The NBA season is underway, and a few things are already clear: Shaquille O'Neal is making an impact in Cleveland, the Boston Celtics appear to be back to their championship form and the Clippers are still no good at all. Though most teams have played less than 10 games, it's already an exciting season, part of the best hoops era since the Lakers/Celtics/Pistons/Rockets years of the 1980s. What's missing from the current crop of superstars? Somebody who can shatter backboards. Though O'Neal has destroyed his fair share of equipment early in his career, you rarely see a dunk so devastating that the fiberglass gives way. It's incredible to think that Darryl Dawkins, the former forward for the Philadelphia 76ers and the New Jersey Nets, used to be known for dunking so hard that he would leave a path of destruction — so much so that he was nicknamed "Chocolate Thunder." On November 13, 1979, Dawkins rose up over Bill Robinzine of the Kansas City Kings, threw down a powerful slam dunk and shattered his first fiberglass backboard. Dawkins, a flamboyant athlete who had nicknames for all his different dunks (including "The Spine Chiller Supreme" and "The Turbo Sexophonic Delight"), broke so many backboards that he was threatened with monetary fines to discourage him from delaying the game and creating so much dangerous shrapnel. His crimes against the hardware lead to the development of the breakaway rim, which could still be torn down but kept the glass in tact.

The best way to celebrate the majesty of Chocolate Thunder? Watch this amazing compendium of Dawkins' best dunks and bang around to Onyx's "Slam."

It's probably an obvious thing to say, but it's good to be Jay-Z. The rapper/business mogul/pop icon has spent the past few months putting out one of the best albums of his career in The Blueprint 3, embarked on a successful tour, did a duet with U2 at the MTV Europe Music Awards, starred in a pair of iconic videos ("Run This Town" and "Empire State of Mind") and helped the New York Yankees win the World Series (or at least helped to celebrate their victory). Just in the past few days, he performed at the Yankees' victory parade in downtown Manhattan, took in a Knicks game with a couple of players from the team (including Alex Rodriguez) and then flew out to California for more tour dates and a stop at Sunday night's Los Angeles Lakers game against the New Orleans Hornets.

And that is where the problems begin.

There's no questioning Jigga's Yankees fandom. The guy has supported the team, rapped about players and even wears a Yankees cap on the cover of Kingdom Come. It's safe to say that if the Mets got hot next year and made a run at the World Series (this is highly unlikely), it's doubtful he would jump ship and suddenly root for the boys from Flushing.

But where does Jay-Z's basketball fandom settle? Is he a Knicks fan (because he supports his hometown), a Cavaliers fan (because he's friends with LeBron James) or a Lakers fan (because everybody is down with Kobe Bryant)? And what about the New Jersey Nets, a team that counts Hova as one of its owners. It's possible that Jigga simply counts himself as a fan of the NBA, or that as a team owner he's simply doing due diligence. But that's something of a cop-out, and the poor Knicks are unloved enough.

While Spike Lee has been a reliable celebrity Knicks fan for years, they still don't have a definitive star supporter (the way that Jack Nicholson reps for the Lakers, for example). So I ask you: Who should step up as the official musician superfan of the New York Knicks? Should they give 50 Cent a season ticket in hopes he'll bring some energy to the floor? Should they get the members of Kiss in there to literally light a fire under David Lee's backside? Let us know in the comments.

By Eric Ditzian

I want to switch MTV jobs. All is fine and dandy within the toasty pop-culture confines of MTV News, but when I see a day in the life of Rob Dyrdek and the amusement park-esque warehouse he calls his office, I start thinking I need to flee our Times Square home and latch onto anything that has to with Dyrdek's "Fantasy Factory."

Case in (jealous) point: In this week's upcoming season finale on MTV, the skateboarder-turned-reality-TV star invites Ludacris and NBA All-Star and Denver Nuggets franchise player Carmelo Anthony over for a play date. It's every little kid's dream: Motorbikes, skateboard ramps, zip lines and giant pits filled with foam to break your landing after pulling insane, you-should-really-know-better stunts.

"You skateboard on this?" Luda asks at one point. "What happens when yo a-- falls smooth on the concrete?"

"It hurts," replies Dyrdek. "It hurts."

The full episode rolls out on Thursday at 9 p.m. E.T. as the two celebs stop by the Factory for a charitable wager with their host. But before then, check out this sneak peek to catch Luda tooling around like a dude in "ExciteBike" and to find out what 'Melo did to have Dyrdek cry, "No season enders in here! I'll have all Denver coming down on me!"

In the eye-popping music video for Drake's "Best I Ever Had" (directed by Kanye West), the Toronto native cast himself as the coach of a highly unorthodox female basketball team. On Friday night (October 16), the rapper got the chance to flex his coaching muscles for real. At this year's Big Blue Madness event at the University of Kentucky (where the basketball team is officially unveiled to the student populace in the first minutes they are eligible to do so), new head coach John Calipari welcomed Drake as a guest coach during the intrasquad scrimmage that made up the main event.

The rapper and Kentucky basketball enthusiast coached against the veteran Calipari, and though he had an assist from former NBA great Rod Strickland, he ended up with the same result as the "Best I Ever Had" video, as his Blue Team narrowly fell to Calipari's White Team by a score of 63-62. The night was a huge success, though, as thousands gathered at the University of Kentucky's Rupp Arena to give Drake a massive ovation. The event also featured former Kentucky Wildcat and current Detroit Pistons star Tayshaun Prince as well as actress and professional University of Kentucky enthusiast Ashley Judd.

Though nobody would have mistaken Calipari for a hip-hop fan, he seemed excited about the visit from one of rap's biggest up-and-comers. "With our guest coach in the locker room going over the scrimmage scouting report," he tweeted before the game, adding a blurry picture to drive that point home. For his part, Drake probably sees a lot of himself in Kentucky freshman John Wall, who is one of the most hyped recruits in the country. And like Drake, Wall delivered an amazing show for the UK faithful, throwing down dunks and already looking like a superstar.

By Joel Hanek

Yes, you read correctly and no, that doesn’t mean we will be missing out on misspelled tweets from Shaq anytime soon.

According to the Associated Press, the NBA has announced a rule that prohibits players from using cell phones and other communication devices 45 minutes before a game and until after the players have fulfilled their obligations after the game. The NFL also banned the use of Twitter during games earlier this year. While there has been no "Twitter-gate" incident just yet, many of the national sports organizations have taken preemptive actions to ban the social networking tool.

The NBA hasn't stated any specific reason for the ban, but the choice doesn't seem that shocking. After all, the somewhat conservative organization did just instate a formal dress code policy for players arriving to games last year. While tweeting on the job probably isn't the most professional thing for a player to be doing between quarters, there could also be monetary reasons for the ban (endorsements) or preoccupations over the release of sensitive/privileged information (sometimes the cameras get exclusive access to coaches' huddles during timeouts, but there's probably a reason that information isn't all that intimate).

If you're on Twitter, you're most likely following Kazaam himself, Shaquelle O'Neil, who is arguably one of the individuals who has made Twitter the celebrity powerhouse that it is. (Also on that list? John Mayer and Ashton Kutcher would have to be included.) With nearly 2.5 million followers on Twitter, Shaq is notorious for sharing odd and hilarious insights with the world, often inviting his followers to come and find him. (When I reached Shaq's Twitter page for comment, all I got was a recommendation for an Italian restaurant in Cleveland.

Other notable NBA tweeters include Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash (who recently starred in a hilarious viral video for Vitamin Water along with 50 Cent) and Mr. Khloe Kardashian, Lamar Odom.

Having spent my entire professional career interviewing famous people (save for those few months where I wrote about bespoke suits and bathtubs shaped like slingback heels), I don't really get starstruck. There are a handful of people around whom I squeal like a teenage girl (as anybody who has been in the room with me while Rob Zombie is present can attest), but I generally don't get blown away by fame.

But when it comes to raw, physical abilities, it becomes a whole different ball game. I'll start hyperventilating over even the most minor athletes. I shook late Boston Celtic Reggie Lewis' hand once and count is as one of the great moments of my life. My brother met former Boston Red Sox pitcher Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd at a bar a few years ago and I got really jealous. I once went to an industry party solely because I was told Kevin Garnett would be there. The point is, I'm blown away by sports figures, so when I was called upon today to sit down with His Royal Highness LeBron James, the King of Everything, I had to take a few deep breaths.

I sat down with King James (along with film director Kris Belman) to talk about "More Than a Game," the documentary about his high school basketball team. We also went over the movie's killer soundtrack, which features tunes from Mary J. Blige, Jay-Z and T.I., as well as the killer remix of Drake's "Forever" that features verses from Lil Wayne, Kanye West and Eminem. He also revealed who his pick is for the "Hottest MCs" list, who he thinks had the best verse on "Forever" and how he rates new teammate Shaquille O'Neal as an MC — all of which will be appearing all over MTV News over the next few days.

But stupidly, here's the first thing I thought when I shook James' hand: "Man, this guy is tall." I've been around basketball players all my life, but I've obviously never been around the best in the game. It is incredible that James is so unbelievably fast considering his size. The other thing I noticed? His tattoos are great. The dude really carries his ink well.

So the sum total of observations I was able to make during my interview? LeBron James is tall and has tattoos. Insight! But hey, at least I got a great photo (I'm on the bottom), so nobody can say I was never in the presence of royalty.

It's no secret that MTV News loves basketball, so today is a very important day in history. On August 3, 1949, two young basketball organizations — the National Basketball League and the Basketball Association of America — merged to form the National Basketball Association, giving birth to the modern NBA. The creation of the new league coincided with the first big hoops superstar in America in George Mikan, whose size and strength made the game more physical.

More than any other sport, basketball has long been linked with pop music, and in the modern era there is no game that even comes close. There has been plenty of crossover, as players like Shaquille O'Neal and Ron Artest have spun sports stardom into rap careers (with mixed results), and a handful of stars (notably Master P) have attempted hoops careers. And of course, the "MTV Rock N' Jock Basketball" series always brought together the game's elite with music stars (Reggie Miller! Flea! John Salley! Queen Latifah! Dan Marjele! Brian McKnight! Gary Payton!).

One band who never participated in a "Rock N' Jock" show but still wore their hoops fandom on their sleeves was Pearl Jam. When the band first started, they were known as Mookie Blaylock, a talented guard who spent 13 years in the league with the New Jersey Nets, Atlanta Hawks (where he had his greatest success) and Golden State Warriors. Blaylock was a defensive monster — he made the NBA All-Defensive team a total of six times and ranks 11th all time in career steals. Pearl Jam ended up changing their name to what we now know them as, though as a tip of their hat to their former name, they titled their debut album after Blaylock's jersey number. Early Pearl Jam had great flashes of brilliance, and their "George Mikan" moment where they really, truly looked like superstars was at a taping of "MTV Unplugged" in 1992 when they closed the show with a rousing, twitchy version of "Porch."

Having dispatched the Orlando Magic in five games, the Los Angeles Lakers are the 2009 NBA Champions. Kobe Bryant finally won without the help of Shaquille O'Neal (just like Jay-Z hoped he would), and the team will be celebrating with a parade in Los Angeles this afternoon. All through the playoffs, it was a familiar-looking Lakers team, and not because they resembled any of the past championship clubs. Rather, they looked and played a lot like the Wu-Tang Clan. Don't believe me? Check this out:

» Kobe Bryant is RZA: The most talented and controlling member of the team (and also the richest). Are they both a little bit crazy? Sure. Doesn't it just make us love them more? Definitely. Plus, both Kobe and RZA are friendly with gritty New York City film directors (Kobe & Spike Lee, RZA & Jim Jarmusch).

» Phil Jackson is GZA: The wise sage who is heavily influenced by Eastern philosophy.
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