Sports Illustrated will announce its choice for Sportsman of the Year on Nov. 30. Here's one of the nominations for that honor by an SI writer.
How much taller is LeBron James than you?
"A season for the ages," commissioner David Stern said of this NBA year gone by. But I prefer to view it as a recasting of the 1980s: The names have changed, but the dynamics are familiar.
After his jump shot cleared the outstretched hand of Hedo Turkoglu and buried itself in the back of the net, Lakers guard Kobe Bryant turned and pumped his fist. Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy called a timeout. He should have waved a white flag. Though more than eight minutes remained, the smile on Bryant's face as he jogged to the Los Angeles bench explained everything. The Lakers were minutes away from clinching the NBA title, and Bryant had led them there.
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Where does Kobe Bryant rate among the modern superstar NBA champions? Here is a good place to start:
Look how I've changed, the young Kobe might have said.
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Forgive me, Kobe, but these NBA Finals are all about Shaq. Can Los Angeles ever win a championship without Shaq? That's what the Lakers are trying to prove. Will Orlando ever overcome the departure of Shaq? That's what the Magic are trying to prove.
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Judging by their scorching early shooting percentages, it seemed the Lakers and Magic had made some tacit agreement to avoid playing defense in Game 3 of the NBA Finals. So it must have shocked Lakers guard Kobe Bryant when Magic guard Mickael Pietrus reached in and stripped away the basketball with 30 seconds remaining and the fate of the series in the balance.
This story appears in the June 15, 2009, issue of Sports Illustrated. To subscribe to the magazine, click here.
LOS ANGELES -- Pressure is a strange dynamic in this city of tea drinkers. My theory about basketball audiences is that they behave like they're sipping green tea here, while in the northeastern basketball capitals of New York and Philadelphia and Boston the fans like their beer, and then of course in Europe they are fueled by shot after shot of espresso.
Sports Illustrated will announce its choice for Sportsman of the Year on Nov. 30. Here's one of the nominations for that honor by an SI writer.
How much taller is LeBron James than you?
"A season for the ages," commissioner David Stern said of this NBA year gone by. But I prefer to view it as a recasting of the 1980s: The names have changed, but the dynamics are familiar.
After his jump shot cleared the outstretched hand of Hedo Turkoglu and buried itself in the back of the net, Lakers guard Kobe Bryant turned and pumped his fist. Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy called a timeout. He should have waved a white flag. Though more than eight minutes remained, the smile on Bryant's face as he jogged to the Los Angeles bench explained everything. The Lakers were minutes away from clinching the NBA title, and Bryant had led them there.
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Where does Kobe Bryant rate among the modern superstar NBA champions? Here is a good place to start:
Look how I've changed, the young Kobe might have said.
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Forgive me, Kobe, but these NBA Finals are all about Shaq. Can Los Angeles ever win a championship without Shaq? That's what the Lakers are trying to prove. Will Orlando ever overcome the departure of Shaq? That's what the Magic are trying to prove.
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Judging by their scorching early shooting percentages, it seemed the Lakers and Magic had made some tacit agreement to avoid playing defense in Game 3 of the NBA Finals. So it must have shocked Lakers guard Kobe Bryant when Magic guard Mickael Pietrus reached in and stripped away the basketball with 30 seconds remaining and the fate of the series in the balance.
This story appears in the June 15, 2009, issue of Sports Illustrated. To subscribe to the magazine, click here.
LOS ANGELES -- Pressure is a strange dynamic in this city of tea drinkers. My theory about basketball audiences is that they behave like they're sipping green tea here, while in the northeastern basketball capitals of New York and Philadelphia and Boston the fans like their beer, and then of course in Europe they are fueled by shot after shot of espresso.
LOS ANGELES -- As the Lakers and Magic prepped for Game 1 of the NBA Finals, LeBron James was undergoing five hours of dental surgery to remove a benign growth from his right jaw. Which was less painful than the metaphorical dental surgery he had to endure later.
LOS ANGELES -- This was a portrait of the teenager as an old man.
Kobe Bryant inspired the Los Angeles Lakers to a dominant 100-75 home win over Orlando Magic in the first game of the 2009 NBA Finals.
SI.com NBA writers analyze the storylines and matchups in this year's Finals.
SI.com's Ian Thomsen spoke with an NBA advance scout to break down the Magic-Lakers Finals matchup.
Before the championship is won, the champion must respect and understand his opponent. So what goes through Kobe Bryant's mind as he sizes up Dwight Howard?
On the night of his league's draft lottery, NBA commissioner David Stern engaged in a little ping-pong of his own with reporters. During a lively Q&A session with the press, Stern was asked about the importance of LeBron James making the NBA Finals. "You mean as opposed to Dwight Howard, Carmelo Anthony or Kobe Bryant?" Stern said. "None. We have nothing but stars. We should be called NBS instead of NBA."
DENVER -- There will be no Game 7 in the Western Conference Finals because Kobe Bryant decided he'd had enough. Enough of Nuggets defenders poking him in the midsection as he elevated from the perimeter and slapping his forehead as he released his shots. Enough of Dahntay Jones, J.R. Smith, Linas Kleiza and Chauncey Billups bumping him like he was a running back hitting the hole and not a shooting guard looking for a seam. Enough of a city and a town that brings back too many bad memories. Enough of all of it. It was time to go home.
There are certain things we're pretty much guaranteed to see Wednesday in Game 5 of the Lakers-Nuggets series. They include:
The NBA playoffs got downright nasty Wednesday night with three incidents that found their way to the desk of league disciplinary czar Stu Jackson. On Thursday afternoon, the league announced Orlando's Rafer Alston and the Lakers' Derek Fisher would each be suspended for a game and that Kobe Bryant would be assessed a flagrant foul. SI.com's NBA experts weigh in on how they feel the league should have handled each of the participants.
Jerry West spent 14 years playing for the Lakers, 19 in the front office, most of his professional life serving as their ambassador. He is the man who graces the NBA logo, who gave the league Showtime, and who shrewdly traded Vlade Divac to the Charlotte Hornets in 1996 for the draft rights to Kobe Bryant.
It requires a tricky balance of luck and preparation for a truly fantastic documentary to come together, and when that doesn't happen -- a subject clams up or proves uninteresting; perhaps the drama simply never unfolds -- most projects get sent to the scrap heap. Or, in the case of Kobe Doin' Work, they air on ESPN.
For a story about buzzer-beating "last shots" that ran in Sports Illustrated before the 2008 playoffs, I was fortunate enough to have been at a late-season game in Cleveland between the Cavaliers and Hornets. (Remember the Hornets? My pick to win the NBA title this year? Hope you didn't go to Vegas on that tip.)
The final stats didn't tell the whole story. They never do with the Rockets, a team that has shined since losing its leading scorer (Tracy McGrady) and is captained by a player (Shane Battier) who averages around seven points and five rebounds a game.
Five NBA playoff observations from a night that featured a pair of unexpected blowouts and an escape act in Salt Lake City:
We come here today not to praise LeBron James but to bury Kobe Bryant.
As LeBron James and Kobe Bryant battle for the 2008-09 MVP award and their teams compete for the best record in the NBA, here's a look at some of the notable facts and figures that have helped define the careers of the two superstars. (All stats are through April 1 unless otherwise noted.)
PHOENIX -- "If I hear one more guy start a sentence with, 'In this economy ...'" complained a team executive as we drank beer in a dive bar Friday before a fight broke out among the locals.
Grading the West players from Sunday's NBA All-Star Game:
We all remember how it ended last June, the Celtics winning their 17th NBA championship, Paul Pierce brandishing the Finals MVP trophy, Doc Rivers with a silly smile and a sticky suit, Kevin Garnett essentially losing his marbles in the clamor and the confetti, and Kobe Bryant subdued, almost unresponsive at times, after a 39-point drubbing in Game 6.
The uniforms said New York Knicks, but LeBron James' real opponent Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden was playing almost 350 miles away in Toronto.
NEW YORK -- In setting a new Madison Square Garden scoring record with 61 points Monday night, Kobe Bryant may have led his Lakers to a 126-117 victory (Recap | Box), and he may have won over a crowd that repeatedly erupted into chants of M-V-P, but he also re-opened a dangerous chapter of Lakers history.
SI.com NBA writers analyze the latest news and address hot topics from around the league each week. (All stats and records are through Monday's games.)
"Where's the beef, Kobe?" That's what many U.S. basketball fans will be asking as their team of NBA superstars takes to the hardwood in pursuit of the gold medal in Beijing.
Most of those I've polled around the NBA are picking the Lakers to depose the champion Celtics in June, based on the return of center Andrew Bynum and L.A.'s intimidating depth around league MVP Kobe Bryant. When Luke Walton is unable to make the nine-man rotation, you know you've got a deep team.
Sports Illustrated will announce its choice for Sportsman of the Year on Dec. 2. Here's one of the nominations for that honor by an SI writer. For more essays, click here.
This excerpt from Madmen's Ball: The Continuing Saga of Kobe, Phil, and the Los Angeles Lakers is printed with the permission of Triumph Books.
SI.com NBA writers will analyze the latest news and address hot topics from around the league each week.
Most Valuable Player: Kobe Bryant, Lakers The rivalry between Bryant and LeBron James for the title of world's best player gets even hotter, but thanks to his team's superior record, Bryant retains the crown. Runner-up: James, Cavaliers
SI.com will analyze each of the NBA's 30 teams as regular-season tip-off approaches. For a complete list of team-by-team breakdowns, click here. The information in the "Go figure" category below is provided by Roland Beech of 82games.com.
Before the anticipated 2010 free-agent bonanza that could include LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Amaré Stoudemire and Chris Bosh, there could be one free agent on the market who, if he chooses to switch teams, would significantly shift the balance of power.
The United States struck gold in Olympic men's basketball with a 118-107 victory over Spain in the championship game on Sunday.
He predicted the U.S. would win basketball gold in Beijing. Spain came close to spoiling it all, but James came through
Michael Phelps, who lists five minutes in his own bed back in Baltimore near the top of his post-Olympics priorities, can spend the next four years there, just as long as he is ready for London in 2012. Usain Bolt has until then to choreograph a touchdown dance that IOC president Jacques Rogge finds acceptable, as far as many American (and plenty global) sports fans are concerned.
After a competitive first half, Team USA got into gear and blew out Australia in the basketball quarterfinals
BEIJING -- A thought occurred during the first half of Team USA's 92-69 defeat of Greece on Thursday, as Kobe Bryant missed his first two three-pointers of the game. Those bricks left him 1-for-17 for the Olympics from beyond the international arc -- a three-point line that's actually shorter than the NBA's.
Kobe Bryant led the way as the United States beat Russia 89-68 in Shanghai on Sunday in an important warmup game for the Olympic basketball tournament.
Kobe Bryant and LeBron James head up a star-studded United States squad for the Olympic basketball tournament in Beijing later this summer.
This is an NBA Finals worthy of a memorable give-and-take argument down to the buzzer. It deserves to culminate in one of those games for the ages, or at least for the season. But that's the one thing this series has yet to give us, and it's mainly because the Lakers haven't been up to it.
Lakers guard Kobe Bryant isn't worried about his team's mindset as it tries to stave off elimination against the Celtics in Sunday night's Game 5 of the NBA Finals.
BOSTON -- Starting at center for the Los Angeles Lakers, Andrew Bynum ...
BOSTON -- On a day when 90-degree heat and thick air blanketed Boston like a wool sweater, it was only fitting that Kobe Bryant would be talking about swimwear at Saturday's practice.
Now that Kobe Bryant stands on the verge of winning an NBA championship as the best player in the world, I find myself remembering the first time I met him. Ten years ago. He was 19 and in his second year with the Lakers. He lived with his parents in a home overlooking the ocean.
There was one obvious question to consider at halftime of the Lakers' 89-85 victory in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals:
LOS ANGELES -- Kobe Bryant never thought this day would come.
Regarded as the NBA's best player for several years but never its most valuable, Bryant earned the honor at last on Tuesday after leading the Los Angeles Lakers to the best record in the Western Conference
Making his way around Nike World Headquarters the other day, Kobe Bryant is talking about the shoe that has become an Internet sensation. The sneakers have generated buzz not so much for their sleek design or innovative technology but for the fact that when he puts them on, Bryant apparently can jump over a speeding Aston Martin.
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Kobe Bryant has invested these past five months in trying to gain leverage over his career. The previous four years are his self-imposed burden, and lately he has been trying to lift that gathering weight and tip it over upon itself. He is succeeding.
The game is two-on-two. It's Magic Johnson and Larry Bird in their prime against Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.
PHOENIX -- There is always built-in tension whenever Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant step onto the same floor. It's like being at a party and seeing a couple of divorcees in the same room with their new spouses. You can't help but dart your eyes back and forth at both of them as if you were watching a tennis match.
Kobe Bryant scored 39 points, becoming the youngest player in NBA history to reach 20,000, as his Los Angeles Lakers held off the New York Knicks 95-90 in Madison Square Garden on Sunday.
Kobe Bryant didn't get an earful of "Ko-be!" "Ko-be!" Ko-be!" in his first visit to the Windy City since his trade demand last offseason. But the Lakers' star did hear some recruiting pitches from the local fans.
How many years can Kobe Bryant remain a dominant star? As a 29-year-old in his 12th NBA season, the assumption has been that he senses his biological clock ticking away and that he may have only three years of supremacy left in him -- which would explain why he's in such a hurry to win now.
As the Chicago Bulls, gloom enshrouding them like a cold Lake Michigan fog, pack their bags for an 11-day, six-game road trip that begins on Thursday in Phoenix, coach Scott Skiles should consider bringing a psychiatrist on the team plane. For the Bulls are scheduled to spend Friday through Sunday in Los Angeles, a place that can make anyone crazy in the best of times, never mind anyone subjected to endless mentions of the name Kobe Bryant.
One widespread assumption is that the Lakers will have to move Kobe Bryant sooner or later. It's true that his opt-out clause in 2009 may force a deal. But I'm assuming he'll stay put -- for the short term at least -- because the Lakers can't afford to move him.
Also in this column: • Is Magic tampering in TNT role? • Win-win trade for Wolves, Spurs
The 2007-08 season tipped off Tuesday night, and so far, so good. Unlike the Heat a year ago, the Spurs didn't forget to play a basketball game after picking up their championship rings. And Kobe Bryant actually strapped it up and played like he cared in the Lakers' 95-93 loss to the Rockets.
LOS ANGELES -- The sound was unmistakable. The message it sent was just as clear.
The NBA is buzzing over the latest in the ongoing Kobe Bryant soap opera.
Kobe Bryant walked onto the Lakers' practice court in a purple-and-gold uniform for the first time since May and proclaimed himself a "soldier." Yet as he walked around and shook hands with many of his teammates for the first time in nearly five months, it was apparent this soldier had finally surrendered.
Las Vegas -- Four things we learned about the United States in its 91-76 win over previously undefeated Argentina in the final game of the quarterfinal round of the FIBA America's tournament.
Kobe Bryant, suiting up for the first time Friday for the first USA national team on which he ever has played, was considered an even-money bet by Las Vegas oddsmakers to demand a trade to Italy's club sometime before lunch.
There was a righteous attempt at affecting a business-as-usual atmosphere at Friday afternoon's USA Basketball team practice at Cox Pavilion on the UNLV campus.
Fifteen years ago or so, a friend of mine happened into a dive bar, took a seat at the rail and, after a moment, realized that the man sitting to his left was Dennis Rodman. This was back when Rodman was primarily a basketball player, before the gaudy hair, serial piercings and women's clothing.
Bulls fans are buzzing these days -- and, no, we're not talking about those rumors of a big Chris Duhon trade.
I had to see it for myself. For no other reason than curiosity's sake and, to be honest, an all-too-tempting meeting location near Diddy Riese, the legendary cookie store in Westwood, Calif.
Move over, Paris Hilton. Kobe Bryant is joining you on the list of real-life Hollywood soap operas -- right down to a controversial amateur videotape.
Basketball superstar Kobe Bryant has cast fresh doubt on his future with the Los Angeles Lakers by declaring on his personal Web site that there was a "new road" ahead.
It's hard to picture Kobe Bryant wearing anything but the Los Angeles Lakers' purple-and-gold. Even the sight of the three-time champion in the Western Conference All-Star uniform is a shock to the system, so you can imagine the NBA-wide ripples emanating from Bryant's shocking trade demand Wednesday from the franchise he's been a part of since 1996.
Basketball was never meant to be played to the thumping, mechanical cadence of hip-hop; the NBA is best suited to the impulsive rhythms of jazz, and that is what Kobe Bryant played to last Friday night in the cradle of jazz, New Orleans. From the troubled drama of Bryant's past has emerged a blissful eloquence that, like Dixieland, is both disciplined and liberating. His jump shot is an elaborate riff that holds an audience rapt: Shoes squeak in panic around Kobe as he gathers his breath, his shoulders swaying to the ball-beat at his fingertips, a distracting glance this way as he bursts there into space, corkscrewing as he rises up and up, his right leg splayed like a clarinetist leaning back in full-blown solo.
NEW YORK (Ticker) -- Kobe Bryant, who is on the greatest scoring binge since Wilt Chamberlain, was named NBA Western Conference Player of the Week on Monday for the second straight week.
Also in the Weekly Quiz: • Crackdown on fighting • Ron Artest to retire?
LOS ANGELES -- Phil Jackson has a nickname for times like this. When his team ceases being the Los Angeles Lakers and becomes the Kobe Bryants and the players around the team's star become more spectators than participants. "Yeah, we have a nickname for that called Kobe-dar," he said. "When they get in Kobe-dar state ... they try to get the ball to him."
NEW ORLEANS -- The most impressive aspect from this most impressive week of Kobe Bryant's reborn career is that his team is winning. Remember the days not so long ago when he was deemed selfish, when he clashed with Shaq and when coach Phil Jackson wrote best-selling anecdotes of how Bryant stubbornly put his own interests first?
NEW YORK (Ticker) -- Kobe Bryant's latest scoring explosion earned him NBA Player of the Week honors.
Kobe Bryant scored 31 points to capture his second MVP award and lead the West to a 153-132 victory over the East in the NBA All-Star game on Sunday.
1. Is Kobe Bryant a good teammate?
The New York Knicks survived a late rally to record a 99-94 home victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, handing the visitors a season-high third straight loss as a suspended Kobe Bryant sat out the game.
LOS ANGELES -- Kobe Bryant doesn't remember exactly when it happened, but he knows it did happen. There was a moment when these marquee head-to-head matchups ceased to excite him like they used to. When he began to understand that the game was bigger than him. When he finally discovered that his teammates could do more than simply pass him the ball.
Kobe Bryant with 29 points and 10 rebounds led the Los Angeles Lakers to a 99-93 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night to tie their Western Conference first round playoff series at 1-1.
Nearly a year after settling an accusation of rape, basketball superstar Kobe Bryant is once again back on the endorsement circuit, according to a report Friday.
Attorneys for the woman who alleges Kobe Bryant sexually assaulted her spoke Tuesday with CNN anchor Bill Hemmer about their client's lawsuit against the NBA star.
Nearly a week after a sexual assault charge against Kobe Bryant was dropped, attorneys for the woman who accuses the NBA star of raping her said Tuesday the upcoming civil suit will turn the focus away from their client and more toward Bryant.
As is now well-known, the Kobe Bryant criminal prosecution in Colorado has collapsed. According to the Eagle County District Attorney's Office, the reason is that the woman who had accused Bryant of the crime has announced that she no longer wishes to cooperate with the prosecution.
The following is the statement issued by Kobe Bryant after the announcement that the woman who accused him of sexual assault would not proceed with the criminal case.
The sexual assault charge against NBA star Kobe Bryant has been dismissed in a stunning development that came less than a week before opening statements were set to begin.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys in the sexual assault trial of NBA star Kobe Bryant wrapped up the third day of jury selection Tuesday, having questioned 164 potential jurors behind closed doors.
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