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

NBA announces 242 early-entry candidates for 2023 NBA Draft

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Texas commit Ronald Holland had 15 points and USA Basketball rallied in the fourth quarter to beat Team World 90-84 at the Nike Hoop Summit on Saturday night.
Bronny James &mdash; the son of LeBron James, who was in attendance &mdash; made his USA Basketball debut and scored 11 points, including a pair of free throws to seal it with 5.4 seconds remaining.
Holland added nine rebounds, six steals and five assists for the Americans, who got 11 points from Isaiah Collier. Jared McCain, DaJuan Wagner and Justin Edwards each scored 10 points for Team USA.
Mackenzie Mgbako scored 22 points for Team World, which got 17 from Michael Nwoko, 15 from Aden Holloway and 12 from Andrej Stojakovic &mdash; the son of former NBA player Peja Stojakovic.
The U.S. improved to 17-7 against the World teams at the Nike event that dates to 1995.
Mgbako made a fadeaway with 7:56 left to put the World team up 70-69, but the Americans quickly reclaimed the lead and kept it the rest of the way. James made a 3-pointer with 4:54 left to push the USA lead out to six, and Holland had a putback score with 3:00 remaining to make it 86-79.
WOMEN&rsquo;S GAME
TEAM USA 100, TEAM WORLD 79
LSU commit Mikaylah Williams scored 22 points, Notre Dame commit Hannah Hidalgo added 13 and Team USA topped Team World 100-79 in the inaugural women&rsquo;s game of the Nike event.
Connecticut commit Kamorea Arnold, Stanford commit Sunaja Agara and Oklahoma commit Sahara Williams each had 10 points for the Americans, while Hidalgo finished with eight assists and five steals. Texas commit Madison Booker finished with eight points, eight assists, five assists and three steals for Team USA.
Williams was 6 for 7 from 3-point range.
Shaneice Swain &mdash; who is entering the WNBA draft and expects to be picked Monday &mdash; led Team World with 19 points, while Toby Fournier had 18 points with nine rebounds and Nyadiew Puoch scored 16 points.

Both the men and women represented Team USA with victories over Team World on Saturday.

USA Basketball sweeps Team World at Nike Hoop Summit

HOUSTON (AP) &mdash; Klay Thompson scored a season-high 41 points and Steph Curry added 33 as the Golden State Warriors beat the Houston Rockets 127-120 on Sunday night for their first road win.
The Warriors snapped an 0-8 start away from home to improve to 8-9 on the season. Golden State has won five of its last seven games following a 3-7 start.
&ldquo;It didn&rsquo;t sit well with us, our 0-8 record,&rdquo; Curry said. &ldquo;We had to scratch and claw to get this one, so to get that monkey off your back and feel good about yourselves outside of the Chase Center, it matters.&rdquo;
Thompson had a vintage performance, hitting a sizzling 10 of 13 3-pointers and went 14 of 23 from the field.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s just something for me to build on,&rdquo; Thompson said. &ldquo;I was really wanting a game like this, so it felt great for me to just let that thing fly.&rdquo;
Longtime teammate Draymond Green said of Thompson: &ldquo;He&rsquo;s the most competitive guy that I&rsquo;ve ever played with, and the most important thing to him has always been winning.&rdquo;
Curry struggled early but finished 11 of 20 from the field, including 7 of 14 from 3. He also had a season-high 15 assists, just one shy of his career high.
Curry hit a big 3 just inside of two minutes remaining that doubled the Warriors&rsquo; lead to 121-115. Curry made another with less than 40 seconds remaining to put Golden State up by nine, and he gestured to the crowd like he put the game to sleep.
&ldquo;I surprised myself with that shot,&rdquo; Curry said. &ldquo;Me and Draymond put our hands above our heads like we really won something, kind of making fun of ourselves for our slow start.&rdquo;
Andrew Wiggins hit 6 of 11 3s and scored 22 points for Golden State.
Kevin Porter Jr. led Houston with 30 points, Jabari Smith Jr. had 22, and Jalen Green added 16. Rookie Tari Eason scored a career-high 19 points and added eight rebounds off the bench.
Golden State jumped to an 11-0 lead from the tip and led 40-28 after 20 first-quarter points from Thompson. Houston quickly answered, opening up the second quarter on a 17-2 run to build a small lead.
The Rockets led 65-61 at halftime.
&ldquo;We played a great team, we got down big and fought back,&rdquo; Rockets coach Stephen Silas said. &ldquo;We took the lead, we were neck-in-neck down the stretch, and they had to make some great shots to beat us.
&ldquo;We have to learn some discipline, but this is a team that&rsquo;s been together for years and won championships and all that. We should definitely be proud. It&rsquo;s disappointing that we didn&rsquo;t get the win, for sure, but nobody in that locker room should have their head down.&rdquo;
The loss dropped Houston to 3-14, the worst record in the Western Conference.
TIP-INS
Warriors: Golden State received two delay of game warnings in the first half, resulting in a technical. Houston later received the same technical in the second half. &hellip; Jordan Poole had 10 points off the bench.
Rockets: Porter returned after a one-game absence with left lower back soreness. &hellip; Jalen Green committed an uncommon turnover near the end of the third quarter, walking the ball slowly up the court following a Warriors basket and receiving a 10-second backcourt violation.
&lsquo;FLOODGATES&rsquo; OPEN?
After Thompson promised on Instagram last week that &ldquo;the floodgates will open&rdquo; following early struggles, he said Sunday, &ldquo;I can confidently say they&rsquo;re open now.&rdquo;
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said he hoped Thompson's "ffollowers are happy with Klay promising that. I hope there&rsquo;s a lot of good interaction between followers and Klay and everybody can be happy.&rdquo;
RAPPERS IN ATTENDANCE
Hip-hop artist 50 Cent sat courtside, as did Houston-native rapper Tobe Nwigwe, who was recently received a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist.
GREEN AND GOLD
The Rockets wore throwback white jerseys with gold lettering and green trim as a nod to the original San Diego Rockets.
&nbsp;

Klay Thompson scored a season-high 41 points and Steph Curry added 33 as the Warriors beat the Rockets 127-120.

Thompson nets 10 3s, has 41 points in Warriors' 1st road win

DENVER (AP) &mdash; A year ago, Mike Conley Jr. was on a team mentioned as a championship contender. This year, the Utah Jazz aren't in that conversation.
That doesn't change Conley's approach.
&ldquo;We're trying to win every day," Conley said.
So far, the Jazz are winning more days than not. And two weeks into the NBA season, there are some surprises &mdash; some good, some bad, with the Jazz finding themselves on the more fun side of that ledger.
Conley and the Jazz are off to a 6-2 start after Monday's win over Memphis. Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs are 5-2, which matches the team's best start since they were 6-1 on the way to winning the NBA title in the 2013-14 season.
If the Jazz and Spurs are tanking, they&rsquo;re definitely doing it wrong.
Not even the lure of landing the winning lottery ticket that will provide 7-foot-3 French teen Victor Wembanyama &mdash; who has skills often compared to Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Dirk Nowitzki &mdash; is enough to get the Jazz and Spurs to try and not win. Quite the contrary. They're playing hard, playing the right way, playing defense and it's working.
&ldquo;They&rsquo;re young enough they don&rsquo;t know any better,&rdquo; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlVe8bhr2p4">Popovich said</a> of his squad. &ldquo;They just keep playing hard. ... They&rsquo;re pretty much obeying the basketball gods, doing all the simple things that help win games.&rdquo;
They should be feeling pretty happy in a couple other cities, too. Cleveland was 5-1 entering Monday, as was Portland. On the flip side of the surprise coin &mdash; Brooklyn was 2-5, the Los Angeles Lakers started 0-5 before getting their first win, and Miami is 2-5 entering a game Tuesday against Golden State. The reigning champs aren&rsquo;t exactly setting the world ablaze either, off to a 3-4 start.
It&rsquo;s early. There&rsquo;s almost a whole season left to go. But San Antonio and Utah are surprising just about everybody so far &mdash; well, everybody except themselves.
&ldquo;We just do our job,&rdquo; Conley said. &ldquo;At the end of the day, it doesn&rsquo;t matter what people say.&rdquo;
It wasn't uncommon to think the Jazz and Spurs might be among the teams that vie to be among the odds-on favorites for Wembanyama (the bottom three teams each <a href="https://www.nba.com/news/nba-draft-lottery-explainer">have a 14% probability</a> to land the No 1 pick). The Spurs are extremely young and feature a lineup consisting of hardly household names. The Jazz spent the summer trading away three of their biggest pieces in Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert and Bojan Bogdanovic.
&ldquo;For some reason, the league goes, &lsquo;Oh, Utah is tanking because they got rid of Donovan and Rudy and Bogdanovic,&rsquo;&rdquo; Nuggets coach Michael Malone recently said. &ldquo;Tell Mike Conley that. Tell Jordan Clarkson that. Tell Lauri Markkanen that. Those guys are NBA players and have played in a lot of big games. They&rsquo;re playing hard. They&rsquo;re getting out and running and they&rsquo;re defending.&rdquo;
Credit should go to Utah coach Will Hardy, who was mentored by Popovich. Among the lessons Hardy picked up from Popovich &mdash; his former boss in San Antonio, before Hardy spent last season as an assistant in Boston &mdash; was the art of fostering relationships.
&ldquo;He taps into that human element very, very well,&rdquo; said Hardy, who spent 11 seasons with Popovich and the Spurs, including five as an assistant coach. &ldquo;For all of his greatness from an X's-and-O's standpoint or an in-game coaching standpoint, it&rsquo;s all the stuff he does in-between games, on the human side, that for me separates him.&rdquo;
Hardy's team has quickly picked up on the building cohesion part. An illustration: The Jazz all recently gathered in a room in New Orleans during a trip and &ldquo;just chilled, and had fun,&rdquo; explained Malik Beasley, who was acquired as <a href="https://apnews.com/article/minnesota-timberwolves-utah-jazz-nba-sports-26b3c07948dc5cd6e28b8f7da887517f">part of the massive deal this offseason that sent Gobert to Minnesota</a>. On plane rides, they've been known meet in a group to chat and break down game film.
&ldquo;We have a great vibe," <a href="https://www.nba.com/jazz/videos/malik-beasley-no-matter-what-coach-wants-me-to-do-im-going-to-be-the-best-at-that-role">Beasley added</a>. "It&rsquo;s going to be fun to go to where we want to go to.&rdquo;
Which, so far, is north in the standings, not south.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re tired of people being surprised,&rdquo; Beasley said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re a good team, too."
The Jazz remain a huge longshot to win the NBA title this season, according to <a href="https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/navigation/nba?tab=nba-finals">FanDuel Sportsbook</a>. The same applies to Orlando, Oklahoma City, Indiana, Houston, Sacramento, Detroit and San Antonio. All of those clubs are the ones expected to be in the running for the No. 1 pick and the chance at Wembanyama.
Not that the Spurs and Jazz have been paying any attention. Or caring what others believe. Popovich has a bunch of kids playing like seasoned vets.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think they even know what the capital of Texas is,&rdquo; Popovich cracked. &ldquo;But I don&rsquo;t care."
Added Spurs guard/forward <a href="https://twitter.com/spurs/status/1586915869405462528">Keldon Johnson</a>, who was part of the team that won Olympic gold at the Tokyo Games in 2021: &ldquo;We&rsquo;re playing great team basketball. We&rsquo;re making each other better. It&rsquo;s fun playing basketball that way.&rdquo;
___
AP Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds and AP freelance writer Mike Cranston contributed.

If the Jazz and Spurs are tanking, they’re definitely doing it wrong.

Jazz, Spurs off to surprising fast starts in West

MILAN (AP) &mdash; The stars showed up at EuroBasket on Tuesday in a big way.
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 41 points in 27 minutes for Greece, Luka Doncic had 36 points for Slovenia and two-time reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic scored 29 points for Serbia &mdash; three of the world&rsquo;s best players all leading their teams to big group-stage wins at the European championships.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Ain&rsquo;t nothing but a little Luka Magic 🪄 36 PTS 10 REB 4 AST<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EuroBasket?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EuroBasket</a><a href="https://t.co/hIo3xZOABm">pic.twitter.com/hIo3xZOABm</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1567255650132004865?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 6, 2022</a></blockquote>

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There&rsquo;s one more group-stage game left for each to play, and then a trip to Berlin awaits since Greece, Slovenia and Serbia have all clinched spots in the 16-team knockout round that begins Saturday.
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Nikola Jokic had himself a night at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EuroBasket?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EuroBasket</a>. 🃏👀 29 PTS, 11 REB, 5 AST<a href="https://t.co/yqgLLMI2AS">pic.twitter.com/yqgLLMI2AS</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1567261660729032706?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 6, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Antetokounmpo&rsquo;s point total was the most in a EuroBasket game since Dirk Nowitzki had 43 for Germany in 2001. And when he heard that stat, all Antetokounmpo did was nod.
&ldquo;I try not to rate my performance,&rdquo; Antetokounmpo said. &ldquo;I just try to go out there and have fun as much as possible, try to focus as much as I can on what I can control, try to bring energy any way possible. ... But I&rsquo;ll say this: I think this is one of the years where I feel very, very excited to go out there on the court and play with my teammates.&rdquo;
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Giannis went OFF today in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EuroBasket?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EuroBasket</a>. 41 PTS 9 REB 72% FGM On fire. 🔥<a href="https://t.co/XRF620yKBK">pic.twitter.com/XRF620yKBK</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1567208097826963458?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 6, 2022</a></blockquote>

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As Antetokounmpo did, Doncic also deflected credit after the game. Told that Germany&rsquo;s postgame reaction was &ldquo;Luka Doncic happened,&rdquo; Doncic replied by saying &ldquo;Slovenia happened.&rdquo;
&ldquo;The whole team was ready,&rdquo; Doncic said. &ldquo;Everybody who stepped on the court was fighting, whether they played one minute or 30. I&rsquo;m really proud of this team.&rdquo;
Doncic was asked after the game if he or Antetokounmpo was in a better position to break the EuroBasket single-game scoring record.
Doncic didn&rsquo;t hesitate with his answer: He picked Antetokounmpo.
&ldquo;I would bet on Giannis,&rdquo; Doncic said. &ldquo;Why? Because he&rsquo;s Giannis Antetokounmpo.&rdquo;
GROUP C
GREECE 99, UKRAINE 79
At Milan, Antetokounmpo simply overpowered Ukraine and ensured that Greece would finish atop its group.
Antetokounmpo &mdash; who got Monday off to rest &mdash; had his 41 points and nine rebounds in just 27 minutes to lead Greece (4-0).
He was 13 for 18 from the floor, 15 for 18 from the foul line.
&ldquo;It was very easy to prepare the team because it is absolutely clear what Greece does when Giannis is out there,&rdquo; Ukraine coach Ainars Bagatskis said. &ldquo;They play really aggressive basketball. And if you don&rsquo;t put against them the same aggressiveness, even higher aggressiveness, then you have big problems.&rdquo;
Nick Calathes and Tyler Dorsey had 13 apiece for Greece.
Issuf Sanon and Svi Mykhailiuk each scored 16 for Ukraine (3-1), while Alex Len and Illya Sydorov added 10 apiece. Ukraine led by seven at the half, before Greece won the third quarter 32-11.
ESTONIA 94, GREAT BRITAIN 62
Henri Drell scored 20 points, Siim-Sander Vene added 18 and Estonia had no trouble on the way to its first win of the tournament.
Maik-Kalev Kotsar scored 15, Kristjan Kitsing added 14 and Janari Joesaar finished with 11 for Estonia (1-3).
Myles Hesson scored 14 for Great Britain (0-4), with Carl Wheatie and Patrick Whelan each scoring 12.
ITALY 81, CROATIA 76
Simone Fontecchio and Nicolo Melli each scored 19 points to lead Italy (2-2).
Bojan Bogdanovic led Croatia (2-2) with 27 points, while Ivica Zubac scored 13 and Dario Saric added 10.
Both teams are headed to the knockout round.
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GROUP B
SLOVENIA 88, GERMANY 80
At Cologne, Germany, Doncic&rsquo;s 36 points came with him making 14 of 25 shots. He also had 10 rebounds for Slovenia (3-1).
Goran Dragic scored 18 points and Mike Tobey added 10 for Slovenia.
&ldquo;We showed what we are made of,&rdquo; Dragic said.
Dennis Schroder scored 19 points, Andreas Obst had 14 and Maodo Lo added 13 for Germany (3-1).
LITHUANIA 87, HUNGARY 64
Lithuanian basketball is known for a lot of things, including passionate fans.
They go everywhere to cheer for their national team. And Tuesday, they even cheered for France &mdash; for good reason.
Lithuania topped Hungary and that, combined with France&rsquo;s win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, means the last qualifying spot out of Group B is still unclaimed. It&rsquo;ll be decided Wednesday when Lithuania plays Bosnia and Herzegovina, the winner moving on to Berlin and a round-of-16 game, the loser heading home eliminated.
&ldquo;Lithuanian fans are the best,&rdquo; France guard Evan Fournier said.
If France had lost Tuesday, Lithuania would have been eliminated. Instead, those Lithuanian fans serenaded the French with cries of &ldquo;Merci!&rdquo; for keeping their national team&rsquo;s hopes alive.
&ldquo;It feels amazing,&rdquo; Lithuania forward Domatas Sabonis said. &ldquo;They travel to every championship to support us. It&rsquo;s sad we couldn&rsquo;t give them a win over the weekend, but we&rsquo;re glad we could give them one today and the goal is to give them another one tomorrow.&rdquo;
Jonas Valanciunas scored 21 points on 10-of-13 shooting and Sabonis added 19 for Lithuania (1-3).
Marius Grigonis had 15 points and Rokas Jokubaitis added 10 for Lithuania. Zoltan Perl scored 16 for Hungary (0-4), while David Vojvoda and Rosco Allen each finished with 10.
FRANCE 81, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA 68
Thomas Heurtel&rsquo;s 3-pointer with 5:49 left put France ahead to stay and started a game-ending 22-7 run for the winners, who were already assured of a spot in the round of 16.
Guerschon Yabusele scored 15 for France (3-1), while Heurtel and Fournier each had 14 and Rudy Gobert posted an 11-point, 12-rebound performance.
Jusuf Nurkic, Miralem Halilovic and Dzanan Musa all had 14 for Bosnia and Herzegovina (2-2), while John Roberson had 13 and Edin Atic finished with 10.
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GROUP A
TURKEY 78, BELGIUM 63
At Tbilisi, Georgia, Alperen Sengun scored 24 points, Furkan Korkmaz had 16 and Turkey (3-1) remained tied atop Group A.
Ercan Osmani added 12 for Turkey.
Haris Bratanovic scored 15 for Belgium (2-2) and Hans Vanwijn scored 11.
SPAIN 82, MONTENEGRO 65
Spain (3-1) clinched its berth in the round of 16, with Dario Brizuela leading the way with 18 points.
Willy Hernangomez scored 14 for Spain, while Jaime Pradilla and Lorenzo Brown added 12 apiece.
Vladimir Mihailovic scored 18 for Montenegro (2-2), which got 11 from Marko Simonovic and 10 from Kendrick Perry.
BULGARIA 92, GEORGIA 80
Dee Bost had 33 points and 12 assists, Aleksandar Vezenkov finished with 28 points and 14 rebounds, and Bulgaria kept its hopes alive.
Pavlin Ivanov scored 17 for Bulgaria (1-3).
Goga Bitadze scored 21 for Georgia (1-3), while Thaddus McFadden had 19, Alexander Mamukelashvili scored 13, and Giorgi Shermadini and Duda Sanadze scored 10 apiece.
GROUP D
SERBIA 89, ISRAEL 78
At Prague, Jokic was 11 of 13 from the floor and also grabbed 11 rebounds for Serbia (4-0), while Vasilije Micic added 19.
Nikola Kalinic and Ognjen Jaramaz each scored 10 for Serbia.
Yam Madar scored 20 for Israel (2-2), while Deni Avdija had 14 and Roman Sorkin added 11.
POLAND 75, NETHERLANDS 69
Poland was down by 13 in the third quarter before closing the game on a 39-20 run to tune up for its knockout-stage appearance.
Michal Sokolowski scored 24 for Poland (3-1), which got 16 from Aleksander Balcerowski and 10 from Jakub Garbacz.
Charlon Kloof led the Netherlands (0-4) with 26, and Yannick Franke scored 13.
FINLAND 98, CZECH REPUBLIC 88
Lauri Markkanen continued his strong tournament with 34 points and 10 rebounds, and Finland clinched its berth in the round of 16.
Sasu Salin scored 23 and Petteri Koponen added 14 for Finland, with Elias Valtonen finishing with 11.
Vojtech Hruban scored 22 for the Czech Republic, with Jan Vesely adding 15 and Patrik Auda and Jaromir Bohacik scoring 13 apiece. The Czechs play Israel on Thursday and, according to FIBA, could reach the knockout stage with a win.
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WEDNESDAY&rsquo;S SCHEDULE
First-round play in Groups A and B concludes, with Groups C and D getting the day off before they finish their round-robins on Thursday. Friday is an off day and the knockout round in Berlin starts Saturday.
Group A: Turkey (3-1) vs. Spain (3-1), Bulgaria (1-3) vs. Belgium (2-2), Georgia (1-3) vs. Montenegro (2-2). The Turkey-Spain winner will win the group. Bulgaria and Georgia are in must-win scenarios.
Group B: Lithuania (1-3) vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina (2-2), France (3-1) vs. Slovenia (3-1), Hungary (0-4) vs. Germany (3-1). France, Slovenia (which wins the group with a victory) and Germany have already qualified, Hungary is eliminated and the Lithuania-Bosnia game is the one that matters most.

Antetokounmpo scored 41 points in 27 minutes for Greece, Doncic had 36 points for Slovenia and reigning MVP Nikola Jokic scored 29 points for Serbia.

Stars shine bright: Giannis, Luka, Jokic lead at EuroBasket

Well, it finally happened. The New York Knicks and a top-tier free agent have agreed to terms on a contract.
Barring any shocking, last-minute changes, Jalen Brunson will be the Knicks&rsquo; starting point guard on opening night in 2022-23, as he and the team came to terms on a whopping four-year, $104 million deal.
After entering the NBA following a successful three-year career at Villanova, Brunson was drafted and signed a partially guaranteed four-year, $6.1 million deal with the Dallas Mavericks before the 2018-19 season, meaning this marks his first big payday.
Even though the agreement was just recently announced, the presumed signing has already been scrutinized ad nauseum. And since he signed with New York, it&rsquo;s been even more polarizing.
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In light of this move, let&rsquo;s step back and examine the facts: Brunson signed a big deal that will pay him a lot of money in 2022-23 and beyond. Additional details about salary have not yet been announced, but regardless of the annual breakdown, is a deal like this warranted?
That depends on how you view value.
Objectively, the Knicks probably overpaid, as least in terms of production. In total, 13 point guards were scheduled to be paid more than $26 million next season as of June 30, 2022: Stephen Curry ($48 million), Russell Westbrook ($47 million), Damian Lillard ($42.5 million), Trae Young ($37 million), Luka Doncic ($37 million), Kyrie Irving ($36.9 million), Ben Simmons ($35.4 million), Jamal Murray ($31.6 million), D&rsquo;Angelo Russell ($31.3), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ($30.9 million), De&rsquo;Aaron Fox ($30.3 million), Chris Paul ($28.4 million) and Kyle Lowry ($28.3 million).
For what it&rsquo;s worth, the players just behind Brunson are Mike Conley ($22.6 million), Malcolm Brogdon ($22.6 million), Terry Rozier ($21.5 million), Fred VanVleet ($21.2 million), Spencer Dinwiddie ($20.1 million), Lonzo Ball ($19.5 million) and Eric Bledsoe ($19.3 million).
Most NBA experts can find a few guys on that list that Brunson is probably better than, including Russell, Brogdon, Rozier, Bledsoe &mdash; and probably Ball too.
Considering that each team is at a different place in its development, it&rsquo;s harder to rank starting point guards. But it&rsquo;s fair to say that there are 11 point guards across the league who the Knicks would prefer over Brunson &mdash; Curry, Doncic, Lillard, Young, Jrue Holiday, Ja Morant, Gilgeous-Alexander, LaMelo Ball, VanVleet, Darius Garland and Cade Cunningham. They might also prefer Dejounte Murray, Paul, Fox and Lowry as well, depending on who you ask.
So, an objective review of production from the point-guard position reveals that Brunson might not be an elite producer, yet. Granted, defining point guards is difficult, so bear with me.
In 2021-22, Brunson was tied for the 16th-highest scoring average among point guards (16.3 points per game). He was also 23rd among the position in assists per game (4.8), 16th in total rebounds per game (3.9) and 25th in Defensive Box Plus-Minus (-0.6).
Brunson&rsquo;s production was matched or bettered by a few point guards making less than he is set to earn, including Cole Anthony (rookie deal), VanVleet ($21.2 million) and Dinwiddie ($20.1 million).
But production is also about opportunity, and Dallas used Brunson in a specific way. The fact of the matter is that Dallas already has its lead guard, and it&rsquo;s a no-brainer when choosing who should be the primary creator between Doncic and Brunson. The idea that Brunson will have more opportunities in New York should be exhilarating to Brunson and his believers.
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Welcome to New York, Jalen Brunson! <a href="https://t.co/lISUdlwnOH">pic.twitter.com/lISUdlwnOH</a>
&mdash; Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) <a href="https://twitter.com/Ballislife/status/1542684979204919301?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 1, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Further, it&rsquo;s easy to overlook the idea that teams invest in players&rsquo; futures. Sure, most fan bases celebrate signing proven players. But some of the best contracts are those given to players on the verge of breaking out, and that could be precisely where Brunson is in his career.
Brunson&rsquo;s contract was created by optimists who know and love him. Leon Rose, Brunson&rsquo;s former agent, simply believes that giving Brunson the keys to the castle will make him better; the adage of &ldquo;yesterday&rsquo;s price ain&rsquo;t today&rsquo;s price&rdquo; feels eerily relevant. It certainly is for the Mavericks, as they could have signed him for significantly less just a few months ago, and it could be for the Knicks too, if Brunson outperforms this contract.
This deal was also a must-have for the Knicks because not only have they failed to land a major free agent since 2010 &mdash; at which point Amar'e Stoudamire was more of a consolation prize than a home run &mdash; but they&rsquo;ve also been desperate for a starting-caliber point guard for what feels like ever.
Don&rsquo;t believe me? Here&rsquo;s a look at the Knicks&rsquo; opening-night starting point guards for the past 13 seasons: Chris Duhon, Ray Felton, Toney Douglas, Felton (again), Pablo Prigioni, Shane Larkin, Jose Calderon, Derrick Rose, Ramon Sessions, Trey Burke, Allonzo Trier, Elfrid Payton and Kemba Walker.
So, it&rsquo;s been a rough, rough stretch.
But that&rsquo;s not all. Brunson turns 26 in August, meaning he&rsquo;s an ideal match for the Knicks' young core. RJ Barret is just 21, Julius Randle is 27, Mitchell Robinson (a candidate to re-sign in New York) is 23, Obi Toppin is 23 and Immanuel Quickley is 22.
Now, back to that list of higher-paid point guards: Only seven of the 13 point guards set to make $26 million or more next year are under 30 years old.
Knicks fans are fractured over the idea of paying Brunson, but if not him, then who?
This league has proven time and again that market size does not explicitly matter, and the idea that free agents will be intoxicated by all that is New York is a dated concept. Culture and success matter more. And if that&rsquo;s the case, and you choose to forego signing Brunson because it&rsquo;s too much money, you&rsquo;ll be stuck in a chicken-and-the-egg situation pertaining to the team&rsquo;s culture and success for even longer.
And then, there&rsquo;s the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and salary cap to consider. Both the owners and players can technically opt out of the current CBA this December. More importantly, the NBA's television deals expire after the 2024-25 season, and the league is allegedly expecting a &ldquo;huge increase&rdquo; in rights fees, according to ESPN.
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CNBC reported last March that the league will seek a new television contract in the range of $75 billion, up from $24 billion, and league revenue obviously impacts the salary cap. This is relevant because, in 2022-23, the salary cap will be $123.6 million, with the tax level coming in at $150.2 million. Forbes&rsquo; Morten Jensen reported last September that the cap could jump to as much as $171 million by 2025, assuming no cap smoothing after a new rights deal and CBA.
Brunson&rsquo;s deal works out to an average annual salary of $26 million, or 17.3% of the full 2022-23 cap. If it does, in fact, jump to $171 million in 2025-26 (and assuming the Knicks have a team salary of $171 million), Brunson would represent only 15% of the team&rsquo;s cap in the final year of his deal &mdash; and the Knicks will have his Bird rights, allowing them to exceed the cap in re-signing him.
It's worth mentioning that Brunson's deal allegedly has a player option in its final year, meaning he can opt out before 2025-26. But at the very least, an increase in the salary cap in 2025-26 would offset re-signing him to a bigger deal, assuming he deserves one. For reference, Curry accounted for 28% of the Warriors' 2021-22 salary. Not that we're comparing Brunson and Curry, but $26 million per year isn't as harmful as it used to be.&nbsp;
So, as much as it may feel arbitrary, and even irresponsible, to hand out a deal like this to a non-All-Star, I ask you this: At what point should the Knicks give out a big contract? And who would agree to come to New York?
Brunson might not be Curry or Lillard, but he&rsquo;s the best player the Knicks have enticed to join them in a long time. And he might be even better than anyone knows.
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Looking to go to the hottest concerts, sports, theater &amp; family shows near you? Get 100% guaranteed tickets to more than 125,000 live events from TicketSmarter, the official ticket marketplace of BasketballNews.com. <a href="https://www.ticketsmarter.com/?utm_source=basketballnewscom&amp;utm_medium=tsaff&amp;utm_campaign=referral" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Order online now</a>!

With Jalen Brunson, the Knicks have found their new floor general. Considering the price tag, will he live up to expectations?

What does Jalen Brunson's new contract mean for the New York Knicks?

The Bay Area Dragons have announced a roster of 10 players from mainland China and Hong Kong SAR for the inaugural season of the East Asia Super League.
The team's coach will be Brian Goorjian, the six-time NBL champion who led the Australian national team to their first-ever Olympic medal (Tokyo Olympics, bronze medal).
The roster boasts some of the best talent from Hong Kong SAR, such as five-time champion Duncan Reid. He is widely regarded as the best player in Hong Kong SAR. The club has also signed Chinese national team star big man Liu Chuanxing. He&rsquo;ll play alongside former CBA captain and CUBA champion Song Jianhua among others.
<table style="width: 100%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 13.1125%; text-align: center;">
Name
</td>
<td style="width: 8.42623%; text-align: center;">
Position
</td>
<td style="width: 7.51669%; text-align: center;">
Birth Year
</td>
<td style="width: 20.4732%; text-align: center;">
Former Team
</td>
<td style="width: 41.1523%; text-align: center;">
Accolades
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 13.1125%; text-align: center;">
Liu Chuanxing
</td>
<td style="width: 8.42623%; text-align: center;">
C
</td>
<td style="width: 7.51669%; text-align: center;">
1997
</td>
<td style="width: 20.4732%; text-align: center;">
NBL (Australia) Brisbane Bullets
</td>
<td style="width: 41.1523%; text-align: center;">
Chinese national team player
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 13.1125%; text-align: center;">
Scotty Ewing
</td>
<td style="width: 8.42623%; text-align: center;">
G
</td>
<td style="width: 7.51669%; text-align: center;">
1991
</td>
<td style="width: 20.4732%; text-align: center;">
Wolf Warriors (ABL &ndash; Macau)&nbsp;
</td>
<td style="width: 41.1523%; text-align: center;">
Former Hong Kong scoring champion
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 13.1125%; text-align: center;">
Kobey Lam
</td>
<td style="width: 8.42623%; text-align: center;">
G
</td>
<td style="width: 7.51669%; text-align: center;">
2000
</td>
<td style="width: 20.4732%; text-align: center;">
University of Charleston (NCAA)
</td>
<td style="width: 41.1523%; text-align: center;">
NCAA D-1 player
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 13.1125%; text-align: center;">
Qiao Wenhan
</td>
<td style="width: 8.42623%; text-align: center;">
F
</td>
<td style="width: 7.51669%; text-align: center;">
1991
</td>
<td style="width: 20.4732%; text-align: center;">
Shandong (CBA &ndash; China)
</td>
<td style="width: 41.1523%; text-align: center;">
Former NBL (China) MVP and Scoring King
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 13.1125%; text-align: center;">
Duncan Reid
</td>
<td style="width: 8.42623%; text-align: center;">
F/C
</td>
<td style="width: 7.51669%; text-align: center;">
1989
</td>
<td style="width: 20.4732%; text-align: center;">
South China (Hong Kong)
</td>
<td style="width: 41.1523%; text-align: center;">
5-time Hong Kong A1 Division Champion
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 13.1125%; text-align: center;">
Si Kun
</td>
<td style="width: 8.42623%; text-align: center;">
F
</td>
<td style="width: 7.51669%; text-align: center;">
1995
</td>
<td style="width: 20.4732%; text-align: center;">
Shandong (CBA &ndash; China)
</td>
<td style="width: 41.1523%; text-align: center;">
Former NBL (China) champion, All-Star, dunk contest winner
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 13.1125%; text-align: center;">
Song Jianhua
</td>
<td style="width: 8.42623%; text-align: center;">
F
</td>
<td style="width: 7.51669%; text-align: center;">
1991
</td>
<td style="width: 20.4732%; text-align: center;">
Shanxi Xinda (NBL - China)
</td>
<td style="width: 41.1523%; text-align: center;">
Former captain for Nanjing Tongxi (CBA)&nbsp;
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 13.1125%; text-align: center;">
Glen Yang
</td>
<td style="width: 8.42623%; text-align: center;">
G
</td>
<td style="width: 7.51669%; text-align: center;">
1996
</td>
<td style="width: 20.4732%; text-align: center;">
South China (Hong Kong)
</td>
<td style="width: 41.1523%; text-align: center;">
3-time Hong Kong A1 Division Champion
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 13.1125%; text-align: center;">
Zhang Zhiyuan
</td>
<td style="width: 8.42623%; text-align: center;">
C
</td>
<td style="width: 7.51669%; text-align: center;">
1999
</td>
<td style="width: 20.4732%; text-align: center;">
Wuhan Sports University
</td>
<td style="width: 41.1523%; text-align: center;">
China National 3x3 Selected Team and China National Youth Team Member
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 13.1125%; text-align: center;">
Zheng Qilong
</td>
<td style="width: 8.42623%; text-align: center;">
F
</td>
<td style="width: 7.51669%; text-align: center;">
1996
</td>
<td style="width: 20.4732%; text-align: center;">
Jiangsu (CBA &ndash; China)&nbsp;
</td>
<td style="width: 41.1523%; text-align: center;">
CUBA (China) Champion
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Scroll to the right for the full chart
Created to represent Greater China in the East Asia Super League as well as travel to play top teams across the region and world, the newly formed Bay Area Dragons franchise is dedicated to be the top professional basketball team in the Greater China region with a combination of top free agents from Greater China, plus one Asian import and two foreign import players. The Dragons will make Manila its temporary home for the EASL home-and-away games across the region.&nbsp;
The East Asia Super League used to be a tournament featuring the top teams from China&rsquo;s CBA, Japan's B.League, South Korea's KBL and the Philippines' PBA. Now, for the first time, these eight premier teams will face off in an inaugural home-and-away season that begins in October 2022.
The champions and runners-up from Japan's B.LEAGUE, South Korea's KBL and the Philippines' PBA seasons will compete in EASL. The Bay Area Dragons and the championship team from Chinese Taipei&rsquo;s P. LEAGUE+ will be the Greater China representatives.
The eight teams will compete over the course of six months, culminating in a Final Four tournament with a $1 million prize for the winning team. It&rsquo;s essentially the Asian-basketball version of soccer&rsquo;s UEFA Champions League. The league is also planning an upcoming reality show.
&ldquo;We want to be the premier basketball league in Asia,&rdquo; EASL Commissioner Matt Beyer <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/east-asia-super-league-inside-a-basketball-startup-with-a-unique-vision" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told BasketballNews</a>. &ldquo;But we also want to be a top-three league in the world in terms of fan-base size and commercial revenue by 2025... I think the league is really going to be the first Asia-originated sports property that&rsquo;s going to be capturing the hearts and minds of fans globally."
For more info about the East Asia Super League, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/east-asia-super-league-inside-a-basketball-startup-with-a-unique-vision" target="_blank" rel="noopener">check out this behind-the-scenes look at the startup</a>, which has added Jalen Green, Baron Davis, Shane Battier and Metta Sandiford-Artest as investors.

The Bay Area Dragons have announced their 10-player roster for the inaugural season of the East Asia Super League.

Bay Area Dragons announce 10-player roster for East Asia Super League

Across the country, teams are competing in conference tournaments and trying to punch their ticket for the NCAA Tournament. Selection Sunday is almost here, and then the tourney starts next Tuesday. Here's a recap of Friday's slate.
Games of the Day
Texas Tech def. Oklahoma 56-66 - Big 12 Semifinal The Sooners have been on the bubble for quite some time and, after a big win against Baylor, we&rsquo;ll have to wait and see what this loss does to them. They fought tooth and nail after being down 14 points in the second half, and even took a 54-52 lead with 3:05 to play. Clarence Nadolny hit a free throw to make it 56-54 and the Red Raiders held on from there. Great game.
Saint Louis def. St. Bonaventure 57-56 - A10 Quarterfinal Saint Louis held a nine point lead with 9:35 to go, but the Bonnies went on a run to take a one point lead with 1:24 remaining. Gibson Jimerson hit a jumper with 0:17 on the clock that would end up being the game-winner. Big win for the Billikens as they advance to the A10 Semifinals.
UAB def. MTSU 102-98 in 3OT - CUSA Semifinal In a thriller, the largest lead for either team was just seven points. With a 62-62 score after regulation, the two teams headed to overtime, in which Donovan Sims hit a clutch free throw to send it to double-overtime at 69-69. It would take another overtime, but Jordan Walker and co. finally sealed the deal at 102-98, keeping the team's dream alive.
Dayton def. UMass 75-72 - A10 Quarterfinal In the second half of this one, neither team led by more than five points as it went down to the wire. DaRon Holmes II made a jumper with 51 seconds remaining that gave Dayton a 69-68 lead, and they took it home from there. Holmes II would end with 28 points in a strong outing.&nbsp;
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/usatsi_17876491_lg.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="333" />
Duke def. Miami (FL) 80-76 - ACC Semifinal The Canes led for a good part of the first half, but it was tied at 36-36 going into the break. Duke held a 69-65 lead with 2:09 to play and from there it was a free-throw game for the Blue Devils. Keels, Moore Jr., and Griffin knocked them down and were able to seal the deal. They advance to the ACC Championship.
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The Upsets, the Madness
Indiana def. Illinois 65-62 - Big Ten Quarterfinal The Hoosiers entered this game, once again, heavy underdogs with only a 29.2% chance of winning. They kept the first half competitive and trailed by only two points at the break, but turned on the jets and had a 5 point lead in just under 10 minutes to play. Indiana is still considered a Bubble Team, but along with yesterday&rsquo;s win, they should be more comfortable.&nbsp;
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/usatsi_17876690_lg.jpg" alt="" width="452" height="548" />
Michigan State def. Wisconsin 69-63 &nbsp;- Big Ten Quarterfinal As a true bubble team, this was a huge win for Sparty. They advance to the Big Ten Semifinals thanks in large part to Marcus Bingham Jr. and his stellar performance. Marble II and Hoggard both provided sparks off the bench in the win.
Virginia Tech def. North Carolina 72-59 - ACC Semifinal After leading by six points at the break, the Hokies really opened it up halfway through the second half. Keve Alume posted 18 and Darius Maddox scored 20 huge points off the bench in the win. They move on to the ACC Championship and hope to put a bow on this amazing run.
Creighton def. Providence 85-58 - Big East Semifinal Creighton absolutely handed it to the No. 11 team in the nation. They led by 15 points at the break and only grew their lead as the game went on. With four players in double-digits scoring, it was a balanced attack from the get-go. Great win for the Bluejays.
Texas A&amp;M def. Auburn 67-62 - SEC Quarterfinal The Aggies have had a solid season, but I doubt many people saw this coming. Tyrece Radford and Quenton Jackson had big moments and now they are (likely) a lock for the NCAA Tournament. They will face Arkansas in the Semifinals.&nbsp;
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/usatsi_17874929_lg.jpg" alt="" width="450" height="300" />
Standout Performances
Jordan Walker (UAB): 40 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists
Keegan Murray (Iowa): 26 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists
Xavier Castaneda (Akron): 26 points, 4 rebounds
Michael Ertel (UAB): 26 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists
DaRon Holmes (Dayton): 28 points, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks
Jordan Wright (Vanderbilt): 27 points, 6 rebounds
Noah Fernandes (UMass): 26 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals
Jesse Zarzuela (Coppin State): 27 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals
TyTy Washington (Kentucky): 25 points, 3 rebounds
Kameron McGusty (Miami FL): 24 points, 7 rebounds
Holland Woods (Grand Canyon): 24 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals
Deandre Dishman (MTSU): 23 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists
Kofi Cockburn (Illinois): 23 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks
Geo Baker (Rutgers): 23 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists
Brad Davison (Wisconsin): 23 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists
Teddy Allen (New Mexico State): 25 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists
Au&rsquo;Diese Toney (Arkansas): 22 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists
Jermaine Samuels (Villanova): 21 points, 12 rebounds
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/usatsi_17878061_lg.jpg" alt="" width="445" height="366" />
2022 NBA Draft: Prospect Watch
Keegan Murray (Iowa): 26 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists
TyTy Washington (Kentucky): 25 points, 3 rebounds
Ochai Agbaji (Kansas): 22 points, 3 rebounds
AJ Griffin (Duke): 21 points, 7 rebounds, 4-6 3PT
Jabari Smith (Auburn): 17 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks
Jaden Ivey (Purdue): 17 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks
Walker Kessler (Auburn): 16 points, 9 rebounds, 4 blocks, 3 steals, 2 assists
Tari Eason (LSU): 15 points, 3 assists, 3 steals
Johnny Davis (Wisconsin): 11 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists
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<div class="css-1dbjc4n r-1habvwh r-i023vh">&nbsp;</div>
</div>

Derek Murray takes us through Friday's conference tournament results, as bubble teams battle for an NCAA tourney spot.

March Madness: Conference tournament Friday recap

In case you&rsquo;ve been overly consumed by the NBA, college basketball, or the WNBA off-season, now would be a great time to remind y&rsquo;all that the 2023 FIBA World Cup qualifiers are going on.
And in case you didn&rsquo;t know, the host countries for the 2023 World Cup are Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines &mdash; more on that later.
The last World Cup was right before the 2019-20 season, but feels so long ago because this whole COVID thing hadn&rsquo;t yet clapped us up. If you remember, the 2020 Olympics took place in 2021 &mdash; as in, last year. Yeah, I know, the international stuff can get confusing, but I&rsquo;m here to help you. Trust me.
Now, perhaps quietly to some, international play quickly resumed this past November with the first window of 2023 World Cup qualifying, which we&rsquo;ll recap shortly.
You have four sets of qualifying regions: Africa, Americas, Asia/Oceania, and Europe. There are six windows played over a 15-month span (starting from this past November), where the competing squads normally would participate in two games per window. COVID had other ideas &mdash; more on that later.
Currently, each region has groups of four, and the top three in each group will advance to round two following the June/July window. This current round of qualifying is between Nov. 20-30, Feb. 21-March 1, and June 27-July 5, after which we&rsquo;ll enter round two. Round two also occurs over three windows: August 22-30, Nov. 7-15, and Feb. 20-28, then those who will have qualified will enter group drawing next March, and we&rsquo;ll see them compete between August 25-September 10 &mdash; the World Cup.
Now, let&rsquo;s lay out all the things you should probably know and, if you see a number in parenthesis next to a team that&rsquo;s listed, that&rsquo;s their current world ranking, <a href="https://www.fiba.basketball/rankingmen">according to FIBA</a>. So if you feel like your people are being misrepresented, leave me alone and take that up with them. (Unless &hellip; unless you mean, you know, actual greater good/societal misrepresentation, then &hellip; let&rsquo;s talk, because me, too.)
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African Region
2019 WC qualifiers: Angola, Cote d&rsquo;Ivoire, Nigeria, Senegal, Tunisia
As they did in 2019, Africa will get five of the final 32 World Cup spots. Though they&rsquo;re hoping for a better result, because none of them advanced past&nbsp;group play. The Groups are as follows:
<ul>
<li>Group A: Nigeria (22), Mali (72), Cape Verde (74), Uganda (78),</li>
<li>Group B: Tunisia (28), Cameroon (64), South Sudan (82), Rwanda (84)</li>
<li>Group C: Angola (31), Cote d&rsquo;Ivoire (40), Central African Rep. (75), Guinea (99)</li>
<li>Group D: Senegal (34), Egypt (59), Congo DR (81), Kenya (103)</li>
</ul>
First Window Summary: Africa has a slightly different format. Groups A and C each played three games from Nov. 26-28, the biggest perhaps being Cape Verde&rsquo;s 79-71 upset over Nigeria, which helped move their ranking from No. 100 to No. 74 in the world. Thus, Groups A and C will return in the summer window. Nigeria and Mali are 2-1 and lead Group A, and Cote d&rsquo;Ivoire went 3-0 in November, sitting atop Group C. Groups B and D begin qualifying on Feb. 25 at Dakar Arena in Senegal, which will be three straight days of games through the 27th.
Tunisia&rsquo;s To Lose?: Tunisia went 10-2 in their World Cup qualifying for the 2019 tournament, and is expected to have similar production in group play here. Tunisia won the 2021 AfroBasket this past September, led by tournament MVP Makrem Romdhane, and All-Tournament guard Omar Abada. There&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.fiba.basketball/basketballworldcup/2023/african-qualifiers/news/the-african-champions-are-ready-to-soar-in-dakar" target="_blank" rel="noopener">also a chance star center Salah Mejri suits up for Tunisia</a>. The 7-foot-2 former Dallas Maverick <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/international/teams/tunisia/2019.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">led Tunisia with 16.4 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 3.2 blocks per game</a> in their second ever World Cup appearance three years ago.
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Q_Zc8DMv5vc" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
The Biggest What If: Tunisia plays Cameroon on Feb. 25. Cameroon is one of the many wild cards worth keeping tabs on. They still haven&rsquo;t been able to piece together the dream frontcourt of Joel Embiid, Pascal Siakam and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, who hasn&rsquo;t played since the NBA bubble. <a href="https://www.libertyballers.com/2017/2/7/14539418/joel-embiid-named-cameroon-preliminary-roster-fiba-afrobasket-2017-luc-mbah-a-moute" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Embiid came close in 2017</a>, but ultimately didn&rsquo;t play. Obviously, NBA players rarely can compete in these qualifying windows because of, well, them being in the NBA. But if Cameroon could do well enough and qualify, who knows if that&rsquo;ll be enough to lure Embiid and Siakam into international play.
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American Region
2019 WC qualifiers: Argentina (silver medalist), Brazil, Canada, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, USA, and Venezuela.
The Americas will, again, send seven to the World Cup late next year. The Americas have the standard format across the board, so this window will mark two games for each club. The groups are:
<ul>
<li>Group A: Argentina (7), Venezuela (17), Panama (50), Paraguay (77)</li>
<li>Group B: Brazil (15), Uruguay (41), Colombia (67), Chile (68)</li>
<li>Group C: Canada (18), Dominican Republic (20), U.S. Virgin Islands (54), Bahamas (62)</li>
<li>Group D: U.S.A. (1), Puerto Rico (19), Mexico (24), Cuba (65)</li>
</ul>
First Window Summary: Argentina, Venezuela, Brazil, Uruguay, Canada, Dominican Republic and Mexico are all 2-0. U.S.A. and Puerto Rico are the only 1-1 teams in the Americas, and will play each other on Tuesday in Washington D.C. Notably, for Team U.S.A., Jim Boylen coached the club in the November window, in which they held off Cuba 95-90, then lost to Mexico in Chihuahua City, 97-88. Although Cuba is 0-2, their star, Jaisel Rivero, is good enough to steal them a game. Rivero put 34 (13-18 shooting) with 9 rebounds and 3 threes on Team USA in their narrow loss. Rivero currently competes with Liga ACB and EuroCup&rsquo;s Valencia Basket in Spain, where he averages 11.1 points (second on team) and 4.9 rebounds (third on team) across all competitions.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
21 points for <a href="https://twitter.com/isaiahthomas?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@isaiahthomas</a> last night, including 4 made threes, none bigger than this dagger. 👀 Team USA defeated Cuba 95-90 to start 2023 World Cup Qualifiers. They face Mexico tonight. 📹: <a href="https://t.co/nNQDfvcF82">https://t.co/nNQDfvcF82</a> (via FIBA) <a href="https://t.co/dhAUAUVHLy">pic.twitter.com/dhAUAUVHLy</a>
&mdash; Bryan Fonseca 🇵🇷 (@BryanFonsecaNY) <a href="https://twitter.com/BryanFonsecaNY/status/1465437069073858560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 29, 2021</a>
<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
</blockquote>
Uncle Iso Joe: Among <a href="https://www.fiba.basketball/basketballworldcup/2023/americas-qualifiers/game/0407/Mexico-USA#|tab=boxscore">the notables who suited up for Team USA in November</a> were Isaiah Thomas, Luke Kornet, Chasson Randle, Haywood Highsmith and Shaquille Harrison, among many other current and former NBA players. Seven-time All-Star and 40-year-old Joe Johnson, who famously was a Boston Celtic briefly earlier this season, is <a href="https://www.fiba.basketball/basketballworldcup/2023/americas-qualifiers/news/nba-experience-leads-revamped-united-states-roster-for-second-window-of-2023-fiba-world-cup-americas-qualifiers">confirmed to be suiting up with Team USA</a> in this February window. Brian Bowen II is the only player returning from the November window. Other Team U.S.A. members include current G Leaguers Jordan Bell, David Stockton, Langston Galloway and Justin Wright-Foreman, among others.
La Nueva Era de Baloncesto: Both Mexico and Puerto Rico announced new head coaches shortly before the November window. Mexico&rsquo;s led by long-time NBA assistant Kaleb Caneles, while Puerto Rico hired Nelson Colon, who is a three-time champion and Coach of the Year in Baloncesto Superior Nacional, Puerto Rico&rsquo;s top pro basketball league. Former long-time NBA guard Carlos Arroyo was also appointed the <a href="https://www.fiba.basketball/news/puerto-rico-appoints-carlos-arroyo-as-its-male-national-team-general-manager#:~:text=Americas-,Puerto%20Rico%20appoints%20Carlos%20Arroyo%20as%20its%20male%20National%20Team,of%20the%20men's%20national%20team.">Puerto Rican National Team&rsquo;s General Manager last June</a>.
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Both Puerto Rico and Mexico starting this cycle with new coaches, too: <a href="https://t.co/PCDaPmNumy">https://t.co/PCDaPmNumy</a>
&mdash; Bryan Fonseca 🇵🇷 (@BryanFonsecaNY) <a href="https://twitter.com/BryanFonsecaNY/status/1465151054278967302?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 29, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Asia-Oceania Region
2019 WC qualifiers: Australia (finished fourth), China, Iran, Japan, Jordan, New Zealand, South Korea and the Philippines.
The hosts &ndash; Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia &ndash; typically automatically qualify for the World Cup. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20171213161459/http:/www.philstar.com:8080/sports/2017/12/13/1767946/learning-2019-world-cup" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Indonesia&rsquo;s qualification is more provisional</a> due to their lack of international success. Japan and the Philippines are automatically in, but they&rsquo;re all scheduled to participate in World Cup qualifiers anyway.
In the 2019 World Cup, Asia/Oceania sent eight teams over, which they&rsquo;ll do again in 2023. Here are the groups:
<ul>
<li>Group A: New Zealand (27), South Korea (30), Philippines (33), India (80)</li>
<li>Group B: Australia (3), China (29), Japan (37), Chinese Taipei (66)</li>
<li>Group C: Jordan (39), Lebanon (55), Indonesia (91), Saudi Arabia (79)</li>
<li>Group D: Iran (23),&nbsp;Kazakhstan (70), Syria (85), Bahrain (104)</li>
</ul>
First Window Summary: Due to travel restrictions (COVID), <a href="https://www.fiba.basketball/basketballworldcup/2023/asian-qualifiers/news/update-to-the-fiba-basketball-world-cup-2023-asian-qualifiers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">several games had to be canceled</a>, so while the format was originally the same as the Americas, it came with some modifications. No one in Group A has played yet, so they&rsquo;ll each play four games to compensate, all of which will take place between Feb. 24 and Feb. 28. In Group B, only China and Japan were able to play, and China smacked them twice, 79-63, and 106-73. Australia and Chinese Taipei are each scheduled to play three times between Feb. 25 and Feb. 28. Japan will play twice in this window, once against each of them, and China will return for four games in the third window to end round one.
Medal Momentum: This will mark the first we see of Australia since finally winning their first medal at the 2020 Olympics (that were played in 2021). Australia had lost the bronze medal game in the 1988, 1996, 2000 and 2016 Olympics before finally medaling in their fifth attempt. In their history, they&rsquo;ve never had a better World Cup finish than in 2019, where they lost in &hellip; another bronze medal game. Perhaps Australia is really turning a corner now. &nbsp;
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🥉 HISTORY MADE 🥉 The Boomers have done it- Australia have secured their first ever men&rsquo;s basketball Olympic medal! The bronze is coming home! 💚💛<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Tokyo2020?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Tokyo2020</a> <a href="https://t.co/ngxiYRwHdk">pic.twitter.com/ngxiYRwHdk</a>
&mdash; Basketball Australia (@BasketballAus) <a href="https://twitter.com/BasketballAus/status/1423988352987013120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 7, 2021</a>
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European Region&nbsp;
2019 WC qualifiers: Czech Republic, France (bronze medalist), Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Montenegro, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Spain (gold medalist), Turkey.
Europe is the largest region of basketball playing powers here, so their rules are slightly different. Instead of four groups, there are eight. As a result, they&rsquo;ll get 12 World Cup bids.
Here are the groups:
<ul>
<li>Group A: Serbia (6), Latvia (26), Belgium (36), Slovakia (63)</li>
<li>Group B: Greece (10), Turkey (16), Great Britain (44), Belarus (48)</li>
<li>Group C: Slovenia (4), Croatia (21), Finland (35), Sweden (51)</li>
<li>Group D: Germany (11), Poland (13), Israel (42), Estonia (49)</li>
<li>Group E: France (5), Montenegro (25), Hungary (43), Portugal (58)</li>
<li>Group F: Lithuania (8), Czech Republic (12), Bosnia (45), Bulgaria (53)</li>
<li>Group G: Spain (2), Ukraine (32), Georgia (38), North Macedonia (52)</li>
<li>Group H: Italy (9), Russia (14), Netherlands (47), Iceland (46)</li>
</ul>
First Window Summary: Everyone here was able to play two games in November. Your 2-0 teams are as follows: Belgium, Slovenia, Israel, France, Lithuania, Bosnia, Spain and Russia. Your 0-2 teams are Netherlands, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Portugal, Poland, Croatia and Slovakia. Czech Republic was a story from the 2019 World Cup. They shockingly punched above their weight and reached the quarterfinals. Czech Republic, led by Tom&aacute;&scaron; Satoransky, finished sixth, one spot above Team U.S.A. But, so far, they haven&rsquo;t won a game in 2023 qualifying. Czech Republic lost to Bosnia 97-90 and Lithuania 74-66. They should have a breakthrough against Bulgaria on the 24th, but it&rsquo;ll be difficult to set themselves up for a repeat of 2019, which was their first World Cup bid.
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The State of Spain: After winning the 2019 World Cup with an incredibly stacked team, including tournament MVP Ricky Rubio, captain Rudy Fern&aacute;ndez, Marc Gasol and Willy Hernang&oacute;mez, Spain was knocked out of the Olympic quarterfinals by the United States. Their Olympic team featured many of their same heavy-hitters, including even Pau Gasol, who retired in October and is now a member of the International Olympic Committee. Like the United States, many of the players you&rsquo;d expect to see on their World Cup roster <a href="https://www.fiba.basketball/basketballworldcup/2023/european-qualifiers/team/Spain#|tab=roster" target="_blank" rel="noopener">likely won&rsquo;t participate much until then</a>. Even so, expect them to continue reigning as one of the top teams in the world. We could talk about the age factor around this time next year, perhaps.
The Sleeping Giant: Slovenia famously jumped 12 spots after their debut Olympic performance, largely led by Luka Dončić, accompanied by standout pro teammates Mike Tobey, Zoran (Goran&rsquo;s brother) Dragić,&nbsp;and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlatko_%C4%8Can%C4%8Dar" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vlatko Čančar</a>. Slovenia finished fourth, losing to Australia in the bronze medal game. They didn&rsquo;t qualify for the 2019 World Cup, but did win the 2017 EuroBasket, in which Goran won MVP and Luka, at 18 years old, was named to the All-Tournament team. (Anthony Randolph played for the Slovenian team, then. Who knew?!?) Dragić and Tobey are <a href="https://www.fiba.basketball/basketballworldcup/2023/european-qualifiers/team/Slovenia#|tab=roster" target="_blank" rel="noopener">listed on the roster for this window</a>. Look for them to continue raising hell in qualifiers, and if Dončić suits up, in the World Cup, too.
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For even more World Cup info and complete schedules, <a href="https://www.fiba.basketball/basketballworldcup/2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">go here</a>.
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Bryan Fonseca gives an overview of the 2023 FIBA World Cup qualifiers.

Things to monitor as FIBA World Cup’s next qualifying window arrives

Game on the line, final seconds ticking away, and Slovenia&rsquo;s Klemen Prepelic had nobody between him and a layup that would have sent his country into the gold medal game at the Tokyo Olympics.
Nicolas Batum had only one thought.
&ldquo;I had to make that play,&rdquo; Batum said.
That&rsquo;s exactly what he did &mdash; reaching over Prepelic to block the shot with 2.4 seconds left, and with that France survived a historic effort from Luka Doncic to beat Slovenia 90-89 on Thursday night in the Olympic men&rsquo;s basketball semifinals.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
BLOCKED BY BATUM FOR THE WIN!!!!!!!!!!!! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Tokyo2020?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Tokyo2020</a> <a href="https://t.co/R1nmIoartP">pic.twitter.com/R1nmIoartP</a>
&mdash; Italo (@ItaloSantana_3) <a href="https://twitter.com/ItaloSantana_3/status/1423264566759337988?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 5, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Their reward: A rematch against the U.S., the three-time defending Olympic champions. France has beaten the Americans in each of their last two meetings, including in both teams&rsquo; opening game at the Tokyo Olympics, and if they can do it again Saturday they&rsquo;ll be good as gold.
&ldquo;I always dreamed of playing in this type of game,&rdquo; Batum said. &ldquo;And I had to make this play &mdash; this play &mdash; for my team. And I did it.&rdquo;
Doncic had the third triple-double in Olympic men&rsquo;s history: 16 points, 10 rebounds and 18 assists. But it wasn&rsquo;t quite enough, and Slovenia fell to 17-1 all-time when he&rsquo;s in the national team colors.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think we played great but we were there,&rdquo; Doncic said, sporting an ice pack on his wrist postgame. &ldquo;We had the last chance and we didn&rsquo;t make it.&rdquo;
He may be an Olympic champion one day, but not yet. France has been this far at an Olympics only twice before &mdash; losing to the Americans in the title games at the 2000 Sydney Games and 1948 London Games. Slovenia will play Australia for the bronze on Saturday night, the winner getting what will be the first men&rsquo;s basketball medal in their country&rsquo;s history.
&ldquo;Probably one of the best blocks I&rsquo;ve seen,&rdquo; said France center Rudy Gobert &mdash; perhaps the best shot-blocker in the world these days. &ldquo;Being able to grind for 40 minutes and win an Olympic game on that block, it&rsquo;s just amazing. This is why you play the game. This is why you work hard, why you sacrifice time from your families, to come here and try to accomplish something and be part of those moments.&rdquo;
Nando de Colo had 25 points for France, Evan Fournier scored 23 and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot added 15 for the winners &mdash; now the last unbeaten team left in the men&rsquo;s tournament at 5-0. Gobert had nine points, 16 rebounds and four blocks for France, and Batum blocked four shots as well, none bigger than the one at the end.
Mike Tobey scored 23 for Slovenia, which got 17 from Prepelic.
France trailed by eight in the first half, then went up by 10 late in the third -- before needing to survive a wild fourth quarter. Slovenia tied it twice in the final period, both times on baskets inside by Tobey, but never took the lead.
&ldquo;We fought them like we are the same,&rdquo; Slovenia coach Aleksander Sekulic said.
Luwawu-Cabarrot took a kickout pass from Gobert with 56.1 seconds left and made a wide-open 3-pointer to put France up 90-85. A free throw got Slovenia within four, then Fournier fouled out on an offensive foul while dribbling upcourt on the next France possession.
Slovenia had life.
Prepelic took a pass from Doncic on the ensuing possession and hit a 3-pointer to get Slovenia within one. And then it came down to the last shot, which Batum knocked away as Slovenia argued for a foul to no avail.
Batum went over to Doncic when it was over, giving him a hug and words of encouragement, telling him to use this loss as fuel to keep his stardom growing.
Doncic had flirted with triple-doubles twice already at these Olympics, finally getting this one on a rebound that set up the final Slovenia possession. The other triple-doubles in Olympic men&rsquo;s play: Alexander Belov had one for the Soviet Union in 1976, and LeBron James had one for the U.S. in 2012.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s the present,&rdquo; Batum said. &ldquo;And he&rsquo;s next.&rdquo;

France survived a historic effort from Luka Doncic to beat Slovenia 90-89 on Thursday night in the Olympic men’s basketball semifinals.

Nicolas Batum’s block lifts France over Luka Doncic, Slovenia 90-89

SAITAMA, Japan (AP) &mdash; Luka Doncic&rsquo;s first Olympics have not been perfect, despite what the basketball standings say. He was defeated. Once. By the rules.
Doncic was looking for tickets to go watch men&rsquo;s tennis when Novak Djokovic was playing in the men&rsquo;s semifinals. Ordinarily, the world&rsquo;s top athletes have no problem getting into other Olympic events when their schedules allow. But at the Tokyo Games, amid a pandemic, there are very strict policies about what athletes can do and where they can go. As such, Doncic&rsquo;s plea for tickets went unfulfilled.
He settled for watching &ldquo;everything on TV,&rdquo; Doncic said.
Another marquee event is coming up Tuesday, that being the men&rsquo;s basketball quarterfinals at the Tokyo Games. Doncic won&rsquo;t have tickets to those, but won&rsquo;t need them, either. He&rsquo;ll be on the court when Slovenia takes on Germany for a berth in the medal round, a step that would put his basketball-crazed homeland even more on the sport&rsquo;s map and potentially send his stock soaring even higher.
&ldquo;We have, obviously, the best player in the world,&rdquo; Slovenia coach Aleksander Sekulic said.
Doncic is certainly in the conversation about being the world&rsquo;s best. As far as being the best player in the Tokyo Games, there&rsquo;s no argument.
Through the group stage, Doncic led the Olympic men&rsquo;s field in scoring at 28.3 points per game, 6.0 points ahead of Japan&rsquo;s Rui Hachimura. He&rsquo;s second in rebounding at 10.7 per game, behind only Slovenian teammate Mike Tobey&rsquo;s 13 per contest. And he&rsquo;s third in assists at 7.0 per game; Tomas Satoransky of the Czech Republic averaged 8.7, Spain&rsquo;s Ricky Rubio is averaging 7.3.
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No men&rsquo;s player has ever finished an Olympics averaging Doncic&rsquo;s current numbers. And nobody has averaged 28.3 points in an Olympics since Brazil&rsquo;s Oscar Schmidt &mdash; the Olympic standard for just about every men&rsquo;s scoring mark &mdash; averaged 42.3 per game at Seoul in 1988.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re making history for our country,&rdquo; Doncic said.
His impact is all over the court.
Nobody in this men&rsquo;s tournament has drawn more fouls, by a wide margin, than Doncic. He&rsquo;s also tied for the Olympic lead in blocked shots, is shooting a ridiculous 75% on 2-pointers, is one of five players in the Olympics with at least 10 makes so far on 3-pointers.&nbsp;<a class="" href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/luka-doncic-dazzles-with-48-points-for-slovenia-in-olympic-debut-vs-argentina" target="_blank" rel="noopener">He had a 48-point Olympic debut,</a>&nbsp;tying him for the second-highest scoring game in Olympic history, and&nbsp;<a class="" href="https://apnews.com/article/2020-tokyo-olympics-sports-spain-slovenia-spain-olympic-team-f1d1076d62e86449f8c46bb03e4b7ce3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">was one assist shy on Sunday against Spain</a>&nbsp;from posting what would have been the third triple-double ever at a games.
&ldquo;He is the best player in the world, including the NBA,&rdquo; Argentina coach Sergio Hernandez said. &ldquo;If there was any doubt in my mind, it is there no more.&rdquo;
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For as good as Doncic is with the Dallas Mavericks, he&rsquo;s been impossible to beat in his nation&rsquo;s colors.
Slovenia&rsquo;s senior team is 16-0 with Doncic in the lineup. He was a teenager on the team that captured the European championship in 2017 behind Goran Dragic&rsquo;s MVP performance, a win that remains, for now anyway, the top achievement in Slovenia&rsquo;s basketball history. Dragic insisted &mdash; not predicted &mdash; when that tournament was over that Doncic would be an NBA &ldquo;superstar.&rdquo;
&ldquo;They could win this,&rdquo; Dragic said earlier in these Olympics, watching from his Slovenia home.
Doncic is why.
Slovenia surrounded Doncic for these Olympics, and the six-team qualifier it had to win last month just to get to Tokyo, with plenty of shooters who space the floor for his game and a big man like Tobey &mdash; who played at Virginia &mdash; to provide the inside help needed. The formula has worked all summer; Slovenia is 7-0 with an average winning margin of 26.4 points per game.
A win over Germany on Tuesday, and they&rsquo;re in the medal round in their debut Olympics.
&ldquo;Playing with him is just amazing,&rdquo; Tobey said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s so talented. At this type of basketball, maybe every type of basketball, he&rsquo;s the best in the world. I don&rsquo;t know what he does. You try not to be in awe too much.&rdquo;
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The U.S. came to Tokyo with 12 NBA players, a past MVP and NBA Finals MVP in Kevin Durant, seven players who have played for an NBA title, five of them who have actually won championships. Top to bottom, the talent the Americans have overshadows every team, Slovenia included.
But Doncic grew up playing the international style, obviously. He knows how the game is called. He knows the nuances. He&rsquo;s used to playing with a ball that differs from the feel and bounce of the NBA ball. For him, the transition between playing for Dallas and playing for his country has been seamless. Not every NBA standout in Tokyo can say the same.
&ldquo;Luka Doncic is one of the best four or five players in the world right now,&rdquo;&nbsp;<a class="" href="https://apnews.com/article/2020-tokyo-olympics-slovenia-japan-basketball-518f71485c91c54ec6fb2a61c6205474" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Japan coach Julio Lamas said.</a>&nbsp;&ldquo;But he plays very comfortably in FIBA with the spacing and the rules. Some other NBA players feel uncomfortable sometimes in FIBA. He don&rsquo;t. He is excellent in all the game situations.&rdquo;
Doncic wants no part of the best-player conversation. He won&rsquo;t even discuss an offseason of change with the Mavericks &mdash; Jason Kidd taking over for Rick Carlisle as coach, changes in the front office, changes to the roster &mdash; until the Olympics are over. He&rsquo;s locked in solely on playing for gold, nothing else.
Besides, he doesn&rsquo;t need to rave about his own play. Everyone else already is doing that for him.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m happy that I can witness and play with him,&rdquo; said Slovenia guard Zoran Dragic, Goran Dragic&rsquo;s brother. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s such an awesome guy and it&rsquo;s so easy to play with him, because he&rsquo;s just an unbelievable person and basketball player. Yeah, we can be all happy that he&rsquo;s Slovenian.&rdquo;
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Luka Doncic has been outstanding in his first Olympics. "He is the best player in the world, including the NBA," said a rival head coach.