The Battle For Los Angeles and New York

Brooklyn has emerged as a suitable cross-town rival for the New York Knicks. (entmoney.com)

Not long ago, the NBA and country's biggest markets were dominated by one team. The Knicks had the heart of New York City and the Lakers had control of Los Angeles.

Not long ago Knicks guard Raymond Felton would have not needed to say, "They will never take over our city." It would be implied. And not much longer ago than that, there was not team to take the city from the Knicks. The Nets were in New Jersey, but try calling a New Jersey team a cross-town rival in New York and prepare to run for your life.

Not long ago, if Kobe Bryant would have said that in LA, his comedy skills would have given him a spot with Jay Leno. The Clippers weren't competition to the Lakers. They just happened to be sharing a building.

Now all of that has changed. The Clippers were the better LA team last season, and it wasn't close. The Nets now reside in Brooklyn, and after a blockbuster trade for Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, the Nets are now ready to make a run at the Eastern Conference.

Felton made the comment about NYC being the Knicks' city after Pierce told a New York radio station he thought it was time for the Nets to take control of New York. It is going to take more than a better winning record for Brooklyn to surpass the Knicks as New York's team. The Knicks have the advantage of history and years of connection with the city, as do the Lakers. The Clippers have planted roots in the city longer than the Nets in NYC, but much of that time was spent with fans wearing paper bags on their heads.

However, what we know about fans (sans die hard fans, there's no converting a die-hard fan) is that they can be fickle, and what is hot is what is important. Jack Nicholson will always be sitting courtside for Lakers games. But what if the Clippers go on a run of deep playoff appearances and even win an NBA title in the next 10 years while the Lakers rebuild following Kobe's retirement? The view of both teams will be much different than how we still come to know it in our minds. Right now it is still hard to imagine the Clippers as the better team because it has been so long since anyone has seen it. And if Brooklyn wins a title while the Knicks continue to lose in the first round every year? People in the borough and fans of the city will be celebrating right alongside.

One championship does not mean the Nets will run NYC, or the Clippers LA. The fan base will grow, certainly, but it would take years for either team to even come close, and even then, tradition is a hard obstacle to overcome.

Whether the Clippers or Nets actually overtake the Lakers and Knicks in terms of city love is not the point. Sports are cyclical and in another 10 years the standings could be flipped again. What is great for the NBA and the cities is that there is finally competition. Clippers fans can brag about their team without being laughed out of the room. The Nets can talk some trash on the Knicks.

Sports are built on rivalries and the two biggest NBA cities finally have rivalries that can capture attention. Not long ago, that was certainly not the case.

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2013-14 NBA Schedule Released; Season Starts Strong

Derrick Rose's first game back with Chicago could be the season opener against the Miami Heat. (fullcourtpumps.com)

The NBA may be in the heart of the offseason, but with the 2013-14 schedule released last night, teams and fans can start looking ahead and circling games on their calendars.

The first days everyone looks for when the schedule finally comes out is the season opener and Christmas Day, and the NBA has made sure neither day will disappoint. In terms of storylines, the first night of the season, Oct. 29, couldn't get much better. The Miami Heat will welcome Chicago in what should be Derrick Rose's first game back in more than a year. A healthy Chicago squad has been thought of the past few years as one of the best changes of ending Miami's reign as champions. That night will also feature a completely upside down rivalry when Doc Rivers makes his coaching debut with the Los Angeles Clippers against the Lakers, who has a completely new lineup, except for Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol.

Basketball fans will have a feast of five games on Christmas Day and while Chicago will face the new-look Brooklyn Nets, Oklahoma City will play the New York Knicks, Miami will travel to LA to take on the Lakers and Dwight Howard's Houston Rockets will challenge San Antonio, the most exciting game on the schedule could be the night cap, where the Clippers travel to Golden State. Chris Paul and Blake Griffin versus Stephen Curry and the young-but-talented Warriors should be a high-tempo, high-scoring contest that will be fun to watch.

Obviously these are just two days on a very busy 82-game schedule for teams, and every team has a few games worthy of mention here. Dwight Howard's return to Los Angeles and Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett's return to Boston are just two that will bring national attention. If you're just interested in finding your favorite team's schedule, Dan Devine at Yahoo! Sports compiled links to every team's schedule on the Ball Don't Lie blog for your enjoyment.

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Toure Murry, Gal Mekel Show the Affect of Wichita State's Final Four Run on the NBA

WSU alum Toure Murry is benefiting from the Shockers' 2013 NCAA Tournament success. (Thomas Boyd/Oregonian)

Wichita State's unpredicted run into the Final Four ended at the hands of eventual national champion Louisville, but the impact of the Shockers' successful NCAA Tournament trip wasn't over when they were eliminated. One former Wichita State player is set to make his NBA debut and another is expected to receive a training camp invite from a projected playoff team.

Anyone catching a Dallas Mavericks game will get the chance to see Gal Mekel, a 6'3" point guard, play as a reserve. Mekel, who played at Wichita State from 2006-08, was signed with the intention of competing against newly-drafted rookie Shane Larkin as the first point guard off the bench, but he should expect a boost in minutes until Larkin returns from a broken ankle suffered in summer league play. After Omri Casspi, Mekel is the second Israeli player in NBA history. As a pro in Israel, Mekel helped lead his team, Maccabi Haifa, to a league title in 2013, which helped secure his current three-year deal with $2.3 million guaranteed. Before inking a contract with Dallas, the Milwaukee Bucks were rumored to have an interest in adding Mekel to their summer league roster.

Though important to the Mavericks' upcoming season, Mekel is just the second-most hyped former Shocker on the cusp of NBA playing time. After showing improvement during a stint in the D-League, Toure Murry was added to the New York Knicks' summer league roster and proceeded to put on a show, throwing outlet passes and highlight-reel dribbles to the content of relatively sparse crowds and NBA social media specialists. Most notable is this series:



It ends with his teammate, Jeremy Tyler, throwing down a major slam that earned Dunk of the Night honors, but look at what Murry does. First, there's the steal as the opposing point guard attempts to go through traffic toward the hoop, then Murry dribbles between a defender's legs as he nears mid-court and finishes with a perfectly placed behind-the-back pass. Given, most summer leaguers are not up to par with the competition faced during the NBA's regular season — usually for obvious reasons — but Murry's combination of athleticism and instincts on this single play is a microcosm for what he did for the Knicks' prospects as a team. Murry comes from the Shockers' defensive-minded culture and, while dribbling between an opponent's legs is more of a streetball move than NBA de rigueur (hey, Jamal Crawford!), Murry's precision aim at the end of the play is indicative of his creativity with the ball — something he is still developing as he transitions to playing point guard from his natural shooting guard position.

At 6'5", Murry would have great height for a one-guard on the NBA level and the Knicks are not only reportedly planning to invite him to training camp, but are also said to be in contract discussions with Murry for the 2013-14 season, according to ESPN's Ian Begley. The move would culminate Murry's transition from WSU, where he played from 2008-12, to the professional level after he spent a productive year with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Houston Rockets' D-League affiliate. Through the course of 30 regular season and six playoff games, Murry averaged 8.3 points, 2.8 assists and 2.5 rebounds per game. Between sharing a backcourt with the likes of Andrew Goudelock and Patrick Beverly, however, Murry was not always permitted the space to show his full skill set. Still, he worked to refine his three-point shooting (36.9 percent) and execution of pick-and-roll sets, around which most NBA offenses are built.

Though Murry would likely have made it onto an NBA roster based on his own merits, the Shockers' success in a single tournament could have hurried the alum's expected entry into the Association. It almost certainly did that for Mekel, whose name was largely off the NBA radar until after the NCAA and Israeli seasons were over. Wichita State was not necessarily an unknown program before this year's NCAA Tournament, but their postseason success came as a surprise to most. With the opportunities now in front of them, Shocker alums like Murry and Mekel may find their own success past the collegiate level.

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Debunking A Myth: Were Players Really Shorter in 1967?

Go anywhere that isn’t a retirement home and announce Wilt Chamberlain as the greatest player of all time. Or try to announce Bill Russell as the greatest winner of all time. Either will be met with arguments about how small and feeble their competition was; how their dominance came as a result of their “ahead of their time” bodies and athleticism, not due to their talent and instinct.  

Nate Thurmond and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, two short guys Wilt faced. (Via. tumblr)

In order to truly understand and compare player heights, you must first look at how players are measured. Since about the 1980’s, heights have been exaggerated by agents and players in an attempt to help their draft stock. Draftexpress.com explains:

Players and various people who worked for teams had been complaining for years about barefoot measurements. Larry Johnson, the #1 overall pick in 1991 expressed his thoughts on the measurements after he came in an inch and a half below his listed height of 6’7”. "Ain't that pitiful?" Johnson said. "You don't go out there with your shoes off. Ain't that right?"

In this case, Larry Johnson being a 6’5 ½” power forward didn’t hurt his stock, because he was in a weaker draft, but many times measurements can really help or hurt a player’s position in the draft. Jerry Krause used the same logic in 1992, saying "I've never seen a young man yet play basketball in his stocking feet." That was after power forward Byron Houston  who was listed 6’7” in college measured 6’4”.

This means that somebody like Bill Russell, who is measured at 6’9 barefoot, would be measured between 6’10" and 6’11" had he played in a later era.

With that in mind, take a look at Chamberlain’s 1967 season, his first championship season. Chamberlain had one of the greatest seasons in league history with 24 points on 68 percent shooting, 24 rebounds, and eight assists per game.

His first game that season brought the New York Knicks to Philadelphia. The Knicks lineup consisted of 6’11" center Walt Bellamy and 6’9" power forward Willis Reed. With a smaller league, the New York Knicks and the Philadelphia 76ers would meet nine times throughout the season.

Walt Bellamy and Wilt Chamberlain (Via. Bleacher Report)

One game later, the 76ers faced the Baltimore Bullets for two games. The Bullets’ front line consisted of 6’10" center Leroy Ellis, 7-foot center Mel Counts, and 6’8" power forward Wayne 

Hightower. The 76ers would face them nine times that season.

The seventh game of the 76ers season was in San Francisco against the San Francisco Warriors. The 76ers were met by 6’11" center Nate Thurmond and 6’8" power forward Fred Hetzel. They would meet nine times.

This trend held up throughout the season, with the shortest team being the St. Louis Hawks, who had two 6’9" centers as the tallest on their roster. However, if they measured the same way athletes are measured today, both would measure at around 6’10" or 6’11". 

The 1960's were some of the greatest times in basketball, however it doesn't always get the respect it deserves by the modern fan due to unfounded myths surrounding it. Perhaps it's time to appreciate those players for who they were, great players.

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Friday Roundtable: What Team Is Coming Back From A 3-2 Deficit?

Can the Clippers battle back from being down 3-2 to take the series from Memphis? (foxsportswest.com)

BDD's Friday Roundtable is a weekly discussion among a group of our writers on a trending NBA or college basketball topic.

This week's question: All four of Friday's games have the series at 3-2. Which team currently trailing is most likely to come back and advance to the next round?

Alex:
Boston? Atlanta? Houston? No. I'll take the Clippers as the team with the best chance to rattle out a series win after going down 3-2.

It took a massive comeback in Game 7 for them to close out the Memphis Grizzlies around this time last year and there's no reason it can't happen again. Chris Paul is the best point guard of his generation, able to balance the acts of tallying assists and taking on the scoring burden when needed, particularly in clutch moments. He has a fine supporting cast of bigs and a serviceable (and more, in the regular season) back-up.

If the Clips are to surge past Memphis, though, they must start impacting the paint and pulling in rebounds. This starts with DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin, high ankle sprain and all, being able to gut it out against one of the NBA's best frontcourt tandems in Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol. Easier said than done, obviously, but Jordan and Griffin are due for a big game and should go into tonight's potential elimination game looking to get their opposition in foul trouble and, moreso, out-positioning and out-hustling the Grizzlies for every possible rebound.

This extends to all the Los Angeles bigs. Basically, they must hold up their end of the bargain inside so the league's top distributor can keep his eyes open for weak spots in Memphis' armor.

Kyle:
The Los Angeles Clippers have the best chance of coming back and winning the series. This is partially because Oklahoma City and New York have been the better teams, but maybe let up on the gas a little too early, and Atlanta has looked about as stable as a one-legged gymnast.

But mostly the Clippers need it more than the Grizzlies do, and the team should realize that. Sure, we can talk about how great Memphis is defensively, how much Zach Randolph has stepped up the past three games and that the Clippers are banged up (it wasn't planned, but Alex hit all of this on the head in his portion), but sometimes a team just wills itself to victory. The Clippers surely know this is the year they can't exit in the first round.

It's such an unfamiliar sight. The city of Los Angeles is there for the taking. After decades of being the little brother to the Lakers and the city's punchline, the Clippers now have the better team. The Lakers season is already over, and the Clippers can build even more of a case for their arrival if they can advance further than their cross-city rival. This is why Chris Paul came to LA. This is why they drafted Blake Griffin. It has been a slow process to return to relevance and this year was the perfect combination of Clippers success and Lakers failure. Those who wore paper bags over their heads to Clippers games 10 years ago can now proudly don that red Clippers shirt and know the waiting is starting to pay off. Now is the time to capitalize on that, and I think the team understands that. 

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Friday Roundtable: What Non-Superstar Can A Playoff Team Not Lose To Injury?

Without Kirk Hinrich, Deron Williams could destroy the Bulls. (Kathy Willens/TheHour.com)

BDD's Friday Roundtable is a weekly discussion among a group of our writers on a trending NBA or college basketball topic.

This week's question: With the Lakers stockpiling injuries and after seeing Golden State's David Lee suffer a torn hip flexor that will keep him out for the rest of the playoffs, we ask what non-superstar can one of the remaining playoff teams not afford to lose?

Alex:
This may be cheating since he was named to the Eastern Conference All-Star team, but although he is having a breakout year and translated regular season effort into playoff success, Paul George of the Indiana Pacers isn't a superstar. The Pacers' current culture of gritty team ball is not likely to breed one of those, so barring a transcendent postseason performance or a gigantic 2013-14 season, George is likely to remain at the forefront of a small market, overlook-us-at-your-own-risk franchise. That is fine, but what wouldn't be OK for the Pacers is if George fell to injury.

The third-year shooting guard-cum-small forward has played more minutes than any other Pacer this season (second-place David West trails him by nearly 200) and collected 6.3 Defensive Win Shares — the best individual number in a notoriously stingy defense. Adding to that statistic are George's team-high steal percentage (2.6) and his pounding of the defensive glass (he grabs 19.0 percent of defensive rebounds while on the floor, trailing only Jeff Pendergraph [22.2] and Miles Plumlee [19.9] for the season).

As for offense, George led the Pacers in per-game scoring during the regular season (17.4 points) and has only increased his output in the playoffs (25 ppg). He's no slouch at involving his teammates, either. Check any handful of Pacers highlights from this season and you're sure to see George playing one integral role or another. Indiana losing him could tip the series' scales in favor of the Atlanta Hawks, personae non gratae of the playoffs' second round.

Kyle:
I'm going a little obscure here, but bare with me. There's a guy who is far from a superstar, but has been crucially important for his team, and that is Kirk Hinrich of the Chicago Bulls.

Hinrich has been filling in as the starting point guard for the injured Derrick Rose, and losing a second point guard would cripple the Bulls at that position. Sure, Nate Robinson is still there on the bench to do a noble job, but he can't play 48 minutes every night. The final point guard on the roster is Marquis Teague, who has only played in one postseason game this year, game three, and didn't record a stat.

Hinrich's performance on the court has also made the biggest difference in this team's success. In the Bulls' game one loss, Hinrich only scored two points while the player he defended, Deron Williams, went off for 22 points and seven assists. In the next two Bulls wins, Hinrich has scored 13 and 12 points respectively on 41 percent shooting. But his biggest asset has been on the defensive side. In game two, Hinrich played tremendous defense on Williams, containing him to eight points on 1-9 shooting. He followed up that defensive clinic with Williams scoring 18 points, but needing 14 shots to do so. The Bulls have guys who can score. What they've needed is someone to get 10 points per game, play strong defense and not turn the ball over (Hinrich only has four turnovers in three games).

Hinrich has done all the little things that go unnoticed in box scores but are vital to a team's success, and the Bulls would be at a loss without him and Rose in the starting lineup.

Fred:
Sixth Man of the Year winner, J.R. Smith. After the All-Star break, Smith is averaging 21 points per game, with 46 percent shooting and 38 percent efficiency from 3-point range.

His ability to score and create his own shot helps to free Carmelo Anthony and the rest of his teammates. The loss of Smith would force the Knicks to look for 20-plus points from someone else on their bench

Smith had always been someone that can either shoot you into a game, or shoot you out of it, but he seems to have turned a corner lately toward smarter and more efficient play. If he can keep his head on straight, he remains a dangerous player to have coming off your bench.

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Warriors' David Lee Finally Reached The Playoffs Before Injury Cut His Opportunity Short

It took David Lee eight seasons to reach the playoffs only to have him forced to watch from the sidelines again. (nba.com)

It took seven years, two teams and a lot of patience for David Lee, now in his eighth season, to finally make it to the playoffs. A very productive forward/center, Lee was subject to playing for a New York Knicks team that suffered through years of turmoil under head coach Larry Brown and much-maligned general manager Isaiah Thomas. He was traded to a young team in the Golden State Warriors that, despite their talent, was still trying to find an identity for themselves as his old team (the Knicks) made the playoffs.

Then, finally, the talent of the Warriors began to also find consistency and win games. Lee was finally a part of a winning team. A playoff team. Lee and the Warriors took the court for the first game of round one against the Denver Nuggets, a team nearly as potent offensively as the Warriors themselves. It promised to be a heated series with plenty of scoring and excitement. Lee had finally made it.

And then it was all taken away in one sharp, painful moment.

After waiting for seven years to make it to the postseason, Lee will watch the remainder of this one from the sidelines due to a torn hip flexor. After suffering through losing teams, poor coaching and waiting for a young team to come of age, Lee will have to wait just a little bit longer to realize his dream of playing deep into the second season.

The playoffs seemed like a climactic moment for Lee and his career to this point. He had been part of bringing a young team from the rank of bottom feeder to one of the most feared offensive units in the NBA. He had a large contract that set him, his children, grandchildren and all future pets for life. The playoffs seemed like a fitting capstone after a career of waiting for such a moment.

However, while this is a tough setback to what should have been a wonderful moment, Lee can look forward to many other seasons where the Warriors will be a part of the postseason. The young, talented and offensively lethal Warriors will be back in the playoffs. With the likes of Stephen Curry, Andrew Bogut, Klay Thompson and Carl Landry, Lee will most certainly be returning for a run in the postseason. It’s not a matter of if; it’s a matter of when.


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Friday Roundtable: Who Should Be The NBA Midseason MVP?

Our roundtable panel discusses if LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony or Kevin Durant would be our midseason NBA MVP. (sportsnet.ca)

BDD's Friday Roundtable is a weekly discussion among three of our writers on a trending NBA or college basketball topic.

This week's question: Who would be the NBA midseason MVP?

Kyle Davis: 
Nike's ad campaign tries to convince you that Kevin Durant is not nice, but his game sure is. This is really a three-horse race between Durant, Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James, but I think Durant is the close winner, and if I had a ballot, that would be my order. Durant has really evolved from being a pure shooter to a complete scorer. His post game has improved, he is great in transition and he is the best shooter out of the three. Durant is also continuing to improve in all other aspects of his game as well. His numbers this year are higher than his career numbers in rebounding, assists, blocks, steals, field goal percentage and 3-point percentage. Not bad. And remember, he's only 24 years old. These numbers could get even better.

James is still the most complete player in the game and Anthony probably would have been my pick after the first month of the season, but has battled injuries that are keeping him out of games. Neither player has been able to get their team to where the Thunder are right now, which always plays a factor in MVP voting (which is why Kobe Byrant is not in this conversation, and the fact he's needing too many shots to get his points). The Thunder look to be on a clear path back to the NBA Finals with Durant scorching opponents along the way. 
 
Alex Skov:
Kevin Durant, already an All-Star and scoring champion, has taken his play to new levels since the Oklahoma City Thunder traded their vaunted sixth-man to Houston. Carmelo Anthony, too, has put together impressive an impressive case for himself with his usual array of offensive weapons (he's second in points per game at 29.3, fifth in total points with 878) and by finally improving the other aspects of his game (his new willingness to pass and play defense have helped him get to fourth in the league in Player Efficiency Rating). Even Chris Paul is worth of candidacy for midseason MVP, having turned the Los Angeles Clippers into a freight train, but he plays relatively few minutes each night (he's outside the top 20 in mpg) and LA's excellent bench makes his impact less apparent when he leaves the floor.

LeBron James is more important to his team than all of those stars and he's still playing at a level competitive to or exceeding them. He's doing it playing the third fewest nightly minutes of his career, too. Miami's Big Three is not Dwyane Wade, a Mega-Pippen and Chris Bosh. It's not even James and two Pippen-type sidekicks. The Big Three is LeBron; an aging and, because of nagging injuries and a loss of explosiveness, often ineffective Wade; and an inconsistent Bosh playing center.

With the weight of three big contracts on his shoulders, James is ranked 10th in assists, 13th in defensive rebounds and tenth in field goal percentage, the latter being a category where Durant barely cracks the top 20 and Anthony is not in the field. Though James may be trailing Durant in other statistical fields (points, Win Shares, Win Shares per 48 minutes), he is the league leader in PER. Part of reason Miami is viewed as "struggling" with a 26-12 record is because of the big names on its roster and the intense speculation that LeBron draws, but he is also the reason this isn't a just-over-.500 team right now.

Shawn Deegan:
My midseason MVP has to go to Kevin Durant. Despite moving James Harden this past offseason, the Thunder have improved again this season, boasting the best record in the NBA. This is in no small part due to Durant’s performance this season. Durant is shooting a blistering 52 percent from the floor so far this year and is again in the top three in points scored per game with nearly 29. He also has raised his game from behind the arc, hitting 40 percent of his shots from downtown, his best since his sophomore season. He has a career high in assists per game and is still rebounding very well. I seriously considered picking Lebron James or Carmelo Anthony. ‘Melo is having a career year, and Lebron is as good as he’s ever been. However, neither has been able to propel his team to where Durant has the young Thunder squad. Durant has been a leader for the Thunder since before the team ever moved to Oklahoma City and it’s showing up this season more than ever. All these components are why Durant is my pick for midseason MVP.


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Cormega and the BDD Interview, part 2

The BDD interview series was conceived with the intention of getting opinions on basketball and basketball culture from the perspectives of those outside the game's typical realm. For the inaugural edition, we reached out to Queensbridge emcee Cormega. In part one, he covered the Knicks and Allen Iverson's exile from the NBA. Part two concludes the interview by addressing fake vs. real sneakerheads, Air Jordan XX8's and Mega's next album, Mega Philosophy.

Photo courtesy of Cormega

I know you’re a sneakerhead and you had a line with Pro-Keds. How did that come about?

That came about through my guy Peter, who worked at Pro-Keds. Basically I just networked. I look at myself as a brand, not just as a rapper. I know that I’m a sneakerhead. Like, a real sneakerhead. A lot of these guys get it confused. They think they can buy Jordans and maybe an Air Max or two, and think they’re a sneakerhead. You’re not a sneakerhead; you’re a loyal customer to Nike.

A sneakerhead knows sneakers. I know Dominique Wilkins, in his prime, he played with Brooks sneakers on. Xavier McDaniel wore SpotBilt [by] Saucony, and he made those hot. Bird wore Converses and Magic wore [Converse] Weapons. Bernard King wore Converses and Jordan wore Converses as a Tar Heel. He wanted to wear adidas. Mutombo had adidas. Olajuwon had some fly Etonics. When you look at my shoe collection you’ll see Avias, you’ll see Reebok Pump, adidas, Nike, Pony, Puma. I’m a sneaker connoisseur so when the opportunity came for me to network with Pro-Keds, the guy was impressed with my knowledge of sneakers, especially with some Pro-Keds. I had some old school Pro-Keds that I brought to show him that they didn’t even have. He saw that SLAM Magazine did a story on me and had a picture of me with all my sneakers. They respected that and we just did a run and it just kicked ass. Everybody wanted them joints.

Now I gotta see what my next phase is. My wish is to do something with New Balance. I didn’t do anything with them [yet], but they showed me a lot of love. I definitely want to do a sneaker one day. The first sneaker I designed was actually an Air Max. When I went to London years ago, they took me to the Nike facility and let me do my own iD. I was going to try to mass produce those, but I never did, so I definitely want to do a sneaker in the near future.

What’s your latest sneaker purchase?

The latest sneaker that I purchased was a pair of shell-toe adidas. I wanted all-black shell-toe adidas.

OK.

Nope! I’m lying. (laughs) The latest sneaker that I purchased was the cool grey, number IX Air Jordans.

How many sneakers do you have in your collection?

I don’t even know. I know I have every Air Jordan out of all the numbers, except I’m not getting that XX8. The XX8 is, like, disrespectful to the whole lineage. They should have never done it.

I was going to ask you about that. Russell Westbrook debuted them in a game. They have the sleeve like the old Gary Payton sneakers.

Those shits are an atrocity. That’s like greed right there. As a sneaker collector, I was at ease when they said the XXIII would be the last one. Then they made the year ones, and I don’t take those as serious because those aren’t numbered. I have all the numbers.

Actually, on NiceKicks.com, they had a list of the rarest Jordan sneakers and I was shocked that I have a shitload of those. I have a lot of those. In Jordans alone, I have… I don’t know. I have close to 50 or over 50 Air Jordans alone. I know New Balance, I have dozens of those. I have dozens of shell-toe adidas, adidas Superstars. I have shitloads of Pro-Keds, obviously, because of my relationship with them.

I don’t even know how many sneakers I have, but I’ll tell you one thing. I’m feeling like a glutton, so what I do is I give a lot of sneakers away every year.

When he had a Twitter account, Gilbert Arenas used to give his sneakers away on Twitter. Is that something you’ve done?

I’ve never given sneakers away on Twitter, but what I do do, is a lot of the times I go back to the hood. I go back to Queensbridge or wherever I’m going and [there are] some dudes I give my sneakers to. Sometimes I might do a show and I might just say, “Fuck it,” and might give my sneakers away. Right now, I’m about to go to England. I’ll be out there within the next 10 days. When I go out there, the clothes I take with me I’m just going to give away, and then I’m always just donating clothes, like to clothes drives and stuff like that.

That’s something I typically do, but a lot of my friends that I grew up with are also spoiled by me because I always get spoiled with sneakers, and I get tired with sneakers and give them away, so some of my friends from when we were kids will still call me like, “I know you’ve got some sneakers you don’t want,” and I’ll just start laughing and be like, “Aight.”

I give away a lot of sneakers. I gave away a shitload of Timberlands, also. I like to give away stuff because I’m blessed. Like when you were saying what was the last sneaker that I purchased, you know why it took me so long to answer? Because I’ve gotten… Like, I got a pair of the Pennys. The Penny Hardaway Flight Ones, the ones that glow in the dark. Those are super rare. I just got those the other day as a gift, so when you say what was the last sneaker I purchased, I had to think for a second because there’s times I’ve been given incredible sneakers as a gift. That’s why I give away sneakers, too, because I’m blessed. And clothes. I get clothes from people.

As my friend told me the other day, he’s like, “You’re a tastemaker, Mega.” I never looked at it like that. My friend, he’s an artist. He’s an incredible artist, too. He goes, “Mega, you’re a tastemaker” and I didn’t even know what ‘tastemaker’ means, to be honest with you. My friend was like, “A lot of stuff that you do, people copy but they get the credit for it because they’re more popular.” Like, Penfield jackets were super popular last year and the year before that, but if you look in Prodigy’s book [My Infamous Life: The Autobiography of Mobb Deep's Prodigy], I have one on. The one in Prodigy’s book is the one that everybody was going crazy over recently, and the book’s picture was from 2008, so I’ve been wearing those for years. I was wearing the old school Gazelle-looking glasses, big glasses, before everybody. I was wearing Mitchell & Ness and the owner, Pete, was like, “Mega was like the first rapper that was strictly wearing my stuff.”

I could go on for days. Certain stuff that I’m liking, I wear it while I wanna do it and people will jump on it, so that’s why my friend was like, “You’re a tastemaker.” I think a lot of brands and companies, some of them see that and give me clothes and stuff like that. Being that I get free clothes, I like to give stuff to people because I get stuff. That’s how I keep from not being a hoarder. So I give, I receive and I give.

You mentioned Mitchell & Ness and you said you get a lot of clothes for free. Are you thinking of doing a clothing line since you’ve already done a shoe line?

I’ve actually done shirts before. I did a shirt, years ago, that was selling in boutique stores. A t-shirt. It was expensive, too. It was going for like $60 and it did fairly well. So I did a shirt and the Pro-Keds. I did a collaboration with a skateboard company called Raw New England. We did a skateboard, t-shirt and hat commemorating the 10-year anniversary of my first album, The Realness. Everything sold out. If somebody were to say, “Mega, give me your hat right now and I’ll give you $100 for it,” I would have to give them my hat. Like, there is no more. That shit did way better than anticipated. I did something with another company called 8 And 9 that has incredible shirts and stuff. I did a few things, though. Designing is definitely something I want to do.

What are you most excited for: the Knicks’ season, designing or Mega Philosophy?

Aww, man! Designing is definitely not going to be up there with those two. Mega Philosophy and the Knicks probably tie. I’m extremely excited about the Knicks, but the only thing is, I don’t know if the Knicks are gonna win it all, but Mega Philosophy – I can’t lose with that. I could bet my money on the Knicks and maybe they’d lose in the Finals or at least they’d lose in the playoffs, but with Mega Philosophy, I’m not gonna lose. I’m not talking about sales-wise. I don’t know what kind of sales [it will have], I’m talking about creative-wise, it’s an incredible process, and I’m not talking about from my point of view.

Artists, we never play our shit for other artists before it’s done. We just don’t [but] I played it for Roc Marciano, I played stuff for Saigon, Chuck D. [of Public Enemy], DJ J-Love [and] Craig G. I played it for my man Crook. He has that site AntiSellout.com. Some of the response was so good that I forgot… The response was so crazy that I got offended. My man was like, “Yo, this shit might be better than The Realness,” and it felt like blasphemy when he said that, like, “Is he kidding me?” Then somebody else said that shit, and then somebody else said, “This might be Mega’s best shit.” I’m like, “Damn.” So when people started saying that, I looked into it. I’m not saying it’s my best shit, but growth-wise, it’s not anything that people today have anticipated. I don’t know if you’re familiar with the song “M.A.R.S.” [produced by Large Professor; featuring Action Bronson, Roc Marciano and Saigon] that we leaked last year.

Yeah. I am.

The reaction to “M.A.R.S.” was so crazy, that shit had one of the biggest buzzes and feedback of last year. I’m talking about in rap, period. There were labels that were like, “I’ll give you a deal for that type of shit right there,” and “M.A.R.S.” isn’t even the best song on Mega Philosophy. It’s not even the second best, so I was like, “Wow!” I’m real excited about Mega Philosophy.

That’s all Large Professor, right? Is he on the mic at all?

Large Professor did all the production. I’m trying to get him on the mic. He’s like, “Mega, I’d like to get on there, I just want you to do all the rapping,” so as of now, Large Professor is not on it. I’m trying to get Chuck D. on my album because I’ve got a song where I’m talking about social things and who better than him [to talk about that]? I’ve got Redman on there, which is like an achievement for me. That’s my man; that’s my friend. I knew him for years, but as a fan, it’s also like, “Wow, I got Redman on my album.” The fans are excited about that. I’ve got AZ. People are used to that. I’ve got Styles P. I’ve got a song with Black Rob that’s dope. I’ve got a solo record with Nature that’s fuckin’ dope, and I think that’s all the features I have. Like I said, I might want to get Chuck D. on that. I might want to get one more feature.

I have a song where I’m talking about the [music] industry. Just remember that when I say I have a song about the industry. I guarantee you’ll come back to me on that one like, “Mega, you were right. The song about the industry is the realness.” It’s gonna work some nerves for some industry people.

One more question: You and Large Professor. One-on-one to 15 points. Who wins?
In basketball? I’m kickin’ his ass! That’s my man, but I don’t care!

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The BDD Interview: Cormega, part 1

The BDD interview series was conceived with the intention of getting opinions on basketball and basketball culture from the perspectives of those outside the game's typical realm. For the inaugural edition, we reached out to Queensbridge rapper Cormega to discuss his hometown New York Knicks, which QB streetballers could beat Ron Artest pre-Metta World Peace, and the NBA player with the best rap career. Don't forget to read part two.

Photo courtesy of Cormega

What was your introduction to the game?

Growing up in the inner city, basketball is a part of our culture. I always expect that, if you ask any kid from the inner city, they’ll tell you that. There’s just something cool about guys who play basketball because of the way they handle themselves. They’re cool. I think the first name that stood out that I remember is Dr. J. Like that name “Dr. J” was like, that was awesome, you know what I’m saying? Like, "Dr. J! Dr. J!" It ain’t until I got older that I realized how great or how good he was on the court, but when I was younger, the name Dr. J, you just heard it. It echoed and resonated. As I got older, I just got into it and I loved it. I’ve been a Knicks fan since forever. My favorite Knick – the first Knick that really drew me in – was Bernard King.

Did you ever play basketball growing up? I know there’s some footage of you playing in a celebrity game with Allen Iverson a few years back.

Yeah, obviously I played a little ball if you seen the two NBA three-pointers I hit in that video. I used to play basketball, I played with [New York City AAU program] Riverside Hawks when I was little for a little while and I played in some other tournaments back in the day, but I’m not going to sit here and lie in the interview like I was destined for NBA stardom if I didn’t rap. I done shot ball. I wasn’t MJ. I wasn’t nothing to write home about. I always loved it, wished I was better than I was, but there was definitely a lot of guys better than me. I developed a wicked jump shot, though, that could compete with a lot of good guys, and I’ve just been a fan.

People live and die by the jumper. They can make careers out of it.

I’ve got a wicked jump shot. I can brag about that.

On your track “The Legacy” (warning for younger viewers, explicit lyrics) one of the lyrics is “Wee-Wop was the illest ball player.” Who was Wee-Wop? I assume this is basketball related.

He was a streetball player from Queensbridge and I believe he went to college, also. His name was Warren Walker. He died; incredibly talented. Ron-Ron [Metta World Peace, formerly Ron Artest] is a testament of hard work. Ron-Ron wasn’t even the best basketball player in Queensbridge, you know what I’m saying? The streets is so alluring that there’s people that was actually better than Ron-Ron and they decided to sell drugs. They wasn’t as dedicated as Ron-Ron, that’s why I say he is a testament to hard work. Ron-Ron could be outside shooting the ball when it’s raining, when it’s snowing. He worked to get where he’s at. There was a guy named Troy Battle who, say, if we were playing a pick-up game of basketball 15 years ago and Ron and Troy were standing there and if you had the first pick, you would have picked Troy without a shadow of a doubt. You see what I’m saying? Troy hustled. A lot of the guys that’s out of the hood, they hustle and they didn’t follow they dreams because the streets have a magnetic allure to it. Wee-Wop is one of those guys [who] just died, though. He went to college, and he was incredible. There was also a guy, Mark Morris, from our block. He went to Tulsa, I believe. He was good, but he was on Tulsa before Tulsa was Division I, before they got all the love like they get now. If he would have been on Tulsa when they had the spotlight, he probably could have made it to the NBA. He was just that good. There was another guy named Hi-C, who was so good I can’t even describe him because you’ll think I’m exaggerating. I’ve never seen nothing like this. But he was in the street. There’s a lot of guys in the streets who were some incredible guys. Some of them you never see them unless you go to a game like the Rucker and then you’ll see some guys and you’ll be like, “Damn, who the hell is this guy?” [There are lots of] guys like that that didn’t follow their dreams or didn’t make it for some odd reason, but they’re just good and not in the NBA.

You mentioned Tulsa and a bunch of guys who went and played college ball. Do you follow college ball, too, or do you just follow the NBA?

I follow college ball, but not as much as I used to. I lost some of my love for college once guys started leaving after one season and stuff. It’s exciting, but it’s not like it used to be. I’m a Tar Heels fan, though. I’ve been a Tar Heels fan since James Worthy and [Michael] Jordan and them. I like college ball, but the integrity of the game in college basketball is different now. I tend to like women’s college basketball more sometimes. They put their heart and their souls through war. You have a guy that’s incredible, but it’s like you can see it in their eyes. It’s like, “I’m only here because I have to be here for one semester. Next year, I’m out. I’m going to the NBA.” That’s what it feels like.

It’s like the Coach [John] Calipari system at Kentucky. That doesn’t exactly apply to women’s college basketball.

Exactly.

And the Tar Heels are having a down year, but they have a good lineage with Jordan, [Jerry] Stackhouse and Vince Carter, who came out of there, too.

They got my man Rasheed Wallace and they’ve got a lot of people out of there. I mean, Raymond Felton came out [of North Carolina]. They’re just a consistently good program. I’ve been liking them forever. I’ve just stuck with them. That’s the team that I’ve kept. Even if there’s another team that I admire, the Tar Heels is my team, just like in the NBA the Knicks is my team, but there’s other teams that I like. If you follow my tweets, every year I give my predictions of who’s a sleeper team and I’m often right. I think in the future I’m going to try to be some kind of sports writer or something like that with basketball because I be saying stuff and I be making predictions and I be right. Also, I be knowing some inside scoops that people don’t be knowing way ahead of people because I know people in the NBA, like I told people that Mike Bibby was coming to the Knicks before he came. A lot of stuff. If you look at my Twitter, dudes is actually like, “OK, Mega, I fuck with you, but now you’re going a little bit too far. I can’t believe that.” Then everything I said was true because I know guys in the NBA. I know coaches, I know assistant coaches, I know players, so there’s stuff that I be knowing before everybody. It’s just funny.

I do follow some of your tweets. I loved the “'Sheed is 'Sheed” tweet from earlier this season.

Which one?

The one where you said you told guys that 'Sheed was 'Sheed. It was when he came back and I think it was the first or second game he suited up for the Knicks this year.

It’s like this: people have to understand basketball. If you’re a fan of a team, it’s one thing, but you have to be a fan of the game to understand the game. There’s a difference between understanding the game and being a fan. Some people who don’t understand basketball are like... When we got Jason Kidd, I was ecstatic. People were like, “Ah, man, we’re old. The Knicks are old,” and I’m like, “Yo, you don’t understand basketball.” Jason Kidd is the Brett Favre of basketball. Even when he gets older, his brain mechanics supercede his athletic mechanics. Jason Kidd probably has the highest basketball IQ in the NBA. He’s just that smart. And Rasheed… One of things about Rasheed is -- if you follow the game -- Rasheed has an extremely high IQ, but people overlook that because they always look at the technicals, etc., etc. Two things about Rasheed: he has a very high basketball IQ, and then he has a streetball persona. He knows how to get under guys’ skin. He’s the only guy I’ve seen that would fuck with Shaq’s head, get under Dwight Howard’s skin, so with them players that we got, I was extremely happy and people thought I was all crazy, but now look, everybody’s like, “You was right, Mega. You was right.” I love 'Sheed. 'Sheed is just dope. 'Sheed can post up, he has a three-point game, he plays defense and he’s ball smart. What the hell else you want?

'Sheed, all around, is good. I figure it’s safe to say you like the current Knicks line-up.

I love it. I think this might be one of the best line-ups we’ve ever had. Ever.

What do you think of Amar’e Stoudemire coming back? Do you think that’s going to throw off the chemistry at all?

That’s another thing. People are not fans of the game; they’re not using their brain. Everybody’s quick to say that ‘Melo [Anthony] and Amar’e didn’t play well together. No, that was under [former Knicks and current Lakers coach Mike] D’Antoni. Carmelo and nobody didn’t play well together with D’Antoni. They was 8-2 under [current coach Mike] Woodson. So now Amar’e’s back and he’s working his way back into the line-up. The most honorable and smart thing he did was say, “I’m willing to come off the bench,” so now that he’s coming off the bench, he’s not going to interrupt the chemistry because they’re going to work him in slowly and if Amar’e gets back to form, we’re going to be one of the most formidable teams in the NBA because you’d be hardpressed to find a forward that’s going to come off the bench and be able to give what Amar’e’s going to give because he’s just that good, being Amar’e.

At the same time, Tyson Chandler might be the most underrated center in the league. There are other centers who might put up numbers, other centers who might grab rebounds better than him and they might be running back to play defense a little better than him, but he does all those things and, for a center, he knocks down free throws. I love this team. And then Marcus Camby… By the time Marcus Camby gets back healthy, I mean, c’mon, man. I love this team. Even last year, Marcus Camby was one of the better defenders and rebounders in the league. Once he gets his rhythm back, we’re gonna have solid defense and our offense is gonna be incredible. We’re gonna be a solid team.

And with Amar’e coming off the bench right now that means you have a solid guy coming into the front court, but you also have J.R. Smith, who’s been lighting it up this year.

If you look at my tweets, that’s something I said a while ago. People don’t agree with that. I said the Knicks need to re-sign J.R. Smith, ASAP. I said this. Look at my tweets. I said this. Prior to all this shit, I said it because I seen his motivation and I seen what he was doing early in the season. One thing that people need to understand is sometimes when you have a hothead or a guy that’s a little reckless abandon, all they need is guidance. They have that guidance in Jason Kidd. If you look at all the contending teams, the Lakers wanted Jason Kidd. LeBron wanted to play with Jason Kidd. Why do you think everyone wants to play with this guy? The Mavericks was very upset when he left because he’s a leader, so now J.R. has that leader to guide him. He already was incredible with his offense, now he has a leader to keep him from being reckless and to steady his game. That’s what makes him an incredible player. “We need to re-sign him” – look at my tweets. I said that.

He’s even playing defense this year. 'Melo’s playing defense. What do you think of the Woodson coaching change?

I like the Woodson coaching change. I think Woodson came from a background of defense, so that’s gonna benefit us. I was waiting to see why he wasn’t experimenting with the Twin Towers [Chandler and Camby], but now he’s doing that, especially when other teams go big. We don’t need ‘Melo trying to play power forward again.

You’ve mentioned a lot of players in your songs. On “Redemption” (explicit lyrics) you said, “Like Vince Carter, I’m too intense/ For dude’s defense to stop me, I abuse the rim.” How would you update that for 2013?

Vince Carter’s still good, but he used to be a freak athlete. He’s one of the best dunkers ever. Vince Carter’s a competitor so he’s never gonna suck. He might not be a superhero any more, but he’s not going to be a regular human either. That’s how I look at guys like Vince Carter. Stackhouse, too. Those guys are never gonna suck. They might not give you what they used to be able to give you, but they’re never gonna suck. I think one of the biggest atrocities in the NBA right now [is] there is no reason why Allen Iverson should not be in the NBA. I just don’t get it. That’s wrong.

I was surprised no teams took a flyer on him when things didn’t pan out with the Grizzlies and then he went to China.

Yeah, he’s in China doing his thing right now. Somebody might say, “Fuck it,” when they’re in the hunt for the playoffs, but I just don’t get it. This guy was one of the posterchilds of the league for so many years. At his worst, he could do better than a lot of the point guards are doing right now.

One of the knocks on him was he was more of a scoring guard. Do you think there’s anything to that?

I think people were just looking for a reason to criticize him, because you can’t condemn him for the shit you glorify Kobe for. I’m a big Kobe fan, but Kobe’s a fucking chucker. Straight up and down. They call Z-Bo [Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph] the black hole. Kobe’s a black hole. Because Kobe draws so much of the attention, he takes away from other players. Dwight Howard was having a hard time fitting in because the ball goes to Kobe so much. Kobe takes away from the other guys, or often does, and he doesn’t allow guys to get confident because he dominates the ball so much. When it’s the final shot, the clutch shot, when it’s crunch time or when it’s hammer time, you know he’s getting the ball, so there’s other players that just sit around. They don’t get to build their confidence. They have to defer to him. Iverson, they say he’s more of a shooting guard. OK, so sign him as a fucking shooting guard. He’s more of a shooting guard, but he still was an assist leader in the league. He still was in the top 10, top 15 in assists. He’s still better than most of the guys in the league. He’s still in the top of his field. Then what are you going to say? “We want good character guys”? C’mon, man. This is the NBA, not a boy’s choir. You can’t say you want good character guys. The Knicks were supposed to sign Iverson and they decided they’d pass on him. He was going to go to the Knicks the last year Mike D’Antoni was there. Mike D’Antoni is the last guy who should be judging somebody on character. He can’t get along with anybody. So with Iverson, it’s just crazy that he’s not in the league. I don’t know if he’s blacklisted or what, even from a business standpoint. Iverson will sell you some jerseys. He’ll get some people in the stands. I don’t get it.

He’ll definitely sell the jerseys. His name still carries some weight.

Hell yeah. People love him. The average girl, if you ask them about the NBA, they’ll still be like, “Iverson!” Girls loved him, dudes loved him. He was getting too street for the NBA. Iverson was such a burden to the NBA, they didn’t want him to succeed. They made a rule about the handle because he was crossing everybody over, broke Jordan’s ankles. They didn’t like that. “You’re not going to be disrespecting our posterchild of the NBA.” So he broke Jordan’s ankles, he was killing people with his handle so they made some kind of rule – a palming rule or some bullshit – so he couldn’t do his crossover any more, then they did the dress code shit. That was some anti-Iverson shit. They told him he can’t fucking make a rap album. People critique him and condemn him, but this guy played injured. You can say what you want about him, but he gave 110 percent on that court. He was hurt, he was battered, he’d crash boards, he wasn’t scared to take the big shot. He’d pass to his teammates when needed. Look at the team he took to the Finals. You’d scratch your head like, “How the eff did they get there?”

He was the frontrunner for a lot of the guys who are in the league right now. AI didn’t make his record, but would you rank the NBA players who released rap albums or say who’s the best rapper? Iman Shumpert from the Knicks is doing his thing, too.

He needs to holler at me then.

Have you heard any of his stuff?

Nah, I didn’t hear any of his stuff. If he’s good, I’ll do something with him. If he sucks, I won’t do anything with him. If he’s ok, I’ll do something with him just because he’s a Knick. But my favorite out of all the basketball players who did music, I’m going to have to go with Shaq just because he had that song with Biggie that was just dope. He had a song with Biggie, for chrissakes. That shuts down everything. Isaiah Rider was pretty good, too, from what I hear. My guys from the Bay Area say Isaiah Rider was pretty good. He was real serious about that, though. I know Chris Webber makes beats. Kurupt from Dogg Pound introduced me to Chris Webber, so I know he’s a real Hip-Hop head.


UPDATED:  In part two of the BDD interview with Cormega, he shares insights on the Air Jordan XX8's, real sneakerheads vs. fake sneakerheads, and his new album, Mega Philosophy.

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