Rumors

Prime, NBC, and ESPN would be “compelled” to talk to James, say my sources. “That’s a meeting you have to take just to see what he wants to do,” said one executive who declined to be named. But ESPN might have the toughest recruitment given the bad blood between James and Smith. James physically confronted Smith in March over comments about his son Bronny. Smith told Rolling Stone there’s still hard-feelings. “I don’t like him, and he don’t like me,” said Smith. Other factors are at work here, too. Flanagan tells me Tom Brady’s monster, 10-year, $375 million deal to call NFL games for Fox Sports has effectively reset the industry. It also opened the eyes of some superstars about the lucrative opportunity in sports media. Even the GOAT himself—Michael Jordan—is coming to TV as a “special contributor” to NBC’s NBA coverage this season (However, a source told FOS that reports of MJ’s $40 million annual payday are false).

Front Office Sports

What is going on with you and LeBron James? Stephen A. Smith: I have nothing to say about that. I don’t like him, and he don’t like me. He’s one of the greatest players who’s ever lived. I’m going to show him that respect, and I’m going to cover him objectively. When he does great, I’m gonna applaud. When he doesn’t do great, I’m not gonna applaud. He hid behind his son [Los Angeles Laker Bronny James], tried to make something out of nothing, as if I was dogging his son, which I was not. The real issue was we don’t like each other. And he used that as an excuse to confront me. I got it.

Rolling Stone

The first public glimpse of Lil Wayne’s upcoming Tha Carter VI album will be heard on ESPN. “The Days,” a collaboration between the iconic rapper (and May Rolling Stone cover star) and U2’s Bono, is the theme song of the NBA Finals’ promotional ad for the first day of the championship series between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers. The network has previously played his “I Am Not a Human Being,” “Uproar,” and ‘Glory” tracks in the playoffs.

Rolling Stone

“The Personal Collection of Bill Walton,” which launched yesterday and will be open for online bidding through June 11, has much of what any Walton fan would expect. There are jerseys from his UCLA and Trail Blazers years, his 1986 Boston Celtics championship ring, his 1970 passport, commemorative championship watches, and other items.

Rolling Stone

But the auction’s catalog also features 16 pages devoted to souvenirs from his years in Deadland. Among the goodies are limited-edition prints of the Europe ’72 front and back album covers signed by artist Stanley Mouse ($500 to $1,000); 13 tour books dating back to 1986 (listing itineraries, hotels where the band members were staying, and other workaday information, $250 to $500 total); the “Uncle Sam skeleton” artwork used in The Grateful Dead Movie ($500 to $1,000); and a drum cymbal autographed by the band’s Eighties lineup, including Brent Mydland ($5,000 to $7,500). (Jerry Garcia’s sense of humor is seen in his inscription: “Hey Bill! Beat this.”)

Rolling Stone

For celebs, attending Lakers games became a form of Hollywood street cred, a place to be seen, but for Nicholson, it was never about publicity. He had grown up in New Jersey playing basketball, and his love for the game remained strong, even as life took him to the West Coast. Rolling Stone magazine once identified Nicholson’s passions as art, movies, skiing, books and basketball. Writer Tim Cahill asked Nicholson for a common denominator. “There’s poetry in all those things,” the actor said in the 1981 story. “When I look at a painting, I get involved. There is a moment of truth somewhere. And basketball … when you miss a play, it’s a matter of microseconds. Little moments of truth. Skiing is like that. It’s all little moments of truth and extending the limits of control.”

New York Times

lululemon kills it when it comes to athleisure for both the professional players and those of us just looking to get a little sweat on — but today, we’re taking a note from the pros. The brand released a new campaign with NBA star Jordan Clarkson, point guard on the Utah Jazz. The men’s collection, Space to Create, features designs co-created and designed by Clarkson himself, geared towards comfortable training.

Rolling Stone

“When people are wearing this collection, I want them to feel love in themselves,” Clarkson said in a quote to Rolling Stone. “Being comfortable wearing it, knowing that you’ve got something fly on, knowing that lululemon is doing something different.” The collection ranges from $88-$198 and is available in stores and on lululemon.com now.

Rolling Stone

Turell’s journey from Valley Village, L.A. to (hopefully) the NBA is chronicled in the Prime Video documentary Destination NBA: A G League Odyssey, premiering Aug. 8, which follows the G League’s most compelling prospects as they try to achieve their dream. In addition to Turell, the doc trails No. 3 overall NBA draft pick Scoot Henderson and NBA vet Denzel Valentine, while also featuring interviews with G Leaguers who’ve made it to the big-time, such as Seth Curry, Spencer Dinwiddie, Gary Payton II, and Jalen Green.

Rolling Stone

This exclusive excerpt from “Barkley,” a new biography by Timothy Bella, goes behind the scenes at “SNL” and reveals how the athlete who famously claimed he was not a “role model” became the funniest athlete of his generation. THE QUESTION POSED to Charles on SNL was blunt: Are you happy? He had millions of adoring fans, traveled all over the world, got paid an unreal amount of money to do commercials for Nike, played golf in Hawaii, and was set for life. But in his blond wig, blue sweater, and pastel-yellow-collared shirt, Stuart Smalley, a caring nurturer and member of several 12-step programs who was not a licensed therapist, followed up again if all that made him happy. “Yeah, and the fact that I’m the best basketball player in the world,” said Charles in his checkered suit and black turtleneck. “There is nobody better.”

Rolling Stone

With the SNL dressing rooms virtually on top of each other, Charles kept the door open to allow his friends and family to come in and out. In doing so, he started to feel for himself how the musical guests were spending their downtime three feet across the hall from him. “Every time those guys from Nirvana opened up their door, I got like a contact high,” Charles recalled. “It was like one of those big mushroom clouds came. I was scared to go to the airport … ‘Do not go to the airport!’”

Rolling Stone

Hours before another Brooklyn Nets loss on Thursday, noted “free-thinker” and basketball player Kyrie Irving took to Twitter to boost a movie and book, Hebrews to Negroes, stuffed with antisemitic tropes.

Rolling Stone

The 2018 film was directed by Ronald Dalton, Jr., and based upon his 2015 book of the same name. A description for the film states that it “uncovers the true identity of the Children of Israel,” while a similar one for the book reads, “Since the European and Arab slave traders stepped foot into Africa, blacks have been told lies about their heritage.”

Rolling Stone

He trademarked his “Night Night” celebration — head cocked atop a prayer-hands pillow, after putting away his opponents with a clutch bucket — that became a contender for the top meme of 2022. He’s nearly locked a lifetime contract with Under Armour worth potentially more than $1 billion.

Rolling Stone