Basketball

Watch the throne: Kobe holds court in the City that Never Sleeps

Esoteric 5 Comments

Mic check

Kobe Bryant sat on stage at Foot Locker on 34th Street in New York City on Friday night, his congenial nature thinly veiling his inherent razor-sharp focus, which had been on full display at Madison Square Garden just an hour beforehand.

Make no mistake: Though Kobe was relaxed and enjoying himself while entertaining and inspiring his young fans, his drive to succeed in all aspects of his career was on full display at Foot Locker Unlocked’s event to promote the release of the Nike Kobe VI Supreme/Rice.

Continue Reading →

LeBron and the Knicks: Everything in its right place

Esoteric 1 Comment

 Center of attention

As I sat in the MCI Center and watched LeBron James in the 2003 Jordan Capital Classic, his final game as a high schooler, I fantasized that the next time I’d watch him play live would be at Madison Square Garden.

And he’d be wearing Knicks blue and orange.

The Knicks, of course, did not win the 2003 Draft lottery — they only had a 1.5 percent shot at the No. 1 pick. I held out some hope for the magical Summer of 2010, but LeBron infamously decided that he’s not about saving franchises. 

So though it wasn’t quite the way I imagined it, after eight years, I decided it was finally time to go see LeBron at the Garden.

Continue Reading →

Mail call: Keep the 9 on me, a la Iguodala

Esoteric 2 Comments

Merry Kicksmas

One thing I’ve learned after about a year of using Twitter is that it’s a refuge for people with way too much knowledge about stuff that nobody else cares very much about. As such, I’ve felt right at home sharing my views on St. Patrick high school basketball and Yelawolf mixtapes with a perfectly non-captive audience.

But every once in a while, the nonsense I know pays off — like a little while back, when I ended up somewhat randomly with an autographed jersey of Andre Iguodala.

Continue Reading →

Rearview Mirror: 25 years later, vintage Jordans as cool as ever

Esoteric 2 Comments

With all the hysteria about the Jordan Cool Grey XI re-release the past couple days, some people were thrown back to when they first released in 2001, especially with things once again becoming pretty tense out there at those late-night campouts at the mall.

But some people were thrown back even farther. My friend Kevin, who runs the excellent music blog somuchsilence.com, told me yesterday that he still has his first Air Jordans, given to him in 1985 — which happen to be the first Air Jordans, period.

He sent me some pictures, which I’d like to share. Consider it a small Christmas gift.

Continue Reading →

Witness protection: Marketing LeBron in post-“Decision” landscape

Esoteric 1 Comment

Since LeBron James’ reputation went straight to hell in the court of public opinion in early July, I’ve pondered how you can possibly market someone whose Q rating dropped like a stone following “The Decision.”

As it turns out, Nike and ad agency Wieden+Kennedy knew exactly how to go about doing it.

Continue Reading →

Summer hoops notes: Durant, Team USA, Coach K, Rubio

Esoteric 1 Comment

Looking a lot like Smash Williams on Friday Night Lights

Some thoughts after watching Team USA’s exhibitions against Greece, Spain and France. Apparently, Cablevision doesn’t have ESPN Classic – thanks, Jimmy Dolan – so I’ll have to watch a replay of their first official game against Croatia later tonight. (Though I did watch Russia-Puerto Rico and France’s upset of Spain)

*****

I feel like Kevin Durant is in the spot that LeBron James was in a few years back, when we didn’t know how high his ceiling was. Remember that? We couldn’t miss a game because we felt he was bound to do something we’d never seen before.

That’s where we’re at with Durant.

Continue Reading →

Visit to home office shows Coach K living a dream with Team USA

Esoteric 1 Comment

Master of his domain

I went to the Garden a week ago to watch Team USA play France. And as I watched Mike Krzyzewski sit on the bench, studying his players and working the refs, it brought me back to an October night back in 2000, when I sat in the home office in Mike Krzyzewski’s basement.

Krzyewski is about as close to a living legend as there is in his profession. But he has dreams and aspirations, just like the rest of us. And it was a remarkable opportunity to get a rare window into what Coach K himself would define as success.

Continue Reading →

Look closer: NBA, Nike stores demonstrate underpromotion of Durant

Esoteric Leave a Comment

Hovering

The NBA in general does an excellent job of promoting their stars, but with Team USA and the World Basketball Festival in town, this weekend proved to me that they don’t fully comprehend just how valuable Kevin Durant has become.

As a longtime supporter of Team USA, I decided to spend Sunday checking out what a couple of notable New York City retailers had going on. In the spirit of my last trip to the NBA Store, here are some of my favorite images.

Continue Reading →