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Bucks

<div>The Indiana Pacers medical team decided to clear Tyrese Haliburton to play in Game 7 of the NBA Finals despite an existing calf strain and that blunder resulted in a torn Achilles tendon. While understandable given the gravity of the situation, that decision proved to be very costly for not only the organization as a whole but more importantly to Tyrese Haliburton as it was just announced that he would miss the entire 2025/2026 season due to a torn achilles.&nbsp;</div>
<p><img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/3-etan-thomas-1_690w.jpeg" alt="" /></p>
<div>In contrast, this past summer, my daughter Imani Thomas class of 2026 was faced with a very difficult decision to play through an injury at Nationals and risk further more severe injury.&nbsp;</div>
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<div>Here&rsquo;s the story: &nbsp;</div>
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<div>Imani had played through shin splints for the entire travel season with her team Maryland Juniors. These shin splints actually developed during her junior year high school season with Bishop McNamara, but she is a soldier and she pushed through like all athletes do.&nbsp;</div>
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<div>However, toward the end of her travel season, the shin splints continued to get worse. She did constant treatment and even started over compensating to protect her shin splints until one practice she could barely move. The assistant coach (Coach Ashley Williams) came up to me and said,&nbsp;</div>
<div>&ldquo;Imani is a beast, and she is not going to stop playing no matter what I tell her. But you need to get this checked out because it&rsquo;s visibly getting worse&rdquo;&nbsp;</div>
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<div>So me and my wife Nichole took her to get X Rays and a MRI and it was discovered that her shin splints had turned into a stress fracture.&nbsp;</div>
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<div>She was devastated. Nationals were coming up and like any athlete she contemplated just sucking it up and playing through the pain.&nbsp;</div>
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<div>The doctor was honest with us. He explained to us that if Imani was playing soccer, he would definitely not clear her to play because the likelihood of her getting kicked in her stress fracture was relatively high. If she played football or rugby or any contact sport, he would also not clear her. But she plays volleyball, and the likelihood of her getting kicked in her stress fracture was very low.&nbsp;</div>
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<div><img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/3-etan-thomas-6_690w.jpeg" alt="" /></div>
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<div>However, if she landed wrong, the impact could be just as severe as if she got kicked. Then he asked how her mechanics were and I told him that she had been over compensating for quite some time. She&rsquo;s been pushing through and getting a lot of treatment but she has been in pain for a long time. And the doctor said honestly, it&rsquo;s a decision you have to make for her. She is going to want to risk it all and play. That&rsquo;s how athletes are.&nbsp;</div>
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<div>So we talked to Imani, explained the risks, and together we came to the decision that it would be best to sit out.&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>And it was a very difficult process for her as it would be for any athlete but long term over short term was what was important.&nbsp;</div>
</div>
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<div>Now, back to Tyrese Haliburton.</div>
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<div>NBA fans across the world witnessed what would have been a story of triumph. One for the archives of NBA history. The storyline would&rsquo;ve been.... Facing elimination in the NBA playoffs in a pivotal Game 7, Tyrese Haliburton battles through injury with superhuman perseverance and in heroic fashion to save the Pacers and propel them into victory solidifying this as one of the greatest finals performances in the history of the NBA. They probably would&rsquo;ve had a picture of Haliburton with a Superman emblem on his chest and a cape under his Warriors uniform. Would&rsquo;ve had his dad holding the same Pacers towel he waved in front of Giannis next to his son with the trophy. Would&rsquo;ve been a sportswriters dream as so many angles could&rsquo;ve been covered and explored.</div>
<div>
<p>People love stories of heroics. Isiah Thomas hobbling around on one foot in game 6 of the 1988 NBA Finals against the Lakers and scoring 25 points in the 3rd quarter. Or Willis Reed walking out of the tunnel for the New York Knicks on his bum ankle in Game 7 of the 1970 Finals. Everything was set up for Haliburton to be added to that list.</p>
<p>High school, college and professional coaches across the country were just salivating to be able to use this as an example to their players to enforce the philosophy that &ldquo;pain is weakness leaving your body&rdquo;. They would&rsquo;ve used Haliburton as an example to young athletes that the game (not your health) is what matters most. And a real &ldquo;team player&rdquo; would sacrifice a &ldquo;little discomfort&rdquo; for their team.</p>
<p>I have seen this all before. During my tenure with the Washington Wizards, I witnessed team trainer Eric Waters misdiagnose player after player because what was best for the Wizards organization was for that player to play.</p>
<p>I saw Richard Hamilton go off on the entire training staff after he learned that&nbsp;he had been playing through a torn groin, only disclosed to him after the team was out of playoff contention. He had been complaining about his groin for weeks and the trainers were giving him treatment two and three times a day all the while knowing his groin was torn, but they wanted to push for the playoffs so they didn&rsquo;t tell him.&nbsp;</p>
<p><img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/3-etan-thomas-3_690w.jpeg" alt="" /></p>
<p>I saw them tell Jarvis Hayes that he simply had a case of &ldquo;tendinitis&rdquo; in his knee and had him playing through the pain. Turned out he had a broken knee cap and ruined his entire career.&nbsp;</p>
<p>I saw them tell Kwame Brown that he was just experiencing a &ldquo;little discomfort&rdquo; in his leg and that he needed to play through the pain to show everyone that he was worthy of being the number 1 pick. Turned out later, he actually had a torn hamstring.&nbsp;</p>
<p><img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/3-etan-thomas-4_690w.jpeg" alt="" /></p>
<p>I saw Eric Waters tell Deshawn Stevenson there was nothing seriously wrong with his back and had him getting ice and stem and playing through the pain. After the season, upon further review by an outside doctor it was discovered that he actually had an Inflamed L5 Nerve that was stuck underneath a disc that required not one but two back surgeries to repair.&nbsp;</p>
<p>My point in saying all of this is not to simply blast Eric Waters, I am showing that this happens all the time in professional sports. With team doctors and trainers, there is a conflict of interest and the sworn medical oath becomes blurred and effects their diagnoses. They are hired by the teams and are in essence employees of the organization not employees of the players. So they don&rsquo;t have the players best interest in mind, typically, they only have the organization&rsquo;s.</p>
<p>The Indiana Pacers medical staff basically RG3&rsquo;d Haliburton. They &ldquo;Any Given Sunday&rsquo;d&rdquo; him. They Eric Waters&rsquo;d him.</p>
<p><img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/3-etan-thomas-5_690w.jpeg" alt="" /></p>
<p>He shouldn&rsquo;t have been playing period.</p>
<p>The risks outweighed the rewards. Even from a team standpoint. This is your franchise player. This is a player who has the capability of single handedly turning an entire NBA championship finals series around. This is a player that you should&rsquo;ve done everything in your power to convey to him how important he is long term for them and how much they value his health and are looking out for his best interest etc etc. However, what they showed was the exact opposite.&nbsp;</p>
<p>It doesn&rsquo;t matter if Haliburton insisted on playing in Game 7, just like it didn&rsquo;t matter if Imani insisted on playing in Nationals.&nbsp;Sometimes, when it comes to their health, athletes need people to make the decision for them. That&rsquo;s our job as parents and we did that. That was also the job of the Pacers medical team, and they did not have the medical integrity to do that.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Imani had her boot off now and is starting rehab and will be back full strength in a few weeks. Haliburton&rsquo;s calf strain turned into a ruptured Achilles and he will have to sit out the entire 2025/2026 season.&nbsp;</p>
<p>In explaining the difference in how me and my wife Nichole handled her injury vs how the Pacers medical staff handled his, I started singing, &ldquo;They Not Like Us&rdquo; A Dad joke that fell flat with Imani but I don&rsquo;t care it was a good joke.&nbsp;</p>
<p>But in all seriousness, I hope all young players see this and learn that no matter what the circumstances or how big the game is, your health always comes first, and you ALWAYS get a 2nd opinion from your own doctors that have nothing to do with the organization like Kawhi Leonard did in San Antonio his last season there.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Let me refresh everyone&rsquo;s memory.</p>
<p>Everyone with a microphone dogged Kawhi that season. Skip Bayless was still going on his hateful rants and baseless criticisms of Kawhi even after the Raptors beat the 76ers in the playoffs.</p>
<p>Skip Bayless tweeted out</p>
<p>&ldquo;Well, I guess it worked for No. 2 to quit on the Spurs last season complaining of what Spurs doctors decided was no more than a thigh bruise. He wound up in the East, playing against a hobbled, sick Embiid and an overrated Giannis. "Crime" pays.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Kawhi delt with Coach Popovich taking shots at him, his teammates taking shots at him, the team questioning his injury because their &ldquo;team doctors&rdquo; said he was fine. But he got a 2nd opinion and was told otherwise and did what was in his best interest. Danny Green was reportedly playing through a torn groin after being misdiagnosed by the same team doctors that misdiagnosed Kawhi.</p>
<p>And the Spurs are one of the most respected organizations in the NBA with one of the most respected coaches in the NBA. But, the bottom line is, any organization will throw you out there in a heartbeat injured if they feel it is best for the organization. They will publicly criticize you if you don&rsquo;t play and if you play and re-injure yourself worst or just don&rsquo;t play up to their expectations (as if they don&rsquo;t know your playing injured) they will get rid of you in a New York minute just like The Washington Commanders did RG3 and just like the Washington Wizards did with Jarvis Hayes.</p>
<p>I remember watching Grant Hill. He was about to literally take over the league.</p>
<p>People were calling him out for not playing hurt. Said he was soft, overrated etc etc just like they were saying about Haliburton before he shut them all up this playoff series.</p>
<p>The Orlando medical staff derailed Grant&rsquo;s entire career.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Another example is the young Isiah Thomas. He shouldn&rsquo;t have been playing in Boston in the playoffs but he played, ended up hurting himself more, ended up needing surgery, cost himself 100 million dollars came back and played after losing his sister and they traded him that summer because they knew about his injury and knew that he needed surgery.</p>
<p><img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/3-etan-thomas-8_690w.jpeg" alt="" /></p>
<p>Kyrie Irving goes and gets a 2nd opinion and they say you need surgery, the Celtics doctors didn&rsquo;t tell him he needed surgery, so he had his surgery and came back the next year strong. There is a reoccurring theme here.</p>
<p>I immediately called my son Malcolm who is working hard at The University Of Dayton right now as I write this article I hope he learned the lesson in what just happened to Haliburton. Told my daughter Baby Sierra and Imani the entire way to school yesterday, like literally the whole entire way I was going on an endless rant.</p>
<p>Told them stories of Eric Waters and Ernie Grunfeld trying to get me to take a cortisone shot in my pubic bone and go out an play when I was suffering an abdominal strain that kept me sidelined for an extended period of time. But also how the 2nd opinion I received from my doctor was that if I did that, I would almost certainly hurt myself worse because the Cortisone show wouldn&rsquo;t exceed the healing process, it was just make it so I didn't feel the pain.&nbsp;</p>
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<p>But just think of it logically, your body sends pain signals to you when something is hurting to let you know to stop doing that. If you block that signal, you won&rsquo;t feel the warning you&rsquo;re supposed to feel. Made perfect sense to me so I told them no. And sure they tried to put pressure on me and have a beat writer pressure me through the power of the pin in a few articles (no I didn&rsquo;t have any actual proof of this but the timing and coincidence was way too convenient so I&rsquo;ll say &ldquo;allegedly&rdquo; had a beat writer pressure me through the media). But the end result was me standing firm and telling them no, I can&rsquo;t go.</p>
<p>However, the onus shouldn&rsquo;t be placed on the athlete&rsquo;s shoulders. Of course athletes are going to want to play but it shouldn&rsquo;t be up to them. A solution to this league wide issue was suggested to me by a lawyer by the name of Marlon Amprey. He explained that the Players Association should assemble a group of outside doctors/specialists (or specific doctors/specialists the player suggests) that have no connection to the team whatsoever.</p>
<p>That will provide 2nd &amp; 3rd opinions and give players detailed reports on their health and risk of injury. All doctors&rsquo; reports given by teams that drastically differ should go under review and there should be repercussions for team doctors and trainers who medically clear players who shouldn&rsquo;t be medically cleared to play.</p>
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The Indiana Pacers medical team decided to clear Tyrese Haliburton to play in Game 7 of the NBA Finals despite an existing calf strain.

The Indiana Pacers RG3’d Tyrese Haliburton

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In a postseason filled with emotion, grit, and resolve, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has stood at the center of it all &ndash; he&rsquo;s calm, composed, and unrelenting. Now, two games into his first NBA Finals appearance, the Oklahoma City Thunder&rsquo;s All-NBA superstar is putting the finishing touches on a masterpiece of a season, one that could go down as one of the greatest individual campaigns in league history.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With 34 points in Game 2 of the 2025 NBA Finals, following up a 38-point performance in the series opener, Gilgeous-Alexander has the Thunder in a great position to win a title, and he has cemented his place in rarified air. His 72 combined points are the most ever in a player&rsquo;s first two NBA Finals games, eclipsing a mark previously associated with some of the game&rsquo;s all-time greats.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">And he&rsquo;s not done just yet.</span></p>
<h3><strong>Elite company, historic pace</strong></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the postseason, every possession carries weight, and every moment is magnified. But for Gilgeous-Alexander, these moments don&rsquo;t appear to faze him. He&rsquo;s not just rising to the occasion &ndash; he&rsquo;s controlling it.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Game 2's 34-point outing marked his ninth consecutive home playoff game with 30 points or more, joining only Wilt Chamberlain in NBA history to accomplish that feat. In doing so, he also notched his 11th playoff game with at least 30 points and five assists, a stat line that only LeBron James and Michael Jordan have reached in multiple postseason runs.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">LeBron did it in three separate years. MJ did it in two. Shai&rsquo;s doing it this year.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">His consistent brilliance has propelled him to the top of the 2025 playoff scoring leaderboard. With 516 total points, he recently passed Jalen Brunson (514) for the most points scored in this year&rsquo;s postseason. He&rsquo;s doing it efficiently, artistically &ndash; and with the kind of poise that makes it clear: this is his moment.</span></p>
<h3><strong>The MVP is carrying like an MVP</strong></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Thunder have been one of the NBA&rsquo;s most compelling stories all year &ndash; a young, unselfish team loaded with talent, built through the draft, and molded into a contender. But in the crucible of the playoffs, every great team needs that singular force &ndash; that player who can tilt the court, break a defense, and change the game&rsquo;s emotional temperature.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is that force for Oklahoma City.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After leading the league in scoring during the regular season and earning All-NBA First Team honors, he was named the 2025 NBA MVP &mdash; a recognition of his two-way dominance and night-to-night consistency. And now, as the lights burn brighter, he&rsquo;s gone from award-winner to tone-setter.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He&rsquo;s playing with a purpose that goes beyond personal accolades. He&rsquo;s the heartbeat of a team chasing history, and he&rsquo;s doing it in the most demanding stage of all.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">What&rsquo;s perhaps most impressive is how SGA has handled each phase of the journey with equal parts humility and hunger. His playoff run has been defined not just by numbers, but by moments &ndash; dagger shots, crafty finishes, fourth-quarter takeovers, and calm in chaos. He hasn't just been great &ndash; he's been inevitable.</span></p>
<h3><strong>A season for the ages</strong></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Gilgeous-Alexander&rsquo;s latest performance gave him over 3,000 total points on the season &ndash; combining regular-season and playoff scoring &ndash; another milestone in a campaign already overflowing with them.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">To put this into perspective: he could complete the kind of six-for-six checklist that only a handful of players in NBA history have even dreamed of &ndash; league scoring champion, regular-season MVP, All-NBA First Team, Western Conference Finals MVP, NBA champion, and Finals MVP &ndash; all in a single season.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Each of those achievements alone is significant. Together, they form a portrait of a transcendent season &ndash; the kind of year that defines legacies and reshapes the league&rsquo;s power structure.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Thunder&rsquo;s rise from rebuilding team to Finals frontrunner has been sudden to some, but internally, it&rsquo;s been calculated and patient. Still, without Gilgeous-Alexander, their timeline likely looks different. He&rsquo;s the player who made their future arrive early &ndash; and now, he might be the one who delivers their first title since the franchise moved to Oklahoma City.</span></p>
<h3><strong>Beyond the numbers</strong></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">What sets Gilgeous-Alexander apart, especially in this Finals run, is not just what he&rsquo;s doing &ndash; it&rsquo;s how he&rsquo;s doing it.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">His game is quiet but surgical. He doesn&rsquo;t overpower defenders with brute strength or dazzle with deep threes. Instead, he picks his spots, manipulates angles, and imposes his rhythm. There&rsquo;s a jazz-like quality to his game &ndash; unpredictable, fluid, yet meticulously controlled.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In clutch time, he&rsquo;s been near automatic. Whether it&rsquo;s using his footwork to dance into mid-range jumpers or drawing contact for crucial free throws, SGA has been the ultimate closer for a Thunder team that continues to rise to every challenge.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It&rsquo;s that unselfishness, combined with his relentless work ethic and stoic demeanor, that has endeared him to teammates and fans alike. There&rsquo;s an old soul quality to SGA&rsquo;s approach &ndash; a maturity that belies his age and a leadership style rooted in accountability, not noise.</span></p>
<h3><strong>The final step</strong></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Now just three wins away from basketball immortality, Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder find themselves on the brink of a championship. But the job&rsquo;s not finished.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The NBA Finals will shift to the opposing city for Games 3 and 4, where the pressure will mount, the crowd will roar louder, and the resistance will tighten. The margins will be razor-thin. But if this postseason has shown anything, it&rsquo;s that Gilgeous-Alexander has the heart, the game, and the will to push through.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This run has already carved his name into the record books. What comes next could define the start of SGA and the Thunder&rsquo;s era.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">And for a Thunder team guided by youth and galvanized by Shai&rsquo;s leadership, the future isn&rsquo;t just bright &mdash; it&rsquo;s arriving right now.</span></p>

SGA is delivering one of the greatest playoff runs in NBA history, leading the Thunder while making MVP-level history along the way.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander delivers MVP-level heroics in first NBA Finals trip

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In recent years, Japan has started to solidify its place on the global basketball map. The steady ascent began with Rui Hachimura making waves as a lottery pick and has since been sustained by the lengthy presence of Yuta Watanabe in the NBA. But the next chapter in Japan's basketball story is being authored by two rising stars with very different paths in young stars Keisei Tominaga and Yuki Kawamura.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Each player represents a different style, personality, and journey, but their shared goal is clear: to make a name for themselves in the NBA while pushing Japanese basketball into its most promising era yet and a chance to dominate Asia for years to come. Together, they are leading the next wave of Japanese basketball, a movement that could define a golden era for the nation&rsquo;s hoops culture.</span></p>
<h3><strong>Keisei Tominaga: From Nebraska star to NBA dreamer</strong></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Nicknamed the &ldquo;Japanese Steph Curry,&rdquo; Keisei Tominaga became a sensation at the University of Nebraska with his deep range, fiery swagger, and clutch shooting. Whether it was a pull-up three in transition or a quick-trigger release from the corner, the crowd inside Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska always knew when the ball left his hands that it had a real chance of going in.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Though Tominaga went undrafted in the 2024 NBA Draft, he quickly landed a spot on a G-League roster and continued to work toward his NBA dream. His shooting alone makes him a prospect worth watching, but his personality and work ethic make him even more compelling.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">That electricity was on full display at the 2024 FIBA Intercontinental Cup in Singapore. It was last September that I had the opportunity to interview Tominaga, where he drew thunderous applause every time he launched a three. His team had just wrapped up a game, and even though he wasn&rsquo;t entirely pleased with his performance, he still flashed that signature optimism and drive. There, I caught up with him to talk about the experience and his aspirations.</span></p>
<p><strong>Q: Every time you shoot a three, fans are anticipating the ball coming in. You made a three and the arena went crazy. How was it like playing here in Singapore and with your fans in Asia and the love that they showed you out here?</strong><strong><br /></strong><strong>Tominaga:</strong><span style="font-weight: 400;"> &ldquo;You know, it means a lot to me. You see, you hear the crowd when I make the shot. I&rsquo;m super happy for it but I gotta be better for everything. But you know it was a great, great experience for me.&rdquo;</span></p>
<p><strong>Q: Obviously you&rsquo;ve struggled shooting the ball, but how would you rate your performance personally in this tournament?</strong><strong><br /></strong><strong>Tominaga:</strong><span style="font-weight: 400;"> &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think I did a good job, you know, the way enough the way I wanted it to be. But I think that&rsquo;s a great experience for me, I could get better from it. You know, I could learn from it a lot. So, I&rsquo;m excited to keep going.&rdquo;</span></p>
<p><strong>Q: After this tournament, what&rsquo;s next for Keisei Tominaga? Where will we see you play, any future plans?</strong><strong><br /></strong><strong>Tominaga:</strong><span style="font-weight: 400;"> &ldquo;You know, I&rsquo;m trying to get into the league (NBA) so, you know I&rsquo;ll keep showing what I can do out there on the court and hopefully I can make it to the NBA soon.&rdquo;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Even during a down shooting performance, Tominaga&rsquo;s energy was palpable. His confidence in the long-term goal didn&rsquo;t waver. And why should it? With every deep three, every off-ball relocation, every step-back jumper, he proves he's not just a novelty act&mdash;he&rsquo;s a legitimate offensive weapon.</span></p>
<h3><strong>Yuki Kawamura: The gritty playmaker with a huge heart and growing fanbase</strong></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While Tominaga&rsquo;s game is built around flash and finesse, Yuki Kawamura's path is defined by toughness, hustle, and high basketball IQ. At just 5-foot-9, Kawamura has never been the biggest player on the court, but that&rsquo;s never stopped him from standing out.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Currently suiting up for the Memphis Hustle, the G-League affiliate of the Memphis Grizzlies, Kawamura has carved out a role as an impactful guard who plays with heart on both ends. As of this writing, Kawamura is averaging 12.4 points, 4.8 assists, and 1.7 steals per game, while shooting an efficient 46.5% from the field and 38.2% from deep.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">What makes Kawamura special isn&rsquo;t just the stats, it&rsquo;s about the impact. On multiple occasions, the Grizzlies have featured him in NBA games, and every time, the fan reaction has been electric. A behind-the-back dime in transition. A fearless drive into the paint against players a foot taller. A clutch corner three that sends social media into a frenzy. Kawamura is a fan favorite, not just in Japan, but globally.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The NBA itself has embraced Kawamura as part of its broader international movement. His highlights often get featured on NBA social media channels, and with every appearance, more fans begin to root for the undersized guard with a never-say-die mentality.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Now, Kawamura and the Grizzlies have qualified into the 2025 NBA Playoffs and will face the Oklahoma City Thunder in round one, a feat that Kawamura is definitely proud to be a part of.</span></p>
<h3><strong>A shared dream and legacy in the making</strong></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Tominaga and Kawamura couldn&rsquo;t be more different on the court. One is a gunner who thrives on spacing and movement. The other is a floor general who thrives on angles and decision-making. But their journeys intertwine in a bigger narrative, one that could shape the next decade of Japanese basketball.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">What Rui Hachimura and Yuta Watanabe helped begin, Tominaga and Kawamura are set to continue. The duo&rsquo;s growth also coincides with the rise of Japan&rsquo;s national team, which made waves at the 2023 FIBA World Cup and the 2024 Paris Olympics.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Having multiple Japanese players active in the G-League and flirting with NBA rosters is no longer an anomaly. It&rsquo;s becoming part of a trend, and that trend points to a possible golden era of hoops in Japan. The country is now poised to be one of the top contenders for the upcoming FIBA Asia Cup 2025, and Tominaga and Kawamura are leading the charge for the Akatsuki.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The significance of this moment can&rsquo;t be overstated. For decades, Japanese basketball lagged behind Asian neighbors like China and the Philippines in terms of global impact. Now, the script is changing, and these two young stars are helping flip the page.</span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">&ndash; &ndash; &ndash;</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Keisei Tominaga continues to chase his dream with a shooter&rsquo;s tunnel vision - focused, steady, and fueled by every made shot and every miss. His love for the game and his country is clear every time he hits the floor.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Yuki Kawamura, meanwhile, has proven that height may be a limitation on paper, but not in heart. He&rsquo;s already winning over teammates, coaches, and fans alike with his skill and spark.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While the road to becoming a full-time NBA player is steep for both, what they represent is already larger than the game. They are not only athletes but symbols of Japan&rsquo;s potential on the world basketball stage.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the end, whether or not they make a permanent home in the NBA isn&rsquo;t the only story. The real victory lies in how they inspire a nation, empower a new generation, and redefine what&rsquo;s possible for Japanese basketball.</span></p>

From Tominaga's three-point flair to Kawamura's fearless playmaking, both are knocking on the NBA and inspiring Japan.

Keisei Tominaga, Yuki Kawamura lead golden era of Japanese Basketball

<p>Many people were pleasantly surprised to hear the news that Michael Jordan opened his fourth free health clinic in his home state of North Carolina. <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/in-this-trump-era-michael-jordans-free-health-clinics-are-very-much-needed-">This new clinic, established in collaboration with Novant Health, focuses on providing care to uninsured and underinsured patients.</a>&nbsp;</p>
<p>This is a stark contrast to the overall perception of Michael Jordan as the athlete who doesn&rsquo;t care about his community or anything outside of himself.&nbsp;</p>
<p>I figured it was a good time to revisit an interview i conducted with Athlete Activist Legend Craig Hodges for <a href="https://www.akashicbooks.com/catalog/police-brutality-and-white-supremacy-the-fight-against-american-traditions/">my book Police Brutality And White Supremacy &ldquo;The Fight Against American Traditions."</a></p>
<p>Here is an excerpt of our interview in which Craig Hodges goes back to 1991 when the Rodney King beating happened and he was frustrated that Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson in particular were reluctant to make a public statement during the NBA Finals.&nbsp;</p>
<p>During the interview, I made the correlation to the movie &ldquo;One Night In Miami&rdquo; in which Malcolm X was frustrated with Sam Cooke, but was proud to see the eventual maturation and realization of the power of his voice. This was really a powerful discussion. I condensed the interview for the purposes of this article.</p>
<p>Etan: What were your thoughts after you first saw the Rodney King beating ?&nbsp;</p>
<p>Craig Hodges: The biggest part was just the shock. Seeing four or five policemen pummeling the brother mercilessly with their night sticks. And the manner in which they did it was just left me speechless. It was beyond brutality. I looked at it and said regardless to what the Brotha did, no human being deserves to be beaten like that. You had 4 or 5 cops surrounding him, he was on the ground, there are measures you can take to subdue him without beating him like that. But unfortunately, this has been the mentality of policing in America for generations and nothing has changed but with Rodney King that was one of the first times everyone could see it happening in real time. And the fact that someone was smart enough to tape it brought it to America.</p>
<p><img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/2-etan-thomas-2_690w.jpeg" alt="" width="745" height="477" /></p>
<p>Etan: I remember being in middle school and the first thing I thought was they wouldn&rsquo;t treat a dog like this.</p>
<p>Craig Hodges: Exactly, and this happened right at the beginning of the NBA Finals and some athletes were speaking about it others weren&rsquo;t but I was like, any and everybody should be able to speak to this because this could be your brother this could be your father or your uncle. And it was just too obvious and blatant what was going on as far as the racism and the evil of police brutality right there for all of America to see&nbsp;</p>
<p>Etan: It was really horrifying like traumatizing for me seeing that as a kid.</p>
<p>Craig Hodges: It was traumatizing for me as an adult. Things like this is what made me feel the need to have to be vocal while I was playing in the league. I was an athlete but this goes for everyone no matter what your occupation is, you have to be able to stand on truth and for what is right and to call out what&rsquo;s wrong. We as a society have been collectively letting so much slide and we just can&rsquo;t allow it anymore. And we have left a lot on the table for the next generation to fight for, and they are fighting for now. &nbsp;</p>
<p>Etan: The frustrating part is the bar is set so low. We&rsquo;re starting the discussion just fighting for our humanity.</p>
<p>Craig Hodges: We get caught up so much of our differences whether we&rsquo;re Republican, Democrat, Christian, Muslim, all of these different labels that divides us. Yes we are all humans and that&rsquo;s the basis that we should be unified on. Kwame Ture told us it&rsquo;s all about organization and we have to all bring what we can to the table and we all have different strengths and attributes and we have to use all of them for this fight.</p>
<p>Etan Thomas: It&rsquo;s interesting you say that, there is this movie One night in Miami, fantastic movie, that depicts a night in Miami with Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, and Sam Cooke. There is a part where Malcolm X and Sam Cooke are having a back and forth and Malcolm X is challenging him, and you&rsquo;re the first person I thought of when I saw this, he&rsquo;s telling Sam Cooke listen, you&rsquo;re the most talented Brotha on earth, your voice can captivate audiences both Black and white, you have all this power, you can play in white venues and be accepted, other musicians can&rsquo;t do that. And then he told him, you&rsquo;re not using the power for good. You&rsquo;re not challenging what is happening to us in society. Malcolm X said to him Black People are dying in the streets and we cannot afford to straddle the fence anymore. We have to pick a side, either you&rsquo;re on the side with us or you&rsquo;re on the side with them. And it was this intense discussion with them. And you know where I&rsquo;m going with this. Did you ever feel that level or frustration in relation to what we&rsquo;re talking about now with Rodney King and everything that was happening to us at that time. And you want to do that recruiting that Kwame Toure was talking about and that unification and strength in numbers but you see some people just not on board with it and thus the frustration.</p>
<p><img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/2-etan-thomas-3_690w.jpeg" alt="" width="732" height="732" /></p>
<p>Craig Hodges: Yes I know exactly where you&rsquo;re going with this and to answer your question yes I did. And trying to get someone to see it is one hurdle, but to get someone to feel it is a whole nother mountain to climb. I feel blessed that i was raised the way I was raised so a lot of things, I didn&rsquo;t have to figure out. We&rsquo;re at that point now where there is enough information out for people to be able to easily educate themselves as to what&rsquo;s going on. There&rsquo;s really no excuse right now. You can&rsquo;t say, I didn&rsquo;t know about this anymore because it&rsquo;s everywhere. During the 90s when Rodney King happened, we had great athletes who were similar to Sam Cooke as far as their leverage in white communities and not nation wide but world wide, and the option was, do I make a stand or do I get paid ? And that&rsquo;s what it boiled down to and people were hesitant because they were afraid that it would hamper their ability to earn. And that has been the common denominator in us coming up short. Those who have been in position to really make a difference don&rsquo;t. And what I saw from a lot of athletes was I&rsquo;ll play my career and then come back after and revisit Black people and Black Issues after. And from my standpoint, during the time where you are making the wealth and you have the bully pulpit to speak from, utilize that. You may not be able to be all out Malcolm X with it, but you can definitely have impact. The Rodney King incident really brought to life what Black People have been facing for centuries and that&rsquo;s something that not just athletes, but everyone should be able to speak on.&nbsp;</p>
<p><img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/2-etan-thomas-4_690w.png" alt="" width="738" height="414" /></p>
<p>Etan Thomas: And one thing that was great about the movie One Night In Miami was at the end it showed Malcolm&rsquo;s impact on Sam Cooke. He was on this program, and was singing the songs that they liked, and then he said he wanted to sing a song that hadn&rsquo;t been released yet and it was A Change Is Gonna Come. And it was passionate and moving and Sam Cooke dropped a tear at the end and they showed Malcolm X looking and he was smiling and it was beautiful to see because even though they were arguing and they were really arguing like almost came to blows arguing, but you saw that he heard Malcolm X. Now, I want to make this correlation to you and Michael Jordan because people still write it now and say Craig Hodges was talking bad about Michael Jordan and no it wasn&rsquo;t that and it wasn&rsquo;t personal but you saw MJ and the impact he could have had the same way Malcolm X saw the impact Sam Cooke could have had in particular after Rodney King happened.</p>
<p>Craig Hodges: When Rodney King happened it was a galvanizing time. Right before the 91 NBA Finals with Michael and Magic and we can have an impact, we have the whole world watching, all eyes are on us.&nbsp;</p>
<p><img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/2-etan-thomas-5_690w.jpeg" alt="" width="729" height="926" /></p>
<p>And to think about how my Mom was organizing in the early 60&rsquo;s, she was having this tremendous impact with no resources, and here we are with all of the resources of the NBA Finals with the two biggest athletes in the game and the impact you can make just from your voice would be amazing. And that&rsquo;s what I was trying to talk to Magic and MJ about especially after Rodney King. And here&rsquo;s the thing, in private, we all were having discussions about what was going on, but then in public, we went quiet and we simply can&rsquo;t be private anymore. And now we&rsquo;re at the point where people outside of our community are feeling our pain. And that&rsquo;s what Malcolm was telling Sam Cooke, hey to talk to them white folks at their clubs and that was my position with MJ on a lot of things. I would say hey, you have the ear of a lot of people that I can&rsquo;t reach. So yea that&rsquo;s a very good comparison.</p>
<p>Etan Thomas: Now I&rsquo;mma make one last correlation, I said how Malcolm X watched Sam Cooke on the program singing A Change Is Gonna Come and he was smiling, did you ever feel that after watching Michael Jordan in the last 10 years or so as MJ has become more vocal, spoken out against police brutality on numerous occasions, he even put together a whole fundraiser for Obama and brought 50 different NBA athletes to join him. That&rsquo;s a long way from &ldquo;Republicans Buy Shoes Too."</p>
<p><img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/2-etan-thomas-6_690w.jpeg" alt="" width="730" height="1291" /></p>
<p>Craig Hodges: Oh yes. I love it. People have to understand that everyone grows at different points in their lives and I definitely feel like that (proud) every time I see not only MJ and Magic but all the young athletes like Lebron and this current generation of athletes, it&rsquo;s great to see.</p>

I figured it was a good time to revisit an interview i conducted with Athlete Activist Legend Craig Hodges for my book Police Brutality And White Supremacy “The Fight Against American Traditions."

Craig Hodges discusses the  maturation of Michael Jordan

<div>
<p>In the first few days of his second presidential term, Donald Trump signed a number of executive orders that will have an impact on the healthcare industry, some issuing new policies and some rescinding policies set forth by prior administrations. This has had a devastating impact on the American people.</p>
<p>While the country is on pins and needles awaiting the next bomb (both literally and figuratively) to drop from the Trump administration, Michael Jordan has figured out a way to actively combat one of the casualties (U.S. Health Care) of Trump&rsquo;s plan for mass deportations of undocumented immigrants and extended tax cuts for the upper echelon of the American population.&nbsp;</p>
</div>
<div>From an <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/01/republicans-medicaid-cuts">article in The Guardian titled:&nbsp;&ldquo;Medicaid recipients fear &lsquo;buzzsaw cuts&rsquo; for Trump&rsquo;s agenda&rdquo;</a>, it reads&nbsp;</div>
<div>&ldquo;Republicans are considering a rollback of the federal social safety net, particularly Medicaid, which has nearly 80 million enrollees in all 50 states. The budget plan proposes an $880bn reduction in funding for the insurance over the next 10 years, an amount that experts warn would hollow out the program and have ripple effects across the entire American healthcare system.&rdquo;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>From an <a href="https://www.maynardnexsen.com/publication-president-trumps-latest-executive-orders-impacting-health-care">article in the MaynardNexsen titled &ldquo;President Trump&rsquo;s Latest Executive Orders Impacting Healthcare&rdquo;</a> it reads &ldquo;President Trump rescinded former President Joe Biden&rsquo;s order that extended the enrollment periods for Affordable Care Act (Obama Care) plans in most states, and granted additional funding for third parties aiding enrollment in ACA insurance. While ACA enrollment nearly doubled under the Biden administration to about 24 million people, those gains are attributed primarily to government subsidies that lowered the cost of ACA premiums. The effect this rescission will have on enrollment trends is one thing to watch in the coming years&rdquo;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>While all this is happening in real-time, Michael Jordan opened his fourth health clinic in North Carolina on February 19 in Wilmington. This new clinic, established in collaboration with Novant Health, focuses on providing care to uninsured and underinsured patients.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div><img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/michael-jordan-etan-thomas-2_690w.jpeg" alt="" width="740" height="492" /></div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>MJ has spoken publicly exhibiting a tremendous amount of sincerity and passion about how important these clinics are and how many people they will help. He has addressed the growing issue of healthcare disparities and affirmed his dedication to providing healthcare to all people regardless of their income or economic status in particular in his hometown of North Carolina.&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>Many people are pleasantly surprised to see this side of MJ, but it goes along with what I witnessed as his teammate for the Washington Wizards.&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>I recall one time in particular when I was sitting in the training room getting treatment and he was getting his knee drained, which fans didn&rsquo;t know at the time he had to often do in order to continue playing. MJ asked me about a book (Soul On Ice by Eldridge Cleaver) he saw me reading on the plane and we engaged in a deep conversation about race, politics, the community, and much more.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
<p>Sitting in earshot was his bodyguard, George, who chimed in and said jokingly, &ldquo;Yeah Michael doesn&rsquo;t like to tell anybody the things he does, so people don&rsquo;t think he does anything&rdquo;&nbsp;</p>
</div>
<div>He then proceeded to tell me a story of when MJ was all set to have this big event at an exclusive golf resort in Georgia back in the day, and he found out that they were still keeping an old tradition of not allowing Black People to join the club, but of course, they would let MJ participate. Well, long story short, right before the event, MJ informed the organizers that he was going to cancel everything if they didn&rsquo;t change their policy and of course, they capitulated to his demands.&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div><img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/michael-jordan-etan-thomas-4_690w.jpeg" alt="" width="743" height="563" /></div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>I remember responding saying, &ldquo;That&rsquo;s a great story that people need to hear. Why wouldn&rsquo;t you tell people that ?&rdquo; And MJ looked at me and said, &ldquo;No, I don&rsquo;t do it for that.&rdquo; I remember looking at George and him saying, &ldquo;See, he doesn&rsquo;t want to tell anybody anything&rdquo;&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>I tell this story for this reason. Playing with MJ for two years with the Wizards, I saw him do a lot of things quietly that nobody knew about. And from time to time I would whisper to him, &ldquo;You&rsquo;re not gonna tell anyone about this either huh?&rdquo; And he would just smile and shake his head. In fact, he didn&rsquo;t even tell anyone that he donated his entire salary to the victims of 9-11. I remember being in the locker room when he was watching the coverage on TV and made the decision. Nobody found out until later that he did that.&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>Now, for years I have been on panels and programs talking about activism and athletes and they would always bring up MJ as the antithesis to the activist athlete and his infamous statement &ldquo;Republicans Buy Shoes Too&rdquo;. They would always paint MJ as the athlete who doesn&rsquo;t care about the community or really anything outside of himself and I would always push back on that because that&rsquo;s just not what I saw when I was his teammate. Now, did he lend his voice to causes or speak out on political issues that directly impact the Black Community? No, he didn&rsquo;t. But did he do nothing behind the scenes and have no interest or care for the community? I can&rsquo;t say that because that&rsquo;s not what I saw.&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>People don&rsquo;t know about MJ&rsquo;s community impact platform, known as the Black Community Commitment (BCC), which is a 10-year, $100 million initiative focused on creating equitable futures for Black Americans through education, economic justice, narrative change, and social justice.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>They also don&rsquo;t know about him funding nonprofit institutional grantees and grassroots organizations across the country through his Open Call Community Grants program.&nbsp;They don&rsquo;t know about his Jordan Brand Wings Scholars Program which has sent hundreds of kids to college on full scholarships. But like George told me in the training room, he doesn&rsquo;t tell anyone so people assume he does nothing in the community.&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>Now, going back to MJ&rsquo;s 4th healthcare clinic.&nbsp;There is indeed currently a national healthcare crisis in the United States.&nbsp;In 2025, an estimated 27.1 million Americans of all ages are projected to be uninsured, representing an uninsured rate of 8.2%, according to data from the National Health Interview Survey. MJ&rsquo;s efforts have helped thousands of uninsured Americans actually receive care.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div><img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/michael-jordan-etan-thomas-3_690w.jpeg" alt="" width="741" height="494" /></div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>Furthermore, as many Americans have found out the hard way, being insured does not guarantee full coverage. There is a large percentage of working-class Americans who are currently drowning in medical expenses, faced with increased costs of medications (thanks to the Trump administration), and higher co-pays all while having limited access to essential treatments.&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>An article by Vishwesha Kumar of Fadeaway World, described Jordan&rsquo;s Health Clinic as,&nbsp;&ldquo;After witnessing the positive impact of these centers, Jordan donated $10 million to Novant Health to expand the project, leading to additional clinics being built in Wilmington. His efforts have helped thousands of patients receive their first-ever primary care visits, reinforcing his dedication to improving healthcare access.</div>
<div>
<p>The new Wilmington facility spans 7,300 square feet and includes 12 patient rooms, offering comprehensive medical services to uninsured and underinsured individuals. In addition to primary care physicians, the clinic will have a community health worker to connect patients with essential local resources. The facility will be open on weekdays, aiming to serve as a lifeline for many who struggle to access consistent coverage.&rdquo;&nbsp;</p>
<p>Micheal Jordan doesn&rsquo;t have to do any of this. He could ride off into the sunset and not care about what anyone thinks about him. He doesn&rsquo;t need any additional notoriety. He already has all the fame a man could possibly have. He doesn&rsquo;t need pats on the back or nods of approval from anyone. He does this because he genuinely cares.&nbsp;</p>
</div>
<div>&ldquo;Michael Jordan gives back but you didn't know it. Like LeBron does, but it's just seldom they show it.&rdquo;~Nas</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>

While all this is happening in real-time, Michael Jordan opened his fourth health clinic in North Carolina.

In This Trump Era, Michael Jordan’s Free Health Clinics Are Very Much Needed

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Josh Giddey is headlining Australia&rsquo;s 22-player pool for the 2024 Paris Olympics, as announced by Basketball Australia.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The 21-year-old young star, who also led the Boomers last year in the FIBA World Cup 2023, is joined by fellow NBA players Patty Mills (Miami Heat), Joe Ingles (Orlando Magic), Matisse Thybulle and Duop Reath (Portland Trailblazers), Josh Green and Dante Exum (Dallas Mavericks), Jock Landale (Phoenix Suns), and Dyson Daniels (New Orleans Pelicans).</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Players with NBA experience are also in the squad, including Xavier Cooks, Jack White, Nick Kay, and Matthew Dellavedova as well as Kansas Jayhawks freshman and soon-to-be NBA draftee Johnny Furphy.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Rounding out the squad are eight current NBL players Chris Goulding, DJ Vasiljevic, Jack McVeigh, Keanu Pinder, Matthew Dellavedova, Sam Froling, Will Magnay, and Will McDowell-White.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The 22-man roster was announced and picked by Basketball Australia with their head coach Brian Goorjian at the helm. The Boomers aim to send a strong roster to Paris in hopes of a podium finish</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One notable absence from the pool is former no.1 overall pick Ben Simmons, who withdrew from the squad yet again due to a nagging back injury that needed surgery.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been actively monitoring the Aussie players across international leagues in USA, Europe, and Asia as well as domestically in the NBL and we&rsquo;re confident in the potential chemistry of this list,&rdquo; Goorjian said.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Australia will be in Group A with Canada, Greece OQT winner, and Spain OQT winner for the 2024 Paris Olympics slated later this year.</span></p>

Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Josh Giddey is headlining Australia’s 22-player pool for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Josh Giddey leads Australia Boomers’ player pool for Paris Olympics

<p>The NBA today announced that Los Angeles has been selected to host NBA All-Star 2026. The 75th NBA All-Star Game will take place at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, home of the LA Clippers, on Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. This will mark the record seventh NBA All-Star in Los Angeles, and the first time the Intuit Dome will host the annual midseason showcase reaching fans in more than 200 countries and territories in more than 50 languages.</p>
<p>NBA Commissioner Adam Silver made the announcement today during a press conference at Intuit Dome, where he was joined by Clippers Chairman Steve Ballmer, Clippers President of Business Operations Gillian Zucker, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts Jr.</p>
<p>&ldquo;The Intuit Dome promises to present a unique and innovative live basketball experience which will be an extraordinary venue for the NBA All-Star Game in 2026,&rdquo; said Silver. &ldquo;Thanks again to Steve Ballmer, Gillian Zucker, and the Clippers organization for their commitment to delivering a world-class showcase of the very best of our sport.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Intuit Dome, which is set to open in August 2024, is a multipurpose venue that will be the new home of the Los Angeles Clippers.</p>
<p>&ldquo;We are building Intuit Dome to house and showcase the best basketball players in the world, and we are honored they will all be under our roof for NBA All-Star,&rdquo; said Ballmer. &ldquo;Along with Inglewood and Los Angeles, we thank the NBA for bringing the league&rsquo;s marquee event to Intuit Dome in 2026.&rdquo;</p>
<p>The Clippers worked in collaboration with the Los Angeles Sports &amp; Entertainment Commission to bring NBA All-Star 2026 to Los Angeles.</p>
<p>NBA All-Star on-court events will tip off on Friday, Feb. 13 at Intuit Dome with NBA Rising Stars, an annual showcase for top rookies and second-year NBA players. On Feb. 14, State Farm All-Star Saturday Night will feature the Kia Skills Challenge, the Starry 3-Point Challenge and AT&amp;T Slam Dunk. NBA All-Star 2026 will culminate with the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, Feb. 15. The NBA will host several events for fans of all ages at venues throughout Los Angeles and Inglewood, including at Kia Forum and the Los Angeles Convention Center.</p>
<p>These events, including NBA All-Star Practice presented by AT&amp;T, the Ruffles NBA All-Star Celebrity Game and an NBA All-Star fan fest, will feature basketball programming and entertainment for fans as well as up-close access to NBA players, legends and celebrities.</p>
<p>The league will also continue to celebrate its commitment to social responsibility with a full schedule of NBA Cares events during NBA All-Star 2026. Through partnerships with schools, local and national nonprofit organizations, the league will reach thousands of children and families in Los Angeles, Inglewood and the surrounding areas and provide critical resources to community-based programs.</p>
<p><strong>NBA ALL-STAR HISTORY IN LOS ANGELES</strong></p>
<p>This will mark the record seventh NBA All-Star in the Los Angeles area, which hosted the event in 2018, 2011, 2004, 1983, 1972 and 1963, and the first time the midseason showcase has been held at the Intuit Dome. The previous six NBA All-Star events in Los Angeles (including two at The Forum in Inglewood) have showcased extraordinary performances by some of the best players in league history. Each NBA All-Star Game MVP in Los Angeles was named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team and selected to at least 11 All-Star Games: LeBron James (MVP in 2018), Kobe Bryant (2011), Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal (2004), Julius Erving (1983), Jerry West (1972) and Bill Russell (1963).</p>
<p>The most recent NBA All-Star Game in Los Angeles (2018) featured a dramatic finish as Team LeBron rallied from a 13-point deficit with seven minutes to play to defeat Team Stephen 148-145 in the first All-Star Game without a matchup between the Eastern Conference and Western Conference. As the captain of Team LeBron, James made a game-tying three-pointer with 1:30 remaining and a go-ahead layup with 34.5 seconds left in the game. NBA All-Star 2026 will mark the 15th anniversary of the 2011 midseason celebration in Los Angeles, where the Clippers&rsquo; Blake Griffin played on the winning teams in the All-Star Game and Rising Stars and was crowned Slam Dunk champion as a rookie. That year, the Los Angeles Lakers&rsquo; Bryant earned his record-tying fourth NBA All-Star Game MVP Award after scoring 37 points to lift the Western Conference past the Eastern Conference 148-143.</p>

Los Angeles has been selected to host the 2026 NBA All-Star Weekend at the Clippers' new arena, Intuit Dome, in Inglewood.

Los Angeles to host 2026 NBA All-Star Weekend at Clippers' Intuit Dome

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In a game featuring two of the best No.1 overall picks in recent memory, the Minnesota Timberwolves blasted the Orlando Magic, 113-92, at the Kia Center in Orlando on Tuesday night.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Anthony Edwards, the No.1 pick in 2020, and Paolo Banchero, the No. 1 pick in 2022, failed to get any kind of momentum going throughout the game. Edwards only mustered 6 points due to foul trouble, while Banchero struggled shooting against a big Wolves frontline, finishing 8-of-22 from the floor for 18 points.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Lucky for Edwards, his teammates picked up the slack as the Wolves ran the Magic off the floor right from the get-go. They led from start to finish and never let Orlando develop a rhythm or make a run.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Karl-Anthony Towns led the Wolves with 28 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting from three-point range, while frontcourt mate Rudy Gobert was dominant in the paint, finishing with 21 points and 12 boards. Towns also made history as one of three active players to have 25+ points, 5+ rebounds, 5+ assists, 5+ threes and 3+ steals, joining Stephen Curry and Jalen Brunson.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Orlando, who's still without Franz Wagner, Wendell Carter Jr., Joe Ingles and Jonathan Isaac among others, only shot 36% from the floor against a stifling Minnesota defense that is ranked No. 1 in the NBA.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After this blowout victory, the Wolves will travel to Boston to face the Celtics tomorrow in a battle of the top-seeded teams in each conference.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As for the Magic, they will face their division-rival Miami Heat in their next game; they are currently tied for the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.</span></p>

The Minnesota Timberwolves blasted the Orlando Magic, 113-92, at the Kia Center in Orlando on Tuesday night.

Timberwolves blow out Magic as Anthony Edwards, Paolo Banchero struggle

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Despite missing eight players, the Orlando Magic upset the Denver Nuggets, 122-120, on Friday night behind Paolo Banchero's first career triple-double.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Fresh off scoring a career-high 43 points in a double-overtime loss against the Sacramento Kings, Banchero poured in 32 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for Orlando. The 21-year-old is the youngest player in Magic history to record a triple-double.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Banchero attempted a career-high 19 free-throw attempts, making 15 of them &mdash; including four free throws late in the game to seal the win for Orlando.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">&ldquo;Coming into the game, we had eight guys out, so we had to have a next-man-up mentality," said the reigning Rookie of the Year and No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. "I can't be prouder of the team; that was a hell of a win."</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Orlando came into the game with only nine players available, and then rookie Anthony Black left the game after just five minutes due to illness. The Magic played with just eight players the rest of the way. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Franz Wagner (right ankle), Wendell Carter Jr. (right knee), Markelle Fultz (left knee), Gary Harris (right calf), Joe Ingles (left ankle), Jonathan Isaac (right hamstring) and Goga Bitadze (illness) were among the players who were sidelined.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Fortunately for the Magic, they made up for their lack of depth with hot shooting, making 17 three-pointers against Denver (led by Jalen Suggs&rsquo; career-high 7 threes). Orlando also shot a franchise-record 25 threes two nights ago in Sacramento.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Suggs and Cole Anthony combined for 50 points, while Mo Wagner added 19 to reinforce Banchero.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Magic, who have now beaten the Nuggets twice this season to sweep the season series, move to 20-15 after going just 4-6 over their last 10 games and 6-9 over their last 15. Orlando is currently the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Nikola Jokic was splendid again from the field, scoring 29 points on 68% shooting, but it wasn't enough to lead Denver to victory a night after <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nuggets-nikola-jokic-hits-gamewinner-near-halfcourt-to-beat-warriors" target="_blank" rel="noopener">banking in a 39-foot heave</a> to bury the Golden State Warriors.&nbsp;</span></p>

Paolo Banchero recorded his first career triple-double to lead his short-handed Magic to an upset win over the Nuggets, 122-120.

Shorthanded Magic beat Nuggets behind Banchero’s first triple-double

Former NBA GM Pete Babcock opens up to Etan Thomas about how the media's false narratives can greatly influence NBA front offices.

Former NBA GM on how media coverage, false narratives impact players

<p>NBA free agency has died down and the 2023-24 NBA season is nearly three months away. This is why August is known as the dog days of the NBA calendar.</p>
<p>However, NBA fans will be able to watch some of their favorite players in action very soon, as the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup tips off tomorrow.</p>
<p>From Nov. 2021 through Feb. 2023, 80 countries battled for a spot in the World Cup but only 32 national teams qualified. There are a ton of NBA players participating, as Team USA has a talented young roster and they'll be facing stars such as Luka Doncic, Karl-Anthony Towns, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lauri Markkanen and Rudy Gobert.</p>
<p>Here's everything you need to know about the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.</p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>WHEN IS IT?</strong></span></p>
<p>World Cup games will be played Aug. 25 through Sept. 10. There have been a number of warm-up games in recent weeks, but the real action tips off tomorrow.</p>
<p><strong>First Round (Group Phase):</strong> Aug. 25-30<br /><strong>Second Round (Group Phase): </strong>Aug. 31 - Sept. 4<br /><strong>Quarterfinals: </strong>Sept. 5-6<br /><strong>Semifinals: </strong>Sept. 8<br /><strong>Final: </strong>Sept. 10<br /><strong>Third-Place Game:</strong> Sept. 10</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.nba.com/news/fiba-basketball-world-cup-2023-schedule" target="_blank" rel="noopener">full schedule of games can be found here</a>.</p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>WHERE IS IT?&nbsp;</strong></span></p>
<p>For the first time ever, the FIBA Basketball World Cup will feature three host countries: the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.</p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>WHICH COUNTRIES QUALIFIED?</strong></span></p>
<p>These are the 32 countries that will be participating in the 2023 FIBA World Cup: Angola, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Cape Verde, China, Cote d&rsquo;Ivoire, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Iran, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Mexico, Montenegro, New Zealand, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Serbia, Slovenia, South Sudan, Spain, United States and Venezuela.</p>
<p>These are the groups for the first round:</p>
<p><strong>Group A:&nbsp;</strong>Angola, Dominican Republic, Philippines, Italy</p>
<p><strong>Group B:&nbsp;&nbsp;</strong>South Sudan, Serbia, China, Puerto Rico</p>
<p><em>(Groups A and B will play their games at Araneta Coliseum in <span class="ContentPasted1" data-ogsc="black">the Philippines)</span></em></p>
<p><strong>Group C:&nbsp;</strong>Team USA, Jordan, Greece, New Zealand</p>
<p><strong>Group D:&nbsp;</strong>Egypt, Mexico, Montenegro, Lithuania</p>
<p><em>(Groups C and D will play their games at Mall of Asia Arena in <span class="ContentPasted1" data-ogsc="black">the Philippines)</span></em></p>
<p><strong>Group E:&nbsp;</strong>Germany, Finland, Australia, Japan</p>
<p><strong>Group F:&nbsp;</strong>Slovenia, Cape Verde, Georgia, Venezuela</p>
<p><em>(Groups E and F will play their games at Okinawa Arena in Japan)</em></p>
<p><strong>Group G:&nbsp;</strong>Iran, Spain, Cote d&rsquo;Ivoire, Brazil</p>
<p><strong>Group H:&nbsp;</strong>Canada, Latvia, Lebanon, France</p>
<p><em>(Groups G and H will play their games at Jakarta Arena in Indonesia)</em></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>WHICH NBA PLAYERS ARE COMPETING?</strong></span></p>
<p>There are quite a few NBA players participating in this tournament. The <a href="https://www.nba.com/news/fiba-world-cup-roster-tracker-2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">full list can be found here</a>, but below are the national teams that feature notable NBA players:</p>
<p><em><strong>Group A</strong></em></p>
<p><strong>Dominican Republic</strong>: Karl-Anthony Towns (Minnesota Timberwolves), Lester Quinones (Golden State Warriors)</p>
<p><strong>Philippines</strong>: Jordan Clarkson&nbsp;(Utah Jazz)</p>
<p><em><strong>Group B</strong></em></p>
<p><strong>China:</strong> Kyle Anderson&nbsp;(Minnesota Timberwolves)</p>
<p><strong>Serbia</strong>: Bogdan Bogdanovic (Atlanta Hawks), Aleksej Pokusevski (Oklahoma City Thunder), Nikola Jovic (Miami Heat)</p>
<p><em><strong>Group C</strong></em></p>
<p><strong>Greece</strong>: Thanasis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks)</p>
<p><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/gettyimages-1608113478-2.jpg" alt="" width="736" height="414" /></p>
<p><strong>United States</strong>: Paolo Banchero (Orlando Magic), Mikal Bridges (Brooklyn Nets), Jalen Brunson (New York Knicks), Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves), Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana Pacers), Josh Hart (New York Knicks), Brandon Ingram (New Orleans Pelicans), Jaren Jackson Jr. (Memphis Grizzlies), Cameron Johnson (Brooklyn Nets), Walker Kessler (Utah Jazz), Bobby Portis (Milwaukee Bucks), Austin Reaves (Los Angeles Lakers)</p>
<p>
<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
</p>
<p><em><strong>Group D</strong></em></p>
<p><strong>Lithuania: </strong>Jonas Valanciunas (New Orleans Pelicans)</p>
<p><strong>Montenegro: </strong>Nikola Vucevic (Chicago Bulls)</p>
<p><em><strong>Group E</strong></em></p>
<p><strong>Australia</strong>: Josh Giddey (Oklahoma City Thunder), Patty Mills (Atlanta Hawks), Matisse Thybulle (Portland Trail Blazers) Josh Green (Dallas Mavericks), Joe Ingles (Orlando Magic), Dyson Daniels (New Orleans Pelicans), Dante Exum (Dallas Mavericks), Jock Landale (Houston Rockets), Xavier Cooks (Washington Wizards)</p>
<p><strong>Finland</strong>: Lauri Markkanen (Utah Jazz)</p>
<p><strong>Germany</strong>: Franz Wagner (Orlando Magic), Dennis Schroder (Toronto Raptors), Moritz Wagner (Orlando Magic), Daniel Theis (Indiana Pacers),&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Japan</strong>: Yuta Watanabe (Phoenix Suns)</p>
<p><em><strong>Group F</strong></em></p>
<p><strong>Georgia</strong>: Goga Bitadze (Orlando Magic), Sandro Mamukelashvili (San Antonio Spurs)</p>
<p><strong>Slovenia</strong>: Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks)</p>
<p><em><strong>Group G</strong></em></p>
<p><strong>Brazil</strong>: Raul Neto (Cleveland Cavaliers)</p>
<p><strong>Spain</strong>: Santi Aldama (Memphis Grizzlies), Usman Garuba (Atlanta Hawks)</p>
<p><em><strong>Group H</strong></em></p>
<p><strong>Canada</strong>: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder), R.J. Barrett (New York Knicks), Dillon Brooks (Houston Rockets), Lu Dort (Oklahoma City Thunder), Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Minnesota Timberwolves), Dwight Powell (Dallas Mavericks)</p>
<p><strong>France</strong>: Rudy Gobert (Minnesota Timberwolves), Nicolas Batum (Los Angeles Clippers), Evan Fournier (New York Knicks), Frank Ntilikina (Charlotte Hornets)</p>
<p><strong>Latvia</strong>: Davis Bertans (Oklahoma City Thunder)</p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>HOW TO WATCH</strong></span></p>
<p>FIBA recently announced that all 92 World Cup games will be available across ESPN's platforms. Six games will air on ESPN2 (including Team USA's three first-round games), while the other 86 games will be available on ESPN+.</p>
<p>FIBA&rsquo;s official streaming service, <a href="https://www.courtside1891.basketball/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Courtside 1891</a>, will also air the games live and on-demand. If you're interested in Courtside 1891, FIBA is offering our readers 20% off their World Cup bundle. Follow the instructions below if you'd like to use the 20% discount:</p>
<ul style="font-weight: 400;">
<li><a href="https://www.courtside1891.basketball/choose-a-package" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click this link</a> and you&rsquo;ll get a prompt to register</li>
<li>You&rsquo;ll then be redirected to the choose-a-package page</li>
<li>Select the &lsquo;Max &ndash; World Cup Bundle&rsquo;&nbsp;</li>
<li>Use the discount code <strong>FIBAWCAK</strong> to get 20% off</li>
</ul>
<p>Enjoy the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, and hopefully the dog days of summer will fly by quickly!</p>

The 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup tips off tomorrow. Here's everything you need to know about the tournament.

Everything you need to know about the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup

<p>Fred VanVleet bet on himself, and the Houston Rockets are the beneficiaries.</p>
<p>On an opening night of free agency where most big names &mdash; Kyrie Irving, Draymond Green, Khris Middleton, Kyle Kuzma and more &mdash; stayed put, VanVleet is headed to a new home. He agreed to a three-year deal Friday with the Rockets that&rsquo;ll pay him about $130 million, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press.</p>
<p>ESPN first reported the agreement between VanVleet and the Rockets.</p>
<p>VanVleet &mdash; who famously uses the phrase &ldquo;bet on yourself&rdquo; to describe his career trajectory from undrafted player to NBA champion with the Toronto Raptors &mdash; will make about $525,000 per game over the next three seasons.</p>
<p>That nearly matches what he made as a rookie in Toronto, total &mdash; about $550,000.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Love seeing guys getting paid,&rdquo; Boston star Jayson Tatum tweeted.</p>
<p>And a whole bunch of them did on Friday night &mdash; with more to come.</p>
<p>Irving and Luka Doncic are going to try again together in Dallas. Green is going to chase more championships with Stephen Curry in Golden State, just like Middleton is alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee.</p>
<p>And Jerami Grant is staying put in Portland, for serious money. All those decisions came quickly Friday night as free agency in the NBA got off to its traditional fast and free-spending start &mdash; with roughly $1.5 billion in deals getting struck in about the first three hours alone.</p>
<p>Irving agreed to a three-year, $126 million deal to remain with the Mavericks, who acquired him in a splashy move in February but sputtered down the stretch and missed the playoffs. A person with knowledge of the negotiations confirmed the agreement to The Associated Press, the deal taking quite possibly the biggest name in free agency off the board.</p>
<p>The Mavs had made clear that keeping Irving was their top priority &mdash; and got it done in the first hour of the NBA&rsquo;s free agency window that opened at 6 p.m. EDT.</p>
<p>&ldquo;DA11AS,&rdquo; Irving tweeted, using his traditional jersey number in there.</p>
<p>Grant is getting $160 million over the next five years, part of a plan that Portland hopes keeps Damian Lillard happy enough to not ask for a trade. Grant is staying put, as is Kuzma in Washington and Cam Johnson in Brooklyn.</p>
<p>Kuzma essentially doubled his annual salary, agreeing to a $102 million, four-year deal with the Wizards. Green got a new contract that&rsquo;ll pay him $100 million over four seasons with the Warriors. Both of those deals &mdash; first reported by ESPN and subsequently confirmed to AP by people with knowledge of the negotiations &mdash; got done very quickly once the offseason player movement window opened.</p>
<p>Kuzma had opted out of a contract that would have paid him $13 million in Washington this coming season; he&rsquo;ll now average $25.5 million over the next four years after scoring 21.2 points per game this past season.</p>
<p>Green staying put keeps him alongside Curry and Klay Thompson with the Warriors, where they have won four titles over the last decade. He opted out of a $27.6 million contract for this coming season, and now is under contract for more years.</p>
<p>Middleton also traded bigger salary in the short term for more years. He could have made $40 million this coming season; instead, he agreed to $102 million over three years to stay with Antetokounmpo and a Bucks team that&rsquo;s only two years removed from an NBA championship.</p>
<p>Johnson &mdash; who flourished and averaged 16.6 points in 25 games with Brooklyn after getting traded there this past season &mdash; is getting a four-year, $108 million deal from the Nets, agent Steve Heumann of CAA confirmed to AP. New Orleans also saw one of its key players stay put; defensive standout Herb Jones agreed to a four-year, $54 million contract.</p>
<p>The reigning NBA champion Denver Nuggets lost a free agent they wanted to keep, with Bruce Brown agreeing to sign with Indiana, a person with knowledge told AP, on a two-year deal that could be worth $45 million. There is an option affecting the second year.</p>
<p>There was simply nothing the Nuggets could do to compete with that offer &mdash; they could only offer Brown $7.8 million for this season. Brown will average nearly three times that much over the next two years.</p>
<p>The team that Denver beat for that title, the Miami Heat, also lost a key player from their club. Gabe Vincent agreed to a three-year, $33 million deal to join LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers &mdash; who went to the Western Conference finals before falling to the Nuggets. The Lakers also kept Rui Hachimura on a three-year deal worth about $50 million.</p>
<p>The Eastern Conference champion Heat are retaining Kevin Love &mdash; who quickly became a locker room leader after arriving in Miami &mdash; and brought back former Miami guard Josh Richardson. Love is getting $3.7 million this season; both he and Richardson have an option for 2024-25 as well.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Rookie of the Year Paolo Banchero has a new veteran with him in Orlando; Joe Ingles agreed to a two-year, $22 million deal to join the Magic. And Tre Jones will sign a two-year, $20 million deal with the San Antonio Spurs to play alongside No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama, agent Kevin Bradbury said.</p>
<p>And once VanVleet picked Houston, the Raptors moved quickly to fill their point guard opening and agreed with Dennis Schroder on a two-year, $26 million deal, according to his representation at Priority Sports. Another point guard was on the move not long afterward; 2011 NBA MVP Derrick Rose agreed to a deal with Memphis &mdash; the city where he played his one season of college basketball &mdash; in a deal first reported by SNY.</p>

Day 1 of the 2023 NBA free-agency period is in the books. Here's a look at the big moves from Friday.

Fred VanVleet to Houston; many big names stay put early in NBA free agency

<p class="Component-root-0-2-81 p Component-p-0-2-71">DENVER (AP) &mdash; The Miami Heat are searching for inspiration anywhere they can find it, including a tennis great&rsquo;s record-setting win at the French Open and even their&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/heat-mascot-conor-mcgregor-nba-finals-097557b5dd00685bb5cdc6d418f9bbe9">mascot&rsquo;s quick rebound</a>&nbsp;from a few punches to the face.</p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-81 p Component-p-0-2-71">Jimmy Butler and the Heat might be down 3-1 in the NBA Finals against the Nuggets heading into Game 5 on Monday night in Denver, but they hardly consider themselves out.</p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-81 p Component-p-0-2-71">&ldquo;(Our belief) is at an all-time high,&rdquo; said Butler, whose team is hoping to avoid watching the Nuggets celebrate their first NBA title. &ldquo;It always has been all year. It always will be.&rdquo;</p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-81 p Component-p-0-2-71">From Day 1, the Heat have demonstrated their scrappiness. At first, it was in scrimmages against each other in training camp and later in earning the No. 8 seed into the postseason through a second chance in the play-in tournament. They knocked out Giannis Antetokounmpo and Milwaukee in the first round, then the New York Knicks, and rebounded in Game 7 in Boston after squandering 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.</p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-81 p Component-p-0-2-71">Bottom line: They&rsquo;re used to doing things the hard way.</p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-81 p Component-p-0-2-71">&ldquo;They love the ultimate challenges and the ultimate competition,&rdquo; Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. &ldquo;The narratives are not going to decide it. Whatever the analytics are about 3-1, that ain&rsquo;t going to decide it. It&rsquo;s going to be decided between those four lines, whose game can get to whose game and ultimately win at the end. That&rsquo;s what our guys love.&rdquo;</p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-81 p Component-p-0-2-71">A little motivation goes a long way, too. They drew encouragement from Serbian great Novak Djokovic&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/djokovic-ruud-french-open-roland-garros-final-d7bda9f570b010ea48cf8a05b397291e">earning his men&rsquo;s-record 23rd Grand Slam singles championship</a>&nbsp;Sunday with a victory over Casper Ruud.</p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-81 p Component-p-0-2-71">The Heat are trying to channel the inner belief Djokovic displayed as they face another&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-finals-french-open-jokic-djokovic-serbia-3a0349ae24e0c113869ee4d6df70fe7f">Serbian standout in</a>&nbsp;Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic.</p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-81 p Component-p-0-2-71">&ldquo;(Djokovic) has talked about that mental side of the game,&rdquo; said Spoelstra, who had no update on the availability of Tyler Herro, the sharpshooting guard sidelined by a hand injury. &ldquo;We have a very stubborn and defiant group, and I think it&rsquo;s good to have a little bit of defiance from time-to-time.&rdquo;</p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-81 p Component-p-0-2-71">For tenacity, the Heat don&rsquo;t need to look any farther than their mascot, Burnie, who took two punches from former UFC champion Conor McGregor in a skit that led to the person in the costume seeking medical attention. Burnie could be back on the court, though, should the Heat force a Game 6 in Miami on Thursday.</p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-81 p Component-p-0-2-71">&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the Miami Heat toughness that we&rsquo;re talking about,&rdquo; Spoesltra said of the mascot&rsquo;s return. &ldquo;He should have been allowed to take the first swing. We won&rsquo;t reveal who that is, but yeah, he can take a punch and get back up.&rdquo;</p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-81 p Component-p-0-2-71">The Nuggets have the Heat down on the canvas, with no desire to let them back up. Still, they realize it won&rsquo;t be easy.</p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-81 p Component-p-0-2-71">Closeout games rarely are.</p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-81 p Component-p-0-2-71">&ldquo;Obviously, they&rsquo;ve been doubted the whole year and they made it this far for a reason,&rdquo; said Nuggets guard/forward Bruce Brown, whose team is 9-1 at home, with the lone blemish in Game 2 against Miami. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to be crazy. It&rsquo;s going to be loud. The fans are going to be here probably early. But I can&rsquo;t wait. I feed off their energy, so hopefully it&rsquo;s going to be a big night.&rdquo;</p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-81 p Component-p-0-2-71">The Nuggets have history on their side. Of the 36 teams&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-finals-2023-heat-nuggets-b0f83f7baccd425dbf8aba440e3e210c">that have fallen behind 3-1</a>&nbsp;in the NBA Finals, the lone one to come back to win the title was the 2016 Cleveland team led by LeBron James against Golden State.</p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-81 p Component-p-0-2-71">On that Cavaliers squad was Kevin Love, the 34-year-old Heat forward who&rsquo;s been preaching that anything can happen.</p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-81 p Component-p-0-2-71">&ldquo;You really just have to take it one possession at a time,&rdquo; Love said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just one possession, one quarter, half-to-half. Just get it done by any means necessary and figure the rest out.&rdquo;</p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-81 p Component-p-0-2-71">Butler couldn&rsquo;t agree more. Just don&rsquo;t mention moral victories and how much they&rsquo;ve accomplished.</p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-81 p Component-p-0-2-71">It&rsquo;s ring or bust.</p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-81 p Component-p-0-2-71">&ldquo;All the odds, 8-seed &mdash; nah, none of that matters,&rdquo; Butler said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just two really good basketball teams. One has to get one win, and one has to get three. Let&rsquo;s just hope that the other that has to get three, gets three.&rdquo;</p>

The Miami Heat are searching for inspiration anywhere they can find it, including a tennis great’s record-setting win at the French Open.

Down 3-1 in NBA Finals, Miami Heat looking for inspiration

<p class="Component-root-0-2-57 p Component-p-0-2-47">MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) &mdash; Veteran Brooklyn Nets point guard Patty Mills and rising Oklahoma City star Josh Giddey are among the 10 NBA players selected in Australia&rsquo;s extended squad of 18 to prepare for the basketball World Cup.</p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-57 p Component-p-0-2-47">Mills&rsquo; teammate Ben Simmons is still recovering from injury and wasn&rsquo;t picked for the squad&rsquo;s upcoming training camp, but coach Brian Goorjian hasn&rsquo;t ruled him out of calculations for the global tournament.</p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-57 p Component-p-0-2-47">Matisse Thybulle, Joe Ingles, Jock Landale, Josh Green, Matthew Dellavedova, Xavier Cooks, Jack White and Dyson Daniels are the other NBA players picked for the extended roster, which will be cut to 12 before Australia&rsquo;s opening game against co-host Japan on Aug. 25.</p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-57 p Component-p-0-2-47">&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been a thorough process. The coaches and I have had many discussions about getting the mix right but I&rsquo;m really pleased with where we&rsquo;ve landed with the guys we&rsquo;ve selected, there&rsquo;s a good balance across the court,&rdquo; Goorjian said in a statement Monday. &ldquo;The fact it&rsquo;s been so tough goes to show the depth of talent we have in Australian basketball right now.&rdquo;</p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-57 p Component-p-0-2-47">Australia won the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics and will again be among the medal contenders in the FIBA World Cup, which is being co-hosted by Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.</p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-57 p Component-p-0-2-47">The Boomers have been drawn into Pool E with Japan, Germany and Finland and will play their group-stage games in Okinawa.</p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-57 p Component-p-0-2-47">Giddey, who was among the last players cut from the Olympic roster for Tokyo, will get his first chance to play for Australia at a major international meet.</p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-57 p Component-p-0-2-47">&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve always dreamed of playing for the Boomers and representing Australia, so to get this opportunity is really special,&rdquo; Giddey said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s a lot of talent in this squad and I think we&rsquo;ve got a good chance of matching it with every team -- I&rsquo;m excited for the challenge.&rdquo;</p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-57 p Component-p-0-2-47">___</p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-57 p Component-p-0-2-47">Australia squad: Xavier Cooks, Dyson Daniels, Matthew Dellavedova, Dante Exum, Sam Froling, Josh Giddey, Chris Goulding, Josh Green, Joe Ingles, Nick Kay, Jock Landale, Thon Maker, Will McDowell-White, Patty Mills, Keanu Pinder, Duop Reath, Matisse Thybulle, Jack White.</p>

Patty Mills and Josh Giddey are among the 10 NBA players selected in Australia’s extended squad of 18 to prepare for the World Cup.

Patty Mills among 10 NBA players in Australia’s extended squad

<p class="Component-root-0-2-72 p Component-p-0-2-62">MILWAUKEE (AP) &mdash; Brook Lopez scored 25 points, Jrue Holiday added 24 and the hot-shooting Milwaukee Bucks withstood Giannis Antetokounmpo&rsquo;s absence while trouncing the Miami Heat 138-122 on Wednesday night, tying their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series at a game apiece.</p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-72 p Component-p-0-2-62">The Bucks went 25 of 49 on 3-point attempts to tie the NBA record for 3-point baskets in a postseason game. Pat Connaughton, who didn&rsquo;t even play in Game 1, added a playoff career-high 22 points while going 6 of 10 from beyond the arc.</p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-72 p Component-p-0-2-62">Antetokounmpo remained out for Milwaukee after leaving the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/heat-bucks-butler-giannis-herro-injuries-94e39b603906b4438a4fb2dc6144a684">Bucks&rsquo; 130-117 Game 1 loss</a>&nbsp;early in the second quarter with a bruised lower back. The two-time MVP suffered the injury on a hard fall after getting fouled late in the first period during a drive to the basket.</p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-72 p Component-p-0-2-62">&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll continue to monitor him and expect for him to improve and still continue to be optimistic that soon he&rsquo;ll be ready to play,&rdquo; Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said before the game.</p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-72 p Component-p-0-2-62">The Bucks also were missing guard Wesley Matthews, who had strained his right calf in Game 1. The Heat didn&rsquo;t have Tyler Herro, who broke his right hand in Game 1 and likely won&rsquo;t return this season unless Miami reaches the NBA Finals.</p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-72 p Component-p-0-2-62">For at least one night, the Bucks didn&rsquo;t miss Antetokounmpo at all as they capitalized on a dramatic turnaround in 3-point shooting. In Game 1, the Bucks went 11 of 45 on 3-point attempts while the Heat were 15 of 25. This time, the Bucks made more than half their 3-point shots in a record-tying performance.</p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-72 p Component-p-0-2-62">Joe Ingles scored 17 points for the Bucks and was 5 of 6 from beyond the arc. Khris Middleton and Grayson Allen added 16 points apiece. Bobby Portis had 13 points and 15 rebounds.</p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-72 p Component-p-0-2-62">Jimmy Butler scored 25 points for the Heat, who host Game 3 on Saturday.</p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-72 p Component-p-0-2-62">The Bucks initially thrived by relying on the same formula they used the last time they played a home postseason game without Antetokounmpo. They gave the ball to Lopez early and often.</p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-72 p Component-p-0-2-62">Lopez, who scored just 10 points in Game 1, had 14 by the end of the first quarter Wednesday. During Milwaukee&rsquo;s 2021 title run, Lopez had scored a playoff career-high 34 points to help the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/atlanta-hawks-milwaukee-bucks-nba-sports-dcb2ae0059160674a385f933240b699a">Bucks beat the Atlanta Hawks 123-112</a>&nbsp;in Game 5 of the East finals while Antetokounmpo was out with a hyperextended left knee.</p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-72 p Component-p-0-2-62">The success of Lopez inside opened things up for everyone on the perimeter.</p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-72 p Component-p-0-2-62">Connaughton sank a 3-pointer that capped an 11-0 run to put Milwaukee ahead 62-41 with 5:29 left in the second quarter. Butler ended that spurt by making two free throws, but the Bucks scored the next 13 points &ndash; including seven from Ingles - to grab a 32-point lead.</p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-72 p Component-p-0-2-62">The Bucks led by as many as 36 in the third quarter. The Heat outscored the Bucks 37-20 in the fourth quarter to make the final score somewhat respectable.</p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-72 p Component-p-0-2-62">TIP-INS</p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-72 p Component-p-0-2-62">Heat: Duncan Robinson replaced Herro in the starting lineup and had 14 points. ... After not playing at all in Game 1, Victor Oladipo had seven points by halftime Wednesday. He finished with 15.</p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-72 p Component-p-0-2-62">Bucks: Jae Crowder received a flagrant 1 foul late in the third quarter for grabbing Butler&rsquo;s right leg as the Heat forward was going up for a shot near the basket. ... Milwaukee had gone 11-8 in regular-season games that Antetokounmpo missed. &hellip; Lopez received the NBA Cares Community Assist award for the month of March because of his support of youth literacy. The NBA will donate $10,000 to the Milwaukee Public Library Foundation.</p>

The Bucks beat the Heat 138-122 on Wednesday night, tying their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series at a game apiece.

Bucks make 25 threes, beat Heat 138-122 without Antetokounmpo

<p><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sdoITlNTBvA" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p><span class="yt-core-attributed-string yt-core-attributed-string--white-space-pre-wrap">On the latest episode of The Rematch, Etan Thomas welcomes the one and only Muggsy Bogues! They have a wide-ranging conversation, discussing his 14-year NBA career, the obstacles he overcame, his documentary "Muggsy: Always Believe" and much more.</span></p>
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Muggsy Bogues talks about his 14-year NBA career, the obstacles he overcame, his documentary "Always Believe" and much more.

Muggsy Bogues on 14-year NBA career, overcoming obstacles, documentary

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<p>MILWAUKEE (AP) &mdash; Jaren Jackson had 36 points, Luke Kennard added 19 and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the short-handed Milwaukee Bucks 137-114 on Friday night to wrap up the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference for the second consecutive season.</p>
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<div>
<p>Memphis entered the game with a two-game lead over Sacramento for second place in the West, but the Kings owned the tiebreaker. Denver took the No. 1 seed in the West on Wednesday night.</p>
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<div>
<p>"It's very important," Grizzlies guard Ja Morant said about the second seed. "We're a very good team at home, so we obviously want that home-court advantage. Definitely big time for us."</p>
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<p>Morant, who finished with 12 points and eight assists, went to the locker room early in the game after sustaining a right wrist and hand injury in a collision with Milwaukee's Jae Crowder. Morant, who later returned to the game, had a large wrap on his right arm in the locker room afterward.</p>
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<p>When asked about his condition, Morant said: "I'm good."</p>
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<p>After trailing by one point at the half, Memphis took command with a 24-7 run to start the third. The Grizzlies led by 24 in the quarter and held the Bucks at bay throughout the remainder of the game.</p>
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<p>"Our communication wasn't great in the first half," Kennard said. "We didn't play up to how we have been playing, especially on the defensive end. We weren't very physical and we kind of laid back a little bit."</p>
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<p>Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said he challenged the team at halftime to be more physical and communicate better.</p>
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<p>"We raised our level in that third quarter," Jenkins said.</p>
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<p>The Grizzlies held the Bucks to 15 points in the third after surrendering 41 points in the second.</p>
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<p>"Better discipline, a little bit more effort," Jackson said. "We figured it out and I'm glad we did."</p>
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<p>The increased intensity on defensive after halftime gave a boost to the Grizzlies offense, Kennard said.</p>
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<p>"We didn't give them many second chance opportunities and we were able to get out in transition and get some easy looks," he said.</p>
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<div>
<p>Lindell Wigginton had 25 points and Crowder a season-high 24 to lead Milwaukee. Wigginton had a total of eight points in limited action this season prior to Friday's output. He also had 11 assists.</p>
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<div>
<p>"It was a great opportunity for Lindell," Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. "He brings a toughness, a competitiveness. He makes shots. He gets to the paint."</p>
<div class="oc-c-body-part oc-c-body-part--text">
<p>The Bucks, who clinched the NBA's best record and the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference with a victory over Chicago on Wednesday, sat six players, including Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday, Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez.</p>
</div>
<div class="oc-c-body-part oc-c-body-part--text">
<p>Antetokounmpo, who also sat out Wednesday, was listed on the injury report with a sore right knee. Holiday and Lopez rested, while Middleton was held out with a right knee issue. Grayson Allen and Pat Connaughton also sat out with ankle injuries.</p>
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<div class="oc-c-body-part oc-c-body-part--text">
<p>Bobby Portis and Joe Ingles were active but didn't play.</p>
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<div class="oc-c-body-part oc-c-body-part--text">
<p>The Bucks' makeshift lineup got off to a hot start and led by nine in the first quarter before the Grizzlies pulled ahead and led 36-31 after the period.</p>
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<div class="oc-c-body-part oc-c-body-part--text">
<p>After the Grizzlies charged to an 11-point lead in the second, the Bucks rallied to take a 72-71 lead at the half, paced by 18 points from Crowder, who made all seven of his shots from the field, including four from 3-point range. Milwaukee shot 15 of 30 from deep over the first two quarters, which allowed them to hold the lead despite Memphis shooting 65% overall in half.</p>
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<p><strong>TIP-INS</strong></p>
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<p>Grizzlies: Kennard, who came in averaging 9.1 points per game, had 11 in the first quarter. &hellip; Jackson had 22 first-half points. &hellip; Outscored the Bucks 62-34 in the paint. &hellip; Finished 16-24 on the road.</p>
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<div class="oc-c-body-part oc-c-body-part--text">
<p>Bucks: Antetokounmpo was honored in a pregame ceremony for his accomplishments this season, including becoming the franchise leader in points, assists and games played. He was joined on the court by Middleton, former Bucks star Paul Pressey and one-time general manager John Hammond, who selected Antetokounmpo with the 15th pick in the 2013 draft.</p>
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<p><strong>UP NEXT</strong></p>
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<div class="oc-c-body-part oc-c-body-part--text">
<p>Grizzlies: At Oklahoma City on Sunday.</p>
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<p>Bucks: At Toronto on Sunday.</p>
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</div>
</div>

The Memphis Grizzlies beat the short-handed Milwaukee Bucks 137-114 on Friday night to wrap up the No. 2 seed in the West.

Grizzlies beat Bucks 137-114, secure No. 2 seed in West

<p>The Milwaukee Bucks clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs Wednesday, but they had to do so without Giannis Antetokounmpo on the second night of a back-to-back.</p>
<p>No problem &mdash; Bobby Portis exploded for 27 points and 13 rebounds, Jrue Holiday racked up 20 points and 15 assists, and Brook Lopez tossed in 26 points to handle the Chicago Bulls. One neat postgame statistic from ESPN's Kane Pitman caught my eye:</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Brook Lopez now has 26 games with 20+ points this season. He had 26 games with 20+ points across his first four regular seasons in Milwaukee. He will be a DPOY finalist but his scoring has wound back the clock during his age 35 season.</p>
&mdash; Kane Pitman (@KanePitman) <a href="https://twitter.com/KanePitman/status/1643788843479621635?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 6, 2023</a></blockquote>
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<p>Lopez is putting up 15.9 points per game, his highest since his All-Star days with the Brooklyn Nets, at the most efficient scoring clip of his career. He's helped the Bucks retake the top of the conference while remaining square in the middle of the Defensive Player of the Year race.</p>
<p>The award's front-runner, Jaren Jackson Jr., has also quietly ascended on the offensive end. Jackson is averaging a career-high 18.3 points per game (20.9 since the All-Star break) with a career-best 58.5% two-point shooting clip. He dropped 40 in Wednesday's overtime loss to the Pelicans and has helped the Grizzlies go 12-4 since March 9.&nbsp;</p>
<p>While the two bigs are duking it out for DPOY, their steps forward as scorers have put each team in the championship conversation.</p>
<p>Starting with Lopez, his output this season hasn't come with increased touches. A cursory glance through PBP Stats' tracking data shows the 35-year-old is hovering at similar rates in touches and volume touch time relative to his entire Milwaukee tenure. His low 16.7% usage rate follows the same trend. But Lopez has received a significant green light; his mark of 11.5 field goal attempts per game is the most in the last six years.</p>
<p>Those extra shots have been distributed relatively evenly across different spots on the floor, but Lopez's paint presence is perhaps the most notable change. Here's a look at his impact of scoring inside since joining the Bucks in 2018, using data from PBP Stats (scroll right to view full table on mobile):</p>
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; height: 154px;" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 44px;">
<td style="width: 10.2766%; height: 44px;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Year</span></strong></td>
<td style="width: 15.2376%; height: 44px;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Touches/100 poss.</span></strong></td>
<td style="width: 18.501%; height: 44px;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Paint touches/100 poss.</span></strong></td>
<td style="width: 16.4124%; height: 44px;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Paint touches FG%<br /></span></strong></td>
<td style="width: 15.1069%; height: 44px;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">At-Rim FGA/game</span></strong></td>
<td style="width: 13.5403%; height: 44px;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">At-Rim FG%</span></strong></td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 10.2766%; height: 22px;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">2018-19</span></strong></td>
<td style="width: 15.2376%; height: 22px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">59.6</span></td>
<td style="width: 18.501%; height: 22px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">2.8</span></td>
<td style="width: 16.4124%; height: 22px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">65.3%</span></td>
<td style="width: 15.1069%; height: 22px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">1.8</span></td>
<td style="width: 13.5403%; height: 22px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">75.5%</span></td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 10.2766%; height: 22px;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">2019-20</span></strong></td>
<td style="width: 15.2376%; height: 22px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">57.5</span></td>
<td style="width: 18.501%; height: 22px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">5.2</span></td>
<td style="width: 16.4124%; height: 22px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">61.7%</span></td>
<td style="width: 15.1069%; height: 22px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">2.5</span></td>
<td style="width: 13.5403%; height: 22px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">66.9%</span></td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 10.2766%; height: 22px;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">2020-21</span></strong></td>
<td style="width: 15.2376%; height: 22px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">49.4</span></td>
<td style="width: 18.501%; height: 22px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">7.0</span></td>
<td style="width: 16.4124%; height: 22px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">70.3%</span></td>
<td style="width: 15.1069%; height: 22px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">2.7</span></td>
<td style="width: 13.5403%; height: 22px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">74.4%</span></td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 10.2766%; height: 22px;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">2021-22*</span></strong></td>
<td style="width: 15.2376%; height: 22px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">51.3</span></td>
<td style="width: 18.501%; height: 22px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">9.7</span></td>
<td style="width: 16.4124%; height: 22px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">62.8%</span></td>
<td style="width: 15.1069%; height: 22px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">3.4</span></td>
<td style="width: 13.5403%; height: 22px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">77.3%</span></td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 10.2766%; height: 22px;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">2022-23</span></strong></td>
<td style="width: 15.2376%; height: 22px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">54.2</span></td>
<td style="width: 18.501%; height: 22px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">9.1</span></td>
<td style="width: 16.4124%; height: 22px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">71.2%</span></td>
<td style="width: 15.1069%; height: 22px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">3.6</span></td>
<td style="width: 13.5403%; height: 22px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">74.7%</span></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>*<em>Note that Lopez played just 13 games in 2021-22 due to injury.</em></p>
<p>Lopez's current paint diet builds off of his abbreviated 2021-22 campaign, and this time, he's consistently converting on his greatest volume as a Buck. In addition to the strong marks at the rim, Lopez is also hitting a blistering 56% of his short-mid-range shots, per Cleaning the Glass.</p>
<p>The 35-year-old scored his 26 points on Wednesday despite a quiet 0-for-2 night from distance. He made 10 of 17 attempts inside the arc. Some were confident driving layups where he powered through Nikola Vucevic and Andre Drummond. But this play highlights how his roll (heyo!) is changing:</p>
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/1z89r7" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
<p>With the amount of drop coverage in today's NBA, plus the different downhill playmakers Milwaukee employs, Lopez has windows available as a roller. Here he stays in the passing lane during Joe Ingles' drive, seals off Derrick Jones Jr. and finishes the layup.&nbsp;</p>
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/2nevnr" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
<p>This earlier bucket was the second of two near-identical makes in a row. Chicago sets its drop early in the action, but Vucevic is tighter on Holiday given the guard's threat to pull up. The window is open quicker for a short-roll pass that Holiday easily makes. Lopez then knocks down the soft-touch floater that the smaller DeMar DeRozan can't really contest.</p>
<p>According to play-type data from Synergy, Lopez is spending 21.2% of his possessions this season as a roll man. That's the highest frequency of his Bucks career, and it's steadily increased in each subsequent year from 14.1% in 2018-19. "Roll man" in Synergy terms can also include pick-and-pop plays, where Lopez often thrives, but he's also adding more classic rolls.</p>
<p>Tack on a career-high 37.4% clip from beyond the arc, and Lopez has found the pockets for him to excel within Milwaukee's offense without taking on a significantly larger workload.</p>
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
<p>Lopez is making teams pay for how they defend guys like Holiday and Antetokounmpo. His buckets still mostly come via assists. Jackson, meanwhile, is stepping up as a self-creator.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The 23-year-old has cleared the 60% True Shooting mark for the first time in his five-year career. Yet, he's not shooting threes particularly well (34.4%) and his volume of attempts is down (4.5 per game). Jackson has instead boosted his two-point percentage to a career-best 58.5%. He can attribute that spike to a consistent assertion of getting to the basket.&nbsp;</p>
<p>According to PBP Stats, more than 40% of Jackson's total shots this year have been self-created twos within 10 feet of the basket. His 53.2% conversion rate on those looks is a whopping nine percentage points better than last season. Jackson's overall 67% clip at the rim is a serious bounce-back from a dreadful 2021-22, and his 47% mark in the short-mid-range area is another career high.</p>
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/2nevnr" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
<p>In his monster 40-point outing, Jackson showed off how he's leveraging his length and strength with confidence. He posted up Larry Nance Jr. twice for scores, and was unfazed even when plowing into Nance on the above drive. Jackson still had the balance to turn the moment into a floater. There are also these Giannis-esque moments with Jackson where he uses his long strides and length to glide past defenders. The overall quick decision-making has elevated his attacks.</p>
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/a44idt" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
<p>The lanky forward has traded in some perimeter looks for more aggressive attacks. In fact, Jackson ranks third in points per drive (0.94) among 180 high-volume drivers this season. He's scoring at a decent 50.5% clip and drawing fouls on 18% of his drives, which also ranks third.</p>
<p>Jackson didn't shoot particularly well (13-for-28) en route to his 40-burger on Wednesday, but did draw nine fouls and made 11 of 12 free throws.</p>
<p>Perhaps the most surprising stat: Jackson is one of 100 NBA players who have logged 50 or more isolation possessions this season, per Synergy. He's drawn shooting fouls on a whopping 32.1% of those possessions; that is the highest in the eight-year history of Synergy's play-type tracking.</p>
<p>With his foul-drawing and reliable free-throw shooting, Jackson has created a floor-raiser with his length and athleticism against opposing bigs. As his scoring efficiency comes along, he's looking more and more like a matchup nightmare.</p>
<p><strong>THE OUTLIERS (a.k.a. other random interesting numbers I found in the void):</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Two extremely important concepts in today's NBA: Creating and preventing advantages. From SIS Hoops:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">In the stretch run of the MVP race, Joel Embiid has stepped up his advantage creation to separate himself as the favorite for the award. <a href="https://t.co/6lThkqTKVC">pic.twitter.com/6lThkqTKVC</a></p>
&mdash; SIS Hoops (@SIS_Hoops) <a href="https://twitter.com/SIS_Hoops/status/1644003730205843458?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 6, 2023</a></blockquote>
<ul>
<li>Post-NCAA men's tournament reflection. FAU baby!
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</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Take good shots ✅<br />Force tough shots ✅<br />Win more games ✅ <a href="https://t.co/xHczgYjpfo">pic.twitter.com/xHczgYjpfo</a></p>
&mdash; Todd Whitehead (@CrumpledJumper) <a href="https://twitter.com/CrumpledJumper/status/1643379899129040897?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 4, 2023</a></blockquote>
<p>
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</p>
<ul>
<li>A few league-wide notes I saw as this season is wrapping up:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Some NBA leaguewide trends as we approach the end of the season 🧵<br /><br />- The NBA is shooting a base 47.5% from the field, which is its highest since 1989-90<br />- eFG% is 54.5%, which is the highest ever<br />- 114.8 offensive rating is a massive all-time high, 2nd place is 112.3 (2020-21)</p>
&mdash; Ethan Fuller (@ethman43) <a href="https://twitter.com/ethman43/status/1644020710753333249?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 6, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Jackson and Lopez are leading the Defensive Player of the Year race, but have also made important offensive strides.

NBA Stats Notebook: Lauding Jaren Jackson Jr. and Brook Lopez's offense

<p class="text | article-text">MILWAUKEE (AP) &mdash; Giannis Antetokounmpo had 33 points, 14 rebounds and six assists and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Philadelphia 76ers 117-104 on Sunday night to move a step closer to the top playoff seed in the Eastern Conference.</p>
<p class="text | article-text">The Bucks (56-22) have a two-game lead over Boston (54-24) with four games left. Boston won the season series with Milwaukee and has the tiebreaker. Philadelphia (51-27) is third in the East.</p>
<p class="text | article-text">Brook Lopez scored 21 points, Khris Middleton had 19 and Jrue Holiday and Bobby Portis each added 18 as the Bucks shot 57.5%. Middleton also had nine assists.</p>
<p class="text | article-text">Tyrese Maxey had 29 points and Joel Embiid 28 for the 76ers.</p>
<p class="text | article-text">The Bucks bounced back three nights after a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/milwaukee-bucks-boston-celtics-sports-602518fe91ba1ade71877f8d634cbdd4#:~:text=MILWAUKEE%20(AP)%20%E2%80%94%20Jayson%20Tatum,in%20the%20Eastern%20Conference%20standings." target="_blank" rel="noopener">140-99 home loss to Boston</a>&nbsp;that matched their most-lopsided defeat of the season. The Bucks never trailed thanks to a blistering start that enabled them to build a 31-15 lead.</p>
<p class="text | article-text">Milwaukee made its first first eight shots from the floor and 12 of its first 13. The Bucks were 5 of 5 from 3-point range during that stretch.</p>
<p class="text | article-text">The Bucks eventually led by 20 during a first half in which they shot 67.4%.</p>
<p class="text | article-text">After making their first five 3-point attempts of the night, the Bucks missed 14 of their next 15. But after the Bucks&rsquo; lead dwindled to four with about four minutes left in the third quarter, Bobby Portis ended the dry spell by sinking a 27-footer.</p>
<p class="text | article-text">Milwaukee soon regained a double-digit advantage and broke the game open by going on a 16-2 run that began late in the third quarter and carried over to the final period. Antetokounmpo scored nine points during that stretch and capped the spurt with a basket putting the Bucks ahead 105-84 with 9:04 remaining.</p>
<p class="text | article-text"><strong>TIP-INS</strong></p>
<p class="text | article-text">76ers: Georges Niang went scoreless and missed his only two shots, both from 3-point range. Niang had gone a combined 9 of 14 from 3-point range in Philadelphia&rsquo;s last two matchups with the Bucks, which both resulted in victories for the 76ers. ... James Harden was held to 11 points after flirting with a triple-double in a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bucks-76ers-giannis-antetokounmpo-joel-embiid-harden-4d4536b59829e9d8de1d14d0cde6a861" target="_blank" rel="noopener">133-130 victory at Milwaukee</a>&nbsp;on March 4. Harden had 38 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds in the March 4 game.</p>
<p class="text | article-text">Bucks: Grayson Allen left midway through the third quarter with a sprained right ankle. ... The Bucks observed Autism Acceptance Night on Sunday by lowering the decibel level of noise and in-game sounds, keeping the lights on for the entire game and not using any strobing lights. Bucks forward Joe Ingles and his wife, Renae, had unveiled upgraded sensory rooms at Fiserv Forum during a Thursday news conference. Their 6-year-old son, Jacob, has autism.</p>
<p class="text | article-text"><strong>UP NEXT</strong></p>
<p class="text | article-text">76ers: Host Boston on Tuesday night.</p>
<p class="text | article-text">Bucks: At Washington on Tuesday night.&nbsp;</p>

The Bucks beat the 76ers 117-104 on Sunday night to move a step closer to the top playoff seed in the Eastern Conference.

Giannis Antetokounmpo helps hot-shooting Bucks beat 76ers 117-104

<p>It's December 14, and Charlotte Hornets head coach Steve Clifford has already had enough.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Normally a willing interviewee and giving orator, Clifford sets the stage early.&nbsp;</p>
<p>"You don't have to ask questions," he says, before laying down the law for nearly two full minutes.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The heart of the message: The Hornets won't win games &mdash; and certainly nothing of consequence &mdash; if they don't nail the little things. And they'll have no shot if they don't nail the big thing: Defense.</p>
<p>"We are playing no defense, not one guy. There's no bright spot," Clifford says.&nbsp;</p>
<p>"We don't run back on defense. We don't guard the ball. Our pick-and-roll stuff &mdash; all stuff that was good. I think we were as high as 12th or 13th in defense about 10 games ago, and we're right back where we started: Ground Zero, where all we want to be is, "Let's try to outscore the other team." It doesn't work that way. "</p>
<p>Quotes don't really do it justice &mdash; you can watch the whole thing <a href="https://youtu.be/DnWSEJypz5A" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a> &mdash; but Clifford was right on all accounts. Well, mostly all accounts.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Through Dec. 14, the Hornets ranked 26th in half-court defense per Cleaning The Glass. Opponents generated 1.083 points per possession (PPP) on trips featuring a drive against the Hornets, the worst mark in the NBA. Only five teams allowed more points on a per-possession basis than the Hornets when defending pick-and-rolls.</p>
<p>The lone bright spot&nbsp;<em>was&nbsp;</em>the transition defense, ranking fifth in PPP allowed (1.165) and second in transition frequency allowed (13.7% of possessions). Honestly, it made sense for Clifford to be paranoid overseeing any slippage in that area, considering how woeful everything else had been.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Fast forward a few months, and we're singing a different tune.&nbsp;</p>
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<p>The Hornets have a 110.6 defensive rating since the All-Star break, making them, statistically, the stingiest defense in the league right now. And it's not like their numbers are juiced by feasting on awful offenses. Nearly half of their games have come against top-10 offenses.</p>
<p>Here are their splits, per Cleaning The Glass:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Against top-10 offenses (7 games):</strong> 115.3 DRTG (3.6 lower than league average), 8th in the NBA</li>
<li><strong>Against middle-10 offenses (4 games):</strong> 107.6 DRTG (-9.3), 1st</li>
<li><strong>Against bottom-10 offenses (5 games):</strong> 106.7 DRTG (-6.5), 5th</li>
</ul>
<p>It's important to emphasize the "statistically" part. A large portion of what's driving Charlotte's success is opponent three-point shooting. Teams have shot just 31.6% from deep against them since the All-Star break, nearly two percentage points lower than the second-ranked Denver Nuggets (33.1%).</p>
<p>Per Second Spectrum's Quantified Shot Quality (qSQ) metric, teams have&nbsp;<em>underperformed&nbsp;</em>their expected field goal percentage from deep against the Hornets by nearly six percentage points (-5.87) &mdash; the largest gap in the league.&nbsp;</p>
<p>That's not to say the Hornets have&nbsp;<em>only&nbsp;</em>gotten lucky. They've been pretty intentional about limiting fruitful three-point attempts; between their off-ball switching, an uptick in space-limiting ball-screen coverages (more on that shortly) and more aggressive closeouts, teams are struggling to win the math battle in a way they weren't earlier this season.&nbsp;</p>
<p>You can see that reflected in the actual shot profile. Before the All-Star break, 36% of the opposition's shots were coming from deep against the Hornets, a mark that ranked No. 21 in the league. Since the break, that's fallen to 32.9% (No. 7).</p>
<p>But even when fruitful threes are given up &mdash; their <em>corner</em> three rate allowed has remain unchanged (9.6%) &mdash; they're at least making those tougher. Their contest rate on corner threes has improved throughout the year, ranking 12th before the break and sixth after it, per Second Spectrum.</p>
<p>The Hornets have asked their bigs &mdash; rookie Mark Williams when available, and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-feature-interview-nick-richards-charlotte-hornets-bench-mason-plumlee-steve-clifford-jamaica-basketball-dennis-smith-jr-kelly-oubre-lamelo-ball" target="_blank" rel="noopener">quietly-solid reserve Nick Richards</a> &mdash; to play closer to the level against ball-screens. When trending smaller with PJ Washington or Kai Jones (he's been fun!) at the 5, they're more inclined to (late) switch.</p>
<p>If opponents attempt to target a weaker defender in ball-screens or with a clear out, or are able to force an unfavorable switch, the Hornets are willing to send doubles to get their guys out of perceived trouble.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Either gambit puts two on the ball, creating openings on the back end. But this is where you tip your cap to the length, athleticism and overall ground coverage this group has.&nbsp;</p>
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<p>Only two players in the Hornets' rotation are shorter than 6-foot-7 &mdash; Terry Rozier (6-1) and Dennis Smith Jr. (6-2). Rozier has missed the last two games, and has been replaced by Theo Maledon; Maledon keeps the quota at two, while also offering more size (6-4) than Rozier.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Smith has been one of the best guard defenders in the NBA on a per-minute basis. He's physical at the point of attack and combines that ruggedness with some real feistiness at the rim. He isn't afraid to challenge shots. He's currently <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/defensive-impact?CF=BLK*GE*25&amp;Height=LT%206-4&amp;PerMode=Totals&amp;TeamID=0&amp;dir=D&amp;sort=MIN" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one of 10 players</a> listed at 6-4 or shorter with 25 blocks to his name; everyone on the list has appeared in more action than Smith.</p>
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<p>On a team that's willing to send a bunch of help, it's a breath of fresh air to have someone like Smith who doesn't <em>need&nbsp;</em>it all that often.&nbsp;</p>
<p>To that point: 47 players have defended at least 200 on-ball picks at the point of attack since the All-Star break. At 0.78 PPP, no player has "allowed" a lower clip than Smith. On the year, Smith ranks second in Dunks And Three's Defensive Estimated Plus-Minus (dEPM) metric (+3.6), narrowly edging out OG Anunoby (+3.4) and trailing only Alex Caruso (+4.5).&nbsp;</p>
<p>Beyond him, I've been impressed with the wings. JT Thor and Gordon Hayward have taken turns picking up top-tier elite wing assignments, and have mostly held their own. Hayward's been surprisingly spry chasing dudes around off-ball screens. I enjoyed the work he put in against Luka Doncic over the weekend, even if he got dotted a couple of times.</p>
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<p>Thor has used his rare blend of size and mobility to stick with different types of assignments on the ball. He's also provided us with some fun rim-protection flashes; you always have to be aware of where he is.&nbsp;</p>
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<p>As for the bigs, many will point to rookie Williams' insertion into the starting lineup as a real turning point. There's some credence to that; the Hornets rank third in defensive rating since Feb. 10th, the date marking the rookie's first start.</p>
<p>His size is valuable, particularly on the glass. He's had nice flashes of rim protection during this stretch, averaging 1.1 blocks while contesting <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/hustle?CF=G*GE*10&amp;DateFrom=02/10/2023&amp;Height=&amp;PerMode=Per36" target="_blank" rel="noopener">13.1 shots per 36 minutes</a>, a number in the range of guys like Jakob Poeltl (13.4), Kristaps Porzingis (13.0) and Rudy Gobert (12.6).</p>
<p>I'd argue they've gotten more juice out of Richards, whose growing comfort on the perimeter has really popped. He isn't the mountain to dribble around or pass over that Williams is, but the gap in mobility and understanding of angles make him a more effective at-the-level defender. He's gotten better at contesting shots vertically, which gives him a chance to alter shots in light of his limitations as a leaper.</p>
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<p>Neither big is ready to be a true defensive achor right now, but that's okay. Williams is still trying to navigate space at the NBA level, period. Having to defend multiple actions within a possession can get dicey for the young man.</p>
<p>Richards' attempts at being a late leaper &mdash; waiting for the offensive player to leave his feet before challenging the shot, in hopes of avoiding fouls &mdash; can end with the ball going in the basket as Richards' hand is slapping the backboard.</p>
<p>On the positive side, Williams has shown enough to be encouraged by his potential to get there. Richards will likely never be an anchor, but he's made enough strides from last season to feel comfortable with him executing multiple coverages. In 24 or fewer minutes &mdash; and I'd guess he'd be in the 18-ish range on a better team &mdash; that's all that's needed for him to be a valuable role player.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Are the Hornets&nbsp;<em>actually&nbsp;</em>the best defensive team in the NBA? No, they are not. It is, however, worth celebrating the strides they've made as the season has gone on. With the collective size and mobility this roster has, it's also worth getting excited about the foundation that could be built.&nbsp;</p>
<p>(And hey, with enough lottery luck, they could be set in the paint for years to come.)</p>

Nekias Duncan explores what's happening with the Hornets' suddenly-elite defense.