Tuesday, December 10, 2013

The 7 Most Important People on Twitter

The 7 most important People on Twitter (if you are an NBA fan.)

Since joining twitter not too long ago, I, like many of you, would tweet and retweet on the daily to my favorite NBA celebrities. I hoped and prayed to get a response or even better, a follow. Most of the time however, I got nothing. If you are reading this and are thinking "hey that's totally me," your life is about to change.... For the better, much better.

Think of it this way, if you are an NBA fan and were living in a made up world, where you were only allowed to follow 7 people on twitter, you need not look any further than the regular cast and crew of NBA TV's GameTime. The show is made up of arguably the most knowledgable, funny, responsive and most importantly, interactive group of people. The use twitter, the right way, by interacting with fans, not to promote some guys music they have never heard.

If you don’t already know who Im talking about, Below is the list of the personalities on the show, along with a short Bio to remind you who they are. In addition, I have posted twitter interactions .. with all of them, to prove my point. 
(Click on their names to be taken to their twitter pages.) 



                     Brent Barry


 












The two-time NBA champion played in the NBA for 14 years and is also the only person to ever win a slam dunk contest wearing a warmup jacked. He is a studio analyst for GameTime. He offers great analysis and commentary. He also is a really big fan of fans. He is super interactive and above all, he follows me, isn't that the goal of all NBA fans, to have someone you used to idolize, follow you? 







                              Rick Fox


Three time NBA Champion with the Lakers. Bleeds purple and gold, as well as Tar Heel blue. What does the Fox say? Well, tune in to NBA GameTime or follow him on twitter to find out. Fox offers a fresh and critical look at all things NBA never shying away from the truth. I have to be honest, I am a Die Hard Lakers fan and Fox was always one of my favorite players because he was so "into the game." When he played he made the big shots gaurded the opposing teams best players and fought Doug Christie. His twitter game is just as good, he answers tough questions but also gives respect where its deserved with retweets. 









  


                                     









                                   Dennis Scott




The NBA GameTime Champion and NBA 10-year veteran Scott is probably the most seen face on the whole NBA TV channel! Scott is a studio analyst and some would argue the funny guy on the set. His humor translates to Twitter, very well.



                             
                         Steve Smith



 The NBA Champion Smith played 14 years in the NBA with 6 NBA teams. Smith is a studio analyst for NBA TV. Smith’s insights on the NBA during GameTime are really unmatched. His twitter feed is even better. Smith is by far the person I have had and continue to have the most interaction with. I have had conversations with him, made jokes and he has answered some of my questions.                           We also are trying to get him in a Harlem Globetrotters Uniform for one game. He is what Twitter was invented for. (Warning, many tweets follow)


 










Hosts/Correspondents 



NBA TV's Itallion Stallion has be in the TV world for 30-years and is a full time host for NBA TV's GameTime, The Beat and NBA Draft HQ. He also calls games regularly on NBA TV, especially over the Summer.                                                       

Jared Greenberg


The guy who looks like he should be in class with you is just plain gold. He serves as a co-host for Fantasy Insider and a host of GameTime. He is the most commonly heard person on the network, serving as resident "voice-over" expert as well as being the man who most often reports breaking news. He is extremely interactive, friendly and funny on Twitter. 

























                          Matt Winer 


The host with the most, airtime that is. He is often seen as the studio host for NBA TV and is most often the lead anchor for NBA GameTime. He also for some reason, Im not complaining Matt, loves responding to my tweets. I also happen to mention and tweet at him a lot!

-Just a side note, A while back Steve Smith and I had a little back and forth conversation about him playing with the Harlem Globetrotters. It seems as though it may happen, thanks to the interactiveness of all involved.
































So why did I do this? Why am I asking or rather telling you to follow these guys? Answer is, because your life, twitter life, will better. If you love the NBA, these are the guys that will make you love it more. Lets face it, most of us aren't making it into the NBA or going to be locker room reporters. These 7 guys live and breath the game and they are open to sharing their knowledge with you. Take advantage of this opportunity. You know most of the time celebrities will only respond to you if your picture is of a half naked girl, not these guys, you can be just like me, a regular guy who just happens to love the NBA. Don't believe me? Why don't you just follow them and find out. Let me know how it goes.

Thank you for reading. You can follow me at FunnyNbaGuy

*no disrespect to Rick Kamla, Greg Anthony or Chris Webber I have not had the pleasure of interacting with them yet.

***My goal is to become an NBA analyst/reporter or researcher. I am new to this and have spend most of my life in the healthcare field, critiques are welcome and encouraged. Thanks again.


Monday, December 9, 2013

Why All NBA fans need to follow Jared Dudley

                                         
Why All NBA fans need to follow Jared Dudley.*When writing this article I was debating on whether to title it what I have, or to title it “Jared Dudley Gives Away Tickets To Almost Every Away Game He Plays In, If You Love Basketball, You Should Probably Follow Him.”



For years, Jared Dudley has been one of the more interactive and friendly NBA twitter-ers, but lately, he has taken it to a whole new level as he searches for Clipper fans in the cities he visits. Perhaps he has no friends or family to give his tickets to or maybe he just wants to be awesome, I’m going with the latter.

Listen, don’t take my word for it, just check out some of Jared’s recent tweets. And this is just in the past 3 days!








First and foremost, nothing will give you a bigger chance at winning tickets than being a fan of the Clippers, Jared loves keeping his fans happy and that is awesome. Most tickets will go to a fan of the Clippers in a city outside of LA. So if you aren’t already, he is another reason to root for them, their players treat their fans awesomely.


Additionally, Jared Dudley likes asking questions about his teammates, if he is playing in a town that they grew up in or played ball in. On Wednesday, the Clippers play the Celtics and you should know that Dudley played College Ball in Boston! So he is either going to have no tickets away because he has 1000 college friends to keep happy or he is going to have an awesome question for you. Im guessing maybe that he started 100 consecutive games in his college career, or that his career high is 36 points against Villanova.

 So if you are asking yourself, How can I win tickets from Jared? Check out my cheat sheet below, it may help, oh and just always be ready to google and tweet quickly!


Jared Dudley Cheat Sheet

Full Name: Jared Antony Dudley
Born: July 10 1985 in San Diego, Ca
Nationality: Turkish American
Movie Appearances: “Movie 43”
High School: Horizon
College: Boston College (Eagles) “Junkyard Dog”
Highest scoring game in College: 36 pts (against Villanova)
Drafted: 2007 #22
Teams Dudley has played for: Bobcats, Suns, Clippers
First NBA start: Nov 24 2007 (Against the Celtics)
Notable Trade notes: Traded (With J Rich) for Raja BellBoris Diaw, and Sean Singletary.
Numbers worn in the NBA: 9 (clippers) 3 (suns) 4 (bobcats)
On 12/26/12 scored a career-high 36 points
On 12/22/12 recorded a career-high 10 assists


Needless to say, Dudley is worth following. You may not win the tickets, but you will definitely learn some interesting things about him and/or other players in the NBA.

Also, Jared, if you are wondering, I live in NYC. I am from LA and used to go to about 12 Clippers games a season and would love to see you guy’s play when you are here. Can I get tickets!

Follow Jared @JaredDudley619

Thank you for reading, I am still new at this and critiques are welcomed!











Friday, December 6, 2013

NBA Players with Other Skills

NBA Players Who Could Easily Make Money Doing Something Else.


NBA players can do more than play basketball, well at least some of them. Here are some of your favorite players and some of their talents that they could have used if they never picked up a basketball .

Tim Duncan should have been swimming

 As a teenager, some say Tim Duncan was well on his way to qualifying for the 1992 Olympic games as a swimmer. Growing up in the Virgin Islands, Duncan was a well known swimmer in the 50, 100 and 400 meters. His size obviously a huge advantage. When Hurricane Hugo hit the islands, his only indoor training facility was destroyed and Duncan’s only way to train for the Olympics was in the ocean. There was one problem, Duncan was afraid of sharks (aren’t we all?) After some discussion and convincing by his brother in law, Duncan turned to Basketball. Thank you Sharks!

Victor Oladipo could probably get some chairs to turn on The Voice.


Is there really a need to write a whole paragraph on this. It is well known now amongst the basketball Junkies that Oladipo has some pipes. And he isn’t one of those guys who has a great voice and wont use it, he knows he can sing! See videos below for confirmation.





Damian Lillard can Rap, and he can probably get you to rap too.



Four Bar Friday, have you heard of it yet? Well guess who started it? Your main man the reigning ROY Dame Lillard. Lillard has openly stated that when his career is thru he wants to rap and act. In an interview with Dime Magazine he dropped these 20 bars to prove it.


"I built a reputation on living right with some decency,
cold days got me ready, never been an easy street.
Giving good ---- and offering a change of scenery,
self made- boy I operate machinery.
Shinin' ain't a thing, I'd rather be a secret,
got a whole lot of bread and still they saying I'm the cheapest.
Wanted to be a millionaire but I ain't find Regis,
now I'm here to shake the game up and ‘bout to cause seizures.
Hella flight miles and it's business class only,
the business that I'm in is rich and still it's mad phony.
Watching out for all the snakes, I'm seeing world class Kobes,
rising to the top and my vert looking like a 40.
Money come with dirt, success come with hurt,
this ---- supply and demand, I give a smurk for what it's worth.
Trips out the country, my passports stamped up,
real dudes with me, when I made it they was amped up.
Really flex my muscle that's how ------ getting cramped up,
but when the pressure on I come up big, I'm a champ bruh.
Stupid how I shine bright, spring it to the limelight,
and all my bars is what these dudes need like a Klondike."

Impressed? Well if you want to keep up with Dame’s four bar Friday challenge.
Follow him on twitter at @dame_lillard or on instagram at instagram.com/damianlillard

4barfriday.com

Stephen Curry will beat you at a three point shooting contest and putt putt match all in the same day.


Bet your didn’t know this. Curry was on his high schools Golf team for 3 years. Curry claims he has a handicap of just 2! That seems to be very possible judging from his recent finishes in his family’s celebrity golf tournaments. Last year he finished ties for fourth after shooting a 3 over par on his second round. Check out Steph sinking this birdie.












Chris Paul rolls.


Chris Paul has been hosting PBA-sanctioned Celebrity Bowling Tournaments since 2008, and for good reason, he usually wins. Paul is a sponsored spokesperson for the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) d owns a franchise in the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) League. Paul starting bowling competively in high school and his passion has not waned. His game high is a 265, wow.

Nate Robinson could probably play in the NFL or CFL at least.


Nate played basketball and football in high school which eventually led to him playing both in college as well. Robinson Originally enrolled at the University of Washington on a football scholarship. He played one year of football his freshman season and was considered a stand out cornerback by the end of the season, perhaps due to this play.  Who knows what could have been if he played football. Would Dwight Howard have another slam dunk championship to his name?




Kobe Bryant could be a spy.



Watch him speak Italian like a boss here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_L6nVq2jspU



He speaks more languages than you.

English- Check
Italian- Check
Serbian- ¾ Check
French- ¾ Check
Is Chinese next?

Steve Nash can kick the ball into the hoop.

There is a reason why Nash can weave through the lanes with a basketball the way he does. That reason? He can weave through the lanes with a Soccer Ball. Many of us are familiar with the fact that Nash regularly runs a charity soccer match in the summer. (https://stevenash.org/showdown/) There is a reason, he is really good at soccer. Nash didn’t even touch a basketball until he was around 13 years old. Throughout high school Nash was a soccer stud and he openly admits that he could have played professionally. In July of this past year, Nash partook in a tryout with the Italian soccer club Inter Milan at the New York Red Bulls' training facilities in New Jersey. Nash is also part owner of the Vancouver Whitecaps FC of the MLS.

Pau Gasol & Ping Pong (not enough proof yet but it was worth writing about.)



The Lakers sideline reporter Mike Trudell called Pau “the best Ping Pong Player In the room during a recent thanksgiving ping pong/dinner event hosted by Kobe. Can venture a guess and say Mike probably hasn’t seen so many other players. But, word around the league however is that Pau is that good! Look at the picture above, that wingspan has to help!




Shawne Williams on @paugasol’s pong skills: “Man I gotta stay away from the backhand!! That thing is vicious!” #PauPong


Follow me on twitter @funnynbaguy
Critique and comments are welcomed and encouraged. Im new at this and would love to here everyones opinion.