The Best Mitchell & Ness NBA Caricature Shirts

Since 1904 Philadelphia based company Mitchell&Ness has been committed to making top of the line vintage sports clothing. The apparel variety ranges from Jerseys to Hats to even scarf's of your favorite teams. Some people like myself can't afford a 300$ vintage jersey of our favorite players so we look for a different alternative that satisfies our hunger to properly represent our favorite teams. I'm obviously a huge NBA fan so a throwback Larry Johnson Jersey is out of the question due to my current economic status but that's where the ever popular caricature t-shirts come in. At only 30$ plus tax caricature shirts pay tribute to some of the NBA's greatest players of yesteryear by cartoonizing every part of them along with your favorite teams logo. So if your NBA fan consider this countdown of caricature shirts your guide for smart purchases of fan apparel...lets get started.

  Larry Bird (Boston Celtics)

Larry Bird won 3 championships in his time with the Boston Celtics and is one of the best players the game has ever seen. If you're a Celtics fan who was a Bird fan and don't have the most money in the world then this shirt is perfect for you.  Mitchell & Ness shirts are comfortable and crafted at a high level. This shirt like many does a great job of painting the picture of what "Larry Legend" looked like when he had more hair and his mustache was thicker.

Patrick Ewing (New York Knicks)

Patrick Ewing never won any championships but was still a great player for the Knicks in his tenure. The Knicks in the 90's boasted one of the most physical front lines ever with guys like Anthony Mason, Charles Oakley and Ewing himself.  This is a great shirt surely you will see a few around Madison Square Garden among Knicks diehards.

Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers)

In the 80's the "Showtime" Lakers ran by Magic Johnson changed basketball. Magic was a great passer it almost seemed like he tried to out do his previous years highlight tape every time he stepped onto the floor in the Forum. Great shirt and the fact that this one has no sleeves makes it very suitable for people who live in LA.

Hakeem Olajuwon (Houston Rockets)

Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon is hands down the greatest player in Houston Rockets franchise history. Hakeem on the shirt looks just like him these days. I feel like for any Rockets fan that lived that era of basketball that this is a must have shirt. Hakeem is Houston Houston and just the image of this shirt should conjure visuals of his patented "Dream Shake" move or the back to back championships Houston Captured in the 90's

Shawn Kemp (Seattle Supersonics)

Although Seattle no longer has an NBA team one glimpse  at this shirt of Shawn Kemp should bring smiles and marries of all of the rim rocking dunks he threw down in the green and yellow .This shirt does a great job with details capturing Kemp in his essence all the way down to his Reebok Kamikazes. Kemp along with Gary Payton certainly represented a great time for the city of Seattle in its basketball history. Hopefully they bring back a team.

Dennis Rodman (Chicago Bulls)

In the 90's the Bulls were one of the most iconic teams and Dennis Rodman was one of basketballs most iconic personalities. Many people love the Bulls worldwide so this shirt should appeal to most people who followed the Bulls in the great era of winning. Dennis Rodman was an exceptional re bounder.

Shaquille O'Neal (Orlando Magic)

The Magic in the 90's were one of the most exciting teams with combination of Penny Hardaway and Shaq. In the time he spent in a Magic Jersey Shaq literally brought down the rim and practically broke it in half. Very few things were more entertaining to watch in the NBA than Shaq in the 90's.   

Allen Iverson (Philadelphia 76ers)

What makes a great caricature shirt in my opinion is when the person or in this case NBA player's personality or signature style can be depicted through a visual. This shirt does that perfectly Allen Iverson has the headband on, you see the corn rose rolled tight around his head and obviously his signature "let me hear you" hand above the ear move that got the fans in Philly going on many occasions is being displayed on this shirt. Iverson was excited and he did a lot for the Sixers, just wish he would have brought home a championship.

Julius Erving (Philadelphia 76ers)

Dr.J-Julius Erving what more can you say this guy did so much for basketball and is such a big part of the Sixers history and tradition. The afro, the hang time, the dunks he was so ahead of his time. My dad tells me stories about watching the Erving on television as he was growing up so through the years I have grown to respect Julius. I actually own this shirt and its one of my favorite basketball shirts.

Larry Johnson (Charlotte Hornets)

"Grandmama" was a tremendous basketball player, he along with Alonzo Mourning and Muggsy Bouges represents a golden era in Charlotte basketball. The coolest thing outside of the Hornets teal on this shirt is the always recognizable gold tooth LJ had, its featured on the shirt. People loved those Hornets teams and Mitchell and Ness does a great job of making great nostalgic clothing of the Charlotte Hornets. Speaking as a Hornets fan I have this shirt and it is a must have. Looking forward to the Hornets return next year in Charlotte.

All in all these are all great shirts for NBA fans and if you are into sneakers they go really well with many different  Nikes, Reeboks, Jordans and Adidas in terms of matching. So hope you enjoyed the post and use it as a reference if your shopping for quality fan apparel.

Throwback Thursday: NBA Rappers

Today July 4^th happens to be the release date for the much anticipated “Magna Carta holy grail” album from rapper/mogul Jay-Z. He has 13 career#1 albums and love him or hate him he is a legend in the world of hip-hop. They say all rappers want to be basketball players and all basketball players want to be rappers well thats actually happened with guys like Ron Artest, Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant and Chris Webber all trying their hand at rapping. NBA players who rap will be the subject of today’s Throwback Thursday.

Some NBA players have a skill for rhyming and others should be grateful they can play ball at a high level. The most notable NBA MC is former Lakers big man Shaquille O'neal who has one platinum and one gold album. He has done songs with hip hop legends Ice Cube, Wu-Tang Clan and also Kobe Bryant. He is no legend but Shaq certainly has had his moments like in the song off his platinum album “Shaq Diesel” in a song titled “I'm Outstanding”. O'neal has done literally everything you could do for a basketball player business wise but this seemed like he genuinely loved rapping. Check the video below to see young Shaq doing his thing.

Ron Artest Like Shaq represents some of the good for NBA Rappers but to a lesser extent. He never had any platinum albums or gold albums or any critically acclaimed albums but he did have some success with his song “Champion” that he released after the Lakers captured the title in 2010. The song made its way on to NBA 2K11 and became the most popular song in the game instantly earning millions of views on Youtube.

Guys like Kevin Durant just do it for fun. He doesn’t have any albums but you can tell that his flow mirrors his playing style on the court which is silky smooth. Although he won't impress you lyrically he isn't as bad as say Kobe Bryant in his song with Tyra Banks. In his song “Worried about Tomorrow” he shows you that he is a legit rapper, Ive even heard people say “KD has bars”.

One guy who I personally liked out of the NBA Rappers was Sacramento Kings great Chris Webber who was featured on west coach legend Kurupt's song “Gangsta Gangsta” its not that bad and he looks and sounds like he knows what he is doing. Had Webber put his time into rhyming like he did as a baller who know he would have turned out.

Allen Iverson might be the only guy on this list who looks like both a rapper and a basketball player at the same time but he had his moments on tracks like “40 bars”. Iverson's music can pretty much be summed on how he did things on and off the court which was his way.

Kobe Braynt has a pretty funny rap career he is most famous for his self titled song “K.O.B.E” featuring Tyra Banks which pretty much is the biggest joke when it comes to NBA rappers. What most people don't realize though is that he is actually a dope rapper on skill alone he might be the best rapper on the list. He a did song with Shaq titled “3x dope” he goes raps under the moniker “K-raw”. In the song he had the 1^st verse and to be quite honest it didn't even sound like Kobe Bryant he sounded like an underground rapper that knew what he was doing. So in terms of Kobe Bryant's rap career, he is trolling all of you fools. Check the videos below to see what I’m speaking about.

The Bad

The Good

So NBA players are rappers too but some of them need to stick to their day job because they aren't going to touch Jay-Z.......Unless Kobe comes out of retirement.

Video Blog: Shaq Soda Review

Basketball legend Shaquille O'neal and the Arizona company teamed up to make "Soda Shaq" And on a recent run to my local 7-11 I purchased two for myself and friend Paul as we took the time to review the Vanilla cream soda flavor from the basketball legend. It was our very 1st time trying it so all the reactions we give you are authentic. Enjoy the video and don't forget to leave your comments down below along with subscribing.

Game 7

In sports nothing is more scintillating than a game 7 regardless of the sport and that’s exactly what we will have tomorrow in the NBA between the defending champion Miami Heat and the Indiana Pacers. For both teams tomorrow night will represent 2 completely different things.

For the Miami Heat Tomorrow represents them getting back where they want to be for the 3^rd straight year and that’s the NBA Finals. When Lebron James made “The Decision” to come to Miami 2 seasons ago he didn't hesitate to make guarantee’s saying they would win “Not 1, not 2, not 3, not 4, not 5, not 6, not 7 championships” and etc. This put the basketball world in a frezny causing people in media and blogs to scrutinize every little move they made. We have seen the perception of Lebron change in 2 seasons from “He's a choke artist” to “He is the best player on the planet and he is now a clutch player". The Heat are 1 for 2 in the NBA Finals during the big 3 era. So tomorrow represents either a step closer to success or the perception of Lebron possibly reverting back to what it used to be. So all the pressure is on Miami to win tomorrow.

For the Indiana Pacers this series has been about team leaders Paul George and Roy Hibbert rising to the occasion and elevating their games to new heights to match the level of the Miami Heat. Whether threw facial dunks or tenacious offensive rebounds Hibbert and George have

done a great job of bouncing back after tough losses and making this thing go 7 games. Should the Pacers take game 7 they will be on their way to the franchises 1^st NBA finals appearance since 2000 where they were swept by a Laker team in the process of starting a dynasty. It would be a huge deal because nobody picked the Pacers to even be here and they continue to prove people wrong. For a franchise that has a history of being stopped by greats like Jordan and Shaq if they can knock off Lebron tomorrow it will be one off the biggest accomplishments in franchise history. Tomorrows game means a lot for the Indiana Pacer franchise but all the pressure is on the Heat.

So Game 7 tomorrow, legacy's will be written and history will take the place. Will Lebron and the Heat remind the world of why they are the best team in basketball? or will Paul George and Roy Hibbert make you regret not paying attention to them in the first place?

Gary Payton: Most Complete Point Guard Ever

Recently Gary Payton was elected into the basketball Hall Of Fame and it was more then well deserved. I Payton who is known to be the Greatest Defensive Point Guard Of All-Time and the only one to win defensive player of the year still may not get his just due in terms of how great he was. I'm sure if you are sitting in a barbershop talking basketball like many do across the country and you guys are having an argument about who the greatest Point Guard Of All-Time is I'm sure people will name plenty of guys who are more flashy like Magic Johnson or Isaiah Thomas. They might name 6 or 7 guys before you hear the name Gary Payton. They're are plenty of Great Point guards in NBA history but is there one who is as well balanced on both sides of the Floor as Gary Payton? In other words does the Offense matchup with the defense.

Gary Payton is the Most complete well balanced guard of All-time. He could command and facilitate an offense along with scoring the basketball and guarding your best player. GP's impact in his prime stretches far beyond the stat sheet though. In Sports we talk about guys in sports who have “Intangibles”, guys who do things that don't show up on stat sheets. Gary has plenty of intangibles particularly on the defensive side of the ball. Many guys in the NBA only excel in 1 type of defense whether it's man to man or team defenses such as a zone defense. Gary had the ability to excel at both and do it at an elite level, I think Kevin Johnson said it best” You think of guys with great hands, like Maurice Cheeks and Derek Harper. Gary is like that. But he's also a great individual defender and a great team defender. He has all three components covered. That's very rare”. It's those abilities coupled with the fact that he is one of the best trash talkers in NBA history that Make Payton's impact stretch far beyond the stat sheet. Dominant Center Shaquille O'Neal expressed the following about Gary's trash talking “He Didn't care, The crazy thing was the way he was on the court was the same way off of it”.

Payton is a world class trash talker and knew how to get into peoples head but there is no greater evidence this than when he took on Michael Jordan in

Game 4 of the 1996 NBA Finals. In the first 3 games Gary didn't guard MJ due to a calf injury but when the Bulls took three straight Coach George Karl decided it was time for GP to get his shot at MJ. The whole Night Gary made things tough on MJ fronting him, Forcing turnovers and just making him work for every little inch of offense. The result was a 6-19 inefficient 31% shooting Night for Jordan and everybody could see Payton was in his head. Jordan Said this after the game about his bad night and Gary Payton Guarding Him “No one can stop me, I can only stop myself. I missed some easy shots “. Things got testy in the later games with GP and MJ going face to face at each other, Gary “The Glove” got no Love from MJ.

For People who Like Stats Payton had those too. From 1992 to 1999 he averaged 2 steals a more in a game which also included averaging 2.9 steals a game in 1995-1996 which was the year he became the only Point Guard in the History of the NBA to win Defensive Player Of The Year. He was a 9 time All-Star and made 9 straight All-NBA 1^st team for defense from 1994-2002. Then he cemented his legacy when he won a championship with 2006 Miami Heat as a role player.

Payton did a lot of things that no player or Point Guard has done in this league ever. Lakers legend and Hall of Famer may have said it best about Payton though “Probably as complete a guard as there ever was”. Payton could talk but knew how to back it up, he feared nobody and talked to everybody. Gary Payton is the Most well balanced point guard of All-Time......Unless your in a barbershop.