NBA Posts:

LeBron James Hasn’t Changed Much in Ten Years

By Eric Gray | January 14, 2013 @ 10:00 am

LeBron James in Sacramento in 2003 and 2013

LeBron James made his NBA debut in 2003 on the road in Sacramento. LeBron proved he belonged immediately, scoring 25 points, grabbing nine boards, dishing six assists and getting four steals.

That pic on the left is from that game, and the pic on the right is from Saturday when the Heat blew out the Kings in Sacramento. The only difference in the two photos in LeBron's uniform. The same photographer even took both pictures.

via @NBA

Metta World Peace Spreads the Love After a Sweet And One Play

By Eric Gray | January 14, 2013 @ 9:40 am

Metta World Peace finishes a great play with a kiss

Steal the Ball, Steal a Kiss?

The Lakers got their first win of 2013, beating the woeful Cavaliers 113-93 at Staples Center. The game was never really in question after the first quarter, though L.A. did let Cleveland cut the lead in the second half.

It was Metta World Peace who showed his softer side during one sequence. MWP makes a steal, take the ball the distance and goes up for a dunk, gets fouled and gets a friendly bounce as the ball shot up off the rim, then fell back through for the and one. Then MWP walks to the front row and gives an unsuspecting lady fan a tender kiss on the hand. That's a far cry from the Malice in the Palace.

Here’s Shane Battier Singing ‘The Love Boat’ Theme Because Why the Hell Not?

By Eric Gray | January 10, 2013 @ 11:45 am

No. Just no.

Battier Face

Shane Battier is a man of many faces Read More »

Miami Heat forward Shane Battier was clearly not meant to be a singer. Still, Battier didn't let that small fact get in the way of him completely murdering the theme to 1970s and 80s classic camp TV show The Love Boat. The logical question of course is why in the world is Battier torturing our ears like this?

It's actually for a good reason, but I'm not sure that makes it okay. It's Battier's way of promoting his second annual 'South Beach Battioke' celebrity karaoke fundraiser. The money raised benefits the Shane Battier Take Charge foundation. I can't be the only one not surprised that a Duke guy would name his foundation Take Charge, right? Good for you, Battier, but please stop singing.

Here’s an NBA Referee Explaining That He’s Stalling the Game for the TV Commericals

By Eric Gray | January 10, 2013 @ 9:33 am

Referee explains that he's stalling for the TV commercials

Because TV Rules Everything

During last night's Spurs and Lakers game, there was an odd delay where the players were just standing around the court after a timeout. Turns out the refs were holding the game up because the TV commercials had to run and the NBA and ESPN don't really care for action to start before the cameras are ready.

This happens all the time, but you rarely (or never) get to hear a ref spelling it out like this. Mike D'Antoni had called a 20 second timeout, but had used it already, but before that could get cleared up, the network had gone to commercial. So while play was ready to be resumed, ESPN wasn't back from their break yet. At least it looked like Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan were having a good time together.

Jeff Green Provides Back-to-Back Highlights on Emotional Anniversary

By Eric Gray | January 10, 2013 @ 8:50 am

Boston's Jeff Green throws down two consecutive dunks

Back-to-back Dunks Gets You In The Highlight Reels

Boston Celtics forward Jeff Green scored a team high 14 points in their win over Phoenix, and he brought the home crowd to its feet on consecutive plays last night with two rim rattling dunks. All of this on the one year anniversary of his open heart surgery.

Green drove the lane and threw down a sick one handed dunk right on Jermaine O'Neal's headband, then Boston got the ball back and Green finished off the break by catching a lob pass and crushing that. Green had to have major heart surgery and missed all of last season because of it. Good to see him at full health.

Celebrate the NBA Possibly Going Back to Seattle with Some Vintage Supersonics Photos

By Eric Gray | January 9, 2013 @ 12:35 pm

View the Gallery / 8 Photos »

The NBA may be heading back to Seattle with a deal pending for the Sacramento Kings to be sold to a Seattle investment group. Curiously, ESPN hasn't reported this news despite it being tweeted more than 90 minutes ago by Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski. They really hate being scooped, but even when they are, they throw the 'sources' label on it and get it out there. Anyway, to celebrate the probably imminent return of the NBA to Seattle, here's a look back at some old photos of the Sonics' glory days in the 90s when Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp made the team contenders.

I've included a few from the 1995 Finals between the Sonics and Bulls as well. I know the Kings aren't the Sonics, but the fans in Seattle aren't going to complain. Though they did show their displeasure with the Thunder making the Finals last season. Guess having Kevin Durant for one season, only to see him and the team shipped to Oklahoma City would make any fan kind of angry.

Seattle May Get an NBA Team Back Very Soon

By Eric Gray | January 9, 2013 @ 11:02 am

The final season of Supersonics basketball in 2008

Seattle, which had its NBA team ripped away after the 2007-08 season, may be getting a second chance at getting a team again. Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski just tweeted this:

The Maloofs are finalizing an agreement to sell the Sacramento Kings to the Hansen-Ballmer led Seattle group, sources tell Yahoo! Sports.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) January 9, 2013

Seattle was regarded as having one of the best fan bases in the league, and the city has never forgiven Clay Bennett for moving the team to Oklahoma City to become the Thunder. Sacramento Kings' owners, the Maloof brothers, had been trying to relocate the team to Virginia, but that fell apart. It's a surprise that the Maloofs would sell the team, but I guess they're over it.