THE KING'S RING

The Miami Heat have won this year's NBA title, so we feel it's time to Celebrate one of America's most disliked and influential athletes: they called him Akron Hammer, L-Train, The Choosen One, and even King. All we know is that his name is Lebron James, and he's the most dominant basketball player of the last years.

Let's go way back to the days of Akron afros and high school dunks. The long road to that ring proves that even those destined for greatness have to earn it.

At the conclusion of the season, James was named league MVP for the third time, finishing with averages of 27.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, 6.2 assists, and 1.9 steals per game on 53 percent shooting. In the playoffs game 4 agaist Indiana, James turned in one of the best all-around performances of his career, registering 40 points, 18 rebounds, and 9 assists in a winning effort on the road.
In the "do or die" game 5 in the Finals, James registered his only triple-double of the season with 26 points, 11 rebounds, and 13 assists as Miami defeated Oklahoma City for their second ever championship and James' first championship. He was named the Finals MVP with averages of 28.6 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 7.4 assists per game. His postseason totals were 30.3 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 5.6 assists per game.

MAKE YOUR SWISHES COME TRUE

Boston Celtics team photographer Brian Babineau presents his short film, "The Routine", featuring Ray Allen, one of the most accurate 3-point and free throw shooters in NBA history.
His lead role in the 1998 Spike Lee film He Got Game made him famous, his work ethic and commitment to the game made him a living legend.
He is a ten-time NBA All-Star and and an Olympic gold medalist as a member of the 2000 United States Men's Basketball Team.
On February 10, 2011, Allen became the NBA's all-time leader in regular season 3-point field goals made, surpassing Reggie Miller.

SAY MY NAME AGAIN

In September, Ron Artest — the Lakers’ burly, quirky, unfailingly unpredictable forward — legally changed his name to Metta World Peace. The first name is a Buddhist term meaning “loving kindness.” The last name is self-explanatory.

“Give World Peace a chance,” read a Los Angeles Times headline a week after the name change was stamped as official.

This is, more or less, what Artest intended when he made the change: to make the public, unwittingly or consciously, seriously or in jest, consider the concept.

“If you look at a young kid and you tell them, would they love world peace? They would definitely tell you yeah,” he said Thursday after the Lakers’ shootaround. “But as we get older, we change and we adjust to our environment. And we don’t think about little things anymore. But kids love, they love other kids. They love world peace.”

STAR-SPANGLED

Get some starlight and witness some quality slo-mo action from Orlando, where the 2012 NBA All Star week-end just took place.
Every year the All Star Game doesn't just entertain the entire world but it also gives us a good hint about who's probably going to rule the second part of the season and the playoffs. I think after last frustrating defeat in the finals it's finally the time to shine for Miami.