Less than two months ago, the basketball season seemed lost—but on Sunday, the NBA returns! It's going to be an exciting Christmas day to herald in the condensed 66-game season, with marquee matchups between several title contenders, including the Knicks/Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks/Miami Heat, LA Lakers/Chicago Bulls, Oklahoma City Thunder/Orlando Magic and LA Clippers/Golden State Warriors. But the real question isn't who to support—everyone who cares already has a team they're loyal to—it's who to hate. And it seems there's a new villain in the league: Kris Humphries. more ›

Shortly after he rejected the Knicks, the Cavaliers, and half a dozen other desperate suitors, LeBron James made an ill-thought out prediction for the Miami Heat which helped cement his villain status in the NBA: “We will win not three, not four, not five, not six, not seven, but more [NBA championships]." James didn't win a championship in his first season with the Heat, but at least he can smile through the pain by parodying that soundbyte in a new McDonalds Monopoly ad. Those millions of dollars in endorsement deals probably help soothe his aching ego as well. Watch the karmic commercial below. more ›

Despite being the best basketball player in the NBA, it's becoming more and more apparent that LeBron James is kind of a huge dick, and we're lucky to have lost out on his Dumbcision. Case in point: more ›

Tonight, the Knicks face off against the Miami Heat, led by supreme Decision maker LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, at Madison Square Garden tonight. And, after the home team's hot streak of late (before the heartbreaker against the Celtics, at least), fans are hopeful. Spike Lee, uber-fan (and Google enthusiast and Brooklyn sellout to some), confidently told the Daily News, "We're gonna kick LeBron's ass. We're going to win them all. It's like the old days." more ›

Let's get one thing clear: the NY Knicks are in an abusive relationship with Isiah Thomas. He abused the fans, the salary cap, and the development system with gruesome move after gruesome move as Knicks team president and head coach in the last decade. When James Dolan made motions to re-hire Thomas as a consultant over the summer, fans were enraged. Thomas was a bad luck charm, an emblem of the worst era in Knicks history, and just bad at his job. And yet, Thomas loves us. He coos into our ears, "C'mon baby, you know I didn't mean it. I'll be better this time." Of course he won't actually acknowledge he did anything wrong, but he desperately wants back into our hearts and our pants. more ›

Despite "The Decision" being made all the way back in July, a few New Yorkers are still hurt that LeBron James chose to go to Miami. Hopefully, his new it's-not-you-it's-me apology will heal those wounds. He told the Daily News, "(Newark) is great. Brooklyn is a great city also." Aww, thanks LeBron! We'll just ignore what he said next, which was, "But I've never been in Newark. I've never been in Brooklyn, so I don't know if [it] would have helped the case a lot." more ›

ESPN and the NBA announced that the Dec. 17 Knicks- Miami Heat match-up will be the first NBA game shown in 3D. The game will also be the first time the new-look Heat, led by LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, will come to Madison Square Garden. Eight regular season games will be shown on ESPN 3D channel, including the Feb. 11 game at the Garden between the Knicks and LA Lakers; six playoff games will be shown in the format, too. For an idea of what it might look like, check out this video. Now the NBA's just got to hope that NYers like the Knicks again by that point. more ›

LeBron James Tweeted on Wednesday, "New York New York got a treat for yall 2morrow. Stay Tuned." While Deputy Mayor Howard Wolfson wondered, "You've changed your mind about playing for the Knicks?" it turns out the Miami Heat player was just here for Nike's World Basketball Festival. Interestingly, while many other NBA players were interviewed, the Post noticed that James (well, the Post called him "LeCon") was left of out media avails, because "Nike did not want its World Basketball Festival to turn into a boo-fest." A Nike official said, "We wanted to stay away from that." Yeah, can't hurt poor little LeBron's feelings—what if someone brings up Delonte West? more ›

Looks like Jay-Z really wanted to impress Mikhail Prokhorov! MediaTakeOut reported, per an "extremely credible insider," that the rap mogul feels dissed by LeBron James during James' free agency sweepstakes, "Jay Z was supposed to be able to bring stars to [the New Jersey] Nets - or at least have access to them. [During the time that LeBron was making his decision] he didn't even take [Jay Z's] calls. It made [Jay Z] look like he couldn't deliver to the Nets management... If [Jay Z] would have landed a star player, he could have been seen as a legitimate asset to the team. Now they see him as just dead weight." more ›

Last week, LeBron James changed the world when he chose not to sign with the Knicks and Nets. Then he changed the world some more when he attended a wedding! Somewhere near the end of his world changing week, he was burned to shreds in an open letter by Cavaliers majority owner Dan Gilbert, who called him "heartless" and "narcissistic." And now the Reverend Jesse Jackson has stepped in to defend defenseless LeBron from Gilbert: "He speaks as an owner of LeBron and not the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers. His feelings of betrayal personify a slave-master mentality. He sees LeBron as a runaway slave," said Jackson to the AP. more ›

Yesterday, it was the moment New York fans had hoped for: LeBron James in in New York City. Except James was only in the Big Apple for the wedding of his friend, Denver Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony, to former MTV personality LaLa Vazquez. The NY Post's headline, "Welcome to NY, Jackass," while the Daily News went with the milder, "LeBronx Cheer." more ›

Some New Yorkers really believed that LeBron James was coming to New York. One Upper West Sider told WCBS 2, "He came all the way to Greenwich, Conn., to ["Decide"]. Got us all excited. I'm very disappointed." But James got to meet up with his pal Kanye West! West, who had a brush with being reviled last fall, was at the Boys and Girls Club in Greenwich, Connecticut. more ›

LeBron James' televised announcement that he was leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers to play for the Miami Heat—for the express purposes of winning multiple championships alongside Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh—broke the hearts of New Yorkers, who were hoping James would use his talents to elevate the Knicks once again or even, if they ever move to Brooklyn, create a dynasty with the Nets. The Daily News is calling him "LeCon" and there's an amazing open letter from Cavaliers majority owner Dan Gilbert posted on the team's website. It reads, in Comic Sans font, "I PERSONALLY GUARANTEE THAT THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS WILL WIN AN NBA CHAMPIONSHIP BEFORE THE SELF-TITLED FORMER ‘KING’ WINS ONE." more ›

LeBron James is about to announce where he'll be playing on ESPN. Well, at least we hope he spills the beans immediately. The intro for the ESPN special, "The Decision," is ridiculous, calling him the "most coveted" free agent of all time. ESPN's sources still claim he's going to Miami, but Chris Broussard said there are "so many twists and turns" that he could head to NY, Chicago or stay in Cleveland. Sorry, NJ! more ›

The Knicks appear to be admitting that defeat in the LeBron James derby. The Daily News reports, "The Knicks formally introduced their newest signing, [Amare] Stoudemire, at a noon press conference, but while the club was happy to add a player of his caliber it was clear that the entire organization looked like a defeated group." Donnie Walsh, president, said, "I'm going to be happy today no matter what happens. We got Amar'e Stoudemire," while Knicks owner James Dolan said, "It takes courage to play where the lights shine the brightest." more ›

Since the Nets, who had the worst record last season but now flaunt a Russian billionaire owner, seem to be out of the LeBron James sweepstakes, the Post looks at how the Nets failed to get their backup potential savior, Carlos Boozer, the power forward from the Jazz: "Boozer who, when the Nets visited Utah in January after their season was truly DOA, pretty much claimed he would rather dip his head in a vat of acid than consider New Jersey. Guess he felt the same now, though the vat was lined with nearly $80M." Boozer is now signed with the Bulls; he claims Chicago still has a chance at James. more ›

Why is Us Magazine trying to break the hearts of Ohioans—not to mention the hearts of rich basketball team owners in NY, NJ, and Chicago? "LeBron James has rented six cabanas at the W Hotel South Beach this weekend to celebrate his team decision, two sources confirm to UsMagazine.com. That adds more fuel to the fire that James, 25, will announce he's joining the Miami Heat Thursday night, as several insiders told ESPN this morning. (He's still confirmed to attend NBA star Carmelo Anthony's Saturday-night wedding to former MTV VJ LaLa Vazquez in NYC.)" more ›

The thousands, possibly millions, of hours of spent on wondering where LeBron James will play this coming season will finally be over at 9 p.m. during his one-hour ESPN special (sponsored by Bing, Nike, etc.), The Decision. On his website, his management explains, "Due to the unprecedented attention and interest surrounding LeBron's decision, we have decided to make this announcement on national television. By doing so we have generated funds that will be given to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. LeBron has a longstanding commitment to giving back to the community, and has worked with the Boys and Girls Clubs in cities across the country." more ›

Of course, LeBron James can't announce where he'll sign with a regular ol' press conference—he has to make a one-hour special on ESPN at 9 p.m. tomorrow. According to ESPN—which didn't even get the scoop (ESPN The Magazine did)—"ESPN would only confirm that active discussions for the special are ongoing. But sources tell Broussard that representatives for James contacted the network, proposing that James makes his announcement during a 9 p.m. ET special." more ›

LeBron James made an appearance at his LeBron James Skills Academy camp in Akron, Ohio yesterday —and he was wearing a Yankees cap! Maybe Yankees GM Brian Cashman knows something when he says, "LeBron James is going to be a Knick... I'm convinced of it. New York is the place that will allow LeBron to be the player and person he wants to be, and it's all coming together. Just listen, LeBron James will be a Knick." more ›

While it's not an officially done deal until later this week, Amare Stoudemire agreed in principle to a five year, $99.7 million deal from the Knicks. At a press conference, he tried to endear himself to the Big Apple, "The New York is by far the best city in the world," and referred to the "great fans," adding, "The atmosphere is at an all time high. The Knicks are back, the city's on fire and they're ready." more ›

OMG, the Knicks had another meeting with LeBron James. Well, not exactly James himself. Knicks GM Donnie Walsh confirmed to ESPN "that the Knicks' sent assistant GM Glen Grunwald to Cleveland for a second meeting with LeBron's agent, Leon Rose, on Saturday. But he said the meeting was just to clarify the team's cap situation both this year and the next. 'We didn't get into it in our first meeting the way we wanted to,' Walsh said. 'We just wanted to make sure they had all the information.'" more ›

Just a day after the Knicks offered him $100 million for a five-year contract, former Phoenix Suns player Amare Stoudemire was spotted taking in a Broadway show (Rock of Ages, FWIW) last night. He told reporters, "I've talked to Carmelo Anthony to come out here, I've talked to Tony Parker. Both those guys are ready to join me if I decide to come here, so I'm gonna see if we can work it out." And Stoudemire said of the Knicks, "It's one of the most historic franchises in NBA history. It's a beautiful city, Madison Square Garden is definitely one of the most intriguing places to play, so [the Knicks] definitely have a few great points on their side." more ›

At the stroke of midnight Thursday, the LeBron James sweepstakes sweep-him-off-his-feet-stakes began in earnest, after years of preparation, months of speculation, and weeks of celebrity recruitment videos. The Nets and Knicks got to make the first pitches to LeBron, with back-to-back meetings in Cleveland, Ohio on Thursday. And Knicks Coach Mike D'Antoni sounded peppy and "cautiously optimistic" afterward, saying, “We tried to put him in a New York state of mind.” more ›

Today is the day before the day LeBron James will become a free agent, and eventually crush the spirits of at least one or two major metropolitan cities. It doesn't take much to see that the problems of one 6'8" advertising machine does amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world, but at least one billionaire NYer gets it: Mayor Bloomberg made one last LeBron push today, telling the superstar that celebrities aren't bothered much in NYC, and he could enjoy a normal private life here (though even the Mayor succumbed to an eating disorder). more ›

It's kind of incredible to think that we are less than one day away from LeBron James's free agency, and still have next-to-no concrete idea where he will end up playing next season. And it's also a little bit sad to think that the Knicks have been planning for this day for over two years, and can only be considered an outside reach for LeBrons' affections at this point. Anxious optimism (Lebroptimism) has flowed as freely as sewage runoff and as plentifully as discarded tires down the East River, but the myriad number of recruitment videos and desperate pleas don't seem to have been enough, nor was hiring a “guy in charge of showering love on LeBron James". more ›