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Grizzlies

The Memphis Grizzlies have traded injured starting center Steven Adams to the Houston Rockets for Victor Oladipo and three second-round picks, according to <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/39438460/sources-grizzlies-sending-adams-houston-oladipo-picks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN&rsquo;s Adrian Wojnarowski</a>.&nbsp;
The deal, according to Wojnarowski, allows the Grizzlies to create more salary flexibility and draft assets centered around a 2024 offseason where they'll get a chance at a high lottery pick and an opportunity to fortify a contender around Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane.
Adams, 30, is making $12.6 million this year and is out for the entirety of the 2023-24 season after surgery to address instability in his right knee. He's expected to make a full recovery ahead of the 2024-25 season, and he will either back up or play alongside budding center Alperen Sengun.
For the Grizzlies, they will be acquiring two 2024 second-round picks and a 2025 second-round pick as well as positioning themselves to land a high pick in this year&rsquo;s draft, which has top big-man prospect Alex Sarr.&nbsp;

The Grizzlies have traded injured starting center Steven Adams to the Rockets for Victor Oladipo and three second-round picks.

Grizzlies trade Steven Adams to Rockets for Victor Oladipo, 3 picks

Today, the NBA announced the starters for the 2024 All-Star Game in Indianapolis. The players were selected via three voting categories: 50% fan vote, 25% player vote and 25% media vote.
Leading the Eastern Conference All-Stars is Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks. Drafted as the No. 15 pick in 2013 out of Greece,&nbsp;Antetokounmpo is averaging 31.3 PPG, 11.7 RPG and 6.2 APG this season, and he will make his eighth All-Star appearance this year.
Joining Antetokounmpo in the East frontcourt are Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid and Boston Celtics wing Jayson Tatum. Embiid, the league&rsquo;s reigning MVP, will make his seventh All-Star appearance while averaging 36.1 PPG, 11.6 RPG and 5.9 APG for the 76ers this season. Tatum, drafted as the No. 3 pick in 2017 out of Duke, is averaging 27.0 PPG, 8.4 RPG and 4.4 APG for the league-best Celtics in his fifth All-Star selection.
In the East backcourt, Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton will start in front of his home crowd in just his second All-Star appearance (and first time starting). Drafted as the No. 12 pick in 2020 out of Iowa State, Haliburton is averaging 23.6 PPG, 12.6 APG and 4.1 RPG for the Pacers, who are in the thick of the East&rsquo;s playoff race.&nbsp;
Partnering up with Haliburton in the backcourt is Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard, appearing in his eighth All-Star game and his first as a starter. The Bucks&rsquo; prized acquisition gets his chance to start in the East despite a relatively down year by his standards. Lillard is currently averaging 25.3 PPG, 6.8 APG and 4.3 RPG, making the Bucks the only team in the NBA to have two All-Star starters.&nbsp;
Over in the Western Conference, Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James is once again at the helm. Set to make his record-breaking 20th All-Star appearance, James has been an starter for all of them &ndash; a streak that began in 2005 in just his sophomore season. He is currently averaging 24.8 PPG, 7.4 APG and 7.2 RPG for the struggling Lakers this season.
Joining James in the West frontcourt are Kevin Durant of the Phoenix Suns and Nikola Jokic of the defending-champion Denver Nuggets. Durant, who&rsquo;s making his 14th All-Star selection, will now be one of 11 players in league history to be an All-Star 14 or more times. He&rsquo;s currently averaging 29.1 PPG, 6.4 RPG and 5.7 APG for the resurgent Suns this season. Jokic, a two-time NBA MVP, will make his sixth All-Star appearance while averaging 26.2 PPG, 12.0 RPG and 9.1 APG for the Nuggets this season.
In the West backcourt are Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Doncic is set to appear in his fifth All-Star game, and he is averaging 33.6 PPG, 9.3 APG and 8.5 RPG for the Mavericks this season. Gilgeous-Alexander, in just his second All-Star selection and first as a starter, is averaging 31.1 PPG, 6.4 APG and 5.6 RPG. He has been the main cog for a young Thunder team that has exceeded expectations and sit atop the Western Conference standings.&nbsp;
The All-Star reserves are set to be announced on Feb. 1 and they will be chosen by the NBA coaches in their respective conferences. They will vote two guards, three frontcourt players and two wildcards (any position). If a selected player is unable to participate due to injury or another reason, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will do the honors of selecting his replacement (from the same conference).
This year&rsquo;s All-Star Game is also notably changing back to the traditional East-West format, moving away from the captain-draft system. The previous six iterations of the midseason festivities featured the leading vote-getters from each conference serving as captains who got to draft their teams, with a certain "target score" format that featured an untimed fourth quarter in the last four All-Star Games.

Today, the NBA announced the starters for the 2024 All-Star Game in Indianapolis.

NBA announces 2024 All-Star starters: Giannis, LeBron named captains

The NBA today announced that Los Angeles has been selected to host NBA All-Star 2026. The 75th NBA All-Star Game will take place at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, home of the LA Clippers, on Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. This will mark the record seventh NBA All-Star in Los Angeles, and the first time the Intuit Dome will host the annual midseason showcase reaching fans in more than 200 countries and territories in more than 50 languages.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver made the announcement today during a press conference at Intuit Dome, where he was joined by Clippers Chairman Steve Ballmer, Clippers President of Business Operations Gillian Zucker, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts Jr.
&ldquo;The Intuit Dome promises to present a unique and innovative live basketball experience which will be an extraordinary venue for the NBA All-Star Game in 2026,&rdquo; said Silver. &ldquo;Thanks again to Steve Ballmer, Gillian Zucker, and the Clippers organization for their commitment to delivering a world-class showcase of the very best of our sport.&rdquo;
Intuit Dome, which is set to open in August 2024, is a multipurpose venue that will be the new home of the Los Angeles Clippers.
&ldquo;We are building Intuit Dome to house and showcase the best basketball players in the world, and we are honored they will all be under our roof for NBA All-Star,&rdquo; said Ballmer. &ldquo;Along with Inglewood and Los Angeles, we thank the NBA for bringing the league&rsquo;s marquee event to Intuit Dome in 2026.&rdquo;
The Clippers worked in collaboration with the Los Angeles Sports &amp; Entertainment Commission to bring NBA All-Star 2026 to Los Angeles.
NBA All-Star on-court events will tip off on Friday, Feb. 13 at Intuit Dome with NBA Rising Stars, an annual showcase for top rookies and second-year NBA players. On Feb. 14, State Farm All-Star Saturday Night will feature the Kia Skills Challenge, the Starry 3-Point Challenge and AT&amp;T Slam Dunk. NBA All-Star 2026 will culminate with the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, Feb. 15. The NBA will host several events for fans of all ages at venues throughout Los Angeles and Inglewood, including at Kia Forum and the Los Angeles Convention Center.
These events, including NBA All-Star Practice presented by AT&amp;T, the Ruffles NBA All-Star Celebrity Game and an NBA All-Star fan fest, will feature basketball programming and entertainment for fans as well as up-close access to NBA players, legends and celebrities.
The league will also continue to celebrate its commitment to social responsibility with a full schedule of NBA Cares events during NBA All-Star 2026. Through partnerships with schools, local and national nonprofit organizations, the league will reach thousands of children and families in Los Angeles, Inglewood and the surrounding areas and provide critical resources to community-based programs.
NBA ALL-STAR HISTORY IN LOS ANGELES
This will mark the record seventh NBA All-Star in the Los Angeles area, which hosted the event in 2018, 2011, 2004, 1983, 1972 and 1963, and the first time the midseason showcase has been held at the Intuit Dome. The previous six NBA All-Star events in Los Angeles (including two at The Forum in Inglewood) have showcased extraordinary performances by some of the best players in league history. Each NBA All-Star Game MVP in Los Angeles was named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team and selected to at least 11 All-Star Games: LeBron James (MVP in 2018), Kobe Bryant (2011), Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal (2004), Julius Erving (1983), Jerry West (1972) and Bill Russell (1963).
The most recent NBA All-Star Game in Los Angeles (2018) featured a dramatic finish as Team LeBron rallied from a 13-point deficit with seven minutes to play to defeat Team Stephen 148-145 in the first All-Star Game without a matchup between the Eastern Conference and Western Conference. As the captain of Team LeBron, James made a game-tying three-pointer with 1:30 remaining and a go-ahead layup with 34.5 seconds left in the game. NBA All-Star 2026 will mark the 15th anniversary of the 2011 midseason celebration in Los Angeles, where the Clippers&rsquo; Blake Griffin played on the winning teams in the All-Star Game and Rising Stars and was crowned Slam Dunk champion as a rookie. That year, the Los Angeles Lakers&rsquo; Bryant earned his record-tying fourth NBA All-Star Game MVP Award after scoring 37 points to lift the Western Conference past the Eastern Conference 148-143.

Los Angeles has been selected to host the 2026 NBA All-Star Weekend at the Clippers' new arena, Intuit Dome, in Inglewood.

Los Angeles to host 2026 NBA All-Star Weekend at Clippers' Intuit Dome

Memphis Grizzlies center Steven Adams will undergo season-ending surgery on his right posterior cruciate ligament, after non-operative rehabilitation did not resolve ongoing knee instability, the team announced today. Adams is expected to make a full recovery ahead of next season.
Last season, Adams appeared in 42 games, averaging 8.6 points, 11.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 blocks, while shooting 59.7% from the field.&nbsp;
Adams has been out since January, missing the entirety of the Grizzlies' playoff run. Memphis will also be without superstar guard Ja Morant for 25 games as a result of his NBA suspension.
Last season, the Grizzlies won 51 games and finished as the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.

Memphis Grizzlies center Steven Adams will undergo season-ending surgery on his right posterior cruciate ligament.

Grizzlies' Steven Adams will undergo season-ending surgery

When San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich chose to rest four starters during a nationally televised game back in 2012, he likely didn't think much of it.
Little did he know, this decision to sit Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Danny Green would go on to create a massive ripple effect, with the NBA creating rules about resting players and terms like "load management" entering the lexicon.
At the time, NBA commissioner David Stern fined Popovich and the Spurs $250,000 and said this decision was "a disservice to the league and our fans."
Nearly 12 years later, the NBA is still trying to combat this issue, implementing a new Player Participation Policy in order to prevent teams from resting their best players.
This new policy could conceivably be named the Coach Popovich Rule, but it&rsquo;s not. The NBA&rsquo;s Player Participation Policy specifically governs how teams are allowed to rest their stars. Current NBA commissioner Adam Silver put a very fan-friendly spin on the new rule.
&ldquo;This is ultimately about the fans,&rdquo; Silver recently told reporters following two days of Board of Governors meetings in New York. &ldquo;And that we&rsquo;ve taken this [load management] too far. This is an acknowledgement that it has gotten away from us a bit.&rdquo;
The league&rsquo;s perceived intention seems fair: reverse the load-management trend, which has seen a rise in star players voluntarily missing games &ndash; an admittedly bigger problem now than in the recent past. During the 2022-23 season, the average games played by the league's top-10 scorers was 65 games per player. Comparatively, the average games played by the top-10 scorers in 2012-13 was 75 games!
Ultimately, this move will benefit the fans, but was this really done with the fans&rsquo; interests in mind? By limiting how often stars rest, the NBA&rsquo;s on-court product will inevitably be more compelling. While that's good for fans, it's also good for the NBA itself (but more on that in a moment). Stars sitting out nationally televised games was never a good look, so putting an end to that trend is important.
But digging a bit deeper, I believe it becomes clear that this move is more about business than fan satisfaction. Let's consider, for a moment, that the league&rsquo;s current broadcast rights deal expires following the 2024-25 season. The current TV deal is worth a total of $24 billion over 10 years. The NBA hopes to double &ndash; or even triple &ndash; that number in its next deal, according to <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/22/nba-is-next-up-for-a-big-rights-increase-and-75-billion-is-the-price.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jabari Young of CNBC</a>. It is entirely possible that the league is looking to demonstrate increased value for its bidders, which will likely include the usual suspects like Turner Sports and ESPN as well as streamers like Amazon and Apple.
For what it&rsquo;s worth, Apple recently inked a deal with Major League Baseball, paying $85 million annually to air Friday Night Baseball games over the next seven years. Meanwhile, Amazon reached an agreement with the NFL to pay $1 billion annually for 10 years for exclusive rights to Thursday Night Football games. The NBA is trying to entice these same companies to bid for their broadcast rights.
It's important to note that the Player Participation Policy isn't the league&rsquo;s first attempt to improve its televised product. The NBA also recently announced its <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-announces-details-for-inaugural-inseason-tournament-&amp;sa=D&amp;source=docs&amp;ust=1695515248097037&amp;usg=AOvVaw0mEzpohBfg-49Qyl7iKxR6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">inaugural in-season tournament</a>, conveniently beginning this season, which is likely to be marketed differently and, therefore, viewed more regularly. Furthermore, the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, which was ratified in April 2023, dictates that players must participate in at least 65 games to qualify for in-season awards. In total, these are major changes in order to ensure that the NBA's best players are suiting up more often than not.
This could ultimately be a win-win for the league and its fans. Players will probably need more convincing. But if the league plans to continue with an 82-game season &ndash; which it should &ndash; star players must lead the way, meaning they need to be front and center as often as possible. Rest is, of course, an important part of the process, which is likely to be an area of frustration for star players. But the medical advancements, health-oriented amenities and teams of on-staff trainers should ultimately translate to more games played for modern players &ndash; not fewer.
And considering how aggressively maximum salaries have increased, stars will understand. In 2012-13, the highest salary in the NBA was $30.5 million (Kobe Bryant). In 2022-23, it was up more than 50% to $48 million (Stephen Curry). By 2026-27, the highest salary will be at least $63 million (Damian Lillard). Of course, a big reason for these monster salaries is the NBA's TV money. This was never more apparent than during the summer of 2016, when the NBA's new broadcasting deal caused the salary cap to spike and teams went on a spending spree (handing out massive contracts that some would quickly regret).
But for the league&rsquo;s TV partners to also benefit monetarily, star players must be available as often as possible as a means of driving interest &ndash; especially since more and more fans are pledging their allegiance to stars rather than teams. The league clearly understands this fact. Just look at how the NBA structures its Christmas Day games, which are normally among the most-viewed games of the season. Last year, we saw LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Jayson Tatum, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, Devin Booker and Ja Morant, who represent seven of the top-10 players in jersey sales.&nbsp;We also saw Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic, the two finalists for 2022-23 NBA MVP award.
Like most major changes, the new Player Participation Policy will inevitably ruffle feathers, especially among some players. But it should also improve the NBA&rsquo;s viewership numbers and result in more competitive games. There will probably be some bumps along the way, but fans will benefit as much as anyone. I only wish the league would have referenced the TV deal in announcing the rule as a means of transparency. But regardless of whether the league, owners and players get richer, it&rsquo;ll be refreshing to see stars more frequently &ndash; and that&rsquo;s probably the point.

The NBA introduced rules to combat load management just as their TV deal is set to expire. That's no coincidence, writes Drew Maresca.

NBA’s new Player Participation Policy may lead to even larger TV deal

Today, the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) and Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) announced their continued partnership in hosting the fifth&nbsp;annual Top 50 Basketball Camp. The camp will take place July 27&ndash;29 at Morehouse College and Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, GA. &nbsp; The best players from each conference will be featured at the camp in a model like the NBPA's Top 100 Camp. Players at the Top 50 Camp will participate in basketball skill training exercises and attend leadership and life development sessions off the court. &nbsp; "NBPA members have a true appreciation for HBCUs, and the Top 50 Camp is a great way for the NBPA to continue strengthening its connection with the HBCU community," said Purvis Short, the NBPA's Chief of Player Programs. "Our partnership with the SIAC and SWAC has given us a unique opportunity to host a productive learning experience for HBCU athletes to better themselves as men on and off the court." The camp also aims to cultivate and create coaching and talent pipelines for current and retired NBA players exploring the transition into careers in intercollegiate athletics. &nbsp; "The Southwestern Athletic Conference is elated to continue our partnership with the NBPA Top 50 Camp," said SWAC Commissioner Dr. Charles McClelland. "This partnership is an amazing opportunity for our student-athletes to participate in athletic and professional development initiatives that will positively impact them both on and off the court. This event has steadily grown and has quickly become a signature event that our student-athletes look forward to participating in on an annual basis." &nbsp; In addition to skill development and on-court drills, the camp will include a series of highly-competitive scrimmages and games, allowing the players to showcase their talent against the best of their neighboring conference. &nbsp; "I commend the NBPA for its commitment to HBCUs as The Top 50 Camp serves as a basketball combine for our student-athletes to showcase their talents while receiving instruction from current and former NBA players," said SIAC Commissioner Anthony Holloman. &nbsp; Camp participants from the SIAC include:
<table border="0" width="432" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">First Name</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Last Name</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">College or University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Aziel</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Blackwell</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Kentucky State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Devin</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Booker</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Tuskegee University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Eleik</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Bowles</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Savannah State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Gregg</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Boyd II</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Tuskegee University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Steven</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Dulley</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Tuskegee University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Ashton</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Hawkins</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Spring Hill College</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Martez</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jones</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Tuskegee University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Robert</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Kendrick</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Fort Valley State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Kong</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Kong</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Kentucky State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Myson</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Lowe</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Fort Valley State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Steven</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Lyles</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Spring Hill College</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Chris</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Martin</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Clark Atlanta University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Joemel</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">McNair</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Morehouse College</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jamir</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Moore</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Albany State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Sean</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Paige</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Central State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Ayjay</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Plain</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Savannah State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Antwoin</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Reed Jr</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Central State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Kerry</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Richardson</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Morehouse College</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jordan</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Simpson</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Albany State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Raevon</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Thomas</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Central State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Terin</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Wofford</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Albany State University</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<div>&nbsp; &nbsp; Camp participants from the SWAC include: &nbsp;</div>
<table border="0" width="432" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">First Name</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Last Name</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">College or University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Chase</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Adams</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jackson State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jaylen</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Bates</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Florida A&amp;M University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Eric</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Coleman</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alabama State</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Zeke</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Cook</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jackson State university</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Dhashon</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Dyson</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Bethune Cookman University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Ken</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Evans Jr.</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jackson State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jeremiah</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Gambrell</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alcorn State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Kolby</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Granger</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Texas Southern University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Zion</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Harmon</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Bethune Cookman University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">P. J.</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Henry</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Texas Southern University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Elijah</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Hulsewe</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Bethune Cookman University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Byron</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Joshua</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alcorn State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jeremiah</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Kendall</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alcorn State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">T. J.</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Madlock</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alabama State</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Romelle</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Mansel</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jackson State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Kylen</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Milton</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">University of Arkansas Pine Bluff</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Zytarious</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Mortle</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Texas Southern University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Festus</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Ndumanya</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Southern University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Omari</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Peek</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alabama A&amp;M</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Dailin</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Smith</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alabama A&amp;M</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">D. K.</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Thorn</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alcorn State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Cameron</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Tucker</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alabama A&amp;M</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Ernest (EJ)</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Williams</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alabama A&amp;M</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Rashad</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Williams</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">University of Arkansas Pine Bluff</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Coltie</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Young</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jackson State University</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

The NBPA, SIAC and SWAC will host the fifth annual Top 50 Basketball Camp from July 27-29 in Atlanta.

NBPA, SIAC and SWAC to host 5th annual Top 50 Basketball Camp

Russell Westbrook's one-and-a-half year stint with the Los Angeles Lakers obviously didn't go as planned, which led to the former NBA MVP getting traded to the Utah Jazz, who ultimately bought him out. This cleared the way for Westbrook to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers back in February.
Westbrook struggled throughout his time with the Lakers, but he played much better after joining the Clippers. The team was clearly impressed with Westbrook's contributions, as they re-signed Westbrook on a two-year, $8 million contract earlier this offseason.
Westbrook clearly didn't fit with the Lakers' personnel, and he seems to feel that he wasn't utilized correctly while donning the purple and gold. But how was Westbrook as a teammate during his stint with the Lakers? What kind of presence was he off the court and in the locker room?
Recently, on the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VARxWc0V84g" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"All The Smoke" podcast</a>, Lakers guard Austin Reaves was asked about his experience playing with Westbrook, with former NBA veteran Matt Barnes noting that Westbrook gets a bad rap from outsiders. Reaves had nothing but praise for the nine-time All-Star.
"He&rsquo;s one of the best teammates I&rsquo;ve ever had," Reaves said. "As a person, you can&rsquo;t get much better. I got COVID in December of my rookie year in Minnesota, and I was stuck there for like seven days. It was rough, but he reached out like three or four times, asked me if I needed anything, offered to send me stuff, whatever I needed. So as a person, you couldn&rsquo;t get better. And same as a teammate. He was always empowering everybody to really be better and do better. Like you said, he gets a bad rap, and I don&rsquo;t really understand why."
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This isn&rsquo;t the first time that the narrative about Westbrook hasn't lined up with what his teammates and coaches say about him.
Bradley Beal, who played with Westbrook on the Washington Wizards, has raved about Westbrook&nbsp;"as a leader, as a player, as a father, as a man."
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s the best teammate, probably, I&rsquo;ve ever had," Beal <a href="https://www.slamonline.com/news/nba/bradley-beal-considers-russell-westbrook-the-best-teammate-hes-ever-had/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. "And just in terms of leadership, probably one of the best leaders I&rsquo;ve been around. Because he holds himself accountable. He holds himself to a certain standard.&rdquo;
Paul George, who plays with Westbrook on the Clippers and who previously teamed up with Russ on the Oklahoma City Thunder, explained what makes Westbrook such a great teammate and leader.
"One thing with Russ is that he had a special relationship with everybody on the team," George <a href="https://youtu.be/4pHaeRIfHRI" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said on his podcast</a>. "He would have a conversation with Steve-o (Steven Adams) about New Zealand stuff, rugby, and then he'll have a conversation with me about fishing, then he'll have a conversation with Jerami Grant on anime. He just had a connection with everybody on the team where [once] you get on the floor, it was chemistry. 'This dude really knows me, he really rocking with me. Hell yeah, I wanna play for him, I'm bought in.' 
"I thought that was really special. I've never seen that. Usually the star players, they're not assholes, but they have a special relationship with three or four guys, and the rest is just like, 'Oh yeah, that's my teammate.' Russ was like... everybody was his boy. It was dope, it was the craziest thing I've witnessed... But talk about leadership, Russ was a leader, man."
Scott Brooks, who coached Westbrook in Washington and Oklahoma City, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-stop-hating-on-the-brodie-russell-westbrook-legacy-shouldnt-be-complicated-washington-wizards" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spoke to Basketball News' Jannelle Moore</a> two years ago about the negativity surrounding Russ and how he's misunderstood.
&ldquo;He does incredible work off the court. He&rsquo;s a great role model. He&rsquo;s a great father, husband, brother, son. He does a lot of great things and, for some reason, that doesn&rsquo;t always match up to the narrative that&rsquo;s out there," Brooks <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-stop-hating-on-the-brodie-russell-westbrook-legacy-shouldnt-be-complicated-washington-wizards" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. "I think everybody should appreciate all the things that he brings and the talent he has and the energy and the effort that he brings every night. 
"That&rsquo;s what everybody should be focused on. We all know what sells. We&rsquo;ve been hearing about it since I came into the league: negativity sells. Sometimes when you don&rsquo;t want to do a deep dive, [you&rsquo;ll] take someone else&rsquo;s opinion and continue to re-write what you&rsquo;ve heard and what you&rsquo;ve read. I think that&rsquo;s a mistake by the parties that do that."
Juan Toscano-Anderson admits that he didn't like Westbrook before they were teammates. But after playing alongside Russ on the Lakers, everything changed.
"It's funny because before I met Russ, I didn't really like Russ. And I think a lot of people have that type of lens about Russ just because he's so competitive," Toscano-Anderson <a href="https://www.yardbarker.com/nba/articles/juan_toscano_anderson_says_russell_westbrook_is_one_of_the_best_teammates_hes_ever_had_amazing_teammate_and_person/s1_16751_38063139" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. "From the little time that I've known Russ... I've had some great teammates, [but] Russ is probably in my top-five [or] top-three teammates I've ever had. He's an amazing teammate and an amazing person."
At this stage of his career, Westbrook's resume is extremely impressive: a former NBA MVP, nine-time All-Star, nine-time All-NBA selection, three-time assist champion and two-time scoring champion. He's a member of the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team, and he'll almost certainly be a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer. And regardless of the narratives and negativity, he'll also go down as an all-time great teammate.

What kind of teammate is Russell Westbrook? Some of his former teammates (including Austin Reaves) shared their experiences.

Lakers' Austin Reaves: Russell Westbrook is 'one of the best teammates'

The 2023 NBA Draft could go down as a special class, with talented prospects such as Victor Wembanyama, Scoot Henderson, Brandon Miller and the Thompson twins as well as some interesting depth pieces.
But will it ever be considered one of the best draft classes in NBA history? That remains to be seen.
Today, we're going to identify the cr&egrave;me de la cr&egrave;me of NBA draft classes.
The 2003 NBA Draft
The 2003 NBA Draft featured multiple generational talents that would come to define the NBA for the next two decades. Led by LeBron James, this class also included household names such as Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Not only did this draft have star power, it was also very deep. Twenty-seven players from the 2003 class played at least 10 seasons in the NBA: James, Wade, Anthony, Bosh, Kyle Korver, David West, Zaza Pachulia, Nick Collison, Boris Diaw, Kendrick Perkins, Leandro Barbosa, James Jones, Chris Kaman, Kirk Hinrich, Dahntay Jones, Steve Blake, Mo Williams, Luke Ridnour, Willie Green, Matt Bonner, Travis Outlaw, Keith Bogans, Darko Milicic, Mickael Pietrus, Sasha Pavlovic, Josh Howard and Luke Walton. This class featured nine All-Stars and plenty of quality role players.
The 1984 NBA Draft
The 1984 NBA Draft stands as a legendary class, and some might argue that it's the greatest draft of all-time. Two of the top three picks &mdash; Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon &mdash; would ultimately etch their names in the annals of basketball history and redefine greatness. In addition to Jordan and Olajuwon, players like Charles Barkley, John Stockton and Alvin Robertson showcased their immense talent as well. This class produced five Hall-of-Famers and seven All-Stars.
The 1996 NBA Draft
The 1996 NBA Draft changed the landscape of the league, heralding the arrival of future Hall-of-Famers and icons. Led by the legendary Kobe Bryant and the enigmatic Allen Iverson, this class boasted an array of talent that reinvigorated the game. This class also featured Ray Allen, Steve Nash, Jermaine O'Neal, Ben Wallace, Stephon Marbury, Peja Stojakovic, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Antoine Walker, Marcus Camby, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Derek Fisher. The 1996 NBA Draft was deep, producing 10 All-Stars and five Hall-of-Famers. Jon Finkel recently revisited this star-studded class in his book "1996," and he <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/revisiting-the-starstudded-1996-nba-draft-kobe-bryant-ray-allen-steve-nash-allen-iverson" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ran a terrific excerpt on Basketball News</a>.
The 1985 NBA Draft
The 1985 NBA Draft was certainly special. This class featured 10 All-Stars including Karl Malone, Patrick Ewing, Chris Mullin, Joe Dumars, Detlef Schrempf, Xavier McDaniel, Charles Oakley, &nbsp;AC Green, Terry Porter and Michael Adams. The class also featured Arvydas Sabonis, an overseas legend and terrific Portland Trail Blazer. Like the 1996 NBA Draft, this class has the star power and depth to be considered one of the best drafts in NBA history.
The 2009 NBA Draft
While not as immediately illustrious as some of the other classes on this list, the 2009 NBA Draft proved to be a treasure trove of talent. This class exemplified the importance of patience and player development, as Stephen Curry, James Harden, Blake Griffin, DeMar DeRozan, Jrue Holiday and Jeff Teague would all go on to become All-Stars. Griffin missed his rookie year with an injury, but dominated as soon as he stepped on an NBA court. Curry battled injuries early in his career, but would become a four-time champion and two-time MVP. Harden went from being an elite sixth man to an MVP once he got the opportunity in Houston. This class also featured Brandon Jennings, Ricky Rubio, Tyreke Evans, Darren Collison, Ty Lawson, Patty Mills, Danny Green, Taj Gibson and Patrick Beverley among others.
Which class is the greatest in NBA history? <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tweet us your thoughts</a>!&nbsp;

Basketball News examines the crème de la crème of draft classes throughout NBA history.

Exploring the 5 best draft classes in NBA history

Brendan Malone, whose coaching career spanned six decades, is the recipient of the 2023 Tex Winter Assistant Coach Lifetime Impact award, the National Basketball Coaches Association announced today.
&ldquo;Brendan Malone has been a name synonymous with NBA success for many decades,&rdquo; said Rick Carlisle, Indiana Pacers head coach and NBCA president. &ldquo;He's helped develop players and young coaches, and been a multiple NBA champion on Chuck Daly's Detroit coaching staff in 1989 and 1990. Congrats to Coach Malone on this prestigious recognition.&rdquo;&nbsp;
&ldquo;I want to thank the National Basketball Coaches Association for this award,&rdquo; Malone said. &ldquo;Tex Winter was a man I got to know and respect. I also want to thank all of the head coaches that I enjoyed working with during my 29-year career in the NBA, in particular Hubie Brown who brought me into the league; Chuck Daly and our two championships; the Van Gundys, Stan and Jeff, and Don Chaney. Lastly, I want to thank my wife Maureen and our six children for sharing my journey.&rdquo;
Wetting his whistle with a few years of coaching CYO basketball, Malone began his coaching career in 1967 at the legendary Power Memorial Academy in New York City where he won three city championships and three Coach of the Year awards.
He then moved to the college ranks in 1976 as an assistant coach at Fordham, then Yale, and then Syracuse. At Syracuse, the Orange went to the NCAA Tournament four times. Malone was a Syracuse assistant for the first five years of the Big East. He left Syracuse to become head coach at the University of Rhode Island (URI) in 1984.
While at URI in 1986, Hubie Brown recruited Malone to join him as an assistant for the New York Knicks, the beginning of his 29-year NBA career. Malone had three different tours with the Knicks, the most notable of which was the four years with head coach Jeff Van Gundy. From 1996 to 2000, the Knicks went 177-119 with two Eastern Conference Finals appearances, as well as a trip to the 1999 NBA Finals.
Malone was an assistant coach for Stan Van Gundy for five years (2007 to 2012) in Orlando. The Magic won 50-plus games four straight years, went to the Eastern Conference Finals twice, and to the 2009 NBA Finals.
Malone was also an assistant coach for Bob Hill and Rick Pitino in New York, Don Chaney in both Detroit and New York, Isiah Thomas in Indiana, Paul Silas in Cleveland and Stan Van Gundy in Detroit. He was also a scout for the Detroit Pistons.&nbsp;
But it was in Detroit with Chuck Daly that Malone made his name, orchestrating the Jordan Rules defense that helped propel the Pistons to back-to-back NBA championships in 1989 and 1990.
Malone was the first head coach of the Toronto Raptors in 1995-96 and also served as head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers for 18 games in 2004-05.
In 27 seasons of NBA coaching, teams that Malone coached went to the playoffs 20 times, to the Conference Finals seven times, and to the NBA Finals four times, winning the title twice. His teams compiled a 1165-1001 record (.538).
Brendan and his son, Michael, who is the head coach of the 2023 NBA champion Denver Nuggets, are the only father-son coaching duo to have both won an NBA championship.
&ldquo;I want to thank the NBCA Selection Committee for acknowledging my father&rsquo;s impact and career in the NBA,&rdquo; Michael Malone said. &ldquo;His work ethic, his love of the game, and his passion for teaching were the foundation of my coaching career. This is a well-deserved honor and I feel very fortunate to be a part of this celebration.&rdquo;
Brendan Malone was enshrined in the New York Catholic High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 1993. In 1997, he was inducted into the Basketball Old-Timers of America Hall of Fame (which recognizes and honors individuals who have made outstanding contributions to New York City basketball). He is a 2017 enshrinee in the Power Memorial Academy Hall of Fame.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Assistant coaches generally operate behind the scenes and almost never receive enough public recognition for their team&rsquo;s success. However, any head coach will tell you that they are an indispensable part of the team equation,&rdquo; said David Fogel, NBCA Executive Director and General Counsel. &ldquo;Coach Malone&rsquo;s contributions to the accomplishments of his teams are well known inside the NBA and his contributions to the game continue through his son Michael&rsquo;s tremendous success. Congratulations to Brendan on this well-deserved honor.&rdquo;
The NBCA Tex Winter Lifetime Impact Award honors the tremendous achievements and commitment of Hall-of-Famer Tex Winter, who set a standard of innovation, integrity, competitive excellence, loyalty, and tireless promotion of NBA basketball throughout the course of his outstanding NBA coaching career.
The award is selected annually by the NBCA Selection Committee, comprised of some of the most respected coaches and executives in the game, including Rick Adelman, Hubie Brown, Doug Collins, Wayne Embry, Danny Ferry, Mike Fratello, George Karl, Doc Rivers, Rod Thorn and Lenny Wilkens.
This year&rsquo;s nominees included assistant coaches Bob Beyer, Dan Burke, Jeff Bzdelik, Gordon Chiesa, Carroll Dawson, Hank Egan, Jim Eyen, Brian Hill, Jim Lynam, Bob McAdoo, Brendan Suhr and Bob Weiss.
Prior recipients of this award are Ron Adams (2022), Dick Helm (2021), Bill Bertka (2019), Tim Grgurich (2018), Ron Rothstein (2017) and Phil Johnson (2016).

Brendan Malone is the recipient of the 2023 Tex Winter Assistant Coach Lifetime Impact award, the NBCA announced today.

Brendan Malone given Tex Winter Assistant Coach Lifetime Impact award

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

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

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

DENVER (AP) &mdash; The latest sanctions, if any, that the NBA plans to levy against&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-ja-morant-gun-investigation-adam-silver-13a26256b8e38c02c6f3bf6e2c191167">Memphis guard Ja Morant</a>&nbsp;for his second instance of displaying a gun on social media will be announced shortly after the finals, Commissioner Adam Silver said Thursday.
Silver did not say what the penalties were, not even saying if Morant would be available at the start of next season. Morant was suspended for eight games by the NBA in March for an incident where he broadcast himself on Instagram&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ja-morant-grizzlies-nba-gun-investigation-instagram-863e2f6217ab2ba438a85a31e4a492d5">displaying a gun in a suburban Denver club</a>, and was&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ja-morant-nba-investigation-gun-7fe15dae343f85d0366a4c959d5313b3">suspended by the Grizzlies last month</a>&nbsp;after another video showed Morant displaying what appeared to be a gun yet again.
Silver said the league has discovered more information during its current investigation, but the decision was made to not have the next round of Morant news overshadow the NBA Finals.
&ldquo;We probably could have brought it to a head now, but we made the decision &mdash; and I believe the players&rsquo; association agrees with us &mdash; that it would be unfair to these players and these teams, in the middle of this series, to announce the results of that investigation,&rdquo; Silver said.
The first suspension cost Morant about $669,000 in salary. The second incident was streamed on the Instagram account of Morant associate Davonte Pack. The video shows Morant in the passenger seat of a vehicle, briefly appearing to display a handgun. At the very brief moment &mdash; maybe less than a second &mdash; when Morant is shown holding what appears to be a weapon, the livestream had 111 viewers.
&ldquo;In assessing what discipline is appropriate, if that&rsquo;s the case, we look at both the history of prior acts but then we look at the individual player&rsquo;s history as well and the seriousness, of course, of the conduct,&rdquo; Silver said. &ldquo;Those are all things that get factored. It&rsquo;s not an exact science. It comes down to judgment at the end of the day on the part of me and my colleagues in the league office.&rdquo;
This will be at least the third known NBA investigation surrounding Morant and the possible involvement of firearms so far in 2023.
Morant&rsquo;s actions were investigated after a Jan. 29 incident in Memphis that he said led to Pack &mdash; someone Morant calls &ldquo;my brother&rdquo; &mdash; banned from Grizzlies home games for a year.
That incident followed a game against the Indiana Pacers; citing unnamed sources, The Indianapolis Star and USA Today reported that multiple members of the Pacers saw a red dot pointed at them while they were near the loading dock where their bus was located, and The Athletic reported that a Pacers security guard believed the laser was attached to a gun.
The NBA confirmed that unnamed individuals were banned from the arena but said its investigation found no evidence that anyone was threatened with a weapon.
Silver said he&rsquo;s hoping this episode sparks change for Morant.
&ldquo;He seems to be a fine young man, in terms of my dealings with him,&rdquo; Silver said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s clearly made some mistakes. But he&rsquo;s young and I&rsquo;m hoping now, once we conclude at the end of our process, what the appropriate discipline is, that it&rsquo;s not just about the discipline. It&rsquo;s about now what we, the players&rsquo; association, his team, he and the people around him around him are going to do to create better circumstances going forward. That&rsquo;s ultimately what&rsquo;s most important."
COMPETITIVE BALANCE
The NBA Finals matchup no longer seems predictable months in advance, and Silver doesn&rsquo;t mind that fact whatsoever.
Silver, speaking just before the start of a Denver-Miami matchup in the title series, said those two clubs making the finals &ldquo;speaks a lot to the competitiveness in this league.&rdquo; This is the league&rsquo;s sixth different finals matchup in the last six seasons, and nine different teams have played for a title in that span.
&ldquo;With just a little over a week left in the season, you had 26 teams still competing for the playoffs,&rdquo; Silver said in his annual pre-finals address. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s a record.&rdquo;
Denver is in the finals for the first time, and Miami is the second team to get there as a No. 8 seed &mdash; plus the first to get there after needing to survive the play-in tournament just to qualify for the playoffs. It&rsquo;s also a matchup of teams in the middle of the pack of the NBA market; Denver is No. 16 in market size, according to Nielsen, while South Florida is No. 18.
&ldquo;I think that&rsquo;s intriguing,&rdquo; Silver said.
There&rsquo;s been no shortage of examples of the same team &mdash; or two, even &mdash; making the finals on what seems like an annual basis.
Golden State played Cleveland four consecutive times from 2015 through 2018; Miami was in four consecutive finals from 2011 through 2014 and played San Antonio in the last two of those years; and the Los Angeles Lakers played three consecutive finals from 2008 through 2010, two of those matchups against Boston.
There were seven teams with better odds of winning the NBA title going into the season than Miami; there were eight with better odds than Denver.
&ldquo;Competition is great for the league,&rdquo; Silver said.

Adam Silver spoke about the NBA's investigation of Ja Morant and said the league will be making an announcement after the Finals.

Adam Silver: NBA to announce latest Ja Morant decision after Finals

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Nikola Jokic had 30 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists, and the Denver Nuggets advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time in team history Monday night, sweeping the Western Conference finals with a 113-111 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.
Jamal Murray scored 25 points for the top-seeded Nuggets, who overcame LeBron James&rsquo; 31-point first half and a 15-point halftime deficit with a tenacious finish in Game 4 to earn their first conference title in their 47 NBA seasons.
James finished with 40 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists after the highest-scoring postseason half of his career, but even the top scorer in NBA history couldn&rsquo;t keep the deep, dynamic Nuggets from their sixth consecutive victory overall.
James missed two tying shots in the final seconds, with Aaron Gordon appearing to block his shot at the buzzer.
Jokic earned his eighth triple-double of the playoffs by the third quarter, breaking Wilt Chamberlain&rsquo;s 1967 NBA record for triple-doubles in a single postseason. The Serbian big man also led the Nuggets&rsquo; tenacious defensive effort despite picking up his fifth foul midway through the fourth quarter &mdash; and when Denver needed a big basket, Jokic delivered that as well.
The Lakers erased a seven-point deficit and tied it with five minutes to play, but Jokic hit a 25-foot fallaway 3-pointer. After Anthony Davis hit two free throws to tie it with 1:11 left, Jokic muscled his way past Davis for the tiebreaking layup.
James then badly missed a strange fallaway jumper with 26 seconds left. After Murray missed a turnaround to give the Lakers one last chance, James&rsquo; drive at the buzzer was thwarted by Murray and Gordon, who scored 22 points.
The Nuggets will cap their superb season under coach Michael Malone by playing for their first NBA championship. Denver both eliminated the Lakers for the first time in eight playoff meetings and swept a playoff series for the first time, likely earning several days off before the finals.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Nikola Jokic and Michael Malone celebrate the first NBA Finals appearance in franchise history <a href="https://t.co/Ic7y6hkkeZ">pic.twitter.com/Ic7y6hkkeZ</a>
&mdash; Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) <a href="https://twitter.com/BenGolliver/status/1660851131042414598?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 23, 2023</a></blockquote>

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

Unless the Boston Celtics make basketball history by rallying from their 3-0 deficit in the East finals, Denver will host the eighth-seeded Miami Heat to open the NBA Finals, beginning June 1.
James scored 21 points in the first quarter and worked desperately to keep the Lakers competitive in the final game of his 20th NBA season. But the Lakers couldn&rsquo;t even force a Game 5, with an apparently exhausted Davis scoring 10 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter and adding 14 rebounds.
Austin Reaves scored 17 points for the Lakers, who were swept in a playoff series for the 11th time in team history, including nine best-of-seven series.
The loss ended seventh-seeded Los Angeles&rsquo; incredible turnaround after starting the season 2-10 under new coach Darvin Ham. After bolstering their roster at the trade deadline and surging into the postseason with two months of strong play, the Lakers then knocked off second-seeded Memphis and eliminated defending champion Golden State to stir their worldwide fans&rsquo; hopes for one of the most unlikely championship runs in NBA history.
Facing elimination for the first time in their remarkable playoff run, James and the Lakers responded with their best half of the series, taking a 73-58 halftime lead on James&rsquo; broad shoulders. He had 21 points in the first quarter, tying his playoff career high for a quarter in his record 282nd postseason game. He then matched his career high for points in any first half.
But the Nuggets responded with a relentless third quarter, taking their first lead less than eight minutes after halftime. Denver pushed its lead to seven before the Lakers rallied, with Davis&rsquo; putback dunk tying it with 5:02 to play.
TIP-INS
Nuggets: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope converted a four-point play in the first quarter. He finished with 13 points. ... The Nuggets have yet to trail in any series, and they&rsquo;re 8-0 at home in the playoffs &ndash; 10-0 since March. Denver is 12-3 overall in the postseason.
Lakers: James got an accidental 3-pointer in the first half when his lob pass to Rui Hachimura went in the basket. ... Ham shook up his starting lineup for the Lakers&rsquo; last chance, replacing struggling D&rsquo;Angelo Russell and Jarred Vanderbilt with Dennis Schr&ouml;der and Hachimura. The moves immediately worked, with the two new starters combining for 19 points in the first half. ... James&rsquo; 21 points were the most by a Lakers player in a playoff first quarter since at least 1997. ... Veteran Tristan Thompson had four points in 10 minutes during the most significant playing time of his Lakers career, which began in the final weekend of the regular season. &hellip; Kyrie Irving watched the game from courtside. The star free-agent guard has been linked to a reunion with James on the Lakers next season. Other fans at courtside included Vin Diesel, Adam Sandler and Aaron Donald.

Nikola Jokic had 30 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists, and the Nuggets advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time in team history.

Jokic leads Nuggets to first NBA Finals, eliminating LeBron's Lakers

MIAMI (AP) &mdash; Miami&rsquo;s Erik Spoelstra and Denver&rsquo;s Michael Malone are two of the four NBA coaches to have spent at least eight years with their current team.
They know how rare that is &mdash; especially as the league&rsquo;s coaching changes mount.
Championship-winning or title-contending coaches aren&rsquo;t safe in the NBA these days. In recent days, 2019 NBA champion Nick Nurse, 2021 champion Mike Budenholzer, 2021 Western Conference champion and 2022 Coach of the Year Monty Williams and most recently 2008 NBA champion Doc Rivers were all fired.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/raptors-nick-nurse-fired-c2b7dc404915ee3ae12fe1a52e589830">Nurse was fired by Toronto</a>,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/milwaukee-bucks-budenholzer-fired-e9ab56f83d317afd621adb7d7c244006">Budenholzer by Milwaukee</a>,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/suns-monty-williams-fired-53f33c2c3c8d69af7449cbfbf931bc0a">Williams by Phoenix</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/76ers-nba-doc-rivers-fired-09368e77a8f741576222c975c3affe55">Rivers by Philadelphia.</a>
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s disturbing,&rdquo; Spoelstra said. &ldquo;Doc&rsquo;s a Hall of Famer. ... There&rsquo;s only so many teams that can advance. It&rsquo;s just a really hard thing to do. Yeah, it&rsquo;s been a tough couple weeks, hearing the news of just some really surprising firings.&rdquo;
It doesn&rsquo;t make sense to Spoelstra, or likely to many other coaches. Spoelstra has the NBA&rsquo;s second-longest current tenure with one team. San Antonio&rsquo;s Gregg Popovich has coached the Spurs since 1996, Spoelstra took over the Heat in 2008, Steve Kerr became coach in Golden State in 2014 and Malone became coach in Denver in 2015.
&ldquo;I understand this business,&rdquo; said Malone, who&rsquo;ll lead Denver into the Western Conference finals starting Tuesday against the Los Angeles Lakers. &ldquo;You look around the coaching landscape, if you want a secure profession, coaching is not the one to get into. I should have been a TV reporter.&rdquo;
Of the last nine coaches to take a team to the NBA Finals, only two &mdash; Kerr and Spoelstra &mdash; are still with the franchise that they went to the title round with.
Three of the last four championship-winning coaches &mdash; Budenholzer in 2021, the Los Angeles Lakers&rsquo; Frank Vogel in 2020 and Nurse in 2019 &ndash; have since been fired by those clubs. Also no longer with their teams for various reasons after recent runs to the finals: Ime Udoka in Boston, Cleveland&rsquo;s David Blatt and then Tyronn Lue as well, and now Williams by the Suns.
&ldquo;This is the nature of this league and I think sometimes it&rsquo;s the chemistry,&rdquo; NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told ESPN in a televised interview before the draft lottery on Tuesday night. &rdquo;They don&rsquo;t go from being great coaches to bad coaches from one year to the next. It has to do with the chemistry of the team, the style, maybe somebody believes the players need to hear a new voice. But I&rsquo;m incredibly sympathetic. It&rsquo;s a rough side of this business and I think they understand it. They choose this profession. They&rsquo;re my friends and I hate to see it.&rdquo;
Budenholzer&rsquo;s dismissal left Kerr upset, as he revealed earlier this month &mdash; but noted that all coaches understand how vulnerable they are.
&ldquo;My first response is not necessarily shock, it&rsquo;s more disappointment because Bud is a fantastic coach,&rdquo; Kerr said. &ldquo;He just won a championship and has been wildly successful in his coaching career. But this is the business we&rsquo;re in. &hellip; Expectations every year for every team are so high, and only one team can win. It&rsquo;s sad news for the coaching profession.&rdquo;
At least six teams will have new coaches next season &mdash; Phoenix, Milwaukee, Toronto, Detroit and now Philadelphia are looking, and&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/rockets-udoka-celtics-b65d91fdfa3174b0c9fa36634cd20e42">Houston has hired Udoka</a>&nbsp;as the replacement for Stephen Silas. There were two in-season moves as well: Brooklyn&rsquo;s&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/brooklyn-nets-nba-sports-new-york-e72b511a6d8cdb4e4875dbc1b157557e">Jacque Vaughn was hired by the Nets</a>&nbsp;in November, and Atlanta&rsquo;s&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/utah-jazz-atlanta-hawks-nba-sports-playoffs-bce807f9f9f26951421f9ea2c2e5d52f">Quin Snyder was hired by the Hawks</a>&nbsp;in February. And two coaches in the conference finals are in Year 1 of their careers: the Lakers&rsquo; Darvin Ham, and the Celtics&rsquo; Joe Mazzulla, who had to take over unexpectedly in Boston last fall following&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/boston-celtics-nba-sports-basketball-ime-udoka-0f04a614b82c497346a423d9da036521">Udoka&rsquo;s suspension</a>&nbsp;for an inappropriate relationship with a Celtics employee.
Mazzulla will meet Spoelstra and Miami in the Eastern Conference finals starting Wednesday. Spoelstra has faced Boston three times for the East title in four years, going up against three different coaches &mdash; Brad Stevens in the NBA bubble restart in 2020, Udoka last year and now Mazzulla &mdash; and says while the coaches change, organizational stability exists and is crucial.
&ldquo;Joe was in the bubble. ... He&rsquo;s been part of some really good teams,&rdquo; Spoelstra said. &ldquo;That does have an impact. Probably more than anything in this league right now, you&rsquo;re looking for some kind of organizational stability between the front office and coaching staff.&rdquo;
There aren&rsquo;t many examples of that in the league right now. At minimum, 13 of the NBA&rsquo;s 30 teams will open next season with a coach who has been in place for no more than one season.
Rivers said Sunday that he expected to stay with the 76ers. &ldquo;No one&rsquo;s safe in our business. I get that,&rdquo; Rivers said.
Further proof of that came two days later, when he was dismissed.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s just the business of basketball,&rdquo; Miami guard Kyle Lowry said. &ldquo;And one thing about our business is sometimes it gets a little cut-throat.&rdquo;
Spoelstra has long said part of Miami&rsquo;s strength is consistency. Managing general partner Micky Arison, CEO Nick Arison, team president Pat Riley, general manager Andy Elisburg and others have been with the Heat for decades &mdash; and from the very beginning, in Elisburg&rsquo;s case, since he&rsquo;s been with the franchise for all 35 of its seasons.
Spoelstra has been with the organization for more than half his life as well; he was 24 when he started in the video room, and now he&rsquo;s 52.
&ldquo;It takes so much time and energy to restart something,&rdquo; Spoelstra said. &ldquo;And I think that&rsquo;s part of the reason why we&rsquo;ve been able to reboot so many times, over and over and over. We&rsquo;re not reinventing a new culture and then trying to teach everybody and then all of a sudden, two years later, it&rsquo;s going to be somebody else doing the exact same thing. But particularly to have proven veteran guys (fired), it&rsquo;s just been stunning. It really has been disturbing.&rdquo;

Erik Spoelstra, Mike Malone and Adam Silver discussed the firings of Monty Williams, Doc Rivers, Mike Budenholzer and Nick Nurse.

As NBA coaching changes mount, some lament the lack of job security

CHICAGO (AP) &mdash; Victor Wembanyama is now set to begin his NBA career with the San Antonio Spurs, after they won the NBA draft lottery and the No. 1 overall pick on Tuesday night.
The Spurs were one of three teams with the best odds &mdash; 14% &mdash; to land the No. 1 pick, which they&rsquo;ll almost certainly use on Wembanyama. The 7-foot-3 French 19-year-old is one of the most highly touted prospects in NBA history and will be expected to make an immediate impact on the league.
And he had a message for San Antonio.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m trying to win a ring ASAP,&rdquo; Wembanyama told ESPN after the lottery results. &ldquo;So be ready.&rdquo;
It&rsquo;s the third time the Spurs have won the lottery, and on both previous occasions they made picks that paid off for decades. They chose David Robinson in 1987, Tim Duncan in 1997, and those selections were a major part of how the Spurs became a team that won five NBA titles under coach Gregg Popovich.
&ldquo;Our future was already bright,&rdquo; Spurs managing partner Peter J. Holt said. &ldquo;Now, it&rsquo;s going to be through the moon.&rdquo;
General manager Brian Wright called it &ldquo;an incredible day&rdquo; for the franchise and the fans.
Charlotte will pick second, Portland moved up to third, and Houston fell to fourth.
&ldquo;This draft is a deep, talented one,&rdquo; Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin said. &ldquo;We know picks one through six there&rsquo;s always gems to be found, but to move up into the top three is really exciting.&rdquo;
As for getting the No. 1 pick in a year like this?
&ldquo;People talk about generational talents and you only think on-court skill, but it&rsquo;s bigger than that,&rdquo; Wright said. &ldquo;Peter talked about his ability to be a great teammate, his ability to think the game, unique challenges. You see him doing things that you wouldn&rsquo;t have even guessed someone could do &mdash; his approach, his professionalism. I think when you use the word generational talent, it extends beyond just your ability to put the ball in the basket. And he&rsquo;s unique in so many ways.&rdquo;
The Spurs were 22-60 this season, tied for the second-worst record in the NBA. Popovich and the Spurs have had incredible success with international players in the past &mdash; most notably, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker, who owns the French team that Wembanyama played for last season.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s an incredible young man,&rdquo; NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told ESPN as part of its draft lottery broadcast. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s 19 years old and I didn&rsquo;t take out a yardstick or meter stick or whatever they use in France, but he seemed all of 7-4 to me. &hellip; He clearly appears to be a generational talent.&rdquo;
Wembanyama finished his regular season with Boulogne-Levallois of France&rsquo;s top pro league earlier Tuesday, his 22-point effort good enough for him to clinch the league&rsquo;s scoring title. It was shortly past 2 a.m. Wednesday in Paris when the lottery results were revealed, and Wembanyama was gathered with family and friends for a celebration.
&ldquo;Can&rsquo;t really describe it,&rdquo; Wembanyama said in his interview with ESPN, adding &ldquo;it&rsquo;s a really special moment.&rdquo;
Finally, he knows where his NBA journey will begin. His agents did not respond to multiple requests for comment from The Associated Press.
&ldquo;I think the team that has the first choice isn&rsquo;t going to get it wrong,&rdquo; said Vincent Collet, Wembanyama&rsquo;s coach in France and also the coach of the French national team &mdash; which Wembanyama is expected to play for this summer at the World Cup and next summer at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Detroit had the worst record in the NBA and was one of the three teams with the best odds of winning. The Pistons wound up falling all the way to fifth, the worst of their possible outcomes.
The rest of the lottery order: Orlando will pick sixth, Indiana seventh, Washington eighth, Utah ninth, Dallas 10th, Orlando (from Chicago as part of an earlier trade) in 11th, Oklahoma City 12th, Toronto 13th, and New Orleans 14th.
Wembanyama is wrapping up his third professional season in France and has been the consensus top pick for months. He has the height of a center, the shooting touch of a wing and the passing ability of a point guard.
He wasn&rsquo;t at the lottery because of his game schedule in France. But many of the other top prospects &mdash; Scoot Henderson of the G League Ignite, Brandon Miller of Alabama, twin brothers Amen and Ausar Thompson of the Overtime Elite program &mdash; were in the room to watch the lottery results get unveiled and get a little better idea of where they may be heading to start their NBA careers.

Victor Wembanyama is now set to begin his NBA career with the San Antonio Spurs, after they won the NBA draft lottery on Tuesday.

Spurs win NBA Draft Lottery and right to draft Victor Wembanyama

PHILADELPHIA (AP) &mdash; Scrambling for a loose ball late in the fourth quarter and the outcome of Game 3 still in the balance, Grant Williams was accidentally stomped&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/awfulannouncing/status/1654667918641340416?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">face-first into the court</a>&nbsp;by Joel Embiid&rsquo;s wayward foot.
Much like the Celtics after their Game 1 debacle, a bloody, shaken Williams absorbed the beating and came back to help stick it to the suddenly shaky 76ers.
&ldquo;That was kind of nasty,&rdquo; Celtics guard Jayson Tatum said.
So, too, is what the Celtics have done to Embiid, James Harden and the rest of the Sixers while seizing control of the series.
Tatum scored 27 points, Jaylen Brown had 23 and Boston spoiled Embiid&rsquo;s MVP coronation, beating Philadelphia 114-102 Friday night to take a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Game 4 is Sunday in Philadelphia.
Williams didn&rsquo;t score a point in 23 minutes, but his toughness in shaking off the sneaker to the back of his head symbolized the way Boston has continued to fight after a Game 1 embarrassment.
&ldquo;I was like, &rsquo;Dang, I really got curb-stomped,&rsquo;&rdquo; Williams said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m just thankful he didn&rsquo;t like fully just lean his weight onto it. He definitely got me pretty badly. But then I think he felt that he landed on something, so he picked his foot up. It hurts a little bit.&rdquo;
Embiid had 30 points and 13 rebounds in his second game back from a sprained right knee after receiving his MVP trophy in a pregame ceremony.
Boston gave 76ers fans little reason to cheer again.
The Sixers pulled within five on De&rsquo;Anthony Melton&rsquo;s 3-pointer to get the crowd back into the game for all of 20 seconds before Malcolm Brogdon countered with a 3 to give Boston a 100-92 lead. Al Horford crushed the Sixers again &mdash; as he has most of his career &mdash; when he buried a 3 for a seven-point lead.
Embiid, forced to try and win it alone without any serious offensive help, missed a pull-up 18-footer and Tatum drained a jumper that all but put the game away. Tatum hit one more 3 for good measure and the Celtics won their second straight.
&ldquo;We just held the ball too long, too much,&rdquo; Embiid said. &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t start our actions fast enough. That&rsquo;s why it looks so slow. We&rsquo;re not scoring the ball. We&rsquo;re not making shots.&rdquo;
Embiid was flanked by his parents and teammates as he received the MVP trophy from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver before Game 3. Sixers fans roared as Embiid hoisted the trophy high over his head. Then the moment turned touching. Embiid&rsquo;s young son, Arthur, ran onto the court and into the arms of his father.
<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/ESPNNBA/status/1654634059199393792?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Embiid held his son</a>, who wore a &ldquo;My dad is the MVP&rdquo; T-shirt, and wiped tears from his eyes as fans chanted &ldquo;MVP! MVP!&rdquo;
&ldquo;Honestly, he&rsquo;s the main reason why I&rsquo;m really here,&rdquo; Embiid said. &ldquo;Becoming a father really changed my whole life. I just wanted to show him a good example.&rdquo;
The good times didn&rsquo;t last long.
Boston spiked any emotional carryover from the ceremony and raced to a quick 10-point lead.
The Sixers spent the rest of the game playing catch-up. All the energy spent to come back and take brief leads quickly evaporated and the Celtics snagged them right back.
Embiid gamely tried to carry the Sixers on one good knee, but got almost no help from Harden and Tyrese Maxey. Harden&rsquo;s 45-point effort in a Game 1 upset in Boston seemed more an aberration than a sign of things to come. Harden followed his 2 of 14 in a Game 2 loss with 3-for-14 shooting for 16 points.
Harden&rsquo;s 5-for-28 shooting the last two games is the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/ESPNStatsInfo/status/1654675131971563520" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">worst for him over any two-game span</a>&nbsp;in his career, regular season or playoffs, in which he&rsquo;s attempted at least 20 field goals.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re just trying to make him work as much as we can,&rdquo; Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. &ldquo;Trying to keep him off the free-throw line. Guys are just working to take away those details.&rdquo;
Harden failed to pick up the Sixers in the third, when he could have changed the game.
He did hit P.J. Tucker for a 3 that pulled the Sixers to 74-72. Harden then missed two straight jumpers and fouled Brown on a tough layup. Brown made the free throw and the Celtics were back up by eight.
Harden oddly passed up plenty of easy looks and layups and also committed five turnovers.
Embiid had scored 53 points against the Celtics in an early-April matchup, but could never get cooking in Game 3. The Celtics double-teamed Embiid from the jump and he looked gassed by the end of the third. Without a teammate he could trust to make shots, Embiid took the scoring load on himself and scored 12 points in the third when he played the entire quarter.
&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t get the ball enough,&rdquo; Embiid said. &ldquo;Not to score, but also to make plays for my teammates. They had a tendency of doubling quite a bit tonight, so I thought we could have used that to our advantage. When we did, we also missed a lot of wide-open 3s.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Celtics: Tatum added 10 rebounds. ... Boston 16 of 45 3-pointers.
76ers: Made 12 of 12 free throws in the first quarter. ... Made 16 of 37 3s.

Jayson Tatum scored 27 points, Jaylen Brown had 23 and Boston spoiled Embiid’s MVP coronation, beating Philadelphia 114-102.

Tatum, Brown spark Celtics past 76ers 114-102 in Game 3

The Memphis Grizzlies must prove the NBA&rsquo;s second-youngest team can learn the league&rsquo;s toughest lesson that the playoffs&nbsp;are nothing like the regular season.
It&rsquo;s also time these young Grizzlies grow up.
The Grizzlies&rsquo; third straight postseason &mdash; their second consecutive as the Western Conference&rsquo;s No. 2 seed &mdash; ended Friday night in six games in the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/lakers-grizzlies-lebron-morant-nba-playoffs-2023-0e29c52f85372c3f4580832c328ebe10">worst playoff loss in franchise history</a>&nbsp;in 13 appearances. Anthony Davis, LeBron James and the Lakers humbled them after having to win the No. 7 seed in the play-in tournament.
&ldquo;This is probably that moment in time that&rsquo;s going to be the ultimate wake-up call,&rdquo; Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said.
&ldquo;Are we going to really understand it&rsquo;s the preparation in the offseason and the preparation in the season? It&rsquo;s what you do at work, off the court. Clearly, things that we&rsquo;ve got to control and just embrace it together.&rdquo;
Two-time All-Star point guard Ja Morant, who signed a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-nba-sports-9133154cdb4253d6dfebf0e68279b4c7">five-year supermax contract</a>&nbsp;last summer, will have the biggest chance to prove&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ja-morant-grizzlies-nba-gun-investigation-allstar-9819e8b8b5c42da71488db6688f85ca3">how much he can mature</a>. Morant was&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ja-morant-suspended-nba-gun-video-8cc82061f6465f96d6c5d0806d92d7d0">suspended by the NBA for eight games in March</a>&nbsp;and had almost as many&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-memphis-grizzlies-ja-morant-lawsuit-2392fe03e2399ba5f048d2186d1e703b">off-court distractions</a>&nbsp;as endorsement deals.
Morant, who set the franchise single-season record by averaging 26.2 points a game, said he understands where he can grow as a leader.
&ldquo;I just got to be better with my decision-making,&rdquo; Morant said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s pretty much it. My off-the-court issues affected us as an organization pretty much. Just more disciplined.&rdquo;
HOME EDGE
The Grizzlies set a franchise mark by going 35-6 at home this season, the NBA&rsquo;s best home record since Golden State won 36 games in the 2016-17 season. Memphis needs to play better on the road after going 16-25, better than only Golden State among the teams reaching the first round.
Memphis lost all three playoff games in Los Angeles, with only Game 4 reaching overtime.
INJURY HEX
This was the fifth time Memphis&rsquo; playoff hopes were hampered by injuries or suspensions.
Morant missed Game 2 against the Lakers after aggravating his bruised right hand, while&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/grizzlies-lakers-dillon-brooks-174e0914b8a2376176ee940a8869e563">Dillon Brooks was ejected in Game 3</a>&nbsp;for striking James in the groin. Luke Kennard, the NBA&rsquo;s top 3-point shooter, missed Game 6 with an injured shoulder.
The Grizzlies also didn&rsquo;t have starting center Steven Adams, their oldest player, or key reserve Brandon Clarke because of season-ending injuries.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-nba-sports-steven-adams-phoenix-37d09a9662037d519eccf9282f17ac59">Adams hurt his right knee in late January</a>, and&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/brandon-clarke-memphis-grizzlies-torn-achilles-12b9cc6fbc1675b786d4b4ba0dd9aaa5">Clarke tore his left Achilles tendon</a>&nbsp;in early March.
The Lakers dominated the Grizzlies on the boards.
&ldquo;It would be dumb to say that it didn&rsquo;t play a part in it,&rdquo; third-year guard Desmond Bane said. &rdquo;(Adams) was a part of what we did all season long. Obviously (Clarke) was, too.&rdquo;
Last season, Morant&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/golden-state-warriors-memphis-grizzlies-nba-sports-jordan-poole-5d6963a01c0f84c7421c9f4ff7711011">missed the final three games</a>&nbsp;of Memphis&rsquo;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-basketball-97a1c9789d3a3ad4bea8751117f69387">semifinals loss to eventual champion</a>&nbsp;Golden State.
BRIGHT FUTURE
In addition to Morant, the Grizzlies also have Jaren Jackson Jr., the NBA&rsquo;s second-youngest player to be named&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/jackson-grizzlies-dpoy-nba-defensive-player-award-25780ba4e0e48bdc7bd9ba2707cbaf97">defensive player of the year</a>. Jackson, who also is 23, led the league and set a franchise record by averaging 3 blocks per game.
Jackson blossomed, particularly after Adams&rsquo; injury, and was picked for his first All-Star Game. He averaged 18.6 points and 6.8 rebounds, both career highs. Healthy going into the offseason, the five-year veteran who won&rsquo;t turn 24 until September has more room to improve.
WHAT TO DO WITH BROOKS
The easiest decision for Memphis may be letting the 6-foot-6 Brooks leave as a free agent after five seasons. Yes, he&rsquo;s a great defender who played his best against All-Stars during the regular season, but he also led the NBA in technical fouls.
Then came the playoffs. Brooks said he wanted to face the Lakers&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-playoffs-dillon-brooks-lebron-lakers-grizzlies-2023-c8a4ec836df1b0c8a6c5172cf5fe4981">before calling James &ldquo;old&rdquo; and saying he didn&rsquo;t respect anyone</a>&nbsp;until they put up 40 on him. Well, the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/lakers-grizzlies-lebron-morant-nba-playoffs-2023-0e29c52f85372c3f4580832c328ebe10">Lakers polished off the Grizzlies with a 40-point win</a>&nbsp;in James&rsquo; 40th postseason series victory of his career.
Brooks didn&rsquo;t help himself when he bolted the Memphis locker room after the series loss before reporters were allowed inside. The guard being paid $11.4 million this season on a rookie extension also didn&rsquo;t talk after three of the losses in the series.
FUTURE MOVES
The Grizzlies hold club options on Xavier Tillman and Kennard for next season. They also have the 25th overall pick in the June draft.

The Memphis Grizzlies are the NBA’s second-youngest team and after this year's playoff exit, it's time for them to grow up.

Young Grizzlies must grow up after early exit from playoffs

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Anthony Davis had 16 points and 14 rebounds while blocking five shots in a spectacular defensive performance, D&rsquo;Angelo Russell scored a career playoff-high 31 points and the Los Angeles Lakers completed their first-round upset of the Memphis Grizzlies with a 125-85 victory in Game 6 on Friday night.
LeBron James scored 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting for the seventh-seeded Lakers, who emphatically clinched a playoff series in their own arena for the first time since 2012.
The Lakers won all three of their home games in the series, and the final victory was a scary demonstration of their capabilities when James and Davis are both healthy. Davis&rsquo; imposing defensive presence largely shut down Memphis&rsquo; offense in Game 6, while Russell&rsquo;s five 3-pointers highlighted an impressive offensive effort from a late-blooming team with championship aspirations.
The Lakers took a 20-point lead in the first half and went up by 36 in the third quarter before coasting to victory&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/lakers-jack-nicholson-7a5e4d2543c4c462b3aedbdede832059">before superfan Jack Nicholson</a>&nbsp;and a roaring crowd. James and Davis even got to sit out the entire fourth quarter, preserving their legs for the second round.
The Lakers had to win a play-in game just to reach a playoff series, although this star-studded team is no ordinary seventh seed. Los Angeles opens its next series on the road Tuesday against the winner of Sunday&rsquo;s Game 7 between Sacramento and defending champion Golden State.
Ja Morant scored 10 points on 3-of-16 shooting for the Grizzlies, who won 107 games and two Southwest Division titles in the past two seasons, but just one playoff series.
Morant&rsquo;s injured right hand appeared to hamper his shot, and he seemed unwilling to drive the paint with his usual fearlessness while Davis loomed in the middle. Morant&rsquo;s teammates couldn&rsquo;t pick him up: Desmond Bane, who guaranteed a Game 7, had 15 points on 5-of-16 shooting, while Jaren Jackson Jr. had 14 on 3-of-12 shooting.
Dillon Brooks, the Memphis agitator who dismissed James as &ldquo;old&rdquo; after Game 2 and then got ejected from Game 3 for striking James in the groin, finished a dismal series performance with 10 points in Game 6 while Lakers fans booed his every move.
The Lakers hadn&rsquo;t won a playoff series outside the Florida bubble in 11 years, enduring a dismal decade-plus for a 17-time champion franchise with a fan base used to excellence.
James and Davis have won a title together, but they had done little to remember in front of their home fans before the past two months, when their supporting cast markedly improved at the trade deadline with several additions headlined by Russell. The dynamic duo improved to 5-0 in playoff series in which they both appeared in every game together.
The Grizzlies had the second-worst road record among the NBA&rsquo;s 16 playoff teams in the regular season, and they lost their first four road games against the Lakers this season. They fell into a 3-1 hole in this series with back-to-back losses in Los Angeles, but staved off elimination by winning in Memphis on Wednesday.
Lakers fans sensed the enormity of the moment and turned out in force, highlighted by the return of the 86-year-old Nicholson to his courtside seats after a nearly two-year absence. Their team delivered, jumping to a 20-point lead in the first half and stretching it to 36 in the third quarter.
The Grizzlies played without 3-point threat Luke Kennard due to a sore shoulder, further hurting the depth on a roster already missing injured regulars Steven Adams and Brandon Clarke.
JACK&rsquo;S BACK
Nicholson watched his beloved team for the first time since October 2021, returning to his usual seats alongside his son. The Lakers&rsquo; most famous fan has been a fixture at courtside for the last half-century, and the Oscar-winning actor got a huge ovation from his fellow supporters whenever his face appeared on the scoreboard.
TIP-INS
Grizzlies: Kennard went through a pregame workout before getting ruled out. He got a stinger in Game 5. ... Xavier Tillman scored two points in 18 minutes.
Lakers: Nicholson&rsquo;s return was the highlight of a celebrity-studded night at courtside, where the fans included Larry David, Dr. Dre, Adele and Kyrie Irving, who got a big hug from James before the game. Irving is a free agent this summer, and he has been linked to a reunion with James repeatedly in recent years. ... Austin Reaves had 11 points, eight assists and six rebounds.

The Los Angeles Lakers completed their first-round upset of the Memphis Grizzlies with a 125-85 victory in Game 6 on Friday night.

Lakers obliterate Grizzlies 125-85, advance to 2nd round

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

NBA announces 242 early-entry candidates for 2023 NBA Draft

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; LeBron James made the tying layup with 0.8 seconds left in regulation before scoring four of his 22 points in overtime, and the Los Angeles Lakers surged to a 3-1 lead in their first-round playoff series with a 117-111 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night.
The 38-year-old James also grabbed a career playoff-high 20 rebounds and added seven assists and two blocked shots while committing just one turnover in his 270th playoff game, extending his own NBA record. He became the first Lakers player to put up 20 points and 20 rebounds in a playoff game since Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal in 2004.
Austin Reaves scored 23 points and Anthony Davis had five of his 17 in overtime for the seventh-seeded Lakers, who have won two straight home games to move to the brink of their first playoff series victory outside the Florida bubble since 2012.
Los Angeles surged back from a seven-point deficit with five minutes left in regulation with a rally that abruptly began when D&rsquo;Angelo Russell hit three consecutive 3-pointers, and the Lakers never trailed in OT.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m so proud of our guys, the way we fought,&rdquo; Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. &ldquo;We found a way.&rdquo;
Game 5 is Wednesday night in Memphis.
Desmond Bane scored 36 points and hit a tiebreaking layup with 6.7 seconds left in regulation for the second-seeded Grizzlies, who will have to rally from a 3-1 series deficit and win a Game 7 for the first time in franchise history to advance.
Ja Morant scored 19 points with his injured right hand, but Davis blocked his jumper at the regulation buzzer. The Grizzlies then missed six of their first eight shots in overtime while committing two key turnovers.
Dillon Brooks, who dismissed James as &ldquo;old&rdquo; after Game 2, had 11 points for Memphis after getting ejected from Game 3 for striking James in the groin.
James coolly scored the basket that forced overtime over heavy defensive pressure, and he hit a huge layup while getting fouled to put the Lakers up by five with 29.1 seconds to play in OT. Dennis Schr&ouml;der and Austin Reaves buried two free throws apiece to seal the Lakers&rsquo; 12th win in 15 games dating to the regular season.
The Lakers trailed for much of the second half, and Davis didn&rsquo;t look sharp for much of Game 4 while struggling with an apparent hip injury that required a heating pad on the bench. But Davis blocked four shots, and the Lakers excelled whenever the big man was protecting the rim.
Morant&rsquo;s 45-point performance in Game 3 wasn&rsquo;t enough to dig the Grizzlies out of an early 29-point hole in his first game back from an injury absence with a sore right hand. He then reacted with obvious pain after he jammed the hand into the ground again during the second half of Game 4, but kept playing and even dunked on Rui Hachimura an instant before the third-quarter buzzer.
The Grizzlies fell behind by an NBA record-tying 26 points after a historically bad first quarter in Game 3, but they dramatically improved their start in Game 4. The Lakers still jumped out to a 15-point lead in the first half before Memphis got back in it with a big surge to close the first half.
TIP-INS
Grizzlies: Pro Football Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe watched the game from courtside. Sharpe, a Fox Sports commentator and a huge LeBron fan, got into a shouting match with several Grizzlies and Morant&rsquo;s father during their visit to face the Lakers in January, requiring security to intervene. There was no apparent drama this time out. ... Jaren Jackson Jr. kneed Schr&ouml;der very near the groin while setting a screen in the fourth quarter, but assessed only a common foul after video review.
Lakers: The celebrity-studded sellout crowd included Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who watched from a luxury box. Edward Norton, Adam Sandler, USC coach Lincoln Riley and Diddy also attended. ... Jarred Vanderbilt scored 15 points and even hit his first 3-pointer in 20 days during the first quarter. His impressive defense has been more valuable than his balky offensive game for the Lakers, who quickly put him in the starting lineup after his arrival at the trade deadline.

LeBron James and the Lakers surged to a 3-1 lead in their first-round playoff series with a 117-111 victory over the Grizzlies on Monday.

LeBron James leads Lakers past Grizzlies 117-111 in OT for 3-1 lead

Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer expressed cautious optimism regarding the status of Giannis Antetokounmpo after the two-time MVP left Milwaukee&rsquo;s Eastern Conference playoff opener with a bruised lower back.
Antetokounmpo isn&rsquo;t the only prominent player already dealing with a health issue after the first weekend of the playoffs. Injuries to some of the NBA&rsquo;s top stars have dimmed the start of the postseason, with title hopes possibly fading just as quickly depending on how bad they&rsquo;re hurt.
Budenholzer said Monday that Antetokounmpo underwent an MRI after the game that revealed &ldquo;everything&rsquo;s clean.&rdquo;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/heat-bucks-butler-giannis-herro-injuries-94e39b603906b4438a4fb2dc6144a684">The Bucks lost 130-117 to the Miami Heat</a>&nbsp;on Sunday and trail the best-of-7 series 1-0 heading into Game 2 on Wednesday night.
&ldquo;I would say he&rsquo;s still sore, but I think progress,&rdquo; Budenholzer said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s getting some treatment. I think we&rsquo;ll just continue to monitor him for the next day or two. We&rsquo;re probably fortunate that (we have) two days between games. I think (we&rsquo;re) still mostly positive, mostly optimistic, but we&rsquo;ll see how he feels over the next day or two.&rdquo;
Injuries over the span of a couple hours Sunday also sidelined two-time All-Star Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies and the Miami Heat&rsquo;s Tyler Herro, keeping them from finishing their playoff openers.
Anthony Davis scared Los Angeles Lakers fans by grabbing at his right shoulder and saying he couldn&rsquo;t move his arm. Luckily for the Lakers, Davis rebounded from a stinger and returned for the start of the third quarter of their&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/lakers-grizzlies-nba-playoffs-b97a64fd11814378da7a37883e9997fa">128-112 victory over the Grizzlies.</a>
Both Antetokounmpo and Morant were hurt on drives to the basket where each landed awkwardly.
Antetokounmpo came down hard on his backside after being fouled by Miami&rsquo;s Kevin Love. The Bucks&rsquo; forward got up slowly with 4:13 left in the first quarter. He picked up his second foul about 2 1/2 minutes later but played about 11 minutes for the Eastern Conference&rsquo;s No. 1 seed.
The Bucks went on to lose&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/heat-bucks-butler-giannis-herro-injuries-94e39b603906b4438a4fb2dc6144a684">130-117 to Miami</a>.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/heat-tyler-herro-bucks-ffd01cc8e98856cbf26078ff48c7d096">Herro broke his right hand</a>&nbsp;late in the second quarter, apparently while diving for a loose ball. The Heat disclosed the severity of his injury at halftime.
Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said Herro,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/lmhelmbrecht/status/1647759335391477760?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">seen with a cast on his hand after the game,</a>&nbsp;won&rsquo;t play Game 2 on Wednesday night and the Heat will figure out what to do next.
&ldquo;I got the same diagnosis that you all heard,&rdquo; Spoelstra said.
Morant came into Sunday&rsquo;s first-round Western Conference series with his right hand already bandaged after being hurt in a win that clinched the No. 2 seed for the Grizzlies.
Then he drove to the basket against the 6-foot-10 Davis with 5:48 left, with Memphis trailing the Lakers 105-101. His right hand appeared to bend the wrong direction as he hit the court. Morant writhed in pain, then ran toward the Grizzlies&rsquo; bench letting out a yell near midcourt before sprinting to the locker room.
Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said X-rays were negative and the Grizzlies will do further testing taking this injury one day at a time.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not the medical expert,&rdquo; Jenkins said.
Morant said he&rsquo;s doubtful for Game 2 on Wednesday night with Memphis down 0-1 following a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/lakers-grizzlies-nba-playoffs-b97a64fd11814378da7a37883e9997fa">128-112 loss</a>.
&ldquo;Tough man, especially with everything I&rsquo;ve been through pretty much this season,&rdquo; said Morant, who was&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ja-morant-grizzlies-nba-gun-investigation-allstar-9819e8b8b5c42da71488db6688f85ca3">suspended by the NBA for eight games in March</a>&nbsp;after livestreaming himself holding a gun at a Denver-area strip club.
The guard who set the Grizzlies&rsquo; single season scoring record averaging 26.2 points a game wants to play. Memphis already is without center Steven Adams because of an&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/grizzlies-steven-adams-injury-ec017c3b6d3a5a40fbac68e311ad79b5">injured knee</a>&nbsp;and reserve big man&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/brandon-clarke-memphis-grizzlies-torn-achilles-12b9cc6fbc1675b786d4b4ba0dd9aaa5">Brandon Clarke tore an Achilles tendon</a>&nbsp;in March.
&ldquo;Another incident where that&rsquo;s pretty much in jeopardy,&rdquo; said Morant, who missed the final three games of&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-basketball-97a1c9789d3a3ad4bea8751117f69387">Memphis&rsquo; semifinals loss to eventual champ Golden State</a>&nbsp;with an injured knee.
Pain level and how effective he can be will decide if Morant can play.
&ldquo;I feel like I can go out there and be somewhat myself, I&rsquo;ll be playing,&rdquo; Morant said. &ldquo;If not, I don&rsquo;t want to do anything to hurt the team.&rdquo;
The Clippers survived their opener by&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/clippers-suns-leonard-durant-westbrook-28319b522530ea87a035106976478d04">beating No. 4 seed Phoenix 115-110</a>&nbsp;without eight-time All-Star guard Paul George, who&rsquo;s been sidelined by&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-clippers-paul-george-injury-b0d5e91971a68b5a970ae3f6c2c7933e">sprained right knee</a>&nbsp;since late March.
Lakers coach Darvin Ham may have been the happiest coach after sending Davis to the locker room with 1:15 left in the second quarter to make sure the medical team started working on the eight-time All-Star immediately.
&ldquo;Just happy he&rsquo;s OK,&rdquo; Ham said.

Injuries to some of the NBA’s top stars have dimmed the start of the postseason and changed title odds in both conferences.