Hawkeyes

The NBA&rsquo;s trade season is officially here.
In the first major move approaching this year&rsquo;s trade deadline, the Cleveland Cavaliers have traded forward De&rsquo;Andre Hunter to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for guards Dennis Schroder and Keon Ellis, as reported by ESPN&rsquo;s Shams Charania.
Furthermore, the trade will include the Chicago Bulls acquiring Kings forward Dario Saric and two future second-round picks.
ANALYSIS: The Cavaliers turned Hunter&rsquo;s slot for more guard depth by acquiring Schroder and Ellis. Schroder slots in immediately as the team&rsquo;s veteran backup point guard behind Donovan Mitchell, while Ellis is a stingy on-ball guard defender that can shoot the three, easily playing alongside Mitchell as well.
This move for Cleveland likely comes from the emergence of second-year forward Jaylon Tyson this season, who is currently averaging 13.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.4 assists on 51.4% shooting from the field and a blistering 46.3 percent from three.
This move should be a win-win situation as well for the Kings as they acquire a two-way forward on a relatively manageable contract with his current production in consideration. Hunter will join the Kings&rsquo; roster full of promising players around Domantas Sabonis, as they try to navigate this season and build winning habits while trying to secure a high draft pick in next year&rsquo;s draft.
Hunter will now be alongside players like Keegan Murray, Nique Clifford, and Maxime Raynaud with veterans DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, and Russell Westbrook, as the Kings&rsquo; roster is starting to take shape moving forward.

In the first major move approaching this year’s trade deadline, the Cavaliers have traded forward De’Andre Hunter to the Kings.

Cavaliers send De’Andre Hunter to Kings for Dennis Schroder, Keon Ellis

Sacramento Kings head coach Mike Brown has netted a new 3-year deal with the team that will take him through the 2026-2027 season, <a href="https://x.com/wojespn/status/1796751924261224904">ESPN&rsquo;s Adrian Wojnarowski reports.</a>
Brown, 54, led Sacramento to the playoffs for the first time in 16 years two years ago and won 46 games and a Play-In game this season. He now gets a $4.5 million raise annually and an additional two seasons of $8.5 million per year.
The 2022-2023 NBA Coach of the Year and the Kings were determined to discuss a new deal after the franchise&rsquo;s recent success over the past two years. After ending a 16-year playoff drought, the Kings took then-defending champions Golden State Warriors to 7 games before eventually losing.&nbsp;
The Kings are looking to build off those two winning seasons to improve the team even more and contend with Brown at the helm. They are currently bannered by all-stars De&rsquo;Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis with young talents like Keegan Murray also in the fold.
After Brown, Sacramento will also have another big decision to make this offseason as 6th man of the year finalist Malik Monk enters free agency.&nbsp;

Sacramento Kings head coach Mike Brown has netted a new 3-year deal with the team that will take him through the 2026-2027 season.

Mike Brown inks 3-year extension with Kings

Today, the NBA announced the 28 players who have earned spots to compete in the 2024 Panini Rising Stars, which will take place on Friday, Feb. 16 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis as part of NBA All-Star 2024. The annual showcase of premier young talent, featuring a mini-tournament with four teams and three games, will air live at 9 p.m. ET on TNT.
The player pool consists of 11 NBA rookies, 10 second-year NBA players and seven NBA G League players. The 21 NBA players, selected by NBA assistant coaches, will be drafted onto three seven-player teams. The seven NBA G League players, selected by the league office, will comprise the fourth team.
Six-time NBA All-Star and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Pau Gasol will return as one of the four honorary head coaches after leading his team to the Rising Stars championship last year. Joining Gasol as honorary head coaches are Indiana Fever legend and 10-time WNBA All-Star Tamika Catchings and former Indiana Pacers standouts Jalen Rose and Detlef Schrempf.
Catchings, a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer, led the Fever to the 2012 WNBA championship. Rose helped the Pacers reach the 2000 NBA Finals and was the Kia NBA Most Improved Player that season. Schrempf, a three-time NBA All-Star, won back-to-back Kia NBA Sixth Man Awards with the Pacers in the 1990-91 and 1991-92 seasons.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Gasol (Team Pau), Catchings (Team Tamika) and Rose (Team Jalen) will select their teams through the Rising Stars Draft, which will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 6 at 4 p.m. ET and stream live on the NBA App.&nbsp; Schrempf (Team Detlef) will coach the team of NBA G League players.
All three games in Panini Rising Stars will be played to a Final Target Score, meaning each game will end with a made basket or a made free throw instead of with the clock running out. The semifinal games will be played to a Final Target Score of 40. The championship game will be played to a Final Target Score of 25.
Team A will face Team B in the first semifinal (Game 1), and Team C will play Team D in the second semifinal (Game 2). The winner of Game 1 will meet the winner of Game 2 in the championship (Game 3).&nbsp; The semifinal matchups will be announced at a later date.
In selecting the NBA players for Panini Rising Stars, each NBA team submitted one ballot per coaching staff. Each coaching staff selected four frontcourt players, four guards and two additional players at either position, in order of preference, for the rookie ballot and the sophomore ballot. Coaches were not permitted to vote for any player on their team.
The NBA participants for Panini Rising Stars were determined by the total points each player received from the ballots. Points were awarded based on where a player was ranked on each ballot. The player pool includes one more rookie than sophomore based on total points received.
Assistant coaches from the NBA All-Star Game coaching staffs will join the honorary head coaches in coaching the Panini Rising Stars teams. The NBA All-Star Game coaching staffs for both the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference have yet to be determined.&nbsp;
Tickets for Panini Rising Stars are available at NBAEvents.com and through the NBA Events App, which can be downloaded in the&nbsp;<a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/nba-events/id1488976283" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://apps.apple.com/us/app/nba-events/id1488976283&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1706738146537000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3KdgVz_lJtn5rLaTz7eq7b">Apple Store</a>&nbsp;or&nbsp;<a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.greencopper.nbaallstar&amp;hl=en_US&amp;gl=US&amp;pli=1" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id%3Dcom.greencopper.nbaallstar%26hl%3Den_US%26gl%3DUS%26pli%3D1&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1706738146537000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0-CV5jwdxEhFcuZ8BRrarV">Google Play Store</a>.
Below is the player pool for the 2024 Panini Rising Stars.
<table style="width: 719px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="607">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 704.431px;" colspan="3">
PANINI RISING STARS: NBA PLAYERS
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 358.75px; text-align: center;" colspan="2">
NBA Rookies
</td>
<td style="width: 324.604px; text-align: center;">
NBA Sophomores
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 362.625px; text-align: center;" colspan="2">
Bilal Coulibaly (Guard | Washington Wizards)
</td>
<td style="width: 326.271px; text-align: center;">
Paolo Banchero (Frontcourt | Orlando Magic)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 363.59px; text-align: center;" colspan="2">
Keyonte George (Guard | Utah Jazz)
</td>
<td style="width: 326.701px; text-align: center;">
Dyson Daniels (Guard | New Orleans Pelicans)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 363.826px; text-align: center;" colspan="2">
Jordan Hawkins (Guard | New Orleans Pelicans)
</td>
<td style="width: 326.812px; text-align: center;">
Jalen Duren (Frontcourt | Detroit Pistons)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 363.875px; text-align: center;" colspan="2">
Scoot Henderson (Guard | Portland Trail Blazers)
</td>
<td style="width: 326.847px; text-align: center;">
Jaden Ivey (Guard | Detroit Pistons)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 363.889px; text-align: center;" colspan="2">
Chet Holmgren (Frontcourt | Oklahoma City Thunder)
</td>
<td style="width: 326.854px; text-align: center;">
Walker Kessler (Frontcourt | Utah Jazz)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 363.889px; text-align: center;" colspan="2">
Jaime Jaquez Jr. (Frontcourt | Miami Heat)
</td>
<td style="width: 326.861px; text-align: center;">
Bennedict Mathurin (Guard | Indiana Pacers)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 363.889px; text-align: center;" colspan="2">
Dereck Lively II (Frontcourt | Dallas Mavericks)
</td>
<td style="width: 326.861px; text-align: center;">
Keegan Murray (Frontcourt | Sacramento Kings)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 363.889px; text-align: center;" colspan="2">
Brandon Miller (Frontcourt | Charlotte Hornets)
</td>
<td style="width: 326.861px; text-align: center;">
Shaedon Sharpe (Guard | Portland Trail Blazers)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 363.889px; text-align: center;" colspan="2">
Brandin Podziemski (Guard | Golden State Warriors)
</td>
<td style="width: 326.861px; text-align: center;">
Jabari Smith Jr. (Frontcourt | Houston Rockets)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 363.889px; text-align: center;" colspan="2">
Cason Wallace (Guard | Oklahoma City Thunder)
</td>
<td style="width: 326.861px; text-align: center;">
Jalen Williams (Frontcourt | Oklahoma City Thunder)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 363.889px; text-align: center;" colspan="2">
Victor Wembanyama (Frontcourt | San Antonio Spurs)
</td>
<td style="width: 326.861px; text-align: center;">&nbsp;</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
&nbsp;
<table style="height: 454px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="438">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 54px;">
<td style="width: 423.431px; height: 54px;">
PANINI RISING STARS: NBA G LEAGUE PLAYERS
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 54px;">
<td style="width: 423.431px; height: 54px;">
Izan Almansa (Frontcourt | G League Ignite)
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 54px;">
<td style="width: 423.431px; height: 54px;">
Matas Buzelis (Frontcourt | G League Ignite)
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 54px;">
<td style="width: 423.431px; height: 54px;">
Ron Holland (Frontcourt | G League Ignite)
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 54px;">
<td style="width: 423.431px; height: 54px;">
Mac McClung (Guard | Osceola Magic)
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 54px;">
<td style="width: 423.431px; height: 54px;">
Tyler Smith (Frontcourt | G League Ignite)
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 54px;">
<td style="width: 423.431px; height: 54px;">
Oscar Tshiebwe (Frontcourt | Indiana Mad Ants)*
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 54px;">
<td style="width: 423.431px; height: 54px;">
Alondes Williams (Guard | Sioux Falls Skyforce)
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
*Two-Way Player

The NBA announced the 28 players who have earned spots to compete in the 2024 Panini Rising Stars.

NBA announces 2024 Rising Stars participants

After trading OG Anunoby and acquiring youngsters RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley, the Toronto Raptors seem poised for a rebuild.
This recent trade with the New York Knicks begs the question: Is All-Star Pascal Siakam the league&rsquo;s most desired player as the Feb. 8 trade deadline approaches?
With Toronto likely looking to jumpstart their rebuild, the 29-year-old does not fit the timeline of their other high-value players, including Scottie Barnes (22 years old) and Barrett (23 years old). Barnes is averaging career-highs in nearly every major statistic, and he's the Raptors' second-leading scorer behind Siakam. Barrett has not lived up to expectations as a former No. 3 overall pick, but he has proven himself as a solid scorer, averaging 18.2 points on 42.3% shooting. The Raptors are entering 2024 with a lineup that's built to compete in the coming years rather than this season.
Many organizations believe they have a cast strong enough to compete for a championship or, at the very least, a playoff berth. There are very few sellers this season, and the lack of teams interested in parting ways with their key contributors further enhances Siakam&rsquo;s value. With so few impact players on the market, many front offices around the NBA could view Siakam as their missing piece.
There is an argument for stars such as Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen or Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro being the most sought-after player, but neither has the newfound availability of Siakam. Also, it seems unlikely that either of those players will be traded, whereas a Siakam deals seems more likely, especially since he'll be an unrestricted free agent after this season.
<a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/39209777/knicks-acquiring-raptors-og-anunoby-trade-sources-say" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN&rsquo;s Adrian Wojnarowski</a> reports that "Toronto is expected to continue to explore trades involving forward Pascal Siakam." While he points out that "there are no deals with traction now," that's likely to change as the trade deadline gets closer.
Siakam is a two-time All-NBA forward who's averaging 21.9 points, 6.6 rebounds and 5.2 assists on 51.2% shooting. Teams seeking a player to stretch the floor should consider looking elsewhere, as Siakam is shooting 26.1% from three-point range through 32 games. He's an offensive engine who has the ability to create his own shot, with just 58.1% of his points being assisted. For comparison, reigning MVP Joel Embiid is assisted on 56.8% of his makes.
Two of the strongest contenders for Siakam are the Philadelphia 76ers and Sacramento Kings.
Philadelphia could benefit from a third scoring option alongside Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. The Sixers' tandem is averaging a combined 61.3 points. The 76ers sit as the No. 3 seed in the East, trailing the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks.
Forward Tobias Harris provides solid contributions, but lacks the offensive skill-set of Siakam. Harris would likely act as the center of Philadelphia&rsquo;s offer. The 31-year-old is averaging 17.3 points and 6.1 rebounds on 51.3% shooting. It's no secret that Daryl Morey has been pursuing a third star ever since trading James Harden to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Meanwhile, the Kings currently hold the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference. If they add a third star to the exhilarating duo of De&rsquo;Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento could elevate further up the standings. The organization has a multitude of valuable assets, including Keegan Murray, Kevin Huerter, Davion Mitchell and Malik Monk. 
However, it remains to be seen whether Sacramento is willing to part with these pieces and push their chips to the middle of the table. Murray is averaging 15.5 points per game in his sophomore season, while Monk and Huerter provide solid scoring and shooting from beyond the arc.
While the 76ers and Kings make sense as landing spots for Siakam, plenty of teams will likely call about the forward in the coming weeks. Don't be surprised if there's a bidding war for Siakam's services.

After trading OG Anunoby, the Raptors could look to move All-Star Pascal Siakam, who will be highly coveted in the coming weeks.

Is Pascal Siakam the NBA's most sought-after player?

It&rsquo;s the easiest call of the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-draft-2023-wembanyama-b3449d1a5f7a7de5906bb1979ffb2a26">NBA draft</a>: The San Antonio Spurs won.
That&rsquo;s not to say other teams didn&rsquo;t do very well on Thursday, when 58 players were selected as the league&rsquo;s newest members. But the Spurs being able to take generational French talent Victor Wembanyama puts them at the head of the class.
Some of the teams that also did well: NBA champion Denver, Golden State, Toronto &mdash; even with just one pick &mdash; and Orlando, which might now be closer to returning to the postseason mix.
A breakdown of which teams had Excellent drafts, those that had Good drafts and others that will have to Wait and See:
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h2 Component-p-0-2-71">EXCELLENT</h2>
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">DALLAS MAVERICKS</h3>
Picks: Dereck Lively II (12, via trade); Olivier-Maxence Prosper (24, via trade).
Dallas got the big man it wanted and created opportunity by moving Davis Bertans. Hard to argue that it wasn&rsquo;t a good night. And now free agency awaits. Prosper is another player with big potential and was extremely hard to guard at Marquette.
Picks: Julian Strawther (29), Jalen Pickett (32, will be acquired via trade), Hunter Tyson (37),
Pickett should have gone in the first round. He&rsquo;s that good, and the NBA champions just got another do-it-all guy who will also serve as insurance should Bruce Brown leave in free agency.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">DETROIT PISTONS</h3>
Picks: Ausar Thompson (5), Marcus Sasser (25, via trade), James Nnaji (31)
No matter what, the Pistons were going to get better and deeper on Thursday night. Thompson is incredibly athletic (even by NBA standards) and plays defense with a ton of energy.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS</h3>
Picks: Brandin Podziemski (19), Trayce Jackson-Davis (57, via trade)
Play to your strength, and the Warriors got another shooter to add to the mix with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. Podziemski could add something right away, and came to Golden State on the same day that the Warriors swung a deal for Chris Paul by sending Jordan Poole to Washington.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">HOUSTON ROCKETS</h3>
Picks: Amen Thompson (4), Cam Whitmore (20)
Thompson is a great move and gives Detroit another great option as it builds. If Whitmore is healthy, then Houston got an absolute steal by getting the Villanova forward at No. 20.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER</h3>
Picks: Cason Wallace (10, via trade), Keyontae Johnson (50)
Wallace was great for Kentucky in his lone college season and played perhaps his best game in the Wildcats&rsquo; finale in the NCAA tournament. He can score; he didn&rsquo;t look to score quite often enough at times in college.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">ORLANDO MAGIC</h3>
Picks: Anthony Black (6), Jett Howard (11)
Paolo Banchero got a couple more shooters to help him out, and the young and talented Magic got more young talent. An excellent night again and it&rsquo;s time to start thinking about Orlando as a team that should make a run at the play-in &mdash; at minimum.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">SAN ANTONIO SPURS</h3>
Picks: Victor Wembanyama (1), Sidy Cissoko (44).
Their grade was secured at the very moment that the last ping-pong ball appeared at the lottery last month. Wembanyama was a no-brainer, and now it&rsquo;s up to the Spurs to start the real work &mdash; get him into the gym, see how he fits, and figure out what the plan is going forward.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">TORONTO RAPTORS</h3>
Pick: Gradey Dick (13)
Dick showed up to the draft in a red-and-black jacket &mdash; a nod to Dorothy from &ldquo;The Wizard of Oz&rdquo; and his Kansas roots. The color scheme will work in Toronto as well. Dick is a pure shooter, and no team can have too many of those. The jury&rsquo;s still out on what the Raptors will be this coming season, but this kid will be a rotation piece.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">UTAH JAZZ</h3>
Picks: Taylor Hendricks (9), Keyonte George (16), Brice Sensabaugh (28)
Hendricks is what an NBA big pretty much is now; a power forward who can also defend centers. George was the Big 12 rookie of the year at Baylor and is a proven scorer. He&rsquo;s good from the line, has 3-point potential and can get to the rim. There&rsquo;s some work to do, but he&rsquo;s a serious prospect.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h2 Component-p-0-2-71">GOOD</h2>
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">BROOKLYN NETS</h3>
Picks: Noah Clowney (21), Dariq Whitehead (22), Jalen Wilson (51)
Clowney is an athletic big from Alabama whose game is still a bit unfinished. Whitehead has enormous potential and was highly recruited by Duke, but foot issues are a concern. Wilson was the Big 12 player of the year at Kansas. The Nets likely didn&rsquo;t choose three elite programs accidentally. Lot to like here.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">CHARLOTTE HORNETS</h3>
Picks: Brandon Miller (2), Nick Smith Jr. (27), Amari Bailey (41).
Miller made sense over Scoot Henderson because the Hornets have a point guard already. But Henderson might be the more NBA-ready player.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">INDIANA PACERS</h3>
Picks: Jarace Walker (8, via trade), Ben Sheppard (26), Julian Strawther (29), Mojave King (47, via trade), Isaiah Wong (55)
Walker plays hard on both ends, and this is rare to say, but he might play harder on defense than he does on offense. And getting Wong &mdash; the ACC player of the year &mdash; so late is a steal.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS</h3>
Picks: Kobe Brown (30), Jordan Miller (48)
Brown is a strong player, addicted to rebounding, and probably needs to improve considerably on the offensive end. Miller did a little of everything for the Miami Hurricanes in their run to the Final Four.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">LOS ANGELES LAKERS</h3>
Picks: Jalen Hood-Schifino (17), Maxwell Lewis (40, via trade).
Hood-Schifino got NBA coaching in college last season; Indiana is coached by Mike Woodson. He&rsquo;s a winner; his high school teams won, his Indiana team went to the NCAA Tournament and he&rsquo;ll obviously benefit from time with LeBron James.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">MIAMI HEAT</h3>
Pick: Jaime Jaquez Jr. (18)
A four-year college player whose game got more complete each year, Jaquez has a notorious work ethic that should fit in quite well with the Eastern Conference champions.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">NEW ORLEANS PELICANS</h3>
Pick: Jordan Hawkins (14)
Hawkins was a big part of UConn&rsquo;s team that won the national title last spring, earning his way onto the All-Tournament team. New Orleans got a winner.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS</h3>
Picks: Scoot Henderson (3), Kris Murray (23), Rayan Rupert (43).
Henderson has shown that he&rsquo;s NBA-ready. The Blazers drafted well. But really, the only question now is whether Damian Lillard is happy or not. Murray is the twin brother of Sacramento&rsquo;s Keegan Murray and had a big season for Iowa &mdash; averaging just over 20 points per game.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">WASHINGTON WIZARDS</h3>
Picks: Bilal Coulibaly (7, via trade), Tristan Vukcevic (42)
The Wizards are starting over, and on the day they also agreed to acquire Jordan Poole from Golden State they just happened to get a French player. (No, not that one.) But Coulibaly is highly touted by No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama, and that&rsquo;s enough of an endorsement for us.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h2 Component-p-0-2-71">WAIT AND SEE</h2>
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">ATLANTA HAWKS</h3>
Picks: Kobe Bufkin (15), Mouhamed Gueye (39, via trade), Seth Lundy (46)
Bufkin had a great second half of the season at Michigan, and left-handers always provide defenses with an extra challenge. The best way to describe his game is this: He doesn&rsquo;t do much wrong. Very solid, can help the Hawks in a lot of ways.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">BOSTON CELTICS</h3>
Picks: James Njaji (31, via trade), Jordan Walsh (38, via trade)
Still only 18, Njaji started playing the game about seven years ago and is not even close to reaching his potential yet. Big prospect.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">CHICAGO BULLS</h3>
Pick: Julian Phillips (35, via trade)
The Bulls had to forfeit what would have been their pick because of free-agency violations last summer, and swung a deal with Boston to land the Tennessee wing.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">CLEVELAND CAVALIERS</h3>
Pick: Emoni Bates (49)
He was touted as a star since basically middle school, had more than his share of promising moments in college, and now has to really prove himself.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES</h3>
Picks: Gregory Jackson II (45), Tarik Biberovic (56)
Prospects. They&rsquo;re not expected to provide any real help anytime soon.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">MILWAUKEE BUCKS</h3>
Picks: Andre Jackson (36, via trade), Chris Livingston (58)
Jackson was a big part of UConn&rsquo;s national championship. He&rsquo;s only going to benefit from being around Giannis Antetokounmpo every day.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES</h3>
Picks: Leonard Miller (33, via trade), Jaylen Clark (53)
Miller had a lot of big moments playing with Scoot Henderson and the G League Ignite this past season. Athleticism is tough to ignore.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">NEW YORK KNICKS</h3>
No picks.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">PHILADELPHIA 76ERS</h3>
No picks.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">PHOENIX SUNS</h3>
Pick: Toumani Camara (52)
Given the trades that they&rsquo;re making, this might be one of their last picks for quite some time. There&rsquo;s nothing wrong with not valuing the draft, but giving up on it entirely is a dangerous game to play too often.
<h3 class="Component-root-0-2-81 h3 Component-p-0-2-71">SACRAMENTO KINGS</h3>
Picks: Colby Jones (34, via trade), Jalen Slawson (54)
Jones has skills the Kings crave; great shooter, great passing and great vision. A young Kevin Huerter-type in those regards.

Which teams came away from the 2023 NBA Draft as big winners? Check out the AP's draft report cards.

NBA draft report cards: Spurs, Rockets among teams that hit it big

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) &mdash; The Portland Trail Blazers selected point guard Scoot Henderson of the NBA G League with the third overall pick in the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-draft-2023-wembanyama-updates-00f52206057df4b872898010243d3bd8">NBA draft</a>&nbsp;on Thursday night.
The pick touched off speculation that Henderson could be packaged in a trade if Portland pursues a high-profile veteran to join All-Star guard Damian Lillard.
Or, should Lillard ask for a trade, Henderson could be part of a rebuild. Or the Blazers could play them both.
Blazers general manager Joe Cronin was clear: The Trail Blazers want Lillard to stay in Portland, and they want to build a winning team around him.
&ldquo;I would say that my goal is to keep both of them,&rdquo; Cronin said. &ldquo;I would love to see Dame retire a Trail Blazer. I have zero desire to trade him. I really hopes this works out here. And I think you can tell how excited I am about Scoot Henderson. He has a chance to be a special player in this league.&rdquo;
After the San Antonio Spurs took French teenager&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-draft-2023-wembanyama-b3449d1a5f7a7de5906bb1979ffb2a26">Victor Wembanyama</a>&nbsp;with the top pick and the Charlotte Hornets took forward&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-draft-charlotte-hornets-brandon-miller-fed3fed1d8c6f194247980a560965a73">Brandon Miller</a>&nbsp;out of Alabama, Henderson fell to the Blazers with No. 3.
Henderson scouted himself as &ldquo;somebody that&rsquo;s going to come in and attack the basket every single time, put pressure on the defense and play both sides of the floor. And a winner.&rdquo;
Henderson, a 6-foot-2 teenager from Georgia who has been compared to Russell Westbrook, spent two years with the G League Ignite.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/stephen-curry-scoot-henderson-nba-draft-20cc165a9d8516ad940cc519a5494072">He has also connected with Golden State guard Stephen Curry,</a>&nbsp;who offered Henderson support and resources.
Last season with Ignite, Henderson averaged 17.6 points and a team-high 6.5 assists. He also brings defense &mdash; something the Blazers have sorely needed. He graduated from high school in Marietta, Georgia, early to become the youngest player ever in the G League.
Henderson, 19, wore a black suit coat bedazzled with rhinestones for the draft.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m young but I&rsquo;ve got a mature mindset, and that&rsquo;s to come in and work and make a real impact, not just on the basketball side but in the community,&rdquo; he said.
Henderson&rsquo;s full name is Sterling Jewell Henderson. He earned the nickname Scoot when he was a toddler and used to scoot around on the floor. He&rsquo;s from a basketball family, too. Younger sister Crystal &ldquo;Moochie&rdquo; Henderson is headed to Georgia State.
With the 23rd pick Thursday night, the Blazers selected forward Kris Murray, twin brother of Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray. Kris Murray averaged 20.2 points last season as a junior at Iowa.
Portland also added&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-draft-france-wembanyama-coulibaly-34f6f1d6d21da7a4dc7d19374249dc5b">French guard Rayan Rupert</a>&nbsp;with the 43rd selection.
The Blazers missed the playoffs this season for the second straight year, finishing 33-49 and in 13th in the Western Conference. That was despite the best efforts of Lillard, who averaged a career-high 32.2 points a game, third-best in the league. But in the end, Portland was plagued by inopportune injuries and inconsistent play.
The season wasn&rsquo;t without some high points &mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/houston-rockets-portland-trail-blazers-nba-sports-damian-lillard-1e1a83642e942d51d91ee014b5b7947c">namely Lillard&rsquo;s 71-point game.</a>&nbsp;He set the franchise and career record in a late February game against the Houston Rockets. He also finished the game with 13 3-pointers.
Should Portland decide to play Henderson with Lillard, Anfernee Simons&rsquo; role in the backcourt could be uncertain. Simons started 62 games last season, averaging 21.1 points and 4.1 assists.
The team also has rookie Shaedon Sharpe, the seventh overall pick in the 2022 draft. He averaged 9.8 points but wowed fans with highlight-reel dunks, showing his potential at the end of the season when many of the starters were shut down.
Cronin suggested the team isn&rsquo;t done.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s other stuff to do here. I feel like we&rsquo;ve done a good job of putting ourselves in a good position to make these moves and start to get aggressive and push our chips in,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got good picks, we&rsquo;ve got good players, we&rsquo;ve got a lot of talent in this building. And we&rsquo;ve just got to fine tune it and get it balanced and ready to go.&rdquo;

The Portland Trail Blazers selected Scoot Henderson of the NBA G League with the third overall pick in the NBA draft on Thursday night.

Blazers hold onto No. 3 pick and select Scoot Henderson

<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-draft-wembanyama-big-men-716d46b407e0e0b6be18370cc7e643b2">Victor Wembanyama&rsquo;s</a>&nbsp;NBA draft experience will be quite unlike last year&rsquo;s No. 1 pick.
Paolo Banchero could never be certain he would be taken first. There was too much speculation that Orlando was also considering Jabari Smith Jr. and Chet Holmgren, with some mock drafts listing Banchero below both. The eventual Rookie of the Year said he didn&rsquo;t find out&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-nba-draft-live-updates-1a7d5a8f93ddab31614e29c337e8d862">he was the Magic&rsquo;s choice</a>&nbsp;until less than a minute before Commissioner Adam Silver went on stage in Brooklyn.
Wembanyama has no need to wait.
The 19-year-old from France has owned permanent residence atop mock draft boards, including all four versions of the AP&rsquo;s, and could begin walking to the stage Thursday night before Silver finishes announcing the San Antonio Spurs&rsquo; selection.
Shortly after, two twin brothers could make the same walk.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-draft-amen-ausar-thompson-a34e7912942e90a202005ea35fcd0944">Amen and Ausar Thompson</a>&nbsp;of Overtime Elite are both expected to land inside the top 10.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">1. SAN ANTONIO SPURS: VICTOR WEMBANYAMA, FORWARD, FRANCE</h2>
His combination of a center&rsquo;s size and a guard&rsquo;s shooting and dribbling make the 19-year-old a prospect perhaps unlike any other the NBA has seen, and should end the 13-year streak of the No. 1 pick being a college freshman. The Spurs won five NBA titles after taking Tim Duncan in 1997, the last time they had the No. 1 pick and dream of a similar impact from Wembanyama, who is listed at 7-foot-4.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">2. CHARLOTTE HORNETS: BRANDON MILLER, FORWARD, ALABAMA</h2>
At 6-9, the SEC player of the year and tournament MVP as a freshman has the size, versatility and 3-point stroke to make him an ideal player for the modern NBA game. But the Hornets, who played without Miles Bridges last season after an arrest for a domestic violence incident against the mother of his children, may have to weigh a negative reaction if they add Miller, who&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-sports-tuscaloosa-alabama-crimson-tide-top-25-college-basketball-today-39eab4a038324d58910da79372722ad1">delivered the gun used in a fatal shooting.</a>
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">3. PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS: SCOOT HENDERSON, GUARD, G LEAGUE IGNITE</h2>
<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/trailblazers/status/1665146603525795840?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Worked out for the Trail Blazers</a>&nbsp;and showed the athleticism and ability to do it all from the guard spot that may have made Henderson the No. 1 pick in many years. This time, he could be part of a trade if the Blazers decide they&rsquo;d prefer to acquire more veteran help around Damian Lillard &mdash; or perhaps Lillard&rsquo;s replacement if they instead decide to build around youth.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">4. HOUSTON ROCKETS: AMEN THOMPSON, GUARD, OVERTIME ELITE</h2>
At 6-7, Thompson has great size for a guard and the 20-year old showed the ability to step up when it matters most, averaging 17.2 points, 9.2 assists and 7.2 rebounds in the playoffs to lead the City Reapers to the championship last season. The Rockets, after adding Jalen Green and Jabari Smith Jr. in the last two drafts, are positioned to get another good one.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">5. DETROIT PISTONS: CAM WHITMORE, FORWARD, VILLANOVA</h2>
The Pistons fell to the lowest spot possible in the lottery after finishing with the NBA&rsquo;s worst record and sharing the best odds of landing the No. 1 pick. But getting Whitmore, a versatile wing with a strong build, to add to young pieces such as Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey under new coach Monty Williams would help ease the sting.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">6. ORLANDO MAGIC: AUSAR THOMPSON, FORWARD, OVERTIME ELITE</h2>
Amen Thompson&rsquo;s twin brother has been the Overtime Elite regular season and finals MVP the last two seasons and the 6-7 swingman plays big on defense, twice blocking seven shots in a game. The Magic were a team on the rise in the second half of last season and Thompson could help ensure that continues.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">7. INDIANA PACERS: JARACE WALKER, FORWARD, HOUSTON</h2>
Coming from Houston&rsquo;s rugged program means Walker already plays NBA-ready defense, and the offensive end could come along quickly under Rick Carlisle. At 6-8, 240 pounds, he already has the size and strength to deal with anyone he could face in the frontcourt.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">8. WASHINGTON WIZARDS: ANTHONY BLACK, GUARD, ARKANSAS</h2>
<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/wizards-suns-trade-bradley-beal-55adab5fa31d5dfbc35b83223743d9c6">With Bradley Beal going</a>&nbsp;and no certainty that Chris Paul will stay, there&rsquo;s an opportunity for an immediate impact in the Washington backcourt. The 6-7 guard seems to have endless energy, playing nearly 35 minutes a game to lead the Southeastern Conference and all 20 minutes in a half 19 times. That included 37 minutes on an injured left ankle in the Razorbacks&rsquo; NCAA Tournament upset of top-seeded Kansas, when he helped hold expected lottery pick Gradey Dick to seven points.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">9. UTAH JAZZ: TAYLOR HENDRICKS, CENTRAL FLORIDA</h2>
The 6-9 freshman makes an impact inside and outside on both ends of the floor. He led the American Athletic Conference in blocked shots and shot 39% from 3-point range, becoming the only Division I player last season with at least 60 3-pointers, 55 blocked shots and 35 dunks.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">10. DALLAS MAVERICKS: GRADEY DICK, GUARD, KANSAS</h2>
Dick made 83 3-pointers, most in Kansas history by a freshman, and the 6-8 forward could get plenty of open looks when Mavericks opponents focus their attention on Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving &mdash; if Irving remains in Dallas. The Mavs went to great lengths to protect their chances of keeping this pick, tanking their final couple games to boost their lottery odds while still in play-in contention.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">11. ORLANDO MAGIC (from Chicago Bulls): BILAL COULIBALY, FORWARD, FRANCE</h2>
Wembanyama&rsquo;s teammate with Metropolitans 92 is a 6-6 swingman whose stock rose as their team reached their French League finals. He hasn&rsquo;t reached his potential yet as a scorer, but his 7-3 wingspan allows him to impact the game on both ends even without doing so and could make him a good fit with 2022 No. 1 pick and Rookie of the Year Paolo Banchero.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">12. OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER: DERECK LIVELY II, CENTER, DUKE</h2>
Is still limited offensively, but the 7-1 Lively shows promise as a rebounder and shot blocker, highlighted by 14 boards and eight blocks in a game against rival North Carolina.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">13. TORONTO RAPTORS: JALEN HOOD-SCHIFINO, GUARD, INDIANA</h2>
The Big Ten freshman of the year has great size in the backcourt at 6-6 and could help the Raptors guard against a potential loss of Fred VanVleet in free agency, but needs to become a better shooter after hitting only 40% from the field in his lone season.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">14. NEW ORLEANS PELICANS: CASON WALLACE, KENTUCKY</h2>
A point guard who takes care of the ball and takes it away from opponents, he was fourth in the SEC in both steals per game and assist-to-turnover ratio. At 6-4, has the size and strength to defend some of the marquee guards in the Western Conference.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">15. ATLANTA HAWKS: KOBE BUFKIN, GUARD, MICHIGAN</h2>
Massive leap from first to second year of college, averaging 14 points as a sophomore after not starting a game while averaging 3.0 points as a freshman. Next leap is to the NBA, where the 6-4 lefty could quickly be a change-of-pace guard off the bench.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">16. UTAH JAZZ (from Minnesota): KEYONTE GEORGE, GUARD, BAYLOR</h2>
The highest-ranked recruit in program history lived up to the billing in his lone college season, scoring 20 or more points 12 times and averaging 15.3 en route to Big 12 freshman of the year honors. The 6-4 guard could provide scoring punch on a team that stayed in the postseason hunt longer than expected.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">17. LOS ANGELES LAKERS: NICK SMITH JR., GUARD, ARKANSAS</h2>
After mixed results with Russell Westbrook and D&rsquo;Angelo Russell last season, the Lakers&rsquo; search for guard help could lead to Arkansas, where the 6-5 Smith played in just 17 games in his lone college season after recovering from a right knee injury but showed the ability to play either guard spot.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">18. MIAMI HEAT: JORDAN HAWKINS, GUARD, UCONN</h2>
Ballhandling still needs improvement, but Hawkins&rsquo; catch-and-shoot ability was one of the biggest reasons the Huskies stormed through the NCAA Tournament to their fifth national title, and something the Heat were missing in their NBA Finals loss.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">19. GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS: NOAH CLOWNEY, FORWARD, ALABAMA</h2>
Clowney put up nearly eight rebounds and a block per game in his lone college season. With just 210 pounds on his 6-10 frame, he will need to add strength for the battles inside against NBA big men.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">20. HOUSTON ROCKETS (from LA Clippers): KRIS MURRAY, FORWARD, IOWA</h2>
After averaging 20.2 points &mdash; with a 30-point, 20-rebound game in one outing &mdash; Murray will try to make a similar first-year NBA impact as twin brother Keegan, who after leaving the Hawkeyes became an immediate starter for Sacramento last season and was an All-Rookie first-team selection.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">21. BROOKLYN NETS (from Phoenix): JETT HOWARD, GUARD, MICHIGAN</h2>
His willingness to fire from behind the arc makes the freshman a perfect fit for the 3-point happy NBA. The 6-8 freshman made multiple 3-pointers in 24 of his 29 games for Juwan Howard, his father, and hit three or more in almost half of them. Howard made 36.8% of them while averaging 14.2 points
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">22. BROOKLYN NETS: LEONARD MILLER, FORWARD, G LEAGUE IGNITE</h2>
The Nets have needed more scoring punch since trading Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, and Miller looks capable of providing it after averaging 18 points last season. The 6-10 Canadian also averaged nearly 11 rebounds, another area Nets leadership has identified as a priority.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">23. PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS (from New York): BRICE SENSABAUGH, FORWARD, OHIO STATE</h2>
Averaged 16.3 points and shot better than 40% from 3-point range in his strong one season for the Buckeyes, where he was the first freshman to lead the team in scoring since D&rsquo;Angelo Russell in 2015.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">24. SACRAMENTO KINGS: MAXWELL LEWIS, FORWARD, PEPPERDINE</h2>
The 6-7 Lewis made nearly 80% of his free throws and 36% of his 3-point attempts in his two seasons with the Waves, and improved his ability to score off the dribble while averaging 17.1 points last season.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">25. MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES: G.G. JACKSON, FORWARD, SOUTH CAROLINA</h2>
Would have been heading to college now &mdash; perhaps as the No. 1 prospect &mdash; before reclassifying last summer to enter a year earlier. Instead, the 6-9 Jackson is on his way to the NBA after scoring in double figures in 25 of his 32 games, averaging 15.4 points.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">26. INDIANA PACERS (from Cleveland): JAIME JAQUEZ JR., GUARD, UCLA</h2>
The do-everything swingman led the Bruins with 17.8 points and 8.2 rebounds, becoming their first Pac-12 player of the year since Kevin Love in 2008. At 6-7, Jaquez does everything well &mdash; he&rsquo;s No. 8 in UCLA history in both points and steals &mdash; but maybe not any of them at the top NBA level.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">27. CHARLOTTE HORNETS (from Denver via New York and Oklahoma City): AMARI BAILEY, GUARD, UCLA</h2>
Bailey had a strong finish to his lone college season, averaging 16.7 points on 56% shooting in the Bruins&rsquo; run to the Sweet 16. The Hornets struggle when LaMelo Ball is out, so the 6-5 guard could be appealing to a team that was fourth-worst in the NBA in scoring.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">28. UTAH JAZZ (from Philadelphia via Brooklyn): COLBY JONES, GUARD, XAVIER</h2>
With three picks in the first round, the Jazz are positioned to bolster a team that hung around the playoff race much longer than expected. The 6-6 Jones, who made 18 of 21 shots in one torrid stretch last season and shot 9 of 10 on 3-pointers in another, could be a nice late addition.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">29. INDIANA PACERS (from Boston): BRANDIN PODZIEMSKI, GUARD, SANTA CLARA</h2>
Made 43.8% of his 3-pointers in his lone season after transferring from Illinois, accuracy from behind the arc that NBA teams covet. The 6-5 guard shared WCC player of the year honors after averaging 19.9 points and 8.8 rebounds, finishing in the top three in the conference in both categories.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-224 h2 Component-p-0-2-209">30. LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS (from Milwaukee via Houston): DARIQ WHITEHEAD, FORWARD, DUKE</h2>
Arrived at Duke as the high school player of the year, but a foot injury led to a delayed start to his college career followed by shooting struggles after it finally began. But the 6-7 forward showed enough defensive and 3-point abilities in his limited time to make himself worthy of a first-round spot.

How will the first round of the 2023 NBA Draft shake out on Thursday night? Check out the AP's latest mock draft.

NBA mock draft: Wembanyama easy No. 1, Miller at 2, Henderson 3rd

There&rsquo;s no doubt who the San Antonio Spurs are going to select with the first pick in this year&rsquo;s NBA draft.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/wembanyama-draft-lottery-nba-b0692a8ee59c2235f2d4f4387266eab7">Victor Wembanyama</a>&nbsp;could have started packing for Texas once the Spurs learned they had won the NBA draft lottery.
But once the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/wembanyama-wemby-nba-draft-lottery-50308e65f44b8df7a2368c4de17bacff">7-foot-3 French phenom</a>&nbsp;is off the board minutes after the draft begins on June 22, that&rsquo;s when the intrigue will begin.
<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-combine-scoot-henderson-brandon-miller-a55811da32a6f58cafde246b0e602152">Scoot Henderson or Brandon Miller</a>&nbsp;to the Charlotte Hornets at No. 2?
The first edition of the AP&rsquo;s 2023 mock draft says it&rsquo;ll be Miller.
1. SAN ANTONIO SPURS: VICTOR WEMBANYAMA, FORWARD, FRANCE
His combination of a center&rsquo;s size and a guard&rsquo;s shooting and dribbling make the 19-year-old a prospect perhaps unlike any other the NBA has seen. The Spurs won five NBA titles after taking Tim Duncan in 1997 the last time they had the No. 1 pick and dream of a similar impact from Wembanyama.
2. CHARLOTTE HORNETS: BRANDON MILLER, FORWARD, ALABAMA
At 6-9, Miller has the size, versatility and 3-point stroke to make him an ideal player for the modern NBA game. The SEC player of the year and tournament MVP as a freshman, Miller would appear to be a good fit playing with LaMelo Ball, though the Hornets, who played without Miles Bridges last season after an arrest for a domestic violence incident against the mother of his children, may have to weigh a negative reaction if they add Miller, who&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-sports-tuscaloosa-alabama-crimson-tide-top-25-college-basketball-today-39eab4a038324d58910da79372722ad1">delivered the gun used in a fatal shooting.</a>
3. PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS: SCOOT HENDERSON, GUARD, G LEAGUE IGNITE
His athleticism and ability to do it all from the guard spot may have made Henderson the No. 1 pick in many years. This time, he could be part of a trade if the Blazers decide they&rsquo;d prefer to acquire more veteran help around Damian Lillard &mdash; or perhaps Lillard&rsquo;s replacement if they instead decide to build around youth.
4. HOUSTON ROCKETS: AMEN THOMPSON, GUARD, OVERTIME ELITE
At 6-7, Thompson has great size for a guard and the 20-year old showed the ability to step up when it matters most, averaging 17.2 points, 9.2 assists and 7.2 rebounds in the playoffs to lead the City Reapers to the championship last season. The Rockets, after adding Jalen Green and Jabari Smith Jr. in the last two drafts, are positioned to get another good one.
5. DETROIT PISTONS: CAM WHITMORE, FORWARD, VILLANOVA
The Pistons fell to the lowest spot possible in the lottery after finishing with the NBA&rsquo;s worst record and sharing the best odds of landing the No. 1 pick. But getting Whitmore, a versatile wing with a strong build, to add to young pieces such as Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey would help ease the sting.
6. ORLANDO MAGIC: AUSAR THOMPSON, FORWARD, OVERTIME ELITE
Amen Thompson&rsquo;s twin brother has been the Overtime Elite regular season and finals MVP the last two seasons and the 6-7 swingman plays big on defense, twice blocking seven shots in a game. The Magic were a team on the rise in the second half of last season and Thompson could help ensure that continues.
7. INDIANA PACERS: JARACE WALKER, FORWARD, HOUSTON
Coming from Houston&rsquo;s rugged program means Walker already plays NBA-ready defense, and the offensive end could come along quickly under Rick Carlisle. At 6-8, 240 pounds, he already has the size and strength to deal with anyone he could face in the frontcourt.
8. WASHINGTON WIZARDS: TAYLOR HENDRICKS, CENTRAL FLORIDA
The 6-9 freshman makes an impact inside and outside on both ends of the floor. He led the American Athletic Conference in blocked shots and shot 39% from 3-point range, becoming the only Division I player last season with at least 60 3-pointers, 55 blocked shots and 35 dunks.
9. UTAH JAZZ: ANTHONY BLACK, GUARD, ARKANSAS
The 6-7 guard seems to have endless energy, playing nearly 35 minutes a game to lead the Southeastern Conference and all 20 minutes in a half 19 times. That included 37 minutes on an injured left ankle in the Razorbacks&rsquo; NCAA Tournament upset of top-seeded Kansas, when he helped hold expected lottery pick Gradey Dick to seven points.
10. DALLAS MAVERICKS: GRADEY DICK, GUARD, KANSAS
Dick made 83 3-pointers, most in Kansas history by a freshman, and the 6-8 forward could get plenty of open looks when Mavericks opponents focus their attention on Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving &mdash; if Irving remains in Dallas. The Mavs went to great lengths to protect their chances of keeping this pick, tanking their final couple games to boost their lottery odds while still in play-in contention,.
11. ORLANDO MAGIC (from Chicago Bulls): KEYONTE GEORGE, GUARD, BAYLOR
The highest-ranked recruit in program history lived up to the billing in his lone college season, scoring 20 or more points 12 times and averaging 15.3 en route to Big 12 freshman of the year honors. The 6-4 guard could provide scoring punch on a team that was 26th in the NBA in points per game.
12. OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER: CASON WALLACE, KENTUCKY
A point guard who takes care of the ball and takes it away from opponents, he was fourth in the SEC in both steals per game and assist-to-turnover ratio. The Thunder already have a Kentucky guard thriving in their backcourt in All-NBA player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
13. TORONTO RAPTORS: NICK SMITH JR., GUARD, ARKANSAS
Played in just 17 games in his lone college season after recovering from a right knee injury, but that was enough to play himself into lottery consideration. At 6-5, Smith can play either guard spot and would improve the backcourt on a Toronto team whose strength was its wings.
14. NEW ORLEANS PELICANS: JORDAN HAWKINS, GUARD, UCONN
Ballhandling still needs improvement, but Hawkins&rsquo; catch-and-shoot ability was one of the biggest reasons the Huskies stormed through the NCAA Tournament to their fifth national title. Now it could help create more driving lanes for Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson.
15. ATLANTA HAWKS: KOBE BUFKIN, GUARD, MICHIGAN
Massive leap from first to second year of college, averaging 14 points as a sophomore after not starting a game while averaging 3.0 points as a freshman. Next leap is to the NBA, where the 6-4 lefty could quickly be a change-of-pace guard off the bench.
16. UTAH JAZZ (from Minnesota): G.G. JACKSON, FORWARD, SOUTH CAROLINA
Would have been heading to college now &mdash; perhaps as the No. 1 prospect &mdash; before reclassifying last summer to enter a year earlier. Instead, the 6-9 Jackson is on his way to the NBA after scoring in double figures in 25 of his 32 games, averaging 15.4 points.
17. LOS ANGELES LAKERS: JALEN HOOD-SCHIFINO, GUARD, INDIANA
After mixed results with Russell Westbrook and D&rsquo;Angelo Russell last season, the Lakers&rsquo; search for point guard help could lead to Indiana, where Hood-Schifino was the Big Ten freshman of the year. Great size in the backcourt at 6-6 but needs to become a better shooter after hitting only 40% from the field in his lone season.
18. MIAMI HEAT: MAXWELL LEWIS, FORWARD, PEPPERDINE
The Heat&rsquo;s success developing undrafted players &mdash; they have seven on the roster that has made a surprising run to the NBA Finals &mdash; allows them to recover if they miss in the draft. But they might not by looking at the 6-7 Lewis, who made nearly 80% of his free throws and 36% of his 3-point attempts in his two seasons with the Waves.
19. GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS: KRIS MURRAY, FORWARD, IOWA
After averaging 20.2 points &mdash; with a 30-point, 20-rebound game in one outing &mdash; Murray will try to make a similar first-year NBA impact as twin brother Keegan, who after leaving the Hawkeyes became an immediate starter for Sacramento last season and was an All-Rookie first-team selection.
20. HOUSTON ROCKETS (from LA Clippers): BILAL COULIBALY, FORWARD, FRANCE
The Rockets hoped to land Wembanyama after sharing the best odds to win the lottery. They could look here at his teammate with Metropolitans 92, a 6-6 swingman who doesn&rsquo;t score much yet but whose 7-3 wingspan allows him to impact the game on both ends even without doing so.
21. BROOKLYN NETS (from Phoenix): JETT HOWARD, GUARD, MICHIGAN
His willingness to fire from behind the arc makes the freshman a perfect fit for the 3-point happy NBA. The 6-8 freshman made multiple 3-pointers in 24 of his 29 games for Juwan Howard, his father, and hit three or more in almost half of them. Howard made 36.8% of them while averaging 14.2 points
22. BROOKLYN NETS: LEONARD MILLER, FORWARD, G LEAGUE IGNITE
The Nets have needed more scoring punch since trading Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, and Miller looks capable of providing it after averaging 18 points last season. The 6-10 Canadian also averaged nearly 11 rebounds, another area Nets leadership has identified as a priority.
23. PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS (from New York): RAYAN RUPERT, FORWARD, NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS
The native of France would bring coveted defensive abilities, though not much in the way of scoring. Still, it would be hard to pass up a 19-year-old whose 6-7 size allows him to defend any forward or guard position.
24. SACRAMENTO KINGS: DERECK LIVELY II, CENTER, DUKE
Is still limited offensively, but the NBA&rsquo;s highest-scoring team doesn&rsquo;t need points. The Kings need someone to help prevent them, and the 7-1 Lively shows promise as a rebounder and shot blocker, highlighted by 14 boards and eight blocks in a game against rival North Carolina.
25. MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES: TRAYCE JACKSON-DAVIS, FORWARD, INDIANA
Had more than 2,200 points and 1,100 rebounds in one of the most decorated careers in Hoosiers history. But in the one-and-done era, the 23-year-old All-American&rsquo;s age may work against the son of former Indiana Pacers forward Dale Davis.
26. INDIANA PACERS (from Cleveland): JAIME JAQUEZ JR., GUARD, UCLA
The do-everything swingman led the Bruins with 17.8 points and 8.2 rebounds, becoming their first Pac-12 player of the year since Kevin Love in 2008. At 6-7, Jacquez does everything well &mdash; he&rsquo;s No. 8 in UCLA history in both points and steals &mdash; but maybe not any of them at the top NBA level.
27. CHARLOTTE HORNETS (from Denver via New York and Oklahoma City): AMARI BAILEY, GUARD, UCLA
Bailey had a strong finish to his lone college season, averaging 16.7 points on 56% shooting in the Bruins&rsquo; run to the Sweet 16. The Hornets struggle when LaMelo Ball is out, so the 6-5 guard could be appealing to a team that was fourth-worst in the NBA in scoring.
28. UTAH JAZZ (from Philadelphia via Brooklyn): COLBY JONES, GUARD, XAVIER
With three picks in the first round, the Jazz are positioned to bolster a team that hung around the playoff race much longer than expected. The 6-6 Jones, who made 18-of-21 shots in one torrid stretch last season and 9-of-10 3-pointers in another, could be a nice late addition.
29. INDIANA PACERS (from Boston): NOAH CLOWNEY, FORWARD, ALABAMA
Clowney put up nearly eight rebounds and a block per game in his lone college season. At just 210 pounds on his 6-10 frame, he will need to add strength for the battles inside against NBA big men.
30. LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS (from Milwaukee via Houston): DARIQ WHITEHEAD, FORWARD, DUKE
Arrived at Duke as the high school player of the year but a foot injury led to a delayed start to his college career followed by shooting struggles after it finally began. But the 6-7 forward showed enough defensive and 3-point abilities in his limited time to make himself worthy of a first-round spot.

Check out the first 2023 NBA mock draft the Associated Press, which features a bit of a surprise at No. 2 overall.

NBA mock draft: Wembanyama to Spurs at 1, then Miller to Hornets at 2

The NBA announced the All-Rookie teams on Monday afternoon.
The All-Rookie First Team consists of Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero, Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams, Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler, Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray and Indiana Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin.
Banchero, who won the 2022-23 Rookie of the Year award, was the lone unanimous First-Team selection.
The All-Rookie Second Team features Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren, Houston Rockets forward Tari Eason, Detroit Pistons guard Jaden Ivey, Houston Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. and San Antonio Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan.
The following players also received votes: Andrew Nembhard (Pacers), Shaedon Sharpe (Blazers), AJ Griffin (Hawks), Christian Braun (Nuggets), Jaylin Willams (Thunder), Jaden Hardy (Mavericks), Malaki Branham (Spurs), Dyson Daniels (Pelicans), Mark Williams (Hornets) and MarJon Beauchamp (Bucks).
Here are the complete results:
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/rook1.png" alt="" width="648" height="667" />
On Tuesday, the NBA will announce the All-Defensive Teams. On Wednesday, the league will announce the All-NBA Teams. And on Thursday, they'll announce the Teammate of the Year award.

The NBA announced the All-Rookie teams on Monday afternoon.

Paolo Banchero, Jalen Williams headline NBA All-Rookie Teams

Sacramento Kings general manager Monte McNair has been named the NBA's 2022-23 Executive of the Year, the league announced today.
In just his third season as an NBA general manager, McNair assembled a team that went 48-34 &ndash; securing the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference and ending the Kings' 16-year playoff drought.
McNair hired Kings head coach Mike Brown, who was the unanimous winner of the NBA's 2022-23 Coach of the Year award. He built the team around the star tandem of De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, and his key offseason additions included Kevin Huerter, Malik Monk and No. 4 overall pick Keegan Murray.
McNair received 16 first-place votes and 98 total voting points. Cleveland Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman was the runner-up, receiving seven first-place votes and 63 total voting points.
Utah Jazz GM Justin Zanik (20 total points), Denver Nuggets GM Calvin Booth (20 total points) and Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens (13 total points) rounded out the top-five.
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/exec1.png" alt="" width="748" height="316" />
Other executives who received at least one vote were Jon Horst (Milwaukee Bucks), James Jones (Phoenix Suns), Leon Rose (New York Knicks), Zach Kleiman (Memphis Grizzlies), Sean Marks (Brooklyn Nets), Rob Pelinka (Los Angeles Lakers), Sam Presti (Oklahoma City Thunder), Daryl Morey (Philadelphia 76ers), David Griffin (New Orleans Pelicans) and Tim Connelly (Minnesota Timberwolves).
Unlike the other end-of-season awards that are voted on by media members, the voting panel for the Executive of the Year award consisted of front-office executives across the NBA. The balloting was tabulated by the independent accounting firm Ernst and Young LLP.

Sacramento Kings general manager Monte McNair has been named the NBA's 2022-23 Executive of the Year.

Sacramento's Monte McNair named NBA's 2022-23 Executive of the Year

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) &mdash; His team huddled up before taking the floor, Harrison Barnes hollered a message to the Kings with their special season on the line: &ldquo;Leave it all on the floor and take this series back to Sac!&rdquo;
With spectacular performances on both ends against Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors, the Kings are going home to Sacramento for Game 7 against the defending champions.
Malik Monk can only imagine what a winner-take-all showdown might be like with a chance to extend this long-awaited playoff run as all those supporters try to will their Kings into the second round.
For Curry and Co., there&rsquo;s no imagining necessary &mdash; they know what hostile road environments feel like for elimination games, having been there so many times over the past decade on the way to four titles.
&ldquo;Man, I never been to Game 7, so I don&rsquo;t know. I don&rsquo;t know what to expect,&rdquo; Monk said. &ldquo;I just know I&rsquo;m going to go out there and play 110 percent, give it my all, and continue to do what I&rsquo;ve been doing, and that&rsquo;s attacking the rim and making plays for my teammates. So I&rsquo;m going to be ready.&rdquo;
Facing elimination, upstart Sacramento shined on both ends and hardly looked to be feeling any added pressure in a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/warriors-kings-nba-playoffs-2023-48443f77587597953cf2cbadf9530b60">commanding 118-99 Game 6 victory</a> Friday night.
Whenever Curry worked his offensive magic, Monk or Fox or Keegan Murray did something brilliant of their own. With big man Domantas Sabonis in foul trouble, others like Trey Lyles came through to quiet a fan base dreaming of a Warriors repeat title.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve put ourselves in a situation where we have to be the team that&rsquo;s playing with desperation, obviously on the road in a Game 7. There&rsquo;s a lot of belief that we can do that,&rdquo; Curry said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s a lot of belief in every single guy that&rsquo;s going to be out there on the floor, that we can make the necessary adjustments. If it is an energy thing, that&rsquo;s something you can control and correct it. So you&rsquo;ve got to embrace the challenge of what&rsquo;s in front of us and try to go get the job done.&rdquo;
If the Kings got a glimpse of their homecourt advantage in the initial two games of this series, Golden 1 Center might be at another level on Sunday.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to be rocking. We&rsquo;ve had loud games this year,&rdquo; De&rsquo;Aaron Fox said. &ldquo;Coming out for Game 1, I think our guys were amazed at what was going on. But going back there for a Game 7, I feel like &mdash; everybody doesn&rsquo;t get to experience a Game 7, but not a lot of people get to experience a Game 7 in Sacramento.&rdquo;
Coach of the Year Mike Brown joked he doesn&rsquo;t have &ldquo;magic dust&rdquo; regarding what to do against the Warriors other than compete with the same physical authority on both ends because he has seen Golden State thrive through all the toughest moments.
Brown was the Warriors&rsquo; top assistant before joining the Kings.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to have to play at our best. Again, they&rsquo;re the champions,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to have to play at an elite level for 48 minutes against these guys because they&rsquo;re going to bring it, trust me.&rdquo;
All that work to earn the No. 3 seed and home court sure matters now for these Kings &mdash; &ldquo;that&rsquo;s part of the reason why we bust our behind all year,&rdquo; Brown said.
The Warriors, meanwhile, must regroup and try to rediscover the energy and efficiency they had in a 123-116 win Wednesday at Golden 1 Center. On Friday, they missed 10 free throws while shooting 35 &mdash; three that Curry couldn&rsquo;t convert and three missed by Andrew Wiggins. Klay Thompson shot 2 for 9 from 3-point range.
&ldquo;When I said that was the best win of the season Game 5, this is probably the worst loss of the season, but there&rsquo;s no time to hang our heads,&rdquo; Thompson said. &ldquo;Luckily for us, we still have another crack at it. I still have absolute belief in this team that we can go get it done on the road. It will be a tall task but we are up for it and I know we will respond.&rdquo;
Curry is counting on that, too, and knows it will start with smart basketball despite the challenging atmosphere.
&ldquo;Coming out with a sense of composure is a big thing, especially if you&rsquo;re on the road because it&rsquo;s going to be hostile and their crowd is going to be into it,&rdquo; Curry said.
Brown has embraced the notion of his young team learning on the fly in what is the first playoff series for most. Each game, each situation provides new experiences and opportunities for growth.
He is thrilled by how the Kings have handled outside noise, such as anyone who counted Sacramento out of this series before the ball had even tipped in Game 1.
&ldquo;The job&rsquo;s not done,&rdquo; Brown said, &ldquo;so we&rsquo;ve got to see how we&rsquo;re going to respond in a Game 7 for the first time as a group.&rdquo;
WARRIORS AT KINGS
Series tied at 3-all. Game 7, 3:30 p.m. EDT, ABC
&mdash; NEED TO KNOW: The Warriors &mdash; trying to improve to 19-0 in playoff series against Western Conference opponents under coach Steve Kerr dating to the team&rsquo;s 2014-15 title run &mdash; know every miscue will be magnified after their 18 turnovers led to 23 Kings points in Game 6.
&mdash; KEEP AN EYE ON: Sacramento&rsquo;s Kevin Huerter. After struggling all series with his shot &mdash; 20 of 52 in the first five games &mdash; the fifth-year forward hit two crucial 3s down the stretch and might have a performance to build on going into the decisive Game 7. &ldquo;You got no idea. It feels good,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Just got to see the ball go in sometimes.&rdquo;
&mdash; INJURY WATCH: Sabonis has a cut beneath his left eye after being hit on a jump ball by Kevon Looney. Fox insists he&rsquo;s doing great despite the broken index finger on his shooting hand. He scored 26 points on 10-for-18 shooting and had 11 assists but will strive to cut down on turnovers after committing 11 over the past two games. &ldquo;I feel fine. Obviously at times it&rsquo;s going to hurt, but that is what it is,&rdquo; Fox said.
&mdash; PRESSURE IS ON: Golden State won once on the Kings&rsquo; home floor in Game 5 after a dismal regular season on the road and now the defending champions must find a way to quiet the playoff-starved, cowbell-clanging Sacramento crowd to save the season after losing Games 1 and 2 at Golden 1 Center.

The Kings will host Game 7 against the Warriors, and they're counting on their passionate fans to create a hostile environment.

Kings hope their home crowd can carry them in Game 7 vs. Warriors

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) &mdash; Malik Monk scored 28 points, De&rsquo;Aaron Fox added 26 points and 11 assists, and the Sacramento Kings staved off elimination in their first-round playoff series by beating Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors 118-99 on Friday night in Game 6.
Now, a winner-takes-all Game 7 is back in Sacramento on Sunday afternoon.
Rookie Keegan Murray scored 15 points with four 3-pointers and grabbed 12 rebounds for his first playoff double-double, and the No. 3-seeded Kings withstood every scoring surge the defending champions made on their home court and shined in nearly every facet of this one with their special season on the line.
Kevin Huerter, struggling with his shot all series &mdash; 20 of 52 coming into the game &mdash; hit a 3 with 6:23 to go and another with 4:58 left as Sacramento gave the state capital one more chance to Light the Beam.
Curry scored 29, Klay Thompson 22 and Kevon Looney pulled down 13 more rebounds to give him an NBA-leading 85 this postseason. He was coming off a career-high 22 rebounds in a Game 5 win at Golden 1 Center.
But the Kings, in the postseason for the first time since 2006, answered almost every big play by Golden State in the third quarter and capitalized on regular miscues. They outhustled the Warriors to the boards.
The Kings led 90-80 heading into the final 12 minutes. Curry hit an early 3, only for Trey Lyles to connect moments later. When Curry drove for a layup the next possession, Monk made one of his own.
Curry's 3 with 9:28 left got Golden State within 99-89 before Fox hit.
Fox's first points came on a jumper with 2:18 left in the first on his first shot. He then scored again the next time down still dealing with a broken index finger on his shooting hand. He shot 10 for 18.
Sacramento snapped a six-game losing streak on the Warriors' home floor dating to a win on Feb. 25, 2020.
Lyles wound up with 12 points and 10 rebounds as others picked up the slack with Domantas Sabonis in foul trouble. The big man had seven points and 11 rebounds before fouling out with 5:17 left.
Fox had been frustrated with his poor fourth quarter in Wednesday's 123-116 defeat in which he went 0 for 6 from the field and was scoreless &mdash; the most shots he had ever taken in a final period without scoring.
Draymond Green came off the bench for a third straight game and received a rousing standing ovation when checking in for the first time at the 6:26 mark of the opening quarter. He had 10 assists.
Both teams took a while to warm up, with Sacramento starting 6 for 23 and Golden State 6 of 19.
PAYTON'S DEGREE
Golden State guard Gary Payton II surprised mother Monique with his college diploma in person Friday morning. Payton had&nbsp;<a class="link " href="https://apnews.com/article/payton-degree-warriors-playoffs-99e8594d7391b9fb6755a5d9fdf1b6e7" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" data-ylk="slk:promised her he would finish his degree;elm:context_link;itc:0" data-rapid_p="43" data-v9y="1">promised her he would finish his degree</a>&nbsp;at Oregon State, and he did so recently to complete a major in human development and family science.
TIP-INS
Kings: Sacramento's bench outscored the Warriors' reserves 52-21. ... The Kings were 4 of 16 to start from deep but finished 17 of 45. ... Sabonis suffered a cut under his left eye on a jump ball with Looney in the second quarter.
Warriors: Curry missed three free throws, practically unheard of, as his team went 25 of 35 from the line. ... The Warriors gave up 23 points on their 19 turnovers. ... Green picked up his third foul at the 7:09 mark of the second quarter. ... Golden State is 8-3 in Game 6s dating back to their 2015 title run and 22-11 in close-out games.

The Kings forced a Game 7 against the Warriors, beating Golden State 118-99 on Friday night in their first-round playoff series.

Monk, Fox lead Kings past Warriors 118-99 to force Game 7

Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero has been named the NBA's 2022-23 Rookie of the Year and the recipient of the Wilt Chamberlain Trophy.&nbsp;
Banchero was widely regarded as a lock for this award, prompting numerous sportsbooks to remove Rookie-of-the-Year odds midseason.&nbsp;
Banchero received 98 first-place votes and 494 total voting points. Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jalen Williams was the runner-up, receiving 241 total voting points (although he received zero first-place votes).
Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler surprisingly received two first-place votes, but just 114 total voting points. Indiana Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin (27 voting points), Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray (21 voting points) and Detroit Pistons guard Jaden Ivey (3 voting points) also received votes.
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/paolo223.png" alt="" width="736" height="158" />
This season, Banchero averaged 20.0 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.2 threes and 0.8 steals, while shooting 42.7% from the field, 29.8% from three-point range and 73.8% from the free-throw line.
Orlando ran its offense through Banchero, and the 20-year-old proved that he has what it takes to be a No. 1 option. Throughout the season, Banchero displayed his ability to create for himself and others.
Banchero led all rookies in points, while also ranking third in assists, fourth in steals and fifth in rebounds. He posted 40 games of 20+ points and six games of 30+ points &ndash; the second-most by a Magic rookie.
The No. 1 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft won four consecutive Rookie of the Month awards during the season, earning the honor in December, January, February and March.
Banchero is Orlando's third Rookie-of-the-Year recipient, joining Shaquille O'Neal and Mike Miller (who is Banchero's agent).&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Paolo Banchero's 2022-23 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year mixtape 📹<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KiaROY?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KiaROY</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBAAwards?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBAAwards</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/Kia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Kia</a> <a href="https://t.co/PTmXHOu5yN">pic.twitter.com/PTmXHOu5yN</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1651000517366251521?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 25, 2023</a></blockquote>

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

Banchero had a number of dominant performances throughout his rookie campaign.
On Nov. 5, he had a 33-point, 16-rebound performance against the Sacramento Kings &ndash; becoming just the second teenager in NBA history to record at least 30 points and 15 rebounds in a game, joining LeBron James. After scoring 30 points in the following game against the Houston Rockets on Nov. 7, he became just the fifth teenager in NBA history with back-to-back 30-point outings, joining LeBron, Luka Doncic, Zion Williamson and Devin Booker. On March 31, Banchero turned heads with 30 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 blocks in a win over the Washington Wizards.
While Banchero's efficiency dipped at times during the season, his dominant start to the campaign and strong finish helped him lock up the award. Over his final 17 games of the season, Banchero averaged 20.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists on 53.4% True Shooting.
Entering this season, Orlando had the fourth-youngest roster in the NBA (with an average age of 23.94 years old). Banchero and Franz Wagner have emerged as franchise cornerstones that the Magic can build around going forward. The Magic also have plenty of talented pieces surrounding their dynamic duo, including Wendell Carter Jr., Markelle Fultz, Jonathan Isaac, Cole Anthony, Jalen Suggs and Bol Bol.
The Magic will have a chance to add to their impressive young core, as they have the sixth-best odds in the 2023 NBA Draft Lottery (with a 9% chance of landing the No. 1 pick). Orlando will also receive the Chicago Bulls' lottery pick, unless it lands in the top-four. Chicago has the 11th-best lottery odds.

Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero has been named the NBA's 2022-23 Rookie of the Year.

Magic's Paolo Banchero wins NBA's Rookie of the Year award

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) &mdash; First, Draymond Green suggested to Warriors coach Steve Kerr that he come off the bench for Game 4 against the Sacramento Kings after Golden State had played so brilliantly without him.
Then at halftime Sunday, a couple of assistant coaches offered up the idea to Kerr that Green should defend De&rsquo;Aaron Fox for the final two quarters.
Those collaborative, spot-on moves helped overshadow a late blunder, and now the defending champions are all tied up in their first-round playoff series at two games apiece.
Stephen Curry scored 32 points but gave Sacramento a late chance when he called a timeout Golden State didn&rsquo;t have, then the Warriors held on to beat the Kings 126-125 on Sunday when Harrison Barnes missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
&ldquo;These games are coming down to the wire, and you&rsquo;ve just got to really finish possessions and try to give yourself the best chance, and then sometimes, it&rsquo;s just, does the ball go in or not,&rdquo; Kerr said.
Fox had 38 points, nine rebounds and five assists for Sacramento. His 3 with 28.7 seconds left pulled the Kings within one, then Curry missed a 16-foot jumper on the other end and Keegan Murray corralled the rebound. With Curry and Green defending, Fox dished to former Warrior Barnes for the potential game-winning 3, which hit the back of the rim.
&ldquo;Wide open,&rdquo; Barnes said. &ldquo;Fox trusted me to take that shot. Back rim. On to the next but I feel confident in where we are.&rdquo;
Golden State led 126-121 with 42.4 seconds left when Curry called the excessive timeout, and Malik Monk made the technical free throw for Sacramento.
Klay Thompson made a baseline 3-pointer to beat the third-quarter buzzer and another with 3:24 left, finishing with 26 points for the Warriors.
Game 5 in the best-of-seven series is Wednesday night at Sacramento&rsquo;s Golden 1 Center, where the Kings went ahead 2-0. The Warriors struggled on the road all year.
&ldquo;As good as this feels, it&rsquo;s got to be quickly forgotten about,&rdquo; Thompson said.
Curry&rsquo;s 3 with 4:10 remaining gave Golden State a 121-117 lead and he finished 11 for 22 with five 3s while dueling all afternoon with Fox.
After Monk&rsquo;s layup made it 107-106 Kings with 9:03 to play, Curry responded with a driving layup and a 3 in a 14-second span.
Green came off the bench after serving a one-game suspension while the Warriors dominated Thursday&rsquo;s Game 3 without him. Given the momentum and success, Kerr stuck with Jordan Poole in the starting five Sunday.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m a firm believer if something isn&rsquo;t broke you don&rsquo;t fix it,&rdquo; Green said.
He made a nifty behind-the-back pass for a Curry 3 midway through the fourth, then swatted a shot by Domantas Sabonis with 1:37 left.
Green, disciplined for stepping on Sabonis&rsquo; chest in the fourth quarter of Game 2, checked in to a rousing ovation with 6:38 left in the opening quarter and wound up with 12 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. He and Fox picked up double technicals at the 5:43 mark of the first.
Sabonis added 14 points, seven rebounds and eight assists and now heads home determined to get the Kings closer to winning their first playoff series since eliminating Dallas in the 2004 first round.
&ldquo;We made some timely mistakes, especially in the fourth quarter,&rdquo; coach Mike Brown said. &ldquo;This is where our playoff inexperience comes into play because you can&rsquo;t rest out there, or you can&rsquo;t think that you can play something a certain way and the champions are not going to make you pay the price.&rdquo;
Poole scored 22 points, Andrew Wiggins added 18 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots, and Kevon Looney pulled down 14 rebounds to go with eight points and six assists.
Murray&rsquo;s 3 with 10:43 left pulled the Kings within 102-99 after a 7-0 burst to begin the fourth after the 3 by Thompson to end the third put the Warriors ahead 102-92. Brown instructed his young star to &ldquo;let it fly&rdquo; and Murray shined under the matinee lights, scoring 23 points.
Thompson&rsquo;s driving and dishing is something Kerr pointed to as a success opening up the floor in Game 3 and Thompson penetrated and found Moses Moody for a baseline 3 late in the first. Golden State moved the ball with snappy passes that created open looks.
MURRAY&rsquo;S GROWTH
Murray shot 9 for 13 with five 3s after he went a combined 1 for 8 on 3s and 3 of 13 in the first three games.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve just tried to be more aggressive throughout the playoffs and I knew eventually I&rsquo;d catch my stride on the offensive end, so it&rsquo;s just a matter of time and I came in confident,&rdquo; Murray said.
TIP-INS
Kings: Sacramento scored 18 points off Golden State&rsquo;s 12 turnovers while committing just 10 of its own. ... The Kings shot 14 of 35 from deep, 3 for 11 by Fox and 1 of 6 by Barnes.
Warriors: Gary Payton II returned to play seven minutes after missing Game 3 with an illness. ... Green had started the last 132 postseason games he played, last coming off the bench in Game 3 against the Clippers in 2014. ... Golden State shot 52.2% in the first.
LEADING LATE
The Warriors improved to 75-3 since Kerr became coach when leading a playoff game by 10 or more at any point in the fourth quarter.
&nbsp;

Stephen Curry scored 32 points and the Warriors held on to beat the Kings 126-125 on Sunday.

Curry, Warriors hold off Kings 126-125 to even series 2-all

After monitoring the NBA awards races all season, Nekias Duncan shares his final selections for DPOY, ROY, MIP, 6MOY and more.

Nekias Duncan's 2022-23 NBA award selections: DPOY, 6MOY, MIP, more

Oklahoma City Thunder guard-forward Jalen Williams and Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero have been named the NBA's Western and Eastern Conference Rookies of the Month, respectively, for games played in March and April.
Williams averaged 18.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists over that span, while helping the Thunder make the Play-In Tournament.
Banchero averaged 20.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists over that span, while strengthening his case for the Rookie of the Year award.
Other nominees for this award were Jaden Hardy (DAL), Keegan Murray (SAC), Shaedon Sharpe (POR), Jabari Smith Jr (HOU), Jaden Ivey (DET), Bennedict Mathurin (IND) and Andrew Nembhard (IND).

Jalen Williams and Paolo Banchero have been named the NBA's Western and Eastern Conference Rookies of the Month.

Jalen Williams, Paolo Banchero named NBA's Rookies of the Month

Scoring was up in the NBA this season, to a level not seen in more than a half-century.
NBA teams averaged 114.7 points per game. That&rsquo;s the ninth-highest figure in the league&rsquo;s 77 seasons and the most since teams averaged 116.7 per game in 1969-70.
It represents a jump of 3.7% over last season.
A record 282,127 points were scored this season, smashing the previous mark of 273,573 set in 2018-19.
FREE THROW RECORD
The NBA has never had a better season from the foul line. Again.
The league-wide record for accuracy will fall for the third time in the last four seasons. Teams have combined to shoot 78.2% from the line this season.
That topped the 77.8% mark from two seasons ago. And while that difference &mdash; a mere 0.4% &mdash; doesn&rsquo;t look like much, it is. NBA teams could have combined to miss their first 200 free throws on Sunday when the regular season was ending and still have been on pace to set a season record.
A BOSTON FIRST
When you&rsquo;ve done something that&rsquo;s never been done before in Boston Celtics history, that&rsquo;s impressive.
So, take a bow, Jayson Tatum.
The forward averaged 30.1 points per game this season &mdash; the most ever by a Celtics player. John Havlicek and Isaiah Thomas each averaged 28.9 in their best seasons in Boston, and Larry Bird averaged 29.9 in 1987-88, but Tatum is the first to average 30.
Bird technically averaged 29.93 points that season, and two more points would have given him 29.95, which many would have rounded up to 30.0. He was five points shy that season of averaging exactly 30 per game.
BRIDGES&rsquo; STREAK
Brooklyn&rsquo;s Mikal Bridges technically missed a game this season, but his consecutive games-played streak &mdash; now 392 games and counting &mdash; lives on because he wasn&rsquo;t eligible to play while the Nets were completing the process of acquiring him in a trade with the Phoenix Suns.
Regardless, he still played in a league-best 83 games this season. It&rsquo;s quirky, since a season is 82 games, but the Nets had more games to play than the Suns did when the trade happened. And it lived on in Sunday&rsquo;s season finale because Bridges appeared for the first 4 seconds to extend the streak, then checked out for the day.
Bridges didn&rsquo;t miss a game at Villanova, either. His last missed game was in high school.
Bridges is the first player to appear in 83 games in a season since Josh Smith in 2014-15. Bridges was one of 10 players to not miss a game this season &mdash; Houston&rsquo;s Tari Eason and Kenyon Martin Jr., Chicago&rsquo;s Nikola Vucevic and Patrick Williams, Boston&rsquo;s Derrick White, Golden State teammates Kevon Looney and Jordan Poole, New York&rsquo;s Isaiah Hartenstein and Sacramento&rsquo;s Harrison Barnes also played in all 82 for their clubs this season.
The NBA&rsquo;s all-time record for games in a season probably is one of those records that&rsquo;ll never be broken. Walt Bellamy played in 88 games in 1968-69 &mdash; 35 with New York, then 53 with Detroit.
SCORING MARGIN
San Antonio was outscored by just over 10 points per game this season &mdash; the worst margin in Spurs history.
It was the 20th time in NBA history that a team had been outscored, on average, by double digits for an entire season.
3&rsquo;s DOWN
For nine straight seasons &mdash; 2012-13 through 2020-21 &mdash; the NBA saw a record set annually for 3-pointers made per game.
It seems the growth era from beyond the arc has plateaued.
For the second consecutive year, 3-pointers made dropped this season, albeit slightly. The league saw an average of 24.7 3s per game this season, down from 24.9 per game last season and the record 25.4 per game in 2020-21.
The league finished the regular season with 30,359 3s made &mdash; just off the record total of 30,598 last season. But teams also attempted, on average, about 3% fewer 3-pointers this season than they did a year ago.
3s UP
That said, there were more highly prolific 3-point shooters this season than ever before. The league finished with 20 players with at least 200 3-pointers &mdash; the most ever, just ahead of the 18 who made at least 200 3s last season.
The 20 in the 200 Club this year: Golden State&rsquo;s Klay Thompson, Indiana&rsquo;s Buddy Hield, Golden State&rsquo;s Stephen Curry, Cleveland&rsquo;s Donovan Mitchell, Portland&rsquo;s Damian Lillard, Boston&rsquo;s Jayson Tatum, Brooklyn&rsquo;s Malik Beasley, New York&rsquo;s Julius Randle, Dallas&rsquo; Tim Hardaway Jr., Portland&rsquo;s Anfernee Simons, New Orleans&rsquo; CJ McCollum, Golden State&rsquo;s Jordan Poole, Toronto&rsquo;s Fred VanVleet, Minnesota&rsquo;s Anthony Edwards, Sacramento&rsquo;s Keegan Murray, Miami&rsquo;s Tyler Herro, Sacramento&rsquo;s Kevin Huerter, Chicago&rsquo;s Zach LaVine, New Orleans&rsquo; Trey Murphy III and Utah&rsquo;s Lauri Markkanen.
AND 3s RECORDS
The Warriors finished with 1,363 3-pointers as a team, the most by any team in an NBA season. The previous record was 1,323 by the 2018-19 Houston Rockets.
Four of the six most prolific 3-point seasons in NBA history happened this season: The Warriors broke the record for a team, Boston (1,315) finished eight behind Houston&rsquo;s 2018-19 mark, Dallas (1,246) made the fifth-most in a season and Milwaukee (1,217) made the sixth-most in a season.
Golden State, Boston, Dallas and Milwaukee obviously also set their franchise single-season record for total 3s made. So did Brooklyn, Indiana, the Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Sacramento.
BETTING STATS
Those who bet the Oklahoma City Thunder all season long probably did quite well.
The Thunder covered the spread a league-best 58.5% of the time this season, just ahead of Orlando and Philadelphia (57.3%).
The Los Angeles Lakers were a perfect 50% against the spread &mdash; 41 times covering, 41 times not.
Dallas and San Antonio bettors likely weren&rsquo;t happy. Those clubs both covered only 39% of the time, just a bit worse than Miami and Detroit (both 40.5%).
ONE OF EACH
Golden State&rsquo;s 56-point win over Portland on Sunday was the biggest of the season. The biggest rout going into the season&rsquo;s final day was a 45-point win by New Orleans on Nov. 21 &mdash; against the Warriors.
That made the Warriors the first team since the 1997-98 Trail Blazers to win a game by at least 45, and lose a game by at least 45, in the same season.
Portland beat Dallas 120-75 on Nov. 17, 1998. The Blazers lost to Indiana 124-59 on Feb. 27, 1998.

Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press breaks down the 2022-23 NBA season by the numbers.

Inside the NBA numbers: A look at the season’s stats

DALLAS (AP) &mdash; Kyrie Irving scored 25 of his 31 points during a second-half rally, and the Dallas Mavericks stayed in the race for the final play-in spot in the Western Conference playoffs with a 123-119 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night.
Luka Doncic had 29 points and 10 rebounds as the Mavericks (38-42) matched Oklahoma City&rsquo;s record for the 10th seed in the West with two games remaining.
The Thunder own the tiebreaker, so Dallas, which reached the West finals last year, needs at least one Oklahoma City loss to have a chance at another playoff run.
Facing the brink of postseason elimination with a loss, the Mavericks rallied from 13 points down in the third quarter, when Irving started and finished a 12-0 run with 3-pointers for an 82-78 lead.
Doncic and Tim Hardaway Jr., who scored 24 points, had the other two 3s on the run as Doncic and Irving won for the fifth time in 16 games together since the blockbuster trade that brought Irving from Brooklyn.
Dallas ended a three-game losing streak with just its second victory in its past nine games.
De&rsquo;Aaron Fox scored 28 points and Domantas Sabonis had a triple-double with 19 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists for the Kings, who have already ended a 16-year playoff drought and are all but locked in to the third seed in the West.
Irving put Dallas ahead for good with a jumper midway through the fourth quarter, and the lead was three when he hit a high-arching 3 from the corner for a 120-114 lead with two minutes remaining.
Sacramento had a season-high 22 offensive rebounds for a 30-14 edge in second-chance points, but the Mavericks had the biggest one of the game when Christian Wood grabbed a miss from Irving and five seconds later hit a 3-pointer for a 123-114 lead with a minute to go.
Wood scored 14 points despite 5-of-15 shooting.
TIP-INS
Kings: All five starters scored in double figures. Harrison Barnes had 16 points against his former team, Kevin Huerter scored 14 and Keegan Murray added 11.
Mavericks: Starters Reggie Bullock and Dwight Powell combined for just five points on just four shots. ... Josh Green had 10 points and nine rebounds.
UP NEXT
Kings: Golden State in home finale Friday.
Mavericks: Chicago visits Friday.

The Mavericks (38-42) matched Oklahoma City’s record for the 10th seed in the West with two games remaining.

Mavs keep play-in hopes alive with 123-119 win over Kings

NEW ORLEANS (AP) &mdash; De&rsquo;Aaron Fox scored 23 points, rookie Keegan Murray added 21 and the Sacramento Kings beat the New Orleans Pelicans 121-103 on Tuesday night to clinch the Pacific Division title.
Domantas Sabonis had 16 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists for the Kings, who took the lead for good late in the first quarter and led by as many as 24 points in the second half.
Brandon Ingram scored 22 points and Trey Murphy III had 17 for the Pelicans (40-39), who entered the game knowing they could guarantee themselves sixth place in the Western Conference if they won their final four games.
Now New Orleans is more likely destined for a play-in spot that goes to teams finishing seventh through 10th. But they have yet to clinch even that, needing one more victory or a loss by Dallas, which plays Wednesday, and Utah, which played against the Los Angeles Lakers later Tuesday night.
Malik Monk scored 17 and Harrison Barnes 16 points for the Kings (48-31), who remained 1 1/2 games behind Memphis (49-29) for the second seed in the West.
Murry, drafted fourth overall out of Iowa last summer, made seven of 10 3-point attempts. He hit five during the third quarter, when the Kings opened up a 17-point lead. It was his third straight game with 18 or more points.&nbsp;
Fox hit 10 of 23 shots and also had nine assists.
TIP-INS
Kings: Sabonis has 13 triple-doubles this season. ... Murray has scored 20 or more points in 13 games this season. ... Kevin Huerter scored 11 points. ... Shot 50.5% (46 of 91), including 17 of 42 (40.5%) from 3-point range. .... Outrebounded New Orleans 43-37.
Pelicans: Jonas Valanciunas scored 13 points, CJ McCollum and rookie Dyson Daniels each scored 12 points and Herbert Jones scored 11. ... Still need two more victories in their last three games to finish with a winning regular season record for the first time since 2017-18, when they went 48-34.
UP NEXT
Kings: At Dallas on Wednesday.
Pelicans: Host Memphis on Wednesday.

De’Aaron Fox scored 23 points, rookie Keegan Murray added 21 and the Kings beat the Pelicans 121-103 to clinch the Pacific Division.

Kings beat Pelicans 121-103 to clinch Pacific Division title

PORTLAND (AP) &mdash; De&rsquo;Aaron Fox scored 18 points and the Sacramento Kings clinched their first playoff berth since 2006 with a 120-80 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night.
Kevin Huerter added 17 points in the win, which also earned the Kings home-court advantage to open the postseason. The team&rsquo;s 16-year playoff drought was the longest in NBA history and the longest active postseason dry spell among teams in the NBA, NFL, NHL and Major League Baseball.
&ldquo;We want to do bigger things, but 16 years &mdash; that&rsquo;s a long time,&rdquo; Fox said. &ldquo;So that feels great just being able to get that off us.&rdquo;
Before the final buzzer, a large group of purple-clad Kings fans chanted Sacramento&rsquo;s rallying cry, &ldquo;Light The Beam!&rdquo;
Kings rookie Keegan Murray made his 188th 3-pointer of the season with 6:44 to go in the third quarter to set the NBA record, passing Donovan Mitchell&rsquo;s mark of 187 set in 2017-18. Murray, who flashed an understated grin after the shot fell, finished with 13 points.
The Kings (46-30) sit at third in the Western Conference. The first-place Denver Nuggets and the Memphis Grizzlies, who sit three games back, have already clinched.
Sacramento could have sealed up the playoff spot earlier in the night, but the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Memphis Grizzlies 141-132.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got an opportunity to do something special, so we just continue to play this way and continue to get better, and hopefully we can get 50,&rdquo; Harrison Barnes said.
Rookie Shaedon Sharpe had 30 points for the Blazers, who have lost four straight and 10 of their last 11 games. The loss to the Kings eliminated Portland from playoff contention.
Portland was depleted with regular starters Damian Lillard (right calf), Jusuf Nurkic (right knee), Anfernee Simons (right foot) and Jerami Grant (left quad) all nursing injuries. It got a bit worse for Portland on Wednesday when Keon Johnson, who had 20 points in a loss to New Orleans on Monday, broke a finger in shootaround. Only seven Blazers played.
The Kings are 23-14 on the road this season, third-best in the NBA. And they&rsquo;ve avoided extended losing streaks: The team&rsquo;s longest came at the start of the season when the Kings opened with four straight.
&ldquo;Our guys are excited about it,&rdquo; Kings coach Mike Brown said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re excited about the way that they played tonight and the accomplishments that they&rsquo;ve had so far. They were excited for Keegan. But in the same breath, and not to downplay anything, they expect more.&rdquo;
Portland had a 20-19 edge after the first quarter, but the Kings took over, going up 44-32 on Kevin Huerter&rsquo;s 3-pointer with 3:51 to go before halftime. Portland closed the gap to 50-46 at the break.
The Kings went on to lead by as many as 40 points in the second half. Domantas Sabonis finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
&ldquo;Biggest difference was in the second half, they started making 3s, and they&rsquo;re that type of team,&rdquo; Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re going to play the same way. They&rsquo;re going to shoot a lot of 3s, and miss or make, they&rsquo;re going to play that way. We just couldn&rsquo;t keep up."
TIP-INS
Kings: The Kings were also in a position to clinch Monday, but they fell to Minnesota 119-115. ... &ldquo;I think every experience that we&rsquo;ve gone through this year can help translate (to the playoffs),&rdquo; Brown said before the game. &ldquo;But I&rsquo;m telling you, we&rsquo;ll experience it in the playoffs at another level. And every round you advance in the playoffs, it&rsquo;s going to even take it up another notch.&rdquo;
Trail Blazers: It will likely be the second straight season the Blazers have missed the postseason. ... F Justise Winslow had surgery Wednesday on his left ankle. He is expected to be ready to play next season.
UP NEXT
The Kings and the Trail Blazers play again Friday night at the Moda Center.

De’Aaron Fox had 18 points and the Kings clinched their first playoff berth since 2006 with a 120-80 win over the Blazers on Wednesday.