Lions

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced today at NBA All-Star Weekend 2024 the selection of 14 finalists from the following committees: North American, Women&rsquo;s, Men&rsquo;s Veterans, Women&rsquo;s Veterans, International, and Contributors.
The finalists will then be put forward to the Honors Committee to be considered for election as members of the Class of 2024. The new class will be announced in Phoenix on April 6 at the NCAA Men&rsquo;s Final Four.
North American Committee Finalists (in alphabetical order):
<ul style="font-weight: 400;">
<li>Chauncey Billups</li>
<li>Vince Carter</li>
<li>Michael Cooper</li>
<li>Walter Davis</li>
<li>Bo Ryan</li>
<li>Charles Smith</li>
</ul>
Women's Committee Finalists:
<ul style="font-weight: 400;">
<li>Seimone Augustus</li>
<li>Marian Washington</li>
</ul>
Men&rsquo;s Veteran Committee Finalist:
<ul style="font-weight: 400;">
<li>Dick Barnett</li>
</ul>
Women's Veteran Committee Finalist:
<ul style="font-weight: 400;">
<li>Harley Redin</li>
</ul>
International Committee Finalist:
<ul style="font-weight: 400;">
<li>Michele Timms</li>
</ul>
Contributors Committee Finalists:
<ul style="font-weight: 400;">
<li>Doug Collins</li>
<li>Herb Simon</li>
<li>Jerry West</li>
</ul>
"Being named a Finalist for the Class of 2024 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame is a testament to the highest echelons of achievement in the sport,&rdquo; said Jerry Colangelo, Chairman of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. &ldquo;It's an honor that reflects not only individual greatness but also the long-lasting impact on the game itself. From the strategic brilliance of coaches to the unmatched abilities of players and the influential roles of a coach/broadcaster, an esteemed owner, and a dynasty-building executive, each Finalist embodies the pinnacle of basketball excellence. Their inclusion underscores the diverse contributions that have shaped and enriched the sport, making this recognition truly exceptional."
The Class of 2024 will be enshrined during festivities in Springfield, Mass., on August 16-17. VIP packages for the 2024 Hall of Fame Enshrinement Weekend are now available. Single-event tickets will go on sale on April 6, following the 2024 Class Announcement.
North American Committee Finalists:
CHAUNCEY BILLUPS&nbsp;[Player]&nbsp;&ndash; Nicknamed "Mr. Big Shot" for his ability to deliver crucial plays in pivotal moments, Billups was a five-time NBA All-Star and the 2004 Finals MVP after leading the Detroit Pistons to their third NBA championship. During his 17-year career, Billups&rsquo; averaged 15.2 points and 5.4 assists per game, while his&nbsp; 89.4&nbsp; free throw percentage is sixth best in NBA/ABA history. Billups was drafted third overall in 1997 by the Boston Celtics after earning Second Team All-American honors at Colorado. He is the current head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers.
VINCE CARTER&nbsp;[Player]&nbsp;&ndash; Renowned for his high-flying dunks, the former North Carolina standout was an eight-time All-Star in his 22 NBA seasons (1998-2020). Carter, who won the 2000 Slam Dunk Contest, was named the 1998-99 Rookie of the Year and is the only player in NBA history to play in four different decades. Carter averaged 16.7 points per game (21.3 as a starter) and also played a pivotal role in the success of the 2000 Sydney Olympics, clinching a gold medal with the U.S. Men's Basketball Team. He currently holds the single-season franchise scoring record for the New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets and Toronto Raptors.
MICHAEL COOPER&nbsp;[Player]&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;Cooper was named to eight NBA All-Defensive Teams, taking home First-Team accolades five times and winning Defensive Player of the Year honors in 1987. The former third-round draft pick (60th overall) out of the University of New Mexico spent his entire 12-year NBA career (1978-90) with the Los Angeles Lakers, winning five championships while routinely matching up with the opponent&rsquo;s top shooter. Following his playing career, Cooper entered the coaching ranks and earned WNBA Coach of the Year accolades in 2000 with the Los Angeles Sparks before winning back-to-back WNBA titles in 2001-02.
WALTER DAVIS&nbsp;[Player]&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;The all-time leading scorer in Phoenix Suns&rsquo; history was a six-time All-Star (1978-81, &lsquo;84, &lsquo;87) during his 15-year NBA career with the Suns (1977-88), Denver Nuggets (1988-92) and Portland Trail Blazers (1991). Before Phoenix chose Davis with the fifth pick in the 1977 draft, the standout player from North Carolina won a gold medal in the 1976 Summer Olympics. He then averaged 24.2 points per game in his first NBA season and was named the 1978 Rookie of the Year. The late Davis had&nbsp;his No. 6 retired by the Suns, and in 2004, he was enshrined in the team's Ring of Honor.
BO RYAN&nbsp;[Coach] &ndash;&nbsp;Ryan went 747-233 (.762) in 32 seasons as a collegiate head coach with the University of Wisconsin-Platteville (1984-89), University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (1999-2001) and University of Wisconsin (2001-15), including a 364-130 (.737) ledger in 14-plus seasons in Madison. Ryan, honored four times as the Big Ten Coach of the Year, led Wisconsin to unprecedented success, clinching four Big Ten regular-season titles, winning three Big Ten tournament championships, and making back-to-back Final Four appearances (2014-15). The four-time Division III champion (1991, &lsquo;95, &lsquo;98-99) was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017.
CHARLES SMITH&nbsp;[Coach] &ndash; Smith is Louisiana's all-time winningest high school head coach, surpassing the previous mark of 1,071 in 2020. With eight state championships to his name, Smith&rsquo;s coaching tenure at Peabody Magnet High School began in 1985 after starting as a math teacher in 1975. He guided the Warhorses to a pair of perfect seasons, going 41-0 in 2004 and 2010 and earning national top-five rankings. Smith, ESPN&rsquo;s National Coach of the Year in 2010, was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 2019 and the National High School Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2021. In addition, Smith served as a head coach at the McDonald&rsquo;s All-American game in 2020.
Women&rsquo;s Committee Finalists:
SEIMONE AUGUSTUS&nbsp;[Player]&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;Augustus, who was selected first overall in the 2006 WNBA Draft, was a four-time champion and eight-time All-Star during her 15-year WNBA career (2006-2020). The cornerstone player for the Minnesota Lynx, where she spent 14 of her 15 seasons, averaged 15.4 points per game and was named the 2006 Rookie of the Year and 2011 Finals MVP. At LSU, Augustus led the Tigers to three straight Final Four appearances and won the Naismith College Player of the Year and Wooden Awards in back-to-back campaigns (2005-06).
MARIAN WASHINGTON&nbsp;[Coach] &ndash; Washington led the University of Kansas women&rsquo;s basketball team for 31 seasons (1973-2004) and recorded a school-record 560 wins. The Jayhawks made 11 NCAA tournament appearances under her guidance, including two trips to the Sweet 16 (1996, &lsquo;97). Washington, who also served as Kansas&rsquo; director for women&rsquo;s athletics from 1974-79, was named her conference&rsquo;s Coach of the Year on three occasions (Big Eight: 1992, &rsquo;96; Big 12: 1997). She was a pioneer on the international stage, becoming one of the first two African American women to compete in basketball internationally at the 1971 World Championships and the first black woman to coach a United States team in international play at the 1982 R. William Jones Cup. Washington, who was the first female president of the Black Coaches Association, was inducted into the Women&rsquo;s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2004.
Men&rsquo;s Veteran Committee Finalist:
DICK BARNETT&nbsp;[Player] &ndash;&nbsp;Barnett first gained prominence at Tennessee A&amp;I University, where he led the Tigers to three straight NAIA national championships (1957-59), the first historically black school to claim a men&rsquo;s basketball title. The &ldquo;Skull&rdquo; played 14 NBA seasons with the Syracuse Nationals (1959-61), Los Angeles Lakers (1962-65) and New York Knicks (1965-73), winning a pair of titles in the Big Apple (1970, &lsquo;73) and making his lone All-Star team in 1968. The Knicks retired his No. 12, and the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame honored his 1957&ndash;59 Tigers squad in 2019.
Women&rsquo;s Veteran Committee Finalists:
HARLEY REDIN&nbsp;[Coach]&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;Redin went 431-66 in 18 seasons leading Wayland Baptist&rsquo;s women&rsquo;s basketball program and captured six AAU National Championships. He coached the Flying Queens to two undefeated women&rsquo;s seasons (1956, &lsquo;57), 17 top-five finishes, and went 110-2 during his first four campaigns at Wayland Baptist. Redin also coached the Women&rsquo;s U.S. National Team in 1959, the 1971 Pan-American Games, and the 1963 World Tournament in Peru. He was the recipient of the Jostens-Berenson Service Award by the Women&rsquo;s Basketball Coaches Association for his lifetime of service to women&rsquo;s basketball in 1992, inducted into the Women&rsquo;s Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999, and honored with the Naismith Award for Outstanding Contribution to the game of women&rsquo;s basketball in 2000.
International Committee Finalist:
MICHELE TIMMS&nbsp;[Player]&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;A trailblazer in Australian women&rsquo;s basketball, Timms became well-known as one of the best point guards in the world, representing the Australian national team throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Timms won a pair of Olympic medals with the Opals, winning bronze in 1996 and silver in 2000, and was the first Australian, male or female, to play professional basketball internationally when she suited up for Lotus M&uuml;nchen in Germany. In addition, Timms spent five seasons with the Phoenix Mercury, guiding the team to a berth in the 1998 WNBA Finals and earning an All-Star selection in 1999. The Sport Australia Hall of Fame inducted her in 2003, the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008, and the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2016. The Mercury retired her No. 7 jersey in 2002.
Contributor Committee Finalists:
DOUG COLLINS&nbsp;[Coach/broadcaster]&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;Collins' versatile career in basketball is marked by significant achievements in roles ranging from player to coach to broadcaster, underscoring his wide-ranging impact on the sport. Following an NBA career where he was a four-time All-Star with the Philadelphia 76ers, he transitioned into coaching and accumulated over 400 wins with the Chicago Bulls (1986-89), Detroit Pistons (1995-98), Washington Wizards (2001-03) and 76ers (2010-13). Collins, who coached Hall of Famer Michael Jordan in both Chicago and Washington,&nbsp;also served as an analyst for various NBA-related broadcasts for CBS, NBC, TNT, TBS, and ABC/ESPN, along with working for NBC at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics.
HERB SIMON&nbsp;[Owner] &ndash; Simon, the longest-tenured governor in the history of the NBA, purchased the Indiana Pacers, along with his late brother Mel, back in 1983. Under Simon&rsquo;s stewardship, the Pacers won numerous Central Division titles and made the franchise&rsquo;s first NBA Finals in 2000. Throughout his ownership period, the Pacers have been home to legendary players like Jermaine O&rsquo;Neal, Rik Smits, and Reggie Miller (Class of 2012). Beyond ownership, Simon's influence extends deeply into the heart of the Pacers&rsquo; organization, shaping its identity and impact both on and off the court through his philanthropic endeavors and civic engagement.
JERRY WEST&nbsp;[Executive] &ndash; Enshrined as a player in 1980, West then went on to establish himself off the court as one of the most successful executives in the sport&rsquo;s history. West played a pivotal role as the architect of a pair of Los Angeles Lakers&rsquo; dynasties during the 1980s and 2000s, drafting key players like Magic Johnson and James Worthy, acquiring Kobe Bryant, signing free agent Shaquille O'Neal, and hiring head coach Phil Jackson. He totaled eight NBA championships in Los Angeles (1980, &lsquo;82, &lsquo;85, &lsquo;87-88, 2000-02) and was named Executive of the Year twice (1995, 2004). Following his time in the Lakers&rsquo; front office (1979-2000), West served as GM of the Memphis Grizzlies from 2002-07 before earning two additional NBA championships as an executive with the Golden State Warriors (2015, &lsquo;17).

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced the 14 finalists for the class of 2024 including Vince Carter and Chauncey Billups.

Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announces 14 finalists in class of 2024

A former owner of two NBA teams, an NFL franchise and longtime Texas businessman, Billy Joe &ldquo;Red&rdquo; McCombs has died at his home in San Antonio, according to a statement from his family on Monday.
McCombs was 95 and preceded in death by his wife, Charline, in 2019.
&ldquo;The entire McCombs family is heartbroken to announce that our father, grandfather and great-grandfather, Red McCombs passed away Sunday, Feb. 19, 2023,&rdquo; according to the statement that called McCombs &ldquo;a Texas icon.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Red was a visionary entrepreneur who touched many lives and impacted our community in immeasurable ways,&rdquo; the statement said. &ldquo;But to us he was always, first and foremost, &lsquo;Dad&rsquo; or &lsquo;Poppop.&rsquo;&rdquo;
McCombs owned more than 400 businesses during his lifetime, according to the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.mccombsenterprises.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">McCombs Enterprises website,</a>&nbsp;and the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin is named for him.
He twice owned the NBA&rsquo;s San Antonio Spurs and between those two ownership stints owned the league&rsquo;s Denver Nuggets and later the Minnesota Vikings of the NFL.
In a statement, the Vikings expressed gratitude to McCombs and condolences to his family.
&ldquo;Red embodied his famous &lsquo;Purple Pride&rsquo; phrase and remained a staunch Vikings fan&rdquo; after selling his ownership of the team, according to the statement.
Beginning as an automobile salesman in the early 1950s in Corpus Christi, Texas, he would later establish Red McCombs Automotive, a group of dealerships in San Antonio.
He later established McCombs Energy, an oil and gas industry company, and operated real estate and land development companies, cattle ranches and breeding operations. He also was a co-founder of Clear Channel Communications, which later became iHeartCommunications, Inc.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones called McCombs an inspiration and &ldquo;a true Texas titan across sports, media, business and philanthropy.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Red&rsquo;s determination, accomplishments and positive spirit will live forever as he embodied a relentless and passionate approach to life, relationships and community,&rdquo; Jones said.
McCombs is survived by daughters Lynda McCombs, Marsha Shields and Connie McNab, as well as eight grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.
Funeral services were not announced.
<div class="taboola_readmore">&nbsp;</div>
<div class="Component-dfp-0-2-62 apnews_article_midarticle_1" data-card-id="sovrn-article-midarticle">&nbsp;</div>

A former owner of two NBA teams, an NFL franchise and longtime Texas businessman, Billy Joe “Red” McCombs has died.

Former NBA, NFL team owner, businessman Red McCombs dies

Maya Moore has decided to retire officially from playing basketball.
The Minnesota Lynx star stepped away from the WNBA in 2019 to help her now-husband Jonathan Irons win his release from prison by getting his 50-year sentence overturned in 2020. Irons married Moore soon after his release and the couple had their first child, Jonathan Jr., in July.
She announced her decision to retire on ABC&rsquo;s &ldquo;Good Morning America.&rdquo; Before Monday, Moore had been noncommittal about ever playing basketball again.
&ldquo;Well, I think it&rsquo;s time to put a close to the pro basketball life,&rdquo; Moore said. &ldquo;I walked away four seasons ago but wanted to officially retire. This is such a sweet time for us and our family. The work we&rsquo;ve done, I want to continue that in our next chapter. Be home for my community and family.&rdquo;
In a video call with reporters after the show, Moore said she missed her teammates but was too focused over the last four years on her off-the-court priorities that transitioning back to basketball was not on her mind.
&ldquo;Just trying to learn a new rhythm outside of playing &mdash; I didn&rsquo;t really wrestle with a desire to want to switch that pace up,&rdquo; she said, later adding: &ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t just sitting around wishing I was playing again. I just felt such a sense of purpose.&rdquo;
The 33-year-old Moore won four WNBA championships with the Minnesota Lynx, two Olympic gold medals with USA Basketball and two NCAA titles with UConn.
&ldquo;On behalf of the Minnesota Lynx organization, I want to congratulate Maya on an incredible basketball career,&rdquo; Lynx coach and President of Basketball Operations Cheryl Reeve said. &ldquo;We will always cherish her time in a Lynx uniform and we wish her the best as she continues to pursue this next chapter of her life.&rdquo;
Moore will be eligible for the Naismith Hall of Fame next year since she stopped playing four years ago, one the rare athletes to leave their sport in the prime of their career.
She was drafted No. 1 by the Lynx in 2011, winning the Rookie of the Year award and going on to average 18.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.7 steals over eight seasons for Minnesota. She was the league&rsquo;s MVP in 2014 and the only player in WNBA history with four 40-plus point games.
&ldquo;Her four WNBA championships, six All-Star selections, an MVP award and a Finals MVP trophy are indicative of the type of rare, generational talent Maya brought to this league, but perhaps her greatest legacy will be what she accomplished beyond the game,&rdquo; WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said.
When Moore stepped away from basketball, she started a social action campaign &ldquo; Win With Justice.&rdquo; Moore and her husband also have a book coming out this week titled &ldquo;Love &amp; Justice.&rdquo;
During her career, she was at the forefront of the Lynx becoming one of the first pro sports teams to fully embrace social activism, starting before a game on July 9, 2016, when players wore black T-shirts that read, &ldquo;Change Starts With Us.&rdquo; Their message was prompted by fatal police shootings earlier that week of Philando Castile in Minnesota and Alton Sterling in Louisiana.
&ldquo;I hope people saw me as someone who gave all she had,&rdquo; Moore said Monday, &ldquo;but also somebody who looked beyond the craft that I pursued.&rdquo;
The Lynx went 200-71 in the regular season and 40-16 in the playoffs during Moore&rsquo;s career as the star among stars in a core that featured Seimone Augustus, Lindsay Whalen, Rebekkah Brunson and eventually Sylvia Fowles.
She finished her career as the Lynx franchise leader in scoring average, 3-point field goals made (530) and steals (449) and finished second in total points scored (4,984), field goals made (1,782), assists (896) and blocks (176).
&ldquo;Maya Moore has forever left a mark on the state of Minnesota, the Minnesota Lynx franchise and the hearts of Lynx fans everywhere,&rdquo; Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx owner Glen Taylor said. &ldquo;Maya&rsquo;s accolades are numerous; her leadership and talent both fearless and inspirational set the foundation for the most exciting and historic championship run in the league from 2011-2017. While today culminates Maya&rsquo;s basketball career, there is no doubt she will continue to impact the game we all love.&rdquo;
Moore went 150-4 in her career at UConn. The two-time AP Player of the Year was a key part of the Huskies&rsquo; 90-game winning streak that was the longest-ever until the school had an 111-game run a few years later.
___
AP Sports Writer Dave Campbell contributed to this report.

Moore announced her decision to retire on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

WNBA great Maya Moore retires from basketball officially

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced the list of eligible candidates for the Class of 2023, including several high-profile, first-time nominees including Pau Gasol, Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker, Gregg Popovich, Dwyane Wade and the 1976 U.S. Olympic Women&rsquo;s Basketball Team. &nbsp; A first look at the list of eligible nominees was provided by &ldquo;NBA Today&rdquo; on ESPN; the complete list of eligible candidates can be found below. &nbsp; Finalists from the North American and Women&rsquo;s committee for the Class of 2023 will be announced on February 17, at 5:30 p.m. ET in Salt Lake City, Utah, during NBA All-Star Weekend. &nbsp; The entire Class of 2023, including those selected by the direct-elect committees, will be unveiled during the NCAA Final Four in Houston, Texas, on April 1, in a nationally televised broadcast at 11 a.m. EST.
NORTH AMERICAN NOMINATIONS &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Ken Anderson (COA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; John Beilein (COA)* &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Gene Bess (COA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Chauncey Billups (PLA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Tom Chambers (PLA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; John Clougherty (REF) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Michael Cooper (PLA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Joey Crawford (REF) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Jack Curran (COA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Mark Eaton (PLA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Cliff Ellis (COA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Michael Finley (PLA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Pau Gasol (PLA)* &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Leonard Hamilton (COA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Lou Henson (COA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Ed Hightower (REF) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; David Hixon (COA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Mark Jackson (PLA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Marques Johnson (PLA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Gene Keady (COA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Jim Larranaga (COA)* &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Maurice Lucas (PLA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Shawn Marion (PLA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Rollie Massimino (COA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Dick Motta (COA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Dirk Nowitzki (PLA)* &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Jake O&rsquo;Donnell (REF) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Tony Parker (PLA)* &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Jim Phelan (COA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Gregg Popovich (COA)* &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Bo Ryan (COA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Stan Spirou (COA)* &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Reggie Theus (PLA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Dwyane Wade (PLA)* &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Buck Williams (PLA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; John Williamson (PLA)* &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Paul Westhead (COA)
WOMEN&rsquo;S NOMINATIONS &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Leta Andrews (COA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Jennifer Azzi (PLA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Gary Blair (COA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Doug Bruno (COA)* &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Becky Hammon (PLA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Becky Martin (COA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Debbie Miller-Palmore (PLA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Kim Mulkey (PLA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Valerie Still (PLA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Marian Washington (COA) &nbsp; INTERNATIONAL DIRECT-ELECT &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Jackie Chazalon &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Mirza Delibasic &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Dusan Ivkovic &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Semen Khalipski &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Vladimir Kondrashin &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Eduardo Lamas &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Marcos Leite &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Shimon Mirrahi &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Amaury Pasos &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Manuel Sainz &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Togo Soares &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Ranko Zeravica &nbsp; WOMEN&rsquo;S VETERANS DIRECT-ELECT &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; 1976 US Olympic Team (TEA)* &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; 1982 Cheyney University NCAA Final Four Team (TEA)* &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Alline Banks Sprouse (PLA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Edmonton Commercial Grads (TEA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; John Head (COA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Yolanda Laney (PLA)* &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Nashville Business College (TEA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Lometa Odom (PLA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Harley Redin (COA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Hazel Walker (PLA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Valerie Walker (PLA)* &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Dean Weese (COA)*
CONTRIBUTOR DIRECT-ELECT &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Pete Babcock &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Dick Baumgartner &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Henry Bibby &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Marty Blake &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Vic Bubas &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Doug Collins &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Wayne Duke &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Bill Foster &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Bob Gibbons &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Simon Gourdine &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Tim Grgurich &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Junius Kellogg &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Johnny &ldquo;Red&rdquo; Kerr &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Tom Konchalski &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Bobby Lewis &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Fred McCall &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Jack McCloskey &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Jon McGlocklin &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Speedy Morris &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Dennis Murphy &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Curly Neal &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Jack Powers &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Will Robinson &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Gene Shue &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Jim Valvano &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Donnie Walsh &nbsp; VETERANS DIRECT-ELECT &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; 1936 US Olympic Team (TEA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; 1972 US Olympic Team (TEA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Dick Barnett (PLA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Tom Blackburn (COA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Sid Borgia (REF) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Charles Brown (PLA)* &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Freddie Brown (PLA)* &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Jack Coleman (PLA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Charles Eckman (REF) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Leroy Edwards (PLA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Leo Ferris (CONT) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Hy Gotkin (PLA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Travis Grant (PLA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Jack Hartman (COA)* &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Cam Henderson (COA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Robert Hopkins (PLA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Charles Keinath (PLA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Greg Kelser (PLA)* &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Kentucky Wesleyan 1966, 1968, 1969 (TEA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Bob Love (PLA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Loyola of Chicago (TEA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Billy Markward (CONT) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Ed McCluskey (COA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Jack McKinney (CONT) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Bill Melchionni (PLA)* &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Francis Meehan (PLA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Lucias Mitchell (COA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Donald &ldquo;Dudey&rdquo; Moore (COA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Joe Mullaney (COA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Willie Naulls (PLA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; North Catholic High School Junior Varsity (Philadelphia, PA) (TEA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Don Otten (PLA)* &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Philadelphia SPHAS (TEA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Kevin Porter (PLA)* &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Glenn Roberts (PLA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Lennie Rosenbluth (PLA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Kenny Sailors (PLA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Fred Schaus (CONT) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Sam Schulman (CONT) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Paul Silas (PLA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Dick Van Arsdale (PLA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Tom Van Arsdale (PLA) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Lambert Will (CONT)* &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; Max Zaslofsky (PLA)

Pau Gasol, Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker, Gregg Popovich and Dwyane Wade are among the candidates for the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Basketball Hall of Fame announces candidates for Class of 2023

WASHINGTON (AP) &mdash; About a week before the season even started, the city council in Washington weighed in on Bradley Beal's return to the Wizards.
It made Oct. 11 &ldquo;Bradley Beal Day&rdquo; as a way of honoring his contributions to the community.
Now Beal has a chance to show his importance to the city on the court. When the Wizards host Chicago on Friday night, it will be his first home game since signing a five-year contract to stay in Washington during the offseason. It will also be his first home game since January, before a wrist injury ended his 2021-22 season early. Coming back from that was the big thing on Beal's mind this week.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m just excited to hoop," he said. "I haven&rsquo;t hooped in a long time.&rdquo;
That injury could have ended his tenure in Washington, but he signed <a href="https://apnews.com/article/washington-wizards-nba-sports-bradley-beal-926200389e0727e5854808758e7aa599">a five-year deal</a> worth up to $251 million to remain with the team. Beal <a href="https://apnews.com/article/washington-wizards-nba-sports-basketball-bradley-beal-fe79862f03f773ce68f5e0b37b0838c6">said then</a> that winning a championship with the Wizards would mean more than doing it on a super team with several other stars.
That decision should only enhance his popularity in Washington, where he's played his entire career, but as he enters his 11th season, there's also pressure on both him and the team. The Wizards missed the playoffs last season, and they haven't advanced past the second round since 1979. Unless there's some significant improvement soon, Beal may fade into the background in a league where the top stars are expected to be factors in the postseason.
A three-time All-Star, Beal averaged a career-high 31.3 points per game two seasons ago, when he and Russell Westbrook formed a dynamic backcourt that helped the team make at least a short appearance in the playoffs. Westbrook was then dealt to the Lakers, and Beal's scoring average dipped to 23.2 last season, when he shot a career-low 30% from 3-point range.
When asked if he thought he was being underrated after his injury-shortened season, Beal indicated there may be at least a small chip on his shoulder.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been like that my whole career, no change now," he said. "Been slighted even when I was healthy, so it doesn't matter.&rdquo;
After breaking up the Westbrook-Beal tandem, the Wizards have assembled a more balanced roster. Kyle Kuzma arrived in the deal for Westbrook, and Washington acquired Kristaps Porzingis in the middle of last season.
The Wizards won their opener this season, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/indiana-pacers-washington-wizards-nba-sports-kyle-kuzma-4e4c02c133145fdd382f8f8b5a06e649">114-107 at Indiana</a> on Wednesday. Beal scored a fairly efficient 23 points with six assists and five rebounds.
It's the second season for Washington under coach Wes Unseld Jr., whose father is the only person aside from Beal to play 10-plus seasons with this franchise. The Wizards hoped to improve defensively last season, but the results were mixed. Beal said that has to start with him and Kuzma.
&ldquo;Me and Kuz. We have to have the mindset of, we have to defend on a nightly. We&rsquo;re going to have a majority of the toughest jobs guarding guys," he said. "Once me and Kuz are dialed in and locked in defensively, that sets the tone for everybody else.&rdquo;
At the offensive end, it's well established what Beal can do. If he stays healthy, he's likely to pass Elvin Hayes for No. 1 on Washington's career scoring list this season. That would be another feel-good moment for the franchise and for Beal, whose philanthropic efforts already earned him that nod from the city's government.
&ldquo;It's amazing," Beal said. "That's something, I don't take it for granted. A big part of who I am is what I do off the floor, and I take a lot of pride in that. So to be recognized for that, it means the world.&rdquo;
___
Follow Noah Trister at https://twitter.com/noahtrister

When the Wizards host Chicago on Friday night, it will be his first home game since signing a five-year contract to stay in Washington.

Beal can expect warm welcome at Wizards' home opener

NEW YORK &ndash; The NBA announced that Toronto Raptors Governor Larry Tanenbaum has been unanimously re-elected Chairman of the NBA Board of Governors.
Tanenbaum, the longtime Chairman of Maple Leaf Sports &amp; Entertainment (MLSE), has served as NBA Board Chairman since 2017, when he became the first Canadian to ever be named to the role. &nbsp;Under his leadership, the Raptors captured the franchise&rsquo;s first NBA championship in 2019.
&ldquo;I am delighted that Larry will continue serving the league as our Chairman of the Board,&rdquo; said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. &nbsp;&ldquo;His leadership, guidance and support are greatly appreciated by me and my colleagues as well as the other team governors.&rdquo;
&ldquo;I am honoured to continue serving as Chairman of the NBA Board of Governors to help play a role in leading this great league,&rdquo; said Tanenbaum. &ldquo;I am grateful to my fellow governors for their valued support and I look forward to working with each of them, and Commissioner Silver along with the League Office staff, as we continue to grow the NBA&rsquo;s impact on the game of basketball and in our communities.&rdquo;
A Toronto native, Tanenbaum served on numerous NBA committees before becoming Chairman, including the Advisory/Finance Committee from 2008-17 and the Planning Committee from 2000-14.
Tanenbaum, one of North America&rsquo;s most influential sports figures, has been Governor of the Raptors since 1998 and holds the same title with the National Hockey League&rsquo;s Toronto Maple Leafs and Major League Soccer&rsquo;s Toronto FC. &nbsp;As Chairman of MLSE, he has been widely recognized for his leadership helping sports leagues, professional teams and the Canadian market successfully navigate through the difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In recognition of his contributions in the areas of philanthropy, business and volunteerism, Mr. Tanenbaum was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada on October 25, 2007. &nbsp;The Order of Canada is the centre piece of Canada&rsquo;s honors system and represents its highest civilian award.

Tanenbaum: “I am honoured to continue serving as Chairman of the NBA Board of Governors to help play a role in leading this great league."

Raptors’ Larry Tanenbaum re-elected chairman of NBA Board of Governors

MILAN (AP) &mdash; The stars showed up at EuroBasket on Tuesday in a big way.
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 41 points in 27 minutes for Greece, Luka Doncic had 36 points for Slovenia and two-time reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic scored 29 points for Serbia &mdash; three of the world&rsquo;s best players all leading their teams to big group-stage wins at the European championships.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Ain&rsquo;t nothing but a little Luka Magic 🪄 36 PTS 10 REB 4 AST<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EuroBasket?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EuroBasket</a><a href="https://t.co/hIo3xZOABm">pic.twitter.com/hIo3xZOABm</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1567255650132004865?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 6, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

There&rsquo;s one more group-stage game left for each to play, and then a trip to Berlin awaits since Greece, Slovenia and Serbia have all clinched spots in the 16-team knockout round that begins Saturday.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Nikola Jokic had himself a night at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EuroBasket?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EuroBasket</a>. 🃏👀 29 PTS, 11 REB, 5 AST<a href="https://t.co/yqgLLMI2AS">pic.twitter.com/yqgLLMI2AS</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1567261660729032706?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 6, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

Antetokounmpo&rsquo;s point total was the most in a EuroBasket game since Dirk Nowitzki had 43 for Germany in 2001. And when he heard that stat, all Antetokounmpo did was nod.
&ldquo;I try not to rate my performance,&rdquo; Antetokounmpo said. &ldquo;I just try to go out there and have fun as much as possible, try to focus as much as I can on what I can control, try to bring energy any way possible. ... But I&rsquo;ll say this: I think this is one of the years where I feel very, very excited to go out there on the court and play with my teammates.&rdquo;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Giannis went OFF today in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EuroBasket?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EuroBasket</a>. 41 PTS 9 REB 72% FGM On fire. 🔥<a href="https://t.co/XRF620yKBK">pic.twitter.com/XRF620yKBK</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1567208097826963458?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 6, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

As Antetokounmpo did, Doncic also deflected credit after the game. Told that Germany&rsquo;s postgame reaction was &ldquo;Luka Doncic happened,&rdquo; Doncic replied by saying &ldquo;Slovenia happened.&rdquo;
&ldquo;The whole team was ready,&rdquo; Doncic said. &ldquo;Everybody who stepped on the court was fighting, whether they played one minute or 30. I&rsquo;m really proud of this team.&rdquo;
Doncic was asked after the game if he or Antetokounmpo was in a better position to break the EuroBasket single-game scoring record.
Doncic didn&rsquo;t hesitate with his answer: He picked Antetokounmpo.
&ldquo;I would bet on Giannis,&rdquo; Doncic said. &ldquo;Why? Because he&rsquo;s Giannis Antetokounmpo.&rdquo;
GROUP C
GREECE 99, UKRAINE 79
At Milan, Antetokounmpo simply overpowered Ukraine and ensured that Greece would finish atop its group.
Antetokounmpo &mdash; who got Monday off to rest &mdash; had his 41 points and nine rebounds in just 27 minutes to lead Greece (4-0).
He was 13 for 18 from the floor, 15 for 18 from the foul line.
&ldquo;It was very easy to prepare the team because it is absolutely clear what Greece does when Giannis is out there,&rdquo; Ukraine coach Ainars Bagatskis said. &ldquo;They play really aggressive basketball. And if you don&rsquo;t put against them the same aggressiveness, even higher aggressiveness, then you have big problems.&rdquo;
Nick Calathes and Tyler Dorsey had 13 apiece for Greece.
Issuf Sanon and Svi Mykhailiuk each scored 16 for Ukraine (3-1), while Alex Len and Illya Sydorov added 10 apiece. Ukraine led by seven at the half, before Greece won the third quarter 32-11.
ESTONIA 94, GREAT BRITAIN 62
Henri Drell scored 20 points, Siim-Sander Vene added 18 and Estonia had no trouble on the way to its first win of the tournament.
Maik-Kalev Kotsar scored 15, Kristjan Kitsing added 14 and Janari Joesaar finished with 11 for Estonia (1-3).
Myles Hesson scored 14 for Great Britain (0-4), with Carl Wheatie and Patrick Whelan each scoring 12.
ITALY 81, CROATIA 76
Simone Fontecchio and Nicolo Melli each scored 19 points to lead Italy (2-2).
Bojan Bogdanovic led Croatia (2-2) with 27 points, while Ivica Zubac scored 13 and Dario Saric added 10.
Both teams are headed to the knockout round.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
GROUP B
SLOVENIA 88, GERMANY 80
At Cologne, Germany, Doncic&rsquo;s 36 points came with him making 14 of 25 shots. He also had 10 rebounds for Slovenia (3-1).
Goran Dragic scored 18 points and Mike Tobey added 10 for Slovenia.
&ldquo;We showed what we are made of,&rdquo; Dragic said.
Dennis Schroder scored 19 points, Andreas Obst had 14 and Maodo Lo added 13 for Germany (3-1).
LITHUANIA 87, HUNGARY 64
Lithuanian basketball is known for a lot of things, including passionate fans.
They go everywhere to cheer for their national team. And Tuesday, they even cheered for France &mdash; for good reason.
Lithuania topped Hungary and that, combined with France&rsquo;s win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, means the last qualifying spot out of Group B is still unclaimed. It&rsquo;ll be decided Wednesday when Lithuania plays Bosnia and Herzegovina, the winner moving on to Berlin and a round-of-16 game, the loser heading home eliminated.
&ldquo;Lithuanian fans are the best,&rdquo; France guard Evan Fournier said.
If France had lost Tuesday, Lithuania would have been eliminated. Instead, those Lithuanian fans serenaded the French with cries of &ldquo;Merci!&rdquo; for keeping their national team&rsquo;s hopes alive.
&ldquo;It feels amazing,&rdquo; Lithuania forward Domatas Sabonis said. &ldquo;They travel to every championship to support us. It&rsquo;s sad we couldn&rsquo;t give them a win over the weekend, but we&rsquo;re glad we could give them one today and the goal is to give them another one tomorrow.&rdquo;
Jonas Valanciunas scored 21 points on 10-of-13 shooting and Sabonis added 19 for Lithuania (1-3).
Marius Grigonis had 15 points and Rokas Jokubaitis added 10 for Lithuania. Zoltan Perl scored 16 for Hungary (0-4), while David Vojvoda and Rosco Allen each finished with 10.
FRANCE 81, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA 68
Thomas Heurtel&rsquo;s 3-pointer with 5:49 left put France ahead to stay and started a game-ending 22-7 run for the winners, who were already assured of a spot in the round of 16.
Guerschon Yabusele scored 15 for France (3-1), while Heurtel and Fournier each had 14 and Rudy Gobert posted an 11-point, 12-rebound performance.
Jusuf Nurkic, Miralem Halilovic and Dzanan Musa all had 14 for Bosnia and Herzegovina (2-2), while John Roberson had 13 and Edin Atic finished with 10.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
GROUP A
TURKEY 78, BELGIUM 63
At Tbilisi, Georgia, Alperen Sengun scored 24 points, Furkan Korkmaz had 16 and Turkey (3-1) remained tied atop Group A.
Ercan Osmani added 12 for Turkey.
Haris Bratanovic scored 15 for Belgium (2-2) and Hans Vanwijn scored 11.
SPAIN 82, MONTENEGRO 65
Spain (3-1) clinched its berth in the round of 16, with Dario Brizuela leading the way with 18 points.
Willy Hernangomez scored 14 for Spain, while Jaime Pradilla and Lorenzo Brown added 12 apiece.
Vladimir Mihailovic scored 18 for Montenegro (2-2), which got 11 from Marko Simonovic and 10 from Kendrick Perry.
BULGARIA 92, GEORGIA 80
Dee Bost had 33 points and 12 assists, Aleksandar Vezenkov finished with 28 points and 14 rebounds, and Bulgaria kept its hopes alive.
Pavlin Ivanov scored 17 for Bulgaria (1-3).
Goga Bitadze scored 21 for Georgia (1-3), while Thaddus McFadden had 19, Alexander Mamukelashvili scored 13, and Giorgi Shermadini and Duda Sanadze scored 10 apiece.
GROUP D
SERBIA 89, ISRAEL 78
At Prague, Jokic was 11 of 13 from the floor and also grabbed 11 rebounds for Serbia (4-0), while Vasilije Micic added 19.
Nikola Kalinic and Ognjen Jaramaz each scored 10 for Serbia.
Yam Madar scored 20 for Israel (2-2), while Deni Avdija had 14 and Roman Sorkin added 11.
POLAND 75, NETHERLANDS 69
Poland was down by 13 in the third quarter before closing the game on a 39-20 run to tune up for its knockout-stage appearance.
Michal Sokolowski scored 24 for Poland (3-1), which got 16 from Aleksander Balcerowski and 10 from Jakub Garbacz.
Charlon Kloof led the Netherlands (0-4) with 26, and Yannick Franke scored 13.
FINLAND 98, CZECH REPUBLIC 88
Lauri Markkanen continued his strong tournament with 34 points and 10 rebounds, and Finland clinched its berth in the round of 16.
Sasu Salin scored 23 and Petteri Koponen added 14 for Finland, with Elias Valtonen finishing with 11.
Vojtech Hruban scored 22 for the Czech Republic, with Jan Vesely adding 15 and Patrik Auda and Jaromir Bohacik scoring 13 apiece. The Czechs play Israel on Thursday and, according to FIBA, could reach the knockout stage with a win.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
WEDNESDAY&rsquo;S SCHEDULE
First-round play in Groups A and B concludes, with Groups C and D getting the day off before they finish their round-robins on Thursday. Friday is an off day and the knockout round in Berlin starts Saturday.
Group A: Turkey (3-1) vs. Spain (3-1), Bulgaria (1-3) vs. Belgium (2-2), Georgia (1-3) vs. Montenegro (2-2). The Turkey-Spain winner will win the group. Bulgaria and Georgia are in must-win scenarios.
Group B: Lithuania (1-3) vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina (2-2), France (3-1) vs. Slovenia (3-1), Hungary (0-4) vs. Germany (3-1). France, Slovenia (which wins the group with a victory) and Germany have already qualified, Hungary is eliminated and the Lithuania-Bosnia game is the one that matters most.

Antetokounmpo scored 41 points in 27 minutes for Greece, Doncic had 36 points for Slovenia and reigning MVP Nikola Jokic scored 29 points for Serbia.

Stars shine bright: Giannis, Luka, Jokic lead at EuroBasket

The drug trial of American basketball star Brittney Griner in a Russian court focused Tuesday on testimony that cannabis, while illegal in Russia, is regarded in other countries as having legitimate medicinal use.
Griner has acknowledged that she was carrying vape canisters containing cannabis oil when she was arrested in February at a Moscow airport, but she contends that she had no criminal intent and that the canisters ended up in her luggage inadvertently because of hasty packing.
&ldquo;We are not arguing that Brittney took it here as a medicine. We are still saying that she involuntarily brought it here because she was in a rush,&rdquo; defense attorney Alexander Boykov said after the session in which a Russian neuropsychologist testified about worldwide use of medicinal cannabis.
&ldquo;The Russian public has to know, and the Russian court in the first place has to know, that it was not used for recreational purposes in the United States. It was prescribed by a doctor,&rdquo; he said.
Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist who plays for the WNBA&rsquo;s Phoenix Mercury, faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted. The medical testimony and Griner&rsquo;s admission that she had the canisters is aimed at bringing her a mild sentence.
&ldquo;We have a lot of mitigating factors. So we do hope that the court will take it into consideration. And the courts in Russia, in fact, have very broad discretion with regard to the sentence,&rdquo; said Maria Blagovolina, another of Griner&rsquo;s lawyers.
After about 90 minutes in session Tuesday, the case was adjourned until Wednesday afternoon.
The trial of the two-time Olympic gold medalist and Phoenix Mercury standout began July 1 but only five sessions have been held, some them lasting only about an hour.
The slow-moving trial and Griner&rsquo;s five months of detention have raised strong criticism among teammates and supporters in the United States, which has formally declared her to be &ldquo;wrongfully detained,&rdquo; a designation sharply rejected by Russian officials.
Elizabeth Rood, the U.S. Embassy&rsquo;s charge d&rsquo;affaires, attended Tuesday&rsquo;s court session. Griner &ldquo;confirms that she is doing ok and as well as can be expected under these circumstances,&rdquo; she told reporters.
ABC&rsquo;s &ldquo;Good Morning America&rdquo; aired a producer&rsquo;s brief interview with Griner in which she wished her wife, Cherelle &ldquo;good luck on the bar exam.&rdquo;
When asked whether she had any complaints, she replied: &ldquo;No, no complaints. Just waiting patiently.&rdquo; She displayed photos of her wife, friends and teammates.
Griner was arrested in February amid high U.S.-Moscow tensions ahead of Russia sending troops into Ukraine later that month. Some supporters contend she is being held in Russia as a pawn, possibly for a prisoner swap. American soccer notable Megan Rapinoe last week said &ldquo;she&rsquo;s being held as a political prisoner, obviously.&rdquo;
The Russian Foreign Ministry last week lashed out at the U.S. contention that Griner is being wrongfully detained and said Russian laws should be respected.
&ldquo;If a U.S. citizen was taken in connection with the fact that she was smuggling drugs, and she does not deny this, then this should be commensurate with our Russian local laws, and not with those adopted in San Francisco, New York and Washington,&rdquo; spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
&ldquo;If drugs are legalized in the United States, in a number of states, and this is done for a long time and now the whole country will become drug-addicted, this does not mean that all other countries are following the same path,&rdquo; she added.
Russian media have speculated that Griner could be exchanged for prominent Russian arms trader Viktor Bout, who is imprisoned in the United States, and that Paul Whelan, an American imprisoned in Russia for espionage, may also figure in an exchange.
U.S. officials have not commented on the prospects for such a trade. Russian officials have said no exchange could be discussed until the conclusion of the legal proceedings against Griner. It is unclear how long the trial will last, but a court has authorized Griner&rsquo;s detention until Dec. 20.
Previous trial sessions have included character-witness testimony from the director and captain of the Russian team that Griner played for in the off-season, along with written testimony including a doctor&rsquo;s letter saying he had authorized her to use cannabis for pain treatment.

The trial of the two-time Olympic gold medalist and Phoenix Mercury standout began July 1 but only five sessions have been held.

Brittney Griner’s Russian trial considers medicinal use of cannabis

The NFL&rsquo;s Seattle Seahawks and NBA&rsquo;s Portland Trail Blazers are not currently for sale, the chairwoman of both franchises said Tuesday.
Jody Allen&rsquo;s statement came amid growing speculation about the future ownership of the teams due to stipulations in Paul Allen&rsquo;s will that called for both teams to eventually be sold and the proceeds given to philanthropic endeavors. Most of the speculation has centered on the future of the Trail Blazers.
&ldquo;As chair of both the Portland Trail Blazers and Seattle Seahawks, my long-term focus is building championship teams that our communities are proud of,&rdquo; Jody Allen said in her statement. &ldquo;Like my brother Paul, I trust and expect our leaders and coaches to build winning teams that deliver results on and off the court and field. As we&rsquo;ve stated before, neither of the teams is for sale and there are no sales discussions happening.&rdquo;
Allen has overseen both teams since her brother died in 2018 and is the trustee for his estate. She acknowledged the teams will eventually be put up for sale but said there is no set timeline.
&ldquo;A time will come when that changes given Paul&rsquo;s plans to dedicate the vast majority of his wealth to philanthropy, but estates of this size and complexity can take 10 to 20 years to wind down. There is no pre-ordained timeline but which the teams must be sold,&rdquo; Allen said.
Paul Allen purchased the Trail Blazers in 1988 and bought the Seahawks in 1997 to help keep the NFL franchise in his hometown. He also had a minority stake in the Seattle Sounders of MLS.&nbsp;

The Seattle Seahawks and Portland Trail Blazers are not currently for sale, the chairwoman of both franchises said Tuesday.

Jody Allen: Seahawks, Blazers not for sale at this time

Joining the likes of many successful players before him (such as Kawhi Leonard, Kyle Lowry, Kevin Love, John Wall and Isaiah Thomas), NBA hopeful and Clemson Tiger alum Aamir Simms is tirelessly grinding at Impact Basketball to prepare for the upcoming 2021 draft.&nbsp;
Working with longtime pro trainer Joe Abunassar, one of the most respected influences in the game, Simms has toiled away in the gym with the scorching Las Vegas heat seeping into the facility, focusing on two areas of his skill set that he believes weren&rsquo;t on display in college: shooting the basketball and defending 1-through-5.
&ldquo;I feel like a part of my game was definitely kinda swept under the rug a little bit 'cause of what I had to adapt to when I was at Clemson, and I wasn't able to showcase as much,&rdquo; Simms told BasketballNews.com in an exclusive phone interview. &ldquo;There was a lot asked of me while I was there, so I had to kinda sacrifice that part. Not that it was a bad thing, but I'm definitely ready to showcase [those skills].
&ldquo;I'm still trying to improve in [my] consistent shooting. At times, throughout my two years as a junior and senior, I had some streaky shooting times, especially at the beginning of the year. As the season went on and progressed, I definitely shot the ball better to raise my percentages... I didn't shoot it as much at school as I wanted, but just being out here and working with Joe, I have more confidence than I ever have [had] in my shot. And going into these workouts, being able to show that and just being able to defend. That's my biggest area of improvement, to show people that I can guard guys that [are] quicker or maybe the same size and faster, so those two areas are just something we've emphasized while I've been here. Guarding guys that's a lot quicker, smaller than me, it's just been really helpful for my hips and my lateral movement.&rdquo;
Simms has been in this position before. In March of last year, he declared for the 2020 NBA Draft, but withdrew his name within a couple of months to return for his senior season with the Tigers -- a decision that he feels good about now looking back.
&ldquo;Last year was tough,&rdquo; Simms said of the pre-draft process. &ldquo;I felt as though, at least in the draft, it came down to picking names out of a hat. They didn't really have guys come work out, they didn't have guys they really interviewed or anything like that. It was over Zoom and whatnot, and it's not the same when it's [not] in person.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I was projected [as a] late-round [pick] in the second, so being able to come back to school and showcase a little bit more of what they'd asked me in my interviews, I think it definitely helped, and I had a good feeling going back to school. I thought I improved in the areas they asked, and just coming out now, I definitely see a difference and it's definitely given me a step ahead of other guys who are coming out for the first time."
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
This weekend, Simms is set to be one of 40 participants at the G League Elite Camp in Chicago, which will allow him the chance to prove himself in front of executives, scouts, coaches and notable personnel in the NBA and G League. Standouts from the event will be awarded an opportunity to participate in next week&rsquo;s NBA Draft Combine.
The version we see of Simms today is not the same version of Simms from 2020, nor the same as the Virginia native that took one visit to Clemson and decided to make the university his home for the next four years.&nbsp;
Every season, Simms got better, and molded his craft with his experiences. It&rsquo;s that amount of experience that he claims gives him an edge on inexperienced prospects who need polishing, and will allow him to come in on day one and help a team right away.
&ldquo;A lot of teams don't value a four-year veteran in college as much. That's not really the sexy thing nowadays. But for the teams that do, I definitely think I'll be better at making an impact early 'cause I understand the game a lot better,&rdquo; Simms said. &ldquo;Being at Clemson, we kinda transitioned to an NBA-type offense where there was a lot of motion and you've got to make a read instead of having a set play. We had our plays, but the majority of our offense was motion offense and playing out of the high post and down screens and away screens and curls and everything.&nbsp;
&ldquo;So I think I do have that advantage on the young guys. A lot of guys that go into [the draft] young have got the potential 'cause of their skill set and being able to score, but when it comes to thinking games and the mental game, I think I've got the upperhand on that.&rdquo;
Experience is something you can&rsquo;t teach, but Simms also possesses another unteachable quality, and that&rsquo;s a professional physique. In addition to his lengthy wingspan, he stands at 6-foot-8 and weighs in at 245 pounds, sporting a frame that most rookie players don&rsquo;t have.
&ldquo;There's a lot of switching in the league, and a lot of guys get stuck on bigger opponents, and they just kinda crab dribble down to the rim and dunk the ball. In my workouts that I've been going through, I've been guarding guys two inches, three inches taller than me [and] probably 10 or 20 pounds heavier or just around the same weight, and I think I do a pretty good job of standing 'em up,&rdquo; Simms said. &ldquo;So obviously, someone like Joel Embiid who's got 40 pounds on me, I'm definitely gonna have to try a little harder. But for the most [part], I think I can hold my own against anybody that's in my same weight class or a little bit heavier.&nbsp;
&ldquo;At the end of the day, it's a mental thing. As long as you put your mind to it, you can do it, so I definitely think I can make an immediate impact."
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/usatsi_15461500_lg.jpg" alt="" width="713" height="475" />
Simms anticipates going up against more NBA talents when the draft approaches nearer in July. He&rsquo;s looking forward to gaining knowledge and taking tips from whoever comes through Impact and other workouts he&rsquo;s planning on having. At the moment, he&rsquo;s not close with many guys at the next level, meaning this whole college-to-pro ordeal is an adventure.
&ldquo;I'm definitely a lone wolf out here,&rdquo; Simms said.
One of the guys he has a great relationship with is Milwaukee Bucks big man Mamadi Diakite, a high-school teammate of his at Blue Ridge whom Simms battled with for a number of seasons when Clemson faced off against the Virginia Cavaliers. Those matchups helped Simms mature as a player over the years, as did the lessons he took from his elder Tigers.
Donte Grantham, Gabe DeVoe, Elijah Thomas, Marcquise Reed, Shelton Mitchell and David Skara all taught him what it meant to play in the vaunted ACC. Though coaches knew he had the chops to do a little bit of everything, Simms primarily set screens and pick-and-popped, while his teammates did the facilitating and distributing during his freshman year.&nbsp;
Clemson&rsquo;s staff knew that he had a knack for backdoor finds and a high-basketball acumen, the team just didn&rsquo;t require him to bring that to the table in his early seasons. However, with each season, his responsibilities increased, as did his statistical output. Once he was given free reign to expand his game in his junior and senior years, he was able to produce the numbers to confirm his contributions. Simms averaged 13.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists and a steal in over 30 minutes per game in his upperclassmen seasons.
Ask him what he got better at from year one to year four, and Simms will tell you: everything.
&ldquo;Whether it was putting the ball on the floor, half-court or full-court, shooting the ball in many different actions (pick-and-pop, catch-and-shoot or off down screens), and just my toughness,&rdquo; Simms said. &ldquo;I came in as a pretty tough kid [and] I'm pretty competitive naturally, but going against Eli and other greats of the ACC at the 5 and 4, that time I was there, it improved my toughness and the physical component that I think other people lack at times.&nbsp;
&ldquo;And just being able to bring it every night. I just thought I saw a huge improvement in that. My defense improved every year, being able to guard different guys, [as well as] being able to shoot and kinda make plays from the top of the key or the elbow was just a huge improvement I saw... Just from the first day I was there, to my last, the environment, the atmosphere did nothing but [help me] grow and progress in my four years. It taught me a lot of life lessons, and the doors that opened in my four years was just unbelievable and definitely unexpected. That's a place, if you really buy into [it] and trust and give it your all, it's gonna set you up for future endeavors for the rest of your life... I would definitely say my four years at Clemson was nothing short of amazing.&rdquo;
There wasn&rsquo;t a single summer where Simms took a vacation in the offseason. He&rsquo;d stay in the gym, relentlessly working on his perimeter shooting with Clemson assistants Steve Smith, Antonio Reynolds Dean and Dick Bender. He got as many reps up as possible, until his "arms fell off&rdquo; to get his muscle memory down on his jumpers.&nbsp;
While Simms had a fair share of outstanding performances with the school, none compare to what happened in his third season at Clemson. In mid-January 2020, the Tigers knocked off the North Carolina Tar Heels in Raleigh for the first time in program history in 60 meetings. The following game three days later, Clemson returned home and took down the No. 3 Duke Blue Devils in front of a raucous crowd for&nbsp; Brad Brownell's record-setting 178th win as head coach. It was the first time the men&rsquo;s basketball team defeated both schools since 1995-96.&nbsp;
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sqLdWeRl-i4" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Simms scored 20-plus points and nabbed 8-plus rebounds in back-to-back games as a major part of that, among the stat-sheet filling he did in those consecutive wins.
&ldquo;I just felt like I was just on another level in that time frame,&rdquo; Simms said. &ldquo;Performing the way that I did for my team and my school is just something I won't forget, being able to do what we did at UNC and knocking them off at home for the first time, and then turn [it] around beating Duke, who at the time was ranked third in the country. Beating those schools for the first time back-to-back in almost 20 years was just unbelievable... I felt as though I always had the upper hand. Those two games alone, I think, stand out for themselves."
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/umSrQsKkuhk" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
The body of work Simms had at Clemson speaks for itself. He leaves behind a decorated career that saw him make two All-ACC teams, win the Skip Prosser Man of the Year award as the top scholar-athlete in the conference and become just the fourth player in the program&rsquo;s history to record over 1,000 points, 600 rebounds, 150 assists, 75 steals and 75 blocks.&nbsp;
What Simms accomplished, he admits he won&rsquo;t appreciate fully until down the road. He&rsquo;s had conversations with his parents about the success he had as a Tiger, and everybody is proud. But right now is a time to focus on the next chapter, and that&rsquo;s all he&rsquo;s zoned in on.
Though he had to adapt in college to what the team asked of him, Simms considers himself a tweener 4 with an ability to play as an undersized 5. He does feel that he&rsquo;ll be able to play the 3 as he sharpens his skill set further in the pros. He models his game after four NBA guys: Jae Crowder, Paul Millsap, Al Horford and Tobias Harris. Simms likens their physique and capabilities to his: scoring at all three levels and providing versatility. They can put it on the floor, face-up, play from the block and catch-and-shoot.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Along with that set of skills, Simms has the determination to prove his worth in the pros.
&ldquo;Since I've been at Clemson or since I've come out of school, I've been ranked in all these other things, but I've always felt as though my game was underappreciated,&rdquo; Simms said. &ldquo;So I think going into it, being able to be an older guy both still with a great skill set and understanding the game or being able to adapt to it, it's kinda the thing that separates me from a lot of guys.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I'm not just a shooter on the perimeter. I'm not just a good passer. I'm an all-around player, I think, and that's something I think that separates me. I'm not a one-dimensional guy. I think there are many attributes to my game that people have yet to see because of my [adaptation] at Clemson. But I think coming out, once I get into this Combine, I'll really get myself going. A lot of people are gonna see why I say what I say, and that's just something I think that separates myself is being able to adapt to the game while being an older guy who's still kinda young and affecting the game in many ways that most people don't really see."
His motivation isn&rsquo;t just that, either. It&rsquo;s about his future, his family&rsquo;s future and others. Minoring in Nonprofit Leadership, Simms understands that there are bigger things than the game of basketball, and those philanthropic moments he desires to create will ultimately stem from the career path he&rsquo;s chosen.
&ldquo;Basketball is not the only thing that inspires me in life. Helping others is a huge thing, and I know a great way to do that is by playing basketball, making the most out of what I can with my time there and then being set up to be able to help others -- whether it's in this country or others, being able to help people who need it more than I do,&rdquo; Simms said.
&ldquo;Looking at guys like Harrison Barnes and Jimmy Butler and other guys who are deeply involved in their community, that's something that pushes me. They just kinda go hand-in-hand with basketball and that's a huge passion and motivation for me. So I can work my butt off on the court, so when I'm off the court, I can help people who need it more than I do."

Spencer Davies speaks with Aamir Simms about his time at Clemson, the skills he's looking to showcase in the pros and more.

Aamir Simms eager to exhibit more of his game at the next level

For the past decade, Brandon Schneider watched every leader among the Golden State Warriors to see how they all operated. From the small organizational staff meetings to the big decisions, he soaked in everything he could.
The Warriors promoted the 41-year-old Schneider to president and chief operating officer on Tuesday to replace Rick Welts, a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame member who is moving to an advisory role after the season. Schneider will assume his new position July 1.
Schneider has nearly two decades of experience with the franchise and worked closely with Welts for 10 years. That included the construction project of Chase Center in San Francisco and the move from Oakland. Schneider has been Golden State's chief revenue officer for the past three years, overseeing strategic planning and execution of team sales and activation efforts at the new arena &mdash; including ticket sales and service efforts, corporate partnerships, marketing and digital strategy, and philanthropic efforts through the team's foundation.
&ldquo;In Brandon, we have someone who first of all is a leader. Whenever you have an organization, leadership is No. 1 obviously,&rdquo; owner and CEO Joe Lacob said. &ldquo;But you have to have other things. You have to have intelligence, and Brandon is very intelligent. He is collaborative, he's well respected, he's well connected in the industry. He's a team-oriented guy and a builder.
&ldquo;... The thing I love most about Brandon, he is relentless.&rdquo;
Even with all Welts accomplished during his tenure, Schneider said he is committed to thinking outside the box to get more done that Welts helped begin by establishing a successful culture throughout the operation.
Schneider grew up in the Bay Area loving the Warriors, attending his first game in 1987 with his father. He expressed his gratitude to Welts for serving as a mentor and friend to help prepare him for his new challenge.
&ldquo;As a Bay Area kid who grew up a diehard Warriors fan, it means a ton,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;This is the first job I got out of college.&rdquo;
He joined the Warriors in 2002 &mdash; one day before his 23rd birthday, &ldquo;so I've really grown up with the Warriors&rdquo; &mdash; as a season ticket account executive then worked his way up through the ticket department before spending 2015-2018 as senior vice president of business development before taking on his current position.
Lacob and co-executive chairman Peter Guber believe Schneider is the best person to push the franchise forward given this is just the beginning of a new-look franchise in San Francisco.
&ldquo;For them to put their faith in me is humbling and is a great honor," Schneider said. &ldquo;It also means that I have the opportunity to lead an outstanding group and team of coworkers. If there's one thing that I've learned, and I've learned a lot from Joe, Peter and Rick over the last 10 years, surround yourself with great people and let them do their job.&rdquo;
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Schneider will assume his new position July 1.

Warriors promote Brandon Schneider to president and COO

Joel Embiid sank a step-back jumper in the final minute of the best game of his NBA career, ran back with his arms raised high over his head as piped-in &ldquo;M-V-P!&rdquo; &ldquo;M-V-P!&rdquo; chants blared through the arena and beckoned with his hands for imaginary fans &mdash; for sure, the Philadelphia 76ers&rsquo; fanatics watching at home &mdash; to get loud.
Embiid plays with as much fun as any MVP front-runner, and on the February night <a href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-joel-embiid-chicago-bulls-doc-rivers-philadelphia-76ers-baebe9d2ae7cc4f950516bd5686f301f">he dropped 50 points</a> on the Chicago Bulls, he sent a sign to the fans they are with him in spirit.
&ldquo;The fans are always there for me when I play,&rdquo; Embiid said. &ldquo;I play for the fans, I play for the city. All my goals when I play basketball are related to the city of Philadelphia. I feel like they&rsquo;re here for us even when they&rsquo;re not. I always feel their presence.&rdquo;
Guess what, Joel: Sixers fans are allowed back in the building on Sunday, and if they are among the lucky 3,100 to snag a ticket &mdash; lower-center tickets can be found on StubHub for up to $1,250 a pop &mdash; they&rsquo;ll surely show the love worthy of 20,000 back to Embiid.
At 26, Embiid has not only led the Sixers (24-12) to the best record in the Eastern Conference, he&rsquo;s at last blossomed into the durable, mature and downright dominant force the Sixers expected when they made him the No. 3 pick of the 2014 draft.
&ldquo;I just want to destroy everything in my path,&rdquo; Embiid said.
Let&rsquo;s not raise a &ldquo;Mission Accomplished&rdquo; banner quite yet in the Wells Fargo Center rafters.
But what Embiid has done through the All-Star break has made him the betting +200 MVP favorite (Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James is next at +225) and turned &mdash; along with fellow All-Star Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris &mdash; the Sixers into perhaps the only team that can give Brooklyn a run out of the East. The Sixers have not won the NBA championship since 1983.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s nice to have a big guy in the MVP talk,&rdquo; Hall of Famer Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal told The Associated Press. &ldquo;You have to take a high-percentage shot and take advantage of your opponent. He&rsquo;s finally playing like that. This is how you play. You want to be good, you want to be great or you want to be the greatest? You decide.&rdquo;
Embiid, who missed what would have been his first two seasons because of injuries, still put up strong numbers in his first four. But he always left hints there was so much untapped potential in his about 7-foot frame.
His 30.2 points are behind only Washington&rsquo;s Bradley Beal and about 2&frac12; points higher than his previous career best. Embiid has five games of 40-plus points and 10-plus rebounds in 30 games &mdash; the rest of the NBA players combined hit that mark only four times &mdash; highlighted by that 50-point, 17-board game on Feb. 17 against the Bulls. Embiid was the first 76er to score 50 since Allen Iverson in 2005.
He is trying to become the first Sixer to win NBA MVP &mdash; the fans call it an MVBiid campaign &mdash; since Iverson in 2001. Moses Malone (1982-83), Julius Erving (1980-81) and Wilt Chamberlain (who won three straight from 1965-1968) all won the NBA&rsquo;s top honor.
&mdash; Embiid&rsquo;s 13 career 40-10 games tie him with Charles Barkley for second-most in team history, behind Chamberlain (31).
&mdash; He leads the NBA in total free throws made (298), free throws made per game (9.9) and free-throw attempts per game (11.6).
&mdash; Embiid, Barkley and Chamberlain are the only three 76ers with at least 900 points and 300 rebounds within their first 30 games of a season.
Embiid said he cared more this season about winning defensive player of the year &mdash; though he may have to fight off Simmons &mdash; than taking any other individual award.
&ldquo;When I came in the league, I never thought I would be that good offensively,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I always focused on the defensive side. That&rsquo;s been my goal, to win it.&rdquo;
Leading the 76ers to their first NBA Finals trip since 2001 could bolster his credentials for individual awards. The Sixers previously bottomed out in the standings for a shot at landing a franchise player like Embiid. They did have back-to-back 50-win seasons and consecutive trips to the East semis with Embiid but were swept out of the first round last season.
&ldquo;Without winning, you&rsquo;re not part of those conversations when it comes to defensive player of the year and MVP and all that stuff,&rdquo; Embiid said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the first thing. I want to win. That&rsquo;s all I care about.&rdquo;
Brett Brown was fired after the Sixers were swept and Doc Rivers, a respected coach who won the 2008 NBA title with Boston, was brought in to round Embiid and Simmons into championship form. Daryl Morey, the former Houston Rockets executive, was tasked with running Philadelphia&rsquo;s basketball operations and helped change the narrative that the two franchise stars could coexist on, and even off, the court.
&ldquo;One of the things I heard coming in here was that they don&rsquo;t fit,&rdquo; Rivers said. &ldquo;My eyes kept telling me they do fit. They fit very well because of their skill sets. I think now they see that. I think that gives them confidence.&rdquo;
The Sixers are helped by Embiid largely staying in the lineup. The oft-injured center has missed five games because of back tightness and one because of right knee pain and will sit out Thursday&rsquo;s game against Chicago because of COVID-19 protocols. Embiid, who became a father in September, hired a personal chef, nutritionist, physical therapist and massage therapist in the shortened offseason to keep in peak physical condition throughout the condensed season.
Embiid also has cut back to a career-low three 3-point attempts a game this season after attempting as many as 263 (hitting at a 30% clip) in 2018-19. His average shot attempt this year is just shy of 12 feet.
&ldquo;Whenever I see Joel, I&rsquo;m going, &lsquo;I don&rsquo;t know why you shoot so many 3s,&rsquo;&rdquo; said his college coach, Kansas' Bill Self. &rdquo;&lsquo;Why don&rsquo;t you play with your back to your basket? Nobody can guard you.&rsquo; I think that&rsquo;s a big reason he&rsquo;s having the season he&rsquo;s having.&rdquo;
Morey, though, is fine with Embiid shooting from deep.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a great shooter, maybe the best 7-foot-2 or whatever shooters ever,&rdquo; Morey said. &ldquo;You should use those skills. He&rsquo;s so skilled in so many ways.&rdquo;
Embiid has also become a most valuable philanthropist.
Among his charitable endeavors, he committed to donating his $100,000 All-Star Game winnings to area homeless shelters, he partnered with a grocery chain in December to help five families with rent or mortgage relief and he pledged with Sixers ownership a combined $1.3 million to Penn Medicine for COVID-19 antibody testing of front-line health care workers.
He champions his teammates, and like so many greats, he is motivated by any slights, real or imagined. Witness the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-joel-embiid-mike-conley-donovan-mitchell-philadelphia-76ers-c25e861a9e7e87deaef1a8f9a0eb306b">40 points and 19 rebounds he put up on Rudy Gobert and best-in-the-West Utah Jazz </a> in the final game before the break.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s nice to see him separate himself in a way to be the most dominate big man in the world,&rdquo; Self said. &ldquo;We thought all along he had it in him, but we&rsquo;re seeing it now.&rdquo;
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Embiid has led the Sixers to the best record in the East at 24-12.

Embiid emerges as NBA MVP front-runner for East-best 76ers

Five numbers stand out when discussing new Atlanta Dream forward Cheyenne Parker.&nbsp;
25: It represents the number of games she started in her six-year tenure with the Chicago Sky.&nbsp;
13.4, 6.4, and 1.3: Her averages in points, rebounds, and steals last season -- all career-highs.
Then there&rsquo;s 77, her current rating in NBA 2K21. 
Bring up those first four numbers, and Parker calmly discusses what they mean in relation to the goals she has for herself in Atlanta. Bring up 77? The competitive fire ramps up, an observation made funnier by the fact that she isn&rsquo;t a gamer.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s bull! I know that much,&rdquo; Parker told BasketballNews.com in an exclusive interview via Zoom. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s definitely bull, but it&rsquo;s to be expected because of the rep I had in Chicago. It&rsquo;s crazy. This league is political to begin with, but the rating that I have, that&rsquo;s the kind of stuff that fuels me.&rdquo;
Self-motivation is a prerequisite for any athlete worth their salt. It&rsquo;s especially needed for someone who has grown as rapidly -- on and off the floor -- as Parker has.&nbsp;
The game became hers at 4 years old, following in the footsteps of her father and brothers. She dominated in her youth. The only person that could stop her was, well, herself. 
&ldquo;I actually didn&rsquo;t play a lot in high school because I wasn&rsquo;t really focused,&rdquo; Parker said.&nbsp;&ldquo;I was kind of a problem child, I kept getting in trouble. I definitely wasn&rsquo;t your typical goodie-goodie. I had to go through some growing pains.&rdquo;
Even in a shorter-than-you&rsquo;d-think high school career, Parker was a two-year letterman winner at Southwest Guilford High School. Parker would attend High Point University for three years, establishing herself as a double-double machine and prolific shot swatter before transferring to Middle Tennessee State. More growing pains would arise, however, as Parker&rsquo;s senior campaign was cut short due to <a href="https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/12395177/cheyenne-parker-dismissed-middle-tennessee-blue-raiders-team?device=featurephone#:~:text=%2D%2D%20Middle%20Tennessee%20has%20dismissed,Conference%20USA%20in%20both%20categories." target="_blank" rel="noopener">violations of the athletics department</a>.&nbsp;
Parker was drafted fifth overall by the Chicago Sky in the 2015 WNBA Draft. Her career got off to a slow start, averaging just 3.3 points and 1.8 rebounds in a little over 11 minutes per contest through her first three seasons. Parker has completely flipped the script since then, establishing herself as one of the most versatile frontcourt players in the W.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
BasketballNews.com recently talked to Parker about her growth, her fit in Atlanta, her off-court ambitions and more.
Who are some of the players you looked up to or modeled your game after growing up?
Cheyenne Parker: Candace Parker was actually someone I looked up to a lot. I really loved her game. I wanted to build my game off of her game. I loved that she was 6-4 like me, and able to dribble and shoot. She was the main player I looked up to, even when she was at Tennessee. I always liked Tina Thompson, too, because of the lipstick. I like the statement that it made.
What part of Candace&rsquo;s game do you think is best reflected in yours?
CP: I think it&rsquo;s the offensive versatility, being able to get a bucket wherever I am on the floor. I think that&rsquo;s where we&rsquo;re most similar, being able to get a bucket no matter where I am. It doesn&rsquo;t matter if I&rsquo;m on the perimeter or if I&rsquo;m on the block; I can still score.
Note: Nearly a quarter of Cheyenne Parker&rsquo;s offensive possessions ended via post-up last season, per Synergy Sports. Roughly 19 percent of her possessions came via spot-ups, where she ranked in the 83rd percentile. The inside-out dynamic is real.
What made you choose Atlanta in free agency?
CP: It was a few reasons I chose Atlanta. Just on the business side, there&rsquo;s a lot more opportunity there for Black-owned businesses. That really attracted me because of the things I&rsquo;m interested in doing, in terms of building my brand and becoming an influencer, a philanthropist, just someone who can leave a positive impact on the Black community.
I also chose Atlanta on the basketball side because I really loved the conversation I had with the coach [Nicki Collen] and the general manager [Chris Sienko] about what they were looking for. They&rsquo;re looking for a dominant post presence, and I think that&rsquo;s something I can bring. And it&rsquo;s an opportunity for me, for the first time in my career, to be that go-to dominant post presence without it being seen as a risk.&nbsp;
For example, when I got drafted to Chicago, it was a big stamp like: &ldquo;Oh, Chicago Sky takes huge risk on Cheyenne Parker.&rdquo; I kinda had that over my head in Chicago over my entire career. It was just always...unexpected that I even lasted as long as I did with whatever assumptions people had of me, whether I was going to get kicked off the team or whatever.&nbsp;
I&rsquo;m just excited to have a new start without that type of headline. Like, it&rsquo;s not a risk. It&rsquo;s more like, &ldquo;This is a great move.We&rsquo;re excited to have Cheyenne Parker and we&rsquo;re looking forward to what she can bring.&rdquo; That&rsquo;s the kind of approach Atlanta came with, so that&rsquo;s what I&rsquo;m most excited about on the basketball side. Being able to fully spread my wings.
I&rsquo;m interested to see what that dynamic in Atlanta is going to be. They have so much perimeter talent like Chennedy Carter, Tiffany Hayes, and Courtney Williams. What was the discussion like with the front office -- how do they plan to balance giving you the touches you deserve and letting their guards dictate the action?
CP: The way it was explained to me, Coach Collen is excited to even have the option to pass the ball to the block. She said that wasn&rsquo;t something they really did in the past. This will definitely be new for everybody, including the guards. It&rsquo;s going to be something new for them to even think to pass the ball inside.&nbsp;
Kinda like in Chicago, I had to demand that respect - it wasn&rsquo;t given. At all. I had to prove that if you give me the ball, I&rsquo;m going to score. Once I showed them I could, it became second nature. My teammates saw that I could establish position, they saw the numbers I put up and they had to give me the ball.&nbsp;
So here, I think Coach will emphasize, &ldquo;Hey, you missed CP. She was wide open. You gotta give her that one because that&rsquo;s a layup.&rdquo; I think those are wrinkles that will come out once we start practicing together and working on our plays. There will probably be times where Coach will pause things and say, &ldquo;Hey, you missed CP on that post-up.&rdquo; And that&rsquo;s normal when you&rsquo;ve never had to look inside.&nbsp;
We&rsquo;ll definitely have wrinkles to iron out, but after a while we&rsquo;ll get adjusted. We have such a great perimeter-based team and athletic team that once the ball goes inside, they&rsquo;ll definitely get it back. Defenses have to be honest, but you can&rsquo;t be too honest when you have a great post player to defend. That&rsquo;ll help create openings for our guards to shoot or drive into.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Going off the floor, you said the business opportunities in Atlanta were a major selling point for you. What are some of the things you&rsquo;re working on or plan to work on?
CP: I have <a href="https://www.bornqueenboutique.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">my online business</a> where I sell motivational quote gear, I sell my exclusive calendars, and I&rsquo;m getting ready to launch health supplements consisting of elderberry capsules, soursop capsules, sea moss and bladderwrack and a few other things.&nbsp;
As far as an actual business opening, I definitely plan on partnering and opening a hookah lounge in Atlanta sometime soon. It&rsquo;s not something that I&rsquo;m going to rush into, but it&rsquo;s definitely something I&rsquo;ve been working on. I was going to do it here [in Chicago], but it&rsquo;ll be better in Atlanta because of the rules. It&rsquo;s going to be an easier process and it&rsquo;s going to be a better process with more capital.
You mentioned earlier that Candace Parker was someone you looked up to and based some of your game off of. Have you had younger players tell you that you&rsquo;re someone they looked up, or took bits of your game and put it into yours?
CP: In the league? No, not like that. I&rsquo;ve had players give me props -- even Candace, funny enough, for the first time last year. She was just like, &ldquo;I love your game and how you get better every year.&rdquo; When she said that, I was tripping out. Like I said, I&rsquo;ve looked up to her my entire basketball career. So when she said that, I was like, &ldquo;Candace you don&rsquo;t know what that means to me right now.&rdquo; But it was also motivating to me. The person I looked up to my entire basketball career just gave me props? I gotta go hard now. I gotta keep getting better.&nbsp;
I did have my rookies. Ruthy Hebard, I took Alaina Coates under my wing when she was in Chicago. Even Kalani Brown in Atlanta. Even though we hadn&rsquo;t played on the same team yet, I&rsquo;ve talked to her about basketball because we played against each other in China. I&rsquo;ll have those moments where I&rsquo;ll give my wisdom, but that&rsquo;s it forreal.

Nekias Duncan speaks with Atlanta Dream forward Cheyenne Parker about her new city, fit on the team and business plans.

Cheyenne Parker Q&A: 'I gotta go hard now; I gotta keep getting better'

The Atlanta Dream are close to being sold, a WNBA spokesperson <a href="https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/30744823/atlanta-dream-sale-close-being-finalized-wnba-says">confirmed to ESPN&rsquo;s Ramona Shelburne</a>.
"As it relates to the Atlanta Dream, we understand a sale of the franchise is close to being finalized," the league said in a statement. "Once the sale negotiation is concluded, additional information will be provided."
&ldquo;The franchise has been at the center of turmoil since Kelly Loeffler wrote a letter to WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert objecting to the league's embrace of the Black Lives Matter movement during the 2020 season. Players around the league initially called on Loeffler to sell her share of the team (49%) but when she refused, they instead publicly endorsed her opponent in her senatorial race, Rev. Raphael Warnock. Warnock defeated Loeffler in the Jan. 5 runoff and will be sworn in to Congress this week.&rdquo;
For MLK Day, I put together a panel of WNBA players that included two Atlanta Dream players: Renee Montgomery (who took a year off from playing in the WNBA to focus on activism after the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor) and Elizabeth Williams (who is currently the longest-tenured member of the Dream).&nbsp;
Montgomery and Williams discussed what prompted their revolt against Loeffler and detailed how the team banded together (along with the help of the entire WNBA) to elect Loeffler&rsquo;s opponent, Warnock, who was polling at a lowly 9% before the Atlanta Dream and the WNBA got involved.&nbsp;
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xJwkYUHPMj8" width="100%" height="350" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
&ldquo;When she made those statements, it was right when we had gotten into the bubble,&rdquo; Elizabeth Williams said. &ldquo;We were still in our quarantine period and a lot of the team wasn&rsquo;t with us yet, so we got together and had a Zoom call and we were like, &lsquo;We have to address this; we have to at least say something.&rsquo;
&ldquo;[Loeffler referred to the protests] as &lsquo;mob mentality&rsquo; and said Black Lives Matter was Marxist and to keep politics out of sports and to wear the American flag on our jersey (which, ironically, was all about putting politics into sports). But for us, our team, we wanted to not only make a statement but to have an action behind it. And we didn&rsquo;t really know what that was going to look like, and other players throughout the league supported us and said, &lsquo;Hey, we&rsquo;re with you guys, so whatever you want to do.&rsquo; So while we were brainstorming ideas, we realized that we can&rsquo;t really do anything about her ownership; that&rsquo;s on the league. But she is in the Senate seat, so we can do something about that.&nbsp;
&ldquo;We had connections with Lisa Borders, who's our former president and heavy into politics, and Stacey Abrams, who&rsquo;s on our union board of advocates, so we had connections with people who understood politics, and they were able to connect us with Rev. Warnock. After vetting him and having conversations with him, we said, &lsquo;We can have a call that&rsquo;s open to every player who wants to hear who this guy is.&rsquo; And then, ultimately, we decided we were going to support him and we knew it was going to be even more powerful having the entire league backing us. So when we, as in Atlanta, had our first nationally televised game, we wore these &lsquo;Vote Warnock&rsquo; shirts along with every other team in the league and it was just this incredible movement. And, ultimately, Warnock ended up winning this runoff in January.&rdquo;
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/warrr_lg.jpg" alt="" width="793" height="AUTO" />
Again, Warnock was polling at just 9% before the WNBA players stepped in. We haven&rsquo;t seen this level of mobilization in any other league -- not in the NBA, the NFL, the NHL, MLB. What these WNBA players have done is unprecedented.&nbsp;
&ldquo;You have to give it up to the social justice council and the WNBA and the WNBA executive committee because these are groups of women who organized,&rdquo; Renee Montgomery said. &ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t just actions all over the place and chaos; this was a very organized movement. They vetted Raphael Warnock, and they wanted to see who he was and they brought in council and advisors to advise them because this isn&rsquo;t necessarily the space we&rsquo;re used to roaming. So all of that was done and then I got a text from Sue Bird saying, &lsquo;I just wanted to let you know what&rsquo;s going on from inside the Wubble: we&rsquo;re creating these shirts that say [Vote] Warnock, and this is what we&rsquo;ve done,&rsquo; and she broke it all down for me. [Bird said], &lsquo;I wanted you to know because you&rsquo;re boots on the ground here in Atlanta.&rsquo; And my reaction was, &lsquo;Wow, this is crazy! This is lit, because I love when things are planned.&rsquo; 
"This was not a vindictive movement, this was a &lsquo;we&rsquo;re-trying-to-get-somewhere&rsquo; movement and this is who can get us there. So, it was exciting to see just how everyone was banding together.&rdquo;
I just think it&rsquo;s amazing how the WNBA organizes and gets things done. In my previous book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/We-Matter-Athletes-Activism-Sports/dp/1617755915" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&ldquo;We Matter: Athletes And Activism,&rdquo;</a> I interviewed WNBA legend Swin Cash and asked her how they were able to organize a league-wide media blackout (after the back-to-back murders of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling) back in 2016, as well as getting league-wide support for Black Lives Matter with all of the players wearing shirts (even after the WNBA <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2016/07/12/us/wnba-minnesota-lynx-black-lives-matter-shirts/index.html">initially threatened to fine</a> them).
Cash had a simple response: &ldquo;Women do it differently.&rdquo;
They support each other. They make sure that they&rsquo;re all informed. Even the players who aren&rsquo;t from the United States are brought up to speed, and they jump on board and show support because they feel their teammates&rsquo; pain. Now, those efforts have not only caused Kelly Loeffler to lose her Senate race, but may have played a role in her selling the team. 
The WNBA players have already etched their names in the history books for athlete activism, and now they are adding additional chapters of accomplishments. They deserve all the praise and accolades for their bravery and courage. Salute!

WNBA players opposed Kelly Loeffler and now she's selling the team. Once again, WNBA players are leading the athlete-activism charge.