Irving unanimous pick to NBA All-Rookie team (The Associated Press)
(Tue, 22 May 2012 12:48:19 PDT)
NEW YORK (AP) Rookie of the Year Kyrie Irving of Cleveland is the lone unanimous choice to the NBA's All-Rookie team.

The Jamaican national team reminds me that it has multiple NBA players (Ball Don't Lie)
(Tue, 22 May 2012 12:45:34 PDT)
Last Thursday, I wrote a post discussing reports that Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert, who has made multiple appearances in international competition as a member of the Jamaican national basketball team, was seeking his release from that club in the hope of becoming part of Team USA this summer. In it, I wrote that Hibbert was the island nation's "only legitimate NBA player (unless you count Patrick Ewing Jr., maybe, and you shouldn't)." This did not sit particularly well with the Jamaica Basketball Association , according to a statement emailed to me Tuesday by JaBA communications director Keisha Hill: Dear Mr. Devine, We at the Jamaica Basketball Association have read with interest your article on Mr. Roy Hibbert seeking a release from the Association to play for the USA Team. It is a good article however we would like to clarify a statement that was made in reference to our international players. In your article as highlighted below you stated that Patrick Ewing Jnr is the only other legitimate player that is involved with our national programme. [...] This statement actually misses a few key facts, which we hope you will correct.

Kobe Bryant and the Lakers face uncertain future after early playoff exit
(Tue, 22 May 2012 03:11:03 PDT)
The Lakers will likely need to make some changes after losing to the Thunder in the second round.

NBA roundup: Orlando fires coach Van Gundy, GM Smith (The SportsXchange)
(Mon, 21 May 2012 15:30:20 PDT)
The Orlando Magic said so long to coach Stan Van Gundy and general manager Otis Smith on Monday.

David Stern changed the competition committee to push new rules, report says (Ball Don't Lie)
(Mon, 21 May 2012 14:52:18 PDT)
NBA commissioner David Stern holds a lot of power, but he can't make new on-court rules on his own. That job falls to the league's Competition Committee, an appointed group of owners, general managers, coaches and one player who decide how to improve the sport. In some cases, that involves introducing new rules — in others it means abolishing existing ones. For years, the Competition Committee consisted entirely of general managers. Last week, Stern changed the format and created a new nine-man group including Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert and Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle. To most observers, the list looked perfectly normal. However, a new report indicates that Stern might have changed the committee to push through a few of his own preferred rules. From Mitch Lawrence for the New York Daily News (via EOB ):

Lakers' Blake, wife target of attacks on Twitter (The Associated Press)
(Fri, 18 May 2012 19:49:35 PDT)
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) Lakers guard Steve Blake and his wife received multiple online threats after he missed a big shot late in Game 2 of Los Angeles' second-round playoff series with Oklahoma City.

As Heat, other super teams show cracks, Spurs still rolling in playoffs
(Fri, 18 May 2012 01:31:10 PDT)
The Heat loaded up on star power to chase a title. The Spurs have shown internal development can build a stronger team framework.

NBA players set to lead Brazil's Olympic team (The Associated Press)
(Thu, 17 May 2012 10:50:30 PDT)
SAO PAULO (AP) Brazil's men's basketball team will be led by NBA players Nene, Leandro Barbosa, Tiago Splitter and Anderson Varejao when it returns to the Olympics for the first time in 16 years.

Coaches, owners have new voice in suggesting changes
(Wed, 16 May 2012 16:56:03 PDT)
Rick Carlisle, coach of the reigning champion Dallas Mavericks, and Dan Gilbert, the club owner spurned by LeBron James, are among 10 people named on Wednesday to the NBA's new competition committee.

Kyrie Irving Wins NBA’s Top Rookie Honor, Praises Cleveland Cavaliers: Fan Take (Yahoo! Contributor Network)
(Tue, 15 May 2012 18:14:00 PDT)
It is hard to deny that rookie point guard Kyrie Irving made a huge difference for the Cleveland Cavaliers this past season. Ever since LeBron James left town for a warmer climate and what he deemed to be a better chance at an NBA Championship, Cavaliers' fans had been looking for a reason to stay positive. When Cleveland won the 2011 NBA Draft Lottery and the rights to draft Irving, the future looked bright again for a once strong franchise that had the rug pulled out from under them.

Cavs hoping to host future NBA All-Star game (The Associated Press)
(Tue, 15 May 2012 16:32:06 PDT)
CLEVELAND (AP) With his downtown casino open, Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert wants to get the NBA's high rollers into town.

NBA roundup: Bulls' Rose may miss 2 months of next season (The SportsXchange)
(Tue, 15 May 2012 15:40:41 PDT)
Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose could miss the two months of next season while recovering from knee surgery.

Cavaliers' Irving named NBA's rookie of the year
(Tue, 15 May 2012 13:17:11 PDT)
(Reuters) - Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving was named the National Basketball Association's (NBA) rookie of the year in a landslide victory after leading all first-year players in scoring, the league said on Tuesday. The 20-year-old Irving, taken first overall in the 2011 NBA Draft, averaged 18.5 points and 5.4 assists in 51 games playing for a Cavaliers team that went 21-45 last season and finished with the fourth-worst record in the league. "It was a great season, I had such an amazing time," the Australian-born Irving said at a news conference. ...

Cavaliers' Irving selected NBA's top rookie (The Associated Press)
(Tue, 15 May 2012 12:39:51 PDT)
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio (AP) Once Kyrie Irving finished cracking jokes, thanking Cleveland's fans, his teammates and coaches, he looked down from the podium at the person who promised this would happen.

Cavs guard Irving earns rookie honor
(Tue, 15 May 2012 09:34:49 PDT)
Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving, the top overall selection in last year's NBA draft, was named the league's Rookie of the Year on Tuesday.

Kyrie Irving wins the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award (Ball Don't Lie)
(Tue, 15 May 2012 08:55:10 PDT)
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving has won the Rookie of the Year award. News of his honor broke on Monday, and on Tuesday he was handed the hardware in a press conference so early in the day that admitted coffee non-user and Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert was seen drinking a caffeinated product from a company that is owned by the man who sold the Seattle SuperSonics out of Seattle. That's not a shot at Gilbert, who opened a casino on Monday night and was presumably out late, but a gratuitous shot at Howard Schultz . In other news, Twitter is full of gratuitous shots at the Rookie of the Year voting. Not because Irving took the award — he was far and away the best rookie in basketball, and he should have earned unanimous first-place voting — but because lesser lights like Josh Selby (who played for Memphis, if you somehow were not aware) received a third-place vote, and New York's Iman Shumpert received a first-place vote. Ridiculous picks, to anyone who was paying attention. And because everything happens in real time in social media, whenever the award voting (which used to disappear without a trace in your local paper's transaction page) is released, NBA fans and writers take to Twitter to complain about some of the stranger votes, while calling for writers to publicly disclose their personal picks. And then other NBA fans and writers respond by taking light shots at those that are bordering on getting haughty at votes gone wrong. And nobody leaves happy, even though everyone is correct in their take. Except for whoever the hell gave Josh Selby a third-place vote.

Cavaliers' Irving wins ROY Award (The SportsXchange)
(Tue, 15 May 2012 08:40:06 PDT)
LeBron who?

NBA roundup: Irving reportedly will be named Rookie of the Year (The SportsXchange)
(Mon, 14 May 2012 16:10:15 PDT)
Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving will be named the NBA's Rookie of the Year on Tuesday, according to multiple Monday morning reports.

Irving set to be named NBA's top rookie (The Associated Press)
(Mon, 14 May 2012 15:32:52 PDT)
CLEVELAND (AP) There was never any doubt Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving would be named the NBA's Rookie of the Year. The only suspense was when - and by how much.

Reports: Irving to be named Rookie of the Year (The SportsXchange)
(Mon, 14 May 2012 08:00:16 PDT)
Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving will be named the NBA's Rookie of the Year on Tuesday, according to multiple Monday morning reports.

AP Source: Irving to be named NBA's top rookie (The Associated Press)
(Sun, 13 May 2012 18:41:20 PDT)
CLEVELAND (AP) Kyrie Irving began his first pro season as the top pick and ended it as the top rookie.

Lakers back Brown after Magic's prediction (The Associated Press)
(Sat, 12 May 2012 19:18:53 PDT)
LOS ANGELES (AP) The Lakers issued a statement publicly backing Mike Brown on Saturday after Magic Johnson declared the first-year head coach would be fired if Los Angeles lost Game 7 of its first-round playoff series with Denver.

LeBron James wins 2012 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award (NBA)
(Sat, 12 May 2012 13:41:53 PDT)
LeBron James wins 2012 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award

Heat superstar James takes third NBA MVP award
(Sat, 12 May 2012 12:05:27 PDT)
Miami Heat star LeBron James was named the NBA's 2011-2012 season Most Valuable Player on Saturday, capturing the award for the third time in four years but the first time since joining the Heat in 2010.

NBA MVP Award Winners (NBA)
(Sat, 12 May 2012 11:08:00 PDT)
NBA MVP Award Winners

LeBron James named NBA's Most Valuable Player
(Sat, 12 May 2012 10:51:15 PDT)
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Miami Heat forward LeBron James was named on Saturday as the National Basketball Association's Most Valuable Player for the 2011-12 season. It was the third time in four years that the 27-year-old James had won the game's most prestigious individual award, elevating him among the sport's greatest players. Only seven other players - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Moses Malone - have won the trophy at least three times. Abdul-Jabbar holds the record for six MVP wins, one ahead of Jordan and Russell. ...

LeBron James is the NBA’s Most Valuable Player (Ball Don't Lie)
(Fri, 11 May 2012 20:30:57 PDT)
All apologies for making this so stupidly simple, but this truly is a simple award. You give the Most Valuable Player award to the player that has played the best basketball during the regular season, and LeBron James clearly played the best basketball of any player in the NBA this year. This is why, according to the Associated Press , he will be awarded the MVP trophy on Saturday. Gotta get it in before the Indiana Pacers sweep LeBron's Miami Heat out of the playoffs, y'know. To consider any other candidate was to be charitable to that runner-up at best. Other NBA players have had MVP-level seasons in terms of production, and there certainly have been several players this season that have been just about invaluable to their respective franchises, but James was so far and away the best player in the NBA that even L.B.J. fatigue -- James has won the award three times in four years -- couldn't sway the vote. [Related: James wins third MVP award in four seasons ] James averaged 27.1 points this season on just 18.9 shot attempts a game, which is nearly (by .1 of a shot) a career-low. To put that in perspective, Kevin Durant averaged 28 points on 19.7 shots a night, and Kobe Bryant managed 27.9 on 23 shots a contest — and we don't want to hear about Heat helpers in comparison to teams that feature Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. James also contributed 14.1 rebounds/assists and 2.7 steals/blocks, numbers that far outpace his contemporaries in whatever the hell position James plays these days.

AP Source: James wins 3rd NBA MVP award (The Associated Press)
(Fri, 11 May 2012 20:19:46 PDT)
MIAMI (AP) Heat forward LeBron James is the NBA's MVP for a third time, putting him alongside some of the game's all-time greats.