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Wizards

The NBA has officially announced the 2024&ndash;25 All-Rookie First and Second Teams, highlighting a season rich with emerging talent and international flair. Headlining the list is San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle, who was unanimously selected to the First Team following his Rookie of the Year campaign. Castle led all rookies with 14.7 points per game and topped the class in total steals and three-pointers made, showcasing his all-around impact on the court.
All-Rookie First Team
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Stephon Castle (San Antonio Spurs) &ndash; The No. 4 overall pick from UConn, Castle averaged 14.7 points, 4.1 assists, and 3.7 rebounds over 81 games, earning unanimous First Team honors.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Zaccharie Risacher (Atlanta Hawks) &ndash; The top overall pick in the 2024 draft, Risacher delivered multiple 30+ point performances, including a season-high 38 points, and received 99 of 100 First Team votes.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Jaylen Wells (Memphis Grizzlies) &ndash; A second-round steal at pick No. 39, Wells averaged 10.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.7 assists, becoming the only second-rounder on the First Team.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Zach Edey (Memphis Grizzlies) &ndash; The 7'4" center provided a strong interior presence, contributing to Memphis becoming the first team since 2019&ndash;20 to have two All-Rookie First Team selections.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Alex Sarr (Washington Wizards) &ndash; The French big man averaged 13.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game, becoming the first Wizard since 2012&ndash;13 to make the First Team.</li>
</ul>
All-Rookie Second Team
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Matas Buzelis (Chicago Bulls) &ndash; The versatile forward from G League Ignite made an immediate impact with his scoring and defensive versatility .</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Bub Carrington (Washington Wizards) &ndash; Acquired via trade, Carrington played all 82 games, averaging 9.8 points, 4.4 assists, and 4.2 rebounds, and hit a game-winning shot to cap his season.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Donovan Clingan (Portland Trail Blazers) &ndash; The former UConn center averaged 6.5 points and 7.9 rebounds, anchoring Portland&rsquo;s defense in the paint.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Kel&rsquo;el Ware (Miami Heat) &ndash; Ware&rsquo;s athleticism and rim protection earned him a key role in Miami&rsquo;s rotation.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Yves Missi (New Orleans Pelicans) &ndash; The Cameroonian forward provided energy and rebounding off the bench, solidifying his spot among the league&rsquo;s top rookies .</li>
</ul>
This year's All-Rookie selections underscore the NBA's growing international presence, with players from France and Cameroon making significant impacts. The Memphis Grizzlies and Washington Wizards each had two players honored, reflecting successful draft strategies and player development programs.
The 2024&ndash;25 rookie class has set a high bar, and fans can look forward to watching these young stars continue to develop and shape the future of the league.

The NBA has officially announced the 2024–25 All-Rookie First and Second Teams, highlighting a season rich with emerging talent.

NBA unveils 2024–25 All-Rookie Teams

Views are the author&rsquo;s and do not necessarily reflect the views of the website.
As the 2024-25 NBA regular season winds down, it&rsquo;s time to spotlight the standout performers who rose above the rest. From breakout stars to defensive anchors and rookie sensations, here are my picks for the major awards this season &mdash; including some deserving runner-ups and honorable mentions.
<h3>Most Improved Player: Dyson Daniels (Atlanta Hawks)</h3>
Runner-ups: Ivica Zubac, Christian Braun
Notes: Dyson Daniels has made the leap. After being traded to the Atlanta Hawks, Daniels not only found a larger role but embraced it fully, evolving into a dynamic two-way guard. His length, defensive instincts, and vastly improved shooting have made him one of the league&rsquo;s biggest revelations. Daniels went from being a defensive specialist to a legitimate secondary playmaker and spot-up threat, thriving alongside Trae Young. Daniels also has a legitimate case for the Defensive Player of the Year after leading the league in steals, and this only strengthens his case for Most Improved.
Ivica Zubac has a notable case for runner-up after seeing growth as a more consistent interior anchor for the Clippers. Zubac also had a huge year offensively, often conniving with James Harden for lob and post opportunities. Meanwhile Christian Braun carved out a bigger offensive role in Denver with increased minutes and responsibility as he saw the biggest increase in PPG from over a season ago.
<h3>Sixth Man of the Year: Payton Pritchard (Boston Celtics)</h3>
Runner-ups: Malik Beasley, Ty Jerome
Pritchard stepped up in Boston&rsquo;s championship-caliber rotation, giving them much-needed energy, scoring punch, and floor-spacing off the bench. He played with confidence, controlled tempo, and was crucial during clutch stretches when starters rested. His knack for scoring in bunches and orchestrating the offense when Jrue Holiday or Derrick White sat was invaluable.
Beasley&rsquo;s sharpshooting in Detroit has stood out, garnering a league-2nd-best 319 threes as a bench player while Ty Jerome&rsquo;s steady second-unit play in Cleveland has them at the top of the East and worthy of 6th man consideration.
<h3>Defensive Player of the Year: Draymond Green (Golden State Warriors)</h3>
Runner-ups: Evan Mobley, Lu Dort
This should have been Victor Wembanyama&rsquo;s award if not for the blood clot injury, but here we are. There should be a winner, and my pick would be Draymond Green. Even in his 30s, Green remains a defensive savant. He quarterbacked Golden State&rsquo;s schemes, constantly switching, communicating, and anchoring a defense that ranked among the best post-All-Star break. While Green&rsquo;s impact isn&rsquo;t always in the stat sheet, his presence turned the Warriors into a top-tier defensive team when he was on the floor.
Mobley continued to showcase elite versatility for Cleveland, while Dort was once again a perimeter nightmare for opposing guards and wings. Both Mobley and Dort deserve these runner-up spots due to their teams (Cleveland and OKC) performing well because of them.
<h3>All-Defensive Teams</h3>
1st Team: Draymond Green, Evan Mobley, Lu Dort, Amen Thompson, Dyson Daniels 2nd Team: Jalen Williams, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jaren Jackson Jr., Toumani Camara, Ivica Zubac
Amen Thompson&rsquo;s disruptive length and switchability earned him a First-Team nod as a rookie, while Dyson Daniels brought relentless on-ball pressure. On the Second Team, Shai&rsquo;s defensive improvements were evident this year, and Camara turned heads with his rugged, fearless wing defense in Portland. Zubac was a rock-solid rim protector all season long.
<h3>Rookie of the Year: Stephon Castle (San Antonio Spurs)</h3>
Runner-up: Zaccharie Risacher
Castle made an immediate impact in San Antonio with his poise, defense, and playmaking. He embraced the challenge of playing next to Victor Wembanyama and flourished as a stabilizing backcourt force. Castle's two-way effort, ability to guard multiple positions, and unselfish offense stood out in a deep rookie class.
Risacher showcased his offensive polish and smooth shooting stroke in Atlanta and made a strong late push for the award.
<h3>All-Rookie Teams</h3>
1st Team: Stephon Castle, Zaccharie Risacher, Alex Sarr, Jaylen Wells, Zach Edey 2nd Team: Bub Carrington, Isaiah Collier, Matas Buzelis, Kel&rsquo;el Ware, Yves Missi
From Sarr&rsquo;s shot-blocking to Jaylen Wells&rsquo; scoring flashes, this rookie class was filled with gems despite a no-clear-star tag. Edey proved his game could translate at the next level, and Buzelis quietly put together a solid two-way campaign. Carrington and Collier each had stretches of brilliance at the point guard spot for their respective teams.
<h3>Coach of the Year: Kenny Atkinson (Cleveland Cavaliers)</h3>
Runner-ups: J.B. Bickerstaff, Tyronn Lue Honorable Mentions: Ime Udoka, JJ Redick, Mark Daigneault
Kenny Atkinson&rsquo;s return to head coaching was a rousing success. He reshaped the culture in Cleveland, maximizing the young core&rsquo;s strengths and installing a balanced system that translated to wins. The Cavaliers became the best team in the East, and Atkinson&rsquo;s ability to unlock both offense and defense from a good squad last year to a better squad this year was remarkable.
Bickerstaff turned Detroit around after a league-worst record , and Lue once again juggled egos and lineups with the Clippers to keep them near the top of the West despite losing Paul George in free agency.
<h3>Clutch Player of the Year: Jalen Brunson (New York Knicks)</h3>
Runner-ups: Anthony Edwards, Stephen Curry
Jalen Brunson owned the fourth quarter. His combination of poise, patience, and pure bucket-getting in crunch time made him one of the league&rsquo;s most dangerous closers. Whether isolating, using the pick-and-roll, or getting to his spots, Brunson delivered when it mattered most &mdash; and turned Madison Square Garden into his stage.
Edwards embraced the big moments in Minnesota to have one of the most points in clutch time, while Curry remained a timeless threat late in games.
<h3>All-NBA Teams</h3>
1st Team: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum, Anthony Edwards 2nd Team: Karl-Anthony Towns, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Cade Cunningham, Donovan Mitchell 3rd Team: Jalen Brunson, Evan Mobley, Jaren Jackson Jr., James Harden, Ivica Zubac
SGA led the way with MVP-level consistency and picking Jokic, Antetokounmpo, and Tatum were no brainers.Edwards made his All-NBA debut with a huge leap in production and impact, being a top 5 scorer in the league. Cade Cunningham took over the reins in Detroit and finally stayed healthy, while Zubac&rsquo;s defensive presence and scoring efficiency earned him a well-deserved spot among the league&rsquo;s elite.
<h3>Most Valuable Player: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder)</h3>
Runner-up: Nikola Jokic Honorable mention: Giannis Antetokounmpo
Rather than rehash the argument, I&rsquo;ll let this piece explain it in full detail: 🔗 <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/making-shai-gilgeousalexanders-case-as-the-2025-nba-mvp">Making Shai Gilgeous-Alexander&rsquo;s case as the 2025 NBA MVP</a>

As the 2024-25 NBA regular season winds down, it’s time to spotlight the standout performers who rose above the rest.

OPINION: Picking the 2024-2025 NBA Awards winners

In a season where the Washington Wizards are grappling with a challenging 6-38 record, one bright spot has emerged: Jordan Poole's remarkable performance. Despite the team's struggles, Poole is showcasing significant growth, solidifying his role as a cornerstone for the franchise's future.
The Wizards' current season reflects a strategic focus on rebuilding. By prioritizing the development of their young talent, the organization aims to secure a favorable position in the upcoming draft. This approach is evident in the significant playing time and responsibilities entrusted to emerging players such as Bilal Coulibaly, Bub Carrington, Kyshawn George, and Alex Sarr. Alongside these rookies, the 25-year-old Poole is stepping into a leadership role, guiding the team's youthful core.
Poole&rsquo;s statistical and leadership leap
Poole's performance this season has been nothing short of stellar. He is averaging 21.2 points, 5.1 assists, and 2.5 rebounds per game. Notably, Poole is shooting a career-high 40.2% from beyond the arc, surpassing his previous best of 36%. This improvement comes on a career-high 9.3 three-point attempts per game, up from his prior high of 7.8. Even more impressive is that over 40% of his three-pointers are self-created, highlighting his enhanced ability to generate scoring opportunities independently.
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In a recent game against the Phoenix Suns, despite the team's 119-109 loss, Poole contributed 19 points, 10 assists, and a career-best six steals, underscoring his all-around impact on the court. His consistent offensive production and playmaking abilities have been pivotal for the Wizards, especially as the team navigates a challenging season.
The Wizards' emphasis on developing their young players has fostered a collaborative environment where Poole's experience becomes invaluable. Playing alongside young guys in Coulibaly, Carrington, George, and Sarr, Poole's leadership and on-court decisions are instrumental in accelerating their development. This synergy not only benefits the individual players but also lays a solid foundation for the team's future success.
While the Wizards' current season may be challenging, Jordan Poole's emergence as a dynamic scorer and leader offers a glimpse into a promising future. His statistical improvements and mentorship of the team's young talent align with the organization's long-term vision. As the Wizards continue to rebuild, Poole's contributions will be central to their quest for sustained success.
Amidst a season focused on development and growth, Jordan Poole's significant leap stands out as a beacon of hope for the Washington Wizards. His performance not only elevates his game but also inspires confidence in the franchise's direction moving forward.

Despite Washington's struggles, Poole is showcasing significant growth, solidifying his role as a cornerstone for the franchise's future.

Jordan Poole is taking a leap amidst a tough Wizards season

The first round of the 2024 NBA Draft is done and dusted, and the second round will start today at 4 PM Eastern at ESPN&rsquo;s Seaport District Studios in New York. This will be the first time in NBA history that the draft will be separated into two days, with the first round being at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.&nbsp;
Here are all the first-round selections courtesy of the NBA: (article to be updated with the second-round picks)
<ol>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/zaccharie-risacher">Zaccharie Risacher</a> (JL Bourg-en-Bresse) to the Atlanta Hawks</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/alexandre-sarr">Alex Sarr</a> (Perth) to the Washington Wizards</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/reed-sheppard">Reed Sheppard</a> (Kentucky) to the Houston Rockets</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/stephon-castle">Stephon Castle</a> (Connecticut) to the San Antonio Spurs</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/ron-holland">Ron Holland II</a> (G League Ignite) to the Detroit Pistons</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/tidjane-salaun">Tidjane Salaun</a> (Cholet Basket) to the Charlotte Hornets</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/donovan-clingan">Donovan Clingan</a> (Connecticut) to the Portland Trail Blazers</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/rob-dillingham">Rob Dillingham</a> (Kentucky) to the San Antonio Spurs &mdash; traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/zach-edey">Zach Edey</a> (Purdue) to the Memphis Grizzlies</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/cody-williams">Cody Williams</a> (Colorado) to the Utah Jazz</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/matas-buzelis">Matas Buzelis</a> (G League Ignite) to the Chicago Bulls</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/nikola-topic">Nikola Topic</a> (KK Crvena Zvezda) to the Oklahoma City Thunder</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/devin-carter">Devin Carter</a> (Providence) to the Sacramento Kings</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/carlton-carrington">Bub Carrington</a> (Pittsburgh) to the Portland Trail Blazers &mdash; traded to Washington Wizards</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/kelel-ware">Kel&rsquo;el Ware</a> (Indiana) to the Miami Heat</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/jared-mccain">Jared McCain</a> (Duke) to the Philadelphia 76ers</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/dalton-knecht">Dalton Knecht</a> (Tennessee) to the Los Angeles Lakers</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/tristan-da-silva">Tristan da Silva</a> (Colorado) to the Orlando Magic</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/jakobe-walter">Ja&rsquo;Kobe Walter</a> (Baylor) to the Toronto Raptors&nbsp;</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/jaylon-tyson">Jaylon Tyson</a> (Cal) to the Cleveland Cavaliers</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/yves-missi">Yves Missi</a> (Baylor) to the New Orleans Pelicans</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/daron-holmes-ii">DaRon Holmes II</a> (Dayton) to the Phoenix Suns &mdash; traded to the Denver Nuggets</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/aj-johnson">AJ Johnson</a> (Illawarra) to the Milwaukee Bucks</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/kyshawn-george">Kyshawn George</a> (Miami) to the New York Knicks &mdash; traded to Washington Wizards</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/pacome-dadiet">Pacome Dadiet</a> (Ratiopharm Ulm) to the New York Knicks</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/dillon-jones">Dillon Jones</a> (Weber State) to the Washington Wizards &mdash; traded to Oklahoma City Thunder (via Knicks)</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/terrence-shannon-jr">Terrence Shannon Jr.</a> (Illinois) to the Minnesota Timberwolves</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/ryan-dunn">Ryan Dunn</a> (Virginia) to the Denver Nuggets &mdash; traded to the Phoenix Suns</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/isaiah-collier">Isaiah Collier</a> (USC) to the Utah Jazz</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/baylor-scheierman-2">Baylor Scheierman</a> (Creighton) to the Boston Celtics</li>
</ol>
&nbsp;
<ol start="31">
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/jonathan-mogbo">Jonathan Mogbo</a> (San Francisco) to the Toronto Raptors</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/kyle-filipowski">Kyle Filipowski</a> (Duke) to the Utah Jazz</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/tyler-smith">Tyler Smith</a> (G League Ignite) to the Milwaukee Bucks</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/tyler-kolek">Tyler Kolek</a> (Marquette) to the Portland Trail Blazers &mdash; traded to the New York Knicks</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/johnny-furphy">Johnny Furphy</a> (Kansas) to the San Antonio Spurs &mdash; traded to the Indiana Pacers</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/juan-nunez">Juan Nunez</a> (Ratiopharm Ulm) to the Indiana Pacers &mdash; traded to San Antonio Spurs</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/bobi-klintman">Bobi Klintman</a> (Cairns) to the Minnesota Timberwolves &mdash; traded to the Detroit Pistons</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/ajay-mitchell">Ajay Mitchell</a> (UC Santa Barbara) to the New York Knicks &mdash; traded to Oklahoma City Thunder</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/jaylen-wells">Jaylen Wells</a> (Washington State) to the Memphis Grizzlies</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/oso-ighodaro">Oso Ighodaro</a> (Marquette) to the Portland Trail Blazers &mdash; traded to the Phoenix Suns (via Knicks)</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/adem-bona">Adem Bona</a> (UCLA) to the Philadelphia 76ers</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/kj-simpson">KJ Simpson</a> (Colorado) to the Charlotte Hornets</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/nikola-djurisic">Nikola Djurisic</a> (KK Mega Basket) to the Miami Heat &mdash; traded to the Atlanta Hawks (via Heat)</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/pelle-larsson">Pelle Larsson</a> (Arizona) to the Houston Rockets &mdash; traded to the Miami Heat (via Rockets)</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/jamal-shead">Jamal Shead</a> (Houston) to the Sacramento Kings &mdash; traded to the Toronto Raptors</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/cam-christie">Cam Christie</a> (Minnesota) to the Los Angeles Clippers</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/antonio-reeves">Antonio Reeves</a> (Kentucky) to the Orlando Magic &mdash; traded to the New Orleans Pelicans</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/harrison-ingram">Harrison Ingram</a> (North Carolina) to the San Antonio Spurs</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/tristen-newton">Tristen Newton</a> (Connecticut) to the Indiana Pacers</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/enrique-freeman">Enrique Freeman</a> (Akron) to the Indiana Pacers</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/melvin-ajinca">Melvin Ajinca</a> (Saint-Quentin Basketball) to the New York Knicks &mdash; traded to the Dallas Mavericks</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/quinten-post">Quinten Post</a> (Boston College) to the Golden State Warriors &mdash; traded to Thunder, then to Blazers, then to Warriors</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/cam-spencer">Cam Spencer</a> (Connecticut) to the Detroit Pistons &mdash; traded to the Memphis Grizzlies (via Timberwolves)</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/anton-watson">Anton Watson</a> (Gonzaga) to the Boston Celtics</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/bronny-james">Bronny James</a> (USC) to the Los Angeles Lakers</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/kevin-mccullar-jr">Kevin McCullar Jr.</a> (Kansas) to the Phoenix Suns &mdash; traded to the New York Knicks</li>
</ol>
&nbsp;

The first round of the 2024 NBA Draft is done and dusted, and the second round will start today at 4 PM Eastern at ESPN’s Seaport District Studios in New York.

2024 NBA Draft: Full results

The Connecticut Sun were not fazed by arguably the most anticipated WNBA debut of all time as they beat the Indiana Fever with ease, 91-72, in the WNBA&rsquo;s season opener on Tuesday night.
The Sun were about business against highly-touted rookie Caitlin Clark to rout the Fever. Veteran Alyssa Thomas put up a triple-double of 13 points, 10 rebounds, and 13 assists as she carved up the defense of the young Fever featuring back-to-back no.1 picks in Clark and Aliyah Boston.
Clark, this year&rsquo;s top overall selection in the draft and the NCAA&rsquo;s all-time leading scorer in history, scored 20 points on 5-15 shooting from the field including 4-11 from distance. However, she committed 10 turnovers in her first taste of pro basketball.
36-year-old vet DeWanna Bonner led the Sun in scoring with 20 points while teammates DiJonai Carrington and Tyasha Harris added 16 apiece in a balanced attack for Connecticut.
Up next for Clark is a showdown between Sabrina Ionescu and the New York Liberty in her home debut at Indiana on Thursday.

The Sun were about business against highly-touted rookie Caitlin Clark to rout the Fever.

Caitlin Clark makes successful WNBA debut but Indiana Fever fall to Connecticut Sun

This article was originally published on BasketballNews on July 20, 2022.
Impact Basketball's facility sits inside an unassuming section of an unassuming plaza on Dean Martin Drive in Las Vegas.
The gym contains two light-colored hardwood basketball courts with a small scoreboard, a weightlifting area, a makeshift stretching room, a kitchenette for meals and snacks and a small office. It's no place for vanities. The only flexes are the dozens of white banners hanging on the right wall, listing names upon names of distinguished players who have come through during the gym's 25 years of existence.
Among those players: Kevin Garnett, Kawhi Leonard, Chauncey Billups, Kyle Lowry, Kelsey Plum, Tayshaun Prince, Jaylen Brown, Tyrese Haliburton, DeMarcus Cousins, John Wall, Al Harrington, Kristaps Porzingis, Nassir Little, Saddiq Bey and Ziaire Williams.&nbsp;
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Kevin Garnett stopped by <a href="https://twitter.com/impactbball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@impactbball</a> and offered some advice to Blazers guard Keon Johnson, Mavericks wing Josh Green and 16-year-old prospect Dayan Nessah.<a href="https://twitter.com/Joe_Abunassar?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Joe_Abunassar</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/KevinGarnett5KG?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KevinGarnett5KG</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/iamkeonjohnson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@iamkeonjohnson</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/JoshBGreen?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JoshBGreen</a> <a href="https://t.co/fwRjAM2WHJ">pic.twitter.com/fwRjAM2WHJ</a>
&mdash; Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlexKennedyNBA/status/1548046089877524482?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 15, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Impact Basketball, founded by trainer Joe Abunassar in 1997, has a reputation for its star-studded, closed-door pickup games that take place during the NBA offseason. In the spring, it's also where some of the top NBA Draft hopefuls join Abunassar's pre-draft "boot camp" and commit themselves to an intricate world of sports training and nutrition.
The timeline is simple: arrive by April, revamp your training lifestyle and find your professional pathway &mdash; either via the NBA Draft, an undrafted free-agent deal or another contract &mdash; afterwards. The work is not flashy, isn't always fun and, if you want to stick as a pro, never ends.
But the results can change lives.
"It's not about W's or L's, it's about M's &mdash; M's being millions of dollars," said Isaac Mourier, Impact's Director of Performance Nutrition and Sport Science. "Once you say that to a guy like that, that's all they need in terms of motivation."
Mourier is a key cog in Impact's program. He's from the United Kingdom and played professional basketball in England and Germany before starting his own sports nutrition consulting business. Mourier has worked for the University of Georgia and Sacramento Kings as a nutritionist and consultant, and joined Impact in 2020 during the spring.
During his two-and-a-half years and three draft cycles with the company, Mourier has filled his laptop with infographics and progress charts for Impact athletes. They include individualized goals for each player; an example involves raising one prospect's weight by 20 pounds, lowering his body fat by 2%, increasing his bench press weight by 50 pounds and adding two inches to his vertical.
Mourier feels privileged to work with athletes at this stage of their careers. To him, the noise of team ecosystems and outside expectations all fade away. He can clearly define goals, and players know exactly what success will look like.
"This is the first time, maybe ever in their life, where they have a team of people that are only worried about them," he said. "Now, I'm just trying to get you to the NBA and keep you there. I don't care whether you win or lose games right now. This is you. All the focus is on you."
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Boot camp begins as soon as players are done with their respective prior seasons. They arrive at Impact and take part in comprehensive body testing to establish a full physical profile. The technology includes a bioelectrical impedence analysis that uses electrical currents to scan body composition. Sweat patches can read how much sodium athletes need in their system.
Variables such as blood work, stress hormone levels, nutrient deficienies, pre-workout hydration levels and post-workout hydration levels, body composition and body fat percentages all help establish a baseline of strengths and needs.
From there, each prospect receives an individualized growth roadmap. Skill development makes up one component. Players often train together in small groups, but they receive specific plans that prepare them for team pre-draft workouts and the NBA level.
"We're looking and analyzing and making assessments on the court; if guys are getting bumped off their cuts, if guys don't have enough lower-body power in their jump shot and guys seem like they need to get stronger, if guys aren't fast enough, [we'll consider], 'Okay, what do we need to do in the weight room or from a nutrition standpoint to correct that?'" Abunassar told Basketball News. "So, that's why every guy has his own program, because every guy has different goals."
Hydration and dieting are also central pieces. Mourier oversees the implementation of dietary plans through Impact's local chef connections, and says he outlines each meal, snack and supplement. Along the way are regular check-ins on body metrics, sleep schedules, mood and motivation among other factors. Mourier estimated that about 20-to-25 Impact staffers are involved with a player's development.&nbsp;
But Mourier repeatedly emphasized that the technology, food and workouts aren't what takes players to the Association. One of his most important jobs is reframing their habits and instilling discipline toward health.
"When an athlete gets to the elite level with bad habits, it's, 'Well, I'm already one of the best in the world at what I do, so why would I change?' So it's changing that mindset, and then when we've done that, it's about understanding that doing small things consistently is what gets us the results, as opposed to trying to do extreme things," Mourier said.
"The way that the structure of basketball [is] from AAU to college to the pros, a lot of the power is in the athlete's hands, where it's almost like, 'Who are you to tell me what to do?' So I think one of the main things that we have to do is cut through that barrier. And again, when our goals are the same as theirs, it becomes a little bit easier. But again, it's, 'Well, you've gotten to this level despite your bad habits. How good could you be if we instill some good habits?'"
Good habits, however, can be inconvenient and awkward. For NBA players to maintain their places in the league, they have to stick with those routines well past a pre-draft boot camp.
Dallas Mavericks wing Josh Green joined Impact's program ahead of the 2020 NBA Draft cycle. He's still entrenched with Impact today, and has been working out in Las Vegas this offseason. Part of his nutrition plan includes avoiding butter, which can be a particular hurdle when eating out at restaurants.
"I have to be the guy who requests light virgin oil, whatever it is," Green told Basketball News. "I think that's the hardest part about it. I'm about to go to Australia for three weeks, and all I'm gonna want to do is eat all the food, but I'm gonna have to stay disciplined. I want to have a big year, so my goal is focusing right now, but just taking it one day at a time."
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👀 <a href="https://twitter.com/JoshBGreen?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JoshBGreen</a> <a href="https://t.co/pX0fkZzCBZ">pic.twitter.com/pX0fkZzCBZ</a>
&mdash; Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlexKennedyNBA/status/1547655829431525383?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 14, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Green said he started prioritizing nutrition after his second shoulder surgery in April 2019. Since joining Impact, Green has been floored by how much nourishment the human body loses during workouts. He has an app that lays out meal calories and hydration plans, and his goal this offseason is to skip carbohydrates, even from snacks like a simple bag of chips.
"When you're young, whatever you see in front of you is what you want," Green said. "I [was] able to start here early and realize, if I want to play ball for a while, it's important to put the right things in my body and stay healthy. It's the same thing as seeing your physical therapist and getting treatment, if not more important for your body."
Abunassar has a plethora of stories about players who embraced the importance of nutrition at the pro level. Garnett has talked about taping his meal-plan menus on the cabinets of his Minnesota home.&nbsp; Lowry, Haliburton and Serge Ibaka are examples of guys who transformed their bodies under Impact's guidance too.
Gym time and workouts are obviously valuable, but to Abunassar, nutrition is what sparks physical development.
"The nutrition is really the basis of body change &mdash; for anybody, not even just for a basketball player," Abunassar said. "You can go to the gym every day, but if you're eating cheeseburgers and fries, you're just not going to lose weight."
Mourier has his own trail of success stories. He's worked with dozens of players, including Haliburton and Green. Zeke Nnaji, another 2020 draftee, was an especially interesting case as the only plant-based-dieting prospect Mourier has guided at Impact.
Mourier does not advise athletes to follow a plant-based diet solely for performance. However, Nnaji had chosen to be a vegan for ethical reasons, which Mourier respected, and the two worked together to create a nutrition plan despite the constraints. One of Nnaji's pre-draft goals was to add muscle, and he succeeded with rigorous attention to detail.
"He gained 20 pounds and everyone was like, 'Who the hell is this?'" Mourier said. "So that was really good, just being tactful with the timing and quantities of that stuff. And [Nnaji] was really diligent with it. He nailed every single aspect of it down to the gram... He was a really easy one. I really can't take credit for all that stuff. I just put the blueprint down and he just rolled with it."
This year, Impact has worked with several 2022 draft prospects, including MarJon Beauchamp, Blake Wesley and Michael Foster Jr. among others.&nbsp;
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San Antonio Spurs rookie Blake Wesley (<a href="https://twitter.com/blakewesley0?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@blakewesley0</a>) working out at <a href="https://twitter.com/impactbball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@impactbball</a>: <a href="https://t.co/9lfkFikWsP">pic.twitter.com/9lfkFikWsP</a>
&mdash; Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlexKennedyNBA/status/1547643918904217604?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 14, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Wesley has been an Impact athlete since he was 17, meeting Abunassar for the first time as a junior in high school. Wesley would come in occasionally for workouts, staying on the far court and watching as NBA players like Leonard and Paul George would get their reps in. He returned in offseasons and locked in for his own pre-draft boot camp.
Mourier praised the Spurs rookie for his attention to detail regarding nutrition. Wesley frequently FaceTimed Mourier while at restaurants and stores, and asked questions about what he should eat. He's also a staunch advocate of Herbalife's CR7 Drive sports drink mix, and even has an endorsement deal with Herbalife.
As part of his pre-draft plan to put on weight, Welsey would cook three eggs, plus have oatmeal, milk and orange juice for breakfast.
"[Changing my nutrition] helped my body a lot," Wesley told Basketball News over the phone. "I kept doing this, so I kept getting better on the court and did everything good on the court. So yeah, my nutrition helped me a lot."
The result: Wesley turned himself from a relatively unheralded four-star recruit into Notre Dame's first one-and-done player &mdash; then bulked up to 190 pounds in the spring and became a first-round NBA draft pick.
"I met [Wesley] a year ago, before he went to Notre Dame, and his transformation from then to the start of the pre-draft [process] to now &mdash; it's phenomenal," Mourier said.
The next challenge is to maintain discipline once that contract gets signed.&nbsp;
"You gotta stay focused; the NBA is totally different from college," Wesley said. "I mean, you're getting paid, you got a high profile [and] a lot of people are watching you &mdash; &nbsp;watching how you move, who you hang out with, stuff like that. So it's a whole different lifestyle."
Abunassar, Mourier and the Impact staff are hands-on with their players during the offseason and pre-draft process. But what happens when those players head back to their respective NBA franchises?
"For the most part, from a strength-and-conditioning standpoint [and] from a player development standpoint, the NBA teams have stuff really dialed in," Mourier said. "From a nutrition standpoint, for the most part, they do not."
Mourier estimated that there are only six full-time nutritionists and dietitians in the entire NBA. The Collegiate and Professional Sports Dietitians Association (CPSDA) lists <a href="https://sportsrd.org/career-development/full-time-sports-rds-working-with-usas-top-institutions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">nine full-time registered dietitians.</a> Mourier said that teams often have physicians and trainers covering several responsibilites, including nutrition, due to budget restrictions and front-office priorities. This means some athletes, specifically reserve players, receive less health guidance.
"We're kind of the ones who are the last for the front office to see the value in it, so a lot of times we're really just a check-box," Mourier said. "So especially for those lower-order guys that are maybe No. 7, 8, 9, 10, all the way through to 15 on the roster, they're not really receiving any support at all. They're receiving provision. They're receiving meals and supplements. But in terms of education and behavior change, they're really not receiving it."
Over the last 25 years, Abunassar has seen sports nutrition dramatically change, with data and technology more interwoven into practice than ever. He thinks there are positives and pitfalls to the advancements.
"From a nutrition standpoint and strength-and-conditioning standpoint, it's clearly useful information to help prevent injury, to increase lean body mass, etc.," he said. "All of the technology that has come out has been very helpful for us, but you do have to watch that you don't get too reliant on it. Sometimes, you gotta watch the games and see how guys move and that kind of thing. But a combination of the two is very effective."
Impact Basketball is one progressive frontrunner in the field of sports science, but Mourier emphasized that, at this point, all basketball pros should be setting themselves up for success with some sort of offseason developmental map. Pre-draft prospects especially cannot afford to lose that critical period before team workouts to maximize their appeal.
"It's like doing the SAT without looking at the study guide," Mourier said "...I think it's definitely a standard. There's people doing this all over the country, really. Nobody does it like us, and nobody's been doing it for as long as us, but people are seeing the value."

A behind-the-scenes look at how Impact Basketball helps players realize their full potential by focusing on their training and nutrition.

How sports nutrition and biometrics are evolving NBA training

Las Vegas Aces forward Alysha Clark has been named the 2023 Kia WNBA Sixth Player of the Year, the WNBA announced today. She has earned the honor as the league&rsquo;s top reserve for the first time. To be eligible for the award, a player had to play more games as a reserve than as a starter.
Clark received 35 of 60 votes from a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. Guard-forward DiJonai Carrington of the Connecticut Sun finished second with 13 votes, and guard Dana Evans of the Chicago Sky was third&nbsp;with nine votes. Center Kalani Brown of the Dallas Wings, guard Marine Johann&egrave;s of the New York Liberty and guard Sami Whitcomb of the Seattle Storm each received one&nbsp;vote.&nbsp;
In her 11th&nbsp;WNBA season and first with the Aces, Clark played in all 39 of Las Vegas&rsquo; regular-season games, coming off the bench 38 times and starting once.
Overall, she averaged 6.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 22.5 minutes per game. Clark also made 38.6 percent of her three-point shots, ranking 17th&nbsp;in the WNBA in that category. She scored in double figures in 10 games, including a season-high 16 points in a 103-77 win over Seattle on Sept. 2, and recorded five or more rebounds 11 times.
Clark helped Las Vegas post a 34-6 record and earn the No. 1 seed in the 2023 WNBA Playoffs presented by Google. The Aces have since advanced to the WNBA Semifinals and will host the winner of the series between Dallas and the Atlanta Dream beginning on Sunday, Sept. 24 (5 p.m. ET, ESPN2).
The Aces finished with the most victories and the fifth-best winning percentage (.850) in a regular season in league history. Las Vegas also posted the highest offensive rating (113.0) and the most 100-point games (11) ever by a WNBA team.
Clark, a two-time WNBA All-Defensive Team selection, is the third player to win the Kia WNBA Sixth Player of the Year Award as a member of the Aces, joining Kelsey Plum (2021) and Dearica Hamby (2020 and 2019). In honor of her accomplishment, Clark will receive $5,150 and a trophy designed to commemorate the achievement.
Below are the voting results for the 2023 Kia WNBA Sixth Player of the Year Award and the list of recipients since the award&rsquo;s inception in 2007.
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Las Vegas Aces forward Alysha Clark has been named the 2023 Kia WNBA Sixth Player of the Year.

Aces' Alysha Clark named WNBA Sixth Player of the Year

MILWAUKEE (AP) &mdash; Brooklyn coach Steve Nash wasn&rsquo;t around to watch Giannis Antetokounmpo finish picking the Nets apart.
<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1585443231952646144" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nash was ejected</a>&nbsp;for the first time in his coaching career after arguing that Antetokounmpo should have been called for an offensive foul against Patty Mills while bringing the ball up the court in the third quarter.
Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks dominated the rest of the way in a 110-99 victory Wednesday night.
&ldquo;I was just standing up for our guys,&rdquo; said Nash, who was ejected twice during his 18-season playing career. &ldquo;I thought Patty took a forearm in the throat from Giannis right in front of the ref. I didn&rsquo;t feel that was fair. I don&rsquo;t think I was overly demonstrative. I was upset I got the technical.&rdquo;
Antetokounmpo had 43 points, 14 rebounds and five assists. He scored 34 points in the second half.
That performance three nights after he scored 44 points and shot 17 of 21 in a 125-105 rout of the Houston Rockets, marking just the fifth time in NBA history a player had scored at least 44 points while playing less than 28 minutes.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been working a lot over these few years and this summer and just so anxious to prove to myself that I can do what I&rsquo;ve been working on, and sometimes I think I play not (to) my strength as much,&rdquo; Antetokounmpo said. &ldquo;I kind of scratched that, and in the second half, I was just, &lsquo;OK, I&rsquo;m going to be myself and be OK with it&rsquo; and just tried to drive as much as I can and find my teammates and get in the paint.&rdquo;
The Nets led 70-66 with about 4 &frac12; minutes remaining in the third quarter when Nash received a technical foul and then yelled his displeasure as assistant coach Jacque Vaughn and forward Royce O&rsquo;Neale held him back. Nash&rsquo;s heated reaction resulted in a second technical that got him ejected.
Milwaukee outscored the Nets 44-29 the rest of the way.
After shooting just 3 of 10 in the first half, Antetokounmpo went 13 of 15 the rest of the way. He scored 34 points in the second half as the Bucks outscored the Nets 67-44 over the final two periods.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s vintage Giannis,&rdquo; Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s probably about the best &mdash; he&rsquo;s had a lot of great performances &mdash; tonight that second half, he did everything. He was phenomenal.&rdquo;
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<div class="Component-headline-0-2-56" data-key="card-headline">Bobby Portis had 20 points and 11 rebounds for Milwaukee, and Jrue Holiday added 15 points.</div>
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Kevin Durant scored 33, Kyrie Irving 27 and Royce O&rsquo;Neale 12 for the Nets.
Irving scored 11 straight Brooklyn points and sank a jumper that tied the game at 83 with 10:09 remaining, but the Nets went scoreless for the next 5&frac12; minutes as Milwaukee built a 10-point lead.
Durant finally ended Brooklyn&rsquo;s drought by making a driving layup with 4:37 remaining, the first time any Net other than Irving had scored since free throw by Day&rsquo;Ron Sharpe with 3:02 left in the third period.
TIP-INS
Nets: Brooklyn played a second straight game without Markieff Morris, out for personal reasons. Seth Curry (left ankle) and T.J. Warren (left foot) still haven&rsquo;t made their season debuts. Nash said before the game that Curry will practice with the team&rsquo;s NBA G League affiliate Thursday. ... Nash said before the game he wanted to see Ben Simmons recapture &ldquo;that joy of playing the game&rdquo; as the three-time All-Star returns after missing the entire 2021-22 season and&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/brooklyn-nets-nba-sports-ben-simmons-james-harden-c10991637d3e8705102f377d3b02a5e0">undergoing back surgery.</a>&nbsp;Simmons had four points, five rebounds and nine assists Wednesday. He hasn&rsquo;t scored more than seven points in any of Brooklyn&rsquo;s first four games.
Bucks: The Bucks continue to play without Khris Middleton (wrist), Pat Connaughton (calf) and Joe Ingles (knee). ... A moment of silence was observed before the game to honor&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/Bucks/status/1562849859530502144" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Keith Carrington,</a>&nbsp;who had been a lead supervisor for Fiserv Forum event security since 2018. Carrington died during the offseason.
UP NEXT
Nets: Host the Mavericks on Thursday in the first of four straight home games.
Bucks: Host the New York Knicks on Friday in the third game of a season-high six-game homestand.
___
More AP NBA:&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/hub/NBA">https://apnews.com/hub/NBA</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/AP_Sports" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://twitter.com/AP_Sports</a>
</div>

The Milwaukee Bucks defeat the Brooklyn Nets, 110-99.

Bucks use lopsided run after Nash ejected, beat Nets 110-99

Season 2 of Athletes Unlimited Basketball is coming relatively soon — with new players.

Allisha Gray, NaLyssa Smith headline Athletes Unlimited new additions

On Thursday, Athletes Unlimited &mdash; a network of professional women's sports leagues founded in 2020 &mdash; announced it received $30 million in new funding. Early investors include Kevin Durant and Rich Klieman's 35V, David Blitzer, Jane Gottesman of Earlystone Management and film producer Sharon Harel-Cohen, Angela Ruggiero, Salil Seshadri and Keith Meister.&nbsp;
&ldquo;We have been advisors for AU since the very beginning, and we're excited to be a part of this capital raise. Athletes Unlimited is at the forefront of women's sports and an inspiration for how sports leagues can thrive with an athlete-first business model," Durant said.
"Every pro sports league should take note of what AU is doing, especially the pathway for athletes to have a financial stake in their own leagues," Kleiman added.
Athletes Unlimited is a network of four sports: Basketball, softball, volleyball, and lacrosse. On the basketball side, plenty of WNBA players have populated rosters. Just last year, players included star guard Kelsey Mitchell (Indiana Fever), All-Defensive First Team member Natasha Cloud (Washington Mystics), WNBA Finals representatives in Courtney Williams, Odyssey Sims, Dijonia Carrington (Connecticut Sun) and Sydney Colson (Las Vegas Aces), versatile big Izzy Harrison (Dallas Wings) and more.&nbsp;
The league serves as a way to keep WNBA players stateside during the offseason and provide opportunities to grow their games, and gives free agents the ability to pitch themselves to other teams.
Los Angeles Sparks guard Lexie Brown, for example, performed well during AU's circuit last season &mdash; shooting a blistering 46.9% from three and nearly topping the leaderboard in steals (38). Brown carried that momentum into the regular season, doubling as one of the most prolific three-point shooters in The W last season &mdash; and an odd snub for the three-point contest &mdash; by canning 39.8% of her triples on roughly four attempts per contest and being an active defender.
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Brown has spoken <a href="https://auprosports.com/read/lexie-brown-seeing-the-big-picture-when-it-comes-to-women-in-sports/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">glowingly of the league</a>, highlighting the power its given female athletes.
"Another sign of progress has been Athletes Unlimited, providing female athletes with a voice and a new model which affords us another opportunity to compete. Not just that, but it puts the power in our hands as we govern our own affairs on and off the court," Brown said. "Athletes Unlimited has played a major role in rejuvenating my WNBA career. AU gave me a platform and visibility to showcase the work I had been putting in. I was given opportunities and exposure that I have never gotten and possibly will never get in the WNBA. We need more examples like it."
Cloud has <a href="https://queenballers.club/basketball/natasha-cloud-athletes-unlimited" target="_blank" rel="noopener">offered similar sentiments</a>.
"To have a league here, to establish another league here in the States, where women don&rsquo;t have to go overseas and be away from their families, where they don&rsquo;t have to put their bodies through year round-play. Just five weeks playing competitive basketball," Cloud said. "It means everything for me to be an intricate part of bringing this here, because it&rsquo;s a progression of women in sports. When we talk about investing in women, believing in women, valuing women and what they bring, AU is a prime example of that."

Nekias Duncan highlights the fresh investment into Athletes Unlimited from Kevin Durant's Thirty Five Ventures and others.

Athletes Unlimited receives $30 million in new funding via Durant, more

Players across throughout the NBA will attest to a common slogan for long-term staying power: Know Your Role.
For Bruce Brown, that catchphrase has challenged him, helped him thrive and led him to Denver.
In his four-year NBA run to date, Brown has shapeshifted into all sorts of roles and archetypes while playing for the Detroit Pistons and Brooklyn Nets. He opened his career playing as a shooting guard, shifted to point guard in his second season, reinvented himself as a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-stats-notebook-bruce-brown-is-an-enigma-in-all-the-right-ways" target="_blank" rel="noopener">jack-of-all-trades wing in Brooklyn</a> and even logged meaningful time as a small-ball center while solidifying himself as a critical piece for the Nets.&nbsp;
This summer, the 25-year-old finally received some control of his destiny as an unrestricted free agent. As Brown negotiated with multiple prospective franchises, he wanted to know his role &mdash; not just in terms of playing time, but also in his own stylistic fit. When Brown signed a two-year, $13.2 million contract with the Denver Nuggets, he asserted that Denver would provide a fruitful on-court marriage of scheme and talent.
"[Knowing my role] was huge, because you don't want to go to a team where it just won't work, right?" Brown told Basketball News in a phone interview. "So I knew coming to Denver &mdash; the way they play, it's a lot of cuts, slips [and] corner threes. And then, they got a lot of guys who know how to play the game of basketball, so the game would be a lot easier."
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Of course, Denver also rosters an off-ball cutter's dream in Nikola Jokic. Brown expects easy on-court chemistry with the back-to-back reigning MVP.
"I feel like I'm one of the best cutters in the league," he said. "So I can find open spots. make the game easier for him, knock down corner threes [and] just take some pressure off."
Those cuts, slips and corner threes became pillars of Brown's game after he joined the Nets. With Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant and James Harden in the fold, Brooklyn didn't have room for another lead guard. To stay on the court, Brown's usage underwent a dramatic overhaul. Just look at this play-type data from Synergy:
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; height: 154px;" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 66px;">
<td style="width: 10.4071%; height: 66px;">Year</td>
<td style="width: 19.5455%; height: 66px;">PnR Ball-Handler Play Freq.</td>
<td style="width: 18.8929%; height: 66px;">PnR Roll-Man Play Freq.</td>
<td style="width: 10.5377%; height: 66px;">Cut Freq.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 10.4071%; height: 22px;">2018-19</td>
<td style="width: 19.5455%; height: 22px;">15.8%</td>
<td style="width: 18.8929%; height: 22px;">N/A&nbsp;</td>
<td style="width: 10.5377%; height: 22px;">11.7%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 10.4071%; height: 22px;">2019-20</td>
<td style="width: 19.5455%; height: 22px;">29.5%</td>
<td style="width: 18.8929%; height: 22px;">N/A</td>
<td style="width: 10.5377%; height: 22px;">10.3%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 10.4071%; height: 22px;">2020-21</td>
<td style="width: 19.5455%; height: 22px;">3.6%</td>
<td style="width: 18.8929%; height: 22px;">12.1%</td>
<td style="width: 10.5377%; height: 22px;">26.2%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 10.4071%; height: 22px;">2021-22</td>
<td style="width: 19.5455%; height: 22px;">4.4%</td>
<td style="width: 18.8929%; height: 22px;">9.3%</td>
<td style="width: 10.5377%; height: 22px;">23.7%</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
(Scroll right to view full table on mobile. Note that N/A means Synergy tracked less than 10 total possessions of a play type)
"My first year, I was more of a 2, and the second year moving to the 1 [was] just a learning experience," Brown said. "That was the first time I've ever played the 1, so [I'm] knowing every position, knowing where players are supposed to go; I'm knowing every single play from every position.
"And then when I get to Brooklyn, it was a completely different situation where they already have their starting guards. Second season, I was like, I need to do something to fit in to get on the floor. Defensively, I can get on the floor that way. But on the offensive end, I need to do something to stay on the floor to at least help the guys out there on the floor. And then that's when I just started being a little rover. They were helping off me, so I would cut and get easy layups just to keep them honest."
Brown credited former Nets director of player development Adam Harrington for helping him make the change in his first year with Brooklyn. Entering his second season with the Nets, Brown wanted to incorporate more perimeter skills back into his role, so he spent time with Brooklyn assistant coach Royal Ivey (a.k.a. "Coach Smoke") developing his three-point shot. The work led to a 40.4% long-range clip in 2021-22, by far a career-high.
But Brown's past experience as a playmaking guard didn't just fall by the wayside. In fact, he believes it gives him extra advantages when he slips screens, cuts or rolls to the basket. Brown knows what he should be looking for in defensive rotations from his time as a primary ball-handler, and that opens up extra passing lanes and scoring opportunities.
"Me being the 1, I know if I hit the big in the pocket, I know where the help's coming from [and] what I wanted to do," Brown said. "So it just made it a lot easier &mdash; like, I knew the low man is always gonna help off the corner, so either the corner pass or the man up top is gonna go. But if I don't roll too far to the rim, the floater's always open."
The <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-stats-notebook-bruce-brown-is-an-enigma-in-all-the-right-ways" target="_blank" rel="noopener">floater is a gold mine if Brown can level up his efficiency with the shot</a>. But the below clips demonstrate his unique wiring as a cutting and rolling playmaker.
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Brown needs a mere split-second to diagnose where defenses will help, and from there, he can throw lobs, hit bigs for layups or send the ball out to the corners. Rarely can players make passing reads with such little time on the ball. It's easy to picture him in a two-man action with Jamal Murray that results in a quality assist, or him cutting off of Jokic and making the extra pass to a shooter.&nbsp;
Over the summer, Brown has continued to refine the three-ball, and wants to add consistency shooting above the break in addition to his sweet spots in the corners. When the Nuggets laid out their vision for Brown, they pitched that he wouldn't need to completely reshape his game again. The tools Brown added in Brooklyn can easily work alongside Denver's stars.
"Come in, basically play the same role [with cuts, slips]," Brown said of what the Nuggets asked of him. "I mean, the ball's gonna be in Jokic and Jamal's hands the majority of the game. So really, just play off them like I was doing in Brooklyn with KD and Kyrie, so, basically the same thing."
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
With Brown and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope among the new additions in Denver, the Nuggets didn't just bolster their defense &mdash; they also added two players who understand their offensive fits alongside the team's hubs.&nbsp;
"I think [with] all the new pieces, that everybody knows how to play basketball. Everybody knows their role," Brown said. "Nobody gonna try to do too much. We know the main guys who are gonna have the ball in their hands... We just do what we're supposed to do and we'll take care of everything else."

Bruce Brown signed a two-year deal with the Nuggets this offseason after reinventing his role with the Nets.

Bruce Brown feeling secure in his new role with the Denver Nuggets

In his "Blazing the Trail" series, Mat Issa analyzes the offensive splendor of Dirk Nowitzki and the dramatic evolution of his career.

Blazing the Trail: Dirk Nowitzki, the unicorn that became world champion

UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) &mdash; With their season on the line, Alyssa Thomas and the Connecticut Sun took it right to Chicago and forced a decisive Game 5 in their WNBA semifinals series against the Sky.
DeWanna Bonner and Courtney Williams each scored 19 points to help the Sun rout the Sky 104-80 on Tuesday night. Thomas added 17 points for Connecticut, which will travel to the second-seeded Sky for the winner-take-all WNBA playoffs game on Thursday night.
&ldquo;Some games like tonight we get to feeling good, and the basket looks a little bigger. Tonight we just made shots,&rdquo; Williams said. &ldquo;Whatever team comes out and puts the ball in the basket is going to win.&rdquo;
It&rsquo;s the second consecutive playoff series for each team that has gone the distance. Both Chicago and Connecticut had to go on the road in the third game of their opening-round series and win to reach the semifinals because of the new playoff format that saw the higher seeded team host the first two games of that best-of-three set.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to come down to who plays better for two hours,&rdquo; Connecticut coach Curt Miller said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve won some tough road games. We have a team that grinds and has grit and that&rsquo;s the kind of toughness you need to pull off a road win in a big game.&rdquo;
Miller has been saying the entire series his team would have to make the game &ldquo;messy&rdquo; to beat the Sky. Getting into a high-scoring game wouldn&rsquo;t benefit the Sun.
&ldquo;So much for messy. That wasn&rsquo;t messy,&rdquo; Miller said. &ldquo;A huge win and sending it back to Chicago for Game 5.&rdquo;
That wasn&rsquo;t the case Tuesday, as the Sun raced to a 22-6 lead, scoring 10 of the first 12 points. Thomas was a big reason why with seven points, four rebounds and two assists in the first five minutes. The All-Star forward had six points total in Game 3 and seven in Game 2 &mdash; both Connecticut losses.
&ldquo;We put an emphasis on the first quarter. It&rsquo;s something we talked about,&rdquo; Williams said. &ldquo;This series has been told by what happened in the first quarter.&rdquo;
The Sky got back within eight by the end of the first quarter, but couldn&rsquo;t get much closer as Connecticut had an answer for every Chicago run &mdash; thanks to Thomas, Bonner and Jonquel Jones. The trio helped the Sun outscore the Sky 66-34 in the lane.
&ldquo;Big response by our team and the starting group that set the tone early with the aggressiveness at both ends of the floor,&rdquo; Miller said. &ldquo;We talked this entire time how this is going to be a points in the paint series for us. That was an impressive performance of points in the paint.&rdquo;
Chicago got within 38-33 midway through the second quarter before the Sun went on a 15-5 run to restore the double-digit advantage. DiJonai Carrington had five points during the burst that was capped by Thomas&rsquo; layup with 1:01 left in the half.
Candace Parker, who had been stellar in the first three games of the series, scored her first points of the game on a 3-pointer 16 seconds later that got the Sky within 53-41. Connecticut scored the final five points, including a layup just before the buzzer by Carrington that made it 58-41 at the break.
&ldquo;I think the first thing we have to do is clean up some stuff,&rdquo; Chicago coach James Wade said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll be better next game.&rdquo;
Williams was the spark in the third quarter, helping the Sun stave off any Sky run. Her teammates were looking for her when Chicago would come double them, and Williams was left open for layups. She had 10 points in the third quarter.
&ldquo;There were too many details we missed,&rdquo; Allie Quigley said. &ldquo;Not doing what we were supposed to do. We missed people behind us. There were too many moments where we weren&rsquo;t there and ready. We weren&rsquo;t focused.&rdquo;
Kahleah Copper scored 16 points and Emma Meesseman added 14 for the Sky. Parker had 11 points and nine rebounds.
AWARD WINNER
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert honored Sun forward Brionna Jones before the game with the league&rsquo;s Sixth Person of the Year award. Jones received 53 of the 56 votes from a national media panel. It&rsquo;s the first time Jones has won the award.
RECORD BREAKER
Parker moved into first all-time on the career playoff rebound list, passing Tamika Catchings. Parker now has 600 in her career. Catchings had 598.
&ldquo;Great accomplishment. Goes to show her level of greatness she&rsquo;s had for her career,&rdquo; Wade said. &ldquo;Something you can&rsquo;t take for granted. Even in the loss, its tough to celebrate those types of things, but we have to acknowledge it.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
The Sky are trying to be the first team to repeat as champions since Los Angeles did it in 2001-02. Six other defending champions reached the finals since then, but all lost in that round. ... The UConn women&rsquo;s basketball team was in attendance, sitting a few row up from the Chicago Sky bench. ... Bonner moved into seventh on the all-time postseason scoring list in WNBA history.

With their season on the line, Alyssa Thomas and the Connecticut Sun took it right to Chicago and forced a decisive Game 5.

Sun rout Sky 104-80, force Game 5 in WNBA semifinals series

We've got chalk!
The Las Vegas Aces and Seattle Storm swept their opponents, and though the Chicago Sky and Connecticut Sun had to go on the road, they handled business with double-digit wins. That sets us up for a pair of thrilling second-round series including the top-four seeds.
Let's take a look at some of the key matchups and questions for each series.
(2) CHICAGO SKY VS (3) CONNECTICUT SUN
THINGS TO KNOW
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2">Sky won season series 4-0</li>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="3">June 10: 83-79</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="3">June 29: 91-83</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="3">July 31: 95-92 (no Candace Parker)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="3">Aug. 7: 94-91 (no Curt Miller)</li>
</ul>
</ul>
KEY QUESTION: Who will win the paint battle?
It would be easy to go with the "power vs. finesse" angle for this frontcourt battle.
Chicago's trio of Candace Parker, Emma Meesseman and Azura Stevens (off the bench) do plenty of perimeter-based work. Parker and Meesseman often operate from outside as high post or handoff hubs, influencing the Sky's interior attack by picking out cutters. No frontcourt duo averaged more assists than Parker and Meesseman (8.3) this season.
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Stevens was more of a spacer (36% from three on moderate volume) than hub; that spacing helped open the floor for others, and she provided her own value as the rare big with comfort attacking closeouts.
The Sun do more of the gruntwork inside. Behind the trio of Jonquel Jones, Alyssa Thomas, and Brionna Jones, the Sun led The W in post-up shot attempts per game (6.9, per InStat tracking) and offensive rebound rate (37.1%). No one embodies their physicality quite like Bri Jones. The list of players that can deal with her on the block or the glass is a short one.
There's versatility present, of course; Jonquel might be the best shooter on the roster, able to space, pick-and-pop, or run off screens. Thomas led all frontcourt players, and ranked 4th overall, in assists this season (6.1). She's comfortable bringing the ball up the floor and actually initiates a large chunk of the offense in the half-court.
This series may boil down to who can assert their style the most. While the Sun lack in pure shooting and improvisation, they could very well counter it by winning the possession battle. Due to their size and glass-work, a league-leading 37% of their shot attempts came at the rim this season.&nbsp;
The Sky, with their motion-based offensive attack and occasional mismatch hunting, ranked just behind the Sun in rim rate (35%) this season. Because of the skill-sets of their bigs, they could have success pulling the Sun's bigs out of the paint, thus opening the floor for their perimeter players to operate.&nbsp;
KEY MATCHUP: Natisha Hiedeman and Courtney Williams vs. Courtney Vandersloot and Allie Quigley
I have some serious questions about the Sun's backcourt. 
At their best, Natisha Hiedeman and Courtney Williams can provide enough shot-making to complement their stars. Hiedeman is a sniper beyond the arc, having drained 40.5% of her threes over the past two seasons. 
Williams has been more inconsistent as a three-point shooter &mdash; she's shot 45.7%, 23.5%, 38.3%, and 33.8% over the past four seasons &mdash; but she gives the Sun much-needed juice off the dribble. She led The W in mid-ranga attempts (6.6) by a wide margin and <a href="https://stats.wnba.com/players/shooting/?Season=2022&amp;SeasonType=Regular%20Season&amp;DistanceRange=By%20Zone&amp;sort=Mid-Range%20FG%20PCT&amp;dir=1&amp;CF=Mid-Range%20FGA*GE*3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ranked 6th in percentage</a> (40.9%) among 20 players who averaged at least three attempts.&nbsp;
But there are drawbacks in this matchup. As lethal as Hiedeman is with her feet set, she hasn't gotten super busy off of movement. Of her 168 three-point attempts this season, only 42 of them (25%) came via isolation, ball screen, off-ball screen, or handoff, per InStat tracking. That has allowed Allie Quigley to take on that matchup during the regular season meetings.&nbsp;
For Williams, her inconsistency from deep allows teams to "gap" her off the ball. The Sky bordered on disrespect when she didn't have the ball, opting to ignore her completely to dig down on drives or double post-ups. Williams is going to make a shot on the possession below (a key for this series), but look at how threatened Chicago is by her.
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There's also the matter of decision-making. Hiedeman and Williams can get buckets when they're on, but neither of them are natural playmakers. Part of the "why doesn't Jonquel get more touches" answer is their inability to find her in a timely manner. And as good as Thomas has been as a creator, she wouldn't have to do so as much if the guards could be trusted more to keep the offense flowing. Williams in particular has a penchant for taking tough, contested pull-up middies. She's good enough to make them, but the process can get murky sometimes.
The Sky's backcourt of Courtney Vandersloot and Quigley don't have those concerns. Vandersloot is one of the best decision-makers in league history, while Quigley is one of the best shooters the league has seen &mdash; though it's worth noting she got off to a rough&nbsp;start to begin the year.
I do wonder if the Sun take a page out of the New York Liberty's book from their first-round matchup with the Sky. New York found some success with ducking under picks, particularly against Vandersloot. When they were able to keep her out of the paint, Chicago's half-court offense sputtered some.
Beyond that, it'll be on the Sun's guards to stay connected off the ball. During the regular season series, I found they mostly did a good job of containing the Sky's initial half-court action. Trouble ensued once the possession went later in the clock, with impromptu jukes and backcuts leading to buckets.
If they're able to hold up, this series could swing.
STRAY THOUGHTS
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2">I wonder what coverage Kahleah Copper will receive. Teams have typically gone under picks against her, though the Sun went with more switching and, surprisingly, hedging to force the ball out of her hands. It's an interesting gambit to take away her drives, though I wonder if that'll open more things up for the Sky offensively.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="3">Keeping an eye on the backup guard minutes for Chicago. We know Rebekah Gardner is locked in, and may wind up closing games depending on how well Quigley shoots. I wonder how secure Julie Allemand's spot it. The Liberty found comfort trying to attack her in round 1, and the three-ball hasn't fallen at a high clip this season. Could we see Dana Evans pop up if necessary, or would James Wade simply shorten the rotation and give the Vandersloot/Quigley/Gardner triumvirate all the minutes?</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="3">I'd like to see more Dijonai Carrington minutes for the Sun. Her defense may be needed more than usual in this series.</li>
</ul>
(1) LAS VEGAS ACES VS (4) SEATTLE STORM
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2">Aces won season series 3-1</li>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="3">May 8: 85-74 (no Tina Charles, Riquna Williams)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="3">June 29: 88-78, SEA</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="3">Aug. 7: 89-81</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="3">Aug. 14: 109-100 (no Dearica Hamby)</li>
</ul>
<li>Dearica Hamby (right knee bone contusion) will miss at least the first game of this series. She suffered the injury on August 11, and was given a 2-4 week timeline.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
KEY QUESTION: Who can flip the switch?
This is a star-studded matchup. If you haven't heard (or seen the 289347293482 graphics about it), there will be seven&nbsp;former No. 1 overall picks featured in this series: A'ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum, and Jackie Young for the Aces; Breanna Stewart, Jewell Loyd, Sue Bird, and Tina Charles for the Storm.
With the exception of maybe Bird at this stage, all of these players are comfortable going one-on-one and getting tough buckets. That may be necessary in this series considering where these teams are defensively.
The Aces were an aggressive pick-and-roll team at the beginning of the season, having their bigs play at the level (or higher) of ball screens. The Storm have dialed up the pressure on ball screens for years. As the season has gone on, and particularly during the regular season meetings, both teams have leaned a little more into switching.&nbsp;
Both teams generally do a good job of passing off their assignments when switching. The Storm, however, might be the gold standard in switching into a (perceived) mismatch, and quickly scram-switching their way out of it by toggling assignments off the ball. Look at how quickly Williams "scrams" Bird out of the Wilson matchup here:
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That is&nbsp;beautiful&nbsp;work from the Storm. Bird goes from defending Chelsea, to switching onto Wilson, to immediately switching off Wilson to take Plum on the perimeter. They nail those kind of quick-hitting rotations.
This feels like more of an Aces question than a Storm one. Offensively, they're going to need to be purposeful and decisive when trying to attack in the half-court. They can't afford to have possessions like this:
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The Storm served Bird up on a platter for Wilson early into the possession, and the Aces did nothing productive with it. What should've been a quick attack, or at least a dish and post-up opportunity, turned into&nbsp; a drive from the corner gained little traction and ended with a late clock contested triple.
On the other end, they have to be able to 1) contain drives and 2) get their smaller players out of trouble when needed. The scram-switching from this unit has been inconsistent, to be kind.&nbsp;
KEY MATCHUP: Kelsey Plum vs. Gabby WIlliams
Of course, this will depend on Williams' availability in this series. She suffered a concussion during the Storm's Game 2 victory over the Washington Mystics. <a href="https://twitter.com/hunter9h/status/1563541825901989900?s=20&amp;t=01p9RFnjUY2JJR9UPBzPRw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">At last check</a>, she hasn't cleared protocols yet, leaving her unavailable for Game 1 at the very least.
Assuming she makes a return during the series, this might be the most important battle of the series. Plum has been electric all season, but has seen a dip in production &mdash; or at least a dip in&nbsp;ease &mdash;&nbsp;when faced with lengthy defenders.
Williams just happens to be one of the best defenders in the sport, listed at 5-foot-11 and equipped with endless, active arms. The Aces want to make quick work in the half-court. That means creating early advantages with ball screens or with movement, something Williams does a wonderful job of preventing.&nbsp;
If she's able to keep a handle on Plum, you can expect Aces possessions to end much later in the clock. On top of Plum's shooting, she also led the Aces (and ranked third in The W) with 58 made shots off drives, per InStat. Rim pressure has been a question mark for the Aces all season; only the Storm generated a lower percentage of their <a href="https://www.pbpstats.com/totals/wnba/team?Season=2022&amp;SeasonType=Regular+Season&amp;StartType=All&amp;Type=Team&amp;StatType=Totals&amp;Table=Shooting" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shots at the rim</a> (23.9) than the Aces (24.6). If Plum can't get there, the Aces would have to rely almost entirely on tough shotmaking. They certainly have the talent to do it, but it's a diet they don't&nbsp;want&nbsp;to live on.
STRAY THOUGHTS
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2">Do we see the Aces go small at any point? They've experimented with a fun group -- Chelsea Gray, Plum, Riquna Williams, Jackie Young and A'ja Wilson -- but they've only played 14 minutes.&nbsp;I'm intrigued.&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="3">On the defensive scheme front, I wonder how many changeups we see. Both have shown comfort dialing up the pressure, and they both have a zone defense in their back pocket.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="3">If Gabby Williams isn't available for an extended stretch, where do they go? Stephanie Talbot would help spacing tremendously, though she can get picked on defensively (and throw the other perimeter matchups out of whack). Briann January would help maintain the defense, but you're getting smaller without helping the spacing that much. The jumbo option, with Breanna Stewart, Ezi Magbegor, and Tina Charles together, has only seen six minutes of burn all season. I don't know if Noelle Quinn would bust that out, but I'd get a kick out of it if she does.</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;

Nekias Duncan previews the second round of the WNBA playoffs.

2022 WNBA Playoffs: Previewing the second-round matchups

Kayla Thornton scored 20 points and Teaira McCowan had 17 points and 11 rebounds to help the Dallas Wings beat the Connecticut Sun 89-79 on Sunday in Game 2 of the best-of-three series and avoid elimination.
The sixth-seeded Wings, who will host Wednesday&rsquo;s Game 3, never trailed en route to winning the franchise&rsquo;s first playoff game since 2009. They led by double digits for the final 26-plus minutes, despite a 22-2 fourth-quarter run that trimmed a 31-point Sun deficit to 84-73 with less than 2 minutes left.
&ldquo;I think we have to learn how to capitalize,&rdquo; McCowan said. &ldquo;With us being a young team, you know, sometimes we get a little sloppy &mdash; as you could see at the end. But, I mean, once we tighten that up, it&rsquo;ll be good for the next game.&rdquo;
Allisha Gray had 15 points, eight assists and three steals for the Wings, and Marina Mabrey scored 14 points.
Jonquel Jones had 20 points and nine rebounds for third-seeded Connecticut, and Brionna Jones also scored 20. DiJonai Carrington added 13 points.
&ldquo;I knew I had to go in and do what I do best, which is rebound, be a dominant force inside, and that&rsquo;s what I did tonight for my teammates&rdquo; said McCowan, who had seven points and five rebounds in Game 1.
&ldquo;We have to put our talent to work. I mean, we know what we can do. We have great players on our team so if everyone plays their role, plays team offense and defense, we&rsquo;ll be fine.
Dallas shot 48% (36 of 75) from the field, made 11 of 26 (42.3%) from 3-point range and finished with 28 assists.

Kayla Thornton scored 20 points and Teaira McCowan had 17 points and 11 rebounds to help Dallas beat Connecticut 89-79.

Thornton, Wings beat Sun 89-79, force deciding Game 3

Jonquel Jones had 19 points and eight rebounds, Alyssa Thomas added 15 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists and the Connecticut Sun beat the Dallas Wings 93-68 on Thursday night in Game 1 of their first-round series.
Third-seeded Connecticut pulled away in the third quarter, scoring 13 straight points to build a 64-45 lead. The sixth-seeded Wings went five-plus minutes without a field goal in the third quarter, and the Sun closed the frame on a 17-5 run for an 18-point lead.
Game 2 of the best-of-three series is Sunday in Uncasville.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been working the entire season to be here, so we don&rsquo;t want to squander this opportunity,&rdquo; Jones said of the home-court advantage. &ldquo;We got to come up with that right intensity.&rdquo;
Dijonai Carrington added 13 points and DeWanna Bonner scored 10 points of her 12 points in the first half for Connecticut.
Dallas scoring leader Arike Ogunbowale sat out because of an abdominal injury. The Wings got a boost when Satou Sabally played in her first game since July 12. Sabally scored 10 points in the first half, including a half-court heave to beat the first-quarter buzzer, but she went scoreless after halftime.
Allisha Gray led Dallas with 17 points. Tyasha Harris each added 13 points and Marina Mabrey had 11.

Jonquel Jones had 19 points and 8 rebounds, Alyssa Thomas added 15 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists and Connecticut beat Dallas.

Jonquel Jones has 19 points, Sun beat Wings 93-68 in Game 1

On Aug. 6 at 8 p.m. ET, former Maryland and Georgetown men&rsquo;s basketball players will look to rekindle a local rivalry when they face off in an alumni game at the Xfinity Center in College Park.
This will be the first event under the Alumni Basketball League, which was co-founded by former Missouri and Los Angeles Lakers guard Kareem Rush. In his three years at Missouri, Rush was named Big 12 Freshman of the Year, a two-time selection on the All-Big 12 First Team and even Missouri&rsquo;s men&rsquo;s basketball player of the decade for the 2000s.
I sat down with Rush to discuss how this league came about, how the Alumni Basketball League differs from other established leagues (such as The Basketball Tournament and the BIG3), their plans moving forward as far as other historic rivalry games and what fans can expect on Aug. 6 when Georgetown faces off against Maryland.
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Etan Thomas: So tell me about the Alumni Basketball League and how it all came about.
Kareem Rush: "Sure, The Alumni Basketball League is the first professional league exclusively for college alumni teams. So back in 2017, I was watching the TBT tournament and looking at the roster, I saw that 27 of these teams were alumni teams, and I was like, 'Man, why not just create a league specific for alumni teams?' Also, I was a part of the first year of the BIG3, so I understood when I went through that try-out, it was literally hundreds of guys with tons of NBA experience vying for 20 spots. So I was like, 'Man, I know guys are always looking for an opportunity to play.' The NCAA is really the only entity that's capitalizing on the collegiate marketplace, so I was like, 'Man, why not just create a league specifically for those guys?' So 2018, being a Mizzou guy, and my younger brother being a KU guy, which is a huge rivalry in Kansas City...
Etan Thomas: Right.
Kareem Rush: "So, the first game, centered around a charity, we were doing it for The Boys and Girls Club, but the response was amazing. We had over 2,500 people there. I was like, 'This could be something.' So, the following year, we wanted to expand the concept. We had Kansas State and Arkansas scheduled to come in, but ended up running into some scheduling conflicts because of the TBT and the BIG3. So we put the second year on the shelf. And then COVID hit, so it sat there for two years. Fast forward to March of this past year, I'm down in Missouri for our 20-year reunion and one of my buddies and former teammates, Jack Jackson, who's now a big DMV guy, asked me what I've been up to. I told him a little bit about the concept, he's like, 'Man, I love it.' So he decided he was going to back it, then the last three months, we've been pushing forward.
"We ended up bringing another former teammate, Jason Conley, aboard and he's based in the DMV area. We asking him like, 'What can we pull off for a couple exhibition games in this first year?' And so, he knew the guys over at Georgetown and Maryland and really led that charge to get the game going. We've been just going as we go for the last month, brought in a couple of the guys, Ricky Goings and Marc Stern, added to our organization and now, here we are a month later; we got this game scheduled for August 6. Our plan is to do another one here in Kansas City in late August or early September to get two proof-of-concept games under our belt. And then, really zero in on identifying teams for the 2023 season where we play between eight-to-16 games. Ideally, having between 16 and 32 of these teams put together."
Etan Thomas: Word traveled fast about this. People are really excited about it in the DMV.
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Kareem Rush: "I know, and that&rsquo;s mostly just from the initial marketing through social media and me reaching out to some of these GMs on some of these TBT teams who already got these teams established. The response has been great from players. Being a former player, I understand that guys just want an opportunity to stay in shape, make a little money. Our target guys are those guys either fresh out of college, guys who play overseas. You come back in town, you want to stay in shape, make a little money. This is the league for them. Then another unique aspect of what we're doing, all these leagues are built off the back of these players but very few have actual ownership. So another piece that we're doing is once we get the model established and we can really see what we're doing, we want to allow these guys to be able to buy in and own their own franchises.
"So you see these former NBA guys or current NBA guys who still have huge events for their colleges may want to come in and buy a franchise and operate and run it like the businessmen they are today. So, we believe we have a good starting point. Like I said, the response has been great. We&rsquo;re just looking forward to getting these first two exhibitions off the ground, really focusing in on that 2023 season where we launch media partners, streaming, eventually gambling. So we got a lot of things that we're working on."
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Etan Thomas: I really like the player-empowerment part. You don't see that in most of these leagues. The people who are usually benefiting the most are people outside of the player boundaries. How did you decide to add that component to everything that you're doing?
Kareem Rush: "Being a former player and really seeing that first year in the BIG3, where a lot of those guys &mdash; you got Baron Davis, the Junkyard Dog, Al Harrington, all those guys &mdash; where that little per-game check was not really moving the needle for them; they really want to own some things. And now today, as you see what LeBron and KD and all these guys are doing business-wise, I was like, 'Man, a lot of these guys are really business savvy, so why not give them an opportunity to be on the ground level of a league where they lend their celebrity and influence to the league and they grow with the league?' And so, that's where the concept came from. Like I said, as a former player, I would love to have some ownership in what I'm doing and as we see how much these franchises are worth, why not give the opportunity back to the players who build the league?"
Etan Thomas: So you're planning on taking this show on the road in 2023. Do you already have teams in mind? People are buzzing about the different possibilities or potential rivalry games that we could see. Have you keyed in on the other possible rival games?
Kareem Rush: "I&rsquo;m glad you asked that and yes, we actually have. Once the TBT started putting out their schedule, I was able to literally just reach out to some of those GMs from those teams and have initial conversations. This is a few months back before we started having some development and shape into our league. So we got a pretty good list of teams that we want to target. A lot of these teams are already established, so it's really just about getting the scheduling on our end. But I would say we probably talked to 12-or-16 teams at this point who all have shown interest. And I think for the first part of the league, our first couple of years, we really want to zero in on those historic college rivalries where we can build the concept around those fan bases and that madness and hoopla that build around those rivalries.
"Think of a Duke/North Carolina or a KU/MU or UCLA/USC. From my playing days, I still got connections to a lot of those teams and I think once the concept is out there and marketed properly, we're going to have guys reaching out to us, beating down our door to be a part of it."
Etan Thomas: And correct me if I&rsquo;m wrong, but your model differs from TBT because you offer an actual per-game salary for the players, correct?&nbsp;
Kareem Rush: "I see you did your homework, that&rsquo;s exactly correct. So, unlike TBT, where one team gets all the money and the other teams who come out and prep for months and months on end don't really see anything on the back end. So we're allowing guys to make a decent amount of money in the summertime, stay in shape, and then, once the overseas season goes, 'Go ahead and go back over there,' we want to be that league where you come home and play in front of your fans. You can really tap into that network."
Etan Thomas: Could the players also benefit from NIL deals or sponsorships as well?&nbsp;
Kareem Rush: Definitely. Now with the NIL, we can actually present some of the current players that come back [with deals] because I don't see any university that doesn't want to keep that connection with their former alumni. So bridging the gap there, allowing these guys to come back and play on campus is beneficial for everyone involved."
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Etan Thomas: So for this game in Maryland, you got the Xfinity Center. That shows right there that it&rsquo;s beneficial for the college. It's not like y&rsquo;all are playing at the YMCA or something.
Kareem Rush: "Exactly, I was actually surprised I was able to get the Xfinity Center for this first game in Maryland. We originally had Georgetown Prep scheduled. So that shows you that the schools will eventually want to jump on board and be a part of this because we have between eight-to-16 former legends coming back to be a part of the game. So we're excited about it, man. Like I said, we think we've got some legs. We're looking forward to pushing it full scope in 2023."
Etan Thomas: Sounds great. Don't forget to throw Syracuse in that mix when you&rsquo;re moving forward!
Kareem Rush: "Oh definitely, I already talked to the Boeheim Army guys so we got you! (laughing)"
Etan Thomas: Great, great. Yeah, because especially from that Big East, there are some great rivalries &mdash; I mean the original Big East. Now, of course, the conference is all messed up. Don't even get me started on that. But yeah, the original Big East rivalries, there's Syracuse/Georgetown, Syracuse/St. John's, Villanova/UConn. Those are classic Big East rivalries. But let's talk about this one that's coming up with Maryland and Georgetown and what everybody can expect. Both Maryland and Georgetown have a huge fan base here. I live here in Maryland, so I see it. Everybody was excited when you put out the roster of players, and they get more excited every time they announce another alumni who's going to be in attendance. I saw Georgetown legends like JYD, Michael Graham, Mark Tillmon, Gene Smith and Maryland legends like Joe Smith, Walt Williams, Duane Simpkins, Tony Massenburg. Every name creates more buzz, but talk about what everybody can expect for this game coming up on the 6th.
Kareem Rush: "We just want to put a good product on the court. Like I said, we have a nice mix of young and older players, because we always want to tap into those older fans who saw Juan Dixon, Steve Blake, Lonny Baxter and that group when they won the championship. So trying to get those guys to come up for those people who love the University of Maryland and Georgetown from top to the bottom. Come out, expect a good time! And as this concept grows, we plan on having a family night when we can come in and do some networking events with the guys, interacting with the former alumni and all that type of stuff. So we plan on building much more than just a game. It's going to be more of an entertainment-and-networking event component for them to do moving forward. So just come out, see some old players, have a good time, get a chance to honor and meet-and-greet some of the legends and then, just get ready for 2023!"
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Kareem Rush speaks to Etan Thomas about the Alumni Basketball League and the first matchup between Maryland and Georgetown.

ABL: Maryland, Georgetown alum set to battle Aug. 6 at Xfinity Center

Through two weeks of the WNBA season, where does each team stack up and what are some prime takeaways?

WNBA Power Rankings 5/22

The&nbsp;<a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="https://www.basketballnetwork.net/gilbert-arenas-brilliantly-spent-his-entire-rookie-salary-before-the-draft-it-wasnt-fun/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-stringify-link="https://www.basketballnetwork.net/giannis-antetokounmpo-shares-why-he-doesnt-associate-or-practice-with-other-nba-players-in-the-offseason/" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">following article</a>&nbsp;first appeared on&nbsp;<a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="http://basketballnetwork.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="http://BasketballNetwork.net" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">BasketballNetwork.net</a>:
Even when a guy like Antoine Walker writes a book about making $108 million and then going broke, you still wonder how that&rsquo;s possible, right? Well, Gilbert Arenas shared a story about his rookie year that will paint a perfect picture.
Every player gets an estimate of where he should expect to get drafted. After checking which teams are expected to pick at those spots, the very next thing is to check the rookie salary in those ranges. Being told he&rsquo;d be a top 10 draft pick was music to Arenas' ears. Agent Zero got himself an expensive chain and a souped-up Escalade with five TVs and a suede roof.
When Joe Johnson got selected with the 10th pick in the 2001 Draft, Arenas was still waiting to hear his name. He would wait a bit longer, all the way to the 31st pick, falling to the second round. Suddenly, his $845,000 rookie salary wasn&rsquo;t enough to cover everything he had bought.
&ldquo;When they did my budget, I can only spend $500 a month," Arenas said in an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrkHqFjmaZQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview with DJ Vlad</a>. "That&rsquo;s gas money, girlfriend, two dogs. I couldn&rsquo;t even drive back and forth to the arena. I had to say at the arena sometimes. I slept in the arena.&rdquo;
This was a sobering moment for Agent Zero. Sleeping in the gym because he couldn&rsquo;t afford gas, too proud to ask teammates to give him some money, the reality of being a professional kicked in for Arenas.
&rdquo;You&rsquo;re on you&rsquo;re own, and you have all the time in the world not to get in trouble,&rdquo; he said.
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Arenas also pointed out that, at the time, you couldn't return to school.
&ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t fun. I even said then, &lsquo;I wish I could come back to college. I took a pay cut coming here," Arenas <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrkHqFjmaZQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
Pay cut? But players aren&rsquo;t paid in the NCAA, right? We already covered Al Harrington sharing his experience, openly <a href="https://www.basketballnetwork.net/al-harrington-they-offered-me-cash-and-a-truck-to-join/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">saying a college offered him&rdquo; a truck and cash&rdquo; to join their program</a>. They even went so far as to offer to hire his mom and give Harrington $450,000.
So for a lot of prospects in that era, joining the NBA meant a pay cut and suddenly not being the best guy in the gym. Arenas said the biggest lesson he took from his rookie year was realizing he wasn&rsquo;t nearly as good as he thought he was. As hard as it was to accept that fact, the reality of his debt fueled his fire to watch film and warrant a bigger contract.
We know the story from there. Arenas retired with earnings over $160 million, so he&rsquo;s set for life. But the story about his rookie year gives us a fascinating insight into the lives of pro athletes. They can spend it as quickly as they can make it.
Check out more articles from BasketballNetwork.net&nbsp;<a href="https://www.basketballnetwork.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

Gilbert Arenas shared a story about how thinking he'd be drafted higher in 2001 ended up costing him more money than he had.

Gilbert Arenas spent money he didn't end up having before 2001 draft

The NBA recently announced that players won't be randomly tested for marijuana throughout the 2021-22 season. While players will still be tested for performance-enhancing drugs and "drugs of abuse" (such as opiates, methamphetamines and cocaine), the league hasn't tested for marijuana since last year's NBA Bubble.
In recent years, 16-year NBA veteran Al Harrington has been speaking out about marijuana use in the league after starting a number of businesses that produce cannabis and CBD products (including Viola, Harrington Wellness, Butter Baby and re+PLAY Hemp).&nbsp;
Harrington <a href="https://www.gq.com/story/allen-iverson" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stated</a> that &ldquo;85% of the players in the [NBA] smoke... or use some type of cannabis,&rdquo; but many have been afraid to publicize their marijuana use because of the stigma associated with the drug. 
However, he says that is about the change.
&ldquo;Even my best friends in the league, they didn&rsquo;t want [their] parents knowing they smoke or support a cannabis brand,&rdquo; Harrington told <a href="https://www.gq.com/story/allen-iverson" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GQ</a>. &ldquo;But, this year will be the year we will be surprised. I know personally of a few athletes that&rsquo;ll push that line, and say they use and why they use.&rdquo;
Harrington specified that there are three &ldquo;top-20-in-the-league-type guys&rdquo; who are expected to speak out. He believes this will have a huge impact on how marijuana is perceived.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;ll open up the conversation,&rdquo; Harrington told <a href="https://www.gq.com/story/allen-iverson" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GQ</a>. &ldquo;These guys do use cannabis on a daily basis and that stigma of, you smoke and you&rsquo;re unproductive or lazy&nbsp;&mdash; that shit goes out the window. Right now in professional sports &mdash; being that it&rsquo;s pretty much allowed in all leagues right now, in some shape, form or fashion &mdash; the level of play is still through the roof... It&rsquo;s a safe and alternative way to deal with sh*t. Yes, we are supermen. We do make a lot of money. But we have a lot of stress and sh*t on our plate. Constantly. So what is our vice? What can we use to get away? What&rsquo;s available to us? Cannabis is recreationally available or decriminalized in 18 NBA markets. So, I pay taxes in this state, I hoop in this state, and you&rsquo;re trying to tell me I can&rsquo;t go to the dispensary? It makes no sense.&rdquo;
Kevin Durant may be one of those top-20 players that Harrington is speaking about. Durant <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/kevin-durant-partners-up-with-weedmaps-aims-to-destigmatize-marijuana" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recently partnered</a> with Weedmaps, an online marketplace for cannabis consumers and businesses. When he announced the partnership, Durant spoke out about destigmatizing weed.
"I think it's far past time to address the stigmas around cannabis that still exist in the sports world as well as globally," Durant <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/32051873/kevin-durant-aims-destigmatize-marijuana-use-new-partnership" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. "This partnership is going to help us continue to normalize those conversations, as well as create content, events, and a lot more through our Boardroom media network. This is just the beginning for us."
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NBA legend Allen Iverson recently became an ambassador for Viola, which is one of Harrington&rsquo;s cannabis businesses. Iverson has been open about his struggles with alcohol, and he openly wonders what would&rsquo;ve happened if he had been able to turn to marijuana instead of alcohol when he was young.
&ldquo;I used to smoke every goddamn day. It was the best feeling in the world,&rdquo; Iverson told <a href="https://www.gq.com/story/allen-iverson" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GQ</a>. &ldquo;I used to smoke and not drink sh*t. [Or] I used to smoke a blunt and drink a Corona, and I&rsquo;d be straight for the rest of the day.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Then, in 1997, Iverson was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana. As part of a plea agreement, he agreed to random drug tests every month for two years, 100 hours of community service and three years of probation. He also had to enter the NBA&rsquo;s drug treatment program.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Once they put me through that program for a year, I felt like [smoking] wasn&rsquo;t worth it,&rdquo; Iverson <a href="https://www.gq.com/story/allen-iverson" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>, adding that it made parts of his rookie season miserable. &ldquo;I had to take a hiatus. That&rsquo;s what mighta turned me into a maniac with this Dom P&eacute;rignon. &lsquo;Cause I can&rsquo;t smoke no damn more.&rdquo;
For Iverson, marijuana never felt like a responsible option.
&ldquo;[Weed] always had a negative stigma with it. Until all these years later, you find out you&rsquo;ve had it all wrong,&rdquo; Iverson told <a href="https://www.gq.com/story/allen-iverson" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GQ</a>. &ldquo;I remember getting arrested for having a blunt and being all on ESPN. I was taunted when I was playing. Called &lsquo;Weed Head&rsquo; from people in the crowd. &lsquo;Where&rsquo;s the marijuana? Who&rsquo;s got the blunt, AI?&rsquo; I had to go through that throughout my career, particularly when I was younger. And look how far it&rsquo;s come now. That stigma. Them criticizing it as they were, it&rsquo;s like, &lsquo;Y&rsquo;all had it all wrong.&rsquo;&rdquo;
It remains to be seen whether the NBA&rsquo;s decision to suspend marijuana testing is temporary, but it certainly seems like the league is open-minded when it comes to this issue. Perhaps if some of the league's most notable players speak out (as Harrington predicts), the NBA will permanently do away with marijuana testing.

Al Harrington says that 85% of NBA players use cannabis, and that three top-20 players will speak out about their marijuana use soon.