There is definite seriousness about today's address by the new commander-in-chief. But that doesn't mean there also isn't room for fun.

In that spirit, here are five of the NBA's most famous (or infamous) sound bites:

1. Shaquille O'Neal: Nickname master (right)

You can't put lipstick on a pig, as we all heard during the 2008 political season, but you also can't stop Shaq from giving himself new monikers.

He's been Superman, Diesel, Shaq Daddy and the Big Aristotle, among others.

But as politically incorrect as his latest one might be, the big man must get an 'A' for creativity.

While riding a 12-for-12 streak at the free-throw line recently, O'Neal's Phoenix Suns' teammates started calling him "Shaqovich."

Shaq said he gave himself this latest nickname because, "If you go around the league, anybody with the last name 'vich' is a great shooter. [Vladimir] Radmanovic, [Sasha] Vujacic . . . all those 'iches.' "

2. Patrick Ewing: Econ 101

Considering the current economy, this item fits in well with the state of affairs in D.C. It occurred during the lockout that began after the 1997-98 season.

The 191-day owner-imposed lockout was the longest work stoppage in NBA history by a wide margin and resulted in a shortened 50-game season. And during the lockout Ewing, then the players union's president, famously said of his fellow players: "They make a lot of money, but they also spend a lot of money."

3. Rasheed Wallace: Simple messages

They may not quite be up to "Yes, We Can" levels, but Detroit's Wallace has his own memorable catchphrases.

After a frustrating playoff game in 2003, Wallace -- then with Portland -- simply said, "Both teams played hard," as a response to every question he was asked by reporters.

Right up there with that poetry is another three-word gem. True, he plucked the mocking "Ball don't lie" from the playground, but he definitely mainstreamed it in the NBA.

Wallace still utters it after an opponent misses a free-throw attempt that he thinks was given via an incorrect foul call.

4. Allen Iverson: Stump speech

Outgoing president George W. Bush once fumbled when trying to repeat the "Fool me once, shame on you; Fool me twice, shame on me" folk saying.

Maybe he should have followed that other classic idiom that "Practice makes perfect." Iverson certainly could be his teacher.

After all, during a 2002 press conference while with Philadelphia, Iverson unleashed a memorable rant about the virtues of practice. Much like Wallace's "Ball don't lie," Iverson's "We talking about practice" line has become the stuff of sound-bite legends.

At least Iverson has a sense of humor about it. He actually imitated the rant when Pistons President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars playfully alluded to it when Iverson was introduced in Detroit following his trade from Denver.

5. Michael Jordan: Bipartisan politics?

"Air Jordan" had many memorable moments on the court, but a 1990 quote attributed to him often comes up when sports and politics intersect.

Harvey Gantt, an African-American and former Charlotte, N.C., mayor, was challenging Jesse Helms for his U.S. Senate seat. Gantt's campaign approached Jordan for an endorsement at which Jordan reportedly replied, "Republicans buy sneakers, too."

In fairness to Jordan, there is some "out of context" debate about whether or not that is exactly what was said.

Numbers game 3

The number of Orlando Magic players to top the 20-point mark in last week's 105-98 win over San Antonio. It was only the second time in five seasons that three visiting players scored more than 20 points in a regulation game against the Spurs.

4

Number of two-time winners in the NBA slam dunk contest (Dominique Wilkins, Michael Jordan, Harold Miner and Jason Richardson). Next month, Orlando's Dwight Howard and New York's Nate Robinson will each be attempting to become the fifth multiple winner.

23

Orlando set an NBA record with 23 3-pointers in a 139-107 win over Sacramento last week. The 139 points were the most for an NBA team without a player scoring more than 25 points since March 2003, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Top five

Here are the top five 3-point-shooting teams by average in the NBA (through Sunday).

*San Antonio, 40.4 percent

*Orlando: 40.2 percent

*New Orleans: 38.8 percent

*Phoenix: 38.8 percent

*Portland: 38.5 percent

Line of the week

33 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds, seven steals

Posted by New Orleans G Chris Paul in the Hornets' 104-97 win over Dallas last week.

Who's got next

*Boston at Orlando, 8 p.m. Thursday (TNT). Buzz: Magic can take big step with win over Celtics.

*Dallas at Detroit, 7 p.m. Friday (ESPN). Buzz: First regular-season meeting of 2008-09.

*San Antonio at L.A. Lakers, 3:30 p.m. Sunday (ABC). Buzz: Lakers looking to avenge 112-111 loss earlier this month.

Closing thought

It seems like a long time since that press conference announcing Billy Donovan being hired by the Magic.

NBA power poll

1. Cavaliers: Were 20-0 at home entering the week.

2. Magic: Have won seven straight and nine of last 10.

3. Lakers: Were 7-3 in last 10 games entering the week.

4. Celtics: Four-game winning streak entering the week.

5. Spurs: Second-best record in West entering the week

26. Knicks: Entered the week 16.5 games back of Boston.

27. Kings: Were a disappointing 10-31 at the halfway point.

28. Warriors: Were 20 games back of Lakers entering the week.

29. Wizards: Had East's only single-digit win total entering week.

30. Clippers: Were 22 games back of Lakers entering the week.

Tip-ins

Addicts of Charles Barkley's shenanigans as a TNT analyst will have to go cold turkey for an unspecified amount of time. An analyst for TNT since 2000, Sir Charles agreed recently to take a leave of absence after news broke of his New Year's Eve drunken-driving arrest in Arizona. T-Mobile, for whom Barkley has been a spokesman, also decided to pull TV ads featuring the former NBA star. Barkley says he wants to be governor of Alabama one day. At least he's getting more practice dealing with scandal.

If you've seen the Houston Rockets lately, you probably noticed Yao Ming and his penchant for taking defensive charges. That doesn't mean that everybody is on board with Yao sacrificing his body. Rockets teammate Dikembe Mutombo certainly isn't a fan of it. "I'm very critical," Mutombo told the Houston Chronicle. "Those are bull. I told him that. He's too tall to be taking charges. He needs to learn to play defense without using his chest. You don't block a shot with you chest. You block it with your hands. . . . Maybe he's planning to lead the league in charges. So I have to stop him. I have to teach him to lead the league in blocked shots, not charges."

Magic beat

Hip hop and Basketball have always had a unique relationship, but who knew that relationship would wind up with J.J. Redick being featured in a Lil' Wayne rap lyric?

Lil' Wayne, who also recently made an appearance on ESPN's First Take, gave Redick a shoutout during his verse in his "Breakout" collaboration with rapper Tyga.

Redick was alerted to his mention by a reader of his blog and was flattered.

"My only question is: Does this help my street [credit]?" Redick wrote in a recent blog entry. "I don't know the answer to that but it's still pretty cool."

To commemorate the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, the Orlando Magic joined Green Up Orlando, Keep Orlando Beautiful and the Office of Human Relations on Monday to "plant seedlings for civil rights."

The Magic worked with millions of other Americans across the country who honored the legacy of King by taking part in a variety of service projects.

Quote of the week

"You saying it was luck?"

-- Chicago's Luol Deng after scoring 22 points, including back-to-back 3-pointers from the left corner -- the second bouncing straight up off the rim before dropping through the net -- in the Bulls' 102-93 overtime win over Cleveland.