Stephon Marbury: Remade In China
How the former hoops star went from NBA outcast to international trailblazer.
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NBA Unveils 2022 NBA Finals Logo, Reviving A Classic Look
With its 75th anniversary season getting down to crunch time, the National Basketball Association has reintroduced a familiar logo from its past for the championship series.
The NBA announced on Wednesday, April 13, that it would bring the iconic script font back to a reimagined NBA Finals logo this year. A cursive font was used in variations of the Finals logo from 1986 to 1995 and from 2004 to 2017.
“The NBA Finals serves as the culmination of our 75th Anniversary Season as we celebrate the league’s past, present and future,” said NBA chief marketing officer Kate Jhaveri in a press release on the league’s website. “Highlighted by the return of our familiar Finals script font, back by popular demand, our new logo pays homage to our league’s history and looks forward to what’s ahead.”
The modernized Finals logo puts the script font front and center, with a rendering of the Larry O’Brien Trophy behind. Unlike past iterations, the new script font does not feature a shooting star crossing the F and forming the dot on the I in “Finals.” It does, however, have some small gold flourishes at either end.
The new logo “honor[s] the league’s 75-year history while looking forward to the future,” according to the press release. “The identity also includes an updated black and gold color palette to complement the trophy and celebrate the pinnacle of the NBA’s season.”
The Larry O’Brien trophy in the new Finals does bear some differences from the trophy that has been given out up to now. The trophy in the logo has a circular base (as opposed to rectangular), and it appears to have a longer cylinder with more netting details and a different orientation for the basketball. There has been no word yet from the NBA if the trophy itself is being revamped this year; it could just be artistic license in the end.
The 2022 NBA Finals will tip off on Thursday, June 2.
Source: SportsLogos.Net
Brooklyn Nets’ Owner Joe Tsai Pledges $50 Million to Create ‘Economic Mobility’ in Brooklyn’s Black Community
The Brooklyn Nets, led by owners Joe and Clara Wu Tsai, are pledging $50 million over 10 years to establish and support they hope will lead to economic mobility in the Black community.
The couple will lead a “five-point plan,” which will include continued support for its players pushing for social and economic equality and address wage gaps in communities of color, starting in Brooklyn. The plan will also address diversity within the Nets organization and the National Basketball Association league office.
“After George Floyd’s death, we felt like we needed to take a firm stand on racial injustice,” Clara Wu Tsai said in an interview with CNBC on Monday. “I wanted to state our beliefs on this issue — that racism is pervasive and needs to be addressed, and I wanted to lay out core principles that clarified our purpose as an organization.”
Source: CNBC
Aluminum shortage – Beer, soda makers struggle with aluminum can supply, plan to limit niche drinks
A shortage of aluminum cans is crimping supplies of certain drinks, industry officials said.
“Aluminum cans are in very tight supply with so many people buying more multi-pack products to consume at home,” Coca-Cola spokesperson Ann Moore said Wednesday in an email.
Can manufacturers announced plans to build at least three factories within the next 18 months, but that won’t solve the immediate supply issues.
“The aluminum beverage can manufacturing industry has seen unprecedented demand for this environmentally friendly container prior to and especially during the COVID-19 pandemic,” the Aluminum Association, an industry group representing the metal’s manufacturers, said in a statement. “Many new beverages are coming to market in cans, and other long-standing can customers are moving away from plastic bottles due to ongoing environmental concerns around plastic pollution. Consumers also appear to be favoring the portability and storability of cans as they spend more time at home.”
Source: USA Today
Portland Trail Blazers’ Damian Lillard Announced as NBA 2K21 Cover Star for Current-Gen Systems
NBA 2K21 will have three different cover athletes. Now we know Damian Lillard will be the first.
2K announced the Portland Trail Blazers star will serve as the cover athlete for current-gen systems in a press release Tuesday.
Lillard expressed gratitude for the cover spot:
“This is a special moment for me in my NBA career. I’ve been a fan of NBA 2K for years and love how they represent all aspects of basketball culture. I’m an avid 2K player so I’m honored to join the other NBA greats who have been on the cover. I’m grateful to all my fans and can’t wait for everyone to experience the game later this year.”
Source: Bleacher Report
2017 – The Carter Effect transformed Canadian basketball: Ex-Raptors star ignited sport’s popularity in a hockey-mad country
Prior to Carter’s arrival, Raptors games were such a tough sell even scalpers found it difficult to make anything off their tickets.
The Daytona Beach, Fla., native took the league by storm earning the nicknames “Half man, half amazing” and “Air Canada” for his electrifying dunks and high-flying acrobatics.
“When he was ‘Vinsanity,’ I was enjoying it as a fan like everyone else and noticing the talks amongst my friends in the classrooms — it was no longer about hockey, it was basketball now,” Menard said.
Carter’s performance at the NBA Slam Dunk Contest on February 13, 2000 forever changed the landscape of Toronto and Canadian basketball’s reputation.
The burgeoning star opened the competition at Oracle Arena in Oakland with a 360 windmill dunk and later executed the iconic between the legs dunk off a bounce.
“Without that dunk competition, I don’t know if you have this type of effect [on Canadian basketball]. It was so important that he was wearing ‘Toronto’ across his chest for that dunk contest because it put the city on the map globally — he was representing our city,” Menard said.
Source: CBC
Blazers Star Damian Lillard doesn’t plan to participate in resumed 70-game NBA season if Portland (29-37) doesn’t have ‘true opportunity’ to make playoffs
“If we come back and they’re just like, ‘We’re adding a few games to finish the regular season,’ and they’re throwing us out there for meaningless games and we don’t have a true opportunity to get into the playoffs, I’m going to be with my team because I’m a part of the team. But I’m not going to be participating. I’m telling you that right now. And you can put that in there,” Lillard told Yahoo Sports on Tuesday morning via phone.
Portland is 29-37 and in the No. 9 spot in the Western Conference, 3.5 games behind the Memphis Grizzlies for the eighth and final playoff seed. The league anticipates restarting the season at some point in late July at ESPN Wide World of Sports at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. The season has been suspended since March 11 after Utah Jazz star Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19.
Source: Yahoo Sports
Kobe Bryant: The Life and Legacy of Basketball’s Greatest Mind
In his 20 seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant was the heart of the city and stands as one of the greatest NBA players of all time. For the majority of his life, basketball was the most important thing, but he was so much more than an athlete. Kobe was a husband, a father, a friend, and a mentor. It’s heartbreaking that we’ll never get to see his future dreams realized, but we can know one thing: like every other chapter in his life, it would’ve been great.
Brooklyn Nets Player Spencer Dinwiddie Starts GoFundMe to let Fans Determine His Next Team
“I’m simply creating this GoFundMe as my commitment to my previous tweets. As of now 2625.8 BTC (bitcoin) is roughly equivalent to $24,632,630 USD (U.S. dollars). If we hit the target then I will allow the fan base to determine my next team decision and sign a one year contract at that destination. If we do not hit the target goal then I will be donating 100% of this campaign to charity. Fan engagement comes in all shapes and sizes, lets have fun folks!”
Source: USA Today
Black Delivery Driver Held Against His Will in Gated Oklahoma City Community “Ashford Hills” by White Homeowners
A viral video shows a furniture and home appliance delivery driver being held against his will in a neighborhood, blocked in by a HOA president who demanded information from him regarding why he was there.
“I want to know where you’re going?” a man named David Stewart is heard saying on a viral Facebook live.
“It’s none of your business. I’m going out, that’s where I’m going,” Travis Miller said.
“All we want to know is why you’re in here and who gave you the gate code. That’s all we need to know,” the man said.
Miller told News 4 he did not want to share his customer’s personal information.
Source: KFOR
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