Wasps

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 it reads &ldquo;President Trump rescinded former President Joe Biden&rsquo;s order that extended the enrollment periods for Affordable Care Act (Obama Care) plans in most states, and granted additional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

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

Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant became the eighth player in NBA history to surpass 30,000 career points. Durant achieved this milestone during a home game against the Memphis Grizzlies today, February 11, 2025, sinking two free throws late in the third quarter. He entered the game needing 26 points to reach the landmark and finished with 34 points, bringing his career total to 30,008 points.&nbsp;
Durant reached 30,000 points in 1,101 games, tying Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the third-fastest player to achieve this feat. Only Wilt Chamberlain (941 games) and Michael Jordan (960 games) accomplished it more quickly. Reflecting on this achievement, Durant expressed gratitude, stating, "It's a true honor to join such an elite group of players. I've always focused on playing the game the right way, and reaching this milestone is a testament to that."&nbsp;
Despite Durant's historic night, the Suns fell to the Grizzlies with a final score of 119-112. Grizzlies guard Ja Morant, who led his team with 26 points, honored Durant by presenting him with the game ball after the contest, signifying respect for his accomplishment. Durant's next target on the all-time scoring list is Wilt Chamberlain, who sits in seventh place with 31,419 points.&nbsp;

Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant became the eighth player in NBA history to surpass 30,000 career points.

Kevin Durant becomes 8th NBA Player to reach 30,000 points

In today&rsquo;s NBA, the league is undeniably dominated by big men. 
The last five MVPs went to Giannis Antetokounmpo (two), Nikola Jokic (two) and Joel Embiid. Rookies Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren stand at a towering 7-foot-4 and 7-foot-1 respectively, and both are starting to make their mark in the NBA.
As the league embraces this new era filled with giants, it is awesome to see the two sub-6-foot guys match up against each other: New Orleans&rsquo; Jose Alvarado and Minnesota&rsquo;s Jordan McLaughlin.
Alvarado and McLaughlin, who are both listed as 5-foot-11 without shoes, have each carved out a role on their squad. The two provide different valuable skills off the bench, and they have been vital pieces to their team&rsquo;s success. 
Alvarado impacts the game on the defensive end by suffocating and pestering ball-handlers. He also comes up with his signature blindside steals, which earned him the nickname Grand Theft Alvarado (GTA). McLaughlin, on the other hand, is a crafty playmaker who sets up the Wolves' offense off the bench and serves as a reliable backup for Mike Conley.&nbsp;
In a league where there are 34 players who are 7-feet or taller this season alone, Alvarado and McLaughlin remain outliers and part of a dying breed.
There are only 12 players who are listed at 6-feet or below in the NBA this season, with the shortest being Markquis Nowell at 5-foot-7 and Jacob Gilyard at 5-foot-8. Together, they represent only 3% of the league population &ndash; which means small guards are largely going extinct in the NBA.
Unless you&rsquo;re an established point guard like Fred VanVleet, Kyle Lowry or Chris Paul, there has been little to no room for these shorter players on NBA rosters.&nbsp;
The current trend of positionless basketball and do-it-all forwards has certainly hurt these smaller guards. Whether it be less reliance on traditional point guards to set up an offense or getting hunted out for switches defensively, teams have been shifting away from said player prototypes. Even a former All-NBA teamer and super scorer like Isaiah Thomas was virtually driven out of the league mainly because of his unfortunate trait of getting exploited on defense due to his height.
Given this, it&rsquo;s impressive how Alvarado and McLaughlin are staying in the league. This could be attributed to their specific skill-sets. Both guys show that short players still have a place in the NBA as long as they provide value and play a certain role effectively and efficiently. In a league where height is often equated to success, it&rsquo;s refreshing to see two sub-6-foot players hold their own on the court.

As sub-6-foot players, New Orleans’ Jose Alvarado and Minnesota’s Jordan McLaughlin are the last of a dying breed.

Jose Alvarado, Jordan McLaughlin are the last of a dying breed

Since Halloween is just two-and-a-half weeks away, BasketballNews compiled a list of the best costumes worn by NBA players.

Which NBA players have rocked the best Halloween costumes?

SlamBall co-founder Mason Gordon spoke to Alex Kennedy about the sport's return, the new season on ESPN and much more.

The return of SlamBall: Co-founder Mason Gordon discusses new season

Alex Kennedy is joined by 7-time NBA All-Star and Hall-of-Famer Tracy McGrady! 
T-Mac discusses his Ones Basketball League that he recently founded, staying with Kobe Bryant when they were teenagers, the NBA's age limit, the time he nearly teamed up with Michael Jordan on the Chicago Bulls, the Orlando Magic's potential Big Three of T-Mac, Tim Duncan and Grant Hill, his dream one-on-one matchup, today's players who play like him and much more.
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Alex Kennedy is joined by 7-time NBA All-Star and Hall-of-Famer Tracy McGrady.

Tracy McGrady on staying with Kobe Bryant, nearly playing with MJ, more

Today, the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) and Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) announced their continued partnership in hosting the fifth&nbsp;annual Top 50 Basketball Camp. The camp will take place July 27&ndash;29 at Morehouse College and Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, GA. &nbsp; The best players from each conference will be featured at the camp in a model like the NBPA's Top 100 Camp. Players at the Top 50 Camp will participate in basketball skill training exercises and attend leadership and life development sessions off the court. &nbsp; "NBPA members have a true appreciation for HBCUs, and the Top 50 Camp is a great way for the NBPA to continue strengthening its connection with the HBCU community," said Purvis Short, the NBPA's Chief of Player Programs. "Our partnership with the SIAC and SWAC has given us a unique opportunity to host a productive learning experience for HBCU athletes to better themselves as men on and off the court." The camp also aims to cultivate and create coaching and talent pipelines for current and retired NBA players exploring the transition into careers in intercollegiate athletics. &nbsp; "The Southwestern Athletic Conference is elated to continue our partnership with the NBPA Top 50 Camp," said SWAC Commissioner Dr. Charles McClelland. "This partnership is an amazing opportunity for our student-athletes to participate in athletic and professional development initiatives that will positively impact them both on and off the court. This event has steadily grown and has quickly become a signature event that our student-athletes look forward to participating in on an annual basis." &nbsp; In addition to skill development and on-court drills, the camp will include a series of highly-competitive scrimmages and games, allowing the players to showcase their talent against the best of their neighboring conference. &nbsp; "I commend the NBPA for its commitment to HBCUs as The Top 50 Camp serves as a basketball combine for our student-athletes to showcase their talents while receiving instruction from current and former NBA players," said SIAC Commissioner Anthony Holloman. &nbsp; Camp participants from the SIAC include:
<table border="0" width="432" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">First Name</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Last Name</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">College or University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Aziel</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Blackwell</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Kentucky State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Devin</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Booker</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Tuskegee University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Eleik</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Bowles</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Savannah State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Gregg</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Boyd II</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Tuskegee University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Steven</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Dulley</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Tuskegee University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Ashton</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Hawkins</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Spring Hill College</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Martez</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jones</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Tuskegee University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Robert</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Kendrick</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Fort Valley State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Kong</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Kong</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Kentucky State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Myson</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Lowe</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Fort Valley State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Steven</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Lyles</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Spring Hill College</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Chris</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Martin</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Clark Atlanta University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Joemel</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">McNair</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Morehouse College</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jamir</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Moore</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Albany State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Sean</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Paige</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Central State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Ayjay</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Plain</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Savannah State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Antwoin</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Reed Jr</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Central State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Kerry</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Richardson</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Morehouse College</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jordan</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Simpson</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Albany State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Raevon</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Thomas</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Central State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Terin</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Wofford</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Albany State University</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<div>&nbsp; &nbsp; Camp participants from the SWAC include: &nbsp;</div>
<table border="0" width="432" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">First Name</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Last Name</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">College or University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Chase</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Adams</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jackson State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jaylen</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Bates</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Florida A&amp;M University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Eric</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Coleman</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alabama State</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Zeke</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Cook</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jackson State university</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Dhashon</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Dyson</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Bethune Cookman University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Ken</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Evans Jr.</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jackson State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jeremiah</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Gambrell</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alcorn State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Kolby</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Granger</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Texas Southern University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Zion</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Harmon</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Bethune Cookman University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">P. J.</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Henry</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Texas Southern University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Elijah</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Hulsewe</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Bethune Cookman University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Byron</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Joshua</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alcorn State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jeremiah</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Kendall</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alcorn State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">T. J.</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Madlock</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alabama State</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Romelle</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Mansel</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jackson State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Kylen</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Milton</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">University of Arkansas Pine Bluff</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Zytarious</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Mortle</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Texas Southern University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Festus</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Ndumanya</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Southern University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Omari</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Peek</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alabama A&amp;M</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Dailin</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Smith</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alabama A&amp;M</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">D. K.</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Thorn</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alcorn State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Cameron</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Tucker</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alabama A&amp;M</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Ernest (EJ)</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Williams</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alabama A&amp;M</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Rashad</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Williams</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">University of Arkansas Pine Bluff</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Coltie</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Young</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jackson State University</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

The NBPA, SIAC and SWAC will host the fifth annual Top 50 Basketball Camp from July 27-29 in Atlanta.

NBPA, SIAC and SWAC to host 5th annual Top 50 Basketball Camp

PARIS (AP) &mdash; Adieu France, hello America.
They were hugs of goodbye &mdash; not of joy &mdash; for Victor Wembanyama as he bid farewell to his teammates and the French league, before jetting off for what&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-draft-2023-wembanyama-396be2a8eeb0be8e3323bb509405695c">many predict</a>&nbsp;will be a glittering NBA career.
Wembanyama&rsquo;s performance &mdash; 22 points, seven rebounds and four blocks &mdash; couldn&rsquo;t prevent his Boulogne-Levallois team losing 92-85 to Monaco in a must-win Game 3 in the best-of-five French league championship series on Thursday.
To accommodate escalating interest in seeing the 19-year-old&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-sports-basketball-las-vegas-6f4ac3d44f624ef36ddb00e314cf0401">French prodigy</a>, Game 3 &mdash; and 4 if they had won &mdash; were switched from a 4,000-seat venue to Court Philippe Chatrier at Roland Garros, home of the French Open tennis championship which seats&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/LNBofficiel/status/1669390713434275842" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">more than 14,000</a>.
Fans sang &ldquo;Merci, Wemby&rdquo; as&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/wembanyama-nba-lottery-draft-french-finale-e8d2b9e7cf97ab22df549a03d1124456">the hugely popular Wembanyama</a>&nbsp;waved and clapped at them.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m sorry for the fans who love to see a show,&rdquo; Wembanyama said on beIN Sports television after the game. &ldquo;Of course I&rsquo;m proud of what I&rsquo;ve managed to do along with my coach (Vincent Collet), in bringing the team to the finals. But I&rsquo;m not satisfied.&rdquo;
Next week, the San Antonio Spurs are expected to make the 7-foot-3 Wembanyama&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-draft-lottery-2023-victor-wembanyama-7ac2a47737c20c0df4543e1626407e47">the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft</a>, where he&rsquo;ll follow in the footsteps of France great Tony Parker and Hall of Famers David Robinson and Tim Duncan.
With Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadiv&eacute; among the crowd &mdash; likely with an eye on&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-mock-draft-wembanyama-c9dfd3d19592e1de44f5957ea2aa8b48">Wembanyama teammate Bilal Coulibaly</a>&nbsp;ahead of the draft &mdash; the Mets opened up big leads but with 50 seconds left the score was tied at 85-85. Jordan Loyd, a former NBA player with the Toronto Raptors, sank two 3-pointers to end Wembanyama&rsquo;s hopes of signing off with a French crown.
Ranadiv&eacute; told beIN Sport that Wembanyama is &ldquo;amazing&rdquo; but that &ldquo;I&rsquo;m also excited about Bilal. Young guy, lot of skills, so French basketball is in great shape.&rdquo;
Wembanyama, who opened the scoring with&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/LNBofficiel/status/1669413577068019712" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a reverse alley-oop dunk</a>, looked sad as he hugged his teammates while Monaco celebrated.
&ldquo;Wemby had a great game, but this team&rsquo;s unbelievable,&rdquo; said Loyd, who finished with 22 points.
Everything had pointed to a special night for Wembanyama and then a Game 4 on Saturday. Wembanyama clenched his fist when his pass inside for Devante Jones made it 24-10, then drew roars when he used his giant frame to block a shot early in the second quarter.
The &ldquo;Wemby, Wemby&rdquo; chants became louder when&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/LNBofficiel/status/1669432798598381573" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">he hit a 3-pointer</a>&nbsp;to make it 47-37, louder still when&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/LNBofficiel/status/1669431516190101504" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">he dished to Coulibaly</a>&nbsp;for a dunk early in the third quarter.
It was not enough, though, and it was &ldquo;Wemby&rdquo; who put Elie Okobo on the foul line to give Monaco its first lead, 82-81, with just over three minutes left.
Loyd &mdash; not Wembanyama &mdash; ended up with&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/LNBofficiel/status/1669449924562305028" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the MVP award</a>&nbsp;and the winners&rsquo; medal on the court where Novak Djokovic made men&rsquo;s Grand Slam history last Sunday with&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/novak-djokovic-grand-slam-titles-french-open-6f822dca855478163696538f37ff534b">his 23rd men&rsquo;s major title</a>.
<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/chicago-bulls-nba-sports-detroit-pistons-paris-ba85137c70a09ac5efcea7f5e8e472a1">Wembanyama&rsquo;s journey to greatness</a>&nbsp;in his sport, however, might only just be starting.

With today's loss to Monaco, Victor Wembanyama will leave his teammates and the French league to prepare for his NBA career.

Wembanyama bids adieu to France with a defeat as NBA Draft nears

Carmelo Anthony, the star forward who led Syracuse to an NCAA championship in his lone college season and went on to spend 19 years in the NBA,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/carmeloanthony/status/1660639136242343936" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">announced his retirement</a>&nbsp;on Monday.
Anthony, who was not in the NBA this season, retires as the No. 9 scorer in league history.
Only LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki, Wilt Chamberlain and Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal scored more than Anthony &mdash; who finishes his career with 28,289 points.
&ldquo;Now the time has come for me to say good-bye ... to the game that gave me purpose and pride,&rdquo; Anthony said in a videotaped message announcing his decision &mdash; one he called &ldquo;bittersweet.&rdquo;
Anthony&rsquo;s legacy has long been secure: He ends his playing days after being selected as one of the 75 greatest players in NBA history, a 10-time All-Star, a past scoring champion and a six-time All-NBA selection.
And while he never got to the NBA Finals &mdash; he only played in the conference finals once, with Denver against the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers in 2009 &mdash; Anthony also knew what it was like to be a champion.
He was the Most Outstanding Player of the 2003 Final Four when he led Syracuse to the national championship, and he helped USA Basketball win Olympic gold three times &mdash; at Beijing in 2008, at London in 2012 and at Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
Anthony has played in 31 games in four appearances at the Olympics, the most of any U.S. men&rsquo;s player ever. Anthony&rsquo;s 37 points against Nigeria in the 2012 games is a USA Basketball men&rsquo;s record at an Olympics, as are his 10 3-pointers from that game and his 13-for-13 effort from the foul line against Argentina in 2008.
&ldquo;Carmelo Anthony is one of the NBA&rsquo;s all-time great players and ambassadors,&rdquo; NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said. &ldquo;We congratulate him on a remarkable 19-year career and look forward to seeing him in the Hall of Fame.&rdquo;
Anthony will remain part of international basketball for at least a few more months; Anthony is one of the ambassadors to the Basketball World Cup, FIBA&rsquo;s biggest event, which will be held this summer in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.
&ldquo;I remember the days when I had nothing, just a ball on the court and a dream of something more,&rdquo; Anthony said. &ldquo;But basketball was my outlet. My purpose was strong, my communities, the cities I represented with pride and the fans that supported me along the way. I am forever grateful for those people and places because they made me Carmelo Anthony.&rdquo;
Anthony was drafted No. 3 overall by Denver in 2003, part of the star-studded class that included James at No. 1, Hall of Famer Chris Bosh at No. 4, and soon-to-be Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade -- he gets officially enshrined this summer &mdash; at No. 5.
Anthony will join them at the Hall of Fame before long. He averaged 22.5 points in his 19 seasons, spending the bulk of those years with Denver and the New York Knicks. Anthony has long raved about his time with the Knicks, and what it was like playing at Madison Square Garden, especially as a kid who was born in Brooklyn.
&ldquo;The Garden,&rdquo; Anthony said in 2014. &ldquo;They call it The Mecca for a reason.&rdquo;
Anthony also played for Portland, Oklahoma City, Houston and ended his career with the Lakers last season. He went unsigned this year, and now his retirement is official.
He said in his retirement address that he&rsquo;s looking forward to watching the development of his son Kiyan, a highly rated high school shooting guard.
&ldquo;People ask what I believe my legacy is,&rdquo; Anthony said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not my feats on the court that come to mind, all the awards or praise. Because my story has always been more than basketball. My legacy, my son ... I will forever continue through you. The time has come for you to carry this torch.&rdquo;

After a 19-year NBA career, Carmelo Anthony officially announced his retirement on Monday.

Carmelo Anthony retires after 19-year NBA career, 3 Olympic gold medals

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) &mdash; As his NBA career approaches the dawn of its third decade, LeBron James plays almost exclusively alongside teammates who grew up watching him dominate their game.
He has played against the sons of his basketball contemporaries, and he has played against one of his own 18-year-old son&rsquo;s former high school teammates. That son, Bronny, is headed to college at USC in the fall, an achievement that sparks a father&rsquo;s proud smile whenever he mentions it.
Signs of time&rsquo;s passage are all around the 38-year-old James, yet&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/los-angeles-lakers-nba-sports-lebron-james-9641258f6600e91d99e4dc8d518deeaa">the new top scorer in NBA history</a>&nbsp;is defying all conventional wisdom about growing older in his mercilessly athletic sport.
When he&rsquo;s fully healthy &mdash; which is admittedly true less often than he would like &mdash; the third-oldest active player in the league still sprints, dunks,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1657242100734259201" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">throws no-look passes</a>&nbsp;and competes with the intensity that has kept him at the top for 20 punishing NBA seasons.
&ldquo;Bron is just different,&rdquo; Lakers big man Anthony Davis said. &ldquo;He keeps showing us, showing you. He&rsquo;s not done yet, either.&rdquo;
Two days before his Los Angeles Lakers&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-playoffs-2023-warriors-lakers-lebron-curry-470bae4da1526ce6b86be6b1bfb1b442">eliminated the vaunted Golden State Warriors</a>&nbsp;to&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-playoffs-2023-lakers-lebron-darvin-e3d5dea52e558a1780cb736e44c43cc4">reach the Western Conference finals</a>&nbsp;last week, James was named to the All-NBA third team. James made one of the three teams for the jaw-dropping 19th time even though he played in only 56 games this season.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t take those moments for granted,&rdquo; James said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t take anything that I&rsquo;ve been able to accomplish for granted, and I&rsquo;m always appreciative. To be a part of that class of 15 guys is still pretty cool, even at my age and where I&rsquo;m at right now, Year 20. Just don&rsquo;t take it for granted.
&ldquo;Obviously, I&rsquo;ve got bigger fish to fry. But those small moments, those small wins right there, is all part of the journey, all part of the legacy.&rdquo;
The big fish is his fifth NBA championship, which is somehow just eight wins away from being caught at the close of a tumultuous Lakers season. Even getting this close to James&rsquo; 11th career NBA Finals appearance is incredible, considering these Lakers started the season 2-10 and sat at 26-32 in mid-February, shortly after James broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar&rsquo;s league scoring record.
But after a 27-12 run through the past two months highlighted by knocking off second-seeded Memphis and the defending NBA champions, James&rsquo; Lakers open the conference finals at top-seeded Denver on Tuesday night. The Lakers haven&rsquo;t lost back-to-back games since March 17, and they&rsquo;ve lost just once at home since March 26.
To use the phrase frequently deployed by first-year Lakers coach Darvin Ham, James&rsquo; fingerprints are all over the Lakers&rsquo; success &mdash; particularly in their biggest games.
In the first round, James had&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/grizzlies-lakers-lebron-morant-9e8a719125079093104db8145d90ac43">the first 20-point, 20-rebound playoff game</a>&nbsp;of his career during the Lakers&rsquo; Game 4 victory over Memphis &mdash; and he also hit the dramatic tying shot in the final second of regulation. In the second round, James racked up 30 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in the clinching Game 6 victory over defending champion Golden State, conjuring his first 30-point playoff outing since the 2020 season.
Ham was still a player in James&rsquo; first two NBA seasons. He calls LeBron&rsquo;s Year 20 performance, particularly after a late-season injury, &ldquo;unreal.&rdquo;
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been around some elite, top-tier, top-5 talent in the NBA as a player and a coach,&rdquo; Ham said. &ldquo;Kobe was nothing short of amazing. Giannis (Antetokounmpo). (But) LeBron, I&rsquo;ve never seen anything like it. ... Top five, dead or alive, ever to play in the NBA.&rdquo;
Indeed, no basketball player has ever stood on the sport&rsquo;s biggest stages as often and as long as James, and he has repeatedly thrived under the spotlight of 16 NBA postseasons and three Olympics. The Lakers&rsquo; elimination of the Warriors was James&rsquo; 41st career playoff series victory, passing Derek Fisher for the most series wins by one player in NBA history.
He has played in a league-record 278 postseason games, and his 7,912 career playoff points are nearly 2,000 more than Michael Jordan (5,987) atop the NBA&rsquo;s career playoff scoring list. He&rsquo;s even the fourth-leading rebounder in NBA playoff history with 2,511 boards &mdash; that&rsquo;s a whopping 1,120 more than the next-highest active player, Draymond Green.
The Lakers&rsquo; achievements are even more impressive because James missed a full month down the regular-season stretch due to a right foot injury that still limits his explosiveness. Los Angeles went 8-5 without him and then went 6-2 after he returned in late March.
One play-in victory and two commanding playoff series wins later, the seventh-seeded Lakers are four wins away from another Finals for the four-time championship series MVP.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s been us since we made acquisitions with our new guys,&rdquo; James said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been able to be very resilient in games. Like I said, we&rsquo;ve been playing lot of basketball for about 2 1/2 months now, just trying to punch our clock and to be able to play the right way in the postseason.&rdquo;
Indeed, James and Davis realize they wouldn&rsquo;t be in this position without an impressive midseason reconfiguration of the roster around them. D&rsquo;Angelo Russell was the Lakers&rsquo; centerpiece addition at the trade deadline, and the well-traveled guard soon learned something he didn&rsquo;t know about the hard work behind James&rsquo; transcendence.
&ldquo;Bron&rsquo;s niche has always been preparedness,&rdquo; Russell said. &ldquo;A lot of guys&rsquo; niches is shooting the ball, working hard, outworking guys. LeBron is a film junkie, a basketball junkie, a leadership junkie. To be able to watch it all from the front row, it&rsquo;s almost like a cheat code.&rdquo;

As his NBA career approaches its third decade, LeBron James plays almost exclusively alongside teammates who grew up watching him.

LeBron James defies time, propels Lakers to Conference Finals

On Tuesday afternoon, the NBA announced the 78 players who are expected to attend the 2023 NBA Draft Combine, which will take place at the Wintrust Arena and Marriott Marquis in Chicago from May 15-21.
Players will have interviews with NBA teams and participate in five-on-five games as well as shooting and strength-and-agility drills. Coverage of the 2023 NBA Draft Combine will begin May 17 on ESPN2 from 2-6 p.m. ET and continues May 18 from 4-8 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
The NBA Draft Combine will also be available on the ESPN App. Strength-and-agility drills and shooting drills will be broadcast live on the NBA App on May 15 from 3-5 p.m. ET.
Additionally, a select number of standout players from the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-g-league-announces-45-draft-prospects-competing-in-g-league-elite-camp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2023 NBA G League Elite Camp</a>, which takes place May 13-14 at Wintrust Arena, will be invited to participate in the NBA Draft Combine.
Unfortunately, projected No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama won't be in attendance at the 2023 NBA Draft Combine as he has yet to finish his season overseas with Metropolitans 92.
Below is a list of expected attendees for the 2023 NBA Draft Combine:
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Trey Alexander (Creighton)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Seth Lundy (Penn State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Amari Bailey (UCLA)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Kevin McCullar (Kansas)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Emoni Bates (Eastern Michigan)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Mike Miles Jr. (TCU)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Reece Beekman (Virginia)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Brandon Miller (Alabama)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Anthony Black (Arkansas)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Jordan Miller (Miami)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Adem Bona (UCLA)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Leonard Miller (G League Ignite)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Kobe Brown (Missouri)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Judah Mintz (Syracuse)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Kobe Bufkin (Michigan)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Dillon Mitchell (Texas)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Toumani Camara (Dayton)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Omari Moore (San Jose State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Sidy Cissoko (G League Ignite)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Kris Murray (Iowa)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Jaylen Clark (UCLA)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Grant Nelson (North Dakota State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Noah Clowney (Alabama)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
James Nnaji (Barcelona [Spain] )
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Ricky Council IV (Arkansas)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Julian Phillips (Tennessee)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Gradey Dick (Kansas)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Jalen Pickett (Penn State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Nikola Djurisic (Mega [Serbia] )
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Brandin Podziemski (Santa Clara)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Zach Edey (Purdue)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Olivier-Maxence Prosper (Marquette)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Adam Flagler (Baylor)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Rayan Rupert (New Zealand Breakers [Oceania] )
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Keyonte George (Baylor)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Adama Sanogo (Connecticut)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Mouhamed Gueye (Washington State)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Marcus Sasser (Houston)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Coleman Hawkins (Illinois)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Brice Sensabaugh (Ohio State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Jordan Hawkins (Connecticut)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Terrence Shannon Jr. (Illinois)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Scoot Henderson (G League Ignite)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Ben Sheppard (Belmont)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Taylor Hendricks (UCF)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Jalen Slawson (Furman)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
DaRon Holmes II (Dayton)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Nick Smith Jr. (Arkansas)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Jalen Hood-Schifino (Indiana)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Terquavion Smith (North Carolina State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Jett Howard (Michigan)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Julian Strawther (Gonzaga)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Andre Jackson Jr. (Connecticut)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Amen Thompson (Overtime Elite)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
GG Jackson II (South Carolina)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Ausar Thompson (Overtime Elite)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Trayce Jackson-Davis (Indiana)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Drew Timme (Gonzaga)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Jaime Jaquez Jr. (UCLA)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Oscar Tshiebwe (Kentucky)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Keyontae Johnson (Kansas State)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Azuolas Tubelis (Arizona)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Colby Jones (Xavier)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Tristan Vukcevic (Partizan [Serbia] )
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Ryan Kalkbrenner (Creighton)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Jarace Walker (Houston)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Arthur Kaluma (Creighton)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Cason Wallace (Kentucky)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Mojave King (G League Ignite)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Jordan Walsh (Arkansas)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Bobi Klintman (Wake Forest)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Dariq Whitehead (Duke)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Maxwell Lewis (Pepperdine)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Cam Whitmore (Villanova)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Dereck Lively II (Duke)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Jalen Wilson (Kansas)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Chris Livingston (Kentucky)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Isaiah Wong (Miami)
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

The NBA announced the 78 players who are expected to attend the 2023 NBA Draft Combine.

NBA announces 78 Draft Combine participants, but no Victor Wembanyama

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

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

USA will open Basketball World Cup against New Zealand

The NBA announced that 242 players have filed as early-entry candidates for the 2023 NBA Draft. Here is the complete list.

NBA announces 242 early-entry candidates for 2023 NBA Draft

Here&rsquo;s a rarity: All five teams from one division are going to the NBA playoffs.
And they pulled that off in a year where a division champion almost didn&rsquo;t get there.
All five teams from the Pacific Division &mdash; Sacramento, Phoenix, the Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State and the Los Angeles Lakers &mdash; have made the playoffs, which start Saturday.
But Miami, the champion of the Southeast Division, almost missed out. The Heat got there Friday night by closing on a 15-1 run to beat Chicago 102-91 in the final Eastern Conference play-in game.
Had the Heat lost, it would have been the first time in NBA history that a division winner wasn&rsquo;t going to the playoffs.
On the other end of the spectrum, the whole-division-goes feat had happened only two other times since the NBA went to the six-division, five-teams-in-each format starting with the 2004-05 season.
The Central Division did it in 2006, and the Southwest Division pulled it off in 2015. It almost happened in the Northwest Division in 2018 when Denver missed the playoffs by a game. And the Atlantic Division had a chance to send all its teams this year if Toronto gotten out of the play-in tournament.
PLAY IN TO PLAY ON
The play-in tournament provided a path for Miami, Minnesota, the Los Angeles Lakers and Atlanta to make the playoffs.
And now, they&rsquo;ll try to go from playing in to playing on.
No team has managed that yet.
Granted, there&rsquo;s only been three previous versions of a play-in tournament, but no team has gone from the extra round in between the regular season and playoffs and gotten an actual postseason series win.
In 2020, Portland (which beat Memphis in a one-game play-in round inside the restart bubble) lost 4-1 to the top-seeded Lakers.
In 2021, the Lakers (4-2 to Phoenix), Memphis (4-1 to Utah), Boston (4-1 to Brooklyn) and Washington (4-1 to Philadelphia) were all ousted in Round 1.
And last year, Minnesota (4-2 to Memphis), New Orleans (4-2 to Phoenix), Atlanta (4-1 to Miami) and Brooklyn (4-0 to Boston) also lost their opening series after qualifying through the play-in.
2 TO 1
Golden State did something unusual last season. It finished second in the Pacific Division &mdash; and first in the NBA.
That&rsquo;s a serious break from the norm.
From 2012 through 2021, every team to make the NBA Finals did so after winning a division championship. The 2011 Dallas Mavericks had been the most recent team not to win its division but make the finals; they won the title that season.
The Warriors did it last season, also winning the title.
This season&rsquo;s division champions: Boston, Milwaukee, Miami, Denver, Sacramento and Memphis. History suggests that two of those six teams would be the wise picks for those forecasting who&rsquo;ll make the finals.
SEASON OF COMEBACKS
Playoffs might not have looked likely for a bunch of teams in the early going of the season.
Philadelphia started 0-3, Sacramento started 0-4, Brooklyn was 1-5, Golden State was 3-7, the Los Angeles Clippers opened 2-4, Minnesota was 5-8, Miami was 7-11 &mdash; and the Los Angeles Lakers were 2-10, a level of bad start that few teams have been able to overcome.
The Lakers are just the 15th team in NBA history to start 0-5 and make the postseason. And only four teams were worse than 2-10 after 12 games and still made the playoffs. Last season&rsquo;s New Orleans Pelicans started 1-11 and got there, as did the 1967-68 Chicago Bulls and 1984-85 Cleveland Cavaliers.
But the undisputed bad-start-and-made-playoffs-anyway kings are the 1996-97 Phoenix Suns. They started 0-13, wound up finishing 40-42, held a 2-1 series lead over top-seeded Seattle in the best-of-five opening round, then fell in five games.
WINS MILESTONE
Golden State teammates Klay Thompson and Draymond Green have both appeared in 102 playoff victories.
That&rsquo;s tied for 25th-best all-time, and they could keep climbing the charts this spring.
They&rsquo;re currently two wins behind Danny Green; three behind Dwyane Wade and Dennis Johnson; five behind Bill Russell, Robert Parish and Warriors teammate Andre Iguodala; and six behind No. 18 John Havlicek.
If the Warriors win another title and Thompson and Green appear in all 16 victories, they&rsquo;d then have 118 apiece &mdash; one fewer than Michael Jordan.
The Los Angeles Lakers&rsquo; LeBron James enters these playoffs as the career leader in postseason wins, with 174. Phoenix&rsquo;s Kevin Durant needs five to get to 100, and Warriors guard Stephen Curry has 93.
ON THE ROAD
Going &ldquo;on the road&rdquo; in these playoffs will be a relative term in some cases.
By driving distance, some of them are pretty close. Only 85 miles or so separates the arenas used by Golden State and Sacramento, and it&rsquo;s about 100 miles between the arenas in Philadelphia and Brooklyn.
Phoenix and the Los Angeles Clippers play 375 miles apart, while New York and Cleveland are separated by 450 miles, which is still no more than about an hour by air. The rest of the matchups are a bit longer &mdash; it&rsquo;s 850 miles or so between Minnesota and Denver, 1,100 between Boston and Atlanta, almost 1,500 between Miami and Milwaukee and just over 1,800 between Memphis and the Los Angeles Lakers&rsquo; home floor.
THE WAIT IS OVER
Sacramento&rsquo;s last playoff game was May 5, 2006. That was 12 Kings coaches ago.
A look at some of the other numbers:
&mdash; The Kings played 1,358 games in that span.
&mdash; They used 184 different players.
&mdash; They scored 142,294 points, with DeMarcus Cousins having the most in that span with 9,894.
&mdash; They went 515-843.
&mdash; There will have been 1,384 playoff games in the league between Sacramento&rsquo;s last playoff game and by the time the Kings and Golden State tip off in Game 1 on Saturday. All 29 other teams played at least 11 playoff games in that span; Boston has the most with 201, and the Celtics and Miami have a league-high 108 playoff wins apiece over that stretch.
INSIDE THE STANDINGS
If the 16 playoff teams had their own league this season, with only the games against one another counting, then the Boston Celtics would be feeling pretty confident right about now.
The Celtics had the best record against fellow playoff qualifiers this season, going 27-15. That just edged out Denver, which went 26-15 against playoff-bound teams during the regular season.
Boston&rsquo;s average point differential against playoff-bound teams per game is also better than any other postseason club. The Celtics outscored playoff teams, on average, by 5.6 points per game.
The rest of the records by playoff qualifiers against one another during the regular season: Milwaukee 26-16, Philadelphia 26-16, Minnesota 22-20, Memphis 21-20, New York 22-21, Miami 21-21, Phoenix 21-23, Sacramento 19-24, Golden State 19-24, Cleveland 18-23, the Los Angeles Clippers 18-24, Brooklyn 18-24, the Los Angeles Lakers 17-25, and Atlanta 16-26.
WARRIORS&rsquo; ROAD WOES
Golden State has won a road game in 27 consecutive playoff series, an NBA record and obviously a major reason why the Warriors have four of the last eight championships.
They&rsquo;ll need to rekindle that road magic.
The Warriors &mdash; who don&rsquo;t have home-court advantage in Round 1 against Sacramento, so they&rsquo;ll need at least one road win to have a chance in the series &mdash; went 3-19 against playoff teams away from home this season.
The last time any playoff team was that bad on the road during the regular season against other eventual playoff qualifiers was 2004. Denver was 2-20 entering those playoffs in road games against fellow postseason clubs that season, and Miami was 3-19.
PLAYOFF POOL
The NBA&rsquo;s postseason playoff pool is up nearly $10 million from last year. This year, the 16 playoff teams will divide up $26,969,000.
Every team is assured of at least $402,493 for making the playoffs. The payouts increase considerably as teams advance, and the teams with the best six records in each conference get more money as well.
Milwaukee has already clinched $1,860,950 from the pool &mdash; $777,777 for having the best record in the NBA and another $680,680 for having the best record in the Eastern Conference. If the Bucks win the title, their share of the pool would soar to $7,907,335.
Last year&rsquo;s pool was $17,317,334.

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NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; The Indiana Fever made the most of the first No. 1 draft pick in franchise history, selecting Aliyah Boston.
The South Carolina star had a stellar college career, leading the Gamecocks to a national championship her junior year and losing only nine games total. She was a three-time Associated Press All-American and also the Player of the Year as a junior.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s really special, I&rsquo;m thankful to God for putting me in this position,&rdquo; said the 21-year-old Boston, from the U.S. Virgin Islands. &ldquo;Everyone in Indiana, they saw something in me, I&rsquo;m ready to get there and get to work.&rdquo;
The Fever had the worst record in the league last season, going 5-31.
&ldquo;Aliyah Boston will have an immediate impact on our franchise on and off the court,&rdquo; Fever GM Lin Dunn said. &rsquo;We are excited to pair her with Kelsey (Mitchell) and NaLyssa (Smith) as we reload the Indiana Fever. We are very impressed with Aliyah&rsquo;s post skills as well as her natural leadership skills. This a a great day for our franchise!&rdquo;
Boston, like many other players, have had to choose whether to return to college for a fifth season because of the extra year granted for the COVID-19 virus or turn pro. She decided to enter the WNBA draft, joining 111 other players to declare.
&ldquo;Everyone that has a COVID year has a tough choice,&rdquo; Boston said. &ldquo;You could be somewhere you know the system. ... It took a lot of thought.&rdquo;
She was one of three South Carolina players taken in the first round. Laeticia Amihere went eighth to Atlanta and Zia Cooke 10th to Los Angeles.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s amazing experience really, because this group of girls have been through life together,&rdquo; Amihere said. &ldquo;These four years haven&rsquo;t been only about basketball. Being able to be with them on one of our biggest nights is an amazing experience.&rdquo;
It&rsquo;s the 10th time that three players from the same team were drafted in the opening round, and the first since Oregon had three in 2020.
Minnesota took Diamond Miller of Maryland with the No. 2 pick, and Dallas drafted Maddy Siegrist of Villanova with the third pick. Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman, who was the WNBA&rsquo;s first president, sat with Siegrist.
The Wings also drafted UConn guard Lou Lopez Senechal two picks later. She had transferred to UConn after a stellar career at Fairfield.
&ldquo;It feels surreal, really didn&rsquo;t think I&rsquo;d be here,&rdquo; Senechal said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve come a long way, gone through a lot of challenges.&rdquo;
Stephanie Soares of Iowa State went fourth to Washington. The Mystics quickly traded her to Dallas soon after selecting the 6-foot-7 center. Washington got back a future first- and second-round pick.
&ldquo;It was a very interesting feeling,&rdquo; Soares said. &ldquo;Pure excitement going to Washington, but now getting to go to Dallas. It&rsquo;s going to be a great next step to the journey.&rdquo;
Soares tore her ACL in January and will miss the upcoming WNBA season.
Stanford guard Haley Jones went sixth to Atlanta. Indiana&rsquo;s Grace Berger was drafted seventh by the Fever.
Seattle took Tennessee&rsquo;s Jordan Horston ninth. Dallas chose Maryland&rsquo;s Abby Meyers with the 11th pick. Meyers started her career at Princeton before finishing with the Terrapins.
Minnesota closed out the first round taking French center Maïa Hirsch.

Boston, a three-time AP All-American who also was the Player of the Year as a junior, will solidify the post for Indiana.

Aliyah Boston heads to Indiana Fever as No. 1 pick in 2023 WNBA Draft

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) &mdash; The Golden State Warriors set an NBA record by scoring 55 points in the first quarter on their way to a 157-101 rout of the Portland Trail Blazers in their regular-season finale on Sunday to secure the sixth seed in the Western Conference.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve played really well the last couple of weeks,&rdquo; Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. &ldquo;I think we&rsquo;ve won eight of 10. Today guys were locked in right from the beginning. Guys knew what was at stake and controlled the game from the opening tap so hopefully that carries over to next week.&rdquo;
Klay Thompson, who scored 20 points, became the third player in NBA history to hit at least 300 3-pointers in a single season.
&ldquo;I pulled Klay aside two minutes before the game and said, &lsquo;Just let it happen,&rsquo;&rdquo; Kerr said. &ldquo;He said &rsquo;no problem Coach&rdquo; and then he made five 3s in the first five minutes. That&rsquo;s Klay.&rdquo;
Teammate Stephen Curry, who did it four times, and James Harden are the other two players.
Thompson also had the most 3-pointers by a player this season, getting to 301 by making six in Sunday&rsquo;s finale.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s cool to lead the league in 3s made,&rdquo; Thompson said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s something I&rsquo;ve never done before. It&rsquo;s a testament to my hard work over the last few years, some dark times that have turned into some beautiful moments.&rdquo;
Curry led the Warriors with 26 points and hit five three-pointers to go along with five rebounds. Moses Moody added 25 points off the bench, while Jordan Poole had 21 points and four rebounds for Golden State (44-38).
Skylar Mays led Portland (33-49) with 21 points along with 11 assists. Shaedon Sharpe had 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists, and Jeenathan Williams added 17 points in the Blazers&rsquo; final game of the season with regular starters Damian Lillard, Anfernee Simons, Jusuf Nurkic and Jerami Grant all sidelined.
Golden State led 55-27 after the first quarter and 84-53 at the half.
TIP-INS
Warriors: The Warriors will face the Sacramento Kings in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
Trail Blazers: Before the game, Portland re-signed guard Skylar Mays for the rest of the season after his 10-day contract expired. &hellip; They also signed center Chance Comanche, who had previously played for the Stockton Kings of the G League. &hellip; Guard Shaquille Harrison&rsquo;s 10-day contract with the Blazers expired Saturday, and he signed a contract with the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.
UP NEXT
Warriors: Clinched the sixth seed in the Western Conference playoffs and will face the Sacramento Kings in the first round.
Trail Blazers: Finished the season with the fifth-worst record in the NBA and a 10.5% chance at winning the No. 1 overall pick at the May 16 draft lottery in Chicago.

The Warriors set an NBA record by scoring 55 points in the first quarter on their way to a 157-101 rout of the Blazers on Sunday.

Warriors set NBA record with 55-point 1st quarter in rout

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The white flag is being waved in Portland.
With the Blazers sitting at 32-43, five games behind the Oklahoma City Thunder for the final play-in spot, it's fair to say the playoffs probably aren't in the cards this season. That reality has reportedly led the Blazers to shut down their superstar, Damian Lillard, for the rest of the year.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
With injury-plagued Portland Trail Blazers out of the playoff picture, superstar guard Damian Lillard will be held out the remainder of the season, league sources tell <a href="https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NBAonTNT</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/BleacherReport?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BleacherReport</a>.
&mdash; Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChrisBHaynes/status/1640819291783323648?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 28, 2023</a></blockquote>

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

Lillard had already missed the last three games (all losses) with a calf injury. In light of the Blazers' place in the standings &mdash; and the benefit that could be gained by juicing their lottery odds &mdash; it makes sense that the Blazers would take a forward-thinking approach with Lillard.
It's a somber end to what's been, at least statistically, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-news-damian-lillard-making-claim-as-nba-most-dangerous-offensive-player-portland-trail-blazers-71-point-game-joel-embiid-luka-doncic-michael-jordan-nikola-jokic-tracy-mcgrady" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the best offensive season in Lillard's career</a>. He posted career-highs in points (32.2), 2PT% (57.4), True Shooting percentage (64.5), three-point rate (.547) and attempts (11.3), free-throw rate (.464) and attempts (9.6), and assist rate (35.1).
The rest of his box score numbers &mdash; 7.3 assists, 4.8 rebounds, a 37.1% clip from three and 91.4% mark from the free throw line &mdash; certainly pass the smell test.&nbsp;
He currently leads the NBA in DunksAndThree's Offensive Estimated Plus-Minus (oEPM) metric (+8.1), narrowly ahead of MVP shortlist candidate Nikola Jokic (+8.0). He ranks fifth in Estimated Wins (EW), the cumulative version of EPM, with 14.0. He only trails Jokic (17.2), Joel Embiid (14.8), Jayson Tatum (14.4) and Luka Doncic (14.3) in that stat.
Lillard was a worthy All-Star and, in the games he appeared in, a no-brainer selection for an All-NBA team. With him only appearing in 58 games (27-31 record), I'm curious to see where the voters land with his case. There's no question Lillard played well enough, but there's room to argue against his candidacy depending on how highly availability and winning rank in a voter's mind.
Bigger picture, the Blazers enter the offseason with the same set of big questions. Can they build a contender around Lillard? How, with their current asset pool, can they do so? And considering what the rest of the conference looks like right now, does it make sense to cash in their chips to build around Lillard, or would it make more sense to use Lillard as&nbsp;the&nbsp;chip to jumpstart a rebuild?
If it's up to Lillard &mdash; and please, please stop asking him, he's been clear about his desires! &mdash; the Blazers will continue trying to build around him. That'll start with landing on an acceptable number with Jerami Grant, then likely move to evaluating the market for upgrades in the frontcourt.
We have plenty of time to dig into potential offseason moves. For now, Lillard deserves his flowers for an incredible year.
He stretched defenses to their limits with long-distance bombs. He parlayed that shooting gravity into his most efficient season as a driver. Those drives allowed him to further lean into the foul-drawing tricks he's developed throughout his career. And the constant attention he drew opened up passing windows for him to access when necessary.&nbsp;
Oh, right: he also dropped the most efficient 70+ point game in NBA history this year. Can't forget that.
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OKOwK6U7sd0" width="578" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Hopefully Lillard is able to rehab and recharge. I have no idea how you&nbsp;build&nbsp;on a campaign as ridiculous as Lillard's, but he's proven to be someone you can't comfortably bet against.&nbsp;

The Blazers are sitting Damian Lillard for the rest of the season. Nekias Duncan breaks down Lillard's great season and what's next.

Blazers guard Damian Lillard ruled out for remainder of season

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) &mdash; Karl-Anthony Towns hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 11 seconds to play after Kyle Anderson stole a pass by Draymond Green, and Minnesota held off Golden State.
Jordan Poole gave Golden State the lead on a 3 with 1:28 left, moments after Towns had connected from deep. Poole had a game-high 27 points.
The Warriors had a chance with 9.9 seconds left but Stephen Curry couldn&rsquo;t corral Poole&rsquo;s errant pass, then Curry missed a contested 3 from the baseline just before the final buzzer.
Towns had 14 points and five rebounds in his second outing following a 52-game absence with a strained right calf.
The Warriors had their nine-game home winning streak snapped and missed a chance to boost their playoff positioning. A victory also would have clinched Sacramento&rsquo;s first postseason berth since 2006. The Kings will try to end the longest playoff drought in NBA history Monday night at home against Minnesota.
BULLS 118, LAKERS 108
LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; LeBron James scored 19 points off the bench in his return from a monthlong injury absence, but Zach LaVine had 32 to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 118-108 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.
DeMar DeRozan added 17 points for the Bulls, who easily overcame James&rsquo; return with an impressive performance in their seventh win in nine games. LaVine hit 11 of his first 14 shots to lead an offensive effort that snapped the Lakers&rsquo; three-game winning streak despite the return of the NBA&rsquo;s career scoring leader.
James sat out 13 games with right foot soreness, missing four weeks during the Lakers&rsquo; run at a playoff berth.
For only the second time in his 20-year, 1,958-game NBA career, James wasn&rsquo;t a starter. He came in midway through the first quarter.
The Lakers still were without D&rsquo;Angelo Russell, who missed his second straight game with a right hip injury. Los Angeles went 8-5 in James&rsquo; absence.
CAVALIERS 108, ROCKETS 91
CLEVELAND (AP) &mdash; Jarrett Allen had 24 points and 14 rebounds, Donovan Mitchell scored 22 and Cleveland beat Houston to clinch a playoff spot for the first time since 2018.
It&rsquo;s also the first time Cleveland has made the playoffs without LeBron James on the roster since 1998.
The Cavaliers are closing in on locking up the No. 4 spot in the Eastern Conference &mdash; and home-court advantage in the first round. They&rsquo;ve won 9 of 11.
Evan Mobley added 19 points and Darius Garland had 17 for Cleveland.
Jalen Green scored 30 to pace the Rockets, who have lost five straight.
GRIZZLIES 123, HAWKS 119
ATLANTA (AP) &mdash; Ja Morant scored 27 points in his return to the Memphis starting lineup and the Grizzlies held off Atlanta for their sixth consecutive win.
Desmond Bane added 25 points for Memphis, twice delivering fourth-quarter baskets after the Hawks pulled within one.
Memphis is second in the Western Conference despite a 15-22 road record. But the six-game winning streak, the NBA&rsquo;s longest active streak, includes two victories away from home.
Morant received a big cheer from the Atlanta sellout crowd during pregame introductions. He came off the bench in his first two games after serving an eight-game NBA suspension for posting a video in which he was shown waving a gun at a Denver-area strip club.
Trae Young led the Hawks with 28 points and 10 assists, one day after he was ejected for throwing the ball at an official during a 143-130 win over Indiana.
CELTICS 137, SPURS 93
BOSTON (AP) &mdash; Jaylen Brown scored 41 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead Boston over San Antonio.
The Celtics were without star forward and leading scorer Jayson Tatum, who was sidelined with a bruised left hip. But they still moved within 1&frac12; games of Milwaukee for the Eastern Conference&rsquo;s best record with their seventh victory in nine games.
Malcolm Brogdon added 20 points and nine assists for Boston, and Derrick White had 19 points with eight rebounds.
Zach Collins had 21 points with seven rebounds for the Spurs, who finished an 0-4 road trip.
CAVALIERS 108, ROCKETS 91
CLEVELAND (AP) &mdash; Jarrett Allen had 24 points and 14 rebounds, Donovan Mitchell scored 22 and Cleveland beat Houston to clinch a playoff spot for the first time since 2018.
It&rsquo;s also the first time Cleveland has made the playoffs without LeBron James on the roster since 1998.
The Cavaliers are closing in on locking up the No. 4 spot in the Eastern Conference &mdash; and home-court advantage in the first round. They&rsquo;ve won 9 of 11.
Evan Mobley added 19 points and Darius Garland had 17 for Cleveland.
Jalen Green scored 30 to pace the Rockets, who have lost five straight.
RAPTORS 114, WIZARDS 104
TORONTO (AP) &mdash; O.G. Anunoby scored 29 points, Fred VanVleet had 28 and Toronto never trailed in a win over Washington.
Pascal Siakam had 19 points and 11 rebounds, and Jakob Poeltl added 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Ninth-place Toronto clinched the three-game season series with the Wizards and maintained a three-game lead over 11th-place Washington in the Eastern Conference standings. Both teams have seven games remaining.
Scottie Barnes scored 13 points in his return to the starting lineup after missing two games because of a sore left wrist as Toronto won for the ninth time in 10 home games.
Kristaps Porzingis scored 26 points for the short-handed Wizards, who have lost four straight road games. Washington played without guard Bradley Beal (left knee) for the third straight game, while forward Kyle Kuzma (right ankle) sat out for the fourth consecutive game. Washington was also without guard Monte Morris (left groin).
HORNETS 110, MAVERICKS 104
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; The Charlotte Hornets overcame a 40-point outing from Luka Doncic for their second win over Dallas in three days, another costly blow to the Mavericks&rsquo; playoff hopes.
Gordon Hayward scored 22 points and P.J. Washington added 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Hornets, who have been eliminated from playoff contention.
Doncic picked up his 16th technical foul of the season in the third quarter, meaning he will face a one-game suspension Monday night unless the technical is rescinded by the league office.
Kyrie Irving had 18 points for Dallas.
MAGIC 119, NETS 106
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Cole Anthony had 21 points to lead eight Orlando scorers in double figures, and the Magic overcame Mikal Bridges&rsquo; 44 points in a victory over Brooklyn.
Franz Wagner added 19 points and 10 rebounds for Orlando. Wendell Carter had 18 points and six rebounds, and Jalen Suggs returned from an injury with 16 points to help the Magic win their third straight. Paolo Banchero finished with 11 points and nine rebounds.
Bridges came up one point short of his career high. Cam Thomas added 18 points for the Nets, who lost for the sixth time in seven games.
THUNDER 118, TRAIL BLAZERS 112
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points and Oklahoma City beat depleted Portland.
Jalen Williams had 23 points and Isaiah Joe added 20 off the bench for the Thunder (37-38), who moved into a tie for ninth place in the Western Conference with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Shaedon Sharpe led the Trail Blazers with a career-high 29 points, and Nassir Little scored a season-best 28 off the bench. The loss was Portland&rsquo;s eighth in 10 games. The Blazers (32-42) are four games back of 10th place in the West and the final spot in the play-in tournament.
Portland was playing without four of its five regular starters as guards Damian Lillard (right calf) and Anfernee Simons (right foot), forward Jerami Grant (left calf) and center Jusuf Nurkic (right knee) all sat out.

A recap of Sunday's action in the NBA includes Karl-Anthony Towns burying a clutch triple to snap Golden State's home winning streak.