Utah Jazz - The Jazz beat every team in the NBA last season, and they were extremely exceptional at home. Although away from home they are outright disappointing, they are led by Deron Williams and haven't really done much to improve their team during the offseason.

Denver Nuggets - The only ‘D' that the Nuggets posses is in their home city. So they solved the problem by not bringing back their only defensive prowl in Marcus Camby, the Nuggets will once again give up the most points in the NBA, and more likely than not score the most. The only question is, will they give up more than they can score?

Portland Trail Blazers - Look for the Trail Blazers to be the surprise team this year. Greg Oden missed all of last season with micro fracture surgery on his right knee, even without Oden last year the Trail Blazers showed moments of promise, now we'll finally get to see just how good Oden is.

Minnesota Timberwolves - Letting go Kevin Garnett wasn't the best of choices last year. This year the Timberwolves drafted Kevin Love to go along with Mike Miller and the leader Al Jefferson, look for the Timberwolves to still lurk around the bottom of the very powerful Western Conference.

Oklahoma City Thunder - Well Oklahoma City finally has their team, their team is young and led by Rookie of the Year, Kevin Durant, the Thunder doesn't seem to pose a threat this year. The Super Sonic, name, logo, and colors stayed in Seattle in case they get another team down the road.

Pacific

Los Angeles Lakers - The returning Western Conference champions will be looking to return to the finals again this year. MVP Kobe Bryant has elected to not have surgery on his pinky and maybe we'll get to see how good this team can be with a healthy Andrew Bynum who only played in 35 games and missed all of the playoffs.

Phoenix Suns - Shaquille O'Neal has officially announced his retirement, but it's not for another 2 years. Now that Shaq has had the offseason to meld with the team they might become an even more potent opponent.

Golden State Warriors - Although the Warriors lost Baron Davis, everything looked well when they picked up Corey Maggette. Now the news is looking dim, the Warriors were unable to land another key player for their team and now Monta Ellis will be missing at least 3 months, looks like another disappointing year for the Warriors.

Sacramento Kings - The Kings will be without last year's starters, Mike Bibby and Ron Artest. Kevin Martin will be the shining star on this team along with center Brad Miller, besides that expect for the Kings to have another less than average season.
Los Angeles Clippers - With the Clippers there is good news and bad news, and the bad sounds worse. The Clippers gained Baron Davis and Marcus Camby through free agency, but in turn lost their 2 biggest players in Elton Brand and Corey Maggette.

Southwest

New Orleans Hornets - The Hornets are without a doubt posed to make an even deeper run this year. With Chris Paul leading the team and David West to dish it too this team is built to win the championship, especially with the addition of James Posey.

San Antonio Spurs - The Spurs are another year older and things already don't look for this squad. Manu Ginobili, who is a vital part of the team, will miss a good amount of the opening season after having left ankle surgery, which he reinjured in the Olympics.
Houston Rockets - The Rockets who went on a phenomenal 22 game winning streak last season. In the playoffs, however, McGrady and company, who were without Yao, do to a foot injury, exited in the first round to the Utah Jazz.

Dallas Mavericks - The Mavericks were dismal at best once they traded for Jason Kidd. Mark Cuban fired Avery Johnson, and it has now become known that 5 players wanted out if Johnson would have stayed. The Mavericks will now be coached by Rick Carlisle.
Memphis Grizzlies - The Grizzlies are still in the rebuilding process, but with players such as Rudy Gay, O.J. Mayo, and Marc Gasol they might win a few surprising games. The Grizzlies will most likely still be in the cellar in the tough and competitive Southwest division.

The Dream Team probably even had a hand in the growth of other leagues and the talent of players from other countries. They turned the world on to the game of basketball and how perfect and wonderful it can be. Instead of idolizing soccer greats, the could be like millions of other kids in America who were pretending to be Michael Jordan or Isaiah Thomas, counting down seconds on an imaginary shot clock. The Dream Team inspired a generation of kids who grew up playing basketball and are now their own country's star athletes.

When the Dream Team first played in 1992, Ricky Rubio - the 17 year old phenom for Spain - was not yet 2. There is no question that 16 years ago there would be someone so young and so talented. The number of foreign representation in the NBA is staggering compared to that in 1992. From just the 00-01 season to the 05-06 season, the numbers changed drastically. In 00-01 the NBA was 89.9% American, whereas in 05-06 that number dipped to just 81.1%. With players from over 65 countries, the basketball contingent from outside the US is growing and catching up fast. 

So the question is, was the Redeem Team better than the Dream Team? Obviously it's a subjective question that is all pure speculation, but I believe that this year's team was better than the one in 1992. Am I saying that the Redeem Team was better then the Dream Team? No. Maybe. Probably. I don't know. But what I am saying is that in a field of competition that has only gotten better, stronger, faster and hungrier - the Redeem Team was just as dominant as the Dream Team. Which, logically, would lead me to surmise that this year's team is, in theory, better. 

Iverson is already 33 and Carmelo is only 24 and he has proved to everyone he's one of the top players in the NBA. Every year he's just going to get better and better. This year he had one of his best overall years in 2007-2008 he had his highest Field goal percentages in 2 pointers and 3 pointers and also his highest in rebounds and steals. And made the all star team as a starter with Allen Iverson. He has also taken the Denver nugget team to the playoffs every year since his arrival. Before The Nuggets haven't made it there since Mutombo was there. He has a great resume in basketball he has even won a NCAA national championship very little great players get the NCAA championship that's a major accomplishment.

 

So why trade I don't understand?

The Denver nuggets Tried to trade him for Chauncey Billups and Tayshaun Prince. That's the stupidest and ridiculous trade I ever heard of. Sure That would fill their needs in at point guard and then at small forward for Carmelo's spot. Chauncey is a good point guard but not as a player maker and he's getting old he's entering his 14 season next year. Tayshaun Prince is good to but he's about to be 30 soon and he hasn't shown to be a ligament scorer yet. There was other trades as well but this was the best they had.

Carmelo is the Face of the Denver Nuggets no matter what no one says. He's to much of a talent to let go people say he's not a leader and stuff but look how much he means to The USA team he's shown he's a leader and Everything he has done for the nuggets. This team would probably of been like the heat last year of they didn't have carmelo.

NBA Restricted Free Agents shop themselves around to find the highest possible offer. According to the NBA Player's Association, if another team makes an offer the player's original team has a 7-day period in which to match the offer, or let the free agent go.

The flaws in the system are evident when it comes to role players or those who come off the bench. These are not max-contract players, but often receive higher contracts than they have earned. The original team has the option to match the offer with a slightly larger offer after the player has signed an offer sheet with another team. So, the second team will often have to offer more than the player is worth, but enough that the original team will not want to match.

Salary cap space is a valuable commodity in the NBA, if a team is forced to pay a player more than they budgeted they will have problems re-signing other players on their team causing a ripple effect throughout the entire organization. Teams are forced to balance team chemistry and winning with fiscal responsibility. Tough decisions have to be made on whether a player is expendable, or whether a team wants to handicap themselves for the future to re-sign a player now.

Role players around the NBA are taking advantage of this system, breaking the bank and getting more than they are worth. Josh Childress, a former Forward for the Atlanta Hawks, shopped himself around the NBA this summer. Unhappy with the lack of offers, Childress signed with Olympiakos of Greece. Childress, who was the first man off the bench for the Hawks this season, proved to be a valuable piece on a playoff team. The Hawks, a team on the rise, did want to keep Childress; however, they were not going to over pay him as they also have other players they need to sign. In steps Olympiakos who is part of a league without a salary cap, so they were able to offer Childress more than any NBA team. Childress and his agent decided to take the money over staying in the NBA.

When a team loses a Restricted Free Agent, they get no compensation in return. The NFL system is far superior to that of the NBA. NFL teams set the market for their Restricted Free Agents by choosing to make them one of three qualifying tenders or not to make them an offer. The tender the team offers the player determines the compensation a team receives when they lose a free agent; NFL teams receive draft pick compensation when losing a Restricted Free Agent. These rules put the power in the hands of the original team. The NBA system only allows the team to match the offer, with no compensation.

If the NBA system remains the same more players are going to be leaving the NBA for leagues in Europe where they have no salary cap.

1. The Lombardi Trophy Curse

   Who was Affected?
   

   Every NFL team since 1970.

   What Happened?

   In 1970 Vince Lombardi died, and the NFL renamed the championship trophy in his honor. According to Aslam Rawoof, no team nor head coach shall ever hold aloft the Vince Lombardi trophy as NFL world champions more than two consecutive seasons.
   
   In 47 years, no team has done it although some have won two in a row, and one player has one three in a row (Ken Norton JR) although on two different teams.

   Severity of the Curse

   
   
   Image Source
   
   Seeing as how to get this “curse” you have to win two previous Super Bowls, this is the weakest curse I have ever heard. It probably feels the same way you feel when you stub your toe.
   

2. The 1993 Runner Up Curse

   Who was Affected?

   Los Angeles Kings, Phoenix Suns, Philadelphia Phillies, Buffalo Bills, University of Michigan (Basketball), University of Notre Dame (Football).

   What Happened?

   The Philadelphia Phillies lost the world series in six games to the Toronto Blue Jays. Not only did they lose the world series, they are the only team to lose the world series outside of America. The shame of losing in Canada, to Canada in Baseball was too much for the Phillies it seems, seeing as how they never even made it back to the playoffs until the 2007 National League Division series, in which they were quickly swept by the Colorado Rockies.
   
   The Notre Dame Football team had all but locked up their national title birth. In a battle of unbeaten teams, Notre Dame beat Florida State to become the top ranked team in the nation, yet Florida State remained in second place. All Notre Dame had to do was beat Boston College and they would be on their way to the national championship. Notre Dame lost, where denied a chance at the title, and have not been anywhere near one since.
   
   The Buffalo Bills were known for losing the Super Bowl by the time the 1993-1994 NFL season got underway, having lost the last 3 Super Bowls in a row. That did not stop them from trying to do it again though. After losing handily to the Cowboys in the Super Bowl the year before (52-17), they got their chance for revenge when they met again the next year. The Cowboys again pounded them (30-13) and the Bills have not been back since.
   
   The Phoenix Suns entered the NBA Finals with 62 wins and regular season MVP Charles Barkley. The Chicago Bulls entered having won the previous two NBA Finals and with legendary badass Michael Jordan. The series was odd, with the home team losing every game besides game four. The Bulls won in six games for the three-peat.
   
   The Los Angeles Kings first trip to the Stanley Cup Finals was also their last trip. Playing against the Montreal Canadians featuring Wayne Gretzky in his last Finals appearance, the Los Angeles Kings where embarrassed. They lost four games to one.
   
   Michigan Mens Basketball team played North Carolina in the NCAA Championship. With 11 seconds left in the game and only down by two points, Chris Webber of Michigan got double teamed and called a time out. This, it turns out, was a bad idea because Michigan had no time-outs left. The gaffe resulted in a technical foul, which sealed the win for North Carolina.

   Severity of the Curse

   
   
   Image Source
   
   While it is impressive that it has happened to every team in major American sports that was the runner up that year, the curse is only 15 years old. As far as sports curses go, this one would be the equivalent of carpal tunnel syndrome.
   

3. The Curse of Barry Bonds

   Who was Affected?

   The Pittsburgh Pirates

   What Happened?

   The Pittsburgh Pirates where the home of one of the most prolific home run hitters of all time from 1986-1992. Before his steroid allegations arose, and back when he looked like this:
   
   
   
   Image Source
   
   And not this:
   
   
   
   Image Source
   
   He was beloved by the fans. For the Pirates, Bonds won two National League MVP awards, golden gloves, and silver slugger awards. The Pirates won the National League Eastern Division title three times in a row and came within one out of going to the World Series. After the 1992 season, Bonds left as a free agent and signed with the San Francisco Giants for a then record $43.75 million.
   
   With the Giants, Bonds won five more MVP awards and broke the single season and career home run records. The Pirates have had 15 consecutive losing seasons since Bonds left, one shy of the Major League record held by the Philadelphia Phillies.

   Severity of the Curse

   
   
   Image Source
   
   As of the time of this writing, the Pirates are 44-54 with 64 games remaining. More than enough time to break .500, if they weren’t forever cursed that is. Another relatively new curse, yet caused by the loss of a loved one, puts this at non fatal STD level.
   

4. The Cleveland Curse

   
   
   Image Source
   
   Who was Affected?

   Every major sports team in Cleveland.

   What Happened?

   There does not seem to be any apparent cause to this curse according to my research, so I am just going to say that it was a crazy Gypsy. According to the legend I am now creating, at the 1964 NFL Championship game, a crazy Gypsy bet it all on Don Shula and the Colts (led by Hall of Famer Johnny Unitas) to beat the Cleveland Browns. The Browns won 27 to 0, and the Gypsy let out a loud yell, “LOOOOSER”.
   
   Since then, no major Cleveland sports team has won a Championship. The Indians last won a world series in 1948 and the Cavaliers have never won an NBA Championship. Not only have they not won titles, they have been the victim of some of the greatest sports stories of all time.
   
   Remember “The Catch”? How about “The Drive”, “The Shot”, or “The Fumble”? All of these things happened against a Cleveland sports team.

   Severity of the Curse

   
   
   Image Source
   
   To have one team cursed for over 40 years is bad enough, to have all the main teams in your city cursed that long is maddening. Add that to the total smack in the face of all the amazing plays that went against them, and you have the makings of some severe depression or alcoholism, or both. This curse is as bad as when a cop gets shot one day before retirement.
   

5. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers Curse

   Who was Affected?

   Anyone who has lost to the Buccaneers in the NFL regular season.

   What Happened?

   The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are considered to be one of the worse teams in NFL history. Prior to 2003 they had never won a Super Bowl, returned a kickoff for a touchdown, or won a road playoff game. Since then they have done all of those things, but where founded in 1976. That iss over 25 years of torment and ass hattery, including being the only NFL team to lose every game in a season since the merger. That is, except for the dubious honor of never allowing anyone they beat in the regular season to win the super bowl. If they can not be there, and you are bad enough to lose to them, then you probably do not deserve to be there either.

   Severity of the Curse

   
   
   Image Source
   
   Not going to the Super Bowl in itself is hard, knowing that you lost to the Buccaneers as well must be even harder. This curse is the equivalent of getting kicked when you'’re down.

Last year, the N.B.A. Finals between the ultra-vanilla San Antonio Spurs and Lebron James (yes, it was just him) garnered the lowest television ratings in Finals history. You see, sports are entertainment, whether us purists want to admit to it or not, and we're not going to waste hours watching that super-groovy stalwart, Tim Duncan, go against the biggest stiff since Ron Jeremy, one Zydrunas Ilgauskas (again, it was Lebron against the entire Spurs team).

Enter the puppet-master, the dream-weaver, the illegitimate child of Barnum and Bailey - Mr. David Stern. He did what artists, musicians, and businessmen have been doing throughout history when times get tough - he got back to basics. I can imagine him in his silk pajamas, dreaming away in his New York Penthouse, when he suddenly sprung out of bed and scribbled down just two words…Lakers…Celtics. It's no different than Bono falling out of bed and scribbling down a good lyric or an Exxon Executive falling out of bed and scribbling a higher gas price (you can tell I'm a little upset about the gas prices).

Once he had the two names, Stern went to work. That was and has always been his genius. First thing he did was make sure that the game's greatest player, Kobe Bryant, stayed on the Lakers. Who knows, maybe he even kicked a little extra into Bryant's bulging coffers so the Lakers' star would for once behave like an adult.

Next, Stern made sure that Kevin Garnett left that media juggernaut, Minnesota, and landed on the Celtics. Amazing, considering everyone in the league was after him. Stern even added Ray Allen to the mix, since the Celtics were going to need A LOT of help if they were going to make the Finals.

And still he wasn't done. Stern realized that “Baby-Shaq”, Andrew Bynum, was probably still a year away from helping the Lakers advance, so Stern arranged the most lopsided trade in N.B.A. history - Pau Gasol for some less than stellar talent and what are sure to be less than stellar draft picks - simply, brilliant.

Everything fell into place. The Celtics and the Lakers had the two best records in the Eastern and Western Conferences. The playoffs started and all looked well. Both teams started off with impressive wins. Unfortunately, the Celtics and Father Time didn't keep up their end of the bargain. While the Lakers cruised through their opponents like George W. through a Second, no, First Grade Spelling Bee, the Celtics suddenly looked, well, old. They struggled through two seven game series with the Atlanta Hawks and the Cleveland Cavaliers (oh, now I remember, that's the name of Lebron James' team).

During their Conference Finals, the Lakers worked over the Spurs with a combination of Kobe, speed, and youth. Celtics, however, found themselves in a grueling grudge-match with the Detroit Pistons. The series went to 3-2 after a Game Five nail-biter. I can imagine the Prince of Darkness, um, I mean David Stern, realizing that his Celts were probably headed to a Game Seven. Not once to leave things up to fate, I know in my heart that the Detroit/Boston Game Six was not the real deal, Holyfield. I'm sorry, but I smell a rat and yet at the same time, I'm still as giddy as Ryan Seacrest at a Hannah Montana concert (again, do you know how I know he's…see 40 year old Virgin for punchline). You see, I've come to accept the David Stern-led N.B.A. for what it is - a souped up version of “professional” wrestling. I accept it, because I too want to watch the purple and gold versus the green and white. Sure, they don't wear the short shorts anymore, but still there's something magical about the Lakers/Celtics and all great rivalries. It's why we watch sports, even if it's kind of, sorta rigged.

*Of course, now it appears that those old geezers, the Celtics, are going to win the title, so what do I know? Who knows, maybe Stern purchased some Viagra from former Boston great, Roger Clemens, to help the old guys with their “endurance”. The bastard!

With the first overall pick, the Chicago Bulls chose Windy City native Derrick Rose. Rose is an explosive guard who showed sensational leadership ability while leading his Memphis team during the NCAA tournament.

How he fits into the Bulls system is another question altogether. Undoubtedly, Rose is now their best guard, but with a log-jam of point and shooting guards, the Bulls need to trade away some of their pieces, preferably Ben Gordon.

If the Bulls are successful at trading away Gordon and possibly another guard for a big man, the Bulls will have a competitive backcourt with Rose starting at the point and Hinrich moving to the two-guard position.

Height of course will be an issue but the talent of their backcourt most nights will make up for their lack of height.

But the Bulls chose the NBA-ready best talent available, and this choice fits them perfectly. Rose will help them return to competitive status in the Eastern Conference.

Michael Beasley

There were rumors heading into the draft that Miami Heat President Pat Riley was unsure on selecting Michael Beasley with the second overall pick, but it seems as this was all a smoke screen now that Beasley is officially a member of the Heat.

The pick itself is great, how can you pass up on a guy that critics say has the chance to be a future Most Valuable Player? The problem with Beasley was that people believe that he is immature and too thin to play the four in the NBA. But Beasley's talent speaks for itself, the man averaged Durant-esque numbers in his one year in the NCAA and has enormous upside.

How he will mesh with the Miami team though is connected on what the Heat does with Shawn Marion. The two players share the same position and play similar roles, one has to go and it's pretty safe to say that the tandem of Beasley-Dwyane Wade is the safer choice. So where does that leave Marion? If the Heat is able to trade away the former All-star, by all means they should. This team is in a rebuilding phase, and with the talent of Wade and Beasley, it would be better to get younger and to get rid of Marion.

Beasley and Wade will help the Heat win a few more games than the previous year, but I still see the Heat in the lottery next year.

OJ Mayo

This guy can play, the basketball world has known that since he was a sixth grader. And although there are issues on where his head his at, the Minnesota Timberwolves still decided to tab him with the third overall pick.

But the story doesn't end there, in a draft day deal, the Timberwolves shipped Mayo and a few large contracts out for the rights to Kevin Love (fifth overall pick by the Memphis Grizzlies) and most notably, Mike Miller.

So how does Mayo fit in Memphis? He gives the Grizz a future All-star at the two to play alongside steady Mike Conley and enigmatic forward Rudy Gay. Mayo will help them immediately but Memphis needs more parts to make this team a contender.

Final Thoughts

The basketball world will get used to seeing these three players for the next 10-15 years. Out of the three, I believe that OJ Mayo will be the steal of the draft at the number 3 spot. Rose will be a solid contributor for Chicago for years to come, Beasley will help Wade and they will probably win a championship down the road, but Mayo is the star of this draft, he may not help Memphis win a championship but he will be the most lauded player of the 2008 NBA draft.

1. Chris Kaman

   
   
   Another big man not playing his size. Chris Kaman gets a great lane to the basket, but doesn't use his size to take advantage of it. Instead he throws up a weak airball layup, which luckily, he caught and put down the second time.

2. David Wesley

   
   
   Some men make it into the NBA by sheer luck. David Welsey is one of those men. On this layup he makes a mistake that most elementary school kids manage to avoid, not watching the court in front of you. He dribbles towards the basket and does not look up until he is right under the hoop.

3. Derek Fisher

   
   
   Derek Fisher has no one in front of him on a fast break against the Houston Rockets. All he has to do is nail this easy lay in and Utah will lead by three points. Even if he misses this shot, he's got another three teammates behind him waiting to correct his mistake. Fisher misses the shot and somehow his teammate makes an even worse mistake. Houston passes the ball down the court and Yao Ming scores. Houston leads 54-53.

4. Shawn Bradley

   
   
   This man will make a few more appearances in the top (or bottom) 10, I can assure you. Shawn Bradley made it into the NBA not on ability, but on his 7'6" frame. He was dunked on by literally everyone in the NBA during his career including Derek Fisher (the same Derek Fisher that appeared in number 9) right here.

5. Lamar Odom

   
   
   I'm really not sure what he was doing here. I guess someone needs to explain the basics of basketball to him. Wow. Turnover Lakers in the 4th quarter, all hopes for a comeback dashed.

6. Shawn Bradley

   
   
   He's back! Shawn Bradley once again shows us how not to play defense. Gets dunked on by Tracy McGrady bad. When you're 7'6" people should never be jumping over you.

7. Random Kid in a Youth League

   
   
   I have no idea who this is or if it is even a kid. There really isn't any information about this video other than it being seen on G4 TV. Basically, this kid can't shoot. The ref and everyone in the gymnasium starts laughing at him. You almost feel bad for him.

8. Shaquille O'Neal

   
   
   Did you really think we could get through this list without a video of Shaq not hitting a foul shot? Please. Here Shaq shows us how not to shoot a freethrow. I'm not sure what he was aiming at, but if he was trying to get nothing-but-net without scoring, he succeeded.

9. J.J. Reddick

   
   
   Yet another example of a Duke player being completely overrated and not delivering in the NBA. Orlando has to be mad that they drafted the man who more or less blew any chance they had of a comeback during this game. Wow. Everyone join me in chanting "Overrated! Overrated!"

10. Shawn Bradley

    
    
    Instead of doing the easy thing and just finishing my list with two Shawn Bradley videos I've decided to post a mix. Everyone trashes Bradley on his play, this is an ESPN Sports Center countdown of him. Just enjoy watching Bradley get dunked on by men half his size over and over again.

11. Everyone Shawn Bradley Dunked On and Rejected

    
    
    Here we go. Shawn Bradley didn't get the number one spot like we all know he deserved. Instead, everyone who managed to not dunk on Shawn Bradley or allowed Shawn Bradley to dunk on them gets the number one spot. Here's a ton of highlights of Bradley playing well and actually living up to his number two draft pick.

In that time only 6 teams won titles. We can even include the 1984 Sixers that won it all. Now the best players on those teams are all Hall of Famers: Magic in LA, Bird in Boston, MJ is Chicago, Isaiah in Detroit, and we'll even include Tim Duncan in San Antonio. I think that these players are all among the best ever. They were all the undisputed leaders of their teams, both in play and in influence. My argument for Hakeem as the best of the best is very simple; none of these other players were able to win with as little support as Hakeem. Looking at the rosters of all of these teams, every one else had an elite level, Hall of Fame caliber “sidekick”. Obviously Jordan had Pippen, Magic had Kareem and Worthy, Bird was part of arguably the greatest frontcourt in history with McHale and Chief, Isaiah played alongside Joe D., Doc had Moses, even Timmy played with David Robinson to create the most successful “Twin Towers” combo in the league. Who was The Dream's best teammate? Otis Thorpe? Kenny Smith? Vernon Maxwell? No disrespect to these guys, but I don't think anyone is going to mistake Kenny Smith for Joe Dumars. And sure Houston won a title in 19956 with Dream and Clyde Drexler, but Drexler was clearly entering into the twilight of his career when they were paired together. Clyde's best years were in Portland with Terry Porter and the Blazers. All I know is that whoever you want to say was the best player Dream played with, I'm sure he wasn't a perennial All-Star, 50 greatest, future Hall of Famer like everyone else had. Those Rocket teams had good guys, but never had the ONE great guy. Not to mention that Dream accomplished something no other player has.

That is he was NBA MVP, Finals MVP, NBA Champion and Defensive Player of the Year all in the same season. Not even Jordan the great ever did that. So, if all the evidence is so apparent, why is Hakeem not seen as the greatest of all time? Why do fans and media universally embrace Jordan? I have a couple theories about that. Hakeem was a foreign born player that spoke with a thick accent and he is Muslim. Not exactly traits that the American buying public can wrap their arms around. In this country we don't love and support anyone the way we support our own. Also, big guys are never loved like small guys in basketball. Centers are freakishly tall and long, and most “normal” sized people just cannot relate to that. It is just assumed that because a guy is over 7 feet tall the game is easier for him. We've all heard that guy that says, “Man, if I was that tall I'd be dominating the game.”

Guards are closer to regular size, and it's only natural to root for the little underdog guy. Jordan became the face of the NBA as much for his face as his game. He's a handsome, articulate, media friendly personality. He's an easy choice to endorse a product, especially over a giant freak the barely speaks English. This is in no way meant to disparage Jordan or any of the other players I spoke of. As a true NBA fan I appreciate the contributions Jordan, Bird, Magic and all the rest have made to the success of the league. I just think it's time to give the proper respect where it's due. He carried himself with dignity and grace both on and off the floor. Growing up in Houston I can honestly say the Hakeem was not only a dream of a player, but also the true definition of a leader and a man. He is long overdue for the props he deserves, and I even if I'm the only one, I'll continue to scream it to anyone who will listen until I have no more breath in my lungs.