Warriors

Super rookie Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever got a rude welcome in her first-ever playoff game.
After a historic rookie season, Clark came into Sunday excited for her first taste of high-stakes basketball. However, Alyssa Thomas and the Connecticut Sun came ready to play.
The third-seeded Sun blew out the sixth-seeded Fever, 93-69, to take a 1-0 lead in their best-of-three series. Thomas had a triple-double for Connecticut, dropping 12 points, 10 rebounds, and 13 assists while veteran DeWanna Bonner scored 22 points while playing outstanding defense on the aforementioned Clark.
Clark struggled from the field, going only 4-17 including 2-13 from three as she saw the entire Connecticut defense turned on against her. Kelsey Mitchell scored 21 while Aliyah Boston added 17 but it was not enough as the Fever got blown out by 24 points.
In the other games of the day, the New York Liberty began their quest for a back-to-back Finals appearance with a comfortable 83-69 win over the Atlanta Dream. Leonie Fiebich led all scorers with 21 points while former WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart added 20.
The defending champions Las Vegas Aces started their title defense after winning wire-to-wire against the Seattle Storm, 78-67. Recently crowned unanimous WNBA MVP A&rsquo;Ja Wilson had 21 points in the win.
Finally, MVP runner-up Napheesa Collier starred for the Minnesota Lynx in their Game 1 win over the Phoenix Mercury. Collier had the best game of the day with 38 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists as they won by seven, 102-95.

Super rookie Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever got a rude welcome in her first-ever playoff game.

WNBA Playoffs 2024 Day 1 recap: Caitlin Clark, Fever get reality check from Sun

There are not many rookies in WNBA history that can say that they had a better rookie season than what Caitlin Clark had this season. Perhaps Clark&rsquo;s is the best rookie season of all time. That is a subject definitely up for discussion, but it cannot be understated how much impact the no.1 overall pick has created for the Indiana Fever with record breaking performances night in and night out.&nbsp;
Among Clark&rsquo;s numerous broken records in just her rookie year: Rookie assists per game; Rookie 3PT FG made; Rookie total points; Rookie triple-doubles; Rookie guard double-double streak; Rookie points/assists double-double; Rookie All-Star game assists; and Rookie total rebounds.&nbsp;
Not only that, Clark also broke not just rookie records, but several WNBA records even as a rookie. These are: 1st player in WNBA history to be named Player of the Month and Rookie of the Month in the same month; 1st player in WNBA history with 20+ points, 15+ assists and 5+ rebounds in a game; Fastest WNBA player to reach 100 three-pointers (in 34 games); and the fastest player to reach 350 points and 150 assists to start a WNBA season (regardless of years in the league).
The 6-foot-0 guard set the most assists in a game in WNBA history with 19, and the single-season assist record of 337 total assists.
Clark averaged 19.2 points, 8.4 assists, and 5.7 rebounds in 40 games started for Indiana, who has punched a ticket to the playoffs after a resurgence of play following the Olympic break. The Fever finished the season with a .500 record at 20-20 and qualified to the playoffs as the 6th overall seed.
As a result of all her efforts and accolades, Clark was named unanimous Rookie of the Year, All-WNBA First Team, All-Rookie Team, and finished 4th in MVP voting behind just eventual winner A&rsquo;Ja Wilson, Napheesa Collier, and Breanna Stewart. This kind of success is kind of unprecedented for a rookie and there could not have been a better player than Clark to do this, after also a historic college career.
Now, the Indiana Fever will start their best-of-three playoff series against the Connecticut Sun, and Clark will be at centerstage for perhaps the most important basketball to be played in her young career.&nbsp;
Clark and the Fever will be up against fellow All-WNBAer Alyssa Thomas and the 3rd-seeded Sun, who has been a team to be reckoned with this season following a very impressive and consistent year &ndash; even slotting ahead of the defending champions Las Vegas Aces.
After all, this season will be remembered as how Caitlin Clark lit up the WNBA in a manner never to be seen again.

There are not many rookies in WNBA history that can say that they had a better rookie season than what Caitlin Clark had this season.

After historic rookie season, Caitlin Clark ready to lead Fever to WNBA playoffs

Today, the NBA announced the 28 players who have earned spots to compete in the 2024 Panini Rising Stars, which will take place on Friday, Feb. 16 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis as part of NBA All-Star 2024. The annual showcase of premier young talent, featuring a mini-tournament with four teams and three games, will air live at 9 p.m. ET on TNT.
The player pool consists of 11 NBA rookies, 10 second-year NBA players and seven NBA G League players. The 21 NBA players, selected by NBA assistant coaches, will be drafted onto three seven-player teams. The seven NBA G League players, selected by the league office, will comprise the fourth team.
Six-time NBA All-Star and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Pau Gasol will return as one of the four honorary head coaches after leading his team to the Rising Stars championship last year. Joining Gasol as honorary head coaches are Indiana Fever legend and 10-time WNBA All-Star Tamika Catchings and former Indiana Pacers standouts Jalen Rose and Detlef Schrempf.
Catchings, a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer, led the Fever to the 2012 WNBA championship. Rose helped the Pacers reach the 2000 NBA Finals and was the Kia NBA Most Improved Player that season. Schrempf, a three-time NBA All-Star, won back-to-back Kia NBA Sixth Man Awards with the Pacers in the 1990-91 and 1991-92 seasons.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Gasol (Team Pau), Catchings (Team Tamika) and Rose (Team Jalen) will select their teams through the Rising Stars Draft, which will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 6 at 4 p.m. ET and stream live on the NBA App.&nbsp; Schrempf (Team Detlef) will coach the team of NBA G League players.
All three games in Panini Rising Stars will be played to a Final Target Score, meaning each game will end with a made basket or a made free throw instead of with the clock running out. The semifinal games will be played to a Final Target Score of 40. The championship game will be played to a Final Target Score of 25.
Team A will face Team B in the first semifinal (Game 1), and Team C will play Team D in the second semifinal (Game 2). The winner of Game 1 will meet the winner of Game 2 in the championship (Game 3).&nbsp; The semifinal matchups will be announced at a later date.
In selecting the NBA players for Panini Rising Stars, each NBA team submitted one ballot per coaching staff. Each coaching staff selected four frontcourt players, four guards and two additional players at either position, in order of preference, for the rookie ballot and the sophomore ballot. Coaches were not permitted to vote for any player on their team.
The NBA participants for Panini Rising Stars were determined by the total points each player received from the ballots. Points were awarded based on where a player was ranked on each ballot. The player pool includes one more rookie than sophomore based on total points received.
Assistant coaches from the NBA All-Star Game coaching staffs will join the honorary head coaches in coaching the Panini Rising Stars teams. The NBA All-Star Game coaching staffs for both the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference have yet to be determined.&nbsp;
Tickets for Panini Rising Stars are available at NBAEvents.com and through the NBA Events App, which can be downloaded in the&nbsp;<a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/nba-events/id1488976283" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://apps.apple.com/us/app/nba-events/id1488976283&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1706738146537000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3KdgVz_lJtn5rLaTz7eq7b">Apple Store</a>&nbsp;or&nbsp;<a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.greencopper.nbaallstar&amp;hl=en_US&amp;gl=US&amp;pli=1" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id%3Dcom.greencopper.nbaallstar%26hl%3Den_US%26gl%3DUS%26pli%3D1&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1706738146537000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0-CV5jwdxEhFcuZ8BRrarV">Google Play Store</a>.
Below is the player pool for the 2024 Panini Rising Stars.
<table style="width: 719px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="607">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 704.431px;" colspan="3">
PANINI RISING STARS: NBA PLAYERS
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 358.75px; text-align: center;" colspan="2">
NBA Rookies
</td>
<td style="width: 324.604px; text-align: center;">
NBA Sophomores
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 362.625px; text-align: center;" colspan="2">
Bilal Coulibaly (Guard | Washington Wizards)
</td>
<td style="width: 326.271px; text-align: center;">
Paolo Banchero (Frontcourt | Orlando Magic)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 363.59px; text-align: center;" colspan="2">
Keyonte George (Guard | Utah Jazz)
</td>
<td style="width: 326.701px; text-align: center;">
Dyson Daniels (Guard | New Orleans Pelicans)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 363.826px; text-align: center;" colspan="2">
Jordan Hawkins (Guard | New Orleans Pelicans)
</td>
<td style="width: 326.812px; text-align: center;">
Jalen Duren (Frontcourt | Detroit Pistons)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 363.875px; text-align: center;" colspan="2">
Scoot Henderson (Guard | Portland Trail Blazers)
</td>
<td style="width: 326.847px; text-align: center;">
Jaden Ivey (Guard | Detroit Pistons)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 363.889px; text-align: center;" colspan="2">
Chet Holmgren (Frontcourt | Oklahoma City Thunder)
</td>
<td style="width: 326.854px; text-align: center;">
Walker Kessler (Frontcourt | Utah Jazz)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 363.889px; text-align: center;" colspan="2">
Jaime Jaquez Jr. (Frontcourt | Miami Heat)
</td>
<td style="width: 326.861px; text-align: center;">
Bennedict Mathurin (Guard | Indiana Pacers)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 363.889px; text-align: center;" colspan="2">
Dereck Lively II (Frontcourt | Dallas Mavericks)
</td>
<td style="width: 326.861px; text-align: center;">
Keegan Murray (Frontcourt | Sacramento Kings)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 363.889px; text-align: center;" colspan="2">
Brandon Miller (Frontcourt | Charlotte Hornets)
</td>
<td style="width: 326.861px; text-align: center;">
Shaedon Sharpe (Guard | Portland Trail Blazers)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 363.889px; text-align: center;" colspan="2">
Brandin Podziemski (Guard | Golden State Warriors)
</td>
<td style="width: 326.861px; text-align: center;">
Jabari Smith Jr. (Frontcourt | Houston Rockets)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 363.889px; text-align: center;" colspan="2">
Cason Wallace (Guard | Oklahoma City Thunder)
</td>
<td style="width: 326.861px; text-align: center;">
Jalen Williams (Frontcourt | Oklahoma City Thunder)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 363.889px; text-align: center;" colspan="2">
Victor Wembanyama (Frontcourt | San Antonio Spurs)
</td>
<td style="width: 326.861px; text-align: center;">&nbsp;</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
&nbsp;
<table style="height: 454px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="438">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 54px;">
<td style="width: 423.431px; height: 54px;">
PANINI RISING STARS: NBA G LEAGUE PLAYERS
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 54px;">
<td style="width: 423.431px; height: 54px;">
Izan Almansa (Frontcourt | G League Ignite)
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 54px;">
<td style="width: 423.431px; height: 54px;">
Matas Buzelis (Frontcourt | G League Ignite)
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 54px;">
<td style="width: 423.431px; height: 54px;">
Ron Holland (Frontcourt | G League Ignite)
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 54px;">
<td style="width: 423.431px; height: 54px;">
Mac McClung (Guard | Osceola Magic)
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 54px;">
<td style="width: 423.431px; height: 54px;">
Tyler Smith (Frontcourt | G League Ignite)
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 54px;">
<td style="width: 423.431px; height: 54px;">
Oscar Tshiebwe (Frontcourt | Indiana Mad Ants)*
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 54px;">
<td style="width: 423.431px; height: 54px;">
Alondes Williams (Guard | Sioux Falls Skyforce)
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
*Two-Way Player

The NBA announced the 28 players who have earned spots to compete in the 2024 Panini Rising Stars.

NBA announces 2024 Rising Stars participants

Paying customers and plenty of media members have loudly expressed their frustrations with how the New Orleans Pelicans have handled the injuries and updates regarding Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram, to the point of calling the organization outright liars.
Sure, there were frustrations with injuries derailing the season, but the messaging did not come from a place of dishonesty. It came from the type of misunderstandings and miscommunications that can ravage any type of relationship.
The obvious friction within the team the last few seasons were publicly expressed through curt answers and solemn body language on gamedays. Executive vice president David Griffin even admitted last July that the Pelicans &ldquo;did a really bad job organizationally" in handling some situations, especially after Williamson&rsquo;s viral pregame dunk and vague comments to the media. It took a summer of reconciliation, but the most pressing relationship issues have been resolved. Everyone understands how to speak each other&rsquo;s basketball love language and approach expectations for the coming season.
It all started with listening sessions this summer, which were a reason Williamson stuck around town for the offseason. But go back and listen to how Williamson and Ingram talk about basketball in press conferences over the years. Examining how they speak about the game explains a lot in how they&rsquo;ve approached their careers thus far.
Ingram has been using the term "professional" and "basketball" while talking like a hardwood scientist since his rookie season. It would not be surprising for B.I. to break down film at 4 a.m., making calls to wake sleepy-eyed teammates. Specifically, Devonte&rsquo; Graham and Josh Hart have shared on record how Ingram&rsquo;s film studies helped their game. Even when Ingram was out with an injury, the deep film sessions to help his teammates improve remained part of his routine. His methodical game reflects his intense devotion to his craft, though Ingram&rsquo;s personality comes off as a bit more laid back.
Williamson &ldquo;just loves hooping&rdquo; by his admission this Monday and in past interviews. Both are highly talented and naturally gifted and, as one source put it, &ldquo;They both love the game, but show it in different ways. The game has loved them back in different ways.&rdquo; Organizationally, there have been some growing pains as perhaps some things got taken for granted along the way for a franchise shaping a new identity.
That&rsquo;s starting to change and it is a two-way street. This team knows it was in first place last December and Williamson&rsquo;s renewed commitment has been the theme of the offseason with those I&rsquo;ve spoken with.
"This was the first summer where we&rsquo;ve seen Zion take his profession seriously like that and invest in it off the court on his own in a way that, I think, is meaningful," Griffin revealed during media day.
This is a reassuring development considering the past four years. Now, Zion still loves to hoop. There is no doubt. No one shows up on an outdoor court in New Orleans to work up a mid-summer sweat with some high-school kids without loving to hoop. Roll a ball out on a court and a smiling Williamson is like an overeager puppy. At least Alvin Gentry got that right in Zion&rsquo;s rookie season.
However, Williamson has not had a healthy relationship with NBA basketball the last few years. The NBA Draft is a crap shoot and New Orleans was not exactly a prime location. The new front office had a few growing pains earlier than expect as a result. NBA HQ added some bumps and bruises to the process as well. The national-TV-heavy schedule as a rookie and through the COVID bubble was unwarranted, unnecessary attention; it was just premature pressure on someone who couldn't legally buy a drink.
Attention before production paired with injury setbacks put pressure on every strained relationship, which partly factored into the Pelicans parting ways with coaches Gentry and Stan Van Gundy after just a year each with Williamson on the roster. Zion even went to rehab in Oregon away from the team, returning to the bench just weeks before the team&rsquo;s playoff run.
Publicly and privately, it&rsquo;s &ldquo;all water under the bridge&rdquo; between the locker room and front office. Aaron Nelson is still with the team, but in an advisory role that&rsquo;s far more hands-off on the day-to-day. Newly-hired Amy Atmore, the team's physical/performance therapist and director of rehabilitation, has already made the players comfortable with the revamped staff and new "ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" process. There are a few more full-time staffers to welcome into the group but by all accounts, head coach Willie Green has righted the ship culturally in the locker room. The leadership hierarchies and trust circle bonds are very strong and have been unanimously agreed upon.
In contrast to Williamson&rsquo;s on-court hooper mentality paired with a dozen endorsement deals, Ingram loves professional basketball and has been able to operate as an under-the-radar, one-time All-Star. This approach leads to multi-generational wealth that secures family futures. Ingram did not sign a contract extension this summer because "they handing a lot of people big money, [and] I&rsquo;m trying to get some big money&rdquo; next summer.
Ingram smiled while delivering that media-day-gold statement, but Zion was refusing to flash a grin for anyone to start training camp. This isn&rsquo;t just hooping anymore. This is serious, professional basketball and it would be a disservice to his talents and teammates to not approach this season as the opportunity of a lifetime. It&rsquo;s also a chance to win back all the fans and provide a return on the team&rsquo;s investment. Williamson loves to be loved. Ingram, especially after the FIBA experience, is after All-NBA respect before negotiating a contract extension.
The revamped player performance and medical staff changes were a direct result of the front office listening to player feedback. Williamson, who just signed a max-level extension, can see that.
"The Pelicans have put in a lot of things this offseason&hellip;" Williamson said. "I think what the Pelicans have done is add good structure and we'll see as the season goes&hellip; being on the same page with the personal trainers, really locking into every aspect of my body.''
Williamson also listened to feedback from the front office and the team&rsquo;s veterans. He got the message from CJ McCollum and Larry Nance Jr., who played through injuries last season, to set an example.
"I think [the changes] should help us," McCollum said. &ldquo;A lot of it is on us and how we prepare. Your staff can only do so much."
Off the court, Williamson&rsquo;s larger-than-life, crowd-pleasing ways mesh well with Ingram&rsquo;s reserved, low-key-funny, musically-inclined chill. Now, the Pelicans need them to make it work on the court when the stakes are highest. Like any relationship seemingly stuck running in place, huge consequences are resting on the next decision.
&ldquo;If this team can&rsquo;t take that next step, we need to know that as quickly as possible,&rdquo; Griffin stated straightforwardly at media day.
It&rsquo;s tough to hear for a young team, but at least the tough love is understood as coming from a place of caring about what&rsquo;s best for everyone.
Former NBA vet and Pelicans general manager Trajan Langdon said he felt players have returned with a bitter taste in their mouths after the way last season ended and expects them to come into camp highly motivated to show their true potential. Griffin, who is passing off some of the medical-team-oversight responsibilities to Langdon, feels this group is &ldquo;really optimistic."
"We have pieces that can be really dynamic and win together," Griffin said. "They haven&rsquo;t done a lot of it and they know they have something to prove."
Williamson definitely has something to prove and has new motivations in life to live up to his potential. The expecting father with no more viable professional excuses or blame to be placed on youth ''wanted change."
"If I want change, I have to do something different so I sat down with the Pelicans and came up with a great plan," Zion said.
All public signs from the front office, All-Stars and those speaking behind the scenes point to a mended, healthy relationship between all parties as reason for future optimism. Reports of mutiny or group dissension are downright wrong according to what I&rsquo;ve been hearing. Hot takes to insinuate the franchise operates from behind a smoke screen miss the mark at best and at times show the worst of biases from people who wouldn&rsquo;t know which coach or player had a family sitting next to them in the arena.
There were no ultimatums. It was a remodel, not a revolt. The front office took feedback from their players and ran with it. That&rsquo;s a positive relationship. It&rsquo;s boring for offseason news but has long-term benefits for the team and it&rsquo;s fans.
"If we would have controlled the narrative, it would have made (the media&rsquo;s) jobs a lot more boring, but it would have put [Williamson[ in a better position to succeed," Griffin said last summer. "I feel like to a huge degree, I failed him in that sense."
The Pelicans and Williamson are now in a position to succeed with a clear narrative: Win and show the world their true capabilities. Williamson, who trained to be &ldquo;un-guardable&rdquo; this offseason, switched vocabulary halfway through the press conference with an admission that he is &ldquo;a basketball player."
"I simply want to win and impact the game. I train to impact the game from all areas&hellip; Griff, Trajan and Swin [Cash], those three have been really helpful," Williamson added. "They've supported me, they've had my back and we all got the same goal in mind, which I think is what family is about &ndash; people having your back no matter what and wanting the best for each other.&rdquo;
Williamson went further, going out of the way to declare his loyalty to New Orleans.
&ldquo;This is home for me. This is where I want to be&hellip;" he said. "If something were to happen to me where basketball wasn&rsquo;t there or my life is changed, who would be there for me? Realistically, who would be there for me? I had to come to that realization that when it comes to them, the family, and the city, it&rsquo;s always good so I focus on that.&rdquo;
Frankly, if that doesn&rsquo;t hit you right in the feels as a fan of the Pelicans, it might be time to re-examine your engagement with basketball and this team. Either way the franchise is moving forward with stronger relationships just as their championship window is truly opening. A great start to the season might even feel like a second honeymoon for fans with an open mind and little bit of hope for the future.
Other news from around the web: <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/dress-to-impress-why-barbie-and-ken-are-the-hottest-couples-costume-this-halloween/ar-AA1iaTEh" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Barbie and Ken are the hottest couples costume this Halloween</a>

The New Orleans Pelicans are all on the same page and could be poised for a big season, writes Christopher Dodson.

Pelicans better understand love languages of All-Star relationships

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

Today, the NBA announced that the ninth NBA Canada Series will feature two preseason games in Vancouver and Montr&eacute;al in October 2023.
On Oct. 8, two-time NBA All-Star Pascal Siakam, 2021-22 NBA Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes and the Toronto Raptors will take on the 2022-23 Pacific Division champion Sacramento Kings at Rogers Arena in Vancouver.
The Kings feature three-time NBA All-Star Domantas Sabonis, 2023 NBA All-Star De&rsquo;Aaron Fox and Canadian Trey Lyles, and are coached by unanimous 2022-23 NBA Coach of the Year Mike Brown.
On Oct. 12, Canadians Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luguentz Dort &ndash; a native of Montr&eacute;al &ndash; and the Oklahoma City Thunder will take on the Detroit Pistons at the Bell Centre in Montr&eacute;al.&nbsp;
The Pistons feature 2021-22 NBA All-Rookie First Team member Cade Cunningham, 2022-23 NBA All-Rookie Second Team member Jaden Ivey and 2023 No. 5 overall draft pick Ausar Thompson.
In total, 15 NBA teams have participated in 16 preseason games across six cities as part of The NBA Canada Series, drawing a total attendance of more than a quarter of a million.
Tickets for the NBA Canada Series presented will go on sale at a later date.
Fans can register their interest for exclusive presale ticket access by visiting <a href="http://www.nba.com/canadaseries" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.nba.com/canadaseries&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1691183599182000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2OWiNp-7b1K2q1CXglTDXi">NBA.com/CanadaSeries</a>. NBA Experiences ticket packages offering premium access to the game in Montr&eacute;al and other events will be available for purchase&nbsp;<a href="https://nbaexperiences.com/nba-canada-series-2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://nbaexperiences.com/nba-canada-series-2023&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1691183599182000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0zkhddQuwtKI19jTbdQZWl">here</a>.
In addition to presenting partner Bell, supporting partners of the NBA Canada Series 2023 include Hennessy, Labatt, Subway and Tangerine.

The NBA announced that the ninth NBA Canada Series will feature two preseason games in Vancouver and Montréal in October 2023.

NBA Canada Series to feature Raptors-Kings, Pistons-Thunder in preseason

Today, the NBA and FIBA announced 80 of the top high-school-age prospects from across Africa who will participate in the 19th edition of Basketball Without Borders (BWB) Africa, which will be held July 28-31 at the American International School of Johannesburg (AISJ) in South Africa.
BWB Africa 2023 will bring together 80 boys and girls from more than 25 African countries &ndash; including 19 NBA Academy Africa and NBA Academy Women&rsquo;s Camp Africa 2022 prospects &ndash; to learn directly from current and former NBA, WNBA and FIBA players, legends and coaches and compete alongside their peers from across the continent.&nbsp;
The campers will be coached by two-time NBA All-Star Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat; U.S.; ties to Nigeria), 2022 NBA All-Star Darius Garland (Cleveland Cavaliers; U.S.), 2022 NBA champion Jonathan Kuminga (Golden State Warriors; Democratic Republic of the Congo) and Jalen Suggs (Orlando Magic; U.S.).
Five current and former NBA head coaches will also serve as BWB Africa 2023 coaches: Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff; two-time NBA Coach of the Year, Nigeria Men&rsquo;s National Team head coach and Sacramento Kings head coach Mike Brown; 2018 NBA Coach of the Year Dwane Casey (most recently with the Detroit Pistons); Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham; and veteran NBA coach Dave Joerger (most recently with the Philadelphia 76ers).
Several former NBA and WNBA players will also serve as BWB Africa 2023 coaches, including 2015 FIBA AfroBasket champion Olumide Oyedeji (Nigeria), 2011 NBA champion Ian Mahinmi (France; ties Benin), former NBA player and Basketball Africa League Head of League Operations Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje (Cameroon), former NBA player Tacko Fall (Senegal), 2003 WNBA champion Astou Ndiaye (Senegal), two-time WNBA champion Taj McWilliams-Franklin, four-time WNBA champion Sheryl Swoopes and Mozambique basketball legend Clarisse Machanguana.&nbsp;
Toronto Raptors Vice-Chairman, Team President and Alternate NBA Governor Masai Ujiri; New Orleans Pelicans Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations David Griffin; and Portland Trail Blazers Assistant General Manager Mike Schmitz will serve as camp directors, while David Crewe and Frank Adams (Phoenix Suns) will serve as the camp&rsquo;s athletic trainers.
The players and coaches will lead the campers through a variety of activities, including movement efficiency drills, offensive and defensive skill stations, three-point contests, 5-on-5 games, and life skills and leadership development sessions.&nbsp;&nbsp;A ceremony on the final day of the camp will award the Kim Bohuny Camp MVP, the Patrick Baumann Sportsmanship Award, the B.J. Johnson Most Improved Player Award, the Three-Point Champion and the Defensive MVP to the boys and girls who distinguish themselves on the court and as leaders.
As part of the camp, NBA players and coaches will also participate in several community outreach initiatives around Johannesburg, including a hospital visit and a Her Time to Play seminar for the female campers on July 28, and a court unveiling in the Alexandra Township on Saturday, July 29.&nbsp; In addition, BWB Africa 2023 coaches will lead a development clinic for local coaches at AISJ on July 30.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Also on July 29, select&nbsp;NBA players&nbsp;will visit the NBA Store at Sandton City Mall in Johannesburg and engage with fans.
BWB Africa 2023 will be supported by Nike, a global partner of BWB since 2002, which will outfit participants with Nike apparel and footwear, and Gatorade, which will keep players and coaches hydrated throughout the camp.
BWB has reached more than 4,100 participants from 136 countries and territories since 2001, with 112 former campers advancing to the NBA or WNBA.&nbsp; The NBA and FIBA have staged 70 BWB camps in 47 cities across 32 countries on six continents.
The following is a complete list of players participating in the 19th&nbsp;BWB Africa camp (rosters subject to change):
&nbsp;
<table style="width: 447px;" width="447">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 403px;" colspan="2">
GIRLS
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Name
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Country
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Ines Bellahmer
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Algeria
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Filomena Luis
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Angola
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Guigma Sadia
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Burkina Faso
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Gisele Kipo*
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Cameroon
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Hannah Dibadjou
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Cameroon
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Salma Khedr*
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Egypt
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Leila El Sanadily
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Egypt
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Aisha Hassan
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Egypt
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Lucie Mounganga
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Gabon
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Fatoumata Sylla
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Guinea
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Roseline Ooko
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Kenya
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Harena Randriamasimanana
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Madagascar
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Fitahiana Ratsimason
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Madagascar
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Joanie Rakotonanahary
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Madagascar
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Fatoumata Samake*
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Mali
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Oumou Soumare
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Mali
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Aya El Kallali*
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Morocco
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Albertina Matsinhe*
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Mozambique
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Bata Lurdes*
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Mozambique
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Shanaya Matusse*
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Mozambique
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Joy Biribebe
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Nigeria
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Benitha Ngarambe
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Rwanda
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Jane Dusabe
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Rwanda
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Fatou Sima
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Senegal
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Marie Diouf
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Senegal
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Ndickou Matar Diop*
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Senegal
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Tacko Sy
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Senegal
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Sheriffa Rahman
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Sierra Leone
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Onnetse Molokwame
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
South Africa
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Luhle Ndaba
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
South Africa
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Reneilwe Motebele
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
South Africa
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Susan Peter
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
South Sudan
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Asunta Ring
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
South Sudan
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Nawasa Lazaro
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Tanzania
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Ibouanga Moussounda
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Togo
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Arwa Ghorbel*
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Tunisia
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Eya Nasri
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Tunisia
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Afef Bengoula
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Tunisia
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Christine Namyalo
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Uganda
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Immaculate Adongpiny
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Uganda
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
*Participated in NBA Academy Women&rsquo;s Camp Africa 2022
&nbsp;
<table width="447">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 418.75px;" colspan="2" width="447">
BOYS
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Name
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Country
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Aginaldo Neto*
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Angola
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Manuel Camboma*
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Angola
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Inacio Anatoli Da Silva
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Angola
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Claudino Capangaa
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Angola
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Sansao Wika
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Angola
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Philippe Ntungicimpaye
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Burundi
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Arnold Eyadi Kenfack
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Cameroon
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Hermann Bel Gassina
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Cameroon
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Chris Naguidebe
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Central African Republic
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Tahir Doungous*
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Chad
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Zie Cheikh Conde
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
C&ocirc;te d&rsquo;Ivoire
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Tarek Khairy
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Egypt
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Ahmed Nedale
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Egypt
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Karim El Gizawi
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Egypt
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Courage Agbekpornu
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Ghana
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Kiggundu Austin Omondi
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Kenya
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Chouhaybou Keita
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Mali
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Mahamadou Konate
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Mali
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Hamza Bechchar
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Morocco
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Bolaji Oderinlo
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Nigeria
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Sultan Baruwa
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Nigeria
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Ibrahim Dan-Mutum
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Nigeria
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Jonah Precious
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Nigeria
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Ezekiel Obe*
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Nigeria
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Andre Bonazebi
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Republic of Congo
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Jude Fred Nkouka Silaho
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Republic of Congo
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Khadim Mboup*
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Senegal
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Assane Mandian*
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Senegal
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Yakhya Diop*
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Senegal
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Amar Diop*
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Senegal
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Mouhamed Camara
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Senegal
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Siyanda Radebe
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
South Africa
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Gilchrist Storm
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
South Africa
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Khaman Maluach*
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
South Sudan
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Moses Marial Mandiria
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
South Sudan
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Bol Wieu Mou Thet
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
South Sudan
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Lual Deng Lual Aguek
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
South Sudan
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Rayen Rouissi
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Tunisia
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Amen Hammi
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Tunisia
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Liberty Fusire*
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Zimbabwe
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
*NBA Academy Africa prospect

Bam Adebayo, Darius Garland, Jonathan Kuminga and Jalen Suggs will coach 80 top high-school-age prospects from across Africa.

Adebayo, Garland, Kuminga, Suggs to coach prospects at BWB Africa 2023

The NBA Board of Governors approved an in-game flopping penalty and expanded use of the coach&rsquo;s challenge, the league announced today.
Both rule changes will be implemented beginning with the 2023-24 NBA season. Here are more details about each rule change:
In-Game Flopping Penalty
Under the new rule, when a game official calls a flop &ndash; or a physical act that reasonably appears to be intended to cause the officials to call a foul on another player &ndash; the offending player will be charged with a non-unsportsmanlike technical foul and the opposing team will be awarded one free throw attempt, which could be attempted by any player who is in the game when the technical foul is assessed.&nbsp; A player will not be ejected from a game based on flopping violations.&nbsp;
Referees will not be required to stop live play to call a flopping violation.&nbsp; If necessary (for example, to avoid stopping live play while the offensive team has an immediate scoring opportunity), the officials will wait until the next neutral opportunity to stop live play to administer the flopping penalty.&nbsp; After the penalty free throw, the league&rsquo;s resumption of play principles will apply, meaning that the team with actual or imminent possession when play was stopped will be awarded possession when play resumes.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
It is possible that the officials could call both a foul and a flopping violation on the same play.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
A flopping violation will not be directly reviewable by a Coach&rsquo;s Challenge.&nbsp; However, the referees could call a flop via replay review of a called foul triggered by a Coach&rsquo;s Challenge or referee-initiated replay review of certain types of called fouls (such as a potential flagrant foul, block-charge call, end-of-period foul or clear-path foul).&nbsp;&nbsp;
The league office&rsquo;s ability to assess flops after a game will remain in place.&nbsp; New for the 2023-24 season, the postgame monetary penalty system for flops has been modified to replicate that of technical fouls, with fines starting at $2,000 and increasing incrementally for repeat offenders.
A&nbsp;flopping violation called by the officials in real time will not result in a fine or count toward the postgame financial penalty system.&nbsp; When a flop is called by the referees, the lone penalty will be the in-game competitive penalty of the opposing team being awarded one free throw attempt.
The new in-game flopping penalty will be in effect on a one-year trial basis.
Expanded Use of Coach&rsquo;s Challenge
The coach&rsquo;s challenge has been expanded to award teams a second challenge if their first challenge is successful.
A team must continue to use a timeout to trigger a challenge, which means a team will not be able to use its first or second challenge unless it still has a timeout available.&nbsp;
In addition, a team will continue to retain the timeout used to initiate its first challenge if the challenge is successful and did not trigger a mandatory timeout.&nbsp; For game length and game flow reasons, a team will not retain the timeout used to initiate its second challenge even if the challenge is successful.&nbsp;
The NBA&rsquo;s Competition Committee &ndash; which consists of players, representatives from the National Basketball Players Association, coaches, governors, team basketball executives and referees &ndash; unanimously recommended both the in-game flopping penalty and expanded use of the coach&rsquo;s challenge to the Board of Governors.

The NBA Board of Governors approved an in-game flopping penalty and expanded use of the coach’s challenge.

NBA governors approve in-game flopping penalty, expand coach's challenge

MIAMI (AP) &mdash; Down nine early in the third quarter, down 3-0 in the series, the Boston Celtics knew their season was completely on the brink.
Three minutes later, everything looked different.
Jayson Tatum had 34 points and 11 rebounds, Derrick White and Jaylen Brown each added 16 points and the Celtics staved off elimination in the Eastern Conference finals by running away in the second half to beat the Miami Heat 116-99 in Game 4 on Tuesday night.
&ldquo;We were just trying to save our season,&rdquo; Tatum said.
They most definitely found a way to do that. The two big differences: a 33-point edge for the Celtics on 3-pointers, and an 18-0 run in that three-minute, third-quarter spurt that changed the game and &mdash; they hope &mdash; might end up changing the series.
&ldquo;We can&rsquo;t relax,&rdquo; Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. &ldquo;We have to keep the same level of intensity, the same mindset, the same focus in the next game.&rdquo;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Jayson Tatum shines as the <a href="https://twitter.com/celtics?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@celtics</a> win Game 4 on the road! 34 PTS, 11 REB, 7 AST, 2 BLK, 5 3PM ECF Game 5: Thursday, 8:30pm/et on TNT <a href="https://t.co/prAkjK9aoM">pic.twitter.com/prAkjK9aoM</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1661208318902190080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 24, 2023</a></blockquote>

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

Grant Williams scored 14, Al Horford added 12 and Marcus Smart scored 11 for the Celtics, who still trail the series 3-1 &mdash; but sent it back to Boston for a Game 5 on Thursday.
Jimmy Butler scored 29 for Miami, which was outscored 48-22 in a 14-minute stretch that turned the game &mdash; and perhaps the series &mdash; completely around. Boston would also have Game 7 on its floor as well if it can keep extending this series.
&ldquo;Tonight we played with pace, purpose,&rdquo; Tatum said. &ldquo;We were getting stops. We were getting out in transition. You see layups and free throws go in, the jump shots start to feel a lot easier.&rdquo;
Gabe Vincent scored 17 for Miami, Caleb Martin had 16 and Bam Adebayo added 10. The Heat shot 8 for 32 on 3-pointers, while Boston was 19 for 45.
No team in NBA history has ever successfully rallied from a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series; 150 have tried, 150 have failed.
But the Celtics gave themselves hope.
&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t really have a choice,&rdquo; Mazzulla said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s do-or-die. Got to stick together.&rdquo;
The Heat led by as many as nine points in the opening quarter, kept the lead for the majority of the first half and were up by nine again when Max Strus connected on a 3-pointer early in the third quarter.
That was the moment where Boston&rsquo;s season was at stake.
And the Celtics responded &mdash; most emphatically.
The 18-0 run took Boston from down nine to up nine, a huge turnaround that took 3 minutes, 3 seconds. The Celtics were 6 of 7 from the floor during the run, 4 of 4 from 3-point range, Tatum had nine of the 18 points and just like that the defending East champions &mdash; who won three playoff games on Miami&rsquo;s home floor in last year&rsquo;s playoffs &mdash; were rolling again.
&ldquo;We always say the last one to get is the hardest one to get,&rdquo; Adebayo said. &ldquo;I knew they would be desperate.&rdquo;
Miami got within four late in the third, only to see another lightning-fast spurt by the Celtics &mdash; this time, seven unanswered points in 40 seconds. Boston&rsquo;s edge was 88-79 going into the fourth, after winning the third quarter 38-23, with 21 of those points coming on 3-pointers.
The Celtics kept the lead the rest of the way.
&ldquo;They got us tonight,&rdquo; Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. &ldquo;You have to give them credit for that. There&rsquo;s no doubt about it. There&rsquo;s no questioning it. We&rsquo;re not wondering about that. They deserved to win tonight. We have to regroup and get ready for a great opportunity in Boston.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Celtics: Tatum&rsquo;s second 3-pointer of the night was the 220th of his postseason career, passing Paul Pierce for the most in Celtics playoff history. &hellip; Boston&rsquo;s last four-game losing streak was in May 2021, late in the 2020-21 regular season. &hellip; Tatum&rsquo;s jumper with 9:22 left put Boston up seven, stopped a Heat spurt &mdash; and was his first fourth-quarter field goal of the series.
Heat: Vincent left early in the fourth quarter after turning his left ankle. &hellip; Miami was bidding for its first five-game winning streak of the season &mdash; not the postseason, the whole season. Its longest win streak of the regular season was four games, back in December.
HERRO UPDATE
Heat guard Tyler Herro, who broke his right hand in Game 1 of Round 1 at Milwaukee, has his brace off and is resuming workouts. &ldquo;He is starting the process,&rdquo; Spoelstra said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s no timetable. But he does have the brace off and he&rsquo;s able to do ballhandling and some shooting.&rdquo;
CELEB WATCH
Among the celebrities in the crowd: PGA champion Brooks Koepka (who also was at the Florida Panthers&rsquo; win in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference finals series against Carolina on Tuesday night), NBA superfan Jimmy Goldstein, former New York Yankees teammates Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez, and actor Jeremy Piven.

The Celtics staved off elimination in the Eastern Conference finals by running away in the second half to beat the Heat 116-99.

Tatum scores 34, Celtics stave off elimination by topping Heat 116-99

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry has been named the 2022-23 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion, the NBA announced today.
Curry was selected from a group of <a href="https://www.nba.com/news/2023-kareem-abdul-jabbar-finalists-revealed" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nba.com/news/2023-kareem-abdul-jabbar-finalists-revealed&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1684950559417000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0yR7wPqL_AlyY9Kx217W6h">five finalists</a>&nbsp;for his dedication to pursuing social justice and advancing Abdul-Jabbar&rsquo;s life mission to engage, empower and drive equality for individuals and groups who have been historically marginalized or systemically disadvantaged.
Curry prioritizes uplifting communities by fostering equity and creating access to opportunity. As a co-chair of former First Lady Michelle Obama&rsquo;s &ldquo;When We All Vote&rdquo; initiative, Curry uses his platform to drive voter registration, education and turnout, most recently during the 2022 election season. His role encouraged millions of new voters to participate in the political process and make their voices heard through civic engagement. As part of his ongoing voting-related efforts, Curry participated in the National Basketball Social Justice Coalition&rsquo;s &ldquo;Freedom to Vote&rdquo; <a href="https://twitter.com/representus/status/1470182428547244034?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/representus/status/1470182428547244034?s%3D20&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1684950559417000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2xr1diKYJYDyNGBlgPRMQb">social-media campaign</a>&nbsp;to help advocate for the passage of the&nbsp;Freedom to Vote Act in the U.S. Senate. Curry is also committed to raising awareness around issues of community safety, utilizing the Warriors&rsquo; 2023 White House visit to engage directly with President Biden and participate in a White House press briefing with head coach Steve Kerr to publicly address the matter.
Much of Curry&rsquo;s work also focuses on supporting underrepresented groups and reducing barriers to opportunity. In 2022, he graduated from Davidson College and wrote his final thesis on gender equity in sports, an issue that anchors his progressive and innovative ventures across the consumer, entertainment and non-profit spaces. Through UNDERRATED, Curry&rsquo;s lifestyle brand that empowers underrated and underrepresented individuals by opening doors for often-overlooked student-athletes, he creates equity, access and opportunity for basketball and golf athletes around the world to be seen by college recruiters, sports agents and other industry leaders. UNDERRATED has also enabled female athletes to access the same opportunities as their male counterparts, provided scholarships for athletes and offered personal development programming for young people. Among these efforts, Curry committed $6 million in funding to the men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s golf team at Howard University, which hadn&rsquo;t been active for 50 years.
Unanimous Media, Curry&rsquo;s multimedia company rooted in the mission to inspire audiences through authentic storytelling, is dedicated to collaborating with underrepresented filmmakers, creators and writers across the entertainment industry.
Through Eat. Learn. Play., Curry&rsquo;s nonprofit co-founded with his wife Ayesha, Curry works to ensure every child in Oakland has access to nutritious food they need to be healthy and thrive, resources to foster a love for learning and reading, and safe places with equitable opportunities to play. With a mission to address and overcome the systemic socio-economic barriers facing underserved communities, Eat. Learn. Play. and its partners continue making a positive impact in the lives of children and families in need. Over the last year, Eat. Learn. Play. has provided over two million meals and 500,000 books to Oakland students, funded over 1,500 teacher-led classroom literacy projects, remodeled four new playspaces complete with multi-sport courts, playgrounds, gardens and murals, and more.
Curry has selected University of San Francisco Institute for Nonviolence and Social Justice, which investigates, illuminates, and advances the theory and practice of transformational nonviolence to confront and overcome injustice and systemic violence and contribute to the just resolution of communal conflict, to receive a $100,000 contribution from the NBA on his behalf.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m passionate about the work of the University of San Francisco Institute for Nonviolence and Social Justice and its commitment to overcoming injustice and systemic violence through peace,&rdquo; said Curry.&nbsp; &ldquo;As an athlete, I consistently leverage my platform to amplify advocacy and address the pervasive issue of systemic racism. I firmly believe that we must be vocal both on social media and in real life, taking tangible actions to effect real change in our society and for generations to come. Together, with the organization's co-founder and director, Dr. Clarence B. Jones, we have initiated meaningful conversations around social justice with the school's student body, doubled the charity&rsquo;s donations through my foundation Eat. Learn. Play.'s gift matching initiatives, and continued building on its mission in my personal and professional life by holding people accountable and promoting the principles of justice, fairness and equality today, tomorrow and in the future.&rdquo;
The four other finalists &ndash; Memphis Grizzlies forward-center Jaren Jackson Jr., San Antonio Spurs guard Tre Jones, Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul and Boston Celtics forward Grant Williams &ndash; will each receive $25,000 donations from the NBA to the following social justice organizations of their choosing: VisionC (Williams), The Girls Opportunity Alliance/The Obama Foundation (Jackson), Children's Bereavement Center of South Texas (Jones) and the Social Change Fund United (Paul).
The winner of the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion award was determined by a selection committee comprised of Abdul-Jabbar and notable social justice leaders Director of The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport Dr. Richard Lapchick, National Urban League President and CEO Marc Morial, UnidosUS President and CEO Janet Murgu&iacute;a, Rise Founder and CEO Amanda Nguyen and NBA Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer Mark Tatum. This year&rsquo;s youth representative and Jr. NBA Court of Leaders member was Leah Harmon.&nbsp;

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry has been named the 2022-23 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion.

Stephen Curry named Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion

Nobody ever finished an NBA playoff game with at least 30 points, 17 rebounds and 17 assists.
That is, until Nikola Jokic&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nuggets-suns-booker-durant-jokic-0469ef36ee77fe2eddb4dad8bce202b0">did it on Friday.</a>
Nobody ever finished an NBA playoff game with 53 points and 11 assists, either.
That is, until Nikola Jokic&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nuggets-suns-booker-durant-jokic-nba-playoffs-2023-ecf1a5cf8c9b8dc1f4a25bb193c0cdd8">did it on Sunday.</a>
And the Denver Nuggets went 0-2 in those games anyway, those stat lines &mdash; and some incredible numbers from Devin Booker, too &mdash; mostly overshadowed by Jokic getting into a bit of a thorny situation during Game 4&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nuggets-suns-jokic-ishbia-technical-a2c83b6bc613666925579917ddbaecf9">with a fan who just happened to be Mat Ishbia,</a>&nbsp;the new owner of the Phoenix Suns.
The Suns-Nuggets Western Conference semifinal series is tied at 2-2, in large part because Booker cannot miss. He shot 20 for 25 in Game 3, 14 for 18 in Game 4 &mdash; the first player in NBA playoff history to shoot that well in back-to-back games while taking that many shots.
Booker leads the playoffs with a 36.8-point scoring average, and he&rsquo;s on pace to be the first player to shoot 60% from the field, 50% from 3-point range and 85% from the foul line (while taking at least 50 field goal attempts) during a postseason.
WHAT'S NEXT?
<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-playoffs-2023-knicks-heat-lakers-warriors-a07e33365a7f76db8f83687a300223bd">Monday&rsquo;s schedule</a>&nbsp;has Miami at home and seeking a 3-1 lead on New York in their Eastern Conference semifinal series, followed by the Los Angeles Lakers trying to go up 3-1 on defending champion Golden State in their West semifinal matchup.
On Tuesday, it&rsquo;ll be Game 5 of Suns-Nuggets and Philadelphia-Boston &mdash; those series both tied at 2-2.
The every-other-day mode of scheduling continues later in the week, so Wednesday has Game 5&prime;s of Knicks-Heat and Lakers-Warriors, and Thursday will be Game 6 for Suns-Nuggets and 76ers-Celtics.
HOW TO WATCH
&mdash; The Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday doubleheaders are all on TNT.
&mdash; Thursday&rsquo;s doubleheader is on ESPN.
&mdash; Team broadcasters will no longer air games. Everything after the first round is exclusive to national windows and not available for local telecasts.
&mdash; The NBA Finals on ABC begin June 1.
CELTICS-SIXERS CLASSIC
The first one-point game of the East playoffs was Sunday, when Philadelphia blew a 15-point lead late in the third, rallied from five points down late in regulation&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-playoffs-2023-76ers-celtics-harden-embiid-16c5397f9dbc5284ca8c4082ada3a036">and topped Boston 116-115 in overtime</a>&nbsp;&mdash; after James Harden gave the 76ers the lead, and Marcus Smart&rsquo;s gamewinner for the Celtics came just a smidge too late.
It was the seventh one-point playoff game in Celtics vs. Sixers history; Philadelphia has won four of those seven, though one of those victories came in 1954 when the franchise was in Syracuse.
WEMBY WATCH
The NBA draft lottery is May 16, when everyone will learn which team gets the chance to draft Victor Wembanyama next month.
<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/wemby-victor-wembanyama-nba-draft-f5be654cce544c675559bad526220a9e">The French teen played in front of a crowd of 15,000</a>&nbsp;on Sunday, leading his Metropolitans 92 team to a win with 25 points, 10 rebounds and four assists.
AWARD WINNERS
The All-Rookie Team gets announced Monday afternoon and the All-Defensive Team gets announced Tuesday afternoon.
TNT will unveil the All-NBA Team on Wednesday night, and on Thursday at noon, the Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year will be revealed.
<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-mvp-joel-embiid-philadelphia-76ers-f7a108fd3c0ce1b42c1433c0beda275d">Philadelphia&rsquo;s Joel Embiid was announced as this season&rsquo;s MVP,</a>&nbsp;and here&rsquo;s a list of the other major award-winners this season:
&mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/jackson-grizzlies-dpoy-nba-defensive-player-award-25780ba4e0e48bdc7bd9ba2707cbaf97">Memphis&rsquo; Jaren Jackson Jr. won Defensive Player of the Year</a>.
&mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-clutch-player-award-fox-kings-f6179cafd2b2e9cc86c55ce2d46d1a66">De&rsquo;Aaron Fox of Sacramento won the inaugural Clutch Player award.</a>
&mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-coach-of-year-mike-brown-0ecdc80451e22c30c79b0a62da792102">Sacramento&rsquo;s Mike Brown became the first unanimous Coach of the Year.</a>
&mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-sixth-man-brogdon-award-41654d7e908f97fc02f77c26fb98d707">Boston&rsquo;s Malcolm Brogdon won Sixth Man of the Year</a>.
&mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/markkanen-nba-most-improved-finland-90c259f343b96e6060907bde3ceedc73">Utah&rsquo;s Lauri Markkanen was the easy winner of Most Improved Player</a>.
&mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/paolo-banchero-nba-rookie-of-year-magic-ed7ff145eeb54ac0838c18c16a5b7f62">Orlando&rsquo;s Paolo Banchero was a near-unanimous Rookie of the Year.</a>
QUOTABLE
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t usually get open shots, so this is a new thing with having KD&rsquo;s gravity on the floor.&rdquo; &mdash; Phoenix&rsquo;s Devin Booker, on how he&rsquo;s benefitting from having Kevin Durant with him on the Suns.

Devin Booker and Nikola Jokic are posting some jaw-dropping stats during the 2023 NBA Playoffs.

NBA Playoffs: Jokic, Booker posting stats never seen before

Sacramento Kings general manager Monte McNair has been named the NBA's 2022-23 Executive of the Year, the league announced today.
In just his third season as an NBA general manager, McNair assembled a team that went 48-34 &ndash; securing the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference and ending the Kings' 16-year playoff drought.
McNair hired Kings head coach Mike Brown, who was the unanimous winner of the NBA's 2022-23 Coach of the Year award. He built the team around the star tandem of De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, and his key offseason additions included Kevin Huerter, Malik Monk and No. 4 overall pick Keegan Murray.
McNair received 16 first-place votes and 98 total voting points. Cleveland Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman was the runner-up, receiving seven first-place votes and 63 total voting points.
Utah Jazz GM Justin Zanik (20 total points), Denver Nuggets GM Calvin Booth (20 total points) and Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens (13 total points) rounded out the top-five.
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/exec1.png" alt="" width="748" height="316" />
Other executives who received at least one vote were Jon Horst (Milwaukee Bucks), James Jones (Phoenix Suns), Leon Rose (New York Knicks), Zach Kleiman (Memphis Grizzlies), Sean Marks (Brooklyn Nets), Rob Pelinka (Los Angeles Lakers), Sam Presti (Oklahoma City Thunder), Daryl Morey (Philadelphia 76ers), David Griffin (New Orleans Pelicans) and Tim Connelly (Minnesota Timberwolves).
Unlike the other end-of-season awards that are voted on by media members, the voting panel for the Executive of the Year award consisted of front-office executives across the NBA. The balloting was tabulated by the independent accounting firm Ernst and Young LLP.

Sacramento Kings general manager Monte McNair has been named the NBA's 2022-23 Executive of the Year.

Sacramento's Monte McNair named NBA's 2022-23 Executive of the Year

Steph vs. LeBron. Celtics vs. 76ers. Knicks vs. Heat. Jokic vs. Durant.
Big names. Big rivalries. The NBA has gotten a starry second-round slate, with Stephen Curry and Golden State set to meet LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, along with Philadelphia taking on Boston in the renewal of a rivalry between two of the best sports cities in the country.
Already underway in Round 2:&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/heat-knicks-butler-nba-playoffs-2023-f4474b8a32678b93fef1c3c90da8d449">Miami vs. New York</a>, another matchup with tons of past playoff history, and a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/suns-nuggets-nba-playoffs-2023-07b32d1e33baff9f3076601a5eafb935">Denver-Phoenix series</a>&nbsp;pitting two-time reigning MVP Nikola Jokic of the Nuggets against past MVP Kevin Durant of the Suns.
There are four of the nation&rsquo;s top six television markets &mdash; No. 1 New York, No. 2 Los Angeles, No. 4 Philadelphia and No. 6 San Francisco &mdash; still in the playoffs. Boston is No. 10, Phoenix No. 11, Denver No. 16 and Miami No. 18.
Most of the biggest jersey-sellers in the league are still in the race for a title. James&rsquo; jerseys sell the most, based on rankings at NBAStore.com, followed by Curry at No. 2 and Boston&rsquo;s Jayson Tatum at No. 3. Durant has the sixth most-popular jersey right now, Phoenix&rsquo;s Devin Booker is No. 7, and Jokic, Philadelphia&rsquo;s Joel Embiid, Boston&rsquo;s Jaylen Brown and Golden State&rsquo;s Jordan Poole are in the top 15 as well.
And one last bit of proof of the star power these teams have &mdash; the top four teams in the NBA&rsquo;s most recent merchandise-sale rankings right now are the Lakers, Warriors, Celtics and Suns.
WHAT'S NEXT?
<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/suns-nuggets-76ers-celtics-nba-playoffs-5ab4eb734a5c63270fd90b6472c78485">Monday&rsquo;s schedule</a>&nbsp;has Denver trying to protect home-court and seeking a 2-0 lead over Phoenix in their Western Conference semifinal series. In the Eastern Conference, a semifinal matchup between No. 2 Boston and No. 3 Philadelphia &mdash; the two highest seeds left on that half of the bracket &mdash; gets underway.
On Tuesday, it&rsquo;s Game 2 of Miami-New York, and Game 1 of the Warriors-Lakers matchup.
HOW TO WATCH?
&mdash; The 76ers-Celtics and Suns-Nuggets games on Monday are on TNT, as are Tuesday&rsquo;s Heat-Knicks and Lakers-Warriors matchups. The Tuesday doubleheader will be preceded by the announcement of this season&rsquo;s MVP at 7 p.m. Eastern, also on TNT.
&mdash; Wednesday&rsquo;s 76ers-Celtics game is on TNT.
&mdash; Thursday&rsquo;s Lakers-Warriors game is on ESPN.
&mdash; Team broadcasters will no longer air games. Everything after the first round is exclusive to national windows and not available for local telecasts.
&mdash; The NBA Finals on ABC begin June 1.
ONE OF EACH
<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/NBAPR/status/1652800316478201857?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">As the NBA pointed out,</a>&nbsp;there is one of each seed &mdash; a No. 1 (Denver), No. 2 (Boston), No. 3 (Philadelphia), No. 4 (Phoenix), No. 5 (New York), No. 6 (Golden State), No. 7 (the Lakers) and No. 8 (Miami) seed left in the playoffs.
That&rsquo;s never happened in this 16-team format that dates back to 1984.
Looking ahead to the NBA Finals, Boston or Philadelphia would have home-court advantage over anyone else. Denver would have it over New York or Miami. New York would have it over Phoenix, Golden State and the Lakers. Phoenix would have it over Miami. And the Heat &mdash; unbelievably, as an 8 seed &mdash; would have it over the Warriors or Lakers.
Miami and Golden State both won 44 games and split their head-to-head. But the Heat had a better record over the opposing conference, so they would win that tiebreaker.
AWARD WINNERS
The NBA is ready to hand out the MVP trophy. Philadelphia&rsquo;s Joel Embiid, Milwaukee&rsquo;s Giannis Antetokounmpo or Denver&rsquo;s two-time reigning MVP Nikola Jokic will be announced on Tuesday as the winner of the league&rsquo;s top individual award.
A recap of this season&rsquo;s awards revealed thus far:
&mdash; April 17:&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/jackson-grizzlies-dpoy-nba-defensive-player-award-25780ba4e0e48bdc7bd9ba2707cbaf97">Memphis&rsquo; Jaren Jackson Jr. won Defensive Player of the Year</a>.
&mdash; April 18:&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-clutch-player-award-fox-kings-f6179cafd2b2e9cc86c55ce2d46d1a66">De&rsquo;Aaron Fox of Sacramento won the inaugural Clutch Player award.</a>
&mdash; April 19:&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-coach-of-year-mike-brown-0ecdc80451e22c30c79b0a62da792102">Sacramento&rsquo;s Mike Brown became the first unanimous Coach of the Year.</a>
&mdash; April 20:&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-sixth-man-brogdon-award-41654d7e908f97fc02f77c26fb98d707">Boston&rsquo;s Malcolm Brogdon won Sixth Man of the Year</a>.
&mdash; April 24:&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/markkanen-nba-most-improved-finland-90c259f343b96e6060907bde3ceedc73">Utah&rsquo;s Lauri Markkanen was the easy winner of Most Improved Player</a>.
&mdash; April 25:&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/paolo-banchero-nba-rookie-of-year-magic-ed7ff145eeb54ac0838c18c16a5b7f62">Orlando&rsquo;s Paolo Banchero was a near-unanimous Rookie of the Year.</a>
QUOTABLE
&ldquo;Hopefully, we never find out.&rdquo; &mdash; Golden State&rsquo;s Stephen Curry, when asked what can stop him, in a postgame news conference following his Game 7-record 50-point effort at Sacramento on Sunday.

Steph vs. LeBron. Celtics vs. 76ers. Knicks vs. Heat. Jokic vs. Durant. Who's ready for the second round of the NBA playoffs?

NBA Playoffs: Breaking down a star-studded Round 2

Philadelphia is waiting, and in&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/76ers-embiid-nba-playoffs-2023-ff8a8b733b9de46806eb76a54702fb9a">Joel Embiid&rsquo;s case, ailing.</a>
The lone team with a ticket to the second round of the NBA playoffs will get some company over the next few days, possibly as early as Tuesday.
The 76ers finished off a sweep of the Brooklyn Nets over the weekend, despite being without their MVP candidate center. Embiid isn&rsquo;t the only big name dealing with injury &mdash; all eyes will be on Miami on Monday and whether&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/giannis-antetokounmpo-bucks-injury-playoffs-a869333a0ba7db14aec1f5cb0ba552ff">Milwaukee&rsquo;s Giannis Antetokounmpo</a>&nbsp;can play through his bruised lower back.
A good sign for the Bucks: Antetokounmpo was participating on-court with his teammates for a shootaround practice Monday morning, a clear indicator that he&rsquo;s trying to play.
WHAT'S NEXT?
<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/lebron-heat-bucks-giannis-nba-playoffs-588f3b85a18eead750a5e04a4c9b9903">There are a pair of Game 4&prime;s on Monday,</a>&nbsp;with two lower-seeded teams holding an opportunity to take 3-1 series leads. Eighth-seeded Miami plays host to top-seeded Milwaukee in an East matchup, while the seventh-seeded Los Angeles Lakers then face second-seeded Memphis in a West contest.
Road teams hold the leads going into Monday, and then Tuesday, it&rsquo;ll be three home teams that have a chance to join Philadelphia in the second round.
Boston hosts Atlanta, Denver hosts Minnesota and Phoenix hosts the Los Angeles Clippers. The Celtics, Nuggets and Suns all hold 3-1 leads.
At least one other possible clincher comes Wednesday when New York takes its 3-1 lead to Cleveland. There are also Game 5&rsquo;s that night in the Grizzlies-Lakers, Heat-Bucks and Golden State-Sacramento series.
HOW TO WATCH?
&mdash; Monday&rsquo;s Milwaukee-Miami and Memphis-Lakers games are on TNT
&mdash; Tuesday&rsquo;s Atlanta-Boston and Clippers-Phoenix games are on TNT, and the Minnesota-Denver game is on NBA TV.
&mdash; Wednesday&rsquo;s Lakers-Memphis and Golden State-Sacramento games are on TNT. The New York-Cleveland and Miami-Milwaukee games are on NBA TV.
&mdash; All those games will also be available through a team&rsquo;s usual local broadcaster.
&mdash; The NBA Finals will be broadcast on ABC beginning June 1.
WHO WINS THE AWARDS?
We started finding out those answers last week when the league office began announcing award winners. More awards are coming this week, with Most Improved Player (finalists are Utah&rsquo;s Lauri Markkanen, Oklahoma City&rsquo;s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and New York&rsquo;s Jalen Brunson) coming Monday and Rookie of the Year (finalists are Orlando&rsquo;s Paolo Banchero, Utah&rsquo;s Walker Kessler and Oklahoma City&rsquo;s Jalen Williams) coming Tuesday.
The NBA has not said when the MVP award &mdash; finalists are Philadelphia&rsquo;s Joel Embiid, Denver&rsquo;s Nikola Jokic and Milwaukee&rsquo;s Giannis Antetokounmpo &mdash; will be announced.
The other winners so far this year:
&mdash; April 17:&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/jackson-grizzlies-dpoy-nba-defensive-player-award-25780ba4e0e48bdc7bd9ba2707cbaf97">Memphis&rsquo; Jaren Jackson Jr. won defensive player of the year,</a>&nbsp;with Milwaukee&rsquo;s Brook Lopez finishing second and Cleveland&rsquo;s Evan Mobley placing third.
&mdash; April 18:&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-clutch-player-award-fox-kings-f6179cafd2b2e9cc86c55ce2d46d1a66">De&rsquo;Aaron Fox of Sacramento was revealed</a>&nbsp;as the inaugural winner of the new Clutch Player award. Miami&rsquo;s Jimmy Butler was second and Chicago&rsquo;s DeMar DeRozan was third.
&mdash; April 19:&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-coach-of-year-mike-brown-0ecdc80451e22c30c79b0a62da792102">Sacramento&rsquo;s Mike Brown got all the first-place votes,</a>&nbsp;making him the first unanimous Coach of the Year. Oklahoma City&rsquo;s Mark Daigneault was second and Boston&rsquo;s Joe Mazzulla was third.
&mdash; April 20:&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-sixth-man-brogdon-award-41654d7e908f97fc02f77c26fb98d707">Boston&rsquo;s Malcolm Brogdon won Sixth Man of the Year,</a>&nbsp;a race where Milwaukee&rsquo;s Bobby Portis Jr. and New York&rsquo;s Immanuel Quickley were the other finalists.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
There have been only two playoff games decided by exactly one point in the last 365 days &mdash; and Golden State has won them both.
The Warriors beat Sacramento 126-125 on Sunday, the league&rsquo;s first one-point playoff game since the Warriors won at Memphis 117-116 on May 1, 2022.
QUOTABLE
&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t think we were going to go undefeated the whole postseason, so I&rsquo;ll be curious to see how we react going home for Game 5.&rdquo; &mdash; Denver coach Michael Malone, after his team lost in overtime at Minnesota on Sunday and missed out on a chance for a four-game sweep.

The 76ers punched their ticket to the second round of the NBA playoffs and they will get some company over the next few days.

NBA Playoffs: 76ers waiting for more teams to make 2nd round

BOSTON (AP) &mdash; The Boston Celtics asked Malcolm Brogdon to learn a new role. He mastered it quickly.
Brogdon was honored Thursday night as the NBA&rsquo;s sixth man of the year, after a season in which he came off the bench exclusively and helped the Celtics finish with the second-best record in the NBA.
It&rsquo;s the second major individual award of Brogdon&rsquo;s career: The 30-year-old guard was rookie of the year in 2016-17.
&ldquo;This is such an honor. It has definitely been a transition for me, coming from Indiana to Boston,&rdquo; said Brogdon, who had started every game the past four years in the NBA before embracing his role to come off the bench when he was acquired by the Celtics. &ldquo;My last two seasons, they weren&rsquo;t super successful, so for me that was another gut check for me in understanding that maybe I&rsquo;m not a No. 1 guy but I can be a great No. 2, 3 or 4.&rdquo;
Brogdon beat out fellow finalists Immanuel Quickley of New York and Bobby Portis of Milwaukee, receiving 60 of 100 first-place votes and 408 points overall from a media panel. Quickley was second at 326, getting 34 first-place votes. Portis had six first-place votes and 97 points.
Brogdon averaged 14.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists; among those who played primarily off the bench this season, only the Los Angeles Clippers&rsquo; Russell Westbrook finished with better averages in those three categories.
The Celtics sent a significant package &mdash; five players and a first-round draft pick &mdash; to Indiana last summer for Brogdon, with this specific off-the-bench role in mind even though he had started in each of his last 210 regular-season appearances. He played in 67 games for the Celtics, all off the bench.
And he was still third on Boston in points per game, behind only All-NBA candidates Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. When Brogdon made at least 50% of his shots from the field, the Celtics were 26-9 &mdash; and 13-0 when he shot at least 63%.
&ldquo;Coming to Boston and playing behind JT, behind JB, these guys are proven All-Stars and soon to be All-NBA guys,&rdquo; Brogdan said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s definitely a good fit for me.&rdquo;
Sixth man was the fourth individual honor announced by the league so far this season, following the reveals of&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/jackson-grizzlies-dpoy-nba-defensive-player-award-25780ba4e0e48bdc7bd9ba2707cbaf97">Memphis&rsquo; Jaren Jackson Jr.</a>&nbsp;as defensive player of the year,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-clutch-player-award-fox-kings-f6179cafd2b2e9cc86c55ce2d46d1a66">Sacramento&rsquo;s De&rsquo;Aaron Fox</a>&nbsp;as the inaugural winner of the clutch player award, and&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-coach-of-year-mike-brown-0ecdc80451e22c30c79b0a62da792102">Kings coach Mike Brown</a>&nbsp;as a unanimous pick for coach of the year.
Still unannounced by the league:
&mdash; Most Valuable Player. Two-time reigning MVP Nikola Jokic of Denver is a finalist again, along with Milwaukee&rsquo;s Giannis Antetokounmpo and Philadelphia&rsquo;s Joel Embiid.
&mdash; Most Improved Player. New York&rsquo;s Jalen Brunson, Oklahoma City&rsquo;s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Utah&rsquo;s Lauri Markkanen are the finalists.
&mdash; Rookie of the year. Orlando&rsquo;s Paolo Banchero, Utah&rsquo;s Walker Kessler and Oklahoma City&rsquo;s Jalen Williams are the finalists.
&mdash; The All-NBA, All-Rookie and All-Defensive teams.

Brogdon was honored Thursday night as the NBA’s sixth man of the year..

Celtics’ Malcolm Brogdon wins NBA’s Sixth Man of Year award

When he was introduced last June as coach of the Sacramento Kings, Mike Brown didn&rsquo;t make any grand proclamations or wild predictions.
He talked about work. He talked about culture. He talked about winning.
&ldquo;One of the main reasons I was brought here,&rdquo; Brown said that day, &ldquo;was to bring some leadership.&rdquo;
Ask around, and no coach did a better job leading this season than Brown. He was announced Wednesday as the unanimous winner of the NBA&rsquo;s Coach of the Year award, an easy call after his first season in Sacramento saw the Kings make the playoffs for the first time since 2006. All 100 voters from a panel of reporters and broadcasters had Brown atop their ballot.
&ldquo;These honors don&rsquo;t come around often so you&rsquo;re very appreciative of them,&rdquo; Brown said on the TNT broadcast of the announcement. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m really appreciative of being in Sacramento. The fans, the city has been fantastic.&rdquo;
Brown won the award for the second time, adding this trophy to the one he got after he and LeBron James led Cleveland to a 66-16 record in the 2008-09 season. The other finalists this season were Oklahoma City&rsquo;s Mark Daigneault and Boston&rsquo;s Joe Mazzulla.
Daigneault was second, Mazzulla third, and 14 coaches got at least one vote on the ballots where the selection panel was asked to pick their first-, second- and third-place choices.
The Kings were 48-34, the seventh-best record in the league and the first time they were a top-seven team since 2003-04. They led the league in points per game, had the best road record in the Western Conference, snapped a run of 16 consecutive losing seasons and won a division title for the first time since 2003.
&ldquo;Accountability has been big since Day 1,&rdquo; Kings guard De&rsquo;Aaron Fox said. &ldquo;When he was hired, I told him that&rsquo;s the most important thing, I felt like, to me was just being able to hold everybody accountable. &hellip; That&rsquo;s definitely the biggest thing.&rdquo;
Brown&rsquo;s victory was the third major event for the Kings in three days. On Monday, they beat Golden State for a 2-0 series lead in their Western Conference first-round matchup. On Tuesday, Fox was announced as the inaugural winner of the NBA&rsquo;s clutch player of the year award. Wednesday brought the coaching award &mdash; and Thursday will see Sacramento trying to take a 3-0 lead over the defending champion Warriors.
Brown was there last year with Golden State as an assistant coach, winning his fourth NBA title, all as an assistant &mdash; the first under Gregg Popovich in San Antonio, the other three under Steve Kerr with the Warriors.
&ldquo;Everybody in our building just feels so happy for Mike and strongly about what he did for us while he for us while he was here, how much he contributed to our championships here and our culture,&rdquo; Kerr said before the Kings-Warriors series started. &ldquo;We miss him, but we&rsquo;re thrilled that he had this amazing season.&rdquo;
Brown becomes the 11th person to win the NBA&rsquo;s coach award more than once, joining three-time recipients Pat Riley, Popovich and Don Nelson, along with fellow two-time winners Gene Shue, Bill Fitch, Hubie Brown, Cotton Fitzsimmons, Mike D&rsquo;Antoni, Tom Thibodeau and Mike Budenholzer.
Until now, Toronto&rsquo;s Nick Nurse was the record-holder for the most votes in a Coach of the Year race, getting 90 first-place picks in 2020. And Brown topped two highly deserving finalists on his way to the unanimous win.
Daigneault got Oklahoma City into the play-in tournament and a game from the No. 8 seed in a season where the Thunder were widely expected to struggle &mdash; especially after Chet Holmgren, the No. 2 pick in last year&rsquo;s draft, suffered a foot injury over the summer and would miss the entire season.
Mazzulla wasn&rsquo;t even supposed to be a head coach this year, then was forced to take over just before training camp when Boston suspended Ime Udoka following the disclosure of an inappropriate relationship with a female team employee. But Mazzulla, only 34, led Boston to the second-best record in the NBA and did so well that the Celtics removed the interim title and installed him as the full-fledged coach in February.

After helping the Kings make the playoffs for the first time since 2006, Mike Brown won the NBA's Coach of the Year award.

Sacramento’s Mike Brown named unanimous Coach of the Year

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) &mdash; Immanuel Quickley scored 39 points, one shy of his career high, and Quentin Grimes had a career-high 36 in the New York Knicks&rsquo; 138-129 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night.
Obi Toppin added 32 points and the Knicks shot 52%. Mitchell Robinson finished with 14 points and 16 rebounds.
It was Robinson&rsquo;s game that most impressed Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau.
&ldquo;Mitch had a monster game,&rdquo; Thibodeau said. &ldquo;The rebounding with Mitchell was unbelievable.&rdquo;
Thibodeau said this was likely Grimes&rsquo; best game of the season.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s shooting the ball with a lot of confidence,&rdquo; Thibodeau said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s flying around the the floor, guarding people.. His confidence is growing game by game. They are rhythm shots and that&rsquo;s what I like about the way we are playing right now. We are creating rhythm for each other. When you play like that good things will come from that.&rdquo;
Jalen Smith scored 19 points for Indiana, T.J. McConnell had 18 and Bennedict Mathurin 17. McConnell had 12 assists.
The Knicks had a 52-37 rebounding edge.
The game went back and forth for much of the fourth quarter. With it tied at 120, Toppin started a 7-0 run with two dunks and Grimes added a 3-pointer.
&ldquo;Obi ran the floor well and got us some easy buckets,&rdquo; Thibodeau said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s hard to match up with what he can do. He continued to play to his strengths and his teammates&rsquo; strengths.&rdquo;
With New York leading 97-91 in the third quarter, the Knicks used a 8-0 run, helped by a flagrant foul call, to take a 105-91 lead. The Pacers ended the third quarter with a 7-0 spurt.
The Knicks shot nearly 52% to take a 70-67 lead at halftime. Toppin scored 19 of his points in the first half. Indiana shot 50% in the first half.
After the Pacers took a 7-4 lead, the Knicks reeled off 17 unanswered point to grab control. The Pacers tied it twice late in the second quarter.
&ldquo;We were down 14 points after five minutes,&rdquo; Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. &ldquo;The second unit did a good job getting us back into the game. This is a great experience for the young guys that started. We got to learn from it as a group.&rdquo;
McConnnell&rsquo;s play coming off the bench helped the Pacers to get back in the game. &ldquo;I run out of adjectives to describe his competitive excellence,&rdquo; Carlisle said.
The Pacers and Knicks close the regular season in New York on Sunday. The Knicks have won the first three meetings between the two teams.
&ldquo;We have to look to New Orleans now,&rdquo; Thibodeau said of Friday night game. &ldquo;We want to play our best going into the postseason.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Knicks: With the No. 5 seed playoff spot clinched, Jalen Brunson sat out to rest his right hand. RJ Barrett missed his second consecutive game with an illness. &hellip; Julian Randle, who leads the Knicks with 25.1 points per game, continued to sit out with a left ankle sprain injury. Randle injured his angle March 29 and it&rsquo;s uncertain whether he will be ready to play when playoff series with No. 4 seed Cleveland begins.
Pacers: With the Pacers&rsquo; slim playoff hopes ending Sunday, Indiana leaned heavily on its younger players and reserves. Tyrese Haliburton missed his fifth consecutive game with an ankle injury. Myles Turner missed his sixth game in a row with left ankle and lower backs soreness. &hellip; Gabe York made his first appearance of the season for the Pacers. York, who signed a two-way contract last week was called up from the Fort Wayne Ants. York scored nine points.
UP NEXT
Knicks: At New Orleans on Friday night.
Pacers: Hosts Detroit on Friday night.

Immanuel Quickley scored 39 points, one shy of his career high, and Quentin Grimes had a career-high 36, while Obi Toppin added 32.

Quickley, Grimes lead Knicks past Pacers, 138-129

HOUSTON (AP) &mdash; The transfer portal. Name, image and likeness deals. Sixth-year seniors. Conference realignment. The ever-shifting prospects of the one-and-done rule.
The once semipredictable ground that underpinned college basketball has been changing at lightning speed over the past 24 months, leaving coaches and their bosses scrambling to adjust to whatever comes next.
The NCAA Tournament closes out Monday when UConn plays San Diego State, and will go down as one of the most unpredictable ever. Unanswered is the question of whether the shifting landscape in college sports was the reason for all bracket madness or simply background noise for an event that is always hard to handicap.
Either way, things are changing and coaches are trying to adjust on the fly.
&ldquo;These might be some of the greatest challenges we&rsquo;re facing with the portal and NIL and just lack of direction and rules and regulations,&rdquo; said Mark Few of Gonzaga, a perennial powerhouse that has reached the Sweet 16 in eight straight seasons.
The four teams that made it to Houston &mdash; Florida Atlantic and Miami saw their seasons end Saturday &mdash; got here in part because they adapted quickly. All four added players from the transfer portal, some of whom were given an extra year of eligibility due to the pandemic, and some of whom were lured by the promise of sponsorship money under the loosely regulated NIL system.&nbsp;
Very few coaches want to go on record saying that allowing players to earn money through NIL or to freely move around in a billion-dollar business that imposes no such restrictions on the coaches themselves is a bad thing.
Few also want to touch on the bottom line of conference realignment, which is placing familiar schools in strange places &mdash; Texas in the Southeastern Conference and UCLA and USC in the Big Ten &mdash; in the service of generating more revenue.
And none want to be painted as dinosaurs who don&rsquo;t believe players should share in the game&rsquo;s considerable financial windfall.
Some, however, concede they are uneasy about the implications of all this.
&ldquo;I wish someone would understand the effect of the system,&rdquo; Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said. &ldquo;The story is the number of kids who have been adversely affected by the climate as it is today.&rdquo;
Hamilton is not the only coach concerned by a recent NCAA study that showed 43% of Division I athletes who enter the transfer portal &mdash; taking advantage of their newfound ability to switch schools without having to sit out a year &mdash; end up without a place to play.
&ldquo;Is it great that 43% of young people decided to remove themselves from an experience of a lifetime?&rdquo; said UMass coach Frank Martin. &ldquo;People talk about a lot of the great things happening for young students now, but nobody really talks about that.&rdquo;
Now, the one-and-done rule, which used to be considered one of the biggest destabilizers in college sports, is barely a blip on the radar. For most of the past year, the NBA had made it a priority to eliminate the 17-year-old rule from the upcoming collective bargaining agreement. But that got scuttled at the last minute, and the rule will remain.
&ldquo;However it all shakes out, what I want is whatever is best for the kids,&rdquo; said Kentucky coach John Calipari, who for years has embraced the one-and-done system.
Calipari said he&rsquo;s more concerned about &ldquo;27-year-olds playing against 19-year-olds.&rdquo;
&ldquo;I think that&rsquo;s an issue that we&rsquo;re going to have to deal with that we&rsquo;re totally avoiding,&rdquo; he said.
The extra year of eligibility granted because of COVID-19, combined with redshirt years being handed out for varying reasons, has, indeed, extended some players&rsquo; careers into their mid-20s.
Exhibit A: Since the NBA trade deadline last month, the Houston Cougars, who came into the tournament as a No. 1 seed and were ousted in the Sweet 16, had a starting five that was older than the starters for NBA&rsquo;s rebuilding Houston Rockets.
Exhibit B: Including 25-year-old guard Adam Seiko, San Diego State has four key contributors who are in their fifth or sixth year of college.
The NCAA is taking somewhat of a passive approach to all of the issues. It has largely refused to get into the regulation of NIL deals, instead leaving it to state governments to decide. Last week, Congress held the latest in a series of hearings that resolved nothing, even as the NCAA asks for a national standard.
&ldquo;I think one athletic director said that the only truth about NIL is that everybody lies,&rdquo; the NCAA&rsquo;s new president, Charlie Baker, said in a brief interview at the Final Four.
Baker would like to see the creation of a registry of contracts, financial literacy programs for families, a certification process for agents and a uniform standard contract for NIL deals.
For now, though, NIL and the portal have produced a free-for-all.
It played out at FAU, where coach Dusty May said some of his players were being approached while the team was in the middle of its run.
In another instance, after a run to the Sweet 16 last season, Maryland&rsquo;s women lost five players, including two who made it to the Final Four with their new teams this year. (The Terps still made the Elite Eight this year.)
Before the tournament started, Belmont women&rsquo;s coach Jamey Givens, whose Bruins missed the tournament after upsetting Oregon in the first round, last year put a fine point on it, tweeting good luck to all the teams in the tournament &mdash; &ldquo;except for those who have been actively recruiting off our roster all spring.&rdquo;
Martin, a former high school math teacher who got fired at South Carolina five seasons after reaching the Final Four, has long leaned into the importance of athletes getting an education. He is also a realist and an optimist, trying to thread the needle in a rapidly changing landscape.
&ldquo;For the most part, we tend to be fairly intelligent people who adapt,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;and we&rsquo;ll figure it out, and we&rsquo;ll adapt, and we&rsquo;ll grow.&rdquo;

The once semipredictable ground that underpinned college basketball has been changing at lightning speed the last two years.

As Final Four closes, basketball on unpredictable ground

Zach Edey spent the days following Purdue&rsquo;s historic NCAA Tournament&nbsp;loss lying low, his phone turned off, along with the rest of the outside world.
The disappointing finish did little to diminish the season the Boilermakers big man had.
Dominating at both ends of the floor during the regular season, Edey was a near-unanimous choice as The Associated Press men&rsquo;s college basketball player of the year. Edey received all but one vote from&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ap-college-basketball-player-of-year-b2820fee259952b664327b49a112f193" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a 58-person media panel</a>, with Indiana&rsquo;s Trayce Jackson-Davis getting the other.
&ldquo;The season ended in disappointment, which really sucks, but it&rsquo;s always nice to win individual accolades,&rdquo; Edey said. &ldquo;It kind of validates your work a little bit. The last three years I&rsquo;ve played here, I&rsquo;ve seen my game grow every year. AP player of the year is a great feeling, it just kind of stinks the way the season ended.&rdquo;
That ending came in the NCAA Tournament&rsquo;s first round, when Purdue lost to Fairleigh Dickinson, joining Virginia in 2018 as the only No. 1 seeds to lose to a No. 16.
Before that, Edey dominated.
The 7-foot-4 Canadian was named&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/all-america-mens-basketball-team-aa5e6381567b1d4732a0f0e17e60036b" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a unanimous AP All-American</a>&nbsp;and the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/all-big-ten-team-edey-collins-painter-67d40b744325f41456e1e33de758ebcf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Big Ten player of the year</a>&nbsp;after finishing sixth nationally in scoring (22.3), second in rebounding (12.8) and first in double-doubles (26).
Edey also shot 62% from the floor and averaged 2.1 blocked shots per game while leading Purdue to its first outright Big Ten regular-season title since 2017. He is the first player since Navy&rsquo;s David Robinson in 1985-86 to have at least 750 points, 450 rebounds and 50 blocked shots in a season.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s kind of a one of a kind,&rdquo; Purdue guard David Jenkins Jr. said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never played with someone like him, probably never will again.&rdquo;
And to think, Edey didn&rsquo;t want to play basketball when he was younger.
A hockey and baseball player growing up in Toronto, Edey resisted basketball at first. He was 6-2 by the sixth grade and the natural inclination by the adults was to push him toward basketball, where his size would be a massive advantage.
&ldquo;It was something I kind avoided all my life.,&rdquo; Edey said. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t like people telling me what I should be doing with my life and it felt like that&rsquo;s what people were doing with basketball. When I started playing competitively, that&rsquo;s when I really fell in love with the sport.&rdquo;
Edey developed his game quickly. He played at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, and proved himself against some of the nation&rsquo;s best high school players, drawing attention from college coaches. He ended up at Purdue, where coach Matt Painter had a proven track record of developing big men.
Edey had a limited role as a freshman, then averaged 14.4 points and 7.7 rebounds last season on a team that had talented big man Trevion Williams and future NBA lottery pick Jaden Ivey.
Already a tireless worker, Edey put in even more time during the offseason, spending extra time after practice and taking better care of his body. His already solid footwork got better, he added quickness and developed more patience with the constant double teams he faced &mdash; not to mention the barrage of physical play teams tried to employ against him.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s not really any kind of cool, sexy answer,&rdquo; Edey said. &ldquo;I came in every day, I worked hard, I stayed after practice &mdash; stayed a long time after practice. I took care of my body and was able to steadily improve. There was nothing revolutionary I did. I just worked hard.&rdquo;
It certainly paid off, even if the season ended with a huge disappointment.

Dominating both ends of the floor, Zach Edey was a near-unanimous choice as the AP men’s college basketball player of the year.

Purdue’s Zach Edey named AP men’s player of the year

SEATTLE (AP) &mdash; Caitlin Clark put on a show with 41 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds to help No. 2 seed Iowa beat fifth-seeded Louisville 97-83 on Sunday and send the Hawkeyes to their first women&rsquo;s Final Four in 30 years.
The unanimous first-team All-American was as dominant as she&rsquo;s been all season in getting the Hawkeyes to Dallas for the women&rsquo;s NCAA Tournament national semifinals on Friday night. The Seattle 4 Region champion will face the winner of the Greenville 1 region that has South Carolina playing Maryland on Monday night.
&ldquo;I thought our team played really well. That&rsquo;s what it&rsquo;s all about. I was going to give it every single thing I had,&rdquo; said Clark, who was the region&rsquo;s most outstanding player. &ldquo;When I came here I said I wanted to take this program to the Final Four, and all you&rsquo;ve got to do is dream. And all you&rsquo;ve got to do is believe and work your butt off to get there. That&rsquo;s what I did, and that&rsquo;s what our girls did and that&rsquo;s what our coaches did and we&rsquo;re going to Dallas, baby.&rdquo;
Iowa (30-6) hadn&rsquo;t been to the Final Four since Hall of Fame coach C. Vivian Stringer led the team to its lone appearance in 1993. Before Sunday, the team had only been to one other Elite Eight &mdash; in 2019 &mdash; since the Final Four team.
Clark had the 11th triple-double of her career and the 19th in NCAA Tournament history. She had the first 30- and 40-point triple-double in March Madness history.
&ldquo;We might not be the most athletic, we might not be the fastest, we might not be the best defenders, but we play for one another. That&rsquo;s going to take you really far,&rdquo; Clark said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s what it&rsquo;s all about. Our circle is tight and more than anything we&rsquo;re each others best friends. That will carry you a long way.&rdquo;
Trailing by five at the half, Louisville cut its deficit to 48-47 before Clark and the Hawkeyes scored the next 11 points as part of a 17-6 run to blow the game open. That brought most of the pro-Iowa crowd of nearly 12,000 fans to their feet.
Louisville was down 22 with just under 6 minutes left before going on a 13-1 run to get within 86-76 with 2:10 left. The Cardinals could get no closer.
Clark left the game with 22.7 seconds left and hugged coach Lisa Bluder.
After the game, Clark paraded around the court holding the regional trophy high above her head, delighting the thousands of fans who stuck around to celebrate their Hawkeyes.
Hailey Van Lith scored 27 points and Olivia Cochran had 20 points and 14 rebounds to lead Louisville (26-12).
Clark hit eight of the Hawkeyes&rsquo; season-high 16 3-pointers, including a few from just past the March Madness logo. It was a school record for the Hawkeyes in the NCAA Tournament, blowing past the previous mark of 13 against Gonzaga in 2011.
Louisville scored the first eight points of the game, forcing Iowa to call timeout. Then Clark got going. The 6-foot junior scored the first seven points for the Hawkeyes and finished the opening quarter with 15 points. When she wasn&rsquo;t scoring, she found open teammates with precision passes.
She also had four assists in the first 10 minutes, accounting for every one of Iowa&rsquo;s points as the Hawkeyes led 25-21.
Clark continued her mastery in the second quarter, hitting shots from all over the court, including a few of her famous long-distance 3s from near the logo.
Louisville was able to stay in the game, thanks to Van Lith. After scoring the first six points of the game, she went quiet before getting going late in the second quarter. She had 11 points in the second quarter as the Cardinals found themselves down 48-43 at the break.
Clark had 22 points and eight assists in the opening 20 minutes en route to the fourth-highest scoring total all-time in a NCAA regional.
1,000-POINT CLUB
Clark has 984 points this season and is looking to join form Hawkeye Megan Gustafson with 1,000 points in a single year. Four other players have done it, including Villanova&rsquo;s Maddy Siegrist, who accomplished the feat this season. Kelsey Plum, Jackie Stiles and Odyssey Sims were the others to do it.
HOMETOWN HERO
Van Lith once again played well in her home state. The small-town standout from 130 miles away from Seattle grew into being one of the best prep players in the country, the all-time state high school leader in scoring and now a star for the Cardinals.
Hundreds of fans from her hometown of Cashmere, which has a population of 3,200, took in the game, cheering the Louisville star on.

Caitlin Clark put on a show with 41 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds to help No. 2 seed Iowa beat fifth-seeded Louisville 97-83.