The Knicks’ 90s glory days are long-gone. The club has just three winning seasons in the past 16 years. At 27-42, the Knicks stand at 12th in the NBA’s Eastern Conference. After the loss to the Nets last night at MSG, they officially clinched their fourth consecutive losing season. Man oh man, the ’90s Knicks were a team that New York City still holds in high regard and misses. John Starks, Charles Oakley, the late Anthony Mason, Doc Rivers and of course, Patrick Ewing.

Ewing played 17 years in the NBA, 15 of those as a Knick before he was traded to the Seattle Supersonics for Vin Baker. Ewing finished his career averaging 21 points and a shade under 10 rebounds per game. Ewing and the Knicks had some memorable moment. Lets see, there was the time in 1990 when the Hoya Destroya scored 51 points on Kevin McHale, Kevin McHale and Larry Bird at The Garden.  ​

Hey, remember Game 5 of the ’94 Finals when he pummeled Olajuwon, scored 25 points, 12 rebounds, and eight blocks on the Olajuwon-led Rockets. There was also that 22 points, 22 rebounds and 7 assist outing in game 7 of the 1994 NBA Playoff Conference Finals against the Indiana Pacers. That game sealed the deal and propelled the Knicks to the ’94 Finals against the Houston Rockets.

Simply put, Ewing was the man in N-Y-C.

Rapper, Pusha T thinks so too, apparently. Appearing on today’s episode of Scoop B Radio Overtime, the rapper who reps both NYC and Virginia to the fullest chatted about some of his all-time favorite sports uniforms. He likes the old Washington Bullets uniforms from the days of Wes Unseld. The Bullets, of course are now the Washington Wizards. The Wizards even retro’ed thos unifors a time or two when Michael Jordan made a brief cameo on that team. The team has even incorporated a similar design to their current uni’s to make it whole. Someone get Mitchell & Ness on the line! We need that Jordan Throwback.

But I digress.

The meat and potatoes of the interview with King Push was his admiration for that Knicks squad that were both hustle and muscle and the nostalgia of even Spike Lee donning the orange and blue fabric. “Definetly the Knicks, of course,” Pusha T told me.

“You gotta remember. For example, like, the Knicks, if I was messing with the Knicks, it was like there was a Ewing component to it. Or a Spike Lee Component to it. They were so culturally relevant at the time. They were champions of the team and they were like to me, cool guys! So I was like oh man, this is fresh. Anyrhing they put on was fresh. They were definetly representing the Knicks organization at that time.”

Spike Lee, like Jack Nicholson is probably the original super fan; the orginiator. His engagement with players is what stands out. Who can forget his classic duels with Reggie Miller?

The new Knicks are nothing worth watching, but the nostalgia of the old Knicks, still lives on.

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The post Pusha T on Patrick Ewing, Spike Lee & 90s Knicks: “They were so culturally relevant at the time” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

One of the best to ever play the game of basketball, NBA Hall of Famer, Allen Iverson is not shy about his love for hip music. He especially has love for Brooklyn’s own, the Notorious B.I.G.

Yesterday marked the 20th anniversary of the death of the Notorious B.I.G., Christopher Wallace who was shot and killed at the age of 24 in Los Angeles, California on March 9, 1997. His murder still remains unsolved.

At Mitchell & Ness’ unveiling of their section at the NBA Store in midtown Manhattan on Thursday, The Answer gave his ruling on who the greatest was: He was the best,” Allen Iverson told me.

“He was the best ever! Simple as that, I don’t care what nobody say.”

You’ll never guess Bubba Chuck’s favorite Notorious B.I.G. song!

“One of his greatest verses is on the joint with Puff and Jay-Z,” he told me. “What is it? Ghetto Boys?”

While we were both scratching our heads to figure it out, I realize he’s talking about the song, Young G’s. The song, in fact did feature both Hov, Puff and Big and appeared on Puff Daddy’s No Way Out Album.

I yell to A.I.:  ‘Damn it feel good to see people up on it!’

Bubba Chuck took it from there:

“Flipped two ki’s in two weeks and didn’t flaunt it.

My brain is haunted, with mean dreams.

GS’s with BB’s on it, supreme schemes

To get richer than Richie, quickly.”

“He was crazy on that,” Iverson said with a sly grin.

Next to meeting Michael Jordan in the Bulls locker room, rapping a bar with The Answer was probably the coolest experience, ever.

But I digress.

Inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame last year, Allen Iverson is the gap between Michael Jordan who was business savvy and LeBron James; the balance between Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue and the neighborhood corner store.

A pioneer of the arm sleeve and perfecting the crossover dribble, who better to weigh in on the late Biggie Smalls than The Answer? But he’s not just hip hop! “Just like I’m the number one fan of Michael Jackson, I’m the number one fan of Biggie Smalls,” he said.

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The post Allen Iverson On The Notorious B.I.G. “He was the best, he was the best ever!” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.