Nick Collison Is a Beast
Lang might as well cancel his Vegas trip because the coolest thing has already happened: Linkstigator Nick Collison tore the rim down during practice.
We all looked to where the noise came from, and we saw Nick Collison standing under one of the side baskets with the rim at his feet.
Several players started yelling, “Yeah Nick!”
“I was hoping practice would be over,” LeBron James told me afterwards. “I was hoping coach would say, ‘Hey, practice is cancelled.’ That’s the first thing that came to my mind. The second thing is ‘I hope he didn’t shoot a jumper and the basket fell.’”
When it was announced that Collison would be on the squad, a lot of people had the same reaction: Huh?! Well, now, I think this little story should silence the haters for a while.
UPDATE: Lang just texted Nick Collison for details. Collison responds: “Just the rim came off. It sounds cool but really it wasn’t. I did it before practice while I was warming up.”
36 Responses to “Nick Collison Is a Beast”
Aug.20 at 12:54 pm
Russ Bengtson says:
If tearing rims down were important, we could have just sent Darvin Ham and Jerome Lane.
Aug.20 at 12:55 pm
H to the izzo says:
Darvin Ham broke a rim,should he be on the squad too?
Aug.20 at 12:55 pm
mutoni says:
to russ and izzo: yes, without question.
Aug.20 at 12:57 pm
white hot eboy says:
It’s nice to see Lebronze is really anxious about trying to improve his international skills. Idiot.
Aug.20 at 12:58 pm
Russ Bengtson says:
And LeBron’s got jokes! Did Jimmy Kimmel’s writers script that one for him too?
Aug.20 at 1:01 pm
Rod Strickland says:
Tractor Traylor belongs too. Chris Morris cracked a backboard. Where does that land him? Practice squad?
Aug.20 at 1:08 pm
Hisham says:
ah, eboy, that’s what you were talking about.. SEE I WAS RIGHT!!
Aug.20 at 1:12 pm
mutoni says:
one more thing: collison, in the pic where he’s holding the poor rim, looks exactly like rubenstein. that has to count for something, right?
Aug.20 at 1:13 pm
Cub Buenning says:
Jerome Lane wants a try-out, too.
Aug.20 at 1:27 pm
SA says:
Don’t forget Bryant Reeves. Him tearing down the rim at the Final Four in Seattle is the reason the Grizz drafted him. Why he got a $70M extension, however, is unknown.
Aug.20 at 1:54 pm
Lang Whitaker says:
Antoine Carr broke a backboard, too. During warmups. I just texted Collison for a comment on this.
Aug.20 at 2:04 pm
Kevin Wilson says:
I’ve always thought we should send Darvin Ham, the greatest dunker not named Shawn Kemp to never win a dunk contest.
Aug.20 at 2:19 pm
Reggie Evans says:
I broke a backboard once. Does it matter that the base was filled with water and the rim was 8 feet tall? I say no.
Aug.20 at 2:32 pm
Tarzan Cooper aka Jesus Shuttlesworth says:
i bent a rim once
Aug.20 at 2:52 pm
white hot eboy says:
I’ve snapped more Nerf baskets than Lebrons bit nails.
Aug.20 at 3:01 pm
H to the izzo says:
I’ve bent more rims than LeBron has dunked babies,which is once
Aug.20 at 3:03 pm
Cheryl says:
LMAO, Eboy!
Aug.20 at 3:12 pm
Madtice says:
I tore down a bucket once, tight to the pole that hold up my mother’s wash line. Yeah, those were the days… So, does that mean I’m Select Team or Senior Team?
Aug.20 at 3:16 pm
Anthony Verna says:
I once stared a rim so hard that it bent from the power of my mind.
Aug.20 at 3:21 pm
dblizzy! says:
I broke a half broke, breakaway rim in JHigh, does that get me on the olympic team? That means I broke about 3 less rims than baby LBJ has seen naked boobies…
Aug.20 at 4:42 pm
Jukai says:
I once almost dunked on a nine foot rim but only managed to hit my hand really hard and trip on my ass coming down….. that’s it
Aug.20 at 5:47 pm
Gerard Himself says:
I broke my ankle once.
Aug.20 at 6:14 pm
Rubens says:
since we’re on the topic I broke a rim too, it was one of those plastic mini boards that you hang on your bedroom’s door but, I’m just saying… and tell Bron that at a practice at my college’s gym I shot a jumper from the top of the key, it was short, and the board came down
Aug.20 at 7:20 pm
Balling NZ says:
Didn’t Dwight tear one down during a SLAM shoot back in his h/s days?
Aug.20 at 9:49 pm
ForzaMilan says:
Jesus, you guys want to drive these guys like slaves. They do the slightest thing unprofessional and you’re all over them. USA basketball is really, really nervous. And the running joke is a bad one, and too old since the first time it was used. It’s DONE.
Aug.20 at 11:07 pm
JB21 says:
A dude on my college team bucked a backboard before a game once, we had to play on the side nets, it was the WORST.
Aug.21 at 1:23 am
Russ Bengtson says:
Oops, he got cut tonight (along with Kevin Durant). Think he got to keep the rim?
Aug.21 at 8:27 am
Slobodan Chutzpah says:
By the by and apropos of nothing, did you guys know Arenas actually gave a special “Interview of the Century Hibachi Award” to that Marbury intie from a while back. Somehow this doesn’t surprise me.
Aug.21 at 9:51 am
Lew b. Money says:
aint Dwight Howard break a rim at a slam photo shoot?
Aug.21 at 10:11 am
Jeremy says:
I shattered a backboard in a pickup game, but put the dunk off the back iron. Sounded like a gunshot.
Aug.21 at 12:04 pm
The Spin says:
His ass got cut! Maybe if he actually took that rim down with authority, he might have made the team. Good move Coach K! www.clutch3.com
Aug.21 at 7:21 pm
schubee says:
Russ, they had the rim back up shortly after the scrimmage ended. In fact, I think Collison was shooting on the same basket after practice… and it stayed in place.
Aug.21 at 11:08 pm
bigmike407 says:
Is breaking a rim going to put points on the board? Will it guarantee that teams like Greece won’t outplay us for a whole game? NO!!! Just don’t see why this is important.
Aug.22 at 3:53 am
D-Boy says:
How can you forget about Shaq ripping the entire backboard off at the Meadowlands when he was still at Orlando?
Aug.22 at 9:42 pm
bootlace says:
Is there a rule against breaking rims? If not, then if you’re way down in a game, keep breaking the new rims until the match is cancelled.
Aug.23 at 6:02 am
The Best Yet says:
Russ Bengtson is my hero. haha!