The Los Angeles Lakers played inspired basketball on the night of Kobe Bryant’s jerseys (plural) retirement. Chris Carlson/AP

2003 NBA Draft Class member Jarvis Hayes checks in with Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson on Scoop B Radio and talks NBA Draft classes, Kobe and more. Press Play Below To Listen! 

Last night, the Los Angeles Lakers retired Kobe Bryant’s #8 and #24 jersey during a halftime ceremony at Staples Center. Widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, Bryant is a 5-time NBA champion, 18-time NBA All Star, holds a regular season MVP award, a NBA Slam Dunk Champion and became the youngest player in league history to reach 30,000 career points.

Slam Magazine’s ’96 Draft cover. Photo Credit: Ball Is Life

Bryant also holds the distinction of being drafted in the 1996 NBA Draft, an exclusive club.

Add Allen Iverson, Stephon Marbury, Ray Allen, Steve Nash, Marcus Camby, Jermaine O’Neal, Antoine Walker, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Peja Stojakovic to that list.

“Kobe was the last one to finish, but you’re starting to see most of the guys finish with Hall of Fame careers,” Shareef Abdur-Rahim, a member of that class told me on Scoop B Radio

The 2003 NBA Draft class was also impressive. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh headlined it.

So who’s draft class is better?

“I think it’s really difficult sometimes to rank eras,” said Abdur-Rahim. “But I guess because I was in the 1996 draft, I rank it the best.”

Jarvis Hayes was drafted tenth by the Washington Wizards in the 2003 NBA Draft. He shares similar sentiments. “Well the book is still being written on my class,” Hayes said on Scoop B Radio.

“So you have to put it up there. But that 1996 draft class was loaded. I think my class is up there, but right now I would give a slight nod to the ’96 class until the rest of the guys from my class finish up their careers.”

The 1984 NBA Draft class was loaded with studs: Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Hakeem Olajuwon and John Stockton.

Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan. Photo Credit: SI

While none of those guys are currently playing, they left impact on the NBA. Charles Barkley is running the TV world Thursday nights on TNT and MJ is majority owner of the Charlotte Hornets.

MJ also still has kids waiting out in the winter cold for Air Jordan sneaker releases.

No doubt ’84 impacted Kobe, Wade, ‘Melo and others.

But hey, Kobe does have a one up! Not even MJ who wore three numbers while a member of the Chicago Bulls ( 12, 23 and 45) has multiple numbers hanging in the rafters at the United Center.

But Bryant does at Staples Center!

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The post Scoop B: With Kobe’s jerseys now retired, can we debate ’96 NBA Draft class vs. 2003 NBA Draft class? appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Los Angeles Clippers guard, Jamal Crawford has been in the NBA for 16 years!

Time flies when you’re having fun.

Drafted out of Michigan in the 2000 NBA Draft, Crawford is revered for his smooth ball handling ability and crafty scoring. That combo has won him three NBA Sixth Man of The Year awards.

Although a member of the Clippers, many folks out east remember Crawford as a member of the New York Knicks.

One guy who remembers J-Crossover’s talent is the man who traded for him, NBA Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas. Thomas, once the Knicks’ President and head coach, had a keen eye on the Rainier Beach High School product. “I had followed Jamal since he came from Seattle to Michigan,” Thomas told me by phone on a recent episode of the Scoop B Radio podcast. “And I thought: a 6’6” guy with handles.”

Crawford’s best statistcal season came during the 2007-08 NBA season while with the Knicks. He averaged 20 points and 5 assists in 80 games for the orange and blue. “His body was just, his game was ahead of his body, if that makes sense; like the things he was trying to do out on the floor,” said Thomas.

“He was seeing the right things to do. You knew he was mature. And over the last couple of years, once his body caught up with his game, I mean, he’s been swinging points whenever he wants to.”

Hey did you see Crawford and DeAndre Jordan’s chemistry last night in the Clippers’ 120-108 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder yesterday?  It was a thing of beauty!!!

Remember Jamal Crawford S. Carter Reebok Sneaker Commercial? 

At one time, the Knicks had a roster that included Crawford, Stephon Marbury, Zach Randolph, David Lee, Wilson Chandler, Nate Robinson, Channing Frye, Steve Francis and Trevor Ariza. That’s a few championship rings, NBA All Star appearances and Slam Dunk Contest trophies attached to those names.

Disappointingly, the formula didn’t work out.

In a day and age where teams build through the NBA Draft like the once intact Oklahoma City team that included Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden, as well as the current ‘Trust the Process,’ Philadelphia 76ers.

Imagine if that Knicks team had stayed together. “They were all under the age of 27 and that was a young team,” said Thomas “Had they been able to stay together and flourish, that would’ve been a pretty good team in the East.”

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The post Isiah Thomas on Jamal Crawford as a Knick: “You Knew He Was Mature” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.