
After Great Job, Rivers May Bow Out
He’s not going to tell us today. Probably not tomorrow, either. But there’s certainly a chance that Doc Rivers has coached his final game after six years on the Celtics bench....
2010 NBA FinalsHoward Bryant, ESPN
Kevin Ding, Orange County Register
Ian Thomsen, Sports Illustrated
Chris Erskine, Los Angeles Times
Dan Le Batard, Miami Herald

Following Ghana 's spirited defeat of a valiant United States side on Saturday, the more-nationalistic wedges of the American audience might be drifting away from the World Cup j...(full article)

The celebration was pure joy, embodied best by the one new champion: Ron Artest. Artest said he had a few drinks – including the Hennessy scotch he previously admitted consum...(full article)

Kobe Bryant wanted to hear the Boston accent. He wanted to hear the wisdom of the street, he wanted to hear the wise-ass comments. He wanted to hear what "Sweetchuck" had to say. "...(full article)

In this week's installment of Fans Who Love Too Much, we give you the Lakers of Los Angeles, Calif., who will march through the city's core today in something resembling the libera...(full article)

Kobe Bryant hogged so much of the narrative. He's a star with a mythology in city and sport infatuated with those things, so his path toward the trophy consumed the focus. This was...(full article)

He’s not going to tell us today. Probably not tomorrow, either. But there’s certainly a chance that Doc Rivers has coached his final game after six years on the Celtics bench....

After the Lakers won the NBA title last season in Orlando, riots broke out all over Downtown LA. Police seemed to not be ready for what happened last year. Cars were smashed, bu...

Fresh off the Los Angeles Lakers' 16th NBA Title, Kobe Bryant also celebrated his fifth ring. But winning a title is a collective effort. ...

The smell of champagne emanated from Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak, his clothes stained, his smile bright and spirits high, the journey now complete with L.A.'s championsh...

"Ron Artest was the most valuable player tonight. He brought life to our team; he brought life to the crowd." -- Phil Jackson "He was a warrior. You know, I don't know if Rasheed...

Last night they moved Heartbreak Hill to the Staples Center. After a season of uphill battles and a playoff run of magnificence, the Celtics [team stats] hit the wall with 27.9 sec...

OK, so he isn't Michael, and try as he might for the rest of his career, he'll never be Magic, either. Still, Kobe being Kobe is great enough....

In the end, a team that spent all season dealing with — but never solving — their fourth-quarter woes was done in by it. The Celtics fell short in their quest for NBA title No...

Watching tonight's Game 7 between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics is quite fun. The jitters are everywhere. The anticipation was there all...

In the furthest reaches of Kobe Bryant’s(notes) mind, in its darkest, most desperate corner, the personal admonition pulsates. Don’t bleep it up, he always tells himself. Don...

The moment was captured. Lakers 83, Celtics 79. The repeat championship secured. And after letting the feeling pulse through Staples Center for a joyous moment, baritone Lakers pub...

All season long the Lakers relied on Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. Sometimes it seemed like a two-man show and the other Lakers were simply spectators. Including the playoffs, one o...

Hello, LeBron James, the stage is all yours, which is a statement in and of itself, isn't it? James, a self-proclaimed "king," rules over the business of basketball, not the ga...

It was a Game 7 without poetry, without rhythm or flow. The Los Angeles Lakers don't care. They will never care. They never should care. The trophy will always be theirs, and while...

They streamed off the court quickly, heads down, trying to avoid the crush of Lakers players, coaches and staffers who flooded the floor in celebration of the team's 16th NBA champ...

The stoic guy with the shaggy hair screamed, and a city screamed with him. The tough guy with the constant glare wept, and a city danced in his tears. The stern superstar skipped...

He earned a base salary of $12 million this season, and reportedly $2 million more in bonuses which he intends to donate to charity. Hard to argue this morning it's not money well-...

The fire burned in Pau Gasol's eyes with an unquenchable heat Thursday, its intensity too high for him to contain it. He had just hit a short turnaround jumper to give the Lakers ...

Despite a massive Los Angeles police presence Thursday night, sporadic violence broke out near Staples Center after the Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals. Crowd...

So, this was the Age of Kobe all along. Officially going to a level all his own, Kobe Bryant got his fifth title Thursday night, even if it came the hard way, with the game's grea...

The mother, the father and two adult siblings carried their suitcases into the front door of the downtown hotel. A large black SUV sped away. An NBA player, a fairly big star actua...

Rajon Rondo [stats] knows what tonight has to be for him. It has to be just another game. Game 7 of the NBA Finals is anything but just another basketball game, but if he thinks of...

Ray Allen might be gone next year. Paul Pierce could opt to leave this summer. Coach Doc Rivers says he’s not sure he’s coming back. Rasheed Wallace and Glen Davis are the onl...

The one other time in the past 16 years there was a Game 7 in the NBA Finals – another Thursday night, but five years ago – Phil Jackson wasn’t watching. He did...
There’s no more basketball after tonight. Not for five months, anyway. So you’d better enjoy this. These are the two best teams, according to the metric we use to dete...

Michael Jordan owns six NBA championship rings and his statue stands outside the United Center.Magic Johnson could carry his five rings past his statue out...

Think of all the toil, the burning hell, the practices, the pain, the blood, the skull sessions, the games, the joys, the hugs, the highs, the exhaustion, the coaching stinkeyes. T...

Game 7. The pinnacle, the ultimate. Except that it’s still a basketball game. “It’s basketball,’’ reminds Phil Jackson, who now has more postseaso...

When first Ray Allen and then Kevin Garnett landed in Boston and teamed up with Paul Pierce [stats] to create a 21st century Big Three, the arrangement came with some fine print. T...

History will remember the 2010 NBA Finals more fondly than I will. And for your sake, history better remember the 2010 NBA Finals more fondly than you will, or you're following th...

These NBA Finals promised to be direct descendents of the most memorable in basketball history, the remaking and recasting of Chamberlain and Russell, Magic and Bird. History guara...

Bryant’s legacy is as golden as the jersey he’ll be wearing in Game 7. He could retire during the national anthem Thursday and they’d still build him a statue outside Staples...

History says the Celtics win Game 7 tonight in Los Angeles. The problem is, I don't see Bill Russell anywhere. I do see Kobe Bryant, with a surge of renewal from Pau Gasol, and tho...

History is not in favor of the Celtics. The home team has won 13 of those 16 winner-take-all situations. But location hasn't meant much to Boston this season. If the Celtics win Ga...

"I think our guys know the importance of Game 7," Lakers assistant coach Frank Hamblen said after the team's final practice of the season Wednesday. "This will be three times in a ...

If the Lakers defeat the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the NBA Finals at Staples Center, their second consecutive championship would give real life to the possibility that this group...

The jabs, unlike that heartbreaking jump shot, come from long distance. Former Lakers guard Frank Selvy lives in South Carolina, and occasionally, as the story goes, he answers hi...

Aw c’mon, you knew this thing was destined for seven, didn’t you? It’s not as if this bunch of Celtics do anything easy. They’re the bounce-back...

This is for anyone who spent time they'll never get back watching the New Jersey Nets this season. This is for anyone who has lost trust in the refereeing, who is fed up with the e...

When you're looking at your grave you're going to fight." That's what Lamar Odom had to say on NBATV after the Lakers forced a Game 7 by beating the Celtics 89-67. The Lakers cer...

A weathered, brow-wrinkled basketball team in need of an instant makeover pulled one off Tuesday, the Lakers painting themselves in a color as brilliant as it was rare.Desperation....

Whatever you do, don't make too much of Game 6. Trust me on this one, OK? Been there, done that, and I know the temptation. The temptation, after watching the Lakers...

The Larry O'Brien trophy was in the building, as was Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell, along with boxes and boxes of T-shirts and hats designating the Celtics as the 2010 NBA c...

The Celtics have history on their side. . . . And not much else. Your Green Team was thrashed by the Lakers at Staples Center last night. Playing with none of the urgency and thu...

They were back to shouting "BOSTON SUCKS! BOSTON SUCKS!" in Staples Center, letting the chant swirl around the lower and upper bowls with a vindictive vigor. Only this time, I do...