We have had some amazing and imaginative entries for our NBA 2K12 giveaway contest. 

As a reminder, the contest asked you to describe, in 25 words or less, your favourite NBA roster of all time. NBA 2K12 allows you to take charge of some of the most legendary NBA rosters and superstars and re-write history.

In fact, there were so many amazing entries that we had to pull out the best ones, put them in a hat and draw them out randomly, because some of them were simply too hard to split.

Without further ado, here are the two winning entries:

M. Allen: 94/95 Houston Rockets - Olajuwon + Drexler Phi Slama Jamma all over again. Great team, entertaining basketball, great champions.

(Editor's Note: A team close to my heart, being the huge Clyde the Glide fan that I am)

M. Stevens: 1995-96 Bulls - Jordan, Pippen, Rodman- The main men, a 6’6 defensive point in Harper, Longley-Blue collar mid-range money, Kukoc off the bench!! 72-10 GOAT

(Editor's Note: There were a stack of 95-96 Bulls entries -- by far the most recognised team as greatest of all time)

I will contact the two winners via email to get their prizes sent out to them by the lovely people at 2K Sports. Stay tuned, because if for some reason they fail to respond, I'll have to draw another winner!

Soon we'll have our review of 2K12 here with the exciting news that 45 additional legends have been added to the game, as downloadable content, including the likes of All-Star Weekend favourites Kevin Johnson, Dan Majerle, Dee Brown, Kenny "Sky" Walker and the human-rag-doll Shawn Bradley (presumably so that the other players can dunk on him)!

Thanks for all of the great entries to the contest. There are some big NBA fans out there. Keep on reading for further giveaways at A Stern Warning.

Anyone who has ever visited A Stern Warning knows that this is the home of Patty Mills fandom and has been for years. However, I have to point out the Oscar nomination that is owing to Patty Cakes for demonstrating the art of flopping on this play against Jamar Wilson of the Cairns Taipans yesterday -- a skill he may be honing to take back to the Portland Trail Blazers!

Vlade Divac would be proud!

(all images: Benjamin Parker)

Last night the Sydney Kings once again put on the type of display that made me question their legitimacy as an NBL Finals threat in the pre-season. With a finely oiled Melbourne Tigers machine in full-swing, fans at the Kingdome were treated to another disappointing result, as the visitors went out 94-76 winners.

This edition of What We Learned is going to be shorter than normal, as there simply isn't that much that can be written that wasn't already enunciated following the Kings' demolition at the hands of the New Zealand Breakers in their first home game of the 2011/12 season.

Nike always manages to come up with attractive looking television commercials.

This one features the likes of LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Coach K pushing the message that even during an NBA Lockout, basketball never stops.

NBA stars have made their share of apperances in Nestle Crunch television commercials over the years -- some of them quite amusing. If nothing else, you'll get a kick out of the retro feel of how TV advertisements used to be back in the day!

no comments

Whilst many of you will have read the news via various sources in the last couple of days, I'm still getting a lot of questions via facebook and twitter as to what is happening with tickets for the NBA World All-Star Classic tour. So it's best to update you here on what the situation appears to be panning out as.

Unfortunately, the news is not good right now for Australian fans waiting to see NBA stars such as Kobe Bryant, Amar'e Stoudemire and Dwyane Wade in Melbourne. The latest news on the tour is that the first leg, through Puerto Rico, has been cancelled, with all later legs (including London, Macau and Melbourne) being postponed until at least late November. 

Originally the Melbourne games were scheduled for 8 and 9 November.

This comes from ESPN:

The six-game, four-continent World All-Star Classic exhibition tour featuring two squads of All-Star NBA players is on hold, with Sunday's scheduled game in San Juan, Puerto Rico, postponed indefinitely.

The other five games on the tour, scheduled for London, Macau and Australia, already had been pushed back until late November. There was hope the game in San Juan could be salvaged and serve as proof to the other venues and investors that Atlanta businessman Cal Darden and his son, Cal Jr., were capable of pulling off the event.

Cal Darden Sr. could not be reached for comment. A spokeswoman told The Associated Press a new date for the San Juan game will be announced by Nov. 3.

...

It remained to be seen if the game in Puerto Rico and the rest of the tour would be resurrected in light of NBA commissioner David Stern canceling regular-season games through Nov. 30 after labor talks broke off Friday without a deal.

Tickets already had been selling briskly in Puerto Rico, sources close to the organizers said, but there were no provisions made for refunds if the event was canceled or postponed.

So we wait until tomorrow to see if a new date for the Puerto Rico game is announced, at which point the other cards in the deck should fall into place. The fact that NBA labour negotiations are running so poorly may well be an impetus towards the tour eventually being resurrected and the players filling their idle time with some basketball around the world. 

Stay tuned for more details on dates and tickets as they emerge.

Channing Frye is one of the coolest people in the history of the world. I think that is something we can all agree on. 

You disagree? Okay, watch this video and see if it changes your mind...

Frye put this video together with Danger Ehren, Aaron Ross and Brian Baldwin for his "Dead Or Alive" themed Halloween party. The party was held to benefit the Frye Family Foundation's initiative, Frye Pads. (Now how cool a name is that?) The program aims to provide communication tools for patients and their families during extended stays at hospitals across the United States (starting in the Portland area).

The Smashing Pumpkins tie-in in the video really did it for me.

So, do you agree that he's pretty dope? He's certainly one of the coolest NBA players out there.

Given that we don't have any real NBA games in progress right now, I thought I'd post a video of a surreal NBA moment. 

Check this 2006 footage out as Kwame Brown (Los Angeles Lakers) not only catches the basketball on the break, but also manages to slam it down successfully, all over Andres Nocioni (Chicago Bulls). In addition to these unusual facts, the following is notable:

1. Kobe passed the ball to a teammate -- he didn't do much of that in 2006.
2. Is there really reason for a charge call here, or is this a matter of the NBA officials trying to give an advantage to the exciting play? Yes, Nocioni was standing in the "no charge" semi-circle, but he did not move, consequently, I'd call this a no-call more than anything else.

Watching Kwame in action also led me to ask the question: Is Kwame Brown the least talented #1 Draft Pick in NBA history? Take note, I'm not asking if he is the most disappointing (before you jump in and blurt Greg Oden's name), but just whether he is the least talented. I think it's fair to say that Michael Olowokandi is in with a chance in this race, though his best season (2002/03 Clippers: 12.3ppg, 9.1rpg, 2.2bpg) was far better than anything that Kwame has produced.  no comments

As the 2011/12 NBL season starts to pick up some steam, I've put together the next part in my Casual Fan's Guide to the 2011/12 NBL Season. This week we look at the top five MVP candidates. Take a look and tell me what you think. Perhaps you'll want to pass these articles on to the casual basketball fan in your life, to convert them into a hardcore NBL fan.

The articles I've written at NBL.com.au so far are:

• Casual NBL 2011/12 Fan's Guide: 5 MVP Candidates
• Casual NBL 2011/12 Fan's Guide: 5 Veteran Stars
• Casual NBL 2011/12 Fan's Guide: 5 Breakout Players
• Welcome to the Speedway

Archive of Fan Voice articles located here.

Further to yesterday's news about the forthcoming NBA World All-Star Classic tour, coming to Australia, Macau, the United Kingdom and Puerto Rico, comes news that LeBron James, Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony will not take part in the games. The trio have pulled out of the tour, citing the hectic travel schedule and a desire to spend time with their families (understandably) as the NBA lockout wears on.

The news follows the revelation that Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook would not take part, for similar reasons.

According to ESPN, Kevin Durant is also unsure as to whether he will take part in the tour. Meanwhile, Kobe Bryant, Amar'e Stoudemire and Dwyane Wade are amongst a group that is committed to the tour that takes in Melbourne, London, San Juan and Macau. 

Other possible participants being floated are:

Chris Bosh, Blake Griffin, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Carlos Boozer, Tyson Chandler, Steve Nash, Kevin Love, Rajon Rondo and Chris Kaman.

Whilst many Australian fans have questioned why the tour will not come through Sydney, the current schedule has two games planned for Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne.

More details here as they emerge...