Milwaukee Bucks

DENVER (AP) &mdash; Nikola Jokic got a triple-double in his NBA Finals debut, Jamal Murray scored 26 points and the Denver Nuggets had little trouble with the cold-shooting Miami Heat on the way to a 104-93 win in Game 1 on Thursday night.
Jokic finished with 27 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds for the Nuggets, who waited 47 years to make the finals and didn&rsquo;t disappoint. Aaron Gordon added 16 points and Michael Porter Jr. scored 14 for Denver, which trailed for all of 34 seconds and eventually led by as many as 24.
Bam Adebayo finished with 26 points and 13 rebounds for Miami, which shot 41% for the game &mdash; 33% from 3-point range. Gabe Vincent scored 19, Haywood Highsmith had 18 and Jimmy Butler added 13 for the Heat.
Game 2 is in Denver on Sunday night.
Miami opened the fourth quarter on an 11-0 run, cutting an 84-63 deficit to start the final period down to 84-74. The Heat actually got within nine on a 3-pointer by Highsmith with 2:34 left, but no closer and there wasn&rsquo;t any doubt, either.
Nuggets coach Michael Malone gave his team a pop quiz in shootaround Thursday morning, peppering them with questions about the game plan and what had to be done in the most important game to date in franchise history.
They had all the answers then. Had them all at game time, too. They were the team with minimal NBA Finals experience, only two players having been to the title round before, and yet they looked right at home before the home crowd in Game 1.
Jokic became the second player in the last 25 years &mdash; LeBron James was the other, in 2017 &mdash; to have 10 assists by halftime of a finals game. He had 10 points and 10 assists by the break, and Denver was up 59-42 after the first two quarters.
That wasn&rsquo;t good for Miami. Nor was this: The Nuggets were in full control and Jokic had taken only three shots.
And this part was worse: The Heat just couldn&rsquo;t shoot. At all. Or at least, not until Denver was too far ahead to catch. Max Strus was 0 for 10 through three quarters, 0 for 9 on 3-pointers. Caleb Martin &mdash; who narrowly missed out on winning the MVP award of the Eastern Conference finals &mdash; was 1 for 7.
TIP-INS
Heat: Miami fell to 1-6 all-time in Game 1s of the NBA Finals. The Heat lost the series opener in each of their title years &mdash; 2006, 2012 and 2013 &mdash; and the only win came in 2011, a series they eventually lost to Dallas. &hellip; Adebayo&rsquo;s 25 shots were a career high. He became the third player to score at least 24 points for Miami in a Game 1 of a finals. James did it three times for the Heat and Dwyane Wade did it in 2006.
Nuggets: Jokic became the eighth player to have a triple-double in Game 1 of a finals. None of the others were accompanied by 27 points; Dave Cowens had a 25-point triple-double to open the 1976 finals. ... Bruce Brown, who played his college ball at Miami, scored 10. &hellip; Denver got to the foul line 20 times to Miami&rsquo;s two.
CELEB WATCH
Among those in the sellout crowd: Grammy winner H.E.R., NFL legend and former Denver quarterback Peyton Manning, current Denver quarterback Russell Wilson, Broncos coach Sean Payton and actor-comedian Ken Jeong.

The Denver Nuggets had little trouble with the cold-shooting Miami Heat on the way to a 104-93 win in Game 1 on Thursday night.

Jokic gets triple-double, Nuggets beat Heat 104-93 in Game 1 of Finals

Denver&rsquo;s Nikola Jokic now knows how Philadelphia&rsquo;s Joel Embiid felt during two previous NBA award seasons.
Second in the MVP race &mdash; but only second-team All-NBA.
Embiid&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-mvp-joel-embiid-philadelphia-76ers-f7a108fd3c0ce1b42c1433c0beda275d">&mdash; the newly crowned MVP &mdash;</a>&nbsp;headlined the All-NBA team unveiled Wednesday night. He was the first-team center, while Jokic was the second-team pick at that position. It was a reversal of the results from 2021 and 2022, when Jokic was MVP over Embiid, who then had to settle for the second-team All-NBA center spot.
And this should be the final time such a quirk happens. Starting next year, the All-NBA team will no longer be broken down by position &mdash; meaning the presumed second-best player in the NBA one season, such as Embiid in 2021 and 2022 and Jokic now, will not have to be relegated to second-team anything.
Joining Embiid on the first team were Boston&rsquo;s Jayson Tatum and Milwaukee&rsquo;s Giannis Antetokounmpo at forward, and Dallas&rsquo; Luka Doncic and Oklahoma City&rsquo;s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at guard.
On the second team along with Jokic were Miami&rsquo;s Jimmy Butler and Boston&rsquo;s Jaylen Brown at forward, and Golden State&rsquo;s Stephen Curry and Cleveland&rsquo;s Donovan Mitchell at guard.
The third team center was Sacramento&rsquo;s Domantas Sabonis, with the Los Angeles Lakers&rsquo; LeBron James &mdash; now a 19-time selection, extending his record &mdash; and New York&rsquo;s Julius Randle getting the forward spots and Sacramento&rsquo;s De&rsquo;Aaron Fox and Portland&rsquo;s Damian Lillard the guard selections.
Omitted this year after making it last year: first-teamer Devin Booker; second-teamers Ja Morant, Kevin Durant and DeMar DeRozan; and third-teamers Karl-Anthony Towns, Chris Paul, Trae Young and Pascal Siakam.
James is a 13-time first-team, three-time second-team and now three-time third-team pick. Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar were all 15-time selections, tied for the second-most in NBA history.
The picks were made by a panel of 100 reporters and broadcasters who cover the NBA.
Antetokounmpo was the only unanimous selection this season as a first-teamer. Tatum got 92 first-team votes, Embiid got 87, Gilgeous-Alexander got 63 and Doncic got 60.
Gilgeous-Alexander, Mitchell, Brown, Sabonis and Fox all made All-NBA for the first time. Embiid was first-team for the first time, while Butler made the second team for the first time after four appearances on the third team.
The league has utilized the current format of picking three All-NBA teams, by position &mdash; two guards, two forwards, one center on each &mdash; since 1989. From 1956 through 1988, there were two teams picked by position; from 1947 through 1955 there were two teams picked, but with no regard for position.
More often than not, the system works without a glitch. The top finalists for MVP typically have found their way onto the All-NBA first team.
But there have been notable exceptions &mdash; often involving centers, who are vying for just the one All-NBA first-team spot instead of the two that have been available to guards and forwards.
Embiid was second in the MVP race but only second-team All-NBA in the most recent two seasons. Other examples:
&mdash; 1994-95, MVP David Robinson got the first-team nod and runner-up Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal wound up as the second-team center pick.
&mdash; 1993-94, Hakeem Olajuwon won MVP and was first-team at center, while Robinson was No. 2 in the MVP race and on the second team.
&mdash; 1976-77, Bill Walton was No. 2 in the MVP race, then second-team All-NBA behind MVP Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
&mdash; 1975-76, Bob McAdoo was second in the MVP race and didn&rsquo;t even make All-NBA, with the center spots that season going to MVP Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and third-place finisher Dave Cowens.
There have also been some split votes, albeit none under the current voting methods, where the MVP somehow didn&rsquo;t make the All-NBA first team. It happened to Bill Russell in 1958, 1961 and 1962, and then to Cowens in 1973.

The All-NBA teams were announced on Wednesday evening, and the First Team was headlined by MVP Joel Embiid.

MVP Embiid leads All-NBA 1st team; runner-up Jokic lands on 2nd team

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Destiny Harden made a shot in the lane with 3.5 seconds left to send ninth-seeded Miami past top-seeded Indiana 70-68 on Monday night, lifting the Hurricanes to their first Sweet 16 since 1992.
The Hoosiers (28-4) became the second No. 1 seed to be eliminated in two nights. Stanford was upset Sunday on its home court. It&rsquo;s the second time since the bracket expanded to 64 teams in 1994 that two No. 1 seeds didn&rsquo;t make the Sweet 16. It also happened in 1998.
Harden finished with 18 points and Lola Pendade had 19 points for the Hurricanes (21-12), who never trailed.
Indiana tied the score at 68 on Yarden Garzon&rsquo;s 3-pointer with 6.6 seconds left but couldn&rsquo;t get the defensive stop it needed and turned the ball over on the final possession to seal their only home loss of the season.
No. 4 VILLANOVA 76, No. 12 FLORIDA GULF COAST 57
VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) &mdash; Maddy Siegrist scored 31 points and sent the winningest team in Villanova history into the Sweet 16 for the second time in program history with a win over Florida Gulf Coast.
The fourth-seeded Wildcats (30-6) won their record 30th game and celebrated the March Madness milestone in front of another packed house at the Pavilion. Siegrist, the first-team AP All-American, made 13 of 24 shots in what was likely her final home game. The four-year star has left some wiggle room that she could return for a fifth season, but all signs point toward her playing in the WNBA this summer.
One thing is sure, Siegrist is headed to the Sweet 16.
The Wildcats are going for the first time since 2003 -- the coach of that team, Harry Perretta, watched this one from behind the basket -- and they will the play winner of Monday&rsquo;s game in Indianapolis between top-seeded Indiana and No. 9 seed Miami.
SEATTLE 3 REGION
No. 4 TENNESSEE 94, NO. 12 TOLEDO 47
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Reserves Sara Puckett and Jillian Hollingshead led five Lady Vols in double figures with 13 points apiece as Tennessee routed Toledo.
This is the first time since 2015 and 2016 that Tennessee (25-11) has reached consecutive Sweet 16s and the first in coach Kellie Harper&rsquo;s fourth season. The Lady Vols now have reached the Sweet 16 for the 36th time as the only program to play in all 41 NCAA Tournaments.
Toledo (29-5) snapped a program record 17-game winning streak and missed out on its first Sweet 16. The Rockets lost for the first time since Jan. 18 at Bowling Green, which was avenged in the Mid-American Conference Tournament championship for their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2017.
Quinesha Lockett led Toledo with 19 points.
No. 3 OHIO STATE 71, No. 6 NORTH CAROLINA 69
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) &mdash; Jacy Sheldon made a tiebreaking jumper in the lane with 1.8 seconds left to lift Ohio State to a win over North Carolina and help the Buckeyes advance to the Sweet 16 for the second straight season.
With the game tied, Sheldon took the pass from Eboni Walker and floated in the game-winning score. North Carolina had one final chance, but turned it over with a second remaining.
Ohio State (27-7) saw its 12-point lead with 7:02 to go erased as the Tar Heels went on a 13-2 run midway through the fourth quarter. The Tar Heels did most of that run without star Deja Kelly, who exited midway through the final quarter with a leg injury. She went to the locker room, but returned to the court a short time later.
Trailing 66-63, Kelly made two free throws before Paulina Paris made a layup in transition to give the Tar Heels (22-11) its first lead of the game with 2:09 left.
No. 2 UCONN 77, No. 7 BAYLOR 58
STORRS, Conn. (AP) &mdash; Azzi Fudd scored 16 of her 22 points in a decisive third quarter, leading UConn to a win over Baylor and into a 29th straight Sweet 16.
Aaliyah Edwards added 19 points and Nika Muhl had 10 assists for the Huskies (31-5). Dorka Juhasz chipped in with 11 points and Caroline Ducharme added 10.
Ja&rsquo;mee Asberry scored 15 points and Jaden Owens had 14 for Baylor, which finishes its season 20-13. Bella Fontleroy scored 12 points for the Bears, who made 12 3-pointers after hitting 14 in their first-round win over Alabama.
But the Huskies dominated inside, outscoring the Bears 36-12 in the paint and outrebounding Baylor 42-31.
SEATTLE 4 REGION
No. 5 LOUISVILLE 73, No. 4 TEXAS 51
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; Hailey Van Lith scored 21 points and Louisville rolled over Texas on the Longhorns&rsquo; home court to send the the Cardinals to the Sweet 16 for the sixth NCAA Tournament in row.
In a matchup of two teams that began the season in the Top 10 only to all out of the rankings before regrouping late, the Cardinals smothered the Longhorns and standout point guard Rori Harmon all night, stretching a 14-point halftime lead to 21 by end of the third quarter.
Louisville (25-11) led by as much as 27 early in the fourth. The win sends the Cardinals to the Seattle 4 Region to play No. 8-seed Mississippi, which upset No. 1 Stanford on Sunday.
DeYona Gaston scored 12 points to lead Texas (26-10).
No. 6 COLORADO 61, No. 3 DUKE 53
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Quay Miller had 17 points and 14 rebounds, and Aaronette Vonleh converted two overtime baskets in the lane after picking up her fourth foul, helping Colorado beat Duke.
Jaylyn Sherrod had 14 points and Vonleh finished with 12 as the Buffaloes (25-8) advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time in 20 years.
Elizabeth Balogun scored 14 points and Reigan Richardson had 10, but the Blue Devils didn&rsquo;t hit a field goal in overtime. Duke overcame a 13-point deficit in regulation.
Next up for Colorado is Caitlin Clark and Iowa in the Seattle 4 Region semifinals.
Duke lost for the third time in its last four second-round home games in the NCAA tourney.
GREENVILLE 1 REGION
No. 4 UCLA 82, No. 5 OKLAHOMA 73
LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Charisma Osborne scored a career-high 36 points in her final game at Pauley Pavilion and UCLA rallied in the fourth quarter after blowing an 18-point lead to defeat Oklahoma.
The Bruins, who had an 18-point lead in the second quarter, found themselves trailing 54-50 late in the third quarter before Osborne started the comeback. She drove the lane and hit a layup while being fouled by Beatrice Culliton. Osborne made the ensuing free throw to bring them within one.
She had 13 points in the final 10 minutes as the Bruins (26-7) advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2019. UCLA regained control by going on a 6-1 run at the beginning of the fourth.
Kiki Rice added 14 points for the Bruins, who will face top-ranked South Carolina on Saturday in a Greenville 1 Regional semifinal. UCLA hung tough with the Gamecocks earlier in the season before losing 73-64.
Madi Williams scored 24 points and Ana Llanusa 15 for the Sooners, who end their season 26-7.

A recap of Monday's action of the 2023 Women's NCAA Tournament includes yet another eight seed upending a top seed.

Miami women shock top-seed Indiana in March Madness

Jim Boeheim enrolled at Syracuse in 1962. Played there until 1966. Started coaching there in 1969. Took over the program as head coach in 1976.
Put simply, he was Syracuse basketball.
Until now.
The Basketball Hall of Famer&rsquo;s 47-year tenure as coach at Syracuse came to an awkward end on Wednesday, with the university saying Orange associate head coach and former Syracuse player Adrian Autry has been promoted to the job. The Orange moved quickly, making the announcement less than three hours after&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/wake-forest-syracuse-dcb7b6ea899dfee2b805972b1ba60897" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Syracuse lost to Wake Forest</a>&nbsp;in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. And if Boeheim knew the announcement was coming, he didn&rsquo;t let on at what was his final postgame news conference.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s up to the university,&rdquo; Boeheim said. &ldquo;They have to make their decision, and it&rsquo;s up to them.&rdquo;
The university didn&rsquo;t wait long before making the decision public, saying in part: &ldquo;Today, as his 47th season coaching his alma mater comes to an end, so too does his storied career at Syracuse University. Associate head coach Adrian Autry &rsquo;94, one of Boeheim&rsquo;s former players and longtime assistant, has been named the program&rsquo;s next head coach.&rdquo;
Autry has been on Boeheim&rsquo;s staff since 2011, and held the title of associate head coach since March 2017.
&ldquo;There have been very few stronger influential forces in my life than Syracuse University and Jim Boeheim,&rdquo; Autry said. &ldquo;They have both played such important roles and without either of them, I am certain I would not have this incredible opportunity before me.&rdquo;
The 78-year-old Boeheim&rsquo;s record in his 47 seasons, officially, was 1,015-441. That reflects 101 wins taken away by the NCAA for violations between the 2004-07 and 2010-12 seasons.
Whether the count was 1,015 or 1,116, only now-retired Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski had more wins than Boeheim at the Division I level. Boeheim led the Orange to the 2003 national title &mdash; Carmelo Anthony&rsquo;s lone season in Syracuse &mdash; and saw 46 of his players get taken in NBA drafts. Among them: Anthony, Derrick Coleman, Rony Seikaly, Dion Waiters, Billy Owens, Sherman Douglas and Pearl Washington. Boeheim also was a USA Basketball assistant under Krzyzewski on the teams that won Olympic gold medals in 2008, 2012 and 2016.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been very lucky to be able to coach my college team, to play and then be an assistant coach and then a head coach, never having to leave Syracuse,&rdquo; Boeheim said in that postgame news conference, one in which he hinted at retirement, then hinted at returning. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a great university.&rdquo;
He has, in many ways, been the face of that university. Boeheim and his wife Juli, through their family foundation, have raised millions for children&rsquo;s causes across Central New York. He helped champion what became known as the &ldquo;Coaches vs. Cancer&rdquo; phenomenon with the American Cancer Society.
The 2-3 zone defense he used almost exclusively caused opponents fits for decades. His dedication was unwavering; the best examples were how he returned to work earlier than doctors wanted after he was treated for prostate cancer in December 2001 &mdash; the team was struggling and needed him, Boeheim said at the time &mdash; and how he went to work at 12:01 a.m. on the day his nine-game suspension for NCAA violations was lifted during the 2015-16 season.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s given his heart and soul to that school,&rdquo; said Washington coach Mike Hopkins, a former Boeheim assistant. &ldquo;Still surprised they don&rsquo;t have a statue made of him in the middle of campus. When you think of Syracuse University, you think of Jim Boeheim and you think of the Carrier Dome, and now both of those will be gone, which is very sad.&rdquo;
The dome still stands, just with a different name. The program will continue, just with a different coach. For the first time since 1976, someone other than Boeheim is now the head coach of the Orange.
&ldquo;Jim has invested and dedicated the majority of his life to building this program, cultivating generations of student-athletes and representing his alma mater with pride and distinction,&rdquo; Chancellor Kent Syverud said in a statement distributed by the school.
Boeheim has been synonymous with Syracuse for more than six decades. He was born in the central New York town of Lyons, not far from Syracuse. He enrolled at the school in 1962 as a walk-on, eventually becoming a captain of the then-Orangemen along with Dave Bing.
In 1969, he was hired at Syracuse as a graduate assistant. And on April 3, 1976, he took the program over after Roy Danforth left for Tulane. Boeheim has led the program since; even the court at the dome where Syracuse plays its home games has bore his name since 2002.
&ldquo;There will never be another Jim Boeheim,&rdquo; Buddy Boeheim, one of Boeheim&rsquo;s sons who played for him at Syracuse, tweeted Wednesday. &ldquo;The greatest coach, father, and mentor I could ever ask for. A man that gave a city, program, and university everything he had his whole life with countless accomplishments. Excited for a lot of golf in our future, love you pops.&rdquo;
The Orange were 17-15 this season and will miss the NCAA Tournament for a second consecutive season. That led to criticism, which led to questions about Boeheim&rsquo;s future, and what the school would ultimately decide.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s an honor to play for Coach Boeheim,&rdquo; Syracuse&rsquo;s Benny Williams said after the loss to Wake Forest.
A low point came in November 2011. Bernie Fine, then Syracuse&rsquo;s associate head coach, was fired after being accused of sexual abuse by two former Syracuse ballboys. Boeheim initially called the ballboys liars out to get money, then apologized for being insensitive to victims of abuse and took responsibility. Fine was never charged.
Syracuse reached the NCAA Tournament 35 times under Boeheim, went to the Final Four in five of those appearances, won 10 Big East regular-season titles and five more titles in that conference&rsquo;s tournament.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been just so lucky to be able to coach at Syracuse, a place I love, I place I love to live,&rdquo; Boeheim said. &ldquo;People keep wondering about that, but maybe that&rsquo;s a flaw I have. But I&rsquo;ve lived in Syracuse my whole life, and I&rsquo;ll live there hopefully a long time into the future. I think it&rsquo;s a great place.&rdquo;
Reaction was mixed when word of the coaching change reached the Syracuse campus.
Chris Davis, a freshman, wondered if a coach change will hurt the Orange.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s disappointing to be honest,&rdquo; Davis said. &ldquo;It hurts the students who are here. To see him gone is heartbreaking.&rdquo;
Senior Gracie Carrigan was surprised by the move, saying, &ldquo;It&rsquo;s shocking. He had such a great career. You almost thought he&rsquo;d be here forever, so it&rsquo;s shocking that it&rsquo;s actually happening.&rdquo;
Added freshman Benjamin Perle said: &ldquo;Obviously, massive shoes to fill. I have faith in coach Autry and the coaching staff.&rdquo;
Syracuse clearly has faith in Autry as well.
He played in 121 games in his four seasons for Boeheim, then spent more than a decade on the bench with his former coach.
&ldquo;I have spent much of my time in the game of basketball learning from Jim and am so grateful to him for preparing me to carry on the winning tradition that is Orange Basketball,&rdquo; Autry said.

The Hall-of-Famer’s 47-year tenure as Syracuse's head coach came to an end on Wednesday, with Adrian Autry replacing Boeheim.

Jim Boeheim’s long career at Syracuse ends, Adrian Autry takes over

Syracuse University will honor the 2003 championship team this weekend. It is the 20th anniversary of the title and many of the championship team&rsquo;s players will make their way to upstate New York to celebrate. The guest list includes Carmelo Anthony, Hakim Warrick, Gerry McNamara, Kueth Duany and more.&nbsp;
I caught up with Warrick, who will also be honored with his jersey officially being retired alongside his teammate McNamara. The jersey retirements will take place on Saturday, March 4, when Syracuse hosts Wake Forest at the Carrier Dome. Warrick&rsquo;s jersey will be hoisted into the rafters, joining Syracuse legends such as Dave Bing (22), Roosevelt Bouie (50), Louis Orr (55), Derrick Coleman (44), Sherman Douglas (20), Dennis DuVal (22), Billy Gabor (17), Vic Hanson (8), Lawrence Moten (21), Billy Owens (30), Rony Seikaly (4), Carmelo Anthony (15), Wilmer Sidat-Singh (19), Pearl Washington (31) and John Wallace (44).
Needless to say, he is in some very good company.&nbsp;
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/gettyimages-2923620-1.jpg" alt="" width="706" height="523" />
Etan Thomas: Syracuse is going to honor you on Saturday night, a member of Syracuse's only championship team. They&rsquo;re going to retire your jersey and G-Mac&rsquo;s jersey. There will be a lot of guys from your team going back for this special occasion. How does it feel?&nbsp;
Hakim Warrick: "It feels great. It&rsquo;s definitely an honor. Like you said, this is going to really be a special night. To have my name up there with some of the Syracuse greats, it&rsquo;s definitely an honor."
Etan: Let's talk about how special that 2003 team was. Y&rsquo;all were such a deep team. Y&rsquo;all had so many different weapons coming off the bench.&nbsp;
Hakim: "It was a really special team. I think one of the things that made us so tough to beat was that everyone knew their roles and played them to the best of their ability. We also had a situation where everyone knew that at some point, it was going to be their night, and we were so selfless that we would just feed the hot man. It didn&rsquo;t matter who it was. We went like nine or 10 deep. And you know, that&rsquo;s not regular for Syracuse (laughing). Coach Boeheim has been notorious for cutting that rotation real short, but we had a lot of guys who could really play."
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Etan: Of course, Carmelo got a lot of the attention, but y&rsquo;all were definitely not a one-man show. Y&rsquo;all had a lot of different pieces.&nbsp;
Hakim: "Sure, we knew Melo was the focal point and we knew that a lot of teams were going to be keyed in on him. We had guys like Gerry, who kept everyone honest in spacing the floor. He could knock down the three from anywhere. Kueth was our senior leader who provided guidance and picked us up when we were down and motivated us and played with passion. We had bigs in Craig Forth and Jeremy McNeil, who both brought a different element to the center position. Craig was more of a passing big, screen-setter [whereas] Jeremy could block shots like you and was athletic and strong, so they complemented each other really well. We had guys like Josh Pace and Billy Edelin, who would run the team and keep the offense moving and put people in their spots. They really were both floor generals. We just always played as a team and some nights it would be Melo&rsquo;s night, some nights it would be my night, some nights it would be G-Mac&rsquo;s night, and we just piggy-backed off each other."
Etan: Can you talk about how competitive your practices were? I&rsquo;ve heard people talk about that quite often because you guys were so deep and every position had a lot of competition, so you guys really pushed each other and made each other better.
Hakim: "Yeah, we definitely went at each other, but it started in the offseason when everyone first got up to school that year and there was so much hype around this freshman from Baltimore (Carmelo). And I remember looking at him the first day like, 'Who is this little chubby dude that everyone is hyped about?' (laughing) But I knew from those first pick-up games that we were going to be a special team."
Etan: You know, I&rsquo;ve heard people talk about those early pick-up games, so what was it specifically about those runs that made you feel that this was going to be a special team?&nbsp;
Hakim: "I mean, I&rsquo;m not saying I knew we was gonna be a championship team, I&rsquo;m not saying all that. I mean, at that time, we weren&rsquo;t even ranked nationally. People from the outside looking in didn&rsquo;t have high expectations for us. But there was something about when we were working out, the chemistry and how competitive we were, I knew we were gonna surprise a lot of people, and that&rsquo;s exactly what we did."
Etan: Now, during the season, you all took a few bumps. There were a few spots where things weren&rsquo;t going well, like all teams have throughout the course of the season. But how did you all bounce back from those bumps? Because what happens with a lot of teams, especially young teams, is that they crumble. They don&rsquo;t get over those humps, but that didn&rsquo;t happen with you guys.
Hakim: "We just believed. I think the fact that we were all young and naive probably helped us as well. We didn&rsquo;t listen to any outside noise and we believed in each other no matter what happened. Like you said, we had some bumps, but our confidence and our swag never stumbled. Also, having someone like Kueth as our leader, he had been through the ringer. He was the wise old veteran, and he did a great job of making sure nobody ever got down &mdash; even when things weren&rsquo;t going well. We just learned from every experience, whether good or bad, and as the season went on, we just kept gaining even more and more confidence in each other and in ourselves. We had a lot of comeback victories that year, and we never thought that we was out of a game &mdash; no matter how much we got down. It&rsquo;s like we just knew we would be able to come back, and a lot of times we did just that."
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Etan: Okay, so I gotta ask you about &ldquo;The Block&rdquo; against Kansas in the championship game. Every Syracuse fan knows of this block, and many fans have the poster of this amazing play that you made. That really was a game-winning play because I think that three from the corner was gonna go in if you didn&rsquo;t block it. Walk me through that play.&nbsp;
Hakim: "So right before that, I missed the free throw, so I&rsquo;m already like, 'Man, I could&rsquo;ve ended the game right there with the free throw, but I missed it,' so I knew I had to do something to make up for that. We were not going to lose this championship because of me. I just remember them swinging the ball, and I remember Kueth closing out way past the three-point line, but he had to because they had shooters. And I knew that as far stretched out as he was, there was no way that he was going to be able to get all the way down to cover the corner three. I just sniffed out the play before it happened and pre-rotated out there, but I was all the way under the rim, so I didn&rsquo;t really think I would be able to get all the way out there to actually block it. I wanted to at least contest it and make it a tough shot for him.
"But as I jumped and was in the air, I thought, 'Man, I may be able to block this!' So I stretched out my arms as long as I could and turned my body so I didn&rsquo;t get the foul after I got the block, and I was able to get a piece of the ball and there was only a couple tenths of a second left, and we won the game. I really couldn&rsquo;t believe it. All of the hard work, all of the hours of practice and ups-and-downs of the season finally came into fruition. Absolutely amazing feeling."
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Etan: Well, it was a play that will always be etched in stone in Syracuse history. Not just for Syracuse, but also in March Madness and Final Four history. So last question: there are so many guys coming back to Syracuse from that '03 championship team this weekend. How much are you looking forward to seeing all of your teammates again, being in the Dome and feeling the love from the crowd?
Hakim: "I&rsquo;m really looking forward to it. There are a lot of guys that I haven&rsquo;t seen in years. This will, in fact, be my first game back at the Dome since my senior night, so I&rsquo;m really looking forward to that. I&rsquo;ve seen the team, I was there when they went to the Final Four; in fact, I saw you there. I caught them down in DC a couple of times. But I haven&rsquo;t had the chance to actually be back at the Dome, so I&rsquo;m super excited to feel the love and that magical atmosphere and be able to share all of that with my teammates. I&rsquo;m really looking forward to it. It&rsquo;s going to be a special weekend."
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/img_6213.jpg" alt="" width="497" height="622" />

Etan Thomas catches up with fellow Syracuse legend Hakim Warrick to discuss his jersey retirement, the 2003 championship team, more.

Hakim Warrick Q&A: 2003 Syracuse championship and jersey retirement

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) &mdash; Michigan State women&rsquo;s basketball players wiped away tears as they stood shoulder to shoulder during a moment of silence before losing to No. 8 Maryland 66-61 on Saturday, less than a week after three students were killed in a shooting on campus.
Diamond Miller scored 29 points and helped the Terrapins (22-5, 13-3 Big Ten) hold on for the win after leading by 16 points in the second half.
The Spartans (13-13, 5-10) rallied to have a chance at pulling off an upset, coming up short after DeeDee Hagerman missed a 3-pointer with 3 seconds left.
Michigan State players wore white shirts with &ldquo;Spartan Strong&rdquo; and the school&rsquo;s logo in green during warmups while coaches, support staff, administrators, cheerleaders and mascot sported the tops all afternoon.
The victims, and survivors, were honored with pregame remarks as athletic events resumed on a campus and community reeling from the tragedy. On Saturday, four of the wounded students remained in critical condition at a Lansing hospital and one was still hospitalized in stable condition.
No. 6 UCONN 60, No. 14 VILLANOVA 51
VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) &mdash; Lou Lopez S&eacute;n&eacute;chal scored 22 points, including a crucial rainbow jumper late in the fourth quarter, to lead No. 6 UConn to a victory over Maddy Siegrist and Villanova.
Dorka Juh&aacute;sz added 14 points and 10 rebounds and Aaliyah Edwards had 13 points and 14 boards for the Huskies (24-4, 16-1 Big East).
Siegrist, the nation&rsquo;s leading scorer, had 21 points for the Wildcats (23-5, 14-3). Villanova lost just its second contest in the last 16 &mdash; both to the Huskies.
The game was close throughout the first three quarters; the Huskies entered the final quarter leading 44-39 and were up 12 before the Wildcats came roaring back, scoring the next 10 points over 3:49 to make it 52-50 with 3:55 to play.
Edwards ended UConn&rsquo;s 4:39 scoring drought with a layup to make it 54-50. Then S&eacute;n&eacute;chal nailed her high-arching shot from close range to give the Huskies a five-point advantage that proved enough cushion.
No. 7 IOWA 80, NEBRASKA 60
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) &mdash; Caitlin Clark scored 30 points, Monika Czinano added 20 and Iowa pulled away in the second half for a win over Nebraska.
The Hawkeyes (22-5, 14-2) moved a game behind Big Ten-leading Indiana with two regular-season games left.
Jaz Shelley had 19 points and nine rebounds and Alexis Markowski had 15 points and nine rebounds for the Cornhuskers (14-13, 6-10), who lost their fourth straight.
Clark and Czinano combined for 15 of the Hawkeyes&rsquo; 21 points in the third quarter, when they stretched their 40-33 halftime lead to 61-47.
Iowa, which beat the Huskers 80-76 in Iowa City last month, has won eight in a row in the series.
No. 20 GONZAGA 65, SAINT MARY&rsquo;S 51
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) &mdash; Yvonne Ejim scored 25 points and Kaylynne Truong hit four 3-pointers and added 14 points to help Gonzaga beat Saint Mary&rsquo;s nd extend its win streak against the Gaels to six.
Ejim hit a jumper and Truong followed with a 3-pointer to make it 5-0 and the Bulldogs never trailed. Brynna Maxwell was fouled as she hit a 3-pointer and made the and-1 free throw to cap a 10-2 run and give Gonzaga a 19-10 lead with 6:13 left in the second quarter. Maxwell, who finished with nine points on 2-of-9 shooting, has made at least one 3-pointer in each game this season.
Gonzaga (25-3, 15-1 West Coast Conference) has won four in a row and 19 of 20 since an 84-63 loss at then-No. 2 Stanford.
Ali Bamberger led Saint Mary&rsquo;s (12-16, 6-11) with 13 points and Taycee Wedin scored 10.
No. 22 IOWA STATE 81, BAYLOR 77, 2OT
WACO, Texas (AP) &mdash; Ashley Joens scored 27 points and Iowa State got double-digit scoring from all five starters, defeating Baylor.
Lexi Donarski hit a jumper and Joens added a 3-pointer to put Iowa State up 76-71 in the second OT. In the final minute, first Jaden Owens and then Ja&rsquo;Mee Asberry scored to get Baylor within 78-77 with 10 seconds left. Joens was fouled and made both free throws with nine seconds left. Her steal with seven seconds left, followed by her made free throw, sealed the win for the Cyclones (17-7, 9-5 Big 12).
There were four lead changes and two ties in overtime, the last tie coming at 71-all on a 3-pointer by Iowa State&rsquo;s Lexi Donarski with 27 seconds to go. Baylor called timeout, worked the clock down, and Asberry missed a 3-pointer as time ran out.
Three players had double-doubles for Baylor (16-10, 7-7). Darianna Littlepage-Buggs, a part-time starter who did not start in this one, had 19 points and 12 rebounds; Bella Fontleroy had 19 points and 11 rebounds; and Caitlin Bickle had 13 points and 12 rebounds. Owens added nine points and 10 assists.

A recap of Saturday's games in top-25 women's college hoops.

Michigan State plays in first game since shooting tragedy

With the Brooklyn Nets&rsquo; win at Miami on Sunday, they have won a franchise record 18 of their last 20 games, which represents the best 20-game stretch at any point in a season in the organization's history.
Kyrie Irving is leading the Eastern Conference guards in All-Star voting, and Kevin Durant is having an MVP-level season, averaging 29.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game.
But unfortunately, last night, Durant had to exit the game in the third quarter after Jimmy Butler fell into Durant. On Monday morning, the Nets announced that he was diagnosed with an isolated MCL sprain of the right knee and that he'll be out for at least the next two weeks before being reevaluated. It's devastating news for Nets fans, as the team has been taking the league by storm for the past 20 games.&nbsp;
To discuss Durant's injury, Irving's strong play and more, I sat down with Nets great and Basketball News contributor Kenyon Martin to discuss his former team.&nbsp;
Etan Thomas: The Nets are on a great run. They&rsquo;ve been proving a lot of people who had completely written them off wrong. How do you think they&rsquo;re playing overall right now?&nbsp;
Kenyon Martin: "I think they&rsquo;ve been playing great. Once you get your two stars on the same page in KD and Kyrie &mdash; and they&rsquo;re playing off each other and going to each other when the other one is hot and they&rsquo;re healthy &mdash; they are a tough team to beat. I saw KD went down last night and I&rsquo;m hearing he may be out for a few weeks, which definitely hurts, but he&rsquo;ll bounce back. They&rsquo;ll just have to hold down the fort until he gets back, and when he returns, they&rsquo;ll take off again just like they did when Kyrie returned.
"And Kyrie is playing as free as I&rsquo;ve seen him since he was with Cleveland in the Finals. It's like he&rsquo;s playing with no pressure and nothing holding him back from being one of the top guards in the league. And the team is benefiting from that relief."
Etan: Let me ask you this, because I think Jacque Vaughn has done an excellent job since he&rsquo;s taken over, and I don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s being talked about as much as it should be. No knock on Steve Nash because I don&rsquo;t know the ins and outs of why it wasn&rsquo;t working with him, but there is definitely a visible difference. Would you agree?&nbsp;
Kenyon: "Let&rsquo;s be honest, E &mdash; Steve Nash is a hell of a basketball player and had great athletes around him. I&rsquo;ve never thought of Steve Nash as a vocal guy, never thought of him as that kind of a leader. I&rsquo;ve never heard him get after anybody. I&rsquo;ve never heard him put anybody in their place or call anybody out or chastise anyone who needed to be chastised. I just heard of him as a nice guy who is a great pass-first point guard who guys really enjoyed playing with. That&rsquo;s not to say that he couldn&rsquo;t have done a good job coaching; I just think it was a little premature to put him in that position.
"Jacque Vaughn, on the other hand, has proven that he could be a head coach down in Orlando. He just got a bad deal. But he showed that he could do all of the things that a head coach needs to do in order to be successful in this league. He&rsquo;s not afraid to be honest with guys, to call guys out or to challenge guys, but still not turn into the enemy. But (he'll) be like, 'We&rsquo;re in this together, but this is how we have to do things.' He wasn&rsquo;t a two-time NBA MVP, he wasn&rsquo;t an All-Star year-in and year-out, but he commanded a respect from the jump."
Etan: That&rsquo;s very true. One person who has <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-feature-interview-nic-claxton-approach-reaping-rewards-with-surging-brooklyn-nets-kevin-durant-jacque-vaughn-kyrie-irving-royce-oneale-georgia-bulldogs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">really stood out this season is Nic Claxton</a>. He won&rsquo;t get the praise that KD and Kyrie get of course, but he has been doing a tremendous job and is really vital to this team.&nbsp;
Kenyon: "I&rsquo;ve been a big fan of his since he got to the Nets. I love the energy he plays with, his effort, his motor, his athleticism, his defense, (he's a) rim protector. And when you have a guy who is surrounded by superstars, understands and embraces his role, and plays it to the best of his ability, the team is going to be successful, and that&rsquo;s what he does night-in and night-out."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
"He&rsquo;s a big piece for us and we need him every night." Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant and Jacque Vaughn reflect on Nic Claxton's impact on the Nets and his development into an everyday starting center. STORY: <a href="https://t.co/U1odBzLCHT">https://t.co/U1odBzLCHT</a> <a href="https://t.co/v4Meeb8B7V">pic.twitter.com/v4Meeb8B7V</a>
&mdash; Spencer Davies (@SpinDavies) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpinDavies/status/1607867619347931137?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 27, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

Etan: I always admit I do have big-man bias, and I know the game has transitioned into a more of a guards game &mdash; more people play small ball &mdash; but I&rsquo;m surprised players like Dwight Howard and (DeMarcus) Boogie Cousins aren&rsquo;t in the league right now. But specifically with the Nets, couldn&rsquo;t they use them? Especially in the playoffs when they have to face Milwaukee or Boston, or Philly with Joel Embiid and Montrezl Harrell off the bench?
Kenyon: "I&rsquo;m a big fan of both of those guys and their entire body of work. The way Boogie has adjusted his game and what people have thought of him over the years, he&rsquo;s channeled the energy that people were saying was negative into his game and on-court passion, tenacity and physicality that every team needs.&nbsp;
"And what Dwight brings to the table is similar to what we were talking about before with Nic Claxton. He knows his role and does it to the best of his ability. Shot-blocker, rebounder, physical play, athletic, rim-protector, and we all know he&rsquo;s strong as hell. Why wouldn&rsquo;t you want someone like that on your team? (Think about) what the Lakers got out of the combination of him and JaVale (McGee) a couple of years ago."
Etan: Uh huh, when they won the championship.&nbsp;
Kenyon: "Yup, I just think more teams should follow that. If you don&rsquo;t have a dominant Joel Embiid or a dominant (Nikola) Jokic, you need to play by committee at that position. And I think what a lot of teams are missing is exactly that. I think either one of them could be that missing piece for a lot of teams. But yes, specifically for the Nets this season."
Etan: I even <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-los-angeles-lakers-anthony-davis-etan-thomas-injury-achilles-recovery-heal-patient-robert-griffin-III-rgIII-frank-vogel-lebron-james" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote about it</a>. I was surprised, going back to JaVale and Dwight, that the Lakers didn&rsquo;t keep them. I&rsquo;m not a GM, but If it ain&rsquo;t broke and just won you a championship, don&rsquo;t fix it, right?
Kenyon: "Who&rsquo;d they get, Marc Gasol?"
Etan: Yeah, that&rsquo;s who they got.
Kenyon: "Yeah I just have a problem with the league as a whole when you have guys that have proven what they can bring to the table, talking about Dwight and Boogie Cousins. It makes no sense for them not to be on an NBA roster right now."
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Etan: Another player I&rsquo;ve really been impressed with is Royce O'Neale. I don&rsquo;t know if people were expecting him to play as well as he&rsquo;s been playing this season. Was he a pleasant surprise for you or did you foresee that?
Kenyon: "Honestly, I thought it was a little weird of a trade at first because of the position that he plays. But you can never have enough guys that you can count on. I think Royce is a solid pro. He&rsquo;s proven that he can be successful in this league and you can count on him. And here&rsquo;s the thing &mdash; when players are surrounded by greatness and a role is asked of you, it should be easy for you to fill that role. You know what I mean? It shouldn&rsquo;t be a hard thing for professionals to do. People can really find success on good teams by simply doing what&rsquo;s asked of you."
Etan: (Laughing) Doesn&rsquo;t seem like a hard concept.
Kenyon: (Laughing) "Shouldn&rsquo;t be hard at all."
Etan: It&rsquo;s interesting with Kyrie, because really just a few weeks ago &mdash; after the entire fiasco when he shared the documentary "From Hebrews To Negroes," got suspended, had backlash, was assigned six steps to return and everything that transpired after that &mdash; there was this loud uproar among the media and fans on social media proclaiming definitively that the Nets would be better off without Kyrie Irving, and even that he may be out the league soon.
Kenyon: (Laughing) "How crazy is that?"
Etan: It&rsquo;s crazy, but that was the overall sentiment, especially from a lot of the media for a while. So he comes back and they are playing great. They go on a 5-0 winning run and Kyrie is averaging 30, then a 10-0 run, then a 14-1 run. Now, they&rsquo;ve won 18 of 20 games, setting a franchise record. Kyrie&rsquo;s hitting game-winners and shining, and you've seen all of those people just get quiet. None of those people have offered any retraction to their previously loud statements. They just act like they weren&rsquo;t just saying the Nets were better off without him. And I&rsquo;m just like, keep that same energy you had to demonize someone to also praise them when they are doing well.
Kenyon: "But the key word in what you just said is the media. Who cares what the media says? I took all that criticism and uproar and outrage the media had as all performative. They were just putting on a show and jumping on a bandwagon, which many of them get paid to do. I didn&rsquo;t buy into any of that. It&rsquo;s not like he wrote the book or made the doc. He said he didn&rsquo;t agree with all of it and was sharing it for the information. But if those media people who were saying the Nets were better off without Kyrie don&rsquo;t know how special of a player he is &mdash; aside from the documentary and whatever else &mdash; then they don&rsquo;t need to be writing or commenting on anything.
"It&rsquo;s like a fumble in football. Everybody in the media, fans (and) social media started jumping on top of the dog pile, and Kyrie emerged from the bottom of the pile carrying the football and holding it high in the air for everyone to see. The backlash didn&rsquo;t break him. The team still needs Kyrie Irving. They wouldn&rsquo;t be where they are without him. And if anybody thought the Nets didn&rsquo;t need him, they just don&rsquo;t know the game."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Kyrie Irving scored 29 PTS &amp; the Nets have won 18 of their last 20 games! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NetsWorld?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NetsWorld</a> <a href="https://t.co/6SobtaV7MI">pic.twitter.com/6SobtaV7MI</a>
&mdash; Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) <a href="https://twitter.com/Ballislife/status/1612422254607958016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2023</a></blockquote>

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

Etan: I hear you, but the piling on just bothered me. I was like... y&rsquo;all are making him out to be Hitler himself. He <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dns9B0ypwk0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">specifically said</a>, like you mentioned earlier, "I don&rsquo;t agree with everything in this documentary, I&rsquo;m sharing it for the information, I don&rsquo;t hate anyone, I respect all religions." And they wanted to make him Public Enemy No. 1. and the face of antisemitism.
Kenyon: "Yeah, that&rsquo;s exactly what they tried to do, but it didn&rsquo;t work because that&rsquo;s not who he is and (he) has never been that. You can&rsquo;t make someone be something they&rsquo;re not, and that&rsquo;s not who he is."
Etan: But what was really bothering me is that I was seeing a lot of media people who look like me and you literally running to jump on that bandwagon and bashing him the most. That really bothered me.
Kenyon: "One-thousand percent. That bothered me as well seeing that because that&rsquo;s not the way it&rsquo;s supposed to be. And we&rsquo;re talking about Black media who are in high positions."
Etan: Yes, the ones you see if you turn on ESPN or FOX Sports or HBO Sports or the main Black sports journalists. And I don&rsquo;t have to single anyone out in particular because they all were doing that. It was really disappointing to see.
Kenyon: "For them to do that... I know you don&rsquo;t want to call names and I&rsquo;ll respect your platform, but some of them are some high paid."
Etan: Don&rsquo;t even say it.
Kenyon: (Laughing) "I won&rsquo;t say it but you know what I&rsquo;m thinking." (laughing)
Etan: (Laughing) Yes I do.
Kenyon: "And the guy you expected to join the piling on actually took up for Kyrie &mdash; talking about Jason Whitlock."
Etan: Him and Candace Owens did. How crazy is that? It was like we were in the Twilight Zone.
Kenyon: "They usually can&rsquo;t wait to say something negative about a Black athlete, or a Black person or the entire Black community."
Etan: They made an entire career out of it.
Kenyon: "Absolutely, and they are where they are because of that."
Etan: One-hundred percent.
Kenyon: "So yeah, I&rsquo;m with you, it was definitely disappointing to see the piling on from Black media people in particular on the platforms they have and not one guy said something even remotely in this man&rsquo;s corner. They were calling for his career."
Etan: And very loudly too. Jay Williams did say something, so shout out to him.
Kenyon: "Yeah that&rsquo;s right he did, but he was the only one, at least that I saw. But let me say this &mdash; you&rsquo;ve done a great job in providing perspective on this whole topic. I&rsquo;ve been following everything you posted. The interview with your guy from your show (Dave Zirin), you <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/podcasts/the-rematch/episodes/basketballnews-com-episode-60-rabbi-harry-rozenberg-on-antisemitism,-kyrie-irving-s-suspension,-nets-6-steps-to-return,-adl,-more" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sat down with a Rabbi</a>, you had the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/podcasts/the-rematch/episodes/basketballnews-com-episode-61-former-nba-players-craig-hodges-and-mahmoud-abdul-rauf-discuss-the-kyrie-irving-backlash,-more" target="_blank" rel="noopener">convo with Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf and Craig Hodges</a>. Even how you <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-nike-employs-adl-tactics-as-they-officially-drop-kyrie-irving-etan-thomas-torraine-walker" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote about Nike after they dropped him</a>.
"That&rsquo;s why what you do is important, for that very reason of what we saw all the other media do with the piling on and one-sided bashing. You actually had discussions about it."
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Etan: Thanks. Well, shout out to Basketball News for giving me the flexibility to cover different aspects of this topic in different ways. Most platforms wouldn&rsquo;t have allowed that. They would&rsquo;ve shut all that down.&nbsp;
Kenyon: "Censorship is crazy. Not even to have a discussion?"
Etan: Sometimes, media platforms want you to follow a script and you have to stick to the talking points. And with this, the script was: Bash Kyrie, label him antisemitic, denounce, condemn and bash some more.&nbsp;
Kenyon: "That&rsquo;s just wrong, but I&rsquo;m happy that Kyrie can put all of that behind him and the team&rsquo;s playing well, and he&rsquo;s rolling and being the Kyrie we all know him to be on the court. And you have to give a shout out to his teammates, who also didn&rsquo;t buy into all of the bashing and the talk of them being better without Kyrie. Because if you saw, they were trying to get them to co-sign that, but none of them did. They didn&rsquo;t say a bad word about Kyrie, and that&rsquo;s also a reason why they are playing so well right now. Because that kind of stuff can ruin the entire chemistry of a team if you let the outside noise seep into the locker room."
Etan: That&rsquo;s a great point. Last question: The Nets are playing really well, clicking on all cylinders and they have a rhythm with each other. They also have so many weapons we didn&rsquo;t even talk about like Seth Curry, Joe Harris, Ben Simmons, Yuta Watanabe and TJ Warren. How well can the Nets do this season?&nbsp;
Kenyon: "I would like to see them go out and get another big because you might have to play Philly. I love Nic Claxton, but dealing with Embiid by yourself for a whole playoff series is a lot to ask. But other than that, they have enough shooting, enough playmakers &mdash; they have a solid shot, they are definitely a contender. (It's about) learning how to win now, and win consistently like they have been doing &mdash; close games, ugly games, games where your main people are off because everything isn&rsquo;t going to be clicking every game. But still finding ways to win consistently, they are really preparing themselves for a very good playoff season."

Etan Thomas speaks with Kenyon Martin about the Nets' surge, Kevin Durant's latest knee injury and Kyrie Irving's recent play.

Kenyon Martin talks Nets, Kevin Durant's injury, Kyrie Irving backlash

Paul Silas, a member of three NBA championship teams as a player and LeBron James' first coach in the league, has died, his family announced Sunday. He was 79.
The family revealed the death through the Houston Rockets, for whom Silas' son, Stephen, is a second-generation head coach. The Boston Globe first reported Silas' death, and no official cause was immediately announced.
&ldquo;Our heartfelt thoughts are with Stephen and his family during this difficult time,&rdquo; the Rockets said in a statement.
Paul Silas began his career as a head coach with a three-year stint leading the then-San Diego Clippers starting in 1980. After spending more than a decade as an assistant, he returned to being a head coach and spent time with the Charlotte Hornets, the New Orleans Hornets, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Charlotte Bobcats.
He took four of those teams to the playoffs, winning exactly 400 games &mdash; 387 in the regular season, 13 more in the postseason.
&ldquo;Paul made a huge contribution to the game of basketball and will be sorely missed!&rdquo; Hall of Fame guard and Los Angeles Lakers great Magic Johnson wrote on Twitter.
The Rockets were playing host to Milwaukee on Sunday night. It was not immediately clear how long Stephen Silas would be away from the team; the Rockets were planning to have John Lucas lead the team on an interim basis while the Silas family grieves.
Stephen Silas got into the NBA world when his father was coaching in Charlotte, starting as an advance scout and eventually serving as an assistant on his father's staff with the Hornets in 2000. It took Stephen Silas two decades to get a chance to be a head coach, that coming when Houston hired him in 2020.
&ldquo;My dad, obviously, he was my No. 1 mentor, someone who I could lean on, ask questions and he asked questions of me,&rdquo; Stephen Silas said in a 2021 documentary produced by the Rockets about his coaching journey. &ldquo;He really valued my opinion, which was kind of weird to me, me being so young and not having much experience.&rdquo;
Stephen Silas persevered for a long time before getting his big chance. He saw his father wait a long time for the job he wanted as well. Paul Silas was fired by the San Diego Clippers in 1983 and wouldn't have a head coaching opportunity again until 1999 &mdash; coming when Dave Cowens, for whom Paul Silas was an assistant, stepped down in Charlotte after a 4-11 start to the shortened 1998-99 season.
&ldquo;I was known as not a hard, hard, hard worker and it really hurt me when I was an assistant coach, for about 10 years, when I couldn&rsquo;t get a head job,&rdquo; Paul Silas told the Rotary Club of Charlotte while giving a speech there in 2013. &ldquo;I really talked to teams about being a head coach, but I didn&rsquo;t get one. What happened is I stayed positive. I had a positive attitude. Even though I couldn&rsquo;t get the job, I said, &lsquo;No, I&rsquo;m not going to be negative. I&rsquo;m going to be positive.&rsquo;&rdquo;
Eventually, Silas would take over in Cleveland. He got there in 2003, the same year the Cavaliers drafted James.
&ldquo;I coached LeBron for two years, his first two years, and LeBron was unbelievable," Paul Silas said. &ldquo;At 18 years old, he knew about Bill Russell, he knew about a lot of players who came through that most players his age don&rsquo;t even know. And he understood the game. I made LeBron a point/forward because I didn&rsquo;t have one when he first started. He didn&rsquo;t say a word to me. He just took over the game and we did well.&rdquo;
In time, James would become a champion. It took Paul Silas a few years to get to that level as a player as well.
He was a five-time All-Defensive team selection who averaged 9.4 points and 9.9 rebounds in 16 seasons with the St. Louis and Atlanta Hawks, Phoenix, Boston, Denver and Seattle. Silas won two titles with the Celtics &mdash; the first coming in his 10th season as a player &mdash; and claimed a third with the SuperSonics. He averaged 12.8 points and 13.8 rebounds in the 1976 Finals for Boston against the Suns.
&ldquo;Paul Silas was a giant in basketball circles," former NBA player Rex Chapman wrote Sunday on Twitter. &ldquo;A great man. Was fortunate to spend a couple of seasons with Paul when he was an (assistant) coach with the Suns. I don&rsquo;t know anyone with a bad word to say about him &mdash; ever. A sad day."
Paul Silas played his college basketball at Creighton, averaging 20.5 points and 21.6 rebounds in three seasons. He was voted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017.
&ldquo;I am deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Creighton legend Paul Silas," Bluejays coach Greg McDermott said. &ldquo;His illustrious career as a player and coach will be matched by few."

Paul Silas, a member of three NBA championship teams as a player and LeBron James' first coach in the league, has passed away.

Paul Silas, 3-time NBA champion and longtime coach, dies at 79

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Olivia Miles had 21 points and eight rebounds for No. 7 Notre Dame, and UConn star Azzi Fudd was injured in a collision with a teammate as the Fighting Irish handed the third-ranked Huskies their first loss of the season, 74-60 on Sunday.
Fudd, who came in averaging 24.0 points per game, exited in the final minute of the first quarter following a collision with teammate Aaliyah Edwards. She returned midway through the second period to play four minutes, but sat the rest of the day, going scoreless on two shots over 13 minutes.
Maddy Westbeld added a season-high 17 points and nine rebounds for Notre Dame (7-1), which bounced back from a 74-72 loss to No. 20 Maryland three days earlier.
Lou Lopez Senechal led UConn (6-1) with 21 points. Edwards added 14.
No. 2 STANFORD 84, No. 23 GONZAGA 63
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Cameron Brink had 14 points and a season-high 16 rebounds and Brooke Demetre made five 3s and scored 17 points, leading Stanford past Gonzaga.
The Cardinal (10-1) have now won five straight games after falling to top-ranked South Carolina in overtime on Nov. 20.
Hannah Jump hit four 3s and scored 14 points and Haley Jones had 12 points for Stanford.
Short-handed Gonzaga (7-2), limited to seven players because of illness and injuries, had won three in a row.
No. 4 OHIO STATE 82, RUTGERS 70
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) &mdash; Rebeka Mikulasikova scored a career-high 31 points and Taylor Mikesell added 30 to help Ohio State beat Rutgers, a day that the Scarlet Knights honored former coach C. Vivian Stringer.
The school dedicated the court to Stringer, who retired after last season.
Buoyed by the return of their Hall of Fame coach, Rutgers played its best game of the season against a ranked opponent. Ohio State (8-0) jumped out to a 20-6 lead after one quarter, but the Scarlet Knights (4-6) wouldn&rsquo;t go away.
They were down 18 near the end of the half before Kaylene Smikle hit a 3-pointer just before the buzzer to get within 43-28. Rutgers continued that momentum in the second half and made it 53-45 with 3:25 left in the third quarter.
Mikulasikova and Mikesell then scored the next six points for Ohio State to restore the double-digit advantage, and Rutgers couldn&rsquo;t recover.
Smikle led Rutgers with 21 points.
No. 5 INDIANA 65, ILLINOIS 61
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Mackenzie Holmes scored 23 points, including a go-ahead layup with 37 seconds left, and Indiana got past Illinois in their Big Ten opener.
Indiana (9-0) had not trailed in the second half of any game this season before going back and forth in the closing minutes with Illinois (3-7).
Makira Cook scored 33 points to lead the Illini.
The Hoosiers were coming off an 87-63 win over No. 6 North Carolina.
No. 9 VIRGINIA TECH 59, TENNESSEE 56
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Kayana Traylor scored 18 points and Virginia Tech held off Tennessee in a Jimmy V Women&rsquo;s Classic matchup.
Jordan Horston led Tennesssee (4-5) with 26 points and 11 rebounds, but missed a pair of late shots that would&rsquo;ve tied it.
Trailing 58-56 with 3 seconds left, Horston was off on a jumper. Down three with 1.1 seconds remaining, her 3-point try from the top of the key bounced off.
Cayla King scored 11 points and Georgia Amoore and D&rsquo;asia Gregg each had 10 for the Hokies (8-0).
Tennessee played without leading scorer and rebounder Rickea Jackson, who was absent because of a coach&rsquo;s decision.
No. 10 IOWA 102, WISCONSIN 71
MADISON, Wis. (AP) &mdash; Caitlin Clark had 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for her seventh career triple-double to break the Big Ten record in Iowa&rsquo;s win over Wisconsin.
Clark surpassed the record of six career triple-doubles set by former Iowa player Samantha Logic, who achieved the feat from 2012-2015.
Iowa (6-3) stopped a two-game skid and beat the Badgers (3-7) for the 26th straight time.
No. 11 LSU 85, TULANE 72
NEW ORLEANS (AP) &mdash; Angel Reese scored 21 points and had 10 rebounds and Jasmine Carson scored 21 and LSU beat Tulane.
The Tigers (9-0) are off to their best since winning their first nine in the 2009-10 season.
LSU led 27-20 in a first quarter in which it made 11 of 16 shots and Tulane 9 for 17. The Tigers extended their lead to 40-27 at halftime before the Green Wave unloaded with a 30-point third in which it shot 12 for 16 including 6 for 7 from 3-point range. Dynah Jones scored 16 of her team-high 25 points for Tulane in the quarter and the Green Wave closed to 61-58.
Reese made 1 of 2 foul shots for the Tigers and Kahia Warmsley responded with a layup for Tulane to get it within two, but LaDazhia Williams made a layup and Carson a 3 and LSU kept Tulane at bay from there. Reese made two foul shots with 5:01 left to extend the lead to 73-62.
Marta Galic scored 21 points for Tulane.
ST. JOHN&rsquo;S 66, No. 13 CREIGHTON 62
NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Jayla Everett scored 20 points and St. John&rsquo;s remained unbeaten by handing Creighton its first loss.
The Red Storm had a 47-32 lead in the middle of the third quarter before the Bluejays got it down to a one-possession deficit in the final 90 seconds.
After Emma Ronsiek&rsquo;s basket pulled Creighton within 61-59 with 1:27 to play, the Bluejays had a possession to tie or take the lead but couldn&rsquo;t score.
Kadaj Bailey and Unique Drake had 13 points apiece for St. John&rsquo;s (8-0, 2-0 Big East Conference).
Lauren Jensen scored 21 points for the Bluejays (7-1, 2-1) but couldn&rsquo;t get the tying jumper to fall with 13 seconds to go.
No. 14 ARIZONA 77, NEW MEXICO 60
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) &mdash; Jade Loville made 10 of 13 shots, including a career-best six 3-pointers, and scored 27 points to lead Arizona to a win over New Mexico.
Shaina Pellington added 19 points for the Wildcats (7-0), who had their lowest output of the year and won by less than 20 for only the second time this season.
Paula Reus scored 14 points for the Lobos (4-4).
No. 17 MICHIGAN 77, NORTHWESTERN 66
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) &mdash; Emily Kiser and Laila Phelia scored 18 points each and Michigan shut down Northwestern with an 8-0 run in the fourth quarter.
Leigha Brown added 10 points and 11 assists for Michigan (9-0), which won its Big Ten opener.
Jillian Brown had 17 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals for Northwestern (4-4, 0-1 Big Ten). Caileigh Walsh had 12 points and four blocks, and Sydney Wood scored 10 points.
MIDDLE TENNESSEE 67, No. 18 LOUISVILLE 49
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Savannah Wheeler had 23 points, six rebounds and five assists, Courtney Whitson added 16 points and 10 rebounds and Middle Tennessee beat cold-shooting Louisville.
Middle Tennessee (5-2) won its first home game against a ranked opponent since the Lady Raiders beat No. 6 Kentucky 70-58 on December 28, 2011.
Kseniya Malashka added 15 points for Middle Tennessee (5-2).
Olivia Cochran scored a season-high 14 points for Louisville (5-4).
NEBRASKA 90, No. 20 MARYLAND 67
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) &mdash; Jaz Shelley scored 29 points, Nebraska dominated the second half and the Cornhuskers surprised Maryland in the Big Ten Conference opener for both teams.
Allison Weidner had 13 points and 15 rebounds for Nebraska (6-3). Isabelle Bourne had 18 points and Alexis Markowski added 14. Shelley had six 3-pointers, five assists and three steals.
Two free throws from Diamond Miller drew Maryland (7-3) to within 77-67 points with 4:03 remaining, but the Terrapins would not score again while Nebraska scored 13.
No. 21 BAYLOR 79, HOUSTON CHRISTIAN 35
WACO, Texas (AP) &mdash; Freshman guard Bella Fontleroy came off the bench to score 17 points and grab 11 rebounds and Baylor romped to a victory over Houston Christian.
Fontleroy sank 6 of 10 shots with three 3-pointers for the Lady Bears (6-2) and notched her first double-double. Jaden Owens added 14 points and six assists. Kendra Gillispie scored 10 on 5-of-6 shooting.
Marilyn Nzoiwu was the lone bright spot for the Huskies (3-4). She finished with 13 points and five rebounds, sinking 6 of 9 shots from the floor. Her teammates made 8 of 40 shots, including 2 of 15 from beyond the arc.
The Lady Bears played a fifth straight game without injured leading scorer Aijha Blackwell.
No. 22 TEXAS 92, SOUTHERN 43
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; Shaylee Gonzales scored 22 points, Sonya Morris added 20 points, and Texas routed Southern.
Aaliyah Moore scored 11 points and DeYona Gaston had 10 for the Longhorns (4-4). Rori Harmon had nine points and 10 rebounds.
Freshman guard Sirviva Legions led the Jaguars (2-5) with 13 points off the bench.
The Longhorns rolled to a 29-10 lead through the first quarter after making 10 of 14 shots. They scored 11 points off seven Southern turnovers. Texas went on to lead 46-16 at halftime.
SETON HALL 82, No. 24 MARQUETTE 78
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. (AP) &mdash; Lauren Park-Lane scored 17 of her 31 points in the fourth quarter, Sidney Cooks added 23 and Seton Hall knocked off Marquette.
Kae Satterfield added 12 points for Seton Hall (6-4, 2-0 Big East Conference), which has won four straight. The Pirates last beat a ranked team, No. 24 DePaul, in January 2019.
Chloe Marotta scored 30 points and had 12 rebounds for the Golden Eagles (7-2, 1-1). Jordan King added 14 points and Liz Karlen had 12 points and nine rebounds.
No. 25 VILLANOVA 79, PROVIDENCE 54
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) &mdash; Maddy Seigrist scored 20 of her 29 points in the first half and grabbed nine rebounds to lead Villanova past Providence.
Seigrist was 12-of-18 shooting, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range. The Wildcats (7-2, 1-1 Big East Conference) made 12 of 28 behind the arc and shot 52% overall (33 of 63). Lucy Olsen added 14 points and Bella Runyan 10.
Janai Crooms led the Friars (6-4, 0-2) with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

A recap of Sunday's women's college basketball slate features a top-10 battle.

Notre Dame tops UConn as Azzi Fudd gets hurt

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) &mdash; Aliyah Boston missed the second half of No. 1 South Carolina&rsquo;s game against Hampton on Sunday with her right foot in a walking boot, but reserves Bree Hall and Ashlyn Watkins scored 14 points each in an 85-38 win.
Kamila Cardoso added 11 points and 14 rebounds for South Carolina. It was the 6-foot-7 forward&rsquo;s eighth career double-double.
Boston, the reigning Associated Press Player of the Year, took a hard fall on a drive to the basket late in the second quarter and needed several moments to stand up. Soon after, she headed to the locker room before the period ended.
Boston did not come out for the start of the third quarter, returning to the bench midway through the period with a walking boot on her right foot. Boston spent the rest of the game cheering on her teammates, who improved to 6-0 this season and 5-0 all-time against the Pirates.
No. 2 STANFORD 68, HAWAII 39
HONOLULU (AP) &mdash; Ashten Pretchel scored 12 of her season-high 17 points in the first half to help Stanford easily defeat Hawaii on the final day of the Rainbow Wahine Showdown.
The Cardinal (7-1) erased an early deficit and held the Rainbow Wahine (1-6) to a season-low scoring output.
Pretchel came off the bench and shot 6 of 10 from the field, including hitting five 3-pointers. She also grabbed 11 rebounds.
Lily Wahinekapu led Hawaii with 12 points.
NO. 3 UCONN 86, NO. 9 IOWA 79
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Azzi Fudd scored 24 points to rally UConn past Iowa in the championship game of the first Phil Knight Legacy women&rsquo;s tournament.
Fudd had plenty of help, with Aaliyah Edwards (20 points, 13 rebounds) and three other Huskies (5-0) scoring in double-figures. Edwards was named MVP of the tournament.
Iowa (5-2) star Caitlin Clark had 25 points, and Kate Martin added 20.
Edwards got UConn off to a strong start, scoring 10 points while the Huskies built a 20-14 edge.
Clark and the Hawkeyes then surged with a 13-2 run to begin the second quarter and led 41-35 at halftime. Clark scored 17 points in the first half.
NO. 4 OHIO STATE 105, NORTH ALABAMA 67
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) &mdash; Rebeka Mikulasikova scored 23 points and Cotie McMahon added 20 to lead Ohio State past North Alabama.
The Buckeyes (6-0) shot 58.6% from the field as all five starters reached double figures in scoring.
North Alabama (3-3) trailed by eight points with less than eight minutes to go in the second quarter, but Ohio State extended its lead on an 11-0 run keyed by five points from Madison Greene.
The Buckeyes held a 59-37 lead at halftime and stretched it to as large as 39 with less than three minutes remaining.
No. 8 NORTH CAROLINA 73, No. 5 IOWA STATE 64
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Deja Kelly scored 29 points to power North Carolina to a 17-point comeback over Iowa State and win in the championship game of the Phil Knight Invitational tournament.
Kennedy Todd-Williams added 17 points to help the Tar Heels (6-0) complete the comeback and remain undefeated on the season. Alyssa Ustby contributed 14 points, nine rebounds, three steals and two blocks.
Stephanie Soares led the Cyclones (5-1) with 19 points and 12 rebounds, while Ashley Joens had 18 points and nine rebounds as Iowa State suffered its first loss of the year.
NO. 11 VIRGINIA TECH 89, LONGWOOD 28
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) &mdash; Elizabeth Kitley had a double-double, Kayana Traylor added a double-double off the bench, and Virginia Tech rolled over Longwood.
Kitley had 23 points and 14 rebounds for the Hokies. Traylor had 11 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and two steals. Ashley Owusu scored 21 points, making 4 of 5 3-pointers.
The Hokies established a program record by holding South Carolina Upstate to 24 points on Nov. 14. Longwood passed 24 points when Adriana Shipp-Davis made a layup with 4:44 remaining.
Shipp-Davis had seven rebounds for Longwood (1-5). The Lancers shot 16.7% overall, which was also their 3-point percentage (3-for-18).
NO. 14 MARYLAND 87, PITTSBURGH 63
FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Abby Meyers scored 12 of her 23 points in Maryland&rsquo;s 36-point third quarter and the Terrapins rolled past Pittsburgh to finish the Ft. Myers Tip-Off.
Brinae Alexander hit three 3-pointers in the Terps&rsquo; biggest quarter of the season and was 5 of 7 from distance to finish with 17 points. Lavender Briggs contributed 10 points as the three transfers had their biggest outputs of the season for Maryland. Shyanne Sellers added 13 points for the Terrapins (6-2), who went 2-1 in the tournament.
Maryland went 7 of 10 behind the arc and shot 55% in the second half.
Maliyah Johnson had 15 points for the Panthers (5-2), who only had one less 3-pointer but was outscored by 13 at the foul line where Maryland was 20 of 23.
No. 18 OREGON 86, MICHIGAN STATE 78
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Endyia Rogers scored 19 points, including critical back-to-back 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, Phillipina Kyei had a double-double with career highs and Oregon held off Michigan State in the third-place game of the Phil Knight Invitational.
The Ducks led 29-12 when Rogers scored the opening basket of the second quarter but the Spartans slowly came back behind Kamaria McDaniel, who had a season-high 28 points. McDaniel hit a 3-pointer and Matilda Ekh had a steal and layup and Michigan State tied the game with 7:17 to play.
That&rsquo;s when Rogers, who had a career-high five 3-pointers, scored from distance, the first coming after a timeout and the Ducks regained control.
Isaline Alexander scored 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting and Ekh 12 for the Spartans (6-2).
NO. 19 TEXAS 74, PRINCETON 50
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; Sonya Morris scored 15 points, Taylor Jones notched a double-double and Texas breezed to a victory over Princeton.
Morris sank 5 of 10 shots from the floor with two 3-pointers for Texas (3-3). Jones finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Rori Harmon had 11 points and Aaliyah Moore scored 10.
The Longhorns picked up their second straight win after a three-game losing streak. Texas fell 16 spots in the AP poll.
Kaitlyn Chen topped Princeton (3-2) with 15 points. Julia Cunningham added 10 points. Ellie Mitchell came into the game leading the nation with 16.2 rebounds per game. She didn&rsquo;t score and had seven boards.
No. 22 MICHIGAN 84, No. 21 BAYLOR 75
ESTERO, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Emily Kiser scored 26 points on 10-of-13 shooting and grabbed 13 rebounds, Laila Phelia added 20 points and Michigan scored the final 11 points to beat Baylor in the championship game of the Gulf Coast Showcase.
Maddie Nolan scored seven of her 12 points in a 20-5 run over the final 4-plus minutes and Leigha Brown finished with 11 points, eight rebounds and six assists forMichigan (7-0).
Ja&rsquo;Mee Asberry scored inside to give Baylor a 75-73 lead with 2 minutes to go but Brown made a layup and, after a missed 3-point shot on the other end, grabbed her own offensive rebound and kicked it out to Phelia for a 3 that gave the Wolverines the lead for good with 48 seconds to go.
Jaden Owens scored 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting for the Bears.
NO. 23 TENNESSEE 105, EASTERN KENTUCKY 71
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Rickea Jackson scored 15 points to lead a balanced attack and Tennessee coasted to a win over Eastern Kentucky.
Jordan Horston added 14 points for the Lady Vols (4-4), Jillian Hollingshead and Tamari Key 13 each and Karoline Striplin 10. Jackson and Horston both had five assists and joined Hollingshead with eight rebounds.
Antwainette Walker scored 18 points for the Colonels (4-3).
NO. 23 VILLANOVA 72, SOUTH FLORIDA 50
ESTERO, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Maddy Siegrist scored 25 points to surpass 2,000 for her career and Villanova used a hot start to beat South Florida in the third-place game at the Gulf Coast Showcase.
Siegrist scored 13 points in the first half and 10 in the third quarter as the Wildcats (6-1) took a 58-36 lead. Lucy Olsen scored 10 of her 13 before the break.
Siegrist became the third player in Villanova history to reach the 2,000-point plateau when she hit a jumper at 3:46 of the third quarter to put the Wildcats up 50-31.
Sammie Puisis scored 17 points for the Bulls (7-2). Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu had 14 points with 17 rebounds &mdash; matching her career high, and Elena Tsineke scored 11.

Boston, the reigning Associated Press Player of the Year, took a hard fall on a drive to the basket late in the second quarter.

Boston hurt in No. 1 Gamecocks’ win; No. 3 UConn tops Iowa

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) &mdash; Zia Cooke scored 17 points, Aliyah Boston had the 61st double-double of her career and defending national champion No. 1 South Carolina opened with a dominating 101-31 victory over East Tennessee State on Monday night.
Boston finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds in 20 minutes.
The Gamecocks celebrated their 2022 NCAA Tournament title with championship rings and a banner unfurled in the arena rafters to the cheers of a boisterous, happy crowd at Colonial Life Arena.
South Carolina held its opponent to 4-of-28 shooting in the first two quarters. ETSU missed 15 straight shots during one stretch.
East Tennessee&rsquo;s Jiselle Thomas, a first-year transfer from Temple, led East Tennessee with seven points on 2-of-20 shooting.
NO. 2 STANFORD 86, SAN DIEGO STATE 48
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Kiki Iriafen had a team-leading 16 points and six rebounds, sending Stanford past San Diego State to open the season.
Iriafen was one of four players who had double-digit points for the Cardinal, including Elena Bosgana (15 points), Cameron Brink (13) and Indya Nivar (13). Alex Crain and Meghan Fiso each had nine points for the Aztecs, who were held to 31.6% shooting (18 of 57) by the Cardinal defense.
NO. 4 IOWA 87, SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY 34
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) &mdash; Caitlin Clark scored 20 points as Iowa opened the season with a win over Southern.
Clark, a junior guard who was a unanimous Associated Press preseason All-American, shook off a couple of early injuries to finish with a 6 of 10 shooting night.
Iowa center Monika Czinano, back for a fifth season after leading the nation in field-goal percentage the last two seasons, scored 10 points on 3 of 4 shooting.
Amani McWain led Southern with eight points.
NO. 7 LOUISVILLE 87, CINCINNATI 68
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) &mdash; Hailey Van Lith scored 28 points to lead Louisville to a victory over Cincinnati in the season opener for both teams.
The Cardinals broke the game open with a 15-0 first-quarter run and led 46-25 in the final minute of the first half. The Cardinals shot 51.7% and outrebounded the Bearcats 39-27.
Sophomore Braylyn Milton led the Bearcats with a career-high 28 points on 9-of-12 shooting. Milton was perfect on five 3-point shots. Mya Jackson and A&rsquo;riel Jackson added 12 points apiece.
NO. 8 IOWA STATE 87, CLEVELAND STATE 54
AMES, Iowa (AP) &mdash; Ashley Joens had 28 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, and Iowa State opened the season with a victory against Cleveland State.
Joens, a preseason All-American, nearly recorded a double-double in the first half with 24 points and nine boards. She has 50 career double-doubles.
Stephanie Soares added 15 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks for the Cyclones. Gabriella Smith led Cleveland State with 16 points and Brittni Moore added nine.
NO. 9 NOTRE DAME 88, NORTHERN ILLINOIS 48
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Olivia Miles had 17 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and six steals to help No. 9 Notre Dame rout Northern Illinois.
Transfer post players Kylee Watson (Oregon) and Lauren Ebo (Texas) made their Notre Dame debuts. Watson started and scored nine points, while Ebo added 10 points off the bench.
Janae Poisson led NIU in scoring with 14 points.
NO. 10 NC STATE 82, QUINNIPIAC 45
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Jada Boyd scored 14 points as North Carolina State led wire-to-wire in a season-opening victory over Quinnipiac.
Boyd shot a perfect 4-of-4 from the floor and 6-of-6 from the free-throw line. The junior forward also had five rebounds, a block and two steals in just 20 minutes of play. Quinnipiac was led by Cur&rsquo;Tiera Haywood&rsquo;s eight points and five rebounds. Jackie Grisdale also had eight points for the Bobcats.
NO. 13 VIRGINIA TECH 101, MOUNT ST. MARY&rsquo;S 45
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) &mdash; Cayla King made a school record nine 3-pointers and scored a career-high 33 points, All-American Elizabeth Kitley added 17 points and Virginia Tech rolled over Mount St. Mary in both teams&rsquo; season opener.
Virginia Tech never trailed thanks to King&rsquo;s opening 3-pointer and after Mount St. Mary&rsquo;s answered with a basket the Hokies reeled off 20 straight.
Michaela Harrison scored 15 points for Mount St. Mary&rsquo;s, which shot 27% and was outrebounded 45-23.
NO. 15 OKLAHOMA 105, ORAL ROBERTS 94
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) &mdash; Madi Williams scored 19 points, Skylar Vann added 18 and Oklahoma opened the season with a win over Oral Roberts.
The Sooners finished at 47.6% shooting after hitting 60% of their shots in the first half.
Oral Roberts outscored Oklahoma 24-6 in the final 5:18 to get the margin down to 11. Tirzah Moore scored 25 points and grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds for the Golden Eagles.
NO. 16 LSU 125, BELLARMINE 50
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) &mdash; Angel Reese scored 31 points on 11-of-14 shooting and grabbed 13 rebounds in her debut with LSU and the Tigers coasted past Bellarmine in the season opener.
The transfer from Maryland, where she was an All-American, had 14 points in the first quarter when the Tigers took a 31-8 lead and went on to a school record for points in a game.
West Virginia transfer Jasmine Carson added 17 points and Alexis Morris 16 for LSU, which returned only one starter (Morris) and five players from Kim Mulkey&rsquo;s first team, which had the greatest turnaround by a first-year coach in Southeastern Conference history.
Hayley Harrison scored 19 points for the Knights.
NO. 17 MARYLAND 88, GEORGE MASON 51
FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) &mdash; Abby Meyers scored 19 points in her debut for Maryland as the retooled Terrapins defeated George Mason.
Meyers, an AP honorable mention All-American at Princeton and one of nine new Terrapins, made 5 of 6 from 3-point range.
Taylor Jameson scored 15 points for George Mason, which was 5 of 22 from 3-point range and had 18 turnovers.
NO. 18 BAYLOR 88, LAMAR 50
WACO, Texas (AP) &mdash;Jaden Owens had a career-high 12 assists to go with 11 points for her first career double-double and Baylor pulled away for a season-opening win over Lamar.
Missouri transfer Aijha Blackwell and freshman Bella Fontleroy both added 17 points for the Bears, who used a 7-0 run early in the second quarter and a 9-0 late to go up 47-31 at halftime.
Lamar shot 32% in the second half and finished just 3 of 12 behind the 3-point line. Akasha Davis led the Cardinals with 13 points and eight rebounds.
NO. 20 OREGON 100, NORTHWESTERN 57
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Freshman Grace VanSlooten scored 20 points and Oregon downed Northwestern for the Ducks&rsquo; 10th straight season-opening win, and ninth straight under coach Kelly Graves.
Jennah Isai added 17 for the Ducks, who went 20-12 overall last season and advanced to the NCAA Tournament but lost in the first round to Belmont.
Caileigh Walsh had 15 points and six rebounds for Northwestern, which went 17-12 last season.
NO. 21 CREIGHTON 73, NO. 23 SOUTH DAKTA STATE 64
BROOKINGS, S.D. (AP) &mdash; Lauren Jensen scored 17 of her 30 points in the fourth quarter and Creighton pulled away from South Dakota State in the only Top 25 matchup on the opening day of the season.
Creighton, the surprise team of the NCAA Tournament last year when they beat No. 8 Iowa and No. 10 Iowa State, made 10 of 12 free throws in the fourth quarter.
Myah Selland scored 22 points to lead South Dakota State, which won the WNIT last season.
NO. 22 NEBRASKA 100, OMAHA 36
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) &mdash; Isabelle Bourne had 21 points and nine rebounds, leading Nebraska to the runaway victory in its season opener.
Allison Weidner added 19 points and nine rebounds, and South Dakota transfer Maddy Krull had 18 points with four 3-pointers. Alexis Markowski had 13 points and eight rebounds for the Cornhuskers.
Elena Pilakouta had 10 points and eight rebounds for the Mavericks.
NO. 24 PRINCETON 67, TEMPLE 49
PRINCETON, N.J. (AP) &mdash; Kaitlyn Chen scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds, Ellie Mitchell added 12 points and 15 boards, and Princeton defeated Temple to spoil the debut of Owls coach Diane Richardson.
Princeton won its 16th straight regular-season game dating to last season. Prior to the game, the Tigers honored its 2021-22 campaign with a banner unveiling and ring ceremony. The Tigers pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the NCAA Tournament, upending Kentucky in the first round.
Jasha Clinton scored 15 points and Tiarra East had 11 points and 11 rebounds for Temple, which was just 18-of-62 shooting.

Opening night for women's college hoops was highlighted by Aliyah Boston and the defending-champion South Carolina Gamecocks.

Defending women's national champs, No. 1 Gamecocks, rout ETSU 101-31

On March 18, 1995, Michael Jordan shocked the sports world by announcing that he was coming out of retirement and returning to the Chicago Bulls with a short-and-sweet fax that read: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m back.&rdquo;
Almost exactly 27 years later, Tom Brady gave us the 2022 version of this fax, announcing that he was coming out of retirement and returning to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a short-and-sweet tweet that concluded: &ldquo;Unfinished business LFG.&rdquo;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="light">
These past two months I&rsquo;ve realized my place is still on the field and not in the stands. That time will come. But it&rsquo;s not now. I love my teammates, and I love my supportive family. They make it all possible. I&rsquo;m coming back for my 23rd season in Tampa. Unfinished business LFG <a href="https://t.co/U0yhRKVKVm">pic.twitter.com/U0yhRKVKVm</a>
&mdash; Tom Brady (@TomBrady) <a href="https://twitter.com/TomBrady/status/1503147141795045378?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 13, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

Jordan sent his fax on a Saturday afternoon, taking attention away from the 1995 NCAA Tournament that had tipped off two days earlier. Brady sent his tweet on a Sunday afternoon, stealing the spotlight from the 2022 NCAA Tournament's Selection Sunday.
Rather than leaking the news anonymously or holding a press conference, both players took breaking the news of their return into their own hands. Jordan&rsquo;s agent, David Falk, has <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/12501628/michael-jordan-famous-back-fax-25-years-later" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that he wrote up several different press releases for Jordan to choose from, but MJ &ldquo;didn&rsquo;t like the feel of them... He said, &lsquo;I&rsquo;ll do it myself.&rsquo;"
Email wasn&rsquo;t popular yet, so Alyson Sadofsky, Falk's director of media services, couldn&rsquo;t send out a mass message; each fax had to be sent individually (which entailed making a cover sheet, sending the fax and waiting for a confirmation receipt). The fax was sent to local media in Chicago as well as national outlets such as the Associated Press, ESPN, The New York Times and The Washington Post, and it took two hours to inform every publication.
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Last month, Brady was frustrated when reporters leaked news of his (short-lived) retirement before he could announce his plans, so it&rsquo;s no surprise that the seven-time Super Bowl champion chose to speak directly to his fans when it came time to announce his return.
Using his iPhone, Brady posted the message on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, racking up more than 3.2 million likes combined. Immediately, it became the top story on ESPN. And just like Jordan&rsquo;s announcement transcended the sports world, Brady&rsquo;s tweet was covered by basically every major media outlet (including <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/tom-brady-returning-tampa-play-23rd-season-nfl-83427086" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ABC News</a>, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/13/sport/tom-brady-returns-tampa-bay-buccaneers/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNN</a>, <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/sports/tom-brady-coming-return-tampa-bay-weeks-after-retirement-announcement" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox News</a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/13/sports/football/tom-brady-returning-buccaneers.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New York Times</a>, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/03/14/1086395502/tom-brady-called-an-audible-and-is-not-retiring-after-all" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NPR</a>, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/american-football/60185291" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BBC</a> and <a href="https://apnews.com/f6d646a9109b591183836fbf593c0f2b" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Associated Press</a>).
Jordan was retired for 528 days, missing the entire 1993-94 NBA season and most of the 1994-95 campaign as he played minor league baseball for the Birmingham Barons. Brady was retired just 40 days, and he started dropping hints about a possible comeback less than a week after he announced that he was hanging up his cleats.&nbsp;
Neither comeback announcement came as a complete surprise. After all, Jordan had resumed practicing with the Bulls in the weeks before his fax, and there had been rumblings about a possible comeback. Brady was asked about the possibility of playing again on his <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lets-go-with-tom-brady-larry-fitzgerald-and-jim-gray/id1584409759" target="_blank" rel="noopener">podcast</a> and responded: &ldquo;You never say never.&rdquo; This led to rampant speculation about a possible return, but it was far from certain. Even Bucs head coach Bruce Arians <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/bruce-arians-would-be-shocked-if-tom-brady-returned-to-nfl-in-2022-i-dont-see-it-happening/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">didn't think</a> Brady was coming back just a few weeks ago, saying, &ldquo;That would shock me&hellip; I don&rsquo;t see it happening.&rdquo;&nbsp;
All things considered, Brady&rsquo;s news was probably more shocking. Not only was his retirement so short-lived, but he&rsquo;s also 44 years old, whereas Jordan was 31 when he walked away. Like Brady, Jordan found it difficult to remain retired. After sitting out three seasons (from 1998 to 2000), a 38-year-old Jordan came out of retirement for a second time to join the Washington Wizards for two seasons.&nbsp;
In both sports, we&rsquo;ve seen that it's very difficult for legends to walk away from the game they love. In the NFL, Brady joins Brett Favre, Randy Moss, Deion Sanders, Reggie White, Ricky Williams, Randall Cunningham and his buddy Rob Gronkowski as players who came out of retirement. In the NBA, that list includes Jordan, George Mikan, Bob Cousy, Dave Cowens, Sidney Moncrief, Brandon Roy, Rasheed Wallace and Kevin Johnson among others.
On Sunday, Bucs fans got a taste of how Bulls fans must have felt in 1995. Few individuals have the ability to completely reverse a team&rsquo;s fortunes, but Jordan and Brady are obviously on that short list. Tampa fans were trying to talk themselves into Kyle Trask or Blaine Gabbert under center, but now they get a bonus year from the greatest quarterback of all-time and one more shot at a championship.&nbsp;
Following Brady&rsquo;s announcement, Tampa Bay&rsquo;s odds of winning the Super Bowl&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/gregauman/status/1503156153794113543" target="_blank" rel="noopener">went from</a> 25/1 to 8.5/1, giving the Buccaneers the third-best odds in the NFL behind only the Buffalo Bills (7/1) and Kansas City Chiefs (7.5/1). In 2021, Brady and the Bucs defeated the Chiefs in the Super Bowl, becoming the first team in NFL history to hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy in their own stadium.
Last season, Brady was the NFL MVP runner-up, and he finished the year with 5,316 passing yards, 45 total touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He led the Bucs to a franchise-best 13-4 record and nearly pulled off a miraculous 24-point comeback win against the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round of the playoffs. However, the Rams kicked a game-winning field goal as time expired and went on to defeat the Cincinnati Bengals in the Super Bowl.
This will be Brady&rsquo;s age-45 season and his 23rd year in the NFL, as if this situation didn&rsquo;t have enough ties to Jordan. Now, Brady gets his own version of The Last Dance.

Alex Kennedy explores the similarities between Tom Brady's comeback tweet and Michael Jordan's legendary "I'm back" fax.

Tom Brady’s comeback tweet is modern version of MJ’s ‘I’m back’ fax

Mike Krzyzewski&rsquo;s final home game at Duke had just ended in an unexpected defeat to the Blue Devils&rsquo; fiercest rival. The time had come for the school to hold its postgame on-court ceremony in Krzyzewski&rsquo;s honor.
Only, the retiring Hall of Famer was still thinking about Saturday&rsquo;s 94-81 loss to North Carolina.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m sorry about this afternoon,&rdquo; he began, then waved off cheers from the fans. &ldquo;It was unacceptable. Today was unacceptable, but the season has been very acceptable. And I&rsquo;ll tell you: this season isn&rsquo;t over, all right?&rdquo;
It was a slightly awkward moment to start of the ceremony, yet a sign that the 75-year-old coach was already thinking and driven about what&rsquo;s still to come: a maximum of nine games left for the No. 4 Blue Devils with chances to win the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament and a sixth NCAA championship.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not my last game &mdash; it&rsquo;s my last game in Cameron,&rdquo; he told reporters afterward. &ldquo;But it seemed like it was your last game. ... So many people are saying great things about you and whatever, and you say, &lsquo;It&rsquo;s not over yet.&rsquo;&rdquo;
The focus had been on Krzyzewski all week leading up to the rivalry game that was an even bigger spectacle than usual.
It drew more than 90 former players who participated in a pregame photo with their coach, taken from the Cameron rafters. And there were other celebrities in the building.
According to the school, the guest list for Krzyzewski&rsquo;s going-away party included comedian Jerry Seinfeld, actor/comedian Ken Jeong, NBA commissioner Adam Silver, Apple chief executive officer Tim Cook, quarterback Kyler Murray of the NFL&rsquo;s Arizona Cardinals, former NFL players Terrell Owens and Todd Gurley, record producer 9th Wonder and coach Nick Nurse of the NBA&rsquo;s Toronto Raptors.
There was also a sighting of retired NBA great Dirk Nowitzki, who took a walkthrough of the Duke practice facility earlier Saturday and ran into current player Wendell Moore Jr. Moore quickly asked for a photo with the former world champion.
The buzz turned to disappointment by the end of the game as Krzyzewski left the court to talk to his team in the locker room. But the seats in Cameron remained full as fans awaited his return for the school&rsquo;s postgame ceremony, which included Krzyzewski holding his wife Mickie&rsquo;s left hand while everyone watched a presentation on the videoboard about Krzyzewski&rsquo;s long run of success in Cameron.
The ceremony ended with Krzyzewski&rsquo;s family, children and grandchildren included, at midcourt as he addressed the crowd a second time.
&ldquo;For my entire family, all these munchkins here, thank you,&rdquo; Krzyzewski said. &ldquo;This has been so ...&rdquo;
Krzyzewski trailed off, offering a wave as the cheers began to erupt. Then he and his family began walking off the court a final time, with the coach giving a few claps and a thumbs-up along the way.
His time at Cameron may be over, but there&rsquo;s still work ahead.

Mike Krzyzewski's time at Cameron may be over, but there’s still work ahead.

Duke’s Coach K turns focus to next steps after North Carolina loss

PHILADELPHIA (AP) &mdash; James Harden saw the fake beards dangling from chins, oversized cutouts of his head waving above outstretched arms and heard 76ers fans shouting from the stands that they loved him.
Harden knew from his first step on the court that his nearly 14-month, three-team journey &mdash; that he in large part orchestrated &mdash; brought him exactly where he wanted to play.
&ldquo;I just wanted to come out there and show my love back,&rdquo; Harden said.
Much like the bushy beard that defines his image, Harden has grown on the 76ers.
Harden had a packed house in a frenzy from the moment he was introduced as &ldquo;making his Philadelphia home debut,&rdquo; then flashed his MVP form with 26 points, nine assists and nine rebounds to lead the 76ers to a 123-108 win over the New York Knicks on Wednesday night.
Joel Embiid had 27 points and 12 rebounds. Tyrese Maxey scored 25 points.
&ldquo;We all just fit together,&rdquo; Embiid said.
But the night belonged to the Beard.
The Sixers moved to 3-0 with Harden in the lineup and his dynamic duo hookup with Embiid has suddenly stamped the Sixers as legitimate contenders in the Eastern Conference.
&ldquo;I feel like you can put me anywhere in the room and I can fit in,&rdquo; Harden said. &ldquo;Here is no different. Just see what you have and try your best to fit in. Be the best James Harden I can be in every aspect.&rdquo;
Harden needed time to warm up to the new digs. His first points came with 5:32 left in the first quarter on, naturally, an and-1 conversion. He followed that with, yup, his step-back 3 to give him five fast points.
There was much more to showcase.
He scored 13 points in the second quarter and had fans shooting video on their phones.
Philly&rsquo;s hype for the new arrival rivaled the anticipated first games over the last 25 years of Terrell Owens (Eagles) and Bryce Harper (Phillies). The Wells Fargo Center was jammed with 21,333 fans and tickets for a top seat -- not far off from rapper Meek Mill&rsquo;s courtside view -- were sold for thousands on the secondary market.
Even director M. Night Shyamalan attended for the city&rsquo;s biggest happening on the sports scene.
&ldquo;It felt like a playoff atmosphere,&rdquo; Embiid said. &rdquo;I&rsquo;ve given a lot of credit to Philly fans over the years and they&rsquo;ve always come through, win or lose.&rdquo;
The masks came off -- and the beards went on. With Philadelphia dropping the indoor mask mandate, Sixers fans had faces clear to buy the $5 fake beards in team merchandise stores. The Sixers seemingly could have paid Harden&rsquo;s salary on the amount of his gear sold alone before tipoff. Fans packed the stores and stands and picked up the new No. 1 jerseys, socks and T-shirts emblazoned with Harden&rsquo;s image.
Sixers fans wore his jersey as they hanged over the tunnel to the locker room and waited for Harden to run out onto the court. With about an hour left in warmups, Harden emerged to a big ovation. He shot 3s and joked with coaches and teammates, oblivious to the expectations ahead.
Sixers coach Doc Rivers has built winners with Hall of Famers and All-Stars on his roster and understands the need to shut out the frenzy that followed Harden&rsquo;s debut.
&ldquo;I do the same job, the same work. It&rsquo;s just that more people notice,&rdquo; Rivers said. &ldquo;I think when you get a guy like James and Joel together with what we have, with all of our other guys, our guys sense it, too. Not the hoopla, though. It&rsquo;s that they have a real shot. You don&rsquo;t get many of these.&rdquo;
The Knicks, losers of 13 of 15 games, led at halftime and kept the lead early in the third. Embiid twice hit 3s that brought the Sixers within one. Then Philly got going. Maxey scored 11 points in the quarter and the Sixers outscored the Knicks 38-19 to finally grab the lead for good. Embiid, Maxey and even Georges Niang each hit two 3s in the quarter.
TIP-INS
Knicks: New York is 9-20 against opponents over .500. ... Kentucky coach John Calipari reunited for a brief chat with his former player, Julius Randle. ... RJ Barrett scored 30 points.
&ldquo;I just want us to lock into improvement. come in every day, put everything you have into it,&rdquo; Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s where our focus has to lie right now. We&rsquo;ve got to get over the hump and close the games out. That&rsquo;s our challenge. Keep growing, keep getting better ,learn from mistakes.&rdquo;
76ers: Harden hit two 3-pointers. Ben Simmons, the All-Star he was traded from Brooklyn for, made five total in his four-year 76ers&rsquo; career.
WILT&rsquo;S 100
The 76ers celebrated the 60th anniversary of Wilt Chamberlain&rsquo;s 100-point game. On March 2, 1962, at the Hershey Sports Arena, Chamberlain shot 36 of 63 from the floor and an un-Wilt-like 28 of 32 from the free throw line. He played all 48 minutes in the Philadelphia Warriors&rsquo; 169-147 win over the Knicks. Members of Chamberlain&rsquo;s family helped ring the pregame bell.
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BOOS TO BOOZE
Stateside Vodka, a Philly-based vodka company, had offered $25 gift cards as part of a trade-in for old Simmons jerseys. The company said Wednesday it received 352 jerseys that were donated to shelters in Brooklyn.
UP NEXT
76ers: Host Cleveland on Friday.
Knicks: Open a six-game road trip -- though the final game is in Brooklyn -- on Friday in Phoenix.

Harden flashed his MVP form with 26 points, 9 assists and 9 rebounds to lead the 76ers to a 123-108 win over the Knicks.

Harden shines in Philly home debut with 26 points vs Knicks

Enes Kanter Freedom opened up to Etan Thomas on "The Rematch" on being a U.S. citizen, his Fox News interview, LeBron and more.

Q&A: Enes Kanter Freedom on U.S. citizenship, Fox interview, LeBron

Beginning his third season in the NBA, experience has been Nassir Little&rsquo;s greatest teacher.
He admits that, as a young player, being out on the floor was exciting and fast-moving. Getting used to such an environment with reps over the last two seasons, he agrees, has made him feel more comfortable over time.
&ldquo;With anything in life where you do it over and over, it becomes more second nature, less thinking, more instinctual,&rdquo; Little told BasketballNews.com prior to the Portland Trail Blazers&rsquo; 107-104 defeat in Cleveland on Wednesday.&nbsp;
Unfortunately, this was a contest in which Little saw a season-low in minutes played (10:55), and one that resulted in Portland&rsquo;s third straight loss.&nbsp;
On the bright side, though, Little is determined to make his presence felt by controlling what he can control. This all started with a conversation he had with new Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups prior to training camp. It was an open discussion on the team&rsquo;s expectations of him with two particular focuses &mdash; offensive rebounding and &ldquo;playing extremely hard.&rdquo;
&ldquo;He's accepting everything. All the coaching that we give him,&rdquo; Billups said. &ldquo;Very coachable. I think a lot of players in the league, especially young guys, when their shots are not going or when they're not getting shots, their enthusiasm changes. They don't play as hard. I told him very early on, 'We don't know. You might get two shots tonight, you might get eight, depending on how the game is flowing. That can't change how hard you play, how focused you are. And he's done a good job with that.
&ldquo;I think it's something that you expect from him. When you see a guy playing that hard, that's how you build trust. You know that you're gonna be able to trust him every time you put him out there. He's gonna play extremely hard, he's gonna give you all he has. He doesn't have off nights with that. You can have off nights shooting and this and that. When you're playing hard, you don't have off nights with that part of it. So that's something that as a coach, you love to have."
Message received. Even with the recent anomaly, Little ranks 17th in the NBA in offensive-rebound rate (9.7%). Giving a quick tip of the cap to <a href="https://twitter.com/StevieCozens/status/1455336256863305729?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Stevie Cozens on Twitter</a>, dig some more and you&rsquo;ll see something quite notable; There are only three players at his position who are in the top-20 of the category.
&ldquo;Offensive rebounding is huge, man. It's getting extra possessions, you know what I'm saying? In a sense, it's like getting turnovers,&rdquo; Little said. &ldquo;So just getting extra possessions, getting extra points... It's one of the best ways to get open three-pointers; we got really good shooters. And that could be like six, nine points a game. That could be a huge difference. So just me trying to impact the game, some way, somehow, and just trying to make myself be assertive. So that's what I do."
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It seems pretty simple to secure the basketball and provide second chances, but don&rsquo;t think for a second that there isn&rsquo;t strategy involved in doing so.
&ldquo;Rebounding is a skill. It's a talent just like scoring the ball, dribbling the ball. It's a talent, and it's more so just having a knack for like where the ball's gonna go,&rdquo; Little explained. &ldquo;I'm familiar with my teammates. I can tell how the ball's gonna come off [the rim], or even if I don't get it, I know what type of positioning I need to get, and I can just have a good sense of tracking where the ball's gonna go based on who's shooting it.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Or even if they make it, I know where it would go probably if they miss. It's just kinda like a feel for it, and yeah, it's effort. It's crashing, waiting 'til a guy turns his head and then taking another route to the basket. They shoot a three, kinda staying out towards the perimeter, things like that. That type of stuff all plays a part."
Billups credits Little&rsquo;s will to outwork the opposition.
&ldquo;Those balls are coming off and he's just going after it. He's a gifted athlete. He's quick, he's fast. Obviously, when he jumps, he's very explosive,&rdquo; Billups said. &ldquo;Most people in the NBA, even us [coaches], when a ball is shot, most people look at the ball. And that's when he starts to do his work. If you're looking at the ball, you can't be hitting me. So he's figuring that part of it out, and he's just beating guys to those opportunities.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Just his intensity,&rdquo; added Blazers teammate Larry Nance Jr. &ldquo;He comes out, grabs a rebound... he hypes himself up. So he's kinda screaming and yelling, and it's impossible to watch him fight that hard for an offensive rebound and be that intense about his play and us be lackadaisical about it. We've got to lift each other up.&rdquo;
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Along with Nance, Little is a part of a Portland bench that leads the NBA with a 50.9% field-goal percentage, and a unit that&rsquo;s boosting the team with just over 37 points per game. Typically when one member of the Blazers&rsquo; All-Star-caliber backcourt of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum has gotten a breather, Portland has suffered in the past. This season, not so much.
Anfernee Simons is turning up his volume and cashing in on shots with a career-best 64.6% True Shooting percentage, while the newbie frontcourt of Nance and Cody Zeller has clicked seamlessly on both ends. Then, there&rsquo;s Little&rsquo;s corner catch-shooting success (5-for-8) and aforementioned hustle that makes it all work together.&nbsp;
&ldquo;When Dame and CJ aren't on the court... those guys have the ball in their hands a lot, they make big-time shots,&rdquo; Little said. &ldquo;I think for us, with the coaches being so straightforward with what they want from us, or just getting better looks. You know, we don't have a lot of guys breaking guys down 1-on-1. Ant's coming off screens wide-open just shooting it. Myself, I just shoot it if I catch it. Larry's finishing in the paint, hitting open shots. So we just take good shots as a unit, and I think that's why we have such a high field-goal percentage.
&ldquo;I think Larry and Cody have been great, man. They play hard. Myself, I play hard. We all play hard together. When you have a unit like that out there together, there's no letdown from when the starters come off. So I think it's been very helpful. On the offensive boards, they've been great. Defensively, they've been great. The hustle plays. All the little things. I think we've all done a good job of just chipping in, so it's been good.&rdquo;
Among Portland&rsquo;s four-man lineups to play at least 40 minutes together, the quartet is easily tops on the team with a plus-12.9 net rating.
&ldquo;Energy. I think that's it,&rdquo; Nance said. &ldquo;Nas comes in and plays with so much energy. Obviously, Ant plays with a lot of energy. Cody getting after every ball and myself, that's a lot of what I've prided myself on for the past few years. I think playing with a certain level of intensity. I think we've got some rangy defenders as well. So that group is looking to provide a spark every time we check-in and so far, we're doing a pretty good job of it."
&ldquo;I do expect for that to continue to happen,&rdquo; Billups added. &ldquo;I think when you have a starting unit like ours, you expect to be playing just as good or close to any other starting unit. I feel like we have an advantage coming off of our bench with the pace that they play at, with the speed, with how hard they play. Our two bigs that come off play with great IQ out there; they're ball-movers. Ant's having a great season. Nas. So I expect to have an advantage there most nights coming off the bench."
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Expand the combination to five with Lillard, and it&rsquo;s far and away the Blazers&rsquo; best. Compared to <a href="https://go.nba.com/1u8c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">all other lineups in the NBA that have shared a minimum of 20 minutes</a>, the Lillard-Simons-Little-Nance-Zeller mix has the highest rebounding percentage (66.7%) and second-highest net rating (38.9).&nbsp;
Keep in mind that this success is with a currently-struggling Lillard, too. Despite his jump shot continuing to plague his scoring load, however, his assist numbers are high and he&rsquo;s taking care of the basketball. There is also the fact that Lillard is dealing with a core injury.
But Lillard refuses to use it as an excuse.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I always look at struggles as an opportunity to show my true character,&rdquo; Lillard said to start his <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/lillard-on-shooting-struggles-opportunity-to-show-my-true-character" target="_blank" rel="noopener">long-winded, open-ended response to his slump</a>. &ldquo;...So personally, I embrace it.&rdquo;
It&rsquo;s to no one&rsquo;s surprise to see Lillard take ownership of his own shortcomings &mdash; especially not Little, who&rsquo;s gotten to know the superstar guard and has already heard what was just publicly said behind closed doors.
&ldquo;It ain't nothing new. I've had the pleasure of knowing Dame for a few years now,&rdquo; Little said. &ldquo;I remember even before this, before the season had started, I was just asking him, 'How do you handle bad games?' And the same things that you guys are hearing now, he told me when he was playing some of the best basketball of his life. That's how I know he's such an authentic guy; that, when he was killin' like we all know he does, he was telling me the same things that you guys are hearing now &mdash; how it's part of the game.&nbsp;
&ldquo;You can't want one side of something and then get rid of the other because it's impossible for anything to exist like that. You need to miss in order to make shots, and vice-versa. So it's just a part of the game, and I respect how you don't ever, like, see it on his face with how he interacts with everybody. It definitely is a struggle. He's gonna get through it. But as he's going through it, he doesn't let it affect the way he moves."
Stumbling back to the Northwest at 3-5 following a winless road trip out East, the Blazers are looking to right the ship with some home cooking the next two games. Little will do his part, as will the rest of the team, to pick up its loyal, fearless leader as he&rsquo;s done so many times in the past.
Now that the roles have been reversed, Portland can&rsquo;t wait to see Lillard get back to &ldquo;Dame Time&rdquo; to see this group&rsquo;s true potential.
&ldquo;At the end of the day, Dame, he's our guy,&rdquo; Little said. &ldquo;For us to be as good as we can be, we just need him to be himself. Not to say that he's not, but once he gets that groove, I think we're gonna be good, and I think when we all get going and all get flowing together, I think we're gonna be a really good team."

Spencer Davies chats with Nassir Little to discuss how experience has helped him find a rhythm, Portland's bench and more.

Nassir Little's sheer will, intensity give Blazers a boost

The NBA released the remaining 25 players of the league's 75th anniversary team Thursday night on TNT.
Here is the official release from the NBA, which lists all 75 players that made the team and the people that voted on the NBA's top 75 players of all-time team:
"A total of 158 NBA championships and 730 NBA All-Star selections. &nbsp;A combined 110 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Awards and Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP Awards. &nbsp;More than 1.5 million points scored.
Those are just some of the collective accomplishments of the players who comprise the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, which was announced across TNT and ESPN from Oct. 19-21 as the league tipped off its landmark 75th Anniversary Season.
The NBA 75th Anniversary Team was selected by a blue-ribbon panel of current and former NBA players, coaches, general managers and team and league executives, WNBA legends and sportswriters and broadcasters. &nbsp;Voters were asked to select the 75 Greatest Players in NBA History without regard to position. &nbsp;Panelists did not rank their selections. &nbsp;Current and former players were not allowed to vote for themselves.
As a result of a tie in the voting, the 75th Anniversary Team features 76 players. &nbsp;Team highlights include:
&bull; Eleven active players have been named to the 75th Anniversary Team: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Carmelo Anthony, Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, James Harden, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Damian Lillard, Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook.
&bull; All 50 members of the NBA 50th Anniversary Team, which was named in 1996, have been selected to the 75th Anniversary Team.
&bull; The 75th Anniversary Team includes four players who played in the first NBA All-Star Game in 1951 (Paul Arizin, Bob Cousy, George Mikan and Dolph Schayes), the first winner of the Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award (Bob Pettit for the 1955-56 season) and the first winner of the Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP Award (Jerry West for the 1969 NBA Finals).
&bull; Bill Russell joins Cousy, Mikan and Pettit as the only four players who have been named to all four NBA Anniversary Teams: the 25th Anniversary Team (10 players named), 35th Anniversary Team (11 players named), 50th Anniversary Team and 75th Anniversary Team. (The 25th Anniversary Team was the only one of the four teams that did not allow for the inclusion of active players at the time.)
&bull; Six international players from six countries and territories have been selected to the 75th Anniversary Team: Antetokounmpo (Greece), Tim Duncan (U.S. Virgin Islands), Patrick Ewing (Jamaica), Steve Nash (Canada), Dirk Nowitzki (Germany) and Hakeem Olajuwon (Nigeria).
&bull; The five NBA legends who are serving as ambassadors for the 75th Anniversary Season are part of the 75th Anniversary Team: Clyde Drexler, Magic Johnson, Nowitzki, Pettit and Oscar Robertson. Representing different eras of the league&rsquo;s history, the ambassadors will make appearances throughout the 2021-22 season and have a significant presence at NBA All-Star 2022 in Cleveland.
The NBA 75th Anniversary Team is listed below in alphabetical order, followed by the list of voters. &nbsp;The balloting was tabulated by the independent accounting firm Ernst &amp; Young LLP. &nbsp;For player profiles on each member of the 75th Anniversary Team, click here and visit NBA.com/75."
<table style="width: 95.7926%; height: 464px;">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 27px;">
<td style="text-align: center; width: 149.879%; height: 27px;" colspan="4" width="691">NBA 75TH ANNIVERSARY TEAM</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Kareem Abdul-Jabbar</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">Clyde Drexler</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Damian Lillard</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">Scottie Pippen</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Ray Allen</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">Tim Duncan</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Jerry Lucas</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">Willis Reed</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Giannis Antetokounmpo</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">Kevin Durant</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Karl Malone</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">Oscar Robertson</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Carmelo Anthony</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">Julius Erving</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Moses Malone</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">David Robinson</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Nate Archibald</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">Patrick Ewing</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Pete Maravich</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">Dennis Rodman</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Paul Arizin</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">Walt Frazier</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Bob McAdoo</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">Bill Russell</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Charles Barkley</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">Kevin Garnett</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Kevin McHale</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">Dolph Schayes</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Rick Barry</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">George Gervin</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">George Mikan</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">Bill Sharman</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Elgin Baylor</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">Hal Greer</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Reggie Miller</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">John Stockton</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Dave Bing</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">James Harden</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Earl Monroe</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">Isiah Thomas</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Larry Bird</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">John Havlicek</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Steve Nash</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">Nate Thurmond</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Kobe Bryant</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">Elvin Hayes</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Dirk Nowitzki</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">Wes Unseld</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Wilt Chamberlain</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">Allen Iverson</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Hakeem Olajuwon</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">Dwyane Wade</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Bob Cousy</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">LeBron James</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">Bill Walton</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Dave Cowens</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">Magic Johnson</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Robert Parish</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">Jerry West</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Billy Cunningham</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">Sam Jones</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Chris Paul</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">Russell Westbrook</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Stephen Curry</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">Michael Jordan</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Gary Payton</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">Lenny Wilkens</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Anthony Davis</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">Jason Kidd</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Bob Pettit</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">Dominique Wilkins</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Dave DeBusschere</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">Kawhi Leonard</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Paul Pierce</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">James Worthy</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
&nbsp;
<table style="width: 97.1703%; height: 798px;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center; width: 170.677%;" colspan="4" width="719">NBA 75TH ANNIVERSARY TEAM VOTING PANEL</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Kareem Abdul-Jabbar</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Tim Duncan</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Jack McCallum</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">David Robinson</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Marv Albert</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">David DuPree</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Brian McIntyre</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Bill Russell</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">David Aldridge</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Wayne Embry</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Ann Meyers</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Bob Ryan</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Sam Amick</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Julius Erving</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Yoko Miyaji</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Bill Simmons</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Giannis Antetokounmpo</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Patrick Ewing</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Earl Monroe</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Sam Smith</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Steve Aschburner</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Walt Frazier</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Steve Nash</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Stephen A. Smith</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Charles Barkley</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">George Gervin</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Rachel Nichols</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Marc Spears</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Rick Barry</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Russ Granik</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Dirk Nowitzki</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Erik Spoelstra</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Howard Beck</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Becky Hammon</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">John Stockton</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Dave Bing</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Elvin Hayes</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Robert Parish</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Hannah Storm</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Sue Bird</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Ernie Johnson</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Candace Parker</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Sheryl Swoopes</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Carol Blazejowski</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Magic Johnson</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Chris Paul</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Isiah Thomas</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Mike Breen</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Sam Jones</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Bob Pettit</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Rod Thorn</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Doris Burke</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Michael Jordan</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Scottie Pippen</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Rudy Tomjanovich</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Jerry Colangelo</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Steve Kerr</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Gregg Popovich</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Peter Vecsey</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Doug Collins</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Bob Lanier</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Shaun Powell</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Bill Walton</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Cynthia Cooper</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Kara Lawson</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Ahmad Rashad</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Rick Welts</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Bob Costas</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Lisa Leslie</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Willis Reed</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Jerry West</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Dave Cowens</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Nancy Lieberman</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Tim Reynolds</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Michael Wilbon</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Billy Cunningham</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Zach Lowe</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Bill Rhoden</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Lenny Wilkens</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Stephen Curry</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Jerry Lucas</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Pat Riley</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">James Worthy</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Clyde Drexler</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Jackie MacMullan</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Oscar Robertson</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Jeff Zillgitt</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Some notable snubs include Tracy McGrady, Bernard King, Alex English, Vince Carter, Tony Parker, Chris Bosh, Dwight Howard, Bob McAdoo, and Pau Gasol to just name a few. This list was part of the NBA's marketing campaign for the league's historic 75th season and will surely spark a conversation/debate amongst NBA fans all over the world.

The NBA released the final 25 players of the 75th anniversary team Thursday on TNT.

Final 25 members of NBA's 75th Anniversary Team announced

I was asked to be a guest on Marc Lamont Hill's "Black News Tonight" program to discuss Kyrie Irving&rsquo;s Instagram Live address.
I don&rsquo;t think the conversation went exactly how it was planned, and I know that a lot of people may take issue with the comparisons I made throughout this discussion, but I stand by every word I said.&nbsp;
Watch the full segment of our exchange below:
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/a2Kvz7YQhKQ" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Here's the transcription of the conversation in its entirety.
Marc Lamont Hill: The Brooklyn Nets have barred Kyrie Irving from all team activities. This was in response to his unwillingness to take the COVID-19 vaccine. They also will not be extending his contract at the end of the season. The point guard decided to go to Instagram live last night. He had some stuff to say, take a listen.
Kyrie Irving on B-roll: "It's just really about being true to what feels good for me. I'm still uncertain about a lot of things that, and that's okay. If I'm going to be demonized for having more questions and taking my time to make a decision with my life, then that's just what it is."
Joining me now is former NBA player Etan Thomas. He is the author of "We Matter," "Athletes and Activism." Etan, thank you for of joining me. How do you feel about this Kyrie situation? I mean, this is something that obviously has never happened in NBA history before. You got a guy who, maybe at the peak of his powers, helped put together one of the greatest basketball teams ever assembled, and he's not going to play because he doesn't want to get the vaccine. And the NBA is beholden to the New York state laws or New York city laws that say that he can't play unless he gets vaccinated as a New York employee. So he's sitting this one out for so far. What do you make of it?
Etan Thomas: I mean, it's interesting. I've been listening to a lot of commentary and reading articles over the last week or two, discussing Kyrie. And there's a lot with it. It's interesting. I noticed that a lot of the same people who praised athletes for using their platform and using their positions to stand up for what they believe in, now are sounding a little bit like "the right." They sound a little Laura Ingraham-ish. You know what I mean? To be honest with you, a lot like Tucker Carlson almost, in the ridicule part. Now, we don't have to agree with Kyrie, but just the description [of him]... I've been kind of amazed to see the way in which people are using words like stupid and foolish and ignorant and everything. And I'm like, "Wait a minute."
That's what Sean Hannity does; we don't do that. So, that's one of the main things I've seen, I've really been disappointed in. We expect it from the right; that's what they did with Colin Kaepernick. Or they purposely misrepresented what Kyrie Irving's stance was, what Jonathan Isaac's stance was, Bradley Beal &mdash; all the people who said that they were hesitant to take the vaccine. And you heard Kyrie say it in the clip, demonized them. I've got to tell you honestly, Marc, I was kind of disappointed to see that because again, that's what the right does. That's what I expect from Fox News, not from a lot of the people that I heard it from.
Hill: So specifically, the Laura Ingraham reference you're talking about is when she told LeBron to shut up and dribble. And so the idea is: Don't speak about politics, don't talk about anything, just play basketball. And we said, "Oh, wait a minute. That's wrong. Players have a right to use their platform and talk." But to your point, Kyrie's using his platform to talk. We just don't like what he's saying. Some people and myself included, I don't like what he's saying, but I wouldn't call him stupid, I just don&rsquo;t agree with him.
So he goes to IG Live and he says: I'm not going through the media, I'm not going to go call up Stephen A. Smith, I'm not going talk to Jemele Hill. No, I'm going to do my IG Live directly, people are going hear from me. He said, because he's been &ldquo;demonized,&rdquo; he wants to be heard and understood. Did he make his point on IG Live? Did he say the things that needed to be said?
Etan: I mean, he said that he wasn't retiring, which was reported all throughout the media. They said that he was going to quit and hang it up rather than take the vaccine. And he said, no, that's not true. The thing that I like about the players nowadays is &mdash; because it's not like when I was playing, we didn't have social media &mdash; they can go right to their own platform like Kyrie Irving did and say: No, everything that person reported is untrue. All of their anonymous sources, I don't know where they got them from, but that is not how I feel. And that's the part that I respect about this generation, because they're doing this so much more often. Now again, do we have to agree with what Kyrie Irving is saying? No, but do we have to demean him and belittle him and demonize him because of that? That's the part that we can't fall into that category.
And like I said, that's the Laura Ingraham category. That's the Bill O'Reilly category. And I've seen too many... I mean, we expect certain things from Stephen A. Smith. Since you brought him up, you mentioned Stephen A. Smith. We expect certain things from him. He's performative, he's going to talk very loudly. And ESPN is going to pay him even more money to talk even more loudly. That's what he does. But, Stephen A. Smith aside, why would Kyrie Irving go to some of these same reporters who've been demonizing him? I don't see why he would. So now people are saying, "Well, what is his clear message? What is his clear stance?" Well, if you really want to make somebody's stance or what they're saying seem really doubtful or demean them or discredit them, you'll do what is happening a lot in media today, all day on all different talk shows after Kyrie made his statement on Instagram Live. But the point is what he said is: I am not retiring. I'm not anti-vaccine, I'm still working through this process. I would like to play. Those are the main key points that should be the main takeaways out of everything that he said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Former <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBA</a> player and author <a href="https://twitter.com/etanthomas36?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@etanthomas36</a> joins <a href="https://twitter.com/marclamonthill?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@marclamonthill</a> to discuss <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KyrieIrving?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KyrieIrving</a>. "A lot of the same people that praised athletes for using their platforms and using their positions to stand up for what they believe in now are sounding a little bit like the right." <a href="https://t.co/0hhPm6NwEi">pic.twitter.com/0hhPm6NwEi</a>
&mdash; Black News Channel (@BNCNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/BNCNews/status/1448847849958133761?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 15, 2021</a></blockquote>

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

Hill: So, and again, you raised some important points here, Kyrie Irving absolutely clarified it. He's not retiring. That was something we'd heard if he was going to retire. If he got traded, some people said he was going to retire not to get vaccinated. He took that off the table. He said he is not anti-vaccine, meaning he's open to the possibility of being vaccinated. That's an important point. But there were some other things he said that weren't clear.
He said he was doing his research, he expressed that he was vaccine hesitant, but it's not entirely clear to me. What will lead him to make a different choice? In other words, what does he need to find out in order to feel comfortable getting the vaccine? If he is willing to get one. Wouldn't training camp be the time? Wouldn't the preseason be the time? The season starts in [four] days. If he hasn't gotten it yet, when is he going to get it? These are the types of questions I think he didn't answer very clearly. I mean, did you walk away with a sense of whether or not he's going to get the vaccine or not?
Etan: I walked away thinking that he was still working through the process, like a large portion of this country is still working through it. You look at the vaccination numbers per state, they&rsquo;re somewhere in the 50s, some are in the 60s; we have a large portion of society who are still working through that process. I just think it's interesting that we... okay, so right now the NBA is 95% vaccinated. 95%. So you look at different states all across the country. Nobody's at 95%, but we expect the NBA to be at 100%? Why? Because we want our basketball? The only thing that matters is for NBA games to start and for everybody to be vaccinated, I think that's a little bit of an unfair expectation to have for NBA players. They're working through the vaccine concerns and questions just like the rest of the country.
But one of the things I do want to say Marc, is I want to hear more criticism toward the different people and demonization toward the different groups who are unvaccinated &mdash; like the NYPD, like the LAPD, like the Chicago Police Department. All these police departments all across the country that have said not that they're not working through their research, not that they're working through the process. They said, "We are not getting the vaccine *period*." And those are at high numbers. You have only 60-something percent of the NYPD who are actually vaccinated, but we're worrying about Kyrie? And these are people who literally are coming into contact with Americans every single day, and a lot of them, they don't want to wear masks. So, just to put it into perspective, we're making a lot over, what, one player per team that isn't vaccinated in the NBA? I mean, I know people want basketball, but we got to put it into perspective.
Hill: Well, I think it's about basketball, but it's also about what it means for a public figure and a celebrity to advance a position, or seem to be advancing a position, that some people find troublesome. So I think it's both. I think there's some selfish basketball stuff going on, then I think there's the public platform piece of it. We're going to keep this kind going about Kyrie Irving, about vaccine hesitancy and what it all means for the Black community.
Y'all, Kyrie confuses me. I mean, I'm going to start with you [Amin], since we're bringing you into the convo. In the IG Live, he said that he was being "a voice for the voiceless." Who is the voiceless in this analysis? I'm not disagreeing, this is a sincere question. Who is the voiceless here? What is his thought process? And why is he doing it?
Amin Elhassan: Your guess is as good as mine, as to who the voiceless are. He talks about people who are losing jobs because of a vaccine mandate, but that represents a sliver of the population. Also, when he says I'm a voice for the voiceless, this was a man two weeks ago, who had an opportunity on NBA Media Day; they call it "Media Day" because you have the attention of all the media. And there are questions about his availability, whether he was going to play or not due to this municipal regulation, it's not an NBA regulation. This is a New York City regulation.
And when asked about it several times, his response was, Well, this is a private matter. I don't want to discuss a private matter. Brother, you can't talk about "I didn't have an opportunity to speak for myself. They spoke for me. I didn't say anything," when there was a day dedicated for you to speak on this matter. And you chose to opt-out. You chose to say, I have nothing to say, because this is my own private business, when you knew damn well it wasn't your private business. Regardless of whether everyone else was going through it, we knew the NBA said, "Hey, if your local municipality says you cannot play in these games if you are unvaccinated." Instantly, that ceased to be a private matter and became at the very least an NBA public matter. A matter of the media had a right to ask about, a matter that he had an opportunity to expound upon. He chose not to. So when he chooses several weeks later to dress up this whole, "I really didn't have a chance. And they spoke for me." It kind of screams ingenuous.
Hill: So Etan, what do you say to that? I know you've been somewhat generous in your reading of the Kyrie Irving situation. Whether you agree with him on vaccines is a different issue. You're saying he's being somewhat unfairly assailed. that he's being demonized by folk and that some people on the left have been treating him with the same animus at the right treat black athletes telling him to shut up and dribble. But what Amin is saying is, "Wait a minute, he had an opportunity to talk. He was coy. He was difficult to reach. He bucked at the reporter's questions." He said, It's a private matter. It's a personal matter. Are you going to play? It's a personal matter. Are you going to get vaccinated? It's a personal matter, etc. What do you say to that? Has he been forthcoming? Has he even been a voice for the voiceless?
Etan: Well, I have a little bit of a different take on it. I did see where he said it was a personal matter. And I think he does have the right to be able to say that because they wanted specifics that he was not able to give them at that time, because he was still working through his process or whatever that process was in order to be able to either take the vaccine or not take the vaccine. And that's what he said. He said he was working through that. So when the reporters tried to ask in different ways about a timetable ("When do you think, by training camp?"), he just cut it off and said, It's a personal matter. But I don't think that that gives the media the right to fill in the blanks.
And that's what happened after that. Then, they had anonymous sources that were all incorrect. Then, they had reporters, journalists, commentators saying on-air and writing, "Okay, he's going to retire. He's going to refuse the vaccine. He's anti-vax." Now, I will agree that he didn't specifically answer those questions the first time, but he had to go and correct people this last time because of all of the incorrect reporting that was done. Now, the thing that happens is, when a lot of the media gets called out for reporting something that was incorrect, they immediately take offense. And we don't have to talk about the specific reporters because he was very specific on the people who said that he was going to retire&nbsp; and misreported that over and over again; he made it clear that was incorrect. The people who said that he was anti-vax, and he said that they were incorrect. And so, a lot of times when there's different things coming out and different narratives coming out, then it does kind of muddy the waters. Then, people are like, "Okay, well, where is he then?" Well, he's been where he's always been. He didn't say any of those things. He's just answering the incorrect things that were put out. And for that, I don't fault him at all.
Hill: But, just in fairness as a journalist, I can tell you there's been times where... I've done backgrounds. I've done one-on-ones. I've done off-the-records. I've done all kinds of interviews with athletes, politicians, etc. And they say one thing to me in my face, then they go out to the press conference and say they've been misrepresented, they've been lied on, etc. So I don't want to assume that because Kyrie said he didn't say it, that means he didn't say it. I also don't want to assume that the media's right, because the media also misrepresent the players say all the time.
But I don't want to take Kyrie's word as gospel. Before we go y'all, Stephon Marbury was all up in the comments on the IG. And one of the things he did was compare Kyrie Irving to Muhammad Ali. What do you make of that comparison? Is he doing something bigger than himself? Is he making a sacrifice for the people? Amin, I'll let you answer anytime, and give the last word.
Amin: I'll go real quick on this one. Muhammad Ali fought against an unjust war against other colored people in another country that had nothing to do with him or other people of color in this country, who were treated like trash, who were called all sorts of names and then expected to defend this country on behalf of its stellar background or resume. Kyrie Irving is standing up for people who are scared of science. I mean, even if you have questions about whether or not this vaccine is good or applicable or whatever, the idea that this could be compared to forcing people to go to war against people who have no quarrel with them. To me, that was one of the biggest face-palm moment, that Stephon Marbury would ever compare what Muhammad Ali did to what Kyrie is doing here...
&mdash;
This is what I didn&rsquo;t get a chance to say because we ran out of time.
Kyrie Irving is neither Muhammad Ali nor is he Candace Owens, he is Kyrie Irving. Everyone wants to make him something and lay claim to him, and I get that. The Right is working tirelessly to co-op his message and all of the NBA players' messages. (I wrote <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/oct/13/jonathan-isaac-vaccine-covid-nba-orlando-magic-basketball-fox-news" target="_blank" rel="noopener">an open article to Jonathan Isaac</a> a few days ago warning him of this.)
But Kyrie is just Kyrie, and I really wish people would stop trying to turn him into something else. No, we don&rsquo;t have to agree with him, and yes, if there is a mandate &mdash; which there is in New York &mdash; it&rsquo;s either he takes it and plays, or he doesn&rsquo;t take it and doesn&rsquo;t play. Only certain people like the NYPD get exceptions. That&rsquo;s unfortunate, but that is the society we live in.

Etan Thomas joined Marc Lamont Hill on "Black News Tonight" to discuss Kyrie Irving's Instagram Live post and the reaction to it.

Many are sounding Laura Ingraham-ish with criticisms of Kyrie Irving

The <a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="https://www.basketballnetwork.net/jerry-west-on-being-the-logo-i-dont-think-thats-right-or-fair/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-stringify-link="https://www.basketballnetwork.net/giannis-antetokounmpo-shares-why-he-doesnt-associate-or-practice-with-other-nba-players-in-the-offseason/" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">following article</a>&nbsp;first appeared on&nbsp;<a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="http://basketballnetwork.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="http://BasketballNetwork.net" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">BasketballNetwork.net</a>:
In 1969, the NBA introduced its new logo that featured a silhouette of Los Angeles Lakers legend Jerry West. The 14-time All-Star and Hall-of-Famer will forever be remembered as "The Logo."
However, West never wanted this special recognition.
West didn&rsquo;t know his silhouette would become the logo
West played for the Lakers for the entirety of his career, averaging 27.0 points, 5.8 rebounds and 6.7 assists over the course of 14 NBA seasons. Based on the numbers alone, he deserved to be &ldquo;The Logo,&rdquo; but unknown to many, he wished it never happened. West <a href="https://youtu.be/dgoopnPdeN4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shared his thoughts on the &ldquo;Getcha Popcorn Ready with T.O. &amp; Hatch&rdquo; podcast</a> hosted by Terrell Owens &amp; Matthew Hatchette.&nbsp;
&ldquo;They wanted to start to market the league so they had to have a logo," West <a href="https://youtu.be/dgoopnPdeN4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. "There were five guys, okay, five guys that they had picked out. The faces were all blanked out and there were five black men and one white guy. No one knew that, and so it could have been somebody completely different. So anyway, they happened to pick me. I never knew it and David Stern used to say, 'Well that&rsquo;s you now, that&rsquo;s Jerry West.' I really didn&rsquo;t want to know, to be honest with you, because I don&rsquo;t think that&rsquo;s right or fair. I really don&rsquo;t. There were four other black men that were really great players.&rdquo;
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For his part, the ever-humble West claimed he would have rejected the idea because he did not think it was fair. There were other great players in the NBA at that time, but West wasn't just any great player either. The one-time NBA champion was named an All-Star in every year of his career, his 27.0 career points per game is fourth-best all-time (behind only Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor), and he was voted as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA history.
Since retiring, he's continued to have a ton of success as an executive, winning eight championships and two Executive of the Year awards.&nbsp;
Is it time for the NBA logo to be replaced?
The NBA logo has been used since 1969. Recently, there were discussions about replacing it, with fans pushing for Michael Jordan or <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/kyrie-irving-nba-logo-should-be-changed-to-kobe-bryant-" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kobe Bryant</a> to be featured. Kyrie Irving publicly <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/kyrie-irving-nba-logo-should-be-changed-to-kobe-bryant-" target="_blank" rel="noopener">urged the NBA</a> to create a new logo using Bryant's silhouette. However, those talks never progressed, as NBA commissioner Adam Silver said that he "doesn&rsquo;t feel like the right moment" to consider a logo change.
With that, Jerry West remains the logo.
If the league decides to change the logo someday, it would be historic, and it would spur debates about who deserves to replace West. MJ&rsquo;s iconic dunk logo is already patented under his brand, so Kobe would likely be the most popular choice given his contributions to the game and how his untimely passing impacted the basketball world.
Knowing West&rsquo;s humility and affection for Kobe, he certainly wouldn't mind being replaced by The Black Mamba.
Check out more articles from BasketballNetwork.net <a href="https://www.basketballnetwork.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

Jerry West joined the "Getcha Popcorn Ready" podcast with Terrell Owens and Matthew Hatchette to discuss how he became The Logo.

Jerry West on being NBA logo: 'I don’t think that’s right or fair'

The <a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="https://www.basketballnetwork.net/ive-seen-jordan-differently-metta-picks-his-top-5-nba-defenders/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-stringify-link="https://www.basketballnetwork.net/giannis-antetokounmpo-shares-why-he-doesnt-associate-or-practice-with-other-nba-players-in-the-offseason/" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">following article</a>&nbsp;first appeared on&nbsp;<a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="http://basketballnetwork.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="http://BasketballNetwork.net" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">BasketballNetwork.net</a>:
The NBA has seen so many great defenders that picking out a top five seems impossible. But Metta Sandiford-Artest, who is one of the best wing defenders in league history himself, took up that challenge.
"Bill Russell gotta be No. 1. Then, you probably gotta have Wilt [Chamberlain] with 26 defensive rebounds. [Dennis] Rodman &mdash; he&rsquo;s incredible. Then, probably Michael Jordan," Sandiford-Artest <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDFhVO_-n2s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said on Getcha Popcorn Ready with Terrell Owens and Matthew Hatchette</a>.
Whenever you hear the name Michael Jordan, it isn&rsquo;t crazy to assume someone is bound to bring up Kobe Bryant. And that&rsquo;s exactly what T.O. did.
&ldquo;Is Kobe one of the top defensive guys?&rdquo; Owens asked.
Sandiford-Artest <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDFhVO_-n2s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">responded</a>: "I don&rsquo;t think Kobe is as good of a defender as Michael Jordan. I think I&rsquo;ve seen Jordan differently because I looked up to Jordan&rsquo;s defense. Like when I was watching Jordan, I was like, &lsquo;His offense is incredible. I&rsquo;m not even gonna try to accomplish that.' But his defense is like... I would watch him play defense. He&rsquo;s just locking guys up.&rsquo;"
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MJ, Gary Payton, Kevin Garnett, and Kobe share the record for most NBA All-Defensive First-Team selections with nine, and Jordan was the first player in NBA history to reach that number. But MJ is the only one from that group Metta included on his list, and it&rsquo;s a good thing he did.
It seems NBA fans, in general, have forgotten how good of a defender Michael actually was. That&rsquo;s why it&rsquo;s great to have a former NBA player remind us of it every once in a while. People are so caught up in the GOAT debate, which for most boils down to the offensive side of the floor. (This is mostly true for the ones trying to make a case for LeBron as the greatest of all time.) But defense still matters, especially when comparing players head-to-head.
The NBA has only seen a handful of better perimeter defenders than MJ. That&rsquo;s why Sandiford-Artest has him on his top five, but he still can&rsquo;t decide who the last guy on that list is.
"If I had to pick one more, Ben Wallace is an amazing defender. [Scottie] Pippen is an amazing defender but I&rsquo;m not sure he&rsquo;s better than Rodman or Jordan," Sandiford-Artest <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDFhVO_-n2s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
Notice how Sandiford-Artest doesn&rsquo;t have anyone from today&rsquo;s NBA in his top five? Well, the only guy close to making his list is Draymond Green &mdash; the <a href="https://www.basketballnetwork.net/draymond-green-and-tony-allen-argue-over-goat-defender-status/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">self-proclaimed greatest defender of all-time</a>. But the era he plays in makes it impossible for Metta to put him there.
"Now, when you talk about this era you can&rsquo;t compare that to all-time because they changed the rules for Wilt. When Shaq [O'Neal] came in the game, they changed the rules for Shaq," Sandiford-Artest <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDFhVO_-n2s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. Back in the days, it was impossible for a 6-6 guy to play power forward if you wasn&rsquo;t thick. I&rsquo;m not saying he&rsquo;s not strong enough, but I&rsquo;m saying it&rsquo;s a different era."
Sandiford-Artest still thinks of Draymond as one of the all-time great NBA defenders, just not good enough to make his top-five list, and that&rsquo;s fair. The fact he gave Green his credit proves this isn&rsquo;t your typical &ldquo;former player diminishing today&rsquo;s players&rdquo; type of argument. It&rsquo;s an honest assessment by one of the greatest perimeter defenders ever, and it&rsquo;s hard to argue against it.
Check out more articles from BasketballNetwork.net <a href="https://www.basketballnetwork.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

Metta Sandiford-Artest named his top-five defenders in NBA history while guesting on "Getcha Popcorn Ready."