It’s clear that LeBron James has had a decorated history as a player, as underlined by his latest award: the 2012-2013 Most Valuable Player award – immortalized by Nike in the form of a crazy pair of King James’ signature kicks. The trophy is his fourth in five years, a feat only accomplished by Bill Russell in his day. The hype surrounding James is in many ways warranted, yet it seems that for as long as the 28-year-old has been in the league, he’s had just as many critics as he has accolades. The NBA has released a video retrospective of James’ career thus far, which gives viewers a somewhat complete look at the road the young player has paved for himself – a road undoubtedly deserving of respect.

Lakers fans and Kobe Bryant supporters had a dark day earlier this month when the athlete tore his Achilles tendon during a game against the Golden State Warriors. Bryant is expected to be out for at least 9 months, but with an injury of this nature there’s not telling what the future holds for the superstar athlete. For now, we’ll just pray that the Black Mamba can pick up where he left one day. To help with his spirits, Nike put together a special video montage dedicated to Kobe, dubbed You Showed Us. Enjoy.

Jason Collins is gay. In a new piece that appears in the May 6th issue of Sports Illustrated, the NBA center who played for the Celtics and Wizards this season comes out and admits that he is gay. It makes him the first active openly gay player in NBA history—and the first active openly gay player in one of America's major sports. So why did he choose now as the right time to come out? Well, there are a number of reasons for it. And he explains all of them in the SI piece. We would recommend for you to check it out for yourself so that you can hear the truth straight from Collins. He's struggled with the decision to come out for awhile now, and he breaks down everything that's gone into his decision in the SI story. You can read it over here now.This is history in the making, people. [See & Read More]

If there was any hope among the Oklahoma City Thunder fans that Russell Westbrook would "pull a Metta World Peace" and return less than two weeks after having surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee, guess we could put that idea to rest. According to Ken Berger of CBS Sports, the doctors involved opted the repair, instead of removing, which "requires a longer recovery time but also is a better long-term solution" and as a result, Russ will miss the rest of the playoffs. A specific timetable for Westbrook's return is uncertain at the moment. [Watch More]

Paul George from the Indiana Pacers has had an amazing year. Being named the most improved player of the NBA today, and dropping a Day In The Life video on Jay-Z’s media channel Life + Times as he makes his way to the All Star game. Watch the 25-minute video below to hear George talk about his hatred of losing/hunger for victory, his time at Fresno State and much more. Enjoy.

Kobe Bryant will now deprive the entire world of the best part of current Lakers games: his tweets. The Black Mamba's posts to Twitter were noticed by just about everyone remotely interested in the NBA Playoffs this weekend and even managed to catch the attention of coach Mike D'Antoni. Bryant's tweets from his bed were somehow becoming a distraction, so he is going quiet. [Read More]

The Association compiled their top 10 choices for Dunks Of The Year, nine of which we’re covered around these parts in some fashion. So what do you think? Did they get this right? Did they leave anything out? Personally, I’m just glad they gave Terrence Ross some love. Proven by his dunk contest victory this year, he’s going to be one of the special dunkers we’ve got in the league for the next six-to-eight years. Enjoy.

ESPN recently caught up with Nate Robinson to capture his incredible Jordan collection on film. The diminutive baller’s outsize collection runs the range from the Air Jordan 1′s to XX3′s but from what we can tell he seems to be a particular fan of the 2s, 5s, 6s and 11s. Not one to let shoes languish and collect dust, the collection pictured represents the shoes that Robinson keeps at the United Center for game day. Click through to have a look at the shoes, some which have already been worn on game day. [See More]

This weekend, Kobe Bryant will have surgery to repair his torn left Achilles Tendon. While we initially speculated about Bryant's timetable to recover from such an injury, the Lakers trainer Gary Vitti has officially declared that Kobe will be out for six to nine months. When discussing Bryant's situation, Vitt didn't hold back with the details, calling the Achilles injury a "complete rupture," as well as saying that the tendon needs "to be sewn back together." Yikes! Following the surgery, Bryant will be immobilized for a month or more. With everything goes to plan, Kobe could be available by the start of the 2013-14 season. Get Well Mamba.

Dwyane Wade isn't around to throw alley-oops to LeBron James right now. But, don't worry: LBJ clearly has it covered. Take your time, D-Wade. King James will be just fine without you. The best part about this play is definitely Heat color commentator Tony Fiorentino wondering why he didn't get an assist or a rebound for the play. I don't think it works like that but I'll have to ask Ricky Davis for confirmation. Enjoy.