9. Let it rain. Is it just me or are NBA players getting PAID? Boozer – 5 years for $80 million. Rudy Gay – 5 years for $84 million. Amar’e 5 years for $100 million. Joe Johnson – 6 years for $120 million. Apparently that’s the going rate. Minus LeBron who of course signed for less, to play alongside two strong players. Way to take one for the team.

8. Jeremy Lin > John Wall (In summer league anyway), but that’s still something to be said for this now-signed Golden State Warrior. He’s garnered some attention, referred to as this summer’s sensation and cult figure, an Asian-American kid who brought his A-game to make some headlines. This Nor Cal native, 6’3 200LB guard out of Harvard chose to play for the team he grew up cheering for, GSW. Yao who? I kid.

7. Wait, Wall is by no means in anyone’s shadow. Prepare for John Wall, people. We are def excited to embrace the next best phenom.

6. Andrew Bynum to get knee surgery. Maybe this isn’t news to most. OK that pesky knee has always been troublesome for Bynum to be at full strength on the court, Laker fans, if you’re hoping for a 3peat, send him your get well wishes. With Phil back for another year, Laker fans are still optimistic that yet another back-to-back-to-back championship may be in their cards. Agree or beg to differ? Captions on Slam, check it out.

5. Kobe ties Tiger Woods for favorite sports star. You know when you see those signs hanging in restaurant windows that say VOTED BEST STEAK OF THE YEAR or whatever? Yeah, my reply to that is always, according to who? So it turns out 2,227 people polled online from June 14-June 21 courtesy of Harris Interactive say Kobe and Tiger are the cream of the crop when it comes to popularity in sports. Not too far behind are: Derek Jeter, Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

4.  #TheDECISION If you haven’t heard this news, what’s it like under that rock? LeBron leaves Cleveland to go to Miami to form the new big three with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Whether you’re sad to see him go, sorry Cleveland, we sympathize, or disappointed because it’s something you never would’ve done if it was you as Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley would frown upon with disdain, or you’re happy to see him pursue his new quest with some fellow high-caliber players, this was THE buzz of the summer.

3. Is comic sans the most hated font in the world? Well, is it? No insult to the developer of comic sans, since it is almost as famous as Times New Roman, and since it was the chosen one by Cavs owner Dan Gilbert (or at least the cavs site developer) to express his blatant feelings on the whole matter.  Of course,  Dan Gilbert would get slapped with a nice $100,000 fine by the Commish, not for using comic sans, but for his quick-to-fire remarks. Ah, and don’t forget Reverend Jesse Jackson adding fuel to the fire, with his comeback comparing Gilbert’s words to “personifying a slave master mentality”. Now who’s putting whose foot in whose mouth? [Read the full letter here]

2. Chris Paul wants out. Will there be a #DecisionPart2? Magic? Knicks? Lakers? Mavs? Blazers? Not if Commissioner Stern can help it. He’s been a little busy lately. Gotta keep Kahn in check for publicly speaking about Beasley’s former marijuana use.

1. Go USA! We still have a few months ’til the regular season kicks off. The end of October can’t come soon enough. Til’ then, USA Basketball and FIBA will do. Here’s a schedule in case you’re interested. 

Honorable mentions: Where will T-Mac go? Stint that Penny might make a comeback. Stephon Marbury is NOT going to the Heat.

And just for kicks, let’s resurrect Gatorade’s the Quest for G featuring Kevin Garnett. Will KG succeed in shushing his critics, prevent Klosure, and succeed in conquering the Holy Championship?

Vitamin Water? Gatorade? Your choice of athletic sports drink? Does it matter?

Lakers vs. Celtics. Are you chanting Boston Sucks or Beat LA? Let’s get back to the 2010 Finals, people. Priorities.

Forget the most interesting man in the world. Wipe that slate clean. Because today, we’re pleased to present THE MOST RIDICULOUS MAN IN THE WORLD (for Vitamin Water). And we’d like to award Hoopiquity’s “Best NBA Actor of All Time” to none other than..Steve Nash!

It’s that time of year again, where love is brewing in the air.  We’re talking about the love of the game.  No disrespect to the thousands of cards, flowers, chocolates, and all that other lovey-dovey, Valentine’s Day related propaganda which sure enough contribute to a love-filled holiday weekend.  Coincidentally, the weekend of love this year, February 12-14, 2010, surrounds itself around largely anticipated NBA All-Star action, as historically, this is the first NBA All-Star game which will take place on actual Valentine’s Day.  So please excuse the excess of adrenaline and rising temperatures…

Here are the top 30 reasons we’re riled up about the 2010 NBA All-Star weekend: (Special thanks to contributors, pointgod, D&K!)

30. D-League All-Star game.

29. Brandon Jennings’ hair. If he keeps this up, he’s definitely going into our hair hall of fame.

28. A dunk that outdoes this one by the ‘Air up there’ or perhaps a tribute to the classic windmill.

27. Dunks, dunks, and more dunks: technique vs props. Nice to see some who will bring back just pure dunk technique, athleticism, and power to go up against some who like to use clever props.

26. Reunited and it feels so good. Horry and Fox back together in the Celebrity All Star Game.

25. Mark Cuban literally “in” the game. We all know he’s always been in the game, now, his first appearance in the Celebrity Game.

24. Shaq not being an all-star. Now he can focus more on his Shaq vs. reality show.

23. Waiting to see if the rest of the east does a “freeze out” of Iverson. Dude doesn’t belong there and everyone but him knows it.

22. Potential first upset in Rookie challenge since 2000.

21. Some crazy dance moves by Shakira.

20. A surprise all-star appearance by the MVPuppets? Are we tired of them yet?

19. Which NBA player will have enough balls to bring a gun with them? (we kid, we kid, please don’t fine us.) The commish would like for you to leave all weaponry at home.

18. Hosted at the all new Dallas Cowboys Stadium, “because everything is bigger in Texas”. Can they really sell out Dallas stadium? Those cheap seats are going to be terrible.

17. Speaking of the stadium, a contributor thinks the 3-point contest is going to be the lowest score ever. Depth perception in such a large place is waaay different than a normal arena.

16. But I’m relying on Gallinari to disprove that theory.

15. The number of times they’ll show Dwight Howard in his Adidas tanktop. (This comes from one of our female contributors.)

14. Alicia Keys (This comes from one of our male contributors)

13. Kevin Durant defending his H-O-R-S-E title.

12. Brandon Jennings in the Skills challenge.

11. Speaking of Skills challenge, why does Taco Bell Skills Challenge sounds soooo weird?

10. 10 years of NBA on TNT – congratulations to Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley.

9. Haven’t been this excited about the all-star lineup since ’91.

8. First time All-stars: Welcome, Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose, Rajon Rondo, Deron Williams, Al Horford, Gerald Wallace, and Zach Randolph.

7. Trade Rumors. Amar’e to the Nets? Ray Allen to the Heat? McGrady to the Wizards? We’ll see what else unfolds.

6. Announcement of the TNT All-Decade Team. Vote now for the best individual performance of the last decade.

5. The Shoes.

4. Let DeMar DeRozan Dunk because he’s got 99 problems but dunks ain’t one.

3. Let Shannon Dunk.

2. One year closer to the All-Star Game in LA next year. (Editor bias. Yes, we’re from LA.)

1. $ on LeBron for All Star MVP. Because he wants the “best in league” title from Kobe.

What are YOU pumped up for?  Let us know!

Carmelo Anthony on Paul Milsap

LeBron James on Vladamir Radmanovic and later Anthony Randolph

Ty Lawson on DJ Mbenga (Mbenga seems to be a popular poster victim)

Shannon Brown on Mikki Moore (this one technically doesn’t count since it’s preseason, but it’s fun. We expect to see some more out of this guy)

Dwyane Wade on Andersen Varejao (Hands down, the BEST dunk of the year so far?!)

1. 55 Points by a rookie.

2. That’s the most points by a rookie in 41 years (previously Earl Monroe, 1968)

3. Brandon Jennings and LeBron James are the only two players to score 50+ points under the age of 21.

4. Brandon Jennings is actually the youngest player to score 50+ points at 20 years + 52 days old.

5. He’s also the 3rd Bucks franchise player to score 50+ points (alongside Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Michael Redd)

6. Currently averaging 25.5 points per game.

7. First Buck to have back to back 30+ games since Glenn Robinson, 1995

Once Michael Redd returns, the question is, will Jennings still be able to shine?  What do you think?  Is Brandon Jennings’s fated to become Rookie of the Year?  In the meanwhile, watch the recap below and revel in each and every point he scored that night vs Golden State.

There’s a general consensus currently around the NBA kingdom, that the one to watch this season will be the Denver Nuggets’ Carmelo Anthony. He’s never lacked confidence on the court, and this year he’s somehow improved just that much more on the offensive end, more efficient from the field – enough to draw plenty of eyeballs in his direction. Give credit where it’s due, kids. Here are 10 reasons why we like him.

1. The Nuggets have started off the 2009-2010 season, undefeated thus far, 5-0.

2. He’s only 25 in his prime.

3. He’s had 2 back to back 40+ point games already, any bets on how many more?

4. He’s an offensive monster averaging 34.5 points per game.

5. This poster on Milsap, 3 views.

6. He’s playing like he’s hungry for something. “It’s different (this year). My vision and focus — I see something at the end of the tunnel and that’s that (championship trophy),” Carmelo Anthony after defeating the Jazz in the Nuggets’ season opener.

7. He may finally get recognition in the same ranks as LeBron and Dwade, his fellow 2003 draftmates.

8. He chopped his braids for change.

9. Even the most talented guys are always going to have haters – why hate, when you can put up this cool wallpaper.

10. His cameo in a recent motivational Nike spot.

Do you like, or like to dislike Carmelo?

who can now add bat exterminating onto his resume. In case you’re wondering, Spurs did snag a win that night, defeating the visiting Kings 113-94, so maybe the bat wasn’t so unlucky afterall. Just when you thought you had seen it all..

11/4/09. So what do the new characters on the back of the head mean, we wondered?

photo via @ThugRaider37

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Charles exclaimed at a certain age, a man shouldn’t be allowed to have carvings on his head.  Something along the lines of , “What is the age where you can’t carve crap in your hair?”  And did C-Webb just guess they are hieroglyphics?

In case you were under a rock Tuesday night and somehow missed Ron Ron’s hair and Laker debut, here are a few shots (from @thugraider37’s Twit Pic stream) to give you a better idea.

Side 1.

Chinese.  For “Champion”  冠軍

Side 2.

Laker Logo. Suffice it to say, this is his new home now.

Side 3

Chatty, to honor his close friend Mike Chatfield, who Ron believes to be one of the best basketball players he’s ever played with.

Everyone’s entitled to their own opinions, and we certainly respect and enjoy whatever Ron decides to do with his hair.  Let’s get this straight, it’s HIS hair, and he’s entitled to do what he wants, so long as it’s not offensive.  People get inked all the time, what’s not to love about hair carving? Speaking of love for hair, don’t forget our collection of Best Hair in the NBA.

Take a look at what the rest of the Twitterverse had to say about it.

Like it?  Love it?  Or Don’t?