I was in a CVS in Harlem when I first heard the news. My friend James, who rarely, if ever, talks about sports, had sent me a one-word text message: “Kobe?” “Kobe what?” He said people were saying that Kobe Bryant had died. I shrugged it off. I figured it was just a false alarm […] More
Playing against Kobe Bryant for 17 years convinced Jason Terry of one thing: He needed to prepare zealously before coaching against him for the first time. So two weeks ahead of a January trip from Dallas to Southern California, Terry obtained video of Bryant’s Mamba Sports Academy girls’ basketball team for film study. Then he […] More
A black student in Texas who was suspended because his high school said the way he wore his dreadlocks violated its dress code has been invited to the Oscars. The actress Gabrielle Union and the former N.B.A. champion Dwyane Wade, a married couple who were producers of “Hair Love,” an Oscar-nominated short animated film by […] More
LOS ANGELES — Nothing about the game was normal. Not the tributes. Not the chants. Not the emotion. Not the reflection. But before the Lakers could begin to move forward from the death of Kobe Bryant on Sunday, they needed to look back. Anthony Davis went back to the 2012 Olympic Games in London, when […] More
The N.B.A. has disciplined five players, including Elfrid Payton and Marcus Morris Sr. of the Knicks, in connection with a scuffle near the end of a game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden. Payton was suspended for one game after a testy exchange and several shoves with less than one […] More
Kobe Bryant’s final jersey number will be something this year’s N.B.A. All-Stars play to reach. The N.B.A. announced major changes to the All-Star format on Thursday, turning every quarter into a mini-game for charity before an untimed final quarter with a target score that will decide which team wins. Scores will be reset — back […] More
The mention of Kobe Bryant could instantly start a fight, whether in a bar with friends or a in far-flung corner of the internet. In the 2000s, fans angrily discussed whether Bryant, the Lakers superstar guard, was as good as the man he had modeled his game after, Michael Jordan, or even Tim Duncan, the […] More
The N.B.A. on Thursday is scheduled to announce the players chosen by Eastern and Western Conference coaches as All-Star Game reserves. On the internal calendar I keep, this is traditionally the ideal time to unveil my unofficial All-Star selections. That won’t be happening this time. In the wake of the horrific helicopter crash on Sunday […] More
