Indians

As the 2025 NBA Playoffs tip off, every team in the Eastern Conference brings with it a burning question. Some are looking to validate their dominance, others are hoping to make noise for the first time, and a few are simply trying to recapture playoff magic from the past. Here&rsquo;s one key question for each East playoff squad heading into this year&rsquo;s postseason.
Cleveland Cavaliers &ndash; Are they for real?
The Cavaliers were expected to take a leap under new head coach Kenny Atkinson, but few predicted it would be this significant. Cleveland posted a 64-18 record, up from 51 wins last season, and ranked eighth in the NBA in defensive rating (111.8) while climbing to the best in the league in offensive rating (121.0). It&rsquo;s a massive leap in two-way consistency, anchored by Evan Mobley&rsquo;s breakout campaign and a more dynamic offense tailored around Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland.
Mobley&rsquo;s development has been a game-changer. The 22-year-old averaged career-highs in points (18.5), rebounds (9.3), and assists (3.2), while maintaining elite rim protection (1.6 blocks per game). Offensively, his confidence as a shot creator and short-roll playmaker opened up space for the rest of the team. The Cavs now run more actions through Mobley, especially from the elbows, and his improved jump shot has made him far more difficult to guard.
But make no mistake &ndash; Mitchell remains the barometer. The All-Star guard battled injuries down the stretch but still averaged 24.0 points, 4.5 assists, and 5.0 rebounds on 44.3% shooting. If he can stay healthy and lead confidently on both ends, Cleveland has the pieces to make a legitimate run to the conference finals.
The Cavs have the metrics, the momentum, and the maturity. Now it&rsquo;s about proving they belong with the league&rsquo;s elite when the lights are the brightest.
Boston Celtics &ndash; Can they go back-to-back?
The reigning champions enter the playoffs with a sense of unfinished business &mdash; not because they failed last year, but because they&rsquo;re now chasing greatness. The Celtics finished 61-21 this season for back to back 60-win seasons. They had the league&rsquo;s second best net rating at +9.4, fueled by elite balance: second in offensive rating (119.5) and fourth in defensive rating (110.1).
Jayson Tatum continues to evolve as one of the NBA&rsquo;s most complete stars. His 26.8 points per game came with improved efficiency (58.2% true shooting) and a career-high 8.7 rebounds. Tatum has learned to pick his spots better, moving the ball when doubled and attacking mismatches when given space. Jaylen Brown, fresh off his Finals MVP last season, has become a more consistent creator as well, averaging 22.2 points.
Add in Kristaps Porzingis&rsquo; floor spacing and rim protection, Jrue Holiday&rsquo;s stability on both ends, and Derrick White&rsquo;s ability to do everything in between, and the Celtics are again the most complete team in basketball. But repeating is never easy. No team has done it since the Warriors in 2018, and even small injuries or matchup issues can derail a title defense.
Boston is built for this moment, but with every other East contender gunning for them, the question looms large: can they close the deal twice in a row?
New York Knicks &ndash; Can they stay healthy?
When fully healthy, the Knicks look like a team that can hang with anyone &mdash; and that includes Boston and Cleveland. But that&rsquo;s been the caveat all season. Jalen Brunson missed 17 games, Karl-Anthony Towns sat for 10, and OG Anunoby dealt with multiple absences due to elbow and hamstring issues. New York&rsquo;s starting five of Brunson, Hart, Bridges, Anunoby, and Towns had time to play with pace and their own style, and they looked formidable.
Brunson has been the Knicks&rsquo; engine, averaging 26.0 points and 7.3 assists while continuing to elevate in crunch time. His pairing with Towns gave New York a new level of offensive versatility, and Mikal Bridges&rsquo; ability to guard top wings allowed them to scheme freely. But concerns about wear and tear remain &mdash; especially under Tom Thibodeau, whose rotations have leaned heavily on his starters. All five starters have averaged in the top 15 of the most minutes played in the league, and that can likely put a strain on their bodies.
Depth is another concern. The Knicks rely on Precious Achiuwa, Cam Payne, Delon Wright, and Landry Shamet to absorb the bench minutes. A deep run hinges on all starters being available and fresh throughout the postseason. If any one piece breaks down, New York could fall short of its championship aspirations.
This is their most talented team in years &mdash; but availability may be just as important as ability.
Indiana Pacers &ndash; Do they have enough to make a deep run once more?
Last year, the Pacers surprised many by reaching the second round, aided in part by injuries to their first-round opponent. This year, expectations are higher &mdash; and the margin for error is thinner. Indiana finished 50-32 and ranked 9th in offensive rating at 115.4. Their identity remains clear: run fast, shoot threes, and trust in Tyrese Haliburton to control the tempo.
Haliburton posted 18.6 points and 9.2 assists per game this season, and despite shooting efficiency dipped slightly as teams began pressuring him more aggressively, he bounced back quite nicely and got back to the high level he was playing at. That&rsquo;s where Pascal Siakam comes in to help him and provide a stabilizing frontcourt presence, while defending opposing bigs.
Depth-wise, the Pacers have the tools. Myles Turner remains one of the league&rsquo;s best shot blockers, Andrew Nembhard has been solid alongside Haliburton, Bennedict Mathurin has been a spark off the bench, and Aaron Nesmith&rsquo;s development as a 3-and-D wing adds much-needed versatility. Still, the question remains: can they win when the pace slows and every possession becomes a grind?
Indiana is fun, fast, and fearless. But deep playoff success often requires more grit than style &mdash; and this postseason will test how much of both they truly possess.
Milwaukee Bucks &ndash; How lethal can the Giannis-Dame combo be?
It&rsquo;s been a bumpy road for the Bucks since pairing Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, but they enter the playoffs with renewed hope. Injuries limited their time together but when both were on the floor, Milwaukee looked like a top 4 team in the East. The potential for a dominant inside-out attack remains, even as questions swirl around their chemistry and late-game execution.
Giannis put up another MVP-caliber campaign (30.4 PPG, 11.9 RPG, 6.5 APG) on 60.1% shooting, while Lillard added 24.9 points and 7.1 assists per game, albeit with a slight dip in efficiency (44.8 FG%, 37.6 3P%). Their pick-and-roll tandem has shown flashes of brilliance, especially with spacing provided by their teammates. But Milwaukee&rsquo;s defense remains a glaring concern, particularly at the point-of-attack.
Much of that responsibility falls on new head coach Doc Rivers, who took over midseason and has spent much of his tenure reshaping the defensive schemes. The team has shown better connectivity lately, but consistency is key. If the Bucks can get solid two-way contributions from Brook Lopez, Taurean Prince, and Kyle Kuzma, their ceiling rises considerably.
This postseason is the first true test of the Giannis-Dame partnership after a failed one last year. Can it deliver in crunch time and carry Milwaukee back to the Finals?
Detroit Pistons &ndash; Can they win a playoff series?
One of the most surprising stories of the season, the Detroit Pistons went from dead last in 2024 to securing the No. 6 seed in 2025 with a 44-38 record. It&rsquo;s a dramatic turnaround fueled by internal growth, better health, and the emergence of Cade Cunningham as a legitimate star. Cunningham averaged 26.1 points, 9.1 assists, and 6.1 rebounds, and improved his shooting splits across the board &mdash; including a respectable 35.6% from three.
Head coach J.B Bickerstaff deserves credit for stabilizing the young roster. Jaden Ivey (despite being out for the year to injury), Ausar Thompson, and Jalen Duren have all taken steps forward in their roles, and the addition of veterans Malik Beasley, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Tobias Harris has added much-needed floor spacing and leadership. The Pistons ranked 10th in defensive rating at 112.5 &mdash; a massive leap from their abysmal finish last season
Still, playoff basketball is a different animal. Detroit lacks experience, and their margin for error will be slim. Can Cunningham carry the offense when defenses trap him? Can their shooters hit timely shots? And can Duren hold his own against seasoned playoff bigs?
Winning a series would be monumental for the franchise &mdash; and a sign that Detroit&rsquo;s rebuild is truly behind them.
Orlando Magic &ndash; Can their offense hold up?
There&rsquo;s no questioning the Magic&rsquo;s defensive pedigree. They finished second in defensive rating (109.1) and boast a switch-heavy scheme built around length, versatility, and discipline. But the big question entering the playoffs: can they score enough? Orlando ranked just 27th in offensive rating (108.9), and the loss of Jalen Suggs and Mo Wagner due to injuries further thins their already-limited shot creation.
Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner carry the bulk of the offense, but both have faced inconsistent stretches. Teams often sag off sub-par shooters like Cory Joseph or Jonathan Isaac, daring Orlando to hit perimeter shots &mdash; something they&rsquo;ve struggled to do all year. Against Boston&rsquo;s elite defense, those issues could be magnified.
Orlando will try to control tempo, force turnovers, and win the possession battle. They&rsquo;ve been excellent in close games, but whether they can consistently generate efficient halfcourt looks remains uncertain.
Defense may win championships, but the Magic need buckets to even stay in the fight.
Miami Heat &ndash; Will they be able to replicate the Heat playoff magic this year?
The Heat have built a reputation as a team you never want to face in the playoffs &mdash; especially as a lower seed. In 2023, they made the Finals as an 8-seed. In 2024, they made the Celtics work despite key injuries. But can they pull off another surprise run this year? The roster remains largely intact, but injuries, aging stars, and inconsistency have clouded their outlook.
Without Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo must step up on offense while anchoring the defense. Tyler Herro&rsquo;s scoring punch is much needed, and the role players should contribute as well. But questions linger around depth and chemistry within their lineups after a shaky year.
The Heat finished just 21st in offensive rating (112.4) and 9th in defensive rating (112.0), a sign that the margins are tighter than ever. Still, if any team knows how to punch above its weight class, it&rsquo;s this one. Erik Spoelstra will maximize every mismatch, he always finds a way to manipulate the opposing team.
Don&rsquo;t count them out just yet but don&rsquo;t expect the same magic to happen each and every time as well.

Breaking down the biggest question facing each team in the 2025 NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs.

2025 NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs: Each team’s biggest question in the playoffs

The New York Liberty and the Las Vegas Aces have set up their WNBA Finals rematch, albeit in a different setting, after sweeping their respective opponents Tuesday night in the 2024 WNBA Playoffs.
The Liberty ended their series matchup by defeating the Atlanta Dream in Game 2, 91-82, and swept the series. Sabrina Ionescu starred for New York as she delivered the best game of her young playoff career with 36 points and 9 assists.
Starting center Jonquel Jones had 20, while All-WNBA First Teamer Breanna Stewart added 13 for New York, who will now advance to the semifinals.
4th seed Las Vegas Aces continued their bid for a three-peat after also sweeping the Seatle Storm 2-0, winning Game 2, 83-76. MVP A&rsquo;Ja Wilson went at it for the Aces with 24 points and 13 rebounds while Kelsey Plum was in her vintage form with 29 points on an impressive 11-15 shooting from the field.
Both the Liberty and the Aces&rsquo; wins meant that the 2023 WNBA Finals rematch is set to happen, but in semifinals. New York finished with the top overall seed this year with a 32-8 record while Las Vegas, which dealt to injuries to their starters all season long, just finished 4th with 27 wins and 13 losses coming from their championship.&nbsp;
This allowed both 2023 WNBA finalists to end up on the same side of the bracket, and will renew their brewing rivalry when their best-of-three series starts.

The New York Liberty and the Las Vegas Aces have set up their WNBA Finals rematch after sweeping their respective opponents.

WNBA Playoffs 2024 Day 2 recap: Liberty, Aces setup rematch in WNBA semis

Day 2 of the Paris 2024 Olympics playdate for its basketball tournament saw teams having contrast results in their pursuit of a quarter finals berth. Here&rsquo;s how the games went:
Spain 84, Greece 77
Spain shocked Greece and the whole world with their huge win despite being huge underdogs. The Spaniards stole the game despite the heroics of NBA and Greece superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, who had 27 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 assists. Spain had a collective team effort led by Memphis Grizzly Santi Aldama with 19 points while veteran duo Sergio Llull and Rudy Fernandez gave Spain a boost off the bench, scoring 23 points amongst themselves. The win by Spain was crucial in Group A as they now strengthen their claim to earn a quarterfinal spot.&nbsp;
France 94, Japan 90
France narrowly escaped Japan, 94-90, following a huge scare throughout the second half. Riding on the momentum brought by pint-sized point guard Yuki Kawamura, the Japanese stormed to a second half lead over the hosts. Lakers forward Rui Hachimura also played well for Japan, scoring 24 points, however was ejected on a controversial unsportsmanlike foul call. Japan led by 4 with under a minute to go before Matthew Strazel saved Les Bleus on a huge 4-point play (albeit being controversial) to send the game into overtime. From then on, French phenom Victor Wembanyama took over the game on both ends to save France from embarrassment and lead them to the victory.
Germany 86, Brazil 73
Germany made quick work of Brazil, never wasting time in defeating them. The reigning FIBA World Cup champions led from start to finish and dominated the game on both ends. Although Brazil took the lead briefly in the 2nd quarter, that was as close as they could get as Germany displayed the poise and consistency they have been playing for the past year to take back the lead and never looked back again. 4 players scored in double figures for the Germans in a team effort, led by Dennis Schroder&rsquo;s 20 followed by Franz Wagner&rsquo;s 17.
Canada 93, Australia 83
Canada disposed of Australia after trailing at halftime, taking over the game and in effect taking the top spot in Group A, the group of death in this year&rsquo;s Olympic Games. Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was ultra-efficient for the Canadians, scoring 16 points on 8/10 shooting while RJ Barrett led Canada in scoring with 24 points. SGA&rsquo;s former teammate Josh Giddey starred for the Boomers with 19 points but was not able to sustain the lead all game long as they succumbed to Canada&rsquo;s pesky perimeter defense in the second half. Australia is now in danger of missing the quarterfinals all along with Spain&rsquo;s huge win over Greece.&nbsp;
Serbia 107, Puerto Rico 66
After suffering a blowout defeat to tournament favorites USA the other day, Serbia vented its ire on Puerto Rico and handed them a blowout of their own, 107-66. Serbia took care of business from start to finish, never letting up for a single moment. NBA MVP Nikola Jokic was splendid for the Serbians after he posted a near triple-double statline of 14 points, 15 rebounds, and 9 assists. Serbia will now go into their match against Puerto Rico with Group C&rsquo;s second place at stake while Puerto Rico drops out of the competition ahead of its game against Team USA.

Day 2 of the Paris 2024 Olympics playdate for its basketball tournament saw teams having contrast results.

Paris 2024 Olympics Day 2: Spain, France escape; Canada, Germany, Serbia run away

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

NBA Central Division Preview: Burning questions, rotation projections

Last week, NBA legend Shawn Marion traveled to Abu Dhabi to support the 2023 NBA Abu Dhabi Games, which featured two preseason games between the Dallas Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves as well as youth clinics and fan events.&nbsp;
Marion led a skill-development clinic for youth athletes from Dubai's NBA Basketball School &mdash; a year-round basketball program in the UAE for boys and girls ages 6-to-18. He also judged a dunk contest, met with fans and took part in other NBA events alongside Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Ray Allen, Tim Hardaway Sr., Gary Payton, Sam Perkins, Kenny Smith, Ronny Turiaf and Salah Mejri.
Marion is an NBA champion, four-time NBA All-Star, two-time All-NBA selection and one of just five players in NBA history to record 17,000 points, 9,000 rebounds, 1,500 steals and 1,000 blocks (the other four are LeBron James, Kevin Garnett, Karl Malone and Hakeem Olajuwon). The Phoenix Suns recently announced that they'll retire Marion's jersey this season.
While in Abu Dhabi, Marion joined me on <a href="https://twitter.com/AlexKennedyNBA/status/1710458099448811578" target="_blank" rel="noopener">my new show "Running Up The Score"</a> to discuss his legendary career, the Suns' decision to retire his jersey, Mat Ishbia's impact since buying the franchise, the globalization of the NBA, how the game has evolved, whether he'll get back into podcasting and more.&nbsp;
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You&rsquo;re currently in Abu Dhabi for the Mavericks-Timberwolves preseason games and to host a basketball clinic with kids from the NBA Basketball School in Dubai. How is your trip going?&nbsp;
Shawn Marion:&nbsp;"Man, the trip is going amazing. This is a new culture for me; I've never experienced this, never been here. We're in a different part of the world right now and, I mean, I can tell you this: this is a place I'll definitely be coming back to. This is truly awesome. And, you know what, they're very passionate about [basketball]. I just had this meeting; I just came from an office visit and they had like 250 employees, but everybody spoke different languages! There were 16 languages being spoken! That tells you how diverse it is here, and they really pride themselves on that here. It's pretty amazing."
The globalization of the NBA has been a big priority for the league for some time. From when you were playing to now, do you see a big difference in terms of the NBA&rsquo;s worldwide popularity and international support?
Marion: "Yes. I think as you look at the lay of the land right now, the NBA and basketball is a global sport. But the way that the NBA has been able to grow it, they're taking it to other levels. They're starting NBA Academies and having clinics all around the world, and that just helps it grow even faster. Of course, TV and social-media content help as well, but the level it's growing at right now is unheard of."
The Phoenix Suns recently announced that they are retiring your jersey. Congratulations!
Marion: "Thank you!"
How did you find out that news and what was your reaction?
Marion: "I'm gonna be very honest and candid. Mat [Ishbia] called me as soon as he took ownership of the team and he was like, 'I'm not doing some of the shit that's been done [before]. I'm going to take care of you and reward you by retiring your jersey. I'm a man of my word, and that's what I'm going to do.' That's exactly what he said, and he did! Yep, it was that simple."
Ishbia is quickly winning over fans &mdash; he&rsquo;s spending money, making it easier to watch games, honoring past legends like yourself and so on. What do you think of Ishbia and the fresh start in Phoenix from an ownership perspective?
Marion: "I love it, man. I got a chance to see the practice facility; it's literally not too far from the place that I still have in Phoenix and I ain't been able to see [it before]. I ain't feel like... I feel like a weight was lifted off my shoulders to a certain degree. He's making the transition so easy. And he wants all the players who paved the way and set the foundation for the Suns organization and helped build that team into what the city loves and admires [to be involved]. He just wants everybody to be a part of it, man, and I love it. I think it's awesome. He's doing some amazing things out there."
The Suns have so much talent with Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal and Jusuf Nurkic. What do you think of this year's team and do you think they can win it all?
Marion: "Man, I think they got a chance just like anybody else, but, of course, their [championship hopes] are probably a little bit more realistic than some other teams. I just hope they stay healthy. When you stay healthy, you give yourself a chance. That's the thing. A lot of teams deal with injuries, and they've been hit with the injury bug a little bit as well. But they've got Frank Vogel as the head coach out there now and he's a defensive-minded guy. They just made another trade and got some other pieces to add to it &mdash; Grayson Allen and Jusuf Nurkic. I think that happened while I was out here; I was at a meeting when I got the alert and I was like, 'Wow! They ain't playing no games right now!' Listen, at the end of the day, he's trying to give himself and the organization the best chance to win. That's what you gotta do."
You obviously helped change the game and were ahead of your time. Overall, what are your thoughts on the modern NBA?
Marion: "Listen, it's run-and-gun, it's feast-or-famine right now. We set the foundation for what [the game] is now. There's so much positionless basketball being played, and it's dynamic. You're seeing the transition and evolution of what we started back in my Phoenix days during the Seven-Seconds-Or-Less era. That's what we started, and that's what it is right now. And I don't see the game going back to two traditional big men ever again."
Throughout the 2000s, not having a specific position was a death sentence for a player; nobody wanted to be labeled a "tweener." Then, seemingly overnight, the NBA became obsessed with "positionless" players and the tweeners were suddenly the most valuable players. That's one of my favorite examples of how the NBA is always evolving.
Marion: "Here's the thing: people can say [they're positionless], but it don't mean they are. You know, to be a two-way player in this league is very rare, but to be a positionless player is even more rare. You could be a guy who can go out there and guard 1 through 5, but to actually do it &mdash; willingly do it &mdash; is a big difference! A lot of guys probably could do it, but they don't do it, you know? Right now, teams are playing positionless basketball because everybody's switching everything. Most guys don't really post up anymore either. It's all face-up game and jumpers. So, it's easy to just jump into that narrative and bandwagon, but if you look at the game as a whole though, it's more of a guard-heavy game now than it was prior to when we made that transition. It's just been a shift. A lot of bigs now don't post up anymore; they're face-up players [too]. That's the evolution of the game."
A few years so, you and I did some of the NBA Watch Parties together on Clubhouse. I also love that <a href="https://twitter.com/MainTeamSports2/status/1506615984173592589" target="_blank" rel="noopener">video where you jumped on Twitter Spaces</a> and educated fans about your career; it was incredibly entertaining. You're obviously passionate about this game. Have you ever thought of doing a podcast?
Marion: "Well, Alex, it's funny you say that. I actually had a podcast with one of my guys in Dallas, so I was one of the first guys to ever do it. I just didn't do any promoting or all of that stuff, but it was something that we did in the Mavs organization kind of early on &mdash; like way before everybody started getting into podcasts. And it was great! But the thing about podcasts is unless you got a set thing, you gotta create content all the time, and I was so busy focusing on trying to be a father first. That was my lane. And then I dibbled and dabbled in TV a little bit and thought about doing some broadcasting work, but, like I said, my priorities shifted because I'm a hands-on father. So, I couldn't keep doing it in Dallas because that was the situation, but I have thought about reopening that window.
"I do have a different side of the game that I like to talk about. I know narratives get created easily by the media, and we consume them and we digest them. It becomes part of our thought process of that player, of that team or whatever it is. But I was talking about this with one of my friends. I was telling him: it's easy for a [former] player to say, 'I can do this or that.' But what kind of player were you though? Because it's hard for a point guard to tell how to guard a big, or for a big to tell how to guard a point guard. But when I say it, I actually guarded all of them! I did it all! And I didn't just do it for a quarter or half a quarter. I did it for full games! So, when I sit there and I tell people that, people are like, 'Man, you know, I never thought about it from that standpoint.' I was like, 'Yo, I actually did this.' You know what I'm saying? Like, it's easy for somebody to say, 'I can guard somebody,' or, 'Oh, I'm a two way player; I can guard this player.' I'm like, 'Can you do it for a full game though?' I'm the only person ever to do it for full games."
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I love to ask players about big &ldquo;what-ifs&rdquo; from NBA history. There was a report a while back that you were nearly traded to the Boston Celtics as part of a three-team deal that would have sent Kevin Garnett to Phoenix and picks to Minnesota. Is that true and, if so, can you tell that story?
Marion: "It is true. But Phoenix wasn't gonna do the deal. They didn't think it was viable because they would have to change their style of play instantly because we're two different type of players. So, they didn't want it. KG was in Minnesota at the time, and I would've went to Boston and he would've came here (to Phoenix). At the time, Boston was losing; I think they had a losing record at that time. I was like, 'Uhh...' But I mean, we have no control over that. Some of the rumors that come out about trades are actually true, but both sides have to agree to it. People throw out deals all the time, [teams talk] all the time, so there's plenty of hypotheticals out there.
"But you wanna hear an untold true story? I never really fully ever became a free agent except my last year playing when I signed with with Cleveland. When I signed with Dallas, it was a sign-and-trade, so I was still under contract basically with Toronto. It was a sign-and-trade deal, so I never really tested the free-agency market like that. So, what happened was I was about to be a free agent or get traded, and this was around that same time as those KG rumors. Kobe [Bryant] called me and said, 'If you're really gonna go out on the market and it's a possibility [that you're changing teams], I want you to come out to L.A.' So, we was texting and he was like, 'Yo!' It ain't happen because they didn't have the money to pay me, but that's a story that a lot of people don't know about."
I love those kind of stories and it's always interesting to think how those potential moves could have changed NBA history.
Marion: "Oh, there were a lot of situations out there like that where [trade talks] were open! It was pretty fun. When you look at the business of the NBA, man, the optimism and [hope] of what could possibily be is what makes it so fun and dynamic &mdash; een with the trade that just went down with Damian Lillard. It's funny, Paul Pierce actually predicted that. He called that in July. He said, 'If I'm Dame, I would try to get to Milwaukee.' It's funny that he said that and I could see it [from Lillard's perspective]. But do I think they're better? Ehh, they lost a lot for that trade, you know? [Jrue Holiday]. Grayson Allen was a great player for Milwaukee. He is a great pickup for Phoenix. He's a hell of a player, a great player, dude. Like, he does a lot of small stuff. He's a very tough guy. I like him. It's something about him that I like. I like the little Duke dudes with that little rough-and-rugged side! But he's one of those guys who can hit shots, he's gonna play defense and he competes. He's actually a lot better than people give him credit for. He ain't got a chance to really showcase his skills, but he can play. And if they use him the right way, he can help them."
For sure. Thanks for your time, I really appreciate it!&nbsp;
Marion: "Anytime, man. You know, we have great conversations and stuff. I might contemplate doing a podcast again. I gotta have the mobile equipment. We'll see; I don't know. I gotta have a great co-host. I like people who shoot [straight]. I told this to a reporter, so I'll give this to you. I told this guy who was recording me yesterday: when you are doing your interviews, do not ask the same questions and stuff that somebody else asks. Do not&nbsp;ask the same stuff."
I'm sure that gets really annoying.
Marion: "It's so annoying. It's okay to piggyback off of answers just to get some kind of content to create something in your own way. But don't ask the exact same questions. You sound you are a true fan. I know you are a true fan of the game. Like, you really love this. And so [you] ask the questions that you wanna know from someone in my position! Forget about the stuff that's already been out there already! Create your own. We all got a story to tell."
For sure.
Marion: "And the thing is, I love my former guys talking about ball and stuff, but some of them talk like they was way bigger and better than they were. Some of these guys were below-average role players, but they talk like they were superstars! I'm like, 'What did you... How good was you? What did you do?!' (laughs) I'm like, 'He was a role player!' He was a solid role player! And look, I became a role player. But you know...
Yeah, but that was because of your longevity. You had four All-Star years before that.
Marion: "Yeah, that's about longevity and understanding that you gotta sacrifice to win. That's the biggest thing, you know? And I could have easily averaged such and such, but I was like, 'You know what? They don't need me to do that. I don't have to do that. If we can win and I'm averaging 16, 17 points, I'm cool with that. We gonna win, so I'm good with that. Let's win.' That was about getting them Ws.
"But that's something to think about though. You asked some great questions. That's the lane to go into. Those are the things to ask &mdash; the hypotheticals or something you [researched]. Like, 'You know what, he was pretty good at this, how did you pick up on that?' or, 'What's something that you did differently than everybody else?' Those are different questions, not the same questions [we always hear]. We get repetitively asked the same questions time and time again. It's boring. It sucks. I'ma be honest: it sucks. I hate it. It&nbsp;sucks!"
I can't imagine how old that gets.
Marion: "One thing that everybody was constantly asking me about was my shot. Everybody seemed to want ask me about my shot. But listen, you know what's really messed up about that though? One media person said it, so it went rampant and every media person wanted me to replicate the answer, right? Whether I like it or not, or whether I enjoy it or not. I did so much on the floor, but you wanna focus on something that nobody talks about? Nobody in the league talks about that. Don't nobody in the league shoot the same! ... I [used to get] pissed off, but now I respond and it's fine. 'It don't matter, don't nobody shoot the same. Next!' But why would you wanna talk about my shot, but then you won't talk about how I just had 25-and-15!"
Or that you shot 39% from three-point range one year!
Marion: "You wanna discredit me and what I did just to talk about my shot? Got it. I totally understand. There's certain lanes and narratives that will be pushed. I totally get it. I'm an owner now, so I see exactly what lane [they're in]; it's all marketing strategies. I know how it works and I know who controls it. Being on this side of the business, I know how things work now. But it's all good though. And it's all love. Thank you."
This interview has been edited for length and clarity. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/live/MwvBnhrrzgs?si=2BRrY0Vaq8WWyAPe&amp;t=1676" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Watch the full conversation here</a>.
Other news from around the web: <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/dress-to-impress-why-barbie-and-ken-are-the-hottest-couples-costume-this-halloween/ar-AA1iaTEh" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Barbie and Ken are the hottest couples costume this Halloween</a>

Shawn Marion opens up about the Suns retiring his jersey, nearly getting traded to the Celtics, Mat Ishbia, the modern NBA and more.

Shawn Marion on Suns retiring his jersey, near-trade to Celtics, more

After months of scrolling through countless Damian Lillard trade rumors, the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/bucks-shock-nba-world-by-acquiring-damian-lillard-in-blockbuster-trade" target="_blank" rel="noopener">news finally broke</a> on Wednesday afternoon that the Portland Trail Blazers' long-time franchise cornerstone was headed to the Milwaukee Bucks. In one of the more surprising blockbuster trades in recent memory, the seven-time All-Star guard will pair with Giannis Antetokounmpo to form one of the best duos in the league.&nbsp;
Now, the new big fish in the trade market is none other than the player Lillard was dealt for: Jrue Holiday. The Blazers' return featured Holiday, former No. 1 pick Deandre Ayton, Phoenix Suns second-rounder Toumani Camara, an unprotected Bucks 2029 first-rounder, and 2028 and 2030 first-round pick swaps from Milwaukee. The circumstances of Lillard&rsquo;s trade request and his desire to be dealt specifically to the Miami Heat dampened his trade value, but the Blazers were able to come away with a &ldquo;palatable&rdquo; return.
 However, Holiday is unlikely to stay in Portland for long as he does not fit their rebuilding timeline around core players Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe. <a href="https://twitter.com/BobbyMarks42/status/1707100851880259810" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN&rsquo;s Bobby Marks</a> graded Portland&rsquo;s trade return as &ldquo;incomplete&rdquo; pending the potential assets the team receives for Holiday when they flip him.
Many contending teams are reportedly rushing to the phones to make moves in reaction to the Lillard blockbuster, with several expressing serious interest in Holiday. These possible suitors include the Philadelphia 76ers, Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers and Heat. Teams must factor in Holiday's potential free agency next summer and the possibility of signing him to a long-term extension, which he becomes eligible for on Feb. 22. Perhaps the Blazers will have some urgency to deal Holiday prior to Media Day on Oct. 2 in order to avoid questions and logistics about bringing him in for training camp.&nbsp;
For any team over the luxury-tax apron ($171,294,000) to trade for Holiday, they need to trade away at least $33,175,536 (90% of Holiday&rsquo;s 2023-24 salary) in salaries in order to legally execute a trade. The rest of the league will only need to send out $27,646,280 (75% of Holiday&rsquo;s 2023-24 salary) in order to make a deal.&nbsp;
Another important CBA note with any Holiday trade is that his $36,861,707 salary cannot be aggregated with other contracts for two months. While Holiday is still eligible to be immediately rerouted elsewhere, he cannot be traded with other players. For example, just a few months back, Chris Paul was traded to the Washington Wizards and then quickly rerouted in a separate deal to Golden State. Because Paul was the only salary going back to the Warriors, he was legally allowed to be traded. This must be taken into consideration when proposing potential trade ideas.
With Holiday potentially on the move in the coming days, let&rsquo;s take a look at some potential deals for the 33-year-old.
Realistic Trade Destinations
BOSTON CELTICS
Celtics receive: Jrue Holiday
Trail Blazers receive: Malcolm Brogdon, Al Horford, Dalano Banton (salary guarantee increased to $1,009,853 to satisfy trade rules), 2024 GSW top-4 protected first-round pick, 2025 BOS first-round pick, 2026 BOS first-round pick swap, 2024 CHI/DAL/NO (most favorable) second-round pick, 2026 MIN/NO/NYK/POR (most favorable) second-round pick
By trading away Marcus Smart this summer, the Celtics lost the key cog to their juggernaut defense. Despite not having a Defensive Player of the Year award, Holiday would probably serve as an upgrade to Smart on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor, helping the Celtics compete against the new-look Bucks in the East. If they wish to enter the Holiday sweepstakes, they would need to trade Malcolm Brogdon ($22,500,000), whom they were close to dealing to the Clippers in July. Along with Brogdon, they would have to sacrifice either Al Horford ($10,000,000) or Robert Williams III ($11,571,429) to make the salaries work. They have all of their own draft picks to trade as well as the Golden State Warriors' pick in 2024, which they got from the Smart trade.
MIAMI HEAT
Heat receive: Jrue Holiday
Trail Blazers receive: Kyle Lowry, Nikola Jovic, Haywood Highsmith, 2027 MIA first-round pick, 2029 MIA top-14 protected first-round pick, 2028 MIA first-round pick swap, 2024 MIA top-50 protected second-round pick, 2026 LAL second-round pick, 2027 HOU/IND/MIA/OKC/SA (least favorable) second-round pick
Missing out once again in their pursuit of a star third option to pair with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, Miami could use an upgrade like Holiday to their seemingly incomplete roster. Holiday would provide a must-needed scoring punch and would fit seamlessly in Miami&rsquo;s hard-working culture. While their Lillard trade package was highlighted by Tyler Herro, they likely wouldn&rsquo;t use him in any trade for Holiday. Their salary going out in a deal would come from Kyle Lowry&rsquo;s expiring salary ($29,682,540) and some combination of younger players like Jaime Jaquez Jr. ($3,510,533), Nikola Jovic ($2,352,000) and Haywood Highsmith ($1,902,137). While they are somewhat restricted in terms of draft assets, they can offer up to three first-round picks if they amend their 2025 first-round pick they owe the Oklahoma City Thunder. They have three second-rounders to offer as well.&nbsp;
NEW YORK KNICKS
Knicks receive: Jrue Holiday
Trail Blazers receive: RJ Barrett, Reggie Bullock, Khem Birch, 2024 DAL top-10 protected first-round pick, 2024 DET top-18 protected first-round pick, 2024 WAS top-12 protected first-round pick
Spurs receive: Evan Fournier, 2026 MEM top-42 protected second-round pick, 2027 NO/POR (less favorable) second-round pick
The Knicks may be holding out for when the next superstar &ndash; i.e. Joel Embiid, Donovan Mitchell or Giannis Antetokounmpo (although maybe not anymore?) &ndash; asks for a trade. While New York may be focused on further down the line, acquiring a player like Holiday could allow them to boost their roster right now without giving up enough capital to harm their future superstar pursuits. A Knicks trade that would not harm their trove of draft assets would have to send out RJ Barrett ($23,883,929), who potentially fits Portland&rsquo;s rebuilding timeline. Jrue could line up as the team&rsquo;s starting shooting guard alongside Jalen Brunson, while Josh Hart would play more minutes at small forward to mitigate the loss of Barrett. Evan Fournier&rsquo;s large salary ($18,857,143) would also have to be in any deal for the Knicks to take in Holiday. Portland wouldn&rsquo;t want to acquire both Fournier and Barrett as that would push them over the luxury tax, therefore they would likely route Fournier to another team (like San Antonio).
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
Clippers receive: Jrue Holiday
Trail Blazers receive: Marcus Morris Sr., Robert Covington, Amir Coffey, Jason Preston (salary fully guaranteed), 2028 LAC first-round pick, 2030 LAC first-round pick, 2029 LAC first-round pick swap
The Clippers may have been given an olive branch with a player like Jrue Holiday becoming available, as he's an impact player at a price they can afford. It also provides an alternative for the Clippers to land a third star while avoiding the potential drama/issues that could come with acquiring a player like James Harden. The Clippers have a lot of high-salary veterans they could use to get to Holiday&rsquo;s number like Norman Powell ($18,000,000), Marcus Morris Sr. ($17,116,279), Nicolas Batum ($11,710,818) and Robert Covington ($11,692,308). They would probably like to keep Terance Mann, who they seem to not want to include in a potential Harden trade, although his $10,576,923 could be useful. Portland could view their unprotected picks in 2028 and 2030 as some of the best draft assets they could receive due to their aging stars and lack of postseason success.
PHILADELPHIA 76ERS
76ers receive: Jrue Holiday
Clippers receive: James Harden, 2024 NYK second-round pick, 2029 PHI second-round pick, 2030 PHI second-round pick
Trail Blazers receive: Marcus Morris Sr., Robert Covington, Amir Coffey, Jason Preston (salary fully guaranteed to satisfy trade rules), 2028 LAC first-round pick, 2029 PHI first-round pick, 2029 LAC first-round pick swap
Amidst the James Harden debacle, Daryl Morey has remained steadfast in getting a formidable return if they choose to trade the disgruntled All-Star. A reunion with Jrue Holiday, who played in Philadelphia from 2009 to 2013, certainly should get Morey and the Sixers' attention. Holiday would certainly upgrade their defense while being a good support and influence on Tyrese Maxey. The Trail Blazers would have little interest in taking a direct package from Philadelphia, which would almost certainly be headlined by Harden ($35,640,000). Harden's desired destination, the Clippers, should still be interested in acquiring him, but may be more interested in trading for Holiday directly. Portland would likely get a similar package to what they would receive if they traded directly with the Clippers, potentially leaving Philadelphia out to dry. The Sixers would have to incentivize the Clippers by trading some draft capital to take Harden instead of Holiday.
Honorable Mentions
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
The Warriors are a logical Holiday destination in terms of fit and trade assets. A trade package would have to send the newly acquired Chris Paul back to Portland or a third team along with a young player like Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody or Brandin Podziemski, plus a draft pick. Given that coach Steve Kerr has talked all summer about bringing Paul into the fold, it would be pretty surprising if the team pivoted from the future Hall-of-Famer just before training camp. If the Warriors do choose to jump in the Holiday waters, they could quickly move to the front of the line.&nbsp;
TORONTO RAPTORS
Toronto was considered the favorite to acquire Lillard at one point, with a package that was likely headlined by OG Anunoby and draft assets. In order to acquire Holiday, they would need to use a similar package, albeit with less draft capital involved. It seems as though the Raptors were being coy about potentially dealing Anunoby for Lillard, according to <a href="https://torontosun.com/sports/basketball/nba/toronto-raptors/options-for-raptors-with-damian-lillard-trade-dream-done" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun</a>. If Masai Ujiri was unwilling to include Anunoby in trade discussions before, it&rsquo;s unlikely he will do so for a player like Holiday.&nbsp;
MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES
Holiday would be a near perfect fit alongside Anthony Edwards in the Wolves' backcourt and would greatly improve their defense. However, Minnesota simply doesn&rsquo;t have the right salaries or draft assets to realistically get to Holiday&rsquo;s number unless they are willing to part ways with Karl-Anthony Towns. Even if Tim Connelly was willing to deal Towns for Holiday, the trade may not be what Portland is looking for with the 2015 No. 1 overall pick&rsquo;s five-year supermax extension beginning next season. The idea of paying supermax money to Towns will likely be a turn off for Blazers GM Joe Cronin.
ORLANDO MAGIC
Orlando is probably the most fun dark-horse destination for Jrue. While Markelle Fultz has been a suitable lead guard when healthy, Holiday would bring a championship-level veteran presence that could be useful for Orlando&rsquo;s young squad. The question with the Magic is whether they would actually pursue a deal that would accelerate their timeline with Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, as well as whether they would part with draft capital that they could potentially use down the line in future trades.

With the Blazers looking to flip Jrue Holiday, Blake Stern breaks down several teams that make sense as a trade suitor.

NBA trade rumors: Examining potential destinations for Jrue Holiday

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

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

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

SAN ANTONIO (AP) &mdash; As Victor Wembanyama took the stage for his first news conference inside his new home arena, he couldn&rsquo;t help but notice an accessory that the San Antonio Spurs commissioned for the occasion.
It was a replica of the Eiffel Tower &mdash; made from Legos. Hundreds of them.
Wembanyama loves Legos. He looked down at the 4-foot replica when he saw it and smiled. And then he sat next to Spurs general manager Brian Wright and started to talk business.
The scene was a perfect microcosm of Wembanyama&rsquo;s world right now. He&rsquo;s still a teenager, albeit a very big one, at 19 years old and not averse to saying that he enjoys building things with Legos. And he&rsquo;s also the player, who seems incredibly mature for his age, on a world stage that the Spurs are betting on to change their fortunes and help them return to championship contention.
&ldquo;I feel like they&rsquo;ve already started to take great care of me,&rdquo; Wembanyama said.
They have to. The world is watching.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/spurs-wembanyama-draft-nba-11b2b43bc27076ab5036769bf5d4160b">And the hype level</a>&nbsp;is already incredibly high.
The notion of basketball being a global game and the NBA being a global league is not new, with roughly one out of every four players in the league born outside of the United States. But there&rsquo;s never been an international player coming into the NBA with the hubbub that Wembanyama has; he&rsquo;s already a global brand and global phenomenon even without playing an NBA game.
Not even LeBron James had this much global attention when he came into the league 20 years ago.
The Kid from Akron, as he still calls himself, is one of the biggest success stories in the history of sports &mdash; grew up with almost nothing, instantly found fame and fortune as a teenager thanks to an enormous Nike contract that he signed when he entered the league, now is a billionaire, the all-time scoring leader in NBA history and still going strong.
LeBron was a big, big, big deal in the U.S. in 2003.
Wembanyama is a big, big, big deal globally right now. That&rsquo;s the difference.
Stories have been written about him in English, French and Spanish over the weekend. He speaks English just about perfectly, and now that he&rsquo;s in San Antonio he wants to learn Spanish as well. If he plays for France in the Basketball World Cup this summer &mdash; something he wants to do, but time will tell if the Spurs are on board with that plan &mdash; he&rsquo;ll be playing games in Indonesia and the Philippines.
And if he plays on that world stage, he will be getting&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/san-antonio-spurs-wembanyama-nba-draft-da32970a5781abdb0a65daa46203de7a">as much attention</a>&nbsp;as any player in the tournament. Same goes for&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-summer-league-spurs-wembanyama-las-vegas-b2189fccb53a75428056b55cb43330a2">when he plays at Summer League</a>&nbsp;next month. And it&rsquo;ll be the case when the NBA season opens; Denver will raise a banner and get championship rings on opening night, some free agents that&rsquo;ll start agreeing to new deals in the next few days will be in new cities, but every storyline to start the season will have Wembanyama&rsquo;s&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/wembanyama-height-nba-draft-2023-07e21352ac2405385b7f3be2d0cfd7c4">7-foot-plus shadow</a>&nbsp;looming somewhere around it as well.
&ldquo;Because of all the hype, he&rsquo;ll have a target on his back,&rdquo; Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. &ldquo;So more than Os and Xs to begin with, we&rsquo;ll be most interested in setting a framework in an environment where he&rsquo;s comfortable, where he can be Victor. He&rsquo;s not LeBron or Tim (Duncan) or Kobe (Bryant) or anybody else. He&rsquo;s Victor and that&rsquo;s who we want him to be.&rdquo;
His presence just adds to the level of international stardom in the league right now.
The reigning NBA Finals MVP is Denver&rsquo;s Nikola Jokic of Serbia, the reigning league MVP and scoring champion is Philadelphia&rsquo;s Joel Embiid of Cameroon, and the top three finishers in that MVP race this season were all international players &mdash; Embiid, Jokic and Greece&rsquo;s Giannis Antetokounmpo of Milwaukee. That trio has combined for the last five MVP awards; Dallas&rsquo; Luka Doncic of Slovenia should be in the MVP mix for years to come as well.
There&rsquo;s even talk of a World vs. the U.S. format to the All-Star Game before long. That might be a heck of a challenge for the American side.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re really seeing the ongoing continued growth of this league,&rdquo; Commissioner Adam Silver said earlier this year. &ldquo;I know David Stern, who unfortunately is no longer with us, but it was so much of his vision to turn this into the global game it&rsquo;s become today. If he&rsquo;s looking down on us, I know he&rsquo;d be incredibly proud of those numbers.&rdquo;
Stern would have loved Wembanyama.
The teenager &mdash; already being mentored by past Spurs great big men like Duncan and David Robinson, along with French Spurs&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/wembanyama-parker-spurs-nba-draft-e80020c26ed10361e60c4e329cb475d1">Tony Parker</a>&nbsp;and Boris Diaw &mdash; is worldly, mature, engaging, funny and somehow has stayed humble even with all the attention. His family shuns the spotlight. They want no part of the attention. Wembanyama&rsquo;s parents are almost always around, but never meddling.
&ldquo;To my family, it&rsquo;s got to be weird sometimes,&rdquo; Wembanyama said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s got to be strange. There&rsquo;s a lot of new stuff. But they&rsquo;re really smart and grounded people. Whenever I need to find stability, I can go to them.&rdquo;
He&rsquo;s going to need those bits of normalcy. The challenge that awaits him is as tall as he is and the world is watching.

LeBron James was a big deal in the U.S. when he was drafted in 2003. Victor Wembanyama is a big deal globally.

Facing immense pressure, Spurs' Victor Wembanyama is up for the challenge

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

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

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

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

For the Golden State Warriors, it&rsquo;s a drive for five, as in five championships in nine years. It&rsquo;s a similar thought for LeBron James, as the NBA&rsquo;s all-time points leader is set to resume his quest for a fifth ring.
And for a bunch of other teams, just one ring would satisfy.
The NBA playoffs start Saturday, with Milwaukee as the No. 1 team in the Eastern Conference and holder of home-court advantage throughout the postseason, and Denver as the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference for the first time.
&ldquo;Every year, I mean, it&rsquo;s tough,&rdquo; said James, who helped the Los Angeles Lakers get back to the playoffs despite a topsy-turvy year marred by injuries and slumps. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s too many great teams, too many great players. Every year is tough. No matter if you&rsquo;re the 1 seed or the 8 seed, every single year is tough.&rdquo;
The defending champion Warriors open on the road, albeit not far from home, as they take on Sacramento &mdash; one of the feel-good stories in the NBA this season, back in the playoffs for the first time since 2006. Kings first-year coach Mike Brown was part of the Warriors&rsquo; staff under Steve Kerr for years, and brought that championship culture to Sacramento.
They&rsquo;ve been talking playoffs all year. But Brown knows that words only go so far.
&ldquo;At the end of the day, the best teacher is going to be the actually going through it and seeing how you hold up to things that come your way, especially the adversity,&rdquo; Brown said.
The Warriors know what that means. They opened the season with a ring ceremony, and that was about the last thing that went according to plan. They didn&rsquo;t get over the .500 mark for good until late February.
But if there&rsquo;s another title, the Warriors know all the struggles will be forgotten.
&ldquo;When you&rsquo;re coming off a championship and lacing &rsquo;em back up, you&rsquo;re celebrating what you accomplished,&rdquo; Warriors guard Stephen Curry said. &ldquo;But every time you step foot on the floor and practice and get ready for the games and everything that we&rsquo;ve been through this year, it&rsquo;s all about the goal at the end of the year of having an opportunity to go chase another one.&rdquo;
Some of the top playoff hopefuls had less-rocky paths to the playoffs. Milwaukee &mdash; champions two years ago, with much of the same core now &mdash; was at or near the top of the East all season. In some order, the East 1-2-3 has been the Bucks, defending East champion Boston and title-starved Philadelphia since mid-January.
The Bucks dealt with injuries, the Celtics dealt with a preseason coaching change, and neither was derailed. A title for Boston would be the franchise&rsquo;s 18th, breaking a tie with the Lakers for the most in NBA history. And the Celtics have not forgotten the pain of losing last year&rsquo;s finals.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve essentially been waiting for this moment, getting to the playoffs,&rdquo; Celtics forward Jayson Tatum said. &ldquo;The group is locked in, the group is focused, everybody&rsquo;s back healthy, so we&rsquo;re just preparing the right way. ... Now, it&rsquo;s here. We&rsquo;re all excited and ready for the moment.&rdquo;
The moment &mdash; and the ring &mdash; are all that matters. Just ask Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
&ldquo;This is what we need,&rdquo; he shouted to Bucks fans earlier this month, pointing to his ring finger. &ldquo;We need a second one.&rdquo;
Some need a first.
Chris Paul still doesn&rsquo;t have a ring, even though he and the Phoenix Suns led the Bucks 2-0 in the finals two years ago. So now, he and Devin Booker have Kevin Durant &mdash; a two-time champion and three-time Olympic gold medalist &mdash; alongside them to try and win it all. The Suns drew Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers in Round 1.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re ready to go,&rdquo; Booker said.
Denver &mdash; a No. 1 seed, a team that moved into first in the West a few days before Christmas and stayed there the rest of the way &mdash; has a two-time (and possibly soon-to-be three-time) MVP in Nikola Jokic, and has the best regular-season record in the West over the last five years.
And yet, few believe;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/navigation/nba?tab=nba-finals" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">FanDuel Sportsbook</a>&nbsp;has Denver tied for the third-best odds to win the West and the fifth-best odds to win the NBA title.
&ldquo;The pressure, that I have, is pressure I put on myself,&rdquo; Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re never going to be able to put any pressure on me. This is my job, this is my livelihood, I love my job and we as an organization put pressure on ourselves to win a championship. That&rsquo;s what motivates us.&rdquo;
James knows that motivation. He&rsquo;s been running off it for most of his 20-year career.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the only reason I play still, is to try to put myself in a position to make championship runs and give teammates that never been a part of a championship run something they haven&rsquo;t experienced before,&rdquo; James said. &ldquo;It has not changed for me, I would say, since about 2006, &rsquo;7. That&rsquo;s just been my mindset every year: How can I make a championship run?&rdquo;
He knows the way. So do the Warriors.
One step at a time, Curry insists. Game 1&rsquo;s of Round 1 are Saturday and Sunday. Titles will not be won nor lost this weekend. It&rsquo;s a marathon, as was the regular season when a slew of teams got off to slow starts &mdash; the Lakers were 2-10, the Warriors were 3-7, the 76ers were 0-3, the Kings 0-4, Brooklyn 1-5 &mdash; and made the playoffs anyway.
Lock in, as Curry says. It&rsquo;s ring time.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s extremely hard to do what we&rsquo;ve done,&rdquo; Curry said, &ldquo;and what we&rsquo;re going to try to do.&rdquo;

The NBA Playoffs start today. For the Warriors, it’s a drive for five, as in five championships in nine years.

NBA playoff overview: Warriors seek 5th title in 9 years

MEXICO CITY (AP) &mdash; A reggaeton song by Puerto Rican artist Daddy Yankee is blasting through the Arena Ciudad de M&eacute;xico with the lights out while fans wave their cell phones and dance to the rhythm of the music.
Then comes a drumbeat followed by a loud &ldquo;Ca-pi-ta-nes, Ca-pi-ta-nes&rdquo; chant.
Welcome to NBA G League action in Mexico City. And if fans get their wish, the atmosphere at Capitanes&rsquo; games will become the staple for home games of an actual NBA team in the city. It&rsquo;s a longshot but that hasn&rsquo;t dampened the optimism.
When NBA Commissioner Adam Silver visited Mexico in December, he said the Capitanes would give the league a great opportunity to see if Mexico could be considered for a franchise in the future.
So far, it appears the organization is on the right path.
Though the Capitanes lost a three-way tiebreaker and missed the G League playoffs &mdash; the finals begin Tuesday &mdash; they provided some answers to off-court concerns in their first season in Mexico City.
Following their inaugural G League season in Fort Worth, Texas, due to the pandemic, the Capitanes settled into the state-of-the-art Arena Ciudad de Mexico &mdash; a glass-clad facility located in the north part of the city that cost $300 million to build and opened in 2012.
Attendance was a concern, but team president Rodrigo Serratos said the Capitanes top the G League in selling individual tickets and rank fifth in total attendance despite their home arena not being located near downtown Mexico City.
&ldquo;We have a big arena, so we are working with a small set-up, but we have been averaging around 65% of its capacity,&rdquo; Serratos told The Associated Press. &ldquo;So far, it&acute;s been pure magic.&rdquo;
There also are safety concerns about having a permanent team in Mexico City. As recently as Monday, four people were killed in what is believed to have been drug gang-related violence. The killings came less than a week after a U.S. tourist was shot in the leg in the nearby town of Puerto Morelos.
The U.S. State Department issued a travel alert last month warning travelers to &ldquo;exercise increased caution,&rdquo; especially after dark, at Mexico&rsquo;s Caribbean beach resorts like Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Tulum, which have been plagued by drug gang violence in the past.
Alfonzo McKinnie, who played for four NBA teams before coming to the Capitanes, had said before the season ended that he feels comfortable in the city.
&ldquo;Everybody I know from players to family and friends asked me about safety, but we live in Polanco one of the nicest parts of Mexico City and I tell them we are as safe as one can be,&rdquo; McKinnie said.
Several players live in Polanco, one the wealthiest neighborhoods in Mexico City with some of the best restaurants, luxury hotels and expensive condos. The area is also one of the safest in the capital, with a strong police presence day and night. It is where NFL, MLB and NBA teams stay whenever they visit Mexico to play regular season games.
Serratos said McKinnie, along with Kenneth Faried and Gary Clark, are enjoying their experience with the Capitanes while hoping for another NBA opportunity.
&ldquo;All the American players said that they did not expect to find a country like this. The feedback that we are getting from them is that they are very happy and want to keep playing here,&rdquo; said Rodrigo Serratos, the team president. &ldquo;The city offers a lot of things; we are a rich country in experiences for foreigners.&rdquo;
Since 1992, when the Houston Rockets played the Dallas Mavericks, Mexico has hosted 30 NBA games out the 117 that the NBA has played outside of the U.S. and Canada in its history.
Silver has said having a G League team in Mexico City gives the league an opportunity to better understand the challenges that come with dealing with the local culture, a different language and all the other circumstances around possibly having an NBA franchise in the city one day.
Soccer is still king among sports in the country, but there are more basketball courts than soccer fields in Mexico and the fans have shown in the past how loyal they are. Before the Capitanes, the Mexico City Aztecs played in the defunct Continental Basketball Association in 1994 and averaged 9,000 fans a game.
&ldquo;You can call it love, passion or solidarity &mdash; any of those adjectives describe what the basketball culture in this country is, and that is what the NBA has found here,&rdquo; said Raul Zarraga, the director of the NBA office in Mexico.
Besides the reggaeton music that booms during game breaks, there is a fan who brings a drum to cheer for the Capitanes. &ldquo;The Mexicans are very passionate with sports; they are very involved and noisy,&rdquo; Serratos said, adding that the team had to get a special permit from the NBA for the fan&rsquo;s drum. &ldquo;It is a different atmosphere here than in any other G League venue.&rdquo;
Despite the early success of the Capitanes, fans should not expect to see an NBA expansion team in Mexico City anytime soon. The last time the league expanded was in 2004 with a franchise in Charlotte, North Carolina. Before that, the league expanded in 1995 with two teams in Canada.
Other cities, including Las Vegas and Seattle, also could be ahead of Mexico City when and if the NBA considers an expansion in the future.
Until then, fans can continue to party with the Capitanes.

if fans get their wish, the atmosphere at Capitanes’ games will become the staple for home games of an actual NBA team.

NBA in Mexico: G League Capitanes hope they're laying foundation

HOUSTON (AP) &mdash; One short year ago, college basketball was getting ready for the game of a lifetime: North Carolina vs. Duke at the Final Four.
And this year? Well, to put it kindly, who the heck are these guys?
The NCAA Tournament, the annual event that has told and sold and made marketing gold out of the story of underdogs and busted brackets has, for 2023, produced an extreme rendition of what happens when&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/march-madness-final-four-uconn-fau-6ca1aeceb20e4d9cde254e52ea77430f" target="_blank" rel="noopener">all that cherished unpredictability</a>&nbsp;plays itself out to the end.
In one Final Four meeting Saturday, it will be San Diego State against Florida Atlantic. In the other, it will be Miami vs. UConn.
&ldquo;I expect the prognosticators to pick us fifth at the Final Four,&rdquo; Florida Atlantic coach Dusty May said in a nod to the reality that nobody really expected the Owls, or any of these teams, to be here.
Of the four programs descending on Houston this week, only one has ever sniffed a Final Four before. It&rsquo;s the first time in 53 years that has happened.
With its four national titles and some famous names from the past, including Jim Calhoun, Kemba Walker&nbsp;and Rip Hamilton, the name &ldquo;Connecticut&rdquo; certainly should ring a bell, even if it might not tread all the way into true blueblood territory.
Miami?&nbsp;That was a program that was literally shut down for 14 years in the 1970s and 1980s due to lack of interest. The school was too busy building a football program that would become (in)famous for winning with a certain panache.
May&rsquo;s Florida Atlantic&nbsp;program? It&rsquo;s a relative new kid on the block, a member of Division I since 1993 that is based in the retirement community of Boca Raton, a locale better known for its 4:30 dinner specials than its 7 p.m. tipoffs.
San Diego State?&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/final-four-san-diego-state-46eefb6f73d12368b158126d5365cb0a" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In their defense</a>, maybe this shouldn&rsquo;t be the Aztecs&rsquo; first Final Four. In 2020, they were 30-2 and generally slotted in as a No. 1 seed, albeit still an underdog to a stacked Kansas team that was the odds-on favorite. Then COVID hit and wiped that season off the boards.
&ldquo;There are a lot of really good teams in college basketball, and the difference between winning and losing is paper thin,&rdquo; San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher said.
Will anyone, outside of the truest of diehards, bother to watch?
As of Thursday, a pair of seats in the nosebleed section for Saturday&rsquo;s doubleheader &mdash; the most-anticipated day on the college hoops calendar &mdash; were going for around $100 each on the secondary market. A year ago, shortly after the Duke-Carolina matchup was set, the average price for those same seats nearly doubled to $800 a ticket.
There has been a lot of debate and even some handwringing about how one of America&rsquo;s greatest sporting events produced a 4 seed, two 5s and a 9 &mdash; for a seed total of 23, which is the second-highest in history &mdash; that between them boast not a single McDonald&rsquo;s All-American nor one consensus top-30 recruit.
The transfer portal, which allows players to come and go from school to school without having to sit out a year, might be the best explanation. Miami coach Jim Larranaga called it basketball&rsquo;s form of &ldquo;speed dating,&rdquo; a get-rich-quick scheme that, with the right timing, chemistry and luck, can make a roster very good (or very bad) very quickly.
Some other possibilities: an NCAA selection committee that some say is divorced from reality; the ever-shifting landscape caused by name-image-likeness (NIL) deals that give players more leverage (and money); and, for sure, an abundance of flawed teams &mdash; including Alabama, Houston and Kansas &mdash; that were overvalued and placed at the top of the heap this year.
But before jumping to grand conclusions about matchups like these becoming the &ldquo;new normal&rdquo; at the Final Four, former Duke star and current TV analyst Jay Bilas reminds us that we are a scant 365 days removed from a completely different sort of get-together.
&ldquo;I love the one about the narratives that you don&rsquo;t need those McDonalds guys to win,&rdquo; Bilas said. &ldquo;OK, so don&rsquo;t recruit the best players, and see how that goes for you. I just don&rsquo;t understand how all this gets this way.&rdquo;
A year ago, the tournament felt perfect. The country got its dose of Cinderella &mdash; namely, when 15 seed Saint Peter&rsquo;s made a first-of-its-kind run into the Elite Eight. Then, a sense of perfectly timed normalcy took over.
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski got to close out his career at the Final Four, and&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/march-madness-north-carolina-tar-heels-mens-basketball-duke-blue-devils-mens-basketball-sports-north-carolina-26014ae4edf5d2649b3543ab3b43528f">the end</a>&nbsp;came against none other than archrival North Carolina. Joining those power programs in New Orleans last year were Kansas and Villanova, two more of the country&rsquo;s great programs with seven national titles between them. The total seed value of those four teams: 13, with most of that accounted for by the Tar Heels, who got in as an 8 after knocking out Saint Pete&rsquo;s.
So, will 2023 be remembered as the year when chaos took over for good, or just a minor blip in the proceedings while all those Jayhawks and Blue Devils reload?
&ldquo;The tournament is about a lot of different things to a lot of different people,&rdquo; Bilas said. &ldquo;Some people love it for the brackets, some people love it for the basketball. But no matter who&rsquo;s in the Final Four, the bandwagon is always wide open, and you can jump on it whenever you want.&rdquo;

Of the four teams descending on Houston, only one has ever sniffed a Final Four before — the first time that's happened in 53 years.

Final Four: Last year’s bluebloods are this year’s no-names

NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Willis Reed, who dramatically&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49vo1JvT8Ss&amp;list=PLTFeiOvo3A8YnG7byZppaX5GOw1Mi7hTV&amp;index=4" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">emerged from the locker room minutes before Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals</a>&nbsp;to spark the New York Knicks to their first championship and create one of sports&rsquo; most enduring examples of playing through pain, died Tuesday. He was 80.
Reed&rsquo;s death was&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/NBAalumni/status/1638253401988296726?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">announced by the National Basketball Retired Players Association</a>, which confirmed it through his family. The cause was not released, but Reed had been in poor health recently and was unable to travel to New York when the Knicks honored the 50th anniversary of their 1973 NBA championship team during their game against New Orleans on Feb. 25.
The Knicks tweeted a photograph&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/NY_KnicksPR/status/1638265697380737027?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">picturing Reed from behind</a>&nbsp;walking onto the floor as his teammates were warming up for the 1970 finale, one of the most memorable moments in NBA and Madison Square Garden history.
&ldquo;As we mourn, we will always strive to uphold the standards he left behind &mdash; the unmatched leadership, sacrifice and work ethic that personified him as a champion among champions,&rdquo; the team said. &ldquo;His is a legacy that will live forever.&rdquo;
Nicknamed &ldquo;The Captain,&rdquo; Reed was the undersized center and emotional leader on the Knicks&rsquo; two NBA championship teams, with a soft shooting touch from the outside and a toughness to tussle with the era&rsquo;s superstar big men on the inside.
His accomplishments &mdash; seven All-Star selections, two NBA Finals MVP awards among them &mdash; would have warranted Hall of Fame induction by themselves. During the 1969-70 season, he became the first player to sweep the MVP awards for the regular season, All-Star Game and NBA Finals.
But his spot in history was secured simply by walking onto the floor on the final night of that season.
Reed had injured a thigh muscle in Game 5 of the series between the Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers, tumbling to the court in pain. He sat out Game 6 as counterpart Wilt Chamberlain had 45 points and 27 rebounds in a Lakers romp that forced a deciding game at Madison Square Garden.
Reed&rsquo;s status was unknown even to his Knicks teammates as he continued getting treatment until shortly before Game 7. Both teams were warming up when Reed came out of the tunnel, fans rising and roaring when they saw him emerge from the tunnel leading to the locker room.
&ldquo;And here comes Willis and the crowd is going wild,&rdquo; radio announcer Marv Albert said.
The Lakers stopped to watch Reed, who then made two quick jump shots in the early minutes of the game, running back down the court after both with a noticeable limp. He wouldn&rsquo;t score again but the Knicks didn&rsquo;t need it, with their captain&rsquo;s return and Walt Frazier&rsquo;s 36 points and 19 assists energizing them to a 113-99 romp and their&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHzxM69qm50" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">first NBA title</a>.
Frazier&rsquo;s performance was one of the finest ever in a deciding game, but it was forever a footnote to Reed&rsquo;s return. In 2006, to coincide with the NBA&rsquo;s 60th anniversary, it finished third in voting of the league&rsquo;s 60 greatest playoff moments, behind Michael Jordan&rsquo;s championship-winning jumper for his sixth title in 1998 and Magic Johnson ending his rookie season by filling in for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at center in Game 6 of the 1980 finals to lead the Lakers to a championship.
Long afterward, a player&rsquo;s return from injury has sometimes compared to Reed, such as when Boston&rsquo;s Paul Pierce was carried off the floor with a knee injury in Game 1 of the 2008 NBA Finals against Los Angeles before quickly returning. But Phil Jackson, a teammate of Reed&rsquo;s and then Lakers coach, dismissed that because of how serious Reed&rsquo;s injury was.
&ldquo;If I&rsquo;m not mistaken, I think Willis Reed missed a whole half and three-quarters almost of a game and literally had to have a shot &mdash; a horse shot, three or four of them &mdash; in his thigh to come back out and play,&rdquo; Jackson said.
Reed wouldn&rsquo;t be able to recover so quickly from injuries in the coming years. He was limited to just 11 games in 1971-72 but came back strong the next season to spark the Knicks to a second title in what was his last full season.
Though his return always made the &rsquo;70 title the more celebrated one, it was the &rsquo;72-73 squad, having been fortified by Hall of Famers Earl Monroe and Jerry Lucas, that stood out to Reed.
&ldquo;That, to me, in my mind was the best team,&rdquo; he said during its 40th anniversary celebration.
Reed would play only 19 games in 1973-74 before retiring because of a knee injury after just 10 seasons.
That was long enough to collect more than 12,000 points and 8,400 rebounds, both of which still rank in the top three on the Knicks&rsquo; career lists.
Willis Reed was born June 25, 1942, in Hico, Louisiana. He stayed in his home state for his college career, leading Grambling State to the 1961 NAIA championship and a third-place finish in 1963. The school retired his number and named its court after Reed in 2022.
A second-round pick in 1964, he quickly proved that standing only 6-foot-9 wouldn&rsquo;t keep him from becoming one of the league&rsquo;s top centers. He was voted Rookie of the Year and earned the first of his seven straight All-Star selections.
Reed was the anchor as the Knicks became one of the best teams in the NBA, with Hall of Famers such as Frazier, Bill Bradley and Dave DeBusschere.
Reed provided them with 18.7 points and 12.9 rebounds for his career, along with plenty of toughness. An ESPN documentary in 2014 on those Knicks showed footage of a 1966 fight in a game against the Lakers in which Reed appeared to throw punches at multiple opponents, with Jackson noting that it appeared Reed &ldquo;decimated this team.&rdquo;
His No. 19 was the first number retired by the Knicks and he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame in 1982.
Reed went on to coach the Knicks to a playoff berth in 1977-78 but coached them only 14 more games the following season. He also was a head coach at Creighton and the New Jersey Nets, but his greatest success after his playing career came in the front office.
He was their senior vice president of basketball operations when they drafted Derrick Coleman and Kenny Anderson, who became All-Stars and led the Nets to the playoffs.

NBA legend and Hall-of-Famer Willis Reed, who helped the Knicks win their two championships, died on Tuesday at 80 years old.

Willis Reed, leader on New York Knicks’ two title teams, dies at 80

This year's NBA trade deadline challenged the glut of Western Conference contenders to test how far they would go to separate themselves from the pack.
Some teams, like the Phoenix Suns in their Kevin Durant blockbuster or the Dallas Mavericks in their Kyrie Irving acquisition, swung for the fences. Others &mdash; such as the Denver Nuggets, Memphis Grizzlies and New Orleans Pelicans &mdash; only nabbed a rotation player or two, opting to bet on their current core.
The Los Angeles Clippers appear to fall in the latter group, but we should not overlook their trade-deadline moves. With three separate trades, all in the final hours of dealmaking on Thursday, the Clippers added Bones Hyland, Eric Gordon and Mason Plumlee. They took calculated risks and changed three important spots in their rotation, hoping the current stalwart defense insulates a boost of offensive juice.
Hyland was one of the hottest names in the rumor mill last week after his <a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2023/02/09/nuggets-trade-deadline-bones-hyland-thomas-bryant-analysis/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">falling out with the Nuggets</a>. Los Angeles pounced and dealt two second-round picks for the former No. 26 overall selection in the 2021 NBA Draft.
Hyland quickly becomes the most promising developmental talent on the roster at 22 years old. But more immediately, he brings a high-charged dose of long-range shotmaking to the Clippers' bottom-10 offense.
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Bones Hyland hit a career-high 7 three-pointers to lead the <a href="https://twitter.com/nuggets?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nuggets</a> to the win! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MileHighBasketball?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MileHighBasketball</a><a href="https://twitter.com/BizzyBones11?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BizzyBones11</a>: 26 PTS, 7 3PM <a href="https://t.co/IkJU5Ajf0U">pic.twitter.com/IkJU5Ajf0U</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1586207446678138883?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 29, 2022</a></blockquote>

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The combo guard profiles as one of the most extreme perimeter creators in the entire league. Some evidence: Hyland has attempted 118 self-created threes this season, according to PBP Stats, which would rank second on his new team behind Paul George (164) and far above the third-place guard he's replacing (Reggie Jackson, 66), in only 820 minutes this season. His 39.8% clip on those attempts ranks 13th among 81 players who have attempted at least 50 such shots.
To this point of his career, however, Hyland's primary impact has come from distance. He can attack the basket, but he's no more than a mediocre rim-pressure threat, and he's a very limited playmaker. Microwave shooting is an important skill that can swing a playoff series if active; it's unclear if Hyland can consistently impact the game this way.
That's why the Eric Gordon trade adds another level of intrigue. Gordon, a 34-year-old shooting guard, finally leaves a rebuilding Houston Rockets situation after years in and out of reported trade talks. He rejoins the franchise that drafted him seventh overall way back in 2008.&nbsp;
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Ty Lue on the <a href="https://twitter.com/LAClippers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LAClippers</a> new editions of Bones Hyland, Eric Gordon &amp; Mason Plumlee. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LAClippers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LAClippers</a> <a href="https://t.co/yxsD8SyutK">pic.twitter.com/yxsD8SyutK</a>
&mdash; Hoops &amp; Brews (@HoopsNBrews) <a href="https://twitter.com/HoopsNBrews/status/1624289182775656448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 11, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Gordon has a 15-year history of solid, albeit streaky, pull-up shooting, and he can still slice his way to the rim with ease. Gordon has converted 67% or more of his shots within three feet of the hoop in each of the last three seasons, per Basketball Reference &mdash; and that's in a Houston offense that has looked pretty wonky at times.&nbsp;
The Clippers acquired Gordon in a three-team deal with the Rockets and Grizzlies that ultimately sent John Wall to Houston and Luke Kennard to Memphis. They now have a reshaped guard rotation that includes Hyland, Gordon, Terance Mann and Norman Powell &mdash; four complementary scoring threats next to Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.&nbsp;
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Entering Saturday, L.A. took just 30.2% of its shots at the rim, a 23rd-ranked rate, per Cleaning the Glass. Gordon's talents should directly help, and Hyland's perimeter prowess ideally opens up lanes for others to attack.
The four-man crew allows for some interesting lineup flexibility. Does head coach Ty Lue opt to keep Mann in the starting lineup and let Hyland bombard off the bench, knowing Gordon can also keep teams honest? Or can Hyland eventually work his way up to start and provide a more powerful perimeter impact than Reggie Jackson ever could &mdash; also leaving Mann to keep the heat on with the second unit?
With just those two, we already see that the Clippers want to apply more pressure from more angles, versus the stagnation that can arise with just Kawhi plus PG plus floor-spacers. Mason Plumlee continues the theme in his own way as a passing hub.
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Pretty easy to see how Mason Plumlee's playmaking would fit seamlessly into Sacramento's offense. Lots of CHA's sets are similar to SAC's. Plumlee is averaging 4.6 assists per 36 mins and would probably be fairly cheap considering his expiring $9M deal. Davis + Len + two 2nds? <a href="https://t.co/U52qzH2vnd">pic.twitter.com/U52qzH2vnd</a>
&mdash; Brenden Nunes (@BrendenNunesNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrendenNunesNBA/status/1617660314237145088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 23, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Los Angeles added the veteran center in a trade with the Charlotte Hornets that sent Jackson and a 2028 second-rounder to Charlotte. During our <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/watch-basketball-news-2023-nba-trade-deadline-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2023 NBA Trade Deadline Show</a>, Nekias Duncan and I both commented on the parallels between Plumlee and the team's 2021-22 backup center, Isaiah Hartenstein.&nbsp;
Last year, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-stats-notebook-isaiah-hartenstein-is-the-clippers-secret-weapon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hartenstein showed off his facilitation chops</a> by hitting cutters from the arc and operating out of some roll actions. He's in the sub-Nikola-Jokic tier of best big man passers in the NBA, and so is Plumlee.
For several seasons, the 32-year-old has consistently posted some of the best passing numbers in the league; his 18.0% assist rate is in the 92nd percentile among bigs this season, per Cleaning the Glass. Plumlee is assisting on 12.6% of his total passes, per Second Spectrum, which is the third-highest rate among centers.
Add in his stellar presence around the rim (73% shooting in that zone) and solid track record on the glass, and Plumlee seems about as ideal a fit at backup center as feasible. The healthy Clippers are looking at a Hyland-Gordon-Powell-Robert Covington-Plumlee second unit, with Nic Batum and Amir Coffey as additonal options. That is deep.
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The overarching worry: L.A. is tweaking the components of its top-10 defense &mdash; the backbone of its current fifth-place standing in the Western Conference. Hyland has serious defensive question-marks, Gordon is strong but undersized and Plumlee, while fundamentally sound, is by no means a rim-protector. Can the system and the prowess of the remaining players provide a stable floor? And if not, do the new pieces just fall out of the rotation, or do they unearth a new problem?
We likely won't know the final answer until the postseason. But the Clippers pointedly targeted several needs on Thursday, and the moves have more reward and more risk than they appear to at first. Even without adding a star, the Clippers have become another must-track team in the reshuffled West playoff race.

Ethan Fuller breaks down the Los Angeles Clippers adding Bones Hyland, Eric Gordon and Mason Plumlee prior to the trade deadline.

Evaluating the Clippers' three NBA trade deadline moves

Only 18 times in NBA history has a player averaged 20-plus points, 10-plus assists and 5-plus rebounds per game across an entire season. James Harden and Nikola Jokic are on pace to join the list this year.
Three NBA players &mdash; Russell Westbrook, Oscar Robertson and Isiah Thomas &mdash; have put up at least 20 points and 10 assists per game over four or more separate seasons in their career. Harden is on pace to be the fourth.
Harden missing out on his 11th NBA All-Star appearance is simply a travesty. Maybe it's because the scoring volume is down, or because he's no longer the top bucket-getting option on his team. Whatever the case may be, he deserves applause for the way he has adapted with age and in a new role to help Philadelphia reinvent its path to contention.&nbsp;
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6 threes for <a href="https://twitter.com/JHarden13?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JHarden13</a> and call it a SZN HIGH! <a href="https://t.co/OZF4WCWR1i">pic.twitter.com/OZF4WCWR1i</a>
&mdash; Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) <a href="https://twitter.com/sixers/status/1620969675780935684?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 2, 2023</a>
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Harden is currently posting 21.0 points, 10.9 assists and 6.4 rebounds per contest. His mark of 14.9 field goal attempts per game is the lowest since his days on the Oklahoma City Thunder, but his overall efficiency is on par with his prime years in Houston &mdash; albeit in different forms. And with a dominant scorer in Joel Embiid by his side, Harden has reached new heights as a table-setter.
At 33 years old, Harden doesn't attack the basket with the same ferocity as his peak years. Only 24% of his shot attempts are coming at the rim (career-low), per Cleaning the Glass, and he's driving the basketball 13.3 times per game (lowest since 2013-14), according to Second Spectrum. They're still high numbers for most NBA players, but low by Harden's standards. His straight-line speed, probably still underrated in his heyday, has been sapped a great deal.
That's okay. Harden has been&nbsp;relatively&nbsp;confined to the perimeter, and he's made it work with a 38.8% three-point clip, his best since 2011-12. One key reason for the jump: Harden is canning a red-hot 47.7% of his attempts off the catch, which make up over one-eighth (12.7%) of his total shot diet, according to PBP Stats. That's the largest share of catch-and-shoot treys he's logged since 2016-17 and almost double last year's frequency.&nbsp;
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James Harden&rsquo;s reaction to making three catch-and-shoot 3s was pretty funny. And then, more serious: &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been working on it, so that&rsquo;s pretty exciting. You don&rsquo;t do too much, just catch-and-shoot it. You put the work in, I work on it every day.&rdquo; <a href="https://t.co/bH9p2iGTNX">pic.twitter.com/bH9p2iGTNX</a>
&mdash; Rich Hofmann (@rich_hofmann) <a href="https://twitter.com/rich_hofmann/status/1620982628995448832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 2, 2023</a>
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This isn't to say Harden has completely disavowed his iso-ball ways. According to Synergy, he takes the third-most isolation possessions per game (6.2) in the NBA. But those possessions are less taxing because he has a co-superstar beside him; Embiid actually logs a slightly higher isolation volume (6.3). And Harden doesn't have to will himself to the basket at his age &mdash; Embiid is also collapsing defenses.
The Harden-to-Embiid assist combination is the most popular connection in the league this season. The Beard has hit up The Process 150 times, per PBP Stats, including 71 Embiid buckets at the rim. Their 40-assist lead on the second-most prominent combo of Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield (110) is as large as that duo's edge between it and the 31st-ranked coupling (a tie between Jalen Brunson and RJ Barrett, Killian Hayes and Bojan Bogdanovic, and Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton).&nbsp;
Meanwhile, though much less often, Embiid is the most frequent passer when Harden picks up an assisted bucket. They've teamed up 19 times this season, including 11 Harden makes from beyond the arc.
The Embiid-Harden pick-and-roll has boosted their ascension to perhaps the most dynamic two-man action tandem in the league. But Harden's comfort in Philly is also boosting the supporting cast &mdash; most exemplified in Tobias Harris.&nbsp;
Harris, now 30 years old, has quietly settled into an efficient complementary role while Harden, Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Shake Milton initiate most offensive possessions. He's shooting a career-best 58% from two-point range. Harris' at-rim frequency (34%), field goal percentage (69%) and assisted-make rate (62%) are all the highest of his four-plus seasons with the Sixers, according to Cleaning the Glass.
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Less than a minute into the second half, James Harden records his 71st career triple-double with this dime to Tobias Harris 🔥<a href="https://t.co/uC4MpbmmYv">pic.twitter.com/uC4MpbmmYv</a> <a href="https://t.co/VEgsAzQYG2">https://t.co/VEgsAzQYG2</a>
&mdash; ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPointsApp/status/1612200618436730880?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 8, 2023</a></blockquote>

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The scoring opportunities get easier with Harden on the floor. The former MVP sends 18.1% of his passes to Harris, who in turn makes 59.2% of his ensuing twos and 37.7% of his threes. Harris has typically averaged 8-10 drives per game over the course of his prime years vs. his 6.7 drives this season. The creation burden has been lessened and the efficiency has increased.
It helps that the Sixers added De'Anthony Melton to space the floor and act as a secondary ball-handler, and Maxey certainly gives them another sharp driving punch. But Harden has made everyone, including Harris and Embiid, better since finding his comfort level on the team.
Harden's average of 92.7 touches per game ranks third in the NBA and is still on par with his typical touch rate throughout his career. He's still the ignition for Philly's ninth-ranked offense and a matchup nightmare when he's on the floor, even if the picture looks a little different.&nbsp;
Whether it's the lack of All-Star recognition or the general lack of buzz, Harden's superstardom has taken a back seat in the national consciousness. Don't make that same mistake.
THE OUTLIERS (a.k.a. other random interesting numbers I found in the void):
<ul>
<li>A cool blocked shot locations graphic from Edoardo Vergani. Look at Bol Bol!</li>
</ul>
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NBA: Blocked shot location of the 12 players with most blocks during this season! What pops out? Let me know! <a href="https://t.co/shFXLWFonW">pic.twitter.com/shFXLWFonW</a>
&mdash; Edoardo Vergani (@ed_vergani) <a href="https://twitter.com/ed_vergani/status/1621863738931400705?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2023</a></blockquote>

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<ul>
<li>Brandon Miller is such a fascinating NBA Draft prospect:</li>
</ul>
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Brandon Miller is putting up unprecedented versatility and efficiency in his jumpshot diet for a college big wing. Here's how he compares to some other 6'7+ shooters - Jabari Smith, Keegan Murray, Saddiq Bey, Brandon Ingram, and Khris Middleton. <a href="https://t.co/DUNsKNXfb4">pic.twitter.com/DUNsKNXfb4</a>
&mdash; Mark (@MarkC_NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkC_NBA/status/1621229412091039744?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 2, 2023</a></blockquote>

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<ul>
<li>The Pacers are an absolutely chaotic basketball team, as shown in this table from Tom Bassine:</li>
</ul>
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Net rating in each quarter. Best by Q: 1 - Nuggets 2 - Pacers 3 - Thunder 4 - Cavs <a href="https://t.co/0dKf9ChDbI">pic.twitter.com/0dKf9ChDbI</a>
&mdash; Tom Bassine (@tvbassine) <a href="https://twitter.com/tvbassine/status/1622230703017525249?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 5, 2023</a></blockquote>

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James Harden is on pace to be the third player to average 20 points and 10 assists in five seasons. Ethan Fuller praises his play.

NBA Stats Notebook: Giving James Harden the flowers he deserves

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) &mdash; LSU guard Alexis Morris showcased her speed, shooting touch and veteran savvy, punishing Tennessee for its apparent preoccupation with dominant Tigers post player Angel Reese.
Morris scored a career-high 31 points, stirring a raucous sellout crowd with a series of clutch transition layups in the fourth quarter, and third-ranked LSU remained unbeaten with a 76-68 victory over Tennessee on Monday night.
&ldquo;I had to be the player to stay poised because I&rsquo;m experienced. I&rsquo;ve been here before,&rdquo; Morris said. &ldquo;I got my first few transition buckets and was like, &lsquo;OK, this is pretty easy. I might as well use it to my advantage.&rsquo; And that&rsquo;s what I did tonight, push it in transition and put the pressure on them.&rdquo;
Reese had 18 points and 17 rebounds for her program-record 21st straight double-double for LSU (21-0, 9-0 SEC). Reese&rsquo;s highlights included a transition layup while being fouled during a pivotal 11-0 run after the Lady Vols had pulled as close as 53-52 in the fourth quarter.
Jordan Walker scored 19 points and Rickea Jackson added 17 for Tennessee (16-8, 8-1), which has lost two straight, albeit to two top-five teams (No. 5 UConn being the other).
Jordan Horston scored 11 for Tennessee, which nearly rallied from a 14-point deficit in the second half before the Tigers&rsquo; final surge kept the Lady Vols at arm&rsquo;s length in the final minutes.&nbsp;
&ldquo;It was competitive &mdash; got away from us there in the second half,&rdquo; Tennessee coach Kellie Harper said. &ldquo;Obviously, Alexis Morris made some really, really tough shots and put up a lot of points.&rdquo;
Reese was held to just four points and four rebounds in the first half, when she was trying to avoid foul trouble. She ramped up her aggression after that.
&ldquo;With her, it&rsquo;s really difficult to keep her completely off the boards,&rdquo; Harper said. &ldquo;With her length and her strength, she just has position early, and it&rsquo;s really difficult because she has such a knack for the ball.&rdquo;
LSU led by as many as nine in the first half after Last-Tear Poa&rsquo;s 3 made it 32-23 late in the second quarter.
Tennessee closed to 34-31 after Jackson scored inside to open the second half. But 3s by Jasmine Carson and Morris helped LSU start to pull away again. Morris&rsquo; free throws ignited an 8-0 run, capped by Reese&rsquo;s driving layup that made it 48-34 in the middle of the third quarter.
Tennessee went more than four minutes without scoring before Jackson&rsquo;s layup made it 48-36.
Tennessee then began defending the entire length of the court. That disrupted the Tigers, who did not hit a field goal for the last 5:45 of the third, allowing Tennessee to pull to 50-47 on Puckett&rsquo;s 3 in the final minute of the period.
The Vols were as close as 53-52 after Jackson&rsquo;s free throw, but Morris responded with a driving leaner while being fouled for a three-point play. Soon after, Reese converted a steal into a transition layup as she was fouled. Morris then scored twice more in transition, sending the crowd, and LSU coach Kim Mulkey, into a triumphant frenzy.
&ldquo;Everybody in the SEC picked Tennessee to finish ahead of us,&rdquo; Mulkey noted. &ldquo;If I&rsquo;m a competitor, I take that as a challenge.&rdquo;
FULL HOUSE
The crowd of 15,157 was the largest since a 2005 renovation of the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
Mulkey called the atmosphere in the arena &ldquo;everything young people need to experience in college.&rdquo;
Added Reese, a Maryland transfer, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never been a part of this type of environment. ... To come to a school where they support women&rsquo;s basketball, sometimes even more than the men, is amazing and you don&rsquo;t see that very often.&rdquo;
Harper said it was so loud at times that &ldquo;it was really difficult to communicate with our team&rdquo; while the ball was in play.
&ldquo;Sometimes,&rdquo; Haper added, &ldquo;it was hard to even communicate in the huddle.&rdquo;
BIG PICTURE
Tennessee: The Lady Vols continued to be a victim of their difficult schedule. They now have a half-dozen losses against ranked teams and most of those losing margins were single digits. ... Tennessee shot 8 of 19 from 3-point range to keep the game close, but were outperformed inside in the second half.
LSU: Led for all but a few minutes and always had a response for each Tennessee push. LSU outrebounded Tennessee 45-38, outscored the Lady Vols in the paint 38-30 and scored 23 points at the foul line to Tennessee&rsquo;s six.
UP NEXT
Tennessee: Hosts Mississippi on Thursday.
LSU: Hosts Georgia on Thursday.

Alexis Morris scored a career-high 31 points, stirring a raucous sellout crowd with a series of clutch layups in the fourth quarter.

Morris’ career-high 31 lifts No, 3 LSU over Tennessee, 76-68

The 2023 NBA trade deadline is on Feb. 9, meaning trade season is rapidly approaching. Will it be an active deadline with a ton of wheeling-and-dealing or a relatively quiet one? That remains to be seen.
With so much parity around the league, there should be plenty of buyers. But which teams will emerge as sellers? That's what NBA executives are waiting to find out between now and the deadline.
Basketball News recently asked our staff the following question: Which trade do you want to see before the deadline? Here's what our writers had to say:&nbsp;
Ethan Fuller: "I don&rsquo;t know if the Toronto Raptors even should sell, but if they do, teams should be jostling to land Gary Trent Jr. Dallas could certainly use Trent&rsquo;s microwave scoring and active defensive hands, even if they stick with Tim Hardaway Jr. and their current guards. Luka Doncic is an offensive juggernaut, but that doesn&rsquo;t mean he should sustain his workload. Trent can help ease the burden."
Alex Kennedy: "I'm a sucker for a blockbuster. The most interesting trade deadlines typically feature a star player changing teams. As this year's deadline approaches, there aren't too many rumblings about a star asking out. The closest is rival executives wondering whether <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/whats-going-wrong-with-the-atlanta-hawks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trae Young may ask the Atlanta Hawks for a trade</a> since the team is struggling and dealing with some drama behind the scenes, but that just seems like speculation at this point.
"Assuming a star doesn't become available over the next month, I'll settle for Bojan Bogdanovic getting traded to a contender. He has been terrific this season, averaging a career-high 21.2 points along with 3.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.4 threes (while shooting 48.7% from the field, 41.5% from three and 88.5% from the free-throw line). Bogdanovic is 33 years old, so it'd be great to see him join a playoff team (such as the Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat or Phoenix Suns) rather than simply putting up great numbers on a bottom-feeder. The Detroit Pistons are rebuilding and would likely move Bogdanovic for the right offer, so I'm hoping we get to see him join a win-now squad."
Nekias Duncan: "I want the Denver Nuggets to trade Jeff Green, Davon Reed and a 2026 second-rounder to the New York Knicks for Isaiah Hartenstein. Frankly, it has pained me to watch Hartenstein &mdash; an underrated but effective passing hub &mdash; rarely get that usage. (To be fair, I&rsquo;m sure Thibs has been equally dismayed by Hartenstein&rsquo;s defense and rebounding presence. Fair play, Mr. Head Coach.) If he isn&rsquo;t going to be maximized on offense (and cause wincing on defense), a move may be best for both parties.
"The Nuggets are familiar with using their bigs as high post or Delay hubs; they have the best one in the league in Nikola Jokic. They&rsquo;ve attempted to use DeAndre Jordan as an elbow connector at times with the second unit; I&rsquo;ll go out on a limb and say Hartenstein would give them more juice in that regard. Green would give the Knicks some veteran depth in the frontcourt whenever he recovers from his hand injury. Reed is a nice flier on multi-positional defense. A light bit of draft capital wouldn&rsquo;t hurt either."
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Spencer Davies: "For the love of all that is sacred, get Luka Doncic another ball-handler and/or a better shooter. It is clear and obvious that Jalen Brunson's departure has made things twice as difficult on the Slovenian sensation, yet he's still delivering &mdash; with no examples better than Thursday's game-tying stepback threes and a ridiculous comeback effort against the New York Knicks around the holidays.
"The Mavericks have contracts to float around, none more obvious than Tim Hardaway Jr.'s &nbsp;deal. They could also fetch a valuable player with Dorian Finney-Smith's four-year, $55 million extension that is in Year 1 this season. In addition, Reggie Bullock is mired in a shooting slump that's lasted for the first half of the campaign. And if you need a filler for a bigger contract coming back, Davis Bertans is making a boatload on money ($16 million, then $17 million and an ETO in 2024-25).
"With the Chicago Bulls going in the wrong direction, DeMar DeRozan makes a ton of sense. The Charlotte Hornets have Terry Rozier, who's quietly averaging 21 points a night (albeit on over 19 shots per game); he's been very hot in January. D'Angelo Russell seems like he could be an odd-man out in Minnesota, no? Fred VanVleet feels like a popular name around the trade mill too.
"As for shooters, your first thought is obviously Bojan Bogdanovic in Detroit. If you want to take it a step further, Kyle Kuzma is a little streakier, but he can also put it on the floor and be a secondary creator, as he's showing with the Washington Wizards. Dallas could also call its rival in the Southwest Division and ask the San Antonio Spurs for one of (if not both of) Doug McDermott and Josh Richardson? (The problem there is the Spurs will want draft picks, and because of the Kristaps Porzingis trade, Dallas will convey its first-round selection to New York if it falls between 11-30; it's like that for the next three years too). However, the Mavs do have first-round picks from 2026-2029 to offer.) As you can see, there are options out there to explore for Dallas. At least try, or else Luka will be gassed by early March!"
Brian Fritz: "I would love to see the Minnesota Timberwolves send Naz Reid to the Memphis Grizzlies for a lottery-protected 2024 first-round pick. While the Grizzlies could use some shooting from the wing (as could every team in the NBA), they also need a backup big. Reid is averaging 13.5 points and 6.8 rebounds since early December and would be a regular part of the rotation as well as insurance for Jaren Jackson Jr. and his foul issues.
"The Timberwolves may not even make it into the Play-In Tournament and could be best served moving Reid while his value is high and start recouping draft picks after giving up so many in the Rudy Gobert trade."
Is there a certain trade that you would like to see? If so, <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweet it to us! We'll share our favorites!</a>

Basketball News recently asked our staff: Which deal do you want to see before the NBA trade deadline?

NBA Roundtable: Which trade do you want to see before the deadline?

MIAMI (AP) — The math wasn't hard. The Miami Heat got a lot of points off turnovers, and nearly went the whole game without giving up any.
It was the difference.
Jimmy Butler scored 27 points, Bam Adebayo added 23 points and 14 rebounds and the Heat moved over .500 by topping the Los Angeles Lakers 112-98 on Wednesday night.
Miami led the Lakers 31-2 in points off turnovers, after forcing 26 while committing only six despite being without point guard Kyle Lowry — who was out for personal reasons.
“Certainly, the ball control was a big positive tonight," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
LeBron James, who led the Lakers with 27 points, couldn't have agreed more — albeit from a different perspective. The turnovers led to a 92-77 discrepancy in field-goal attempts, that number obviously in Miami's favor.
“That's pretty much the game right there," James said.
The Lakers fell to 14-21. It’s the second-worst record for any of James’ teams through 35 games; Cleveland started 11-24 in his rookie season of 2003-04.
“I don’t want to finish my career playing at this level, from a team aspect,” James said. “I want to still be able to compete for championships because I know what I can still bring to any ballclub with the right pieces.”
Tyler Herro had 18 points and nine assists for the Heat (18-17). Caleb Martin scored 13 points and Gabe Vincent added 12 for Miami, which has won six of its last eight.
James, playing on the second night of a back to back, also had nine rebounds and six assists for the Lakers. Russell Westbrook and Dennis Schroder each had 15 for the Lakers.
The Heat led by 22 points at one point, their third-largest margin of the season and the biggest since Oct. 26.
And the 14-point final margin also represented Miami’s third-largest win of the season, though it didn’t come easily at the end.
The Lakers cut the lead to seven late in the fourth, before Herro connected on a left-wing 3-pointer with 2:01 to restore a double-digit lead. Miami got a stop on the Lakers’ next possession, and on the ensuing Heat trip Butler went down the lane for an easy layup with 1:15 remaining and that sealed the win.
“We kept the lead,” Adebayo said. “That was the biggest thing.”
It was James' final game as a 37-year-old; he turns 38 on Friday. James averaged 30.1 points in games played at 37, by far the most in NBA history. Karl Malone averaged 23.2 at 37; that’s second-best now.
TIP-INS
Lakers: James played in his 1,393rd game, breaking a tie with Tim Duncan for 10th-most in NBA history. Next up is Jason Terry (1,410). ... Westbrook passed Charles Barkley for 28th place on the NBA’s scoring list. Barkley retired with 23,757 points; Westbrook has 23,767. ... Troy Brown Jr. scored 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting, 4 of 5 on 3-pointers.
Heat: It was Miami’s 54th and final home game of 2022. The Heat went 35-19 in those and won’t be home again until Jan. 8 against Brooklyn. ... Butler also had five steals and four assists, while shooting 11 for 18.
BACK IN MIAMI
It was the 14th time that James had scored at least 27 points in Miami — his former home — as an opponent. He's had at least that many in seven of eight appearances on the Heat home floor since he left the franchise and returned to Cleveland in 2014.
UD RETIREMENT
Udonis Haslem’s No. 50 jersey was retired by Miami High, his alma mater, on Tuesday night in a ceremony that several Heat players, coaches and staff attended. James offered his former teammate congratulations pregame Wednesday about the honor; both will have their jerseys — No. 40 for Haslem, No. 6 for James — retired eventually by the Heat as well.
UP NEXT
Lakers: At Atlanta on Friday night.
Heat: At Denver on Friday night.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Jimmy Butler scored 27 points, Bam Adebayo added 23 points and the Heat topped the Los Angeles Lakers 112-98.

Heat get past Lakers 112-98, climb over .500 at 18-17

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) &mdash; Rudy Gobert had 23 points and 15 rebounds in his Minnesota debut, and the Timberwolves recovered to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 115-108 on Wednesday in the season opener.
D'Angelo Russell had 20 points and Jaden McDaniels added 19 points for the Timberwolves, who turned a 16-point lead into a six-point deficit during the third quarter.
Gobert stepped up with a steadying hand on a night when Karl-Anthony Towns (12 points) and Anthony Edwards (11 points) shot a combined 6 for 27 from the floor. Jaylen Nowell, who had 13 points, put the Timberwolves ahead for good with his layup with 10:47 remaining.
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/oklahoma-city-thunder-nba-sports-shai-gilgeous-alexander-a33b37160bb7493d5ab7fd7d0d3e3735">Shai Gilgeous-Alexander</a> led the Thunder with 32 points and cut the lead to 105-103 with 4:04 left, but they didn't get any closer after that.
One of the most anticipated seasons for Timberwolves fans in the star-crossed history of their team, coming off a return to the playoffs and the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/minnesota-timberwolves-utah-jazz-nba-entertainment-sports-30765f1caacff7e3e99aa0674dee7ffb">blockbuster addition</a> of Gobert in a summer trade with Utah, began with the 7-foot-1 Frenchman greeting the crowd during the pregame hype.
They had to work for this win against a pesky, young and fast Thunder team that&rsquo;s playing without injured No. 2 overall draft pick Chet Holmgren.
The Timberwolves won all four matchups with the Thunder last season by an average of more than 26 points and were in complete control of the first half, until a meltdown late in the third quarter left the Thunder an opening to make a game of it and then some.
After Minnesota went ahead by a game-high 16 points, the Thunder went on a 27-5 run. Eugene Omoruyi, who did fine work defending Towns during that stretch, knocked down a shot in the paint for Oklahoma City&rsquo;s first lead with 3:01 left in the period.
Gobert single-handedly cranked the crowd energy back up by stealing a bad pass by Mike Muscala, beating him to the loose ball and flipping in a one-handed runner ahead of the buzzer to tie it at 87. Gobert dunked on Josh Giddey for a 92-89 lead to give the fans another highlight.
The Thunder had a setback in the second quarter when rookie Jalen Williams &mdash; one of three 2022 lottery selections on the roster &mdash; injured his right eye while trying to defend a dunk attempt by McDaniels in the second quarter. Williams needed assistance to leave the floor and walk to the locker room and did not return, after scoring five points in six minutes.
The biggest question surrounding the Timberwolves is how effectively Gobert and Towns can <a href="https://apnews.com/article/minnesota-timberwolves-utah-jazz-nba-sports-rudy-gobert-8326697cf6a2a137825b0885958af7c9">play together</a>, a pair of 7-footers &mdash; albeit with distinct skill sets &mdash; in this age of long-distance shooting and position-less small ball across the NBA.
Gobert put his name on the first basket of the season, a put-back of his own miss, and the twin towers provided a glimpse of how well they can play off of each other with Towns twice flipping him top-of-the-key lob passes for dunks in the first half.
HOMECOMING FOR HOLMGREN
The luster was stripped off the opener for Oklahoma City's prized rookie when he ruptured a tendon in his right foot <a href="https://apnews.com/article/oklahoma-city-thunder-nba-sports-faecc6fbc3fbe571e2dffb76033a7c90">in a pro-am game</a> that ended his first season before it began. Holmgren grew up in south Minneapolis, just a few miles from Target Center, and accompanied the Thunder on the trip so he could see family and enjoy some bonding time with his teammates. The <a href="https://apnews.com/article/oklahoma-city-thunder-nba-sports-draft-8c087d0afbe773f3d61b24753f35b713">rehab program</a> will take priority for Holmgren over traveling with the team over the course of the season.
TIP-INS
Thunder: Kenrich Williams and Aleksej Pokusevski were surprise starters in the frontcourt. The 7-foot Pokusevski had 11 points and seven rebounds in 25 minutes. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl started the second half in place of Williams.
Timberwolves: Newcomer Kyle Anderson was the first player off the bench. He had two points and six rebounds in 22 minutes. ... Eric Paschall, who played 58 games for Utah last season and was in camp on a two-way contract, was waived before the game amid lingering left Achilles trouble.
UP NEXT
Thunder: Visit Denver on Saturday night. Their home opener is against Minnesota on Sunday night.
Timberwolves: Host Utah on Friday night, when Gobert takes on his former team.

Rudy Gobert had 23 points and 15 rebounds in his Minnesota debut, and the Timberwolves recovered to beat the Thunder.