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Magic

Mat Issa raves over Jordan Poole regarding his three-level scoring and how his ceiling may be higher than once thought.

Jordan Poole is even better than we could've imagined

France's Ousmane Dieng officially <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/33746207/projected-lottery-pick-ousmane-dieng-enter-nba-draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a>&nbsp;that he is entering the 2022 NBA Draft.
Dieng spent last season playing in Australia's National Basketball League, where he averaged 8.8 points and 3.1 rebounds per game as part of the NBL's Next Stars program that produced LaMelo Ball, Josh Giddey and RJ Hampton.
"Playing in a tough league with really good players was really good for me," Dieng told <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/33746207/projected-lottery-pick-ousmane-dieng-enter-nba-draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN</a>. "I learned a lot. The transition was significant, going up against much better players than I saw in France. The game is faster. Everyone is more physical...
"I had to work on my body and I was lucky to have a great strength and conditioning coach. I improved my defense a lot this past year. The coaches had a big role in my improvement. I trusted them when I was struggling. I kept working and improved my game."
Matt Babcock, BasketballNews.com's Senior NBA Draft Analyst, currently has Dieng projected to go No. 25 overall to the San Antonio Spurs in his <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">latest 2022 NBA Mock Draft</a>.&nbsp;
"Projected to be one of the first international players selected in the 2022 NBA Draft, Ousmane Dieng has great positional size, length and mobility. He is a versatile playmaker on the offensive end and a tremendous live-dribble passer. Also, he is effective as a three-level scorer," Babcock <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-nba-mock-draft/players/ousmane-dieng" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote in his scouting report</a>. "Dieng&rsquo;s shot-making from both inside and out &mdash; paired with excellent vision and impactful, yet inconsistent, defense &mdash; has him high on our draft board. Dieng played for the NBL&rsquo;s New Zealand Breakers this season and is certainly a prospect to monitor closely."
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Dieng spent last season in Australia's NBL as part of the Next Stars program that produced LaMelo Ball, Josh Giddey and RJ Hampton.

France's Ousmane Dieng officially enters 2022 NBA Draft

He can&rsquo;t be a lead guard.
He&rsquo;s not a point guard.
He can&rsquo;t get to the rim.
You&rsquo;ve probably seen these kinds of phrases thrown around as long as you&rsquo;ve watched the NBA, and for good reason. Lead guard/primary ball-handler play is pretty essential to good offense.
Driving the ball, getting to the rim, collapsing the defense and forcing a defensive rotation/help at the rim with a well-timed pass to the vacated spot where the help came from (or an even more ambitious pass to where help is coming from next) are staples of modern offense in the league.
Ja Morant, Luka Doncic and Trae Young are three of the idyllic rim-pressure threats in their own variations.
Morant is the absurd downhill athlete with incredible at-rim pop. Defenses sell out to stop him from even nearing the paint. Doncic (No. 2 in the league in drives per game) breaks down his man with strength, rhythm and angles
Young is a pull-up artist with a type of guile in his movements that forces overplays on the exterior, and he uses it to his benefit, gliding to the paint and utilizing one of the best floaters in the league (also disguised as a lob!) to punish the defense. Young takes the least shots at the rim of the three, but getting there is not an issue in the slightest, and he's worked his game to use his touch and shiftiness to his advantage.
All three are varying levels of passers ranging from very good to preternatural, but the point remains that their differing gifts, along with their honed craft, are the perfect catalysts for destructing defenses.
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What about the guards/ball-handlers who are imperfect though? I'm not sure I've been more interested in such a thought than I have been this season.
Darius Garland, a player whom many draft analysts wondered if he could get to the rim enough, just makes it work. Prolific pull-up shooting, a phenomenal handle and stellar court vision allow him to work around his own at-rim struggles. He gets to the rim and to the paint with regularity, but due to his lack of verticality, finishing there isn't his forte. Drop-offs, dump-offs and well-placed and disguised lobs in tandem with his floater (in the same vein of Young) formulate the ability to set up his fantastic array of lob partners.
That timing aspect &mdash; VERY IMPORTANT.
Part of what makes this work for Garland is how sneaky he is with his interior game. Everything he does is lightning quick, often even taking his bigs by surprise (I swear at least one-third of his turnovers are bobbled passes that shock the recipient). Quickness, pace and timeliness.&nbsp;
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Oh my word, Darius Garland <a href="https://t.co/fYhSjPzfUP">pic.twitter.com/fYhSjPzfUP</a>
&mdash; Mark Schindler (@MSchindlerNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/MSchindlerNBA/status/1459617261405327369?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 13, 2021</a></blockquote>

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First off, this pass is freakin sick. Second, this is a great (albeit exaggerated) microcosm of what makes Garland so effective: the defense is always guessing. He's always pushing and probing and again, the defense is on its heels as he keeps the pressure on making it look like he could score. If stifled, he's superb at moving the ball, moving himself with quickness and then making himself available for the ball again as soon as possible. He's like a hornet, constantly stinging with an absurd work rate that's so difficult to keep pace with as a defender.
Immanuel Quickley enters stage left
The aforementioned three questions have been asked over and over again this year in regard to Immanuel Quickley and his ability to lead an offense. They're the same questions that were asked when he was drafted.
By definition, Quickley IS a combo guard. He is not Garland, as he lacks the same handle and playmaking ability that made the Cavs' maestro a first time All-Star, but through that same lens, there are some comparisons that can be drawn.
Since the All-Star Break (20 games, Knicks 10-10), Quickley is averaging 15.2 points and 4.2 assists with 1.2 turnovers per game on 61.1% True Shooting in slightly over 26 minutes of play per night. He's bombed away from three, taking 5.1 treys per game hitting at a 39.2% clip; most importantly, it's how he's getting these shots off.
Three-and-a-half of these long-distance tries per game are pull-up threes (shooting 41.4%), forcing defenses to prioritize his jumper and consistently forcing his defender to go over on ball-screens he runs.
One of my favorite and the most encouraging things: He is becoming quite cunning at grifting for fouls (<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/in-defense-of-fouldrawing-a-gift-not-a-grift" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a gift</a>), averaging 4.8 trips to the line per game after the break. He's eighth in percentage of points derived from free throws in that time frame, actually ahead of RJ Barrett, who has been putting work in at the line.
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He's so good at snaking, using his body to wall off his man and baiting him into contact. He has a real knack for selling fouls while also deserving them if that makes sense, even if it is grifty! This is an awesome development and legitimate way to buoy his offensive game.
Quickley is shooting 45.0% from 4 to 14 feet over that span (30% of his total shots), a large portion of his offense. The <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-stats-notebook-immanuel-quickleys-unusual-shot-diet-can-work" target="_blank" rel="noopener">floater is essential for him</a>. Much like we've seen with Bruce Brown in his ebbs and flows, the floater diet is a tough one; if it's not falling, the defense will adjust accordingly. But, if it is at a high clip, it puts the defense in a quandary. It is just a really hard shot to NOT contest even if it typically has less inherent value than a layup in theory.
Quickley is a good passer, not a great one &mdash; an important distinction. Ideally, he's not your best playmaker on the floor. I would honestly love to see him be more aggressive in some of the reads he makes. He'll make really good quick decisions, but he can be rather safe with the ball at times. He doesn't have the typical downhill burst of a primary ball-handler who will fully break a defense, but the quickness and timing of the passes he does make &mdash; due to the gravity he commands as a pull-up threat out of pick-and-roll &mdash; can allow him to imitate some of those looks.
Since the All-Star Break, Quickley is averaging 8.3 potential assists, accounting for all passes that lead to a shot attempt regardless of a make or miss. That puts him in the same ballpark of Jimmy Butler (8.2), DeMar DeRozan (8.6) and Julius Randle (8.5), all players with a significant usage and substantially higher minutes played than Quickley. That's not to say that he's a better scorer or playmaker, but rather to illustrate that he's doing more than the assists might indicate at face value.
This possession is such a great encapsulation of what Quickly brings offensively.
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The young Knicks who move the ball quickly and with purpose are just joyous Really fun possession <a href="https://t.co/tKXGZb4irJ">pic.twitter.com/tKXGZb4irJ</a>
&mdash; Mark Schindler (@MSchindlerNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/MSchindlerNBA/status/1511079654471442434?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 4, 2022</a></blockquote>

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RJ Hampton sells out for the Quickley stepback three. Quickley makes a really quick outlet pass to Obi Toppin in the slot and moves himself immediately.
A quick pause: YES. This is so huge; the relocation and constant movement. A great way to offset the lack of other primary skills is to push the tempo &mdash; always moving, always scanning and always relocating after you're out of an action. If you immediately make yourself available after the ball leaves your hands, you can put some added strain on a defense. Simple, but very effective. (This is something Tyrese Haliburton is great at.)
Yes, the initial dent Quickley puts in the defense might be lesser than that of a true primary, but with a good offensive ethos and the principles laid out, we've seen the ability for some really solid offenses to live on continuous advantage creation and maintenance.
Quickley gets far enough in to draw Devin Cannady over in a help scenario before kicking to Barrett for the corner three. I don't have a "for sure" answer, but it feels like if Quickley is able to get another step into the paint with even more of an at-rim/floater sell, perhaps he puts even more of a dent in the defense. I'm nitpicking, but it's also important to note that this is just a harder way of life as an offensive player. If Cannady is actually a wing-sized player guarding Barrett, it's a shot that's much easier to contest.&nbsp;
With Robinson in the dunker spot, Robin Lopez is rather frozen, and on the IQ fake, he immediately seeks out Robinson's body to prevent the lob or box him out on a shot attempt.
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There are subtleties in pacing Quickly can improve upon (he's already shown great signs of growth) that could make him even more impactful. Pairing him with lob partners like Robinson and Jericho Sims makes his floater and the threat of it that much more impactful, as he starts to work on masking his shot and pass to mimic one another. Sims' screening has been very fun to see work in tandem with Quickley as well; he's easily the best screener on the team that isn't IQ.
Per Cleaning the Glass, the Knicks' offense scores 5.3 points per 100 possessions more with Quickley on the floor. Yes, on/offs are extremely finicky and New York's awful starting unit plays a huge part in this sizable differential. Yet, that's also part of the point, no?
When IQ is on the floor, the Knicks actively seek more opportunities in transition and push more off of live rebounds. Truly, they just move quicker and with more purpose, something that's been a real issue for this Knicks team. The young guys play with pace, actively relocate, make quick decisions and continue to exploit advantages.
Barrett is the power wing that was promised, currently in the midst of his own breakout with high usage. In some ways, tasking IQ and Barrett with overlapping usage and quasi-primary creation together could be (and has been) a boon. RJ is one of the best in the league at getting to the rim (the finishing deserves its own article), and the pair together can mask some of its offensive flaws/inefficiencies. Both can start sets, both can capitalize upon advantages, and both are still feeling out their own abilities as creators.
Per Cleaning the Glass, lineups with Quickley and Barrett that don't feature Randle are outscoring opponents by 4.8 points per 100 possessions (747 possessions total, a solid sample). This is not intended as a refrendum on Randle; it's just a case in point when looking at who is commanding usage on the court.
Quickley doesn't get to the rim with regularity, but he does things that can emulate lead guard play. It's a harder diet to survive on, but so is *checks notes* everything else the Knicks have tried this season. He's shown enough encouraging signs that he can thrive.
It's been time for the Knicks' front office/Tom Thibodeau/whoever the heck is in charge there to prioritize Quickley and his ability to elevate the offense &mdash; and with hope, that's what they'll do this offseason.
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While Immanuel Quickley might not get to the rim like a traditional point guard, he elicits lead ball-handler traits with regularity.

Immanuel Quickley: Pressuring the rim without getting there

I remember it like it was 1,561 days ago &mdash; mostly because it was. I was laying on the futon pad in my dorm, procrastinating studying for my Forensic Science exam by looking through NBA highlights on YouTube (I know, some ~ casual ~ behavior on my part).
My mindless scrolling finally ceased when I stumbled upon this gem:
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A delicious 40-burger. Aaron Gordon&rsquo;s second one in as many months. I thought to myself: He&rsquo;s finally taking that leap. A star is born.&nbsp;
Alas, the three-point shooting and on-ball creation never really materialized to the level necessary to make my prediction come to fruition. And, among his desire to be elsewhere, the Orlando Magic ultimately threw in the towel on his development in 2021, opting to rebuild their roster by trading him to the Denver Nuggets for the likes of Gary Harris, RJ Hampton and a lightly protected first-round pick.&nbsp;
Just like that, it appeared the book on Gordon had been closed. But then something fascinating happened. He transformed his game entirely.
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His New Partner in Matrimony&nbsp;
In a recent episode of the <a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/0r4Ro79PyBlk88QHyXyjXV?si=7a6546a89c7e48cf&amp;nd=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DNVR Denver Nuggets Podcast</a>, co-host <a href="https://twitter.com/MiroslavCuk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Miroslav Ćuk </a>likened the new partnership between Gordon and reigning MVP Nikola Jokic to that of a married couple. And when you spend a handful of hours alone in your home office watching the two interact on the court (as I have), you have a hard time contending with that assessment.&nbsp;
Whether it resonates through hookups on 45-degree cuts to the rim, transition outlets, entry passes into a post seal or simple handoff actions, the two have achieved a level of on-court chemistry typically reserved for lifelong companions.
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This season, Gordon is <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/player/203932?dir=D&amp;sort=PTS_PAINT" target="_blank" rel="noopener">getting more assisted looks</a> and <a href="https://dunksandthrees.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">more shots at the rim</a>, and is scoring at the highest efficiency of his career &mdash; in large part because of his new <a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2022/03/06/nuggets-journal-aaron-gordon-seeing-the-game-differently/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">frontcourt partner.</a> With Jokic, Gordon is no longer bound by the advantage-creating ambitions the Magic had envisioned for him. He&rsquo;s now empowered to roam free as the hyper-athletic play-finisher he was always destined to be.
However, Gordon isn&rsquo;t the only one collecting benefits from this relationship. One could even argue that the symbiotic nature of their dynamic bears some resemblance to that of Steve Nash and Amar'e Stoudemire in the mid-2000s. Now, while I will concede that Gordon isn&rsquo;t nearly the offensive talent Stoudemire was during his heyday, the formula is still the same:
Prodigious playmaker + Dynamite play-finisher = Highly-efficient offense.
The pairings&rsquo; similarities don&rsquo;t end there. From 2004-10, <a href="https://twitter.com/matissa15/status/1501903698028425216?s=20&amp;t=zA1W-ku5c4z4Rhlxva7hzA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nash</a> averaged nearly 2 assists fewer per 100 possessions when Stoudemire was on the bench (per PBP Stats). In comparison, Jokic has lost <a href="http://www.pbpstats.com/on-off/nba/player?Season=2021-22&amp;SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason&amp;TeamId=1610612743&amp;PlayerId=203932">almost 2 assists per 100 possessions</a> in the 365 minutes he&rsquo;s played without Gordon this season.&nbsp;
Historical comparisons aside, the tandem also fulfills the marital trope of taking on aspects of your partner's personality. In the same way that dating someone for a long time might increase your appreciation for <a href="https://squishmallows.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">squishmallows</a> (wait, is that just me?), Gordon&rsquo;s time spent sharing the court with a passing savant has made him a worthy facilitator in his own right:
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Aaron Gordon plays 50 games with Nikola Jokic. All of a sudden he's one of the best passers at his position. <a href="https://t.co/PRysqnp5FS">pic.twitter.com/PRysqnp5FS</a>
&mdash; Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) <a href="https://twitter.com/HarrisonWind/status/1490584645456457729?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 7, 2022</a></blockquote>

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The numbers appear to back up Wind&rsquo;s observation as well. According to BBall Index&rsquo;s Playmaking Talent database, Gordon is experiencing a career year in passing creation quality, passing versatility and playmaking. He&rsquo;s still by no means the guy you want running the show, but he&rsquo;s more than equipped to connect the dots when the heavyweights start the thread.
A Defensive Swiss-Army Knife
While Gordon's strides on the offensive end have been substantial, it&rsquo;s the defensive evolution he's undergone that has been the most necessary for the Nuggets this season.&nbsp;
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Aaron Gordon Defensive Roles by year: 14-15: Perimeter Big 15-16: Perimeter Big 16-17: Chaser 17-18: Perimeter Big 18-19: Perimeter Big 19-20: Chaser 20-21: Wing Stopper 21-22: Point of Attack Per <a href="https://twitter.com/The_BBall_Index?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@The_BBall_Index</a>.
&mdash; Mat Issa (@matissa15) <a href="https://twitter.com/matissa15/status/1501689092693807104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 9, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Initially brought in to provide additional backline support to his more floor-bound companion, Gordon has transitioned to a new seat right at the head of the table, playing the part of the Nuggets&rsquo; go-to, point-of-attack stopper. This year, Gordon has spent a whopping 45.4% of his possessions guarding point guards and shooting guards &mdash; the largest percentage of his career by a wide margin (per BBall Index).
Most of this shift in role has been out of necessity, with frailer guards like Monte Morris, Facundo Campazzo and Bones Hyland occupying backcourt minutes; the burden of mixing it up with the best offensive engines in the league has been placed squarely at Gordon&rsquo;s feet. And man, for someone that is learning this gig on the fly, is he holding down the fort.
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I implore you all to take a brief 60 seconds of your day to marvel at the defensive clips above. Take note of all the different variations of player archetypes Gordon has been tasked to go up against. Guile-based miniature guards like <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/trae-young-made-himself-the-villain-and-hes-leveled-up-accordingly" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trae Young</a>, hyper-athletic slashers like <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/how-high-can-anthony-edwards-fly-examining-the-20yearolds-ceiling" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Anthony Edwards</a>, Earth-pushing forwards masquerading as ball-handlers like <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/will-luka-doncic-be-able-to-sustain-current-workload-for-potentially-deep-postseason-run" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Luka Doncic</a>. Gordon has managed to annoy all of them at different points in the season.
In fact, according to BBall Index&rsquo;s database dating to 2013, Gordon owns the highest <a href="https://www.bball-index.com/defensive-versatility/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Defensive Versatility</a> score of any point-of-attack defender on record, ranking 2 points higher than the next closest player (2020-21 Ben Simmons).
This versatility was on full display in a crucial possession of a late-game overtime thriller against the New Orleans Pelicans earlier this week. Here, after stonewalling Brandon Ingram from his attempt at getting to his sweet spot, Gordon picks up CJ McCollum and lands a textbook jump-shot-altering contest:
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Gordon's <a href="https://cleaningtheglass.com/stats/player/1323#tab-defense_rebounding">block percentages</a> are down from past seasons, but that&rsquo;s mostly because his new responsibilities on the perimeter make it difficult for him to consistently challenge shots in the interior. He&rsquo;s currently contesting one less shot within 6 feet of the rim per game than he was with Orlando from 2017-20 (per NBA.com).&nbsp;
However, when the moment calls for it, he&rsquo;s shown he&rsquo;s still capable of filling the void that he was originally intended to:
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Indeed, Gordon never blossomed into the sky-walking, scoring superstar the Magic and I imagined he would be after his 40-point eruption in 2017. But that&rsquo;s okay because he&rsquo;s still developed into a great player in his own right. He&rsquo;s Jokic&rsquo;s new favorite offensive partner in crime, a tissue-connecting passer, and the basketball equivalent of a multipurpose weapon of destruction on defense.
Simply put: Aaron Gordon is not the player the Magic wanted him to be, but he&rsquo;s the player that the Nuggets need him to be.
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Mat Issa details how Aaron Gordon has grown his game and fit in with the Nuggets since being traded from the Magic.

After Orlando exit, Aaron Gordon's been exactly what the Nuggets need

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Joel Embiid tied his career high with 50 points in just 27 minutes, leading a dominant third quarter that carried the Philadelphia 76ers to a 123-110 victory over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night.
Embiid also had 12 rebounds and three blocks while making 17 of 23 field goals and 15 of 17 free throws. The four-time All-Star and MVP candidate played just 58 seconds of the fourth quarter.
Tobias Harris added 21 points for the 76ers, who have won nine of 11. Philadelphia began play sixth in the East but just 2 ½ games out of the top spot.
Mo Bamba set career highs with 32 points and seven 3-pointers for Orlando. The rebuilding Magic dropped to an NBA-worst 8-38 with their third straight loss and 13th defeat in the last 14 games.
Philadelphia was booed off the court at halftime, trailing 57-47. But the 76ers came out determined after the break, using a 17-6 run over the first 5:05 to jump in front, 64-63. Embiid finally got some help from his teammates during the spurt, as Tyrese Maxey drained a pair of 3-pointers.
Embiid, who entered averaging 27.3 points, took over from there, scoring in a variety of ways in a breathtaking third quarter that matched his similarly stellar first quarter. He was serenaded with “MVP! MVP!” chants on two trips to the free throw line in the period, and brought the fans roaring to their feet when he made a 3-pointer with 25 seconds left in the quarter that gave Philadelphia its largest lead to that point, 92-80.
It gave Embiid 47 points for the game and 23 in the third quarter alone in which he shot 8 of 10. The star center opened the contest by draining 8 of 10 shots in a 20-point first quarter that helped the 76ers to a 25-21 advantage.
Embiid re-entered with 7:23 left in the fourth and quickly got to 49 points with a pair of free throws 15 seconds later. Then, Embiid was fouled by Mamba, who fouled out on the play, with 6:26 left. With the crowd standing and recording the moment on cell phones, he made the first to reach 50 points before misfiring on the second free throw. Coach Doc Rivers quickly subbed him out to loud cheers.
Embiid was dominant in the first quarter but the rest of the 76ers combined for just five points on 2-for-11 shooting. And it caught up to them in the second quarter. The Magic closed within 38-37 while Embiid rested for the first 5:20 of the period, then scored 11 of the final 14 points to open a 10-point advantage after he went to the bench with three fouls with 3:07 remaining. 
Bamba finished with 28 points and made 7 of 8 3-pointers in the opening half, easily bettering his previous career highs in scoring (22 points) and made 3-pointers (5).
TRAINER’S ROOM
Magic: Assistant coach Jesse Mermuys filled in for head coach Jamahl Mosley (health and safety protocols), who missed his second straight game. Assistant coach Nate Tibbetts also was absent due to health and safety protocols. … Wendell Carter Jr. (sore left hamstring) was out of the lineup for the seventh consecutive contest. Mermuys believes Carter’s return is imminent. … R.J. Hampton went down hard with 4:52 left in the fourth, went to the locker room and didn’t return.
76ers: Danny Green (right hip) missed his fourth in a row, Matisse Thybulle (right shoulder) his third straight and Shake Milton (back) his eighth. Rivers said he expects Thybulle to miss at least one more game, while he didn’t have a timetable for Milton.
TIP-INS
Magic: Fell to 6-22 on the road. Orlando is 2-16 at home. … Trail the four-game season series 3-0. The teams will play once more, March 13 in Orlando.
76ers: Improved to 10-9 at home and 9-6 with Embiid in the lineup in Philadelphia. … As trade rumors continue to circulate around Ben Simmons, who has been out all season due to personal reasons, Rivers said rebounding and playmaking would be areas for addition at the trade deadline when pressed. “You need playmakers in the playoffs, you just do,” he said. “You need guys who are going to make plays for themselves and others. And the more you have, the better team you have, the better chance you have.”
UP NEXT
Magic: Open five-game homestand against the Lakers on Friday.
76ers: Host the Clippers on Friday.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Joel Embiid scored 50 points and the 76ers beat the Orlando Magic.

Embiid ties career high with 50 points, 76ers beat Magic

We're flipping our calendar at BasketballNews &mdash; but not before taking one look back at a memorable 2021.
Sports never cease to give us compelling storylines. Last year, they came from all places, from the pros in the U.S. and abroad, to college, to youth levels, and even off the basketball court. Below are some of our staff's best stories, arranged in several categories. Read the Best of BasketballNews 2021:
Best Features
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/gary-payton-ii_lg.jpg" alt="" />
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-g-league-raptors-905-gary-payton-ii-on-growing-up-in-fathers-shadow-we-have-two-different-paths">Gary Payton II on growing up in father's shadow: 'We have two different paths'</a> &mdash; by Kelsea O'Brien
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/high-school-basketball-former-nba-execs-aaron-ryan-brandon-williams-kevin-ollie-overtime-elite-seek-to-revolutionize-amateur-to-pro-preparation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Former NBA execs, Overtime Elite seek to revolutionize amateur-to-pro p</a><a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/high-school-basketball-former-nba-execs-aaron-ryan-brandon-williams-kevin-ollie-overtime-elite-seek-to-revolutionize-amateur-to-pro-preparation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reparation</a> &mdash; by Spencer Davies
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-daniel-gafford-washington-wizards-russell-westbrook-bradley-beal-tony-falce-arkansas-razorbacks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Daniel Gafford, Wizards surging since trade: 'When I got here, it clicked automatically'</a> &mdash; by Spencer Davies
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/pj-dozier-took-a-whirlwind-journey-to-the-denver-nuggets-starting-lineup">Two-way threat: PJ Dozier reflects on whirlwind path to Nuggets</a> &mdash; by Ethan Fuller
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/g-league-finals-mvp-devin-cannady-remains-focus-bigger-goals">NBA G League Finals MVP Devin Cannady remains focused on bigger goals</a> &mdash; by Kelsea O'Brien
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/theres-plenty-of-blame-to-go-around-for-frank-ntilikinas-failure">There&rsquo;s plenty of blame to go around for Frank Ntilikina&rsquo;s failure</a> &mdash; by Moke Hamilton
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nikola-vucevic-may-finally-get-credit-he-deserves-with-newlook-bulls">Nikola Vucevic may finally get credit he deserves with new-look Bulls</a> &mdash; by Alex Kennedy
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/meet-juste-jocyte-15-year-old-phenom-and-professional-record-breaker" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Meet Justė Jocytė: 15-year-old phenom and professional record-breaker</a> &mdash; by Ethan Fuller
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/kristaps-porzingis-renewed-confidence-leading-to-resurgent-season-with-mavericks">Kristaps Porzingis' renewed confidence leading to resurgent season</a> &mdash; by Evan Sidery
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/scoot-henderson-aspirations-far-exceed-any-hype-we-can-give-him" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NBA G League star Scoot Henderson's aspirations far exceed the hype</a> &mdash; by Spencer Davies
Best Interviews and Q&amp;As
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/markelle-fultz_lg.png" alt="" />
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-richaun-holmes-qa-interview-free-agency-all-defensive-team">Richaun Holmes Q&amp;A: 'I definitely feel I&rsquo;m deserving of the All-Defensive Team'</a> &mdash; with Alex Kennedy
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-orlando-magic-rj-hampton-q-and-a-i-dont-think-you-can-put-a-cap-on-our-ceiling">Magic's R.J. Hampton Q&amp;A: 'I don&rsquo;t think you can put a cap on our ceiling'</a> &mdash; with Alex Kennedy
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/podcasts/the-rex-chapman-show/episodes/basketballnews-com-episode-8-episode-7-stephen-curry">The Rex Chapman Show with Josh Hopkins Episode 7 - Stephen Curry</a>
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/podcasts/the-rex-chapman-show/episodes/basketballnews-com-episode-10-episode-9-james-jones">The Rex Chapman Show: James Jones on Suns' culture change, player-to-GM leap</a>
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-san-antonio-spurs-derrick-white-dejounte-murray-gregg-popovich-colorado-buffaloes">One-on-One: Derrick White, Spurs' youth trying to make a name for themselves</a> &mdash; with Spencer Davies
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-one-on-one-patrick-patterson-los-angeles-clippers-tyronn-lue-paul-george-kawhi-leonard-demarcus-cousins-kentucky-wildcats-basketball">One-on-One: Patrick Patterson opens up as Clippers begin playoff run</a> &mdash; with Spencer Davies
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/larry-nance-jr-qa-i-did-not-come-out-here-to-halfass-this-thing">Larry Nance Jr. Q&amp;A: 'I did not come out here to half-ass this thing'</a> &mdash; with Alex Kennedy
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/jermaine-oneal-on-reconciling-with-ron-artest-i-didnt-know-about-mental-health">Jermaine O&rsquo;Neal on reconciling with Metta World Peace: 'I didn't know about mental health'</a> &mdash; with Etan Thomas
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/markelle-fultz-reveals-what-really-happened-with-his-shot-shoulder">Markelle Fultz reveals what really happened with his shot, shoulder</a> &mdash; with Etan Thomas
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/podcasts/the-alex-kennedy-podcast/episodes/basketballnews-com-episode-29-thad-young-on-getting-blindsided-by-trade-to-spurs,-dealing-with-recent-trade-rumors,-the-key-to-nba-longevity,-more-ep-29">Thad Young on being blindsided by Spurs trade, trade rumors, key to longevity</a> &mdash; with Alex Kennedy
Best Player Breakdowns
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/kyle-lowry_lg.jpg" alt="" />
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/on-lock-how-jrue-holiday-became-the-nba-finals-xfactor-">On Lock: How Jrue Holiday became the NBA Finals&rsquo; X-Factor</a> &mdash; by Jannelle Moore
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/enough-no-bag-talk-giannis-antetokounmpo-put-the-nba-on-notice-finals-mvp-champion">Enough 'no bag' talk: Giannis Antetokounmpo put the NBA on notice</a> &mdash; by Nekias Duncan
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/what-kyle-lowry-brings-to-the-miami-heat">Film study: What Kyle Lowry brings to the Miami Heat</a> &mdash; by Nekias Duncan
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/dime-fest-breaking-down-courtney-vandersloot-historic-night-wnba-playoffs">Dime Fest: Breaking down Courtney Vandersloot's historic night</a> &mdash; by Nekias Duncan
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/all-signs-pointing-to-marcus-smart-as-the-celtics-swing-player">What does Marcus Smart at point guard look like for the Celtics? </a>&nbsp; &mdash; by Ethan Fuller
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/rudy-gay-is-injecting-the-jazz-with-funk">Rudy Gay is injecting the Jazz with funk</a> &mdash; by Mark Schindler
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/is-jaren-jackson-jr-a-star-in-making-or-something-else">Is Jaren Jackson Jr. a star in the making, or something else?</a> &mdash; by Matt Brooks
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/dissecting-desmond-bane-role-memphis-grizzlies-offense">Dissecting Desmond Bane's growing role in the Grizzlies' offense</a> &mdash; by Jackson Frank
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/is-dave-bing-right-about-cade-cunningham">Is Cade Cunningham a franchise player the Pistons can build around?</a> &mdash; by Mat Issa and Bryce Simon
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/making-the-nba-all-star-case-for-cavs-big-man-jarrett-allen">Making the NBA All-Star case for Cavs big man Jarrett Allen</a> &mdash; by Bryan Fonseca
Best Team and League Breakdowns
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/jarrett-allen_lg.png" alt="" />
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-to-tank-or-not-to-tank-analyzing-the-toronto-raptors-present-and-future">To tank, or not to tank? Analyzing the Raptors' present and future</a> &mdash; by Imman Adan
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-nba-draft-lottery-is-not-rigged-and-heres-why">The NBA Draft Lottery is not rigged, and here's why</a> &mdash; by Alex Kennedy&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/why-big-men-take-more-time-to-develop-in-the-nba-than-guards-and-wings">Why NBA bigs take more time to develop: 'They're used to imposing their will'</a>&nbsp;&mdash; by Spencer Davies
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/as-the-offseason-revs-up-what-nba-teams-are-in-the-dead-money-doldrums">As NBA offseason nears, which teams are in the dead money doldrums?</a> &mdash; by Ethan Fuller
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/suns-create-unnecessarily-awkward-situation-not-signing-deandre-ayton-to-extension">Suns create unnecessarily awkward situation by not extending Ayton</a> &mdash; by Evan Sidery
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/in-the-nba-length-matters-unedited">Length matters: The NBA's long-ball revolution may be coming</a> &mdash; by Imman Adan
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/grindhouse-how-the-grizzlies-are-winning-with-defense">The Grindhouse: How the Grizzlies are winning with defense</a> &mdash; by Nekias Duncan
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/tom-thibodeau-isnt-the-only-reigning-coach-of-the-year-to-struggle">Tom Thibodeau isn&rsquo;t the only reigning Coach of the Year to struggle</a> &mdash; by Moke Hamilton
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-power-rankings-warriors-reclaim-top-spot-from-suns">NBA Power Rankings: Bulls are hot, Warriors reclaim top spot from Suns </a>&nbsp;&mdash; by Tommy Beer
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/hornets-embarrassing-defense-sinking-their-enticing-potential">Hornets' embarrassing defense sinking their enticing potential</a> &mdash; by Evan Sidery
Best Opinion
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/draymond-green_lg.png" alt="" />
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/injuries-galore-the-nba-all-too-soon-return-has-made-losers-of-us-all">Injuries Galore: The NBA&rsquo;s all-too-soon return has made losers of us all</a> &mdash; by Moke Hamilton
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/what-can-the-nba-do-to-prevent-ugly-fan-incidents">What can the NBA do to prevent more ugly fan incidents?</a> &mdash; by Alex Kennedy
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/rachel-nichols-maria-taylor-incident-exposes-espn-racism-sexism" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rachel Nichols-Maria Taylor incident exposes ESPN&rsquo;s racism, sexism&nbsp;</a> &mdash; by Imman Adan
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-discourse-around-nba-superteams-is-tiresome-stars" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The discourse around NBA stars and super-teams is tiresome</a> &mdash; by Spencer Davies
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/a-beginners-guide-to-nba-stats-written-by-a-beginner">A beginner's guide to NBA stats: The three types of statistics</a> &mdash; by Ethan Fuller
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/which-nba-players-could-have-realistically-played-in-the-nfl" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Which NBA players could have realistically played in the NFL?</a> &mdash; by Alex Kennedy
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/no-enhancement-necessary-the-nba-should-leave-well-enough-alone">No enhancement necessary: NBA should leave well enough alone</a> &mdash; by Jannelle Moore
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-nets-should-be-ashamed-of-themselves">The Nets should be ashamed of themselves</a> &mdash; by Nekias Duncan
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/missing-the-forest-through-the-trees-on-christmas-day-games">Missing the forest through the trees on Christmas Day games</a> &mdash; by Mark Schindler
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/greg-monroe-and-the-brief-case-for-us-to-see-more-nba-veterans-this-season">NBA teams need to show more respect to veterans, and we're seeing why</a> &mdash; by Bryan Fonseca
Best of the NBA Draft
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/james-bouknight_lg.jpg" alt="" />
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 NBA Draft Big Board</a> &mdash; by Matt Babcock
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/a-behindthescenes-look-at-james-bouknights-predraft-training">Behind the scenes with projected lottery pick James Bouknight</a> &mdash; by Matt Babcock
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/qa-nba-draft-prospect-nahshon-bones-hyland-demands-your-attention">Q&amp;A: Draft prospect Nah'Shon 'Bones' Hyland demands your attention</a> &mdash; by Alex Kennedy
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/qa-2021-nba-draft-intel-with-lead-draft-analyst-matt-babcock-rumors-offseason">2021 NBA Draft: Matt Babcock on rumors, trades, risers, fallers</a> &mdash; by Ethan Fuller and Matt Babcock
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-little-guy-from-bendigo-dyson-daniels-game-is-unlike-anyone-elses">The Little Guy From Bendigo: Dyson Daniels is unlike anyone else</a> &mdash; by Spencer Davies
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/2022-nba-draft-qa-french-big-man-ismael-kamagate">2022 NBA Draft Q&amp;A: French big man Ismael Kamagate</a> &mdash; by Jason Filippi
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/2022-nba-draft-jean-montero-scouting-report">2022 NBA Draft: Jean Montero scouting report</a> &mdash; by Doc Martin
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/babcocks-takeaways-jabari-smith-patrick-baldwin-jr-matthew-cleveland-more">Babcock&rsquo;s Takeaways: Jabari Smith, Patrick Baldwin, Matthew Cleveland</a> &mdash; by Matt Babcock
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/2022-nba-draft-the-evolution-of-kansas-guard-ochai-agbaji">2022 NBA Draft: The evolution of Kansas guard Ochai Agbaji</a> &mdash; by Derek Murray
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/2022-nba-draft-getting-to-know-alabamas-native-son-jd-davison">2022 NBA Draft: Getting to know JD Davison, Alabama's native son</a> &mdash; by Grant Aqui
Best Player Pieces
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/james-posey_lg.png" alt="" />
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-washington-wizards-troy-brown-jr-bradley-beal-russell-westbrook-outbreak-covid-19-coronavirus-virus-contract-health-safety-protocol">Behind the scenes of the Wizards' COVID-19 outbreak: 'It's been a wild season'</a> &mdash; by Troy Brown Jr.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/its-a-shame-carmelo-didnt-end-up-in-portland-sooner">It&rsquo;s a shame Carmelo Anthony didn&rsquo;t end up in Portland sooner</a> &mdash; by Kenyon Martin
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/my-first-time-getting-traded-learning-what-its-like-to-be-dealt-in-the-nba">My first time getting traded: Learning what it's like to be dealt in the NBA</a> &mdash; by Troy Brown Jr.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/kwame-brown-stephen-a-smith-stephen-jackson-matt-barnes-charlemagne-etan-thomas-washington-wizards-media">After 20 years of public degradation, Kwame Brown is fed up</a> &mdash; by Etan Thomas
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/paul-george-is-silencing-his-critics-los-angeles-clippers-nba-playoffs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Paul George is silencing his critics</a> &mdash; by Etan Thomas
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-nba-is-big-business-and-players-should-be-allowed-to-act-like-it">The NBA is a big business, and players should be allowed to act like it</a> &mdash; by James Posey
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/lebron-james-doesnt-seem-to-be-succumbing-to-father-time-just-yet">LeBron James doesn&rsquo;t seem to be succumbing to Father Time just yet</a> &mdash; by James Posey

BasketballNews highlights its best stories over the calendar 2021 year.

The Best of BasketballNews: 2021

Brandon Ingram scored 31 points, Josh Hart hit two clutch 3-pointers in the second half to thwart an Orlando rally, and the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Magic 110-104 on Thursday night.
The Pelicans have won four straight and five of six. New Orleans started the season 1-12 but is 11-9 since.
&ldquo;What it really says is how much they trust in each other and trust in the coaching staff,&rdquo; Pelicans coach Willie Green said. &ldquo;They just trust what we&rsquo;re doing and we take that seriously. We come in with a consistent message &mdash; win, lose or draw &mdash; that this is how we&rsquo;re going to play. The guys are buying into that.&rdquo;
Hart scored 22 points and hit two straight 3s after Orlando had climbed within 93-90 with 5 minutes remaining. Devonte Graham added 20 points and five 3-pointers for the Pelicans, who improved to 6-12 on the road. Ingram hit 12 of 23 shots and topped 30 points for the fifth time this season.
&ldquo;Thank God we got the lead to 20 early because they just kept chipping away and getting stops,&rdquo; said Graham, whose final 3-pointer came after Orlando got within 99-97. &ldquo;But (Ingram) does what (Ingram) does and Josh was making big plays and hitting shots and everybody off the bench was contributing.&rdquo;
Cole Anthony returned after missing three games with a sprained ankle to score 22 points for the Magic, who also got 22 points from Gary Harris. Franz Wagner scored 20 points and Wendell Carter Jr., who had missed the previous two games with a right leg strain, had 17 points and 12 rebounds.
Orlando&rsquo;s only lead of the night came at 2-0. New Orleans led by 12 at halftime, and Ingram scored the Pelicans&rsquo; first 12 points of the second half to extend the advantage to 65-45.
Later, Ingram made the Magic pay for trapping him by finding Hart and Graham for open 3s.
&ldquo;They started to blitz Brandon and he did a good job of getting off the ball and making the simple play,&rdquo; Green said. &ldquo;Our shooters knocked down some big shots for us.&rdquo;
Orlando got within 83-78 by the start of the fourth quarter thanks to a 31-14 burst.
&ldquo;Ingram came out hot early and we made our adjustments to get it out of his hands, and that got us turned up a little bit,&rdquo; Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley said. &ldquo;What we were trying to avoid (was) giving up the 3s. But that&rsquo;s what happens sometimes with the traps.&rdquo;
RISING ROOKIE
While Jalen Suggs has been out of action the past three weeks with a fractured right thumb, Wagner, the Magic&rsquo;s other first-round pick, has thrived for the injury-ravaged team.
The No. 8 overall pick out of Michigan came into Thursday ranked third among NBA rookies in scoring (14.9 points per game), fourth in steals (1.1) and seventh in rebounds (4.7).
&ldquo;The thing that sticks out the most, other than his IQ, is his competitive spirit,&rdquo; Mosley said. &ldquo;He wants to do things right at all times and he&rsquo;s hard on himself. It&rsquo;s his IQ and that competitive edge that he carries.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Pelicans: Already hit hard by injuries, New Orleans took a few more hits on Thursday with starters Jonas Valanciunas (non-COVID-19 illness) and Nickeil Alexander-Walker (health and safety protocols) and reserve Naji Marshall (protocols) out of action. Valanciunas came into Thursday second in the NBA in rebounds and first in second-chance points per game.
Magic: Mosley said R.J. Hampton is out of the health and safety protocols, but won&rsquo;t return until he gets in time to work on his conditioning. ... Actor Chase Stokes (&ldquo;Outer Banks&rdquo;) and former Magic point guard Carlos Arroyo sat courtside.
UP NEXT
Pelicans: At Oklahoma City on Sunday night.
Magic: At Miami on Sunday night.

Brandon Ingram scored 31 points and Josh Hart hit two clutch three-pointers in the second half to thwart an Orlando rally.

Ingram, Hart lead Pelicans past Magic for 4th straight win

The NBA's issues with COVID-19 continue to worsen as we inch closer to Christmas. On Friday morning, the Orlando Magic announced three players are going in league health and safety protocols: Terrence Ross, Moe Wagner, R.J. Hampton.
<a href="https://twitter.com/khobi_price/status/1471887393359900674?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Source: Khobi Price/Orlando Sentinel</a>
ANALYSIS: Orlando will be without nine players for Friday's game against the Miami Heat after Ross, Wagner and Hampton entered COVID protocols.
Ross has averaged 11.1 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists this season for Orlando. Meanwhile, Wagner and Hampton have been relied upon more recently in the Magic's rotation, which is one of the youngest in the NBA.

The Orlando Magic placed three players in NBA health and safety protocols as COVID-19 continues to ravage rosters.

Magic place Ross, Wagner, Hampton in health and safety protocols

LeBron James finished playing back-to-back road games in the Midwest on Friday, flew to Phoenix on Saturday to watch his son play, and then dropped a triple-double on the Orlando Magic back in LA on Sunday night.
What's this soon-to-be 37-year-old's secret, other than spectacular talent and decades of hard work?
&ldquo;Sleep,&rdquo; James said. &ldquo;Sleep, and inspiration from my son and his team. ... I slept last night from 12 to 8. I got up, ate breakfast, and then I went back to sleep from 8:30 to 12:30. That's pretty good, right?&rdquo;
The well-rested James scored 14 of his 30 points during Los Angeles' spectacular third quarter, and he added 11 rebounds and 10 assists while the Lakers rolled past Orlando 106-94 for their fifth victory in seven games.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s exemplifying finding joy through hustle,&rdquo; Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. "The effort he&rsquo;s playing with is inspiring our whole group.&rdquo;
Talen Horton-Tucker scored seven of his 19 points as Los Angeles utterly dominated a close game out of halftime, scoring 23 consecutive points while holding the Magic to 2-for-23 shooting in the third quarter with their field goals scored nearly 10 minutes apart. Los Angeles rode that 36-10 advantage in the third to its second straight win and moved two games above .500 for the first time in four weeks.
Russell Westbrook had 19 points and James secured his 101st career triple-double in the final minutes as the Lakers won their second straight with second-leading scorer Anthony Davis sidelined by left knee soreness.
James also had three exciting blocked shots in an all-around effort that showed the four-time MVP is still a formidable force &mdash; and the Lakers still could be a championship threat if they can somehow stay healthy.
&ldquo;When he&rsquo;s aggressive and making the right plays and reads, our team is different,&rdquo; Westbrook said. &ldquo;This was another game where he imposed his will. ... (The blocked shots) are just big for us, and I know it&rsquo;s big for him to show he&rsquo;s still doing what he&rsquo;s been doing year after year. It&rsquo;s great to see."
Cole Anthony scored 21 points for the Magic, who went 0-5 on their West Coast trip despite rallying in the fourth quarter.
Franz Wagner added 20 points and seven rebounds, but the Magic responded to Saturday night's last-second loss to the Clippers with a solid first half and a catastrophic third quarter in their 12th loss in 13 games. Orlando dropped to 5-23 despite hitting 13 3-pointers.
James scored 13 points in the first four minutes after halftime, slicing up Orlando's defense with 3-pointers and dunks alike while also making two crowd-pleasing blocks at the rim. With his final assist late in the fourth quarter, he got his second triple-double of the season and second in three games.
&ldquo;Tonight, LeBron James happened,&rdquo; Orlando coach Jahmal Mosley said. &ldquo;He came out and hit two 3s quickly. We missed a couple of chippies, and it fueled their break. ... They just turned up the defensive pressure. I know we did get some good looks. Shots just didn&rsquo;t happen to fall. Those shots go in, it slows down the run, but those misses led to easy transition baskets."
Neither team took a substantial lead in a first half highlighted by <a href="https://twitter.com/Lakers/status/1470231700382765058">James' spectacular chase-down block</a> of R.J. Hampton's layup attempt in the second quarter. The Magic hit nine 3-pointers during the first half in another significant step for one of the NBA's worst-shooting and lowest-scoring teams.
&ldquo;We see where we&rsquo;re trying to go as a team, and for a lot of us, we understand it doesn&rsquo;t happen overnight,&rdquo; said Wendell Carter Jr., who scored 16 points. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve seen it with the team I&rsquo;ve been on (Chicago) before I came here. It&rsquo;s a process. Things don&rsquo;t happen overnight with a young team. There&rsquo;s going to be ups and downs, but as long as we&rsquo;re learning from mistakes, I like it.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Magic: Terrence Ross added 15 points. ... Gary Harris was limited to six points in 33 minutes on just five shots.
Lakers: Horton-Tucker added a career-high six steals. ... Dwight Howard made his third start of the season against the team that drafted him in 2004 and employed him for eight years before he became an NBA vagabond. The center, who turned 36 last Wednesday, had five points and four rebounds.
AD IS OK
Vogel said examinations of Davis&rsquo; knee found it structurally sound, and the team anticipates him returning to action soon. The oft-injured Davis has missed only three games this season.
THIRD STRIKE
Los Angeles&rsquo; 23 straight points comprised its longest run of the season, and the Lakers turned a small halftime deficit into a 25-point lead while holding Orlando without a field goal for 9:48. The Magic&rsquo;s 2-for-23 shooting in the third was the worst percentage in a quarter by a Lakers opponent since 1999.
UP NEXT
Magic: Host the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night.
Lakers: At the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night.

A well-rested LeBron scored 14 of his 30 points during Los Angeles' spectacular third quarter, and he added 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

LeBron scores 30, Lakers top Magic 106-94 for 5th win in 7

Enes Kanter Freedom opened up to Etan Thomas on "The Rematch" on being a U.S. citizen, his Fox News interview, LeBron and more.

Q&A: Enes Kanter Freedom on U.S. citizenship, Fox interview, LeBron

Thus far, the footprint of the Orlando Magic&rsquo;s 2021-22 campaign is buried at the bottom. They tout the league&rsquo;s worst net rating (-11.0) and second-worst record (4-17). Each of their Southeast Division counterparts are above .500 and in the playoff hunt, including a pair of top-three seeds. Along with the Detroit Pistons, they&rsquo;re one of just two Eastern Conference squads more than two games removed from a play-in spot.
Do not confuse short-term struggles as a harbinger for a rebuild spiraling awry, though. Through the season&rsquo;s quarter poll, Orlando is cultivating a crystalized vision of future success.&nbsp;
After a troublesome rookie year, <a href="https://www.one37pm.com/strength/sports/cole-anthony-gravity-orlando-magic-offense?utm_source=link_copy&amp;utm_medium=referral" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cole Anthony is operating with more poise and shot-making prowess</a> to assert himself as a bona fide ball-handler. Despite a thorny beginning, fifth overall pick Jalen Suggs is establishing some footing in recent weeks. New head coach Jahmal Mosley is diagramming creative schemes and deploying the young guys in predominantly optimal settings.&nbsp;
Aside from Anthony&rsquo;s newfound exploits, the crux of all these encouraging developments resides in the Magic&rsquo;s frontcourt of Franz Wagner, Wendell Carter Jr. and Mo Bamba. Together, this trio is showcasing a complementary offensive portfolio to amplify a lead initiator (Anthony or otherwise) and anchor a stingy defense.&nbsp;
Following three years of health setbacks and inconsistent playing time &mdash; mixed in with tantalizing two-way flashes &mdash; Bamba has snagged the starting center gig. His 29.7 minutes per game are nearly double his previous career-high of 16.3 minutes.&nbsp;
Amid those minutes, he&rsquo;s exhibiting heightened defensive activity. His 7-foot-10 wingspan dominated mainstream conversations around him pre-draft, and he&rsquo;s justifying credence in the impact of that physical profile. The dude&rsquo;s length is mind-boggling, and it enables him to influence so many events that most others are simply incapable of.
On attempts within 6 feet of the hoop, opponents are shooting 7.5% worse than their average when Bamba is the primary defender, <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/defense-dash-lt6/?sort=PLUSMINUS&amp;dir=-1&amp;CF=PLAYER_NAME*E*bamba:PLAYER_NAME*E*&amp;Season=2021-22&amp;SeasonType=Regular%20Season" target="_blank" rel="noopener">per NBA.com</a>. He&rsquo;s also stamping his mark on passes, where his 1.2% steal rate ranks in the 54th percentile among bigs, according to Cleaning The Glass (CTG). With Carter (4 vs. 5) and Wagner (3 vs. 4) probably playing down one position respectively, Bamba serves as a safeguard of the backline when they&rsquo;re stretched too thin on the perimeter &mdash; though, they&rsquo;re each quite adept out there.
All this liveliness with a greater minute load hasn&rsquo;t seen him succumb to foul trouble either. Per 100 possessions, his 4.5 fouls are well below his mark of 6.3 during the first three seasons of his career. He&rsquo;s both a better and more discretionary defender, altering plays without jeopardizing his minutes.
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Bamba has certainly emerged as a loud rim-deterrent and defensive playmaker in Year 4, but he&rsquo;s not free of significant concerns. He&rsquo;s prone to unnecessarily biting on shot fakes, as if he forgets about all his height and sprawling length. His fairly delayed load-up period as a leaper prevents him from contesting certain shots.&nbsp;
Similarly, he&rsquo;s just a slow-moving athlete. While he may identify a rotation, he cannot always execute it in a prompt manner. Even then, his processing of plays lags behind that of foremost defensive centers. Bamba&rsquo;s been rather valuable defensively, especially for a 23-year-old, but these warts feel like he&rsquo;s leaving some meat on the bone during his minutes.&nbsp;
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Although he&rsquo;s only drilling 33.7% of his triples, there&rsquo;s clear confidence in the shot, which broadens his offensive utility and shapes the way defenses view him. Wagner, Carter and Bamba each garner attention as floor-spacers. That opens driving lanes and real estate for guys like Anthony, Suggs and R.J. Hampton to maneuver inside the arc.
Bamba&rsquo;s intersection of size and shooting touch is evident when defenses try to pin smaller defenders on him and manipulate his floor-spacing duties against Orlando&rsquo;s offense. His poor center of gravity and underdeveloped core strength mean he&rsquo;s not a reliable post creator, but he&rsquo;s exhibited composure on switches and a capacity for firing over the top against smaller mismatches.
If the towering tandem of Carter and Bamba is to suffice long-term offensively, Bamba incorporating consistent scoring outside of the long ball feels paramount, especially when the opposition tries to defend him like a shooting guard in a 7-footer&rsquo;s clothes.
The more shooting, the better, of course. But with frontcourt players, much of the value can be derived from the mere threat of a jumper drawing rim protectors outside of the paint. If defenses can&rsquo;t hide smaller players on Bamba or Carter because of possible post exploitation, that will force them to station their center(s) on the perimeter, tailing Orlando&rsquo;s gargantuan gunners. Bamba looks like he might be on the way to actualizing that dynamic.&nbsp;
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Whereas Bamba&rsquo;s belief beyond the arc is ahead of his results at this juncture, those facets are in lockstep for Carter. Entering the season, Carter had made 29 long balls in his career. He eclipsed that total in the 19th game this year. From 2018-19 to 2020-21, his three-point rate was .096. Now, it&rsquo;s ballooned to .392, and he&rsquo;s splashing home 39% of his triples.&nbsp;
Stepping into early-clock threes as a trailer and firing in the face of timely closeouts, he&rsquo;s operating with a level of aggression rarely before seen from him. When his quick trigger and fruitful production spur defenders to overcommit or run him off the line, he&rsquo;s displaying off-the-dribble juice and ball skills that have largely been dormant during his NBA tenure, though assuredly were evident at lower levels.&nbsp;
With some shooters, a hurried contest can exile them from the arc and neutralize them. That&rsquo;s not the case for Carter. He&rsquo;ll bomb away if the closeout isn&rsquo;t (nearly) perfect, or drive off the catch when a lane is present. After years of passivity plagued his offense, he&rsquo;s discovered the requisite conviction to thrive, slapping down a career-high 13.3 points per game on a career-best 60.9% True Shooting percentage (5.8 points above the NBA average, also a career-best). There aren&rsquo;t that many non-stars doing all this as a 6-foot-10 big man:
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Carter has long previewed notable passing chops, but that same passivity would rear its head to mute their equity. He&rsquo;d often catch the ball near the elbow and be fixated on facilitating a dribble hand-off without glancing toward the hoop whatsoever.&nbsp;
Orlando is still utilizing him as a stationary passer, and he&rsquo;s more cognizant of the windows that arise after pressuring the defense instead of moonlighting as a statue for a few seconds. He&rsquo;s also putting the ball on the deck, and has fostered a rapport with Bamba. Teams have to respect his interior scoring touch, and when they do, he strikes via distribution.
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Starting at power forward alongside Bamba necessitates a level of defensive mobility that Carter has met. According to Basketball-Reference, more than 70% of his minutes are coming at the 4 this season. In his previous three years, that number never exceeded 20%.&nbsp;
These days, he&rsquo;s asked to function as a perimeter defender much more regularly. Light on his feet with quick hips, he&rsquo;s doing so swimmingly, and is instilling hope that the Carter-Bamba pairing can succeed permanently &mdash; just as it has through the initial portion of 2021-22.
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Perimeter services have solely been a feature of Carter&rsquo;s defense. Where he&rsquo;s really shining is in pick-and-roll coverage and as a helper. He plays 1-on-2 scenarios with patience and precision, wields jazz hands to close off passing angles on the interior and is a poster boy for verticality when contesting shots at the rim. Brawny finishers can steamroll through him for buckets, yet by and large, he&rsquo;s forming a staunch duo inside with Bamba:
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Most enticing among Orlando&rsquo;s youth-laden frontcourt is the rookie, Wagner, who&rsquo;s averaging 12.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.3 steals and a steal on 51.6% True Shooting (.425/.361/.786 splits). As a prospect, he was hindered by a gun-shy nature from deep, which has hardly been the case for him in the pros.
Across 55 contests at Michigan, he averaged 12.5 points and never scored more than 22 points. Since entering the league, he&rsquo;s averaged 12.7 points and even catalogued a 28-point night.
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The Magic have done well to balance his scoring opportunities on and off the ball. They've merged areas he already excels in with avenues he might excel in down the line if he's afforded chances to refine his creation ability.
Because he&rsquo;s willing to let it fly beyond the arc, Wagner attracts pressuring closeouts and attacks them as a driver by leveraging broad strides and silky touch. Routinely sensing when he&rsquo;s become an afterthought for defenders, he&rsquo;s a perceptively brilliant cutter, and his teammates know to feed him on those plays. His off-ball scoring package allows him to drift into the background and puncture advantages generated by others:
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Wagner is laying the ground floor of some serious self-creation upside too. Orlando entrusts him with on-ball reps, and he&rsquo;s handling them capably &mdash; especially for a 20-year-old just five weeks into NBA action. What he lacks in burst and a dynamic handle, he compensates by way of his 6-foot-9 frame to dislodge defenders, along with his stoic driving cadence to plan each decision as it arrives.&nbsp;
Only 62.7% of his buckets have been assisted this season, a remarkably impressive rate for a rookie, let alone one not billed for his creation prior to the draft. A wing-sized rookie &mdash; who&rsquo;s a plus passer, defender and off-ball scorer &mdash; looking this adept in manufacturing his own points bodes quite well for his prime in half-a-decade and beyond.
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Part of Wagner&rsquo;s initiating potential is linked to his savvy facilitating. Applying his size to tilt defenses or complete reads over the top, he&rsquo;s an excellent interior passer, and is willing to take risks in pursuit of points; that's something many good passers &mdash; especially young ones fearful of seeing their playing time reduced &mdash; don&rsquo;t always adhere to. He and Carter have synergy in ball-screen actions, and Wagner sets up the big fella for an easy score most evenings. All of it is yet another example of how Wagner benefits this squad.&nbsp;
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Aside from improving as a shot-maker, which is an underdiscussed component of virtually every player&rsquo;s ascension, Wagner has to better embrace physicality around the rim. While he&rsquo;s willing to play through it as a driver, contact aversion tends to manifest at the basket, where he&rsquo;s shooting just 53% (16th percentile among forwards, per CTG). On the positive side, 36% off his attempts occur there, but the results themselves are discouraging, and a refined approach can help bridge that disconnect.
More than any offensive facet of his game, Wagner is a vastly advanced defender. He&rsquo;s typically Orlando&rsquo;s designated stopper, and has amassed at least 20 possessions against seven different All-Stars, <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/player/1630532/head-to-head/?sort=PARTIAL_POSS&amp;dir=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">per NBA.com&rsquo;s matchup data</a>. Those All-Stars vary in style, too, ranging from Trae Young to Kevin Durant to Julius Randle.&nbsp;
He understands angles to cut drives off, shimmies around screens and brandishes deft hands to force turnovers or nab deflections. The Magic are comfortable playing him at the 3 because of his fluidity and quick hips. His plus-0.7 <a href="https://dunksandthrees.com/epm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Defensive Estimated Plus-Minus</a> ranks fifth among all rookies, thanks to that multifaceted aptitude. He&rsquo;s a very good defender who will soon be superb.&nbsp;
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Losing a plethora of games and welcoming a dazzling prospect to the fold for a few seasons does not guarantee prosperity simply because one is patient. The recipe for those prospects to develop beyond prospects &mdash; a word rich with promise but short on immediate results &mdash; is more nuanced.&nbsp;
They warrant suitable roles that amplify their strengths, teach them to rectify their weaknesses and prompt them to expand their arsenals without eschewing structure altogether. And that is what&rsquo;s transpiring in Orlando. The victories have conveyed how this team can and will eventually win on a consistent basis.&nbsp;
Anthony may be the brightest gem of the rebuild at this stage (Wagner might object). Yet, none better reflect the importance of stability than Wagner, Carter and Bamba, all of whom, in divergent, well-fitting roles, are making clear that Orlando&rsquo;s footprint should only temporarily be buried at the bottom of the NBA.

Jackson Frank analyzes the Magic's up-and-coming frontcourt of Mo Bamba, Wendell Carter Jr. and Franz Wagner.

The Orlando Magic are finding their frontcourt of the future

We are nearly one month into the 2021-22 NBA season, and the standings are beginning to take shape. There have been a number of standout performances from well-known stars, a stacked rookie class and a handful of breakout players making a leap.
There have been more than a handful of players who have put their stamp on the league already.
So in our latest Roundtable, we asked our BasketballNews.com writers the following question:
Over the first month, which player has surprised you most and why? 
Alex Kennedy: When the Toronto Raptors drafted Scottie Barnes at No. 4 overall, I was a big fan of the pick because of his long-term outlook. I loved that he landed in Toronto since they do a fantastic job of developing prospects and helping them realize their full potential. I was on the Barnes bandwagon, but I expected it to be a slow ride that picked up steam after a year or two. Instead, Barnes is already barreling down the tracks. In his second game, the kid had 25 points and 13 rebounds (on 64.7/50.0/100.0 shooting splits) in a win over the Boston Celtics! He&rsquo;s not &ldquo;raw&rdquo; or a &ldquo;project&rdquo; like I expected; he&rsquo;s an absolute beast who can already impact a game in so many ways, averaging 16.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists and a steal. Now, after watching the first month of Barnes&rsquo; NBA career, I&rsquo;m even more excited about what the future holds.
Nekias Duncan: I recently <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/tyrese-maxey-is-taking-the-reins-philadelphia-76ers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote about his second-year bump</a>, but I had no idea Tyrese Maxey was ready for this type of usage. He's grown tremendously as a shooter and processor, and has looked like the long-term answer at guard during his most recent stretch of play.
Spencer Davies: Can we show Cole Anthony a little love? This is a guy whose team drafted a point guard in Jalen Suggs, traded for another backcourt player in R.J. Hampton midseason and is a part of a Magic squad with many at his position &mdash; and yet, he's been the star of the show. The former No. 15 overall pick from 2020 is balling out, and nobody's batting in eye because of where the team sits in the standings. He's been a supremely confident scorer this year from the mid-range and outside, and has involved his teammates to boot. He's averaging just under 20 points a night and knocking down 37.3% of his 7.9 (!) triple tries per contest. His usage rate has also increased by almost 5%, as head coach Jamahl Mosley continues to roll with him as Option A. Among players taking at least five pull-up attempts per contest, Anthony's 56.9% Effective Field Goal Percentage ranks second in the NBA.
Ethan Fuller: It's honestly Evan Mobley. I knew he had a high ceiling coming out of USC, but the No. 3 overall pick is already an impact defender and finisher who doesn't appear to be as bothered by NBA strength as I expected. He has demonstrated some excellent craft around the basket and serious promise with his touch in the mid-range and from beyond the arc. I thought Mobley was much more of a long-term play for Cleveland; he's easily in the lead for Rookie of the Year. Hopefully, he gets healthy and recovers from his elbow injury soon.
Moke Hamilton: I&rsquo;d probably have to go with Cole Anthony, who I know well. I watched him in person in high school, did a few stories on him and interviewed his father Greg. I got a lot of love for my fellow New Yorkers. Sure, the Magic are dead last out East, but I didn&rsquo;t think Cole Anthony would be averaging 20 points per game in the NBA in just his second season. I didn&rsquo;t see it.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
shoutout <a href="https://twitter.com/The_ColeAnthony?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@The_ColeAnthony</a> 29 PTS | 11 AST | 58% FG | 4 3PM <a href="https://t.co/LBKgaUxoiJ">pic.twitter.com/LBKgaUxoiJ</a>
&mdash; Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) <a href="https://twitter.com/OrlandoMagic/status/1460595415858954244?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2021</a></blockquote>

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

Evan Sidery: Miles Bridges is my answer. The way he&rsquo;s reinvented himself into the Hornets&rsquo; primary scorer has been so impressive to watch. Now, Bridges is positioning himself to secure a massive payday from Charlotte or elsewhere as a top restricted free agent. Bridges becoming a more consistent perimeter threat changes his offensive ceiling entirely.
Blake Hairston: Miles Bridges becoming a real offensive threat has been surprising. I do think he's been building up towards production like this, but the jump he's made to start this season has been impressive &mdash; and it's great timing for him financially.
Alexander Cohen: It's surprising to see how much Damian Lillard has struggled, especially after coming out and saying that he will not be asking out (again?), showing some signs of a player motivated to carry his team as usual. Instead, he's still having the worst season of his career 14 games in. And while All-Stars go through slumps, this is certainly prolonged. While he's been battling an injury that is now holding him back, it is still shocking to see a bona fide superstar and one of the greatest shooters and scorers of all time struggle so mightily in his prime.
Drew Maresca: There are a few major surprises, including a 48-point outburst by Anthony Edwards; but for me, it has to be Ricky Rubio. Rubio is averaging a career high 15.3 points per game, connecting on a career best 38% of his three-point attempts. His previous best was 36%, and he&rsquo;s shot over 35% in just 2 of his 10 seasons. While his marksmanship is impressive, the fact that he&rsquo;s getting up as many shots as he is, is equally impressive. Rubio is hoisting 5.8 three-point attempts per game; last season, he attempted just 3.1. Who said you can&rsquo;t teach old dogs new tricks?
Jesse Blancarte: Ja Morant. We all knew Morant was special and would work his way to the top of the league. I don&rsquo;t think many expected Morant would do it this early in his career. Morant has been shredding defenses and imposing his will on opponents on a nightly basis.

Over the first month, which player has surprised you most and why? BasketballNews.com's writers shared their thoughts.

NBA Roundtable: Which player has surprised you in the first month?

The general consensus in the NBA is that <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/why-big-men-take-more-time-to-develop-in-the-nba-than-guards-and-wings" target="_blank" rel="noopener">big-man prospects take longer to develop</a>. In the case of Mo Bamba, it&rsquo;s been an extensive project within the Orlando Magic&rsquo;s organization. Taken with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, Bamba simply hasn&rsquo;t lived up to the lofty expectations yet.
However, there&rsquo;s a caveat that should be thrown in for Bamba. He was stuck behind All-Star center Nikola Vucevic for the first two-and-a-half years of his career, while playing for a win-now head coach in Steve Clifford. Orlando was trying to push through as a playoff team with a low-ceiling outcome during the Clifford era. Once the Magic wisely pulled the plug on this idea, shipping off Vucevic and Aaron Gordon for peak value at last year&rsquo;s trade deadline, a full-scale rebuild was finally embraced in the Magic Kingdom.
Entering the 2021-22 season, everyone knew the expectations for Orlando were as low as possible. New head coach Jamahl Mosley &mdash; who was instrumental in the early development of superstar Luka Doncic in Dallas &mdash; was brought in to help this extremely young and inexperienced core take baby steps forward for a fruitful long-term outcome.
Bamba is the perfect example of a player who has benefited. A 7-foot moldable ball of clay with a pterodactyl-like 7-foot-10 wingspan, he&rsquo;s thriving within this new environment where development is being prioritized over short-circuited attempts to make the playoffs. With Vucevic out of the picture, Bamba became a top priority for Orlando. However, there were still some questions surrounding the former Texas Longhorn.
Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner were pivotal pieces to add via the 2021 NBA Draft. Cole Anthony, Markelle Fultz and R.J. Hampton are locked in as young guards who each bring their own strengths to the table. Wendell Carter Jr. recently signed a new four-year rookie-scale extension to avoid restricted free agency next offseason. The same can&rsquo;t be said for Bamba, whom Orlando needed to see more seasoning from to potentially commit long-term.
Once Vucevic was shipped off to the Chicago Bulls, Bamba was very up-and-down for the Magic to finish out the 2020-21 campaign. Bamba averaged 11.1 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.6 blocks while committing four fouls per 36 minutes. Another ever-developing aspect of Bamba&rsquo;s game that was so intriguing when he entered the Association is his three-point stroke. Post-Vucevic, Bamba hit only 33.7% of those opportunities - a respectable number to keep defenses honest, but not enough to warrant shooting those at high volume.
Entering a make-or-break fourth season, Bamba had to hone in on his three-point shooting, foul awareness and ability to finish around the basket as a significantly-gifted big to go alongside his proven value of rebounding and defensive versatility. So far, the results have been very promising.
Bamba is averaging 13.1 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.9 threes and 1.9 blocks in 32.0 minutes per game. Those numbers don&rsquo;t exactly jump off the page at first glance, but from where Bamba first began, it&rsquo;s a bigger step than the baby ones experienced previously.
Bamba&rsquo;s effective field goal percentage has jumped from 51.8% to 61.3%, including finishing a career-best 76% around the rim, per Cleaning The Glass. The biggest encouragements have been Bamba&rsquo;s excellent three-point efficiency (44.8% on 4.1 attempts) paired with his dip in fouls (2.6). Only two bigs so far in the 2021-22 season have shot above 40% on threes and have added 1.5 blocks per game: Karl-Anthony Towns and Bamba. That&rsquo;s excellent company for the 23-year-old to be in, and it again proves the point that sometimes these bigs just take longer than expected to reach an intriguing baseline performance level.
Sure, it&rsquo;s a small sample size of 224 minutes in the Magic&rsquo;s first seven games of the season, but Bamba is out to prove his worth not only to Orlando but other teams who could potentially be circling his name as a restricted free agent option. Imagine the possibilities for Bamba if he were to land in an even bigger high-usage situation with an organization like the Oklahoma City Thunder or San Antonio Spurs. It's an intriguing thought exercise, especially with someone who has the rare physical gifts like he does.
If this continues, Orlando will be more than comfortable coughing up a good chunk of change to the uniquely skilled 7-footer.
Now, it&rsquo;s time to see whether Bamba can maintain this level of production or if more growing pains ensue.

Mo Bamba entered the season in a contract year for the Magic, and so far the results are encouraging for the former top-10 pick.

Is Mo Bamba stabilizing into a long-term piece for the Magic?

Jamahl Mosley waited a long time for this chance. He&rsquo;s not about to let very low expectations douse his enthusiasm.
The new coach of the Orlando Magic understands that this season, his first as an NBA head coach, is part of a massive rebuild that started last spring when the team traded away its best players &mdash; Nikola Vucevic, Evan Fournier and Aaron Gordon.
Here&rsquo;s what he has now: a roster of players with a combined zero NBA championships, zero All-Star appearances, and somewhere around zero expectations.
&ldquo;The great part of this group is this is one of the most tied-together, push-the-next-man teams I've ever been around," Mosley said. &ldquo;So whatever the noise about us is, I don't think they listen. I think they block it out. We just have to get better every day. We have to improve mentally, physically, just making sure we're healthy. ... Do that, the results always take care of themselves."
He also wants them to ring the bell.
Along one of the sidelines on the Magic practice court is a bell, which gets put into use when a player makes a winning or selfless play of some sort &mdash; diving for a loose ball, that sort of thing &mdash; or shoots exceptionally well in a drill.
The more times the bell gets heard a day, the closer the Magic will be to getting where Mosley wants.
&ldquo;When we&rsquo;re making those hustle, winning plays, that&rsquo;s what&rsquo;s going to get us over the top," Mosley said.
There is a ton of potential in the backcourt, with the development of rookie shooting guard Jalen Suggs and second-year point guard Cole Anthony major keys for Orlando to start the season. Former No. 1 pick Markelle Fultz remains sidelined indefinitely after tearing an ACL eight games into last season.
Mosley toiled through 15 years as an assistant &mdash; four in Denver, four in Cleveland and the last seven in Dallas &mdash; to get this chance.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve worked with some obviously great coaches and I don&rsquo;t have the same style that they have,&rdquo; Mosley said. &ldquo;But what I&rsquo;ve known is what&rsquo;s worked for me and how I came into this league as understanding that players want to have their voices heard. Now, obviously there&rsquo;s a standard that needs to be set for how we&rsquo;re going to play and what we&rsquo;re going to do and that&rsquo;s going to come down to my decision-making."
SO MUCH NEW
The Magic return only 45% of their scoring from last season, when they needed 28 players and had a franchise-record 32 starting lineups in 72 games &mdash; after using 26 different lineups in the previous two seasons combined.
SO MUCH YOUTH
About half of the players on the roster will be 24 or younger when the season starts, with four players &mdash; Cole Anthony, R.J. Hampton, Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner &mdash; all either 20 or 21. Combined, everyone on the Magic training camp roster had scored a total of 35,909 points in their NBA careers. That&rsquo;s only 542 points more than LeBron James has scored in his career.
SO MUCH STRUGGLE
No team in the NBA has a worse combined record over the last 10 seasons than Orlando, which has posted a .369 winning percentage in that span. Sacramento (.383) is next on that list, followed by Minnesota (.384). But in perhaps a sign of hope, the next two worst records over the last decade belong to Phoenix (.404) and New York (.405); the Suns went to the NBA Finals last season and the Knicks made the playoffs.
ONE OF FIVE
Mosley is one of five coaches who has never been the boss at the NBA level before, joining Boston&rsquo;s Ime Udoka, New Orleans&rsquo; Willie Green, Portland&rsquo;s Chauncey Billups and Washington&rsquo;s Wes Unseld Jr. Of those five, he and Unseld are the only two who also never played in the NBA.
THE SCHEDULE
A five-week stretch from Nov. 15 through Dec. 22 looks arduous for Orlando, with 15 out of 20 games on the road and the first five of those all against playoff teams from last season &mdash; including two in a row at NBA champion Milwaukee. The Magic visit the Bucks Nov. 20 and 22, then play host to the champs Dec. 28 and 30. The last stretch of the season is favorable, with 11 of Orlando&rsquo;s final 15 games scheduled to be at home.

Jamahl Mosley waited a long time for this chance. He’s not about to let very low expectations for the Magic douse his enthusiasm.

Coach Mosley's plan for Magic: Ring the bell, then win games

In 2006, I worked as a summer intern for a sports agency called Wasserman Media Group. With that job, I had a wide range of tasks and responsibilities. One of my duties was being the travel companion and, essentially, manager for Joel Freeland, a British NBA prospect who ultimately became the No. 30 pick in the 2006 NBA Draft.
Among the many stops that Joel and I made together prior to that draft was Memphis, Tennessee. He auditioned in front of then-Grizzlies general manager Jerry West ("The Logo" himself) and his staff. That was the first time I ever made a trip to Memphis, and little did I know at the time that I would come back to visit many more times throughout my career.
Well, this past week, I traveled to Memphis yet again. This season, in addition to my typical draft coverage, I will also be providing some NBA rookie coverage for BasketballNews.com.
So the first thing on my agenda, other than stopping by Gus&rsquo;s to get their world-famous fried chicken, was to take in a preseason game that had the Milwaukee Bucks facing off against the Memphis Grizzlies. In that contest, Ziaire Williams &mdash; who was selected No. 10 overall by the Grizzlies &mdash; was the highest pick from the 2021 NBA Draft who was playing.
I must say, I really enjoyed watching him lace 'em up and play in NBA threads for the first time. I have been following Williams since he was in high school, and it is a joy to watch players as they gradually tip-toe toward accomplishing their goals. Williams didn&rsquo;t start, but he was put into the game pretty quickly and got a steal right away. He ended up with 4 points on 2-for-4 from the field, playing 18 minutes in total. He had some rookie mistakes, but overall, I&rsquo;d say this was a productive first NBA game for the rookie.
Also worth mentioning is Sandro Mamukelashvili, the No. 54 pick by the Bucks. Last year, &ldquo;Mamu&rdquo; was among the favorites among our BasketballNews.com scouting staff. At 6-foot-9 and 240 pounds, Mamu is a fun player to watch, as he is extremely versatile for a big man; he can handle, pass and shoot the ball. He also plays with a high motor and a great pace. In that game vs. the Grizzlies, Mamu scored 9 points, grabbed 7 rebounds and dished out 3 assists in 29 minutes of floor time. I&rsquo;ll admit I&rsquo;m a bit biased here (my dad is <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/breakingnews/growing-up-a-buck-millewahque-milwaukee-bucks-nba" target="_blank" rel="noopener">director of player personnel of the Bucks</a>), but Mamu looks like a great pick considering he was taken at the tail end of the second round.
I'd be remiss if I didn&rsquo;t mention how incredible Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant was in this game, and in general. He scored a smooth 27 points in 24 minutes. I remember watching Morant score 27 points and dish out 12 assists at a Murray State home game against Southeast Missouri State a few years ago. In hindsight, even considering the lower level he was playing on, it was one of the most memorable performances that I&rsquo;ve ever seen by a draft prospect. It has been great to see Morant develop into the star that many of us thought and hoped he&rsquo;d become. It&rsquo;s crazy to think that he&rsquo;s still developing.
Perhaps the key storyline of the night was the game's abrupt end. Following the third quarter, the fire alarm went off, and the fans and teams subsequently evacuated the building, prematurely concluding the game. Although I attend games on a regular basis, that was quite different. Also, this was my first game of the 2021-22 campaign&mdash; certainly a strange way to kick the season off.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
I&rsquo;m set to watch many games throughout the 2021-22 season. The Bucks vs. Grizzlies game tonight was my first. It ended in an evacuation and cancellation after the 3rd quarter due to a fire alarm. And I thought things were getting back to normal&hellip; 😬 <a href="https://t.co/Fyh68OYWOs">pic.twitter.com/Fyh68OYWOs</a>
&mdash; Matt Babcock (@MattBabcock11) <a href="https://twitter.com/MattBabcock11/status/1445586285368729612?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 6, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Although I enjoyed attending the Bucks and Grizzlies game, let&rsquo;s not forget that I&rsquo;m an NBA Draft Analyst first and foremost, so my main focus when putting together my travel schedule is to see NBA prospects. Well, with that strategy in place, Memphis was naturally a top-priority destination for me, as the Memphis Tigers are loaded with NBA talent.
I attended the Tigers&rsquo; pro day on Wednesday afternoon and walked away impressed. Here are my thoughts on a few of their top NBA prospects:
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/jalen-duren" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jalen Duren</a> | Center | 6-foot-11, 250 pounds | Freshman
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I have watched Jalen Duren for years. I first saw him at a USA Basketball camp in Colorado Springs, Colorado. At the time, Duren&rsquo;s physical tools instantly popped, and they still do. However, he has grown physically since then, as he is now 6-foot-11 and a chiseled 250 pounds while sporting an impressive 7-foot-5 wingspan. He has also grown as a player and seemingly as a young man. In high school, I first questioned his motor and approach, but he has improved in those areas significantly.
From a skill-set standpoint, Duren's key attributes are certainly his physical tools; he is an absolute brute. He will be most effective utilizing his physicality and explosivenss. Expect a lot of powerful dunks, blocks and rebounds. However, he continues to show flashes of skill as well; he has a good feel as a passer and a soft touch as a mid-range shooter. In fact, on one possession during live-play at pro day, he made an incredible move in the mid-post where he jab-stepped into a stepback turnaround jumper. I looked over and gave a staff member a look and simply said, &ldquo;Wow." Duren is currently slotted as the No. 4 prospect on our <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 NBA Draft Big Board</a>, and after attending that pro day, I can confidently say he&rsquo;s in a good spot.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/fivestar-recruit-emoni-bates-commits-to-university-of-memphis-" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Emoni Bates</a> | Guard/Forward | 6-foot-9, 190 pounds | Freshman
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At this point I think anyone that follows basketball knows of Emoni Bates. I mean, he was on the cover of Sports Illustrated when he was 15 years old, with the headline being &ldquo;Born for This.&rdquo; In <a href="https://www.si.com/high-school/2019/10/29/emoni-bates-nba-draft-prospect-kevin-durant" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the article</a>, it suggested that he was a prodigy next in line to follow in the footsteps of LeBron James. The hype surrounding Emoni has taken on a life of it&rsquo;s own. In the last year or so, Bates has seemingly become a target of constant criticism due to the unreasonable expectations of him. Following the Memphis pro day, social media platforms went crazy over Bates&rsquo; physical measurements and testing. Although he was measured at an impressive 6-foot-9, his wingspan was measured only 6-foot-7 1/4, and his standing vertical was only 24.5 inches. I&rsquo;ll admit those numbers are very underwhelming but let&rsquo;s not lose sight of Bates&rsquo; talent, versatility, and upside. He&rsquo;s 6-9 and is just a natural scorer and playmaker.
I believe that long-term Bates would be best used as a shooting and scoring wing, but it seems as if head coach Penny Hardaway is going to use him at point guard &mdash; at least some of the time. Although I don&rsquo;t think that&rsquo;s his long-term position, it&rsquo;s impressive that at 6-9 they have the confidence to even try to use him that way. My biggest concern with Bates is not his short wingspan or his underwhelming vertical jump, it&rsquo;s his lack of physical strength. However, let&rsquo;s not forget Bates is only 17 years old; in fact, he is not even old enough to be eligible for the 2022 NBA Draft. Despite the criticism, I still think Bates is a big-time prospect. The good thing for Bates is that he has plenty of time to prove the naysayers wrong. Either way, I&rsquo;m looking forward to continuing to watch his development.
Earl Timberlake | Guard/Forward | 6-foot-6, 220 pounds | Sophomore
Although I had watched plenty of film of Earl Timberlake, I had not seen him in person prior to the Memphis pro day, so I was eager to see him. At 6-foot-6 and 220 pounds, Timberlake has a strong and physical profile for a wing. Aside from his physical tools, he has what seems to be a knack for passing and playmaking; I expect for those parts of his game to be utilized greatly this year, as the Tigers&rsquo; overall guard play is questionable. We do not currently have Timberlake on our Big Board, as I&rsquo;m still working toward a more conclusive evaluation of him. But I am indeed intrigued, and will be tracking Timberlake closely.
Landers Nolley II | Forward | 6-foot-7, 220 pounds | Junior
I spent a lot of time watching Landers Nolley II while he was at Virginia Tech. I first saw him at the Maui Invitational, and then saw him in Blacksburg as the Hokies played Florida State, which included current NBA players Patrick Williams and Devin Vassell. At 6-foot-7 and 220 pounds, Nolley's key attribute is a good one &mdash; he really shoots the ball well from outside. He&rsquo;s capable of putting the ball on the floor for mid-range pull-ups or straight-line drives; however, I view him as a shooter. Possessing a quick release, the issue has not been his ability, but more so his decision-making and shot selection. After watching him at the Memphis pro day, it seems as if he has improved his shot selection. He is not currenty on our 2022 NBA Draft Big Board, but like his teammate, Earl Timberlake, we will be tracking him closely.&nbsp;
DeAndre Williams | Forward | 6-foot-9, 205 pounds | Senior
If DeAndre Williams is able to put together another quality season for the Tigers, I would not be surprised at all to see him claw his way into the NBA somehow. As a senior, Williams will certainly be a high priority for the <a href="https://www.tampabayprocombine.com/">Tampa Bay Pro Combine</a> Player Selection Committee, which I am co-chair of alongside former coach and current ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla.
Lester Quinones | Guard/Forward | 6-foot-5, 208 pounds | Junior
A do-it-all glue guy, Lester Quinones is a great piece for the Tigers&rsquo; team. Since I first saw him at the Memphis pro day a couple of years ago, he has transformed his body; he looks great! I&rsquo;m looking forward to watching his progress this season.
Josh Minott | Forward | 6-foot-8, 205 pounds | Freshman
Josh Minott is a long and athletic hybrid forward worth keeping a pulse on. I&rsquo;m not certain of the role he&rsquo;ll fill for the Tigers this season, but I do like his upside long-term.
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During my time as a sports agent, I represented two former Tigers in D.J. Stephens and Chris Crawford. I came to Memphis multiple times to recruit each one of them, and I also had each of them train locally with my friend Frank &ldquo;Hell&rsquo;s Trainer&rdquo; Matrisciano following their senior seasons. I remember having dinner with D.J. at Itta Bena, a great restaurant above B.B. King&rsquo;s that is a speakeasy and can only be entered through a fire escape. I also remember signing contracts with Chris at the historic Peabody Hotel, which is known for their ducks that march throughout the hotel on a red carpet. I became fond of the city during that time.
Since leaving the agent business in recent years, I have continued to come back to Memphis as an NBA Draft Analyst somewhat frequently to scout NBA prospects. I attended the Tigers&rsquo; pro day a couple of years ago to see James Wiseman and Precious Achiuwa. In addition, I watched R.J. Hampton&rsquo;s team, the New Zealand Breakers, play an exhibition game versus the Grizzlies and Anthony Edwards&rsquo; Georgia Bulldogs play the Tigers. I also spent time with and watched local product Kennedy Chandler, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/tennessee-volunteers-point-guard-kennedy-chandler-intent-on-showing-size-isnt-everything">who is now a freshman for the Tennessee Volunteers</a> and is currently slotted as the 13th-best prospect on our <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 NBA Draft Big Board</a>.
Once again, attending the Tigers' pro day was certainly fruitful from a scouting standpoint. Memphis will certainly be a high priority for our scouting staff to keep an eye on moving forward.&nbsp;
I thoroughly enjoyed my latest trip to Bluff City: great food, great people, warm southern hospitality and even better basketball.
Until next time, Memphis.

Matt Babcock details his trip to Memphis for the Tigers' pro day and NBA preseason action, and what he took away from both events.

Babcock: Takeaways from a trip to Memphis for Tigers pro day

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

2021-22 NBA Season Preview: Southeast Division

The reboot has officially begun in Orlando. After trading away Nikola Vucevic and Aaron Gordon at last season&rsquo;s trade deadline, the Magic are finally embracing the long-term build compared to wallowing in no-man&rsquo;s land.
Although the Magic put together an intriguing core led by Vucevic and Gordon, it just wasn&rsquo;t good enough within an Eastern Conference that was ripe for the taking over the years. The best Orlando could muster was a bottom-tier playoff seed, which inevitably reached an easy answer. The definition of insanity is continuously running back the same team with no real room for improvement, and Orlando finally realized this midway through last season when Gordon and Vucevic were shipped off for multiple draft assets and young prospects.
Lottery luck once again wasn&rsquo;t on the Magic&rsquo;s side, but they still were one of the biggest winners from the 2021 NBA Draft in hindsight. Snagging Jalen Suggs at No. 5 overall was a home-run scenario, an immediate franchise-changing prospect with an immensely high ceiling. Then, thanks to the Vucevic trade, Orlando used the Chicago Bulls&rsquo; top-10 pick at No. 8 overall to acquire another high-floor prospect in versatile forward Franz Wagner from Michigan. Adding Suggs and Wagner into the mix of an already bountiful core of under-25 talent in Orlando is an exciting development.
All of the following players projected in Orlando&rsquo;s rotation for the 2021-22 season are age-24 or under: Jonathan Isaac, Chuma Okeke, Markelle Fultz, Mo Bamba, Wendell Carter Jr., Cole Anthony, R.J. Hampton, Suggs and Wagner. That&rsquo;s right &mdash; eight of the Magic&rsquo;s rotational contributors are still at this stage of their careers.
Orlando is just now beginning what the team should have done a few years ago with its roster, but it's the right route when you realize how much young talent can be stockpiled when picks hit.
Isaac is coming off a torn ACL with an extensive recovery; however he&rsquo;s already flashed real two-way potential featuring All-Defense upside in the near future. If the offense clicks for Isaac, he will quickly climb the ranks of <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/top-10-players-under-age25-for-the-202122-season" target="_blank" rel="noopener">under-25 talent in the Association</a>.
Carter, whom Orlando landed in the Vucevic trade, has flashed on a few different occasion that he&rsquo;s a legitimate rotational big with some untapped upside of his own. Anthony, Fultz and Hampton are darts throws at the guard position, a situation that will sort itself out this season in regards to who will be featured alongside Suggs throughout the upcoming years.
Okeke and Bamba bring more depth to the Magic&rsquo;s frontcourt, although the former Auburn Tiger figures to be a mainstay in Orlando longer than the 2018 No. 5 overall pick.
When trying to picture all of this young core figuring it out, the primary building blocks still crystalize: Isaac, Suggs, Wagner. Although the latter two haven&rsquo;t played in the NBA, the Magic using their most draft capital in recent memory on <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/magic-kickstart-rebuild-drafting-jalen-suggs-and-franz-wagner" target="_blank" rel="noopener">two of the "safest" prospects</a> says a lot about where they view their long-term future. They want to improve, but it&rsquo;s not going to be rushed. Suggs and Wagner should be connective-tissue pieces that help accentuate what is already in place for Orlando. If everything forms together as planned, Orlando is a team who could make some noise two or three years from now.
So, with that type of timeline, it&rsquo;s fair to assume veteran wings Terrence Ross and Gary Harris are not long to stay on the roster. Rumors bubbled up around the draft mentioning Ross&rsquo; availability around the league. Harris helped match salaries for Denver in the Gordon trade, but he hasn&rsquo;t shown much to the Magic or even Denver over the last few seasons, seemingly stagnating due to injury and inconsistent scoring capabilities.
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In the East, Orlando is well behind the pack for a potential surprise run. (The team is tied for the NBA&rsquo;s worst over-under win total projection with the Oklahoma City Thunder at 23.5.) Orlando potentially landing the No. 1 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft could be another crucial moment to helping the Magic finally stabilize a future winner. Long gone are the years of Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal and Penny Hardaway, plus the Dwight Howard era.
There&rsquo;s not much buzz around the Magic right now, and for good reason. It&rsquo;s a lot of unproven talent that isn't even close to hitting their prime years. However, new head coach Jamahl Mosley is the right man to help steer the ship in the right direction for an organization in desperate need of it. Mosley was instrumental in helping Luka Doncic develop into the MVP favorite that he is entering his fourth NBA season. If Mosley can repeat his rapid development curves as he did in Dallas with Orlando&rsquo;s roster, it will become a perfect marriage. Imagining Suggs being coached by Mosley is an exciting proposition, potentially one where we see the No. 4 overall pick make a run for 2021-22 Rookie of the Year.
Let&rsquo;s take a look at the Magic&rsquo;s rotation for the upcoming season:
Starters: Markelle Fultz, Gary Harris, Terrence Ross, Jonathan Isaac, Wendell Carter Jr.
Second Unit: Jalen Suggs, Cole Anthony, R.J. Hampton, Franz Wagner, Chuma Okeke, Mo Bamba
Suggs will quickly push his way into the starting lineup. The question is, does Orlando pull the trigger quickly enough to put Suggs in the ROY race? When the Magic are likely trying to boost the trade values for Harris and Ross early in the regular season, it will be something to continuously monitor.
Orlando is years away from being where it just was as a scrappy, competitive, lower-tier seed in the East playoffs. However, this method of team-building is the way it should have been done all along.
With so much young talent stockpiling on top of one another, the dust will eventually settle itself and help Orlando put together a young core ready to grow together for years to come.

Orlando has officially reset its organization. Now, it's time to let the dust settle for an intriguing young Magic core.

Magic finally hit the reset button for a bright future

Per a <a href="https://www.nba.com/magic/orlando-magic-michael-carter-williams-surgery-left-ankle-story-20210824" target="_blank" rel="noopener">release from the Orlando Magic</a>:&nbsp;
Orlando Magic guard Michael Carter-Williams underwent surgery yesterday (August 23) to remove a bone fragment and to repair a ligament in his left ankle, President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman announced today. He will miss the start of the 2021-22 regular season and his return to basketball activities will depend on how he responds to treatment and rehabilitation. Carter-Williams is expected to make a full recovery.
ANALYSIS:&nbsp;Carter-Williams was initially signed as a free agent in March 2019. He started in 25 games for Orlando last season and averaged 8.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game in 31 total 2020-21 contests. The Magic have a deep guard rotation headlined by young talents in Jalen Suggs, R.J. Hampton, Cole Anthony and Markelle Fultz.

Carter-Williams started in 25 of his 31 games played during the 2020-21 season.

Michael Carter-Williams to miss start of 2021-22 season due to ankle surgery

Free-agent signings have the potential to alter the NBA landscape. They can swing the balance of power dramatically in one direction or another, and there isn&rsquo;t much that other teams can do to stop it.
To the victors go the spoils. To that point, free-agency signings can reshape the trajectory of a team or a player&rsquo;s career. However, some signings were so monumental that they became folklore &ndash; causing rule changes, influencing generations, turning friends to enemies and so on.
Let&rsquo;s explore five signings that reshaped the free-agency process and the entire league.
1. LeBron James to the Miami Heat, 2010
The summer of 2010 featured what was undoubtedly the most anticipated free-agency period of all-time. James was the prize of the 2010 class, and a new rumor seemed to surface every day, connecting him to the Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, New York Knicks or Cleveland Cavaliers. But it was the Miami Heat who swooped in, signing James away from the Cavs and Northeast Ohio. The Heat also added Chris Bosh and re-signed Dwyane Wade, ushering in a new era of super-teams. However, James didn&rsquo;t announce his signing through a press release or a tweet. Instead, he opted for "The Decision," a live event that was televised from the Boys &amp; Girls Club in Greenwich, Connecticut. The totality of the move set James and the Heat up to be the villains of the NBA for some time.
James led Miami to two straight championships, and he also won his first two NBA Finals MVP awards. James would later describe his stint with the Heat as his college years. "Miami, for me, has been almost like college for other kids. These past four years helped raise me into who I am,&rdquo; James <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/2014/07/11/lebron-james-cleveland-cavaliers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote in Sports Illustrated</a> when he returned to Cleveland. &ldquo;I became a better player and a better man. I learned from a franchise that had been where I wanted to go&hellip; Without the experiences I had there, I wouldn&rsquo;t be able to do what I&rsquo;m doing today."
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2. Kevin Durant to the Golden State Warriors, 2016
If signing with the Heat made LeBron James a villain, signing with the Golden State Warriors made Durant peak-MCU Thanos. In 2015-16, Durant averaged 28.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game for the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Warriors were fresh off a 73-win season and a trip to the NBA Finals. Still, when Draymond Green called to recruit Durant, it had enough of an impact to open the door for a meeting. The Warriors ultimately wooed him in the Hamptons over the Fourth of July weekend in 2016, and Durant decided to sign with Golden State.
This move infuriated fans even more than LeBron-to-Miami. Fans and analysts questioned Durant&rsquo;s competitive instinct. The fact that close friends James and Wade wanted to play together was understandable. But the thought of Durant joining forces with Stephen Curry and the loaded Warriors &ndash; the team that had just defeated Durant and the Thunder in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals a few weeks earlier &ndash; didn&rsquo;t sit well with many spectators. It made Durant seem like a mercenary, hunting for a championship. But love it or hate it, this was a major move in terms of player freedom. Durant signing with the Warriors was the clearest sign yet that basketball is a business, and it also showed the consequences of rings culture and constant discussions about an active player&rsquo;s legacy. &nbsp;&nbsp;
Without this signing, Durant doesn&rsquo;t win back-to-back championships, and he&rsquo;s short two Finals MVPs too. Had he re-signed with Oklahoma City, the Thunder likely would have struggled to win a championship given the high-degree of competition in the Western Conference in the mid-2010s, so who knows when (or if) Durant wins his first championship.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/shaq1_lg.jpg" alt="" width="577" height="387" />
3. Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal to the Los Angeles Lakers, 1996
In the 1990s, max contract extensions stretched for as long as seven years and players rarely made trade demands. As a result, player movement via free agency was limited. And that brings us to the Los Angeles Lakers and Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal.
O&rsquo;Neal was drafted first overall by the Orlando Magic in 1992. Alongside co-star Penny Hardaway, the Magic advanced to their first NBA Finals berth in 1995. O&rsquo;Neal hit free agency in 1996, at which point the league&rsquo;s salary cap was $24.3 million, but there was no luxury tax or max salary. It appeared that O&rsquo;Neal would re-sign with the Magic, but Orlando made the fatal decision of opening negotiations with a four-year, $54 million offer &ndash; significantly less than the seven-year, $112 million deal that Alonzo Mourning (the No. 2 overall pick in 1992) had just received. The Magic further hurt their credibility by continuing to low-ball O&rsquo;Neal, and a poll released by The Orlando Sentinel showed that 90% of local fans felt O&rsquo;Neal was not worth $115 million hurt too. O&rsquo;Neal was essentially driven into the arms of Jerry West and the Los Angeles Lakers, who signed him to a seven-year, $120 million deal.
Without this signing, the Lakers don&rsquo;t win three-consecutive championships. Conversely, the Magic may have won a championship or two, and who knows what happens with Kobe Bryant&rsquo;s career. Either way though, Shaq&rsquo;s legacy is probably the same.
4. Joe Smith to the Minnesota Timberwolves, 1999
Smith was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1995 NBA Draft. After a few above-average seasons, he turned down an $80 million extension with the Golden State Warriors. He was then traded to Philadelphia, hitting free agency the following season. He signed a one-year, $1.75 million deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves after the 1998 lockout, which was well-below fair market value. He re-signed with Minnesota after the season, signing another one-year deal worth $2.1 million.
You may be wondering: Why is Smith on this list? He was a fine player, but not as impactful as the other names featured. Under normal circumstances, Smith wouldn&rsquo;t be included here. However, Smith qualifies for this list due to the fallout from the attempted transaction with Minnesota. The deal was premeditated, and therefore illegal.
Essentially, Minnesota asked Smith to sign these one-year deals for three-consecutive seasons so they&rsquo;d have additional cap space. Then, after the three years, the Timberwolves would have his Bird rights and could go over the cap to re-sign him (giving him a deal worth roughly $86 million to pay him back). Ultimately, the NBA found out. Minnesota was fined $3.5 million and had to forfeit its first-round picks for five consecutive seasons (although the team's 2005 first-rounder was <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120901224939/http:/www.nba.com/news/twolves_draft_pick_011228.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">returned to them</a>). Smith&rsquo;s contract was voided, Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor was suspended and VP of Basketball Operations Kevin McHale took a leave of absence.
This one set a precedent. If a team tries to circumvent the salary cap, the league takes it very seriously. It&rsquo;s very difficult for the NBA to investigate and prove these kinds of arrangements exist. So, how did they prove that Smith&rsquo;s deal with Minnesota was premeditated? Smith's agents had a messy split that prompted a lawsuit and documents spelling out the illegal arrangement were made public.
&ldquo;There are 8-to-10 teams that do this all the time,&rdquo; McHale <a href="https://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/01/nba-joe-smith-illegal-contract-timberwolves" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re just good at it. We&rsquo;re bad.&rdquo;
Had this signing not happened, the Timberwolves probably could&rsquo;ve done a better job surrounding Kevin Garnett with a formidable supporting cast in the early 2000s. But more impactful, this trade set a precedent for the NBA in its willingness to punish teams over salary-cap circumvention.
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5. LeBron James to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers &ndash; 2014, 2019
This probably feels like a cop out, especially since James also holds the top spot in these rankings &ndash; but it&rsquo;s not. James&rsquo; fingerprints are all over modern free agency, from ushering in super-teams to popularizing players recruiting their peers. Each of these signings is significant and unique. James going back to Cleveland in 2014 was huge. It went a long way in repairing his image, completing his return to NBA darling. It also resulted in the city&rsquo;s first sports championship in 50 years. James&rsquo; return also resulted in the most impressive championship of his career, one in which he led a comeback from a 3-1 series deficit over a 73-win Golden State ensemble &ndash; needless to say, James won his third NBA Finals MVP award with Cleveland.
His signing with the Lakers was also monumental. It was the culmination of a long history of James&rsquo; flirtations with major markets. It, too, resulted in another championship and NBA Finals MVP. And it should result in a major showdown of super-teams, with James&rsquo; Lakers and Durant&rsquo;s Nets on a collision course for NBA supremacy as soon as this season.
Without these signings, James would be stuck with two championships and two Finals MVP awards, 3-1 wouldn&rsquo;t be a thing and the Warriors might have won four-straight championships (imagine?!). Further, the GOAT debate would be dramatically different, and who knows where James would have played in his prime years?
***
Fans are captivated by free-agent signings for a reason. They regularly influence championships. But they obviously have the potential to be even more impactful, shaping the league&rsquo;s power dynamic for a decade or more with a single stroke of a pen.
In recent years, the best players have been more prone to signing extensions and demanding trades if their team fails to build around them, meaning that these top-tier signings have been happening less frequently. But fear not drama fans, there will always be player movement. After all, there&rsquo;s always someone who wants out of their current situation.

Drew Maresca examines five free-agent signings that ended up altering NBA history.

5 free-agent signings that changed NBA history

At the halfway mark of 2021 NBA Summer League, we're seeing prospects rapidly adapt to the next level. In some cases on Thursday, players visibly evolved over the course of a single game.
Rookies like James Bouknight and Cam Thomas turned frustrating first quarters into dominant performances. Other veterans continued to show their overall grasp on the NBA. We saw two more games reach overtime, underscoring what has been a competitive slate so far.
Below are the studs and duds from Day 5:
STUDS
Tre Jones, guard, San Antonio Spurs
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TRE JONES GETS IT TO GO! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBASummer?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBASummer</a> on ESPNU <a href="https://t.co/UkiNhTrqMU">pic.twitter.com/UkiNhTrqMU</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1425926354894266386?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 12, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Box Score Stats: 34 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists, 12-for-20 FG, 1-for-3 3PT
This was arguably the most dominant performance of NBA Summer League thus far. Jones was in complete command on the offensive end, beating players off the dribble, pulling up in the mid-range and dishing all sorts of impressive passes. He pushed the ball in transition and consistently pressured the defense in what became a close shootout.
In the closing seconds, Jones scored the go-ahead bucket on a tough layup, and then stole the ball from Vernon Carey Jr. to ice the 106-105 win over Charlotte. Simply a masterclass from the second-year point guard.
James Bouknight, guard, Charlotte Hornets
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Absolutely filthy hesi from James Bouknight as he finishes this lay high up off the glass!! <a href="https://t.co/8Z7LyWSUZM">pic.twitter.com/8Z7LyWSUZM</a>
&mdash; Aram Cannuscio (@AC__Hoops) <a href="https://twitter.com/AC__Hoops/status/1425922734022856710?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 12, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Box Score Stats: 23 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists, 11-for-23 FG, 1-for-4 3PT
Thursday's matchup against Tre Jones and the Spurs was a challenge. Bouknight felt the pressure early, and played hesitantly for a large portion of the first half. But I was thoroughly impressed with how he adapted. The 2021 lottery pick found his confidence and got to his spots off the dribble. He also consistently forced the defense into tough spots when he attacked the basket.
Bouknight floored me as a passer as well. He should have finished with double-digit assists; on multiple occasions, such as one fast-break blunder, teammates blew impressive dimes from the rookie guard. Bouknight also finished with zero turnovers &mdash; even more amazing when considering his usage.
Cam Thomas, guard, Brooklyn Nets
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CAM THOMAS IS REALLY LIKE THAT 🤯 A game-tying bucket followed by a one-legged three to win it in sudden-death! <a href="https://t.co/8mdLLqD1HY">pic.twitter.com/8mdLLqD1HY</a>
&mdash; SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) <a href="https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1425966738638721024?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 12, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Box Score Stats: 31 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 10-for-23 FG, 2-for-6 3PT
Thomas did not play his best 33-plus minutes of basketball on Thursday. He started off by forcing a lot of shots, not looking to beat defenders or pass. But towards the latter stages of the game, the rookie guard seemed to see the floor better, make the right decisions and find his shooting touch.
Of course, he canned two monster buckets to end things &mdash; one three to send the game to a sudden death double-overtime, and then the golden shot. That microwave potential is the way Johnson can earn immediate playing time off the bench for the Nets.
Sam Hauser, forward, Boston Celtics
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Undrafted rookie Sam Hauser proving he belongs in the league. 21pts/7ast/6-10 3PA <a href="https://t.co/MF4Tu8ZTku">pic.twitter.com/MF4Tu8ZTku</a>
&mdash; High Motor Hoops (@HighMotorHoops) <a href="https://twitter.com/HighMotorHoops/status/1425991310486425603?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 13, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Box Score Stats:&nbsp;21 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, 7-for-12 FG, 6-for-10 3PT
This was a statement game for Hauser, who had sputtered out of the gate with the Celtics. The sharpshooting forward looked like his Virginia self, drilling threes off the catch as part of a team-wide hot streak. He also moved the ball much better compared to his prior two contests, helping Boston set a summer league record with 33 team assists. Then, on the defensive end, he seemed to keep defenders in front of him and shuffle his feet well. Good showing from the Celtics' two-way signing.
Ishmail Wainright, forward, Toronto Raptors
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Two years ago, Ishmail Wainright played in the German 2nd division finals. Now he's under the contract with Toronto Raptors. The first time <a href="https://twitter.com/Wainright24?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Wainright24</a> stepped on the court straight from the airport, his coach Buzas saw his success was all programmed: <a href="https://t.co/R83Dwkv3Mb">https://t.co/R83Dwkv3Mb</a>
&mdash; Donatas Urbonas (@Urbodo) <a href="https://twitter.com/Urbodo/status/1425820905855324173?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 12, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Box Score Stats: 20 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals, 2 blocks, 7-for-12 FG, 4-for-6 3PT
Wainright may be an unheralded name to most; the 26-year-old forward played for Baylor until 2017 and spent 2020-21 playing with Strasbourg in France. But people who tuned in surely will remember the name. The 6-foot-6 wing was engaged on both ends, made quality shots and did not force himself into the action. it was a poised all-around performance, and it makes sense why Toronto has Wainright signed to a two-year contract.
Tyrese Maxey, guard, Philadelphia 76ers
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My play of the night: Tyrese Maxey perfectly executes the Matisse Thybulle blocked jumper [pretty much] for the win. cc: <a href="https://twitter.com/TyreseMaxey?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TyreseMaxey</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/MatisseThybulle?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MatisseThybulle</a> <a href="https://t.co/ocnCCseHCt">pic.twitter.com/ocnCCseHCt</a>
&mdash; Lauren Rosen (@LaurenMRosen) <a href="https://twitter.com/LaurenMRosen/status/1426029134510268417?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 13, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Box Score Stats: 31 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 11-for-23 FG, 1-for-8 3PT
Maxey didn't have his three-point shot falling Thursday night and bricked a couple of bad looks. But otherwise, the slashing guard displayed his signature ability to get to the rim at will. Maxey also had a couple of nice pull-up jumpers and step-backs he used to mix things up. And he finished off a 96-88 overtime win against Atlanta by clamping up Sharife Cooper in the closing seconds.
Other notable performers: Paul Reed (Sixers), Sharife Cooper (Hawks), Chris Duarte (Pacers), Payton Pritchard (Celtics), Jaime Echenique (Wizards), Jalen Smith (Suns)
DUDS
Ayo Dosunmu, guard, Chicago Bulls
Box Score Stats:&nbsp;2 points, 5 rebounds, 1 block, 1-for-7 FG, 0-for-3 3PT
The Bulls only scored 59 points as a team, and there were a couple of dud-worthy performances that came from Chicago. Dosunmu had a hard time gaining separation from the Timberolves defenders and didn't get many quality looks at the basket. As a defender, he got shaken often and was hit with some bruising screens. It didn't seem like Dosunmu was involved in the offense; he often stayed on the wings and in the corners.
Marko Simonovic, center, Chicago Bulls
Box Score Stats: 10 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1-for-8 FG, 0-for-4 3PT
Eight of Simonovic's 10 points came at the charity stripe. The 21-year-old was otherwise effective for most of the game, and didn't play with the strength and physicality necessary in the paint. He was not particularly impactful as a screener, and in the second half was part of a team-wide collapse defensively.&nbsp;
Emmanuel Mudiay, guard, Portland Trail Blazers
Box Score Stats: 6 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 3-for-7 FG, 0-for-3 3PT
Unfortunately, Mudiay's summer league play is reminiscient of his last seasons in the NBA. The 25-year-old did post a threat offensively and was inconsistent defensively. His shooting form is still an issue. He does not command the offense like a five-year NBA veteran should at this stage. The veteran trio of Mudiay, Michael Beasley and Kenneth Faried have been collectively underwhelming, and it's hard to feel good about their NBA comebacks right now.
R.J. Hampton, guard, Orlando Magic
Box Score Stats: 3 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1-for-6 FG, 0-for-1 3PT
The entire Magic squad was frigid in the 108-71 loss to Boston. Hampton was no different, but he seemed to seal his fate with his shot selection. The second-year guard often drove headstrong into crowds and finished poorly. He's not the type of guard who probes and gets to his spots around the court while keeping his head up. I'd like to see Hampton take his time a bit more, although in fairness, he's probably third in the pecking order for facilitation duties behind Jalen Suggs and Cole Anthony.
Zeke Nnaji, forward, Denver Nuggets
Box Score Stats: 6 points, 9 rebounds, 2-for-10 FG, 0-for-4 3PT
Nnaji has appeared seriously out of sorts offensively in summer league. The 2020 first-round pick just does not have a consistent post move he can go to in the half-court, and coughed up five turnovers in large part from being unable to create anything on his own. Nnaji is now 0-for-10 from long range in his two games played. There's no sugarcoating it: the offensive game is a mess right now.

Viewers witnessed an epic battle between Tre Jones and James Bouknight, two of the standout performers on the fifth day in Vegas.