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Basketball News highlights the reporting, analysis and podcasts that defined a year of basketball in 2022.

Best of Basketball News: Spotlighting our top content from 2022

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

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

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

Keep track of where the top 2022 undrafted free agents are headed after draft night.

2022 NBA UDFA Tracker: Latest news on undrafted free agents

With a win over the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday at Mohegan Sun Arena, the Dallas Wings recorded their first victory over the Sun in 1,064 days and snapped a seven-game losing streak against them in the process.
The Wings have put together solid games already this season, splitting a pair of games with the Washington Mystics and getting out to their best start of the season (4-2 prior to Tuesday) since 2015.
I had this matchup circled for the past week. Every Wings game this season has provided bright flashes and glimpses of what they can be. Yet, outside of the two games with the Mystics, the Wings hadn&rsquo;t quite faced one of the elite tests in the league, and Connecticut provided that and then some.&nbsp;
We&rsquo;ve seen intrigue and enticement from this young roster for a few seasons now, and often the flashes have been ousted. Dallas was the youngest team in the league last season, and it often played out that way with exuberant highs and dreary lows.
Down 39-27 at the half with the offense stuck in the mud, I contemplated whether or not this Wings team would be much the same as last year. Dallas went on to outscore the Sun 58-38 in the second half, including a remarkable run late in the third quarter with Arike Ogunbowale on the bench.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
WNBA average roster age (Multiple games played, still on roster, 10 mpg or more) SEA - 30.2 PHX - 29.78 CHI - 28.77 CON - 28.3 MIN - 27.6 LV - 27.6 WAS - 27.45 NYL - 26.1 ATL - 25.9 LAS - 25.64 IND - 24.8 DAL - 24.4
&mdash; Mark Schindler (@MG_Schindler) <a href="https://twitter.com/MG_Schindler/status/1529467131066298368?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 25, 2022</a></blockquote>

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They&rsquo;re the youngest team yet again this season, but things feel different.&nbsp;
That second half was indicative of a team that finally was able to turn the page and cast aside some of the demons that plagued it last year. They didn&rsquo;t fold when they presented with perhaps their most difficult moment this year; down double-digits, on the road, against one of the best teams in the league.
Wings head coach Vickie Johnson echoed similar sentiments during her postgame availability.
&ldquo;The last five minutes, we are valuing the basketball more," Johnson said. "We have the patience to run our sets, to get good looks, we are not one pass, shot, like before. We have the patience to move the basketball and give up a good shot for a better shot. And now, we are knocking down open shots.&rdquo;
The Wings currently have the third-lowest turnover rate in the WNBA, per HerHoopStats. Ogunbowale and Marina Mabrey were dynamic Tuesday night by getting into their pull-up games out of pick-and-roll, but also blending their ability to get into the paint and collapse the defense.
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This play was huge last night and speaks greatly to what Coach Johnson discussed after the game. Not that this pass wasn&rsquo;t made last season, but it feels like trust is there more. This could have been a contested layup, and heck, Arike may have hit it because she&rsquo;s that nice. But to fully collapse the defense and then make them pay with the wide-open three was an awesome process.
On that aforementioned third-quarter run (with Arike on the bench), Johnson went to a lineup of Mabrey-Allisha Gray-Kayla Thornton-Satou Sabally-Isabelle Harrison, and it outscored the Sun by 8 points in a five-and-a-half-minute stretch, per InStat.
The Harrison-Sabally frontcourt has really impressed since the latter returned from overseas play. Per PBP Stats, in the 18 minutes the duo has shared the court, the Wings have a 35.3 Net Rating, absolutely blitzing opponents on offense and stifling them on defense. They both have intriguing skills and coordination off the bounce. They can run dribble handoffs and make quick passes.
Harrison&rsquo;s confidence and aggression has her top-20 in the league in free-throw attempts per game, and 12th in makes at the line on the season.
&ldquo;Playing for AU (Athletes Unlimited) in Vegas helped her to become more of a leader, to think through the game a little more&hellip; I expect a lot from her. I put a lot of pressure on her and she is doing an amazing job," Johnson said of Harrison.
"She&rsquo;s getting to her spots and finishing in the paint and... In the first half she took three jump shots, and I ripped her kind of hard because they don&rsquo;t fear her outside the lane, they fear you when you get to the lane and make your move. She is one of the players who has multiple moves inside, so now she just has to use it and not settle for jump shots.&rdquo;
Harrison and Sabally got to the line seven times in that third-quarter stretch, and their mobility and quickness really gave Brionna Jones and the Sun's frontcourt problems. Catching on the perimeter or out to the high post gave them enough space to slice to the interior and draw fouls or finish at the rim.
The defense of this unit was the icing on the cake, however.
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Just bask in and admire that activity. This Dallas team relies heavily on timely and proper peel switches, along with activity and mobility from the bigs playing the screen. They shrink the court to minimize interior penetration.
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The Sun go to empty pick-and-roll, and Jones pops after the screen for Williams. Harrison stunts and shows to stop a drive, Mabrey gets back in front and the ball is contained.
Note how Sabally also steps in on the back end to contain a potential drive from Jonquel Jones. Harrison then recovers out, and Jones takes the shot. It's not perfectly contested, but that's also part of the point; don't give up the middle.
Speaking of that peel switching, watch this.
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Alyssa Thomas sets a back screen on Harrison as Jones wheels to the opposite corner. Harrison calls for the peel switch, Mabrey takes Jones and Harrison takes Mabrey's assignment in Courtney Williams. The play with multiple back screens flattens out, but the Sun get the switch they're looking for with Jones on the much smaller Mabrey. Gray rotates over to help, forcing the rotation as the ball gets kicked to Natisha Hiedeman.
Harrison is already peeling to Hiedeman, and Williams relocates to the slot while DeWanna Bonner sinks to the corner and gets the ball on a skip. Sabally avoids the Thomas pin-in, closes to Bonner and stays in front, and Gray has already recovered back across the court to take Williams. Jonquel still has Mabrey isolated, and as soon as she gets the post-entry pass, the Wings sink in to help (probably a slight overhelp off of Thomas, part of why the rebound gets into her hands) and Gray zones up on the back end as the Wings end up forcing a turnover.
That is a stellar defensive possession. The amount of things going on in unison and as the play develops highlights how in sync this Wings team has been on that end. They certainly can still make mistakes, but they're becoming less frequent, and when it mattered most last night, they put together a dominant defensive stand.
Gray is coming for an All-Defensive Team, both in her own mission expressed this season and with her play. She's been forceful pressuring on the ball, developing into Dallas' go-to stopper. Her recovery skills have been arguably as, if not more, impressive. She took the primary assignment of an All-Star forward in Bonner, and, in spite of a sizable height disparity, routinely forced her into awkward shots and contested her well.
Gray is 4th in The W in blocks per game (1.9), a ridiculous number considering every player in the top 10 besides her plays the 4 or 5.
Johnson called Gray "probably the best two-way player in The W right now," and while I can't quite get there, she's making a case for certain as she puts together her best all-around season.
Everything is clicking, everyone is finding some sort of footing in the rotation, and the Wings are out to a great start.
It's early in the season to be sure, but this Dallas team has a different verve and readiness in Year 2 under Vickie Johnson, and Tuesday night was fully emblematic of it.
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The Dallas WIngs are now 5-2 after a signature win over the Connecticut Sun. Mark Schindler analyzes their hot start.

Great start by young Dallas Wings signals improved readiness

The NBA today announced that Portland Trail Blazers forward Carmelo Anthony, Sacramento Kings forward Harrison Barnes, Philadelphia 76ers forward Tobias Harris, Milwaukee Bucks guard Jrue Holiday and Golden State Warriors forward Juan Toscano-Anderson have been selected as the five finalists for the inaugural Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion award. The new annual award, named after six-time NBA champion and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, recognizes a current NBA player for pursuing social justice and advancing Abdul-Jabbar&rsquo;s life mission to engage, empower and drive equality for individuals and groups who have been historically marginalized or systemically disadvantaged.&nbsp;
The finalists for the award were selected from an impressive pool of NBA team nominees who have upheld the league&rsquo;s decades-long values of equality, respect and inclusion.&nbsp; The finalists were determined by a selection committee&nbsp;composed of Abdul-Jabbar, notable social justice leaders, including&nbsp;Director&nbsp;of The&nbsp;Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport Dr. Richard Lapchick, student activist Teyonna Lofton, National Urban League President and CEO Marc Morial,&nbsp;UnidosUS President and CEO&nbsp;Janet Murgu&iacute;a, Rise Founder and CEO Amanda Nguyen, and&nbsp;NBA Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer Mark Tatum.
Each finalist has selected an organization focused on advancing social justice that will receive a contribution on his behalf.&nbsp; The winner&rsquo;s selection will receive a $100,000 donation and the other four finalists will each receive a $25,000 contribution for a social justice organization of their choosing.
The winner will be announced prior to Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals on TNT.&nbsp; Below is more information about the finalists, including their respective efforts and selected beneficiaries, and additional details regarding the selection committee.
Carmelo Anthony, Portland Trail Blazers
A prolific champion in the social impact space, ten-time NBA All-Star Carmelo Anthony has been unabashedly vocal on how systemic oppression, racism and police brutality not only dehumanizes Black people, but prohibits the progress needed for generations of Black people to thrive and progress as a community.&nbsp; He founded the Carmelo Anthony Foundation over 15 years ago as a vehicle for actionable change and social reform through a variety of outreach programs and disaster relief initiatives.&nbsp; In 2020, he served as guest Editor-in-Chief for Slam Magazine&rsquo;s Special Social Justice Issue and established the Social Change Fund alongside fellow NBA greats to focus on investing in organizations addressing critical and timely issues impacting the Black community including expanding access to voting and civic engagement, education, employment, housing, economic equity, and representation in leadership.&nbsp; Anthony currently serves as a board member of the National Basketball Social Justice Coalition.
His work isn&rsquo;t just limited to reform in criminal justice, voting or race spaces, but he also developed an incubator program focused on creativity and the arts. &nbsp;Through his STAYME7O banner, Anthony established the STAYME7O Propel Program in 2020 as a way to tap into the creativity of Black culture through fashion, art and design to develop intricate pieces that honor a vision of&nbsp;Black&nbsp;excellence and inspire a culture to create&nbsp;and move further, together.&nbsp; This spring, Anthony also announced Creative 7, his global, multi-platform content company through which he has been developing a robust slate of projects that&nbsp;speak to the evolution of the human spirit through adversity, social activism and compelling, entertainment-forward storytelling.&nbsp; Anthony has selected&nbsp;the&nbsp;<a href="https://portlandartmuseum.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://portlandartmuseum.org/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1623513737585000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFYpq9TrITwg2RQK9JSfagXue-t0A">Portland Art Museum&rsquo;s Black Arts and Experiences Initiative</a>&nbsp;as the recipient of his donation.
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Harrison Barnes, Sacramento Kings
Over the last year Harrison Barnes has provided meaningful support to youth, families and frontline workers in Sacramento, Dallas and Ames, IA, and&nbsp;has also been a vocal advocate for voter rights, addressing systemic racism and investing in Black youth.&nbsp; Leading up to the 2020 election, he emphasized the importance of civic engagement and voting through speaking engagements, a collaboration with&nbsp;<a href="http://be.woke.vote/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://Be.Woke.Vote&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1623513737585000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHAwEmxFv8NeaxPMFtB-l_sJn-Lgg">Be.Woke.Vote</a>&nbsp;and casting a ballot himself on National Vote Early Day at Golden 1 Center. As part of the NBA restart, Barnes dedicated each Kings game to a different organization supporting racial justice &ndash; including the Trayvon Martin Foundation, the Botham Jean Foundation, The Atatiana Project, Mothers Against Police Brutality, the Michael Brown Foundation, Tamir Rice Foundation, Champion in the Making and the African American Policy Forum &ndash; and contributed $25,000 to those created by the families of victims of police brutality and gun violence.
In October, he was named to the NBA Foundation&rsquo;s inaugural Board of Directors, helping to guide its effort to further economic empowerment in the Black community and in February, Barnes announced his partnership with Goalsetter, a Black-owned finance app that provides an education-first banking experience, to open saving accounts for 500 youth from Build.Black. in Sacramento and TL Marsalis Elementary in Dallas.&nbsp; He also launched a series entitled &ldquo;<a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.instagram.com/tv/CMUxqkEDsNA/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link__;!!PMETyfE!ZDDKwXjBncNGIltP-I1zSE6Ocp2vfJKWWTXUKVKyHIWNUcYTGip-GFMF9cA$" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.instagram.com/tv/CMUxqkEDsNA/?utm_source%3Dig_web_copy_link__;!!PMETyfE!ZDDKwXjBncNGIltP-I1zSE6Ocp2vfJKWWTXUKVKyHIWNUcYTGip-GFMF9cA$&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1623513737585000&amp;usg=AFQjCNF-SR7hwbNVH-6HHGmJ4lIryH9TGA">Conversations with Harrison</a>,&rdquo; in which he speaks with nonprofit and community leaders, educators, athletes, elected officials and business leaders to promote their work and bring attention to their causes.&nbsp;&nbsp;Barnes has selected&nbsp;<a href="https://policingequity.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://policingequity.org/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1623513737585000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFWFky7NK3nNBPEqvlc34ZxZj_7Dg">Center for Policing Equity</a>&nbsp;as the recipient of his donation.
Tobias Harris, Philadelphia 76ers
As a longtime advocate for social justice, Tobias Harris has been particularly focused on eliminating racial inequities within school systems that have historically harmed young people of color.&nbsp; To date through the Tobias Harris Charitable Fund, he has awarded $2 million dollars to help move the needle on educational equity.&nbsp; This year, he awarded $300,000 to The Fund for the School District of Philadelphia to recruit teachers from HBCUs or diverse backgrounds &ndash; who are more likely to carry higher student loan balances following graduation &ndash; and provide relocation stipends to prevent barriers of quality Black teachers in the classroom.&nbsp; Harris also created the Tobias&rsquo; Top Teachers program, to assist in the recruitment and retention of Black male teachers by helping fund 55 professional development workshops and providing 800 new teachers with needed classroom supplies.&nbsp; Additionally, through his Lit Labs program that focuses on improving reading scores among students of diverse backgrounds, he distributed 30,000 books to 8,000 Philadelphia children to prevent summer reading gaps and helped improve the average rate gain for young scholars by 70%.
Throughout 2020, Harris used his voice and platform to speak out against systemic injustice and racism, marching in protest of police brutality, calling for reform while in the NBA Bubble and reflecting on racial injustice in The Players&rsquo; Tribune.&nbsp; With actionable change at the center of his efforts, Harris led conversations with teammates and helped launch the VOTE 76 initiative to encourage civic engagement. He was also named as one of two player representatives to the NBA Foundation board, which aims to create greater economic opportunity for Black youth through employment and career advancement.&nbsp;&nbsp;Harris has selected&nbsp;<a href="http://thefundsdp.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://thefundsdp.org/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1623513737585000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEN6_gT0lgvFAla4HBOTQRjOoC2zw">Fund for the School District of Philadelphia</a>&nbsp;as the recipient of his donation.&nbsp;
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Jrue Holiday, Milwaukee Bucks
A longtime advocate for social justice, this past year Jrue Holiday has focused on creating economic opportunity and empowerment in communities of color.&nbsp; Last summer, Holiday pledged the remainder of his 2020 NBA salary to create The Jrue and Lauren Holiday Social Justice Fund, which seeks to combat systemic racism and increase economic equality by providing funding and support to Black-led organizations and businesses.&nbsp; Earlier this season, the fund announced support for 25 nonprofits and historically Black institutions, as well as 23 Black-owned small businesses in Los Angeles, New Orleans and Indianapolis.
In the fall of 2020, Jrue and his wife, Lauren, also partnered with the Wisconsin Women&rsquo;s Business Initiative Corporation to identify small, women- and Black-owned businesses most in need of assistance.&nbsp; After reviewing grant requests, the Holiday family announced funding for seven local businesses in January: Amri Counseling Services, Carter&rsquo;s Quality Care, Hands at Home, Jamaican Season Island Restaurant, Kid&rsquo;s Kingdom, Legacy Home Health Services and The SW.&nbsp; Beyond financial support, the Holidays provide coaching for the JLH Fund grantees to expand funding opportunities and community engagement and work with Microsoft&rsquo;s Nonprofit Tech Acceleration for Black &amp; African American Communities so that all recipients can also receive technology and support services.&nbsp; In Spring 2021, the Holidays opened the second round of applications and surprised a young man&nbsp;battling sickle cell anemia with tickets to a Bucks game in efforts to support the young man and bring awareness to the disorder that disproportionately impacts Black Americans.&nbsp;&nbsp;Holiday has&nbsp;selected&nbsp;<a href="https://expowisconsin.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://expowisconsin.org/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1623513737585000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGx8YxmJHtj_VW8sgElmIMsNmoXcw">EXPO of Wisconsin</a>&nbsp;as the recipient&nbsp;of his donation.
Juan Toscano-Anderson, Golden State Warriors
Juan Toscano-Anderson, whose parents are Black and Mexican American, is focused on empowerment for Latino and Black communities and established the Journey to Achieve (JTA) Foundation to give back to youth and families of color in the Bay Area, Santa Cruz and Mexico.&nbsp; The Oakland native has continued to use his voice&nbsp;to advocate for&nbsp;social justice&nbsp;and equality&nbsp;in the Bay Area.&nbsp;&nbsp;Toscano-Anderson participated in the Warriors&rsquo; VOTERS Win campaign &ndash; a PSA to encourage Black and Latino citizens to vote in the 2020 election and fill out the census &ndash; and led two Walk in Unity events in Oakland, bringing people together to combat oppression, police brutality and social injustice.
To create opportunity and empower young people of color this past year, he has discussed biases with 6th&nbsp;grade students in San Francisco, spoken to more than 3,000 African youth about his journey and overcoming obstacles and supported Digital Nest, a local nonprofit focused on empowering Latinx professionals, in a live Q&amp;A where he discussed his childhood, basketball career and the pride he felt in playing with the Mexican National Team.&nbsp; In continued efforts to support the Latinx community, he addressed more than 2,000 people in Spanish at the D&iacute;a De Los Muertos Film Festival in Watsonville and purchased equipment and materials for&nbsp;Fundacion&nbsp;Unidos Por&nbsp;Chavinda in his family&rsquo;s hometown that provides medicine and food for senior citizens and supports development and life skills for youth.&nbsp;&nbsp;Toscano-Anderson has selected&nbsp;<a href="http://www.homiesempowerment.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.homiesempowerment.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1623513737585000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFxXidiTpSAFQ2VPJn9JsxFGb-Ucg">Homies Empowerment</a>&nbsp;as the recipient of his donation.

Carmelo Anthony, Tobias Harris, Jrue Holiday, Harrison Barnes and Juan Toscano-Anderson are the finalists for the annual award.

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Prior to this year's NBA Trade Deadline, BasketballNews.com rounded up its writers and asked them to share their thoughts and predictions ahead of Thursday's flurry of moves. Over the next few days, we'll be dropping a number of these Roundtable articles. Today, we asked our staffers:&nbsp;
Which team should be a seller?
Nekias Duncan: Aside from Toronto, it would be nice to see the Orlando Magic finally sell off some stuff. Aaron Gordon isn&rsquo;t a long-term fit, nor is Terrence Ross, Evan Fournier, Khem Birch&hellip; you get my drift. It&rsquo;s time to make some moves so that a long-term vision for this roster can become clear. Right now, there&rsquo;s no telling what the Magic are even trying to do.
Alex Kennedy: The Detroit Pistons have the second-worst record in the NBA at 12-31, and the team clearly isn't going to be competing for a playoff spot in the near future. With that in mind, I'd be looking to move veterans like Wayne Ellington (33 years old), Mason Plumlee (31) and Rodney McGruder (29) for young players and draft picks. Moving Derrick Rose for Dennis Smith Jr. and a second-round pick was smart; that's exactly what this team should be doing. I loved the addition of Hamidou Diallo too. We'll see if Detroit continues to make these kinds of moves on Thursday.
Spencer Davies: You almost have to preface that question with its own question: &ldquo;Who has assets?&rdquo; It&rsquo;s no secret that the Houston Rockets want to get the most they can for Victor Oladipo. We&rsquo;ve heard the rumblings surrounding the Orlando Magic with Aaron Gordon and Evan Fournier, as that era is likely coming to an end. Are the Sacramento Kings going to continue on that same path? Because Buddy Hield and Harrison Barnes are good pieces that could return some value. It also wouldn&rsquo;t be surprising to see the Toronto Raptors cash in on Norman Powell&rsquo;s career season, as he&rsquo;s going to look for a big pay day in the summer.
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Chris Sheridan: The Orlando Magic. John Hammond needs to keep Nikola Vucevic and get whatever he can for Aaron Gordon and Evan Fournier to engineer a quick rebuild built around Vuc, Jonathan Issac and Markelle Fultz. The Magic were a Murphy's Law victim this season, but even at full strength were never going to be a championship contender. They need one or two good, young coachable wing players and an extra first-round pick. Gordon is in demand, and I expect Hammond to be able to get good value in return -- the type of value that enables a quick turnaround.
Moke Hamilton: If you&rsquo;re a team that&rsquo;s under .500 without at least one young superstar-caliber player who can conceivably lead you to the playoffs, then you should be a seller. The Rockets seem to qualify, as do the Wizards and Magic. If I had to pick one, I&rsquo;d probably go with the Magic, though. You can only try with Nikola Vucevic and Aaron Gordon for so long before you decide to go in another direction, and each have enough value to get a decent return back in a potential deal. The Wizards at least have Brad Beal (and Russell Westbrook), while Houston has assembled a nice collection of future draft picks in recent months. It might be time for Orlando to embrace rebuilding (again) around Markelle Fultz and whichever of Cole Anthony, Jonathan Isaac or Mo Bamba gives them the look and feel of a cornerstone.
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Jannelle Moore: I think the Toronto Raptors should sell. Kyle Lowry will be a unrestricted free agent after the season and their best bet is trading him now to get a player (and picks) to help them rather than letting him walk in the offseason without getting anything in return.&nbsp;
Ethan Fuller: This might be an off-beat pick, but the Indiana Pacers should absolutely sell. They are another East contender under .500, but don't have the star power to inspire confidence. What they do have are a number of solid rotation pieces (Myles Turner, Doug McDermott, Jeremy Lamb, Justin Holiday, T.J. McConnell and more) who could help teams chasing a title. It's time for Indiana to reload the prospect chest and raise the franchise's ceiling.
Danny Cunningham: The Toronto Raptors should be sellers this year, although it&rsquo;s unlikely that will actually happen. Banners hang forever, and that franchise will always have the magical playoff run of 2019, but it&rsquo;s probably time for Masai Ujiri to examine what the future of the team looks like and put in place building blocks around Pascal Siakam to try and open up another window of contention, because this just isn&rsquo;t their year.
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Jonathan Concool: The Orlando Magic. It&rsquo;s time to move on from Nikola Vucevic and Aaron Gordon. These guys are far too talented to be wasting their primes on a team that hasn&rsquo;t won a playoff series since 2010. Orlando could get real assets in return and start rebuilding from scratch, as a fresh start is desperately needed down in Central Florida.
Sharon Brown: I believe the San Antonio Spurs might be sellers and will finally get with the youth movement. LaMarcus Aldridge already isn't with the team. Is it possible that we could see them part ways with DeMar Derozan, Rudy Gay and/or Patty Mills next?
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MORE ROUNDTABLES:&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-trade-deadline-roundtable-will-this-be-an-active-trade-deadline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Will this be an active trade deadline?</a>&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-trade-deadline-roundtable-who-is-the-biggest-name-that-will-be-moved" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Who's the biggest name that will be dealt?</a>
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<div class="css-1dbjc4n r-1habvwh r-i023vh"><a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-trade-deadline-roundtable-which-team-is-in-desperate-need-of-a-trade" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Which team desperately needs a trade?</a></div>
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As the NBA trade deadline approaches, which teams should be sellers? BasketballNews.com's staff shares their thoughts!

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NBA Trade Deadline Roundtable: Which team should be a seller?