Top 5 Basketball Players in 2009

by Jesse Boskoff

5. Dwyane Wade - It was hard to come up with my #5 here. I love Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki, I think that Kevin Durant is quickly on the rise, and believe that Kevin Garnett is still elite. But Dwyane Wade had an amazing 2008-2009 campaign, having led the NBA in points per game.

Wade is a little shaky at times in the ball handling department, but the rest of his stats are top-notch. He is singlehandedly the reason for the turnaround in Miami last season.

4. Dwight Howard - Every five or so years, there's a new dominant man on the boards. For a while it was Dennis Rodman, then guys like Kevin Garnett and Ben Wallace. Now it belongs to Dwight Howard, and should remain that way for quite some time. His free throws are weak but everything else is invaluable.

Having brought his team to the NBA finals, Howard's talent speaks volumes. The league's best rebounder and shot blocker will improve all facets of his game during the next few years. That's just scary.

3. Chris Paul - Easily the best point guard in the NBA, and will be considered one of the game's all-time greats by the end of his career. While his team struggled a bit last season, short of David West, there's probably less talent on that team after these two than there is on any team in the NBA. Paul's assists, steals, rebounds, and points all speak for themselves. Arguably the best ball handler in the NBA too.

2. Kobe Bryant - The Kobe/LeBron debate lives on this season, as Kobe won the most recent battle with his first NBA title without Shaq. At 30 years old, he can still drop 50 or 60 in a game when his team needs him to.

Kobe has more talent around him than James does in Gasol and Odom (and now Artest). Bryant will remain one of the game's best for the next few years, but LeBron James is improving with each season, pushing him ahead of Kobe on my list.

1. LeBron James - No championship in Cleveland yet, but he'll get his eventually. If you swapped LeBron and Kobe, I can undoubtedly say that the Lakers would still be champions. Probably even more dominant than now, because LeBron's numbers are pure gold. What he does for an otherwise miserable team in the Cavs is simply remarkable.

More Information:

Jesse Boskoff is the founder of RootZoo, a social sports network with a vibrant sports forum, a massive collection of sports trivia questions, fantasy football leagues, and a lot more. He can't wait for next NBA season to begin.

Source: http://www.PopularArticles.com/article167228.html

NBA Jersey Designs 2010/2011

by Paul Smith

The 2010/2011 NBA Jerseys have been revealed!

Retro style uniforms have made a comeback in a big way. Uniforms colors are more towards the pastel spectrum. Also of interest is that fabrics are lighter due to the mesh material that has used for the uniforms. Overall Logos of yesteryear are also being incorporated into uniform designs. Overall, the majority of the NBA team uniforms look great.

Also of interest is compression wear. It has been around for a while and the trend looks set to continue .

Attention must also be focused on the shoulder width design. Narrow shoulder uniforms are the design option of choice for the 2010/2011 season. Over the last few years this seems to be one area of uniform design that frequently changes. Both wide and narrow shoulder uniforms have advantages. One advantage of the narrow shoulder is that it creates a more muscular appearance. Wide Shoulder designs allow for more design features to be included on the basketball jersey and can have a more stylish feel.

There does not appear to be any clear design move to a particular neck style for the NBA 2010/2011 jerseys. A noteworthy point is the limited number of round neck styles that have been incorporated into the team uniforms given the strong link with retro basketball uniform design and the round neck style.

Short length is also variable, but is still quite long compared to uniform designs of previous decades. This a good sign

Overall, it is positive to see that we are having a resurgence of some of all time great uniforms while still moving forward new style design styles as well as improved fabric choices.

The writer of this article is an established company of basketball uniforms and basketball jersey. Being a great fan of basketball himself, he closely follows and enjoys all aspects of the game.



Source: http://www.PopularArticles.com/article278939.html

Showtime Era of Lakers

  Showtime Era refers to a time period in the (NBA) over which the Los Angeles Lakers won five championships. The Lakers team of the 1980s has been labeled a dynasty by basketball fans and analysts alike. Coached by Pat Riley and lead by 6'9” point guard, Earvin “Magic” Johnson this team combined solid defensive principles with a fast break offense to produce a style of basketball that both entertained Lakers fans and consistently produced wins.

  In the summer of  '79, via a draft pick obtained from the New Orleans Jazz, the Lakers drafted Earvin “Magic” Johnson, a 6'9” point guard who had already then a great potential. That first season Johnson lead a Lakers to an NBA championship.His teammates in that season were  Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Norm Nixon, Jamal Wilkes, and another rookie, Michael Cooper.

  Pat Riley soon took over the coaching duties from Paul Westhead and it was under his direction that the Showtime style flourished. Celebrities from nearby Hollywood soon took notice and joined stalwart fans such as Jack Nicholson and Dyan Cannon at Laker home games.

  During the 1984-85 Season James Worthy and Byron Scott stepped in the squad Worthy, in particular added a new dimension to the Showtime style with his ability to finish the fast break. The post season featured Kareem Abdul Jabbar, at the age of thirty-eight take finals MVP honors as the Lakers beat their longtime eastern conference rivals, the Boston Celtics for another NBA Championship.

 The Showtime Era lasted the entire decade, culminating in back to back championships in 1988 and 1989. By the end of the decade the Lakers had gone to the finals eight times and won five championships.

The First Big Man of the NBA - George Mikan

  George Mikan ,who was born in a Croatian family in Illinois, was the best basketball player in the USA in 1944. He was the first dominant "big man" in NBA, known as the "Gentle Giant". He was averaging 22.6 points per game over his nine years long professional career, with the then record of 11,764 points.
  The Associated Press voted Mikan the greatest basketball player of the first half of the 20th century. When Mikan's LA Lakers came to Madison Square Garden, the marquee simply advertized "Tonight George Mikan versus the Knicks!". Just imagine how popular he was back then?

The funniest part of the story is that Mikan's teammates were fully dressed in the locker room, and when he asked what was happening, they said: "It's your name written on the entrance, you should play alone against Knicks!".

  The game was much tougher than and that's why big George suffered a lot of injuries : he lost four teeth (in his first professional game), had two broken legs, three broken fingers, broken wrist, broken nose and dozens of stitches.

  George Mikan was named one of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players in 1996 (on the occasion of 50 years of NBA), played four NBA all-star games, and is in the Basketball Hall of Fame.