The Global Top 10 is your weekly guide to NBA global news.
1. Gasol Puts Lakers Over the Top
After quietly dominating in the paint all season, Lakers pivot Pau Gasol capped off perhaps the best season of his career with an NBA title. The Spaniard averaged 18.6 points and 9.2 rebounds during The Finals, his biggest game coming in Game 2 in which he tallied seven of his 24 points in overtime.
Gasol also scored 23 points on a near-perfect 9-of-11 shooting in Game 3 and had his third double-double of the series with 14 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks in the series-clinching Game 5.
"We wouldn't have won it without him,"
Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak told NBA.com. "Simple as that."
Gasol's efforts on the defensive end had as much to do with that as anything. He helped keep Dwight Howard from turning into Superman in the series, limiting the Magic big man to 15.4 points on .488 shooting, numbers well below his Playoffs and regular season averages.
"I think the thing that helped us get to this level was the improvements that he made defensively," Finals MVP Kobe Bryant said after Game 5's title-clinching win. "He did a terrific job defensively for us all year, and particularly in this series. Obviously when we got him last year, that really took us to that next step."
During the regular season, Gasol averaged 18.9 points, 9.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and a blocks. He was voted third team All-NBA, made the West All-Star squad as a reserve and was named by FIBA Europe as the 2008 Player of the Year. In February, he was named Player of the Week twice and earned Western Conference Player of the Month. Gasol became just the fourth player in NBA history to score 10,000 career points after joining the league directly from Europe.
1. Gasol Puts Lakers Over the Top
After quietly dominating in the paint all season, Lakers pivot Pau Gasol capped off perhaps the best season of his career with an NBA title. The Spaniard averaged 18.6 points and 9.2 rebounds during The Finals, his biggest game coming in Game 2 in which he tallied seven of his 24 points in overtime.
Gasol also scored 23 points on a near-perfect 9-of-11 shooting in Game 3 and had his third double-double of the series with 14 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks in the series-clinching Game 5.
"We wouldn't have won it without him,"
Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak told NBA.com. "Simple as that."
Gasol's efforts on the defensive end had as much to do with that as anything. He helped keep Dwight Howard from turning into Superman in the series, limiting the Magic big man to 15.4 points on .488 shooting, numbers well below his Playoffs and regular season averages.
"I think the thing that helped us get to this level was the improvements that he made defensively," Finals MVP Kobe Bryant said after Game 5's title-clinching win. "He did a terrific job defensively for us all year, and particularly in this series. Obviously when we got him last year, that really took us to that next step."
During the regular season, Gasol averaged 18.9 points, 9.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and a blocks. He was voted third team All-NBA, made the West All-Star squad as a reserve and was named by FIBA Europe as the 2008 Player of the Year. In February, he was named Player of the Week twice and earned Western Conference Player of the Month. Gasol became just the fourth player in NBA history to score 10,000 career points after joining the league directly from Europe.
2. Turkoglu, Pietrus Make Names for Themselves
We knew Turkey's Hedo Turkoglu was good. But this good? And France's Mickael Pietrus? Many NBA fans didn't even know his name prior to the Playoffs. But Orlando's international duo was a significant part of the reason the Magic were able to make it to the Finals.
Turkoglu established himself as Mr. Fourth Quarter all year, and when it got to the postseason, the story continued.
He hit a game-winning 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds left in Game 4 against Philadelphia in the first round. In the East semis, his 25 points and 12 assists, with 10 points coming in the final period, helped Orlando knock off the defending champion Boston Celtics on the road in Game 7
Turkoglu assisted in Rashard Lewis' game-winning trey against the Cavs in Game 1 of the East finals, notching nine points and seven assists in the fourth quarter alone as Orlando rallied from a 15-point halftime deficit.
In a Game 2 loss in the Finals, Turkoglu made a terrific inbounds pass to rookie Courtney Lee with 0.6 seconds left. The alley-oop attempt just fell short but would have allowed the Magic to avoid overtime and come up with the win. In a Game 4 overtime loss, Turkoglu scored five points on back-to-back possessions in the closing minutes to break open a tie, requiring heroics from the Lakers to force the extra session.
Pietrus's contributions were more subtle. He drew the tough task of having to defend two of the game's best, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, and made them work for every basket. He hit three or more 3-pointers in six games during the postseason, including five against Cleveland in a two-point Game 4 East finals win.
"That's my new favorite player," Charles Barkley said on NBA TV after the Lakers' closed out The Finals. "I've been impressed with him the entire playoffs."
3. Mutombo Exits After Hall-of-Fame Worthy Career
After 18 seasons in the NBA, Houston Rockets center Dikembe Mutombo announced his retirement, just days after being
carried off the court on a stretcher in the Rockets' Game 2 first-round playoff loss to the Blazers on April 21.
The 42-year-old Mutombo tangled legs with Portland center Greg Oden and suffered a ruptured tendon in his knee. His impact during his time in the NBA was not only great as a player, but also as a humanitarian.
The 42-year-old Mutombo tangled legs with Portland center Greg Oden and suffered a ruptured tendon in his knee. His impact during his time in the NBA was not only great as a player, but also as a humanitarian.
Mutombo built a hospital in his native Congo, using both his own money and donations raised from his fellow NBA players. He was honored by President Bush in 2007 for his actions. He received the Mannie Jackson Basketball's Human Spirit Award at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony that year as well. Mutombo also lent his time to fighting HIV, appearing in public service announcements.
On the court, Mutombo leaves the game with a Hall-of-Fame résumé. He is the NBA's second-leading shot blocker, and has eight All-Star selections and four Defensive Player of the Year awards. He was involved in the Nuggets' historic upset of Seattle in 1994, when Denver became the first team to knock off a No. 1 seed since the NBA adopted its current playoff format in 1984.
At 42, Mutombo was still effective, posting 10 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks in his final regular-season game.
4. Injuries Cut Seasons Short for Ginobili, Yao
The course of the Playoffs may have been altered by two significant injuries in the West. Rockets center Yao Ming and Spurs guard Manu Ginobili both saw the '08-09 campaign end prematurely.
After Yao hobbled off the floor in the final minute of Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Lakers, the Rockets discovered a hairline fracture in the Chinese center's left foot. Houston pushed the eventual champs to seven games before losing. Yao also missed the postseason in 2006 and 2008, making the blow the latest in a long line of disappointments for Houston fans.
Ginobili's final appearance came on April 5 against the Cavs. Stiffness in his lower right ankle prompted examinations which showed the worsening of a stress reaction that forced him to sit out five weeks earlier in the season.
The Argentine played in only 44 games, averaging 15.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists. During the regular season, the Spurs went 32-12 with Ginobili in the lineup compared to 22-16 in his absence. San Antonio fell in five games to the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the Playoffs.
5. Parker Emerges as Spurs' Go-to Guy
Tim Duncan is considered one of the greatest power forwards ever, but he wasn't even the best player on his own team this year. That honor goes to France's Tony Parker, who emerged as the team's most consistent presence.
After the All-Star break, the Frenchman carried the Spurs. He either led or tied for the team lead in scoring in 24 of the 31 regular-season games. For the season, he did so 41 times in 72 appearances, putting together 11 30-plus point games, one 40-plus game and one 50-plus game.
"Tony's been carrying us for a while now," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said March 8 after Parker notched 30-plus for the fourth time in seven games against the Suns.
Parker's increased aggressiveness revealed itself early in the season. On Nov. 5, he became just the second player in NBA history to record at least 55 points, 10 or more assists and five-plus rebounds in a single game when he tallied a career-high 55 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds at Minnesota.
In San Antonio's first-round series against the Mavs, Parker tallied 38 points in Game 2, converting nine of his first 10 shots. In Game 4, he exploded for 43 points, setting a franchise record with 31 first-half points.
Parker averaged career-highs in both points (a team-leading 22) and assists (6.9) this season. In the postseason, he averaged a team-high 28.6 points per game over five contests.
6. Haddadi first Iranian to play in the NBA
It's often said sports have the ability to unite us, and a shining example of that is the case of Grizzlies rookie Hamed Haddadi.
In his rookie season, the first Iranian to play in the NBA averaged 2.6 points, 2.5 rebounds and 0.6 blocks in 6.3 minutes over 19 games. Haddadi also placed ninth in the NBA in blocks per 48 minutes (4.81). The 7-foot-2 center looked good when he got extended minutes, too. Haddadi posted seven points and seven rebounds in 18 minutes against Denver on March 18 in his first stretch of meaningful playing time.
Because of a trade embargo on Iran, Haddadi needed a waiver from the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control just to be able to sign with the Grizzlies. "There's such a hunger here among Iranians to bridge the two cultures," said NBA fan Mansor Chitzasan in a Wall Street Journal article
documenting Haddadi's impact on the Iranian-American community.
Haddadi understands he has an opportunity to help bring people together as a result of his NBA career.
"This year mostly I am learning to be a better basketball player," he told the paper. "Someday, maybe, I will act more as a liaison between our two countries."
7. Nowitzki Finishes Strong in More Ways than One
Dirk Nowitzki ended the regular season with a streak of an NBA-high 25 games of 20 or more points. The German earned Western Conference Player of the Month during the season's final month, which saw him average 30.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.
But what made this season so special for Nowitzki wasn't just how he finished it; it was how he finished games.
Nowitzki routinely fueled comebacks or carried the Mavs on his back, embarking on scoring runs that made him near-unstoppable at times. On Nov. 16 against the New York, Nowitzki scored seven of his 39 points in overtime to lift the Mavs to a 124-114 victory over the Knicks.
On Dec. 13, Nowitzki scored 26 second-half points and 46 points for the game as Dallas edged the Thunder, 103-99.
On Jan. 13 against Denver, Nowitzki had 44 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, helping the Mavericks nearly come back from a 17-point second-half deficit. Nowitzki hit the 30-point mark before any teammate even reached double-figures.
On Jan. 18 against Utah, Nowitzki made his 39 points look easy by making 16 of his 20 shots. "It didn't matter if there was a hand in his face or two bodies on him," said Jazz guard Deron Williams. "He hit shot after shot and willed his team to victory.''
After missing nine of his first 10 field goals against Chicago on Feb. 14, Nowitzki scored 14 of Dallas' 18 points in overtime, and 44 overall, as the Mavericks slipped past the Bulls, 115-114.
On Feb. 27 against Oklahoma City, Nowitzki scored 17 of his 41 points in the fourth quarter and overtime to help the Mavericks overcome a 12-point deficit, 110-108.
On March 20, Nowitzki made a 20-foot jumper with 1.1 seconds left, giving Dallas a 94-92 victory over Indiana.
In a 130-101 blowout of Utah on April 8, Nowitzki scored 31 points, including a dozen in a row, to help the Mavericks clinch the final playoff berth in the West.
In Game 4 of the West semifinals, Nowitzki scored 19 points in the fourth quarter, including six of the Dallas' final nine in crunch time. He finished with 44 points on 14 of 25 shooting and 16 of 17 from the free-throw line in the win.
Nowitzki was named first team All-NBA and finished the regular season fourth in the league in scoring at 25.9 points per game.
8. All-Star Weekend Takes on International Flavor
Fans in 215 countries and territories tuned in to watch NBA All-Star 2009 this year. More than 300 international media members from 31 countries and territories descended upon Phoenix to provide coverage of the events. Seventy international television and radio networks and Web sites were represented.
Ten international players -- including three from Spain, the most ever from one country at All-Star -- competed in events over the weekend.
Five international players played in the All-Star Game, all for the West Squad. Among the players and their contributions: Tony Parker (France), 14 points, four assists; Pau Gasol (Spain), 14 points, eight rebounds; Dirk Nowitzki (Germany), eight points; Tim Duncan (Virgin Islands), six points; Yao Ming (China), two points.
Four internationals participated in the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam, including Spain's Marc Gasol and Rudy Fernandez, the Dominican Republic's Al Horford and Argentina's Luis Scola. Fernandez also competed at the Sprite Slam Dunk contest after being voted in by the fans on NBA.com. With his first dunk, he honored the late Fernando Martin, the first Spaniard to play in the NBA, by donning his No. 10 Blazers jersey.
In the Haier Shooting Stars competition, Duncan and Brazil's Leandro Barbosa made appearances. In the PlayStation Skills Challenge, Parker finished with a time of 50.8 seconds, breaking his own record for the slowest time in contest history.
9. Calderon Nearly Breaks Free Throw Mark
Toronto guard Jose Calderon nearly made history this season. From April 11, 2008 to Jan. 30 of this year, the Spaniard didn't miss a free throw.
His streak of 87 straight free throws ranks second all-time, 10 shy of Michel Williams' record set in 1993. Calderon finished the season as the league's leader in free-throw percentage, converting 151 of 154 (.981).
10. Yao and Scola Emerge as Top Frontcourt Tandem
Yao Ming and Luis Scola became the first set of Rockets teammates to each post 20 or more double-doubles in the same season since Charles Barkley (29) and Hakeem Olajuwon (25) accomplished it in 1998-99. Scola's rebounding average increased from 6.4 per game in 2007-08 to 8.8 this season.
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