2000s
"I lost a lot of sleep because of him" — Chauncey Billups reveals who deserved to win the 2005 NBA Finals MVP
Tim Duncan won the 2005 NBA Finals MVP. But Chauncey Billups, as well as some fans, believed the trophy belonged to someone else.
"Who's this white boy?" — Kobe Bryant on his first meeting with a San Antonio Spurs legend
Kobe Bryant believes the NBA had to adjust to this legend's unique and unorthodox playstyle.
“They are gonna have to f***ing kill me” - How Ronny Turiaf overcame open heart surgery to get on the court for the Los Angeles Lakers
Turiaf’s physical showed that he needed to have open-heart surgery, and despite being told his career may be over, Turiaf battled and eventually made his way back on the court
Eddy Curry opens up about his time with the New York Knicks — “That was the year I started experiencing knee problems”
If there’s one way to define Eddy Curry’s basketball career, it’s probably “untapped potential"
Morris Peterson on getting ejected after slapping Vince Carter: 'We always joke around'
In 2006, Morris Peterson and Vince Carter playfully slapped one another during a game that resulted in Mo Pete being ejected
Mark Madsen describes Kobe Bryant's intensity: "If you miss the third one, he was comin’ at you"
Mark Madsen was never a key figure for the Lakers but Kobe Bryant didn't take that as an excuse not to deliver. Not even during practice sessions.
"That's when I knew I was trippin'" - How Andre Miller lost $300,000 cash in two hours
Andre Miller organized a party, withdrew $300,00, and took a nap. He woke up and the money gone.
Michael Jordan gave Kobe Bryant a reality check after the 2008 NBA finals loss: "You’ve got all the tools"
The Boston Celtics' Big 3 was just too much for Kobe Bryant and the L.A. Lakers. However, he got his revenge two years later with the help from Michael Jordan.
“Whoever I went at didn’t usually come back at me” — Gary Payton names the only 4 NBA players who talked back at him
According to Payton, in his 16-year career, most of the players he destroyed with his trash-talking seldom clapped back. However, there are four of them who earned his respect.
Eddy Curry explains fans were stuck watching the Chicago Bulls after MJ left — ”We were horrible...these people had already bought tickets in advance”
This is like performing stand-up after Dave Chapelle. The toughest possible act to follow.
"I’m different from other busts" — Darko Milicic believes Americans and their view of the game ruined his reputation
Darko accepts he was a bust but offers a fascinating explanation of what makes him different from the Anthony Bennets of the world.
Vince Carter picks a duel with Allen Iverson as the most memorable one of his career: 'I felt like I had to respond'
Vince Carter couldn't remember what exact game it was but a playoff clash with Allen Iverson where he scored 50 points was the most memorable game of his career
”Everyone else had been in jail” — Derek Anderson claims Blazers made him the scapegoat because he was a nice guy
The Jailblazers were a mess, and seems like the nice guy took the fall. ”They were trying to look for a scapegoat and a story, who else could they go to? Everyone else had been in jail.”
“I wanted to quit and write poetry” — JJ Redick goes on a tell-all tale of his darkest times at Duke
JJ revealed his darkest moments at Duke involved chugging down a ridiculous amount of alcohol every night.
“F**k Phil Jackson” — when Jerry West ate his words and offered the 'Zen Master' the Lakers coaching job
If you think winning titles together building around Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant helped their relationship, you are wrong. Jerry West explained why.
“He’s going to be very selfish” — did Ray Allen's prediction about Kobe Bryant come true?
Rumors were going around that Kobe responded to Allen's interview by leaving him a short voicemail.
”I was staying from couch to couch” — Tyson Chandler recalls being homeless and inspired by Kevin Garnett
Two things pushed Chandler to push through his limits - providing for those he loves and Kevin Garnett.
Lamar Odom "cheated" on the SATs in the most ludicrous way possible
Lamar Odom was surrounded by vultures who had an absurd idea about how the forward should go about with the SAT.
“I haven’t been stopped since age 5” — the most dominant moment of Shaquille O'Neal's career
Shaq shares the bold truth during the Los Angeles Lakers impressive 2001 championship run.
Grant Hill confirms controversial plane story that botched Tim Duncan's move to Orlando Magic — ”I was there”
Even Hill's wife knew Doc had made a tragic mistake. ‘”He should have just lied. He should have said yes.”
“His performance was really weak” — when a Hollywood stunt man critiqued Dikembe Mutombo's flopping act against Shaquille O'Neal
The stuntman, who worked with Hollywood icon Arnold Schwarzenegger, shared his expert criticism of Dikembe Mutombo's performance.
“He was a fuc***g drunk” — Gilbert Arenas on why Kwame Brown failed
Arenas shared drinking was how Brown "coped with life." Hopefully, he doesn't need booze to do that anymore.
Gary Payton's message to people who think Kobe Bryant was a selfish player — “He was a player that wanted to be better.”
Kobe Bryant was described as selfish and a ball hog in his heyday but former teammate Gary Payton clarified it's far from the truth.
Klay Thompson credits a neonatal doctor for his picture-perfect shooting form
Dr. Kaempf had a precise set of shooting instructions that young Klay repeated over and over again until it became second nature.
Bob McKillop explains why he decided to give Steph Curry a scholarship after “he was awful” in a game
Davidson coach Bob McKillop saw something in Steph Curry that made him believe the young star would go places in the NBA.
The time Pat Riley offered a max contract to Tracy McGrady in the most Miami way possible
With the help of Alonzo Mourning, Pat Riley tried to lure the young Tracy McGrady to South Beach.
Dahntay Jones names the toughest players he ever had to guard
The names on his list - Kobe, LeBron and Vince - are not surprising. The order he put them in, is quite surprising.
Eric Snow on playing with Allen Iverson and LeBron James — “One way or another, I helped them do something”
Eric Snow is happy to have helped two of the greatest players of all time make history
Jermaine O'Neal reveals how Miami Heat's diet program forced him to leave: 'The Oreos looking at me. And I couldn't bruh"
O'Neal to stay and join the team's then Big 3 however, the Heat had a strict diet program and he figured he was too old for that regime
“If I had to crawl off the court, I would have” — Alonzo Mourning refused to get on a stretcher after a career-ending injury
Zo proved his toughness until his final NBA game
Bruce Bowen addresses his dirty player reputation ”It's who I am”
Bruce Bowen shares his honest take on being tagged as a dirty player.
Gilbert Arenas recalls one of the first time playing against Gary Payton: "When that buzzer went off, I ran off the court and was like, 'thank you, Jesus"
According to Gilbert Arenas, Gary Payton knew basketball was about mental toughness, and he used his trash talking abilities to break down his opponents
Shaquille O'Neal on why Michael Olowokandi and Shawn Bradley were the softest players he competed against: "I felt guilty about dunking on him so many times"
Shaquille O'Neal breaks down why Michael Olowokandi and Shawn Bradley were the softest players from his era despite having all the tools to leave a more significant impact in the NBA.
Vince Carter reveals the secret to his longevity: "I like foods that fuel"
Though it might be a cliche to some, but a healthier diet certainly played a key role to Vince Carter's longevity.
On this date, Kobe Bryant quit on the Lakers: "I was trying to get the other guys going"
On May 6, 2006, Kobe Bryant, the epitome of competitiveness showed a different side of himself in Game 7 of the Lakers' first round matchup against the Phoenix Suns.
Vince Carter breaks down his most dangerous dunk: "If you fall off you break your arm"
Vince Carter had done a safer version of the dunk. But for greater audience impact, Carter had to enter the danger zone.
Bill Simmons believed that Dwight Howard could play at a high level until his early 40's because "he's a devout Christian"
While Dwight Howard was once one of the best players in the NBA, age and injuries quickly sapped the big man of his powers
“This is going to be your league in a little while” — Tim Duncan predicted the rise of LeBron James
Tim Duncan knew just how good LeBron James would be, even after he swept him in the 2007 NBA Finals
“We all have that ‘what if’ moment” — Michael Finley believes that he, Steve Nash, and Dirk Nowitzki would’ve won multiple championships for the Dallas Mavericks
Michael Finley played his best basketball with the Dallas Mavericks but unfortunately couldn't win a title for them
George Karl remembers when Allen Iverson torched the Los Angeles Clippers despite partying until 6 am: "He couldn't find anyone to pour any more Cristal"
George Karl recalls his time coaching Allen Iverson and how despite everyone knew he loved the nightlife there was no question he would come ready and prepared for the game
“We were robbed from seeing greatness” — Tracy McGrady on playing with Grant Hill
One of the greatest what-ifs in NBA history - what could have been had a healthy Tracy McGrady and Grant Hill played together in Orlando.
Etan Thomas reveals the other side of LeBron James most people don't know about
Former NBA player witnessed firsthand what makes LeBron James a special player both on and off the court
When Mike D'Antoni referenced a porn star to power the Suns' 3-1 comeback against the Lakers
Down 3-1 against Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers, Mike D'Antoni came up with the ultimate method to motivate his players.
Shaquille O'Neal used to deflate balls before games so he could palm it "a la Michael Jordan"
The freight train that he was, Shaquille O'Neal still looked for other ways to gain a competitive advantage over his peers. It turns out deflating balls before games was his go-to during his championship years with the Lakers
That time Nicole Richie told the world that she wanted to have sex with Kobe Bryant
There have been weird moments that have happened in the NBA and this one is way up there.
“You just felt like he was on edge.” — how the Colorado incident changed Kobe Bryant's attitude towards the public
Privacy became such a priority that even Kobe's bodyguards started using aliases.
A look back at one of the greatest NBA teams to never win a ring — the '01/'02 Sacramento Kings
Many believe the Kings were robbed in the most controversial NBA game in league history - Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals.
Aaron McKie describes Allen Iverson as a teammate: "Like traveling with a rock star"
Aaron Mckie has enjoyed his time with Allen Iverson on and off the court while with the 76ers.
"I got death threats" -- Fred Hickman on the aftermath of denying Shaquille O'Neal his unanimous MVP
Shaquille O'Neal received 120 of 121 votes for the 2000 regular season MVP. The only one who didn't cast his vote for the Lakers superstar, denying him the first-ever unanimous MVP nod, was Fred Hickman. Still, the aftermath of his mistake was in no way justified.
Kevin Garnett once requested a clip of him getting dunked on to be removed from YouTube
Former NBA player told the story of dunking on a prime KG and the pettiness that ensued from the superstar.