Sharks

<p>Brandon Roy&rsquo;s Hall of Fame case has always existed in a space shaped by both brilliance and absence. His peak was undeniable. His career length was not. For years, those two truths complicated his candidacy.</p>
<p>Now, with Roy nominated for the Basketball Hall of Fame&rsquo;s 2026 class, the conversation returns with a different tone. Less hypothetical. More reflective.</p>
<p>During his prime in Portland, Roy was one of the league&rsquo;s most complete guards. He scored efficiently, controlled tempo, and closed games with calm authority. When possessions tightened late, the ball found him. Teammates trusted that instinct.</p>
<p>As shared with RG.org, when Roy was healthy, he was the kind of player who dictated outcomes rather than reacted to them. That distinction continues to resonate among peers and analysts alike.</p>
<p>Kevin Durant and Jamal Crawford have both voiced public support for Roy&rsquo;s candidacy. Their endorsements highlight something statistics cannot fully capture. Roy was studied. He was respected. His approach influenced how elite guards thought about control and pacing.</p>
<p>"I mean, nobody could speed up his game. He was always thinking on the court was always clutch, was always just a great player, and a great person, <a href="https://rg.org/news/basketball/durant-crawford-weigh-in-brandon-roy-hof-ballot">Said Crawford</a>.</p>
<p>"Knowing him since he was, 15 years old to present day, watching his growth and evolution, he's, obviously a Portland legend, a Seattle legend, and people give him his respect and his flowers, and they're so deserved. So to see him on the ballot was exciting. It's just, it's really, really cool.&rdquo;<br /><br /></p>
<p>&ldquo;A player whose career was cut short by injuries, but every time I saw him on the court, he was one of the toughest players to stop of all time,&rdquo; said Durant.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Injuries ultimately robbed Roy of longevity. Knee issues forced him away from the game before his prime could fully unfold. But the Hall of Fame has long acknowledged that greatness is not measured solely by years played. Players whose careers were shortened by circumstances have been inducted before.</p>
<p>Roy&rsquo;s legacy extends beyond numbers. His moments remain vivid. His leadership shaped a franchise. Even after retirement, his return to basketball as a coach reflected his continued connection to the game.</p>
<p>The Hall of Fame conversation often centers on accumulation. Roy&rsquo;s candidacy challenges voters to consider the impact. Some careers burn briefly but brightly, leaving impressions that outlast seasons.</p>
<p>The question is no longer whether Brandon Roy mattered. The league remembers that clearly. The question is whether the Hall is prepared to honor a career defined by influence rather than duration.</p>

Brandon Roy returns to the Hall of Fame ballot as conversations about his candidacy take on a more hopeful, different tone.

Brandon Roy, Former Three-Time All-Star, Nominated for 2026 Hall of Fame Class

<div dir="ltr">An Open Letter To RG3</div>
<div dir="ltr">&nbsp;</div>
<div dir="ltr">Dear RG3,
<div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>My son Malcolm was one of the biggest RG3 fans growing up.&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div><img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/4-etan-thomas-1_690w.jpeg" alt="" /></div>
<div>
<div>In 2011, The Washington Commanders had an open scrimmage for fans and the community. I took my son there and we watched the entire practice from start to finish including stretching, warm ups, everything. So afterwards, we were standing on the side and you walked by Malcolm and said,&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>&ldquo;Hey you got braids like me&rdquo;&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>And Malcolm replied,</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>&ldquo;No, I have dreadlocks&rdquo;&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>And you laughed, and Malcolm asked if he could take a picture with you and from that day on, he was the biggest RG3 fan on earth. So that meant so was I.&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>We went to the games, sat out in the stadium in the freezing cold, bought the RG3 jerseys, bought him an RG3 poster with you pointing up to the heavens and me and my wife used it to illustrate that athletes like you and Steph Curry in particular always give thanks and praise to Jesus Christ for everything they accomplish whether it was a touchdown (RG3) or 3 pointer (Steph Curry).</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>Young Malcolm received the message and put the poster on his bedroom door. He would tap it every day as he walked by. We were full blown RG3 fans as a family. He even dragged his little sister Imani to the games.&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div><img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/4-etan-thomas-3_690w.jpeg" alt="" /></div>
<div>
<div>I remember that infamous game in the 2012-2013 NFL Wild Card game against the Seattle Seahawks where you re-aggravated your knee injury during the game and ultimately tore your ACL and LCL. I remember watching my son asking over and over the entire game from the first snap why you were even playing. He kept saying,&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>&ldquo;If RG3 is hurt and playing, couldn&rsquo;t he get hurt more ?&rdquo;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>He was literally yelling,&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>"Look at his face daddy, he is in pain why is he still playing if he is in that much pain?"</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>When you went down, the look on Malcolm&rsquo;s face is something I will never forget. It was sheer horror followed by anger. I remember he couldn&rsquo;t even sleep that night he was so upset.&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/therootdc/post/robert-griffin-iii-an-open-letter/2013/01/07/5e4da812-58fd-11e2-beee-6e38f5215402_blog.html">The next day I wrote an article for The Washington Post mainly to convey Malcolm&rsquo;s frustration over the entire situation as we both felt that you should&rsquo;ve never been cleared to play and the medical staff, the coaches, and the entire organization failed you.&nbsp;</a></div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>Even now, whenever I am discussing the topic of a team neglecting a player&rsquo;s safety and well being by playing them injured and risking their health for &ldquo;The Big Game&rdquo; I use you as an example. It is a cautionary tale for athletes that should be repeated which I did recently in my article titled, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-indiana-pacers-rg3d-tyrese-haliburton?fbclid=IwQ0xDSwLfDdtleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHmNyk6lZSSvwHjakPrXhs6dC9sgeHiJSuaRNTmALm5an_9ymtdg4Px4VUq94_aem_q_a1E4M2rtFYSDjf4ZGzWw">&ldquo;The Indiana Pacers RG3&rsquo;d Tyrese Haliburton&rdquo;&nbsp;</a></div>
<div>
<p>We as a family always supported you. I even did a few Fatherhood Panels with your father at different churches in the DMV including my church First Baptist Church Of Glenarden, Reid Temple, and we went to Wise High School. My daughter became friends with your niece. My wife hugs your mother every time she would see her in church. We loved your entire family.&nbsp;</p>
<p>So now, years later I have to ask you, what happened to you since retiring and going into the media ?&nbsp;</p>
<p>Let me say this, you are incredibly talented behind the mic.&nbsp;</p>
<p>I don&rsquo;t have to agree with all of your perspectives and takes to be able to acknowledge that. You have the gift of gab, a big personality on screen, and I am happy you found something you are passionate about especially as I feel and will always stand on the fact that your career was unfairly taken from you by the Washington Commanders coach, medical staff and everyone else who still to this day failed to take responsibility for playing you and in essence ruining your entire career.&nbsp;</p>
<p>But somewhere something changed. You morphed into someone I would have never expected.&nbsp;</p>
<p>By now everyone has seen what transpired with you and your comments regarding a racist disgusting tweet aimed at Angel Reese.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Quick recap, for those who are not aware, Angel Reese was named one of 3 athletes who will grace the NBA 2K26 cover and in response to that news, a now viral tweet replaced her face with that of an ape. So you responded with a tweet condemning the racist depiction and declared that racism has no place in society and can&rsquo;t we all just get along. The tweet was going just fine, but then it took a turn and you brought back up your notion that according to your anonymous sources Angel Reese does in fact hate Caitlin Clark so you was right along. And that&rsquo;s where you lost me.</p>
<p><img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/4-etan-thomas-4_690w.jpeg" alt="" /></p>
<p>You couldn't just say it was racism, terrible and disgusting and leave it at that? Why would you feel the need to continue this narrative about Angel Reese hating Caitlin Clark ? Why even bring that up? Whether intentional or unintentional, you are fanning the flames for the Caitlin Clark white grievance mob.&nbsp;</p>
<div>You may not be aware of this but let me explain what you are doing again whether intentionally or not.&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>The Angel Reese is jealous of Caitlin Clark narrative you continue to parrot has been implemented for a reason. This entire situation has been manufactured ever since Angel Reese beat Caitlin Clark (The Great White Hope) in college. There is historical context to this.&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>Back in 1910, Boxer Jack Johnson beat James Jeffries (The Great White Hope of the time) this fight was marketed and widely viewed as a &ldquo;referendum on white superiority&rdquo;&nbsp;</div>
<div>The hate and anger was instant as his victory ignited&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://timeline.com/when-a-black-fighter-won-the-fight-of-the-century-race-riots-erupted-across-america-3730b8bf9c98" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://timeline.com/when-a-black-fighter-won-the-fight-of-the-century-race-riots-erupted-across-america-3730b8bf9c98&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1752743372198000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2BLD6dkizo_qfoiccJB3jZ">bloody confrontations and violence</a>&nbsp; all throughout the country actually leaving two dozen people dead, almost all of them Black and hundreds injured and arrested. And that&rsquo;s when Jack Johnson became hated by the white masses.&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div><a href="https://theconversation.com/when-a-black-boxing-champion-beat-the-great-white-hope-all-hell-broke-loose-163413" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://theconversation.com/when-a-black-boxing-champion-beat-the-great-white-hope-all-hell-broke-loose-163413&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1752743372198000&amp;usg=AOvVaw39vP21OkVB_BH6KU_53lal">https://theconversation.com/<wbr />when-a-black-boxing-champion-<wbr />beat-the-great-white-hope-all-<wbr />hell-broke-loose-163413</a></div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>Fast forward to 2023, when a new Great White Hope arises (Caitlin Clark) and is defeated by Angel Reese but not only did she beat her, she told her about it along the way accompanied with the hand gesture in her face, and taunts (which Caitlin Clark did first accompanied with trash talking and taunts of her own that nobody had an issue with but I digress)&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>Well, this isn&rsquo;t the 1910s so the Caitlin Clark mobs couldn&rsquo;t respond the way the James Jeffries mob did, but they could take their hate, anger, vitriol, racism, etc etc online, which they did all directed toward Angel Reese. She didn&rsquo;t just become a villain, as she told reporters she had been actually receiving death threats online for over a year.&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div><a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/loss-iowa-lsu-angel-reese-death-threats-rcna146023" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/loss-iowa-lsu-angel-reese-death-threats-rcna146023&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1752743372198000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3AAvUloVRuhTsBBuhBsniM">https://www.nbcnews.com/news/<wbr />nbcblk/loss-iowa-lsu-angel-<wbr />reese-death-threats-rcna146023</a><wbr />&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>So, now back to you pushing this&nbsp;</div>
<div>Angel Reese is jealous of Caitlin Clark narrative. Do you realize exactly whose narrative you are promoting ? I don&rsquo;t see how you couldn&rsquo;t. You see your comment sections every time &nbsp;you disparage, demonize, and discredit Angel Reese. You even mocked her with your wife sitting in the background drinking tea like the movie &ldquo;Get Out&rdquo; or something.&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>Maybe you&rsquo;re not aware of this but this entire situation is now being weaponized by a certain demographic of Caitlin Clark fans. She is now being used as a symbol of white grievance which directly correlates to the MAGA narrative that the whole country is out to get the &ldquo;good christian white folks&rdquo;.&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>Despite the fact that Caitlin Clark has repeatedly asked not to be weaponized as a symbol of racism and bigotry, this has become much bigger than Caitlin Clark so it really doesn&rsquo;t matter what she requests.&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>The narrative is to protect the white damsel in distress in correlation to historically how even the thought of a &ldquo;white delicate flower&rdquo; being harmed or in danger or disrespected or whistled at would result in a vicious white mob attacking, lynching, mutilating, and murdering the suspected perpetrator.&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>That&rsquo;s why the narrative that the entire WNBA are intentionally fouling her or viewing her with Latonya Harding eyes skating past Nancy Kerrigan, is not only inaccurate but also promotes this same dangerous mentality.&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div><a href="https://foxsportsradio.iheart.com/content/2024-09-23-jason-whitlock-says-dijonai-carrington-assaulted-caitlin-clark-in-attack/">Media members like Jason Whitlock purposely used the words &ldquo;assault&rdquo; and &ldquo;attack&rdquo; and &ldquo;stab in the eye&rdquo; when discussing a foul by Dijonai Carrington.</a></div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div><a href="https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/basketball/wnba/fever/2024/09/24/caitlin-clark-says-dijonai-carrington-eye-poke-wasnt-intentional-wnba-playoffs-indiana-fever-sun/75365622007/">All of the intentionally stoked outrage prompted Caitlin Clark to publicly denounce the narrative and state, &ldquo;the foul was unintentional."</a></div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>And then and only then did people like Jason Whitlock back away from the narrative. But that&rsquo;s exactly what you are doing. You are pushing a very dangerous narrative.&nbsp;</div>
<p><a href="https://x.com/torreysmithwr/status/1943333887163158840?s=46&amp;t=FiXBDRUe_KpN8Ix5Vb08vg">Former Baltimore Ravens Torrey Smith was 100% spot on when he tweeted:</a></p>
<p><img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/4-etan-thomas-5_690w.jpeg" alt="" /></p>
<p><a href="https://x.com/realrclark25/status/1943702842818052426?s=46&amp;t=FiXBDRUe_KpN8Ix5Vb08vg">Ryan Clark was also spot on when he tweeted:</a></p>
<p><img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/4-etan-thomas-6_690w.jpeg" alt="" /></p>
<p>Here is my sincere honest question to you. Are you attempting to follow the breadcrumbs left by people like Jason Whitlock ? Meaning someone who purposely takes on certain positions and perspectives that you know will be applauded amongst a certain demographic?&nbsp;</p>
<p>Coincidentally, this is a meme that I saw floating around social media of you. I put it next to a meme that has been floating around social media of Jason Whitlock for sometime now and you are better than this !!! I know you are, but this is exactly what you are morphing into, and it hurts my heart to see.&nbsp;</p>
<p><img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/4-etan-thomas-7_690w.jpeg" alt="" /></p>
<p>Comedian Goddfrey was spot on how he described your spat with Ryan Clark a few months ago when he said,&nbsp;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Every time you publicly dog a Black Woman, you&rsquo;re dogging your mother, your grandmother, your aunties.&rdquo;&nbsp;</p>
<p>I don&rsquo;t know if you heard his message to you but please listen to his entire video. He agreed with you that children and family should be left out of the conversation which Ryan Clark also acknowledged and apologized to you for. But that aside, their points still stand.&nbsp;</p>
<p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DJ8EbTdJwlc/?igsh=N2g0eHBpcmJmczJp">https://www.instagram.com/reel/DJ8EbTdJwlc/?igsh=N2g0eHBpcmJmczJp</a></p>
<p>Let me paint a another illustration.</p>
<p>Savion Glover&rsquo;s character Manray in the Spike Lee Classic Bamboozled.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Remember at the end when he was looking in the mirror as he was about to put on the Black Face and his conscious started to attack his soul and he just couldn&rsquo;t do it anymore. He couldn&rsquo;t participate in their minstrel show so he came on stage without the Black Face ? My hope and prayer for you is that you eventually get to the place where you simply can&rsquo;t do it anymore and you wipe the Black Face off, and come on to the stage as Robert Griffin III.&nbsp;</p>
<p><img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/4-etan-thomas-9_690w.jpeg" alt="" /></p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>

Dear RG3: Please Don’t Turn Into Jason Whitlock

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Nine-time All-Star Kyrie Irving has opted out of his $43 million player option and agreed to a three-year, $119 million extension with the Dallas Mavericks, according to ESPN&rsquo;s Shams Charania.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The deal, which includes a player option for the 2027&ndash;28 season, comes as Irving recovers from a torn ACL sustained in March and underscores a mutual commitment to anchor Dallas&rsquo;s core alongside Anthony Davis and presumed incoming rookie to be drafted no.1 overall in this year&rsquo;s draft Cooper Flagg.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Last season, Irving averaged 24.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists over 50 games. Playing all 22 playoff games, he averaged 22.1 points and 5.1 assists while leading the Mavericks to the 2024 NBA Finals. With the extension, Dallas lowers his annual cap hit and drops below the luxury-tax second apron &ndash; freeing up the $5.7 million taxpayer mid-level exception for potential offseason moves.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Irving, 33, spoke briefly on the decision: he and team officials are united in building a legacy in Dallas, with eyes on a championship window. Returning from ACL surgery as early as January, he signals his readiness to help the Mavericks contend at the highest level.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">ANALYSIS: This move marks the roster continuity for Dallas, as Irving solidifies their core alongside Davis and Flagg, signaling intent for long-term competitiveness. By opting out and thus lowering the cap burden, the Mavericks restored mid-level exception with its cap strategy and it gives their front office flexibility to make more moves in the future.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Although injured, Irving&rsquo;s contract shows faith in his return and his role as team leader. Dallas positions itself to build around Irving, Davis, and Flagg &ndash; balancing short-term title ambitions with sustainable growth. This deal not only secures their veteran playmaker but also opens room to add supporting pieces needed to compete next season.</span></p>

Nine-time All-Star Kyrie Irving has opted out of his $43 million player option and agreed to a three-year, $119 million extension.

Kyrie Irving resigns three-year, $119 million contract extension with Mavericks

Here's the list of NCAA players who have as of April 6 filed for consideration as a candidate for the 2023 WNBA Draft

2023 WNBA Draft: Full list of prospects who have entered

<p><strong>DALLAS (AP) &mdash;</strong> This year&rsquo;s record-breaking women&rsquo;s NCAA Tournament featured breakout stars, upsets and capped off with the flamboyant Kim Mulkey leading LSU to its first basketball championship.</p>
<p>Mulkey&rsquo;s unforgettable outfits were just one of several memorable moments. There was Caitlin Clark&rsquo;s 40-point triple-double in the Elite Eight game, the drama of South Carolina&rsquo;s quest to complete the latest undefeated season and two No. 1 seeds being knock off before the Sweet 16.</p>
<p>It led to the highest attendance ever in the tournament&rsquo;s history to go along with stellar TV ratings in every round. The timing couldn&rsquo;t be better for the sport. It all could lead to women&rsquo;s basketball getting a separate TV deal when the contract expires next summer.</p>
<p>Here&rsquo;s a look at some of the top moments from the tournament:</p>
<p><strong>FIERY FASHIONISTA</strong></p>
<p>Mulkey is never hard to miss on the sideline with her feisty approach and reactions to referees and her players. The coach&rsquo;s flamboyant attire takes her presence to a different level, and her Final Four outfits certainly stood out.</p>
<p>For the national semifinal game, Mulkey arrived in a carnation pink top with a flower-like puffs along the entire sleeves, a designer-made top similar to what her 2-year-old granddaughter wore. Even the LSU mascot was spotted in pink attire.</p>
<p>The coach wore a sparkly, golden, tiger-striped outfit during the championship game. Her team were the golden girls, winning the first basketball championship in school history.</p>
<p><strong>DAZZLING CLARK</strong></p>
<p>Clark set an NCAA Tournament record by scoring 191 points over Iowa&rsquo;s six games, surpassing Sheryl Swoopes&rsquo; 177 points for Texas Tech in 1993 &mdash; and Glen Rice&rsquo;s 184 for Michigan in the 1989 men&rsquo;s tournament.</p>
<p>Before 30 points in the championship game, the 6-foot Iowa-born Clark was the first player in the women&rsquo;s tournament with back-to-back 40-point games. That included her 11th career triple-double in the regional final against Louisville, before another 41 points against previously undefeated South Carolina in the national semifinal game.</p>
<p><strong>HISTORY DENIED</strong></p>
<p>South Carolina was trying to become the 10th women&rsquo;s team to run through a season undefeated and the first school to win consecutive titles since UConn won four straight from 2013-16. The Gamecocks were denied that chance, losing to Iowa in the Final Four behind a stellar effort from Clark.</p>
<p><strong>END OF AN ERA</strong></p>
<p>UConn&rsquo;s run of 14 consecutive Final Four appearance came to an end in the Elite Eight when Ohio State forced the Huskies into 18 first-half turnovers with full-court pressure defense. The Huskies hadn&rsquo;t missed playing in the national semifinals since 2007.</p>
<p><strong>NEW FORMAT</strong></p>
<p>The NCAA changed its regional format this year going to two sites instead of the traditional four. It got strong reviews from players and coaches and fans alike. There ended up being a record attendance for that round with more fans showing up in Seattle &mdash; which had no team within 1,300 miles of the venue &mdash; than Greenville, South Carolina.</p>
<p><strong>&rsquo;CANES WERE COOKING</strong></p>
<p>Miami did more than just be part of history by knocking out No. 1 seed Indiana before the Sweet 16. The Hurricanes under coach Katie Meier ousted Villanova and ended national scoring leader Maddy Siegrist&rsquo;s career to reach the Elite Eight for the first time. The champs from LSU ended Miami&rsquo;s run with a muddy 54-42 win in the regional finals.</p>
<p><strong>THIRST FOR FIRSTS</strong></p>
<p>Virginia Tech was a first-time participant in the Final Four, which had a pair of first-time finalists after LSU beat the top-seeded Hokies and Clark&rsquo;s Hawkeyes ousted undefeated defending national champion South Carolina. It was already guaranteed before the final that the champion would be something other than a No. 1 seed for the first time since 2011.</p>
<p><strong>UPSETTING PERFORMANCES</strong></p>
<p>Stanford and Indiana both fell in the second round becoming the second pair of No. 1 seeds to not make the Sweet 16 since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1994. It also happened in 1998. The Cardinal were stymied on their home court by Mississippi&rsquo;s defense. They never led the second-round game and had their streak of 14 consecutive Sweet 16 appearances ended. The Hoosiers lost at Assembly Hall the next night, when Miami&rsquo;s Destiny Harden made the game-winning shot with 3.5 seconds left.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>AP Sports Writer Stephen Hawkins and AP Basketball Writer Doug Feinberg contributed to this story.</p>

A look at some of the top moments from the 2023 NCAA Women's Tournament.

Women’s NCAA Tournament features plethora of March Madness

<p>The white flag is being waved in Portland.</p>
<p>With the Blazers sitting at 32-43, five games behind the Oklahoma City Thunder for the final play-in spot, it's fair to say the playoffs probably aren't in the cards this season. That reality has reportedly led the Blazers to shut down their superstar, Damian Lillard, for the rest of the year.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">With injury-plagued Portland Trail Blazers out of the playoff picture, superstar guard Damian Lillard will be held out the remainder of the season, league sources tell <a href="https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NBAonTNT</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/BleacherReport?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BleacherReport</a>.</p>
&mdash; Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChrisBHaynes/status/1640819291783323648?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 28, 2023</a></blockquote>
<p>
<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
</p>
<p>Lillard had already missed the last three games (all losses) with a calf injury. In light of the Blazers' place in the standings &mdash; and the benefit that could be gained by juicing their lottery odds &mdash; it makes sense that the Blazers would take a forward-thinking approach with Lillard.</p>
<p>It's a somber end to what's been, at least statistically, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-news-damian-lillard-making-claim-as-nba-most-dangerous-offensive-player-portland-trail-blazers-71-point-game-joel-embiid-luka-doncic-michael-jordan-nikola-jokic-tracy-mcgrady" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the best offensive season in Lillard's career</a>. He posted career-highs in points (32.2), 2PT% (57.4), True Shooting percentage (64.5), three-point rate (.547) and attempts (11.3), free-throw rate (.464) and attempts (9.6), and assist rate (35.1).</p>
<p>The rest of his box score numbers &mdash; 7.3 assists, 4.8 rebounds, a 37.1% clip from three and 91.4% mark from the free throw line &mdash; certainly pass the smell test.&nbsp;</p>
<p>He currently leads the NBA in DunksAndThree's Offensive Estimated Plus-Minus (oEPM) metric (+8.1), narrowly ahead of MVP shortlist candidate Nikola Jokic (+8.0). He ranks fifth in Estimated Wins (EW), the cumulative version of EPM, with 14.0. He only trails Jokic (17.2), Joel Embiid (14.8), Jayson Tatum (14.4) and Luka Doncic (14.3) in that stat.</p>
<p>Lillard was a worthy All-Star and, in the games he appeared in, a no-brainer selection for an All-NBA team. With him only appearing in 58 games (27-31 record), I'm curious to see where the voters land with his case. There's no question Lillard played well enough, but there's room to argue against his candidacy depending on how highly availability and winning rank in a voter's mind.</p>
<p>Bigger picture, the Blazers enter the offseason with the same set of big questions. Can they build a contender around Lillard? How, with their current asset pool, can they do so? And considering what the rest of the conference looks like right now, does it make sense to cash in their chips to build around Lillard, or would it make more sense to use Lillard as&nbsp;<em>the&nbsp;</em>chip to jumpstart a rebuild?</p>
<p>If it's up to Lillard &mdash; and please, <em>please</em> stop asking him, he's been clear about his desires! &mdash; the Blazers will continue trying to build around him. That'll start with landing on an acceptable number with Jerami Grant, then likely move to evaluating the market for upgrades in the frontcourt.</p>
<p>We have plenty of time to dig into potential offseason moves. For now, Lillard deserves his flowers for an incredible year.</p>
<p>He stretched defenses to their limits with long-distance bombs. He parlayed that shooting gravity into his most efficient season as a driver. Those drives allowed him to further lean into the foul-drawing tricks he's developed throughout his career. And the constant attention he drew opened up passing windows for him to access when necessary.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Oh, right: he also dropped the most efficient 70+ point game in NBA history this year. Can't forget that.</p>
<p><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OKOwK6U7sd0" width="578" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p>Hopefully Lillard is able to rehab and recharge. I have no idea how you&nbsp;<em>build&nbsp;</em>on a campaign as ridiculous as Lillard's, but he's proven to be someone you can't comfortably bet against.&nbsp;</p>

The Blazers are sitting Damian Lillard for the rest of the season. Nekias Duncan breaks down Lillard's great season and what's next.

Blazers guard Damian Lillard ruled out for remainder of season

<p>On March 1, New York Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley wasn't even on the board in the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year race.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Now, one week later, Quickley is the favorite to win the award.</p>
<p>Oddsmakers now list Quickley's odds at -160, putting him ahead of Boston Celtics guard Malcolm Brogdon (+100), who was previously considered the front-runner.</p>
<p>Here's a look at the latest odds (via <a href="https://www.betonline.ag/sportsbook/futures-and-props/nba-player-futures/nba-6th-man-of-the-year" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BetOnline</a>):</p>
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 41.8665%; height: 154px;" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 32.1874%; height: 22px; text-align: center;"><strong>PLAYER</strong></td>
<td style="width: 5.89269%; height: 22px; text-align: center;"><strong>ODDS</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 32.1874%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">Immanuel Quickley, Knicks</td>
<td style="width: 5.89269%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">-160</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 32.1874%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">Malcolm Brogdon, Celtics</td>
<td style="width: 5.89269%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">+100</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 32.1874%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">Norman Powell, Clippers</td>
<td style="width: 5.89269%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">+2500</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 32.1874%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">Bobby Portis, Bucks</td>
<td style="width: 5.89269%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">+6600</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 32.1874%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">Malik Monk, Kings</td>
<td style="width: 5.89269%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">+6600</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 32.1874%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">Tyrese Maxey, Sixers</td>
<td style="width: 5.89269%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">+6600</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>So, how did Quickley go from long shot to front-runner basically overnight?&nbsp;</p>
<p>Since the NBA All-Star break, Quickley is averaging 20.0 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 3.4 threes and 1.1 steals, while shooting 50.5% from the field, 42.9% from three and 77.8% from the free-throw line.</p>
<p>In addition to putting up impressive stats, he is helping the Knicks win games. New York has won 11 of their last 13 contests, and the 23-year-old guard is playing a key role for the fifth-seeded team.</p>
<p>Quickley has played in 68 games this season, which is signifcantly more than Brogdon (55), Portis (54) and Powell (54).</p>
<p>Also, it never hurts to have a marquee performance on national television. On Sunday, Quickley led the Knicks to a double-overtime win over the top-seeded Celtics, finishing with 38 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 threes, 4 steals, 2 blocks and just 1 turnover on 53.6/41.7/75.0 shooting splits. While he didn't come off the bench in this game, it certainly put Quickley in the spotlight.</p>
<p>Last week, our Nekias Duncan <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/2022-23-nba-award-picks-mvp-dpoy-rookie-sixth-man-most-improved-all-league-defensive-teams-volume-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">broke down each of the NBA's award races</a>, and he described Quickley as his "favorite reserve to watch this season" because "his growth has been the most fun to track."</p>
<p>Here's what Duncan had to say about Quickley's case for Sixth Man of the Year:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 40px;">He isn't knocking down pull-ups at the same clip as last season (<a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/player/1630193/shots-dash?Season=2021-22" target="_blank" rel="noopener">35.1%</a>&nbsp;to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/player/1630193/shots-dash?Season=2022-23" target="_blank" rel="noopener">32.6%</a>), but he's gotten much better inside the arc. The rim finishing is better. The floater is otherwordly; among 25 players to attempt at least 75 floaters this season, Quickley is No. 5 in field goal percentage (51.8%, up from 46.0% last year), per Second Spectrum.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="padding-left: 40px;">Quickley has grown as a decision-maker, particularly when operating in ball-screens. And the defense? He deserves his flowers for sinking his teeth in on that end &mdash; and being darn good at it. His two-way impact has helped the New York Knicks outscore opponents by over&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pbpstats.com/wowy-combos/nba?TeamId=1610612752&amp;Season=2022-23&amp;SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason&amp;PlayerIds=1630193" target="_blank" rel="noopener">six points per 100 possessions</a>&nbsp;when he's on the floor this season.</p>
<p>It's possible that Brogdon will pass Quickley and re-emerge as the favorite. However, if Quickley finishes the season strong and doesn't log too many starts (he's already at 12), perhaps he can take home the John Havlicek Trophy at the end of the campaign.</p>

Last week, Immanuel Quickley wasn't on the board in the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year race. Now, he's the favorite to win the award.

Oddsmakers view Immanuel Quickley as NBA Sixth Man of the Year favorite

Nekias Duncan checks back in with this year's NBA award races with an in-depth look at who leads the pack through the end of February.

2022-23 NBA award front-runners Vol. 2: MVP, DPOY, ROY, more

<p>It's January 6, and Damian Lillard sits in the corner of the visitor's locker room.</p>
<p>He's absorbing the questions that are being tossed his way concerning another tough loss, toeing the line between urgency and understanding; it's not a lack of effort, he says, but maybe too <em>much&nbsp;</em>effort and desire leading to pressing at the wrong times.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The result is the result: A 108-99 loss to the Indiana Pacers headlined by poor shooting. Lillard wasn't himself, dropping just 19 points on 7-for-24 shooting (6-for-16 from two, 1-for-8 from three). As a whole, the Portland Trail Blazers scored a paltry 17 points in the fourth quarter. They missed their last 13 field goal attempts in the game.</p>
<p>"You're not gonna win if you can't make a field goal," Lillard says, matter-of-factly.</p>
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
<p>It would appear that statement, and that game, represented something. It'd be too strong, too narrative-y, to consider it a turning point. But Lillard hasn't fallen under 20 points since then. To be frank, he's been absurd in the 21 games since.&nbsp;</p>
<p>We're in the midst of the most impressive stretch of Lillard's career. Not only is he scoring at a high clip (38.7 points per game), but he's also doing so on otherworldly efficiency.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The three-point shooting immediately stands out with Lillard. The basic numbers &mdash; 40.1% on 12.0 attempts a night during this stretch &mdash; are ridiculous on their own. He's one of five players taking at least eight threes and hitting them at a 40% clip, joining Klay Thompson (44.7% on 11.6 attempts), Buddy Hield (41.7% on 9.0), the currently-injured Steph Curry (41.2% on 10.9) and Michael Porter Jr. (40.4% on 8.1).</p>
<p>But the <em>way </em>Lillard is going about it is what makes this run special.</p>
<p>He's been <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/player/203081/shots-dash?DateFrom=01%2F07%2F2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">torching the nets on spot-ups</a> (44.6% on 3.1 attempts), getting busy off movement &mdash; an absurd 16-for-22 (72.7%) on threes off screens, per InStat tracking &mdash; and doing a ton of damage off the bounce (38.6% on 8.8 attempts).</p>
<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/t1556n" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
<p>No player has taken (35) or made (16) more threes from 30 or more feet than Lillard during this stretch. His 45.7% clip on those bombs leads the NBA among the 23 players who have attempted at least five (5!) of those shots.</p>
<p>Think about that. The only players aside from Lillard to make at least 40% of those attempts are Desmond Bane and Talen Horton-Tucker &mdash; and they're a combined 4-for-10.</p>
<p>It's insane.&nbsp;</p>
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<p>What has continued to go somewhat under the radar is the work Lillard has done inside. He's converting 64.3% of his two-pointers &mdash; the third-best mark among the 50 players averaging <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/shots-general?CF=FG2A*GE*10&amp;DateFrom=01/07/2023&amp;dir=D&amp;sort=FG2_PCT" target="_blank" rel="noopener">at least 10 attempts inside the arc</a>. The two players ahead of him are centers &mdash; the somehow-underrated Jarrett Allen (70.8% on 10.1 attempts) and MVP frontrunner Nikola Jokic (70% on 12.2 attempts).</p>
<p>Lillard's been the best driver in the league over the past month. He's fifth in volume (376) and, again, has made good things happen when attacking. On trips featuring a Lillard drive at any point of the possession, the Blazers are generating a blistering 1.29 points per possession (PPP) per Second Spectrum.</p>
<p>That's the best mark in the NBA among 114 players with at least 100 drives under their belt. Beyond that, the difference between Lillard and second-place James Harden (1.222 PPP) is larger than the gap between Harden and 13th-ranked Tyler Herro (1.158 PPP). He isn't just leading &mdash; he's kinda lapping the field right now.</p>
<p>If you limit the parameters to direct plays &mdash; meaning Lillard finishes the possession, or passes it to someone who immediately finishes the possession &mdash; that number rises to 1.39 PPP. That, again, leads the NBA by a wide margin.&nbsp;</p>
<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/xz2wjw" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
<p>There's no real way to defend Lillard. Give him too much space, and he's proven comfortable to pull from quite literally anywhere. Press up too much, and he's fine gaining inside leverage and finishing through contact, around contact or absorbing enough to get to the free throw line. Oh, right: He's averaging 11.4 free throw attempts during this run, too.&nbsp;</p>
<p>That duality has made Lillard the most dangerous scorer in the league as of late.</p>
<p>He's fresh off a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/damian-lillard-has-71-points-and-13-threes-blazers-beat-rockets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">71-point performance</a> against whatever the Houston Rockets are. He converted 9 of his 16 shots inside the arc, drilled a career-high 13 triples and made all 14 of his free throw attempts. The 80.4% True Shooting mark made his outburst the most efficient 70-plus-point game in NBA history.</p>
<p>And this is roughly a month removed from Lillard dropping 60 points on the Jazz on 89.8% TS. This may shock you, but that happens to be the most efficient 60-plus-point game in NBA history.</p>
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<p>Lillard has been cooking <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-damian-lillard-is-flying-off-the-ball-and-under-the-radar-portland-trail-blazers-all-star-voting-anfernee-simons-jerami-grant-josh-hart-steph-curry-marcus-smart" target="_blank" rel="noopener">for most of the season</a>, but this 21-game stretch is something else entirely. Through Jan. 6, Lillard ranked 14th in the league in scoring (27.1). Because of this run, he now ranks third (32.3) with a realistic chance at passing Joel Embiid and Luka Doncic (33.1) for the top spot.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Lillard (+8.4) has also shot past Jokic (+7.9) for the lead in Offensive Estimated Plus-Minus (OEPM). He may not be the playmaker Jokic is &mdash; and that distinction is probably what gives the edge to Jokic as an overall offensive force when you zoom out &mdash; but Lillard deserves his flowers in that regard too.&nbsp;</p>
<p>To have a 35.4% assist rate and a turnover rate under 10 (9.8) while carrying this sort of usage (36.3%) is almost unheard of. In fact, only two players &mdash; Michael Jordan and Tracy McGrady &mdash; have recorded seasons with an assist and usage rate over 30%, and a turnover rate below 10.</p>
<p>Lillard isn't just efficient as a scorer; he's just doing efficient work with the ball in his hands.</p>

Nekias Duncan puts Damian Lillard's month-and-a-half-long scoring binge and the most dominant stretch of his career into perspective.

Damian Lillard making claim as NBA's most dangerous offensive player

<p>Even while James Harden is <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-stats-notebook-giving-james-harden-the-flowers-he-deserves-philadelphia-76ers-sixers-joel-embiid-tobias-harris" target="_blank" rel="noopener">thriving this season</a> with the Philadephia 76ers, there continues to be talk about where he'll play next season.</p>
<p>Back in December, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&amp;v=iQjEdrZdlfo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN's Tim MacMahon floated</a> that everyone should "keep an eye" on Harden possibly returning to his former team &ndash; the Houston Rockets &ndash; who will have more than $60 million in available cap space and an owner who is anxious to get back in the playoffs.</p>
<p>Since then, the talk of Harden returning to Houston has only continued. Most recently, <a href="https://twitter.com/bradeauxnba/status/1627824823681404930?s=46&amp;t=S98heYqeEJbZWRTBSZcfrA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rockets insider Kelly Iko</a> stated there&rsquo;s a "70% chance" that Harden will be on the Rockets' opening-day roster next season.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Rockets?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Rockets</a> insider <a href="https://twitter.com/KellyIko?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KellyIko</a> said he thinks there&rsquo;s a 70% chance Harden will be on the Rockets opening day roster next season:<br /><br />&ldquo;When there&rsquo;s smoke there&rsquo;s fire&rdquo; 👀 <a href="https://t.co/nfR2Y7O7Hf">pic.twitter.com/nfR2Y7O7Hf</a></p>
&mdash; Bradeaux (@BradeauxNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/BradeauxNBA/status/1627824823681404930?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 21, 2023</a></blockquote>
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<p>Until then, Harden has proven to be a great fit alongside Joel Embiid in Philadelphia, averaging 21.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 10.8 assists per game.</p>
<p>The 76ers are currently the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference, with a 36-19 record.</p>

The talk continues that James Harden will go back to the Rockets, with one insider saying there's a "70% chance" it will happen.

Insider: '70% chance' James Harden returns to Rockets this offseason

<p><strong>SALT LAKE CITY (AP) &mdash;</strong> Mac McClung might have single-handedly restored the shine on a dunk contest that has been widely panned in recent years.</p>
<p>McClung, the 6-foot-2 Philadelphia guard on a two-way contract, defeated New Orleans&rsquo; Trey Murphy III in the finals of the dunk contest, culminating an NBA All-Star Saturday that may have finally answered the question as to whether what used to be the league&rsquo;s signature event can be glitzy again.</p>
<p>McClung had the answer: Absolutely.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m truly blessed and grateful for the NBA giving me this opportunity,&rdquo; McClung said.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
<p dir="ltr" lang="de">MAC MCCLUNG 😳<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ATTSlamDunk?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ATTSlamDunk</a> <a href="https://t.co/0wuoeaeqc6">pic.twitter.com/0wuoeaeqc6</a></p>
&mdash; NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1627142230833233920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 19, 2023</a></blockquote>
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<p>A 540-degree dunk &mdash; not a 360, but a 540, him doing one-and-a-half rotations in the air, a move more reserved for figure skaters and skateboarders than basketball players &mdash; was his third perfect score of the night out of four dunks. By the time the judges&rsquo; scores came up it was already decided. Everyone in the building knew he&rsquo;d already won.</p>
<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s over,&rdquo; McClung said.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">"IT IS OVER LADIES AND GENTLEMAN" 🗣<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ATTSlamDunk?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ATTSlamDunk</a> <a href="https://t.co/WP098H7fav">pic.twitter.com/WP098H7fav</a></p>
&mdash; NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1627148864238284802?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 19, 2023</a></blockquote>
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<p>It was. And he immediately committed to defending his title at Indianapolis at All-Star Saturday next year.</p>
<p>&ldquo;If you guys will have me, I&rsquo;ll be back,&rdquo; McClung said.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">&ldquo;WELCOME TO THE NBA&rdquo; 🗣<br /><br />Mac McClung showing out at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ATTSlamDunk?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ATTSlamDunk</a> ‼️ <a href="https://t.co/fWLEhtes2a">pic.twitter.com/fWLEhtes2a</a></p>
&mdash; NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1627145698516017152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 19, 2023</a></blockquote>
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<p>The final score, not that it mattered, was McClung 100.0, Murphy 98.0.</p>
<p>His is an unbelievable story: McClung has played mostly in the G League, where he ranks 36th in scoring this season at 19 points per game. He was undrafted in 2021 after spending three college seasons at Georgetown and Texas Tech. He was signed by Golden State last year but never played in a regular-season game for the Warriors, and spent a little time on USA Basketball&rsquo;s World Cup qualifying team last year as well.&nbsp;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Ever since the beginning, I was the underdog,&rdquo; said McClung, who put on a Gate City jersey &mdash; his high school and hometown in Virginia, population 1,600 &mdash; for the final dunk. &ldquo;Proving others right instead of others wrong brings a little more satisfaction.&rdquo;</p>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">A 50 for Mac McClung 😮&zwj;💨<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ATTSlamDunk?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ATTSlamDunk</a> <a href="https://t.co/ZBI93JcSUF">pic.twitter.com/ZBI93JcSUF</a></p>
&mdash; NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1627147897665110016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 19, 2023</a></blockquote>
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<p>Philadelphia would become his third NBA team, and he hasn&rsquo;t even played for the 76ers yet. He played in one game last season for the Chicago Bulls, one other game for the Los Angeles Lakers.</p>
<p>He has three NBA baskets.</p>
<p>He had four dunks on Saturday night. A guy with more dunks than actual NBA field goals might have saved the dunk contest.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Give this man his flowers, man,&rdquo; TNT commentator Kenny Smith said.</p>
<p>McClung set the tone for the night with a dunk that had NBA superstars in disbelief &mdash; he leaped over two people, took the ball out of the hands of one of them, tapped it on the backboard and then threw down a reverse slam.</p>
<p>And that was just for starters.</p>
<p>Riding the momentum of that perfect dunk, he wound up hoisting the trophy that was newly renamed for dunking legend &mdash; and former 76ers star &mdash; Julius &ldquo;Dr. J&rdquo; Erving.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m super happy,&rdquo; McClung said.</p>
<p>McClung was nearly perfect on his second dunk as well; four judges gave him a perfect 50, Lisa Leslie gave him a 49 as the only dissenter, but it didn&rsquo;t matter &mdash; he was already assured a spot in the final round against Murphy.</p>
<p>New York&rsquo;s Jericho Sims gave himself a 50 on his second dunk, where he attached an envelope to the net, pulled it down after the dunk and displayed &ldquo;50&rdquo; to the world. No judge agreed, and his two-dunk score of 95.4 wasn&rsquo;t good enough to make the final round.</p>
<p>Also eliminated after Round 1: Houston&rsquo;s Kenyon Martin Jr., with a score of 93.2.</p>

Mac McClung, the 6-foot-2 Philadelphia guard on a two-way contract, defeated Trey Murphy III in the finals of the dunk contest.

Mac McClung soars to slam dunk title at All-Star Saturday

<p>Sometimes, you just know it's good.</p>
<p>A well-timed joke in the middle of conversation. That screen pass you've been saving for the fourth quarter in Madden because your buddy's been spamming a run blitz on early downs. A perfectly placed bass run in the midst of a groove, for my musician friends reading this.&nbsp;</p>
<p>There's something about sensing an opening, taking advantage of said-opening and&nbsp;<em>immediately</em>&nbsp;knowing you made the right decision. Said the right thing, chose the right thing. It just feels&nbsp;<em>good</em>.</p>
<p>That had to be the Derrick White trade for the Boston Celtics last season.</p>
<p>For a team that wants to lock you down defensively &mdash; by erasing gaps with well-timed switching, or siccing its in-your-jersey defenders on unsuspecting ball-handlers while the big hangs back in a drop &mdash; White served as a perfect target.&nbsp;</p>
<p>There were a handful of players in the league that could navigate screens like White; close down on ball-handlers with pesky rearview contests; switch onto bigger players and swipe the ball away, or beat them to spots to draw timely charges. The Celtics were tough enough with Marcus Smart; to add another guy like that into the fold felt unfair.</p>
<p>And for a team trying to fully commit to moving the ball, as elementary as that sounds, White also served as the perfect target. The Celtics were just hitting their stride as an offense that could create <em>and&nbsp;</em>maintain advantages in the half-court without halting the show. White's ability to fit in &mdash; heck, his <em>willingness</em> to fit in &mdash; made him an easy fit.</p>
<p>He could initiate ball-screens, come off handoffs, set pin-in screens on the weak side, set pindowns for the stars to come off of, and act as an on-ball screener to force defenses into tough decisions. The shooting would serve as a bellwether of sorts, but White fit into just about everything the Celtics wanted to do on both ends.</p>
<p>White integrated well last season, though inconsistent three-point shooting &mdash; and waning aggressiveness &mdash; reared its ugly head during the playoff run.&nbsp;</p>
<p>This season, he's been even better. More comfortable, more aggressive. More efficient. For nearly a month now, he's just been <em>more</em>, period.</p>
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
<p>The Celtics have been without Smart since Jan. 21, when he turned his ankle pretty badly towards the end of the first half of their matchup against the Toronto Raptors. White was already starting, but he's had to assume lead ball-handling duties since then.</p>
<p>To say White has been phenomenal in this recent run would be an understatement.</p>
<p>Over the past 11 games, White has averaged 20.1 points while converting 54.3% of his twos and 43.6% of his threes on high volume (7.1 attempts). He's dishing out 5.8 dimes (9.2 <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/passing?DateFrom=01/23/2023&amp;TeamID=1610612738&amp;dir=D&amp;sort=POTENTIAL_AST" target="_blank" rel="noopener">potential assists</a>) per game while rarely turning the ball over (1.5 turnovers). He's helped on the glass (4.6 boards), and has continued to be a menace on the defensive end.</p>
<p>You can really have some fun with filtering White's run too.&nbsp;</p>
<ul>
<li>Last eight games (6-2 record): 21.5 points, 6.3 assists (1.4 turnovers), 5.1 rebounds</li>
<li>Last five games (4-1): 25.0 points, 8.4 assists (1.8 turnovers), 4.2 rebounds, 1.0 blocks</li>
</ul>
<p>White has racked up at least 25 points and 10 assists in each of his past three games &mdash; a streak he's never had in his career. He just won <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/shai-gilgeousalexander-derrick-white-named-nba-players-of-the-week" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Eastern Conference Player of the Week</a>, another feat he had yet to accomplish until this year.</p>
<p>What stands out about White's play is, again, how easy it feels. That isn't meant to diminish what he's doing, but to highlight how well he fits the Celtics' ethos. He's not pounding the ball to get assists or boogying against defenders to get his buckets. He's taking what the defense gives him, and doing so without hesitation.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Take this possession for example:</p>
<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/noyijc" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
<p>The Celtics flow out of HORNS and look to hit either Jayson Tatum or White with a cut. Both players are defended well, with Jaren Jackson Jr.'s ball pressure on Robert Williams III also hindering things. The second option &mdash; two-man game with Williams III and Sam Hauser, testing the screen navigation of Ja Morant &mdash; doesn't hit either. The ball swings to White, and the fun begins.</p>
<p>White receives a screen but doesn't take it; he just waits it out, and gets Xavier Tillman switched onto him. After swinging it to the corner, the ball finds him again with Tillman out of position after attempting a steal.</p>
<p><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/screen-shot-2023-02-15-at-11-37-58-am.png" alt="" width="576" height="325" /></p>
<p>White immediately attacks the basket, driving right at Jackson. Because Tatum is on the left wing, the left corner is empty &mdash; meaning Dillon Brooks can't help without giving up an open shot on the perimeter. And with Williams III rolling to the basket, Jackson now has to choose between halting White's drive or taking away the roll &mdash; with no help behind him. He chooses the former, opening up the easy lob.</p>
<p>Quietly, White has been one of the most productive drivers in the NBA over this stretch. He's been able to finish through contact, avoid it altogether with a funky floater he can get to at weird times and angles, and feed open teammates if the defense overreacts to him.&nbsp;</p>
<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/futui9" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
<p>During this 11-game run, possessions featuring a drive by White have generated 1.17 points per possession (PPP), per Second Spectrum. That ranks seventh among 45 players with at least 100 drives in that time frame, putting him in a virtual tie with James Harden and ahead of All-Stars like Morant (1.15 PPP), De'Aaron Fox (1.15 PPP), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (1.09 PPP) and DeMar DeRozan (1.05 PPP).</p>
<p>White's work as a screener continues to be important for the Celtics. Because he naturally draws smaller matchups than Tatum or Jaylen Brown, his inclusion as a lead blocker forces defenses into tough situations.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Anything less than pristine screen navigation means giving one of the stars an opening to attack. Switching a smaller guy onto either of them is asking for trouble. Trapping or hedging simply opens up short-roll opportunities for White. You can get away with daring bigs to make quick decisions in space; you can't really do that with someone as smart as White is.</p>
<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/zebcv2" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
<p>And the defense. Whew, buddy, the defense.&nbsp;</p>
<p>You could make the case that White has been Boston's best defender this season &mdash; a massive feat on a roster featuring last year's Defensive Player of the Year in Smart. Brown remains a strong on-ball defender; Tatum, when locked in, can provide near-elite value on and off the ball. Williams III is still rounding into form, but remains a terrifying rim protector. Horford has been sturdy in drop, and still showcases comfort venturing out in space.&nbsp;</p>
<p>But yet it's White pestering folks and causing the most havoc on a nightly basis.</p>
<p>Among the 161 players to defend at least 300 pick-and-rolls, only Desmond Bane (0.22%) has been washed out by a screen at a lower rate than White has (0.26%), per Second Spectrum.</p>
<p>Put another way: Of the 760 screens that have been set on White, only 20 (!) of them have taken him out of the play.&nbsp;</p>
<p>That, my friends, is absurd.&nbsp;</p>
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
<p>Because of White's ability to avoid being completely taken out of the action, he's almost always in position to affect the play. He'll fight to get back in front, mirroring ball-handlers before forcing them into tough looks &mdash; or passing the ball altogether.&nbsp;He'll get rearview contests if necessary, throwing off the rhythm of pull-ups and floaters.</p>
<p>Then, there are the action plays. He leads the team with 11 charges taken, tied with Kyle Lowry and Herb Jones (he's back, y'all) for 10th in the league.</p>
<p>No guard in the East has more blocks than White (53); only Gilgeous-Alexander (55) has more in the league (and has a two-inch height advantage). That White can get on-ball blocks <em>and&nbsp;</em>serve as a secondary rim protector is a rarity worth celebrating.&nbsp;</p>
<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/sh0g5m" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
<p>The combination of productivity and availability &mdash; he's the lone Celtic to appear in all 58 games this season &mdash; should tilt the "Boston's best defender" argument in his favor this season. And for what it's worth, White leads all Celtics in Defensive Estimated Plus Minus (DEPM) this season (+1.5), edging out Smart (+1.3), Tatum (+1.2) and Horford (+1.2).</p>
<p>White has been everything the Celtics have needed him to be, on both ends of the floor. A quality role piece and a quality roll piece. A willing spacer. An All-Defensive level contributor &mdash; he and Jrue Holiday would be my First Team guards if I had a ballot.&nbsp;</p>
<p>And when more has been required, like this Smart-less stretch, White has stepped up in the equation. More buckets, more decision-making and roughly the same level of defense.</p>
<p>He's further proven to be one of the most valuable role players in the NBA. Not only can he slot into the Celtics' system on both ends, he can also scale up or down depending on who's available. That portion isn't true for most role players &mdash; even the good ones. He deserves his flowers for that.</p>

Nekias Duncan puts the recent incredible performances of Celtics guard Derrick White in perspective.

Appreciating the scale of Derrick White's play for the Celtics

<p>Only 18 times in NBA history has a player averaged 20-plus points, 10-plus assists and 5-plus rebounds per game across an entire season. James Harden and Nikola Jokic are on pace to join the list this year.</p>
<p>Three NBA players &mdash; Russell Westbrook, Oscar Robertson and Isiah Thomas &mdash; have put up at least 20 points and 10 assists per game over four or more separate seasons in their career. Harden is on pace to be the fourth.</p>
<p>Harden missing out on his 11th NBA All-Star appearance is simply a travesty. Maybe it's because the scoring volume is down, or because he's no longer the top bucket-getting option on his team. Whatever the case may be, he deserves applause for the way he has adapted with age and in a new role to help Philadelphia reinvent its path to contention.&nbsp;</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">6 threes for <a href="https://twitter.com/JHarden13?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JHarden13</a> and call it a SZN HIGH! <a href="https://t.co/OZF4WCWR1i">pic.twitter.com/OZF4WCWR1i</a></p>
&mdash; Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) <a href="https://twitter.com/sixers/status/1620969675780935684?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 2, 2023</a>
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<p>Harden is currently posting 21.0 points, 10.9 assists and 6.4 rebounds per contest. His mark of 14.9 field goal attempts per game is the lowest since his days on the Oklahoma City Thunder, but his overall efficiency is on par with his prime years in Houston &mdash; albeit in different forms. And with a dominant scorer in Joel Embiid by his side, Harden has reached new heights as a table-setter.</p>
<p>At 33 years old, Harden doesn't attack the basket with the same ferocity as his peak years. Only 24% of his shot attempts are coming at the rim (career-low), per Cleaning the Glass, and he's driving the basketball 13.3 times per game (lowest since 2013-14), according to Second Spectrum. They're still high numbers for most NBA players, but low by Harden's standards. His straight-line speed, probably still underrated in his heyday, has been sapped a great deal.</p>
<p>That's okay. Harden has been&nbsp;<em>relatively&nbsp;</em>confined to the perimeter, and he's made it work with a 38.8% three-point clip, his best since 2011-12. One key reason for the jump: Harden is canning a red-hot 47.7% of his attempts off the catch, which make up over one-eighth (12.7%) of his total shot diet, according to PBP Stats. That's the largest share of catch-and-shoot treys he's logged since 2016-17 and almost double last year's frequency.&nbsp;</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">James Harden&rsquo;s reaction to making three catch-and-shoot 3s was pretty funny.<br /><br />And then, more serious: &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been working on it, so that&rsquo;s pretty exciting. You don&rsquo;t do too much, just catch-and-shoot it. You put the work in, I work on it every day.&rdquo; <a href="https://t.co/bH9p2iGTNX">pic.twitter.com/bH9p2iGTNX</a></p>
&mdash; Rich Hofmann (@rich_hofmann) <a href="https://twitter.com/rich_hofmann/status/1620982628995448832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 2, 2023</a>
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<p>This isn't to say Harden has completely disavowed his iso-ball ways. According to Synergy, he takes the third-most isolation possessions per game (6.2) in the NBA. But those possessions are less taxing because he has a co-superstar beside him; Embiid actually logs a slightly higher isolation volume (6.3). And Harden doesn't have to will himself to the basket at his age &mdash; Embiid is also collapsing defenses.</p>
<p>The Harden-to-Embiid assist combination is the most popular connection in the league this season. The Beard has hit up The Process 150 times, per PBP Stats, including 71 Embiid buckets at the rim. Their 40-assist lead on the second-most prominent combo of Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield (110) is as large as that duo's edge between it and the 31st-ranked coupling (a tie between Jalen Brunson and RJ Barrett, Killian Hayes and Bojan Bogdanovic, and Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton).&nbsp;</p>
<p>Meanwhile, though much less often, Embiid is the most frequent passer when Harden picks up an assisted bucket. They've teamed up 19 times this season, including 11 Harden makes from beyond the arc.</p>
<p>The Embiid-Harden pick-and-roll has boosted their ascension to perhaps the most dynamic two-man action tandem in the league. But Harden's comfort in Philly is also boosting the supporting cast &mdash; most exemplified in Tobias Harris.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Harris, now 30 years old, has quietly settled into an efficient complementary role while Harden, Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Shake Milton initiate most offensive possessions. He's shooting a career-best 58% from two-point range. Harris' at-rim frequency (34%), field goal percentage (69%) and assisted-make rate (62%) are all the highest of his four-plus seasons with the Sixers, according to Cleaning the Glass.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Less than a minute into the second half, James Harden records his 71st career triple-double with this dime to Tobias Harris 🔥<a href="https://t.co/uC4MpbmmYv">pic.twitter.com/uC4MpbmmYv</a> <a href="https://t.co/VEgsAzQYG2">https://t.co/VEgsAzQYG2</a></p>
&mdash; ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPointsApp/status/1612200618436730880?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 8, 2023</a></blockquote>
<p>
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<p>The scoring opportunities get easier with Harden on the floor. The former MVP sends 18.1% of his passes to Harris, who in turn makes 59.2% of his ensuing twos and 37.7% of his threes. Harris has typically averaged 8-10 drives per game over the course of his prime years vs. his 6.7 drives this season. The creation burden has been lessened and the efficiency has increased.</p>
<p>It helps that the Sixers added De'Anthony Melton to space the floor and act as a secondary ball-handler, and Maxey certainly gives them another sharp driving punch. But Harden has made everyone, including Harris and Embiid, better since finding his comfort level on the team.</p>
<p>Harden's average of 92.7 touches per game ranks third in the NBA and is still on par with his typical touch rate throughout his career. He's still the ignition for Philly's ninth-ranked offense and a matchup nightmare when he's on the floor, even if the picture looks a little different.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Whether it's the lack of All-Star recognition or the general lack of buzz, Harden's superstardom has taken a back seat in the national consciousness. Don't make that same mistake.</p>
<p><strong>THE OUTLIERS (a.k.a. other random interesting numbers I found in the void):</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>A cool blocked shot locations graphic from Edoardo Vergani. Look at Bol Bol!</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">NBA: Blocked shot location of the 12 players with most blocks during this season!<br /><br />What pops out? Let me know! <a href="https://t.co/shFXLWFonW">pic.twitter.com/shFXLWFonW</a></p>
&mdash; Edoardo Vergani (@ed_vergani) <a href="https://twitter.com/ed_vergani/status/1621863738931400705?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2023</a></blockquote>
<p>
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<ul>
<li>Brandon Miller is such a fascinating NBA Draft prospect:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Brandon Miller is putting up unprecedented versatility and efficiency in his jumpshot diet for a college big wing. Here's how he compares to some other 6'7+ shooters - Jabari Smith, Keegan Murray, Saddiq Bey, Brandon Ingram, and Khris Middleton. <a href="https://t.co/DUNsKNXfb4">pic.twitter.com/DUNsKNXfb4</a></p>
&mdash; Mark (@MarkC_NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkC_NBA/status/1621229412091039744?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 2, 2023</a></blockquote>
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<ul>
<li>The Pacers are an absolutely chaotic basketball team, as shown in this table from Tom Bassine:</li>
</ul>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Net rating in each quarter.<br />Best by Q:<br />1 - Nuggets<br />2 - Pacers<br />3 - Thunder<br />4 - Cavs <a href="https://t.co/0dKf9ChDbI">pic.twitter.com/0dKf9ChDbI</a></p>
&mdash; Tom Bassine (@tvbassine) <a href="https://twitter.com/tvbassine/status/1622230703017525249?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 5, 2023</a></blockquote>
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James Harden is on pace to be the third player to average 20 points and 10 assists in five seasons. Ethan Fuller praises his play.

NBA Stats Notebook: Giving James Harden the flowers he deserves

<p>Offenses have never been more lethal than they are in this era. With primary ball-handlers becoming larger, the collective shooting range expanding and teams leaning further into the importance of spacing, it&rsquo;s becoming even more difficult to keep the ball out of the basket.</p>
<p>With the game expanding, screening has become even more important. A well-placed off-ball pick can free a movement shooter for a triple or a catch-and-drive. On-ball screens can make shifty ball-handlers even harder to deal with in pick-and-roll and open the door for dump-offs, lobs and fruitful catch-and-shoot opportunities.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Screeners come in all sizes these days, ranging from the burly centers to mismatch-causing smalls. <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/changing-of-the-guard-the-future-of-screening-is-here" target="_blank" rel="noopener">I can&rsquo;t overstate how important guard-screening has become</a>, especially late in games.</p>
<p>This season, I want to keep tabs on who is &mdash; and isn&rsquo;t &mdash; getting the job done as screeners. Every week, I&rsquo;ll be highlighting a handful of the most powerful or shameful screen-setters in the league.</p>
<p>Let&rsquo;s get into volume two.</p>
<p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">*All stats are through games played between October 30 and November 4, unless noted otherwise.*</span></em></p>
<p><strong>BIG OF THE WEEK: DWIGHT POWELL</strong></p>
<p>Dwight Powell, or "DP" (we're still consulting with the judges), is once again flying under the radar. Part of it is his visibility; he logged just seven minutes in the Mavericks' first four games, including three DNPs. That's gone up as of late, with him playing a season-high 26 minutes during Friday night's win over the Toronto Raptors.</p>
<p>The most substantial part of his (lack of) status is what he's tasked with doing. Screen hard, roll hard and stay solid within whatever the defensive scheme calls for him to do. He isn't fed post touches, doesn't offer much as a stretch option and doesn't even have the "hey, he's a post hub sometimes!" tag going for him.</p>
<p>And yet, the Mavs have won his minutes in every game he's appeared in. Spencer Dinwiddie gave Powell all of the flowers following a three-point win over the Utah Jazz.</p>
<p><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xMAdC1pkfXM?start=233" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p>Dinwiddie talks about Powell's work ethic and character. He digs into the value of Powell's rolls, and how his consistency in that area forces the big and weak side defenders into tough positions, creating opportunities for himself and Luka Doncic.</p>
<p>I'd like to add that, in addition to the forcefulness of Powell's rolls, he does his homework early by setting effective screens. He angles his body in a way to consistently hit a defender's hip; that puts them behind the play &mdash; and on the hip of Doncic or Dinwiddie &mdash; which further stresses out the defense. If you're allowing Doncic or Dinwiddie to lead the dance, you're in trouble.</p>
<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/j63ejr" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
<p>To that point: the Mavs generated 1.36 points per possession (PPP) on trips featuring a Powell on-ball screen, the fourth-best mark in the NBA this week among 73 players to set at least 25 picks, per Second Spectrum. Powell created contact on nearly 82% of those picks, a rate trailing only Bulls forward Patrick Williams (92.86) in the same span.</p>
<p>Keep up the good work.</p>
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
<p><strong>CAUGHT YOU SLIPPIN': MIKAL BRIDGES</strong></p>
<p>We're adding a category, because this is my thing and I do what I want.&nbsp;</p>
<p>In all seriousness, it felt weid to consider Bridges for "Small of the Week" considering he isn't a guard, but he obviously isn't a big either. This is a healthy middle ground for the two-way wing. I've really enjoyed his work as a screener thus far.</p>
<p>Dating back to last season, Bridges was used as a drag-screen partner for Chris Paul in transition or early-offense situations. Teams weren't equipped for the push-and-pivot from Bridges, often leading to fruitful opportunities for him or breakdowns elsewhere.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The Suns haven't just rolled that over; they've started to involve him more in half-court situations.</p>
<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/2q1qd8" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
<p>After setting 6.4 on-ball screens per 100 possessions last year, that number has risen to 9.6 this season. Possessions featuring a Bridges screen were fruitful this week, with the Suns generating an absurd 1.56 PPP. They should keep going to the well.</p>
<p><strong>SMALL OF THE WEEK: ALEX CARUSO</strong></p>
<p>There isn't anything Alex Caruso won't do if you ask him.</p>
<p>Run the offense? Sure. Roam the dunker spot for dump offs? Cool! Act as a spacer? Doesn't mind. Hound guards defensively? You got it. Need him to defend Giannis? He ain't scared.</p>
<p>That kind of gap-filling from a guard is valuable, especially in a league that's becoming less position-bound in terms of roles. Caruso happens to be a gnarly screener on top of everything else, with a strong understanding of angles and timing &mdash; how long to hold a screen (78.3 contact rate this week), and where to release.&nbsp;</p>
<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/it3f93" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
<p>Off the ball, I crack up at how much joy he takes in setting cross screens for Nikola Vucevic. Just look at this lead blocking!</p>
<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/4yvra3" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
<p>He might be happier setting the pick than Vucevic is getting a play called for him.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The Bulls generated good offense with Caruso as an on-ball screener (1.00 PPP), and his off-ball work has been even better (1.13 PPP).</p>
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
<p><strong>YOU SHOULD HAVE THE FACILITIES FOR THIS, BIG MAN: RICHAUN HOLMES</strong></p>
<p>It's a bit weird in Sacramento.</p>
<p>Holmes proved himself as a capable starter, evidenced by a three-year stretch (2020-22) where he averaged 12.5 points and 7.9 rebounds in roughly 27 minutes a night. Holmes' minute load has never been lower (13.7) due to Domantas Sabonis being much better, and their skill-sets not being complementary enough to play together.</p>
<p>It will take an injury or roster change to dramatically shift things, but Holmes could stand to help himself by setting better screens. There's a line to walk between setting a screen to help your guard and setting one to get yourself open. Doing the former will likely cover both bases; doing the latter can lead to some ugly reps.</p>
<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/a6keqs" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
<p>The numbers back it up; the Kings performed poorly on possessions featuring an off-ball (0.5 PPP) or on-ball (0.67 PPP) screen from Holmes this week. He connected on less than half of his on-ball screens (46.8 contact rate).</p>
<p>He simply has to be better than that.&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>WE SEE YOU TOO: GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO</strong></p>
<p>Not too much on the MVP frontrunner right now, who's been excellent in just about every non-shooting category you can think of. With his workload and the physicality he plays with as a scorer, it's understandable that he isn't on 10 literally all of the time.</p>
<p>But dawg, for an offense that could use a little juice in the half-court, it would be a little helpful if Giannis didn't make it <em>blatantly </em>obvious that an off-ball action was a preamble for something else.</p>
<p>Friday night's game against the Wolves was pretty glaring when I went back through it.&nbsp;</p>
<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/qwdr21" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
<p>On the week, the Bucks generated just 0.89 PPP on trips featuring an off-ball screen from Giannis;&nbsp;</p>
<p>He doesn't have to be Steven Adams (hope he's alright) when prying guards open around the elbow (clips 1 and 4), nor does he have to be Draymond Green when guards are flying off baseline screens (clips 2, 3 and 5). Just ... get in the way. It'll help sell some of the action, make defenses work a little harder and thus open up cleaner scoring opportunities.</p>
<p><em>Screen Time will be back next Saturday!</em></p>

Nekias Duncan takes a look at some of the best — and worst — screeners in the NBA this week.

Screen Time Vol. 2: Highlighting the NBA's best and worst screeners

<p>It's admittedly fun to ride the small-sample-sized wave of early NBA seasons.</p>
<p>We've already witnessed 58 individual 30-plus-point performances in eight days of action from dozens of different players. The Utah Jazz and Portland Trail Blazers are tied with the Memphis Grizzlies atop the Western Conference standings. And early breakout games have dotted the league's landscape, making fans of all 30 teams (well...) hopeful for what could be on the horizon.</p>
<p>But while it's encouraged to enjoy success in the moment, as analysts, how do we temper expectations and forecast the future? Some players are bound to return to earth, while for others, this first week might truly be the start of something special.</p>
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<p>Here are five players who have caught fire so far, and whose environments make sustaining these heat waves a plausible reality:</p>
<p><strong>LAURI MARKKANEN, UTAH JAZZ</strong></p>
<p>We start with everyone's favorite "What the heck is happening right now?" team in the Jazz, who are 4-1 despite being a projected basement-dweller/Victor Wembanyama suitor/whatever you'd like to tactfully call a bad basketball team.</p>
<p>Markkanen is leading the charge in the box score with his 22.0-point, 8.8-rebound, 3.0-assist per-game averages. Two of those would be career highs (he averaged 9.0 rebounds per game in 2018-19), and his 64.2% two-point clip would be a career best by far. That's also despite him canning just 24.2% of his threes.</p>
<p>Markkanen turned heads at the end of the summer with his <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/6-players-who-stood-out-from-eurobasket-2022-lauri-markkanen-alperen-sengun-lorenzo-brown-sasha-vezenkov-dzanan-musa-simone-fontecchio" target="_blank" rel="noopener">EuroBasket onslaught for Finland</a>. We saw the 25-year-old in a primary scoring role during the tournament, and that's sort of translated to Utah. Markkanen's usage rate (22.6%) and drives per game (6.0) are his highest figures since 2018-19. He's making a stunning 68.4% of his shots when he drives to the basket &mdash; bound to recede, but definitely a positive sign when you look at the above footage.</p>
<p>And yet! He's also been used creatively without having to be individually creative, as highlighted by Mat Issa:</p>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Reason #1: Lauri Markkanen (cont.)<br /><br />And while he has made some strides as a self-generated scorer, he's doing a lot of his damage playing off of his teammates as a shooter, roller, and cutter.<br /><br />71 of his 86 shot attempts (82.6%) have come off 2 dribbles or less. <a href="https://t.co/xrAUBCbGGm">pic.twitter.com/xrAUBCbGGm</a></p>
&mdash; Mat Issa (@matissa15) <a href="https://twitter.com/matissa15/status/1585651902473068544?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 27, 2022</a></blockquote>
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<p>Regardless of how the Jazz progress as a team, Markkanen is going to be a featured player barring any sort of trade. He's also an easy bet to return to form as a perimeter shooter. Markkanen currently sports a 29.2% clip on catch-and-shoot threes; he typically hovers around 35%.</p>
<p>There's no one standing in the way of Markkanen leading the Jazz in shot attempts, and he's shown signs that he can take on such a responsibility.</p>
<p><strong>TREY MURPHY III, NEW ORLEANS PELICANS</strong></p>
<p>A literally perfect, 22-point, 8-for-8 shooting effort from Murphy helped the Pelicans win a game against the Dallas Mavericks without Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram and Herb Jones. The second-year forward is shooting a lights-out 68.4% from long range and re-establishing himself as a premier young shooting talent in the league.&nbsp;</p>
<p>However, it's been his aggression attacking closeouts that has really helped Murphy propel his offensive game forward.</p>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">We all know Trey Murphy is an amazing shooter. But him attacking closeouts like this is going to make him incredibly deadly <a href="https://t.co/AmJd9RiGfw">pic.twitter.com/AmJd9RiGfw</a></p>
&mdash; Shamit Dua (@FearTheBrown) <a href="https://twitter.com/FearTheBrown/status/1585139430259855360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 26, 2022</a></blockquote>
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<p><a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/trey-murphy-iii-wants-to-announce-presence-new-orleans-pelicans-zion-williamson-brandon-ingram" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Murphy explained to me this summer</a> that he's really worked on anticipating and absorbing contact. That showed up in NBA Summer League, and it's manifesting so far as you can see in the above clips. Murphy is only 3-for-8 on driving attempts so far, but that's already better than his abysmal 21.4% rate as a rookie. He's also been one of the most frequent transition finishers in the NBA, and is even averaging a league-best 1.92 points per possession in transition.</p>
<p>New Orleans hasn't gotten out and running too much, but they project as a team that can capitalize on fast breaks. Murphy is an improved at-rim finisher and can always leak out for threes. It makes him yet another unique weapon for the Pelicans' offense.</p>
<p><strong>JAYLEN NOWELL, MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES</strong></p>
<p>Want to talk about a dark-horse candidate for Sixth Man of the Year? Nowell is putting up 16.2 points in just 21.8 minutes per game for the Timberwolves and has effectively filled Malik Beasley's spot in the rotation. The 23-year-old is knocking down just 32.1% of his threes, but he's a proven threat from distance who I expect to improve.</p>
<p>Mark Schindler has been all over the Jaylen Nowell breakout for practically the entire calendar year, so both deserve their flowers:</p>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Jaylen Nowell<br /><br />Hooper <a href="https://t.co/kIKFnyToFn">pic.twitter.com/kIKFnyToFn</a></p>
&mdash; Mark Schindler (@MG_Schindler) <a href="https://twitter.com/MG_Schindler/status/1584985123782811648?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 25, 2022</a></blockquote>
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<p>The third-year guard is prolific in the short-mid-range areas like above; this year, he's made a ridiculous (and unsustainable) 62% of his total mid-range looks. But he's been trading some of those shots in and getting even closer to the basket. Per Cleaning the Glass, Nowell's short-mid-range shot frequency has dropped by 12%, while his at-rim rate has climbed by 13%. That's a great sign since he's a capable scorer in both zones.</p>
<p>Nowell's per-game scoring average is fourth among NBA players with multiple games off the bench. The three in front? Christian Wood (a probably eventual starter), Bennedict Mathurin (a rookie and probable eventual starter) and Keegan Murray (same boat as Mathurin). It's entirely plausible that by the end of the year, this three-level bucket-getter emerges as a leading contender for the Sixth Man of the Year award.</p>
<p><strong>NICK RICHARDS, CHARLOTTE HORNETS</strong></p>
<p>A third-year center and former second-round pick, Richards has grinded away as a reserve for a Hornets team desperately in need of stopgaps in the frontcourt. Through four contests, he's averaging 13.0 points and 7.8 rebounds per game on a crisp 71.4% field goal clip (all twos).</p>
<p>According to Second Spectrum, Richards has either grabbed an offensive board or tipped one to a teammate on two-thirds of his offensive rebound chances &mdash; tied for fourth-best in the NBA among high-volume rebounders.</p>
<p>Within that pristine field goal percentage, Richards is 8-for-9 in scoring chances as a roll man. Now, we're really digging into some small samples here. But he's shooting 78% at the rim in total, which lines up with 75% from last year, and some of the plays look promising. Nothing too crazy, but Richards has finished with soft touch and some power over two of the better interior defenders in the league in Clint Capela and Jakob Poeltl:</p>
<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/nrjc1a" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
<p>Richards' success is the most extreme small-sample-size bet in this notebook. He just has barely seen an NBA floor, so even looking at past seasons gets sketchy. I'm optimistic for two reasons: Charlotte has an obvious hole he is filling at center, and the team has some elite guard playmakers in LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier who he can work off of.</p>
<p><strong>DEVIN VASSELL, SAN ANTONIO SPURS</strong></p>
<p>Like Markkanen and the Jazz, Vassell and the Spurs are unburdened by expectations, which hopefully gives them the freedom to experiement throughout the season. Fans of the 2020 No. 11 pick have waited for Vassell's glimpses of pull-up prowess and overall scoring to coalesce, and 2022-23 might be the year.</p>
<p>Vassell is putting up 19.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game while firing threes at a career-high volume (8.3 per game) and efficiency (39.4%). The long-range marksmanship has come and gone in waves, and yes, it's probably too early to assume Vassell has fully arrived as a pull-up powerhouse.</p>
<p>However, there's still a lot to love about his start &mdash; especially that assist number.</p>
<p>Vassell's 19.6% assist rate more than doubles either of his prior two seasons, while his 5.2% turnover rate is actually a career-low. There are 72 NBA players averaging more than 8 drives per game this season; Vassell's 15.9% assist rate on drives ranks ninth.</p>
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<p>He's not some highlight-reel passer, but Vassell displays some really impressive floor vision. He can enter a drive in attack mode and still have the wherewithal to monitor how the defense shifts and how his own teammates get open.</p>
<p>Vassell is off to a shaky start as a driving scorer &mdash; he's made just 28.6% of said shots &mdash; but he has a past history with better efficiency. I bank on that returning, and, coupled with his improving vision and enticing perimeter scoring, Vassell could really terrify opposing defenses as a young playmaking engine.</p>
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<p><strong>THE OUTLIERS (a.k.a. other random interesting numbers I found in the void):</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Bennedict Mathurin has been electric as a rookie for the Indiana Pacers, and if you're wondering why his start feels unusually great, that's because it is:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Bennedict Mathurin is only the fifth NBA player since 1980 to score at least 72 points in his first three career games&mdash;and the first since 1995:<br /><br />Isiah Thomas<br />Dominique Wilkins<br />Michael Jordan<br />Jerry Stackhouse<br />Bennedict Mathurin</p>
&mdash; Zach Kram (@zachkram) <a href="https://twitter.com/zachkram/status/1583998848946827265?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 23, 2022</a></blockquote>
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<li>Synergy's Todd Whitehead has posted a ton of these starting lineup visualizations on his Twitter, and this one in particular caught my eye:</li>
</ul>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">17 teams in the league had 2 or 3 "homegrown" starters in their opening game last week.<br />6 teams had 4.<br />3 teams had 0.<br />There are 8 players who made their NBA debut with the Lakers who are starting for somebody else this year, more than any other team. <a href="https://t.co/Kl9Qg0Oa0j">pic.twitter.com/Kl9Qg0Oa0j</a></p>
&mdash; Todd Whitehead (@CrumpledJumper) <a href="https://twitter.com/CrumpledJumper/status/1584621844522729472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 24, 2022</a></blockquote>
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<li>This week's check-in on the Los Angeles Lakers (technically missing one game, but they shot 26.7% as a team, so I doubt this visual changes much):</li>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Dorktown: Los Angeles Lakers! <a href="https://t.co/c3JvICgyJm">pic.twitter.com/c3JvICgyJm</a></p>
&mdash; Secret Base (@secretbase) <a href="https://twitter.com/secretbase/status/1584584367283654662?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 24, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Lauri Markkanen, Devin Vassell and Nick Richards are among the players Ethan Fuller believes can sustain their early success.

NBA Stats Notebook: 5 players who can sustain their early breakouts

<p style="font-weight: 400;">Longtime NBA official Tony Brown passed away today surrounded by his family, friends and fellow officials after a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 55 years old.</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">&ldquo;We are and have been sustained by the consistent outpouring of love and support through this journey in developing strength, acceptance and peace,&rdquo; said Tony&rsquo;s wife, Tina Brown. &ldquo;We ask that you join us in that spirit as we prepare to celebrate Tony&rsquo;s life. Our biggest thank you to our village of family and friends, near and far, old and new. Your love is immeasurable.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">"Thanks to the Lustgarten Foundation and PanCan. Keep striving for the cures. Many, many thanks to our NBRA and NBA family whose generosity is unmatched. And a very special thank you to the Emory/Bridgeway Hospice Unit. Your compassion and care went above and beyond. We are forever grateful!&rdquo;</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">Brown officiated 1,110 regular-season games and 35 playoff games throughout his 20 seasons as an NBA staff official. He made his debut as an NBA Finals referee during the 2019-20 season. Brown was a graduate of&nbsp;Clark Atlanta University and he served as part of the crew that officiated the 2021 NBA All-Star Game in Atlanta, which honored HBCUs.</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">&ldquo;Tony Brown was one of the most accomplished referees in the NBA and an inspiration to his colleagues,&rdquo; said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. &ldquo;After his pancreatic cancer diagnosis early last year, Tony fought courageously through countless rounds of treatment to return to work this past season at the NBA Replay Center, demonstrating the dedication, determination and passion that made him such a highly respected official for 20 years. The entire NBA family mourns Tony&rsquo;s passing and we send our deepest condolences to his wife, Tina; their children, Bailey, Basile and Baylen; and his fellow referees.&rdquo;</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">In lieu of flowers, the Brown family encourages donations to the Tony and Tina Brown Basketball Program Endowment at Clark Atlanta University. For more information, <a href="https://secure.givelively.org/donate/clark-atlanta-university-inc/tony-brown-basketball-scholarship-endowment" target="_blank" rel="noopener">please visit this link</a>.</p>

Longtime NBA official Tony Brown passed away at age-55 after a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer.

Longtime NBA official Tony Brown passes away at 55

<p>The WNBA has announced the 2022 All-WNBA First Team and Second Team.&nbsp;</p>
<p>There was a shift in the process this season. In years past, voters were tasked with selecting two guards, two forwards and a center on each team. The W dropped the positional requirements this year, opening the door for voters to select the 10 best players (or the 10 best individual seasons, if that distinction matters to you).</p>
<p>Las Vegas Aces star A'ja Wilson and the Seattle Storm's Breanna Stewart headline the First Team. Wilson, of course, became the fifth player in WNBA history to win MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season. Stewart was incredible in her own right, leading The W in scoring (21.8 points per game) and doing a little bit of everything defensively. Wilson and Stewart were the only unanimous selections for the First Team.</p>
<p>Joining them are Aces guard Kelsey Plum, Phoenix Mercury guard Skylar Diggins-Smith (hope everything's okay) and Chicago Sky forward Candace Parker.</p>
<p>The positionless ballot gave us a wonky-but-talented Second Team. New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu was the only guard selected. She's joined by two forwards &mdash; the Connecticut Sun's Alyssa Thomas and the Los Angeles Sparks' Nneka Ogwumike &mdash; and two centers, Thomas' teammate Jonquel Jones, and the legendary Sylvia Fowles of the Minnesota Lynx.</p>
<p>You can view the voting results below:</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/screen-shot-2022-09-15-at-5-14-22-pm.png" alt="" width="501" height="424" /></p>
<p><strong>STRAY THOUGHTS</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>A 56-person panel voted on the All-WNBA teams, which means someone left Plum off their ballot entirely. She finished third in MVP voting, so I'm not exactly sure what the argument is against her having a top-10 campaign this year.</li>
<li>Similar to the All-Defensive Team selection, I'm both happy for Fowles getting her flowers on the way out and a little confused on her making the Second Team. There was room for another Ace (Jackie Young) or Sky (Kahleah Copper, Emma Meesseman) in her spot, in my opinion. Washington Mystics forward Elena Delle Donne was certainly better on a per-minute basis, and was arguably the biggest snub on the list. I, a man without voting privileges, didn't have EDD on my fake ballot because of the games she missed. She's absolutely one of the 10 best players on the planet, and was higher on my list than Fowles was despite the gap in games (and total possessions) played.</li>
<li>Parker and Thomas being eight points apart signifies how good they were, how close their campaigns were collectively, and, again, how much of a sham it is that Parker didn't make an All-Defensive Team. I'm still not over that.</li>
<li>This is a regular-season honor, and the votes were due on the last day of the regular season. We know this, or should know this. But boy is Chelsea Gray's exclusion from this list going to look funny in hindsight. She lit things up during the second half of the season, and has carried that over into ridiculously good postseason play.</li>
</ul>

Nekias Duncan gives his thoughts on the All-WNBA First Team and Second Team selections.

A'ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart headline 2022 All-WNBA teams

<p class="p1">The WNBA playoffs just started, and we've already had our fair share of unforgettable moments.</p>
<p class="p1">The New York Liberty boast a pair, with guard Marine Johannes' ridiculous Game 1 pass and her star teammate Sabrina Ionescu's five-point burst in five seconds. I'm still not over the overwhelming defensive possessions from the Chicago Sky to close out Game 3 against the Liberty. Chelsea Gray and the Aces set a three-point record in Game 2 of their series against (what's left of) the Phoenix Mercury; the tactical warfare of the Seattle Storm-Washington Mystics matchup was too good for a first round series.&nbsp;</p>
<p class="p1">As if there isn't enough to talk about, regular season awards are beginning to drop. On Monday, Chicago Sky head coach and general manager James Wade was named Executive of the Year for his offseason work. We'll be getting word on the rookies &mdash; Rookie of the Year and the All-Rookie team &mdash; on Thursday. You can see the rest of the schedule for announcements <a href="https://www.wnba.com/news/wnba-announces-new-process-for-selecting-all-wnba-teams-and-unveils-end-of-season-awards-schedule/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.</p>
<p class="p1">Before the official awards are announced, here's who I would've chosen on my fictitious ballot. Part I will be focused on first batch of awards: Rookie of the Year, the All-Rookie team, Coach of the Year, and Most Improved Player.</p>
<p class="p1">(If someone from The W's league office is reading this: Hi, hello, I'd love to vote next season if you'll have me!)</p>
<p class="p1"><strong>ROOKIE OF THE YEAR (AUGUST 25)</strong></p>
<p class="p1"><em>Honorable Mention (HM): Rebekah Gardner &mdash; Chicago Sky</em></p>
<p>Gardner's averages (8.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists) don't scream off the page, but she's one of the league's best role-players. She's a spirited driver with a blend of physicality and graceful footwork that allows her to bully weaker defenders. Her nose for the ball is uncanny for a guard; she's good for at least one "Where did she come from?" rebound in a crucial point of a game.</p>
<p>And then there's the defense.</p>
<p>She led all rookies in steals per game (1.4), but that honestly doesn't do her justice. Gardner is a&nbsp;<em>nasty&nbsp;</em>screen navigator, and she pairs that with an unrelenting motor. Turn on a Sky game and you'll see her hounding the opposing team's best perimeter player to the point of needing screens in the backcourt. Here's&nbsp;<em>some&nbsp;</em>of the work she did in the Liberty series &mdash; and note that the last clip is a&nbsp;<em>bad&nbsp;</em>foul call.</p>
<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/wj9uls" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
<p>Her quickness, aggression, and ability to anticipate help make her one of The W's best defenders. Spoiler alert: She got an All-Defensive First Team nod from me because of her work.&nbsp;</p>
<p class="p1"><strong>3. NaLyssa Smith &mdash; Indiana Fever</strong></p>
<p class="p1">I don't begrudge folks for looking at the Indiana Fever's record (5-31) or their score differential (minus-11.1) and deciding to pass on watching 20-plus games of theirs. This was an incredibly young team that also went through an early season coaching change. They ended the season on an 18-game losing streak; trust me, I get it.</p>
<p class="p1">But man, there was some fun in there if you gave them a chance. The play of NaLyssa Smith was certainly one of the bright spots.</p>
<p class="p1">Though listed at 6-foot-4, Smith doesn't operate much like a true big. There's a fluidity and shiftiness present that makes her a matchup nightmare. Players her size shouldn't be able to use their handle to get to spots at a whim&nbsp;<em>and&nbsp;</em>shoot from distance if given the space.&nbsp;</p>
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<p class="p1">Smith led all rookies in rebounds (7.9) and ranked second in scoring (13.5) behind Atlanta Dream wing Rhyne Howard (16.2). Smith racked up eight double-doubles on the season; the rest of the rookie class combined for <em>nine</em>.</p>
<p class="p1"><strong>2. Shakira Austin &mdash; Washington Mystics</strong></p>
<p class="p1">Rookie bigs aren't supposed to be as good as Austin is defensively. To be a key cog as a rookie is wildly impressive; to be a key cog on the best defense in basketball &mdash; the Mystics had a sterling 96 defensive rating &mdash; is absurd, frankly.&nbsp;</p>
<p class="p1">Austin was tasked with banging with post brutes like Sylvia Fowles while also being asked to play multiple coverages against ball screens. Her activity and footwork pops in space. She was a shortlist All-Defensive team candidate for me (ultimately didn't make it) this season, and it shouldn't surprise anyone if she becomes a mainstay moving forward. She's <em>that&nbsp;</em>good already.</p>
<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/a9bb6w" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
<p class="p1">The offensive flashes are intriguing. The same footwork she displays defensively allows her to be a productive roll threat offensively. She's already flashed the ability to make short roll reads, and she's comfortable putting the floor on the deck for a dribble or two. I'm not sure if the finishing or the jumper expands first, but growth in either area would take her to another level offensively. The fact that there's a pathway to&nbsp;<em>both&nbsp;</em>happening ... the Mystics have a good one on their hands.</p>
<p class="p1"><strong>1. Rhyne Howard &mdash; Atlanta Dream</strong></p>
<p class="p1">Though I wouldn't be opposed to Austin winning the award, I think the answer is Howard.&nbsp;</p>
<p class="p1">Leading all rookies in scoring is an easy thing to point to. The efficiency numbers &mdash; 37.9% from two-point range, 34.3% from three, 48.9% True Shooting &mdash; are an easy counter for people who think Austin should win it. I think either argument is missing the forest for the threes.</p>
<p class="p1">In year one, Howard was good enough to be the number one option on a just-missed-the-playoffs team. She got the opposing team's best defender from day one while playing in an offense lacking multiple dribble-drive threats for most of the season.&nbsp;</p>
<p class="p1">The context wasn't easy, and Howard found a way to score at a high clip, display in-season growth as a creator,&nbsp;<em>and&nbsp;</em>be a plus-wing defender at the same time.&nbsp;</p>
<p class="p1">Howard is a pull-up artist, a moving target off the ball, a willing passer against aggressive ball screen coverages, and someone who closed the year getting to the rim at a high clip. Over her last seven games, she averaged 8.6 three-point attempts (35% efficiency) and 7.7 free throw attempts. That is <em>incredibly&nbsp;</em>difficult for someone in her position to do.&nbsp;</p>
<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/nbr748" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
<p class="p1">I can't wait to see her with more offensive talent around her. The foundation for Howard is already strong.</p>
<p class="p1"><strong>ALL-ROOKIE TEAM (AUGUST 25</strong>)</p>
<p class="p1">Rhyne Howard, Shakira Austin, NaLyssa Smith, Rebekah Gardner, Queen Egbo (Indiana Fever)</p>
<p class="p1">Egbo (and her frontcourt teammate Emily Engstler) got less attention than Smith, but it's hard not to be excited about the defensive prowess. Egbo has pretty wild timing as a shot-blocker. She generally leaves the floor after her opponent goes up, giving her a cleaner window to swat shots.</p>
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<p class="p1">I'm a fan of her mobility, and I think there's real potential for her to be a scheme-diverse weapon once she cleans up some of her technique. Foul trouble was a bit of an issue, and a large part of that was because she coudn't contain herself when asked to play more aggressively in PnR. She'd often run into the ball-handler when hedging out, or swipe down at the ball and get caught with her hand in the cookie jar.</p>
<p class="p1">A year of seasoning will do her some good, as would gaining some upper body strength to help with her finishing and post defense.</p>
<p class="p1"><strong>COACH OF THE YEAR (AUGUST 26)</strong></p>
<p class="p1"><strong>3. James Wade &mdash; Chicago Sky</strong></p>
<p class="p1">You have to give Wade, The W's Elevator Emperor, his coaching chops, too.</p>
<p class="p1">The Sky led The W in assist rate (70.7% of field goals assisted) by a healthy margin and posted a top-three offensive rating (105.8). Their high-octane defensive system led to an elite mark once again (99.7 defensive rating). The only player on the roster to appear in all 36 games was new addition Emma Meesseman, and Wade made sure her versatility was highlighted in his inverted offensive attack.</p>
<p class="p1"><strong>2. Becky Hammon &mdash; Las Vegas Aces</strong></p>
<p class="p1">Hammon will likely win the award, and it'll be <em>well&nbsp;</em>deserved if/when she does. Though there was plenty of talent on the Aces roster when she took over, it is&nbsp;<em>not&nbsp;</em>easy to implement drastic scheme changes on both ends of the floor. It takes a high-level of trust and buy-in to make that happen; for Hammon to garner that much respect in her rookie* season as head coach is outstanding.</p>
<p class="p1">The Aces went from a team that infuriatingly ignored the three-point line (ranked last in three-point rate in each of the past four seasons) to one that bombed away (4th this season). A'ja Wilson was&nbsp;<em>finally&nbsp;</em>empowered (I'm not mad, I promise) to fire from deep, and she answered the bell with a 37.3% clip on moderate volume. The freedom given to Kelsey Plum and Chelsea Gray was on full display all season long. Jackie Young was trusted with more responsibility.</p>
<p class="p1">Quietly, the defense arguably looked more different than the offense did. Gone were the consistent deep drops against ball screens as a way to encourage pull-ups and wall off the paint. The Aces ramped up the pressure this year.</p>
<p class="p1">To begin the year, their bigs were tasked with playing at the level of the screen. That shifted to more drop coverage towards the middle of the season, but the drop was maybe a step below the screen -- still much higher than last season.</p>
<p class="p1">We saw more switching, and scram-switching to get smaller guards out of mismatches. The result wasn't always clean, but we saw a level of versatility from this group that was nearly unheard of under the previous (and to be fair, pretty successful) regime.</p>
<p class="p1"><strong>1. Tanisha Wright &mdash; Atlanta Dream</strong></p>
<p class="p1">It's hard to overstate just how much of a mess the Dream were last season. On the court, they were rough; they finished with the second-worst record in the league (8-24) while finishing ninth in offense (97.5 ORTG) and defense (104 DRTG). Off the court, it was even worse.</p>
<p class="p1">They cycled through multiple head coaches last season and faced front office turnover. There was a Chennedy Carter...suspension? Erasure? Placement in purgatory? We're still not 100% sure what happened. There was video of a fight posted that featured several members of the Dream roster. Last season was an absolute mess.</p>
<p class="p1">For Wright to come in and help establish structure and culture &mdash; on and off the floor &mdash; impressed the heck out of me. She was tasked with building an offense around a rookie (Howard), and managed to do so while also empowering Cheyenne Parker as a post hub. It's hard to stress how few rim threats Wright and the Dream had to work with; Aari McDonald, 11 games of Tiffany Hayes (who then left <em>during the playoff push</em>) and 15 games of AD Durr was the best she had.</p>
<p class="p1">I think there would be more of a groundswell of support for Wright's case if the Dream made the playoffs. Missing out by a game isn't enough to deter me, though.&nbsp;</p>
<p class="p1"><strong>MOST IMPROVED PLAYER (AUGUST 29)</strong></p>
<p class="p1"><em>HM: Sophie Cunningham (PHX), Aari McDonald (ATL)</em></p>
<ul>
<li class="p1">Speaking of McDonald, she deserves flowers for her work as a driver, improved shooting, and fiesty point-of-attack defense. It's pretty hard to lose her because of her speed and ability to navigate screens. She's also (annoyingly) good at drawing fouls/selling contact. I'm excited for Year 3 Aari.</li>
<li class="p1">Cunningham saw her role change midway through the season. Suddenly slotted <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/sophie-cunningham-giving-phoenix-a-lift-at-the-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">as a small-ball 4</a>, Cunningham thrived as a spacer, embraced on and off-ball screening, and punched above her weight defensively.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<p class="p1"><strong>3. Sabrina Ionescu &mdash; New York Liberty</strong></p>
<p class="p1">I went back and forth with Cunningham and Ionescu for the third spot. Do you reward Ionescu's bump in production with a healthier campaign, or do you reward Cunningham's bump in production due to the heightened role?&nbsp;</p>
<p class="p1">I landed on Ionescu, who saw increases in virtually everything; no, seriously, the only box score stat that didn't improve (or decrease, when it comes to turnovers) from last year was her foul rate (1.8 to 2.1 this season).&nbsp;</p>
<p class="p1">She was a first-time All-Star with averages of 17.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 6.3 assists. Spoiler: she was the only player in The W to average at least 17-7-6 this season, and only the second player in W history (Candace Parker, 2015) to accomplish the feat.&nbsp;</p>
<p class="p1">Ionescu is one of the most dynamic ball screen operators in the sport. She's a daring passer, aggressive driver, and fearless pull-up shooter. When the latter is going, there isn't much you can do with her.&nbsp;</p>
<p class="p1"><strong>2. Ezi Magbegor &mdash; Seattle Storm</strong></p>
<p class="p1">Don't let the Seattle Storm's midseason addition of Tina Charles &mdash; and her insertion into the starting lineup eight games after her debut &mdash; throw you off the scent. Ezi Magbegor balled out this year.&nbsp;</p>
<p class="p1">Magbegor was a Day 1 starter for the first time in her career and flourished with more playing time. Her defensive prowess <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/ezi-magbegor-cares-not-for-your-space" target="_blank" rel="noopener">was evident early on</a>, making life incredibly difficult for her foes. Because of her length and timing, teams didn't have much luck challenging her at the rim. And because of her mobility, attacking her in space &mdash; either with ball screens or in isolation &mdash; wasn't a fruitful endeavor, either. She was building out a legitimate DPOY case through the first month of the season.</p>
<p class="p1">That dwindled as the year went along. While she was and is more disciplined than she was last season, Magbegor still dealt with bouts of foul trouble. Bulkier centers can still move her on the block when given those matchups. Overall, Magbegor remains a high-level defedner that should be in DPOY or All-Defensive team talks for years to come.</p>
<p class="p1">What's gone under the radar is her growth offensively. She became a more willing jump-shooter, though the volume isn't at the point where teams have to worry altering her gameplan against her yet. I found myself floored by some of her self-created shots this season.&nbsp;</p>
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<p class="p1">Color me intrigued moving forward.</p>
<p class="p1"><strong>1. Jackie Young &mdash; Las Vegas Aces</strong></p>
<p class="p1">Young's case is pretty straightforward -- her numbers <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/players/y/youngja01w.html#per_game0">jumped across the board</a>, she defended at an All-Defense level for a large chunk of the season, and she's turned herself into a reliable shooter. The latter point, her shooting growth, has spearheaded a lot of what she's now able to accomplish offensively. Aside from Sixth Player of the Year, this may be the slam dunk-iest award selection of the season.</p>
<p class="p1">For a deeper dive into her on and off-court growth, I'd highly <a href="https://www.wnba.com/news/the-journey-of-jackie-young/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recommend this piece</a> from my guy Mark Schindler of WNBA.com.</p>

Nekias Duncan gives his award picks for Rookie of the Year, the All-Rookie team, Coach of the Year, and Most Improved Player.

2022 WNBA Awards: ROTY, All-Rookie Team, COTY, Most Improved

<p>As the Kevin Durant saga reaches its latest chapter, both sides are digging in for what could be an even more drawn-out process. He's already told Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai to either trade him or fire head coach Steve Nash and general manager Sean Marks, so his desires to leave Brooklyn are clear.</p>
<p>There's a lack of trust in the organization&rsquo;s direction moving forward, but the Nets already have shown they won&rsquo;t bend to every demand the future Hall-of-Famer makes.</p>
<p>But unless Brooklyn eventually lowers its asking price &mdash; which is presumably what many interested teams are betting on &mdash; there&rsquo;s no reason to believe this process won&rsquo;t drag into the regular season. If so, the next step will be Durant sitting out games away from the team until his next destination is found.</p>
<p>From the beginning, Durant&rsquo;s desired destination was the Phoenix Suns to team up alongside Devin Booker and Chris Paul. Six weeks later, we don&rsquo;t know whether Durant has backed off that stance. If not, that could be the reason why this is dragging out even longer. Phoenix is seemingly falling off many radars, but we shouldn't rule them out of the sweepstakes just yet. Brooklyn holds power, but so does Durant to keep this tug of war going as long as possible.</p>
<p>As the Suns' noise quieted down, new suitors emerged &mdash; the Miami Heat and, most recently, the Celtics. SNY&rsquo;s Ian Begley mentioned the Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers as new choices atop Durant&rsquo;s updated wishlist.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Our front office and coaching staff have my support,&rdquo; Tsai wrote on Twitter in response to his meeting with Durant. &ldquo;We will make decisions in the best interest of the Brooklyn Nets.&rdquo;</p>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Our front office and coaching staff have my support. We will make decisions in the best interest of the Brooklyn Nets.</p>
&mdash; Joe Tsai (@joetsai1999) <a href="https://twitter.com/joetsai1999/status/1556791235427405824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 8, 2022</a></blockquote>
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<p>With Tsai picking his side, we'll all wait to see what offers are truly in the best interest of the Nets&rsquo; murky long-term outlook. In the meantime, it&rsquo;s hard not to let the mind wander on what that could entail.</p>
<p>What if the Nets look back upon the Pacers&rsquo; situation with Paul George in 2017, taking the best offer on the table for their disgruntled superstar in a non-preferable destination? While it seems far-fetched, anything at this point seems possible within this ongoing battle at the bargaining table for who gets what in the end.</p>
<p>When it was over, Indiana acquired two blossoming All-Stars in Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis, even when it felt like leverage wasn&rsquo;t on its side. George wanted to go to the Los Angeles Lakers, but the Pacers stood firm on getting a proper return for their star forward.</p>
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
<p>Who could come out of nowhere and surprise us all as the Nets' possible trade partner a la the Thunder to the Pacers five years ago? Excluding the known top contenders for now &mdash; Phoenix, Miami, Boston and the Toronto Raptors &mdash; let's try to find a potential team lurking in the shadows who would also check off both parties' boxes.</p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Philadelphia 76ers</strong></span></p>
<p>This all comes down to the possibility of including Tyrese Maxey. If you&rsquo;re in the position of Sixers president Daryl Morey, with your chips already all-in on winning a championship with Joel Embiid and James Harden, Durant certainly makes you think for a moment. Knowing Morey&rsquo;s aggressive nature, a blockbuster centered around Maxey for Durant works well within their win-now time frame. The allure of Maxey is there (only 21 years old and blossomed upon Harden&rsquo;s arrival midseason), but this is arguably the greatest three-level scorer ever we&rsquo;re talking about.</p>
<p>Forming a trio consisting of Durant, Embiid and Harden is simply unfathomable to envision. The possibilities are endless, and hopefully the third time would be the charm when it comes to the former Thunder teammates reuniting less than a year removed from their split.</p>
<p>Philadelphia can quickly make salaries work for Durant by adding in Tobias Harris, who reportedly has been on the trading block since Morey&rsquo;s arrival. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Brooklyn&rsquo;s asking price for Boston was a young player on a star trajectory (Jaylen Brown), a solid starter (Marcus Smart), another role player and multiple draft picks. The Sixers check every box in that scenario, which should automatically make them a viable dark-horse candidate.</p>
<p>Would a package centered around Maxey, Harris, Matisse Thybulle and Philadelphia&rsquo;s 2029 first-round pick with little to no protections be enough for the Nets to accept? For the Sixers, there&rsquo;s a real pathway to getting a top spot at the table once the dust settles sometime on Durant.</p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>New Orleans Pelicans</strong></span></p>
<p>In any superstar-type trade rumor, the Pelicans tend to pop up one way or another because of their newly assembled war chest of assets. Following the Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday trades, New Orleans sits on a treasure trove of draft capital spanning the next five years.</p>
<p>At any point, Pelicans executive vice president David Griffin could decide to cash in on the last piece of the Pelicans&rsquo; puzzle to become the next version of the Suns &mdash; acquiring an established veteran star to take a talented young core over the top. CJ McCollum could qualify as such following the Pelicans&rsquo; deadline move for him, but what if Durant was intrigued enough to play alongside Zion Williamson in the Bayou?</p>
<p>Boston putting a player of Brown&rsquo;s caliber on the table makes this debate even more interesting. In my opinion, Brandon Ingram would be a better return in comparison to Brown for Durant. Both are on the same tier, but Ingram gets the slight edge for me. Witnessing his ascent on the postseason stage, Ingram is poised to take another step forward in his rapidly climbing career.</p>
<p>If the Nets desire a player who meets or exceeds Brown in trade talks, Ingram is the one who'll get the job done. The question in the end, of course, would be Durant&rsquo;s blessing. If Durant doesn&rsquo;t want to play the next four years in New Orleans, these thoughts would quickly dissipate into fantasy.</p>
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<p>However, you can&rsquo;t deny the Pelicans as a legitimate jaw-dropping destination because they have the list all checked off for Brooklyn&rsquo;s needs as well. Ingram is the young star, and Larry Nance Jr. qualifies as the ideal veteran role player. Maybe New Orleans would have to throw in either Herb Jones or Trey Murphy III on top of draft picks too. It's a massive asking price, but one that would be necessary to make something like this go down.</p>
<p>Until the Pelicans eventually cash in on what they've worked so hard to build, they will always be a sneaky contender for any eventual disgruntled superstar. And if the Pelicans rise as expected in 2022-23, they will become a destination anyway for win-now veterans.</p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Chicago Bulls</strong></span></p>
<p>Outside of Philadelphia and New Orleans, we now reach the organization that would truly shock everyone. What about the Bulls? Would they be willing to throw an All-NBA player into another superstar deal?</p>
<p>DeMar DeRozan is only 11 months younger than Durant, but he is the best chip they could bring forward to Brooklyn. On top of DeRozan &mdash; whose salary wouldn&rsquo;t be enough in a straight-up swap &mdash; Chicago would presumably include a key piece of its young core. The obvious candidate is Patrick Williams; the former No. 4 overall pick flashed promising two-way potential before sustaining a wrist injury early last season, reentered the fold in late March and became a crucial component in the postseason. Then, Chicago would probably need to throw a solid role player into the mix. Either Lonzo Ball or Alex Caruso fit the Smart type of role we discussed previously.</p>
<p>Although Chicago gutted its draft capital in separate deals for DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic, the organization still owns a future pick from the Portland Trail Blazers that could convey as early as next season. The Bulls&rsquo; next eligible draft pick that can be included in a trade is their own 2027 first-round selection.</p>
<p>As I wrote earlier this offseason, the Bulls feel one big splash away from truly taking the next jump in the Eastern Conference. Rudy Gobert made so much sense to complete their defensive overhaul, but Durant represents a roster upgrade of seismic proportions &mdash; a bump that might be necessary to become a Finals contender the next few years. Why not push the chips in and see what happens with Durant and Zach LaVine as a 1-2 punch?</p>
<p>For a team that has to remain in win-now mode because of its draft picks being sent elsewhere, Brooklyn might be intrigued enough to listen to something centered around DeRozan, Williams and other assets.</p>
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Atlanta Hawks</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Fresh off making their own blockbuster trade to improve before the new league year, could the Hawks make sense as a Durant out-of-nowhere landing spot? There are very slim odds on that possibility, but it's a scenario worth exploring because Atlanta's roster still feels a move or two away.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Trae Young and Dejounte Murray will bring fireworks to the Hawks' backcourt on a nightly basis, but is the core right now strong enough to take the necessary steps forward in the reloaded East? We know at this point what John Collins and Clint Capela bring to the table. Bogdan Bogdanovic is a solid third guard for Atlanta, but injuries have become a problem as of late.</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Atlanta's young collection of players is what makes this thought interesting, at least for a moment. Would the Nets be intrigued by De'Andre Hunter, Onyeka Okongwu, A.J. Griffin and one of Collins, Capela or Bogdanovic to make salaries match? Compared to the other known suitors and ones already listed, it really isn't in the same stratosphere unless Brooklyn bets big on Hunter taking a huge leap. Based on Hunter's postseason performance, don't rule out the 24-year-old becoming more of a two-way focal point in Atlanta.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">It might not be enough to be a real threat to swoop in for Durant, but it'd be wise to keep an eye on the Hawks as we get closer to February's trade deadline. If the Young/Murray backcourt gets off to a hot start, maybe Atlanta will go for broke and decide the time is now for a Finals push.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Milwaukee Bucks</strong></span></p>
<p>Milwaukee is not a destination market for superstars, but Giannis Antetokounmpo brings enough pull to make it such. Giannis is nowhere close to escaping the prime of his career, but could you imagine him playing next to Durant? My goodness, that's basketball heaven right there.</p>
<p>Before we go too deep down that rabbit hole, though, it feels almost impossible regarding the actual odds of this happening. Not only are the Bucks starved of draft capital because of the Holiday trade, but Brooklyn would need to believe Middleton could replace Durant long-term. Only a few years younger than KD and deserving of a max contract next offseason, it might not make much sense for either side to even explore this potential thought.</p>
<p>For the Bucks to even bring a respectable offer to the table compared to everyone else, they would likely have to include Middleton and Holiday in a massive blockbuster that sends back both Durant and Kyrie Irving.</p>
<p>Yeah, that's for sure fantasy land right there, but I do appreciate the few minutes we had talking about Durant and Giannis playing on the same basketball team.</p>
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
<p>With no end in clear sight right, who knows how long this standoff between Durant and the Nets lasts? As time continues to drag on, maybe some front office executives from teams we're not even thinking of decide to call Brooklyn to inquire about an all-time great.</p>
<p>George wanted the Lakers, but he ended up in Oklahoma City. Kawhi Leonard's desired destination was Los Angeles upon asking out of the San Antonio Spurs franchise, but he was sent packing to Toronto instead. There is a precedent where a superstar doesn't get what he wants in the end, but a player of Durant's caliber takes it up a whole new level.</p>
<p>The best interest of the Nets might not be what Durant wants, and vice versa. The next steps are falling into place regarding how this could all end, and a new pseudo deadline of training camp looms around the corner.</p>
<p>Whether Kevin Durant remains in Brooklyn by then remains to be seen, but one thing is for certain: The NBA has shown us time and again that anything is possible when it comes to superstar movement.</p>

As the Kevin Durant trade saga reaches six-plus weeks, could teams come out of nowhere in potential negotiations? Evan Sidery dives in.

Identifying 5 sleeper NBA teams to trade for Kevin Durant

<p>We're entering the home stretch of Summer League in Las Vegas, and some players who are fighting for their NBA futures have maximized these final days.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Four undrafted players made the "studs" list from Friday's action. As teams continue to pull their top picks from the rest of the competition, these longshots are receiving the minutes and audiences they need to make a statement. I personally enjoy seeing new names pop up with a statement performance.</p>
<p>It may just be Summer League, but these efforts can propel players to training camp invites and positive impressions on coaching staffs.</p>
<p>Let's see which players made a name for themselves on Friday:</p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>STUDS</strong></span></p>
<p><strong>Brandon Boston Jr., Los Angeles Clippers</strong></p>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Another big game for <a href="https://twitter.com/bboston_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@bboston_</a> 🏀<br /><br />Brandon Boston Jr. powers the <a href="https://twitter.com/LAClippers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LAClippers</a> in their <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBASummer?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBASummer</a> win with 22 PTS, 8 REB and 2 STL! <a href="https://t.co/hKRKMdRBBT">pic.twitter.com/hKRKMdRBBT</a></p>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1548083741532180481?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 15, 2022</a></blockquote>
<p><em>Box score stats: 22 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 8/14 FG, 3/6 3PT</em></p>
<p>Boston has played through some growing pains as a lead option for the Summer League Clippers' offense. Friday felt like a noteworthy step forward for the 2021 second-round pick. Boston slid confidently into pull-up threes and mid-range shots, taking what the defense gave him. He also used his 10 added pounds of weight to absorb contact at the basket.</p>
<p>Boston's long arms and strides make him difficult to contain when he gets a driving lane. He dished out dump-off passes and corner kick-outs as well to complete the stellar offensive showing.</p>
<p><strong>Trevelin Queen, Philadelphia 76ers</strong></p>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Things the Summer <a href="https://twitter.com/sixers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@sixers</a> did in Q3... 👀<br /><br />(courtesy of Isaiah Joe, Trevelin Queen, and Grant Riller) <a href="https://t.co/otLR2mE8Wx">pic.twitter.com/otLR2mE8Wx</a></p>
&mdash; Lauren Rosen (@LaurenMRosen) <a href="https://twitter.com/LaurenMRosen/status/1548088438947098624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 15, 2022</a></blockquote>
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<p><em>Box score stats: 17 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 5/7 FG, 3/5 3PT</em></p>
<p>Queen earned G League MVP honors while with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers last season. This game helps build his case for a role at the next level. Queen drilled tough triples and took off on one driving layup with a nice hesitation crossover. He made some great passing reads when he drew two defenders, and displayed some apparent synergy with backcourt mate Isaiah Joe. Queen agreed to a two-year contract with Philly on the first day of free agency, so the 76ers obviously wanted to get the 25-year-old involved with the team.</p>
<p><strong>Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Oklahoma City Thunder</strong></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Love the pass from J-Will here, incredible Jeremiah Robinson-Earl finish 👨&zwj;🍳 <a href="https://t.co/8J9VM9T43E">pic.twitter.com/8J9VM9T43E</a></p>
&mdash; Rylan Stiles (@Rylan_Stiles) <a href="https://twitter.com/Rylan_Stiles/status/1548229417914155009?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 16, 2022</a></blockquote>
<p><em>Box score stats: 15 points, 14 rebounds, 7/11 FG, 0/1 3PT</em></p>
<p>A different Thunder player seems to step up in just about every Summer League game. This time, it was the 2021 second-round big man. Robinson-Earl gobbled up rebounds and outworked Golden State inside. His footwork and craft around the basket were extremely impressive. My favorite play came when JRE attacked a Jonathan Kuminga closeout and worked along the baseline all the way to a reverse layup. He might not be an overwhelming vertical athlete, but Robinson-Earl is quick and shifty for a shorter big man.</p>
<p><strong>Keegan Murray, Sacramento Kings</strong></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Just another bucket for Keegan Murray 😎<br /><br />The buzzer-beater gives him 8 PTS to go with 6 REB as the <a href="https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SacramentoKings</a> lead after 1 on NBA TV! <a href="https://t.co/883Ij24TGI">pic.twitter.com/883Ij24TGI</a></p>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1548102627996491777?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 16, 2022</a></blockquote>
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<p><em>Box score stats: 21 points, 10 rebounds, 8/14 FG, 4/8 3PT</em></p>
<p>Another day, another Keegan Murray showcase. The No. 4 pick pulled down his highest rebound total in a Summer League game to date, and once again demonstrated versatility as a scorer. Murray used screens and cuts to build downhill momentum and finish layups, but also took players off the dribble by himself. His highlight play came on the above shot, when Murray fired home a contested turnaround three-pointer to beat the first-quarter buzzer. Kings fans have received just about everything they could have hoped for in Murray's Vegas run to date.</p>
<p><strong>Jordan Schakel, Washington Wizards</strong></p>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Jordan Schakel (21 PTS) and Jordan Goodwin (19 PTS) lead the scoring charge in the <a href="https://twitter.com/WashWizards?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WashWizards</a> dub 🪄 <a href="https://t.co/q8UQuXNxK8">pic.twitter.com/q8UQuXNxK8</a></p>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1548146150993080323?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 16, 2022</a></blockquote>
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<p><em>Box score stats: 21 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks, 7/12 FG, 1/5 3PT</em></p>
<p>Schakel logged his second Summer League outing of 20-plus points in Washington's win against the Pacers. The 24-year-old knocked down two floaters as he felt his way through Indiana's defense. He also cut and relocated expertly to find easy paint chances and drilled one step-back three-pointer. Schakel picked up one significant block where he switched inside and met Simi Shittu at the rim. A 6-foot-6 wing, Schakel played last season on a two-way contract with Washington. &nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Cole Swider, Los Angeles Lakers</strong></p>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Cole Swider comes through with 21 PTS to pace the <a href="https://twitter.com/Lakers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Lakers</a> in their <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBASummer?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBASummer</a> victory! <a href="https://t.co/g0spJ502JB">pic.twitter.com/g0spJ502JB</a></p>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1548170565520830464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 16, 2022</a></blockquote>
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<p><em>Box score stats: 21 points, 6 rebounds, 8/15 FG, 5/11 FG</em></p>
<p>Swider caught fire from long range, leading the Lakers to a win with his perimeter prowess. His made threes mostly came off of movement and relocation. Swider can easily square himself up to the basket and has a quick, repeatable form. At 6-foot-9, he can also rise over smaller defenders and appears unfazed by contests. Movement three-point shooting will always be a need for today's NBA teams &mdash; particularly next to guys like LeBron James. Swider is a worthwhile flier as an undrafted rookie.</p>
<p><strong>Jeff Dowtin, Toronto Raptors</strong></p>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">The <a href="https://twitter.com/Raptors?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Raptors</a> hold on for the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBASummer?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBASummer</a> win as Jeff Dowtin fills the stats sheet with 16 PTS, 8 REB, 5 AST and 2 STL!<br /><br />Dalano Banton: 18 PTS, 6 REB<br />Armoni Brooks: 17 PTS<br />Ron Harper Jr.: 14 PTS, 7 REB <a href="https://t.co/6KnBfbdSPJ">pic.twitter.com/6KnBfbdSPJ</a></p>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1548156699827064832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 16, 2022</a></blockquote>
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<p><em>Box score stats: 16 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 4/9 FG, 1/2 3PT</em></p>
<p>I have waited so long to give Dowtin his flowers and now is my chance! The 6-foot-3 guard has been one of my favorite players to watch in all of Summer League, and on Friday he put down another rock-solid effort. Dowtin is just such a smart offensive player. He knows how to use his body to create and absorb contact, and shot 7-for-8 from the free-throw line in this one.</p>
<p>Dowtin is showing shooting improvement (36.4% on threes in Vegas) and makes quick, smart passing decisions (two turnovers in Vegas). I'm such a fan of the pace and poise at which he plays.&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>Other notable performers: Leandro Bolmaro (Jazz), Isaiah Joe (76ers), Grant Riller (76ers), Christian Braun (Nuggets), McKinley Wright IV (Suns), Isaiah Todd (Wizards), Jordan Goodwin (Wizards), Kendall Brown (Pacers), Kyle Allman Jr. (Heat), Dalano Banton (Raptors), Javante McCoy (Lakers), Jared Harper (Pelicans), John Petty Jr. (Pelicans), Tyrique Jones (Pelicans), Deividas Sirvydis (Pelicans)</em></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>DUDS</strong></span></p>
<p><strong>Julian Champagnie, Philadelphia 76ers</strong></p>
<p><em>Box score stats: 2 points, 4 rebounds, 1/7 FG, 0/2 3PT</em></p>
<p>Champagnie was one of the more efficient all-around shotmakers in college at St. John's, but he hasn't found his touch at Summer League. The 21-year-old rookie mostly attempted spot-up looks near or beyond the arc, and only got one stop-and-pop attempt to fall. He was not a threat at the basket or as an off-dribble connector. Philly has inked Champagnie to a two-way contract, so he'll have time to settle in with the Delaware Blue Coats.</p>
<p><strong>Peyton Watson, Denver Nuggets</strong></p>
<p><em>Box score stats: 2 points, 2 rebounds, 1/7 FG, 0/2 3PT</em></p>
<p>Watson has been a solid overall defender in my view, but his scoring efficiency is an eyesore. Outside of one 19-point game, the first-round pick is a combined 8-for-35 from the floor in his other contests. Here, he took some wild layup attempts and lost his mojo from beyond the arc. A lot of the correct processing and shot selection is there with Watson, but it's going to take time for him to iron out some consistency.</p>
<p><strong>Louis King, Phoenix Suns</strong></p>
<p><em>Box score stats: 9 points, 2 rebounds, 3/11 FG, 1/5 3PT</em></p>
<p>This was another rough, inefficient performance from one of the last year's best Summer League players. King missed threes he needs to make and rarely attacked closeouts. When he did, King often didn't explode quickly enough, and defenders could catch up to force bad shots. He missed some passing reads I thought he should have made. It was difficult to watch because I've been a fan of King's game since he went undrafted in 2019. He's shown enough in past years to earn some shot at the NBA level, but this week has not helped his case.</p>

Keegan Murray, Brandon Boston Jr. and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl starred in Friday's slate of games.