NBA's biggest stars plan exhibition world tour

Thus far, it has been an unusual off-season to the NBA, where the locked-out league saw failed negotiations between the owners at the players reach a point where actual regular season games got cancelled. Meanwhile, the locked-out players found their own way to have fun with hoops, playing exhibition games all around the USA, and for one magical week, in the Philippines, too.

If you were like me, you woke up this morning to even more depressing news about the lockout, that the bitter rift between the two sides widened and talks broke down. Well, here is some measure of good news coming via the NBA's players and a soon to be very popular Atlanta business mogul.

ESPN reported yesterday on what could be the mother of all lockout exhibition programmes: The NBA's finest players - pretty much ALL OF ITS FINEST PLAYERS, instead of a few here and there like the previous exhibitions - will be going on a two-week world tour, touching four countries in four different continents, and playing exhibition basketball games. It's the Beatles in Basketball form.

Of course, nothing is finalised yet, and a twist in the lockout negotiations story could change everything, so know that what you read ahead is only tentative.

Participating players? According to ESPN, the players taking part in this tour could include: Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Amar'e Stoudemire, Chris Bosh, Rajon Rondo, Blake Griffin, Russell Westbrook, Carlos Boozer, Paul Pierce, Kevin Love, Kevin Garnett, and Tyson Chandler.

No this is NOT a list of the NBA's best players, this is a list of players who could face each other in these international super all star games. The only notable exceptions from this list are Dirk Nowitzki (probably resting after the Euro Basket), Dwight Howard (who has already visited 15 countries this summer), Deron Williams (currently playing professionally in Turkey), and Pau Gasol (practicing with FCB Barcelona).

The tour, scheduled to be held from October 30 - November 9th, will make stops in Puerto Rico, London, Macau, and Australia. Two games each will be played at sites in London and Australia.

(Before you ask: sorry, there's no word yet on whether Kobe/LeBron/Wade etc will be dunking on each other at Mumbai's Nagpada or Ludhiana's Guru Nanak Stadium anytime soon.)

Here's more about this Superstar World Tour from ESPN.com, as reported by Chris Broussard:

Atlanta business mogul Calvin Darden has been putting the tour together with the players' agents for nearly three months. He has already obtained signed contracts from Bryant, Wade, Bosh, Griffin, Rondo and Pierce. Sources say he's hoping to complete the rest of the agreements, along with insurance requirements, over the next few days.
Even so, sources warned that the tour has not yet been finalized and there's still a chance it could unravel.

Darden is hoping to broadcast the games in as many international markets as possible and perhaps in the United States as well.
The players will be paid, receiving salaries ranging from six figures up to $1 million, sources said. Some of the money generated by the tour will be donated to charity.
The tour would be the biggest lockout event NBA players have ever staged.

Beyond the salaries the players will receive and the overseas venues, this tour is different in that the rosters will be comprised completely of All-Star caliber players.

Darden, the former senior vice president of U.S. operations for UPS, sits on the boards of Target, Coca-Cola and Cardinal Health. He is also the chairman of his own real estate development company, The Darden Development Group. In 2002, Fortune magazine named Darden the eighth-highest ranking black executive in America.

My friends, wherever you are, let's take a moment to get up from our seats and give a slow clap for The Talented Mr. Darden right now for potentially pulling off something massive like this. On second thought, let's hold the applause until this tour is actually finalised.

Meanwhile, the NBA's owners and players are not letting you and me and all the other fans enjoy the league we so love over a difference of 2.5 percent.

A Hooponic Plague

It was a classic case of self-denial: we've all done it, and we've all suffered by it. It is a common human reaction to clear upcoming tragedy and depression to pretend that it's not really happening, to distract ourselves with other matters, to imagine that it couldn't really last that long.

By a matter of sheer coincidence, I happen to be re-reading 'The Plague', the English translation of the French novel by my favourite author, Albert Camus. In this haunting, existential novel, the residents of a small French town are forced to come to terms with the reality that something of a bubonic plague is killing off hundreds of their fellow men and women daily, and forcing the town into a complete shutdown, or a 'lock' down, if you like.

But what is more interesting than the tragedy is the delayed reaction to the tragedy: until it hits him where it personally hurts, most of the townspeople in the story refuse to buck down and change their normal mentality and way of life: they go on passing through their lives in complete denial of the fact that one by one they will be losing their lives or the lives of their loved ones, and that the rest of their loved ones outside the town have been locked out, away from them, perhaps never to see them again.

Let's leave fiction behind and awaken back to our much-kinder reality: With the new CBA deadline approaching, there were whispers of an NBA Lockout over a year ago, which I had scoffed at and suppressed, focused more with the exciting storylines of the new NBA season: the three-headed monster that became the Miami Heat, the dramatic rise of Derrick Rose, and the Knicks' return to relevance. The whispers got louder as the season progressed, but louder still were Blake Griffin's dunks, Carmelo Anthony's trade to New York, and every bit of useless information that was fed to us about the over-scrutinised Heat. As the season reached its conclusion, I was left in awe after an incredible, unpredictable two months of the playoffs, where the Thunder and the Grizzlies surprised, the Lakers, Celtics, and Spurs fell too early, LeBron James choked, and Dirk and the Mavs rose against all odds to the promised land. It was an amazing end to an amazing season. Bad News Lockout Bears be damned.

Until the lockout actually happened. With the CBA deadline passing on July 1, 2011, we were officially in a lockout. The whispers were really loud now, too hard to ignore because there was little else going on in the NBA calender in the off-season. I heard everyone from David Stern and Adam Silver to Billy Hunter and Derek Fisher tell me that this was going to be a long haul, a gap too far apart to bridge easily. It was going to take hours of meetings and money talk and men in suits and other stuff that sports fan don't want to understand.

But it still didn't feel real. I mean, all that we missed in July were player photographs/mentions on the NBA's official sites. The offseason wasn't supposed to have any games anyways, so how was a lockout going to change anything, right?

Still in denial.

There was a little more missing this off-season. Rumours. Ideas. Possibilities. What ifs. What if such-and-such team sign this-and-that free agent? What if Team A trade injury-ridden-star to Team B for selfish-star? Who will be the team to watch this season? Who will be the most improved player? Which rookie will make the biggest difference? Etc. Etc. Etc. These were all the type of questions I wondered and discussed every off-season, but this time, the conversations seemed awfully hollow. Every sentence was prefixed with 'If the lockout ends...': If the lockout ends, Kevin Durant will become the best player in the league. If the lockout ends, the Heat will have the best chance to win a championship. If the lockout ends, Tyreke Evans, DeMarcus Cousins, and Jimmer Fredette will back the Kings the league's new up-and-coming team to watch.

But the Lockout was showing no signs of end, or even any signs of subsiding. The blows from both sides: the NBA and the NBA Players Association (NBPA) came harder and harder, and the effects were felt more and more with each passing day, with each day that the sides came closer to not sorting this shit out. Fans were anticipating men in suits at meetings like they anticipated their favourite players showing up on the court, except that the new anticipation was annoying, boring, and downright depressing.

I still didn't let it get to me though: I followed everything that happened, all the agreements that weren't made, and I still chose to remain emotionally unaffected. It still wasn't hitting close enough to home yet.

And just like that, we were in October. And instead of training camps and Media Days around the league, I heard crickets.

The pre-season which was supposed to start on October 9th, got cancelled: first by two weeks, and then completely. For something I had been expecting for months, I was still shocked. But hell, it's only the pre-season right? The games don't count, anyways.

But on October 10th, a day into the non-happening pre-season, I, and every other NBA fan on the planet, felt the first real torturous blows of this entire messy affair. After another long NBA/NBPA meeting yesterday, the NBA cancelled the first two weeks of the regular season, which was slated to begin on November 1st. That's a 100 games across the league cancelled, vanished, poof into thin air.

Until recently, the percentages being fought over, the zeroes at the end of the contracts, the number of millions being lost and gained here and there, were just that: numbers. Just like the casualty numbers collected and announced by the doctor in 'The Plague', unfeeling and unrelatable. But with actual games being missed, it's all too real: it's not about which side gets what percentage, it's about no Bulls vs Mavericks on November 1st, no showdown of Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant on the first day of the season, no sign of seeing the full-strength Heat take on the resurgent Knicks the next day, no one for Blake Griffin to dunk on, no one for Kevin Garnett to intimidate, and no sign of a Laker running up and down the court with the words 'World Peace' on his back.

Two weeks isn't much you say. Well, it is enough to end my delayed reaction, my denial to his Hooponic Plague. What makes it worse is that the two sides are no closer to an agreement. In his story for Yahoo! Sports today, Adrian Wojnarowski quoted players and GMs saying things such as “We remain very, very apart on all issues,” “We have a gulf that separates us," and “I think the best-case scenario now is 50 games, but I can see the whole season gone."

It's happened. We are not just missing rumours, or photographs on a website, or practice, or exhibition matches: we are missing NBA games. And by the looks of it, we will be missing many more. It's like 1998 all over again, and I really hope it's not worse than that last lockout.

Perhaps its time for me to take the stance that the NBPA's president Derek Fisher took after yesterday's meetings, and be realistic about what has been coming this way for over a year. “We anticipated being in this situation,” Fisher said, “and here we are.”

Games are lost, and we could continue losing them. No amount of charity defense-less dunk-fests, street-ball 50-point outbursts, exhibition all-star games, WNBA, foreign hoops, college hoops or anything else can replace the sadness of losing NBA games.

We need this resolved fast, so start praying to your Gods now: I'm turning to Camus and Michael Jordan.

NBA players go Wild, International

It's been 55 days, 7 hours, 5 minutes, 14 seconds, and counting since the NBA announced that it will commence a lockout of its players, until a new collective bargaining agreement is reached with the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), as per the excellent counter on SLAMOnline.com. There was never going to be basketball in the off-season, anyways, but with a lockout, there will be no official training camp, no Summer League, no pre-season, and no regular season until the agreement is reached.



Take a deep breath, inhale the disaster and depression of this happening, and then exhale it all out. There is an extremely faint silver lining to all this doom and gloom.



One of the most interesting lists currently online is on the excellent basketball website, HoopsHype.com. Go to HoopsHype.com/Overseas.htm and you will immediately unlock a wealth of information in one short html page. This is because this page currently lists NBA players who have signed a contract to play with international teams during the lockout, and another list of players who are considering it. NBA players aren't just the world's biggest basketball superstars, they are also the world's hardest working basketball players, and like you and me and your cousin and that guy you punked on the court last week, they really, really love the game. A prolonged period without competitive basketball can be hell for even the best of them, and that's why, many NBA players are opting for the next best solution: playing overseas until the issue is resolved. FIBA cleared the way for NBA players under contract to play overseas until work stoppage, and many players are taking advantage of this.



Now, NBA players have been flirting with the overseas option for a long time. Amongst the American players who have made the jump recently have included former MVP Allen Iverson (who played for Besiktas in Turkey last year), Stephon Marbury (played in the Chinese Basketball Association, the CBA, for the Shanxi Zhongyu Brave Dragons and the Foshan Dralions, and was the CBA's all star MVP!) Josh Childress (played for Olympiacos in Greece from 2008-10), Rafer Alston (for Zhejiang Guangsha in China), Casey Jacobsen (who has spent several years in the German League, and has dominated, winning Finals MVP twice), and Steve Francis (who had a failed stint with the Beijing Ducks in China). Of course, a lot of the NBA's international players have also chosen to go back to their home countries in the past after a stint in the NBA, such as Rasho Nesterovic, Juan Carlos Navarro, Fran Vasquez, and many many more whom I can't think of right now.



But now, the situation is different. Of course, the NBA is considered to be the Mecca for basketball stars, as the ultimate destination for the world's best players. Earlier, NBA stars went overseas if they weren't getting their desired salary/role/opportunity to play with the NBA; now, with the lockout, none of the players will be getting their desired salary/role/opportunity. It's a free for all.



The biggest name to sign an overseas contract so far in this lockout has been Nets' point guard Deron Williams, who made waves by announcing that he was going to sign with Besiktas in Turkey for the duration of the lockout. Williams, one of the best point guards in the NBA, immediately becomes the best "in his prime" player to take his talents outside the NBA, at least in recent years.



Since the lockout, Williams has been followed by many more. A quick glance of the list of 30 players (and growing) on HoopsHype shows up names such as Toronto's Leandro Barbosa, who has signed with Flamengo in his home country of Brazil, Nenad Krstic, who will be heading to play for CSKA Moscow in Russia, Ty Lawson has signed a contract with Zalgiris Kaunus in Lithuania, and Nicolas Batum of the TrailBlazers is going back to France to play for Nancy.



The biggest name who has been linked with overseas play though has been Kobe Bryant. Kobe was recruited heavily by Besiktas in Turkey and by Shanxi Zhongyu in China. So far, there has been no formal commitment by Kobe, but watch this space.



China seems to be by far the best destination for NBA players, and funny, that the one to make the breakthrough in this country was NBA-nutcase Stephon Marbury. But the problem with China is that the CBA have aren't happy with NBA players using them and leaving them: they have decided to ban players already with an NBA contract to sign a contract with a Chinese team. Immediately, players like Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade, Amar'e Stoudemire, etc, who had expressed interest in China before, had to back off a bit. Kobe could still play in China though, as Shanxi Zhongyu has invited Kobe to play for the team in some warm-up games or exhibition games before the CBA season starts, which is not against the rule.



Amongst the other players who are showing interest in going the international way include Ron Artest, who has been flirting with the Cheshire Jets, a team of the British Basketball League. Brandon Jennings, who spent one year playing in Italy before coming to the NBA, is considering heading back out there again. Other players showing 'high' interest to jet overseas include Stephen Curry, Andrei Kirilenko, Aaron Brooks, Jared Dudley, and many, many more.



Not everyone, of course, feels that it is necessary to sign a professional contract overseas to play overseas: the mother of all lockout/international news came from the Philippines, where Kobe Bryant, Derrick Rose, Durant, Chris Paul, JaVale McGee, James Harden, Derrick Williams, and Tyreke Evans played in two exhibition games. News is that after the success at Philippines, NBA stars like Durant, Rose, Paul, and Pau Gasol will head to Australia for a tour next.



Back in the States, Kevin Durant has been absolutely killing the street basketball world this lockout, including an impressive 66 point game at the Rucker Park. Kobe and James Harden have had impressive performances at the Drew League. There have been several other notable streetball appearances by NBA stars.



And then there are players who are getting even more creative with their time: The Lakers Luke Walton has joined the University of Memphis as an assistant coach. Former Kentucky players like John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Rajon Rondo, Eric Bledsoe, and Jodie Meeks might go back to complete their education. A former Volleyball superstar, the Rockets' Chase Budinger returns to try his hand again at the sport.



And it's a good thing, too, because there is nothing more dangerous and being idol in many cases. Already, the off-season has seen NBA players get themselves in all sorts of wildness. Michael Beasley was caught with weed, and later shoved a fan during a streetball game. Matt Barnes punched a fan, too. Darius Miles, who was arrested for trying to bring a loaded gun through airport security, Rafer Alston, who was sued over his alleged role in a strip club fight, and Samaki Walker, who allegedly tried to eat eight grams of marijuana during a traffic stop in Arizona, during which police also confiscated prescription drugs and liquid steroids. The great Kobe Bryant is being accused of hitting someone who tried to take a cell-phone photo of him in church.



Aaaaahhh... How I miss the good ol' days when the daily basketball related news items were about Derrick Rose winning an MVP or LeBron James choking against the Mavericks. Now, we have to deal with an off-season of emptiness, with no horizon in sight, although it has been mildly improved by the NBA players' enthusiasm at playing the game they love, whenever and wherever!



The NBA may or may not be coming soon (probably the latter), but there is hope ahead: The European Basketball Championship, or EuroBasket, featuring the best players in Europe, including several NBA stars, kicks off in Lithuania in a little more than a week. As the message on the T-shirts that some NBA players wore of the Goodman-Drew streetball game says: 'Basketball Never Stops'.

2011 Conference Finals Predictions

I realise that, unlike my past prediction article, this one has a weird timing around it - after all, the Conference Finals have already technically begun, as the Bulls have destroyed the Heat in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals already. But you have to blame Oprah Winfrey for that one: between the last game of the 2nd round (Thunder vs Grizzlies Game 7) and the first game of the Conference Finals was a gap of only 2 hours.

Anyways, I don't think it needs to be reiterated that these have been some of the most unpredictable playoffs in recent years. The Hawks and the Grizzlies caused the big upsets as they entered the second round, and then the Mavs' demolition of the Lakers left a lot of predictors (including me) shell-shocked. Still, I got three of my four Conference-Finalists (Bulls, Heat, Thunder) right - now let's see where they go from here.

Before we delve into the Conference Finals, let's take a quick recap of the second round. The story of the round was definitely the Mavericks, who rode the hot hand and mental toughness of Dirk Nowitzki to sweep the two-time defending champions. I'll hand my unofficial player of the round award to Dirk - the numbers are great, not amazing, but Dirk's value to his team is unmatched. Gotta give some credit to Zach Randolph, who despite a loss left a large impression on the league, and to his opponent Kevin Durant, who had some big games in the round and stepped up in a crucial Game 7 with 39 and 9 to lead his team to the next round. In the East, Derrick Rose continued to do his thing and LeBron and Wade played at the peak of their powers to eliminate the dangerous Celtics' side.

While the great older powers of Boston, LA and Spurs fell, the youth has emerged in the form of Derrick Rose's Bulls and Durant-Westbrook Thunder. This will be the first NBA Finals in 13 years without either Shaq, Kobe, or Duncan participating. This will be only the second time in the last 13 years that the West won't be won by either the Lakers or the Spurs - the only other time was when the Mavs won it in 2006! The four conference-finalists this year all failed to make it past the first round last season!

So here we are, on the cusp of a new era. When it's all said and then, the championship this year will either be won by a talented player with regular season success but post-season disappointed (LeBron or Dirk) or by a young player taking a leap much quicker than anyone expected (Rose or Durant). Of course, there is also Dwyane Wade, the only remaining all star with a championship ring, who won it in 2006 beating Nowitzki's Mavs.

Eastern Conference Finals: (1) Bulls vs. (2) Heat

Despite all the upsets and surprises, the East Finals find themselves exactly where they should be, in a battle between the first and second best Eastern teams of the regular season. It has been a great season for Chicago, led by MVP Derrick Rose and Coach of the Year Tom Thibodeau. The Bulls had an uncertain start to the playoffs after an underwhelming performance against the Pacers and just-about-average series against Atlanta, but they have seemingly gotten better as the playoffs have progressed. Now, after blowing out Miami in Game 1, Chicago is showing its full potential, as a team where Derrick Rose scores at will and scores the big buckets, Luol Deng plays tough defense and scores important points, Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah command the paint, and the support crew make crucial contributions. The Bulls have been the league's best defensive team, and that defense is on fire right now. They have played their best game in Game 1 - now it's Miami's turn to retaliate. They were able to shut down both LeBron and Wade, but you can't keep such incredible talents down forever.

The Heat did get exposed for their lack of depth in Game 1, but no one (including the Bulls) is expecting the other games in this series to end the same way. Chris Bosh regained some confidence after a big game today, but really, this team wins if LeBron and Wade make big contributions, which I think they will. There is too much hunger in Miami to bow down so easily - and someone else from their bench, like Mike Bibby, James Jones, Mike Miller, or Udonis Haslem - will have to step up.

These two teams have so many undercurrent connections between them: during the Free Agent Class of 2010, when Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh were all free agents, Chicago, who had the money, tried to signed each of them at some point or the other and pair them up with Derrick Rose. It never happened, and the three ended up signing together in Miami, and played well enough to finish second in the East. The Bulls, meanwhile, picked up their pieces, brought in Carlos Boozer and Kyle Korver, brought in new coach Thibodeau, and saw Rose emerge into an MVP, and in the process, they finished with a better record than Miami! Additionally, Chicago is a homecoming of sorts for Dwyane Wade, who grew up there - this will be an interesting time for him since he has struggled at the United Center in the past.

When it's all said and then, I expect this to be a long, back and forth series, where perspectives will change after every game. In the end, I think the Bulls' depth and home-court advantage will help them make it to the NBA Finals after seven games. Chicago Bulls win 4-3

Western Conference Finals: (3) Mavericks vs. (4) Thunder

First off - my apology to the Mavs and the Mavs fans - I never had faith in this team. Not for their on-paper talent, because they have one of the deepest and most balanced rosters in the NBA. No, my doubts sprung from the Mavericks' shoddy track record. They never seemed to show enough mental strength and whenever a potential upset could happen with this side, a potential upset did happen! Not this year though. This year, I doubted them in the first round, and they beat the Blazers. I doubted them in the second round, and they swept the Lakers. No more doubts! Dallas is legit, physically and mentally now. I expect this team to play in a similar way against Thunder as they did against Lakers, and I expect Nowitzki to continue the hunger for his first ring. Plus Kidd, Terry, Barea, Marion, Chandler, Stevenson, Peja etc will continue making big contributions. The only negative against the Mavs currently is that this team may be slightly rusty after such a long break without games.

The Thunder, on the other hand, have been the model of inconsistency in the second round. The Grizzlies presented them with a mismatch because of their strong interior play, and OKC's troubles with finding their own identity caused this young team to stutter a few extra steps in the second round. Still, on the positive side, Kevin Durant emerged as one of the game's best closers and took the leap after the big Game 7 performance. Russell Westbrook showed the potential of this team if he played like a true point guard, and if all their other pieces play their role - Harden, Ibaka, Collisson, Perkins - this team can play well against the more finesse-minded Mavs.

Still though, the experience of the Mavs, coupled with the fact that OKC might be emotionally drained-out after the seven game series, will give the team from Dallas the advantage. The Mavericks will be better at executing the right plays, and barring a super-human effort from Durant-Westbrook, I say they will win this series in six games. Dallas Mavericks win 4-2.

So those are my predictions - A Bulls-Mavericks final - Tell me what you think will happen in this round?

NBA's Most Valuable is back in Chicago

Call it the curse of success: when a team does so incredibly well as the Chicago Bulls did in the 90s, a fall from prominence hurts more than, say, a team like the Clippers, who have been more or less un-prominent throughout. And what a decade the 90s were for Chicago! The Bulls won six championships in eight years, were the world's most popular team and the NBA's most feared. And most importantly, they happened to have the man now regarded as the greatest player to ever play the game of basketball, Michael Jordan, who bagged 5 MVP trophies over the course of his career.

The last one of Jordan's MVP awards came in 1998, the year he left the Bulls for good, and the year the team fell back into obscurity. It took a lot more false starts since then, but the Bulls got their shot at resurrection when they drafted local boy Derrick Rose with the first pick of the NBA draft three years ago. The choice couldn't have worked out better for them, as Rose quickly developed into a fascinatingly talented pro, and, as of yesterday, was named the youngest ever MVP of in NBA history.

Yes, at 22 years and seven months, Rose is five months younger than Wes Unseld of the Baltimore Bullets who was named MVP in 1969. It is an amazing achievement for a player, who in just three seasons, has achieved what most players fail to achieve in their lifetimes. He has backed up the hype with results: a first pick in the draft is always going to put pressure on a player - especially if he's the leading point guard on his hometown team - but Rose took it with stride, becoming Rookie of the Year in his first season, an all star in his second, and an all star starter and MVP in his third.

Couple Rose's development with the hiring of now Coach of the Year Tom Thibodeau for the Bulls, and suddenly, the team that was eighth-seed in the East last year finished with the best record in the entire league, 62-20. Rose finished with averages of 25 points and 7.7 assists per game this season.

What is perhaps most awesome about this award is that Rose ignored the scoffs at the beginning of the season and predicted that he could do it. And what makes it more awesome for me, personally, is that I began to believe him too, and predicted that he could do it mid-season - it seemed like the perfect year, after all - LeBron and Wade were cancelling each other out in South Beach, Durant was sharing a lot of offensive responsibility with Russell Westbrook, Dwight Howard was never going to be enough of a leader in my eyes, Kobe was deferring more and more to Gasol and co, Dirk & Chris Paul weren't being consistently brilliant enough in the regular reason, the Spurs and the Celtics had too many good players to single one out, and Amar'e Stoudemire was never going to keep up the great early season play, especially after the Knicks brought in Carmelo Anthony.

So on the whole, I think this is a completely deserving award. Unfortunately though, Rose has followed the MVP-caliber regular season with a pretty average post-season, struggling to beat a lowly Pacers squad in 5 games and losing his first game against the Hawks. This is what I call The Curse of MVP - Since Jordan retired from the Bulls in 1998, only two players (Shaq in 2000 and Duncan in 2003) have followed up MVP seasons with Championship seasons. If the curse is true, then the chances for Rose to win a ring this season are slim; on the other hand, LeBron James fans can rejoice, since the former two-time MVP didn't win the award this season but his Miami Heat are looking like favourite for the title so far.

Rose won the award pretty comfortably this year, with 1182 points. Rounding up the top five were Dwight Howard, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Kevin Durant.

I read somewhere today that, because of the Jordan-Pippen Bulls, almost everyone who was a child back in their 90s era has a little bit of a Bulls fan in them - if that is the case, that little bit of a Bulls fan can have a little celebration over the Bulls' resurgence and their new leader. Now, Rose, Thibodeau, Noah, Boozer, Deng and co have to get serious about things if they plan on adding another championship and spawning a new generation of worldwide fans.

Dear India: NBA Jerseys are coming your way

Remember the days when it was kind of exclusive to own an NBA jersey in India? The days when you saw a friend wearing a jersey and you knew he had either travelled abroad or had an uncle/aunt/cousin/in-law/Chachi-ke-mama-ke-behan-ka-beta somewhere in the first world, who gifted them a precious jersey.

I don't have the stats to prove this, but the most popular jerseys when I was growing up were probably Bulls Jordan #23, Lakers O'Neal #34, Lakers Bryant #8, 76ers Iverson #3, or Magic McGrady #1. Two of my classmates had the most enviable rare ones, who I feel like giving a shout-out here:

1) Jigme Sadutshang, aka James, who owned a Gary Payton (my favourite player of all time), in SuperSonics green #20 - in that old logo - a team and jersey that doesn't exist anymore.
2) Mark Thyle, who owned a Kevin Garnett, Minnesota Timberwolves #21

I was gifted my first very own authentic NBA jersey when I was 22 (late, I know) from England - it was a Knicks Marbury #3. Yes, I know - but hey, I'm a Knicks fan and wanted to sport their colours somehow. Marbury was one of my favourite players back then - but we all know how that story ended - losses, selfishness, vaseline, China.

But what about India itself - we haven't really had authentic NBA jerseys on sale here. adidas first introduced them last August - selling the Magic Dwight Howard #12 jerseys, to usher in 'Superman's' visit to India. The reaction to the jersey, along with the obvious rise of popularity of NBA in India, has encouraged adidas and the NBA.

So here's the great news: the NBA has announced that, for the first time, jerseys will be available to basketball fans in India at 200 adidas stores across the country, along with lots of other NBA merchandise. This is a great time to make this announcement, as the NBA playoffs are right around the corner.

The initial collection of jerseys will include the four players that, pretty much, will be the most bankable over here: Dwight Howard (Magic #12), Kobe Bryant (Lakers #24), LeBron James (Heat #6), and Kevin Garnett (Celtics #5).

Besides from jerseys, the rest of the line will include stylish and classic apparel, accessories and the latest in footwear, as well as colorful tees, large graphics and youthful designs showcasing top NBA teams such as the Lakers, Bulls, Magic and Celtics. The NBA collection will range from Rs. 999 to Rs. 4,499.

“Basketball is growing rapidly in India and the sport is already quite popular amongst high school and college kids in major metros,” said adidas India Director of Sales and Marketing Tushar Goculdas, “Being a leading sportswear brand and market leader in basketball in India, adidas' endeavor is to promote the game and provide our consumers innovative and exciting sportswear. We are leveraging our exclusive global partnership to bring the NBA closer to fans in India. This season, basketball enthusiasts can enjoy official licensed NBA jerseys of their favorite players and a wide and vibrant range of other NBA merchandise.”

"The NBA and adidas share a long-term commitment to grow basketball globally and are encouraged by the tremendous amount of untapped potential we see in India," said NBA India Senior Director of Development Akash Jain. “NBA fans in India are passionate about their favorite teams and players, and through adidas’ extensive retail network we will make available the largest selection of NBA performance and lifestyle merchandise ever in the country."

Now obviously, I have A LOT to say about this!

First of all - amazing news. I know this is just a modest start with only four players. Howard, Bryant, James, and Garnett. Wow. We'll be seeing a lot more of them around the country soon, worn by fans and players. But the good news is that, as the NBA gets more popular here, we will see more jerseys coming to India. This is my wishlist, which includes a whole lotta Knicks, and a lot of players that you probably won't expect to see here, but who I wish should be seen on the country's basketball courts or adorned by fans walking around the marketplace:

1. Knicks - Stoudemire #1
2. Knicks - Anthony #7 - Come on, admit it, Knicks white, orange, and blue are terrific colours, probably the NBA's best. And once they start improving, watch out for the Knicks bandwagon to get heavier.
3. Heat - Wade #3: Once again, the NBA has disappointed me, promoting LeBron but not Wade. Newsflash, world - Dwyane Wade is as good as (or ALMOST as good as) a player that LeBron James is. And he's definitely more exciting. Show some love, pleeeease.
4. Bulls - Rose #1: Before the Lakers took the mantle, the Bulls, behind Michael Jordan, were by far the most popular basketball team in the planet. Now, they are number one in the East again and their star player is an MVP candidate. This one, I really shouldn't have had to explain.
5. Lakers - Gasol #16: He came to India. He is a 2-time champ. He plays for the most popular team. And he's awesome.
6. Thunder - Durant #35: Newsflash Part 2 - Kevin Durant is a really, really, really good player. But because he doesn't really have the most promotable personality and plays in a system more than as an individual, the NBA hasn't really promoted him the way they have promoted the other superstars. The Thunder are a new team, with rare, colours, and I'm sure it will become the alternative fan's favourite apparel if we can get this jersey here.
7. Clippers - Griffin #32 - Honour to a man who has temporarily made wearing the word 'Clippers' across your chest cool again. Wait, scrap that. It's too risky.
8. Mavericks - Nowitzki #41 - Not that I would buy it, but the Mavs/Dirk are pretty popular.
9. Lakers - Artest #37: There could be many reasons why this is a bad idea. Artest is crazy is probably at the top of the list. But to all those who love defense and their psychiatrist, this is a must have. Perhaps the other reason why this is a risky move is because Ron Ron changes jersey numbers faster than the Knicks' change their roster. Over the course of his career, he has worn 15, 23, 91, 93, 96, and 37.

Others in contention: John Wall (Wizards), Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen (Celtics are popular in India), Chris Paul (Hornets), Steve Nash (Suns), Landry Fields (Knicks).

And my favourite, best, jersey idea? Cavaliers, LeBron James, #23. Ha! Just so you can a) pretend the decision never happened or b) burn it like the folks over in Cleveland.

And for those who are now kind of disappointed that NBA jerseys are now available in India, your jersey isn't rare anymore, and your days of calling on your Chachi-ke-mama-ke-behan-ka-beta are over, take heart and move on to the next level - THROWBACKS! Do some research and go old school. ESPN.com has listed its favourite retro jerseys, which include Moses Malone (Spirit of St. Louis, #13), Rick Barry (San Francisco Warriors #24), Pistol Pete Maravich (Atlanta Hawks #44).

My sights are still set to that Gary Payton Sonics - Jigs, you got a bigger size?

The NBA's Social Network

It's no secret anymore how much social networks have changed our lives. There are about 500 million people on Facebook - in India, we started a little late, but we quickly caught up and take over, becoming one of the biggest Facebook users in the world.

But we are still a little slower to catch on Twitter, which is kind of a pity, because nothing bridges the gap between news-maker, news-sharer, and news-reader than Twitter does. There are about 140 million tweets sent per day between millions more.

And one of the fascinating developments of the ever-twittering world is the bridging gap between the Big Guys and the Little Ones. Now, within an instant, the average Ramu on his PC in Faridabad can tell 50 Cent how awful his last album was, and have 50 Cent give a derogatory response, too.

So of course, for NBA fans, Twitter has helped to create a new kind of relationship and understanding with otherwise unapproachable superstars that live the grind of 82-game-plus-more NBA seasons half-way across the world. Not all the information has been useful or interesting (it rarely is), but through Twitter, I've learnt what certain NBA players think of their opponents, how certain players would like to address any controversy or speculation regarding themselves, their favourite foods, and mostly, a whole bunch of other incoherent garble.

The first person I followed on Twitter when I created my own account was Shaquille O'Neal (@THE_REAL_SHAQ), and it has been a very wise decision. Shaq has described himself as being 'VERY QUOTATIOUS, I PERFORM RANDOM ACTS OF SHAQNESS', and really, if you don't know what means, then you are probably at the right place, because I'm not sure Shaq knows either. Like you would expect him to be, Shaq is funny and memorable, posting pictures of himself dressed up in drag for Halloween, inviting fans in Boston to come and hang out with him, or praising Justin Bieber.

Basketball's biggest superstars are surprisingly non-existent on social networking. Kobe Bryant doesn't have an account yet. LeBron does, humbly calling himself @KingJames, but he, too, is mostly politically correct about things. I say mostly, because every once in a while, LeBron does pull a Homer - like the time he told followers to shower their hate - and they did - and then he went ahead and retweeted their comments to everyone else. His finest/worst moment so far came when he published the famous 'karma' tweet. The Cavs had lost by a franchise-worst 55 points to the Lakers, embarrasingly, when LeBron wrote "Crazy. Karma is a b****.. Gets you every time. Its not good to wish bad on anybody. God sees everything!" Karma, indeed was a bitch, since LeBron was injured a game later and Miami went on to lose four straight.

My favourite NBA-twitterer - by FAR - is Ron Artest (@ronartest). On a daily basis, Ron Ron pretty much confirms what everyone already thinks - that he is in serious, serious need of his psychiatrist! It is an unpredictable ride daily as Artest boasts about Laker winning streaks ("do u like to win? then u must be a lakers fan"), promotes his music ("Go Loco"), writes nonsensical stuff that he probably thinks of on a daily basis ("i love my pet penguin", "I can't believe I jumped in the air like a silly pirate on drugs") or talking about his favourite eating joint ("It's. 1:30 In n out is open Wozeers").

But behind all the crazy, Ron Ron does some good, too. He is known to randomely hand out tickets to his fans in LA, those who responded fastest to him on Twitter. He even follows some of his fans.

Late last night, Artest made his India connect, asking Abhishek Bachan (@juniorbachan) if he is a Laker fan after Abhishek had a Twitter conversation with Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson).

Speaking of Magic, the Laker great is pretty active on Twitter, too, giving his commentary on NBA/NCAA games, and awkwardly, adding his Dove Men Care sponsorship with each Tweet.

Another fairly regular tweeter is Steve Nash (@SteveNash) - the legendary Suns point guard proves that he is pretty much as cool in real life as you would expect him to be. Nash talks about random day-to-day issues or makes references to his favourite football team, the Tottenham Hotspurs.

As a Knick fan, I follow a bunch of New York players, including Amare Stoudemire (@Amareisreal) and new Knick Carmelo Anthony (@carmeloanthony). The most interesting Knick, though, is rookie Landry Fields (@landryfields). Fields has posted refreshingly honest thoughts and funny videos to quickly become a Twitter Superstar for the Knicks.

One of the NBA's rising young stars is Kevin Durant (@KDthunderup), who used his Twitter status to make the biggest statement in the smallest way in the last off-season, when he wrote "Exstension for 5 more years wit the thunder....God Is Great, me and my family came a long way...I love yall man forreal, this a blessing!"

Amongst the other big NBA stars, the likes of Dwyane Wade (@dwadeofficial), Chris Bosh (@chrisbosh), Dwight Howard (@DwightHoward), Pau Gasol (@paugasol), Chris Paul (@oneandonelycp3), Rajon Rondo (@RajonRondo), Paul Pierce (@paulpierce34), Blake Griffin (@blakegriffin), Kevin Love (@kevinlove), and Russel Westbrook (@russwest44)) are also on Twitter. Besides of promoting non-NBA events that may be involved in, or talking about their family and friends, the players mostly just check in and out with their fans, conversing with a few every now and then and helping to build a unique player-fan relationship.

And of course, there are the NBA's cast-aways, but via Twitter, you can be sure they are never too far. Allen Iverson (@alleniverson) makes sure to check in from Turkey occasionally, and regularly proving to the universe that, like his shooting outbursts, he has a hard time keeping the 140-character limit in check, too. From China, I here from Stephon Marbury (@StephonMarbury) sometimes, who makes sure to drop his words of positivity and optimism every now and then.

The one person that I really wish was back on social networking is Gilbert Arenas. Before anyone else did it, Arenas was the first NBA superstar to really establish the one-on-one connect with the fans through his blog. Twitter was to become the perfect platform form the Former Agent 0's hilarious musings, before his account was deleted last year, around the same time he was suspended by the NBA for the whole guns-in-the-locker incident. His tweets during the ordeal only added fuel to the fire, and suddenly, like Arenas, the account was suspended indefinitely too. Arenas has returned since, but his Twitter presence hasn't.

Of course, if you prefer to follow your favourite teams, they all have twitter accounts too: From the Lakers (@Lakers), to the Celtics (@celtics) to the Heat (@MiamiHEAT) and the Knicks (@thenyknicks) - and of course, the NBA (@NBA) is on Twitter, too!

This is just a start. You can literally go crazy looking for your favourite teams, players, news feeds, reporters, or fake-player pages. For Indian basketball fans, I'm going to leave you with some important few feeds to follow:
- Basketball Federation of India: @BFIbasketball
- Troy Justice, Director of Basketball Operations, NBA India: @troyjustice
- JD Basketball / JD Walsh, American basketball coach in India: @jdbasketball


And of course, yours truly, for getting the finest information about basketball, India, NBA, philosophy, and a bunch of other things, you need to follow the Hoopistani (@Hoopistani) twitter feed. It will make your life better, I swear it. Or at least more interesting.

A memorable weekend in LA - My pics from the 60th NBA All Star Game

About a month ago, I was lucky enough to represent NBA.com/India at the 60th NBA All Star Weekend in Los Angeles. As you can imagine for someone who has been a lifelong fan of the game, it was indubitably one of the most memorable experiences of my life. From getting to meet and converse with the world's best basketball players, watching them compete against each other in the All Star Game and other exciting challenges, to just soaking in the terrific carnival of basketball that the City of Los Angeles had transformed into, there were way too many glorious moments to properly recapture the essence of actually being there.



I kept a daily blog for NBA-India during the Weekend. Check it out!
Day 1: Los Angeles, the Home to a Basketball Pilgrim on ASW.
Day 2: Can the Stars come out and play?
Day 3: The City of Angels, Hollywood, and the Black Mamba.

I know it took some time for me to get around to do this, but I've uploaded several of the photographs that I snapped from my own (very primitive) camera. Of course, if you want well taken photos from good cameras at fantastic angles, you are much better off finding them here - for everyone else, check out my pics and anecdotes below.

The weekend started with the Rookie practice and the Rookie game on Friday. But Friday afternoon was the real entertaining time, as the Media Members were invited to interview all of the Eastern and Western Conference All Star Players.

Being one of the hometown players, the Lakers' power-forward Pau Gasol obviously garnered a lot of attention, from the local as well as the Spanish-language Media. I got around to asking him about his experiences in India. "It was a great experience," Gasol said, "I had a chance to get to know India a little bit, but at the same time I was very busy. Hopefully I can visit again and get some downtime to do more. I'm hoping basketball continues to grow there: The NBA has done a good job in promoting the sport in India. They have gotten the kids excited about it and showed how great basketball is."

A few weeks before the All Star Game, Chris Paul, one of the top point guards in the league, conversed with fans in India via an online chat. Paul remembered the event and spoke about the future growth of the league worldwide. "It's unbelievable how the game has grown," he said, "Just a year ago, I went to London, Paris, and over in China. At one point in the late 90s you could say that basketball is America's game, but now it's a world's game. Everyone has caught up."


The toughest people to catch in the room were LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony (this was nearing the trade deadline and he was still a member of the Nuggets then), hometown player Blake Griffin (who took part in the Rookie Challenge, the Slam Dunk competition, and the All Star Game), and of course, the Black Mamba, Kobe Bryant. The entire city of LA was like Kobe's shrine, and this was literally the clearest pic I could get of him - Kobe's media table was swarmed by nearly a 100 media people even BEFORE he showed up! Winning the All Star Game MVP later only added to his local mythical status.

And here's Derrick Rose, who in about a month's time will be named the regular season's MVP. Rose and Durant were two of the least hyped stars at the Weekend, despite the fact that they had been having incredible individual seasons. Playing point guard to the likes of LeBron and Wade, Rose made it clear before the All Star Game that he was going to defer and let others dominate the night.

Surrounded by 100s like Kobe is his Eastern Conference counterpart LeBron. LeBron ended up having only the second-ever All Star Game triple double since Michael Jordan - an incredible feat - but it wasn't enough as he wasn't able to stop Kobe and co run away with the game on Sunday night.

Many people may not remember this, but Garnett came to India about four years ago, while he was still a Minnesota player, as part of an adidas promotional trip. He visited Bangalore, Delhi, and Agra. When I asked him about it, Garnett spoke about his fondness for Indian food. "I'm a curry guy - so I loved it there!" he said.
On a more serious note, KG added how impressed he was by the schoolkids he worked with back in India. "The best thing about my tour was how the kids in India embraced basketball straight away," said Garnett, "My advice would be that they should know that they can improve in multiple areas. I spoke to kids there and told them that whatever your focus on life may be, be it football or basketball or their studies - they should do it with passion. Show love for whatever you're doing and do it with your heart first."

The first event on Saturday morning was a practice session for the two teams. All the All Stars took different sides of the same court to practice with their coaches for the weekend, but mostly, joke around with each other. After the practice session, they held a Guinness Book of World Records competition of most three-pointers made by a duo in a minute. Paul Pierce and Ray Allen of the Celtics represented the East and scored 13 threes. But their record was short-lived, as Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Durant quickly took on the challenge for the West and nailed 15 three-pointers to snatch the record away!

Right after the practice session, the Media were given permission to talk to the players on court. This is when I got a chance to approach Dwyane Wade and talk to him. Wade, who was the MVP of last year's All Star Game, said that this time around, he will not be gunning for the MVP - "I predict my teammate Chris Bosh will get it," he said. Wade had a low-key game, but nearly gave his fans a scare after he suffered a minor injury by stepping on Deron Williams' foot during the All Star Game.

One of the more likable characters in the course of the weekend was Ray Allen, who I got the opportunity to interview twice, on Friday and on Saturday. Allen had recently beaten Reggie Miller's record of most three-pointers made, and seemed to be on a roll, having the most efficient season of his career, even in an older age. This was the night that he was to participate in (and lose) the three-point shooting competition. Allen said that when he was growing up, his own shooting idol was Dell Curry.
Another anecdote regarding Ray Allen is that, the previous day, I asked him a question that I didn't really expect him to take seriously: see, I'm a big fan of Spike Lee's basketball classic He Got Game, featuring Ray Allen as a talented young star, Jesus Shuttlesworth, and Denzel Washington as his father who plays him one-on-one at the end of the game. I will not tell you any more about it, except that you need to go and see it. But back to my question: "Ray - who has been your toughest basketball challenge - Kobe Bryant... Or Denzel Washington?"
Without a flinch, and with a straight face, Jesus Shuttlesworth answered: "My toughest challenge is probably eating too much lasagna before a game!"

For most of the time, Thunder teammates Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook took their interviews together, a good sign of the bond between the two young stars of one of the league's most exciting up-and-coming squads. Both of them had led Team USA to the FIBA World Championship gold in Turkey last summer, and in the progress, Kevin Durant won the tournament's MVP. Durant was optimistic about the growth of basketball worldwide. "It's great to see the talent developing around the world," he said, "I hope that one day basketball can become the most popular game in the world."

This photo is from Saturday night - the Slam Dunk competition, and here's Blake Griffin about to take off for his final dunk, while being serenaded "I believe I can fly" by a gospel choir, ready to jump over a car. The hype for this event may have been greater than the final product, but actually being there in person made this one of the most entertaining nights ever. I also believe that this was surely the most entertaining slam dunk competition since Vince Carter destroyed everything in his sight 11 years ago. Check out the video of Griffin's dunk here. And for good measure and nostalgia, here are Vince Carter's finest aerial moments.

Lakers fans, the photo below is for you. For Clippers fans, too, if there are any here. This is the Staples Center, the Mecca of Los Angeles Basketball. The area around Staples was entirely of a basketball theme. And I was lucky enough to be given a short tour of the Arena hours before the All Star Game.




ANDDDDD... Here we go... Tip off to the 60th NBA All Star Game - Amar'e Stoudemire and Tim Duncan tipping it off. It was the beginning to the end to a wonderful weekend - thanks a lot NBA for helping me soak in this amazing experience!

What were your thoughts on the All Star Weekend? What were your favourite moments and your favourite players? Feel free to share any thoughts on the comments section below...

NBA Eye from an Indian Guy

If you're an NBA fan in India, I'm excited to announce that your weekly NBA analysis on NBA-India is about to get twice as nice! Starting this week, I will be doing two weekly articles for the NBA-India website. In addition to the feature article I write towards the end of every week, I will now have a Tuesday morning column called 'NBA Eye from an Indian Guy', a recap of all the NBA games broadcasted in India over the past week.

With the new and improved broadcasting deals for NBA in India, I have more and more reason to lose sleep, wake up at unearthly hours of the morning, and rub my eyes through live NBA action. Four, and sometimes five NBA games are now being shown in India every week, and I try to watch most of the action from most of these games. This column should give fans a chance to get a (very short) recap of the weekly matches.

In the first installment of this series, I talk about how it isn't just Kevin Durant that's made OKC Thunder a contender, I take a look at the Bulls' statement in Boston, and yes, much more!

Check out my entire blog archive of my NBA-India articles here.

2010: NBA Team of the Year

2010 is over, and I feel I missed an important window of listing year-end lists, New Year's resolutions, and 2010 best ofs. No worries. With the NBA All Star Game coming up in a little more than a month, I decided to create my own All-Star Team - a team featuring the best NBA players from 2010. It started with an idea of a starting five, and when I realised I was leaving many more important players out, I decided to make a 12-man roster.

Unlike what the NBA does with All-Star voting, I'm not going to divide the players too strictly on their natural position and then choose a team depending on the best fit. These players are chosen for their performance in the last 4 months of the 2009-10 regular season, the first two months of the 2010-11 regular season, but most importantly, on the basis of their performance during the 2010 Playoffs and Finals. The better a player performed at the big stage, the more respect I give him.

So, on to my 2010 Starting Five:

PG: Rajon Rondo: Rondo has been a beast all year and this selection has been indisputable for me. Not only did he dominate all last season, he has begun this year on fire, getting on pace for the highest assists average since the Stockton years. It doesn't hurt that he led an ageing Celtics squad to the NBA Finals and was perhaps one of the top two players in the Playoffs.

SG: Kobe Bryant: Again, no question here. The other best players of the playoffs, the Finals MVP, NBA champion again. Doubt on his regular season performances all you will, Kobe lit it up when necessary in 2010.

SF: LeBron James: Forget about the decision, the ego, Game 5 vs the Celtics, and the fact that he is sharing his success now with Dwyane Wade. LeBron James was once again the best basketball player in the world this year, winning another MVP award, quitting on his Cleveland team, joining the Heat, and helping them become one of the league's best.

PF: Kevin Garnett: Probably my most questionable pick, and I welcome the questions. I have left out a great big player from my starting five to make space for KG, but after his resurrection in the playoffs and his continued dominant play early this season (before the recent injury), he deserves to be a starter in my 2010 team. Forget the statistics, KG got results.

C: Pau Gasol: I could've easily slid Gasol to PF and put Dwight at C, but Gasol plays half his time as center anyways. And damn, he deserves to be starting! Gasol has established himself as the best big man in the league, dominating KG in the Finals, and continuing his good play this season. Coming to India didn't hurt his image, either.

These are the players who will be riding by '010 bench:

C: Dwight Howard: 6th man of the bench. Would've been a starter but I've been harsh on him since that epic conference finals meltdown.
F: Kevin Durant: Led the league in scoring, propelled himself into top-3-in-the-league status.
G: Dwyane Wade: Wade had another good but not great year. Heat failed to go beyond the first round but he played well. Early in the year, he won the All-Star game's MVP, helped the Heat go on a long streak to end the season, and this season has been the team's best player. There, I said it.
F: Amar'e Stoudemire: Amar'e was good in Phoenix, helping an unfavoured side surprise everyone and even get as far as the Western Conference Finals. And now, with the Knicks, Amar'e has been one of the best players this season, even vying for an MVP award.
G: Steve Nash: Another Suns player who had a great last season, although his stock has fallen considerably in the last two months. He dominated the playoffs, especially in the Spurs series.
G: Derrick Rose: Rose has grown into a bonafide superstar this past year, from featuring in the 2010 All Star team to becoming an early MVP candidate for the 2010-11 season.
F: Ron Artest: Yeah, Ron Artest. He's my 12th man. Based on his 2010, I will only be featuring him for occasional awesome defense, buzzer-beating put-backs, and the occasional big performance in the most important game of the year (check NBA Finals, Game 7 for reference).

Honorable Mentions: Paul Pierce, Deron Williams, Jameer Nelson, Lamar Odom, Dirk Nowitzki, Carmelo Anthony.

And my 2010 player of the year? Drumroll... Kobe Bryant. LeBron might have won the regular season MVP and the off-season limelight, but Kobe's consistent performances in the season, the playoffs, and the Finals, all the way up to the championship (despite that awful Game 7) make him the NBA's 2010 hero of the year.

So there, that's my All-2010 squad. Who's in yours?