Terrapins

Denver&rsquo;s Nikola Jokic now knows how Philadelphia&rsquo;s Joel Embiid felt during two previous NBA award seasons.
Second in the MVP race &mdash; but only second-team All-NBA.
Embiid&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-mvp-joel-embiid-philadelphia-76ers-f7a108fd3c0ce1b42c1433c0beda275d">&mdash; the newly crowned MVP &mdash;</a>&nbsp;headlined the All-NBA team unveiled Wednesday night. He was the first-team center, while Jokic was the second-team pick at that position. It was a reversal of the results from 2021 and 2022, when Jokic was MVP over Embiid, who then had to settle for the second-team All-NBA center spot.
And this should be the final time such a quirk happens. Starting next year, the All-NBA team will no longer be broken down by position &mdash; meaning the presumed second-best player in the NBA one season, such as Embiid in 2021 and 2022 and Jokic now, will not have to be relegated to second-team anything.
Joining Embiid on the first team were Boston&rsquo;s Jayson Tatum and Milwaukee&rsquo;s Giannis Antetokounmpo at forward, and Dallas&rsquo; Luka Doncic and Oklahoma City&rsquo;s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at guard.
On the second team along with Jokic were Miami&rsquo;s Jimmy Butler and Boston&rsquo;s Jaylen Brown at forward, and Golden State&rsquo;s Stephen Curry and Cleveland&rsquo;s Donovan Mitchell at guard.
The third team center was Sacramento&rsquo;s Domantas Sabonis, with the Los Angeles Lakers&rsquo; LeBron James &mdash; now a 19-time selection, extending his record &mdash; and New York&rsquo;s Julius Randle getting the forward spots and Sacramento&rsquo;s De&rsquo;Aaron Fox and Portland&rsquo;s Damian Lillard the guard selections.
Omitted this year after making it last year: first-teamer Devin Booker; second-teamers Ja Morant, Kevin Durant and DeMar DeRozan; and third-teamers Karl-Anthony Towns, Chris Paul, Trae Young and Pascal Siakam.
James is a 13-time first-team, three-time second-team and now three-time third-team pick. Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar were all 15-time selections, tied for the second-most in NBA history.
The picks were made by a panel of 100 reporters and broadcasters who cover the NBA.
Antetokounmpo was the only unanimous selection this season as a first-teamer. Tatum got 92 first-team votes, Embiid got 87, Gilgeous-Alexander got 63 and Doncic got 60.
Gilgeous-Alexander, Mitchell, Brown, Sabonis and Fox all made All-NBA for the first time. Embiid was first-team for the first time, while Butler made the second team for the first time after four appearances on the third team.
The league has utilized the current format of picking three All-NBA teams, by position &mdash; two guards, two forwards, one center on each &mdash; since 1989. From 1956 through 1988, there were two teams picked by position; from 1947 through 1955 there were two teams picked, but with no regard for position.
More often than not, the system works without a glitch. The top finalists for MVP typically have found their way onto the All-NBA first team.
But there have been notable exceptions &mdash; often involving centers, who are vying for just the one All-NBA first-team spot instead of the two that have been available to guards and forwards.
Embiid was second in the MVP race but only second-team All-NBA in the most recent two seasons. Other examples:
&mdash; 1994-95, MVP David Robinson got the first-team nod and runner-up Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal wound up as the second-team center pick.
&mdash; 1993-94, Hakeem Olajuwon won MVP and was first-team at center, while Robinson was No. 2 in the MVP race and on the second team.
&mdash; 1976-77, Bill Walton was No. 2 in the MVP race, then second-team All-NBA behind MVP Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
&mdash; 1975-76, Bob McAdoo was second in the MVP race and didn&rsquo;t even make All-NBA, with the center spots that season going to MVP Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and third-place finisher Dave Cowens.
There have also been some split votes, albeit none under the current voting methods, where the MVP somehow didn&rsquo;t make the All-NBA first team. It happened to Bill Russell in 1958, 1961 and 1962, and then to Cowens in 1973.

The All-NBA teams were announced on Wednesday evening, and the First Team was headlined by MVP Joel Embiid.

MVP Embiid leads All-NBA 1st team; runner-up Jokic lands on 2nd team

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) &mdash; Shai Gilgeous-Alexander seemed like a nice pickup for Oklahoma City Thunder, a secondary piece in the trade that sent Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers four years ago.
Gilgeous-Alexander has turned out to be more than an afterthought &mdash; much more.
He has blossomed into an All-Star, the unquestioned leader of the Thunder&rsquo;s rebuilding efforts and the centerpiece of a Canadian national team that could be a medal contender at the Paris Games next summer. He ranks fourth in the league in scoring with 31.5 points per game &mdash; behind Joel Embiid, Luka Doncic and Damian Lillard and just ahead of two-time league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.
He doesn&rsquo;t grab as many national headlines as the other top scorers &mdash; in part because the Thunder (38-42) haven&rsquo;t been competitive the past two years. Now Oklahoma City is battling for a spot in the Play-In Tournament with Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks heading into their game Thursday night at Utah.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been fun,&rdquo; said Gilgeous-Alexander, 24, who was selected 11th overall by the Clippers in the 2018 draft after he spent a year at Kentucky. &ldquo;My favorite part is the team success. There is no better feeling than winning games, and that&rsquo;s all I wanted to focus on coming into the season. And with focusing on that, the individual success just followed.&rdquo;
Oklahoma City has been reeling from the long-term effects of losing Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and George, among others, to trades and free agency. A franchise that reached the Western Conference finals four times and the NBA Finals once the previous decade hasn&rsquo;t made the playoffs since 2020.
The 6-foot-6 Gilgeous-Alexander is giving Thunder fans hope and management reasons to build around him.
While his rise has been mostly off the radar, it&rsquo;s nonetheless impressive. Two seasons ago, he scored 23.7 points per game and last season, his average increased to 24.5. He missed the final month of last season with a sore right ankle, but recovered and dominated for Canada&rsquo;s national team in the summer.
He carried that international momentum into this season and will join Durant and Westbrook as the only Thunder players to average at least 30 points for an entire season. Durant and Westbrook won MVP and the scoring title in their highest-scoring seasons for Oklahoma City &mdash; Durant averaged 32.0 points in 2013-14 and Westbrook produced 31.6 per game in 2016-17.
Gilgeous-Alexander might have to settle for the Most Improved Player award, which would be a fitting honor given his approach. Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said when a player with his talent and work ethic locks in, it naturally leads to improvement.
&ldquo;When he falls short, he looks in the mirror first,&rdquo; Daigneault said. &ldquo;That drives his next step. And then he puts the work in and he repeats that process, and he&rsquo;s always repeated that process as long as he&rsquo;s been here and as long as we&rsquo;ve known him.&rdquo;
Canada men&rsquo;s basketball general manager Rowan Barrett isn&rsquo;t surprised that Gilgeous-Alexander has made such a dramatic leap after watching him work last summer.
&ldquo;Before practice, after practice, like, constantly in the gym, in the gym, in the gym,&rdquo; Barrett said. &ldquo;And he&rsquo;s clearly made a lot of sacrifices in his personal life to live that way. And I think the world right now, many years on, is getting to kind of enjoy watching him based on all the work that he&rsquo;s put in. He wants to be great, and he&rsquo;s completely committed to it.&rdquo;
Another reason Gilgeous-Alexander&rsquo;s exploits go mostly unnoticed is the lack of highlight reels. His game doesn&rsquo;t include spectacular dunks or a lot of 3-pointers, though he makes 35% of his attempts from beyond the arc. He&rsquo;s among the league&rsquo;s leaders in free throws made and attempted and free-throw percentage.
Those stats make his coaches happy but don&rsquo;t make for viral social media moments. Still, he shoots 51% from the field. Fans have showered him with occasional chants of &ldquo;M-V-P! M-V-P! when he shoots free throws during home games at the reinvigorated Paycom Center.
NBA coaches don&rsquo;t need highlights to know how well he is playing. Golden State coach Steve Kerr was impressed after Gilgeous-Alexander scored 21 of his 31 points in the second half in a loss to the Warriors in January.
&ldquo;He just gets any shot he wants in the mid-range,&rdquo; Kerr said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s so good with the ball. He&rsquo;s so strong, you can&rsquo;t speed him up. He just gets to his spots and calmly rises up and shoots that little 12-footer, 10-footer, 14-footer.&rdquo;
He frustrated Phoenix coach Monty Williams with one of his most impressive performances: scoring 40 points in a victory over the Suns on March 19 without attempting a 3-pointer.
Canada national team coach Nick Nurse, who also coaches the Toronto Raptors, said Gilgeous-Alexander excels at setting up his teammates. He was a strong facilitator for Canada last summer, while averaging 5.4 assists for Oklahoma City this season.
&ldquo;When you need offense, he creates it for himself,&rdquo; Nurse said. &ldquo;Tons of drive, and guys just standing there with their hands out, (Shai) hitting them right on the money for threes. I think it improved a lot of our other players because of his drawing so much defense.&rdquo;
With Gilgeous-Alexander&rsquo;s rising stock, the future looks bright for the Thunder &mdash; regardless of what happens this postseason. It looks good for Canada&rsquo;s program, too.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s supportive of the other guys and wants to see the other guys do well as well,&rdquo; said Barrett, the Canada basketball GM. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not just all about him somehow. As great as he is, there&rsquo;s a humility there.&rdquo;
___
AP freelancer Ian Harrison in Toronto contributed to this report.

Gilgeous-Alexander has blossomed into an All-Star, the unquestioned leader of the Thunder’s rebuilding efforts.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads Thunder rebuild after stars exodus

♪ Your time is up, my time is now ♪ 
♪ You can't see me, my time is now ♪ 
The beat is booming, trumpets blaring. The crowd is hyped &mdash; anticipation of something amazing will do that to you.
Normally, this would be the paragraph where John Cena is described. How he plays to the crowd, the message he gives to the camera conveniently zoomed in on him <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7cqG9wQxLU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">before he flashes the "Never Give Up" towel and runs to the ring</a>.&nbsp;
Instead, the music just happens to be playing during the fourth quarter of the Toronto Raptors-Los Angeles Clippers game on Wednesday night.&nbsp;
Kawhi Leonard trots up the left side of the floor with OG Anunoby, the best perimeter defender in the league by many (read: my) accounts, waiting for him near half-court. Eric Gordon steps up to set an early drag screen, but Leonard rejects it to continue his leftward path.
Leonard gains inside leverage &mdash; doing that a lot, these days &mdash; and meets Jakob Poeltl at the rim. Well, more accurately, he gets to the rim and Poeltl just happens to be in his way. It sucks for him, because he wasn't stopping the funk coming his way.&nbsp;
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"You can't see me, my time is now" works for Cena. Try as you might, you're not on his level. You're distant. He's better and he knows it. He's better and his fans know it. He's better and you probably know it, deep down inside.
Leonard is different. You can see him; he just doesn't care that you can. It may be more accurate to say he can't see&nbsp;you.&nbsp;Is this the face of a man that thinks he's overcome insurmountable odds?
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/screen-shot-2023-03-09-at-1-14-42-pm.png" alt="" width="657" height="369" />
Absolutely not.
If a dunk like that is the Attitude Adjustment (the old name was better, cowards), his middy might be the shoulder charge before the Five Knuckle Shuf &mdash; okay, I've done enough with the wrestling analogy.
(Psst, he's knocked down 50.1% of his mid-range shots this season, per Cleaning The Glass. That feels like a typo, especially when you factor in how contested they've been.)
Anyway...
What shouldn't be lost in all the hoopla surrounding the Clippers &mdash; Russell Westbrook talk, rotation talk, <a href="https://twitter.com/PodcastPShow/status/1630946315659251713?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">podcast talk</a>, Western Conference standings talk &mdash; is the metronomic, inevitable nature of Kawhi.
He's both a source of friction and a reason for optimism. The Clippers aren't here without him being on the recovery plan he's been on; conversely, the Clippers wouldn't be a reasonable playoff pick without his two-way dominance.
The further we get away from his initial return, the more terrifying he looks. Just look at his season in 10-game intervals.
First 10 (8 starts): 13.7 points on 51.7% True Shooting, 5.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists in 26.0 minutes
Next 10: 23.2 points on 61.1% True Shooting, 6.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.5 steals in 33.4 minutes
Following 10: 29.2 points on 63.2% True Shooting, 6.3 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 2.0 steals in 37.1 minutes
Last 10: 27.0 points on 67.6% True Shooting, 6.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.5 steals in 36.9 minutes
You can't erase portions of the season for a player &mdash; at least not in good faith &mdash; but a 30-game sample of 26.5 points on 64.0% True Shooting, 6.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists (1.8 turnovers) and 1.7 steals per game certainly qualifies as elite production. It's nasty stuff, even.
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I often find myself cackling at the casual nature of Leonard's approach. No matter the arena &mdash; isolating, posting up, running ball-screens, bringing the ball up in transition &mdash; it feels like he's in total control of what's happening.
Different defenders are tossed at him. Opponents oscillate between aggressive ball pressure, switching to flatten two-man actions and all-out traps to get the ball out of his hands. Their helpers do what they can to crowd the middle of the floor.
None of it matters, really.&nbsp;
Wednesday night's "revenge game" against the Raptors felt like one of those "it doesn't matter" games. His stat line was good enough: 24 points on 15 shot attempts, a season-high 12 rebounds, 4 dimes and three gimme-dats with the Clippers winning his minutes. But how he accumulated some of those? It's like, what do you do with him?
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You can see him; he just doesn't care that you can.
To the versatility point on offense: The Clippers have scored at an elite level when Leonard is involved in the action.&nbsp;
On trips featuring a Leonard-led ball screen, the Clippers are generating 1.085 points per possession (PPP). Among 96 players to run at least 500 ball-screens this season, that ranks No. 5 in the NBA. With Leonard setting an on-ball screen, that number rises to nearly 1.12 PPP &mdash; seventh among 209 players to set at least 150 picks.
Related: Keep an eye on the Leonard-Westbrook partnership. The sample must grow, but Westbrook screening for Leonard (1.82 PPP) and Leonard screening for Westbrook (1.00 PPP) has been pretty fruitful so far. The latter scenario has mostly been used for mismatch-hunting to get to isos or post-ups &mdash; "reverse-engineering" as expertly stated by <a href="https://twitter.com/stevejones20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Steve Jones Jr.</a> &mdash;&nbsp; but there's real juice behind inverting the action.&nbsp;
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We can keep going. He's sixth in post-up PPP (1.18) among 37 players with 100 reps under their belts; seventh in PPP (1.13) among 51 players with at least 200 isolation possessions.
It simply has not mattered.
Flip the court, and the efforts to best Leonard have also been futile. He's not 2014 Kawhi anymore as an on-ball defender. The screen navigation isn't the same, nor is his lateral quickness at this stage. He remains incredibly difficult to deal with, though.&nbsp;
It's hard to move him. His prep work before the screen gets set is still superb. Even quieter, his sense of when to pursue after getting screened vs. when to peel-switch and take away a passing window is still strong.&nbsp;
At this point, it's less about what Leonard can do defensively and more about his opponents fearing what he's capable of. If he's in your face, you have your work cut out. If you get him off of you, you still have to be wary of where he is.
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It's been 40 games, which puts him a little behind the 8 Ball in terms of award talk. He isn't winning MVP. He's not winning Defensive Player of the Year, nor should he. An All-Defensive Team may also be out of the question, considering how deep the class is.
I'd keep an eye on his All-NBA case, though.
It feels like three spots are written in pen (Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum, Julius Randle), and another two are in pencil (Kevin Durant and LeBron James, who would easily be inked without their injuries, and still might be). Between Leonard, Jimmy Butler, Lauri Markkanen, Pascal Siakam and Kawhi's co-star Paul George, we may be in for a furious debate.
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Leonard is No. 10 in the league (+6.1) in DunksAndThree's Estimated Plus-Minus (EPM) metric, which estimates a player's total impact per 100 possessions. That would place Leonard sixth among forwards, trailing Butler (third, +7.1), Durant (seventh, +6.6), Giannis (eighth, +6.2) and LeBron (ninth, +6.2). Markkanen trails behind in 23rd (+4.8).
The cumulative version of the metric, Estimated Wins, places Leonard outside of the top 30 because of minutes played, putting him on par with Anthony Edwards (8.2) and slightly ahead of Siakam (8.0).
Of course, those are just two metrics out of the many in the public sphere. The most important thing is that Leonard looks like a two-way force getting close to peak form. That should terrify everyone.

Nekias Duncan analyzes how Kawhi Leonard is back to being a two-way force who is nearing his peak form with the Clippers.

His time is now: You can see Kawhi Leonard, but he doesn't care

The NBA released the remaining 25 players of the league's 75th anniversary team Thursday night on TNT.
Here is the official release from the NBA, which lists all 75 players that made the team and the people that voted on the NBA's top 75 players of all-time team:
"A total of 158 NBA championships and 730 NBA All-Star selections. &nbsp;A combined 110 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Awards and Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP Awards. &nbsp;More than 1.5 million points scored.
Those are just some of the collective accomplishments of the players who comprise the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, which was announced across TNT and ESPN from Oct. 19-21 as the league tipped off its landmark 75th Anniversary Season.
The NBA 75th Anniversary Team was selected by a blue-ribbon panel of current and former NBA players, coaches, general managers and team and league executives, WNBA legends and sportswriters and broadcasters. &nbsp;Voters were asked to select the 75 Greatest Players in NBA History without regard to position. &nbsp;Panelists did not rank their selections. &nbsp;Current and former players were not allowed to vote for themselves.
As a result of a tie in the voting, the 75th Anniversary Team features 76 players. &nbsp;Team highlights include:
&bull; Eleven active players have been named to the 75th Anniversary Team: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Carmelo Anthony, Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, James Harden, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Damian Lillard, Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook.
&bull; All 50 members of the NBA 50th Anniversary Team, which was named in 1996, have been selected to the 75th Anniversary Team.
&bull; The 75th Anniversary Team includes four players who played in the first NBA All-Star Game in 1951 (Paul Arizin, Bob Cousy, George Mikan and Dolph Schayes), the first winner of the Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award (Bob Pettit for the 1955-56 season) and the first winner of the Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP Award (Jerry West for the 1969 NBA Finals).
&bull; Bill Russell joins Cousy, Mikan and Pettit as the only four players who have been named to all four NBA Anniversary Teams: the 25th Anniversary Team (10 players named), 35th Anniversary Team (11 players named), 50th Anniversary Team and 75th Anniversary Team. (The 25th Anniversary Team was the only one of the four teams that did not allow for the inclusion of active players at the time.)
&bull; Six international players from six countries and territories have been selected to the 75th Anniversary Team: Antetokounmpo (Greece), Tim Duncan (U.S. Virgin Islands), Patrick Ewing (Jamaica), Steve Nash (Canada), Dirk Nowitzki (Germany) and Hakeem Olajuwon (Nigeria).
&bull; The five NBA legends who are serving as ambassadors for the 75th Anniversary Season are part of the 75th Anniversary Team: Clyde Drexler, Magic Johnson, Nowitzki, Pettit and Oscar Robertson. Representing different eras of the league&rsquo;s history, the ambassadors will make appearances throughout the 2021-22 season and have a significant presence at NBA All-Star 2022 in Cleveland.
The NBA 75th Anniversary Team is listed below in alphabetical order, followed by the list of voters. &nbsp;The balloting was tabulated by the independent accounting firm Ernst &amp; Young LLP. &nbsp;For player profiles on each member of the 75th Anniversary Team, click here and visit NBA.com/75."
<table style="width: 95.7926%; height: 464px;">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 27px;">
<td style="text-align: center; width: 149.879%; height: 27px;" colspan="4" width="691">NBA 75TH ANNIVERSARY TEAM</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Kareem Abdul-Jabbar</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">Clyde Drexler</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Damian Lillard</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">Scottie Pippen</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Ray Allen</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">Tim Duncan</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Jerry Lucas</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">Willis Reed</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Giannis Antetokounmpo</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">Kevin Durant</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Karl Malone</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">Oscar Robertson</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Carmelo Anthony</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">Julius Erving</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Moses Malone</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">David Robinson</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Nate Archibald</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">Patrick Ewing</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Pete Maravich</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">Dennis Rodman</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Paul Arizin</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">Walt Frazier</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Bob McAdoo</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">Bill Russell</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Charles Barkley</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">Kevin Garnett</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Kevin McHale</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">Dolph Schayes</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Rick Barry</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">George Gervin</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">George Mikan</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">Bill Sharman</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Elgin Baylor</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">Hal Greer</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Reggie Miller</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">John Stockton</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Dave Bing</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">James Harden</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Earl Monroe</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">Isiah Thomas</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Larry Bird</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">John Havlicek</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Steve Nash</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">Nate Thurmond</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Kobe Bryant</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">Elvin Hayes</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Dirk Nowitzki</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">Wes Unseld</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Wilt Chamberlain</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">Allen Iverson</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Hakeem Olajuwon</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">Dwyane Wade</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Bob Cousy</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">LeBron James</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">Bill Walton</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Dave Cowens</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">Magic Johnson</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Robert Parish</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">Jerry West</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Billy Cunningham</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">Sam Jones</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Chris Paul</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">Russell Westbrook</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Stephen Curry</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">Michael Jordan</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Gary Payton</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">Lenny Wilkens</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Anthony Davis</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">Jason Kidd</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Bob Pettit</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">Dominique Wilkins</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Dave DeBusschere</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">Kawhi Leonard</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Paul Pierce</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">James Worthy</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
&nbsp;
<table style="width: 97.1703%; height: 798px;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center; width: 170.677%;" colspan="4" width="719">NBA 75TH ANNIVERSARY TEAM VOTING PANEL</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Kareem Abdul-Jabbar</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Tim Duncan</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Jack McCallum</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">David Robinson</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Marv Albert</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">David DuPree</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Brian McIntyre</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Bill Russell</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">David Aldridge</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Wayne Embry</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Ann Meyers</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Bob Ryan</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Sam Amick</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Julius Erving</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Yoko Miyaji</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Bill Simmons</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Giannis Antetokounmpo</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Patrick Ewing</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Earl Monroe</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Sam Smith</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Steve Aschburner</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Walt Frazier</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Steve Nash</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Stephen A. Smith</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Charles Barkley</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">George Gervin</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Rachel Nichols</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Marc Spears</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Rick Barry</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Russ Granik</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Dirk Nowitzki</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Erik Spoelstra</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Howard Beck</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Becky Hammon</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">John Stockton</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Dave Bing</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Elvin Hayes</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Robert Parish</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Hannah Storm</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Sue Bird</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Ernie Johnson</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Candace Parker</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Sheryl Swoopes</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Carol Blazejowski</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Magic Johnson</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Chris Paul</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Isiah Thomas</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Mike Breen</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Sam Jones</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Bob Pettit</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Rod Thorn</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Doris Burke</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Michael Jordan</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Scottie Pippen</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Rudy Tomjanovich</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Jerry Colangelo</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Steve Kerr</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Gregg Popovich</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Peter Vecsey</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Doug Collins</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Bob Lanier</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Shaun Powell</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Bill Walton</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Cynthia Cooper</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Kara Lawson</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Ahmad Rashad</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Rick Welts</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Bob Costas</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Lisa Leslie</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Willis Reed</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Jerry West</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Dave Cowens</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Nancy Lieberman</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Tim Reynolds</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Michael Wilbon</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Billy Cunningham</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Zach Lowe</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Bill Rhoden</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Lenny Wilkens</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Stephen Curry</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Jerry Lucas</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Pat Riley</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">James Worthy</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Clyde Drexler</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Jackie MacMullan</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Oscar Robertson</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Jeff Zillgitt</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Some notable snubs include Tracy McGrady, Bernard King, Alex English, Vince Carter, Tony Parker, Chris Bosh, Dwight Howard, Bob McAdoo, and Pau Gasol to just name a few. This list was part of the NBA's marketing campaign for the league's historic 75th season and will surely spark a conversation/debate amongst NBA fans all over the world.

The NBA released the final 25 players of the 75th anniversary team Thursday on TNT.

Final 25 members of NBA's 75th Anniversary Team announced

The Oklahoma City Thunder have accumulated quite the collection of draft picks, including some that were procured in last month&rsquo;s trade with the Boston Celtics. In total, the Thunder could have as many as 39 picks (including 18 first-rounders) between now and the 2027 NBA Draft.
That. Is. Unprecedented.
In the 2021 NBA Draft, Oklahoma City has six picks: 6th, 16th, 18th, 34th, 36th and 55th. They&rsquo;ve also been one of the more active teams in trade talks leading up the draft.
While the Thunder may receive more notoriety than anyone else for hoarding draft picks, they&rsquo;re not the only franchise that's doing it. The New Orleans Pelicans have amassed 26 picks in the next seven drafts, and the Houston Rockets have stockpiled 19 picks over that same span.
But there&rsquo;s an uncertainty to collecting draft picks &ndash; namely, picks don&rsquo;t always pan out, even high-end lottery picks. So while it is understandable to assume that tons of draft picks will translate to tons of success, such is not always the case.
To illustrate this point, let&rsquo;s turn our attention to the Atlantic Division in the 2010s.
Pick collecting was a major part of Sam Hinkie and the Philadelphia 76ers&rsquo; &ldquo;Trust-the-Process&rdquo; strategy. Hinkie sparked a revolution as the 76ers&rsquo; general manager by embracing the idea of tanking to streamline the rebuilding process, while simultaneously shipping out talent that didn&rsquo;t fit his timeline (e.g., Jrue Holiday) in exchange for additional draft picks.
In total, Philadelphia made 24 selections between 2013 (the first year in which Hinkie captained the 76ers&rsquo; draft process) and 2017 (the last draft before the 76ers returned to the playoffs).
The jury is still out on Philadelphia&rsquo;s rebuild. Hinkie resigned from his position with the 76ers in 2016, but his philosophy did result in the team drafting two cornerstone pieces in Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. Also, Hinkie successfully identified quite a few diamonds-in-the-rough who were second-rounders or undrafted free agents such as Jerami Grant (39th), Richaun Holmes (37th), Christian Wood (undrafted), Robert Covington (undrafted) and T.J. McConnell (undrafted). But while the 76ers have had some success in recent years, reaching the Eastern Conference Semifinals in three of the previous four seasons, they have failed to accomplish anything truly meaningful, yet.
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Next up, the Boston Celtics.
After winning the 2008 NBA Finals and remaining competitive in the Eastern Conference for a few seasons, the Celtics and executive director of basketball operations Danny Ainge pivoted into a rebuild, trading Kevin Garnett, Paul Piece, and Jason Terry to the Brooklyn Nets for three future first-round picks, the right to swap first-round picks in 2017, and a hodgepodge of players. And while the haul from Brooklyn was clearly the centerpiece of Boston&rsquo;s draft capital, the Celtics continued accumulating picks from various teams. They acquired selections from the Sacramento Kings (14th) and Los Angeles Clippers (20th) in 2019, and they added the 14th pick from the Memphis Grizzlies in 2020.
All told, Boston made 27 selections over the course of seven drafts up-to-and-including 2020. Their rebuild involved more than just draft picks, though, including a trade for Isaiah Thomas in 2015, a trade with Philadelphia in 2017 that netted them Jayson Tatum, and a trade for Kyrie Irving in 2019 in which they sent out a draft pick along with other assets.
But Boston&rsquo;s rebuild didn&rsquo;t result in a championship either. While Ainge stockpiled draft picks like a squirrel hoarding away acorns, he should have been more aggressive in his pursuit of available superstars. Despite an abundance of picks to entice trade partners, they <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/woulda-coulda-shoulda-the-celtics-should-have-a-superteam-right-now">balked at opportunities</a> to trade for Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Jimmy Butler in hopes of adding an even bigger star (e.g., Anthony Davis), which never happened. Instead, Boston used many of their picks, so they now have 10 players who are age-24 or younger. That young core is led by two All-Stars: the 23-year-old Tatum and 24-year-old Jaylen Brown.
To be fair, the Ainge-led Celtics were one game away from the 2018 NBA Finals and an Irving injury upset their chances at any meaningful success the following season. But Irving and Gordon Hayward both signed elsewhere as free agents in the seasons since, and Ainge left the organization this offseason.
The Thunder, Pelicans, and Rockets should review both of the aforementioned attempts at winning via draft-pick hoarding. If they pay close attention, there are lessons to be learned.
First, a lesson from the city of brotherly love: work smarter, not harder. The 76ers&rsquo; biggest misstep was giving away too much in exchange for the first-overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. They gave up Sacramento&rsquo;s unprotected 2019 first-rounder (which became the No. 14 pick), but the pick swaps were what caused the most damage.
In hindsight, wouldn&rsquo;t Tatum have the best available addition out of everyone in the entire draft class to place alongside Embiid and Simmons? Instead 76ers executive Bryan Colangelo overthought a situation, giving up extra draft capital to pick point guard Markelle Fultz (who still hasn&rsquo;t reached his full potential), when there was already an All-Star-caliber point guard on the roster (Simmons).
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The other key takeaway comes from Beantown, and it&rsquo;s even more important than the first one: when a superstar in the prime of his career is available and you can land him, you go get him. According to <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/2019/06/08/kawhi-leonard-trade-rumor-raptors-celtics-jaylen-brown-danny-ainge">Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated</a>, Boston had the best offer for Leonard and regretted not pulling the trigger. The same is probably true of their inaction regarding Butler and George, any of whom would have made an already uber-talented lineup all-the-more dangerous.
Ultimately, the situations in Oklahoma City, New Orleans, and Houston will play out differently than those in Philadelphia and Boston, but different doesn&rsquo;t necessarily mean better. It goes without saying that NBA front offices are smarter than ever and constantly adapting, but miscalculations (like chasing Fultz over Tatum) are inevitable.
The major benefit of stockpiling so many picks is that you have flexibility and you can weather one or more mistakes. Ideally, the sheer number of picks owned by Oklahoma City, New Orleans, and Houston will outweigh any errors in judgement. Otherwise, one those teams may be rebuilding for even longer than expected.

The Thunder could have as many as 39 picks over the next seven drafts. How has stockpiling draft picks worked for teams in the past?

When NBA teams have hoarded draft picks, has it paid off?

USA Basketball <a href="https://www.usab.com/news-events/news/2021/07/m-select-team.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced the roster</a> for its Select Team today in a statement:
Featuring 14 players owning USA Basketball experience, 17 athletes have been selected to the 2021 USA Basketball Select Team that will train with the USA Basketball Men&rsquo;s National Team during its Las Vegas training camp.
The Select Team features a roster of 13 young standout NBA players and four veteran players with international and USA Basketball experience.Members of the USA Select Team will train daily with the USA National Team from July 6-9 at UNLV&rsquo;s Mendenhall Center.
Named to the 2021 USA Basketball Select Team were: Saddiq Bey (Detroit Pistons/Villanova); Miles Bridges (Charlotte Hornets/Michigan State); Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves/Georgia); Darius Garland (Cleveland Cavaliers/Vanderbilt); Tyrese Haliburton (Sacramento Kings/Iowa State); Tyler Herro (Miami Heat/Kentucky); John Jenkins (Bilbao Basket, Italy/Vanderbilt); Keldon Johnson (San Antonio Spurs/Kentucky); Josh Magette (Dar&uuml;şşafaka Tekfen, Turkey/Alabama-Huntsville); Dakota Mathias (Philadelphia 76ers/Purdue); Immanuel Quickly (New York Knicks/Kentucky); Naz Reid (Minnesota Timberwolves/LSU); Cam Reynolds (Houston Rockets/Tulane); Isaiah Stewart (Detroit Pistons/Washington); Obi Toppin (New York Knicks/Dayton); P.J. Washington (Charlotte Hornets/Kentucky); and Patrick Williams (Chicago Bulls/Florida State).
Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra will serve as head coach of the 2021 USA Select Team, and serving as assistant coaches will be Gonzaga University head coach Mark Few, who served as an assistant coach with the 2019&nbsp;USA&nbsp;Select Team and head coach of the 2015 U.S. Pan American Games Team, as well as Dallas Mavericks assistant coachJamahl Mosley, who served as an assistant coach at the 2018 USA National Team minicamp.
&ldquo;This USA Select Team continues the legacy established by previous Select teams of helping prepare our&nbsp;USA&nbsp;National Team for the Tokyo Olympic Games," said Jerry Colangelo, USA Basketball Men&rsquo;s National Team managing director. &ldquo;With all the uncertainty of how many of our Olympic Team members will be available for the USA training camp because of the overlap with the NBA Finals, we chose a USA Select Team consisting of many of the top young NBA players and four players who not only owninternational experience, but who played recently for USA Basketball in important national team qualifying competitions.If we need to add players to fill out our roster for any of our exhibition games, we feel this USA Select Team has an excellent variety of skilled players to choose from.&rdquo;
The roster, which features 12 players who just completed either their first or second NBA season, includes six members of the 2021 NBA All-Rookie first and second teams. Bey, Edwards and Haliburton were 2021 All-NBA Rookie first team selections,&nbsp;while&nbsp;Quickley, Stewart and Williams garnered All-Rookie second team honors. Additionally, Herro and Washington were second team All-Rookie selections in 2020.
Jenkins, Magette, Mathias and Reynolds, the four oldest members of the team, all bring recent USA Basketball playing experience as members of either the USA World Cup Qualifying or USA AmeriCup Qualifying teams. Jenkins played during the November 2019 World Cup Qualifying window and the November 2020 AmeriCup Qualifying window and helped the USA to a combined 4-0 record. Reynolds was a member of the USA World Cup Qualifying team for the November 2018 and February 2019 teams and helped the Americas to a 4-0 record. Magette played for the USA in the AmeriCup Qualifying in the February 2020 and November 2020 windows, while Mathias was a member of the February 2021 USA AmeriCup Qualifying Team that finished 2-0 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Garland (2018), Herro (2018), Johnson (2018) and Stewart (2019) were all selected for USA Junior National Select Teams that participated in the Nike Hoop Summit.
Haliburton was a member of the 2019 USA U19 World Cup team that captured the gold medal; Jenkins was part of the 2011 USA World University Games Team; Quickley was part of bronze medalist 2017 USA U19 World Cup and the gold medalist 2016 U17 World Cup teams; Stewart played on the gold medalist 2018 U17 World Cup Team; Washington was a member of the bronze medalist 2017 U19 World Cup Team, the gold medalist 2016 USA U18 Championship Team and was on the 2015 USA 3x3 U18 World Cup Team. Additionally, Edwards, Garland, Herro, Johnson, Quickley, Reid, Stewart and Washington were all part of&nbsp; USA Basketball&rsquo;s Junior National Team program, and Bridges was part of the 2016 U18 Championship Team trials.

Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Haliburton are among the members of the roster.

USA Basketball announces roster for USA Select Team

Team USA's first game is against France; the first battle is against the clock.
Too much time and too few games &ndash; six in 17 days. That leaves an awful lot of downtime for Team USA later this summer at the Tokyo Olympics, and team director Jerry Colangelo is going to have to get creative to keep his players sane halfway around the world.
&ldquo;We need to keep ourselves staying busy. You don&rsquo;t want them sitting around and twiddling their thumbs. That&rsquo;s just not going to work,&rdquo; Colangelo said Monday while formally announcing the 12-man roster that will represent the United States.
It is one of the best rosters <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/usa-basketball-announces-us-olympic-mens-basketball-team-2020-tokyo-olympics-games-japan-fiba" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Team USA has ever put together</a>. Alphabetically, it is Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat), Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards), Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns), Kevin Durant (Brooklyn Nets), Jerami Grant (Detroit Pistons), Draymond Green (Golden State Warriors), Jrue Holiday (Milwaukee Bucks), Zach LaVine (Chicago Bulls), Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers), Kevin Love (Cleveland Cavaliers), Khris Middleton (Milwaukee Bucks) and Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics).
The coaching staff is led by Gregg Popovich (San Antonio Spurs) with assistant coaches Steve Kerr (Golden State Warriors), Jay Wright (Villanova University) and Lloyd Pierce.
Nobody will be able to compete with these guys, correct?&nbsp;
Well, they say that every time Team USA puts a squad together, and then strange things happen in the unlikeliest of places. It was a mere two years ago that the Americans finished seventh at the 2019 World Cup in China, defeating Poland for that honor. Their prior game was a loss to Serbia, which was preceded by a loss to France.&nbsp;
And of all the places for Colangelo to bring his final version of Team USA (he is <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-news-team-usa-roster-director-jerry-colangelo-gregg-popovich-2021-tokyo-japan-olympics-ioc-fiba-international-basketball" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stepping down</a> after the Olympics and handing over the reins to Grant Hill), the Olympic tournament will be held in Saitama, Japan, where Colangelo&rsquo;s first team -- which included LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, Dwight Howard, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh -- was unceremoniously upended by Greece in the semifinals of the 2006 World Championship.
&ldquo;The loss to Greece stuck with us, both myself and Coach K (Mike Krzyzewski) for a long time, but we can&rsquo;t think that way,&rdquo; Colangelo said of returning to the site of that debacle. &ldquo;An arena is an arena. It&rsquo;s still 94 feet by 50 feet. So I have no problem with going back to the same arena.&rdquo;
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/usatsi_13213886_lg.jpg" alt="" width="509" height="392" />
Booker, Holiday and Middleton face the possibility of participating in a seven-game NBA Finals while the rest of the team is holding mini-camp in Las Vegas. The last possible date for the NBA Finals is July 22, and the opening ceremony in Tokyo is July 23. Colangelo said the U.S. federation is already putting plans in place to get those players overseas quickly.
&ldquo;They&rsquo;re young. They can sleep on the plane,&rdquo; Colangelo said.
"Booker called me maybe a month ago to express his great desire to be a part of the Olympics, and I knew that just because of the relationship, I didn't have to say a word," he added. "He said, 'If we get to the Finals and we go all the way, I'll be on the plane the next day and I'll be there. It doesn't matter.' When you're young, you can think that way."
As mentioned before, the Americans will play only six games over the course of their 17 days in Japan after FIBA cut down the number of Olympic games from eight. Only the first two opponents, France and Iran, are known. The third opening-round opponent will be whoever wins the qualifying tournament in Victoria, British Columbia that begins Tuesday. The six teams competing are Canada, China, the Czech Republic, Greece, Turkey and Uruguay.&nbsp;
What concerns Colangelo the most at this present time is finding ways to stay active and entertained once the team lands in Japan. The Olympics will be contested under a highly restrictive set of rules that continue to evolve, with organizers currently prohibiting foreigners from using public transportation, interacting with Japanese citizens and straying from pre-planned activity schedules.
Colangelo said &ldquo;it is not really a bubble,&rdquo; which is somewhat true. But as a practical matter, finding things to do away from the Tokyo Hilton while also staying within the rules will be a challenge.
As loaded as the U.S. roster is, there is always a learning curve when it comes to playing in FIBA competitions, where the referees typically let things get very physical. NBA players are not going to get favorable whistles if a defender crowds their landing area when attempting a three-point shot. The games sometimes resemble another Olympic sport, Greco-Roman wrestling, and the physicality will come as a surprise to viewers in the United States who have not watched an Olympics basketball game since the Games were held in Rio in 2016.&nbsp;
The American roster is also somewhat devoid of size, with Adebayo being the only true center. Rudy Gobert of France and Hamed Haddadi of Iran will be the first two centers the Americans will have to contain. Teams from other nations will also keep a close eye on how the Americans are defending the pick-and-roll, because history has shown that if the Americans are not fighting over picks, then the opposition can easily find open three-pointers.
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Greece did that against Team USA in the 2006 World Championship, and the game got away from the Americans before they knew what hit them. As loaded as Team USA's roster is, there is only one ball, and only five players can be on the court at the same time.
This roster is stacked with shooters and scorers, showing that the Americans realize they are going to have to simply outscore each and every opponent, overwhelming them with offense. But historically, problems have arisen when the five-man unit on the floor is unaccustomed to playing with one another, something the U.S. federation hopes to alleviate by playing five exhibition games in Las Vegas after camp opens on July 6.&nbsp;
The opponents are Nigeria on July 10 (8 p.m. EDT); followed by Australia on July 12 (8 p.m. EDT); Argentina on July 13 (6 p.m. EDT); Australia for a second time on July 16 (6 p.m. EDT); and Spain on July 18 (9 p.m. EDT). All of the exhibition games will be played at the Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay.
The U.S. Men's Team has collected a medal in all 18 Olympics in which it has competed, including 15 gold medals, one silver and two bronze medals. The American men own an impressive 138-5 all-time record (.965 winning percentage) in Olympic action. Since NBA players began representing the United States in 1992, the USA is 53-3 in seven Olympics, capturing six gold medals and one bronze medal. The USA currently enjoys a 25-game Olympic win streak that dates back to the bronze-medal game of the 2004 Athens Olympics.
The average age of the 12 U.S. players at the conclusion of the Tokyo Olympics (Aug. 8, 2021) will be 28.2, the third-oldest U.S. Men&rsquo;s Olympic Team in history, behind the 1996 Atlanta Olympics squad (29.4) and the 1992 Barcelona Olympics Team (29.0).
Durant, who also collected MVP honors in leading the USA to gold at the 2010 FIBA World Cup, has finished as Team USA's leading scorer the past two Olympics &ndash; the 2012 London Olympics and the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Owning the top two U.S. Olympic scoring marks (156 points in 2012 and 155 points in 2016), Durant has 16 career Olympic games under his belt, with 311 total points in Olympic games (19.4 points per game). He ranks second all-time for points scored, trailing only Carmelo Anthony (336) by 25 points.

Team USA will play only six games over the course of 17 days in Japan after FIBA cut down on the number of Olympic games.

Boredom is one enemy Team USA must fight at Olympics

Led by now three-time Olympian Kevin Durant (Brooklyn Nets), USA Basketball unveiled today its official 12-member U.S. Olympic Men&rsquo;s Basketball Team.&nbsp;
Selected for the U.S. Olympic Team 2020, which is seeking a fourth consecutive Olympic title, were: Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat), Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards), Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns), Durant, Jerami Grant (Detroit Pistons), Draymond Green (Golden State Warriors), Jrue Holiday (Milwaukee Bucks), Zach LaVine (Chicago Bulls), Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers), Kevin Love (Cleveland Cavaliers), Khris Middleton (Milwaukee Bucks) and Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics).
The USA coaching staff is led by head coach Gregg Popovich (San Antonio Spurs) with assistant coaches Steve Kerr (Golden State Warriors), Lloyd Pierce and Jay Wright (Villanova University) and Jerry Colangelo serving as the USA Men&rsquo;s National Team managing director.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m happy for the selected players and looking forward to having the opportunity to work with this wonderful group when practice gets underway on July 6 in Las Vegas,&rdquo; said Popovich. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m excited to represent the United States in our quest to earn a gold medal in Tokyo.&rdquo;
The U.S. Olympic Men&rsquo;s Basketball Team was approved by the USA Basketball Board of Directors and is pending final approval by the United States Olympic &amp; Paralympic Committee.
&ldquo;We are excited about the 12 players who have been selected to represent the United States in the Tokyo Olympics,&rdquo; said Colangelo, who has served as managing director of the USA Men&rsquo;s National Team since 2005. &ldquo;This was an unusually challenging selection process for many reasons, including the year postponement of the Olympics and the issues related to the timing of the NBA regular season and playoffs.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Our roster features players who are experienced in the international game, and this team has outstanding athleticism, versatility and balance. We also believe we have excellent leadership which is a necessity in order to develop the needed chemistry. We still have a lot of challenges in front of us, but I believe these players will become a team that all Americans will be proud of.&rdquo;&nbsp;
The U.S. roster features the return of Olympic gold medalists Durant, Green and Love. Durant and Green were members of the 2016 U.S. Olympic gold medalist squad and Durant and Love were 2012 Olympic gold medalists. Durant and Love were also part of the 2010 USA team that went 9-0 and captured the FIBA World Cup title, and Middleton and Tatum were members of the 2019 USA World Cup Team.&nbsp;
&ldquo;USA Basketball selects players to represent our country in international competition with the skills, character, experience, and desire to win,&rdquo; said retired Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the USA Basketball Board of Directors.. &ldquo;We build teams that are versatile and resilient in the short, intense competitions we face. We&rsquo;re fortunate that this group of elite athletes has volunteered to represent us in Tokyo this summer.&rdquo;
With his selection to the U.S. Olympic Team, Durant becomes just the fourth United States male basketball player selected to three or more Olympic teams. Carmelo Anthony (2004, 2008, 2012, 2016) has represented and medaled for a USA men&rsquo;s record four Olympics, while LeBron James (2004, 2008, 2012) and David Robinson (1988, 1992, 1996) each have three Olympic medals in as many appearances.&nbsp;
Durant, who also collected MVP honors in leading the USA to gold at the 2010 FIBA World Cup, has finished as the U.S. team&rsquo;s leading scorer the past two Olympics &ndash; the 2012 London Olympics and the 2016 Rio Olympics. Owning the top two U.S. Olympic scoring marks (156 points in 2012 and 155 points in 2016), Durant has 16 career Olympic games under his belt and with 311 total points in Olympic games (19.4 ppg.), ranks second all-time for points scored,trailing only Anthony (336) by 25 points.&nbsp;
Durant in USA all-time career Olympics statistics lists first for points averaged (19.4), tied for fourth for games played (16), fifth for rebounds (86), third for most field goals made (101), third for field goals attempted (191), first for 3-point field goals made (59), second for 3-point field goals attempted (108), fourth for 3-point shooting percentage (.546%), second for free throws made (50), fourth for free throws attempted (59), 11th for assists (49), eighth for blocked shots (9) and ninth for steals (21).
The average age of the 12 U.S. players at the conclusion of the Tokyo Olympics (Aug. 8, 2021) will be 28.2, the third oldest U.S. Men&rsquo;s Olympic Team in history, behind the 1996 Atlanta Olympics squad (29.4) and the 1992 Barcelona Olympics Team (29.0).
Included among the named U.S. Olympians were 2021 All-NBA second team selection Lillard, and third team pick Beal. Additionally, Green and Holiday collected 2021 NBA All-Defensive first team honors, while Adebayo was a second team selection. Four USA players &ndash; Beal, LaVine, Lillard and Tatum -- were named as 2021 NBA All-Stars.
After opening training camp on July 6, the USA Men&rsquo;s National Team will tip off a five-game exhibition series against Nigeria on July 10 (5 p.m. PDT); followed by Australia on July 12 (5 p.m. PDT); Argentina on July 13 (3 p.m. PDT); Australia for a second time on July 16 (3 p.m. PDT); and Spain on July 18 (6 p.m. PDT). All of the exhibition games will be played at the Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay. Ticket information is available online at https://axs.com/USABasketball.
The U.S. men have collected a medal in all 18 Olympics in which they have competed, including 15 gold medals, one silver and two bronze medals. The American men own an impressive 138-5 (.965 winning percentage) all-time record in Olympic action. Since NBA players began representing the United States in 1992, the USA is 53-3 in seven Olympics, capturing six gold medals and one bronze medal. The USA currently enjoys a 25-game Olympic win streak that dates back to the bronze medal game of the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Tokyo Olympic Games 2020
The rescheduled Summer Olympic Games are being held July 23-Aug. 8 in Tokyo, Japan. Twelve nations will compete in the Olympic men&rsquo;s basketball competition that will be held at the Saitama Super Arena. In addition to host Japan, nations qualified for the Tokyo Olympics men's basketball competition include Argentina, Australia, France, Iran, Nigeria, Spain and the United States.&nbsp;
The final four teams for the Tokyo Olympics will qualify through four FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments. Twenty-four teams will compete in the four men's FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments, which will be held from June 29-July 4, in Victoria, Canada; Split, Croatia; Kaunas, Lithuania; and Belgrade, Serbia. The winner of each qualifying tournament will qualify for the Tokyo Olympic Games.
Men&rsquo;s basketball preliminary play at the Olympics, which will see the 12 teams divided into three groups of four teams each, will be held July 25-Aug. 2. The quarterfinals, featuring teams placed first and second in each preliminary group and the two best third-placed teams, is scheduled for Aug. 3. Semifinal action will be played on Aug. 5. The gold and bronze medal games are scheduled for Aug. 7.
The draw for the Tokyo Olympics men&rsquo;s basketball competition was held Feb. 2, and the U.S. was drawn into Group A alongside 2019 FIBA World Cup bronze medalist France, 2017 Asia Cup runner-up Iran, and the to-be-determined winner of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Canada. The American men will open Olympic preliminary round play on July 25, against France (8 a.m. EDT), then will play Iran on July 28 (12:40 a.m. EDT) and will close out preliminary play on July 31 (8:00 a.m. EDT) versus the winner of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Canada.
A draw will take place following the conclusion of the group phase to determine the pairings of the quarterfinals. The winners of the groups and the second-placed team with the best result from the Group Phase are placed in one pot (D), while the two remaining second-placed teams and two best third-placed teams in another pot (E). Teams from the same group in the Group Phase cannot be drawn against each other in the quarterfinals. This stage of the competition is played in a knockout format, and the draw will produce an Olympic bracket for the road to the gold medal.
To be crowned Olympic champion in 2021, a team has to play six games - three in the group phase and three in the Final Phase (quarterfinals, semifinals, gold medal game), instead of eight games as in past Olympics.
2020 U.S. Olympic Men&rsquo;s Basketball Team
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About USA Basketball
Based in Colorado Springs, Colorado USA Basketball is a nonprofit organization and the national governing body for basketball in the United States. As the recognized governing body for basketball in the U.S. by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the United States Olympic &amp; Paralympic Committee (USOPC), USA Basketball is responsible for the selection, training and fielding of USA national teams that compete in FIBA-sponsored five-on-five, 3x3 and esport international competitions, as well as for some national competitions and for the development of youth basketball initiative that address player development, coach education and safety, while promoting, growing and elevating the game.
Connect with USA Basketball at USAB.com and on Facebook (USABasketball, USABYouth), Twitter (@usabasketball, @USABJNT, @USABYouth, @USAB3x3), Instagram (@USABasketball, @USABYouth, @USAB3x3) and YouTube.com/usabasketball.

Led by now three-time Olympian Kevin Durant, USA Basketball unveiled today its official 12-member U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team.

USA Basketball announces U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team

Gary Payton and Kenyon Martin talked about playing for George Karl and his staff. They also praised Karl's assistant, Tim Grgurich.

Gary Payton: 'I used to want to kill George Karl's a** every other f*cking day'

USA Basketball has announced its finalists for the U.S. Olympic Men's Basketball team. The organization said in a statement:
"Adding 15 players to 42 previously selected USA Basketball Men&rsquo;s National Team finalists, 57 athletes today were announced by USA Basketball as finalists for the U.S. Olympic Men&rsquo;s Basketball Team. The player selections were approved by the USA Basketball Board of Directors. The official 12-member U.S. Olympic Men&rsquo;s Basketball Team roster will be announced later this year.
"Added to the 2021 USA National Team roster, from which the U.S. Olympic Men&rsquo;s Basketball Team will be selected, were - Jarrett Allen (Cleveland Cavaliers); Eric Gordon (Houston Rockets); Jerami Grant (Detroit Pistons); Blake Griffin (Brooklyn Nets); Jrue Holiday (Milwaukee Bucks); DeAndre Jordan (Brooklyn Nets); Zach LaVine (Chicago Bulls); Julius Randle (New York Knicks); Duncan Robinson (Miami Heat); Mitchell Robinson (New York Knicks); Fred VanVleet (Toronto Raptors); John Wall (Houston Rockets); Zion Williamson (New Orleans Pelicans); Christian Wood (Houston Rockets); and Trae Young (Atlanta Hawks).
"Forty-two of the athletes who were named as finalists on Feb. 10, 2020, also were confirmed for the 2021 list, including: Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat); LaMarcus Aldridge (San Antonio Spurs); Harrison Barnes (Sacramento Kings); Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards); Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns); Malcolm Brogdon (Indiana Pacers); Jaylen Brown (Boston Celtics); Jimmy Butler (Miami Heat); Mike Conley (Utah Jazz); Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors); Anthony Davis (Los Angeles Lakers); DeMar DeRozan (San Antonio Spurs); Andre Drummond (Cleveland Cavaliers); Kevin Durant (Brooklyn Nets); Paul George (LA Clippers); Draymond Green (Golden State Warriors); James Harden (Brooklyn Nets); Montrezl Harrell (Los Angeles Lakers); Joe Harris (Brooklyn Nets); Tobias Harris (Philadelphia 76ers); Gordon Hayward (Charlotte Hornets); Dwight Howard (Philadelphia 76ers); Brandon Ingram (New Orleans Pelicans); Kyrie Irving (Brooklyn Nets); LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers); Kyle Kuzma (Los Angeles Lakers); Kawhi Leonard (LA Clippers); Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers); Brook Lopez (Milwaukee Bucks); Kevin Love (Cleveland Cavaliers); Kyle Lowry (Toronto Raptors); JaVale McGee (Cleveland Cavaliers); Khris Middleton (Milwaukee Bucks); Donovan Mitchell (Utah Jazz); Victor Oladipo (Houston Rockets); Chris Paul (Phoenix Suns); Mason Plumlee (Detroit Pistons); Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics); Myles Turner (Indiana Pacers); Kemba Walker (Boston Celtics); Russell Westbrook (Washington Wizards); and Derrick White (San Antonio Spurs).
"'With the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics from 2020 to 2021, it&rsquo;s important that we continue to remain flexible and consider all players who can contribute to our efforts to field the best USA team possible. These additions we are announcing today will help ensure that we are doing that,' said Jerry Colangelo, who has served as the managing director of the USA Basketball Men&rsquo;s National Team since 2005. 'Having a larger player pool than what we normally have is critical because of all of the uncertainties we face about availability. But for USA Basketball to receive the commitment of so many outstanding players remains an indicator of the great honor of representing your country means to these men.'
"The USA National Team coaching staff is led by long-time San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, and serving as USA assistant coaches are Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, former Atlanta Hawks head coach Lloyd Pierce and Villanova University head coach Jay Wright."

Fifteen players were added to the list of 42 from early February.

USA Basketball announces finalists for men's Olympic team

The NBA G League held its annual draft ahead of a condensed <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-g-league-2021-season-orlando-bubble-teams-format-rules-two-way-players-jeremy-lin-rule-health-safety-covid-protocols-draft-ignite" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2021 bubble season</a> that's scheduled to tip-off in early February. The first selection by the Greensboro Swarm -- the Charlotte Hornets' affiliiate -- was Admiral Schofield, who was the No. 42 pick of the 2019 NBA Draft. 
Each round consisted of 19 available draft picks. However, because a G League roster can only have 10 designated G League players, only 22 players were selected.&nbsp;
Round One:
1. Greensboro Swarm: Admiral Schofield
A 6-foot-5 shooting guard/small forward from the University of Tennessee, Schofield last played for the Washington Wizards and their affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go, before being traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder and waived immediately.
2. Memphis Hustle (from Erie BayHawks): Freddie Gillespie
A 6-foot-9 power forward from Baylor University who went undrafted in the 2020 NBA Draft.
3. Canton Charge (from Rio Grande Valley Vipers): Antonio Blakeney
A 6-foot-4 shooting guard from Louisiana State University who signed a two-way contract with the Chicago Bulls after going undrafted in 2017. He is the 2018 NBA G League Rookie of the Year, and last played for the Jiangsu Dragons of the Chinese Basketball Association.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/usatsi_13658981-1_lg.jpg" alt="" width="860" height="AUTO" />
4. Iowa Wolves (from Windy City Bulls via Lakeland Magic): Allonzo Trier
A 6-foot-4 shooting guard from the University of Arizona, who spent two years with the New York and Westchester Knicks after going undrafted in 2018. Trier was waived by the Knicks on June 26, 2020.
5. Lakeland Magic (from Westchester Knicks): Tahjere McCall
A 6-foot-4 shooting guard from Tennessee State University. Undrafted in 2017, McCall has spent the last three seasons in the G League with the Long Island Nets and the College Park Skyhawks.
6. Canton Charge (from South Bay Lakers): Anthony Lamb
A 6-foot-6 small forward from the University of Vermont who went undrafted in the 2020 NBA Draft.
7. Oklahoma City Blue (from Iowa Wolves): No selection.
8. Lakeland Magic (from Long Island Nets): DJ Hogg
A 6-foot-9 small forward from Texas A&amp;M University, who spent the last two seasons in the G League with the Delaware Blue Coats and Wisconsin Herd after going undrafted in the 2018 NBA Draft.
9. Westchester Knicks (from Oklahoma City Blue via Canton Charge): Justin Patton
A 6-foot-11 center from Creighton University, Patton was taken No. 16 overall in the 2017 NBA Draft. Since then, he has spent time with Minnesota Timberwolves, Philadelphia 76ers, Oklahoma CIty Thunder and all of their G League affiliates. He spent the 2019-20 season with the Wisconsin Herd before signing a training camp deal with the Milwaukee Bucks.
10. Rio Grande Valley Vipers (from Agua Caliente Clippers via Oklahoma City Blue, Canton Charge, Santa Cruz Warriors): Armoni Brooks
A 6-foot-3 shooting guard from the University of Houston who spent his rookie season with the College Park Skyhawks after going undrafted in the 2019 NBA Draft.
11. Raptors 905: Kevon Harris
A 6-foot-6 shooting guard from Stephen F. Austin University who went undrafted in the 2020 NBA Draft.
12. Rio Grande Valley Vipers (from Delaware Blue Coats): Jarron Cumberland
A 6-foot-5 shooting guard from the University of Cincinnati who went undrafted in the 2020 NBA Draft.
13. Oklahoma City Blue (from Stockton Kings via Greensboro Swarm): Vincent Edwards
A 6-foot-8 small forward out of Purdue University who last played for the Oklahoma City Blue. Drafted by the Utah Jazz with the No. 52 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, Edwards was immediately traded to the Houston Rockets and assigned to their G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers; he averaged nearly 10 points per game to bring the Vipers a G League championship in the 2018-19 season.
14. Austin Spurs: Jonathan Kasibabu
A 6-foot-8 small forward from Fairfield University who last played for the Long Island Nets.
15. Raptors 905 (from Lakeland Magic): Gary Payton II
A 6-foot-3 point guard from Oregon State University who has spent the last four seasons on two-way contracts throughout the NBA while trying to find stability with one team. He last played for the Washington Wizards.
16. Memphis Hustle: Anthony Cowan Jr.&nbsp;
A 6-foot point guard from the University of Maryland who went undrafted in the 2020 NBA Draft.
17. Iowa Wolves (from Canton Charge via Oklahoma City Blue): Dakarai Tucker&nbsp;
A 6-foot-5 shooting guard/small forward from the University of Utah. Tucker spent the 2018-19 season with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers before heading overseas.
18. Salt Lake City Stars (could not make pick)
19. N/A
Round Two:
1. Delaware Blue Coats (from Rio Grande Valley Vipers): Jemmerio Jones
A 6-foot-5 small forward from New Mexico State University. Jones went undrafted in the 2018 NBA Draft before spending time with both the Los Angeles and South Bay Lakers. Jones was traded from the Lakers to the Washington Wizards in 2019 before spending the 2019-20 season with the Wisconsin Herd.
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2. Fort Wayne Mad Ants (from Windy City Bulls): Oshae Brissett
A 6-foot-7 shooting guard/small forward from Syracuse University. Brissett signed a two-way contract with the Toronto Raptors after going undrafted in the 2019 NBA Draft. The Raptors waived Brissett ahead of the 2020-21 season after signing a partially guaranteed contract.
3. Westchester Knicks (could not make pick)
4. Iowa Wolves (could not make pick)
5. Long Island Nets (could not make pick)
6. Agua Caliente Clippers (from Oklahoma City Blue; could not make pick)
7. Fort Wayne Mad Ants: Quincy McKnight
A 6-foot-4 shooting guard from Seton Hall University who went undrafted in the 2020 NBA Draft.
8. Agua Caliente Clippers (could not make pick)
9. Santa Cruz Warriors: Selom Mawugbe
A 6-foot-10 power forward from Azusa Pacific University who went undrafted in the 2020 NBA Draft.
10. Raptors 905 (could not make pick)
11. Memphis Hustle (from Capital City Go-Go via Agua Caliente Clippers; could not make pick)
12. Austin Spurs (from Delaware Blue Coats): No selection.
13. Erie BayHawks (via Sioux Falls Skyforce; could not make pick)
14. Greensboro Swarm (from Texas Legends; could not make pick)
15. Austin Spurs (from Stockton Kings): Kaleb Johnson
A 6-foot-6 shooting guard/small forward from Georgetown University whose most recent season was marred due to injuries. He is the younger brother of San Antonio Spurs shooting guard/small forward Keldon Johnson.
16. Santa Cruz Warriors (from Austin Spurs; could not make pick)
17. Memphis Hustle (could not make pick)
18. Oklahoma City Blue (from Canton Charge): Rob Edwards
A 6-foot-4 shooting guard from the University of Arizona who went undrafted in the 2020 NBA Draft.
19. Salt Lake City Stars (could not make pick)
Round Three:
1. Greensboro Swarm (could not make pick)&nbsp;
2. Erie BayHawks (could not make pick)&nbsp;
3. Westchester Knicks (could not make pick)
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/usatsi_14119898-1_lg.jpg" alt="" width="860" height="AUTO" />
4. Delaware Blue Coats (from South Bay Lakers via Agua Caliente Clippers): Braxton Key
A 6-foot-8 forward from the University of Virginia who went undrafted in the 2020 NBA Draft. Key was the final pick of the G League Draft.
5. Iowa Wolves (could not make pick)
6. Long Island Nets (could not make pick)
7. Oklahoma City Blue (could not make pick)
8. Fort Wayne Mad Ants (could not make pick)
9. Canton Charge (from Santa Cruz Warriors; could not make pick)
10. Raptors 905 (could not make pick)
11. Delaware Blue Coats (could not make pick)
12. Lakeland Magic (could not make pick)
13. Memphis Hustle (could not make pick)
14. Canton Charge (could not make pick)
15. Raptors 905 (from Salt Lake City Stars; could not make pick)
16. N/A
17. N/A
18. N/A
19. N/A
TRANSACTIONS
G League Transactions are a lot harder to follow and to find, particularly when the season was abruptly cut short with no decided future. Below are the most notable transactions in the days leading up to the draft.
South Bay Lakers&nbsp;
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Acquire 2021-22 first-round pick from Santa Cruz Warriors in exchange for the returning rights to Dusty Hannahs.</li>
</ul>
Raptors 905
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Acquired the returning rights to Ben Moore from Fort Wayne Mad Ants in exchange for the returning rights to Devin Robinson.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Traded the returning rights to Ben Moore to the Memphis Hustle in exchange for the returning rights to Matt Mooney.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Traded future second-round pick to the Lakeland Magic in exchange for the No. 15 pick in the 2021 G League Draft (Gary Payton II).</li>
</ul>
ROSTER CONSTRUCTION
In prior seasons, G League teams held open tryouts and training camps before trimming their rosters. Because of COVID regulations and the uncertainty surrounding the season, this was not possible this year.&nbsp;
Each participating G League team is allowed a roster of 10 G League-specific players. These players will earn a base salary of $35,000. Players traded in the G League will earn the same salary, as will returning players, G League draft picks and designated veteran players. Any player in the G League is eligible to be called up by any team at any point during the season.
AFFILIATE PLAYERS
NBA teams are allowed to sign no more than four &ldquo;affiliate players&rdquo; who were with the team during training camp. These include training camp contracts and Exhibit-10 contracts, and can include a $50,000 signing bonus.&nbsp;
RETURNING PLAYERS
In the G League, rights are held to players no matter the situation for two years. This means that players who have decided to return to the G League after spending time overseas will return to their previous team, barring trades.&nbsp;
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DESIGNATED VETERAN PLAYERS (THE JEREMY LIN RULE)
New this season, G League teams are allowed to circumvent the draft and sign players with more than five years of NBA experience. Rights to these players will not be held upon completion of the season.
TWO-WAY PLAYERS
Two-way players are eligible to spend 50 games with their NBA parent team and unlimited time with their G League team. Teams who have two-way players but are not participating in the bubble are allowed to assign their players to teams that are participating in the bubble. Two-way players do not count against the total roster and are not included on the 10-man G League roster.
ASSIGNMENT PLAYERS
Teams are still allowed to send players down to the G League, as long as those players have not played more than three NBA seasons. There are exceptions, including injury rehabilitation and exceeding the maximum number of dressed players on a bench. It&rsquo;s likely that assignment players will be sent down for significant amounts of time if they are sent down at all, due to COVID regulations and quarantine protocol.
With the final rosters in the process of being constructed, the NBA G League is set to tip-off in early-mid February at ESPN&rsquo;s Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando.

Kelsea O'Brien rounds up the 2021 G League Draft and the most notable details ahead of the G League season.

Breaking down the 2021 NBA G League Draft

The University of Maryland has a history of not recruiting local talent.&nbsp;
I&rsquo;m not from Maryland, but I have lived in Prince George&rsquo;s County for 20 years now since coming here to play with the Washington Wizards back in 2001. I&rsquo;ve never understood why the Maryland Terrapins refuse to take advantage of the incredible talent that&rsquo;s surrounding them.
On New Year&rsquo;s Eve, former DeMatha standout Hunter Dickinson absolutely shined against the Terps to the tune of 26 points, 11 rebounds and 1 block (while shooting 10-11 from the field and 6-7 from the free-throw line). The 7-foot-1 center completely dominated the game.&nbsp;
Don&rsquo;t get me wrong: Maryland played a good game right up until the end of the second half when Michigan pulled away. The final score, 84-73, definitely isn&rsquo;t indicative of the quality of the game. Maryland had great play from Donta Scott, Eric Ayala and Jairus Hamilton in particular, but Hunter was just too much to deal with down low. He scored on an array of duck-ins and post moves that made every old-school big across the country proud. Two feet in the paint, jump hooks coming across his right shoulder; two dribbles to the middle, reverse drop-step, hook off the backboard. We&rsquo;re talking classic big-man moves. And every time he scored in the first half, he stared down the Maryland coaching staff. At halftime, the announcers explained why.&nbsp;
Last year at DeMatha Catholic High School, Hunter won every accolade possible. Dickinson earned All-Met Player of the Year and WCAC Player of the Year honors, and he was named Maryland&rsquo;s Gatorade Player of the Year. He graduated as a three-time First-Team All-WCAC selection and was even invited to play in the Jordan Brand Classic.&nbsp;
I personally saw him score 40 points against St. John&rsquo;s his junior year, and that&rsquo;s when I heard the buzz that he wanted to go to the University of Maryland. However, as the announcers explained, Maryland never recruited him -- hence the staredowns. He even received a tech one time (which I thought was a very weak call, but I digress).
This made me think about all of the local recruits that Maryland has passed on over the years.
Back in 2009-10, I played with Kevin Durant on the Oklahoma City Thunder. He told me that he grew up wanting to go to Maryland (like most PG County kids), but they never recruited him.&nbsp;
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/kd21_lg.jpg" alt="" width="771" height="AUTO" />
DerMarr Johnson, who many were saying could&rsquo;ve left high school after his junior year and been a lottery pick, also wanted to go to Maryland.&nbsp;
Johnson was essentially LeBron James before LeBron James, according to <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/washington/wizards/pg-county-legend-dermarr-johnson-was-dmvs-lebron">NBC Sports Washington</a>: &ldquo;Picture a 16-year-old kid with tons of basketball skill, athletically gifted and a mind for the game tearing up courts in the area in the late 1990s. Sounds like a phenom from Akron, Ohio just a few years later. And if not for an NBA rule at the time restricting non-high school graduates from entering the NBA Draft, DerMarr might have made that leap to the highest level of basketball even before graduating.&rdquo;
I asked DerMarr multiple times why he didn&rsquo;t go to Maryland and he always said that they didn&rsquo;t show interest in him.
&ldquo;They barely recruited me,&rdquo; Johnson said. &ldquo;They didn&rsquo;t do a good job of trying to get me at all. If I went there, a lot of the guys who came after me probably would&rsquo;ve gone there too. They made it seem like, basically, I should be happy they even kind of wanted me. I was like, &lsquo;Are you serious? I&rsquo;ve been the best player in the country for a few years now.&rsquo;&rdquo;
Jeff Green, who is currently playing with the Brooklyn Nets, is also a Prince George&rsquo;s County product. Like Durant and Johnson, he aspired to play for the Terps. When he joined me on <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-jeff-green-houston-rockets-okc-oklahoma-city-thunder-kevin-durant-james-harden-russell-westbrook-trade-open-heart-surgery-etan-thomas">my show, &ldquo;The Rematch,&rdquo;</a> I asked him why he didn&rsquo;t go to Maryland.
&ldquo;I would like to place the blame on Gary Williams,&rdquo; Green said. &ldquo;They gave their last scholarship away. I actually told him this a few years ago. I wanted to go there. I bled [Maryland colors]; like, fear the turtle! Like you said, anybody who is from Maryland who&rsquo;s a baller, you fear the turtle. That&rsquo;s the first college you know. But they gave their last scholarship away. They wanted me to go prep, but I didn&rsquo;t want to go prep, so I said, &lsquo;Try to figure out a way.&rsquo; They didn&rsquo;t. So Georgetown was recruiting me and so I was like, &lsquo;I&rsquo;m going to Georgetown.&rsquo; That was the only visit I took. I went there and when I signed, JT3 got the job.&nbsp;
&ldquo;So, in my mind, I wanted to make Georgetown the best area school during the years I&rsquo;m there. Because Maryland didn&rsquo;t recruit me, you guys are going to have to pay somehow. They actually didn&rsquo;t want to play us. We wanted to play them my junior year. You know you sign the contract and you play at the Verizon Center or on their campus for a couple years, but they didn&rsquo;t want to do it! So that&rsquo;s when I knew I had them (laughs).&rdquo;
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Coach Gary Williams has admitted to missing out on local talent during his time at Maryland. He said that not offering Victor Oladipo a scholarship was perhaps his biggest recruiting regret.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m sure there was others, but he&rsquo;s the one that comes to mind right away for me when I think about that,&rdquo; Williams said, according to <a href="https://www.si.com/college/maryland/basketball/gary-williams-recruiting-miss-victor-oladipo-pg-county-basketball-in-the-water">Sports Illustrated</a>.&nbsp;
Yes, there were plenty others including Michael Beasley, Quinn Cook and Ty Lawson (just to name a few).
Williams said he was unsure if Oladipo would&rsquo;ve selected Maryland if he offered him a scholarship, but regrets not making more of an effort.
&ldquo;I know that I could&rsquo;ve recruited him harder if I had done a better job,&rdquo; Williams said, per SI. &ldquo;If I give it my best shot and we don&rsquo;t get a player, okay, we move onto the next guy and see what you can do. But in that case he was sitting right there.&rdquo;&nbsp;
If you&rsquo;re a Maryland fan, these stories are tragic and heartbreaking. Prince George&rsquo;s County is a special place and it&rsquo;s been a hotbed for basketball talent for decades. Durant produced a great documentary over the summer called &ldquo;Basketball County: In the Water,&rdquo; which showcased Prince George&rsquo;s County basketball to the entire world.&nbsp;
Current Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon is a solid leader who runs a good program, but he cannot continue the Gary Williams tradition of overlooking the tremendous talent that's right in his backyard. Coach Turgeon has had some success landing local products since taking over the program (such as Melo Trimble, Jalen Smith and Anthony Cowan among others).&nbsp;
However, in June, Hunter Dickinson tweeted: &ldquo;Imagine if the two HM programs in the DMV actually recruited kids in this area for basketball... They&rsquo;d be top 5 in the country every year.&rdquo;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Imagine if the two HM programs in the DMV actually recruited kids in this area for basketball... They&rsquo;d be top 5 in the country every year
&mdash; Hunter Dickinson (@H_Dickinson24) <a href="https://twitter.com/H_Dickinson24/status/1270110454325657602?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 8, 2020</a></blockquote>

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

I&rsquo;ll take it a step further: With the amount of talent in this area alone, the University of Maryland could create a Fab Five made up solely of Prince George&rsquo;s County players. Wouldn&rsquo;t that be something?

There are plenty of examples of the Maryland Terrapins missing out on superstar recruits right in their backyard, writes Etan Thomas.

Examining Maryland's failure to recruit local talent

Everything is different in 2020&hellip; until it isn&rsquo;t. Is it fair to say, as we all awake, that some things just never change? The sun always rises in the East, political news always riles people up and LeBron James wins big basketball games with phenomenal flair.
A year that began Jan. 1 with the death of former NBA commissioner David Stern and then brought the tragic end to Kobe Bryant&rsquo;s life on Jan. 26 is going to include a trip to the NBA Finals for the Los Angeles Lakers and the superstar we have watched in awe and bewilderment all the way to the championship round for the 10th time in his career.
We are all sitting home every night wondering when normalcy will return, and on Saturday night it did.
James was brilliant. Again. The Denver Nuggets were resilient. Again. And when clutch shots were needed to stave off a team that cheated basketball death so many times in the bubble, we all watched the old man with the gray-flecked pandemic beard knock down shot after shot after shot after shot.
The guy has been mesmerizing since he was a rookie. And he was the same way on Saturday night, especially in the fourth quarter - when he scored 16 points and made his final six buckets unassisted to finish off a virtuoso 27th career postseason triple-double, this one featuring 38 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists. When it ended, it was both amusing and surreal to see purple and gold confetti falling from the rafters of the bubble just like what would have happened if this game was played at the Staples Center.
LeBron sat on the court, taking in the moment in front of a crowd of dozens instead of thousands.
&ldquo;I was thinking about some of my teammates who this is their first appearance to the Finals. Obviously, AD (Anthony Davis) had a lot on my thought process,&rdquo; James said. &ldquo;This is the reason why I wanted to be a teammate of his and why I brought him here. I wanted him to see things that he had not seen before in this league. To be able to come through for him meant a lot for me personally.
&ldquo;Then I started thinking about the next opponent. Boston had a few moments in my head. Miami had a few moments in my head as well. How challenging that's going to be, whoever wins that series. Then, I just started thinking about my journey as well. All that was just going through my mind as the confetti was on the floor, was coming down, landing on my shoulder and things of that nature.&rdquo;
The Finals will begin Wednesday night if the Miami Heat finish off the Boston Celtics tonight or Friday night if the Celtics force a Game 7. So, LeBron will have downtime. He will be fresh. He will be motivated. In the meantime, he will probably be political. There&rsquo;s sort of an important presidential debate on Tuesday night that is going to change the tone of civility in the United States one way or another.
No matter who comes out of the East, the Lakers are going to be prohibitive favorites to win the franchise&rsquo;s 17th championship. We would all be talking about it around the water cooler if we were living normal lives, which we are not. The new normal is not always normal, as the saying goes.
But there is another saying that is fitting today, too. The more things change, the more things stay the same.
LeBron James is a player I have covered in several American cities and several major metropolitan cities around the world. I first met him at Chelsea Piers in Manhattan when he was getting ready to be the first overall pick of the 2003 NBA Draft, and I watched with his first agent, Aaron Goodwin, as James posed for the cameras at a photoshoot and appeared uncommonly comfortable in front of a camera for an 18-year-old.
&ldquo;See that watch he&rsquo;s wearing? That&rsquo;s a $100,000 watch,&rdquo; Goodwin told me as we waited. I got to spend some alone time with him thanks to the efforts of former NBA PR executive Teri Washington, and I asked him why he seemed so comfortable in front of a camera. He told me he had only been frightened by cameras once, in his sophomore year of high school when one of his games for St. Vincent-St. Mary&rsquo;s High School in Akron, OH was being televised for the first time.
His maturity was already off the charts. I subsequently watched him up close as he endured the growing pains of being harshly introduced to the alternate basketball universe known as FIBA basketball when he first represented Team USA at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece. He was playing under Larry Brown, who refused to start him, and the Americans&rsquo; first game of that Olympic tournament was a 19-point loss to Puerto Rico. Every time Brown would put James into the game, good things happened. And then LB would yank him.
Brown was stubborn. He refused to play James more than a few minutes here and there. Losses to Lithuania and Argentina followed. LeBron left Greece with a bronze medal, and it is safe to assume it is not in his trophy case at home. More likely it&rsquo;s in his sock drawer.
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More of the same came two years later in Japan at the World Championship when the Americans lost to Greece in the semifinals. But then came the 2008 Beijing Olympics two years later, and James teamed up with Kobe for the first time on what came to be known as the Redeem Team. A very, very close gold-medal game against Spain ended with Team USA winning the gold medal. Another gold came four years later in London, and another may be forthcoming next August if the Tokyo Olympics actually happen. <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-rumors-team-usa-olympics-lebron-james-jerry-colangelo-adam-silver-schedule-conflict" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As reported on this site a couple days ago, James wants to play</a>.
But first things first. Another trip to the NBA Finals is upcoming, the ninth time in 10 years we will all watch this freak of nature cement his status as one of the greatest athletes of our time. The obstinate among us will turn their heads away, upset that the intersection of politics and sports has made athletes spokespeople for the folks in America who do not get a fair shake and must live every day in fear.
Some people will wallow in their misery and hatred and fear, and there is nothing the rest of us can do about it. Those folks live empty lives, as far as I am concerned. But they are our neighbors and our fellow citizens, and we have no choice but to tolerate their ignorance and loathing. It comes with the territory in this crazy year of 2020; and it will endure the years ahead.
But we can all take solace in the fact that James is not going anywhere anytime soon. His brilliance will be on display for at least four more games, hopefully for seven more games. He has not won the championship yet, and you can bet your bottom dollar that he will not see from Erik Spoelstra or Brad Stevens the amount of single coverage that he saw in Game 5 against Denver.
Spoelstra, in particular, has some insight into what works and what doesn&rsquo;t work when it comes to all things LeBron. Spoelstra and Pat Riley played a major part in making James what he is today, a three-time NBA champion. They probably know a thing or two about how to get into his head, and we will find those things out if the Heat are the team coming out of the East.
In the meantime, we wait.
And we wonder what type of craziness awaits us next.
And we&rsquo;re trying to get though life one day at a time, hopefully staying safe and healthy and smart and sane. We are living in a year in which fear and anger surrounds us. Incompetence and idiocy have become normalized. Nobody is quite sure what any day will bring, but not many people expect it to be anything good.
But you know what? As we all get a day older, James remains somewhat of an ageless wonder. What he did on Saturday night is what is has been doing for 16 seasons&hellip; and there will be more to come. Kobe played for 20 seasons.&nbsp; LeBron is not hanging up his sneakers until he fulfills what he has described as the goal of his life: To play in an NBA game alongside his son, Bronny.
So life has its blessings. LeBron isn&rsquo;t going away. He isn&rsquo;t going to shut up and dribble. He is stubborn and stunning and stupefying. He brings joy to those of us who are not too pigheaded to turn away. He is mesmerizing. He makes you run out of superlatives.
He has seen his jersey burned by the fans in Cleveland whom he spurned&hellip; before he returned. He was embraced in Miami much the same way LakersNation is caressing him now. He clearly has a ton of basketball left in him, and today we celebrate the joy and wonder and rapture he can bring into all of our lives, even in the toughest of times.
&ldquo;I've never said, &lsquo;OK, I want to cast myself as a superstar or whatever the case may be.&rsquo; I just want to travel my own journey, because it is my journey,&rdquo; James said. &ldquo;I've appreciated everything that's happened along the way. I mean, throughout -- the ups, the downs, the ups on the court, the downs on the court, the wins and losses&hellip; But I've been able to, I guess as Frank Sinatra would say, &lsquo;I did it my way.&rsquo; At the end of the day and at the end of my career, I just hope that I inspire enough people. At the end of the day, all you have is your respect.&rdquo;
He has earned everyone&rsquo;s. Again. Thanks, LBJ.

Chris Sheridan, who has covered LeBron James since he was drafted in 2003, marvels at James' continued dominance at 35 years old.

LeBron James' greatness continues to be on display

James Posey talks to T.J. Ford about his upbringing, the 2003 NBA Draft, getting traded, how a tough season Indiana strengthened their bond and more.