If the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers make it to the NBA Finals again this season they'll be the first teams to face each other 3 consecutive times in the Finals...
Not just in the history of the NBA, but in the history of ALL FOUR of the major sporting leagues.
Congratulations to the new Hall of Famers! Let's take a look back their accomplishments!
姚明 Yao Ming:
8× NBA All-Star (2003–2009, 2011) 2× All-NBA Second Team (2007, 2009) 3× All-NBA Third Team (2004, 2006, 2008) NBA All-Rookie First Team (2003) CBA champion (2002) CBA Finals MVP (2002) 3× CBA rebounding leader (2000, 2001, 2002) 3× CBA blocks leader (2000, 2001, 2002) 2× CBA Slam Dunk leader (2000, 2001) 3× FIBA Asian Championship MVP (2001, 2003, 2005)
Allen Iverson:
NBA Most Valuable Player (2001) 11× NBA All-Star (2000–2010) 2× NBA All-Star Game MVP (2001, 2005) 3× All-NBA First Team (1999, 2001, 2005) 3× All-NBA Second Team (2000, 2002, 2003) All-NBA Third Team (2006) NBA Rookie of the Year (1997) NBA Rookie Challenge MVP (1997) 4× NBA scoring champion (1999, 2001, 2002, 2005) 3× NBA steals leader (2001–2003) No. 3 retired by Philadelphia 76ers Consensus first-team All-American (1996) First-team All-Big East (1996)
Shaquille O' Neal:
4× NBA champion (2000–2002, 2006) 3× NBA Finals MVP (2000–2002) NBA Most Valuable Player (2000) 15× NBA All-Star (1993–1998, 2000–2007, 2009) 3× NBA All-Star Game MVP (2000, 2004, 2009) 8× All-NBA First Team (1998, 2000–2006) 2× All-NBA Second Team (1995, 1999) 4× All-NBA Third Team (1994, 1996, 1997, 2009) 3× All-Defensive Second Team (2000, 2001, 2003) NBA Rookie of the Year (1993) 2× NBA scoring champion (1995, 2000) NBA 50th Anniversary Team No. 34 retired by Los Angeles Lakers FIBA World Championship MVP (1994) USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year (1994) College national player of the year (1992) 2× Consensus first-team All-American (1991, 1992) 2× SEC Player of the Year (1991, 1992) McDonald's All-American MVP (1989)
Three of the game's legends that truly left an impact in the sport that benefited not just the NBA, but the whole basketball community.
A few weeks ago I commented that LeBron James had become the youngest player to reach 25,000 points in the NBA player . Now I can refer him to talk sports and marketing , which do not stop innovating. This time the media hype is caused by LeBron James and the sports firm Nike. For the first time in the history of Nike, the company signed an agreement with a sportsman to represent him for life. The most similar case is that of Michael Jordan, who also it has a contract with Nike, which without being an official contract itself is de facto a lifetime contract.
To show the importance of the agreement suffices to say that only Jordan has more models Nike James, 30 13.
LeBron James already had a contract with Nike since 2003, when he jumped to the NBA. Then Nike and James signed a $ 90 million for seven years. After finalizing the contract, both parties renewed their commitment for nine years. Two years ago Kevin Durant, the Oklahoma City Thunder star, signed a $ 300 million for 10 years, thereby overcoming James revenue.
With this contract, LeBron will become the player with the longest advertising contract in history.
A contract with Nike than 300 million
Some sources close to the negotiations confirmed the average ESPN that the figure will surpass the agreement with Durant more than 300 million.
Maverick Carter, partner LeBron James said that "LeBron is delighted to be a Nike lifetime." James is the active player more money produces sales of sporting goods. In 2014 there were more than 340 million dollars around worldwide, while in the 2015 are expected to be more than 400.
Tracy McGrady on Yao Ming entry to the Hall Of Fame.
"Now, there's over 300 million people in China playing because of Yao Ming.
I saw it. I felt it. That is his legacy. He brought NBA basketball to China and I will forever be thankful that I was able to be a part of it. He introduced the country to me.
We were their heroes. They didn't see Michael Jordan play, they saw us. They saw Yao."
Last week ended the regular season in the NBA and, so far, have already played several games of the playoffs NBA 2016 title. In this article we will review possible options for each of the qualified teams and their chances to advance in the competition. in case some clueless is here, it is worth remembering that each NBA championship consists of two phases. One is the regular season with each team faces the other teams in the league , although it more often against teams from their own conference against teams from the other conference (conference East and West). After finishing the regular phase , has 82 days , they start the playoffs, which are qualifiers for the title seven games that pit the top eight teams in each conference. The final of the championship played in a round to seven games the champions of the Eastern and Western conferences.
On April 12 some of the matches of the final day of the regular season were played.Most notable of those occurred waswithdrawn as a professionalofKobe Bryant.The Black Mamba played his last game as a basketball player at Staples Center against the Utah Jazz.The result was favorable to the Lakers by 101-96, and Kobe Bryant re-signed a night to remember.In his last game as a player in purple and gold scored a whopping 60 points, a record never before achieved by a player more than 35 years.The last day of the regular season. Kobe's farewell and the record of the Warriors
On another occasion, in this way we talked about the merits of Kobe Bryant, but just remember some.In his 20 seasons in the NBA has won five rings, she has twice reached the finals of the championship, was once MVP of the regular season and has participated 18 times in the AllStar. He retired as the third leading scorer in league history and one of its stars. He will miss Kobe in the league.
The day dream of Bryant moved from the headlines another important feat, the record of theGolden State Warriors wins in the regular season. The previous record was 72-10 in the hands of Chicago Bulls Jordan, Pippen and company in the season 1995-1996. With two games remaining in the regular season, the Warriors faced San Antonio Spurs (the second best team in the league) and already had a score of 71-9. In the end, they managed to win that game and equal the record of victories of the Bulls. In the last game against Memphis Grizzlies won comfortably by 125 to 104 and recorded a record that we assume will take years to fight: 73 victories by 9 defeats in a regular season.
Ranked teams and expectations of the NBA playoffs 2016
Finally the teams qualified for the 2016 NBA playoffs have been as follows. The go over lecture. In the Eastern Conference . Cleveland Cavaliers, Toronto Raptors, Miami Heat, Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Charlotte Hornets, Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons in the Western Conference classifieds were as follows : Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Clippers, Portland Trail Blazers, Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies and Houston Rockets.
NBA Playoffs 2016
As happens every year, for 82 games in what is rewarded is regularity, it is no accident pass those teams and left out the rest. In any case, it is worth making a clause in some data, such as the failure of not pass the Chicago Bulls (they were ninth of his conference with Gasol, Rose and Butler in its ranks), so poor season Phipaelphia 76ers (10 victories and 72 defeats) or the last place Los Angele Slakers in the Western Conference (17 wins and 65 defeats).
Clashes of the first phase of the 2016 NBA playoffs
After these results, the clashes of the first phase of the 2016 NBA playoffs are mentioned below.
Eastern Conference
Cleveland Cavaliers-Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers-Toronto Rpators, Miami Heat-Hornets and Atlanta Hawks Charlotte-Boston Celtics.
Western Conference
Golden State Warriors-Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs-Memphis Grizzlies, Okahoma City Thunder-Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Clippers-Portland Trail Blazers.
A priori, the favorites to reach the final rounds of the NBA playoffs 2016 are Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs, Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma City Thunder. The Western Conference in recent years is often harder than the Eastern Conference . This means that the way for the Cleveland Cavaliers Lebron James may be somewhat quieter until you reach the final.
As discussed in the favorite This is Cleveland Cavaliers, but his season has been more irregular than last year and Lebron James sometimes shown tired and less effective than at other times .Some equipment that could show problems if they would face Toronto Raptors, Miami Heat, Atlanta Hawks or even Boston Celtics.
The big unknown in the West is whether Golden State Warriors will be able to keep the NBA playoffs 2016 the level shown in the regular season or acknowledge fatigue. Spurs veterans play a brilliant basketball and manual , and surely will put things very difficult if they are in the way.Meanwhile, Oklahoma City Thunder has a great Big Three (Durant, Westbrook and Ibaka) , you can confidently do much damage to any equipment.
LeBron James and Dwyane Wade are working out together in Los Angeles, and this time it's no big deal.
Now that Wade, one of James' closest friends, plays for the Chicago Bulls and not the Miami Heat, where he and James once won two NBA championship together, their joint, summer sessions draw little more than a yawn.
James posted a couple pictures to his Instagram account Wednesday indicating that he is indeed preparing for the 2016-17 season by working out with, among others, Wade.
The workouts are taking place at UCLA, near James' home in Los Angeles, and appear to include James' Cavs teammates Richard Jefferson and Jordan McRae, as well as Philadelphia 76ers rookie Ben Simmons.
At least four members of the Cavs' support staff, including assistant coach Phil Handy and Mike Mancias, James' trainer, are also participating in Los Angeles, as is Wade's trainer David Alexander, who has a business relationship with James' wife, Savannah.
Simmons and James are linked by the agent they share -- Rich Paul. The 76ers drafted Simmons first overall in June.
James and Wade are always tied together, from the vacations they take (banana boats, anyone?), to the stands for social justice they make, to James' desire to one day reunite and add Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul to the mix for an aging super team.
But, until Wade left Miami this summer for the Bulls, James would often go to South Beach to visit or work out with Wade, and those trips usually caused minor controversies (however ridiculous this sounds, some would speculate that James' trips there signaled his interest in rejoining the Heat).
James signed a three-year, $100 million deal (with a player's option for the third year) to stay with the Cavs this month.
Virtually all of the Cavs are supposed to join James in Los Angeles for pre-training camp workouts in September, but the dates of those sessions are unclear. James is also going to Asia for his annual tour with Nike sometime in September.
Cleveland's media day is Sept. 26, and the first practice for defending the Cavs' 2016 title is the next day.
For those of you keeping score, today was also the first day of school for James' sons -- LeBron Jr. (11) and Bryce (9). Junior is now a sixth grader, while Bryce is in the fourth grade.
Golden State Warriors Announce 2016 Preseason Schedule Slate Includes Three Home Games; Two Games at Oracle Arena Plus a Return to SAP Center in San Jose; Tickets for Games at Oracle Available Starting August 31; All Home Games Feature Bobblehead Giveaways
The Golden State Warriors will play three home games in the Bay Area, including two at Oracle Arena and one at the SAP Center in San Jose, as part of a seven-game preseason schedule, the team announced today. Each of the three home games will feature exclusive bobblehead giveaways for the first 10,000 fans in attendance.
The first home game, on October 4 against the Los Angeles Clippers at Oracle Arena, includes the Stephen Curry Back-to-Back MVP Bobblehead, presented by Kaiser Permanente Get Fit, featuring the All-Star point guard holding both of his MVP trophies. The Warriors will return to SAP Center in San Jose for the second-consecutive year on October 6 to host the Sacramento Kings in a game that includes a Klay Thompson San Jose Sharks Edition Bobblehead, featuring the All-Star shooting guard in a Sharks sweater in support of the Bay Area’s National Hockey League team that calls the SAP Center home. The final home preseason game, versus the Portland Trail Blazers at Oracle Arena on October 21, includes a Draymond Green Bobblehead, presented by Lucky California, featuring the All-Star forward in his famous flexing pose.
Tickets for Warriors preseason games at Oracle Arena will be available starting Wednesday, August 31, with exclusive presale events to the team’s Season Ticket holders, Priority Wait List members, and Warriors Insider Subscribers before tickets are made available to the general public. The first presale event begins on Wednesday, August 31, for the team’s Season Ticket Holders at 10:00 a.m., with additional presales for Season Ticket Priority Wait List members at 11:00 a.m., and Warriors Insider Subscribers at 2:00 p.m. before tickets are made available to the general public at 4:00 p.m. Fans will be able to purchase single-game tickets for Warriors preseason home games at Oracle Arena on warriors.com or by calling 888-GSW-HOOP. Ticket information for the game at SAP Center will be announced at a later date.
The Warriors open the 2016 preseason in Canada on Saturday, October 1, against the Toronto Raptors at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, marking the club’s first game in Vancouver since February 15, 2001. Additional road games include a visit to the Denver Nuggets on October 14 and a pair of games with the Los Angeles Lakers at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on October 15 and at Valley View Casino Center in San Diego on October 19.
Television and radio broadcast information for the preseason will be announced at a later date. Below is the Warriors’ 2016 preseason schedule:
Day/Date
Opponent
Location
Time
Saturday, October 1
Toronto Raptors
Rogers Arena – Vancouver, BC
4:30 p.m.
Tuesday, October 4
Los Angeles Clippers
Oracle Arena – Oakland
7:30 p.m.
Thursday, October 6
Sacramento Kings
SAP Center – San Jose
7:30 p.m.
Friday, October 14
Denver Nuggets
Pepsi Center – Denver
6 p.m.
Saturday, October 15
Los Angeles Lakers
T-Mobile Arena – Las Vegas
7 p.m.
Wednesday, October 19
Los Angeles Lakers
Valley View Casino Center – San Diego
7 p.m.
Friday, October 21
Portland Trail Blazers
Oracle Arena – Oakland
7:30 p.m.
All Times Pacific Warriors Home Games Listed In Bold
Five best available free agent point guards: Chris Fedor
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- With Matthew Dellavedova moving on to Milwaukee and Mo Williams contemplating retirement, the Cleveland Cavaliers could be thin at point guard.
Kyrie Irving, a three-time All-Star, leads the way while rookie second-round pick Kay Felder is penciled in as the primary backup. Of course, LeBron James can run the offense and provide effective minutes at the position as well, which certainly eases any possible trepidation.
Is there anything else the team can do? It seems unlikely that the deep-into-the-luxury-tax Cavaliers would make another off-season signing, boosting the salary cap even more. Any contract becomes even more expensive than it would appear given the tax penalties.
Norris Cole is enticing, but the former James teammate is coming off a career year and deserves a contract richer than the veteran's minimum, which is all the Cavaliers can offer. Having to scrape the bottom of the barrel, it makes more sense for the Cavs to wait it out, see if a point guard becomes available around the trade deadline and possibly use one of the trade exceptions to make an addition later.
Still, going into the season with diminutive Felder as the backup can't be comforting. So check out our multimedia slideshow of the top free agent point guards that Cleveland could possibly sign for the veteran's minimum. It's not the most appealing list.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cleveland Cavaliers are still riding high after winning the NBA title this past season.
But while other teams around the league have improved, perhaps even closed the gap on the Cavaliers, the East champs have suffered a few losses this off-season.
Timofey Mozgov left for Los Angeles and Matthew Dellavedova got a new deal from the Milwaukee Bucks.
How much will the Cavs miss Dellavedova, who morphed into a reliable backup point guard and key component of the team's second unit? Joe Vardon joined Bud Shaw and I to discuss the loss.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Mo Williams could be in his last week as a member of the Cavaliers.
Williams, 33, a 13-year veteran and former All-Star who played a supporting role in the Cavs' 2016 NBA championship, is strongly considering retirement, multiple sources told cleveland.com.
Additionally, the "stretch" deadline in the NBA is approaching, which means that if a player is waived by Aug. 31 (Wednesday), the team can spread his salary out over a period of years -- which could lessen the luxury tax penalty Cleveland owner Dan Gilbert will have to pay next summer.
Williams exercised the player's option in the two-year, $4.3 million contract he signed prior to the start of last season, so the Cavs would owe him about $2.2 million in '16-17.
The Cavs' payroll is already $117.6 million -- way over the NBA's $94 million cap and above the luxury-tax threshold of $113.2 million. They have yet to re-sign J.R. Smith or bring in additional player through trade, which will bump the team's payroll even higher.
Waiving Williams before the Aug. 31 deadline would allow the Cavs to pay him his $2.2 million over a period of three years and lessen his tax burden to the team by several million dollars.
But Williams' departure from the team would also leave Cleveland with only 2016 second-round draft pick Kay Felder of Oakland University as backup point guard to Kyrie Irving on the roster.
The Cavs could find a potential trade partner to take Williams' contract and allow Cleveland to add to its roster, according to a source, so there is no decision yet from an organizational standpoint on whether or not to waive him by Wednesday's deadline.
From Williams' side of this, he battled a left-knee issue for most of last season while playing in just 41 regular-season games, as his playing time dwindled once Irving returned from knee surgery and the coaching staff chose to stick with Matthew Dellavedova as Irving's backup.
Sources said his balky knee, desire to coach -- especially younger players and children -- and the obvious chance to go out as a champion are weighing heavily upon him.
Williams and Felder are featured in a recent YouTube video conducting a workout, though in the 11-minute clip it appeared Williams was mostly giving instruction to the Cavs rookie and was barely participating in the drills himself -- a sign that something like this is coming.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The summer of LeBron James continued this week as Starz announced it has picked up his comedy series "Survivor's Remorse" for a fourth season.
The renewal came on the same day that James' reality show "Cleveland Hustles" premiered on CNBC.
"I'm incredibly proud of the team at 'Survivor's Remorse' and what we've built," James, who is an executive producer and has appeared on the show, said in a statement. "The show grew so much this year, attracting new fans and reaching new levels of popularity. I want to thank all the fans who've made 'Survivor's Remorse' a success and the team at Starz for all of their support."
The show, a fictional portrayal about a young basketball player's life after signing a huge pro contract (sound familiar?), has enjoyed ratings increases this season. The first five episodes have averaged 2.9 million viewers on all platforms, a 20-percent increase over season two. According to Starz, it's among the top scripted programs on cable among African-American viewers.
"We are thrilled to renew 'Survivor's Remorse' for a fourth season," Starz executive Carmi Zlotnik said. "Critics have consistently called it one of the smartest and funniest comedies on television and we are delighted to see audiences embracing the characters and the storyline with that same enthusiasm."
"Survivor's Remorse" airs Sundays at 10 p.m. on Starz.
Nothing went right for Stephen Curry after April 15, really. Curry sustained an ankle injury against the Rockets after landing awkwardly defending James Harden and things were never the same. He returned in Game 4 of that series only to suffer a sprained knee.
From there, the debate began.
"Why is Curry struggling? He never struggles."
"He must be hurt. "
"But he wasn't hurt versus Portland when he scored 40, and he still has moments?"
"You can clearly see he doesn't have the same separation. He has to get that six inches of space to be the great player he is."
"Yes, but...""Shouldn't a great player adjust? And don't all NBA players say 'This is the playoffs, everyone's hurt?'"
On and on. The truth is that it was everything. Curry was hurt throughout the playoffs, never himself. He was also rattled by the physicality teams played him with, and when he wasn't hitting shots, made no impact on the game. His defense was questionable, his passing was disgustingly sloppy and the first unanimous MVP in NBA history finished 1 for 6 with three points in the fourth quarter of a Game 7 at home, and largely as a result, the Warriors lost 93-89 to the Cavs to become the first team in NBA history to blow a 3-1 lead in the Finals.
One thing, though. Steph Curry? Never made excuses. He always said he was fine. That's what great players do. If they're on the floor, they own it. If they can play, they'll stand by their performance.
After the Warriors' loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night, Curry made no excuses. He did not take the easy way and say that he clearly wasn't himself, or say that if he was healthy, everything would have been different. He owned it.
"There isn't any surgery or anything in my future this summer. I need to get healthier, but there is no excuses for what happened on the floor," Curry said. "I was out there, ready to play. I had some good games, I had some bad games. And that's it. I'll come back stronger next season and be ready to go."
He was pressed again by a media clearly ready to provide him that route out of the criticism, and understandably so. Curry once again deflected.
"I'm fine. I mean, I have three months to obviously get ready for next season," he said. "I won't get injured celebrating tonight, I can tell you that much."
Whatever pain Curry was in during the playoffs, it pales compared to the pain of watching his amazing 73-win season in which he made 402 3-pointers become moot in the shadow of LeBron James' greatness. He's not healthy. He was hurting. He wasn't able to be the player who set the world on fire, and in the end he wasn't able to overcome whatever he was facing to win a second title.
Instead, he'll spend the summer getting healthy and then trying to improve. That's what the great ones do. You can bet you haven't seen the last of Stephen Wardell Curry.
Ouch! Rihanna just made things a little bit more harsh for Steph Curry. After the Cleveland Cavaliers upset Steph and the defending champion Golden State Warriors Bad Gal Riri decided to throw some salt in Steph’s wounds. Check out the epic diss below.
Who new the singer, superstar from Barbados, was such an NBA fan? Apparently Rihanna, 28, loves basketball and after the Golden State Warriors loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the “Work,” singer decided to take to social media to have some fun at the losers expense. Ahh Rihanna, that’s not very nice! I am sure she made the jest in good fun, but the butt of the joke, Stephen Curry, 28, may not have the same opinion about the message she posted to her Instagram account. Keep reading to find out what Rihanna said to Steph!
“‘Ballin bigger than Lebron’ they said,” was the diss Rihanna wrote on her Instagram post next to a picture of Steph looking a lot disappointed in his Warriors jersey on the basketball court. The pic looked to be a screenshot from Steph’s game 7 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals. Steph had plenty to be sad about, his Warriors lost in game 7 of the NBA Finals at home. Rihanna took the opportunity to point out that LeBron James had a bigger night, won the Finals MVP, and ultimately the championship. Dang, Riri, you sure know how to kick a guy when he is down! Rihanna likes to keep herself very busy. Her latest video for her track with Calvin Harris, “This Is What You Came For,” debuted on the same week that her new Puma kicks came out and now this salty message. The girl keeps us all on our toes and we love it. But we can’t help thinking that Steph is not too happy with the hater-gram on Insta. Oh well, the Warriors had a great, record-breaking season and Steph already won the season MVP unanimously. So Steph will be just fine and maybe Rihanna is right, the best team won!
"If you're a real competitor, you look at that and say 'OK, lace 'em up. Let's go. I don't care how many players you have over there, we're still going to take you down.'
When I turn on the TV and watch players play, the player who plays with the same kind of emotion and grit and competitive intensity as me is Russell Westbrook
He's going hard, doesn't matter who's playing against, doesn't matter what the odds are ... he's going 110 percent every single time."
- Kobe Bryant on Kevin Durant joining the Golden State Warriors and the Brodie still in OKC
Derrick Rose has played more games over the last two seasons than Carmelo Anthony, Joakim Noah, Blake Griffin, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant,Chris Bosh, Paul George, Tyreke Evans, Jabari Parker, Ricky Rubio and Eric Bledsoe. Perhaps we should stop perpetuating a narrative from 4 years ago that is no longer valid.
NBA 2016-2017 Season is starts in coming October. I am very happy to say this friends. I will see all Matches...............................
