Brooklyn Nets

As the 2025 NBA Playoffs begin, the Western Conference presents no shortage of compelling narratives and unanswered questions. Each team comes in with a storyline that could define their entire postseason. From young squads making their playoff debut to experienced rosters led by superstars, here's the biggest question facing each Western Conference playoff team.
Oklahoma City Thunder &mdash; Can their historic defense carry over to the playoffs?
The Oklahoma City Thunder have fielded the league&rsquo;s best defense this season, boasting a 106.6 defensive rating &mdash; the lowest mark in the NBA and one of the best over the past decade. Anchored by a core of versatile perimeter defenders like Lu Dort, Cason Wallace, Jalen Williams, and MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, along with interior enforcer Isaiah Hartenstein and shot blocker Chet Holmgren, the Thunder built a defensive identity predicated on length, switchability, and relentless pressure.
But as history has shown, regular-season defense doesn&rsquo;t always translate to playoff dominance. Matchups become more intentional, rotations tighten, and elite scorers are given room to manipulate even the best schemes. For a team like OKC that leans heavily on team defense rather than individual stoppers, their system will be tested in a postseason series where adjustments are key. Moreover, the Thunder&rsquo;s youth &ndash; despite being a strength in the regular season &ndash; may also be a vulnerability when the game slows down and every possession is magnified.
This Thunder squad has the makings of a historically great defense, but now comes the true test: whether that same system can hold up when a superstar like Luka Doncic or Steph Curry start hunting matchups in isolation. If OKC can sustain their defensive intensity in a seven-game series, their path to a deep run remains wide open.
Houston Rockets &mdash; Will their inexperience hinder them from going too far?
After years of rebuilding, the Houston Rockets are finally back in the playoffs &mdash; and this time, with a young core brimming with talent. Alperen Sengun, Jalen Green, Jabari Smith Jr., and Amen Thompson are all making their playoff debuts, and they&rsquo;ve formed a competitive group that finished with the fifth-best defense in the league (110.3 DRtg) and earned the second seed. Their turnaround under head coach Ime Udoka has been remarkable, fueled by a defense-first identity and the emergence of Sengun as one of the best passing bigs in the league.
However, playoff basketball is a different beast. It&rsquo;s about adjustments, discipline, and poise under pressure &ndash; things young teams usually need time to learn. In their first-round matchup, the Rockets face the battle-tested Golden State Warriors, a team that features championship experience across the board. Houston&rsquo;s youth could be exposed if the moment becomes too big, especially with Golden State&rsquo;s ability to dissect inexperience through smart off-ball actions and defensive schemes.
Players like Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks, the Rockets&rsquo; veterans, will be counted on to provide leadership and stabilize the team when things go sideways. But this postseason will ultimately serve as a litmus test for how ready the Rockets&rsquo; young stars are to take the leap. Even if they fall short, the experience could be invaluable moving forward.
Los Angeles Lakers &mdash; How viable is their roster construction?
The Lakers shocked the league by acquiring Luka Doncic midseason, pairing him with LeBron James and Austin Reaves to form a high-powered offensive trio. Since then, they&rsquo;ve leaned heavily into small-ball, often starting lineups with Rui Hachimura and Dorian Finney-Smith alongside the core trio, while Jaxson Hayes remains their only true center. First-year head coach JJ Redick has installed a modern, five-out system that prioritizes spacing and switchable defense &mdash; a style tailor-made for the postseason.
But viability is still a concern. While the offense has thrived, their defense has some slippages, particularly when LeBron and Luka are on the floor together. Their lack of rim protection and size could be exploited by teams that boast elite drivers to the rim. Additionally, the wear-and-tear of postseason play could take a toll on their aging core, especially LeBron, who is playing his 22nd season and logging heavy minutes in the postseason
Ultimately, the Lakers&rsquo; playoff ceiling hinges on whether their current roster configuration &ndash; heavy on wings, light on bigs &ndash; can hold up when the game slows down and physicality ramps up. If it works, Redick could be hailed as a tactical genius. If it doesn&rsquo;t, questions about roster balance and long-term direction will resurface.
Denver Nuggets &mdash; Do they have enough help around Nikola Jokic?
Nikola Jokic is once again doing everything for the Denver Nuggets &mdash; and doing it at an MVP level. He finished the regular season averaging a triple-double and top 3 in every major statistical category. His ability to control the game as both scorer and facilitator remains unmatched, and he remains the engine of everything Denver does offensively. But after a sluggish finish to the season, the biggest concern for the Nuggets is whether Jokic has enough help to mount another deep playoff run.
Jamal Murray has battled through injuries and hasn&rsquo;t quite looked like the same dynamic scorer from their 2023 championship run. Michael Porter Jr. has been inconsistent, while Aaron Gordon&rsquo;s offensive impact has waned due to multiple injuries. Denver&rsquo;s bench has also taken a step back this year, with limited contributions outside of Russell Westbrook, Julian Strawther and Peyton Watson.
If Murray can elevate his game and Porter Jr. can knock down shots consistently, Denver remains a title threat. But the margin for error is much slimmer than last year. Jokic can only carry so much weight &ndash; the Nuggets need their supporting cast to deliver, or another early exit could be looming.
Los Angeles Clippers &mdash; Can we see James Harden and Kawhi Leonard lead this team to playoff glory?
After losing Paul George to free agency last summer, many assumed the Clippers&rsquo; title window had slammed shut. But the resurgence of James Harden and Kawhi Leonard has breathed life back into their playoff hopes. Harden has embraced the role of primary playmaker, averaging 22.8 points and 8.7 assists per game, while Leonard has quietly had one of the most efficient scoring seasons of his career in recent years, shooting 49.8% from the field and 41.1% from deep.
The Clippers finished the season strong with their offense clicking and defense holding steady. Yet the question remains &ndash; can their two stars carry them through the gauntlet of the Western Conference? Leonard&rsquo;s health has always been a question mark, and Harden&rsquo;s playoff track record has been a mixed bag at best.&nbsp;
This postseason may be one of the last chances for this iteration of the Clippers to make a real push. If Harden and Kawhi can replicate their regular-season success and stay healthy, they could make noise. Along with steady role players like Norman Powell and Ivica Zubac, the Clippers are darkhorse contenders and will be dangerous out in the West.
Minnesota Timberwolves &mdash; How will Julius Randle perform in the playoffs?
Minnesota shocked many by acquiring Julius Randle at the trade deadline, moving on from Karl-Anthony Towns in the process. The Wolves hoped that Randle, a more physical and downhill-oriented forward, would provide a better playoff fit alongside Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert. However, Randle&rsquo;s postseason history raises concerns &mdash; in 15 career playoff games, he&rsquo;s averaged just 15.6 points on 34.4% shooting from the field.
Minnesota will need more than that if they hope to build on last year&rsquo;s conference finals run. Randle must adapt his game to playoff basketball, where defenses are better prepared and isolation-heavy play often becomes less efficient. His ability to stretch the floor, make quick decisions, and play through contact will be tested, especially against elite defenses like OKC.
If Randle rises to the occasion, Minnesota could have one of the most balanced starting fives in the conference. But if he reverts to his inefficient playoff habits, the Wolves could find themselves stalling in critical moments &ndash; a risk that looms large in what could be a defining postseason for the franchise.
Golden State Warriors &mdash; How far can Jimmy Butler take them?
The Warriors made arguably the boldest trade of the deadline by acquiring Jimmy Butler from Miami, forming a star duo with Stephen Curry. Since the move, Golden State has looked rejuvenated, going on a tear to close the regular season and boasting the third-best net rating in the league during that span (+7.2). Butler&rsquo;s leadership, defense, and shot creation have given the Warriors a legitimate second option and re-energized their playoff outlook.
Butler has a proven playoff track record &ndash; he led the Heat to two Finals appearances in four years &ndash; and is widely regarded as one of the most clutch postseason performers. His fit with Golden State has been seamless, and the team&rsquo;s defense has improved significantly, ranking 6th in opponent points per game since the trade. The question is how far Butler can carry this version of the Warriors, who still lean heavily on their aging core.
If Butler can replicate his past postseason heroics and stay healthy, the Warriors have a real shot to upset higher-seeded teams and return to the Finals.
Memphis Grizzlies &mdash; Can they survive this tough season?
No team has faced more adversity this year than the Memphis Grizzlies. Between Ja Morant&rsquo;s on-court antics, injuries to key players, and coaching instability and firing, Memphis stumbled to a slump at the end of the regular season but managed to squeak into the playoffs as the 8-seed. Despite the chaos, the team has shown remarkable resilience, with Jaren Jackson Jr. and rookie Zach Edey emerging as bright spots with their improved play.
Now they face the top-seeded Thunder in a first-round matchup that few give them a chance to win. But if there&rsquo;s one thing the Grizzlies have shown, it&rsquo;s that they won&rsquo;t go down without a fight. Their defense could keep them competitive, and their physical style of play may pose problems for the Thunder.
Ultimately, the playoffs may serve more as a building block than a real title push. But if Memphis can steal a game or two &mdash; or even push OKC to the brink &mdash; it would be a testament to the team&rsquo;s grit and foundation heading into next season.

Breaking down the biggest question each Western Conference team faces heading into the 2025 NBA Playoffs.

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

Cam Thomas is one of the most explosive young scorers in the NBA today. The Brooklyn Nets guard has quickly established himself as a potent bucket-getter, averaging 24.7 points per game this season while shooting efficiently at 46% from the field. At just 23 years old, Thomas has impressed with his ability to create his own shot, exploit defenses with his mid-range game, and step up as a consistent offensive threat for the Nets. His rapid rise in the league is complemented by a deep understanding of basketball history and strategy, as evidenced by his insightful observations about two of the game's most transformative players of this generation: Stephen Curry and James Harden.&nbsp;&nbsp;
In a recent appearance on *The Draymond Green Show*, Thomas offered a thoughtful analysis of how Curry and Harden have uniquely revolutionized basketball. According to Thomas, Curry redefined how teams approach the game, particularly with his off-ball movement, long-range shooting, and emphasis on floor spacing. On the other hand, Harden transformed individual play by pioneering the step-back three, refining isolation basketball, and mastering the art of drawing fouls.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
"I think we really gravitated toward James"<a href="https://twitter.com/24_camthomas?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@24_camthomas</a> tells <a href="https://twitter.com/Money23Green?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@money23green</a> &amp; <a href="https://twitter.com/BaronDavis?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@barondavis</a> he thinks his generation emulated James Harden more than Steph Curry <a href="https://t.co/wAILYRwHnd">pic.twitter.com/wAILYRwHnd</a>
&mdash; The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis (@DraymondShow) <a href="https://twitter.com/DraymondShow/status/1861885291298009210?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 27, 2024</a>
<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
</blockquote>
Thomas highlighted Stephen Curry's unparalleled impact on the collective identity of basketball teams. Curry's ability to stretch the floor with his three-point shooting not only elevated the Golden State Warriors to dynastic success but also forced other teams to adapt to a new era of pace-and-space basketball. As Thomas noted, Curry's relentless off-ball movement and shooting range reshaped how offenses and defenses operate, compelling teams to prioritize shooting and spacing over traditional post-play.
This evolution can be seen across the league, as teams now emphasize finding players who can shoot from deep and defend multiple positions to keep up with the Warriors' blueprint. "Steph changed the way teams wanted to play," Thomas remarked, underscoring how Curry's influence extended beyond his individual skills to shape the team-oriented strategies now prevalent in the NBA.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Conversely, James Harden's influence lies in his mastery of individual offense. Thomas pointed to Harden's exceptional ability to manipulate defenses with his handles, step-backs, and foul-drawing techniques. Harden's one-on-one brilliance not only made him a perennial MVP candidate but also set a new standard for what guards could achieve in isolation. "James changed the individual skill of how players wanted to play," Thomas observed, acknowledging Harden's role in redefining the art of scoring in a half-court setting.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Harden&rsquo;s approach has inspired a generation of players to focus on creativity and efficiency in isolation, leveraging advanced footwork and ball-handling to generate scoring opportunities. His innovations have led to debates about their broader impact on the aesthetics of basketball, with some praising his ingenuity and others critiquing the reliance on drawing fouls.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Thomas' comparison of Curry and Harden illustrates the multifaceted evolution of basketball in the modern era. While Curry ushered in a revolution of team-centric three-point shooting and movement, Harden elevated individual creativity and scoring mastery to unprecedented levels. Together, they embody the dual pillars of contemporary basketball&mdash;team synergy and individual brilliance.&nbsp;&nbsp;
As Cam Thomas continues his ascent, his nuanced understanding of the game's history and its transformative figures hints at a player who not only studies greatness but also aspires to leave his own mark on the league.

Thomas offered a thoughtful analysis of how Curry and Harden have uniquely revolutionized the modern NBA and basketball.

Nets’ Cam Thomas on Stephen Curry and James Harden: “They changed the game”

Josh Childress is a retired American basketball player who played three years at Stanford University, where he became an AP first-team All-American, consensus second-team All-American, the Pac-10 Conference Player of the Year and Pac-10 Conference Tournament MVP as a junior in 2004.&nbsp;
He was selected by the Atlanta Hawks with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft, becoming the highest Stanford player to be drafted in the NBA. While Childress played in the NBA for the Hawks (2004-2008), Phoenix Suns (2010-2012), Brooklyn Nets (2012) and New Orleans Pelicans (2013), he made a name for himself overseas when he moved to Greece to play for Olympiacos from 2008 to 2010.&nbsp;
Childress had a fruitful career overseas, playing in leagues like the NBL (with the Sydney Kings and Adelaide 36ers) in Australia and the B-League (with the San-en Neo Phoenix) in Japan. Over the course of his 15-year basketball career, Childress averaged 9.1 points and earned a number of honors including All-NBL first team, NBL top scorer, All-Euroleague second team, Greek League top scorer, Greek League best defender and NBA All-Rookie second team.
Now, the 40-year-old Childress is an investor in the East Asian Super League, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/east-asia-super-league-set-to-have-its-biggest-event-yet-in-cebu">a rapidly growing league across East Asia.</a> During the EASL's Final Four in the Philippines, Childress spoke with BasketballNews&rsquo; Mon Anthony L. Valmoria to share what he is up to nowadays, his venture with the EASL, his fond NBA memories, his journey playing overseas and more.
You are an investor in the EASL. When did this happen?&nbsp;
Josh Childress: &ldquo;I started as an investor last year, last summer. I talked about seeing the opportunity [to] kind of &lsquo;bridge&rsquo; the gap between the countries in Asian basketball and it's a fantastic opportunity to do that. So EASL did a great job here in its first year and we hope to build on this moving forward.&rdquo;
Why invest in the EASL? Why do you think it will be a successful league?
Childress: &ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s bringing together a bunch of different countries and leagues that have all increasingly gotten better and I think if you can find a way to connect Asian basketball across the board, it will be a fantastic league. A fantastic opportunity for fans, media and the players. So, I&rsquo;m hopeful that when this tournament &ndash; this Final Four &ndash; has more traction, you get more countries involved in the league and have some great basketball.&rdquo;
After your 15-year playing career, what are you up to these days?
Childress: &ldquo;I have an investment company. I run investments; we do real estate, we do sports properties, we do stuff like this (the EASL). We invest in a bunch of different things and I run it full-time &ndash; that&rsquo;s what keeps me busy these days.&rdquo;
Watching the EASL games and seeing how basketball is played over here, how would you describe the brand of basketball that's played on this side of the world?
Childress: &ldquo;It is very physical and very fast-paced. We&rsquo;ve seen really exciting games here and I think players here are playing for pride. There&rsquo;s obviously a nice prize &ndash; a cash prize &ndash; at the end of it. But at this point, it&rsquo;s just pride and making sure that you win and you&rsquo;re the champion of Asia. So I think [basketball here] is really exciting.&rdquo;
Let's talk about your experiences as an NBA player. What are your fondest memories from your playing days?
Childress: &ldquo;Most of your memories are around your teammates, you know? Around the locker room like how fun that was, those plane rides, just the camaraderie you have with your team &ndash; that&rsquo;s the thing that I missed the most about playing. The friendships and the teammates that you have over the years.&rdquo;
Speaking of your teammates, you played with a lot of teams in the NBA &ndash; who was your favorite teammate?&nbsp;
Childress: &ldquo;They were all my favorites (smiles). But I&rsquo;d say between Marvin Williams, Zaza Pachulia, Josh Smith, Joe [Johnson], Tyronn Lue, Mike Bibby &ndash; all those guys were great teammates. I&rsquo;m very thankful that I had the opportunity to play with them.&rdquo;
What is your best NBA memory?
Childress: &ldquo;Getting drafted. I mean, that&rsquo;s a dream come true. It&rsquo;s something that, as a kid, you always see on TV. So, that was an amazing experience.&rdquo;
When it comes to American NBA players deciding to play overseas, you were one of the pioneers. What were the pros and cons?
Childress: &ldquo;It was something that has been done before, but it was a great experience. I loved playing in Greece &ndash; the fans were amazing. I got the chance to experience European basketball, which was different. The pros and the cons are that it sets you up in a situation where you&rsquo;re playing a different style of basketball and having to figure out how to play there. But that was so much fun, you&rsquo;re in very hostile environments playing against teams that you never knew existed and having the chance to compete at a high level. So, I loved my time in Europe. In the EuroLeague, basketball was fantastic; in the Greek league, it was fantastic. So hopefully we can mirror that EuroLeague style format here with the EASL.&rdquo;
Other than monetary considerations, what would you advise fellow Americans about the decision to play overseas? What other factors do you think are crucial in choosing where to play?
Childress: &ldquo;I think the biggest thing is playing style &ndash; you know, going somewhere your style of play fits [in with] where you&rsquo;re going &ndash; or having the opportunity of playing a lot of minutes. I know some guys that are going to certain countries that may pay a little bit less, but they know they&rsquo;re going to play a lot, they&rsquo;re going to play their game. And that will lead them to those opportunities for success with bigger contracts and moving the following year. So, always make sure you go somewhere where you can be the best version of yourself and play at a high level.&rdquo;

Josh Childress shares what he's up to nowadays, his EASL investment, his NBA memories and his journey playing overseas.

Q&A: Josh Childress on NBA journey, EASL investment, overseas hoops

The New Orleans Pelicans' 2-0 start ran into a Steph Curry Flurry and it was a scary Halloween Eve for the Smoothie King Center&rsquo;s fans.
The Golden State Warriors ran out 130-102 winners of their third road game in four days. Sure, Steph went supernova for a stretch to finish with 42 points but it was the shots that did not go in that determined the game.&nbsp;
Rebounding is becoming a problem for the Pelicans. They were outdone 64-39 versus the Warriors, and New Orleans has allowed 37 offensive rebounds in the last two games, both at home. The Knicks had 16 offensive rebounds, the Pelicans just 4. Two nights later, Golden State got an extra 21 possessions to find Curry roaming the perimeter. It almost became painful to watch how incapable the Pelicans were of stopping the inevitable. Curry had not played in New Orleans in years and this was just another example of witnessing greatness.
On Monday, it did not help that Brandon Ingram was out nursing an injury, Herb Jones (2 rebounds) got in foul trouble early, Jonas Valanciunas (6 rebounds) was attacked relentlessly, and the team was still being cautions with Larry Nance Jr.&rsquo;s minutes.
&ldquo;In the second half, it just got away from us," Pelicans head coach Willie Green said. "Curry hit some big shots. Their second unit ... they came in and made plays. And the biggest thing for us improvement-wise is the rebounding. It killed us. But they&rsquo;re an experienced team, and they get you scrambling on the perimeter. Shots go up and we&rsquo;re just not in a position to rebound, and that&rsquo;s an area we have to be better.&rdquo;
It&rsquo;s tough to "play better" when four key contributors are on the bench. Matt Ryan, Kaiser Gates and Kira Lewis Jr. finished with a combined 4 rebounds in 50 minutes. They focus on other priorities beyond crashing the glass, yet are usually on the court together. Something has to give to change the trend.
Zion Williamson&rsquo;s analysis was spot on, saying: &ldquo;They had a great third quarter, and we didn't play too well. I didn't look at the numbers, but, from the eye test, they dominated us on the boards.&rdquo;
The stat sheet agrees. With Ingram out, C.J. McCollum (6 rebounds) hoisted a team-high 21 shots to get just 19 points. Williamson (5 rebounds) had 19 points on 15 shots. However, no one on the home team had more than 6 rebounds because when the leading men missed tough shots, the Warriors finished possessions far too easily. After the loss, I asked Coach Green if he thought this was more of a tactical problem or just a lack of effort and execution.
&ldquo;It is a little bit of both. It is definitely an area we need to improve upon. We have to rebound the ball,&rdquo; Green stressed. &ldquo;Our defense is solid. We can get stops but when you give teams second and third chances, it gets kind of demoralizing.&rdquo;
Steve Kerr&rsquo;s game plan to corral Williamson and win possessions took a toll, though Green thought the Warriors got away with a few friendly no-calls.
&ldquo;[The Warriors] were physical on him. He didn&rsquo;t get some of the calls that I thought he should have gotten," Green said. "He played a solid game but give those guys credit, they swarmed him. And, in the second half, we just didn&rsquo;t knock down shots, but he did make the right plays.&rdquo;
Williamson seemed close to disgusted with the performance in his postgame press conference. The Warriors just got so many more chances to make the right play that there was no other outcome possible.
The Pelicans were on the wrong end of a near-30-point loss. It happens to every NBA team once a season. New Orleans needs a new gameplan to get those extra possessions to ensure it&rsquo;s their last time on the losing end of a blowout.

The New Orleans Pelicans' 2-0 start ran into a Steph Curry Flurry and it was a scary Halloween Eve at the Smoothie King Center.

Pelicans' one big problem exposed in loss to Warriors

After a long four-month offseason, the 2023-24 NBA season officially kicks off on October 24. Preseason action is currently underway, with teams evaluating their roster and getting ready for the start of the regular season.
There were a few roster rule changes of note this offseason that were introduced as part of the new CBA. Now, each team can sign up to three two-way players (up from two) who are able to play up to 50 games with their NBA team and spend the rest of their season in the G League. Also, offseason rosters were originally limited to 20 players but have since increased to 21.&nbsp;
Each team needs to be at 15 standard contracts prior to the start of the season, which means a few players on guaranteed deals will have to be cut prior to the season. While some teams have a pretty set roster, others (like the Oklahoma City Thunder) will be forced to part ways with talented players to reach their roster limit.&nbsp;
Looking at the Atlantic Division, let's see how each team&rsquo;s lineup is shaping up and what questions they may need to answer before the start of the season.
(This is part one of a six-part series, with more divisional previews coming soon).
<h1>BOSTON CELTICS</h1>
Outside of the top-six players, who will be the most reliable depth option?
After acquiring Jrue Holiday, the Boston Celtics may have the best top-six of any team in the league. While we can add the Holiday trade to their list of aggressive offseason transactions, their depth has taken somewhat of a step back.&nbsp;
They will have to replace four rotation players from last year&rsquo;s Conference Finals team with a few players who don&rsquo;t have much experience in playoff situations. Three players who should definitely see more minutes are Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser and Luke Kornet. Pritchard has played well on both ends of the floor when given an opportunity, notably shooting 40% from three-point range over his first three seasons. The Celtics rewarded him with a team-friendly extension that should see him take up about 5% of the salary cap over the next four years. Hauser has also been a stellar three-point shooter, knocking down 42% since coming into the league.&nbsp;
The frontcourt is probably the most notable weakness on the team&rsquo;s depth chart. Joe Mazzulla has expressed confidence that <a href="https://www.celticsblog.com/2023/10/7/23907608/boston-celtics-depth-sam-hauser-luke-kornet-payton-pritchard-joe-mazzulla-blake-griffin-bus-one-boys" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kornet should be successful on both ends of the floor and will be their go-to backup center to start the season.</a> The preseason will be important in determining who else (i.e. Oshae Brissett, Jordan Walsh, Svi Mykhailiuk, etc.) may stand out for Mazzulla and get an opportunity for playing time behind Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis.&nbsp;
Roster Decisions
The Celtics have the least amount of players on guaranteed contracts in the league (10). However, their roster for opening night is likely set unless they want to open up flexibility to sign other veteran players or buyout candidates later this season. If they choose to cut someone, it would very likely be a player on a non-guaranteed deal. Mykhailiuk and Dalano Banton each have a partial $200,000 guarantee that increases to over $1,000,000 if they make the roster. Kornet, Wenyen Gabriel and Lamar Stevens all have non-guaranteed contracts.&nbsp;
Rotation
Current Roster Count: 19 players (10 guaranteed, 2 partially guaranteed, 3 non-guaranteed, 3 two-way, 1 Exhibit-10)
Projected Starters: G Jrue Holiday, G/F Jaylen Brown, F Jayson Tatum, F/C Al Horford, F/C Kristaps Porzingis
Projected Rotation Players: G Derrick White, G Payton Pritchard, C Luke Kornet (non-guaranteed), F Sam Hauser, F Oshae Brissett
Projected Reserves: F Jordan Walsh, G/F Svi Mykhailiuk ($200K guaranteed), F Wenyen Gabriel (non-guaranteed), G Dalano Banton ($200K guaranteed), F Lamar Stevens (non-guaranteed)
Projected Two-Way Players: C Neemias Queta, G JD Davison, G Jay Scrubb (Injured)
Projected Roster Cuts: G DJ Steward (Exhibit-10)
<h1>BROOKLYN NETS</h1>
What is Ben Simmons' role?
Ben Simmons has only played 42 games since being acquired by the Nets in February 2022, dealing with physical and psychological hurdles that have made him somewhat of an afterthought. Head coach Jacque Vaughn has expressed confidence that Simmons is now 100% healthy and ready to contribute again at a high level.&nbsp;
He seems to be penciled in as the team&rsquo;s starting point guard, starting in the Nets&rsquo; first preseason game. Though it was just a small 14-minute sample size, Simmons looked a lot like his former All-Star self. Having not played since February 15, he looked athletic, aggressive and confident before sitting out the second half.&nbsp;
&ldquo;He attacked the rim, I think he played with pace, looked pretty natural out there getting up and down the floor, communicating with guys into the flow of the game,&rdquo; Vaughn said, <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/10/10/ben-simmons-passes-eye-test-in-nets-preseason-opener/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">praising his $38-million man</a>. &ldquo;Really good to see.&rdquo;
Vaughn has some options when it comes to starting lineups where he could go smaller, with a backcourt of Simmons and Spencer Dinwiddie, or decide to start Dorian Finney-Smith and use Mikal Bridges as a big two-guard.&nbsp;
Roster Decisions
Darius Bazley, Harry Giles and Trendon Watford are all on non-guaranteed deals and are vying for the final two roster spots. The Nets also have an open two-way spot, which I believe they could potentially use on a player like <a href="https://www.si.com/college/tennessee/mens-basketball/kennedy-chandler-starring-in-nba-summer-league" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Summer League standout</a> and former Memphis Grizzlies second-rounder Kennedy Chandler.&nbsp;
Rotation
Current Roster Count: 18 players (13 guaranteed, 3 non-guaranteed, 2 two-way)
Projected Starters: G/F Ben Simmons, G Spencer Dinwiddie, F Mikal Bridges, F Cameron Johnson, C Nicolas Claxton
Projected Rotation Players: F Dorian Finney-Smith, F Royce O&rsquo;Neale, G Cameron Thomas, G Dennis Smith Jr., C Day&rsquo;Ron Sharpe
Projected Reserves: G/F Lonnie Walker IV, C Noah Clowney, F Dariq Whitehead, F Darius Bazley (Non-Guaranteed), C Harry Giles (Non-Guaranteed)
Projected Two-way Players: G Armoni Brooks, F Jalen Wilson, G Kennedy Chandler* (Projected Signing)
Projected Roster Cuts: F Trendon Watford (Non-Guaranteed)
<h1>NEW YORK KNICKS</h1>
Who will be the first option off the bench?
New York Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau has his fair share of options to headline his second unit. In his third year, Immanuel Quickley had his best season to date, finishing as the runner-up for the Sixth Man of the Year award behind Malcolm Brogdon. Quickley was the primary scorer for the second unit, but he shouldn&rsquo;t have to carry the entire load on offense with the addition of Donte DiVincenzo.&nbsp;
DiVincenzo impressed last season with the Golden State Warriors as a reliable bench shooter and should spot minutes for Quentin Grimes and R.J. Barrett when offensive pushes are needed. Josh Hart could also be the team&rsquo;s sixth man, just like he was during the Knicks&rsquo; playoff run. After being traded from Portland, Hart averaged 30 minutes per game despite coming off the bench most of the time. It is worth noting the Knicks-Villanova connection between Hart, DiVincenzo and Jalen Brunson, who should fit seamlessly together on the floor thanks to their pre-existing chemistry. While unlikely to be the first off the bench, Isaiah Hartenstein also deserves mention since he has been one of the league&rsquo;s better backup centers and could see more time if Mitchell Robinson gets in foul trouble. In terms of rotation issues, Thibodeau should see this as a good problem to have regardless of who he brings off the bench first.&nbsp;
Roster Decisions
The Knicks have three spots up for grabs between Ryan Arcidiacono, DaQuan Jeffries, Isaiah Roby and Duane Washington Jr. All are on non-guaranteed deals that won&rsquo;t be fully guaranteed until the league-wide guarantee date on January 10.&nbsp;
Rotation
Current Roster Count: 21 players (12 guaranteed, 4 non-guaranteed, 3 two-way, 2 Exhibit-10)
Projected Starters: G Jalen Brunson, G Quentin Grimes, G/F R.J. Barrett, F Julius Randle, C Mitchell Robinson
Projected Rotation Players: G Josh Hart, G Immanuel Quickley, G Donte DiVincenzo, C Isaiah Hartenstein, G Miles McBride
Projected Reserves: G Evan Fournier, C Jericho Sims, F Isaiah Roby (non-guaranteed), G Ryan Arcidiacono (non-guaranteed), G/F DaQuan Jeffries (non-guaranteed)
Projected Two-way Players: F/C Nathan Knight, G/F Dylan Windler, F Jaylen Martin
Projected Roster Cuts: G Duane Washington Jr. (non-guaranteed), G Charlie Brown Jr. (Exhibit-10), F Jacob Toppin (Exhibit-10)
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<h1>PHILADELPHIA 76ERS</h1>
Will Tyrese Maxey become more of a creator and how can that adjust the rotation?
The Sixers&rsquo; ceiling is contingent on how much Tyrese Maxey can improve this season. Maxey hasn&rsquo;t needed to be the team&rsquo;s primary distributor since James Harden joined the team, allowing him to blossom into a reliable 20-PPG scorer. Regardless of whether Harden&rsquo;s trade situation is resolved, Maxey will need to become a better creator and distributor if he wants to take his game to the next level. Prior to Harden&rsquo;s arrival, Maxey had an impressive 4:1 assist-to-turnover ratio despite his small frame and risk-averse tendencies.&nbsp;
Interestingly, team president Daryl Morey has held off on giving Maxey an extension this offseason, electing to wait until next summer to pay his budding young guard. Maxey will likely demand near max-level money that could harm Philly&rsquo;s flexibility to go after star players next offseason. If he can improve his ball-handling and distribution tendencies, the Sixers&rsquo; offense should benefit tremendously, helping the offensive output of players like P.J. Tucker and Paul Reed and easing the reliance on De&rsquo;Anthony Melton and Patrick Beverley.
Roster Decisions
Two players will likely be fighting for the Sixers&rsquo; final roster spot. The team re-signed veteran Danny Green, who played for the team from 2020 to 2022, to a non-guaranteed deal. They also brought over young big Filip Petrusev, who was drafted by Philadelphia in 2021. Petrusev signed a multi-year deal that was partially guaranteed for $559,782 this season and non-guaranteed next year. Although unlikely, the 76ers could also elect to waive Montrezl Harrell despite his deal being fully guaranteed, as he should miss this season with a torn ACL.
Rotation
Current Roster Count: 21 players (14 guaranteed, 1 partially Guaranteed, 1 non-guaranteed, 3 two-way, 2 Exhibit-10)
Projected Starters: G Tyrese Maxey, G James Harden, F P.J. Tucker, F Tobias Harris, C Joel Embiid
Projected Rotation Players: G De&rsquo;Anthony Melton, G Patrick Beverley, F/C Paul Reed, F/G Kelly Oubre Jr., F Danuel House
Projected Reserves: C Mo Bamba, F Furkan Korkmaz, G Jaden Springer, G/F Danny Green (non-guaranteed), C Montrezl Harrell (injured)
Projected Two-way Players: G Terquavion Smith, G Ricky Council IV, F Azuolas Tubelis
Projected Roster Cuts: F/C Filip Petrusev ($559,782 guaranteed), G David Duke Jr. (Exhibit-10), G Javonte Smart (Exhibit-10)
<h1>TORONTO RAPTORS</h1>
What style does Darko Rajakovic bring to Toronto and who will benefit the most?
New coach Darko Rajakovic inherits an interesting Raptors team with plenty of talent, but they may be facing a crossroads in terms of how successful they can be as a group. Rajakovic is in his first NBA head coaching gig after three seasons as an assistant with the Grizzlies and is known around the league as a pick-and-roll guru.&nbsp;
The idea of the Raptors being a primary pick-and-roll team became less appealing when they were unable to retain Fred VanVleet in free agency, replacing him with a less reliable shooter in Dennis Schr&ouml;der. Instead, Rajakovic will likely rely on Schr&ouml;der and his newly paid center Jakob Poeltl for more ball movement and playmaking. Rajakovic compared Poeltl to Domantas Sabonis before the Raptors&rsquo; preseason win over the Sacramento Kings on October 9 and could use him in a similar role. If Poeltl can be 70% of what Sabonis was last season, it can be a huge boost to an inconsistent offense.
Roster Decisions
The Raptors have 15 players on guaranteed deals going into the season, but also carry Jeff Dowtin Jr. on a non-guaranteed deal. Dowtin played on a two-way contract with Toronto last season, appearing in 25 games. With the roster full, Dowtin is unlikely to make the regular-season roster but he has still <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/raptors/news/toronto-raptors-praise-jeff-dowtin-jr-as-roster-decisions-await" target="_blank" rel="noopener">impressed the coaching staff this preseason</a>. If any player is in danger of losing their roster spot to Dowtin, it would likely be former first-round pick Malachi Flynn. Dowtin&rsquo;s deal becomes guaranteed for $900,000 on October 21, four days before the team&rsquo;s season opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves. I would expect the Raptors to make a decision on Dowtin before then.&nbsp;
Rotation
Current Roster Count: 21 players (15 guaranteed, 1 non-guaranteed, 3 two-way, 2 Exhibit-10)
Projected Starters: G Dennis Schr&ouml;der, F/G Scottie Barnes, F OG Anunoby, F Pascal Siakam, C Jakob Poeltl
Projected Rotation Players: G Gary Trent Jr., F Precious Achiuwa, F/C Chris Boucher, F Jalen McDaniels, G/F Gradey Dick
Projected Reserves: F Thaddeus Young, G Malachi Flynn, F Otto Porter Jr., C Christian Koloko, G/F Garrett Temple
Projected Two-way Players: G/F Ron Harper Jr., G Markquis Nowell, G Javon Freeman-Liberty
Projected Roster Cuts: G Jeff Dowtin (non-guaranteed), F Mouhamadou Gueye (Exhibit-10), C Makur Maker (Exhibit-10)
Other news from around the web: <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/dress-to-impress-why-barbie-and-ken-are-the-hottest-couples-costume-this-halloween/ar-AA1iaTEh" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Barbie and Ken are the hottest couples costume this Halloween</a>

Blake Stern previews the Atlantic Division, breaking down each team's projected lineup and a burning question entering the season.

NBA Atlantic Division Preview: Burning questions, rotation projections

All of the great one-name classical artists that share names with the Ninja Turtles had apprentices they held in high regard. Willie Green, now going into his third season as one of the NBA&rsquo;s youngest head coaches, has been shaping a vision with the New Orleans Pelicans but there was an obvious need for a reshaping of the assistant coaching staff this summer. The franchise&rsquo;s scaffolding was in place, but the young coach was working with old hands from previous artists; he needed to bring in a trusted apprentice.
New assistant James Borrego is no apprentice outside of this analogy. He is a well-traveled former head coach with a proven track record of building top-10 offenses, which Green admitted during media day will alleviate some burdens on the offensive end. The new assistant will also have plenty of freedom to have some experiments fail.&nbsp;
&nbsp;One of Bob Ross' most famous sayings is, "We don't make mistakes, just happy little accidents." He encouraged artists to embrace unexpected turns and use them to their advantage. Like Ross cashing in on &ldquo;happy accidents,&rdquo; the Pelicans are betting on Borrego's schemes to raise their long-term offensive ceiling this season, and the missteps along the way are just learned experiences to be blended into the mosaic.
Green&rsquo;s focus on defense and deep personal connections took priority over offensive nuances the last few seasons, but there was an obvious need for some changes to the playbook and how the lessons learned are implemented. So, Green brought in Borrego.
Ross, with his trademark permed hair, paint brushes and soothing voice, often emphasized the importance of mastering the basics. Build creations from simple brushstrokes, with sound structures. Likewise, Borrego's offense is built on a foundation of fundamentals. He emphasizes ball movement, spacing and player movement to create scoring opportunities. Just as Ross began his paintings with a few basic elements, Borrego starts his offense with simple, well-executed plays.
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Last season&rsquo;s formula was too simple. And basics? The Pelicans had problems just inbounding the ball in critical situations and often would not begin an action until there were under 10 seconds left on the shot clock. Then, it was predictable: Brandon Ingram methodical in the midrange. Zion Williamson rumbles to the rim off of actions with very little space or off-ball movement. CJ McCollum was mostly stationary and waiting on the perimeter when not having to bail out a short-handed team late in the shot clock. Jonas Valanciunas was frustrated with his role, while Herb Jones was still growing into his on offense.
Trey Murphy III continued developing but everything was a reset of the same few actions, and it all fell apart once the injury report started filling up. Still, the sketches of a championship contender are already on the canvas in New Orleans. Borrego just has to bring out the best features. It should be a welcomed change for a not-so-young-anymore roster looking to show they are serious about winning a championship. With structure, the team will have a better ability to adapt on the fly. This hallmark of Borrego's coaching style is also reminiscent of Ross turning mistakes into opportunities on his canvas.
While Ross often started his paintings with a simple sky and landscape, he gradually added layers of detail and complexity to create stunning compositions. Similarly, Borrego's offense is designed to be layered. It begins with basic actions but can evolve into intricate plays with multiple options. Just as Ross patiently added trees, mountains, and rivers to his paintings, Borrego's teams gradually added complexity to their offense as the players became more comfortable with the system.
Alvin Gentry was an abstract artist with not a lot of museum showcase pieces, constructing a portfolio that was an interesting smorgasbord of ill-fitting talents and philosophies. Sure, it sometimes produced good-looking, free-flowing hoops but not often was the end product something worthy of the NBA Playoff platform. Stan Van Gundy tried to implement structure but just wound up erasing almost all of the goodwill between the locker room and front office.
Willie Green has mended those fences, taped together the tapestry if you will, and has a team on the verge of a breakout season. They just need an offense that is a bit more unpredictably efficient and some injury luck. Just get repetitions and a spot in the playoffs, then see what happens. An accidental, out-of-nowhere championship is still a banner raised. Some teams have to take smaller steps to a title, but why not dream of a historical breakout season? Even eighth seeds have made runs to the NBA Finals.
It all starts with Ingram. He needs to step into a bigger No. 2 role more than CJ McCollum, who would be perhaps the best fourth option in the NBA should Murphy III make a jump. Borrego should be able to get Ingram into easier-to-read actions and the former All-Star's assists numbers should take a jump. The team said Ingram is expected to be more of a ball-in-hand offensive initiator this season. This draws attention away from Williamson, instead of the Point Zion experiment that sometimes induces ball-watching.
That&rsquo;s not to say Point Zion does not have artistic merits. Williamson is a great passer, draws the attention of all 20,000 in attendance, and can be a one-man wrecking ball when the rest of the offense is just not working. It&rsquo;s just that Williamson cannot be the only attraction, dominating the canvas at the detriment of the rest of the bigger picture. It puts too much pressure on internal relationships and makes the team too predictable.
No worries. The Charlotte Hornets finished in the top-10 in three-point attempts in three of four seasons under Borrego. Charlotte was a top-10 team in points (fourth), three-pointers made (fifth), three-pointers attempted (sixth) and three-point percentage (sixth) that season. They were 11th in field goal percentage and snatched the ninth-most offensive rebounds. Charlotte led the NBA with 28.1 team assists per game and had the 10th-fewest turnovers.
Work hard, keep moving to provide options, don&rsquo;t get caught looking and fight for extra opportunities. Build greatness on the back of the basics, just like Bob Ross taught. Borrego&rsquo;s clear directions during training camp should have everyone on the same page to start the regular season in a few weeks. They also understand a few messy mistakes early will not have much of an effect on how this season is eventually framed. It&rsquo;s how they adapt to those moments that matter most.
New Orleans was near the bottom in offensive rating, assist-to-turnover ratio and true shooting percentage last season. Borrego had a rebuilding franchise&rsquo;s mismatched roster eighth in offensive rating, third in assist percentage, second in assist-to-turnover ratio, second in assist ratio and ninth-best in turnover percentage. Those Hornets played with the sixth-quickest pace, were third in shots at the rim, and second in corner three-pointers.
&ldquo;For the first three-quarters of the game, I&rsquo;m drawing stuff up based on concepts that we already know. I&rsquo;m just adding a little tweak here to maybe a few sets to disguise it," <a href="https://www.theringer.com/2020/3/5/21166585/conversation-with-hornets-head-coach-james-borrego" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.theringer.com/2020/3/5/21166585/conversation-with-hornets-head-coach-james-borrego&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1696693000595000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2zQ3C-l7Klu8y6hMOUbdD6">Borrego has explained</a>. "I think that&rsquo;s one of the things that we do as coaches. You&rsquo;re just trying to disguise a concept. You&rsquo;re running your sets, your flow, throughout a game. Your ATOs, you&rsquo;ve got to try to come up with something a little bit trickier. But the concepts are the same, you&rsquo;re just trying to disguise it. The tough ones, and they&rsquo;re getting tougher now, are the fourth quarter/end-of-game situations because these timeouts are so quick. I don&rsquo;t even have time to think. I&rsquo;ve already got to know what play I have in mind.&rdquo;
When things start shaping up where everyone can see the bigger picture, the tougher moments start to become easier. That philosophy and Borrego&rsquo;s style will help hide the flaws and accentuate the strengths of role players like Jose Alvarado, Larry Nance Jr., Jones, Valanciunas, Dyson Daniels and Kira Lewis Jr.
Borrego was Green&rsquo;s NBA coach just over a decade ago. Now, the roles are reversed but cultural expectations and goals are the same. The Pelicans hope everything comes together in a way that looks like the Larry O&rsquo;Brien trophy.
Other news from around the web: <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/dress-to-impress-why-barbie-and-ken-are-the-hottest-couples-costume-this-halloween/ar-AA1iaTEh" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Barbie and Ken are the hottest couples costume this Halloween</a>

Can James Borrego's new offense bring out the best of Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram for the Pelicans?

How James Borrego's offense could take Pelicans to next level

For decades, the United States dominated on the hardwood. Now, that&rsquo;s changing.
Today, the U.S. still produces some of the best players in the world and certainly has the deepest talent pool, but other countries have closed the gap considerably. International superstars have taken the league by storm.
With the success of players like Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece), Nikola Jokic (Serbia), Joel Embiid (Cameroon), Luka Dončić (Slovenia) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Canada), it's no surprise that people are high on international players. 
Antetokounmpo, Jokic and Embiid have combined for the last five Most Valuable Player awards, and four of the last six Defensive Player of the Year awards have gone to foreign players (Giannis and Rudy Gobert). Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks won the 2021 NBA championship, and now Jokic and the Denver Nuggets are the reigning champs.&nbsp;
Whether it&rsquo;s the FIBA Basketball World Cup or in the NBA, international players are often beating their United States counterparts.&nbsp;
Americans have been outshined as of late, but the U.S. continues to produce some of the very best players in the world. Veteran superstars like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Kyrie Irving continue to excel, while younger studs like Jayson Tatum, Devin Booker, Ja Morant, Donovan Mitchell, Zion Williamson, LaMelo Ball, Tyrese Haliburton, Anthony Edwards, are still realizing their full potential and could challenge the influx of international competition. However, Victor Wembanyama (France) enters the 2023-24 season as the most highly anticipated rookie since LeBron James.
Now, let's take a look at the numbers. A year ago, Basketball News&rsquo; Alex Kennedy <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/an-inside-look-at-how-international-players-are-taking-over-the-nba">talked with Troy Justice,</a> the NBA&rsquo;s vice president, head of international basketball development about the international takeover on basketball&rsquo;s biggest stages.
&ldquo;Thirty years ago, there were only 23 international players. Now, we have 121. And to be real honest, I think we're only scratching the surface in terms of not only talent identification but just the development of the game globally,&rdquo; Justice said. &ldquo;So, it's amazing.&rdquo;
Of the 537 active NBA players, 128 are from outside the United States (just under 25%). International players received 88% of the votes in the 2022-23 MVP race, with Embiid, Jokic and Antetokounmpo garnering 84% combined. Of the top-eight vote-getters, only Tatum and Mitchell were American.
And that&rsquo;s not just a one-off. You have to go back to the 2020-21 NBA season to find an American player in the top-three of MVP voting, which was Curry at third (closely followed by Giannis). The last American player to win the MVP award was James Harden in 2017-18. Interestingly, there were no international players in the top-five of MVP voting that year, although Antetokounmpo barely missed out.
Also, following that season, the Larry O&rsquo;Brien trophy has been very much up for grabs. Previously, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors were the perennial NBA Finals matchup and no other teams really came close. LeBron and Steph were the NBA&rsquo;s poster boys, competing for a ring every year. We hadn&rsquo;t seen an international superstar lead his team to a title since Dirk Nowitzki defeated LeBron, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in 2011.
There are many reasons for this championship diversity &ndash; with five different winners in the past five years &ndash; but a big factor is the emergence of these international juggernauts like Jokic and Antetokounmpo. However, it&rsquo;s worth noting that teams with American superstars won three-out-of-five of these championships, led by Kawhi, LeBron and Steph, respectively.
The NBA landscape is volatile and this season will be telling. Will an international player win the MVP award for a sixth-straight time? Which team will be standing after the smoke clears at the end? Can Jokic and the Nuggets repeat? Will Giannis and Dame bring another title to Milwaukee? Or will one of the other contenders win it all?
American players are no doubt still some of the best in the sport and are well ahead in terms of numbers. But, particularly at the top, international players have fully closed the gap and have begun building their own disparity.&nbsp;
Other news from around the web: <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/dress-to-impress-why-barbie-and-ken-are-the-hottest-couples-costume-this-halloween/ar-AA1iaTEh" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Barbie and Ken are the hottest couples costume this Halloween</a>

While the U.S. still produces some of the best NBA players in the world, other countries have closed the gap considerably.

USA vs. international basketball: Is the gap closing or opening up?

When San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich chose to rest four starters during a nationally televised game back in 2012, he likely didn't think much of it.
Little did he know, this decision to sit Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Danny Green would go on to create a massive ripple effect, with the NBA creating rules about resting players and terms like "load management" entering the lexicon.
At the time, NBA commissioner David Stern fined Popovich and the Spurs $250,000 and said this decision was "a disservice to the league and our fans."
Nearly 12 years later, the NBA is still trying to combat this issue, implementing a new Player Participation Policy in order to prevent teams from resting their best players.
This new policy could conceivably be named the Coach Popovich Rule, but it&rsquo;s not. The NBA&rsquo;s Player Participation Policy specifically governs how teams are allowed to rest their stars. Current NBA commissioner Adam Silver put a very fan-friendly spin on the new rule.
&ldquo;This is ultimately about the fans,&rdquo; Silver recently told reporters following two days of Board of Governors meetings in New York. &ldquo;And that we&rsquo;ve taken this [load management] too far. This is an acknowledgement that it has gotten away from us a bit.&rdquo;
The league&rsquo;s perceived intention seems fair: reverse the load-management trend, which has seen a rise in star players voluntarily missing games &ndash; an admittedly bigger problem now than in the recent past. During the 2022-23 season, the average games played by the league's top-10 scorers was 65 games per player. Comparatively, the average games played by the top-10 scorers in 2012-13 was 75 games!
Ultimately, this move will benefit the fans, but was this really done with the fans&rsquo; interests in mind? By limiting how often stars rest, the NBA&rsquo;s on-court product will inevitably be more compelling. While that's good for fans, it's also good for the NBA itself (but more on that in a moment). Stars sitting out nationally televised games was never a good look, so putting an end to that trend is important.
But digging a bit deeper, I believe it becomes clear that this move is more about business than fan satisfaction. Let's consider, for a moment, that the league&rsquo;s current broadcast rights deal expires following the 2024-25 season. The current TV deal is worth a total of $24 billion over 10 years. The NBA hopes to double &ndash; or even triple &ndash; that number in its next deal, according to <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/22/nba-is-next-up-for-a-big-rights-increase-and-75-billion-is-the-price.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jabari Young of CNBC</a>. It is entirely possible that the league is looking to demonstrate increased value for its bidders, which will likely include the usual suspects like Turner Sports and ESPN as well as streamers like Amazon and Apple.
For what it&rsquo;s worth, Apple recently inked a deal with Major League Baseball, paying $85 million annually to air Friday Night Baseball games over the next seven years. Meanwhile, Amazon reached an agreement with the NFL to pay $1 billion annually for 10 years for exclusive rights to Thursday Night Football games. The NBA is trying to entice these same companies to bid for their broadcast rights.
It's important to note that the Player Participation Policy isn't the league&rsquo;s first attempt to improve its televised product. The NBA also recently announced its <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-announces-details-for-inaugural-inseason-tournament-&amp;sa=D&amp;source=docs&amp;ust=1695515248097037&amp;usg=AOvVaw0mEzpohBfg-49Qyl7iKxR6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">inaugural in-season tournament</a>, conveniently beginning this season, which is likely to be marketed differently and, therefore, viewed more regularly. Furthermore, the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, which was ratified in April 2023, dictates that players must participate in at least 65 games to qualify for in-season awards. In total, these are major changes in order to ensure that the NBA's best players are suiting up more often than not.
This could ultimately be a win-win for the league and its fans. Players will probably need more convincing. But if the league plans to continue with an 82-game season &ndash; which it should &ndash; star players must lead the way, meaning they need to be front and center as often as possible. Rest is, of course, an important part of the process, which is likely to be an area of frustration for star players. But the medical advancements, health-oriented amenities and teams of on-staff trainers should ultimately translate to more games played for modern players &ndash; not fewer.
And considering how aggressively maximum salaries have increased, stars will understand. In 2012-13, the highest salary in the NBA was $30.5 million (Kobe Bryant). In 2022-23, it was up more than 50% to $48 million (Stephen Curry). By 2026-27, the highest salary will be at least $63 million (Damian Lillard). Of course, a big reason for these monster salaries is the NBA's TV money. This was never more apparent than during the summer of 2016, when the NBA's new broadcasting deal caused the salary cap to spike and teams went on a spending spree (handing out massive contracts that some would quickly regret).
But for the league&rsquo;s TV partners to also benefit monetarily, star players must be available as often as possible as a means of driving interest &ndash; especially since more and more fans are pledging their allegiance to stars rather than teams. The league clearly understands this fact. Just look at how the NBA structures its Christmas Day games, which are normally among the most-viewed games of the season. Last year, we saw LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Jayson Tatum, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, Devin Booker and Ja Morant, who represent seven of the top-10 players in jersey sales.&nbsp;We also saw Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic, the two finalists for 2022-23 NBA MVP award.
Like most major changes, the new Player Participation Policy will inevitably ruffle feathers, especially among some players. But it should also improve the NBA&rsquo;s viewership numbers and result in more competitive games. There will probably be some bumps along the way, but fans will benefit as much as anyone. I only wish the league would have referenced the TV deal in announcing the rule as a means of transparency. But regardless of whether the league, owners and players get richer, it&rsquo;ll be refreshing to see stars more frequently &ndash; and that&rsquo;s probably the point.

The NBA introduced rules to combat load management just as their TV deal is set to expire. That's no coincidence, writes Drew Maresca.

NBA’s new Player Participation Policy may lead to even larger TV deal

When the new league year began on July 1, NBA teams were quick to sign free agents and start negotiating extensions with some of their younger players.&nbsp;
Players who were selected in the first round of the NBA Draft are signed to rookie-scale contracts, which are eligible to be extended on the first day (July 1) of the fourth and final year of their deal. This past offseason, the vast majority of players eligible for rookie-scale extensions were picked in the first round in 2020. Teams have until the day before the start of the 2023-24 regular season (which begins on October 24) to agree to an extension, or else those players will hit restricted free agency next summer.&nbsp;
Out of the 30 first-round picks in the 2020 NBA Draft, 27 were eligible for rookie-scale extensions. In addition, the Orlando Magic&rsquo;s Chuma Okeke also became eligible for a rookie-scale extension because he signed his rookie deal in 2020, a year after he was drafted due to injury. So far this offseason, five players have signed extensions, with four of them receiving maximum contracts.&nbsp;
Those who received the max signed what&rsquo;s called a Designated Rookie Extension, which has a starting salary at 25% of the 2024-25 salary cap (projected at $37,405,750) with 8% raises over five years (for a total contract value of $216,953,350). However, via the &ldquo;Derrick Rose rule,&rdquo; if any of the players who signed one of these extensions is a member of any of the 2023-24 All-NBA teams, their starting salary will be set at 30% of the 2024-25 salary cap (projected at $44,886,900) with 8% raises over five years (for a total contract value of $260,344,020). These players include Minnesota&rsquo;s Anthony Edwards, Charlotte&rsquo;s LaMelo Ball, Indiana&rsquo;s Tyrese Haliburton and Memphis&rsquo; Desmond Bane. However, Bane&rsquo;s extension doesn&rsquo;t contain the &ldquo;Rose Rule&rdquo; language, so he can&rsquo;t receive a starting salary raise even if he earns an All-NBA nod.
There is also a new wrinkle in the Collective Bargaining Agreement that changed the rules in regards to rookie-scale extensions, allowing teams to offer all players an extension up to five years. Previously, only players who were offered maximum contracts could agree to an extension up to five years. So far, no team has given out a five-year non-max extension.
The only player who has signed a non-max rookie extension this offseason is Detroit&rsquo;s Isaiah Stewart. Stewart, the No. 16 pick in 2020, has been a starter for the rebuilding Pistons over the past few years. The tough, defensive big man agreed to a four-year, $64 million extension with $60 million guaranteed, $4 million in potential performance bonuses and a team option in the final season. Stewart&rsquo;s extension could serve as a potential benchmark for other big man extension candidates like Toronto&rsquo;s Precious Achiuwa and Atlanta&rsquo;s Onyeka Okongwu.
With 21 first-round picks (and Okeke) still awaiting a potential extension, let&rsquo;s take a look at who is most likely to receive an extension and what their deals might look like.
LIKELY TO BE EXTENDED
Patrick Williams (Chicago Bulls): Williams has been a steady force for the Bulls amid the team&rsquo;s struggles to consistently play winning basketball. The former Florida State forward has improved his shooting each year of his career but has yet to really break out as a primary scoring option for Chicago. Williams is just 22 years old and still has a lot of potential, so he should command an extension similar to what Atlanta&rsquo;s De&rsquo;Andre Hunter received last summer.
Extension Prediction: Four years, $90,000,000, no options
Onyeka Okongwu (Atlanta Hawks): Okongwu has been slotted as the Hawks&rsquo; center of the future for a few years now and has mostly looked the part backing up Clint Capela. Atlanta has a very crowded cap sheet, especially after extending Dejounte Murray. It is possible they could look to move Capela soon in order to free up cap space and give the starting center job to Okongwu. As mentioned above, look for Okongwu to ask for slightly above what Detroit gave Isaiah Stewart.
Extension Prediction: Four years, $72,000,000, could earn up to $80,000,000 with incentives, no options
Devin Vassell (San Antonio Spurs): The Spurs should try to lock up some of their reliable young pieces as they begin the Victor Wembanyama era. Similar to what San Antonio did with Keldon Johnson, they&rsquo;ll likely look to give Vassell a long-term value deal. They also could take advantage of the new CBA rules, keeping the former No. 11 pick under contract through 2029.
Extension Prediction: Five years, $110,000,000, no options
Josh Green (Dallas Mavericks): Green has quietly been developing very nicely with the Mavericks and could fight for a spot in the starting lineup this fall. The Australian native has shown real potential as a 3-and-D wing and could command the full mid-level exception if he reaches the open market next summer. Dallas shouldn&rsquo;t (and most likely won&rsquo;t) let that happen.
Extension Prediction: Four years, $65,000,000, no options
Immanuel Quickley (New York Knicks): Quickley is coming off his best season as a pro that saw him finish as runner-up for the NBA&rsquo;s Sixth Man of the Year award. A scoring machine, the former Kentucky guard would likely start for a good chunk of NBA teams, but will likely have to be the backup as long as Jalen Brunson is in New York. The Knicks would certainly love to keep Quickley, but look for them to wait all the way up to the October 23 deadline to pay him in order to maintain trade flexibility.
Extension Prediction: Four years, $88,000,000, could earn up to $92,000,000 with incentives, no options
Jaden McDaniels (Minnesota Timberwolves): McDaniels is certainly viewed as a core piece by the Timberwolves&rsquo; brass as they fought hard to keep him out of the Rudy Gobert trade, sacrificing more draft capital instead. The Washington product has been a versatile, two-way player since arriving in Minnesota and is an ideal wing next to Anthony Edwards. He should be paid accordingly.
Extension Prediction: Four years, $100,000,000, no options, declining annual salary
LIKELY TO REACH RESTRICTED FREE AGENCY
James Wiseman (Detroit Pistons): Wiseman has been better on both sides of the ball since being traded to Detroit last February, but his game still needs to be developed further if the Pistons are to seriously invest in him.
Isaac Okoro (Cleveland Cavaliers): Cleveland has been looking for a permanent solution at their starting small-forward position for some time now, resulting in them paying Caris LeVert and signing Max Strus. Okoro hasn&rsquo;t shown he can be the Cavs&rsquo; long-term solution.
Obi Toppin (Indiana Pacers): If Toppin had stayed in New York, there&rsquo;s no way he would have been extended. Now in Indiana, the former Naismith National Player of the Year should get a chance to start and improve his stock going into next summer.
Deni Avdija (Washington Wizards): Avdija is a pretty good young player outside of his shooting struggles. With a new regime in Washington, Avdija may be a trade candidate if new president Michael Winger doesn&rsquo;t see him as a part of the team&rsquo;s long-term plan.
Aaron Nesmith (Indiana Pacers): A starter for the Pacers last year, Nesmith may be buried on the depth chart with the additions of Toppin and rookie Jarace Walker. He hasn&rsquo;t made enough of an impact to warrant an extension.
Cole Anthony (Orlando Magic): Anthony has been a solid bench contributor for Orlando since being drafted out of North Carolina. However, the Magic backcourt is extremely crowded with the addition of rookie Anthony Black, making them unlikely to prioritize securing a deal with Anthony.
Aleksej Pokusevski (Oklahoma City Thunder): Poku is coming off a fractured leg that kept him out for the back half of last season. He needs to show that he can be a long-term piece if he wishes to stay with the Thunder.
Saddiq Bey (Atlanta Hawks): Bey is certainly talented enough to warrant an extension, fitting into the starting five seamlessly after being acquired from Detroit at the trade deadline. However, the team may have to choose between extending Bey or Okongwu in order to manage their already-very-full salary cap sheet.&nbsp;
Precious Achiuwa (Toronto Raptors): The Raptors have already committed to a center in Jakob Poeltl this offseason. Achiuwa hasn&rsquo;t shown enough to break through outside of his bench role to warrant an extension.
Zeke Nnaji (Denver Nuggets): Despite not being a regular member of the rotation, Nnaji has shown he is a capable backup option to Nikola Jokic when he&rsquo;s on the floor. While an extension isn&rsquo;t in the cards, the Nuggets should look to retain him.
Payton Pritchard (Boston Celtics): Boston would probably love to keep Pritchard on a team-friendly deal, as he has been a reliable insurance option for them since coming into the league. The former Oregon guard will more than likely want to test the free-agency market to see if he can possibly find a path to more playing time elsewhere.
LIKELY TO NOT RECEIVE A QUALIFYING OFFER, BECOME AN UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENT NEXT SUMMER
Killian Hayes (Detroit Pistons): Hayes has not lived up to his top-10 pick billing and has fallen out of Pistons general manager Troy Weaver&rsquo;s long-term outlook. Detroit could extend him a qualifying offer next summer, but he likely won&rsquo;t receive much interest on the open market.
Kira Lewis Jr. (New Orleans Pelicans): Lewis has been relegated to a reserve while suffering through multiple injuries through his first three years in the NBA. The Pelicans have made it known league-wide that he is available for trade.
Chuma Okeke (Orlando Magic): Okeke has struggled with his all-around game for the better part of the last two years and is unlikely to be retained by Orlando going forward.
Malachi Flynn (Toronto Raptors): Flynn hasn&rsquo;t taken advantage of the many opportunities he&rsquo;s had to be a part of the Raptors&rsquo; rotation as the backup point guard. He may see some run this year, but the Raptors may have seen enough to move on this summer.
THE TYRESE MAXEY WILD CARD
Tyrese Maxey (Philadelphia 76ers): Maxey is the wild card of the rookie-extension candidates, as Sixers general manager Daryl Morey has said that the team will hold off on extending the 22-year-old shooting guard in order to maintain trade and cap flexibility going into next summer. Maxey has blossomed into a core member of the 76ers going forward and would likely receive close to, if not the full, max rookie extension. With no end in sight to the James Harden debacle, the Sixers may want to secure their young prize before their situation could turn worse.

Blake Stern takes a look at which players are most likely to receive a rookie-scale extension prior to the October 23 deadline.

Checking in on the NBA's rookie-scale extension candidates

With the 2023-24 NBA season fast approaching, discussions are beginning to ramp up surrounding team expectations. Which teams are the early favorites and contenders? Which teams are just wishful thinkers? These topics are debated often, usually leading to a select number of teams facing win-or-bust expectations.&nbsp;
But, of course, there can only be one team in June that hoists the Larry O&rsquo;Brien.&nbsp;
Entering a season with championship expectations isn&rsquo;t easy, as <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-james-posey-championship-expectations-boston-celtics-doc-rivers-kevin-garnett-paul-pierce-ray-allen-cleveland-cavaliers-lebron-james-tyronn-lue-miami-heat-pat-riley-shaquille-o-neal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Basketball News&rsquo; James Posey highlighted in this recent article</a>. Which teams fall into the win-or-bust category for the 2023-24 season? Let&rsquo;s look at two teams &ndash; one from each conference &ndash; who qualify.&nbsp;
LOS ANGELES LAKERS
The Los Angeles Lakers have dealt with championship aspirations and expectations maybe more than any other team in NBA history. With 17 championships, which is tied with the Boston Celtics for the most all-time, it's clear why. This franchise is used to collecting hardware by season&rsquo;s end, and did so as recently as 2020, defeating the Miami Heat to win the championship in the midst of a global pandemic and in the wake of the passing of Lakers legend Kobe Bryant.&nbsp;
So, how can a team that won a title in recent years already be facing pressure to win again?
The Lakers, led by LeBron James and Anthony Davis, are heading into this season fresh off a clean sweep in the Western Conference Finals by the eventual-champion Denver Nuggets. While seemingly negative on paper, the season was largely viewed as a success, as nobody expected this squad to make a Conference-Finals run after starting an abysmal 2-10.&nbsp;
How did they turn their season around? By ending the Russell Westbrook experiment, the Lakers landed D&rsquo;Angelo Russell and Jarred Vanderbilt in a trade, in addition to trading for Rui Hachimura. These three, along with a blossoming Austin Reaves and a rejuvenated James and Davis, brought the Lakers to familiar heights &ndash; defeating the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round and taking down the then-defending-champion Golden State Warriors in round two.&nbsp;
It was clear that the Lakers fixed their mistakes and were back on course. Even the naysayers had to tip their cap after the team&rsquo;s surprising Western Conference Finals run.
Now comes the familiar pressure.&nbsp;
This offseason, Lakers were able to keep last year&rsquo;s core together, re-signing Russell, Reaves and Hachimura, while adding quality role players in Gabe Vincent, Taurean Prince, Jaxson Hayes and Cam Reddish. This is really the first time in the LeBron-Lakers era that the team has been given the green light to try again for a second season. Seeing as the team didn&rsquo;t come together until late last season, it would have been very much in the Lakers&rsquo; nature to come into this year with a completely different-looking team. Instead, the front office chose to run it back, aside from some changes on the margins. This decision is what puts them in the win-or-bust category.&nbsp;
With LeBron entering his 21st NBA season, that sentiment is stronger than ever. The Lakers have to take advantage of the fact that James is still playing at such a high level so late in his career. Being a sports team in Hollywood (especially one with 17 championships) you need to not only have the stars, you need to win. If the Lakers have stars but aren&rsquo;t winning, then they are essentially just becoming their neighbors, the Angels. The Lakers have the script ready for them, but we&rsquo;ll have to wait and see if they can top the box office.
PHILADELPHIA 76ERS
 
With the Philadelphia 76ers coming off their second-round exit in the 2023 NBA Playoffs courtesy of the Boston Celtics in seven games, there&rsquo;s pressure to take the next step and win a championship. This pressure isn&rsquo;t new; they&rsquo;ve been feeling it for several years.&nbsp;
Superstar center Joel Embiid won his first Most Valuable Player award last season, giving the 76ers two MVPs on the team, with James Harden being the other. While the duo has looked good in the short time they&rsquo;ve been together, they haven&rsquo;t looked like two MVPs playing side-by-side. This is especially true in the postseason, with Embiid and Harden both known for sometimes regressing in playoff series compared to the regular season. 
The fact that Doc Rivers was the team&rsquo;s head coach, a man who has coached three teams that all lost a playoff series after being up 3-1 and someone who has a 6-10 record in Game 7s, certainly didn&rsquo;t help. There's no question that he also deserves his fair share of blame for the team&rsquo;s issues. All of this, along with the lingering effects of the Ben Simmons debacle, came to a head last season.&nbsp;
This offseason, the team parted ways with Rivers, and Harden requested a trade. While Harden has yet to be traded and it is possible he remains with the team, the Sixers obviously aren&rsquo;t in an ideal state. It remains to be seen what kind of pieces they can get back for Harden.
In the meantime, the Sixers hired former Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse to replace Rivers. Nurse is a great coach who won a championship in 2019 and the NBA's Coach of the Year award in 2020. But if the team begins to underperform, a new coach &ndash; especially one who&rsquo;s known for previously incorporating a rougher defensive style when it came to guarding Embiid &ndash; could become an easy target for blame for the Philly faithful.&nbsp;
The 76ers might have more pressure on them than any other team this upcoming season. The reigning MVP, a former MVP (or the trade package they can get for him), a former Coach of the Year and a solid supporting cast mean this team is built to win now. This team is no stranger to win-or-bust expectations, but this may be the most pressure they&rsquo;ve faced yet.&nbsp;

Jack Maguire examines two teams facing win-or-bust expectations entering the 2023-24 NBA season.

Which NBA teams are under the most pressure entering 2023-24 season?

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) &mdash; Bob Myers is departing as president and general manager of the Golden State Warriors after building a championship team that captured four titles in an eight-year span and reached five straight NBA Finals from 2015-19.
One of the most successful GMs over the past decade in any sport, Myers&rsquo; contract was set to expire in late June and there has been speculation for months about his future, given the sides had yet to reach agreement on an extension or a new deal. A team spokesman confirmed the departure Tuesday.
The 48-year-old Myers grew up in suburban Danville, played basketball at UCLA and learned key skills on the other side of the business when he became an agent before switching careers and emerging as a top NBA executive with a personable nature who regularly attended practices to chat with players, coach Steve Kerr and his assistants.
Kerr has loved working alongside Myers in a collaborative way, something that can be unusual in professional sports between the front office and head coach. Kerr said the week after the season ended that decisions about whether to keep the roster together weren&rsquo;t his to make.
&ldquo;Ultimately it&rsquo;s not my job; it&rsquo;s really more Bob&rsquo;s job to construct the roster, but the great thing about Bob and the way we&rsquo;ve operated here is that we&rsquo;ve always collaborated, so there will definitely be a lot of collaboration this summer on putting together the best possible roster for next year,&rdquo; Kerr said.
Myers has been known to talk to players during games, rare for a GM to do. That included working to calm down fiery forward Draymond Green at times.
He has long supported Green through his mistakes, technical fouls and suspensions. In 2016, Green was suspended for a crucial Game 5 loss to LeBron James and the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals after accumulating too many flagrant fouls in the playoffs that season. The Warriors wound up losing in seven games. Myers sat with Green next door to Oracle Arena at the Oakland Coliseum for that game Green missed.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich in March credited good friend Kerr and Myers for their commitment to acquiring players who want to be team-first and not just focus on individual success.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a purist in the sense that he wants all five players to play together, and that&rsquo;s at both ends of the floor, understanding how it works, how the rotations work, and he&rsquo;s been fantastic in being consistent in that regard,&rdquo; Popovich said of Kerr. &ldquo;And he and Bob have been bringing guys in that can understand that. Every player can&rsquo;t play that game, they just can&rsquo;t do it. But they&rsquo;ve brought in guys that understand it and that will play their roles for the sake of winning, and winning big.&rdquo;
It was Myers who only a couple of months later signed eventual two-time NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant, who played for Golden State from 2016-19 and helped the Warriors win repeat championships in 2017 and &rsquo;18.
Myers was promoted to GM in 2012 and constructed the roster that won the 2015 championship for the franchise&rsquo;s first title in 40 years.

Bob Myers is leaving the Golden State Warriors after building a championship team that captured four titles in an eight-year span.

Bob Myers departing as Warriors president, GM after 4 NBA titles

DENVER (AP) &mdash; Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray continue to turn in jaw-dropping performances during these playoffs, raising expectations along the way.
They took Round 1 of their Western Conference Finals showdown against LeBron James and Anthony Davis, a game in which Jockic was dazzled by the fortitude of of his Denver Nuggets teammate, who played through a painful ear infection.
&ldquo;Of course maybe he&rsquo;s just faking it,&rdquo; the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/nuggets/status/1658693620621541378" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nuggets big man</a>&nbsp;interjected after the Nuggets staved off the Los Angeles Lakers 132-126. &ldquo;He didn&rsquo;t want to practice.&rdquo;
A little comedy to go with their chemistry.
Opponents have found nothing funny about the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/nuggets/status/1658666245548544001" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Murray-Jokic combo</a>&nbsp;in the playoffs. They are playing their best basketball since the 2020 NBA bubble. Seven months after that run, Murray tore his left ACL and had to sit out the last two postseasons.
Now, Murray and Jokic are back to showcasing a brand of two-player hoops reminiscent of the John Stockton-Karl Malone era in Utah. But they seek what eluded Stockton and Malone.
They&rsquo;re chasing a championship ring to cement their place in NBA lore alongside Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal and, yes, LeBron and AD, who combined for 66 points in Game 1 Tuesday night.
The Nuggets are one of six teams never to reach the NBA Finals and they&rsquo;re 0-7 against the Lakers in playoff series. Behind Murray and Jokic, they feel they finally have the championship chops to bring the Larry O&rsquo;Brien Trophy to the Mile High City.
&ldquo;It seems like for years now, we&rsquo;re some dusty old cowtown in the Rocky Mountains, with so little respect that we get,&rdquo; said coach Michael Malone, whose team will try to improve to 8-0 at home in the playoffs Thursday night. &ldquo;You can sit there, you can fight it and complain about it. Or you can just embrace who we are and what we have.&rdquo;
That disrespect didn&rsquo;t wane even with the Nuggets earning the top seed for the first time as commentators alternately anointed everyone but Denver as the favorite to win the West.
For all those who tuned in Tuesday and really watched Jokic and Murray for the first time they saw what players and coaches around the league say: That was no fluke, they&rsquo;re just about always that good.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;d rather not waste time with the pundits that count us out and don&rsquo;t give us the respect we deserve as a team, with everything we&rsquo;ve done,&rdquo; Malone said. &ldquo;But there&rsquo;s one thing we haven&rsquo;t done. And until we win a championship, people are going to keep saying that about us. So that&rsquo;s what drives us.&rdquo;
Denver may have already won a championship by now were it not for Murray&rsquo;s devastating knee injury at Golden State on April 12, 2021.
He could only watch as the Nuggets were routed by Phoenix in the second round of the playoffs that year and again by the Warriors in the first round last year when their other max player, Michael Porter Jr., also was sidelined.
But this could be their best opportunity to date.
With Murray back healthy and Jokic a matchup nightmare for anyone, they&rsquo;re rolling along, winning nine of 12 playoff games so far.
&ldquo;They&rsquo;re a dynamic duo, great symmetry, know each other well,&rdquo; Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. &ldquo;Great rhythm, regardless of who&rsquo;s initiating, who&rsquo;s screening. ... We have to be ready to really defend that at a high level.&rdquo;
That&rsquo;s a difficult ask.
&ldquo;We just have to make it tough for him, switching up matchups and schemes on him,&rdquo; Davis said of Jokic.
Murray was questionable for Game 1 due to an ear infection that made for a miserable weekend. But there he was at his best, knocking down a dozen shots, including four 3-pointers and dishing out five assists.
&ldquo;The whole playoffs, I think he&rsquo;s playing amazing,&rdquo; Jokic said. &ldquo;We all know what he brings, the toughness.&rdquo;
Jokic, too, filled up the stat sheet. He finished with 34 points, 21 rebounds and 14 assists, giving him 12 career playoff triple-doubles, most by a center in NBA history.
The Nuggets will need more performances like this to fend off the Lakers, who beat them in the Western Conference Finals in 1985, 2009 and 2020.
Denver has more firepower this time around, too, with a solid supporting cast. It also includes Porter, Aaron Gordon, Bruce Brown, rookie Christian Braun, Jeff Green and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who brings a championship pedigree to a roster known mostly for its two-time MVP.
All of that was on display in the Nuggets&rsquo; series clincher against Phoenix in Round 2 when Denver bounced the Suns with a 25-point blowout.
&ldquo;We looked like a championship team,&rdquo; Jokic said afterward. &ldquo;We were so focused. ... Well, I guess I don&rsquo;t know how a championship team looks. But I think that was how it&rsquo;s supposed to look.&rdquo;
That view will become clearer if Jokic and Murray can keep playing like this.

Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray continue to turn in jaw-dropping performances during these playoffs.

Jokic, Murray know they need title to get recognition of other duos

The United States will open Basketball World Cup play against New Zealand this summer, with Greece and Jordan also awaiting the Americans in the group stage.
And the earliest the U.S. can see France in an Olympic final rematch is the semifinals.
FIBA held the World Cup draw in Manila on Saturday, when the 32 teams that qualified for the field found out their initial matchups for the tournament that runs from Aug. 25 through Sept. 10. The Americans &mdash; the four-time defending Olympic champions who finished seventh at the most recent World Cup in 2019 &mdash; play New Zealand on Aug. 26, then face Greece and likely Giannis Antetokounmpo on Aug. 28, and conclude group-stage play Aug. 30 against Jordan.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s comforting to kind of know who we&rsquo;re playing,&rdquo; USA Basketball managing director Grant Hill said. &ldquo;The big unknown has been there since we started planning and preparing. And at least now we have an idea of who we&rsquo;re playing and who we potentially could be playing in the second round.&rdquo;
The U.S. will play all its group stage games in Manila, while Jakarta, Indonesia, and Okinawa, Japan, will also play host to some group games. Medal rounds are in Manila, so the U.S. won&rsquo;t have to travel at all during the tournament.
The Americans will play Greece in August at Abu Dhabi in an exhibition. They met in the World Cup at China four years ago. Antetokounmpo is expected to play for Greece; his Milwaukee Bucks were hoping for a deep NBA playoff run but lost to the Miami Heat in Round 1.
&ldquo;They were eliminated recently, so Giannis will have maybe a longer offseason than he&rsquo;s had in recent years,&rdquo; Hill said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s scary.&rdquo;
The Americans &mdash; who will be coached by Golden State&rsquo;s Steve Kerr in the tournament &mdash; were drawn into Group C, one of eight four-team groups for the opening round. The U.S. is planning to announce its roster in June or July.
&ldquo;To our friends around the world, join our new &lsquo;Thrilla in Manila,&rsquo; the 2023 Basketball World Cup edition,&rdquo; said Manuel Pangilinan, a FIBA Central Board member from the Philippines &mdash; using the phrase coined for the Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier fight in Manila in 1975.
Defending World Cup champion Spain is in Group G, with Iran, Ivory Coast and Brazil as its opening opponents.
France &mdash; which plans to have Victor Wembanyama on its roster &mdash; is in Group H, along with Canada, Latvia and Lebanon.
France beat the Americans in the quarterfinals of the 2019 World Cup, eliminating the U.S. from medal contention and starting the spiral to a seventh-place finish at that event, the worst finish ever for an American team featuring NBA players.
France topped the U.S. again at the Tokyo Olympics in group play &mdash; but the Americans won the game that mattered most, topping France 87-82 for the gold medal.
They haven&rsquo;t played since Tokyo but are still going head-to-head. Philadelphia center Joel Embiid &mdash; an MVP finalist this season, and the presumed favorite &mdash; said before the season that he&rsquo;s deciding whether to play internationally for the U.S. or France at the Paris Olympics. He became an American citizen last year.
GROUP BREAKDOWN
All teams in each group play one another in the opening round. The top two teams from each group move on to the second round; the bottom two teams move into a classification tournament to determine 17th through 32nd places at the event.
Teams are listed with their world ranking.
Group A, Manila: Angola (41), Dominican Republic (23), Philippines (40), Italy (10).
Group B, Manila: South Sudan (62), Serbia (6), China (27), Puerto Rico (20).
Group C, Manila: United States (2), Jordan (33), Greece (9), New Zealand (26).
Group D, Manila: Egypt (55), Mexico (31), Montenegro (18), Lithuania (8).
Group E, Okinawa: Germany (11), Finland (24), Australia (3), Japan (36).
Group F, Okinawa: Slovenia (7), Cape Verde (64), Georgia (32), Venezuela (17).
Group G, Jakarta: Iran (22), Spain (1), Ivory Coast (42), Brazil (13).
Group H, Jakarta: Canada (15), Latvia (29), Lebanon (43), France (5).
TOURNAMENT FORMAT
The two teams that advance from each group will play two other teams in the second round in new groups: The top two finishers in Group A will play the top two from Group B, the top two from Group C will play Group D&rsquo;s two best and the same pattern follows &mdash; Group E plays Group F, Group G plays Group H.
That means, in the second round, if the Americans advance they will play two of these four teams &mdash; Egypt, Mexico, Montenegro and Lithuania.
That second round will determine the eight quarterfinalists.
Quarterfinal games are Sept. 5 and 6. Semifinals are Sept. 8 and the games for gold and bronze medals are Sept. 10.
AT STAKE
The World Cup is FIBA&rsquo;s biggest tournament, plus it serves as a way to qualify for next year&rsquo;s Paris Olympics.
With the expectation that France will be added as an automatic qualifier for the Olympics as host &mdash; probably no more than a formality, with FIBA not planning to decide until June 30 &mdash; there will be seven teams automatically qualifying for berths in the 12-team Olympic tournament.
The top two World Cup finishers from Europe and the Americas, as well as one from Africa, Asia and Oceania, will earn berths into Paris 2024.
VENUE NEWS
The draw capped a three-day run of news out of Manila &mdash; some expected, some not.
The original plan to hold the medal rounds in a 55,000-seat arena were scrapped Thursday over several concerns, including the lack of a traffic scheme that could accommodate such a crowd. The Philippines will play its first two group-stage games in that arena with hopes of setting a World Cup attendance record, but the medal rounds will be at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila &mdash; where the U.S. will play its games in the group stage.
And on Friday,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/basketball-2027-world-cup-qatar-fiba-a525c267d7d50aaafaae4a75b2441057">FIBA announced that the 2027 World Cup</a>&nbsp;was awarded to Qatar.

The United States will open Basketball World Cup play against New Zealand this summer.

USA will open Basketball World Cup against New Zealand

Spencer Davies speaks with Taqwa Pinero about his life journey and how he's preparing both the future and current hoop generations.

Taqwa Pinero's knowledge is its own currency, and he's paying it forward

HOUSTON (AP) &mdash; Certainly, Jim Nantz could fill an evening weaving tales of the great games and buzzer-beaters he&rsquo;s had the privilege to see, and call, over a storytelling career that made his the voice of March Madness for nearly four decades.
But when asked about his favorite moments as he prepared for the 354th and final game of that journey &mdash; Monday&rsquo;s title game &mdash; he brought up Delaware State.
The Hornets were a 16 seed when they made what is still their only NCAA appearance back in 2005. They were going against Duke in a first-round game hardly anyone remembers now. Nantz was certain he&rsquo;d see those Duke players again.
&ldquo;But those Delaware State kids, they&rsquo;re on CBS, and I envisioned that someday, they&rsquo;re going to have the VHS tape to be able to show their grandchildren and say &lsquo;I played in the NCAA Tournament,&lsquo;&rdquo; Nantz said during a courtside conversation with The Associated Press the day before the start of his last Final Four. &ldquo;This tournament is their &lsquo;forever.&rsquo; I always wanted to make sure that I do justice to their story.&rdquo;
The 63-year-old traces his own path to the announcer&rsquo;s table to when he was 9 and living in New Orleans. His dad took him to his first college basketball game.&nbsp;
Working the sideline was a bear of a coach who had a red, polka-dotted towel draped across his shoulder. About 10 years later, that coach, Guy Lewis of the Houston Cougars, would give Nantz, who played golf at the school, a job as the public-address guy for home games at Hofheinz Pavillion. A year after that, Nantz was still living in the dorms at UH when Lewis asked him to host his coach&rsquo;s show.
Nantz&rsquo;s might very well be the voice American sports fans know best. He has guided them through six Super Bowls on CBS and walked with them among the towering pines at the Masters since 1986, when Jack Nicklaus won his sixth green jacket. He&rsquo;ll continue on those assignments for the foreseeable future, but this 37th run through March Madness will be his last.
Some said it might have been perfect if his alma mater, which came into the tournament as a No. 1 seed, was playing in its hometown in the final game of Nantz&rsquo;s basketball journey. That didn&rsquo;t happen, but Nantz believes there&rsquo;s something fitting about a Final Four that came out of the blue like this, with three schools that had never been this far before, and no team seeded better than No. 4 UConn.
He has always loved the underdog tales.
&ldquo;Storytelling paradise,&rdquo; Nantz called it.
It&rsquo;s been wild, emotional and a little awkward for a man who concedes he likes to tell the stories, not be part of them.
He got a key to the city Friday. Two streets on an intersection outside the stadium were renamed &ldquo;Jim Nantz Way&rdquo; and &ldquo;Hello Friends Boulevard.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Hello Friends&rdquo; is the comfy-as-a-slipper welcome he coined about 20 years ago. It gives Nantz a moment to connect with the audience and think of his dad, who passed away in 2008 after a long bout with Alzheimer&rsquo;s. The Nantz National Alzheimer&rsquo;s Center is based in Houston.
Nantz&rsquo;s welcome-in message to the telecasts might be planned. Other things aren&rsquo;t.
His call of Saturday&rsquo;s buzzer-beating shot by San Diego State&rsquo;s Lamont Butler in the semifinals &mdash; Nantz estimates he&rsquo;s had 20-something such last-second winners over his years in the tournament &mdash; plays back like a master class in what his job should be: simple, urgent, much more about the moment than the person talking about it.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s Butler. With two seconds. He&rsquo;s gotta put it up. Aaand. He wins it! He wins it! With the jumper!&rdquo; Then, five seconds of silence, followed by, &ldquo;A San Diego State miracle!&rdquo;
Speaking of miracles, there&rsquo;s another announcer who made a name for himself by talking about one. Shortly after this interview was over and Nantz had started talking to some well-wishers, he lifted up his phone and smiled as he showed it to a few folks standing nearby: Al Michaels was calling.
Though many might consider Nantz and the 78-year-old Michaels as contemporaries, there was a sense of the unfiltered excitement Nantz felt about receiving that call. And it gave a glimpse as to why, even after all this time, he has such a strong bond with the millions of people who tune in. In some ways, he&rsquo;s just like us.
Moments earlier, Nantz had recalled hosting the Final Four studio show from the Kingdome in Seattle in 1989 when Magic Johnson popped by for a visit on the set. As Magic and Nantz, both 30 at the time, sat in the corner of the arena, watching the final seconds of the Michigan-Seton Hall title game tick down, the announcer asked Johnson if he ever stopped to soak in everything and reflect on the wonder of all he&rsquo;d been part of.
&ldquo;He nods and just says, &lsquo;All the time,&rsquo;&rdquo; Nantz said. &ldquo;And today, I think about that. I&rsquo;ve had the best seat in the house at the Super Bowl or the Masters or here for my whole career. And I&rsquo;ve never gotten over the fact that I&rsquo;m the one who&rsquo;s blessed with the chance to lend a voice to it, and to tell the story.&rdquo;

It’s been wild, emotional and a little awkward for Jim Nantz, who concedes he likes to tell the stories, not be part of them.

Jim Nantz bids a fond farewell to March Madness

SEATTLE (AP) &mdash; Caitlin Clark put on a show with 41 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds to help No. 2 seed Iowa beat fifth-seeded Louisville 97-83 on Sunday and send the Hawkeyes to their first women&rsquo;s Final Four in 30 years.
The unanimous first-team All-American was as dominant as she&rsquo;s been all season in getting the Hawkeyes to Dallas for the women&rsquo;s NCAA Tournament national semifinals on Friday night. The Seattle 4 Region champion will face the winner of the Greenville 1 region that has South Carolina playing Maryland on Monday night.
&ldquo;I thought our team played really well. That&rsquo;s what it&rsquo;s all about. I was going to give it every single thing I had,&rdquo; said Clark, who was the region&rsquo;s most outstanding player. &ldquo;When I came here I said I wanted to take this program to the Final Four, and all you&rsquo;ve got to do is dream. And all you&rsquo;ve got to do is believe and work your butt off to get there. That&rsquo;s what I did, and that&rsquo;s what our girls did and that&rsquo;s what our coaches did and we&rsquo;re going to Dallas, baby.&rdquo;
Iowa (30-6) hadn&rsquo;t been to the Final Four since Hall of Fame coach C. Vivian Stringer led the team to its lone appearance in 1993. Before Sunday, the team had only been to one other Elite Eight &mdash; in 2019 &mdash; since the Final Four team.
Clark had the 11th triple-double of her career and the 19th in NCAA Tournament history. She had the first 30- and 40-point triple-double in March Madness history.
&ldquo;We might not be the most athletic, we might not be the fastest, we might not be the best defenders, but we play for one another. That&rsquo;s going to take you really far,&rdquo; Clark said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s what it&rsquo;s all about. Our circle is tight and more than anything we&rsquo;re each others best friends. That will carry you a long way.&rdquo;
Trailing by five at the half, Louisville cut its deficit to 48-47 before Clark and the Hawkeyes scored the next 11 points as part of a 17-6 run to blow the game open. That brought most of the pro-Iowa crowd of nearly 12,000 fans to their feet.
Louisville was down 22 with just under 6 minutes left before going on a 13-1 run to get within 86-76 with 2:10 left. The Cardinals could get no closer.
Clark left the game with 22.7 seconds left and hugged coach Lisa Bluder.
After the game, Clark paraded around the court holding the regional trophy high above her head, delighting the thousands of fans who stuck around to celebrate their Hawkeyes.
Hailey Van Lith scored 27 points and Olivia Cochran had 20 points and 14 rebounds to lead Louisville (26-12).
Clark hit eight of the Hawkeyes&rsquo; season-high 16 3-pointers, including a few from just past the March Madness logo. It was a school record for the Hawkeyes in the NCAA Tournament, blowing past the previous mark of 13 against Gonzaga in 2011.
Louisville scored the first eight points of the game, forcing Iowa to call timeout. Then Clark got going. The 6-foot junior scored the first seven points for the Hawkeyes and finished the opening quarter with 15 points. When she wasn&rsquo;t scoring, she found open teammates with precision passes.
She also had four assists in the first 10 minutes, accounting for every one of Iowa&rsquo;s points as the Hawkeyes led 25-21.
Clark continued her mastery in the second quarter, hitting shots from all over the court, including a few of her famous long-distance 3s from near the logo.
Louisville was able to stay in the game, thanks to Van Lith. After scoring the first six points of the game, she went quiet before getting going late in the second quarter. She had 11 points in the second quarter as the Cardinals found themselves down 48-43 at the break.
Clark had 22 points and eight assists in the opening 20 minutes en route to the fourth-highest scoring total all-time in a NCAA regional.
1,000-POINT CLUB
Clark has 984 points this season and is looking to join form Hawkeye Megan Gustafson with 1,000 points in a single year. Four other players have done it, including Villanova&rsquo;s Maddy Siegrist, who accomplished the feat this season. Kelsey Plum, Jackie Stiles and Odyssey Sims were the others to do it.
HOMETOWN HERO
Van Lith once again played well in her home state. The small-town standout from 130 miles away from Seattle grew into being one of the best prep players in the country, the all-time state high school leader in scoring and now a star for the Cardinals.
Hundreds of fans from her hometown of Cashmere, which has a population of 3,200, took in the game, cheering the Louisville star on.

Caitlin Clark put on a show with 41 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds to help No. 2 seed Iowa beat fifth-seeded Louisville 97-83.

Caitlin Clark leads Iowa to first Final Four since 1993

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) &mdash; When it comes to Auburn and the NCAA Tournament, the Tigers know how to make an opening statement.
Johni Broome had 19 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots, and No. 9 seed Auburn beat Iowa 83-75 on Thursday for its 10th consecutive opening-round win dating to the mid-1980s.
The Tigers (21-12) made 11 of 12 free throws over the final four minutes to lock up a second-round matchup with No. 1 seed Houston, which survived a scare from 16th-seeded Northern Kentucky..
It was a decidedly Auburn-oriented crowd two hours from campus.
&ldquo;They were loud and rowdy the whole game,&rdquo; Auburn guard Allen Flanigan said. &ldquo;It felt like a home game for us.&rdquo;
Broome even made his ninth 3-pointer of the season to push the margin into double digits for the first time with 16 minutes left.
The Tigers appeared poised to pull away in front of a partisan orange-and-blue crowd, going up by 17 with a 13-2 run midway through the second half sparked by Tre Donaldson&rsquo;s three 3-pointers off the bench.
The eighth-seeded Hawkeyes climbed back into it, twice cutting it down to four but coming no closer.
&ldquo;We knew they had another run in them,&rdquo; Broome said. &ldquo;We were like, &lsquo;Let&rsquo;s make a stop and win this game.&rsquo;"
Auburn had six players score in double figures. Wendell Green Jr. had 15 points, and Donaldson, Jaylin Williams and KD Johnson each finished with 11. Allen Flanigan scored 10.
Payton Sandford scored 21 points for Iowa. Kris Murray had 15 points on 5-of-18 shooting and nine rebounds. Filip Rebraca scored 14 points.
The Hawkeyes found themselves playing in essentially a road game. But they declined to use that as an excuse.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re used to playing in hostile environments,&rdquo; Connor McCaffery said. &ldquo;Obviously if we had our choice we would have preferred it to be a little more neutral, but that&rsquo;s not why we lost at all.
&ldquo;We won at Rutgers, we won at IU (Indiana) and those places are 100 times louder than it was here today.&rdquo;
Iowa coach Fran McCaffery, Connor&rsquo;s father, echoed that sentiment after his team ended with a third straight loss.
&ldquo;Every game in our league is a hostile environment so it cannot be an excuse, nor do we want to make it one,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We were right there, and you have to give credit to your opponent.&rdquo;
Johnson had a scary moment in the final minute of the first half.
He went up attempting to block a shot by Rebraca, who pump-faked and sent Johnson somersaulting over the top of the Iowa player.
The junior guard landed with a thud on his lower back and buttocks, sending the crowd into a hushed silence. Johnson stayed down briefly, writhing in pain, before heading to the bench to get checked out. He played in the second half.
&ldquo;I was just scared,&rdquo; Johnson said. &ldquo;I wanted to make sure I didn&rsquo;t hurt myself in any other way. That was crazy.&rdquo;
BIG PICTURE
Auburn: Made seven 3-pointers in the second half after a 1-of-9 start.
Iowa: Fell just short of a fifth consecutive 20-win season. Missed all nine first-half 3-point attempts and finished 7 of 27 (25.9%) from deep. A team averaging 80 points a game was held to 26 in the first half.
&ldquo;Our speed and quickness was obviously a factor on the defensive end,&rdquo; Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said.
UP NEXT
Auburn is 1-6 all-time against Houston, among the favorites to win it all. The Tigers lost in the second round last season. The big question will be the status of Cougars All-American Marcus Sasser, who aggravated a groin injury and didn&rsquo;t play in the second half.

Johni Broome had 19 points, 12 rebounds and 5 blocks, and No. 9 Auburn beat Iowa 83-75 on Thursday in the NCAA Tournament.

Broome, Auburn hold off Iowa 83-75 in first round of NCAA Tournament

They are the five letters no No. 1 NCAA Tournament seed ever wants to see: Upset.
Thursday marks the five-year anniversary of University of Maryland-Baltimore County &mdash; the tiny school few fans had ever heard of, let alone picked in their bracket &mdash; pulling off the biggest upset in college basketball history by beating the tournament&rsquo;s top seed in Virginia.
UMBC&rsquo;s lasting legacy became this: If you don&rsquo;t watch out, No. 1 can mean one-and-done.
While there were some close calls before 2018, No. 1 seeds had gone 135-0 before UMBC routed Virginia 75-54 at Charlotte&rsquo;s Spectrum Center. Now they are 1-147. Like the men, the women&rsquo;s side of March Madness has seen only one 16 knock off a 1: Harvard over Stanford in 1998.
On Thursday, three more No. 1 seeds &mdash; Alabama, Kansas and Houston &mdash; take the court looking to avoid what the Cavaliers endured five years ago, while their respective opponents Texas A&amp;M-Corpus Christi, Howard and Northern Kentucky look to capture that &ldquo;One Shining Moment&rdquo; and etch their name in history alongside the Retrievers.
Ryan Odom, the Retrievers coach that season, said after the game &ldquo;these are the moments that you dream of.&rdquo; while his players celebrated in a cramped locker room after shocking the world. Diminutive 5-foot-8, 140-pound guard KJ, Maura and his teammates joked about there being &ldquo;no more perfect brackets&rdquo; and possibly becoming the focal point of a future ESPN &ldquo;30 for 30&rdquo; episode.
Some players struggled to process the enormity of the moment, hugging each other long and hard.
&ldquo;It felt like my soul left my body, man,&rdquo; UMBC guard Jourdan Grant said that day.
Odom, now the head coach at Utah State, a No. 10 seed in this year&rsquo;s tourney, said Wednesday it was &ldquo;a memory that will last a lifetime.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Will a 16 ever beat a 1 again? I have no idea,&rdquo; Odom said. &ldquo;It takes a special group. It takes a lot of luck in order to have a chance to win any game in the NCAA Tournament.&rdquo;
Former UMBC guard Joe Sherburne said it remains the single greatest day of his life.
&ldquo;You can measure my life by this: before that day, and after that day,&rdquo; Sherburne said Wednesday. When friends introduce him to people, the first thing they say is &ldquo;Joe played for UMBC.&rdquo;
Sherburne, who works as a financial adviser, remembers the day well.
As UMBC&rsquo;s lead over Virginia grew to double digits in the second half he sensed something special, something miraculous was happening. He struggled to concentrate on the next play call while sitting on the bench during TV timeouts: &ldquo;I felt like I was in shock.&rdquo;
Could this really be happening? Could a 20 1/2-point underdog really beat the No. 1 team in the nation in the NCAA Tournament?
But it happened &mdash; and everyone suddenly wanted to know their story.
Sherburne stayed at the arena until 1 a.m. doing interviews before returning to the team hotel where he was greeted by overwhelmed fans, friends and family members. He and his teammates watched &ldquo;Sports Center&rdquo; on repeat and ate pizza, basking in the moment.
&ldquo;We were all still running on adrenaline,&rdquo; Sherburne said. &ldquo;I couldn&rsquo;t eat or drink. I can usually eat a whole Domino&rsquo;s pizza by myself, but I couldn&rsquo;t that night. I might have had two or three slices.&rdquo;
Sherburne still wishes the celebration had gone on for days longer, but UMBC lost a close second round loss to Kansas State two days later.
Still, there will always be the satisfaction of accomplishing something that had never been done before. Sherburne is hoping it stays that way for awhile.
After the final 16 seed lost in last year&rsquo;s NCAA Tournament, he toasted UMBC&rsquo;s legacy with a shot of whiskey.
Two years ago, he attended Game 6 the 2016 NBA Finals where he watched former Virginia big man Mamadi Diakite win a championship ring. Diakite was one of six Virginia players from that team to play in the NBA; UMBC had none.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m sitting in the arena that night, in the second row from the top, thinking to myself, &rsquo;You know, just a couple of years ago I was making this guy and his teammates cry,&rsquo;&rdquo; Sherburne said.
UMBC players haven&rsquo;t had an in-person reunion, but Sherburne said players remain in touch on group texts.
Last week, Odom opened one of those texts to find players and assistant coaches reminiscing about star guard Jairus Lyles&rsquo; buzzer-beater to beat Vermont in the 2018 America East Conference Tournament championship game &mdash; a dramatic win that earned the Retrievers an automatic bid to the Big Dance.
Odom&rsquo;s eyes swelled up with tears as he scrolled through the comments and pictures.
&ldquo;Each team that we&rsquo;re fortunate enough to coach has one life to live,&rdquo; Odom said. &ldquo;That particular team lived a great life. The joy that that team experienced was unlike any other. Certainly the memories that we&rsquo;ll all take from that particular season will last a lifetime. This is what all coaches and players want: they want to be a part of March Madness and the upset.&rdquo;.

Thursday marks five years since the University of Maryland-Baltimore County had the biggest upset in college basketball history.

UMBC’s legacy: No. 1 can mean one-and-done in March Madness

USA Basketball put together different rosters for all six World Cup qualifying windows, and coach Jim Boylen noticed the same two things with each of those groups.
One, every player beamed when putting on the &ldquo;USA&rdquo; jersey for picture day. Two, by the third or fourth day of practice, the players were coaching each other.
It took 52 players and more than a year, but the job is done &mdash; USA Basketball is going to the World Cup in the Philippines this summer. The U.S. won&rsquo;t have to sweat it out this weekend when the final spots in the 32-team field get claimed, after rallying to beat Uruguay on Thursday and clinching a berth.
&ldquo;When they put on the USA jersey, the same jersey that LeBron James wore, the same jersey that Kobe Bryant wore, the same jersey of the senior men&rsquo;s national team, there&rsquo;s a joy from those guys unlike what I&rsquo;ve ever seen,&rdquo; Boylen said. &ldquo;And then it clicks: They&rsquo;ve reached a higher level of distinction and they&rsquo;ve got to come together. That&rsquo;s what happened.&rdquo;
Boylen has led the U.S. to a 9-2 record in qualifying, with one game left at Brazil on Sunday. It&rsquo;s meaningless, on paper, for the Americans, but could decide whether Brazil goes to the World Cup or not.
His efforts were lauded Friday by Steve Kerr, who will coach the roster of NBA players that the U.S. will take to the World Cup this summer.
&ldquo;Jim Boylen has done a great job with that whole group and they all go unheralded, and I just want take the time to say &lsquo;thank you&rsquo; as the coach of the team that will be playing in the World Cup this summer,&rdquo; said Kerr, the Golden State coach. &ldquo;My gratitude goes out to Jim and all the players.&rdquo;
For many of the U.S. players, Sunday could be the last time they play with &ldquo;USA&rdquo; on the front of the jersey. The World Cup roster will be filled by NBA players; the qualifying teams, with a handful of exceptions, were primarily players from the G League.
If the U.S. finishes as one of the best two teams from the Americas region in the World Cup, they&rsquo;ll also qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics. The Americans are the four-time defending Olympic champions. Kerr will again coach the Americans in the Olympics if they qualify, assisted by Miami&rsquo;s Erik Spoelstra, the Los Angeles Clippers&rsquo; Tyronn Lue and Gonzaga&rsquo;s Mark Few.
&ldquo;All I want them to do is take care of business,&rdquo; said guard Langston Galloway, who played in the most qualifying games for the U.S. over the last 15 months. &ldquo;I feel like I&rsquo;m part of their success to some extent. We&rsquo;ve done our job and now we hand it over to the next group and let them finish the job.&rdquo;
MELO ON BOARD
Carmelo Anthony was introduced in Manila on Friday as the newest FIBA World Cup Global Ambassador.
He said it was special to be picked for the role, especially since his close friend Kobe Bryant was an ambassador for the 2019 World Cup in China. Anthony said it was &ldquo;special to kind of follow what Kobe has created on a global scale.&rdquo;
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m sure he definitely would have been here with me, watching these games, coming over, hanging in the Philippines and just enjoying himself,&rdquo; Anthony said. &ldquo;For me, I can continue part of his legacy, but also establish what I have to establish for myself.&rdquo;
Anthony, a three-time Olympic champion, joins Pau Gasol and Luis Scola as ambassadors.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m glad we&rsquo;re not competing no more. We&rsquo;re on the same side now,&rdquo; Anthony said.
FIELD UPDATE
Jordan made the 32-team World Cup, clinching its spot Friday when New Zealand defeated Saudi Arabia.
Jordan is the seventh team to advance through the Asian Qualifiers, joining co-hosts Philippines and Japan, Lebanon, New Zealand, Australia and China. There is one spot left unclaimed from Asia, with Iran and Kazakhstan still in the running.
Also clinching on Friday were South Sudan and Egypt.
The other teams that have clinched so far:
Americas Region (7 spots)
In: USA, Canada.
Still in the race: Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico. Those last five spots will be decided Sunday.
Europe Region (12 spots)
In: Finland, Latvia, Germany, Greece, Slovenia, France, Lithuania, Spain, Italy.
Still in the race: Serbia, Belgium, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Georgia, Iceland.
Africa Region (5 spots)
In: Ivory Coast, South Sudan, Egypt.
Still in the race: Angola, Cape Verde, Nigeria, Senegal, Tunisia.

USA Basketball will compete in the World Cup in the Philippines this summer, and Carmelo Anthony was named an ambassador.

Team USA clinches World Cup berth; Carmelo Anthony named ambassador

Unless they&rsquo;ve played in the NBA, there aren&rsquo;t too many people on this planet who can say they&rsquo;ve had the opportunity to competitively share the floor with the one and only LeBron James in the prime of his career. Overseas professional Quincy Diggs is one of the few who has.
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Made him travel that's how good the defense was <a href="http://t.co/BI5cM24vFY">pic.twitter.com/BI5cM24vFY</a>
&mdash; Qdiggs (@Qdiggs13) <a href="https://twitter.com/Qdiggs13/status/637042674906869760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 27, 2015</a></blockquote>

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&ldquo;That shot he made on me was a travel. I'mma live with that until I'm dead,&rdquo; Diggs told Basketball News over the phone of his pinned Twitter post. &ldquo;That was a travel. I played great defense. I played great defense on the GOAT. I&rsquo;ll never forget that video."
Diggs remembers how this moment came about. Going into his second season at the University of Akron in 2011, then-head coach Keith Dambrot invited his former Saint Vincent-Saint Mary star to practice with the team and stay conditioned, as the NBA was trying to come up with a solution with the NBPA to end the league&rsquo;s lockout. LeBron practiced with the Zips for two weeks that summer, and on that particular day, bought Subway for the whole squad and hung out with the guys on campus.
&ldquo;That was a pretty dope experience. We got to see how he'd take care of his body &mdash; and to me, it makes sense why he's still playing these days because we've seen how he takes care of his body; after he practices, he's in the ice baths and then he stretches for an hour, so it definitely makes sense for me why he's still playing,&rdquo; Diggs said of LeBron, who is in his 20th NBA season and recently passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the all-time leading scorer in NBA history.
&ldquo;For him to be giving it back to us as well, teaching us the game and giving his little tips and pointers on how to stay aggressive, read the offense and take your time, that was really a truly amazing experience.&rdquo;
Twelve years later, living in Austria, Diggs proudly represents the United States as <a href="https://twitter.com/FIBA3x3/status/1616424615898669058?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FIBA&rsquo;s top American men&rsquo;s 3x3 player</a> on Team Vienna, the runner-up of the 2022 World Tour Finals. Impressively enough, it was his first season playing in this format professionally, and it all came about randomly. What started as a way to stay in shape over the summer worked out more positively in his favor than he could&rsquo;ve imagined.
&ldquo;I didn't know anything about it, 3x3. I was new to it. I said, 'Might as well try it out,' because I couldn't get a job at the time. A friend (Nico Kaltenbrunner) invited me, I tried it out and then, that led to becoming into a season. I didn't know 3x3 has a season. So I did good in the (Eubone Challenger) tournament. I ended up going to Paris. And then, the team actually wanted me to stay on their team permanently. So I said, 'I got nothing else to do, I'm down to play,'" Diggs said.
&ldquo;And so, we started racking in tournaments from all across the world. We started getting points 'cause we were winning and sometimes coming in second. Eventually, I didn't know anything about points being ranked, and then, I got a message randomly from a guy. It said, 'Hey man, you're the No. 1 player in the USA.' And there's a lot of people that play from the USA in these tournaments. Because we were winning and placing so high in tournaments, I racked up so many points so quickly that I became the No. 1. So that was pretty cool to see and notice. I didn't know anything about it, so it's pretty dope to be No. 1 in the United States (laughs)."
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/screenshot-2023-02-02-at-15-56-04-0f846cd1-a6ca-4bfe-aebf-ddccbded93f2-jpg-avif-image-1280-853-pixels-scaled-98_.png" alt="" width="685" height="343" />
According to <a href="https://worldtour.fiba3x3.com/2022/teams/891a3dd0-bcdf-4d82-bbee-0e7fcbf2eb22/players/af211ded-8450-4d0e-97b6-e2c5c99fa973" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FIBA&rsquo;s website</a>, Diggs registered 539,036 ranking points in 41 games played and is the 23rd-best player in the world overall. On the World Tour, he led Team Vienna with 61 defensive rebounds and shot 67% on one-pointers.
None of this would&rsquo;ve happened if it weren&rsquo;t for Kaltenbrunner&rsquo;s offer, and now, he&rsquo;s reunited with former foes from his days playing in Oberwart with the Redwell Gunners in his first professional season &mdash; Filip Kramer, Matthias Lenortner and Martin &ldquo;Marmak&rdquo; Trmal. Former No. 1 player in the 3x3 world Stefan Stojacic, known as &ldquo;Mr. Robot,&rdquo; came back from a serious knee injury and was in peak condition as well. Altogether, the five made up a well-oiled machine.
With his guys flanking him, Diggs was able to pick up a half-court, three-on-three environment. However, it didn&rsquo;t happen overnight.
&ldquo;The 3-v-3 is far different from 5-v-5. The first thing I learned is you've gotta be in great shape because the ball is nonstop. You're nonstop defense. You're nonstop offense. The only time you get a break is when somebody calls a timeout,&rdquo; Diggs said. &ldquo;Me being a 5-v-5 player... You definitely get your rest basically, but it's nonstop. [With] 5-v-5, I'm more of a transition player. I love to get out and run. So it was hard for me to adjust at first, but then I started to get the hang of it.&nbsp;
&ldquo;My teammates were helping me out &mdash; knowing the tricks, the stuff to do. Communication's important. It's three guys out there trying to compete and you've gotta have a lot of communication out there. So it's definitely an adjustment.&rdquo;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Whatever changes Diggs made most definitely worked. Not only can he boast his status at the top of the mountain representing America, he also has <a href="https://twitter.com/franfraschilla/status/1602092917941846016?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">garnered the attention</a> of Team USA&rsquo;s 3x3 decision-makers. With his success during the season and those tournaments, he received an email from the program.
&ldquo;That drew interest for the (Paris) Olympics, and my jaw just dropped when I heard that because it's always been a dream to try to play in the Olympics for like 5-v-5. But obviously, you have to be in the NBA, so they're not gonna take somebody off the streets,&rdquo; Diggs said. &ldquo;But just to hear that I can represent the country with a jersey with Team USA on the front is something I really want to accomplish and is a goal, and they're very interested in me right now.&nbsp;
&ldquo;So I talked to the director (Jay Demings), and it's been pretty dope. Now, it's the second chance in 2024 for 3x3 and everyone's trying to get points to qualify. I think since I had so many points is why they drew interest in me.&rdquo;
Latvia won gold in the inaugural 3x3 men&rsquo;s basketball tournament in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, while Team USA didn&rsquo;t qualify. That said, the popularity of FIBA&rsquo;s 3x3 league has skyrocketed.
It started in 2010 with the Youth Olympic Games, turned into a full-blown tour in 2012 and officially became an Olympic sport in 2017. Its social engagement increase is astounding, with nearly 2 million followers on Facebook, 452,000 YouTube subscribers and a whopping 362,000 followers on Instagram to name a few. Diggs is thankful he gets to play on such a stage.
&ldquo;It's becoming worldwide and it's growing tremendously each and every year. So it's pretty crazy,&rdquo; Diggs said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Quincy Diggs is TOO strong! 💪 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/3x3ChSacheon?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#3x3ChSacheon</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/3x3Challenger?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#3x3Challenger</a> <a href="https://t.co/5QF12lR385">pic.twitter.com/5QF12lR385</a>
&mdash; FIBA3x3 (@FIBA3x3) <a href="https://twitter.com/FIBA3x3/status/1581610906521174017?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 16, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Diggs doesn&rsquo;t take how he got to this point for granted. During his senior season with the Zips in 2013-14, Dambrot was positive he would get some looks from NBA teams and be invited to a few team workouts, and Diggs was eager to fulfill a lifelong dream when he heard that. However, it didn&rsquo;t work out that way. Once that realization kicked in, stress followed. Diggs didn&rsquo;t have an agent, and the summer approached quickly. While he was working his tail off, his phone remained silent.&nbsp;
Staying ready and working out, jobless, Diggs sat out for a whole year before the tide turned.
&ldquo;In 2015, I got my first call from a pro team from Austria (the Redwell Gunners),&rdquo; Diggs recalled. &ldquo;So they asked me, they said, 'Hey, we're interested in you. We saw your highlights from your college career and we'd like to give you a shot.' And then, that's when my career started for me and it's been a hell of a journey for sure."
It didn&rsquo;t take long for Diggs to put himself on the map with the Gunners. In his first year as a pro, he was instrumental in leading Redwell to an Austrian Bundesliga championship. Averaging 19.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.2 steals per contest on 47.7% from the field, Diggs took home both the ABL Rookie of the Year and ABL Most Valuable Player awards in 2015-16.
&ldquo;I was hungry. I was dedicated. I wanted to come compete,&rdquo; Diggs said. &ldquo;And then, I won the MVP, I won the championship and I won the Cup in that season. And then, I got a big offer from Germany and then, that's when my career started to elevate a little bit more and more each year. And now, I'm playing 3x3 and it's starting to elevate as well.&rdquo;
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/gepa_full_1837_gepa-26051688020-scaled.png" alt="" width="684" height="342" />
Diggs has been all over the globe. He was born in Wichita, KS, played high school ball in Plano, TX, began his college career in New Orleans, LA and ended it in Akron, OH. As a competitor, he's played in all sorts of environments, including The Basketball Tournament (TBT), a popular midsummer hoops event with $1 million on the line for the winning team.
As a pro, he&rsquo;s played for teams in Austria, Germany, France, Greece and the Czech Republic, and now he&rsquo;s back to where it all started with Redwell.&nbsp;
Currently, he&rsquo;s awaiting the 3x3 season to begin in May with Team Vienna (and the Gunners' season follows in August). To pass the time, Diggs is an avid gamer and loves to host Fortnite tournaments for money on his <a href="twitch.tv/qdiggs/hom" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitch channel</a>. He plays a lot of NBA 2K as well, and was recently asked by the game&rsquo;s developers to come back to the states to help with their motion-sensor process regarding signature moves. He&rsquo;ll be back this month to do that.
&ldquo;They said they see my videos and all that from my seasons and said, 'Hey we're interested. You can come to try to perform some stuff for us.' So I was like, 'Ay, of course I would.&rsquo; I never did anything like this, so this is why I'm saying it's pretty crazy. Probably because they heard of me after I put that stuff out with No. 1 player in America then. That's when they got interested. So I said, 'Hey, why not?&rsquo;&rdquo; Diggs said. &ldquo;First thing, the restaurant I'm going to is Chipotle (laughs).&rdquo;
If it&rsquo;s not obvious, Diggs is also quite the joker, oftentimes posting <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BYByWl2g-b_/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">comedic skits on his social channels</a>. He even admitted that he took acting classes at Akron and regrets not majoring in drama because post-career he&rsquo;d &ldquo;like to be in front of a camera after it&rsquo;s all said and done.&rdquo;
&ldquo;I like making people laugh. I'm seeing TikTok now and I'm just like, 'Man, I was doing this stuff way before TikTok,'&rdquo; Diggs quipped. &ldquo;I'm still trying to build it up and still send out some funny videos from time-to-time. But I enjoy doing stuff like that."
Soon turning 33, Diggs is proud of what he&rsquo;s been able to accomplish, and he&rsquo;s still processing being the No. 1 American player in 3x3. It&rsquo;s been a long, bumpy, oftentimes uncertain road for Diggs, but the fruits of his labor have paid off.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m just living that Europe life, playing basketball and doing something I love,&rdquo; Diggs said.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Can't complain."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
I enjoy giving back 💯 <a href="https://t.co/CdrsPA2acc">pic.twitter.com/CdrsPA2acc</a>
&mdash; Qdiggs (@Qdiggs13) <a href="https://twitter.com/Qdiggs13/status/1615837317847187456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 18, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Spencer Davies chats with FIBA's No. 1 American player in 3x3 competition Quincy Diggs about his basketball journey.

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