7:00 AM ET Nick DePaulaESPN From overly built high-tops to space-age heat-molded constructions to the phone-syncing sneakers of today, NBA players have laced up more collective design, technology and innovation than any other association. The league has long fueled the footwear industry throughout its history, with iconic on-court moments giving life to off-court trends, all
Month: May 2020
The Step Back becomes The Chef Back, as the WNBA’s Briann January talks with us about quarantine cooking, her favorite restaurants and the perfect meal. If this time of quarantining and social distancing has fostered a growing obsession with food, you’re certainly not alone. The Step Back staff has been spending plenty of time swapping
10:00 PM ET Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley admits he’s still “really, really sad” about the fact that his longtime friendship with Michael Jordan deteriorated years ago because of critical comments Barkley made about the way Jordan ran the then Charlotte Bobcats franchise. But Barkley doesn’t sound optimistic about a reconciliation. “The guy was
In the NBA world right now, everybody is doing what they can to stay entertained. We’re tuning into The Last Dance every Sunday. We’re squeezing every detail we can get out of this supposed rift in Utah right now between Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. We’re trying to figure out what’s the aptest solution for
7:00 AM ET Bottom 10 Inspirational Thought of the Week As we got on the floor, was embarrassing, trust meThe saleswoman walk me straight over to HuskyI still got stonewashed denim, Bobby Brown patent leatherMembers Only jacket, ain’t nobody fresher than me I said I got on my good clothes — “Good Clothes” by Little
The Whiteboard is The Step Back’s daily basketball newsletter, covering the NBA, WNBA and more. Subscribe here to get it delivered to you via email each morning. Basketball can be a beautiful game, precise and flowing, intentionality guiding actions and the movement of space, possessions unfolding like a flower revealing themselves to the players fractions
7:00 AM ET “You’re actually rooting for the clothes, when you get right down to it.” This famous line from “Seinfeld” might have been intended to mock sports fandom, but when it comes to uniform appreciation, it’s actually appropriate. In this case, we are rooting for the clothes — the best clothes in NBA history,
In the NBA world right now, everybody is doing what they can to stay entertained. We’re tuning into The Last Dance every Sunday. We’re squeezing every detail we can get out of this supposed rift in Utah right now between Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. We’re trying to figure out what’s the aptest solution for
12:37 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN Michael Jordan addressed one of the most famous quotes of his career — “Republicans buy sneakers, too” — in the fifth episode of ESPN’s “The Last Dance” on Sunday. Jordan, who has largely stayed away from any political commentary throughout his public life, didn’t back away from the statement —
Even if the NBA regular season is canceled, we’ve seen enough to start assessing the first seasons of notable rookies. What did the Charlotte Hornets see from P.J. Washington? P.J. Washington announced his arrival in the Charlotte Hornets’ first game of the season. The No. 12 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft played 37 minutes
7:00 AM ET FOR YEARS, MICHAEL JORDAN and Kobe Bryant had been protective of their relationship. Jordan would call Bryant his “little brother,” Bryant would call Jordan his “big brother,” and they’d praise each other’s work ethic and accomplishments. But rarely would either volunteer much more, each man knowing all too well that any glimpse
7:00 AM ET When the NBA hands out its awards, it keeps the regular season separate from the postseason, issuing one MVP for the first 82 games and a second for the final four to seven (depending on how long it takes for the champion to finish off its last opponent). There’s no award at
Photo credit should read JEFF HAYNES/AFP via Getty Images Episodes 5-6 of “The Last Dance” shed light on a few more stories we thought we knew. Here are five things we learned about Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls this week. The Last Dance didn’t bring a ton of new stories to the table in
May 2, 2020 ESPN’s 10-part documentary series “The Last Dance,” which chronicles Michael Jordan and the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls, continued on Sunday with Episodes 5 and 6. Jordan and the Bulls allowed NBA Entertainment to follow them throughout the season and document their final championship together. The series features never-before-seen footage, as well as interviews
8:00 AM ET Nick DePaulaESPN “It’s gotta be the shoes.” For many basketball fans in the 1990s, that wasn’t just a line said by Spike Lee’s Mars Blackmon character in a commercial, it was a way of life. Michael Jordan helped turn basketball sneakers into a multibillion dollar industry. Episode 5 of “The Last Dance”
Nine Mexican-inspired cocktail recipes to make your stay-at-home Cinco de Mayo extra spicy. Cinco de Mayo falls on a Taco Tuesday this year and as fate would have it, the world is under a pretty rigid quarantine forcing the closures of your favorite taquerias and carniceria so you won’t be able to order $2 tacos
8:01 AM ET ESPN’s 10-part documentary “The Last Dance,” which chronicles Michael Jordan and the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls, continues Sunday with Episodes 5 and 6. All 10 episodes will air on ESPN and the ESPN App in the United States and can be streamed outside the U.S. on Netflix. Jordan and the Bulls allowed NBA
3:11 PM ET Jeremy Lin says he was surprised, humbled and ultimately grateful after the New York Knicks reached out to propose taking a week on MSG Network to showcase interviews and 2012 games related to the brief but memorable phenomenon that was “Linsanity.” In an interview with Rachel Nichols for ESPN’s The Jump that
The five greatest NBA teams that never won a championship. Bad luck, bad timing, and unforeseen circumstances all influence the outcome of games; did your team make the cut? There can only be one — one champion out of 30 NBA teams every season. Sometimes a season is ruined by injuries, sometimes you run into
1:15 PM ET As the NBA seeks solutions to return to action during the coronavirus pandemic, teams are weighing scenarios for potential games with only essential personnel present. Perhaps a key factor in such decisions, beyond titles or responsibilities, is the health and age of those staffers, NBA general managers told ESPN. One NBA general
7:00 AM ET Editor’s note: This piece on Michael Jordan was originally published in the March 4, 2013, issue of ESPN The Magazine. Watch episodes five and six of “The Last Dance” on Sunday, May 3, at 9 p.m. ET. on ESPN. FIVE WEEKS BEFORE his 50th birthday, Michael Jordan sits behind his desk, overlooking
As many as a dozen players could make strong cases they belong on this year’s ballot for Most Improved, but these seven stood out from the pack. The beauty of an award like Most Improved Player is in how wide a net it casts across the NBA. The more glamorous MVP and Rookie of the
Even if the NBA regular season is canceled, we’ve seen enough to start assessing the first seasons of notable rookies. What did the Miami Heat see from Kendrick Nunn? A month into the basketball-less abyss of the suspended season, Heat rookie Kendrick Nunn made a bold statement. If you watched him at all this year
4:55 PM ET As ownership support grows for the idea, commissioner Adam Silver and the NBA board of governors continued discussions Friday about delaying the start of the 2020-2021 season until December, sources told ESPN. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, the NBA’s thinking and planning has progressed on the idea independent of whether the 2019-2020 season
The NBA, as are most major sports, is a star-driven. LeBron James, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, etc. carry the day in regards to popularity, production and success, whether on the court or otherwise. That said, and despite what some may say to the contrary, no one man can take home the Larry O’Brien trophy alone.
7:02 AM ET AS THE INDIANA PACERS sat at their lockers in Chicago moments before Game 7 of the 1998 Eastern Conference finals, Larry Bird, in his first year as coach, strode to the center of the room to address them. Bird was not big on speeches. The Pacers had done their work in practices
What would it have looked like if the Lakers selected Donovan Mitchell No. 2 in the 2017 NBA Draft, and paired him with LeBron James? For the Denver Nuggets, Donovan Mitchell could be the one who got away. The Nuggets held the No. 13 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft where they selected Mitchell and
LAHAINA, HI – NOVEMBER 26: Malik Hall #25 of the Michigan State Spartans gets a hand in the face of Anthony Edwards #5 of the Georgia Bulldogs as he shoots the ball during the second half at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 26, 2019 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images) The top
6:59 AM ET Tim Bontemps Brian Windhorst Close ESPN Senior Writer ESPN.com NBA writer since 2010 Covered Cleveland Cavs for seven years Author of two books In the seven weeks since the NBA season was suspended due to the coronavirus, the league has avoided speculation about how and when it may return. But as May
The NBA, as are most major sports, is a star-driven. LeBron James, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, etc. carry the day in regards to popularity, production and success, whether on the court or otherwise. That said, and despite what some may say to the contrary, no one man can take home the Larry O’Brien trophy alone.