Kobe Bryant

Good news New York Knicks fans—Carmelo Anthony knows that Kobe Bryant is old. The Black Mamba has signed a fresh new two-year, $48.5 million extension with the Los Angeles Lakers, ensuring that he won’t join the NBA’s free-agent ranks this summer. What it’s also done is allow the Lakers to start thinking big picture. Before, [...]

The Oklahoma City Thunder’s playoff and finals hopes collapsed abruptly when Russell Westbrook went down with a knee injury on April 24th in game 2 of the Thunder’s first round series against the Houston Rockets, after he was sideswiped by then rookie Patrick Beverly. Once James Harden was sent to Houston, many have proclaimed the [...]

Kobe Bryant really is back. When it was announced that the Black Mamba was medically cleared for all basketball-related activities, optimism was reserved. It’s been over seven months. Hopes shouldn’t skyrocket. Not when they stand to be dashed. Turns out that Kobe really is back, though. Draining shots, dropping dimes, making a fool out of [...]

A diminished version of Kobe Bryant is better than no Kobe Bryant. That’s the stance Los Angeles Lakers head coach Mike D’Antoni is taking. To an extent, it’s one that he’s always took. He hasn’t allowed Kobe’s absence to dominate post-game pressers nor has he entertained the prospect of his uncertain return more than he [...]

Mike D’Antoni hasn’t sugarcoated anything since joining the Los Angeles Lakers. When he was coaching the Phoenix Suns and New York Knicks, you could never really get inside his head. Not like you can now. In Phoenix, there was an air of bravado in the way he spoke and confidence in his step. With the [...]

Dwight Howard is a wanted man. Contract with the Houston Rockets aside, there are few teams in the NBA that wouldn’t welcome the arrival of Superman’s services. And the Los Angeles Lakers are one of them. Forget that they need rebounding and defense, they already know what it’s like to house Howard and they’ll want [...]

Dwight Howard’s departure looks good on Mike D’Antoni and Pau Gasol. Following a 31-point beat down handed to them by the Golden State Warriors, the Los Angeles Lakers are 1-1 on the season. Which is fine. They were supposed to be 0-2, having opened the year against the Los Angeles Clippers. Emerging victorious from one [...]

This is starting to get weird. And quite frankly, a little embarrassing. The New York Knicks are title contenders. That’s what they’re selling us on, anyway. Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler, J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, Andrea Bargnani—they’re supposed to be the core of a championship hopeful. Yet talk keeps shifting to the future, like the Knicks [...]

If this Lakers’ season were a new movie, what would you call it? “Escape Plan?” Oh, wait D-12 already did that. “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2?” Or maybe “Prisoners,” to describe the Lakers fans and perhaps Bryant, himself. As the Lakers prepare to start the 2013-2014 season without veteran 5-time NBA champion and [...]

LeBron James and Dwyane Wade do not hate each other. I repeat: LeBron James and Dwyane Wade do not hate each other. Phew, that was a close one. I, like you, was worried there for a minute. The source of our anxiety was ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, who penned a solid column on how the two [...]