The record crowds that flocked to the NBA’s Las Vegas Summer League were treated to lots more than the Victor Wembanyama Show. Our correspondent in the desert empties her notebookThe most common mistake people make post-Vegas is overreacting, whether positive or negative. Yes, the NBA’s Summer League provides a high-profile showcase for undrafted and G League players to show their mettle, so if they impress, it shouldn’t be discounted. And some rookies display their rough edges in their first NBA-branded outing in ways that might raise flags for concern. But, on the whole, sweeping generalizations from the past 11 days shouldn’t be made in either direction off a handful of games that in the long run don’t carry a whole...
LeBron v Steph has been the defining rivalry of my basketball life. Their latest chapter did not disappoint, but it’s clear their special rivalry is nearer to the end than the beginningThere are certain constants in our lives: north stars by which we can measure and trace the changes that occur around them as time passes us by. For the better part of the last decade, the steady fulcrum around which the NBA has revolved has been the special ongoing rivalry between future first-ballot Hall of Famers LeBron James and Stephen Curry.Some basketball fans grew up at a time when they watched Magic Johnson and Larry Bird duke it out year after year, and other fandoms were formed during the...
A Lakers team given only a 0.3% chance of making the playoffs a few months ago has the look of a deadly serious contender in a wide-open Western Conference after toppling the Grizzlies“Do you ever amaze – or surprise – yourself?” LeBron James was asked following the Lakers’ thrilling Game 4 overtime win in Los Angeles on Monday, which gave the team a commanding three-games-to-one lead in their first-round playoff series against the Memphis Grizzlies. “Yup,” James replied succinctly. Indeed, recording his first ever 20-point, 20-rebound game on one fully functioning foot, at age 38 (making him the oldest player to ever do so), and in the playoffs no less, was pretty amazing.But seeing James and the rest of his...
The Lakers star is only the eighth player and first since Michael Jordan to win an NBA title, an NCAA championship and an Olympic gold medal. At 27, the best may be yet to comeAnthony Davis looked on with an expression of disbelief on Sunday night as the Los Angeles Lakers put the finishing touches on their first NBA championship in a decade. For the 27-year-old big man from Chicago’s South Side, the elusive missing piece in a career with no shortage of individual successes was finally in his grasp.As the Lakers’ other, slightly older do-it-all superstar took in the scene from down the bench, he couldn’t help but feel a tinge of nostalgia. You never forget your first time....
LA or Miami? Our writers predict the winner, key players and dark horses before the championship tiltWell, that’s the question isn’t it? It’s tempting to say that there’s not much hope, but the Heat have been surpassing expectations all postseason. There’s a simple answer here: limit either LeBron James or Anthony Davis and force the other to try to carry the entire team, hope that they can’t. Reminder: Simple is not the same as easy. HF Continue reading...