Mavericks

This article was originally published on BasketballNews on July 20, 2022.
Impact Basketball's facility sits inside an unassuming section of an unassuming plaza on Dean Martin Drive in Las Vegas.
The gym contains two light-colored hardwood basketball courts with a small scoreboard, a weightlifting area, a makeshift stretching room, a kitchenette for meals and snacks and a small office. It's no place for vanities. The only flexes are the dozens of white banners hanging on the right wall, listing names upon names of distinguished players who have come through during the gym's 25 years of existence.
Among those players: Kevin Garnett, Kawhi Leonard, Chauncey Billups, Kyle Lowry, Kelsey Plum, Tayshaun Prince, Jaylen Brown, Tyrese Haliburton, DeMarcus Cousins, John Wall, Al Harrington, Kristaps Porzingis, Nassir Little, Saddiq Bey and Ziaire Williams.&nbsp;
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Kevin Garnett stopped by <a href="https://twitter.com/impactbball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@impactbball</a> and offered some advice to Blazers guard Keon Johnson, Mavericks wing Josh Green and 16-year-old prospect Dayan Nessah.<a href="https://twitter.com/Joe_Abunassar?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Joe_Abunassar</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/KevinGarnett5KG?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KevinGarnett5KG</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/iamkeonjohnson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@iamkeonjohnson</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/JoshBGreen?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JoshBGreen</a> <a href="https://t.co/fwRjAM2WHJ">pic.twitter.com/fwRjAM2WHJ</a>
&mdash; Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlexKennedyNBA/status/1548046089877524482?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 15, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Impact Basketball, founded by trainer Joe Abunassar in 1997, has a reputation for its star-studded, closed-door pickup games that take place during the NBA offseason. In the spring, it's also where some of the top NBA Draft hopefuls join Abunassar's pre-draft "boot camp" and commit themselves to an intricate world of sports training and nutrition.
The timeline is simple: arrive by April, revamp your training lifestyle and find your professional pathway &mdash; either via the NBA Draft, an undrafted free-agent deal or another contract &mdash; afterwards. The work is not flashy, isn't always fun and, if you want to stick as a pro, never ends.
But the results can change lives.
"It's not about W's or L's, it's about M's &mdash; M's being millions of dollars," said Isaac Mourier, Impact's Director of Performance Nutrition and Sport Science. "Once you say that to a guy like that, that's all they need in terms of motivation."
Mourier is a key cog in Impact's program. He's from the United Kingdom and played professional basketball in England and Germany before starting his own sports nutrition consulting business. Mourier has worked for the University of Georgia and Sacramento Kings as a nutritionist and consultant, and joined Impact in 2020 during the spring.
During his two-and-a-half years and three draft cycles with the company, Mourier has filled his laptop with infographics and progress charts for Impact athletes. They include individualized goals for each player; an example involves raising one prospect's weight by 20 pounds, lowering his body fat by 2%, increasing his bench press weight by 50 pounds and adding two inches to his vertical.
Mourier feels privileged to work with athletes at this stage of their careers. To him, the noise of team ecosystems and outside expectations all fade away. He can clearly define goals, and players know exactly what success will look like.
"This is the first time, maybe ever in their life, where they have a team of people that are only worried about them," he said. "Now, I'm just trying to get you to the NBA and keep you there. I don't care whether you win or lose games right now. This is you. All the focus is on you."
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Boot camp begins as soon as players are done with their respective prior seasons. They arrive at Impact and take part in comprehensive body testing to establish a full physical profile. The technology includes a bioelectrical impedence analysis that uses electrical currents to scan body composition. Sweat patches can read how much sodium athletes need in their system.
Variables such as blood work, stress hormone levels, nutrient deficienies, pre-workout hydration levels and post-workout hydration levels, body composition and body fat percentages all help establish a baseline of strengths and needs.
From there, each prospect receives an individualized growth roadmap. Skill development makes up one component. Players often train together in small groups, but they receive specific plans that prepare them for team pre-draft workouts and the NBA level.
"We're looking and analyzing and making assessments on the court; if guys are getting bumped off their cuts, if guys don't have enough lower-body power in their jump shot and guys seem like they need to get stronger, if guys aren't fast enough, [we'll consider], 'Okay, what do we need to do in the weight room or from a nutrition standpoint to correct that?'" Abunassar told Basketball News. "So, that's why every guy has his own program, because every guy has different goals."
Hydration and dieting are also central pieces. Mourier oversees the implementation of dietary plans through Impact's local chef connections, and says he outlines each meal, snack and supplement. Along the way are regular check-ins on body metrics, sleep schedules, mood and motivation among other factors. Mourier estimated that about 20-to-25 Impact staffers are involved with a player's development.&nbsp;
But Mourier repeatedly emphasized that the technology, food and workouts aren't what takes players to the Association. One of his most important jobs is reframing their habits and instilling discipline toward health.
"When an athlete gets to the elite level with bad habits, it's, 'Well, I'm already one of the best in the world at what I do, so why would I change?' So it's changing that mindset, and then when we've done that, it's about understanding that doing small things consistently is what gets us the results, as opposed to trying to do extreme things," Mourier said.
"The way that the structure of basketball [is] from AAU to college to the pros, a lot of the power is in the athlete's hands, where it's almost like, 'Who are you to tell me what to do?' So I think one of the main things that we have to do is cut through that barrier. And again, when our goals are the same as theirs, it becomes a little bit easier. But again, it's, 'Well, you've gotten to this level despite your bad habits. How good could you be if we instill some good habits?'"
Good habits, however, can be inconvenient and awkward. For NBA players to maintain their places in the league, they have to stick with those routines well past a pre-draft boot camp.
Dallas Mavericks wing Josh Green joined Impact's program ahead of the 2020 NBA Draft cycle. He's still entrenched with Impact today, and has been working out in Las Vegas this offseason. Part of his nutrition plan includes avoiding butter, which can be a particular hurdle when eating out at restaurants.
"I have to be the guy who requests light virgin oil, whatever it is," Green told Basketball News. "I think that's the hardest part about it. I'm about to go to Australia for three weeks, and all I'm gonna want to do is eat all the food, but I'm gonna have to stay disciplined. I want to have a big year, so my goal is focusing right now, but just taking it one day at a time."
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👀 <a href="https://twitter.com/JoshBGreen?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JoshBGreen</a> <a href="https://t.co/pX0fkZzCBZ">pic.twitter.com/pX0fkZzCBZ</a>
&mdash; Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlexKennedyNBA/status/1547655829431525383?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 14, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Green said he started prioritizing nutrition after his second shoulder surgery in April 2019. Since joining Impact, Green has been floored by how much nourishment the human body loses during workouts. He has an app that lays out meal calories and hydration plans, and his goal this offseason is to skip carbohydrates, even from snacks like a simple bag of chips.
"When you're young, whatever you see in front of you is what you want," Green said. "I [was] able to start here early and realize, if I want to play ball for a while, it's important to put the right things in my body and stay healthy. It's the same thing as seeing your physical therapist and getting treatment, if not more important for your body."
Abunassar has a plethora of stories about players who embraced the importance of nutrition at the pro level. Garnett has talked about taping his meal-plan menus on the cabinets of his Minnesota home.&nbsp; Lowry, Haliburton and Serge Ibaka are examples of guys who transformed their bodies under Impact's guidance too.
Gym time and workouts are obviously valuable, but to Abunassar, nutrition is what sparks physical development.
"The nutrition is really the basis of body change &mdash; for anybody, not even just for a basketball player," Abunassar said. "You can go to the gym every day, but if you're eating cheeseburgers and fries, you're just not going to lose weight."
Mourier has his own trail of success stories. He's worked with dozens of players, including Haliburton and Green. Zeke Nnaji, another 2020 draftee, was an especially interesting case as the only plant-based-dieting prospect Mourier has guided at Impact.
Mourier does not advise athletes to follow a plant-based diet solely for performance. However, Nnaji had chosen to be a vegan for ethical reasons, which Mourier respected, and the two worked together to create a nutrition plan despite the constraints. One of Nnaji's pre-draft goals was to add muscle, and he succeeded with rigorous attention to detail.
"He gained 20 pounds and everyone was like, 'Who the hell is this?'" Mourier said. "So that was really good, just being tactful with the timing and quantities of that stuff. And [Nnaji] was really diligent with it. He nailed every single aspect of it down to the gram... He was a really easy one. I really can't take credit for all that stuff. I just put the blueprint down and he just rolled with it."
This year, Impact has worked with several 2022 draft prospects, including MarJon Beauchamp, Blake Wesley and Michael Foster Jr. among others.&nbsp;
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San Antonio Spurs rookie Blake Wesley (<a href="https://twitter.com/blakewesley0?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@blakewesley0</a>) working out at <a href="https://twitter.com/impactbball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@impactbball</a>: <a href="https://t.co/9lfkFikWsP">pic.twitter.com/9lfkFikWsP</a>
&mdash; Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlexKennedyNBA/status/1547643918904217604?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 14, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Wesley has been an Impact athlete since he was 17, meeting Abunassar for the first time as a junior in high school. Wesley would come in occasionally for workouts, staying on the far court and watching as NBA players like Leonard and Paul George would get their reps in. He returned in offseasons and locked in for his own pre-draft boot camp.
Mourier praised the Spurs rookie for his attention to detail regarding nutrition. Wesley frequently FaceTimed Mourier while at restaurants and stores, and asked questions about what he should eat. He's also a staunch advocate of Herbalife's CR7 Drive sports drink mix, and even has an endorsement deal with Herbalife.
As part of his pre-draft plan to put on weight, Welsey would cook three eggs, plus have oatmeal, milk and orange juice for breakfast.
"[Changing my nutrition] helped my body a lot," Wesley told Basketball News over the phone. "I kept doing this, so I kept getting better on the court and did everything good on the court. So yeah, my nutrition helped me a lot."
The result: Wesley turned himself from a relatively unheralded four-star recruit into Notre Dame's first one-and-done player &mdash; then bulked up to 190 pounds in the spring and became a first-round NBA draft pick.
"I met [Wesley] a year ago, before he went to Notre Dame, and his transformation from then to the start of the pre-draft [process] to now &mdash; it's phenomenal," Mourier said.
The next challenge is to maintain discipline once that contract gets signed.&nbsp;
"You gotta stay focused; the NBA is totally different from college," Wesley said. "I mean, you're getting paid, you got a high profile [and] a lot of people are watching you &mdash; &nbsp;watching how you move, who you hang out with, stuff like that. So it's a whole different lifestyle."
Abunassar, Mourier and the Impact staff are hands-on with their players during the offseason and pre-draft process. But what happens when those players head back to their respective NBA franchises?
"For the most part, from a strength-and-conditioning standpoint [and] from a player development standpoint, the NBA teams have stuff really dialed in," Mourier said. "From a nutrition standpoint, for the most part, they do not."
Mourier estimated that there are only six full-time nutritionists and dietitians in the entire NBA. The Collegiate and Professional Sports Dietitians Association (CPSDA) lists <a href="https://sportsrd.org/career-development/full-time-sports-rds-working-with-usas-top-institutions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">nine full-time registered dietitians.</a> Mourier said that teams often have physicians and trainers covering several responsibilites, including nutrition, due to budget restrictions and front-office priorities. This means some athletes, specifically reserve players, receive less health guidance.
"We're kind of the ones who are the last for the front office to see the value in it, so a lot of times we're really just a check-box," Mourier said. "So especially for those lower-order guys that are maybe No. 7, 8, 9, 10, all the way through to 15 on the roster, they're not really receiving any support at all. They're receiving provision. They're receiving meals and supplements. But in terms of education and behavior change, they're really not receiving it."
Over the last 25 years, Abunassar has seen sports nutrition dramatically change, with data and technology more interwoven into practice than ever. He thinks there are positives and pitfalls to the advancements.
"From a nutrition standpoint and strength-and-conditioning standpoint, it's clearly useful information to help prevent injury, to increase lean body mass, etc.," he said. "All of the technology that has come out has been very helpful for us, but you do have to watch that you don't get too reliant on it. Sometimes, you gotta watch the games and see how guys move and that kind of thing. But a combination of the two is very effective."
Impact Basketball is one progressive frontrunner in the field of sports science, but Mourier emphasized that, at this point, all basketball pros should be setting themselves up for success with some sort of offseason developmental map. Pre-draft prospects especially cannot afford to lose that critical period before team workouts to maximize their appeal.
"It's like doing the SAT without looking at the study guide," Mourier said "...I think it's definitely a standard. There's people doing this all over the country, really. Nobody does it like us, and nobody's been doing it for as long as us, but people are seeing the value."

A behind-the-scenes look at how Impact Basketball helps players realize their full potential by focusing on their training and nutrition.

How sports nutrition and biometrics are evolving NBA training

The NBA App will stream the SLAM Summer Classic Vol. 5 on Saturday, Aug. 19, adding to the growing list of elite basketball programming available year-round on the new platform.&nbsp; 
The fifth annual basketball showcase at Rucker Park in New York City will feature 28 of the top high-school-age players in the U.S. Headlined by Jaloni Cambridge, Aaliyah Chavez and Kennedy Smith, the girls game tips off at 5 p.m. ET followed by the boys &ndash; featuring top high-school prospects Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper and Tre Johnson &ndash; streaming at 7 p.m. ET.&nbsp; Additionally, several members of the <a href="https://www.nba.com/news/jr-nba-court-of-leaders-mentorship-program-provides-youth-with-voice" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nba.com/news/jr-nba-court-of-leaders-mentorship-program-provides-youth-with-voice&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1692371005985000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1FeYuKToXVUf2-KpS_2bVH">Jr. NBA Court of Leaders</a>&nbsp;will participate in the event.
The addition of the SLAM Summer Classic is part of the NBA&rsquo;s larger commitment to make the NBA App an all-in-one destination for global basketball programming. Over the past year, premier basketball content available on the app has included select WNBA, Basketball Africa League and NBA G League Ignite games, as well as Nike Elite Youth Basketball League&rsquo;s (EYBL) Peach Jam, Jr. NBA Showcase, LNB Betclic ELITE, top pro-am leagues such as the Drew League, Miami Pro League and AEBL, and more.
The NBA will produce and distribute the SLAM Summer Classic games on the free-to-download&nbsp;<a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/global.nba.com/nba-apps/index.html?_branch_match_id=811567537499273278&amp;_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXTywo0MvJzMvWy0tK1EvOz9UH0kAxAF91y5sfAAAA__;!!KLCbKzk!n3wSjvNMSkYR4lKoKVgXircttWOLy-0rXgpTSo-D1MmKcmHzay-SwIoaQ0lokaPc1PDUxBHGW6sN$" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/global.nba.com/nba-apps/index.html?_branch_match_id%3D811567537499273278%26_branch_referrer%3DH4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXTywo0MvJzMvWy0tK1EvOz9UH0kAxAF91y5sfAAAA__;!!KLCbKzk!n3wSjvNMSkYR4lKoKVgXircttWOLy-0rXgpTSo-D1MmKcmHzay-SwIoaQ0lokaPc1PDUxBHGW6sN$&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1692371005985000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2emDiwi7_0lf1Yxd60aUby">NBA App</a>&nbsp;and on NBA.com. Below are the full team rosters.&nbsp;
BOYS ROSTER
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<tbody>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Name
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Ace Bailey (Powder Springs, Ga.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Jalil Bethea (Philadelphia, Pa.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
*AJ Dybantsa (Brockton, Mass.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
VJ Edgecombe (Brookville, N.Y.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
*Isaiah Evans (Huntersville, N.C.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Cooper Flagg (Newport, Maine)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Dylan Harper (Ramsey, N.J.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Jahki Howard (Atlanta, Ga.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Ian Jackson (Bronx, N.Y.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Tre Johnson (Dallas, Texas)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Tahaad Pettiford (Jersey City, N.J.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
*Jase Richardson (Las Vegas, Nev.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Meleek Thomas (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Robert Wright III&nbsp;(Philadelphia, Pa.)
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
* Member of the Jr. NBA Court of Leaders
&nbsp;
&nbsp;GIRLS ROSTER
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Name
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Izela Arenas (Chatsworth, Calif.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Mikayla Blakes (Somerset, N.J.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
*Jaloni Cambridge (Nashville, Tenn.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Aaliyah Chavez (Lubbock, Texas)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
*Kendall Dudley (Centreville, Va.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
*Leah Harmon (Washington D.C.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Ariel Little (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Maddy McDaniel (Upper Marlboro, Md.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Me'arah O'Neal (Houston, Texas)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Mackenly Randolph (Chatsworth, Calif.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Kennedy Smith (Etiwanda, Calif.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Chloe Spreen (Bedford, Ind.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Kennedy Umeh (Owings Mills, Md.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Allie Ziebell (Neenah, Wis.)
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
* Member of the Jr. NBA Court of Leaders

The NBA App will stream the SLAM Summer Classic Vol. 5 on Saturday, Aug. 19.

NBA App to stream the SLAM Summer Classic Vol. 5

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; LeBron James began the final game of his 20th NBA season with the highest-scoring postseason half of his matchless NBA career.
He ended the night by questioning how much longer he plans to chase history after his Los Angeles Lakers were swept out of the Western Conference finals.
James set a personal record with 31 points in the first half of Game 4 on Monday night, but he missed two potential tying shots in the final minute as the Denver Nuggets&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-playoffs-2023-nuggets-lakers-9f7a28f73a56c431672d840c93185b60">ended the Lakers&rsquo; season with a 113-111 victory</a>.
The 38-year-old James finished with 40 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists and immense frustration after Los Angeles&rsquo; remarkable late-season surge ended with four consecutive defeats. Although the top scorer in NBA history spoke about himself as part of the Lakers next season, James also said he hasn&rsquo;t made up his mind.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll see what happens going forward,&rdquo; James said in the final answer of his postgame news conference. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know. I don&rsquo;t know. I&rsquo;ve got a lot to think about, to be honest. Just for me personally going forward with the game of basketball, I&rsquo;ve got a lot to think about.&rdquo;
James is under contract for $46.9 million next season with the Lakers, but he is in charge of his future after&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/lebron-james-nba-scoring-record-cd0df2a355eaf80c6d534cbb16d44ca9">surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar&rsquo;s career scoring record</a>&nbsp;earlier this year. He hasn&rsquo;t previously suggested much personal conflict about finishing his contract alongside Anthony Davis, and his play hasn&rsquo;t significantly declined after two decades in the NBA &mdash; although his health has grown less sturdy, particularly in his balky feet and ankles.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s all about availability for me and keeping my mind sharp, and things of that nature,&rdquo; James said. &ldquo;Being present on the floor, being present in the locker room and bus rides and plane rides, things of that nature. It&rsquo;s challenging, for sure. It was a very challenging season for me, for our ballclub, and obviously we know whatever went on early on (in the Lakers&rsquo; 2-10 start to the season). It was cool, a pretty cool ride.&rdquo;
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As recently as February, LeBron James seemed to suggest that his retirement was a few years away. "I&rsquo;m not going anywhere," James said. "I&rsquo;m going to be in this league for at least a few more years.&rdquo; <a href="https://t.co/0AsBie5E1g">https://t.co/0AsBie5E1g</a>
&mdash; Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlexKennedyNBA/status/1660878260035526657?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 23, 2023</a></blockquote>

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James missed a month of the regular season with a foot injury down the stretch, but he returned with a series of stellar playoff performances while the Lakers knocked off second-seeded Memphis and eliminated defending champion Golden State. That didn&rsquo;t matter much to James, whose frustration broke through at several points after Game 4.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t like to say it&rsquo;s a successful year, because I don&rsquo;t play for anything besides winning championships at this point in my career,&rdquo; James said. &ldquo;You know, I don&rsquo;t get a kick out of making a conference (finals) appearance. I&rsquo;ve done it a lot, and it&rsquo;s not fun to me to not be able to be a part of getting to the (NBA) Finals.&rdquo;
In his NBA-record 282nd career playoff game, James dropped 21 points in a dynamic first quarter in Game 4. He added 10 more in the second while playing nearly the entire half of a do-or-die game against the top-seeded Nuggets.
But James had only nine points on 4-of-12 shooting in the second half, and he missed two chances to score in the final minute. He took a strange fallaway jumper that missed badly with 26 seconds left, and his final drive to the hoop was thwarted by Denver&rsquo;s Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon at the buzzer.
But the first half was vintage LeBron: He made 11 of his 13 shots and hit four 3-pointers without a miss in the highest-scoring playoff half of his career, which began in 2003 and has included four NBA championships. James added four rebounds and four assists, and he also got a technical foul after a physical exchange with Gordon when the two got locked up on the Lakers&rsquo; end of the court.
James had struggled from distance previously in the series, going 3 for 19 in the first three games. He fixed his shot in Game 4 &mdash; and he even got credit for a 3-pointer in the first quarter when his lob pass to Rui Hachimura accidentally went in the basket.
James already had the highest scoring average in NBA history in elimination games (33.5 points per game) among all players with at least 10 such appearances.
After failing to win a title this year, James is clearly thinking about whether he wants to do it all again. One major obstacle to any retirement thoughts is his long-stated desire to play an NBA season alongside his son, Bronny, who will be a freshman at USC this fall and couldn&rsquo;t join the league until the fall of 2024 at the earliest.
&ldquo;I guess I&rsquo;ll reflect on my career when I&rsquo;m done, but I don&rsquo;t know,&rdquo; James said when asked to assess his 20th season. &ldquo;The only thing I concern myself with is being available to my teammates, and I don&rsquo;t like the fact that I didn&rsquo;t play as many games as I would have liked because of injury. That&rsquo;s the only thing I care about, is being available to my teammates.&rdquo;

LeBron James openly questioned how much longer he plans to chase history after his Lakers were swept by the Nuggets.

LeBron James questions future after Lakers eliminated by Nuggets

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Grace Berger finished with a season-high 26 points, nine rebounds and six assists and Mackenzie Holmes added 24 points as No. 2 Indiana used a late scoring run to pull away from No. 5 Iowa 87-78 on Thursday night.
The Hoosiers (23-1, 12-1 Big Ten) used a 17-7 fourth-quarter run to earn their 11th consecutive win, this time in front of a record crowd of 13,046. Indiana has broken the attendance mark three times since January and now has a 1 1/2-game lead in the chase for its first regular-season conference crown since the Big Ten&rsquo;s inaugural season of 1982-83.
Caitlin Clark had 35 points, 10 assists and four rebounds to lead the Hawkeyes (19-5, 11-2), who lost for the first time since Jan. 1.
NO. 1 SOUTH CAROLINA 83, AUBURN 48
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Zia Cooke had 15 points and four assists in 20 minutes to lead South Carolina to its 30th straight win.
The Gamecocks (24-0, 11-0 Southeastern Conference) dominated from the start in a game sandwiched between a pair of top-5 matchups. They were coming off an 81-77 win over No. 4 UConn and host No. 3 LSU on Sunday.
Aliyah Boston had 10 points and eight rebounds for South Carolina before exiting with 8:54 left to end a string of eight straight double-doubles.&nbsp;
Sydney Shaw tied her career high with 15 points and made 3 of 4 3-pointers to lead the Tigers (13-10, 3-8). Auburn played without its top scorer and rebounder Aicha Coulibaly, who sat out with a leg injury. Mar&rsquo;shaun Bostic added 10 points.
NO. 6 STANFORD 84, NO. 17 ARIZONA 60
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) &mdash; Cameron Brink and Haley Jones each scored 18 points and Stanford used a strong rebounding performance to beat Arizona.
The Cardinal (23-3, 11-2 Pac-12) won their sixth straight against the Wildcats (18-6, 8-5), a streak that includes the 2021 NCAA title game. Stanford moved into first place in the conference, a half-game ahead of No. 7 Utah.
Jones shot 8 for 11 from the field and added 12 rebounds and six assists. Brink scored all her points and added eight rebounds in 21 minutes.
Paris Clark, Esmery Martinez and Cate Reese led the way for Arizona with 10 points apiece.
NO. 8 MARYLAND 79, NORTHWESTERN 54
EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) &mdash; Diamond Miller had 18 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, and Maryland eased past struggling Northwestern for its seventh win in eight games.
Brir McDaniel added 14 points and the Terrapins (20-5, 12-3 Big Ten) followed up the program&rsquo;s most lopsided win over a top-10 opponent with another dominant performance.
Coming off a 90-54 romp over then-No. 10 Ohio State on Sunday, Maryland outscored Northwestern (8-16, 1-12) 18-2 while holding the Wildcats without a field goal in the second quarter.
Paige Mott led Northwestern with 15 points.
NO. 9 DUKE 68, BOSTON COLLEGE 27
BOSTON (AP) &mdash; Reigan Richardson scored 14 points and Celeste Taylor added 11 to lead Duke to the 1,000th win in the program&rsquo;s history.
Richardson scored 10 points in the second quarter, when the Blue Devils (21-3, 11-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) turned a five-point lead into a 32-14 runaway. Boston College (14-13, 4-10) made just two baskets in the period, going scoreless for the last 7:55 of the half.
Maria Gakdeng had 11 points and seven rebounds for the Eagles, who shot 18.4% from the field.
NO. 10 NOTRE DAME 69, PITT 63
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Sonia Citron scored 20 points, Maddy Westbeld added 17 to lead Notre Dame.
Sophomore guard Olivia Miles had a double-double of 11 points and 13 assists with seven rebounds and two steals as the Fighting Irish (19-4, 10-3 ACC) extended their home winning streak against Pitt to 16 games.
Senior guard Dayshanette Harris led the Panthers (8-16, 1-12) with a season-high 20 points.
SYRACUSE 75, NO. 14 NORTH CAROLINA 67
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) &mdash; Dyaisha Fair scored 18 of her 23 points in the second half, Georgia Woolley added 20 points and Syracuse used a big third quarter to beat North Carolina.
Dariauna Lewis had 14 points and 15 rebounds for Syracuse (16-9, 7-7 ACC), which outrebounded North Carolina 43-29 to make up for 21 turnovers.
North Carolina was without two starters for the second straight game in Alyssa Ustby (13.6 points and 8.9 rebounds) and Eva Hodgson (10.2 points) due to injury. Deja Kelly led North Carolina (17-7, 8-5) with a career-high 32 points. Kennedy Todd-Williams added 14 points.
MIAMI 86, NO. 19 FLORIDA STATE 82
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Haley Cavinder made eight straight free throws in the final 30 seconds and finished with a career-high 33 points to help Miami beat a ranked team for the third time this season.
Miami used a five-point possession to tie it at 72 with 4:25 left. The Hurricanes took a 75-73 lead on a 3-pointer by Cavinder with 2:10 remaining. Florida State forward Makayla Timpson made layups with 25.2 seconds and 18.5 seconds left, but Cavinder made free throws after each to seal it.
Jasmyne Roberts added 19 points for Miami (16-8, 9-4 ACC) and Ja&rsquo;Leah Williams had 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
Timpson finished with 19 points and nine rebounds for Florida State (20-6, 9-4). Sara Bejedi scored 13 points and Ta&rsquo;Niya Latson and Jazmine Massengill each had 12.
NO. 22 N.C. STATE 51, WAKE FOREST 42
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) &mdash;Saniya Rivers scored eight points in the third quarter and 10 of her team-high 12 points in the second half to help North Carolina State pull away from Wake Forest.
The road win was the Wolfpack&rsquo;s ninth straight over Wake Forest and comes after back-to-back losses at Georgia Tech and at home to No. 11 Virginia Tech.
NC State (17-7, 7-6 ACC) made just 19 of 56 shots from the floor (33.9%) and missed all 10 of its 3-point attempts.
Wake Forest (14-11, 5-9) was 16 of 62 from the field (25.8%), including 3 of 20 from beyond the arc. Jewel Spear was 5 of 24 from the field, including 1 of 10 from distance, and finished with 11 points. Elise Williams grabbed 11 rebounds.

A recap of Thursday's action in women's college hoops includes a star-studded top-5 matchup and South Carolina's 30th straight win.

No. 2 Indiana uses late scoring burst to beat No. 5 Iowa

Aliyah Boston scored 23 of her 26 points in the second half, including 14 in the fourth quarter, to help No. 1 South Carolina beat fifth-ranked UConn 81-77 on Sunday.
The Gamecocks (23-0) have won 29 consecutive games since losing to Kentucky in the SEC Tournament title game last year. They&rsquo;ve also won four of the past five meetings with the Huskies, including a victory in the NCAA championship game last season.
South Carolina used its size again to top the Huskies. The 6-foot-7 Kamilla Cardoso and Boston, the reigning AP Player of the Year helped the Gamecocks have a 42-30 advantage on the boards, including grabbing 25 offensive rebounds.
Boston finished with 11 rebounds for the 76th double-double of her career.
Aaliyah Edwards led UConn (21-3) with 25 points.
WASHINGTON 72, NO. 2 STANFORD 67
SEATTLE (AP) &mdash; Elle Ladine scored 21 points and Dalayah Daniels made two key free throws with 8 seconds left, helping Washington knock off Stanford.
Washington (13-9, 5-7 Pac-12) closed the game with a 9-2 run. Lauren Schwartz made two foul shots before Ladine put the Huskies in front with a layup with 1:41 left.
Daniels had 15 points in Washington&rsquo;s first victory over a ranked opponent this season. Haley Van Dyke scored 14.&nbsp;
Haley Jones scored 18 points for Stanford (22-3, 10-2), and reserve Brooke Demetre had 15. Cameron Brink finished with 14 points and six rebounds.
NO. 3 LSU 72, TEXAS A&amp;M 66
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) &mdash; Angel Reese had 26 points and 22 rebounds to help LSU outlast Texas A&amp;M.
Alexis Morris added 22 points before fouling out late to help LSU (23-0, 11-0 Southeastern Conference) remain undefeated ahead of next week&rsquo;s showdown with top-ranked and undefeated South Carolina. It was Reese&rsquo;s 23rd consecutive double-double.
An 8-0 run by Texas A&amp;M (6-15, 1-10) cut the lead to 66-62 with less than two minutes to go. Reese made two free throws before Kay Kay Green made 1 of 2 free throws on the other end to leave LSU up 68-63 with less than a minute left.
Last-Tear Poa added two free throws for the Tigers to push it to 70-63 seconds later. LSU forced a turnover and Reese added a basket to make it 72-63 with 17 seconds left to secure the victory.
Sahara Jones had 14 points for the Aggies, who lost their third straight.
NO. 4 INDIANA 69, PURDUE 46
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Sydney Parrish and Mackenzie Holmes each scored 15 points and Indiana won its 10th straight game, pulling away from Purdue in front of a record Boilermakers crowd.
The announced attendance of 14,876 was the largest for a Purdue women&rsquo;s home game. It marked the first sellout for a women&rsquo;s matchup at Mackey Arena since 2000 and third in program history.
Sara Scalia had 14 points and Chloe Moore-McNeil had 13 points and nine rebounds for the Hoosiers (22-1, 12-1 Big Ten).
Lasha Petree scored 13 points and Abbey Ellis had 10 to lead the Boilermakers (15-7, 6-6).
NO. 6 IOWA 95, PENN STATE 51
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) &mdash; Caitlin Clark had 23 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds to lead Iowa over Penn State.
Monika Czinano scored 14 points and Kate Martin added 11 for the Hawkeyes (19-4, 11-1 Big Ten), who took the lead midway through the first quarter and pulled away in a lopsided second half to win their eighth straight game.
Taniyah Thompson led Penn State (13-11, 4-9) with 11 points while Leilani Kapinus had 10. Kapinus, Makenna Marisa and Shay Ciezki, all averaging double figures this season, combined to go 2 for 15 from the floor in the first quarter.
NO. 7 UTAH 100, OREGON 92
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Alissa Pili scored a season-high 30 points, and Utah moved into a tie for first place in the Pac-12 Conference.
Jenna Johnson added 19 points and Kennady McQueen scored 16 as the Utes (20-2) shot 62.3% from the field. Utah improved to 10-2 in the conference to tie for the top spot with Stanford, which lost 72-67 at Washington earlier in the day.
Endyia Rogers scored 35 points to lead Oregon (14-9, 5-7). Chance Gray added 18 points and fellow freshman Grace VanSlooten had 16 for the Ducks, who shot 50% from the field and made nine 3-pointers two days after going 0-for-16 beyond the arc in a loss to Colorado.
NO. 8 MARYLAND 90, NO. 10 OHIO STATE 54
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) &mdash; Diamond Miller scored 16 of her 29 points in the third quarter, and Maryland earned its most lopsided win over a top-10 opponent.
Abby Meyers added 22 points and Shyanne Sellers contributed 19 for the Terrapins (19-5, 10-3), who rebounded emphatically from their loss at No. 6 Iowa on Thursday night with a 36-point win.
Taylor Thierry scored 21 for Ohio State. The Buckeyes (20-4, 9-4 Big Ten) have dropped four of five since starting the season 19-0.
NO. 16 DUKE 57, NO. 9 NOTRE DAME 52
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Celeste Taylor scored 14 points in Duke&rsquo;s come-from-behind victory at Notre Dame.
Trailing for most of the game&rsquo;s first 28 minutes, the Blue Devils (20-3, 10-2 ACC) took the lead for good in the final two minutes of the third.
Maddy Westbeld led Notre Dame (18-4, 9-3) with 15 points and Sonia Citron scored 14.
LOUISVILLE 62, NO. 11 NORTH CAROLINA 55
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) &mdash; Chrislyn Carr scored 11 of her 17 points in the third quarter and Louisville ended North Carolina&rsquo;s eight-game winning streak.
Hailey Van Lith also had 17 points for the Cardinals (17-8, 8-4 Atlantic Coast Conference), who made 9 of 12 free throws in the fourth quarter of a game that was mostly a defensive struggle.
Deja Kelly scored 13 points but was just 3-of-16 shooting for the Tar Heels (17-6, 8-4), Paulina Paris added 12 points and Anya Poole had 10.
NO. 14 UCLA 82, ARIZONA STATE 63
LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Charisma Osborne had 23 points, Londynn Jones added 20 off the bench, and UCLA pulled away in the second half to snap a three-game losing skid.
Gabriela Jaquez added 14 points off the bench for the Bruins (18-6, 7-5 Pac-12), who had a 42-6 advantage in bench scoring.
Tyi Skinner scored 28 points, Treasure Hunt 18 and Jaddan Simmons 10 for the Sun Devils (7-14, 0-12), who have lost 12 straight &mdash; the fifth-longest active streak in the nation.
NO. 18 MICHIGAN 77, MICHIGAN STATE 67
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) &mdash; Leigha Brown scored 19 of her 29 points in the second half and finished two assists shy of a triple-double to lead Michigan over rival Michigan State.
Brown scored 10 in the fourth quarter, eight from the foul line, and Maddie Nolan had two big 3-pointers in the fourth and scored 22 points for the Wolverines (19-5, 9-4 Big Ten Conference). Michigan pulled out a second-straight win without leading scored Laila Phelia, who has a lower leg injury.
Matilda Ekh and Moira Joiner both had 12 for the Spartans (11-12, 3-9), who lost their third straight since coach Susy Merchant had a medical issue and a minor car accident on Jan. 28. Dean Lockwood is the interim head coach. DeeDee Hagemann added 11 points and a season-high nine assists.
NO. 22 ARIZONA 81, SOUTHERN CAL 75, 2 OT
LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Cate Reese scored a career-high 33 points, including four free throws in the last 7.5 seconds of the second overtime, to give Arizona the win over Southern Cal.
Shay Pellington and Jade Loville both had 17 points for the Wildcats (18-5, 8-4 Pac-12 Conference), who picked up a critical sweep in Los Angeles after beating No. 14 UCLA 71-66 in overtime on Friday.
Helena Pueyo had her only two points from the foul line with 15 seconds to go for a 77-73 Arizona lead, the first time it became a two possession game in the second overtime.
Destiny Littleton had 21 points for the Trojans (17-6, 7-5), playing all 50 minutes, as did Kadi Sissoko, who scored 15 points. Rayah Marshall had 17 points, 20 rebounds and six blocks in 48 minutes. Doumbia, a senior transfer from Purdue, had a career-high 17 in 28 minutes off the bench before fouling out in the first OT.

A recap of Sunday's action in women's college hoops includes a star-studded meeting between the Gamecocks and UConn Huskies.

South Carolina wins rematch of NCAA final to stay undefeated

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Destiny Littleton scored 18 points with six assists as Southern California pulled off a program-defining victory Sunday with a 55-46 upset victory over No. 2 Stanford.
Okako Adika scored 11 points with 11 rebounds, while Taylor Bigby and Kayla Williams added nine points each as the Trojans set the tone with their defense and held on late to end a 14-game losing streak against the Cardinal, who had won 51 straight against unranked opponents.
It was USC&rsquo;s first victory over Stanford (17-2, 5-1 Pac-12) since the 2014 conference tournament. Cameron Brink scored 11 points with 14 rebounds for Stanford, which saw its 12-game winning streak come to an end.
USC (13-4, 3-3) held Stanford to four points in the first quarter, its low for any period this season.
NO. 1 SOUTH CAROLINA 81, MISSOURI 50
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) &mdash; Aliyah Boston had 20 points and 10 rebounds for her 71st career double-double and South Carolina won its 24th straight by beating Missouri.
Boston&rsquo;s 11th game with double-figure points and rebounds moved her with one of program-record holder Sheila Foster &mdash; and kept the Gamecocks perfect at 18-0 and 6-0 in the Southeastern Conference.
Zia Cooke added 16 points and Ashlyn Watkins 13 for the Gamecocks.&nbsp;
Missouri (14-5, 3-3) lost its third straight after opening SEC play with three consecutive victories. Lauren Hansen finished with 14 points to lead the Tigers.
NO. 4 UCONN 65, GEORGETOWN 50
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) &mdash; Aaliyah Edwards scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as UConn opened up a close game against Georgetown in the second half.
Huskies leading scorer Azzi Fudd left the game in the first half when she appeared to reinjure her right knee. Fudd was playing in just her second game back after missing the previous eight after hurting that knee in December.
Dorka Juhasz had 13 points for the UConn (15-2, 8-0 Big East), and Nika Muhl and Lou Lopez Senechal each added 12.
Brianna Scott led Georgetown (8-9, 1-7) with 11 points.
NO. 5 LSU 84, AUBURN 54
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) &mdash; Angel Reese had 23 points and 15 rebounds to maintain her streak of double-doubles in every game this season, and LSU improved its program-record best start to 18-0 with a win over Auburn.
Jasmine Carson scored 18 points, and Alexis Morris had 12 points and 10 assists for LSU, which led the entire way to end up 6-0 in Southeastern Conference play &mdash; winning each of those by 19 or more points.
Precious Johnson scored 13 points and Kharyssa Richardson added 10 for Auburn (10-7, 0-5), which lost its fifth straight since opening SEC play.
NO. 6 INDIANA 93, WISCONSIN 56
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Mackenzie Holmes scored 29 points and Yarden Garzon added 19 to help Indiana run to a 93-56 win over Wisconsin.
Indiana (16-1, 5-1 Big Ten) shot 55% from the field, including 8-for-20 from beyond the arc, while its defense held Wisconsin (6-12, 2-5) to 35% shooting.
The Badgers had no answers for Holmes, who shot 11-for-15 from the field in her 26 minutes.
Wisconsin was led by Brooke Schramek&rsquo;s 13 points and Serah Williams&rsquo; 10.
NO. 7 NOTRE DAME 72, SYRACUSE 56
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) &mdash; Olivia Miles scored 13 of her game-high 23 points during the second half of Notre Dame&rsquo;s win over Syracuse.
Dara Mabrey chipped in 15 points for the Irish (14-2, 5-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who were coming off a dominant 86-47 victory over Wake Forest on Thursday. Miles also had seven boards and seven assists.
Dyaisha Fair&rsquo;s 14 points led the way for the Orange (13-5, 4-3), who entered Sunday on a three-game winning streak.
NO. 8 UCLA 87, CALIFORNIA 70
LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Freshman Londynn Jones had 18 points and Charisma Osborne added 17 to lead UCLA past Cal.
UCLA star freshman Kiki Rice had a double double with 15 points and a career-high 12 assists.
The Bruins (15-3, 4-2 Pac-12) trailed by as many as 12 points in the first quarter but came back. Cal played well on the road and kept it close until the fourth, when UCLA, trailing by two points, went on a 12-2 run.
Kemery Martin had a game-high 23 points for the Bears ((10-7, 1-5).
NO. 9 MARYLAND 80, RUTGERS 56
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) &mdash; Diamond Miller had 17 points, six rebounds and five steals, and Maryland forced 17 first-half turnovers in a victory over Rutgers.
The Terrapins (14-4, 5-2 Big Ten) rebounded from a loss at No. 6 Indiana earlier in the week. Brinae Alexander led Maryland with 20 points, surpassing 1,000 for her career, and Abby Meyers added 14 with three steals.
The Terps beat Rutgers (8-11, 2-5) for the second time in 14 days. The Scarlet Knights turned the ball over 22 times in the first meeting, and they had 23 on Sunday against Maryland&rsquo;s pressing defense.
Kaylene Smikle scored 21 points for Rutgers and Chyna Cornwell contributed 15.
NO. 10 UTAH 80, NO. 14 ARIZONA 79
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) &mdash; Alissa Pili scored 27 points, including the winning free throws with 0.3 seconds left, to lead Utah past Arizona.
Pili went 11 of 16 from the field, while Gianna Kneepkens finished with 20 points and seven rebounds for the Utes (15-1, 5-1 Pac-12). Issy Palmer added 10 points.
Cate Reese tallied 25 points and 10 rebounds to lead Arizona (14-4, 4-3). Jade Loville finished with 17 points and Esmery Martinez and Shaina Pellington chipped in 10 apiece for the Wildcats, who lost their second straight game.
NO. 22 NORTH CAROLINA 56, NO. 11 N.C. STATE 47
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Kennedy Todd-Williams scored eight of her 15 points in the fourth quarter, Destiny Adams scored all of her eight points in the final 4 minutes and North Carolina beat rival N.C. State.
Alyssa Ustby added nine points and a career-high 18 rebounds for North Carolina (12-5, 3-3 ACC).
Jakia Brown-Turner led N.C. State (13-4, 3-3) with 14 points and Camille Hobby scored 13 in a game that saw 10 lead changes and six ties through the first three quarters.
TEXAS 68, NO. 15 IOWA STATE 53
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; DeYona Gaston scored 17 points and Shaylee Gonzales had five of her 11 in a game-breaking 13-0 run in the fourth quarter and Texas defeated Iowa State.
Izzi Zingaro&rsquo;s layup to open the fourth quarter pulled the Cyclones within 52-49 but they went scoreless for the next 6:17, missing five shots with five turnovers as the Longhorns increased the defensive pressure.
Sonya Morris added 11 points for the Longhorns (13-5, 4-1 Big 12 Conference), who have won 10 of 11 since a 5-4 start knocked them out of the rankings.
Ashley Joens scored 21 points for Iowa State (11-4, 3-2) and grabbed six rebounds to become the Cyclones&rsquo; all-team leading rebounder.
NO. 16 DUKE 65, GEORGIA TECH 47
ATLANTA (AP) &mdash; Celeste Taylor scored 13 points, Elizabeth Balogun added 12 and Duke overcame a halftime deficit to defeat Georgia Tech for its 11th straight win.
The Yellow Jackets managed only six of their 19 second-half points in the fourth quarter and Duke (16-1, 6-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) did not allow a point in the final 5:45 of the game, outscoring Georgia Tech 9-0 down the stretch.
Kayla Blackshear led Georgia Tech (9-9, 0-7 ACC) with 14 points. She made 7 of 10 shots and grabbed eight rebounds. Tonie Morgan added 10 points, five rebounds and three assists.
WEST VIRGINIA 74, NO. 18 BAYLOR 65
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) &mdash; Madisen Smith and Ja&rsquo;Naiya Quinerly scored 17 points apiece, Jayla Hemingway added 15 points and 14 rebounds and West Virginia&rsquo;s defense forced seven fourth-quarter turnovers in its win over Baylor.
West Virginia (12-4, 3-2 Big 12) has won three consecutive games and improved to 4-22 all-time against Baylor.
Sarah Andrews hit four 3-pointers and finished with 24 points, Darianna Littlepage-Buggs added 14 points and 15 rebounds, and Caitlin Bickle scored 10 points for Baylor (12-4, 3-1).
WASHINGTON STATE 85, NO. 21 OREGON 84, OT
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Bella Murekatete scored 20 points, Jessica Clark scored six of her career-high 14 in overtime and Washington State defeated Oregon for its first win over a ranked team since 1998.
Washington State won despite giving up a 14-point lead in the final four minutes, allowing the tying free throws with 0.1 left in regulation and surviving an Oregon shot in the closing seconds of overtime. The Cougars never trailed in the extra session, which started with a Clark layup for a 78-76 lead.
Charlisse Leger-Walker scored 17 points for Washington State (13-3, 3-3 Pac-12 Conference), Johanna Teder had 15 and Ula Motuga had 14 with 10 rebounds.
Endyia Rogers scored 33 points, making 6 of 8 3-point attempts, for Oregon (13-5, 4-3), Chance Gray added 22, Te-Hina Paopao 11 and Grace VanSlooten 10.
NO. 24 ILLINOIS 70, MINNESOTA 57
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) &mdash; Makira Cook scored 20 points, Genesis Bryant added 18 and Illinois celebrated its first game as a ranked team in 23 years with a win over Minnesota.
Brynn Shoup-Hill and Adalia McKenzie both added 13 points for the Illini (15-3, 5-2 Big Ten Conference), who haven&rsquo;t had a winning season since 2012-13, haven&rsquo;t made the NCAA Tournament since 2003 and were last ranked on Nov. 27, 2000.
Alanna Micheaux scored 24 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for the Golden Gophers (8-10, 1-6), who have lost five straight. Micheaux was 11-of-16 shooting, her teammates 12 of 46 (26%).

A recap of Sunday's top-25 action in women's college basketball includes the Trojans' first victory over the Cardinal in nine years.

USC topples No. 2 Stanford, its first vs Cardinal since 2014

Basketball News highlights the reporting, analysis and podcasts that defined a year of basketball in 2022.

Best of Basketball News: Spotlighting our top content from 2022

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Maddy Westbeld scored 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and No. 5 Notre Dame rallied in the fourth quarter to hold off Miami 66-63 on Thursday night.
Sonia Citron scored 13 and Olivia Miles finished with 12 points, nine assists and eight rebounds for Notre Dame. Lauren Ebo had 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Irish (11-1, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who have won five straight.
Destiny Harden had 12 points, nine rebounds for five steals for Miami (7-6, 0-2), which has dropped three straight. Haley Cavinder also scored 12 and Lashae Dwyer added 10 for the Hurricanes, who trailed by 13 early but took a three-point lead in the opening moments of the fourth quarter.
NO. 1 SOUTH CAROLINA 76, TEXAS A&amp;M 34
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) &mdash; Zia Cooke had 14 points and South Carolina opened Southeastern Conference play with a victory over Texas A&amp;M.
Freshman reserve Talaysia Cooper had 15 points for the Gamecocks (13-0), and sophomore backup Sania Feagin scored 11 points. All-American Aliyah Boston finished with six points and five rebounds, playing just 19 minutes in the runaway win.
Sydney Bowles and Jada Malone each scored eight points for Texas A&amp;M (5-6). The injury-riddled Aggies had only eight players available.
MICHIGAN STATE 83, NO. 4 INDIANA 78
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) &mdash; Kamaria McDaniel had 24 points and Michigan State defeated previously unbeaten Indiana.
Matilda Ekh and Taiyier Parks each had 18 for the Spartans (9-5, 1-2), and DeeDee Hagemann had 15 points and eight assists.
Mackenzie Holmes had 32 points and 12 rebounds for the Hoosiers (12-1, 2-1 Big Ten), while Yarden Garzon added 17.
DUKE 72, NO. 6 NC STATE 58
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Celeste Taylor scored 23 points, including a big 3-pointer in the fourth quarter, and Duke beat NC State.
Elizabeth Balogun had 16 points as the Blue Devils (12-1, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) picked up the most significant victory in coach Kara Lawson&rsquo;s three seasons. Shayeann Day-Wilson and Kennedy Brown each scored 10 points.
Saniya Rivers had 17 points for NC State (11-2, 1-1), which had won seven straight games this season. Jakia Brown-Turner scored 12 points and Aziaha James had 10.
CLEMSON 64, NO. 7 VIRGINIA TECH 59
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) &mdash; Amari Robinson had 16 points and nine rebounds, and Clemson earned its first victory against a top-10 opponent since 2000.
Ruby Whitehorn scored 13 points for the Tigers (10-4, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), including three free throws in the final 20 seconds. Daisha Bradford had 12, and Hannah Hank finished with 10 points and eight rebounds.
Cayla King had 15 points and five 3-pointers in Virginia Tech&rsquo;s second loss in three games. Georgia Amoore scored 14 points for the Hokie (11-2, 1-2), and reigning ACC Player of the Year Elizabeth Kitley had 14 points and six rebounds.
NO. 9 LSU 69, NO. 24 ARKANSAS 45
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) &mdash; Angel Reese and Alexis Morris each scored 19 points to lead LSU past Arkansas in both teams&rsquo; SEC opener.
Reese, who finished with a double-double by grabbing 16 rebounds, was one of three Tigers (13-0) who had double-digit boards. Flau&rsquo;jae Johnson had 11, to go along with 10 points, and LaDazhia Williams had 15 rebounds.
Samara Spencer led the Razorbacks (13-3) as she scored a team-high 17 points on 7 of 15 shooting. The rest of the team went a combined 10 of 46 from the floor.
NO. 12 IOWA 83, PURDUE 68
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) &mdash; Caitlin Clark scored 24 points, McKenna Warnock added 19 and Iowa defeated Purdue.
Monika Czinano added 12 points to surpass 2,000 for her career, reaching that milestone for the Hawkeyes (11-3, 3-0 Big Ten Conference) one game after Clark did. Hannah Stuelke had 11 points and 10 rebounds for her first career double-double.
Lasha Petree paced the Boilermakers (10-3, 1-2) with 22 points. Cassidy Hardin and Caitlyn Harper scored 10 apiece.
FLORIDA STATE 78, NO. 13 NORTH CAROLINA 71
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Makayla Timpson scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, Ta&rsquo;Niya Latson had 12 of her 21 points in the third quarter and Florida State beat North Carolina.
Florida State (13-2, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) avenged last season&rsquo;s 64-49 loss to North Carolina that ended a six-game winning streak in the series.
Deja Kelly scored 20 points to lead North Carolina (9-3, 0-1) in its conference opener. Alyssa Ustby added 16 points and 13 rebounds. Kennedy Todd-Williams also had 16 points to go with eight rebounds. Eva Hodgson had 12 points and seven assists.
NO. 18 ARIZONA 84, ARIZONA STATE 66
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) &mdash; Esmery Martinez finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds to power Arizona&rsquo;s win in its Pac-12 Conference opener.
Martinez sank 9 of 14 shots from the floor to help the Wildcats (11-1) shoot 55.4% overall. It was her fourth double-double of the season. Shaina Pellington added 14 points, Cate Reese finished with 13 points and Jade Loville scored 12.
Tyi Skinner made 10 of 21 shots with five 3-pointers, scoring 26 for the Sun Devils (7-5). Treasure Hunt pitched in with 13 points and six rebounds. Meg Newman had 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds off the bench.
NO. 19 GONZAGA 77, PEPPERDINE 63
MALIBU, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Kaylynne Truong hit six 3-pointers and scored 26 points, both career highs, to lead Gonzaga to its sixth-straight win.
Yvonne Ejim added 17 points and Eliza Hollingsworth had 16 and both grabbed nine rebounds for the Bulldogs (13-2, 3-0 West Coast Conference). Brynna Maxwell scored 10.
Ally Stedman led Pepperdine (6-7, 1-2) with 16 points. Theresa Grace Mbanefo added 15 points and nine rebounds and Jane Nwaba had 14 points.

A recap of women's top-25 hoops action highlights a comeback effort by the fifth-ranked Irish.

No. 5 Notre Dame rallies in fourth to beat Miami 66-63

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) &mdash; Aliyah Boston missed the second half of No. 1 South Carolina&rsquo;s game against Hampton on Sunday with her right foot in a walking boot, but reserves Bree Hall and Ashlyn Watkins scored 14 points each in an 85-38 win.
Kamila Cardoso added 11 points and 14 rebounds for South Carolina. It was the 6-foot-7 forward&rsquo;s eighth career double-double.
Boston, the reigning Associated Press Player of the Year, took a hard fall on a drive to the basket late in the second quarter and needed several moments to stand up. Soon after, she headed to the locker room before the period ended.
Boston did not come out for the start of the third quarter, returning to the bench midway through the period with a walking boot on her right foot. Boston spent the rest of the game cheering on her teammates, who improved to 6-0 this season and 5-0 all-time against the Pirates.
No. 2 STANFORD 68, HAWAII 39
HONOLULU (AP) &mdash; Ashten Pretchel scored 12 of her season-high 17 points in the first half to help Stanford easily defeat Hawaii on the final day of the Rainbow Wahine Showdown.
The Cardinal (7-1) erased an early deficit and held the Rainbow Wahine (1-6) to a season-low scoring output.
Pretchel came off the bench and shot 6 of 10 from the field, including hitting five 3-pointers. She also grabbed 11 rebounds.
Lily Wahinekapu led Hawaii with 12 points.
NO. 3 UCONN 86, NO. 9 IOWA 79
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Azzi Fudd scored 24 points to rally UConn past Iowa in the championship game of the first Phil Knight Legacy women&rsquo;s tournament.
Fudd had plenty of help, with Aaliyah Edwards (20 points, 13 rebounds) and three other Huskies (5-0) scoring in double-figures. Edwards was named MVP of the tournament.
Iowa (5-2) star Caitlin Clark had 25 points, and Kate Martin added 20.
Edwards got UConn off to a strong start, scoring 10 points while the Huskies built a 20-14 edge.
Clark and the Hawkeyes then surged with a 13-2 run to begin the second quarter and led 41-35 at halftime. Clark scored 17 points in the first half.
NO. 4 OHIO STATE 105, NORTH ALABAMA 67
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) &mdash; Rebeka Mikulasikova scored 23 points and Cotie McMahon added 20 to lead Ohio State past North Alabama.
The Buckeyes (6-0) shot 58.6% from the field as all five starters reached double figures in scoring.
North Alabama (3-3) trailed by eight points with less than eight minutes to go in the second quarter, but Ohio State extended its lead on an 11-0 run keyed by five points from Madison Greene.
The Buckeyes held a 59-37 lead at halftime and stretched it to as large as 39 with less than three minutes remaining.
No. 8 NORTH CAROLINA 73, No. 5 IOWA STATE 64
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Deja Kelly scored 29 points to power North Carolina to a 17-point comeback over Iowa State and win in the championship game of the Phil Knight Invitational tournament.
Kennedy Todd-Williams added 17 points to help the Tar Heels (6-0) complete the comeback and remain undefeated on the season. Alyssa Ustby contributed 14 points, nine rebounds, three steals and two blocks.
Stephanie Soares led the Cyclones (5-1) with 19 points and 12 rebounds, while Ashley Joens had 18 points and nine rebounds as Iowa State suffered its first loss of the year.
NO. 11 VIRGINIA TECH 89, LONGWOOD 28
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) &mdash; Elizabeth Kitley had a double-double, Kayana Traylor added a double-double off the bench, and Virginia Tech rolled over Longwood.
Kitley had 23 points and 14 rebounds for the Hokies. Traylor had 11 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and two steals. Ashley Owusu scored 21 points, making 4 of 5 3-pointers.
The Hokies established a program record by holding South Carolina Upstate to 24 points on Nov. 14. Longwood passed 24 points when Adriana Shipp-Davis made a layup with 4:44 remaining.
Shipp-Davis had seven rebounds for Longwood (1-5). The Lancers shot 16.7% overall, which was also their 3-point percentage (3-for-18).
NO. 14 MARYLAND 87, PITTSBURGH 63
FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Abby Meyers scored 12 of her 23 points in Maryland&rsquo;s 36-point third quarter and the Terrapins rolled past Pittsburgh to finish the Ft. Myers Tip-Off.
Brinae Alexander hit three 3-pointers in the Terps&rsquo; biggest quarter of the season and was 5 of 7 from distance to finish with 17 points. Lavender Briggs contributed 10 points as the three transfers had their biggest outputs of the season for Maryland. Shyanne Sellers added 13 points for the Terrapins (6-2), who went 2-1 in the tournament.
Maryland went 7 of 10 behind the arc and shot 55% in the second half.
Maliyah Johnson had 15 points for the Panthers (5-2), who only had one less 3-pointer but was outscored by 13 at the foul line where Maryland was 20 of 23.
No. 18 OREGON 86, MICHIGAN STATE 78
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Endyia Rogers scored 19 points, including critical back-to-back 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, Phillipina Kyei had a double-double with career highs and Oregon held off Michigan State in the third-place game of the Phil Knight Invitational.
The Ducks led 29-12 when Rogers scored the opening basket of the second quarter but the Spartans slowly came back behind Kamaria McDaniel, who had a season-high 28 points. McDaniel hit a 3-pointer and Matilda Ekh had a steal and layup and Michigan State tied the game with 7:17 to play.
That&rsquo;s when Rogers, who had a career-high five 3-pointers, scored from distance, the first coming after a timeout and the Ducks regained control.
Isaline Alexander scored 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting and Ekh 12 for the Spartans (6-2).
NO. 19 TEXAS 74, PRINCETON 50
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; Sonya Morris scored 15 points, Taylor Jones notched a double-double and Texas breezed to a victory over Princeton.
Morris sank 5 of 10 shots from the floor with two 3-pointers for Texas (3-3). Jones finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Rori Harmon had 11 points and Aaliyah Moore scored 10.
The Longhorns picked up their second straight win after a three-game losing streak. Texas fell 16 spots in the AP poll.
Kaitlyn Chen topped Princeton (3-2) with 15 points. Julia Cunningham added 10 points. Ellie Mitchell came into the game leading the nation with 16.2 rebounds per game. She didn&rsquo;t score and had seven boards.
No. 22 MICHIGAN 84, No. 21 BAYLOR 75
ESTERO, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Emily Kiser scored 26 points on 10-of-13 shooting and grabbed 13 rebounds, Laila Phelia added 20 points and Michigan scored the final 11 points to beat Baylor in the championship game of the Gulf Coast Showcase.
Maddie Nolan scored seven of her 12 points in a 20-5 run over the final 4-plus minutes and Leigha Brown finished with 11 points, eight rebounds and six assists forMichigan (7-0).
Ja&rsquo;Mee Asberry scored inside to give Baylor a 75-73 lead with 2 minutes to go but Brown made a layup and, after a missed 3-point shot on the other end, grabbed her own offensive rebound and kicked it out to Phelia for a 3 that gave the Wolverines the lead for good with 48 seconds to go.
Jaden Owens scored 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting for the Bears.
NO. 23 TENNESSEE 105, EASTERN KENTUCKY 71
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Rickea Jackson scored 15 points to lead a balanced attack and Tennessee coasted to a win over Eastern Kentucky.
Jordan Horston added 14 points for the Lady Vols (4-4), Jillian Hollingshead and Tamari Key 13 each and Karoline Striplin 10. Jackson and Horston both had five assists and joined Hollingshead with eight rebounds.
Antwainette Walker scored 18 points for the Colonels (4-3).
NO. 23 VILLANOVA 72, SOUTH FLORIDA 50
ESTERO, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Maddy Siegrist scored 25 points to surpass 2,000 for her career and Villanova used a hot start to beat South Florida in the third-place game at the Gulf Coast Showcase.
Siegrist scored 13 points in the first half and 10 in the third quarter as the Wildcats (6-1) took a 58-36 lead. Lucy Olsen scored 10 of her 13 before the break.
Siegrist became the third player in Villanova history to reach the 2,000-point plateau when she hit a jumper at 3:46 of the third quarter to put the Wildcats up 50-31.
Sammie Puisis scored 17 points for the Bulls (7-2). Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu had 14 points with 17 rebounds &mdash; matching her career high, and Elena Tsineke scored 11.

Boston, the reigning Associated Press Player of the Year, took a hard fall on a drive to the basket late in the second quarter.

Boston hurt in No. 1 Gamecocks’ win; No. 3 UConn tops Iowa

Is the NBA ready to add an expansion team? Evan Sidery explores what kind of team you could build in a present-day expansion draft.

NBA Expansion Mock Draft: What would a new expansion team look like?

TORONTO &ndash; The National Basketball Association (NBA) today announced that the eighth NBA Canada Series presented by Bell will feature two preseason games in Edmonton and Montreal in October 2022, marking the first time the series will be held since 2019.
On Sunday, Oct. 2, the Toronto Raptors will take on the Utah Jazz at Rogers Place in Edmonton, AB, marking the first NBA Canada Series presented by Bell appearance for the Jazz and the first NBA game at Rogers Place. &nbsp;The Raptors currently feature 2019 NBA champion Pascal Siakam and 2021-22 NBA Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes, in addition to Quebec-natives Chris Boucher and Khem Birch and Toronto&rsquo;s Dalano Banton. &nbsp;The Jazz currently feature three-time NBA All-Star Donovan Mitchell and Canadian forward Nickeil Alexander-Walker.
On Friday, Oct. 14, the Raptors will face the 2022 NBA Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics at the Bell Centre in Montreal, QC, marking the second NBA Canada Series presented by Bell appearance for the Celtics in Montreal (2013) and the league&rsquo;s sixth game in Montreal since 2012. &nbsp;The Celtics currently feature three-time NBA All-Star and 2021-22 All-NBA First Team member Jayson Tatum, 2020-21 NBA All-Star Jaylen Brown and 2021-22 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart.
Fans in Canada can register for exclusive presale ticket access at NBA.com/CanadaSeries. &nbsp;Tickets for both games will go on sale Aug. 19 through Ticketmaster. &nbsp;In addition to presenting partner Bell, supporting partners of the NBA Canada Series include Hennessy (Montreal), Michelob Ultra, Nike and Tangerine.
The two games will mark the 10-year anniversary of the first NBA Canada Series presented by Bell game, which featured the Raptors and the New York Knicks playing a preseason game in Montreal in 2012. &nbsp;In total, 14 NBA teams have participated in 14 preseason games across five provinces as part of the NBA Canada Series presented by Bell, drawing a total attendance of more than a quarter of a million Canadians.
For more information, fans in Canada can follow the NBA on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok. &nbsp;A full range of official NBA merchandise is available at the NBA Store in Canada by visiting NBAStore.ca.
Executive and Player Quotes:
NBA Canada Managing Director Leah MacNab:
&ldquo;As we approach 10 years since the first NBA Canada Series presented by Bell game, I am immensely proud of the positive impact this series continues to make on the Canadian basketball community &ndash; from first NBA experiences for fans and families, to hosting dozens of camps, community programs and court refurbishments, we appreciate the ongoing commitment of Bell and our teams to bring the thrill of live games to our dedicated fans across the country.
Bell Vice-President Brand &amp; Sponsorship, David Kennedy:
&ldquo;As a proud partner of both the Toronto Raptors and the league, we&rsquo;re excited to bring the live NBA experience back to fans in Edmonton and Montr&eacute;al. &nbsp;In addition to the games, our sponsorship of NBA Canada Series will include Bell for Better initiatives that will connect communities and inspire change through basketball.&rdquo;
Toronto Raptors General Manager Bobby Webster:
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s so good to once again be able to play in front of our fans across Canada. We&rsquo;re looking forward to returning to Montreal, and to playing at Rogers Place in Edmonton for the first time. It&rsquo;s a fantastic reminder, as we begin a new season, that we are Canada&rsquo;s team, and we look forward to making Raptors fans proud, no matter where they are cheering from.&rdquo;
Boston Celtics President Rich Gotham:
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re excited to bring Celtics basketball to fans in Montreal as part of NBA Canada Series. &nbsp;We applaud the NBA&rsquo;s continued commitment to growing the game globally.&rdquo;
Utah Jazz General Manager Justin Zanik:
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re excited to be featured in the preseason NBA Canada Series. &nbsp;It is a unique opportunity for our organization to engage with the league&rsquo;s Canadian fans in Edmonton. Our players and staff are looking forward to it.&rdquo;
About the NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a global sports and media organization with the mission to inspire and connect people everywhere through the power of basketball. &nbsp;Built around five professional sports leagues: &nbsp;the NBA, WNBA, NBA G League, NBA 2K League and Basketball Africa League, the NBA has established a major international presence with games and programming available in 215 countries and territories in more than 50 languages, and merchandise for sale in more than 200 countries and territories on all seven continents. &nbsp;NBA rosters at the start of the 2021-22 season featured a record 121 international players from 40 countries. &nbsp;NBA Digital&rsquo;s assets include NBA TV, NBA.com, the NBA App and NBA League Pass. &nbsp;The NBA has created one of the largest social media communities in the world, with 2.1 billion likes and followers globally across all league, team, and player platforms. &nbsp;Through NBA Cares, the league addresses important social issues by working with internationally recognized youth-serving organizations that support education, youth and family development, and health-related causes.

The eighth NBA Canada Series presented by Bell will feature two preseason games in Edmonton and Montreal in October 2022.

Raptors, Celtics and Jazz headline eighth NBA Canada Series

It's been nearly one month since the NBA's free-agency period got underway, and most of the notable players have already been signed. However, there are still a handful of available players.
Here's a look at the remaining free agents:&nbsp;
COLLIN SEXTON, RESTRICTED FREE AGENT
Collin Sexton injured his left knee last November, and an MRI revealed a torn meniscus that required season-ending surgery. The market has dried up for Sexton, and his best bet may be re-signing with the Cleveland Cavaliers on the qualifying offer (worth $7.2 million) and then hitting unrestricted free agency next summer. During the 2020-21 season, Sexton averaged 24.3 points and 4.4 assists while shooting 47.5% from the floor, 37.5% from downtown and 81.5% from the free-throw line. However, he struggled defensively, and the Cavs registered a league-worst 60-159 record over the first three years of his career. With Sexton out of action last season, Darius Garland emerged as an All-Star and the 44-38 Cavs made the Play-In Tournament.
MILES BRIDGES, RESTRICTED FREE AGENT
Miles Bridges is coming off a breakout season, averaging a career-high 20.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.9 threes and 0.9 steals. It seemed like the forward was due for a massive pay raise and Charlotte Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak even said that the team was going to re-sign him. However, that was before Bridges was arrested for domestic violence on the eve of free agency. Bridges' wife, Mychelle Johnson, <a href="https://twitter.com/TheNBACentral/status/1542723880619581440/photo/4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recently spoke out</a> about Bridges' alleged abuse and documented her serious injuries. Not only has this situation understandably scared teams away, it's also very possible that the NBA will suspend Bridges.
MONTREZL HARRELL, UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENT
Montrezl Harrell just delivered another productive and efficient season as a reserve, averaging 13.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 23.1 minutes, while shooting 64.5% from the field. Harrell started the season with the Washington Wizards and then got traded to the Charlotte Hornets prior to the deadline. However, it's worth noting that the 28-year-old is facing felony drug charges after officers claimed to find three pounds of marijuana in his car during a traffic stop back in May. That's likely why the former Sixth Man of the Year is still available.
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DENNIS SCHRODER, UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENT
Last offseason, Dennis Schroder signed with the Boston Celtics at a significant discount. After struggling during the first half of the season, he was traded to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Daniel Theis. He finished last season averaging 13.5 points, 4.6 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.3 threes per game, while shooting 43.1% from the field, 34.4% from three-point range and 85.3% from the free-throw line.
HASSAN WHITESIDE, UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENT
Hassan Whiteside is a solid backup center who protects the rim. Last season, while backing up Rudy Gobert on the Utah Jazz, he averaged 8.2 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in 17.9 minutes per game. In eight starts, the 33-year-old averaged 11.5 points, 11.3 rebounds and 1.9 blocks while shooting 63.5% from the field.
CARMELO ANTHONY, UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENT
Last season, 37-year-old put up 13.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.2 threes, 0.8 blocks and 0.7 steals in 26.0 minutes per game with the Los Angeles Lakers. In recent years, he has shot the ball much better from three-point range, knocking down 37.5% of his three-point attempts last year and 40.9% from deep the year before. Anthony has been working out with his son, Kiyan, at Impact Basketball in Las Vegas as he prepares for next season.
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Carmelo Anthony (<a href="https://twitter.com/carmeloanthony?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@carmeloanthony</a>) working out at <a href="https://twitter.com/impactbball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@impactbball</a> in Las Vegas: <a href="https://t.co/Rnz8Bam7EO">pic.twitter.com/Rnz8Bam7EO</a>
&mdash; Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlexKennedyNBA/status/1547693404414365702?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 14, 2022</a></blockquote>

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DEMARCUS COUSINS, UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENT
Cousins became a key contributor after joining the Denver Nuggets in February, averaging 8.9 points and 5.5 rebounds in 13.9 minutes per contest. He looked great at times during the playoffs too, scoring an efficient 19 points in 15 minutes during Game 5 against the Golden State Warriors. The 31-year-old can still help a team.
&ldquo;I belong in this league,&rdquo; Cousins said after Denver was eliminated. &ldquo;I was given the opportunity; I'm thankful for Mike Malone. I spoke with him before. A lot of doors closed for me. Mike looked out, gave me an opportunity. I just tried to take the best advantage of it as I could. That's what I did.&rdquo;
JEREMY LAMB, UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENT
Last season, the Indiana Pacers traded Lamb to the Sacramento Kings as part of the Domantas Sabonis deal. In 56 games, Lamb averaged 7.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.0 three in 16.7 minutes a night. The 30-year-old struggled with his shot, knocking down just 38.3% of his attempts from the field and 32.4% of his threes (after shooting 45.1% from the field and 40.6% from three the previous year).&nbsp;
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TRISTAN THOMPSON, UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENT
Last season, Thompson suited up for the Sacramento Kings, Indiana Pacers and Chicago Bulls, averaging 6.0 points and 5.1 rebounds in 15.7 minutes per game. At this stage of his career, the 31-year-old is a solid backup big man who can provide frontcourt depth.
ANDRE IGUODALA, UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENT
Last season, Iguodala rejoined the Golden State Warriors, averaging 4.0 points, 3.7 assists, 3.2 rebounds, 0.9 steals and 0.7 blocks in 19.5 minutes across 31 games. At this stage of his career, the 38-year-old is mainly a veteran leader and strong locker-room presence, but he can still produce in limited reserve minutes. Don't be surprised if he re-signs with Golden State.
HONORABLE MENTION: LaMarcus Aldridge (UFA), Wayne Ellington (UFA), Blake Griffin (UFA), Markieff Morris (UFA), Isaiah Thomas (UFA), DJ Augustin (UFA), Sharife Cooper (UFA), Dwight Howard (UFA), Rajon Rondo (UFA), Jordan Nwora (RFA), Lou Williams (UFA), Eric Bledsoe (UFA), Juan Hernangomez (UFA), Josh Jackson (UFA), Duane Washington Jr. (UFA), Paul Millsap (UFA), Eric Paschall (UFA), Moses Brown (UFA), Jarrett Culver (UFA), Rodney Hood (UFA), Avery Bradley (UFA), Kent Bazemore (UFA), Michael Carter-Williams (UFA), Brandon Goodwin (UFA), Tony Snell (UFA), Ben McLemore (UFA), Langston Galloway (UFA), Elfrid Payton (UFA)

Nearly one month into the NBA's free-agency period, which players are still available?

2022 NBA Free Agency: Which players are still available?

You never know who's going to walk through the door at Impact Basketball in Las Vegas.&nbsp;
Some days, you may see multiple stars training with Joe Abunassar and his staff. One day last summer, Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, Paul George, LaMelo Ball and Tyrese Haliburton each came through to work out. Over a 24-hour span last week, Kevin Garnett, Carmelo Anthony and Tayshaun Prince showed up to the famed gym.
Impact Basketball is known as a revolving door of notable NBA players, with plenty of people popping in for a workout or pick-up run. However, a select few players spend the entire offseason at Impact, creating a custom development plan, working out with Abunassar daily, following a strict diet, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/josh-green-impact-basketball-dallas-mavericks-playoffs-joe-abunassar-offseason-training-diet-nutrition" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tracking their biometrics</a> and more.
This summer, one player who committed to this intensive offseason regimen is Dallas Mavericks wing Josh Green. Less than 24 hours after the Mavs were eliminated from the 2022 NBA Playoffs, Green contacted Abunassar to map out his summer program.
&ldquo;I texted Joe the day after we unfortunately lost, and I told him that I was ready to go whenever,&rdquo; Green told Basketball News. &ldquo;After that, I stayed about three days in Dallas and went on a quick vacation, and then I was at Impact. I&rsquo;ve been here for about a month.&rdquo;
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve had a lot of time to work with him this summer because he got here early,&rdquo; Abunassar said. &ldquo;He took four or five days after the season and then got out here, and he hasn&rsquo;t left town. While guys are in and out and doing all of this other stuff, he&rsquo;s been locked in and working on the same things every day. The fact that he&rsquo;s locked in and so consistent is going to result in a very good season. I think it says a lot about his commitment and what his focus is for next season. It&rsquo;s time for Josh to really, really step up &mdash; as he did last year, but this is that next step.&rdquo;
Prior to Garnett&rsquo;s MVP season in 2003-04, KG locked in and really embraced the nutrition component of Abunassar&rsquo;s program. Before Lowry became a first-time All-Star at 28 years old, he spent the offseason with Impact, making significant changes to his diet for the first time and even leaving his honeymoon early to get in extra training. In both cases, Abunassar predicted their breakout success before the season based on what he&rsquo;d witnessed behind the scenes.
&ldquo;If you talk to most NBA players, they&rsquo;re all over the place. For them to put themselves in one place for two straight months and consistently follow the same schedule, that&rsquo;s pretty rare,&rdquo; Abunassar said. &ldquo;But I will tell you this: I&rsquo;ve done this for 25 years and every guy who does that has a good season &mdash; whether it&rsquo;s with me or wherever.&rdquo;
Green is hoping to become Impact's latest success story. The 21-year-old entered this offseason with some extra motivation after getting benched during the Mavs&rsquo; postseason run.
&ldquo;Being able to get to the Conference Finals during my second year only makes me want to go further and further,&rdquo; Green said. &ldquo;I was able to play in the Utah series and then got benched. So, for me, it&rsquo;s cool that I was able to play in the rotation for the first [series], but shit, I&rsquo;m a basketball player and wanted to continue to [play]. But there was a reason: I need to hit my shots. So going into this offseason, that motivated me a lot more. I want to make sure I&rsquo;m ready to go for next season, so when that opportunity comes again, I&rsquo;m confident going into it and ready to go...
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard being on the bench and watching the team lose and being like, &lsquo;Damn, I want to play.&rsquo; ... I&rsquo;m one of the most competitive people. I hate it, but whatever it is, I&rsquo;m just very competitive.&rdquo;
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While he played sparingly during the Mavs&rsquo; series against Phoenix Suns, he was animated when discussing Dallas&rsquo; Game 6 win to protect its homecourt and the team&rsquo;s blowout win in Game 7 to advance to the Western Conference Finals.
&ldquo;It was crazy!&rdquo; Green said of beating the Suns. &ldquo;Obviously, we had to defend our home court [in Game 6], otherwise they were going to win it. And I felt confident; I had never seen our team so locked in, so I was like, &lsquo;We&rsquo;ve got this game.&rsquo; Then, heading into Phoenix, you know, it&rsquo;s hard &mdash; you don&rsquo;t know what to expect. But we were the same prepared team. Then, we come out and we just start connecting and (snaps fingers).
"It was crazy, man. I&rsquo;m just watching the game like, &lsquo;Is this really happening?!&rsquo;&rsquo; It was really awesome to be a part of that and see the team so happy. Luka [Doncic] was a great leader that game, as he was the whole year. It was good for everybody, it was just a huge stride for our whole team.&rdquo;
Green looks like a different player this summer, knocking down three-pointers with ease, putting the ball on the floor and turning heads throughout the gym.
&ldquo;I think the biggest thing for me is just realizing what I need to do to help the team out; I&rsquo;m not trying to work on stuff that I&rsquo;m not gonna do in a game,&rdquo; Green said. &ldquo;And I&rsquo;m coming in with full confidence, knowing what I need to do and being ready to go. I&rsquo;m more motivated than ever.&rdquo;
&ldquo;The first month, we really just worked on ball-handling, finishing and getting him more efficient,&rdquo; Abunassar explained. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s so strong and powerful and fast that, if he&rsquo;s efficient and attacks the rim at angles and can finish, he&rsquo;s going to be really difficult to stop. Last year, he finished the season shooting over 40% on corner threes, so he&rsquo;s gotten a lot better in that area &mdash; but we&rsquo;ve continued to work on his three-point shooting. Three-point shooting, ball-handling, finishing and getting him into the ultimate physical shape are the main things.&rdquo;
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Dallas Mavericks wing Josh Green (<a href="https://twitter.com/JoshBGreen?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JoshBGreen</a>) is shooting the ball well: <a href="https://t.co/e5uRnyrbFr">pic.twitter.com/e5uRnyrbFr</a>
&mdash; Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlexKennedyNBA/status/1547655324781330435?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 14, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Green admits that his ball-handling and shooting weren&rsquo;t where they needed to be last season.
&ldquo;Last year, I was very hesitant with my dribbling and not knowing [what to do],&rdquo; Green said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve always known how to dribble &mdash; like in high school and everything, I was playing point guard. But as you get on [higher levels of play], you get the ball less and less. So for me, it&rsquo;s just making sure that I&rsquo;m able to dribble. It creates many more [opportunities], and it builds a lot of confidence as well when you&rsquo;re able to dribble, so that&rsquo;s been a huge thing that we&rsquo;ve tried to work on this offseason.
&ldquo;[And shooting] is just something that you can never not work on. For me, my leg would go in a lot last year and I need to make sure that my base isn&rsquo;t too wide, so there were a couple of corrections that I made. I&rsquo;m just trying to stay as consistent as I can, and I&rsquo;ve been able to see a good amount of development in my shot, so I&rsquo;m just trying to keep that up and make sure that I shoot well next year... So, yeah, my shot has been a big thing that I&rsquo;ve been working on this summer.&rdquo;
After working on these aspects of his game over the last month, Green looks more confident than ever.
&ldquo;My confidence is high, man. I&rsquo;m ready to go, and I can&rsquo;t wait for next year,&rdquo; Green said. &ldquo;Coach [Jason] Kidd really helped me out last year, and he has a lot of trust in me, so now it&rsquo;s just about me going forward and continuing to develop and show what I can do. I&rsquo;m on a veteran team &mdash; a very good team &mdash; so for me, it&rsquo;s just about doing what I can do to impress and just play like I usually play.&rdquo;
&ldquo;His confidence has improved a lot,&rdquo; Abunassar added. &ldquo;When you&rsquo;re working on something for three or four hours a day, you tend to become more confident as it improves. The confidence comes with the work, and the fact that he&rsquo;s stayed so consistent... I think just recently, the confidence has gotten even higher because it&rsquo;s working. As Josh has seen himself progress, he has become much more confident.&rdquo;
Green is also buying in from a nutrition standpoint. He&rsquo;s following his dietary plan and avoiding certain foods (such as butter), which has made eating out at restaurants a challenge.
"I want to have a big year,&rdquo; Green explained to Basketball News. "When you're young, whatever you see in front of you is what you want. I [was] able to start here early and realize, 'If I want to play ball for a while, it's important to put the right things in my body and stay healthy.' It's the same thing as seeing your physical therapist and getting treatment &mdash; if not more important for your body."&nbsp;
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/grre_690w.jpg" alt="" width="660" height="355" />
Abunassar is pleased with Green&rsquo;s development, especially since he&rsquo;s still just 21 years old (which is younger than some incoming rookies).&nbsp;
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s only 21, and I think his long-term potential is to be a starter on a really good team for a long time,&rdquo; Abunassar said. &ldquo;Josh wants to win. He&rsquo;s not a volume type of guy; he&rsquo;s a key piece on a really good team. I think teams are seeing that and Dallas is seeing that and putting a lot of confidence in him.&nbsp;
&ldquo;His rookie season was the COVID year, which started late. For all of those guys, it was kind of a wash; they couldn&rsquo;t do team-building stuff or extra workouts &mdash; there were restrictions on their gym time. So, for all of those guys, you&rsquo;re really looking at last year as being their rookie season. If you look at what he did as somewhat of a rookie last year, it was very impressive. And in the future, he&rsquo;ll continue to build to where he&rsquo;s a mainstay on a really good team.&rdquo;
Green agrees with Abunassar&rsquo;s assessment of his rookie year, and he hopes that the work he&rsquo;s putting in at Impact Basketball can help him take the next step in his career.
&ldquo;I feel like last year was a good year &mdash; it kinda felt like my rookie year, since I didn&rsquo;t really get to play much during my actual rookie year,&rdquo; Green said. &ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s kinda hard to tell [my ceiling] right now, so for me, it&rsquo;s just about focusing on the present and making sure that I&rsquo;m ready to go for next season. But I&rsquo;d like to think that I do have a high upside, and I really do think I can be a major piece for the Mavericks moving forward. I&rsquo;m hoping that next year I&rsquo;m able to show that.&nbsp;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
&ldquo;I love playing with guys like Luka and the rest of the team, and I think it&rsquo;s a perfect situation for me to be in. A lot of other rookies get to go to teams where they get an opportunity right away, but for others like me, it takes some time. I&rsquo;m just happy that I&rsquo;m at the time now where I&rsquo;m finally getting in the rotation.&rdquo;
Over his first two seasons in the NBA, Green didn&rsquo;t get to play a ton, but he did show flashes. Last January, in a win over the Houston Rockets, Green had 17 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals in 25 minutes (while shooting 85.7% from the field, nailing his only attempt from three-point range and hitting 4-of-5 free throws). In the very next game, Green helped the Mavericks beat the Chicago Bulls, contributing an efficient 18 points and 6 rebounds in 22 minutes (on 80/100/100 shooting splits).
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m very impressed with Josh and his game,&rdquo; Abunassar said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s got great size, great speed, great athleticism. Defense is what&rsquo;s going to get him on the floor in Dallas; obviously, with their roster, they&rsquo;re not looking for another 25-point-per-game scorer. He&rsquo;ll start with his defense, but I think his offensive role will expand tremendously this season because of the improved ball-handling and finishing, and just him being a more confident Josh on the offensive side.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Last year, over the last 40- or 50-something games, he played 15-to-18 minutes and they were putting him in the game to guard. Now, I think they&rsquo;re going to continue to put him in the game to guard, but he can expand on that. Like any young player, you add stuff to your game every year; this year, I just think his offensive focus and their ability to use him on offense will be much greater.&rdquo;&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Dallas Mavericks wing Josh Green (<a href="https://twitter.com/JoshBGreen?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JoshBGreen</a>) is putting in work at <a href="https://twitter.com/impactbball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@impactbball</a>: <a href="https://t.co/3LwEyVpSFX">pic.twitter.com/3LwEyVpSFX</a>
&mdash; Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlexKennedyNBA/status/1547651195199557633?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 14, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

In 2020, Green represented Australia in the Olympics and helped the Boomers win the bronze medal (the country's first Olympic medal in men's basketball). It was an incredible experience for Green, who was a teenager at the time.
&ldquo;When we were at the Olympics, it felt like the whole world was behind us,&rdquo; Green said. &ldquo;I feel like it&rsquo;s a good team to cheer on; we have very good personalities and the team is just great to be around. I think [basketball] is getting a lot bigger in Australia. Obviously, there&rsquo;s Aussie rules [football] and rugby and cricket and all of that stuff, but now that there are seven or eight Australian players around the NBA, it&rsquo;s becoming a lot more appealing for these guys.&rdquo;
Next month, Green is visiting Australia for two weeks. Then, he&rsquo;ll be back at Impact Basketball until the start of training camp.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m looking forward to being able to go back and just being able to go to my old school and everything like that,&rdquo; Green said. &ldquo;I miss Australia. I miss Australia a lot... I&rsquo;m really looking forward to it.&rdquo;
At 14 years old, Green left Australia in order to play high-school basketball in the United States and chase his NBA dream. It was a sacrifice that he was willing to make, but it wasn&rsquo;t easy.
&ldquo;When I came from Australia, I remember landing in Phoenix and being really excited, but then I was like, &lsquo;Oh my God, I&rsquo;m not going back,&rsquo;&rdquo; Green recalled. &ldquo;At that point, I was at a stage where I wasn&rsquo;t being recruited and I didn&rsquo;t even know if I was going to play basketball [at the next level], so I actually started asking my mom about going back to Australia and playing Australian football. But yeah, it was really hard.&nbsp;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
&ldquo;And going back is gonna be hard because I want to go back, but I miss it so much that I know I&rsquo;m gonna be there [and not want to leave]. It&rsquo;s awesome, man, and I&rsquo;m really looking forward to it. It&rsquo;s home. My little sister is talking to me &mdash; she&rsquo;s young and she doesn&rsquo;t remember anything, so I&rsquo;m like, &lsquo;It&rsquo;s definitely time to go back.&rsquo;&rdquo;
Green is glad that today&rsquo;s up-and-coming Australian prospects don&rsquo;t need to leave the country in order to get recruited or show up on the NBA&rsquo;s radar. He points to his childhood friend, Tyrese Proctor, as an example; the Sydney native is a five-star recruit who will play for Duke next year.
&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s awesome, you&rsquo;ve got guys like Tyrese Procter coming up now,&rdquo; Green said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s crazy because our families are extremely close; my dad was the best man in [his parents&rsquo;] wedding. So it&rsquo;s awesome seeing him from such a young age and then, out of nowhere, he&rsquo;s an NBA prospect now!
"But it&rsquo;s cool seeing Australia finally on the come up. For guys like me, I had to move at a young age in order to get recognition. Now, the fact that you can stay in Australia and go down that path [and get noticed], I think it&rsquo;s great. It&rsquo;s one of those things where I&rsquo;m always down to get involved and help out the next up-and-coming group. Australian culture is like nothing else I&rsquo;ve ever experienced, so I never want to be away from that.&rdquo;
Green would surely love to spend the entire summer in Australia and eat whatever he wants (like many 21-year-olds), but he understands that this is a pivotal summer for his NBA career.
Once again, he&rsquo;s prioritizing his NBA dream and making the necessary sacrifices in order to realize his full potential.

Mavericks wing Josh Green gave Alex Kennedy a behind-the-scenes look at his offseason training at Impact Basketball in Las Vegas.

After playoff benching, Mavs' Josh Green is 'more motivated than ever'

RJ Nembhard Jr. had 16 points and six assists, Isaiah Mobley added 15 points and 10 rebounds, and the Cleveland Cavaliers held off the Atlanta Hawks 94-90 on Saturday in the NBA Summer League.
Mobley, a second-round pick in this year's draft, grabbed six rebounds on the offensive end and added four assists for the Cavaliers (3-2). Fellow second-rounder Luke Travers pitched in with 14 points and five boards. Cam Young scored 15 points. First-round pick Ochai Agbaji did not play.
Tyrese Martin scored 21 to top the Hawks (2-3). Chaundee Brown Jr. added 17 points. Chris Clemons finished with 16 points, while Tyson Etienne scored 13.
Atlanta's top pick A.J. Griffin &mdash; 17th overall &mdash; did not play.
PISTONS 102, MAGIC 86
Jules Bernard had 22 points and nine rebounds, Charlie Moore had 21 points and eight assists, and Detroit cruised past Orlando.
Bernard sank all three of his 3-point attempts for the Pistons (3-2). Braxton Key added 15 points, while Stanley Umude scored 13. Detroit sat first-rounders Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren for the finale.
Justin James had 18 points to lead the Magic (2-3). Tommy Kuhse added 13 points, while Zavier Simpson and Daniel Oturu scored 10 apiece.
Orlando dropped its final three games without top pick Paolo Banchero. The Magic decided to pull Banchero from the event just hours before a showdown with No. 2 pick Chet Holmgren and Oklahoma City.
TIMBERWOLVES 89, HORNETS 86
Kevon Harris scored 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting to help Minnesota fend off Charlotte.
Harris hit all four of his 3-pointers for the Timberwolves (2-3). Wendell Moore Jr. had 15 points, while second-round pick Josh Minott scored 12. Marial Shayok had seven points, 10 rebounds and four steals.
JT Thor finished with 28 points and five steals for the Hornets (2-3). Justin Minaya scored 10 points and Mark Williams, the 15th overall pick, had eight points and seven rebounds.
Thor completed a three-point play, then buried a 3-pointer to get the Hornets within 88-86. Jacob Gilyard sank 1 of 2 free throws with 4.9 seconds left and Minott blocked Bryce McGowens' 3-pointer to end the game.
SPURS 90, GRIZZLIES 87
Malaki Branham made five 3-pointers and scored 23 points to help San Antonio turn back Memphis.
Branham, the 20th overall pick, was 5 of 8 from distance to help the Spurs (1-4) notch their first win in their final try. DJ Stewart added 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting, while Robert Woodard II had six points to go with 10 rebounds.
Kenneth Lofton Jr. paced the Grizzlies (2-3) with 27 points and 12 rebounds. First-rounder David Roddy added 19 points. Ronaldo Segu and Kennedy Chandler scored 13 and 10, respectively.
Lofton sank a 3-pointer with 2:07 remaining to give Memphis an 87-86 lead. Branham answered with a 3 and Blake Wesley &mdash; the No. 25 pick &mdash; hit 1 of 2 free throws with 4.1 seconds left to cap the scoring. Dakota Mathias missed a 3-pointer on the game's final shot.
BULLS 119, 76ERS 104
Marko Simonovic scored 26 points, Malcolm Hill added 23 and Chicago breezed past Philadelphia.
Simonovic made 11 of 15 shots and grabbed eight rebounds to help the Bulls (4-1) close out with three straight wins. Carlik Jones scored 15 points but had seven of Chicago's 15 turnovers. Dalen Terry, the 18th overall pick, had three points, two assists and two rebounds in nine-plus minutes.
Charlie Brown Jr. led the 76ers (2-3) with 21 points. Grant Riller scored 19. Trevelin Queen had 16 points and seven of Philadelphia's 21 turnovers. Filip Petrusev scored 14.
NETS 102, CELTICS 95
Cam Thomas scored 25 points, David Duke Jr. added 24 and Brooklyn knocked off Boston.
Thomas added six assists for the Nets (3-2), while Duke handed out five. Kessler Edwards scored 15 points and Day'Ron Sharpe had 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Juhann Begarin topped the Celtics (3-2) with 25 points. Mfiondu Kabengele scored 18. Second-rounder JD Davison &mdash; Boston's only pick in the draft &mdash; totaled 17 points and 10 rebounds.
KINGS 92, ROCKETS 81
Jeriah Horne scored 20 points to lead Sacramento over Houston
Jared Rhoden pitched in with 15 points and seven rebounds for the Kings (3-2). Sacramento chose to sit No. 4 overall pick Keegan Murray for the finale.
Tari Eason, the No. 17 pick in the draft, had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Rockets (2-3). TyTy Washington Jr. scored 15 points, while Daishen Nix had 14 points and seven boards. No. 3 overall pick Jabari Smith Jr. had 12 points and 12 rebounds.
LAKERS 95, MAVERICKS 84
Cole Swider scored 16 points to spark Los Angeles past Dallas.
Swider sank 4 of 6 from 3-point range for the Lakers (3-2). Jay Huff had 13 points, Javante McCoy scored 12 and Scotty Pippen Jr. 11.
A.J. Lawson had 19 points to lead the Mavericks (0-5) &mdash; the only team without victory in the event. Moses Wright scored 17 with six boards. Jaden Hardy scored 15 but had seven of Dallas' 19 turnovers. Lawson turned it over six times. Jerrick Harding had 11 points and five assists.
HEAT 86, CLIPPERS 83
Kyle Allman Jr. scored 26 points, sinking a go-ahead 3-pointer with 31 seconds left, and Miami rallied past Los Angeles.
Allman added seven rebounds and six assists for the Heat (2-3). Dru Smith had 22 points and Jamal Cain pitched in with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Miami outscored Los Angeles 31-20 in the final quarter
Reggie Perry, Jay Scrubb and Xavier Moon all scored 16 for the Clippers (2-3).

Check out this recap of Saturday's NBA Summer League action.

Nembhard, Mobley lead Cavs past Hawks 94-90 in Summer League

Another NBA Draft has come and gone, and the 2022 version once again lived up to the spectacle.
Fans' heads were spinning throughout the day, as news outlets and sportsbooks took opposite stances on who would be the No. 1 pick. In the end, the Orlando Magic pulled off a stunner by choosing Paolo Banchero.
The surprises didn't end there, as the Detroit Pistons used a three-team trade to snag Jalen Duren at No. 13, and the Oklahoma City Thunder added a second lottery pick to add Ousmane Dieng and Jalen Williams with back-to-back selections.
Matt Babcock is here for one last Q&amp;A to finish off the draft cycle. Here were his thoughts on the night:
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The Orlando Magic seemed to shock everyone by taking Paolo Banchero No. 1. How did they pull off such an elaborate smokescreen?
Right after the lottery, while I was at the NBA Draft Combine, I was told that the Orlando Magic felt Paolo Banchero was the safe pick for them. However, I didn't take it too seriously and didn't read into it much. Well, in hindsight, that was a mistake. I would've taken Jabari Smith, but I can't argue with the Magic selecting Banchero. The fact is that the Magic had multiple good options with the No. 1 pick. They chose to go with Paolo, and I respect it. He's a big-time prospect, and he will likely be a primary scorer for them. Hats off to Jeff Weltman and John Hammond. They didn't show their cards and didn't care what everyone else thought they should do. Well done.
Now that Orlando made the pick, how do you like Banchero's fit with the Magic?
Paolo Banchero is big, strong, explosive and skilled. There's a lot to like about him. I think he's a good fit with the Magic. I also believe he will be an outstanding and perhaps an All-Star-level player. I'm happy for the Magic and Paolo. I don't know Paolo personally, but I've watched him play many times over the last several years, making me feel like I do know him. So I'm certainly rooting for him.
What do you think of Jabari Smith's fit in Houston after he ended up No. 3?
I had Jabari Smith as the No. 1 rated prospect in the 2022 NBA Draft since November. Houston getting him at No. 3 is such a great pick, in my opinion. I do not know Rafael Stone personally, but I'm impressed &mdash; he killed it on draft night. Jabari at No. 3, Tari Eason at No. 17 and TyTy Washington at No. 29. Honestly, I don't know if the Rockets could've done any better.
The public applauded Detroit for its draft, specifically in the lottery. How impressed were you with the Pistons' selections?
I've had Jabari Smith No. 1 since November, but my favorite prospect this past season might have been Purdue's Jaden Ivey. He's athletic and dynamic, and might have more upside than anyone else in the 2022 NBA Draft. So the fact that the Pistons were able to get him at No. 5 feels like a crime. And then for them also being able to add Jalen Duren at No. 13, who's a young big with a boatload of talent and upside, too &mdash; it was just an excellent draft for them. The Pistons' fan base should be very excited!
Which teams surprised you most with the trades they made (or did not make)?
I was surprised that Memphis gave up so much to move up to No. 19 to select Jake LaRavia. I'm certainly a fan of Jake's, and his agent for that matter, Aaron Reilly &mdash; a really good guy. However, giving up multiple draft picks did feel like a lot to me.
I was also surprised by the Knicks' draft. I understand and appreciate the value of financial flexibility and draft assets. However, I expected them to add a player through the draft, whether using their pick or moving up in the draft via trade. Time will tell if Leon Rose's move was a smart one or not. Regardless, the pressure is on regarding these future draft picks.
Jaden Hardy was the last green room invitee to be selected. Did that surprise you, and do you like Dallas trading to acquire him?
This past year didn't unfold like I'm sure Jaden Hardy had hoped it would, but I think going to Dallas is an excellent opportunity for him.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Mavericks rookie guard Jaden Hardy spoke with the media today and I asked him how to describe himself as a player and the thing he wants to improve on most; really good answers here <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MFFL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MFFL</a> <a href="https://t.co/7nhW9NfffT">pic.twitter.com/7nhW9NfffT</a>
&mdash; Kevin Gray Jr. (@KevinGraySports) <a href="https://twitter.com/KevinGraySports/status/1541870433393430529?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 28, 2022</a></blockquote>

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I think he has a chance to become an outstanding player in the NBA if he continues to develop. He is a natural scorer with great range and explosiveness. So let's give him some time.
Which other players surprised you with how far they fell in the draft order?
I was surprised TyTy Washington fell to No. 29. I understand the league is going towards a more positionless game; however, I believe TyTy is the real deal. I wouldn't be surprised if he made many teams regret not selecting him. I'm also surprised Kendall Brown fell so far. There are some legitimate concerns with his lack of offensive creation abilities, but his motor and athleticism are legit.
Which players drafted in the second round do you think could earn a rotation spot in their rookie season?
I think Kennedy Chandler will carve out a role with the Memphis Grizzlies as Ja Morant's backup point guard. Also, I'm interested to see if they try to play Kennedy and Ja together. If so, that will be quite the speedy duo and potentially a nightmare to contain.
Who are you viewing as "steals of the draft" from Thursday?
I'm going to pick two: TyTy Washington and Max Christie. I think TyTy has a better opportunity of making an impact right away and proving me right quicker. However, I believe that Max Christie can become a good NBA player within a couple of years.
Is there any report or move you expected to happen during the draft that never transpired?
I was hoping the Knicks moved up to get Jaden Ivey, as rumored. That kid seems to be built for the bright lights. But luckily for the Pistons, they got him at No. 5.&nbsp;I'm looking forward to watching how he develops there. I think he's going to become an exciting player to watch!
Who do you see as the top undrafted free agents to monitor?
Jean Montero. He surprisingly went undrafted and then signed an Exhibit 10 with the Knicks. He's a talented player and was once a highly-touted prospect. I still think he has a shot.
Now that the NBA Draft is over, what's next in the process for scouts like yourself?
There's the saying, "Gone Fishing." Well, I'm going on vacation with my family and doing some fly fishing. But, not only do I have a head start on the 2023 NBA Draft, but also the 2024 and 2025 drafts. So, don't you worry, I'm on it. See you soon.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
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Matt Babcock recaps the biggest surprise moves of the 2022 NBA Draft.

2022 NBA Draft: Q&A with Matt Babcock on biggest draft night surprises

Here is a team-by-team breakdown of the players each team ended up with in the 2022 NBA Draft (includes proposed trades):
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>Atlanta Hawks</th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
1 (16) AJ Griffin, f, Duke.
2 (44) Ryan Rollins, g, Toledo.
2 (51) Tyrese Martin, f, UConn. (from Golden State)
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>Boston Celtics</th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
2 (53) JD Davison, g, Alabama.
<table style="height: 23px; width: 18.1462%;">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<th style="height: 23px; width: 89.2446%;">Brooklyn Nets</th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
No Picks.
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>Charlotte Hornets</th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
1 (15) Mark Williams, C, Duke.
2 (40) Bryce McGowens, g, Nebraska. (from Minnesota)
2 (45) Josh Minott, f, Memphis.
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>Chicago Bulls</th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
1 (18) Dalen Terry, g, Arizona.
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>Cleveland Cavaliers</th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
1 (14) Ochai Agbaji, g, Kansas.
2 (39) Khalifa Diop, c, Gran Canaria (Spain).
2 (49) Isaiah Mobley, f, USC. (from Chicago via Memphis, Detroit and Sacramento)
2 (56) Luke Travers, g, Perth (Australia).
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>Dallas Mavericks</th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
1 (26) Wendell Moore Jr., f, Duke. (from Houston)
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>Denver Nuggets</th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
1 (21) Christian Braun, g, Kansas.
2 (46) Ismael Kamagate, Paris (France). (from Detroit)
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>Detroit Pistons</th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
1 (5) Jaden Ivey, g, Purdue.
1 (13) Jalen Duren, C, Memphis. (from Charlotte)
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>Golden State Warriors</th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
1 (28) Patrick Baldwin Jr., f, Milwaukee.
2 (55) Gui Santos, f, Minas (Brazil).
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>Houston Rockets</th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
1 (3) Jabari Smith Jr., f, Auburn.
1 (17) Tari Eason, f, LSU.
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>Indiana Pacers</th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
1 (6) Bennedict Mathurin, f, Arizona.
2 (31) Andrew Nembhard, g, Gonzaga.
2 (58) Hugo Besson, g, New Zealand (Australia).
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>L.A. Clippers</th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
2 (43) Moussa Diabate, f, Michigan.
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>L.A. Lakers</th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
2 (35) Max Christie, g, Michigan State. (from Orlando via Indiana and Milwaukee)
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>Memphis Grizzlies</th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
1 (19) Jake LaRavia, f, Wake Forest. (from Minnesota)
1 (23) David Roddy, f, Colorado State. (from Philadelphia)
1 (29) TyTy Washington Jr., g, Kentucky.
2 (47) Vince Williams Jr., VCU.
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>Miami Heat</th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
1 (27) Nikola Jovic, f, Mega (Serbia)
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>Milwaukee Bucks</th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
1 (24) MarJon Beauchamp, g, G-League Ignite.
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>Minnesota Timberwolves</th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
1 (22) Walker Kessler, c, Auburn. (from Memphis)
2 (48) Kendall Brown, f, Baylor.
2 (50) Matteo Spagnolo, g, Cremona (Italy).
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>New Orleans Pelicans</th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
1 (8) Dyson Daniels, g-league Ignite.
2 (41) E.J. Liddell, f, Ohio State.
2 (52) Karlo Matkovic, Mega
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>New York Knicks</th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
2 (42) Trevor Keels, f, Duke.
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>Oklahoma City Thunder</th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
1 (2) Chet Holmgren, c, Gonzaga.
1 (11) Ousemane Dieng, f, New Zealand (Australia). (from New York)
1 (12) Jalen Williams, g, Santa Clara.
1 (30) Peyton Watson, f, UCLA.
2 (34) Jaylin Williams, f, Arkansas.
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>Orlando Magic</th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
1 (1) Paolo Banchero, f, Duke.
2 (32) Caleb Houstan, f, Michigan.
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>Philadelphia 76ers</th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
No Picks.
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>Phoenix Suns</th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
No Picks.
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>Portland Trail Blazers</th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
1 (7) Shaedon Sharpe, g, Kentucky.
2 (36) Gabriele Procida, g, Fortitudo Bologna (Italy).
2 (57) Jabari Walker, f, Colorado.
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>Sacramento Kings</th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
1 (4) Keegan Murray, f, Iowa.
2 (37) Jaden Hardy, g, G-League Ignite.
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>San Antonio Spurs</th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
1 (9) Jeremy Sochan, f, Baylor.
1 (20) Malaki Branham, g, Ohio State.
1 (25) Blake Wesley, g, Notre Dame.
2 (38) Kennedy Chandler, g, Tennessee.
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>Toronto Raptors</th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
2 (33) Christian Koloko, f, Arizona.
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>Utah Jazz</th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
No Picks.
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>Washington Wizards</th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
1 (10) Johnny Davis, g, Wisconsin.
2 (54) Yannick Nzosa, c, Unicaja (Spain). &lt;

A team-by-team breakdown of the players each team ended up with in the 2022 NBA Draft (includes proposed trades).

2022 NBA Draft: Team-by-team selections for all 60 picks

Keep track of where the top 2022 undrafted free agents are headed after draft night.

2022 NBA UDFA Tracker: Latest news on undrafted free agents

TBT Record 71 Players with NBA Experience and 29 Alumni Teams to Compete
Jimmer Fredette, Projected 2023 Draft Top-10 Picks Ausar and Amen Thompson Highlight Field of 64 Competing for $1M Prize on ESPN
The Basketball Tournament (TBT) &ndash; the $1 million, winner-take-all, summer basketball event broadcast live on ESPN networks today released the bracket for this year&rsquo;s tournament. For the fifth year in a row, all games will feature TBT&rsquo;s Elam Ending&reg;.
Now in its ninth year, TBT 2022 will feature 71 players with NBA experience and 29 college alumni teams, both of which are TBT records. The field will once again feature 64 teams squaring off in a single-elimination format and will be supported by longtime partners PUMA, Zelle, and E&amp;J Brandy.&nbsp;
The field will be split into eight regions played over two weeks in July. Seven of those regions will be headlined by alumni teams, while the eighth regional will be played at Rucker Park&rsquo;s legendary Greg Marius Court in New York City.
One team from each region will advance to the quarterfinals, which will be split between Wichita, Kansas (July 27) and Dayton, Ohio (July 28-29). Dayton will also host TBT&rsquo;s semifinals (July 30), as well as TBT&rsquo;s $1 million winner-take-all championship game (Aug. 2).
&ldquo;This year&rsquo;s field is electrifying,&rdquo; said TBT founder and CEO Jon Mugar. &ldquo;Nine years ago, we set out to be the home for high stakes, open-to-all basketball, pitting people against one another from all walks of life. This year&rsquo;s field demonstrates how far we&rsquo;ve come. It is exceptionally diverse and talented. I can&rsquo;t wait to see what team wins six straight games.&rdquo;
The full TBT 2022 schedule includes:
Regional Host Cities
&nbsp; &nbsp; Omaha, Neb. &ndash; headlined by Omaha Blue Crew (Creighton) &ndash; July 16-19
&nbsp; &nbsp; New York City, N.Y. (Rucker Park) &ndash; headlined by Marcus Smart&rsquo;s YGC &ndash; July 16-20
&nbsp; &nbsp; Albuquerque, N.M. &ndash; headlined by The Enchantment (University of New Mexico) &ndash; July 28-21
&nbsp; &nbsp; Wichita, Kan. &ndash; headlined by AfterShocks (Wichita State) &ndash; July 22-25
&nbsp; &nbsp; Syracuse, N.Y. &ndash; headlined by Boehiem&rsquo;s Army (Syracuse) &ndash; July 22-25
&nbsp; &nbsp; Charleston, W. Va. &nbsp;&ndash; headlined by Best Virginia (West Virginia) and Herd That (Marshall) &nbsp;&ndash; July 24-27
&nbsp; &nbsp; Cincinnati, Ohio &ndash; headlined by Zip &lsquo;Em Up (Xavier) &ndash; July 24-27
&nbsp; &nbsp; Dayton, Ohio &ndash; headlined by Red Scare (Dayton) &ndash; July 24-27
Championship Week Schedule&nbsp;
&nbsp; &nbsp; Quarterfinals &ndash; July 27 (Wichita), July 28-29 (Dayton)
&nbsp; &nbsp; Semifinals &ndash; &nbsp;Saturday, July 30 (Dayton)
&nbsp; &nbsp; $1 Million, Winner-Take-All Championship &ndash; Tuesday, Aug. 2 (Dayton)&nbsp;
Highlights of this year&rsquo;s tournament include:&nbsp;
- New Look Boeheim&rsquo;s Army Set to Defend TBT Title &ndash; Boeheim&rsquo;s Army, who after seven years finally won its first TBT championship, is set to defend its title in Syracuse this summer. First-time TBT participants and Syracuse alums Tyler Ennis, Rakeem Christmas, and Marek Dolezaj join a core that includes TBT legend D.J. Kennedy, who is seeking his sixth TBT title, and DeAndre Kane, who is going for his fifth.
- TBT Steps Outdoors at World Famous Rucker Park &ndash; TBT will be playing games outdoors for the first time in the event&rsquo;s history this summer at New York City&rsquo;s famed Rucker Park. The event, in partnership with Chick-Fil-A Tri-State and the NBPA, will be free and open to the public. Headlining the regional are YGC, a team backed by Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart, and Skip To My Lou, named after and coached by former NBA player and streetball legend Rafer Alston.
- Jimmer Fredette Joins The Money Team &ndash; 2011 National college player of the year and NBA Draft lottery pick Jimmer Fredette will return to TBT this summer as a member of Floyd Mayweather&rsquo;s The Money Team. A quarterfinalist in 2021, The Money Team&rsquo;s roster also includes three other players with NBA experience: Trevor Booker, Jeremy Evans, Charles Jenkins, and Xavier Munford.
- Overtime Enters TBT&rsquo;s First Draft-Eligible Team &ndash; Media brand Overtime will enter its first TBT team, Team Overtime, which is slated to include four 2023 draft-eligible prospects from their new professional pathway program Overtime Elite. Twins Ausar and Amen Thompson, both projected top-10 picks in the 2023 NBA Draft, will be joined by former five-star recruit Jazian Gortman and four-star recruit Jaylen Martin on a roster with several veteran professionals, including former NBA player Malcolm Thomas. Team Overtime will be competing in the Omaha Regional.
- Rivalries Renewed &ndash; Two brand new sets of bitter rivals could be facing off in TBT this summer. Xavier Regional headliner, Zip &lsquo;Em Up (Xavier Alumni), will be joined by crosstown rival Nasty Nati, a Cincinnati alumni team whose roster includes former first-round pick Jacob Evans. The Enchantment, a New Mexico alumni team, and Panamaniacs, a New Mexico State alumni team, will go head-to-head in the first-round of the New Mexico Regional in a battle for in-state supremacy. Best Virginia, the West Virginia alumni team, and Herd That, the Marshall alumni team, could both finally get their long-awaited matchup in the second round of the West Virginia Regional. Stillwater Stars, an Oklahoma State alumni team starring Markel Brown, will go toe-to-toe with Big 12 foes Air Raiders, a first-year Texas Tech alumni team composed mainly of their 2019 NCAA Tournament Runner-Up team that includes former first-round pick Zhaire Smith.
- Sideline Cancer&rsquo;s Big Offseason &ndash; TBT&rsquo;s runner-up in 2020 and a quarterfinalist in 2021, Sideline Cancer is gearing up for a championship run. They&rsquo;ll add Mike Daum, the NCAA&rsquo;s seventh leading scorer all-time, 16-year NBA veteran C.J. Miles, and former Iowa State star Diante Garrett to take some of the scoring load off explosive guard Marcus Keene.
Free Throws&hellip;
<ul>
<li>TBT&rsquo;s &amp; Puma&rsquo;s innovative 33-point contest, which pits two shooters head-to-head where the first to make 11 threes advances, will return. The final eight shooters who advance out of TBT&rsquo;s regional locations will compete live on Thursday, July 28 live on ESPN2 for a $33,333 grand prize. Winner-take-all.</li>
<li>NFT project Gutter Cat Gang has entered a TBT team in the Omaha Regional in collaboration with Kyle Hines, the most decorated American in European basketball history.</li>
<li>Notable boxer and Cincinnati native Adrien Broner&rsquo;s AboutBillions team will compete in the Xavier Regional for the first time.</li>
<li>Prominent content brand Friday Beers will make their first foray into TBT&rsquo;s field in 2022, taking over longtime TBT franchise Armored Athlete.</li>
<li>India Rising, TBT&rsquo;s first team of players entirely of Indian descent, will be competing in the Syracuse Regional. Their roster includes former Stanford big man Josh Sharma, and one time G League Ignite prospect Princepal Singh.</li>
</ul>
Tickets for all TBT game days and events are on sale now at www.thetournament.com. For more information, please contact <a href="mailto:info@thetournament.com">info@thetournament.com</a>.
About The Basketball Tournament
The home of the Elam Ending&reg;, The Basketball Tournament has grown from a unique idea among friends to one of the most exciting and engaging events on the summer sports calendar, with worldwide exposure on ESPN and events across the country - culminating in a winner-take-all $1 million game. Every year it attracts some of the best players in the world. For more information on TBT&rsquo;s ninth season, visit www.thetournament.com

Now in Year 9, TBT will feature 71 players with NBA experience and 29 college alumni teams, both of which are TBT records.

Record 71 players with NBA experience headline 2022 TBT event

With the 2022 NBA Draft less than a week away, our Senior NBA Draft Analyst shares his updated his 2022 NBA Mock Draft.

2022 NBA Mock Draft: 6/17/22

As former Michigan State forward Gabe Brown goes through the NBA pre-draft process, he wants front offices to know one thing: he knows his role, and he's perfectly fine being a 3-and-D player.
"Usually when guys come in, they think they&rsquo;re going to take the world by storm and [become a star] and get the keys to the team, but that&rsquo;s not really how it works," Brown told BasketballNews.com. "There are already other players on the team who have paid their dues, and they may be All-Stars or champions. What I&rsquo;m looking to do is be a 3-and-D guy who looks to put the ball on the floor sometimes, but that&rsquo;s not always going to be my job. My job is usually going to be locking up guards, defending 1-through-4, [providing] athleticism and being consistent with my shot.&rdquo;
After spending four years with the Spartans, the 22-year-old has started working out for NBA teams (including the Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks), and he recently participated in the G League Elite Camp in Chicago.
He has modeled his game after two other older prospects who spent at least four years in college: Phoenix Suns forward Cameron Johnson and Brooklyn Nets wing Joe Harris.
&ldquo;I try to be myself as much as possible, but the guys that I really do look at are Cam Johnson and Joe Harris," Brown said. "They are guys who have been through four years of college and then made it and were successful in the NBA. And they played around [talented] guys and then worked their way into their role, so those are guys that I really try to pay attention to.&rdquo;
As a senior with the Spartans, Brown averaged 11.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.0 threes, 1.1 assists and 0.7 steals, while shooting 38.2% from three-point range. The 6-foot-8, 215-pound forward believes that he can step in and immediately help an NBA team that's in need of a 3-and-D specialist.&nbsp;
BasketballNews.com caught up with Brown to discuss his skill set, how much he developed while in college, his experience at the G League Elite Camp, how he fell in love with basketball and more.
Throughout the pre-draft process, everyone talks about age. But there are also benefits to spending four years in college. Do you think staying at Michigan State for four years and gaining that experience helped you?
Gabe Brown: &ldquo;I just feel like my maturity level is higher than a lot of kids who come in earlier, and that&rsquo;s due to just being in college for so long and staying for four years. And I have to say: you learn the game more, you develop more when you&rsquo;re in college for four years. You know how to play NBA basketball when you get done with college, so I feel like my game will truly expand when I get to the next level."
How much have you grown as a player from your first day in college to where you&rsquo;re at now?
Brown: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s been a whole change for me&mdash;my maturity level, my work ethic, just everything has changed for me in a lot of positive ways.&rdquo;
The knock on older prospects is that they sometimes don&rsquo;t have as much potential or room to grow. What would you say to that and what do you think of your ceiling?
Brown: &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t believe that&rsquo;s true. I believe that I&rsquo;m just getting started. I just turned 22 years old in March, so I&rsquo;m still very young. I don&rsquo;t think I&rsquo;ve reached any of my potential yet, and I&rsquo;ve got a lot of time. [Giving me an opportunity] in the NBA is the perfect way to see.&rdquo;
Which teams have you worked out for so far? And who do you have scheduled?
Brown: &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve worked out with the Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks. And as for upcoming workouts, I basically have the whole league that I have to work out for, so I have about 12-to-14 more NBA workouts upcoming.&rdquo;
You participated in the G League Elite Camp. How did that go, and what was that experience like?
Brown: &ldquo;It was very fun to be out there. It was very fun, truly. Not a lot of kids get to be invited to these camps and take them in, and I was one of the kids who got invited to the G League one. It was a great experience. I went out there and I played two good games. I was looking for a call-up, but it&rsquo;s all good. I mean, my path, my journey is different. It was fun, though. The atmosphere was amazing.&rdquo;
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Which of your skills do you think will best translate to the NBA?
Brown: &ldquo;My defense, my length, my shooting ability, my size and my athleticism. That will all translate to me being out on the floor on an NBA court.&rdquo;
Off the court, what are some things you bring to a team?
Brown: &ldquo;I lead by example with my work ethic. I stay in the gym more and [come back] during the night. That&rsquo;s what I do. I feel like guys will respect me more just off of the way I work. And then, it&rsquo;s all about personality. I&rsquo;m a leader, I love to talk, I love to get guys going and I love to motivate people. That&rsquo;s no problem with me.&rdquo;
As you go throughout this pre-draft process, what are some of the things you&rsquo;re trying to showcase to teams&mdash;on and off the court?
Brown: &ldquo;On the floor, I&rsquo;m just trying to showcase my whole game&mdash;all of the things that I couldn&rsquo;t [show] at Michigan State or the things that I wasn&rsquo;t good at but that I really am good at that scouts didn&rsquo;t really get to see, like putting the ball on the floor, coming off ball screens, making reads, maintaining my consistent shooting level and being in tip-top shape. Off the floor, I just want to show them the person that I am. I&rsquo;ll always be myself. I&rsquo;ll always be Gabe Brown.&rdquo;
I read that growing up, your favorite player was Kobe Bryant.&nbsp;
Brown: &ldquo;I was a big Kobe fan. Just his mentality and the work ethic&hellip; I mean, everybody knows Kobe can score, and he&rsquo;s got championships, but nobody saw the work he really put in to get there. I think the motivating factor is just his work, what he did off the court, how he motivated guys and got guys going. And he always showed up when it was game time.&rdquo;
How did you initially fall in love with basketball?
Brown: &ldquo;It was my father. My dad put a ball in my hands at 3 years old and I haven&rsquo;t looked back since.&rdquo;
(Gabe&rsquo;s father, Charles Brown, passed away in 2016 after suffering a stroke.)
I&rsquo;m so sorry for your loss. You&rsquo;ve said that you considered quitting basketball after he passed away, and that it felt like &ldquo;there was no point in playing anymore&hellip; it felt like the game of basketball left me." How did you ultimately decide to continue playing and use basketball to honor him by wearing his No. 44?&nbsp;
Brown: &ldquo;It was a tough process. I still think about it to this day and it&rsquo;s never going to leave me. But I had my family behind me and they were totally supportive, and I had my coaches and everybody else being fully supportive. I just decided that I didn&rsquo;t want to give up on myself and give up on what I accomplished, so [I kept playing]. No. 44 was his number, and all of my brothers wore it, so it was my turn to wear it.&rdquo;
If an NBA executive asks, &ldquo;Why should I draft you?&rdquo; What would be your pitch?
Brown: &ldquo;I would have to say, 'I&rsquo;m gonna go hard, I&rsquo;m gonna give everything that I&rsquo;ve got and I&rsquo;m not gonna take the opportunity for granted.'&rdquo;
Check out BasketballNews.com's recent interviews with fellow 2022 NBA Draft prospects including <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/2022-nba-draft-bennedict-mathurin-offers-unique-twoway-ceiling" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Arizona's Bennedict Mathurin</a>, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/dont-let-age-deny-keegan-murrays-tantalizing-nba-ceiling" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Iowa's Keegan Murray</a>, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/johnny-davis-winning-intangibles-make-him-a-safe-bet-to-hit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wisconsin's Johnny Davis</a>, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/2022-nba-draft-qa-toledos-ryan-rollins" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Toledo's Ryan Rollins</a>, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/2022-nba-draft-prospect-qa-keon-ellis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alabama's Keon Ellis</a>, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/kofi-cockburn-wants-to-prove-everyone-wrong" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Illinois' Kofi Cockburn</a> and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/preparation-competitive-spirit-fuel-izaiah-brockingtons-will-to-win" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Iowa State's Izaiah Brockington</a>.
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Alex Kennedy spoke to Gabe Brown about his skill set, the G League Elite Camp, which players he modeled his game after and more.