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Veteran big man Etan Thomas is the rare NBA player who may be better known for his exploits off the court than on it. In addition to occupying the end of many teams' benches, Thomas has written and performed poetry, become a political activist, and served as a vice president of the players' union. He has many interests -- not quite a renaissance man, but not your typical professional athlete either.

In other words, he has a reputation as a thoughtful man. So, when he penned a piece for ESPN.com written from the point of view of the NBA owners during the lockout, I approached it with some interest. Here's a sample:

The fans will always side with us no matter what the facts are. They don't see us as greedy; they see the players as greedy. They don't see us as being unreasonable; they see the players as being unreasonable. Their anger will turn directly toward the players once they no longer have basketball in their living rooms.

We know fans don't want to see their favorite teams broken up because of a strict hard cap or an incredibly harsh luxury tax, which is the same as a hard cap. But it isn't about what the fans want; we plan to impose our will on the players, and the fans will have no choice but to accept the outcome.

We haven't budged drastically from our original proposal because, quite frankly, we don't feel we have to. We're just going to sit back and wait for the players to self-destruct while we stick to our position. [...]

We also know that if teams controlled their own spending, hired the right people to evaluate talent and made better decisions, they wouldn't be operating in the red. But that isn't how we are going to present it to the public. We will divert the attention away from the real crux of the problem.

These passages are indicative of the quite lengthy piece: It presents the owners as condescending, arrogant, and generally disdainful of anyone who dares question their right to make money. (There's also a bizarre reference to the romantic comedy "The Break-Up," presumably because it's Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley's favorite movie.) It's a reasonably accurate portrait of the apparent owner mindset, but also one that seems counterproductive to the task at hand.

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At this point, seemingly half the NBA is on Twitter. It's a wild world of training updates, questions as to which movies they should go see, and explanations of their Call of Duty prowess. Every so often, though, you also get a picture into the more interesting aspects of NBA life. This feature is your window into that world.

Quincy Pondexter: Our taxi just hit a car and kept going #getmeouttahere

Andre Iguodala: Shotout to them skittles that got me thru the 2nd half of that workout...

Brandon Jennings: I had to get Larry Bird felt bad, its was like 100 Larry birds left, smhhh lol twitpic.com/6v2v1i

Sonny Weems: Nothing like the NBA, got a three hour bus ride the day of the game!! Smh #overseaslife

Hassan Whiteside: Man that's crazy 2k12 gave me a rating of a mascot they should of jus left me injured lik I was in the season dam lol

You can also follow Eric Freeman on Twitter at @freemaneric.

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Most of the players who have signed with club teams overseas during the lockout have entered unknown territory. For every European who returns to his homeland, there's a new Nugget who ventures to China for a season-long adventure.

Yet those Europeans still exist, and it's easy to see their returns to their countries of birth as the converse of an American's trip to another country: They are leaving a peculiar work environment for a more familiar one. As such, they may celebrate in ways we do not understand.

Keep that in mind as you look at the photo above. As reported by Brian T. Smith for the Salt Lake Tribune, Andrei Kirilenko signed a three-year deal (including an out clause if/when the lockout ends) with the Russian club CSKA Moscow. So, as befits a man nicknamed "AK-47," Kirilenko naturally celebrated by posing with the assault rifle itself (photo via @monilogue). Because that is apparently totally fine in Russia.

In fact, it appears that CSKA president Andrei Vatutin brought

Tuesday's release of "NBA 2K12" on various gaming platforms marks an important moment for NBA fans, and not just because forlorn diehards can now simulate the 2011-12 season as if it were freed from enforced cryostasis. In addition to the usual gameplay, this year's installment features more than 30 unlockable classic teams, which means you can play as Hall of Famers like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Bill Russell. In the virtual world, age and rules aren't barriers to these matchups any more.

These new teams will also let gamers decide which championship squad deserves to be named as the greatest team of all time. Then again, everyone probably has a strong opinion on that topic anyway.

Just take it from eccentric San Francisco Giants closer Brian Wilson, a New England native and big Boston Celtics fan. According to Wilson, who's certainly never lacked confidence, the 1985-86 Celtics are the clear choice. He explained his choice in this exclusive video courtesy of 2K Sports.

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At this point, seemingly half the NBA is on Twitter. It's a wild world of training updates, questions as to which movies they should go see, and explanations of their Call of Duty prowess. Every so often, though, you also get a picture into the more interesting aspects of NBA life. This feature is your window into that world.

Sam Young: You know what I hate most about to lockout. People approach you like they gonna be madder than u if we don't have a season. … I know our job is entertaining but it is our job.

Paul George: First official game.. #ImReady twitpic.com/6upkw2

Vernon Macklin: Will there be a Lockout on NBA 2k that comes out tonight? Like will I be able to play a season? Or jus workout and stuff? Lol

Blake Griffin: First day of training camp finally here can't wait for... Oh what's that NBA owners? You won't let us play? Sorry everybody...

DeJuan Blair: Sometimes we need laughter more than food.

You can also follow Eric Freeman on Twitter at @freemaneric.

Despite the fact that his name is on the league's championship trophy, Larry O'Brien's tenure as NBA commissioner is not usually considered to be a resounding success. In the typical narrative, the era from 1975 to 1984 is seen as a relatively dark period in the league's existence. That's not entirely accurate -- O'Brien did quite a bit, including overseeing the ABA merger and locking down a lucrative TV deal -- but it is easy to consider O'Brien as a weak commissioner given the strides the league made during David Stern's time in charge. In relative terms, he was.

For whatever reason, O'Brien's 10 years as commissioner have been mostly forgotten. Thankfully, we have videos like this one to give us a picture into his style. Watch above as O'Brien gives special guest Bob Hope and the USO a check for $50,000 at All-Star Weekend in 1981. If this clip is any indication, O'Brien wanted to market the league towards old people who appreciated jokes told by a comedian holding a 7-iron. And

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There's a large subset of NBA players who can't reasonably hope for widespread acclaim during a national broadcast or glossy-magazine feature. Instead of those high-profile rewards, they look for recognition wherever they can get it, whether from their fans, local press, or basketball diehards around the country.

A video game rating is one of the easiest ways to get positive attention, mostly because the games are played by lots of basketball fans (casual and otherwise) all over the world. The ratings for "NBA 2K12" were released last week, so this issue is now at the forefront of athlete confidence and popularity. If a player proves useful in the virtual world, he's likely to win over some portion of the public for his basketball abilities. If a player feels slighted by his rating, he'll often complain in public. As far as I'm aware, though, no one has ever claimed to be given an unfairly high rating.

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Michael Beasley came perilously close to such an act of humility during an interview with IamaGM.com (via PBT):

IamaGM.com: 2K12 ratings leaked early, you got a 78 how do you feel about that?

MB: That's higher than I thought.

Indeed, it is higher than I thought he would earn, too. If Dirk Nowitzki is only an 85, then surely Beasley should be in the low 70s. Or, who knows, maybe 2K Sports added new skill attributes like "Hairdo Creativity" or "Best Penmanship on His High School Principal's Car." If that's the case, then, yes, a 78 is right on the money.

There are a lot of adorable videos of dogs playing basketball on YouTube, but few feature legitimate roundball skills. For the most part, the canines just bark, run around, and push the basketball along the ground with their noses. It's as if they've never seen a basketball game, or even have no idea how to pick up a ball without opposable digits on their paws. What a bunch of dummies.

On very rare occasions, though, one pup rises above the rest. It happened with Air Bud, and it can happen again. Why, just take a look at Petey, a minor YouTube star known in some circles as "The Volleyball Dog." Petey's top skill is knocking any moderately soft ball around with his snout, which makes him a natural for the basketball court. He even knows how to use the glass.

Unfortunately, his NBA career will probably be derailed by a complete inability to understand or carry out the fundamentals of defense. It appears that Petey will have to go back to the puppy leagues and find a spot in the rotation