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Timberwolves

Los Angeles Clippers superstar Kawhi Leonard will be out indefinitely to start the brand new NBA season to continue rehabilitating his right knee, reports Shams Charania of ESPN.&nbsp;
Clippers head coach Ty Lue confirmed the development to Charania on Thursday night. According to the report, both the Clippers and Leonard are in the midst of a rehab process for the two-time NBA Finals MVP that is aimed at bringing sustainability for him on the court through the season.&nbsp;
ANALYSIS: Leonard notably did not play in Team USA&rsquo;s Olympic run in Paris due to the same knee issue and rehabilitation. Leonard already participated in Team USA&rsquo;s practices in Las Vegas but was pulled out of the lineup days before they were slated to fly to Abu Dhabi for Team USA&rsquo;s Basketball Showcase.
Now, the same injury and knee rehabilitation will force Leonard to be out for the foreseeable future in his mother club Clippers.&nbsp;
(Check out Kawhi's full injury history here over the years)
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Kawhi Leonard will begin his 14th NBA season sidelined indefinitely as he continues rehabbing from right knee inflammation, according to <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ShamsCharania</a>. This is the same injury that forced Leonard to miss most of the 2024 playoffs, limiting him to just two games in the&hellip; <a href="https://t.co/ZwXOo8AgVM">pic.twitter.com/ZwXOo8AgVM</a>
&mdash; BasketballNews.com (@basketbllnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews/status/1847074395766116577?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 18, 2024</a></blockquote>

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The other LA ball club, which recently opened their new state-of-the-art arena Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, will ensure that Leonard will be in tip-top shape and ready to play at 100% as they enter a new era of Clippers basketball. Leonard&rsquo;s long term partner of 5 years Paul George left in the offseason to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers, leaving Leonard to fend off the entirety of the LAC franchise by himself.
The 33-year-old Leonard did not play in any of the Clippers&rsquo; preseason games this year nor did he participate in any activity involving on-court contact during training camp.
In Leonard&rsquo;s absence, 34-year-old James Harden will try to carry the load for the Clippers alongside mainstays Ivica Zubac, Terrance Mann, and Norman Powell.&nbsp;
The Clippers open their NBA season on October 23 against the Phoenix Suns in what would be the first regular season game in their new home Intuit Dome.

Los Angeles Clippers superstar Kawhi Leonard will be out indefinitely to start season to continue rehabilitating his right knee.

Kawhi Leonard suffers another setback, out indefinitely to start 2024-2025 NBA season

The New York Knicks have made their second move in the offseason in an attempt to challenge and match up side by side with the NBA Champions Boston Celtics.
According to ESPN&rsquo;s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Knicks have reached an agreement with free agent forward OG Anunoby to resign with the team on a five-year, $212.5 million deal.
This ends the speculation that Anunoby might be leaving New York with the sides reaching a deal worth up to $40 million annually.&nbsp;
Anunoby was acquired by the Knicks last season in a mid-season trade with the Toronto Raptors in exchange for RJ Barrett. New York has played immensely better with Anunoby, massively improving their defense. In turn, the Knicks earned the no.2 seed in the East en route to an Eastern Conference semifinals appearance before falling to the Indiana Pacers in seven games.
Locking Anunoby up with a five-year deal will now put the Knicks into prime contention in the East for the foreseeable future, and this allows them to match up with the NBA-champion Boston Celtics. With the recent acquisition of Mikal Bridges, the Knicks now have two high-level two-way wings to pair up with star point guard Jalen Brunson.

The Knicks have reached an agreement with free agent forward OG Anunoby to resign with the team on a five-year, $212.5 million deal.

Anunoby resigns with Knicks on a 5-year, USD 212.5 million deal

After a dominant college career, Caitlin Clark is set to bring her act to the pro scene.
As expected, the Indiana Fever picked Clark as its no.1 overall selection in the 2024 WNBA Draft on Monday night at Brooklyn Academy of Music in Brooklyn, New York.
Arguably the best women&rsquo;s college basketball player of all time, Clark will now head to the WNBA to the Fever to team up with last year&rsquo;s first overall selection Aliyah Boston. Clark and Boston will make up one of the league&rsquo;s most exciting young duos as they try to lead Indiana back to the playoffs.
Stanford University standout and 2021 WNCAA champion Cameron Brink went second overall to the Los Angeles Sparks while recently crowned 2024 WNCAA champion Kamila Cardoso from the University of South Carolina was taken by the Chicago Sky as the third overall pick.
Check out the complete recap of the draft below:
Round 1
<ol>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Indiana Fever: Caitlin Clark, G, Iowa</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Los Angeles Sparks: Cameron Brink, F, Stanford&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Chicago Sky (via Phoenix Mercury): Kamilla Cardoso, C, South Carolina</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Los Angels Sparks (via Seattle Storm): Rickea Jackson, F, Tennessee</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Dallas Wings (via Chicago Sky): Jacy Sheldon, G, Ohio State</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Washington Mystics: Aaliyah Edwards, F, UConn</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Chicago Sky (via Minnesota Lynx): Angel Reese, F, LSU</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Minnesota Lynx (via Atlanta Dream): Alissa Pili, F, Utah</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Dallas Wings: Carla Leite, G, France</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Connecticut Sun: Le&iuml;la Lacan, G, France</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">New York Liberty: Marquesha Davis, G, Ole Miss</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Atlanta Dream (via Las Vegas Aces): Nyadiew Puoch, F, Australia</li>
</ol>
Round 2
<ol>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Chicago Sky (via Phoenix Mercury): Brynna Maxwell, G, Gonzaga</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Seattle Storm: Nika M&uuml;hl, G, UConn</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Indiana Fever: Celeste Taylor, G, Ohio State</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Las Vegas Aces (via Los Angeles Sparks): Dyaisha Fair, G, Syracuse</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">New York Liberty (via Chicago Sky): Esmery Martinez, F, Arizona</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Las Vegas Aces (via Washington Mystics): Kate Martin, G, Iowa</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Connecticut Sun (via Minnesota Lynx): Taiyanna Jackson, C, Kansas</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Atlanta Dream: Isobel Borlase, G, Australia&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Washington Mystics (via Dallas Wings): Kaylynne Truong, G, Gonzaga&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Connecticut Sun: Helena Pueyo, G, Arizona&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">New York Liberty: Jessika Carter, C, Mississippi State</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Las Vegas Aces: Elizabeth Kitley, C, Virginia Tech</li>
</ol>
Round 3
<ol>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Phoenix Mercury: Charisma Osborne, G, UCLA</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Seattle Storm: Mackenzie Holmes, F, Indiana</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Indiana Fever: Leilani Correa, G, Florida</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Los Angeles Sparks: Mackenzie Forbes, F, USC</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Phoenix Mercury (via Chicago Sky): Jaz Shelley, G, Nebraska&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Washington Mystics: Nastja Claessens, G, Belgium</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Minnesota Lynx: Kiki Jefferson, G, Louisville&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Atlanta Dream: Matilde Villa, G, Italy</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Dallas Wings: Ashley Owusu, G, Penn State</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Connecticut Sun: Abbey Hsu, G, Columbia&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">New York Liberty: Kaitlyn Davis, F, USC</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Las Vegas Aces: Angel Jackson, C, Jackson State</li>
</ol>

After a dominant college career, Caitlin Clark is set to bring her act to the pro scene.

2024 WNBA Draft Recap: Caitlin Clark goes No.1 to the Indiana Fever

Despite losing to the Milwaukee Bucks, 129-118, on Saturday night, the Golden State Warriors left the game with a silver lining: Their young guys outran and outhustled the contending Bucks, giving them a hard time all game long.&nbsp;
The Warriors even led 56-54 at the half, and it wasn't until the fourth quarter that the Bucks were able to pull away completely. Milwaukee used their veteran savvy in the fourth to defeat the youthful Warriors squad, who were playing without their captain and superstar Stephen Curry (rest).
Even though they came up short, the young guns showed they have the ability to compete against an elite team, which the Warriors can possibly build upon once Curry and Draymond Green return to the lineup. This showing also gives Golden State's front office a number of things to consider as the Feb. 8 trade deadline approaches.
With that said, let's break down how the Warriors' young core performed and how they nearly managed to upset the Bucks without their leading scorer.
First, the youthful Warriors ran the old Bucks off the floor. Without Curry, head coach Steve Kerr started rookie Brandin Podziemski at point guard. With Podz at helm, the Warriors pushed the pace. Save for some early sets for Klay Thompson, Golden State was up and running and tried to beat Milwaukee in transition all game long. Even slow-footed power forward Dario Saric was leading the break at some points, trying to turn up the tempo and outrun the Bucks.
If there was one possession that encapsulated what the Warriors tried to do, it was this one in the second quarter. Following a made basket by the Bucks, Jonathan Kuminga ran the length of the floor, beat Giannis Antetokounmpo and challenged Brook Lopez at the rim in the process to make a quick counter:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
I like the mindset here. Bucks' Achilles heel on defense this season has been in transition. Off of a made bucket, JK pushes the pace and lays the ball over Brook. <a href="https://t.co/PK8KkPUocJ">pic.twitter.com/PK8KkPUocJ</a>
&mdash; Joe Viray (@JoeVirayNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeVirayNBA/status/1746349742576312799?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2024</a></blockquote>
Kuminga breezed through the entire Milwaukee defense and jumped in the air before Lopez could get there. The Dubs just ran and ran, putting pressure on the Bucks (the NBA's oldest team).
Secondly, the young Warriors played hard; they deserve credit for their effort and energy. Without their best player and the hub of their system, the Warriors leaned on their youth and athleticism to challenge the Bucks, who were coming off their biggest win of the season (drubbing the Boston Celtics).
It started with Podziemski, who was playing in his home state of Wisconsin. He had a great game, recording a double-double of 23 points and 10 rebounds on impressive 10-of-14 shooting.&nbsp;
The No. 19 overall selection was active off the bounce, blowing by opponents and squeezing his way through the defense. He was also brilliant off the catch, where he got a couple of baskets off of stampede runs to the rim:
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Interesting that the Bucks are actually hard hedging here w/ Portis as their 5. Puts them in rotation, Podz takes advantage w/ a face cut. <a href="https://t.co/QDTFb7q9XZ">pic.twitter.com/QDTFb7q9XZ</a>
&mdash; Joe Viray (@JoeVirayNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeVirayNBA/status/1746344669464916419?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2024</a></blockquote>
The 20-year-old out of Santa Clara also exhibited uncanny can't-teach instincts. In one play in the fourth quarter, he knew exactly what fellow rookie Andre Jackson Jr. would do, intercepting his pass to get an easy transition dunk on the other end. Podziemski&rsquo;s feel as a rookie has been impressive and he fits nicely with the Warriors' core.
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" src="https://streamable.com/e/kcxguf?quality=highest" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
The Warriors&rsquo; other rookie, Trayce Jackson-Davis, also contributed by scoring 12 points in 18 minutes and making his presence felt inside for Golden State.
The No. 57 overall pick used his quick first bounce to freeze Bucks defenders on the floor and get easy baskets at the rim, scoring on plays like these:
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Also, Jackson-Davis has been developing chemistry with Thompson, and he's often the beneficiary of their pindown screens when two defenders blitz Thompson. In the previous game against the Chicago Balls, he had four easy buckets off of passes from Klay alone.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
The Klay-to-TJD tandem produced four easy baskets, including three dunks. <a href="https://t.co/Y8uUr7m1Gb">pic.twitter.com/Y8uUr7m1Gb</a>
&mdash; Marcus Thompson II (@ThompsonScribe) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThompsonScribe/status/1746043482916217244?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 13, 2024</a></blockquote>
In this instance, Klay and TJD had a nice give-and-go in a little two-man game for an easy bucket underneath.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Klay to TJD two-man game <a href="https://t.co/Ai3JItodo1">pic.twitter.com/Ai3JItodo1</a>
&mdash; Mon Anthony Valmoria (@Morval_) <a href="https://twitter.com/Morval_/status/1746710126709669943?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 15, 2024</a></blockquote>

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The 6-foot-9 center/forward has been a much better play-finisher than starting center Kevon Looney. He uses his athleticism to factor in on offense and serves as a lob threat. The 23-year-old gives the Warriors a new outlook at the big position. While Green and Looney are screeners and their main priority is getting guys open, Jackson-Davis is someone who looks to score and put pressure at the rim.
Finally, Jonathan Kuminga is becoming more and more polished as a scorer. Although there are ways he can still improve (like his feel for Golden State&rsquo;s system), he&rsquo;s finally arrived as a dependable scorer.&nbsp;
Off the bounce, Kuminga uses his body and strength to shield the ball away from defenders and utilizes his quick first bounce to get to the rim first before his defender can challenge him up top. The third-year player from the G-League Ignite is explosive, and he never gives his defender a chance to react.
Kuminga has also added a developing three-point shot to his arsenal, which forces defenders to respect his shooting and opens up his game even more. 
The 21-year-old had arguably the best two-game stretch of his young career recently, scoring 24 points and 28 points in back-to-back games. This is the best he has played in his three years in the league, looking like a reliable scoring option who could get buckets at will.
Kuminga is looking more and more comfortable, and he has scored in double digits in his last 19 games.
***
The absence of Curry in this game unlocked the Warriors&rsquo; young guys and showed what they are capable of. The challenge now is whether Golden State's young core can continue producing at this level once Curry and Green are back. 
The youngsters' athleticism and energy could help Golden State as they try to right the ship. The Warriors currently have the fourth-worst record in the Western Conference, so Kerr might have to tinker a bit and cater to the strengths of his current personnel rather than trying to force them to fit in his system. 
Do the Warriors think the kids can help Curry and Co. compete for a title? Or was this just an audition for other teams and a way to improve the youngsters' trade value so they can be flipped for win-now pieces?&nbsp;
Regardless, the kids can clearly play given the right environment and opportunity.

The Warriors' youngsters nearly upset the Bucks, giving Golden State's front office something to consider prior to the trade deadline.

Warriors' youth giving management something to ponder before deadline

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James is entering Year 21 in the NBA, becoming just the sixth player in league history to play 21 seasons &ndash; joining Vince Carter, Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Willis and Robert Parish. Carter currently holds the record for most seasons played with 22. 
With James still performing at an unprecedented level for someone his age, coupled with recent reports of his desire to still play several more years and his public goal of playing with his McDonald's All-American son, Bronny James, he certainly seems like a lock to tie, if not break, Carter&rsquo;s record.&nbsp;
James broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar&rsquo;s all-time scoring record earlier this year in February, adding a major accolade to his G.O.A.T. argument. With the seasons-played record in sight, let&rsquo;s take a look at how &ldquo;The King&rdquo; has accumulated arguably the greatest legacy in NBA history over the last two decades.
The Cleveland Cavaliers drafted the kid from Akron with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft. James was the talk of the country at the time, being dubbed "The Chosen One&rdquo; and dawning the cover of Sports Illustrated at just 18 years old. With the weight of the world on his shoulders, basketball fans waited in anticipation to see if James could possibly live up to the expectations.
The young phenom did not waste any time. Debuting against the Sacramento Kings, James would go on to score 25 points while adding 9 assists, 6 rebounds and 4 steals. The King would not slow down, averaging 20.9 points, 5.9 assists and 5.5 rebounds in his first NBA season.
LeBron would spend the next six seasons in Cleveland, winning back-to-back MVP awards in his last two seasons with the team, while reaching the playoffs five times and the NBA Finals once in 2007. With no championship after seven seasons with the Cavs, the two-time MVP became a free agent in the summer of 2010 and infamously decided to &ldquo;take his talents to South Beach,&rdquo; joining forces with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to form the &ldquo;Big Three&rdquo; on the Miami Heat.&nbsp;
The decision by James, which happened to be made on live television on an ESPN special dubbed &ldquo;The Decision," sparked outrage amongst Cavaliers fans. Videos spread online of fans burning the once-hometown-hero&rsquo;s jersey, rooting for his failure in Miami. While James was used to feeling pressure, this was different; James was receiving backlash from a fanbase that once loved him, and a growing population of people were actively rooting against him. This brewing tension had fans waiting in anticipation, this time to see if LeBron could overcome the weight of the world once again.&nbsp;
In LeBron&rsquo;s quest to do the impossible again, a trip to Cleveland brought The King back to the scene of his crime in a game against the Cavaliers in December of 2010. The fans in then-named Quicken Loans Arena brought their all that night, booing LeBron from the moment he was introduced and whenever he touched the ball on offense. However, this just seemed to add more fuel to the fire for James, as he went on to score 38 points en route to a 118-90 blowout of his former team.&nbsp;
This marked a new era for James, and he would embrace his role as the &ldquo;villain&rdquo; of the NBA. Fan perception was one thing, but with James&rsquo; new team came a new energy. Now, he was a proven veteran and he was coming into his own as a player, adapting this almost meticulous style and pace of play alongside his new All-Star-caliber teammates in Wade and Bosh. James would go on to win back-to-back MVP awards again in 2012 and 2013, and the trio would prove to be a problem for the league, with the Heat even going on a 27-game win streak in 2013. During his time in Miami, James would evolve as a player, bulking up and playing more minutes down low at power forward and even center.
The bonafide &ldquo;super-team&rdquo; would spend four seasons together, reaching the NBA Finals in all four. Winning back-to-back championships in 2012 and 2013, with LeBron winning Finals MVP of both, the stars' decision to team-up was a success and ushered in a new era of player movement and empowerment.
The kid from Akron would then shock the world in the summer of 2014, with James departing the Heat and returning home to rejoin the Cavaliers. The two-time champion had some unfinished business and was determined to bring a championship to his city.&nbsp;
LeBron brought his adapted and seasoned style to his former team. His impact extended into the front office, as he now had significantly more say in roster decisions. He wasted little time and used his newfound influence to encourage the Cavs to trade their No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, Andrew Wiggins, for a proven star: Kevin Love. Suddenly, James was part of another Big Three, this time with rising star Kyrie Irving and Love.
In Year 1 of LeBron&rsquo;s return home, he led the Cavs back to the NBA Finals, where they faced off against the Golden State Warriors, led by league MVP Stephen Curry. While LeBron led Cleveland to a 2-1 series lead over Golden State, Irving and Love both went down with injuries. This proved to be too much for LeBron to handle, and the Warriors would defeat the Cavaliers in six games. James failed in his mission, but the wait would prove to be worthwhile the following season.
The 2016 season would see a rematch of the Cavaliers and Warriors in the NBA Finals. Curry was coming off of his second-straight MVP award &ndash; becoming the first unanimous MVP in history &ndash; and the Warriors achieved an NBA-record 73 wins that season. The odds were stacked against LeBron and the Cavs, and it only got worse when the Warriors took a 3-1 series lead. Teams in the NBA Finals were 0-32 when facing a 3-1 series deficit. Once again, LeBron was trying to do the impossible.&nbsp;
Once again, The King responded.&nbsp;
Dropping 41 points in both Game 5 and Game 6, James led the way in tying the series at 3-3. In Game 7, the Cavaliers would go on the road and defeat the Warriors, becoming the first team in NBA history to hoist the Larry O'Brien trophy after falling behind 3-1. This was a storybook ending, and James became emotional during his postgame interview, shouting, &ldquo;Cleveland! This is for you!&rdquo;&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
"CLEVELAND, THIS IS FOR YOU!" That line still sends chills down our spine as LeBron James and the Cavs overcame a 3-1 deficit to claim their first ever NBA championship on this day in 2016 👑🏆<a href="https://t.co/WzMtg5kj5Z">pic.twitter.com/WzMtg5kj5Z</a>
&mdash; ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1670774843518664705?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 19, 2023</a></blockquote>

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The three-time champion would spend two more seasons in Cleveland, reaching the NBA Finals both seasons, where the Cavs would ultimately lose to the Kevin-Durant-led Warriors. When James decided to leave Cleveland in 2018, his second departure was well-received, with fans thanking him for bringing a championship to their city. The next chapter of James' career would take place in Los Angeles with arguably the most storied franchise in the NBA, the Lakers.
James&rsquo; first year under the bright lights of Los Angeles was less than ideal, as injuries plagued the roster and the Lakers' young core didn't seem ready to compete at a high level. That would quickly be forgotten, as the Lakers would trade three of those core players (Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart) and the No. 4 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for superstar Anthony Davis, whom LeBron asked the organization to acquire.&nbsp;
That trade would kick off the LeBron-AD era in Los Angeles. The duo would win a championship in their first year together in 2020, with James adding a fourth championship and Finals MVP to his resume. The team has had some misfortune since, as they haven't been back to the Finals and they even missed the play-in tournament in 2022. While injuries have bothered LeBron in recent years, the four-time MVP has yet to slow down, leading the Lakers to the Western Conference Finals last season. While the Lakers were ultimately swept by the eventual-champion Denver Nuggets, their postseason run was impressive.
Now, we arrive at the present day. As James enters his 21st NBA season, he has 19 All-NBA selections, 19 All-Star selections, 10 NBA Finals appearances, four championships, four Finals MVPs and four regular-season MVPs. After surpassing expectation after expectation throughout his career, LeBron will be a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer when he walks away from the game. However, he's not done playing just yet, as he hopes to play with his son and win at least one more championship before he retires.
LeBron&rsquo;s current contract has a player option for next season, so this could potentially be his final year with the Lakers (if he decides to opt out next summer). With LeBron still performing at a superstar level and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/which-nba-teams-are-under-the-most-pressure-entering-202324-season" target="_blank" rel="noopener">facing pressure to lead his team to a title</a>, all eyes will be on The King yet again this season.

As LeBron James becomes just the sixth player in NBA history to play 21 seasons, Jack Maguire looks back on his legendary career.

Revisiting LeBron James' legendary NBA career as he enters Year 21

With the NBA&rsquo;s 2023 free-agency period pretty much wrapped up, why not take a look at how projecting next year's free-agent market? Obviously, a lot can change between now and then, but let&rsquo;s examine each team&rsquo;s cap situation and how much cap room they project to have next summer.&nbsp;
Next year&rsquo;s free-agency class could feature some big names, including Kawhi Leonard, Pascal Siakam, Tyrese Maxey (restricted), Paul George, LeBron James, James Harden, Jrue Holiday, OG Anunoby and DeMar DeRozan.&nbsp;
For the purposes of this exercise, I&rsquo;m going to separate teams into four spending-power tiers: Cap Space Teams, Non-Tax MLE Teams, Luxury Tax Teams and Second Apron Teams. Also, let's assume that the salary cap will be set at $149,623,000 and the luxury tax will come in at $181,823,000, the maximum 10% jump from this upcoming season set under the new CBA.
CAP SPACE TEAMS
Teams in this tier are currently projected to have cap space next summer. They have spending access to their cap space, Bird Rights, the Room Exception (projected at $8,495,000) and the Veteran Minimum Exception.
San Antonio Spurs ($77,195,776 under the cap) If Victor Wembanyama is 70% as good as he&rsquo;s hyped up to be entering this season, one would figure that the Spurs will spend big or at least make a meaningful impact on the free-agent market next summer. They project to have an enormous amount of cap space, so it&rsquo;s very possible we&rsquo;ll see San Antonio take on some more bad contracts in trades to give them even more draft capital. Also, they&rsquo;ll want to retain Devin Vassell, who will be a restricted free agent next offseason once the Spurs extend his qualifying offer.
Philadelphia 76ers ($73,034,842 under the cap) The Sixers are perhaps the most interesting team in terms of their 2024 offseason outlook. By letting Tyrese Maxey hit restricted free agency next summer rather than extending him this year, Philadelphia gave themselves serious cap flexibility. Tobias Harris and James Harden both have expiring contracts, so the Sixers will have to use their cap space to replace their production. A Harden trade would obviously change their projected cap room, but it remains to be seen what they&rsquo;ll get back for the former MVP and how much it&rsquo;ll impact their books.
Toronto Raptors ($60,339,034 under the cap) After losing Fred VanVleet, the Raptors are walking a tightrope when it comes to whether they&rsquo;ll compete or rebuild. They face some tough decisions. Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby are both set to hit free agency next summer, so Toronto needs to decide whether they want to extend or trade their best players. Not to mention, Precious Achiuwa and Gary Trent Jr. also need new contracts.
Orlando Magic ($58,010,944 under the cap) Orlando has a lot of options for next summer, but the Magic may start with retaining many of their own players. Franz Wagner will likely receive a big contract extension, while Markelle Fultz and Cole Anthony will be up for new contracts. Given that Orlando has a logjam in their backcourt &ndash; with Fultz, Anthony, Jalen Suggs and Anthony Black &ndash; it&rsquo;ll be interesting to see what they do with Fultz and Anthony. The Magic will still have plenty of room to add quality talent for yearly average values over the NTMLE.
Detroit Pistons ($57,781,166 under the cap) Detroit may approach the 2024 offseason similar to how Houston approached this summer, as a young team hoping to use its massive cap space on good veterans in order to take bigger steps toward playoff contention. With that said, the first priority for the team will be agreeing to a contract extension with Cade Cunningham.
Utah Jazz ($50,315,319 under the cap) The Jazz find themselves in a unique position where they could go in two directions. After committing a three-year deal to Jordan Clarkson, they can use their cap space to give 2023 Most Improved Player Lauri Markkanen a contract extension. If they want to have significant cap space for next summer instead, they can hold off on giving Markkanen an extension until free agency is settled.
Washington Wizards ($47,123,801 under the cap) Despite their cap space next year, don&rsquo;t expect Washington to be a big player in 2024 free agency. In the beginning stages of a rebuild, the Wizards will probably keep their sights on collecting more draft capital. They do have an interesting decision coming up with recent trade acquisition Tyus Jones, whom they&rsquo;ll likely want to keep long-term.&nbsp;
Charlotte Hornets ($41,300,515 under the cap)&nbsp; They may lose some 2024 cap space if they eventually re-sign PJ Washington this offseason, but watch out for Charlotte to be one of the many small-market teams with money to spend next summer. With LaMelo Ball in the first year of his max contract extension, Charlotte may cash in on a marquee player to keep their young star happy.
Brooklyn Nets ($33,048,185 under the cap) The Nets do have the potential to have significant cap space next summer if they choose not to re-sign most of their own free agents. However, the Nets will more than likely focus on exploring the trade market and retaining big man Nic Claxton before reaching next year&rsquo;s free agency. Spencer Dinwiddie and Royce O&rsquo;Neale will also hit free agency next offseason.
Indiana Pacers ($20,488,005 under the cap) Indiana could get to an even higher number in cap space if they decline Bruce Brown&rsquo;s $23 million team option next season. If Brown has a good year, the Pacers would likely keep him on a long-term deal that would consume a good chunk of their space. Other impending free agents they might like to keep include Obi Toppin, Aaron Nesmith and Jalen Smith.
Oklahoma City Thunder ($10,264,814 under the cap) The Thunder will likely continue to utilize the strategy of taking on short-term, bad-money contracts in exchange for draft capital. As they inch closer to contention, they will be looking at some big-money extensions for many of their young pieces, including one for Josh Giddey next year.&nbsp;
NON-TAX MLE TEAMS
Teams in this tier are currently projected to be over the salary cap but under the luxury tax. They have spending access to Bird Rights, the Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception (projected at $13,644,000), the Bi-Annual Exception (projected at $4,968,000) unless used in 2023-24, and the Veteran Minimum Exception.
Chicago Bulls ($19,465,689 under the cap) The Bulls could potentially operate as a cap-space team if they elect to let DeMar DeRozan and Patrick Williams walk in free agency, but that seems unlikely. In addition, the Bulls could potentially create more space if Lonzo Ball&rsquo;s knee injury is considered career-ending by an NBA/NBPA-appointed physician. (Ball would still be paid, it just wouldn&rsquo;t count against the cap).&nbsp;
Sacramento Kings ($210,669 under the cap) The Kings used up most of their cap space by signing Domantas Sabonis to a big four-year extension that ties him with the team through 2028. As long as they are competitive, they will likely pursue quality pieces with their Non-Tax MLE to support Sabonis and De&rsquo;Aaron Fox. They will also likely try to keep Malik Monk and look at extension options for Davion Mitchell.
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New Orleans Pelicans ($487,911 over the cap) The Pelicans are fairly set with their core of CJ McCollum, Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram under contract through 2025. Ingram and McCollum are both extension-eligible this offseason, but the Pelicans may wait on dishing out extensions to maintain flexibility under the tax. New Orleans must also monitor Jonas Valanciunas&rsquo; free agency and a possible extension for Trey Murphy III.&nbsp;
Atlanta Hawks ($1,658,172 over the cap) Similar to the Kings, the Hawks wiped away their cap space when they signed Dejounte Murray and De&rsquo;Andre Hunter to four-year, $120 million and four-year, $90 million extensions, respectively. Already pushing past the salary cap, the Hawks may face a money crunch as they broach the luxury tax line. Retaining restricted free agents Onyeka Okongwu and Saddiq Bey next offseason may be tricky.
Los Angeles Clippers ($5,018,261 over the cap) The Clippers are in an interesting spot with George and Leonard both needing new deals, which they will likely get despite their inability to stay on the floor. Many veterans with big salaries will come off the books next year, like Marcus Morris, Nic Batum and Robert Covington. The question is whether the Clippers will continue to commit significant capital to a roster that hasn&rsquo;t met its lofty expectations.
Miami Heat ($7,751,630 over the cap) The Miami Heat are in a holding pattern with their roster as they engage in a Mexican standoff with the Blazers on a Damian Lillard trade, which could see them skyrocket into the deep tax. Outside of the Dame situation, Jimmy Butler will likely look for another big extension this offseason, which will pay him max money deep into his late 30s. They will also have to contend with potentially losing Caleb Martin, who has a player option for 2024-25.
Houston Rockets ($8,734,919 over the cap) The biggest spenders of this past offseason, the Rockets made big moves for Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks. Houston could get back into the cap-space tier again if they choose to part ways with Kevin Porter Jr. and his non-guaranteed $15.9 million salary. Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun will also be up for extensions.&nbsp;
Cleveland Cavaliers ($11,399,749 over the cap) The Cavs are pretty set going into the 2023-24 season and beyond with two max guys (Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell) and key guys on fairly big deals (Jarrett Allen, Caris LeVert and Max Strus). They will likely give Evan Mobley a big extension next offseason, which could push them into the luxury tax in the near future. For next offseason, their only notable free agent is Isaac Okoro.
New York Knicks ($11,400,861 over the cap) This morning, the Knicks inked Josh Hart to a four-year contract extension that pushed them over the cap for 2024-25. Their main concerns for next summer are Immanuel Quickley and Isaiah Hartenstein, who are both up for new contracts. They will likely be able to avoid the tax by declining their team option on Evan Fournier or trading his expiring contract for another expiring deal.
Dallas Mavericks ($13,566,153 over the cap) The Mavericks are not likely to seek pathways to cap space next summer after doubling down on their trade for Kyrie Irving by re-signing him to a three-year, $120 million deal. They should look to retain Josh Green, who will be a restricted free agent. Luka Doncic&rsquo;s happiness looms over all of the Mavs&rsquo; moves, as ESPN&rsquo;s Tim McMahon <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/mavs-fear-luka-doncic-may-request-trade-unless-they-build-contender">reported in April</a> that the Mavericks are worried about Doncic potentially seeking a trade elsewhere as soon as next year.
Los Angeles Lakers ($15,380,636 over the cap) The Lakers had a pathway to almost two max slots in the unlikely scenario that they decided to pivot from the LeBron-AD era. However, that option is out the window with them inking Davis to a three-year supermax extension that will keep him with the team through 2028. LeBron James&rsquo; decision to stay with the team or leave will ultimately dictate how the Lakers approach spending next offseason.
Portland Trail Blazers ($20,567,876 over the cap) Portland is in the midst of turning the page to a new era as they look to accommodate franchise cornerstone Damian Lillard&rsquo;s trade request. If they do end up trading Lillard, expect their cap numbers to come down slightly, but not enough to get any meaningful space. Whether Lillard is traded for the Miami package or something else, Portland shouldn&rsquo;t be a major player in free agency for a while.&nbsp;
LUXURY TAX TEAMS
Teams in this tier are currently projected to be over the salary cap and luxury tax. They have spending access to Bird Rights, the Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception (projected at $5,500,000), and the Veteran Minimum Exception.
Minnesota Timberwolves ($14,474,085 under the tax) The Timberwolves have paid the luxury tax only once since 2007. They should be a tax team once again, with Karl-Anthony Towns' supermax extension and Anthony Edwards' max extension kicking in. In addition, Minnesota will need to use significant capital to keep players like Jaden McDaniels, Mike Conley and Kyle Anderson, all of whom will be free agents in 2024.
Golden State Warriors ($9,696,462 under the tax) While the Warriors are currently under the tax, they are likely going to re-sign 2024 free agent Klay Thompson to a long-term deal at a lower number or at least use his Bird Rights to acquire another piece at a similar number. Golden State can cut some costs by releasing Chris Paul after the season, as his $30 million salary for 2024-25 is non-guaranteed.
Milwaukee Bucks ($6,142,529 under the tax) The Bucks re-signed Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez to big-money deals, committing to the players who won them the 2021 title. Another one of those players, Jrue Holiday, is set to reach free agency and will likely demand max money. In addition, Giannis Antetokounmpo becomes eligible for a supermax extension of up to three years in October and can sign a four-year supermax extension next offseason.
Denver Nuggets ($6,732,627 over the tax) The defending champs have their core of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon locked in through the 2025 offseason. They&rsquo;ve already lost Bruce Brown and Jeff Green this summer and will be forced to work around the edges with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope potentially heading for free agency next summer.
Boston Celtics ($7,306,800 over the tax) The trade for Kristaps Porzingis pushed the Celtics into the luxury tax for the first time since 2018, and that was before they signed Jaylen Brown to a five-year supermax extension. With Jayson Tatum&rsquo;s own supermax extension on the horizon next year, the Celtics figure to be a tax team, and potentially a second apron team, for the foreseeable future.
SECOND APRON TEAMS
Teams in this tier are currently projected to be over the salary cap, luxury tax and second luxury tax apron ($17.5 million over the tax). They have spending access to just Bird Rights and the Veteran Minimum Exception. The second apron was introduced in the new CBA and prevents teams from using the Taxpayer MLE, trading first-round picks seven years away, signing buyout free agents and taking back more salary than they send out in trades among other restrictions.
Memphis Grizzlies ($13,829,477 over the tax) For the first time under owner Robert Pera, the Grizzlies will be paying the luxury tax. While Memphis probably won&rsquo;t reach the second apron, they are not likely to have enough spare capital to use their Tax MLE and be able to fill out their roster without going over it. Their core of Ja Morant, Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. are locked up to big money, long-term deals that will keep Memphis among the league's biggest spenders for likely the next decade-plus.
Phoenix Suns ($27,039,607 over the tax) Phoenix is by far the most limited team when it comes to spending, and they will be for the next few seasons after trading for Bradley Beal&rsquo;s behemoth contract. With four max contracts, including two supermax contracts, the Suns have blown through the second apron. Like this past offseason, the supporting cast around their core four will be mostly minimum-salary contracts.

How much cap room is your favorite NBA team projected to have next summer? Blake Stern breaks down where all 30 teams stand.

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Entering the 2022-23 NBA season, the Golden State Warriors were determined to defend their title.
However, after a season full of ups and downs, the Warriors ultimately earned the sixth seed in the Western Conference and were eliminated by the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round of the playoffs.
This has been a busy offseason for the Warriors, and the franchise will look different (on and off the court) next year. General manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. took over the front office after the departure of Bob Myers, and he didn't wait long to start putting his fingerprints all over the roster.
While the core of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green will be back, the Warriors added veterans Chris Paul, Cory Joseph and Dario Saric as well as rookies Brandin Podziemski (No. 19 overall) and Trayce Jackson-Davis (No. 57 overall). Jordan Poole was dealt to the Washington Wizards (along with Ryan Rollins and Patrick Baldwin Jr.), and Donte DiVincenzo signed with the New York Knicks.
The Warriors made it clear that their top priority this summer was retaining Green, and they gave him a four-year, $100 million contract. While the Warriors could have gone younger, they instead decided to add veterans and chase their fifth championship in 10 years.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr recently opened up about what went wrong last season, taking some of the blame for the team's struggles.
&ldquo;I will say that I feel like I failed last year in connecting the group,&rdquo; Kerr told <a href="https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/07/20/steve-kerr-shares-thoughts-on-mike-dunleavy-jr-s-offseason-chris-paul-and-personal-goals/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shayna Rubin of the San Jose Mercury-News</a>. &ldquo;I have taken a lot of time this summer to think about last year, things I could have and should have done differently. I really believe that sometimes losing sort of forces you to reassess and reevaluate and I&rsquo;m excited about coming back next year with a renewed focus and energy and spirit from the entire group. And that starts with me, and I can&rsquo;t wait.&rdquo;
Green punching Poole during training camp likely had a significant impact behind the scenes. Kerr's comment also lines up with a recent report from Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area that Green and Jonathan Kuminga don't have a relationship, but the Warriors hope that can be resolved.
"[Green and Kuminga not having a relationship] is a problem and it can only be fixed by Draymond," Monte Poole <a href="https://twitter.com/957thegame/status/1682129190450253825?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said on 95.7 The Game</a>. "The new contract implies the Warriors believe he can fix it, but around the league there are a lot of people saying, 'I don't know.'"
Kerr also opened up about Golden State's recent additions. When asked if Paul will start (as he's done throughout his whole career), Kerr said that the decision will come later.
&ldquo;All of that will happen in training camp,&rdquo; Kerr <a href="https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/07/20/steve-kerr-shares-thoughts-on-mike-dunleavy-jr-s-offseason-chris-paul-and-personal-goals/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told Rubin</a>. &ldquo;Until we get everyone on the floor, we won&rsquo;t be able to assess what&rsquo;s best for our team and how everything is going to look. But I&rsquo;m very confident that it&rsquo;s going to work out. We got great guys and we got champions, great competitors. There&rsquo;s one goal next year, and that&rsquo;s to win at the highest possible level. Everything else will unfold as the season does.&rdquo;
Kerr seems excited about the additions of Joseph and Saric as well.
&ldquo;We needed guys like Saric and Cory Joseph who have been through the NBA rigors and understand what it means to be a leader from the middle of the roster and how important that is,&rdquo; Kerr <a href="https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/07/20/steve-kerr-shares-thoughts-on-mike-dunleavy-jr-s-offseason-chris-paul-and-personal-goals/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told Rubin</a>, later adding, &ldquo;Mike really recognized that was an area we needed help, so he went out without many resources and fortified our roster and put us in position moving forward...
&ldquo;He understands that we have a window that&rsquo;s still open. I think he&rsquo;s fortified our roster with some really good veteran players and veteran leaders and balanced out the roster to where we have a better ratio of vets to young guys.&rdquo;
The Warriors can never be counted out as contenders, and it's certainly possible that their dynastic run will continue.

Steve Kerr recently took some of the blame for the Warriors' recent struggles, saying that he failed "in connecting the group."

Steve Kerr opens up about new-look Warriors, what went wrong last year

Every offseason, NBA teams scramble to secure the services of top-tier talent to bolster their rosters. While some signings have fallen short of expectations, others have left an indelible mark on the league, elevating their teams to new heights and etching their names in basketball folklore.
In this article, we unveil the greatest free-agency additions in NBA history, highlighting the impact these players had on their respective franchises and the league as a whole.
HEAT SIGN LEBRON JAMES, 2010
In the summer of 2010, LeBron James set the basketball world ablaze by joining forces with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami. While this was a sign-and-trade, this free-agency move instantly transformed the Heat into a powerhouse and created a new era of superstar-driven teams. Over four seasons, James led the Heat to four consecutive NBA Finals appearances, capturing two championships in the process. His decision to join Miami sent shockwaves throughout the league and forever changed the dynamics of free agency.
LAKERS SIGN SHAQUILLE O'NEAL, 1996
In 1996, the Los Angeles Lakers signed the league's most dominant center, Shaquille O'Neal, in one of the most impactful free-agency moves in NBA history. O'Neal's arrival rejuvenated the franchise, forming a dynamic duo with a young Kobe Bryant. Together, they would go on to win three consecutive NBA championships (2000-2002) and establish the Lakers as a perennial title contender. O'Neal's combination of size, skill and charisma made him an iconic figure, and his impact on the Lakers' success cannot be overstated.
WARRIORS SIGN KEVIN DURANT, 2016
Kevin Durant's decision to leave the Oklahoma City Thunder and join the already formidable Golden State Warriors in 2016 sent shockwaves through the NBA. The signing of Durant created one of the most dominant teams in league history, with the Warriors boasting an unprecedented lineup of stars. The Warriors were coming off of a 73-win season led by Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, so KD gave them an embarrassment of richs. Durant's arrival immediately elevated Golden State's championship chances, and the team went on to win back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018. Durant's seamless integration into the Warriors' system showcased his versatility and cemented his status as one of the game's premier players.
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CAVALIERS SIGN LEBRON JAMES, 2014
Yes, LeBron James is on this list twice. In 2014, James decided to return to his hometown team, the Cleveland Cavaliers. After departing for the Miami Heat in 2010, James had achieved tremendous success, capturing two championships and solidifying his legacy as one of the all-time greats. However, his return to Cleveland showcased a profound sense of loyalty and a desire to bring a long-awaited championship to his beloved city. The move electrified the Cavaliers' fan base, instantly transforming them into title contenders. In 2016, James delivered on his promise, leading the Cavaliers to their first NBA championship in franchise history, overcoming a 3-1 deficit in the Finals against the mighty Golden State Warriors. His return to Cleveland and subsequent championship victory marked a triumph of redemption.
LAKERS SIGN LEBRON JAMES, 2018
Look, whenever a team has been able to land LeBron in free agency, it has led to at least one championship and been a big deal. In 2018, it was the Los Angeles Lakers who won the LeBron sweepstakes. James' arrival instantly restored hope and expectations for the franchise, as he brought his unparalleled basketball prowess, leadership and championship pedigree to a team in need of rejuvenation. James transformed the Lakers into immediate contenders, leading them to their first playoff appearance in seven years during the 2019-2020 season. Beyond the on-court success, James' influence off the court revitalized the Lakers' culture, fostering a winning mentality and attracting other marquee players to join him in Los Angeles (particularly Anthony Davis). James and Davis would lead the Lakers to a championship in 2020, and they continue to go on deep playoff runs to this day.
SUNS SIGN STEVE NASH, 2004
When Steve Nash returned to the Phoenix Suns in 2004, few could have predicted the revolution he would ignite. Nash's signing marked a turning point for the Suns, as he spearheaded the "Seven Seconds or Less" offense under coach Mike D'Antoni. The fast-paced, high-octane style of play became synonymous with Nash's tenure in Phoenix, leading the team to four consecutive 50-win seasons and two MVP awards for the Canadian point guard. Nash's arrival reinvigorated the Suns' fan base and left an indelible mark on the franchise's history.
What is your favorite free-agency signing in NBA history? <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tweet us at @basketbllnews</a>!

Basketball News looks back on the most impactful free-agency signings in NBA history.

Examining the 5 biggest free-agent additions in NBA history

Every now and then, a trade comes along that ends up shifting the landscape of the NBA.
There are quite a few NBA legends who have been traded, forever altering the course of franchises. Today, we're revisiting some of the biggest trades in NBA history.
Bill Russell to the Boston Celtics
One of the most significant trades in NBA history occurred in 1956 when the Celtics acquired Bill Russell from the St. Louis Hawks in a draft-day trade. In a stroke of genius by Celtics coach and general manager Red Auerbach, Boston acquired No. 2 overall pick Russell in exchange for Cliff Hagan and Ed Macauley. Russell, a dominant defensive force and rebounder, quickly became the linchpin of the Celtics' dynasty, leading them to an unprecedented 11 NBA championships in his 13 seasons with the team. His shot-blocking prowess and unyielding will to win solidified his legacy as one of the greatest winners in sports history. The trade not only transformed the Celtics into a perennial powerhouse but also established Russell as a symbol of defensive excellence and team-oriented basketball. His impact on the franchise and the league as a whole remains unparalleled, making this trade a cornerstone of NBA history.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to the Los Angeles Lakers
In 1975, the Milwaukee Bucks sent Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to the Los Angeles Lakers. At that time, Abdul-Jabbar was already established as one of the league's dominant forces, but his desire for a change of scenery led to this monumental deal. The Lakers gave up Elmore Smith, Brian Winters, Junior Bridgeman and Dave Meyers for Abdul-Jabbar and Walt Wesley. This trade proved to be a game-changer for the Lakers, as Abdul-Jabbar's presence immediately elevated them to championship contention. Abdul-Jabbar and his unstoppable skyhook led the Lakers to five NBA championships in the 1980s, solidifying Kareem as one of the greatest players in basketball history and cementing this as one of the most impactful NBA trades of all-time.
Wilt Chamberlain to the Los Angeles Lakers
In another major trade that reverberated throughout the NBA, Wilt Chamberlain was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers from the Philadelphia 76ers in 1968. Chamberlain, already an established superstar and prolific scorer, brought his dominant presence and unparalleled scoring ability to the Lakers. The trade was a strategic move by the Lakers to bolster their roster and create a formidable trio of Chamberlain, Jerry West and Elgin Baylor. Chamberlain's arrival in Los Angeles marked the beginning of a successful era for the Lakers, culminating in a championship in 1972. The trade reshaped the Lakers' fortunes and added another illustrious chapter to Chamberlain's storied career, solidifying him as an all-time great.
Kobe Bryant to the Los Angeles Lakers
While Kobe Bryant only ever suited up for the Los Angeles Lakers throughout his 20-year NBA career, he was actually drafted by the Charlotte Hornets with the 13th overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft. However, immediately after the selection, a pre-arranged trade sent Bryant to the Lakers in exchange for Vlade Divac. This trade, orchestrated by general manager Jerry West, proved to be a stroke of genius that forever altered the course of the Lakers' franchise. Bryant went on to become one of the most iconic figures in NBA history and a five-time champion. This trade not only transformed the Lakers' future but also set the stage for Bryant to become one of the greatest players to ever grace the basketball court.
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Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to the Boston Celtics
In 2007, the Boston Celtics orchestrated a masterstroke by acquiring Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to join forces with Paul Pierce. While these were two separate trades, Garnett and Allen were in communication throughout the process and Boston pulled off both moves over the course of three days &ndash; transforming the Celtics from a struggling franchise to a powerhouse contender. The Celtics' Big Three revolutionized the concept of superstar collaborations, and their union culminated in an NBA championship in 2008, rejuvenating the storied Celtics franchise and igniting the era of superteams.
LeBron James to the Miami Heat
While many NBA fans know about "The Decision" and LeBron James taking his talents to South Beach, they may not realize that James ultimately landed in Miami via a sign-and-trade. James, the league's reigning MVP, made the highly controversial decision to leave his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers and join forces with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on the Heat. In exchange for parting with James in the sign-and-trade, the Cavs received two first-round picks, two second-round picks and a pick swap (as well as a large traded-player exception).
The move instantly transformed the Heat into a juggernaut and created a new era of superteams. While "The Decision" ignited a firestorm of criticism, it also showcased the power and influence that superstar players had in shaping the league's landscape. With James leading the way, the Heat reached the NBA Finals in all four years of his tenure, winning two championships in 2012 and 2013. This trade not only marked a pivotal moment in James' career but also had a profound impact on the way teams approached team-building, ushering in the player-movement era in the modern NBA.
What's your favorite league-altering trade? <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tweet us your thoughts here</a>! And for <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/fa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a list of the biggest free-agency signings of all-time, click here!</a>

Basketball News looks back on six blockbuster trades that altered the course of NBA history.

Revisiting 6 blockbuster trades that altered the NBA landscape

DENVER (AP) &mdash; Some might say Stan Kroenke and his family would be pulling off the impossible by bringing a long-awaited NBA title to Denver.
Less discussed &mdash; at least these days &mdash; was their willingness, in 1999, to dive into a messy acquisition process for a largely irrelevant franchise that had been considered a relocation prospect as the 21st century approached.
All of the talk of them relocating no longer exists.
Now, the conversation is about how the Nuggets were able to reach their first NBA Finals thanks to the stubborn patience displayed by the Kroenkes, who have taken an unorthodox route toward assembling an unorthodox winner. Denver hosts the Miami Heat in Game 2 Sunday night after&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/miami-heat-denver-nuggets-nba-sports-755531bae7f944958c4225f8d5f54bad">winning the Finals opener</a>.
Kroenke&rsquo;s deal to purchase the Nuggets, along with the Colorado Avalanche and their home arena for $450 million, included a clause that tethered the NBA franchise to Denver for the ensuing 25 years. These days, the Nuggets are estimated by Forbes to be worth $1.93 billion.
&ldquo;One thing I know about Stan is that when he sets his mind to doing something, and when he thinks he&rsquo;s right, he&rsquo;s going to fight for that,&rdquo; said Wellington Webb, who was Denver&rsquo;s mayor in 1999 and helped broker the deal that closed a year later between Kroenke and the Nuggets.
Though Kroenke married into money &mdash; he wed Walmart heiress Ann Walton in 1974, a few years after meeting her during a ski trip to Aspen &mdash; he had already honed his business chops. His first deal: Taking a $1,500 loan at 6% interest from his dad so he could buy part of a clothing shop with his friend.
Not long after, he got into the real estate business, building shopping centers with a developer who was tight with Walmart founder Sam Walton.
Real estate and sports are, these days, almost intertwined &mdash; a reality Kroenke grasped quickly.
&ldquo;I always thought I&rsquo;d enjoy (owning a sports franchise) because the professional sports business is part business and part sports,&rdquo; Kroenke told the Columbia (Missouri) Daily Tribune in 2022, &ldquo;and I love both of them.&rdquo;
Kroenke&rsquo;s representatives did not return messages left by The Associated Press seeking an interview.
His first major jump into sports was his partnership with Rams owner Georgia Frontiere. In the mid-1990s, Frontiere was chafing at the inability of Los Angeles to build a new stadium, She was looking for partners to bankroll a move to St. Louis. Kroenke bought in, and when Frontiere died in 2008, he exercised his right to purchase a majority stake in the team.
The sad irony is that it was Kroenke, the Missouri native, who moved the Rams out of St. Louis and back to LA where they are the main tenant in his $5.1 billion stadium. His connection with Denver &mdash; much different.
&ldquo;One of my dreams was to be involved in a professional basketball team,&rdquo; Kroenke told The Denver Post, shortly after closing the deal for the Nuggets. &ldquo;This is a dream I&rsquo;ve had for a long time.&rdquo;
There is, in fact, a strong argument that the basketball trophy might be the most meaningful for a family that has amassed three Stanley Cup trophies with the Avalanche, a Super Bowl trophy with the Rams and is still looking for glory with Arsenal, the Premier League soccer team it has had a controlling interest in since 2011.
Kroeke&rsquo;s son, Josh, was a standout basketball player in high school and played at University of Missouri. He now runs the Nuggets.
&ldquo;I thought that you could bring a championship to Denver,&rdquo; Josh said in a recent interview on team-owned Altitude Sports Radio. &ldquo;Trying to do something that&rsquo;s never been done before, it&rsquo;s not always easy, and it&rsquo;s usually met with a lot of resistance. ... We&rsquo;re mostly excited for the city to get to experience this. But the job&rsquo;s not done.&rdquo;
The Nuggets were parked squarely in NBA purgatory when the team went on the block in 1999, having not sniffed relevancy since their mid-80s heydey, when the teams were highlighted by coach Doug Moe&rsquo;s uptempo offense. Their situation off the court wasn&rsquo;t much better. In the late &rsquo;80s, then-owner Sidney Shlenker had toyed with the idea of moving the team to Memphis.
His sale to a media conglomerate that was never truly hot on owning sports teams did nothing to tamp the idea that the Nuggets were a team that might be available to move. And teams were moving; Between 2001-08, Memphis (from Vancouver), Oklahoma City (from Seattle) and New Orleans (from Charlotte) all adopted existing franchises in a flurry of NBA reshuffling.
When Denver went on the block, the highest bidder, billionaire businessman Donald Sturm, came in with a $460 million offer, but balked at the idea that he couldn&rsquo;t move the team.
In stepped Kroenke, who had no problem with the arrangement. A side note: To close the sale, Kroenke had to outmaneuver another group fronted by none other than John Elway.
&ldquo;It was clear Sturm wasn&rsquo;t going to work out,&rdquo; Webb said. &ldquo;And my only question was, &lsquo;Is the new guy going to be supportive of the team winning?&rsquo; Because if the arena is full, not only do the owners make money, but city makes money, as well.&rdquo;
The Kroenkes have answered Webb&rsquo;s question with their willingness &mdash; increasingly rare in pro sports &mdash; to play the long game, both on the roster and on the bench.
The roster was built in workmanlike,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-finals-nuggets-jokic-murray-malone-18329e13dfecae50834ebc06d409027c">no-drama fashion</a>,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-playoffs-nikola-jokic-denver-nuggets-mvp-lebron-lakers-8e668572f9f43942175ded63e7a61832">highlighted by Nikola Jokic</a>, who entered the league as an unheralded second-round pick from Serbia. The coach, Michael Malone, was hired in 2015, and there was never much talk of making changes after disappointing finishes to their seasons in 2018, 2019 and even last year.
Today, Malone sits behind only Gregg Popovich (Spurs), Erik Spoelstra (Heat) and Steve Kerr (Warriors) &mdash; who have a combined 11 championships on their coaching resumes &mdash; in terms of longevity among the NBA&rsquo;s 30 head coaches.
&ldquo;That has a ton to do with where we are today,&rdquo; Malone said. &ldquo;I couldn&rsquo;t be more thankful for working for an ownership group that is not impatient and is not trying to find the next great thing, but is saying &lsquo;Hey, listen, let&rsquo;s let this grow and marinate into something special.&rsquo;&rdquo;
Despite his family&rsquo;s large role in the Denver sports scene &mdash; the Kroenke business also owns the MLS Colorado Rapids, and the National Lacrosse League&rsquo;s Colorado Mammoth, who lost the deciding game in that league&rsquo;s title series Saturday &mdash; Kroenke has still taken his fair share of criticism around town.
It&rsquo;s a byproduct of his 2004 move to bundle his teams&rsquo; TV rights and air them on company&rsquo;s new regional television network, Altitude.
In 2019, the region&rsquo;s biggest cable operator, Comcast, stopped carrying Altitude due to a disagreement over fees the cable giant was charging to carry the network. The ensuing legal battle has kept the Nuggets off the local airwaves in millions of homes for the last four seasons. The battle between billion-dollar companies has left many average Nuggets fans feeling like the only real losers in the equation.
But whatever bitterness lingers from the cable dispute has mostly been set aside over the past few months. All the playoff games have been on national TV.
Meanwhile, Kroenke stays firmly in the background. He can make it from his apartment at the top of Ball Arena through some back passageways and into his luxury suite to watch games in less than two minutes. Sometimes he brings his German Shepherd along.
&ldquo;I think that not only is he a good businessman,&rdquo; Webb said, &ldquo;but he also feels he has something special in Denver. And I think it&rsquo;s always been his goal to do right by Denver.&rdquo;

Some might say Stan Kroenke and his family would be pulling off the impossible by bringing a long-awaited NBA title to Denver.

Kroenke bought Nuggets, kept team in Denver, now hoping to deliver title

On Tuesday afternoon, the NBA announced the 78 players who are expected to attend the 2023 NBA Draft Combine, which will take place at the Wintrust Arena and Marriott Marquis in Chicago from May 15-21.
Players will have interviews with NBA teams and participate in five-on-five games as well as shooting and strength-and-agility drills. Coverage of the 2023 NBA Draft Combine will begin May 17 on ESPN2 from 2-6 p.m. ET and continues May 18 from 4-8 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
The NBA Draft Combine will also be available on the ESPN App. Strength-and-agility drills and shooting drills will be broadcast live on the NBA App on May 15 from 3-5 p.m. ET.
Additionally, a select number of standout players from the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-g-league-announces-45-draft-prospects-competing-in-g-league-elite-camp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2023 NBA G League Elite Camp</a>, which takes place May 13-14 at Wintrust Arena, will be invited to participate in the NBA Draft Combine.
Unfortunately, projected No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama won't be in attendance at the 2023 NBA Draft Combine as he has yet to finish his season overseas with Metropolitans 92.
Below is a list of expected attendees for the 2023 NBA Draft Combine:
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Trey Alexander (Creighton)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Seth Lundy (Penn State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Amari Bailey (UCLA)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Kevin McCullar (Kansas)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Emoni Bates (Eastern Michigan)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Mike Miles Jr. (TCU)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Reece Beekman (Virginia)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Brandon Miller (Alabama)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Anthony Black (Arkansas)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Jordan Miller (Miami)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Adem Bona (UCLA)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Leonard Miller (G League Ignite)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Kobe Brown (Missouri)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Judah Mintz (Syracuse)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Kobe Bufkin (Michigan)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Dillon Mitchell (Texas)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Toumani Camara (Dayton)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Omari Moore (San Jose State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Sidy Cissoko (G League Ignite)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Kris Murray (Iowa)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Jaylen Clark (UCLA)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Grant Nelson (North Dakota State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Noah Clowney (Alabama)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
James Nnaji (Barcelona [Spain] )
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Ricky Council IV (Arkansas)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Julian Phillips (Tennessee)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Gradey Dick (Kansas)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Jalen Pickett (Penn State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Nikola Djurisic (Mega [Serbia] )
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Brandin Podziemski (Santa Clara)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Zach Edey (Purdue)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Olivier-Maxence Prosper (Marquette)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Adam Flagler (Baylor)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Rayan Rupert (New Zealand Breakers [Oceania] )
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Keyonte George (Baylor)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Adama Sanogo (Connecticut)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Mouhamed Gueye (Washington State)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Marcus Sasser (Houston)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Coleman Hawkins (Illinois)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Brice Sensabaugh (Ohio State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Jordan Hawkins (Connecticut)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Terrence Shannon Jr. (Illinois)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Scoot Henderson (G League Ignite)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Ben Sheppard (Belmont)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Taylor Hendricks (UCF)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Jalen Slawson (Furman)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
DaRon Holmes II (Dayton)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Nick Smith Jr. (Arkansas)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Jalen Hood-Schifino (Indiana)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Terquavion Smith (North Carolina State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Jett Howard (Michigan)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Julian Strawther (Gonzaga)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Andre Jackson Jr. (Connecticut)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Amen Thompson (Overtime Elite)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
GG Jackson II (South Carolina)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Ausar Thompson (Overtime Elite)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Trayce Jackson-Davis (Indiana)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Drew Timme (Gonzaga)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Jaime Jaquez Jr. (UCLA)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Oscar Tshiebwe (Kentucky)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Keyontae Johnson (Kansas State)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Azuolas Tubelis (Arizona)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Colby Jones (Xavier)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Tristan Vukcevic (Partizan [Serbia] )
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Ryan Kalkbrenner (Creighton)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Jarace Walker (Houston)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Arthur Kaluma (Creighton)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Cason Wallace (Kentucky)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Mojave King (G League Ignite)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Jordan Walsh (Arkansas)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Bobi Klintman (Wake Forest)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Dariq Whitehead (Duke)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Maxwell Lewis (Pepperdine)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Cam Whitmore (Villanova)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Dereck Lively II (Duke)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Jalen Wilson (Kansas)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Chris Livingston (Kentucky)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Isaiah Wong (Miami)
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

The NBA announced the 78 players who are expected to attend the 2023 NBA Draft Combine.

NBA announces 78 Draft Combine participants, but no Victor Wembanyama

The NBA announced that 242 players have filed as early-entry candidates for the 2023 NBA Draft. Here is the complete list.

NBA announces 242 early-entry candidates for 2023 NBA Draft

NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Alijah Martin sent a message early for upstart Florida Atlantic, soaring to the basket for a one-handed jam and chirping with the Kansas State players about his poster moment at Madison Square Garden.
&ldquo;They&rsquo;re going to label us whatever, but we&rsquo;re some pit bulls and Rottweilers,&rdquo; Martin said.
Now they can call the ninth-seeded Owls a Final Four team.
Martin and FAU withstood another huge game by Kansas State&rsquo;s Markquis Nowell and brushed off a deficit in the final eight minutes to beat the Wildcats 79-76 on Saturday night.
FAU (35-3), making just its second appearance in the NCAA Tournament and first since 2002, won the East Region and will head to Houston to play the winner of Sunday&rsquo;s South Region final between Creighton and San Diego State.
&ldquo;I expect the prognosticators to pick us fifth in the Final Four,&rdquo; fifth-year FAU coach Dusty May said.
In one of the most unpredictable NCAA Tournaments ever &mdash; all four No. 1 seeds were out by the Elite Eight &mdash; the Owls from Conference USA typify the madness.
The winningest team in Division I this season had never won an NCAA Tournament game before ripping off four straight, all by single digits, to become the first No. 9 seed to reach the Final Four since Wichita State in 2013. The Owls are the third No. 9 to get that far since seeding began in 1979.
&ldquo;Honestly, all the things people say just fuels us to go out there and play even harder,&rdquo; said Bryan Greenlee, who scored 16 points before fouling out. &ldquo;They can say whatever they want, say we&rsquo;re a Cinderella team, say we don&rsquo;t belong, but we&rsquo;ve constantly proven people wrong all season.&rdquo;
Nowell, the 5-foot-8 native New Yorker &mdash; @MrNewYorkCityy on Twitter &mdash; was incredible again at Madison Square Garden, with 30 points, 12 assists and five steals. In the Sweet 16, Nowell set the NCAA Tournament record with 19 assists in an overtime win against Michigan State. He didn&rsquo;t get enough help this time.
Nae&rsquo;Qwan Tomlin was the only other player in double figures for Kansas State (26-10) with 14 points. Keyontae Johnson, the Wildcats&rsquo; leading scorer, fouled out with nine points.
&ldquo;Keyontae played 18 minutes, and that&rsquo;s why he was neutralized,&rdquo; said first-year Kansas State coach Jerome Tang, who took over a team that went 14-17 last season.
Martin scored 17 points, including a huge 3 down the stretch, the 7-foot-1 Vladislav Goldin had 14 points and 13 rebounds, and Michael Forrest made four clutch free throws in the final 20 seconds for the Owls, who held steady as the Wildcats made one last push.
Cam Carter made a 3 from the wing with 22.8 seconds left to cut FAU&rsquo;s lead to 75-74 and Kansas State sent Forrest to the line with 17.9 seconds left. The senior made both to make it a three-point game.
Nowell found Tomlin inside for a layup with 8.6 seconds left to cut the lead to one again, and again K-State sent Forrest to the line. With 6.9 remaining, he made them both.
With no timeouts left, Nowell rushed down the court, gave up the ball to Ismael Massoud outside the 3-point line &mdash;- and never got it back. FAU&rsquo;s Johnell Davis swiped it away and time ran out.
&ldquo;I was trying to get Ish a shot,&rdquo; Nowell said. &ldquo;Coach wanted Ish to set the screen, and I waved it off because I felt like on the right side of the court, that&rsquo;s where Ish hits most of his shots. And they closed out hard to him, and he didn&rsquo;t get his shot off.&rdquo;
Nowell was named the most outstanding player of the region after his final collegiate game, but FAU turned out to be the best team.
&ldquo;I gave my heart and soul to this university, to this team,&rdquo; Nowell said. &ldquo;I maximized everything I had inside of me to see these guys happy.&rdquo;
As the Owls built their lead in the final minutes, Kansas State fans who had packed the building became anxiously quiet and the &ldquo;F-A-U!&rdquo; chants started to rise.
The Owls rushed the floor to celebrate a historic moment for the school. FAU didn&rsquo;t even have a basketball program until the late 1980s and has only been in Division I for the last 30 years.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m living the dream right now,&rdquo; Forrest said.
FAU held up to Tennessee&rsquo;s bully ball in the Sweet 16 and dropped a 40-point second half on the best defense in the nation to eliminate the Southeastern Conference team.
Against one of the Big 12&rsquo;s best, FAU dominated the boards, 44-22, and became the first team from C-USA to to reach the Final Four since Memphis in 2008.
The Owls aren&rsquo;t hanging around much longer. They&rsquo;re moving to the American Athletic Conference next season. But first: a trip to Texas.
BIG PICTURE
FAU: The Owls put together four straight winning records under May before breaking through with a season for the ages that nobody saw coming. They were picked fifth in the C-USA preseason coaches&rsquo; poll.
Kansas State: The Wildcats were trying to get back to the Final Four for the first time since 1964.
UP NEXT
Florida Atlantic is a combined 0-3 against San Diego State (0-2) and Creighton.

FAU withstood another huge game by Nowell and brushed off a deficit in the final eight minutes to beat the Wildcats 79-76.

FAU holds off Markquis Nowell and K-State to reach first Final Four

Michael Jordan is considering selling the Charlotte Hornets.
The six-time NBA champion is in negotiations to sell at least a portion of the franchise to a group that includes Hornets minority owner Gabe Plotkin.
&ldquo;Four years ago, Michael Jordan sold a stake in the Charlotte Hornets to a Gabe Plotkin-led group,&rdquo; Jump Management, which is Michael Jordan&rsquo;s family office, said in a statement to The Associated Press on Wednesday. &ldquo;As a natural step in a process due to that transaction, Michael and Gabe are in discussions about his group potentially buying an additional stake.&rdquo;
No deal is imminent.
&ldquo;At this time, it is unclear whether an additional sale will take place,&rdquo; the statement read.
In 2019, Jordan sold a portion of the Hornets to Plotkin, a founder of Melvin Capital, and Daniel Sundheim of DI Capital, but he still controls the vast majority of the team&rsquo;s equity.
It&rsquo;s unclear whether Jordan is looking to sell his entire majority stake in the team.
Jordan is the NBA&rsquo;s only Black owner. He purchased the expansion team from Bob Johnson for $180 million in 2010. The team had a net worth of $1.7 billion after the 2021-22 season, according to Forbes.
Jordan experienced plenty of success as an NBA player, leading the Chicago Bulls to three-peat championships twice while being named an NBA All-Star 14 times. He also has had success with his Jordan Brand line of merchandise and has a current net worth of $2 billion per Forbes.
But the 60-year-old Jordan hasn&rsquo;t had much success as an NBA owner.
Since 2010, the Hornets are 419-595 and they will miss the playoffs this season for the seventh straight year. The Hornets have reached the playoffs only twice in 13 seasons under Jordan and have never advanced to the second round.

Michael Jordan is in negotiations to sell at least a portion of the Hornets to a group that includes minority owner Gabe Plotkin.

Michael Jordan considering sale of Hornets; no deal imminent

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Markquis Nowell scored 23 of his 27 points after halftime, and Kansas State overcame a horrid start from outside by hitting a couple of clutch 3-pointers while topping Kentucky 75-69 in Sunday&rsquo;s second round of the NCAA Tournament.
The win sends the third-seeded Wildcats (25-9) to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2018, and it came thanks to a series of big shots that finally pushed them through in a tight game.
They&rsquo;ll play the winner of the Michigan State-Marquette in the East Region semifinals.
Kansas State missed its first 13 3-pointers and sat at 2 for 17 for the game when the outside shots started falling. There was Nowell burying a step-back 3 against Cason Wallace to bring Kansas State within 60-59, followed a bit later by Ismael Massoud burying one from the right wing at the 2:21 mark that gave Kansas State the lead for good at 64-62.
Keyontae Johnson added one more from that side of the court in front of the Kansas State bench, pushing the lead to 67-62 with 1:23 left &mdash; sending a jolt with the kind of margin that felt massive considering nearly all of the second half had been played within four points.
The 5-foot-8 Nowell, a third-team Associated Press All-American, played a fearless floor game while making 7 of 14 shots and 10 of 11 free throws. He also hit three 3s, including the first one over Kentucky&rsquo;s Oscar Tshiebwe after an 0-for-13 start by Kansas State and another after halftime with his left foot on the &ldquo;March Madness&rdquo; logo near midcourt.
Tshiebwe had 25 points and 18 rebounds for sixth-seeded Kentucky (22-12), which shot 55% after halftime and led by eight early in the second half. But the Wildcats never could stretch that lead out, then couldn&rsquo;t make their own big outside shots (4 for 20 for the game) to answer when Kansas State made its move.
Consider it the latest chapter in a run of surprisingly fast success for Kansas State under first-year coach Jerome Tang, who left Baylor after a long stint on Scott Drew&rsquo;s staff to take over in Manhattan. He inherited a program that hadn&rsquo;t been to the tournament since 2019, was coming off three straight losing seasons and was picked to finish last in the Big 12.
Yet after a summer of reshaping the roster through the transfer portal, the Wildcats built early confidence and thrived right away &mdash; and now, that has them in the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
And the bet paid off in a number of ways Sunday.
There was Johnson, who transferred from Florida after collapsing in a game in December 2020 and hadn&rsquo;t played since before resuming his career with Kansas State.
There was Massoud, who played at Wake Forest &mdash; located about a 30-minute drive from the Greensboro Coliseum &mdash; and hadn&rsquo;t scored until hitting that huge 3.
And there was even Virginia Tech transfer big man David N&rsquo;Guessan, who played multiple late possessions with his right heel out of his shoe &mdash; yet still had the tipout offensive rebound that led to Johnson&rsquo;s 3.
For the other set of Wildcats, it marked another earlier-than-hoped-for exit from March Madness.
Tshiebwe had 25 rebounds i n the first-round win against Providence for the most in any tournament game since 1977, and the two-time AP All-American was again a force inside. Cason Wallace had 15 of his 21 points after halftime, including multiple times when the freshman guard used his 6-4 frame to score against Nowell inside.
But No. 2 scorer Antonio Reeves (14.6 points) managed five points on 1-for-15 shooting, including 1-for-10 from behind the arc with the lone 3 coming with 8 seconds left and Kansas State in control.
When it was over, Kansas State players began to hug each other at midcourt and celebrate, with guard Desi Sills &mdash; another transfer, fittingly &mdash; talking animatedly to nearly cameras as he walked around the court in victory.
Later, after most of the team had left the court, Johnson was still hanging around behind the bench to give high-fives and sign autographs for fans. And teammate Nae&rsquo;Qwan Tomlin squeezed in one more high-five of his own before running toward the locker room while pointing triumphantly to another pocket of KSU fans.
BIG PICTURE
Kentucky: The past year has been one of wild emotional swings, starting with last March&rsquo;s devastating first-round exit at the hands of 15-seed Saint Peter&rsquo;s. That hung over the team while a No. 4 preseason ranking evaporated with a 10-6 start. Kentucky beat Providence in the first round to get past that emotional hurdle with coach John Calipari pushing his team to play loose and free. Still, it wasn&rsquo;t enough to get Kentucky to the tournament&rsquo;s second weekend for the first time since an Elite Eight run in 2019.
Kansas State: Friday&rsquo;s first-round win against Montana State came in the program&rsquo;s first tournament appearance since 2019. Nowell was huge in that one with 17 points and 14 assists. In this one, Kansas State outscored Kentucky 19-9 down the stretch, with Nowell scoring 11 and going 8-for-8 at the line in a show of unflappable resolve.
UP NEXT
Kansas State will face the Michigan State-Marquette winner Thursday in New York&rsquo;s Madison Square Garden.

The win sends the third-seeded Kansas State Wildcats (25-9) to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2018.

Markquis Nowell, late threes lift Kansas State past Kentucky

Jerome Randle's first season in the Basketball Africa League will coincide with his last as a professional basketball player.
Shortly after his BAL debut with U.S. Monastir of Tunisia in a winning effort over Stade Malien of Mali, Randle announced the news over the phone.
"I'm retiring after this year," Randle revealed to Basketball News. "There's so many things that I'm into right now as far as building my brand to help kids and training and developing and things like that. I had an opportunity to go to Spain and play in the [LIGA] ACB. I mean, I've played there before. But it's like, okay, I've never been to Africa. I wanted to (go). Why not experience something like this, to play in Africa?
"And the BAL is a respectful situation and I'm enjoying myself. I'm shaking a lot of hands and creating a lot of relationships for the things that I want to do as well, so it's also a business decision as well. I'm excited about it, man. I'm talking to a lot of people that are making sure I'm involved in this because it's a lot of potential. I know the talent is only gonna get better. We're just gonna see what happens."
The Chicago native is a former California Golden Bears standout who won the then-Pac-10 Player of the Year award in 2010 and built an outstanding career from that point on. Aside from brief stints in summer league, the then-D League and exhibition games, Randle did not step foot on an NBA court in the regular season. What he did do, however, was carve his own successful career path.
From 2011 to now, Randle has played in Ukraine, Israel, Russia, Belgium, Turkey, Australia, Lithuania, France, Germany, Spain and, now, Africa. He's been a Turkish League All-Star, an LKL Champion and an NBL MVP and two-time scoring champion (and an assist leader) to name a few of his accolades.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
With his final season as a pro underway, Randle spoke to Basketball News about his decision to join the BAL, the talent in Africa, his <a href="https://www.unlmtedbrand.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">UNLMTED</a> brand, the current state of Cal basketball and more.
You just made your BAL debut with U.S. Monastir on Sunday, dropping 18 points and 8 assists in 34 minutes. Was it what you expected?
Jerome Randle: "It was cool, man. The old man still can move. I'm 35. These young guys, they run up and down this court. They've got me really putting in work two days before just to prepare for a game. But I take care of my body, so I Iove it. I'm loving what they're doing with it. This is the third year, third season. Just imagine what's gonna happen the next two years or three years. Man, it's gonna be something that's bigger than anything people could ever imagine, especially just being in Africa. So, I'm excited for what's to come."
The game of basketball is global, and the BAL is helping African talent get discovered. The last three years has given these players another level of exposure. How do you feel about that? 
Randle: "We just had a meeting about something like that. You have so many countries out here with talent (and those players) just don't get the opportunity to go to college or even go to high school. So for me, that's my vision. My vision is to create a program where kids are able to showcase their talent, have the exposure that they need just to be seen, and put them in the position where they can go to high school or prep school and be a collegiate athlete.
"So me being over here, seeing a 16-year-old, 7-foot-2 kid who has so much potential [Khaman Maluach], it's like, only guys like that are being seen when you have so many other talented players that will probably be a lot more successful had they gotten their opportunity, and not because they're 7-2. The reason why I'm so passionate about it's because the odds was stacked up against me at 5-foot-9. So, I want to look out for the younger, smaller guys that people don't look at as being the potential NBA player and things like that. Because there's so many opportunities outside of the NBA that we have to find a way to utilize."
What are your goals with U.S. Monastir and individually since it's your last season?
 Randle: "I want to win the BAL. That's my goal. I signed with the team just so I can have a day-to-day 'cause I could've just signed with them only for the BAL, but it was like, 'Okay, let me just go in and just play,' just have that everyday regimen just to workout, play a couple games with Tunisia [in February's Intercontinental Cup].
"Obviously, I would never sign in Tunisia, but it was because they were affiliated with the BAL (that I did). So I took a chance, and I'm enjoying my time. The guys are cool. It's good to just meet new people, man. It's always good to be on another side of the world and meet great people, and I have met them."
Who on your team stands out to you?
 Randle: "One that I like more so for his energy and positivity is this guy Lassaad (Chouaya). He's just always working hard, man, no matter what. We connected the first time I stepped foot in Tunisia just because he was a positive guy, he wanted to work hard. I'm going to the gym two, three hours before practice (and) he's right there just putting in the work. I can only relate to guys who work hard."
You are one of eight ex-G League talents and 18 former Division I college athletes playing in the Sahara Conference currently. Is there anybody you've competed against or previously played with that you have crossed paths with?
Randle: "No. I can't say I have seen anyone that I've actually played with or against in the BAL from the G League. I was only in the G League for a small, small time. It wasn't that long, but I went over to Ukraine right after that. My experience in the G League, the D-League at that time, it was okay. That's when I left the [Dallas] Mavericks [affiliate Texas Legends] and I went over to the Maine Red Claws.
"The experience was... I guess my thought process was (it's) them developing you to make it to the NBA, and it just wasn't like that at that particular time. So, I decided to go overseas and play. I probably should've stayed, probably would've gave myself a better opportunity to make it to the NBA had I stayed there. But there were other things that I needed to do."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Too hot to Randle 🔥 18 points for the <a href="https://twitter.com/visitrwanda_now?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@visitrwanda_now</a> Player of the Game <a href="https://twitter.com/jerome_randle?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jerome_randle</a>, leading <a href="https://twitter.com/USMonastirBB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@USMonastirBB</a> to their first WIN ✅ <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheBAL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TheBAL</a> <a href="https://t.co/YmcA02Vj4o">pic.twitter.com/YmcA02Vj4o</a>
&mdash; Basketball Africa League (@theBAL) <a href="https://twitter.com/theBAL/status/1635030446923976704?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 12, 2023</a></blockquote>

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

You mentioned there are things you want to do after your career is finished this year. Could you go into detail about what you're aiming for?
Randle: "Well, I have a brand called <a href="https://www.unlmtedbrand.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">UNLMTED</a>. What it means is: Uniquely Navigating Life Molds Tenacity Endurance and Determination. Basically, that's my life story. My story's coming out, just about my career and the things that I've been through over 13, 14 years of just being a professional athlete &mdash; all the ups and downs and everything that I had to go through.
"People ask me all the time, 'Man, why are you not in the NBA?' I just feel like now it's time to just break my silence on a lot of things that's happened, a lot of things that I experienced. And those experiences is gonna help a lot of kids that's coming up that want to be a professional athlete. It's developing and doing clinics, camps all over the world, man. It's just teaching kids a different type of way and understanding what discipline and that mentality, that Mamba Mentality. All of that stuff plays a part in what they want to do, if they follow a code."
Does this time of year take you back to your college days in Berkeley?
Randle: "Yeah, but it'll only bring back memories when Cal is back on the map. I'm a little bit irritated with this whole college March Madness thing because I need to get my school back to where it needs to be."
What do you think that's going to take?
Randle: "I just think times have changed now. Times have definitely changed. The whole dynamic of what college basketball used to be, it's not what it is right now. You have the NIL, you have all sorts of things that play against Cal being one of those places where people want to go. Because we go by a certain type of standard.
"And I feel like once Cuonzo (Martin) left &mdash; we had Jaylen Brown, we had a lot of those guys &mdash; I just feel like (after that) was just a rough patch. I feel like Mark Fox did a good job with what he had, and now we have to figure out a way to get someone in there that understands what the culture is right now, what's going on, how to play this game to get players in there."
Do you keep up with your old Cal teammates and talk about it?
 Randle: "We speak. I think everybody is more involved now because just that Cal pride is something that we all want. It's like, when you hear about Cal, it's like we don't have nothing to talk about right now 'cause they're not even competing to the point where we really can just say, 'Okay, (there's) that Cal pride (where) we're gonna be in the [NCAA] tournament.' It's just not like that no more right now. We're gonna get back. We're all gonna be positive about the situation 'cause I'm sure it's gonna change."
Final question: What was the most important and beneficial experience of your career and why?
Randle: "The struggles, man. The struggles and dealing with everything that comes with being a professional basketball player. I mean, basketball is the easy thing. Either you're gonna make or you're gonna miss a shot. You're gonna be a defensive player or you're not. You know what I'm saying? It's white and black. It's nothing too complicated. From the obstacles and everything that you deal with, the problems that you deal with, (they) make you appreciate so much more in life.
"I go by that. I go by that whole thing about just appreciating the process... I try my best to help as many kids as I possibly can. I can talk about as many countries as I want to, what I like best about 'em, but I only appreciate the things that's happened that I can learn from and help kids that's growing up."
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
More infomation regarding the BAL:
<ul>
<li>Sahara Conference teams include: US Monastir (Tunisia), AS Douanes (Senegal), Abidjan Basketball Club (C&ocirc;te d&rsquo;Ivoire), Kwara Falcons (Nigeria), Rwanda Energy Group (Rwanda) and Stade Malien (Mali)</li>
<li>The 2023 BAL season will reach fans in 214 countries and territories in 17 languages through free-to-air and paid TV broadcast partnerships with the African Union of Broadcasting, American Forces Network (AFN), Canal+, ESPN (sub-Saharan Africa), NBA TV, Tencent, TV5 Monde, Visionary TV and Voice of America (VOA), and livestreaming on the NBA App, NBA.com and BAL.NBA.com.</li>
<li>The Basketball Africa League (BAL), a partnership between FIBA and the NBA, is a professional league featuring the top 12 club teams from 12 African countries.</li>
<li>Headquartered in Dakar, Senegal, the BAL builds on the foundation of club competitions FIBA Africa has organized in Africa and marks the NBA&rsquo;s first collaboration to operate a league outside North America.</li>
<li>The third BAL season tipped off on Saturday, March 11, 2023, and will once again feature the top 12 club teams from 12 African countries playing a total of 38 games in Dakar, Senegal; Cairo, Egypt and Kigali, Rwanda over three months in 2023.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<ul>
<li>The 12 teams include defending BAL champion US Monastir (Tunisia) and five other teams returning from the 2022 season.&nbsp; Five teams will compete in the BAL for the first time, including the first BAL teams from C&ocirc;te d&rsquo;Ivoire and Uganda: Abidjan Basket Club (C&ocirc;te d&rsquo;Ivoire), Al Ahly (Egypt), City Oilers (Uganda), Kwara Falcons (Nigeria) and Stade Malien (Mali).&nbsp; AS Douanes (Senegal) returns to the BAL after participating in the inaugural season in 2021.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Champions from the national leagues in Angola, Egypt, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and Tunisia earned their participation in the 2023 BAL season by winning their respective national leagues.&nbsp;</li>
<li>The remaining six teams, which come from C&ocirc;te d&rsquo;Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Mozambique, South Africa, and Uganda, secured their participation through the Road to the BAL qualifying tournaments conducted by FIBA Africa across the continent from October to November 2022.</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>During the 2023 BAL season, the 12 club champions will be divided into two conferences.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<ul>
<li>The Sahara Conference will play a 15-game group phase at the Dakar Arena in Dakar from March 11-21, and the Nile Conference will play a 15-game group phase at the Hassan Mostafa Indoor Sports Complex in Cairo from April 26 - May 6.&nbsp;</li>
<li>The top four teams from each conference will advance to an eight-game, single elimination Playoffs and Finals at BK Arena in Kigali from May 21-27.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Each BAL team will have up to 13 players, at least eight of whom are citizens of their respective team&rsquo;s home country and up to four of whom are from other countries, with no more than two players per team from outside of Africa.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<ul>
<li>12 NBA Academy Africa prospects from seven African countries who will join the&nbsp;12 BAL teams&nbsp;for the league&rsquo;s 2023 season as part of the second edition of the &ldquo;BAL Elevate&rdquo; program.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
</ul>

Spencer Davies speaks with longtime international pro Jerome Randle about his decision to retire, joining the BAL and more.

Jerome Randle Q&A: Retirement, BAL, UNLMTED, Cal U, post-career vision

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) &mdash; Just over 20 years ago while on a recruiting trip to Pittsburgh, Bob Huggins collapsed at the airport while catching a flight home, awaking to find himself surrounded by strangers who were lifting him into an ambulance.
Then the coach at Cincinnati, Huggins drifted in and out of consciousness on the ride to the hospital, where doctors told the future Hall of Fame coach that he&rsquo;d suffered a massive heart attack. Huggins wound up having a device implanted to help normalize his heartbeat, and he was told to make some lifestyle changes &mdash; exercise more, watch what he was eating, lose some weight and try to lower his stress level.
That last one? That might have been the toughest one.
Long days and longer nights, coupled with the increasingly high stakes of major college basketball, naturally put the health of coaches in peril. Huggins is just one of many who have dealt with issues over the years.
So when Huggins, now the coach at West Virginia, learned Thursday that longtime friend and Kansas counterpart Bill Self had gone to the emergency room ahead of the Big 12 Tournament &mdash; and subsequently admitted to the hospital for an undisclosed illness &mdash; he could relate in a way that struck him close to home.
&ldquo;It comes to there are times when you don&rsquo;t have any choice (but to slow down). And I went through that. I had no choice,&rdquo; Huggins said, shortly after his Mountaineers were beaten by Kansas in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals.
&ldquo;I was in the hospital with a whole bunch of tubes and somebody coming in, seeming like every 15 minutes, and sticking me with something,&rdquo; he recalled. &ldquo;You know, I want Bill to get well &mdash; I want to say as soon as he can, but really, I think what I need to say or mean to say is, I want him to come out of there the way he&rsquo;s always been.&rdquo;
Officials from Kansas have been short on details of what led Self to be admitted to the hospital late Wednesday. Dr. Steve Stites, the chief medical officer at the University of Kansas Health System, said in a statement that Self did not suffer a heart attack, which some outlets had reported, but that he had a procedure done.
The school initially said Self would miss the Jayhawks&rsquo; postseason opener with an illness, then announced Thursday night that he would miss the remainder of the Big 12 Tournament as well. The defending champion Jayhawks were due to play Iowa State on Friday night for a spot in the championship game.
Longtime assistant Norm Roberts intends to lead Kansas for as long as Self is out. Whether that will include the NCAA Tournament, where the Jayhawks are a likely No. 1 seed and also the defending champions, is entirely unknown.
&ldquo;Coach is doing good,&rdquo; Roberts said Thursday night. &ldquo;I talked to him on the phone (after beating West Virginia). He&rsquo;s doing well. He already wants to watch film and all of that. He&rsquo;s doing well. He&rsquo;s doing better.&rdquo;
Whether the stress of the season &mdash; and playing in arguably the toughest league in college basketball &mdash; contributed to Self&rsquo;s health problems is purely conjecture. But there have been plenty of examples that drive home the point that the profession, by its very nature, puts at risk those that demand the most from it.
Huggins is one of them. So is Skip Prosser. The Wake Forest coach suffered his own heart attack after taking a midday run in 2007, and was found slumped on his office couch and unresponsive; he was pronounced dead at the hospital.
The stressful lifestyle isn&rsquo;t exclusive to basketball, either. Football coach Urban Meyer has said on several occasions that the strain of the job has contributed to his health issues and accompanying leaves of absences and retirements.
&ldquo;It brings to reality how short life is,&rdquo; Baylor coach Scott Drew said.
Self is expected to make a full recovery, his doctors said, and the 60-year-old Hall of Fame coach could be in charge of the Jayhawks for years to come. His rolling contract basically gives him the freedom to decide when he hangs it up.
Only he knows when that will be. And what factors he will take into consideration.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m sure at some point in time we&rsquo;ll talk,&rdquo; Huggins said. &ldquo;He and I talk. I&rsquo;ve been through those things and it&rsquo;s not any fun. Especially, I think it would be really hard for Bill this time of year, because of them trying to make another run at a national championship, and him being in the state he&rsquo;s in now. I think that would be very difficult for him.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a great competitor,&rdquo; Huggins said. &ldquo;A tremendous competitor.&rdquo;

Kansas said Self would miss the team’s postseason opener with an illness, then announced he'd miss the rest of the Big 12 Tournament.

Kansas coach Bill Self sidelined after medical procedure

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) &mdash; Sir&rsquo;Jabari Rice scored 20 of his game-high 24 points in the second half and overtime, and No. 6 Texas held off Oklahoma 85-83 on Saturday.
Rice&rsquo;s fourth 3-pointer of the game gave Texas an 84-77 lead with 2:26 left in overtime.
Oklahoma, however, had a chance to tie or win when Texas&rsquo; Tyrese Hunter missed one of two free throws with 6.8 seconds left. But Sam Godwin missed a shot from near the rim, and Texas extended its winning streak against Oklahoma to five games.
Marcus Carr added 17 points for Texas (21-6, 10-4 Big 12), and Timmy Allen had 15 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
Grant Sherfield led Oklahoma (13-14, 3-11) with 18 points, including a 3-pointer that sent the game to overtime. Milos Uzan scored 15 for the Sooners.
NO. 1 ALABAMA 108, GEORGIA 59
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Brandon Miller scored 21 points, Nick Pringle had 19 points and 12 rebounds and Mark Sears made five 3-pointers in the first half to lead Alabama.
The Crimson Tide (23-4, 13-1 Southeastern Conference) rebounded from their first SEC loss by racing to a 54-25 halftime lead and a season scoring high. Alabama was coming off a 68-59 loss at No. 10 Tennessee on Wednesday night after rising to No. 1 for only the second time in program history and first in 20 years.&nbsp;
ustin Hill led Georgia (16-11, 6-8) with 17 points. Terry Roberts scored 11 and Braelen Bridges 10.
NO. 4 UCLA 78, CALIFORNIA 43
LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 20 points and UCLA routed last-place California to improve to 15-0 at Pauley Pavilion this season and extend the nation&rsquo;s longest home winning streak to 23 games.
Amari Bailey added 16 points and nine rebounds for the first-place Bruins (23-4, 14-2 Pac-12), who clinched a first-round bye in next month&rsquo;s Pac-12 Tournament with their 11th win in a row over last-place Cal.
Kuany Kuany scored 14 points to lead the Golden Bears (3-24, 2-14), who dropped their 11th in a row. They fell to 0-3 against top-5 teams this season, having also lost a pair against No. 8 Arizona.
NO. 5 KANSAS 87, NO. 9 BAYLOR 71
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) &mdash; DaJuan Harris scored all 14 of his points in the second half as Kansas stormed back from a double-digit halftime deficit.
The Jayhawks (22-5, 10-4 Big 12) outscored the Bears 55-26 in the second half. Jalen Wilson led Kansas with 21 points and 13 rebounds. KJ Adams added 17 points and Gradey Dick had 16.
The Jayhawks are tied with Texas for the top spot in the Big 12 Conference.
Baylor (20-7, 9-5) got nearly all of its scoring from its three-guard combo of Adam Flagler (22 points) Keyonte George (20 points) and LJ Cryer (15 points).
NO. 7 VIRGINIA 57, NOTRE DAME 55
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) &mdash; Kihei Clark scored 15 points, including a pair of critical free throws with 22.6 seconds left, and became Virginia&rsquo;s career assist leader in the narrow win over Notre Dame.
With Notre Dame closing to 55-54, Clark converted both ends of a one-and-one. Trey Wertz made the front end of a one-and-one with 3.9 seconds left for the Fighting Irish, but missed the second after a timeout. The ball was tipped out to Dane Goodwin for a potential game-winning 3-pointer, but his shot bounced off the rim.
Armaan Franklin added 12 points and Reece Beekman had 11 for Virginia (21-4, 13-3 Atlantic Coast Conference). Nate Laszewski led Notre Dame (10-17, 2-14) with 18 points and Goodwin had 12.
NO. 8 ARIZONA 78, COLORADO 68
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) &mdash; Oumar Ballo had 18 points and 16 rebounds, Cedric Henderson Jr. added 15 points and Arizona dominated inside to beat Colorado.
The Wildcats (24-4, 13-4 Pac-12) opened with a rash of turnovers, falling into an early 12-point hole. Arizona righted itself quickly with a big run and slogged through a slowed-down second half by shutting down the Buffaloes.
Tristan da Silva had 18 points the Buffaloes (15-13, 7-10), who shot 38%.
KENTUCKY 66, NO. 10 TENNESSEE 54
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) &mdash; Cason Wallace and Oscar Tshiebwe each scored 16 points and Kentucky rushed to a big lead and beat Tennessee.
The Volunteers (20-7, 9-5 SEC) trailed by 20 points at halftime and lost in their first game since toppling No. 1 Alabama.
The Wildcats (18-9, 9-5) earned their first regular-season sweep of Tennessee since the 2011-12 season. Kentucky defeated the Volunteers 63-56 on Jan. 14 in Knoxville.
Wallace had totaled nine points in the Wildcats&rsquo; previous two games. Chris Livingston added 12 points and Jacob Toppin had 11.
NO. 12 KANSAS STATE 61, NO. 19 IOWA STATE 55
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Markquis Nowell hit a 3-pointer from near midcourt with 2:42 remaining to help Kansas State over Iowa State.
Nowell finished with 20 points. Keyontae Johnson had 15 points for the Wildcats (20-7, 8-6 Big 12).
Aljaž Kunc led Iowa State (17-9, 8-6) with 15 points. Without their 3-point leader Caleb Grill in the lineup, the Cyclones worked inside the paint. They had 24 points inside and relied on a balanced scoring line led by Kunc.
NO. 13 GONZAGA 97, PEPPERDINE 88
MALIBU, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Drew Timme scored 22 of his 34 points in the second half and Julian Strawther added 28 points to help Gonzaga extend its winning streak over the Waves to 45 games.
The Bulldogs (23-5, 12-2 West Coast Conference), who haven&rsquo;t lost to Pepperdine (9-10, 2-12) since Jan. 18, 2002 and have won 20 straight on the road against the Waves.
Timme moved past Bill Cartwright, who scored 2,116 points for San Francisco (1975-79), into eighth on the West Coast Conference&rsquo;s career scoring list with 2,117.
Houston Mallette led the Waves with 22 points. Jevon Porter and Maxwell Lewis added 20 points apiece.
NO. 14 INDIANA 71, ILLINOIS 68
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Trayce Jackson-Davis finished with 26 points and 12 rebounds, Jalen Hood Schifino made two free throws with 30.7 seconds left, and Indiana rallied from a nine-point second-half deficit to beat Illinois.
Hood-Schifino had 13 points for the Hoosiers (19-8, 10-6 Big Ten), who have won nine of 11 overall and 15 straight on their homecourt.
Matthew Mayer scored 24 to lead the Fighting Illini (17-9, 8-7), who were without injured leading scorer Terrence Shannon.
NO. 15 MIAMI 96, WAKE FOREST 87
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Isaiah Wong scored 27 points and Nijel Pack finished with 24 in Miami&rsquo;s win over Wake Forest.
Norchard Omier had 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting while Jordan Miller added 14 points for the Hurricanes (22-5, 13-4 Atlantic Coast Conference), who won their sixth straight and improved to 15-0 at home.
Tyree Appleby scored 15 points and Damari Monsanto and Cameron Hildreth had 14 each for the Demon Deacons (17-10, 9-7). Andrew Carr and Mathew Marsh finished with 12 points each.
NO. 16 XAVIER 82, DEPAUL 68
CINCINNATI (AP) &mdash; Jack Nunge had 18 points and 10 rebounds as Xavier bounced back from a pair of narrow losses to beat DePaul.
The Musketeers (20-7, 12-4 Big East) reached the 20-win mark for the 34th time in school history, 32 of which have come since the 1982-83 season. It was the 17th career double-double for Nunge, eighth this season. Adam Kunkel scored 16 points and tied a career-high with eight assists for Xavier.
Umoja Gibson had 17 points and De&rsquo;Sean Nelson 16 for DePaul (9-18, 3-13), which lost its eighth in a row.
NO. 17 ST. MARY&rsquo;S 71, BYU 65
MORAGA, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Logan Johnson scored 27 points and Aidan Mahaney delivered once again in the second half to lead Saint Mary&rsquo;s to its 15th win in 16 games.
Mahaney scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half and Mitchell Saxen added 13. The Gaels (24-5, 13-1 West Coast Conference) won their 16th straight conference home game to maintain a one-game lead over Gonzaga in the standings.
Fousseyni Traore scored 16 points to lead the Cougars (16-14, 6-9). BYU has lost four straight and was swept in the season series by the Gaels.
NO. 18 CREIGHTON 77, ST. JOHN&rsquo;S 67
NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Arthur Kaluma hit three straight 3-pointers down the stretch and Creighton overcame a second-half scoring drought to pull away from St. John&rsquo;s.
Creighton (18-9, 12-4) remained in a three-way tie for second place in the Big East after Providence and Xavier won earlier in the day. Marquette holds a one-game lead in the conference standings.
Ryan Nembhard scored 16 points for the Bluejays. Kaluma finished with 13 points and Ryan Kalkbrenner added 12 as Creighton won for the ninth time in 10 games.
Joel Soriano led St. John&rsquo;s with 15 points and eight rebounds. David Jones added 14 points off the bench but the Red Storm (16-12, 6-11) were unable to get their third straight win.
NO. 20 UCONN 64, SETON HALL 55
STORRS, Conn. (AP) &mdash; Jordan Hawkins scored 20 points and UConn used a big second-half run to beat Seton Hall.
Andre Jackson had a career high 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for UConn (20-7, 9-7 Big East).
Al-Amir Dawes and Tyrese Samuel each had 16 points for Seton Hall (16-12, 9-8), which trailed by 16 points with six minutes to play before a late run that fell short.
NO. 22 TCU 100, OKLAHOMA STATE 75
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) &mdash; Mike Miles Jr. had 15 points in his first game in three weeks, five other TCU players also scored in double figures, and the Horned Frogs snapped a four-game losing streak by beating Oklahoma State.
Emanuel Miller had 18 points to lead TCU (18-9, 7-7 Big 12), which shot a staggering season-high 68.4% (39 of 57) from the field. Damion Baugh had 16 points with 11 assists. Shahada Wells had 15 points, Chuck O&rsquo;Bannon 12 and Micah Peavy 10.
Bryce Thompson had 18 points and John-Michael White 15 for the Cowboys (16-11, 7-7).
NO. 24 PROVIDENCE 85, VILLANOVA 72
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) &mdash; Ed Croswell scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Providence earned its 20th victory of the season.
Bryce Hopkins added 19 points and 12 rebounds. Noah Locked finished with 16 points. Croswell connected on two late free throws to notch the 1,000th point of his career.
The Friars (20-7, 12-4 Big East) have recorded 20 or more wins in seven of coach Ed Cooley&rsquo;s 12 seasons. They improved to 15-0 at home, including 8-0 in conference play.
Eric Dixon had 18 points and eight rebounds and Justin Moore added 17 points for the Wildcats (13-14, 7-9)&nbsp;

A recap of Saturday's action in men's college basketball includes a full slate of top-25 teams in heavy competition.

No. 6 Texas needs OT at home to hold off Oklahoma 85-83

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Grace Berger finished with a season-high 26 points, nine rebounds and six assists and Mackenzie Holmes added 24 points as No. 2 Indiana used a late scoring run to pull away from No. 5 Iowa 87-78 on Thursday night.
The Hoosiers (23-1, 12-1 Big Ten) used a 17-7 fourth-quarter run to earn their 11th consecutive win, this time in front of a record crowd of 13,046. Indiana has broken the attendance mark three times since January and now has a 1 1/2-game lead in the chase for its first regular-season conference crown since the Big Ten&rsquo;s inaugural season of 1982-83.
Caitlin Clark had 35 points, 10 assists and four rebounds to lead the Hawkeyes (19-5, 11-2), who lost for the first time since Jan. 1.
NO. 1 SOUTH CAROLINA 83, AUBURN 48
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Zia Cooke had 15 points and four assists in 20 minutes to lead South Carolina to its 30th straight win.
The Gamecocks (24-0, 11-0 Southeastern Conference) dominated from the start in a game sandwiched between a pair of top-5 matchups. They were coming off an 81-77 win over No. 4 UConn and host No. 3 LSU on Sunday.
Aliyah Boston had 10 points and eight rebounds for South Carolina before exiting with 8:54 left to end a string of eight straight double-doubles.&nbsp;
Sydney Shaw tied her career high with 15 points and made 3 of 4 3-pointers to lead the Tigers (13-10, 3-8). Auburn played without its top scorer and rebounder Aicha Coulibaly, who sat out with a leg injury. Mar&rsquo;shaun Bostic added 10 points.
NO. 6 STANFORD 84, NO. 17 ARIZONA 60
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) &mdash; Cameron Brink and Haley Jones each scored 18 points and Stanford used a strong rebounding performance to beat Arizona.
The Cardinal (23-3, 11-2 Pac-12) won their sixth straight against the Wildcats (18-6, 8-5), a streak that includes the 2021 NCAA title game. Stanford moved into first place in the conference, a half-game ahead of No. 7 Utah.
Jones shot 8 for 11 from the field and added 12 rebounds and six assists. Brink scored all her points and added eight rebounds in 21 minutes.
Paris Clark, Esmery Martinez and Cate Reese led the way for Arizona with 10 points apiece.
NO. 8 MARYLAND 79, NORTHWESTERN 54
EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) &mdash; Diamond Miller had 18 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, and Maryland eased past struggling Northwestern for its seventh win in eight games.
Brir McDaniel added 14 points and the Terrapins (20-5, 12-3 Big Ten) followed up the program&rsquo;s most lopsided win over a top-10 opponent with another dominant performance.
Coming off a 90-54 romp over then-No. 10 Ohio State on Sunday, Maryland outscored Northwestern (8-16, 1-12) 18-2 while holding the Wildcats without a field goal in the second quarter.
Paige Mott led Northwestern with 15 points.
NO. 9 DUKE 68, BOSTON COLLEGE 27
BOSTON (AP) &mdash; Reigan Richardson scored 14 points and Celeste Taylor added 11 to lead Duke to the 1,000th win in the program&rsquo;s history.
Richardson scored 10 points in the second quarter, when the Blue Devils (21-3, 11-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) turned a five-point lead into a 32-14 runaway. Boston College (14-13, 4-10) made just two baskets in the period, going scoreless for the last 7:55 of the half.
Maria Gakdeng had 11 points and seven rebounds for the Eagles, who shot 18.4% from the field.
NO. 10 NOTRE DAME 69, PITT 63
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Sonia Citron scored 20 points, Maddy Westbeld added 17 to lead Notre Dame.
Sophomore guard Olivia Miles had a double-double of 11 points and 13 assists with seven rebounds and two steals as the Fighting Irish (19-4, 10-3 ACC) extended their home winning streak against Pitt to 16 games.
Senior guard Dayshanette Harris led the Panthers (8-16, 1-12) with a season-high 20 points.
SYRACUSE 75, NO. 14 NORTH CAROLINA 67
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) &mdash; Dyaisha Fair scored 18 of her 23 points in the second half, Georgia Woolley added 20 points and Syracuse used a big third quarter to beat North Carolina.
Dariauna Lewis had 14 points and 15 rebounds for Syracuse (16-9, 7-7 ACC), which outrebounded North Carolina 43-29 to make up for 21 turnovers.
North Carolina was without two starters for the second straight game in Alyssa Ustby (13.6 points and 8.9 rebounds) and Eva Hodgson (10.2 points) due to injury. Deja Kelly led North Carolina (17-7, 8-5) with a career-high 32 points. Kennedy Todd-Williams added 14 points.
MIAMI 86, NO. 19 FLORIDA STATE 82
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Haley Cavinder made eight straight free throws in the final 30 seconds and finished with a career-high 33 points to help Miami beat a ranked team for the third time this season.
Miami used a five-point possession to tie it at 72 with 4:25 left. The Hurricanes took a 75-73 lead on a 3-pointer by Cavinder with 2:10 remaining. Florida State forward Makayla Timpson made layups with 25.2 seconds and 18.5 seconds left, but Cavinder made free throws after each to seal it.
Jasmyne Roberts added 19 points for Miami (16-8, 9-4 ACC) and Ja&rsquo;Leah Williams had 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
Timpson finished with 19 points and nine rebounds for Florida State (20-6, 9-4). Sara Bejedi scored 13 points and Ta&rsquo;Niya Latson and Jazmine Massengill each had 12.
NO. 22 N.C. STATE 51, WAKE FOREST 42
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) &mdash;Saniya Rivers scored eight points in the third quarter and 10 of her team-high 12 points in the second half to help North Carolina State pull away from Wake Forest.
The road win was the Wolfpack&rsquo;s ninth straight over Wake Forest and comes after back-to-back losses at Georgia Tech and at home to No. 11 Virginia Tech.
NC State (17-7, 7-6 ACC) made just 19 of 56 shots from the floor (33.9%) and missed all 10 of its 3-point attempts.
Wake Forest (14-11, 5-9) was 16 of 62 from the field (25.8%), including 3 of 20 from beyond the arc. Jewel Spear was 5 of 24 from the field, including 1 of 10 from distance, and finished with 11 points. Elise Williams grabbed 11 rebounds.

A recap of Thursday's action in women's college hoops includes a star-studded top-5 matchup and South Carolina's 30th straight win.

No. 2 Indiana uses late scoring burst to beat No. 5 Iowa

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) &mdash; Stephen Curry threw his mouthpiece into the seats in frustration and got tossed himself for the surprising episode late in the game.
And the Golden State Warriors still pulled off a wild one against the nemesis Memphis Grizzlies.
Jordan Poole made the winning layup with a second remaining to cap a crazy, back-and-forth final minute, and the Warriors fought back to beat Ja Morant and Memphis 122-120 on Wednesday night.
&ldquo;Incredible, heady play by Jordan,&rdquo; Klay Thompson said.
Curry outdueled Morant and scored 34 points before being ejected with 1:14 remaining in another thrilling game between the rivals who played last year in the Western Conference semifinals won by the Warriors in six games.
Curry hit a tying jumper with 2:18 left and made three free throws at the 1:55 mark. He wasn&rsquo;t around for the finish after firing the mouthpiece into the stands. Crew chief Sean Wright confirmed the reasoning to a pool reporter: &ldquo;Stephen Curry takes his mouth piece and throws into the stands with force, as per rule, that is an automatic ejection.&rdquo;
&ldquo;He knows he can&rsquo;t make that mistake,&rdquo; coach Steve Kerr said. &ldquo;To win the game after the Steph ejection was great. I liked the execution down the stretch.&rdquo;
Afterward, Curry was in the hallway eager to greet Poole with a celebratory hug. Poole had launched a 30-footer with nearly a full shot clock and Curry open, and Curry didn&rsquo;t like it.
Curry said the way the season has gone there&rsquo;s a &ldquo;heightened sense of urgency of how every detail matters.&rdquo;
&ldquo;The way that we responded after that shows just how much it matters to us,&rdquo; Curry said.
Brandon Clarke had a tying dunk with 6.3 seconds left for Memphis on a pass from Morant after Thompson&rsquo;s 3-pointer with 14.6 remaining put the Warriors ahead. Thompson then missed a rushed baseline jumper with five seconds to play, but Golden State got the ball out of bounds.
Morant wound up with 29 points and 12 assists after missing a game with an ankle injury. He converted a pair of free throws with 26.6 seconds left to put Memphis ahead before Thompson&rsquo;s big 3.
Desmond Bane added 20 points for the Grizzlies in a balanced effort to help lessen the sting of losing durable big man Steven Adams for the foreseeable future with a knee injury.
Morant, who missed a loss Monday night at Sacramento with soreness in his left ankle, found Clarke for an alley-oop layup and three-point play with 4:10 remaining then Curry and Poole scored consecutive layups.
Thompson added 24 points and his 3 with 3:38 left in the third pulled the Warriors to 81-79. Then Curry converted a tying four-point play with 2:27 to go in the period after falling into the courtside seats.
The Warriors had lost four straight home games after beginning the season 17-2 at Chase Center.
Jonathan Kuminga moved into the Golden State starting lineup with Andrew Wiggins ill. Late in the first half, Kuminga drove through the lane for a highlight-reel left-handed slam then knocked down a 3-pointer a few possessions later. He wound up with 13 points.
Poole finished with 21 points and seven assists as the Warriors beat the Grizzlies again following a 123-109 win on Christmas Day. The Grizzlies have lost a season-high four straight to begin this season-long five-game West Coast trip.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a long season. I don&rsquo;t think too many people are too flustered,&rdquo; Bane said.
Draymond Green &mdash; who called that final out-of-bounds play for Poole&rsquo;s winner &mdash; was whistled for his 14th technical foul of the season, moving him within two of an automatic one-game suspension.
MISSING ADAMS
Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins will mix and match lineups and substitution patterns without Adams, who is expected to miss three to five weeks with a sprained ligament in his right knee that he injured Sunday in Phoenix.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re definitely going to miss Stevo, he does so much for us, all the little things, to impact winning,&rdquo; Jenkins said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re just going to need other guys to raise their level in those departments. Obviously, we&rsquo;re struggling right now on both ends of the floor, we just got to find our groove, it&rsquo;s next-man up mentality.&rdquo;
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TIP-INS
Grizzlies: F Danny Green is set to make his season debut Feb. 1 at home against Portland as he returns from left knee surgery. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the plan as of now,&rdquo; Jenkins said. Green will get some scrimmaging and work with the G League Memphis Hustle this week. ... Jaren Jackson Jr. fouled out with 2:33 to go. ... Memphis will host the defending champions for the last two meetings: March 9 and 18.
Warriors: Kerr found out Wednesday morning Wiggins was sick and Kuminga earned his sixth start. ... Curry reached 21,000 career points. He committed two fouls just 59 seconds into the game.
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Jordan Poole made the winning layup with a second remaining and the Golden State Warriors beat the Memphis Grizzlies 122-120.