NBA in 2012: The year in photos

Taking a look at the best memories with a month-by-month pictorial of the NBA in 2012.

Captions by Kevin Nielsen

December-January: It wasn’t the best start to the year for the Toronto Raptors but one early bright light was Andrea Bargnani. Over his first 13 games of the 2011-12 season, the Raptors forward averaged 23.5 points and 6.2 rebounds per game causing comparisons to Dirk Nowitzki. A calf injury derailed his season in January and Il Mago has struggled to rediscover his top form since.

February: Lin-sanity swept the nation as Jeremy Lin ascended from teammate Landry Fields’ couch to a starring role as the Knicks starting point guard. In his first 10 games as a starter, a banged-up Knicks squad went 8-2 as Lin captured the attention of adoring fans around the globe.

February: The NBA held its annual All-Star Weekend. As always, all eyes were on the dunk contest as the game’s elite athletes took centre stage. This year it was Utah Jazz forward Jeremy Evans turn to shine as he threw down a few dirty dunks to take home top honours.

March: While the NBA trade deadline passed with a few notable trades, perhaps the biggest news was Dwight Howard’s decision to sign on with Orlando for another season after waffling back and forth on whether he wanted to be traded. The ongoing saga was eventually dubbed the ‘Dwightmare’ by the media who were clearly tired of reporting the story.

April: Towards the tail end of the 2011-12 season, Lakers forward Metta World Peace threw a vicious elbow at Thunder guard James Harden which left the latter concussed. World Peace would receive a seven-game suspension for the transgression and the two would feud throughout the playoffs as the sides met in the Western Conference semis with the Thunder coming out on top.

May: At the end of 2011-12 season, the San Antonio Spurs went on 20-game winning streak spanning 50 days which included a 10-0 start to the playoffs. They built a 2-0 lead on Oklahoma City in the Western Conference Finals before the Thunder ended the streak on May 31. Oklahoma City won four straight to knock San Antonio out of the playoffs.

June: It took two seasons but the Miami Heat’s ‘Big Three’ claimed their first NBA title in June as LeBron James and company romped past the Oklahoma City Thunder in five games. In the series finale, James would post 26 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds en route to collecting MVP honours.

July: It was a busy free agent period as Jeremy Lin, Jason Kidd and Ray Felton got on the point-guard merry-go-round and jumped off with new destinations but the biggest set-up man to move to a new locale was Canadian star Steve Nash. The two-time MVP left the Phoenix Suns to join their arch-rivals in Los Angeles in a sign-and-trade that stunned the NBA community.

August: Team USA cruised through the men’s Olympic basketball tournament in August rarely breaking a sweat until the final game. Facing a Spanish squad that featured the Gasol brothers, the star-studded Americans held off the bigger Spaniards by a score of 107-100 to take home the gold once again.

October: In this Nov. 15, 1983, file photo, newly-appointed NBA commissioner David Stern speaks to reporters in the Madison Square Garden media room. In October, Stern announced that he would step down on Feb. 1, 2014, 20 years after taking the job.

November: Just five games into the 2012-13 NBA season, the Los Angeles Lakers dismissed Mike Brown. The Lakers had won just a single game after going 0-8 in preseason play. Former New York Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni was tabbed as his replacement.

December: Raptors Raptors Raptors.