like poetry.

This is RAD...FANTASTIC!

My first recollection of NBA basketball is a Lakers/Celtics game, must've been on network TV, CBS most likely, since we didn't have cable until 1990 in our home. A guy from the neighborhood was watching me while my family was out somewhere and he HAD TO WATCH THIS BASKETBALL GAME! I was intrigued by the fascination by both my sitter, and the TV sounds blaring. I didn't understand it, I was 6 or 7-years-old, but I was conscious of it. What a time for basketball! High socks and short shorts. We welcomed the leagues biggest stars ever that decade, and prepped for an international media coverage explosion in the decade to come. Something a bit innocent about those 80's games though. Sometimes I DO wish I could go back, if only for a moment, to see fat Frank Layden on the Utah Jazz bench, an HIV-free Magic throwing no-looks live, and a young Michael Jordan, with a slight layer of hair and the exuberance of a pre-championship scoring machine. Pro basketball is now found on four major networks and can be seen in its entirety on satellite and cable specialty packages. A little of the mystery has left her. We hear about every meal and scandal the players and coaches are having on a daily basis, instead of having to wait each couple weeks for the Sports Illustrated to clue us in. I'm not complaining, the NBA is an entertaining, fascinating show still. I just don't know which is "better", THEN or NOW.

Drop Ya Sneakas!

If you take comfort and performance, factor in style, image, and the players that wore them, and rank the best basketball sneakers of all-time, you'd get (In descending order from 15 to 1):

15. NIKE Air Force One. Never owned a pair

14. Converse The Weapon. Got some Bird version hand-me-downs for a bit.

13. NIKE Delta Force. I sported the grey with black swoosh.

12. Nike Air Huarache. I think Nate Larson had a pair of these after he wore out his ENORMOUS NIKE Pump David Robinson's.

11. Nike Flight '89. There's a black suede retro pair of these in my closet now.

10. From Dominique to Dee Brown, these babies were one of three pair of shoes I had in the 6th grade.

9. Nike Dunk. Lowtops MAY be even better, but either are sick. I've rocked low and high in my Dunks.

8. Reebok Question. One of the most popular, long-selling, durable shoes on the court. I had this exact red hightop. Preferred playing dunkball in them.

7. Nike Air Flight 1995. Brian Beckstrand let me wear his pair in the 1996 Utah 3A State Championship game...which I watched from the bench. I looked GOOD.

6. Nike LeBron 1. Great grip and fit to this lean, light shoe. I went with the 100% white, just because.

5. Nike Air Penny. Anfernee Hardaway burned bright for two and a half years, but his shoe will live on. Great design. Very comfortable. Took Neil Blake's pair from his room for a week or two. He's got more than he needs...I thought to myself.

4. Nike Air Max (Barkley). Now we're getting serious. Had these when they first came out, in '93, and again in 2007. Love the build and shape. So tough, so Sir Charles!

3. Nike Air Jordan IV.  Hello lowtops. MJ introduced these as he began to play point guard, push the Bulls into Championship striking distance, and if I hadn't experienced a home break-in in December of 2007, I'd probably still have a retro pair on me.

2. Air Jordan XI. Biggest Air Jordan seller ever. Amazing look and feel. Worn by the man who lead his team to a record 72-10 season. So sleek, so high-class. Legendary.

1. Nike Air Jordan III. In 1988, Michael Jordan electrified the NBA and the basketball world, with style, flare, and dominance on the court, winning league MVP, Slam Dunk Champion, Defensive Player of the Year, Scoring Leader, and pushing the Bulls deep into the playoffs. The shoe itself is innovative and fairly simplistic, compared to other models. But this shoe is the PERFECT shape and curves JUST RIGHT. The elephant skin works so well, it almost gets me emotional everytime. Got a pair in my closet this day. Hands down, the greatest shoe ever made.

Just Silly

In the aftermath of this beautifully devastating act...which may have been one of the best "in-game" dunks ever, a man named Adrian Wojnarowski "Yahoo Expert", wrote an article containing the following: For everyone celebrating Jordan's fantastic lob dunk over a guard some 8 inches shorter and 80 pounds lighter, they've made Knight an object of ridicule. A widely followed parody account of comedian Kevin Hart tweeted that Jordan had been brought up on "charges of rape & aggravated assault against Brandon Knight," and tombstones declaring Knight dead were popping up on the Internet.

Brandon Knight was giving up some 8 inches and 80 pounds to DeAndre Jordan. (AP)

The message is clear to players everywhere, on every level: Run away. Hide. Don't try to take the charge. Don't try to disrupt the play. There's no reward. This is how backward the basketball culture has become, how twisted the value system. 

Missing the point entirely, and clearly speaking from the vantage point of an uptight...well, geek, who probably never played the game of basketball, Wojnarowski needs to realize that ANYBODY that knows anything about the game, especially at this level, is even IMPLYING that Brandon Knight shouldn't have defended this play, or that he's wrong for trying. It's silly to exclaim that somehow, comedians and fans responding on the internet to this play is evidence of basketball culture being twisted and backward! It's irresponsible and ridiculous, actually. Makes me a bit ill knowing this fellow has full-time work writing for Yahoo. Brandon Knight didn't have a chance of stopping this play. He just didn't. Nobody was going to stop Deandre Jordan on this play. It was ugly from a defensive or a Detroit point of view, and it was spectacular to everybody else. Knight himself took the monstrous dunk in stride tweeting,"It wasn't in the scouting reports that the clippers threw lobs lol." He sees the fun and humor in it, Mr. Wojnarowski, so why are you paid to write absurd articles making insane claims and taking shots at the ENTIRE CULTURE OF BASKETBALL!? Basketball is fun and exciting and, from a cultural standpoint, is as healthy as ever, with players that excel at both ends of the court, players that are rewarded for playing defense, like Chandler, Noah and Love, and your commentary, like Knight's shoulders, neck, and hips, is what is twisted here. Good day sir!

The Greatest Posters of All-Time

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the greatest NBA posters ever made to be hung on your wall...

Harlem Shake: Champion Edition

I must admit, being a white Mormon over 30, no matter my affinity for rap music or basketball culture and cultures, renders me a bit lost when trying to explain the above phenomenon featured in this video. It IS, however, pretty funny and slightly entertaining. Looks like it's fun to be King.