The NBA Thread

Lebron fined 15 grand for obscene gesture.

LeBron James fined $15K for Sam Cassell 'obscene gesture' in win over Pacers​



Not even LeBron James is immune from a Sam Cassell celebration fine.
The NBA fined James $15,000 for making an “obscene gesture” during the Los Angeles Lakers’ overtime win against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night, the league announced Friday.

James drilled a big 3-pointer in overtime to lead the Lakers to the 124-116 win, and hit Sam Cassell’s iconic “Big Balls” celebration as he made his way down the court.


LeBron James was fined for hitting the Sam Cassell celebration against the Pacers on Wednesday night. (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
The NBA has been fining players for that celebration — which has become incredibly popular in the NBA and across sports — very strictly for nearly a decade. Toronto Raptors star Fred VanVleet was fined for hitting the move in front of Cassell earlier this month.
James dropped a season-high 39 points in Indianapolis, which marked his first game back from his one-game suspension after an altercation with Pistons center Isaiah Stewart. James also had a pair of Pacers fans ejected from the contest in overtime, as they allegedly were using “obscene” language and gestures at their courtside seats.
James addressed his one-game suspension after the win, and thought he shouldn’t have been suspended.
“I mean, it’s some bulls**t,” he said. “But whatever.”
The NBA officially warned James “for using profane language during media availability in response to league imposed discipline” on Friday when it fined him, too.


Same game where Lebron got two fans ejected for a rumored obscene gesture.

EDIT: Having trouble posting the pic
 
Did karma bites LeBron James back?
100percentfedup.com

After 3 Tests...Results Show Fully-Vaccinated Lebron James Has COVID

Three’s the charm… Fully vaccinated LeBron James has caught COVID-19. — Nick Adams (@NickAdamsinUSA) December 1, 2021 After 3 COVID […]
100percentfedup.com 100percentfedup.com

After 3 Tests...Results Show Fully-Vaccinated Lebron James Has COVID​

By Patty McMurray | Nov 30, 2021​

Three's the charm​

​

After 3 COVID tests, LeBron James has officially been placed in the NBA’s health and safety protocols. The flamboyant, opinionated player who was recently kicked out of a game for giving a dirty elbow to the face of Detroit Pistons player Isaiah Stewart and received a ridiculous one-game suspension. Last week, the NBA fined him $15K for an obscene gesture, when he intentionally grabbed his genitals on the court.

TMZ Sports has learned … LeBron James tested positive for COVID-19 this afternoon using a lateral flow test. James was given a follow-up PCR test to confirm the diagnosis. However, that test came back negative. LeBron was then given a third tie-breaker test … which came back positive.

We’re told the team has chartered a private jet so Bron can fly back to Los Angeles in a safe manner.
Click to expand...
 
  • Like
Reactions: I.B. Niggin
Just found out that LeBron James has currently entered into NBA’s COVID Virus protocols and reportedly, there’s rumors that he might miss multiple games

Also, I just saw this uploaded almost an hour ago:

34FB8E7F-B10A-4A4A-AC6D-1AE192044A31.jpeg

Even for a Lakers fan page, he’s not wrong.


Super-Chevy454 said:
Did karma bites LeBron James back?
100percentfedup.com

After 3 Tests...Results Show Fully-Vaccinated Lebron James Has COVID

Three’s the charm… Fully vaccinated LeBron James has caught COVID-19. — Nick Adams (@NickAdamsinUSA) December 1, 2021 After 3 COVID […]
100percentfedup.com 100percentfedup.com
Click to expand...
192C9D1E-2220-4AC6-BA35-687EB76F4098.jpeg

I guess this must have been a Turkish Delight :cunningpepe:
 
  • Like
Reactions: I.B. Niggin and Super-Chevy454
The Virgin conservacuck "More like LeHypocrite, erm Uighur lives matter too y'know" vs the Chad "LeNigger"
 
Last edited:
Did you guys know that NBA legend (technically, he is kind of a legend) Stephon Marbury is considered one of the greatest players of all time in China?


He actually won three championships with the Beijing Dragons from 2014-2018, and was even awarded the CBA’s MVP award during that time.



It was during that time that China started noticing what Marbury was doing and they ended up giving him a green card as he’s stayed in China for the last 10 years. It seems that he’s done so much for the country’s interest in basketball, that they even made a statue in his honor:

22AA2127-BEB9-472E-8334-DB09AD5A2A70.jpeg9F2844D3-BCA6-4D0A-AC6C-CB163853F694.jpeg
A7EE701E-36FB-412E-898F-D7ACC2A93389.jpeg

And that’s not even all: he has his own commemorative museum which recounts the successes that he’s had over the years regarding the NBA and CBA:


And hilariously enough, since I’m a sucker for Chinese movies, he also has his own movie that stars himself, Allen Iverson and Baron Davis:


Fast forward to today, he says he’s retired from playing basketball, but he couldn’t keep away from it since he’s now the head coach for the same team he won those championships with, the Beijing Royal Dragons.

On one hand, this might seem like something that one should be proud of, but I can’t help but want to be cautious when you see statements such as this:

A65DAD1E-DBD9-4E50-923D-1AFC3E389447.jpeg

CFFBAA2F-575C-4570-B3B9-F0705A866D88.jpeg


Maybe if this were, say 2006, then this would be a different story. Though, considering how most of the Winter Beijing Olympics is more political than ever due to the ongoing global pandemic and also POTUS Biden’s Administration not really helping matters caving for them, I like to remain optimistic that Marbury isn’t just doing this for the Chinese Yuan.
 
  • Informative
Reactions: Super-Chevy454

Several teams, including the Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, Brooklyn Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics, New York Knicks and Sacramento Kings, have been hit hard with COVID outbreaks.

We take a look at how COVID is impacting the NBA:

What games have been postponed? And will more be postponed?

Dec. 14: Detroit at Chicago

Dec. 16: Chicago at Toronto

Dec. 19: Denver at Brooklyn; Cleveland at Atlanta; New Orleans at Philadelphia

Dec. 20: Orlando at Toronto

Dec. 21: Washington at Brooklyn
Click to expand...

I’m sure the unlimited amount of booster shots and vaccines will fix this.
 
That info was posted on the Wuhan coronavirus megathread and it might be worth to repost it here.
www.theatlantic.com

The NBA and NFL Surrendered to Their Vaccine Refusers

Pro basketball and football showed that tough rules work, but now the leagues are giving up.
www.theatlantic.com www.theatlantic.com
archive.md

The NBA and NFL Surrendered to Their Vaccine Refusers - The Atlantic

archived 31 Dec 2021 12:48:49 UTC
archive.md archive.md

The Brooklyn Nets have officially ended their tug-of-war with Kyrie Irving over the star point guard’s vaccination status. And Irving, who has refused to get a COVID-19 shot, is unquestionably the winner.

The rapid spread of the coronavirus’s Omicron variant has left gaps on rosters across the NBA. Because positive tests had rendered so many players ineligible, the Nets finally buckled to Irving, who had not played this season because New York City’s vaccine mandate for certain indoor facilities had banished him from home games. To let Irving on the court now, even just for away games, is a drastic turnaround for a team that had sidelined him rather than deploy him part-time. After he cleared the NBA’s COVID-19 protocols on Tuesday, Irving will be eligible to play for the Nets when they travel to Indiana to face the Pacers on January 5.

This resolution of the Nets’ high-profile dispute with Irving is part of a larger problem in professional sports: Confronted with this latest virus surge, both the NBA and the NFL have essentially waved the white flag. They are easing their health rules and sending conciliatory signals to players who have refused to get COVID-19 shots.

Both leagues had adopted a range of health protocols that strongly encouraged vaccination. But now the leagues are choosing instead to cede to the forces of capitalism. Short-term financial concerns are dictating that even as Omicron spreads, games must go on. And if that means holding vaccinated and unvaccinated players to the same standards, the leagues will do it.

After the CDC issued new guidelines Monday that will shorten quarantine times for anyone who tests positive for the coronavirus, the NBA announced that players who test positive will have to isolate for only six days, rather than 10, if they have no symptoms. The NFL and the NFL Players Association quickly announced that players with positive test results can return after five days. Stunningly, the two leagues’ abbreviated new quarantine timelines apply to both vaccinated and unvaccinated players.

Until now, the NFL had rightly made a point of imposing additional burdens on unvaccinated players. For example, unvaccinated players had to undergo daily testing and, when the team traveled, could not fraternize with anyone but team personnel. These rules reflected the greater risk that unvaccinated players pose to others. The rules also created strong incentives: Among NFL players, the policy helped produce a vaccination rate of more than 94 percent—far higher than the rate for all American adults. (The rate for NBA players is even better: at least 97 percent.)

Some of these incentives are still in place. And earlier this month, the NFL suspended the Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown for three games because he brought a fake vaccination card to training camp. But the league started tinkering with its protocols after 150 positive cases turned up in mid-December. With the NFL playoffs looming, this was certainly a convenient time for the league and its health experts to devise ways of getting infected players back on the field faster. Under the old protocols, the Indianapolis Colts’ unvaccinated quarterback, Carson Wentz, who tested positive for the virus earlier this week, would not have been eligible to play against the Las Vegas Raiders this Sunday. Now, with the reduced quarantine time, Wentz can take part in a game that could clinch a playoff berth for his team.

The NFL and NBA aren’t exactly hiding their hand here. They are in the business of keeping business going. The Nets had seven players ineligible under the NBA’s health-and-safety protocols heading into the team’s marquee Christmas Day matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers. Among those left out was superstar forward Kevin Durant, who has since been cleared to play. The Nets have the best record in the Eastern Conference and a legitimate chance to win an NBA championship. Bringing Irving back will lighten the load on Durant—his playing time of 37 minutes per game ranks second in the league—as the NBA enters the meat of its season. And if another COVID surge comes over the team, Irving’s return means one more superstar is available for road games.

As of this week, the NBA has used 541 players this season—a league record. That’s because so many teams had to scramble to sign players to 10-day contracts to compensate for the staggering number of players on the COVID list. Despite that outrageous figure, neither the NBA nor the NFL were ever going to mimic the NHL, which decided to pause its season last week to deal with the surge in virus cases. (To compensate, the NHL also decided to pull its players from the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing to make them available for rescheduled games in February if necessary.)
Click to expand...
 
  • Informative
Reactions: timewave0
Time to bump with this vlog from TheQuartening ranting about Lebron James keeps doubling down after the backlash he got.

 
Don't know where else to put this because it doesn't deserve its own thread.

In today's example of bitching about oppression no matter what, a WNBA player "calls out" a female WNBA coach for making too much money.


Liz Cambage isn't popping the champagne for Becky Hammon's big payday in Las Vegas. She's blowing the top off the inequity of it all instead.

The veteran 6-foot-8 center reacted Tuesday to the news that Hammon, the newly named Las Vegas Aces head coach, will make at least $1 million in annual salary in the role. Aces team owner Mark Davis confirmed the news to reporters at a Las Vegas Raiders press conference. She is the first to reach seven figures; WNBA coach salaries are notoriously private and largely unknown.

Cambage, an unrestricted free agent whose return to the Aces is a large question mark, took to Twitter to blast the salary by comparing it to players' salaries and travel concerns.

Cambage wrote:
"ahhh yes the WNBA, where a head coach can get paid 4X the highest paid players super max contract. lmao and y'all think ima spend another season upgrading my seat on a flight to get to games out of my own pocket."

Why is Hammon making more than players?

Both player compensation and travel were improved by the 2020 collective bargaining agreement, but are by no means where they need to be for professional athletes. The player supermax contract for 2022 is $228,094, which means Hammon's salary is approximately 4.4 times as much as the highest-paid players in the league. But most players earn a quarter of that supermax. The 2022 team salary cap of $1,379,200 for 11 to 12 players is only slightly higher than Hammon's salary.

Those numbers are put in place by the CBA on a year-to-year basis ahead of time. It increases every season and runs through the entirety of the CBA, which expires on Oct. 31, 2027. Professional sports leagues want to create fairness around the league and therefore set minimums and maximums so the richest team owners don't throw around cash other team owners might not have.

But when it comes to hiring coaches, as Skylar Diggins-Smith plainly put it in her own tweet, "no salary cap for coaches." Team owners can pay what they want, and Davis has deeper pockets than many owners. And he was trying to lure Hammon away from her NBA assistant job with the San Antonio Spurs. Money isn't everything — she said she wanted to be a head coach, and this was the place that wanted her to be one now — but it is a determining factor in any job change.

WNBA players pay for more

Players are often cramming their 6-foot-6 bodies into small seats, and some as Cambage alluded to pay for upgrades themselves. Diana Taurasi said she paid for her own charter flight along with Brittney Griner and Diggins-Smith after a playoff game to get back to Phoenix for the birth of her daughter.

There is constant controversy in the playoffs over travel issues and turnarounds that the league has often stepped in to remedy on a case-by-case basis. Liberty team owner Joe Tsai has said he's working to solve the issue with a league charter partner.

There are other financial factors to consider that other top-level professional athletes don't always have to deal with, or be as concerned about because of their higher pay. Breanna Stewart said she had to pay more than $30,000 out of her own pocket to get her recovery right following an Achilles injury overseas.

Is Cambage staying in Las Vegas?

Cambage, 30, has every right to speak up against inequity in her own league, no matter what team is in the crosshairs. The WNBA has built its legacy on activism, and calling out the differential is a form of activism.

It does add another question mark to Cambage's landing spot this offseason, if she lands anywhere at all. A'ja Wilson, the league's 2020 MVP, is up for a big payday from her rookie contract as an unrestricted free agent. The Aces might not choose to re-sign Cambage, who made the supermax of $221,450 under the core designation last season.

Cambage has often spoke out about the exact inequities she noted on Tuesday, and said the WNBA is not where she plans to stay long-term. She told ESPN in 2018:

"I've said this many times: [The WNBA] doesn't pay my bills ... playing here doesn't pay my bills," Cambage said. "We make more money overseas. I'm ready to have next summer off and focus on getting a European contract where its 10 seasons here worth the pay.

"I really don't get paid enough to be beaten up every game. I'm not a WWE wrestler and that's how it feels sometimes out on the court."

The former Australian national team player took a hiatus from the WNBA after the 2013 season. She returned in 2018 with the Dallas Stars and requested out, ending up in Las Vegas for 2019. The time might have come for another hiatus.
Click to expand...
 
  • Informative
  • DRINK!
Reactions: Jonah Hill poster, Super-Chevy454 and timewave0
Liz Cambage is fucking cancer and hurts women's basketball more than the quality of play already does.

She fucking bitches about EVERYTHING.

No shit Becky Hammon is making that much money, she's probably been the closest there's ever been to a female head coach in the NBA, so it's gonna take a lot of financial compensation to get her to make that switch.

Female athletes are just some of the most incredibly short sighted people on existence.
 
  • Informative
  • Agree
Reactions: Jonah Hill poster, Super-Chevy454, Salubrious and 1 other person
My second WNBA article in two days. I must be off my meds, but I found this one interesting.


W.N.B.A. Raises $75 Million With Hopes of Business Model Revamp

The obvious out of the way: the WNBA, a "professional" sports league, apparently has "fundraising" drives.
The W.N.B.A. is betting that with the right investments it can generate enough interest in its players to create a sustainable business model.
Click to expand...
“Part of it is exposure,” Engelbert said. “It’s like pushing a boulder up a hill.”
Click to expand...
Yes, that's the problem. You needed more money to "generate interest". The idea that nobody watches because it's not as good and because the players are a bunch of whiny unlikeable SJW assholes isn't a core reason. The league has been around 25+ years, but doesn't have enough "exposure" yet.

But the more interesting thing to me is that this looks like a partial sale of the league, probably because the NBA was sick of losing money all by itself.
The W.N.B.A. is currently owned half by the 30 N.B.A. teams, and half by the 12 W.N.B.A. teams. Ownership on both sides will be diluted as part of the deal. Engelbert declined to disclose the size of the stake the new investors are taking in the company, the valuation of the deal or the league’s annual revenue.
Click to expand...
I mean, it's not framed as a sale for P.R. reasons, but when companies give you money in exchange for a share of ownership, that is a sale.

Also, lol. This money still won't be used to actually give the women higher salaries. Because they know that it is just wasted money.
The league is open to ideas from the players’ union about how to use the new money, she added, but it plans to prioritize marketing and improving its digital products, including its website, app and league pass, which allows fans to watch games that are out of market and not on national television.
Click to expand...
It's just fascinating that after nearly three decades (the league was founded in 1996), the P.R. spin is still that it's an exposure problem. People don't know the league exists. They know; they don't care because the quality of play sucks and the players are unlikeable.
 
  • Informative
Reactions: timewave0
It's always the same shit with these guys. They've really got a chance to be a decent alternative to the NBA in today's climate because of how that's basically devolved into 3 point shot attempts, little to no defense, and dunks.

Instead, WNBA continues to stumble in the starting gate. An insistence on social justice and placing blame elsewhere. The talent pool is just about the best its ever been for the women but they'd rather put out a sloppy product instead of focusing on fundamentals. There's a place for that kind of game of basketball, I think. I know I'd like to see more jump shots, set plays over ISO, and some actual fucking defense.

In a perfect world, I'd rather exposure go towards women's sports that are actually good to watch like golf, softball, and field hockey.
 
  • Informative
Reactions: timewave0
It's been interesting in this past week to see Zion Williamson start to get the Greg Oden comparison. Zion has actually played LESS games than Oden did in the first three years (85-83), and Ja Morant is very quickly becoming a legit superstar 26.5/5.9/6.8.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back