Howard Beck

In Jeff Bzdelik’s waking nightmare, Stephen Curry isn’t raining threes from the arc, or the logo, or the Bay Bridge. He isn’t even shooting. At least, not initially. He doesn’t even have the ball. No, the haunting images are all of Curry running,…

Welcome to the Morning Shootaround, where every weekday you’ll get a fresh, topical column from one of SI.com’s NBA writers: Howard Beck on Mondays, Chris Mannix on Tuesdays, Michael Pina on Wednesdays, Chris Herring on Thursdays and Rohan Nadkarni…

A Knicks banner was raised to the rafters on Dec. 27, enshrining a glorious achievement. It was placed next to the one that reads 1972–73 WORLD CHAMPIONS. Another banner went up on Dec. 28. And another on Jan. 2, Jan. 3, Jan. 4, Jan. 6 and Jan.…

A wave of empathy and anger swept through the country in the weeks following George Floyd's death at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer. Millions marched and protested, chanted Floyd's name, scrawled "Black Lives Matter" on signs and sidewalks…

The play that launched the last Lakers dynasty was not scripted. How could it have been? Nothing about Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal was ever predictable or linear, or fit any logical framework. There was no playbook for unifying these two…

"Howard, do you need me today?" The voice came from behind me, but I knew who was asking before I turned my head. Kobe Bryant was striding across the gym at L.A. Southwest College, heading toward the exit. Practice was over, players were slowly…

was on the phone, and I was rattled. Fumbling the receiver, fumbling for words, desperately trying to regain my composure. But not for the reasons you probably assume. "Howard Beck?" came the voice. "Yes?" I responded. "David J. Stern," the voice…

The People's Republic of China is the worst abuser of human rights in the world, according to the U.S. State Department. China has imprisoned more than a million Uighur Muslims in "re-education" camps and forced the assimilation of millions more,…

OAKLAND, Calif. — It will be said that a dynasty ended here Thursday night, that it crumbled into dust, as all great dynasties eventually do. But that's not entirely accurate. The dynastic Warriors of Golden State—the team of Steph and Klay and Dray…

LOS ANGELES — Steve Ballmer is yelling at me. No, that isn't quite right. Steve Ballmer is yelling toward me. Though, really, he isn't so much yelling as he is boisterously beseeching, imploring, urging, persuading. His volume rises in proportion to…

We are desperately searching for clues. Reporters, pundits, fans, team executives, all of us, forever searching, probing, querying, combing. Where is LeBron James going? Someone must know. Someone always knows. The scout says he's definitely leaving…

KOBE BRYANT SWEARS HE SAW IT—Michael Jordan's ghost, not two months ago, right there on the floor of Madison Square Garden. It took the form of DeMar DeRozan, working his mid-range magic against the Knicks. That fadeaway jumper from the elbow. The…

At the peak of Linsanity—that joyful burst of basketball magic that transfixed the world in 2012—Jeremy Lin handed Kenny Atkinson a ragged slip of paper. Atkinson was a young assistant with the New York Knicks. Lin was his protege. The slip of paper…

LOS ANGELES — I came to say goodbye to a legend. Kobe Bryant refused. It was too soon, by three weeks. And Kobe Bryant, as you might know, does everything on his own terms. Even goodbyes. It was March 22, Game 70 of the Mamba Farewell Tour. The…

As Their Careers Diverge,LeBron and Carmelo Share Unique FriendshipOn the night before the biggest high school basketball game in modern times, two teenage prodigies—strangers, soon to be rivals—sat on a hotel staircase and bonded.They talked for…

NEW YORK — The farewell came Sunday at 5:59 p.m ET, with hugs and smiles, a stirring ovation and one final wave—an NBA legend and a legendary arena sharing a last embrace. Kobe Bryant raised his left palm to meet the gentle cheers, then disappeared…

On March 3 of this year, the Denver Nuggets fired head coach Brian Shaw. It was not a controversial decision. The Nuggets were listing. Shaw was struggling. A change seemed inevitable. Shaw's dismissal came 26 days after the Orlando Magic fired…

OKLAHOMA CITY — The play begins 75 feet from the basket, with a lunge and a steal, the start of a Kevin Durant breakaway. The strange murmurs begin a split-second later. Durant is dribbling, running, gliding past midcourt, losing his last defender.…

The memorabilia has been bubble-wrapped—the autographed Willis Reed print, the kitschy poster from the 1978 Finals. A brawny typewriter, the Royal 440, rests on the radiator. An NBA staff guide, dated 1975-76, peeks out from a shelf. And on the desk…

Few athletes have left as deep an imprint on their sport as Kevin Garnett has on the NBA. As KG celebrates his 39th birthday, a collection of players, coaches and executives recount what made him such a unique and transformational figure over the…