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Pacers

The Atlanta Dream and Phoenix Mercury have been two of the WNBA's most dynamic risers this season, having used the offseason as a springboard to elevate themselves from fringe playoff teams to legitimate postseason threats. With aggressive and calculated roster moves, both franchises took advantage of a star-heavy free agency market and are now reaping the rewards with improved records, on-court cohesion, and a renewed sense of direction.
In a league where parity is rising and every roster spot carries weight, the Dream and Mercury have shown that smart offseason hauls can redefine a franchise&rsquo;s ceiling.
Atlanta Dream: Currently 2nd in the East and 5th in the league overall, 14-10 record
At 14-10, the Atlanta Dream currently sit 4th in the WNBA standings and second in the Eastern Conference as of this writing. This is a significant improvement over their 2024 campaign, when they finished with a sub-.500 record of just 15-25, enough for an 8th seed, and bowed out early in the postseason. But what sets this team apart now isn&rsquo;t just their growth; it&rsquo;s the way behind their acceleration.
Allisha Gray has continued to be a steady force, earning a well-deserved spot as an All-Star starter this season. The veteran guard has grown into her role as both a scorer and leader, thriving in head coach Karl Smesko&rsquo;s aggressive system. However, the biggest shift came with the high-impact signing of Brittney Griner in the offseason.
After a tumultuous past few seasons marked by injury setbacks, Griner&rsquo;s decision to join Atlanta surprised many. But the move has paid off handsomely for both sides. Griner has given the Dream an elite interior presence and a reliable starting center, anchoring a much-improved Atlanta defense after losing their starting frontcourt from last year in Tina Charles and Cheyenne Parker-Tyus. Her chemistry with Gray and point guard Jordin Canada has created a versatile inside-out attack that&rsquo;s difficult to contain.
Griner's arrival has also opened the floor for other contributors to shine. Rhyne Howard, the 2022 Rookie of the Year, has been able to play with more freedom as a perimeter scorer now with Griner providing her with screening capabilities to get more players open. The Dream currently rank among the top five in both defensive rating and second-chance points &ndash; a testament to Griner&rsquo;s influence on both ends of the court.
This season, Atlanta isn't just looking to make the playoffs, but they're aiming to make a mark once they get there.
Phoenix Mercury: Currently 2nd in the West and 3rd in the league overall, 15-8 record
While the Dream made one big splash, the Mercury made several &ndash; and they&rsquo;re paying off even quicker.
Phoenix sits second in the Western Conference with a 15-8 record, trailing only the league-leading Minnesota Lynx. It&rsquo;s a remarkable rise for a franchise that sub.500 last season and looked rudderless in the wake of roster instability after Diana Taurasi&rsquo;s retirement and the absence of Brittney Griner, who departed for Atlanta.
Rather than rebuild, the Mercury doubled down on star power. Their front office landed two of the offseason&rsquo;s biggest names: former Connecticut Sun All-Star Alyssa Thomas and 2023 All-WNBA forward Satou Sabally. Both have been transformational.
Thomas, known for her toughness, versatility, and near triple-double averages, has brought a level of all-around excellence that&rsquo;s elevated the Mercury&rsquo;s ceiling. Thomas has been serving as the team&rsquo;s offensive engine, acting at times as their point guard and main playmaker. Her physicality on defense and elite decision-making have stabilized Phoenix in close games, many of which they&rsquo;ve won due to her crunch-time brilliance.
Sabally, meanwhile, has returned healthy and dominant. She&rsquo;s providing much-needed wing scoring and rebounding while defending multiple positions. Her ability to stretch the floor has complemented Thomas perfectly, creating mismatches across the board.
Phoenix wasn&rsquo;t done after those marquee signings. In what might be one of the savviest moves of the season, the Mercury claimed and signed veteran forward DeWanna Bonner off waivers. The 36-year-old, a former WNBA champion and franchise icon in Phoenix, has provided instant leadership and shot-making, giving the team a battle-tested voice off the bench.
Their offseason signings and together with their homegrown star Kahleah Copper, this revamped Mercury roster has thrived in head coach Nate Tibbetts&rsquo; system. They play with pace, move the ball, and now have the defensive personnel to match up with anyone. Even without Griner, who left a huge void in the frontcourt, Phoenix has compensated with a multi-pronged attack and a deep, star-laden rotation.
Phoenix and Atlanta&rsquo;s smart and bold moves are leading to playoff impact and championship hopes
What the Dream and Mercury have done this season isn&rsquo;t just about bringing in talent, but it&rsquo;s about bringing in the right talent.
Atlanta targeted Griner, knowing she could immediately solve their rim protection issues and elevate their pick-and-roll game. Phoenix bet on two of the best two-way forwards in the league and then added a proven winner in Bonner to glue it all together.
These moves weren&rsquo;t just splashy, they were also strategic. Each franchise assessed its weaknesses, acted decisively in free agency, and built complementary lineups around existing core players. The results have been dramatic and immediate.
With over a month of regular-season basketball left, both the Dream and Mercury are not just aiming to secure playoff spots &ndash; both teams are looking to make deep runs.
Atlanta, with its improved defense and emerging stars, could become a dangerous matchup for any top seed. Phoenix, meanwhile, boasts the kind of star-studded, playoff-hardened roster that could upset the status quo and challenge the Lynx or Liberty for the title.
In a WNBA season defined by aggressive movement and team-wide recalibrations, the Dream and Mercury stand out for how quickly and effectively they&rsquo;ve turned the page. With smart roster building and the boldness to act, both teams have enjoyed good regular seasons thus far and are looking to build on them to bring them to the playoffs.

The Atlanta Dream and Phoenix Mercury have been two of the WNBA's most dynamic risers this season.

WNBA: Dream, Mercury capitalize on offseason hauls to make run for the playoffs

PASAY CITY, PHILIPPINES &ndash; The Philippines&rsquo; San Miguel Beermen and Meralco Bolts will face the KT Suwon Sonicboom and the Macau Blackbears in the 2024-2025 East Asia Super League (EASL) season in the league&rsquo;s Tip-Off event today at the Mall of Asia Arena here.
This is the opening act of the tournament dubbed the Champions League in East Asia, with champion teams from each of the participating countries gunning for the crown of the best team in the region.
With that being said, let&rsquo;s dive into what to expect from the slate of games today.
How will the Beermen and the Bolts adapt to the international style of play?
Over the past few days, San Miguel and Meralco have been in the thick of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) playoffs as both teams are battling hard to get out of the quarterfinals. And now they would have to be up to the challenge of transitioning and adjusting their play when they meet international counterparts from Korea and Macau.
This seems like a tough task ahead for the Beermen and the Bolts as they have been accustomed to playing the Filipino brand of basketball for over a whole season, and the little turnaround time could present some issues along the way.
The Koreans have always been known to be shooters and ball movers, utilizing their speed and team chemistry to damage their opponents. The Black Bears employ a similar playstyle, offering a variety of their shots from three as well as relying on production from their imports.
Nevertheless, San Miguel and Meralco are two of the best teams the Philippines has to offer, so it will be a fun matchup regardless as they showcase their brand of basketball to the visitors.
San Miguel Beermen and KT Suwon Sonicboom: The three-point game
According to stats from EASL, the Beermen and the Sonicboom are both great three-point shooting teams. Throughout the Beermen&rsquo;s 2023-24 PBA Commissioner&rsquo;s Cup run, they hit 10.8 3&rsquo;s per game at a 34% clip. In contrast, KT hit 9.2 3&rsquo;s per game last season in the KBL, scoring 35.2% of their shots from deep.
San Miguel sharpshooter Marcio Lassiter, who became the PBA&rsquo;s all-time 3-point leader with 1,251 career 3-pointers on Sep. 15, will lead the way for the Beermen, while Heo Hoon, who averaged 3.6 threes in the KBL Finals last season, will do the same for Suwon.
This will be a very interesting thing to monitor as the Beermen have had to deal with the newly implemented 4-point line in the ongoing PBA season, and this has led to interesting results. Teams have been playing less zone over in the country&rsquo;s scene so we might see the Sonicboom play some tough 1-on-1 defense throughout the game.
Meralco Bolts and Macau Black Bears: Bounce back or good start?
After a tough EASL season last year, the Bolts aim to improve and increase their wins this EASL season. Meralco has also bowed out of the current PBA playoff season, and now they shift their focus onto their EASL campaign hoping for better results.&nbsp;
On the other hand, the Black Bears come into the 2024-2025 season as an expansion team and are looking to start good and hot. They will make their debut in the East Asian League full of hope and optimism but armed with lofty expectations.
According to EASL&rsquo;s scouting report, the Black Bears are equipped with a fast-paced and free-flowing offense. Macau also runs most of its sets through floor general Damian Chong Qui, who just at 5-foot-9, operates well off of ball screens but can also pop out and hit an open 3. Jenning Leung, a sharp-shooting 6-foot guard out of Canada&rsquo;s McGill University, makes up an elite Black Bears&rsquo; backcourt and together these two are for sure going to give the Bolts a lot of problems.

The Philippines’ San Miguel Beermen and Meralco Bolts will face the KT Suwon Sonicboom and the Macau Black Bears in the EASL.

EASL Tip-Off Preview: San Miguel, Meralco go up against neighboring Korea, Macau

Team USA players came inside the Kerry Sports basketball facility one by one, each sporting their preferred and comfortable gear from the blazing heat of the Philippine weather they were not so accustomed to. They were about to hold their first practices in Manila for the FIBA World Cup 2023, the sport&rsquo;s world championship meet.
Anthony Edwards was one of the last ones to enter the gym along with fellow NBA no.1 overall pick Paolo Banchero. He had his Adidas Adilette comfort slides put on with black Team USA jogger pants and an Adidas triple-colored hoodie. Edwards was fixated on his phone, walking past whispering reporters onto the team&rsquo;s huddle at center court, clearly being the center of attraction for the young Team USA squad.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s who they call the Ant-Man.&rdquo;
Once upon a time, Edwards&rsquo; name was held in a much lower regard. The 22-year-old is considered to be one of the best and brightest young players in the league but has yet to establish himself as one of the staples and premier superstars with an iconic and deep playoff performance that cements him in that tier.
Until these playoffs.
Edwards has separated himself from the pack of young superstars leading their teams and entered the upper echelon of basketball royalty in the NBA. With the league anticipating the &lsquo;changing of the guard&rsquo; as current faces LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant eventually diminish their shining glories as the league&rsquo;s best of the best, Edwards comes in as one of the hopefuls to take the mantle when that inevitable day comes.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been saying that he (Edwards) is the face of the league but he hates it when I say it &ndash; but it&rsquo;s true. The future&rsquo;s so bright you gotta put the sunglasses on when you&rsquo;re walking around him,&rdquo; Karl-Anthony Towns said, in their post-game interview after their first-round series with the&nbsp;Phoenix Suns.
Edwards glanced briefly at Towns, who was beside him at the podium. He had that little smile on his face while bowing down his head as his teammate praised him in front of the listening reporters. He looked at Towns again, this time shaking his head in disbelief, but it had the element of confidence. There was obviously a focus on what Towns was talking about but with Edwards&rsquo; elite level-headedness through it all.&nbsp;
&ldquo;You&rsquo;re a young superstar in the league and you have to face it,&rdquo; the statement emphasized on Edwards as he&rsquo;s trying to soak it all in.
Ever since Edwards has been adamant about not calling himself anything until he wins in the playoffs. Now that his Wolves beat the Suns to win the franchise&rsquo;s first playoff series since 2004, Edwards certainly has all the right in the world to give himself even the tiniest bit of praise.
He thought for a good three seconds, glancing at the reporter and the horizon for a moment. He was just asked if he was now able to give himself some grace in that regard when people call him that &lsquo;young superstar&rsquo; label. A small grin emerged onto his face, clearly oozing with confidence albeit a controlled one. He looked back with that smile on his face while nodding, he said:
&ldquo;Nah, not yet a man. Not yet.&rdquo;
Behind this usual brash, confident, and charismatic Edwards is a hungry side that never gets contented and satisfied until he achieves his ultimate goal: winning a championship. Maybe he&rsquo;ll have the guts to call himself one when they reach the Finals and end up going all the way. But that remains to be seen.
He&rsquo;s got the swagger, the personality, and the charisma to be marketable by the league. Edwards mentioned wanting to go kill everybody that&rsquo;s in front of him, and boy, he did.&nbsp;
Edwards swept the Suns featuring his childhood idol and favorite player of all time Kevin Durant, who he has been jawing back and forth at several times in the series. This was him going at his childhood hero, taking on the challenge and never backing down. However, the play of the series happened in Game 4 when Minnesota was trying to put the nail in the coffin for Phoenix.&nbsp;
With 2:18 left on the clock in the 4th quarter, Edwards blew by Beal and rose through the air as high as he could. Durant made the right business decision by not going up together with a rampaging bull as he should For a brief moment, he looked like the second coming of a certain Michael Jordan &ndash; yet again &ndash; after he&rsquo;s been labeled as such throughout the course of the season after each jaw-dropping spectacular play. Edwards threw down a ferocious poster slam dunk that might have literally blown the roof over the Footprint Center as the play signaled the beginning of the end for the Suns.
Durant and Edwards will play together in Team USA in August for the Paris Olympics, and these two for sure would go head to head making their practice sessions much more interesting. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s definitely a good feeling because he&rsquo;s my favorite player of all time, and I can tell him that I was the one who sent him home. It&rsquo;s gonna be a fun summer for sure,&rdquo; Edwards said.
First game of the Western Conference Finals and up against the Nuggets, Edwards scored a playoff career-high 43 points. He dissected their entire defense, scoring in all types of ways imaginable for a superstar. Edwards hit threes, blown by some of the toughest defenders in the NBA Aaron Gordon, and hit fadeaway mid-range jumpers reminiscent of Jordan. More importantly, Edwards displayed the level of maturity a superstar has to make in the playoffs &ndash; playing off of your teammates and playmaking for the entire team. He has done it so far with relative ease and that&rsquo;s why the Timberwolves have found their early success in this postseason.
He&rsquo;s doing it against supposedly their biggest challenge &ndash; the defending champions &ndash; who sent them home a year ago. &ldquo;Last year we didn&rsquo;t have Jaden (McDaniels) and Naz (Reid) against them so it was quite frustrating. Now that we have both I think we can definitely do better,&rdquo; Edwards said about their biggest thing in this rematch series vs Denver is being healthy.
Before the season started, Edwards was this up-and-coming 22-year-old star leading his nation at the World Championships for a chance at glory. Although the Americans ended up not medalling after losing to eventual world champions Germany in the semifinals and to neighboring Canada in the third-place game, Edwards was clearly the best player on the team filled with young American talent. He led Team USA in scoring, and at 22 years old, this was only the start of a big year ahead.
Edwards then was the clear-cut best player for the third-best team in the West, with Minnesota having a 56-26 record. Those 56 wins were the most since 2004 when they had 58 and went to the Western Conference Finals. They were led back then by legend Kevin Garnett but that was also their last time seeing the playoffs.&nbsp;
20 years later, Edwards is now shouldering all the burden by taking this Wolves team back to relevance, basking in all the glory he&rsquo;s worked so hard to attain. He&rsquo;s one of the bonafide young rising superstars in the league, and he intends to take them all the way.
Edwards&rsquo; huge season and ascension to superstardom could be attributed back to something you see coming even from a mile away. And it all started in that summer lengthy yet productive summer in 2023.
While most players use their summers to recuperate, have a vacation somewhere, and spend time with families and loved ones, Edwards took a privileged yet opportunistic route: play with the National Team at the FIBA World Cup. Usually, NBA superstars all express their willingness to play with the National Team at the Olympics. For no definite reason, somehow the FIBA World Cup does not seem appealing to play for the older/senior superstar guys, so it&rsquo;s usually the juniors/young guys who represent Team USA. Anthony Edwards took up that challenge and became the best player for the team and in turn, he&rsquo;s reaping the benefits of it in the playoffs.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve put in work this summer. Big shoutout to the USA team, man. They got me ready for the season.&rdquo;
That killer mentality that Edwards has is something that&rsquo;s never seen often and has been with only a select few in the history of the game, particularly Jordan and Lakers great Kobe Bryant. Behind all that bold and tough personality, however, is a side of himself that genuinely enjoys playing with his teammates.
When asked about the prospect of having his Wolves&rsquo; teammates, the first thing out of his mouth was how he was excited to meet them while playing for their respective countries (Rudy Gobert for France, Karl-Anthony Towns for Dominican Republic, Kyle Anderson for China, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker for Canada). He looked forward to playing against them, citing how much fun he would have once it happened.
Despite his clear burgeoning superstardom, however,&nbsp; Edwards still deflected every credit thrown towards him. When asked what he feels as one of the guys being billed as one of the next faces of the league, Edwards dismissed the idea faster than a Math teacher dispersing students after giving out a tough assignment due &ndash;&nbsp; immediately answering without hesitation that he does not make anything of it.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m just gonna keep working, man. I make nothing of it, yeah. I just hope that I keep getting better.&rdquo;
It was clear all along among all the people in the gym that fateful day: Edwards had the most aura out of them all. It was just oozing, something you can feel when you&rsquo;re around certain people. It&rsquo;s kind of intimidating, but only to a certain extent. You can just feel the energy brewing and that certain look when you come across one of the ones. The underlying factor before the season was Minnesota only having five national TV games all season long. With most of their games out of the eyes of the majority, Edwards assured one thing going into the season sternly and convincingly.
&ldquo;We just gonna try to keep playing, man. We&rsquo;re not really worried about the national TV games. As long as we win, we&rsquo;ll be on TV when we make it into the playoffs. The world will know about us.&rdquo;
As their playoff mantra suggests, the Timberwolves have been waiting for this moment since 2004. From the annals of the great Kevin Garnett&rsquo;s era to ushering this new one paved by superstar-in-the-making, young Anthony Edwards, the Minnesota Timberwolves have arrived.

The underlying factor before the season was Minnesota only having five national TV games all season despite having Anthony Edwards.

‘WOLVES BACK’: Anthony Edwards introduces the Timberwolves back to the world

Throughout NBA history, there have been plenty of supremely talented teams. However, only a select few managed to string together multiple championships, revolutionize how the game is played and dominate to the point that they defined their era.&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s extremely difficult to create a dynasty, but these six teams earned that distinction.
Boston Celtics (1957-1969)
While it&rsquo;s difficult for today&rsquo;s NBA fans to fathom, the Boston Celtics managed to win 11 championships in just 13 seasons. Celtics head coach and general manager Red Auerbach pulled off a draft-day trade in 1956 that changed the franchise forever, with Boston acquiring No. 2 overall pick Bill Russell in exchange for Cliff Hagan and Ed Macauley. Russell would become one of the most dominant defenders and rebounders of all-time, and when paired with Bob Cousy, John Havlicek and Sam Jones among others, the Celtics became an unstoppable force.&nbsp;
Today, winning three-straight championships is considered an astonishing feat, yet these Celtics managed to win eight consecutive titles from 1959 to 1966 &ndash; a record that is virtually impossible to break. While it was certainly a very different era of basketball, Boston deserves a ton of credit for revolutionizing the game and sustaining that level of dominance for more than a decade.
Los Angeles Lakers (1980s)
The 1980s belonged to the "Showtime" Lakers, a dynamic and star-studded team led by Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Under head coach Pat Riley's leadership, the Lakers thrilled fans with their fast-paced style of play. From 1980 through 1991, the Lakers won five championships and made nine NBA Finals appearances.
Magic&rsquo;s unparalleled playmaking abilities and Kareem&rsquo;s automatic skyhook made these Lakers nearly unstoppable on the court. The Lakers&rsquo; rivalry with the Celtics (and Magic Johnson&rsquo;s personal rivalry with Larry Bird) added another layer of excitement to the NBA, culminating in memorable NBA Finals matchups and moving NBA playoff games to live broadcasts rather than being on tape delay.&nbsp;HBO&rsquo;s show &ldquo;Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty&rdquo; has introduced the Showtime era to a new generation of fans.&nbsp;
Chicago Bulls (1991-1998)
On June 19, 1984, the Chicago Bulls selected Michael Jordan with the No. 3 overall pick in the 1984 NBA Draft. It didn&rsquo;t take long for Jordan to make his mark on the league, as he won Rookie of the Year and became a household name. Jordan was the lynchpin of the Bulls&rsquo; dynasty and became the biggest sports star that the world had ever seen. Coached by Phil Jackson, MJ and Scottie Pippen led the Bulls to six championships in eight years, thanks to two different three-peats. In the 1995-1996 season, the Bulls amassed a record-setting 72 wins, solidifying their status as one of the greatest teams in NBA history (although the record would later be broken by another team featured on this list).&nbsp;
These Bulls teams captured the imagination of fans worldwide. The Bulls&rsquo; dynasty and Team USA's "Dream Team" (which featured Jordan and Pippen alongside other NBA superstars like Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone and Charles Barkley) deserve a lot of credit for making basketball popular across the globe. Just as &ldquo;Winning Time&rdquo; is bringing the Showtime Lakers back into the spotlight, ESPN&rsquo;s docuseries &ldquo;The Last Dance&rdquo; became a huge hit and showcased Jordan&rsquo;s dominance and popularity to younger fans who never got a chance to watch him play live.
San Antonio Spurs (1999-2014)
The San Antonio Spurs, guided by the steady hand of coach Gregg Popovich, enjoyed an extended period of excellence. By now, you&rsquo;re probably realizing that dynasties tend to start when a team drafts a special player. For the Spurs, that player was Tim Duncan, who is often regarded as the greatest power forward in NBA history. While Duncan wasn&rsquo;t a flashy player, he was incredibly consistent and capable of taking over games offensively and defensively.&nbsp;
Duncan and Popovich captured five NBA championships between 1999 and 2014. They managed to win across different eras, first with David Robinson, Avery Johnson and Sean Elliot, then with Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Bruce Bowen, and later with Kawhi Leonard, Parker and Ginobili among others. The Spurs' success was built on fundamentals, exceptional team chemistry and a selfless approach to the game. Their sustained success over more than a decade solidified them as a modern NBA dynasty.&nbsp;
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/200413-shaquille-oneal-kobe-bryant-cs-1211p.jpg" alt="" width="683" height="458" />
Los Angeles Lakers (2000-2002)
The Lakers of the early 2000s were an unstoppable force, combining the dominant inside presence of Shaquille O'Neal and the scoring prowess of Kobe Bryant. Coached by the legendary Phil Jackson, this superstar tandem led Los Angeles to three consecutive NBA championships in 2000, 2001 and 2002.
Teams had to pick their poison against these Lakers, as Shaq and Kobe were nearly impossible to defend one-on-one. Shaq dominated with his imposing size and physicality in the paint, while Kobe made teams pay with his unmatched scoring ability and constantly evolving skill-set. Together, they formed one of the most formidable duos in NBA history, complementing each other's strengths on the court (while often butting heads off the court). Who knows how many more championships the Lakers would have won if Shaq and Kobe managed to get along and make things work in L.A.&nbsp;
Golden State Warriors (2014-2022)
The Golden State Warriors' dynasty has been a breathtaking display of offensive brilliance and finesse. Led by Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, the Warriors revolutionized the game with their three-point shooting, fast-paced style of play and small-ball lineups. Head coach Steve Kerr, who won five championships as a player with the Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs dynasties, helped the Warriors capture four NBA championships in eight years (2015, 2017, 2018 and 2022).&nbsp;
The Warriors won 73 games in 2016, breaking the previous record set by the Bulls. And as if this team wasn&rsquo;t already scary enough, Golden State signed Kevin Durant and became even more unstoppable. Even after Durant left in 2019, the Warriors managed to win another championship, beating the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals last year. The Warriors revolutionized the modern NBA, and their dynastic run may not even be over. After all, Curry, Thompson, Green and Kerr are still around and the team recently added veterans Chris Paul, Cory Joseph and Dario Saric in hopes of chasing a fifth ring.

Alex Kennedy looks back on six of the most unstoppable dynasties throughout NBA history.

Exploring the most dominant dynasties throughout NBA history

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

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Destiny Harden made a shot in the lane with 3.5 seconds left to send ninth-seeded Miami past top-seeded Indiana 70-68 on Monday night, lifting the Hurricanes to their first Sweet 16 since 1992.
The Hoosiers (28-4) became the second No. 1 seed to be eliminated in two nights. Stanford was upset Sunday on its home court. It&rsquo;s the second time since the bracket expanded to 64 teams in 1994 that two No. 1 seeds didn&rsquo;t make the Sweet 16. It also happened in 1998.
Harden finished with 18 points and Lola Pendade had 19 points for the Hurricanes (21-12), who never trailed.
Indiana tied the score at 68 on Yarden Garzon&rsquo;s 3-pointer with 6.6 seconds left but couldn&rsquo;t get the defensive stop it needed and turned the ball over on the final possession to seal their only home loss of the season.
No. 4 VILLANOVA 76, No. 12 FLORIDA GULF COAST 57
VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) &mdash; Maddy Siegrist scored 31 points and sent the winningest team in Villanova history into the Sweet 16 for the second time in program history with a win over Florida Gulf Coast.
The fourth-seeded Wildcats (30-6) won their record 30th game and celebrated the March Madness milestone in front of another packed house at the Pavilion. Siegrist, the first-team AP All-American, made 13 of 24 shots in what was likely her final home game. The four-year star has left some wiggle room that she could return for a fifth season, but all signs point toward her playing in the WNBA this summer.
One thing is sure, Siegrist is headed to the Sweet 16.
The Wildcats are going for the first time since 2003 -- the coach of that team, Harry Perretta, watched this one from behind the basket -- and they will the play winner of Monday&rsquo;s game in Indianapolis between top-seeded Indiana and No. 9 seed Miami.
SEATTLE 3 REGION
No. 4 TENNESSEE 94, NO. 12 TOLEDO 47
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Reserves Sara Puckett and Jillian Hollingshead led five Lady Vols in double figures with 13 points apiece as Tennessee routed Toledo.
This is the first time since 2015 and 2016 that Tennessee (25-11) has reached consecutive Sweet 16s and the first in coach Kellie Harper&rsquo;s fourth season. The Lady Vols now have reached the Sweet 16 for the 36th time as the only program to play in all 41 NCAA Tournaments.
Toledo (29-5) snapped a program record 17-game winning streak and missed out on its first Sweet 16. The Rockets lost for the first time since Jan. 18 at Bowling Green, which was avenged in the Mid-American Conference Tournament championship for their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2017.
Quinesha Lockett led Toledo with 19 points.
No. 3 OHIO STATE 71, No. 6 NORTH CAROLINA 69
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) &mdash; Jacy Sheldon made a tiebreaking jumper in the lane with 1.8 seconds left to lift Ohio State to a win over North Carolina and help the Buckeyes advance to the Sweet 16 for the second straight season.
With the game tied, Sheldon took the pass from Eboni Walker and floated in the game-winning score. North Carolina had one final chance, but turned it over with a second remaining.
Ohio State (27-7) saw its 12-point lead with 7:02 to go erased as the Tar Heels went on a 13-2 run midway through the fourth quarter. The Tar Heels did most of that run without star Deja Kelly, who exited midway through the final quarter with a leg injury. She went to the locker room, but returned to the court a short time later.
Trailing 66-63, Kelly made two free throws before Paulina Paris made a layup in transition to give the Tar Heels (22-11) its first lead of the game with 2:09 left.
No. 2 UCONN 77, No. 7 BAYLOR 58
STORRS, Conn. (AP) &mdash; Azzi Fudd scored 16 of her 22 points in a decisive third quarter, leading UConn to a win over Baylor and into a 29th straight Sweet 16.
Aaliyah Edwards added 19 points and Nika Muhl had 10 assists for the Huskies (31-5). Dorka Juhasz chipped in with 11 points and Caroline Ducharme added 10.
Ja&rsquo;mee Asberry scored 15 points and Jaden Owens had 14 for Baylor, which finishes its season 20-13. Bella Fontleroy scored 12 points for the Bears, who made 12 3-pointers after hitting 14 in their first-round win over Alabama.
But the Huskies dominated inside, outscoring the Bears 36-12 in the paint and outrebounding Baylor 42-31.
SEATTLE 4 REGION
No. 5 LOUISVILLE 73, No. 4 TEXAS 51
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; Hailey Van Lith scored 21 points and Louisville rolled over Texas on the Longhorns&rsquo; home court to send the the Cardinals to the Sweet 16 for the sixth NCAA Tournament in row.
In a matchup of two teams that began the season in the Top 10 only to all out of the rankings before regrouping late, the Cardinals smothered the Longhorns and standout point guard Rori Harmon all night, stretching a 14-point halftime lead to 21 by end of the third quarter.
Louisville (25-11) led by as much as 27 early in the fourth. The win sends the Cardinals to the Seattle 4 Region to play No. 8-seed Mississippi, which upset No. 1 Stanford on Sunday.
DeYona Gaston scored 12 points to lead Texas (26-10).
No. 6 COLORADO 61, No. 3 DUKE 53
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Quay Miller had 17 points and 14 rebounds, and Aaronette Vonleh converted two overtime baskets in the lane after picking up her fourth foul, helping Colorado beat Duke.
Jaylyn Sherrod had 14 points and Vonleh finished with 12 as the Buffaloes (25-8) advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time in 20 years.
Elizabeth Balogun scored 14 points and Reigan Richardson had 10, but the Blue Devils didn&rsquo;t hit a field goal in overtime. Duke overcame a 13-point deficit in regulation.
Next up for Colorado is Caitlin Clark and Iowa in the Seattle 4 Region semifinals.
Duke lost for the third time in its last four second-round home games in the NCAA tourney.
GREENVILLE 1 REGION
No. 4 UCLA 82, No. 5 OKLAHOMA 73
LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Charisma Osborne scored a career-high 36 points in her final game at Pauley Pavilion and UCLA rallied in the fourth quarter after blowing an 18-point lead to defeat Oklahoma.
The Bruins, who had an 18-point lead in the second quarter, found themselves trailing 54-50 late in the third quarter before Osborne started the comeback. She drove the lane and hit a layup while being fouled by Beatrice Culliton. Osborne made the ensuing free throw to bring them within one.
She had 13 points in the final 10 minutes as the Bruins (26-7) advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2019. UCLA regained control by going on a 6-1 run at the beginning of the fourth.
Kiki Rice added 14 points for the Bruins, who will face top-ranked South Carolina on Saturday in a Greenville 1 Regional semifinal. UCLA hung tough with the Gamecocks earlier in the season before losing 73-64.
Madi Williams scored 24 points and Ana Llanusa 15 for the Sooners, who end their season 26-7.

A recap of Monday's action of the 2023 Women's NCAA Tournament includes yet another eight seed upending a top seed.

Miami women shock top-seed Indiana in March Madness

With the Brooklyn Nets&rsquo; win at Miami on Sunday, they have won a franchise record 18 of their last 20 games, which represents the best 20-game stretch at any point in a season in the organization's history.
Kyrie Irving is leading the Eastern Conference guards in All-Star voting, and Kevin Durant is having an MVP-level season, averaging 29.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game.
But unfortunately, last night, Durant had to exit the game in the third quarter after Jimmy Butler fell into Durant. On Monday morning, the Nets announced that he was diagnosed with an isolated MCL sprain of the right knee and that he'll be out for at least the next two weeks before being reevaluated. It's devastating news for Nets fans, as the team has been taking the league by storm for the past 20 games.&nbsp;
To discuss Durant's injury, Irving's strong play and more, I sat down with Nets great and Basketball News contributor Kenyon Martin to discuss his former team.&nbsp;
Etan Thomas: The Nets are on a great run. They&rsquo;ve been proving a lot of people who had completely written them off wrong. How do you think they&rsquo;re playing overall right now?&nbsp;
Kenyon Martin: "I think they&rsquo;ve been playing great. Once you get your two stars on the same page in KD and Kyrie &mdash; and they&rsquo;re playing off each other and going to each other when the other one is hot and they&rsquo;re healthy &mdash; they are a tough team to beat. I saw KD went down last night and I&rsquo;m hearing he may be out for a few weeks, which definitely hurts, but he&rsquo;ll bounce back. They&rsquo;ll just have to hold down the fort until he gets back, and when he returns, they&rsquo;ll take off again just like they did when Kyrie returned.
"And Kyrie is playing as free as I&rsquo;ve seen him since he was with Cleveland in the Finals. It's like he&rsquo;s playing with no pressure and nothing holding him back from being one of the top guards in the league. And the team is benefiting from that relief."
Etan: Let me ask you this, because I think Jacque Vaughn has done an excellent job since he&rsquo;s taken over, and I don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s being talked about as much as it should be. No knock on Steve Nash because I don&rsquo;t know the ins and outs of why it wasn&rsquo;t working with him, but there is definitely a visible difference. Would you agree?&nbsp;
Kenyon: "Let&rsquo;s be honest, E &mdash; Steve Nash is a hell of a basketball player and had great athletes around him. I&rsquo;ve never thought of Steve Nash as a vocal guy, never thought of him as that kind of a leader. I&rsquo;ve never heard him get after anybody. I&rsquo;ve never heard him put anybody in their place or call anybody out or chastise anyone who needed to be chastised. I just heard of him as a nice guy who is a great pass-first point guard who guys really enjoyed playing with. That&rsquo;s not to say that he couldn&rsquo;t have done a good job coaching; I just think it was a little premature to put him in that position.
"Jacque Vaughn, on the other hand, has proven that he could be a head coach down in Orlando. He just got a bad deal. But he showed that he could do all of the things that a head coach needs to do in order to be successful in this league. He&rsquo;s not afraid to be honest with guys, to call guys out or to challenge guys, but still not turn into the enemy. But (he'll) be like, 'We&rsquo;re in this together, but this is how we have to do things.' He wasn&rsquo;t a two-time NBA MVP, he wasn&rsquo;t an All-Star year-in and year-out, but he commanded a respect from the jump."
Etan: That&rsquo;s very true. One person who has <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-feature-interview-nic-claxton-approach-reaping-rewards-with-surging-brooklyn-nets-kevin-durant-jacque-vaughn-kyrie-irving-royce-oneale-georgia-bulldogs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">really stood out this season is Nic Claxton</a>. He won&rsquo;t get the praise that KD and Kyrie get of course, but he has been doing a tremendous job and is really vital to this team.&nbsp;
Kenyon: "I&rsquo;ve been a big fan of his since he got to the Nets. I love the energy he plays with, his effort, his motor, his athleticism, his defense, (he's a) rim protector. And when you have a guy who is surrounded by superstars, understands and embraces his role, and plays it to the best of his ability, the team is going to be successful, and that&rsquo;s what he does night-in and night-out."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
"He&rsquo;s a big piece for us and we need him every night." Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant and Jacque Vaughn reflect on Nic Claxton's impact on the Nets and his development into an everyday starting center. STORY: <a href="https://t.co/U1odBzLCHT">https://t.co/U1odBzLCHT</a> <a href="https://t.co/v4Meeb8B7V">pic.twitter.com/v4Meeb8B7V</a>
&mdash; Spencer Davies (@SpinDavies) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpinDavies/status/1607867619347931137?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 27, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

Etan: I always admit I do have big-man bias, and I know the game has transitioned into a more of a guards game &mdash; more people play small ball &mdash; but I&rsquo;m surprised players like Dwight Howard and (DeMarcus) Boogie Cousins aren&rsquo;t in the league right now. But specifically with the Nets, couldn&rsquo;t they use them? Especially in the playoffs when they have to face Milwaukee or Boston, or Philly with Joel Embiid and Montrezl Harrell off the bench?
Kenyon: "I&rsquo;m a big fan of both of those guys and their entire body of work. The way Boogie has adjusted his game and what people have thought of him over the years, he&rsquo;s channeled the energy that people were saying was negative into his game and on-court passion, tenacity and physicality that every team needs.&nbsp;
"And what Dwight brings to the table is similar to what we were talking about before with Nic Claxton. He knows his role and does it to the best of his ability. Shot-blocker, rebounder, physical play, athletic, rim-protector, and we all know he&rsquo;s strong as hell. Why wouldn&rsquo;t you want someone like that on your team? (Think about) what the Lakers got out of the combination of him and JaVale (McGee) a couple of years ago."
Etan: Uh huh, when they won the championship.&nbsp;
Kenyon: "Yup, I just think more teams should follow that. If you don&rsquo;t have a dominant Joel Embiid or a dominant (Nikola) Jokic, you need to play by committee at that position. And I think what a lot of teams are missing is exactly that. I think either one of them could be that missing piece for a lot of teams. But yes, specifically for the Nets this season."
Etan: I even <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-los-angeles-lakers-anthony-davis-etan-thomas-injury-achilles-recovery-heal-patient-robert-griffin-III-rgIII-frank-vogel-lebron-james" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote about it</a>. I was surprised, going back to JaVale and Dwight, that the Lakers didn&rsquo;t keep them. I&rsquo;m not a GM, but If it ain&rsquo;t broke and just won you a championship, don&rsquo;t fix it, right?
Kenyon: "Who&rsquo;d they get, Marc Gasol?"
Etan: Yeah, that&rsquo;s who they got.
Kenyon: "Yeah I just have a problem with the league as a whole when you have guys that have proven what they can bring to the table, talking about Dwight and Boogie Cousins. It makes no sense for them not to be on an NBA roster right now."
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Etan: Another player I&rsquo;ve really been impressed with is Royce O'Neale. I don&rsquo;t know if people were expecting him to play as well as he&rsquo;s been playing this season. Was he a pleasant surprise for you or did you foresee that?
Kenyon: "Honestly, I thought it was a little weird of a trade at first because of the position that he plays. But you can never have enough guys that you can count on. I think Royce is a solid pro. He&rsquo;s proven that he can be successful in this league and you can count on him. And here&rsquo;s the thing &mdash; when players are surrounded by greatness and a role is asked of you, it should be easy for you to fill that role. You know what I mean? It shouldn&rsquo;t be a hard thing for professionals to do. People can really find success on good teams by simply doing what&rsquo;s asked of you."
Etan: (Laughing) Doesn&rsquo;t seem like a hard concept.
Kenyon: (Laughing) "Shouldn&rsquo;t be hard at all."
Etan: It&rsquo;s interesting with Kyrie, because really just a few weeks ago &mdash; after the entire fiasco when he shared the documentary "From Hebrews To Negroes," got suspended, had backlash, was assigned six steps to return and everything that transpired after that &mdash; there was this loud uproar among the media and fans on social media proclaiming definitively that the Nets would be better off without Kyrie Irving, and even that he may be out the league soon.
Kenyon: (Laughing) "How crazy is that?"
Etan: It&rsquo;s crazy, but that was the overall sentiment, especially from a lot of the media for a while. So he comes back and they are playing great. They go on a 5-0 winning run and Kyrie is averaging 30, then a 10-0 run, then a 14-1 run. Now, they&rsquo;ve won 18 of 20 games, setting a franchise record. Kyrie&rsquo;s hitting game-winners and shining, and you've seen all of those people just get quiet. None of those people have offered any retraction to their previously loud statements. They just act like they weren&rsquo;t just saying the Nets were better off without him. And I&rsquo;m just like, keep that same energy you had to demonize someone to also praise them when they are doing well.
Kenyon: "But the key word in what you just said is the media. Who cares what the media says? I took all that criticism and uproar and outrage the media had as all performative. They were just putting on a show and jumping on a bandwagon, which many of them get paid to do. I didn&rsquo;t buy into any of that. It&rsquo;s not like he wrote the book or made the doc. He said he didn&rsquo;t agree with all of it and was sharing it for the information. But if those media people who were saying the Nets were better off without Kyrie don&rsquo;t know how special of a player he is &mdash; aside from the documentary and whatever else &mdash; then they don&rsquo;t need to be writing or commenting on anything.
"It&rsquo;s like a fumble in football. Everybody in the media, fans (and) social media started jumping on top of the dog pile, and Kyrie emerged from the bottom of the pile carrying the football and holding it high in the air for everyone to see. The backlash didn&rsquo;t break him. The team still needs Kyrie Irving. They wouldn&rsquo;t be where they are without him. And if anybody thought the Nets didn&rsquo;t need him, they just don&rsquo;t know the game."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Kyrie Irving scored 29 PTS &amp; the Nets have won 18 of their last 20 games! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NetsWorld?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NetsWorld</a> <a href="https://t.co/6SobtaV7MI">pic.twitter.com/6SobtaV7MI</a>
&mdash; Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) <a href="https://twitter.com/Ballislife/status/1612422254607958016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2023</a></blockquote>

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

Etan: I hear you, but the piling on just bothered me. I was like... y&rsquo;all are making him out to be Hitler himself. He <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dns9B0ypwk0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">specifically said</a>, like you mentioned earlier, "I don&rsquo;t agree with everything in this documentary, I&rsquo;m sharing it for the information, I don&rsquo;t hate anyone, I respect all religions." And they wanted to make him Public Enemy No. 1. and the face of antisemitism.
Kenyon: "Yeah, that&rsquo;s exactly what they tried to do, but it didn&rsquo;t work because that&rsquo;s not who he is and (he) has never been that. You can&rsquo;t make someone be something they&rsquo;re not, and that&rsquo;s not who he is."
Etan: But what was really bothering me is that I was seeing a lot of media people who look like me and you literally running to jump on that bandwagon and bashing him the most. That really bothered me.
Kenyon: "One-thousand percent. That bothered me as well seeing that because that&rsquo;s not the way it&rsquo;s supposed to be. And we&rsquo;re talking about Black media who are in high positions."
Etan: Yes, the ones you see if you turn on ESPN or FOX Sports or HBO Sports or the main Black sports journalists. And I don&rsquo;t have to single anyone out in particular because they all were doing that. It was really disappointing to see.
Kenyon: "For them to do that... I know you don&rsquo;t want to call names and I&rsquo;ll respect your platform, but some of them are some high paid."
Etan: Don&rsquo;t even say it.
Kenyon: (Laughing) "I won&rsquo;t say it but you know what I&rsquo;m thinking." (laughing)
Etan: (Laughing) Yes I do.
Kenyon: "And the guy you expected to join the piling on actually took up for Kyrie &mdash; talking about Jason Whitlock."
Etan: Him and Candace Owens did. How crazy is that? It was like we were in the Twilight Zone.
Kenyon: "They usually can&rsquo;t wait to say something negative about a Black athlete, or a Black person or the entire Black community."
Etan: They made an entire career out of it.
Kenyon: "Absolutely, and they are where they are because of that."
Etan: One-hundred percent.
Kenyon: "So yeah, I&rsquo;m with you, it was definitely disappointing to see the piling on from Black media people in particular on the platforms they have and not one guy said something even remotely in this man&rsquo;s corner. They were calling for his career."
Etan: And very loudly too. Jay Williams did say something, so shout out to him.
Kenyon: "Yeah that&rsquo;s right he did, but he was the only one, at least that I saw. But let me say this &mdash; you&rsquo;ve done a great job in providing perspective on this whole topic. I&rsquo;ve been following everything you posted. The interview with your guy from your show (Dave Zirin), you <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/podcasts/the-rematch/episodes/basketballnews-com-episode-60-rabbi-harry-rozenberg-on-antisemitism,-kyrie-irving-s-suspension,-nets-6-steps-to-return,-adl,-more" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sat down with a Rabbi</a>, you had the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/podcasts/the-rematch/episodes/basketballnews-com-episode-61-former-nba-players-craig-hodges-and-mahmoud-abdul-rauf-discuss-the-kyrie-irving-backlash,-more" target="_blank" rel="noopener">convo with Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf and Craig Hodges</a>. Even how you <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-nike-employs-adl-tactics-as-they-officially-drop-kyrie-irving-etan-thomas-torraine-walker" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote about Nike after they dropped him</a>.
"That&rsquo;s why what you do is important, for that very reason of what we saw all the other media do with the piling on and one-sided bashing. You actually had discussions about it."
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Etan: Thanks. Well, shout out to Basketball News for giving me the flexibility to cover different aspects of this topic in different ways. Most platforms wouldn&rsquo;t have allowed that. They would&rsquo;ve shut all that down.&nbsp;
Kenyon: "Censorship is crazy. Not even to have a discussion?"
Etan: Sometimes, media platforms want you to follow a script and you have to stick to the talking points. And with this, the script was: Bash Kyrie, label him antisemitic, denounce, condemn and bash some more.&nbsp;
Kenyon: "That&rsquo;s just wrong, but I&rsquo;m happy that Kyrie can put all of that behind him and the team&rsquo;s playing well, and he&rsquo;s rolling and being the Kyrie we all know him to be on the court. And you have to give a shout out to his teammates, who also didn&rsquo;t buy into all of the bashing and the talk of them being better without Kyrie. Because if you saw, they were trying to get them to co-sign that, but none of them did. They didn&rsquo;t say a bad word about Kyrie, and that&rsquo;s also a reason why they are playing so well right now. Because that kind of stuff can ruin the entire chemistry of a team if you let the outside noise seep into the locker room."
Etan: That&rsquo;s a great point. Last question: The Nets are playing really well, clicking on all cylinders and they have a rhythm with each other. They also have so many weapons we didn&rsquo;t even talk about like Seth Curry, Joe Harris, Ben Simmons, Yuta Watanabe and TJ Warren. How well can the Nets do this season?&nbsp;
Kenyon: "I would like to see them go out and get another big because you might have to play Philly. I love Nic Claxton, but dealing with Embiid by yourself for a whole playoff series is a lot to ask. But other than that, they have enough shooting, enough playmakers &mdash; they have a solid shot, they are definitely a contender. (It's about) learning how to win now, and win consistently like they have been doing &mdash; close games, ugly games, games where your main people are off because everything isn&rsquo;t going to be clicking every game. But still finding ways to win consistently, they are really preparing themselves for a very good playoff season."

Etan Thomas speaks with Kenyon Martin about the Nets' surge, Kevin Durant's latest knee injury and Kyrie Irving's recent play.

Kenyon Martin talks Nets, Kevin Durant's injury, Kyrie Irving backlash

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Olivia Miles had 21 points and eight rebounds for No. 7 Notre Dame, and UConn star Azzi Fudd was injured in a collision with a teammate as the Fighting Irish handed the third-ranked Huskies their first loss of the season, 74-60 on Sunday.
Fudd, who came in averaging 24.0 points per game, exited in the final minute of the first quarter following a collision with teammate Aaliyah Edwards. She returned midway through the second period to play four minutes, but sat the rest of the day, going scoreless on two shots over 13 minutes.
Maddy Westbeld added a season-high 17 points and nine rebounds for Notre Dame (7-1), which bounced back from a 74-72 loss to No. 20 Maryland three days earlier.
Lou Lopez Senechal led UConn (6-1) with 21 points. Edwards added 14.
No. 2 STANFORD 84, No. 23 GONZAGA 63
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Cameron Brink had 14 points and a season-high 16 rebounds and Brooke Demetre made five 3s and scored 17 points, leading Stanford past Gonzaga.
The Cardinal (10-1) have now won five straight games after falling to top-ranked South Carolina in overtime on Nov. 20.
Hannah Jump hit four 3s and scored 14 points and Haley Jones had 12 points for Stanford.
Short-handed Gonzaga (7-2), limited to seven players because of illness and injuries, had won three in a row.
No. 4 OHIO STATE 82, RUTGERS 70
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) &mdash; Rebeka Mikulasikova scored a career-high 31 points and Taylor Mikesell added 30 to help Ohio State beat Rutgers, a day that the Scarlet Knights honored former coach C. Vivian Stringer.
The school dedicated the court to Stringer, who retired after last season.
Buoyed by the return of their Hall of Fame coach, Rutgers played its best game of the season against a ranked opponent. Ohio State (8-0) jumped out to a 20-6 lead after one quarter, but the Scarlet Knights (4-6) wouldn&rsquo;t go away.
They were down 18 near the end of the half before Kaylene Smikle hit a 3-pointer just before the buzzer to get within 43-28. Rutgers continued that momentum in the second half and made it 53-45 with 3:25 left in the third quarter.
Mikulasikova and Mikesell then scored the next six points for Ohio State to restore the double-digit advantage, and Rutgers couldn&rsquo;t recover.
Smikle led Rutgers with 21 points.
No. 5 INDIANA 65, ILLINOIS 61
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Mackenzie Holmes scored 23 points, including a go-ahead layup with 37 seconds left, and Indiana got past Illinois in their Big Ten opener.
Indiana (9-0) had not trailed in the second half of any game this season before going back and forth in the closing minutes with Illinois (3-7).
Makira Cook scored 33 points to lead the Illini.
The Hoosiers were coming off an 87-63 win over No. 6 North Carolina.
No. 9 VIRGINIA TECH 59, TENNESSEE 56
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Kayana Traylor scored 18 points and Virginia Tech held off Tennessee in a Jimmy V Women&rsquo;s Classic matchup.
Jordan Horston led Tennesssee (4-5) with 26 points and 11 rebounds, but missed a pair of late shots that would&rsquo;ve tied it.
Trailing 58-56 with 3 seconds left, Horston was off on a jumper. Down three with 1.1 seconds remaining, her 3-point try from the top of the key bounced off.
Cayla King scored 11 points and Georgia Amoore and D&rsquo;asia Gregg each had 10 for the Hokies (8-0).
Tennessee played without leading scorer and rebounder Rickea Jackson, who was absent because of a coach&rsquo;s decision.
No. 10 IOWA 102, WISCONSIN 71
MADISON, Wis. (AP) &mdash; Caitlin Clark had 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for her seventh career triple-double to break the Big Ten record in Iowa&rsquo;s win over Wisconsin.
Clark surpassed the record of six career triple-doubles set by former Iowa player Samantha Logic, who achieved the feat from 2012-2015.
Iowa (6-3) stopped a two-game skid and beat the Badgers (3-7) for the 26th straight time.
No. 11 LSU 85, TULANE 72
NEW ORLEANS (AP) &mdash; Angel Reese scored 21 points and had 10 rebounds and Jasmine Carson scored 21 and LSU beat Tulane.
The Tigers (9-0) are off to their best since winning their first nine in the 2009-10 season.
LSU led 27-20 in a first quarter in which it made 11 of 16 shots and Tulane 9 for 17. The Tigers extended their lead to 40-27 at halftime before the Green Wave unloaded with a 30-point third in which it shot 12 for 16 including 6 for 7 from 3-point range. Dynah Jones scored 16 of her team-high 25 points for Tulane in the quarter and the Green Wave closed to 61-58.
Reese made 1 of 2 foul shots for the Tigers and Kahia Warmsley responded with a layup for Tulane to get it within two, but LaDazhia Williams made a layup and Carson a 3 and LSU kept Tulane at bay from there. Reese made two foul shots with 5:01 left to extend the lead to 73-62.
Marta Galic scored 21 points for Tulane.
ST. JOHN&rsquo;S 66, No. 13 CREIGHTON 62
NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Jayla Everett scored 20 points and St. John&rsquo;s remained unbeaten by handing Creighton its first loss.
The Red Storm had a 47-32 lead in the middle of the third quarter before the Bluejays got it down to a one-possession deficit in the final 90 seconds.
After Emma Ronsiek&rsquo;s basket pulled Creighton within 61-59 with 1:27 to play, the Bluejays had a possession to tie or take the lead but couldn&rsquo;t score.
Kadaj Bailey and Unique Drake had 13 points apiece for St. John&rsquo;s (8-0, 2-0 Big East Conference).
Lauren Jensen scored 21 points for the Bluejays (7-1, 2-1) but couldn&rsquo;t get the tying jumper to fall with 13 seconds to go.
No. 14 ARIZONA 77, NEW MEXICO 60
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) &mdash; Jade Loville made 10 of 13 shots, including a career-best six 3-pointers, and scored 27 points to lead Arizona to a win over New Mexico.
Shaina Pellington added 19 points for the Wildcats (7-0), who had their lowest output of the year and won by less than 20 for only the second time this season.
Paula Reus scored 14 points for the Lobos (4-4).
No. 17 MICHIGAN 77, NORTHWESTERN 66
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) &mdash; Emily Kiser and Laila Phelia scored 18 points each and Michigan shut down Northwestern with an 8-0 run in the fourth quarter.
Leigha Brown added 10 points and 11 assists for Michigan (9-0), which won its Big Ten opener.
Jillian Brown had 17 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals for Northwestern (4-4, 0-1 Big Ten). Caileigh Walsh had 12 points and four blocks, and Sydney Wood scored 10 points.
MIDDLE TENNESSEE 67, No. 18 LOUISVILLE 49
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Savannah Wheeler had 23 points, six rebounds and five assists, Courtney Whitson added 16 points and 10 rebounds and Middle Tennessee beat cold-shooting Louisville.
Middle Tennessee (5-2) won its first home game against a ranked opponent since the Lady Raiders beat No. 6 Kentucky 70-58 on December 28, 2011.
Kseniya Malashka added 15 points for Middle Tennessee (5-2).
Olivia Cochran scored a season-high 14 points for Louisville (5-4).
NEBRASKA 90, No. 20 MARYLAND 67
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) &mdash; Jaz Shelley scored 29 points, Nebraska dominated the second half and the Cornhuskers surprised Maryland in the Big Ten Conference opener for both teams.
Allison Weidner had 13 points and 15 rebounds for Nebraska (6-3). Isabelle Bourne had 18 points and Alexis Markowski added 14. Shelley had six 3-pointers, five assists and three steals.
Two free throws from Diamond Miller drew Maryland (7-3) to within 77-67 points with 4:03 remaining, but the Terrapins would not score again while Nebraska scored 13.
No. 21 BAYLOR 79, HOUSTON CHRISTIAN 35
WACO, Texas (AP) &mdash; Freshman guard Bella Fontleroy came off the bench to score 17 points and grab 11 rebounds and Baylor romped to a victory over Houston Christian.
Fontleroy sank 6 of 10 shots with three 3-pointers for the Lady Bears (6-2) and notched her first double-double. Jaden Owens added 14 points and six assists. Kendra Gillispie scored 10 on 5-of-6 shooting.
Marilyn Nzoiwu was the lone bright spot for the Huskies (3-4). She finished with 13 points and five rebounds, sinking 6 of 9 shots from the floor. Her teammates made 8 of 40 shots, including 2 of 15 from beyond the arc.
The Lady Bears played a fifth straight game without injured leading scorer Aijha Blackwell.
No. 22 TEXAS 92, SOUTHERN 43
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; Shaylee Gonzales scored 22 points, Sonya Morris added 20 points, and Texas routed Southern.
Aaliyah Moore scored 11 points and DeYona Gaston had 10 for the Longhorns (4-4). Rori Harmon had nine points and 10 rebounds.
Freshman guard Sirviva Legions led the Jaguars (2-5) with 13 points off the bench.
The Longhorns rolled to a 29-10 lead through the first quarter after making 10 of 14 shots. They scored 11 points off seven Southern turnovers. Texas went on to lead 46-16 at halftime.
SETON HALL 82, No. 24 MARQUETTE 78
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. (AP) &mdash; Lauren Park-Lane scored 17 of her 31 points in the fourth quarter, Sidney Cooks added 23 and Seton Hall knocked off Marquette.
Kae Satterfield added 12 points for Seton Hall (6-4, 2-0 Big East Conference), which has won four straight. The Pirates last beat a ranked team, No. 24 DePaul, in January 2019.
Chloe Marotta scored 30 points and had 12 rebounds for the Golden Eagles (7-2, 1-1). Jordan King added 14 points and Liz Karlen had 12 points and nine rebounds.
No. 25 VILLANOVA 79, PROVIDENCE 54
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) &mdash; Maddy Seigrist scored 20 of her 29 points in the first half and grabbed nine rebounds to lead Villanova past Providence.
Seigrist was 12-of-18 shooting, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range. The Wildcats (7-2, 1-1 Big East Conference) made 12 of 28 behind the arc and shot 52% overall (33 of 63). Lucy Olsen added 14 points and Bella Runyan 10.
Janai Crooms led the Friars (6-4, 0-2) with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

A recap of Sunday's women's college basketball slate features a top-10 battle.

Notre Dame tops UConn as Azzi Fudd gets hurt

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) &mdash; Aliyah Boston missed the second half of No. 1 South Carolina&rsquo;s game against Hampton on Sunday with her right foot in a walking boot, but reserves Bree Hall and Ashlyn Watkins scored 14 points each in an 85-38 win.
Kamila Cardoso added 11 points and 14 rebounds for South Carolina. It was the 6-foot-7 forward&rsquo;s eighth career double-double.
Boston, the reigning Associated Press Player of the Year, took a hard fall on a drive to the basket late in the second quarter and needed several moments to stand up. Soon after, she headed to the locker room before the period ended.
Boston did not come out for the start of the third quarter, returning to the bench midway through the period with a walking boot on her right foot. Boston spent the rest of the game cheering on her teammates, who improved to 6-0 this season and 5-0 all-time against the Pirates.
No. 2 STANFORD 68, HAWAII 39
HONOLULU (AP) &mdash; Ashten Pretchel scored 12 of her season-high 17 points in the first half to help Stanford easily defeat Hawaii on the final day of the Rainbow Wahine Showdown.
The Cardinal (7-1) erased an early deficit and held the Rainbow Wahine (1-6) to a season-low scoring output.
Pretchel came off the bench and shot 6 of 10 from the field, including hitting five 3-pointers. She also grabbed 11 rebounds.
Lily Wahinekapu led Hawaii with 12 points.
NO. 3 UCONN 86, NO. 9 IOWA 79
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Azzi Fudd scored 24 points to rally UConn past Iowa in the championship game of the first Phil Knight Legacy women&rsquo;s tournament.
Fudd had plenty of help, with Aaliyah Edwards (20 points, 13 rebounds) and three other Huskies (5-0) scoring in double-figures. Edwards was named MVP of the tournament.
Iowa (5-2) star Caitlin Clark had 25 points, and Kate Martin added 20.
Edwards got UConn off to a strong start, scoring 10 points while the Huskies built a 20-14 edge.
Clark and the Hawkeyes then surged with a 13-2 run to begin the second quarter and led 41-35 at halftime. Clark scored 17 points in the first half.
NO. 4 OHIO STATE 105, NORTH ALABAMA 67
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) &mdash; Rebeka Mikulasikova scored 23 points and Cotie McMahon added 20 to lead Ohio State past North Alabama.
The Buckeyes (6-0) shot 58.6% from the field as all five starters reached double figures in scoring.
North Alabama (3-3) trailed by eight points with less than eight minutes to go in the second quarter, but Ohio State extended its lead on an 11-0 run keyed by five points from Madison Greene.
The Buckeyes held a 59-37 lead at halftime and stretched it to as large as 39 with less than three minutes remaining.
No. 8 NORTH CAROLINA 73, No. 5 IOWA STATE 64
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Deja Kelly scored 29 points to power North Carolina to a 17-point comeback over Iowa State and win in the championship game of the Phil Knight Invitational tournament.
Kennedy Todd-Williams added 17 points to help the Tar Heels (6-0) complete the comeback and remain undefeated on the season. Alyssa Ustby contributed 14 points, nine rebounds, three steals and two blocks.
Stephanie Soares led the Cyclones (5-1) with 19 points and 12 rebounds, while Ashley Joens had 18 points and nine rebounds as Iowa State suffered its first loss of the year.
NO. 11 VIRGINIA TECH 89, LONGWOOD 28
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) &mdash; Elizabeth Kitley had a double-double, Kayana Traylor added a double-double off the bench, and Virginia Tech rolled over Longwood.
Kitley had 23 points and 14 rebounds for the Hokies. Traylor had 11 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and two steals. Ashley Owusu scored 21 points, making 4 of 5 3-pointers.
The Hokies established a program record by holding South Carolina Upstate to 24 points on Nov. 14. Longwood passed 24 points when Adriana Shipp-Davis made a layup with 4:44 remaining.
Shipp-Davis had seven rebounds for Longwood (1-5). The Lancers shot 16.7% overall, which was also their 3-point percentage (3-for-18).
NO. 14 MARYLAND 87, PITTSBURGH 63
FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Abby Meyers scored 12 of her 23 points in Maryland&rsquo;s 36-point third quarter and the Terrapins rolled past Pittsburgh to finish the Ft. Myers Tip-Off.
Brinae Alexander hit three 3-pointers in the Terps&rsquo; biggest quarter of the season and was 5 of 7 from distance to finish with 17 points. Lavender Briggs contributed 10 points as the three transfers had their biggest outputs of the season for Maryland. Shyanne Sellers added 13 points for the Terrapins (6-2), who went 2-1 in the tournament.
Maryland went 7 of 10 behind the arc and shot 55% in the second half.
Maliyah Johnson had 15 points for the Panthers (5-2), who only had one less 3-pointer but was outscored by 13 at the foul line where Maryland was 20 of 23.
No. 18 OREGON 86, MICHIGAN STATE 78
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Endyia Rogers scored 19 points, including critical back-to-back 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, Phillipina Kyei had a double-double with career highs and Oregon held off Michigan State in the third-place game of the Phil Knight Invitational.
The Ducks led 29-12 when Rogers scored the opening basket of the second quarter but the Spartans slowly came back behind Kamaria McDaniel, who had a season-high 28 points. McDaniel hit a 3-pointer and Matilda Ekh had a steal and layup and Michigan State tied the game with 7:17 to play.
That&rsquo;s when Rogers, who had a career-high five 3-pointers, scored from distance, the first coming after a timeout and the Ducks regained control.
Isaline Alexander scored 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting and Ekh 12 for the Spartans (6-2).
NO. 19 TEXAS 74, PRINCETON 50
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; Sonya Morris scored 15 points, Taylor Jones notched a double-double and Texas breezed to a victory over Princeton.
Morris sank 5 of 10 shots from the floor with two 3-pointers for Texas (3-3). Jones finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Rori Harmon had 11 points and Aaliyah Moore scored 10.
The Longhorns picked up their second straight win after a three-game losing streak. Texas fell 16 spots in the AP poll.
Kaitlyn Chen topped Princeton (3-2) with 15 points. Julia Cunningham added 10 points. Ellie Mitchell came into the game leading the nation with 16.2 rebounds per game. She didn&rsquo;t score and had seven boards.
No. 22 MICHIGAN 84, No. 21 BAYLOR 75
ESTERO, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Emily Kiser scored 26 points on 10-of-13 shooting and grabbed 13 rebounds, Laila Phelia added 20 points and Michigan scored the final 11 points to beat Baylor in the championship game of the Gulf Coast Showcase.
Maddie Nolan scored seven of her 12 points in a 20-5 run over the final 4-plus minutes and Leigha Brown finished with 11 points, eight rebounds and six assists forMichigan (7-0).
Ja&rsquo;Mee Asberry scored inside to give Baylor a 75-73 lead with 2 minutes to go but Brown made a layup and, after a missed 3-point shot on the other end, grabbed her own offensive rebound and kicked it out to Phelia for a 3 that gave the Wolverines the lead for good with 48 seconds to go.
Jaden Owens scored 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting for the Bears.
NO. 23 TENNESSEE 105, EASTERN KENTUCKY 71
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Rickea Jackson scored 15 points to lead a balanced attack and Tennessee coasted to a win over Eastern Kentucky.
Jordan Horston added 14 points for the Lady Vols (4-4), Jillian Hollingshead and Tamari Key 13 each and Karoline Striplin 10. Jackson and Horston both had five assists and joined Hollingshead with eight rebounds.
Antwainette Walker scored 18 points for the Colonels (4-3).
NO. 23 VILLANOVA 72, SOUTH FLORIDA 50
ESTERO, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Maddy Siegrist scored 25 points to surpass 2,000 for her career and Villanova used a hot start to beat South Florida in the third-place game at the Gulf Coast Showcase.
Siegrist scored 13 points in the first half and 10 in the third quarter as the Wildcats (6-1) took a 58-36 lead. Lucy Olsen scored 10 of her 13 before the break.
Siegrist became the third player in Villanova history to reach the 2,000-point plateau when she hit a jumper at 3:46 of the third quarter to put the Wildcats up 50-31.
Sammie Puisis scored 17 points for the Bulls (7-2). Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu had 14 points with 17 rebounds &mdash; matching her career high, and Elena Tsineke scored 11.

Boston, the reigning Associated Press Player of the Year, took a hard fall on a drive to the basket late in the second quarter.

Boston hurt in No. 1 Gamecocks’ win; No. 3 UConn tops Iowa

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Jeremy Roach scored 16 first-half points to help seventh-ranked Duke open Jon Scheyer&rsquo;s coaching tenure with a 71-44 win over Jacksonville on Monday night.
Freshman Mark Mitchell had a team-high 18 points for the Blue Devils, who used a 25-4 run spanning halftime to blow the game open.
It was a quality start to a season of massive change for the Blue Devils, starting with Scheyer taking over for retired Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski. Duke has 11 new players, including the nation&rsquo;s No. 1-ranked recruiting class and two power-conference transfers. The Blue Devils didn&rsquo;t have top freshmen Dereck Lively II and Dariq Whitehead for this one as they recover from preseason injuries.
Mike Marsh scored 15 points to lead the Dolphins, who shot 34% and missed 18 of 19 3-pointers before making two meaningless 3s late.
NO. 1 NORTH CAROLINA 69, UNC WILMINGTON 56
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Caleb Love and RJ Davis scored 17 points apiece and North Carolina began a season of grand expectations by pulling away from UNC Wilmington.
Armando Bacot added 16 points and nine rebounds for the Tar Heels, who were perhaps most impressive at the defensive end. UNCW shot 29.8% from the field.
The Tar Heels, who were the NCAA Tournament runner-up in April, began the new season with the top ranking for the first time in seven years. It&rsquo;s a record 10th time that North Carolina has been ranked No. 1 to start a season &mdash; one more than rival Duke.
Trazarien White scored 19 points for UNCW, which faced a top-ranked team for the first time in program history.
NO. 2 GONZAGA 104, NORTH FLORIDA 63
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) &mdash; Drew Timme scored 22 points, Julian Strawther added 16 and No. 2 Gonzaga used a big first-half run to beat North Florida in both teams&rsquo; opener.
Anton Watson had 10 points, four rebounds, four assists and five steals for Gonzaga, which won its 68th consecutive home game, the nation&rsquo;s longest such streak.
Carter Hendricksen scored 16 points, Jadyn Parker 13 and Jose Placer 12 for North Florida, a veteran-laden team from the Atlantic Sun Conference that returned its top four scorers from last season.
NO. 3 HOUSTON 83, NORTHERN COLORADO 36
HOUSTON (AP) &mdash; Marcus Sasser scored 21 points, J&rsquo;Wan Roberts added 12 points and six rebounds, and Houston opened the season by beating Northern Colorado.
Sasser, a preseason All-American, scored 11 points in the first half. He finished 7 of 14 from the field and made 4 of 8 3-pointers. The senior guard missed the second half of last season and all of Houston&rsquo;s run to the Elite Eight with a toe injury.
Houston coach Kelvin Sampson won his 700th career game and 200th with the Cougars.
Matt Johnson II, Riley Abercrombie and Caleb Shaw each scored eight points for the Bears.
NO. 4 KENTUCKY 95, HOWARD 63
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) &mdash; Antonio Reeves scored 22 points, CJ Fredrick had 20 and Kentucky beat Howard with All-American Oscar Tshiebwe and two other players sidelined.
Tshiebwe had a procedure last month on his right knee. Point guard Sahvir Wheeler (right leg) and sophomore forward Daimion Collins (personal reasons) were also out, but the Wildcats still shot 55% against the overmatched Bison.
Jacob Toppin and freshman Cason Wallace each added 15 points for Kentucky.
Kobe Dickson scored 17 points and Elijah Hawkins had 14 for Howard, which shot 34%.
NO. 5 KANSAS 89, OMAHA 64
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Jalen Wilson had 19 points and 11 rebounds, Gradey Dick added 23 points in his debut, and Kansas began defense of its national championship without suspended coach Bill Self by routing Omaha.
Bobby Pettiford Jr. added 13 points, Dajuan Harris had 11 points and eight assists, and Texas Tech transfer Kevin McCullar Jr. scored 10 for the Jayhawks, who broke open a close game in the second half with two big runs.
Self served the first of a four-game punishment along with assistant Kurtis Townsend as part of the fallout from a 2017 federal investigation into college basketball corruption.
Jaeden Marshall scored 13 points and Luke Jungers had 12 for the Mavericks.
NO. 5 BAYLOR 117, MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE 53
WACO, Texas (AP) &mdash; Adam Flagler scored 21 points to lead six players in double figures as Baylor won the opener of its 20th season with coach Scott Drew.
Flagler, a preseason All-Big 12 pick who also was the Bears&rsquo; leading scorer last season, also had eight assists and one of his four 3-pointers started a 24-0 run midway through the first half.
LJ Cryer had 16 points and Dale Bonner, another returning guard, had 14.
Alvin Stredic scored 14 points and Terry Collins 10 for Mississippi Valley State in its first game for new coach George Ivory.
NO. 9 CREIGHTON 72, ST. THOMAS 60
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) &mdash; Baylor Scheierman made back-to-back 3-pointers midway through the second half to give Creighton the lead for good.
Arthur Kaluma scored 17 points, Trey Alexander had 12 and Scheierman added 11 as the Bluejays won their 25th opener in 26 years.
St. Thomas, a Summit League member beginning its second season in Division I, gave the Bluejays all they could handle until the last few minutes. Andrew Rohde had 15 points to lead the Tommies.
NO. 10 ARKANSAS 76, NORTH DAKOTA STATE 58
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) &mdash; Trevon Brazile had 21 points and 12 rebounds in his debut as Arkansas won its season opener.
Brazile, a sophomore transfer from Missouri, scored six straight points during an 11-0 run early in the second half that gave Arkansas a 16-point lead with 15 minutes left.
Wichita State transfer Ricky Council led the Razorbacks with 22 points on 9-for-14 shooting.
Grant Nelson and Boden Skunberg had 17 points apiece to lead North Dakota State.
NO. 11 TENNESSEE 75, TENNESSEE TECH 43
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Tyreke Key came off the bench to score 17 points and Tennessee beat Tennessee Tech in both teams&rsquo; opener.
Key, an Indiana State transfer, connected on 4 of 8 3-pointers to ignite a sluggish Volunteer offense. Zakai Zeigler scored all but two of his 12 points in the second half.
Brett Thompson led the Golden Eagles with 15 points.
NO. 12 TEXAS 72, UTEP 57
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; Tyrese Hunter scored 18 points to lead Texas past UTEP in the debut of its new arena.
Hunter, a transfer from Iowa State, was 6-of-8 shooting and added five rebounds. Ze&rsquo;Ri Onyema led UTEP with 10 points.
Texas this season moved to the $375 million Moody Center on the edge of campus, leaving behind the old Frank Erwin Center after 45 years.
NO. 13 INDIANA 88, MOREHEAD STATE 53
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Preseason All-American Trayce Jackson-Davis and freshman Malik Reneau each scored 15 points, helping Indiana beat Morehead State in the season opener for both teams.
The Hoosiers have won all six matchups in the series and are 26-0 all-time against Ohio Valley Conference foes.
Mark Freeman led the Eagles with 14 points, and Drew Thelwell had 11 for the OVC favorites.
NO. 14 TCU 73, ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF 72
WACO, Texas (AP) &mdash; Mike Miles hit a 3-pointer with 51 seconds remaining to finally put TCU ahead to stay against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, which built an early 20-point lead in the season opener for both teams.
Miles, the preseason Big 12 player of the year, hit from deep beyond the top of the key for a 71-68 lead.
Emanuel Miller had 15 of his 19 points in the second half, and Miles finished with 15 points for the Horned Frogs. They returned all five starters and five other scholarship players after winning their first NCAA Tournament game since 1987.
Shaun Doss had 25 points with four of Arkansas-Pine Bluff&rsquo;s 13 3-pointers.
NO. 15 AUBURN 70, GEORGE MASON 52
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Wendell Green Jr. scored 16 points while K.D. Johnson and Johni Broome each had 12 to lead Auburn to a season-opening win over George Mason.
The Tigers weren&rsquo;t really challenged much in their first game since losing NBA first-round draft picks Jabari Smith and Walker Kessler.
Ronald Polite III led George Mason with 10 points, and Victor Bailey Jr. had nine.
NO. 16 VILLANOVA 81, LA SALLE 68
VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) &mdash; Caleb Daniels scored 24 points to make coach Kyle Neptune a winner in his Villanova debut.
Neptune replaced Hall of Famer Jay Wright, who retired in the offseason. The Wildcats returned three starters (a fourth, Justin Moore, was injured) from the team that lost a national semifinal game to Kansas. Eric Dixon added 20 points for Villanova.
Daniels made his first five 3-pointers and the Wildcats used an early 10-0 run to put away their city rival and spoiled 74-year-old coach Fran Dunphy&rsquo;s return to the bench.
Josh Nickelberry scored 22 points to lead the Explorers.
NO. 17 ARIZONA 117, NICHOLLS STATE 75
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) &mdash; Azuolas Tubelis scored 23 points and Arizona went on a massive opening run to begin its second season under coach Tommy Lloyd with a rout.
Ballo scored 18 points, helping Arizona set a school record with 71.7% shooting from the floor against the reigning Southland Conference regular-season champions. The Wildcats opened the game with a 30-4 run.
Micah Thomas led Nicholls State with 20 points.
NO. 18 VIRGINIA 73, NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL 61
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) &mdash; Kihei Clark and Reece Beekman sparked a 15-2 second-half run, and Virginia beat North Carolina Central after blowing a 16-point first-half lead.
Armaan Franklin led Virginia with 21 points in the season opener for both teams, and Francisco Caffaro had 10.
Justin Wright scored 20 and Eric Boone had 18 for the Eagles, who used a 12-0 run just after halftime to go ahead. But Clark hit a 3 and Beekman followed with a steal and a breakaway.
NO. 19 SAN DIEGO STATE 80, CAL STATE FULLERTON 57
SAN DIEGO (AP) &mdash; Darrion Trammell hit three 3-pointers during a 29-10 run to open the second half and finished with 18 points as San Diego State beat Cal State Fullerton.
Fellow newcomer Jaedon LeDee and Lamont Butler scored 11 points apiece and Nathan Mensah had 10 for the Aztecs, who won their 10th straight season opener and their 17th in 18 seasons.
Vincent Lee scored 11 and Jalen Harris 10 for the Titans, the defending Big West Conference champions.
NO. 20 ALABAMA 75, LONGWOOD 54
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Freshman Brandon Miller had 14 points and 13 rebounds in his debut as Alabama beat Longwood.
Fellow freshman Rylan Griffen also scored 14 for the Crimson Tide, and point guard Mark Sears had 12 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Freshman guard Jaden Bradley added 11 points and six boards.
Alabama held Longwood to 27% shooting and blocked nine shots. Michael Christmas led Longwood with 12 points.
NO. 21 OREGON 80, FLORIDA A&amp;M 45
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) &mdash; N&rsquo;Faly Dante had 16 points and 10 rebounds as Oregon opened with an easy win over Florida A&amp;M.
Keeshawn Barthelemy added 13 points for the Ducks, ranked to start the season for the ninth straight year. Will Richardson scored 11.
Jordan Tillmon and Jordan Chatman had eight points apiece for the Rattlers, who have 11 new players. Florida A&amp;M coach Robert McCullum was on Oregon coach Dana Altman&rsquo;s staff from 2014-17.
NO. 22 MICHIGAN 75, PURDUE FORT WAYNE 56
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) &mdash; Hunter Dickinson had 22 points and 12 rebounds, and freshman Jett Howard added 21 points in Michigan&rsquo;s season-opening win.
After Purdue Fort Wayne opened an 8-4 lead, Michigan went on a 20-0 run to take control.
Quinton Morton-Robertson scored 15 points and Bobby Planutis added 13 for the Mastodons.
NO. 23 ILLINOIS 87, EASTERN ILLINOIS 57
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) &mdash; Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 24 points and Coleman Hawkins had 23 points and 12 rebounds as Illinois cruised past Eastern Illinois.
Dain Dainja added 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Illini, who outrebounded the Panthers 53-30 in the opener for both teams.
Kinyon Hodges scored 14 points and Yaakema Rose added 10 for Eastern Illinois.
NO. 24 DAYTON 73, LINDENWOOD 46
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) &mdash; Mustapha Amzil scored 14 points, DaRon Holmes II and R.J. Blakney each had 13 and Dayton beat Lindenwood in a sluggish opener for both teams.
Dayton was without injured point guard Malachi Smith and didn&rsquo;t play particularly well until late, but it had a large margin for error against Lindenwood, which was playing its first game after moving up to Division I.
Chris Childs had 15 points for the Lions, who shot 33% from the field.
NO. 25 TEXAS TECH 73, NORTHWESTERN STATE 49
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) &mdash; Daniel Batcho had 12 points and 10 rebounds as Texas Tech rolled past Northwestern State in both teams&rsquo; opener.
Texas Tech broke it open late in the first half and led 42-23 at halftime.
Isaac Haney led Northwestern State with 16 points.

It was a quality start to a season of massive change for the Blue Devils, starting with Jon Scheyer taking over Duke's program.

Roach leads No. 7 Duke past Jacksonville in Scheyer’s debut

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) &mdash; Zia Cooke scored 17 points, Aliyah Boston had the 61st double-double of her career and defending national champion No. 1 South Carolina opened with a dominating 101-31 victory over East Tennessee State on Monday night.
Boston finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds in 20 minutes.
The Gamecocks celebrated their 2022 NCAA Tournament title with championship rings and a banner unfurled in the arena rafters to the cheers of a boisterous, happy crowd at Colonial Life Arena.
South Carolina held its opponent to 4-of-28 shooting in the first two quarters. ETSU missed 15 straight shots during one stretch.
East Tennessee&rsquo;s Jiselle Thomas, a first-year transfer from Temple, led East Tennessee with seven points on 2-of-20 shooting.
NO. 2 STANFORD 86, SAN DIEGO STATE 48
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Kiki Iriafen had a team-leading 16 points and six rebounds, sending Stanford past San Diego State to open the season.
Iriafen was one of four players who had double-digit points for the Cardinal, including Elena Bosgana (15 points), Cameron Brink (13) and Indya Nivar (13). Alex Crain and Meghan Fiso each had nine points for the Aztecs, who were held to 31.6% shooting (18 of 57) by the Cardinal defense.
NO. 4 IOWA 87, SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY 34
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) &mdash; Caitlin Clark scored 20 points as Iowa opened the season with a win over Southern.
Clark, a junior guard who was a unanimous Associated Press preseason All-American, shook off a couple of early injuries to finish with a 6 of 10 shooting night.
Iowa center Monika Czinano, back for a fifth season after leading the nation in field-goal percentage the last two seasons, scored 10 points on 3 of 4 shooting.
Amani McWain led Southern with eight points.
NO. 7 LOUISVILLE 87, CINCINNATI 68
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) &mdash; Hailey Van Lith scored 28 points to lead Louisville to a victory over Cincinnati in the season opener for both teams.
The Cardinals broke the game open with a 15-0 first-quarter run and led 46-25 in the final minute of the first half. The Cardinals shot 51.7% and outrebounded the Bearcats 39-27.
Sophomore Braylyn Milton led the Bearcats with a career-high 28 points on 9-of-12 shooting. Milton was perfect on five 3-point shots. Mya Jackson and A&rsquo;riel Jackson added 12 points apiece.
NO. 8 IOWA STATE 87, CLEVELAND STATE 54
AMES, Iowa (AP) &mdash; Ashley Joens had 28 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, and Iowa State opened the season with a victory against Cleveland State.
Joens, a preseason All-American, nearly recorded a double-double in the first half with 24 points and nine boards. She has 50 career double-doubles.
Stephanie Soares added 15 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks for the Cyclones. Gabriella Smith led Cleveland State with 16 points and Brittni Moore added nine.
NO. 9 NOTRE DAME 88, NORTHERN ILLINOIS 48
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Olivia Miles had 17 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and six steals to help No. 9 Notre Dame rout Northern Illinois.
Transfer post players Kylee Watson (Oregon) and Lauren Ebo (Texas) made their Notre Dame debuts. Watson started and scored nine points, while Ebo added 10 points off the bench.
Janae Poisson led NIU in scoring with 14 points.
NO. 10 NC STATE 82, QUINNIPIAC 45
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Jada Boyd scored 14 points as North Carolina State led wire-to-wire in a season-opening victory over Quinnipiac.
Boyd shot a perfect 4-of-4 from the floor and 6-of-6 from the free-throw line. The junior forward also had five rebounds, a block and two steals in just 20 minutes of play. Quinnipiac was led by Cur&rsquo;Tiera Haywood&rsquo;s eight points and five rebounds. Jackie Grisdale also had eight points for the Bobcats.
NO. 13 VIRGINIA TECH 101, MOUNT ST. MARY&rsquo;S 45
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) &mdash; Cayla King made a school record nine 3-pointers and scored a career-high 33 points, All-American Elizabeth Kitley added 17 points and Virginia Tech rolled over Mount St. Mary in both teams&rsquo; season opener.
Virginia Tech never trailed thanks to King&rsquo;s opening 3-pointer and after Mount St. Mary&rsquo;s answered with a basket the Hokies reeled off 20 straight.
Michaela Harrison scored 15 points for Mount St. Mary&rsquo;s, which shot 27% and was outrebounded 45-23.
NO. 15 OKLAHOMA 105, ORAL ROBERTS 94
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) &mdash; Madi Williams scored 19 points, Skylar Vann added 18 and Oklahoma opened the season with a win over Oral Roberts.
The Sooners finished at 47.6% shooting after hitting 60% of their shots in the first half.
Oral Roberts outscored Oklahoma 24-6 in the final 5:18 to get the margin down to 11. Tirzah Moore scored 25 points and grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds for the Golden Eagles.
NO. 16 LSU 125, BELLARMINE 50
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) &mdash; Angel Reese scored 31 points on 11-of-14 shooting and grabbed 13 rebounds in her debut with LSU and the Tigers coasted past Bellarmine in the season opener.
The transfer from Maryland, where she was an All-American, had 14 points in the first quarter when the Tigers took a 31-8 lead and went on to a school record for points in a game.
West Virginia transfer Jasmine Carson added 17 points and Alexis Morris 16 for LSU, which returned only one starter (Morris) and five players from Kim Mulkey&rsquo;s first team, which had the greatest turnaround by a first-year coach in Southeastern Conference history.
Hayley Harrison scored 19 points for the Knights.
NO. 17 MARYLAND 88, GEORGE MASON 51
FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) &mdash; Abby Meyers scored 19 points in her debut for Maryland as the retooled Terrapins defeated George Mason.
Meyers, an AP honorable mention All-American at Princeton and one of nine new Terrapins, made 5 of 6 from 3-point range.
Taylor Jameson scored 15 points for George Mason, which was 5 of 22 from 3-point range and had 18 turnovers.
NO. 18 BAYLOR 88, LAMAR 50
WACO, Texas (AP) &mdash;Jaden Owens had a career-high 12 assists to go with 11 points for her first career double-double and Baylor pulled away for a season-opening win over Lamar.
Missouri transfer Aijha Blackwell and freshman Bella Fontleroy both added 17 points for the Bears, who used a 7-0 run early in the second quarter and a 9-0 late to go up 47-31 at halftime.
Lamar shot 32% in the second half and finished just 3 of 12 behind the 3-point line. Akasha Davis led the Cardinals with 13 points and eight rebounds.
NO. 20 OREGON 100, NORTHWESTERN 57
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Freshman Grace VanSlooten scored 20 points and Oregon downed Northwestern for the Ducks&rsquo; 10th straight season-opening win, and ninth straight under coach Kelly Graves.
Jennah Isai added 17 for the Ducks, who went 20-12 overall last season and advanced to the NCAA Tournament but lost in the first round to Belmont.
Caileigh Walsh had 15 points and six rebounds for Northwestern, which went 17-12 last season.
NO. 21 CREIGHTON 73, NO. 23 SOUTH DAKTA STATE 64
BROOKINGS, S.D. (AP) &mdash; Lauren Jensen scored 17 of her 30 points in the fourth quarter and Creighton pulled away from South Dakota State in the only Top 25 matchup on the opening day of the season.
Creighton, the surprise team of the NCAA Tournament last year when they beat No. 8 Iowa and No. 10 Iowa State, made 10 of 12 free throws in the fourth quarter.
Myah Selland scored 22 points to lead South Dakota State, which won the WNIT last season.
NO. 22 NEBRASKA 100, OMAHA 36
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) &mdash; Isabelle Bourne had 21 points and nine rebounds, leading Nebraska to the runaway victory in its season opener.
Allison Weidner added 19 points and nine rebounds, and South Dakota transfer Maddy Krull had 18 points with four 3-pointers. Alexis Markowski had 13 points and eight rebounds for the Cornhuskers.
Elena Pilakouta had 10 points and eight rebounds for the Mavericks.
NO. 24 PRINCETON 67, TEMPLE 49
PRINCETON, N.J. (AP) &mdash; Kaitlyn Chen scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds, Ellie Mitchell added 12 points and 15 boards, and Princeton defeated Temple to spoil the debut of Owls coach Diane Richardson.
Princeton won its 16th straight regular-season game dating to last season. Prior to the game, the Tigers honored its 2021-22 campaign with a banner unveiling and ring ceremony. The Tigers pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the NCAA Tournament, upending Kentucky in the first round.
Jasha Clinton scored 15 points and Tiarra East had 11 points and 11 rebounds for Temple, which was just 18-of-62 shooting.

Opening night for women's college hoops was highlighted by Aliyah Boston and the defending-champion South Carolina Gamecocks.

Defending women's national champs, No. 1 Gamecocks, rout ETSU 101-31

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) &mdash; After five agonizing years, Louisville finally gets to look forward.
An independent panel placed the Cardinals&rsquo; basketball program on two years of probation and fined it $5,000, but spared the school major penalties from NCAA allegations leveled in the aftermath of a federal investigation into corruption in college basketball.
The Independent Accountability Resolution Process (IARP) also declined on Thursday to penalize former Cardinals coach Rick Pitino, whom the NCAA initially cited for failure to promote an atmosphere of compliance. Chris Mack, Pitino&rsquo;s successor who was fired in January, also was not penalized for additional allegations announced last year by the NCAA.
&ldquo;The panel views this decision as exonerating both coaches,&rdquo; IARP chief panel member David Benck said in a conference call with reporters.
Pitino, now the coach at Iona, thanked the IARP for its fairness and reiterated his adherence to the rules.
&ldquo;So, do I feel vindicated? It&rsquo;s not really that important anymore because it&rsquo;s been five years,&rdquo; Pitino said in a conference call.
Former Cardinals assistant coach Jordan Fair and associate head coach Kenny Johnson, now a Rhode Island assistant, received two-year show-cause orders for Level I violations. The IARP concluded that Fair &ldquo;was knowingly involved&rdquo; in arranging a cash payment in exchange for a player enrolling at Louisville.
The IARP, created to decide complex cases, also restricted Louisville&rsquo;s recruiting visits for this academic year and issued a public reprimand.
&ldquo;We were hopeful of a successful outcome through this process, and that&rsquo;s what we received,&rdquo; Cardinals athletic director Josh Heird said in a news conference with Louisville&rsquo;s acting president, Lori Gonzalez.
The IARP was created out of proposals from a commission led by former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in 2018 to reform college basketball. The panel&rsquo;s decision cannot be appealed.
The NCAA in May 2020 accused Louisville of committing a Level I violation for an improper recruiting offer and several Level II violations. Pitino was accused of failing to promote an atmosphere of compliance &mdash; an accusation the IARP concluded was unfounded.
The NCAA case followed a federal investigation announced in September 2017 that involved numerous college basketball programs accused of giving illicit cash to recruits. The school acknowledged it was the subject of allegations related to the recruitment of Brian Bowen II.
Louisville had previously been placed on NCAA probation because of a sex scandal. Thursday&rsquo;s decision by the IARP put the latest disciplinary matter to rest for a school that has endured several scandals since 2015.
&ldquo;The panel felt that the institution and the coach were hypersensitive on compliance issues coming right on the heels of the prior case,&rdquo; Benck said.
The IARP also recently announced minor sanctions against Memphis in a similar case, signaling that the era of harsh NCAA penalties may be coming to an end with college athletes now allowed to make money off their name, image and likeness. Kansas is still under investigation by the IARP as a result of the federal probe, and this week it self-imposed a four-game suspension on coach Bill Self while reiterating the program&rsquo;s commitment to the Hall of Famer.
In the Louisville case, federal prosecutors alleged that Adidas representatives funneled $125,000 to a recruit&rsquo;s family to get him to attend the school. Pitino was not named in the federal complaint and repeatedly denied authorizing or knowing of any payment to a recruit.
Benck also rejected NCAA allegations that Adidas, as Louisville&rsquo;s sportswear partner, was acting on behalf of the school&rsquo;s athletic interests.
&ldquo;It was our interpretation that it was merely their own brand promotion,&rdquo; Benck said. &ldquo;On top of that, the institution never requested any assistance with recruiting in our opinion, had no knowledge of any assistance that the apparel company provided.&rdquo;
The Hall of Fame coach and athletic director Tom Jurich were fired in the wake of the federal complaint. That episode occurred with Louisville on NCAA probation after a 2015 sex scandal in which a basketball staffer was alleged to have hired strippers to entertain recruits and players.
Louisville&rsquo;s sanctions from that scandal included vacating 123 victories, including its 2013 men&rsquo;s basketball championship and 2012 Final Four appearance &mdash; both under Pitino.
College sports&rsquo; governing body amended its Notice of Allegations in September 2021 for violations committed under Mack during the 2020-21 season. The NCAA accused the program of impermissible activities and said Mack did not promote an atmosphere of compliance.
Mack was fired in January after three-plus seasons and eventually replaced by former Cardinals player and Kentucky assistant Kenny Payne. Mack&rsquo;s final season began with a six-game suspension by the school for failing to follow university guidelines in handling an extortion attempt by fired ex-assistant Dino Gaudio.
University officials pushed back against the accusations and noted coaching and administrative changes among their corrective measures.
The IARP&rsquo;s decision closes a long period in which Louisville has been stifled competitively, administratively and financially. The Cardinals&rsquo; lone NCAA Tournament appearance since Pitino&rsquo;s departure came in 2019, and the revolving door of coaches has limited Louisville on the recruiting trail.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s finally over,&rdquo; Heird said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s been a cloud over this program for five years now, whether it&rsquo;s recruiting or just the fans feeling the impact of it, the staff, the athletic staff, the university staff. For all of that to just be lifted today. ... It&rsquo;s relief.&rdquo;

An independent panel placed the Louisville basketball program on two years of probation and fined it $5,000.

Louisville escapes major sanctions in hoops bribery case

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) &mdash; Iowa has had a first team All-American in three consecutive seasons, two for Luka Garza and one for Keegan Murray, raising the natural question about who the next star will be for the Hawkeyes and how quickly he can emerge.
Kris Murray, predictably, has everyone who follows the program staring straight at him.
The third-year forward has the sleek frame at 6-foot-8 and 220 pounds, the unflappable demeanor on the court and the track record of sharp improvement after increasing his scoring average by more than nine additional points per game.
But the tendency for comparison is unavoidable for the human brain, never more in the analysis of sports, and the fact that Kris Murray is Keegan Murray&rsquo;s identical twin brother will hover over him as long as he puts on a Hawkeyes uniform.
&ldquo;If he didn&rsquo;t look the same as me, we probably wouldn&rsquo;t be having this conversation,&rdquo; Kris Murray said at Big Ten media day in Minneapolis. &ldquo;Nobody expected Keegan to make the jump he did when Luka left. I think that&rsquo;s kind of the big difference. We have a really balanced team this year.&rdquo;
Keegan Murray, who averaged 23.5 points to lead the conference last season, left Iowa after his sophomore year to enter the NBA draft. He was the fourth overall pick by Sacramento.
&ldquo;It was a good thing having Keegan in every single way, so I&rsquo;m not taking away anything from him,&rdquo; sixth-year reserve Connor McCaffery said. &ldquo;But that&rsquo;s a lot of shots that were in that lineup that you have to make up. So now it&rsquo;s different guys coming in, every day in practice.&rdquo;
One look across the Big Ten this fall reveals a trend of departed stars, rosters still in a rather awkward state caused by the eligibility waiver for the pandemic season, the relaxed rules around transfers playing right away and, as always, the allure of an NBA career.
Only eight of the top 25 scorers in the conference in 2021-22 returned to their teams. Just nine of the top 25 most-used players in terms of minutes per game are back.
There are some established standouts on the consensus title contenders like Indiana&rsquo;s Trayce Jackson-Davis, Michigan&rsquo;s Hunter Dickinson and Purdue&rsquo;s Zach Edey who will headline every game they play in 2022-23, but there is a wide-open stage in the league for less-heralded players like Kris Murray, Wisconsin&rsquo;s Tyler Wahl or Rutgers&rsquo; Cliff Omoruyi to step up onto it.
The Big Ten had three top-10 draft picks, with Keegan Murray, Purdue&rsquo;s Jaden Ivey (No. 5) and Wisconsin&rsquo;s Johnny Davis (No. 10). Seven other players were drafted, including two each from Ohio State (Malaki Branham and E.J. Liddell) and Michigan (Caleb Houstan and Moussa Diabate).
The transfer portal, of course, had exits around the conference with potential instant-impact arrivals such as Michigan&rsquo;s Jaelen Llewellyn (Princeton), Minnesota&rsquo;s Dawson Garcia (North Carolina) and Illinois&rsquo; Terrence Shannon Jr. (Texas Tech).
But the Big Ten has long been shaped by a core of established head coaches who have remained as committed as they can be in this era to running developmental programs.
Michigan State&rsquo;s Tom Izzo lost his top three scorers from last season but declined to pursue any transfer replacements &mdash; even with a nonconference schedule he called &ldquo;the most brutal&rdquo; he&rsquo;s ever had. The Spartans play Gonzaga, Kentucky, Villanova and Notre Dame, plus a trip to Oregon for the Phil Knight Invitational that matches them up against Alabama and likely two other tough opponents depending on how the bracket unfolds.
&ldquo;I choose the route I choose. I stand behind it,&rdquo; Izzo said. &ldquo;Chemistry, camaraderie, culture, loyalty are all really, really important to me. It&rsquo;s worked. New era? Maybe it won&rsquo;t work. But I like where we are right now.&rdquo;
Established coaches who have produced consistent success have more of a latitude to be patient, to be sure. Purdue&rsquo;s Matt Painter, Wisconsin&rsquo;s Greg Gard and Iowa&rsquo;s Fran McCaffery have all followed a similar philosophy. Ohio State&rsquo;s Chris Holtmann will lean on freshmen as much as ever, with prized rookies Bruce Thornton, Brice Sensabaugh, Roddy Gayle Jr., Felix Okpara and Bowen Hardman putting the Buckeyes at the top of just about all the Big Ten recruiting rankings.
This season, then, ought to serve as a test case of sorts for several of the conference&rsquo;s top teams as they put the value of stability up against some of the other powerhouse programs across the country who might be relying more on game-ready transfers.
&ldquo;We all make jumps year after year,&rdquo; Kris Murray said. &ldquo;The thing about Iowa basketball is we&rsquo;re always improving.&rdquo;

One look across the Big Ten this fall reveals a trend of departed stars, but there are more players set to shine this season.

Next wave of Big Ten stars primed to shine after many exits

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

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

NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; On nearly every basketball court around the world &mdash;from NBA arenas to elementary school gyms &mdash; you&rsquo;ll see players of all sizes regularly attempting long 3-point shots. There&rsquo;s one man largely credited with transforming basketball from a must-see above the rim game to box office-long range shooting: Stephen Curry.
But the Golden State Warriors megastar who broke the NBA&rsquo;s all-time 3-point record last season is now aiming at a different target: children&rsquo;s books.
&ldquo;This is our first project out and (we want) to hopefully reach the next generation of kids that are dreaming big, are going to be the next leaders and game changers,&rdquo; said Curry of &ldquo;I Have a Superpower&rdquo; illustrated by Geneva Bowers. &ldquo;We want them to be able to set their sights on what they want to accomplish in the world and really believe that it&rsquo;s possible.&rdquo;
The father of three says the book was partly inspired by his own children&rsquo;s love of reading.
&ldquo;You kind of have your kids in mind when you&rsquo;re talking about a book, and then you realize that this is kind of a universal opportunity to reach the next generation,&rdquo; explained the four-time NBA champion and reigning Finals MVP.
A member of the NBA&rsquo;s prestigious 75th Anniversary team and executive producer of the &ldquo;Holey Moley&rdquo; game show, Curry spoke with The Associated Press about empowering children and the upcoming NBA season. Answers have been edited for clarity and brevity.
AP: What do you want young people to learn from &ldquo;I Have a Superpower?&rdquo;
CURRY: "We&rsquo;re all unique and we all have something to offer the world. And if you have a work ethic, if you have a belief and you feel like whatever that requires is already inside of you, then good things will happen."
AP: What would you tell parents who might say it&rsquo;s easy for you to tell kids &ldquo;just work hard?&rdquo;
CURRY: "You can always go back to when I started playing basketball when I was 5 years old &mdash; I first started playing organized basketball at 9. I was undersized, scrawny and never, ever talked about as being the greatest at anything. And (I) had to go through those experiences of trying and failing... I think that&rsquo;s something that most people will hopefully be able to learn from, connect with and be inspired by."
AP: You and your wife, Ayesha, are building a media brand with TV shows and books. Why choose the media space to make an impact?
CURRY: "There are a lot of different mediums to story-tell and to inspire. And publishing and writing this book is another example of ways to connect and kind of broaden your horizons... my wife showed me how it&rsquo;s done, so now I got to follow in her footsteps a little bit."
AP: Switching gears, most of this NBA offseason has been focused on the Brooklyn Nets drama with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving along with the Lakers daily soap opera. Are you aware that much of the talk has not been about the Warriors, despite being the defending champions?
CURRY: "We&rsquo;re aware of everything that happens in the League in terms of different storylines and rumors and all that. It is the best place to watch it all happen when you&rsquo;re holding the trophy and enjoying your summer and understanding, as the champs, you&rsquo;re the ones being chased again now.
"We don&rsquo;t need anybody to talk about us. We know what we accomplished; it&rsquo;s about getting ready for another run (and) we feel like we can do it again."
AP: Sports fans know that you&rsquo;ve probably transformed the way basketball is played forever. Are you personally aware of how you&rsquo;ve changed the game?
CURRY: "I&rsquo;m aware, but part of it is for me to keep doing what I&rsquo;m doing in my career and hopefully stay at this level for as long as I can. There is no sense that I&rsquo;ve hit my peak. I always feel like I can get better. So, I&rsquo;m motivated by how far I can stretch this.
"The biggest message for how I changed the game is that is possible, how I play is definitely possible&hellip; But it requires a crazy amount of work that I&rsquo;ve been doing since I was 9 years old. So, I don&rsquo;t want anybody to feel like they can skip steps to get there."

The Warriors star who broke the NBA’s all-time three-point record last season is now aiming at a different target: Children’s books.

Steph Curry aims to inspire with ‘I Have a Superpower’ book

Boy, is there a lot going on with the Phoenix Mercury this season.
(You're welcome for avoiding the very obvious "Mercury in Retrograde" joke.)
Following a Finals appearance last season, expectations were high for the Mercury. The wrongful detainment of All-Star and future Hall-of-Fame center Brittney Griner in Russia has thrown things for a loop. The defense, in particular, has fallen apart in Griner's absence, dropping from seventh last season (101.3 DRTG) to 11th this year (104.4 DRTG).
But the team's struggles go beyond the absence of Griner &mdash; on and off the court.
Their premier free-agent signing, another former All-Star and future Hall-of-Fame center in Tina Charles, is no longer on the team; she joined the Seattle Storm after agreeing to a contract divorce with the Mercury. Also, the relationship between Diana Taurasi and Skylar Diggins-Smith has been, well... let's say rocky.
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Further complicating matters is a recent controversy surrounding Taurasi, Diggins-Smith and new head coach Vanessa Nygaard.&nbsp;
Diggins-Smith has been excellent this season, earning All-Star honors by posting averages of 19.1 points (fourth in the W), 5.0 assists (ninth), 1.8 steals (fourth) and 1.0 blocks (first among guards). Taurasi hasn't consistently hit that level, averaging 15.5 points and 4.1 assists while not defending nearly as well as Diggins-Smith has. She did not earn All-Star honors, something that rubbed Nygaard the wrong way.
"There will be a game played in Chicago," Nygaard said recently. "But it won't be an All-Star game without Diana Taurasi playing."
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It's easy to understand the sentiment. Taurasi is one of the greatest players in basketball history. Even in a down year, she's proven capable of turning a game on its head with her deep-range shooting. But it's hard to argue her All-Star candidacy this season with how deep and talented the guard group is. More importantly to this discussion, Nygaard making those comments, with&nbsp;Diggins-Smith being selected to play in the game, wasn't a wise move.&nbsp;
The Mercury's Twitter account posted video of Nygaard's comments. Diggins-Smith quote-tweeted the video with a clown emoji (before eventually deleting it).
Oof.&nbsp;
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With this much turmoil surrounding the team, it's fair to argue that changes are needed. According to the always-excellent <a href="https://twitter.com/howardmegdal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Howard Megdal</a> of The Next, the Mercury have put Diggins-Smith <a href="https://www.theixsports.com/basketball/nygaard-diggins-smith-mercury-clown/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">on the trade block ($)</a>.&nbsp;
<blockquote>
To a certain extent, this could have ramifications for Diggins-Smith, who has asked out of one organization, worn out her welcome with another, and has left many others around the league wary of adding her. And Phoenix is shopping her, multiple teams confirmed to me.
</blockquote>
It goes without saying, but a trade featuring Diggins-Smith has the potential to shape this year's title race. Heck, if a move is made, it could affect the next couple. She is arguably the best point guard in the W &mdash; an MVP-caliber talent due to her blend of slashing, playmaking, pull-up shooting and fiestiness on the defensive end.
Finding a trade partner for Diggins-Smith could be tough. She's making max money, and there isn't a team flushed with cap space to absorb her deal. Beyond that, the pool would almost certainly be limited to contending teams. You're likely not bringing her into a rebuilding situation like Atlanta or Indiana, lest she becomes frustrated with the lack of championship equity surrounding her.
But among the contending teams, nearly all of them have high-level point guards and/or tight-knit groups that they may have to talk themselves into breaking up.
The Chicago Sky are likely content with Courtney Vandersloot; Sue Bird is hanging up her sneakers after this season, but it's hard to find a package that would land Diggins-Smith in Seattle. Several members of the Las Vegas Aces have highlighted the leadership that Chelsea Gray, yet another former All-Star, has provided since joining the team last season.
Maybe there's a conversation to be had with the Conneticut Sun, who are currently trucking along with sharp-shooting Natisha Hiedeman at point guard with Jasmine Thomas out for the season with a torn ACL. Owen Pence of Winsidr <a href="https://twitter.com/OwenPence/status/1544734219246735360?s=20&amp;t=3ktGRjR_GYkvNKLqqjmZKw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suggested a package</a> around All-Star big Brionna Jones. It's worth a phone call at least.&nbsp;
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Megdal briefly mentioned the Los Angeles Sparks as a potential suitor. While they're not in the contender tier right now, the roster does have a great deal of talent headlined by Nneka Ogwumike. The guard room is also a bit crowded; as Megdal alluded to, maybe there's a package to be built around Chennedy Carter.
Of course, the possibility exists that cooler heads prevail. Maybe the market isn't there, or there's some sort of come-to-Jesus moment that leads to the season being played out with hopes of evaluating everything in the offseason.
For now, this becomes the most important on-court situation to track in the WNBA.

The Mercury have reportedly put Skylar Diggins-Smith on the trade block. Nekias Duncan digs into whether Phoenix should move her.

Should the Phoenix Mercury trade Skylar Diggins-Smith?

It&rsquo;s the most wonderful time of the year. The days are long, the nights are warm and the NBA Finals have come back around.
The Finals stage is where legacies are made. The entire season leads up to this series.
But with the good comes the bad; such is the nature of life. For those with allergies, like myself, June also brings about itchy eyes and a runny nose. And for basketball purists, the bad comes in the form of recycled cliche talking points that, at times, dwarf the discourse surrounding the game itself.
The Finals are where we finally find the answers to season-long, and sometimes career-long, questions.
Can Dirk Nowitzki lead a team to a title?
Did Kobe Bryant need Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal?
Is LeBron James clutch?
This season is no different.
Today's question du jour: Does Stephen Curry need a Finals MVP and another championship sans Kevin Durant to shore up his legacy as one of the 10 best to ever play the game?
One might think the Golden State Warriors would be impervious to these conversations. After all, they won an NBA championship in 2015, the same year they entered the upper echelon of the league before questions could even emerge. And yet, here we are &mdash; eight years, six Finals runs and three titles later &mdash; questioning Curry&rsquo;s greatness and ultimate legacy.
So, what is the answer to that aforementioned question?
First, let&rsquo;s take a look at Curry&rsquo;s legacy. In short, he is an all-time great who's responsible for revolutionizing the Three-Point Era.
It is too simple to reduce Curry to just "the greatest shooter of all-time&rdquo; and limit his skills to only one facet of his game. Because not only is Curry the greatest shooter ever, he is also an elite finisher with both his right and left hand, and he sports one of the best handles we&rsquo;ll ever see. And yet, despite all of his on-ball skills, he is even deadlier off the ball.
In the words of Warriors president and general manager Bob Myers, who joined The Morning Roast on 95.7 The Game on June 7: &ldquo;This guy is a made-man. Forget about this Finals; it's already been done. He's already done it. He's already proven it. I don't know what else he has to continue to prove.&rdquo;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Bob Myers believes Steph Curry has nothing left to prove in the NBA Finals 🐐 <a href="https://t.co/JXkLpiRj4b">pic.twitter.com/JXkLpiRj4b</a>
&mdash; 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) <a href="https://twitter.com/957thegame/status/1534234887221219328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 7, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Myers is correct. Curry has cemented himself as an all-time great.
But all titles matter, and winning this one is important for Curry&rsquo;s legacy. Just as the fourth title mattered to LeBron. Just as the fourth and fifth mattered to Kobe. Just as the fifth and sixth mattered to Michael Jordan.
They all matter when cementing your legacy.
And that&rsquo;s because, unlike other accolades, championships are not debatable. Being the last team standing is a matter of fact, and not decided on by a select group of media.
Players aren't awarded titles. They win them. Curry&rsquo;s greatness is shown by reaching this objective season after season. With each new ring, it cements what should never be up for debate.
Finals MVP, however, is a subjective award. And when it comes to subjectivity, Curry&rsquo;s greatness regularly gets called into question. Being a pioneer in any industry means having your name etched into the history books, but with that comes some bad: you&rsquo;re ahead of your time. And, as a result, people often can&rsquo;t keep up with your greatness as it happens.
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Take the 2015 NBA Finals, for example, Curry&rsquo;s impact was not immediately visible on the box score; although, he was no slouch there either. Curry finished the series averaging 26.0 points, 6.3 assists and 5.2 rebounds per game on .443/.385/.885 shooting splits. (An efficiency dip from the regular season, where he averaged 23.8 points, 7.7 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game on a .487/.443/.914 slash line.)
They were numbers that paled in comparison to LeBron, who finished the series with averages of 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds and 8.8 assists per contest, leaving many to believe Curry failed in the role of a superstar on the biggest stage.
Dominance in the form of counting stats is easy to quantify, but dominance in creating an ecosystem that benefits those around you &mdash; is not. Thus, the true value of Curry is hard to measure.
And that&rsquo;s why, of the 11 votes for Finals MVP, LeBron received four, Andre Iguodala received seven and Curry received headlines calling Matthew Dellavedova his kryptonite.
That&rsquo;s right. Curry received no votes, and Iguodala won the 2015 Finals MVP.
Many voters point to the tides turning after Game 3. The Cleveland Cavaliers had taken a 2-1 series lead, and the Warriors adjusted by swapping Iguodala in for Andrew Bogut in the starting lineup &mdash; a rare move that offered major benefits on both sides of the ball.
At a distance, the case for Iguodala over Curry for Finals MVP is such:
Iguodala guarded the best player in basketball and limited LeBron&rsquo;s impact to sub-40% shooting, the Warriors never lost a game once he entered the starting lineup, and, as a starter, he averaged 20.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. He also shot 47.8% from the floor and 40.9% from three, numbers that closely resembled Curry&rsquo;s with much better efficiency.
Take a closer look, and we can see how that&rsquo;s all the more reason Curry deserved the Finals MVP. Without taking anything away from Iguodala, who was a valuable piece that allowed the Warriors to unlock this lineup, Steph made it unstoppable.
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Introducing Iguodala into the starting lineup in place of Bogut allowed the Warriors to play a five-out lineup with passing.
Curry, being the best shooter ever, gets the most attention, and the way he moves off-ball &mdash; constantly in motion and always a threat to shoot &mdash; opens the floor up for all of his teammates in ways that are not yet quantifiable. Curry running by two defenders and pulling them towards him is not a screen assist, but it still opens up a driving lane or a shot in a similar way.
Iguodala directly benefited from that gravity. According to NBA.com, 46% of the shots Iguodala took were considered &ldquo;wide open&rdquo; with the closest defender at least six feet away, and 20% were considered open with a defender four-to-six feet away.
With Bogut on the floor, the Cavs could tilt their defense toward Curry without any blowback. With Iguodala&rsquo;s passing and shooting in Bogut&rsquo;s place, the Cavaliers' defense was forced to make a choice. More often than not, their decision was to dare Iguodala to shoot, and to his credit, he knocked them down.
Curry&rsquo;s court vision and decisive actions create excellent opportunities for teammates, as he led the Warriors in assists. Iguodala was the prime beneficiary, accounting for nearly 40% of his points as a starter in catch-and-shoot situations, according to NBA.com. (That includes all of his made field goals in the deciding Game 6.)
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Decades from now, when people think back on the Warriors&rsquo; first championship, losing Finals MVP to Iguodala won&rsquo;t be an indictment on Curry and his game, but instead on our ability to appreciate what doesn&rsquo;t show up in the box score.
It&rsquo;ll be a capsule in time, defined by our limited scope.
The predicament is similar to the NBA's 2007 Defensive Player of the Year award.
Marcus Camby won the award, given to the best defender in a season, over Tim Duncan, who finished third behind San Antonio Spurs teammate Bruce Bowen.
Despite being one the greatest defensive anchors of all time, Duncan never won the honor &mdash; a gaffe on the part of voters and a result of our limited ability to measure defense.
In 2007, after finishing with his second blocks title in what would be a three-year reign, Camby was awarded Defensive Player of the Year instead.
Over time, we&rsquo;ve come to learn that blocking shots, though flashy and easily quantifiable, is far less a marker of a great defender than one who deters opponents from even attempting a drive.
NBA.com can track how well opponents shot against you in various areas on the court, and despite Camby&rsquo;s higher blocks-per-game average of 3.3 to Duncan&rsquo;s 2.4, players shot 8.3% worse when met by Duncan over Camby in the restricted area.
Blocks per game also remains the sole stat that favors Camby over Duncan defensively. The Denver Nuggets even performed better defensively with Camby on the bench.
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 67.1558%; height: 132px;" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 29.0771%; height: 22px;">Defensive Metric</td>
<td style="width: 16.18%; height: 22px;">Marcus Camby</td>
<td style="width: 13.7594%; height: 22px;">Tim Duncan</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 29.0771%; height: 22px;">Defensive Efficiency</td>
<td style="width: 16.18%; height: 22px;">105.6</td>
<td style="width: 13.7594%; height: 22px;">96.5</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 29.0771%; height: 22px;">Defensive Win Shares</td>
<td style="width: 16.18%; height: 22px;">5.1</td>
<td style="width: 13.7594%; height: 22px;">6.8</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 29.0771%; height: 22px;">Defensive Box Plus-Minus</td>
<td style="width: 16.18%; height: 22px;">3.9</td>
<td style="width: 13.7594%; height: 22px;">3.2</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 29.0771%; height: 22px;">Opponent FG% in RA</td>
<td style="width: 16.18%; height: 22px;">60.5%</td>
<td style="width: 13.7594%; height: 22px;">53.2%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 29.0771%; height: 22px;">Defensive Pts Per Poss.</td>
<td style="width: 16.18%; height: 22px;">+2.5</td>
<td style="width: 13.7594%; height: 22px;">-8.8</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
And though not one of these stats alone is a clear indicator of which player is a better defender, all of them together make it pretty obvious that Duncan was better than Camby in 2007.
Then, there are other factors that can&rsquo;t be measured, like how often the presence of a defensive force such as Duncan prevents teams from even passing to a guy guarded by the stalwart.
Defensive Player of the Year awards began in 1982-83. Ten of the first 28 winners led the NBA in blocks. Since then, no player who led the league in blocks has gone on to win DPOY. Nowadays, it would be laughable to base a defensive argument on something as basic as blocks.
I think this is how we&rsquo;ll understand Curry not winning a Finals MVP in his first three chances, namely in 2015. The Finals MVP is supposed to highlight the most valuable player during the most important stretch of basketball all year. That was undeniably him.
The mark of a great offensive player is that teams would prefer to play 4-on-3 versus 1-on-1, and in 2015, Iguodala benefited from being the man open. But that&rsquo;s entirely thanks to the gravity of Stephen Curry.
Because, at the end of the day, every NBA defense is trying to get the ball out of Steph's hands.
And, in the words of Max Kellerman, they want Iguodala.&nbsp;
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Imman Adan details how Stephen Curry's impact can't be quantified by looking back on the 2015 NBA Finals.

Understanding Stephen Curry's gravity and a 2015 NBA Finals MVP gaffe

The New Orleans Pelicans are a team on the rise.
Despite stumbling out of the gates this season (losing 12 of their first 14 games), the Pels were able to right the ship and advance to the postseason. Over the second half of the 2021-22 campaign, New Orleans finished in the top 10 in both Offensive and Defensive Efficiency. Their Net Rating of plus-4.7 in the 23 games played after the All-Star break was tied with the Miami Heat for the sixth-best mark in the NBA.
After beating both the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Clippers in the Play-In Tournament, the Pelicans gave the Phoenix Suns a battle in the first round of the playoffs before bowing out in six games.&nbsp;&nbsp;
The addition of CJ McCollum at the trade deadline paid immediate dividends for New Orleans, as he averaged over 24 points per game to go along with 5.8 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 2.7 made three-pointers after coming over from Portland. McCollum also quickly established himself as a team leader on and off the floor. Jonas Valanciunas is another respected veteran still producing at a very high level as well.
The rest of the roster is teeming with promising young players. Brandon Ingram, who is still just 24 years old, was a beast in the postseason, averaging 27.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists while shooting over 40% from downtown in the series vs. Phoenix. The team's three rookies &mdash; Herbert Jones, Trey Murphy III and Jose Alvarado &mdash; were all significant contributors too.
Jones exceeded even the loftiest of expectations, immediately establishing himself as an elite defender. The 35th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, he led all rookies in total steals with 130 (50 more than Scottie Barnes, who ranked second) and was third in blocks. According to Basketball-Reference, he is the only rookie in New Orleans franchise history and just the seventh first-year pro in league history to tally more than 125 steals and 50 blocks. Jones' terrific all-around play earned him a spot on the NBA's All-Rookie Second Team.&nbsp;
Jaxson Hayes, who just celebrated his 22nd birthday last month, is coming off the best year of his young career. Despite an up-and-down season with different roles, Devonte' Graham still averaged double-figures.
And, remarkably, 14 of the 15 players on the Pels roster to end the season are under contract for at least one more season. The only free agent on the team is Tony Snell, who didn't log a single minute for New Orleans in the playoffs.
So, it'll be a stress-free summer for the Pelicans front office, as they don't have any significant decisions to make this offseason, right?&nbsp;
Wrong.&nbsp;
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On the contrary, the Pels have to make one of the most important determinations in the history of the franchise. As of next month, Zion Williamson will be eligible to sign a five-year, $181 million max rookie extension, which could increase by an additional $36 million, all the way up to $217.5 million, if he were to be named to an All-NBA team next season.
Let's start by recognizing that, dating back to high school, Williamson has been utterly dominant on both ends of the floor whenever he's been healthy enough to step foot on a basketball court.&nbsp;
During his lone season at Duke, Williamson was the consensus National Player of the Year. He tied for the ACC lead in scoring with 22.6 points per game, was third in rebounding (8.9 rebounds), second in steals (2.1) and fifth in blocks (1.8) on average. He also shot 68.0% from the floor, which led the ACC and was second nationally. Zion is the only NCAA player ever to average over 20 points a night and tally at least 70 steals and 50 blocks in the same season.
As a rookie in New Orleans, Williamson averaged 22.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, and gave glimpses of the enormous potential he possesses thanks to his almost unimaginable combination of size, strength and athleticism.&nbsp;&nbsp;
In 2020-21, his age-20 season, Zion averaged a whopping 27.0 points (including over 20 points per game in the paint &mdash; the most since Shaquille O'Neal in 1999-00), 7.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists, while shooting over 61% from the floor. In the process, he became the first player in NBA history to average at least 27 points on 60-plus% shooting for an entire season. Williamson tallied ​​20 or more points in 25 straight games, which is the longest streak in NBA history for a player under 21 years old.
He was named to the 2021 NBA All-Star Game, becoming the 10th player in league history to earn All-Star recognition before celebrating his 21st birthday and becoming the fourth-youngest player in NBA history behind only Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Magic Johnson.
Through his first 60 career games, Williamson scored 1,457 points, trailing only Michael Jordan (1,664) for the most in the last 40 seasons.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Zion Williamson will go off next season! NBA career stat line: 25.7 PPG (60.4% FG) 7.0 RPG, 3.2 APG <a href="https://t.co/oGRNIQXYt7">pic.twitter.com/oGRNIQXYt7</a>
&mdash; Courtside Films (@CourtsideFilms) <a href="https://twitter.com/CourtsideFilms/status/1532019142718640130?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 1, 2022</a></blockquote>

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So, given this nearly unprecedented production, signing him to a max contract in order to lock him up immediately is a no-brainer for New Orleans, right?&nbsp;
Wrong.
While Zion has been unguardable when he's on the floor, his inability to stay on the court has been a recurring concern.&nbsp;
Since being drafted No. 1 overall in 2019, Williamson has appeared in just 85 out of a possible 226 games. He missed the first 44 contests of his rookie season after tearing his meniscus, dealt with a thumb sprain, a fractured left ring finger and right knee soreness as a sophomore&nbsp;and sat out the entire 2021-22 season following surgery to repair a broken foot.
Over the last 30 years, the only top pick to play fewer games over his first three years in the league is former Portland Trail Blazer big man Greg Oden.&nbsp;
In addition to the injury issues, there have been reports about Williamson's unhappiness in New Orleans. Yet, when he was asked back in April if he would agree to sign a max offer from the Pels, <a href="https://twitter.com/FletcherWDSU/status/1520095546752516096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1520095546752516096%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fnba.nbcsports.com%2F2022%2F04%2F29%2Fzion-williamson-says-hed-sign-contract-extension-if-pelicans-offer-of-course-i-couldnt-sign-it-fast-enough%2F" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Zion responded</a>: "Of course, I couldn't sign it fast enough."
However, Pelicans executive vice president David Griffin acknowledged that contract-extension talks with Williamson would be difficult.
"Obviously, that conversation is going to be one that will be a challenge," <a href="https://www.nola.com/sports/pelicans/article_043ffe96-c7fd-11ec-a2e1-a7e798041444.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Griffin said</a> early last month. "When it's time to have that, we'll have it. And right now what we're focused on is him being healthy, and (being in) kind of elite condition to play basketball, and we'll start there."
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Williamson has one year left on his rookie-scale deal, which will pay him $13.5 million in 2022-23. If Zion and the Pels don't agree on an extension this offseason, he will be a restricted free agent next summer. In that scenario, both sides would be carrying considerable risk. Williamson would be gambling on not having his future earning power crippled by a career-altering injury, while, at the same time, the Pels would risk potentially losing a franchise-altering talent via free agency.
Meeting in the middle probably makes the most sense for both parties. When discussing the parameters of a compromise, the agreement between the Philadelphia 76ers and Joel Embiid back in 2017 provides a blueprint.
After sitting out the entirety of his first two NBA seasons due to a devastating foot injury, Embiid suited up for only 31 games in his third year. Although Embiid looked fantastic when he was finally cleared to play, the Sixers were understandably hesitant to commit massive sums of guaranteed money to the injury-prone big man.
Thus, that offseason, Philadelphia and Embiid agreed to a five-year, $148 million extension, but the deal included offset language that protected the team if the player could not stay healthy. If Embiid missed 25 or more games or played fewer than 1,650 minutes in any of the final four seasons of the extension, Philadelphia had the right to waive him and get out of paying the remaining years of his contract.
As it turned out, Embiid avoided the injury bug and established himself as one of the league's premier players, finishing second in MVP voting in each of the past two seasons. Last summer, he inked a four-year, $196 million supermax pact that will keep him with the 76ers through the 2026-27 season. His entire salary is fully guaranteed.&nbsp;
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In late May, <a href="https://twitter.com/FletcherWDSU/status/1530212975310667776" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported</a>:
<blockquote>
From what I have been told, the Pelicans, at this point, are not willing to offer a full five-year guaranteed deal. A lot of it is flowing down from ownership. Gayle Benson, the owner, is also the owner of the New Orleans Saints. And I have been told they're going to take a football-style, Saints-style mentality with this contract negotiation. They will offer him a huge contract, but will not guarantee all of it.
</blockquote>
It's possible such an approach by the Pels could offend Zion and lead to a standoff between the two parties. But the alternative (signing a max deal with no protections) seems like a non-starter for New Orleans ownership. So, even if the Pels front office were willing to gamble with the team's cap space, Benson likely wouldn't be willing to roll the dice.&nbsp;
Again, a compromise appears to be the most reasonable and plausible outcome. In this scenario, Zion would still bank north of $90 million if he was unable to stay healthy.
It's difficult to imagine a player who hasn't set foot on an NBA court during an actual game in over 13 months turning down that type of payday.&nbsp;
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Tommy Beer ponders how the Pelicans should handle Zion Williamson's extension-eligible period and weighs their options.

Should the Pelicans sign Zion Williamson to a max contract?

It'll be easy to fall into the slander trap.&nbsp;
The Brooklyn Nets, with <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-202122-nets-are-arguably-the-most-disappointing-team-in-nba-history-" target="_blank" rel="noopener">all of their star power and lofty preseason projections</a>, bowed out in four games. The offense was never as fluid as their talent would indicate; defensively, their lack of size became an unsolvable issue.&nbsp;
Barbs are already being thrown. Kevin Durant has been called a bus rider; he <a href="https://twitter.com/TheNBACentral/status/1518961565650722817?s=20&amp;t=4AmfF0_gvgS95CW1w2zUTA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">also responded</a>. I'm not even sure where to start with the Kyrie Irving discourse. Steve Nash has been called everything but a competent coach.
Let's not lose the plot here.
The Boston Celtics went out and dominated. Kyrie showed out in Game 1, and Durant emptied the clip in Game 4. Aside from those outings, neither star was able to find footing. A majority of that came down to Boston's <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-celtics-game-1-defense-on-kevin-durant-showcased-their-greatness" target="_blank" rel="noopener">defensive game plan</a> &mdash; the timely switches, the physicality off the ball, the on-time, on-target help whenever either Net attempted to drive to the basket.&nbsp;
On the other end, Jayson Tatum took things over. Like-sized or larger players struggled to deal with Tatum in space. Smaller players couldn't keep him off his spots without needing assistance. Factor in the many ways the Celtics deployed him &mdash; as a pick-and-roll ball-handler, post threat, movement shooter and screener &mdash; and the Nets found themselves chasing ghosts.
In the middle of this dominance was Grant Williams. He didn't light up the offensive box score like Tatum, or make the volume of plays that someone like <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/appreciating-a-brilliant-showing-from-al-horford" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Al Horford</a> (or Tatum, again) did defensively. Rather, he was the happy medium, plugging holes on offense while making his presence felt on the other end.
Williams was a consistent release valve for the Celtics in this series. Early on, you could tell the Nets planned to treat him like the "tip your cap" option, meaning: Hey, if Williams beats us, we'll just have to take the L.
Williams did just that, averaging a shade over 11 points while also shooting 50.0% from deep during the series. The efficiency was wild enough, but the timeliness of some of those shots stand out. Consider Game 2, where WIlliams scored 11 points in a 2:28 stretch (late first, early-second quarter) while the Celtics' offense was in the mud. He'd finish that game with 17 points.
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Consider Game 4, where his timely shot-making in the second quarter quelled a Brooklyn run. He'd finish with an efficient 14 poitns.
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Even when Williams wasn't scoring or driving, his activity off the ball helped put pressure on Brooklyn. Timely lifts on the wing, solid screens to free others, offensive boards to keep possessions alive. He was a Little Things All-Star in this series.
That brings us to the defense, where it's hard to overstate just how good Williams was.&nbsp;
Tracking data is incredibly kind to him: Durant shot a <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/player/1629684/head-to-head?SeasonType=Playoffs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">paltry 6 of 20</a> when defended by Williams, per the good folks at Second Spectrum. Kyrie (5 of 14) didn't fare much better.&nbsp;
The credit assignment for defensive tracking can be wonky sometimes, but the eye test matches the data here. Against Durant in particular, Williams more than held his own.
As mentioned earlier, the Celtics did a great job of showing multiple bodies and cramping air space for Durant. Those ideals weren't as strict when Williams got the matchup; he was left on an island a little more often, but his unique blend of strength (look at the man's chest!) and quickness allowed him to stifle Durant on multiple occasions.&nbsp;
Durant couldn't out-quick him, and Williams was able to absorb enough body blows (again, the chest) to keep Durant from getting to his spots. It's some of the best individual work I've seen on Durant over the course of a series. Just look at these possessions from Game 4.
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What a luxury it is for the Celtics to have a guy like Williams hold his own against Durant. That takes pressure off of The Jays so they can exert more energy offensively. That allows Marcus Smart to channel more of his attention toward Kyrie instead of needing to provide extra help.&nbsp;
Between the defensive aptitude and the shot-making, Williams showed why he's one of the more valuable role players in this year's playoffs.
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Nekias Duncan gives Celtics forward Grant Williams his flowers for his two-way play against the Nets.

Little Things All-Star: Grant Williams' essential role for the Celtics

HBO has renewed drama series "Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty" for a second season.
Based on the book &ldquo;Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s&rdquo; by Jeff Pearlman, the series chronicles the professional and personal lives of the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers. The 10-episode first season will conclude on Sunday, May 8.
This past Sunday&rsquo;s fifth episode delivered a series viewership high of 1.2 million viewers across platforms on premiere night, a 37% increase from the first episode.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been a thrill to bring 'Winning Time' to life with Adam McKay, Max Borenstein, our phenomenal producing team, and this incredible cast," said Francesca Orsi, Executive Vice President, HBO Programming. "This series not only tells the riveting story of the Lakers&rsquo; rise, but is also a look back at a transformative era in basketball, celebrity, and the city of Los Angeles. We can&rsquo;t wait to see how this team will tell the next chapter of this dynasty.&rdquo;
The show has <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/kareem-abduljabbar-bashes-hbos-winning-time-not-worth-watching" target="_blank" rel="noopener">received some criticism from former Lakers</a> such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Mitch Kupchak and Gary Vitti, mainly over the inaccurate portrayal of Jerry West.
"I don't think it's worth watching," Abdul-Jabbar told BasketballNews.com last weekend. "That's all I have to say. It really depicts people that I know in a very negative light that is not accurate. I wouldn't bother watching it if you're a fan of the Lakers."
"Winning Time" has also drawn the ire of the NBA since HBO never got permission to use the league's trademarks (such as team logos).
&ldquo;Clearances to use NBA trademarks were not sought or granted and the league objects to any unauthorized use of its intellectual property,&rdquo; NBA spokesman Mike Bass told&nbsp;<a href="https://theathletic.com/3171879/2022/03/09/nba-objects-to-winning-time-trademark-use-but-legal-options-would-be-messy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Athletic</a>.
The Lakers also put out a statement distancing themselves from the show: &ldquo;The Lakers have no comment as we are not supporting nor involved with this project.&rdquo;

HBO has renewed drama series "Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty" for a second season.