San Antonio Spurs

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

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

Exploring the most dominant dynasties throughout NBA history

SAN ANTONIO (AP) &mdash; The first dinner that Victor Wembanyama had in his new home city was filled with San Antonio royalty. Gregg Popovich was there, of course. So were Tim Duncan, David Robinson, Manu Ginobili and Sean Elliott.
NBA champions, all of them.
Wembanyama now starts his quest to join their club.
Even as the welcomes for Wemby continued Saturday &mdash; one at San Antonio&rsquo;s iconic downtown River Walk, another at the arena &mdash; the French teen who has been labeled a generational basketball talent already was thinking about what comes next. He&rsquo;s got a visit to Nike headquarters in Oregon in the next few days, appointments to see some houses in San Antonio that he might be calling home for the next few years and then practices for the NBA Summer League.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got a lot to do,&rdquo; Wembanyama said. &ldquo;But it&rsquo;s all right. It&rsquo;s OK. It&rsquo;s all going to fit in.&rdquo;
He&rsquo;s excited, and rightly so. He put on a Spurs uniform on Saturday for the first time and will play in one for the first time sometime in early July in either Sacramento or Las Vegas; San Antonio plays in both of those summer leagues. He offered high-fives to hundreds of Spurs employees who showed up at the arena on Saturday to welcome him, smiling the whole way.
&ldquo;These are exciting times,&rdquo; Spurs CEO R.C. Buford said.
They come with the biggest expectations. The morning party on the River Walk took place at the spot where the Spurs&rsquo; championship celebrations usually are centered. And the news conference that followed at the arena came with Wembanyama seated on a stage that just happened to be at the same end of the court as San Antonio&rsquo;s five NBA championship banners.
&ldquo;To Victor, I wanted to say to you directly, we&rsquo;re excited to grow with you, support you, challenge you, especially Coach Pop &mdash; there&rsquo;ll be a lot of challenging days &mdash; on your journey through life and basketball,&rdquo; Spurs general manager Brian Wright said as he sat to Wembanyama&rsquo;s left. &ldquo;Your talent is obvious, but as we got to know you, the maturity, the approach, the character really showed us how special of a young man you are.&rdquo;
It was part of a whirlwind first 20 hours or so in San Antonio for Wembanyama,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/spurs-wembanyama-draft-nba-11b2b43bc27076ab5036769bf5d4160b">who flew in from the NBA draft on Friday</a>&nbsp;and had dinner with Popovich and some former players that night. Wembanyama said he learned more about the NBA in those two hours than he had learned in the last few years.
&ldquo;Honestly, that was one of the best dinners of my life,&rdquo; Wembanyama said. &ldquo;And not because of the food. The food was good. But the people was crazy.&rdquo;
Saturday started with Wembanyama enjoying a bag of the city&rsquo;s famed breakfast tacos &mdash; bacon and egg, and bean and cheese, he said &mdash; before heading to the Arneson River Theater for the day&rsquo;s first introductory event. Robinson was there, sitting in the front row. So was San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg, wearing a Wembanyama jersey.
There&rsquo;s someone driving around San Antonio with a Wemby license plate. There&rsquo;s a burger with foie gras on the menu at a local sports bar, as a tribute to Wembanyama. There&rsquo;s a mural of him on the outside of a business directly across the street of another mural featuring Duncan, Ginobili and Tony Parker. There&rsquo;s even a mariachi band that already has a song about Wembanyama.
&ldquo;The fans have been the best at their job,&rdquo; Wembanyama said. &ldquo;I can only hope to be at their level.&rdquo;
The Spurs also introduced&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-draft-2023-wembanyama-report-card-2b66d099d445bf3f1f8e3c697dcc9efb">second-round pick Sidy Cissoko</a>&nbsp;on Saturday &mdash; another player from France who has known Wembanyama for about a decade. Cissoko played in Spain before ending up with the G League Ignite, and he already has endeared himself to San Antonio, a city with a strong Latin influence, by taking questions in English, French and Spanish.
&ldquo;The hoop gods have been incredibly generous to San Antonio for a long time, and they blessed us again with Victor and Sidy,&rdquo; Buford said.
Wembanyama said he hasn&rsquo;t had much time for sleep, and he&rsquo;s looking forward to things calming down a bit so he can get back into his basketball routine &mdash; one that has been understandably disrupted in recent days. But first, there was luggage to unpack, more people to meet, more jerseys to sign.
It was hectic. It&rsquo;s going to be hectic for a while. And Wembanyama says he&rsquo;s enjoying it all.
&ldquo;This is the life I wanted,&rdquo; Wembanyama said. &ldquo;This is what I worked for and it&rsquo;s what I&rsquo;ve been wanting for a long time. So, it feels normal to me.&rdquo;

The 48 hours after Victor Wembanyama was drafted No. 1 overall by the San Antonio Spurs have been a whirlwind.

Spurs, fans welcome No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama to San Antonio

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Jack Nunge scored 18 points, Adam Kunkel added 15 on five first-half 3-pointers, and No. 3 seed Xavier beat 11th-seeded Pittsburgh 84-73 on Sunday to reach its first Sweet 16 since 2017.
Colby Jones had 10 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists, and Souley Boum and Jerome Hunter each chipped in with 14 points as all five Xavier starters scored in double digits.
Xavier distributed the ball well, particularly early on with 17 assists on 19 baskets in the first half to build a 48-34 lead at the break. The Musketeers finished with 22 assists.
Xavier (27-9) moves on to play No. 2 seed Texas on Friday in the Midwest Region semifinals in Kansas City, Missouri.
Blake Hinson scored 18 points and Jamarius Burton had 16 for Pitt (24-12).
Nunge set the tone early, dominating the paint with eight points in the first 10 minutes while Jones knocked down two 3s as the Musketeers built a 28-18 lead.
The Musketeers then blew the game open with a 12-2 run behind Kunkel, who made two 3s and threw an alley-oop dunk to Nunge. Kunkel followed with his fifth 3 of the first half to give Xavier a 19-point lead with 1:26 left.
Nunge picked up his fourth foul with 9:35 remaining in the game and Xavier up by 18, a play that ended with Pitt coach Jeff Capel getting slapped with technical foul that left him barking at officials. Pitt guard Greg Elliott stepped in front of his coach and tried to box him out at the scorer&rsquo;s table to keep him from getting a second tech.
The Musketeers managed just fine without Nunge, pushing the lead to 20 with 7:22 remaining on a jumper by Boum.
Nunge returned but fouled out with 3:18 left and Xavier up by 14.
Burton cut the lead to 10 with an and-one off a drive through an unprotected lane. Elliott&rsquo;s 3-pointer with 1:45 remaining trimmed Xavier&rsquo;s lead to eight, but the Panthers did not get closer.
BIG PICTURE
Pitt: The Panthers won their first two NCAA Tournament games since 2014, beating Mississippi State in the First Four and throttling No. 6 Iowa State in the first round. After holding the Cyclones to 41 points on Friday, Pitt allowed Xavier to score 42 in the first 15 minutes. It didn&rsquo;t help that big man Federiko Federiko played less than a minute because of a knee problem.
Xavier: Sean Miller has the Musketeers headed in the right direction in the first season of his second stint as their coach. After needing to come back from 13 down in the second half to beat 14 seed Kennesaw State, the Musketeers left no doubt about this one, coming out focused and ready to play.
UP NEXT
Xavier will face a Longhorns team that has won six straight games.

Jack Nunge scored 18 points, Adam Kunkel added 15 on five first-half threes, and No. 3 seed Xavier beat 11th-seeded Pittsburgh.

Xavier beats Pitt 84-73, reaches first Sweet 16 since 2017

SAN ANTONIO (AP) &mdash; Christian Wood had 27 points and 13 rebounds and the Dallas Mavericks overcame a series of blunders at the end regulation to beat the San Antonio Spurs 137-128 in overtime Wednesday night without injured All-Stars Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
Dallas&rsquo; Maxi Kleber threw an inbounds pass out of bounds on a full-length heave with 1.8 seconds remaining in regulation. Keldon Johnson, who missed a pair of free throws with 1.8 seconds, tied it 121 on an alley-oop dunk off an inbounds pass from Malaki Branham.
Wood had five points in overtime as Dallas fights to remain in the top 10 in the Western Conference. The Mavericks entered the game in ninth place with the same record as the 10th-place Los Angeles Lakers and a game ahead of the Utah Jazz and New Orleans Pelicans.
Dwight Powell and Jaden Hardy had 22 points each and Josh Green added 21 points for Dallas, which snapped a three-game skid.
Johnson had 27 points to lead the short-handed Spurs.
Playing the second game of a back-to-back, the Spurs were without starters Devin Vassell Jeremy Sochan and Zach Collins along with Keita Bates-Diop and Charles Bassey. But as they did in setting a franchise record with 22 3-pointers in a rousing victory over Orlando on Tuesday night, San Antonio responded with a balanced scoring effort.
Branham had 20 points, Romeo Langford had 17 points and four others scored in double figures.
TIP-INS
Mavericks: Dallas has won six straight against San Antonio. The Mavericks&rsquo; previous loss to the Spurs was April 11, 2021, in San Antonio. &hellip; Doncic and Irving were both in attendance, sitting at the end of the Mavericks bench. &hellip; Jaden Hardy has scored 20 points in all three of his career starts for the Mavericks. In a back-to-back set against Memphis, Hardy had 22 points on March 11 and 28 points on March 13.
Spurs: San Antonio confirmed that C Charles Bassey suffered a non-displace fracture in his left patella. The injury occurred at the close of the first quarter of Tuesday&rsquo;s victory over Orlando. Bassey will miss the remainder of the season. &hellip;. San Antonio is 2-1 during its six-game homestand. &hellip; Of the 13 games the Spurs have remaining, 10 are against a team in the playoffs or play-in tournament if the season ended today. &hellip; Johnson made his 200th career start in 219 career games with the Spurs. Only Tim Duncan, David Robinson, Tony Parker, Willie Anderson and Sean Elliott have 200 starts in fewer games for the Spurs.
UP NEXT
Mavericks: At Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night.
Spurs: Host Memphis on Friday night.

Christian Wood had 27 points and 13 rebounds as the Mavericks beat the Spurs 137-128 in overtime on Wednesday night.

Christian Wood has 27 points, 13 rebounds in Mavs’ OT win over Spurs

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) &mdash; Jamarius Burton made a go-ahead jumper with 10 seconds left and Pitt edged Mississippi State 60-59 in a back-and-forth First Four game Tuesday night that featured 21 lead changes &mdash; most in the NCAA Tournament in five years.
Mississippi State had a great chance to win at the end, but Shakeel Moore missed a wide-open 3-pointer from the corner with two seconds remaining off an inbounds play. D.J. Jeffries&rsquo; tip-in attempt was off target just before the buzzer.
Nelly Cummings led Pitt with 15 points. Greg Elliott scored 13 and Blake Hinson added 12 as the Panthers (23-11) won an NCAA Tournament game for the first time since 2014.
They slotted into the Midwest Region bracket as the 11th seed and advanced to face No. 6 seed Iowa State on Friday in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Dashawn Davis had 15 points for the Bulldogs (21-13).
TEXAS A&amp;M-CORPUS CHRISTI 75, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE 71
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) &mdash; Isaac Mushila had 15 points and 12 rebounds as Texas A&amp;M-Corpus Christi held off Southeast Missouri State to earn the first NCAA Tournament win in program history.
Texas A&amp;M-Corpus Christi went 3 of 4 at the free-throw line in the final 15 seconds to ice the game and advance to play top-seeded Alabama in the South Region on Thursday in Birmingham, Alabama.
The 16th-seeded Islanders (24-10), winners of the Southland Conference, returned to the First Four for a second straight season and led for all but 23 seconds in the opening game of this NCAA Tournament.
Southeast Missouri State (19-17) erased a 10-point deficit and tied it at 64 with 3:07 left.
Jalen Jackson led the Islanders with 22 points. Trevian Tennyson scooped in a slick layup off the glass to give Texas A&amp;M-Corpus Christi a 72-69 lead with 22 seconds remaining.
Chris Harris scored 23 points before fouling out for the Redhawks, the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament champions. Phillip Russell came up short on a good look at a potential tying 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds to go.
Southeast Missouri State went 9 of 20 at the free-throw line.

The Pitt Panthers and Texas A&M Corpus Christi Islanders advanced to the Round of 64 in two First Four contests.

Pitt gets past Mississippi St in first March Madness games

SAN ANTONIO (AP) &mdash; With All-Star guard LaMelo Ball out with a sprained left ankle, Terry Rozier stepped up with 24 points and six others scored in double figures as the Charlotte Hornets routed the San Antonio Spurs 129-102 on Wednesday night.
The Spurs opened their 50th season in San Antonio inauspiciously, losing a season opener for only the third time under Gregg Popovich.
&ldquo;You start with the fact that we got thumped and you don&rsquo;t avoid it, you don&rsquo;t hide from it,&rdquo; Popovich said. &ldquo;We got our butts kicked. And from there, you can look to improve.&rdquo;
This year&rsquo;s squad bears no resemblance to the veteran-led teams that won five NBA championships and appeared in a league-record 22 straight postseasons under Popovich.
Averaging 23.4 years, this is the youngest roster in Popovich&rsquo;s 27 seasons as San Antonio coach.
Charlotte took advantage of the inexperience.
The Hornets set franchise records in a season opener for points in the first half (68) and opening quarter (38).
&ldquo;If you&rsquo;re going to have a good year, you need a lot of good players,&rdquo; Charlotte coach Steve Clifford said. &ldquo;So, every guy that you have is comfortable in their role and playing with confidence gives you a better chance.&rdquo;
And Charlotte demonstrated their comfort against San Antonio, shooting 51% from the field and 45% on 3-pointers.
P.J. Washington had 17 points and Gordon Hayward added 15 as all five Hornets starters scored in double figures. Charlotte reserve center Nick Richards had a career-high 19 points.
Keldon Johnson had 20 points, 11 rebounds and four assists to lead San Antonio in all three categories. Jakob Poeltl and Tre Jones added 14 points each.
Charlotte raced out to a double-digit lead in the opening five minutes as San Antonio missed its first seven 3-pointers and had more turnovers (three) than assists (one).
&ldquo;They missed a lot of open 3s in the first quarter,&rdquo; Clifford said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s what I just shared with the guys: You&rsquo;ve got to be able to watch the film and you&rsquo;ve got to be able to say, &lsquo;What if they shot in the first quarter like they did in the third quarter?&rsquo; Because you want to be able to win and make progress or lose. We did do some good things. I thought our ball pressure was good. They&rsquo;re hard to guard, but I was feeling, watching them play, they missed a lot of open shots, too.&rdquo;
San Antonio thrilled the sell-out crowd with a 13-2 run capped by Johnson&rsquo;s 3-pointer in closing to 76-64 with 7 minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Charlotte&rsquo;s lead never dipped below double figures in the second half, though.
The Hornets went on a 19-1 run after another Johnson 3-pointer pulled the Spurs within 85-75 with 4:46 remaining in the third quarter.
TIP-INS
Guard James Bouknight played 10 minutes hours after the Charlotte Mecklenburg County Police released details of his DWI arrest on Sunday morning. Bouknight was found intoxicated, unconscious and holding a gun with his vehicle in drive. Bouknight has a pending concealed carry permit, so he was not charged for possession of a gun. Bouknight was scoreless, going 0 for 3 from the field. ... San Antonio is 23-3 in its season openers under Popovich. &hellip; Jeremy Sochan is just the fifth rookie to start on opening night for San Antonio, joining Tim Duncan (&rsquo;97), David Robinson (&rsquo;89), Sean Eliott (&rsquo;89) and Willie Anderson (&rsquo;88).
MANU WHO?
San Antonio paid tribute to Manu Ginobili&rsquo;s Hall of Fame induction with a halftime ceremony.
Ginobili&rsquo;s retired jersey was updated to include the Hall of Fame designation. The sell-out crowd interrupted Ginobili&rsquo;s speech twice with shouts of &ldquo;Manu.&rdquo;
Still, Pop didn&rsquo;t miss the chance to playfully dig at Ginobili.
&ldquo;If I could have played him tonight, then I would care, but he doesn&rsquo;t play, so screw him,&rdquo; Popovich said with a wry grin. &ldquo;What has he done for us lately? Nothing.&rdquo;
ID REQUIRED
Popovich is widely known as sommelier, enjoying a bottle of wine while gathering with players, coaches and friends.
The menu is going to have to change this season since the Spurs have six players that are under the legal drinking age of 21.
&ldquo;I was at dinner with one of my players, which who will not be named, just the two of us. And I ordered a glass of wine, and he tried to order it too,&rdquo; Popovich said. &ldquo;I said, &lsquo;Wait a minute, what is your mom and dad going to say if you went to dinner with Coach Pop and you are out there drinking? And it&rsquo;s illegal for you to drink. We can&rsquo;t do that.&rsquo; He said, &lsquo;Oh, yeah. OK.&rsquo; So, he had bubble water or sparkling water, whatever the hell that awful stuff is.&rdquo;
UP NEXT
Hornets: Host New Orleans on Friday.
Spurs: Open a three-game road trip Friday at Indiana.

With LaMelo Ball out with a sprained left ankle, Terry Rozier stepped up with 24 points and six others scored in double figures.

Rozier scores 24 as Hornets rout youthful Spurs, 129-102

Each day, BasketballNews.com scours #NBATwitter to bring you the best tweets from the previous day. Some are insightful, some are just hilarious (so we had to include them).
Without further ado, here are the tweets of the day for January 19, 2021.
Mom, Dad, You&rsquo;re Embarrassing Me Again
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LMFAOOOOOOOO <a href="https://t.co/vlZdLM22nf">pic.twitter.com/vlZdLM22nf</a>
&mdash; CPS (@so_caly86) <a href="https://twitter.com/so_caly86/status/1351257151877115915?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 18, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade never miss an opportunity to embarrass their children.
Oops, My Hand Slipped
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Never forget when Blake Griffin was petty af and &ldquo;accidentally&rdquo; dumped water on a GSW fan after getting fouled out. <a href="https://t.co/NwDFcVQFEN">pic.twitter.com/NwDFcVQFEN</a>
&mdash; Skyed 🇦🇺 (@5kyed) <a href="https://twitter.com/5kyed/status/1351327510336737280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 19, 2021</a></blockquote>
At least the fan took it in stride. The last thing the league needed was another Malice at the Palace.
Fun and Good
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Today is the first time the Spurs have had multiple players with 10+ assists in a game since 1996. Jan. 18, 2021: DeMar DeRozan - 11 Dejounte Murray - 11 Nov. 13, 1996: Avery Johnson - 10 Sean Elliott - 11
&mdash; Jordan Howenstine (@AirlessJordan) <a href="https://twitter.com/AirlessJordan/status/1351291400718004224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 18, 2021</a></blockquote>
The new Spurs, the young Spurs, are fun and good.
OMG, I Know Her!
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
finally saw it in person 😆 <a href="https://t.co/EfKkGehw5M">pic.twitter.com/EfKkGehw5M</a>
&mdash; A'ja Wilson (@_ajawilson22) <a href="https://twitter.com/_ajawilson22/status/1351251457870327811?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 18, 2021</a></blockquote>
A&rsquo;ja Wilson got to visit the recently erected statue of HERSELF at the University of South Carolina and it was magical for every little girl who idolizes her.&nbsp;
Mona Lisa Leslie
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Leonardo da vinci was 7&rsquo;5???? Mf was dominating the wrong paint <a href="https://t.co/TVEVXvwhcj">pic.twitter.com/TVEVXvwhcj</a>
&mdash; Hoops (@HoopMixOnly) <a href="https://twitter.com/HoopMixOnly/status/1351349895387602948?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 19, 2021</a></blockquote>

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There should be a pop-a-shot in The Louvre from now on.&nbsp;
No Extra Cardio
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Nets staring at Giannis wide open from the 3 point line. <a href="https://t.co/iW6ay1UjAe">pic.twitter.com/iW6ay1UjAe</a>
&mdash; AJ &trade; (@LosLakersNation) <a href="https://twitter.com/LosLakersNation/status/1351343519684833291?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 19, 2021</a></blockquote>
And they were right.&nbsp;
Now You See Me, Now You Don&rsquo;t
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
That was nasty, Steph. Sheesh. <a href="https://t.co/wGXL1xmYgk">pic.twitter.com/wGXL1xmYgk</a>
&mdash; Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) <a href="https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1351369604136726529?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 19, 2021</a></blockquote>

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MADE. THE. BALL. DISAPPEAR.
I&rsquo;ve Trained You Well. Young Grasshopper
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
steph's so happy to see oubre balling <a href="https://t.co/16jO9Yk7s8">pic.twitter.com/16jO9Yk7s8</a>
&mdash; Chris Montano (@gswchris) <a href="https://twitter.com/gswchris/status/1351378929567731714?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 19, 2021</a></blockquote>
Steph looks like a proud papa, as he should! Kelly Oubre Jr. finished the night with 23 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.&nbsp;
Stanimal Kingdom
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Luka with Stanley on him <a href="https://t.co/JK7JVNO8u2">pic.twitter.com/JK7JVNO8u2</a>
&mdash; Is This The Dagger ? (@SiakamSpin) <a href="https://twitter.com/SiakamSpin/status/1351343657945886722?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 19, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Stanley Johnson clamped Luka Doncic like a burst pipe, holding him to just 15 points -- his second lowest point total of the season.
The Early Bird Gets the Worm
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The The Knicks Knicks Before 5 PM <a href="https://t.co/1LII5u6mMB">pic.twitter.com/1LII5u6mMB</a>
&mdash; 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒆 🌩 (@Three_Cone) <a href="https://twitter.com/Three_Cone/status/1351251067867181057?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 18, 2021</a></blockquote>
Are the Knicks the earliest rising team in the NBA? Is that the secret to their success? Would they finish 72-0 if all games began at 9:00 a.m.?&nbsp;
Life Is Amazing, It Is What It Should Be
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Knicks won both games of a back-to-back for the first time in 40 tries <a href="https://t.co/MnsRLaHKxH">pic.twitter.com/MnsRLaHKxH</a>
&mdash; Knicks Memes (@KnicksMemes) <a href="https://twitter.com/KnicksMemes/status/1351280749769601033?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 18, 2021</a></blockquote>
The 2020-2021 New York Knicks are the bubble Phoenix Suns.
Basketball Is About Friendship
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My Heart 💔💔 Victor Oladipo and Thad Young sharing a hug <a href="https://t.co/pRxUmAsjwc">pic.twitter.com/pRxUmAsjwc</a>
&mdash; AKRiley🇦🇺 (@AKRileyy5) <a href="https://twitter.com/AKRileyy5/status/1351367249689382917?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 19, 2021</a></blockquote>

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This is actually exactly how the BasketballNews.com staff will be once we all get vaccinated. Please wear a mask and do your part so we can get more NBA hugs this season. Lord knows we all need one.&nbsp;
See a tweet that should be featured in tomorrow's Tweet of the Day piece? Send it to <a href="https://twitter.com/kelsea_lately" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@kelsea_lately</a>.

Every day, our Kelsea O'Brien scours #NBATwitter to find the best posts. Here are the tweets of the day for Jan. 19, 2021.