Saints

The Sacramento Kings, Chicago Bulls, and San Antonio Spurs have completed a three team trade involving De&rsquo;Aaron Fox and Zach LaVine according to ESPN&rsquo;s Shams Charania.&nbsp;
The full trade details include:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li style="list-style-type: none;">
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">San Antonio Spurs Receive:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2">De&rsquo;Aaron Fox</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2">Jordan McLaughlin</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Sacramento Kings Receive:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2">Zach LaVine</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2">Sidy Cissoko</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2">Three first round picks (2025 CHA, 2027 SAS, 2031 MIN)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2">Three second round picks (2025 CHI, 2028 DEN, 2028 own back)</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li aria-level="1">Chicago Bulls Receive:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2">Zach Collins</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2">Tre Jones&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2">Kevin Huerter</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2">their own 2025 pick via SAS (top 10 protected)</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
ANALYSIS: This trade provides the Spurs with their PG of the future to pair up with budding superstar Victor Wembanyama. San Antonio is already in the thick of the playoff play-in race in the West now, and with the addition of Fox they will be set for this season and beyond. Expect Wemby and Fox to terrorize the West for years to come with both of their primes peaking at the same time.
The Kings got a reasonable return for their disgruntled franchise point guard in Fox by getting back a scorer in LaVine from Chicago. LaVine should fit in seamlessly with star center Domantas Sabonis with his ability to shoot the three, cut, and score in all three levels. With Fox&rsquo;s departure, expect Malik Monk to take on more PG duties with LaVine sliding into the 2 spot. Moreover, the Kings are set for their future as well with 6 picks (three firsts and three seconds) also netted from the trade.
For the Bulls, this ends the Zach LaVine era in Chicago and receives three role players in return. However, the real prize of this trade for them was getting back their own pick from San Antonio which was top-10 protected. The 2025 NBA Draft class is shaping up to be one of the deepest in recent history, so the Bulls are firmly placing themselves to select a high-level prospect and continue their process of a real rebuild.

The Kings, Bulls, and Spurs have completed a three team trade involving De’Aaron Fox and Zach LaVine.

Spurs nab Fox, Kings get LaVine in three-team trade

USA defeated Italy <a href="https://fiba.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7033084a6897e1c399b667eb5&amp;id=6d669a5050&amp;e=2fb0566584">129-88</a> to win the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024 championship and complete their mission for a seventh consecutive title.
The USA did not waste any time taking over the game at the Sinan Erdem Dome with a 21-2 first-quarter run to go ahead by 18 points and it was clear sailing the rest of the way.
Koa Peat scored 26 points with 8 rebounds and 4 assists and Cameron Boozer collected 24 points and 13 rebounds. The USA spent the entire tournament breaking records and they snapped their mark for most points scored in a Final, besting their 111-80 win over Poland in 2010.
USA has won all seven editions of the biennial championship, adding the trophy to the ones in 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2022. The 2024 team shattered several records throughout the tournament, including the most points in a single game, most assists, and most steals, and finished the tournament with an average winning margin of 64.3 points - another U17 World Cup record.
Cameron Boozer will take home another piece of hardware as he was named TISSOT Most Valuable Player of the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024 after guiding the United States to the championship.
Boozer collected 24 points and 13 rebounds in USA's<a href="https://www.fiba.basketball/en/events/fiba-u17-basketball-world-cup-2024/games/122643-ITA-USA"> 129-88</a> victory over Italy in the Final. For the tournament, Boozer averaged 20.1 points, 9.9 rebounds 2.0 assists, and 2.7 steals.
Joining Boozer on the All-Star 5 were his USA teammate AJ Dybantsa, Maikcol Perez of Italy, Kaan Onat from T&uuml;rkiye, and New Zealand's Oscar Goodman.
Dybantsa tallied 14 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists against Italy and averaged 14.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.6 steals in the title run. Perez had 18 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists in the Final and picked up 14.6 points, 8.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.1 steals per game.

USA defeated Italy 129-88 to win the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024 championship to win their seventh consecutive title.

Team USA captures FIBA U17 World Cup title

The 2024 NBA Free Agency underway. Here's everything you need to know about the makings and the moves around the NBA.

2024 NBA Free Agency Tracker: All the signings and deals in the offseason

This article is part of a two-part series preview for the upcoming 2023-2024 NBA Playoffs.
With the 2023-2024 NBA Playoffs starting, all eyes will be on all teams competing for the championship as fans and players look on for a taste of postseason action. As eight playoff teams in each conference gear up for what promises to be an intense battle for the title, each team faces its own set of unique challenges. In this article, we take a closer look at the biggest question facing each Eastern Conference team heading into the playoffs, from injuries and roster changes to key matchups and strategic decisions.
<h3>Boston Celtics - Who&rsquo;s stopping them?</h3>
The Boston Celtics have been the best team in the regular season as evidenced by their 64-18 record. They have also been one of the most dominant regular season teams of all time, having the third-highest net rating in NBA history (11.8) which would rank just behind the 1996 and 1997 Chicago Bulls. If it were of any significance, those Bulls teams had 72-10 and 69-13 records and won it all in both years.
It&rsquo;s all written on the wall &ndash; the Celtics are in title or bust mode, which even just a conference finals appearance would probably be marked as a disappointment. Considering how dominant they have been throughout the season, a Finals appearance would be the minimum achievement.
This team is built almost as completely as they could ever be &mdash; offense, defense, bench, two stars that lift each other&rsquo;s game up, roster construction of players that complement them, and even the fans that are some of the most passionate in the league. These are things that are all you could ask for in a championship team, and with that being said &ndash; the pressure is on for Boston.
A big possible answer to that question is whether the Celtics would be the only ones who&rsquo;ll stop themselves from achieving and realizing their full potential &ndash; and there&rsquo;s only one way to find out.&nbsp;
The playoffs are a different story and looking at what we&rsquo;ve seen over the years, the Celtics have tendencies to underperform in the playoffs. With a new supporting cast featuring 2021 champ Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, a question lingers on the team: will it be different this time around?
They have had a history of flaming out in the past, and whether or not that continues this season remains to be seen. Time is the ultimate truth teller, and these Celtics hope to exercise their playoff demons when the time comes and their opportunities present themselves.
Will they be able to capitalize on a dominant regular season and take on the task at hand once and for all? They certainly hope with all the pieces they have now, they have enough to close it out and take it all the way and finish the job this time around to end the allegations against them once and for all.
<h3>New York Knicks - How far will they go without Julius Randle?</h3>
As we all know by now, health is the biggest factor in the playoffs. You always want to be complete and your best players to be healthy and ready to go when it matters most.
Unfortunately, this will not be the case for the New York Knicks this season, after losing all-star Julius Randle to a season-ending surgery to his injury.
Randle has been the Knicks&rsquo; best player for the past 3 seasons (before Brunson&rsquo;s ascension to King Knick this year). He brings that size and physicality along with that sneaky speed at the 4. On offense, Randle is a secondary creator and playmaker who can make plays for himself and his teammates. His improving three-point shot is now a weapon for teams not to sag off of him as much which could only help the Knicks in the playoffs.
Simply put, Randle is a matchup problem against traditional power forwards. Without him, the Knicks would not be able to tap on another gear that would only be possible with Randle out there on the floor.
Now, all eyes will be on Jalen Brunson as he tries to carry New York all by himself. It will be expected to see all possible defensive schemes thrown against him to try and contain the all-NBA caliber player in this season that he is.
<h3>Milwaukee Bucks - Can they hold the fort without Giannis?&nbsp;</h3>
The hits just keep on coming for the Bucks. After starting the season 30-13, they fired their head coach Adrian Griffin, and replaced him with Doc Rivers. They&rsquo;ve had their fair share of struggles with Rivers, losing to lottery teams like the Wizards, Grizzlies, and Raptors in one stretch, and they&rsquo;ve finished only a disappointing 19-20 the rest of the way to end the season.&nbsp;
Just recently, they received brutal news that superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo will miss the beginning of their series against the Indiana Pacers after injuring his left calf with three games left in the regular season. The upstart and young Pacers have been 4-1 against them during the year and it will be a tough battle without one of the five best players in the world playing. Will Damian Lillard and Co. step up to the plate?
<h3>Cleveland Cavaliers - Is this the &lsquo;last hurrah&rsquo; for Donovan Mitchell as a Cavalier?</h3>
All eyes are on the Cavaliers&rsquo; playoff run this season to gain ground after a disappointing finish last year. Can they keep soon-to-be free agent Donovan Mitchell happy enough? Or will another disappointing playoff exit lead him to bolt out of town to find another opportunity to win elsewhere?&nbsp;
Much of this will be attributed to the growth of their current core to gauge their improvements from last season. Will Darius Garland have enough juice to handle the scoring load outside of Mitchell as well as holding his own defensively? Will Evan Mobley display or unlock another offensive level in his game to be able to contribute on the offensive end to complement his defensive capabilities? Will Jarett Allen beat the allegations of lights were too bright in the playoffs in his second time around and bounce back from what has been a bad series against the Knicks last year? And is Max Strus the answer for the Cavs to advance into the second round with his spacing and shooting at the wing to give space for Mitchell to attack?
With his impending free agency, Donovan Mitchell has a big decision to make during the offseason. Will he stay and extend with this Cavaliers team who gave up assets for him? The Cavaliers have made some strides from being a young team with potential to a top 4-5 team in the East when they acquired Donovan Mitchell two years ago from the Utah Jazz. Since then, Mitchell has elevated their play and in turn, they got back to their first playoffs without LeBron James on the team.
However, rumors have been swirling that Mitchell wants to achieve postseason success, whether in this team or not. Some of these reportedly said that if the Cavs do not make the Finals this season, he might find another home elsewhere to chase that goal. Throughout his career, Mitchell has been to the first round multiple times but has been in the second round just twice. He has yet to make a conference finals appearance, and this postseason with the Cavs will determine if he falls short of that goal again.
Helping Mitchell this time around are shooters that the Cavs lacked a year ago, with Max Strus, Sam Merill, and Georges Niang now in the fold for the team. Cleveland got exposed by New York in just five games last year and it was basically because of their inability to space the floor around Mitchell and point guard Darius Garland. Now with an improved Garland, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen all having a year to work on their games for this stretch, the Cavs aim to make the conference finals &mdash; before Mitchell&rsquo;s impending big decision in free agency.
<h3>Orlando Magic - How far can their youth and inexperience take them in the playoffs?</h3>
Being the youngest playoff team in the East's playoff field, the Magic come in with no expectations at hand. This young group has overachieved for the season having the fourth-best defense despite them being the 4th youngest team in the league. Making the playoffs has already been a huge accomplishment, but winning a series would not be so bad and would be a welcome sight for the team.&nbsp;
Nobody expected them to be in the hunt for the top seeds in the East, but here they are in their first playoff experience as a group as the fifth seed. This is only year 2 and 3 for young stars Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner and they could only get better as years progress. This is only the beginning for Orlando and they could be a difficult fixture in the East for years to come.
<h3>Indiana Pacers - How big of an impact will Pascal Siakam be in the postseason?</h3>
Right after the trade to bring Siakam to Indiana, fans and basketball analysts alike mentioned how the trade was a win for Indiana and that Siakam&rsquo;s value would be seen through in the playoffs. When the game slows down and teams are more equipped and prepared for their defenses, teams would need solid execution on their half-court offense.
This was where Siakam was supposed to come in, and now that it&rsquo;s here, will he be able to step up and lead the Pacers to a series win? The 2019 champion with the Raptors has played 41 games with Indiana this season after the trade, and he has averaged 21.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 3.7 assists on 55/39/70 shooting splits and he has given the Pacers a new dimension on offense. The Pacers who will go up against the Bucks for their first-round playoff series, have gone 4-1 against them &ndash; but it was all without Siakam. The question for them now is, how will they maintain the level of success they had vs the Bucks now that Siakam is in the rotation? Will Siakam end up being the ceiling-raiser for the postseason for them? Or could he end up disrupting the rhythm that the team had in the regular season vs the Bucks?
<h3>Philadelphia - Is this finally the year they advance with Nick Nurse at the helm?</h3>
The Sixers have had a lot of heartbreak over the years, from not being able to make the Conference Finals in Joel Embiid&rsquo;s career to choking multiple times in the playoffs, it's just disaster after disaster when it matters the most in the City of Brotherly Love.
However, they hope the outcome is going to come out differently this year due to one factor: Nick Nurse.
The 2019 champion coach has given the Sixers a lot to hope for with a breath of fresh air surrounding the team on offensive and defensive execution. This year, with Embiid being better than ever (being even better than last year&rsquo;s MVP campaign) and with the help of Nurse&rsquo;s diverse offensive sets, the Sixers&rsquo; title chances have increased significantly. Coach Nurse having the ability to make adjustments on the fly and push the right buttons will be a major weapon for the Sixers for their upcoming playoff run.
When healthy this year, Embiid has had one of the most dominant regular seasons in NBA history, averaging 34.7 points, 11 rebounds, and 5.6 assists. The Sixers have a 31-8 record when he plays, which would equal the best win-pace mark in the league. He now has a dynamic sidekick in Tyrese Maxey who has been named an all-star this year, and general manager Daryl Morey has surrounded them with capable role players to complement their skill sets. Will Nurse be the final piece that puts all of the Sixers together?
<h3>Miami Heat - Can they rediscover their old magic against the Celtics, but this time without Jimmy Butler?</h3>
At this point, people got to understand and realize that playoff Jimmy is a real thing. The dude just turns it up when it matters the most and the lights are at their brightest, and has carried Miami every time in the postseason.
However, this year figures out to be an entirely different scenario with Butler being out with an injury. According to reports, Butler could be sidelined for multiple weeks due to an MCL sprain &mdash; devastating news for Miami ahead of their upcoming playoff matchup vs Boston.&nbsp;
The Heat have faced the Celtics three times over the past four seasons, and they have beaten them twice. All those games and series featured a lot of Butler carrying them to wins.
Without Butler though, things have changed dramatically fast. Now, the question stands: will they have enough to defeat their old nemesis (who&rsquo;s become the most dominant team in the league) sans their best player?

As eight playoff teams in each conference gear up for what promises to be an intense battle for the title, each team faces its own set of unique challenges.

2024 Eastern Conference Playoffs: Each team’s biggest question heading into the playoffs

Views are the author&rsquo;s and do not necessarily reflect the views of the website.
The 2023-2024 NBA season has wrapped up and the race for the league&rsquo;s annual awards has officially ended. Here&rsquo;s a look at my picks of the NBA's award winners.
Most Improved Player: Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia 76ers
(Runner-ups: Coby White, Jalen Johnson)
Notes: In the end, Tyrese Maxey takes the award with the amount of burden and responsibility in a Philadelphia team reeling from the loss of James Harden to become a true No. 2 option behind reigning MVP Joel Embiid. White improved a lot this year, increasing his averages both numbers and his shooting percentages. Johnson, like White, has also increased his usage and averages by a lot, featuring as the third option behind DeJounte Murray and Trae Young, or even as the second option without one of those two. A jumbo playmaking forward, Johnson showed improvements in his playmaking as well as his ability to score and had increased numbers in shooting as well. Ultimately, Maxey wins this award out because he was a guy who increased his usage and his role while playing most of the season without Embiid.
Sixth Man of the Year: Naz Reid, Minnesota Timberwolves
(Runner-ups: Malik Monk, Bobby Portis)
Notes: Naz Reid has been the best player off the bench this season with the way he has been an offensive spark plug for the Timberwolves this season. He&rsquo;s had a phenomenal season, and he had to start and fill in for Karl-Anthony Towns when he went down while still being an efficient scorer as he is. If you factor in all the stuff for these awards, you could actually make a case for Monk, for Portis, maybe even guys like Norman Powell for the Clippers and Bogdan Bogdanovic for the Hawks. But with Minnesota going 56-26 and having the second most wins in franchise history &ndash; ultimately ending up atop the three best teams in the West, this gives a little bit of boost to Naz Reid due to his importance to the team.
Defensive Player of the Year: Rudy Gobert, Minnesota Timberwolves
(Runner-ups: Victor Wembanyama, Anthony Davis; Honorable mention: Bam Adebayo)
Notes: One of the hardest awards to figure out. Minnesota had the best defense in the league for a reason, and based on that Rudy Gobert would be a deserving winner of the award. When he&rsquo;s off the floor, the team does not perform defensively the way it does when Gobert is on the floor. This was hard because Wembanyama had a legitimate case, being the generational defender that he was. Davis also had a strong case with how he carried single-handedly the Lakers&rsquo; defense, while Adebayo had the immense burden of playing all the defensive schemes in Miami. Ultimately, it ended up with Gobert with the way he lifted a good defensive team to the best in the league, manning that paint and being that anchor that holds all of the pieces together.
All-Defensive Team:
1st Team - Rudy Gobert, Victor Wembanyama, Anthony Davis, Bam Adebayo, Herb Jones
2nd Team - Derrick White, Jalen Suggs, Jaden McDaniels, Alex Caruso, Jonathan Isaac
Notes: Starting this year, the NBA&rsquo;s All-NBA teams and defensive teams were positionless so I had to cheat a little bit here, putting 4 bigs in the 1st team. Gobert, Wembanyama, Davis, and Adebayo are no-brainers considering their defensive impact for each of their teams, while Jones takes the last spot in the 1st team for his ability to disrupt offenses as well as guarding each team&rsquo;s best player night in and night out for the Pelicans.&nbsp;
The second team features White (most blocks for a guard), Suggs and Isaac (best defensive players for the 4th best defense in the league, helping to lead the Magic back to the playoffs), McDaniels (best wing defender for the best defense in the league), and the perennial all-defense player Caruso who brings it in defensively every game.
Rookie of the Year: Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs
(Runner-up: Chet Holmgren)
Notes: Despite Holmgren having far and away the better team success, there&rsquo;s no denying Wembanyama&rsquo;s greatness in his rookie year. The French phenom has transcended the game both figuratively and on the eye test &ndash; he is simply a generational talent who is going to take over the league soon. Holmgren got off to a hot start in the first two months of the season but since January, Wembanyama has locked up the award for himself with out-of-the-world numbers for a rookie. He was dubbed as the best prospect since LeBron James and now he is well on his way to being one of the greatest of all time if he remains healthy after a historic rookie season.
All-Rookie Team:
1st Team - Victor Wembanyama, Chet Holmgren, Brandon Miller, Jaime Jaquez Jr., GG Jackson
2nd Team - Ausar Thompson, Amen Thompson, Keyonte George, Brandin Podziemski, Trayce Jackson-Davis
Notes: There were several names to choose from here, and it felt hard to cut some of them here. Jordan Hawkins of the Pelicans has had a good start to the year when the team had all those injuries paving the way for him to play early into the season but has seen the bench since as NOLA got healthier and players came back; Cason Wallace had such a good shooting year off the bench for the No.1 seeded Thunder despite shooting being labeled by scouts as his biggest weakness coming into the NBA; Dereck Lively II being center that Luka Doncic needed and fit well with by catching all those lobs and helping the Mavs&rsquo; defense this season big time; No.2 overall pick Scoot Henderson had a good close to his rookie year.
All in all, these 10 rookies have felt like the best rookies in terms of production, opportunity, and narratives surrounding them. Of course, Wembanyama and Holmgren are automatic locks; Miller has been the best player in Charlotte without LaMelo Ball and Mark Williams; Jaquez is a vital piece off the bench for Erik Spoelstra&rsquo;s playoff-bound Heat team; and GG Jackson becoming a legit NBA scorer despite being the youngest player in the league to round out the first team.
The Thompson twins have just been defensive monsters ever since stepping foot in the league; George playing point guard at Utah has turned some heads and he has stepped up with the opportunity given to him; while Podziemski and Jackson-Davis have arguably been rotational pieces to the Warriors despite being rookies and has contributed a lot to them finding a way to fit in a complex team.
Coach of the Year: Mark Daigneault, Oklahoma City Thunder
(Runner-ups: Chris Finch, Jamahl Mosley)
Notes: There have been so many good coaches this season that have elevated their teams to good records, say Ime Udoka of the Houston Rockets and Tom Thibodeau from the New York Knicks. But my Coach of the Year pick goes to Mark Daigneault of the OKC Thunder because this award tends to favor the expectations set for a team before the start of the season. The Thunder weren&rsquo;t supposed to be this good this season, but Daigneault catapulted them into one of the best teams not just in the West but the entire NBA. The evidence is written on the wall: No.1 in the West despite being the second youngest team in the league; having a top 5 ranking on both offense and defense and no.2 overall net rating. Finch and Mosley take the runner-up spots with the work they had to lift both the Timberwolves and the Magic to being top 4 seeds in their conferences as well as having top-rated defenses in the league.
Clutch Player of the Year: Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
(Runner-ups: DeMar DeRozan, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander)
Notes: Another tough and close race, but ultimately it goes to Curry. Despite the Warriors&rsquo; so-so record, Curry had the most clutch time points, shot 50% from the field, and 46% from three in clutch time. Curry had the most threes than anyone in crunch time &ndash; being just the incredible clutch-time performer that he is &ndash; and always been.
All-NBA Team:
1st Team - Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum
2nd Team - Jalen Brunson, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, Anthony Edwards, LeBron James
3rd Team - Stephen Curry, Domantas Sabonis, Kawhi Leonard, Devin Booker, Tyrese Haliburton
Notes: With Jalen Brunson carrying the Knicks to a second seed in the East playing without Julius Randle since January, it was incredibly hard to leave him off the 1st team. However, by the slightest of margins, I gave the nod to Tatum for being the best player on the best team in the league by a wide margin.
All the other picks were pretty explanatory, with the top 4 in the MVP race in Jokic, Doncic, SGA, and Giannis all expected to be first-teamers. The second team kind of got tougher besides Brunson, with legends Durant and James making the list because of the seasons they had leading their team as well as playing their most regular season game in years. Rounding out the second team were Edwards and Davis, two stars with the biggest impacts on their teams in the tough Western Conference.
The third team is actually a toss-up with a lot of good cases from the league all around, but ultimately I went with Curry, Sabonis, Leonard, Booker, and Haliburton.
Most Valuable Player: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander&nbsp;
(Runners-up: Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic; Honorable mention: Giannis Antetokounmpo)
Perhaps the closest race out of all the awards, all three players here are each deserving with their narratives and the numbers that support each of their cases. You can never go wrong picking one over the other, so it came down to personal opinion on who I thought had the strongest case this season. His case?
-Leading the second youngest team in the league to No.1 in the West
-3-1 series vs Denver
-3-1 series vs Dallas
-First player since Steph and MJ to average 30/5/5 in a season with 2+ steals
-Second in defensive net rating for guards
One could make the argument for Nikola Jokic being the best player in the world having better numbers than his two MVP seasons while Luka Doncic had one of the best seasons statistically in all facets of the game, but there&rsquo;s no denying SGA&rsquo;s strong case as well given the expectations for this young Thunder team.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is my MVP.

The 2023-2024 NBA season has wrapped up and the race for the league’s annual awards has officially ended.

OPINION: Picking the 2023-2024 NBA Awards winners

Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers and Damian Lillard of the Milwaukee Bucks will be among the league's best shooters competing in the 2024 Three-Point Contest at NBA All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis.
Haliburton, who&rsquo;s also an All-Star starter, will try to win in front of his home crowd in his first stint at the three-point competition. One of the league&rsquo;s premier shooters, Haliburton is shooting nearly 40% (39.8%) from three-point range this season.
Lillard, the reigning champion, aims to defend his title this year despite a down-shooting season. Coming over to the Bucks in the offseason, Lillard is only shooting 34.7% from three on 8 attempts per game.
Joining Haliburton and Lillard are the following: Cleveland Cavaliers&rsquo; Donovan Mitchell, New York Knicks&rsquo; Jalen Brunson, Lillard&rsquo;s Bucks teammate Malik Beasley, Utah Jazz&rsquo;s Lauri Markkanen and Philadelphia 76ers' Tyrese Maxey. A final participant is expected to be named in the coming days.

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

There will also be a separate three-point showdown between Stephen Curry and Sabrina Ionescu in the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/steph-curry-sabrina-ionescu-to-face-off-in-nba-vs-wnba-3point-contest" target="_blank" rel="noopener">first-ever NBA vs. WNBA Three-Point Challenge</a>.

Tyrese Haliburton and Damian Lillard will be among the league's best shooters competing in the 2024 Three-Point Contest.

Tyrese Haliburton, Damian Lillard to headline NBA Three-Point Contest

Blake Stern previews the NBA's Central Division, breaking down each team's projected lineup and burning question entering the year.

NBA Central Division Preview: Burning questions, rotation projections

Most NBA teams have a young core of some sort, but some are better than others.
Each year, teams try to add to their young nucleus through the draft. The 2023 NBA Draft just featured the most highly-anticipated prospect since LeBron James in Victor Wembanyama, plus a number of other talented rookies like Scoot Henderson, Brandon Miller and the Thompson twins.
Entering the 2023-24 season, which team has the best young core? Today, we'll rank the five best cores from around the league. The criteria is simple: players must be age-25 or younger to be considered.
5. Orlando Magic&nbsp;
The Magic landed young star Paolo Banchero with the No. 1 overall pick last season, pairing him with 2021 lottery pick Franz Wagner to form a nice one-two punch. Cole Anthony had high expectations entering the league, but he hasn't quite become the player that fans wanted him to be. One player who has exceeded expectations is Wendell Carter Jr. After a shaky start to his career with the Chicago Bulls, Carter has found his place on the Magic and is considered one of the better young starting centers in the NBA. He isn't the only player who turned his career around after landing in Orlando, as Markelle Fultz is playing his best basketball and has a nice redemption story of his own. Other young players who have an opportunity to make an impact going forward are Orlando's recent lottery picks Anthony Black and Jett Howard, both of whom are 19 years old. Orlando has consistently been one of the worst teams in the league for several years now and while their rebuilding roster is solid, it isn&rsquo;t quite as good or enticing as some of the other teams on our list.
Notable Players: Paolo Banchero (20), Franz Wagner (23), Wendell Carter Jr. (24), Anthony Black (19), Jett Howard (19), Markelle Fultz (25), Cole Anthony (23), Jalen Suggs (21), Jonathan Isaac (25), Caleb Houstan (20)
4. New Orleans Pelicans
The Pelicans are the only young core on this list with postseason experience, as they made the playoffs in 2021-22 and made the play-in tournament last season. Their young core is largely carried by four players: Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy III and Herb Jones. Ingram has become a terrific scorer, and he's coming off a season in which he averaged career-highs in points (24.7) and assists (5.8). While Williamson has been one of the best players in the NBA when healthy, we haven&rsquo;t seen him on the court very much since he was drafted in 2019. Murphy is a terrific shooter and Jones has had a very solid start to his career as well, making a name for himself as a lockdown perimeter defender. New Orleans has a few other young players with potential including Dyson Daniels, Jordan Hawkins and Kira Lewis Jr., but they have yet to prove themselves. Ingram, Williamson, Murphy and Jones are the main reason why the Pelicans are ranked here.
Notable Players: Brandon Ingram (25), Zion Williamson (23), Trey Murphy III (23), Herb Jones (24), Dyson Daniels (20), Jordan Hawkins (21), Kira Lewis Jr. (22)
3. Houston Rockets
The Rockets have one of the more underrated young cores in the NBA, as their lack of success has prevented them from getting much recognition. Fortunately for the Rockets, their main issue has been lack of experience, and the team addressed it this offseason. They had money to spend and they brought in some veterans to help lead the team, most notably Fred VanVleet. That said, their young core is still extremely talented and got even better through this year&rsquo;s draft. The key for this Rockets team to succeed is to make sure these young players continue to develop at a high rate, which is where new head coach Ime Udoka and his staff come in. They have multiple players on their roster with All-Star potential, and it's possible they'll compete for a play-in spot by the end of the season.
Notable Players: Jalen Green (21), Jabari Smith (20), Alperen Sengun (21), Amen Thompson (20), Tari Eason (22), Kevin Porter Jr. (23), Cam Whitmore (19)
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2. San Antonio Spurs&nbsp;
The Spurs undoubtedly have one of the NBA's best young cores. No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama has made San Antonio the team to watch this season. That said, they likely won&rsquo;t be a playoff team for at least another year. While it's possible that they'll shock everyone, it will be difficult for Wembanyama to lead them to the postseason as a rookie. He will likely need at least a year to adjust to the NBA and develop before taking that next leap in his career. Wembanyama isn&rsquo;t the only young star on the Spurs, as they have already started developing fellow cornerstones Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson, who have made quite an impression. Throw in Tre Jones, Jeremy Sochan, Malaki Branham, Romeo Langford and Blake Wesley, and it's clear why the Spurs are this high. Other young players who have shown promise are Charles Bassey and Julian Champagnie, both of whom came over from the Philadelphia 76ers&rsquo; organization. These two players have displayed a ton of potential, particularly in the G League and Summer League, and they could be solid contributors for years to come.&nbsp;
Notable Players: Victor Wembanyama (19), Keldon Johnson (23), Tre Jones (23), Devin Vassell (22), Jeremy Sochan (20), Malaki Branham (20), Romeo Langford (23), Zach Collins (25), Blake Wesley (20), Julian Champagnie (22), Charles Bassey (22), Dominick Barlow (20), Sandro Mamukelashvili (24)
1. Oklahoma City Thunder
The Spurs were a hard core to beat but, to nobody&rsquo;s surprise, the Oklahoma City Thunder have the best young core in the NBA. Not only do they have the youngest starting lineup in the league, it is filled with young stars. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has emerged as one of the best guards in the league, while Josh Giddey and Rookie-of-the-Year runner-up Jalen Williams just had a terrific season. Chet Holmgren, the No. 2 overall pick in last year's draft, hasn't played yet but he will undoubtedly make an immediate impact and could give OKC a Rookie-of-the-Year finalist for the second year in a row. Despite how young the Thunder are, they could make a serious playoff push this season, with Shai at the steering wheel. Perhaps what's scariest about the Thunder is that they have 35 draft picks over the next seven years, including 15 first-rounders, so their already-impressive young core is still a work in progress.
Notable Players: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (25), Chet Holmgren (21), Josh Giddey (20), Jalen Williams (22), Cason Wallace (19), Luguentz Dort (24), Aleksej Pokusevski (21), Isaiah Joe (24), Tre Mann (22), Jaylin Williams (21), Ousmane Dieng (20), Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (22), Keyontae Johnson (23)

Entering the 2023-24 season, which NBA teams have the best young core? Hunter Simpson ranks the best cores from around the league.

Ranking the NBA's top-5 young cores entering the 2023-24 season

With the NBA&rsquo;s 2023 free-agency period pretty much wrapped up, why not take a look at how projecting next year's free-agent market? Obviously, a lot can change between now and then, but let&rsquo;s examine each team&rsquo;s cap situation and how much cap room they project to have next summer.&nbsp;
Next year&rsquo;s free-agency class could feature some big names, including Kawhi Leonard, Pascal Siakam, Tyrese Maxey (restricted), Paul George, LeBron James, James Harden, Jrue Holiday, OG Anunoby and DeMar DeRozan.&nbsp;
For the purposes of this exercise, I&rsquo;m going to separate teams into four spending-power tiers: Cap Space Teams, Non-Tax MLE Teams, Luxury Tax Teams and Second Apron Teams. Also, let's assume that the salary cap will be set at $149,623,000 and the luxury tax will come in at $181,823,000, the maximum 10% jump from this upcoming season set under the new CBA.
CAP SPACE TEAMS
Teams in this tier are currently projected to have cap space next summer. They have spending access to their cap space, Bird Rights, the Room Exception (projected at $8,495,000) and the Veteran Minimum Exception.
San Antonio Spurs ($77,195,776 under the cap) If Victor Wembanyama is 70% as good as he&rsquo;s hyped up to be entering this season, one would figure that the Spurs will spend big or at least make a meaningful impact on the free-agent market next summer. They project to have an enormous amount of cap space, so it&rsquo;s very possible we&rsquo;ll see San Antonio take on some more bad contracts in trades to give them even more draft capital. Also, they&rsquo;ll want to retain Devin Vassell, who will be a restricted free agent next offseason once the Spurs extend his qualifying offer.
Philadelphia 76ers ($73,034,842 under the cap) The Sixers are perhaps the most interesting team in terms of their 2024 offseason outlook. By letting Tyrese Maxey hit restricted free agency next summer rather than extending him this year, Philadelphia gave themselves serious cap flexibility. Tobias Harris and James Harden both have expiring contracts, so the Sixers will have to use their cap space to replace their production. A Harden trade would obviously change their projected cap room, but it remains to be seen what they&rsquo;ll get back for the former MVP and how much it&rsquo;ll impact their books.
Toronto Raptors ($60,339,034 under the cap) After losing Fred VanVleet, the Raptors are walking a tightrope when it comes to whether they&rsquo;ll compete or rebuild. They face some tough decisions. Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby are both set to hit free agency next summer, so Toronto needs to decide whether they want to extend or trade their best players. Not to mention, Precious Achiuwa and Gary Trent Jr. also need new contracts.
Orlando Magic ($58,010,944 under the cap) Orlando has a lot of options for next summer, but the Magic may start with retaining many of their own players. Franz Wagner will likely receive a big contract extension, while Markelle Fultz and Cole Anthony will be up for new contracts. Given that Orlando has a logjam in their backcourt &ndash; with Fultz, Anthony, Jalen Suggs and Anthony Black &ndash; it&rsquo;ll be interesting to see what they do with Fultz and Anthony. The Magic will still have plenty of room to add quality talent for yearly average values over the NTMLE.
Detroit Pistons ($57,781,166 under the cap) Detroit may approach the 2024 offseason similar to how Houston approached this summer, as a young team hoping to use its massive cap space on good veterans in order to take bigger steps toward playoff contention. With that said, the first priority for the team will be agreeing to a contract extension with Cade Cunningham.
Utah Jazz ($50,315,319 under the cap) The Jazz find themselves in a unique position where they could go in two directions. After committing a three-year deal to Jordan Clarkson, they can use their cap space to give 2023 Most Improved Player Lauri Markkanen a contract extension. If they want to have significant cap space for next summer instead, they can hold off on giving Markkanen an extension until free agency is settled.
Washington Wizards ($47,123,801 under the cap) Despite their cap space next year, don&rsquo;t expect Washington to be a big player in 2024 free agency. In the beginning stages of a rebuild, the Wizards will probably keep their sights on collecting more draft capital. They do have an interesting decision coming up with recent trade acquisition Tyus Jones, whom they&rsquo;ll likely want to keep long-term.&nbsp;
Charlotte Hornets ($41,300,515 under the cap)&nbsp; They may lose some 2024 cap space if they eventually re-sign PJ Washington this offseason, but watch out for Charlotte to be one of the many small-market teams with money to spend next summer. With LaMelo Ball in the first year of his max contract extension, Charlotte may cash in on a marquee player to keep their young star happy.
Brooklyn Nets ($33,048,185 under the cap) The Nets do have the potential to have significant cap space next summer if they choose not to re-sign most of their own free agents. However, the Nets will more than likely focus on exploring the trade market and retaining big man Nic Claxton before reaching next year&rsquo;s free agency. Spencer Dinwiddie and Royce O&rsquo;Neale will also hit free agency next offseason.
Indiana Pacers ($20,488,005 under the cap) Indiana could get to an even higher number in cap space if they decline Bruce Brown&rsquo;s $23 million team option next season. If Brown has a good year, the Pacers would likely keep him on a long-term deal that would consume a good chunk of their space. Other impending free agents they might like to keep include Obi Toppin, Aaron Nesmith and Jalen Smith.
Oklahoma City Thunder ($10,264,814 under the cap) The Thunder will likely continue to utilize the strategy of taking on short-term, bad-money contracts in exchange for draft capital. As they inch closer to contention, they will be looking at some big-money extensions for many of their young pieces, including one for Josh Giddey next year.&nbsp;
NON-TAX MLE TEAMS
Teams in this tier are currently projected to be over the salary cap but under the luxury tax. They have spending access to Bird Rights, the Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception (projected at $13,644,000), the Bi-Annual Exception (projected at $4,968,000) unless used in 2023-24, and the Veteran Minimum Exception.
Chicago Bulls ($19,465,689 under the cap) The Bulls could potentially operate as a cap-space team if they elect to let DeMar DeRozan and Patrick Williams walk in free agency, but that seems unlikely. In addition, the Bulls could potentially create more space if Lonzo Ball&rsquo;s knee injury is considered career-ending by an NBA/NBPA-appointed physician. (Ball would still be paid, it just wouldn&rsquo;t count against the cap).&nbsp;
Sacramento Kings ($210,669 under the cap) The Kings used up most of their cap space by signing Domantas Sabonis to a big four-year extension that ties him with the team through 2028. As long as they are competitive, they will likely pursue quality pieces with their Non-Tax MLE to support Sabonis and De&rsquo;Aaron Fox. They will also likely try to keep Malik Monk and look at extension options for Davion Mitchell.
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New Orleans Pelicans ($487,911 over the cap) The Pelicans are fairly set with their core of CJ McCollum, Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram under contract through 2025. Ingram and McCollum are both extension-eligible this offseason, but the Pelicans may wait on dishing out extensions to maintain flexibility under the tax. New Orleans must also monitor Jonas Valanciunas&rsquo; free agency and a possible extension for Trey Murphy III.&nbsp;
Atlanta Hawks ($1,658,172 over the cap) Similar to the Kings, the Hawks wiped away their cap space when they signed Dejounte Murray and De&rsquo;Andre Hunter to four-year, $120 million and four-year, $90 million extensions, respectively. Already pushing past the salary cap, the Hawks may face a money crunch as they broach the luxury tax line. Retaining restricted free agents Onyeka Okongwu and Saddiq Bey next offseason may be tricky.
Los Angeles Clippers ($5,018,261 over the cap) The Clippers are in an interesting spot with George and Leonard both needing new deals, which they will likely get despite their inability to stay on the floor. Many veterans with big salaries will come off the books next year, like Marcus Morris, Nic Batum and Robert Covington. The question is whether the Clippers will continue to commit significant capital to a roster that hasn&rsquo;t met its lofty expectations.
Miami Heat ($7,751,630 over the cap) The Miami Heat are in a holding pattern with their roster as they engage in a Mexican standoff with the Blazers on a Damian Lillard trade, which could see them skyrocket into the deep tax. Outside of the Dame situation, Jimmy Butler will likely look for another big extension this offseason, which will pay him max money deep into his late 30s. They will also have to contend with potentially losing Caleb Martin, who has a player option for 2024-25.
Houston Rockets ($8,734,919 over the cap) The biggest spenders of this past offseason, the Rockets made big moves for Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks. Houston could get back into the cap-space tier again if they choose to part ways with Kevin Porter Jr. and his non-guaranteed $15.9 million salary. Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun will also be up for extensions.&nbsp;
Cleveland Cavaliers ($11,399,749 over the cap) The Cavs are pretty set going into the 2023-24 season and beyond with two max guys (Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell) and key guys on fairly big deals (Jarrett Allen, Caris LeVert and Max Strus). They will likely give Evan Mobley a big extension next offseason, which could push them into the luxury tax in the near future. For next offseason, their only notable free agent is Isaac Okoro.
New York Knicks ($11,400,861 over the cap) This morning, the Knicks inked Josh Hart to a four-year contract extension that pushed them over the cap for 2024-25. Their main concerns for next summer are Immanuel Quickley and Isaiah Hartenstein, who are both up for new contracts. They will likely be able to avoid the tax by declining their team option on Evan Fournier or trading his expiring contract for another expiring deal.
Dallas Mavericks ($13,566,153 over the cap) The Mavericks are not likely to seek pathways to cap space next summer after doubling down on their trade for Kyrie Irving by re-signing him to a three-year, $120 million deal. They should look to retain Josh Green, who will be a restricted free agent. Luka Doncic&rsquo;s happiness looms over all of the Mavs&rsquo; moves, as ESPN&rsquo;s Tim McMahon <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/mavs-fear-luka-doncic-may-request-trade-unless-they-build-contender">reported in April</a> that the Mavericks are worried about Doncic potentially seeking a trade elsewhere as soon as next year.
Los Angeles Lakers ($15,380,636 over the cap) The Lakers had a pathway to almost two max slots in the unlikely scenario that they decided to pivot from the LeBron-AD era. However, that option is out the window with them inking Davis to a three-year supermax extension that will keep him with the team through 2028. LeBron James&rsquo; decision to stay with the team or leave will ultimately dictate how the Lakers approach spending next offseason.
Portland Trail Blazers ($20,567,876 over the cap) Portland is in the midst of turning the page to a new era as they look to accommodate franchise cornerstone Damian Lillard&rsquo;s trade request. If they do end up trading Lillard, expect their cap numbers to come down slightly, but not enough to get any meaningful space. Whether Lillard is traded for the Miami package or something else, Portland shouldn&rsquo;t be a major player in free agency for a while.&nbsp;
LUXURY TAX TEAMS
Teams in this tier are currently projected to be over the salary cap and luxury tax. They have spending access to Bird Rights, the Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception (projected at $5,500,000), and the Veteran Minimum Exception.
Minnesota Timberwolves ($14,474,085 under the tax) The Timberwolves have paid the luxury tax only once since 2007. They should be a tax team once again, with Karl-Anthony Towns' supermax extension and Anthony Edwards' max extension kicking in. In addition, Minnesota will need to use significant capital to keep players like Jaden McDaniels, Mike Conley and Kyle Anderson, all of whom will be free agents in 2024.
Golden State Warriors ($9,696,462 under the tax) While the Warriors are currently under the tax, they are likely going to re-sign 2024 free agent Klay Thompson to a long-term deal at a lower number or at least use his Bird Rights to acquire another piece at a similar number. Golden State can cut some costs by releasing Chris Paul after the season, as his $30 million salary for 2024-25 is non-guaranteed.
Milwaukee Bucks ($6,142,529 under the tax) The Bucks re-signed Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez to big-money deals, committing to the players who won them the 2021 title. Another one of those players, Jrue Holiday, is set to reach free agency and will likely demand max money. In addition, Giannis Antetokounmpo becomes eligible for a supermax extension of up to three years in October and can sign a four-year supermax extension next offseason.
Denver Nuggets ($6,732,627 over the tax) The defending champs have their core of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon locked in through the 2025 offseason. They&rsquo;ve already lost Bruce Brown and Jeff Green this summer and will be forced to work around the edges with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope potentially heading for free agency next summer.
Boston Celtics ($7,306,800 over the tax) The trade for Kristaps Porzingis pushed the Celtics into the luxury tax for the first time since 2018, and that was before they signed Jaylen Brown to a five-year supermax extension. With Jayson Tatum&rsquo;s own supermax extension on the horizon next year, the Celtics figure to be a tax team, and potentially a second apron team, for the foreseeable future.
SECOND APRON TEAMS
Teams in this tier are currently projected to be over the salary cap, luxury tax and second luxury tax apron ($17.5 million over the tax). They have spending access to just Bird Rights and the Veteran Minimum Exception. The second apron was introduced in the new CBA and prevents teams from using the Taxpayer MLE, trading first-round picks seven years away, signing buyout free agents and taking back more salary than they send out in trades among other restrictions.
Memphis Grizzlies ($13,829,477 over the tax) For the first time under owner Robert Pera, the Grizzlies will be paying the luxury tax. While Memphis probably won&rsquo;t reach the second apron, they are not likely to have enough spare capital to use their Tax MLE and be able to fill out their roster without going over it. Their core of Ja Morant, Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. are locked up to big money, long-term deals that will keep Memphis among the league's biggest spenders for likely the next decade-plus.
Phoenix Suns ($27,039,607 over the tax) Phoenix is by far the most limited team when it comes to spending, and they will be for the next few seasons after trading for Bradley Beal&rsquo;s behemoth contract. With four max contracts, including two supermax contracts, the Suns have blown through the second apron. Like this past offseason, the supporting cast around their core four will be mostly minimum-salary contracts.

How much cap room is your favorite NBA team projected to have next summer? Blake Stern breaks down where all 30 teams stand.

Which NBA teams project to have the most cap space in 2024?

One year ago, Jeremy Sochan walked across the stage at Barclays Center and shook Adam Silver&rsquo;s hand after the San Antonio Spurs selected him with the No. 9 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.
Now, after an terrific season that earned him an All-Rookie Second-Team selection, Sochan is returning to New York and attending the NBA Draft once again&nbsp; &mdash; this time as a media correspondent for the NBA&rsquo;s app and social-media accounts.
Sochan will conduct red-carpet interviews with this year's top prospects, including No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama, who will soon be Sochan&rsquo;s teammate. Wembanyama is the most hyped-up prospect since LeBron James, and all eyes will be on San Antonio next season after adding the potential superstar.
The Spurs will have one of the most promising young cores in the NBA, and the pieces fit together incredibly well. Sochan, Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell will perfectly complement Wembanyama&rsquo;s skill-set, and all four players are age-23 or younger. It&rsquo;s an exciting time to be a Spurs fan, and it certainly seems that San Antonio has found its next franchise cornerstones.
As a rookie, Sochan turned heads with his dyed hair and one-handed free throws. However, he also proved he belongs in the NBA and flashed glimpses of brilliance throughout the campaign.&nbsp;
The 19-year-old averaged 11.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.2 stocks while shooting 45.3% from the field, 24.6% from three and 69.8% from the free-throw line. Over the final month of the season, Sochan was even better, averaging 16.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.2 steals, while shooting 48.3% from the field and 76.9% from the charity stripe.
Before Sochan transitions to interviewer mode, he spoke to Basketball News&rsquo; Alex Kennedy as the interviewee and discussed Wembanyama&rsquo;s game, his advice for the incoming rookies, the Spurs&rsquo; terrific young core, his interest in broadcasting, his one-handed free throws and more.
After a successful rookie season that culminated in an All-Rookie Second-Team selection, what advice would you give to this incoming class of rookies?
Jeremy Sochan: &ldquo;Stand your ground, but also listen, be open to [feedback] and be coachable. Just be able to go into an organization and show them that you want to work hard and that you want to be there. Also, listen to your elders &ndash; your coaches and your vets &ndash; because that&rsquo;s going to help you. The other thing is consistency. They&rsquo;re coming from a season where they&rsquo;ve played 30 or 40 games, and now they&rsquo;re going into a season where they&rsquo;re playing 82 games (plus the playoffs, if you make it). Just try to be consistent because it&rsquo;s a lot of games and it wears down on your body, so try to do everything to help that.&rdquo;
Victor Wembanyama is one of the most hyped-up prospects in NBA history. His size and length are obviously crazy, but what aspects of his skill-set impress you and what are some things that should help him in the NBA?&nbsp;
Sochan: &ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s just the footwork for his size, the mobility for his size and the touch for his size. I think that all adds up into him being an all-around player, and his height just gives him so many advantages, for real. I think [his skill-set] is really exciting and it&rsquo;s going to be really good for him.&rdquo;
I&rsquo;ve talked to scouts and executives who believe that you and Victor will complement each other really well. Do you feel that your skill-sets are a good fit? And how can you guys help each other on the court?
Sochan: &ldquo;Of course, if it happens&hellip;&rdquo;
Oh, right. Assuming he&rsquo;s a Spur, how would you guys help each other on the court?
Sochan: &ldquo;Yeah, assuming it happens, I think we both have a lot of versatility, especially on the defensive side. He&rsquo;s a rim protector and he&rsquo;s very lengthy, and then I&rsquo;m very destructive and I can play 1 through 5, so I think there&rsquo;s a lot of potential there. And then offensively, I feel like I&rsquo;ll be able to get him into good spots and be able to play-make for him and make the game easy for him. I think we complement each other&rsquo;s games really well and I think it&rsquo;s really exciting if, potentially, that happens.&rdquo;
Again, assuming Wembanyama is the pick, he&rsquo;ll join this young core in San Antonio that already consists of you, Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassell, Tre Jones, Zach Collins, Malaki Branham, Romeo Langford and Blake Wesley among others. What do you think of all this young talent, and where does this group rank among the best young cores in the NBA?
Sochan: &ldquo;I think the thing about our young core is that we all want to be around San Antonio, we all want to work together and we all want to be better. I think we&rsquo;re all very motivated to just work. We have [the opportunity] to be around the Spurs and just work, and I think that really helps. Personally, I think we&rsquo;re one of the best young cores in the league. I&rsquo;m not a guy that likes to rank [teams] and stuff, but I definitely think we&rsquo;re up there."
Gregg Popovich is arguably the best coach in NBA history and the Spurs are known for getting the most out of players. Sometimes, legends like Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili will stop by to work out with you guys. What can you share about your experience in the Spurs&rsquo; organization and how they help players realize their full potential?
Sochan: &ldquo;I think they&rsquo;re just really keen and want to help us with opportunities, and it&rsquo;s all very team-based. They&rsquo;re always communicating with the players and showing us the way. The Spurs have a winning culture; they&rsquo;ve won for so long so they know the blueprint. They give us that blueprint and try to find players who actually want to work for that. That&rsquo;s what they&rsquo;re really good at, finding those kinds of players [who will buy in]. They help us a lot.&rdquo;&nbsp;
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You and Victor played against each other back when you were 15 and he was 14. Your team won, and you <a href="https://twitter.com/JeremySochan/status/1658907669879574528">joked on Twitter</a> that neither of you were good back then. Do you have a relationship with Victor and when did you realize he could be a special player?
Sochan: &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t really have a relationship like that, but I&rsquo;ve talked to him a couple times. And like you said, we played against each other so there is a relationship in that sense, but it&rsquo;s nothing crazy. But yeah, I played against him back then, and he already had a lot of potential, so it&rsquo;s exciting to see how he grew and how popular he got over the years. I think he&rsquo;s a very exciting prospect and he&rsquo;s going to do a lot of good stuff for himself.&rdquo;
Paolo Banchero, Walker Kessler, Bennedict Mathurin and Jalen Williams served as media correspondents during the NBA Finals, and now you&rsquo;re going to be the league&rsquo;s NBA Draft correspondent tonight. I know you&rsquo;ve done some interviews before, like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pT9CQNvQvyw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">your chat with Tony Parker</a>. Are you hoping to do more broadcasting or media stuff in the future?
Sochan: &ldquo;Potentially! If I get the opportunity to do it, then why not? I feel like I&rsquo;m pretty good at it; I&rsquo;m natural. So yeah, if there&rsquo;s an opportunity, I&rsquo;ll do it.&rdquo;
Did you do any research about the players or prepare any questions? What kind of prep goes into being an NBA Draft media correspondent?
Sochan: &ldquo;(laughs) Yeah, I&rsquo;ve been able to prep a bit and do some research on the players. I&rsquo;ve talked to the people around me who know a bit more than I do. And sometimes it&rsquo;s just on the go too and just being able to do it [on the fly]. But yeah, I&rsquo;m excited to be here for the draft. It&rsquo;s kinda cool to come back here after a year and still remember everything [from my draft night], just all of the emotions and stuff. And [it&rsquo;s fun] just to be here for all of this year&rsquo;s draft prospects too.&rdquo;
You let fans <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1671237507634147332" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vote on what color you&rsquo;ll dye your hair</a> for tonight&rsquo;s NBA Draft. When did you start dying your hair and using that as a way to express yourself?
Sochan: &ldquo;I probably started two years ago or two-and-a-bit years ago. It was just something that I always wanted to do, just to be able to showcase [who I am] and be myself. And it shows people that you can do whatever with your body and be proud of it. Just be confident!&rdquo;
Your one-handed free throws really worked and improved your free-throw percentage over the course of the season. I actually <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/will-onehanded-or-underhand-free-throws-ever-catch-on-in-the-nba" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote an article</a> about how it could influence other players to make the same change. Would you recommend shooting one-handed to players who want to improve their free-throw percentage?
Sochan: &ldquo;Yeah, why not? The thing is, if it&rsquo;s working and it helps your shot, why not do it? When I started doing it, I feel like a lot of people were like, &lsquo;Why are you doing that? or, &lsquo;It looks weird,&rsquo; or whatever. Or they&rsquo;d ask like, &lsquo;How did you do it mentally?&rsquo; But I&rsquo;m going to do anything [to improve] my game and help me. If that helps, I&rsquo;m going to do it. And who cares if people laugh at you? Who cares if there are critics who talk about it? It is what it is at the end of the day and if it&rsquo;s helping me, I&rsquo;m going to do it.&rdquo;

Jeremy Sochan opens up to Alex Kennedy about his rookie year, Victor Wembanyama's game, San Antonio's young core and more.

Q&A: Jeremy Sochan on Victor Wembanyama, Spurs' young core, more

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

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

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

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

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

PHOENIX (AP) &mdash; Devin Booker scored 27 points and the Phoenix Suns never trailed, beating the depleted San Antonio Spurs 115-94 on Tuesday night to clinch a playoff spot.
The Suns (44-35) won their sixth in a row, the longest current winning streak in the NBA. With one more victory in the final three games, Phoenix would assure itself of at least the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference and home-court advantage in the first round.
Chris Paul scored 22 points, while Deandre Ayton had 19 points and 11 rebounds. Kevin Durant scored 18 points and reserve Torrey Craig added 15.
The Suns are 7-0 when Durant has been in their lineup.
Malaki Branham led the Spurs with 21 points. Tre Jones scored 20, while Keita Bates-Diop and Sandro Mamukelashvili each had 13.
The Spurs (20-59) only dressed 10 players. They were without their top two scorers, Keldon Johnson (right foot sprain) and Devin Vassell (left knee). Also out for San Antonio were Zach Collins (finger), Jeremy Sochan (right knee soreness) and Romeo Langford (left adductor).
And during Tuesday&rsquo;s game, Doug McDermott played six minutes and limped off with an apparent knee injury. Dominick Barlow was hurt in a fourth-quarter collision, and starter Devonte&rsquo; Graham was helped to the locker room late in the game after hurting his leg.
San Antonio entered the night ranked last in scoring defense, having allowed 122.8 points per game. Phoenix came out roaring, shooting 63% in the first quarter in building a 42-25 lead. That&rsquo;s the most the Suns have scored in the first quarter this season, passing the 40 points against Chicago on March 3.
Booker had 14 points in the first quarter.
The Suns led by as many as 31 points in the second quarter and were up 69-51 at the half. Paul made 7 of 8 shots in the half to lead the Suns with 18 points. Phoenix shot 56% and San Antonio 38 percent, with the Suns outrebounding the Spurs 30-20.
The Spurs got within nine in the third quarter, but by the end of the period Phoenix was back ahead 97-76. Booker scored 13 in the quarter to lead Phoenix.
MUTUAL ADMIRATION
Suns coach Monty Williams played for Gregg Popovich with the Spurs and coached under him as well.
&ldquo;I just enjoy seeing him and I&rsquo;m grateful for the history I have with him,&rdquo; Williams said before the game. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m grateful that I get to tell people outside of basketball that I know Gregg Popovich as a man, as a mentor, as a friend.&rdquo;
Popovich may not have enjoyed Tuesday&rsquo;s result, but he too admires what Williams and the Suns have done.
No matter who&rsquo;s playing, Popovich said of Williams, &ldquo;He&rsquo;s gonna coach. He&rsquo;s going to do the same things, have the same standards, the same accountability. Kick &rsquo;em in the butt when necessary, put an arm around them and love &rsquo;em when necessary. He&rsquo;s a good man.&rdquo;
DURANT, TOO
Popovich coached the Olympic gold-medal team in 2021 and saw Durant from the same bench.
&ldquo;He was great. I love him,&rdquo; Popovich said. &ldquo;How do you stop him? You can&rsquo;t. There&rsquo;s no way you can stop him. Now you can double-team him, and he&rsquo;s smart enough to give it up. No matter what happens, they&rsquo;ll figure out what they need to do.&rdquo;
NEXT
Spurs: Play Portland on Thursday in Austin, Texas.
Suns: Host Denver Thursday.

The Suns (44-35) won their sixth in a row, the longest current winning streak in the NBA.

Suns clinch playoff spot, rout injury-riddled Spurs 115-94

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

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

Kings beat Pelicans 121-103 to clinch Pacific Division title

HOUSTON (AP) &mdash; It wasn&rsquo;t so much that social media was criticizing his son. That happens sometimes &mdash; especially after a loss like THAT.
But when a post came up suggesting Terrance Williams II, a junior forward for Michigan, be left for dead in a ditch, his dad decided enough was enough. Terrance Williams Sr.&rsquo;s profanity-laced response to all the haters was, in many ways, an expected byproduct of social media vitriol that bubbled up after the Wolverines blew an eight-point lead in a one-point loss to Vanderbilt earlier this month &mdash; not in the NCAA Tournament but in the NIT.
&ldquo;You actually root for them when they&rsquo;re good,&rdquo; Williams Sr. said of the Michigan fans in an interview with The Associated Press two days after the season-ending loss. &ldquo;But then they make a mistake, and a game doesn&rsquo;t go your way and you turn to hate. That&rsquo;s unacceptable.&rdquo;
The episode was just one of countless examples of the toxic minefield that athletes, coaches, friends and family face all too often on social media, all of it amplified for college basketball players when the calendar flips to March and the madness begins.
College administrators and coaches alike have warned for several years that students and athletes are facing increasing mental-health challenges exacerbated by the pandemic. And never have there been more outside voices that not only scrutinize every move players make on the court, but impact their emotional well-being away from it.
&ldquo;The feedback right now, it can be so harsh and it&rsquo;s so immediate, and I think that&rsquo;s the hardest part,&rdquo; said Melissa Streno, a Denver-based mental health consultant for high-level athletes. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s the immediacy of the feedback from people they don&rsquo;t even know. And it can be so impactful on their identity and how they see themselves as a player on the court.&rdquo;
Turning off social media is one option, but it&rsquo;s not really practical, not with the way society interacts in the 21st century. And many athletes use social media to open the door to cash. It comes with a toll.
A survey conducted by the NCAA in the fall of 2021 found spikes among athletes who experienced mental exhaustion, anxiety and depression compared with a similar survey two years earlier &mdash; before the pandemic, and also before name-image-likeness deals became an everyday reality of college sports. The survey also found that despite a growing recognition of mental health as something to be addressed, fewer than half the respondents felt comfortable seeking support from a counselor on campus.
Even so, those counselors have been busy; a growing number of questions they field from the players involve how to manage social media.
&ldquo;For some of them, social media brings pressure to put out information, to create content, build their brand and that can cause anxiety,&rdquo; said Charron Sumler, a former college basketball player who is now an athletic counselor at Ohio State. &ldquo;On the flip side, there&rsquo;s the input where they&rsquo;re receiving messages. And with phones in the locker room, sometimes they&rsquo;re receiving that negative feedback and content before they&rsquo;ve even had a chance to debrief with their coaches or with themselves.&rdquo;
Just this month, Virginia&rsquo;s Kihei Clark started trending for the wrong reasons when his ill-advised pass at the end of a first-round March Madness game against Furman allowed the Paladins to make the game-winning 3-pointer that sent the Cavaliers home.
After the game, Clark sat in the locker room and patiently answered every question. Predictably, social media was destroying him before the final buzzer even sounded.&nbsp;
Among those who knew the feeling was Matthew Fisher-Davis. He was the Vanderbilt guard who, thinking the Commodores were trailing, fouled a Northwestern player in the waning seconds of a first-round game in 2017. In fact, Vanderbilt was ahead by one; Northwestern made both free throws after the foul and won by a point.
Before the next season, Fisher-Davis released a slickly produced video showing him working out, the main theme of which was: &ldquo;Everybody&rsquo;s got something to say.&rdquo;
&ldquo;It gets to the point where, the stuff coming from outside the locker room doesn&rsquo;t make anything easier,&rdquo; Fisher-Davis told the AP in an interview this month.
Stanford&rsquo;s Haley Jones was named most outstanding player at the women&rsquo;s Final Four after helping the Cardinal win the national title in 2021. Two weeks ago, when Stanford made an early exit from this year&rsquo;s March Madness, Jones&rsquo; performance &mdash; and her prospects for the upcoming WNBA draft &mdash; were being dissected, sometimes cruelly, on social media.
&ldquo;Right after every game. I know what I did well, and I know what I didn&rsquo;t do well,&rdquo; said Jones, who is part of a program called Game 4 Good that focuses on mental wellness for athletes. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t need to go and listen to thousands of people who don&rsquo;t know me tell me these same things, and probably say it in a lot meaner way.&rdquo;
On rare occasions, players get ripped for doing something good.
In an episode that illustrates the parallel explosive growth of both social media and online sports wagering, TCU&rsquo;s Damion Baugh was the object of scorn in the second round this month when he launched a shot at the buzzer from near the halfcourt logo in a game that had already been sealed by Gonzaga.
Baugh&rsquo;s 3 went in. It trimmed TCU&rsquo;s final deficit to three, which allowed the Horned Frogs to cover the 4.5-point spread. That shot did nothing to change the brackets, but it did flip millions of dollars across the country and Baugh was roundly ripped on Twitter.
Baugh barked back: &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t get how y&rsquo;all mad because I played until the last buzzer.&rdquo;
Former Ohio State guard E.J. Liddell also felt compelled to defend himself after he missed a late free throw that was key to an upset loss to Oral Roberts two years ago.
&ldquo;Honestly, what did I do to deserve this? I&rsquo;m human,&rdquo; he said in a post in which he posted screenshots of some of the insults directed at him, including a death threat.
Even one of social media&rsquo;s biggest stars, Oregon&rsquo;s Sedona Prince, who became famous after her video outlining the disparity between men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s weight rooms at the 2021 NCAA Tournaments went viral, had to take a brief break last year from TikTok.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not any different because I&rsquo;m on TikTok. I&rsquo;m still a person,&rdquo; Prince said in a tearful video since taken down, while acknowledging her mental health had been declining.
Streno, the mental health consultant, said social media can exacerbate depression and anxiety.
During a three-month stretch last spring, at least five college athletes died by suicide. Among the reasons given by friends and family were the constant pressure of performing at a high level, the pressure to maintain a certain weight or physique, the fear of being perceived as weak because of injuries and the limited social opportunities because of the demands of a sports schedule.
Given the amount of daily interaction athletes have with friends and family on social media apps, Streno said it&rsquo;s more realistic to coach players on how to deal with feedback than simply advising them to shut down everything.
&ldquo;If it were as simple as &lsquo;don&rsquo;t look at your phone,&rsquo; then this wouldn&rsquo;t be an issue,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;But there&rsquo;s such a quick, immediate, &lsquo;Oh, this must mean this about me. I&rsquo;m not good enough, or I&rsquo;m not living up to this level.&rsquo; And then your mind can kind of start going down into this spiral.&rdquo;
Williams, the father of the Michigan forward, said his son does a good job of shutting out social media during the season. After the events of this month, the dad planned on going dark for a while, too.
&ldquo;People said he didn&rsquo;t play well, and I get that,&rdquo; Williams said. &ldquo;But when you say my son, who I&rsquo;ve raised and who I love tremendously, that you wish him to be dead in a ditch, that&rsquo;s when I&rsquo;ve got to turn the switch.&rdquo;

There is a toxic minefield that athletes, coaches, friends and family face all too often on social media when the calendar flips to March.

A different March Madness: Online hate for the athletes

NEW ORLEANS (AP) &mdash; Anthony Davis had 35 points and 17 rebounds, Malik Beasley hit seven 3-pointers in the first half, and the Los Angeles Lakers built a 36-point lead in the second quarter in its 123-108 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
Beasley finished with 24 points for the Lakers, who shot 18 of 39 from 3-point range &mdash; including 15 of 27 before halftime.
D&rsquo;Angelo Russell added 17 points to help Los Angeles (34-35) move one game ahead of New Orleans (33-36) in the Western Conference standings.
Brandon Ingram returned to New Orleans&rsquo; lineup after missing two games with a right ankle injury, but his 22 points were not nearly enough.
Herbert Jones and Trey Murphy III each scored 20 for the Pelicans, who trailed 75-40 at halftime.

Anthony Davis had 35 points and 17 rebounds, and the Lakers built a 36-point lead in the second quarter in its win over the Pelicans.

Lakers beat Pelicans 123-108 behind Davis' 35 points, 17 rebounds

Longtime pro Jordan Crawford opens up to Spencer Davies about his unpleasant NBA experience, his Detroit connection and more.

Ex-NBA pro Jordan Crawford has a story to tell — and a whole lot more

If you missed Friday night's fever dream between the Los Angeles Clippers and Sacramento Kings, I highly recommend finding a way to catch up. Fire up League Pass, see if NBA TV is showing a re-run soon, go to YouTube. Do something.&nbsp;
We're not seeing another 176-175 in double overtime anytime soon. At the very least, I find it hard to believe we will.
That game had everything: Kawhi Leonard (44-4-4-3-2) going off, De'Aaron Fox (42-5-12-5) <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-sacramento-kings-deaaron-fox-early-frontrunner-nba-clutch-player-of-the-year-award-race-kevin-huerter-domantas-sabonis-luka-doncic-nikola-jokic-jalen-brunson-demar-derozan-shai-gilgeous-alexander" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reaffirming his lead in the Clutch Player of the Year race</a>, a career-night from Malik Monk (45 points and 6 assists), Paul George (34-10-5) losing his mind before losing the ball over and over and over again. A Russell Westbrook debut befitting of the future Hall of Famer: 17 points, 14 assists (7 turnovers) and 6 fouls with the Clippers winning his minutes by three points.&nbsp;
Insane three-point shooting, bully-ball post-ups, transition exploits, and ultimately, history. It's the second-highest scoring NBA game of all-time, and the first time in NBA history that a game went into overtime with both teams having at least 150 points beforehand.&nbsp;
The Kings probably aren't in position to potentialy force overtime without the Clippers' turnover-fest &mdash; and Fox's defensive masterclass &mdash; within the last three minutes of the game. And we certainly don't get the overtime without Monk's three from the right corner with 1.1 seconds left.&nbsp;
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It's a tremendous mix of "what a play call" and "what are the Clippers doing" &mdash; enough that it warrants a breakdown of the play. Let's talk about what happened, and why it happened.
As Mark Jones expertly calls out during the mayhem, the Kings are trying to set up a "Hammer" on the weakside for Monk. The tell for the "Hammer" would be the late screen being set by Keegan Murray as Monk flows to the corner. The setup beforehand, however, is pretty important.&nbsp;
Monk tests the Clippers early by setting a brush screen for Fox right after the inbound. On three occasions before this moment, Monk set early-in-the-clock screens for Fox, with the Clippers opting to switch. Even in the second instance &mdash; a Fox triple &mdash; you can see Terance Mann dropping down in anticipation of a switch.&nbsp;
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As Monk comes across, George subtly grabs Monk. Westbrook turns and hovers around the nail at that moment. A favorable (but ultimately inexcusable) interpretation of Westbrook's actions would be him viewing Paul's grab as a sign he was getting ready to switch, thus making Fox the priority of Westbrook.
But even with Westbrook ultimately making the wrong read, the Clippers had chances to avoid disaster. With Westbrook at the nail, Nicolas Batum had the opportunity to pick up Monk as he made his way around the right wing.&nbsp;
More pressing is what Norm Powell does. He drops down from the weakside corner, showing help against the empty corner ball screen being "ran" by Fox and Domantas Sabonis. If he does that in the second quarter, you don't really blink. Doing so when the Kings are down three, with no timeouts, is an unfortunate lapse in judgment.&nbsp;
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From here, you have to give credit to Monk. On a basic level, he drills the most important shot of the game to that point. What's going under the radar was the read he made in space.
Instead of mindlessly following the playcall and pumping the brakes in the corner, he reads Fox. He drifts back to his left as Fox continues his drive on the baseline, creating the passing window needed for Fox to find him. His movement also makes it impossible for Powell to recover, and puts him in a spot where Westbrook can't really bother him with a contest.&nbsp;
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It was a brilliant play call from the Kings that, intentionally or not, targeted the most questionable off-ball defenders the Clippers had on the court at that time. Westbrook had to defend the inbound pass and the first action of the play; Powell had to navigate things on the back end, with him ultimately going gameplan over time and score.&nbsp;
For more on Monk's impact on the Kings, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-feature-interview-malik-monk-infectious-energy-breathing-life-into-sacramento-kings-mike-brown-chimezie-metu-deaaron-fox-harrison-barnes-davion-mitchell" target="_blank" rel="noopener">check out this excellent feature</a> from our Spencer Davies where he sat down with Monk and his teammates.

Last night's Kings-Clippers game made NBA history. Nekias Duncan breaks down the most important play: Malik Monk's OT-forcing three.

Explain One Play: How Malik Monk extended a wild Kings-Clippers game

The most important word in NBA All-Star break might actually be "break."
For one week, the entire league recalibrates itself for the home stretch of the regular season and catches up on the aches, pains and more significant injuries that stem from competing hard every single day. Rookies can also breathe after being thrown into the fires of their first year as a pro.
Young talent can thrive coming out of the break. Bottom-feeding teams are ready to turn minutes over to those with less experience and more upside after the trade deadline. Contenders have a better understanding of how rookies could slot into a playoff-seeking rotation. And regardless of the ethics, a stellar final impression can heavily impact All-Rookie narratives.
So who might surprise us with a strong close to the season?
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Here are five under-the-radar rookies worth monitoring for a leap forward &mdash; "under-the-radar" excluding lottery draft picks and players already firmly in the Rookie of the Year conversation (i.e. Walker Kessler):
Malaki Branham, San Antonio Spurs
Malaki Branham is barely under the radar at this point; he's leading all rookies with 18.1 points per game in February. But he is one of my favorite players in this rookie class, and since he fits my criteria, I'm seizing the chance to spotlight him.
According to PBP Stats, 136 players have attempted at least 50 "self-created" mid-range shots this season (attempts after possessing the ball for at least two seconds). Branham is converting on a ridiculous 56% of those shots, ranking third behind only Kevin Durant and Seth Curry.
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Malaki Branham logged his sixth consecutive start Monday at Cleveland and played well, scoring 18 points on 8-of-11 in the loss. Branham is a natural shot-creator who is also excellent moving off-ball. He&rsquo;s going to be a very good NBA player and an important piece for the Spurs. <a href="https://t.co/kbfm5KivkL">pic.twitter.com/kbfm5KivkL</a>
&mdash; Brett Usher (@UsherNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/UsherNBA/status/1625337236152799232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 14, 2023</a></blockquote>
The No. 20 overall pick hardly wastes time and effort when he attacks off the dribble. While Branham has showcased his chops as an on-ball scorer, he's also 26-for-29 on assisted shots within 10 feet of the rim this season, per PBP Stats, and Synergy says Branham is shooting 76.5% on cutting field goal attempts.&nbsp;
Branham's relatively low output from the perimeter at Ohio State drew question marks around the NBA Draft. Could he stretch his mid-range prowess beyond the arc? This season, Branham has made just 33.3% of his catch-and-shoot threes, but since February, he's at a scorching 18-for-41 (43.9%) on 4.6 &nbsp;attempts per game.&nbsp;
Right now, he's purely been a bucket. We're still waiting to see a bit more of the off-dribble playmaking, which I believe was underrated in college. Branham also is, well, a contributor to the Spurs' league-worst defense. But the 6-foot-5-inch wing is playing in a low-stakes environment by NBA standards and is clearly growing more comfortable with each passing game. If you told me he would lead rookies in post-All-Star scoring, I'd believe you.

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Christian Braun, Denver Nuggets
The No. 21 overall selection in this past year's draft hung around the back end of the Nuggets' rotation for most of the season, but has received 23.3 minutes per game this month. Christian Braun is averaging 7.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.3 steals across nine February contests on a scintillating 64.5% True Shooting clip.&nbsp;
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Holy crap Christian Braun! The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Nuggets?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Nuggets</a> rookie summoning his inner Nikola Jokic, on the baseline cut takes the entry pass from Joker and instantly dishes it back out to Michael Porter Jr. for the corner 3-pointer. Such a damn impressive heads up play.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MileHighBasketball?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MileHighBasketball</a> <a href="https://t.co/p01V1g6PIi">pic.twitter.com/p01V1g6PIi</a>
&mdash; Joel Rush (@JoelRushNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoelRushNBA/status/1625539664571699201?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 14, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Braun is a quintessential connector for the Nuggets right now. Over 53% of his shots have come at the rim, mostly off of secondary drives or cuts, and he'll also spot up from the corners frequently. He's not a lead playmaker, but he'll keep the ball moving; plus, he's had just six bad-pass turnovers all season, per PBP Stats.&nbsp;
The Nuggets also like to use Braun's size at 6-foot-7, 218 pounds to guard up the lineup. According to BBall Index, the Kansas product has spent over 62% of his playing time defending point guards and shooting guards. And, while he's not the point-of-attack defender, he's useful in taking away complementary options and being an additional pest.
Denver's lack of trade-deadline additions on the wing (and top billing in the West) means Braun is expected to contribute to a deep playoff run. A stable three-point shot would go a long way (46.7% in February, 37.1% on the season), along with continued growth on defense. But Braun is the rare rookie on a pressure-packed team, and thriving would say a lot about his impact.
Tari Eason, Houston Rockets
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Per Cleaning the Glass: only 5️⃣ NBA players have block and steal rates both above 1.5% 🏀 - Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC) - Jaren Jackson Jr. (MEM) - Larry Nance Jr. (NOP) - Kyle Anderson (MIN) - Tari Eason (HOU) <a href="https://t.co/Fi0pGOHnbL">pic.twitter.com/Fi0pGOHnbL</a>
&mdash; BasketballNews.com (@basketbllnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews/status/1628828512206348291?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Tari Eason's 1.5% block rate and 2.2% steal rate place him in an elite group of defensive havoc-wreakers this season. He's averaging 4.52 bad-pass steals or deflections per 75 possessions, per BBall Index, which puts him in the 95th percentile at his position.
Eason is already a unique event-creator on defense with his length and mobility. He also inhales rebounds on both ends of the glass. The former LSU forward secures offensive boards on 10.6% of Houston's misses, a rate that ranks second among all non-bigs in the league.&nbsp;
Those two impact areas carry the weight for Eason's All-Rookie case; he's still finding his niche on offense. He has to create more for himself than expected, and he's making a paltry 40.7% of his unassisted shots at the rim. The Rockets' offense has been a mess all season long. Ideally, Eason could start his career capitalizing on more cuts, lobs and spot-ups, but it's unclear if he'll find that balance this season.
Still, his defensive impact and rebounding activity warrant a prime spot in the rotation of a young, losing team, and Eason is talented enough to make it work.
Jaylin Williams, Oklahoma City Thunder
The pesky Thunder continue to stick around in the playoff race, and Jaylin Williams &mdash; not to be confused with Jalen &mdash; has been the most recent young head-turner with his charge-taking. Check out this graphic from Dom Samangy:
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Former Razorback, Jaylin Williams, is currently LEADING THE NBA in charges drawn per minute played and has the highest charge rate in 7 years since the NBA started tracking &ldquo;hustle stats&rdquo; in 2016. He currently draws a charge every 22 minutes of play! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ProHogs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ProHogs</a> // <a href="https://twitter.com/Jay_MWilliams_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Jay_MWilliams_</a> <a href="https://t.co/bOM9XcqynU">pic.twitter.com/bOM9XcqynU</a>
&mdash; Dom Samangy (@DSamangy) <a href="https://twitter.com/DSamangy/status/1628448922770329601?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 22, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Williams is such a fun, unique player. He's not racking up blocks or steals as a rim-protector, but he rebounds, takes charges and positions himself well on defense for a rookie.
Then, on offense, he's warped his impact from the pre-draft projections coming out of Arkansas. Williams' perimeter shot-making was more of an intriguing developmental pathway than a bread-and-butter skill entering the 2022 NBA Draft. The second-rounder is shooting a red-hot 47.7% from long range this season, including (checks notes) 55.6% since Jan. 1. In contrast, he's barely scoring around the rim; just 29% of his shots are coming within 4 feet of the basket.
Add in an 11.1% assist rate (66th percentile among bigs) and 3.1 screen assists per 75 possessions (80th percentile), and Williams is upending a lot of the traditional images for low-usage young centers.&nbsp;
OKC moved on from Mike Muscala and forward Darius Bazley at the trade deadline. Williams' playing time has fluctuated this season, but he's averaging 21.8 minutes per game in February and has started 11 of 17 games in the new year. He'll be a big part of this stretch run for a Thunder team capable of contending.
Mark Williams, Charlotte Hornets
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
mark williams size blk + lob radius, good stuff <a href="https://t.co/8lVqlyksUH">pic.twitter.com/8lVqlyksUH</a>
&mdash; ben pfeifer (@bjpf_) <a href="https://twitter.com/bjpf_/status/1627041357041897472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 18, 2023</a></blockquote>

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The Hornets traded away Mason Plumlee and are well out of the playoff picture. It's time to give the young guys some runtime, and that begins with Mark Williams, who has started the last four contests. The No. 15 overall pick is averaging 7.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 15.9 minutes per game this season.
Williams has thrived in more of the traditional finishing-center archetype. He's tallying 4.4 screen assists per 75 possessions (88th percentile) and posting a monster 3.7% block rate and 2.0% steal rate. (He missed the minute qualifier for Eason's previously mentioned stat). The 7-foot-1-inch center takes 78% of his shots around the rim, the majority via assists, and he makes 70% of those attempts.&nbsp;
Let's expand on the interior defense a bit because Williams' small-sample impact numbers are insane. Pulling from BBall Index's data, here's a look at how he's affecting shots around the basket.
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; height: 132px;" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 48.6251%; height: 22px;">Category</td>
<td style="width: 16.3185%; height: 22px;">Value</td>
<td style="width: 35.0481%; height: 22px;">Percentile rank (among C's)</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 48.6251%; height: 22px;">% of teams' at-rim shots contested by Williams</td>
<td style="width: 16.3185%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:0.4714}" data-sheets-numberformat="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;0.00%&quot;,&quot;3&quot;:1}">47.14%</td>
<td style="width: 35.0481%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:0.96}" data-sheets-numberformat="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;0%&quot;,&quot;3&quot;:1}" data-sheets-formula="=percentrank('Data Pull'!C[134]:C[134],R[0]C[-1])">96th</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 48.6251%; height: 22px;">At-rim contests per 75 poss.</td>
<td style="width: 16.3185%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:10.82}">10.82</td>
<td style="width: 35.0481%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:0.987}" data-sheets-numberformat="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;0%&quot;,&quot;3&quot;:1}" data-sheets-formula="=percentrank('Data Pull'!C[135]:C[135],R[0]C[-1])">99th</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 48.6251%; height: 22px;">Blocks per 75 poss.</td>
<td style="width: 16.3185%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:2.63}" data-sheets-numberformat="{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;0.0&quot;,&quot;3&quot;:1}">2.6</td>
<td style="width: 35.0481%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:0.97}" data-sheets-numberformat="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;0%&quot;,&quot;3&quot;:1}" data-sheets-formula="=percentrank('Data Pull'!C[136]:C[136],R[0]C[-1])">97th</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 48.6251%; height: 22px;">% of Williams' contests that become blocks</td>
<td style="width: 16.3185%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:0.2429}" data-sheets-numberformat="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;0.00%&quot;,&quot;3&quot;:1}">24.29%</td>
<td style="width: 35.0481%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:0.857}" data-sheets-numberformat="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;0%&quot;,&quot;3&quot;:1}" data-sheets-formula="=percentrank('Data Pull'!C[137]:C[137],R[0]C[-1])">86th</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 48.6251%; height: 22px;">Opponent FG% at rim vs. expected FG%</td>
<td style="width: 16.3185%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:-0.116}" data-sheets-numberformat="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;+#,##0.00%;-#,##0.00%&quot;}">-11.60%</td>
<td style="width: 35.0481%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:0.987}" data-sheets-numberformat="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;0%&quot;,&quot;3&quot;:1}" data-sheets-formula="=1-percentrank('Data Pull'!C[138]:C[138],R[0]C[-1])">99th</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
(Scroll right to view full table on mobile)
These are massive data points for any player, much less a rookie.
When Williams is on the court, Charlotte allows 6.6 fewer points per 100 possessions, according to Cleaning the Glass. He's already changing the tone for a squad that has historically had issues fortifying the floor. Hopefully we get to see more of that in this stretch run.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
THE OUTLIERS (a.k.a. other random interesting numbers I found in the void):
<ul>
<li>Not a stat, but I do want to give honorable mention shoutouts to AJ Griffin of the Atlanta Hawks and AJ Green of the Milwaukee Bucks. Both are talented rookies ready to join their team's rotations; I just wonder what minutes are available. Griffin now has to compete with Saddiq Bey in Atlanta's wing room in addition to the other established talents on the roster. Green seems to take a back seat when the Bucks are fully healthy.</li>
<li>Synergy's Todd Whitehead made these neat visualizations of pick-and-roll defense that I highlighted at the beginning of the year, and he's got some interesting takeaways now:</li>
</ul>
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When I made this chart back in November, I was interested to see that the teams with the best process (ones taking away opponents rolls/cuts to the rim, corner 3s, and shooting fouls) weren't necessarily the ones with the lowest PPP allowed (👀Boston, for example). <a href="https://t.co/5VVpnVCyYW">https://t.co/5VVpnVCyYW</a> <a href="https://t.co/aWBfcmOA9T">pic.twitter.com/aWBfcmOA9T</a>
&mdash; Todd Whitehead (@CrumpledJumper) <a href="https://twitter.com/CrumpledJumper/status/1626670052769669120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 17, 2023</a></blockquote>

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<ul>
<li>Another post-All-Star stats check-in courtesy of Tom Bassine:</li>
</ul>
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Updated starter and bench majority lineup team strengths. Denver still builds their leads through starter lineups with Jokic. Chicago bench stands out. <a href="https://t.co/1Uh8HSWSfs">pic.twitter.com/1Uh8HSWSfs</a>
&mdash; Tom Bassine (@tvbassine) <a href="https://twitter.com/tvbassine/status/1629102353210126336?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Ethan Fuller highlights five under-the-radar rookies who could make an impact in the NBA season's final months.

NBA Stats Notebook: 5 players who could break into the All-Rookie race

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Keyontae Johnson scored 25 points, Markquis Nowell added 14 points and 10 assists, and No. 14 Kansas State followed a long first-half slump with a big second-half run to beat ninth-ranked Baylor 75-65 on Tuesday night.
Cam Carter added 10 points for the Wildcats (21-7, 9-6 Big 12), who trailed 34-31 at the break before their 18-4 charge gave them control. They coasted from there to a school record-tying seventh win over a ranked team this season.
Keyonte George hit six 3-pointers and scored 23 points for Baylor (20-8, 9-6), which had won seven of its last eight against the Wildcats and three straight in Manhattan. LJ Cryer added four 3s and finished with 16 points.
The game was a rematch for Bears coach Scott Drew and Kansas State counterpart Jerome Tang, who spent 19 years on Drew&rsquo;s bench. And it was every bit as wild as the Wildcats&rsquo; 97-95 overtime win in early January.
NO. 8 TEXAS 72, NO. 23 IOWA STATE 54
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; Sir&rsquo;Jabari Rice and Tyrese Hunter each scored 15 points and Texas raced away from Iowa State with a big first half to keep the Longhorns at the top of the Big 12.
Texas (22-6, 11-4) is tied with No. 3 Kansas for first place with three games left in the regular season. The Longhorns haven&rsquo;t won even a share of the league crown since 2008.
Osun Ossunniyi scored 12 points to lead the Cyclones (17-10, 8-7), who beat Texas in their first matchup.
NO. 10 MARQUETTE 73, NO. 19 CREIGHTON 71
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) &mdash; Tyler Kolek&rsquo;s short jump shot gave Marquette the lead with 29 seconds left, and the Golden Eagles took a huge step toward the Big East regular-season title with a win over Creighton.
The Golden Eagles (22-6, 14-3) saw a 10-point lead with eight minutes left evaporate before Kolek came up big during a wild finish before a sellout crowd at CHI Health Center.
Kam Jones led Marquette with 19 points and Kolek and Oso Ighodaro added 18 apiece.
Baylor Scheierman had 18 points to lead the Bluejays (18-10, 12-5). Ryan Nembhard added 16.
NO. 25 TEXAS A&amp;M 68, NO. 11 TENNESSEE 63
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) &mdash; Wade Taylor IV scored 25 points, including four free throws down the stretch, and Texas A&amp;M extended its winning streak to six games.
Julius Marble added 21 points and nine rebounds for the Aggies (21-7, 13-2 Southeastern Conference), who haven&rsquo;t lost since Jan. 21.
It&rsquo;s the fourth loss in five games for the Volunteers (20-8, 9-6), with their only win in this stretch coming in a 68-59 victory over then-No. 1 Alabama on Wednesday.
Santiago Vescovi and Zakai Zeigler had 14 points each for Tennessee.
NO. 13 MIAMI 76, VIRGINIA TECH 70
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) &mdash; Norchad Omier had 17 points and 14 rebounds as Miami won its seventh straight.
Nigel Pack added 16 points for the Hurricanes (23-5, 14-4 Atlantic Coast Conference), who placed five players in double figures. Isaiah Wong finished with 13 points and Jordan Miller had 11 for Miami, which shot just 42.2% (27 of 64) after leading the ACC at 48.7 percent coming into the game. The Hurricanes helped themselves with 14 offensive rebounds.
Sean Pedulla led Virginia Tech (16-12, 6-11) with 17 points. Hunter Cattoor finished with 15 points for the Hokies, who shot 46.7% (28 of 60).
VILLANOVA 64, NO. 16 XAVIER 63
CINCINNATI (AP) &mdash; Justin Moore scored 25 points to give Villanova its biggest victory under first-year head coach Kyle Neptune.
Cam Whitmore added 11 points for the Wildcats (14-14, 8-9 Big East) who dealt a big blow to the Musketeers&rsquo; Big East title hopes.
Souley Boum led Xavier (20-8, 12-5) with 17 points. Jerome Hunter added 14 and Jack Nunge scored 12.
MICHIGAN STATE 80, NO. 17 INDIANA 65
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) &mdash; Tyson Walker shook off a slow start to score 23 points and lifted Michigan State in its first home game since last week&rsquo;s shootings on campus that killed three students and hospitalized five students.
The Hoosiers (19-9, 10-7) relied heavily on Trayce Jackson-Davis, as usual, and he had 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Michigan State&rsquo;s A.J. Hoggard had three turnovers early in the game, then didn&rsquo;t have another turnover and finished with 22 points and five assists. Joey Hauser and Malik Hall each scored 10 points for the Spartans (17-10, 9-7 Big Ten), who have won three of their last four games.
Jalen Hood-Schifino scored 16 and Trey Galloway had 11 points for the Hoosiers.
NO. 22 SAN DIEGO STATE 77, COLORADO STATE 58
SAN DIEGO (AP) &mdash; Jaedon LeDee scored 14 points and Matt Bradley scored 10 of his 13 in the first four minutes of the second half for San Diego State, which overwhelmed Colorado State for its fifth straight win.
Bradley, SDSU&rsquo;s leading scorer, appeared to hurt a finger on his left hand and was subbed out during a timeout with 7:47 left and the Aztecs leading 69-48. He returned with 4:55 to go but didn&rsquo;t play the final two minutes.
Micah Parrish added 12 and Lamont Butler and Darrion Trammell had 11 each for SDSU (22-5, 13-2 Mountain West), which solidified its lead in the conference race. The Aztecs have won nine of their last 10 games dating to an 82-76 overtime win at Colorado State on Jan. 18.
John Tonje scored 18 and Isaiah Rivera 15 for the Rams (12-16, 4-11), who have lost seven of nine.&nbsp;

A recap of Tuesday night's action in men's college hoops a battle of top-15 squads in a crucial Big 12 matchup.