Dwyane Wade and LeBron James have been shrugging off the competition. (USA Today Sports)

With the rest of the NBA fighting for playoff positioning or preparing for upcoming summer vacations, the Miami Heat are coasting to the NBA's top overall playoff seed. Because of that the Heat remain atop the weekly Yahoo! Sports NBA rankings.

Miami, which has lost just once since Feb. 1, has it easy the rest of the regular season with just three games against winning teams in its final nine contests.

Records are through Monday.

1. Miami Heat (58-15, previous ranking: first): The Heat are in position to win the most regular-season games in franchise history. The record is 61 victories, set by the 1996-97 Heat led by center Alonzo Mourning.

2. San Antonio Spurs (55-19, previous ranking: second): The Spurs have a one-game lead over Oklahoma City for the top seed in the West, with Manu Ginobili (hamstring) out 3-4 weeks. The Spurs host the Thunder on Thursday.

3. Oklahoma City Thunder (54-20, previous ranking: third): San Antonio is up 2-1 in the season series

With reconciliation not an option between feuding stars Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal after the 2004 season, the Lakers were forced to choose sides.

Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss opted for the younger Bryant, who later rewarded him with two championships. Now nearly nine years later, the Lakers are showing their appreciation for O'Neal by retiring his No. 34 jersey Tuesday night, when the Lakers face the Dallas Mavericks.

Splitting up has helped Kobe and Shaq gain some appreciation for each other. (Getty Images)In one of the team's signature eras, Shaq and Kobe made four NBA Finals appearances with the Lakers, winning three consecutive titles from 2000-02.

O'Neal won his only post-Lakers title with the Miami Heat in 2006, and it's something Bryant won't let the big man live down.

"I always remind him every time I see him," Bryant, who's won five championships with the Lakers, told Yahoo! Sports. "I saw him after the All-Star Game and said, 'How you doing, 'Four' ?' He said, 'Oh, you [expletive].' [Our relationship is] really good now. We have such a mutual

Teams have tried to rough up LeBron James and the Heat to no avail. (USA TODAY Sports)

The Miami Heat remain atop the weekly Yahoo! Sports NBA rankings as they move closer to challenging a 41-year-old record.

The Heat are within six games of tying the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers' record 33-game winning streak after a 108-94 victory over the Orlando Magic on Monday night. The Heat visit the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night, the New Orleans Hornets on Friday, and the second-ranked San Antonio Spurs on Sunday. Things are getting interesting.

Records are through Monday.

1. Miami Heat (56-14, previous ranking: first): Heat guard Mike Miller scored just seven points while replacing an injured Dwyane Wade (knee) in Monday's victory. Wade is hoping to return against his hometown Bulls on Wednesday.

2. San Antonio Spurs (53-17, previous ranking: second): Before hosting Miami, the Spurs have two difficult West games at home against the Nuggets and the Clippers. It appears to be a long shot now for the Spurs to pass Miami for home-court advantage throughout the

OAKLAND, Calif. – The Golden State Warriors' David Lee should keep an eye out for Dwight Howard during the next meeting against the Los Angeles Lakers on April 12.

Dwight Howard didn't appreciate some of the rough treatment he got from David Lee (L). (EFE)

After the Lakers' 109-103 loss at Golden State on Monday night, Howard said that Lee will face retaliation in the future for elbowing him in the mouth during the second quarter. Howard ended up with a bruised lip, a bloody mouth, a personal foul and eventually three stitches. He also received a technical foul for mouthing off to Lee after the play.

"He got away with a shot," Howard said. "I will remember this game. I will remember that shot. He said he wasn't trying to do it. You can look at the play and see it for yourself. I will take care of it later."

Howard said he didn't retaliate in the second half because that would have led to a potential second technical and ejection. Lee later told Howard that the play was unintentional.

[Related: Royce White will return to Rockets' D-League team]

"I

Wilt Chamberlain posts up against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (33) in 1972. (Getty)Wilt Chamberlain, whose larger-than-life personality even exceeded his prodigious physical stature, once warned boxing legend Sonny Liston he could take over as heavyweight champion. He also boasted about sleeping with more than 20,000 women, so modesty was never one of Wilt's best traits.

Chamberlain liked to do everything big, including win. As the starting center for the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers, he won an NBA-record 33 consecutive games – a streak now being challenged by the Miami Heat.

And what would Chamberlain think of the Heat – who will enter Monday's game in Orlando having won 26 in a row – making a run at the Lakers' historic mark?

"He would have cared," said Jim McMillian, a teammate of Chamberlain's and a starting forward on that '71-72 Lakers team. "He would have said they didn't deserve to win; things like the league is very watered down, they are not as good as we were and if we were to play them we would crush them.

"Wilt would have liked to play Miami

Injured Kentucky freshman center Nerlens Noel is a potential No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft, but neither he nor his school is in the NCAA tournament. Maryland center Alex Len is a Top 10 prospect, but he is playing in the National Invitation Tournament.

A good tournament would solidify Ben McLemore's draft standing. (AP Photo)Regardless, there are still a lot of NBA prospects who will be the focus of NBA talent evaluators when the NCAA tournament revs up Thursday. The following is a list of Yahoo! Sports’ Top 10 NBA prospects to watch during the NCAA tournament, based on conversations with NBA executives and scouts.

“The top five will evolve during the tournament,” an NBA assistant general manager said. “This is the first time I’ve said that this late in the year. I don’t know that anyone has established themselves from a pro prospective from the rest. It will come down to team likes and needs.”

1. SG Ben McLemore, Kansas, freshman (6-5, 195)
NBA scout: “He hasn’t been as consistent as you would have hoped. He struggled in the conference

Lil Wayne is like family to the Clippers' Chris Paul. (Getty Images)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Before he was released from Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, Lil Wayne got a visit from an NBA player who regards the rap star as a "big brother."

"I just went to make sure my friend was good," the Los Angeles Clippers' Chris Paul told Yahoo! Sports on Tuesday after the team's a shootaround at Sleep Train Arena. "I don't really want to talk about what is going on [with Wayne's medical condition]. But as a friend, I just wanted to make sure he was OK."

Wayne was released Monday after being hospitalized for nearly a week, according to a tweet from rapper Mack Maine. The Associated Press reported that the Grammy award winner was hospitalized for a seizure. Paul was among several celebrities, including rappers Drake, Nicki Minaj and Birdman, who visited Wayne.

[Power Rankings: Epic run keeps Heat No. 1]

Paul and Wayne have been friends for nearly eight years after meeting at the 2005 Final Four in St. Louis. The two exchanged numbers and have been

Dwyane Wade, Shane Battier (31) and LeBron James (6) have plenty to be happy about. (USA Today)

With 23 consecutive victories, LeBron James and the Miami Heat remain atop the weekly Yahoo! Sports NBA rankings for the third straight week.

Miami has the second-longest winning streak in NBA history and is chasing the record of 33 consecutive wins by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers. The Heat play their next four games against some of the NBA’s worst teams – Cleveland, Detroit, Charlotte and Orlando – before facing the Chicago Bulls, possibly with Derrick Rose, on March 27. Miami now has more wins and a better winning percentage than the San Antonio Spurs.

Records are through Monday.

1. Miami Heat (52-14, previous ranking: first): LeBron James returns to his old stomping grounds Wednesday when the Heat face the Cavaliers in search of their 24th straight win. Struggling Cleveland has lost three straight.

2. San Antonio Spurs (51-16, previous ranking: second): Injured guard Tony Parker (elbow) is expected to return to action this weekend. If Miami continues to