Titans

The first round of the 2024 NBA Draft is done and dusted, and the second round will start today at 4 PM Eastern at ESPN&rsquo;s Seaport District Studios in New York. This will be the first time in NBA history that the draft will be separated into two days, with the first round being at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.&nbsp;
Here are all the first-round selections courtesy of the NBA: (article to be updated with the second-round picks)
<ol>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/zaccharie-risacher">Zaccharie Risacher</a> (JL Bourg-en-Bresse) to the Atlanta Hawks</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/alexandre-sarr">Alex Sarr</a> (Perth) to the Washington Wizards</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/reed-sheppard">Reed Sheppard</a> (Kentucky) to the Houston Rockets</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/stephon-castle">Stephon Castle</a> (Connecticut) to the San Antonio Spurs</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/ron-holland">Ron Holland II</a> (G League Ignite) to the Detroit Pistons</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/tidjane-salaun">Tidjane Salaun</a> (Cholet Basket) to the Charlotte Hornets</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/donovan-clingan">Donovan Clingan</a> (Connecticut) to the Portland Trail Blazers</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/rob-dillingham">Rob Dillingham</a> (Kentucky) to the San Antonio Spurs &mdash; traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/zach-edey">Zach Edey</a> (Purdue) to the Memphis Grizzlies</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/cody-williams">Cody Williams</a> (Colorado) to the Utah Jazz</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/matas-buzelis">Matas Buzelis</a> (G League Ignite) to the Chicago Bulls</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/nikola-topic">Nikola Topic</a> (KK Crvena Zvezda) to the Oklahoma City Thunder</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/devin-carter">Devin Carter</a> (Providence) to the Sacramento Kings</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/carlton-carrington">Bub Carrington</a> (Pittsburgh) to the Portland Trail Blazers &mdash; traded to Washington Wizards</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/kelel-ware">Kel&rsquo;el Ware</a> (Indiana) to the Miami Heat</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/jared-mccain">Jared McCain</a> (Duke) to the Philadelphia 76ers</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/dalton-knecht">Dalton Knecht</a> (Tennessee) to the Los Angeles Lakers</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/tristan-da-silva">Tristan da Silva</a> (Colorado) to the Orlando Magic</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/jakobe-walter">Ja&rsquo;Kobe Walter</a> (Baylor) to the Toronto Raptors&nbsp;</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/jaylon-tyson">Jaylon Tyson</a> (Cal) to the Cleveland Cavaliers</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/yves-missi">Yves Missi</a> (Baylor) to the New Orleans Pelicans</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/daron-holmes-ii">DaRon Holmes II</a> (Dayton) to the Phoenix Suns &mdash; traded to the Denver Nuggets</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/aj-johnson">AJ Johnson</a> (Illawarra) to the Milwaukee Bucks</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/kyshawn-george">Kyshawn George</a> (Miami) to the New York Knicks &mdash; traded to Washington Wizards</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/pacome-dadiet">Pacome Dadiet</a> (Ratiopharm Ulm) to the New York Knicks</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/dillon-jones">Dillon Jones</a> (Weber State) to the Washington Wizards &mdash; traded to Oklahoma City Thunder (via Knicks)</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/terrence-shannon-jr">Terrence Shannon Jr.</a> (Illinois) to the Minnesota Timberwolves</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/ryan-dunn">Ryan Dunn</a> (Virginia) to the Denver Nuggets &mdash; traded to the Phoenix Suns</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/isaiah-collier">Isaiah Collier</a> (USC) to the Utah Jazz</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/baylor-scheierman-2">Baylor Scheierman</a> (Creighton) to the Boston Celtics</li>
</ol>
&nbsp;
<ol start="31">
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/jonathan-mogbo">Jonathan Mogbo</a> (San Francisco) to the Toronto Raptors</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/kyle-filipowski">Kyle Filipowski</a> (Duke) to the Utah Jazz</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/tyler-smith">Tyler Smith</a> (G League Ignite) to the Milwaukee Bucks</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/tyler-kolek">Tyler Kolek</a> (Marquette) to the Portland Trail Blazers &mdash; traded to the New York Knicks</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/johnny-furphy">Johnny Furphy</a> (Kansas) to the San Antonio Spurs &mdash; traded to the Indiana Pacers</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/juan-nunez">Juan Nunez</a> (Ratiopharm Ulm) to the Indiana Pacers &mdash; traded to San Antonio Spurs</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/bobi-klintman">Bobi Klintman</a> (Cairns) to the Minnesota Timberwolves &mdash; traded to the Detroit Pistons</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/ajay-mitchell">Ajay Mitchell</a> (UC Santa Barbara) to the New York Knicks &mdash; traded to Oklahoma City Thunder</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/jaylen-wells">Jaylen Wells</a> (Washington State) to the Memphis Grizzlies</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/oso-ighodaro">Oso Ighodaro</a> (Marquette) to the Portland Trail Blazers &mdash; traded to the Phoenix Suns (via Knicks)</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/adem-bona">Adem Bona</a> (UCLA) to the Philadelphia 76ers</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/kj-simpson">KJ Simpson</a> (Colorado) to the Charlotte Hornets</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/nikola-djurisic">Nikola Djurisic</a> (KK Mega Basket) to the Miami Heat &mdash; traded to the Atlanta Hawks (via Heat)</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/pelle-larsson">Pelle Larsson</a> (Arizona) to the Houston Rockets &mdash; traded to the Miami Heat (via Rockets)</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/jamal-shead">Jamal Shead</a> (Houston) to the Sacramento Kings &mdash; traded to the Toronto Raptors</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/cam-christie">Cam Christie</a> (Minnesota) to the Los Angeles Clippers</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/antonio-reeves">Antonio Reeves</a> (Kentucky) to the Orlando Magic &mdash; traded to the New Orleans Pelicans</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/harrison-ingram">Harrison Ingram</a> (North Carolina) to the San Antonio Spurs</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/tristen-newton">Tristen Newton</a> (Connecticut) to the Indiana Pacers</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/enrique-freeman">Enrique Freeman</a> (Akron) to the Indiana Pacers</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/melvin-ajinca">Melvin Ajinca</a> (Saint-Quentin Basketball) to the New York Knicks &mdash; traded to the Dallas Mavericks</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/quinten-post">Quinten Post</a> (Boston College) to the Golden State Warriors &mdash; traded to Thunder, then to Blazers, then to Warriors</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/cam-spencer">Cam Spencer</a> (Connecticut) to the Detroit Pistons &mdash; traded to the Memphis Grizzlies (via Timberwolves)</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/anton-watson">Anton Watson</a> (Gonzaga) to the Boston Celtics</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/bronny-james">Bronny James</a> (USC) to the Los Angeles Lakers</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/kevin-mccullar-jr">Kevin McCullar Jr.</a> (Kansas) to the Phoenix Suns &mdash; traded to the New York Knicks</li>
</ol>
&nbsp;

The first round of the 2024 NBA Draft is done and dusted, and the second round will start today at 4 PM Eastern at ESPN’s Seaport District Studios in New York.

2024 NBA Draft: Full results

Purdue&rsquo;s Zach Edey decided it was the right call to go back to school instead of staying in the NBA draft. His predecessor as national player of the year, Kentucky&rsquo;s Oscar Tshiebwe, is sticking with his pro pursuit.
And Connecticut&rsquo;s reign as NCAA champion will begin with multiple starters having left for the NBA draft and one returning after flirting with doing the same.
The 7-foot-4 Edey and UConn guard Tristen Newton were among the notable names to announce that they were withdrawing from the draft Wednesday, the NCAA&rsquo;s deadline for players who declared as early entrants to pull out and retain their college eligibility.
Edey&rsquo;s decision came Wednesday night, in social media posts from both&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/zach_edey/status/1664075497490227202?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the center</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/boilerball/status/1664076605637947392?s=12&amp;t=srroTo7kpdGXnm7-atvQSA" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the Boilermakers program</a>&nbsp;that earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ap-player-of-year-edey-97210ca64c44cd64ca0120406dcc969a">behind Edey, The Associated Press men&rsquo;s national player of the year</a>.
But Tshiebwe&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cs7A_lVv4CC/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">announced late in the afternoon that he would remain in the draft</a>&nbsp;after a college career that included&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/march-madness-st-peters-peacocks-mens-basketball-sports-oscar-tshiebwe-johnny-davis-7174341881f37ac8750f8f9119a6fce8">being named the AP national player of the year in 2022</a>.
For the current champions, Newton (10.1 points, 4.7 assists, 4.5 rebounds)&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/D1Tristen/status/1663887976647237632?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">is returning</a>&nbsp;after being one of four Huskies to declare for the draft after a run&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/final-four-uconn-san-diego-state-1de224560610defcbc4eb9c40cbb588a">to UConn&rsquo;s fifth national championship in early April</a>. He scored a game-high 19 points to go with 10 rebounds in the victory over San Diego State in the title game.
The others were&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ncaa-championship-uconn-san-diego-state-782bd15323bda90f2b664653cae99e6e">Final Four Most Outstanding Player Adama Sanogo</a>, wing Jordan Hawkins and versatile guard Andre Jackson Jr. Sanogo (17.8 points) and Hawkins (16.3) have made it clear they have closed the door on their college careers, while team spokesman Phil Chardis said Wednesday night that Jackson (6.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists) would remain in the draft.
The Huskies have 247sports&rsquo; No. 3-ranked recruiting class for next year to restock the roster, led by McDonald&rsquo;s All-American point guard Stephon Castle.
The NBA&rsquo;s withdrawal deadline is June 12, but is moot when it comes to college players returning to school due to the NCAA&rsquo;s earlier timeline to retain playing eligibility.
STAYING IN SCHOOL
TREY ALEXANDER:&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/TrickyTrey23/status/1664070367982280707?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Creighton gets back</a> a 6-4 guard who averaged 13.6 points and shot 41% from 3-point range in his first full season as a starter.
ADEM BONA: The 6-foot-10 forward and Pac-12 freshman of the year&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/UCLAMBB/status/1663947898332286976?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">is returning to UCLA</a>&nbsp;after starting 32 games as a rookie and averaging 7.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks &mdash; with coach Mick Cronin praising his toughness for &ldquo;competing through multiple injuries for as long as he could&rdquo; in a statement Wednesday.
EDEY: He averaged 22.3 points, 12.9 rebounds, 2.1 blocks and 1.5 assists while shooting 60.7% from the field. His presence alone helps Purdue be a factor in the Big Ten race.
JOSIAH-JORDAN JAMES: The 6-6 guard went through the NBA G League Combine and had workouts with multiple teams&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://utsports.com/news/2023/5/31/mens-basketball-james-set-to-rejoin-vols-for-fifth-year.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">before opting to return</a>&nbsp;to Tennessee for a fifth season alongside teammate Santiago Vescovi.
JUDAH MINTZ: The 6-3 freshman averaged 16.3 points and 4.6 assists&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://cuse.com/news/2023/5/31/mens-basketball-hes-back" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">for Syracuse</a>, ranking third among Division I freshmen in scoring behind only Alabama&rsquo;s Brandon Miller and Lamar&rsquo;s Nate Calmese.
OWLS&rsquo; RETURNEES: Florida Atlantic got good news after its surprise Final Four run with the return leading scorers Johnell Davis (13.8) and Alijah Martin (13.4).&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/37768605/johnell-davis-alijah-martin-withdraw-nba-draft-return-florida-atlantic" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ESPN first reported</a>&nbsp;their decisions, while Martin later&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/martin_alijah/status/1664007891882328066" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">posted a social media statement</a>.
TERRENCE SHANNON JR.: Illinois got a big boost with Shannon&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/Sn1per_T/status/1664063397468438530?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">announcing his return Wednesday night in a social media post</a>. The 6-6 guard is returning for a fifth college season after averaging 17.2 points.
SPARTANS&rsquo; RETURNEES:&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/MSU_Basketball/status/1663931468761169926" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Michigan State announced</a>&nbsp;that guards Jaden Akins and A.J. Hoggard have withdrawn from the NBA draft. Standout guard Tyson Walker had previously withdrawn in April, setting up Tom Izzo to have five of his top scorers back.
GOING PRO
KOBE BROWN: Missouri&rsquo;s 6-8 swingman&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/TheKobe24Brown/status/1664041800917729281" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">opted against returning for a fifth college season</a>&nbsp;after being an&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/all-sec-team-brandon-miller-tshiebwe-taylor-aa366b637e7352bacaab5e7cd4e5dd9e">AP first-team all-Southeastern Conference pick</a>&nbsp;averaging 15.8 points last season.
JAYLEN CLARK: The third-year UCLA guard averaged 13.0 points and 6.0 rebounds while leading the Pac-12 with 2.6 steals en route to being named Naismith national defensive player of the year. Cronin called him a winner with strong intangibles who made UCLA &ldquo;a better program because he chose to be a Bruin.&rdquo;
BRICE SENSABAUGH: The Ohio State freshman averaged 16.3 points and 5.4 rebounds in 31 games before missing his final two in the Big Ten Tournament due to a knee injury. He&rsquo;s a potential first-round prospect.
TSHIEBWE: The 6-9, 260-pound forward is a tough interior presence who led the country in rebounds for two straight seasons (15.1 in 2022, 13.7 in 2023) while racking up 48 double-doubles. But he faces an uncertain next stop and is projected at best as a second-round prospect.

Purdue’s Zach Edey decided it was the right call to go back to school instead of staying in the NBA draft.

Purdue’s Edey returning to school; Kentucky’s Tshiebwe stays in NBA draft

ATLANTA (AP) &mdash; Trae Young returned after missing one game with the flu and scored 25 points and had 16 assists to help the travel-weary Atlanta Hawks overwhelm shorthanded Washington 134-116 on Wednesday night.
With the win, the Hawks achieved a modest milestone as they prepare for the postseason. The Hawks (41-39) ended a streak of 33 games being within 1 game of .500.
The Nets defeated the Pistons and guaranteed that the Hawks cannot finish as the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference and will be in the conference play-in tournament for the second straight season. Atlanta holds the No. 8 seed and has a one-game lead over No. 9 Toronto.
The Hawks overcame travel issues that forced the team to fly from Chicago on Wednesday morning after plane difficulties caused the team to stay in Chicago on Tuesday night. Arriving in Atlanta at 2 p.m., the Hawks hit the court five and half hours later.
&ldquo;It was definitely an unusual schedule,&rdquo; AJ Griffin said. &ldquo;Coach (Quin Snyder) handled it well. He set the tone. We knew we just had to play hard and get through the day.&rdquo;
John Collins had 23 points and put the Hawks in control with a stellar sequence in the third quarter. Collins scooped up a loose ball before throwing down a reverse jam, then buried a 3-pointer on the next possession that gave the Hawks an 85-71 lead.
The Hawks did not trail for the game&rsquo;s final 29 minutes and shot 43.3 percent from 3-point range.
Wizards center Daniel Gafford had a career-high 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
Hawks reserve Jalen Johnson continued his recent string of strong play, matching his career high of 16 points, set the previous night in a win over the Bulls. Johnson also had 8 rebounds.
The Wizards played without out six of their top eight rotation players, including 20-plus point scorers Bradley Beal, Kristaps Porzingis and Kyle Kuzma as they play out the string following their elimination from playoff contention.
&ldquo;I thought offensively, we did some good things,&rdquo; said Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. &ldquo;We moved the ball with pretty good pace. We were sharing the ball as best we can. We had some good looks that didn&rsquo;t go down, but I&rsquo;m more concerned with the defensive stuff.&rdquo;
BENCH BOOST
Snyder talked about his &ldquo;deep&rdquo; bench prior to Wednesday&rsquo;s game, and the group backed up his assessment right away. Led by Johnson, Atlanta had 15 points from its bench in the first quarter after the Hawks got off to a sluggish start in the opening minutes. Johnson and Griffin finished with 16 points apiece.
&ldquo;We have a lot of guys who are prepared,&rdquo; Snyder said. &ldquo;There are limited minutes and some tough decisions have to be made. One of the tings about our bench is the acceptance of a role. To put the team first is not something you take for granted.&rdquo;
Snyder inserted guard Aaron Holiday for Young just six minutes into the game. The Hawks responded with a quick burst.
Holiday, who played just two minutes on Tuesday, had eight points and four assists in 21 minutes.
TIP-INS
Wizards: First-round pick Johnny Davis started his third straight game and has averaged 18.7 points in his three starts. Davis scored 20 points each of his past two games. The rookie from Wisconsin averaged 11.6 points in 19 G League games and has played 26 games with the Wizards.
Hawks: De&rsquo;Andre Hunter missed his fourth straight game with a knee injury. Hunter has started 65 games this season. ... Bogdan Bogdanovic did not play due to right knee injury management. He led the Hawks with 26 points in Tuesday night&rsquo;s win at Chicago. ... The Hawks scored over 100 points for the 55th straight game, extending their team record.
UP NEXT
Wizards: Host Miami on Friday night.
Hawks: Host Philadelphia on Friday night.

The Hawks ended a streak of 33 games being within a game of .500. They hold the eighth seed with a one-game lead over No. 9 Toronto.

Young has 25 as Hawks gain momentum, beat Wizards 134-116

WASHINGTON (AP) &mdash; The Milwaukee Bucks were eliminated last season in a Game 7 on the road.
One more victory, and they won&rsquo;t have to worry about that.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 28 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, and Jrue Holiday nearly added a triple-double of his own as the Bucks took another step toward wrapping up the NBA&rsquo;s best record with a 140-128 victory over the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night.
Holiday finished with 26 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds, and Bobby Portis added 19 points and 20 rebounds for Milwaukee.
The Bucks (57-22) moved to three games ahead of Boston with three to play, although the Celtics &mdash; who beat Milwaukee in that seven-game series last year &mdash; have the head-to-head tiebreaker. Boston lost a 103-101 thriller at Philadelphia on Tuesday, with ex-Buck P.J. Tucker hitting big 3-pointers down the stretch as Milwaukee players watched in their locker room.
After that game ended, Antetokounmpo downplayed the importance of home court just a little, noting that the Bucks were the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference when they won it all two years ago.
&ldquo;At the end of the day, Boston is a beast, Philly is a beast, Cleveland is a beast, New York is a beast,&rdquo; Antetokounmpo said.
Kendrick Nunn scored 24 points for the Wizards, who are out of playoff contention and played without Bradley Beal (left knee), Kristaps Porzingis (illness) and Kyle Kuzma (right ankle). Washington kept it close until late in the second quarter, when Milwaukee closed the half on a 13-5 run to lead 75-62.
It wasn&rsquo;t close after that, with the Bucks leading by as many as 24 points. Milwaukee wasn&rsquo;t at full strength either. Khris Middleton (right knee) missed the game, which was the first half of a back-to-back for the Bucks. Grayson Allen was also out after leaving Sunday&rsquo;s game against Philadelphia with a sprained right ankle.
Pat Connaughton played only 5:40 because of what coach Mike Budenholzer said was a twisted right ankle. Budenholzer was hopeful it&rsquo;s not too serious.
HIGHLIGHT
On a night when defense was in short supply, Antetokounmpo made an incredible chase-down block on Nunn in the fourth quarter with his team up 15 &mdash; although Corey Kispert followed up with a layup for the Wizards.
&ldquo;His competitive fire, his competitive spirit, it&rsquo;s the best,&rdquo; Budenholzer said. &ldquo;A lot of guys I think don&rsquo;t go get that. Not his physical ability to go get it, but just the competitiveness and the willingness to try. He&rsquo;s very special that way.&rdquo;
Antetokounmpo nearly had his triple-double after three quarters but needed one more assist.
LOTTERY ODDS
Washington (34-45) is now in a three-way tie for 11th place in the Eastern Conference with Orlando and Indiana.
TIP-INS
Bucks: Jevon Carter (left foot) did not play. ... Portis has 23 double-doubles off the bench this season, the most in the league. ... Antetokounmpo had eight turnovers. ... Jae Crowder scored 19 points. ... Milwaukee shot 23 of 42 from 3-point range.
Wizards: In addition to the Beal-Porzingis-Kuzma trio, Washington was also missing Monte Morris (right ankle), Delon Wright (illness) and Deni Avdija (left elbow). Jordan Goodwin, Johnny Davis and Anthony Gill, who had combined for 10 starts all season, were all in the starting lineup. ... Davis, a first-round draft pick last year, scored a career-high 20 points. ... Gafford picked up four fouls in the first half.
UP NEXT
Bucks: Host Chicago on Wednesday night.
Wizards: At Atlanta on Wednesday night.

The Bucks (57-22) moved to three games ahead of Boston with three games to play.

Antetokounmpo’s triple-double lifts Bucks over Wizards

WASHINGTON --&nbsp;Paolo Banchero is finishing strong in his bid for Rookie of the Year honors.
Banchero had 30 points and 12 rebounds, Markelle Fultz added 25 points and the Orlando Magic overcame a 16-point second half deficit to beat the Washington Wizards 116-109 on Friday night.
The Wizards managed only 13 points in the final quarter and fell to three games behind Chicago for the final play-in spot in the Eastern Conference with five games remaining. Orlando remained four games behind the Bulls, who routed Charlotte 121-91.
Banchero, the No. 1 pick in last year's draft out of Duke, is the clear favorite to win Rookie of the Year, and Fultz gave him an endorsement.
&ldquo;I think you just see it, playing both ends of the floor, being able to create, being confident and poised," Fultz said. "I don't really think it's any discussion about it, but of course people got to vote.&rdquo;
Washington was without its top three players &mdash; Bradley Beal (left knee), Kristaps Porzingis (illness) and Kyle Kuzma (right ankle).
Corey Kispert scored a career-high 27 points for Washington but did not manage a shot attempt in the fourth until the final minute. He made nine of the Wizards' 17 3-pointers.
Washington scored the first 13 points of the third quarter and led 76-60. The Magic cut the lead to three later in the quarter but the Wizards were up 96-85 entering the fourth.
In that final period, however, Orlando shut Washington down. The Wizards went 1 of 11 from long distance in the fourth and 5 of 23 from the field.
&ldquo;Some of the shots we were passing up, we've got to just take them, make or miss,&rdquo; Wizards guard Delon Wright said. &ldquo;I feel like that was the biggest thing &mdash; just not being confident in some of the shots we were taking.&rdquo;
The Magic finally took a 105-103 lead on a 3-pointer by Cole Anthony. That was part of a 13-2 run that put Orlando up by eight.
Anthony scored seven of his 16 points in the fourth.
&ldquo;That midrange, I think we found a time in the possessions that it was a clean look, it was the right look," Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. "His ability to walk in there and step in there with confidence is what we've asked him to do.&rdquo;
ADJUSTMENT
Wright credited Orlando's zone defense with helping to turn the tide, and Mosley said the Magic defended well as a team.
&ldquo;Our guys did a great job communicating," Mosley said. "Our bench was doing a fantastic job of communicating with those guys on the floor, knowing where Kispert was, finding shooters.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Magic: Kevon Harris (left elbow) did not play. ... Fultz went 11 of 15 from the field. ... Franz Wagner had 20 points. ... Banchero went 13 of 14 on free throws. The Wizards as a team were just 10 of 12. ... Orlando has won four of five, including two victories over Washington.
Wizards: Kispert's previous career high was 26 points. ... Delon Wright had 21 points and nine rebounds, and Daniel Gafford contributed 18 points and 13 rebounds. ... Rookie Johnny Davis scored 10 points but went 4 of 15 from the field. ... Washington attempted a season-high 50 3-pointers. ... The Wizards used 11 players, although Kispert played 41:52.
UP NEXT
Magic: Host Detroit on Sunday night.
Wizards: At New York on Sunday night.

Banchero had 30 points and 12 rebounds and the Magic overcame a 16-point second half deficit to beat the Wizards 116-109 on Friday.

Magic beat Wizards 116-109 behind Paolo Banchero's 30 and 12

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) &mdash; Texas A&amp;M-Corpus Christi guard Trevian Tennyson got a taste of the pomp and star treatment at last year&rsquo;s First Four and wanted more.
The Islanders lost their 2022 play-in game to Texas Southern, which notched its second First Four victory in a row.
&ldquo;We had meetings at the beginning of the year, and the only thing I told them was, my goal this year was to get back to March Madness,&rdquo; said Tennyson, who led the Islanders with 15.7 points per game and hit 41% of his 3-pointers. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re here, so that&rsquo;s really it.
&ldquo;Anything can happen really because it&rsquo;s March Madness,&rdquo; Tennyson said Monday. &ldquo;Last year we started off on a really good trail. We (were) up, I think, almost 15, and we didn&rsquo;t end up coming up with the win. Really, just anything can happen.&rdquo;
Texas A&amp;M-Corpus Christi (23-10) has won 12 of its last 13, including the Southland Conference tournament. This time in the First Four, they face the Redhawks of Southeast Missouri State, a team that had a losing record before winning the Ohio Valley Conference tournament for the first time in 23 years.
For the Redhawks, it was the first winning season in nine years.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s basketball Christmas. It really is,&rdquo; Southeast Missouri State coach Brad Korn said. &ldquo;Every time you turn the corner, you smile at something else. We had a guy playing bagpipes at the hotel today, so what else could you ask for?&rdquo;
The winner moves on as the 16th seed to face top-seeded Alabama in the first round at Birmingham on Thursday.
THESE GUYS AGAIN
Texas Southern is as close to a First Four regular as the annual play-in event can claim.
The Tigers return to the event for the third straight year and fifth time overall, facing off Wednesday night against Fairleigh Dickinson (17-15), the New Jersey school that won a First Four game in 2019 and is just a year removed from a 4-22 finish.
Texas Southern&rsquo;s fifth-year coach, Johnny Jones, is 3-0 in the First Four since taking over in 2018. The Tigers come to Dayton this time with a losing record (14-20) but earned the postseason berth by sweeping through the Southwest Conference tournament, beating second-seeded Grambling State in the final.
The winner of the Texas Southern-Fairleigh Dickinson game will jump on Interstate 70 for the hour&rsquo;s drive to Columbus, where it will slot in as the 16th seed in the East and play top-seeded Purdue on Friday.
DIFFERENT STYLES
Mississippi State and Pitt should be an intriguing matchup because their strengths are so different.
Mississippi State (21-12) is the worst 3-point shooting team in college basketball. Expect the Bulldogs, just 8-10 in the SEC, to try to get to the rim and try to clamp down on Pitt with excellent perimeter defense.
The Panthers (22-11) can make the mid-range and long jumpers but don&rsquo;t play as well inside, and they aren&rsquo;t as good defensively.
&ldquo;One of the things that&rsquo;s difficult is that we can&rsquo;t simulate their size and their strength and athleticism in what we&rsquo;re doing in practice,&rdquo; Pitt coach Jeff Capel said. &ldquo;So we really have to be totally dialed in to the little things that add up to big things.&rdquo;
The winner of the late Tuesday night game advances to Midwest Regional as the 11th seed, facing sixth-seeded Iowa State on Friday.
FAMILIAR FACES
Arizona State (22-12) beat Oregon State and USC in the Pac-12 tournament before being routed in the semifinal by No. 8 Arizona, a team the Sun Devils had bested Feb. 25.
They did so in no small part because of forward Warren Washington and Desmond Cambridge Jr., a fifth-year guard who led the team with 13.7 points per game.
Both players transferred from Nevada &mdash; the team Arizona State will face in Wednesday&rsquo;s late game.
Nevada lost four of its last six games to finish 22-10 but still got picked off the bubble for the play-in game. Guard Jared Lucas leads the way, averaging 17.3 points and hitting 38% of his 3-point shots.
The winner moves on as the 11th seed in the West and a Friday matchup with TCU.
MOVING ON
For bracketeers looking for a Cinderella to come out of Dayton, it could happen.
In fact, at least one First Four team has gone on to win another game in the tournament every year except 2019. The event has been played in Dayton every year since 2011, except for 2020, when it was canceled because of the pandemic, and 2021 when it was moved under the COVID-19 bubble in Indianapolis.
In 2011, No. 11 seed VCU got on a roll and went all the way to the Final Four, beating No. 1 Kansas in the regional final.

For bracketeers looking for a Cinderella to come out of Dayton, it could happen.

Returning Texas teams, first-timers make up First Four field

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) &mdash; Keldon Johnson scored 25 points and the San Antonio Spurs snapped a 16-game losing streak, beating the Utah Jazz 102-94 on Tuesday night.
Doug McDermott added 19 points for the Spurs, Jeremy Sochan had 13 and Devonte Graham 12. San Antonio improved to 15-47, winning for the first time this season after trailing to start the fourth quarter.
The Spurs also won on the road for the first time since mid-December.
&ldquo;Ain&rsquo;t nothing like it, man,&rdquo; Johnson said. &ldquo;We fought the same fight. We stayed together as a group and good things happened.&rdquo;
Lauri Markkanen had 28 points and nine rebounds for Utah. Walker Kessler added 10 points and 15 rebounds, Talen Horton-Tucker had 16 points and Kris Dunn added 11.
The Jazz floundered on offense while playing shorthanded, making just five baskets over the entire fourth quarter.
&ldquo;We were very stubborn tonight,&rdquo; Jazz coach Will Hardy said. &ldquo;We refused to adjust to what the game kept telling us over and over again.&rdquo;
Blake Wesley, McDermott and Graham made 3-pointers to fuel an 11-0 run that erased a double-digit deficit early in the fourth and gave the Spurs an 88-82 lead.
Horton-Tucker tied it on back-to-back 3-pointers. The Jazz took a 92-91 lead on Dunn&rsquo;s driving layup, but Johnson countered with a pair of baskets to put San Antonio up 98-93 with 2:06 remaining.
Johnson accounted for four of the Spurs&rsquo; nine fourth quarter baskets.
&ldquo;I wanted to win,&rdquo; Johnson said. &ldquo;I feel like I had it going a little bit. I thought I&rsquo;d make the right play. My coach and teammates trusted me. They put the ball in my hands. They trusted me to make the right decision.&rdquo;
Utah did not score a basket over the final three minutes and shot a season-low 35% from the field.
San Antonio held an opponent under 100 points for just the fourth time this season.
&ldquo;They played 48 minutes,&rdquo; Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. &ldquo;It obviously wasn&rsquo;t perfect. It never is. But watching them give that effort for 48 was very satisfying.&rdquo;
San Antonio forced the Jazz out of their usual offensive style and limited Utah to a single contested shot on many possessions down the stretch.
&ldquo;We got stagnant,&rdquo; Markkanen said. &ldquo;We ended up with more iso&rsquo;s and post-ups than we ever do.&rdquo;
TIP-INS 
Spurs: Charles Bassey had 10 rebounds. &hellip; The Spurs are 1-42 when trailing after three quarters this season. &hellip; San Antonio outscored Utah 56-36 in the paint.
Jazz: Jordan Clarkson did not play (right thumb sprain) and Collin Sexton missed his third straight contest (left hamstring strain). &hellip; Johnny Juzang made his NBA debut. He had three points in 15 minutes.
UP NEXT 
Spurs: Host Indiana on Thursday night.
Jazz: At Oklahoma City on Friday night.

Keldon Johnson scored 25 points and the Spurs snapped a 16-game losing streak, beating the Jazz 102-94 on Tuesday night.

Spurs snap 16-game losing streak with 102-94 victory over Jazz

MILWAUKEE (AP) &mdash; Jrue Holiday demonstrated just why he&rsquo;s heading to the All-Star Game for the first time in a decade.
Holiday matched a career high with 40 points and&nbsp;made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 25.2 seconds left in overtime&nbsp;as the Milwaukee Bucks edged the short-handed Boston Celtics 131-125 on Tuesday for their 11th consecutive victory.
The 32-year-old Holiday shot 8 of 12 from beyond the arc &mdash;&nbsp;including one from behind midcourt that beat the third-quarter buzzer&nbsp;&mdash; to set a career high for 3-pointers.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t really, I guess, care for how I&rsquo;m playing as long as we&rsquo;re winning,&rdquo; said Holiday, who also had seven assists. &ldquo;For me, as long as we get the win, I&rsquo;m OK. The only stat I look at is turnovers. That&rsquo;s kind of how I determine if I had a good or bad game. Tonight, what did I have, five turnovers? To me, that hurts my soul.&rdquo;
Holiday will join Bucks teammate Giannis Antetokounmpo at Sunday&rsquo;s All-Star Game at Salt Lake City. It&rsquo;s the first time Holiday has been selected since he was playing for Philadelphia in 2013, which marks the longest gap between All-Star appearances in league history.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve said since the season started that he&rsquo;s an All-Star,&rdquo; Antetokounmpo said.
Antetokounmpo added 36 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists as the Bucks (40-17) moved within a half-game of the Celtics (41-17) in the Eastern Conference standings.
<div class="Component-hubPeekEmbed-0-2-66 HubPeek noBorderBottom-0-2-75 compressedEmbed-0-2-76 hubPeekMain" data-card-id="afs:Card:522820401280">
<div class="hubPeekContainerWide-0-2-78" data-key="feed-card-hub-peak">
<div class="title-0-2-79">
Boston was playing without both its All-Stars &ndash; Jayson Tatum (non-COVID illness) and Jaylen Brown (facial fracture) &ndash; as well as Marcus Smart (sprained right ankle) and Al Horford (swelling in right knee).
The Celtics still nearly earned their fifth straight win.
&ldquo;We expected to win that game,&rdquo; said Malcolm Brogdon, who scored 26 points. &ldquo;We went into that game like we were going to win, like we were supposed to win. We believe we are the best team on the floor every single night.&rdquo;
Boston&rsquo;s Sam Hauser, a Wisconsin native who had 40 friends and family members in the stands,&nbsp;made a game-tying 3-pointer&nbsp;with three seconds left in regulation to force overtime. Boston&rsquo;s Derrick White then scored the first five points of overtime.
The Celtics still had a five-point lead with two minutes left, but the Bucks scored the final seven points of the game. The game-ending spurt started with Holiday&rsquo;s go-ahead 3-pointer.
&ldquo;On both ends of the court, he was phenomenal,&rdquo; Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. &ldquo;I think his ability to create some turnovers and create pressure helped flip it. We went down and he made a few big-time plays that just are very Jrue-like. Special performance by him.&rdquo;
Grant Williams lost the ball on Boston&rsquo;s next possession, Grayson Allen got the steal and a clear-path foul was called on the Celtics with 3.2 seconds left.
Antetokounmpo made the ensuing two free throws and capped the scoring with a dunk at the buzzer.
SCARY MOMENT
Antetokounmpo landed awkwardly after an unsuccessful drive to the basket late in the fourth quarter and lay on the floor for a while before walking slowly back to the bench, but he never actually left the game.
&ldquo;They gave me a quick update just saying that they think he just banged knees with somebody,&rdquo; Budenholzer said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll check him in the morning, but I&rsquo;d say the initial kind of report was positive.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Celtics: White, the reigning Eastern Conference player of the week, led Boston with 27 points. ... Boston lost despite having a 27-10 edge in points off turnovers. ... Mike Muscala got his first career technical foul for saying something to the Bucks bench after dunking in the third quarter.
Bucks: Antetokounmpo&rsquo;s nine assists increased his career total to 3,271. He&rsquo;s one behind Paul Pressey for the career franchise lead. ... Holiday&rsquo;s other 40-point game came for the&nbsp;Bucks against New Orleans on Dec. 17, 2021.&nbsp;... Antetokounmpo and Holiday won&rsquo;t be the only Bucks representatives at the All-Star Game this weekend. Johnny Watson, the Bucks&rsquo; executive producer for arena and event presentation, will direct and produce in-game entertainment at the All-Star Game for an eighth time. Bucks disc jockey DJ Shawna and in-game host Melanie Ricks will handle those same roles at the All-Star Game.
</div>
</div>
</div>

Jrue Holiday scored 40 points and made a go-ahead 3-pointer in overtime as the Milwaukee Bucks edged the Boston Celtics 131-125.

Bucks edge Celtics 131-125 in OT for 11th straight win

WASHINGTON (AP) &mdash; Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen scored 23 points apiece and Donovan Mitchell added 21 to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 114-91 rout of the Washington Wizards on Monday night.
All five Cleveland starters were in double figures by halftime, and the Cavaliers won for the fourth time in five games. Evan Mobley finished with 16 points and Isaac Okoro contributed 12.
Kristaps Porzingis scored 18 points for Washington, which has lost three straight following a six-game winning streak. The Wizards were playing without Bradley Beal (left foot soreness) and Kyle Kuzma (left ankle sprain).
Washington led by at least 20 in each of its previous two losses, but the Wizards didn&rsquo;t have to worry about blowing a big lead on this night. In fact, they were never ahead at all.
Cleveland shot 63% in the first half, leading 37-25 after one quarter and 66-46 after two.
&ldquo;To me, the most important thing is, there were very little up and downs,&rdquo; coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. &ldquo;We played at a consistently high level, and that&rsquo;s what we&rsquo;re aiming to do.&rdquo;
Caris LeVert, back after missing two games with a sore right hamstring, had a steal and dunk in the third quarter to make it 83-57. Cleveland led by as many as 28 points.
<div class="Component-hubPeekEmbed-0-2-66 HubPeek noBorderBottom-0-2-75 compressedEmbed-0-2-76 hubPeekMain" data-card-id="afs:Card:522820401280">
<div class="hubPeekContainerWide-0-2-78" data-key="feed-card-hub-peak">
<div class="title-0-2-79">
&ldquo;Offensively they were just comfortable,&rdquo; Washington&rsquo;s Daniel Gafford said. &ldquo;There was a lot of things that they did that kind of had us in scramble situations, time and time again down the floor. They just really just got the shots that they wanted.&rdquo;
Mitchell, who has been bothered by a groin issue recently, looked pretty spry when he threw down a windmill dunk on an alley-oop from Garland to make it 101-74.
LeVert, who could be dealt this week because of his expiring contract and uncertain role, scored 10 points.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a starter in this league. We&rsquo;re fortunate enough to have him now where he&rsquo;s in an opportunity where he&rsquo;s going against second-unit guys,&rdquo; Bickerstaff said. &ldquo;So he can be attack-minded, he can make them pay for mistakes, whether it&rsquo;s him scoring, whether it&rsquo;s him facilitating &mdash; and I think he&rsquo;s doing a great job on the defensive end.&rdquo;
Kevin Love, another possible trade candidate, did not play.
NOT EVEN CLOSE
This was Cleveland&rsquo;s 24th double-digit win, which leads the league. The Cavaliers swept both halves of a back-to-back by a combined 42 points. They&nbsp;beat Indiana 122-103&nbsp;on Sunday.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re figuring it out at home, and then on the road you&rsquo;re starting to see positive signs,&rdquo; Mitchell said. &ldquo;Taking the crowd out early, responding to runs.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Cavaliers: Cleveland ended up shooting 56% for the game. Allen was 10 for 13. ... The Cavaliers shot at least 55% in every quarter except the fourth.
Wizards: Washington was held under 100 points for the first time since Dec. 17. ... Will Barton scored 15 points. ... Johnny Davis, a rookie who was drafted in the lottery but has played sparingly so far, scored two points in 6:17. It was his 11th appearance for the Wizards.
</div>
</div>
</div>

Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen scored 23 points apiece to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 114-91 rout of the Washington Wizards.

Garland, Allen each score 23, Cavaliers rout Wizards 114-91

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) &mdash; Oklahoma City's top scorer was out, so everybody pitched in to make things work.
Josh Giddey scored a season-high 25 points and the short-handed Oklahoma City Thunder blew out the NBA-leading Boston Celtics 150-117 on Tuesday night.
Oklahoma City&rsquo;s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who ranks among the league&rsquo;s leaders with 30.8 points per game, sat out with an illness. Without him, the Thunder set a record for points since the team moved to Oklahoma City from Seattle before the 2008-2009 season. The previous mark was 149 points in 2013.
Lu Dort scored 23 points and Jalen Williams, Tre Mann and Isaiah Joe each added 21 points for the Thunder. They shot 59.2% from the field.
&ldquo;I just think we&rsquo;ve got great players and great people," Mann said. &ldquo;Guys who don&rsquo;t really care who gets the credit.&rdquo;
The Thunder hadn't won a game by more than 16 and the Celtics hadn't lost by more than 16 this season. Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault said the result came from his team's approach.
&ldquo;I told them after the game, I want them to realize what got it going, which was we had a great practice yesterday, came into the game with great focus on both ends of the floor, what we had to do, and that&rsquo;s what allowed us to have fun tonight," he said. "And we can&rsquo;t lose sight of that.&rdquo;
Oklahoma City took advantage of the fact that Robert Williams, one of Boston's primary rim protectors, was out managing his injured left knee. The Thunder made 38 of 58 shots inside the 3-point line.
"You have to play with a sense of humility every night knowing your opponent wants to beat you,&rdquo; Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. &ldquo;We have to match that, and we didn&rsquo;t. We got outplayed in every aspect of the game.&rdquo;
Jaylen Brown scored 29 points for Boston, and Jayson Tatum added 27.
The Thunder led 74-54 at halftime behind Joe's 17 points on 6-for-9 shooting. Oklahoma City shot 57% in the first half. The Celtics trailed big, despite Brown's 18 points in the first half.
A 10-0 run put Oklahoma City ahead 90-63 just over three minutes into the second half, and the game was never close after that. The Thunder scored 48 points in the third quarter &mdash; the most ever for an Oklahoma City team in a quarter &mdash; and shot 67.9% in the third to lead 122-91 heading into the fourth.
Oklahoma City&rsquo;s largest lead was 37 points.
&ldquo;Late in the second quarter, they sort of put their head down, Boston did, and they got to the line and they were trying to play through us and they were just trying to like jam their way back into the game," Daigneault said. "And we needed to stand in there in order to fend that off. And I thought the guys did a really good job of that.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Celtics: Mazzulla and G Marcus Smart attended the Oklahoma State-West Virginia game Tuesday in Stillwater and sat together. Smart played college ball for Oklahoma State and Mazzulla played for West Virginia. Oklahoma State won 67-60. ... Smart was called for a technical in the second quarter and ejected in the third for berating an official.
Thunder: Even Oklahoma City&rsquo;s fans were hitting shots from deep. Johnnie Durossette, a 20-year-old from Muskogee, Oklahoma, made the MidFirst Bank halfcourt shot during a timeout to win $20,000. ... F Aaron Wiggins scored 17 points.
AT HOME
The Celtics had their shootaround at the Oklahoma City facility where Celtics F Blake Griffin's AAU basketball program practices. Griffin is from Oklahoma City and he played college ball at the University of Oklahoma.
&nbsp;

Josh Giddey scored a season-high 25 points and the short-handed Oklahoma City Thunder blew out the Boston Celtics 150-117.

Thunder blow out Celtics 150-117 without Gilgeous-Alexander

Following a 12-year NBA career, Shareef Abdur-Rahim retired from basketball on September 22, 2008. The former All-Star, Olympic gold medalist and No. 3 overall pick averaged 18.1 points and 7.5 rebounds over the course of 836 NBA games.
After his playing days, Abdur-Rahim spent five years as an assistant coach and assistant general manager with the Sacramento Kings, then served as the general manager of the NBA G League&rsquo;s Reno Bighorns. From there, he spent two years working in the NBA league office.
All of these jobs helped prepare him for his current role: president of the NBA G League. Over the last four years, the 46-year-old has helped the G League grow &ndash; from the launch of the G League Ignite to the league&rsquo;s expansion into Mexico with the addition of the Mexico City Capitanes (the first G League team outside of the United States and Canada).&nbsp;
Abdur-Rahim opened up to Basketball News about the G League&rsquo;s growth, the league&rsquo;s decision to acquire the Capitanes, what his job entails and much more.
The G League acquired the Mexico City Capitanes from the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional. What went into the decision to add the Capitanes to the G League?
Shareef Abdur-Rahim: &ldquo;Starting broader, there&rsquo;s the ongoing commitment that the NBA has had to Latin America and Mexico City. [Tonight] is the 31st game that the NBA has brought to Mexico, and there&rsquo;s an overall commitment of developing players and developing basketball there &ndash; we have an NBA Academy there. So, I think that was really the start, just the commitment that the NBA has had over the years to Mexico and Latin America.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Then, from a G League perspective, we are flexible and positioned in a way where we can add a team. The process of doing that isn&rsquo;t as extensive as it is [in the NBA] &ndash; even though it&rsquo;s been a lot of work. We can add a team and have a permanent residency in Mexico City in a way that maybe right now the NBA can&rsquo;t. It just made a lot of sense and, so far, it&rsquo;s been going really well. We&rsquo;re really proud of the opportunity we have with Capitanes."
As you mentioned, tonight will be the 31st NBA game in Mexico City, and today marks the 30th anniversary of the NBA&rsquo;s first-ever game there. How have the local fans responded to the Capitanes and has the G League become more popular in Mexico?
Abdur-Rahim: &ldquo;Everything points to it being positive. It&rsquo;s early, so it&rsquo;s hard to say the total impact and the numbers and that sort of thing. But you think of having 50 games broadcast in Mexico [and the impact that has]. Attendance has been strong. Merchandise of the Capitanes is selling well and setting records in the G League, setting a new tone for what teams can do with merchandise. Last year, when they weren&rsquo;t in Mexico City, you had fans traveling to the United States to support the team. Not to mention, the size of the market and everything we can do there. It&rsquo;s early, but all of the early indicators are extremely positive and point to there being a lot of excitement and support around the team.&rdquo;
(Editor&rsquo;s Note: The Capitanes&rsquo; home debut drew a crowd of 7,391 fans, which is the largest home-opener crowd in the G League since 2019.)
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/usatsi_17393217.jpg" alt="" width="661" height="471" />
Does the G League hope to continue expanding and adding more international teams in the near future?
Abdur-Rahim: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not something that I&rsquo;ll close the door on. But I can say: there aren&rsquo;t a ton of markets &ndash; maybe Canada &ndash; where you have the travel ease. Mexico comes with some challenges, but [it&rsquo;s somewhere] our teams can get to. I wouldn&rsquo;t close the door on it, but it&rsquo;s not something that we&rsquo;re focused on at the moment.&rdquo;&nbsp;
The G League is known for getting creative and trying new things, especially in recent years &ndash; from creating the G League Ignite, to acquiring the Capitanes, to experimenting with different rules. Are there any other creative ideas you guys are actively considering?&nbsp;
Abdur-Rahim: &ldquo;This year, all of our overtime games have the final target score &ndash; the first team to 7 is the winner. That&rsquo;s just innovation and trying things and experimenting with rules; that&rsquo;s kinda the lifeblood and DNA of the G League. It&rsquo;s something that we always want to look at and try to do. We want to be a little bit different. That&rsquo;s always a part of what we do, and we&rsquo;ll keep doing that. Historically, a lot of that [experimenting] has been based on basketball rules, but we want to continue to push the envelope from a business and fan-engagement standpoint as well.&rdquo;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
You were named the president of the NBA G League in 2018, and the league has seemingly made huge strides over the last four years. From when you took over to now, what are your thoughts on the G League&rsquo;s growth and how far it has come?
Abdur-Rahim: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m excited about it, but I think we&rsquo;re still just scratching the surface as far as what we can be. I&rsquo;m just looking forward to us continuing to grow, continuing to try new things and continuing to be bigger and stronger as a basketball league, but also an overall business.&rdquo;
The G League Ignite have attracted top prospects and helped them become top picks in the NBA Draft. What are your thoughts on the Ignite and the success they&rsquo;ve had?
Abdur-Rahim: &ldquo;We&rsquo;re really proud of them. I think there have been something like eight NBA draft picks and 10 players overall who are in the NBA. And I think we&rsquo;ve got another good group this year. I&rsquo;m really proud of what we&rsquo;ve been able to do with the Ignite and what they mean to the G League and the opportunity we&rsquo;ve been able to give young players.&rdquo;
You played in the NBA for more than a decade, and then you worked as an NBA assistant coach, an NBA assistant GM and a G League GM before becoming president of the G League. How did your time as a player, coach and executive help prepare you for your current role in the G League?
Abdur-Rahim: &ldquo;I think those jobs all prepared me in different ways for this role and kinda giving me context about the G League. They definitely prepared me, man. And they positioned me and set me up to learn and grow. Some of my skills and the information I have come from my past, and then there was a lot that was left for me to learn and get up-to-speed with, and that&rsquo;s what I&rsquo;ve tried to focus on and do.&rdquo;
Can you share what a typical day is like for you and what your job as NBA G League president entails?&nbsp;
Abdur-Rahim: &ldquo;A typical day ranges from speaking to our G League team presidents and owners about how we continue to grow the G League and grow our game, to visiting markets and those sort of things, to meeting with our business partners &ndash; be it someone like The General Insurance, who is a new partner, or someone like ESPN, who is a more established partner. I think of myself like the chief advocate of the G League &ndash; telling our story, communicating the vision and sharing the prospects of our league.&nbsp;
&ldquo;And then there is the stuff that&rsquo;s fun like watching basketball, talking about basketball. [Having conversations like], &lsquo;What&rsquo;s the future of basketball?&rsquo; Thinking of how we can continue to make the league better for our players. Our players are unionized now, so there&rsquo;s now an element of my day where I&rsquo;m co-existing with and working in partnership with the players&rsquo; union. It&rsquo;s all of that. There are some standard meetings and stuff that we do, but every day has a level of variety and I enjoy that.&rdquo;
Do you have goals going forward &ndash; either individually or for the G League as a whole?
Abdur-Rahim: &ldquo;Yeah, I think we kind of go through a [goal-setting] process as a league, and my goals are all pretty much connected to our league. For one, we want to continue to be the best place in the world to develop and prepare for the NBA. I know people hear that and think of players, but it&rsquo;s really for all people at this point &ndash; coaches, officials, business people, operations people, media, everything. We want to continue to establish that pipeline even more. We think we have something really exciting and special with the G League when we look at how the talent in the league is evolving and our connection to the NBA, so we want to continue to sell that story and build our audience. I think that telling our story and sharing that message [is important] along with continuing to build up our teams. The success at our team level and, locally, engaging with communities and having 30 strong teams is important, so we want to continue to do that. And we want to keep trying new things. Try to do things in a way that distinguishes the G League in its own way, so it is its own brand. That&rsquo;s what we want to do.&rdquo;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
I feel like there used to be a stigma that came with playing in the G League, especially if you were a top pick or a veteran player. Now, there are so many players with G League experience and it feels like that stigma is gone, which is great. Why do you think that is?
Abdur-Rahim: &ldquo;Well, I think it&rsquo;s two things. For one, I think players have seen so many examples of players who have had success &ndash; guys like Jeremy Lin, Seth Curry, Khris Middleton and all of our alumni. There are stories every year of players who start in some form in the G League and then elevate, so we&rsquo;ve become a real option for players and not something that&rsquo;s looked down upon. And then I think the integration with the NBA &ndash; with so many NBA teams owning G League teams and being connected to their G League team and truly integrating and seeing value in their G League team &ndash; has just improved the experience. Without a doubt, NBA teams know and understand the talent in the G League and have continued to invest in the G League, so the experience for players continues to get better, the coaching continues to get better and the opportunities for players continue to get better. As a league, we continue to try to improve the quality of life and the opportunity and the platform [for players] &ndash; from the number of teams, to the number of nationally televised games, to adding international games, to having higher salaries, to having more opportunities to get called up or signed to the NBA. All of that has just changed the idea of the G League and we want to continue to build on that.
&ldquo;This is a really exciting time for the G League. We have 30 teams for the first time &ndash; the 28 teams that are connected to NBA teams and then the two independent teams that have their own focuses and purposes &ndash; the international team in Mexico and the [Ignite] for young players. If you look at the young talent across our league, I think it&rsquo;s really a changing dynamic of our league where it&rsquo;s not just the players who have been overlooked anymore; now, we have these young, exciting players that NBA teams have assigned. We&rsquo;ve had 14 first-round picks get assigned [this season], from Washington&rsquo;s Johnny Davis to Charlotte&rsquo;s Mark Williams. In the past, lottery picks weren&rsquo;t really assigned to the G League, [but that&rsquo;s changing]. You also have the younger players who are sort of in-between like Sharife Cooper, Mac McClung &ndash; really good players who are just on the cusp &ndash; to experienced players like Jahlil Okafor, Norris Cole who are waiting to see what their next opportunity will be. I think it&rsquo;s just a really exciting time for our league and we want to continue to elevate it and tell our story.&rdquo;
You&rsquo;ve been very successful since retiring. What advice would you give to active players who are approaching retirement?
Abdur-Rahim: &ldquo;If possible, I think it starts earlier than retirement. People tell you this forever, but just know that your time as a player will end, so try to be curious and try to learn as much as you can and don&rsquo;t just limit yourself to just what you do on the court. There&rsquo;s so much that&rsquo;s going on around the game, so try to be curious about that and build relationships. And then, take your time to really find where your path is and what things you want to contribute beyond just being on the court. I think those are some of the really important things. Start early if you can. Be curious and learn as much as you can. Always value relationships &ndash; the same people I dealt with as a player are a lot of times the same people that I&rsquo;m dealing with in my role now. It is a transition, but be open to continue learning and don&rsquo;t be afraid of it.&rdquo;

NBA G League president Shareef Abdur-Rahim opens up about the league's growth, international expansion and more.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim on NBA G League's growth, Ignite's success, more

Arguments over conference supremacy have begun well before the start of the college basketball season.
Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim offered one of the most quotable remarks of the preseason when he pointed out the Big Ten&rsquo;s failings in the postseason.
&ldquo;At the end of the day, you play for the tournament,&rdquo; Boeheim said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s what you play for. It&rsquo;s simple. You can say all you want about the Big Ten. They sucked in the tournament. So to me, that&rsquo;s what they did. I don&rsquo;t care what they did in the regular season.&rdquo;
The Big Ten led all conferences with nine NCAA Tournament bids last season but sent only two teams ( Michigan and Purdue ) to regional semifinals and didn&rsquo;t have anyone last beyond the Sweet 16. Syracuse plays in the Atlantic Coast Conference, which got five bids but sent three teams to the Sweet 16 and had North Carolina and Duke reach the Final Four.
One year earlier, the Big Ten had nine NCAA Tournament bids to again lead all leagues but advanced only Michigan beyond the round of 32.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s what you play for, to get in the tournament and to win in the tournament,&rdquo; Boeheim said. &ldquo;If you don&rsquo;t do that, then you&rsquo;re not good.&rdquo;
As we rank the top six conferences for the upcoming season, we don&rsquo;t give the No. 1 spot to either the Big Ten or the ACC. That honor instead goes to the league that has produced the last two NCAA Tournament champions.
1. BIG 12
The Big 12 kept its hold on the national title when Kansas won last season after Baylor earned the crown a year earlier. The Big 12 nearly had three straight championships by three different schools, as Texas Tech lost the 2019 championship game to Virginia in overtime. The Big 12 has five teams in the preseason Associated Press Top 25. Kansas and Baylor are tied for fifth. The other ranked teams are No. 12 Texas, No. 14 TCU and No. 25 Texas Tech.
2. SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE
A look at the preseason Top 25 indicates the SEC could emerge as the best conference of all. The SEC has five ranked teams, all in the top 20: No. 4 Kentucky, No. 10 Arkansas, No. 11 Tennessee, No. 15 Auburn and No. 20 Alabama. Arkansas, Alabama and Kentucky brought in three of the nation&rsquo;s top five freshman classes according to composite rankings of recruiting sites compiled by 247Sports. Kentucky&rsquo;s Oscar Tschiebwe was the consensus national player of the year last season.
3. ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE
The ACC has the nation&rsquo;s top-ranked team in North Carolina, which returns preseason AP All-America selection Armando Bacot from a team that lost to Kansas in last season&rsquo;s championship game. No. 7 Duke begins the post-Mike Krzyzewski era by welcoming in new coach Jon Scheyer and the nation&rsquo;s top-ranked recruiting class. The only other ACC team in the preseason Top 25 is No. 18 Virginia.
4. BIG TEN
The Big Ten figures to take a step back this season after having three players (Iowa&rsquo;s Keegan Murray, Purdue&rsquo;s Jaden Ivey and Wisconsin&rsquo;s Johnny Davis) among the top 10 picks in the NBA draft. No. 13 Indiana is the only Big Ten team ranked higher than 22nd in the preseason Top 25. The league&rsquo;s only other ranked teams are No. 22 Michigan and No. 23 Illinois. Perhaps this is the year the Big Ten gets fewer NCAA Tournament bids but ends up lasting longer in the tournament.
5. PAC-12
The Pac-12 sent just three teams to the NCAA Tournament despite benefiting from the resurgence of Arizona in coach Tommy Lloyd&rsquo;s debut season. The Pac-12 heads into this season with three ranked teams in No. 8 UCLA, No. 17 Arizona and No. 21 Oregon.
6. BIG EAST
The retirement of Villanova coach Jay Wright could shake things up in this league. No. 9 Creighton is the preseason pick to win the Big East by the league&rsquo;s coaches, the first time the Bluejays have had that honor since joining the conference for the 2013-14 season. The only other ranked Big East team is No. 16 Villanova under first-year coach Kyle Neptune. Providence must replace all five starters from the team that won last year&rsquo;s Big East title.

Arguments over conference supremacy have begun well before the start of the college basketball season.

Big 12 has upper hand from recent NCAA postseason success

Not even two weeks into the 2022-23 season, everybody in and around the Cleveland Cavaliers organization is head over heels for their superstar guard acquisition.
For the fifth time this year already, Donovan Mitchell scored 30-plus points with his new team on Sunday night &mdash; ironically against his hometown New York Knicks. (Spida&rsquo;s finishing line in the game: 38 points, 12 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 blocks and a steal). But no, that wasn&rsquo;t &mdash; and isn&rsquo;t &mdash; the story.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
&ldquo;I always love playing against my home team. It&rsquo;s easy to point to the summer and say that but I&rsquo;m pretty much friends with everybody on that team so it&rsquo;s always good to play against your guys, and I have nothing but love for them. Johnnie Bryant is like a big brother to me so it&rsquo;s always fun to go against them,&rdquo; Mitchell said.
&ldquo;I wouldn&rsquo;t say I used it for that. But everybody will probably make that [a big deal]. Not what it is. [I] got nothing but love for those guys over there. When it&rsquo;s your home team, you want to go out there and play hard. That&rsquo;s what I was trying to do.&rdquo;
The real story should be Mitchell&rsquo;s historic individual start to the season, along with the collective success the 5-1 Cavs are having as a result.
&ldquo;I took this whole summer to just focus on myself. And believe it or not, through all the craziness &mdash; the names being thrown in every trade or whatever &mdash; this was my best summer as far as just mentally just being, focusing on me,&rdquo; Mitchell said following Cleveland&rsquo;s 121-108 victory. &ldquo;Physically, being healthy, getting to work. So it started there. We ended [our season] way earlier than I've ended in my career [in Utah], so I sat there. And you sit there and you're angry. You're angry, and then you're not knowing where you're going, so it's just a lot of fuel that you could use. But for me, it's just focusing on Don. How can I be the best player I can be on both ends of the floor? And then, you come into a new situation. Nobody knows what... you really have something to prove to be honest. Like, nobody knows. Everybody kinda heard when you're in Utah, but it's like, what are you doing?
&ldquo;And like I said, it doesn't have to be 30 every night. It's just being the best player I can be for the group. It's been that way 'cause [Darius Garland]'s been out and when he comes back, continuing to stay at that level and continue to be the best player I can be. But I've definitely taken a step. But like I said, it's only been six games. It's only been a six-game stretch. I know we like to kinda do all this (reacting) stuff early, but it's only October. We're looking to play as late as we possibly can, and that's really where my head is at. But as far as taking that step, that's my goal. I didn't do it last year like I wanted to. I'm just trying to find a way to do it here. And when you have teammates that believe in you, coaches that believe in you, why not keep going?&rdquo;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Donovan Mitchell: "I think this has been my best stretch in my career, but I gotta keep going." Spida keeps harping on the fact that it's only October and this is very early being only six games in. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cavs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cavs</a> are looking to play "as late as we possibly can." <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@basketbllnews</a> <a href="https://t.co/LdNgVWA4ix">pic.twitter.com/LdNgVWA4ix</a>
&mdash; Spencer Davies (@SpinDavies) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpinDavies/status/1586908856642330624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 31, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff is in awe over what Mitchell has brought to the court and locker room.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know all that he was asked to do when he was in Utah. But what I&rsquo;ve seen from him is a really complete basketball player,&rdquo; Bickerstaff said following Sunday&rsquo;s 121-108 victory. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve seen a guy who&rsquo;s willing to compete on the defensive end at a high level. I&rsquo;ve seen a guy who&rsquo;s willing to take challenges on that end of the floor. And I&rsquo;ve seen a guy who&rsquo;s been willing over and over again just to make the right pass and make the easy pass, on top of going out and scoring the basketball. I could be wrong. He was in the Western Conference so I didn&rsquo;t see him, but he just seems&hellip; he&rsquo;s a better, complete player than I thought, just in the times that I saw him and wasn&rsquo;t able to dissect him. But being around him every day, there&rsquo;s nothing that he&rsquo;s not capable of doing on the basketball court.&rdquo;
When Right Down Euclid&rsquo;s Evan Dammarell followed up with a question about coaching a player with Mitchell&rsquo;s offensive motor, Bickerstaff brought up James Harden, whom he coached in Houston in the 2015-16 campaign (as the interim head coach).
&ldquo;Obviously, their games are different. The shot-making and the creativity blended with the explosiveness. The ability to see the floor. If there are five or six more complete offensive players in our league, I&rsquo;d be hard pressed to name them all,&rdquo; Bickerstaff said. "This dude is elite offensively. I don&rsquo;t know what he can&rsquo;t do on the floor. Maybe we&rsquo;ll see something over time. But since we&rsquo;ve had him, I mean, you guys have seen him, he&rsquo;s been phenomenal and impressed every one of us every day.&rdquo;
Kevin Love, the longest-tenured Cavalier and longtime friend of Mitchell&rsquo;s, joked that Donovan fits in well with the team because he&rsquo;s a Virgo who shares the same Sept. 7 birthday as him.
&ldquo;Just the way that he goes about his business, the work that he puts in on his body, on the court, film work, putting in the time with his teammates, just being an all-around basketball player is, I think, inspiring for all of us to get on the floor with him and to want to be better,&rdquo; Love said. &ldquo;We already had such a great group, but I think he just elevates us to another place. A guy that has experience, a guy that is a star in this league and is playing some really great basketball right now. And just the way that he does go about his business, we don&rsquo;t see any signs of him slowing down. He&rsquo;s been great for us and kind of like you said, you start running out of words because he&rsquo;s been great. Even in the game that he didn&rsquo;t shoot too well, he still was able to get it done to us.
&ldquo;To me, when we got the news that he had been traded here, I was like, &lsquo;Oh man, he's just gonna fit perfect because his personality is great.&rsquo; And just he's &ndash; I don&rsquo;t know if this is the right way to say it &ndash; but he's just one of us. He&rsquo;s just all about the right things. I mean, 20 shots for him isn't a lot, but he's putting up 38 points. He's getting to the line. He's shooting 8-for-13 from three. But, even when he's shooting 25, 26, 27 shots, he's still getting everybody involved. He's still playing at a pace that nobody's looking at him and [saying], &lsquo;Oh, man, what is he doing?&rsquo; He's very intentional in how he plays. He's very intentional in how he involves his teammates. And the same thing off the floor as well, like he stepped right in and just [was] all about the right things and it feels like exactly what J.B. and the coaching staff wants. He's all for it. He's all about it. We love that. We don't have one bad egg on this team.&rdquo;
Thanks to some stat hunting by Bally Sports Ohio&rsquo;s Cayleigh Griffin, here&rsquo;s some perspective on just how special his start in Cleveland has been: Mitchell is just the second player in NBA history to record five 30-point games in his first six games with a team (joining Wilt Chamberlain who did it with the Golden State Warriors in 1959).
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Donovan Mitchell becomes just the second player in NBA history to record 5 30-point games in his first 6 games with a team. Wilt Chamberlin did it in 1959 with the Warriors, in all 6 games.
&mdash; Cayleigh Griffin (@cayleighgriffin) <a href="https://twitter.com/cayleighgriffin/status/1586881690366054400?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 31, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

Yes, that Wilt Chamberlain.
Even The Athletic's Tony Jones, who has watched Mitchell grow from the very beginning in Utah, can't help but marvel over how the 26-year-old has played to this point.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Donovan Mitchell is playing the best basketball of his career.
&mdash; Tony Jones (@Tjonesonthenba) <a href="https://twitter.com/Tjonesonthenba/status/1586846720939343872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 30, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

Mitchell is off to a blistering beginning. He&rsquo;s scoring 32.2 points, dishing out 7.3 assists, pulling down 4.5 rebounds and stealing the ball away 1.7 times per contest to this point. He&rsquo;s playing damn near 40 minutes a night with Garland sidelined due to a swollen left eye, and producing career-best rates in True Shooting percentage (63.7%) and assist percentage (32.1%) in his absence.&nbsp;
His biggest moments have come in times of adversity and late-game situations. He&rsquo;s bringing the thunder on every dunk, the smoothness on every jumper and the dedication to make the right decision on both ends of the floor. Simply put: he's making winning plays.
If first impressions are considered a test, then Donovan Mitchell is passing with flying colors.
&ldquo;I think I've been doing this for a while, and when Darius comes back, I just look to add to it. He's gonna add to it as well. There's no worrying about what happens when he comes back. When he comes back, he's gonna take us to another level 'cause he's an extraordinary player. But for me, I feel like I've just been doing this nonstop, and I just continue to get better and more efficient,&rdquo; Mitchell said.&nbsp;
&ldquo;That's the one thing I've always preached every season is trying to find ways to be more efficient. And when you hear that, you think percentages from the field, but I'm thinking... Like, I average four turnovers this year. That's unacceptable. I gotta work on that, controlling the game, controlling the fourth, whatever, being the leader. Just trying to find ways to be the most efficient player possible, and I think this has been my best stretch in my career, but I gotta keep going.&rdquo;

Spencer Davies reviews Donovan Mitchell's blistering start to the season in Cleveland and why it's turning everybody's heads.

Donovan Mitchell making an enormous first impression on Cavaliers

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; A pair of five-star recruits are sure to turn heads at UCLA this season. In an era when freshmen burn brightest, however, it&rsquo;s two seniors who could prove invaluable to the eighth-ranked Bruins&rsquo; NCAA title hopes.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Tyger Campbell are back for their fourth seasons in Westwood, a couple of battle-tested veterans who arrived at the same time as coach Mick Cronin to rebuild a program that owns a record 11 national championships.
The COVID-19 pandemic canceled the NCAA Tournament in 2020, when the Bruins were riding a hot streak in March. Jaquez and Campbell helped them to a Final Four appearance in 2021. UCLA lost to North Carolina by seven points in the regional semifinals last season.
The Bruins were 27-8 and finished second in the Pac-12 at 15-5 last season. They defended their home court well, winning 14 of 15 games.
Cronin is 68-30 entering his fourth season and boasts top-five recruits, guard Amari Bailey and forward Adem Bona.
UCLA opens the season at home against Sacramento State on Nov. 7. The Bruins play five of their first seven games at Pauley Pavilion in the first month of the season. They travel to Las Vegas for two games before playing their first Pac-12 game at Stanford on Dec. 1.
The Bruins&rsquo; nonconference schedule includes games at Maryland on Dec. 14 and against Kentucky at New York&rsquo;s Madison Square Garden on Dec. 17.
BACKCOURT DEPTH
Jaquez and Campbell anchor one of the best backcourts in the nation despite the losses of Johnny Juzang and Jules Bernard. Jaquez is back to full strength after late-season ankle injuries slowed him. Campbell finished in the top four in the Pac-12 in assists in each of his first three seasons and his 3-point shooting ticked up to 41% as a junior. Fifth-year senior David Singleton is also a threat from deep, shooting 45% last season. Jaylen Clark showed what he can do as a starter, averaging 14.8 points during a five-game stretch in the lineup. They&rsquo;re joined by Bailey, the Bruins&rsquo; highest-rated prospect since Lonzo Ball in 2016. Will McClendon finally makes his Westwood debut after a torn ACL kept him out of action last season.
UNPROVEN FRONTCOURT
The departures of Cody Riley and Myles Johnson leave the Bruins with an unproven frontcourt. As a result, Bona from Nigeria figures to join the starting rotation. He was a McDonald&rsquo;s All-American at his prep school in Napa, California, and has international playing experience. Mac Etienne returns after missing all last season with an ACL injury, having shown promise late in the 2020-21 season. Senior Kenneth Nwuba gives the Bruins a third player at 6-foot-10.
OTHER FRESHMEN TO WATCH
The Bruins added guard-forward Abramo Canka of Italy, who has played in the Russian Super League. Guard Dylan Andrews grew up in Los Angeles and was ranked among the top 10 by some recruiting services. Preferred walk-on Evan Manjikian is another LA native who played at Sierra Canyon High, alongside current Bruins teammate Bailey and Bronny James, son of Lakers star LeBron James. Jack Seidler, also a preferred walk-on, was a two-time all-conference selection at Marlboro (New Jersey) High, where he finished as the career scoring leader.
TOASTING THE BRUINS
Beer and wine will be for sale to the public for the first time at Pauley Pavilion this season. Fans who are 21 and over can purchase two drinks per transaction until the 10-minute mark of the second half. Since the arena&rsquo;s renovation 10 years ago, alcohol had been available only to members of the Wooden Athletic Fund in a private room.&nbsp;

Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Tyger Campbell are back for their fourth seasons in Westwood.

Vets Jaquez, Campbell anchor UCLA roster of star newcomers

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) &mdash; The Utah Jazz transformed from contender to underdog when the front office hit the reset button during the summer and dismantled the roster following another first-round exit from the NBA playoffs.
Quin Snyder stepped down as head coach after eight seasons. Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell, Bojan Bogdanovic and Royce O&rsquo;Neale were traded as Utah stockpiled emerging players and future draft picks.
All these moves left the Jazz leaning on an assortment of unproven talent and first-year head coach Will Hardy heading into a new season.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s all new,&rdquo; guard Jordan Clarkson said. &ldquo;New experience. New team. A new vibe, really.&rdquo;
Clarkson, Mike Conley, and Rudy Gay are the lone holdovers who played significant minutes last season. Conley, two years removed from an NBA All-Star appearance, is the only returning starter.
All three veterans signed with the Jazz as free agents to help the franchise make a run at an NBA title. With that goal now seemingly out of reach, a new challenge of mentoring younger teammates while creating a new winning culture awaits.
Youth defines Utah much more than a season ago. Two-thirds of the team&rsquo;s roster is 25 years old or younger and many are just starting their NBA careers.
&ldquo;I think this is an opportunity to kind of go out and show what I&rsquo;m still capable of doing,&rdquo; Conley said.
The Jazz built an identity around Gobert&rsquo;s stifling interior defense and a relentless perimeter attack spearheaded by Mitchell. A reconstructed roster requires a different plan for staying competitive.
Finding new offensive and defensive leaders to replace Mitchell and Gobert will take time. Hardy isn&rsquo;t eager for his team to coalesce around one or two ball-dominant players. He wants to install a fast-paced offense complemented by tough defense while relying on a broader core of talent to share the load.
&ldquo;I would like to play a little bit up-tempo for sure with this group,&rdquo; Hardy said. &ldquo;Again, I would like us to play a style where everybody is involved. I don&rsquo;t think that it would be productive for us to have one player dominate the ball with this group."
MAKING THEIR DEBUTS
The Jazz had no selections in the 2022 NBA draft and made no draft night trades. Utah eventually acquired rookies over the summer.
Walker Kessler, the 22nd-overall pick by Minnesota, was included in the trade package the Timberwolves sent to Utah to acquire Gobert. Ochai Agbaji, picked 14th overall by Cleveland, joined the Jazz as part of the deal sending Mitchell to the Cavaliers.
Simone Fontecchio and Johnny Juzang are also making their NBA debuts with Utah. Juzang joined the Jazz on a two-way contract and Fontecchio signed a two-year, $6.3 million deal after spending a decade playing professionally in Europe.
JAYHAWK CONNECTION
Agbaji is reuniting with former Kansas teammate Udoka Azubuike. They were roommates during Agbaji&rsquo;s freshman and sophomore seasons with the Jayhawks.
Azubuike is entering his third season with Utah with career averages of 3.0 points and 2.6 rebounds per game. Ankle injuries have limited him to 32 games over two seasons. Agbaji joins the Jazz after helping Kansas win the 2022 NCAA title. He averaged 18.8 points and 5.1 rebounds as a senior with the Jayhawks.
SHOOTING STAR
Before being sidelined with a torn left meniscus last season, Collin Sexton was making a name for himself as a potent scorer and a reliable outside shooter.
Sexton shot 37% or better from 3-point range during his first three seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers. During his third season, he shot a career-best 47.5% from the field while averaging a career-high 24.3 points. Sexton has the potential to reclaim some of the scoring punch Utah gave up when it traded Mitchell and Bogdanovic.
He isn&rsquo;t lacking for confidence in his ability to be a productive shooter.
&ldquo;Honestly, I&rsquo;d put myself up against anybody,&rdquo; Sexton said.
RETURNING COACHES
Hardy retained Alex Jensen and Lamar Skeeter as assistant coaches on his first coaching staff. Jensen is entering his 10th season as an assistant coach with the Jazz and served as Snyder&rsquo;s lead assistant during his tenure in Utah. Skeeter is entering his seventh season as an assistant with the Jazz.
ALL-STAR HOSTS
The NBA All-Star Game is set to return to Salt Lake City for the first time since 1993, with the Jazz set to host on Feb. 19.

Youth defines Utah much more than a season ago. Two-thirds of the team’s roster is 25 years old or younger.

Offseason changes shift Utah Jazz from contender to underdog

Nekias Duncan previews the Hawks, Hornets, Heat, Magic and Wizards ahead of the 2022-23 NBA season.

2022-23 NBA Season Preview: Southeast Division

James Wiseman, who missed last season rehabilitating a right meniscal tear, scored 20 points on Friday as the defending champion Golden State Warriors defeated the Washington Wizards 96-87 to open the NBA preseason in Tokyo.
Wiseman played 24 minutes, connecting on eight of 11 shots, while adding nine rebounds and one block.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
James Wiseman SHOWED OUT in the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBAJapanGames?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBAJapanGames</a> 🔥 20 PTS (8-11 FGM) | 9 REB <a href="https://t.co/SJn1Y7q36g">pic.twitter.com/SJn1Y7q36g</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1575835352291344384?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 30, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

Rui Hachimura, a native of Japan who received a robust ovation from the crowd when he was introduced with the Washington starters, led the Wizards with 13 points and nine rebounds. Wiseman and Hachimura were the only players to finish in double figures as both teams substituted freely, particularly in the second half.
Warriors star guard Stephen Curry played 13 minutes, going 1 of 7 from the field &ndash; a 3-pointer &ndash; finishing with six points. Wizards guard Bradley Beal played 18 minutes and scored nine points.
It's part of a two-game series in Tokyo between the Warriors and Wizards, the first played in Japan since the Houston Rockets and Toronto Raptors played a preseason game in 2019.
The sellout crowd got glimpses of stars Curry, Draymond Green and Hachimura, as well as Beal. None of the Golden State starters played more than 20 minutes. By the third quarter, the teams were deep into their benches and gave reserves extended time in the game.
Both teams showed some early turnovers, errant passes and shot under 33% in the first half. Both teams ended the game shooting under 37%.
THOMPSON OUT
Warriors starting guard Klay Thompson didn't play, with Jordan Poole starting in his place. Golden State coach Steve Kerr announced before the game that the Warriors are cautious with Thompson. He returned in January after missing 2 &frac12; seasons with a torn ACL in the 2019 NBA Finals, followed by a ruptured Achilles. Thompson is not expected to play in Tokyo.
For the Wizards, Will Barton, obtained from Denver in an off-season trade, missed the game with back tightness.
ROOKIE WATCH
Among the draft picks, Patrick Baldwin, the 28th overall pick for the Warriors, played 8 minutes and had seven points. For the Wizards, Johnny Davis from Wisconsin, picked 10th overall, played 22 minutes. He missed all five shots and finished with four points.

Wiseman scored 20 points as the defending champion Warriors defeated the Wizards 96-87 to open NBA preseason in Tokyo.

James Wiseman stars as Warriors, Wizards open preseason in Tokyo

A lot can change in a week.
Seven days ago, Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren had the second-best odds to win the 2022-23 Rookie of the Year award. Now, one week later, Holmgren is out for the season after he suffered a Lisfranc injury to his right foot while playing in The CrawsOver Pro-Am in Seattle.
With the No. 2 overall pick no longer in the Rookie of the Year race, who are the current favorites for the award entering the 2022-23 season? How did the odds change after Holmgren's injury?&nbsp;
On <a href="https://www.betonline.ag/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BetOnline</a>, Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero still has the best odds at 3/2. Banchero has been the favorite all offseason, and his odds moved from 3/1 to 3/2 following Holmgren's injury.
Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray has the second-best odds. While he was previously listed at 9/1, his odds are now 5/1 following Holmgren's injury.
Rounding out the top five are Detroit Pistons guard Jaden Ivey (11/2 odds, up from 15/2), Houston Rockets big man Jabari Smith Jr. (8/1 odds, down from 7/2) and Bennedict Mathurin (9/1 odds, up from 12/1).
The only other players who saw their odds increase over the last week were Houston Rockets wing Tari Eason (who moved from 66/1 to 33/1), Dallas Mavericks guard Jaden Hardy (who moved 50/1 to 40/1) and Miami Heat forward Nikola Jovic (who moved from 80/1 to 66/1).
Interestingly, Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams actually saw his ROY odds dip after Holmgren's injury, moving from 22/1 to 25/1. Washington Wizards guard Johnny Davis' odds also dropped a bit, going from 18/1 to 33/1.
Here's a look at the complete Rookie-of-the-Year odds from <a href="https://www.betonline.ag/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BetOnline</a>:
<table style="font-weight: 400; width: 262px;" width="276">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 159.262px;">
Paolo Banchero
</td>
<td style="width: 74.05px;">
3/2
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 159.312px;">
Keegan Murray
</td>
<td style="width: 74.0687px;">
5/1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 159.325px;">
Jaden Ivey
</td>
<td style="width: 74.0687px;">
11/2
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 159.331px;">
Jabari Smith Jr
</td>
<td style="width: 74.0687px;">
8/1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 159.331px;">
Bennedict Mathurin
</td>
<td style="width: 74.0687px;">
9/1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 159.331px;">
Jalen Williams
</td>
<td style="width: 74.0687px;">
25/1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 159.331px;">
Shaedon Sharpe
</td>
<td style="width: 74.0687px;">
25/1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 159.331px;">
Jalen Duren
</td>
<td style="width: 74.0687px;">
33/1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 159.331px;">
Johnny Davis
</td>
<td style="width: 74.0687px;">
33/1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 159.331px;">
Mark Williams
</td>
<td style="width: 74.0687px;">
33/1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 159.331px;">
Tari Eason
</td>
<td style="width: 74.0687px;">
33/1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 159.331px;">
Dyson Daniels
</td>
<td style="width: 74.0687px;">
40/1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 159.331px;">
Ochai Agbaji
</td>
<td style="width: 74.0687px;">
40/1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 159.331px;">
Jaden Hardy
</td>
<td style="width: 74.0687px;">
40/1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 159.331px;">
AJ Griffin
</td>
<td style="width: 74.0687px;">
50/1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 159.331px;">
Ousmane Dieng
</td>
<td style="width: 74.0687px;">
50/1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 159.331px;">
Jeremy Sochan
</td>
<td style="width: 74.0687px;">
50/1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 159.331px;">
Nikola Jovic
</td>
<td style="width: 74.0687px;">
66/1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 159.331px;">
Malaki Branham
</td>
<td style="width: 74.0687px;">
80/1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 159.331px;">
Marjon Beauchamp
</td>
<td style="width: 74.0687px;">
100/1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 159.331px;">
Dalen Terry
</td>
<td style="width: 74.0687px;">
100/1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 159.331px;">
TyTy Washington
</td>
<td style="width: 74.0687px;">
100/1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 159.331px;">
Jake LaRavia
</td>
<td style="width: 74.0687px;">
100/1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 159.331px;">
Walker Kessler
</td>
<td style="width: 74.0687px;">
100/1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 159.331px;">
Blake Wesley
</td>
<td style="width: 74.0687px;">
125/1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 159.331px;">
Christian Braun
</td>
<td style="width: 74.0687px;">
125/1
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
While Holmgren's injury is obviously unfortunate, he isn't the first high-profile prospect to miss his entire rookie season with an injury. <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/holmgren-isnt-the-first-lottery-pick-to-suffer-a-seasonending-injury" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Here's a look at six other lottery picks who went through the same thing.</a>

Following Chet Holmgren's injury, who are the favorites to win the 2022-23 NBA Rookie of the Year award? How did the odds change?

How did Chet Holmgren's injury affect NBA Rookie of the Year odds?

Kobe Bryant. Dirk Nowitzki. And now, Udonis Haslem.
Miami&rsquo;s captain is returning to the Heat for a 20th season, he announced Sunday. It&rsquo;s a one-year deal worth $2.9 million; Miami extended the offer nearly two months ago, then waited for Haslem to decide between retiring and returning.
Nowitzki played all 21 of his NBA seasons with the Dallas Mavericks, Bryant spent all 20 of his seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers and when he appears in his next game, Haslem will join them as a player spending at least two decades in the league and all with one franchise.
&ldquo;I have decided to follow through with what me and my father had talked about, and I will finish what I started and I will play 20 years," Haslem said, seated at midcourt at Miami High, his alma mater. &ldquo;I will play this year, because I talked about that with my father and that&rsquo;s what we said we would do. It won&rsquo;t be the same. Won&rsquo;t be as easy. But the goal still remains the same. Win. Win a championship. Leave it on the line and hold your head high when it's all over."
Tim Duncan spent 19 seasons with San Antonio and John Stockton spent 19 with Utah.
The 42-year-old Haslem is by far the longest-tenured player in Heat history. He is a three-time NBA champion with Miami and is the franchise&rsquo;s all-time leader in rebounds. This contract is the 11th he has signed with the Heat, and this marks the seventh consecutive summer in which he has signed a deal with the team.
His father, Johnnie Haslem, died Aug. 30, 2021. Udonis Haslem spent about two weeks away from the Heat at the start of camp and the preseason last year while grieving, and he said not having either of his parents still alive forced him to reevaluate many things in the past year.
&ldquo;Even at 42, you look around and you don't have both of your parents, you can be confused," Haslem said. &ldquo;It can be confusing. ... But never have I been more clear than I am now. I just had to clear the cobwebs out."
Haslem was the oldest player to appear in each of the last two NBA seasons. He got into 13 games with Miami last season, averaging 2.5 points and 1.9 rebounds.
He has had 162 different teammates during his Heat career. And this season the NBA might include players who weren&rsquo;t even born when Haslem entered the league. Haslem made his NBA debut on Oct. 28, 2003 &mdash; three weeks before Jalen Duren, the No. 13 pick in this year&rsquo;s NBA draft, was born.
Haslem has averaged 7.5 points and 6.6 rebounds in his first 19 seasons, playing sparingly the last six years. But the Heat have insisted his role remains vital in practice and in the locker room, annually finding ways to keep luring Haslem back.
This contract will take Haslem past the $70 million mark in on-court earnings. After the coming season, Haslem said he hopes to join the Heat's front office and has mentioned his desire to possibly join the ownership group in the years to come.
&ldquo;This ain't no (expletive) charity case. This is a sacrifice, sacrificing for the next generation," Haslem said. &ldquo;As the bearer of Heat culture, I take it serious. It's not a game. It's not a joke. I know people talk about it. People, they may have this stigma of what it is and what it's not. But it's real. It is real. The culture is real. The culture has saved very many guys, not just me."
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Miami’s captain is returning to the Heat for a 20th season, Haslem announced Sunday. It’s a one-year deal worth $2.9 million.

Udonis Haslem says he's coming back for 20th year with Heat

MIAMI (AP) &mdash; Kobe Bryant. Dirk Nowitzki. And now, Udonis Haslem.
Miami&rsquo;s captain is returning to the Heat for a 20th season, he announced Sunday. It&rsquo;s a one-year deal worth $2.9 million; Miami extended the offer nearly two months ago, then waited for Haslem to decide between retiring and returning.
Nowitzki played all 21 of his NBA seasons with the Dallas Mavericks, Bryant spent all 20 of his seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers and when he appears in his next game, Haslem will join them as a player spending at least two decades in the league and all with one franchise.
&ldquo;I have decided to follow through with what me and my father had talked about, and I will finish what I started and I will play 20 years," Haslem said, seated at midcourt at Miami High, his alma mater. &ldquo;I will play this year, because I talked about that with my father and that&rsquo;s what we said we would do. It won&rsquo;t be the same. Won&rsquo;t be as easy. But the goal still remains the same. Win. Win a championship. Leave it on the line and hold your head high when it's all over."
Tim Duncan spent 19 seasons with San Antonio and John Stockton spent 19 with Utah.
The 42-year-old Haslem is by far the longest-tenured player in Heat history. He is a three-time NBA champion with Miami and is the franchise&rsquo;s all-time leader in rebounds. This contract is the 11th he has signed with the Heat, and this marks the seventh consecutive summer in which he has signed a deal with the team.
His father, Johnnie Haslem, died Aug. 30, 2021. Udonis Haslem spent about two weeks away from the Heat at the start of camp and the preseason last year while grieving, and he said not having either of his parents still alive forced him to reevaluate many things in the past year.
&ldquo;Even at 42, you look around and you don't have both of your parents, you can be confused," Haslem said. &ldquo;It can be confusing. ... But never have I been more clear than I am now. I just had to clear the cobwebs out."
Haslem was the oldest player to appear in each of the last two NBA seasons. He got into 13 games with Miami last season, averaging 2.5 points and 1.9 rebounds.
He has had 162 different teammates during his Heat career. And this season the NBA might include players who weren&rsquo;t even born when Haslem entered the league. Haslem made his NBA debut on Oct. 28, 2003 &mdash; three weeks before Jalen Duren, the No. 13 pick in this year&rsquo;s NBA draft, was born.
Haslem has averaged 7.5 points and 6.6 rebounds in his first 19 seasons, playing sparingly the last six years. But the Heat have insisted his role remains vital in practice and in the locker room, annually finding ways to keep luring Haslem back.
This contract will take Haslem past the $70 million mark in on-court earnings. After the coming season, Haslem said he hopes to join the Heat's front office and has mentioned his desire to possibly join the ownership group in the years to come.
&ldquo;This ain't no (expletive) charity case. This is a sacrifice, sacrificing for the next generation," Haslem said. &ldquo;As the bearer of Heat culture, I take it serious. It's not a game. It's not a joke. I know people talk about it. People, they may have this stigma of what it is and what it's not. But it's real. It is real. The culture is real. The culture has saved very many guys, not just me."

Udonis Haslem announced that he will return to the Miami Heat for his 20th NBA season.