Few players have reputations as established as that of Kevin Garnett(notes), leader of the Boston Celtics and all-around defensive stalwart and winner. He's also known as a bit of a jerk, though, a label which isn't entirely unwarranted considering he does things like hit Channing Frye in his privates.

That event caused Suns coach Alvin Gentry to speak out against KG, saying that he "lost a little respect for the man," because, you know, he hit another play where it really hurts.

Garnett wants everyone to know that he doesn't care about this criticism, though. As he said on the site of his shoe company, Anta, Garnett is all about sticking by his convictions. Via Ben Rohrbach at GreenStreet:

We "played a back-to-back in Phoenix. This game was physical as well and super ugly. I never apologize for my actions, as I play with passion. I actually got ejected for (the ref said) ‘talking too much.' Can you believe that? It was unfortunate, and I hate to leave my team out there without

Last night, millions of NBA fans saw their wishes granted when Blake Griffin(notes) was named to the West All-Star squad as a reserve. It was a welcome sight to see the coaches honor the league's most exciting talent, especially considering many great young players don't make the team until they're well established as stars.

However, not everyone is happy about Griffin's selection. Check out these quotes from Blazers guard Andre Miller(notes), whose teammate LaMarcus Aldridge(notes) was one of the most high-profile snubs. From Jason Quick for The Oregonian (via PBT):

"It's all publicity and hype,'' Miller said. "The league don't appreciate the blue collar workers. They don't appreciate that. They make their money off the high-flyers ... That's a slap in the face to LA.''

What particularly irked Miller, who is in his 12th NBA season, is the selection of Griffin, the Clippers rookie. Griffin is averaging 23.0 points and 12.7 rebounds.

"They are putting this guy on every ESPN highlight.

Thursday night was about the All-Star game reserve selections, a fact which was emphasized by the fact that TNT showed two games featuring eight All-Stars in total. They were incidentally both exciting games, with both coming down to the final seconds.

But on a night filled with so much nationally televised star power, the most amazing play occurred in the locally broadcast matchup between the Golden State Warriors and Milwaukee Bucks in Oakland. With about 3:30 left in the first quarter, Golden State's Stephen Curry(notes) found Dorell Wright(notes) from the 3-point line for an alley-oop. Except it was from the opposite 3-point line. That's about 70 feet, just in case you needed a numerical estimate.

It's particularly amazing because I'm not even sure it was supposed to be an alley-oop. What Wright does here with the catch and finish is unbelievable -- he's fielding the pass right under the basket and putting it in with the reverse slam in one motion.

Don't get me wrong, the two TNT

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.

Spencer Hawes: #nowreading decision points. Instant classic so much wonderful insight. @GordonJHV u would love it.

Carmelo Anthony: Man, it is cold outside. Does fashion really matter when you're tryin to stay warm? I'm goin with no! http://say.ly/aqG7Qd

Dwyane Wade: Who was the first person to say..I'm taking my "talents" somewhere???

Dahntay Jones: Since when do men wear these ugg boots? Jeff foster(notes) is crazy for wearin these http://plixi.com/p/74415854

Chris Douglas-Roberts: One of my veteran teammates just told me that he's never been around a player generates more undeserved hate than I do.

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

Gong Xi Fa Cai! That's right, in addition to being Feb. 3, Thursday is Chinese New Year, the start of the Year of the Rabbit. It's a joyous day full of decorated dragons, excellent food, and general good cheer.

For Peak, a Chinese sneaker company, it's also a time for basketball. So enjoy the ad above, in which various endorsers like Jason Kidd(notes) and Jason Richardson(notes) wish everyone a Happy New Year. It's a nice reminder that basketball is a global game where cultures can interact and come to understand each other.

After the jump, enjoy another ad featuring even more of your favorite players like Ron Artest(notes) and Dikembe Mutombo(notes). Peak was even nice enough to pay Sasha Vujacic(notes), so you know this company cares about helping others in addition to playing well on the basketball court.

Don't ask me why these players aren't able to say their lines in unison. Maybe Peak only had time and money for one take.

(Videos via The Two Man Game and The Basketball Jones)

The Los Angeles Clippers are the obvious No. 2 team in Los Angeles, getting celebrities like Billy Crystal and Frankie Muniz instead of the heavy hitters like Jack Nicholson and Denzel Washington. They're a team in need of whatever publicity and support they can get.

So they should appreciate Clipper Darrell whenever possible. In case you're not familiar with this superfan's work, he's the guy who wears a blue and red suit at games, decked his car out to support the team, and generally spends way more time and money supporting a lottery team than anyone else in the NBA.

Except, according to Clipper Darrell, the team did him wrong Wednesday night for its game against the Chicago Bulls by selling his regular seat to another fan. After the jump, check out what he had to say on Twitter.

It's unclear exactly why Darrell's seat was up for sale, but I'm not sure any explanation can validate the franchise turning its back on a long-time fan. Even if Darrell doesn't have season tickets,

At this point in the season, Blake Griffin's(notes) reputation as an aerial marauder is well-established. If he has a lane to the hoop or the ball's in the air for an alley-oop, the defender should probably get out of the way, because they're not going to out-jump him and can reasonably only hope to break up the play with a foul. Regardless of that logic, though, those who challenge Griffin should be praised for their bravery and honor in the face of certain defeat.

So give Kyle Korver(notes) some credit for this play from Wednesday night. Towards the end of the first half, with the Bulls up on the Clips 48-43, Randy Foye(notes) found Griffin for an oop on a fast break. Korver was running with Griffin and jumped up to deflect the pass, but, well, he's about 1 percent as athletic and was instead embarrassed mightily.

But this play would only contain a fraction of its current awesomeness if Korver had taken the coward's way out and let Griffin finish with no contest. He suffered so that