Throughout this pandemic, numerous initiatives have been created to help people out while also going above and beyond the call of duty. One of the more recent trends we have seen is the All-In Challenge which sees people from around the world doing good deeds for a good cause. Now, the NBA is joining the fun with a charitable contest that will give one fan the chance to be called on stage during the 2021 NBA Entry Draft. Yes, that's right, if it was ever your dream to shake Adam Silver's hand after he calls your name, now is your chance.

Essentially, participants can buy 10 entries for $10, 20 entries for $20, 100 entries for $50, or $200 entries for $100. Your money will end up going to a good cause as 100% of the funds raised will go to Feeding America, Meals On Wheels, World Central Kitchen and No Kid Hungry.

Yesterday, Shaq revealed to the world that he believes he, Kobe Bryant, and the three-peat Lakers could have beaten Michael Jordan's legendary Chicago Bulls. Shaq noted that he was such a dominant force that he could have easily feasted on some of the Bulls' defenders. He also claimed that if his free throw shooting was on point, it wouldn't even be close. 

Of course, these comments started a huge debate on social media with Lakers and Bulls fans going at each other. Even sports pundits are hopping on the trend with Stephen A. Smith doing so, as well. On First Take, Smith offered a fairly stern opinion about it all, claiming that the Bulls would wash the Lakers and that it wouldn't even be close. In fact, Smith said a seven-game series could very well be a sweep.

Ever since it was announced, basketball fans have been awaiting the 10-part ESPN docuseries on Michael Jordan and the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls. For those who don't know, this was the final year of Jordan's career with the Bulls. The team ended up winning their sixth championship and completed their second three-peat in just eight seasons. Despite the team's success on the court, there was a lot going on behind the scenes and this docuseries will put all of it on display.

The series was slated to drop in June but since there are no sports on TV, ESPN decided to release the first episode on April 19th. Fans are extremely excited to see it and to tease people, even more, ESPN released a 5-minute preview of the first episode. Numerous ESPN personalities posted the clip to Twitter, including NBA insider, Adrian Wojnarowski.

Due to the Coronavirus, all sports have been put on hold until further notice. This is particularly troubling when you consider just how important sports are to millions of fans throughout the world. In North America, sports fans have been going through some serious withdrawals and they are desperate for some content. To appease this demand, the NBA and ESPN teamed up for a H-O-R-S-E competition between current and former NBA and WNBA players.

The first round went down over the weekend and the production value left a lot to be desired. On Thursday night, the competition upped its game and provided fans with a semi-final and finals round. First off, Mike Conley was able to defeat Chancey Billups while Zach Lavine beat Allie Quigley. From there, Conley and Lavine faced off in the Finals, with Conley taking the game easily.

While the competition didn’t feature the biggest names, it was still a nice diversion from everything going on in the world right now. Considering the event is fairly easy to set up, perhaps we can see another competition with different names, in the not so distant future. 

Let us know in the comments below what you thought of the initiative and whether or not you enjoyed it.

Despite being rivals out on the court, Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan used to be very good friends. The two used to go everywhere together and even shared the screen in “Space Jam.” However, over the past few years, Jordan has gone completely silent on Barkley. Friendships go through ups and downs over the years although when it comes to MJ and Chuck, it looks like things will never be patched up.

While on the “Hoops, Adjacent” podcast, Barkley spoke on his complicated relationship with the NBA legend. As he explains, Jordan didn’t like something he said about his career as a manager and owner. Barkley noted that he was talking more about the people around Jordan. Regardless, MJ took offense to Barkley’s comments and the two have been on rocky terms ever since.

Ethan Miller/Getty Images for The Match

“Don’t you have friends who you’re not sure how they’re gonna react when you’re honest with them,” Barkley said. “Especially somebody on his level. And like I say, hey, I love the dude. He’s the best I’ve ever seen. It’s unfortunate the way things went down. But I’m going to always try to do my job. And actually, my criticism was about the people around him. … I thought the people he hired around him were too many yes men. That was actually my statement, to be honest. I thought the people around him, they wanted the private jet. They wanted the steak dinner. They were always going to be yes men.”

Hopefully, these two can patch things up in the not so distant future. In these uncertain times, you never want to be caught holding a grudge for too long.

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During the first couple of weeks of the season, Steph Curry ended up breaking his hand and was forced to miss a considerable amount of action. After months of rehab, Curry finally got back into the Golden State Warriors lineup but faced yet another setback when he got sick with a fever. This was back in March when the Coronavirus began to pick up steam in the United States.

Curry ended up getting tested and thankfully, his test came back negative. Despite this, Curry went through days of unease as he was worried that he could have the virus everyone was talking about. In a new piece for TIME Magazine, Curry admitted that he locked himself in his room for days just to avoid people. He knew this was serious and wanted to protect those around him.

Per Curry:

“March 6. That’s when it all became very real. I had just played my first basketball game in months the night before, and conversations were swirling about what this virus might mean for the league.

That night, I started to feel sick. The fever set in. First at 100. Then 101. My first thought was, “What are the chances? Could this really happen?” After months of waiting to get back on the court following a broken hand and two surgeries, I just wanted to play. But the threat of this mystery virus locked me in my bedroom to protect everyone I cared about: wife, kids, teammates, fans.

I was the first NBA player tested for COVID-19. Thankfully, my test came back negative. But that experience hit me, and it hit me hard.”

Now that Curry has shared his story, perhaps more people will take this thing seriously.

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It feels like forever ago now but back in February, the Memphis Grizzlies traded Andre Iguodala to the Miami Heat after a half-season of holding out. Iguodala had been dealt to the Grizzlies the Golden State Warriors and it was clear that he had no interest in playing with the young guns down south. Iggy claims the team allowed for him to sit out although, during an interview on the “All The Smoke” podcast, Ja Morant explained that it was much deeper than that.

As the rookie told Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes, Iguodala felt like the team simply wasn’t good enough and that they weren’t worth his time. While Iguodala is in a good situation in Miami, it’s important to note that the Grizzlies are in a playoff spot right now.

“Coming in, when they said he was going to be on our roster, I was very excited having a vet like that in the locker room with us,” Morant said. “Me coming in that first year, I was looking forward to learning some stuff from him and he was saying he wasn’t going to play with us or whatever happened. Like you said it’s a business, all different stuff going around, somebody said he said we weren’t good enough so in my head I was like it is what it is.”

While Iguodala’s feelings towards the Grizzlies may have been harsh, they make sense considering he wants to finish his career with an NBA title. Don’t get us wrong, the Grizzlies will be great for years to come. However, for an aging veteran, they aren’t the best landing spot. At least not right now.

Over the last few years, the NCAA has come under fire for the way it treats its student-athletes, particularly those who play football and basketball. In retaliation to this, some high school prospects have gone to play for teams that are overseas. In fact, the G-League has even created a new development program for players who would like to go through their system instead of going to college.

This G-League program received a huge win today as it was revealed that number 1 high school prospect Jalen Green would be joining the G-League and foregoing all of his college offers. As ESPN reported today, Green could make upwards of $500K and will be able to train with veteran ballplayers. Needless to say, Green will be in a much better situation and won't have to undergo the college course grind.

Shaq and Kobe Bryant headlined one of the most dominant teams in NBA history. Of course, I am talking about the Los Angeles Lakers who won three-straight titles between 2000 and 2002. This three-peat came not long after Michael Jordan’s second three-peat with the Chicago Bulls. 

In the eyes of numerous sports fans, Jordan’s Bulls are the greatest basketball team of all time, especially when you consider how they ended up going 72-10, one season. Regardless, Shaq is confident he and Kobe could have dismantled that Bulls team. During an interview with ESPN, Shaq spoke about playing against MJ’s Bulls and how it would have been a close matchup. Regardless, Shaq thinks the Lakers would have won, especially if his free throw shooting was on point.

“‘Cause I would’ve killed Luc Longley, Bill Wennington, [Bill] Cartwright,” Shaq said. “The factor is me and my free-throw shooting. So he would’ve tried the hack-a-Shaq thing,” Shaq noted about Phil Jackson. “I still would average like 28, 29, but the key would’ve been free throws. With me, it’s always 50-50. If I would’ve been on, we win. If I would’ve been off, we lose.”

This is certainly an interesting debate although all things considered, the Bulls probably would have squeezed out the win. However, a seven-game series could easily have gone the distance.

Which team do you think would have come out on top?

Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls will be the subject of a brand new documentary called The Last Dance which is set to air on April 19th. In order to promote the new docuseries, members of the 97-98 Bulls team have been summoned for a series of interviews. Recently, Steve Kerr and Scottie Pippen sat down with Rachel Nichols of ESPN where they told some incredible stories about MJ. One of those tales involved the time he finessed a Bulls arena security guard out of $4,100.

As the story goes, Jordan and the security guard used to bet $100 per game on the Jumbotron races. The catch was that MJ was being tipped off as to who won, prior to the races airing on the screen.