Harrison Barnes named NBA Player of the Week for Week 5

Photo: New Orleans Pelicans/Twitter Puerto Rico won’t see the service of its national star Jose Alvarado for this year’s FIBA Basketball World Cup. The nation released its preliminary roster for the global basketball event on Thursday and Alvarado wasn’t listed as a participant. Puerto Rico barred the 25-year-old as the…

This story appears in SLAM Presents USA Basketball. Shop now. Twelve circular neon orange portals appear out of thin air. The citrus hues fly off the spheres’ edges in sparkling fashion, rotating in a clockwise direction as the views of various cities from across the U.S. grow wider and wider….

Photo: Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press The Sacramento Kings have started the season 0-4, and head coach Mike Brown is hoping his team can show mental toughness to get through the adversity. (via FOX40 News): “The interesting part now is we’ve hit some adversity. We’re 0-4. Nobody’s feeling good about that start….

The first time Trevor Ariza noticed his son was different was in a fourth-grade basketball game. After breaking down a poor 8-year-old with a single move, Tajh Ariza drove into the paint and kicked the rock out to an open shooter with a seamless behind-the-back pass. “The timing was perfect….

Photo: Memphis Grizzlies Ja Morant went off for career-high 47 points as the Grizzlies tied the second round series against the Warriors by winning Game 2. His stellar performance received praise from LeBron James. The Lakers superstar did not think that the 22-year-old point guard should have been in the…

For three decades we’ve covered many amazing basketball characters, but some stand above the rest—not only because of their on-court skills (though those are always relevant), but because of how they influenced and continue to influence basketball culture, and thus influenced SLAM. Meanwhile, SLAM has also changed those players’ lives…