Sailfish

Indiana overcomes 15-point deficit behind late-game brilliance to steal series opener
In their playoffs full of improbable comebacks, the Indiana Pacers added their most dramatic one yet &ndash; stealing Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals on the road against the Oklahoma City Thunder, 111-110.
For the 43 minutes and 59.7 seconds of game time, the Pacers never once led. But as they&rsquo;ve done all playoffs long, they clawed their way back from a daunting double-digit deficit and delivered a perfectly-timed knockout punch when it mattered most.
How did the Pacers do it? The shift began in the third quarter, when Indiana initiated a pair of offensive sets to get Benedict Mathurin involved. First, they ran simultaneous actions: a high pick-and-roll between Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam at the top of the key, while Thomas Bryant set a pindown for Mathurin on the wing. Mathurin caught the pass, drove middle, and dropped it off to Bryant for a thunderous one-handed jam.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Mathurin drop pass to Bryant <a href="https://t.co/mZAm4rIbJn">pic.twitter.com/mZAm4rIbJn</a>
&mdash; Mon Anthony Valmoria (@MorvalNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/MorvalNBA/status/1931021125523501159?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 6, 2025</a>
<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
</blockquote>
On the ensuing sideline out-of-bounds play, the Pacers simplified things &ndash; Mathurin ran a high pick-and-roll with Bryant at the top. He got downhill quickly and drew a foul on Isaiah Hartenstein. Though OKC challenged the call, the review was unsuccessful &ndash; costing the Thunder their last challenge and later proving costly. Mathurin knocked down both free throws, trimming the lead to single digits at 70-79 for the first time since the first quarter.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Mathurin straight line drive, fouled <a href="https://t.co/zV7a8jB8da">pic.twitter.com/zV7a8jB8da</a>
&mdash; Mon Anthony Valmoria (@MorvalNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/MorvalNBA/status/1931021129893978546?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 6, 2025</a>
<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
</blockquote>
After an OKC three, Indiana immediately countered by Indiana as TJ McConnell pushed the ball on the other side right after the make. Using his quickness, McConnell blew past SGA on an empty corner downhill drive and got a paint touch off of it. Hartenstein left his man Bryant on the left corner to challenge the drive, then McConnell delivered a no-look pass to Bryant who then knocked down a three to answer, bringing the lead back to single digits again.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Bryant corner three <a href="https://t.co/nDmbPRjklx">pic.twitter.com/nDmbPRjklx</a>
&mdash; Mon Anthony Valmoria (@MorvalNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/MorvalNBA/status/1931021133664645510?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 6, 2025</a>
<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
</blockquote>
Those two Mathurin plays were important as OKC shifted their focus to him. With OKC now devoting more defensive attention, the Pacers continued manipulating matchups. On the final Indiana possession of the quarter, McConnell motioned for Mathurin to set a screen. The Thunder attempted a pre-switch between Caruso and SGA, trying to neutralize the threat. But the slight miscommunication allowed McConnell to zip a pass to Siakam, who was left alone in the right corner. Siakam calmly buried the three, bringing Indiana within six at 76-82. SGA answered with a buzzer-beater triple, but the Pacers had already shifted the tide.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Siakam corner three <a href="https://t.co/HuZStoN4Ps">pic.twitter.com/HuZStoN4Ps</a>
&mdash; Mon Anthony Valmoria (@MorvalNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/MorvalNBA/status/1931021139733783030?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 6, 2025</a>
<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
</blockquote>
Still, that was all Indiana needed &ndash; to cut the lead down to single digits before the start of the 4th quarter to make it a manageable deficit, as they try to conjure their signature end game runs that they have been doing all playoffs long.
OKC even pushed the lead to as high as 15 points, 94-79, after a turnover by the Pacers that led to a Jalen Williams breakaway jam &ndash; but Indiana never panicked.
The Pacers just would not quit and as they have been doing in these playoffs, fought and crawled back into the game.
A series of scores for the Pacers ensued: Mathurin attacked Caruso for a strong layup. Then, Andrew Nembhard blew by Caruso for a tough and-one. Myles Turner hit a corner three. Obi Toppin knocked down his fifth three of the game. In just a matter of minutes, the lead had evaporated to 91-98.
Indiana got even closer with yet another beautiful sideline out of bounds play: Nembhard got the ball to the middle off the screen from Myles Turner, then he turned around to set yet another screen for Haliburton (who inbounded the ball), but instead it turned to a flare screen and Turner popped out. He got Chet Holmgren off his feet and proceeded to drill a tough stepback three off the glass from the left corner to cut the lead to 4, 94-98, marking a 12-2 over the last three minutes for the Pacers.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Turner stepback three <a href="https://t.co/eMowGKcsju">pic.twitter.com/eMowGKcsju</a>
&mdash; Mon Anthony Valmoria (@MorvalNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/MorvalNBA/status/1931021144095936685?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 6, 2025</a>
<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
</blockquote>
Next time down, Indiana went to Turner again as Nembhard found him again off the pick and pop action for a right elbow jumper. 96-100 OKC
Off another OKC miss, Haliburton grabbed the rebound, ran the length of the floor, surveyed it for potential passing options, before doing a hesitation dribble that confused SGA. It allowed Haliburton to blow past him and earn a layup on the break &ndash; something the Pacers had not had much of this game.
Oklahoma City responded with a tough SGA finish and four free throws to stretch the margin back to nine, 105-96. But Indiana came right back, with Aaron Nesmith burying a left-corner three off a broken play to make it 102-108.
Next play down, Indiana survived once again after Jalen Williams missed a wide-open three-point attempt. Nembhard brought the ball the other way and did a series of dribble moves on SGA before drilling the impressive stepback three from the left wing. The Pacers have now come all the way from 15 down to cut the lead to just 3, 105-108 with 2 minutes left in the game.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Nembhard stepback three <a href="https://t.co/8WGH4gHHR5">pic.twitter.com/8WGH4gHHR5</a>
&mdash; Mon Anthony Valmoria (@MorvalNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/MorvalNBA/status/1931021149242364050?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 6, 2025</a>
<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
</blockquote>
The Thunder briefly steadied themselves with a Lu Dort block and an SGA layup to go up 110-105, but that would be their last field goal of the night.
Nembhard calmly sank two free throws, and Siakam followed a crucial block on SGA with a hustle play on the other end &ndash; putting back a missed three to make it 109-110 with under a minute to play.
After forcing two stops &ndash; one on Williams, another on SGA &ndash; the Pacers got the ball back off a rebound with the game on the line. Rick Carlisle trusted his team to find the right shot. It was when Haliburton delivered: an off-balance 18-foot jumper from the right wing that rattled in to give the Pacers their first &ndash; and only &ndash; lead of the game with 0.3 seconds remaining.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Haliburton for the win <a href="https://t.co/mWrlgNpFJf">pic.twitter.com/mWrlgNpFJf</a>
&mdash; Mon Anthony Valmoria (@MorvalNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/MorvalNBA/status/1931021156833984600?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 6, 2025</a>
<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
</blockquote>
OKC was not able to get a shot off for the final possession of the game and thus completed another wild Pacers comeback.
&ndash; &ndash; &ndash;&nbsp;
In the end, OKC missed their shots on offense as they had a hard time protecting the lead, while Indiana got to their offense more with flow and rhythm in the 4th.
The Thunder shot 5-of-17 in the final frame and they were not able to make shots as Indiana chipped away possession by possession. Meanwhile, the Pacers executed with precision and confidence. Whether through elaborate sideline plays or simple two-man actions, they kept creating looks &ndash; and more importantly, they kept converting them.
Game 1 was a microcosm of Indiana&rsquo;s identity in these playoffs: resilient, relentless, and fearless in the face of deficits. With the win, they&rsquo;ve now stolen home court and placed all the pressure on Oklahoma City to respond in Game 2.

Take a deep dive on how the Pacers came back once again this time against the Thunder in Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals.

Comeback kings strike again: How Indiana stole Game 1 vs OKC

<div>
In the first few days of his second presidential term, Donald Trump signed a number of executive orders that will have an impact on the healthcare industry, some issuing new policies and some rescinding policies set forth by prior administrations. This has had a devastating impact on the American people.
While the country is on pins and needles awaiting the next bomb (both literally and figuratively) to drop from the Trump administration, Michael Jordan has figured out a way to actively combat one of the casualties (U.S. Health Care) of Trump&rsquo;s plan for mass deportations of undocumented immigrants and extended tax cuts for the upper echelon of the American population.&nbsp;
</div>
<div>From an <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/01/republicans-medicaid-cuts">article in The Guardian titled:&nbsp;&ldquo;Medicaid recipients fear &lsquo;buzzsaw cuts&rsquo; for Trump&rsquo;s agenda&rdquo;</a>, it reads&nbsp;</div>
<div>&ldquo;Republicans are considering a rollback of the federal social safety net, particularly Medicaid, which has nearly 80 million enrollees in all 50 states. The budget plan proposes an $880bn reduction in funding for the insurance over the next 10 years, an amount that experts warn would hollow out the program and have ripple effects across the entire American healthcare system.&rdquo;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>From an <a href="https://www.maynardnexsen.com/publication-president-trumps-latest-executive-orders-impacting-health-care">article in the MaynardNexsen titled &ldquo;President Trump&rsquo;s Latest Executive Orders Impacting Healthcare&rdquo;</a> it reads &ldquo;President Trump rescinded former President Joe Biden&rsquo;s order that extended the enrollment periods for Affordable Care Act (Obama Care) plans in most states, and granted additional funding for third parties aiding enrollment in ACA insurance. While ACA enrollment nearly doubled under the Biden administration to about 24 million people, those gains are attributed primarily to government subsidies that lowered the cost of ACA premiums. The effect this rescission will have on enrollment trends is one thing to watch in the coming years&rdquo;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>While all this is happening in real-time, Michael Jordan opened his fourth health clinic in North Carolina on February 19 in Wilmington. This new clinic, established in collaboration with Novant Health, focuses on providing care to uninsured and underinsured patients.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div><img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/michael-jordan-etan-thomas-2_690w.jpeg" alt="" width="740" height="492" /></div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>MJ has spoken publicly exhibiting a tremendous amount of sincerity and passion about how important these clinics are and how many people they will help. He has addressed the growing issue of healthcare disparities and affirmed his dedication to providing healthcare to all people regardless of their income or economic status in particular in his hometown of North Carolina.&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>Many people are pleasantly surprised to see this side of MJ, but it goes along with what I witnessed as his teammate for the Washington Wizards.&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>I recall one time in particular when I was sitting in the training room getting treatment and he was getting his knee drained, which fans didn&rsquo;t know at the time he had to often do in order to continue playing. MJ asked me about a book (Soul On Ice by Eldridge Cleaver) he saw me reading on the plane and we engaged in a deep conversation about race, politics, the community, and much more.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
Sitting in earshot was his bodyguard, George, who chimed in and said jokingly, &ldquo;Yeah Michael doesn&rsquo;t like to tell anybody the things he does, so people don&rsquo;t think he does anything&rdquo;&nbsp;
</div>
<div>He then proceeded to tell me a story of when MJ was all set to have this big event at an exclusive golf resort in Georgia back in the day, and he found out that they were still keeping an old tradition of not allowing Black People to join the club, but of course, they would let MJ participate. Well, long story short, right before the event, MJ informed the organizers that he was going to cancel everything if they didn&rsquo;t change their policy and of course, they capitulated to his demands.&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div><img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/michael-jordan-etan-thomas-4_690w.jpeg" alt="" width="743" height="563" /></div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>I remember responding saying, &ldquo;That&rsquo;s a great story that people need to hear. Why wouldn&rsquo;t you tell people that ?&rdquo; And MJ looked at me and said, &ldquo;No, I don&rsquo;t do it for that.&rdquo; I remember looking at George and him saying, &ldquo;See, he doesn&rsquo;t want to tell anybody anything&rdquo;&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>I tell this story for this reason. Playing with MJ for two years with the Wizards, I saw him do a lot of things quietly that nobody knew about. And from time to time I would whisper to him, &ldquo;You&rsquo;re not gonna tell anyone about this either huh?&rdquo; And he would just smile and shake his head. In fact, he didn&rsquo;t even tell anyone that he donated his entire salary to the victims of 9-11. I remember being in the locker room when he was watching the coverage on TV and made the decision. Nobody found out until later that he did that.&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>Now, for years I have been on panels and programs talking about activism and athletes and they would always bring up MJ as the antithesis to the activist athlete and his infamous statement &ldquo;Republicans Buy Shoes Too&rdquo;. They would always paint MJ as the athlete who doesn&rsquo;t care about the community or really anything outside of himself and I would always push back on that because that&rsquo;s just not what I saw when I was his teammate. Now, did he lend his voice to causes or speak out on political issues that directly impact the Black Community? No, he didn&rsquo;t. But did he do nothing behind the scenes and have no interest or care for the community? I can&rsquo;t say that because that&rsquo;s not what I saw.&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>People don&rsquo;t know about MJ&rsquo;s community impact platform, known as the Black Community Commitment (BCC), which is a 10-year, $100 million initiative focused on creating equitable futures for Black Americans through education, economic justice, narrative change, and social justice.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>They also don&rsquo;t know about him funding nonprofit institutional grantees and grassroots organizations across the country through his Open Call Community Grants program.&nbsp;They don&rsquo;t know about his Jordan Brand Wings Scholars Program which has sent hundreds of kids to college on full scholarships. But like George told me in the training room, he doesn&rsquo;t tell anyone so people assume he does nothing in the community.&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>Now, going back to MJ&rsquo;s 4th healthcare clinic.&nbsp;There is indeed currently a national healthcare crisis in the United States.&nbsp;In 2025, an estimated 27.1 million Americans of all ages are projected to be uninsured, representing an uninsured rate of 8.2%, according to data from the National Health Interview Survey. MJ&rsquo;s efforts have helped thousands of uninsured Americans actually receive care.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div><img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/michael-jordan-etan-thomas-3_690w.jpeg" alt="" width="741" height="494" /></div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>Furthermore, as many Americans have found out the hard way, being insured does not guarantee full coverage. There is a large percentage of working-class Americans who are currently drowning in medical expenses, faced with increased costs of medications (thanks to the Trump administration), and higher co-pays all while having limited access to essential treatments.&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>An article by Vishwesha Kumar of Fadeaway World, described Jordan&rsquo;s Health Clinic as,&nbsp;&ldquo;After witnessing the positive impact of these centers, Jordan donated $10 million to Novant Health to expand the project, leading to additional clinics being built in Wilmington. His efforts have helped thousands of patients receive their first-ever primary care visits, reinforcing his dedication to improving healthcare access.</div>
<div>
The new Wilmington facility spans 7,300 square feet and includes 12 patient rooms, offering comprehensive medical services to uninsured and underinsured individuals. In addition to primary care physicians, the clinic will have a community health worker to connect patients with essential local resources. The facility will be open on weekdays, aiming to serve as a lifeline for many who struggle to access consistent coverage.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Micheal Jordan doesn&rsquo;t have to do any of this. He could ride off into the sunset and not care about what anyone thinks about him. He doesn&rsquo;t need any additional notoriety. He already has all the fame a man could possibly have. He doesn&rsquo;t need pats on the back or nods of approval from anyone. He does this because he genuinely cares.&nbsp;
</div>
<div>&ldquo;Michael Jordan gives back but you didn't know it. Like LeBron does, but it's just seldom they show it.&rdquo;~Nas</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>

While all this is happening in real-time, Michael Jordan opened his fourth health clinic in North Carolina.

In This Trump Era, Michael Jordan’s Free Health Clinics Are Very Much Needed

Despite losing to the Milwaukee Bucks, 129-118, on Saturday night, the Golden State Warriors left the game with a silver lining: Their young guys outran and outhustled the contending Bucks, giving them a hard time all game long.&nbsp;
The Warriors even led 56-54 at the half, and it wasn't until the fourth quarter that the Bucks were able to pull away completely. Milwaukee used their veteran savvy in the fourth to defeat the youthful Warriors squad, who were playing without their captain and superstar Stephen Curry (rest).
Even though they came up short, the young guns showed they have the ability to compete against an elite team, which the Warriors can possibly build upon once Curry and Draymond Green return to the lineup. This showing also gives Golden State's front office a number of things to consider as the Feb. 8 trade deadline approaches.
With that said, let's break down how the Warriors' young core performed and how they nearly managed to upset the Bucks without their leading scorer.
First, the youthful Warriors ran the old Bucks off the floor. Without Curry, head coach Steve Kerr started rookie Brandin Podziemski at point guard. With Podz at helm, the Warriors pushed the pace. Save for some early sets for Klay Thompson, Golden State was up and running and tried to beat Milwaukee in transition all game long. Even slow-footed power forward Dario Saric was leading the break at some points, trying to turn up the tempo and outrun the Bucks.
If there was one possession that encapsulated what the Warriors tried to do, it was this one in the second quarter. Following a made basket by the Bucks, Jonathan Kuminga ran the length of the floor, beat Giannis Antetokounmpo and challenged Brook Lopez at the rim in the process to make a quick counter:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
I like the mindset here. Bucks' Achilles heel on defense this season has been in transition. Off of a made bucket, JK pushes the pace and lays the ball over Brook. <a href="https://t.co/PK8KkPUocJ">pic.twitter.com/PK8KkPUocJ</a>
&mdash; Joe Viray (@JoeVirayNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeVirayNBA/status/1746349742576312799?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2024</a></blockquote>
Kuminga breezed through the entire Milwaukee defense and jumped in the air before Lopez could get there. The Dubs just ran and ran, putting pressure on the Bucks (the NBA's oldest team).
Secondly, the young Warriors played hard; they deserve credit for their effort and energy. Without their best player and the hub of their system, the Warriors leaned on their youth and athleticism to challenge the Bucks, who were coming off their biggest win of the season (drubbing the Boston Celtics).
It started with Podziemski, who was playing in his home state of Wisconsin. He had a great game, recording a double-double of 23 points and 10 rebounds on impressive 10-of-14 shooting.&nbsp;
The No. 19 overall selection was active off the bounce, blowing by opponents and squeezing his way through the defense. He was also brilliant off the catch, where he got a couple of baskets off of stampede runs to the rim:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Interesting that the Bucks are actually hard hedging here w/ Portis as their 5. Puts them in rotation, Podz takes advantage w/ a face cut. <a href="https://t.co/QDTFb7q9XZ">pic.twitter.com/QDTFb7q9XZ</a>
&mdash; Joe Viray (@JoeVirayNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeVirayNBA/status/1746344669464916419?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2024</a></blockquote>
The 20-year-old out of Santa Clara also exhibited uncanny can't-teach instincts. In one play in the fourth quarter, he knew exactly what fellow rookie Andre Jackson Jr. would do, intercepting his pass to get an easy transition dunk on the other end. Podziemski&rsquo;s feel as a rookie has been impressive and he fits nicely with the Warriors' core.
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" src="https://streamable.com/e/kcxguf?quality=highest" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
The Warriors&rsquo; other rookie, Trayce Jackson-Davis, also contributed by scoring 12 points in 18 minutes and making his presence felt inside for Golden State.
The No. 57 overall pick used his quick first bounce to freeze Bucks defenders on the floor and get easy baskets at the rim, scoring on plays like these:
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" src="https://streamable.com/e/oxxlbs?quality=highest" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
Also, Jackson-Davis has been developing chemistry with Thompson, and he's often the beneficiary of their pindown screens when two defenders blitz Thompson. In the previous game against the Chicago Balls, he had four easy buckets off of passes from Klay alone.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
The Klay-to-TJD tandem produced four easy baskets, including three dunks. <a href="https://t.co/Y8uUr7m1Gb">pic.twitter.com/Y8uUr7m1Gb</a>
&mdash; Marcus Thompson II (@ThompsonScribe) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThompsonScribe/status/1746043482916217244?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 13, 2024</a></blockquote>
In this instance, Klay and TJD had a nice give-and-go in a little two-man game for an easy bucket underneath.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Klay to TJD two-man game <a href="https://t.co/Ai3JItodo1">pic.twitter.com/Ai3JItodo1</a>
&mdash; Mon Anthony Valmoria (@Morval_) <a href="https://twitter.com/Morval_/status/1746710126709669943?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 15, 2024</a></blockquote>

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

The 6-foot-9 center/forward has been a much better play-finisher than starting center Kevon Looney. He uses his athleticism to factor in on offense and serves as a lob threat. The 23-year-old gives the Warriors a new outlook at the big position. While Green and Looney are screeners and their main priority is getting guys open, Jackson-Davis is someone who looks to score and put pressure at the rim.
Finally, Jonathan Kuminga is becoming more and more polished as a scorer. Although there are ways he can still improve (like his feel for Golden State&rsquo;s system), he&rsquo;s finally arrived as a dependable scorer.&nbsp;
Off the bounce, Kuminga uses his body and strength to shield the ball away from defenders and utilizes his quick first bounce to get to the rim first before his defender can challenge him up top. The third-year player from the G-League Ignite is explosive, and he never gives his defender a chance to react.
Kuminga has also added a developing three-point shot to his arsenal, which forces defenders to respect his shooting and opens up his game even more. 
The 21-year-old had arguably the best two-game stretch of his young career recently, scoring 24 points and 28 points in back-to-back games. This is the best he has played in his three years in the league, looking like a reliable scoring option who could get buckets at will.
Kuminga is looking more and more comfortable, and he has scored in double digits in his last 19 games.
***
The absence of Curry in this game unlocked the Warriors&rsquo; young guys and showed what they are capable of. The challenge now is whether Golden State's young core can continue producing at this level once Curry and Green are back. 
The youngsters' athleticism and energy could help Golden State as they try to right the ship. The Warriors currently have the fourth-worst record in the Western Conference, so Kerr might have to tinker a bit and cater to the strengths of his current personnel rather than trying to force them to fit in his system. 
Do the Warriors think the kids can help Curry and Co. compete for a title? Or was this just an audition for other teams and a way to improve the youngsters' trade value so they can be flipped for win-now pieces?&nbsp;
Regardless, the kids can clearly play given the right environment and opportunity.

The Warriors' youngsters nearly upset the Bucks, giving Golden State's front office something to consider prior to the trade deadline.

Warriors' youth giving management something to ponder before deadline

Former NBA GM Pete Babcock opens up to Etan Thomas about how the media's false narratives can greatly influence NBA front offices.

Former NBA GM on how media coverage, false narratives impact players

Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green has been suspended five games without pay for "escalating an on-court altercation and forcibly grabbing Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert around the neck in an unsportsmanlike and dangerous manner," it was announced today by Joe Dumars, NBA Executive Vice President, Head of Basketball Operations.
The NBA made it clear in their announcement that the length of the suspension is based in part on Green&rsquo;s history of unsportsmanlike acts.
In addition, Warriors guard Klay Thompson and Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels and center Rudy Gobert have each been fined $25,000 for their roles in the incident, which started when Thompson and McDaniels became entangled and were grabbing and pulling at one another&rsquo;s jerseys, and continued when Gobert entered the situation and wrapped up Thompson.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Draymond had Gobert in a headlock. 😳 <a href="https://t.co/YIBlsGQrgi">pic.twitter.com/YIBlsGQrgi</a>
&mdash; Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheHoopCentral/status/1724627592983232627?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2023</a></blockquote>

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

Thompson and McDaniels were each assessed a technical foul and ejected, while Green was assessed a Flagrant Foul 2 and ejected.&nbsp;
The incident occurred with&nbsp;10:17&nbsp;remaining in the first quarter of the Timberwolves&rsquo; 104-101 win over the Warriors on Nov. 14 at Chase Center.
Green will begin serving his five-game suspension on&nbsp;Thursday, November 16&nbsp;when the Warriors host the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Draymond Green has been suspended five games without pay for Tuesday's altercation with Rudy Gobert.

Draymond Green suspended 5 games without pay for Rudy Gobert headlock

Since Matt Barnes retired from the NBA following the 2017 NBA Finals, he's engulfed himself in a very impressive media career. He's spent time as a panelist on ESPN's "The Jump," but more notably hosts his own podcast "All The Smoke" alongside former NBA player Stephen Jackson.&nbsp;
Barnes joined our own <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-podcast-matt-barnes-broadcasting-all-the-smoke-podcast-social-justice-rematch-etan-thomas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"The Rematch" with Etan Thomas</a> to talk about his life after basketball. The pair discussed a number of topics, including his off-court endeavors, his involvement on social-justice issues and, of course, what his life is like now that he's part of the media.&nbsp;
After being in the NBA for 14 seasons, it's been a nice second career for Barnes.
&ldquo;As athletes, we always thought there was some sort of motive. There was a handful of people that you kind of trusted, but for the most part, you had to watch yourself with the media,&rdquo; Barnes said. "That&rsquo;s something Jack and I are trying to change, obviously. We&rsquo;ve experienced pretty much everything that our guests have experienced and that gives us an easier intro and a different approach [to interviews], which allows most of our guests to really let their wall down and feel comfortable speaking to us.&rdquo;
Of course, just like when he was on the court, Barnes is going to have people who aren't fans of the work that he's doing. When asked how he responds to the hate, he shrugged it off.
&ldquo;I just smile, you know what I mean? Because the hatred was similar to what I got when I played, and you know that you&rsquo;re never going to be able to make everyone happy,&rdquo; Barnes told Thomas. &ldquo;But my whole goal with &lsquo;All The Smoke&rsquo; was to humanize our guest. Rest in peace Kobe, but you know Kobe&rsquo;s greatness; you know [the greatness of] KG, Steph, KD. You know what all these guys are great for, but I wanted to be able to strip that down and show how that process came about -- what turns they made or what obstacles they overcame to become as great as they are at their craft. I think because of myself and Jack&rsquo;s track record -- obviously a spotted track record, to say the least -- but [we've] always been real. We&rsquo;ve got into some trouble, we&rsquo;ve owned up to it, and if we needed to apologize, we apologized. But we just always handled ourselves in the realest type way.
"So, I think when we get our guests, they understand that we&rsquo;re not here for clickbait, we&rsquo;re not here to start trouble. We really just want to be able to have an in-depth conversation. And it was never a situation where I just wanted to put a mic in someone&rsquo;s face; I don&rsquo;t want that type of interview. I want it to be a kickback atmosphere like we&rsquo;re at the house medicating or having a drink and just having a good conversation and I think that&rsquo;s what we&rsquo;ve been able to do because of the realness that Jack and I always approached life with and the game with. People respect that and they feel like they can be comfortable with us.
"I forgot the guy&rsquo;s name, Phil something from the New York Post that just <a class="c-link" href="https://nypost.com/2020/04/18/another-shameless-network-is-exploiting-the-nbas-worst/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://nypost.com/2020/04/18/another-shameless-network-is-exploiting-the-nbas-worst/" data-sk="tooltip_parent">wrote a horrible article</a>&nbsp;about me and Jack. Like,&nbsp;horrible. I&rsquo;m just like, &lsquo;You&rsquo;re mad because you&rsquo;ve been in this space for 30-plus years and, at the time, we hadn&rsquo;t even done 'All The Smoke' for a year but our resume already far exceeded anything he's ever done.&rsquo; To me, how I used that [criticism] for fuel as a player, I use that for fuel as media now. It&rsquo;s crazy that we call ourselves media now. Because I never thought [I'd be doing this]. 'Me, media?!' You know what I mean? But I like seeing people like me, you, the Knuckleheads and all of these other former players that are in this space. We&rsquo;ve always allowed other people to tell our stories. We&rsquo;ve always just been the talent. [It&rsquo;s always been], &lsquo;You go score touchdowns or dunk or shoot threes or hit home runs or run [for] world records in track and let these white people tell our stories.&rsquo;
"But we&rsquo;re intelligent enough and can hold a conversation long enough and paint a picture well enough now to tell our own story. And again, that&rsquo;s a little bit of that power slippage that they&rsquo;re starting to see from mainstream media where they&rsquo;re like, &lsquo;What are these athletes doing, coming in here and doing our job? And in some cases, doing our job better.&rsquo;&rdquo;
You can watch the full episode of "The Rematch" below.
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ON0HHblh8vw" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
This article was initially published on Basketball News on Feb. 11, 2021.

Barnes touches on his post-basketball media career, among other things.

Matt Barnes shares why he got into the media and started 'All The Smoke'

After a terrific regular season, the 2023 WNBA Playoffs <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/2023-wnba-playoffs-guide-how-to-watch-schedule-more" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tip off tonight</a>. This was a huge year for the WNBA, as the league just had its most-watched regular season in 21 years.
Viewership across its national television partners &ndash; ABC, CBS, ESPN and ESPN2 &ndash; was up 21% over the 2022 season. The league also set new highs in terms of its digital platforms, social-media engagement and sports betting. Here are some highlights from the 2023 campaign:
&bull; Across ABC, ESPN and CBS, viewership was up 8% over last season and averaged 505,000 viewers. The WNBA on ABC averaged 627,000 viewers, making it the most-viewed regular season on ABC in 11 years.
&bull; The 2023 regular season reached over 36 million total unique viewers across all national networks, the highest since 2008 and up 27% from 2022.
&bull; Across all WNBA social-media handles, the league generated a record 373 million video views this season, up 96%&nbsp;from the 2022 season. The 20 million total actions/engagements and 1.1 million hours watched increased by 65% and 42%, respectively, from last season.
&bull; The 2023 WNBA All-Star Game on ABC was the most-watched WNBA All-Star Game in 16 years, averaging 850,000 viewers with a peak of 955,000 viewers.
&bull; The 2023 WNBA Draft averaged 572,000 viewers on ESPN, up 42% over last year; it was the most-watched WNBA Draft since 2004.
&bull; The league introduced WNBA Friday Night Spotlight with new broadcast partner ION, where regular-season games were consumed for a total of 14 million hours.
&bull; The WNBA's attendance was up 16% compared to last year. The average attendance of 6,615 fans per game was the highest since 2018. The WNBA had its highest total attendance in 13 years (1,587,488).
&bull; The 2022 WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces saw the highest increase in average attendance (more than 66% year-over-year), averaging a league-high 9,551 fans per game. The Aces also hosted the highest-attended game this season, drawing a crowd of 17,406 against the Phoenix Mercury on September 10 on the final day of the regular season.&nbsp;
&bull; Mercury All-Star Brittney Griner&rsquo;s first home game in her return to the WNBA, against the Chicago Sky on May 21, drew 14,040 fans, third-highest for a WNBA game this season.
&bull; The first WNBA Canada Game, which saw the Sky defeat the Minnesota Lynx 82-74 in a preseason contest, was played before a sold-out crowd of approximately 20,000 fans at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on May 13.
&bull; The WNBA's relaunched app with exclusive series, behind-the-scenes content and in-depth coverage saw downloads up nearly 400%. The league&rsquo;s out-of-market live game package experienced 10% growth in subscribers this season.
&bull; The season-opening game featuring the New York Liberty at the Washington Mystics on May 13 had the highest viewership in WNBA League Pass history, up 107% from the previous record-setting game on the platform. Content consumption was up across digital channels with League Pass total views for the season up 257%, and the WNBA website had a 21% increase in average time spent per visit during the regular season.
&bull; On FanDuel Sportsbook, the number of bets on the WNBA more than doubled from last season. Individual bets on the marketplace increased by more than 163% year-over-year, and the WNBA handle was up more than 100%.
&bull; The WNBA launched the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wnba.com/wnbabet" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.wnba.com/wnbabet&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1694711805864000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0izkcuac1XQ66ItGtl_fXv">WNBABet</a>&nbsp;tab, featuring content from many of the league&rsquo;s partners, including FanDuel, ESPN, The Action Network, Rotowire and the American Gaming Association.
&bull; The 2023 WNBA Commissioner&rsquo;s Cup Championship Game attracted the largest audience for a WNBA game ever for Prime Video, nearly doubling the viewership of last year&rsquo;s Commissioner&rsquo;s Cup Championship Game. The in-season competition saw the teams competing for a prize pool of more than $500,000. As part of the total prize pool, Coinbase provided a cryptocurrency bonus of $120,000 for players in the Championship Game.
&bull; The 2023 WNBA season was dedicated to women&rsquo;s health advocacy, with a focus on Black, Brown and LGBTQ+ communities. Throughout the season, teams, players and the league highlighted four key pillars of women&rsquo;s health: maternal health, mental health, reproductive health and cancer awareness and education. Through the 2023 WNBA Commissioner&rsquo;s Cup, each WNBA team chose a local women&rsquo;s health organization to play for, with $200,000 donated to both local and national non-profit organizations committed to raising awareness about these important women&rsquo;s health equity issues.
Why were fans so engaged this season? On the court, there were quite a few unprecedented things that happened this season:
&bull; The Seattle Storm&rsquo;s Jewell Loyd set a WNBA single-season record with 939 points.
&bull; The New York Liberty&rsquo;s Breanna Stewart had a WNBA-record six games of at least 40 points. In total, WNBA players produced a record 13 40-point games, 10 more than the prior record of three.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
&bull; The Connecticut Sun&rsquo;s Alyssa Thomas posted a record six triple-doubles and broke the single-season record for total assists (316).
&bull; WNBA players recorded a record 13 triple-doubles, six more than in 2022 (seven) and four more than in the league&rsquo;s first 25 regular seasons combined (nine).
&bull; The Phoenix Mercury&rsquo;s Diana Taurasi became the first player in WNBA history to score 10,000 career points.
&bull; The Las Vegas Aces&rsquo; A&rsquo;ja Wilson became the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 3,500 points, 1,500 rebounds and 300 blocks.
&bull; New York&rsquo;s Sabrina Ionescu set records for three-pointers made in the regular season (128) and points scored in a single round of the WNBA Three-Point Contest (37).
It's a great time to be a fan of the WNBA, and this postseason seems to be one of the most highly anticipated WNBA Playoffs of all-time.

The WNBA just had its most-watched regular season in 21 years, and viewership was up 21% over the 2022 season.

WNBA has most-watched regular season in 21 years, up 21% over 2022

Earlier this summer, the Golden State Warriors turned heads when they acquired Chris Paul from the Washington Wizards in exchange for Jordan Poole, Patrick Baldwin Jr., Ryan Rollins, a 2023 first-round pick, 2027 second-round pick and cash considerations.&nbsp;
After averaging 13.9 points, 8.9 assists and 4.3 rebounds last season, the 38-year-old Paul is looking to add a championship to his resume and prove that he can still produce at a high level.&nbsp;
This might be the most unique role of Paul's 19-year career. Not only do the Warriors already have a Hall-of-Fame-caliber backcourt with Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, Draymond Green regularly handles floor-general duties. This means the Point God will have to adapt.
Given Golden State's personnel, many have considered the possibility of Paul coming off the bench, including Warriors coach Steve Kerr. Back in August, Kerr said Paul's role is something that would be decided during training camp.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I think that&rsquo;ll be a case where you get three weeks of training camp before that first game," Kerr said, according to <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/38136099/steve-kerr-warriors-adding-chris-paul-look-all-kinds-starter-combinations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN's Tim Bontemps</a>. "We&rsquo;ll just look at all kinds of different combinations.&nbsp;The main thing is we know all those guys are going to play a lot of minutes. 
"But the luxury of having Chris Paul to add to this group that we've been lucky enough to have for a decade [is] pretty remarkable. He is one of the great competitors in the game. He's one of the great point guards of all-time. I think he's a great addition for us, because of his ability to control games, control tempo, take care of the ball."
When Paul was asked about potentially coming off the bench, he seemed irritated and asked the reporter his own question: &ldquo;You coaching?&rdquo;&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Chris Paul responds to potentially coming off the Warriors&rsquo; bench: <a href="https://t.co/FbDd0SGqLm">pic.twitter.com/FbDd0SGqLm</a>
&mdash; Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBCSWarriors/status/1678234187982327809?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 10, 2023</a></blockquote>

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

The 12-time All-Star has never been a reserve. Counting the regular season and playoffs, Paul has played in 1,363 NBA games and he's started every single one. Paul&rsquo;s hesitation may be enough to prevent the Warriors from bringing him off the bench to start the season. Regardless, inserting Paul into the starting lineup could prove beneficial if done correctly. 
Yes, Paul will have to adjust and learn how to play alongside Golden State's other starters. However, he has shown that he's willing to make sacrifices and give someone else the keys to the offense. During his stint with the Houston Rockets, Paul shared play-making duties with James Harden. While Paul and Harden were unsuccessful in their quest for a title (thanks in large part to the Warriors), Paul proved he could be effective in that role &ndash; splitting creation duties and playing off-ball at times.
However, Paul's best days are clearly behind him, and it's possible that the Warriors will ask him to accept a sixth-man role. Some legends have a difficult time transitioning to a lesser role as they get older, while others are fine with coming off the bench. Last season, there was a lot of discussion surrounding Russell Westbrook's role with the Los Angeles Lakers, and the future Hall-of-Famer ultimately came off the bench in 49 of his 52 games with the Lakers before getting traded in February.
Paul has a history of accelerating the development of his young teammates, and Golden State's second unit features a number of talented prospects who could benefit from his tutelage (including Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody and Brandin Podziemski). 
With all this in mind, it will be interesting to see how Kerr and his staff decide to utilize Paul entering opening night and whether he remains in that role for the entirety of the season.

Will Chris Paul start next to Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson or will Paul have to come off the bench for the first time in his career?

Breaking down the new-look Warriors: Will Chris Paul start?

The NBA today released its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nba.com/schedule?cal=all&amp;pd=false" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nba.com/schedule?cal%3Dall%26pd%3Dfalse&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1692389495539000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3UKMdLdmCgRuwOVnoqJhZk">complete game schedule</a>&nbsp;and broadcast schedules for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nba.com/schedule?bc=TNT&amp;cal=all&amp;pd=false" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nba.com/schedule?bc%3DTNT%26cal%3Dall%26pd%3Dfalse&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1692389495539000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0dl47ggg01xhI9Slh8akFg">TNT</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nba.com/schedule?bc=ESPN&amp;cal=all&amp;pd=false" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nba.com/schedule?bc%3DESPN%26cal%3Dall%26pd%3Dfalse&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1692389495539000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3Zq8KLI6FwgBYxw8RssYGU">ESPN</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nba.com/schedule?bc=ABC&amp;cal=all&amp;pd=false" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nba.com/schedule?bc%3DABC%26cal%3Dall%26pd%3Dfalse&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1692389495539000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0XDRAL9gESfsLL555jZVej">ABC</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nba.com/schedule?bc=NBA%20TV&amp;cal=all&amp;pd=false" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nba.com/schedule?bc%3DNBA%2520TV%26cal%3Dall%26pd%3Dfalse&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1692389495539000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3u39ptiXTP6ec6QWyexVit">NBA TV</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://pr.nba.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/46/2023/08/2023-24-ESPN-Radio-Schedule.pdf" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://pr.nba.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/46/2023/08/2023-24-ESPN-Radio-Schedule.pdf&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1692389495539000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3uOxPbew4nRhWTgpaioXEZ">ESPN Radio</a> for the 2023-24 regular season. The day-by-day and team-by-team schedules are available at <a href="https://www.nba.com/schedule" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nba.com/schedule&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1692389495539000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1kVm4DNQD4gQCT4klGOgI7">NBA.com/schedule</a>.
The 78th NBA regular season will tip off on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023, and conclude on Sunday, April 14, 2024. The 2024 NBA Play-In Tournament will take place from Tuesday, April 16 &ndash; Friday, April 19, followed by the start of the 2024 NBA Playoffs presented by Google Pixel on Saturday, April 20.&nbsp; Game 1 of the 2024 NBA Finals presented by YouTube TV is set for Thursday, June 6.&nbsp;
The regular-season schedule includes defined dates and opponents for 80 of each team&rsquo;s 82 games, along with two games designated as TBD dates and opponents.&nbsp; Those two games for each team, to be played the week of Dec. 4, will be determined based on the results of Group Play games in the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament.&nbsp; The Group Play game schedule (Nov. 3-28)&nbsp;<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-announces-group-play-schedule-for-inaugural-inseason-tournament" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nba.com/news/2023-nba-in-season-tournament-schedule&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1692389495539000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2Wy3gv1TGdjjW8ITK3MXNW">was announced</a>&nbsp;on Aug. 15.&nbsp;
Kia NBA Tip-Off 2023
The first five days of the 2023-24 NBA regular season (Oct. 24-28) will feature 10 national television games as part of Kia NBA Tip-Off 2023, with two doubleheaders each on TNT and ESPN and one on NBA TV.&nbsp; Those games will showcase 14 different teams, three rematches from the 2023 NBA Playoffs and rosters that currently include 17 NBA All-Star selections from last season and seven recipients of the Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award.&nbsp;
The regular season will begin on Tuesday, Oct. 24 with a doubleheader on TNT, marking Warner Bros. Discovery Sports&rsquo; 40th&nbsp;consecutive year of NBA coverage.&nbsp; In the first game, the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets will receive their championship rings before hosting the Los Angeles Lakers in a rematch of last season&rsquo;s Western Conference Finals (7:30 p.m. ET).&nbsp; In the second game, the Phoenix Suns will visit the Golden State Warriors (10 p.m. ET) as three-time NBA All-Star Bradley Beal of Phoenix and 12-time NBA All-Star Chris Paul of Golden State make regular-season debuts with new teams and Paul faces the team for whom he played the previous three seasons.&nbsp;&nbsp;
ESPN will tip off its 22nd&nbsp;straight season of NBA telecasts on Wednesday, Oct. 25 with a doubleheader, which begins with the Boston Celtics visiting the New York Knicks (7 p.m. ET) in a matchup of teams that reached the Eastern Conference Finals and Eastern Conference Semifinals, respectively, last season.&nbsp; The San Antonio Spurs will host the Dallas Mavericks in the second game (9:30 p.m. ET), marking the NBA regular-season debut of 2023 first overall draft pick Victor Wembanyama of San Antonio.&nbsp;
On Thursday, Oct. 26, intraconference rivalries will highlight TNT&rsquo;s doubleheader as the Milwaukee Bucks host the Philadelphia 76ers (7:30 p.m. ET) and the Suns take on the Lakers in Los Angeles (10 p.m. ET).&nbsp; ESPN&rsquo;s doubleheader on Friday, Oct. 27 will have the Miami Heat meeting the Celtics in Boston (7:30 p.m. ET) and the Warriors visiting the Sacramento Kings (10 p.m. ET) &ndash; rematches from seven-game playoff series in last season&rsquo;s Eastern Conference Finals and Western Conference First Round, respectively.
NBA TV will begin its live game coverage of the new season on Saturday, Oct. 28 as the Knicks visit the New Orleans Pelicans (7 p.m. ET) and the Suns host the Utah Jazz (10 p.m. ET).
Christmas Day
The NBA will feature five games on Christmas Day (Monday, Dec. 25) for the 16th year in a row, with ABC or ESPN televising each matchup.&nbsp; The 76th&nbsp;edition of the NBA on Christmas Day will tip off on ESPN as the Bucks face the Knicks in New York (noon ET).
The next two games will air on both ABC and ESPN.&nbsp; The two most recent recipients of the Larry O&rsquo;Brien Trophy will go head-to-head when the 2022 NBA champion Warriors visit the 2023 NBA champion Nuggets (2:30 p.m. ET).&nbsp; Next, the Lakers will host the Celtics (5 p.m. ET) as the longtime rivals meet on Christmas Day for the first time in 15 years.&nbsp;
The Christmas Day schedule will conclude with two more games on ESPN, with the 76ers taking on the Heat in Miami (8 p.m. ET) and the Mavericks playing the Suns in Phoenix (10:30 p.m. ET).
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
On Monday, Jan. 15, the NBA family will celebrate one of its most important traditions by honoring the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.&nbsp;
The celebration will include four nationally televised games.&nbsp; In a TNT doubleheader, the Atlanta Hawks will face the Spurs (3:30 p.m. ET) and the Grizzlies will meet the Warriors (6 p.m. ET) as Atlanta and Memphis continue their traditions of hosting games on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.&nbsp; NBA TV will also air two games: Houston Rockets at 76ers (1 p.m. ET) and Oklahoma City Thunder at Lakers (10:30 p.m. ET).&nbsp;
NBA Rivals Week
Classic and budding rivalries between teams and players will take center stage for the second annual NBA Rivals Week in January.&nbsp; Rivalries will be the focus of all 11 nationally televised games across four networks (TNT, ESPN, ABC and NBA TV) over five days from Tuesday, Jan. 23 &ndash; Saturday, Jan. 27.&nbsp;
NBA Rivals Week will culminate with an ABC tripleheader on Jan. 27, including 2023 Conference Semifinals rematches between the Heat and Knicks in New York (3 p.m. ET) and the Lakers and Warriors in San Francisco (8:30 p.m. ET).&nbsp; In between those two games, reigning Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid and the 76ers will visit two-time Kia NBA MVP Nikola Jokić and the Nuggets (5:30 p.m. ET) in a matchup of centers who have been the top two finishers in MVP voting in each of the last three seasons.&nbsp;&nbsp;
The complete game and broadcast schedule for NBA Rivals Week is available&nbsp;<a href="https://pr.nba.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/46/2023/08/2023-24-NBA-Rivals-Week-Schedule.pdf" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://pr.nba.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/46/2023/08/2023-24-NBA-Rivals-Week-Schedule.pdf&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1692389495539000&amp;usg=AOvVaw34hW93kiZuMlb7GIJyI3uH">here</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
Election Day
For the second consecutive season, no NBA games have been scheduled for Election Day (Tuesday, Nov. 7) as the league will continue to encourage fans and the broader NBA community to make a plan to vote and participate in the civic process.&nbsp; As part of this initiative, the NBA will share important resources from voting organizations and highlight the civic engagement work of teams in their markets.
Final Day of Regular Season
All 30 teams will play on the final day of the regular season (Sunday, April 14).&nbsp; In an effort to maximize competitive fairness, the seven games between Eastern Conference teams will begin at 1 p.m. ET, and the seven games between Western Conference teams and the one cross-conference game will start at 3:30 p.m. ET.&nbsp;&nbsp;ESPN will televise a doubleheader, with the matchups to be determined at a later date.
NBA Global Games
NBA TV will televise both Global Games on the 2023-24 regular-season schedule.&nbsp; As previously announced, the Hawks will meet the Orlando Magic in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nba.com/news/hawks-magic-mexico-city-game-on-nov-9" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nba.com/news/hawks-magic-mexico-city-game-on-nov-9&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1692389495539000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3b23BLw0qM8P4gkW7YsOFM">The NBA Mexico City Game 2023</a>&nbsp;on Thursday, Nov. 9 at the Arena CDMX in Mexico City (9:30 p.m. ET), and the Brooklyn Nets will take on the Cleveland Cavaliers in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nba.com/news/nets-cavaliers-regular-season-game-paris-2024" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nba.com/news/nets-cavaliers-regular-season-game-paris-2024&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1692389495539000&amp;usg=AOvVaw03nCIevQ5K0lMxDJpqcSdX">The NBA Paris Game 2024</a>&nbsp;on Thursday, Jan. 11 at the Accor Arena in Paris (2 p.m. ET).
NBA In-Season Tournament
NBA-In-Season Tournament Group Play games for all 30 teams will take place on Tuesdays and Fridays in November, with TNT, ESPN and NBA TV&nbsp;<a href="https://ak-static.cms.nba.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/46/2023/08/NBA-In-Season-Tournament-National-TV-Schedule-as-of-8-15-23.pdf" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://ak-static.cms.nba.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/46/2023/08/NBA-In-Season-Tournament-National-TV-Schedule-as-of-8-15-23.pdf&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1692389495540000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3hCducKp9wMT86T8Fxi6kF">combining to televise 16 games</a>.&nbsp; Eight teams will advance to the Knockout Rounds, which consist of single-elimination games in the Quarterfinals (Monday, Dec. 4 and Tuesday, Dec. 5), Semifinals (Thursday, Dec. 7) and Championship (Saturday, Dec. 9).&nbsp; The national broadcast schedule for the Knockout Rounds will be announced at a later date.&nbsp;&nbsp;
More National Television Matchups
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">2023 NBA Finals rematches between the Nuggets and Heat will take place on Thursday, Feb. 29 in Denver on TNT (10 p.m. ET) and on Wednesday, March 13 in Miami on ESPN (7:30 p.m. ET). </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">The top two picks in the 2023 NBA Draft &ndash; No. 1 pick Wembanyama of the Spurs and No. 2 pick Brandon Miller of the Charlotte Hornets &ndash; are scheduled to meet for the first time in the regular season when San Antonio hosts Charlotte on Friday, Jan. 12 on ESPN (10 p.m. ET). </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Also on Jan. 12, ESPN will present the first nationally televised matchup between twin brothers and NBA rookies Amen Thompson of the Rockets and Ausar Thompson of the Detroit Pistons &ndash; the fourth and fifth picks in the 2023 NBA Draft, respectively &ndash; when Houston visits Detroit (7:30 p.m. ET). </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Three-time NBA Hustle Award recipient and 2021-22 Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart of the Grizzlies, who played the previous nine seasons with the Celtics, will play his first game in Boston as a visitor on Sunday, Feb. 4 on ESPN (6 p.m. ET).&nbsp;&nbsp; </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">The first national television matchup between the top two picks in the 2022 NBA Draft &ndash; No. 1 pick and 2022-23 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year Paolo Banchero of the Magic and No. 2 pick Chet Holmgren of the Thunder &ndash; is set for Tuesday, Feb. 13 in Orlando on TNT (7:30 p.m. ET).&nbsp; </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Leading into NBA All-Star 2024, TNT will feature a single game on Thursday, Feb. 15, with the Bucks visiting the Grizzlies (8:30 p.m. ET).&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
Additional Schedule Highlights
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">All 30 teams are scheduled to make at least one appearance on TNT or ESPN in the 2023-24 regular season.&nbsp;The NBA on TNT, ESPN, ABC and NBA TV will present flexible scheduling throughout the regular season to provide the most compelling matchups to a national audience. </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">The team average for back-to-backs involving travel between games has been reduced to a record-low 9.0.&nbsp; The previous low was 9.6 last season. </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Primetime weeknight doubleheaders across TNT (Tuesdays and Thursdays) and ESPN (Wednesdays and Fridays) will again be played at 7:30 p.m. ET/10 p.m. ET except for one instance during the first week of the season. </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">ABC will televise 16 games as part of its two weekend series,NBA Saturday Primetime on ABC(which tips off with the Jan. 27 tripleheader during NBA Rivals Week) and&nbsp;NBA Sunday Showcase&nbsp;(which begins with Celtics at Heat on Feb. 11 at 2 p.m. ET). </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">NBA TV will featureCenter Courtthroughout the season, the network&rsquo;s marquee night of programming, which incorporates enhanced viewing options into an originally produced telecast.&nbsp; In the season debut of the franchise, the Warriors will visit the Pelicans on Monday, Oct. 30 (8 p.m. ET).&nbsp;&nbsp; </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">ESPN Radio will broadcast 25 games in the regular season, including Nuggets-Lakers on opening night, Knicks-Bucks and Nuggets-Warriors on Christmas Day, and Hawks-Spurs on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">NBA League Pass will offer live, out-of-market games all season through the NBA App, NBA.com, connected televisions and TV providers.&nbsp; Fans can unlock direct access to stream matchups featuring their favorite teams and players with NBA League Pass (blackout restrictions apply).&nbsp; For more information, visit<a href="https://nba.com/leaguepass" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://nba.com/leaguepass&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1692389495540000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3Q2AbUj62xoWwlMkvv_tP5">NBA.com/leaguepass</a>. </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">The regular season will feature 39 games that will air in primetime in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) as part of &ldquo;NBA Saturdays and NBA Sundays presented by NBA 2K23.&rdquo;&nbsp; </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">The 2024 NBA Finals presented by YouTube TV and the 2024 Eastern Conference Finals will be exclusively televised by ABC and ESPN/ABC, respectively.&nbsp; TNT will exclusively televise the 2024 Western Conference Finals and the 2024 NBA All-Star Game, which will be played on Sunday, Feb. 18 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">NBA games and programming are available in 214 countries and territories in more than 50 languages.</li>
</ul>

The NBA released the complete schedule for the 2023-24 regular season.

NBA releases schedule for 2023-24 regular season

The NBA App will stream the SLAM Summer Classic Vol. 5 on Saturday, Aug. 19, adding to the growing list of elite basketball programming available year-round on the new platform.&nbsp; 
The fifth annual basketball showcase at Rucker Park in New York City will feature 28 of the top high-school-age players in the U.S. Headlined by Jaloni Cambridge, Aaliyah Chavez and Kennedy Smith, the girls game tips off at 5 p.m. ET followed by the boys &ndash; featuring top high-school prospects Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper and Tre Johnson &ndash; streaming at 7 p.m. ET.&nbsp; Additionally, several members of the <a href="https://www.nba.com/news/jr-nba-court-of-leaders-mentorship-program-provides-youth-with-voice" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nba.com/news/jr-nba-court-of-leaders-mentorship-program-provides-youth-with-voice&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1692371005985000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1FeYuKToXVUf2-KpS_2bVH">Jr. NBA Court of Leaders</a>&nbsp;will participate in the event.
The addition of the SLAM Summer Classic is part of the NBA&rsquo;s larger commitment to make the NBA App an all-in-one destination for global basketball programming. Over the past year, premier basketball content available on the app has included select WNBA, Basketball Africa League and NBA G League Ignite games, as well as Nike Elite Youth Basketball League&rsquo;s (EYBL) Peach Jam, Jr. NBA Showcase, LNB Betclic ELITE, top pro-am leagues such as the Drew League, Miami Pro League and AEBL, and more.
The NBA will produce and distribute the SLAM Summer Classic games on the free-to-download&nbsp;<a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/global.nba.com/nba-apps/index.html?_branch_match_id=811567537499273278&amp;_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXTywo0MvJzMvWy0tK1EvOz9UH0kAxAF91y5sfAAAA__;!!KLCbKzk!n3wSjvNMSkYR4lKoKVgXircttWOLy-0rXgpTSo-D1MmKcmHzay-SwIoaQ0lokaPc1PDUxBHGW6sN$" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/global.nba.com/nba-apps/index.html?_branch_match_id%3D811567537499273278%26_branch_referrer%3DH4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXTywo0MvJzMvWy0tK1EvOz9UH0kAxAF91y5sfAAAA__;!!KLCbKzk!n3wSjvNMSkYR4lKoKVgXircttWOLy-0rXgpTSo-D1MmKcmHzay-SwIoaQ0lokaPc1PDUxBHGW6sN$&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1692371005985000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2emDiwi7_0lf1Yxd60aUby">NBA App</a>&nbsp;and on NBA.com. Below are the full team rosters.&nbsp;
BOYS ROSTER
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Name
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Ace Bailey (Powder Springs, Ga.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Jalil Bethea (Philadelphia, Pa.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
*AJ Dybantsa (Brockton, Mass.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
VJ Edgecombe (Brookville, N.Y.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
*Isaiah Evans (Huntersville, N.C.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Cooper Flagg (Newport, Maine)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Dylan Harper (Ramsey, N.J.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Jahki Howard (Atlanta, Ga.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Ian Jackson (Bronx, N.Y.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Tre Johnson (Dallas, Texas)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Tahaad Pettiford (Jersey City, N.J.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
*Jase Richardson (Las Vegas, Nev.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Meleek Thomas (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Robert Wright III&nbsp;(Philadelphia, Pa.)
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
* Member of the Jr. NBA Court of Leaders
&nbsp;
&nbsp;GIRLS ROSTER
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Name
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Izela Arenas (Chatsworth, Calif.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Mikayla Blakes (Somerset, N.J.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
*Jaloni Cambridge (Nashville, Tenn.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Aaliyah Chavez (Lubbock, Texas)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
*Kendall Dudley (Centreville, Va.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
*Leah Harmon (Washington D.C.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Ariel Little (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Maddy McDaniel (Upper Marlboro, Md.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Me'arah O'Neal (Houston, Texas)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Mackenly Randolph (Chatsworth, Calif.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Kennedy Smith (Etiwanda, Calif.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Chloe Spreen (Bedford, Ind.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Kennedy Umeh (Owings Mills, Md.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Allie Ziebell (Neenah, Wis.)
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
* Member of the Jr. NBA Court of Leaders

The NBA App will stream the SLAM Summer Classic Vol. 5 on Saturday, Aug. 19.

NBA App to stream the SLAM Summer Classic Vol. 5

On Thursday, Phoenix Mercury star Diana Taurasi became the first player in WNBA history to score 10,000 career points.
Taurasi passed 10,000 points in Phoenix's 91-71 win against the Atlanta Dream, scoring 42 points while also contributing 6 threes, 4 rebounds and 2 assists, while shooting 50% from the field, 46.2% from three and 100% from the free-throw line.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
The moment Diana Taurasi entered the 10,000 points club 🔥🙌 <a href="https://t.co/m2ue4oWxUX">pic.twitter.com/m2ue4oWxUX</a>
&mdash; ESPN (@espn) <a href="https://twitter.com/espn/status/1687300386250444802?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 4, 2023</a></blockquote>

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

&ldquo;On behalf of the WNBA and basketball fans worldwide, I want to extend my heartfelt congratulations to Diana on reaching the incredible milestone of 10,000 points as she continues to author new chapters is an illustrious WNBA career," said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert in a statement.
"I have had the pleasure of watching her play first as a fan and now as Commissioner of the WNBA. Diana&rsquo;s achievement stands as a testament to her skill, determination, and unwavering dedication to the game, which along with her competitive nature, has captivated fans with her incredible scoring ability, clutch performances, and unparalleled basketball IQ. We are honored to witness this milestone.&rdquo;
Taurasi is the WNBA's all-time leading scorer by a wide margin, as the second-highest-scoring player is Tina Thompson with just 7,488 career points.

On Thursday, Phoenix Mercury star Diana Taurasi became the first player in WNBA history to score 10,000 career points.

Diana Taurasi becomes first WNBA player to reach 10,000 career points

Today, the NBA announced that the ninth NBA Canada Series will feature two preseason games in Vancouver and Montr&eacute;al in October 2023.
On Oct. 8, two-time NBA All-Star Pascal Siakam, 2021-22 NBA Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes and the Toronto Raptors will take on the 2022-23 Pacific Division champion Sacramento Kings at Rogers Arena in Vancouver.
The Kings feature three-time NBA All-Star Domantas Sabonis, 2023 NBA All-Star De&rsquo;Aaron Fox and Canadian Trey Lyles, and are coached by unanimous 2022-23 NBA Coach of the Year Mike Brown.
On Oct. 12, Canadians Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luguentz Dort &ndash; a native of Montr&eacute;al &ndash; and the Oklahoma City Thunder will take on the Detroit Pistons at the Bell Centre in Montr&eacute;al.&nbsp;
The Pistons feature 2021-22 NBA All-Rookie First Team member Cade Cunningham, 2022-23 NBA All-Rookie Second Team member Jaden Ivey and 2023 No. 5 overall draft pick Ausar Thompson.
In total, 15 NBA teams have participated in 16 preseason games across six cities as part of The NBA Canada Series, drawing a total attendance of more than a quarter of a million.
Tickets for the NBA Canada Series presented will go on sale at a later date.
Fans can register their interest for exclusive presale ticket access by visiting <a href="http://www.nba.com/canadaseries" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.nba.com/canadaseries&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1691183599182000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2OWiNp-7b1K2q1CXglTDXi">NBA.com/CanadaSeries</a>. NBA Experiences ticket packages offering premium access to the game in Montr&eacute;al and other events will be available for purchase&nbsp;<a href="https://nbaexperiences.com/nba-canada-series-2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://nbaexperiences.com/nba-canada-series-2023&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1691183599182000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0zkhddQuwtKI19jTbdQZWl">here</a>.
In addition to presenting partner Bell, supporting partners of the NBA Canada Series 2023 include Hennessy, Labatt, Subway and Tangerine.

The NBA announced that the ninth NBA Canada Series will feature two preseason games in Vancouver and Montréal in October 2023.

NBA Canada Series to feature Raptors-Kings, Pistons-Thunder in preseason

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>

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) &mdash; Malik Monk scored 28 points, De&rsquo;Aaron Fox added 26 points and 11 assists, and the Sacramento Kings staved off elimination in their first-round playoff series by beating Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors 118-99 on Friday night in Game 6.
Now, a winner-takes-all Game 7 is back in Sacramento on Sunday afternoon.
Rookie Keegan Murray scored 15 points with four 3-pointers and grabbed 12 rebounds for his first playoff double-double, and the No. 3-seeded Kings withstood every scoring surge the defending champions made on their home court and shined in nearly every facet of this one with their special season on the line.
Kevin Huerter, struggling with his shot all series &mdash; 20 of 52 coming into the game &mdash; hit a 3 with 6:23 to go and another with 4:58 left as Sacramento gave the state capital one more chance to Light the Beam.
Curry scored 29, Klay Thompson 22 and Kevon Looney pulled down 13 more rebounds to give him an NBA-leading 85 this postseason. He was coming off a career-high 22 rebounds in a Game 5 win at Golden 1 Center.
But the Kings, in the postseason for the first time since 2006, answered almost every big play by Golden State in the third quarter and capitalized on regular miscues. They outhustled the Warriors to the boards.
The Kings led 90-80 heading into the final 12 minutes. Curry hit an early 3, only for Trey Lyles to connect moments later. When Curry drove for a layup the next possession, Monk made one of his own.
Curry's 3 with 9:28 left got Golden State within 99-89 before Fox hit.
Fox's first points came on a jumper with 2:18 left in the first on his first shot. He then scored again the next time down still dealing with a broken index finger on his shooting hand. He shot 10 for 18.
Sacramento snapped a six-game losing streak on the Warriors' home floor dating to a win on Feb. 25, 2020.
Lyles wound up with 12 points and 10 rebounds as others picked up the slack with Domantas Sabonis in foul trouble. The big man had seven points and 11 rebounds before fouling out with 5:17 left.
Fox had been frustrated with his poor fourth quarter in Wednesday's 123-116 defeat in which he went 0 for 6 from the field and was scoreless &mdash; the most shots he had ever taken in a final period without scoring.
Draymond Green came off the bench for a third straight game and received a rousing standing ovation when checking in for the first time at the 6:26 mark of the opening quarter. He had 10 assists.
Both teams took a while to warm up, with Sacramento starting 6 for 23 and Golden State 6 of 19.
PAYTON'S DEGREE
Golden State guard Gary Payton II surprised mother Monique with his college diploma in person Friday morning. Payton had&nbsp;<a class="link " href="https://apnews.com/article/payton-degree-warriors-playoffs-99e8594d7391b9fb6755a5d9fdf1b6e7" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" data-ylk="slk:promised her he would finish his degree;elm:context_link;itc:0" data-rapid_p="43" data-v9y="1">promised her he would finish his degree</a>&nbsp;at Oregon State, and he did so recently to complete a major in human development and family science.
TIP-INS
Kings: Sacramento's bench outscored the Warriors' reserves 52-21. ... The Kings were 4 of 16 to start from deep but finished 17 of 45. ... Sabonis suffered a cut under his left eye on a jump ball with Looney in the second quarter.
Warriors: Curry missed three free throws, practically unheard of, as his team went 25 of 35 from the line. ... The Warriors gave up 23 points on their 19 turnovers. ... Green picked up his third foul at the 7:09 mark of the second quarter. ... Golden State is 8-3 in Game 6s dating back to their 2015 title run and 22-11 in close-out games.

The Kings forced a Game 7 against the Warriors, beating Golden State 118-99 on Friday night in their first-round playoff series.

Monk, Fox lead Kings past Warriors 118-99 to force Game 7

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; LeBron James had 30 points and 10 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers claimed the seventh spot in the Western Conference playoffs with a grueling 108-102 overtime victory over the short-handed Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA&rsquo;s play-in tournament Tuesday night.
Dennis Schr&ouml;der scored 21 points and iced the win with two free throws with 8.4 seconds left for the Lakers, who will face second-seeded Memphis in the first round starting Sunday.
Karl-Anthony Towns scored 24 points and Mike Conley hit three free throws with 0.1 seconds left in regulation to tie it for the Wolves, who will host New Orleans or Oklahoma City on Friday for the eighth spot and a first-round date with top-seeded Denver beginning Sunday. The Pelicans host the Thunder on Wednesday night.
Anthony Davis had 24 points, 15 rebounds and one tremendously ill-advised foul on Conley, who scored 23 points. Los Angeles survived a back-and-forth meeting with Minnesota, which gave an inspired effort while playing without starters Rudy Gobert and Jaden McDaniels.
Gobert is suspended for punching teammate Kyle Anderson during Minnesota&rsquo;s regular-season finale against New Orleans, while McDaniels is out indefinitely with a broken hand after punching a wall in frustration Sunday.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
LeBron James and Anthony Davis lead the Lakers to a HUGE Play-In win in OT 😤 LeBron: 30 PTS, 10 REB, 6 AST AD: 24 PTS, 15 REB, 4 AST, 3 BLK Shoutout Dennis Schroder for his 21 points and clutch buckets off the bench 🔥 <a href="https://t.co/D2m0HZkMS7">pic.twitter.com/D2m0HZkMS7</a>
&mdash; BasketballNews.com (@basketbllnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews/status/1646015944123203585?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 12, 2023</a></blockquote>

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

Los Angeles finally won it with defense, holding the Wolves to seven points in the final 11 minutes from midway through the fourth quarter while the Lakers rallied from a 15-point deficit in the second half.
Schr&ouml;der drilled a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 1.4 seconds to play in regulation, but the Wolves forced overtime when Conley hit three free throws with 0.1 seconds left after Davis stepped on his foot after he had already released a 3-point attempt.
D&rsquo;Angelo Russell had a nightmare game for Los Angeles against the team that traded him in February, scoring two points on 1-of-9 shooting with eight assists. He was benched down the stretch by Schr&ouml;der, who came through tremendously.
TIP-INS
Timberwolves: McDaniels attended the game.
Lakers: Schr&ouml;der returned from a two-game injury absence. ... Tristan Thompson and Shaq Harrison were in uniform for the first time after signing last Sunday. Neither veteran played.
UP NEXT
Timberwolves: Host Pelicans or Thunder on Friday.
Lakers: At Grizzlies on Sunday.

LeBron James had 30 points, and the Lakers earned the No. 7 seed with a grueling 108-102 overtime victory over the Timberwolves.

Lakers outlast Wolves 108-102 in OT, advance to face Memphis

Isaac Mourier is the director of performance nutrition and sports science at Impact Basketball, one of the most prestigious independent training organizations for elite pro basketball players. He's spent time as a consultant for the Sacramento Kings and as a nutritionist for Georgia athletics, and he played pro basketball in Germany.
So while Mourier cannot speak for everyone in the NBA, his next statement carries weight:
"I've never met a player that doesn't want to play," Mourier told Basketball News. "Never, in my career as a player, as a practitioner, have I ever met a player that does not want to play. So that's a myth."
The NBA's perceived "load management crisis" has only sparked louder outrage this season from fans, some media and even former players. Charles Barkley has <a href="https://awfulannouncing.com/nba/charles-barkley-load-management-steel-mill-first-take.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called the trend</a> "disrespectful to the game."&nbsp;Kendrick Perkins has <a href="https://fadeawayworld.net/kendrick-perkins-rips-load-management-its-starting-to-get-beyond-disrespectful" target="_blank" rel="noopener">labeled the mental toughness of today's players</a> as "softer than funeral music." While these two are certainly controversial voices at the very least, they are significant influences in the sport's discourse.
Barkley and Perkins, among many others, are also warping the true hows and whys of load management.&nbsp;
Today's NBA game is more physically taxing than ever, and among those in the league, it's barely a debate.&nbsp;
"I was part of the physical era, where you could hand-check and grind, post up and all that," Mike Conley told <a href="https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nba/load-management-draymond-green-warriors-kevon-looney-technology-mike-conley-jerami-grant" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox Sports in January.</a> "We were a physical team. It&rsquo;s who we were. That was taxing in a whole other way. You played through injuries, but it was more bumps and bruises because you were being physically assaulted.
"Now it&rsquo;s like, imagine running as fast as you can for 48 minutes and having to do that every night. There are more possessions, more opportunities to get these non-contact injuries. Guys are having more calf strains, more hamstrings and stuff like that. We weren&rsquo;t getting those as much (before)."
Kevon Looney backs Conley up in <a href="https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nba/load-management-draymond-green-warriors-kevon-looney-technology-mike-conley-jerami-grant" target="_blank" rel="noopener">that article</a>, and Mourier supports them both. He says that the "physicality" of the old-school, post-centric game is much different from today's fast pace that wears out the body with more muscle contractions.
"What may look less physically taxing to the eye, in terms of less bumps and bruises and people getting knocked over &mdash; I think you're actually having the opposite effect on the body, where these distances covered, the speed at which they're covered and the changes of directions are far more taxing on the body," Mourier said.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Today, teams can quantify those stresses. Mourier explains that players often jump on force plates and see how their power generated will change with fatigue throughout a season. Hormones and proteins found in blood testing can signal muscle damage or inflammation. Teams use GPS tracking and camera systems to monitor players' wear and tear even in practices. The data paints a collective picture of an athlete's overall load during the season.
Importantly, this data isn't hidden by doctors &mdash; it typically is part of an ongoing conversation throughout the year. Building trust between players and medical staffers is crucial to injury management. That way, players can trust the data and doctors can respect the athlete's motivations.
"There's a number of data points that you will track until it gets to the point where we have to stop," Mourier said. "It's not like, 'Hey, we've just noticed something and you're not gonna play tonight.' It will be something that's been in the works &mdash; overall wellness scores, looking at that force plate data &mdash; it will be a trend, which is happening over time, and it's got to a point where it's like, 'Okay, we really have to do this.'
"It's not taken lightly because, ultimately, everybody's job there is to make sure that people can play every night."
Fans often want to ask: Who's in control? And the difficult answer is that the power dynamics change in different organizations.
Mourier says that superstars' voices will naturally have more influence, but that college staffs have more control over player rest than NBA teams. Others in the NBA have observed that teams do hold serious decision-making power.
"I do know on occasion that it&rsquo;s not the player&rsquo;s choice [to rest]," New Orleans Pelicans forward Larry Nance Jr. told Basketball News.
"On the whole, I think people are on the same page, especially when it comes to our [Impact Basketball] guys on [NBA] teams," Mourier said. "I've never come across someone saying, 'They made me sit down; I wanted to play and I couldn't.'"
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/usatsi_20114521.jpg" alt="" width="575" height="444" />
Seth Partnow works for StatsBomb and writes for The Athletic, and was formerly the Milwaukee Bucks' director of basketball research, working adjacent to the sports scientists within the organization. He said in his general experience, trust in both data and relationships is a huge part of reaching decisions to rest.&nbsp;
"I think that the impetus for resting overwhelmingly comes from the medical and front-office side," Partnow told Basketball News. "I think that part of the increased comfort players have with revealing that information is maybe an increased willingness to take that advice."
Partnow explained that teams often boil down decision-making for rest to a "risk versus reward" scale. Does Player X need to play this specific game for the sake of the team, and is it worth the risk of a potential injury that could threaten playoff availability?&nbsp;
"We're going to be judged on how well we do in the playoffs," Partnow said. "And more of a bigger factor than a regular-season win or two is, 'Are my good players able to play?'"
That balance does not include the weight of the fan experience &mdash; a valid criticism within the conversation. Mourier, originally from England, remembers attending his first NBA game in person between the Miami Heat and Washington Wizards and being disappointed when LeBron James and Dwyane Wade didn't suit up. NBA tickets can be a significant investment for fans and families; understandably, they would be bummed when a star rests.
But "risk vs. reward" applies to the league's approach too, as evidenced by its lack of action on anything surrounding load management. Others, including <a href="https://theathletic.com/4272209/2023/03/03/load-management-nba-injuries/?source=user_shared_article" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a recent conversation between The Athletic's staff members</a>, have clamored for more transparency around injuries as at least a starting point.
&ldquo;This isn&rsquo;t a new issue. There&rsquo;s nothing particularly happening this season that we haven&rsquo;t seen happening over the last several seasons," Adam Silver <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/02/25/sports/sunday-basketball-notes/?p1=BGSearch_Overlay_Results" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said in February</a>. "I understand it from a fan standpoint that if you are particularly buying tickets to a particular game and that player isn&rsquo;t playing. I don&rsquo;t have a good answer for that other than this is a deep league with incredible competition."
One motivator gaining traction is the idea of minimum-games-played requirements for season awards. Shams Charania has reported that <a href="https://theathletic.com/4302514/2023/03/13/the-bounce-lakers-cba-games-played-minimum-shams/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">both the league and the National Basketball Players Association like the idea</a>. But many do not, including Mourier.
"I think that opens up a pretty dangerous can of worms, because if you have somebody that's really not in a position where they're ready to play &mdash; we have to start looking at them as humans as opposed to just athletes," Mourier said. "If they're in a position where they are really not ready to play, they're feeling sore or there's an injury, and they're creeping up on that cut-off for games and they're about to play, and it's gonna mean that they're not going to get home, they can't put food on the table for their family or can't support the the different needs that they have, then we have a human issue."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr explains his position of protecting his players on the second night of a back-to-back, empathizes with the fans who are affected by load management and shares how a 72-game NBA season would be equally as rewarding as it&rsquo;d be safe. <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@basketbllnews</a> <a href="https://t.co/osTyhqxNyd">pic.twitter.com/osTyhqxNyd</a>
&mdash; Spencer Davies (@SpinDavies) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpinDavies/status/1616581456658108416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 20, 2023</a></blockquote>

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

Another common suggestion is to simply shorten the schedule, be it to 70 games, 65 games or whatever makes sense. It would lighten the workload for players and possibly address some of the concerns about the value of the regular season along the way. But Silver didn't seem excited.
&ldquo;If we thought it made sense to reduce the number of games, we would. But there&rsquo;s no data right now that suggests, as I said, based on some prior experiments or even as we look at the data over the course of the season and when players get injured, it isn&rsquo;t... You would think that it would be the case that injuries would increase as the season goes on, and that&rsquo;s not necessarily it either," Silver said.
Partnow echoes Silver's stance as a reason for the league shrugging its shoulders. There just isn't hard proof that the change wouldn't lead to an obvious loss of revenue from dropping 200-plus contests.
"Measuring how that sort of loss of &mdash; I don't know, if you want to call it loss of trust &mdash; might longer-term affect the per-game revenue, that's tough math to do, but I think that's the concern," Partnow added.
And even if the league did shrink the schedule, games are not the only way athletes are physically taxed during the year.
&ldquo;I think the biggest thing [fans don't notice] would just be trying to manage injuries and inflammation while traveling via airplane," Nance Jr. said. "That always seems to exacerbate most problems.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Fans can&rsquo;t imagine playing 82 games in different cities all across the country and the physical toll it takes on your body, even without injuries," added NBA veteran Etan Thomas. "It&rsquo;s difficult for most fans to really understand.&rdquo;
Mourier says that pros need at least 48-to-72 hours between high-level competition for their bodies to replenish with proper nutrients. That's not consistently happening under the current schedule, and travel doesn't help.
"All of the factors which are not directly related to after the ball is thrown up at the tip-off &mdash; so sleep, travel, all of that other stuff &mdash; how can we influence those things to put the players in a more favorable spot to be able to go and perform every night? I think that's where we start," Mourier suggested.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Load management is the best strategy NBA teams have to contain injuries, but it isn't stopping them from happening. <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0263354" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Studies are showing</a> that NBA players get hurt more than ever. Partnow warns not to assume rest every time a star is out briefly; many of the smaller cases are still legitimate injuries.&nbsp;
The findings hint at a scarier truth: What if the NBA can't do anything about it? As <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/27125793/these-kids-ticking-bombs-threat-youth-basketball" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN's Baxter Holmes uncovered</a>, AAU and youth sports are taking major tolls on players' bodies before they even reach the pro level. Current pros are torn on if the grind of year-round youth basketball was worth it.
"I agree that kids are being overworked at a young age,&rdquo; <a href="https://hoopshype.com/2019/11/08/does-aau-lead-to-load-management-in-nba-kids-are-being-overworked/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chicago Bulls big man Nikola Vucevic told HoopsHype in 2019</a>. &ldquo;Parents push kids too hard to succeed and hire all these fake basketball coaches who don&rsquo;t teach them how to play the game the right way. Kids have to have fun first while they play, and not [have someone] make it a business for them right away."
The NBA doesn't supervise the entirety of American youth hoops, which means it can't stop one of the root problems.
"Yes, absolutely [it's worrisome]," Partnow said. "I mean, on some level, it's not just that youth sports are out of our control. Youth sports are out of control."
So, NBA teams and players have more data than ever to manage a sport that is more physcially demanding than ever. But the league doesn't have the data to comfortably make a big change, and the frustration only grows.
At what point does the NBA stop waiting for numeric proof to force change, and take the risk for the sake of its players and fans?
"That's a political question. I don't know," Partnow said. "The longer [load management] becomes front and center of the conversation, the shorter that timespan is. But if something intervening happens that takes the focus off, and now we're talking about this other thing, then it loses salience and it kind of subsides...
"It seems like this [conversation] has been pretty continuous for the last couple months, which is probably the longest I can remember it being sort of a constant."

Ethan Fuller talks to figures around basketball to understand why load management happens and what can be done about it.

Here's the reality of the NBA's perceived 'load management crisis'

After gaining a dominant lead over the Western Conference over the past couple of months, the Denver Nuggets have come back down to earth.
They've lost five of their last seven games, including a four-game skid featuring the Chicago Bulls at home, an 8-point loss to the San Antonio Spurs on the road, a tightly contested home loss to the Brooklyn Nets and a road loss to the Toronto Raptors, who dropped 49 first-quarter points on the Nuggets' head.
That four-game losing streak was their longest of the season, and only the second time they've lost three straight.
The big problem has been their defense. The Nuggets logged a defensive rating of 125.2 during the losing streak, with that dropping to 120.5 when accounting for the entire seven-game run. Either mark would easily be the worst in the league if extrapolated across the entire season.
The defense has almost always been the reason they've lost games this year; their defensive rating is nearly 13 points worse in losses (122.4) than wins (109.5), representing the sixth-largest gap in the NBA.
(Brief aside: Cleveland &mdash; at 16.6 points worse in losses &mdash; is kinda lapping the field in that stat. When the defense gets hit, it gets hit.&nbsp;Worth keeping an eye on, at least.)
WHAT'S UP WITH THE DEFENSE?
Before digging in, let's set the appropriate framing for the struggles of the Denver Nuggets: they may be recent, but they're not new.
Naturally, we have to start with Nikola Jokic here. I hate most of the conversations around his defense because I feel it devolves into &ldquo;HE SUCKS!&rdquo; a little too quickly. But I don&rsquo;t think his defense can be at the level it was in the Bulls game, and it especially can&rsquo;t be at the level it was in the Spurs game.
Jokic doesn't offer much scheme versatility; at the very least, he isn't&nbsp;effective&nbsp;at multiple coverages. He's at his best &mdash; and, in turn, the Nuggets are at their&nbsp;best &mdash; when he's operating at the level of the screen or higher.&nbsp;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Because of that, they absolutely can't afford slippage within that coverage.
Heading into this stretch, the Nuggets were allowing 0.916 points per possession (PPP) on trips featuring a ball screen defended by Jokic at the level or higher, per Second Spectrum. That was in the vicinity of guys like Jarrett Allen (0.898 PPP) and Draymond Green (0.905 PPP), and better than Joel Embiid (0.927 PPP) on much higher volume.
During this stretch, that number has risen to 1.018 PPP &mdash; a below-average mark.&nbsp;
It's inherently a higher-risk style of defense, which was covered <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-examining-the-denver-nuggets-poor-defense-nikola-jokic-michael-malone-bruce-brown-michael-porter-jr" target="_blank" rel="noopener">earlier this year</a>. The margin for error is smaller because of the rotations required. It's even harder to pull off if Jokic doesn't do&nbsp;his&nbsp;job by getting to the level on time and serving as a deterrent to the ball-handler, or if he takes his sweet time recovering.
Possessions like this can't happen:
<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/lqh8y9" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
On top of the timing and rotations being off, teams have also attempted to mess with Denver's rotations by sprinkling in cuts and relocations as the ball screen occurs.
<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/0f33vr" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
The slippage at the level feels worse because of how vulnerable they've been with Jokic in a drop this season. He's shown growth within that coverage over the past two seasons, but still remains a negative overall. His contests don't bother attackers all that much &mdash; and that's if he's actually contesting shots versus swiping down in hopes of getting a strip.
It's worth noting that, surprisingly enough, the drop with Jokic has been much better statistically (0.887 PPP) during this stretch of games. I'd attribute that more to the point-of-attack defense perking up over the past three games than anything Jokic is doing. That's not to say he's made no adjustment &mdash; it feels like he's picking up ball-handlers a little higher within the drop, for example &mdash; but he's getting real help up top.
Bruce Brown, in particular, has stepped up.
<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/ui2s97" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe>3</div>
It's unlikely that Denver's drop is as good as the numbers reflect during this stretch &mdash; one littered with teams without elite&nbsp;pull-up chops. But it's at least encouraging that the point-of-attack defense has looked a little better.
There also seems to be more intention with insolating Jokic.&nbsp;
The Nuggets have seen their "ICE" or "weak" calls &mdash; forcing the ball-handler down the sideline (ICE) or shading them towards their off-hand (weak) &mdash; increase from 12.3 picks per 100 possessions (18th) before this run, to 15.5 per 100 over the past seven, a mark that would rank fifth in the NBA if extrapolated across the entire season.
<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/hbgtqp" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
Keeping things 2-on-2, with Jokic picking up the ball-handler around eight feet or so, is Denver's way of trying to limit the amount of shots they give up from the corners and directly at the rim. It's worth keeping tabs on.&nbsp;
WHAT'S UP WITH THE OFFENSE?
It's&nbsp;mostly&nbsp;been business as usual here. They've logged a 116 offensive rating over the past seven games &mdash; off their world-beater path, but a mark that would still rank seventh in the league.&nbsp;&nbsp;
The largest issue doesn't involve Jokic. Literally: this team is scary (derogatory) without Jokic on the floor.&nbsp;
They've gotten very little from their midseason additions, Reggie Jackson and Thomas Bryant. Jackson hasn't been able to knock down shots, while Bryant's defense has been harmful enough for head coach Michael Malone to call on Jeff Green's number more consistently.&nbsp;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Jamal Murray has been tasked with spearheading non-Jokic lineups, but it's a lot of pressure on him. And as my Dunker Spot cohost Steve Jones has noted, the Nuggets don't have pressure points aside from Murray in those lineups to truly bend&nbsp;defenses. It turns into "Murray save us" too frequently for my sensibilities.
There are adjustments to be made, like flanking Murray with another starter whenever Jokic gets rest. They're already doing that by keeping Murray and Aaron Gordon together &mdash; I'm a little intrigued with Gordon-at-5 minutes. Maybe keeping Murray and Michael Porter Jr. together would work. It could have the secondary benefit of unlocking Brown as a screener again.
<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/ausqyy" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
Ultimately, the goal should be to take some pressure off Murray. The Nuggets need his shotmaking once playoff time comes; they can't afford for wear-and-tear to get to his knee while trying to carry second units during the regular season. It's concerning that he's only made 39.7% of his shots over the past seven games, with only 23% of those coming at the rim.
If there's a Jokic-related thing to poke at, I'd keep an eye on who&nbsp;gets the Jokic assignment moving forward. It's something that really popped for me during the Sixers-Nuggets showcase game late in January, but PJ Tucker drew the Jokic assignment, allowing Joel Embiid to lurk around the rim and muck things up.&nbsp;
Other teams have tried it. The Wolves have given Kyle Anderson that assignment. The Raptors, as they tend to do, tossed OG Anunoby on Jokic with Jakob Poeltl nearby. The Nets threw forwards at Jokic in their first meeting, with Nic Claxton roaming around.&nbsp;
There's no way to&nbsp;stop&nbsp;Jokic, really, but using mobility to stifle some of the juicy stuff he creates on the perimeter is worth trying. Per Second Spectrum, the Nuggets have seen a dip in efficiency with dribble handoffs and ball screens when Jokic is defended by a forward instead of a center.
<ul>
<li class="p1">Jokic handoffs (center defender): 541 handoffs, 1.073 PPP</li>
<li>Jokic handoffs (forward defender): 241 handoffs, 1.058 PPP</li>
<li>Jokic PnR screener (center defender): 722 picks, 1.12 PPP</li>
<li class="p1">Jokic PnR screener (forward defender): 354 picks, 1.026 PPP</li>
</ul>
Not everyone has the personnel to pull it off, but the Nuggets may want to find counters regardless. It may be as simple as&nbsp;Gordon knocking down enough shots, or creating enough openings as a handoff hub or screener, to render the crossmatch obsolete. We'll have to see.

Nekias Duncan breaks down the Denver Nuggets' recent struggles and how Nikola Jokic and Co. can get back on track.

What's up with the Denver Nuggets, and should we be concerned?

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) &mdash; Fairleigh Dickinson brought down a giant.
Pulling off one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history, the undersized, underdog Knights stunned top-seeded Purdue 63-58 on Friday night, becoming the second No. 16 seed to win a game in March Madness.
The shortest team in the tourney, the Knights (21-15) showed no fear in swarming 7-foot-4 All-America center Zach Edey from the start and simply outplayed the Big Ten champion Boilermakers (29-6).
&ldquo;If we played them 100 times, they&rsquo;d probably beat us 99 times,&rdquo; FDU coach Tobin Anderson said. &ldquo;Play them 100 times, we have one win. But tonight&rsquo;s the one we had to be unique, we had to be unorthodox. We had to make it tough on them, just be different.&rdquo;
Sean Moore scored 19 points to lead FDU and a relentless defensive charge &mdash; the Knight pressed most of the game &mdash; by a team that now has everyone&rsquo;s attention.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
No. 16 FDU pulls off the upset over No. 1 Purdue! <a href="https://t.co/TgqzuzTVmi">pic.twitter.com/TgqzuzTVmi</a>
&mdash; BasketballNews.com (@basketbllnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews/status/1636898050625921030?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2023</a></blockquote>

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

Five years ago, UMBC showed the way for the little guys by overwhelming Virginia in the first 16-over-1 victory after numerous close calls over the years. Still, No. 16s had a 1-150 record against No. 1s and were 1-151 overall before FDU&rsquo;s shocker.
After the final horn, FDU&rsquo;s players mobbed each other on the floor of Nationwide Arena, where the fans from Memphis and Florida Atlantic who were waiting for the day&rsquo;s final game joined forces in cheering on the Knights in the final, frantic minutes.
The Knights will now meet the Memphis-FAU winner on Sunday for a Sweet 16 berth and a trip next week to play at Madison Square Garden in New York &mdash; just a short drive from the private school&rsquo;s campus in Teaneck, New Jersey.
&ldquo;Man, I can&rsquo;t even explain it,&rdquo; Moore said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m still in shock right now. I can&rsquo;t believe it. It&rsquo;s crazy. But it feels amazing.&rdquo;
Fairleigh Dickinson didn&rsquo;t even win the Northeast Conference Tournament, falling by one point in the title game to Merrimack, which couldn&rsquo;t participate in the NCAA Tournament because of an NCAA rule that bars it from the postseason because it&rsquo;s still completing its four-year transition from Division II.
FDU held Purdue scoreless for more than 5 1/2 minutes down the stretch and moved ahead by five on a 3-pointer by Moore &mdash; who is from suburban Columbus &mdash; with 1:03 left.
The Knights held on from there, becoming the third straight double-digit seed to send the Boilermakers home. Purdue was a No. 3 seed when it lost to No. 15 seed Saint Peter&rsquo;s, another small New Jersey school, in the Sweet 16 last year. The Boilermakers were bounced in the first round by 13th-seeded North Texas in 2021.
&ldquo;Our job was just to come into the game and throw a punch,&rdquo; said FDU&rsquo;s Demetre Roberts, 20 inches shorter than Edey. &ldquo;We knew they would throw multiple punches. Just throw a punch back. We knew what type of game this was.&rdquo;
Edey finished with 21 point and 15 rebounds in what may have been his final college game, but the Knights were masterful against him in the second half. Edey didn&rsquo;t attempt a shot in the final nine minutes, and anytime he touched the ball there were Knights all around him.
&ldquo;A lot of times they would have one dude guarding from behind and one dude basically sitting in my lap,&rdquo; Edey said. &ldquo;They were full fronting the entire game. Made it very hard to get catches. Credit to them, they had a great game plan coming in. And they executed it very well.&rdquo;
When Purdue&rsquo;s late push fell short and its season ended, Edey squeezed the shoulder straps on his jersey and walked stone-faced toward Purdue&rsquo;s locker room.
The junior center is a possible NBA lottery pick, but the bitterness of this defeat could sway Edey to stick around for another year.
&ldquo;I have no opinion on that,&rdquo; Edey said when asked about his future. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll make my decision going forward.&rdquo;
The Knights&rsquo; two prior NCAA Tournament wins came in the First Four, including this year, when they drubbed Texas Southern 84-61. After that game, Anderson told his players he believed they could handle Edey and Co.
&ldquo;The more I see Purdue, the more I think we can beat them,&rdquo; Anderson said with a camera in the locker room.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
FDU Tobin Anderson called it! &ldquo;The more I watch Purdue, the more I think we can beat them. Let&rsquo;s go shock the world!&rdquo; No. 16 FDU did just that, beating No. 1 Purdue 63-58 in the NCAA Tournament. <a href="https://t.co/s3r9Wqoqny">pic.twitter.com/s3r9Wqoqny</a>
&mdash; BasketballNews.com (@basketbllnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews/status/1636900043142602753?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2023</a></blockquote>

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

Some of Purdue&rsquo;s players said they felt disrespected by the comments, which turned out to be prophetic.
&ldquo;It was the right message, wrong audience,&rdquo; Anderson said. &ldquo;I would have said that with no camera in there. I didn&rsquo;t mean to get Purdue upset. That was not the idea at all. But that&rsquo;s got to be the message. We&rsquo;re trying to win the next game. We just can&rsquo;t be happy to be here.&rdquo;
&ldquo;And the guys gotta believe.&rdquo;
Just being in the tourney was quite an accomplishment for FDU, which went 4-22 a year ago.
This was Anderson&rsquo;s first season at the school, and after he landed the job in May, he held a practice the first night just so he knew what he had to work with from a team that had the second-worst record in the program&rsquo;s 58-year history.
It wasn&rsquo;t a lot, so he brought three players &mdash; Roberts, Grant Singleton and Moore &mdash; along with him from Division II power St. Thomas Aquinas.
Turns out, they&rsquo;re giant slayers.
And it was the Boilermakers, not the undersized Knights, who were scrambling from the opening tip.
Purdue may have had Fairleigh Dickinson outsized on the floor and in the stands as a boisterous group of Boilermakers fans gave their team what felt like a home-court advantage despite being 240 miles from West Lafayette, Indiana.
However, when the Knights&rsquo; Joe Munden drained a step-back 3-pointer in the first half, &ldquo;F-D-U!&rdquo; chants broke out inside the arena and it became obvious this small team had big dreams.
Without a player on its roster taller than 6-foot-6, Fairleigh Dickinson sometimes needed two players to guard Edey &mdash; one in front and one behind &mdash; and he missed his first three shots before a dunk.
Edey showed some frustration and at one point told one of the officials, &ldquo;Sir, he&rsquo;s holding my left arm.&rdquo;
Purdue eventually settled in and reeled off 11 straight points &mdash; four on Edey free throws &mdash; to take 24-19 lead. The Knights, though, responded with their own spurt and Heru Bligen&rsquo;s layup after a steal helped FDU take a 32-31 into halftime.
Roberts finished with 12 points and 6-4 forward Cameron Tweedy had 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting for FDU.

Pulling off one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history, undersized, underdog FDU stunned top-seeded Purdue 63-58.

No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson stuns No. 1 seed Purdue in March Madness

According to the <a href="https://twitter.com/tp4pt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Transfer Portal For Playing Time</a>, the NCAA men&rsquo;s basketball transfer portal has set a new record for the most D-I and D-II entries in the first four days, with more than 1,015 players putting their name in thus far. For comparison, it took six days longer to surpass 1,000 entries in 2022. The transfer portal has created a period of unprecedented player movement across the NCAA. On "The Collision: Where Sports And Politics Collide,&rdquo; me and my co-host Dave Zirin did a deep dive into the transfer portal and what this means for college basketball going forward.
Dave Zirin: I heard your former coach, Jim Boeheim, discuss some of the things that have changed the dynamics of college basketball. He discussed NIL and the transfer portal. Has it surprised you how quickly the power dynamics have shifted in college hoops? Etan Thomas: Interesting. I was actually just listening to Coach Boeheim discuss this on the radio with Jay Williams and Keyshawn Johnson this morning after I dropped my kids off at school. For me, as far as the transfer portal (goes), I&rsquo;m kind of torn on this topic, to be honest.
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/be2.jpg" alt="" width="699" height="375" />
Dave: I am as well. I'm very torn, but please continue. Etan: So, on one hand, players now have flexibility and I think it&rsquo;s important for players to have that flexibility to move to a different situation if the situation they are currently in is not the best for them. So, I&rsquo;m definitely all for that. In addition, from a players perspective, you&rsquo;re no longer&hellip; how can I say this... held captive. I don&rsquo;t want to use that strong of a phrase and, of course, this is in a basketball sense &mdash; don&rsquo;t take this literal, please. Dave: I understand what you&rsquo;re saying. Etan: Yeah, so I just want to make that point clear. But in the past, no matter how bad the situation was for you, from a player&rsquo;s perspective, you were almost forced to deal with it because [the] repercussion or punishment for transferring would be that you had to sit out an entire year and lose that year of eligibility. And that is a lot; you had to really be unhappy in your situation to give up an entire year. Now, it&rsquo;s different. Players now have the flexibility to leave if the situation is not good for them and I&rsquo;m all for that, in theory. Now, from a coaching standpoint &mdash; and this was Coach Boeheim&rsquo;s point this morning &mdash; how do you build a team with that reality, [when] you have half of your team leaving every year? And I understand that issue. But should players have the flexibility to leave? I think so. I mean, coaches have the flexibility to leave anytime they get a better opportunity somewhere. I always thought &mdash; and this was way before the transfer portal was even a reality &mdash; but I thought that if your coach left, you should have the right to leave without having to sit out a year. I think that should&rsquo;ve been a rule anyway. Dave: I definitely agree with that. I mean, that definitely seems fair for so many reasons. Etan: Right. But at the same time, when you look at the transfer portal now, it just opened up and in, what, 3 days you have over 1,000 players who want to transfer? That&rsquo;s a lot, so that&rsquo;s why I&rsquo;m torn on this topic. Dave: Whew. I too am very torn on this. So, on the one hand, the checkmate argument in favor of the transfer portal is exactly what you just said: coaches can leave, so why can&rsquo;t players? Coaches don&rsquo;t have to sit out a year, so why should players? Coaches can pursue the best opportunities for themselves and for their families, so why can&rsquo;t the players make similar choices in that regard? That, to me, is the most checkmate of all checkmate arguments. But, there is another side to it, and you can&rsquo;t deny this other side. You know, you actually end up sometimes losing arguments when you don&rsquo;t grant that the other side has a point.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Etan: That&rsquo;s very true because then you look unreasonable. It&rsquo;s okay to say, "I agree with you here, but this is where I have a different perspective." Dave: Right, so the thing that I really don&rsquo;t like about the transfer portal is: I think there is actual value in team sports of fighting your way forward, of being the person freshman year who had to bust their hump to start sophomore year. And if you&rsquo;re that unhappy that you want to leave, I don&rsquo;t mind there being a high bar for that level of unhappiness. Listen, we all know how this situation works, and we all know that young people can be a tad impulsive. So, I like the idea of there being guard rails for when players make these decisions to consider, "Okay, do you really want to leave? Is it really that bad? Or are you just having a really bad week or month? Is this something you can persevere through?"
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m bringing my luggage with me. And it&rsquo;s Louis&hellip; The more of you that transfer, the more room there is&rdquo; Deion Sanders telling most of the team to transfer after they gave him an ovation is a WILD move<a href="https://t.co/tCbWEeJYQq">pic.twitter.com/tCbWEeJYQq</a>
&mdash; Max Chadwick (@Chad_Maxwick) <a href="https://twitter.com/Chad_Maxwick/status/1599591913560023041?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 5, 2022</a></blockquote>

<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
Now, with that being said, and I have to point him out because he has been the most honest about it: Deion Sanders walks in at the University of Colorado, addresses his players in full view of the cameras and says something to the effect of, &ldquo;Yeah, a third of you won&rsquo;t be here next year." And it&rsquo;s like, you&rsquo;re talking to scholarship athletes in their teens and are basically telling them, "Hey, that class you&rsquo;re taking that you really like or your girlfriend that you&rsquo;re thinking of possibly proposing to in a few years or that frat you just rushed, well good luck because those life plans are out the window! Because I&rsquo;m the new coach and I&rsquo;m in charge." And that doesn&rsquo;t seem very fair because if you&rsquo;re offered a scholarship, that should mean something." Etan: Yeah, but people still have to understand that it is a year-to-year agreement. My wife gets tired of me using her as an example, but it&rsquo;s what happened to her after she tore her ACL for the third time while she was playing at Syracuse. The doctors told my wife (who was my girlfriend at the time), Nichole Oliver, if she wanted to be able to run around and play with her children when she was in her 30s, she would have to stop playing, and the coaches tried to take her scholarship away.
Her and her mother actually had to get a lawyer and meet with the Athletic Director and threaten legal action and a ton of bad publicity for the university if they did that. And here&rsquo;s the thing, Dave: every time I tell this story, we get multiple messages from parents or players asking for advice because their university is trying to do that very same thing to them.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/syracuse23.jpg" alt="" width="503" height="300" /> Dave: Wow, that&rsquo;s awful. Etan: Right, it's terrible. So, people do have to put stories like that into consideration. But it&rsquo;s an example of how all of the power was always leaning to the side of the colleges, and I never liked that dynamic. But again, like we said earlier: there a thousand players in the transfer portal right now! So, what I would say is I think they should come up with a rule that you get one transfer, so make it a good one because you only get one. You have some players you see now and this is their third transfer and their third different college, and their just a junior! I&rsquo;m not sure if that&rsquo;s good either. So, that&rsquo;s why I&rsquo;m torn on this topic. Dave: I really like that idea. Thinking of my own child, if my son went to a university and the coach was super intense about recruiting him and then day one on campus, the coach leaves, [that changes things]. Here is my son as a freshman and he has to deal with the fact that he has to either [transfer] or find peace with the new coach who may or may not even value him as a player. He may not be a player he wants to play and he has no connection to him because he never recruited him, so why would he stay there? Etan: I agree, 100%. So in my scenario, if you only get one transfer, that&rsquo;s like the exception. If your coach leaves, that doesn&rsquo;t count against your one transfer because, yes, that changes everything for an athlete.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Dave: Ah, I like that too because the new coach could have a completely different idea of what they want to do from what you were promised when they recruited you there. Etan: I agree. But with that being said, I do have to be able to acknowledge &mdash; and this is what Coach Boeheim brought up today on the radio &mdash; if he was still coaching now, he would be chasing players to see who is going to stay and who is going to leave, and it&rsquo;s a musical chairs type of thing now. You lose four players, you replace them with four new players. But how can a coach actually coach players? If they don&rsquo;t like anything, they just leave! Well, I can see that both ways. If you&rsquo;re being brutally unfair to someone, yes, they&rsquo;re probably going to leave because you can no longer hold them captive. Some coaches call it &ldquo;coaching a player hard," but I don&rsquo;t like that term because Bobby Knight in his mind thought that&rsquo;s what he was doing when it was actually abuse. So, a coach can no longer do that and hold a player captive anymore, and that&rsquo;s a good thing, in my opinion.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/oit.jpg" alt="" width="484" height="360" />
But now the other side, and this is the part that Coach Boeheim brought up, sometimes it&rsquo;s simply not your turn yet. So I look at myself: my freshman year at Syracuse, it just wasn&rsquo;t my turn yet. I was playing behind a more experienced, bigger, stronger and, quite frankly, better senior center in Otis Hill, who had just been to the NCAA Finals the year before, so I had to be patient. And, of course, it was hard because I was at the bottom of the totem pole on the team. But when I came back my sophomore year, I was ready and prepared to step in as a starter, got back-to-back Big East Defensive Player of the Year and things turned around for me. But I had to wait, so I know firsthand that a bad situation can definitely change.
Dave: If they had the transfer portal your freshman year, would you have stayed? Etan: Listen, I was almost going to transfer even without them having the transfer portal how it is now (laughing). But looking back now, I&rsquo;m glad I didn&rsquo;t make that decision. But I was very close to doing it because it was not a good environment and situation for me in my freshman year. Coach Boeheim also used the example of <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/hakim-warrick-qa-2003-syracuse-championship-and-jersey-retirement" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hakim Warrick</a>, who didn&rsquo;t play a whole lot in his freshman year but then came back his sophomore year and blocked the shot against Kansas in the championship game that really won the game for Syracuse. So his point is that things can change, and he&rsquo;s right. So, there is an argument to be made that some players are losing the lessons of perseverance, fighting through adversity, etc. because at any hint of difficulty, they transfer. But at the same time, there&rsquo;s the question of should they be able to have the flexibility and the choice to leave a situation they are unhappy in? So, that&rsquo;s why this is a complex topic. Dave: Very complex indeed.

So far, 1,015 players have entered the NCAA transfer portal. Etan Thomas and Dave Zirin discuss what this means for college hoops.