NBA Finals 2012: LeBron James Is No Longer a King Without a Crown

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Jun 252012
 

Up until June 21, Kanye West’s lyrics from his Graduation album, “Everything I’m not made me everything I am,” seemed to appropriately sum up LeBron James‘ legacy.

Now, it’s fair to say that the King is singing a whole different tune. 

It may have taken the self-proclaimed King James nine NBA seasons and nearly 700 games to validate that title, but he hath done it! I am very excited to see what The Chosen One has in store for audiences over the next nine years of his career.

Now that the burden of winning it all has been lifted and he’s had a little taste of glory, I don’t envision complacency in his future.

He is a student of the game with a heightened awareness of the history, and like him or hate him, it warrants reminding that he is still just 27. If a 27-year-old who has figured out the formula for winning championships isn’t a scary thought, then I don’t know what is.  

LeBron will never again be associated with the likes of Patrick Ewing, Charles Barkley, Reggie Miller, Karl Malone and other NBA superstars that never won a championship. With his effort of 26 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds in the Heat‘s 121-106 Game 5 championship-clinching win, he enters a new fraternity of stars who have won it all.  

Before the championship, it was an injustice to compare James with guys like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Bill Russell, Shaquille O’Neal, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. But now we can justifiably entertain the debate of how many rings LeBron will end up with.   

All of sudden, it doesn’t sound so crazy to think that LeBron could eclipse Kobe’s five rings or maybe even Jordan’s six. One certainty is that nobody will ever touch Russell’s 11 championships, but it sure will be fun to see how many James can stack up.

Stay tuned.   

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2012 NBA Playoffs: The Best YouTube Mix You’ll See

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May 262012
 

Game 7 between the Celtics and Sixers is tonight.

Want to get fired up?

Check out this brilliant YouTube mix of first-round action from the 2012 NBA Playoffs. Compiled by @outsidethenba and @johnnbaplaybook, this mix captures the excitement, the sadness and the brilliance of this beautiful game when the stakes get higher as the games go on.

Set to a Kanye West mashup, it’s a good time. And the perfect way to get hyped for tonight’s Game 7. What’s better than the ultimate win or go home situation? So many questions: Will Rondo dazzle us? Can Andre Iguodala will his team to the Eastern Conference Finals? Will Kevin Garnett get to extend his superb postseason into another round? 

I hope we see superstar Rondo. I hope we see Evan Turner embrace the moment. I hope we see two teams leaving everything they’ve got on the court.

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Nuggets vs. Lakers Game 7: Vanessa Bryant, Kim Kardashian & Stars in Attendance

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May 132012
 

As always, the stars were out when the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets met for Game 7 at the Staples Center on Saturday, and no, I’m not talking about Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol.

No, I’m talking about Kim Kardashian, Kanye West and Justin Timberlake, of course.

Let’s take a look at some of the bold and beautiful in attendance for the Lakers’ Game 7 win.

 

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West

Yes, Kanye West is actually in this picture. I know most of you probably haven’t realized that yet, distracted as you might be by Kim Kardashian’s eyes—yeah, definitely her eyes—but Kanye West is sitting right next to her.

See him now?

No?

Yeah, nobody cares that he is in this picture.

 

Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel

It looks like they’re each about to burp, doesn’t it?

 

Vanessa Bryant

Despite whatever else is going on, it’s nice to see Vanessa Bryant take the ex-couple’s daughters to see their father after the game.

 

 

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Humphries being taunted with song

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Apr 212012
 

He may be 10th in the league in double-doubles, but the only number that only seems to follow Kris Humphries around is 72— the number of days his marriage to Kim Kardashian lasted. Now— while going through a nasty divorce— DJs in every nightclub where Humphries shows up taunt the New Jersey Nets forward by playing Kanye West’s song “Way Too Cold” which describes the rapper’s love for Kim K and declares, “Lucky I ain’t have Jay[-Z] drop him [Humphries] from the team.” West released the song a couple of weeks ago under the name “Theraflu” after he started dating Humphries ex-wife. The line refers to Nets minority owner Jay-Z if you didn’t know. The hardworking and under-rated Humphries puts up with a lot of hostile crowds— who boo him at every game and even on his own home court— but, after spending which must have seemed like an interminable amount of days as Mr. K with the mind-numbing Kardashian clan, the jeers probably sound a lot better than their air-headed chatter or Kanye’s song. Humphries was spotted with friends at a booth next to Carmelo Anthony on Wednesday— after the Knicks beat the Nets— at a Manhattan club when some DJ named “Theory” played West’s track. Humphries ignored it and stayed late anyway.

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Kris Humphries: Presented (almost) Without Comment

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Apr 092012
 

Why are we posting photos of random male models?

Because that random male model is Kris Humphries.

No, I don’t really understand either. 

While soon-to-be-ex-wife Kim Kardashian is making the headlines for a supposed relationship with Kanye West (and West is talking Kim and Kris in his new song), Humphries is getting his model on.

In a series of artistic photos shot for WESTEAST Magazine, the 6-foot-9 power forward shows off a variety of looks, poses and expressions.

Posting career-best numbers with 13.6 points and 11 rebounds per contest this season, I think it’s probably best for Humphries to stick with his day job.

Things didn’t really work out so well the last time he picked up a side hustle (read: starring in reality shows with the Kardashian clan), so we can do without the modeling.

Quick question: Which shoot is better, Humphries, or Kobe Bryant’s white-hot disaster from last summer?

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Kris Humphries Is Kanye’d, We Are Reminded Again That the Nets Are Jay’s Team

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Apr 052012
 

Kris Humphries has been Kanye’d. 

I don’t think my brain has been able to comprehend all of this just yet, but here is my best attempt to explain the unexpected thing that happened last night when Kanye West’s latest track hit the Internet.

Whenever Kanye does something (and there’s usually more bad here than good), I know that I count on Twitter to keep me informed, and this was no different.

Kanye released a new song called “Theraflu” and, in typical Kanye fashion, he gets pretty honest on it. In the second verse, while baring his soul, he first tells us that he respects Wiz (that would be Wiz Khalifa, the man who is with Kanye’s ex, Amber Rose), which is a huge step, then he divulges some new information that had been largely speculated on over the summer:

Kanye tells us that he fell in love with Kim (Kardashian) around the time that she fell in love with an unnamed “him.” Via Iamagm.com, here’s the verse:

“And I’ll admit I fell in love with Kim, around the same time she had fell in love with him. Well that’s cool, baby girl do your thing. Lucky I ain’t have Jay drop him from the team.”

When I first heard it, I tried to think of the rapper that Kim had been with because I was drawing a blank.

And then it hit me like a bag of bricks: Kanye West was referring to Kris Humphries. Humphries plays for the New Jersey Nets, Jay’s other (other) team.

This is a little crazy, right? I mean, even in the warped reality world of the Kardashians and Yeezy craziness, Kris Humphries being mentioned in a rap song of any kind is just so…weird. Humphries spent time in Toronto and he was always pleasant. A nice reserve on an NBA team. Had you told any of the Toronto media who covered him that he would go on to marry Kim Kardashian, split up with her and then end up being referenced in a Kanye song, I think we all would have laughed you out of the locker room.

To quote a Kanye song, life can be sometimes ridiculous. 

As for Humphries, he’s been playing some great basketball. He’s also been dissed in a rap song. It’s official: he has arrived.

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Derek Fisher Tribute Video: Watch Lakers Play Homage to Former LA Star

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Mar 302012
 

Derek Fisher may not be the same player he once was when he won five championships with the Los Angeles Lakers, but upon his return to Staples Center on Thursday as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder, L.A. made sure he knew he was appreciated.

The Lakers played a tribute video of Fisher before Thursday night’s game at Staples Center, backed by the Kanye West lyrics, “One thing I found, you’ll never let me down.”

Fisher has never been the most athletic or explosive player on the floor, even in his earlier days. But he made a name for himself in Los Angeles and throughout the league with his grit, determination, leadership and knack for the clutch shot.

While Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal will get most of the accolades for the Lakers’ recent titles, Fisher has become somewhat of an icon to Lakers fans. He was part of five Lakers championship teams after all.

At 37 years of age, Fisher likely won’t be around for much longer. He’s valuable to the Thunder because of his veteran presence and leadership, but there’s only so much he can do on the floor these days.

Nevertheless, Fisher built a legacy with the Lakers, as the glue of Lakers teams for so many years. Upon his trade this season, there was a great deal of backlash from Lakers fans, despite the fact that he shot under 40 percent in 43 games and was a liability on the defensive end of the floor.

With Fisher, it was always about more than his stats or athleticism anyway. He was part of the Lakers’ culture. You lose a piece of the puzzle, and it’s hard to find a replacement who will replicate exactly what a unique player the likes of Fisher brought to the table.

In the touching tribute on Thursday, the Lakers reminded Fisher that he will never be forgotten in Los Angeles—no matter which team he’s on.

 

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The Swing Pass: Ryan Anderson’s Nickname, Looking at the Blazers, Durant MIP?

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Mar 272012
 

Wondering if you’ve missed out on any NBA news? Each week you’ll find a collection of the best NBA-related content that the Internet has to offer right here on The Swing Pass. From features to quick hits, hard-hitting news to YouTube clips, if you need to see it, it’ll be here for you.

  • How do you survive a season working the beat for a team that isn’t very good? By coming up with leads like this one from Eric Koreen out of Toronto: “There ain’t no tuition for having no ambition,” was how Kanye West put it on the first song of his first album, presumably not at all thinking about the welfare of a sub-par professional basketball team. Nonetheless, he captured the reality of these Toronto Raptors pretty well. 
  • Yep, he opened with Kanye. that’s a guaranteed win by my scorecard.
  • Ryan Anderson connected on a career-high eight three-pointers against those Raptors in a Magic victory. That wasn’t my favorite Anderson note today, though. Nope, that would be discovering that his teammates call him “Baby Brinks Truck.”
  • Really. Read on for more info from Chris Tomasson.
  • Who would you give the Most Improved Player award to if you had to pick someone today? SB Nation’s Mike Prada makes a strong case for why it should be given to MVP candidate Kevin Durant. Watching Durant flirt with a triple-double in the Thunder’s victory over the Heat on Sunday, there’s been some serious growth in his overall game.
  • What’s Renaldo Balkman been up to since being waived by the Knicks to make room for J.R. Smith? He’s been on #TeamHustleHarder. What exactly does that entail?
  • Check the photo. So. Damn. Good. 
  • Jason Quick gets real about the Blazers: Is a team hurting itself when it fights to make the playoffs at the cost of taking a close look at younger players to see if there’s a place for them on the roster in the future?
  • Dan LeBatard with a very important piece on LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat taking a stand for Trayvon Martin. I encourage you to click the link, but if you don’t, this paragraph is a must in explaining the struggle for pro athletes to grow and mature like their non-professional-basketball-playing peers:

When did you find your voice?

What age?

It is easy to forget, because of all the cartoon muscles, because of all the noise that has surrounded him for a decade, but LeBron James is only 27. It is not any kind of normal, growing up a child star, and it is harder still without a father to guide you and a mother who can be problematic. This might explain why you never see James alone, perpetually surrounded by an entourage he describes as la familia. 

It can be hard to find your voice living and working in this particular bubble, especially when you don’t have college’s stumbling growth to help you along the path. If you are looking for an explanation for how Dwight Howard could make such an unholy mess of his flip-flopping Orlando situation, here’s a decent start: Often, a young athlete looks like a man many years before he actually becomes one.

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Andrea Bargnani Video: Watch Raptors Star’s All-Star Anthem

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Jan 172012
 

I don’t think Andrea Bargnani is an All-Star, but this campaign song almost sways my vote. The guys at thescore.com do their take of the Kanye West hit “Power” with a Bargnani twist.

“No one man should have all that Pasta.”

Yes, they did go there with it. Bargnani himself is in the video at the end to officially endorse his candidacy.

Needless to say, exhibitions like this will certainly help his popularity, and in a small market spot like Toronto, Bargnani might have to hit up a Lil Wayne track to push him over the top.

He is having a good year, averaging 22 points and 6.5 rebounds per game for the Raptors, but the team is only 4-10, and Bargnani is hurt right now with a strained calf.

Other forwards—such as Luol Deng, Josh Smith and Chris Bosh—are more deserving, as they have put up stellar numbers for more successful teams. It’s time Deng’s defense got him some All-Star recognition, and he is averaging 15 points and seven rebounds while playing 39 minutes a night.

Smith is putting up 17 points, nine rebounds and two blocks per night, while Bosh is close behind Bargnani in scoring with 19 a game and eight boards.

If the video and the Raptors faithful is not enough to land him a spot in the starting lineup (which is doubtful), it will come down to coaches deciding if Bargnani’s scoring—which currently has him ninth in the league—is enough to land an All-Star spot for a bad team.

 

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