The Jordan media merchants and LeBron critics spent years pushing the "weak East" narrative, but the facts don't support it.
Since 1999, Western Conference teams have won 18 championships, while Eastern Conference teams have won 10. That's an advantage for the West, but not the massive gap people pretend it is.
What's even more telling is that the East has produced championships from a wider variety of franchises. At the same time, much of the West's success was concentrated among a handful of dynasties, such as the Lakers, Spurs, and Warriors.
Historically the East has been better, and before anyone tries to dismiss the East by bringing up the Celtics' 18 championships, remember the Lakers have 17. The NBA's historical power balance has never been as one-sided as the anti-LeBron crowd wants you to believe.
Western (18 Championships)
•Los Angeles Lakers (6 titles): 2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2010, 2020
•San Antonio Spurs (5 titles): 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2014
•Golden State Warriors (4 titles): 2015, 2017, 2018, 2022
•Dallas Mavericks (1 title): 2011
•Denver Nuggets (1 title): 2023
•Oklahoma City Thunder (1 title): 2025
Eastern (10 Championships)
•Miami Heat (3 titles): 2006, 2012, 2013
•Boston Celtics (2 titles): 2008, 2024
•Detroit Pistons (1 title): 2004
•Cleveland Cavaliers (1 title): 2016
•Toronto Raptors (1 title): 2019
•Milwaukee Bucks (1 title): 2021
•New York Knicks (1 titles): 2026
J.R. Smith says he got benched 9 seconds into guarding Kobe Bryant as an NBA rookie
“Crazy because in shootaround, we going through walkthroughs, doing plays and shit. Bryon Scott is trying to explain the triangle and where Kobe going to be at and his moves and shit”
“He was like, ‘He's going to go two dribbles right baseline. He gonna pump fake, stay down. He's going to pump fake again. Stay down.’ I'm like, ‘All right’”
“We go through another play. He tell me, ‘He going to go two dribbles right, pump fake, stay down, pump fake, stay down, and then make him pass it out. Worst case, he'll take a tough shot over top of you. We can live with that.’ I’m like, ‘All right’”
“We go over another play. I was like, ‘Yo, bro, if you tell me he about to go two dribbles right and pump fake and then pump fake... I got it. All right.’ ‘He do it and your ass go for it, I'm taking you out’”
“I get in the game. I swear to God bro. I wasn't in the game nine seconds. When I tell you this man went two dribbles right. But the way he took his two dribbles, I'm thinking he going to the cup for sure”
“This motherfucker pump fake. Jump. Boop. Swish. Beep. Sub. He took me right out”
Matt Barnes on his relationship with Kobe Bryant:
“I remember when the Drake and Rick Ross song came out Stay Schemin' and you wasn’t with me shooting in the gym. I remember when that sh*t came out and how made he was about that was crazy and I’m going kind to leave that where that was. But then I also remember another time where we just having a good time. We were in Phoenix on the bus about to get on the plane and we were joking talking sh*t because I came here off the rip just talking sh*t you know I mean I talk sh*t, I’m talking sh*t to Kobe and he’s talking it back. So it kind of changes the whole mood. But one day I was literally like bro how come you don’t show the rest of the world this side of you? And he like thought for second. He’s like, “MB, I can’t show these motherfu*kers that,” you know, I mean, because he always showed the rest of the world the Mamba. Like, I got to know Kobe, you know what I mean? And the person and the businessman and the Father, how much he loved my kids and just the man behind the mask and that’s what I treasure most about our friendship”
(Via @OutTheMudTL)
Shaquille O’Neal shares the mindset he uses to deal with criticism
“I call it the five hands of stress”
“I only care about my mother, my children, my organization and my money. It don’t get past five”
“If none of these people got anything bad to say about you, why do you care what ‘they’ say? You can’t even identify who ‘they’ are”
“If you try to identify every individual person inside the ‘they’ corporation, you’re gonna be working all day and you’re gonna be stressed out and it’s gonna mess up your mentals”
“So if you turn it off, you won’t have a problem”
LeBron at the 2016 Cavs Parade giving Kyrie his flowers during his speech. said he had what it took to not only be the best Guard in the NBA, but an MVP as well. what could’ve been… KD never goes to GS, Cavs go B2B, maybe 3 peat?🫣 world will never know 🤷🏾♂️
🚨🗣 Pépé revient sur Zlatan Ibrahimović.
🗣️ « Sa carrière n’a été qu’un mirage. Zlatan a traversé mille clubs, mais n’a jamais bâti un héritage de légende : juste un passager de plus, sans empreinte éternelle.
En 2013, Cristiano en mode bête l’a renvoyé devant sa télé, privé de Coupe du Monde… une cicatrice qu’il ne digérera jamais.
Aujourd’hui, il s’accroche aux exploits de Messi comme si c’étaient les siens, juste pour rester dans la lumière.
Mais la vérité est implacable : dans 20 ans, Zlatan sera oublié. Dans 200 ans, Cristiano brillera encore comme une idole immortelle. »