Coach Phil Jackson picks his top athlete in NBA

Probably not Kobe Bryant, nor Shaquille O'Neal, nor Michael Jordan, Phil Jackson picks 'The Worm' Dennis Rodman as the top athlete that he ever coached. Skills-wise, Rodman is far below than any other coached coached by Phil Jackson, but as Phil Jakcson said in the recent speech in the University of North Dakota as part of the convocation in which he received an honorary degree, [Rodman] could probably play a 48-minute game and play the 48th minute stronger than the first minute of the game," Jackson told the crowd at UND.

Jimenez Retires from Spanish National Team

Spain’s long-time captain Carlos Jimenez has decided to retire from the national team. The 32-year-old Jimenez, who averaged 5.8 points and 4.8 rebounds at the Olympics, signed off with a silver medal at the Beijing Games.Jimenez played 25 minutes in arguably the greatest gold-medal game of all time, a 118-107 defeat to the United States, scoring 12 points and grabbing three rebounds. Jimenez made his debut with the national team in 1997 and went on to earn 187 caps.The Unicaja Malaga forward led Spain to silver medals at the 1999, 2003 and 2007 EuroBaskets, bronze in 2001, and gold at the 2006 FIBA World Championship.

Milwaukee Buck vs Golden State Warriors in China

The NBA will be back in China this October, featuring two games between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Golden State Warriors in Beijing and Guangzhou. NBA China Games 2008 will tip off in Guangzhou on Oct. 15 when the Bucks and Warriors meet at the Guangzhou Gymnasium with a capacity of 13,000. The two teams then travel to Beijing to play on Oct. 18 at the Beijing Olympic Basketball Arena, an NBA-style arena with a capacity of 17,173. Following the China Games, the multi-purpose arena is expected to host basketball games, other sporting events, concerts and festivals.NBA China Games 2008 will be the league’s third set of preseason games in China. In 2004, the NBA became the first American professional sports league to stage games in China, with two games between the Houston Rockets and the Sacramento Kings in Shanghai and Beijing. Last October, NBA China Games 2007 featured three games between the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Orlando Magic and the Team China All-Stars in Shanghai and Macao. The NBA’s first trip to China dates back to 1979 when the Washington Wizards played against the Chinese National Team.

NBA Players Grab a lot of Medals in the Olympics

Aside from the US National Players bagging the gold medal, there are so many NBA players of the other countries earned a medal in the recently concluded Beijing Olympics. A total of 42 current and former NBA players were on the 12 Olympic rosters, the highest number since NBA players began participating in the Olympics in 1992. Ten Olympic teams had at least one current or former player on their roster.


2008 NBA MEDAL WINNERS

Gold Medalists
Player (NBA Team) Team
Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets) United States
Carlos Boozer (Utah Jazz) United States
Chris Bosh (Toronto Raptors) United States
Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers) United States
Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic) United States
LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers) United States
Jason Kidd (Dallas Mavericks) United States
Chris Paul (New Orleans Hornets) United States
Tayshaun Prince (Detroit Pistons) United States
Michael Redd (Milwaukee Bucks) United States
Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat) United States
Deron Williams (Utah Jazz) United States

Silver Medalists
Jose-Manuel Calderon (Toronto Raptors) Spain
Rudy Fernandez (Portland Trail Blazers) Spain
Jorge Garbajosa (Toronto Raptors 07 – 08) Spain
Marc Gasol (Memphis Grizzlies) Spain
Pau Gasol (Los Angeles Lakers) Spain
Raul Lopez (Utah Jazz 02 – 05) Spain
Juan Carlos Navarro (Memphis Grizzlies 07 – 08) Spain

Bronze Medalists
Carlos Delfino (Toronto Raptors 07 – 08, Detroit Pistons 04 – 07) Argentina
Manu Ginobili (San Antonio Spurs) Argentina
Andres Nocioni (Chicago Bulls) Argentina
Fabricio Oberto (San Antonio Spurs) Argentina
Luis Scola (Houston Rockets) Argentina

Chinese National Team Member signed with the Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed Sun Yue to a multi-year contract, it was announced today. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not released.Originally selected by the Lakers in the second round (40th overall) of 2007 NBA draft, the 6-9 guard started for the Chinese National Team this past month in the men’s basketball tournament at the Beijing Olympics. In six games, Sun averaged 6.8 points, 1.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.33 steals in 28.0 minutes. Playing for the Beijing Aoshen Olympians of the American Basketball Association for the past three seasons, Sun, 23, was named First Team All-ABA in both 2007 and 2008 while earning Second-Team All-ABA honors in 2006. Posting a 12-point, 14-rebound, 12-assist, 8-block, 4-steal triple-double against the L.A. Aftershock during his rookie season in the ABA (2005-06), Sun averaged 13.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 10.5 assists in 2006-07 when the team played its home games at Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, CA before moving to Singapore for the 2007-08 season.