Guangdong sweep Shandong to win 8th Chinese Basketball Association Championship

The Chinese Basketball league is now 18 years old, just entering its state in adulthood. And in its 18th season, the league took another big jump into respectability, featuring a better-than-ever mix of new superstar players and well-coached teams. But by the time the dust settled and the CBA Finals came to an end, the glory belonged to one of the league’s traditional powerhouses again. The Guangdong Southern Tigers, in their 11th consecutive trip to the CBA Finals (!), won the title in a dominating 4-0 sweep over the Shandong Lions. This victory gave Guangdong their eighth CBA Championship, tying them with the Bayi Rockets for most championships won in China.

After a surprise loss to the Beijing Ducks in the Finals last year, Guangdong made sure that there will be no upsets this time around. Guangdong beat Shandong by an average of 13 points per game in the four-game sweep. Yi Jianlian of the Southern Tigers – who was named the domestic MVP of the league – also won the Finals MVP award, averaging 20 points and 11.3 rebounds per game in the Finals. In the clinching game at home in Guangdong, Yi had 24 and 13 to lead five players in double figures to win the game 94-74 and lift the trophy.

The result was never in doubt. Guangdong have been the most consistently dominant team in China for over a decade, and after a surprise loss to Beijing in the Finals last year, bounced back this season on a mission for redemption. Guangdong went 28-4 through the course of the season, finishing at top place in the league. Guangdong have the advantage of featuring the top Chinese players, many of whom comprise the backbone of China’s national team. Returning from an unsuccessful NBA stint, Yi Jianlian was back to becoming the poster-boy of the league and the best player for Guangdong. The team also featured Wang Shipeng and Zhu Fangyu. Unlike many other teams in China, Guangdong made better use of the foreigners in their squad, who weren’t asked to dominate but asked to become a part of the system. In the playoffs, Ike Diogu and Donald Sloan became an important part of their rotation, while Terrence Williams was cut at the end of the season and joined the Boston Celtics.

Guangdong continued their dominant run into the post-season, going undefeated throughout to win a championship, defeating Zhejiang and Xinjiang 3-0 and 3-0 in the first and second rounds respectively before the Finals sweep over Shandong.

It was the end of a fairytale season for Shandong. The Lions ended last season as one of the worst teams in the league, but the addition of Jordanian Zaid Abbas to the core of American players Jackson Vroman and Pooh Jeter helped this team finish in second place in the season and pull an surprising 3-0 victory over the defending champions Beijing in the semi-finals of the playoffs.

Guangdong’s victory once again highlights the disparity of talent and coaching in the league. Out of the 18 CBA seasons, two teams – Bayi and Guangdong – have won 16 of the titles. Bayi dominated the league in its early days, but ever since other teams began to pay big money to talented foreign players, Bayi – the Army team who doesn’t allow foreigners – slowed down. And ever since, the championship has mostly belonged to Guangdong. The only other teams in China to lift the titles have been the Shanghai Sharks with Yao Ming back in 2002, and the Beijing Ducks led by Stephon Marbury last year.

This season, which began with the hype of former NBA All Stars like Tracy McGrady and Gilbert Arenas joining the league, finally belonged to a Chinese player, Yi Jianlian. Yi, who got his start in Guangdong, tried his luck in the NBA, and then returned to Guangdong and to glory again. The scary thing about Guangdong’s dominance is that the team and the system seem to have gotten stronger as the season progressed, and there is no reason why they wouldn’t be at the top of the hill once again this time next year. Even a potential loss of Yi to the NBA (if he gets a chance to return) may not stand in their way.

Zero Sum Game: Gilbert Arenas resurrects his career in Shanghai - Q&A

I wrote this article for SLAM China magazine, who published the Chinese translation of the feature as the back cover story in their Issue # 102. Here is the original English version of the story and Q-and-A, first published on SLAMOnline.com on March 14, 2013.

Zero.

That’s the number behind Gilbert Arenas’ newest jersey, right below Chinese characters that probably say his name, but Arenas has to ask his agent to confirm if that’s true. It’s his cover photo shoot for SLAM China and—despite the past few years away from the limelight—he’s as comfortable being a star in front of the camera as he’s ever been. It’s Shanghai in 2013, and it’s far away in space and time from the NBA world in which he once thrived. Like most foreigners in China, he has been assigned a different, Chinese name by the media and the fans: Gi Le. It’s a new country, a new fanbase, brand new teammates.

The injuries still haven’t fully healed, but this year, Arenas was back on the court, back playing big minutes for the Shanghai Sharks and back putting up big numbers. He had big scoring nights—like the time he put up 45 points against Fujian—and streaky scoring nights—like the time he scored 12 points in about two minutes against Guangdong. He averaged close to 10 rebounds a game and he’s had clutch moments, like the time he hit a game-winner on the road against Jiangsu. He was smiling on the court and punking his teammates off of it.

Gilbert Arenas seemed to be Gilbert Arenas once again.

The past five dark years seem forgotten. Here is a man re-embracing the game he loves, re-embracing the fans who love him back, and re-embracing himself. Here is a man re-embracing Zero.

Zero.

The number that, when drawn, begins and ends at the same point, closing in a neat circle. 0. The number that by itself represents no value but in its completion represents a complete 360-degree journey that starts and ends at the same point.

In the NBA, there were All-Star appearances; Playoffs performances; a blog and social media outreach that made him so popular’ hilarious catch-phrases, nicknames and pranks; a dangerous jester who was jovial and happy off the court and a stone-cold monster on it. There was love and there was admiration. There was a rise from the NBA Draft’s second round pick to the NBA’s elite.

And then came the fall.

There were injuries. There was failure. There were losses. There was a gun in a locker room. There was a suspension. There was probation. There was a big contract that was never fulfilled. There was hate and there was criticism.

Arenas’ time with the Wizards was over, and he never seemed to recover from the injuries, the gun-incident with Javaris Crittenton, the suspensions that followed. He started the 2010-11 season by changing his jersey number to ‘9’, hoping for new beginnings.

Over the next few years, he played scarce minutes as a backup for the Orlando Magic and the Memphis Grizzlies. The fire was gone. The ‘Hibachi’ nights—where his shooting hand was so hot that he hilariously compared himself to a Japanese frill—were now few and far between. Gone were the scoring outbursts, the big shoe contracts, and gone was the jovial prankster. Number 9 became Number 1 and then Number 10. A superstar became a journeyman.

So he took a calculated risk. He followed the footsteps of other former NBA All-Stars who itched to continue playing the game they loved at a high level but were denied the opportunities they used to enjoy in their heydays. Like Stephon Marbury and, most recently, Tracy McGrady, Arenas came to China.

He was signed to the Shanghai Sharks, the team owned by the greatest Chinese player of all time, Yao Ming. Before his NBA accomplishments, Yao lead the Sharks to their greatest stretch in the CBA, making the Finals from 2000-2002 and winning a championship in his final year there. The Sharks have been on a steady decline since Yao’s departure, but in Arenas, the former-player-turned-owner brought in the team’s biggest ray of hope since himself.

Things didn’t exactly go as planned. Six minutes into his Shanghai debut against Stephon Marbury’s championship-winning Beijing Ducks, Arenas pulled out with a groin injury. He missed the next nine games, came back in mid-January, but three games later was sidelined with an aggravation to his groin once again. He ended up missing another eight contests, and during this time, he flew back to the US for regenokine treatment shots.

Ever since his return, Arenas has finally been able to string together a long stretch of games, and appeared for the Sharks in the last 11 games of the season. But it may be too little too late; the Sharks played 17 out of their total 32 regular season games without their star player. In a league that relies heavily on the contribution of foreign players, the Sharks stumbled to the bottom of the CBA rankings with only DJ White (now signed to the Celtics) playing consistent minutes all season.

Despite the failings, there seems to be a sense of optimism in the Sharks’ locker room, boosted by Arenas’ late season return and the energy that he has been bringing both on and off the floor. Former NBAers and other foreigners in China usually go one of two ways: there are the types who live alienated to the other Chinese players, using China just as a vehicle to get a shot back into the NBA; and then there are the types who make a concentrated effort to become a part of the culture around them and hint at the possibility of a long-term stay. Stephon Marbury—who has been in China four years and won a championship last season—is amongst the latter. Arenas has taken the early steps to become a part of his team, too, and not just a temporary-foreigner-for-hire.

Arenas has also taken an active role in his relationship with the fans in China. After flirting with numbers 9, 1 and 10, he gave the people what they wanted—Agent Zero—and adopted number 0 for his jersey in Shanghai. Always known to be an entertaining—if mildly controversial—presence on social media, Arenas opened a Weibo account even before he had a guaranteed contract in China, and has since been interacting with his fanbase directly and personally. For one home game in late January, he even bought 888 tickets to hand out free for his quickest-responding Weibo followers. He is seen around town in Shanghai regularly, from malls and electronic showrooms to expat-favorite restaurants.

“Not all American players in China can really immerse themselves into the team,” says Simon Cote, an assistant coach with the Sharks. “But Gilbert has been very open-minded about China. He has done a great job in really getting into the mix.”

Cote adds, “We definitely needed him this season, because in China, it’s tough to win with just one American in your team. But even though he couldn’t be on the floor all time, he has helped us in creating a great team atmosphere and given confidence to some of the younger guys.”

The CBA regular season ended in mid-February with the Sharks in the bottom rungs of the final standings. Like most foreigners in China, Arenas’ future here is still uncertain. But he seems to be comfortable in his new life in Shanghai—China’s most cosmopolitan city—and his rejuvenated role as his team’s primary scorer. Coach Cote remains optimistic about his future.

“I think that he wants to come back to the team,” Cote says. “It really depends on who the Head Coach is next season and what system he plays. Foreigners in China get better the longer they stay. It took Stephon Marbury three years to start playing at a championship level. Gilbert hasn’t been here too long, but I think that there is definitely a chance that he can return.

The circle seems to be nearly complete. The number 0 has returned to the back of his jersey. And the character zero has made its way around, a complete 360 degrees, from rise to fall to rise again. He may not be “Hibachi” any longer, but he’s still got a hot hand, is still capable of grilling defenders that stand in his way, still able to be the type of teammate that can bring joy to himself and the players around him.

He is back to Zero.

With a few weeks left in the season, Arenas spoke to SLAM in Shanghai about settling into his new city, forging relationships with his new teammates, his experiences in the CBA, interacting with fans via social networks, and much more.

SLAM: First off: How are you enjoying Shanghai?

Gilbert Arenas: It’s been going good. I’ve finally had a chance to enjoy myself over the last few weeks, and that’s because I’ve been playing. When you’re playing you get to actually go out and enjoy. But before I just stayed in the room—you know the whole time it was like, why have fun if you’re hurt?

SLAM: I’ve heard you have been out and about around town, which is something that foreign players don’t do too often in China. They usually just stay in.

GA: Yup. China is known for electronics and I love electronics. I’m usually at the DVD store. I’m always the mall, at the electronics store, buying video games and stuff like that.

SLAM: Well, it’s great to see you back, and back on the court. What is your role like with the Sharks? Are you looking to facilitate more or do you have a green light on offense?

GA: It’s a green light. I can go out there and basically do what I wanna do. But you still gotta win games and you still gotta help your teammates get better. It’s not about this year because we’re so far from the playoffs; it’s about getting them prepared for next season.

SLAM: I’ve also noticed that your rebound numbers have skyrocketed.

GA: It’s just part of the game. I’m just playing, being at the right place at the right time. I think I had four-to-five double-doubles in a row. I think my guys are boxing out against good big players, so someone has to rebound.

SLAM: You were known to always have a good relationship with your teammates in the NBA. From the looks of it, it seems that trend is continuing in Shanghai, too.

GA: Well, when it’s your teammate, you’re around them more than your family members. You’re there with them on long bus rides, in locker rooms. So if you don’t have a good relationship with them, you’re at a loss. Even though we have that language barrier, we still get our points across.

SLAM: Some jokes need no translation.

GA: Some jokes don’t!

SLAM: It’s been a tough season for the Sharks and for yourself, especially considering your injury layoff. The season is so short, you miss 10 games, and you miss a third of the season. How did you deal with being off the court?

GA: It was rough, man. You know, when I came, it was like everything was rushed. I didn’t get a chance to jell with the players, the trainers, the medical staff. So once I got hurt it was like, What? Am I going back home? Am I getting cut? It was going so fast. Only these last two weeks I’ve gotten to know the players on the court. Off the court I’ve already been hanging out with them and getting to know their vibe.

SLAM: And you did go back home for a while.

GA: Yeah, I went back to get the regenokine shots. It’s what people get to take away pain and help with arthritis. So I took them thinking that it could help my groin—take away the pain, at least. Heal a little bit faster. It basically took away the pain. The injury’s still there, it just took away the pain.

SLAM: Do you feel that there’s been a return to the spring in your step since you got those shots?

GA: Nah, nah. Not even close. With the tear that’s still there, I can’t push off or jump like I want to. I can’t move well side to side. It took away everything I built on over the summer.

SLAM: But it does seem like the joy in your game is back. Being back on the court, back with teammates…

GA: You know, that’s all basketball is. If someone loves something, and you take it away, it’s like, what does he do now? What does someone do? That’s what happened with me in the last couple of years in the NBA when I went to Orlando, and then I got benched. And I was in Memphis and I wasn’t playing. It was just like, why do I wanna keep doing this? So then when I got the chance to come to China to play…OK! As long as I get to play.

SLAM: You’ve always been a step ahead when it comes to your relationship with fans. For the Guangdong game, you gave away 888 tickets to fans in Shanghai. What’s your relationship like with the fans here? How have you embraced Weibo and your fanbase in Shanghai?

GA: Weibo started off difficult because of the language barrier. I can’t read any of the stuff on it in Chinese. So Ge Yang [the team's young Chinese point guard] taught me basically how to text, change pictures, like the little things, so I can get by. Looking at it, I figured out more of it. I comment back to the fans who say things in English. The fans have been good, they make me wanna go out and play. They have always been positive; I haven’t seen anything negative at all. That’s a relief.

SLAM: But you’ve disappeared on Twitter…

GA: Yeah, yeah. Because you know what? Back in the States, I guess it’s just like, when you’re following somebody…[long pause]…As a fan, what do you expect them to do and say? You don’t want them to be who they are [laughs]. I’m a jokester, so when I was joking on Twitter, it kinda rubbed people the wrong way. And I was like, I didn’t make these up. I’m just letting you know they’re there.

And then they gave high fives to all the players who say like the most obvious textbook answers in the world. It’s like after each game, you already know what they’re going to say. If they lost: “Ahh… Tough loss.” It’s like, come on, how do you guys fall for that? And if they something that they really feel, everyone goes crazy. Like “Oohh! He’s spazzing out!” Now he gotta say sorry for saying something he really felt. It’s like, Oh lord.

SLAM: So do you have long-term plans in China? What do you see for yourself in the future here?

GA: 32 games a year. Maximum 36 minutes. That’s all I need at this point in my career. So as long as China teams want me, I’ll be here.

SLAM: Do you have any plans or hopes to tryout with the NBA again?

GA: Nah! [Shakes head vehemently] Because after this season I can enjoy my family. You know my kids are getting older. Being in the NBA, you don’t really get to enjoy your family life because you’re always on the road, you’re always gone. So, no. After this season will be the first time I’ll get to be with my kids for a long period of time.

SLAM: What’s your relationship like with Yao Ming?

GA: We have our NBA relationship. There are only a few players that you can respect and get along with. So somebody like Yao who’s lovable to everyone—I was going through my jersey collection and I realized that I had six Yao jerseys. I thing I got one jersey that had ‘Ming’ on it. It was his first year, and they got his name wrong.

SLAM: Tell me about life on the road here, about traveling around with the team.

GA: Umm…[Long Pause] Let’s just say some hotels are better than others. [Laughs] You have your ups and your downs. But that’s what you expect coming here.

SLAM: What do you foresee for yourself and the Sharks in the future? This season’s nearly over, but looking forward…

GA: Everyone’s just gotta get better in the summer. Everyone has to do their part to make themselves better. If I’m back here next year, we have to come to the training camp with a mindset of trying to win it all. Right now, you know we have glimpses of being good, and glimpses of being bad. We have our ups and downs just like any team, but we need to get our consistency level higher, and along with that will come maturity. Most of the players in the team are quite young right now. They just need one of those real good summers of working hard.

SLAM: You’ve sort of had a mini-resurrection of your career over here in China. Even though you missed games with injury, just to see you on the court and playing big minutes, it’s a great thing for the fans.

GA: Yeah, you know, that’s all that it was about. Even this year, in the beginning, I was thinking when I got hurt that this has been going on for the last three years of my career. Some little ticky-tack injuries been keeping me out for long periods of time and I’m getting benched. So when Yao decided that he wasn’t going to cut me, he was going to keep me, I was like, Thank you Lord! I can’t wait ’til I get on the court to show that I can actually play at a high level. So I’m just happy that he gave me the opportunity.

Chinese Basketball Association: Regular Season Round-Up & a Preview of the Playoffs

This article was first published on February 19, 2012 on Court Side.

China’s Basketball Calendar roughly parallels their zodiac calendar. By the first week of February, the Year of the Dragon concluded in China, and the Chinese New Year also coincided closely with the end of the regular season of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). Now begins the Year of the Snake, and the CBA playoffs will begin about two weeks into the New Year. It’s a time for fresh beginnings and new starts. Once the haze of the festival celebratory fireworks clears, the picture ahead will get clearer.

The professional league in China has taken major strides forward each year since its inception just 18 years ago. This year, a slew of more stars including Tracy McGrady, Gilbert Arenas, and the returning Yi Jianlian joined the league that already featured big names like Stephon Marbury and several big name Chinese superstars. It made for an exciting few months of basketball. The questions now begin as we look ahead: Who has the best chance of moving forward to capture the CBA championship? Who will be the big surprises and the big disappointments? Which team can leave the Dragon behind and welcome the Snake with fireworks on court?

Eight of the 17 total teams in the league have qualified for the post-season, which is set to begin on February 27th. The eight qualified teams play the first round of the playoffs in a best-of-five challenge, before moving to best-of-seven in the semi-finals and Finals, which will conclude around the end of March.

The teams who have qualified for the playoffs are: Guangdong, Shandong, Beijing, Xinjiang, Liaoning, Guangsha, Dongguan, and Zhejiang.

Last year’s finalists, winners of seven CBA championships, and by far the strongest team this season, the Guangdong Southern Tigers are looking in top form to return to the Finals for the 11th straight year! Guangdong have become China’s marquee team, featuring many of the best players from China’s national squad and boasting of the league’s best record over the past decade. Guangdong finished the 32-game 2012-13 season with just four losses, decimating nearly every team that came in their way. Guangdong feature China’s best player – Yi Jianlian – who returned to the CBA this season after an unsuccessful NBA stint to boost his already powerful side. They are perfectionists, replacing their successful coach mid-season to add an even more successful coach, and replacing their foreign import Terrence Williams at the end of the season to add Donald Sloan – formerly of the Cleveland Cavaliers – to their roster.

Beijing Ducks – led by former NBA All Star Stephon Marbury – were the surprise winners of last year’s CBA title in their first-ever visit to the Finals. Despite a few minor hiccups, Beijing continued to be amongst the league’s elite this season behind the efforts of Marbury (who was amongst the league’s leaders in points and assists), Randolph Morris, Li Gen, and Zhe Ji. Like last year, Marbury has gotten his teammates involved more in the regular season before taking over in the playoffs. Will Guangdong – or any other opponent – find a way to stop him this time around? The Ducks face Zhejiang Guangsha Lions in the first round.

Finishing in the bottom four last season, CBA’s best ‘Asian import on hire’ Zaid Abbas (from Jordan) joined the Shandong Lions this season and helped completely change the fortunes for his new side, assisting other solid foreign imports Pooh Jeter and Jackson Vroman to help take this underdog side to second place in the league. But question marks remain if this team now has the mettle to carry on their hot streak into the playoffs. Their first round opponent are the Dongguan Leopards.

Those with an outside bet to challenge for the title could be the Xinjiang Flying Tigers of China’s cold far West, featuring veteran Mengkte Bateer and talented imports James Singleton and Von Vafer. Xinjiang will first have to deal with fifth place Liaoning Dinosaurs in the first round.

The first round could see an intriguing 1 vs. 8 matchup between Guangdong and the eighth-seeded Zhejiang Golden Bulls. While Zhejiang only barely managed to scrape into the postseason ahead of Shanxi and Bayi, they feature one of the league’s most entertaining scorers in Quincy Douby as well as forgotten former NBA big man Eddy Curry.

Outside the playoff picture, one of the revelations in the CBA this season was Shavlik Randolph of the Foshan Long Lions. Randolph was the CBA’s leading scorer (32.7 ppg) and finished the season third in rebounds (14.4 rpg). He missed the playoffs, but his performance could make him in high-demand in the CBA (or the NBA?) for the future.

Also missing the playoffs were two high-profile former NBA All Stars, both of whom who saw their teams finish in the bottom four: Tracy McGrady and Gilbert Arenas. McGrady had a decent individual season for the Qingdao Eagles, but his efforts weren’t enough otherwise to save his poor team from a last place finish in the league. Gilbert Arenas showed glimpses of form for the Shanghai Sharks, but he missed more than half the season to injury and his squad suffered in the constant flux, finishing at 14th place.

But the ones left behind are the past; they’re the ones slain by the Dragon and unable to compete with the Snake. Now we look ahead: Will Guangdong get back to the top of Chinese Basketball? Will the Ducks bring the title back to China’s capital? Or will the New Year bring a new champion?

The NBA's Social Network

It's no secret anymore how much social networks have changed our lives. There are about 500 million people on Facebook - in India, we started a little late, but we quickly caught up and take over, becoming one of the biggest Facebook users in the world.

But we are still a little slower to catch on Twitter, which is kind of a pity, because nothing bridges the gap between news-maker, news-sharer, and news-reader than Twitter does. There are about 140 million tweets sent per day between millions more.

And one of the fascinating developments of the ever-twittering world is the bridging gap between the Big Guys and the Little Ones. Now, within an instant, the average Ramu on his PC in Faridabad can tell 50 Cent how awful his last album was, and have 50 Cent give a derogatory response, too.

So of course, for NBA fans, Twitter has helped to create a new kind of relationship and understanding with otherwise unapproachable superstars that live the grind of 82-game-plus-more NBA seasons half-way across the world. Not all the information has been useful or interesting (it rarely is), but through Twitter, I've learnt what certain NBA players think of their opponents, how certain players would like to address any controversy or speculation regarding themselves, their favourite foods, and mostly, a whole bunch of other incoherent garble.

The first person I followed on Twitter when I created my own account was Shaquille O'Neal (@THE_REAL_SHAQ), and it has been a very wise decision. Shaq has described himself as being 'VERY QUOTATIOUS, I PERFORM RANDOM ACTS OF SHAQNESS', and really, if you don't know what means, then you are probably at the right place, because I'm not sure Shaq knows either. Like you would expect him to be, Shaq is funny and memorable, posting pictures of himself dressed up in drag for Halloween, inviting fans in Boston to come and hang out with him, or praising Justin Bieber.

Basketball's biggest superstars are surprisingly non-existent on social networking. Kobe Bryant doesn't have an account yet. LeBron does, humbly calling himself @KingJames, but he, too, is mostly politically correct about things. I say mostly, because every once in a while, LeBron does pull a Homer - like the time he told followers to shower their hate - and they did - and then he went ahead and retweeted their comments to everyone else. His finest/worst moment so far came when he published the famous 'karma' tweet. The Cavs had lost by a franchise-worst 55 points to the Lakers, embarrasingly, when LeBron wrote "Crazy. Karma is a b****.. Gets you every time. Its not good to wish bad on anybody. God sees everything!" Karma, indeed was a bitch, since LeBron was injured a game later and Miami went on to lose four straight.

My favourite NBA-twitterer - by FAR - is Ron Artest (@ronartest). On a daily basis, Ron Ron pretty much confirms what everyone already thinks - that he is in serious, serious need of his psychiatrist! It is an unpredictable ride daily as Artest boasts about Laker winning streaks ("do u like to win? then u must be a lakers fan"), promotes his music ("Go Loco"), writes nonsensical stuff that he probably thinks of on a daily basis ("i love my pet penguin", "I can't believe I jumped in the air like a silly pirate on drugs") or talking about his favourite eating joint ("It's. 1:30 In n out is open Wozeers").

But behind all the crazy, Ron Ron does some good, too. He is known to randomely hand out tickets to his fans in LA, those who responded fastest to him on Twitter. He even follows some of his fans.

Late last night, Artest made his India connect, asking Abhishek Bachan (@juniorbachan) if he is a Laker fan after Abhishek had a Twitter conversation with Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson).

Speaking of Magic, the Laker great is pretty active on Twitter, too, giving his commentary on NBA/NCAA games, and awkwardly, adding his Dove Men Care sponsorship with each Tweet.

Another fairly regular tweeter is Steve Nash (@SteveNash) - the legendary Suns point guard proves that he is pretty much as cool in real life as you would expect him to be. Nash talks about random day-to-day issues or makes references to his favourite football team, the Tottenham Hotspurs.

As a Knick fan, I follow a bunch of New York players, including Amare Stoudemire (@Amareisreal) and new Knick Carmelo Anthony (@carmeloanthony). The most interesting Knick, though, is rookie Landry Fields (@landryfields). Fields has posted refreshingly honest thoughts and funny videos to quickly become a Twitter Superstar for the Knicks.

One of the NBA's rising young stars is Kevin Durant (@KDthunderup), who used his Twitter status to make the biggest statement in the smallest way in the last off-season, when he wrote "Exstension for 5 more years wit the thunder....God Is Great, me and my family came a long way...I love yall man forreal, this a blessing!"

Amongst the other big NBA stars, the likes of Dwyane Wade (@dwadeofficial), Chris Bosh (@chrisbosh), Dwight Howard (@DwightHoward), Pau Gasol (@paugasol), Chris Paul (@oneandonelycp3), Rajon Rondo (@RajonRondo), Paul Pierce (@paulpierce34), Blake Griffin (@blakegriffin), Kevin Love (@kevinlove), and Russel Westbrook (@russwest44)) are also on Twitter. Besides of promoting non-NBA events that may be involved in, or talking about their family and friends, the players mostly just check in and out with their fans, conversing with a few every now and then and helping to build a unique player-fan relationship.

And of course, there are the NBA's cast-aways, but via Twitter, you can be sure they are never too far. Allen Iverson (@alleniverson) makes sure to check in from Turkey occasionally, and regularly proving to the universe that, like his shooting outbursts, he has a hard time keeping the 140-character limit in check, too. From China, I here from Stephon Marbury (@StephonMarbury) sometimes, who makes sure to drop his words of positivity and optimism every now and then.

The one person that I really wish was back on social networking is Gilbert Arenas. Before anyone else did it, Arenas was the first NBA superstar to really establish the one-on-one connect with the fans through his blog. Twitter was to become the perfect platform form the Former Agent 0's hilarious musings, before his account was deleted last year, around the same time he was suspended by the NBA for the whole guns-in-the-locker incident. His tweets during the ordeal only added fuel to the fire, and suddenly, like Arenas, the account was suspended indefinitely too. Arenas has returned since, but his Twitter presence hasn't.

Of course, if you prefer to follow your favourite teams, they all have twitter accounts too: From the Lakers (@Lakers), to the Celtics (@celtics) to the Heat (@MiamiHEAT) and the Knicks (@thenyknicks) - and of course, the NBA (@NBA) is on Twitter, too!

This is just a start. You can literally go crazy looking for your favourite teams, players, news feeds, reporters, or fake-player pages. For Indian basketball fans, I'm going to leave you with some important few feeds to follow:
- Basketball Federation of India: @BFIbasketball
- Troy Justice, Director of Basketball Operations, NBA India: @troyjustice
- JD Basketball / JD Walsh, American basketball coach in India: @jdbasketball


And of course, yours truly, for getting the finest information about basketball, India, NBA, philosophy, and a bunch of other things, you need to follow the Hoopistani (@Hoopistani) twitter feed. It will make your life better, I swear it. Or at least more interesting.

Wizards vs Raptors... From the Verizon Center

Earlier this week, I had posted pictures and information from the first NBA game I ever attended: the Warriors @ Knicks, played at the World's Most Famous Arena, the Madison Square Garden. A week after that exciting night, I was back to some live NBA action in Washington DC on November 16th, where I got to see the Washington Wizards play the visiting Toronto Raptors.

It was a peculiar change of scene from the game at MSG. The crowds were scarce, and much quieter. The pizza was better, but nothing could match the hot-buttered MSG popcorn. And the game was pretty much over in the third quarter, so the crowd was kept enthused by T-shirt guns and hot-dog give-aways.

But I, for one, had special interest in this match-up: ever since the glory days of Vince Carter (now amongst Toronto's Public Enemies), I have been slightly partial to the Raptors, and was interested in seeing their young players such as Andrea Bargnani and Sonny Weems in action. Most importantly though, I was here for Gilbert Arenas - one of my favourite players in the league, who was attempting to make a comeback after some horrific decisions last season.

Arenas' backcourt partner-in-crime and Washington's current darling John Wall unfortunately missed that game, and it was a pity, since Wall has been the most explosive player in the league. The rookie easily the quickest player on the ball ever, drawing comparisons to a certain Allen Iverson, and he has been putting up some good performances as well.

But without Wall, it was Arenas' night. This game was his first start of the season. After the game, I wrote about his attempt at a comeback on my NBA-India article. Sure enough, Arenas has repaid my faith by significantly improving his output ever since.

Arenas took over in the third quarter in this game, and with the help of Andray Blatche and Nick Young, Wizards easily beat the visiting squad.

Anyways, here are some of the not-very-fantastic photographs I have from that night. And no, I'm not sorry for the Hibachi overdose.


Pregame national anthems



Arenas



Bargnani from the side



Arenas takes the ball from the sideline



2nd half: Raptors on offense

Vote for your NBA All-Stars!

So here we are again, just a few weeks into the brand new NBA season, and it is already time for the greatest fan participation event of the year to begin. The one event that really gives NBA fans access into watching who they want to see play. The one event that has seen Tracy McGrady's value soar higher than it has in half a decade. Yes, boys and girls, I'm talking about the NBA All Star Game.

The 2011 version of the game is still months and months away. The All-Star Game this season will be played at the Staples Center in Los Angles home of the Lakers (and another team, which also has a similar stationary-sounding name to Staples. Oh yeah, Clippers). Well anyways, just like everywhere, the NBA is allowing fans to vote in this year's ballot. If you haven't ever done this before, its about time you join the club. From now until January 23, you can vote every day for your eastern and western conference starters: two guards, two forwards, and two centers each.

This is where you go to vote.

I've already chosen my starters - I'm known to be notoriously biased in my all-star voting. So I've always picked players depending on who I like, not depending on how they are performing. So this year, the following will be my all-star picks:

Western Conference:

Forward: Ron Artest (LA Lakers)
Forward: Pau Gasol (LA Lakers)
Guard: Baron Davis (LA Clippers)
Guard: Deron Williams (Jazz)
Center: Yao Ming (Rockets)

Eastern Conference:

Forward: Kevin Garnett (Celtics)
Forward: Chris Bosh (Heat)
Guard: Dwyane Wade (Heat)
Guard: Gilbert Arenas (Wizards)
Center: Al Horford (Hawks)

My biggest issue here? The Center position. In the NBA's strictly defined positions, there are barely any centers that I rate very high. That is why Yao Ming makes it to my Western conference list. To be honest, I would have rather chosen Gasol at Center and upgraded someone like Carmelo Anthony as my forward in the West.

Similarly in the East, I would have rather taken Amar'e Stoudemire as Center if he had been listed in that position, but he was named forward.

Anyways, this is my list. Why don't you guys vote for your own and let me know.

10 Questions - NBA 2010-11

Despite the fact that the NBA off-season was one of the most intriguing in recent memory, it has still seemed long, barren, and never-ending. Mid-June till the end of October? That's a long time, especially for someone as impatient and NBA-spoilt as I am. So what if the off-season chatter included the cementing of Kobe Bryant's legacy, the NBA draft, the LeBron James Decision and the coup over at Miami, the coming of Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol, and the NBA trophy to India, Carmelo Anthony's indecisiveness, and a dozen other plotlines? I still want more!

But here we are now. Less than a month away from the beginning of the 2010-11 NBA season (about 28 days, 7 hours according to the countdown on nba.com). As a matter of fact, the totally inconsequential yet still mildly interesting NBA Pre-Season is set to begin October 3, when my New York Knicks head to Italy to play Olimpia Milano.

Yes, in case you were wondering, I am more excited about a meaningless pre-season game between a weak NBA team and a random European squad than I am for the other thing that will be starting in my own backyard back home in Delhi. I can't remember what it is - people keep on calling it some 'Games' but all I hear about is dirty toilets, expensive treadmills, and infectious mosquitoes.

Anyways, back to the point - Yes, the season is creeping up - and I have many (many) things to get off my chest. So here are the 10 most important open questions I have about the upcoming season. Anyone got the answers?

1. What can we expect from the John Wall - Gilbert Arenas backcourt in Washington?
Believe me, this question is a lot more important than the layman may believe it to be.
First you have Gilbert "Hibachi" Arenas, the NBA's former most intriguing and interesting player who's also gifted with a crate-full of talent and an even bigger crate of crazy. Now, you take this crazy-talented player, suspend him for most of a season for bringing his guns to the arena, and then you bring him back amidst trade rumours. He returns looking serious and motivated and he has a new beard, and he's boasting the same kind of motivation that propelled him to superstardom earlier in his career.
Then you pair this player along with the first pick of the NBA draft, John Wall, a player who plays essentially the same position as Arenas. A player who is being already lauded for his explosiveness and his other-worldly talents, someone who is already a favourite for being the Rookie of the Year and a future superstar.
And then you put both of them together. Boom!

Where the hell will Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul start (and end) the season?
Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul have seen their pals LeBron, Wade, and Bosh take the party and the hype down to Miami, making the greatest three-some since the Musketeers. Anthony, whose contract expires at the end of this season, will reportedly not re-sign with the Nuggets. Nuggets have been trying feverishly to get some return for his talents now and not get short-changed like the Cavs or the Raptors did. The situation is complicated: The Nuggets want Anthony to stay, but can't keep him; Anthony wants to go to the Knicks, who can't have him; The Nets want Anthony, but he doesn't want to go there. Add a couple of mean father-in-laws and some song-and-dance routines around the park and you have yourself an NBA Bollywood blockbuster.
Oh, ya, and Chris Paul, too, who complained a desire to leave earlier to his team, but then changed his time and was suddenly excited about the Hornets again. Yeah, right.

3. Which young team will get over the hump?
I already know which young teams I'm thinking about when I ask myself this question.
Over in the East you have the Bucks, an exciting young squad that showed considerable improvement last season, and were one win away from making it to the second round of the playoffs. The Bucks are led by talented big man Andrew Bogut (who actually missed the playoffs) and are supported by Brandon Jennings, one of the most potent young men in the league. Along with the likes of Carlos Delfino and Ersan Ilyasova (both who performed wonderfully at the FIBA World Championships), Corey Maggette, John Salmons, and the potential return of sharp-shooter Michael Redd, the Bucks have a good team which could turn some heads this year.
And then there is everybody's new "second-favourite" team - the Oklahama City Thunder. The Thunder play an exciting brand of basketball, full of tough defence, sprints down the court, and sharp-shooting. They haven't really made much changes in the off-season, but a core of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Jeff Green, Nenad Kristic, James Harden, and Thabo Sefolosha, the Thunder will continue to be trouble. Don't be surprised if they emerge as the Lakers' biggest challengers to the Western Conference crown.

4. Can Yao Ming dominate again?
I feel sad for Yao Ming. He was once the man solely responsible for making China the basketball-mad crazy it is today (and concurrently, giving hope to India that the same can happen back home. Today, he is trying to recover from a career-threatening injury, and will only feature in limited minutes this season. That's okay, because Limited Yao is still better than No Yao. Here's hoping that the talented giant can dominate the game again.

5. Will anyone watch a Cleveland Cavaliers game?
So, one player left. Wasn't this one of the most popular teams in the league over the last two or three or seven years? What, no more Cleveland? Where have all the bandwagon fans gone?
On second thought, there is one game which will make the Cavs temporarily relevant again. You know, when a certain someone returns to his old Arena to be attacked by booing crowds, burning jerseys, and comically-angry fonts.

6. Which young star will finally live up to potential - Greg Oden, Michael Beasley, or Blake Griffin?
It's frustrating to watch the careers of these three players. Especially the first two.
Greg Oden (first pick of 2007 draft), Michael Beasley (second pick 2008 draft) and Blake Griffin (first pick 2009 draft) all came into the league with great expectations in quickly faded into relative obscurity in different ways.
Oden, who I shudder to call young, has had an injury-riddled career and has thus never been able to play and produce as much as expected. He still has "no timeline" for his return.
Beasley had a great opportunity to blossom next to Dwyane Wade in Miami, and he never did. Now, he has been shipped away to have a fresh start in Minnesota.
And Griffin, who is still technically a rookie since he missed all of last season, is finally healthy to take the court and dispel the Clipper Curse. Or flop and totally confirm it.

7. Will Shaq help an ageing Celtic squad achieve one last hurrah?
I love the way the Celtics have played their basketball ever since the epic Kevin Garnett trade three years ago. They won a championship that year, and two years later, were one game away from winning another one. Most importantly, they did it as a team, playing good defence and by sharing the ball.
But they are oh so old. Paul Pierce (33), Kevin Garnett (34), and Ray Allen (35) can only take them so far. They needed the young legs of Rajon Rondo and the defensive intensity of Kendrick Perkins last year.
This year, they hire a couple of more older guys, a couple of O'Neals, to help them out. Jermaine O' Neal (32) and the Big Leprachaun aka Shaquille O'Neal (38) are in Beantown. Can Shaq really gel with this Celtic squad? Will he make a difference? Will he completely destroy team chemistry? Or will he suddenly resurrect himself in the special atmosphere around the Celtics squad and make an important contribution, especially in the playoffs? I can't wait to find out.

8. Will Kevin Durant become the best player in the league?
I have little doubt about this. All the right signs are pointing in the way, and if I was a betting man, I would place my bets on Durant being the league MVP by the end of the season. Here is why:
- He was the leading scorer in the league last season, the youngest to be so (21), and he will only improve.
- He was the MVP of the FIBA World Championships.
- He is the best player in the Thunder, and will have ample opportunity to prove himself.
- His main competitors are either too old to dominate the regular season any more (Kobe Bryant), have gotten together to share their load (LeBron and Wade) or are a tad bit too inconsistent (Anthony and Dwight Howard).
- The Media likes him.

9. Will the Heat live up to the hype?
Public enemy told me not to believe it, but when you get LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh on the same squad, how can I not? Jeff van Gundy claims that this team will the Bulls' 72-10 season record, adding, "They will never lose two games in a row this year." Phil Jackson told everyone to calm down, saying that teamwork wins, not talent. Either way, this is the big story in the NBA, and all eyes will be on Miami to pull off a historically good season or a shockingly average one.

10. Will the Lakers three-peat again?
Lost in the midst of the Miami Hype was the fact that the reigning champs are the Los Angeles Lakers, who are still here, still consistent, still the team to beat. Lakers have won two in a row, and their core of Coach Phil Jackson, Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, Ron Artest, and Andrew Bynum will return for another shot at the title. It might be Jackson's last season, and the man who has won an incredible THREE THREE-PEATS (wowaweewah!) will be looking for his fourth and his 12th ring as coach.
Not much I can say about Kobe's drive to win that hasn't already been said. No matter how he starts, you know he'll be there at the end, taking the most crucial shots in the most crucial games.
And India-visitor Pau Gasol, who has had a rested summer, will be back to continue building up his legacy.
Lakers have made a couple of important additions too - Steve Black, Matt Barnes, and Theo Ratliff have beefed up their bench.
This is still the best team in the league. Will they win again?

Wizards select John Wall with 1st pick of the Draft

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The NBA Draft offered no surprises - as expected, the Washington Wizards selected John Wall from the Universty of Kentucky with the number one pick. Evan Turner, Derrick Favors, Wesley Johnson, and DeMarcus Cousins rounded up the top five.

Here is the entire list of the first round picks:

1. Washington Wizards: John Wall, PG
2. Philadelphia 76ers: Evan Turner, SG
3. New Jersey Nets: Derrick Favors, PF
4. Minnesota Timberwolves: Wesley Johnson, SG
5. Sacramento Kings: DeMarcus Cousins, PF
6. Golden State Warriors: Ekpe Udoh, PF
7. Detroit Pistons: Greg Monroe, C
8. Los Angeles Clippers: Al-Farouq Aminu, SF
9. Utah Jazz: Gordon Hayward, SF
10. Indiana Pacers: Paul George, SF
11. New Orleans Hornets: Cole Aldrich, C
12. Memphis Grizzlies: Xavier Henry, SG
13. Toronto Raptors: Ed Davis, PF
14. Houston Rockets: Patrick Patterson, PF
15. Milwaukee Bucks: Larry Sanders, PF
16. Minnesota Timberwolves: Luke Babbitt, SF
17. Chicago Bulls: Kevin Seraphin, PF
18. Oklahoma City Thunder: Eric Bledsoe, PG
19. Boston Celtics: Avery Bradley, SG
20. San Antonio Spurs: James Anderson, SG
21. Oklahoma City Thunder: Craig Brackins, PF
22. Portland Portland: Elliot Williams, SG
23. Minnesota Timberwolves: Trevor Booker, PF
24. Atlanta Hawks: Damion James, SF
25. Memphis Grizzlies: Dominique Jones, SG
26. Oklahoma City Thunder: Quincy Pondexter, SF
27. New Jersey Nets: Jordan Crawford, SG
28. Memphis Grizzlies: Greivis Vasquez, PG
29. Orlando Magic: Daniel Orton, PF
30. Washington Wizards: Lazar Hayward, SF

Although the top two picks are guards, this has been a particularly good year for big men, and really, the league needs them more than ever before. The likes of Derrick Favors, DeMarcus Cousins, Ekpe Udoh, Greg Monroe, Cole Aldrich, Ed Davis, and Patrick Patterson were all chosen in the top 14.

The winners of the draft day were really the Bulls, who traded away their 17th pick and Kirk Hinrich to the Washington Wizards, and were thus able to clear enough cap enough for the available class of excellent free agents, including LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Joe Johnson, Carlos Boozer, Amar'''e Stoudemire, etc, etc, etc...

With John Wall and Kirk Hinrich in the back court, now it seems more and more likely that the Wizards will trade away Gilbert Arenas.

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Wizards win No. 1 Pick

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Quicker than you can say "Kwame Brown", the suffering Washington Wizards beat the odds and years of bad fortune to win the NBA Draft lottery last night and have the rights of the number one pick of the draft.

If you don't know: the NBA Draft is the time of the year when NBA franchises get a chance to pick new players for the their team. The 14 teams who do not make the playoffs are put into a draft lottery system, and the team with the worst regular season record has the best chance of getting the highest pick. The playoff teams get to pick their players based on reverse order of their regular season standings. Get it?

But of course, things don't always turn out well for the worst ones - just as the Nets. The worst teams only have a 25 percent chance of winning the first pick, and the Wizards, who had the fifth-worst record, struck lucky last night and won that honour.

Here is how the lottery ended up. The Draft Day this year is on June 24th:

1. Washington Wizards
2. Philadelphia 76ers
3. New Jersey Nets
4. Minnesota Timberwolves
5. Sacramento Kings
6. Golden State Warriors
7. Detroit Pistons
8. Los Angeles Clippers
9. Utah Jazz (from the Knicks)
10. Indiana Pacers
11. New Orleans Hornets
12. Memphis Grizzlies
13. Toronto Raptors
14. Houston Rockets

The Wizards have had a fairly unfortunate recent history, and especially a tragic last season. Not even Gandalf (the White, not the Grey), the greatest Wizard of them all, couldn't save them. Neither could Michael Jordan, who was probably greater. The last time the Wizards got a first pick was eight years ago, when then part-owner Jordan decided to pick a young Kwame Brown who turned out to be my favourite bust ever.

And then last season happened. Wizards entered the year with optimism, as they boasted a formidable Big 3 of Gilbert Arenas, Caron Butler, and Antawn Jamison. The season turned to turmoil after Arenas' injuries/gun case: Butler was traded to the Mavericks, Jamison became LeBron's newest sidekick as Cleveland, and Arenas was last seen serving his sentence at a halfway house. Hibachi!

But now, they have a chance at redemption. The biggest name in the draft this year is Kentucky point guard John Wall. Wall's explosive skill make him the favourite to be picked first.

The argument against Wall is that he plays essentially the same position as Arenas, and the predicted second pick, shooting guard Evan Turner from Ohio State might be a better fit to play along with Arenes in the Wizard backcourt. Turner was the 2010 College National Player of the Year.

But I am of the belief that teams should always pick based on talent, not position. Pick the best player available, and the rest will figure out for itself. In the case of the Wizards, they should definitely go for Wall, and then trade Arenas for a quality big man if possible. Let the 76ers deal with Turner at number two.

My favourite draft website is Draft Express, who keep detailed and meticulous tabs on draft prospects all year round and are about 467 thousand times better informed than I am in this particular topic. Here is their top-10 picks from the mock draft, as of today:

Wizards: John Wall, PG
76ers: Evan Turner, SG/SF
Nets: Derrick Favors, PF/C
Timberwolves: DeMarcus Cousins, C
Kings: Al-Farouq Aminu, SF/PF
Warriors: Wesley Johnson, SF/PF
Pistons: Cole Aldrich, C
Clippers: Ekpe Udoh, PF/C
Jazz: Greg Monroe, PF/C
Pacers: Ed Davis, PF

I agree with their top four picks, but I would probably put Greg Monroe a little higher. June 24th is the big day when the picks, and more sensationally, the trades, could change the landscape of the league. And as the crazy free agent rush of the Summer of 2010 looms, this Draft Day could turn out to be more important than ever. I will have a more in-depth preview of the draft as the day approaches, adding my predictions for the picks.

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Hibachi!

"Hibachi!"

It's 2007, and I'm playing ball at the Royal Park court in Leeds. We haven't yet started a game - my friend Zyman and I are just shooting around at one of the four baskets on the outdoor court. Before taking every wild, ill-advised three-pointer, we shout out odes to our favourite basketball players, perhaps for inspiration, but mostly because its goddamn funny.

"Kobe!" says Zyman.

"Hibachi!" I shout. After nine bricks I finally score a swish. Gilbert Arenas is watching.

It's 2008. Arenas has played only eight games the whole season due to a knee injury. The Wizards play the Cavs in the playoffs, but with his skills limited, Arenas is barely able to make a difference and save his team from making a first round exit.

It's the year 2004-2007, and the world is at the height of ArenaMania. Playing in his best years with the Washington Wizards, Arenas was an All Star in all three seasons. He led the Wizards to the playoffs in 2005, 2006, and 2008, and at one point, had the team looking like amongst the best in the East. He averaged 25.5 ppg in 2004-05, 29.3 in 2006-06, and 28.4 in 2006-07. He scored a franchise record 60 points (with 8 assists and 8 rebounds) against Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers in an overtime victory at the Staples Centre, including an NBA record 16 points in overtime. He was so ruthless in those years, that especially after that one game, Kobe friggin Mamba Bryant called him "cold-blooded".

It's now 2009 - The season that he signed a six-year $111 million contract with the Wizards - Arenas missed almost the entire season due to his injuries, and only played two games in the end.

Back to 06-07: Arenas, also known as 'Agent 0', has made 11 of the first 13 buzzer beaters he took in the 2006-07 season, the most amazing of which were game-winners against the Bucks and the Jazz in the space of two weeks. In both situations, Arenas had the ball in the final seconds with the score tied, and in both situations, he decided to shoot a long three. And in both situations, he celebrated the basket even before it went in. Now that's gangsta.

I can never get tired of watching this...





December 24th, 2009: It's two and a half years later, and it is revealed that Arenas had stored unloaded firearms in his locker at the Verizon Centre (the Wizards home-court). In doing so, he not only violated NBA rules against bringing firearms into an arena, but also violated D.C. ordinances as well.

Almost exactly two years prior to that incident, Arenas is voted the best celebrity blogger by the 2007 Weblog Awards. He becomes the world's first blog superstar, and his hilarious and honest writings about life as an NBA superstar make him the most loved and approachable player in the league. He was the player's player, a fan of the game just like every fan that followed him.

Eight days after the story about Arenas having firearms in his locker, it is revealed on January 1, 2010, Arenas and teammate Javaris Crittenton had unloaded guns in the Wizards' locker room during a Christmas Eve argument regarding gambling debts. The D.C. Metropolitan Police and the U.S. Attorney's office began investigating, and on January 14, 2010, Arenas was charged with carrying a pistol without a license, a violation of Washington D.C.'s gun-control laws.

While the investigation is in process, Arenas continues to take matters lightly, and being famously photographed making finger-gun signs during Wizards pre-game warm-up.

Four years before this incident, while having a career-best season, Arenas begins to shout-out "Hibachi" every time he takes a jump shot. A "hibachi", according to Wikipedia, literally means "fire bowl", and its a traditional Japanese heating device. "In English, however, "hibachi" often refers to small cooking grills typically made of aluminium or cast iron, with the latter generally being of higher quality. Owing to their small size, hibachi grills are popular as a form of portable barbecue." The 6 foot Arenas was a little fire-bowl, ready to burn up anything that came in his way.

I'm jumping to the present now. David Stern, commissioner of the NBA, learns about "Hibachi's" shenanigans and decides to suspend him for the rest of the NBA season. He becomes set to miss 60 games in 2009-2010. The real kicker was this quote added by the commish: "Although it is clear that the actions of Mr. Arenas will ultimately result in a substantial suspension, and perhaps worse, his ongoing conduct has led me to conclude that he is not currently fit to take the court in an NBA game."

Ouch!

In February 2007, Gilbert's fans vote him in as a starter for the Eastern Conference in the 2007 All-Star Game, thus solidifying his position as one of the most popular players in the game. In July 2008, Gilbert Arenas makes his way to the Philippines, where he was damn near worshipped by the basketball-crazy fans.

Pulling a gun on Crittenton wasn't the first time that Arenas played a tasteless prank on a teammate. Go back in time a to 2005 and here comes the funniest and most shocking of recent locker room stories: Arenas actually took a shit in teammate Andray Blatche's shoes - and he got away with it!

March 26, 2010, four days ago, Arenas was convicted of his crimes. He was sentenced to 30 days in a halfway house and two years probation.

Now, let me take you waaay back. It is 2001, the night of the NBA draft, and the talented Mr. Arenas doesn't get picked by any team in the first round. Finally, with the 31st pick, the Golden State Warriors drafted him. With a vendetta against every other team that had overlooked him, Arenas went on a destructive streak, and by the time his second season in the NBA ended, he was named the league's Most Improved Player.

In 2006, now as part of the Wizards, he wasn't picked for the USA team for the FIBA World Championships, his talents and injuries cited as reasons for him to not fit into the team model. He followed the snub with a vengeance, destroying everyone else that came in his way again for the next season.

And in 2009, after only playing 15 regular season games in the last two years, and after being written off by everyone related to the game, Agent 0 started the first two months of the new season with notable performances such as a triple double against the Pacers and 45 points in a win against his former team, the Warriors.

I'm back in 2007 now. Back at the Royal Park Court. Back shooting three-pointers with a "Hibachi" shoutout, and back turning my back to celebrate the baskets even before they go in. My inspiration is Arenas, one of my favourite players, and certainly one of the most perplexing individuals in basketball. It's difficult to like him after all the foolishness and the mistakes, and it's difficult to hate someone like him with such an explosive talent and fan-friendly personality. Maybe that's the reason why he's one of my top five nominees of current NBA players that I would like to see visit India.

He's suffered through a career of downs and each time, has answered them with succesful comebacks. It is long known that Arenas performs best when he plays with a vendetta. In about seven months, at the start of the 2010-11 season, he may have a chance to prove that again. Agent 0 is officially dead - Arenas has joined LeBron to be a #6 next season, but here's hoping that the on-court drive, the swagger, the cold-bloodedness remains the same.

Here's hoping that the Hibachi will be back on fire.

Living the Game: The need for a grassroots basketball movement in India

In large pockets of America, basketball is more than a sport — it is a part of everyday life. A basketball court is a social center, basketball shoes are essential fashion accessories, and hip-hop music/culture remains eternally intertwined with the game. In such cultures, “playing ball” is more than being in a professional league, a college tournament, or as part of a fitness regime — “playing ball” starts from the grassroots, it’s a recreational activity, just something to do, something embedded deeply in the lifestyle.

The English, and other Europeans, and South Americans have football — the soccer kind of football — it is for them a recreation, a get-together with friends, the perfect pastime.

In India, our favorite pastime is cricket. Every thin lane, or gullie in India is a cricket pitch, every wooden stick a bat, every round object a ball. It is deeply embedded in modern Indian culture — the majority of Indian societies see children having impromptu cricket matches in their neighborhood, by the ghats of the Ganga, every barren field is a stadium, cricket references and metaphors have become part of everyday speak in the country, and get-togethers in roadside tea-shops only discuss cricket scores.

The result of our addiction with cricket is that it has become the biggest thing in India since Butter Chicken. Cricket apparel rules in athletic stores across the country, the majority of sport news in India is about cricket, and every Indian from every strata of society unites under the banner of cricket. That is why India is now one of the strongest cricket teams in the world, Indian players the world’s best, and the Indian Premier League (IPL) of cricket the world’s richest.

So when the NBA decided to tap the 1.2 billion strong Indian market to popularize basketball, they knew they were up against some tough competition. After launching an NBA-India website, their most recent development has been a deal with rich industrial conglomerate Mahindra Group to launch a recreational league in three Indian cities: Mumbai, Bangalore, and Ludhiana. The league will tip off in a month’s time and will last for seven weeks.

Eventually the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) plans to launch school and college leagues with the NBA’s guidance to promote the sport amongst the youth. When I spoke to BFI president Harish Sharma, he said the idea is to use the school, college, and city recreational league as a launch-pad to eventually develop a professional basketball league in India in three years time.

Yes, these efforts are going to increase urban interest for basketball in India, but will it really influence more people to love basketball the same way they love cricket? Everyone interested in the development of basketball in India (BFI, NBA, and those working for the game on a local level) admit their eventual goal is to make it the second favorite sport in the country, but even for that to happen, the game has to be more culturally ingrained into our lifestyles.

I believe what is really needed is a grassroots movement, a movement to make basketball more than a game but a culture. Why does the NBA, for example, sell so easily in a country like the Philippines? NBA players have created waves in the Philippines for years, including the famous Gilbert Arenas trip a few years ago. The answer: So influenced by Americanism, basketball is part of everyday lifestyle in the Philippines, bringing with it its swagger, the hip-hop culture, and NBA fanaticism.

For India, one such movement to popularize basketball into rural and grassroots lifestyle is the Sumpoorna Basketball School. Sumpoorna is the name of a basketball camp — or like its founder Subhash Mahajan likes to call “a grassroots basketball revolution” — that has been slowly growing in small, rural town of Tumkur in Southern India over the past five years. Driven by a lifelong love of basketball, Mahajan has set up this basketball camp mostly for small town and village youth, which has grown over the years to have taught basketball basics to up to 6,000 youngsters around the rural area, and launched the Sumpoorna Basketball Tournament where dozens of small school and recreational teams compete against each other.

Mahajan, who is from Kapurthala in Punjab, spent nearly three decades as a basketball coach before setting up the Sumpoorna School in 2005. He chose Tumkur, which is a village near the much-larger and richer city of Bangalore, in Karnataka.

“In India, sports and money are not compatible,” Mahajan said, “Unless of course, that sport is cricket. Selling the game of basketball amongst city kids in posh schools might change the commercial culture, but the love of the sport has to come from the grassroots level — it seems that I’m fighting this battle alone.”

“In India, kids below Grade 9 can still be engaged in basketball and taught the basics — unfortunately, after that, they have to turn toward their ‘real life’, their studies, their other career, and basketball fades away.”

Mahajan’s camp is a unique concept for India — it is a summer camp of basketball skills in a rural area. He has spent his own money into a large basketball campus, where he already has three courts and is now investing for 13 more. Kids who join the camp for around five days, where they stay in residence and play ball, all day.

As the awareness and interest for the game has spread, Mahajan has been able to organize large tournaments, and is looking to get larger. “We want to tie up with more schools, especially from the bigger cities, so that they can learn basics. I want them to live the game and not just play it.” A major step that Mahajan is looking to take with Sumpoorna is to invite senior basketball players in India to oversee and promote the Sumpoorna tournaments.

Another unique feature of the Sumpoorna tournaments has been that the games are played without refs. Indian sport has an unfortunate reputation of being shrouded in corruption and bias — and the referees have regularly been the ones footing the blame for unfair calls and pre-meditated results. The injustice was highlighted a little more than a month ago, when the referees and officials were accused of helping the home team at a major national university tournament. At Sumpoorna, the players are expected to resolve the calls amongst themselves, and more often than not, the system works.

“The players from the age 9 onwards are taught to self referee and agree on consensual play,” he said, “It is basketball at its best — the way we played it here forty years ago.”

Mahajan is from an old-school brand of hoop lovers who played the game because they were addicted to the game, and even after his prime, he could never leave the game behind. With Sumpoorna, he has been able to provide a platform through which youngsters can become hoop addicts from an early age, and as they grow, basketball becomes part of their cultural upbringing.

If these efforts are complemented by the popularization of the game in urban India, we could be heading toward a future where basketball could become a more common pastime, and as the number of players grows, the quality of basketball will eventually improve, too.

*First published on SLAMONline.com on March 25, 2010.