Bruins

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

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

Exploring the most dominant dynasties throughout NBA history

Academy Award winner Michael Douglas loves basketball. He&rsquo;s a big Miami fan, mainly because of his relationship with Heat President Pat Riley. He&rsquo;s followed the game for decades.
He&rsquo;s gone to a couple French league games in recent weeks for one reason:&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-sports-basketball-las-vegas-6f4ac3d44f624ef36ddb00e314cf0401">Victor Wembanyama,</a>&nbsp;the 7-foot-3 French phenom who is already capturing the basketball world&rsquo;s imagination and attention.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve seen Victor play twice in person and twice on television,&rdquo; Douglas, who has been working near Paris playing the role of Benjamin Franklin, told The Associated Press. &ldquo;And I went specifically to just see him play.&rdquo;
As Douglas said in his famous role as Gordon Gekko, &ldquo;I wanna know where he goes.&rdquo;
So does everybody else. Finally, the answer is coming. On Tuesday night, Chicago plays host to the NBA draft lottery, an event where 14 ping-pong balls go into a hopper, and the numbers of the first four balls to pop out will be matched to a combination assigned to a team.
That team wins the No. 1 pick. Spoiler alert: They&rsquo;ll use it to choose Wembanyama on June 22.
&ldquo;Pray for Victor,&rdquo;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/SeanTPendergast/status/1627126316431540224" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Houston owner Tilman Fertitta</a>&nbsp;told Houston television station KPRC back in February at a Mardi Gras celebration, when the Rockets were in the second half of their dreadful season and with the team well on its way to the lottery at that point.
He didn&rsquo;t say Wembanyama. He didn&rsquo;t have to. Everybody knows what he meant.
The Rockets, San Antonio and Detroit&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/wembanyama-nba-draft-spurs-ee1a9bd2232173666d3302bb491c7c5c">all have the best chance of landing Wembanyama</a>&nbsp;&mdash; 14% apiece, or about 7-1.
The odds decrease a bit as one goes down the line of the other lottery hopefuls: Charlotte (12.5%), Portland (10.5%), Orlando (9%), Indiana (6.8%), Washington (6.7%), Utah (4.5%), Dallas (3%), Chicago (1.8%), Oklahoma City (1.7%), Toronto (1%) and New Orleans (0.5%).
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/ap2.png" alt="" width="753" height="366" />
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m alive. I have ears and I can see TV and there&rsquo;s a lottery. Yes, I&rsquo;ve thought about it,&rdquo; San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said on the day his team&rsquo;s season ended in April. &ldquo;Duh. Did you think I didn&rsquo;t, that I live in a phone booth?&rdquo;
NBA rules prohibit teams from discussing draft-eligible players publicly, until they&rsquo;re announced as candidates for the draft. Key word there: publicly. They&rsquo;ve all been talking among themselves about Wembanyama for a couple of years now, trying to find the new ways to describe a skyscraper of a teen who can shoot, pass, dribble and defend.
So have a ton of NBA players, even the game&rsquo;s biggest stars. LeBron James famously called Wembanyama &ldquo;an alien,&rdquo; and Giannis Antetokounmpo &mdash; who said he enjoyed hearing that Wembanyama counts him among his favorite players &mdash; insisted that the kid should make immediate impact in the NBA.
&ldquo;At the end of the day, as we know, NBA players also will want to make sure that when someone gets so much hype, that they let him know what it&rsquo;s about,&rdquo; NBA great and soon-to-be Basketball Hall of Famer Pau Gasol said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s going to be challenged. But great players thrive off of challenge, right? So, I expect him to continue to progress and continue to get better and continue to show why people are so excited about him at this point.&rdquo;
There are some other sure-fire lottery picks in this draft that should make teams better as well &mdash; among them, Alabama&rsquo;s Brandon Miller, twin brothers Amen and Ausar Thompson of the Overtime Elite program, and Scoot Henderson of the G League Ignite. It was announced Monday that&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/stephen-curry-scoot-henderson-nba-draft-20cc165a9d8516ad940cc519a5494072">Henderson will be mentored on and off the court by four-time NBA champion Stephen Curry</a>&nbsp;of the Golden State Warriors.
&ldquo;I have been watching Scoot and his family for a while now, and I am beyond impressed with what he has accomplished thus far, and excited to watch him take control of his future and grow,&rdquo; Curry said while announcing the alliance with Henderson &mdash; whose team played against Wembanyama&rsquo;s team last fall in a pair of exhibitions near Las Vegas, part of the buildup toward this draft.
<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-sports-russell-westbrook-draft-20110cf4506dd900f48d84fefd673077">Henderson exudes confidence,</a>&nbsp;and believes he&rsquo;s earned the right to be in the No. 1 conversation.
&ldquo;I think I can make a big difference,&rdquo; Henderson said.
Wembanyama won&rsquo;t be at the lottery; his French team, Boulogne-Levallois, has a game Tuesday. It&rsquo;ll be a little after 2 a.m. Wednesday in Paris when the results are announced.
It&rsquo;ll be the start of a new chapter,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/wemby-victor-wembanyama-nba-draft-f5be654cce544c675559bad526220a9e">as his current one is coming to a joyful end.</a>&nbsp;The winding-down of his French career has been a celebration, and it&rsquo;ll only continue.
Wembanyama&rsquo;s pro career started with the French club Nanterre. His Metropolitans 92 team went to Nanterre last week and got an 82-72 victory &mdash; and it seemed like none of the home fans cared that their team lost.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/Agence_Comsport/status/1656051950083776513?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Wembanyama went into the stands after the game,</a>&nbsp;hugging Nanterre fans and posing for pictures, before returning to the court and hugging team officials and others as tears welled in his eyes.
They are saying &ldquo;au revoir.&rdquo;
The NBA is about to say &ldquo;bonjour.&rdquo;
&ldquo;I found Victor highly intelligent, he speaks English well, taught himself by English speaking television shows,&rdquo; Douglas said. &ldquo;He has a close-knit family and is very tight with his management team. He seems to have an inquisitive mind, interested in many things off the court.&rdquo;
And as for what Douglas tells Wembanyama about what awaits, his answer was simple: Enjoy.
&ldquo;The pressure of being No. 1 is a high-quality problem,&rdquo; Douglas said. &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t let it overwhelm the joy of the moment. Victor is an impressive all-around young man.&rdquo;
Let the journey begin.

On Tuesday night, one lucky NBA team will land the No. 1 pick and the right to draft potential superstar Victor Wembanyama.

Victor Wembanyama to learn NBA destination at Tuesday's Draft Lottery

MIAMI (AP) &mdash; Max Strus had another 3-pointer taken away in an elimination game. He and Jimmy Butler made sure it didn&rsquo;t matter.
The playoffs await.
Strus and Butler &mdash; who was doubled over at times in the final moments, heaving for every breath &mdash; scored 31 points apiece, and the Miami Heat closed the game on a 15-1 run to beat the Chicago Bulls 102-91 in an Eastern Conference play-in game Friday night.
&ldquo;Our team has obviously not been perfect this year,&rdquo; Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. &ldquo;But I do know one thing about the men in that locker room: The last 48 hours, I know how categorically, unequivocally, how badly and desperately our group wanted to get into this damn thing &mdash; and get into the playoffs to have an opportunity to compete for a title.&rdquo;
Their reward: the No. 8 seed in the East and a first-round matchup with the Milwaukee Bucks, the NBA&rsquo;s top overall seed, starting Sunday.
DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls with 26 points and nine assists. Alex Caruso added 16 points, Zach Lavine had 15 but shot just 6 for 20, and Coby White scored 14. Chicago got a road win at Toronto on Wednesday to extend its season, but couldn&rsquo;t get the second road victory it needed to make the playoffs.
&ldquo;They&rsquo;re disappointed,&rdquo; Bulls coach Billy Donovan said. &ldquo;When you make that investment from September to the middle of April, that&rsquo;s a lot of time. You reflect back a little bit. I think they&rsquo;re all disappointed. We were getting better as a group, I think, since the All-Star break. It would have been nice if we found a way to win tonight and continue on to the playoffs, but it didn&rsquo;t happen.&rdquo;
Tyler Herro added 12 points and Bam Adebayo grabbed 17 rebounds for Miami, which trailed by six midway through the final quarter.
But Butler scored while getting fouled with 2:17 left to put Miami ahead for good, found Strus for a 3-pointer &mdash; his seventh of the night &mdash; a minute later to push the lead to five, and Strus sealed it with three free throws after getting fouled on a try from beyond the arc with 40 seconds remaining.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think any of us felt any type of pressure,&rdquo; Butler said. &ldquo;We went out, we competed.&rdquo;
The Heat led by 14 in the first quarter, held as much as a 10-point lead in the third quarter, then found themselves down by six with 7:12 remaining.
A 9-3 spurt over the next 2 minutes &mdash; Butler had seven, Strus had the other two &mdash; pulled the Heat into a tie, and into all-too-familiar territory. The NBA defines clutch games as those that are within five points or less in the final 5 minutes, and the Heat played a league-high 54 of them during the regular season.
Maybe it prepared them for this moment. White made a 3-pointer with 3:47 left to put the Bulls up 90-87. The score the rest of the way: Heat 15, Bulls 1.
&ldquo;Win or go home,&rdquo; said Strus, an Illinois native who started his career with the Bulls. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not done yet.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Bulls: Chicago was a combined 13-1 this season against Miami, Detroit, Portland, Utah and Dallas. &hellip; The Bulls didn&rsquo;t trail Miami by more than nine in any of the three regular-season matchups between the teams. ... Nikola Vucevic had 12 points.
Heat: Strus had 14 points in the first quarter, matching the seventh-best scoring effort in any quarter of his career. &hellip; This was the 21st Heat team to finish a regular season with a winning record; they were 44-38. All 21 have made the playoffs. ... Kyle Lowry was limited in the second half with a knee issue, but told Spoelstra postgame that he was fine.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Heat and Bucks split four meetings this season, both going 2-0 at home. Butler averaged 22 points per game to lead all players in the season series. Adebayo and Milwaukee&rsquo;s Giannis Antetokounmpo both averaged 19.5, and Herro averaged 19.
BILLY AND UDONIS
It was the final time Donovan will share a court with one of his college players at Florida, Heat captain Udonis Haslem, who will retire when this Miami season ends. All of Haslem&rsquo;s NBA and college coaches were at the game, with Erik Spoelstra on the Heat sideline, Pat Riley in the Heat president&rsquo;s box, Stan Van Gundy broadcasting for TNT and Donovan leading the Bulls.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not surprised about the impact he&rsquo;s had on the community here and I&rsquo;m not surprised about the impact he&rsquo;s had inside the organization,&rdquo; Donovan said. He also lauded Haslem for prioritizing winning and never leaving the Heat even though he had offers elsewhere &ldquo;for a lot more money.&rdquo;
UP NEXT
Bulls: Season complete.
Heat: Visit Milwaukee in Game 1 on Sunday.

The Miami Heat closed the game on a 15-1 run to beat the Chicago Bulls 102-91 in an Eastern Conference play-in game Friday night.

Heat eliminate Bulls 102-91, will face Bucks in Round 1

College basketball is full of excitement and drama. While winning a national championship is the ultimate goal for every team, there have been many loaded squads that came up short.&nbsp;
While the teams on this list didn&rsquo;t win a title, they are still often mentioned among the best teams in the history of college basketball. Here are the best college-basketball teams that failed to win it all.&nbsp;
11. 1965-66 Kentucky Wildcats
The 1965-66 Kentucky Wildcats were coached by Adolph Rupp and their talented roster included future NBA stars Pat Riley and Louie Dampier. The Wildcats finished the season with a record of 27-2 and advanced to the national championship game, where they faced the Texas Western Miners. In a game that would later be immortalized in the movie "Glory Road," the Miners upset the Wildcats, 72-65.
10. 2006-07 Ohio State Buckeyes
Led by future No. 1 overall draft pick Greg Oden and longtime NBA point guard Mike Conley, the Buckeyes were hoping to win their second national championship in program history. Ohio State, traditionally a football school, finished the season 35-4 and ranked No. 1 in the AP poll. The Buckeyes advanced to the national championship game, where they faced a loaded Florida Gators squad that was led by future NBA All-Stars Joakim Noah and Al Horford.&nbsp;
In the national championship game, Oden avoided the foul trouble that had plagued him earlier in the tournament and put up a dominant 25 points and 12 rebounds. However, it wasn&rsquo;t enough, as the Gators defeated the Buckeyes 84-75 behind Horford's 18 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks. Four players from the Buckeyes' roster would go on to play in the NBA: Conley, Oden, Daequan Cook and Othello Hunter.
9. 2004-05 Illinois Fighting Illini
The 2004-05 Illinois Fighting Illini were a dominant force in college basketball. Coached by Bruce Weber and led by Dee Brown and Deron Williams, the Illini won their first 29 games of the season and finished with a 37-2 record.&nbsp;
Illinois advanced to the national championship game, where they faced the North Carolina Tar Heels (who were led by Raymond Felton, Sean May, Rashad McCants and Marvin Williams). Despite a valiant effort, the Illini fell just short, losing 75-70. Five of their players would go on to play in the NBA: Williams, Brown, Luther Head, Roger Powell and James Augustine.
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/rose22.jpg" alt="" width="690" height="349" />
8. 2007-08 Memphis Tigers
Yes, John Calipari has back-to-back teams on this list. Coach Cal&rsquo;s 2007-08 Memphis Tigers were absolutely loaded and they were led by Derrick Rose, who would go on to be the No. 1 pick in the 2008 NBA Draft and the youngest MVP in NBA history in 2011. Chris Douglas-Roberts, Joey Dorsey and Antonio Anderson were also key contributors who eventually had stints in the NBA.
The Tigers finished the season with a record of 38-2 and they advanced to the national championship game, where they faced the Kansas Jayhawks. Despite a strong effort, the Tigers were unable to overcome the Jayhawks. Memphis missed a number of late free throws, which opened the door for Mario Chalmers to hit <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/march-madness-ranking-the-top11-ncaa-tournament-buzzerbeaters" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one of the most memorable buzzer-beaters in modern NCAA Tournament history</a> and force overtime. Kansas would go on to win, 75-68.
7. 1974-75 Indiana Hoosiers
Led by head coach Bob Knight, the 1974-75 Indiana Hoosiers finished the season with a record of 31-1 and advanced to the Final Four, where they faced the Kentucky Wildcats. Despite a strong effort, the Hoosiers were upset by the Wildcats, 92-90.&nbsp;
The Hoosiers would have eight players who would go on to play in the NBA: Scott May, Steve Green, Kent Benson, Quinn Buckner, John Laskowski, Bob Wilkerson, Tom Abernethy and Wayne Radford.
6. 1996-97 Kansas Jayhawks
The 1996-97 Kansas Jayhawks featured a pair of future NBA stars (Paul Pierce and Raef LaFrentz) and one of the best coaches in college-basketball history (Roy Williams). The Jayhawks finished the season with a record of 34-2 and advanced to the Final Four, where they faced the&nbsp; Arizona Wildcats.&nbsp;
Pierce put together a monster performance &mdash; 27 points, 11 rebounds, 3 threes, 2 blocks and 2 steals on 69.2/60/100 shooting splits &mdash; but it wasn't enough to defeat Mike Bibby&rsquo;s Wildcats. The Jayhawks lost 85-82 in overtime. In addition to Pierce and LaFrentz, Kansas had four other players go on to the NBA: Scot Pollard, Billy Thomas, Jacque Vaughn and Ryan Robertson.
5. 2014-15 Kentucky Wildcats
The 2014-15 Kentucky Wildcats, coached by John Calipari, featured quite the collection of young, high-upside talent. Led by future NBA superstars Karl-Anthony Towns and Devin Booker, the Wildcats finished the season with a perfect record of 38-0.
Kentucky advanced to the Final Four, where they faced the Wisconsin Badgers and were ultimately upset 71-64. In total, a whopping nine Wildcats would go on to play in the NBA: Towns, Booker, Trey Lyles, Willie Cauley-Stein, Aaron Harrison, Andrew Harrison, Tyler Ulis, Dakari Johnson and Alex Poythress.
4. 1984-85 Georgetown Hoyas
The 1984-85 Georgetown Hoyas, coached by John Thompson, were a powerhouse team that featured future NBA star Patrick Ewing. The Hoyas finished the season with a record of 35-3 and advanced to the national championship game, where they faced the Villanova Wildcats.&nbsp;
In one of the biggest upsets in college-basketball history, the Wildcats defeated the Hoyas 66-64. In addition to Ewing, Georgetown had four other players who went on to play in the NBA: Reggie Williams, Bill Martin, David Wingate and Michael Jackson.
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/web2.jpg" alt="" width="690" height="348" />
3. 1992-93 Michigan Wolverines
The prior season, the Fab Five took college basketball by storm, with bald heads and baggy shorts. They started five true freshmen and had a great season, making it all the way to the national championship game, where they were handled by a veteran Duke squad that was led by Christian Laettner, Grant Hill and Bobby Hurley, losing 71-51.
In the 1992-93 season, the Wolverines were widely regarded as the most talented team in the country and they were the favorites to win it all. Unfortunately, they fell short to North Carolina in the national championship game in one of the most memorable endings in sports history. Future No. 1 pick Chris Webber called a timeout that Michigan didn&rsquo;t have, as they lost 77-71. Michigan had five players who would later play in the NBA: Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King and Eric Riley (plus Rob Pelinka would go on to run the Los Angeles Lakers' front office).
2. 1982-83 Houston Cougars
Led by future Hall-of-Famers Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, the 1982-83 Houston Cougars were known as "Phi Slama Jama" for their high-flying style of play. The Cougars were a dominant force on both ends of the court. They advanced to the Final Four, where they faced the N.C. State Wolfpack. Despite a 20-point lead in the second half, the Cougars were upset by the Wolfpack, 54-52. In addition to the superstar pairing of Olajuwon and Drexler, Houston also had two other players who would go on to play in the NBA: Michael Young and Larry Micheaux.
1. 1990-91 UNLV Runnin' Rebels
The 1990-91 UNLV Runnin' Rebels are one of the greatest college basketball teams of all-time, despite not winning the national championship. Coached by Jerry Tarkanian, the Rebels had an incredible season, finishing with a record of 34-1.&nbsp;
Led by Larry Johnson, Stacey Augmon and Greg Anthony, the Rebels played an up-tempo style of basketball that was both thrilling and effective. In the Final Four, they lost a close game to the Duke Blue Devils, who would go on to win the national championship. Johnson, Augmon and Anthony would go on to thrive in the NBA, and two other Rebels would also make it to the league (Elmore Spencer and Eyric Gray).
Would you rank these teams differently? Who is missing from this list? <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tweet us your thoughts now</a>!

Jamal Shakespeare looks back on 11 all-time great college basketball teams that failed to win a championship.

Revisiting 11 loaded NCAA-basketball teams that failed to win it all

Basketball News highlights the reporting, analysis and podcasts that defined a year of basketball in 2022.

Best of Basketball News: Spotlighting our top content from 2022

On Monday, Nike announced that it officially cut ties with Kyrie Irving due to him sharing a link to the documentary "Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America," which many have labeled antisemitic. The news comes after Nike had suspended Irving and canceled his signature sneaker line.&nbsp;
The relationship between Irving and Nike began to deteriorate prior to the recent controversy. Last July, Irving said that the Kyrie 8 sneakers were "trash" and that he had "nothing to do with the design or marketing" of the shoe, but that "Nike plans to release it without my okay."
However, Nike co-founder Phil Knight specifically mentioned Irving's scandal as the reason the company was parting ways with him.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
&ldquo;Kyrie stepped over the line, it&rsquo;s kind of that simple,&rdquo; says Nike co-founder Phil Knight. &ldquo;He just made some statements we can&rsquo;t abide by and that&rsquo;s why we ended the relationship.&rdquo; <a href="https://t.co/VWWAEbsIku">pic.twitter.com/VWWAEbsIku</a>
&mdash; CNBC (@CNBC) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNBC/status/1590741070018641931?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 10, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

After nearly a decade-long run of success with Nike, Irving is officially a sneaker free agent.
In response to this, during Wednesday's game against the Charlotte Hornets, Irving wore the Kyrie 3s with the Raygun colorway, but employed black tape to cover the Nike Swoosh logos. Additionally, he handwrote in marker the messages "I AM FREE" and "Thank you God... I AM" and "Logo Here" on the side of his shoes.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Kyrie Irving covered up the Swoosh on his Nike Kyrie 3 with some messages following his official split with the company. Irving is a sneaker free agent <a href="https://t.co/xyKS4qN1qd">pic.twitter.com/xyKS4qN1qd</a>
&mdash; Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) <a href="https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1600692264774287360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 8, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

(The Brooklyn Nets also won 122-116, with Irving leading all scorers with 33 points and finishing one assist shy of a double-double.)
Irving&rsquo;s agent, Shetellia Riley Irving, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/05/business/nike-kyrie-irving.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told The New York Times</a> that the sides &ldquo;mutually decided to part ways and we just wish Nike all the best.&rdquo;
On my radio show, "The Collision: Where Sports And Politics Collide,&rdquo; my guest was Torraine Walker, the <a href="https://twitter.com/TorraineWalker" target="_blank" rel="noopener">founder of Context Media Group</a>. We examined what Nike&rsquo;s decision to break ties with Irving means in the grander scheme of things, what actually constitutes antisemitism and if an ADL-style punishment is the answer. This was a great discussion.
Etan Thomas: What was your response to Nike dropping Kyrie and his response to being free? Were you surprised they did that?
Torraine Walker: "No I wasn&rsquo;t really surprised. I know once this controversy blew up that there was going to be some type of corporate response to it. I didn&rsquo;t think it would go to this extreme, but at the same time, I can&rsquo;t really say that I&rsquo;m surprised. Whether we like it or not, sports and politics are often divisions, and anything that looks like it&rsquo;s going to affect the brand, the bottom line, is going to be dealt with harshly when you&rsquo;re dealing with corporations.
"But the one thing I think this really lays out is, it shows the difference between ownership and sponsorship. A lot of times, we get caught up in the idea that someone who is the face of a brand has some type of bargaining power to the level that they can make contractual decisions. So this 'Hebrews To Negroes' controversy was so big that Nike could not ignore it.
"The other side is this &mdash; I think this is a great opportunity for Kyrie and also other athletes to look at basically creating their own brand and basically having some ownership in the products they are endorsing and have their faces on. Now, the question is, will the public get on board with that? Let&rsquo;s be honest, Nike has such a stronghold on the market and such strong brand loyalty and brand recognition that it&rsquo;s going to be difficult for someone who is coming into the market to do that. But I&rsquo;m not surprised at all that Nike did what they did."
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Thomas: What role did the media have in really magnifying this issue and controversy?&nbsp;
Walker: "The media had the primary role in keeping this 'controversy' going as long as it did. I can see the point where the posting of the documentary may have ruffled some feathers, or it made some people feel like it was an antisemitic thing. But usually when something like this happens, if an athlete or celebrity does something that people take offense to, people get offended, the athlete releases a statement, there&rsquo;s usually a cooling off period and, then, it goes away.
"But for some reason, there was this drive in the media to make this thing bigger than it was. They took a two-day story and made it into a month story, and I still don&rsquo;t fully understand the motivation behind that. I know a lot of organizations were pushing this. And I wonder if people inside the Nike organization was pushing this as well because, if I&rsquo;m not mistaken, Kyrie&rsquo;s contract is coming up anyway.
"But I think with the media, this was just the an opportunity for them to jump on an antisemitic angle with Black people and a Black man specifically, and they can run with it. So they saw a hot story and narrative that they could really push, and that&rsquo;s why we are where we are with this situation with Nike dropping him today. So to answer your question, the media had a huge role in this."
Thomas: What do you think about Kyrie and what he did with his shoes on Tuesday night &mdash; putting the tape over the logo and writing "I Am Free." What was your reaction to that?&nbsp;
Walker: "I was in favor of it, and I&rsquo;m glad he did it that way. My question is, how long will this be sustainable? It&rsquo;s easy to create a moment, it&rsquo;s easy to get people&rsquo;s attention, but can you direct that attention into something that will then be tangible for you to really be 'free?' And what does 'freedom' look like? Freedom looks like something different to everybody. Does this mean he is free from having to hold his tongue on issues he is concerned about? Does this mean he is free to create his own sneaker line? Does this mean he is free psychologically? I would love get clarification on that. I think it was a powerful statement, especially the timing, but would love to see it turn into something tangible."
Thomas: You mentioned something before, and it's the question that I continued to ask throughout this entire process: what is considered "antisemitic?" I think right now, there is a wider and wider bucket of what is being casted as antisemitic. On my show, "The Rematch," I spoke with an actual Rabbi, Harry Rozenberg, and we talked about this. He said, "Well, I may have a different opinion than your's, and feel very strongly and emotionally about my different opinion, but that doesn&rsquo;t mean your's is antisemitic." So I&rsquo;m asking you, in your opinion, what exactly is antisemitic?
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0VV_Pzg4gdw" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Walker: "Well, in my opinion, being antisemitic means you are making hateful statements about Jewish people, or you are calling for their extermination &mdash; which is what a lot of white supremacists and neo-Nazis call for. I don&rsquo;t believe that having questions about Judaism or having questions or issues as a Black man in America with the relationship between Black people and Jewish people is necessarily 'antisemitic.'
"And what&rsquo;s happening now is, any questioning of anything having to do with Jewish people or the state of Israel is being seen as antisemitic, and I don&rsquo;t think that&rsquo;s fair and it doesn&rsquo;t make for a rational conversation. It has become this thing where even if you mention it, you are labeled as antisemitic, and that shuts down any conversation. So to answer your question, my definition of antisemitism is violent hatred of any person who is Jewish. That&rsquo;s my definition of it."
Thomas: Well, I couldn&rsquo;t agree more. I had a debate with Dave Zirin, my regular co-host on The Collision, when he guested on The Rematch, and we disagreed for literally the entire interview. We just had a different view of everything that had occurred, and this is when everything first happened.
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UGCSVkZzeyU" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
I mentioned my debate with Harry Rozenberg and we disagreed at times &mdash; we definitely disagreed when it came to discussing Palestine and Israel &mdash; but we also agreed that everything isn&rsquo;t in the "antisemitic" bucket. I think one of the things that happens is, when you label something as "antisemitic," it&rsquo;s kind of a lazy argument because it shuts down all conversation. Once you say something is antisemitic, then there is no conversation. But I think there are different things that can and should be discussed without the label of "antisemitic."
Walker: "Absolutely, and like I said earlier, when you are an African-American, your ideas on what 'antisemitism' means and what discrimination feels like is very different than what someone else from a different demographic may be familiar with. And this is not to say that people who are Jewish have not dealt with discrimination and bigotry in Europe and America &mdash; they definitely have &mdash; but that conversation has to change a little bit when we&rsquo;re talking about Black people.
"Because, we have to be honest: Black people are still collectively at the bottom of the economic ladder in America. And our relationship with someone who may be a landlord or someone who is exploiting them, it may be coming from an attitude of pushing back against exploitation. It doesn&rsquo;t mean that it&rsquo;s antisemitic, and a lot of times that gets lost in this conversation.
"But I do think that one thing that has come out of this conversation with Kyrie and Nike and Kanye [West] and [Dave] Chappelle, to an extent, is that these conversations are beginning to happen and they have to happen in order for any meaningful, impactful dialogue to take place. You can&rsquo;t just label something as antisemitic and then shut down the conversation and punish anyone who brought it up like Nike did with Kyrie."
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Thomas: I agree 100%. And yes, Nike&rsquo;s decision to drop Kyrie in the wake of him sharing the documentary "Hebrews To Negroes" has actually made them become part of the problem we&rsquo;ve seen with the ADL. Punishment over dialogue. Labeling over discussion and understanding.&nbsp;
Van Jones also took it upon himself to apologize to the Jewish community on behalf of the entire Black community for statements made by Kanye West &mdash; even though I don&rsquo;t know who appointed him as spokesperson for the Black community. But before we finish, let me make this point clear: a lot of people are, and have been, conflating Kanye West a.k.a. Ye and Kyrie Irving, but they are two COMPLETELY separate issues. One is NOT like the other and should NEVER be lumped together in any way, shape or form.
Walker: "I definitely agree."
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/violalogo1.png" alt="" width="650" height="325" />

Etan Thomas speaks with Torraine Walker to discuss Nike parting ways with Kyrie Irving, how he responded and what it could mean.

Nike employs ADL tactics as it officially drops Kyrie Irving

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; A pair of five-star recruits are sure to turn heads at UCLA this season. In an era when freshmen burn brightest, however, it&rsquo;s two seniors who could prove invaluable to the eighth-ranked Bruins&rsquo; NCAA title hopes.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Tyger Campbell are back for their fourth seasons in Westwood, a couple of battle-tested veterans who arrived at the same time as coach Mick Cronin to rebuild a program that owns a record 11 national championships.
The COVID-19 pandemic canceled the NCAA Tournament in 2020, when the Bruins were riding a hot streak in March. Jaquez and Campbell helped them to a Final Four appearance in 2021. UCLA lost to North Carolina by seven points in the regional semifinals last season.
The Bruins were 27-8 and finished second in the Pac-12 at 15-5 last season. They defended their home court well, winning 14 of 15 games.
Cronin is 68-30 entering his fourth season and boasts top-five recruits, guard Amari Bailey and forward Adem Bona.
UCLA opens the season at home against Sacramento State on Nov. 7. The Bruins play five of their first seven games at Pauley Pavilion in the first month of the season. They travel to Las Vegas for two games before playing their first Pac-12 game at Stanford on Dec. 1.
The Bruins&rsquo; nonconference schedule includes games at Maryland on Dec. 14 and against Kentucky at New York&rsquo;s Madison Square Garden on Dec. 17.
BACKCOURT DEPTH
Jaquez and Campbell anchor one of the best backcourts in the nation despite the losses of Johnny Juzang and Jules Bernard. Jaquez is back to full strength after late-season ankle injuries slowed him. Campbell finished in the top four in the Pac-12 in assists in each of his first three seasons and his 3-point shooting ticked up to 41% as a junior. Fifth-year senior David Singleton is also a threat from deep, shooting 45% last season. Jaylen Clark showed what he can do as a starter, averaging 14.8 points during a five-game stretch in the lineup. They&rsquo;re joined by Bailey, the Bruins&rsquo; highest-rated prospect since Lonzo Ball in 2016. Will McClendon finally makes his Westwood debut after a torn ACL kept him out of action last season.
UNPROVEN FRONTCOURT
The departures of Cody Riley and Myles Johnson leave the Bruins with an unproven frontcourt. As a result, Bona from Nigeria figures to join the starting rotation. He was a McDonald&rsquo;s All-American at his prep school in Napa, California, and has international playing experience. Mac Etienne returns after missing all last season with an ACL injury, having shown promise late in the 2020-21 season. Senior Kenneth Nwuba gives the Bruins a third player at 6-foot-10.
OTHER FRESHMEN TO WATCH
The Bruins added guard-forward Abramo Canka of Italy, who has played in the Russian Super League. Guard Dylan Andrews grew up in Los Angeles and was ranked among the top 10 by some recruiting services. Preferred walk-on Evan Manjikian is another LA native who played at Sierra Canyon High, alongside current Bruins teammate Bailey and Bronny James, son of Lakers star LeBron James. Jack Seidler, also a preferred walk-on, was a two-time all-conference selection at Marlboro (New Jersey) High, where he finished as the career scoring leader.
TOASTING THE BRUINS
Beer and wine will be for sale to the public for the first time at Pauley Pavilion this season. Fans who are 21 and over can purchase two drinks per transaction until the 10-minute mark of the second half. Since the arena&rsquo;s renovation 10 years ago, alcohol had been available only to members of the Wooden Athletic Fund in a private room.&nbsp;

Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Tyger Campbell are back for their fourth seasons in Westwood.

Vets Jaquez, Campbell anchor UCLA roster of star newcomers

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Jalen Hill, who played basketball at UCLA for three seasons until leaving last year for personal reasons, has died, according to his family and the university. He was 22.
His family posted on Instagram Tuesday that Hill had died after going missing in Costa Rica. No further details were provided.
&ldquo;We know Jalen has played a part in the lives of so many people,&rdquo; Hill&rsquo;s family wrote in the post. &ldquo;We also acknowledge the role that so many of you have played in his. As we try to navigate this devastating time in our lives, we ask that you please give us time to grieve. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers.&rdquo;
UCLA and coach Mick Cronin posted statements on social media Wednesday acknowledging Hill&rsquo;s death.
&ldquo;Our program is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of former student-athlete Jalen Hill. We offer our sincere condolences to his family and friends during this difficult time,&rdquo; the school said.
Cronin called Hill&rsquo;s death &ldquo;heartbreaking.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Jalen was a warm-hearted young man with a great smile who has left us far too soon,&rdquo; the coach tweeted.
Hill, a forward-center from Corona, California, averaged 6.5 points and 6.4 rebounds while starting 40 of 77 career games for the Bruins during three seasons.
In April 2021, Hill posted an Instagram video in which he explained his reasons for leaving the program that February. He said he would be retiring from basketball as he dealt with anxiety and depression.
&ldquo;The reason I left had nothing to do with the team or Cronin or coaches, nothing like that. Just so everybody can understand, it was me,&rdquo; he said in the video.
As freshmen, Hill, along with LiAngelo Ball and Cody Riley, were arrested in China in November 2017 for shoplifting during the program&rsquo;s goodwill visit to play a Pac-12 game. UCLA suspended all three players for the entire 2017-18 season.
Ball left school, but Hill and Riley returned to complete their college careers.

According to his family and the university, Jalen Hill has died after going missing in Costa Rica. He was 22 years old.

Former UCLA basketball player Jalen Hill passes away at 22

Unless you&rsquo;re an NBA junkie, you&rsquo;re excused if you&rsquo;re not familiar with Omer Yurtseven... for now.
Yurtseven is a 24-year-old big man entering his sophomore season in the NBA. He went undrafted in 2020 after playing three college seasons &mdash; two at NC State and one at Georgetown &mdash; but signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Oklahoma City before the 2020-21 season. During that campaign, Yurtseven averaged 15.2 points and 9.3 rebounds in 21.1 minutes per game with the OKC Blue, the Thunder's G League affiliate, and caught the eye of decision-makers at the next level &mdash; particularly in South Beach.
In May 2021, Yurtseven signed a deal with the Miami Heat before the end of the season and inked a standard multi-year contract with the team before the 2021-22 campaign.
Though he hadn't yet secured a significant spot in the Heat's rotation, the rookie big man <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/y/yurtsom01/gamelog/2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stepped up in the winter months</a> when Miami needed him most last year.
His coming out party was on Dec. 26 against the Orlando Magic, a night where he scored 16 points and collected 15 rebounds in 33 minutes &mdash; the first double-double of his career.
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Mz4GvzEpRbk" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
The momentum only continued from there.
In January 2022, Yurtseven nearly averaged a double-double (10.6 points, 9.9 rebounds) in over 22 minutes per contest. That stretch included a 22-point, 16-board performance in Sacramento, and, most impressively, going toe-to-toe with Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers; Yurtseven produced 22 points and 11 rebounds in a starting role for his eighth double-double in 10 games.
Yurtseven only received spot minutes following that contest, in both the regular season and the playoffs. However, that winter stretch taught him quite a bit about NBA bigs.
&ldquo;Going against bigs like Joel Embiid, [Jusuf] Nurkic &mdash; those heavy hitters taught me that I need to be stronger,&rdquo; Yurtseven told Basketball News in a phone interview. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the best part about basketball: There is no limit that you can cap yourself on if you keep working and keep believing.
&ldquo;I saw I needed to add strength. But you can&rsquo;t disregard agility because you have to keep up with the skinnier and faster bigs, too. Playing against Embiid, though, I think I made it hard for him and contested shots. But I know I can be stronger.
Yurtseven's highlights are impressive. He moves well without the ball, gets up and down the floor, screens and rebounds well, and demonstrates good moves in the mid-post and around the rim.
His playstyle is a bit of a throwback. Despite knowing that the game is more perimeter-oriented than ever, he only attempted 11 three-pointers last season. Standing 7-foot tall, being an active rebounder and performing at his best when catching the ball on the block, Yurtseven leans on the most natural parts of his game.
When asked about his first NBA season, he relays he learned a lot, and notes that there is still work to be done to improve.
"Last year was basically my rookie year, and that was my first time against Embiid. I had my first start last year, my first double-double," Yurtseven said. "So, this year, it&rsquo;s all something I&rsquo;ve done before. I&rsquo;ll be better prepared knowing what I&rsquo;ll face and knowing the ups and downs.
Looking ahead is a natural part of professional sports, and it&rsquo;s no different for Yurtseven. In speaking to him, it&rsquo;s evident that he&rsquo;s excited about what&rsquo;s to come, and he has set out many goals for himself in the near future. &nbsp;
&ldquo;No. 1 is getting that rotational spot during training camp and throughout the season. In order to do that, I need to be in the best shape I can, which I am [currently],&rdquo; Yurtseven said. &ldquo;Cutting down the body fat and increasing weight, it&rsquo;s been a grind. But it&rsquo;s an everyday thing. I&rsquo;ve been doing it non-stop for four years now.&rdquo;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Yurtseven&rsquo;s success, at least this season, will be predicated on how well the lineups in which he's featured fare. Understanding that each play could impact his future, and that legends like coach Erik Spoelstra and Pat Riley are directly involved, would rattle most of us, but Yurtseven isn&rsquo;t the least bit intimidated by it.
&ldquo;[It's] exciting more than anything because every day is a different challenge,&rdquo; Yurtseven explained. &ldquo;They demand a lot of you, but that also shows their belief. That&rsquo;s what a lot of players misinterpret. They think, &lsquo;Coach is yelling at me,&rsquo; and [will] be bummed about it. Or, [instead], they can say 'He believes in me and knows and wants that extra edge that he knows I can give him.'"
All NBA teams have strength and conditioning programs, but none are as notorious as Miami&rsquo;s. That program has led to some seriously impressive transformations. (Notably, former guard Dion Waiters, who was in good-but-not great shape before joining the Heat, sporting six-pack abs after landing in Miami.)
And while it involves treacherous preparation, it&rsquo;s all just part of Spoelstra&rsquo;s plan to be better prepared to run than the competition. However, it's Yurtseven&rsquo;s personal training regimen that makes him confident about winning his spot in the Heat's rotation come training camp.
&ldquo;All the coaches have been saying is, 'If you want minutes, come get them in training camp.' So, that&rsquo;s my focus,&rdquo; Yurtseven said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s no such thing as over-preparation. So, I have to be in the best shape of my life and be ready &mdash; the rest will take care of itself. (The Heat coaching staff) is extremely demanding. Mondays are really tough in camp,&rdquo; Yurtseven continued. &ldquo;They know you got a little rest on the weekend. So, you go all out, and it takes everything out of you.&rdquo;
A major part of Miami&rsquo;s training camp is the &ldquo;10's," a timed test that players must pass. It involves running 10 baseline-to-baseline sprints in under a minute.
&ldquo;You do 10's, and before that, you do a lift, conditioning workouts,&rdquo; Yurtseven said. &ldquo;Personally, I go for extra vitamin sessions at night, too.&rdquo;
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/usatsi_17542186_690w.png" alt="" />
Yurtseven is keen to point out that the adage about achieving success through goals and habits is accurate. In doing so, he revealed a lot about the dedication, on and off the court, that&rsquo;s necessary for success.
&ldquo;When you get your body fat percentage down, it gives you another gear. I&rsquo;ve realized that more since I&rsquo;ve dropped body fat,&rdquo; Yurtseven explained. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s been amazing to feel that and get closer to [reaching] your potential or maximum speed. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s a saying that you can&rsquo;t outwork a bad diet, and it&rsquo;s definitely true. I&rsquo;ve tried it both ways &mdash; I&rsquo;ve tried to outwork a bad diet, and it did not work. You just have to watch what you eat.
&ldquo;I have a chef now who takes care of my nutrition. He adds up my daily protein, carbs, calories, whatever. He knows what I&rsquo;m trying to do, and that helps me control energy levels and stay on top of body fat,&rdquo; Yurtseven continued. &ldquo;You see guys like Jimmy [Butler] with very low body fat and you see it in his reaction time, and speed and agility. Everything is more explosive because he doesn&rsquo;t have excess body fat that slows you down.&rdquo;
Dietary concessions are a necessary part of preparing for an NBA season, but those are usually difficult to make. Like the rest of us, Yurtseven struggles with cutting out foods. But he dropped some knowledge on how he approaches clean eating and exactly which foods he avoids.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a long list. I think I have a sweet tooth. And overall, I love eating and trying different foods,&rdquo; Yurtseven said. &ldquo;Where I&rsquo;m from, I was introduced to a whole different array of flavors. No. 1, though, is sweets, which I&rsquo;ve had to cut out. There&rsquo;s no end to the amount of calories [that sweets add].
&ldquo;Trail mix, too, because they seem like an innocent snack. But [it&rsquo;s] all sweets: Cookies, ice cream, even cereal. It&rsquo;s just little changes that add up, eliminating 1,000 or more calories per day.&rdquo;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Considering the reputation Miami has for its nightlife, you might imagine that a young and handsomely paid individual like Yurtseven might struggle with that side of the world, too. But fortunately for all involved, that&rsquo;s not a problem for Yurtseven.
&ldquo;The scene is always there. Overall, you have to put the horse blinders on," Yurtseven said. "There&rsquo;s no doubt that alcohol is not good for you, and guys do drink. I don&rsquo;t consume alcohol because of my religious beliefs, but it can make you retain body fat.
&ldquo;The party life can consume so much time and energy that you can otherwise invest in yourself. I think clubs are weird; I&rsquo;ve never been to one in Miami. I&rsquo;m trying to keep that streak going. I just stay in &mdash; play my video games if I need to, [take advantage of] pool time, [go to] the beach. There are a lot of distractions here, and it&rsquo;s a big challenge for anyone who comes here. It&rsquo;s just a sacrifice that you have to have in mind.&rdquo;
Ultimately, Yurtseven just wants to secure that spot with the Heat, though, and his mindset and worth ethic should aid him in securing it.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m a little crazy, too,&rdquo; Yurtseven joked. &ldquo;I always do extra &mdash; extra reps or whatever it is that gives me an edge, I&rsquo;m going for it. The Heat culture is intense, but I&rsquo;m a little crazy (too), so I do more on top of the crazy.
&ldquo;I just have to play [in a strong manner] so they say, 'How can we not play him? He helps us in all these areas.&rsquo; And I will showcase that,&rdquo; Yurtseven continued. &ldquo;Np. 1 is defense, my change in agility, energy and focus; once I show that, it will give them the confidence to trust me and leave me out there, and that opens the door for me to showcase my offensive package.
&ldquo;The goal is having that role where I shoot the ball, rebound the ball, defend, and I&rsquo;m able to showcase my skill set more in the mid-post when I get a catch. Being able to have my go-to moves to shoot a high clip.&rdquo;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Having reached the NBA Finals in 2020, appearing in the playoffs for three straight years and advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals last season, the Heat have had their fair share of success.
But Yurtseven hopes the team eclipses all recent outcomes in 2022-23.
&ldquo;One-hundred percent [the goal is a] championship,&rdquo; Yurtseven stated. &ldquo;I think we fell short last year because there were moments when the team needed another guy or two to step up in every area. Sometimes it was offense. Sometimes it was defense. And that&rsquo;s what I think we&rsquo;ll do this year.&rdquo;
Longer term, Yurtseven sees his future in Miami, too. And while many present-day athletes tend to stay mum on the subject of contract negotiations, Yurtseven seems to feel strongly about being with the Heat organization. Still, as an unrestricted free agent after this season concludes, he understands that where he plays is not entirely his decision.
&ldquo;Miami [is] a team that believed in me when a lot of teams did not," Yurtseven said. "And I would love to finish and retire and say that I started my journey here and ended my journey here. But you never know because it is a business.&rdquo;
While the 2022-23 season counts as Yurtseven&rsquo;s sophomore campaign, there&rsquo;s already a make-or-break feel to it, with nowhere to go but up. If he outperforms expectations, Yurtseven could secure a longer-term deal &mdash; with the Heat or elsewhere.
And if that happens, we're all more likely to get familiar with Omer Yurtseven.&nbsp;

Omer Yurtseven could be poised for a breakout season in 2022-23. And if he succeeds, he can thank his "crazy" work ethic.

Omer Yurtseven's 'crazy' work ethic fits perfectly with Heat culture

NBA and FIBA&rsquo;s Global Basketball Development and Community Outreach Program will be Held Aug. 7-10 in Canberra in Partnership with Basketball Australia.
12th Basketball Without Borders Asia Camp Will Bring Together Over 60 of the top High-School Age Boys and Girls from more than 15 Countries Across Asia-Pacific.
NEW YORK AND CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA, Aug. 4, 2022 &ndash; The National Basketball Association (NBA), the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and Basketball Australia (BA) today announced over 60 of the top boys and girls from more than 15 countries across Asia-Pacific will travel to Canberra, Australia for the 12th Basketball Without Borders (BWB) Asia camp from Sunday, Aug. 7 &ndash; Wednesday, Aug. 10 at NBA Global Academy, the league&rsquo;s elite basketball training center at BA&rsquo;s Centre of Excellence at the Australian Institute of Sport.
BWB Asia 2022 will mark the first time the NBA and FIBA&rsquo;s global basketball development and community outreach program will be held in Asia-Pacific since 2019 in Japan and the first in Australia since 2016 in Melbourne. &nbsp;The camp will bring together the top male and female players ages 18 and under from throughout Asia-Pacific to compete alongside their peers from across the region and learn directly from current and former NBA, WNBA and FIBA players and coaches.
The campers will be coached by NBA players Jarrett Allen (2022 NBA All-Star for the Cleveland Cavaliers; U.S.), Josh Green (Dallas Mavericks; Australia), Cameron Johnson (Phoenix Suns; U.S.) and Coby White (Chicago Bulls; U.S.). &nbsp;NBA assistant coaches Damian Cotter (Bulls; Australia), David Akinyooye (Oklahoma City Thunder; U.S.) and Eric Glass (Miami Heat; U.S.); New York Knicks international scout and Serbia Men&rsquo;s National Team assistant coach Adam Tatalovich (U.S.); former WNBA players Kristi Harrower (Australia) and Annie La Fleur (Australia); and former Australia Women&rsquo;s National Team player Jenni Screen (Australia) will also serve as BWB Asia coaches.
Patrick Hunt (President of the World Association of Basketball Coaches; Australia) will serve as camp director, while Dan Shimensky (Denver Nuggets; U.S.) will serve as the camp&rsquo;s athletic trainer.
Players and coaches will lead 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;A ceremony on the final day of the camp will award the BWB Asia 2022 MVP, Defensive MVP, Three-Point Champion and the Patrick Baumann Sportsmanship Award to the boys and girls who distinguish themselves on the court and as leaders.
A record 41 former BWB campers were among the record 121 international players on 2021-22 NBA opening-night rosters, including 2022 NBA All-Rookie Second Team member and NBA Global Academy graduate Josh Giddey (Thunder; Australia; BWB Asia 2018 and BWB Global 2020), Green (BWB Global 2018) and 2020 NBA All-Rookie Second Team member Rui Hachimura (Washington Wizards; Japan; BWB Global 2016).
The NBA and FIBA have hosted 64 BWB camps in 30 countries since the program&rsquo;s launch in 2001. &nbsp;BWB has reached more than 3,800 participants from 133 countries and territories, with 105 former campers having advanced to the NBA or WNBA.
BWB Asia 2022 will be supported by Nike, which will outfit participants with Nike apparel and footwear, and Gatorade, which will keep players and coaches hydrated throughout the camp.
Fans in Australia can follow the NBA at NBA.com/Australia and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and follow BWB using the hashtag #BWBAsia.
The following is a complete list of players participating in BWB Asia 2022 (rosters subject to change):
GIRLS ROSTER
<table width="399">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td width="198">
First Name
</td>
<td width="201">
Last Name
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="198">
Opal
</td>
<td width="201">
Bird
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="198">
Layla
</td>
<td width="201">
Cameron
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="198">
Holly
</td>
<td width="201">
Griffiths
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="198">
Lulu
</td>
<td width="201">
Laditan
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="198">
Ruby
</td>
<td width="201">
Vlahov
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="198">
Shomira
</td>
<td width="201">
Bidaye
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="198">
Kavya
</td>
<td width="201">
Singla
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="198">
Angelica Jennifer
</td>
<td width="201">
Candra
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="198">
Deewell Windy Dido
</td>
<td width="201">
Gosal
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="198">
Vanissa Renata
</td>
<td width="201">
Siregar
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="198">
Reina
</td>
<td width="201">
Fukuo
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="198">
Honoka
</td>
<td width="201">
Morioka
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="198">
Chinami
</td>
<td width="201">
Yokoyama
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="198">
Anna
</td>
<td width="201">
Kochura
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="198">
Waimanu
</td>
<td width="201">
Clarken
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="198">
Maia Riley
</td>
<td width="201">
Jones
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="198">
Lilly
</td>
<td width="201">
Taulelei
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="198">
Quinn Kacey
</td>
<td width="201">
Dela Rosa
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="198">
Dianne Camille
</td>
<td width="201">
Nolasco
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="198">
Kayla
</td>
<td width="201">
Lim
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="198">
Seo
</td>
<td width="201">
Jinyeong
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="198">
Sooin
</td>
<td width="201">
Kim
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="198">
Siriwimon
</td>
<td width="201">
Damrongchai
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="198">
Priscilla Langkilde
</td>
<td width="201">
Jensen
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
BOYS ROSTER
<table width="397">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 176px;" width="198">
Lachlan
</td>
<td style="width: 178px;">Brewer</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 176px;" width="198">
Carlin
</td>
<td style="width: 178px;" width="198">
Briggs
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 176px;" width="198">
Joshua
</td>
<td style="width: 178px;" width="198">
Dent
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 176px;" width="198">
Joshua
</td>
<td style="width: 178px;" width="198">
Hughes
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 176px;" width="198">
Joshua
</td>
<td style="width: 178px;" width="198">
Ibukunoluwa
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 176px;" width="198">
James
</td>
<td style="width: 178px;" width="198">
O&rsquo;Donnell
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 176px;" width="198">
Kye
</td>
<td style="width: 178px;" width="198">
Savage
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 176px;" width="198">
Roman
</td>
<td style="width: 178px;" width="198">
Siulepa
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 176px;" width="198">
Rocco
</td>
<td style="width: 178px;" width="198">
Zikarsky
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 176px;" width="198">
Soy
</td>
<td style="width: 178px;" width="198">
Pisey
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 176px;" width="198">
Junjie Barry
</td>
<td style="width: 178px;" width="198">
Wang
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 176px;" width="198">
Yijiong &ldquo;Joe&rdquo;
</td>
<td style="width: 178px;" width="198">
Zhang
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 176px;" width="198">
Xian-Wei
</td>
<td style="width: 178px;" width="198">
Lin
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 176px;" width="198">
Arthur Vadel
</td>
<td style="width: 178px;" width="198">
Krisma Putra
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 176px;" width="198">
Mohamad
</td>
<td style="width: 178px;" width="198">
Amini
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 176px;" width="198">
Sarem
</td>
<td style="width: 178px;" width="198">
Jafari
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 176px;" width="198">
Akira
</td>
<td style="width: 178px;" width="198">
Jacobs
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 176px;" width="198">
Yuto
</td>
<td style="width: 178px;" width="198">
Kawashima
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 176px;" width="198">
Taiga
</td>
<td style="width: 178px;" width="198">
Okada
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 176px;" width="198">
Hayato
</td>
<td style="width: 178px;" width="198">
Wakugawa
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 176px;" width="198">
Adil
</td>
<td style="width: 178px;" width="198">
Kuantayev
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 176px;" width="198">
Daniil
</td>
<td style="width: 178px;" width="198">
Severgin
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 176px;" width="198">
Rayan
</td>
<td style="width: 178px;" width="198">
Hachem
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 176px;" width="198">
Azbayar
</td>
<td style="width: 178px;" width="198">
Altangerel
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 176px;" width="198">
Kaia
</td>
<td style="width: 178px;" width="198">
Berridge
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 176px;" width="198">
Dontae
</td>
<td style="width: 178px;" width="198">
Nance
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 176px;" width="198">
William
</td>
<td style="width: 178px;" width="198">
Passi
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 176px;" width="198">
Kalid
</td>
<td style="width: 178px;" width="198">
Petzer
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 176px;" width="198">
William
</td>
<td style="width: 178px;" width="198">
Shortt
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 176px;" width="198">
L.A. John
</td>
<td style="width: 178px;" width="198">
Andres
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 176px;" width="198">
Jared
</td>
<td style="width: 178px;" width="198">
Bahay
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 176px;" width="198">
Caelum Emmanuel
</td>
<td style="width: 178px;" width="198">
Harris
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 176px;" width="198">
Seungwoo
</td>
<td style="width: 178px;" width="198">
Kim
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 176px;" width="198">
Chan You
</td>
<td style="width: 178px;" width="198">
Ko
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 176px;" width="198">
Gwanwoo
</td>
<td style="width: 178px;" width="198">
Lee
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 176px;" width="198">
Vladimir
</td>
<td style="width: 178px;" width="198">
Bespalov
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 176px;" width="198">
Artyom
</td>
<td style="width: 178px;" width="198">
Malikov
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 176px;" width="198">
Dinh Quang
</td>
<td style="width: 178px;" width="198">
Duong
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

Jarrett Allen, Josh Green, Cam Johnson and Coby White will coach over 60 of the top high-school age girls and boys from 15+ nations.

4 NBA players to coach at Basketball Without Borders Asia Camp in Australia

Welcome to Basketball News' 10-part mini-series, Blazing the Trail, where Mat Issa breaks down the most revolutionary players of the 1990s and 2000s. Throughout this series, we'll examine how these players changed basketball and pioneered their respective skills. 
In this second installment, Mat goes in-depth on two-time All-Star power forward Rashard Lewis and his lasting impact as a stretch 4 with insight from Bob Beyer and Ahmad Ajami, two former Orlando Magic assistants who worked closely with Lewis. 
<iframe style="border-radius: 12px;" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/4cMxR2JYxx0VA65gftVi26?utm_source=generator" width="100%" height="152" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Like many things in basketball, the concept of the "stretch 4" was not invented in the 2000s.&nbsp;
However, before the turn of the century, the archetype was almost exclusively viewed as a matchup-based tool. Using a baseball analogy, it was like having a lefty reliever in the bullpen reserved for specific circumstances rather than an ace at the head of your rotation.
But that all changed when a combination of untimely injuries and coaching ingenuity led to Orlando Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy starting Rashard Lewis at the power forward position. Lewis became a true All-Star while playing the stretch 4 and helped influence this revolution.
What Made Lewis Special&nbsp;
Like his stretch-4 predecessors, Lewis was lethal from the perimeter. In the 2008-09 season, he shot nearly 40% from downtown while leading the NBA in total three-point makes and attempts.
Despite his prowess, Lewis was far more than just a stationary sniper. During his formative years, he underwent what I call "the Anthony Davis growth trajectory" &mdash; a phenomenon where a basketball player grows up playing as a guard, hits an unforeseen massive growth spurt and then matures into a big with guard skills. And, because that happened, Lewis was able to combine a 6-foot-10 stature with his bucket-getting chops, which earned him the moniker: &ldquo;Sweet Lew.&rdquo;
Sweet Lew quickly became a defense's worst nightmare.&nbsp;
&ldquo;At that time, length and athleticism at the 4 wasn&rsquo;t as prevalent as it is now,&rdquo; said Ahmad Ajami, a former Magic assistant coach under Van Gundy for five seasons between 2007 and 2012.
&ldquo;He could play both inside and out,&rdquo; Van Gundy&rsquo;s longtime right-hand man Bob Beyer stated about Lewis.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Too big for smalls, too fast for bigs. This was a recurring storyline throughout Lewis&rsquo; career.&nbsp;
That narrative reached its climax during Orlando&rsquo;s iconic 2009 Eastern Conference Finals bout with the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers. During that series, Lewis burned slow-footed big men Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Anderson Varej&atilde;o with his superior quickness, and alpha'd the smaller Delonte West by elegantly lofting jumpers over top of him.
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" src="https://streamable.com/e/cuutuh" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
&ldquo;The guy who probably [doesn&rsquo;t get] the credit that he deserves is Rashard... It [all] goes back to Rashard,&rdquo; Beyer recalled when describing Orlando&rsquo;s success against Cleveland. &ldquo;Rashard could exploit their two bigs out there.&rdquo;
In the six-game series, Lewis eviscerated Cleveland, averaging 18.3 points on 64.0% True Shooting, all while hitting some <a href="https://youtu.be/KXy51IiFwlU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">critical</a> shots en route to Orlando&rsquo;s only title appearance of the aughts.
On-Court Production&nbsp;
Throughout his career, Lewis&rsquo; impact derived primarily from his value as a scorer and spacer. During his All-Star campaign in 2008-09, he was second on the Magic in both scoring volume and efficiency (among players who played at least 50 games). He also ranked in the 93rd percentile in spacing league-wide, according to BackPicks.com.
The impact metrics available at the time seem to agree with his nomination, painting Lewis as a <a href="https://twitter.com/matissa15/status/1552312398425505799?s=20&amp;t=NTXuTyPlBNy_vSgSTYRC4Q" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fringe All-Star contributor</a>.
However, what he accomplished by working in unison with Magic frontcourt mates Dwight Howard and Hedo T&uuml;rkoğlu was much more important than his individual success. In isolation, each member of the trio was a solid offensive player. But in the aggregate, the three coalesced to form a multi-faceted machine.&nbsp;
On the surface, this particular Magic team greatly resembled the infrastructure of the two-time world-champion Houston Rockets from the 1990s. Under the guidance of Rudy Tomjanovich, those Rockets deployed a progressive 4-out, 1-in offensive scheme with the legendary Hakeem Olajuwon flanked by four shooters on the perimeter.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
However, those Houston teams were founded on Olajuwon&rsquo;s reputation in the post that allowed him to regularly commandeer the attention of a second defender (<a href="https://streamable.com/g76o6v" target="_blank" rel="noopener">like this</a>). Meanwhile, Howard was more of a play-finisher than a pure isolationist on the low block.
&ldquo;Dwight could really excel when he was on the move. He was a good runner in transition. He was a good roller in pick-and-rolls,&rdquo; Beyer said. &ldquo;Runner, roller and the other thing &mdash; we would get a lot of spin-out lobs.&rdquo;
Pair Howard's finishing with T&uuml;rkoğlu&rsquo;s size, ball-handling and pull-up shooting, and add Lewis&rsquo; expansive scoring repertoire, and you had a recipe for offensive brilliance.
The Magic (<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-blazing-the-trail-steve-nash-phoenix-suns-mike-dantoni-raja-bell-steph-curry-all-time-great-point-guard" target="_blank" rel="noopener">like the D&rsquo;Antoni-led Suns</a>) were a pick-and-roll-centric team, with their pet play being a three-man action involving their frontcourt triumvirate.
Beyer said that Orlando called it a &ldquo;Thumb Down Spread,&rdquo; basically a middle pick-and-roll featuring T&uuml;rkoğlu as the ball-handler and Howard as the screener, with Lewis lurking one pass away.
Here&rsquo;s a demonstration of the play in theory and in practice (with a <a href="https://medium.com/the-basketball-dictionary/roll-replace-a8ff659fb5d9#:~:text=Definition%3A%20A%20pick%2Dand%2D,the%20paint%20to%20the%20perimeter." target="_blank" rel="noopener">roll-and-replace</a> wrinkle from Lewis):
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" src="https://streamable.com/e/o16um6" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
Visual diagram presented by Luceo Sports
&ldquo;That was our go-to play,&rdquo; Beyer said. &ldquo;It forced the defense to protect the basket... because Dwight [was] such a dynamic roller. If you consistently dropped your big back to take the roll away, Hedo was more than capable of making that three-point shot or pull-up two. We would run the roll-and-replace action where we would come and lift Rashard up, and then, there&rsquo;s another deadly three-point shooter.
&ldquo;You&rsquo;re talking about scoring options at all three of those positions on the floor."
(Beyer also mentioned another variation of the play that utilized Lewis as the screener called the &ldquo;Thumb Up Spread,&rdquo; <a href="https://streamable.com/vqacfu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">literally signaled by a thumb up</a>.)
Typically, the major drawback that comes with playing these offensively-slanted lineups comes at the defensive end, as more offense usually means less defense. But this iteration of the Magic defied the laws of statistics, touting the No. 1 defense in the NBA in 2009.
The keystone to this formidable front was, of course, Howard.
&ldquo;[You&rsquo;d] be hard-pressed to find a rim-protector and [overall] defender &mdash; on-ball and off-ball &mdash; like Dwight,&rdquo; Ajami stated.
And despite his slender frame causing some issues against "classical" power forwards (see: 2009 Finals), Lewis compensated for his deficiencies by leveraging his great length and sound hands (87th percentile steal rate in 2009, per Cleaning the Glass) to create chaos on and off the ball.
&ldquo;Both Rashard and Hedo T&uuml;rkoğlu were so long,&rdquo; Beyer said. &ldquo;They were very intelligent [and used] their length to defend guys. They were active with their hands. Their closeouts were appropriate &mdash; based on who they were guarding. And, if they were to get beat, they still had confidence that the next play could be made by Dwight to clean it up.&rdquo;
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" src="https://streamable.com/e/nkrmg1" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
While some view their magical run as an anomaly, the threesome operated at the level of a true contender. According to PBP stats, in the 1,268 minutes Lewis, Howard and T&uuml;rkoğlu shared in 2008-09, the Magic posted a Net Rating of plus-12.68 (the equivalent of a 71-win pace in an 82-game season).&nbsp;
For reference, that is a higher <a href="http://www.pbpstats.com/lineup-subunits/nba?LineupId=200782-201572-201950-203114-203507&amp;TeamId=1610612749&amp;Season=2020-21&amp;SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason&amp;SubUnitSize=3">NET</a> number than what the trio of Jrue Holiday, Khris Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo posted during their championship season with the Milwaukee Bucks.
&ldquo;Nobody would have ever guessed that we would have been as successful as we were,&rdquo; Ajami smiled. &ldquo;But we were right there.
&ldquo;That group of guys was extremely special.&rdquo;
Weaving the Thread &nbsp; In a <a href="https://theathletic.com/1504385/2020/01/07/orlando-magic-forgotten-3-point-innovators/">feature article</a> from 2020, The Athletic's Josh Robbins credited two factors for Van Gundy&rsquo;s decision to start Lewis at the 4: &ldquo;Necessity and smart thinking.&rdquo;&nbsp;
For some context, the Magic initially planned to start traditional power forward Tony Battie. But when he was ruled out for the entirety of the 2007-08 campaign, Van Gundy decided to experiment with Lewis playing the stretch 4 full-time.
However, dig into the weeds a little further, and one could posit that this innovation was more than happenstance, and that Van Gundy and Lewis had seen this before.
In 2008-09, Orlando&rsquo;s three-point attempt rate (3PAr) had a frequency 11.1% higher than the league average. Let&rsquo;s look at teams that posted a similar relative 3PAr that came before them:
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/original-chart.jpg" alt="" width="585" height="449" />
An interesting cast of characters indeed (man, Pitino's teams loved to let it fly).
Now, let&rsquo;s narrow our focus to three specific instances:
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/focus-chart.jpg" alt="" width="585" height="438" />
First are the 1996-97 Miami Heat, led by "The Godfather" Pat Riley. Who was his lead assistant during that time? None other than Stanley Alan Van Gundy.
Secondly, the 2003-04 Seattle SuperSonics. Before he landed in Orlando, Lewis had some practice slotting in at power forward under Sonics head coach Nate McMillan &mdash; spending 20% of his minutes that season at the 4 spot, per Basketball-Reference. Although, it is worth noting that Vladimir Radmanović was Seattle's primary stretch 4 (playing 80% of his minutes at power forward).
And lastly, the 2006-07 Houston Rockets. It was the last pit stop for the legendary Jeff Van Gundy, Stan&rsquo;s younger brother. Also featured on that team was Tracy McGrady &mdash; a player whom Lewis has <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oc1snSMtaSU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">publicly acknowledged he studied and modeled his game after</a>.&nbsp;
&nbsp;&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know if I would specify it that cleanly," Beyer said with a chuckle. "But I do know this: I know how much Stan values shooting, and I know how much Stan is always trying to come up with lineups where the best players are on the floor together. So, your theory makes a lot of sense to me.&rdquo;
The point is that, whether it was an intentional decision, a freak coincidence, or a case of cryptomnesia, you can see that past experiences in Lewis and Van Gundy&rsquo;s professional lives had them trending in this direction the entire time. And together, they made sweet music.
Impact on Today&rsquo;s Game
Unlike Steve Nash, finding direct descendants for Lewis is more of an arduous endeavor because, nowadays, seemingly everyone employs a stretch 4 to some degree. In this past season alone, 15 players listed as power forwards on Basketball-Reference surpassed 4.4 three-point attempts per game (Lewis&rsquo; career average).
Ajami stated that, because of the absence of positional constructs in modern-day basketball, he only thinks about positions as who you guard on defense.
&ldquo;Basketball has almost become positionless,&rdquo; Ajami said. &ldquo;To me, you playing the 4 or 5 really just means who on the other team you're defending because, for us, our 4 and our 5... have got to be able to do the same things we ask our 2 and our 3 to do.&rdquo;
With that said, more direct comparisons still exist.
In 2020-21, the Utah Jazz led the league with a relative 3PAr of plus-9.6. One could find a lot of parallels between their frontcourt of Joe Ingles, Bojan Bogdanović and Rudy Gobert and the one the Magic rode to the NBA Finals. (Bogdanović plays the role of Lewis in this analogy.)
Coming into the 2018 NBA Draft, <a href="https://theathletic.com/266715/2018/03/09/potential-knicks-lottery-pick-profile-michael-porter-jr/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">some scouts</a> viewed Michael Porter Jr. as a new-age version of Lewis. And when his back was right, Michael Malone would frequently run jumbo frontcourt lineups featuring MPJ, Aaron Gordon and Nikola Jokic. (Coincidentally, Malone&rsquo;s father Brendan was an assistant coach on those Magic teams).
You can even see some influence from the Magic on this current iteration of the Cavaliers &mdash; <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/in-the-nba-length-matters-unedited" target="_blank" rel="noopener">three seven-footers in the frontcourt</a> with Lauri Markkanen operating as their de facto Lewis.
Ironically enough, Lewis&rsquo; legacy has made his offensive archetype less unique than it was when he was playing (something we will see a lot in this series). None of the heirs to Lewis we listed have achieved All-Star status because the stretch 4 has become a staple feature on every team.
Nonetheless, Lewis and those Magic teams pushed the limits of what was once thought possible for the position &mdash; the hallmark feature of any basketball pioneer.
And for his overarching impact on the game, Lewis deserves his respect, his All-Star nominations and, most of all, his own chapter in the history of the NBA.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/lewis-genealogy-chart.jpg" alt="" width="495" height="495" />
Tune in next week for Part III of Blazing the Trail, which focuses on Shane Battier &mdash; the data-ball defender.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-blazing-the-trail-steve-nash-phoenix-suns-mike-dantoni-raja-bell-steph-curry-all-time-great-point-guard" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click here to read Part I: "Steve Nash, the magician who danced in the paint."</a>

In his "Blazing the Trail" series, Mat Issa focuses on two-time All-Star Rashard Lewis and his lasting impact as a stretch 4.

Blazing the Trail: Rashard Lewis, the All-Star stretch 4

Pat Riley spoke on Monday.&nbsp;
It rarely happens now, these Riley pressers. You get one after the season, you might get one before the season and you might get one after the trade deadline if something happens. But for the most part, other than seeing him sitting alongside Alonzo Mourning watching Miami Heat games, this is it for most of us. Often seen, seldom heard.&nbsp;
So, when he speaks, it sparks a gathering, especially after a season like this one. The Heat were one shot away from beating the Boston Celtics and facing the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals. One ballsy, controversial, &ldquo;f*** you&rdquo; shot from Jimmy Butler in the face of a backpedaling Al Horford would&rsquo;ve completed one of the greatest comebacks &mdash; and most epic collapses &mdash; in NBA playoff history. (The Celtics led 98-85 with 3:30 left, and just 98-96 when Butler pulled a three with about 10 seconds left.)
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/05QyiNn42XI" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/2022-nba-offseason-preview-what-takes-the-miami-heat-over-the-top" target="_blank" rel="noopener">I already previewed Miami's offseason</a> &mdash; chiefly centered around the pending decision on Tyler Herro&rsquo;s future &mdash; which Riley also spoke about on Monday. For this article in particular, our focus will be on Bam Adebayo, who drew the ire of many casual and diehard Heat and NBA observers underwhelmed by his postseason offensive consistency.
You either think he isn&rsquo;t as good as advertised or are frustrated because of your expectations for him. Or... or... or... you watch the Heat with an understanding that, while he could be better offensively, maybe he isn&rsquo;t wholly to blame for these apparent shortcomings &mdash; if we&rsquo;re calling it that.
Riley recognizes the latter.&nbsp;
&ldquo;(Adebayo&rsquo;s) been asked to do a lot of things as a young player, and he has grown into being very efficient at doing those things,&rdquo; Riley said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s almost that learning curve of being a facilitating big, either at the elbow, on handoffs, on pick-and-rolls. He&rsquo;s always getting somebody open. Duncan [Robinson] should pay him half his check, Tyler [Herro] should pay him half his check, Max [Strus] should pay him half his check.&rdquo;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Pat Riley on Bam Adebayo: He's always getting someone open. Duncan, Tyler and Max should give him half their check. This could be a year on how can Bam be developed in a way to improve his consistent shot ability every night. Getting 15 shots every night. <a href="https://t.co/AKzCpqQgc8">pic.twitter.com/AKzCpqQgc8</a>
&mdash; Brendan Tobin (@Brendan_Tobin) <a href="https://twitter.com/Brendan_Tobin/status/1533879183482535936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 6, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

The Adebayo conundrum is layered. It requires context that may bore you, especially if you just care about the superficial, click-baity sh**. The theories might not move you, substantive as they appear, so let&rsquo;s say what&rsquo;s real.
Though Adebayo will be 25 in July, the five-year pro has only been a full-time starter for three seasons.
In his first two years, he primarily came off the bench until taking the starting role from Hassan Whiteside toward the end of the 2018-19 season. He started 22 of the last 23 games of his sophomore campaign, and the 22 were consecutively from Feb. 27 through April 9.
In the summer of 2019, <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/2022/04/06/bam-adebayo-will-never-forget-gregg-popovich-cut-team-usa-2019#:~:text=Adebayo%20was%20cut%20from%20Team,that%20won%20gold%20in%20Tokyo.">he was famously cut from Team USA&rsquo;s underwhelming World Cup team</a> that finished seventh. Still, Adebayo <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/awards/awards_2020.html">nearly went on to win Most Improved Player in 2020</a>, and he probably should&rsquo;ve over Brandon Ingram, who was the No. 2 overall pick just four years prior. (But anyway...)
In his three seasons as a starter, he&rsquo;s been an All-Star caliber player, has been named to the All-Defensive Second Team every year and has finished in the top five for Defensive Player of the Year all three times &mdash; a feat matched only by Rudy Gobert in that span. Offensively, he&rsquo;s grown from a rim-runner and lob threat with a &ldquo;Clint Capela&rdquo; ceiling out of the 2017 NBA Draft to a versatile hub who activates the team&rsquo;s shooters. Those shooters led the Heat to their season-best 37.9% shooting from three during the regular season. That&rsquo;s a product of multiple years of point-center work, not just this season.
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/e6Lmd7npeto" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
But the team&rsquo;s &ldquo;shortcomings&rdquo; &mdash; an unfair term to an awesome squad that was among the last three standing, but still &mdash; have publicly been placed on Adebayo&rsquo;s broad shoulders, to some extent.
Now, more context.&nbsp;
We&rsquo;ll ignore that Adebayo had COVID to close the regular season (<a href="https://account.miamiherald.com/paywall/stop?resume=259746525">thus, unable to join the Heat on a trip to the Bahamas</a>) because it didn&rsquo;t appear to have any long-lasting effects, sure. At one point, his availability for Game 1 against the Atlanta Hawks was in question, but he was ready. He didn&rsquo;t break 10 shot attempts until Game 4 and didn&rsquo;t have an Adebayo-like offensive game &mdash; the All-Star kind &mdash; until Game 5, the series&rsquo; closer with an injured Butler watching.&nbsp;
With Joel Embiid off the floor against the Philadelphia 76ers, Adebayo recorded 47 points, 21 rebounds and 7 assists on 15-of-21 shooting and 17-of-19 on free throws across Games 1 and 2. He, again, only broke 10 field goal attempts one time in the series&rsquo; final four games. It was Game 4, where he finished with 21-7-4 on 9-for-12. In the seven games against the Celtics, it was a bit more all over the place &mdash; but it encompassed this year&rsquo;s Adebayo-playoff experience.&nbsp;
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/screen-shot-2022-06-07-at-6-04-18-pm_690w.png" alt="" width="725" height="348" />
And yet, even with the offensive seesaw, without Adebayo&rsquo;s defense, there is no Game 7. There is no pushing the Celtics to seven. There might not even be a Celtics series. That&rsquo;s how good Adebayo is defensively, yet the offensive glimpses leave you pleading for more, because of the elite two-way possibilities. And it&rsquo;s understandable.&nbsp;
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8uBleTEx5pI" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Not to be overly simplistic, but if the Heat, I don&rsquo;t know, shot better than 31.3% from three in the playoffs &mdash; seven percentage points lower than they did when leading the league in the regular season &mdash; Adebayo isn&rsquo;t magnified to this degree. We can look at Adebayo and say: Hey, you&rsquo;ve gotten 30-plus against the Celtics&rsquo; elite defense without Butler, with heightened focus on you, and were unstoppable. Why can&rsquo;t you do this all the time? However, it&rsquo;s complicated.
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JQUJLleV1WY" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
For one, when you watch the Heat, there honestly aren&rsquo;t a lot of plays drawn up for Adebayo to just go. <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/five-on-the-floor-miami-heat-nba/id1336060206" target="_blank" rel="noopener">It&rsquo;s a point made on 5 On The Floor all the time</a>, primarily by Heat reporter Alex Toledo of 5 Reasons Sports. Adebayo&rsquo;s primary offensive assignment is to activate their shooters.
&ldquo;You don&rsquo;t realize what he does to get people open,&rdquo; Riley said at his presser, speaking of Bam. &ldquo;A lot of that has to do with how other teams are playing (Adebayo), dropping way back, and we can get that shot. Maybe we look for that a little bit too much.&rdquo;
But Riley later adds a wrinkle that a portion of Heat fans and even media have been calling for since Adebayo&rsquo;s emergence.
More... simply, more.&nbsp;
&ldquo;This could be a year, and (Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra) and I will sit down a talk about it, about how can Bam be developed in a way to improve his consistent shot ability every night,&rdquo; Riley said. &ldquo;Getting 15 shots every night, quality shots that he can get, he can create &mdash; whether it&rsquo;s in the post or at the elbow. He can be very prolific at times, but it can&rsquo;t always be on effort, on running, on getting offensive rebounds, on lob dunks, on little floaters.&rdquo;
And the frustrating thing for some is, the teases and flashes are there.
The two-way versatility, the ability to be a walking mismatch to opposing bigs, the fakes, the handle, the bounce passes to cutters, the mid-range jumper when he takes it confidently; it&rsquo;s why I, personally, said he&rsquo;s a jumper away from being a Kevin Garnett remix, and that was in 2019. It&rsquo;s what we saw when Adebayo <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/2020-nba-eastern-conference-finals-heat-vs-celtics.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">was the best player in the Eastern Conference Finals less than two years ago</a>, averaging 21.8 points, 11.0 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1.0 blocks on 60.8% shooting, while doing all he does on defense. (He would&rsquo;ve won that new Larry Bird MVP trophy had it been around.)
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BZBeb8Q1l3s" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
&ldquo;I do think there&rsquo;s a part of him that can grow. That depends on a bit on your overall offensive philosophy and how much you want to change that," Riley continued. "I think there&rsquo;s another level at his age now that we need more consistency in his ability to get good shots, create good shots, and scoring.&rdquo;
The bottom line is that Adebayo is arguably the best defender in the NBA, and most certainly in any rational observer&rsquo;s top five as a floor. That can&rsquo;t be taken for granted, even though it clearly is, largely due to the offensive questions. As hard as he works on the defensive end &mdash; switching more than anyone, legitimately guarding 1-through-5 and being the defensive cheat code that engineers Spoelstra&rsquo;s vision &mdash; having him additionally as a No. 1 option on an NBA champion is unrealistic.
But having him as a No. 3 alongside Butler and Herro, or someone else not yet on the roster, is a place you&rsquo;d rather be. If the Heat want more of a focus on Adebayo&rsquo;s offense, they could manufacture it themselves. And he obviously has to hone his tools to prepare for, in theory, an increased role and usage.&nbsp;
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/screen-shot-2022-06-07-at-11-00-22-pm_690w.png" alt="" width="690" height="158" />
Personally, I think adding a mid-range, foul-line/elbow jumper he&rsquo;s confident enough in to pull regularly will go a long way, and it might be all he needs. Y
You start there, and a lot else could follow, especially while continuing to be an offensive hub.&nbsp;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Looking to go to the hottest concerts, sports, theater &amp; family shows near you? Get 100% guaranteed tickets to more than 125,000 live events from TicketSmarter, the official ticket marketplace of BasketballNews.com.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ticketsmarter.com/?utm_source=basketballnewscom&amp;utm_medium=tsaff&amp;utm_campaign=referral" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Order online now</a>!

Bryan Fonseca reviews Pat Riley's presser to cap the Heat's season and how Bam Adebayo's offense will be a huge focus this summer.

Heat's Pat Riley, like most of us, wants more Bam Adebayo offense

To even get in this position, the NBA&rsquo;s most unyielding organizational machine almost somehow, some-f***ing-how, did it again.
Down 98-85 with 3:30 left in the fourth quarter of Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, where his team hadn&rsquo;t led once, this sh** should&rsquo;ve been over.
But, then again, it was about 48 hours removed from Jimmy Butler&rsquo;s remix of LeBron James&rsquo; famous Game 6 in Boston performance as the Heat trailed 3-2 a decade ago in the 2012 East Finals.
Again, LeBron? After you couldn&rsquo;t get it done with the Cleveland Cavaliers, after you didn&rsquo;t want to post-up JJ Barea in the 2011 Finals, you&rsquo;re crumbling again?
That's what people may have thought prior to James exploding for 45 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists on 19-of-26 shooting on the road with Miami's backs against the wall.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
With the Celtics as 10-plus-point favorites in sportsbooks and the media ready to coronate Boston (as some of them would shamelessly do every year if they could), Butler outdid James, willing his way to 47 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists, shooting 55.2% from the field, going 4-of-8 from three and making all of his 11 free throw attempts.
Most thought even getting to this point would be impossible. And yet, here they were &mdash; this organization &mdash; defying the public again.
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/S9fg2xOVnDw" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Trailing by 13 points with 3:30 left to go in Game 7, this sh** should&rsquo;ve been over. But Kyle Lowry makes a prayer of a mid-range jumper with 3:22 left and Max Strus dunks a putback after a Victor Oladipo miss with 2:40 to go. Then, off a Lowry steal on Grant Williams below the opposing basket, Oladipo finishes in transition and cuts the deficit to 98-91 as 1:23 remained on the game clock.
There&rsquo;s no way. There&rsquo;s just no f***ing way. But a mere 20 seconds later, Lowry lays it up against Williams. It&rsquo;s an 8-0 run. With about 50 seconds left, Jaylen Brown elbows Bam Adebayo in the mouth on a drive; it's an offensive foul. Five seconds later, Strus buries a three &mdash; fading away, heavily contested &mdash; and now, it&rsquo;s 98-96.
And then, it comes down to Butler&rsquo;s decision. To this point, he has 35 points and 9 rebounds on almost 60% shooting. He&rsquo;s averaged about 26-7-3 despite playing like sh**, by his standards, from Games 3-5 while battling the knee injury he was still enduring. With 18.3 seconds left, after pushing up the floor, he faces Al Horford and, with enough space, goes for the kill shot to put the Heat up one finally. He brought you here. He can do what he wants.
Butler missed. It fell short, and the Celtics mercifully hung on for the victory in the face of an all-time collapse, but the Heat were one shot from a second NBA Finals appearance in the Butler era, which is now entering its fourth season.
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-lBQqH0OeVc" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
The Heat don&rsquo;t just have a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/jimmy-butler-is-a-16game-player" target="_blank" rel="noopener">16-Game Player</a>, they have one of the best playoff performers in the league. If you disagree, how many times does he have to f****ng show you? Right knee inflammation be damned &mdash; he was arguably the best two-way playoff player standing up until Sunday night. But to drag, claw and will his team to that moment was something few saw capable prior to it, even as he showed us in the 2020 playoffs what was possible.
This Heat team overcame injuries and/or COVID and/or personal issues regarding every single player on the roster. Famously, it was noted all year how little the team&rsquo;s <a href="https://twitter.com/jeremytache/status/1494520255829401628" target="_blank" rel="noopener">four best players even shared the floor</a>. After <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-miami-heats-blow-up-was-necessary-but-now-the-rest-is-up-to-them" target="_blank" rel="noopener">nearly spiraling out of control and f****ng each other up on the sidelines in late March</a>, the Heat gave up the No. 1 seed, rallied as only they could and secured it again before playoff time.
But still, questions linger. Turning 33 years old in September, how much of this Butler can you count on? Soon to be 25 years old, is Adebayo ready to take his much-needed next step offensively with consistency? How much does Lowry have left in the tank at 36?
And even at just 22 years old, which <a href="https://twitter.com/5ReasonsSports/status/1531703266870009856?s=20&amp;t=B2ebiuI498-FFI96iW6s6A" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he reminded us of yesterday</a>, is Tyler Herro the one who gets squeezed? Because he&rsquo;s extension eligible now after underperforming in the playoffs, having far and away the team&rsquo;s worst postseason On/Off Court rating (-22.7) even before his groin injury in the conference finals.
As Ethan Skolnick usually says on <a href="https://twitter.com/5OTF_" target="_blank" rel="noopener">5 On The Floor</a>, quoting Pat Riley, &ldquo;The playoffs tell,&rdquo; and what the playoffs told the Heat are a few things.
This Miami team has two glaring needs: Length and shot creation.
Regarding length: Adebayo is still your center, and although the Heat reached an NBA Finals with Jae Crowder as the 4 beside him and were one shot from PJ Tucker doing the same, they should be in the market for a big who can do two key things: Stretch the floor and protect the paint.
If the Heat are going to switch everything (and <a href="https://www.nba.com/heat/everything-everywhere-bam-adebayo-defensive-player-year#:~:text=When%20Adebayo%20is%20on%20the%20court%2C%20that%20number%20drops%20to,per%20100%2C%20tied%20for%20No.">Adebayo will switch more than anyone in the league</a>), you need a back line of defense when teams like the Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers try to size up and attack the interior. Additionally, Tucker turned 37 during the playoffs and has a player option worth $7.35 million, which he could decline for one, last multiyear deal if he wishes. Either way, the Heat would prefer to retain him, but he shouldn&rsquo;t carry the load he did all 2021-22 season next campaign.
Here&rsquo;s the Heat&rsquo;s salary cap table going forward via Basketball-Reference.
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/screen-shot-2022-06-01-at-10-08-07-am_690w.png" alt="" width="644" height="418" />
The Heat will not have cap space this summer, <a href="https://www.spotrac.com/nba/miami-heat/cap/">but Spotrac indicates</a> that they will have a full, non-taxpayer mid-level exception worth $10.2 million next season because the team is, as of now, not in the luxury tax. The mid-level <a href="https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2021/09/mid-level-bi-annual-projections-for-2022-23.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">could be a four-year deal up to around $43 million</a>, though most mid-level deals are shorter and may include an option. The Heat also have the bi-annual exception, in which they could use up to $4 million for the 2022-23 season. And in addition to that, Miami has a $1.8 million trade exception from the KZ Okpala deadline deal with Oklahoma City that <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/thunder/news/oklahoma-city-thunder-net-kz-okpala-future-first-round-pick-in-trade-with-miami-heat">essentially gave the Heat three first-rounders to play with this summer,</a> or whenever, as opposed to the one the franchise possessed.
Speaking of that, we did say the Heat need shot creation.
Having already noted that <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-heat-havent-needed-a-herro-yet-but-they-better-get-one-soon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Herro may have been playing for his future</a> during the playoffs, one thing was made clear: Butler needs help offensively.
As frustrating as Adebayo&rsquo;s lack of aggression can be for some, it&rsquo;s important to note that without his defense, they don&rsquo;t even beat the Sixers, let alone push the Celtics to seven games. We&rsquo;re getting to the point where people are saying, &ldquo;Oh, I understand his defense, whatever, but...&rdquo; Like, no, fam. No. This is arguably, pound-for-pound, the best and most versatile defender on the planet. God forgive him for giving you world-class defense, including more switches than anyone else on earth, and not dropping 27 points a night. If he did, he&rsquo;d probably be worn down and injury-prone by his late 20s. As a contender, Bam should be your third option offensively, as he was this year, nearing 20-10 per night in the regular season and occasionally exploding in the playoffs. (That, he should do more, no doubt.)
The true question: Is Herro good enough to round out that top three with Butler and Adebayo? Unlike Adebayo, Herro isn't providing much if he isn't scoring. Do you work around them to improve the committee? Or do changes need to be made at the top?
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
If it&rsquo;s the former, the Heat will need to get creative and trust that Herro&rsquo;s development will meet Butler&rsquo;s timeline in a playoff setting &mdash; not just for 82 games &mdash; as Herro finishes the last of his rookie-scale deal. If it&rsquo;s the latter, Tyler's the one that goes. You&rsquo;d be moving the good player for the great player. Even if you think Herro tops out at Devin Booker-level in three years, that doesn&rsquo;t make him a can&rsquo;t miss developmental story if the Heat are trying to win now. They can&rsquo;t afford not to have Herro get there as soon as possible; it isn&rsquo;t fair, but it&rsquo;s part of the business and the crossroad the Heat find themselves at.
Butler is 33. Lowry is 36. Tucker is 37. Erik Spoelstra, who might have more than just "head coach" in his future, is 51. And most importantly, Pat Riley is 77.
(Besides, name all the players that were traded from the Heat and improved considerably? I&rsquo;ll wait...)
The players you should most expect to see back, as of now, are Butler, Adebayo, Lowry, Strus and Gabe Vincent &mdash; the latter two will make $1.8 million each next season and made significant strides in 2021-22 as rotational pieces. Tucker should be more likely back than not, but there&rsquo;s no certainty there. Spoelstra <a href="https://twitter.com/tropicalblanket/status/1531698466921013251" target="_blank" rel="noopener">made it sound as if Oladipo will be back</a>. However, Oladipo will be a free agent this summer, so that&rsquo;s to be determined, as is the status of <a href="https://twitter.com/Anthony_Chiang/status/1531773926359048193" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pending free agent Caleb Martin, who wants to stay</a>.
Duncan Robinson and Dewayne Dedmon &mdash; both of whom lost rotation spots in the playoffs &mdash; most certainly will have new homes next year.
Robinson&rsquo;s will have to be via trade, and although his value has tanked compared to where it stood 12 months ago, no NBA deal is unmovable. The question is whether or not he&rsquo;ll be packaged with Herro as part of a blockbuster deal that further cements the Heat&rsquo;s contendership, or if Robinson's mainly a standalone in a deal, perhaps packaged with someone like Omer Yurtseven (who&rsquo;ll get over $1.7 million next season and showed flashes throughout the season of a rotational piece).
We&rsquo;ll get deeper into the weeds as the draft and free agency actually approaches. What I&rsquo;ll end on is this: If it&rsquo;s Robinson alone and/or Robinson and Yurtseven, people have thrown names out there like Christian Wood and Marcus Morris. For me, if I built someone in a lab who I&rsquo;d want to play next to Bam on the interior, he&rsquo;d be able to shoot threes and protect the paint, as outlined earlier. He&rsquo;d be around 7-foot tall since Adebayo is about 6-foot-10, maybe, with a distinct wingspan. He&rsquo;d... basically be Mo Bamba, so if I had a Heat wish list, that&rsquo;d be the first place I look if it were possible.
The Orlando Magic have the first overall pick in the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/nba-draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 NBA Draft</a>, and given that they&rsquo;ll likely end up with Jabari Smith, Chet Holmgren or Paolo Banchero next to Wendell Carter Jr., a sign-and-trade to move Bamba makes the most sense &mdash; especially if it&rsquo;s for shooting and a backup big man with upside to play behind the oft-injured Carter.
That is, unless, you could convince Danny Ainge, Dwyane Wade and the Utah Jazz to send you Donovan Mitchell for a package in the neighborhood of Herro, Robinson, Yurtseven, and multiple first-round picks.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Looking to go to the hottest concerts, sports, theater &amp; family shows near you? Get 100% guaranteed tickets to more than 125,000 live events from TicketSmarter, the official ticket marketplace of BasketballNews.com.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ticketsmarter.com/?utm_source=basketballnewscom&amp;utm_medium=tsaff&amp;utm_campaign=referral" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Order online now</a>!

Bryan Fonseca details what the Heat must do to take their franchise over the top after coming up just short in the East Finals.

2022 NBA offseason preview: What's next for the Miami Heat?

NEW YORK &ndash; NBA team basketball executives have selected Memphis Grizzlies Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Zach Kleiman as the winner of the 2021-22 NBA Basketball Executive of the Year Award, the NBA announced today.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
NBA team basketball executives have selected Memphis Grizzlies Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Zach Kleiman as the winner of the 2021-22 NBA Basketball Executive of the Year Award, the NBA announced today. More ➡️ <a href="https://t.co/XbxgH6RXZ2">https://t.co/XbxgH6RXZ2</a> <a href="https://t.co/innXghwI5m">pic.twitter.com/innXghwI5m</a>
&mdash; NBA Communications (@NBAPR) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBAPR/status/1524766484160864256?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 12, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

This is the first NBA Basketball Executive of the Year Award for Kleiman, who has led Basketball Operations for Memphis for the last three years. &nbsp;Kleiman, 33, is the youngest recipient of the award, which has been presented annually since the 1972-73 season. &nbsp;He also becomes the second person to earn the honor with the Grizzlies, joining Jerry West (2003-04).
Kleiman received 16 of 29 first-place votes and earned 85 total points from a panel of team basketball executives across the NBA. &nbsp;Cleveland Cavaliers President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman and Chicago Bulls Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Artūras Karni&scaron;ovas tied for second place with 27 points each. &nbsp;Phoenix Suns General Manager James Jones and Miami Heat President Pat Riley tied for fourth place with 26 points each. &nbsp;Executives were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote.
As Memphis&rsquo; lead personnel decision maker, Kleiman assembled a roster that finished with the second-best record in the NBA this season (56-26) and matched the franchise single-season record for victories. &nbsp;The Grizzlies secured the No. 2 playoff seed in the Western Conference, their highest seed ever.
This season, Grizzlies guard Ja Morant was named a starter for the 2022 NBA All-Star Game and the winner of the 2021-22 Kia NBA Most Improved Player Award, and head coach Taylor Jenkins finished in second place in the voting for the 2021-22 NBA Coach of the Year Award. &nbsp;In 2019, Kleiman selected Morant with the second overall pick in the NBA Draft and hired Jenkins to his first NBA head coaching position. &nbsp;The same year, Kleiman acquired forward Brandon Clarke and guards Tyus Jones and De&rsquo;Anthony Melton, three valuable contributors to the 2021-22 team.
Memphis guard Desmond Bane, the 30th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, finished in fifth place in the voting for the 2021-22 Kia NBA Most Improved Player Award after averaging 18.2 points and ranking second in the NBA in three-point field goal percentage (43.6). &nbsp;In November 2020, Kleiman acquired Bane&rsquo;s draft rights as part of a three-team trade with the Boston Celtics and Portland Trail Blazers.
Under Kleiman, the Grizzlies also signed guard-forward Dillon Brooks and forward-center Jaren Jackson Jr. to multiyear contract extensions in February 2020 and October 2021, respectively. &nbsp;Brooks averaged 18.4 points this season. &nbsp;Jackson averaged 16.3 points and an NBA-high 2.27 blocks, finishing in fifth place in the voting for the 2021-22 Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award.
In August 2021, Memphis acquired center Steven Adams and the draft rights to guard-forward Ziaire Williams, the 10th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, as part of a three-team trade with the Charlotte Hornets and New Orleans Pelicans. &nbsp;Adams started 75 of his 76 games this season and ranked 12th in the NBA in rebounding (10.0 rpg). &nbsp;Williams started 31 of his 62 games as a rookie and averaged 8.1 points.
Kleiman joined the Grizzlies in 2015 as their in-house legal counsel. &nbsp;He served as assistant general manager during the 2018-19 season and was promoted to his current role in April 2019. &nbsp;Prior to joining Memphis, Kleiman worked as an associate at the international law firm Proskauer Rose LLP.
Kleiman will be presented with a special edition 75th Anniversary commemorative trophy today in celebration of the honor, gifted in addition to the NBA Basketball Executive of the Year Award trophy, which he will receive later. &nbsp;The commemorative trophy, composed of a solid crystal basketball, features the NBA 75 logo 3D laser etched and suspended within its center.
The voting results for the 2021-22 NBA Basketball Executive of the Year Award are below. &nbsp;The balloting was tabulated by the independent accounting firm Ernst &amp; Young LLP.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/nba-executive-award-voting-results_lg.jpg" alt="" width="707" height="370" />

Grizzlies' Zach Kleiman has been chosen as the winner of the 2021-22 NBA Basketball Executive of the Year Award.

Grizzlies' Zach Kleiman wins 2021-22 NBA Executive of the Year award

On Sunday, the fifth episode of HBO's "Winning Time" focused on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar &mdash; exploring his faith, his desire to affect change, his relationship with a rookie Magic Johnson and more.
Several hours before the episode premiered, Abdul-Jabbar shared his thoughts about the HBO series in an exclusive interview with BasketballNews.com.
"I don't think it's worth watching. That's all I have to say. It really depicts people that I know in a very negative light that is not accurate," Abdul-Jabbar told BasketballNews.com. "I wouldn't bother watching it if you're a fan of the Lakers."
Abdul-Jabbar was speaking from Crypto.com Arena, where the NBA unveiled the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar trophy that will be awarded annually to the recipient of the Social Justice Champion award.
Abdul-Jabbar isn't the only former Laker who has called out the show for being inaccurate and negative.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/kareem22_lg.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="366" />
Mitch Kupchak, who played for the Lakers from 1981 to 1986 and later became the team's general manager, criticized the show's portrayal of Jerry West. In the series, West has anger issues, breaking a golf club over his leg and throwing his Finals MVP trophy through a window.&nbsp;
&ldquo;The guy in the show playing Jerry and the Jerry I worked with for 14 years is not the same guy,&rdquo; Kupchak told <a href="https://theathletic.com/3172381/2022/03/09/a-total-mischaracterization-portrayal-of-jerry-west-in-hbos-winning-time-sparks-criticism/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Athletic</a>. &ldquo;Jerry was passionate but never lost his temper and threw things. Never. I would know.&rdquo;
Longtime Lakers trainer Gary Vitti spent two days on the set of "Winning Time" as an actor and in-house expert, but ultimately decided not to participate in the series in large part due to the show's characterization of West.
"I said, 'I don't want to be a part of this,'" Vitti told <a href="https://theathletic.com/3172381/2022/03/09/a-total-mischaracterization-portrayal-of-jerry-west-in-hbos-winning-time-sparks-criticism/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Athletic</a>, adding that he walked away from approximately $15,000. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve known the man for 38 years and never saw him lose it. If anything, he internalized everything.&rdquo;
Vitti also objected to a scene where Jerry Buss tells the staff that anyone who isn't committing to winning a championship could "get the f*ck out."
&ldquo;Dr. Buss never talked to anybody that way," Vitti explained to <a href="https://theathletic.com/3172381/2022/03/09/a-total-mischaracterization-portrayal-of-jerry-west-in-hbos-winning-time-sparks-criticism/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Athletic</a>.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Former NBA agent Arn Tellem, who is now the vice chairman of the Detroit Pistons, <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/jerry-west-arn-tellem-winning-time-guest-column-1235113928/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote an article</a> for The Hollywood Reporter calling the show "a campy, mean-spirited fiction." He also picked apart the show's depiction of West, whom he's known for more than 40 years.
Tellem wrote that the series makes West seem like "a boozy, impulsive hothead who steamrolled anyone in his path," when in reality, West is a health nut who rarely drinks and never has angry outbursts.&nbsp;
"I have observed, negotiated and socialized with him. In all of our dealings, he has been courteous, respectful, generous and self-deprecating," Tellem <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/jerry-west-arn-tellem-winning-time-guest-column-1235113928/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">writes</a> of West. "He&rsquo;s never once lost his temper. He&rsquo;s always heard me out. Many of the players I represented sought his counsel, both professionally and personally... Sure, he can be moody. But when frustrated, he doesn&rsquo;t lash out. He withdraws into himself."
"Hiding behind the disclaimer 'this series is a dramatization' ... 'Winning Time' is less satire than bullying. Though the disclaimer is designed to shield against the possibility of legal action for libel, it&rsquo;s not a license to damage the reputation that West spent a lifetime building. The depiction of Mr. Clutch is cruel, dishonest and staggeringly insensitive."
The show is based on Jeff Pearlman's best-selling non-fiction book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Showtime-Kareem-Angeles-Lakers-Dynasty/dp/1592407552" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s,"</a> which has been lauded for its incredible anecdotes and details. However, the series is more fictional, taking certain liberties with the characters and plot in order to make the story more entertaining.
"Winning Time" has also drawn the ire of the NBA since HBO never got permission to use the league's trademarks (such as team logos).
&ldquo;Clearances to use NBA trademarks were not sought or granted and the league objects to any unauthorized use of its intellectual property,&rdquo; NBA spokesman Mike Bass told <a href="https://theathletic.com/3171879/2022/03/09/nba-objects-to-winning-time-trademark-use-but-legal-options-would-be-messy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Athletic</a>.
The Lakers also put out a statement distancing themselves from the show: &ldquo;The Lakers have no comment as we are not supporting nor involved with this project.&rdquo;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Looking to go to the hottest concerts, sports, theater &amp; family shows near you? Get 100% guaranteed tickets to more than 125,000 live events from TicketSmarter, the official ticket marketplace of BasketballNews.com. <a href="https://www.ticketsmarter.com/?utm_source=basketballnewscom&amp;utm_medium=tsaff&amp;utm_campaign=referral" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Order online now</a>!

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar criticized "Winning Time," saying it "depicts people that I know in a very negative light that is not accurate."

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is latest Laker to bash HBO's 'Winning Time'

The Miami Heat have the best record in the Eastern Conference (45-24), and they currently boast the NBA's fifth-best defense (allowing 105.3 points per 100 possessions) and seventh-best offense (scoring 110.5 points per 100 possessions).
However, despite their success, Pat Riley and Co. never rest on their laurels. They are constantly looking to improve the roster, and this aggressive approach helped them acquire win-now veterans such as Jimmy Butler, Kyle Lowry, Victor Oladipo and PJ Tucker in recent years.
The Heat are reportedly looking to upgrade their frontcourt alongside Bam Adebayo this offseason, and they have expressed interest in Houston Rockets center Christian Wood and Charlotte Hornets big man PJ Washington, per <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10029422-will-the-eastern-conferences-best-team-swipe-another-star" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer</a>. Wood and Washington both surfaced in trade rumors prior to last month's deadline.&nbsp;
"They are the best in the league at lining up for a big move," a Western Conference executive <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10029422-will-the-eastern-conferences-best-team-swipe-another-star" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told Fischer</a>.
Wood, 26, has averaged 17.9 points, 10.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.9 threes, 1.0 block and 0.8 steals this season, while shooting 49.4% from the field, 38.1% from three and 60.8% from the free-throw line. Leading up to the deadline, the Rockets <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-trade-destinations-for-christian-wood" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> wanted "a first-round pick plus further capital" for Wood. Our Nekias Duncan recently <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-trade-destinations-for-christian-wood" target="_blank" rel="noopener">broke down Wood's film</a> and what he brings to a team, while also examining some possible destinations for the big man.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/pjj_lg.jpg" alt="" width="699" height="390" />
Washington, 23, has averaged 10.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.8 threes, 0.9 blocks and 0.8 steals in 26.5 minutes per game, while shooting 45.2% from the field, 36.8% from three and 71.0% from the free-throw line. In 14 games as a starter this year, he averaged 11.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 2.2 threes, 1.1 steals and 0.9 blocks on .477/.369/.600 shooting splits.
Also, Fischer <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10029422-will-the-eastern-conferences-best-team-swipe-another-star" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reports</a> that the strong play of Gabe Vincent and Max Strus have made Duncan Robinson somewhat expendable. Robinson signed a five-year, $90 million deal with Miami last offseason. If the Heat believe they can replace his production with cheaper options, it makes sense to move his contract (especially since Miami has avoided paying the luxury tax in eight of the last nine seasons, per Fischer).&nbsp;
It remains to be seen if Miami will pull off one of these moves over the offseason, but the thought of this Heat team adding another difference-maker has to scare the other East contenders.

The Heat are looking to upgrade their frontcourt, and they have reportedly expressed interest in Christian Wood and PJ Washington.

Report: Heat expressing interest in Christian Wood, PJ Washington

Tucson, AZ&nbsp; &mdash;&nbsp; The Arizona Wildcats got a huge win at home, defeating the UCLA Bruins 76-66 and moving into sole possession of first place in the Pac-12 standings. Kerr Kriisa led all players with 16 points. Jules Bernard scored 15 for UCLA.
Arizona (18-2, 8-1 Pac-12) is led by Bennedict Mathurin. He is averaging 17.2 points per game and continues to make a strong case as a potential top-10 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. The Wildcats entered tonight trailing only UCLA in the conference standings and are currently projected as a No. 3 seed in March Madness.
Despite the loss, the Bruins (16-3, 8-2 Pac-12) have positioned themselves as a potential No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Junior wing Johnny Juzang leads the team with 18.1 points per game on 39.5% shooting from behind the arc. Bernard and Jaime Jaquez Jr. have also played well, combining for 25.5 points and 10.4 rebounds per contest.&nbsp;
The teams traded leads for the first five minutes, but Arizona would go on a 12-0 run over the next seven minutes to stretch the lead to 28-14. The Wildcats took a 42-30 lead into the break behind 11 points from Kriisa and 10 from Azuolas Tubelis. Mathurin also had 6 points, 5 rebounds and a steal and a block each. UCLA&rsquo;s Bernard led all players with 12 points at half, and Jaquez and Cody Riley had 6 points each.&nbsp;
Juzang got started early in the second half with three buckets in the first four minutes. At the 10:01 mark, the Wildcats maintained a 61-51 lead, but David Singleton went to work. Singleton and Jaquez cut the lead to 64-61 at 3:54.
Kriisa connected on a huge triple at 1:52 to make it 70-61 and seemingly put this one out of reach. Kriisa and Pelle Larsson would then connect on a pair of free-throws, and the home team held on from there for the victory.
Tubelis ended with 14 points on 6 of 9 from the field. Larsson scored 12 points in a strong performance off the bench. Juzang posted 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists. Riley ended with 10 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals.&nbsp;
UPCOMING
UCLA will visit Arizona State on Saturday night.&nbsp;
Arizona hosts USC on Saturday.
Looking to go to the hottest concerts, sports, theater &amp; family shows near you? Get 100% guaranteed tickets to more than 125,000 live events from TicketSmarter, the official ticket marketplace of BasketballNews.com. <a href="https://www.ticketsmarter.com/?utm_source=basketballnewscom&amp;utm_medium=tsaff&amp;utm_campaign=referral" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Order online now</a>!

The Wildcats got a huge win at home, defeating UCLA 76-66 and moving into sole first place in the conference standings.

No. 7 Arizona defeats No. 3 UCLA 76-66, takes first place in Pac-12

Los Angeles, CA&nbsp; &mdash;&nbsp; In a near wire-to-wire victory, the UCLA Bruins put together a balanced team effort and beat Arizona, 75-59. The Wildcats suffered their first conference loss behind a poor shooting night as a group, going just 30.7% (23 of 75) from the field and 25% (7 of 28) from behind the arc. Potential top-10 pick Bennedict Mathurin led all players with 16 points.
Johnny Juzang and Jules Bernard led the Bruins (14-2, 6-1 Pac 12) in scoring at 15 points each, with Bernard also posting 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals in a strong, all-around performance. Juzang continues to make a case for himself as a 2022 NBA Draft pick this summer with his shooting prowess; Tuesday night, he connected on 3 of 5 from deep.&nbsp;
Mathurin, Arizona's star sophomore, had a slow start in this one, scoring only 6 points in the first half as UCLA took a 40-29 lead into the break. The Wildcats' Pelle Larsson hit some tough shots in the first half, but it wasn&rsquo;t enough to push back on a 12-0 run by the Bruins.&nbsp;
At 12:51 in the second half, Arizona (16-2, 6-1 Pac 12) cut the lead to 7 points at 53-46, but then the UCLA defense tightened up and held them in check the rest of the way. Jaime Jaquez Jr. is not generally known for his defense, but registered 3 blocks in the contest, which had Bruins head coach Mick Cronin commenting: &ldquo;I haven't seen Jaime jump that high in three years. He had 3 blocked shots, are you kidding me?"
UCLA never gave up the lead in the second half, securing the 16-point win. 
Bruins forward Cody Riley posted 12 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists in 25 minutes. Arizona center Christain Koloko ended with 11 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and a block. Azuolas Tubelis only played 15 minutes but was impactful for the Wildcats, ending the game with 8 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal. 
The teams will meet again on Feb. 3 in Tucson.
UPCOMING
Arizona visits Arizona State on Saturday afternoon.&nbsp;
UCLA hosts California on Thursday.
Looking to go to the hottest concerts, sports, theater &amp; family shows near you? Get 100% guaranteed tickets to more than 125,000 live events from TicketSmarter, the official ticket marketplace of BasketballNews.com. <a href="https://www.ticketsmarter.com/?utm_source=basketballnewscom&amp;utm_medium=tsaff&amp;utm_campaign=referral" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Order online now</a>!&nbsp;

In a near wire-to-wire victory, the Bruins put together a balanced team effort and beat Arizona.

No. 7 UCLA defeats No. 3 Arizona 75-59, holds top spot in Pac-12

Saturday afternoon, I had a great time at the Syracuse-Georgetown men's basketball game. It was great to see all the alumni in the house from both schools. I took pictures with Rony Seikaly, Dikembe Mutumbo, Patrick Ewing and Louis Orr, who was my assistant coach at Syracuse.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Great seeing the OG Rony Seikaly 🍊🍊🍊 <a href="https://t.co/eBacr6RKtC">pic.twitter.com/eBacr6RKtC</a>
&mdash; Etan Thomas (@etanthomas36) <a href="https://twitter.com/etanthomas36/status/1469797832676806661?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2021</a></blockquote>

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

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
My man Coach Orr and Coach Patrick Ewing. It&rsquo;s all love after the game. They got this one today though, good job coaches <a href="https://t.co/tl8D4WMOW8">pic.twitter.com/tl8D4WMOW8</a>
&mdash; Etan Thomas (@etanthomas36) <a href="https://twitter.com/etanthomas36/status/1469793363469783047?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2021</a></blockquote>

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

The Syracuse fans all showed love. (We have the best fans in college basketball by the way.) This rivalry has so much history, and although Georgetown unfortunately came out with the win, I had an overall wonderful time watching the game.
I reached out to some Syracuse alumni &mdash; Lazarus Sims, Arinze Onuaku, Ryan Blackwell and Preston Shumpert &mdash; to get reactions after the two-game, old-Big East matchups against Villanova and Georgetown. It still pains me that we are no longer in the Big East, and yes, I am still holding out hope that, one day, we will return to the conference we belong.
Here is what all four Orange alum had to say on the team.
Lazarus Sims&nbsp;
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/screenshot-2021-12-14-103204_lg.png" alt="" width="575" height="576" />
Etan Thomas: How do you think we played against Villanova and Georgetown?&nbsp;
Lazarus Sims: "They were both great games, but we didn&rsquo;t have a consistent true point guard on the floor who put everyone in the right position. I&rsquo;ll go back to when they won the championship in '03. Many people will say it was 'Melo [Anthony], it was Gerry [McNamara] &mdash; but really if you go back and watch the tournament, when they played their best, it was Billy Edelin who was the key. He put Gerry in his right position, the 2. In contrast to this team, against Villanova and Georgetown, when they put Symir [Torrence] in &mdash; who is a pass first point guard &mdash; it puts your shooters and your scorers in the right position. It puts Buddy [Boeheim] at the 3. It puts Joe Girard at the 2, and allows them to do what they do best. What we&rsquo;re doing is forcing the 2-guard into [being] a point guard, so the flow isn&rsquo;t there. It lasts for awhile, but it&rsquo;s not sustainable."
Etan: I couldn&rsquo;t agree more, and I like Symir. It&rsquo;s crazy, I was watching [Seton Hall guard and 'Cuse transfer] Kadary Richmond play against Rutgers. And the way he was running the team, [he] put everyone in their positions first, then it opened it up for him especially in the first half.... then the second half, he focused on putting everyone in their positions. He should be in a Syracuse uniform. But I see him how I see Symir in [that] we need what he brings to the team and he needs to play more. What do you think?&nbsp;
Sims: "Definitely, and you have to let him play through certain mistakes like you do with Joe [Girard]. We need what he does. The offense flows better with a Symir-type of point guard running the team. That&rsquo;s no knock on Girard, it&rsquo;s just not playing him to his strength."
Etan: Symir should be playing more, the same way Kadary should&rsquo;ve been playing more last year. 
Sims: You&rsquo;ll get no argument from me.&nbsp;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Etan: I saw the press conference after the Georgetown game, and Coach [Jim] Boeheim was saying the guys are worn down and they&rsquo;re tired. And I&rsquo;m thinking 'Well, you got guys on the bench ready to go.' The starters don&rsquo;t have to play ironman minutes.
Sims: "You saw with Symir, he got in [the game] at Georgetown. [He] made one mistake, and you didn&rsquo;t see him anymore for the rest of the game. It&rsquo;s hard to play like that. But we need what he brings, so we need to let him play through mistakes like we do the starters. I mean, let&rsquo;s be honest, sometimes Girard struggles to get the ball up the floor because that&rsquo;s not his strength. Well, we have someone on the bench whose strength that is, just like we did last year with Kadary. We gotta play guys to their strengths."
Arinze Onuaku&nbsp;
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/usatsi_3633058-1_lg.jpg" alt="" width="575" height="575" />
Arinze Onuaku: "It&rsquo;s totally different from when we were there because obviously, our responsibility was solely the paint area, so it&rsquo;s odd seeing Jesse Edwards run from corner-to-corner. I know they switched the defense to the 1-3-1 [zone] at times and we know it&rsquo;s the bottom man&rsquo;s job to run corner-to-corner, but to have Jesse be that person, it does take him out of rebounding position."
Etan Thomas: And that&rsquo;s the part that I question. I can see [that] if we had Quincy Guerrier still, but it&rsquo;s seems like quite a bit to ask of the Boeheims to be the ones to crash the boards, but that&rsquo;s our strategy. And we&rsquo;ve been getting beaten pretty badly on the offensive rebounds, which is one of the reasons why I&rsquo;m not the biggest fan of that strategy.
Onuaku: "Yeah, for sure and [Jesse] is exerting a lot of energy sprinting from corner-to-corner, three-point line to three-point line. That&rsquo;s a lot to ask of the big man."
Etan: Now, I would like to see him get the ball more, and I feel he has earned the right to get the ball more with the way he has been converting. I want them to play inside-out, and that may be a lot to ask, but the entire half shouldn&rsquo;t go by and he only gets the ball two times. That&rsquo;s ridiculous.
Onuaku: "I agree. Any good team has to have balance, and he has been doing a much better job of finishing as well. I think it may take guys a little more time to trust him. He started off slow last year, and this year, so that trust factor from the guards is a factor. But as he continues to improve, I would expect that trust factor to increase."
Etan: But my problem with the trust issue is, they can jack up three-pointers and they can brick 90% of them and nobody loses trust in them. The big men get two or maybe three opportunities, and if you don&rsquo;t convert or catch their pass, they don&rsquo;t trust you?
Onuaku: "Yeah, the game is always gonna be unbalanced for big men. Jesse is going to have to speak up more, and as he produces more, they will have no choice but to give him the ball."
Etan: Yeah, that&rsquo;s the story of being a big man. It was like that when I played and when you played. But that drag screen he does in early offense situation and [when] he rolls, I think that&rsquo;s an easy high pass to him and he finishes. They just do that a few times every half.&nbsp;
Onuaku: "I agree, and he has shown that he can catch it off the run and he does a great job of keeping the ball high and he has been scoring. So you&rsquo;re right &mdash; they should definitely utilize him much more. And shout out to Frank Anselem, who came in and really attacked the rim and provided a spark off the bench. He&rsquo;s someone we&rsquo;re definitely going to need him down the stretch." 
Ryan Blackwell&nbsp;
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/blackwell_lg.png" alt="" width="575" height="572" />
Etan Thomas: You watched both the Villanova game and the Georgetown game. What was your assessment?&nbsp;
Ryan Blackwell: "The Villanova game, we were right with them the first half. We were making shots, being aggressive, playing defense. Then the second half, it seemed like we just ran out of gas. Same thing with Georgetown; we were up [by] 10 at half, and we let them back in it. We&rsquo;re gonna have to shoot lights out to win games. I know Buddy was struggling a little, but if he&rsquo;s off and we&rsquo;re gonna rely on Jimmy Boeheim to post-up or go 1-on-1 or Joe Girard to go 1-on-1, it&rsquo;s gonna be tough. And if we&rsquo;re not gonna get much from the bench... I mean, the first half against Georgetown we got good production, but [in] the second half, for whatever reason, the production just wasn&rsquo;t there. Coach felt more comfortable going with his starters. And we faltered at the end, and that was unfortunate because it was a very winnable game."
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Etan: I heard Coach Boeheim at the press conference say that the guys looked tired and worn down, but then I&rsquo;m looking at the bench and they look pretty fresh to me. So I&rsquo;m thinking, well coach, there&rsquo;s a remedy for that. If the guys are tired and their shots [are] not falling, [they're] not closing out on defense, not getting back in transition, not rebounding, whatever &mdash; you have people on your bench who can help. 
Blackwell: "You and I both know, coach relies heavily on his starters and that&rsquo;s never going to change. And we know Benny Williams is extremely talented, but for whatever reason, he&rsquo;s not getting the minutes. Yes, he&rsquo;s young and he&rsquo;s a rookie, and with coach, he has a formula that he has always stuck to. But yeah, it&rsquo;s gonna be a real struggle for our starters to carry the full load."
Etan: I&rsquo;m at the Georgetown game &mdash; you can see it better in person &mdash; and I saw Georgetown literally wearing our guys down. And then, utilizing their bench and getting fresh legs in there to wear our guys down even more. Aminu Mohammed, who is just a freshman, was a holy terror against us. And he would get a break, then come back in fresh and terrorize us some more. I mean, you can&rsquo;t be surprised if guys are tired if they are playing ironman minutes, right?&nbsp;
Blackwell: "Yeah, it&rsquo;s tough. And yes, Buddy has improved so much, but he is being asked to do so much and carry the load offensively. And you&rsquo;re right, it&rsquo;s gonna wear on them as we get into the season. And you&rsquo;re right, Georgetown was getting in our shorts and wearing us down. I can&rsquo;t disagree with anything you said. And I worry about when we get into conference play, because it&rsquo;s not going to get any easier for us at all. And it&rsquo;s tough to knock down shots when you&rsquo;re worn down, no matter how great of a shooter you are, and we have great shooters. But yeah, you&rsquo;re right &mdash; hard to shoot threes when you&rsquo;re worn down. We may need to look to incorporate some other options and alternatives to go along with that."
Preston Shumpert&nbsp;
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/prestonshumpert_lg.jpg" alt="" width="575" height="575" />
Etan Thomas: The secret&rsquo;s out now with Buddy. Everyone knows he can shoot, and teams are devising schemes to make sure he doesn&rsquo;t get open shots. What would be your advice to him, as the elite shooter you were, as to how he can get open and get his shot off?
Preston Shumpert: "It&rsquo;s so different once you&rsquo;re on the other team&rsquo;s scouting report. It&rsquo;s great that he had the success he had last season, but now, like you said, teams are going to try to come up with a game plan to stop you from doing what you do best, which in Buddy&rsquo;s case, is knocking down shots. He&rsquo;s been doing a good job of moving without the ball; he just has to do more of it. Be a little more creative on getting open and what he does once he catches the ball."
Etan: You said move without the ball, so let&rsquo;s talk specifics. Do you mean off screens? Running the baseline?
Shumpert: "I think it&rsquo;s a combination of both. He&rsquo;s getting pin-down screens and curls. I just think he needs to stay consistent with it and know he&rsquo;s going to be hounded and [that] guys are gonna be on him, because he&rsquo;s an elite shooter. But at the same time, if he comes off a screen and two guys jump him, it&rsquo;s the point guard&rsquo;s job to find the open man. Once you start taking advantage of those situations, then you will be more open. But he&rsquo;s gonna have to fade, curl, post up &mdash; he&rsquo;s gonna have to do a lot of different things to get his shot off, and that&rsquo;s really a compliment to him because of how good of a shooter he is. On every scouting report, I&rsquo;m sure it says, 'No open shots for him.'" 
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Etan: That&rsquo;s definitely true. What is the best way to come out of a slump? With shooters, you&rsquo;re going to go through times where the ball just doesn&rsquo;t go in the hole. What would your advice be to Buddy or Cole [Swider] when they are not shooting well?&nbsp;
Shumpert: "My favorite quote is, 'Shoot when you&rsquo;re making it, and shoot when you&rsquo;re missing it.' You've gotta continue to be aggressive and have confidence in your shot. Now, your shot selection is definitely important, but if it&rsquo;s a wide open shot, and that&rsquo;s your shot, fire that 'thang up. That&rsquo;s what you do. If you&rsquo;re a shooter, you've gotta shoot the ball. Shoot 'til you make it, shoot 'til you miss. That&rsquo;s a shooter&rsquo;s mentality. No conscience."
Etan: One thing that you started to develop through your years was the one-dribble, two-dribble pull-ups because they were playing you so tight for the three-point shot, and Buddy has been doing good with that. Do you think he should keep doing that more especially if the outside shot isn&rsquo;t falling?&nbsp;
Shumpert: "Definitely, that&rsquo;s what I meant by being a little more creative and taking what they&rsquo;re giving you. Like you said, guys are gonna be pressing up on you and running out on you. They&rsquo;re not going to let you get a free look. So that&rsquo;s when you go to the pump fake, one-dribble, two-dribble pull-up. But another thing &mdash; which I&rsquo;m sure you&rsquo;re gonna like this &mdash; throw it up to the big [man] or give him that little pocket pass, when they hedge on him or after he sets the pick a little more often, and let the big [man] hammer a few down and get all riled up like you used to. It will open you up more. And the more you involve the big man, the better your screens will be. The big man will have you wide open if you treat him right. I learned that myself when we played together. Keep the big man happy, and he&rsquo;ll rebound better, block shots better and work harder to get you open, and will roll harder which will ultimately help everyone."
Etan: That should be on the wall in every locker room (laughs).

Etan Thomas spoke with four Syracuse alum after the Orange took on Georgetown and Villanova this past week to get their thoughts.

Orange alumni react to Syracuse-Georgetown game

I still remember back when the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History were named in 1996. And at the 1997 All-Star Game in Cleveland, 47 of the 50 players got together, in my hometown at that.
From Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan to Wilt Chamberlain and Magic Johnson, seeing all of those greats in one place was truly inspiring. As a freshman at Xavier, it made me think about the future possibilities.
It&rsquo;s hard to believe that was 25 years ago, and in those years, obviously, a lot has happened for me &mdash; both personally and professionally. I think back about where I was then and where I am now, and am truly humbled.
For more reason than one.
When it was all said and done, all 50 of the Top 50 players were selected in the Top 75 that was <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/there-were-major-snubs-from-nba-75-just-like-we-knew-there-would-be" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced at the beginning of the season</a>, and when I saw that list, I realized something incredible: I played with seven of those guys, and coached an eighth (LeBron James).
But winning at the highest level, for me, started in Miami. There, I had the honor of playing with Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal, Dwyane Wade and Gary Payton.&nbsp;
So I can&rsquo;t really think about the Top 75, the Top 50 or my own career without remembering where it all came together for me. And every one of my teammates there will have at least a story or two about Shaq.
What I remember most about Diesel was how motivated he was to win. Winning three championships in a row is borderline impossible, and there&rsquo;s a reason why nobody&rsquo;s been able to do it since Shaq and Kobe. Most people overlook the fact that the Lakers actually made it back to the Finals in 2004, but they lost to Detroit. Four Finals in five years? Incredible.
Anyway, whatever happened in L.A. happened, but what we all knew was that Shaq saw something special in D-Wade, and wanted to team up with him.
The front office in Miami did what it had to do and traded for Shaq, but the Heat sacrificed their depth to do so, and they ended up falling short in their first year. They couldn&rsquo;t get past Detroit; they lost to them in seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals in 2005.
That summer, Pat Riley and the front office down there got real busy. They brought in a bunch of new pieces, including myself, Gary Payton, Antoine Walker and Jason &ldquo;White Chocolate&rdquo; Williams.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
At this point, we all knew that D-Wade had a chance to be a really good player, but Shaq and GP were already legends. There were lessons every single day, but I think the biggest one I took from Shaq was what it meant to be on a mission.
Regardless of what anyone wanted to say about him, Shaq was always a winner, and he was so motivated to prove to everyone that he was capable of winning without the late, great Kobe Bryant. At that time, he was the only player on our squad who already won a championship, so when he spoke, we listened. He wasn&rsquo;t only our leader, he was like everyone&rsquo;s big brother. You looked up to him and didn&rsquo;t want to disappoint him.
Along with Pat Riley (who <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/basketball-news-james-posey-as-long-as-pat-riley-is-in-the-picture-the-miami-heat-have-a-shot-nba-championship" target="_blank" rel="noopener">eventually became our coach</a>), we had two great leaders who not only encouraged us to be great or expected us to be great. They demanded that we be great, and they both led by great example.
From the mindset to the preparation, the two of them gave us great confidence to go out there and get the job done, even though we faced some trials and tribulations.
To put it simply, Shaq was our team&rsquo;s leader, and we all trusted him to show us the path because we knew that he&rsquo;d gotten to where we were trying to go. Even in our team&rsquo;s greatest moment of desperation &mdash; when we were down 0-2 to Dallas in the 2006 Finals &mdash; he preached accountability, but more importantly, he encouraged us to stick with the game plan and made us all confident that we would come out on the right side of history. And we eventually did.
Today, he often talks about guy panicking and being confident, and I can tell you: Diesel never lost his cool.
But yeah, Shaq... he was on a mission in Miami. In each our own way, we all were, I guess. But his motivation was different, and it impacted our team in a positive way.
I only spent two years as his teammate in Miami, but Shaq showed me what being a champion looked like. I carried that with me to Boston and for the rest of my career.
Now, one thing about most NBA locker rooms is that cliques form. That&rsquo;s not to say that there&rsquo;s any division within the team or anything like that, it&rsquo;s just natural that guys who have things in common might end up spending more time together than others. Some guys are really into fashion, some are into video games, some guys end up getting close because they have kids that are the same age, whatever.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/2006-nba-champions-miami-heat_1xmxx9x7enf2b10ltxnugv0a83_lg.png" alt="" width="650" height="325" />
In Miami, Udonis Haslem, Antoine Walker and GP were the guys I got close with, and playing with GP was awesome as hell.&nbsp;
At that point in my career, I was mostly regarded as a &ldquo;3-and-D&rdquo; guy, and even though he was at the tail-end of his career, GP had so much knowledge and wisdom that he shared with me.
From the start, GP knew that I wasn&rsquo;t afraid to play defense and that I wanted to guard the guy in front of me. And you know he was known for the gift of gab. I still remember GP teasing me in our very first conversation as teammates.
&ldquo;Here go this long-sock-wearing, harassing, defensive ass dude,&rdquo; he said. 
&ldquo;I like you, because you be all up in a dude face.&rdquo;
Obviously, for GP, being &ldquo;all up in a dude face&rdquo; was a compliment, and I was honestly flattered because I was surprised he even knew that I wore long socks, felt that way about me or knew me like that!
From that first convo, the rest was history. Most of the time we were on the court, we worked hand-and-hand. As a tandem, we were usually trying to stop the other team&rsquo;s perimeter players, and we spent so much time together off the court that working together on the court was actually pretty easy. Riles coached us, of course, but once we were done with practice, GP was always in my ears giving me little nuggets of info. And of course, talking smack.
The truth is I understood why they called him &ldquo;The Glove.&rdquo; He had instincts, know-how and the ability to read and defend actions. Best of all, he had the will and want to pass along his knowledge to a younger player because he saw something in me and trusted me. I think the best lesson I learned from working with him is what it really meant to have faith and trust in another person on the court. And also, what it means to actually make your teammates better and smarter.
In a way, a lot of us on the 2006 Miami team felt like it was GP&rsquo;s last good shot to win a championship. He got to the Finals twice, once in Seattle and &mdash; a lot of people forgot &mdash; he was with Shaq and Kobe on the 2004 Lakers team that lost in the Finals. So he was 0-2, and we wanted to change that.
Together, we did.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
And what can I say about D-Wade?
I think we all remember his first playoff run in Miami and how he was able to put the team on his back in some big moments as a rookie. Shaq saw it, which is the main reason he wanted to go to Miami in the first place. And by the time I got there, they&rsquo;d already gotten to the Eastern Conference Finals. So even though D-Wade was only entering his third year by the time I got to Miami, I knew I had to give him his respect.
He ended up earning it from me, anyway, though.
If there&rsquo;s one word that comes to mind for me when describing him, it would be &ldquo;competitor.&rdquo; I honestly felt like everything he did on the court, he did with such pride. He wanted to be great and it was just inspiring to witness. Despite having all that talent, his work ethic was even crazier. He was literally the first to get to the gym and the last to leave.
D-Wade was actually in the TNT studio when they announced that he made the NBA 75. He said it felt &ldquo;surreal&rdquo; for him to make the cut. He mentioned that he only got three scholarship offers coming out of high school, and thanked Shaq (who was sitting five feet to his right) for coming to Miami and telling him that he had the potential to be great. He thanked the other greats that he had around him and said he made the cut because he was surrounded by greatness.
I can relate to that feeling.
But D-Wade also made the cut because he dedicated every minute of every day to maximizing his ability and striving to become great. It was no accident.
As I advance in my coaching career and even teach my children about perseverance, D-Wade is someone who will always be top of mind, because it&rsquo;s not easy for a 6-foot-4 guard to end up becoming one of the Top 75 players of all-time.
Like GP and Shaq, we can all learn something valuable from D-Wade. I know I certainly have.
As I looked back on my career, I remember the night I was drafted, and even before then, I remember the Top 50 players standing together at the 1997 All-Star Game.
And now, I can proudly say I can look back on my time in Miami and know that I played with three of the greatest ever.
I&rsquo;m better for it.

James Posey recalls when he won an NBA championship with Shaquille O'Neal, Dwyane Wade and Gary Payton on the Heat.