The post Former NBA Chicago Bulls Nate Robinson Compares Zach LaVine to Vince Carter | #TheAltWithMel appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James and Toronto rapper Drake. Photo Courtesy of BET

The NBA season started a couple of weeks earlier and it has been exciting to watch. The new-look Celtics are exciting to view, the Houston Rockets are flourishing and the Sixers are still…well…trusting the process.

Then there’s the Toronto Raptors, who at 4-3 are battling for one of the top seeds in the NBA’s Eastern Conference.

Speaking of Toronto and the Raptors, October’s very own, Drake celebrated his 31st birthday at the end of October.  The Raptors’ ambassador is probably one of the biggest hoops fans you’ll find.

The rapper/actor who has brought you hits like “Started From The Bottom,” “Hotline Bling,” “Work,” and “Find Your Love” also has a fan in one of the game’s biggest stars: Cleveland Cavaliers forward, LeBron James.

“I’m a huge Drake fan,” James told me.

“He’s a brother of mine.”

On Drake’s birthday last week, James shouted him out with a post on Instagram saying: Happy G-day to my brother @champagnepapi!! Whenever u get back off tour we’ll link so we can celebrate your day! #OctobersVeryOwn #SixGod #LiveLaughLove❤️

Happy G-day to my brother @champagnepapi!! Whenever u get back off tour we’ll link so we can celebrate your day! #OctobersVeryOwn #SixGod #LiveLaughLove❤️

A post shared by LeBron James (@kingjames) on Oct 24, 2017 at 9:05am PDT

Hosting parties together, appearing on red carpets and conversations in between plays while Drake is sitting courtside, James and Drake are a mainstay in hoops and pop culture.

Million dollar question: With all of the top hits that Drake has made, can the King of Akron name his top five?

“It’s too many for me to name just five honestly,” said James.

TORONTO, ON – NOVEMBER 25: Singer Drake talks to LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers during an NBA game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Toronto Raptors at the Air Canada Centre on November 25, 2015 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)

Through eight games, the Cavs are 3-5 and are currently in 13th place in the NBA’s Eastern Conference. They’ll play a Washington Wizards team that is coming off of a home loss to the Phoenix Suns.

Many have questioned the Cavaliers’ slow start after the Cavs added Dwyane Wade, Derrick Rose and Isaiah Thomas in the offseason. “It’s too long of a season,” James said Sunday.

“And I’ve been a part of this too many times. So, I’m the wrong guy to ask. I’m too positive right now.”

 

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The post Cavs’ LeBron James can’t name his favorite Drake song because he’s ‘a huge Drake fan’ appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Toronto Raptors’ OG Anunoby. Photo Credit: National Post

Toronto Raptors forward OG Anunoby Dropped By Scoop B Radio and Discussed Being A Fan of Tracy McGrady’s Game. Press Play Below To Listen!

Toronto Raptors forward OG Anunoby may be a fan of Allen Iverson’s crossover dribble (particularly the one where he made former Washington Wizards guard Antonio Daniels look like he slipped on a puddle of water) but he is a huge fan of Tracy McGrady.

English-born and of Nigerian descent, the 6’8 Anunoby was a month old when McGrady was drafted by the Toronto Raptors with the ninth pick in the 1997 NBA Draft.

That draft class was laden with talent with two future Hall of Famers standing out from that list: Detroit Pistons hero Chauncey Billups and old reliable San Antonio Spurs big, Tim Duncan.

Literally 20 years later, Anunoby was selected 23rd in this year’s NBA Draft out of the University of Indiana.

The irony.

McGrady was special; so special the biggest rumor in 1997 was that the Bulls were looking to trade Scottie Pippen to acquire him.

In Jonathan Abrams’ book “Boys Among Men,”  (H/T CBS Sports’ Matt Moore)  it was revealed that Tracy McGrady was nearly traded to the Chicago Bulls for Scottie Pippen on draft night in 1997, but Michael Jordan vetoed it. McGrady confirmed that on an episode of ESPN’s The Jump with Rachel Nichols.

“Tracy McGrady was one of my favorites,” OG Anunoby told me on Scoop B Radio.

For two seasons (1998-2000), McGrady, Vince Carter, Doug Christie and company would lead the Raptors to a 68-64 record. Those feats included the Raptors first-ever winning season where they went 45-37 in 2000.

Toronto also made their first NBA playoff appearance, where they’d be swept 3-0 by the New York Knicks. Despite being swept, McGrady earned his big payday in the NBA Playoff. In game one, T-Mac registered 25 points and hauled in 10 rebounds.

That offseason, McGrady bolted Toronto and signed a six-year, $67.5 million contract with the Orlando Magic. 

With McGrady now an NBA Hall of Famer, Anunoby says he he has a favorite McGrady moment: “The game when he went against the Spurs,” he said with a smile.

Ah yes, December 9, 2004.  As a member of the Houston Rockets, McGrady scored 13 points in 33 seconds against the San Antonio Spurs. It took four buckets from beyond the arc, a made free throw to complete a four-point play and a steal to win the game 81-80.

Historically, McGrady struggled to get out of the second round of the NBA Playoffs. Despite that, a talented scorer, McGrady’s most memorable playoff moments occurred during the 2003 NBA Playoffs. The league’s scoring champion at the time, McGrady shot over 51 percent from the field against the Detroit Pistons in their round one series.

The Magic had a 3-1 lead in the series with McGrady scoring 43, 46, 29 and 27 points, respectively against Detroit; but Orlando couldn’t seal the deal. They were eliminated.

One stand out moment during that series was when McGrady dunked on Pistons 6’11 forward Mehmet Okur.

“It was a good series,” said Anunoby. “Plus I liked McGrady too and I was just a fan of the NBA at that point.”

That explosiveness could easily be identified in an NBA Playoffs matchup between McGrady Orlando Magic and the Detroit Pistons. In the 3rd quarter of that first round series,  McGrady dunks on Pistons 6’11 forward Mehmet Okur.

Selected as a Preseason All-American by The Sporting News last season, Anunoby posted 11 points for the Hoosiers last season.  Anunoby has a 7’2 wingspan and quick hands. He began to make noise collegiately when he shut down Jamal Murray in the NCAA tournament, his freshman year.

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The post Toronto Raptors’ OG Anunoby Says Tracy McGrady Is One of His Favorite Basketball Players appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Former Orlando Magic guard Darrell Armstrong talks about playing career, Tracy McGrady and Penny Hardaway on Scoop B Radio. Photo Credit: Outside The Hype

Click Here To Check Out Darrell Armstrong, the NBA’s 6th Man of the Year and Most Improved Player of the Year With the Orlando Magic Who Checked in With Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson & Scoop B Radio.

Dallas Mavericks assistant coach Darrell Armstrong has one of the diverse and impressive basketball portfolios out there.

Winning a ring as an assistant coach with the  2011 NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks, Armstrong’s accolades as a professional from 1991-2008 as a player were surely something to write home about.

Going undrafted out of Fayetteville State in 1991, Armstrong got his first gnaw at the NBA during the 1994–95 season where he played the last 3 games of the regular season for the Orlando Magic. While he manned the court as a floor general, Armstrong wowed the crowd and Magic management with his scoring ability.

As a member of the Magic, Armstrong simultaneously won the NBA’s Most Improved Player of the Award and the league’s Sixth Man of the Year Award in 1999. “After being in the league for three years, still on waiting on the opportunity and the chance,” Armstrong told me on Scoop B Radio.

“Putting in so much work, you know; to not only be a better player,  not only shooting the basketball, but also getting stronger in the weight room, helping me to be quicker and faster and stronger all those things adds up to one.”

 

 

Darrell Armstrong during Orlando Magic days. Photo Credit: Alchetron

Armstrong would end up sticking with the Magic through the 2003 season.

I first interviewed Armstrong when I was a Nets kid reporter and he was a member of the Orlando Magic during the 1997-98 NBA season.

Then and now, a few things stood out to me about him:

a). At 6 feet tall, he probably had the most hops imaginable for someone his size.

b). He’s a huge gospel music fan, with Fred Hammond and Kirk Franklin at the top of his list of his faves.

c). During his tenure with the Orlando Magic, Armstrong has had the distinction of being teammates with two of the most transcendent guards in the NBA not named Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. Armstrong teammed with both Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway and Tracy McGrady.

With McGrady being inducted into Springfield, Massachusetts’ Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame this weekend, one can’t help but think about the excitement that was T-Mac, the scoring machine in the city that Walt Disney built.

Armstrong and T-Mac were on a team that included Grant Hill and coached by Doc Rivers and were supposed to make noise in the NBA’s Eastern Conference in the early 2000s. Grant Hill was starting at the point guard, Armstrong slid to the two-guard with McGrady staring at the 3 alongside Drew Gooden and John Amaechi at the 4 and 5, respectively.

That squad was loaded! Heck, Mike Miller came off the bench!

Man that team was potent, but Grant Hill couldn’t stay healthy. That is when Tracy McGrady took over with his scoring galore! “Tracy was very special,” said Armstrong. I’m fortunate enough to have that opportunity to wear that jersey; the Magic jersey alongside him and Penny. You know, I’m fortunate to be their teammate because, I mean every night you got the chance to see some type of greatness, some type of unbelievable scoring from both of them.”

Tracy McGrady. Photo Credit: NBA.com

Added Armstrong:

“With T-Mac, a lot of people don’t know or would know that T-Mac was a decent player when he left Toronto and he got the opportunity with that one playoff game where they played New York and Vince was being covered so much by all the guys on New York that T Mac started to get off. And people started to see T-Mac’s talent during the playoffs that year. That is when we went and got him and that is when he came to the Magic that next year and what he did from there was just amazing because that is what he was suppose to be doing when he got to Toronto. But it didn’t happen like that for his first two years and then people started to say: ‘okay this is what they were talking about.’ And he put in the work and he dedicated himself everyday when he got into the game that he was going to be one of the top players in the league and he did it. It was fun to see him and Kobe Bryant go at each other, Michael Jordan go at each other.  I was just amazed by it, the things that he could do. But he was something special.”

In 938 games, McGrady averaged 19.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists. In 704 games, Penny Hardaway posted 15.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5 assists.

So who was the better player? Tracy McGrady or Penny Hardaway? “Both of them could play defense and both of them could score,” said Armstrong.

“Definitely Penny was the better passer because  Penny was a point guard. Mac could still pass the ball as well, that is hard to say Scoop. They both did it in their own way and in their own style; the only thing I will say, that Penny was better than T-Mac was passing the basketball. Like I said, they both could shoot the basketball, they both could score the basketball, that is a tough one to say. Penny went deeper in the playoffs,farther than T-Mac has ever been; besides being with T-Mac with Spurs, but he didn’t play. But when he played, you know Penny and he in the playoffs, Penny, you know Penny lost in the championship as a starter. So I mean it is hard to say if there is any edge the edge I give to Penny over T-Mac is that he was a better passer than he was.”

Fair enough.

Darrell Armstrong is one of the Dallas Mavericks’ assistant coaches. Photo Credit: Dallas Mavericks

Armstrong is an assistant coach of the Dallas Mavericks. In a game of shoulda-coulda-woulda, if he were currently an NBA head coach, who would he pick to start his team in today’s NBA? “Damn Scoop, once again you give me another tough one,” said Armstrong.

“I say: oh man you can’t go wrong with either one of them. Penny played a one and T-Mac played a two. So that is why I say it is so different. S**t Scoop, I would probably take Penny because the reason I say I take Penny is because Penny would be ready to run the offense as a point guard, knows how to play the point, but also you can just knock the ball with two points. Mac wasn’t a point guard. T-Mac never ran the point guard, so T Mac was more of the two/three player. I would probably have to say Penny I have a bigger guard that would cause a problem at the point guard position because he would be different.”

In addition to talking about T-Mac and Penny Hardaway, Armstrong also chatted about his time playing at a historically black college in Fayetteville State. “I was playing because of the tradition of so many people knowing and so many athletes from the Charles Oakley to Earl ‘The Pearl’ Monroe to Rick Mahorn,” he said. “And you know now, even Stephen A [Smith] played  for Winston Salem State. Ben Wallace and myself, so it was amazing with the athletes and the fans always love to hear the Black National Anthem [Lift Every Voice And Sing] whenever they sang it”

Armstrong even weighed in on the notion Tim Duncan would join he, T-Mac, and Grant Hill in Orlando via free agency, summer 2000.

Grant Hill and Tracy McGrady signed with the Orlando Magic during free agency in 2000. Photo Credit: Orlando Magic

According to Armstrong, the probabilities of Duncan coming to Orlando were zilch, zip, zero, stingy with the dinero. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich thought it was for real though! “It was a nerve-wrecking time,” Popovich admitted in an interview. (H/T CBS Sports’ Matt Moore)

Added Popovich:

“It was hell. You get close to a player and you don’t want to see him leave. I never let myself believe he was going to stay. I was just getting myself prepared, for sanity reasons. It’s no fun.”

“It also seems like it takes forever to resolve. That’s the worst part of it. We made our pitch to him and let him be, let him make up his own mind.”

Darrell Armstrong tells a different story on Scoop B Radio: “Tim wasn’t going nowhere,” he said.

“I mean where Tim played at and finished at, that was where Tim was going to be. Tim wasn’t going to go nowhere. We all love to entertain and see who is going to be out there. I don’t even believe he even thought about leaving San Antonio especially after winning some Championships. So I mean, no he wasn’t going anywhere. Sometimes you call the guys when free agency starts and you call them and talk to guys and they wanted me to call and I was sitting there like I am not you shouldn’t even call this guy he isn’t leaving.”

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The post Former Orlando Magic 6th Man of The Year Darrell Armstrong Says He’d Pick Penny Hardaway Over Tracy McGrady If He Were Starting An NBA Team   appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Saturday and Sunday’s are locked and loaded with the success of Sirius XM’s Bottom Line Sports Show.

Heard worldwide on Sirius XM’s NBA Radio, the show literally marries the world of athletes and their fans. It also helps that it has the creative producing genius of NBA legends Charles Oakley and Anfernee ‘Penny’ Hardaway.

Hosted by Gerald Brown and Howard ‘Howie C’ Cowart, the show is more of a steady conversation without the nuts and bolts and nitty gritty. Deion Sanders, Damian Lillard, Chris Paul, Scottie Pippen and Nas are notable guests on the shows platform.

“They’re very knowledgable and they speak the truth,” Penny Hardaway told me. “They don’t try to hammer anybody and gauge guys and make guys feel like less than what they are. It’s barbershop talk for real.”

“Our show is not scripted,” said show host Howard ‘Howie C’ Cowart.

“We’re the everyday fan.”

Check Out Gerald Brown and Howie C From The Bottom Line Sports Show Checking In On Scoop B Radio 

Although Bottom Line Sports Show has the backing of Oakley and Hardaway, its early days did not begin with the amenities of Sirius XM Radio. In fact, it began in the basement of Gerald Brown’s northern New Jersey home. It also helps that Brown had viable connections going in. A former Knicks ball boy, he drew from his rolodex and began booking solid guests.

Brown felt the need to start the show because of the disconnect he notices between athletes and journalists. “We started asking questions that we as fans wanted to know as opposed to the mundane questions from journalists,” Brown said on a recent episode of the Scoop B Radio Podcast.

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The post Penny Hardaway & Charles Oakley’s Bottom Line Sports Show Making Waves On Sirius XM NBA Radio appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.