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Glen Keane and Kobe Bryant are making an animated project together.

The post Glen Keane and John Williams Team Up With Kobe Bryant for ‘Dear Basketball’ appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

As the city buzzes around us in preparation for the 2015 NBA All-Star Weekend, hosted jointly by the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets, we caught up with a few of our office’s basketball fans to reflect on their all-time favorite NBA All-Stars — and their entries in the Oxford African American Studies Center. Without further ado, Oxford University Press New York’s ‘5 Guys and a Girl’ weigh in:

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Everett Jones: NY Office Services

Top Pick: Julius Erving
Second Pick: Bernard King

“Dr. J made it popular to dunk and have an above the rim game.”

Known to fans and announcers as Dr. J, Julius Erving set new standards of performance in his sport and made the slam-dunk into one of the most exciting moves in professional basketball.

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Kishiem Laws: NY Office Services

Top Pick: Kobe Bryant
Second Pick: Kevin Durant

“Kobe has 18 straight All-Star appearances.”

At age seventeen, Kobe Bryant became the youngest guard to be drafted in the history of the National Basketball Association. Bryant blossomed into an NBA superstar within his first three years and went on to lead the Lakers to three consecutive championships from 2000 to 2002.

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Michael Franks: NY Office Services

Top Pick: Michael Jordan
Second Pick: Dominique Wilkins

“The 1987 Slam Dunk Contest says it all!”

In 1987, Michael Jordan ran from beyond half-court, leaped from the free-throw line, and glided through the air in a seemingly effortless manner—lifting the ball and then lowering it, contracting his legs and then spreading and extending them—finally dunking the ball fifteen feet later cinching the Dunk Contest Title over Dominique Wilkins.

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Godwin Joseph: NY Office Services

Pick: Shaquille O’Neal
Second Pick: Dwayne Wade

“With 15 All-Star Team selections, how could I not pick Shaq?”

A 15-time NBA All-Star, Shaquille O’Neil quickly became one of the NBA’s top centers, and only one of three players in the history of the NBA to win the NBA MVP, All-Star game MVP and Finals MVP awards in the same year.

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Fred Hampton: OUP US IT

Top Pick: Wilt Chamberlain
Second Pick: Kareem Adbul-Jabar

“He is the ORIGINAL.”

A legendary basketball player, Wilt Chamberlain was a gifted offensive shooter who scored and rebounded prolifically. In 1978 Chamberlain was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and in 1996 for the NBA’s fiftieth anniversary he was named one of the fifty greatest players in NBA history.

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Ayana Young: Online Marketing

Top Pick: Magic Johnson
Second Pick: Jerry West

“There’s a reason they called him Magic.”

Considered one of the greatest point guards and play-makers in the history of the NBA, Magic Johnson ended his 13-year professional career in 1991, but returned to play in the 1992 All-Star Game becoming the first and only retired player to do so and win the All-Star MVP Award.

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Image credits: (1) Knicks v Thunder 2010 MSG. Photo by Matt Pirecki. CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons. (2) Julius Erving, 6 November 1974, Sport Magazine Archives. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons. (3) Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers drives to the basket against the Washington Wizards in Washington, D.C., USA on February 3, 2007. Photo by Keith Allison. CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons. (4) Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls, 1997. Photo by Steve Lipofsky at Basketballphoto.com. CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons. (5) Shaquille O’Neal preparing to shoot a free throw in 2009. Photo by Keith Allison. CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons. (6) Wilt Chamberlain, 1967. Philadelphia 76ers press photo. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons. (7) Los Angeles Lakers Magic Johnson and Boston Celtics Larry Bird in Game two of the 1985 NBA Finals at Boston Garden. Photo by Steve Lipofsky at Basketballphoto.com. CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

The post 5 Guys and a Girl pick their all-time favorite NBA All-Stars appeared first on OUPblog.

       

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve written a Linked Up, but with releasing a new episode of The Oxford Comment, working “frak” into my daily vocabulary, and trying to keep up on developments in Egypt, I’ve not found the time! Hopefully, today’s will make up for it. Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

P.S. I promised our Twitter followers that if they came up with at least 5 good questions about insects I would have an entomologist answer them, so send in yours!

Apparently Kobe Bryant told Pau Gasol he needed to be more “black swan” on the court. [NYMag]

I was shocked by this: “Vodafone Forced to Send Pro-Government Text Messages in Egypt” [RWW]

There is a wonderful new Paula-Deen-as-hipster meme [Clabwag]

I have a lot of colleagues in the UK, so this “everything you ever wanted to know about the UK/GB/England in five minutes” was very helpful. My favorite (favourite?) part: “BFFs 4EVA USA?” [CGPGrey]

And since we’re on the topic of geography, I might as well present this from XKDC:

Yes, it’s been around for a while, but I think it’s important to remind everyone that you can talk like a pirate on Facebook. [NextWeb]

You got a few minutes to make some fleeting art? Then try this.

If you didn’t see the update to our article “Why the Trenta?” I’m sure you’ll be delighted to learn that Starbucks’ newest size can hold an entire bottle of wine. [Cockeyed]

Oh Apple, you’re so sneaky. [Atlantic]

Protesters are awesome: Egyptian volunteers clean the streets [Good]

And now,  an enormous infographic: