Bulldogs

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and Dallas Mavericks forward/center Anthony Davis have both been ruled out of the 2025 NBA All-Star Game due to injuries. Antetokounmpo is sidelined with a left calf strain, while Davis is recovering from a left adductor strain, according to news reports from NBA insiders Shams Charania and Chris Haynes.
In their absence, Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young and Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving have been selected as replacements. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver made and relayed the selections, and it was chosen for the reason of the next in line of voting from the NBA head coaches. The NBA All-Star reserves are selected through a voting process from all 30 league head coaches.
Young, making his fourth All-Star appearance, is averaging 23.5 points and 11.4 assists this season. Irving, now a nine-time All-Star, has posted averages of 24.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 4.8 assists.&nbsp;
The 2025 NBA All-Star Game will feature a new format, consisting of a four-team, three-game mini-tournament at Chase Center in San Francisco. Young and Irving's participation is highly anticipated, as fans look forward to their dynamic playmaking abilities on the All-Star stage.

Giannis Antetokounmpo and Anthony Davis have both been ruled out of the 2025 NBA All-Star Game due to injuries.

Antetokounmpo, Davis ruled out from 2025 NBA All-Star Game; Young, Irving in

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

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

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

Blake Stern previews the NBA's Central Division, breaking down each team's projected lineup and burning question entering the year.

NBA Central Division Preview: Burning questions, rotation projections

When San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich chose to rest four starters during a nationally televised game back in 2012, he likely didn't think much of it.
Little did he know, this decision to sit Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Danny Green would go on to create a massive ripple effect, with the NBA creating rules about resting players and terms like "load management" entering the lexicon.
At the time, NBA commissioner David Stern fined Popovich and the Spurs $250,000 and said this decision was "a disservice to the league and our fans."
Nearly 12 years later, the NBA is still trying to combat this issue, implementing a new Player Participation Policy in order to prevent teams from resting their best players.
This new policy could conceivably be named the Coach Popovich Rule, but it&rsquo;s not. The NBA&rsquo;s Player Participation Policy specifically governs how teams are allowed to rest their stars. Current NBA commissioner Adam Silver put a very fan-friendly spin on the new rule.
&ldquo;This is ultimately about the fans,&rdquo; Silver recently told reporters following two days of Board of Governors meetings in New York. &ldquo;And that we&rsquo;ve taken this [load management] too far. This is an acknowledgement that it has gotten away from us a bit.&rdquo;
The league&rsquo;s perceived intention seems fair: reverse the load-management trend, which has seen a rise in star players voluntarily missing games &ndash; an admittedly bigger problem now than in the recent past. During the 2022-23 season, the average games played by the league's top-10 scorers was 65 games per player. Comparatively, the average games played by the top-10 scorers in 2012-13 was 75 games!
Ultimately, this move will benefit the fans, but was this really done with the fans&rsquo; interests in mind? By limiting how often stars rest, the NBA&rsquo;s on-court product will inevitably be more compelling. While that's good for fans, it's also good for the NBA itself (but more on that in a moment). Stars sitting out nationally televised games was never a good look, so putting an end to that trend is important.
But digging a bit deeper, I believe it becomes clear that this move is more about business than fan satisfaction. Let's consider, for a moment, that the league&rsquo;s current broadcast rights deal expires following the 2024-25 season. The current TV deal is worth a total of $24 billion over 10 years. The NBA hopes to double &ndash; or even triple &ndash; that number in its next deal, according to <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/22/nba-is-next-up-for-a-big-rights-increase-and-75-billion-is-the-price.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jabari Young of CNBC</a>. It is entirely possible that the league is looking to demonstrate increased value for its bidders, which will likely include the usual suspects like Turner Sports and ESPN as well as streamers like Amazon and Apple.
For what it&rsquo;s worth, Apple recently inked a deal with Major League Baseball, paying $85 million annually to air Friday Night Baseball games over the next seven years. Meanwhile, Amazon reached an agreement with the NFL to pay $1 billion annually for 10 years for exclusive rights to Thursday Night Football games. The NBA is trying to entice these same companies to bid for their broadcast rights.
It's important to note that the Player Participation Policy isn't the league&rsquo;s first attempt to improve its televised product. The NBA also recently announced its <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-announces-details-for-inaugural-inseason-tournament-&amp;sa=D&amp;source=docs&amp;ust=1695515248097037&amp;usg=AOvVaw0mEzpohBfg-49Qyl7iKxR6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">inaugural in-season tournament</a>, conveniently beginning this season, which is likely to be marketed differently and, therefore, viewed more regularly. Furthermore, the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, which was ratified in April 2023, dictates that players must participate in at least 65 games to qualify for in-season awards. In total, these are major changes in order to ensure that the NBA's best players are suiting up more often than not.
This could ultimately be a win-win for the league and its fans. Players will probably need more convincing. But if the league plans to continue with an 82-game season &ndash; which it should &ndash; star players must lead the way, meaning they need to be front and center as often as possible. Rest is, of course, an important part of the process, which is likely to be an area of frustration for star players. But the medical advancements, health-oriented amenities and teams of on-staff trainers should ultimately translate to more games played for modern players &ndash; not fewer.
And considering how aggressively maximum salaries have increased, stars will understand. In 2012-13, the highest salary in the NBA was $30.5 million (Kobe Bryant). In 2022-23, it was up more than 50% to $48 million (Stephen Curry). By 2026-27, the highest salary will be at least $63 million (Damian Lillard). Of course, a big reason for these monster salaries is the NBA's TV money. This was never more apparent than during the summer of 2016, when the NBA's new broadcasting deal caused the salary cap to spike and teams went on a spending spree (handing out massive contracts that some would quickly regret).
But for the league&rsquo;s TV partners to also benefit monetarily, star players must be available as often as possible as a means of driving interest &ndash; especially since more and more fans are pledging their allegiance to stars rather than teams. The league clearly understands this fact. Just look at how the NBA structures its Christmas Day games, which are normally among the most-viewed games of the season. Last year, we saw LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Jayson Tatum, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, Devin Booker and Ja Morant, who represent seven of the top-10 players in jersey sales.&nbsp;We also saw Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic, the two finalists for 2022-23 NBA MVP award.
Like most major changes, the new Player Participation Policy will inevitably ruffle feathers, especially among some players. But it should also improve the NBA&rsquo;s viewership numbers and result in more competitive games. There will probably be some bumps along the way, but fans will benefit as much as anyone. I only wish the league would have referenced the TV deal in announcing the rule as a means of transparency. But regardless of whether the league, owners and players get richer, it&rsquo;ll be refreshing to see stars more frequently &ndash; and that&rsquo;s probably the point.

The NBA introduced rules to combat load management just as their TV deal is set to expire. That's no coincidence, writes Drew Maresca.

NBA’s new Player Participation Policy may lead to even larger TV deal

Today, the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) and Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) announced their continued partnership in hosting the fifth&nbsp;annual Top 50 Basketball Camp. The camp will take place July 27&ndash;29 at Morehouse College and Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, GA. &nbsp; The best players from each conference will be featured at the camp in a model like the NBPA's Top 100 Camp. Players at the Top 50 Camp will participate in basketball skill training exercises and attend leadership and life development sessions off the court. &nbsp; "NBPA members have a true appreciation for HBCUs, and the Top 50 Camp is a great way for the NBPA to continue strengthening its connection with the HBCU community," said Purvis Short, the NBPA's Chief of Player Programs. "Our partnership with the SIAC and SWAC has given us a unique opportunity to host a productive learning experience for HBCU athletes to better themselves as men on and off the court." The camp also aims to cultivate and create coaching and talent pipelines for current and retired NBA players exploring the transition into careers in intercollegiate athletics. &nbsp; "The Southwestern Athletic Conference is elated to continue our partnership with the NBPA Top 50 Camp," said SWAC Commissioner Dr. Charles McClelland. "This partnership is an amazing opportunity for our student-athletes to participate in athletic and professional development initiatives that will positively impact them both on and off the court. This event has steadily grown and has quickly become a signature event that our student-athletes look forward to participating in on an annual basis." &nbsp; In addition to skill development and on-court drills, the camp will include a series of highly-competitive scrimmages and games, allowing the players to showcase their talent against the best of their neighboring conference. &nbsp; "I commend the NBPA for its commitment to HBCUs as The Top 50 Camp serves as a basketball combine for our student-athletes to showcase their talents while receiving instruction from current and former NBA players," said SIAC Commissioner Anthony Holloman. &nbsp; Camp participants from the SIAC include:
<table border="0" width="432" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">First Name</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Last Name</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">College or University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Aziel</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Blackwell</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Kentucky State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Devin</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Booker</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Tuskegee University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Eleik</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Bowles</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Savannah State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Gregg</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Boyd II</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Tuskegee University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Steven</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Dulley</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Tuskegee University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Ashton</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Hawkins</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Spring Hill College</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Martez</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jones</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Tuskegee University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Robert</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Kendrick</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Fort Valley State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Kong</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Kong</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Kentucky State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Myson</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Lowe</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Fort Valley State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Steven</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Lyles</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Spring Hill College</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Chris</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Martin</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Clark Atlanta University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Joemel</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">McNair</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Morehouse College</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jamir</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Moore</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Albany State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Sean</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Paige</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Central State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Ayjay</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Plain</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Savannah State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Antwoin</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Reed Jr</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Central State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Kerry</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Richardson</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Morehouse College</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jordan</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Simpson</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Albany State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Raevon</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Thomas</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Central State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Terin</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Wofford</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Albany State University</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<div>&nbsp; &nbsp; Camp participants from the SWAC include: &nbsp;</div>
<table border="0" width="432" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">First Name</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Last Name</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">College or University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Chase</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Adams</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jackson State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jaylen</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Bates</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Florida A&amp;M University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Eric</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Coleman</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alabama State</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Zeke</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Cook</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jackson State university</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Dhashon</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Dyson</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Bethune Cookman University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Ken</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Evans Jr.</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jackson State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jeremiah</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Gambrell</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alcorn State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Kolby</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Granger</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Texas Southern University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Zion</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Harmon</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Bethune Cookman University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">P. J.</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Henry</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Texas Southern University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Elijah</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Hulsewe</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Bethune Cookman University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Byron</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Joshua</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alcorn State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jeremiah</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Kendall</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alcorn State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">T. J.</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Madlock</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alabama State</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Romelle</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Mansel</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jackson State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Kylen</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Milton</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">University of Arkansas Pine Bluff</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Zytarious</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Mortle</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Texas Southern University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Festus</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Ndumanya</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Southern University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Omari</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Peek</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alabama A&amp;M</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Dailin</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Smith</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alabama A&amp;M</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">D. K.</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Thorn</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alcorn State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Cameron</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Tucker</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alabama A&amp;M</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Ernest (EJ)</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Williams</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alabama A&amp;M</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Rashad</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Williams</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">University of Arkansas Pine Bluff</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Coltie</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Young</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jackson State University</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

The NBPA, SIAC and SWAC will host the fifth annual Top 50 Basketball Camp from July 27-29 in Atlanta.

NBPA, SIAC and SWAC to host 5th annual Top 50 Basketball Camp

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

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

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

The 2023 NBA Draft could go down as a special class, with talented prospects such as Victor Wembanyama, Scoot Henderson, Brandon Miller and the Thompson twins as well as some interesting depth pieces.
But will it ever be considered one of the best draft classes in NBA history? That remains to be seen.
Today, we're going to identify the cr&egrave;me de la cr&egrave;me of NBA draft classes.
The 2003 NBA Draft
The 2003 NBA Draft featured multiple generational talents that would come to define the NBA for the next two decades. Led by LeBron James, this class also included household names such as Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Not only did this draft have star power, it was also very deep. Twenty-seven players from the 2003 class played at least 10 seasons in the NBA: James, Wade, Anthony, Bosh, Kyle Korver, David West, Zaza Pachulia, Nick Collison, Boris Diaw, Kendrick Perkins, Leandro Barbosa, James Jones, Chris Kaman, Kirk Hinrich, Dahntay Jones, Steve Blake, Mo Williams, Luke Ridnour, Willie Green, Matt Bonner, Travis Outlaw, Keith Bogans, Darko Milicic, Mickael Pietrus, Sasha Pavlovic, Josh Howard and Luke Walton. This class featured nine All-Stars and plenty of quality role players.
The 1984 NBA Draft
The 1984 NBA Draft stands as a legendary class, and some might argue that it's the greatest draft of all-time. Two of the top three picks &mdash; Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon &mdash; would ultimately etch their names in the annals of basketball history and redefine greatness. In addition to Jordan and Olajuwon, players like Charles Barkley, John Stockton and Alvin Robertson showcased their immense talent as well. This class produced five Hall-of-Famers and seven All-Stars.
The 1996 NBA Draft
The 1996 NBA Draft changed the landscape of the league, heralding the arrival of future Hall-of-Famers and icons. Led by the legendary Kobe Bryant and the enigmatic Allen Iverson, this class boasted an array of talent that reinvigorated the game. This class also featured Ray Allen, Steve Nash, Jermaine O'Neal, Ben Wallace, Stephon Marbury, Peja Stojakovic, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Antoine Walker, Marcus Camby, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Derek Fisher. The 1996 NBA Draft was deep, producing 10 All-Stars and five Hall-of-Famers. Jon Finkel recently revisited this star-studded class in his book "1996," and he <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/revisiting-the-starstudded-1996-nba-draft-kobe-bryant-ray-allen-steve-nash-allen-iverson" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ran a terrific excerpt on Basketball News</a>.
The 1985 NBA Draft
The 1985 NBA Draft was certainly special. This class featured 10 All-Stars including Karl Malone, Patrick Ewing, Chris Mullin, Joe Dumars, Detlef Schrempf, Xavier McDaniel, Charles Oakley, &nbsp;AC Green, Terry Porter and Michael Adams. The class also featured Arvydas Sabonis, an overseas legend and terrific Portland Trail Blazer. Like the 1996 NBA Draft, this class has the star power and depth to be considered one of the best drafts in NBA history.
The 2009 NBA Draft
While not as immediately illustrious as some of the other classes on this list, the 2009 NBA Draft proved to be a treasure trove of talent. This class exemplified the importance of patience and player development, as Stephen Curry, James Harden, Blake Griffin, DeMar DeRozan, Jrue Holiday and Jeff Teague would all go on to become All-Stars. Griffin missed his rookie year with an injury, but dominated as soon as he stepped on an NBA court. Curry battled injuries early in his career, but would become a four-time champion and two-time MVP. Harden went from being an elite sixth man to an MVP once he got the opportunity in Houston. This class also featured Brandon Jennings, Ricky Rubio, Tyreke Evans, Darren Collison, Ty Lawson, Patty Mills, Danny Green, Taj Gibson and Patrick Beverley among others.
Which class is the greatest in NBA history? <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tweet us your thoughts</a>!&nbsp;

Basketball News examines the crème de la crème of draft classes throughout NBA history.

Exploring the 5 best draft classes in NBA history

<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-draft-wembanyama-big-men-716d46b407e0e0b6be18370cc7e643b2">Victor Wembanyama&rsquo;s</a>&nbsp;NBA draft experience will be quite unlike last year&rsquo;s No. 1 pick.
Paolo Banchero could never be certain he would be taken first. There was too much speculation that Orlando was also considering Jabari Smith Jr. and Chet Holmgren, with some mock drafts listing Banchero below both. The eventual Rookie of the Year said he didn&rsquo;t find out&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-nba-draft-live-updates-1a7d5a8f93ddab31614e29c337e8d862">he was the Magic&rsquo;s choice</a>&nbsp;until less than a minute before Commissioner Adam Silver went on stage in Brooklyn.
Wembanyama has no need to wait.
The 19-year-old from France has owned permanent residence atop mock draft boards, including all four versions of the AP&rsquo;s, and could begin walking to the stage Thursday night before Silver finishes announcing the San Antonio Spurs&rsquo; selection.
Shortly after, two twin brothers could make the same walk.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-draft-amen-ausar-thompson-a34e7912942e90a202005ea35fcd0944">Amen and Ausar Thompson</a>&nbsp;of Overtime Elite are both expected to land inside the top 10.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">1. SAN ANTONIO SPURS: VICTOR WEMBANYAMA, FORWARD, FRANCE</h2>
His combination of a center&rsquo;s size and a guard&rsquo;s shooting and dribbling make the 19-year-old a prospect perhaps unlike any other the NBA has seen, and should end the 13-year streak of the No. 1 pick being a college freshman. The Spurs won five NBA titles after taking Tim Duncan in 1997, the last time they had the No. 1 pick and dream of a similar impact from Wembanyama, who is listed at 7-foot-4.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">2. CHARLOTTE HORNETS: BRANDON MILLER, FORWARD, ALABAMA</h2>
At 6-9, the SEC player of the year and tournament MVP as a freshman has the size, versatility and 3-point stroke to make him an ideal player for the modern NBA game. But the Hornets, who played without Miles Bridges last season after an arrest for a domestic violence incident against the mother of his children, may have to weigh a negative reaction if they add Miller, who&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-sports-tuscaloosa-alabama-crimson-tide-top-25-college-basketball-today-39eab4a038324d58910da79372722ad1">delivered the gun used in a fatal shooting.</a>
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">3. PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS: SCOOT HENDERSON, GUARD, G LEAGUE IGNITE</h2>
<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/trailblazers/status/1665146603525795840?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Worked out for the Trail Blazers</a>&nbsp;and showed the athleticism and ability to do it all from the guard spot that may have made Henderson the No. 1 pick in many years. This time, he could be part of a trade if the Blazers decide they&rsquo;d prefer to acquire more veteran help around Damian Lillard &mdash; or perhaps Lillard&rsquo;s replacement if they instead decide to build around youth.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">4. HOUSTON ROCKETS: AMEN THOMPSON, GUARD, OVERTIME ELITE</h2>
At 6-7, Thompson has great size for a guard and the 20-year old showed the ability to step up when it matters most, averaging 17.2 points, 9.2 assists and 7.2 rebounds in the playoffs to lead the City Reapers to the championship last season. The Rockets, after adding Jalen Green and Jabari Smith Jr. in the last two drafts, are positioned to get another good one.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">5. DETROIT PISTONS: CAM WHITMORE, FORWARD, VILLANOVA</h2>
The Pistons fell to the lowest spot possible in the lottery after finishing with the NBA&rsquo;s worst record and sharing the best odds of landing the No. 1 pick. But getting Whitmore, a versatile wing with a strong build, to add to young pieces such as Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey under new coach Monty Williams would help ease the sting.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">6. ORLANDO MAGIC: AUSAR THOMPSON, FORWARD, OVERTIME ELITE</h2>
Amen Thompson&rsquo;s twin brother has been the Overtime Elite regular season and finals MVP the last two seasons and the 6-7 swingman plays big on defense, twice blocking seven shots in a game. The Magic were a team on the rise in the second half of last season and Thompson could help ensure that continues.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">7. INDIANA PACERS: JARACE WALKER, FORWARD, HOUSTON</h2>
Coming from Houston&rsquo;s rugged program means Walker already plays NBA-ready defense, and the offensive end could come along quickly under Rick Carlisle. At 6-8, 240 pounds, he already has the size and strength to deal with anyone he could face in the frontcourt.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">8. WASHINGTON WIZARDS: ANTHONY BLACK, GUARD, ARKANSAS</h2>
<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/wizards-suns-trade-bradley-beal-55adab5fa31d5dfbc35b83223743d9c6">With Bradley Beal going</a>&nbsp;and no certainty that Chris Paul will stay, there&rsquo;s an opportunity for an immediate impact in the Washington backcourt. The 6-7 guard seems to have endless energy, playing nearly 35 minutes a game to lead the Southeastern Conference and all 20 minutes in a half 19 times. That included 37 minutes on an injured left ankle in the Razorbacks&rsquo; NCAA Tournament upset of top-seeded Kansas, when he helped hold expected lottery pick Gradey Dick to seven points.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">9. UTAH JAZZ: TAYLOR HENDRICKS, CENTRAL FLORIDA</h2>
The 6-9 freshman makes an impact inside and outside on both ends of the floor. He led the American Athletic Conference in blocked shots and shot 39% from 3-point range, becoming the only Division I player last season with at least 60 3-pointers, 55 blocked shots and 35 dunks.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">10. DALLAS MAVERICKS: GRADEY DICK, GUARD, KANSAS</h2>
Dick made 83 3-pointers, most in Kansas history by a freshman, and the 6-8 forward could get plenty of open looks when Mavericks opponents focus their attention on Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving &mdash; if Irving remains in Dallas. The Mavs went to great lengths to protect their chances of keeping this pick, tanking their final couple games to boost their lottery odds while still in play-in contention.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">11. ORLANDO MAGIC (from Chicago Bulls): BILAL COULIBALY, FORWARD, FRANCE</h2>
Wembanyama&rsquo;s teammate with Metropolitans 92 is a 6-6 swingman whose stock rose as their team reached their French League finals. He hasn&rsquo;t reached his potential yet as a scorer, but his 7-3 wingspan allows him to impact the game on both ends even without doing so and could make him a good fit with 2022 No. 1 pick and Rookie of the Year Paolo Banchero.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">12. OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER: DERECK LIVELY II, CENTER, DUKE</h2>
Is still limited offensively, but the 7-1 Lively shows promise as a rebounder and shot blocker, highlighted by 14 boards and eight blocks in a game against rival North Carolina.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">13. TORONTO RAPTORS: JALEN HOOD-SCHIFINO, GUARD, INDIANA</h2>
The Big Ten freshman of the year has great size in the backcourt at 6-6 and could help the Raptors guard against a potential loss of Fred VanVleet in free agency, but needs to become a better shooter after hitting only 40% from the field in his lone season.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">14. NEW ORLEANS PELICANS: CASON WALLACE, KENTUCKY</h2>
A point guard who takes care of the ball and takes it away from opponents, he was fourth in the SEC in both steals per game and assist-to-turnover ratio. At 6-4, has the size and strength to defend some of the marquee guards in the Western Conference.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">15. ATLANTA HAWKS: KOBE BUFKIN, GUARD, MICHIGAN</h2>
Massive leap from first to second year of college, averaging 14 points as a sophomore after not starting a game while averaging 3.0 points as a freshman. Next leap is to the NBA, where the 6-4 lefty could quickly be a change-of-pace guard off the bench.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">16. UTAH JAZZ (from Minnesota): KEYONTE GEORGE, GUARD, BAYLOR</h2>
The highest-ranked recruit in program history lived up to the billing in his lone college season, scoring 20 or more points 12 times and averaging 15.3 en route to Big 12 freshman of the year honors. The 6-4 guard could provide scoring punch on a team that stayed in the postseason hunt longer than expected.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">17. LOS ANGELES LAKERS: NICK SMITH JR., GUARD, ARKANSAS</h2>
After mixed results with Russell Westbrook and D&rsquo;Angelo Russell last season, the Lakers&rsquo; search for guard help could lead to Arkansas, where the 6-5 Smith played in just 17 games in his lone college season after recovering from a right knee injury but showed the ability to play either guard spot.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">18. MIAMI HEAT: JORDAN HAWKINS, GUARD, UCONN</h2>
Ballhandling still needs improvement, but Hawkins&rsquo; catch-and-shoot ability was one of the biggest reasons the Huskies stormed through the NCAA Tournament to their fifth national title, and something the Heat were missing in their NBA Finals loss.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">19. GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS: NOAH CLOWNEY, FORWARD, ALABAMA</h2>
Clowney put up nearly eight rebounds and a block per game in his lone college season. With just 210 pounds on his 6-10 frame, he will need to add strength for the battles inside against NBA big men.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">20. HOUSTON ROCKETS (from LA Clippers): KRIS MURRAY, FORWARD, IOWA</h2>
After averaging 20.2 points &mdash; with a 30-point, 20-rebound game in one outing &mdash; Murray will try to make a similar first-year NBA impact as twin brother Keegan, who after leaving the Hawkeyes became an immediate starter for Sacramento last season and was an All-Rookie first-team selection.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">21. BROOKLYN NETS (from Phoenix): JETT HOWARD, GUARD, MICHIGAN</h2>
His willingness to fire from behind the arc makes the freshman a perfect fit for the 3-point happy NBA. The 6-8 freshman made multiple 3-pointers in 24 of his 29 games for Juwan Howard, his father, and hit three or more in almost half of them. Howard made 36.8% of them while averaging 14.2 points
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">22. BROOKLYN NETS: LEONARD MILLER, FORWARD, G LEAGUE IGNITE</h2>
The Nets have needed more scoring punch since trading Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, and Miller looks capable of providing it after averaging 18 points last season. The 6-10 Canadian also averaged nearly 11 rebounds, another area Nets leadership has identified as a priority.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">23. PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS (from New York): BRICE SENSABAUGH, FORWARD, OHIO STATE</h2>
Averaged 16.3 points and shot better than 40% from 3-point range in his strong one season for the Buckeyes, where he was the first freshman to lead the team in scoring since D&rsquo;Angelo Russell in 2015.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">24. SACRAMENTO KINGS: MAXWELL LEWIS, FORWARD, PEPPERDINE</h2>
The 6-7 Lewis made nearly 80% of his free throws and 36% of his 3-point attempts in his two seasons with the Waves, and improved his ability to score off the dribble while averaging 17.1 points last season.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">25. MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES: G.G. JACKSON, FORWARD, SOUTH CAROLINA</h2>
Would have been heading to college now &mdash; perhaps as the No. 1 prospect &mdash; before reclassifying last summer to enter a year earlier. Instead, the 6-9 Jackson is on his way to the NBA after scoring in double figures in 25 of his 32 games, averaging 15.4 points.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">26. INDIANA PACERS (from Cleveland): JAIME JAQUEZ JR., GUARD, UCLA</h2>
The do-everything swingman led the Bruins with 17.8 points and 8.2 rebounds, becoming their first Pac-12 player of the year since Kevin Love in 2008. At 6-7, Jaquez does everything well &mdash; he&rsquo;s No. 8 in UCLA history in both points and steals &mdash; but maybe not any of them at the top NBA level.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">27. CHARLOTTE HORNETS (from Denver via New York and Oklahoma City): AMARI BAILEY, GUARD, UCLA</h2>
Bailey had a strong finish to his lone college season, averaging 16.7 points on 56% shooting in the Bruins&rsquo; run to the Sweet 16. The Hornets struggle when LaMelo Ball is out, so the 6-5 guard could be appealing to a team that was fourth-worst in the NBA in scoring.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">28. UTAH JAZZ (from Philadelphia via Brooklyn): COLBY JONES, GUARD, XAVIER</h2>
With three picks in the first round, the Jazz are positioned to bolster a team that hung around the playoff race much longer than expected. The 6-6 Jones, who made 18 of 21 shots in one torrid stretch last season and shot 9 of 10 on 3-pointers in another, could be a nice late addition.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">29. INDIANA PACERS (from Boston): BRANDIN PODZIEMSKI, GUARD, SANTA CLARA</h2>
Made 43.8% of his 3-pointers in his lone season after transferring from Illinois, accuracy from behind the arc that NBA teams covet. The 6-5 guard shared WCC player of the year honors after averaging 19.9 points and 8.8 rebounds, finishing in the top three in the conference in both categories.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">30. LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS (from Milwaukee via Houston): DARIQ WHITEHEAD, FORWARD, DUKE</h2>
Arrived at Duke as the high school player of the year, but a foot injury led to a delayed start to his college career followed by shooting struggles after it finally began. But the 6-7 forward showed enough defensive and 3-point abilities in his limited time to make himself worthy of a first-round spot.

How will the first round of the 2023 NBA Draft shake out on Thursday night? Check out the AP's latest mock draft.

NBA mock draft: Wembanyama easy No. 1, Miller at 2, Henderson 3rd

Carmelo Anthony, the star forward who led Syracuse to an NCAA championship in his lone college season and went on to spend 19 years in the NBA,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/carmeloanthony/status/1660639136242343936" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">announced his retirement</a>&nbsp;on Monday.
Anthony, who was not in the NBA this season, retires as the No. 9 scorer in league history.
Only LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki, Wilt Chamberlain and Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal scored more than Anthony &mdash; who finishes his career with 28,289 points.
&ldquo;Now the time has come for me to say good-bye ... to the game that gave me purpose and pride,&rdquo; Anthony said in a videotaped message announcing his decision &mdash; one he called &ldquo;bittersweet.&rdquo;
Anthony&rsquo;s legacy has long been secure: He ends his playing days after being selected as one of the 75 greatest players in NBA history, a 10-time All-Star, a past scoring champion and a six-time All-NBA selection.
And while he never got to the NBA Finals &mdash; he only played in the conference finals once, with Denver against the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers in 2009 &mdash; Anthony also knew what it was like to be a champion.
He was the Most Outstanding Player of the 2003 Final Four when he led Syracuse to the national championship, and he helped USA Basketball win Olympic gold three times &mdash; at Beijing in 2008, at London in 2012 and at Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
Anthony has played in 31 games in four appearances at the Olympics, the most of any U.S. men&rsquo;s player ever. Anthony&rsquo;s 37 points against Nigeria in the 2012 games is a USA Basketball men&rsquo;s record at an Olympics, as are his 10 3-pointers from that game and his 13-for-13 effort from the foul line against Argentina in 2008.
&ldquo;Carmelo Anthony is one of the NBA&rsquo;s all-time great players and ambassadors,&rdquo; NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said. &ldquo;We congratulate him on a remarkable 19-year career and look forward to seeing him in the Hall of Fame.&rdquo;
Anthony will remain part of international basketball for at least a few more months; Anthony is one of the ambassadors to the Basketball World Cup, FIBA&rsquo;s biggest event, which will be held this summer in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.
&ldquo;I remember the days when I had nothing, just a ball on the court and a dream of something more,&rdquo; Anthony said. &ldquo;But basketball was my outlet. My purpose was strong, my communities, the cities I represented with pride and the fans that supported me along the way. I am forever grateful for those people and places because they made me Carmelo Anthony.&rdquo;
Anthony was drafted No. 3 overall by Denver in 2003, part of the star-studded class that included James at No. 1, Hall of Famer Chris Bosh at No. 4, and soon-to-be Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade -- he gets officially enshrined this summer &mdash; at No. 5.
Anthony will join them at the Hall of Fame before long. He averaged 22.5 points in his 19 seasons, spending the bulk of those years with Denver and the New York Knicks. Anthony has long raved about his time with the Knicks, and what it was like playing at Madison Square Garden, especially as a kid who was born in Brooklyn.
&ldquo;The Garden,&rdquo; Anthony said in 2014. &ldquo;They call it The Mecca for a reason.&rdquo;
Anthony also played for Portland, Oklahoma City, Houston and ended his career with the Lakers last season. He went unsigned this year, and now his retirement is official.
He said in his retirement address that he&rsquo;s looking forward to watching the development of his son Kiyan, a highly rated high school shooting guard.
&ldquo;People ask what I believe my legacy is,&rdquo; Anthony said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not my feats on the court that come to mind, all the awards or praise. Because my story has always been more than basketball. My legacy, my son ... I will forever continue through you. The time has come for you to carry this torch.&rdquo;

After a 19-year NBA career, Carmelo Anthony officially announced his retirement on Monday.

Carmelo Anthony retires after 19-year NBA career, 3 Olympic gold medals

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

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

NBA announces 78 Draft Combine participants, but no Victor Wembanyama

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

NBA announces 242 early-entry candidates for 2023 NBA Draft

After monitoring the NBA awards races all season, Nekias Duncan shares his final selections for DPOY, ROY, MIP, 6MOY and more.

Nekias Duncan's 2022-23 NBA award selections: DPOY, 6MOY, MIP, more

The Dallas Mavericks turned heads on Friday night when they decided to rest key players against the Chicago Bulls despite the fact that their postseason hopes were still alive.
The NBA took notice too, and they have opened an investigation into the matter.
"The NBA commenced an investigation today into the facts and circumstances surrounding the Dallas Mavericks&rsquo; roster decisions and game conduct with respect to last night&rsquo;s Chicago Bulls-Mavericks game, including the motivations behind those actions," NBA spokesman Mike Bass <a href="https://twitter.com/espn_macmahon/status/1644777693123080206" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
Dallas sat Kyrie Irving, Christian Wood, Josh Green, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Maxi Kleber, and benched Luka Doncic after he played the first quarter. Dallas didn't even try to hide their intention to tank, listing Green and Wood as out due to rest. The Mavericks ultimately lost, eliminating them from the postseason.&nbsp;
The Mavericks sat their key players because they were prioritizing their draft pick over potentially making the play-in tournament. They owe their first-round pick to the New York Knicks (as part of the Kristaps Porzingis trade) but it's top-10 protected, and losing to the Bulls gave Dallas the 10th-best lottery odds in the league.
&ldquo;Things change,&rdquo; Mavs head coach Jason Kidd said of the decision to sit key players. &ldquo;Understanding as an organization, they made this decision. But we still have to be professionals, go out there and put our best foot forward, who can play. ... Understanding this is a situation we&rsquo;re in, that the organization has made a decision to change. So we have to go by that."
NBA commissioner Adam Silver has said that tanking has no place in the NBA, so it remains to be seen if the Mavericks are punished following the league's investigation.
"If we ever received evidence that players or coaches were attempting to lose or otherwise taking steps to cause any game to result otherwise than on its competitive merits, that conduct would be met with the swiftest and harshest response possible from the league office," Silver <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2018/02/28/adam-silver-cautions-nba-teams-against-tanking-protect-integrity-game/380197002/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote in a letter to teams</a> several years ago.
In 2018, Mavs owner Mark Cuban said on a podcast that he instructed his team that "losing is our best option," which led to a $600,000 fine by the NBA for "public statements detrimental to the NBA."&nbsp;

The NBA is investigating the Mavericks' decision to rest key players on Friday night with their playoff hopes still alive.

NBA opens tanking investigation after Mavericks rested starters

Isaac Mourier is the director of performance nutrition and sports science at Impact Basketball, one of the most prestigious independent training organizations for elite pro basketball players. He's spent time as a consultant for the Sacramento Kings and as a nutritionist for Georgia athletics, and he played pro basketball in Germany.
So while Mourier cannot speak for everyone in the NBA, his next statement carries weight:
"I've never met a player that doesn't want to play," Mourier told Basketball News. "Never, in my career as a player, as a practitioner, have I ever met a player that does not want to play. So that's a myth."
The NBA's perceived "load management crisis" has only sparked louder outrage this season from fans, some media and even former players. Charles Barkley has <a href="https://awfulannouncing.com/nba/charles-barkley-load-management-steel-mill-first-take.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called the trend</a> "disrespectful to the game."&nbsp;Kendrick Perkins has <a href="https://fadeawayworld.net/kendrick-perkins-rips-load-management-its-starting-to-get-beyond-disrespectful" target="_blank" rel="noopener">labeled the mental toughness of today's players</a> as "softer than funeral music." While these two are certainly controversial voices at the very least, they are significant influences in the sport's discourse.
Barkley and Perkins, among many others, are also warping the true hows and whys of load management.&nbsp;
Today's NBA game is more physically taxing than ever, and among those in the league, it's barely a debate.&nbsp;
"I was part of the physical era, where you could hand-check and grind, post up and all that," Mike Conley told <a href="https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nba/load-management-draymond-green-warriors-kevon-looney-technology-mike-conley-jerami-grant" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox Sports in January.</a> "We were a physical team. It&rsquo;s who we were. That was taxing in a whole other way. You played through injuries, but it was more bumps and bruises because you were being physically assaulted.
"Now it&rsquo;s like, imagine running as fast as you can for 48 minutes and having to do that every night. There are more possessions, more opportunities to get these non-contact injuries. Guys are having more calf strains, more hamstrings and stuff like that. We weren&rsquo;t getting those as much (before)."
Kevon Looney backs Conley up in <a href="https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nba/load-management-draymond-green-warriors-kevon-looney-technology-mike-conley-jerami-grant" target="_blank" rel="noopener">that article</a>, and Mourier supports them both. He says that the "physicality" of the old-school, post-centric game is much different from today's fast pace that wears out the body with more muscle contractions.
"What may look less physically taxing to the eye, in terms of less bumps and bruises and people getting knocked over &mdash; I think you're actually having the opposite effect on the body, where these distances covered, the speed at which they're covered and the changes of directions are far more taxing on the body," Mourier said.
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Today, teams can quantify those stresses. Mourier explains that players often jump on force plates and see how their power generated will change with fatigue throughout a season. Hormones and proteins found in blood testing can signal muscle damage or inflammation. Teams use GPS tracking and camera systems to monitor players' wear and tear even in practices. The data paints a collective picture of an athlete's overall load during the season.
Importantly, this data isn't hidden by doctors &mdash; it typically is part of an ongoing conversation throughout the year. Building trust between players and medical staffers is crucial to injury management. That way, players can trust the data and doctors can respect the athlete's motivations.
"There's a number of data points that you will track until it gets to the point where we have to stop," Mourier said. "It's not like, 'Hey, we've just noticed something and you're not gonna play tonight.' It will be something that's been in the works &mdash; overall wellness scores, looking at that force plate data &mdash; it will be a trend, which is happening over time, and it's got to a point where it's like, 'Okay, we really have to do this.'
"It's not taken lightly because, ultimately, everybody's job there is to make sure that people can play every night."
Fans often want to ask: Who's in control? And the difficult answer is that the power dynamics change in different organizations.
Mourier says that superstars' voices will naturally have more influence, but that college staffs have more control over player rest than NBA teams. Others in the NBA have observed that teams do hold serious decision-making power.
"I do know on occasion that it&rsquo;s not the player&rsquo;s choice [to rest]," New Orleans Pelicans forward Larry Nance Jr. told Basketball News.
"On the whole, I think people are on the same page, especially when it comes to our [Impact Basketball] guys on [NBA] teams," Mourier said. "I've never come across someone saying, 'They made me sit down; I wanted to play and I couldn't.'"
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/usatsi_20114521.jpg" alt="" width="575" height="444" />
Seth Partnow works for StatsBomb and writes for The Athletic, and was formerly the Milwaukee Bucks' director of basketball research, working adjacent to the sports scientists within the organization. He said in his general experience, trust in both data and relationships is a huge part of reaching decisions to rest.&nbsp;
"I think that the impetus for resting overwhelmingly comes from the medical and front-office side," Partnow told Basketball News. "I think that part of the increased comfort players have with revealing that information is maybe an increased willingness to take that advice."
Partnow explained that teams often boil down decision-making for rest to a "risk versus reward" scale. Does Player X need to play this specific game for the sake of the team, and is it worth the risk of a potential injury that could threaten playoff availability?&nbsp;
"We're going to be judged on how well we do in the playoffs," Partnow said. "And more of a bigger factor than a regular-season win or two is, 'Are my good players able to play?'"
That balance does not include the weight of the fan experience &mdash; a valid criticism within the conversation. Mourier, originally from England, remembers attending his first NBA game in person between the Miami Heat and Washington Wizards and being disappointed when LeBron James and Dwyane Wade didn't suit up. NBA tickets can be a significant investment for fans and families; understandably, they would be bummed when a star rests.
But "risk vs. reward" applies to the league's approach too, as evidenced by its lack of action on anything surrounding load management. Others, including <a href="https://theathletic.com/4272209/2023/03/03/load-management-nba-injuries/?source=user_shared_article" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a recent conversation between The Athletic's staff members</a>, have clamored for more transparency around injuries as at least a starting point.
&ldquo;This isn&rsquo;t a new issue. There&rsquo;s nothing particularly happening this season that we haven&rsquo;t seen happening over the last several seasons," Adam Silver <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/02/25/sports/sunday-basketball-notes/?p1=BGSearch_Overlay_Results" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said in February</a>. "I understand it from a fan standpoint that if you are particularly buying tickets to a particular game and that player isn&rsquo;t playing. I don&rsquo;t have a good answer for that other than this is a deep league with incredible competition."
One motivator gaining traction is the idea of minimum-games-played requirements for season awards. Shams Charania has reported that <a href="https://theathletic.com/4302514/2023/03/13/the-bounce-lakers-cba-games-played-minimum-shams/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">both the league and the National Basketball Players Association like the idea</a>. But many do not, including Mourier.
"I think that opens up a pretty dangerous can of worms, because if you have somebody that's really not in a position where they're ready to play &mdash; we have to start looking at them as humans as opposed to just athletes," Mourier said. "If they're in a position where they are really not ready to play, they're feeling sore or there's an injury, and they're creeping up on that cut-off for games and they're about to play, and it's gonna mean that they're not going to get home, they can't put food on the table for their family or can't support the the different needs that they have, then we have a human issue."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr explains his position of protecting his players on the second night of a back-to-back, empathizes with the fans who are affected by load management and shares how a 72-game NBA season would be equally as rewarding as it&rsquo;d be safe. <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@basketbllnews</a> <a href="https://t.co/osTyhqxNyd">pic.twitter.com/osTyhqxNyd</a>
&mdash; Spencer Davies (@SpinDavies) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpinDavies/status/1616581456658108416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 20, 2023</a></blockquote>

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

Another common suggestion is to simply shorten the schedule, be it to 70 games, 65 games or whatever makes sense. It would lighten the workload for players and possibly address some of the concerns about the value of the regular season along the way. But Silver didn't seem excited.
&ldquo;If we thought it made sense to reduce the number of games, we would. But there&rsquo;s no data right now that suggests, as I said, based on some prior experiments or even as we look at the data over the course of the season and when players get injured, it isn&rsquo;t... You would think that it would be the case that injuries would increase as the season goes on, and that&rsquo;s not necessarily it either," Silver said.
Partnow echoes Silver's stance as a reason for the league shrugging its shoulders. There just isn't hard proof that the change wouldn't lead to an obvious loss of revenue from dropping 200-plus contests.
"Measuring how that sort of loss of &mdash; I don't know, if you want to call it loss of trust &mdash; might longer-term affect the per-game revenue, that's tough math to do, but I think that's the concern," Partnow added.
And even if the league did shrink the schedule, games are not the only way athletes are physically taxed during the year.
&ldquo;I think the biggest thing [fans don't notice] would just be trying to manage injuries and inflammation while traveling via airplane," Nance Jr. said. "That always seems to exacerbate most problems.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Fans can&rsquo;t imagine playing 82 games in different cities all across the country and the physical toll it takes on your body, even without injuries," added NBA veteran Etan Thomas. "It&rsquo;s difficult for most fans to really understand.&rdquo;
Mourier says that pros need at least 48-to-72 hours between high-level competition for their bodies to replenish with proper nutrients. That's not consistently happening under the current schedule, and travel doesn't help.
"All of the factors which are not directly related to after the ball is thrown up at the tip-off &mdash; so sleep, travel, all of that other stuff &mdash; how can we influence those things to put the players in a more favorable spot to be able to go and perform every night? I think that's where we start," Mourier suggested.
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Load management is the best strategy NBA teams have to contain injuries, but it isn't stopping them from happening. <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0263354" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Studies are showing</a> that NBA players get hurt more than ever. Partnow warns not to assume rest every time a star is out briefly; many of the smaller cases are still legitimate injuries.&nbsp;
The findings hint at a scarier truth: What if the NBA can't do anything about it? As <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/27125793/these-kids-ticking-bombs-threat-youth-basketball" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN's Baxter Holmes uncovered</a>, AAU and youth sports are taking major tolls on players' bodies before they even reach the pro level. Current pros are torn on if the grind of year-round youth basketball was worth it.
"I agree that kids are being overworked at a young age,&rdquo; <a href="https://hoopshype.com/2019/11/08/does-aau-lead-to-load-management-in-nba-kids-are-being-overworked/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chicago Bulls big man Nikola Vucevic told HoopsHype in 2019</a>. &ldquo;Parents push kids too hard to succeed and hire all these fake basketball coaches who don&rsquo;t teach them how to play the game the right way. Kids have to have fun first while they play, and not [have someone] make it a business for them right away."
The NBA doesn't supervise the entirety of American youth hoops, which means it can't stop one of the root problems.
"Yes, absolutely [it's worrisome]," Partnow said. "I mean, on some level, it's not just that youth sports are out of our control. Youth sports are out of control."
So, NBA teams and players have more data than ever to manage a sport that is more physcially demanding than ever. But the league doesn't have the data to comfortably make a big change, and the frustration only grows.
At what point does the NBA stop waiting for numeric proof to force change, and take the risk for the sake of its players and fans?
"That's a political question. I don't know," Partnow said. "The longer [load management] becomes front and center of the conversation, the shorter that timespan is. But if something intervening happens that takes the focus off, and now we're talking about this other thing, then it loses salience and it kind of subsides...
"It seems like this [conversation] has been pretty continuous for the last couple months, which is probably the longest I can remember it being sort of a constant."

Ethan Fuller talks to figures around basketball to understand why load management happens and what can be done about it.

Here's the reality of the NBA's perceived 'load management crisis'

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) &mdash; Rodney Terry stopped on the way to the Texas locker room after his team knocked out Xavier for a spot in the Elite Eight, the interim coach fulfilling a fan&rsquo;s wish for a photograph by flashing that all-too-familiar &ldquo;Hook &rsquo;em Horns&rdquo; sign.
&ldquo;Go get that job, coach!&rdquo; the grateful fan hollered after him.
A couple more wins and the folks at Texas might not have a choice.
The longtime assistant made his boldest statement yet for the full-time gig, guiding the Longhorns without ailing big man Dylan Disu to an 83-71 win over the Musketeers on Friday night. Tyrese Hunter scored 19 points, and Marcus Carr and Christian Bishop added 18 apiece, to move second-seeded Texas within a game of the Final Four for the first time in 15 years.
&ldquo;I thought we played one of our better defensive games tonight that we played all year,&rdquo; said Terry, who stepped into the top job in December, when Chris Beard was suspended and ultimately fired following allegations of domestic violence.
&ldquo;Proud of my guys and the way they put their will on this game from the start to finish.&rdquo;
Disu, who had been dominant through the first two games of the tournament, hurt his foot in a second-round win over Penn State. He got treatment on it all week, and the Longhorns successfully kept it secret until tipoff, when the big man played just a couple of minutes and then limped off the floor and straight to the locker room.
When he returned to the bench, he was wearing a big walking boot, a black hoodie and a grim expression.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;ll be day-to-day right now at the moment,&rdquo; Terry said. &ldquo;We got the best in the business working with us.&rdquo;
Still, the Longhorns already had a tough task ahead in No. 5 seed Miami on Sunday night, especially given the way the Hurricanes roared to an 89-75 win over Houston. The possibility of playing without Disu, who led the Longhorns to a Big 12 Tournament title and earned MVP honors on the same floor just two weeks ago, only makes it harder.
&ldquo;We knew before the game that we wouldn&rsquo;t have Dylan for the whole game,&rdquo; Carr said. &ldquo;We just wanted to really play for him. We knew how much this would mean to him. We got emotional in there knowing he wouldn&rsquo;t be out there.&rdquo;
Relegated to a 6-foot-9 cheerleader Friday night, Disu at least had plenty to celebrate.
Sir&rsquo;Jabari Rice scored 16 points and Timmy Allen added 11 for the Longhorns (29-8). The best-seeded team left in the tournament kept Souley Boum and Xavier&rsquo;s perimeter threats in check while making life miserable for Jack Nunge down low.
Adam Kunkel hit five 3-pointers and led the third-seeded Musketeers (27-10) with 21 points. Nunge scored 15 but needed 19 shots to get there, while Colby Jones also had 15 points. Boum didn&rsquo;t hit a field goal until early in the second half and finished with 12.
&ldquo;They were better than us,&rdquo; Xavier coach Sean Miller said. &ldquo;We had a very difficult time running our offense and that&rsquo;s a testament to their defense, because we&rsquo;ve been able to score virtually every game we&rsquo;ve played this year.&rdquo;
It was Texas that scored at will, though, and Carr that got them going. He spun through the lane like a Tilt-A-Whirl for tough buckets at the rim, and even knocked down a spinning, desperation 3 as the shot clock expired. And when Miller traded out a man-to-man defense for a zone, the Longhorns began to pound the ball to Bishop in the paint.
With dozens of family and friends on hand, the Creighton transfer from the Kansas City suburb of Lee&rsquo;s Summit, Missouri, went to work. Bishop threw down one dunk on Carr&rsquo;s alley-oop lob, then slammed down another a few minutes later.
By the time Allen banked in a half-court heave, the Longhorns had established a 42-25 halftime advantage &mdash; and had to be redirected from the Xavier tunnel, where they were busy celebrating, toward their own locker room.
&ldquo;Their pressure is something you can&rsquo;t really simulate until you&rsquo;re in the game against them. Their toughness, their experience,&rdquo; Miller said. &ldquo;And then offensively they have great guard play, and you feel that as well.&rdquo;
Xavier tried to creep back a couple of times, but the Longhorns never let their lead sniff single digits. And that gave Terry, who returned to Texas after head jobs at Fresno State and UTEP, a chance to breathe deeply and enjoy the moment.
The 54-year-old from the small Texas town of Angleton was on Rick Barnes&rsquo; staff the last time the Longhorns reached the Elite Eight, back in 2008. He was on the 2003 staff that guided them all the way to the Final Four, too.
Now, he&rsquo;s one step away from taking Texas on a most improbable trip to college basketball&rsquo;s biggest stage.
&ldquo;Continue to want more. I mean, each round &mdash; don&rsquo;t be satisfied,&rdquo; Terry said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to enjoy this victory for one night, like we have all year long, and we&rsquo;ll be on to the next challenge and very quickly against a really good Miami team.&rdquo;

Tyrese Hunter scored 19, and Marcus Carr and Christian Bishop added 18 apiece, to move Texas within a game of the Final Four.

Texas blows out Xavier 83-71 for spot in NCAA Elite Eight

Kansas and Alabama are no strangers to playing for national championships.
For the Jayhawks, another high-expectations trip to March Madness is a rite of spring. For the Crimson Tide, well, this path to glory travels through some unfamiliar ground &mdash; the basketball court.
Alabama rolls in as the top overall seed in an NCAA Tournament that feels both familiar and foreign this season. Yes, there are plenty of heartwarming stories and unbelievable upsets to come when the action begins Tuesday with the first of four play-in games.
But this was also a season clouded with police blotters at Alabama and Texas, injuries at Houston and UCLA, some unsightly losses at Kansas, and enough twists and turns at the top of the field to make this as unpredictable a bracket as ever.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not sure we would&rsquo;ve predicted this,&rdquo; Alabama coach Nate Oats said of the top seeding that belongs to the Crimson Tide for the first time.
Alabama&rsquo;s ability to set aside distractions &mdash; namely, the inevitable questions that will be directed at its star, Brandon Miller, and others about an ongoing murder case against a former member of the team &mdash; could have as big an impact on the Crimson Tide&rsquo;s chances as anything.
But all these teams, especially at the top, have their issues.&nbsp;
It starts with Houston, the 1 seed in the Midwest, which was cruising along until Saturday, when its star guard, Marcus Sasser, fell awkwardly and left the game with a groin injury.
Sasser didn&rsquo;t play in his team&rsquo;s conference title game and Houston lost. How quickly he gets back to form could dictate whether the Cougars make the Final Four, which will take place at NRG Stadium, not far from their home arena.
Or take the Jayhawks, who looked like the top overall seed for a time. Two double-digit losses to Texas knocked them down a few notches. They are top seeded, but will play in the West, not the Midwest &mdash; one of those rare teams that might have preferred a possible trip down the road to Kansas City over a flight to Las Vegas for the Sweet 16. Not helping the situation was the recent illness of coach Bill Self, who was feeling chest tightness and checked himself into the hospital before the Big 12 Tournament. He was released Sunday and is expected to be with the Jayhawks this week.
&ldquo;They mark it how they feel and we&rsquo;re just going to do what we need to do to get where we need to be,&rdquo; Kansas forward KJ Adams said.
There are issues one notch down the bracket, too.
No. 2 UCLA has been dealing with injuries all season. Most recently, guard Jaylen Clark (Achilles) and big man Adem Bona (shoulder) have gone down. Clark won&rsquo;t be back; Bona might. It takes a hunk out of a team that still has the core of a roster that lost to Gonzaga on a buzzer-beater from near midcourt at the Final Four two years ago.
Another 2 seed, Texas, has had months to bounce back from the firing of coach Chris Beard, whose fiancee called in a domestic dispute that led to the coach&rsquo;s arrest. Charges were eventually dropped. By then, Rodney Terry had taken over the team and it found its footing, though the ugliness of the episode is bound to be rehashed during basketball&rsquo;s biggest month.
Back among the No. 1 seeds, Purdue has a 7-foot-4 playmaker, Zach Edey, leading the way and also has a little baggage of its own. Coach Matt Painter&rsquo;s program has now made the tournament 14 times in his 18 years but has advanced as far as the Elite Eight only once. This is the first time one of Painter&rsquo;s teams has come in as a top seed, though.
The coach is as aware as anyone how a trip to the Final Four might just cover up a lot of those old blemishes.
&ldquo;Obviously, I know,&rdquo; Painter said, &ldquo;you get judged on what you do in the tournament.&rdquo;

Despite their successes to get to this point, there are a number of top-seeded teams with issues heading into the NCAA Tournament.

March Madness top teams bring talent and, for some, baggage

The top overall seed, Alabama, has been on a roll despite being entangled in a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/alabama-darius-miles-fatal-shooting-indictment-jamea-harris-887b6419c4b576da778b710a58b8acf7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">murder case</a>. Another No. 1 seed, defending national champion Kansas, is coming off a blowout loss and has a coach coming out of the hospital. Yet another, Houston, just watched its&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-houston-march-madness-ncaa-hardaway-329475213b5f98fb6a436cfefdc51390" target="_blank" rel="noopener">best player go down in a heap</a>&nbsp;with a scary injury.
This year&rsquo;s&nbsp;March Madness&nbsp;frontrunners are anything but perfect, but the presence of these teams and all their questions at the top of the bracket could make for precisely what the NCAA wants its tournament to be &ndash; a perfectly unpredictable mess.
Most of the drama in picking this year&rsquo;s bracket was resolved far before Selection Sunday.
Arizona State and Nevada made it off the bubble and into the 68-team field. Rutgers and Oklahoma State did not.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/purdue-big-ten-tournament-penn-state-zach-edey-3b17ff7c31380552d3707784339fed7e" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Purdue, with 7-foot-4 Zach Edey leading the way,</a>&nbsp;edged out UCLA for the fourth and final No. 1 seed.
And in a decision most everyone saw coming, the selection committee&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/march-madness-north-carolina-left-out-16e5709c3c1f97a1d52f485d292715e0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">left North Carolina, last year&rsquo;s national runner-up, out of the tournament.</a> It made the Tar Heels the first team since the bracket expanded to 64 teams in 1985 to start the season ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press poll and finish it by not making the Big Dance.
The team they lost to, Kansas, is trying to become the first back-to-back NCAA champion since Florida in 2007.
The Jayhawks earned the top seed in the West Region, but only the third overall, behind the Crimson Tide and the Cougars. The Jayhawks are awaiting the return of coach Bill Self, who went to the hospital last week complaining of chest tightness and concerns with his balance.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/kansas-bill-self-hospital-ncaa-coach-jayhawks-2053ffeb102c7dfb418109215dab554b" target="_blank" rel="noopener">He has been discharged</a>&nbsp;and is expected back this week.
The head of the selection committee, Chris Reynolds, said it took every injury, and every absence, into account.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s certainly something the committee talked about during the course of the year, and certainly played a factor in seeding and selection,&rdquo; said Reynolds, the athletic director at Bradley.
He said the committee also did not ignore lopsided losses: Two of Kansas&rsquo; seven Ls came in March to Texas, a No. 2 seed, by 16 and 20 points.
&ldquo;They mark it how they feel and we&rsquo;re just going to do what we need to do to get where we need to be,&rdquo; Kansas forward KJ Adams said.
The tournament begins Tuesday with two First Four games. The full madness starts Thursday with 16 first-round games, then 16 more the next day.
Kansas&rsquo; loss to Texas in the Big 12 semifinal Saturday likely played into&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/navigation/ncaab?tab=national-champion" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FanDuel Sportsbook</a>&nbsp;setting the Jayhawks at 10-1 to win the title, behind both Alabama of the South Region (8-1 odds) and the overall favorite, Houston (5-1 odds), which would be playing the Final Four in its hometown if it wins the Midwest Region. The semifinals and finals are set for NRG Stadium on April 1 and 3.
The Cougars lost their conference title game Sunday, <a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/march-madness-bracket-midwest-ba5f567eee97af8eb848e229694b8b9b" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in large part because they were without Marcus Sasser,</a>&nbsp;the leading scorer who left the previous day&rsquo;s game early after sliding awkwardly and hurting his groin.
Purdue likely found its way onto the &ldquo;1&rdquo; line when it won the program&rsquo;s second Big Ten tournament title Sunday, less than 24 hours after UCLA, also dinged-up this season, fell by two to Arizona in the Pac-12 title game.
For Alabama, the SEC tournament was a relative breeze &ndash; nobody stayed within double digits of the Tide -- unlike the past two months,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/march-madness-south-bracket-alabama-005db4413ccdad1b00bcd38f879ac5df" target="_blank" rel="noopener">which have been met with a near constant flow of headlines</a>&nbsp;about a former player, Darius Miles, who is accused of capital murder In the Jan. 15 killing of 23-year-old Jamea Harris.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not sure we would have predicted this,&rdquo; said coach Nate Oats of the Tide, which is a No. 1 seed for the first time. &ldquo;Being the No. 1 overall seed is great. It says what an unbelievable regular season we&rsquo;ve had. You&rsquo;ve still got to go win the games.&rdquo;
The SEC and Big Ten led the way by placing eight teams each in the 68-team field. Duke won the ACC for the 22nd time and was one of five teams from that conference in a relatively weak year.
But this tournament is always about more than big schools with big pedigrees.
Some teams to watch for include&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/marist-iona-maac-64c60cf20f61ade2159022b1c113e77c">13th-seeded Iona</a>, coached by the legend, Rick Pitino, who has the Gaels in the show for the second time in three years &ndash; with some people wondering if he&rsquo;ll be heading over to a vacant job at St. John&rsquo;s soon. Iona got a brutal draw &ndash; a first-round meeting against fourth-seeded UConn.
There is Southern Conference champion Furman, back in the tournament for the first time since 1980, and MEAC champ Howard, back in the tourney for the first time since 1992.
There is Kennesaw State,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/kennesaw-state-ncaa-tournament-2f0a9c43ce247215832b429a520f580e">the program that went 1-28 in 2019-20 and now finds itself in the bracket.</a>&nbsp;For the rest of the dreamers, there is Texas Southern &ndash; the team that won its conference tournament as a No. 8 seed and comes to March Madness at 14-20 for a play-in game against Fairleigh Dickinson.

March Madness is underway! Here's a look at the No. 1 seeds in this year's NCAA Tournament.

March Madness: Alabama, Houston, Kansas, Purdue are No. 1 seeds

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) &mdash; Texas Tech coach Mark Adams, who had been suspended recently for racially insensitive comments made toward one of his players, resigned shortly after the Red Raiders were eliminated from the Big 12 Tournament on Wednesday night.
Second-year assistant Corey Williams had led the Red Raiders in&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-tech-west-virginia-big-12-def5997a4d216200911c3dc30f2c2c52" target="_blank" rel="noopener">their 78-62 loss to West Virginia</a>.
The incident involving Adams occurred in a meeting with a player, who wasn&rsquo;t identified, Texas Tech said Sunday in announcing his suspension. The school said Adams &ldquo;was encouraging the student-athlete to be more receptive to coaching and referenced Bible verses about workers, teachers, parents, and slaves serving their masters.&rdquo;
Red Raiders athletic director Kirby Hocutt learned of the incident last Friday and issued a written reprimand, and Adams coached them in a regular season-ending loss to Oklahoma State the next day. But after Hocutt investigated the situation further,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-tech-mark-adams-suspension-f7c584acefdac8275e0661c4a3e34f73" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he decided to suspend Adams</a>&nbsp;just three days before the start of the Big 12 Tournament.
In its release Wednesday about Adams stepping down, the school said Hocutt determined after the inquiry that the racially insensitive comment was unintentional and an isolated incident.
Adams waited until his team was eliminated before announcing that he was stepping down.
&ldquo;My lifelong goal was to help and be a positive influence on my players, and to be a part of the Texas Tech men&rsquo;s basketball team,&rdquo; Adams said in a statement. &ldquo;However, both the university and I believe this incident has become a distraction for the Texas Tech men&rsquo;s basketball team and the university, which I care about so deeply.&rdquo;
This isn&rsquo;t the first time that high-profile coaches have been in trouble for insensitive comments.
Three years ago, Pat Chambers resigned at Penn State after one of his former players revealed the coach said he wanted to &ldquo;loosen the noose that&rsquo;s around your neck&rdquo; when talking to the player about helping him reduce stress; he wsa hired at Florida Gulf Coast this season. And during the 2020-21 season, Creighton coach Greg McDermott apologized for telling his team after a loss to &ldquo;stay on the plantation&rdquo; as a way to reminding them to stick together; he was suspended for one game.
The 66-year-old Adams graduated from Texas Tech in 1979 and had been on the staff there since 2016, beginning as director of basketball operations under Tubby Smith and then spending time on Chris Beard&rsquo;s staff. He was elevated to head coach when Beard departed for Texas, and signed a $15.5 million, five-year contract extension last spring.
The extension came after Adams led the Red Raiders to the finals of the Big 12 Tournament, where they lost to eventual national champion Kansas. They went to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament in his first season in charge.
Things soured quickly this season, though. Texas Tech lost its first eight conference games, and any hope of making a run to the Big 12 Tournament title and a return to the NCAA tourney ended with a dismal effort against the Mountaineers.
&ldquo;If I&rsquo;m being honest, it&rsquo;s a lot of weight on these kids right now. They&rsquo;ve been through a lot in the last week or so,&rdquo; Williams said afterward. &ldquo;And in some ways, I just feel like it caught up with them, and they wanted to win.
&ldquo;They gave their best. And once the ball stopped falling in a little bit, it got a little bit more tougher,&rdquo; he added. &ldquo;The hill became a lot steeper, and unfortunate we weren&rsquo;t able to make up the difference.&rdquo;

Texas Tech coach Mark Adams, who was suspended for making racially insensitive comments to a player, resigned on Wednesday.

Texas Tech coach Mark Adams resigns after insensitive comments

Scoot Henderson is starting to watch the Harry Potter movies. He can easily explain what inertia is. He can&rsquo;t understand why one of his friends always seems to beat him when they go online to play Madden.
In his spare time, he also is getting ready for the NBA draft.
As the playoff push starts in the league, so does the draft push for those who will expect to hear their names called by Commissioner Adam Silver this June. Everybody knows French phenom Victor Wembanyama likely will be picked No. 1. There shouldn&rsquo;t be much mystery about who&rsquo;s going No. 2, either &mdash; with Henderson, an explosive point guard who has been drawing comparisons to Russell Westbrook, the consensus choice.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m just ready,&rdquo; Henderson said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m just trying to prepare myself for the next level. I feel right there.&rdquo;
His performance at All-Star weekend probably didn&rsquo;t hurt his stock. Playing with the G League team in the Rising Stars games, Henderson went through All-Star weekend for the second time &mdash; an obvious rarity for a player who has yet to appear in the NBA.
&ldquo;You see the talent,&rdquo; said Oklahoma City&rsquo;s Jalen Williams, who played with Henderson in the Rising Stars event. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s a reason why he&rsquo;s on draft boards as high as he is.&rdquo;
Henderson has averaged 18.0 points, 6.5 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game for the G League Ignite this season. He flirted with a triple-double in last Monday&rsquo;s win over Iowa: 14 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in just under 29 minutes. He also has averaged about one highlight-reel dunk per game &mdash; and at least one question about Wembanyama in interviews since the fall.
There is a mutual respect between the two, who are likely going to be linked for a long time given how the NBA put two exhibitions together between the Ignite and Wembanyama&rsquo;s French team back in October &mdash; a prelude with expectations that Wembanyama will be picked No. 1 in the draft and Henderson No. 2.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t listen to critics,&rdquo; Henderson said.
He said in October, and repeated in interviews at All-Star weekend, that there&rsquo;s no rivalry. Henderson isn&rsquo;t motivated by Wembanyama and doesn&rsquo;t view him as an opponent. He&rsquo;s not even that bothered by nobody projecting that he&rsquo;s the best player in the draft. He just does the work, believing in the end it&rsquo;ll be enough.
&ldquo;There might be a team that might need a leader, need somebody who can talk, somebody who can communicate on the floor,&rdquo; Henderson said. &ldquo;I think I can make a big difference.&rdquo;
The Ignite is designed to help players who aren&rsquo;t yet draft eligible but didn&rsquo;t want to follow the one-year-of-college path to get ready for the NBA. Henderson has been with them for two years and has heard plenty of comparisons to top point guards. Derrick Rose&rsquo;s name comes up a lot. So does Westbrook&rsquo;s.
It&rsquo;s high praise for anyone, much less a 19-year-old.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s pretty dope to be compared to,&rdquo; Henderson said. &ldquo;But I think I want to flare off into my own self.&rdquo;
The kid is wise beyond his years already, and that has nothing to do with how &mdash; when asked about a certain teammate&rsquo;s game &mdash; Henderson explains the way inertia helps. A body in motion tends to stay in motion unless another force intervenes, and somewhere along the way Henderson learned that helps on drives to the basket and other parts of the game.
&ldquo;Just science,&rdquo; Henderson said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s what that is.&rdquo;
He can also see how he&rsquo;d fit in with teams headed to the lottery. He studies the young players Houston has, just in case. Same with San Antonio, just in case. He talks about how he&rsquo;d fit alongside Scottie Barnes in Toronto. And he wouldn&rsquo;t mind being on a team someday with someone he considers an elite point guard, like Chris Paul or Ja Morant.
Teams with two point guards, he wonders, might be the future.
&ldquo;Dual backcourt would be crazy,&rdquo; Henderson said. &ldquo;Explosive and smart backcourts are cool to me.&rdquo;
He&rsquo;s athletic. He&rsquo;s a thinker. And whether he gets picked No. 1 or No. 2 or No. 60, Henderson is certain that he&rsquo;ll help some team next season.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m ready,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I know I&rsquo;m ready.&rdquo;

As the playoff push starts in the league, so does the draft push for those who will expect to hear their names called this June.

G League Ignite star Scoot Henderson says he’s ready for NBA draft

The NBA schedule naturally lends itself to several checkpoints throughout the season that serve as frames of reference to check a team's pulse. The trade deadline and All-Star break are typically viewed as the midseason opportunities to evaluate performance.
However, for some teams, there's a specific date when their season drastically changed. For this year's New York Knicks, that date is December 4, 2022.
That night, in a 92-81 win against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Tom Thibodeau trimmed New York's rotation to nine players. Since making the tweak, the Knicks are 27-14 and one of three squads with top-10 offensive and defensive ratings, per Cleaning the Glass.&nbsp;
New York has bounced up to the fifth seed in a strong Eastern Conference and only gotten better since acquiring Josh Hart prior to the trade deadline. His addition, marking another important season benchmark, has coincided with a seven-game winning streak that has given this young squad a glow in the national spotlight.
The Knicks are fun because they don't have one cure-all player responsible for the surge. Sure, Jalen Brunson's off-dribble juice has changed the game, and Hart has been a seamless fit so far, but this squad really jells because of collective improvement and synergy across the rotation.
New York owns the second-best offensive rating in non-garbage-time minutes since Dec. 4, and they are No. 1 since the win streak began. But interestingly, their scoring distribution looks nothing like the pass-heavy green flags we associate with "good" offense. Look at some of these ball-movement numbers from the league's stats database since Dec. 4:
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; height: 154px;" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 31.490698%; height: 22px;">Stat</td>
<td style="width: 31.490698%; height: 22px;">Value (since Dec. 4)</td>
<td style="width: 31.490698%; height: 22px;">NBA Rank</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 31.490698%; height: 22px;">Offensive Rating</td>
<td style="width: 31.490698%; height: 22px;">116.2</td>
<td style="width: 31.490698%; height: 22px;">5th</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 31.490698%; height: 22px;">Passes per game</td>
<td style="width: 31.490698%; height: 22px;">265.5</td>
<td style="width: 31.490698%; height: 22px;">25th</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 31.490698%; height: 22px;">Assists per game</td>
<td style="width: 31.490698%; height: 22px;">21.6</td>
<td style="width: 31.490698%; height: 22px;">30th</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 31.490698%; height: 22px;">Potential assists per game</td>
<td style="width: 31.490698%; height: 22px;">38.9</td>
<td style="width: 31.490698%; height: 22px;">30th</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 31.490698%; height: 22px;">Assist-to-pass ratio</td>
<td style="width: 31.490698%; height: 22px;">9.6%</td>
<td style="width: 31.490698%; height: 22px;">29th</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 31.490698%; height: 22px;">% of makes that were assisted</td>
<td style="width: 31.490698%; height: 22px;">52.3%</td>
<td style="width: 31.490698%; height: 22px;">30th</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
So the Knicks are running an elite offense, yet their buckets aren't resulting from quality passes that make the box score. And without throwing another table at you, I'll add that these numbers rank similarly even when paring things down to the last seven games.
However, less passing does not necessarily indicate bad, or even unsustainable, offensive process. The Knicks might be iso-heavy, but they choose to be with purpose.&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Clipped together the first 8 offensive possessions for the Knicks to start the 4th Q. Knicks are actively seeking out Hauser in matchups for both RJ and IQ to attack. There's a stark contrast in the quality of possessions initiated by both. <a href="https://t.co/TnDPTLpaRk">pic.twitter.com/TnDPTLpaRk</a>
&mdash; Ariel (@APachecoNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/APachecoNBA/status/1630603912536367106?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2023</a></blockquote>

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New York aggressively hunts mismatches so they can overpower defenses with drives. They're second in the NBA with 56.2 drives per game since Dec. 4 because they know they have several players &mdash; led by Brunson, Julius Randle, RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley &mdash; who can score and pass out of attacks. Notably, despite logging low assist numbers in general as shown above, New York's 6.0 assists per game via drives actually rank second in the NBA, and the team's 5.5% turnover rate is tied for second-lowest.
There is so much chess that occurs on these perceived isolation plays that involve opening up other opportunities, even if it's not directly from a pass at first. Ben Ritholz encapsulated this in the below video thread that strings together some Knicks possessions against the Miami Heat:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
🎥🏀Knicks Film Session🏀🎥 Today&rsquo;s Lesson: Herro Hunting How the Knicks used the RJ/Herro mismatch to their advantage to create looks down the stretch. Sound up 🔊 Featuring analysis by <a href="https://twitter.com/BenRitholtzNBA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BenRitholtzNBA</a>. <a href="https://t.co/zfhn4CYato">pic.twitter.com/zfhn4CYato</a>
&mdash; Knicks Film School (@KnickFilmSkool) <a href="https://twitter.com/KnickFilmSkool/status/1621525534336327680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 3, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Barrett is the focal point of the video, but similar approaches apply for Randle and Quickley. Brunson, meanwhile, is in his own stratosphere as the self-creating engine for the franchise. The marquee summer signing ranks third in the league with 21.1 drives per game since Dec. 4, and second in the league with 8.6 passes per game out of drives.
Brunson has been one of the league's premier driving threats over the course of his career; I wrote a whole <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-stats-notebook-jalen-brunson-is-in-the-drivers-seat" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Stats Notebook about his attacks with the Dallas Mavericks last spring</a>. He doesn't need to get all the way to the rim to bend defenses because he has the strength and shake to control the mid-range areas. As SDPN's Esfandiar Baraheni notes in this well-timed breakdown, Brunson has also spiked his drawn-shooting-foul rate, up to 13.0% from 7.9% a year ago.
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With Brunson as the head of the snake, Barrett, Randle and Quickley (who is converting 56% of his driving field goal attempts!) each bring a different layer of difficulty off the dribble. And though he's only averaging 4.4 drives so far, Hart has done the same early on with the Knicks.
The 27-year-old is putting up 12.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game in his seven appearances so far. Hart's immediate impact is helped by a ludicrous 60.0% three-point clip that will surely cool off. But he'll be a force off the bench for the Knicks either way with his straight-line drives and unique production on the boards.
Hart has made 14 of his 19 shots at the rim in this tiny sample size and nine of those buckets were unassisted. The success tracks. Take a look at what he's done on "self-created" shots (attempts taken after at least two seconds with the ball) over his career, via PBP Stats:
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; height: 176px;" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 44px;">
<td style="width: 27.415144%; height: 44px;">Season</td>
<td style="width: 15.274151%; height: 44px;">FGM</td>
<td style="width: 15.274151%; height: 44px;">FGM</td>
<td style="width: 21.671018%; height: 44px;">FG%</td>
<td style="width: 20.365535%; height: 44px;">Freq. (% of total shots within 10 ft.)</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 27.415144%; height: 22px;">2017-18</td>
<td style="width: 15.274151%; height: 22px;">47</td>
<td style="width: 15.274151%; height: 22px;">70</td>
<td style="width: 21.671018%; height: 22px;">67.1%</td>
<td style="width: 20.365535%; height: 22px;">19.8%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 27.415144%; height: 22px;">2018-19</td>
<td style="width: 15.274151%; height: 22px;">39</td>
<td style="width: 15.274151%; height: 22px;">77</td>
<td style="width: 21.671018%; height: 22px;">50.7%</td>
<td style="width: 20.365535%; height: 22px;">16.6%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 27.415144%; height: 22px;">2019-20</td>
<td style="width: 15.274151%; height: 22px;">74</td>
<td style="width: 15.274151%; height: 22px;">113</td>
<td style="width: 21.671018%; height: 22px;">65.5%</td>
<td style="width: 20.365535%; height: 22px;">21.6%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 27.415144%; height: 22px;">2020-21</td>
<td style="width: 15.274151%; height: 22px;">46</td>
<td style="width: 15.274151%; height: 22px;">84</td>
<td style="width: 21.671018%; height: 22px;">54.8%</td>
<td style="width: 20.365535%; height: 22px;">24.5%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 27.415144%; height: 22px;">2021-22</td>
<td style="width: 15.274151%; height: 22px;">139</td>
<td style="width: 15.274151%; height: 22px;">215</td>
<td style="width: 21.671018%; height: 22px;">64.7%</td>
<td style="width: 20.365535%; height: 22px;">38.5%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 27.415144%; height: 22px;">2022-23</td>
<td style="width: 15.274151%; height: 22px;">101</td>
<td style="width: 15.274151%; height: 22px;">167</td>
<td style="width: 21.671018%; height: 22px;">60.5%</td>
<td style="width: 20.365535%; height: 22px;">40.2%</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Hart has consistently been a high-level interior creator even as he takes on more volume. But so far, he's different from other Knicks players in his unabashed confidence to score in transition.
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/7v2chp" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
Nothing schematic to break down here &mdash; Hart just takes the ball the length of the floor, puts his shoulder into one of the league's strongest players and finishes through Jonas Valanciunas for the and-one layup. He's already had several coast-to-coast scores with New York, and that's new for a team ranking 25th in transition frequency on the season.&nbsp;
Hart also fortifies one of the best rebounding units in the league. His 6.0% offensive rebounding rate and 18.8% rebounding rate with Portland this season are both top-2-percentile numbers among wings, per Cleaning the Glass. New York already has Mitchell Robinson, Isaiah Hartenstein and Jericho Sims as a trio with top-15-percentile splits among bigs, and Randle is top-20-percentile in these categories as a forward.&nbsp;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
New York's offense operates with the vibes of a heavyweight boxer. The mismatch-hunting and on-court positioning are all setting up for the big punches, or drives orchestrated by the Knicks' leading scorers. Controlling the glass, plus a top-10 defense worthy of a separate article, help build out the chiseled frame of the team.
The numbers might not make the offense seem impressive at first, but when you piece them together and pair them with tape, the Knicks look a lot more imposing as a playoff contender.
THE OUTLIERS (a.k.a. other random interesting numbers I found in the void):
<ul>
<li>Antoine Davis is the man! The second note here blew my mind:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Incredible career for Antoine Davis <a href="https://t.co/rIwf0qu4Xc">pic.twitter.com/rIwf0qu4Xc</a>
&mdash; Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) <a href="https://twitter.com/AdamZagoria/status/1631649663735455756?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 3, 2023</a></blockquote>
<ul>
<li class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">Lauri Markkanen has been one of the best scorers in the NBA this year, full stop:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Lauri Markkanen has been nothing short of special this year. He&rsquo;s now averaging 25.3 PPG, up from 14.8 last season, and while at an incredible level of efficiency. He&rsquo;s finishing WELL above league averages at the rim, in the midrange, and from 3. (53% on corner 3s 🔥) <a href="https://t.co/AmQwcSLodN">pic.twitter.com/AmQwcSLodN</a>
&mdash; Dom Samangy (@DSamangy) <a href="https://twitter.com/DSamangy/status/1631345431455178769?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 2, 2023</a></blockquote>
<ul>
<li class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">Not quite like a full season triple-double average, but Nikola Jokic is making the case for his <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/sportsbooks-view-nikola-jokic-as-a-lock-to-win-his-3rdstraight-mvp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">third-straight MVP</a> look stronger every game:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Nikola Jokic has averaged a triple-double in December, January and February. He is the 3rd player in NBA history to average a triple-double in at least 3 straight calendar months, joining Oscar Robertson and Russell Westbrook. <a href="https://t.co/3pQ0kAeNHY">pic.twitter.com/3pQ0kAeNHY</a>
&mdash; ESPN Stats &amp; Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNStatsInfo/status/1630762306253496321?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 1, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Ethan Fuller shows that there's more to the New York Knicks' low-passing offense than the numbers initially suggest.