In the 1950s,
Maurice Stokes was a superstar basketball player for the
Rochester (later Cincinnati) Royals. Stokes was Rookie of the Year and an NBA All-Star in each of his three seasons, trailing only Bill Russell and Oscar Robertson in scoring. But at age 24, a brain injury sustained in the last game of the 1958 season left him almost completely paralyzed. With his teammate alone in an unfamiliar city,
Jack Twyman became his guardian and advocate. Stokes died in 1970, after years of care and friendship with the Twyman family;
Jack Twyman [NYT]
died yesterday. [more inside]
posted by Madamina
on Jun 1, 2012 -
10 comments
There are precious few 7-footers that can turn into a jump hook while chewing gum at the same time, much less make a living out of it on the pro level. Yet, there Yao was. And he would have been there, even if he was 6 inches shorter than his 7-6 frame. Maybe if it weren't for those extra 6 inches, he and his Rockets would have played into the conference finals last spring.
Yao Ming Retires from the NBA. [more inside]
posted by auto-correct
on Jul 8, 2011 -
40 comments
From
1967 to 1976, the
American Basketball Association delivered
wild, raw, above-the-rim hoops that few ever saw (lacking TV broadcasts). They introduced the 3-point shot and
slam-dunk contests (along with a red, white and blue ball, short shorts and
big afros), brought pro ball to the American South, and launched the careers of
Connie (the
Hawk)
Hawkins,
Bob Costas,
George Gervin,
Fly Williams,
David Thompson and
a guy named
Julius Erving. You know,
Doctor J.
[more inside]
posted by msalt
on May 19, 2011 -
16 comments
Deadspin tells
the story of the unlikely friendship between Kendrick Perkins of the Oklahoma City Thunder and two fans.
posted by reenum
on Apr 22, 2011 -
22 comments
Free Darko calls it quits. Contributors to the irreverent basketball writing site that Brian Philips describes as "a vintage record shop that radiation turned into a grad student" talk about what Free Darko meant to them. Also,
an interview with Free Darko writer and illustrator Bethlehem Shoals and Jacob Weinstein.
posted by AceRock
on Apr 11, 2011 -
19 comments
Harvey Araton
wrote that basketball star Reggie Miller has "a mouth that can stretch as far as his jump shot range." He might be right. Once, in a game against the New York Knicks, Miller so taunted Knicks guard John Starks that Starks headbutted him. Starks was summarily ejected. That incident took place during Game 3 of the 1993 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals - a series New York would go on to win in 5 games.
[more inside]
posted by kbanas
on Nov 18, 2010 -
46 comments
What might be the most profitable
team in professional sports hasn't played a game since 1976. That summer, as the
American Basketball Association was completing its merger with the NBA, only four of the six remaining teams were going to be able to join the league. It was the ABA's responsibility to figure out how to pay off the other 2 owners.
One owner accepted $3 million, which he eventually used to buy the Boston Celtics. The
other owners got a slightly better deal.
posted by empath
on Apr 1, 2010 -
23 comments
The Confessions of an NBA Scorekeeper Gawker's Tommy Craggs talks with an ex-scorekeeper for the Vancouver Grizzlies, and reveals the subjectivity of stat keeping in the NBA.
This guy once gave Nick Van Exel 23 assists just because he felt like it.
posted by reenum
on Dec 11, 2009 -
12 comments
Transcending The same year Jackie Robinson started playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers,
Wat Misaka became the first "person of color" to play in the NBA. Though he only played three games with the New York Knicks.
[more inside]
posted by drezdn
on Nov 26, 2009 -
5 comments
Basketball doesn't have baseball's numerous simmering controversies over Hall of Fame inductees, but the greatest basketball player denied enshrinement may be 11-time ABA and NBA All Star center
Artis Gilmore. At 7-foot-2 plus 4 inches for his
towering afro, they called him "The A-Train" for his
powerful but
unpretentious play, and today on his 60th birthday he still owns career records in the NCAA (22.7 rebounds per game) and NBA (59.9% field goal percentage). OK, I only posted this so I could link to
these three photos.
[more inside]
posted by planetkyoto
on Sep 21, 2009 -
12 comments
Completely amazing graph of every NBA player for every season in which he played at least five minutes since 1979. Points Per Game are on the Y-Axis, sum total of every other stat on the X-axis, with the data points colored with RGB depending on the player's statistical tendencies during that season. Full explanation of methodology
here. Gigantic monitor recommended. Via the always excellent
TrueHoop.
posted by Kwine
on Jul 12, 2007 -
20 comments
Even after the
bad PR brought about by the new balls used in this year's
World Cup, the NBA announced today (
Draft Day!) a
new official game ball to be used starting next season (
ESPN coverage). The new ball designed by
Spalding is the first official game ball change since 1970 and only the second change in the last 60 years. Vegans will be happy to hear that it's no longer made of leather.
Mark Cuban will surely weigh in with an opinion on this...
posted by pwb503
on Jun 28, 2006 -
45 comments
Can you score your way out of disgrace? Kobe Bryant's 81 points tonight were the second most points ever scored by a single player in the 59 year history of the NBA, and the most scored since Wilt Chamberlain's 100 point night
44 years ago (when the league was much whiter than it is today). With
a new campaign from one time sponsor Nike and sports writers increasingly touting Bryant as a leading MVP candidate, two of the three elements of modern sports superstardom (sponsorship, good press) have returned to Kobe since the rape allegations that threatened to end his career. Will the final piece of the puzzle (public sympathy) be next?
posted by jonson
on Jan 22, 2006 -
119 comments
