Wildcats

After a terrific regular season, the 2023 WNBA Playoffs <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/2023-wnba-playoffs-guide-how-to-watch-schedule-more" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tip off tonight</a>. This was a huge year for the WNBA, as the league just had its most-watched regular season in 21 years.
Viewership across its national television partners &ndash; ABC, CBS, ESPN and ESPN2 &ndash; was up 21% over the 2022 season. The league also set new highs in terms of its digital platforms, social-media engagement and sports betting. Here are some highlights from the 2023 campaign:
&bull; Across ABC, ESPN and CBS, viewership was up 8% over last season and averaged 505,000 viewers. The WNBA on ABC averaged 627,000 viewers, making it the most-viewed regular season on ABC in 11 years.
&bull; The 2023 regular season reached over 36 million total unique viewers across all national networks, the highest since 2008 and up 27% from 2022.
&bull; Across all WNBA social-media handles, the league generated a record 373 million video views this season, up 96%&nbsp;from the 2022 season. The 20 million total actions/engagements and 1.1 million hours watched increased by 65% and 42%, respectively, from last season.
&bull; The 2023 WNBA All-Star Game on ABC was the most-watched WNBA All-Star Game in 16 years, averaging 850,000 viewers with a peak of 955,000 viewers.
&bull; The 2023 WNBA Draft averaged 572,000 viewers on ESPN, up 42% over last year; it was the most-watched WNBA Draft since 2004.
&bull; The league introduced WNBA Friday Night Spotlight with new broadcast partner ION, where regular-season games were consumed for a total of 14 million hours.
&bull; The WNBA's attendance was up 16% compared to last year. The average attendance of 6,615 fans per game was the highest since 2018. The WNBA had its highest total attendance in 13 years (1,587,488).
&bull; The 2022 WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces saw the highest increase in average attendance (more than 66% year-over-year), averaging a league-high 9,551 fans per game. The Aces also hosted the highest-attended game this season, drawing a crowd of 17,406 against the Phoenix Mercury on September 10 on the final day of the regular season.&nbsp;
&bull; Mercury All-Star Brittney Griner&rsquo;s first home game in her return to the WNBA, against the Chicago Sky on May 21, drew 14,040 fans, third-highest for a WNBA game this season.
&bull; The first WNBA Canada Game, which saw the Sky defeat the Minnesota Lynx 82-74 in a preseason contest, was played before a sold-out crowd of approximately 20,000 fans at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on May 13.
&bull; The WNBA's relaunched app with exclusive series, behind-the-scenes content and in-depth coverage saw downloads up nearly 400%. The league&rsquo;s out-of-market live game package experienced 10% growth in subscribers this season.
&bull; The season-opening game featuring the New York Liberty at the Washington Mystics on May 13 had the highest viewership in WNBA League Pass history, up 107% from the previous record-setting game on the platform. Content consumption was up across digital channels with League Pass total views for the season up 257%, and the WNBA website had a 21% increase in average time spent per visit during the regular season.
&bull; On FanDuel Sportsbook, the number of bets on the WNBA more than doubled from last season. Individual bets on the marketplace increased by more than 163% year-over-year, and the WNBA handle was up more than 100%.
&bull; The WNBA launched the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wnba.com/wnbabet" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.wnba.com/wnbabet&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1694711805864000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0izkcuac1XQ66ItGtl_fXv">WNBABet</a>&nbsp;tab, featuring content from many of the league&rsquo;s partners, including FanDuel, ESPN, The Action Network, Rotowire and the American Gaming Association.
&bull; The 2023 WNBA Commissioner&rsquo;s Cup Championship Game attracted the largest audience for a WNBA game ever for Prime Video, nearly doubling the viewership of last year&rsquo;s Commissioner&rsquo;s Cup Championship Game. The in-season competition saw the teams competing for a prize pool of more than $500,000. As part of the total prize pool, Coinbase provided a cryptocurrency bonus of $120,000 for players in the Championship Game.
&bull; The 2023 WNBA season was dedicated to women&rsquo;s health advocacy, with a focus on Black, Brown and LGBTQ+ communities. Throughout the season, teams, players and the league highlighted four key pillars of women&rsquo;s health: maternal health, mental health, reproductive health and cancer awareness and education. Through the 2023 WNBA Commissioner&rsquo;s Cup, each WNBA team chose a local women&rsquo;s health organization to play for, with $200,000 donated to both local and national non-profit organizations committed to raising awareness about these important women&rsquo;s health equity issues.
Why were fans so engaged this season? On the court, there were quite a few unprecedented things that happened this season:
&bull; The Seattle Storm&rsquo;s Jewell Loyd set a WNBA single-season record with 939 points.
&bull; The New York Liberty&rsquo;s Breanna Stewart had a WNBA-record six games of at least 40 points. In total, WNBA players produced a record 13 40-point games, 10 more than the prior record of three.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
&bull; The Connecticut Sun&rsquo;s Alyssa Thomas posted a record six triple-doubles and broke the single-season record for total assists (316).
&bull; WNBA players recorded a record 13 triple-doubles, six more than in 2022 (seven) and four more than in the league&rsquo;s first 25 regular seasons combined (nine).
&bull; The Phoenix Mercury&rsquo;s Diana Taurasi became the first player in WNBA history to score 10,000 career points.
&bull; The Las Vegas Aces&rsquo; A&rsquo;ja Wilson became the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 3,500 points, 1,500 rebounds and 300 blocks.
&bull; New York&rsquo;s Sabrina Ionescu set records for three-pointers made in the regular season (128) and points scored in a single round of the WNBA Three-Point Contest (37).
It's a great time to be a fan of the WNBA, and this postseason seems to be one of the most highly anticipated WNBA Playoffs of all-time.

The WNBA just had its most-watched regular season in 21 years, and viewership was up 21% over the 2022 season.

WNBA has most-watched regular season in 21 years, up 21% over 2022

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

NBA announces 242 early-entry candidates for 2023 NBA Draft

Entering the 2023 NBA Playoffs, the Sacramento Kings vs. the Golden State Warriors was arguably the most anticipated first-round series.
The Kings, with the most efficient offense in NBA history, were breaking their 16-year playoff drought. The defending-champion Warriors were finally at full strength and ready to chase their fifth title in nine years.
Ticket prices were through the roof, with Game 1 going down as the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/kingswarriors-breaks-record-for-most-expensive-firstround-tickets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">most expensive non-Finals game on record</a>.
The series, which is currently tied 2-2, has not disappointed.
Kings-Warriors has been must-see TV, and the ratings reflect this. Game 4 between the Kings and Warriors drew the largest audience for a first-round NBA playoff game across any network over the last 21 years, according to Nielsen.
The broadcast averaged 7,523,000 viewers, peaking with 10,406,000 viewers during the 6 p.m. ET quarter hour.
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🚨 WILD ENDING 🚨 Relive the final 5 minutes of Game 4 between the Warriors &amp; Kings as the game went down to the very last shot! 👀<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBASundays?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBASundays</a> <a href="https://t.co/hgVvkD337h">pic.twitter.com/hgVvkD337h</a>
&mdash; NBA UK (@NBAUK) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBAUK/status/1650364443342290944?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 24, 2023</a></blockquote>

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When was the last time a first-round match-up had this kind of audience?
When Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal led the Los Angeles Lakers against the Portland Trail Blazers on April 28, 2002, for an average audience of 8,555,000 viewers. That was an elimination game, with the Lakers defeating the Blazers 92-91.&nbsp;
The ABC broadcast of Kings-Warriors was the most-watched program across all of television on Sunday, including in all key demographics.&nbsp;
Game 5 between the Kings and Warriors is Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET on TNT.
While there was some uncertainty about De'Aaron Fox's availability for Game 5 due to <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/deaaron-fox-doubtful-for-game-5-with-broken-finger" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a broken index finger on his shooting hand</a>, the All-Star guard told reporters that he's expecting to play in front of the rabid Sacramento crowd.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no if, ands or buts&hellip; I&rsquo;m playing," Fox told <a href="https://twitter.com/JandersonSacBee/status/1650960862910492672" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee.</a>

Game 4 between the Kings and Warriors drew the largest audience for a first-round game across any network over the last 21 years.

Kings-Warriors Game 4 drew largest first-round audience in 21 years

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Oscar Tshiebwe kept battling for position, pushing his way to daylight and grabbing seemingly every loose rebound with a rugged relentlessness.
No one was going to stop him, either.
When it was over, the two-time Associated Press All-American had turned in the best rebounding performance in the NCAA Tournament in nearly a half-century &mdash; and Kentucky was free to move past last year&rsquo;s one-and-done showing.
Tshiebwe pulled down 25 rebounds and Antonio Reeves scored 22 points, helping the Wildcats beat Providence 61-53 in Friday night&rsquo;s first round.
Tshiebwe&rsquo;s rebounding output represented the most in any tournament game since 1977. Eleven of his rebounds came on the offensive glass &mdash; a big factor in the sixth-seeded Wildcats (22-11) staying in control as both offenses grinded to a halt after halftime.
&ldquo;I told (my teammates), I said, &lsquo;This year we come in and fight, last year doesn&rsquo;t matter anymore,&rsquo;&rdquo; said Tshiebwe, who entered as the nation&rsquo;s leading rebounder at 13.1 per game.
The &ldquo;last year,&rdquo; of course, was the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/march-madness-saint-peters-upsets-kentucky-b0fdd8fbd0ea432a9b6150f0cd8e6b22" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shocking first-round exit against 15th-seeded Saint Peter&rsquo;s</a> that had hung over the program all season. Now the Wildcats are moving on to face the Montana State-Kansas State winner Sunday in the East Region.
&ldquo;Yeah, it was a big relief obviously,&rdquo; forward Jacob Toppin said.
When the horn sounded, guard Cason Wallace let out a scream before giving a chest bump to Reaves. And Tshiebwe soon emerged from a postgame TV interview by gleefully skipping his way off toward the locker room.
His rebounding total was the most in the tournament since Michigan&rsquo;s Phil Hubbard had 26 boards against Detroit Mercy in 1977.
Behind Tshiebwe, Kentucky finished with a 48-31 rebounding advantage, controlling the offensive glass (plus-10) and dominating in second-chance points for an 18-2 edge.
That was vital considering shots weren&rsquo;t falling; Kentucky shot 36.5% overall but just 7 of 28 (25%) after halftime.
Reeves hit five 3-pointers to lead the offense, while Toppin had his own big game with 18 points. Tshiebwe managed eight points, but he was still an indomitable force that the 11th-seeded Friars (21-12) just couldn&rsquo;t manage.
&ldquo;Sometimes you just have an &lsquo;it,&rsquo; a la Dennis Rodman, Ben Wallace,&rdquo; Providence coach Ed Cooley said. &ldquo;Those guys just have an &lsquo;it&rsquo; for it. Some guys have an &lsquo;it&rsquo; to score. Some people have an &lsquo;it&rsquo; to pass. He has an incredible &lsquo;it,&rsquo; an elite &lsquo;it&rsquo; to rebound.&rdquo;
Ed Croswell scored 16 points for Providence, which shot just 36.2% while making 5 of 24 3-pointers. The Friars matched the Wildcats&rsquo; second-half troubles, making just 8 of 27 shots (29.6%).
&ldquo;You can say you wish you could win this game and all that,&rdquo; Friars guard Jared Bynum said, &ldquo;but you have to embrace the moment at the end of it.&rdquo;
BIG PICTURE
Providence: The Friars have been to the NCAAs seven times in the past nine seasons under Cooley, including last year&rsquo;s Sweet 16 before falling to eventual champion Kansas. But they entered this game just 3-6 in NCAA games under Cooley.
Kentucky: The Wildcats got off to a successful though grinding start to March Madness &mdash; and that was good enough for coach John Calipari.
&ldquo;If in this tournament, winning is a relief, what the heck are you doing here?&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;This is joy.&rdquo;
KEY STRETCH
Tshiebwe came through in a tight game, starting with &mdash; what else? &mdash; his rebounding.
With Kentucky leading 50-46, he leapt to dunk home Wallace&rsquo;s missed drive. Minutes later, he came up with a steal, then an offensive rebound off his own miss before feeding Chris Livingston on the other side of the paint for the layup and a 54-46 lead with 2:43 left.
BUMPY REUNION
<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/march-madness-transfers-blake-hinson-bryce-hopkins-5bafaa08f771c7cb8e389f9fbe750213" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The game marked a reunion</a>&nbsp;between Providence star Bryce Hopkins and the Kentucky program he left behind. Hopkins came in averaging 16.1 points, but finished with just seven on 2-for-9 shooting in a tough night while being chased primarily by Toppin.
Hopkins fought back tears as he made his way through the postgame handshake line with Calipari and former teammates.
FULL STOP
The game&rsquo;s oddest moment&nbsp;came at the foul line.
With 8:36 left before halftime, Providence&rsquo;s Clifton Moore launched a free throw that hit the rim on the left side and rolled all the way around the inside of the rim before popping out and sitting on the back of the goal.
And then, it just stopped and stayed there.
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What are the odds? 😂<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MarchMadness?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MarchMadness</a> <a href="https://t.co/XGCiyy9pVd">pic.twitter.com/XGCiyy9pVd</a>
&mdash; NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarchMadnessMBB/status/1636875109322612738?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2023</a></blockquote>

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The 6-foot-9 Toppin stood next to an official under the net looking up at the ball, his hands on his hips, before jumping to tap it loose.
It went down as a miss. Moore made the second.
LOOK-INS
<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/no-16-fairleigh-dickinson-stuns-no-1-seed-purdue-in-march-madness" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The upset by 16th-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson against No. 1 seed Purdue</a>&nbsp;in Columbus, Ohio, drew a captivated audience in Greensboro Coliseum for live look-ins being shown on the scoreboard.
During one timeout, with Fairleigh Dickinson up five in the final seconds, fans in Greensboro began chanting &ldquo;FDU! FDU!&rdquo; and booing whenever the game was taken off the scoreboard even when Providence-Kentucky had resumed on the court below.

Oscar Tshiebwe pulled down 25 rebounds, helping the Kentucky Wildcats beat Providence 61-53 in Friday night’s first round.

Tshiebwe’s 25 boards helps Kentucky top Providence in NCAA opener

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) &mdash;&nbsp;Boo Buie scored 22 points&nbsp;to lead Northwestern to a win in the school&rsquo;s second appearance ever in the NCAA Tournament, 75-67 over Boise State on Thursday.
The seventh-seeded Wildcats (22-11) previously made it to the Big Dance in 2017, and just like that time, they made sure they wouldn&rsquo;t be one-and-done.
&ldquo;All joy. No relief. It&rsquo;s really hard to get here, especially when you play in the Big Ten,&rdquo; coach Chris Collins said. &ldquo;When you get to this point now, it&rsquo;s so rewarding and so joyful as a coach to see these guys celebrating and to be on the big stage like that playing well, finding a way to win and advance in the NCAA Tournament.&rdquo;
Northwestern never trailed in a game that was close most of the way and advanced to play second-seeded UCLA in the second round of the West Region.
The 10th-seeded Broncos (24-10) are still searching for their first tournament win, losing their opener for the ninth time in as many tries.&nbsp;Max Rice scored 17 points&nbsp;to lead Boise State and Naje Smith added 14.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think anyone expected us to be here,&rdquo; Rice said. &ldquo;I still think it was an amazing season. Obviously we wanted to get our first win in the tournament. But they played good tonight. They played better than us tonight and made a bunch of big shots. But that doesn&rsquo;t take away from what we&rsquo;ve done this year.&rdquo;
Chase Audige added 20 points for the Wildcats and Ty Berry scored 13, including three 3-pointers.
The Bulldogs fell behind by 10 points early but fought back to tie the game at 40 early in the second half when Rice hit his second 3-pointer of the half.
The game was tight most of the way before Northwestern finally built the lead back to 10 on a tip-in by Brooks Barnhizer with 3:15 to go.
&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t break down,&rdquo; Audige said. &ldquo;We weren&rsquo;t screaming. We might have screamed at each other, but it was a good type of like, &lsquo;C&rsquo;mon, let&rsquo;s be better.&rsquo; I think every single time we just executed, whether we missed a shot or made it, we got a shot we wanted or liked.&rdquo;
TOUGH IT OUT
Broncos guard Marcus Shaver Jr. had to be helped off the court after going down with an apparent leg injury late in the first half. He came out of locker room late after halftime and returned to the game.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s courageous, he&rsquo;s tough, and he didn&rsquo;t want to let these guys down, us down,&rdquo; coach Leon Rice said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just unfortunate.&rdquo;
BIG PICTURE
Boise State: With four returning starters from last year&rsquo;s tournament team, including three seniors, the Broncos hoped this year&rsquo;s team could be the one finally to break through. They fell to 0-4 in the tournament under Rice.
Northwestern: After finishing second in the Big Ten for the first time since the 1958-59 season, the Wildcats made sure this special season wouldn&rsquo;t come to an early finish. Northwestern lost in the second round to Gonzaga in 2017 after beating Vanderbilt in its tournament debut.
UP NEXT
Northwestern is seeking its first trip to the Sweet 16.

Boo Buie scored 22 points to lead Northwestern to a 75-67 win over Boise State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday.

Northwestern beats Boise State 75-67 in NCAA Tournament

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) &mdash; No matter what the postseason holds for the Maryland Terrapins, they&rsquo;ll be able to point to some real accomplishments in Kevin Willard&rsquo;s first season as their coach.
For example, they won all their Big Ten home games.
Jahmir Young scored 18 points and Don Carey added 13 to help Maryland wrap up an undefeated home season in conference play with a 75-59 victory over No. 21 Northwestern on Sunday.
&ldquo;Going 10-0 in this conference at home, that&rsquo;s pretty impressive for this group,&rdquo; Willard said. &ldquo;I just think it shows you how great of a program this is, how great of a fan base it is.&rdquo;
The Terrapins (20-9, 11-7) finished 16-1 overall at home, and they used unusually impressive 3-point shooting to turn back the Wildcats (20-9, 11-7). Maryland&rsquo;s win also clinched at least a share of the Big Ten title for No. 5 Purdue.
The Boilermakers (24-5, 13-5) now have a record 25 Big Ten championships, three more than Indiana, which is one of several teams that can still tie Purdue at the top this year. Remarkably, Maryland and Northwestern also are in that group. The Terps have made huge strides since Willard arrived from Seton Hall, and Chris Collins&rsquo; Wildcats entered the AP Top 25 this week before losing to Illinois and Maryland.
&ldquo;This league is hard. You play good teams,&rdquo; Collins said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not down in any way. We&rsquo;re still excited. We&rsquo;ve got a big week coming up again, and you&rsquo;ve just got to learn from these games and go home and try to make it right when you get another opportunity to play.&rdquo;
The Terrapins have not been a good 3-point shooting team this season. They entered their game Sunday at 31% from beyond the arc but went 14 of 22 against Northwestern. Young and Carey made four each.
The 6-foot-1 Young threw down an emphatic dunk to give Maryland a 35-32 lead. He later made a 3 at the buzzer to put the Terps up 41-39 at halftime.
&ldquo;I was feeling it from 3 early on, so just trying to get a shot up,&rdquo; said Young, who scored 16 of his points before halftime.
Maryland was 8 for 11 from long distance in the first half, and both teams were shooting around 60% from the field. The Terps didn&rsquo;t regress much in the second. A 3 by Carey capped a 12-2 run that put Maryland up 67-51, and it was smooth sailing from there.
Chase Audige led Northwestern with 16 points.
BIG PICTURE
Northwestern: Purdue&rsquo;s recent struggles gave the Wildcats a shot at their first Big Ten title since 1933, but those chances took a big hit Sunday in front of a packed house at Maryland.
&ldquo;We haven&rsquo;t been good enough the last couple years probably to kind of warrant that kind of spirited crowd,&rdquo; Collins said. &ldquo;They knew this was a high-level game. They knew there was a lot on the line for both teams here late in the season.&rdquo;
Maryland: The Terps went unbeaten at home in Big Ten play for the second time. They also did it in 2014-15, their first season in the league. Maryland made more than 10 3s in a game for only the second time this season. The Terps had 13 in a win over Saint Louis in November.
SENIOR SENDOFF
Willard said he tried to stay loose on a day Maryland honored its senior class.
&ldquo;I wanted to have fun. I never have fun on senior night. I&rsquo;m an emotional wreck, and that goes off onto my players,&rdquo; Willard said. &ldquo;So the only thing I told them was I just wanted to have fun today. ... I was going to have fun no matter what. We got blown out by 20, I was going to enjoy the fact that this group has worked really hard, and I was going to be appreciative of what they&rsquo;ve given us.&rdquo;
UP NEXT
Northwestern: The Wildcats host Penn State on Wednesday night.
Maryland: The Terps play at Ohio State on Wednesday night.

Jahmir Young scored 18 points and Don Carey added 13 to help Maryland wrap up an undefeated home season in conference play.

Maryland rolls in second half, beats No. 21 Northwestern 75-59

EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) &mdash; Boo Buie scored 26 points, Chase Audige had 15 and Northwestern beat No. 1 Purdue 64-58 on Sunday.
Led by its experienced backcourt, Northwestern (18-7, 9-5 Big Ten) added a signature win to its bid for the school&rsquo;s second NCAA Tournament appearance. The Wildcats got their first win in 19 games against the No. 1 team in the AP poll.
Zach Edey had 24 points and eight rebounds for Purdue (23-3, 12-3), which had won 11 in a row against Northwestern. Braden Smith finished with 10 points on 1-for-7 shooting.
Edey&rsquo;s hook shot lifted Purdue to a 55-47 lead with 3:52 to go. But Northwestern closed the game with a 17-3 run.
Audige scored 10 points in the dazzling finish. He gave the Wildcats the lead for good when he made a 3-pointer after an Edey turnover.
Brooks Barnhizer had a fast-break layup and Buie made two foul shots in the final minute to help Northwestern hold on. When it was over, the raucous student section stormed the court to celebrate with the team.
Purdue shot just 28.6% (6 for 21) from the field in the second half. It also committed 13 of its 16 turnovers in the final 20 minutes.
Ethan Morton and Mason Gillis each made a 3-pointer to help Purdue open a 26-16 lead with 9:19 left in the first half. But Buie converted a driving layup in the final seconds, trimming the Boilermakers&rsquo; lead to 37-30 at the break.
BIG PICTURE
Purdue: The collapse down the stretch was a troubling development. The Boilermakers also lost to Indiana last weekend.
Northwestern: Audige stepped up after a slow start, giving the Wildcats a big boost.
UP NEXT
Purdue visits Maryland on Thursday night. The Boilermakers beat the Terrapins 58-55 on Jan. 22 at Mackey Arena.
Northwestern hosts No. 18 Indiana on Wednesday night. The Wildcats topped the Hoosiers 84-83 on Jan. 8.

The Wildcats got their first win in 19 games against the No. 1 team in the AP poll.

Buie, Audige help Northwestern beat No. 1 Purdue 64-58

Courtside seats 166 and 167 at the arena where the Los Angeles Lakers play their home games are pretty much as good as it gets.
The people occupying those chairs when LeBron James breaks Kareem Abdul-Jabbar&rsquo;s NBA scoring record will have an up-close view, with their feet on the very hardwood where the history-making shot happens.
History, in this case, comes with a cost.
On Monday, those seats for Tuesday&rsquo;s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder could have been had for $75,000 &mdash; each. Total price for the two seats with Ticketmaster fees: $181,500. And there&rsquo;s no guarantee James will even break the record Tuesday; in fact, at his current scoring pace, he would be just shy of the mark when the Thunder game ends.
Which is why those same seats are even pricier Thursday for the Lakers&rsquo; next game against the Milwaukee Bucks &mdash; the two teams Abdul-Jabbar played for during his Hall of Fame career. For that game: $242,000, including the fees. But history suggests prices will come down; industry experts have long said extravagantly priced tickets rarely fetch the giant number listed.
Don&rsquo;t be mistaken, though. The best seats will still cost plenty.
&ldquo;For the game on Thursday, we did sell a pair of tickets, courtside seats, for $24,000 a ticket, $48,000 total,&rdquo; said Kyle Zorn, a brand manager at the online ticket marketplace TickPick. &ldquo;I feel like people are betting on the storyline that he does it against Kareem&rsquo;s former team, but he could easily score 36 points Tuesday and then the market for the game Thursday could completely crash.&rdquo;
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Whenever the record falls &mdash; maybe Tuesday, maybe Thursday, and it&rsquo;s doubtful the chase goes past that unless James isn&rsquo;t playing for some reason &mdash; it will be an event.
The NBA has already changed the national television schedule for Tuesday, rearranging things to get the Lakers-Thunder game into the second slot of the usual TNT doubleheader for that night &mdash; with Commissioner Adam Silver saying the league wanted to make sure it got as many eyeballs on the record-breaking moment as possible.
The Lakers will be back on TNT against the Bucks on Thursday, plus have another national TV audience awaiting Saturday when they visit Golden State on ABC. Those were previously scheduled that way, no rearranging required.
Silver said the NBA will pay tribute when James passes Abdul-Jabbar&rsquo;s total of 38,387 points, with likely a larger-scale celebration of the record at All-Star weekend in Salt Lake City later this month.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no doubt we will stop that game and make sure we record for history, the ball, the basket, the uniform,&rdquo; Silver said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll stop and make sure that we&rsquo;ve done our jobs as the archivists of the NBA. At the same time, there&rsquo;s that balance that they will be playing against a team that will very much want to win that night and not be distracted. Most likely we will do something in the moment.&rdquo;
Common sense will likely prevail there: If James gets the record with a minute to go in a close game, for example, the NBA probably won&rsquo;t interrupt the proceedings with a lengthy stoppage. If it happens early, a brief halting of play wouldn&rsquo;t be unprecedented.
But for those who want to see it all happen in person, whether that&rsquo;s from courtside seats or the upper levels of the arena, it&rsquo;ll still cost a pretty penny.
Speaking Monday, and with the market likely to fluctuate until game time, Zorn said the cheapest get-in-the-door price for Tuesday&rsquo;s game was around $176 &mdash; about half what it was a week ago, with most people guessing the record falls against the Bucks &mdash; and $796 for Thursday&rsquo;s game.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s weird how prices for the game on Tuesday have decreased so significantly, as if it&rsquo;s like a guarantee that he&rsquo;s breaking it on Thursday,&rdquo; Zorn said.
Many price points are likely out of reach for most fans. Then again, if there&rsquo;s a Thunder fan in L.A. who really wants to see their team, they might just want to wait for March 24. The Thunder will be back that night.
Cheapest ticket right now for that game &mdash; about $60.
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Tickets for the upcoming Los Angeles Lakers games with LeBron James about to break the NBA scoring record are skyrocketing.

Ticket demand, anticipation grows as LeBron nears Kareem

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Boo Buie scored 26 points and Northwestern beat No. 15 Indiana 84-83 on Sunday for its second road victory against a ranked opponent this season.
The Wildcats (12-3, 3-1 Big Ten), who knocked off then-No. 20 Michigan State 70-63 on Dec. 4, have won seven of eight games.
&ldquo;It just shows our toughness,&rdquo; said Buie, who made 10 of 18 shots. &ldquo;We only have one goal this year, win more games than we lose, and we&rsquo;re just trying to make the NCAA Tournament.&rdquo;
Chase Audige had 19 points and eight assists for the Wildcats. Robbie Beran and Ty Berry each added 13 points.
&ldquo;We have a lot of heart,&rdquo; Northwestern coach Chris Collins said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, we have a lot of limitations, but our guys really battle. They really fight. And there&rsquo;s power when you have a together group.&rdquo;
Indiana (10-5, 1-3) has lost four of six.
Freshman Jalen Hood-Schifino led the Hoosiers with a career-best 33 points on 12-of-17 shooting, including five 3s. Trayce Jackson-Davis had 18 points, a career-high 24 rebounds and eight assists.
Hood-Schifino&rsquo;s 33 points are the most for an Indiana freshman since Eric Gordon in 2007.
&ldquo;Obviously he&rsquo;s one of our best players,&rdquo; Jackson-Davis said. &ldquo;We need him to make plays and that&rsquo;s what he did. He made big shot after big shot. Props to him because he really helped put the team on his back when we needed scoring.&rdquo;
Indiana coach Mike Woodson said his team has been outworked in the last two losses.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s my job to get &rsquo;em to play harder,&rdquo; Woodson said. &ldquo;And that might cure a lot of problems when you&rsquo;re struggling.&rdquo;
Indiana had 16 turnovers, nine more than Northwestern, and the visitors enjoyed a 25-6 scoring edge off turnovers.
&ldquo;Our ability to get 25 points off the turnovers was a huge stat to the game,&rdquo; Collins said. &ldquo;They weren&rsquo;t able to get their defense set and we were able to attack in transition and get some easy (baskets).&rdquo;
Northwestern hit 10 of its first 14 shots to seize the early lead, was ahead by as many as 17 points in the first half and relied upon superior depth to stay ahead by double digits for much of the second half until the final minutes.
&ldquo;We come into these atmospheres ready to go, right from the jump, and throw that first punch,&rdquo; Buie said.
BIG PICTURE
Northwestern: After five consecutive losing seasons, the Wildcats returned four starters for a third consecutive year and appear poised to make the NCAA Tournament. Collins&rsquo; team is worthy of being ranked.
Indiana: Hood-Schifino has been an excellent alternative to injured senior Xavier Johnson, but the Hoosiers are hurting without senior Race Thompson, who suffered a knee injury in the previous game and like Johnson is out indefinitely. Jackson-Davis and Hood-Schifino need more help from others.
UP NEXT
Northwestern: Hosts Rutgers on Wednesday.
Indiana: Visits Penn State on Wednesday.

Boo Buie scored 26 points and Northwestern beat No. 15 Indiana for its second road victory against a ranked opponent this season.

Surging Northwestern upends No. 15 Indiana, 84-83

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) &mdash; Justyn Mutts scored 27 points to lead Virginia Tech to an 80-72 victory over No. 18 North Carolina on Sunday.
Mutts scored 21 of his points in the second half for the Hokies (8-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who built an 18-point, second-half lead and then held on to hand the slumping Tar Heels (5-4, 0-1) their fourth consecutive defeat.
North Carolina cut that lead to 67-64 on a layup by Caleb Love with 3:06 remaining, but Mutts answered with a basket 17 seconds later, and the Tar Heels got no closer.
The Associated Press&rsquo; preseason No. 1 team, North Carolina played without center Armando Bacot, who missed the game with a bruised shoulder.
Caleb Love, Pete Nance, and RJ Davis each scored 18 for North Carolina.
NO. 4 ARIZONA 81, CALIFORNIA 68
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) &mdash; Azuolas Tubelis and Oumar Ballo combined for 42 points and 19 rebounds and Arizona bounced back from its first loss by holding off winless California.
Tubelis had 25 points and 12 rebounds, while Ballo &mdash; the Division I leader in field goal percentage &mdash; made 7 of 10 shots en route to 17 points, with seven rebounds and four blocks.
The Wildcats (7-1, 1-1 Pac-12) were coming off an 81-66 loss Thursday at Utah, just their fifth in 44 games under second-year coach Tommy Lloyd.
Cal (0-9, 0-2) continued its worst start in program history, extending the nation&rsquo;s longest active losing streak to 12 games. The Golden Bears were led by guard Devin Askew, who had 25 points, while forward Lars Thiemann added 18 on 9-of-14 shooting.
NO. 5 PURDUE 89, MINNESOTA 70
WEST LAFAYETE, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Zach Edey set career highs with 31 points and 22 rebounds, powering Purdue past Minnesota in the Big Ten opener for both teams.
The 7-foot-4 Edey started slowly, making only one of his first seven shots. He dominated after that, finishing 11 of 23 from the field and 9 of 10 from the foul line.
Fletcher Loyer scored 20 for Purdue (8-0).
Jamison Battle led the Golden Gophers (4-4) with 21 points. Ta&rsquo;Lon Cooper added 15 points for Minnesota.
NEBRASKA 63, NO. 7 CREIGHTON 53
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) &mdash; Derrick Walker scored a career-high 22 points as Nebraska upset Creighton, the highest-ranked opponent the Cornhuskers have beaten on the road since 1997.
Nebraska (6-3) beat the Bluejays for the first time in 14 regular-season meetings in Omaha since 1995. Creighton (6-3) lost its third straight, with its previous two against ranked opponents.
Sam Griesel scored 13 of his 18 points in the second half and Juwan Gary finished with 12 as the Huskers turned back every comeback attempt by the Bluejays.
Francisco Farabello scored 16 points to lead the Bluejays, going 5 for 9 on 3-pointers. Baylor Scheierman and Kalkbrenner had 10 points apiece.
NO. 13 TENNESSEE 94, ALCORN STATE 40
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Olivier Nkamhoua scored 20 points and Tennessee flexed its defensive muscles in a victory over Alcorn State.
The Volunteers (7-1) also got double-digit point production from Julian Phillips (18), Jahmai Mashack (13), Uros Plavsic (12), Tyreke Key (11) and Zakai Zeigler (10).
Dominic Brewton led the Braves (3-6) with 10 points.
NO. 19 KENTUCKY 73, MICHIGAN 69
LONDON (AP) &mdash; Cason Wallace scored 14 points and Oscar Tshiebwe had a double-double to lead Kentucky over Michigan in a London showcase of two marquee American college sports teams.
Wallace was 4 of 4 on 3-point shooting with his most important one giving the Wildcats (6-2) a five-point lead with 1:11 to play.
Tshiebwe, last season&rsquo;s consensus national player of the year, scored 13 points and pulled down 14 rebounds amid foul trouble that kept him on the bench for extended spells.
Hunter Dickinson led Michigan (5-3) with 23 points and nine rebounds. Jett Howard, Michigan&rsquo;s second-leading scorer, was in early foul trouble but had 16 points for the Wolverines.
NORTHWESTERN 70, NO. 20 MICHIGAN STATE 63
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) &mdash; Boo Buie scored 20 points and Northwestern beat Michigan State in the Big Ten opener for both teams.
Chase Audige also added 15 points and Ty Berry had 13 for Northwestern (6-3).
Mady Sossoko and A.J. Hoggard each had 12 points for Michigan State (5-3) and Joey Hauser added 10. The Spartans have lost two in a row, falling to Notre Dame earlier in the week.
NO. 21 UCLA 65, OREGON 56
LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Jaylen Clark and freshman Amari Bailey scored 14 points each and UCLA rallied in the final four minutes to hold off Oregon for its fourth straight win.
The Bruins (7-2, 2-0 Pac-12) hadn&rsquo;t had a big scoring run all game until they pulled away late.
The Ducks (4-5, 1-1) had won four straight over the Bruins. Guerrier led the Ducks with 15 points and Will Richardson added 13 points.
NO. 23 IOWA STATE 71, ST. JOHN&rsquo;S 60
AMES, Iowa (AP) &mdash; Jaren Holmes scored 14 points and Aljaz Kunc added 12 as Iowa State handed St. John&rsquo;s its first loss of the season.
Kunc also contributed eight rebounds and three assists for the Cyclones (7-1). Robert Jones had 11 points, four rebounds and three assists.
Posh Alexander led St. John&rsquo;s (8-1) with 14 points.

A recap of Sunday's men's college basketball slate includes a handful of top-25 upsets.

Virginia Tech hands No. 18 Tar Heels fourth consecutive loss

Last week, continuing its international tour around the globe, the NBA finished its first visit to the United Arab Emirates and the Arabian Gulf for the 2022 Abu Dhabi Games. Participating in the event were the Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks, with star performances highlighting the competition at Etihad Arena on Yas Island. The Hawks came out on top in both games, with 123-113 and 118-109 victories.
Despite it being preseason, Atlanta and Milwaukee allowed their regular rotations to play and put on a show. New Hawks addition Dejounte Murray dazzled in his preseason debut with a 25-point, 9-assist, 8-rebound outing, while former MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo answered with 19 points and 7 boards in Game 1. Two nights later, Trae Young dropped 31 points and 6 assists on a sizzling 11-for-15 from the field, including a 7-for-9 mark from beyond the arc in the first half of Game 2.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
ice Trae went CRYOGENIC in the first half at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBAinAbuDhabi?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBAinAbuDhabi</a>: 31 PTS 6 AST 🥶🥶🥶 <a href="https://t.co/KjzHDtJ4eA">pic.twitter.com/KjzHDtJ4eA</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1578797154847580162?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 8, 2022</a></blockquote>

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However, aside from what happened on the court, the real story is that the NBA continues to reach further into different countries as basketball grows more and more in popularity.
To learn more about the inaugural Abu Dhabi Games and the league's efforts to expand its audience worldwide, BasketballNews.com spoke with the NBA's vice president of global strategy and innovation Samantha Engelhardt.
First off, how nice is it for the league to be back on a global schedule following the pandemic? Logistically, how difficult was that to handle/schedule, and then, get back to a routine of working things out again?
Samantha Engelhardt: "We&rsquo;re excited that we were able to resume playing Global Games for the first time in more than two years. Playing games overseas is an important part of our year-round efforts to engage our passionate international fans and grow the game around the world. Planning for these games and the surrounding events is a highly collaborative process across league and team employees, partners and our regional offices.
"In both Japan and Abu Dhabi, we hosted four sold-out games, interactive fan events, NBA Cares community outreach initiatives and youth development programming that reached thousands of people. We&rsquo;re very pleased with the reception from fans in both markets and look forward to continuing that positive momentum at our regular-season games in Mexico City and Paris."
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What has been the key to building a worldwide fan base over all these years?&nbsp;
Engelhardt: "There are a number of factors. This season marks 30 years since the "Dream Team" <a href="https://www.nba.com/news/history-top-moments-dream-team-1992" target="_blank" rel="noopener">captivated a global audience with their performance at the Olympics in Barcelona</a>. It&rsquo;s remarkable to see how that team inspired generations of fans and players around the world. We&rsquo;re fortunate that in the years since, so many players from outside the U.S. have made an impact in the NBA and WNBA.
"As far as our efforts, we have a three-pronged strategy to help grow the game of basketball globally: Grassroots basketball development (creating opportunities for boys and girls to play the game), making NBA basketball more accessible to international fans on the devices and platforms they use most, and, as in the case of Global Games, bringing the NBA experience to fans around the world through live games, interactive fan events and authentic merchandise."
Why is this matter important to the league? And how much has the international influx of talent in the NBA furthered this objective to reach fans outside of the USA?
Engelhardt: "Our mission is to inspire and connect people everywhere through the power of basketball. Ninety-nine percent of NBA fans will never enter an NBA arena, and they consume our game entirely through some form of technology. It&rsquo;s very important that we do everything we can to reach and engage those fans with the content and experiences they want, which is why we just <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-launches-reimagined-app-with-new-features-exclusive-content" target="_blank" rel="noopener">launched a reimagined NBA App</a> that does exactly that.
"And the level of international talent in the league has been critical to basketball and the NBA&rsquo;s continued growth around the world. This will be the ninth consecutive season we&rsquo;ve had at least 100 international players in the league. And it&rsquo;s not just the quantity, but the quality. International players are having as significant an impact on the NBA as they ever have. Two international players &mdash; Serbia&rsquo;s Nikola Jokić and Greece&rsquo;s Giannis Antetokounmpo &mdash; have won the last four MVP awards. All of these players drive interest and inspire people in their home countries and beyond."
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Giannis on playing basketball around the globe 🌍 <a href="https://t.co/8y67f5Bvlf">pic.twitter.com/8y67f5Bvlf</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1578136757178191872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 6, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Seeing the response before and during the games in Abu Dhabi &mdash; the first time the league has gone there &mdash; it was deafening. How did the opportunity to go there come about?
Engelhardt: "Bringing live NBA games to different regions is a vital part of our efforts to grow basketball around the world. Following the games in Abu Dhabi, we&rsquo;ve now played in virtually every region of the world.
"As far as Abu Dhabi specifically, it&rsquo;s a city with extensive experience hosting world-class sporting events, and we see an opportunity to expand the NBA&rsquo;s presence in a region with a growing number of basketball fans. And our games there are built on the NBA&rsquo;s decades-long history to grow basketball in the UAE and across the Middle East through live games distribution and grassroots development. We believe bringing games and the surrounding community events to Abu Dhabi will serve as a catalyst for basketball&rsquo;s continued growth throughout the region."
To follow up on that, how did the NBA react to the response from those in attendance? Do you feel you'll be back there again next season?
Engelhardt: "The response from the fans in Abu Dhabi was really special, particularly for our first games in the market. In addition to two sold-out games, our NBA District fan event welcomed thousands of people throughout the week of the games, our basketball development programming reached more than 2,000 boys, girls, coaches and basketball stakeholders from across the region, and we opened a new NBA Store at Yas Mall that will serve as a year-round destination for fans based locally and visiting from abroad. The results were really encouraging.
"Our Arabic-language <a href="https://www.instagram.com/nbaarabic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instagram</a>&nbsp;account (@NBAArabic) more than doubled their collective followers during the week of the games, and our social content around the games delivered more than 95 million views. We&rsquo;re pleased with the success of the week&rsquo;s activities and believe these games will continue as a fixture in our calendar."
How did the teams' players, coaches and executives feel about the trip? Anybody who has the travel bug has to enjoy exploring new places.
Engelhardt: "Both teams had a great experience; we&rsquo;ve received nothing but positive feedback from everyone involved. It was many of their first time in Abu Dhabi and the broader region, and in addition to exploring a new place and culture, they were able to bond as a team heading into the season. I think for them, to see Bucks and Hawks jerseys in the stands at Etihad Arena was another reminder that there are NBA fans all over the world."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
appreciate you, Abu Dhabi!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBAinAbuDhabi?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBAinAbuDhabi</a> is live on NBA TV and the NBA App. Start your 7-day free trial: 📲 <a href="https://t.co/rgegl2Wy9W">https://t.co/rgegl2Wy9W</a> <a href="https://t.co/twbcZLpUFu">pic.twitter.com/twbcZLpUFu</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1578781580427927552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 8, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

Trae Young, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Dejounte Murray are marquee names that don't always suit up for long in the preseason. The fact that the legitimate rotations of these teams played competitively despite being an exhibition certainly was a bonus for those fans to see the "real thing" as well. Would you agree?
Engelhardt: "Absolutely. It was great to see Trae, Giannis and Dejounte come out and put on some amazing performances for the fans, who came from 59 different countries to see them. Not only them, but I thought all of the players&rsquo; efforts led to two competitive games that were exciting for the fans. I think both teams appreciated the opportunity to be part of history, and their play on the court reflected that."
So you've been to Japan and Abu Dhabi, and will go to Mexico City and Paris as well in the next few months during the regular season. What places are next?&nbsp;
Engelhardt: We look at several factors when evaluating where to play Global Games. It's the availability and capacity of arenas; cities and countries that have an affinity for, or have a growing interest in basketball; and destinations that interest our teams and players. We don&rsquo;t have any news to share at the moment, but there are a number of markets both where we&rsquo;ve played before and where we haven&rsquo;t played before that we&rsquo;d love to bring live games to."
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A simple question: What is the NBA's end game and end goal as a league when it comes to globalizing basketball? It seems like these efforts will continue getting stronger with each season/year.
Engelhardt: "The goal is to continue to grow the game and our fan base around the world. NBA games reach fans in more than 200 countries and territories, and nearly 70% of our social media followers are from outside the U.S. We know that the future of sports will be defined by technology&rsquo;s ability to bring the game directly to fans on their preferred device &mdash; which is especially true about reaching fans outside of North America. So we have to continue to do everything we can to reach and engage our passionate and growing international fanbase.
"That&rsquo;s why things like the re-imagined NBA App are so important. Our fans expect a personalized, customizable, seamless user experience across every touchpoint they have with our leagues. We have ambitious goals for our international growth efforts and are excited about the enormous opportunities ahead for basketball and the NBA globally."

Spencer Davies interviews NBA vice president of global strategy and innovation Samantha Engelhardt about the Abu Dhabi Games.

NBA Global Games Q&A: Abu Dhabi visit, international efforts, more

Bill Russell hated autographs. Saw no point to them. If he was out dining and got approached by someone asking for his signature, Russell&rsquo;s usual response was to instead ask the person to join him at the table to have a conversation about life.
The <a href="https://apnews.com/article/boston-celtics-nba-entertainment-sports-basketball-cea50d85fbb99c8dfcf7ead0d2a9f4be">autograph-seekers almost always declined</a>.
Oh, the stories they missed.
Russell, the greatest winner in the history of team sports, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/bill-russell-nba-obit-48db4e1f37deb6e6574263c9f42dee46">died Sunday at 88</a>. The <a href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-entertainment-sports-bill-russell-obituaries-cb23760ea7a2068597646a64a361c53f">basketball legacy is beyond well-known</a>: 11 championships in 13 years with the Boston Celtics, first Black coach in the NBA, first Black coach to win an NBA title, Hall of Fame player, Hall of Fame coach, Olympic champion, NCAA champion, member of the league&rsquo;s 75th anniversary team, and the namesake of the NBA Finals MVP award which, had it existed when he played, he would have won at least a half-dozen times.
But if those souvenir hounds had taken Russell up on the chance to sit with him for a meal, they might have heard about his obsession with golf. Or the mating habits of bees, something he penned a column about once. Or expensive cars with souped-up sound systems so he could blare the music of Laura Nyro, Janis Ian, or Crosby, Stills and Nash &mdash; some of his favorites.
&ldquo;His mind was bigger than basketball,&rdquo; author Taylor Branch, who spent about a year living with Russell near Seattle in the 1970s while working with him on a book, said Sunday. &ldquo;And so was his personality, as great as he was in basketball.&rdquo;
Take away all the on-court accomplishments, and Russell still lived a life.
He stood side-by-side with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1960s, the height of the civil rights movement. He was in the audience when King delivered the &ldquo;I Have A Dream&rdquo; speech in Washington in 1963. He marched in Mississippi after the slaying of civil rights leader Medgar Evers. He supported Muhammad Ali when the fighter refused to go to Vietnam. He helped start the National Basketball Players Association. President Barack Obama &mdash; at about 6-foot-2, a taller-than-average individual &mdash; had to stretch a bit when draping the Presidential Medal of Freedom around Russell&rsquo;s neck in 2011, even after Russell crouched down to accommodate the moment.
&ldquo;He endured insults and vandalism, but he kept on focusing on making the teammates who he loved better players, and made possible the success of so many who would follow,&rdquo; Obama said that day. &ldquo;And I hope that one day, in the streets of Boston, children will look up at a statue built not only to Bill Russell the player, but Bill Russell the man.&rdquo;
Russell once got asked a question about being a Black star in Boston, a city with a complicated history when it comes to race. The premise was that it had to be difficult for Russell to live in such a place, to play for fans in such a city.
&ldquo;What I ascribed to do, and I did quite well, is every time I came into an adversarial situation, I decided to take control of it so that if a guy came up to me and tried to give me a bad day, I made sure that he was the one who left with the bad day,&rdquo; Russell said. &ldquo;And so, to do this took thought, planning and discretion and intelligence. That was the way I conducted my life.&rdquo;
Case in point: The apparent invasion of raccoons into Reading, Massachusetts, around 1958.
In his second season with the Celtics, Russell bought a house in Reading. He left for a road trip and his garbage cans got turned over. Same thing happened during the season&rsquo;s second road trip. Russell went to the police, who surmised that raccoons must be the culprits. Russell asked for a gun permit.
&ldquo;The raccoons heard about that,&rdquo; Russell said. &ldquo;Never turned the trash cans over again.&rdquo;
The gun never got purchased, either.
It would be a disservice &mdash; an insult, really &mdash; to look at Russell as only a basketball player, even as one of the greatest ever. He&rsquo;s still second on the NBA&rsquo;s all-time rebounding list, behind only Wilt Chamberlain, and will probably be in that spot forever since nobody has come remotely close to him in the last 50 years. He won five MVP awards, tied for second-most with Michael Jordan, one behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar&rsquo;s league record.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s what I did,&rdquo; Russell said in 2009. &ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t who I was.&rdquo;
That&rsquo;s the lesson. He didn&rsquo;t shut up and dribble. He stood for what he believed, stood with who he believed in. Being fearless on the basketball court was easy. Being fearless in the real world &mdash; even when dealing with matters of race in some of the nation&rsquo;s darkest times on that topic &mdash; was somehow even easier.
&ldquo;He had such curiosity about human nature, about psychology,&rdquo; Branch said. &ldquo;It was a treasure for me to be around Bill and see how he viewed the world in all of its dimensions.&rdquo;
The world has many of them. So did Russell. And on Sunday, the world lost an absolute legend.
Oh, the stories we will miss.

Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press mourns the loss of the legendary Bill Russell.

Appreciation: Bill Russell lived a life like very few others

Soccer player Megan Rapinoe admonished her fellow athletes for not doing enough to speak out and encouraged them to support detained WNBA star Brittney Griner at The ESPYS on Wednesday night.
Griner was arrested in Russia in February after customs officials said they found vape canisters containing cannabis oil in her luggage. She faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted on charges of transporting drugs.
&ldquo;For me, the most striking thing is that BG&rsquo;s not here. BG deserves to be free, she&rsquo;s being held as a political prisoner, obviously,&rdquo; Rapinoe said while accepting a trophy for best play at the show honoring the past year&rsquo;s top athletes and moments in sports.
&ldquo;Like what are we doing here dressed up like we are when our sister is detained abroad? We haven&rsquo;t done enough, none of us. We can do more, we can support her more, and just let her know that we love her so much.&rdquo;
&ldquo;First, bring BG home. Gotta do that,&rdquo; tennis great Billie Jean King said.
Griner has pleaded guilty in court and acknowledged possessing the canisters but said she had no criminal intent.
Rapinoe urged her fellow competitors to keep Griner&rsquo;s face and name on social media.
&ldquo;Every time we say it in interviews, it puts pressure on everybody,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;It puts pressure on the administration, it puts pressure on Russia, it puts pressure on Putin, it puts pressure on everyone, and it lets BG know also above everything that we love her and that we miss her and that we&rsquo;re thinking about her all the time.&rdquo;
NBA Finals MVP Stephen Curry hosted the show and joined WNBA players Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins-Smith in calling attention to Griner&rsquo;s plight.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been 153 nights now that BG has been wrongfully detained thousands of miles away from home, away from her family, away from her friends, away from her team,&rdquo; Diggins-Smith said. &ldquo;All throughout that time, we&rsquo;ve kept her in our thoughts and in our hearts even though we know that ain&rsquo;t nearly enough to bring her home, y&rsquo;all.&rdquo;
Wearing her Phoenix Mercury jersey under his track suit, Curry noted the effort being made to free Griner.
&ldquo;But as we hope for the best, we urge the entire global sports community to continue to stay energized on her behalf,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;She&rsquo;s one of us, the team of athletes in this room tonight and all over the world. A team that has nothing to do with politics or global conflict.&rdquo;
They were applauded by Griner&rsquo;s wife, Cherelle Griner, who was in the audience at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
Curry picked up a trophy, too, for best record-breaking performance, having set the mark for most 3-pointers made in league history. He also shared the best team award with the NBA champion Golden State Warriors.
Los Angeles Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani won best athlete in men&rsquo;s sports.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s an honor to be in the same category as all of you. You are the best at what you do,&rdquo; the Japanese player said, speaking in English via videotape. &ldquo;Have a wonderful everything and enjoy your afterparties.&rdquo;
Olympic swimming champion Katie Ledecky won best athlete in women&rsquo;s sports.
Ledecky earned two golds and two silvers at the Tokyo Games last year, giving her 10 career Olympic medals. She received her trophy from Maybelle Blair, the 95-year-old who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.
&ldquo;I represent one of the few sports that is also a really important life skill, so I want to encourage all the parents here, anyone watching, to make sure your kids learn how to swim,&rdquo; Ledecky said. &ldquo;Our planet is 70% water, so it&rsquo;s very important.&rdquo;
Former heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko was honored with the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage, having impacted the world beyond sports. Klitschko, mayor of embattled Kyiv, Ukraine, since 2014, wasn&rsquo;t present. He appeared in a pre-taped video.
King led off a tribute to the 50th anniversary of Title IX, the federal legislation that prohibits sex-based discrimination in schools that receive government funding.
She was joined by Lisa Leslie, Brandi Chastain, Chloe Kim, Allyson Felix, Aly Raisman and Rapinoe, among others. They spoke against a background of black-and-white photos showing women athletes in action, on the field or in the streets advocating for gender equality. Their comments were interspersed with country singer Mickey Guyton performing her songs &ldquo;What Are You Gonna Tell Her?&rdquo; and &ldquo;Remember Her Name.&rdquo;
The ESPYS were criticized by South Carolina women&rsquo;s basketball coach Dawn Staley for not inviting consensus player of the year Aliyah Boston to the show. Boston had hoped to attend and was disappointed not to be asked. She was issued a last-minute invitation but declined it.
ESPN said COVID-19 concerns and a smaller venue forced organizers to prioritize invitees to the show. Boston was nominated in a non-televised category that was handed out a night earlier. She lost to Oklahoma softball star Jocelyn Alo, who took part in the Title IX tribute.
ESPN college basketball broadcaster Dick Vitale received the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance. The 83-year-old has undergone multiple melanoma surgeries and six months of chemotherapy for lymphoma over the last year. In March, he said he was cancer free.
Vitale dismissed messages on the teleprompter urging him to conclude his remarks, which stretched to 20 minutes.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m gonna wrap up in about three minutes,&rdquo; he said in a raspy voice. &ldquo;Jimmy&rsquo;s dream was to beat cancer. We must do it because it doesn&rsquo;t discriminate. It comes after all.&rdquo;&nbsp;

Soccer player Megan Rapinoe admonished her fellow athletes for not doing enough to speak out in support of Brittney Griner.

Rapinoe, King urge freedom for Brittney Griner at The ESPYS

Stephen Curry lets his play do the talking during the NBA season. Give him a mic as host of The ESPYS and some famous folks might finally be hearing trash talk from one of the league&rsquo;s best-liked players.
Just how worried should the audience be Wednesday night for his opening monologue at the show honoring the past year&rsquo;s top athletes and moments in sports?
&ldquo;Maybe not as nervous as if Draymond was hosting, but still nervous,&rdquo; Curry said, referring to his always chattering Golden State Warriors teammate Draymond Green. &ldquo;Now I have the mic.&rdquo;
Fresh off the Warriors&rsquo; victory over Boston in the NBA Finals, Curry is presiding over the show airing live on ABC from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
The 30th annual ESPYS are back to full capacity for the first time in three years, moving from downtown Los Angeles to the home of the Academy Awards. The show went virtual in 2020 and held a scaled-down version last year in New York because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition to hosting, Curry is nominated for three individual trophies: best men&rsquo;s athlete, best record-breaking performance and best NBA player. The Warriors are competing for best team.
Curry is used to working in front of live audiences at games, but entertaining a well-dressed crowd of peers is daunting to the four-time NBA champion and recently crowned finals MVP.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m more nervous already just thinking about that vibe,&rdquo; he said by phone recently. &ldquo;Basketball is reactionary and I spend every waking hour thinking about it, practicing and preparing. I&rsquo;ll do that same preparation for this, but it&rsquo;s going to be an emotional roller coaster.&rdquo;
Curry describes his sense of humor as being &ldquo;all over the place.&rdquo; He mentions comedians Dave Chapelle and Kevin Hart, as well as the Emmy Award-winning series &ldquo;Schitt&rsquo;s Creek,&rdquo; among his favorites.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll try to channel all of them,&rdquo; he said.
Don&rsquo;t be surprised if Curry&rsquo;s kids, teammates or other athletes make cameos in the show&rsquo;s comedy bits.
Outside of basketball, Curry said he&rsquo;s &ldquo;a golf junkie, nerd, fanatic.&rdquo;
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve talked to Tiger Woods on the phone four or five times but I&rsquo;ve actually never met him in person. The dream would be to meet him at The ESPYS,&rdquo; he said.
Taking it further, Curry imagines Woods &ldquo;receives the best golfer (award) and the next morning we go play golf. That&rsquo;s the dream scenario.&rdquo;
When he&rsquo;s not making a living playing basketball or relaxing by hitting the links, Curry is following other teams, especially the Boston Red Sox and Carolina Panthers.
&ldquo;If you come to my house and my kids don&rsquo;t have control of the remote, then usually sports of any kind is on,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I watched the Stanley Cup Finals and didn&rsquo;t really know anything about it, but I still watched it. I don&rsquo;t discriminate between any of it. If it&rsquo;s sports, I&rsquo;m watching.&rdquo;

Fresh off the Warriors’ victory over Boston in the NBA Finals, Steph Curry is presiding over the ESPYs airing live on ABC.

Steph Curry steps out of comfort zone as host of The ESPYS

We're entering the home stretch of Summer League in Las Vegas, and some players who are fighting for their NBA futures have maximized these final days.&nbsp;
Four undrafted players made the "studs" list from Friday's action. As teams continue to pull their top picks from the rest of the competition, these longshots are receiving the minutes and audiences they need to make a statement. I personally enjoy seeing new names pop up with a statement performance.
It may just be Summer League, but these efforts can propel players to training camp invites and positive impressions on coaching staffs.
Let's see which players made a name for themselves on Friday:
STUDS
Brandon Boston Jr., Los Angeles Clippers
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Another big game for <a href="https://twitter.com/bboston_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@bboston_</a> 🏀 Brandon Boston Jr. powers the <a href="https://twitter.com/LAClippers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LAClippers</a> in their <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBASummer?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBASummer</a> win with 22 PTS, 8 REB and 2 STL! <a href="https://t.co/hKRKMdRBBT">pic.twitter.com/hKRKMdRBBT</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1548083741532180481?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 15, 2022</a></blockquote>
Box score stats: 22 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 8/14 FG, 3/6 3PT
Boston has played through some growing pains as a lead option for the Summer League Clippers' offense. Friday felt like a noteworthy step forward for the 2021 second-round pick. Boston slid confidently into pull-up threes and mid-range shots, taking what the defense gave him. He also used his 10 added pounds of weight to absorb contact at the basket.
Boston's long arms and strides make him difficult to contain when he gets a driving lane. He dished out dump-off passes and corner kick-outs as well to complete the stellar offensive showing.
Trevelin Queen, Philadelphia 76ers
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Things the Summer <a href="https://twitter.com/sixers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@sixers</a> did in Q3... 👀 (courtesy of Isaiah Joe, Trevelin Queen, and Grant Riller) <a href="https://t.co/otLR2mE8Wx">pic.twitter.com/otLR2mE8Wx</a>
&mdash; Lauren Rosen (@LaurenMRosen) <a href="https://twitter.com/LaurenMRosen/status/1548088438947098624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 15, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Box score stats: 17 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 5/7 FG, 3/5 3PT
Queen earned G League MVP honors while with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers last season. This game helps build his case for a role at the next level. Queen drilled tough triples and took off on one driving layup with a nice hesitation crossover. He made some great passing reads when he drew two defenders, and displayed some apparent synergy with backcourt mate Isaiah Joe. Queen agreed to a two-year contract with Philly on the first day of free agency, so the 76ers obviously wanted to get the 25-year-old involved with the team.
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Oklahoma City Thunder
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Love the pass from J-Will here, incredible Jeremiah Robinson-Earl finish 👨&zwj;🍳 <a href="https://t.co/8J9VM9T43E">pic.twitter.com/8J9VM9T43E</a>
&mdash; Rylan Stiles (@Rylan_Stiles) <a href="https://twitter.com/Rylan_Stiles/status/1548229417914155009?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 16, 2022</a></blockquote>
Box score stats: 15 points, 14 rebounds, 7/11 FG, 0/1 3PT
A different Thunder player seems to step up in just about every Summer League game. This time, it was the 2021 second-round big man. Robinson-Earl gobbled up rebounds and outworked Golden State inside. His footwork and craft around the basket were extremely impressive. My favorite play came when JRE attacked a Jonathan Kuminga closeout and worked along the baseline all the way to a reverse layup. He might not be an overwhelming vertical athlete, but Robinson-Earl is quick and shifty for a shorter big man.
Keegan Murray, Sacramento Kings
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Just another bucket for Keegan Murray 😎 The buzzer-beater gives him 8 PTS to go with 6 REB as the <a href="https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SacramentoKings</a> lead after 1 on NBA TV! <a href="https://t.co/883Ij24TGI">pic.twitter.com/883Ij24TGI</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1548102627996491777?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 16, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Box score stats: 21 points, 10 rebounds, 8/14 FG, 4/8 3PT
Another day, another Keegan Murray showcase. The No. 4 pick pulled down his highest rebound total in a Summer League game to date, and once again demonstrated versatility as a scorer. Murray used screens and cuts to build downhill momentum and finish layups, but also took players off the dribble by himself. His highlight play came on the above shot, when Murray fired home a contested turnaround three-pointer to beat the first-quarter buzzer. Kings fans have received just about everything they could have hoped for in Murray's Vegas run to date.
Jordan Schakel, Washington Wizards
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Jordan Schakel (21 PTS) and Jordan Goodwin (19 PTS) lead the scoring charge in the <a href="https://twitter.com/WashWizards?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WashWizards</a> dub 🪄 <a href="https://t.co/q8UQuXNxK8">pic.twitter.com/q8UQuXNxK8</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1548146150993080323?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 16, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Box score stats: 21 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks, 7/12 FG, 1/5 3PT
Schakel logged his second Summer League outing of 20-plus points in Washington's win against the Pacers. The 24-year-old knocked down two floaters as he felt his way through Indiana's defense. He also cut and relocated expertly to find easy paint chances and drilled one step-back three-pointer. Schakel picked up one significant block where he switched inside and met Simi Shittu at the rim. A 6-foot-6 wing, Schakel played last season on a two-way contract with Washington. &nbsp;
Cole Swider, Los Angeles Lakers
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Cole Swider comes through with 21 PTS to pace the <a href="https://twitter.com/Lakers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Lakers</a> in their <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBASummer?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBASummer</a> victory! <a href="https://t.co/g0spJ502JB">pic.twitter.com/g0spJ502JB</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1548170565520830464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 16, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Box score stats: 21 points, 6 rebounds, 8/15 FG, 5/11 FG
Swider caught fire from long range, leading the Lakers to a win with his perimeter prowess. His made threes mostly came off of movement and relocation. Swider can easily square himself up to the basket and has a quick, repeatable form. At 6-foot-9, he can also rise over smaller defenders and appears unfazed by contests. Movement three-point shooting will always be a need for today's NBA teams &mdash; particularly next to guys like LeBron James. Swider is a worthwhile flier as an undrafted rookie.
Jeff Dowtin, Toronto Raptors
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The <a href="https://twitter.com/Raptors?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Raptors</a> hold on for the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBASummer?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBASummer</a> win as Jeff Dowtin fills the stats sheet with 16 PTS, 8 REB, 5 AST and 2 STL! Dalano Banton: 18 PTS, 6 REB Armoni Brooks: 17 PTS Ron Harper Jr.: 14 PTS, 7 REB <a href="https://t.co/6KnBfbdSPJ">pic.twitter.com/6KnBfbdSPJ</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1548156699827064832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 16, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Box score stats: 16 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 4/9 FG, 1/2 3PT
I have waited so long to give Dowtin his flowers and now is my chance! The 6-foot-3 guard has been one of my favorite players to watch in all of Summer League, and on Friday he put down another rock-solid effort. Dowtin is just such a smart offensive player. He knows how to use his body to create and absorb contact, and shot 7-for-8 from the free-throw line in this one.
Dowtin is showing shooting improvement (36.4% on threes in Vegas) and makes quick, smart passing decisions (two turnovers in Vegas). I'm such a fan of the pace and poise at which he plays.&nbsp;
Other notable performers: Leandro Bolmaro (Jazz), Isaiah Joe (76ers), Grant Riller (76ers), Christian Braun (Nuggets), McKinley Wright IV (Suns), Isaiah Todd (Wizards), Jordan Goodwin (Wizards), Kendall Brown (Pacers), Kyle Allman Jr. (Heat), Dalano Banton (Raptors), Javante McCoy (Lakers), Jared Harper (Pelicans), John Petty Jr. (Pelicans), Tyrique Jones (Pelicans), Deividas Sirvydis (Pelicans)
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DUDS
Julian Champagnie, Philadelphia 76ers
Box score stats: 2 points, 4 rebounds, 1/7 FG, 0/2 3PT
Champagnie was one of the more efficient all-around shotmakers in college at St. John's, but he hasn't found his touch at Summer League. The 21-year-old rookie mostly attempted spot-up looks near or beyond the arc, and only got one stop-and-pop attempt to fall. He was not a threat at the basket or as an off-dribble connector. Philly has inked Champagnie to a two-way contract, so he'll have time to settle in with the Delaware Blue Coats.
Peyton Watson, Denver Nuggets
Box score stats: 2 points, 2 rebounds, 1/7 FG, 0/2 3PT
Watson has been a solid overall defender in my view, but his scoring efficiency is an eyesore. Outside of one 19-point game, the first-round pick is a combined 8-for-35 from the floor in his other contests. Here, he took some wild layup attempts and lost his mojo from beyond the arc. A lot of the correct processing and shot selection is there with Watson, but it's going to take time for him to iron out some consistency.
Louis King, Phoenix Suns
Box score stats: 9 points, 2 rebounds, 3/11 FG, 1/5 3PT
This was another rough, inefficient performance from one of the last year's best Summer League players. King missed threes he needs to make and rarely attacked closeouts. When he did, King often didn't explode quickly enough, and defenders could catch up to force bad shots. He missed some passing reads I thought he should have made. It was difficult to watch because I've been a fan of King's game since he went undrafted in 2019. He's shown enough in past years to earn some shot at the NBA level, but this week has not helped his case.

Keegan Murray, Brandon Boston Jr. and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl starred in Friday's slate of games.

10 studs and duds from Day 9 of NBA Summer League in Las Vegas

Two days after the 2020 NBA Draft on Nov. 20, I received a text message from former NBA player and coach Avery Johnson, who I had worked with at CBS Sports HQ:
Matt, I'm working with a group called Overtime. Can I connect you with the co-founder to share our vision for a major concept coming to market next year?
Of course, I said, &ldquo;Yes.&rdquo;
Shortly after, Overtime co-founder Zack Weiner connected with me. He didn't share any details about the "major concept," but he did say that he or a senior-level executive would call me in the following days.
I was appreciative that Avery had thought of me for their project, and I had every intention of hearing them out. However, I wasn't familiar with the company Overtime, and I'm regularly approached with new consulting opportunities, so nothing seemed to be all that atypical for me.
A few days later, I received a call from Shea Dawson, Overtime&rsquo;s head of athlete relations. She shared some details about Overtime as a company and explained that they had a new project in the works that would "change the game." She continued to tell me that their group felt that my background, experience and skill set would be helpful to them. Unfortunately, she couldn't fill me in on the project's specifics, as I needed to sign a non-disclosure agreement first.
After speaking with Shea, although I still wasn't clear about it, I became more intrigued about the potential opportunity.
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As I waited for the NDA to be emailed, I began doing my research on Overtime. I learned that the company was founded in 2016 by Zack Weiner and Dan Porter, who had worked together at WME, a leader in the talent agency industry. They started by raising seed money. Some early investors included former NBA commissioner David Stern and NBA star Kevin Durant. I then found out Overtime was a media company that creates unique content and targets a younger audience. (By 2019, Overtime was generating over a billion video views per month.)
So naturally, I became increasingly intrigued to learn about this mysterious project.
I finally received the email from Shea that included the NDA. I signed it and sent it back almost immediately.
Then, at last, the phone rang. It was Shea:
Matt, I'm so excited to share the details with you. We are creating a new professional league for high school-aged players. We want you to help us pull it together.
I had a lot of questions:
<ul>
<li>Where would they play?</li>
<li>Would they get paid, and how much?</li>
<li>Would the players go to school and earn a degree?</li>
<li>Would draft-eligible players be a part of the league?</li>
<li>Most importantly, what would happen to the players once they finished the league, and would they be eligible to play in college?</li>
</ul>
Despite my questions, I agreed to explore ideas to get involved. So for a couple of months, I had a handful of video conference calls with Shea and Aaron Ryan, a former executive in the NBA&rsquo;s office who was working as a consultant for the newly proposed and unnamed league.
Everything finally began to take shape by mid-January 2021. They named the league Overtime Elite (OTE). Aaron was hired as commissioner, while former NBA player and executive Brandon Williams was named head of basketball operations. In addition, I agreed to a short-term consulting deal to become a scouting advisor for the group.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/ote-leadership-group_lg.jpg" alt="" width="653" height="367" />
On March 4, 2021, OTE was publicly announced, releasing some project details. For starters, Overtime successfully raised $80 million. The newly raised money was allocated to build an arena in Atlanta, Georgia, and provide the league's players with salaries of a minimum of $100,000 per year among other things. The news spread like wildfire, and the feedback was mixed.
On one hand, NBA commissioner Adam Silver seemed to be optimistic, stating that he didn't have a problem with young players being paid and thought optionality was good. But, on the other hand, many of my friends in the industry were tearing the idea apart &mdash; some publicly and many behind closed doors.&nbsp;
What was the big issue with OTE, you ask? Well, I'll get to that in a minute.
As a scouting advisor, I assisted in setting up the scouting department and evaluated prospective players. Our group worked hard, and we did a good job. However, once OTE began recruiting, negotiating and looking to sign players, our scouting department shifted from evaluating players to recruiting them.&nbsp;
It was a necessary shift for the group, undoubtedly; however, I felt it put me in a compromising situation considering my involvement in so many different areas of basketball, including running <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NBA Draft and scouting coverages for BasketballNews.com</a>. I enjoyed working for OTE, but I decided to leave the group to avoid further conflicts of interest.
My last day working for OTE was May 14, which was a little over two months from OTE's launch date, four months from my start date with the company and six months since I first heard from Avery.
I may have left, but of course the show went on.
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Our scouting department identified the right players. Williams and Tim Fuller, the director of scouting and recruiting, did a great job of recruiting them. Then, on May 21, one week after I left the group, OTE announced that the league signed its first players: Matt and Ryan Bewley, five-star prospects from the Class of 2023. Then, Ausar and Amen Thompson after them. Then, Jean Montero, a top-rated point guard from the Dominican Republic. After that, there became a steady flow of new signings, one after another. OTE was rolling!
On Oct. 24, they hosted their first Pro Day. Following the event, NBA personnel and media members raved about the facilities and the talent level. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make it due to scheduling conflicts. I planned to attend a couple of days of their games in December, but out of an abundance of caution and rising numbers of COVID and flu cases around sports, the games were cancelled.
A few weeks ago, I finally made my way out to Atlanta to see OTE's finished product. In addition to seeing all of the players that our scouting group evaluated and discussed for months, I was able to see the OTE Arena with my own eyes.&nbsp;
While working for OTE, I was on semi-regular video conference calls hosted by Tim Katt, who spearheaded the arena's development. I expected it to be impressive, but my expectations were far exceeded. I was blown away by the building as soon as I walked in.
The bright lights, advanced technology, music and cameras were the first things that jumped out. There was no denying that it was a unique place. Keep in mind, I've spent my entire life in and around basketball, and I have seen the game from just about every angle possible, all over the world. So I wouldn't consider myself someone easily impressed with basketball facilities &mdash; and I was impressed!&nbsp;
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/ote6837_20220113_ote_1545_lg.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="436" />
My former co-workers, Louis Lehman and Matt Verden, gave me a tour throughout the facility. The more I saw, the more impressed I became. It wasn't the glitz and glam of it that impressed me as much as the resources I saw for young players to develop. For example, the players are given access to a personal chef for three meals per day, an incredible practice facility and high-level strength-and-conditioning spaces. Additionally, OTE has a well-built (and deep) coaching and support staff led by former NBA player and college head coach Kevin Ollie. Nowhere else in the world provides comparable levels of resources to players ranging between 16-18 years old.
Once the games started, the talent popped. Montero is the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/jean-montero" target="_blank" rel="noopener">main prospect for this year's upcoming draft</a>. He is likely to be the first draft pick to come out of the Overtime Elite program. The Thompson Twins look like lottery picks in the making for 2023. And then, guys like Alexandre Sarr and Tyler Smith look like they have promising NBA careers in their future too. And that's just naming a few; there&rsquo;s a ton of talent currently under contract.
I spent three days in Atlanta spending time with the OTE staff and becoming more familiar with the setup and evaluating their young prospects. On my flight home, I gathered my thoughts. I couldn&rsquo;t help but feel that OTE is generally misunderstood. I think many people only see "fluff." However, I see it differently.
The cameras, the bright lights, loud music and the content the league creates are the vehicles to generate the money (via sponsorship and advertising) to be able to provide such an incredible infrastructure to develop players&rsquo; marketability &mdash; but more importantly, to help them grow as basketball players and young men.
Considering my role and background, I tend to become hyperfocused on young prospects' development as basketball players but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the education element of OTE as well. On the league's website, it states, "OTE offers a direct-instruction model led by individual instructors who teach both 1:1 and in small group sessions featuring a 4:1 student-teacher ratio. OTE supplements a traditional course offering with a focus on life skills including financial literacy, media training, and advocacy and sports, and business of basketball."
That all sounds great, but what it doesn't mention is that the owner and co-founder of Overtime, Porter, served as the first president of Teach for America. Since education is a vital part of Porter's background, education has been a focal point since the idea's inception. So although they provide a non-traditional education, I can assure you that OTE&rsquo;s education program is well buttoned up.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/ote6513_20211214_ote_kh3_4898_lg.JPG" alt="" width="650" height="433" />
Overtime Elite is a special place and a terrific option for top teenage basketball players. I am proud to have played a small part in helping it go from being an ambitious idea into a successful reality.
But I'm going to address the elephant in the room now...
What's the catch with OTE? (Yes, there is one.)
For prospects to join the league, they have to sacrifice their college eligibility and instead, commit to a professional path. This alone has made the league controversial and subsequently labeled a disruptor in the basketball industry.
However, recently, it was announced that the NCAA had approved OTE players to participate in NCAA-certified AAU events this spring and summer.
Is this the first step towards players being able to sign with OTE while retaining their college eligibility? I'm not certain, but I sure hope so.
With all of that said, I'm going to leave you by posing a few questions:
<ul>
<li>What is the difference between a high school or college player receiving NIL deals and signing with OTE?</li>
<li>Who would be getting hurt by letting OTE players retain complete optionality and allowing them to play in college if they choose?</li>
<li>Is there any good reason that OTE players are not eligible to play in college other than arbitrary NCAA bylaws?</li>
</ul>
The questions are intended to be rhetorical, of course. However, I believe that they are essential.&nbsp;
So let's keep asking those questions!
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Matt Babcock describes his ties to Overtime Elite and why it is a special place and a terrific option for top teenage basketball players.

Matt Babcock: Overtime Elite is misunderstood

In 2021, &ldquo;NBA&rdquo; was the No. 1 trending Google search in the United States, beating out &ldquo;Squid Game,&rdquo; &ldquo;Mega Millions&rdquo; and &ldquo;stimulus check&rdquo; among other top searches. &ldquo;NBA&rdquo; also fared well globally, ranking as Google&rsquo;s No. 4 trending search worldwide.
Kevin Esteves, the NBA&rsquo;s associate vice president of digital strategy and analytics, did a double take when Google released this <a href="https://trends.google.com/trends/yis/2021/US/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> a few weeks ago.
&ldquo;I read it a few times just to make sure I understood what they were capturing and measuring,&rdquo; Esteves told BasketballNews.com in a phone interview. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s an incredible stat. In a year like 2021 &mdash; with all of the news and trending searches that would&rsquo;ve been in contention for the No. 1 spot &mdash; for the NBA to occupy that top spot, I think it&rsquo;s just a testament to the health of the brand and how exciting the league has been over the last few years. It&rsquo;s an incredible brand-health metric for us, but I think it also speaks to how the NBA is more than just a basketball league; it kind of infiltrates the conversation across culture, music, fashion and social justice.&rdquo;
The NBA has always had an excellent online presence, but 2021 was perhaps the league&rsquo;s most impressive year to date.
Last year, the NBA was the most-viewed and most-engaged pro-sports-league account on social media, driving 24 billion views and 2.3 billion engagements across all platforms. Also, the NBA added 18 million followers across Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Facebook combined last year &mdash; the most of any U.S. pro sports league.
&ldquo;What&rsquo;s really been our guiding philosophy throughout is we&rsquo;ve tried to be a first-mover on all of these platforms, and in many cases, we were the first sports-league account on the platform,&rdquo; Esteves explained. &ldquo;Then, it&rsquo;s about optimizing content for the platform that we&rsquo;re on &mdash; not just spraying the same piece of content across all of our platforms, but really optimizing for each platform, nurturing that fan base and giving them exactly what they want. That&rsquo;s sort of been key in our recipe for success.&rdquo;
In addition to growing its following on the larger platforms like Instagram and Twitter, the NBA also had a number of successful live activations on Twitch and TikTok among others. Even the way the league embraced Clubhouse during the height of its popularity &mdash; with regularly scheduled Watch Parties &mdash; is indicative of this philosophy.
&ldquo;I think a lot of brands can be hesitant around new platforms as they&rsquo;re emerging because they aren&rsquo;t sure if the ROI is there, or they&rsquo;re not sure exactly how it ladders up to their overall company objective,&rdquo; Esteves said. &ldquo;When you think about social media when it first started, a lot of brands were in the business of driving people back to their website or other offerings, whereas I think we&rsquo;ve always had the directive from our executives to optimize for the platform we&rsquo;re on and nurture engagement there.
&ldquo;At first, it was a very big marketing platform for us, but now, social drives just about every business objective that we have. But I don&rsquo;t think we could have achieved that if we were thinking that our first post on each platform had to drive 10 of our business objectives. We had to nurture engagement on those platforms to then be able to capitalize in the long-term. I think we benefited from that approach. Globally, I think you&rsquo;re starting to see more and more sports leagues embrace a similar approach, being on multiple platforms and [creating specific] content that they make available on those platforms to engage fans and ultimately increase the reach of the sport.&rdquo;
The NBA currently has the most followers of any pro-sports-league account on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/nba/?hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instagram</a> (63.1 million), <a href="https://twitter.com/nba" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a>&nbsp;(35.9 million), <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/NBA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">YouTube</a> (17.7 million) and <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@nba?lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TikTok</a> (14.2 million). In comparison, the NFL has just 22.7 million Instagram followers, 28.3 million Twitter followers, 8.7 million YouTube subscribers and 7.4 million TikTok followers.
A big part of Esteves&rsquo; job is trying to turn those followers into regular viewers. He describes this as &ldquo;a pivotal challenge and opportunity.&rdquo;
&ldquo;We believe that social [media] is a driver of awareness and reach, and that it can complement and increase linear viewership,&rdquo; Esteves said. &ldquo;We know that there are such avid communities, whether it&rsquo;s the #NBATwitter community or the communities that we have on YouTube, Reddit, you name it. They are among the most vibrant social communities on each platform, and we believe that it&rsquo;s a complementary offering. It&rsquo;s long been our strategy to drive awareness through social.
"For a game like Klay Thompson&rsquo;s return, we had a live social producer on hand to capture Klay&rsquo;s arrival, his warm-up routine, him coming out of the locker room and just all of that context. For all of our biggest nationally televised games, we&rsquo;re making it appointment-style viewing. We know that fans on social are inundated with content. You see the trends on a platform like TikTok, where seemingly anyone can go viral now with content that they just captured on their phone.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s so much content saturation out there right now, so you really have to break through the noise, and we&rsquo;ve found that the best way to do that is to be authentic and provide access that nobody else can. Before tip-off of Klay&rsquo;s return, we had a video of Klay running right up to the stanchion and he jumps into the camera. There&rsquo;s no way you can get closer than that! And we&rsquo;ve always felt that is important.
"Something that [Commissioner] Adam Silver always says is, &lsquo;Ninety-nine percent of our fans never get to attend a game live.&rsquo; So how do we use social to bring the game courtside and make them feel like they&rsquo;re actually there? We feel like that&rsquo;s a critical bridge between social and TV tune-in, creating those authentic relationships and providing the context for why this is such a big game or matchup. We use social to do that storytelling.&rdquo;
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Having a live social producer on hand for Thompson&rsquo;s return paid off, as the NBA&rsquo;s Instagram generated 103 million views &mdash; &nbsp;the most-viewed regular-season day in the account&rsquo;s history. Klay-specific content generated more than 110 million views across the NBA&rsquo;s socials, making Thompson&rsquo;s return the most-viewed regular-season moment ever. <a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CYiCTLxLOFE/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Video of Thompson&rsquo;s pregame introduction</a> received 22.3 million views, which is the NBA&rsquo;s second-most-viewed Instagram video of all-time.
It translated to linear viewership too. On NBA TV, the game averaged 844,000 viewers, making it the league's most-viewed regular-season game since 2016. Locally, NBC Sports Bay Area had a 12.7 household rating, the network's highest-rated regular-season game since 2016.
The NBA is terrific at creating these moments that get everyone talking. During the 2021 NBA All-Star Game in Atlanta, the league&rsquo;s Instagram account generated more than 139 million views &mdash; the most of any account on the platform that day. The NBA&rsquo;s IG also racked up the most views of any account when Stephen Curry broke the NBA&rsquo;s all-time three-point record, generating 63 million views in 24 hours.
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And thanks to the super active and passionate community on #NBATwitter, it&rsquo;s not uncommon to see multiple players and teams trending on Twitter whenever something notable happens in the NBA. Several years ago, I asked Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey about the rise of #NBATwitter and how it became one of the most-engaged communities on the platform.
&ldquo;I think the first reason it&rsquo;s become so strong is the league&rsquo;s acceptance of it. And not just acceptance, but usage of it,&rdquo; Dorsey <a href="https://hoopshype.com/2018/08/26/cofounder-ceo-tweet-twitter-edit-nba-warriors-jack-dorsey/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told me</a>. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s a very open mindset to technologies like Twitter and that&rsquo;s helped immensely. I also think the pace of Twitter matches the pace of the NBA and basketball in general. We [focused on] very brief moments and it&rsquo;s fast-paced and there&rsquo;s a lot going on, and you find a lot of the same dynamics within basketball and an appreciation for those things within the fan base.
"We were fortunate to get a lot of the players on the service [early] and also the commentators &mdash; a lot of the smart commentators... We have some of the most amazing fans on #NBATwitter too... I think it&rsquo;s a good companion to the event and to what you&rsquo;re watching. It also has that feeling of making the world smaller. We&rsquo;re all watching this game at once; we all saw the same thing and here&rsquo;s how we all feel about it &mdash; whether we&rsquo;re outraged or we&rsquo;re excited, we&rsquo;re [part] of the crowd.&rdquo;
Esteves agrees with Dorsey.
&ldquo;When it comes to #NBATwitter, we&rsquo;ve leaned in, of course. Our game is high-paced, volatile, real-time and has all of those &lsquo;did-you-just-see-that&rsquo; moments that are kind of perfect fodder for a platform like Twitter. I think we&rsquo;ve benefited from the product on the court. The NBA is an extremely exciting product on the court with many rising talents," Dorsey said.
"The other day, Ja Morant had his freakish block in transition, and that&rsquo;s just fuel for Twitter and the conversation that&rsquo;s occurring there. In many ways, it&rsquo;s also a credit to the media, who are such a valuable part of that ecosystem and conversation, and to our players, who not only produce on the court but have been very invested. Shaq was among the first people with a Twitter account, period. Having our players invested in the platform helped. We&rsquo;ve benefited from that marriage, that partnership over the years, and our game has grown as a result."
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JA MORANT WILD BLOCK 😳 <a href="https://t.co/ZxQqdCWFsk">pic.twitter.com/ZxQqdCWFsk</a>
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If you&rsquo;re a basketball fan, it&rsquo;s almost impossible to avoid #NBATwitter these days. Even if you aren&rsquo;t on the platform, you&rsquo;re bound to hear about various tweets and the drama that unfolds there. When DeAndre Jordan flip-flopped on his free-agency decision to join the Dallas Mavericks and re-signed with the Los Angeles Clippers, that saga played out on #NBATwitter. Bryan Colangelo lost his job as general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers because some #NBATwitter sleuths discovered his burner account. Nearly every free-agency signing, trade and draft pick is reported first on #NBATwitter. It has become an integral part of the NBA landscape. It&rsquo;s also wildly entertaining.
&ldquo;My favorite account &mdash; and one that I think makes #NBATwitter so special &mdash; is Draymond Green&rsquo;s mother, <a href="https://twitter.com/babersgreen">@BabersGreen</a>," Dorsey <a href="https://hoopshype.com/2018/08/26/cofounder-ceo-tweet-twitter-edit-nba-warriors-jack-dorsey/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told me</a> several years ago. &ldquo;She has found all the other NBA moms on Twitter and she trash-talks them during games! She also trash-talks her own son during games! Watching a game with her tweeting about what&rsquo;s going on with Draymond or with other moms is just entertaining. The basketball game is amazing in itself, but to see her comment on it just makes it funny.&rdquo;
The NBA&rsquo;s YouTube channel is also a huge point of pride. The channel generated 1.94 billion views in 2021, which was the most-viewed year in the channel&rsquo;s 16-year history.
&ldquo;These staggering numbers on YouTube are among the [metrics] we&rsquo;re most proud of because, as I like to say from the data side, this single-year record viewership has been years in the making,&rdquo; Esteves explained. &ldquo;The NBA has been on YouTube since 2005, and the optimizations that are required to kind of perfect your algorithmic traffic are so nuanced; it comes down to thumbnails and headlines and captions and the length of the video and the pace of the video. We&rsquo;re constantly tweaking and optimizing those things, and one thing that we&rsquo;ve seen is that as you further optimize, you get this domino effect where one successful video fuels the performance of the next video and the next video and so on. So, seeing these numbers peak in 2021 is a testament to a lot of the optimizations that we&rsquo;ve made over the course of several years.&rdquo;
This was something that Esteves pointed out several times: the NBA&rsquo;s success in 2021 was the culmination of several years of hard work.
&ldquo;I sit on our Digital Content Strategy and Analytics team and we sit hand in hand with the content-publishing team, and we created that feedback and optimization loop over several years and now we&rsquo;re seeing the dividends of all that work,&rdquo; Esteves said. &ldquo;Also, we&rsquo;re trying to increase data fluency throughout the entire company. We don&rsquo;t want all of the answers to sit in one group that sends out an email or report saying &lsquo;X, Y and Z.&rsquo; We want more people throughout the organization to understand the data and be able to analyze it themselves; I think that has also been part of our success.&rdquo;
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Esteves joined the NBA in 2012, so not only has he witnessed the league&rsquo;s tremendous growth across various platforms, he&rsquo;s also seen how the digital landscape has changed over the last decade.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been an incredible transformation,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I started at the NBA out of school as a project employee on our Social Content team. When I first started, on a lot of these platforms, it was rather intuitive what content you published on each because they were all so different. Twitter was kind of the lifeblood of everything going on with news and commentary, and it was very tech specific. YouTube was where all videos existed and it was kind of the searchable domain of all video. Facebook was more for friends and family and conversations. Instagram started as a photo-only platform.
"From a content-strategy perspective, it was rather intuitive, understanding what content we put on each platform. But now, all of the platforms have evolved so much, and they have replicated a lot of the same features &mdash; from stories to videos to live-streams to audio-only formats. Now, it&rsquo;s a lot more nuanced in terms of trying to understand where the content is going to work best, and that&rsquo;s where the data becomes so important. We&rsquo;re pulling in data from each of these platforms and really getting granular about trying to understand what performs best on each platform.
&ldquo;I think part of what has made us so successful is being open to the data and leaning in to the data, and understanding what&rsquo;s performing well versus what&rsquo;s not performing well. Sometimes, it&rsquo;s hard to admit the things that aren&rsquo;t working, but we&rsquo;ve been very transparent and honest with ourselves, and we hold ourselves accountable to make sure we&rsquo;re optimizing on each of these platforms. Having that approach is another ingredient to our success and how we&rsquo;ve been able to continue growing.&rdquo;
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This data includes interesting details about the NBA&rsquo;s demographics. For example, the NBA&rsquo;s Facebook, Instagram and TikTok accounts have more than 24 million combined followers from the Philippines &mdash; the most of any country outside of the United States.
&ldquo;One of the things that makes the NBA so unique is its global reach, and we see that show up time and time again in the demographics,&rdquo; Esteves said. &ldquo;The fan support we have in the Philippines, I think, is among the most amazing things I&rsquo;ve witnessed from the data side for the demographics of the NBA. For that country to represent such a significant portion of the consumption we have on a person-to-person basis, they just love the NBA; they love the stories and the players. Our content performs exceptionally well there.
"We see support from countries all over the world &mdash; in Europe, Australia, Africa and so on &mdash; but the Philippines is an example of something that really stood out to me. I think that ties back to a lot of the globalization that the NBA has done, with some of its global games being held in Manila and other locations outside of the U.S. That&rsquo;s been critical and we&rsquo;ve seen that show up in the numbers."
Utilizing these platforms, the NBA has gone from connecting to its biggest local supporters to reaching an audience that spans the entire world.
"Being based in New York, sometimes you have that U.S.-centric bias when you&rsquo;re looking at stuff, but once you see the data, it opens up your mind like, &lsquo;Wow, this content is being consumed in real time across so many different territories and countries across the globe.&rsquo;&rdquo;

In 2021, the NBA was the most-viewed, most-engaged and most-followed pro-sports-league account on social media.

An inside look at how the NBA became a social-media juggernaut

When the Phoenix Suns acquired Mikal Bridges from the Philadelphia 76ers on draft night in 2018, the immediate expectations for the No. 10 overall pick were immense. Alongside their first No. 1 overall pick in franchise history, Deandre Ayton, this duo was expected to help turn around a consistently dysfunctional organization. Devin Booker was the only mainstay who could be considered a primary building block. Now, Ayton and Bridges joined him to form a promising trio.
Three-and-a-half years later, this trio has completely altered the long-term fortunes of a franchise that was in desperate need of change. Booker has become a full-blown superstar. Ayton is still developing into a dominant two-way big, but the flashes of brilliance are jaw-dropping. In Year 4, Bridges is now taking his own leap &mdash; one that could further elevate the Suns' long-term ceiling.
Bridges is averaging 14.1 points and 1.6 combined steals and blocks per game. As always, his efficiency is off the charts, registering a 64.4% True Shooting percentage in the Suns&rsquo; first 15 games. Those numbers won&rsquo;t exactly jump off the page to the casual fan, but, for those who have paid attention to this team over the last four years, it's clear that Bridges' confidence level is currently at an all-time high. The former Villanova Wildcat is embracing a bigger scoring load and it&rsquo;s not hampering his incredible defense in any way, as he continues to lock down players one-on-one and thrive within the team's system.
Against the Dallas Mavericks on Friday, Bridges delivered another brilliant performance, scoring 19 points on 7-of-7 shooting. According to Suns PR, Bridges joined 7-Seconds-or-Less-era staple Leandro Barbosa as the only players in franchise history to shoot 100% in a game on seven or more attempts, including three or more from three-point range. During the two-game home stint against the Luka Doncic-less Mavericks, Bridges put on a two-way clinic and showcased his talents in front of the national audience.
Offensively, Bridges&rsquo; role is simple, but his unworldly efficiency makes it look effortless. Within the Suns&rsquo; offense, his job is to find the open cutting lanes and swish three-pointers at an above-average clip.
Defensively, Bridges can do literally anything for Phoenix. Against Dallas, there were possessions where he locked down 6-foot-1 Jalen Brunson, then pivoted over to put the clamps on 7-foot-3 Kristaps Porzingis. It was a master-class showing from Bridges, cementing his status among the NBA&rsquo;s best defenders.
An incredible two-way stat puts into perspective just how dominant Bridges has been on the defensive end so far this season. Only two players are posting a +60% True Shooting percentage while limiting their one-on-one matchups to a sub-40% field goal percentage (min. 30 minutes per game; min. 10+ FGA defended): three-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert and Bridges.
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If anyone is making an early-season case to challenge Gobert&rsquo;s DPOY crown, it&rsquo;s the 25-year-old wing in Phoenix.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t care if Mikal plays another game, he better be on that All-Defensive team this year,&rdquo; Chris Paul said after the Suns&rsquo; 112-104 win over Dallas. &ldquo;Every night, every night, man, Mikal does everything. Everything.&rdquo;
Quite honestly, Bridges should have been on an All-Defensive team last season, but he was robbed based off of name recognition. Although he put up better all-around numbers on that end of the floor than Kawhi Leonard, he was left off of the list because of the latter&rsquo;s status within the Association. This year, it feels like Bridges is definitely out to make an emphatic statement.
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Defensive field goal percentage tracks what opposing players shoot when a defender is within three feet of them. Here is Bridges' defensive field goal percentage year-by-year; notice the difference in 2021-22:
2018-19: 47.9 DFG%
2019-20: 45.8 DFG%
2020-21: 48.4 DFG%
2021-22: 39.2 DFG%
Every game since he's become a pro, Bridges&rsquo; assignment on defense has been to guard the opposing team&rsquo;s best player. It&rsquo;s a tough role, but one that Bridges enjoys and thrives in.
&ldquo;I get so excited about it because I know what that&rsquo;s like &mdash; for so many years, guarding [the other team's best player]," Paul said. "Chasing around Steph [Curry], guarding James [Harden], guarding Kyrie [Irving], Russ [Westbrook], all that. It&rsquo;s a different type of approach coming into the game. A lot of guys come into the game just having to think about making their shots and getting to their spots. When you have to think about, 'How am I going to make the game tough on this guy?' it&rsquo;s a whole different approach to the game. And he&rsquo;s one of the best, obviously, to do it.&rdquo;
Over the last decade, only three non-centers have won Defensive Player of the Year: Giannis Antetokounmpo (2019-20), Draymond Green (2016-17) and Kawhi Leonard (2014-15, 2015-16). Of those names mentioned, Leonard feels like the only true &ldquo;wing&rdquo; to win the award since Antetokounmpo and Green each played more than 20% of their minutes at center in their DPOY seasons. If we narrow down the list of DPOY winners to those who played the same role as Bridges since 2000, Ron Artest (2003-04) and Leonard are the only ones who brought home the illustrious hardware.
If Bridges can maintain this current pace all season long, not only is he a lock to make the All-Defensive First-Team, he&rsquo;s going to challenge a Defensive-Player-of-the-Year mainstay like Gobert at the top of ballots.
Looking back on that draft-night trade, Phoenix acquired Bridges by sending Philadelphia the rights to Zhaire Smith and an unprotected 2021 first-round pick from the Miami Heat (which became Tre Mann). Considering just how good Bridges has become and the fact that Smith is now out of the NBA after appearing in just 13 games, that deal may go down as one of the biggest heists in recent memory.
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<div class="p-rich_text_section">After the Suns&rsquo; miraculous Finals run last season, everyone has heard of Mikal Bridges and seen what he can do on both ends of the floor. Now, as he elevates his game to new levels and locks down opponents on a nightly basis, the legend of "The Warden" will only continue to grow.</div>
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Mikal Bridges' dominant defense has put him on the radar as a dark-horse Defensive-Player-of-the-Year candidate early in the season.

Suns' Mikal Bridges making early case for dark-horse DPOY candidacy

If there's one thing I can definitively say about LeBron James&rsquo; latest foray into the box office, it's that the sincerity in his performance as LeBron James is endearing. It&rsquo;s not convincing, but it is endearing.
From beginning to end, James is engaged and invested into the script of "Space Jam: A New Legacy," which made the irregular-heartbeat-inducing pace of its editing tolerable for the length of the film. Yes, the wacky cartoon sound effects awakened a conditioned sense of peace that I&rsquo;m sure my inner child experiences every Saturday morning, so that&rsquo;s something Warner Bros. nailed.
Between the erratic scenes held together by a surprisingly sound storyline and awkwardly integrated special effects, there were a couple of spectacles that I found fun &ndash; magic robot Damian Lillard being one of them. As an NBA writer that embraces the entertainment aspect of basketball on the court to satisfy my past as an art kid, I didn&rsquo;t know that Dame Time personified would be so satisfying to see on the big screen. Had "Space Jam 2" explored the more captivating moments as a storyline instead of saving it as the film&rsquo;s dazzling peak, there would've been some fun possibilities... However, that may have been a little too ambitious for the target audience.
Instead, James and the supporting cast give us a simpler, classic journey of how parents should nurture their children and allow them to become whoever they wish to be &ndash; whether that is a basketball superstar or a computer savant (apparently, that&rsquo;s the opposite of hooper). The film is full of choppy scenes meant to keep us captivated, and the final cut felt like it was broken up into a couple of hours of TikTok scrolling &ndash; the kind where you come out of the binge confused and craving Warner Bros. studio films. Some minute-long clips will be worth a second watch, while others will need to be eliminated from your "for you" page. A very effective approach.
The commercial-like vibe didn&rsquo;t end there. The frenzied Warner Bros. cross-promotion in "A New Legacy" has become a running meme from the movie on social media. The famed studio used quite a bit of the production to boost brand recognition without any of the meta humor present in the first movie. At times, these ad placements can take away from the awesome design in "A New Legacy." There was a successful effort to keep the Looney Tunes true to their original characters, so perhaps WB believed this genuine effort to keep Bugs Bunny and the gang allowed for them to sprinkle in references to a host of Warner backdrops.
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Famed film critic Robert Ebert once said, &ldquo;You will find something profound, no matter how silly the film may seem,&rdquo; and it rings especially true with the "Space Jam" series. Instead of panning "A New Legacy" to flex knowledge in cinematic excellence (which I don&rsquo;t have since I frequently watch and enjoy garbage), or even protect it from any criticism as a film for children, not grown ups, let us appreciate these films for what they&rsquo;ve become &mdash; a chance for a kid from Akron and another raised in North Carolina to leave their fingerprints on popular American culture.
Alongside the Looney Tunes, a staple of TVs in every household, both Michael Jordan and James have put exclamation marks on the mountaintops of their careers. Both have used "Space Jam" as an opportunity to place their name next to everything from the legendary cartoons themselves, and in the case of James: "Harry Potter," "Casablanca," "A Clockwork Orange," DC comics and more.&nbsp;&nbsp;
The strength of familiar faces carrying the cameo-packed climax was obvious; every time a character we all know popped onto the screen, the theater burst into whispers. This film was made to appeal to everyone. Every line is written to be quotable. Every scene is shimmering and over-the-top and gaudy. Every highlight is made worthy. From the NBA&rsquo;s most talented player to the cheesy storyline imploring us all to let people be themselves, LeBron James&rsquo; passion project makes for an easy, glitzy watch.
Much to the dismay of the veteran&rsquo;s "&lsquo;haters," he <a href="https://deadline.com/2021/07/space-jam-a-new-legacy-black-widow-weekend-box-office-1234794982/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shared a Deadline link via Twitter</a> that stated, &ldquo;Warner Bros.&rsquo; long awaited sequel to the 25-year-old family classic 'Space Jam' -- 'Space Jam: A New Legacy' -- had a four-point shot at the box office yesterday, with $13.1M at 3,965 theaters, for what will be a $32M opening weekend.&rdquo;
And that&rsquo;s mission accomplished for James. He sees himself immortalized for a little bit longer toward the twilight years of his NBA career. We get an original, post-pandemic feature that brings on some welcomed nostalgia for preferable times.

"Space Jam: A New Legacy" came out several days ago, so Yasmin Duale reviews the sequel that stars LeBron James.

LeBron put himself in the history books with 'Space Jam: A New Legacy'

MILWAUKEE (AP) &mdash; Trae Young and the inexperienced Atlanta Hawks seemingly aren&rsquo;t feeling the pressure of NBA playoff basketball.
They are loose and confident. The Hawks don't get rattled. They are 4-0 in postseason games decided by three points or less, and 6-1 when the margin is seven points or below.
&ldquo;When you have a group that really believes in each other and really is fighting on the court for each other, anything can happen,&rdquo; Young said Wednesday after the Hawks&rsquo; 116-113 Game 1 victory. &ldquo;I think our team really believes that, and it&rsquo;s been working.&rdquo;
The Hawks have jumped out to 1-0 lead over the Milwaukee Bucks heading into Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals Friday night. The fifth-seeded Hawks have gone 6-2 in playoff road games as they chase the franchise&rsquo;s first title since 1958, when they were based in St. Louis.
Young&rsquo;s 48-point performance in Game 1 was the second-highest playoff total in franchise history, behind Dominique Wilkins&rsquo; 50-point effort in Game 2 of a 1986 first-round series triumph over Detroit. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Young was the first player ever to have at least 45 points and 10 assists in a Conference Finals game.
He&rsquo;s doing it with a flair and ease as he enjoys a coming out in the postseason, showcasing his skills in front of national television audiences who hadn&rsquo;t seen much of the Hawks before the playoffs.
After faking out Milwaukee&rsquo;s Jrue Holiday on a crossover late in the third quarter to leave himself wide open behind the 3-point arc, Young paused and did a little shimmy before making his shot.&nbsp;Also in the third quarter, <a href="https://twitter.com/ATLHawks/status/1407882260372770825" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Young set up teammate John Collins for a dunk with a pass off the backboard.</a>
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WITH THE SHIMMY. <a href="https://t.co/h6SmlIoB4U">pic.twitter.com/h6SmlIoB4U</a>
&mdash; Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/ATLHawks/status/1407883129147244547?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 24, 2021</a></blockquote>

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&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve seen a lot of players just retreat whenever they get on this stage,&rdquo; said Hawks center Clint Capela, who reached the West finals with Houston in 2015 and 2018. &ldquo;What I see from him is so much confidence, fearless, attacking again and again. It&rsquo;s really contagious on our team.&rdquo;
The Hawks&rsquo; relative lack of postseason experience hasn&rsquo;t hurt them at all. Without being weighed down by expectations or memories of previous playoff disappointments, the Hawks are playing their best when games are on the line.
Atlanta&rsquo;s knack for winning close games started soon after the Hawks fired coach Lloyd Pierce and replaced him with Nate McMillan.
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Under Pierce, the Hawks were 1-6 in games that were decided by no more than five points or went into overtime. After McMillan&rsquo;s arrival, the Hawks finished the regular season by going 8-2 in games that fit that profile.
The trend has continued in the postseason.
&ldquo;They&rsquo;ve built a confidence, so you&rsquo;ve got to break that,&rdquo; Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said Thursday. &ldquo;You&rsquo;ve got to win some of the close games. But a lot of credit to them, a lot of respect for how they&rsquo;ve played in close games in the playoffs and the regular season. We&rsquo;ve got to be prepared and be ready. &rdquo;
Hawks reserve forward Solomon Hill was part of the Miami Heat team that won the East as a No. 5 seed last year. Hill says the Hawks are thriving on the same underdog mentality that drove the Heat.
&ldquo;That was one thing that was huge about Miami,&rdquo; Hill said Thursday. &ldquo;The belief in ourselves was greater than anybody else&rsquo;s belief in us. There was nobody that wanted to win it more than the guys in the locker room. It showed with sacrifices. It showed with hard work. It showed with the hustle mentality that we had. And that&rsquo;s the same thing showing up here.&rdquo;
The Hawks are doing this at far less than full strength.
Bogdan Bogdanovic is playing with a sore right knee that has limited his effectiveness. Cam Reddish is back from an Achilles injury that knocked him out for four months, but the Hawks plan to work him in slowly after such a long layoff. De&rsquo;Andre Hunter is out for the remainder of the postseason after undergoing knee surgery.
Atlanta has withstood those injuries, rolling past New York and Philadelphia to reach the Conference Finals.
Young has been the catalyst. Even when he isn&rsquo;t shooting well he continues to have an impact. He controls the tempo of the game, gets to the free throw line and keeps teammates involved.
The Hawks have adopted his boldness and fearlessness, earning Game 1 road wins in each of the first three playoff rounds.
&ldquo;Everyone seems fearless on this stage,&rdquo; Hawks guard Kevin Huerter said. &ldquo;And he&rsquo;s obviously the ringleader of that.&rdquo;

The Atlanta Hawks, led by Trae Young, are feeling very confident and believe they can win this year's championship.