NBA Friday: Chris Paul
For the last two seasons his New Orleans Hornets team played the majority of their 'home' games in Oklahoma City due to the damage and devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana. The team is back in New Orleans this season and their presence will hopefully help with the recovery and rebuilding of the communities in that area. The 2008 NBA All-Star game is also being held in New Orleans.
Chris Paul is not only a solid basketball player (currently averaging about 19 points and 10.5 assists per game), but a great guy and an excellent 10-pin bowler. Paul claims, "Basketball is just a hobby. Bowling is what I really do."
Chris Paul signed an endorsement deal with Jordan Brand last year. Supposedly Michael Jordan himself chooses the players his company represents. If that's the case, then that's really saying something about Paul's game.
You can also view this piece larger on the Black & White page. Come back tomorrow for Sixth Man Saturday!
About NBA Friday
NBA Friday is something I've started in sync with the NBA season. Every Friday for 30 weeks I will post an illustration of an NBA player from one of the NBA's 30 teams.
I will work my way through every team and by the time that happens, we will be in the midst of the NBA Finals.
Next week's team is the Minnesota Timberwolves! Any player requests? Please send me an email.
posted by Joel Kimmel at
12:15 AM
This is an old photo I came across today. I have a small collection of old class photos, mostly from the 70s, although this kid looks like he's from a bit earlier. Unfortunately he didn't write his name on the back of the picture. I'll post some more class photos on here when I get the chance! These kids are fun to draw.
The pigeons that once occupied one of the telephone wires haven't been back in months, but the howling dog occasionally still does his most vocal work in the early mornings. The children always call out for him, calling him something that sounds like "Tika." Although maybe its name is "Teacup?" When not howling, Tika can often be found scratching himself on the hoods of the discarded cars.
I decided to draw this portrait of Pau as a comic book page. His first name works well as a sound effect often found on the pages of comic books, so I included Pau's name along with Bam! Crash! and Zap! 
Unfortunately, I was always too nervous as a kid to use it. I was afraid of messing up the small stack of it that I had, so I just never used it. I was holding out for the day I created a comic book, but when I finally did that at the end of high school I had totally forgotten about my precious paper. 
None of the crayons have been used, except maybe the white, as it's missing a tiny piece off the top. I tried to represent all of the 64 colors in the box - it was a fun test of color mixing. 
Mostly though, it has to do with Reggie. His ears, his resemblance to his sister, Cheryl and his boring 2-handed, straight armed dunks. Not to mention his horrible haircuts early in his career and those silly #31 embroidered sweat band things he wore on his "trigger" fingers .
The article details research that found certain diseases are linked to people in certain weight groups.
The air in Beijing may contain pollutants at a level five times the safe limit suggested by the World Health Organization.
I tried something a bit different with this portrait and I like how it turned out.
Sam is a very loud player, and never seems to stop yapping, but he is a great player when he's healthy. In his 14 year career he has averaged 16 points and 6 assists. He is known for his mid-range game, as well as looking like an extraterrestrial.
One time in the ball's infancy it went missing during a basketball tournament. My brother later found it in the hands of some kid who had stolen it and written his name on the ball with ballpoint pen.
One of the first games we owned was Karnov. Karnov (full name, Jinborov Karnovski) is an ex-circus strongman from east Russia who blows fireballs from his mouth. This game is hard! I could never get very far in it, so I didn't play it that often but it remains in my collection because one day I will play it again and hopefully finish it, or at least get past the second level.
Morrison's wispy mustache has drawn national attention, with newspaper and magazine articles writing about it. It's even featured in one of Morrison's commercials. 
He plays a very energetic style that has paid off for the Bobcats after they drafted him in the 2004 expansion draft. He is a great dunker and an excellent defensive player who I believe will have a successful season if he can avoid injury. Due to his sometimes reckless style of play, he is susceptible to injury.
It is the Canon TLb, made in 1974, and I finally used it for the first time last weekend. I still don't really know how to use it, as it's quite different than my other SLR. I even read the manual online and I'm still confused, I think the light meter is broken or something.
