During the “Kobe Up Close” special, Kobe Bryant said that Tracy McGrady, with his size and athleticism, was the guy who gave him the most problems. Bryant and McGrady were easily the two best wings in the NBA during the early 2000s. McGrady got caught this morning by TMZ at the airport and acknowledged Kobe’s compliment. Check out the video to see who he thought was the best player he ever played against.
LeBron James named his top three basketball players of all time, which are Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Julius Erving. Magic Johnson was not included. However, when LeBron was prompted to list a fourth player, Johnson was #4. Unfortunately that wasn’t enough for the former Lakers player, and he took to Twitter to express his feelings.
“NBA Championship rings are all that matter; Jordan 6, Me 5, Bird 3, LeBron 2 and Dr. J 1.”
Yikes. Johnson is bit offended that he wasn’t included in James’ top three players of all time, and rightfully so. If you consider how great and accomplished Magic was during his career with the Lakers, he deserves a spot in the top three.
Today is Throwback Thursday, and LN is bringing you the first time Kobe hit a game-winning shot! Bryant has had a number of these over the time, but there is just something about number one. The clip is from the 2000 playoffs against the Phoenix Suns. This shot gave the Lakers a 2-0 series lead as they would eventually win the series 4-1 on their way to the first championship of the Kobe-Shaq era and also marked Kobe’s first game-winning jumper of his career. Check it out here.
Lakers Nation News
Lakers Show Off New Hollywood Nights Uniforms Via Instagram
Magic Johnson Responds To LeBron James Ranking His Top 3 Players
Being More Receptive To Change And Giving Short Sleeves A Shot
Throwback Thursday: Remembering Kobe Bryant’s First Game-Winning Shot
Tracy McGrady Says Kobe Bryant Is Toughest He’s Had To Guard
Chris Paul Elected NBPA President, Steve Blake Joins Executive Committee
Lakers News
How Nick Young Fits in the Lakers’ Offense [Silver Screen and Roll]
What if Steve Nash Never Broke His Leg [Silver Screen and Roll]
Lakers Reveal New Black Jerseys [Silver Screen and Roll]
Lakers Guard Jodie Meeks Turns 26 Years Old [Lakers Now]
Magic Johnson Fires Back at LeBron for Not Having Him in Top Three [ProBasketballTalk]
The Forum: Lakers’ Front Office [ESPN]
The Gift & the Curse of Improved Depth on the Perimeter [Forum Blue and Gold]
Watch Ronny Turiaf One-Up Kobe Bryant by Jumping Over a ‘truck’ [LA Times]
Kobe Bryant’s “True Genius” Video Captures Unyielding Drive [Inside the Lakers]
Jordan Hill Says Improved Outside Shooting Won’t Change the Rest of His Game [ProBasketballTalk]
Can Lakers Generate Enough Offense? [ESPN]
Kobe Bryant Takes in the Drew League Championship Game [Lakers Now]
Blogtable: Kobe’s Comeback [NBA.com]
TMZ Incorrectly Reports that Tracy McGrady Thinks Kobe Bryant Was Tougher to Guard than Chicago-era Michael Jordan [Ball Don’t Lie]
Steve Blake Named to NBPA Executive Committee as a Vice President [LA Times]
Corner Three Time? [BasketBlog]
Kobe Bryant Impressed by Frank Robinson at Drew League Championship [ProBasketballTalk]
Lakers to Wear Short Sleeves [ESPN]
NBA News
Allen Iverson Set to Retire from NBA [ESPN]
2013 Offseason Report: Toronto Raptors [Eye on Basketball]
The NBA, A-through-Z: Sacramento Kings [Ball Don’t Lie]
Pistons Agree to Partially-Guaranteed Deal with Josh Harrellson [ProBasketballTalk]
Brewer Returns to Minnesota a ‘Different Player’ [Yahoo! Sports]
Officer Who Escorted LeBron James Faces Discipline [USA Today]
Gary Payton Says He’s to Blame for Iverson’s Practice Rant [CBS Sports]
Derek Fisher’s Team Falls at Ball Up Streetball Classic Tour [Lakers Now]
Caron Butler Says Nobody From Clippers Called to Tell Him He Was Traded [ProBasketballTalk]
Chris Paul of Los Angeles Clippers Named NBPA President [ESPN]
How Does a 7-Footer Fit in an Airplane Bathroom? [For The Win]
Grizzlies Trade 2012 First-Round Pick Tony Wroten to 76ers [Yahoo Sports]
Ex-Celtic Walter McCarty Joins Brad Stevens’ Staff as an Assistant Coach [ProBasketballTalk]
Phoenix Suns Refuse to Address Michael Beasley Saga [USA Today]
The Definitive Guide to NBA Team Names [Grantland]
LeBron Dressed Up as a 1970s Basketball Player [ProBasketballTalk]
The 10-Man Rotation, Starring Allen Iverson [Ball Don’t Lie]
NBA Player Corey Brewer Owns a Goat [For the Win]
Tim Duncan Granted Divorce at ‘secret hearing’ [CBS Sports]
DeAndre Jordan Remains Key to Clippers Season [ProBasketballTalk]
Larry Sanders Wins One for the Geeks [TrueHoop Blog]