Andrew Bynum sprained his right knee Saturday as the Lakers were facing the Grizzlies in Memphis.

Kobe Bryant crashed into Bynum at the end of an off-balance drive.

Bynum yelled out immediately after Bryant hit his knee. He stayed down for about two minutes and pounded the court with his fist as trainer Gary Vitti talked to him. It is not the same knee that ended Bynum's 2007-08 season prematurely.

Bynum will have an MRI to determine the severity of the injury.

Shaquille O'Neal is now saying that the feud between himself and Kobe Bryant during their time in Los Angeles was simply a marketing gimmick.

"We helped you hype it up," O'Neal said in an interview with ESPN's Stephen A. Smith. "I know what I'm doing, brother. I'm the smartest player in the world."

Bryant and O'Neal have bickered publicly since they jostled for position as the Lakers' franchise player in 2004.

"I always did love Kobe," O'Neal said. "It was all marketing."

Bobcats' forward Gerald Wallace has been released from a Los Angeles hospital after suffering a collapsed lung against the Lakers this week, the Houston Chronicle is reporting.

Wallace was injured as a result of an Andrew Bynum flagrant foul.  Bynum was not suspended by the league.

Shaquille O'Neal was named as a Western Conference All-Star reserve on Thursday, meaning he will team up with Kobe Bryant for the first time since his departure out of Los Angeles following the 2003-2004 season.  O'Neal will also be reunited with former coach Phil Jackson.

In a video interview with Stephen A. Smith from ESPN.com, Shaq said the all-star game "will bring back great memories."  Shaq also said that he "always did love [Kobe]," and their feud was "all marketing."  

"I know what I'm doing brother," he said, "I'm the smartest player in the world.

"Everything that happened, happened for a reason," Shaq continued, "It's all about winning and nothing else matters."

Shaq went on to praise Kobe saying "He is probably the MVP this year.  That young man is a beast.  He's playing excellent ball right now.  He's got his team playing well."

Shaquille then said that him and Kobe are "still the best little man, big man 1-2 punch ever created in the history of the game.  Hopefully we can get a glimpse of what we used to do [in the all-star game]."

And in case you were wondering ? when asked by Stephen A. Smith would would it have been like if the trio had stayed together, Shaq said, "We would probably have about six or seven [championships] by now, easily."

The NBA decided Thursday to upgrade the flagrant foul called on Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum in Tuesday's loss to the Charlotte Bobcats to a flagrant foul 2.

Bynum's hip check and elbow knocked Charlotte's Gerald Wallace to the floor and sent the Bobcats' leading scorer to an extended hospital stay for a collapsed left lung and broken rib.

Larry Brown and Trevor Ariza had their share of differences when both were in New York during Brown's one turbulent season as the Knicks' head coach.

But Brown met with Ariza before an exhibition game last year and apologized to his former player.  In turn, Ariza expressed gratitude to Brown.

"I thanked him for everything he did for me," Ariza said. "As a young player, I didn't understand everything he was trying to tell me, so I looked at it as he was picking on me instead of listening to what he was saying. Now when I look back on it, I understand what he was saying. He taught me a lot, and I appreciate him for that."

Kobe Bryant has the most popular jersey in the NBA, moving past Kevin Garnett to regain the No. 1 spot on the NBA?s list. With the Western Conference best record, the Lakers top the list of Most Popular NBA Team Merchandise. The rankings are based on sales at the NBA Store in New York City and NBAStore.com since the start of the 2008-09 NBA season through January 2009.  

Garnett drops one spot to No. 2 while the Cleveland Cavaliers? LeBron James holds on to the No. 3 spot on the list. The New Orleans Hornets? Chris Paul and Detroit Pistons? Allen Iverson round out the Top 5 at Nos. 4 and 5, respectively. New York Knicks? David Lee enters the list for the first time at No. 14. Pau Gasol of the Los Angeles Lakers moved to No. 6, up from No. 15 last year.

December was the best sales month in history for both the NBA Store and NBAStore.com, with combined sales up 10 percent over the same time period last year.

Top 15 Players

Kobe Bryant ? Los Angeles Lakers
         
Kevin Garnett ? Boston Celtics
               
LeBron James ? Cleveland Cavaliers
     
Chris Paul ? New Orleans Hornets
   
Allen Iverson ? Detroit Pistons
         
Pau Gasol ? Los Angeles Lakers
         
Paul Pierce ? Boston Celtics
               
Dwyane Wade ? Miami Heat
           
Derrick Rose ? Chicago Bulls
               
Nate Robinson ? New York Knicks
         
Steve Nash ? Phoenix Suns
           
Dwight Howard- Orlando Magic
               
Ray Allen ? Boston Celtics
     
David Lee ? New York Knicks

Carmelo Anthony ? Denver Nuggets

Bobcats' forward Gerald Wallace was hospitalized on Tuesday night for a possible collapsed lung and fractured rib.

Wallace was injured in the fourth quarter of Charlotte's double-overtime victory over the Lakers when Andrew Bynum hip-checked Wallace.

Bynum was whistled for a flagrant foul on the play, and Wallace had to be helped to the locker room by teammates.

Cleveland Cavaliers' forward LeBron James was named today as the NBA?s Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played Monday, January 19th through Sunday, January 25th.

In four games during the week, James averaged an Eastern Conference-best 30.5 points, 8.8 assists, 9.8 rebounds, and 2.3 steals in 41.4 minutes per game.

The Los Angeles Lakers? Andrew Bynum was named the Western Conference Player of the Week.  Other nominees for the Eastern Conference Player of the Week were fellow Cavalier Mo Williams, Boston?s Ray Allen, Charlotte?s Raja Bell and Boris Diaw, Indiana?s Danny Granger, and New York?s David Lee.

Lakers' guard Jordan Farmar was cleared to return to the court on Sunday, roughly one month after having surgery to repair meniscus damage in his left knee.

"I was like a little kid," Farmar said of pestering his doctors. "You want something, so you go ask mom. Then you go ask dad. It was the same kind of thing."

Farmer scored 14 points on 5-for-7 shooting in 17 minutes in the team's victory over the Spurs on Sunday.