If you don’t know by now – how could you not – I’m a huge Washington Wizards fan. But, I’ve sadly become accustomed to having to find another team to cheer for come playoff time ever since Gilbert Arenas’ hibachi got a little too hot and he decided to take the term ‘Suns out, guns out’ a little too far. Since the start of the playoffs, I’ve been rooting non-stop for the Oklahoma City Thunder [...]

This year’s NBA Most Valuable Player of the Year race is one of the most compelling MVP races in recent memory. You have the reigning MVP LeBron James coming off his most efficient season since entering the league. Kevin Durant, Chris Paul and Kobe Bryant are in the mix as usual, and then you have a new, defensive-minded Carmelo Anthony. When I think about who the MVP should be, I take a look at not [...]

You know what really grinds my gears? The fact that Magic Johnson has offered LeBron James $1 million to participate in the dunk contest. Yes, you read that correctly. Magic Johnson offered LeBron $1 million to dunk. Oh yeah, ESPN analyst Michael Wilbon offered to throw in $1,000 to see it happen as well. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to see LeBron participate in the coolest event during the NBA All-Star Weekend. Just [...]

A lot of talk has been made in the past few days about the Kobe and LeBron “beef” that took place in the All-Star game Sunday. Who would have thought that Kobe and LeBron are all the basketball media outlets are talking about? For those who didn’t watch the All-Star game, which was tightly contested, albeit with little defense, you missed Kobe completely shut out LeBron in the final quarter. Not only did Kobe, who [...]

Allow me to preface this column by saying that I am in no way a “Laker hater” or have anything against them. In fact, before the season started, I predicted them to win the NBA Finals over the Miami Heat after acquiring Dwight Howard, Antawn Jamison, Jodie Meeks and Steve Nash in the offseason. I’m also a fan of Kobe, so that just about takes away any bashing that can be thrown at me as [...]

Ted Leonsis has done a fantastic job of revitalizing the culture of the Washington Capitals. From the 2003-04 season to the 2006-07 season, not including the lockout season in 2004-05, the Caps failed to make the playoffs (not to mention had some of the worst jerseys in the NHL aside from the alternate blue uniform). In the early stage of the 2007-08 season, the Caps had the worst record in the league. Leonsis fired then-Head [...]

Carmelo Anthony is the king of New York basketball. I’m not talking solely about the Knicks. The new guys in town, the Brooklyn Nets, are loaded with stars, including one of the best point guards in the game, Deron Williams. Last season Williams played incredible, averaging 21 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. It was one of his best seasons since entering the league. New York also witnessed the Asian sensation Jeremy Lin who took [...]

The first Washington Wizards’ game I ever saw was at what was formerly known as the MCI Center and was against the Miami Heat. It was Michael Jordan’s last season, the Wizards won the game and I’ve been a huge fan ever since. A decade later, the Wiz Kids can’t seem to buy a win, literally. Every night for the past few seasons it seems that the Wiz lose. Except for this past Tuesday night [...]

For my final Bank Shots column ever, I want to revisit the predictions that I made before the season started and reflect on what was a fun, yet shortened season of NBA basketball. The playoffs are less than a week old, but we’ve already seen two superstars go down with serious injuries in completely different ways. Reigning MVP Derrick Rose tore his ACL last Saturday in Chicago’s Game 1 victory over Philly. The Bulls are [...]

Monday night at Prudential Center in Newark, the Nets played their final game in New Jersey after 35 uneventful years in the Garden State. In the fall, they’ll move into their swanky new arena, renamed and refurbished, across the Hudson River in Brooklyn. As soon as their game against the 76ers ended on Monday, the team’s website began displaying an outline of their new logo with the hashtag “#hellobrooklyn” below it. The season isn’t even [...]