Terrence Ross on LeBron James: I don’t know how you can put Michael Jordan over him

Additionally, Ross believes that the competition James has been playing against is much more impressive than what Jordan faced. “I mean, in the level of competition he’s doing it against is, to me, more impressive than the competition that Jordan won against, if we’re gonna be honest about it,” Ross concluded. -via Sports Illustrated / September 11, 2024

From his manufacturing studio in South Los Angeles, Ciambrone, also known as the Shoe Surgeon, reconstructed a pair of Nike LeBron 20 sneakers using white crocodile leather and gleaming gold flourishes. Across the translucent blue outsoles, Ciambrone scrawled 38,388 — the number of points James scored to break Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s long-held record — and added other career milestones in shimmery lettering on the sides. Crocodile-patterned gold foil was sewn over Nike’s iconic swoosh, the tail floating off each shoe like a tiny wing. Named “The Moment” and valued at more than $100,000, the bespoke sneakers were gifted to James the night he made history. -via Los Angeles Times / September 11, 2024

The Lakers have 15 guaranteed contracts and are less than $50,000 away from crossing into second apron luxury tax territory, so there would be no reasonable pathway to add Osman to the team even had he come to camp and played well. Sources say that the 29-year-old, who played in San Antonio last season, signed a one-year deal with Panathinaikos in hopes that he can play his way back to the NBA next season. -via marcstein.substack.com / September 9, 2024

For at least 30 years, the most forged autograph in the world has been Michael Jordan. At third-party authenticator James Spence Authentication, vice president Jimmy Spence says he sees at least one fake MJ autograph every single day. The percentage of Jordan signatures Spence says he fails is an astounding 95 percent — 30 percent higher than the next highest, Tiger Woods. As retail prices for Jordan memorabilia have skyrocketed — Upper Deck sold a signed basketball for $699 in 1994; the cheapest today is $7,999 — fraudsters have swooped in like never before. And because of some holes in the authentication process, they are getting away with selling counterfeit items at record levels. -via Cllct / September 10, 2024

NBA Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins recalled talking to Kobe Bryant after his final game in Atlanta and told him that he is the closest player to Michael Jordan, via the “All The Smoke” podcast with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson: “I love Kobe. Kobe’s an old-school throwback with a new-school twist. I remember when he was leaving his last game in Atlanta, and I went in the locker room afterward. I said, ‘Man, I loved the way you played the game, you never made excuses, you played hurt. You’re the last of our kind. When you leave, the last of our kind leaves with it.’ And he looked at me, he said, ‘Man, that really means a lot coming from you because a lot of the legends have told me that.’ I said, ‘It’s true, man. I mean, you played really on a bad Achilles, which, nobody’s gonna do that.’ He’s the closest, to me, as a Michael-like player ever.” -via Lakers Nation / September 8, 2024