The hoops

LeBron James cementing his status as one of the all-time greats, another devastating injury to Derrick Rose and a once-unthinkable power shift in Los Angeles all contributed to a memorable basketball season in 2013.

The year will also be remembered for a series of "lasts" for outgoing NBA commissioner David Stern and a Canadian making history as the top pick in the NBA Draft.

After facing loads of criticism for past playoff failures, James inched his way up the list of all-time greats by leading the Miami Heat to a second consecutive championship in June and putting his team on the verge of becoming a dynasty.

While not always at his best in the 2013 playoffs, James stepped up when it mattered most, scoring a game-high 37 points and adding 12 rebounds in a championship-clinching victory over the San Antonio Spurs in the seventh game of the NBA Finals.

"For me, I can't worry about what everybody says about me. I'm LeBron James, from Akron, Ohio. From the inner city. I'm not even supposed to be here," James, a two-time Finals MVP, said after the victory.

"Every night I walk into the locker room, I see a No 6 with James on the back. I'm blessed. So what everybody says about me off the court don't matter. I ain't got no worries."

For Stern, 2013 was a victory lap of sorts after having previously announced his decision to step down as the longest-tenured commissioner in professional sports.

Stern, 71, will retire in February after 30 years on the job, a period during which he oversaw strong revenue growth, expansion from 23 teams to 30, a movement into small markets like Oklahoma City and Memphis and continued growth of the game on a global basis.

One week after the 2012-13 NBA season ended, the Cleveland Cavaliers used the top pick in the draft to select Toronto native Anthony Bennett, making him the first Canadian taken first overall.

Bennett, touted as a big-bodied rebound specialist who played one season for the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, became the seventh player born outside the US taken with the top pick, but the first from a country better known for producing elite hockey players.

"Yeah, it's just crazy. Made history. I can't really complain about that," Bennett said after being the surprise top pick.

"It's just like a long-time dream I had since I first started playing basketball, even though it was six or seven years ago.

"It's just crazy."

Rejuvenated Clippers

For Chicago Bulls point guard Rose, the year ended the same way it began, with him on the sidelines because of an injury that has robbed the 25-year-old of another season in his prime.

Rose, who missed all of the 2012-13 season recovering from a torn ACL in his left knee, was injured 11 games into the current 82-game campaign before undergoing season-ending surgery to repair the medial meniscus in his right knee.

The injury was a devastating blow to a Bulls team that was considered a contender for the Eastern Conference crown.

In Los Angeles, the spotlight usually reserved for Kobe Bryant and the 16-time NBA champion Lakers has shifted to the rival Clippers, which opened the season with lofty goals, given the championship pedigree of former Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers at the helm.

Rivers, one of only four active coaches to win an NBA title, was acquired from the Celtics in June and is looking to bring the rejuvenated Clippers franchise its first championship.

The Lakers, long the preferred destination for top players seeking an NBA title, found themselves in unfamiliar territory, having to battle for a playoff spot and then getting swept out of the first round of the postseason.

The offseason was no kinder to the Lakers as Dwight Howard spurned the team after one season to sign with the Houston Rockets, joining forces with James Harden on a team that made the playoffs last season for the first time since 2009.

LeBron James of the Miami Heat fends off Wilson Chandler of the Denver Nuggets in the fourth quarter at the Pepsi Center in Denver last week. Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

(China Daily 01/05/2014 page12)