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Take a look at Complex Magazine’s list of the 25 Greatest Nike Basketball Signature Shoes. Signature shoes from Gary Payton, Jason Kidd, Kevin Durant, Chris Webber and LeBron James are featured on the list. The Nike signature shoe deals for those players were negotiated by Goodwin Sports. You can read more about those deals HERE.
Category : Blog
This week’s edited conversation between Leon Powe and KNBR’s Brian Murphy. Powe is an Oakland Tech and Cal alum and NBA 
champion with the Celtics who was recently featured along with Hook Mitchell in the Comcast SportsNet documentary “The Town Game: Two Lives, Two Paths.”
Murphy: How would you explain how basketball is important to guys like you and Hook Mitchell in Oakland?
Powe: Basketball is really important to us, to the people that play basketball in Oakland, people who are just trying to do something. We look at it as a way out, a way to escape all the madness sometimes. You can just relieve yourself on the court; when you’re playing basketball, you’re just out there feeling free for a little bit. I know everybody who played basketball in Oakland, that’s what they’re really thinking. When they’re playing basketball, they just try to go out there and have fun. That’s it.
Murphy: You overcame so much to play in a state championship at Oakland Tech and then to go on to Cal and then win an NBA championship with the Celtics – that’s a great story. What isn’t as great is the Hook Mitchell path. It’s pretty open, isn’t it? He was sidetracked by the bad part of Oakland. Did you know about his story?
Powe: Yeah, I knew about it. My mentor always used to tell me about his path, his story and what he went through. We were all in the same (high school) league, the OAL – a really tough league. Especially playing basketball, but off the court too. My mentor used to explain that to me over and over again, what happened to Hook. But I talked to him too, and he told me a little bit when I was coming up, too.
Murphy: According to the documentary, he’s open about it – no relationship with his parents, drug use too early in his life, and he actually went to jail, too. Is it something where he … kind of told you, “Hey, avoid this stuff. You’ve got to work hard to stay away from this kind of influence?”
Powe: Yeah, because I hung out with some people. … They’re good people, but they just do different stuff. Stuff that you probably don’t want to get into when you’re younger. It’s temptation, that’s all it is. When you’re in Oakland, it depends on who you hang around with and then what’s your situation? I know Hook’s situation and my situation were almost the same, until I chose to go down one path and he chose to go down another. But the reason why I chose that path – I had a mentor, my mom always used to try to tell me what was right and wrong, and to always do the right thing because it will always come back to you. If you do bad things, it’s going to come back to haunt you. That’s what I believed when I was younger, and that helped me along the way.
The KNBR Conversation is a weekly interview culled from the archives on KNBR 680/1050 AM.
Category : Blog
With Kobe Bryant wearing a suit for the fourth straight game, no Laker played better basketball than Matt Barnes, who scored a season-high 24 points on 9 of 11 shooting (four of four three-pointers) to lead L.A. to a 103-97 win over Denver on Friday night.
Barnes had been solid in the three previous Bryant-less games, averaging 8.0 points on 45 percent shooting plus seven boards per game, and added 10 more boards for his second double-double of the season vs. the Nuggets. To Metta World Peace, the energy level of his fellow small forward is to what the rest of the team should be aspiring.
“Matt Barnes is on a whole other level right now,” World Peace exclaimed. “He’s very fired up. You see the red in his eyes. We all need to get on his level.”
To Barnes, it’s the only way to do it.
“When we play hard, we’re a tough team to beat,” he said. “We’re so talented, but sometimes we’re lazy. When we’re lazy, we allow teams to do stuff that shouldn’t normally happen.”
Category : Blog
Tina Thompson wrote this blog post on her WNBA Draft experience for the Huffington Post.
I wish I could actually start this blog describing my emotions of how nervous and anxious I was in anticipation of my name being called and placed on the Draft board. Um, not so much!
The WNBA has come a long way since then, to say the least. My Draft Day experience was just a little different from what you all see on television today. There was no nervousness, very little anxiety and no anticipation. I actually knew I was going No. 1 overall and so did everyone else participating in the Draft; no uncertainty in any of our futures. This was all possible in large part to our Draft being what was referred to at that time as a Mock Draft. Therefore, any emotion you saw, credit my acting skills. How did I do? No Academy Award, but I think I did a pretty good job of looking surprised.
My decision to play in the WNBA had more drama than my Draft Day itself. I was very unsure whether the WNBA was my future or not. I had just graduated from college. I was in the middle of taking an LSAT prep class in hopes of getting into a top law school. Then there was the other league, the ABL (American Basketball League), referred to by most as the “players” league. Decisions, decisions, decisions! Too many decisions for a kid right out of college.
So there I was with a clear plan of what my future would look like. I had prepared most of my life to get to this point. And in a matter of days it was turned upside down. What I remember most from this experience is my cell phone ringing in the middle of my evening LSAT class and me struggling to stop it from ringing in the midst of sheer embarrassment! Everyone I knew was aware I was in class studying, so why is my phone ringing? I didn’t recognize the number at all; it would have to wait at least until class was over.
On the walk back to campus I listened to my voicemail; there was a message from a lady by the name of Renee Brown (WNBA Chief of Basketball Operations and Player Relations). She was calling to inform me that the WNBA was inviting me to play in their league. I have to admit — I listened to the message at least five times! Was she sure? Did she have the right number? Did she say Tina Thompson? Dude, was I stoked!
Category : Blog
Matt Barnes will make an appearance with adidas basketball this Saturday, April 14th at the new Champs in the Westfield Mall, Culver City from 3:30 to 4:30pm. Matt will meet & greet fans and sign autographs.
Westfield Culver City Mall
6000 Sepulveda Boulevard
Culver City, CA 90230
Category : Blog
