Tag: Basketball

Will LeBron James turn up for the USA in Paris Olympics 2024?

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is eager to participate in the Paris Olympics this summer, which could also result in him extending his National Basketball Association (NBA) career by at least a couple more years, though, there is no surety on that front yet.

James made his 20th appearance in the All-Star Game on Sunday. He shied away from spending too much time on the court in Indianapolis, as he is undergoing treatment for his recurring injury on the left ankle. He secured eight points in 14 minutes of the first half, but later gave away his spot for Golden State Warriors’ talisman Stephen Curry.

NEW: Johnny Manziel says LeBron James tried taking him under his wing when he was suffering from depression that resulted in him trying to take his own life.

Respect.

Manziel discussed his regrets & took ownership for his mistakes he made in college & in the NFL.

Manziel said… pic.twitter.com/IeKCIhzTN7

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) February 22, 2024

“The most important thing for me is definitely my health,” James said.

The Olympic question is a bit tricky.

The Lakers’ season could end in April, May or June. If it ends early, James will have tons of time to heal up and get ready for a U.S. training camp that starts in early July, then will have a number of exhibition games, followed by the Olympics that will end in mid-August.

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But if the Lakers make a deep postseason run, it might prompt James to say he’ll value time off and getting ready for the 2024-25 NBA season over jamming another five or six weeks of basketball into his summer schedule.

Two decades of All-Star appearances. We will never see another LeBron James. pic.twitter.com/Fj0pGbOCTN

— LeBron History 🏀 (@bronhistory) February 15, 2024

“It’s more miles put on these tires,” said James, a three-time Olympian and two-time Olympic gold medalist. “But if I’m committed — which I am — to Team USA, then I’m going to commit my mind, body and soul to being out there for Team USA, being out there representing our country with the utmost respect and go out there and play.”

(With Reuters inputs)

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

LeBron James’ rise to global basketball star to be displayed in museum in hometown of Akron, Ohio

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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LeBron James’ path from basketball prodigy to NBA scoring champion is being memorialized where it began.

LeBron James’ Home Court, a museum dedicated to James and his many milestones, will open in Akron on Nov. 25.

A multimedia experience, the museum will include a re-creation of the apartment where he and his mother, Gloria, lived along with items from his childhood, high school playing career and championship runs with Cleveland, Miami and the Los Angeles Lakers.

The museum is at House Three Thirty, a facility started by James’ foundation to serve the community where he was raised.

“My dream was always to put Akron on the map, so to have a place in my hometown that allows me to share my journey with my fans from all over the world means a lot to me,” James said. “I’ve been known to hang on to a lot of things over the years, and I always knew there would be a time and place to bring them out.”

Among the items on display will be the all-white suit James wore at the 2003 NBA Draft, his jersey from the McDonald’s All-American game and an original backboard and rim from St. Vincent–St. Mary High School, where James first caught the attention of basketball fans as a teenager.

A four-time NBA champion, James, who turns 39 next month, is in his 21st season as a pro. Last year, he passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the leading scorer in league history.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Michael Jordan’s iconic Olympic jersey fetches over $3 million at auction

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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In a thrilling bidding war on Thursday, May 25, a jersey donned by basketball legend Michael Jordan during the 1992 Summer Olympics was sold for a staggering $3.03 million. The auction, hosted by Goldin, a renowned online collectibles marketplace, attracted fervent interest from sports enthusiasts and collectors alike.

The jersey, worn by Jordan while representing the United States in the historic basketball event, holds immense significance as part of the iconic “Dream Team.”

This team, consisting of some of the most revered basketball players of all time, including Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, brought immeasurable glory to the nation during the Barcelona Olympics, where they effortlessly clinched the gold medal.

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The highly coveted jersey worn by Jordan in the semi-final match against Lithuania took center stage in an auction showcasing signed jerseys from each of the twelve team members. Collectors from around the globe eagerly vied for the prized item, recognising its historical importance and cultural resonance.

This is not the first time a jersey worn by Jordan has shattered records at auction. In a momentous sale in September, another jersey worn by Jordan during the opening game of the 1998 NBA Finals was sold for an astronomical sum exceeding $10 million.

This extraordinary transaction set an unprecedented benchmark, establishing it as the most expensive piece of game-worn sports memorabilia in history.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Basketball superstar LeBron James surpasses Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become NBA’s all-time leading scorer

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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LeBron James is the NBA’s new career scoring leader.

With a stepback jump shot with 10.9 seconds left in the third quarter in the Los Angeles Lakers’ game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night, James pushed his career total to 38,388 points and broke the record that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar held for nearly four decades.

38,388 POINTS

LeBron James hits the fadeaway jumper to become the NBA’s all-time leading scorer! #ScoringKing pic.twitter.com/P5LyTZAZn3

— NBA (@NBA) February 8, 2023

James outstretched his arms, threw both hands in the air, then smiled. Abdul-Jabbar rose from his seat and clapped. The game was stopped as some members of James’ family, including his mother, wife and children, took the floor for a ceremony recognizing the moment.

Abdul-Jabbar — a longtime Laker and one of many celebrities and sports stars who made sure they were there to see history — became the league’s all-time leading scorer on April 5, 1984 and wound up retiring in 1989 with 38,387 points. It was a record that some thought would last forever, with very few even coming close. Karl Malone retired 1,459 points behind Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant was 4,744 points shy, and Michael Jordan was 6,095 points away.

James passed them all, then caught Abdul-Jabbar, too. He did it in his 20th season. Abdul-Jabbar also played 20 NBA seasons.

And now, King James — a moniker he’s had since high school, when he was just a kid from Akron, Ohio — is the NBA’s scoring king.

“A record that has stood for nearly 40 years, which many people thought would never be broken,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said.

Abdul-Jabbar held the ball aloft, then handed it to James, the ceremonial passing of the torch. They posed for photos with Silver, then with one another. James wiped away tears from his eyes, then addressed the crowd.

“I just want to say, thank you to the Laker faithful. You guys are one of a kind,” James said. “To be able to be in the presence of such a legend as great as Kareem, it’s very humbling. Please give a standing ovation to the Captain, please.”

James then thanked his family and those who have supported him, including Silver and the late NBA Commissioner David Stern.

“I thank you guys so much for allowing me to be a part of something I’ve always dreamed about,” James said.

At least 16 different players have, technically, been the all-time leading scorer in league history — most of those coming in the opening month of the league’s existence in 1946, when everybody was starting from zero and nine different players were atop the scoring list in the first 16 days.

But only six have ended a season officially as the all-time leader: Joe Fulks, George Mikan, Dolph Schayes, Bob Pettit, Wilt Chamberlain and Abdul-Jabbar.

James will be the seventh name on that list, and he’s likely to stay there for a long time. No active player is within 10,000 points of James, who is under contract for two more years and is on pace to become the league’s first 40,000-point scorer sometime next season.

“Nobody will ever, ever touch it,” said Cleveland forward Kevin Love, a teammate of James on the 2016 title team. “The scoring record now will never be eclipsed. I don’t care. It will never, ever be touched. It will never happen again.”

James could have had the scoring record long ago, if so inclined. But he always preferred passing. James is behind only John Stockton, Jason Kidd and Chris Paul on the all-time assists list. None of them were, or are, close to the scorer that James is. Of that group, Paul comes closest, ranking 38th in NBA history.

And Paul is 17,000 points behind the new scoring king.

“I hadn’t thought of it that way, but that is very true,” Silver told The Associated Press. “I think it even adds — right? — to this this accomplishment for a guy who became a scorer because he determined that’s what was necessary to win. And you’re right, he probably doesn’t get enough credit for his selfless play, because there’s so much focus and attention on him. … I think it makes it that much more special, that he’d rather be known for his assists than his baskets.”

James is the only member of the NBA’s triple-quintuple club: at least 10,000 points, 10,000 rebounds and 10,000 assists. There are 44 players to reach five digits in two of those categories.

He’ll almost certainly be the NBA’s all-time leader in earnings whenever he retires; when adding in the $97 million he’ll make over the next two seasons, he’ll be past $500 million in on-court salary alone. He’s a 19-time All-Star selection, tying an Abdul-Jabbar record. If he plays in the game on Feb. 19 in Salt Lake City, he’ll set a record for appearances.

Others, maybe, have been this good. That’s always a debate. But no one has ever been this good, for this long. James — a two-time champion in Miami, a champion in Cleveland in 2016 and a champion with the Lakers in 2020 — is averaging 30 points per game in his 20th season; only three other players have averaged more than 10 points per game this deep into their careers, none of those averaging more than Bryant’s 17.6 in his 20th and final season.

“I never did the, ‘OK, if I play this amount of time and I average this’ thing,” James said. “I’ve never done that with anything in my career. I always said, ‘If it happens, it happens.’”

It happened.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Without basketball, Magic Johnson shifts focus to community

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Magic Johnson might actually miss the Los Angeles Lakers if he wasn’t always checking upon them.

Johnson quit as the team’s president of basketball operations at the end of the last season, leaving him out of a gym, but not out of the loop, as Los Angeles opened training camp.

“I’m working like I’m still there, anyway,” Johnson said, laughing. “I talk to them all the time. It’s crazy how I’m still with them without being there physically.”

Without the daily grind of management to restrain him, Johnson has spent the months without basketball travelling with his family, tending to his thriving business interests, and giving time to his church. He’s still advising — Johnson recently consulted with his bishop at West Angeles Church of God in Christ on the sale of some its properties. The deal will help the church build its Family Life Center for its nearly 20,000 weekly attendees. The West Angeles Church also paid the mortgage on its cathedral with the sale and was able to establish a financial reserve.

Johnson and his family have been members of the church led by Bishop Charles E. Blake for years.

“It’s a tremendous accomplishment itself that an African-American pastor, a bishop can say to us as a community and congregation that, ‘we own our church.’ I think what you’ll see is that others will follow,” Johnson said. “From that sale, we’re able to build our family life centre. So many community services will be established because of the family life centre. When he asked me to help out, I was very willing to do that and to advise him and the other members that he chose to make sure they were making the right decisions and moves.”

Johnson’s wife, Cookie, joined the church about 20 years ago and the basketball Hall of Famer soon followed her and found a deeper connection with his faith. Blake and Johnson have teamed on various projects to help improve inner cities, launched programs designed to strengthen black families and spearheaded relief efforts in cities hit by hurricanes or other natural disasters.

“I wanted to get more involved with my church and working with Bishop Blake,” Johnson told The Associated Press. “When you think about his spiritual vision and plan, as well as what he had in mind in terms of his business plan for the Crenshaw corridor, it’s in line with what I’ve been doing in my business. I share his vision and want to just work with him and for him to see how we can improve the community.”

Johnson recently toured a hospital in Newark, New Jersey, that boasts a greenhouse designed to boost wellness initiatives.

“It’s really amazing what the hospital is doing for the community,” Johnson said. “That’s what I’m all about. I’ve been around the country doing the same thing and that’s what God has called me to do. I just want to go out and bless other people.”

He stunned the Lakers when he abruptly quit in April, not even telling owner Jeanie Buss or general manager Rob Pelinka before he announced his decision to reporters at the regular-season finale. Johnson, who had been investigated four times by the NBA for tampering, fought off tears as he explained his decision was made in part because he wanted “to go back to having fun.”

“I’m going to be there every game,” Johnson said. “I’m not a guy who goes backwards in terms of saying, ‘yeah, I miss it.’ I love the Lakers. I miss the interaction with Jeanie every day. I miss being at the practices.”

But without his break from the NBA, Johnson said he wouldn’t be able to spend weeks in Europe with his wife to celebrate both of their 60th birthdays. He also has ownership stakes in the Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles FC and attended a baseball playoff game on Thursday.

“I’m still a Laker,” he said. “I’ll always be a Laker. I’ll always help the Lakers. I’m pulling for us to win the championship this year. But when I stepped down, it allowed me to do so much more that I wanted to do. The Lakers are in great hands.”

The Lakers had missed the postseason in each of their three springs since Johnson and Pelinka took over, and not even the addition of LeBron James last year could end the playoff drought. But the addition of Anthony Davis has made the Lakers a contender to win the Western Conference.

He’ll keep an eye on the Lakers — all while making the commitment to church and community. Included in the sale was the caveat that bars, cannabis businesses, strip clubs and other nuisance business were banned from being built on the property.

“I brought Starbucks there on Crenshaw so there was a place where people could meet other people,” Johnson said. “But what the church was able to do was 100 times even bigger than bringing Starbucks there.”

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Challenges upheld: Pacers, Kings get calls changed in India

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Officially, it’s an NBA first: Coaches successfully argued referees’ calls Saturday.

Sacramento’s Luke Walton became the first coach to win a challenge – a new option for coaches to use in the NBA this season – when he asked for a review of an out-of-bounds call during the third quarter of the Kings’ game against the Indiana Pacers in Mumbai.

The review showed that Walton was right and the Kings retained possession. About a minute later, Pacers coach Nate McMillan wanted a review of a goaltending call made against Indiana centre Myles Turner – and he, too, was proved correct, resulting in a jump ball at midcourt instead of two points for the Kings.

So Mumbai becomes the answer to a trivia question – the site of the first successful NBA coaches’ challenge. The Pacers and Kings wrapped up a two-game trip to India, the NBA’s first two games played in that country, with Indiana winning 130-106 to complete a sweep of the series.

”Thank you India for allowing us the opportunity to make history…thankful to be a part of this moment,” Sacramento’s Richaun Holmes tweeted postgame.

Coaches may challenge one call per game, provided what they’re challenging meets certain criteria and if they have a timeout remaining. The timeout is charged if the challenge is unsuccessful, and the challenge isn’t retained even if it results in a call being overturned.

PACERS 130, KINGS 102

Alize Johnson scored 17 points to lead eight Pacers in double figures, and Indiana scored 46 points in the second quarter alone on the way to the easy win.

Aaron Holiday scored 16 points and JaKarr Sampson had 15 for the Pacers. They outrebounded Sacramento 51-35 and had 35 assists on 49 field goals.

Buddy Hield scored 17 points and Marvin Bagley III added 15 for Sacramento.

LAKERS 123, WARRIORS 101

At San Francisco, Anthony Davis had 22 points and 10 rebounds in his preseason debut – playing only 18 minutes, all in the first half – for Los Angeles and the Lakers opened Golden State’s new Chase Center with a win.

LeBron James had 15 points and eight assists in 18 minutes for the Lakers. JaVale McGee made all five of his shots for 10 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.

Stephen Curry scored 18 points for the Warriors. Jordan Poole added 17 for Golden State, which was just 11 of 42 from 3-point range.

Davis had the first points – preseason points, anyway – in the arena’s history, putting in the rebound of a miss by James 1:13 into the contest.

MAGIC 125, SPURS 89

At San Antonio, Orlando outscored the Spurs 41-17 in the third quarter to turn a close game into a runaway.

Mo Bamba had 18 points for the Magic, while Aaron Gordon and Terrence Ross each had 14.

Dejounte Murray, playing in an NBA game for the first time in nearly a year after missing all of last season with a knee injury, had 11 points in 14 1/2 minutes for San Antonio. Bryn Forbes led the Spurs with 24 points, going 5 for 6 from 3-point range.

JAZZ 133, ADELAIDE 36ERS 81

At Salt Lake City, Tony Bradley had 18 points and 10 rebounds and Jeff Green scored 16 points to lead seven Utah players scoring in double figures.

Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert and Mike Conley – who was acquired via trade from the Memphis Grizzlies in July – did not play (rest) for the Jazz.

Jerome Randall led Adelaide with 18 points and Eric Griffin added 12 points, six rebounds and four blocks.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow