Lebron James Plays DJ For NBA 2K14 Soundtrack

Lebron James is the biggest thing in basketball, NBA 2K is the biggest thing in sports gaming. Put the 2 together and it makes for one the most anticipated releases in basketball video gaming history. Lebron is the cover athlete and in the prime of his career coming off back to back titles, this is his very 1^st video game cover. Not only is he just some cover boy but the Akron native was actually the 1^st player that chose the songs for the games soundtrack. James when asked about picking songs for the soundtrack expressed the following “2K is letting me take control of some important elements in NBA 2K14, including this year’s soundtrack, I love that I’m the first NBA 2K cover athlete to choose the soundtrack.” So just how did LBJ do selecting songs for NBA 2K14?? I'll let you be the judge.

Big Krit, “Cool 2 be Southern”
Cris Cab, “Paradise (On Earth)”
Coldplay, “Lost!”
Daft Punk (feat. Pharrell Williams), “Get Lucky”
Drake, “Started From The Bottom”
Eminem, “Not Afraid”
Fly Union, “Long Run”
Gorillaz, “Clint Eastwood”
Imagine Dragons, “Radioactive”
Jada Kiss (feat. Ayanna Irish), “Can’t Stop Me”
Jay-Z, “The Ruler’s Back”
John Legend (feat. Rick Ross), “Who Do We Think We Are”
Kanye West, “All Of The Lights”
Kendrick Lamar, “Now Or Never”
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (feat. Ray Dalton), “Can’t Hold Us”
Nas (feat. Puff Daddy), “Hate Me Now”
Phil Collins, “In The Air Tonight”
Robin Thicke (feat. Pharrell), “Blurred Lines”
The Black Keys, “Elevator”
The Black Keys, “Howlin For You”

So first order of business when addressing Lebron's selections are that he actually does listen to Imagine Dragons, he kept shooting basketballs to it in the Dr.Dre Beats commercial so I got curious so at least that has been answered. All in all I think he did a great job of picking songs that are true to his personality but that also appeal to all fans there is something for everybody on here. Hip Hop fans, pop fans, alternative fans and just fans of music in general all have something they can enjoy on the soundtrack. For me personally I'm a big fan of guys like Kendrick Lamar, Jadakiss, Big Krit so songs like “Now or Never” and “ You Can't Stop Me” really jump out at me. Coldplay, Cris Cab and Robin Thicke are going to appeal to a lot of people because they have a huge fan base. One song that really jumps out reading that play list is Phil Collins-In the air tonight. That’s not really the kind of song you would expect in a normal basketball game but NBA 2K is far from normal. So the songs on here are upbeat, some are hype and others just put you in that mind frame as if you were about to take the floor for shoot around on the hardwood.

I have always loved the NBA 2K franchise and have lots of memories playing it amongst my friends so looking forward to another great game. Can't wait for further developments of the game to come out but this is a great first step.

Well done Lebron!!

NBA 2K...Fortune Teller???

There has been a lot made of what will happen next off season in the NBA when Carmelo Anthony and most notably Lebron James go on the free agent market. Lebron even coming off of back to back championships with the Miami Heat can still opt out of his contract and become a free agent. Destinations like New York and Cleveland are possible but LA?? It doesn’t make sense for Lebron to go there but if its possible then it just might happen. We all know Lebron has proven himself to be diss loyal in the past so anything is possible.

Now I am no believer of good or bad omens but NBA 2K is known as “The most realistic basketball simulation on the market” and depending on your perspective then 2K Sports is the bearer of good news or bad news as it pertains to Lebron James (See Photo Below)

Let It Fly: Danny Green & Gary Neal

Last night in game 3 of the NBA Finals the San Antonio Spurs shot the Miami Heat out of the building in a 113-77 blowout. The fact that I'm even calling it a blowout should be considered a compliment to Heat fans they gave up an NBA Finals record 16 Three Pointers. I have never seen any team shoot the ball like I saw Danny Green and Gary Neal last night who shot a combined 13-19 from behind the 3 point line.

It's great to see guys like that succeed especially in the NBA Finals. I remember when Lebron James played in Cleveland and Danny Green wore street clothes he barely ever suited up for the Cavs and was cut a few years ago. Green a 2009 National Champion of the UNC Tarheels played for 3 D-league teams and had a stint playing in Slovenia and now he is dropping 27 points in the NBA Finals against the NBA's best team, you just can't write this stuff.

Gary Neal like Green has had a journey and a half to the NBA. After playing basketball at La Salle and Townson he went undrafted in 2007 and played three seasons of pro basketball overseas all before Signing with the Spurs in 2010. After proving himself in his 1^st season he was rewarded with NBA All-Rookie 1^st team honors. Now he is looking video game like in the NBA Finals dropping 24 points while him and Danny Green outscore the Heat Big three 51-43.

These dudes could have stopped playing pro basketball years ago but stuck to it, worked their tail off and waited patiently for a chance. Now They are key contributors on a team looking to stay a perfect 5 for 5 in the NBA Finals and dethrone the best player in the world and defending champs from repeating. So this is a great example for all those basketball players who want to make it stick to your dreams, work hard and wait for your chance and maybe you could be the next Danny Green or Gary Neal.

Lebron James Gets Cover on NBA 2K14 (Reaction)

So Thursday night as I firmly plopped my behind on my couch in anticipation for the NBA Finals I nonchalantly went on Facebook because you know I got a page to admin and maintain. So as I'm scrolling down my news feed I came across some disturbing news. The picture you see above this paragraph made me eat my heart out. It pictured the basketball player I hate more then anything pictured on something I love dearly. Of course I am speaking about Lebron James being featured on the cover of NBA 2K14.

Not going to lie that caught me off guard but I had a game to watch so I didn't care for now. The Spurs took game 1 92-88 due in large part to some great execution down the stretch from the team and a big time shot by Tony Parker.

After the game ended and I had gotten over the fact that LBJ would be on the cover of 2K but it got even worse. I did some research on some of the new features in the game and I got even more pissed. Apparently they are having a new game mode this year which features Lebron called “Path to greatness”. ARE YOU SERIOUS?!! This guy is a phenomenal talent and the biggest thing in basketball from a marketing standpoint but to have all this already is premature his story is still being written. In other words he isn't Michael Jordan.

2K picked the perfect time to put him on the cover though his popularity is at an all-time high and they're are less people like myself who despise the guy so they will sell really high especially with this being his 1^st ever video game cover. They have something called the “Lebron Pack” where you can buy the game for more money and get exclusive features such as Lebron James in blacktop mode and his signature skill. So 2k is going to max out his rating most likely, make him unbeatable and basically make him immortal, well being the cocky 2K player I am fearful of nobody I responded by saying this on Twitter to Lebron Fans who play 2K and 2K Sports.

 guys are goin to give Lebron all these signature skills and max out his rating but he is still getting crossed up by Kemba Walker #TrustMe
— Brendan Taylor (@ThatboyBTaylor) June 7, 2013

Btw hit that follow button if you have a twitter and I'll follow back!

Kidds Off The Hill: Grant Hill and Jason Kidd Retire

Everything in life has a transitional period and in the game of basketball it's no different. Over the last few seasons fans like myself have seen guys they grew up watching play retire from the game such as Shaq, Rasheed Wallace and Baron Davis. In the last few days 2 players who I grew up with and have been in the league for as long as I can remember retired from pro basketball. I am speaking about Grant Hill and Jason Kidd of course, who both shared rookie of the year honors in 1994.

Both of these talented players careers take on a different meaning. For Grant Hill it was a bunch of “What if's” due to injuries throughout the course of his career he was never ever able to hit his peak as a basketball player. For Jason Kidd he was a game changer who reinvented himself several times and took the perennial cellar dwelling New Jersey Nets to new heights taking them to the finals twice. Regardless of what happened though both had their fair share of great moments on the basketball court.

Grant Hill had all the hype coming in from Duke capturing 2 national championships garnering hype from many of the biggest names in basketball at that time. “He is simply a marvelous player who can do it all” Larry Brown said. He at one point was heralded as “The next Michael Jordan” and had the explosiveness to prove it just go on youtube. In fact Michael Jordan back in an interview stated the following about Grant Hill”I think Grant Hill's skills are unbelievable, he is definitely the type of player that can take over a game, he's probably top 4 players in the game today”. To actually get that praise from the guy you are being compared is a big deal.

For all the praise Grant received he also was unable to show the NBA world what his ceiling was due to many injuries. From 1999- 2008 Grant had problems staying on the court and never played 75+ games in that time frame. It makes you wonder what a healthy Grant Hill and Tracy Mcgrady could have done in Orlando with the Magic. They most likely wold of been contenders in the east year in year out.

There are many ways we can look at the career of Grant Hill. We can say “Here is Grant Hill who couldn't stay healthy, who let the fans down, Fila down and never maximized his potential”. Or we can say “Here is Grant Hill who didn't live up to the hype but was still a 7 time All-Star who fought his injuries to the very end to still become a productive role player in the league". If you want to know how great Grant Hill was at one point look at the tweet from ESPN's stats twitter account down below and you will see how great Grant was.

Grant Hill retires. He's 1 of 6 players to average 20-5-5 in his first 6 NBA seasons.It's an impressive list twitter.com/ESPNStatsInfo/…
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 2, 2013

Jason Kidd is different then Grant though he had hype but was more durable to prove it to be true. He came into the league as a guy who could do a little of everything Score,pass, rebound and was a bit bigger and stronger then most point guards which allowed him to get 107 Triple-Doubles over the course of his career.

Jason Kidd will always be known to most basketball fans as the guy who elevated the then New Jersey Nets franchise to new heights taking them to the finals 2 times. The only problem is the Nets ran into the 2 biggest dynasty’s of this era in the Lakers and Spurs but make no mistake about it Kidd was a game changer. Whether with Vince Carter, Kenyon Martin, Richard Jefferson or Kerry Kittles Kidd made the Nets a must watch team in the NBA and played some of the most exciting basketball of the 2000's leading the league in assists 5 times in his tenure with the Nets. So to the Brooklyn Nets Organization retire #5 at the Barclay’s center.

Of course all the accolades with Nets were great but the legacy of Kidd was cemented in 2011 when as a member of the Dallas Mavericks where he earned his 1^st and only championship ring beating Lebron James and the Miami Heat. From that part of his career to now he had to transition his game from a guy who liked to get to the basket to a guy who became a shooter and worked tirelessly to improve his perimeter J. As he leaves the league he is the 3^rd greatest shooter in NBA History which is a testament to how hard he worked as a player.

So to the careers of Jason Kidd and Grant Hill I on behalf of many basketball fans say so long, It was a joy to watch you play.

Graduation Cards

As I am sitting here typing this it is 1:05 PM and I am less then 5 hours from graduating South Broward High School. Usually with graduation comes gifts, money and a bunch of hoopla from the family. My Mom chose to gave me money and being the avid Sports collector I am decided to take my behind to Hollywood Collectibles and spent part of my new found riches on some cardboard heroes of basketball, so lets begin!

Card #1 Sky Box 1990 Magic Johnson

People talk about how versatile Lebron James is and sometimes my man Magic gets lost in the shuffle. This man was also 6'9 played multiple positions and changed basketball with the offense he ran as point guard of the “ShowTime” Lakers. I found this card Digging through a dime box of assorted cards.

Price: 2$

Card #2: 1997 Topps Tim Duncan (Rookie)

The San Antonio Spurs are in the finals again and if Tim Duncan is to capture another ring it will make 5 and further cement him as one of the greatest the NBA has ever seen. Some people don't really appreciate his greatness the way I do so when finding this card I flipped. The Cards I gt is a rookie card and probably one of the best cards in my miniscule yet evolving basketball collection.

Price: 4$

Card #3: Sky Box 1991 Michael Jordan

Of all the cards I purchased yesterday none are as visually cultivating as this cardboard treasure which features MJ basking in the glory of what was his 1^st of 6 championship rings with the Chicago Bulls. The card speaks for itself.

Price: 2$

Card #4: 2007 Upperdeck Artifacts Jason Kidd Jersey Card

Of all the cards this one is definitely my favorite for many reasons. Its the only card I purchased not in a dime box. It was actually inside one of those shelfs with other nice expensive cards I can't afford. This was a steal though, I had a little more money then usual so I decided to splurge a bit. This card is rare numbered 12/100 so the feeling I have of purchasing something rare is comforting. Also Watching Kidd with the Nets growing up along with guys like Vince Carter,Keyon Martin and Richard Jefferson was some of the most fun I ever had watching basketball.

Price: 10$

So all in a another great day of purchases at Hollywood Collectibles. Now it's time to start practicing throwing my cap up in the air at the conclusion of graduation.