Hooped Up

Over the weekend, Chris Paul and fellow NBA stars like LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Rudy Gay and Kevin Durant teamed up with some of the PBA’s best in support of the CP3 Foundation participating in the Chris Paul Charity Bowling Tournament, on ESPN.

Bowling has never looked so fun!

Via Ball Don’t Lie

Well it’s official, the Sonics are dead and this is their new zombie logo.  Some day I hope the Sonics will ride majestically once more.

Kevin Durant made a buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the second overtime, and Damien Wilkins scored a career-high 41 points in the Seattle SuperSonics ‘ 126-123 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night.

With rookie Al Horford guarding him at the top of the key, Durant pumped once to get the defender in the air before shooting over his outstretched arm.

“Al Horford was right on it, but I faded away and fortunately it went in,” Durant said. “I’m starting to get used to playing every other night or so, and I’m gaining confidence with my game.”

Durant, the No. 2 overall draft pick, finished with 21 points to help Seattle improve to 2-8 following a victory on Wednesday night at Miami.

Joe Johnson had a season-high 39 points for the Hawks, who have lost three of four.

ESPN

Alright, now that it is essentially official that both of these players will pass up their final 3 years of the college experience in order to pursue a life in The League I feel safe discussing (a) who I think is the correct pick at the #1 spot (b) who will actually get picked at that spot (c) and who i think will in the long run be the better NBA player. Here goes:
The Sporting Rambler

Word is Kobe Bryant has already called Kevin Durant on behalf of Nike and that a shoe deal ranging between $30 million and $50 million simply needs to be presented.

Taras Brown, the man who sculpted Durant’s game back in Seat Pleasant, Md., and the man Durant calls his godfather, said a potential shoe deal - not Durant’s draft placement - would be what shoves Durant to the NBA.

“Kevin will go two or three years at Texas, if he could,” Brown said before the season. “It won’t be because Kevin Durant or (Ohio State’s) Greg Oden want to go. The shoe companies will make them an offer where it’s impossible not to go.”

The Olympian

The NBA fined Bobcats part-owner Michael Jordan $15,000 for discussing Texas freshman Kevin Durant during an interview last week.

Team coaches and executives are barred from talking about underclassmen who have yet to declare for the NBA draft. But in an interview with The Charlotte Observer last Tuesday, Jordan said he was interested in versatile players and added, “The kid who may present that is the kid in Texas. (He) may have that because he has all the right signs.”

Yahoo

Kevin Durant’s incredible freshman year has come to an end following USC’s 87-68 win over his Longhorns on Sunday afternoon.

Durant scored 30 points and grabbed 9 rebounds.

Freshman phenom Kevin Durant rebounded from his early struggles to score 24 of his game-high 29 points in the second half, leading Texas to a wild 74-69 comeback victory over Baylor.

The Longhorns (23-8) trailed by 20 points three minutes into the second half before Durant took over.

After missing his first 12 shots in the game, Durant sparked the biggest rally in the history of the Big 12 tournament. Playing in his first game after injuring his left ankle in UT’s final regular-season game, Durant played with abandon in leading the second-half comeback.

“I don’t know if he was tentative or whatever, but he was pretty good in the second half,” Barnes said. “When he gets going like that, he can spark us. You could tell then that the confidence shifted to us.”

San Antonio Express-News