Lockout videos: Tracy McGrady, when he was amazing

During the 2002-03 NBA season, Orlando's Tracy McGrady averaged over 32 points per game. He made 46 percent of his shots from the floor, 39 percent from long range, and hit 79 percent of the nearly 10 free throws he took per contest. Also, he didn't spend half the year on the shelf; as McGrady managed 75 games for a middling Orlando team. His Player Efficiency Rating that year was a LeBron-esque 30.3.

And, with a nod to ClutchFans, here's a clip of him dropping 46 points with 10 rebounds and 10 assists against the defending Eastern Conference champions from New Jersey:

Dave DeBusschere Clyde Drexler Julius Erving Patrick Ewing Walt Frazier

A Clipper dunks the most in the NBA, but it?s not Blake Griffin

One of the biggest joys of the NBA last season was watching L.A. Clippers rookie forward Blake Griffin dunk on opponents, cars, and pretty much anything that ended up in his immediate area. He was relentless, playing with fury and passion that defined his every move on the court. Griffin's game expanded as the season progressed, but his dunks were always the biggest draw.

Yet, for all the attention he got, he didn't dunk as regularly as two other players, one of whom was his own teammate. At the Warriors blog Golden State of Mind, the writer Evanz ran the numbers to figure out which players produce the most dunks, lay-ups, tip-ins and hook shots in the league (via PBT). Except, instead of using the raw totals, he did a little statistical work to figure out which players attempt the most dunks per 100 possessions of playing time. You can check out the full list at GSOM, but the top 10 is as follows, in order: DeAndre Jordan, Dwight Howard, Blake Griffin, JaVale McGee, Tyson Chandler, Ryan Hollins, Hakim Warrick, Andrew Bynum, Kenyon Martin and LaMarcus Aldridge.

The startling placement here isn't that Griffin didn't finish first -- Howard had 227 dunks to BG's 214 in 2010-11. Instead, it's that Jordan, a limited player who had a mild breakout campaign, outpaced his teammate by a margin of 4.45 to 4.04. For all the attention Griffin got for attacking the rim, Jordan actually did so more frequently.

In part, that's because Jordan is one of the most athletic centers in the league. Then again, it's hard to say he's any more athletic than Griffin -- the truth is that he's just more limited and relies on dunks to score. The takeaway here isn't that Griffin is somehow not as relentless a dunker as we previously thought, but that his game is more varied than we often suggest. He's an athletic freak, but he's also a really talented basketball player.

Griffin's young, so we have plenty of time to appreciate his many gifts. Still, we may have to start that process sooner rather than later. Rookies don't average 22.5 ppg on 50.6 percent shooting just because they're great at jumping. They have to approach the game as thinkers as well as athletes.

Jerry Lucas Karl Malone Moses Malone Pete Maravich Kevin McHale

Dirk Nowitzki shows up remarkably low in the new ?NBA 2K12? player ratings

Player ratings in video games are a status symbol. Because games are created for a large audience, most of whom aren't NBA diehards, the ratings represent a general sense of who plays best and matters most in the league.

Tuesday, many of the player rankings for "NBA 2K12" were reported by several outlets, including @PastaPadre and the YouTube user NBA2K12stuff. The top player is no surprise: LeBron James checks in with a 98. After that, things get a little weirder; the rest of the top 10 (via EOB) includes Dwyane Wade (96),�Kobe Bryant (94), Dwight Howard (93), Chris Paul (93), Kevin Durant (92), Derrick Rose (92), Carmelo Anthony (91), Deron Williams (90), and, in a tie for 10th, Russell Westbrook (88) and Amar'e Stoudemire (88). All were All-Stars last season, and it's certainly not controversial to suggest that they're among the best players in the league. Only Bryant seems wildly overrated -- he's still effective but not close to the third-best player in the NBA.

There is, however, one glaring omission from that list: reigning Finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki. After last June's championship, Dirk was finally acknowledged as the legend he's been for quite some time now. For once, public opinion was on his side. Yet, in the 2K12 ratings, he comes in at an 85, tied with Andre Iguodala and Blake Griffin, behind Rudy Gay (who missed several months of last season and the Grizzlies' playoff run with injury), and only one point ahead of Josh Smith and Monta Ellis. If you asked any NBA observer to rank that batch of players, Dirk would come out on top by a wide margin. So what happened with his ranking?

The answer is fairly complicated. For one thing, these ratings are not determined by simple questions of which player is better; they operate according to a formula. I got in touch with the development team for "NBA 2K12," and they gave me this explanation of their system over email:

Our overall rating formulas are position specific, weighting attributes that are more relevant for that type of player.� For example, passing and speed are weighted more for point guards, where rebounding and shot blocking are factored heavily for centers.

Nowitzki was judged as a power forward, which is both his position on the court and an insufficient explanation of his role for the Mavs. While power forwards like Griffin, Pau Gasol and Zach Randolph play an interior game, Dirk prefers to play outside the paint and is arguably more of a tall shooting guard on offense than a classic four. As such, his post scoring may rank rather low, which would explain a relatively poor overall ranking. That said, if you play as Dirk you'll probably find that his style and game are approximated pretty well. Formulas don't always produce accurate results, especially when players as unorthodox as Nowitzki are involved.

On the other hand, there is something rather bizarre about Dirk's low rating when Bryant ranks so highly. Again, Kobe is a great player, but all advanced metrics and most expert eyewitness accounts suggest that he's on the downslope of his career. General public perception is clearly a factor here, so no one could blame 2K Sports for boosting Dirk's ratings a bit -- or at least rejiggering their formula -- to help his placement among the NBA elite. 2011 has been Dirk's year and he deserves some attention for it.

Of course, "NBA 2K12" still allows all gamers to edit rankings as they see fit (except in online play). So, you know, go ahead and make Dirk the best player in NBA history, if you like. Or do the same with Eddy Curry. The virtual world is your oyster.

Hal Greer John Havlicek Elvin Hayes Magic Johnson Sam Jones

Create-a-Caption: Kobe Bryant learns that it?s all about context

Here's the thing, Kobe Bryant: If you make a kid lay face down on the ground and scream at him because you're "motivating him to finish his push-ups at basketball camp," you're a very committed instructor who really likes these little scamps. But if you make a kid lay face down on the ground and scream at him because "he agrees with you having�a lower 'NBA 2K12' rating than LeBron James," you're a monster.

I'm sure it seems like a fine line, but it's actually a very wide and completely reasonable line. You're just sort of a crazy person who wants people to call him "Sarge."

Best caption wins some tough love, Gossett Jr.-style. Good luck.

In our last adventure: Hamed Haddadi has a terrible mustache and is grabbing his crotch. (That was actually Monday's working headline.)

Winner, Tyler: Hamed Haddadi demonstrates how to properly align one's sacral chakra in order to fully focus your chi on defense.

(ED. NOTE: What? It's a real thing. What did YOU think he meant? ... Oh, come on. Get your minds out of the gutter, gang. Can't we just grow up and talk about sacral chakras here? For once?)

Runner-up, Dago: Making a tribute to Michael Jackson ? you're doing it wrong.

Second runner-up, Jones6: "In great American movie 'Problem Child,' Problem Child ran to home plate with a bat then slid in and the catcher was all like this. Funny country, that America."

Rick Barry Elgin Baylor Dave Bing Larry Bird Wilt Chamberlain

Dancing with World Peace: ?Ron Artest? draws low scores with his cha-cha-cha

The NBA is lacking for stories right now. To help fill the void, BDL's Eric Freeman is watching and analyzing each performance by Los Angeles Lakers forward Metta World Peace (ne� Ron Artest) on the ABC hit "Dancing with the Stars." He had never watched a single episode of the series before this season.

"Dancing with the Stars" has no idea what to do with Metta World Peace. For one thing, they won't even call him by his real name, instead opting for "Ron Artest" in the hope that he'll provide some sort of name recognition for sports fans who don't usually watch a dancing competition geared towards middle-aged and elderly women.

This tactic completely misunderstands the appeal of MWP -- he's less a man's man than a giant goofball who has overcome a history of violent outbursts to become a happier person without sacrificing the best aspects of his personality. He's a success story and a curiosity at once, not a symbol of pure masculine swagger. If Artest sticks around for a while, the show's producers will need to understand why he's fascinating if they want to turn his presence into the spectacle it deserves to be.

Analysis of the routine, its connection to basketball, and the judges' scores follows after the jump.

The dance: The cha-cha-cha. Of Cuban origin. Contestants also had the option of the Viennese waltz, which World Peace wisely avoided.

The outfit: Red velvet pants, a sparkly vest, a bedazzled fedora, and a blond hairdo with "World Peace" on the back of his head in purple Hebrew.

The song: Like most songs on "DWTS," it was a cover of a popular song I couldn't place performed by Western Indiana's best wedding band.

Analysis: MWP danced with more energy than all but one competitor, "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" star and stylist Carson Kressley, who looked so happy that he must now be able to cross several dozen items off his Bucket List. World Peace's dance was energetic in movement, if also wildly imprecise, and he genuinely seemed to be enjoying himself. However, MWP's cha-cha-cha less resembled a competitive dance routine than a two-minute ecstatic spasm of mugging and occasional playful butt-smacking with a very pretty woman. For the most part, World Peace mirrored the movements of his partner -- "DWTS" rookie�Peta Murgatroyd,�who can best be described as a Victoria's Secret model with the flexibility of Laffy Taffy -- a split second too early or late to achieve acceptable symmetry. No one led -- it was as if the goal of their cha-cha-cha was to do nothing more than wild-out like Nick Cannon in front of a national audience. Still, it was fun and featured the kind of energy that such a conservative show needs.

[Related: What Ron Artest's daughter wants to do with his last name]

Basketball relevance: Dancers are effectively athletes, mixing grace and power to achieve an aesthetically pleasing result. Unfortunately for this competition, that comparison doesn't quite apply to World Peace: Defense depends on lateral quickness, but he's past his prime and has never been especially reliant on fluid movement. If you've ever seen Metta-Metta run a fast break or on an isolation, you know that dancing is probably not going to come to him as naturally as it did for NFL greats like Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith. He's a different sort of player.

That said, his skills as a showman -- remember, this man loves to kiss his biceps on the court -- served him well. The performance was a lot of fun in a way that can only be accomplished when the performer knows his technique isn't aesthetically pleasing. That instinct was honed during years on the basketball court as a rough-and-tumble, brutish defender.

Judges' comments and scores: MWP had the ill fortune of going first, which deprived him of other poor performances to make him seem comparatively impressive. Len Goodman -- the Simon Cowell of "DWTS," just older and less prissy -- rightfully said the dance "lacked cha-cha-cha content" and condescended that it was "entertaining in its way." Bruno Toniolo -- Paula Abdul if she were an extremely flamboyant Italian man�fond of meth instead of alcohol -- referred to World Peace as "Dance-a-tron" and noted that his "length of bone" can make technique difficult to master. Carrie Ann Inaba -- the dull, professional Randy Jackson stand-in -- anointed Metta "the wild one" of this season and said the "fun factor was high" while the dance itself was "sort of wrong for all the technical reasons."

In all, World Peace earned a 14 out of 30, the lowest scores of the night. However, it would be wrong to say he was the worst of the night -- his score likely would have reached 15 or 16 if he'd performed a little later in the night. Erstwhile George Clooney paramour Elisabetta Canalis was downright awful technically and cheesy in the most awkward way possible, and activist Chaz Bono appeared out of shape and ill-suited for any kind of high-stress dance. MWP will be on the chopping block for Tuesday night's elimination, but he deserves to come back. Hopefully the audience callers will appreciate the sort of pizzazz he knows best. With his athletic background and innate energy, there's potential for serious improvement.

Miscellany: Lamar Odom was in attendance with what seemed like the entire extended Kardashian family, presumably to cheer on brother-in-law Rob. Odom was not identified as a teammate of World Peace. He is now part of the family Borg. ... In his post-dance interview, World Peace kept his arm around co-host Brooke Burke's shoulder and said "It's fun to be standing next to you." She did not appear very comfortable. ... If Metta is eliminated on Tuesday, we will cover the story on Wednesday. If he stays, BDL will be without "DWTS" coverage until next Tuesday.

Other popular stories on Yahoo! Sports:
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Why wouldn?t Kobe Bryant want to play in Italy?

Kobe Bryant has been offered $6.7 million to play for Virtus Bologna, an Italian team. The contract can be stripped-down to a per-game pay scale, and he can leave the squad should the NBA lockout ever end. Better yet, Bryant was raised in the country. Honestly, what's not to like?

If the NBA season is to start on time, the two sides embroiled in this current lockout have quite a bit of work to do over the next few weeks. Most peg a cutoff spot to cancel the rest of the preseason and possibly the first few weeks of the regular season as some date in mid-October, and though we're hearing encouraging on-record winks and nods from within this mess, both sides still have a fair amount of cohesion to develop within their particular ranks before they can actually come to an agreement as to what they're fighting for.

[Related: Kobe prepared to loan players money during NBA lockout]

In the meantime, Kobe could jet off to Italy. No strings attached.

Bryant was raised in Italy, growing up there before returning to suburban Philadelphia to finish his high school career. His father Joe "Jellybean" Bryant was a star of sorts over there, and Kobe grew up idolizing Knick coach and former Italian league star Mike D'Antoni. So to play in the country on a per-month or even per-game basis with an out for once the lockout ends? Where's the issue with that?

From the AP:

Virtus Bologna general manager Massimo Faraoni tells The Associated Press he's been on conference calls between Bryant's agent, Rob Pelinka, Bologna president Claudio Sabatini and main sponsor Canadian Solar, which would provide the cash for such a deal.

"I think the fact that he's lived in Italy makes this appealing to him," Faraoni said.

Virtus has given Bryant four different contract options, stretching from the one-year deal to two-month and one-month options, and a per-game deal that would come out to $739,640 per home game.

All of the offers are pretax and would allow Bryant to return to the Lakers immediately if the lockout ends.

I see only three reasons why Kobe Bryant would not want to make the jump.

The most obvious and most relatable is the fact that he has a family, with kids in school, and jumping overseas would either mean leaving his family for an extended spell, or uprooting the entire clan. Sad wonks in the comment section can crack wise considering Kobe's past, but by all indications the man is a committed father, and this is no easy task for a player with a family, regardless of his history with the country.

Secondly? The guy was dragging around his right knee last year, undergoing midseason operations that weren't widely reported at the time to drain fluid and keep him somewhat short of teeth-gnashingly in pain for short stretches before the burn came back again. Nobody has logged heavier NBA hours since 1996, when Bryant entered the league, and it's not even close. The guy could use the time off, even if the NBA season starts on time.

Finally, he's been a Laker for life. And in spite of flirting with the Clippers and Bulls back in 2004, and asking for a trade three years later, Bryant has stayed committed to that ideal. It's a rare one, these days, with free agency, age, and bad basketball decisions (by the team or player) leading to a nomadic lifestyle for even Hall of Fame-level players, and Kobe is the rare modern player that stands out.

It seems like the perfect out. His old league, in a way. His old country. A good chunk of change (though around a quarter of what he would make in the NBA this year), and the ability to play the game he's clearly obsessed with at a level that at least approximates NBA ball. And the freedom to jump back to the NBA once he gets a text from Roger Mason Jr.

How far away is an end to this lockout? In terms of negotiations? Far, far away. Again, both sides have plenty of work to do in-house, determining a cogent and consistent message, before even returning to the table. But that doesn't mean the chains haven't been moved.

From Ken Berger, at CBS:

The owners' number, one of the people familiar with the details said, represented a willingness to move off their most recent formal proposal to cap player salaries at $2 billion a year for the bulk of a 10-year proposal. So, do the math: Assuming 4 percent revenue growth next season to $3.95 billion, the owners' $2 billion proposal represented roughly 50.5 percent of BRI for the players. If the players were willing to go down to, say, 53 percent with assurances that a soft cap would remain in place, that would be $2.094 billion -- leaving the two sides only $94 million apart in the first year of the deal.

Given that the owners moved off their $2 billion to somewhere between that and the players' number, we're talking about perhaps as little as $75 million per year holding up the future of the NBA. That's why, as one person familiar with the talks said Thursday, a deal is "there for the taking."

That last part is significant, as Tom Ziller pointed out on Friday, especially if the source is coming correct.

If the owners are backing off a hard cap (which, given increased revenue, could actually benefit the players down the line) and the players keep handing big bucketfuls of cash back to the owners that wildly sent bigger and bigger bucketfuls of cash to the players for years, then we could see an uneasy truce and a saved 82-game season.

If it's a 10-year deal, then this could potentially be a terrible deal for both sides. But most good deals, overall at least, are. You want both sides walking away mad. The question is, will they do it on Oct. 12, Jan. 5, or Aug. 27 of 2012?

And, in the meantime, will Kobe Bryant be jetting away from Los Angeles?

We don't know. But the offer sure looks pretty good.

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? Dodgers' Matt Kemp closing in on NL Triple Crown

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Dirk Nowitzki shows up remarkably low in the new ?NBA 2K12? player ratings

Player ratings in video games are a status symbol. Because games are created for a large audience, most of whom aren't NBA diehards, the ratings represent a general sense of who plays best and matters most in the league.

Tuesday, many of the player rankings for "NBA 2K12" were reported by several outlets, including @PastaPadre and the YouTube user NBA2K12stuff. The top player is no surprise: LeBron James checks in with a 98. After that, things get a little weirder; the rest of the top 10 (via EOB) includes Dwyane Wade (96),�Kobe Bryant (94), Dwight Howard (93), Chris Paul (93), Kevin Durant (92), Derrick Rose (92), Carmelo Anthony (91), Deron Williams (90), and, in a tie for 10th, Russell Westbrook (88) and Amar'e Stoudemire (88). All were All-Stars last season, and it's certainly not controversial to suggest that they're among the best players in the league. Only Bryant seems wildly overrated -- he's still effective but not close to the third-best player in the NBA.

There is, however, one glaring omission from that list: reigning Finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki. After last June's championship, Dirk was finally acknowledged as the legend he's been for quite some time now. For once, public opinion was on his side. Yet, in the 2K12 ratings, he comes in at an 85, tied with Andre Iguodala and Blake Griffin, behind Rudy Gay (who missed several months of last season and the Grizzlies' playoff run with injury), and only one point ahead of Josh Smith and Monta Ellis. If you asked any NBA observer to rank that batch of players, Dirk would come out on top by a wide margin. So what happened with his ranking?

The answer is fairly complicated. For one thing, these ratings are not determined by simple questions of which player is better; they operate according to a formula. I got in touch with the development team for "NBA 2K12," and they gave me this explanation of their system over email:

Our overall rating formulas are position specific, weighting attributes that are more relevant for that type of player.� For example, passing and speed are weighted more for point guards, where rebounding and shot blocking are factored heavily for centers.

Nowitzki was judged as a power forward, which is both his position on the court and an insufficient explanation of his role for the Mavs. While power forwards like Griffin, Pau Gasol and Zach Randolph play an interior game, Dirk prefers to play outside the paint and is arguably more of a tall shooting guard on offense than a classic four. As such, his post scoring may rank rather low, which would explain a relatively poor overall ranking. That said, if you play as Dirk you'll probably find that his style and game are approximated pretty well. Formulas don't always produce accurate results, especially when players as unorthodox as Nowitzki are involved.

On the other hand, there is something rather bizarre about Dirk's low rating when Bryant ranks so highly. Again, Kobe is a great player, but all advanced metrics and most expert eyewitness accounts suggest that he's on the downslope of his career. General public perception is clearly a factor here, so no one could blame 2K Sports for boosting Dirk's ratings a bit -- or at least rejiggering their formula -- to help his placement among the NBA elite. 2011 has been Dirk's year and he deserves some attention for it.

Of course, "NBA 2K12" still allows all gamers to edit rankings as they see fit (except in online play). So, you know, go ahead and make Dirk the best player in NBA history, if you like. Or do the same with Eddy Curry. The virtual world is your oyster.

Paul Arizin Charles Barkley Rick Barry Elgin Baylor Dave Bing

Create-a-Caption: Kobe Bryant learns that it?s all about context

Here's the thing, Kobe Bryant: If you make a kid lay face down on the ground and scream at him because you're "motivating him to finish his push-ups at basketball camp," you're a very committed instructor who really likes these little scamps. But if you make a kid lay face down on the ground and scream at him because "he agrees with you having�a lower 'NBA 2K12' rating than LeBron James," you're a monster.

I'm sure it seems like a fine line, but it's actually a very wide and completely reasonable line. You're just sort of a crazy person who wants people to call him "Sarge."

Best caption wins some tough love, Gossett Jr.-style. Good luck.

In our last adventure: Hamed Haddadi has a terrible mustache and is grabbing his crotch. (That was actually Monday's working headline.)

Winner, Tyler: Hamed Haddadi demonstrates how to properly align one's sacral chakra in order to fully focus your chi on defense.

(ED. NOTE: What? It's a real thing. What did YOU think he meant? ... Oh, come on. Get your minds out of the gutter, gang. Can't we just grow up and talk about sacral chakras here? For once?)

Runner-up, Dago: Making a tribute to Michael Jackson ? you're doing it wrong.

Second runner-up, Jones6: "In great American movie 'Problem Child,' Problem Child ran to home plate with a bat then slid in and the catcher was all like this. Funny country, that America."

Charles Barkley Rick Barry Elgin Baylor Dave Bing Larry Bird

Jay-Z will help design the Brooklyn Nets logo and uniforms

On Monday, we informed you of the Nets' decision to keep the team's nickname when they move to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn in 2012. It was a smart move, both because the Nets name is very simple and for its general lack of controversy. Plus, it has that retro cache that Brooklyn loves so much.

However, the Nets will require new jerseys. In addition to the usual group of designers, the Nets' new uniforms will have input from one of their owners. The most famous one, too. From Rich Calder for the New York Post (via PBT):

Rap mogul Jay-Z ? co-founder of the hip clothing line Rocawear ? is working with Nets brass and Adidas to design uniforms for the team when it moves into the under-construction Barclays Center in Brooklyn next year, Nets officials told the Post yesterday.

Jay Z, Adidas and the Nets are currently ironing out a logo for the Brooklyn Nets and deciding what colors their uniforms should be.

No matter what, the logo will feature Brooklyn prominently because the club wants to tap into the borough's world-popular brand name, officials said.

The Nets' current logo features the word "Nets" hovering over a basketball.

It will be tough to top the genius of a team name hanging over the ball of their particular sport, but that is why they pay these designers the big bucks. I just hope someone told the artists that this is a basketball team and not a fishing business. That kind of confusion could lead to big problems.

As noted by Calder, Mr. Z is already involved in the fashion industry and could have some great input on the design. Trey Kerby already worked up a potential look for the uniform at The Basketball Jones, and it's basically perfect: silly font, Rocawear branding, and a healthy dose of the "Watch the Throne" cover art. All it's missing is an ostentatious silk scarf.

We can only hope that the finished product manages to be half as interesting. In other words, more "American Gangster" than "Kingdom Come."

Bill Sharman John Stockton Isiah Thomas Nate Thurmond Wes Unseld

Carmelo Anthony doesn?t understand ?Muhammad Ali-type statements?

The lockout isn't over yet, so we could have something to top this, but it appears as if an NBA player has given us the first Kenny Anderson-type statement.

You remember Kenny, right? During the lockout that stretched from July of 1998 to January of 1999, he was quoted by the New York Times as saying this, unabashedly:

''I was thinking about selling one of my cars,'' he said recently, laughing. ''I don't need all of them. You know, just get rid of the Mercedes.''

Oh, Kenny. He wasn't lying, and he wasn't wrong. But even in those relatively well-heeled economic times, the statement didn't sit well with ? well, anyone.

And in Sunday's NBA.com story by David Aldridge, New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony passed this along while talking to The Starting Five's Michael Tilley:

It was shortly after that that my man Michael Tillery (who, by the way, disagrees with me that the stars couldn't put their own run together), from the terrific website The Starting Five, asked Anthony why the star players don't speak out like the NFL's players did during the NFL lockout.

"We're not allowed," Anthony said. "I mean, everybody has their own opinion. You hear people talk here and there. But nobody comes out and says what they really want to say. That's just the society we live in."

He laughed a little.

And, then: "Athletes today are scared to make Muhammad Ali-type statements."

Oh, Carmelo. He's not lying. He's not wrong. But comparing Ali's stand against a conflict in Southeastern Asia that had gone terribly wrong to a discussion over the sharing of actual billions of dollars in Basketball Related Income is the absolute height of absurdity. Yes, athletes today are scared to make Muhammad Ali-type statements (as is the case with most people that want to keep their jobs), but the application of an anecdote like that to a situation like the NBA lockout is completely and utterly wrong.

Aldridge mentions as much:

Forget for a second that Ali got in trouble (with some) for his vocal opposition to the Vietnam War, for refusing induction into the Army and for not only becoming a Muslim, but a Muslim who supported the controversial teaching of Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad until Muhammad's death in 1975. Kind of big things. And by comparison, Anthony was asked about speaking up on a labor dispute involving millionaire athletes and billionaire owners. Kind of little things, in the grand scheme.

And, in Anthony's defense, his point about the relative lack of star power at the bargaining table between the NBA and its players is well-taken.

Yes, in 1998 and 1999 a David Falk-led coterie of famous players helped lead the NBA Players Association, but to an ultimately disastrous affect. The space between the 1995 lockout and the 1998 lockout was filled with escalating top-tier salaries and the routine signing of average players to, quite literally, minimum salary contracts. The stars, during the 1998-99 lockout, attempted to keep that status quo before the rank and file got their way. It wasn't until then that the 1998-99 lockout ended.

Here's Carmelo:

"You saw me at a lot of meetings. You see CP. You saw 'Bron at a couple of meetings. But right now, the same thing just keeps going back and forth, so we don't know how powerful we are at this moment. We'll just see what happens."

What happens next, according to CBS's Ken Berger, is a negotiating session on Tuesday that will possibly bleed (or swim, lovingly) over to Wednesday before the observance of Rosh Hashanah sets in on Thursday and Friday. Though it would have made an impact last week to have seen LeBron James, Anthony and Kobe Bryant at the photo opportunity in Las Vegas, supporting their union while a litany of agents attempt to take it down from the inside, their presence isn't really needed in New York this week.

And in that time, perhaps Carmelo could find another outspoken athlete to compare his particular plight to. Something perched in the middle of, say, Kenny Anderson and Muhammad Ali.

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Video: Earl Watson stars in the weirdest TMZ video ever

As the line between celebrities and athletes become increasingly blurry, more basketball players have popped up on the website and TV show of the popular gossipmongers TMZ. Typically, these players are your typical blog fodder like Ron Artest, Lamar Odom and LeBron James. Those guys drive traffic and viewers, so they show up on a site that cares about little other than improving their ad rates.

Earl Watson has never been considered a fan favorite: He's a backup point guard whose offensive game veers towards soul-crushing. So it comes as something of a shock to see him appear in the TMZ video above. To make things even weirder, the TMZ crew acts as if Watson is a household name, when in reality that paparazzo who found him was probably waiting for a more gossip-friendly player like Watson's former UCLA teammate Baron Davis to show up.

Whatever the case, Watson's interrogator tried to make the best of it, with the 10-year veteran seeming happy to have been noticed by someone who isn't part of his family. Apparently Earl is not much of a lockout expert, though, because all anyone wants to hear about is his take on the WNBA. Which, in turn, TMZ founder Harvey Levin holds forth on the topic of how not every women's basketball player is a lesbian. Thanks, Harvey. You are really doing great things for the cause of equal rights.

For all the reasons stated above, I believe that this video is the weirdest ever put out by TMZ. The defense rests.

Bob Cousy Dave Cowens Billy Cunningham Dave DeBusschere Clyde Drexler

Video: Poet pens ?First Draft of Yao Ming?s Retirement Speech?

"Why wouldn't I stop talking? Y'all been telling me my own story for so long, I figured no one wanted to hear it from my lips anyway."

Of course, these words don't come from Yao Ming's lips, either; they were written and spoken by Giles Li, an Asian-American poet and performer based in Boston. In this spoken word piece, Li puts himself in Yao's now-hung-up size 18s and tries to move the spotlight away from the former Houston Rockets center's much-discussed impact as a cultural ambassador and global economic force. Instead, Li looks to illuminate Yao as a flesh-and-blood person, a view frequently shielded from the eyes of the world by all those macro-associations.

The words aren't Yao's, and they can be a bit brusque ? there's some potentially NSFW language (especially if you work in, say, a rectory) around the 1:43 mark ? but they offer a compelling view of Yao's life, career and recent retirement that's quite a bit more acerbic than the one Yao himself offered back in June.

It's a view that, to be honest, I've never really considered enough;�it made me realize that I've pretty much always just thought of Yao in either the most blithely satisfying ("What an amazing talent!" or "What an underrated wit!") or simple, pseudo-intellectual ("What an interesting cross-cultural opportunity his stardom opens up!") ways. I don't know if Yao actually thought, or thinks, or will think any of this stuff, but I do know I'm glad I'm now thinking about it, even if I don't quite know exactly what to say about it, or what that says about me.

Hat-tip to Eric "Pops" Esteves.

Bill Walton Jerry West Lenny Wilkens James Worthy Kareem Abdul Jabbar

The Big Three are back in Miami! (To play in a charity game you won?t watch)

If you're a fan of All-Star game-type basketball, charity games, summer leagues and defense-optional play, then we have something for you.

(Recent polling shows that you're not a fan of any of the things I listed above, but given the absence of actual NBA basketball, this is apparently what you'll have to settle for.)

According to Chris Broussard of ESPN, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh will team up to run in a charity game in South Florida during the first week of October. Beyond that, the stars will align:

A number of NBA players are slated to join the Miami trio on the court, including fellow Heat teammate Mario Chalmers, the Oklahoma City Thunder's Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, the New York Knicks' Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire, the New Orleans Hornets' Chris Paul, the Washington Wizards' John Wall, the Atlanta Hawks' Jamal Crawford and Joe Johnson, the Houston Rockets' Jonny Flynn, the Los Angeles Clippers' Eric Bledsoe, the Dallas Mavericks' Caron Butler, the Memphis Grizzlies' Rudy Gay, the Boston Celtics' Rajon Rondo, the Philadelphia 76ers' Lou Williams, the Golden State Warriors' Dorell Wright, and the Portland Trail Blazers' Wesley Matthews and free agent Eddy Curry.

"Free agent Eddy Curry." Hee hee. Also, Isiah Thomas will coach this game, which is apparently legal and cool with the NCAA.

This will apparently be one game, and Broussard reports that players are being turned away because too much roster depth could lead to too much sitting down for potential bench players, and none of these preeners want to sit on the bench for too long.

Of course, any of these players could be slumming with Derek Fisher right now, trying to figure out the best way to sustain a solid middle class amongst NBA contracts while giving NBA owners a chance to expect profitability while still signing star players to max contracts. But, nah, let's fire up some threes in South Beach.

Enjoy your autumn, NBA fans. You know the NBA's ex-players will. Until their checks stop coming in November, at least.

Dave DeBusschere Clyde Drexler Julius Erving Patrick Ewing Walt Frazier

Your daily reminder that every lost NBA game hurts more people than you know

We've gone on at length, since July, about the financial impact an extended NBA lockout will have on thousands of North American workers that rely on an 82-game season to put food on the table. Workers that need those 41 home games to help chalk up the hours, and earnings. Men and women that have nothing to do with a terrible application of a mid-level exemption by owners, or player that burned through his rookie contract in just a few months.

What we forget, when we mock the half-canceled NBA preseason, is the sheer amount of workers that will be hurting due to a delayed series of games that nobody really cares about. Yes, the preseason counts.

Watch this video:

And then there's this, from the Los Angeles Times and via Pro Basketball Talk. The less said about it, the better, because we're not allowed to use rude language in these pages:

"It's going to devastate these workers," said Mike Garcia, president of the SEIU-United Service Workers West union, with nearly 1,000 members working at the three NBA arenas in California: Staples Center, Oracle Arena in Oakland and Power Balance Pavilion in Sacramento. "They have become very dependent on these jobs," he said. The workers include janitors, ushers and ticket-takers who earn about $11 an hour on average.

An additional 700 food-service workers at Staples Center would be idled if Lakers and Clippers games were scrapped, said Tom Walsh, president of Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Local 11, the workers' union.

Multiply that by the 28 other arenas NBA teams use, and that doesn't even begin to estimate the impact an extended lockout will have.

Meanwhile, the NBA's players may have dissuaded the NBA from insisting on a hard salary cap. Good ? job?

Robert Parish Bob Pettit Scottie Pippen Willis Reed Oscar Robertson

Four out of five stat geeks agree that NBA GMs are stupid

Scouting, securing and signing the whole of an NBA roster takes quite a bit of work. It also involves quite a bit of room, or "the room," as NBA GMs work in concert with scouts, analysts, capologists, lawyers, the coaching staff, player agents, and eventually the owner. But the buck does stop, at some point. It's the GM, and the GM alone, that has to take his proposal to the owner for approval.

And because one, and then two men are making the decisions, individual prejudices come into play, despite the influence of however many people are in "the room." And, as Henry Abbott of TrueHoop found out recently, that room is often headed by someone who should be wearing the dunce cap.

I got a phone call from another with this story:

I was asked to get involved in a negotiation with a certain player. I did a little homework on the guy, and then went back into the GM's office, and asked how we should handle the guy's injury history, specifically a torn ACL that had kept him out of the league for a year-and-a-half.

"He tore his ACL?" asked the GM, sounding surprised. "Where'd you learn that?"

I told him I had just googled the guy.

This was in the last couple of years.

He said "ok, you're going to have to show me how to use this google thing."
Another current NBA general manager is not comfortable using any device with a keyboard.

It sounds apocryphal, but then again ... you follow the NBA, don't you? You don't have to be a cynic in assuming that this particular GM might run or have run your favorite team.

Be cynical. This is why you fill up message boards, comment sections and talk radio airwaves. There are certainly teams that know what they're doing, but even the smartest in the room can fall victim to his (because we're talking about NBA GMs, here. All dudes) own prejudices.

Just something to think about when someone like me prattles on about an NBA GM forgetting more about hoops than you'll ever know.

Jerry West Lenny Wilkens James Worthy Kareem Abdul Jabbar Nate Archibald

Murder suspect Crittenton free on bail (AP)

Authorities say ex-NBA player Javaris Crittenton is free on bail after he was charged with murder in an August drive-by shooting. Sheriff's spokeswoman Tracy Flanagan said Crittenton was released at 12:15 a.m. Wednesday. Fulton County Magistrate Judge Karen Woodson allowed Crittenton to go free on $230,000 bond after hearing testimony Tuesday from the player's friends and coaches.

Michael Jordan Jerry Lucas Karl Malone Moses Malone Pete Maravich

Jay-Z to open Nets' new Brooklyn arena (AP)

Nets part-owner Jay-Z will open the team's new Brooklyn arena by performing there next September. "Maybe one, maybe two, maybe three" concerts, he said at a news conference Monday across the street from the construction site. The hip-hop mogul paused then added, "I sound like LeBron." James made a proclamation he may later rue when the Miami Heat's Big Three were...

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Dancing with World Peace: ?Ron Artest? draws low scores with his cha-cha-cha

The NBA is lacking for stories right now. To help fill the void, BDL's Eric Freeman is watching and analyzing each performance by Los Angeles Lakers forward Metta World Peace (ne� Ron Artest) on the ABC hit "Dancing with the Stars." He had never watched a single episode of the series before this season.

"Dancing with the Stars" has no idea what to do with Metta World Peace. For one thing, they won't even call him by his real name, instead opting for "Ron Artest" in the hope that he'll provide some sort of name recognition for sports fans who don't usually watch a dancing competition geared towards middle-aged and elderly women.

This tactic completely misunderstands the appeal of MWP -- he's less a man's man than a giant goofball who has overcome a history of violent outbursts to become a happier person without sacrificing the best aspects of his personality. He's a success story and a curiosity at once, not a symbol of pure masculine swagger. If Artest sticks around for a while, the show's producers will need to understand why he's fascinating if they want to turn his presence into the spectacle it deserves to be.

Analysis of the routine, its connection to basketball, and the judges' scores follows after the jump.

The dance: The cha-cha-cha. Of Cuban origin. Contestants also had the option of the Viennese waltz, which World Peace wisely avoided.

The outfit: Red velvet pants, a sparkly vest, a bedazzled fedora, and a blond hairdo with "World Peace" on the back of his head in purple Hebrew.

The song: Like most songs on "DWTS," it was a cover of a popular song I couldn't place performed by Western Indiana's best wedding band.

Analysis: MWP danced with more energy than all but one competitor, "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" star and stylist Carson Kressley, who looked so happy that he must now be able to cross several dozen items off his Bucket List. World Peace's dance was energetic in movement, if also wildly imprecise, and he genuinely seemed to be enjoying himself. However, MWP's cha-cha-cha less resembled a competitive dance routine than a two-minute ecstatic spasm of mugging and occasional playful butt-smacking with a very pretty woman. For the most part, World Peace mirrored the movements of his partner -- "DWTS" rookie�Peta Murgatroyd,�who can best be described as a Victoria's Secret model with the flexibility of Laffy Taffy -- a split second too early or late to achieve acceptable symmetry. No one led -- it was as if the goal of their cha-cha-cha was to do nothing more than wild-out like Nick Cannon in front of a national audience. Still, it was fun and featured the kind of energy that such a conservative show needs.

[Related: What Ron Artest's daughter wants to do with his last name]

Basketball relevance: Dancers are effectively athletes, mixing grace and power to achieve an aesthetically pleasing result. Unfortunately for this competition, that comparison doesn't quite apply to World Peace: Defense depends on lateral quickness, but he's past his prime and has never been especially reliant on fluid movement. If you've ever seen Metta-Metta run a fast break or on an isolation, you know that dancing is probably not going to come to him as naturally as it did for NFL greats like Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith. He's a different sort of player.

That said, his skills as a showman -- remember, this man loves to kiss his biceps on the court -- served him well. The performance was a lot of fun in a way that can only be accomplished when the performer knows his technique isn't aesthetically pleasing. That instinct was honed during years on the basketball court as a rough-and-tumble, brutish defender.

Judges' comments and scores: MWP had the ill fortune of going first, which deprived him of other poor performances to make him seem comparatively impressive. Len Goodman -- the Simon Cowell of "DWTS," just older and less prissy -- rightfully said the dance "lacked cha-cha-cha content" and condescended that it was "entertaining in its way." Bruno Toniolo -- Paula Abdul if she were an extremely flamboyant Italian man�fond of meth instead of alcohol -- referred to World Peace as "Dance-a-tron" and noted that his "length of bone" can make technique difficult to master. Carrie Ann Inaba -- the dull, professional Randy Jackson stand-in -- anointed Metta "the wild one" of this season and said the "fun factor was high" while the dance itself was "sort of wrong for all the technical reasons."

In all, World Peace earned a 14 out of 30, the lowest scores of the night. However, it would be wrong to say he was the worst of the night -- his score likely would have reached 15 or 16 if he'd performed a little later in the night. Erstwhile George Clooney paramour Elisabetta Canalis was downright awful technically and cheesy in the most awkward way possible, and activist Chaz Bono appeared out of shape and ill-suited for any kind of high-stress dance. MWP will be on the chopping block for Tuesday night's elimination, but he deserves to come back. Hopefully the audience callers will appreciate the sort of pizzazz he knows best. With his athletic background and innate energy, there's potential for serious improvement.

Miscellany: Lamar Odom was in attendance with what seemed like the entire extended Kardashian family, presumably to cheer on brother-in-law Rob. Odom was not identified as a teammate of World Peace. He is now part of the family Borg. ... In his post-dance interview, World Peace kept his arm around co-host Brooke Burke's shoulder and said "It's fun to be standing next to you." She did not appear very comfortable. ... If Metta is eliminated on Tuesday, we will cover the story on Wednesday. If he stays, BDL will be without "DWTS" coverage until next Tuesday.

Other popular stories on Yahoo! Sports:
? Kobe prepared to loan players money during NBA lockout
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? NFL player's TD celebration goes hilariously wrong

Dave DeBusschere Clyde Drexler Julius Erving Patrick Ewing Walt Frazier

Create-a-Caption: ?Sorry, Ray Allen ? it?s a no, I?m afraid?

Listen, Ray Allen, no one's mad at you for auditioning for "The X-Factor." It's a highly anticipated competition that is probably somehow not "American Idol", and the winner gets a $5 million prize, which would be pretty great for you to have because, well, "Meh." It's a low-risk, potentially-high-reward move. Very savvy. Very business-y. Very Ray Allen-y.

Now, choosing to sing "Wonderful Christmastime," on the other hand? Very ass-y. If there's one thing that Simon Cowell hates more than shirts that offer nipple modesty, it's kitty-litter-jingle-sounding holiday tunes. Everyone knows that. You blew it, man.

Best caption wins a far, far better Paul McCartney song (that would still be a terrible choice to sing for Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger). Good luck.

In our last adventure: Rudy Fernandez is a real magician with the ball. No, seriously. The dude knows the dark arts. He is like a Hogwarts-level�warlock.

Winner, Akb24b: Just when you thought it couldn't be done, Rudy Fernandez finds yet another way of shooting a three-pointer.

Runner-up, Thanatos: +1 Assist

+1 Fabulous Pose

NOTE: I choose to believe that this is a role-playing game joke.

Second runner-up, AlfredY: "Finally, a team that agreed to my single contractual demand: no defense. You see, people of Portland, I am much better when we play my way, as I have said all along."

Scottie Pippen Willis Reed Oscar Robertson David Robinson Bill Russell

Video: Poet pens ?First Draft of Yao Ming?s Retirement Speech?

"Why wouldn't I stop talking? Y'all been telling me my own story for so long, I figured no one wanted to hear it from my lips anyway."

Of course, these words don't come from Yao Ming's lips, either; they were written and spoken by Giles Li, an Asian-American poet and performer based in Boston. In this spoken word piece, Li puts himself in Yao's now-hung-up size 18s and tries to move the spotlight away from the former Houston Rockets center's much-discussed impact as a cultural ambassador and global economic force. Instead, Li looks to illuminate Yao as a flesh-and-blood person, a view frequently shielded from the eyes of the world by all those macro-associations.

The words aren't Yao's, and they can be a bit brusque ? there's some potentially NSFW language (especially if you work in, say, a rectory) around the 1:43 mark ? but they offer a compelling view of Yao's life, career and recent retirement that's quite a bit more acerbic than the one Yao himself offered back in June.

It's a view that, to be honest, I've never really considered enough;�it made me realize that I've pretty much always just thought of Yao in either the most blithely satisfying ("What an amazing talent!" or "What an underrated wit!") or simple, pseudo-intellectual ("What an interesting cross-cultural opportunity his stardom opens up!") ways. I don't know if Yao actually thought, or thinks, or will think any of this stuff, but I do know I'm glad I'm now thinking about it, even if I don't quite know exactly what to say about it, or what that says about me.

Hat-tip to Eric "Pops" Esteves.

George Gervin Hal Greer John Havlicek Elvin Hayes Magic Johnson

Michael Jordan makes more from endorsements now than he did as a player

Aside from that whole lockout thing, it's a terrific time to be an NBA fan. The league is full of great players of different shapes and sizes, from Chris Paul to LeBron James to Dwight Howard. No matter your pleasure, you can find something to enjoy. It's a lot like Baskin-Robbins.

Yet, for all the greatness of the modern NBA, the most widely loved and known basketball player in the world retired more than eight years ago. Michael Jordan still commands a great deal of endorsement dollars -- put his name on a video game, shoe, or T-shirt and you're likely to sell more than you would otherwise.

So it should come as relatively little surprise that Jordan makes lots of money. What's interesting is that he makes more than he did as a player. From Kurt Badenhausen for Forbes (via PBT):

We estimate that Jordan earned $60 million over the past year mainly through his endorsement deals with�Nike, Gatorade, Hanes, Upper Deck, 2K Sports and Five Star Fragrances. He also owns five restaurants and a car dealership in North Carolina. His annual earnings are greater than any other sports figure save Tiger Woods who topped our�world's highest-paid athletes this year.

At Jordan's peak during his playing career, he was making $50 million off the court through sponsorships. He also banked $63 million in combined salary during his last two years with the Bulls.

The reasons for this bump in profits go beyond simple concepts like "more companies pay him now" or "he now gets paid more by everyone." Jordan's relationship with Nike has only expanded over time, with his Jordan Brand becoming a major player perhaps topped only by the parent company itself. On top of that, his Hanes ads run regularly, and his role in "NBA 2K11" was a huge success. The man makes money because he moves product.

But why do fans care more about a retired player than someone who still makes All-Star teams every season and ranks among the league's scoring leader? The simplest answer is that Jordan was such a phenomenal athlete that he can't be treated like other retired basketball players; every basketball fan over the age of 20 watched him play at his peak level and remembers his exploits in sparkling detail.

Dig a little deeper, though, and you'll find that fans can reach consensus on Jordan that's impossible with divisive players like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. That's not to say that those two are bad endorsers -- they do pretty well with large portions of the public -- but Jordan stands far above all else. He's a cut above all others, the most successful endorser in sport history, if not that of all celebrities ever.

For that reason, it may be that there's nothing to learn from Jordan's post-retirement success as an endorser. He's both a product of a different media era and an athlete so hugely successful that it may be impossible for the NBA to produce anyone like him ever again.

Other popular stories on Yahoo! Sports:
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? Phenomenal athlete Jones may also be smartest fighter in MMA
? Clouds lift on dark day for Red Sox, Lackey

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Create-a-Caption: Hamed Haddadi could really use a timeout

I bet trying to "set the Guinness World Record for Gatorade drinking" at halftime doesn't seem like such a great idea now, does it, Hamed Haddadi? No. No, it doesn't. Neither does that mustache, but we'll take care of one thing at a time, I suppose. Hit the locker room, please. Right away.

Best caption wins thoughts of endless, arid, cactus-filled deserts, with no flowing water anywhere. Good luck.

In our last adventure: We took a closer look at David Stern. Like, suuuuuper close. Right up in his grill.

Winner, FunmiT: "So we didn't respond and Billy Hunter looked just like this! Then we all laughed and walked out."

Runner-up, STARDESTROYER: It's 10 o'clock. Do you know where your deodorant is?

Second runner-up, IndeedProceed: Reporter: "Mr. Stern, what do you have to say about the recent irrefutable proof that the NBA's teams are not only profitable, but are actually obscenely so?"

Voice-over Announcer: "Need a break?"

Oscar Robertson David Robinson Bill Russell Dolph Schayes Bill Sharman

James, Wade, Bosh to host charity game (AP)

Miami Heat stars LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh are planning to headline a charity game featuring some of the NBA's top players in Miami on Oct. 8. Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire, Rajon Rondo and John Wall have also committed to play. Details are still being finalized and although no contracts had been signed by late Tuesday, an official announcement about the game and...

John Havlicek Elvin Hayes Magic Johnson Sam Jones Michael Jordan

Video: Philadelphia 76ers replace an 11-year-old boy?s stolen hoop

As expected, the NBA canceled training camp and the first two weeks of the preseason on Friday, and you're allowed to curse. Now get over it. Now remember it again and throw your water bottle against the wall. Now get over it, again.

And watch this story that features the Philadelphia 76ers doing a very cool thing for a cool young man who was the victim of some very, very uncool people.

Rick Barry Elgin Baylor Dave Bing Larry Bird Wilt Chamberlain

Important milestones: David Stern?s speaking role in ?NBA 2K12?

We were all a little bummed when we learned last week that "NBA 2K12" ? the hotly anticipated forthcoming edition of 2K Sports' NBA video game franchise, over which many of us have been salivating since seeing those awesome trailers featuring league legends alongside today's players ? won't include any players chosen in the 2011 NBA draft out of the box. They'll surely release a roster update once the lockout ends, but the wait will be very sad. After all, no Kyrie Irving and no Derrick Williams make Dan something something.

But things are not all glum! While we were busy stewing over rookie-less rosters, we missed another, subtler bit of "2K12" news: The game features NBA commissioner David Stern announcing draft picks! (sotto voce) yaaaaaaay.

Here's the scoop, courtesy of an update on the game's "My Player" mode posted�on the "NBA 2K12" Facebook page by producer Erick Boenisch (via the eagle-eyed Owen Good at Kotaku).

NOTE: The passage below includes a minor spoiler about the game's "Association" mode, so if you get irked by such things, get your '80s toys on and skip it.

Once you continue past the Mock Draft, the NBA Draft will finally commence. Herein lies the first surprise that I've been dying to tell everyone about for a long time. Through our great partnership with the NBA, I'm extremely proud to announce that were able to get Mr. David Stern into the studio to record all necessary audio required to have him announce the entire 1st round of the draft (Association Spoiler: Our great partnership also allowed us to secure Deputy Commissioner of the NBA, Adam Silver. When the 2nd Round of the draft rolls around, Mr. Silver will walk onto the stage and call out the remainder of the draft. Now seriously, how many other sports games out there would go to this level of detail to bring you what you truly want? Answer: None).

Setting aside the repetition of "Our great partnership with the NBA," which has sort of a "Sun-Li in the Paddy's Pub karaoke contest" vibe to it, that is a pretty impressive level of detail.

It'd definitely be a sweet thrill to hear David Stern's digital drone announce that Virtual You ? the spitting image of Real-Life You, plus an extra six or 10 inches, 25 to 50 pounds of muscle, 15 to 30 inches of vertical leap and oh, say, several hundred skill points ? had been chosen in the first round of the NBA draft. Granted, I think I'd prefer shaking fools as Kemba Walker right out of the gate, but this is good, too. (Especially if you get drafted by the New York Knicks. I hope the small amount of bemusement and sideways smirk in Stern's voice as he prepares to feed the trolls, always an annual Draft Night treat, translates through my speakers.)

And, as Kotaku's Good notes, it actually represents an "unlikely first" ? Stern is the first league commissioner to lend not only his likeness, but also his voice, to a video game. (NFL commissioner Roger Goodell appears to present the Lombardi Trophy in "Madden NFL 11" and "Madden NFL 12," but plays a Marcel Marceau role in the proceedings.)

These are the kind of small touches that the NBA has excelled at in recent years, another expert digital media brushstroke ? alongside the expansion of League Pass Broadband, the wide availability of exclusive team-specific content on team websites and its (relatively) loose governance of fan-created highlight packages and mixes on YouTube ? that stands as proof of just how in tune the league is with its fans and what they want. They really seem to get us, you know?

In other, unrelated news, today is the 78th day of the NBA lockout.

Larry Bird Wilt Chamberlain Bob Cousy Dave Cowens Billy Cunningham