Wolves

The 2025 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament has culminated in a formidable Final Four lineup, featuring UCLA Bruins, South Carolina Gamecocks, Texas Longhorns, and UConn Huskies. These teams will compete for the national championship at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, with semifinal games scheduled for Friday, April 4, and the title game on Sunday, April 6. ​
UCLA Bruins
UCLA secured its inaugural Final Four appearance by defeating LSU Tigers 72-65 in the Elite Eight. The Bruins showcased resilience and strategic play to overcome a formidable LSU team bannered by Aneesah Morrow, Flau'Jae Johnson, and Mikaylah Williams.&nbsp;
South Carolina Gamecocks
Maintaining their dominance, South Carolina reached its fifth consecutive Final Four by edging out the Duke Blue Devils with a 54-50 victory. The Gamecocks' tenacious defense and experience were pivotal in this hard-fought win. ​
Texas Longhorns
The Longhorns earned their first Final Four berth since 2003 by defeating TCU Horned Frogs 58-47. Madison Booker led Texas with 18 points, while Rori Harmon contributed 13 points. The team's robust defense forced 21 turnovers, nine steals, and six blocks, effectively neutralizing TCU's offensive threats, most particularly TCU star guard Hailey Van Lith.
UConn Huskies
UConn continued its storied tradition by advancing to its 24th Final Four, overcoming USC Trojans 78-64. Paige Bueckers delivered an outstanding performance with 31 points and six assists, marking her third consecutive 30+ point game and surpassing 100 points over three tournament games&mdash;a first in UConn's history. Bueckers also moved up the UConn scoring records after surpassing Napheesa Collier for third all-time, only trailing Breanna Stewart and Maya Moore. As for USC, the loss of star guard Juju Watkins due to injury in the Sweet Sixteen was too much to overcome the determined Bueckers and her Huskies.
Final Four Matchups
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Texas Longhorns vs. South Carolina Gamecocks: This semifinal pits Texas' robust defense against South Carolina's seasoned tournament experience.​</li>
<li>UConn Huskies vs. UCLA Bruins: UConn's offensive prowess, led by Bueckers, will be tested against UCLA's resilient defense led by Lauren Betts in a highly anticipated matchup.</li>
</ul>

The 2025 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament has culminated in a formidable Final Four lineup.

March Madness 2025: Top seeds converge in women’s Final Four

In a remarkable display of superb basketball, the 2025 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament will feature all four No. 1 seeds&mdash;Florida Gators, Auburn Tigers, Duke Blue Devils, and Houston Cougars&mdash;advancing to the Final Four. This marks the first occurrence since 2008 that all top seeds have reached this stage.​
The Final Four matchups are set to take place at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, on Saturday, April 5. The semifinal games feature Florida facing Auburn at 5:09 p.m. ET, followed by Houston against Duke at 7:49 p.m. ET. Both games will be broadcast on CBS and streamed on March Madness Live and Paramount+.​
Each team's path through the Elite Eight was marked by decisive victories. The Florida Gators secured their Final Four berth by defeating the Texas Tech Red Raiders with a final score of 84-79. The Auburn Tigers overcame the Michigan State Spartans in a 70-64 contest despite a scare from star player Johni Broome, who suffered an elbow injury during the game. Broome returned to contribute crucial points, helping Auburn advance and keep dancing in March Madness.
The Duke Blue Devils dominated the Alabama Crimson Tide with an 85-65 win led by standout freshman Cooper Flagg. The Houston Cougars delivered a commanding 69-50 victory over the Tennessee Volunteers. The Cougars' strong defense and cohesive play have been instrumental in their journey, and this will once again be needed for them to win in the Final Four.
In the Final Four, each team will bring a compelling narrative to the tournament.
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Florida Gators: Making their first Final Four appearance since 2014, the Gators aim to capture their third national title.&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Auburn Tigers: Under the leadership of Coach Bruce Pearl, Auburn seeks its first national championship, adding to the excitement surrounding their journey.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Duke Blue Devils: Led by standout freshman Cooper Flagg, Duke continues its storied tradition in the tournament, with insights from Coach K and current coach Jon Scheyer highlighting their path to the Final Four.&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Houston Cougars: With a strong bond and loyalty praised by alumnus and legendary broadcaster Jim Nantz, Houston aims for its biggest achievement since the 1980s.</li>
</ul>
This convergence of top seeds sets the stage for an electrifying conclusion to March Madness 2025, as fans eagerly anticipate which team will emerge as the national champion.​

In a remarkable display of superb basketball, the 2025 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament will feature all four No. 1 seeds.

March Madness 2025: All No. 1 Seeds Advance to Final Four

The 2025 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament has come to the Elite Eight stage, featuring the best of the best among the women&rsquo;s basketball teams.&nbsp;
UConn's star guard Paige Bueckers delivered a historic performance in the Sweet Sixteen, scoring a career-high 40 points to lead the Huskies to an 82-59 victory over Oklahoma. Now, the Elite Eight matchups are as follows:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">South Carolina Gamecocks vs. Duke Blue Devils</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">UCLA Bruins vs. LSU Tigers</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Texas Longhorns vs. TCU Horned Frogs</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">UConn Huskies vs. USC Trojans</li>
</ul>

The 2025 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament has come to the Elite Eight stage, with Paige Bueckers at the center of it all.

March Madness 2025: Paige Bueckers explodes as Elite Eight is set in women's bball

The 2025 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament has reached the Elite Eight stage, featuring a mix of top seeds and formidable challengers. The matchups are as follows:​
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">South Region: #1 Auburn Tigers vs. #2 Michigan State Spartans​</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">West Region: #1 Florida Gators vs. #3 Texas Tech Red Raiders​</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">East Region: #1 Duke Blue Devils vs. #2 Alabama Crimson Tide​</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Midwest Region: #1 Houston Cougars vs. #2 Tennessee Volunteers​</li>
</ul>
This after the respective teams defeated their opponents in the Sweet Sixteen. Duke superstar freshman Cooper Flagg took the center of the spotlight with an outstanding performance of 30 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 blocks against Arizona.
Notably, all four No. 1 seeds&mdash;Auburn, Florida, Duke, and Houston&mdash;have advanced to the Elite Eight, underscoring their dominance throughout the tournament.
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) boasts a strong presence, with four teams&mdash;Auburn, Florida, Alabama, and Tennessee&mdash;competing in this stage. ​\\
These matchups promise high-caliber basketball as teams vie for a coveted spot in the Final Four, as fans anticipate the intense competition and memorable moments as the tournament progresses.​

The 2025 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament has reached the Elite Eight stage, featuring a mix of top seeds and formidable challengers.

March Madness 2025: Elite Eight set for NCAA Men's Basketball

The 2025 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament has reached the Sweet Sixteen stage, highlighted by Duke's commanding victory over Baylor and the elimination of reigning champions UConn.​
In their second-round matchup, the No. 1 seed Duke Blue Devils showcased their dominance against the No. 9 seed Baylor Bears. The game, played on March 23, 2025, saw Duke's offense and defense operating at peak performance, leading to a decisive win. Fans can view extended highlights of this game on the NCAA's official website.
Conversely, the University of Connecticut Huskies, aiming for a third consecutive national title, faced a narrow defeat against the No. 1 seed Florida Gators. The intense game concluded with a 77-75 victory for Florida, ending UConn's bid for a third consecutive national title.&nbsp;
The tournament now advances to the Sweet Sixteen, with matchups scheduled as follows:​
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Purdue Boilermakers vs Houston Cougars</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Michigan Wolverines vs Auburn Tigers</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Kentucky Wildcats vs Tennessee Volunteers</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Ole Miss Rebels vs Michigan State Spartans</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Arkansas Razorbacks vs Texas Tech Red Raiders</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Arizona Wildcats vs Duke Blue Devils</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Maryland Terrapins vs Florida Gators</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">BYU Cougars vs Alabama Crimson Tide</li>
</ul>
As the competition intensifies, fans eagerly anticipate the forthcoming games that will determine the teams advancing to the Elite Eight.​

The 2025 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament has reached the Sweet Sixteen stage, with the games starting today, March 28, 2025.

March Madness 2025: The Sweet Sixteen commences

The USA Women&rsquo;s National Basketball dominated for three quarters before holding off a furious 4th quarter run by Nigeria, 88-74, at the Bercy Arena in Paris, France and advancing to the Paris 2024 Olympics semifinals.
The Americans moved one step closer to attaining their coveted 8th straight gold medal in the games with a huge game played on both ends of the floor. Team USA displayed a masterclass on both offense and defense anchored by their best players as well as the supporting players chipping in with their parts as well.&nbsp;
A&rsquo;Ja Wilson was her usual dominant self for Team USA with a great performance of 20 points on 9/11 shooting with 11 rebounds. Tandem Breanna Stewart added 13 points while Wilson&rsquo;s teammate with the Las Vegas Aces Jackie Young had a great second straight game after starting yet again by scoring 15 points.
The USA remains undefeated in the quarter-finals at the Olympics, winning their eight game in this phase: however, this was their closest win at the quarter-finals of the Olympics, with their seven previous games being all won by 15 or more points.
Team USA will now face Australia in the semifinals after the Opals defeated Serbia in the other semis matchup. France and Belgium will also do their honors on the other side of the bracket for the right to fight for gold.

The USA Women’s National Basketball dominated for three quarters before holding off a furious 4th quarter run by Nigeria, 88-74.

Team USA Women’s take care of Nigeria, advance to Olympics semis

The USA Women&rsquo;s National Basketball team got what they needed as they proceeded to the knockout rounds flawlessly after defeating Germany, 87-68, at the Pierre de Mauroy Stadium in Lille, France in the 2024 Paris Olympics.&nbsp;
The Americans played well with no complacency at all despite already clinching their quarterfinal berth against a dangerous German team that beat Belgium in pool play. Team USA leaned on their talent and length on defense that made the Germans work on the offensive side of the floor.&nbsp;
That is now Team USA Women&rsquo;s 58th straight win in the Olympics as they secure the no.1 overall seed coming in the knockout rounds. Only 3 more wins and they complete yet another gold medal run and extend their dynasty to 8 straight Olympics.
A&rsquo;Ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart dominated once again for the Americans with 14 and 23 points respectively, but it was Jackie Young who starred in this game with 19 points built on 4 three-pointers.&nbsp;
Next up for Team USA Women&rsquo;s is a date between Nigeria who already have the country&rsquo;s best showing in the Olympics by making the quarterfinals. The other quarter-final pairings are the following, per FIBA after the Paris 2024 Olympics Basketball Tournament draw:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Spain v Belgium</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">France v Germany&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Serbia v Australia</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
ROAD TO GOLD 🥇 Women&rsquo;s <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Basketball?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Basketball</a> Quarter-Finals are here 🔥<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Paris2024?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Paris2024</a> <a href="https://t.co/fRJCaPeLRI">pic.twitter.com/fRJCaPeLRI</a>
&mdash; FIBA (@FIBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/FIBA/status/1820213878132772893?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 4, 2024</a></blockquote>

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

Team USA Women’s got what they needed as they proceeded to the knockout rounds flawlessly after defeating Germany, 87-68.

Team USA Women’s beat Germany, set up Paris 2024 quarterfinals matchups

The Iowa Hawkeyes are headed back to the Final Four following a sensational performance from women&rsquo;s college basketball superstar Caitlin Clark.
Clark poured in 41 points, 12 assists, and 7 rebounds to lead the Hawkeyes past the defending champions LSU Tigers in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament&rsquo;s March Madness 2024 at the MVP Arena in Albany New York.
The NCAA&rsquo;s all-time leading scorer in either men&rsquo;s or women&rsquo;s division played all 40 minutes, draining 9 threes. In the process, Clark broke yet another set of records including career D1 3-pointers made, career tournament 3-pointers made, and career tournament assists.
This Elite Eight win allows Clark and Iowa to avenge their loss in the national championship game last year to LSU. Clark notably scored 41 points to beat the then-undefeated South Carolina Gamecocks in the Final Four before succumbing to LSU in the title game.
Despite the loss, the Tigers dominated the boards 54-37 led by their own star Angel Reese&rsquo;s 20 rebounds on top of 17 points, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 3 blocks for an all-around brilliant game.&nbsp;
Kate Martin stepped up big time for the Hawkeyes to supplement Clark&rsquo;s production with 21 points while Tigers freshman and HS no.2 overall recruit Mikaylah Williams tallied 18 points and 7 rebounds in a losing effort.
Iowa now await the winner of the UConn vs USC matchup for their Final Four opponent at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio next weekend.

The Iowa Hawkeyes are headed back to the Final Four following a sensational performance from superstar Caitlin Clark.

Caitlin Clark drops 41 points, Iowa beats LSU to advance to Final Four

Four of the top superstars in women&rsquo;s college basketball are set to face off on the biggest stage.
Angel Reese and the defending-champion LSU Tigers will go up against leading National Player of the Year candidate Caitlin Clark and her Iowa Hawkeyes at the MVP Arena in Albany, New York. 
Then, Paige Bueckers and the Connecticut Huskies will face off against top-ranked freshman JuJu Watkins and the USC Trojans at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon.
Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark set for rematch in the Elite Eight
Reese and LSU are trying to defend the title that they won last year against Clark and Iowa. LSU has had a fairly dominant tournament this year, winning their previous three games by double-digits. Reese was named the Most Outstanding Player of last year's NCAA Tournament.
Clark, who became the NCAA&rsquo;s all-time leading scorer this season, will try to lead Iowa to the Final Four and avenge last year's loss against LSU. Like the Tigers, the Hawkeyes have dominated their opponents in this year&rsquo;s tournament run, beating each team by 10 or more points.
This star-studded matchup will surely be fiery considering the stakes and a little bit of history between these teams. Reese and Clark had some words for each other last year and have developed a rivalry.
JuJu Watkins, Paige Bueckers vie for Final Four spot&nbsp;
Reese vs. Clark isn't the only star-studded matchup on tonight's game. Watkins vs. Bueckers will also be must-see TV. Watkins is making waves in March Madness as a freshman, while Bueckers is determined to prove she's still one of the best players in the nation.
Watkins, the sensational first-year player from USC, will try to lead the Trojans further into the Big Dance after just recently surviving a scare against the Baylor Bears in the Sweet Sixteen. Watkins has been the nation&rsquo;s second-leading scorer, averaging over 27 points a game behind only the prolific Clark, but she will have her hands full against a UConn team that's led by legendary coach Geno Auriemma.
On the other hand, Bueckers and UConn aim to reclaim the glory that has evaded them for the past few seasons. Despite winning the NCAA Player of the Year award as a freshman and reaching the championship game that year, Bueckers has been plagued with knee injuries over her last two seasons. Now, she's hoping to show the world what she&rsquo;s capable of again on the biggest stage.
All eyes will be on Watkins and Bueckers as they face each other for the first time and try to lead their respective teams to Cleveland for the Final Four.

Elite 8 Preview: Caitlin Clark vs. Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers vs. JuJu Watkins

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced today at NBA All-Star Weekend 2024 the selection of 14 finalists from the following committees: North American, Women&rsquo;s, Men&rsquo;s Veterans, Women&rsquo;s Veterans, International, and Contributors.
The finalists will then be put forward to the Honors Committee to be considered for election as members of the Class of 2024. The new class will be announced in Phoenix on April 6 at the NCAA Men&rsquo;s Final Four.
North American Committee Finalists (in alphabetical order):
<ul style="font-weight: 400;">
<li>Chauncey Billups</li>
<li>Vince Carter</li>
<li>Michael Cooper</li>
<li>Walter Davis</li>
<li>Bo Ryan</li>
<li>Charles Smith</li>
</ul>
Women's Committee Finalists:
<ul style="font-weight: 400;">
<li>Seimone Augustus</li>
<li>Marian Washington</li>
</ul>
Men&rsquo;s Veteran Committee Finalist:
<ul style="font-weight: 400;">
<li>Dick Barnett</li>
</ul>
Women's Veteran Committee Finalist:
<ul style="font-weight: 400;">
<li>Harley Redin</li>
</ul>
International Committee Finalist:
<ul style="font-weight: 400;">
<li>Michele Timms</li>
</ul>
Contributors Committee Finalists:
<ul style="font-weight: 400;">
<li>Doug Collins</li>
<li>Herb Simon</li>
<li>Jerry West</li>
</ul>
"Being named a Finalist for the Class of 2024 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame is a testament to the highest echelons of achievement in the sport,&rdquo; said Jerry Colangelo, Chairman of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. &ldquo;It's an honor that reflects not only individual greatness but also the long-lasting impact on the game itself. From the strategic brilliance of coaches to the unmatched abilities of players and the influential roles of a coach/broadcaster, an esteemed owner, and a dynasty-building executive, each Finalist embodies the pinnacle of basketball excellence. Their inclusion underscores the diverse contributions that have shaped and enriched the sport, making this recognition truly exceptional."
The Class of 2024 will be enshrined during festivities in Springfield, Mass., on August 16-17. VIP packages for the 2024 Hall of Fame Enshrinement Weekend are now available. Single-event tickets will go on sale on April 6, following the 2024 Class Announcement.
North American Committee Finalists:
CHAUNCEY BILLUPS&nbsp;[Player]&nbsp;&ndash; Nicknamed "Mr. Big Shot" for his ability to deliver crucial plays in pivotal moments, Billups was a five-time NBA All-Star and the 2004 Finals MVP after leading the Detroit Pistons to their third NBA championship. During his 17-year career, Billups&rsquo; averaged 15.2 points and 5.4 assists per game, while his&nbsp; 89.4&nbsp; free throw percentage is sixth best in NBA/ABA history. Billups was drafted third overall in 1997 by the Boston Celtics after earning Second Team All-American honors at Colorado. He is the current head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers.
VINCE CARTER&nbsp;[Player]&nbsp;&ndash; Renowned for his high-flying dunks, the former North Carolina standout was an eight-time All-Star in his 22 NBA seasons (1998-2020). Carter, who won the 2000 Slam Dunk Contest, was named the 1998-99 Rookie of the Year and is the only player in NBA history to play in four different decades. Carter averaged 16.7 points per game (21.3 as a starter) and also played a pivotal role in the success of the 2000 Sydney Olympics, clinching a gold medal with the U.S. Men's Basketball Team. He currently holds the single-season franchise scoring record for the New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets and Toronto Raptors.
MICHAEL COOPER&nbsp;[Player]&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;Cooper was named to eight NBA All-Defensive Teams, taking home First-Team accolades five times and winning Defensive Player of the Year honors in 1987. The former third-round draft pick (60th overall) out of the University of New Mexico spent his entire 12-year NBA career (1978-90) with the Los Angeles Lakers, winning five championships while routinely matching up with the opponent&rsquo;s top shooter. Following his playing career, Cooper entered the coaching ranks and earned WNBA Coach of the Year accolades in 2000 with the Los Angeles Sparks before winning back-to-back WNBA titles in 2001-02.
WALTER DAVIS&nbsp;[Player]&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;The all-time leading scorer in Phoenix Suns&rsquo; history was a six-time All-Star (1978-81, &lsquo;84, &lsquo;87) during his 15-year NBA career with the Suns (1977-88), Denver Nuggets (1988-92) and Portland Trail Blazers (1991). Before Phoenix chose Davis with the fifth pick in the 1977 draft, the standout player from North Carolina won a gold medal in the 1976 Summer Olympics. He then averaged 24.2 points per game in his first NBA season and was named the 1978 Rookie of the Year. The late Davis had&nbsp;his No. 6 retired by the Suns, and in 2004, he was enshrined in the team's Ring of Honor.
BO RYAN&nbsp;[Coach] &ndash;&nbsp;Ryan went 747-233 (.762) in 32 seasons as a collegiate head coach with the University of Wisconsin-Platteville (1984-89), University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (1999-2001) and University of Wisconsin (2001-15), including a 364-130 (.737) ledger in 14-plus seasons in Madison. Ryan, honored four times as the Big Ten Coach of the Year, led Wisconsin to unprecedented success, clinching four Big Ten regular-season titles, winning three Big Ten tournament championships, and making back-to-back Final Four appearances (2014-15). The four-time Division III champion (1991, &lsquo;95, &lsquo;98-99) was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017.
CHARLES SMITH&nbsp;[Coach] &ndash; Smith is Louisiana's all-time winningest high school head coach, surpassing the previous mark of 1,071 in 2020. With eight state championships to his name, Smith&rsquo;s coaching tenure at Peabody Magnet High School began in 1985 after starting as a math teacher in 1975. He guided the Warhorses to a pair of perfect seasons, going 41-0 in 2004 and 2010 and earning national top-five rankings. Smith, ESPN&rsquo;s National Coach of the Year in 2010, was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 2019 and the National High School Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2021. In addition, Smith served as a head coach at the McDonald&rsquo;s All-American game in 2020.
Women&rsquo;s Committee Finalists:
SEIMONE AUGUSTUS&nbsp;[Player]&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;Augustus, who was selected first overall in the 2006 WNBA Draft, was a four-time champion and eight-time All-Star during her 15-year WNBA career (2006-2020). The cornerstone player for the Minnesota Lynx, where she spent 14 of her 15 seasons, averaged 15.4 points per game and was named the 2006 Rookie of the Year and 2011 Finals MVP. At LSU, Augustus led the Tigers to three straight Final Four appearances and won the Naismith College Player of the Year and Wooden Awards in back-to-back campaigns (2005-06).
MARIAN WASHINGTON&nbsp;[Coach] &ndash; Washington led the University of Kansas women&rsquo;s basketball team for 31 seasons (1973-2004) and recorded a school-record 560 wins. The Jayhawks made 11 NCAA tournament appearances under her guidance, including two trips to the Sweet 16 (1996, &lsquo;97). Washington, who also served as Kansas&rsquo; director for women&rsquo;s athletics from 1974-79, was named her conference&rsquo;s Coach of the Year on three occasions (Big Eight: 1992, &rsquo;96; Big 12: 1997). She was a pioneer on the international stage, becoming one of the first two African American women to compete in basketball internationally at the 1971 World Championships and the first black woman to coach a United States team in international play at the 1982 R. William Jones Cup. Washington, who was the first female president of the Black Coaches Association, was inducted into the Women&rsquo;s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2004.
Men&rsquo;s Veteran Committee Finalist:
DICK BARNETT&nbsp;[Player] &ndash;&nbsp;Barnett first gained prominence at Tennessee A&amp;I University, where he led the Tigers to three straight NAIA national championships (1957-59), the first historically black school to claim a men&rsquo;s basketball title. The &ldquo;Skull&rdquo; played 14 NBA seasons with the Syracuse Nationals (1959-61), Los Angeles Lakers (1962-65) and New York Knicks (1965-73), winning a pair of titles in the Big Apple (1970, &lsquo;73) and making his lone All-Star team in 1968. The Knicks retired his No. 12, and the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame honored his 1957&ndash;59 Tigers squad in 2019.
Women&rsquo;s Veteran Committee Finalists:
HARLEY REDIN&nbsp;[Coach]&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;Redin went 431-66 in 18 seasons leading Wayland Baptist&rsquo;s women&rsquo;s basketball program and captured six AAU National Championships. He coached the Flying Queens to two undefeated women&rsquo;s seasons (1956, &lsquo;57), 17 top-five finishes, and went 110-2 during his first four campaigns at Wayland Baptist. Redin also coached the Women&rsquo;s U.S. National Team in 1959, the 1971 Pan-American Games, and the 1963 World Tournament in Peru. He was the recipient of the Jostens-Berenson Service Award by the Women&rsquo;s Basketball Coaches Association for his lifetime of service to women&rsquo;s basketball in 1992, inducted into the Women&rsquo;s Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999, and honored with the Naismith Award for Outstanding Contribution to the game of women&rsquo;s basketball in 2000.
International Committee Finalist:
MICHELE TIMMS&nbsp;[Player]&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;A trailblazer in Australian women&rsquo;s basketball, Timms became well-known as one of the best point guards in the world, representing the Australian national team throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Timms won a pair of Olympic medals with the Opals, winning bronze in 1996 and silver in 2000, and was the first Australian, male or female, to play professional basketball internationally when she suited up for Lotus M&uuml;nchen in Germany. In addition, Timms spent five seasons with the Phoenix Mercury, guiding the team to a berth in the 1998 WNBA Finals and earning an All-Star selection in 1999. The Sport Australia Hall of Fame inducted her in 2003, the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008, and the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2016. The Mercury retired her No. 7 jersey in 2002.
Contributor Committee Finalists:
DOUG COLLINS&nbsp;[Coach/broadcaster]&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;Collins' versatile career in basketball is marked by significant achievements in roles ranging from player to coach to broadcaster, underscoring his wide-ranging impact on the sport. Following an NBA career where he was a four-time All-Star with the Philadelphia 76ers, he transitioned into coaching and accumulated over 400 wins with the Chicago Bulls (1986-89), Detroit Pistons (1995-98), Washington Wizards (2001-03) and 76ers (2010-13). Collins, who coached Hall of Famer Michael Jordan in both Chicago and Washington,&nbsp;also served as an analyst for various NBA-related broadcasts for CBS, NBC, TNT, TBS, and ABC/ESPN, along with working for NBC at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics.
HERB SIMON&nbsp;[Owner] &ndash; Simon, the longest-tenured governor in the history of the NBA, purchased the Indiana Pacers, along with his late brother Mel, back in 1983. Under Simon&rsquo;s stewardship, the Pacers won numerous Central Division titles and made the franchise&rsquo;s first NBA Finals in 2000. Throughout his ownership period, the Pacers have been home to legendary players like Jermaine O&rsquo;Neal, Rik Smits, and Reggie Miller (Class of 2012). Beyond ownership, Simon's influence extends deeply into the heart of the Pacers&rsquo; organization, shaping its identity and impact both on and off the court through his philanthropic endeavors and civic engagement.
JERRY WEST&nbsp;[Executive] &ndash; Enshrined as a player in 1980, West then went on to establish himself off the court as one of the most successful executives in the sport&rsquo;s history. West played a pivotal role as the architect of a pair of Los Angeles Lakers&rsquo; dynasties during the 1980s and 2000s, drafting key players like Magic Johnson and James Worthy, acquiring Kobe Bryant, signing free agent Shaquille O'Neal, and hiring head coach Phil Jackson. He totaled eight NBA championships in Los Angeles (1980, &lsquo;82, &lsquo;85, &lsquo;87-88, 2000-02) and was named Executive of the Year twice (1995, 2004). Following his time in the Lakers&rsquo; front office (1979-2000), West served as GM of the Memphis Grizzlies from 2002-07 before earning two additional NBA championships as an executive with the Golden State Warriors (2015, &lsquo;17).

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced the 14 finalists for the class of 2024 including Vince Carter and Chauncey Billups.

Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announces 14 finalists in class of 2024

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

Bam Adebayo remembers the moment he started looking at Gabe Vincent differently.
&ldquo;Man, [it was] when he torched us in the Olympics, in the exhibition game facing Nigeria,&rdquo; Adebayo recalled. &ldquo;He came out with that type of energy, that type of voracity and that type of anger. I felt like from there, &lsquo;He's one of us.&rsquo;&rdquo;
In the game Adebayo referenced, Vincent scored 21 points, drilled 6-of-8 threes and clinched Nigeria's exhibition win over Team USA with a pair of clutch free throws in the final seconds. Vincent decided to wear Nnamdi (his middle name) on the back of his jersey, describing it as &ldquo;an alter ego of sorts; I almost become a different person.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Now, back on one of basketball&rsquo;s biggest stages, Nnamdi has resurfaced.&nbsp;
Vincent played a huge role in Miami&rsquo;s win over the Denver Nuggets in Game 2 of the NBA Finals, as he finished with 23 points, 4 threes, 3 assists and 2 steals on uber-efficient 66.7/66.7/100 shooting splits. Through two Finals games, Vincent is averaging 21 points, 4.5 threes, 4.0 assists and a steal, while shooting 57.7% from the field, 56.3% from three and 100% from the free-throw line.
He's had a number incredible performances during these playoffs, including 29 points, 6 threes, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 block on 78.6/66.7/100 shooting in a Game 3 win over the Boston Celtics, a 22-point, 6-assist, 4-three outing to eliminate the Milwaukee Bucks, and back-to-back 20-point, 5-assist games against the New York Knicks.
&ldquo;We love Nnamdi. We really do,&rdquo; Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said. &ldquo;If you don't know that [moniker], the national media, because you're not following us, please look that up. 
"Nnamdi, he's a special guy. He really is.&rdquo;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Gabe Vincent is the kinda hooper you love to play with. (via <a href="https://twitter.com/MiamiHEAT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MiamiHEAT</a>) <a href="https://t.co/qT6ekpY390">pic.twitter.com/qT6ekpY390</a>
&mdash; SLAM (@SLAMonline) <a href="https://twitter.com/SLAMonline/status/1665760391027392513?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 5, 2023</a></blockquote>

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

By now, you have certainly heard that Vincent went undrafted in 2018. He spent the first two years of his pro career playing for the Stockton Kings of the NBA G League, and he earned the G League&rsquo;s Most Improved Player award after averaging 21.1 points, 4.2 threes, 3.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.2 steals, while shooting 40.6% from deep.&nbsp;
Miami gave him an opportunity during the 2019-20 season, signing him to a two-way contract. The Heat saw potential in him, but they wanted him to transition from shooting guard to point guard. He put in a ton of work, winning over the coaching staff and his teammates.
&ldquo;He was with us in the bubble as a two-way guy. He took on, I think, the toughest role change for a young player,&rdquo; Spoelstra explained. &ldquo;He was a gunslinger 2-guard [and] we wanted to develop him into a combo guard, somebody that could organize us, be an irritant defensively, tough, learn how to facilitate and run a team. I think that's the toughest thing to do in this league: turn a 2 into a 1. He openly just embraced that. 
"He struggled at times with that because you're trying to reinvent yourself.&nbsp;Instead of saying, &lsquo;This is too tough, let me be me,&rsquo; he's really grown the last three years. He's just an incredible, winning player. This year, he's been a starter for us. He's been great. [When] he's off the bench, he's been great. He's like a lot of our guys, the competitive spirit. You get challenged like we're getting challenged in this series, you hope it brings out the best in you. And that's what it's doing with him...
&ldquo;People severely overestimate what you can get accomplished in a day, and they grossly underestimate what you can get accomplished in a matter of months [or] years when nobody is paying attention. And he's the epitome of that.&rdquo;
Looking back on his transition from shooting guard to point guard, Vincent admits that it was tough and credits his support system for helping him with the change.
&ldquo;It definitely wasn't easy,&rdquo; Vincent said. &ldquo;The staff was great with me &ndash; whether it was [watching] film or getting in the gym &ndash; and my teammates have been phenomenal, coaching me up, telling me to be more aggressive when I'm questioning it or trying to think, &lsquo;Should I pass first?&rsquo; And our stars, Jimmy, Kyle [Lowry], Bam, they have been in my ear and telling me just to play basketball. They trust my IQ of the game, and they want me just to go out there and play hard.&rdquo;
Spoelstra isn&rsquo;t the only one who loves Nnamdi; he has a lot of fans in Miami&rsquo;s locker room too.
&ldquo;He's carving a space for himself,&rdquo; Adebayo said of Vincent. &ldquo;[He&rsquo;s proving] undrafted players can start in the Finals and be productive. It doesn't mean anything that he's undrafted.&rdquo;
&ldquo;I see it every day&hellip; I know how comfortable he is,&rdquo; Jimmy Butler said. &ldquo;I know the level of confidence that we have in him and that he has in himself to go out there and run the offense at any point in time, first through fourth quarter, maybe even overtime. And we live with the decisions and the shots that he makes and takes. He's our starting point guard for a reason.&rdquo;
Entering the postseason, nobody thought the Heat could go on a Finals run. They are a Cinderella story, proving all of their doubters wrong and doing the unthinkable &ndash; just like Miami&rsquo;s undrafted players (Vincent, Caleb Martin, Max Strus, Duncan Robinson, Udonis Haslem, Haywood Highsmith and Omer Yurtseven) have done by becoming key pieces in recent years.
&ldquo;This season has been interesting. We've had highs, we've had lows,&rdquo; Vincent said. &ldquo;Obviously, we've made a push from the eight seed to the Finals. We've showed a lot of resilience, a lot of persistence, a lot of belief in one another.&rdquo;
As Vincent mentioned, this Heat team is extremely resilient. Throughout these playoffs, the Heat have won seven games after trailing by 10 or more points, which is tied for the most comeback victories by a team in a single postseason.
&ldquo;It's just part of our DNA, for one,&rdquo; Vincent said. &ldquo;Everyone on this team has battled through adversity in some manner and been knocked down and had to get back up. And number two, we have a lot of experience in these close games. So when it comes down to the wire, we are strangely comfortable&hellip; I think [Spo] loves these moments as well. He loves the competition. I think this is similar to other guys on our team. I think this is when we get the best version of Spo.&rdquo;
Regardless of the deficit, Miami never thinks they are out of a game. Their confidence never wavers.
&ldquo;I think you grow confidence in anything you're doing with the amount of work you put in, whether it's cooking or golf or basketball,&rdquo; Vincent said. &ldquo;I think we all put a lot of hours and time in and extra reps and shots so that when the time comes, you have faith and have confidence because of the work you have instilled. This group especially has put in a lot of work on the court [and] off the court, battling together. We're definitely a confident group.&rdquo;
Vincent&rsquo;s breakout couldn&rsquo;t have come at a better time &ndash; not only because he&rsquo;s helped propel Miami within three wins of a championship but because Vincent will be an unrestricted free agent on July 1.&nbsp;
Vincent earned just $1,815,677 this season, which <a href="https://twitter.com/BobbyMarks42/status/1663359595224653825" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ranked 397th among all NBA players</a>. Now, after his terrific postseason, the 26-year-old is poised for a big payday.&nbsp;
An NBA scout <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/barry-jackson/article275722471.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recently told</a> Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald that Vincent's next deal could pay him around $10-11 million annually.
"I've gone from thinking this guy is a good $3 million backup to [thinking he's] a $10 million, $11 million player; he's worth that in today's NBA," the scout <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/barry-jackson/article275722471.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. "The guy has produced when it counts, and that's what teams are looking for. He has risen to the occasion.
"He's up and down at times with his shooting, but he's a clutch shooter, and that means something. He has got cojones. He's never afraid of the moment. You get high effort defensively. Decent playmaker, has toughness. To me, his value correlates a lot to his scoring."
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As Adebayo said recently: &ldquo;I feel like a lot of people are going to know who Gabe Vincent is.&rdquo;

Gabe Vincent is playing his best basketball on the NBA's biggest stage, and the timing is perfect given his upcoming free agency.

Heat's Gabe Vincent playing his best basketball at the perfect time

DENVER (AP) &mdash; All those smooth-looking, long-range jumpers Michael Porter Jr. hits have definitely been a reward for Denver.
Easy to forget just how much of a risk he was early on for the Nuggets.
They rolled the dice at No. 14 in the 2018 draft on a 6-foot-10 forward with a balky back to go with a tremendous set of skills. He&rsquo;s gone through three back procedures since college and missed basically two of his five NBA seasons, but still showed enough flashes of talent to earn a max extension.
Without taking that gamble on Porter, the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-finals-nuggets-jokic-murray-malone-18329e13dfecae50834ebc06d409027c">Nuggets might not be</a>&nbsp;here, starting their first NBA Finals on Thursday night with a 104-93 win over Miami. He&rsquo;s become their X factor &mdash; the third part of a hard-to-contain trio that also includes Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. Porter had 14 points and 12 rebounds against the Heat.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s just cool looking back on the journey,&rdquo;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/pgraham34/status/1663249469264240640" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">said Porter, who</a>&nbsp;turns 25 on June 29. &ldquo;You try not to spend too much time looking back right now, just stay focused on getting this ring. But you&rsquo;ve got to take moments to just look back.&rdquo;
Rewind a few years: Porter was a senior at Nathan Hale High School in Seattle and learning from a coach who wasn&rsquo;t just a coach. This was former NBA All-Star guard Brandon Roy &mdash; someone who had been in the league and done the things Porter was hoping to do.
&ldquo;He really helped me take my game to the next level,&rdquo; Porter said.
A top recruit, he chose Missouri. It was home, with Porter growing up in Columbia. His brother, Jontay, joined him at Missouri. His dad&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://mutigers.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/michael-porter-sr-/927" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">was added to the staff</a>&nbsp;after coaching at the University of Washington.
But his time with the Tigers was cut short by his ailing back. Two minutes into his inaugural college game, he went out. He later underwent microdiscectomy&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://mutigers.com/news/2017/11/21/mens-basketball-statements-michael-porter-jr.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">surgery to fix herniated discs</a>&nbsp;but made it back for the SEC Tournament &mdash; a loss to Georgia &mdash; and then the NCAA Tournament, where the Tigers fell to Florida State.
Despite his back issues, the Nuggets selected him in a draft that included Deandre Ayton (No. 1), Luka Doncic (No. 3) and Trae Young (No. 5).
Porter missed his first season in Denver after undergoing another back procedure. The following year, he showed what he could do in the 2020 NBA bubble when the Nuggets made it to the Western Conference finals before losing to the Los Angeles Lakers. In 2020-21, he averaged 19 points in the regular season over 61 games.
Last season, though, brought another road block for Porter and his back. After nine games, he was shut down for a third surgery.
On the sideline with him was Murray, who was coming back from a torn ACL. Watching Porter work in rehab made Murray appreciate the accomplishments of Porter in these playoffs all the more.
Porter is averaging 14.6 points and 8.3 rebounds through the playoffs, while also holding his own on the defensive end of the floor. He had two blocked shots against Miami.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s done amazing,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;Just playing a more complete game throughout the game.&rdquo;
Porter also has been dealing with serious family matters.
Earlier this year, younger brother Coban, a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://denverpioneers.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coban-porter/3562" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">basketball player at the University of Denver,</a>&nbsp;was charged with&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/denver-nuggets-sports-crime-coban-porter-michael-jr-ebfaffc1725e926851ff20c794b928fa">felony counts of vehicular homicide and vehicular</a>&nbsp;assault stemming from a suspected drunken-driving crash that killed a 42-year-old woman. Coban Porter has a status conference and a preliminary hearing scheduled for Tuesday in Denver. Game 3 is Wednesday in Miami.
Anytime Porter needs advice or feedback on his game, he rings up his mentor Roy.
&ldquo;He definitely means the world to me,&rdquo; said Porter, who signed a five-year deal in 2021 worth up to&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-sports-basketball-denver-denver-nuggets-609d666320914d3c84632879628e8e2c">$207 million</a>. &ldquo;He was my coach in high school, so he sees kind of how my game has evolved since my injuries and things.&rdquo;
Nuggets coach Michael Malone has seen Porter&rsquo;s unabashed confidence steadily returning.
&ldquo;When you&rsquo;re not healthy and you can&rsquo;t move and do the things that you&rsquo;re accustomed to doing, that really makes it hard to go out there and be confident in your game and what you&rsquo;re able to do,&rdquo; Malone said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s in a very good place right now.&rdquo;
And now, Porter loathes being taken out of games. He&rsquo;s known to shoot assistant coach Ryan Saunders a mean stare when a sub replaces him.
&ldquo;Like, &lsquo;I can&rsquo;t believe you&rsquo;re taking me out,&rsquo;&rdquo; Malone recounted. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s closed a lot of games for us lately because he&rsquo;s 6-10, he&rsquo;s defending well and he&rsquo;s rebounding at a high level. He&rsquo;s confident, he&rsquo;s aggressive and he&rsquo;s had a huge impact on this team.&rdquo;
Porter keeps a gratefulness journal. Just little reminders he&rsquo;s taken to heart: Stay hungry. Keep working. Never let up. Reflect.
&ldquo;To get back here and be competitive in a playoff series, man, it&rsquo;s a great feeling,&rdquo; Porter said. &ldquo;Especially considering everything I&rsquo;ve been through.&rdquo;

Michael Porter Jr. has been incredible for Denver. It's easy to forget just how much of a risk he was early on for the Nuggets.

Once a risky pick, Michael Porter Jr. turns in big rewards for Nuggets

Carmelo Anthony, the star forward who led Syracuse to an NCAA championship in his lone college season and went on to spend 19 years in the NBA,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/carmeloanthony/status/1660639136242343936" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">announced his retirement</a>&nbsp;on Monday.
Anthony, who was not in the NBA this season, retires as the No. 9 scorer in league history.
Only LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki, Wilt Chamberlain and Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal scored more than Anthony &mdash; who finishes his career with 28,289 points.
&ldquo;Now the time has come for me to say good-bye ... to the game that gave me purpose and pride,&rdquo; Anthony said in a videotaped message announcing his decision &mdash; one he called &ldquo;bittersweet.&rdquo;
Anthony&rsquo;s legacy has long been secure: He ends his playing days after being selected as one of the 75 greatest players in NBA history, a 10-time All-Star, a past scoring champion and a six-time All-NBA selection.
And while he never got to the NBA Finals &mdash; he only played in the conference finals once, with Denver against the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers in 2009 &mdash; Anthony also knew what it was like to be a champion.
He was the Most Outstanding Player of the 2003 Final Four when he led Syracuse to the national championship, and he helped USA Basketball win Olympic gold three times &mdash; at Beijing in 2008, at London in 2012 and at Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
Anthony has played in 31 games in four appearances at the Olympics, the most of any U.S. men&rsquo;s player ever. Anthony&rsquo;s 37 points against Nigeria in the 2012 games is a USA Basketball men&rsquo;s record at an Olympics, as are his 10 3-pointers from that game and his 13-for-13 effort from the foul line against Argentina in 2008.
&ldquo;Carmelo Anthony is one of the NBA&rsquo;s all-time great players and ambassadors,&rdquo; NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said. &ldquo;We congratulate him on a remarkable 19-year career and look forward to seeing him in the Hall of Fame.&rdquo;
Anthony will remain part of international basketball for at least a few more months; Anthony is one of the ambassadors to the Basketball World Cup, FIBA&rsquo;s biggest event, which will be held this summer in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.
&ldquo;I remember the days when I had nothing, just a ball on the court and a dream of something more,&rdquo; Anthony said. &ldquo;But basketball was my outlet. My purpose was strong, my communities, the cities I represented with pride and the fans that supported me along the way. I am forever grateful for those people and places because they made me Carmelo Anthony.&rdquo;
Anthony was drafted No. 3 overall by Denver in 2003, part of the star-studded class that included James at No. 1, Hall of Famer Chris Bosh at No. 4, and soon-to-be Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade -- he gets officially enshrined this summer &mdash; at No. 5.
Anthony will join them at the Hall of Fame before long. He averaged 22.5 points in his 19 seasons, spending the bulk of those years with Denver and the New York Knicks. Anthony has long raved about his time with the Knicks, and what it was like playing at Madison Square Garden, especially as a kid who was born in Brooklyn.
&ldquo;The Garden,&rdquo; Anthony said in 2014. &ldquo;They call it The Mecca for a reason.&rdquo;
Anthony also played for Portland, Oklahoma City, Houston and ended his career with the Lakers last season. He went unsigned this year, and now his retirement is official.
He said in his retirement address that he&rsquo;s looking forward to watching the development of his son Kiyan, a highly rated high school shooting guard.
&ldquo;People ask what I believe my legacy is,&rdquo; Anthony said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not my feats on the court that come to mind, all the awards or praise. Because my story has always been more than basketball. My legacy, my son ... I will forever continue through you. The time has come for you to carry this torch.&rdquo;

After a 19-year NBA career, Carmelo Anthony officially announced his retirement on Monday.

Carmelo Anthony retires after 19-year NBA career, 3 Olympic gold medals

Philadelphia 76ers center and league scoring champion Joel Embiid earned his first NBA MVP trophy Tuesday night, topping two-time winner Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets.
The 29-year-old from Yaound&eacute;, Cameroon, averaged 33.1 points to win his second straight scoring title, averaged 10.2 rebounds and tied a career high with 4.2 assists per game. Embiid played in 66 games, the second-highest total of his career, but again has been hit with injuries in the playoffs. Embiid has been&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/76ers-embiid-injury-b72b1fe4e0cea17fc478be83c5c4534d">sidelined with a sprained right</a>&nbsp;knee that cost him one game of the playoff sweep against Brooklyn and the opening game of the Eastern Conference semifinals against&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/76ers-celtics-nba-playoffs-0f96443546f1fdbeae8aeaa4ce146c76">Boston, which was won by Philadelphia on Monday night.</a>
Jokic finished runner-up and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks was third. Embiid received 73 first-place votes. Jokic received 15 first-place votes, and Antetokounmpo got 12.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been a long time coming,&rdquo; Embiid said. &ldquo;A lot of hard work. I&rsquo;ve been through a lot. I&rsquo;m not just talking about basketball. I&rsquo;m talking about my life. My story. Where I come from. How I got here and what it took for me to be here.&rdquo;
The&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/sixers/status/1653538793180332033?s=46&amp;t=-ELqRXA-wk5r0LdHkAiIBg" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">76ers watched on TV in Boston and erupted in applause and started chanting &ldquo;MVP! MVP!</a> &rdquo; as the big man buried his head in his hands as he sat in a chair. Embiid was in tears as teammates James Harden, Tobias Harris and Tyrese Maxey mobbed him in celebration.
Embiid then vowed &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll be back&rdquo; for the playoff series against the Celtics.
But as for Game 2 on Wednesday night?
&ldquo;We shall see,&rdquo; Embiid said.
Embiid has been determined to win -- and campaigned for -- the MVP trophy for years. The third overall pick of the 2014 draft, Embiid missed his first two full seasons with injuries before settling in as one of the top big men of his generation. He was at his best this season when he totaled three 50-point games, including a career-high 59 against Utah in November. He had 13 total 40-point games.
When Embiid totaled 52 points and 13 rebounds in a win against the Celtics in April, coach Doc Rivers boldly declared, &ldquo;The MVP race is over.&rdquo;
Embiid certainly didn&rsquo;t argue that night with his coach or Sixers teammates who stumped on his behalf.
&ldquo;They&rsquo;re probably right,&rdquo; Embiid said. &ldquo;But we have bigger goals in mind.&rdquo;
Embiid is the first 76er to win league MVP since Allen Iverson in 2001. Julius Erving in 1981, Moses Malone in 1983 and Wilt Chamberlain from 1966-1968 are other 76ers to win NBA MVP awards.
Embiid&rsquo;s injury could be the deciding factor in the 76ers&rsquo; chase for the NBA championship. The Sixers are trying to win their first NBA title since 1983 and advance past the second round for the first time since 2001 &mdash; which was the last time a Sixer won the MVP award.
Allen Iverson was named league MVP in 2001. Other 76ers to capture the league&rsquo;s top individual award: Julius Erving, 1981; Moses Malone, 1983; and Wilt Chamberlain, 1966-1968.
Embiid, who graduated from a Florida high school and played a season in college at Kansas, has been every bit the dominant force in the NBA over the past seven seasons. Once the poster child for load management, Embiid has played 134 regular-season games the last two seasons and his 30.6 points last season made him the first international player ever to win an NBA scoring title. He&rsquo;s a six-time All-Star and was runner-up each of the last two seasons to Jokic.
Antetokounmpo won in 2019 and 2020. Jokic in 2021 and 2022.
Now, the award belongs to Embiid, who didn&rsquo;t pick up a basketball until he was a teenager in Africa, when a friend informed him that very few 7-footers succeed in soccer.
A few months later, Embiid was lured to a basketball camp in the capital of Yaounde run by NBA veteran Luc Mbah a Moute, one of just two players from Cameroon to have played in the NBA. Mbah a Moute persuaded Embiid&rsquo;s parents to let him move 6,000 miles to Florida, and helped enroll him at Montverde Academy, one of the best high school programs in the country. He played just 28 games in his lone season at Kansas before leaving for the NBA.
&ldquo;I am absolutely thrilled for Joel on winning the MVP award. He is the real deal and deserves every bit of recognition that comes his way,&rdquo; Rivers said. &ldquo;He embodies everything that the honor stands for. His drive to improve is unmatched, and like the saying &lsquo;a dream doesn&rsquo;t become reality through magic, it takes hard work&rsquo;, he&rsquo;s put in the work.&rdquo;
Embiid, who became an American citizen last year, was known early in his career for sucking down Shirley Temples but has worked with sports dietitians to develop healthier eating habits and streamlined his workouts.
Sixers fans can enjoy him for years. Embiid&rsquo;s four-year, $196 million contract extension doesn&rsquo;t kick in until next season and takes him through 2026-27.
The affable center became the face of the 76ers&rsquo; rebuilding effort more commonly known as The Process. He embraced the nickname and is introduced before every home game as Joel &ldquo;The Process&rdquo; Embiid.
He can now add MVP.
Billboards went up around Philadelphia of Embiid with the slogan &ldquo;MVPIID&rdquo; and Sixers fans serenaded him with &ldquo;MVP!&rdquo; chants from pregame introductions all the way to his final free throw attempts.
Embiid, who shares with his long-time girlfriend a son named in the honor of his late brother, holds career averages of 27.2 points and 11.2 rebounds in 394 career starts. He&rsquo;s a four-time All-NBA selection and three-time All-Defensive Team selection.
This is the fifth consecutive year an international player has been MVP, extending the longest streak in NBA history. It&rsquo;s also the second time that international players finished 1-2-3 in MVP voting; the first time was last season.
Embiid becomes the second winner from Africa, joining Hakeem Olajuwon, the Nigerian who won for Houston in 1994.

Philadelphia 76ers center and league scoring champion Joel Embiid earned his first NBA MVP trophy on Tuesday night.

NBA MVP: 76ers’ Joel Embiid wins league’s top individual honor

DENVER (AP) &mdash; Nikola Jokic had 39 points and 16 rebounds to rally the Denver Nuggets to a 97-87 win over Phoenix on Monday night, taking a 2-0 lead over the Suns in the Western Conference semifinals.
Jokic, who learns Tuesday if he&rsquo;s edged Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo for his third consecutive NBA MVP award, recently renamed for Michael Jordan, scored 26 in the second half as the Nuggets erased a seven-point third-quarter deficit.
Jokic&rsquo;s big night was necessary as Jamal Murray scored just 10 points on 3-of-15 shooting after he scored 34 in the series opener when he had six 3-pointers. Murray was 0 for 9 from long range Monday night.
Aaron Gordon added 16 points and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 14 points and went 4 for 4 from beyond the arc, including back-to-back swishes that erased a 73-70 deficit and put the Nuggets ahead for good early in the fourth quarter.
Devin Booker led Phoenix with 35 points and Kevin Durant added 24.
The teams get an extended break before the series resumes with Game 3 in Phoenix on Friday night.
The Suns, who lost Chris Paul to a tight left groin late in the third quarter, took a 73-70 lead thanks to Booker&rsquo;s 31 points &mdash; which matched Jokic&rsquo;s output &mdash; entering the fourth quarter.
The Suns went cold, however, and Denver surged ahead 76-73 on back-to-back 3-pointers by Caldwell-Pope, forcing a Phoenix timeout at the 8:56 mark.
After allowing Denver to take 17 more shots than they had in Game 1, the Suns flipped things Monday night, taking 15 more shots than the Nuggets in the first half, but they led just 42-40 at the break.
The Suns pushed the lead to seven in the third quarter but both Durant and Deandre Ayton picked up their fourth fouls late in the period, taking a seat, and Paul walked gingerly to the locker room at the 4:32 mark and didn&rsquo;t return.
TIP-INS
Suns: Phoenix held the Nuggets to their lowest-scoring first quarter all season, limiting them to 18 points. ... The Suns didn&rsquo;t shoot a single free throw in the first half. ... Paul finished with 8 points.
Nuggets: Jokic scored 11 of Denver&rsquo;s first 14 points but only had 13 by halftime. ... The Nuggets had 68 points by halftime in the series opener but made just 16 first-half shots Monday night. ... Murray was 1 for 7 from the floor before halftime and scored just 4 points before the break.

Nikola Jokic had 39 points and 16 rebounds to rally the Nuggets to a 97-87 win over Phoenix on Monday, taking a 2-0 lead over the Suns.

Nikola Jokic’s 39 points leads Nuggets past Suns 97-87

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) &mdash; Wayne &ldquo;Big Daddy&rdquo; Sims, who played in four NCAA Tournaments with LSU from 1987-1991, died Wednesday at age 54.
LSU&rsquo;s athletic department confirmed Sims&rsquo; death. No cause of death was immediately disclosed. Sims&rsquo; coach at LSU was Dale Brown, and his teammates included Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf and Vernel Singleton. During Sims&rsquo; senior season, LSU won the Southeastern Conference championship. &ldquo;He brought the best out in players, and everyone liked him,&rdquo; Brown said. &ldquo;He was a team player &mdash; didn&rsquo;t get the credit maybe he deserved for the great run they had, but he was a wonderful person.
&ldquo;He was never a flashy guy that needed stardom, but he was the base to our team.&rdquo;
Wayne&rsquo;s son Wayde, also played for two seasons for the Tigers before he was fatally shot during an off-campus altercation on the eve of LSU&rsquo;s first scheduled practice before the 2018-19 season.
Following their son&rsquo;s death, Wayne Sims and his wife, Fay, set up the Baton Rouge-based Wayde Sims Foundation.
&ldquo;He and Fay worked tirelessly to keep Wayde&rsquo;s memory alive,&rdquo; said McNeese State coach Will Wade, who was Wayde Sims&rsquo; coach at LSU. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll never forget Wayne and Fay saying that God will find a way to save lives through Wayde&rsquo;s death.&rdquo;
Wayne Sims, listed at 6-foot-7, 247 pounds during his playing days, appeared in 117 games for LSU, starting 74, and scoring 1,107 career points and grabbing 603 rebounds. He is one of 21 LSU players to reach 1,000 career points and 500 rebounds, and one of nine players in program history to appear in four NCAA Tournaments.
Sims scored 24 points in one of LSU&rsquo;s most memorable upset victories, an 82-80 triumph over No. 2 Georgetown on Jan. 28, 1989 &mdash; a game played in the Superdome in New Orleans in front of a crowd of 54,321.
Sims grew up in Deridder, Louisiana, and was a two-time All-State selection at Deridder High School, where he averaged 21.9 points and nine rebounds as a senior.
Funeral arrangements are pending.

Wayne “Big Daddy” Sims, who played in four NCAA Tournaments with LSU from 1987-1991, died Wednesday at age 54.

Former LSU basketball player Wayne Sims dead at 54

Louisville&rsquo;s Hailey Van Lith has entered the transfer portal.
The star guard, who finished 12th all-time in scoring at the school with 1,553 points, will graduate in May, earning her degree in finance in three years. She has two years of eligibility left because of the COVID year.
&ldquo;We thank Hailey for her contributions to this program, this school and this community,&rdquo; Louisville coach Jeff Walz said Saturday. &ldquo;She has done everything we have asked of her over the past three years, and we wish her the very best in her final collegiate season and beyond.&rdquo;
Van Lith&rsquo;s final game was close to her home in Washington, where the Cardinals lost to Iowa in the Elite Eight. Van Lith scored 27 points in that 97-83 loss. She averaged 19.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game this season.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been an honor over the last three years to have had the opportunity to pour my passion and heart into Louisville,&rdquo; Van Lith wrote on Instagram. &ldquo;This city has impacted my life in so many ways and helped shape me into the person I am today. The Louisville community has given to me selflessly. I will never forget your unwavering support.&rdquo;
Louisville picked up transfer guard Jayda Curry from Cal earlier this week. Aneesah Morrow of DePaul, who was a second-team All-American, announced her plans to transfer on social media. She averaged 25.7 points and 12.2 rebounds this season.
Van Lith, Morrow and Curry are three of the big names that have entered the portal this year. There are just under 1,000 Division I women&rsquo;s basketball players in the portal as of Saturday morning, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because many of the players haven&rsquo;t publicly announced their decisions to transfer.
Stanford&rsquo;s Lauren Betts, who was the consensus No. 1 high school recruit last year, is one of those players in the portal who hasn&rsquo;t publicly announced her decision to transfer. The 6-foot-7 center played in 33 of the Cardinal&rsquo;s 35 games this season, averaging 5.9 points and 3.5 rebounds in just under 10 minutes a game.
Transfers had a big impact on the NCAA Tournament that was won by LSU last Sunday. Angel Reese, who was named the Final Four Most Outstanding Player, transferred to the Tigers from Maryland and Alexis Morris came to LSU in 2021 after spending time at Baylor, Rutgers and Texas A&amp;M.

Lith finished 12th all-time in scoring at Louisville with 1,553 points and has two years of eligibility left due to the COVID year.

Louisville guard Hailey Van Lith enters transfer portal

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) &mdash; LSU star forward Angel Reese sat in the back of an orange convertible Corvette, waving to thousands of fans lining the roadside &mdash; and also waving her hand in front of her face from time to time, repeating a gesture that caused a stir at the end of the national championship game.
The Tigers paraded across campus and into the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on Wednesday night for ceremonies to honor their first NCAA women&rsquo;s national championship, captured Sunday with a 102-85 victory over Iowa in Dallas.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m trying not to cry,&rdquo; said coach Kim Mulkey, a Louisiana native who left behind the three-time national champion powerhouse she&rsquo;d built at Baylor two years ago to take over at LSU.
&ldquo;This is my home,&rdquo; she said, noting that her mother was in the arena.
Reese was not among the players who spoke at the event. But she has been outspoken on several topics this week.
She was unapologetic when questioned about waving her hand in front of her face while staring down Caitlin Clark during the game. Clark, The Associated Press Player of the Year, made a similar gesture to no one in particular during Iowa&rsquo;s victory over Louisville in the Elite Eight.
Reese also has said she would not accept an apology from First Lady Jill Biden for suggesting that both LSU and runner-up Iowa be invited to the White House. President Joe Biden did not follow through on that idea, inviting only LSU and men&rsquo;s national champion Connecticut.
LSU star guard Alexis Morris, an outgoing senior who aspires to play in the WNBA, was among the players who addressed the crowd inside the arena.
&ldquo;LSU, thank you. I appreciate your love, your unwavering support and for believing in us,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I just want you all to know I love you with all my heart.&rdquo;
Mulkey, who won a national title as a player for Louisiana Tech, said it was her goal to win a national title with the flagship university of her home state. But she said she never put a timetable on that.
Holding up a page of notes from a preseason meeting with her players, Mulkey said, &ldquo;Nowhere on here does it say, &lsquo;Win a national championship.&rsquo;&rdquo;
She said the goals she&rsquo;d written down were to win 90% of nonconference games, finish in the top four of the SEC, win one game in the SEC Tournament and remain ranked in the AP Top 25 throughout the season.
She also told the team, &ldquo;If you will play defense and if you will rebound the ball, you may surprise yourself.&rdquo;
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards was among the speakers following the parade.
&ldquo;Louisiana always had faith in you, but more importantly, you had faith in yourself and were smart enough not to listen to all the experts who said you didn&rsquo;t have a chance,&rdquo; Edwards told LSU&rsquo;s players.
As for Mulkey, Edwards said, &ldquo;We all knew she could do it, but what she has done to elevate this program and all of women&rsquo;s sports is truly remarkable.&rdquo;
Baton Rouge Mayor Sharon Weston Broome presented Mulkey with a key to the city.

The Tigers paraded across campus to honor their first NCAA women’s national championship.

LSU’s national championship women’s team honored with parade

First lady Jill Biden&rsquo;s walk-back of her suggestion that runner-up Iowa should join NCAA women&rsquo;s basketball champion LSU for a visit to the White House didn&rsquo;t sit well with Tigers star Angel Reese.
Prompted by a discussion of Biden&rsquo;s comments during her Wednesday appearance on &ldquo;The Paper Route Podcast,&rdquo; Reese said the Tigers should celebrate their title with former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama rather than President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden.
Jill Biden, at an appearance in Denver on Monday, had praised Iowa&rsquo;s sportsmanship and congratulated both teams. She also said that as part of the longstanding tradition of having champions visit the White House, Iowa should come as well &ldquo;because they played such a good game.&rdquo;
The Tigers defeated Iowa 102-85 for the title in Dallas on Sunday.
Reese on Monday called Jill Biden&rsquo;s suggestion &ldquo;a joke.&rdquo;
Joe Biden invited LSU and men&rsquo;s champion Connecticut to the White House on Tuesday with no mention of Iowa. Vanessa Valdivia, a spokesperson for Jill Biden, said the first lady had meant no disrespect to LSU and that her comments were intended to applaud the historic game and all women athletes.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not gonna lie to you, I don&rsquo;t accept the apology because of, you said what you said. I said what I said. And like, you can&rsquo;t go back on certain things that you say,&rdquo; Reese told podcast hosts Brandon Marshall and Ashley Nicole Moss.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I mean, you felt like they should&rsquo;ve came because of sportsmanship, right?&rdquo; Reese added. &ldquo;They can have that spotlight. We&rsquo;ll go to the Obamas. We&rsquo;ll see Michelle. We&rsquo;ll see Barack.&rdquo;
Some social media commenters noted the racial dynamics involved, saying that only winners should be rewarded with a White House visit and that hosting both teams would detract from the achievement by LSU&rsquo;s team, which is predominantly Black. The Iowa team is largely white. Others noted the important role of Black women in Democratic Party politics.
Following LSU&rsquo;s victory, coach Kim Mulkey said she would go to the White House if invited. Reese said Wednesday she was uncertain if she would go.
Reese faced criticism on social media for waving her hand in front of Iowa star Caitlin Clark&rsquo;s face while staring down Clark during the game. Clark, The Associated Press Player of the Year, made a similar gesture to no one in particular during Iowa&rsquo;s victory over Louisville in the Elite Eight.
Reese said she didn&rsquo;t think LSU, had it lost to Iowa, would have gotten the same praise from Jill Biden as the Hawkeyes did.
&ldquo;If we were to lose, we would not be getting invited to the White House,&rdquo; she added. &ldquo;I remember she made a comment about both teams should be invited because of sportsmanship. And I&rsquo;m like, &lsquo;Are you saying that because of what I did?&rsquo; Stuff like that, it bothers me because you are a woman at the end of the day. White, Black, it doesn&rsquo;t matter, you&rsquo;re a woman, you&rsquo;re supposed to be standing behind us before anything.&rdquo;

Reese on Monday called Jill Biden’s suggestion to invite Iowa to the White House “a joke.”

Tai