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Cavaliers

Philadelphia 76ers superstar center Joel Embiid has signed a huge max extension deal worth up to $192.9 million, <a href="https://x.com/ShamsCharania/status/1837099208769196061">according to The Athletic&rsquo;s Shams Charania.</a>
The former NBA MVP will now have a total of nearly $300 million in his current deal, and will include a player option in the contract&rsquo;s last year in 2028-2029.
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5781843/2024/09/20/joel-embiid-sixers-extension-contract/">According to Charania</a>, Embiid will make $51.5 million in 2024-25 and $55.2 million in 2025-26, per the terms of his pre-extension contract. He then will make up to $59.54 million in 2026-27 &mdash; the maximum salary he can make if the salary cap, as expected, has the maximally allowed increases of 10 percent for each of the next two offseasons. Tack on eight percent raises of that amount in the following two seasons, resulting in salaries of $64.3 million in 2027-28 and $69.07 million in 2028-29.
Embiid&rsquo;s contract will now be the third-largest signed in NBA history, behind only Boston Celtics&rsquo; superstar duo Jayson Tatum ($314 million) and Jaylen Brown ($304 million). Embiid will join LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and Paul George as the only players in NBA history to make more than $500 million in total career earnings.
Embiid announced his contract extension signing via a heartfelt Instagram post.
&ldquo;Philadelphia is home. I want to be here for the rest of my career,&rdquo; Embiid wrote. &ldquo;I love this community and everything you&rsquo;ve given me and my family. There is a lot more work to do. You guys deserve a championship and I think we&rsquo;re just getting started!&rdquo;
The Sixers recently made perhaps their biggest offseason moves since trading for Jimmy Butler when they signed free agent forward Paul George from the Los Angeles Clippers, giving Embiid his most talented Sixers roster since he was drafted by the team in 2014. Tyrese Maxey, the Sixers&rsquo; rising star, has also signed his contract extension this offseason after a strong playoff performance last season. With these set of moves, Philadelphia is banking all in on this roster to bring the franchise an NBA title, and it all starts and ends with their superstar center Embiid.
Despite averaging a league-leading 34.1 points per game last season, Embiid was only able to play 34 games after tearing his left meniscus that sidelined him for most of the regular season. He was able to come back at the tail end of the season and help the Sixers in the playoffs but their season was ended by the New York Knicks in 6 games.
After winning the gold medal with Team USA over the summer at the Paris Olympics, Embiid is poised to lead the Sixers in their quest for an NBA championship.

Sixers superstar Joel Embiid has signed a max extension deal worth up to $192.9 million, according to Shams Charania.

Joel Embiid signs $193 million max extension with Sixers

On Tuesday night, the Chicago Bulls tried something new against the Minnesota Timberwolves: starting their two centers, Nikola Vucevic and Andre Drummond, together.
The Bulls normally start Vucevic and surround him with four perimeter players, but head coach Billy Donovan elected to move Vucevic to the four in this game and play Drummond alongside him at the five.
The Bulls started the two big men to counter Minnesota&rsquo;s huge frontline of Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert, and the results were rather interesting.
The two-man lineup of Vucevic and Drummong has appeared in just seven games and played 54 minutes together. However, in those seven games, the pairing has the highest offensive rating (130.6) and overall net rating (14.3) Vucevic has had with a teammate this season.
Against the Wolves, Vucevic and Drummond had a net rating of 8.7 and a plus-minus of +3. They shared the floor for 25 minutes, achieving an offensive net rating of 134.7 &ndash; again, the highest of all two-man lineups with Vucevic.
Although there were some spacing issues, the two big men worked their way around it on some offensive sets. The rest of the minutes were then staggered to cater to each big man and have a different playstyle for each when they were on the floor.
Out of Vucevic&rsquo;s 10 baskets, half of those came with Drummond on the floor. Among those were pick-and-pop jumpers (2), fadeaway jumpers from the left wing (2), and a driving floater in the lane.&nbsp;
On Vucevic&rsquo;s two threes, the Bulls utilized the two big men differently. First, Drummond sets a high pick for the ballhandler while Vucevic trails down the floor at the top of the key. Vucevic&rsquo;s man, Naz Reid, helps at the nail on the drive, leaving Vucevic open for the triple.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Vooch first three <a href="https://t.co/hJwpStBnX4">pic.twitter.com/hJwpStBnX4</a>
&mdash; Mon Anthony Valmoria (@Morval_) <a href="https://twitter.com/Morval_/status/1755466502902624541?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 8, 2024</a></blockquote>

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

In the second play, notice how Drummond is slotted at the dunker spot while the ballhandler and Vucevic flow into an empty corner pick-and-pop action for another three.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Vooch second three <a href="https://t.co/Vr3gsHPIE0">pic.twitter.com/Vr3gsHPIE0</a>
&mdash; Mon Anthony Valmoria (@Morval_) <a href="https://twitter.com/Morval_/status/1755466675661730060?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 8, 2024</a></blockquote>

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What&rsquo;s even more impressive is that the two started practicing the twin-towers combo the day of the game.
&ldquo;We just started practicing it today,&rdquo; Drummong said post-game. &ldquo;That wasn't long either, but we figured it out. He's a smart player, I'm a smart player. I stay out of his way and likewise. We figured it out throughout the game and found good chemistry."
The 12-year veteran thrived against the three-time DPOY Gobert and Minnesota's top-ranked defense. Drummond was backing Gobert down in the paint, pulling off some highlight plays and celebrating with &ldquo;too small&rdquo; gestures after he scored.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Andre Drummond deep in his celebration bag 👀🔴 <a href="https://t.co/ODxXPH6mWJ">pic.twitter.com/ODxXPH6mWJ</a>
&mdash; Taco Trey Kerby (@treykerby) <a href="https://twitter.com/treykerby/status/1755216956091981988?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 7, 2024</a></blockquote>
With this interesting lineup, the Bulls scored 129 points, which is way more than what the Wolves usually allows (106.8 points per game), as they have the best defensive net rating in the NBA.
Vucevic and Drummond ended up combining for 40 points, and this allowed Coby White to take over in the fourth quarter and overtime. With the Wolves' defense keying in on both bigs, White came up with 21 points in the fourth quarter on 7-of-8 from the field, including 4-of-5 from three. He finished the game with 33 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Coby White had the TAKEOVER badge 🔥 33 pts | 11-21 FG | 5 reb | 7 ast <a href="https://t.co/B0wBM3soBa">pic.twitter.com/B0wBM3soBa</a>
&mdash; Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) <a href="https://twitter.com/chicagobulls/status/1755085270787969471?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 7, 2024</a></blockquote>

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An Most-Improved-Player frontrunner, White knocked down tough threes late in the game, which has been a big part of his improvement this year.
But the spotlight belonged to Vucevic and Drummond. Even though it was a small sample size, there's excitement about how the pairing can be used against certain matchups going forward.
&ldquo;They got to pick their poison,&rdquo; Drummond said of his pairing with Vucevic. &ldquo;Whether you let me beat you up in the paint or he [Vucevic] can shoot the three or beat you up in the paint too. So, it's a great tandem, for sure.&rdquo;

On Tuesday night, the Chicago Bulls tried something new: starting their two centers, Nikola Vucevic and Andre Drummond, together.

Bulls fought fire with fire against Wolves, earning best win of season

Today, the NBA and FIBA announced 80 of the top high-school-age prospects from across Africa who will participate in the 19th edition of Basketball Without Borders (BWB) Africa, which will be held July 28-31 at the American International School of Johannesburg (AISJ) in South Africa.
BWB Africa 2023 will bring together 80 boys and girls from more than 25 African countries &ndash; including 19 NBA Academy Africa and NBA Academy Women&rsquo;s Camp Africa 2022 prospects &ndash; to learn directly from current and former NBA, WNBA and FIBA players, legends and coaches and compete alongside their peers from across the continent.&nbsp;
The campers will be coached by two-time NBA All-Star Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat; U.S.; ties to Nigeria), 2022 NBA All-Star Darius Garland (Cleveland Cavaliers; U.S.), 2022 NBA champion Jonathan Kuminga (Golden State Warriors; Democratic Republic of the Congo) and Jalen Suggs (Orlando Magic; U.S.).
Five current and former NBA head coaches will also serve as BWB Africa 2023 coaches: Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff; two-time NBA Coach of the Year, Nigeria Men&rsquo;s National Team head coach and Sacramento Kings head coach Mike Brown; 2018 NBA Coach of the Year Dwane Casey (most recently with the Detroit Pistons); Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham; and veteran NBA coach Dave Joerger (most recently with the Philadelphia 76ers).
Several former NBA and WNBA players will also serve as BWB Africa 2023 coaches, including 2015 FIBA AfroBasket champion Olumide Oyedeji (Nigeria), 2011 NBA champion Ian Mahinmi (France; ties Benin), former NBA player and Basketball Africa League Head of League Operations Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje (Cameroon), former NBA player Tacko Fall (Senegal), 2003 WNBA champion Astou Ndiaye (Senegal), two-time WNBA champion Taj McWilliams-Franklin, four-time WNBA champion Sheryl Swoopes and Mozambique basketball legend Clarisse Machanguana.&nbsp;
Toronto Raptors Vice-Chairman, Team President and Alternate NBA Governor Masai Ujiri; New Orleans Pelicans Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations David Griffin; and Portland Trail Blazers Assistant General Manager Mike Schmitz will serve as camp directors, while David Crewe and Frank Adams (Phoenix Suns) will serve as the camp&rsquo;s athletic trainers.
The players and coaches will lead the campers through a variety of activities, including movement efficiency drills, offensive and defensive skill stations, three-point contests, 5-on-5 games, and life skills and leadership development sessions.&nbsp;&nbsp;A ceremony on the final day of the camp will award the Kim Bohuny Camp MVP, the Patrick Baumann Sportsmanship Award, the B.J. Johnson Most Improved Player Award, the Three-Point Champion and the Defensive MVP to the boys and girls who distinguish themselves on the court and as leaders.
As part of the camp, NBA players and coaches will also participate in several community outreach initiatives around Johannesburg, including a hospital visit and a Her Time to Play seminar for the female campers on July 28, and a court unveiling in the Alexandra Township on Saturday, July 29.&nbsp; In addition, BWB Africa 2023 coaches will lead a development clinic for local coaches at AISJ on July 30.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Also on July 29, select&nbsp;NBA players&nbsp;will visit the NBA Store at Sandton City Mall in Johannesburg and engage with fans.
BWB Africa 2023 will be supported by Nike, a global partner of BWB since 2002, which will outfit participants with Nike apparel and footwear, and Gatorade, which will keep players and coaches hydrated throughout the camp.
BWB has reached more than 4,100 participants from 136 countries and territories since 2001, with 112 former campers advancing to the NBA or WNBA.&nbsp; The NBA and FIBA have staged 70 BWB camps in 47 cities across 32 countries on six continents.
The following is a complete list of players participating in the 19th&nbsp;BWB Africa camp (rosters subject to change):
&nbsp;
<table style="width: 447px;" width="447">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 403px;" colspan="2">
GIRLS
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Name
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Country
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Ines Bellahmer
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Algeria
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Filomena Luis
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Angola
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Guigma Sadia
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Burkina Faso
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Gisele Kipo*
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Cameroon
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Hannah Dibadjou
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Cameroon
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Salma Khedr*
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Egypt
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Leila El Sanadily
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Egypt
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Aisha Hassan
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Egypt
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Lucie Mounganga
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Gabon
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Fatoumata Sylla
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Guinea
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Roseline Ooko
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Kenya
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Harena Randriamasimanana
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Madagascar
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Fitahiana Ratsimason
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Madagascar
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Joanie Rakotonanahary
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Madagascar
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Fatoumata Samake*
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Mali
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Oumou Soumare
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Mali
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Aya El Kallali*
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Morocco
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Albertina Matsinhe*
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Mozambique
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Bata Lurdes*
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Mozambique
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Shanaya Matusse*
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Mozambique
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Joy Biribebe
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Nigeria
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Benitha Ngarambe
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Rwanda
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Jane Dusabe
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Rwanda
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Fatou Sima
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Senegal
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Marie Diouf
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Senegal
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Ndickou Matar Diop*
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Senegal
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Tacko Sy
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Senegal
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Sheriffa Rahman
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Sierra Leone
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Onnetse Molokwame
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
South Africa
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Luhle Ndaba
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
South Africa
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Reneilwe Motebele
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
South Africa
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Susan Peter
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
South Sudan
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Asunta Ring
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
South Sudan
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Nawasa Lazaro
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Tanzania
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Ibouanga Moussounda
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Togo
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Arwa Ghorbel*
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Tunisia
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Eya Nasri
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Tunisia
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Afef Bengoula
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Tunisia
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Christine Namyalo
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Uganda
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 191px;">
Immaculate Adongpiny
</td>
<td style="width: 212px;">
Uganda
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
*Participated in NBA Academy Women&rsquo;s Camp Africa 2022
&nbsp;
<table width="447">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 418.75px;" colspan="2" width="447">
BOYS
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Name
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Country
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Aginaldo Neto*
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Angola
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Manuel Camboma*
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Angola
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Inacio Anatoli Da Silva
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Angola
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Claudino Capangaa
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Angola
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Sansao Wika
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Angola
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Philippe Ntungicimpaye
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Burundi
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Arnold Eyadi Kenfack
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Cameroon
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Hermann Bel Gassina
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Cameroon
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Chris Naguidebe
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Central African Republic
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Tahir Doungous*
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Chad
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Zie Cheikh Conde
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
C&ocirc;te d&rsquo;Ivoire
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Tarek Khairy
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Egypt
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Ahmed Nedale
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Egypt
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Karim El Gizawi
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Egypt
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Courage Agbekpornu
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Ghana
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Kiggundu Austin Omondi
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Kenya
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Chouhaybou Keita
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Mali
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Mahamadou Konate
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Mali
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Hamza Bechchar
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Morocco
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Bolaji Oderinlo
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Nigeria
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Sultan Baruwa
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Nigeria
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Ibrahim Dan-Mutum
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Nigeria
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Jonah Precious
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Nigeria
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Ezekiel Obe*
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Nigeria
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Andre Bonazebi
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Republic of Congo
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Jude Fred Nkouka Silaho
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Republic of Congo
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Khadim Mboup*
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Senegal
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Assane Mandian*
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Senegal
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Yakhya Diop*
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Senegal
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Amar Diop*
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Senegal
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Mouhamed Camara
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Senegal
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Siyanda Radebe
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
South Africa
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Gilchrist Storm
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
South Africa
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Khaman Maluach*
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
South Sudan
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Moses Marial Mandiria
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
South Sudan
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Bol Wieu Mou Thet
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
South Sudan
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Lual Deng Lual Aguek
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
South Sudan
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Rayen Rouissi
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Tunisia
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Amen Hammi
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Tunisia
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 197.167px;" width="208">
Liberty Fusire*
</td>
<td style="width: 221.583px;" width="239">
Zimbabwe
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
*NBA Academy Africa prospect

Bam Adebayo, Darius Garland, Jonathan Kuminga and Jalen Suggs will coach 80 top high-school-age prospects from across Africa.

Adebayo, Garland, Kuminga, Suggs to coach prospects at BWB Africa 2023

As an NBA fan, there's a special thrill in discovering diamonds in the rough who exceed all expectations relative to their draft slot.
The NBA Draft isn't an exact science, and there are many examples of prospects who slip through the cracks and become franchise-changing players.&nbsp;
Today, let's look back on some of the biggest draft steals in NBA history.
Nikola Jokic, No. 41 overall in 2014
Coming from Serbia, Nikola Jokic was relatively unknown entering the 2014 NBA Draft. When the Denver Nuggets snagged the versatile big man with the No. 41 overall pick, nobody could have expected him to become a two-time MVP, a Finals MVP and one of most skilled centers of all-time. Jokic is the lowest-drafted MVP in NBA history and it isn't close, since every other Most Valuable Player was a top-15 pick. Just to give you an idea of how overlooked Jokic was entering the NBA, Nuggets GM Tim Connelly wasn't asked a single question about Jokic during his post-draft press conference back in 2014. Every question from the assembled media was about Jusuf Nurkic or Gary Harris, causing Connelly to comment, "So, no one wants to ask about our second-round pick Nikola Jokic? We are really excited about him.&rdquo; Perhaps the lack of buzz was due to the fact that Jokic was selected during a Taco Bell commercial.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
As the broadcast mentioned, Nikola Jokic was the No. 41 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. But let&rsquo;s not forget that Jokic was selected during a Taco Bell commercial. 😅 <a href="https://t.co/m8zm1kxZDt">pic.twitter.com/m8zm1kxZDt</a>
&mdash; Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlexKennedyNBA/status/1667343901374521347?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 10, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Giannis Antetokounmpo, No. 15 overall in 2013
Entering the 2013 NBA Draft, there was a bit of buzz about Giannis Antetokounmpo given his length and athleticism, but he was incredibly raw. Some scouts and executives had seen him play overseas, but the competition was deemed to be weak. Nobody knew what to expect from the young, lanky project from Greece. The Milwaukee Bucks decided to draft him with the No. 15 overall pick, and their gamble paid off spectacularly. Antetokounmpo developed into a generational talent, winning multiple MVP awards and leading the Bucks to their first NBA championship in decades. What makes Giannis slipping to No. 15 look even worse is the fact that many players who went ahead of him ultimately struggled, including Anthony Bennett (No. 1), Cody Zeller (No. 4), Alex Len (No. 5), Nerlens Noel (No. 6), Ben McLemore (No. 7), Trey Burke (No. 9), Michael Carter-Williams (No. 10) and Shabazz Muhammad (No. 14).
Kobe Bryant, No. 13 overall in 1996
In 1996, the Charlotte Hornets selected a teenage Kobe Bryant with the 13th pick and immediately traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Vlade Divac. This move was undoubtedly one of the biggest draft blunders in NBA history, as Bryant became one of the greatest players the game has ever seen. His work ethic, talent and competitive spirit allowed him to become a five-time NBA champion, an NBA MVP and one of the game's all-time greats. While <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">the 1996 NBA Draft was loaded</a>, players like Todd Fuller, Samaki Walker and Vitaly Potapenko had no business being drafted before Kobe. It's worth noting that Bryant was the first guard to enter the NBA straight out of high school, which scared some teams off.
Draymond Green, No. 35 overall in 2012
Draymond Green slipped to the second round of the 2012 NBA Draft because he was viewed as a "tweener" without a clear-cut position. However, Green's success helped eradicate that term, as teams started seeing the value in versatile players who could fill multiple roles. Green's defensive prowess and basketball IQ have been instrumental during the Golden State Warriors' dynastic run. With his fiery leadership and two-way impact, Draymond is widely regarded as the Warriors' heart and soul. Also, his resume is incredible: four NBA championships, a Defensive Player of the Year award, four All-Star appearances, two All-NBA selections and eight All-Defensive Team nods.&nbsp;
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/1232313350-0.jpg" alt="" width="743" height="447" />
Kawhi Leonard, No. 15 overall in 2011
One of the most shocking storylines during the 2011 NBA Draft was Kawhi Leonard slipping outside of the lottery. Finally, the Indiana Pacers drafted Leonard with the 15th overall pick and quickly traded him to the San Antonio Spurs for George Hill. It didn't take long for Leonard to make the teams that passed on him look foolish. Right away, Leonard made an impact with his lockdown defense and improved jumpshot. He played a huge role in the Spurs' 2014 title, taking home the Finals MVP award. Leonard just kept getting better and better until it became clear that he was a superstar and one of the game's most dominant two-way threats. Now, he's a two-time NBA champion, two-time Finals MVP, two-time Defensive Player of the Year and five-time All-NBA selection, as well as a member of the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team.
Manu Ginobili, No. 57 overall in 1999
Manu Ginobili spent the first few years of his career playing overseas, where he was very successful. While he was drafted with the 57th overall pick in the 1999 NBA Draft, Ginobili would ultimately remain abroad until the 2002-03 NBA season when he finally joined the Spurs as a 25-year-old. Ginobili's fearless style of play and exceptional basketball IQ turned him into a key cog in the Spurs' dynasty. Ginobili became a four-time NBA champion, an Olympic goal medalist, a Sixth Man of the Year and a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer. Not bad for someone who was nearly Mr. Irrelevant!
Isaiah Thomas, No. 60 overall in 2011
Speaking of Mr. Irrelevant, Isaiah Thomas was the 60th and final pick of the 2011 NBA Draft. Thomas thrived in Sacramento and had a brief stint in Phoenix, but he played his best basketball in Boston. At the height of his stint with the Celtics, Thomas averaged nearly 30 points per game &ndash; becoming a two-time All-Star and a fan favorite. Thomas is the ultimate underdog, from his draft-day story to his 5-foot-9 frame. Thomas proved his doubters wrong and became one of the league's most exciting scorers before injuries impacted his game.
Gilbert Arenas, No. 31 overall in 2001
Gilbert Arenas slipped to the 31st overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft, where he was ultimately selected by the Golden State Warriors. Despite slipping into the second round, Arenas' terrific scoring ability allowed him to become one of the most exciting guards of his era. His time with the Wizards was particularly memorable, as "Agent Zero" was a three-time All-Star during his stint in Washington. It's worth noting that Arenas played so well as a second-rounder that the NBA added <a href="https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2023/03/hoops-rumors-glossary-gilbert-arenas-provision-4.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Gilbert Arenas Provision</a> in the CBA, which made it easier for teams to keep talented second-rounders or undrafted players who hit restricted free agency after breaking out.
Steve Nash, No. 15 overall in 1996
Selected with the 15th overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft by the Phoenix Suns, Steve Nash was not an immediate superstar. However, with his exceptional court vision and terrific work ethic, he transformed himself into one of the most skilled point guards of his generation. While leading the Suns' high-octane offense, Nash won back-to-back MVP awards in 2005 and 2006. In addition to being a two-time NBA MVP, Nash would become an eight-time All-Star, seven-time All-NBA selection, five-time assist champion, first-ballot Hall-of-Famer and a member of the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team.

Alex Kennedy looks back on some of the biggest draft steals in NBA history, including Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo and more.

Hidden gems: Examining the 9 biggest draft steals in NBA history

SAN ANTONIO (AP) &mdash; The first dinner that Victor Wembanyama had in his new home city was filled with San Antonio royalty. Gregg Popovich was there, of course. So were Tim Duncan, David Robinson, Manu Ginobili and Sean Elliott.
NBA champions, all of them.
Wembanyama now starts his quest to join their club.
Even as the welcomes for Wemby continued Saturday &mdash; one at San Antonio&rsquo;s iconic downtown River Walk, another at the arena &mdash; the French teen who has been labeled a generational basketball talent already was thinking about what comes next. He&rsquo;s got a visit to Nike headquarters in Oregon in the next few days, appointments to see some houses in San Antonio that he might be calling home for the next few years and then practices for the NBA Summer League.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got a lot to do,&rdquo; Wembanyama said. &ldquo;But it&rsquo;s all right. It&rsquo;s OK. It&rsquo;s all going to fit in.&rdquo;
He&rsquo;s excited, and rightly so. He put on a Spurs uniform on Saturday for the first time and will play in one for the first time sometime in early July in either Sacramento or Las Vegas; San Antonio plays in both of those summer leagues. He offered high-fives to hundreds of Spurs employees who showed up at the arena on Saturday to welcome him, smiling the whole way.
&ldquo;These are exciting times,&rdquo; Spurs CEO R.C. Buford said.
They come with the biggest expectations. The morning party on the River Walk took place at the spot where the Spurs&rsquo; championship celebrations usually are centered. And the news conference that followed at the arena came with Wembanyama seated on a stage that just happened to be at the same end of the court as San Antonio&rsquo;s five NBA championship banners.
&ldquo;To Victor, I wanted to say to you directly, we&rsquo;re excited to grow with you, support you, challenge you, especially Coach Pop &mdash; there&rsquo;ll be a lot of challenging days &mdash; on your journey through life and basketball,&rdquo; Spurs general manager Brian Wright said as he sat to Wembanyama&rsquo;s left. &ldquo;Your talent is obvious, but as we got to know you, the maturity, the approach, the character really showed us how special of a young man you are.&rdquo;
It was part of a whirlwind first 20 hours or so in San Antonio for Wembanyama,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/spurs-wembanyama-draft-nba-11b2b43bc27076ab5036769bf5d4160b">who flew in from the NBA draft on Friday</a>&nbsp;and had dinner with Popovich and some former players that night. Wembanyama said he learned more about the NBA in those two hours than he had learned in the last few years.
&ldquo;Honestly, that was one of the best dinners of my life,&rdquo; Wembanyama said. &ldquo;And not because of the food. The food was good. But the people was crazy.&rdquo;
Saturday started with Wembanyama enjoying a bag of the city&rsquo;s famed breakfast tacos &mdash; bacon and egg, and bean and cheese, he said &mdash; before heading to the Arneson River Theater for the day&rsquo;s first introductory event. Robinson was there, sitting in the front row. So was San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg, wearing a Wembanyama jersey.
There&rsquo;s someone driving around San Antonio with a Wemby license plate. There&rsquo;s a burger with foie gras on the menu at a local sports bar, as a tribute to Wembanyama. There&rsquo;s a mural of him on the outside of a business directly across the street of another mural featuring Duncan, Ginobili and Tony Parker. There&rsquo;s even a mariachi band that already has a song about Wembanyama.
&ldquo;The fans have been the best at their job,&rdquo; Wembanyama said. &ldquo;I can only hope to be at their level.&rdquo;
The Spurs also introduced&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-draft-2023-wembanyama-report-card-2b66d099d445bf3f1f8e3c697dcc9efb">second-round pick Sidy Cissoko</a>&nbsp;on Saturday &mdash; another player from France who has known Wembanyama for about a decade. Cissoko played in Spain before ending up with the G League Ignite, and he already has endeared himself to San Antonio, a city with a strong Latin influence, by taking questions in English, French and Spanish.
&ldquo;The hoop gods have been incredibly generous to San Antonio for a long time, and they blessed us again with Victor and Sidy,&rdquo; Buford said.
Wembanyama said he hasn&rsquo;t had much time for sleep, and he&rsquo;s looking forward to things calming down a bit so he can get back into his basketball routine &mdash; one that has been understandably disrupted in recent days. But first, there was luggage to unpack, more people to meet, more jerseys to sign.
It was hectic. It&rsquo;s going to be hectic for a while. And Wembanyama says he&rsquo;s enjoying it all.
&ldquo;This is the life I wanted,&rdquo; Wembanyama said. &ldquo;This is what I worked for and it&rsquo;s what I&rsquo;ve been wanting for a long time. So, it feels normal to me.&rdquo;

The 48 hours after Victor Wembanyama was drafted No. 1 overall by the San Antonio Spurs have been a whirlwind.

Spurs, fans welcome No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama to San Antonio

DENVER (AP) &mdash; Nikola Jokic wasn&rsquo;t supposed to be here. Neither was Jimmy Butler, for that matter.
Jokic was drafted behind 40 other players in 2014. Butler was drafted behind 29 others in 2011. Jokic grew up in Serbia, not even thinking about the NBA. Butler didn&rsquo;t have the easiest upbringing in Texas, then went the junior college route at the start of his journey toward the pros.
Yet here they are in the NBA Finals.
One of them will become a champion for the first time, with Jokic leading the Denver Nuggets and Butler leading the Miami Heat in a matchup that starts Thursday night in Denver, with the Nuggets heavily favored to win it all.
&ldquo;This is going to be the hardest game of our life, and we know that,&rdquo; Jokic said. &ldquo;We are prepared for that. We are prepared for that. So, I think there is no favorite. Definitely, I think we are not favorites in this series. I think they&rsquo;re not either. I think it&rsquo;s just the finals.&rdquo;
The Nuggets &mdash; in the finals for the first time &mdash; had by far the easier road to the title round. They climbed atop the Western Conference standings in mid-December and never fell from that perch, then lived up to that No. 1 seed by going 12-3 in the West playoffs.
Miami &mdash; a seven-time finalist now, seeking a fourth title &mdash; had about the rockiest path to the Rocky Mountains that a team could have. The Heat had to rally in a play-in elimination game just to make the playoffs, knocked out No. 1 overall seed Milwaukee in Round 1, rival New York in Round 2 and then just had to go win a Game 7 in Boston, after nearly wasting a 3-0 lead, to vanquish last season&rsquo;s loss to the Celtics in the East finals.
&ldquo;This is a special group,&rdquo; Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. &ldquo;This group has been able to overcome a lot of different things, handle a lot of adversity, setbacks, things that have not gone the way we wanted them to go. And instead of having that collapse our spirit, it allowed us to develop some fortitude and grit collectively, and give us something to rally around, which was each other.&rdquo;
At 44-38 this season, Miami would tie the worst regular-season record ever by an NBA champion. The Washington Bullets had that record and won the 1978 title. There were 10 teams that finished this season with better records than Miami &mdash; nine of them are no longer playing &mdash; and 589 teams in NBA history that had better regular seasons than the 2022-23 Heat yet still didn&rsquo;t win a title.
They are improbable finalists. Their leader took an improbable path, too. But after stints with Chicago, Philadelphia and Minnesota didn&rsquo;t always go as planned, Butler is now in the finals with Miami for a second time in four years.
&ldquo;I would like to say that I&rsquo;m never rattled. I&rsquo;m very calm,&rdquo; Butler said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m very consistent in everything that I do, whether it&rsquo;s before the game, after the game, during the game, and I think when my guys look at me like that, they follow suit in every single way. I love that about them because they&rsquo;re never shook. No matter what.&rdquo;
It&rsquo;s not about Jokic vs. Butler; both have big-time players around them as well, namely Jamal Murray for Denver and Bam Adebayo for Miami. Jokic and Butler are the two leading scorers left in these playoffs; Jokic is averaging 29.9 points, 13.3 rebounds and 10.3 assists, while Butler is averaging 28.5 per game &mdash; including a playoff-high 56 to help oust the Bucks.
Jokic is a two-time MVP, was in the conversation for a third in a row this year, has seen about every defense imaginable and rarely blinks at any of them. Play off him, he&rsquo;ll shoot and score. Play tight, he&rsquo;ll set up someone for an easier shot. He&rsquo;s as close to fundamental perfection as there might be in the league right now. Not bad for a guy who got drafted while the broadcast was airing a Taco Bell commercial &mdash; true story &mdash; and never thought he&rsquo;d make the NBA when he arrived in the U.S.
&ldquo;With Nikola, it&rsquo;s never about looking backward. It&rsquo;s always about looking forward and challenging himself to become the best player that he can be,&rdquo; Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. &ldquo;Early on, being the best player he could be was not necessarily about a skill set. It was about maturing, growing up, handling adversity, dealing with the referees, getting into the best shape of his life, losing weight. I think once that all happened, that kind of coincided with our rise.&rdquo;
The team that plays at the highest altitude in the NBA &mdash; 5,280 feet above sea level &mdash; has risen to its highest level yet. Jokic is four wins from his first ring. Butler is four wins from the ring he has been talking about getting all year, even when Miami&rsquo;s record didn&rsquo;t exactly suggest the Heat would be here.
But here they are. The West finals MVP in Jokic. The East finals MVP in Butler. The prize they want most is just four wins away.
&ldquo;In a lot of ways, what they have done is unprecedented,&rdquo; Miami forward Kevin Love said. &ldquo;Obviously, they operate in different ways to get the job done. But still, all things considered, I think they&rsquo;re two very underappreciated stars and superstars in this league.&rdquo;

Nikola Jokic wasn’t supposed to be here. Neither was Jimmy Butler, for that matter. Now, they are facing off in the 2023 NBA Finals.

Butler, Jokic lead Heat, Nuggets to NBA Finals after unconventional paths

The Milwaukee Bucks clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs Wednesday, but they had to do so without Giannis Antetokounmpo on the second night of a back-to-back.
No problem &mdash; Bobby Portis exploded for 27 points and 13 rebounds, Jrue Holiday racked up 20 points and 15 assists, and Brook Lopez tossed in 26 points to handle the Chicago Bulls. One neat postgame statistic from ESPN's Kane Pitman caught my eye:
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Brook Lopez now has 26 games with 20+ points this season. He had 26 games with 20+ points across his first four regular seasons in Milwaukee. He will be a DPOY finalist but his scoring has wound back the clock during his age 35 season.
&mdash; Kane Pitman (@KanePitman) <a href="https://twitter.com/KanePitman/status/1643788843479621635?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 6, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Lopez is putting up 15.9 points per game, his highest since his All-Star days with the Brooklyn Nets, at the most efficient scoring clip of his career. He's helped the Bucks retake the top of the conference while remaining square in the middle of the Defensive Player of the Year race.
The award's front-runner, Jaren Jackson Jr., has also quietly ascended on the offensive end. Jackson is averaging a career-high 18.3 points per game (20.9 since the All-Star break) with a career-best 58.5% two-point shooting clip. He dropped 40 in Wednesday's overtime loss to the Pelicans and has helped the Grizzlies go 12-4 since March 9.&nbsp;
While the two bigs are duking it out for DPOY, their steps forward as scorers have put each team in the championship conversation.
Starting with Lopez, his output this season hasn't come with increased touches. A cursory glance through PBP Stats' tracking data shows the 35-year-old is hovering at similar rates in touches and volume touch time relative to his entire Milwaukee tenure. His low 16.7% usage rate follows the same trend. But Lopez has received a significant green light; his mark of 11.5 field goal attempts per game is the most in the last six years.
Those extra shots have been distributed relatively evenly across different spots on the floor, but Lopez's paint presence is perhaps the most notable change. Here's a look at his impact of scoring inside since joining the Bucks in 2018, using data from PBP Stats (scroll right to view full table on mobile):
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; height: 154px;" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 44px;">
<td style="width: 10.2766%; height: 44px;">Year</td>
<td style="width: 15.2376%; height: 44px;">Touches/100 poss.</td>
<td style="width: 18.501%; height: 44px;">Paint touches/100 poss.</td>
<td style="width: 16.4124%; height: 44px;">Paint touches FG% </td>
<td style="width: 15.1069%; height: 44px;">At-Rim FGA/game</td>
<td style="width: 13.5403%; height: 44px;">At-Rim FG%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 10.2766%; height: 22px;">2018-19</td>
<td style="width: 15.2376%; height: 22px;">59.6</td>
<td style="width: 18.501%; height: 22px;">2.8</td>
<td style="width: 16.4124%; height: 22px;">65.3%</td>
<td style="width: 15.1069%; height: 22px;">1.8</td>
<td style="width: 13.5403%; height: 22px;">75.5%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 10.2766%; height: 22px;">2019-20</td>
<td style="width: 15.2376%; height: 22px;">57.5</td>
<td style="width: 18.501%; height: 22px;">5.2</td>
<td style="width: 16.4124%; height: 22px;">61.7%</td>
<td style="width: 15.1069%; height: 22px;">2.5</td>
<td style="width: 13.5403%; height: 22px;">66.9%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 10.2766%; height: 22px;">2020-21</td>
<td style="width: 15.2376%; height: 22px;">49.4</td>
<td style="width: 18.501%; height: 22px;">7.0</td>
<td style="width: 16.4124%; height: 22px;">70.3%</td>
<td style="width: 15.1069%; height: 22px;">2.7</td>
<td style="width: 13.5403%; height: 22px;">74.4%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 10.2766%; height: 22px;">2021-22*</td>
<td style="width: 15.2376%; height: 22px;">51.3</td>
<td style="width: 18.501%; height: 22px;">9.7</td>
<td style="width: 16.4124%; height: 22px;">62.8%</td>
<td style="width: 15.1069%; height: 22px;">3.4</td>
<td style="width: 13.5403%; height: 22px;">77.3%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 10.2766%; height: 22px;">2022-23</td>
<td style="width: 15.2376%; height: 22px;">54.2</td>
<td style="width: 18.501%; height: 22px;">9.1</td>
<td style="width: 16.4124%; height: 22px;">71.2%</td>
<td style="width: 15.1069%; height: 22px;">3.6</td>
<td style="width: 13.5403%; height: 22px;">74.7%</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
*Note that Lopez played just 13 games in 2021-22 due to injury.
Lopez's current paint diet builds off of his abbreviated 2021-22 campaign, and this time, he's consistently converting on his greatest volume as a Buck. In addition to the strong marks at the rim, Lopez is also hitting a blistering 56% of his short-mid-range shots, per Cleaning the Glass.
The 35-year-old scored his 26 points on Wednesday despite a quiet 0-for-2 night from distance. He made 10 of 17 attempts inside the arc. Some were confident driving layups where he powered through Nikola Vucevic and Andre Drummond. But this play highlights how his roll (heyo!) is changing:
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/1z89r7" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
With the amount of drop coverage in today's NBA, plus the different downhill playmakers Milwaukee employs, Lopez has windows available as a roller. Here he stays in the passing lane during Joe Ingles' drive, seals off Derrick Jones Jr. and finishes the layup.&nbsp;
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This earlier bucket was the second of two near-identical makes in a row. Chicago sets its drop early in the action, but Vucevic is tighter on Holiday given the guard's threat to pull up. The window is open quicker for a short-roll pass that Holiday easily makes. Lopez then knocks down the soft-touch floater that the smaller DeMar DeRozan can't really contest.
According to play-type data from Synergy, Lopez is spending 21.2% of his possessions this season as a roll man. That's the highest frequency of his Bucks career, and it's steadily increased in each subsequent year from 14.1% in 2018-19. "Roll man" in Synergy terms can also include pick-and-pop plays, where Lopez often thrives, but he's also adding more classic rolls.
Tack on a career-high 37.4% clip from beyond the arc, and Lopez has found the pockets for him to excel within Milwaukee's offense without taking on a significantly larger workload.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Lopez is making teams pay for how they defend guys like Holiday and Antetokounmpo. His buckets still mostly come via assists. Jackson, meanwhile, is stepping up as a self-creator.&nbsp;
The 23-year-old has cleared the 60% True Shooting mark for the first time in his five-year career. Yet, he's not shooting threes particularly well (34.4%) and his volume of attempts is down (4.5 per game). Jackson has instead boosted his two-point percentage to a career-best 58.5%. He can attribute that spike to a consistent assertion of getting to the basket.&nbsp;
According to PBP Stats, more than 40% of Jackson's total shots this year have been self-created twos within 10 feet of the basket. His 53.2% conversion rate on those looks is a whopping nine percentage points better than last season. Jackson's overall 67% clip at the rim is a serious bounce-back from a dreadful 2021-22, and his 47% mark in the short-mid-range area is another career high.
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In his monster 40-point outing, Jackson showed off how he's leveraging his length and strength with confidence. He posted up Larry Nance Jr. twice for scores, and was unfazed even when plowing into Nance on the above drive. Jackson still had the balance to turn the moment into a floater. There are also these Giannis-esque moments with Jackson where he uses his long strides and length to glide past defenders. The overall quick decision-making has elevated his attacks.
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The lanky forward has traded in some perimeter looks for more aggressive attacks. In fact, Jackson ranks third in points per drive (0.94) among 180 high-volume drivers this season. He's scoring at a decent 50.5% clip and drawing fouls on 18% of his drives, which also ranks third.
Jackson didn't shoot particularly well (13-for-28) en route to his 40-burger on Wednesday, but did draw nine fouls and made 11 of 12 free throws.
Perhaps the most surprising stat: Jackson is one of 100 NBA players who have logged 50 or more isolation possessions this season, per Synergy. He's drawn shooting fouls on a whopping 32.1% of those possessions; that is the highest in the eight-year history of Synergy's play-type tracking.
With his foul-drawing and reliable free-throw shooting, Jackson has created a floor-raiser with his length and athleticism against opposing bigs. As his scoring efficiency comes along, he's looking more and more like a matchup nightmare.
THE OUTLIERS (a.k.a. other random interesting numbers I found in the void):
<ul>
<li>Two extremely important concepts in today's NBA: Creating and preventing advantages. From SIS Hoops:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
In the stretch run of the MVP race, Joel Embiid has stepped up his advantage creation to separate himself as the favorite for the award. <a href="https://t.co/6lThkqTKVC">pic.twitter.com/6lThkqTKVC</a>
&mdash; SIS Hoops (@SIS_Hoops) <a href="https://twitter.com/SIS_Hoops/status/1644003730205843458?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 6, 2023</a></blockquote>
<ul>
<li>Post-NCAA men's tournament reflection. FAU baby!
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</li>
</ul>
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Take good shots ✅ Force tough shots ✅ Win more games ✅ <a href="https://t.co/xHczgYjpfo">pic.twitter.com/xHczgYjpfo</a>
&mdash; Todd Whitehead (@CrumpledJumper) <a href="https://twitter.com/CrumpledJumper/status/1643379899129040897?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 4, 2023</a></blockquote>

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<ul>
<li>A few league-wide notes I saw as this season is wrapping up:</li>
</ul>
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Some NBA leaguewide trends as we approach the end of the season 🧵 - The NBA is shooting a base 47.5% from the field, which is its highest since 1989-90 - eFG% is 54.5%, which is the highest ever - 114.8 offensive rating is a massive all-time high, 2nd place is 112.3 (2020-21)
&mdash; Ethan Fuller (@ethman43) <a href="https://twitter.com/ethman43/status/1644020710753333249?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 6, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Jackson and Lopez are leading the Defensive Player of the Year race, but have also made important offensive strides.

NBA Stats Notebook: Lauding Jaren Jackson Jr. and Brook Lopez's offense

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

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

TACOMA, Wash. (AP) &mdash; No charges are immediately being filed against former NBA star Shawn Kemp following his arrest in a drive-by shooting in Washington, prosecutors said Thursday.
Kemp, 53, was booked for investigation of felony drive-by shooting shortly before 6 p.m. Wednesday in Tacoma, online jail records show. No one was injured in the shooting Wednesday afternoon.
Adam Faber, a spokesman for the Pierce County Prosecutor&rsquo;s Office, said in an emailed statement Thursday afternoon that that no charges were immediately being filed against Kemp and that he was being released from jail pending further investigation.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Attorney Scott Boatman statement on his client Shawn Kemp: <a href="https://t.co/2slkabXWl8">pic.twitter.com/2slkabXWl8</a>
&mdash; Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1633947696649101313?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 9, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Kemp, who has two licensed cannabis stores in Seattle, was a six-time NBA All-Star who played for the Seattle SuperSonics from 1989 to 1997. He also played for Cleveland, Portland and Orlando.
Kemp debuted in the NBA during the 1989-90 season as a 20-year-old who had never played college basketball. He became known for his high-flying, athletic dunks.
Tacoma police said they arrested a 53-year-old man after a shooting in a parking lot near the Tacoma Mall on Wednesday, but a spokeswoman Thursday did not confirm whether that was Kemp. The shooting followed an altercation between people in two vehicles; one car fled and a gun was recovered, police said.

No charges are immediately being filed against NBA legend Shawn Kemp following his arrest in a drive-by shooting in Washington.

NBA legend Shawn Kemp released following drive-by shooting arrest

NBA legend Shawn Kemp was arrested and booked at the Pierce County Jail in Washington on Wednesday night for an alleged drive-by shooting, according to <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1633653623543459840" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski</a>.&nbsp;
Earlier today, the Tacoma Police Department announced that shots were fired in a local parking lot following an altercation between two drivers. No injuries were reported, and the gun was recovered.
At the time, the police announced that a 53-year-old male was booked for a drive-by shooting, and the jail's inmate listing verified that Kemp was indeed the man in question.
Roughly four hours after the incident occurred, Kemp was booked on the felony charge.
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At 1:58 pm, an altercation between the occupants of 2 cars led to shots being fired at a parking lot in the 4500 blk of S. Steele St. One car fled. No injuries were reported. A gun was recovered. A 53-yr-old male was booked for Drive-By Shooting. The investigation is ongoing. <a href="https://t.co/XTIeU1I4Jj">pic.twitter.com/XTIeU1I4Jj</a>
&mdash; Tacoma Police Department (@TacomaPD) <a href="https://twitter.com/TacomaPD/status/1633648952183758850?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 9, 2023</a></blockquote>

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This isn't Kemp's first arrest. In 2005, he was arrested in Shoreline, WA, for drug possession after he was found with a small amount of cocaine, marijuana and a semi-automatic pistol. He pleaded guilty to the drug-possession charge.
The following year, Kemp was arrested again for misdemeanor marijuana possession.&nbsp;
Kemp played in the NBA from 1989-2003, suiting up for the Seattle SuperSonics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Portland Trail Blazers and Orlando Magic. The six-time All-Star was one of the NBA's best dunkers. Over the course of his 14-year NBA career, he averaged 14.6 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.2 blocks and 1.1 steals.

NBA legend Shawn Kemp was arrested and booked at the Pierce County Jail for an alleged drive-by shooting in Washington.

Shawn Kemp arrested for alleged drive-by shooting in Washington

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Josiah-Jordan James scored 15 points to lead No. 2 Tennessee to a 46-43 win over No. 25 Auburn Saturday in a game in which every point was difficult and nothing flowed.
The Volunteers (19-4, 8-2 Southeastern Conference) shot just 27% from the field and 9.5% from the 3-point line. They were recovering from a Wednesday loss to Florida in which they shot 28%.
The Tigers (17-6, 7-3) were led by Johni Broome with 11 points and K.D. Johnson off the bench with 10 points. LSU managed only 24% from the field and 11% from the 3-point line.
Jaylin Williams made two free throws with 2:47 to play cut Tennessee&rsquo;s lead to 40-38. Santiago Vescovi hit his first 3-pointer of the game and got a four-point play out of it for a 44-38 lead. A 3-pointer by Wendell Green Jr. cut the advantage to 44-41 with 30 seconds left.
A turnover on the inbounds play gave Auburn the ball with 23 seconds to play. Broome got a tip-in to make it a one-point game, and Zakai Zeigler made two free throws.
Green&rsquo;s last-second 3-point to tie clanked out.
Auburn scored eight straight points to start the game. Tennessee followed with a six-point run and an eight-point spurt early in the second half. Those were the longest runs of the game.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Tennessee was in the No. 2 spot in the poll for two days before falling at Florida. Under coach Rick Barnes, the Vols now have 25 wins over teams ranked in the Top 25. &hellip; Auburn had been clinging to the elite at No. 25 this week. The Tigers have been ranked as high as No. 11 in the fifth week of the season.
STAT SNACKS
Since statistics started being kept in 1999-2000, Tennessee is on pace to be the all-time leader in field-goal percentage (.348, Stanford, 1999-2000, is second .352) and 3-point defense (.225, Norfolk State 2004-05, .253 is second). &hellip; Through 22 games, the similarities between last year&rsquo;s Vols point guard Kennedy Chandler (now with the Memphis Grizzlies) and this year&rsquo;s Zakai Ziegler are striking (points per game: Chandler 13.5, Ziegler 11.4; rebounds: 3.0, 3.0; assists: 4.95, 5.05).
UP NEXT
Auburn: The Tigers will host Texas A&amp;M on Tuesday night.
Tennessee: The Vols will tackle in-state rival Vanderbilt in Nashville on Wednesday.&nbsp;

Josiah-Jordan James scored 15 points to lead the Vols to a 46-43 over the Tigers in a game where every point was difficult.

James leads No. 2 Tennessee over No. 25 Auburn, 46-43

Springfield, Massachusetts has been offering glimpses into the future of basketball since James Naismith put some peach baskets on a YMCA wall in 1891. Every MLK weekend, the town gives us another in the form of the HoopHall Classic, where dozens of the best high-school players in the country descend on Blake Arena.
The HoopHall Classic is also one of three high-school showcases this season that was given the green light for NBA scouts to attend. It's a prime opportunity for the elite talents to separate themselves from the pack &mdash; or for less heralded names to put themselves on the map.
I checked into the arena at noon and spent 11 hours inside, sticking around until the penultimate contest. These standouts, among many others, caught my eye:
Boys &mdash; IMG Academy (FL) 61, Newton (GA) 52
Khani Rooths, IMG Academy &mdash;&nbsp;A 2024 wing, Rooths' impact on IMG's win far outshone his box score (11 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists). The 6-foot-6 wing kept the ball moving with some savvy passing versatility, making the right skip reads and interior decisions. He went 2-for-3 beyond the arc and seemed more comfortable spotting up and passing from a standstill versus attacking off the dribble.
Rooths also defended Newton star Stephon Castle for large portions of the game and made the 5-star guard's life pretty challenging. He can slide with relative success and deal with physicality without fouling. Rooths, a 4-star guard who is uncommitted, fits in all sorts of contexts and is a player who can thrive with today's direction of basketball.
Marcus Whitlock, Newton &mdash;&nbsp;Whitlock was one of the early head-turners of the weekend. He's a 6-foot-2 guard who plays with relentless confidence. The senior only made 4-of-12 threes but looked poised shooting off movement and spot-up attempts, finishing with 22 points.
He's not a half-court creator, but Whitlock did get chances to run and finish at the rim in transition. He also dove for loose balls on defense and wound up with three steals. Whitlock isn't ranked by most sites and hasn't chosen a school yet, so this effort might have put him on some college radars.
Girls &mdash; Sierra Canyon (CA) 67, Sidwell Friends (DC) 55
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The legend of Juju Watkins at Sierra Canyon continues to grow, as well. She missed a big stretch of the first half after tweaking her ankle, went down for a few moments again late on, and still put up 29/14/5/3/3 in 26 mins. Her physicality never wavered either. Generational. <a href="https://t.co/VGuq1TuqcT">https://t.co/VGuq1TuqcT</a> <a href="https://t.co/wVUIgv0fHd">pic.twitter.com/wVUIgv0fHd</a>
&mdash; Wilko (@wilkomcv) <a href="https://twitter.com/wilkomcv/status/1614365704995868673?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Juju Watkins, Sierra Canyon &mdash; The No. 1 senior in the country had the performance of the day. Watkins missed time twice with injuries to both ankles, but you wouldn't notice from her final stat line: 29 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks and 3 steals. (She said postgame that she's feeling alright).
Watkins relished the chance to beat another nationally-ranked opponent and the challenge of matching up against 6-foot-1 junior Kendall Dudley.
"It's definitely an adjustment playing against other players my size, learning how and when to get to my spots," Watkins told Basketball News in her postgame presser. "I just had to make that adjustment mentally, but when I made it, it was easier."
Though Watkins battled for rebounds and showed off limitless range, she also demonstrated a unique blend of speeds and gears, often warping time around her defenders and finishing with a teardrop floater. That's one of the young star's newest weapons.
"I worked on it a lot this summer &mdash; just learning how to change pace better and get my defender on their heels. I've been working on that a lot, and I went out there and showed it today," Watkins said.
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Mackenly Randolph, Sierra Canyon &mdash;&nbsp;The 5-star junior finished with 22 points and 14 rebounds and was critical in helping Sierra Canyon close out a 67-55 win. Randolph dominated on the glass against a physically imposing Sidwell Friends squad; it's no surprise that her dad is Zach Randolph. She also slashed through the lane for some impressive interior buckets.&nbsp;
Kendall Dudley, Sidwell Friends &mdash;&nbsp;Dudley is the No. 13 player in ESPN's 2024 rankings and she showed off the versatility that earned her the billing. The 5-star talent was cool and collected driving the basketball and kicking out. She can play physically at 6-foot-1, but doesn't need to, and her comfort off the bounce was apparent. She also led the defensive attack and did about as well guarding Watkins as her team could ask.
Dudley hasn't chosen a college yet and should be one of the most highly-anticipated commits in the coming year. She finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 3 steals in the loss.
Boys &mdash; Long Island Lutheran (NY) 64, Oak Hill Academy (VA) 56
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FLOOR GENERAL 👏 Jayden Reid always in control as LuHi beats Oak Hill 64-56 <a href="https://twitter.com/LuHiBasketball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LuHiBasketball</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/jaydenreid0?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jaydenreid0</a> <a href="https://t.co/PzVFy12thm">pic.twitter.com/PzVFy12thm</a>
&mdash; NIBC (@NIBCOfficial) <a href="https://twitter.com/NIBCOfficial/status/1614391132728836097?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Jayden Reid, Long Island Lutheran &mdash;&nbsp;A 5-foot-10 playmaker who shined is going to land on this list all day. Reid, a 3-star senior point guard, showed total command of the offense with wraparound dimes and pocket passes in the pick-and-roll. He knocked down a pair of threes and finished off one fast break with an impressive double-clutch layup. The guard play from both squads was really excellent, but Reid stood out with 16 points, 7 assists and 4 steals.
Kaden Magwood, Oak Hill &mdash; Magwood caught fire off the bench, going for 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting. He made both of his threes and finished <a href="https://twitter.com/NIBCOfficial/status/1614385220500725760" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a stunning layup on the fast break</a> to help keep Oak Hill in the game. Magwood is only a sophomore and not in the early class frontrunners yet; I expect that to change pretty soon. He plays with a ton of fight for a guard listed at 6-foot-2 and 160 pounds.
Boys &mdash; Montverde Academy (FL) 85, La Lumiere (IN) 63
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Cooper Flagg is that guy 😎 (No. 2 ESPN 25) put on a show in Montverde&rsquo;s 85-63 win over La Lu <a href="https://twitter.com/MVABasketball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MVABasketball</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/CooperFlagg?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CooperFlagg</a> <a href="https://t.co/VGOxQpkMy7">pic.twitter.com/VGOxQpkMy7</a>
&mdash; NIBC (@NIBCOfficial) <a href="https://twitter.com/NIBCOfficial/status/1614417408323723265?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 15, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Cooper Flagg, Montverde &mdash;&nbsp;It's remarkable how polished Flagg plays despite being just a sophomore and in his first year with one of the most successful programs in the country. Flagg had 21 points in 25 minutes on 8-for-10 shooting (3-4 3PT). The shots came in all types: cutting via baseline out-of-bounds plays, spacing the floor in the corner and initiating the attack himself.&nbsp;
Then you add the defense, which included five steals and a few ticky-tack fouls that could have been blocks. Flagg is aware and active on both sides of the ball, and it's easy for him to string productive plays together regardless of whether he's getting buckets.&nbsp;
Flagg certainly matched the hype as one of the top players in the 2025 class. After leaving his hometown Nokomis High in Maine and transferring all the way to Florida, he's fit right in with the Eagles. He said approximately 100 friends and family made the four-hour drive down to western Massachusetts.
"I think it's kind of similar to my team back in Maine. We all trust each other. I think that's helped to elevate me too, is playing at the highest level and having a team [where] everybody trusts each other," Flagg said after his performance. "We know that every night it's gonna be someone else [stepping up]."
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KJ Evans, Montverde &mdash;&nbsp;The Oregon-bound senior quietly worked his way to 19 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists, but punctuated his effort with a powerful putback slam. Evans found most of his success around the basket and demonstrated syngergy with Flagg and other playmakers when cutting. The 5-star forward thrived in his role as Montverde tore apart La Lumiere with its decisive passing.
Boys &mdash; Centennial (CA) 66, Camden (NJ) 62
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Off the screen. A little head fake frees up Jared McCain for a deep 3ball. It&rsquo;s his fifth 3 of the night. Corona Centennial leads Camden (NJ) 50-45 after three quarters. <a href="https://t.co/me3L1dEpYo">pic.twitter.com/me3L1dEpYo</a>
&mdash; Tarek Fattal (@Tarek_Fattal) <a href="https://twitter.com/Tarek_Fattal/status/1614435225085304838?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 15, 2023</a></blockquote>

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DJ Wagner, Camden &mdash;&nbsp;It is all-but impossible to stop Wagner at this level when he bombards the basket. The 5-star senior slithered his way through space and sliced open double-teams with jump-stop attacks, finishing with 27 points. Though he struggled to shoot it from outside, his craft and touch around the rim are superb, and his functional strength is light-years from when I first got the chance to watch him at HoopHall as a freshman.&nbsp;
Wagner will team up with fellow 5-star classmate Aaron Bradshaw (15 points, 8 rebounds) at Kentucky, and he's excited to keep the momentum rolling with his 7-foot teammate.
"It's great. We've been playing together for a long time now," Wagner told reporters postgame. "Off the court, that's like my brother, so it's just fun to be able to go to the next level and play on the same floor with him in college."
Jared McCain, Centennial &mdash;&nbsp;McCain was money as a shooter and finished with 27 points, including six made threes. Centennial used him off of creative screening actions and as a spot-up threat, but the Duke commit also pulled up for a couple of self-created makes. He added an impressive driving layup and a fadeaway make from the free-throw line. A 4-star guard, McCain brought a really positive energy to Centennial's win with his confidence.
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Boys &mdash; Christopher Columbus (FL) 74, San Ysidro (CA) 67
Cameron Boozer, Christopher Columbus &mdash;&nbsp;Boozer was the second top sophomore to look far beyond his years on Saturday. The son of Carlos Boozer, Cameron finished with an effortless 33 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks &mdash; and still showed displeasure with his squad's defense &mdash; as Christopher Columbus led wire-to-wire. His twin brother Cayden, a guard, also had 14 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists.
Boozer is listed at 6-foot-9, 215 pounds online. He seems even more physically imposing in person. Yet he's not a bowling ball; Boozer calmly settled into three-pointers (3-for-5) and comitted just one foul while still battling around the basket.&nbsp;
"When I was younger, I got in foul trouble a lot swiping down," Boozer told Basketball News in his postgame scrum. "It's something I've learned: just stay vertical and contest guys so it's kind of tough to finish over me &mdash; using my size and my length to my advantage."
Boozer mentioned in the scrum that his favorite player is Anthony Davis, and he admires the Brow's full arsenal of two-way weapons.
"I feel like he can do it all," Boozer said. "He can rebound, he can pass, he can shoot it, he finishes well... When he's healthy, he's one of the best players in the league."

Ethan Fuller shares his scouting report from Saturday's action at the HoopHall Classic.

HoopHall Highlights: Top performances from Saturday's action

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Xavier Johnson faced the stark reality his basketball days could be over when an April police chase ended in his arrest in a Bloomington parking lot.
Indiana Hoosiers coach Mike Woodson was willing to forgive his starting point guard if he agreed to some conditions. Johnson&rsquo;s car couldn&rsquo;t be on campus, he needed to follow all the team rules and he had to be fully committed to winning games.
Six months later, a revitalized and contrite Johnson finds himself preparing for a fifth college season, this time as the X-factor Indiana needs to increase its Assembly Hall banner collection.
&ldquo;It just seemed like I hit a big-time wall,&rdquo; Johnson said, explaining what happened that April night. &ldquo;I thought my career was over, honestly. I&rsquo;m mad at myself for doing something like that, but I mean I&rsquo;m glad God gave me a second chance to come back and play what I love to do.&rdquo;
He might not be with No. 13 Indiana had he been playing for Woodson&rsquo;s coach, Bob Knight, who was known as much for being a strict disciplinarian as he was for his volatile public outbursts.
But Woodson, whose coaching career spanned decades in the NBA, understood the challenges Johnson faced last season and took a different tack.
After transferring from Pittsburgh and winning the starting job, Johnson struggled with turnovers, decision-making and, at times, was a non-factor in the scoring column, too. The deaths of his uncle and grandfather took an emotional toll on the Virginia native and in February, Johnson was one of five players suspended by Woodson for &ldquo;curfew violations.&rdquo;
Johnson appeared to be turning his life around after a strong finishing run to help Indiana end a six-year NCAA Tournament drought, but then came the arrest.
According to the police report, Johnson was clocked going 90 mph in a 40 mph zone, did not stop when the officer turned on his siren and lights, disregarded a stop sign in the apartment complex and then attempted to switch seats with another student in the car. He was charged with resisting law enforcement with a vehicle and reckless driving, a felony.
Woodson&rsquo;s response was blunt.
&ldquo;He doesn&rsquo;t have a vehicle anymore, I took that away from him,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;If that&rsquo;s punishment, it&rsquo;s punishment and I don&rsquo;t mean that in a negative way. We&rsquo;re just trying to do the things necessary to help us win basketball games, and I think he&rsquo;s made a major step in that direction.&rdquo;
Johnson&rsquo;s parents sided with Woodson and now Johnson finds himself thriving in a whole new world, amid expectations of winning a Big Ten title and chasing the school&rsquo;s sixth national title.
And Johnson could play a key role. In the final 10 games last season, he averaged 16.6 points, 6.6 assists and 4 rebounds as the Hoosiers played their way off the bubble and into the tourney.
Teammates say he&rsquo;s been a different player since returning to campus this summer.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s definitely taken a big-time step in leadership and just kind of taking that role as being more vocal,&rdquo; third-year guard Trey Galloway said. &ldquo;I think he&rsquo;s done a great job of being more vocal with the younger guys and kind of bringing them along.&rdquo;
Big Ten preseason player of the year Trayce Jackson-Davis likes the early returns, too.
He came back for his fourth season after his NBA workouts were halted following a positive COVID-19 test. Nobody has more at stake this season than Jackson-Davis, who is trying to become the first Indiana player with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.
And to ensure there are no distractions, he asked Woodson to institute a zero-tolerance drug policy.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s really just to hold everyone accountable,&rdquo; Jackson-Davis said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s really nothing else to be said about it. I know our guys are going to do the right thing. When the season is going, we&rsquo;re going to be locked in and ready to go because we have really big aspirations.&rdquo;
That includes Johnson, who has never played on a team favored to win a conference crown.
But with the Woodson discussions complete, an August plea agreement ending his court case and a new season set to tip Nov. 7 against Morehead State, Johnson is ready to turn the page and make use of his second chance.
&ldquo;He (Woodson) was just like, &lsquo;If you want to play here, you either have no car or you can go somewhere else,&rsquo;&rdquo; Johnson said. &ldquo;I really didn&rsquo;t care about my car. I love to play basketball and that&rsquo;s what I came here to do. That and get my education.&rdquo;

Teammates say Xavier Johnson’s been a different player since returning to campus this summer.

Focused Xavier Johnson could be X-factor for No. 13 Hoosiers

NBA big man Tacko Fall is signing a one-year deal with Xinjiang of the Chinese Basketball Association, according to <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1562602248806739968" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shams Charania of The Athletic</a>.
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Three-year NBA veteran Tacko Fall is signing a one-year deal in the Chinese Basketball Association with Xinjiang, per sources. The 7-foot-6 center played for Boston and Cleveland and now departs to play abroad.
&mdash; Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1562602248806739968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 25, 2022</a></blockquote>

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The 26-year-old -- who stands 7'6" -- played his first two seasons in the NBA with the Boston Celtics. During the 2022 season, he signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers and played with their G-League team, the Cleveland Charge.X

NBA big man Tacko Fall is signing a one-year deal with Xinjiang of the Chinese Basketball Association.

Tacko Fall signs with Xinjiang of Chinese Basketball Association

Brandon Boston Jr. had 22 points and eight rebounds and the Los Angeles Clippers used a 32-9 fourth quarter to beat the Utah Jazz 82-65 on Friday in the NBA Summer League.
Los Angeles scored just 11 points in the third quarter before opening the fourth on a 24-4 run for a 74-60 lead.
Jay Scrubb added 14 points and Cameron Reynolds had 12 for Los Angeles (2-2).
Leandro Bolmaro led Utah (2-2) with 19 points. Johnny Juzang scored eight of Utah&rsquo;s opening 12 points, and finished with 14. Tacko Fall, a 7-foo-6 center, had eight points, nine rebounds and four blocks.
76ERS 97, NUGGETS 71
Grant Riller scored 18 points and Trevelin Queen added 17 as Philadelphia routed Denver.
Riller scored 13 points, in just six first-half minutes, to help Philadelphia build a 48-27 lead. Denver shot just 25.6% from the field in the first half, including 4 of 17 from 3-point range. The 76ers led 69-39 late in the third quarter.
Isaiah Joe had 14 points and four 3-pointers for Philadelphia (2-2). Justin Smith and Aminu Mohammed each scored 10 points.
Mbaye N&rsquo;Diaye scored 12 points and Christian Braun had 11 points, six rebounds, six assists and four steals for Denver (2-2).
THUNDER 90, WARRIORS 82
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl had 15 points and 14 rebounds, Jalen Williams had 10 points with six assists and Oklahoma City beat Golden State.
Gabe Brown and Jaden Shackelford each scored 12 points for Oklahoma City (3-1). Eugene Omoruyi scored 11 points and Vit Krejci had 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Chet Holmgren did not play.
Jonathan Kuminga scored 16 points and James Wiseman added 14 for Golden State (1-3). Quinndary Weatherspoon added 11 points and Gui Santos had 10.
KINGS 82, SUNS 69
Keegan Murray continued his strong Summer League showing with 21 points and 10 rebounds, Neemias Queta added 15 points on 6-of-6 shooting and also grabbed 10 rebounds to help Sacramento beat Phoenix.
Murray, picked No. 4 overall in June's draft, is averaging 23.3 points and 7.3 rebounds after four games in Las Vegas. DJ Steward added 14 points for the Kings.
Ish Wainright led Phoenix with 13 points and McKinley Wright IV added 11 points, eight rebounds and two steals.
WIZARDS 97, PACERS 79
Jordan Schakel scored 21 points with seven rebounds and five assists, Jordan Goodwin added 19 points and three steals and Washington beat Indiana.
Isaiah Todd hit three 3-pointers and finished with 17 points and eight rebounds for Washington. Tahjere McCall scored 13 points, Jaime Echenique added 10 points, eight rebounds and three blocks for the Wizards.
Kendall Brown led Indiana with 14 points and Aaron Nesmith added 12.
Johnny Davis (back tightness), picked No. 10 overall by the Wizards in last month's draft, and Bennedict Mathurin (toe), who Indiana selected No. 6 overall, did not play.
RAPTORS 88, HEAT 78
Dalano Banton scored 18 points, Armoni Brooks 17 and Jeff Dowtin added 16 points, eight rebounds and five assists to help Toronto beat Miami.
Ron Harper Jr. scored 14 points and Rodions Kurucs 13 for the Raptors.
Kyle Allman Jr. led the Heat with 17 points, Orlando Robinson added 13 points and 11 rebounds and Javonte Smart also scored 13 points. Haywood Highsmith scored 10 points.
LAKERS 102, PELICANS 94
Cole Swider hit five 3-pointers and finished with 21 points, Javante McCoy added 14 points and seven assists to help Los Angeles beat New Orleans and eliminate the Pelicans from Summer League championship contention.
Max Christie scored 12 points, Mason Jones added 11 and Jay Huff had 10 points and four blocks for the Lakers. Scotty Pippen Jr. finished with 11 points and seven assists.
Jared Harper led the Pelicans with 20 points. Deividas Sirvydis made 4 of 7 from 3-point range and finished with 17 points and eight rebounds, John Petty Jr. scored 16 points and Tyrique Jones had 11 points, 13 rebounds and four assists.
Dyson Daniels, a 6-foot-6 19-year-old who New Orleans selected No. 8 overall in last month's draft, didn't play for the Pelicans.

Brandon Boston Jr. had 22 points and eight rebounds and the Clippers used a 32-9 fourth quarter to beat the Jazz 82-65.

Clippers use 32-9 4th quarter to beat Jazz at Summer League

Chet Holmgren, the No. 2 pick in the draft, had 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to an 84-81 victory over the Orlando Magic on Monday night in the Las Vegas Summer League.
Holmgren shot 7 of 10 in a game that was originally expected to be a matchup of the Nos. 1 and 2 picks. But the Magic announced earlier Monday that Paolo Banchero would not play the remainder of the summer after averaging 20 points, five rebounds and six assists in his two games in Las Vegas.
Josh Giddey added 12 points, seven rebounds and eight assists for the Thunder (1-1).
Holmgren, a 7-footer out of Gonzaga, did a little bit of everything, from bringing up the ball to anchoring the Oklahoma City defense. He threw down dunks, was 2 of 4 from 3-point range, blocked two shots and changed multiple more, but committed four turnovers.
Justin James led Orlando (2-1) with 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Tommy Kuhse scored 14 points, Devin Cannady added 12 and Zavier Simpson had 11 points, seven assists and five steals. Emanuel Terry scored 10 points and grabbed 14 rebounds.
ROCKETS 97, SPURS 84
Tari Eason had 22 points, 10 rebounds, two steals and two blocks, and Jabari Smith Jr. had 19 points and nine rebounds as Houston rallied from an 18-point deficit to beat San Antonio.&nbsp;
Josh Christopher scored 13 of his 18 points in the final six minutes as Houston (2-1) pulled away. Daishen Nix added 18 points, six assists and two steals for the Rockets.
San Antonio led 54-36 with 2 minutes left in the first half. Houston used a 16-5 run midway through the third quarter to take a 62-61 lead after Smith hit a 3-pointer.
Malaki Branham led San Antonio (0-3) with 20 points. Blake Wesley made just 3 of 20 from the field &mdash; 0 of 7 from 3-point range &mdash; but finished with 14 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Josh Primo (health and safety protocols) did not play for the Spurs.
CELTICS 111, BUCKS 109
Matt Ryan scored 23 points and hit six of Boston&rsquo;s 18 3-pointers &mdash; including a tightly contested running 3 with 0.8 seconds to play &mdash; and Boston stunned Milwaukee.
After Lindell Wigginton made two free throws to give the Bucks a one-point lead, Ryan took the inbounds pass, dribbled up the left sideline and went behind-the-back near midcourt and hit a straight-away 3 with the 6-foot-7 MarJon Beauchamp in his face. Ryan appeared to hurt his left ankle on the play and writhed in pain on the court before Wigginton missed a heave from beyond half court as time expired.
Mfiondu Kabengele had 15 points, 11 rebounds &mdash; including seven offensive &mdash; four assists and two blocks, while Brodric Thomas made 4 of 8 from 3-point range and finished with 14 points and eight rebounds for Boston (1-1). Juhann Begarin scored 13 points, Sam Hauser 12 and Justin Jackson added 10.
Milwaukee&rsquo;s Sandro Mamukelashvili had 28 points and nine rebounds. Wigginton added 24 points and Beauchamp scored 15.
PELICANS 101, HAWKS 73
Trey Murphy III, the No. 17 selection in the 2021 draft, had 30 points on 10-of-18 shooting and Daequan Plowden scored 16 to help New Orleans beat Atlanta.
Dyson Daniels, the Pelicans&rsquo; first-round draft pick (No. 8 overall), did not play because of an ankle injury.
Jared Harper made 9 of 12 from the free throw line and finished with 14 points and seven assists for the Pelicans (1-1). Tyrique Jones added 11 points, nine rebounds and four blocks.
AJ Griffin, the Hawks&rsquo; No. 16 pick in the draft, did not play did not play due to discomfort in his right foot.
Chaundee Brown Jr. and Justin Tillman scored 14 points apiece for Atlanta (0-2).
The Hawks shot 31.7% (26 of 82) from the field and made 3 of 24 (12.5%) from 3-point range.
JAZZ 83, MAVERICKS 82
Tacko Fall and D.J. Funderburk each had a double-double and Johnny Juzang hit a step-back 3-pointer in the closing seconds to help cold-shooting Utah beat Dallas.
Fall scored 12 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and blocked three shots, while Funderburk added 10 points, 10 rebounds and two steals. The Jazz (2-0) outrebounded Dallas 65-46 overall and had a 22-7 advantage on the offensive glass. Fall pulled down 12 offensive rebounds as Utah outscored the Mavericks 21-0 in second-chance points.
Juzang, Justin Robinson and Xavier Sneed scored 11 points apiece for the Jazz. Jarod Butler finished with nine points, 10 assists and three steals but made just 3 of 22 (16%) from the field and went 0 for 10 from behind the arc.
Jerrick Harding led Dallas (0-2) with 18 points and A.J. Lawson had 15 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks. Jaden Hardy was just 4-of-15 shooting but finished with 14 points, six rebounds and five assists. Derrick Alston Jr. scored 13 points and Moses Wright added 11.
Utah shot just 31% (26 of 84).
TRAIL BLAZERS 88, KNICKS 77
Trendon Watford scored 18 points and Jabari Walker had 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting and grabbed 13 rebounds to help Portland overcome a slow start to beat New York.
Craig Randall II hit 4 of 8 from 3-point range and finished with 12 points, Keon Johnson scored 11 and Brandon Williams added 10 for the Trail Blazers (2-1).
Portland shot just 3 of 14 from the field in the first quarter and trailed 24-9. The Trail Blazers were 27 of 48 (56.3%) the rest of the way.
Quentin Grimes scored 24 points for the Knicks (2-1), who led 13-0 for the second straight game. Miles McBride scored 16 and Feron Hunt added 12. Jericho Sims had six points, 11 rebounds, four assists and three blocks.
ESPN analyst and former NBA player Richard Jefferson, who won an NBA title with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, officiated the second quarter.&nbsp;

The Thunder were victorious with an 84-81 victory over the Magic on Monday night in the Las Vegas Summer League.

Holmgren, Giddey lead Thunder over Magic in NBA Summer League

There haven't been many displays of two-way excellence in Summer League quite like Chet Holmgren's outing on Tuesday night. Add in the fact that it was his NBA debut, and the intrigue grows.&nbsp;
Before going further, let's get the boring caveats out of the way. The Utah Jazz Youth Contingent isn't a group of world-beaters. And of course, iT's JuSt SuMmEr LeAgUe. The games don't count yet, and Holmgren will face more talented teams over the next few days. He'll especially face tougher challenges once the regular season begins. We get it.
With that said,&nbsp;whew.
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The stat line doesn't do the performance justice, but it was still nice: 23 points (3-of-3 from two, 4-of-6 from three), 7 rebounds, 4 assists, a steal, and 6 blocked shots. The Oklahoma City Thunder outscored the Jazz by 26 points in Holmgren's near-24 minutes, if you care about that sort of thing.
Even with the "Summer League is for flashes" understanding, it's hard not to be impressed with what Holmgren was able to accomplish. He was a showstopper on defense, and showed enough versatility offensively as a screener, handoff hub, spacer and clear-a-side attacker to inspire confidence moving forward. There were so many flashes.
On the defensive end, Holmgren's mere presence altered things for the Jazz. The blocks were loud &mdash; and we'll get to those shortly &mdash; but more important than the blocks were the possessions like this.
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The Thunder botch a guard-guard pick-and-roll between Jared Butler and Xavier Sneed, opening up a drive for Butler. A stop-and-go gives Butler an edge against Ousmane Dieng, but the rotation from Holmgren &mdash; note that he doesn't even jump and just rotates over &mdash; forces a kick-out.
From there, the Thunder can rotate to the corner and force another swing. Josh Giddey is admittedly late to close after that swing, but the possession ends with Sneed &mdash; a guy who's made roughly 32% of his threes in his college and G-League career combined &mdash; taking a triple instead of a rim attempt from Butler.
There were multiple quiet possessions like that, where a guard would find a pocket of space and quickly realize it was a fool's errand. The rotational goodness was palpable. And when Holmgren was in drop coverage, his sense for playing the gap &mdash; not playing too high and opening up a lob, but not playing too low and giving a ball-handler easy pull-up looks &mdash; shined through.
With Holmgren being such a presence in drop coverage, his teammates had simpler jobs. A simple dig from the wing or the nail was enough to throw off a ball-handler's rhythm; Holmgren's length and poise would do the rest of the work. If there's one thing I feel comfortable projecting already, it's that the shot profile of OKC opponents will look different with Holmgren on the floor versus when he's off.
But also,&nbsp;those blocks.
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It's one thing to have insane length &mdash; Holmgren's 7-foot-6 wingspan passes the test there. It's another thing to know how to use that length well. What's tough for rookie big men is the hidden third item: Knowing when&nbsp;to use that length.&nbsp;
Six blocks in a debut is an absurd number, and he racked up those rejections in a multitude of ways &mdash; help-side, off late switches and operating in space, 1-on-1 swats against Tacko Fall. But swatting 6 shots while only committing 3 fouls is almost unheard of for a debut. He has a feel for rim-protection well beyond his years. Here are 4 of the 6 blocks:
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That is&nbsp;nonsense.
Offensively, it was fun to watch Holmgren grow more comfortable as the game went on. He's going to need the shot to pop for him early to open up the floor. It was encouraging, then, to see Holmgren fire up 6 threes in his debut against varying degrees of coverage. Also, how about the self-creation? The behind-the-back dribble into a stop-and-pop was a favorite of his on Tuesday night. Guys his size aren't supposed to be able to do this.
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/y30ubg" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
The load-up is a little&nbsp;slow, but the release point is high enough to where he shouldn't be bothered a ton. The main deterrent from a volume standpoint will be himself, at least early on.&nbsp;If he's going to shoot like this, though, coverage will get tighter.&nbsp;
That would be a good thing, of course. Not only will that open the floor for his teammates, but garnering closeouts will also create driving opportunities for him. We got a few flashes of Holmgren attacking off the bounce in this one. The handle is high &mdash; a concern for when the level of competition improves &mdash; but him being comfortable enough to take already is a big deal.
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/c4gaeb" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
It was a great debut for Holmgren, though not a perfect one. There were still possessions where the lack of strength popped up. He was an inconsistent screener throughout the night. Physicality and ball pressure led to pair of turnovers, a few more "whoa what's happening?" instances in the half-court.
But, man, it's hard not to feel good about Holmgren after the debut. It would be irresponsible to say he's&nbsp;answered&nbsp;the pre-draft questions he received &mdash; again, it was night one of Summer League action &mdash; but it's certainly fair to say his pathway to answering those questions may be cleaner than some anticipated.

Nekias Duncan breaks down Chet Holmgren's debut for the Thunder at the Salt Lake City Classic.

Bringing the Thunder: Chet Holmgren's summer league debut was a gem

BOSTON (AP) &mdash; Bobby Portis made a putback off Giannis Antetokounmpo's missed free throw with 15 seconds left, Jrue Holiday snuffed Marcus Smart on Boston's final two possessions and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Celtics 110-107 on Wednesday night to take a 3-2 series lead.
Antetokounmpo had 40 points and 11 rebounds, Holiday finished with 24 points, eight rebounds and eight assists and Portis added 14 points and 15 rebounds for the defending NBA champion Bucks.
Milwaukee has a chance to wrap up the Eastern Conference semifinal in Game 6 at home Friday night. The Celtics need a win to force a decisive seventh game back in Boston on Sunday.
The Celtics led by 14 in the fourth quarter before the Bucks closed the gap, tying it at 105 on Holiday's 3-pointer with 43 seconds left. Jayson Tatum, who scored 34 points in all, hit a pair of free throws to give Boston the lead.
Antetokounmpo went to the the line with a chance to tie it and made the first, then Portis grabbed the rebound of the second and put it in off the backboard to give Milwaukee its first lead since early in the second quarter.
Smart drove to the basket but Holiday blocked him and came away with the ball, throwing it off Smart while falling out of bounds. Pat Connaughton made a pair of free throws with six seconds left, then Holiday stole the ball from Smart on his desperation dash for a potential game-tying 3-pointer.
The have Bucks won two of the three games in Boston to swipe home-court advantage.
Antetokounmpo had his best shooting game of the series, going 16 for 27, but he also committed seven turnovers.
Jaylen Brown scored 26 points for Boston, 16 of them in the third &mdash; and 12 of those in the last four minutes of the quarter, when Boston turned a 71-68 edge into a 12-point lead.
The Bucks scored nine of the game&rsquo;s first 11 points, but Boston closed the gap midway through the quarter. The Celtics ran off 11 straight points early in the second, capped by a Marcus Smart steal, tossed ahead to Brown for an alley-oop to Tatum that brought the crowd to its feet.
But the Bucks scored 17 of the next 24 points to make it 58-55 with nine minutes left in third.
INJURED
The Celtics were without big man Robert Williams III for the second straight game &mdash; and the fourth time this postseason &mdash; because of left knee soreness. He had been listed as questionable before being ruled out pregame.
Milwaukee remained without Khris Middleton, who has done some on-court work as he attempts to come back from a sprained left knee. He has not played since April 20 in Game 2 of the first-round series against the Bulls.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s done a little bit on the court and we&rsquo;re feeling good about where he is and optimistic,&rdquo; Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. &ldquo;But it&rsquo;s kind of the same update it&rsquo;s been for the last handful of days&rdquo;
Milwaukee guard George Hill (abdominal soreness) did play.
TIP-INS
Tacko Fall, the 7-foot-6 former Celtic, took in the game from the front row, under the basket. Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft were also at the game. ... The Celtics only had two turnovers in the first half, to nine for the Bucks. ... Celtics subs Daniel Theis and Derrick White made their first nine shots.

The Milwaukee Bucks won a pivotal Game 5 over the Boston Celtics thanks to 40 points from Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Holiday stops Celtics' last 2 plays, Bucks take 3-2 lead

Karl-Anthony Towns roared back from two rough games with a career playoff-best 33 points and 14 rebounds, helping the Minnesota Timberwolves move past their Game 3 collapse and pull out a 119-118 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night to even the first-round series at 2-2.
Anthony Edwards scored 24 points and backup Jordan McLaughlin went 4 for 4 from 3-point range to pitch in 16 points as the Timberwolves relentlessly attacked the basket and went 31 for 40 from the foul line.
The series shifts back to Memphis for Game 5 on Tuesday night.
Desmond Bane, who hit his eighth 3-pointer at the buzzer to finish with 34 points, and Dillon Brooks with 24 points kept the Grizzlies going on another quiet night for star point guard Ja Morant. Morant went 4 for 13 from the floor, and had 11 points, 15 assists and eight rebounds.
Jaren Jackson Jr. fouled out with seven points, and 25 of the Grizzlies' 33 fouls were called their starters.
Towns, who took four shots and had just eight points in Game 3, hit 14 of 17 free throws and was the catalyst down the stretch with 13 points in the fourth quarter.
Patrick Beverley missed two free throws with 43 seconds left. With the Wolves leading 115-110, Morant answered with a layup and Edwards missed a pull-up 3. But Tyus Jones had his 3-pointer fall short with 10.5 seconds to go, and Edwards grabbed the rebound. He sank both free throws as the crowd chanted, &ldquo;Wolves in six! Wolves in six!&rdquo;
McLaughlin's first 3 put Minnesota in front in the second quarter to start a 17-1 run that maxed out with a 50-35 lead &mdash; the largest of the night that quickly got whittled by the Grizzles back down to single digits.
The Wolves might have been better off playing a tighter game this time, after their pair of 25-point advantages in Game 3 went for naught.
AMPED UP
Game 3 was an anomaly, considering the Timberwolves were just the ninth NBA team in 389 situations over the past 25 postseasons to lead by 25-plus points and lose the game, <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNStatsInfo/status/1517325199611469824" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to ESPN.</a>
And while it fits right into the Minnesota sports scene that has been filled for decades with such disappointment, the crowd didn&rsquo;t quit on creating a raucous advantage Saturday.
Troy Hudson and Wally Szczerbiak, standouts on the last Timberwolves team that captivated the town in 2004, were courtside with an endless supply of high-fives for fans seated nearby.
When Towns swished a 3 from the top of the key on the first possession, a jet-like roar followed.
Towns knew how critical the game was and came out with a ferocity suggesting he knew precisely how much criticism he'd been dealt for <a href="https://apnews.com/article/minnesota-timberwolves-memphis-grizzlies-nba-sports-chris-finch-f5eecbb956912af32863cd408990434d" target="_blank" rel="noopener">his Game 3 dud</a>. When he hit his opening 3, he looked down at his hands and yelled to no one in particular about the importance of passing him the ball.
BUMPS AND BRUISES
Bodies crashed to the floor on almost every possession in what was perhaps the most physical game of the series to date. Morant, who has been playing through nagging leg injuries, took several hard landings after layup attempts.
Grizzlies backup Ziaire Williams sustained an eye injury in the second quarter, when Morant drew a flagrant foul on D&rsquo;Angelo Russell as he drove to the hoop and caught a hand to the face.
Edwards left for a bit in the first quarter with an injury to his right knee unrelated to any contact, but after having trouble walking to the locker room for further examination he returned less than 3 minutes later without any trouble.
PROTEST, INTERRUPTED
Two more animal rights protesters attempted to interrupt the game in the third quarter. One woman <a href="https://twitter.com/GrizzOnBally/status/1518074056339296256" target="_blank" rel="noopener">leaped over the courtside seats</a> of Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor and his wife, Becky, before being tackled by security and carried away. Her companion remained behind the Taylors and next to the second row of Timberwolves assistant coaches, who helped security wrestle her out.
The group has been protesting the way that a chicken farm that's part of Taylor's enterprises has allegedly handled an avian flu outbreak. The highly contagious virus <a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-health-environment-iowa-animals-d76524dace2b34e2cb0dc25925cead65" target="_blank" rel="noopener">has killed roughly 28 million poultry</a>.
TIP-INS
Grizzlies: Xavier Tillman started at center, the fourth player in the series for the Grizzlies in an opening-half lineup to join Jaren Jackson Jr. in the frontcourt as coach Taylor Jenkins continued to employ a variety of methods for trying to take Towns out of his element. Brandon Clarke, Kyle Anderson and Steven Adams have all taken turns. ... Brooks, who was listed as questionable to play with a sore left foot, shot 10 for 20.
Timberwolves: Beverley had 17 points. ... Jarred Vanderbilt had 12 points and eight rebounds.

The Minnesota Timberwolves moved past their Game 3 collapse and pulled out a 119-118 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday.

Timberwolves beat Grizzlies 119-118 to even series at 2-2

The story of college basketball can be traced largely from the base of Mount Oread on the campus of Kansas, where the inventor of the game was also the school&rsquo;s first coach, and across the heartland and down Tobacco Road to North Carolina, where so much of its history has been made.
Among those coached by Dr. James Naismith, who famously tacked up those peach baskets at the Springfield YMCA, was an irascible youngster named Forrest Allen, who would later go simply by the nickname &ldquo;Phog.&rdquo;
Phog Allen would later take over the Jayhawks and coach a young man from southeast Kansas named Dean Smith, who delivered him a national championship before beginning his own coaching career.
Smith would become a Tar Heels&rsquo; legend during his tenure in Chapel Hill, leading North Carolina to a pair of national championships. And one of his disciples, that dadgum Roy Williams, would not only lead the Jayhawks to four Final Fours but the Tar Heels to three titles of his own.
On and on it goes, the ties binding two of college basketball&rsquo;s bluebloods forming a rich tapestry over time, and another layer to come Monday night when the schools square off for the national championship at the Superdome.
&ldquo;Both teams are as blue as you can get when you talk about bluebloods,&rdquo; said Kansas coach Bill Self, whose Jayhawks are chasing a third national championship. &ldquo;But to play a Carolina program that&rsquo;s intertwined with Kansas history, in large part because Coach Smith played at Kansas and won a national championship in &rsquo;52 and then he goes on and is thought to be as good a basketball coach that&rsquo;s ever coached the sport over a period of time &mdash; I think that&rsquo;s special. &rdquo;
Self has his own ties to the Tar Heels.
He was just an eager young college student trying to make a buck as a camp counselor at Kansas in the early 1980s when he caught the eyes of the Jayhawks&rsquo; coach. It turned out to be Larry Brown, who two decades earlier had played for Smith and the Tar Heels before embarking on his own coaching career as an assistant in Chapel Hill.
&ldquo;So I&rsquo;m very proud to be a part of this game,&rdquo; Self said.
So is his North Carolina counterpart, Hubert Davis, who also played for Smith in the late 1980s and early &lsquo;90s. After his own college career, and more than a decade spent in the NBA, Davis returned to North Carolina as Williams&rsquo; assistant, then was picked to take over the Tar Heels when the Hall of Fame coach retired last spring.
Davis ruefully remembers playing against Williams and the Jayhawks in the 1991 national semifinals, when he went 9 of 16 from the field and scored 25 points in a losing effort. Kansas later lost to Duke in the title game.
&ldquo;Prior to us winning the national championship in 2017, from 1991 to 2017, I had watched that game at least once every year. It was the best team I ever played with,&rdquo; Davis recalled Sunday. &ldquo;And we really felt like we had a chance to win the national championship and we came up short. And that was a game that Coach Smith got two technical fouls and got kicked out, and it was an emotional game and an emotional end to a season.&rdquo;
Davis still considers that 79-73 defeat in Indianapolis &ldquo;the toughest loss that I&rsquo;ve ever experienced in my entire life.&rdquo;
&ldquo;And playing at Carolina, the thing, for me, that I always wanted was to cut down those nets as a player,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;and we were so close and weren&rsquo;t able to be able to have that experience.&rdquo;
Davis ultimately had that experience as an assistant coach, though never at the Jayhawks&rsquo; expense. Kansas has won four of their six meetings in the NCAA Tournament, including a second-round matchup in 2013 with Davis in his first year on the Tar Heels&rsquo; bench.
And then there&rsquo;s Williams, who retired a year ago Friday after a Hall of Fame career. His first 15 seasons came at Kansas, along with a very famous &ldquo;no thanks&rdquo; when his alma mater first came calling for him to come home in 2000.
Three years later, Williams couldn&rsquo;t disappoint Smith a second time and returned to save a program in turmoil. He spent the next 18 seasons in Chapel Hill and claimed the national titles that had eluded him in his stellar tenure in Lawrence.
&ldquo;I loved it, loved the people, loved the players, loved Allen Fieldhouse, and I wanted them to win every single game,&rdquo; Williams said. &ldquo;But (Monday) night&rsquo;s a little different.&rdquo;
He&rsquo;s been attending UNC games all season to support Davis and his former players after &ldquo;pushing so hard&rdquo; for Davis to be his successor. That includes Saturday&rsquo;s win against Duke here at the Superdome.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve seen people on Bourbon Street and they say &rdquo;Rock Chalk!&rdquo; and I&rsquo;ll say, &rsquo;Go KU&rdquo; because that is my love for that school, and that&rsquo;ll never change,&rdquo; Williams said. &ldquo;But it&rsquo;s a different story tomorrow night, and it&rsquo;s an uncomfortable one for me.
&ldquo;But at the same time, the connections with Coach Smith and myself and KU and the relationship we&rsquo;ve had over the years between those two great basketball program is something that&rsquo;s extremely special. And Roy Williams is extremely flattered to say that I was able to coach at both schools.&rdquo;
Despite their intertwined history and all the games they have played &mdash; 6,394 to be exact &mdash; Monday night will be just the 12th meeting between them. This will be the sixth postseason meeting to come in a regional final or later.
By comparison, the Jayhawks have played Kentucky 34 times.
The first meeting between the Tar Heels and Jayhawks was a triple-overtime NCAA title game in 1957, with UNC capping an unbeaten season by outlasting Wilt Chamberlain and Kansas 54-53. After Davis&rsquo; painful loss in &rsquo;91, the Tar Heels won a rematch in the national semifinals on the way to Smith&rsquo;s second championship.
But the Jayhawks have won the past three meetings, all in the tournament, most notably in the 2008 Final Four on the way to Self&rsquo;s lone national title.
Most of the players that ultimately will decide the latest showdown between the historic programs know only of the past through stories and memories. Some of them weren&rsquo;t even born when Williams was coaching at Kansas, let alone Davis playing for the Tar Heels, and it&rsquo;s been up to their coaches to instill upon them the importance of this moment.
Kansas and North Carolina for the national championship.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve told them this: The best experience that I have had as a player, hands down, was going to the Final Four,&rdquo; Davis said. &ldquo;I told them, &lsquo;I played 12 years in the NBA and that was my finest as a basketball player, finest moment, just being part of the Final Four.&rsquo; I was trying to convey to them how special it is to be here. Now that they&rsquo;re being able to experience it is great.&rdquo;

There'll be another layer added to these school's rich histories when Kansas and UNC square off in the national championship in NOLA.