Igor Sopar Articles - Page 2

Almost precisely two years after Kevin Durant’s infamous “My Next Chapter” announcement, the the Golden State Warriors sent another wave of shock and dismay across the NBA world. DeMarcus Cousins, a four-time All Star and arguably the best center in the league, decided to sacrifice a substantial amount of money to add even more firepower […]

LeBron James’ glorious introduction to the City of Angels didn’t proceed exactly as planned. As things stand, instead of partnering up with a superstar or two, he will enter the season as the leader of a pack of misfits and unproven young players brimming with potential. With Paul George off the table and delusional demands […]

The Thunder have been among the busier teams at the hectic start of the 2018 postseason. It kicked off for them early with an expected and financially sound decision by Carmelo Anthony, who picked up his $27.9 million player option, putting a huge dent on any financial flexibility the Thunder might have hoped for this […]

With the Warriors anticlimactic sweep in the NBA Finals and Alexander Ovechkin finally lifting the Stanley Cup, the period of lull in three out of four major US sports inevitably began. The American sports fans are now slowly winding down from a season filled with excitement, but things are just getting heated up at the […]

Compared to the previous few seasons, the 2018 NBA Draft isn’t particularly loaded with international talent. Outside of Luka Doncic, who is one of the most anticipated international prospects of all time, every projected lottery pick was born and raised in the US. The first non-US based player that will likely get his name called […]

In terms of the outcome, the first two games of the 2018 NBA Finals went pretty much according to expectations. If it weren’t for J.R. Smith’s inexplicable blunder at the end of regulation in Game 1, the narrative could have taken a much different turn, but the Warriors have now successfully defended their fortress, further […]

There is no embellishment to Chris Paul’s first half performance against the Warriors – he started the game cold as an ex’s heart, hitting zero of his first seven shots. But then, as the Rockets headed into the locker room at the half, Paul must have gotten a hold of some of that Michael’s Secret […]

James catches, puts up a three, won’t go. Rebound Bosh, back out to Allen. His three-pointer – BAAANG! Tied game with five seconds remaining. One of the most memorable sequences in recent NBA history sprung from a rare, but unbelievably costly mistake by Gregg Popovich. In an attempt to retain defensive flexibility and prevent a potential […]

Daily shipment of highlight reels, filled with extraordinary individual plays and thrilling displays of teamwork, is the factor that has always driven the popularity of the NBA across the globe. There is, however, the other side to that coin. With almost a 1,000 hours of televised action per season, we are bound to witness a […]

According to an ESPN article from 2011, an average NBA career lasts for approximately five years. To triple that average and still remain an impactful player in a sport that is quite reliant on athleticism, explosiveness and tiresome scheduling truly is a remarkable feat. Only 151 players in NBA history managed to reach that longevity […]

The final stretch of the 2017-18 NBA season will clearly go down as one of the most eventful season-closing periods in recent history. Out West, we are witnessing an unparalleled deadlock with six teams separated by just two games and only three certain postseason participants. The East has, surprisingly, followed suit; not in terms of […]

14-0. That was the record the healthy Thunder prime starting lineup produced in the span between December 1 and the demoralizing moment Andre Roberson sustained a patella injury that would effectively end his 2017-18 campaign. The injury couldn’t have come at a worse time – Russell Westbrook, Paul George, and Carmelo Anthony started showing signs […]

Just a couple of seasons ago, the consensus among the NBA fanbase was that Brandon Bass is the only true answer to the question of who is the most average player in the league. While Bass seemed like a decent selection at the time, anyone who watched at least a few Celtics games could perfectly envision […]

BREAKING: In a saddening turn of events at the 67th All-Star Game, the NBA as we know it has completely fallen to pieces. With 2:47 left in the third quarter, Team LeBron teammates Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant engaged in a scuffle after Westbrook repeatedly ignored Durant’s calls for a pass early in the shot […]

Fergie’s appalling rendition of the Star Spangled Banner and the fact that we’ve witnessed a glimpse of real defense being played in the closing minutes of the 2018 All-Star Game completely overshadowed one of the rare precedents pertaining to the NBA star showdown – Jimmy Butler opting not to participate in the most anticipated regular season […]

If it weren’t for Koby Altman’s multiple power moves in the dying moments of the NBA trade window, the long-anticipated trade deadline would have passed in a somewhat anticlimactic manner. The Cleveland Cavaliers completely refurbished their roster in a flurry of unexpected moves, but the vast majority of teams stood pat, avoiding major alterations to […]

Sam Presti and Oklahoma City Thunder had one of the most active summers in franchise history. Bringing in a prime and a post-prime superstar was a clear indicator that the 2017-18 season will be an all-in season for the organization, and that Russell Westbrook will get his best chance at winning a ring in the post-Kevin […]

The fans, the players, the media, the coaches, and, lastly, LeBron James and Stephen Curry have all made their picks, so after a long-winded and somewhat complicated process we now have a clear picture of what the 2018 rendition of the All-Star Game will look like. Many found the teams hilarious, others saw a clear difference […]

Coming into this season, the L.A. Clippers were destined to be one of the most entertaining non-competitive teams ever. Chris Paul’s surgically precise play style replaced by the flashiness of Miloš Teodosić, DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin as a guarantee of a consistent influx of posterizing dunks, and Austin Rivers and Lou Williams as volume […]

The realization that Steven Adams is still just 24 years old and a peer to the likes of Kyle Anderson, Buddy Hield and Malcolm Brogdon raises the eyebrow almost as much as the fact that Kendrick Perkins is the same age as Lebron James. It seems that this good-natured giant entertained us with his “mate”-flavored quotes for […]

With the talks of DeAndre Jordan being placed on the trade block gaining traction in the midst of the Clippers disappointing nine-game losing streak, the Cavs have emerged as one of the obvious suitors for the most efficient player in NBA history. Despite having one of his worst defensive seasons (allowing 63% at the rim and 46% […]

The net rating of second units has recently become an excellent indicator of team success – all NBA champions since the Kobe-centered 2010 Lakers finished their season in top eight in terms of bench efficiency. Front offices have obviously recognized that trend, and we’ve seen even the top teams working hard on securing even more […]

With the sheer amount of games played each season, we are bound to see some individual performances that stray from the norm every now and then. These games, in which players surpass their perceived ability, show us that each and every NBA player is capable of impacting the game in a number of ways that […]

The trade request by the disgruntled Cavs’ superstar Kyrie Irving and the subsequent exchange of players between the Eastern Conference finalists definitely highlighted the action-packed offseason of 2017. The post-trade analyses were slightly biased towards the conclusion that Danny Ainge got fleeced by the Cavs, as they landed Isaiah Thomas, a player with similar offensive and defensive […]

“With the first pick in the 2016 NBA draft, the Philadelphia 76ers select Ben Simmons from Melbourne, Australia and Louisiana State University.” The highly anticipated announcement by Adam Silver got completely drowned out by cries of joy produced by the attending fans in 76ers jerseys. They were growing increasingly weary of the promises of a […]

Each season, approximately 80 fresh faces get a chance to step out on the sacred floor and witness their lifelong dream come true. While the rookies themselves are more than eager to showcase their talent on the big stage, there is a platoon of fans, analysts and journalists just waiting to prematurely smack on a […]

The relatively mediocre regular season, followed by playoffs mostly ridden of any true competitive tension, lulled the majority of NBA fans into a sense of indifference; however, they were almost instantly prompted into spending sleepless nights smashing their F5 buttons. This action-packed offseason redeemed the somewhat lacklustre 2016-2017 season, and with the formation of various […]

The Melodrama is over. After the news that Carmelo is willing to make a switch to Oklahoma that came from the left field, the Thunder front office immediately jumped the gun and secured another star to put alongside the reigning MVP and PG-13. The trade will leave a bittersweet taste for Thunder fans, since Enes Kanter’s […]

This year’s rendition of the biggest European basketball competition ended on a high note, with Goran Dragić leading Slovenia to their first historical golden medal in a heated matchup against Serbia. Besides the finals, the entire tournament featured a number of electrifying games, despite being deprived of the quality of 31 NBA players who withdrew for […]

While the majority of NBA players are still enjoying the final days of their well-earned rest, their European counterparts have been active on another competitive front over the past two weeks. Despite the withdrawals of a worrying number of NBA players (31 to be precise), this year’s edition of Eurobasket featured some amazing games and […]

Free throws. Free throws never change. Or as Rick Barry, a 90 percent career free throw shooter would put it: “It’s the only part of the game that’s a constant. It’s always the same distance, it’s always the same ball, and it’s always the same size basket. It’s the only part of the game you […]

A great deal of the Golden State Warriors’ success can be alluded to the presence of Andre Iguodala. The veteran swingman could easily be a starter for any other NBA team, yet he remains as a luxury to the Warriors off the bench. Known for his multi-faceted game, the former NBA Finals MVP owns bragging […]

After not getting what he came for at the inaugural NBA Awards show, Dario Šarić immediately shifted his attention towards the Croatian national team and the preparation for the upcoming FIBA EuroBasket. Šarić has always been vocal about the importance of playing for the national team, and after he averaged a 15.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, […]

Despite the fact that we have recently witnessed a mild inflation of the value of the triple-double, courtesy of Russell Westbrook, there is no doubt it has remained one of the most respected and admired single game achievements in the NBA. Not recording a triple-double doesn’t necessarily mean that a player didn’t have a monster […]

Over the last 30 regular seasons, there has been a total of 209 performances in which a player scored 50 or more points (note that MJ, Kobe, AI and Lebron are responsible for over a third of those games). Seems like a large number in a vacuum, but when you compare it to the number of […]

David Wesley, the current color analyst for the New Orleans Pelicans, had a really rough time trying to get things going for him in this low scoring affair against the Nets back in 2001. His inability to put the ball through the hoop in that game didn’t faze him at all, since he was taking a shot every […]