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Retired NBA point guard Jason Williams, known as White Chocolate, threw an amazing pass in an overseas game. You need to see the video clip:
That’s just an absolutely beautiful assist. J-Will’s creativity with the basketball is really something special.
Here’s a video clip of Michael Jordan dunking at age 50 while messing around on the court with some young players:
It’s a simple basic dunk, but still: All hail the legendary Air Jordan!
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The player with perhaps the most interesting perspective on Jason Kidd as an NBA coach is new Nets guard Jason Terry, who just two years ago won a championship with Kidd as a backcourt mate with the Mavericks. Kidd will take over the Nets just months after being an active player with the Knicks, and there are concerns about whether he can lead a veteran team with championship aspirations.
Terry does not have those concerns.
“We were in about a two-hour film session in the playoffs in Portland and we couldn’t figure out one coverage in the zone,” Terry recalls. “J-Kidd was finally like, ‘We’re going to figure it out. Let me handle it. Coach [Rick] Carlisle, trust me, we’re going to get it done.’ That game we used a zone and ended up winning and that was an example right there that he was a coach and ready for the moment.”
Terry said the first thing he did when the trade was consummated was send a text to Kidd, requesting he eventually save a spot on his staff for Terry, who has coaching aspirations.
Reported by Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe
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LeBron James can opt of his contract with the Miami Heat in July 2014. It will be yearlong story, and James said he understands that.
But the four-time NBA MVP and back-to-back champion isn’t quite ready to go there yet.
“It’s too early (to talk about),” James told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “I will get to a point where I have to cross that, but I haven’t really thought about it.”
James, 28, averaged 26.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 7.3 assists in leading the Heat to a Finals victory over the San Antonio Spurs in seven games this past season.
His ability to opt out and become a free agent at the end of next season could become an even bigger story.
Reported by Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio
The Oklahoma City Thunder used to be the Seattle SuperSonics. Kevin Durant’s NBA career began in Seattle. And in the Jamal Crawford Pro Am Seattle game, Kevin Durant took a reported 62 shots to finish with 63 points. According to Ball is Life, his team ended up losing 147-141 in OT.
There are also tons of highlights from Jamal Crawford himself, who reportedly scored 46 points.
Here’s the fun video:
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If anyone had predicted a few months ago that guard O.J. Mayo would be the Milwaukee Bucks’ highest-paid player next season, the remark likely would have generated a few laughs.
Strange but true.
The 25-year-old guard signed a three-year, $24 million free-agent deal with Milwaukee last month and his $8 million salary is tops on the team for the 2013-’14 season, just above the $7.9 million owed to power forward Ersan Ilyasova.
The Bucks tried to sign point guard Jeff Teague to a four-year, $32 million deal but had the offer matched by the Atlanta Hawks.
Instead they made a trade with Detroit that landed 21-year-old point guard Brandon Knight, who is still on his rookie-scale contract and will make $2.9 million next season.
Bucks general manager John Hammond worked tirelessly during July to reshape the roster and start a rebuilding process that he hopes will pay dividends in the future.
The approach was to acquire young talent to build around 24-year-old Larry Sanders and 22-year-old John Henson; and also to sign veterans (Zaza Pachulia, Luke Ridnour and Carlos Delfino) to contribute and provide leadership in the locker room.
Reported by Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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Irving’s future in Cleveland has been a topic of conversation since a New York radio host insisted on Twitter that Irving wouldn’t remain in Cleveland for long. Irving dismissed the report during a Team USA minicamp last month in Las Vegas, saying he was excited about the moves the organization made this summer and that “I’m a Cavalier right now. I’m happy to be a Cavalier.” Irving was asked Saturday why he qualified that with “right now.”
“Right now I’m a Cavalier. This is where I am. All that future stuff, I’m not really worried about,” Irving said. “I’m living in the moment right now and I’m just trying to get better with the teammates I have now and make the playoffs for Cleveland. That’s the only thing I can do right now is give it my all as it stands right now and that future stuff, I’m not really worried about it.”
The Cavs control Irving’s rights for three more seasons, and it’s worth noting no player has ever turned down a max contract coming off his rookie deal.
Reported by Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal
Shaq and Lamar Odom have scored a huge victory over the snake oil salesmen at Power Balance — the company that duped athletes into believing its hologram bracelets could provide super-strength — because it just agreed to fork over $287,000 to get the NBA stars off its back.
TMZ broke the story … Shaq and Odom filed legal docs in PB’s bankruptcy case, claiming they were owed money for their involvement in the company. Lamar was an investor. Shaq was a paid spokesperson.
Shaq originally demanded $308,961 and Lamar $133,870 — but according to new court docs, they both agreed to take a little less after settlement negotiations … Shaq got $200,310 and Lamar $87,015.
Reported by TMZ.com
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The night was already memorable for the students at St. Vincent-St.Mary’s High School.
On Saturday, they were the lucky recipients of new athletic uniforms for all sporting teams donated by the school’s most famous alum.
Still, LeBron James wanted to make it even more special.
And that he did.
James surprised the student body by participating in the runaway fashion show that debuted the new threads. Just as they were about to announce the presentation was over, Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” began to play over the loud speakers at the football field.
That is when James surfaced through a cloud of smoke wearing the all-black football uniform. He sported a No. 9 jersey, the same he wore in high school before giving up football after his junior season to focus on basketball. Students realized it was James when he made it to the end of the runaway, mobbing him before he removed his helmet.
Reported by Shandel Richardson of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel
MORE: Here’s a photo of the event.
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Zeller, the fourth overall pick in June, found a place to live in Charlotte two weeks ago and is now buying furnishings. He joked on Twitter recently that his mother sent him to IKEA to start living like a grown-up.
The little bit of basketball Zeller has played so far as a Bobcat went exceedingly well. He was named to the all-tournament team at Las Vegas Summer League, after averaging 16.3 points and 9.3 rebounds in four games.
New Bobcats coach Steve Clifford gave Zeller plenty of freedom to experiment offensively away from the basket. Zeller was pleasantly surprised how much NBA rules (defensive three-seconds and no-handchecking dribblers) opened up the lane for his drives.
“First time in a while it didn’t seem like there were six or seven guys waiting for me in the lane,” Zeller said.
The thing that came across most in Zeller’s Las Vegas performance was his remarkable speed and quickness for a 7-footer.
Reported by Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer