Saints

Since Matt Barnes retired from the NBA following the 2017 NBA Finals, he's engulfed himself in a very impressive media career. He's spent time as a panelist on ESPN's "The Jump," but more notably hosts his own podcast "All The Smoke" alongside former NBA player Stephen Jackson.&nbsp;
Barnes joined our own <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-podcast-matt-barnes-broadcasting-all-the-smoke-podcast-social-justice-rematch-etan-thomas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"The Rematch" with Etan Thomas</a> to talk about his life after basketball. The pair discussed a number of topics, including his off-court endeavors, his involvement on social-justice issues and, of course, what his life is like now that he's part of the media.&nbsp;
After being in the NBA for 14 seasons, it's been a nice second career for Barnes.
&ldquo;As athletes, we always thought there was some sort of motive. There was a handful of people that you kind of trusted, but for the most part, you had to watch yourself with the media,&rdquo; Barnes said. "That&rsquo;s something Jack and I are trying to change, obviously. We&rsquo;ve experienced pretty much everything that our guests have experienced and that gives us an easier intro and a different approach [to interviews], which allows most of our guests to really let their wall down and feel comfortable speaking to us.&rdquo;
Of course, just like when he was on the court, Barnes is going to have people who aren't fans of the work that he's doing. When asked how he responds to the hate, he shrugged it off.
&ldquo;I just smile, you know what I mean? Because the hatred was similar to what I got when I played, and you know that you&rsquo;re never going to be able to make everyone happy,&rdquo; Barnes told Thomas. &ldquo;But my whole goal with &lsquo;All The Smoke&rsquo; was to humanize our guest. Rest in peace Kobe, but you know Kobe&rsquo;s greatness; you know [the greatness of] KG, Steph, KD. You know what all these guys are great for, but I wanted to be able to strip that down and show how that process came about -- what turns they made or what obstacles they overcame to become as great as they are at their craft. I think because of myself and Jack&rsquo;s track record -- obviously a spotted track record, to say the least -- but [we've] always been real. We&rsquo;ve got into some trouble, we&rsquo;ve owned up to it, and if we needed to apologize, we apologized. But we just always handled ourselves in the realest type way.
"So, I think when we get our guests, they understand that we&rsquo;re not here for clickbait, we&rsquo;re not here to start trouble. We really just want to be able to have an in-depth conversation. And it was never a situation where I just wanted to put a mic in someone&rsquo;s face; I don&rsquo;t want that type of interview. I want it to be a kickback atmosphere like we&rsquo;re at the house medicating or having a drink and just having a good conversation and I think that&rsquo;s what we&rsquo;ve been able to do because of the realness that Jack and I always approached life with and the game with. People respect that and they feel like they can be comfortable with us.
"I forgot the guy&rsquo;s name, Phil something from the New York Post that just <a class="c-link" href="https://nypost.com/2020/04/18/another-shameless-network-is-exploiting-the-nbas-worst/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://nypost.com/2020/04/18/another-shameless-network-is-exploiting-the-nbas-worst/" data-sk="tooltip_parent">wrote a horrible article</a>&nbsp;about me and Jack. Like,&nbsp;horrible. I&rsquo;m just like, &lsquo;You&rsquo;re mad because you&rsquo;ve been in this space for 30-plus years and, at the time, we hadn&rsquo;t even done 'All The Smoke' for a year but our resume already far exceeded anything he's ever done.&rsquo; To me, how I used that [criticism] for fuel as a player, I use that for fuel as media now. It&rsquo;s crazy that we call ourselves media now. Because I never thought [I'd be doing this]. 'Me, media?!' You know what I mean? But I like seeing people like me, you, the Knuckleheads and all of these other former players that are in this space. We&rsquo;ve always allowed other people to tell our stories. We&rsquo;ve always just been the talent. [It&rsquo;s always been], &lsquo;You go score touchdowns or dunk or shoot threes or hit home runs or run [for] world records in track and let these white people tell our stories.&rsquo;
"But we&rsquo;re intelligent enough and can hold a conversation long enough and paint a picture well enough now to tell our own story. And again, that&rsquo;s a little bit of that power slippage that they&rsquo;re starting to see from mainstream media where they&rsquo;re like, &lsquo;What are these athletes doing, coming in here and doing our job? And in some cases, doing our job better.&rsquo;&rdquo;
You can watch the full episode of "The Rematch" below.
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This article was initially published on Basketball News on Feb. 11, 2021.

Barnes touches on his post-basketball media career, among other things.

Matt Barnes shares why he got into the media and started 'All The Smoke'

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry has been named the 2022-23 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion, the NBA announced today.
Curry was selected from a group of <a href="https://www.nba.com/news/2023-kareem-abdul-jabbar-finalists-revealed" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nba.com/news/2023-kareem-abdul-jabbar-finalists-revealed&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1684950559417000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0yR7wPqL_AlyY9Kx217W6h">five finalists</a>&nbsp;for his dedication to pursuing social justice and advancing Abdul-Jabbar&rsquo;s life mission to engage, empower and drive equality for individuals and groups who have been historically marginalized or systemically disadvantaged.
Curry prioritizes uplifting communities by fostering equity and creating access to opportunity. As a co-chair of former First Lady Michelle Obama&rsquo;s &ldquo;When We All Vote&rdquo; initiative, Curry uses his platform to drive voter registration, education and turnout, most recently during the 2022 election season. His role encouraged millions of new voters to participate in the political process and make their voices heard through civic engagement. As part of his ongoing voting-related efforts, Curry participated in the National Basketball Social Justice Coalition&rsquo;s &ldquo;Freedom to Vote&rdquo; <a href="https://twitter.com/representus/status/1470182428547244034?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/representus/status/1470182428547244034?s%3D20&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1684950559417000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2xr1diKYJYDyNGBlgPRMQb">social-media campaign</a>&nbsp;to help advocate for the passage of the&nbsp;Freedom to Vote Act in the U.S. Senate. Curry is also committed to raising awareness around issues of community safety, utilizing the Warriors&rsquo; 2023 White House visit to engage directly with President Biden and participate in a White House press briefing with head coach Steve Kerr to publicly address the matter.
Much of Curry&rsquo;s work also focuses on supporting underrepresented groups and reducing barriers to opportunity. In 2022, he graduated from Davidson College and wrote his final thesis on gender equity in sports, an issue that anchors his progressive and innovative ventures across the consumer, entertainment and non-profit spaces. Through UNDERRATED, Curry&rsquo;s lifestyle brand that empowers underrated and underrepresented individuals by opening doors for often-overlooked student-athletes, he creates equity, access and opportunity for basketball and golf athletes around the world to be seen by college recruiters, sports agents and other industry leaders. UNDERRATED has also enabled female athletes to access the same opportunities as their male counterparts, provided scholarships for athletes and offered personal development programming for young people. Among these efforts, Curry committed $6 million in funding to the men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s golf team at Howard University, which hadn&rsquo;t been active for 50 years.
Unanimous Media, Curry&rsquo;s multimedia company rooted in the mission to inspire audiences through authentic storytelling, is dedicated to collaborating with underrepresented filmmakers, creators and writers across the entertainment industry.
Through Eat. Learn. Play., Curry&rsquo;s nonprofit co-founded with his wife Ayesha, Curry works to ensure every child in Oakland has access to nutritious food they need to be healthy and thrive, resources to foster a love for learning and reading, and safe places with equitable opportunities to play. With a mission to address and overcome the systemic socio-economic barriers facing underserved communities, Eat. Learn. Play. and its partners continue making a positive impact in the lives of children and families in need. Over the last year, Eat. Learn. Play. has provided over two million meals and 500,000 books to Oakland students, funded over 1,500 teacher-led classroom literacy projects, remodeled four new playspaces complete with multi-sport courts, playgrounds, gardens and murals, and more.
Curry has selected University of San Francisco Institute for Nonviolence and Social Justice, which investigates, illuminates, and advances the theory and practice of transformational nonviolence to confront and overcome injustice and systemic violence and contribute to the just resolution of communal conflict, to receive a $100,000 contribution from the NBA on his behalf.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m passionate about the work of the University of San Francisco Institute for Nonviolence and Social Justice and its commitment to overcoming injustice and systemic violence through peace,&rdquo; said Curry.&nbsp; &ldquo;As an athlete, I consistently leverage my platform to amplify advocacy and address the pervasive issue of systemic racism. I firmly believe that we must be vocal both on social media and in real life, taking tangible actions to effect real change in our society and for generations to come. Together, with the organization's co-founder and director, Dr. Clarence B. Jones, we have initiated meaningful conversations around social justice with the school's student body, doubled the charity&rsquo;s donations through my foundation Eat. Learn. Play.'s gift matching initiatives, and continued building on its mission in my personal and professional life by holding people accountable and promoting the principles of justice, fairness and equality today, tomorrow and in the future.&rdquo;
The four other finalists &ndash; Memphis Grizzlies forward-center Jaren Jackson Jr., San Antonio Spurs guard Tre Jones, Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul and Boston Celtics forward Grant Williams &ndash; will each receive $25,000 donations from the NBA to the following social justice organizations of their choosing: VisionC (Williams), The Girls Opportunity Alliance/The Obama Foundation (Jackson), Children's Bereavement Center of South Texas (Jones) and the Social Change Fund United (Paul).
The winner of the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion award was determined by a selection committee comprised of Abdul-Jabbar and notable social justice leaders Director of The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport Dr. Richard Lapchick, National Urban League President and CEO Marc Morial, UnidosUS President and CEO Janet Murgu&iacute;a, Rise Founder and CEO Amanda Nguyen and NBA Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer Mark Tatum. This year&rsquo;s youth representative and Jr. NBA Court of Leaders member was Leah Harmon.&nbsp;

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry has been named the 2022-23 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion.

Stephen Curry named Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion

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

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Jahvon Quinerly scored 24 points, Brandon Miller made the clinching free throws with six seconds left and No. 2 Alabama rallied from a 17-point deficit before beating archrival Auburn 90-85 in overtime Wednesday night.
The Crimson Tide (26-4, 16-1 Southeastern Conference) clinched outright their second regular-season SEC title in three years but continued to live on the edge over a troubling eight days that included courtroom revelations in a capital murder trial.
Miller rebounded teammate Jaden Bradley&rsquo;s missed dunk and drew a foul, making both free throws. Noah Clowney had blocked K.D. Johnson&rsquo;s layup attempt on the other end.
The Tigers (19-11, 9-8), who had three key players foul out, couldn&rsquo;t close it out after leading almost the entire way in regulation. They were up 17 with under 11 minutes left.
Alabama won its fourth straight but the past three have gone down to the wire since courtroom revelations tied freshmen Miller and Bradley to the scene of a murder. Neither has been charged or accused of a crime, but then-teammate Darius Miles and another man are facing capital murder charges.
Police said Miles texted Miller asking him to bring the gun.
NO. 22 TCU 75, NO. 9 TEXAS 73
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) &mdash; Damion Baugh scored a career-high 24 points, Emanuel Miller had 20 and TCU denied Texas a chance to play for a share of the Big 12 title in its upcoming regular-season finale.
Baugh scored on a breakaway layup off the opening tip and the Horned Frogs (20-10, 9-8 Big 12) never trailed. It was the second loss in a row and third in five games for the Longhorns (22-8, 11-6), who haven&rsquo;t won a regular-season conference crown since 2008.
Texas hosts third-ranked Kansas (25-5, 13-4) on Saturday. The Jayhawks had already clinched at least a piece of the Big 12 title Tuesday night, and now know they won&rsquo;t have to share it.
Sir&rsquo;Jabari Rice scored 16 points for the Longhorns, and Tyrese Hunter had 15.
NO. 10 GONZAGA 104, CHICAGO STATE 65
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) &mdash; Drew Timme scored 17 points in what&rsquo;s expected to be his final home game at Gonzaga, and the Bulldogs trounced Chicago State in a postseason tune-up.
Timme made his 99th start at Gonzaga. The senior forward ranks second on the school&rsquo;s career scoring list, 21 points behind Frank Burgess (1958-61).
The 6-foot-10 Timme has played four seasons at Gonzaga but could return for a fifth because of extra eligibility granted by the NCAA due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He has not announced any definitive plans.
Fellow senior Rasir Bolton added 15 points for the Zags (26-5), who won their seventh straight game. Malachi Smith scored 14.
Jahsean Corbett led Chicago State (11-19) with 22 points and seven rebounds.
Gonzaga added the game to avoid going more than a week without playing before the West Coast Conference Tournament in Las Vegas.
NO. 11 KANSAS STATE 85, OKLAHOMA 69
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Desi Sills flirted with a triple-double in his Bramlage Coliseum farewell and Kansas State held on to beat Oklahoma.
Keyontae Johnson and Markquis Nowell also had big senior send-offs for the Wildcats. Sills finished with 15 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, while Johnson had 16 points and Nowell added 11 points and 10 assists to help Kansas State (23-7, 11-6 Big 12) snap a three-game skid against the Sooners.
Nae&rsquo;Qwan Tomlin scored 19 points for Kansas State, which led by 20 early in the second half before the Sooners (14-16, 4-13) made a late run. Milos Uzan had 20 points to lead Oklahoma.
NO. 14 UCONN 88, DEPAUL 59
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) &mdash; Adama Sanogo scored 26 points to lead five UConn players in double figures and the Huskies closed out their home schedule in emphatic style with an easy win over skidding DePaul.
Andre Jackson filled up the stat sheet for Connecticut (23-7, 12-7 Big East) with 11 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. Tristen Newton added 12 points for the Huskies, who have won four straight and seven of eight.
Nick Ongenda tied a career high with 17 points for DePaul (9-21, 3-16), which has lost 11 in a row.
UConn put the game away early, opening on a 29-2 run.
NO. 19 XAVIER 94, NO. 20 PROVIDENCE 89
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) &mdash; Souley Boum scored a season-high 33 points and Colby Jones added a career-best 29 to help Xavier beat Providence and clinch the No. 2 seed in the Big East Tournament.
Ed Croswell had 17 points with 13 rebounds, and Bryce Hopkins also scored 17 for Providence, which cut a 22-point first-half deficit to two in the second half.
It was the Friars&rsquo; first loss at home in 16 games this season.
With one game remaining, Xavier (22-8, 14-5 Big East) has a one-game lead over Providence (21-9, 13-6) and controls the tiebreaker, having swept their two regular-season matchups.
OHIO STATE 73, NO. 21 MARYLAND 62
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) &mdash; Felix Okpara had 12 points and 12 rebounds to help Ohio State finish its home schedule with a win over Maryland.
Justice Sueing had 16 points to lead six Buckeyes in double figures. Ohio State (13-17, 5-14 Big Ten) jumped ahead early with a 12-0 run and didn&rsquo;t give up the lead the rest of the way.
Julian Reese had 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Terrapins (20-10, 11-8).
VANDERBILT 68, NO. 23 KENTUCKY 66
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) &mdash; Jordan Wright hit a go-ahead fall-away jumper in the lane with 2.6 seconds remaining to finish with 23 points, and Vanderbilt topped Kentucky for its first win at Rupp Arena since January 2007.
The surging Commodores (17-13, 10-7 Southeastern Conference) earned their seventh win in eight games and are 7-3 since losing to Kentucky 69-53 last month in Nashville.
Wright&rsquo;s drive tied the game with 42 seconds left, and Tyrin Lawrence grabbed Antonio Reeves&rsquo; missed jumper with 20 seconds to go.
Reeves&rsquo; 3-point attempt missed the rim altogether as time expired. Kentucky had won its previous four and re-entered the rankings on Monday for the first time in seven weeks.
Oscar Tshiebwe had 21 points and 20 rebounds for the Wildcats (20-10, 11-6).
NOTRE DAME 88, NO. 25 PITTSBURGH 81
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Marcus Hammond and Cormac Ryan each scored 20 points as Notre Dame beat Pittsburgh to win longtime coach Mike Brey&rsquo;s final home game.
Nate Laszewski and Trey Wertz each added 14 points for the Fighting Irish (11-19, 3-16 Atlantic Coast Conference), who snapped a seven-game losing streak.
Brey, stepping down at season&rsquo;s end, received warm ovations from the crowd before and after the game. He improved to 315-76 at Purcell Pavilion over 23 years as Notre Dame coach.
Jamarius Burton, Nelly Cummings and Nike Sibande all scored 19 points for Pittsburgh. Blake Hinson added 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Panthers (21-9, 14-5), who lost for only the second time in 10 games. They were playing their first game since moving into the AP Top 25 for the first time in seven years.

A recap of Wednesday's top-25 action in men's college hoops includes the Crimson Tide winning the regular-season SEC title.

No. 2 Alabama rallies from 17 down to top rival Auburn in OT

Nekias Duncan takes an early look at this year's NBA award races with an in-depth look at who leads the pack through mid-December.

Nekias Duncan's 2022-23 NBA award front-runners: MVP, DPOY, ROY, more

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Norman Powell scored 22 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter, and the Los Angeles Clippers beat Anfernee Simons and the Portland Trail Blazers 118-112 on Tuesday night.
Reggie Jackson had 24 points and 12 assists, helping the Clippers to their second straight win. Ivica Zubac added 12 points and 13 rebounds.
Los Angeles trailed 95-82 after three quarters, but outscored Portland 36-17 in the final period. Powell, a reserve, was 7 for 9 from the field in the fourth.
&ldquo;When you get traded from somewhere you want to play well against them, I thought he was a little too excited in the first half,&rdquo; Clippers coach Ty Lue said of Powell. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re always going to stay with our guys and he had 24 points in the second half, really attacking the basket, getting to the paint, getting to the free-throw line. He&rsquo;s been playing great for about the last 3-4 weeks.&rdquo;
Portland wasted a terrific performance by Simons, who made nine 3-pointers and scored 37 points. Jerami Grant had 32 points. Justise Winslow collected 10 points and 13 rebounds, and Jusuf Nurkic finished with 13 points and 10 boards.
&ldquo;They started going on their run and we just couldn&rsquo;t get stops,&rdquo; Simons said of the loss. &ldquo;The momentum flipped and they played with a lot of energy.
Simons&rsquo; 3 lifted the Trail Blazers to a 91-73 lead with 3:13 left in the third. But they collapsed down the stretch.
A layup by Powell, who along with Robert Covington was traded by Portland to the Clippers, cut the Blazers&rsquo; lead to 98-93.
A technical free throw from Powell tied it at 98 with 7:30 to go.
Grant was called for his sixth foul on a drive with 3:52 left. On the next Clippers possession, Powell connected from the corner to tie it at 108.
Nicolas Batum&rsquo;s 3-pointer and Marcus Morris&rsquo; jumper helped Los Angeles to a 113-110 lead with 1:59 left. Powell also had another big basket with 1:23 remaining.
Batum only had 3 points but guarded Simons much of the fourth quarter.
&ldquo;He really changed the game for us,&rdquo; Lue said of Batum.
JACKSON TAKES FALL, RETURNS
Jackson took a scary fall late in the second quarter. Jackson&rsquo;s head hit the court and he was unable to get up until a timeout was called.
Jackson returned to the game to start the second half.
LILLARD IMPROVING, RETURN UNCLEAR
Blazers guard Damian Lillard has been out with a calf strain since Nov. 19. He has recently started working back on the court, but his return is unclear.
&ldquo;I think he&rsquo;s feeling better,&rdquo; Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s starting to get on the court a little bit.&rdquo;
&nbsp;

Norman Powell scored 22 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter, and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Portland Trail Blazers 118-112.

Powell scores 32 as Clippers rally past Blazers 118-112

Tim Hardaway took the stage and told a story of his early days in the NBA, when Golden State teammates Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin would often ask him the same question.
&ldquo;They would ask me, &lsquo;Tim, how great do you want to be?&rsquo;&rdquo; Hardaway said.
They have their answer. So does everyone else. He&rsquo;s a basketball immortal.
Hardaway, Manu Ginobili, Swin Cash, Bob Huggins, Del Harris, Lindsay Whalen, Marianne Stanley, Theresa Shank Grentz and George Karl all delivered their enshrinement addresses as new members of the Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday night in Springfield, Massachusetts.
&ldquo;A kid from the east side of Chicago made it all the way to Springfield, Massachusetts,&rdquo; Hardaway said. &ldquo;Incredible.&rdquo;
Such was the theme throughout the night: how an honor that none of the new Hall members imagined has now come their way, each of them thanking those who helped them reached the pinnacle.
<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/san-antonio-spurs-winter-olympics-nba-sports-massachusetts-b0c090443bd6a3a40518bd7340ecfbdb" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ginobili was presented by Tim Duncan,</a>&nbsp;already a Hall of Famer himself, and next year the third member of San Antonio&rsquo;s legendary Big 3 of players &mdash; Tony Parker &mdash; will be eligible for selection.
&ldquo;The Spurs were one big, strong, supportive family for me,&rdquo; Ginobili said.
Someday, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich will be in the Hall as well; the NBA&rsquo;s all-time wins leader doesn&rsquo;t want to be considered until his career is over. Ginobili reserved special tribute for him.
&ldquo;Pop, what can I say? You&rsquo;ve been so, so important for me and my family, on and off the court, that&rsquo;ll I never be able to thank you enough,&rdquo; Ginobili said, his voice cracking.
Cash &mdash; an NCAA, WNBA and Olympic champion &mdash; also paid tribute to her coach at UConn, Hall of Famer Geno Auriemma and her Huskies teammates, including the group that went 39-0 for her senior season in 2001-02.
&ldquo;If anyone&rsquo;s debating the greatest basketball team ever, ask about us,&rdquo; said Cash, who now works in the front office of the New Orleans Pelicans.
Duncan and Ginobili weren&rsquo;t the only teammates in the building. Stanley and Shank Grentz were teammates at Immaculata in the 1970s, before going on to coaching careers &mdash; and now, the Hall, together.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s the privilege of a lifetime,&rdquo; Stanley said.
Added Shank Grentz, who, like all inductees, learned of her selection in April: &ldquo;I am still overwhelmed.&rdquo;
Whalen, whose legendary playing career has been followed by her returning to alma mater Minnesota and coaching there, might have had a Hall of Fame first by thanking a fast-food company.
&ldquo;Thank you, Burger King,&rdquo; Whalen said.
To explain: When Whalen &mdash; a converted hockey player &mdash; was going to her first basketball camp, she was anxious, crying, not wanting to go into the gym. But her parents had paid for camp and weren&rsquo;t going to let her back out, so negotiations quickly took place. The agreement was eventually struck; if Whalen would go to camp, she&rsquo;d get a Whopper Jr., with cheese, for the ride home.
&ldquo;I ended up having a great time,&rdquo; Whalen said.
Her parents not wanting her to play hockey was her twist of fate. For Harris, his was a professor encouraging him to take a year to coach a junior-high basketball team before joining the seminary.
Harris was going to be a pastor; ironically, basketball&rsquo;s founder, Dr. James Naismith, also was a pastor. Instead, Harris followed in another set of Naismith&rsquo;s footsteps, as a coach.
&ldquo;After that year, I knew what I wanted to do with my life,&rdquo; said Harris, who coached at just about every imaginable level &mdash; high school, college, the NBA, international teams and at the FIBA level.
His path to the Hall came from modest beginnings, just like Huggins &mdash; who now coaches at his alma mater, West Virginia and has won more than 900 games in his collegiate career &mdash; and Karl, who got emotional when he paid tribute to his college coach at North Carolina, Dean Smith, and got laughs when talking about the challenge of coaching a Hall of Famer like Gary Payton.
&ldquo;This is really incredible for a guy from Penn Hills, Pennsylvania,&rdquo; Karl said. &ldquo;This is a &lsquo;wow&rsquo; moment for me.&rdquo;
Huggins even did a little coaching as he paid tribute during his speech to Jerry Colangelo, the chairman of the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame.
&ldquo;You&rsquo;re allowed to clap, I think,&rdquo; Huggins said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not real sure of the rules, but what the hell, let&rsquo;s just make them as we go.&rdquo;
Hardaway, Richmond and Mullin formed the trio known as &ldquo;Run TMC,&rdquo; which remains popular today. Mullin entered the Hall in 2011, Richmond three years later. And they were on the stage Saturday night, seated just to Hardaway&rsquo;s left, when his wait finally ended.
&ldquo;Legendary, baby,&rdquo; Hardaway said. &ldquo;We was legendary.&rdquo;
Also honored were seven more new Hall members, all deceased: one of NBA&rsquo;s first Black referees in Hugh Evans, six-time All-Star Lou Hudson, former coach Larry Costello, international great Radivoj Korac and a trio of former Harlem Globetrotters in Wyatt &ldquo;Sonny&rdquo; Boswell, Inman Jackson and Albert &ldquo;Runt&rdquo; Pullins.
And special tribute was paid to two-time Hall of Fame inductee Bill Russell, who made it in as a player, then as a coach.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/bill-russell-a-life-lived-e316a0f489cf8fd9251dbfde92847076" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Russell died earlier this year,</a>&nbsp;and the ceremony Saturday began with Hall of Famers Jerry West and Alonzo Mourning paying respect to the 11-time champion.
&ldquo;Bill was the ultimate competitor on the court and a remarkable human being off of it,&rdquo; West said. &ldquo;And in his own way, he made all the lives he touched a little better. That&rsquo;s why he&rsquo;ll be missed, especially by those who were fortunate enough to know him.&rdquo;
Added Mourning, who spoke of Russell&rsquo;s work as a champion of social justice: &ldquo;Rest in power, my friend.&rdquo;

Tim Hardaway, Manu Ginobili, Swin Cash, Bob Huggins, Del Harris and George Karl headline the Hall of Fame's Class of 2022.

Basketball Hall of Fame enshrines its new Class of 2022

Brittney Griner&rsquo;s guilty plea Thursday has not lessened the support the Olympic gold medalist continues to receive from her WNBA peers.
The Phoenix Mercury All-Star pleaded guilty to drug possession charges on the second day of her trial in a Russian court in a case that could see her sentenced to up to 10 years in prison. The chance of Griner being convicted were considered extremely high before her plea.
&ldquo;The WNBPA stands with Brittney Griner. With a 99% conviction rate, Russia&rsquo;s process is its own. You can&rsquo;t navigate it or even understand it like our own legal system,&rdquo; WNBAPA Executive Director Terri Jackson said in a statement. &ldquo;What we do know is that the U.S. State Department determined that Brittney Griner was wrongfully detained for a reason and we&rsquo;ll leave it at that.&rdquo;
Speaking through an interpreter, Griner told the court that she had no intention of committing a crime and had acted unintentionally because she had packed for Moscow in a hurry. The trial was then adjourned until July 14.
Griner emphasized &ldquo;that she had committed this act through negligence, unintentionally,&rdquo; her lawyer, Maria Blagovolina, told reporters outside the court near Moscow following the guilty plea.&nbsp;
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Englebert issued a statement saying the league is continuing its effort to aide in Griner&rsquo;s release.
&ldquo;Brittney Griner remains wrongfully detained in Russia and nothing that happened today changes that 140 days later,&rdquo; Englebert said. &ldquo;The WNBA continues to work diligently with the U.S. State Department, the White House, and other allies in and outside government to get Brittney home safely and as soon as possible.
&ldquo;She has the wholehearted and unconditional support of the entire WNBA and NBA family, who eagerly await her safe return, and the league will recognize BG as an honorary starter at this weekend&rsquo;s WNBA All-Star Game.&rdquo;
Griner, 31, was detained at Moscow&rsquo;s Sheremetyevo Airport while returning to play basketball in Russia, and police said they found vape canisters containing cannabis oil in her luggage.
The plea came a day after President Joe Biden had a phone conversation with Griner&rsquo;s wife Cherelle during which he told her that he is working to free the two-time Olympic gold medalists as soon as possible.
Griner&rsquo;s agent Lindsay Kagawa Colas thanked the president in a tweet Thursday after her client entered the guilty plea.
&ldquo;Brittney Griner was a model of courage today,&rdquo; Kagawa Colas tweeted. &ldquo;She deserves our compassion, understanding, love, and support. ... We are so grateful to @POTUS and @VP for the time they spent with Cherelle confirming their commitment to bring BG and all Americans home.&rdquo;
Griner&rsquo;s plea came hours before her team played the New York Liberty on Thursday night. The Mercury have struggled on and off the court with their friend and teammate stuck in a prison halfway around the world.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re basketball players and coaches, but when your friend is in danger, when your friend is saying in a letter that they&rsquo;re scared, those things are hard to get away from,&rdquo; Mercury coach Vanessa Nygaard said. &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t get to walk into our jobs and leave our lives behind. We all know that. We&rsquo;re all having that experience. With this situation with BG, it is hard for everyone on the team.&rdquo;
The Mercury said little when Griner was first arrested as the request of the US government, but have become more vocal &mdash; with fellow WNBA players &mdash; as her incarceration has continued.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a real challenge. No team has ever faced this. It&rsquo;s a constant undercurrent,&rdquo; Nygaard said. &ldquo;Things that might not be a big deal to other teams, we have this constant thing with a person we care about.&rdquo;
The plea also came after Griner&rsquo;s WNBA team held a public rally in support of the 6-foot-9 center with several hundred fans in attendance. The rally at the Footprint Center, home of the Phoenix Mercury and Suns, was part celebration of Griner&rsquo;s accomplishments on and off the court with a call to action.
&ldquo;One hundred thirty-nine days have passed since my wife has been able to speak to me, to our family and our friends,&rdquo; Cherelle Griner said during the rally, stopping to compose herself several times. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m frustrated my wife is not going to get justice. I know you all are frustrated, too. That&rsquo;s why you&rsquo;re here.&rdquo;
___
AP Basketball Writer John Marshall in Phoenix contributed to this report.

Brittney Griner’s guilty plea has not lessened the support the Olympic gold medalist continues to receive from her WNBA peers.

WNBA players union ‘stands with’ Brittney Griner after guilty plea

This year&rsquo;s MVP race has been a rollercoaster ride all season long. It started with lofty preseason expectations for Luka Doncic, and then an early Stephen Curry takeover was eventually derailed due to the Warriors&rsquo; countless injuries. More recently, we&rsquo;ve seen a historic battle ensue between three of the most special international players in modern NBA history: Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Any one of them could be named this year's NBA Most Valuable Player.
When examining the numbers for Jokic, Embiid and Antetokounmpo in their back-and-forth race over the last month, it&rsquo;s absurd how dominant they truly have been:
Jokic: 32.2 points, 13.6 rebounds, 7.7 assists, 1.8 steals, 1.3 blocks; 68.8 TS%, 33.2 USG%
Embiid: 33.4 points, 12.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.3 steals, 1.6 blocks; 61.4 TS%, 38.5 USG%
Antetokounmpo: 31.7 points, 11.6 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.2 steals, 1.3 blocks; 65.2 TS%, 33.9 USG%
Thanks to these three titans, this year's MVP race has been among the most enjoyable in years. Many years, the MVP is all wrapped this late in the spring, but the 2021-2022 season saw truly nip-and-tuck moments occur that helped bend the direction of who could capture the crown. Even this late in the process, there was national surge toward Devin Booker, who certainly deserves his flowers. However, these three generational big men have been incredible on a nightly basis. One of them will almost certainly win the award, and if justice is served, that person will be Nikola Jokic.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Nikola Jokic score 38 points, 18 rebounds highlights vs. La Lakers! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBAAPRIL032022?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBAAPRIL032022</a>. <a href="https://t.co/gV9U41DAKr">pic.twitter.com/gV9U41DAKr</a>
&mdash; NBA BASKETBALL (@DejoseMark) <a href="https://twitter.com/DejoseMark/status/1510854793459286017?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 4, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Another virtuoso performance by Jokic on Thursday night &mdash; 35 points, 16 rebounds, 6 assists on 16-of-24 FGA &mdash; officially pushed me to 100% confidence that he should be chosen for the accolade. What Jokic has done all season, carrying a short-handed Nuggets team without Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr., is nothing short of incredible. With even more defensive focus thrown onto Jokic&rsquo;s plate, he&rsquo;s continued to excel and stuff the stat sheet with authority. Even within the wild, resurgent Western Conference, Jokic is keeping Denver above water all by himself.
Incredibly enough, Jokic is putting up even better traditional and advanced metrics than he was last season's MVP campaign, when he had more help around him. A head-to-head comparison of Jokic&rsquo;s last two seasons speaks volumes to the true caliber of player we are witnessing in Denver.
2020-21 Jokic: 26.4 points, 10.8 rebounds, 8.3 assists; 64.7 TS%, 8.8 VORP, 29.6 USG%
2021-22 Jokic: 27.1 points, 13.8 rebounds, 7.9 assists; 66.1 TS%, 9.8 VORP, 31.9 USG%
What Jokic is accomplishing is pure sorcery, continuing his surge to being the curveball star within the Association. Jokic's archetype is rare: A non-explosive, slower-paced big man who is a special passer that can run an offense around him,. As a former second-round pick, Jokic singlehandedly changed the Nuggets&rsquo; long-term trajectory overnight. Now, he&rsquo;s on the verge of becoming a back-to-back MVP.
In the process of doing whatever he wanted on the court Thursday against the Memphis Grizzlies, even after Jaren Jackson Jr.&rsquo;s elbow caused a deep head cut, Jokic showcased exactly how valuable he is. Whenever Jokic went out of the game, Denver folded, nearly blowing two double-digit leads in short order. The Nuggets are not at a level right now to survive without Jokic, especially since the other two-thirds of their offensive production are on the sidelines indefinitely.
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Becoming the first player in NBA history to amass at least 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 500 assists in a season, Jokic&rsquo;s all-around brilliance simply can&rsquo;t be denied anymore. A generational talent who is one of the most special offensive weapons in the NBA, Jokic instantly takes average ceilings to elite.
Many have tried to drum up narratives away from Jokic, but honestly, he was the right one to push all along. As the most valuable player, Jokic proves on a nightly basis how the entire operation sinks or swims based on his performance. More often than not, it leads to jaw-dropping production and a Nuggets victory.
Nine players in the NBA carry at least a +60% True Shooting percentage on a +25% usage rate. Here&rsquo;s how they rank from highest TS% to lowest:
<ol>
<li>Nikola Jokic: 66.1 TS%</li>
<li>Karl-Anthony Towns: 64.0 TS%</li>
<li>Kevin Durant: 63.5 TS%</li>
<li>Giannis Antetokounmpo: 63.2 TS%</li>
<li>LeBron James: 61.9 TS%</li>
<li>Joel Embiid: 61.2 TS%</li>
<li>Zach LaVine: 60.4 TS%</li>
<li>Trae Young + Stephen Curry: 60.1 TS%</li>
</ol>
Whether it be on-court value or diving into the advanced metrics, there are few, if any, flaws to the argument for voting Jokic as the 2021-22 NBA MVP. If anything, this year&rsquo;s production has vaulted Jokic into all-time historic territory.
Jokic might not be the flashiest superstar, but don&rsquo;t take his greatness for granted. There's a good chance that his greatness is about to be rewarded with an MVP trophy for the second year in a row.
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In a historically-close MVP race, here's why Nikola Jokic deserves to win the award once again.

Why Nikola Jokic deserves back-to-back MVPs

The NBA All-Star break is always a good time to reflect on the first half of the season and look ahead to the remainder of the campaign. For fantasy-basketball enthusiasts, it also means that the fantasy playoffs are just a few weeks away.
Who better to help break down this season from a fantasy perspective than one of the most respected names in the fantasy-basketball community?&nbsp;
BasketballNews.com chatted with <a href="https://twitter.com/redrock_bball" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Josh Lloyd</a> &mdash; the host of the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1I9lmlRwqSehJzlRo6DKqg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Locked On Fantasy Basketball Podcast</a> as well as the lead fantasy analyst for <a href="https://basketballmonster.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Basketball Monster</a> and <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/author/josh-lloyd/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Yahoo Sports Australia</a> &mdash; to get some fantasy advice for the home stretch, pick his brain about the first half of this season and learn about his journey from pharmacist to fantasy expert.
In terms of fantasy production, which players have surprised you the most so far this season?&nbsp;
Josh Lloyd: &ldquo;Gary Trent Jr. has been a huge surprise to me as well as Dejounte Murray. I also did not expect DeMar DeRozan to have the best season of his career at his age on a new team with an established number-one guy.&rdquo;
Which players have disappointed you this season?&nbsp;
Lloyd: &ldquo;Isaiah Stewart has been a huge letdown, as were Damian Lillard and Bradley Beal &mdash; even before they missed time due to injury.&rdquo;
Who are a few players that should be owned in significantly more leagues?&nbsp;
Lloyd: &ldquo;Patrick Beverley is the number-one player who stands out to me. He does get hurt a lot, but when healthy, he shouldn&rsquo;t be on any waiver wires. I&rsquo;d also take a chance on guys like Cam Payne (now with Chris Paul&rsquo;s injury) and Jaxson Hayes in New Orleans; they need to be grabbed.&rdquo;
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Who are some players to keep an eye on as this season progresses that could become a decent add (just based on the trajectory they&rsquo;re on or the opportunity ahead of them)?&nbsp;
Lloyd: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m always going to watch Alperen Sengun. It will take Christian Wood missing time, but that is always possible. I also want to track the Pacers&rsquo; big-man situation, and especially Isaiah Jackson. There are a lot of unknowns there, but Jackson has the highest fantasy upside.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Which struggling player will get back on track and reward patient fantasy owners?&nbsp;
Lloyd: &ldquo;OG Anunoby is in a big slump at the moment and I believe he will get back to his usual production soon. I&rsquo;d also look at Anthony Edwards, who has really struggled of late. But resting his ankle should allow him to attack the last part of the season with vigor.&rdquo;
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/og12_lg.jpg" alt="" width="714" height="358" />
Who should fans be most concerned about rest-of-season?&nbsp;
Lloyd: &ldquo;Malcolm Brogdon and Zion Williamson haven&rsquo;t been ruled out for the season, but I doubt they play. I would also be pretty concerned about Tyrese Maxey with James Harden in town.&rdquo;
Which trade-deadline acquisitions are worth a look after their change of scenery?&nbsp;
Lloyd: &ldquo;To be honest, most of the value is created for players who remained on their teams, like Devin Vassell taking on a bigger role with Derrick White gone [in San Antonio]. I would also look at Justise Winslow in Portland.&rdquo;
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You were a pharmacist and then you made the transition to fantasy analyst. What went into that decision? And was it scary leaving behind a great job with plenty of security?&nbsp;
Lloyd: &ldquo;It was simply about doing something I enjoyed. Pharmacy had become pretty stale and limiting and I spent so much time analyzing the NBA anyway that when a chance came up to make that a career, I took it. It was a little scary, but I didn&rsquo;t make the full-time transition for a couple of years, when I had full-time employment in the fantasy industry already secured.&rdquo;
There are a ton of people who would love to become a fantasy analyst, but they probably don&rsquo;t know where to start or they think it&rsquo;s unrealistic. What advice would you give to someone who wants to pursue a career as a fantasy analyst?&nbsp;
Lloyd: &ldquo;The number-one thing to do is be active. Get involved in Twitter. Post in the fantasy-basketball subreddit. Start your own YouTube channel or podcast, or even blog. Just practice writing or speaking and analyzing the game. It&rsquo;s not easy and takes a lot of commitment. The number-one thing to build yourself up, though, is to be consistent.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Our Tommy Beer recently put together his <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-202122-fantasy-basketball-allstar-team" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 Fantasy All-Star Team</a>, highlighting which NBA players were fantasy studs during the first half of the season. Did any of your players make the list?
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Need some fantasy advice? Josh Lloyd shares his must-add players, biggest surprises and letdowns, players who concern him and more.

Fantasy-hoops Q&A: Josh Lloyd on must-add players, biggest concerns, more

It's that time of year when NBA trade machines and insider gossip hijack basketball discourse. Trade deadline season means absolute chaos for just about anyone involved in basketball from a management, player or media perspective. For better or for worse, I'm pulling the "we live in a society" card and conforming.
The Tank-O-Meter is back for the second time this season to assess how seriously teams should consider folding for the remainder of 2021-22. Teams are rated on a scale from 1 (playoffs or bust) to 10 (do not even think about winning a game again) based on how much a rebuild helps the long-term franchise outlook.
A key part of any good rebuild is maximizing selling out at the trade deadline. It makes sense to get a read on what teams should do before Thursday to build their chests of assets and get out of the limbo of a weak postseason push. You'll see a Tank-O-Meter reading for each of these 10 squads, plus the usual Sour Rankings.
If you're new to the Sour Rankings, here's a refresher: Unlike the typical "power rankings" that repeat themselves throughout sports media, Sour Rankings are a bizarro-world counter. These rankings highlight the top-10 most frustrating NBA franchises throughout the season, and they will be updated every week to match the twists and turns of the league.&nbsp;
This is not merely a bottom-10 of your typical best-to-worst outlooks. You will see championship contenders and playoff hopefuls mixed in with struggling squads. Teams well under .500 may never touch the Sour Rankings because they are on track with their respective processes. Injuries, drama, transactions and generally underwhelming play will earn you a spot on this list.
The central question is ultimately this: How good should you feel about the direction of each franchise? Let's get going.
Escaping the Sour Rankings:&nbsp;The New Orleans Pelicans got Brandon Ingram back from injury and immediately started winning. They're currently on a three-game stampede and have even moved into the Play-In tier of the Western Conference standings. Boston is also rolling on a five-game win streak with perhaps the hottest defense in basketball, suddenly tied with Toronto and Brooklyn for sixth in the Eastern Conference.
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10. Charlotte Hornets (28-26) &mdash; Tank-O-Meter reading: 2/10
The Hornets sink into the Sour Rankings as they tough out a four-game losing streak with defeats against the Los Angeles Clippers, Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat. Their run to the All-Star break is daunting; it features 6 games in 11 days and includes matchups against the Toronto Raptors, Chicago Bulls, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves and Heat (again). According to <a href="https://heavy.com/sports/boston-celtics/nba-trade-rumor-josh-richardson/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Heavy's Steve Bulpett</a>, Charlotte is also looking to trade PJ Washington, which still doesn't make much sense to me.
Charlotte shouldn't consider bottoming out as long as the team has confidence in its young core. The Hornets have the pieces to either become buyers or sellers at the deadline, and are right in the thick of a competitive East playoff race. At the absolute minimum, this is great experience for guys like LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges, and the Hornets are still a threatening offense on a nightly basis.
(Last week: Unranked)
9. Detroit Pistons (12-41) &mdash; Tank-O-Meter reading: 9/10
Easy reading for Detroit &mdash; the franchise has already been near the bottom of the league all season. The Pistons can really supercharge the current rebuild with how they approach the trade deadline regarding veterans like Jerami Grant and Cory Joseph.
But Detroit still cracks the Sour Rankings, because even in the scheduled losses, it just feels like there's been too much uninspired basketball. Honestly, what young talents on the roster do you feel better about from the start of the season besides Cade Cunningham? I'd say there's an argument for Saddiq Bey and... that's about it. Detroit still has several questions to answer about the team's identity, and those questions can be answered even in losses.
(Last week: Unranked)
8. Utah Jazz (32-21) &mdash; Tank-O-Meter reading: 1/10
Utah battled to a win against the Denver Nuggets and dismantled the flailing Nets this week, bringing some stability after a five-game skid. However, reports are back (this one from <a href="https://www.deseret.com/2022/2/4/22916919/utah-jazz-donovan-mitchell-on-reports-relationship-with-rudy-gobert-has-deteriorated-thats-not-true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN's Brian Windhorst</a>) that Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert are "at each other's throats." Mitchell once again denied the rumors, and who knows at this point what's grounding the reports. But it's never good to hear.
No, the Jazz should not tank &mdash; they're still fourth in the West standings even in this rough patch.
(Last week: 6)
7. Indiana Pacers (19-36) &mdash; Tank-O-Meter reading: 9/10
The Pacers <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/reaction-caris-levert-fills-blended-need-for-cavs-as-pacers-reset" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dealt Caris LeVert to the Cavaliers yesterday in a trade</a> that brought back an expiring (and injured) Ricky Rubio, a lottery-protected first-round pick that will likely convey this season and two additional second-rounders. That's not a bad return for a team that simply needs young talent in waves, and draft picks always add some trade flexibility.&nbsp;
Moving LeVert for that package signals a rebuild is on the way. It's long overdue. Now, the Pacers have to get what they can for Myles Turner, Justin Holiday and their other vets. I do not think Domantas Sabonis is a "must-trade" due to his sheer skill. But Indiana also can't be afraid to accept a good offer. They're one of the primary teams to watch ahead of Thursday.
(Last week: 4)
6. Portland Trail Blazers (21-33) &mdash; Tank-O-Meter reading: 8/10
Here's another team giving off "rebuild" vibes. The Trail Blazers traded Norman Powell and Robert Covington to the Clippers this week for Eric Bledsoe, Justise Winslow, Keon Johnson and a future second-round pick. That return feels underwhelming considering Portland gave up two very good rotation players. But if they like the uber-athletic Johnson, so be it.
With no Damian Lillard return in sight, Portland should really sell at this deadline. What does being in a Play-In race even mean for this franchise? Young trade pieces and the NBA Draft are the best way to find game-changing talent. CJ McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic have been involved in trade rumors recently. I wouldn't be surprised if both had new homes by Thursday evening.
(Last week: 7)
5. New York Knicks (24-29) &mdash; Tank-O-Meter reading: 7/10
One day, Deuce McBride and Immanuel Quickley will join the starting lineup and everything will be alright in New York. For now, the Knicks remain a woefully inconsistent basketball team that can't be trusted &mdash; but can't be counted out &mdash; on any night. If I had my way, Tom Thibodeau would commit to playing the youth; Quentin Grimes, Quickley and McBride would see serious playing time increases, and New York would head into the offseason with a good draft pick and an enticing young core. Then again, it's Thibs.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Julius Randle got into it with a coach on the bench against the Lakers. 😬 (h/t <a href="https://twitter.com/AhnFireDigital?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AhnFireDigital</a>) <a href="https://t.co/NNhrE2XgVt">pic.twitter.com/NNhrE2XgVt</a>
&mdash; theScore (@theScore) <a href="https://twitter.com/theScore/status/1490765945396244482?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 7, 2022</a></blockquote>

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By the way, read this <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/julius-randle-and-the-george-costanza-problem" target="_blank" rel="noopener">excellent piece from Mat Issa</a> that further highlights how the Knicks are leaving Julius Randle out to dry.
(Last week: 5)
4. Sacramento Kings (20-35) &mdash; Tank-O-Meter reading: 9/10
<a href="https://theathletic.com/3113791/2022/02/07/detroit-pistons-nba-trade-deadline-guide-what-im-hearing-about-jerami-grant-trade-tiers/?article_source=search&amp;search_query=jerami%20grant" target="_blank" rel="noopener">James L. Edwards III of&nbsp;The Athletic</a>&nbsp;says that the Kings have reported interest in Jerami Grant. This comes after all the will-they-won't-they drama surrounding a Ben Simmons trade and the availability of De'Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton. Of course, smokescreens exist in trade gossip, but I still can't rationalize most of the reported targets for Sacramento.
This is a bad basketball team. The Kings have the second-worst offensive rating in the NBA over the past few weeks in addition to their perenially-porous defense. Sacramento may be two games out of 10th place, but the team would have to unseat several better squads in the San Antonio Spurs, Trail Blazers and Pelicans. As repetitive as selling is for this squad, it's the logical step.
(Last week: 2)
3. Los Angeles Lakers (26-28) &mdash; Tank-O-Meter reading: 1/10
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
&ldquo;more from an off-ball perspective&rdquo; from TALEN HORTON-TUCKER is just- <a href="https://t.co/LO3LSpvuxR">https://t.co/LO3LSpvuxR</a>
&mdash; Nekias (Nuh-KY-us) Duncan (@NekiasNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NekiasNBA/status/1490191241878851589?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 6, 2022</a></blockquote>
I audibly chuckled reading this reaction from Nekias Duncan on Frank Vogel's rationale benching Russell Westbrook late against the Knicks. L.A. won that game in overtime, but it sure wasn't thanks to either player. Even though the Lakers went 2-1 this week, the lasting image will be the game-winner from Clippers guard Reggie Jackson on Thursday. The purple and gold are now down to ninth in the Western Conference.
The Tank-O-Meter reading remains the same: You don't tank with a healthy LeBron James.
(Last week: 3)
2. Washington Wizards (24-28) &mdash; Tank-O-Meter reading: 5/10
Washington's downward spiral continued last week with two one-sided losses to the Bucks and Suns. The Wizards did manage a 106-103 win over Philadelphia, but they've now been usurped by the Atlanta Hawks for the final Play-In bid. Does being on the outside looking in change anything from a directional perspective?
I think the Wizards are at the most polarizing trade deadline crossroads of any NBA team. They could make a desparation play for a star to help Bradley Beal and <a href="https://twitter.com/JakeLFischer/status/1488860395683168259?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1488860395683168259%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2F8points9seconds.com%2F2022%2F02%2F03%2Findiana-pacers-domantas-sabonis-trade-wizards%2F" target="_blank" rel="noopener">swing on someone like Domantas Sabonis.</a> Or, Washington could send out its solid veterans in return for young talent or draft assets &mdash; at the risk of losing Beal this offseason. Moves have to be made by Thursday, but I couldn't honestly say what the right direction is.
(Last week: 1)
1. Brooklyn Nets (29-24) &mdash; Tank-O-Meter reading: 1/10
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Harden effort thread because I watched the film back and, my god, it's pathetic. Clip 1: just blatantly not caring. <a href="https://t.co/NbCccj2Ntt">pic.twitter.com/NbCccj2Ntt</a>
&mdash; Erik Slater (@erikslaterNR) <a href="https://twitter.com/erikslaterNR/status/1489287381031297027?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 3, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Whew... An eight-game losing streak, complete with some epic meltdowns, has the Nets in the Play-In tournament. And that's not even the worst part amidst the firestorm of rumors surrounding James Harden's potential availability. Whether or not he gets traded, Harden is showing visible disinterest at a critical point in Brooklyn's season. It's hard to consider the Nets a legitimate title contender with the way they've played over the past three weeks.
(Last week: 8)
Looking to go to the hottest concerts, sports, theater &amp; family shows near you? Get 100% guaranteed tickets to more than 125,000 live events from TicketSmarter, the official ticket marketplace of BasketballNews.com.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ticketsmarter.com/?utm_source=basketballnewscom&amp;utm_medium=tsaff&amp;utm_campaign=referral" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Order online now</a>!

Ethan Fuller looks at which struggling teams should sell ahead of Thursday's trade deadline.

NBA Sour Rankings: Tank-O-Meter readings ahead of the trade deadline

And here&rsquo;s the first pair of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=panEWmN28jM" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mentos thrown in the Coke bottle</a> that&rsquo;ll set off the rest of the league.
The trade deadline isn&rsquo;t until February 10 but, as usual, teams are already completing deals. In this case, per ESPN&rsquo;s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Los Angeles Clippers are sending over a package led by Eric Bledsoe and Justise Winslow to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Norman Powell and Robert Covington.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
The Clippers are trading Eric Bledsoe, Justise Winslow, Keon Johnson and future second-round pick to the Trail Blazers for Norman Powell and Robert Covington, sources tell ESPN.
&mdash; Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1489681792881860620?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2022</a>
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</blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Clippers are sending Blazers a 2025 second-round pick via the Detroit Pistons, sources tell ESPN.
&mdash; Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1489683115077423106?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2022</a>
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As of this trade, the Blazers are 21-31, 10th in the Western Conference, and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/whats-next-for-the-portland-trail-blazers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">still without Damian Lillard for at least a few more weeks</a>. The Clippers, even without Paul George and Kawhi Leonard &mdash; <a href="https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2022/02/latest-on-kawhi-leonard-paul-george.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">neither of whom are guaranteed to return this season</a> &mdash; are 27-27 and eighth in the West behind the leadership of head coach Tyronn Lue.
If you recall &mdash; and, well, how could you not &mdash; the Clippers completed a 36-point comeback against Portland East, a.k.a., the Washington Wizards, one of <a href="https://www.latimes.com/sports/clippers/story/2022-01-25/clippers-biggest-comeback-team-history-win-wizards" target="_blank" rel="noopener">three comebacks of at least 24 points or more in a two-week span</a>. That in itself is a feat reached by the Clippers and no one else in the last 25 years.
ESPN&rsquo;s Bobby Marks lays out the contractual mechanics. This is important &mdash; otherwise, you&rsquo;d think the Clippers just jacked the Blazers, but that&rsquo;s not fully true. (We&rsquo;ll get to that later.)
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Here are the contracts: For LAC: 🏀N. Powell: $15.5M, $16.8M, $18M, $19.2M, $20.5M 🏀R. Covington: $13M (UFA w/bird rights) For POR: 🏀E. Bledsoe: $18.1M, $19.4M ($3.9M guaranteed) 🏀J. Winslow: $3.9M, $4.1M 🏀K. Johnson: $2.6M, $2.7M, $2.8M, $4.5M
&mdash; Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) <a href="https://twitter.com/BobbyMarks42/status/1489683749335973889?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2022</a>
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The Clippers conceptually &ldquo;win&rdquo; the trade from the standpoint of fielding a better roster. Powell&rsquo;s been the Blazers third-leading scorer this season wiith Lillard and CJ McCollum out for extended periods, and the No. 1 option on numerous nights as a result. Powell extended with Portland over the summer for five years and $90 million, but it&rsquo;s an ascending contract that won&rsquo;t land him a salary north of $20 million until the last year of the deal. Powell gives the Clippers a No. 3 or even No. 4, ideally next to Leonard and George at some point, who can score efficiently and at-will in different facets of the game.&nbsp;&nbsp;
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In Portland, Powell averaged 18.7 points on 46/41/80 shooting splits and just 13.6 field goals per game. His field goal attempts are slightly over Anfernee Simons&rsquo; 12.9 attempts per contest, though he only averages 14.6 points by comparison &mdash; despite also shooting an efficient line, 44/40/90. Why the difference? Powell not only gets to the line five times per game, second only to Lillard on the team, but his .365 free-throw rate leads all non-centers on the roster. Additionally, Powell&rsquo;s been a quality pull-up shooter, ranking 16th in scoring efficiency, shooting with an Effective Field Goal percentage of 64% in spot-up situations and 56% in transition, <a href="https://twitter.com/SynergySST/status/1489684009454125062" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to Synergy</a>.
All of which are great signs if you&rsquo;re 6-foot-3, which you can&rsquo;t say that often in this league.
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Moreover, adding Powell removes the offensive strain on other Clippers, like Reggie Jackson, Marcus Morris and the emerging Luke Kennard especially &mdash; making them more potent on that end and, ideally, not putting them in positions where 24-point comebacks are all that necessary.
In theory, Covington will play a role on the Clippers, assuming he remains on the team, but it feels more like short-term insurance. And there&rsquo;s nothing wrong with that, but let&rsquo;s spell it out. Covington is on an expiring $13 million contract and will dive into unrestricted free agency in a few months. Positionally, as a theoretical stretch-four/three-and-D-wing, he has some duplication for this Clippers roster, mainly George, Leonard, Morris and Nicolas Batum.
Covington&rsquo;s statistically having his worst season since entering the league full-time, throwing out the seven games he played as a rookie in 2012-13. In 30 minutes per contest, and 40 starts in 48 appearances, Covington&rsquo;s averaging 7.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.3 blocks per game, shooting 38/34/83, and while the free-throw percentage is high, he&rsquo;s only taken 36 this season, and hasn&rsquo;t cracked 150 since 2016-17. Covington will split time with and see the floor beside other Clipper forwards, and just being on a better team with a better coach should help settle his role.
Let&rsquo;s also acknowledge that Covington could also be a part of this deal because the Clippers may move Morris and or Batum within the next few days. (Take it from me, Miami Heat fans are already trying to figure out how to get one of them. If the Clippers like Duncan Robinson &ndash; for Morris in particular &ndash; maybe they&rsquo;re in luck.) That&rsquo;d open things up for Covington, and Powell would replenish the scoring, albeit differently.
From a basketball perspective, the Blazers portion doesn&rsquo;t need an extensive breakdown, at least not on this piece &mdash; trust me, fam. Hell, the move itself isn&rsquo;t about their play as much as it is cap mechanics. But in summation, it isn&rsquo;t as bad as some tweeters are pondering, depending on what follows.
As Marks outlined earlier, around 20% of Bledsoe&rsquo;s $19.4 million salary next season is guaranteed, so the Blazers could easily move on from him. Winslow is only due $4 million next season, and Keon Johnson was just picked in the first-round, so he&rsquo;ll be cheap (by NBA standards) through 2025, assuming all his options are picked up. He&rsquo;s played 135 total minutes this season and won&rsquo;t turn 20 for another month, so we&rsquo;ll call him a project.
The move also places Portland under the luxury tax, per Marks, and it also creates a $6.5 million trade exception.
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The trade will put Portland under the luxury tax. The Clippers tax bill increases from $93.9M to $112.9M (+$19M). <a href="https://t.co/ZpEJfML8XM">https://t.co/ZpEJfML8XM</a>
&mdash; Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) <a href="https://twitter.com/BobbyMarks42/status/1489684937838059526?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2022</a></blockquote>
The big question around Portland is, obviously, what happens to Lillard. Question No. 1A is McCollum, but freeing Powell&rsquo;s salary and adding a trade exception aids the mechanics of making future moves. The Blazers have short-term contracts to use &mdash; hell, they could even re-route Bledsoe&rsquo;s $18.1 million this season if they wanted, or keep him on the books to use after the season since his deal won&rsquo;t be fully guaranteed <a href="https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2021/09/clippers-notes-bledsoe-winslow-vaccinations-drame.html#:~:text=Bledsoe%20currently%20has%20a%20partial,offseason%20flexibility%20for%20the%20franchise." target="_blank" rel="noopener">until four days after the July moratorium</a>.
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Jusuf Nurkić at $12 million and Larry Nance Jr. at $10.6 million are also usable deals in trades to monitor, along with several draft picks. So, for Portland, this trade is about what&rsquo;s next more than anything else. Maybe we&rsquo;ll look back and say they got the shaft at some point, but it&rsquo;s too early to make that judgment. To some degree, it may be for the Clippers as well, but they&rsquo;re clearly trying to be competitive now, and this should help them get there.
These are two franchises going in different directions. The Clippers, if they get healthy before the playoffs, should be taken seriously as a contender, especially because there&rsquo;s a world where they get to the NBA Finals last season if Leonard doesn&rsquo;t tear his ACL in the postseason. For the Blazers, I mean &hellip; we&rsquo;ll see.
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Bryan Fonseca breaks down the deal between the Clippers and Trail Blazers, which sent Norman Powell to LAC.

Breaking down why the Blazers-Clippers deal works for both sides

Desmond Bane and Ja Morant scored 25 points each, and the Memphis Grizzlies dominated the short-handed Chicago Bulls 119-106 on Monday afternoon for their 12th win in 13 games.
Brandon Clarke added 15 points and seven rebounds in the Grizzlies' main event of the 20th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis.
DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls with 24 points and five assists, Ayo Dosunmu had 15 points and Coby White finished with 16 points, six rebounds and five assists for Chicago, which lost its fourth straight.
Memphis built a double-digit lead in the second quarter and stretched the advantage to 23 in the third &mdash; and didn't stop there.
Memphis, which saw its 11-game winning streak end Friday in a loss to the Dallas Mavericks, outscored the Bulls 38-25 in the second quarter for a 58-45 lead at the break. Chicago also was stymied early by a dozen turnovers, allowing Memphis to benefit from its transition game.
The Bulls entered the day as the top team in the Eastern Conference, but were without key rotation players like Zach LaVine, Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso. However, Chicago kept its top spot because Brooklyn lost to Cleveland on Monday.
TIP-INS
Bulls: Chicago has played Memphis five times in the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Day Game. The teams split the previous four games. &hellip; LaVine missed his second game with left knee pain from an injury suffered against Golden State on Jan. 14. &hellip; Ball missed his second game, also with left knee soreness. Coach Billy Donovan said before the game that Ball flew back to Chicago to have the knee looked at by a doctor. &hellip; Chicago announced Monday it had waived two-way guard Devon Dotson. ... Dosunmu, a rookie, turned 22 Monday.
Grizzlies: As part of the day&rsquo;s celebration, the Grizzlies honored former NBA players Muggsy Bogues, Elvin Hayes and Allan Houston for their dedication to human and civil rights and the social justice movement. &hellip; Memphis missed all seven of 3-pointers in the first quarter. &hellip; Jaren Jackson Jr. left the floor with 9:20 left in the second quarter after taking a shot to the calf. He returned before halftime.
UP NEXT:
Bulls: Host Cleveland on Wednesday, Chicago's only home game over a six-game stretch.
Grizzlies: Open a four-game road trip Wednesday at Milwaukee.

Desmond Bane and Ja Morant scored 25 points each, and the Grizzlies dominated the shorthanded Bulls 119-106.

Bane, Morant score 25 apiece to lead Grizzlies past Bulls

If there&rsquo;s one thing we can say about the son of Dell Curry, it&rsquo;s that he surely can shoot a basketball. Finally, it appears that he&rsquo;s found a home &mdash; in Philadelphia.
That&rsquo;s right, we&rsquo;re talking about Seth Curry, who enters play on Oct. 31 as the NBA&rsquo;s league leader in three-point percentage. Certainly not the first-ballot Hall-of-Famer as his older brother Steph, the younger Curry has done his part to help redefine the concept of the &ldquo;Splash Brothers.&rdquo;
Obviously, it&rsquo;s early, and Seth continuing to shoot 63% from distance isn&rsquo;t a trend that&rsquo;s likely to hold up across the entire season, but that certainly doesn&rsquo;t make it any less noteworthy, much in the same way that some other early-season trends have captured our attention.
Entering play on Oct. 31, the gross majority of the NBA&rsquo;s teams have played five or six games, and at this point, it&rsquo;s fair to say we have a sample size.&nbsp;
With that, it&rsquo;s worth checking out our five biggest early season surprises.
Charlotte may have a star not named &lsquo;LaMelo&rsquo;
Miles Bridges has already gotten a fair amount of praise for his strong start to the season, but the Charlotte Hornets have come under newfound scrutiny after ESPN&rsquo;s Brian Windhorst reported that Bridges was &ldquo;only&rdquo; offered a four-year, $60 million rookie extension from his team. As a result, Bridges is preparing for restricted free agency this summer, and it&rsquo;s safe to say he&rsquo;s motivated to earn a big payday.
Aside from helping to lead Charlotte to a 4-2 record in its first six games, Bridges has put up some eye-popping numbers: 25.5 points, eight rebounds and 1.8 steals per game. More importantly, he&rsquo;s shown a better-than-advertised ability to play with the ball in his hands, which is a net-positive that will allow LaMelo Ball some opportunity to operate off of it.
Many looked at the four-year, $90 million extension that Mikal Bridges received from the Phoenix Suns as the kind of payday that Charlotte&rsquo;s Bridges (no relation, by the way) could be eyeing this summer. But if he continues to play anywhere near as well as he has over the first two weeks for the season, he may very well be headed for a lot more.
New York&rsquo;s best team is&hellip; the Knicks?
The Knicks were pretty good last season, but many around the league considered them to be a bit of a shooting star. With the strong additions made by the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards, a healthy Miami Heat team had some believing that the Knicks would be contending to avoid a spot in the play-in tournament more than home court advantage. Yet after the first two weeks of the season, their 5-1 record puts them in a four-way tie for first place in the Eastern Conference. With Saturday&rsquo;s win over the New Orleans Pelicans, the Knicks are 3-0 on the road. They boast fairly impressive wins over the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers and the Bulls, as well.
Perhaps they will cool down as the season continues, but the Knicks enter play on Oct. 31 making a league-leading 16.7 three-pointers per game. They are scoring 117 points per game, which makes them second (to the Charlotte Hornets, believe it or not, who are scoring 117.5).
Check out Kemba Walker&rsquo;s game log and RJ Barrett&rsquo;s line from Saturday night and you&rsquo;ll see that there&rsquo;s plenty for Tom Thibodeau to be pleased about.
Kyrie isn&rsquo;t the only player missing in Brooklyn
The Brooklyn Nets would probably like nothing more than to get everyone to stop thinking about what they&rsquo;d look like with Kyrie Irving on the floor, but the team&rsquo;s relatively slow start hasn&rsquo;t helped that cause. Neither has James Harden.
Designated the conference favorite by virtually every sports book, without Irving in the lineup, Brooklyn entered the season hoping that both Kevin Durant and Harden could channel their superpowers and resemble the players they were when they each won MVP in 2014 and 2018, respectively. Durant has held up his end of the bargain, while the same can&rsquo;t necessarily be said of his partner in crime.
Entering play on Oct. 31, the Nets are just 3-3 and Harden himself has been fairly pedestrian.&nbsp;
Admittedly still working his way back into shape after suffering a Grade 2 hamstring sprain during last season&rsquo;s playoffs, through the first six games of the season, he&rsquo;s averaging 18.7 points on 37.1% shooting from the field &mdash; his lowest output since he wore an Oklahoma City Thunder uniform.&nbsp;
The good news is that Harden turned in his strongest effort of the season on Friday night when the Nets secured a much-needed victory over the Indiana Pacers. He got to the line 19 times and scored a season-high 29 points. The Nets obviously hope that starts a new trend.
In the NBA, it&rsquo;s less about how you start and more about how you finish. But in the early going at least &mdash; save for one game &mdash; Harden&rsquo;s 2021-22 campaign has been uninspiring.&nbsp;
Without Irving, head coach Steve Nash will be hoping for increased productivity from his cast of role players, as well as Harden and Durant. They&rsquo;ve fallen short. Brooklyn ranks 20th in the league in team field goal percentage (43.4%) and are only scoring 102.5 points per game &mdash; 25th in the league.
At this point, the saving grace for Brooklyn has been allowing opponents to shoot just 42.2% from the field, which ranks fourth in the league. Still, they rank 20th in offensive rebounds allowed and 26th in total rebounds allowed, so there are some obvious areas of concern.
Fortunately, both Harden and the rest of his team have got plenty of time to turn things around, and Harden definitely showed signs of life versus Indiana on Friday night.
Really rough start for the Clippers' backcourt (really rough)
It&rsquo;s been a rough five games for the Los Angeles Clippers. Playing without both Kawhi Leonard and Serge Ibaka, it was probably fair to assume that they wouldn&rsquo;t come storming out the gate, but a 1-4 start has got to be considered somewhat disappointing. That&rsquo;s especially true considering the relatively strong play of Paul George.
George enters play on Oct. 31 averaging 27.6 points per game to go along with an incredible 3.4 steals per game. He&rsquo;s also averaging 7.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists per contest while shooting what would be a career-best 50% from the field. But he&rsquo;s pretty much the only starter who has things going for them at the moment.
Reggie Jackson and Eric Bledsoe comprise the Clippers&rsquo; starting backcourt, and they haven&rsquo;t necessarily been inspiring. The duo are combining to score just 24 points per game on a miserable 26.5% shooting from deep.
Surprisingly, the team&rsquo;s bench has been decent. As a unit, the reserves rank 13th in the league in scoring. The major issue, is the lack of efficiency with which everyone not named Paul George has been scoring.&nbsp;
Overall, the team ranks 26th in field goal percentage (42%), 24th in three-point percentage (31.7%) and 27th in free throw attempts per game (17.2).
Obviously, it would be difficult for any team to sustain without players the caliber of Leonard and Ibaka, but the Clippers were hoping to see Terance Mann and Ivica Zubac take a step forward and for Justise Winslow to have an impact. It hasn&rsquo;t been the case so far.
Nobody even notices Bradley Beal&rsquo;s somewhat slow start
Although both Damian Lillard and the Milwaukee Bucks are surprising for the wrong seasons, it is the Washington Wizards who are most worthy of our affection at the moment.
Like the Knicks, the Wizards enter play on Oct. 31 with a 5-1 record, with their last three wins coming over the Celtics (who they beat twice) and the Hawks. It would be easy to give Bradley Beal the credit for the team&rsquo;s early success, but with 24.4 points per game, he&rsquo;s scoring almost seven less points per game than he did last season. He&rsquo;s also been shooting quite poorly, managing just 36.3% from the field and a miserable 21.6% from three-point territory.
So what gives?
It would be the team&rsquo;s supporting cast, plain and simple.
Entering play on Oct. 31, three of the Wizards&rsquo; newcomers are averaging at least 15 points per game &mdash; Spencer Dinwiddie (19.8), Montrezl Harrell (19.3) and Kyle Kuzma (15.5). They&rsquo;ve also gotten good minutes from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Raul Neto and Deni Avdija.
Put quite simply: the pieces fit.
If there is an area of concern for Wes Unseld&rsquo;s team, it would be that they&rsquo;re not sharing the ball exceptionally well. The Wizards manage just 20.5 assists per game, which ranks them 26th in the league. They&rsquo;ve already had seven different players start a game, thanks partially to both Dinwiddie and Beal missing a game each&hellip; So the search or chemistry and continuity continues.
Nonetheless, the Wizards have gotten off to an impressive start, and although many people expected them to be an improved club from last season, few predicted they&rsquo;d be sitting atop the East at any point.
Don&rsquo;t tell Russell Westbrook.
&mdash;&mdash;
If there&rsquo;s anything we&rsquo;ve learned about the NBA from years past, it&rsquo;s that the regular season is a marathon. Guys are going to get hurt and some will have hot stretches, while some will cool down. Some guys will transform as they begin their primes, while age and attrition will take a toll on others. It&rsquo;s the nature of the game.
Nonetheless, after about two weeks and six games, every team has at least a small sample size to help draw some conclusions, figure out what works and determine what doesn&rsquo;t.

The Knicks and Wizards have given their fans reason to smile. James Harden and Reggie Jackson? Not so much.

5 early NBA surprises after two weeks of regular season action

Nekias Duncan previews the Pacific Division for the 2021-22 NBA season.

2021-22 NBA Season Preview: Pacific Divison

With NBA training camps open for business, teams are getting back in the swing of things. We are just two days away from the first preseason game between the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers (Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET), meaning the 2021-22 campaign is right around the corner.
While these two teams are commanding the spotlight more than any other squads around the league, there are plenty of franchises that would love to knock them right off their pedestal, or at least have some of that light shone on them.
In our latest Roundtable, we asked our BasketballNews.com writers the following question:
Who is your favorite dark-horse team entering the 2021-22 season? 
Alex Kennedy: The Washington Wizards are my dark-horse team because I really liked their offseason moves. They acquired Spencer Dinwiddie, Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Corey Kispert, Aaron Holiday and Isaiah Todd among others. Dinwiddie and Bradley Beal should form a terrific one-two punch in the backcourt, and it&rsquo;s very possible that Deni Avdija (20 years old), Rui Hachimura (23), Daniel Gafford (23) and Thomas Bryant (24) will make significant strides as they take the next step in their development. Suddenly, Washington has some nice depth and a very solid supporting cast around Beal. Don&rsquo;t be surprised if they exceed expectations.
Nekias Duncan: Do the Milwaukee Bucks count here? It&rsquo;s hard to think of a title-winning team that&rsquo;s been disregarded quite like this one. I get the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets&rsquo; optimism, I do, but the Bucks feel pretty slept on at large.&nbsp;
Ethan Fuller: The Toronto Raptors are going to massively exceed expectations after they faced arguably the most challenging circumstances of any team in 2020-21. They're back in Toronto with a team that screams positive regression. Pascal Siakam is <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/roundtable-which-nba-player-will-have-a-major-bounceback-season" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a prime bounce-back candidate</a>, Fred VanVleet continues to fly under the radar and the young core might be one of the more underrated groups in the NBA. I'm excited to see guys like OG Anunoby, Scottie Barnes, Precious Achiuwa and Malachi Flynn take their next steps.
Spencer Davies: I can't just land on one in particular. There's so much love (and rightfully so) for the Lakers and Nets that the possibility of any other teams making it to the NBA Finals would be a shock to many. In the Eastern Conference, watch out for the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics. It seems that the Heat like to sneak up on people when they least expect it, and uh, that shouldn't be the case considering they were in the Finals at this time one year ago in the NBA Bubble. Kyle Lowry's going to prove to be a tremendous pickup if he can stay healthy, and Jimmy Butler seems to perform at his best when he's not being paid attention to. There's also that Bam Adebayo guy, who's somehow a Swiss Army knife with room for growth. As for the Celtics, a new head coach has the potential to inject a sense of freshness into the air. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have already been unleashed, but Ime Udoka may just be the one to kick the door open further. Plus, those contract worries over the last couple of seasons have been put to rest with Marcus Smart. Oh, and Al Horford's back with gang green, too &mdash; never a bad thing to see a familiar face.
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Moke Hamilton: I&rsquo;d probably have to go with the Denver Nuggets. It&rsquo;s tough to pick a dark horse from the Western Conference because there are a ton of teams out there that are worthy of the respect of being called a credible contender... But I think most people are looking at the Lakers, Clippers, Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns as the teams to beat. Denver often gets left out of the conversation, especially since Jamal Murray is still on the shelf. Nonetheless, I like them. If Murray can return to form and Michael Porter Jr. continues to grow, they&rsquo;ll be formidable.
Jackson Frank: Before the injury bug caught them in recent weeks, I would&rsquo;ve loved to slot the Indiana Pacers here, but my pick is the New Orleans Pelicans. I&rsquo;m not sure this means much more than competing for a low playoff seed &mdash; still an improvement, comparatively &mdash; but they seem a bit discounted among preseason projections. The acquisitions of Devonte&rsquo; Graham and Jonas Valanciunas should really help this team approach elite offense territory. Garrett Temple and Tomas Satoransky are steady veterans who can contribute in the rotation. The Pelicans house a bevy of young dudes, and while it&rsquo;s unlikely all of them will experience substantial strides, banking on a few of them to do so is prudent. Jaxson Hayes had an encouraging second half of 2020-21. Nickeil Alexander-Walker fared quite well as a shooter and complementary handler in his 19 starts. Naji Marshall brings versatile defense, playmaking and slashing. Zion Williamson&rsquo;s exploits speak for themselves. Brandon Ingram is a very good second scorer. To cap it off, new head coach Willie Green is an excellent offensive mind, and should serve as a general upgrade over Stan Van Gundy&rsquo;s struggles on the sidelines. I like the Pelicans to take a notable step forward and compete for a playoff spot &mdash; or a little better.
Drew Maresca: What exactly constitutes a dark-horse team? Technically, everyone is a dark-horse team except for the Lakers and Nets. As it relates to the question though, I really like the Nuggets. Nikola Jokic is going to pick up right where he left off, Michael Porter Jr. should immediately begin earning the five-year, $207 million extension he just signed and Aaron Gordon is the same cat he&rsquo;s been for the past few seasons. If Jamal Murray can return at nearly full strength at any point this season, the Nuggets are going to be scary.
Jesse Blancarte: The Los Angeles Clippers. With Kawhi Leonard out indefinitely after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ACL, the Clippers are no longer considered a championship contender for the upcoming season. However, the Clippers are bringing back their core players and have plenty of wing depth to keep the ship level during the season. With Leonard sidelined, I predict Paul George will have a big season, while other players like Marcus Morris, Terance Mann and Justise Winslow could help fill the void. If Leonard can return in time for the postseason, the Clippers may have a shot at advancing deep into the postseason. &nbsp;
Chris Sheridan: The Charlotte Hornets. If they can get a full healthy season from Gordon Hayward, that will be the key. I love the pickup of Mason Plumlee at center, and we all learned last season what LaMelo Ball can do. They play way under the radar because of their market size.
Alexander Cohen: My favorite dark-horse (and also NBA League Pass) team is easily the Pelicans. David Griffin has received a great deal of mostly-warranted slack for his offseason due to asset management, but I think New Orleans has a good team here. While I&rsquo;m not a fan of letting Lonzo Ball walk, moving on from Steven Adams and Eric Bledsoe should both be additions by subtraction. Bringing on Jonas Valanciunas and Devonte&rsquo; Graham &mdash; two dark horses in their own right as top players on their former teams despite LaMelo Ball and Ja Morant being understandably more publicized &mdash; should also be instrumental additions. They provide scoring presences the Pelicans lacked last season, with Graham and Valanciunas being worlds more aggressive than Ball and Adams. The two-man combo of Willy Hernangomez &mdash; who has a similar skill set to Valanciunas &mdash; and Zion Williamson had a staggering net rating of plus-11.9 last season. Factor in those changes with the anticipated improvement of Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Jaxson Hayes and Kira Lewis, and the Pelicans should be a thrilling team this year with a healthy Williamson.

Who is your dark-horse team to watch entering the 2021-22 NBA season? BasketballNews.com's writers shared their thoughts.

NBA Roundtable: Who is your dark-horse team for the 2021-22 season?

David Aldridge joins Etan Thomas and David Zirin on The Collision to discuss how Malice at the Palace was mishandled by the media.

David Aldridge: The media failed to tell full Malice at The Palace story

Sometimes, it feels like the reality of possessing cap space does not line up with the rainbows-and-unicorns world of possibilities that some people imagine.&nbsp;
Fans can daydream about their favorite franchise hunting for a star because they have enough cap space to offer a max contract. But even if their team is capped out, many fans still spend hours on their online trade machine of choice until the result pops up with a green "Success!" and they've cracked the financial code on a title-winning maneuver.
If every NBA team can still wheel-and-deal, what's the benefit to having cap space, especially with a free-agency class generally viewed as mediocre?
It helps a lot &ndash; and often in unsuspecting ways. Take a look at the Oklahoma City Thunder, who have absorbed undesirable contract after undesirable contract to help add to their war chest of draft picks. Or the Brooklyn Nets, who kept their books clean enough to eventually pull off the James Harden blockbuster. Same with the Atlanta Hawks, who picked up some key depth pieces in 2020 free agency en route to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Teams get rewarded for being smart with their money. This offseason, eight teams will have an easy path to meaningful cap space while the rest would have to jump through more hoops. These squads range from playoff hopefuls to aggressive rebuilders. Who should capitalize with a spending spree or headliner trade, and who should wait for the longer-term future?
Let's break down each team's situation, using cap numbers provided by <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/contracts/">Basketball Reference.</a>
Charlotte Hornets &ndash; Possible Cap Space: approx. $27.4 million
This estimate means the Hornets let Devonte' Graham and Malik Monk hit restricted free agency. They'll also have Cody Zeller, Bismack Biyombo and Nick Richards as unrestricted free agents &ndash; notably, all bigs. Graham is probably the most coveted of the five, and if the Hornets re-sign him, they'd have a pretty nice guard rotation between Graham, LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier.&nbsp;
Charlotte barely missed out on the postseason, and that was with a rookie leading the way and clear improvement areas inside. They can absolutely make the necessary depth moves (<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/hornets-mavericks-expected-to-pursue-richaun-holmes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Richaun Holmes?</a>) to get close to playoff contention, and they have the No. 11 overall pick to help as well. Outside of Gordon Hayward's $120 million contract, Charlotte isn't tied down to too many deals right now.
Should they spend?&nbsp;Yes.
Miami Heat &ndash; Possible Cap Space: approx. $34.5 million
The Heat would currently be over the cap, but that's before making a decision on team options for Goran Dragic ($19 million) and Andre Iguodala ($15 million). Those should probably be declined, and if they also ditch Omer Yurtseven's non-guaranteed deal, that suddenly gives Miami a ton of space.
However, the Heat would also have just five players on the team. They have to make re-signing decisions on Victor Oladipo, Duncan Robinson (RFA), Kendrick Nunn (RFA), Trevor Ariza, Nemanja Bjelica, Dewayne Dedmon, Udonis Haslem and the aforementioned players (Dragic, Iguodala and Yurtseven).
Miami is in a tough position. The Heat should be increasing their threat level as a playoff team, but first they simply have to worry about keeping the roster intact.
Should they spend?&nbsp;Yes.
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Memphis Grizzlies &ndash; Possible Cap Space: approx. $24 million
The Grizzlies are in fantastic financial standing. With this estimate including Justise Winslow's $13 million team option being declined, only two players (Jonas Valanciunas and Dillon Brooks) will be making eight figures. Memphis will have 13 players, plus the No. 17 and No. 51 overall draft picks, at its disposal.
At the same time, the Grizzlies have been on the doorstep of the playoffs in two consecutive seasons, despite boasting one of the youngest rosters in the Association. There's no need to make a move simply to make a move. Everything should be purposefully built around Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. &ndash; even if that means politely passing on splurging this summer.
Should they spend?&nbsp;Probably not.
Toronto Raptors &ndash; Possible Cap Space: approx. $22 million
Perhaps the single biggest offseason decision, outside of some superstar player options, is Kyle Lowry's unrestricted free agency. Does the face of the Raptors make sense on an expensive contract as he approaches age-35? Or do the Raptors sign-and-trade him and take that gut punch? They also have to think about paying restricted free agent Gary Trent Jr.&nbsp;
Toronto can get to about $22 million in room prior to those decisions by renouncing Rodney Hood and Aron Baynes. Considering they're still very much a win-now team with long-term commitments to Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet and OG Anunoby, I think the franchise should pay up to keep both Lowry and Trent Jr. It's unlikely they can match that short-term value with another move.
Should they spend?&nbsp;Yes &ndash; to re-sign their own talent.
Dallas Mavericks &ndash; Possible Cap Space: approx. $20.5 million
This is not a hot take by any means, but Luka Doncic desperately needs help on both sides of the ball. Dallas has to <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/for-dallas-building-around-luka-doncic-is-only-going-to-get-harder" target="_blank" rel="noopener">make something happen</a> after a pretty tumultuous start to the offseason. They get some space with Tim Hardaway Jr. and J.J. Redick hitting free agency.&nbsp;
While $20 million is not a max slot, it can assuredly net a secondary scorer or prominent 3-and-D player who can take some pressue off of Dallas' franchise cornerstone. The Mavericks should feel the most pressure to spend of any team here. Every season that they underwhelm, the "Free Luka" chants will get louder.
Should they spend?&nbsp;PLEASE Yes.
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Oklahoma City Thunder &ndash; Possible Cap Space: approx. $38 million
Even with Kemba Walker getting $36 million next season, the Thunder are free and clear in cap contexts because their second-largest contract will be the approximately $6 million given to the No. 6 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. That's simply amazing.
OKC should continue to lean on its staple move: taking on bad contracts paired with picks or prospects. The full-scale rebuild is still in effect, though pieces are quickly coming together. There's no need to get sidetracked with spending money when everything is going according to plan. With 11 current players and six picks in the 2021 NBA Draft (three first-rounders and three second-rounders), the roster will fill itself out.
Should they spend?&nbsp;No &ndash; except to take on contracts for young talent.
San Antonio Spurs &ndash; Possible Cap Space: approx. $48 million
San Antonio is at a crossroads unlike any other team. Veterans DeMar DeRozan, Patty Mills and Rudy Gay are unrestricted free agents, and the oldest player currently under contract is now 27-year-old Derrick White. After hanging on the fringes of contention since Kawhi Leonard departed, this feels like a real reset for the Spurs, who now have the <a href="https://www.spotrac.com/nba/san-antonio-spurs/cap/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">youngest roster in the entire NBA</a>.
They should keep things that way. The Western Conference is as loaded as ever and even play-in spots will be a battle. Dejounte Murray, Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell lead an intruiging young core that still appears well away from the playoffs.
San Antonio has been winning for decades, but they should not shell out larger deals to keep the team afloat when they can focus on developing something bigger long-term.
Should they spend?&nbsp;No.
New York Knicks &ndash; Possible Cap Space: approx. $50 million
New York's playoff berth was <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/roundtable-which-teamplayer-surprised-you-most-this-year" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the biggest surprise of the season</a>, so many people are forgetting that this was supposed to be a youth-focused team. But now that the postseason is the expectation, there's no turning back, and the Knicks have the potential to build out a deep roster without sacrificing young talent.
Assuming New York picks up Julius Randle's team option, they still have a ton of room to add better-fitting parts around Randle, R.J. Barrett, Mitchell Robinson and Immanuel Quickley. The franchise can choose to retain or bypass unrestricted free agents Derrick Rose, Taj Gibson, Nerlens Noel, Elfrid Payton or Alec Burks. They will also be the easiest financial facilitator for any blockbuster trades.&nbsp;
Obviously, they shouldn't get reckless, and unless the perfect storm comes, they shouldn't part with their youth. But otherwise, go crazy, Leon Rose and Scott Perry.
Should they spend?&nbsp;Yes.

Eight NBA teams have an easy path to meaningful cap space this summer. Which franchises should splurge on free agents or trades?

Which NBA teams have cap room this offseason, and should they use it?

The Memphis Grizzlies believe they have a great foundation after returning to the playoffs much faster than anyone outside the franchise expected.
That makes losing their first-round series to the top-seeded Utah Jazz a little easier to take.
&ldquo;We definitely didn't want our season to end the way it did, but I mean we have a lot to be proud of," guard Ja Morant said after Memphis was eliminated in five games by Utah. "Our fight. We had an unbelievable season. We achieved one of our goals. ... We know what we got to do. Everybody's hungry for more.&rdquo;
Memphis exceeded expectations by finishing 38-34 to reach the NBA's new play-in tournament. The Grizzlies beat San Antonio, then the Golden State Warriors on the road to earn the No. 8 seed and snap a four-year playoff drought.
That made the Grizzlies not only the youngest team this postseason but the youngest in the playoffs since Oklahoma City in 2011. They <a href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-utah-jazz-nba-sports-89240812eb4dc5501110af498a68815f">won Game 1</a> before falling in <a href="Jazz advance to 2nd round, beating Grizzlies in Game 5">five games to the team that posted the NBA's best record during the regular season</a>.
&ldquo;We've got a bright, bright future ahead of us,&rdquo; Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said. "And I know if we continue to work on the things that we are capable of and we will work on and the investment everyone&rsquo;s put in, we&rsquo;re going to have just this bright future that I&rsquo;m so excited about.&rdquo;
Reaching the postseason should speed up the Grizzlies' learning curve. Dillon Brooks, who averaged 25.8 points a game against the Jazz, said they learned the importance of adjustments during a series, especially against the very talented and experienced Jazz.
&ldquo;We'll be back," Brooks said. &ldquo;I think the taste of the playoffs is on everybody's mind. ... This offseason has got to be a special offseason for every single one of my teammates."
MORANT'S SOPHOMORE SEASON
Morant had an impressive follow-up season to his NBA Rookie of the Year debut, becoming the fifth-youngest player in NBA history to lead a playoff team in both points and assist a game. He then set a franchise record with 47 points in a Game 2 loss to Utah.
Only George Mikan, in the BAA in 1949, scored more than Morant's 73 points through his first two postseason games. Morant became the fourth player in NBA history and first since 1970 with 100 or more points through his three games with 101, joining Wilt Chamberlain, Mikan and Kareem-Abdul Jabbar.
Morant finished the series with back-to-back double-doubles and now plans to work on every aspect of his game during the offseason. He struggled at times at the free throw line and his 3-point shooting dipped from his rookie season. But he shot 46.7% from 3 during the play-in games, and he was 5 of 9 in Game 5 after the Jazz dared him to shoot 3s.
Jenkins called Morant an &ldquo;unbelievably huge part of our future" as someone who has only scratched the surface of what he can become.
&ldquo;Ja has grown up so much this year,&rdquo; Jenkins said. &ldquo;I know he's going to be highly motivated going into the next season taking the next level as a player. His words going into the locker room were &lsquo;We will be back.&rsquo;&rdquo;
BLOWN LEADS
Finishing games is an area the Grizzlies can improve. They might not have had to fight their way into the No. 8 seed if they had finished off games where they had leads.
They blew double-digit leads twice against the Lakers. They led by 13 at New York on April 9 with 6 minutes left and lost in overtime. Luka Doncic hit a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-memphis-grizzlies-basketball-kristaps-porzingis-dwight-powell-027efefba23c0ff7012599b22e7232fe">lunging 3 to beat them</a> April 14 after they couldn't hold a six-point lead, then they blew a 20-point lead May 1 <a href="https://apnews.com/article/orlando-magic-memphis-grizzlies-health-coronavirus-nba-9d292d30b1c76dcf8d6d413621fed469">losing by a point</a> in Orlando.
Against the Jazz, they got very close in Games 3 and 4, yet couldn't find a way to close out in the final minutes.
OFFENSIVE GRIZZLIES
Memphis led the NBA during the regular season scoring 55.8 points in the paint, 17.3 points off the fast break and adding 15 points off second chances per game. They set franchise records averaging 113.3 points a game and 11.2 3-pointers per game.
That's a long way from the &ldquo;Grit &lsquo;n&rsquo; Grind&rdquo; era that focused much more on defense.
ROSTER
Memphis goes into the offseason healthy, which is good news for the Grizzlies after playing much of this season without Jaren Jackson Jr. and Justise Winslow as they recovered from injuries. Memphis also has Jackson, Jonas Valanciunas and Kyle Anderson under contract for another season.
The Grizzlies built a deep roster that helped them survive without Jackson, and now that gives the front office some flexibility along with the No. 17 overall pick in the NBA draft.
Memphis announced Thursday night a long-term extension for GM Zach Kleiman, who took over as executive vice president of basketball operations in April 2019. The team didn't announce terms of the deal.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

The Grizzlies believe they have a great foundation after returning to the playoffs much faster than anyone outside the franchise expected.

Grizzlies see bright future after surprising playoff push

About four months ago, I interviewed former NBA player Stephen Jackson for my podcast, "The Rematch," and he opened up about his relationship with George Floyd and how his murder set him on a path of activism, prompting him to use his voice and platform like never before.
During the interview, I asked him a question that my 13-year-old daughter Imani asked me while we were discussing Floyd's murder: &ldquo;Daddy, if the person wasn&rsquo;t there to record Officer Derek Chauvin murdering George Floyd, do you feel that we would&rsquo;ve ever heard of this case?"
Stephen Jackson&rsquo;s reply to Imani&rsquo;s question was straightforward.
&ldquo;No, because I would have never seen it, I would&rsquo;ve never gotten involved and the world&rsquo;s outrage wouldn&rsquo;t have been the same if the world never saw it," <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-stephen-jackson-activism-etan-thomas-george-floyd-protest-minneosta-gianna-kyrie-irving-murder-police-brutality-racism" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jackson said</a>. "It was all on TV everywhere all day. If she didn&rsquo;t record it, it would&rsquo;ve been just like the millions of other murders that we never hear about.&rdquo;&nbsp;
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I thought about Jackson's answer shortly after Tuesday&rsquo;s verdict. The (s)hero my daughter was referring to was then-17-year-old Darnella Frazier.
Steve was absolutely correct. If Frazier didn&rsquo;t wisely and fearlessly take out her camera and record, Chauvin would&rsquo;ve continued terrorizing the streets of Minneapolis as if nothing ever happened, and there is actual proof of this.
Below is the official documentation of what Minneapolis Police originally said happened to Floyd. These were the &ldquo;facts&rdquo; they came out with after they murdered him.
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Seriously, read it again knowing what we know: <a href="https://t.co/XqPWCpoxeQ">pic.twitter.com/XqPWCpoxeQ</a>
&mdash; Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) <a href="https://twitter.com/jaketapper/status/1384622849562873856?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 20, 2021</a></blockquote>

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The heading reads: &ldquo;Man Dies After Medical Incident Involving Police Interaction.&rdquo;&nbsp;It also says, &ldquo;At no time were weapons of any type used by anyone involved in this incident," although Chauvin&rsquo;s knee was in fact used as a weapon...I guess they weren&rsquo;t too hung up on technicalities.&nbsp;
As seen in this report, Minneapolis Police was ready to close the case, and the world would have never known what really happened.&nbsp;
But then came the video and the world saw the terrifying truth of what really happened. It was something out of a horror movie, like a scene from "Them" on Amazon Prime. Compare the look on the lady's face from Episode 5 who kept repeating &ldquo;cat in a bag&rdquo; to Officer Chauvin, who callously pressed his knee on Floyd&rsquo;s neck for over nine minutes, put his hands in his pockets so that he could apply more pressure and had a look of pure evil on his face while doing it.
But this real-life horror movie would&rsquo;ve never been seen if it weren&rsquo;t for Darnella Frazier, who kept the camera rolling as she watched Floyd breathe his last breath:&nbsp;
"I heard George Floyd saying, 'I can't breathe, please, get off of me'...and crying for his mom," Frazier testified in court. "He was in pain. It seemed like he knew it was over for him."
And thanks to Frazier, an entire movement started.
People from all across the country got involved. Stephen Jackson, who knew Floyd personally, thrust himself into a movement that resonated with the entire world. He flew down to Minneapolis and spoke at rallies. From CNN, ESPN, Inside The NBA on TNT, The Undefeated, Undisputed, and here on BasketballNews.com, Jackson appeared on every media outlet he possibly could, calling for justice for his friend who he called Twin.
But it wasn&rsquo;t just Jackson. The impact of Frazier&rsquo;s video led to the firing of three other cops who were also at the scene, a ban on police chokeholds and a federal investigation of this case, and it sparked a global movement heard around the world: Justice for George Floyd.
And finally, for the first time in Minnesota state history, a white police officer has been found guilty for murdering a Black Man (which is also a tragedy in itself, as we all know this is not the first time it has ever happened).
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BREAKING: Derek Chauvin has been convicted of the murder of George Floyd. For the first time in Minnesota state history, a white police officer has been held accountable for killing a Black man.
&mdash; ACLU (@ACLU) <a href="https://twitter.com/ACLU/status/1384615064322330626?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 20, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Minnesota governer Tim Walz publicly thanked Frazier.
"Taking that video, I think many folks know, is maybe the only reason that Derek Chauvin will go to prison," Walz said.&nbsp;
And he&rsquo;s absolutely right. The entire world would&rsquo;ve only had the police version of (facts/lies) to go by, and there would&rsquo;ve been no guilty verdict, no trial, no accountability, no new laws passed, no worldwide uproar. None of this would&rsquo;ve happened if it weren&rsquo;t for the bravery of Darnella Frazier.

Etan Thomas details how Darnella Frazier's bravery played a pivotal role in Derek Chauvin's conviction in the murder of George Floyd.