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“Being a white N.B.A. player from the suburbs, I have to level up,” said Scalabrine, who is from Long Beach, Calif., and was often referred to as the White Mamba, a play on Kobe Bryant’s Black Mamba nickname. “People don’t understand how a little bit nuts you have to be to sustain an N.B.A. career,” Scalabrine said. “Especially when you’re not that talented. You have to be ready. You have to be up for the fight. You have to be like that every day. And if you’re not, you lose your livelihood.”
The 15- and 16-year-olds on the Compton Magic didn’t take LaMelo seriously when they faced him for the first time in April 2013. LaMelo made them pay by delivering 13 points in his team’s 77-66 upset victory at the Pangos Sweet 16 in Long Beach, California. “We had a lot of the top guys in Southern California on our team,” former Compton Magic coach A.J. Diggs told Yahoo Sports. “With that much talent, it was natural to think an 11-year-old didn’t belong. But as the game wore on and he was making shots, it was like, ‘Look guys, you’ve got to guard this kid. He’s a talented player. He’s not out here for nothing.’ ”
Before settling on the current site, the Clippers explored locations as far south as Long Beach, according to the report, in addition to several areas in Los Angeles including Boyle Heights and near Union Station. They also had discussions with owners of the Forum and the L.A. Stadium and Entertainment District, which is being developed by Rams owner Stan Kroenke.
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A native of Long Beach, CA, Landry Fields parlayed his five-season NBA career into a role as a scout, so he knows a thing or two about making smart choices. He also possesses a keen eye for real estate— as evidenced by his home in Rossmoor, CA. The 5,408-square-foot house is now on the market for $2.65 million.
Jovan Buha: Big Baller Brand is debuting the "ZO2 Collection" apparel line for Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball today at ComplexCon in Long Beach, Calif. According to the company, the "ZO2 Collection" is the first line of Big Baller Brand products to be offered wholesale to retailers. Up to this point, all Big Brand Brand products have been sold exclusively on BigBallerBrand.com.
And the departure of BC’s scoring leader (18.6 points per game) could trigger an exodus of several other players — including 6-2 sophomore guard Joe Rahon, a native of San Diego who averaged 9.0 points, and 6-8 junior forward Ryan Anderson, of Long Beach, Calif., who averaged 14.3 points and 7.1 rebounds — according to other team sources. Those sources indicated both Rahon and Anderson may be considering transferring to West Coast schools.
Retired NBA star Robert Horry wasn't hurt after a car he was driving hit a motorcycle on a Los Angeles freeway and left the rider hospitalized. The California Highway Patrol said Wednesday that Horry's 2014 Infiniti collided with a 2013 Yamaha motorcycle driven by Xerxes Baldonasa of Long Beach on Tuesday afternoon on the 105 Freeway near Inglewood.
If I had it to do all over again, I never would have taken that job. Knowing what I know today, sometimes hindsight is a great thing. The one thing you gotta remember about me, I grew up in Brooklyn, I played on the playgrounds, I lived in Long Beach where there was one of the greatest courts ever. My mom worked at a bakery across the street. All the great players came from around the metropolitan area, all the old pros. Red Holtzman taught me how to play. I worshipped the Knicks, I worshipped him, I admired Red Auerbach, old-school guys that really taught you the right way to play. Their teams were phenomenal. So when I had the opportunity to coach the Knicks, that was a dream for me that I never expected to happen. I realized early on that the league needs the Knicks to be successful. The NBA has done unbelievable things for me. I owe so much to David Stern and the league itself for what it's afforded me. ... So to be the coach of the Knicks, to realize that if you love the game and were taught by the best coaches you could really help the sport, and then fail, that was a killer.
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Kevin Durant — and most of the other players asked — have Kobe. Players were asked by the Los Angeles Times after the recent Goodman/Drew rematch in Long Beach. Since we don’t have other basketball to talk about, this hypothetical is worth a discussion. But it comes down to the classic LeBron vs. Kobe issues — physically LeBron is more gifted and should be able to overpower Kobe and back him down. But Kobe is more practiced — he’s got more and better post moves and is better at getting to his spots on the floor.
Like Young, rookie Williams is just giddy to be at the party in Long Beach. It's not that he doesn't have anything at stake in the negotiations, just that there are guys far more qualified than him to represent the collective opinion of NBA players. "I'm going to leave that to [the veterans]," Williams said. "Like Kobe. He's been there since the first [lockout]. He knows what he's talking about. He knows what's happening. He's played through the whole time they've had the [expired CBA], so I'm going to let them handle all that."
Having spent some time around Brown since watching him play high-school ball against Artie Heyman (Long Beach vs. Oceanside), he always has a job on tap. I've got a pesky hunch his ancient agent Joe Glass began calling around the league about possible jobs the day after his client signed with the Bobcats.
Love played only one collegiate season with Russell Westbrook at UCLA but said he needed only one pickup game there to conclude that that the rather unsung recruit (at least by Bruins standards) from Long Beach, Calif., someday would be as good as he has become. "I don't think I knew he'd be this good, this fast," Love said. "But I knew he could be, and would be. I hate to say that I called it, but I was always the guy telling everybody, 'This guy is going to be special.' "
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