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Magic

Make some room, Phi Slama Jama. Another Houston team has reached the top of men&rsquo;s college basketball.
Nearly four decades after Clyde Drexler and Akeem Olajuwon took the Cougars to No. 1, the latest bunch led by Marcus Sasser and star freshman Jarace Walker took over the top spot in the AP Top 25 on Monday. They received 45 of 63 first-place votes from the national media panel, easily outdistancing second-place Texas and third-place Virginia.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not like we went online and applied for it and waited for a response back. We&rsquo;ve been working for this,&rdquo; said Houston coach Kelvin Sampson, whose team is coming off a Final Four and Elite Eight trip the past two seasons. &ldquo;But remember, it&rsquo;s a rental. You don&rsquo;t own it. You&rsquo;re just renting it because someday somebody else is going to be No. 1.&rdquo;
North Carolina had been No. 1 all season, but the Tar Heels lost to Iowa State and in a four-overtime thriller to Alabama at the Phil Knight Invitational to cede the top spot to Houston, which beat Kent State in its only game last week.
The last time the Cougars ascended to No. 1 was the final poll of the 1982-83 season, when &ldquo;The Glide&rdquo; and &ldquo;The Dream&rdquo; along with coach Guy Lewis were the favorites to win it all. They rolled through the NCAA Tournament before falling to Jim Valvano and North Carolina State in an iconic championship game in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never been ranked No. 1,&rdquo; said Sampson, now in his 34th season as a college basketball coach. &ldquo;We were ranked all 12 years at Oklahoma. I&rsquo;m sure we were ranked at Indiana. Then we&rsquo;ve been ranked five or six straight years. We&rsquo;re used to having a high level of success.&rdquo;
Texas received eight first-place votes and Virginia received two. Arizona climbed from 14th to fourth after emerging from a stacked field to win the Maui Invitational. Purdue jumped from 24th all the way to fifth and scooped up eight first-place votes after beating West Virginia, Gonzaga and Duke at the Phil Knight Legacy tourney.
&ldquo;Our guys are competitive. They&rsquo;re fun to coach. They get along. They&rsquo;re out there playing with purpose and that&rsquo;s what you have to have,&rdquo; said Boilermakers coach Matt Painter, whose team was briefly No. 1 about this time last season.
&ldquo;Early in the season, very few teams play with the purpose collectively,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I thought our guys played with a purpose.&rdquo;
Baylor was sixth, Creighton seventh and U Conn climbed from 20th to eighth after beating Oregon, Alabama and Iowa State to win the Phil Knight Invitational. Kansas fell from third to ninth after losing to Tennessee in the championship game of the Battle 4 Atlantis, while Indiana rounded out the top 10.
There was a tie for 11th between SEC rivals Alabama and Arkansas with the Volunteers, another conference foe, right behind them. Gonzaga dropped from sixth to 14th, its first time outside the top 10 since Feb. 5, 2018, and Auburn was 15th.
Illinois was next followed by Duke and North Carolina in a tough week for Tobacco Road. The Blue Devils fell from eighth after their 75-56 loss to the Boilermakers.
Kentucky and Michigan State joined UCLA, Maryland, Iowa State, San Diego State and Ohio State in rounding out the poll.
RISING AND FALLING
Purdue made a rare 19-spot jump as the poll underwent a massive shakeup. UConn climbed 12 spots, Arizona moved up 10, Tennessee climbed nine and Alabama seven. On the flip side, the Tar Heels tumbled 17 spots, Duke dropped nine, Gonzaga fell eight and San Diego State fell seven.
IN AND OUT
Despite all the movement, Iowa State was the only newcomer this week, checking in at No. 23 after beating Villanova and North Carolina before falling to UConn. The Cyclones replaced Iowa, which dropped out after a one-week stay following its loss to TCU in the title game of the Emerald Coast Classic.
CONFERENCE WATCH
There are six difference conferences represented in the first seven teams in the poll. The Big Ten leads the way with six in the Top 25 while the SEC has five and the Big 12 has four, though three of them are in the top 10.&nbsp;

Make some room, Phi Slama Jama. Another Houston team has reached the top of men’s college basketball.

Houston reaches No. 1 in AP poll for first time since 1983

NEW YORK &ndash; WNBA Draft Lottery 2023 presented by State Farm&reg; will be broadcast on Friday, Nov. 11, at 5:30 p.m. ET, the WNBA announced.
ESPN2 will air a 30-minute WNBA Draft Lottery special leading into its women&rsquo;s college basketball game that evening featuring defending National Champion South Carolina at Maryland (6 p.m. ET). WNBA Head of League Operations Bethany Donaphin will reveal the results of the Lottery during ESPN2&rsquo;s coverage from Bristol, Conn. &nbsp;ESPN networks will present the Draft Lottery for the 11th consecutive year.
The Indiana Fever, Atlanta Dream, Washington Mystics (from Los Angeles via Atlanta), and Minnesota Lynx have qualified for the 22nd annual WNBA Draft Lottery. The winner will secure the top pick in WNBA Draft 2023 presented by State Farm&reg;, which is currently scheduled to take place on Monday, April 10.
Lottery odds are based on the cumulative records of the two most recent regular seasons (2021 and 2022). &nbsp;With a cumulative record of 11-57, the Fever will have the most chances to land the top pick (442 out of 1,000) and are guaranteed at least the third pick.
Atlanta, which posted a combined record over two seasons of 22-46, will have 276 chances out of 1,000 to win the top pick. Washington has the third-most chances (178) after obtaining the right to swap its own 2023 first-round pick with Atlanta for Los Angeles&rsquo; (25-43) 2023 first-round pick previously acquired by Atlanta in a deal in February 2022. Minnesota (36-32) has 104 chances.
In the drawing, 14 balls numbered 1-14 will be placed in a lottery machine and mixed. &nbsp;Four balls will be drawn to determine a four-digit combination. &nbsp;The team assigned that four-ball combination will receive the No. 1 pick. The four balls will then be placed back into the machine and the process will be repeated to determine the second pick. &nbsp;The team with the lowest cumulative two-year record whose numerical combinations do not come up in the first two four-ball combinations will select third and the remaining team will select fourth.
The order of selection for the remainder of the first round as well as the second and third rounds is determined by inverse order of the teams&rsquo; respective regular-season records solely from 2022. A representative from the independent accounting firm Ernst &amp; Young will be in attendance to oversee the Draft Lottery process. Below are the number of chances for teams to land the top pick in WNBA Draft Lottery 2023 presented by State Farm&reg;.
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/2022-wnba-lottery_690w.png" alt="" />
* On Apr. 6, 2022, Washington obtained the right to swap its own 2023 first-round pick for Los Angeles&rsquo; 2023 first-round pick acquired by Atlanta in the Erica Wheeler/Chennedy Carter/Li Yueru trade on Feb. 5, 2022. &nbsp;.
# On Feb. 3, 2022, Chicago received Phoenix&rsquo;s 2023 first-round pick from the Mercury and Julie Allemand from Indiana in a three-team trade that also saw Phoenix obtain Diamond DeShields from Chicago while Indiana received Bria Hartley and a 2023 second-round selection from Phoenix and first-round picks in 2022 and 2023 from Chicago.
^ On Mar. 8, 2022, Indiana obtained Dallas&rsquo; own 2023 first-round pick and Dallas&rsquo; two 2022 first-round selections (No. 4 and No. 6) in exchange for Teaira McCowan, Indiana&rsquo;s pick at No. 7 in the 2022 draft and Chicago&rsquo;s 2023 first-round selection previously acquired by Indiana.

The Fever, Dream, Mystics (from LA via Atlanta), and Lynx have qualified for the 22nd annual WNBA Draft Lottery.

WNBA Draft Lottery 2023 scheduled for Nov. 11

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

NEW YORK &ndash; Chicago Sky General Manager and Head Coach James Wade has been named the 2022 WNBA Basketball Executive of the Year, the WNBA announced today. &nbsp;For his work in the general manager role, Wade has earned the honor as the league&rsquo;s top basketball executive for the first time.
The voting panel to determine the WNBA Basketball Executive of the Year was composed of one basketball executive from each WNBA team. &nbsp;Each executive submitted a ballot with a first-place vote, second-place vote and third-place vote. &nbsp;Wade won the award by being named on the most ballots (11). &nbsp;Atlanta Dream General Manager and Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Dan Padover (seven ballots) and Washington Mystics General Manager and Head Coach Mike Thibault (six ballots) finished in second and third place, respectively.
Under the direction of Wade, the defending WNBA champion Sky finished tied for the best record in the WNBA (26-10) in the regular season and posted the highest winning percentage in franchise history (.722).
After entering the past offseason with only one returning starter (Candace Parker) under contract for the 2022 season, Wade and the Sky re-signed 2021 WNBA Finals MVP Kahleah Copper, six-time league assists leader Courtney Vandersloot and two-time Kia WNBA Sixth Player of the Year Allie Quigley.
Wade also added forward Emma Meesseman and rookie guard Rebekah Gardner as free-agent signings. &nbsp;Meesseman, who joined Parker and Copper to give the Sky three former WNBA Finals MVPs in the starting lineup, averaged 12.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.4 steals and was selected as a WNBA All-Star. &nbsp;Gardner, who made her WNBA debut this season at age 31, averaged 8.4 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.4 steals.
In offseason trades, Wade and the Sky also acquired guard Julie Allemand from the Indiana Fever, a 2023 first-round draft pick from the Phoenix Mercury and the rights to center Li Yueru from the Los Angeles Sparks.
Behind four 2022 WNBA All-Stars in Copper, Meesseman, Parker and Vandersloot, Chicago led the WNBA in field goal percentage (48.1) and assists (24.3 apg) and ranked second in scoring (86.3 ppg) and blocked shots (4.3 bpg) this season.
The Sky hired Wade as general manager and head coach in November 2018. &nbsp;In his first season with Chicago, he was named the 2019 WNBA Coach of the Year to become the first Sky head coach to win the annual award.
Below is the list of recipients of the WNBA Basketball Executive of the Year Award since its inception in 2017.
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/2022-wnba-executive-results_690w.png" alt="" />

Under Wade, the defending WNBA champions tied for the best record and had the highest winning percentage in franchise history.

Sky’s James Wade named 2022 WNBA Basketball Executive of the Year

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

WNBA Power Rankings 5/22

Year 26 of the WNBA is finally here! There will be plenty of storylines to follow this year: Swan songs for long-time legends (Sylvia Fowles, Sue Bird), highly anticipated returns (Elena Delle Donne), new faces in new places (Tina Charles and Liz Cambage among others), and plenty of young stars looking to make leaps. It's a great time to get invested in the W if you haven't already.
Opening night was a doozy: four games featuring eight teams with wildly different expectations. Every game got my brain churning in some capacity, and the same can be said for my pal <a href="https://twitter.com/MG_Schindler" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mark Schindler</a>.
So, naturally, we decided to team up and share our takeaways from each game. Let's dig in!
INDIANA FEVER VS WASHINGTON MYSTICS
THE SCORE: 84-70 MYSTICS
THE STORY: MYSTICS' OFFENSE SCARY HOURS
This was a weird game to say the least, something that will likely be the norm for an extremely young Fever team that started three rookies and had five who played significant rotation minutes last night.
The youth was apparent, but so was the budding potential. NaLyssa Smith finished her first game in the pros with a 13-point, 13-rebound double-double while showcasing the footwork, fluidity and athleticism that make her a remarkable prospect.
Destanni Henderson carved up the floor with passes, hitting cutters with ease and operating out of ball screens with the guile that made her a joy to watch at South Carolina.
Most importantly, seeing a healthy Elena Delle Donne back was just awesome. She's gone through an insane amount medically in the past few seasons, and to come in without a minutes restriction was great.
The 84 points scored by the Mystics last night undersells the brilliant flashes they put together offensively. While noting again that this Fever team is of course inexperienced, Washington put them through the ringer. They threw so many actions and looks at the wall in the first game that impressed, and it felt like a playoff gameplan at times. The second Crystal Dangerfield checked into the game, sets were called to run lead guard Natasha Cloud off screens or cuts to post the much smaller Dangerfield up and draw a foul or easy bucket.
Cloud saw the court extremely well last night, and her control of the offense and ability to shift east and west to find better angles to attack was impressive.&nbsp;
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For a roughly five-minute stretch in the second quarter, the Mystics went to Delle Donne at the 5 with Cloud, Ariel Atkins, Shatori Walker-Kimbrough and Tianna Hawkins. All five players can shoot, pass, handle and attack the floor. While it's not a look that the Mystics can fully embrace for large chunks of the game, the run they went on (outscoring Indiana by 8 in a 4:47 stretch, per InStat scouting) showed glimpses of a potent lineup.
With Delle Donne up screening this high and three shooters fanned out, Fever rookie big Queen Egbo has to play at the level. Cloud is capable of hitting a pull-up two against drop. Delle Donne is too good of a shooter from *checks notes* everywhere to give her any modicum of space. It's hard to draw help from any of the off-ball defenders given the personnel the Mystics are employing.
Washington went repeatedly to a 5-out look with this group. Space Delle Donne and use Hawkins as a popper off a pick for Cloud, as she can drive to the basket off a hard close. This is a stout group defensively as well! There's length and mobility. While they'd likely struggle against a true post, the offense feels like it could be so good that it can dictate matchups and opposing lineups.
This Mystics team has a chance to really pop, and it's great to see them whole again. - Mark
STRAY THOUGHTS
-&nbsp;I was a bit surprised by how straight-up the Fever defended the Mystics in this one. Pick-and-rolls were defended two-on-two, often allowing Delle Donne to pop into open space or, if the Fever executed a late switch, drivers to get one-on-ones against bigs. Delle Donne saw plenty of single coverage on post-ups, including a notable up-and-under against NyLyssa Smith. Bless her heart.&nbsp;
- On the pick-and-roll front, I'm curious to see how teams defend the Cloud-Delle Donne duo moving forward. Drop is a non-starter, and switches aren't ideal considering the scoring ability of both. Do you really want to give Delle Donne short-roll opportunities with traps? Good luck.
- The post-up bullying aside, it was nice to see Dangerfield scooting around out there. I'm still a little shellshocked by the Lynx waiving her, especially considering the struggles they had generating offense in their game against the Storm. - Nekias
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
LOS ANGELES SPARKS VS CHICAGO SKY
THE SCORE: 98-91 (OT), SPARKS
THE STORY: DANA EVANS!!!!
The most competitive game of the evening was also a cagey affair! Both teams have new faces in prominent roles, and it was clear that both coaching staffs were trying to pinpoint these new areas early to test the waters of their personnel.
Chennedy Carter had great flashes as a scorer out of transition and in the halfcourt, but she was also on a very different rhythm than the rest of the team, which was to be expected in her first game in LA. Derek Fisher rode with Jordin Canada down the stretch, as she cut up the Sky in the halfcourt on drives and set up her teammates extremely well. They don't win the game without her shotmaking (and that call on the last shot).
Candace Parker and Nneka Ogwumike were both fantastic &mdash; Parker with her playmaking and defensive freneticism, Ogwumike with her aggression on offense and defense as well. It was great to see Nneka look this fluid and fully healthy.
The story of the game for me was backup guard Dana Evans. A member of the Sky's title team as a rookie last season, Evans shined bright, going for a career-high 24 points, easily surpassing her 14-point outing that paced her scoring last season.
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Evans toggled on and off the ball, which made her performance all the more impressive. She got to her pull-up and operated well as a ball-handler in pick-and-roll. She canned some deep threes, which opened up even more for her off the catch. She was great intiating sets and then relocating and making herself involved in play, which is essential playing alongside star players.
Evans was great drawing contact, finishing through it and making herself a weapon as a secondary scorer and advantage attacker last night, feasting off of initial plays in sets.&nbsp;
With Julie Allemand (part of the Diamond DeShields trade in the offseason) coming over from overseas to play soon, it'll be interesting to see how the backup guard rotation shapes up in Chicago. Allie Quigley was out last night and Kahleah Copper (who is also finishing up overseas play) is really the only true wing on the roster. As <a href="https://twitter.com/5outbasketball" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Peter Kilkelly</a> pointed out last night, we should expect a lot of 3-guard sets from the Sky this season. This was a special, special performance from Dana that perhaps signified even more reason for excitement this season. - Mark
STRAY THOUGHTS
-&nbsp;Consider me intrigued with Chicago's frontcourt. Starting big with Parker, newcomer Emma Meesseman, and Azura Stevens is sure to pose problems for everyone. That combination of size and ball skills can only be matched by... two other teams? Maybe three? To the three-guard point, I'm excited to see more of the Parker-Meesseman duo. They already showcased some high-low chemistry in the opener.
- How about Jordin Canada, Starting Point Guard? It's about darn time! She's been one of the W's best drivers and point-of-attack defenders for quite some time. Watching her direct the offense and call her own number down the stretch was pretty fun. I don't think she's a 21-and-8 player, but there's clearly more in the bag than she was able to show in Seattle.
- Chennedy Carter is playing basketball again! Her shot creation should pop in this bench role. One might say she'll provide a Spark. - Nekias
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LAS VEGAS ACES VS PHOENIX MERCURY
THE SCORE: 106-88, ACES
THE STORY: OFFENSIVE FREEDOM
Let's get the caveats out of the way early. It's one (1) game. The Mercury, in particular, were missing a ton of talent. There was no Brittney Griner (GET BRITTNEY HOME) as she's still detained in Russia. Brianna Turner, one of the best young frontcourt players in the W, is still playing overseas. The same is true for Diamond DeShields, one of the most athletic wings in the W. That's a pretty large chunk of the Mercury's defensive infrastructure missing.&nbsp;
With that said:&nbsp;whew, buddy, did the Aces put the ball in the basket.
Not only did they drop 106 points, a mark they eclipsed just twice last season, the way they went about it was encouraging.&nbsp;
With A'ja Wilson starting alongside Dearica Hamby, there was more space to operate with. The pace was pushed more frequently &mdash; they won the fastbreak points battle, 15-6 &mdash; and the tempo was up in the half-court. More pace and space means Wilson and Hamby getting busy as screeners or post hubs. Actions with an empty corner have a little more juice now.
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Ah, and then there were the threes.&nbsp;
The Aces were the league's most efficient offense last season, but did so in the most predictable, traditionalist way. They fed the block and brutalized opponents inside. This wasn't a team that shot threes often; their 13.5 attempts last season ranked last in the league by a pretty decent margin.&nbsp;
The tide seems to be turning for the group under new head coach Becky Hammon. They attempted 23 triples in their lone preseason game. They took 21 on Friday night, making 11 of them. It was, per the broadcast, the third time in&nbsp;franchise history&nbsp;that they made 11 or more threes in a game.&nbsp;
Between Kelsey Plum and Chelsea Gray bombing away from deep (hitting a combined 6-of-11 from three), and the complementary play styles (and general mobility) of Wilson and Hamby, it should come as no shock that Jackie Young (20 points on 8-of-10 shooting) was also&nbsp;able to shake loose.
Good freaking luck with this group. - Nekias
STRAY THOUGHTS
- I've already started the Kelsey Plum All-Star campaign, and Kelsey has done so accordingly with her play!
- I was so so impressed by Las Vegas' ball movement and connective passing. While it's important to note that the Mercury were pretty depleted heading into game one, the Aces exacerbated all the advantages they could find and make.
- Jackie Young!!! Entering her fourth season, I have really high expectations for who Jackie can be. With a new coach and system, I think Friday night was a glimpse of her bright spots from past years as well as how beneficial pacing and an even more spread floor benefits her game. She's so strong on her power-drives to the rim and such a fantastic mid-range shooter on a variety of self-created looks. Her defense on Diana Taurasi was extremely fun and effective as well, really sticking to her off the ball. - Mark
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SEATTLE STORM VS MINNESOTA LYNX
THE SCORE: 97-74, STORM
THE STORY: GABBY WILLIAMS IS BACK
It's been a tumultuous stretch from Gabby Williams, a UConn standout turned gap-filler for the Chicago Sky. She had her contract suspended for roster-spot reasons &mdash; you can get a breakdown of that ordeal <a href="https://www.courant.com/sports/uconn-womens-basketball/hc-sp-uconn-women-gabby-williams-explainer-20210508-20210507-gtqqe5sspjdrfncall7kpcxzm4-story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a> &mdash; and was then traded from the Sky to the Los Angeles Sparks before the 2021 season began.
She was traded again over the offseason, this time to the Seattle Storm for Katie Lou Samuelson and the pick (#9 overall) that became Rae Burrell.
We're only a game in, but this is already looking like one of the best moves of the offseason for the Storm.
Wiilliams can do just about everything but shoot from deep (as she's a career 24.8% from three), which bodes well for a Storm team as active as this one.&nbsp;
Offensively, she's able to get the machine churning with her passing ability. Whether it's making entry passes, making kicks off the dribble or running the occasional ball screen, Williams can find her teammates. Off the ball, she's a willing screener and heady cutter. You can't really afford to "gap" her because she'll make herself &mdash; or a teammate &mdash; a threat.
The real appeal comes on the other end. Williams is a true multi-positional defender. She has the mobility to slide with guards, can deal with virutally any wing you throw at her, and is pesky enough to bother bigger players as well. Watching her slither across screens and mirror ball-handlers is a joy.&nbsp;
For people who aren't familiar or needed the reminder of what she can do defensively, look no further than her work in the second quarter of this game. These are just&nbsp;three&nbsp;examples of her versatility.
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You get it all here. Active hands, timely rotations off the ball, switchability, contesting without fouling. She's a beast. - Nekias
STRAY THOUGHTS
- I'm super intrigued by who Jessica Shepard could be for this team. Her shot was there and she looked confident in it. She displayed some really fun and tantalizing ball skills and court vision as a DHO operator and high-post playmaker. With the Lynx this depleted to start the season, they'll need as much as she can offer as well.
- The Storm miss Mercedes Russell's post presence without a doubt, as Sylvia Fowles bodied them early (a norm for W frontcourt players the past decade-and-a-half). Yet, their ability to rotate backline and flash recovery skills and communicate as a defense throughout the game was impressive. Williams and Briann January bring extra pop at the point of attack and this team shows real capability early to be a more stout defense. - Mark
<a href="https://twitter.com/MG_Schindler" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mark Schindler contributed to this article.</a>
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Nekias Duncan and Mark Schindler team up to give their observations from the opening night of the 2022 WNBA season.

2022 WNBA season: Thoughts from each opening-night game

The following is a press release from the NBA:
CLEVELAND&nbsp;&ndash; Fifteen international players from 12 countries, including six international All-Stars and a record-tying four international All-Star Game starters, will participate in NBA All-Star 2022 in Cleveland from Friday, Feb. 18 &ndash; Sunday, Feb. 20.&nbsp; NBA All-Star 2022 will reach fans in 215 countries and territories in a record 60 languages on their televisions, computers, mobile phones and tablets.
Below are international highlights of this year&rsquo;s global celebration of basketball:
INTERNATIONAL PLAYERS
<ul>
<li>The 71st NBA All-Star Game, which tips off on Sunday, Feb. 20 at 8 p.m. ET on TNT, will feature six international All-Stars and a record-tying four international starters.&nbsp; Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks; Greece; ties to Nigeria) and Nikola Jokić (Denver Nuggets; Serbia) will start for Team LeBron, while Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers; Cameroon) and Andrew Wiggins (Golden State Warriors; Canada) will start for Team Durant.&nbsp; They are joined by Team LeBron reserve Luka Dončić (Dallas Mavericks; Slovenia) and Team Durant reserve Rudy Gobert (Utah Jazz; France).</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Clorox Rising Stars, which will take place on Friday, Feb. 18 at 9 p.m. ET on TNT, will feature a new format of four seven-player teams competing in a three-game mini-tournament, with each game played to a Final Target Score.&nbsp; The pool of 28 players includes six international players: Precious Achiuwa (Toronto Raptors; Nigeria), Chris Duarte (Indiana Pacers; Dominican Republic), Josh Giddey (Oklahoma City Thunder; Australia), Alperen Şeng&uuml;n (Houston Rockets; Turkey), Franz Wagner (Orlando Magic; Germany) and Dyson Daniels (NBA G League Ignite; Australia).</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>With their participation in Clorox Rising Stars, Giddey and Daniels, who were teammates at NBA Global Academy in Canberra, Australia, from 2019-2020, become the first NBA Academy alumni to participate in NBA All-Star.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The Taco Bell&reg; Skills Challenge, which is part of State Farm All-Star Saturday night on Feb. 19 at 8 p.m. ET on TNT, will also feature a new format in which three teams of three players will participate in a four-round competition that tests shooting, passing and dribbling ability.&nbsp; One of the teams is composed of three Antetokounmpo brothers: Giannis and Thanasis Antetokounmpo (Bucks; Greece; ties to Nigeria) and Alex Antetokounmpo (NBA G League&rsquo;s Raptors 905; Greece; ties to Nigeria).</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Eight players competing at NBA All-Star 2022 are from or have ties to Africa: Achiuwa, the three Antetokounmpo brothers, Desmond Bane (Memphis Grizzlies; ties to Nigeria), Ayo Dosunmu (Chicago Bulls; ties to Nigeria), Embiid and Isaac Okoro (Cleveland Cavaliers; ties to Nigeria).</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>New this year, the NBA G League&rsquo;s top young players, including G League Ignite&rsquo;s Daniels and Fanbo Zeng (China), will be on display in the inaugural NBA G League Next Gem Game, which will feature G League Ignite taking on the Cleveland Charge on Sunday, Feb. 20 at 2 p.m. ET on NBA TV, NBA TV International, and in China on Tencent and MIGU.</li>
</ul>
GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION
<ul>
<li>A total of 72 international broadcast partners will televise NBA All-Star 2022.&nbsp; Six international television and radio networks &ndash; from France, Greece, Latin America, Mongolia, Poland and Spain &ndash; will conduct live onsite commentary from Cleveland, and three television networks &ndash; from India, Netherlands and Norway &ndash; will broadcast NBA All-Star remotely for the first time.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Fans outside North America will also be able to watch Clorox Rising Stars, State Farm All-Star Saturday Night and the NBA All-Star Game live and on-demand through NBA League Pass via <a href="https://insights.nba.com/PoliteMail/default.aspx?page=zoU9Gcb3YESIAP7onvjQYw&amp;ref_id=r2DLozbAkESbJ37egIWA4A" target="_blank" rel="noopener">watch.NBA.com</a> and <a href="https://insights.nba.com/PoliteMail/default.aspx?page=BGLjtJbUSEKZ3TxszIgasA&amp;ref_id=r2DLozbAkESbJ37egIWA4A" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the NBA App</a>.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Fans around the world will be able to vote for the MVPs of the Ruffles NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, Clorox Rising Stars and the NBA All-Star Game via NBA.com, the NBA App and Twitter.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>On Sunday, Feb. 20 from 11 a.m. &ndash; 2 p.m. ET, fans around the world can watch a livestream of All-Star Game players and coaches conducting media availabilities at <a href="https://insights.nba.com/PoliteMail/default.aspx?page=3HYWzdXImUWzU3gUE-9O-g&amp;ref_id=r2DLozbAkESbJ37egIWA4A" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mediaavail.nba.com</a>.</li>
</ul>
CELEBRITIES &amp; INFLUENCERS
<ul>
<li>The Ruffles NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, which tips off on Friday, Feb. 18 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN, will feature Puerto Rican rapper and singer Anuel AA; Indian American singer/songwriter Anjali Ranadiv&eacute;; Bollywood superstar Ranveer Singh; 2020 Olympic high jump gold medalist Gianmarco Tamberi from Italy; and Cleveland Cavaliers Legend and Brazil native Anderson Varej&atilde;o.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Singh, who in September was named the NBA Brand Ambassador for India, will be one of more than two dozen influencers attending NBA All-Star 2022, where he will post behind-the-scenes social media content and have the opportunity to meet NBA players and legends.&nbsp; Singh will also become the second Bollywood star to play in the Celebrity Game.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Singh headlines a group of international influencers from Argentina, France, India, Japan, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Senegal, South Africa, Spain and the UK who will experience NBA All-Star 2022 in person, receiving exclusive access to the weekend&rsquo;s events and creating All-Star-themed content for fans in their home markets.</li>
</ul>
ALL-STAR CELEBRATIONS ABROAD
In addition to the events in Cleveland, fans around the world will be able to share in the excitement of NBA All-Star 2022 through a variety of international activations and programming:
<ul>
<li>In Canada, the &ldquo;NBA 75th Shop,&rdquo; a digital retail experience that pays tribute to the players and moments that have shaped the growth of basketball across the country, features a <a href="https://insights.nba.com/PoliteMail/default.aspx?page=2icFrxLx0UmWFb58V9B7Vw&amp;ref_id=r2DLozbAkESbJ37egIWA4A" target="_blank" rel="noopener">figurine depicting eight-time All-Star and Raptors Legend Vince Carter</a> at the 2000 Slam Dunk contest and an &ldquo;<a href="https://insights.nba.com/PoliteMail/default.aspx?page=Ss8TfIZrIUqK4tlSdhYWOQ&amp;ref_id=r2DLozbAkESbJ37egIWA4A">ice block</a>&rdquo; commemorating the 2016 Slam Dunk contest in Toronto, the first NBA All-Star held outside the U.S.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>On Feb. 18, Mexican artist Alee Baes is launching exclusive All-Star-themed merchandise and giving away 16 special-edition Wilson basketballs in collaboration with the NBA at the league&rsquo;s official retail location in Mexico, NBA Tienda in Polanco.&nbsp; The collection will also be available at <a href="https://insights.nba.com/PoliteMail/default.aspx?page=ibGQ_qNzG0KhKkx1nZQUsA&amp;ref_id=r2DLozbAkESbJ37egIWA4A" target="_blank" rel="noopener">nbatienda.com</a>, the league&rsquo;s official online destination in the country.&nbsp; In addition, Cavaliers Legend Anderson Varej&atilde;o is filming a number of content pieces while on site in Cleveland that will be shared on the NBA&rsquo;s social media platforms in his native Brazil.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>From Feb. 7-21, Cosmote Sport, the league&rsquo;s broadcast partner in Greece, is running a 24/7 NBA pop-up channel featuring live NBA All-Star events, original programming, classic games, highlights and more.&nbsp; Eleven Sport and beIN SPORTS, the league&rsquo;s broadcast partners in Belgium and France, respectively, are hosting competitions in which winners will attend All-Star 2022.&nbsp; In addition, the NBA Fan Clubs in Greece and Spain are organizing NBA All-Star sweepstakes and quizzes featuring merchandise giveaways and special prizes.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The league&rsquo;s social media platforms in Australia, Japan and the Philippines will produce All-Star-themed programming to promote the weekend&rsquo;s events.&nbsp; The Dime, a recap show on the NBA&rsquo;s Facebook page in Australia, will feature Australian Rising Stars participants Josh Giddey and Dyson Daniels.&nbsp; NBA Zoom-In, a show on the NBA&rsquo;s TikTok channel in Japan hosted by Japanese influencer Rikuto, will preview and recap highlights from the weekend.&nbsp; Republika Huddle, the league&rsquo;s social media talk show in the Philippines, will revisit previous editions of NBA All-Star and provide predictions for this year&rsquo;s marquee events.</li>
</ul>

Fifteen international players, including six All-Stars and a record-tying four All-Star Game starters, will represent in Cleveland.

15 international players from 12 countries will be at All-Star Weekend

You know, Mario Chalmers was on this list.
And then, the Miami Heat have a COVID outbreak, and guess who&rsquo;s back in the 305 despite strugglinig in the G League and in Puerto Rico this year? You guessed it: Rio, the former LeBron James soundboard, the damn Alaskan Assassin and two-time NBA champion.
(To his credit, <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/international/players/mario-chalmers-1.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he did play well in Greece last season</a> though.)
But it signals where we are. This 2021-2022 season, we&rsquo;ve already seen more basketball players suit up in NBA uniforms than any campaign prior. We haven&rsquo;t even begun the whole 2022 portion of this yet. In fact, we&rsquo;re a good two or three weeks from being halfway through the season.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Wild stat via <a href="https://twitter.com/StatsWilliams?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@StatsWilliams</a> of <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNStatsInfo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ESPNStatsInfo</a>: 541 NBA players have played in at least one game this season, setting a record for the most in a season&hellip;ever. It&rsquo;s Dec. 27.
&mdash; Baxter Holmes (@Baxter) <a href="https://twitter.com/Baxter/status/1475649242278477826?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 28, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Seemingly everyone&rsquo;s making jokes about staying ready for that call, but at this point, I&rsquo;m looking at my high school stats like, hmm, maybe I could <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/basketball/news/76ers-myles-powell-enters-health-and-safety-protocols/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fill in for Myles Powell</a> if I still got it. (I don&rsquo;t. Never quite did either. This.... was always the more likely path.)
Believe it or not, there are&nbsp;still&nbsp;some names we&rsquo;re going to see pop up who haven&rsquo;t yet gotten the NBA opportunity during this already historic season. Some veterans are coming close enough to get noticed, while others are overseas yet to get a call because it&rsquo;s just easier to pull a G Leaguer for 10 days. (More on that later, but not too much later.)
Kenneth Faried, Grand Rapids Gold 
Kenneth Faried, 32, might get back on his name, and he was a good-ass player for a time. The explosive rim-runner enjoyed an eight-year NBA run from 2011-2019, which included <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/f/farieke01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">peak seasons of 13.0 points and 8.7 rebounds per game on 53.6% shooting</a> between 2013-2016 as an everyday starter for the Denver Nuggets. He's posted 11.4 points and 8.1 rebounds over his NBA career on 54.6% from the field.
Like many other vets, he was a step behind the productivity he once displayed; then, you looked up one day and the dude was out of the league. Even after being a center for the small-ball Houston Rockets of 2018-19, posting 12.9 points and 8.2 rebounds in just over 24 minutes per game, shooting nearly 60% from the field and having the third-best win shares per 48 minutes on the team at .198 (after James Harden and Clint Capela), we haven&rsquo;t seen him in the NBA since.
In 2019-20, he played in China, averaging 17/10 while <a href="https://basketball.realgm.com/player/Kenneth-Faried/Summary/2303#International" target="_blank" rel="noopener">primarily coming off the bench</a>, but considering what former NBAers tend to do in the Chinese Basketball Association, it didn&rsquo;t garner much attention. He suited up for three games in Puerto Rico earlier this year for Leones de Ponce. One of his teammates, Aleem Ford, is currently with the Orlando Magic.
We also saw Faried suit up for the Portland Trail Blazers summer league team in August, where he <a href="https://basketball.realgm.com/nba/summer/1/NBA-Summer-League/47/stats/Portland-Trail-Blazers/24/Averages/All/trb/All/desc/1/Summer_League" target="_blank" rel="noopener">led the team in rebounds by about three per game despite being ninth in minutes</a>.&nbsp;
As <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-veterans-kenneth-faried-and-earl-clark-join-g-league-affiliates" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BasketballNews.com noted earlier this week</a>, Faried is returning to the G League, presumably for an advantage in proximity. Faried is coming off a stint with CSKA Moscow of VTB United and the EuroLeague, where he struggled.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/international/players/kenneth-faried-1.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">He averaged fewer than 3 points and 3 rebounds in 11 games</a> while coming off the bench and shooting 33.3%. Someone might be willing to overlook that if he&rsquo;s decent in the G League. Faried will be with the Grand Rapids Gold, the Denver Nuggets afflilate (and where Lance Stephenson played before inking his Atlanta Hawks hardship deal).
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Earl Clark, Sioux Falls Skyforce 
That Earl Clark!?!??!?!?
Yeah, Clark is returning to the G League along with Faried, and will be suiting up with the Sioux Falls Skyforce, the Miami Heat's affiliate. Clark was a lottery pick in 2009, and after six years in the NBA, he hasn&rsquo;t returned. His career averages stand at 4.4 points and 3.0 rebounds on 40/33/66 shooting splits.&nbsp;
Outside of the NBA, the 34-year-old Louisville alum <a href="https://basketball.realgm.com/player/Earl-Clark/Summary/1619#International" target="_blank" rel="noopener">had stints in the G League, China, Turkey, Montenegro, Korea, and Liga ACB in Spain</a>, arguably the most competitive domestic league in the world outside of America.&nbsp;
Honestly, there ain&rsquo;t much else to say here other than, "Wow." Watching Clark return after seven years would (respectfully) be more improbable than Julianna Pe&ntilde;a beating the piss out of Amanda Nunes for the UFC Bantamweight Championship earlier this month. And, well, that did&nbsp;happen...
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Beşiktaş Icrypex 
A strong argument could be made that Rondae Hollis-Jefferson currently is the best player here, and it might be by a safe distance. He&rsquo;s high on the list of guys who shouldn&rsquo;t be&nbsp;out of the league&nbsp;entirely in favor of "Undrafted Rookie X," but because he&rsquo;s 6-foot-6 and never became an adequate three-point shooter, it&rsquo;s been held against him, and thus, he&rsquo;s in Turkey.&nbsp;
Hollis-Jefferson&nbsp;<a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/international/teams/besiktas/2022.html">currently leads Beşiktaş Icrypex</a> with 13.1 points per game and also puts up 4.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.1 steals in 29.4 minutes per game in the Turkish Super League. Hollis-Jefferson is hitting 49.1% of his shots from the field, 33.3% from three on 1.4 attempts per game and 79.5% on free throws on a team-high four tries per contest. Additionally, he reportedly <a href="https://www.azdesertswarm.com/basketball/2021/9/27/22697293/arizona-wildcats-rondae-hollis-jefferson-nba-turkey-besitkas-icrypex-nets-raptors-trailblazers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">has an opt-out clause</a>, which would allow him to leave for the NBA if presented with a suitable contract.
Hollis-Jefferson, a first-round pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, made his bones as a part of the Brooklyn Nets&rsquo; pre-super-team core. Most notably, he led the team in scoring and initiated the offense on many D&rsquo;Angelo Russell-less nights during the 2017-18 season.
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Covering those games, it felt like he averaged more than 2.5 assists per game; maybe it was all those hockey assists that ended up being Joe Harris, DeMarre Carroll or Allen Crabbe threes. He finished the season at 13.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.0 steals per game on 47.2% shooting from the field and 78.9% from the free-throw line on 4.6 attempts per game. He was only 13 of 54 from three, but showed the ability to create mid-range offense and attack the basket better than any other Net that season.
<a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/holliro01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Subsequent injuries limited his minutes the following season</a>. However, he did play a valuable role off the 2019-20 Toronto Raptors bench before journeying to Portland at the tail end of last season.
In a few days, he&rsquo;ll just turn 27 years old. He&rsquo;s still a multi-positional defender, an effective slasher and an instinctual passer for his position. Surprisingly, he&rsquo;s not in an NBA rotation somewhere, or even a roster, considering, well, all of this.
As an added bonus, Shane Larkin is another name to ponder, which&nbsp;<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/mulling-over-6-options-for-the-cavs-with-ricky-rubio-out-for-the-year" target="_blank" rel="noopener">our Spencer Davies mulled over earlier this week</a> when listing Ricky Rubio replacement options in Cleveland prior to the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/cavs-smart-and-swift-to-acquire-backup-point-guard-but-is-rondo-it" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rajon Rondo trade</a>.

With so many familiar faces coming back into the NBA fray, Bryan Fonseca lists a few more names who could make their return.

Other veterans worth keeping an eye on for an NBA comeback

As COVID-19 continues to rip into NBA rosters, more and more teams have been forced to look outside their organization to simply fill out minutes on the court.
You've probably been seeing your NBA notifications blowing up with transactions recently. Franchises can take advantage of the "hardship exception" in the NBA's by-laws, which state that if four or more players on the active and inactive rosters are dealing with injuries and illness, a team can sign and substitute a player. Since so many franchises are dealing with COVID-induced absences that typically last about 10 days to two weeks, dozens of free agents are inking 10-day deals to jump in for the short-term.
Meanwhile, for better or worse, the regular season chugs along. The pop-up signings can end up making an impact on rebuilding teams or playoff contenders. With some rotations pushed to the brink, hardship-exception signees might find meaningful minutes right away.
With that in mind, how are NBA teams approaching who they sign, and what types of players have been called into action?
Most of the additions have some level of NBA experience. Of the <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/nba-covid-fallout-lance-stephenson-isaiah-thomas-tyler-johnson-among-list-of-players-on-10-day-contracts/">over 35 players (and counting)</a> who have signed recent 10-day contracts, only a small handful have never appeared in a regular-season game before this season. This includes: Ade Murkey (Kings), Tyler Hall (Knicks), Aleem Ford and Hassani Gravett (Magic), Mac McClung (Bulls) and Malcolm Hill (Hawks). All but McClung turned pro at some level before 2021.
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The other end of the spectrum is also limited. Though Isaiah Thomas and Lance Stephenson might be the biggest names among hardship deals, they're two of the older players signed to date. The oldest player currently added is 34-year-old CJ Miles, who joined the Celtics after having recently signed with the G League Ignite, and last played with the Wizards in 2019-20. Miles, Thomas, Stephenson, Ersan Ilyasova, Tim Frazier and James Ennis are the hardship players to date over age-31.
Interestingly, teams have thus far been averse to adding bigs, even if they've become thin at the position. The only true centers who have been reportedly signed are Wenyen Gabriel (to the Nets), Luke Kornet (Cavaliers), Marquese Chriss (Mavericks) and Freddie Gillespie (Magic).&nbsp;
Chriss and Raptors signee Nik Stauskas are the highest former draft picks to be signed; both were selected No. 8 overall. They're also the only two former lottery picks that teams have inked deals. So, no, front offices are not using the hardship exception as some kind of way to take a swing on a castoff top selection.
What does appear to matter, however, is recent production. Thomas obviously got his shot with the Lakers after a 42-point outburst in his first G League appearance with the Grand Rapids Gold.
Others have used a longer stint in the G League Showcase period to audition. Five of the top-10 G League Showcase per-game scoring leaders have signed contracts this month: BJ Johnson (Magic), Justin Jackson (Celtics), Trevelin Queen (two-way deal with Houston), Stauskas and Jared Harper (Pelicans). Four of the other five already have their rights held by NBA franchises. Let's see who signs Kyle Guy.
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The Nets and Raptors make good example cases. Brooklyn has added four players as of this writing. Langston Galloway and James Ennis are two steady veterans who contributed to NBA teams last season, and can both bring an instantly-translatable skill with their shooting. Gabriel is averaging 13.9 points and 8.6 rebounds per game as a physical presence in the G League. Then there's Shaquille Harrison, one of the peskier defenders in pro hoops, period. All of them are low-usage, specialist contributors with multiple year of pro experience.
Toronto, meanwhile, has safety blankets for others on the roster should they enter league protocols. Tremont Waters and Brandon Goodwin are steady facilitating guards; Fred VanVleet and Malachi Flynn are reportedly now ineligible. Stauskas can replicate Svi Mykhailiuk's role to a degree. Juwan Morgan is a hybrid forward in the same vein (at least positionall) as Precious Achiuwa. The moves make sense.
My general conclusion seems to be that NBA teams are largely playing it safe with their hardship signings. Few franchises appear to be using this circumstance as a chance to swing for the fences on a young player or a comeback veteran. Most simply want to patch holes.
And though the NBA is obviously in a confusing, frustrating, possibly dangerous situation with the pandemic, it will be interesting to see who capitalizes on their small window of opportunity.

NBA teams have had to dig into 10-day signings with COVID-19's impact on rosters.

How are NBA teams using the hardship exception?

This is excerpt from Jon Finkel&rsquo;s new book &ldquo;Windmills &amp; Tomahawks: Nine Chapters on Dominique Wilkins,&rdquo; which is available Amazon <a href="https://amzn.to/3rmFUEs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a> or as a PDF on Gumroad <a href="https://jonfinkel.gumroad.com/l/ztFyb" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>. 
You know those moments in boxing matches when you can tell by the way a fighter is sitting in his corner that he&rsquo;s out of gas? His shoulders are rounded. He&rsquo;s sweaty but somehow dry-looking. His legs are heavy and far apart.
As his chest heaves and the trainer screams &ldquo;stick and move&rdquo; while smothering his eyebrows with Vaseline, the fighter stares straight ahead. He&rsquo;s not dazed, but he&rsquo;s not all there either. Then the bell rings and he rises, summoning the will to roll back into the ring.
This was Dominique Wilkins heading into the fourth quarter of game No. 81 of the 1985-86 NBA season. &rsquo;Nique was in a decimal-point duel with the Utah Jazz&rsquo;s Adrian Dantley and the Denver Nuggets&rsquo; Alex English for the season scoring title. Dantley was sitting at 29.83 points per game and English at 29.8, mere tenths of a point from crossing that magical 30-points-per-game threshold and, in this case, winning the scoring crown.
Dantley was, in today&rsquo;s parlance, a bucket. The guy averaged 30 points per game for four-straight seasons from 1981 to 1984. He&rsquo;d won two NBA scoring titles and had been in the top five several times. Alex English, a.k.a. &ldquo;The Blade,&rdquo; led the league in scoring in 1983. He, too, was a bucket.
What this means is that heading into the final few games of the &rsquo;86 season, &rsquo;Nique wasn&rsquo;t trading jabs with some chumps for the scoring title &mdash; he was battling heavyweight scoring champions.
Accordingly, he knew exactly where he stood heading into that 81st game against the New Jersey Nets. He knew what he had, and he knew what he needed to grab the scoring crown. The only people standing in his way were 6-foot-11, 250-pound Mike Gminski; 6-foot-9, 230-pound Jeff Turner; 6-foot-8, 250-pound Buck Williams, and the rest of the Nets frontcourt.
Didn&rsquo;t matter.
Throughout the &rsquo;86 season, Dominique Wilkins had seen a million defenders&hellip; and he&rsquo;d dunked &rsquo;em all. (h/t Bon Jovi).
He scored 32 in the season opener against the Washington Bullets and 40 in the fourth game against the Boston Celtics. He cruised at altitude through most of November, bouncing between 30-point games and 20-point games, and then hit the stratosphere starting in December. He had 10 games of 30 points or more from early December to early January, including this run from December 19 to January 7 with games of 29, 49, 35, 36, 32, 27, and 37 points.
The 49-point game came against the Houston Rockets, back when Hakeem Olajuwon was Akeem. The final bucket in that contest was a game-winning three-pointer with eight seconds left. It was a career high for Wilkins at the time, and it nudged him into third place in the scoring race behind English and Dantley.
&ldquo;If that&rsquo;s not an All-Star performance, I want to see the other guys in the league,&rdquo; Hawks coach Mike Fratello said.
After a two-game &ldquo;drought&rdquo; of scoring in the mid-20s following that game-winner, Wilkins laid the smack down in January, crushing defenses like Bruce Lee&rsquo;s fist through slabs of concrete. Bam. Bam. Bam.
Thirty-six against the Celtics.
Thirty-three against the Bucks.
Thirty-six against the Knicks.
Thirty-five against the Warriors.
Thirty-eight against the Nets.
The run included scoring 30-plus points in nine of 11 games and was capped off by setting the Arco Arena record with 43 points against the Sacramento Kings on February 13.
By early 1986, &rsquo;Nique was just about done polishing off his superstar CV. He&rsquo;d already won the dunk contest in &rsquo;85. He won the NBA&rsquo;s Player of the Month for January of &rsquo;86. He was named to his first All-Star game and scored 13 points in 17 minutes playing alongside his idol, Dr. J.
Check. Check. Check.
With two months to go, Wilkins was in third place in the scoring race behind English and Dantley, and to paraphrase Colonel Jessup in A Few Good Men, he wanted that scoring title&mdash;he needed that scoring title.
Everyone who followed basketball knew that Wilkins could dunk and score, but to officially be the league&rsquo;s best dunker AND best scorer &mdash; damn, that was rarified air. Up to that point, that distinction had been occupied by one man: Julius Erving. (Yeah, I know Dr. J&rsquo;s scoring titles were in the ABA&hellip; so what.)
And there was another wrinkle.
After winning a measly 34 games in &rsquo;85, the Hawks were staring down the barrel of a potential 50-win season, one of only a handful of times the franchise had a legitimate shot of reaching that number since the team moved to Atlanta.
Add it all up and, beginning on February 21, 1986, Dominique Wilkins cracked his knuckles, rolled his shoulders, bounced his head from side to side and went full Mortal Kombat on the entire NBA.
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Thirty-point games were nothing. Thirty-five-point games became normal. Forty-point games seemed to happen every week.
One night he&rsquo;d drop 38 on the Pacers, and a few days later he&rsquo;d hit the Spurs for 36. In a rare home-and-home against the 76ers in early March, he dropped 32 in the first game and 37 in the second game.
Was he tired yet?
No.
Two nights later he pasted the Bulls for 42. It was a tight game, but the Hawks won 112-108, despite Chicago throwing everything at Dominique.
&ldquo;They were really pushing me inside and played hard,&rdquo; he said afterward. &ldquo;Those 42 points, yep, we needed every one of them.&rdquo;
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Seven days later, he hit up the Celtics for 42 in a tough loss. The &ldquo;L&rdquo; halted a feel-good winning run for the Hawks that mirrored Dominique&rsquo;s onslaught. The team had won 12 of 13 games since the All-Star break and was positioning itself nicely for a top playoff spot.
At the beginning of April, the Hawks were four wins away from hitting fifty, and &rsquo;Nique was neck-and-neck-and-neck with English and Dantley for the scoring title.
Both of his goals were in his grasp.
Could he go up a level?
Would he go up a level?
Yes and yes.
On April 4 and 5, the NBA scoring lead changed hands for the 17th and 18th times that season. English had been (barely) holding on to the top spot since February, but lost it when he had an off night against Sacramento and only scored 18 points. This dropped his scoring average to 29.62. On the same night, Dantley poured in 42 against the Clippers, raising his average to 29.75 and giving him the lead.
Meanwhile, Dominique smoked the Washington Bullets for 33 and 46 in back-to-back games. The 33-point game put him in second place with a 29.64 average and his 46-point effort put him in the lead for the first time all season with a 29.9 points-per-game average. He also set another arena scoring record, tying the 46 points that Elgin Baylor put up at Capital Centre 11 years earlier.
So, with four games to go, &rsquo;Nique was in first place by a fraction of a point and the Hawks had 47 wins. After scoring 28 in a loss to the Bulls, neither &rsquo;Nique nor his squad had any wiggle room left. It was do or die. Atlanta needed to win out to hit the magic number of 50, and &rsquo;Nique likely needed to score 35 per game (at least) to capture the scoring crown.
In game No. 80, Wilkins scored 37 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter, to help secure the win. With two games remaining, here&rsquo;s where things stood:
Hawks&rsquo; win total: 48
&nbsp;
Scoring leaders:
Wilkins: 29.93 PPG
Dantley: 29.78 PPG
English: 29.70 PPG
Now we&rsquo;ve caught up to where we started this chapter &mdash; game No. 81 against the Nets and their defensive bullies.
With the 50-win total in sight and the scoring title on the brink, Wilkins shifted his car into no-more-bullshit gear and eviscerated the poor New Jersey Nets.
He scored 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting in the first quarter, and by the end of three quarters he had 41 points. It was a scoring onslaught, but the game remained tight and the scoring race was tighter. When the buzzer sounded to start the fourth quarter, &rsquo;Nique shook off the fatigue and became a hoops version of Muhammad Ali, floating like a butterfly, stinging like a bee, and draining buckets. He reeled off nine points in less than five minutes, including a hard lay-up, a dunk off a pass from Spud Webb, and a few jumpers. This gave him a career-high 50 points.
He was on fumes, but he wasn&rsquo;t done.
He hit a powerhouse baseline slam to get to 52 and then a double-clutch reverse dunk that completely emptied his tank and gave him 54 points. After the dunk, you could see it on his face. He was cashed out. His adrenaline was gone. His legs were spent. He needed a break, and coach Mike Fratello took him out for a breather.
When he returned four minutes later, he was out of rhythm. Still, he managed three more points on a jumper and a foul shot, giving him 57 on the night.
It was a new personal best.
It broke the scoring record for The Omni (52 by Nate Archibald in 1973).
It tied Bob Pettit&rsquo;s franchise record from back in 1961 when the team played in St. Louis.
Most importantly, his record game helped give the Hawks their 49th win with one game to go and put Dominique firmly in the lead for the scoring title.
His scoring average was now 30.285, a few tenths of a point ahead of English and Dantley.
&ldquo;I tell you, all these guys were looking out for me tonight,&rdquo; Wilkins said after the game. &ldquo;They were really great to me. I can&rsquo;t tell you how much I owe them.&rdquo;
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As for how he felt?
First, he was exhausted, acknowledging that he was dead tired by the end of the game.
&ldquo;I had to come out,&rdquo; Wilkins said, joking that on a tired scale of one to 10, he was an 11. &ldquo;I was tired and trying too hard.&rdquo;
And yet, one game remained.
One game to get to 50 wins.
One game to secure his scoring title.
Two days later, the scoring title was Dominique&rsquo;s when both English and Dantley conceded and sat out their final games. After crunching the numbers, even if Wilkins had somehow scored zero points in his last game, Dantley would have needed 68 points in his final game to overtake &rsquo;Nique and English would have needed 70. Wilkins&rsquo; 81st-game output was too overpowering.
&ldquo;I never thought I would be this far ahead going into the last game,&rdquo; Wilkins joked.
Rather than a three-way battle for the scoring title on the final day of the season, game No. 82 against Indiana was all about the Hawks getting their 50th win. As he&rsquo;d done all season, Wilkins said, &ldquo;I got this,&rdquo; and continued his one-man assault on the NBA&rsquo;s defenses. By the time the Pacers looked up, &rsquo;Nique had 25 points at the half, putting him on pace for back-to-back 50-point outings. The Hawks won easily, 108-91, and with the franchise-tying 50th win in hand, he took his foot off the gas and finished with 34 points.
In the end, he won the scoring title by half a point.
He averaged 30.333 points per game, Dantley averaged 29.829, and English averaged 29.802.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll take it any way I can get it,&rdquo; Wilkins said after the game.
The season-long performance also earned one final commendation when Dominique finished second in the MVP voting to Larry Bird. Magic Johnson, Hakeem Olajuwon, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Charles Barkley finished third through sixth.
***
This was an excerpt from Jon Finkel&rsquo;s new digital biography Windmills &amp; Tomahawks: Nine Chapters on Dominique Wilkins. Buy it on Amazon <a href="https://amzn.to/3rmFUEs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a> or buy the PDF on Gumroad <a href="https://jonfinkel.gumroad.com/l/ztFyb" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>. 
Finkel&rsquo;s books have been endorsed by everyone from Spike Lee and Kevin Durant to Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Cuban. His most recent books are 1996: A Biography and Hoops Heist: Seattle, the Sonics and How a Stolen Team&rsquo;s Legacy Gave Rise to the NBA&rsquo;s Secret Empire. You can follow him on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/Jon_Finkel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

This excerpt from "Windmills & Tomahawks" by Jon Finkel explores how Dominique Wilkins captured the NBA scoring title in 1985-86.

Windmills & Tomahawks: How Dominique Wilkins led NBA in scoring in '86

Sometimes Justė Jocytė needs to slow down her warp-speed world.&nbsp;
The Lithuanian channels Drake and "chill music" through her headphones, and takes a walk to find a space for herself. In her preparation process, Jocytė makes it a point to clear her head of stress.
"Literally, it's almost like meditating," Jocytė told BasketballNews.com in an exclusive interview via Zoom. "You just stop thinking. Just take a deep breath, clear your head out and really just stop overthinking everything. I think that helps; when you're thinking a lot before a game, that's not good for you."
Jocytė speaks with the calm poise of a veteran professional because she is one, in her third season at the highest levels of European basketball with Lyon ASVEL F&eacute;minin in France. But the 6-foot-2 lefty guard is also considered one of the top prospects on Earth, and, at just 15 years old, is accomplishing more than most young hoopers do in their lifetimes.
San Antonio Spurs great Tony Parker recruited her at at age-13, and she debuted with the Lithuanian senior national team that same year. At 14, Jocytė became the youngest player to debut in modern EuroLeague history. Today, she regularly competes against WNBA players and European stars, and even holds a small sponsorship deal from Nike.
Jocytė carries the faith of an NBA legend, the hopes of an entire country and the potential of a future global star on her teenage shoulders. But she holds the burden with a placid purpose, knowing that as long as she works, her pathway will reveal itself.
"I mean, the dream is obviously to get to the WNBA &mdash; but I don't really know if it's gonna be my style of game, it's kind of different from Europe &mdash; but obviously playing there, and just living my best life," she said.
"I love basketball &mdash; that's what I'm planning to do for a living &mdash; and [I] just take pleasure every day in every practice," she added. "And I think, yeah, that's most important: just to be happy."
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"Every day, we live with basketball."
According to Jocytė's father, Alvydas Jocys, the house TV is almost always tuned to hoops: NBA, WNBA, men's and women's EuroLeague and EuroCup, Lithuanian competition, you name it.&nbsp; Basketball is the country's most popular sport. It is woven into the fabric of Jocytė's family.
"It's just our life, you know?" Alvydas told BasketballNews.com over the phone.
Alvydas played college basketball through the end of the 1990s for Mid-Plains Community College, and then Bellevue University, in Nebraska. His brother, Evaldas, logged professional and collegiate careers, including stints with Lithuanian club Olimpas Plung&eacute; and Division I East Carolina University. Jocytė's older brother, 17-year-old Rokas, competes in Lithuania after having spent time on Stellazzurra Rome's U18 team in Italy.
Jocytė was even born in Washington D.C. before the family moved back to Lithuania when she was an infant. She has played above her age bracket since she could first dribble a basketball. First, it was in the backyard against Rokas. Then, at 6 years old &mdash; when she began to take a serious interest in the sport &mdash; Alvydas and his wife, Aurelija Jociene, noticed their daughter was unusually talented.
"We noticed that she had the ability to play with the ball, and play and dribble and shoot. She was different at that kind of age from other girls," Alvydas said.
Jocytė entered a program in her hometown of Palanga on the Baltic Coast of the country. Then, she outplayed her competition, and the family signed her up for training in Klaipėda, a nearby city. Jocytė was hopping from bus-to-bus at 9 years old, attending practices and games with kids three years her senior.&nbsp;
"Year after year, we saw that she was developing into a pretty good basketball player," Alvydas said. "As a family, all our job was just to get her physically and emotionally ready for the journey she has right now."
The <a href="https://twitter.com/jrnba/status/1028733912321859585?lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jr. NBA came</a> at age-12. But in 2019, Jocytė's star truly shined. She led Lithuania to its first-ever U16 FIBA European Championship as a 13-year-old, then three months later, <a href="https://www.fiba.basketball/womenseurobasket/2021/qualifiers/news/the-future-is-here-13-year-old-jocyte-has-lithuania-back-on-the-rise" target="_blank" rel="noopener">made her debut with the country's senior national team</a> in the EuroBasket Qualifiers.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
SHE IS 13 😱 ! Juste Jocyte's 20PTS &amp; 15REB led @Musukrepsinis 🇱🇹 to a first EVER <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FIBAU16Europe?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FIBAU16Europe</a> Final 🔥 ! <a href="https://t.co/gAjWbsLocB">pic.twitter.com/gAjWbsLocB</a>
&mdash; FIBA (@FIBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/FIBA/status/1167346821678678017?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 30, 2019</a></blockquote>

<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>

Europe took note &mdash; including one Tony Parker. The four-time NBA champion co-owned the men's and women's LDLC ASVEL clubs, and was starting his <a href="https://tpadequatacademy.com/en/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tony Parker Ad&eacute;quat Academy</a> in Lyon for students desiring advanced opportunities in a number of different professions. He invited Jocytė and her family to an individual workout in Oct. 2019.
"It was kind of tough, you know? You don't really know what to say because you're... scared," Jocytė said. "But I mean, he was really pretty normal as a person, so he was easy to talk to."
At that same workout, Jocytė also met her idol: former New York Liberty guard, and future teammate, Marine Johann&egrave;s.
"She was there to pass me the ball. That was cool," Jocytė said with a laugh.
Parker saw Jocytė as a headlining addition and made his pitch to Alvydas and the family. Jocytė would join the academy and become a member of Lyon ASVEL F&eacute;minin, with a three-year agreement centered on her development in Lyon. If the family ever had a question or concern about her well-being or development, Parker was a phone call away.
"It was, for myself and my wife, ver,y very surprising [to hear] the kinds of superstars as Tony Parker &mdash; we just saw them on TV prior [to when] we came to France," Alvydas said. "But when you talk to them after one minute, you already know that they're so simple and they know what they're doing. They know what kind of business they're in."
On Nov. 7, 2019, the academy announced the signing.
"I am very happy for the Tony Parker Ad&eacute;quat Academy because it&rsquo;s the first big signature," Parker said in the official press release in French. "Justė is the most special player of her generation. It&rsquo;s one of the reasons that I opened the Academy: to welcome the best prospects of their generation, evolve with young enthusiasts of all fields, and enrich each other."
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"She's definitely one of the most gifted European players to come up in a long time."
Mark Williams is a Global Scout for Premier Basketball (the same service that compiles ESPN's HoopGurlz recruiting rankings). He has watched Jocytė rise through the youth ranks since 2018, and says the smooth shooting guard is one of the most advanced players he has seen in recent years. Her cool confidence, surgical vision and sweet perimeter shot all set her apart.
"She's gifted with the ball in her hands [and] can score at all three levels," Williams told BasketballNews.com over the phone. "One of the things that she's really done well over the last year is develop the ability to get everybody else shots... I mean, she's really gifted. She can play multiple positions. She can play on the ball. She's a better defender than people give her credit for. And she can score anytime she wants."
Jocytė carved up the competition at the 2021 FIBA U18 Women's European Challengers tournament. She averaged 20.6 points, 10.0 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game in effortless fashion, patrolling the court while exuding serenity and swagger.
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Jocytė can spot up, step back and hesi her way to any shot on the floor. She glides with an effortless grace, and shrugs contact off of her. She also operates the offense like a surgeon, rifling pinpoint cross-court passes with either hand. Williams said that if he ranked the entire 2023 recruiting class with both U.S. and international players, the Lithuanian phenom would rest on top.
"For her, it's just kind of come together really, really early. And it's fun to watch, for sure," Williams said.
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British FIBA writer Paul Nilsen has watched the international youth game for over a decade. From the first moments he scouted an age-12 Jocytė, Nilsen was floored by her clutch gene.
"You could just tell straight away she's got it," Nilsen told BasketballNews.com over the phone. "The clutch, the ice through her veins, the smarts, the I.Q., on top of, obviously, the skill factor of being able to do what you want, when you want.
"I think that maturity so young is quite a rare and special thing."
Both Williams and Nilsen lauded Jocytė's trajectory as that of a high WNBA draft pick and a potential No. 1 overall selection. But they also cautioned against the familiar trap of locking prospects in as surefire generational superstars.&nbsp;
"It's one thing, I think in any sport, being a wunderkind, where often you find other players catch up," Nilsen said. "Sometimes you're the best out of that age at 12-13, and you're phenomenal because you've got so much natural talent. And you have to try and maintain large gap, which can sometimes be hard.
"It all boils down to whether she keeps working hard and she keeps learning," he added. "Nothing else [matters] apart from her. It's got to come from her."
For Jocytė to be challenging herself on a professional team, Nilsen says, is a testament to her dedication.
"One of the things I'm very, very committed to is this concept of: the hardest decision is always for the most talented players... even though you've got lots of choices, it's very very, very difficult," he said.
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"Playing against them every day is just a dream come true. I mean, that's the best practice you can get."
In Dec. 2019, 14-year-old Justė Jocytė subbed in for the the first time with Lyon ASVEL F&eacute;minin, and became the youngest woman to debut in the modern EuroLeague, perhaps the highest level in the world outside of the WNBA. Fast-forward two years, and she has now locked down a role in the regular rotation before her 16th birthday.
Lyon competes this season in the EuroCup; it's one league lower than the EuroLeague, but still arguably the third-best league worldwide. The EuroCup is littered with WNBA talent this season, including Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell, Atlanta Dream guard Aari McDonald, Phoenix Mercury forward Brianna Turner and Minnesota Lynx forward Natasha Mack among many others.
But that's only half of the battle. In LFB (Ligue F&eacute;minine de Basketball) competition, the team squares off against players like Phoenix Mercury guard Sophie Cunningham, Chicago Sky guard Lexie Brown and Los Angeles Sparks forward Nia Coffey. For Lyon, Johann&egrave;s and Julie Allemand both have WNBA experience.
On non-game days, Jocytė's schedule typically includes distance schooling, plus two grueling practices per day with some of the best basketball players on the planet. It's a grind she embraces.&nbsp;
"This is the pro life," she said. "Get used to it, because they will not change for you."
Jocytė generally stayed on the bench in her first two years with Lyon; she logged just 31 total minutes across both seasons. However, that doesn't mean she was stuck; behind the scenes, Jocytė was adapting to the speed and physicality of pro ball with the help of her teammates and coaches.
"I really appreciate the the work that they put in. Nobody sees the work, but they're helping me a lot," she said.
This season, the young phenom has begun to emerge. Jocytė is averaging 11.8 minutes per game in LFB play and 15.0 minutes per game in the EuroCup. She's dished out 17 assists against just six turnovers, and is shooting 75% from the field across both leagues. The performances aren't coming on some experimental squad, either &mdash; Lyon sits 3-1 in the EuroCup and 4-2 in the LFB.&nbsp;
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Even more impressive is hearing the 15-year-old critically reflect on her role with the methodical understanding of a grizzled vet:
"The physical part is tough, so you obviously had to find other ways. I think mine is just reading the game, really, because obviously you will not be faster [or] stronger," Jocytė said. "Coach puts you in [and] you have to just bring the energy; he doesn't expect you to, like, score 20 points in the game. So as a young player, you just have to stay humble, stay calm and just read."
Breanna Stewart and Nikola Jokic, as well as fellow lefty D'Angelo Russell, are film favorites for the Lithuanian. She had the last laugh this fall as one of the few members of Lyon cheering for the Chicago Sky in the WNBA Finals. And even after two years playing next to Johann&egrave;s, Jocytė still marvels every day at the star guard's talent.
"It's kind of weird because before, yeah, she was my role model, and now that it's my third year playing with her, it's kind of... she's like my friend," Jocytė said of Johann&egrave;s.
Though Jocytė is still technically the youngest player on the roster, she's no longer the only teenager. Dominique Malonga &mdash; a 6-foot-6, 15-year-old center loaded with athleticism and potential &mdash; joined ASVEL F&eacute;minin for the 2021-22 campaign. Malonga is also a Tony Parker Academy student, and Parker even labeled her "<a href="https://ldlcasvelfeminin.com/dominique-malonga-nouvelle-lionne/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the feminine Victor Wembanyama</a>."
"She's my roommate, so we kind of get along pretty easily," Jocytė said of Malonga. "This goes better than last year, when you're, like, really young with all these &mdash; I'm not gonna say old (laughs) &mdash; but older ladies. So it's kind of cool to have [someone] your age."
Jocytė is still a kid, after all &mdash; a kid playing on the other side of the continent, away from her family. Alvydas and Aurelija check-in nearly ever day with their daughter via WhatsApp. When Jocytė comes home, she'll get back on the court and battle with her brother and father, and everyone in Palanga knows her name. She says she's "not that sensitive of a person," but that doesn't mean leaving Lithuania is easy.
"I really miss home, and it's kind of hard without your family and friends. So it's always a good feeling when you come back home. It doesn't matter if it's, like, two days or something. It's really good to be there," she said.
"It was hard to let her go the first time because, you know, the '14-year-old girl on her own in the big city 2000 kilometers away' &mdash; kind of scary," Alvydas added. "[But] we know that she is in good hands [and] she gets taken care of."
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Lthuania may be a basketball-crazed nation, but its women's leagues lack sustained prominence. Top players and prospects typically latch onto a development track in another region, and return home to play during the offseason. Jocytė and her father cited that lack of consistency at home as a factor in them looking toward France for her pro career.
With the national teams, though, Jocytė feels immense pride in representing her country on European and global stages.
"It's an amazing feeling to play with your national team," she said. "It's just something you really appreciate when you play overseas or something. When you come back, it's really just amazing."
(Her most recent opportunity came in the 2023 EuroBasket Qualifiers, where she scored four points on Thursday against Finland before leaving the game with a minor ankle injury. Lithuania will play again Sunday.)
The world only continues to open up for Lithuania's young star. Her current agreement with the Tony Parker Academy and Lyon reaches an option of sorts after this season. Jocytė could continue on for another three years, adding continued professonal experience and growing with ASVEL F&eacute;minin. Or, she could opt out and attend another program or school just about anywhere &mdash; including the United States.
According to a source, high-major colleges are already demonstrating interest in Jocytė. Even WNBA teams have her on their radar when the earliest she could be draft-eligible appears to be 2025. (There's confusion here due to her U.S. birth vs. Lithuanian upbringing/playing status.)&nbsp;
The family will face a monumental decision after the season. They'll weigh pros and cons, including developmental situations, level of play and even endorsement opportunities. But for now, Jocytė is focused on what she loves &mdash; playing basketball &mdash; with the regimented mentality of continued growth each day.
"I feel good here and there's a good opportunity for me here," Jocytė said. "I'm still young, so that's normal that I don't play a lot. So really, I'm just working on myself every day trying to earn the trust of my coach, and hopefully in one year or two, I will be able to really have a big impact on the team."
That's what Alvydas admires most about his daughter. Jocytė remains a level-headed sailor amidst rocky seas, letting a pure love for the sport guide her to whatever big stage is next.
"I'm very proud that she's still a simple girl, and she's very supportive to other kids," Alvydas said. "I'm very proud that she's still very, very simple and focused on what she's doing."

Lithuanian star Justė Jocytė is turning heads as the youngest woman to ever compete in the modern EuroLeague.

Meet Justė Jocytė: 15-year-old phenom and professional record-breaker

Hi, hello, and welcome to yet another edition of Roaming The Baseline! This will be a weekly endeavor where I point out some things that caught my eye: a hot or cold streak from a player, a developmental flash, a well-run play, a funny tweet, who knows? There will be film -- it&rsquo;s me, so of course there will be film -- but this will also be a bit looser. It&rsquo;s an extension of my Twitter feed, if you will.&nbsp;
With that said, let&rsquo;s roam the baseline.
DEMAR DEROZAN IS LEADING THE CHARGE
The Spurs kicked off April with a five-game losing streak. A post-All-Star break slide was somewhat expected due to the strength of their schedule. A 26-point loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, however, wasn't part of the plan.
So there they were, reeling in the middle of a tightly contested play-in battle. And here they are now, winners of seven of their last 10 games. They're closer to the sixth seed (2.5 games back) than they are to 11th (4.5 games ahead).
If you're doling out praise, it has to begin with DeMar DeRozan. He's been playing All-Star-caliber basketball all season long, providing his usual brand of mid-post purity and rim attacking. He's especially perked up during this 7-3 stretch for the Spurs, averaging an efficient 25 and 8.
He marches to the beat of his own drum, offering up-fakes and pivots whenever the song needs a little juice.
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The combination of touch and footwork are only rivaled by a handful of players in the league. He has all the tricks of the foul-drawing trade. And because he's such a threat inside the arc, defenses have to shift to cut off his space.&nbsp;
What do you do when your counters are countered? Well, you counter those countered counters.&nbsp;
For DeRozan, that means making a leap as a playmaker for the third or fourth year in a row. He may not cause perimeter jump-outs as often as the Steph Curry/Damian Lillard/Trae Young division, but he's able to leverage his driving prowess to create similar passing windows.
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The glass ceiling on a primary that doesn't threaten from deep has been talked about ad nauseam. I've been guilty of it. We get it.
Let's just get back to basics with DeRozan: this dude is really freaking good at basketball.
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DARIUS GARLAND, PULLING UP
Young man's got some sauce to him.
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This feels straight out of Madden '07 to me. Instead of putting Ryan Arcidiacono on his hip, Garland slithers under him like he flicked "up" on the Highlight Stick. <a href="https://youtu.be/JYotsNmfM3g?t=22" target="_blank" rel="noopener">You know the animation</a>. With Arcidiacono's momentum carrying him forward, Garland decelerates while retreating with a behind-the-back dribble, then flows immediately into a triple.
This. Is. The. Way.
Since the All-Star break, Garland is averaging a shade under 20 points while posting a 57.8 True Shooting percentage. The aggression has been the big key for him. He's taken 126 threes in 23 games since the All-Star break; he took 125 in the first 28 games of the season. A 43% clip on 5.5 attempts is dope for a 23-game sample. The funny part is that he's still&nbsp;leaving some food on his plate.
With Garland more willing to fire, defenders are creeping up a tad bit more. That's allowing him to get into the paint more often. Those paint touches are allowing his passing chops to shine through more clearly.
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This campaign has been a bit of a mess for the Cavs because of their injuries (and the occasional <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-news-something-has-got-to-give-with-kevin-love-cleveland-cavaliers-koby-altman-discipline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kevin Love lash-out</a>), but Garland figuring out that he can get to his shot just about whenever he wants may be the biggest development of their season.&nbsp;
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THE OTHER SIXTH MAN OF THE YEAR CANDIDATE
Joe Ingles is not having a very fun stretch. Over his last three games, he's shooting 32.4% from the field (1-of-5 from two, 10-of-29 from three). He's taken four free throws in that stretch, making half of them.
Meh.&nbsp;
With that cold patch, Ingles now has a True Shooting percentage of... wait, hold on... am I reading this correctly?
Ingles IS STILL POSTING A 70.0 TRUE SHOOTING PERCENTAGE. That's No. 1 among all players, and there's a significant gap between Ingles and runner-up Jarrett Allen (68.4).
Jordan Clarkson has felt like the frontrunner for the Bench Scorer of the Year Sixth Man of the Year award all season. I'd simply like to pose this question to you: why?
Clarkson has been a tremendous spark off the bench, though he's started to slide a bit with his jumper. Ingles has been lighting it up from beyond the arc all season, while also adding value as a passer and multi-positional defender. He can fill gaps -- on both ends of the floor -- in a way that Clarkson flat-out can't.&nbsp;
12-4-4, a 70 TS%, and solid defense across two-and-a-half/three positions on the best team in the league. What's not to like? What is the case against Ingles aside from points?
It is 2021, man. I think we should be a little past sorting the points-per-game section for bench players and handing out the award that way.&nbsp;
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THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO "HMMMM"
<ul>
<li>Let's continue to keep an eye on Luka Doncic in one-on-one situations. We know he loves the stepback, and how hot-and-cold it has run throughout his career. He's leaning more into his post game, a fun counter when he's matched up against like-sized or smaller defenders. He's generating 1.13 points per possession on post-ups (passes included) this season, the seventh-best mark among 49 players with at least 75 post-up possessions.</li>
<li>Ja Morant is shooting 41.4% from three-point range on moderate volume in April. He ain't that, but as my podcast co-host <a href="https://twitter.com/stevejones20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Steve Jones Jr.</a> pointed out on this week's episode of "<a href="https://twitter.com/NekiasNBA/status/1386679481709080576?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Dunker Spot</a>," he does look a lot more comfortable navigating against "under" coverage. Give any player with that level of IQ the same look over and over, and he's bound to beat it.</li>
<li>Guess who leads the Raptors in fourth-quarter scoring over the past two weeks? If you guessed any of the usual suspects -- Pascal Siakam (5.4), OG Anunoby (3.6), Fred VanVleet (2.0), or Kyle Lowry (1.3) -- you'd be wrong. The rookster Malachi Flynn is not only leading them in scoring (5.8), but he's doing so efficiently (47/46/92 shooting split). Another "got some sauce to him" guy to keep an eye on moving forward.</li>
<li>Kendrick Nunn (and just about every other guard) missed Monday night's loss to the Chicago Bulls, but the Heat have been getting the goods from Nunn as of late. He's averaging 16-4-3 while shooting 42% from deep since Victor Oladipo has been out. There's a real argument to be made that he's been Miami's best guard this season; you can quibble about what that means for Miami, but it's a timely development for Nunn as he enters an offseason where he <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/several-teams-tried-trading-for-kendrick-nunn-prior-to-deadline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">may be pretty coveted</a>.</li>
<li>The Warriors are 2-2 and have been outscored with Stephen Curry on the court since <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/steph-curry-on-if-hes-the-mvp-i-gotta-be" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he said he should be the MVP.</a> He's still played pretty well (28.5 points with a 46/39/87 split), but the timing of the dip is pretty funny.</li>
</ul>
PLAYS I LIKED
Hit 'Em With the Flex
It's always a good time when teams flow out of Elbow Series. Toss the rock to your high-post hub and let him play quarterback. It's a LeBron staple, a Jokic staple -- really any frontcourt player who can hit a cutter. This was a fun one from Toronto.
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Just tremendous work on the flex action from OG Anunoby and Fred VanVleet. Anunoby sets up RJ Barrett with a filthy juke; VanVleet lays the lumber and&nbsp;hooooolds it,&nbsp;freeing Anunoby for the flush.&nbsp;
Going Wide in Brooklyn
An effective way for teams to get busy in (early) transition is to have a big set a high, off-ball screen around the middle of the floor. It's tough enough for defenses to match up in transition; doing so while trying to navigate a screen and a player flying downhill off the catch can be darn-near impossible at times.
I always think of the Milwaukee (Khris Middleton, specifically) when I see these early screens, but this was a good rep from the Nets.&nbsp;
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The Suns are in drop coverage due to Frank Kaminsky being their 5. They don't want to switch him, so he's hanging back while eyeing Blake Griffin. Griffin sets the screen for Kevin freakin' Durant; it's fair to say the Suns have no intention of switching Kaminsky onto him.
That leaves four eyes on Durant and a whole lot of space for Griffin to pop into. Easy money (sniper).
Early Chaos
Nothing says "we're young" like doing just about everything at 150 MPH. They turn a simple HORNS Flare look into a scramble drill.
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There is&nbsp;a lot&nbsp;going on here. Darius Bazley (#7) essentially ghosts the initial screen as Theo Maledon pivots to his right. The Celtics switch that ghost screen, but still find themselves trailing the action due to how quickly the Thunder are moving.&nbsp;
We get a quick pitch from Maledon to Aleksej Pokusevski, all while Moses Brown is "chasing" the ball to flow into a quick-hitting pick-and-roll. The Celtics can't switch&nbsp;that&nbsp;one -- Semi Ojeleye gets bumped by Brown -- and that allows Poku to waltz into a pull-up.
THE READING LIST
There is plenty of high-level basketball content out here if you know where to look. I wouldn&rsquo;t be where I am as a writer without reading a ton of Zach Lowe or Chris Herring or Caitlin Cooper or Mirin Fader or, well, you get the point.&nbsp;
Anyway, here are some -- not all, but some! -- of the stories I&rsquo;ve read this week that I think you should check out. Their Twitter handles will be linked under their names, so click and follow if you don&rsquo;t already.
<a href="https://twitter.com/AlexmRegla" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alex Regla</a> on Talen Horton-Tucker's <a href="https://twitter.com/AlexmRegla/status/1385250226638770178" target="_blank" rel="noopener">downhill dynamism</a>.
<a href="https://twitter.com/FredKatz" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fred Katz</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/davidaldridgedc">David Aldridge</a> tag-teamed on a <a href="https://twitter.com/FredKatz/status/1386687635364753412?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Robin Lopez breakdown</a>.
<a href="https://twitter.com/seeratsohi" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Seerat Sohi</a> waxes poetic on how <a href="https://twitter.com/seeratsohi/status/1385321563159810054?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Steph Curry's magical run makes us feel</a>.
<a href="https://twitter.com/RobMahoney">Rob Mahoney</a> on why the Milwaukee Bucks <a href="https://twitter.com/RobMahoney/status/1385234420555124736?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shouldn't be slept on</a>.
<a href="https://twitter.com/MirinFader" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mirin Fader</a> with <a href="https://twitter.com/MirinFader/status/1385237454894952450?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a tremendous feature</a> on Rockets rookie Jae'Sean Tate.

In Nekias Duncan's weekly notebook, he shares things that have caught his eye. He breaks down players, teams, plays, stats, etc.