Golden State Warriors

The first round of the 2024 NBA Draft is done and dusted, and the second round will start today at 4 PM Eastern at ESPN&rsquo;s Seaport District Studios in New York. This will be the first time in NBA history that the draft will be separated into two days, with the first round being at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.&nbsp;
Here are all the first-round selections courtesy of the NBA: (article to be updated with the second-round picks)
<ol>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/zaccharie-risacher">Zaccharie Risacher</a> (JL Bourg-en-Bresse) to the Atlanta Hawks</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/alexandre-sarr">Alex Sarr</a> (Perth) to the Washington Wizards</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/reed-sheppard">Reed Sheppard</a> (Kentucky) to the Houston Rockets</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/stephon-castle">Stephon Castle</a> (Connecticut) to the San Antonio Spurs</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/ron-holland">Ron Holland II</a> (G League Ignite) to the Detroit Pistons</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/tidjane-salaun">Tidjane Salaun</a> (Cholet Basket) to the Charlotte Hornets</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/donovan-clingan">Donovan Clingan</a> (Connecticut) to the Portland Trail Blazers</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/rob-dillingham">Rob Dillingham</a> (Kentucky) to the San Antonio Spurs &mdash; traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/zach-edey">Zach Edey</a> (Purdue) to the Memphis Grizzlies</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/cody-williams">Cody Williams</a> (Colorado) to the Utah Jazz</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/matas-buzelis">Matas Buzelis</a> (G League Ignite) to the Chicago Bulls</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/nikola-topic">Nikola Topic</a> (KK Crvena Zvezda) to the Oklahoma City Thunder</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/devin-carter">Devin Carter</a> (Providence) to the Sacramento Kings</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/carlton-carrington">Bub Carrington</a> (Pittsburgh) to the Portland Trail Blazers &mdash; traded to Washington Wizards</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/kelel-ware">Kel&rsquo;el Ware</a> (Indiana) to the Miami Heat</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/jared-mccain">Jared McCain</a> (Duke) to the Philadelphia 76ers</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/dalton-knecht">Dalton Knecht</a> (Tennessee) to the Los Angeles Lakers</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/tristan-da-silva">Tristan da Silva</a> (Colorado) to the Orlando Magic</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/jakobe-walter">Ja&rsquo;Kobe Walter</a> (Baylor) to the Toronto Raptors&nbsp;</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/jaylon-tyson">Jaylon Tyson</a> (Cal) to the Cleveland Cavaliers</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/yves-missi">Yves Missi</a> (Baylor) to the New Orleans Pelicans</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/daron-holmes-ii">DaRon Holmes II</a> (Dayton) to the Phoenix Suns &mdash; traded to the Denver Nuggets</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/aj-johnson">AJ Johnson</a> (Illawarra) to the Milwaukee Bucks</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/kyshawn-george">Kyshawn George</a> (Miami) to the New York Knicks &mdash; traded to Washington Wizards</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/pacome-dadiet">Pacome Dadiet</a> (Ratiopharm Ulm) to the New York Knicks</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/dillon-jones">Dillon Jones</a> (Weber State) to the Washington Wizards &mdash; traded to Oklahoma City Thunder (via Knicks)</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/terrence-shannon-jr">Terrence Shannon Jr.</a> (Illinois) to the Minnesota Timberwolves</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/ryan-dunn">Ryan Dunn</a> (Virginia) to the Denver Nuggets &mdash; traded to the Phoenix Suns</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/isaiah-collier">Isaiah Collier</a> (USC) to the Utah Jazz</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/baylor-scheierman-2">Baylor Scheierman</a> (Creighton) to the Boston Celtics</li>
</ol>
&nbsp;
<ol start="31">
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/jonathan-mogbo">Jonathan Mogbo</a> (San Francisco) to the Toronto Raptors</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/kyle-filipowski">Kyle Filipowski</a> (Duke) to the Utah Jazz</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/tyler-smith">Tyler Smith</a> (G League Ignite) to the Milwaukee Bucks</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/tyler-kolek">Tyler Kolek</a> (Marquette) to the Portland Trail Blazers &mdash; traded to the New York Knicks</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/johnny-furphy">Johnny Furphy</a> (Kansas) to the San Antonio Spurs &mdash; traded to the Indiana Pacers</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/juan-nunez">Juan Nunez</a> (Ratiopharm Ulm) to the Indiana Pacers &mdash; traded to San Antonio Spurs</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/bobi-klintman">Bobi Klintman</a> (Cairns) to the Minnesota Timberwolves &mdash; traded to the Detroit Pistons</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/ajay-mitchell">Ajay Mitchell</a> (UC Santa Barbara) to the New York Knicks &mdash; traded to Oklahoma City Thunder</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/jaylen-wells">Jaylen Wells</a> (Washington State) to the Memphis Grizzlies</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/oso-ighodaro">Oso Ighodaro</a> (Marquette) to the Portland Trail Blazers &mdash; traded to the Phoenix Suns (via Knicks)</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/adem-bona">Adem Bona</a> (UCLA) to the Philadelphia 76ers</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/kj-simpson">KJ Simpson</a> (Colorado) to the Charlotte Hornets</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/nikola-djurisic">Nikola Djurisic</a> (KK Mega Basket) to the Miami Heat &mdash; traded to the Atlanta Hawks (via Heat)</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/pelle-larsson">Pelle Larsson</a> (Arizona) to the Houston Rockets &mdash; traded to the Miami Heat (via Rockets)</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/jamal-shead">Jamal Shead</a> (Houston) to the Sacramento Kings &mdash; traded to the Toronto Raptors</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/cam-christie">Cam Christie</a> (Minnesota) to the Los Angeles Clippers</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/antonio-reeves">Antonio Reeves</a> (Kentucky) to the Orlando Magic &mdash; traded to the New Orleans Pelicans</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/harrison-ingram">Harrison Ingram</a> (North Carolina) to the San Antonio Spurs</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/tristen-newton">Tristen Newton</a> (Connecticut) to the Indiana Pacers</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/enrique-freeman">Enrique Freeman</a> (Akron) to the Indiana Pacers</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/melvin-ajinca">Melvin Ajinca</a> (Saint-Quentin Basketball) to the New York Knicks &mdash; traded to the Dallas Mavericks</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/quinten-post">Quinten Post</a> (Boston College) to the Golden State Warriors &mdash; traded to Thunder, then to Blazers, then to Warriors</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/cam-spencer">Cam Spencer</a> (Connecticut) to the Detroit Pistons &mdash; traded to the Memphis Grizzlies (via Timberwolves)</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/anton-watson">Anton Watson</a> (Gonzaga) to the Boston Celtics</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/bronny-james">Bronny James</a> (USC) to the Los Angeles Lakers</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/kevin-mccullar-jr">Kevin McCullar Jr.</a> (Kansas) to the Phoenix Suns &mdash; traded to the New York Knicks</li>
</ol>
&nbsp;

The first round of the 2024 NBA Draft is done and dusted, and the second round will start today at 4 PM Eastern at ESPN’s Seaport District Studios in New York.

2024 NBA Draft: Full results

The Orlando Magic have had their fair share of ups and downs in their relatively short history. However, since the franchise was established in 1989, they have provided their fans with some unforgettable seasons. From the early success of Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway to the dominant play of Dwight Howard in the late 2000s, the Magic have had some remarkable teams.
The Magic have had quite a bit of lottery luck, landing the No. 1 pick in 1992 (which allowed them to select O'Neal), 1993 (which allowed them to pick Chris Webber and trade him to the Golden State Warriors for Penny Hardaway and three future first-round picks), 2004 (which allowed them to select Howard) and 2022 (which allowed them to draft Paolo Banchero).&nbsp;
The current Magic squad has fans in Orlando excited about the future, with a core of Banchero, Franz Wagner, Wendell Carter Jr. and Markelle Fultz among others. But today, let's look back at the past and examine the five best seasons in franchise history.
5. 2007-08 SEASON RECORD: 52-30 FINISH: LOST IN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS
This season, the Magic won 52 games and finished as the third-best team in the Eastern Conference. The team was led by a 22-year-old Dwight Howard, who earned his second All-Star selection while emerging as a two-way force. During the regular season, Howard averaged 20.7 points, 14.2 rebounds and 2.1 blocks, while shooting 59.9% from the field. He was even more dominant in the playoffs, averaging 18.9 points, 15.8 rebounds and 3.4 blocks. Orlando defeated the Toronto Raptors in five games in the first round, but they were ultimately eliminated by the Detroit Pistons in five games in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. This season laid the groundwork for Orlando's Finals run in 2008-09.
4. 2009-10 SEASON RECORD: 59-23 FINISH: LOST IN CONFERENCE FINALS
Despite coming off of an NBA Finals run, the Magic decided to make some big changes entering this 2009-19 season. Orlando acquired Vince Carter in a blockbuster trade with the New Jersey Nets and added some new role players in Matt Barnes, Jason Williams, Ryan Anderson and Brandon Bass. The Magic won 59 games, which was the second-best record in the Eastern Conference. Orlando was once again led by Howard, who earned his second-straight Defensive Player of the Year award. The Magic were dominant through the first two rounds of the 2010 NBA Playoffs, sweeping the Charlotte Bobcats and Atlanta Hawks. But in the Eastern Conference Finals, they faced off against the Boston Celtics and lost in six games. Still, their regular-season success and deep postseason run cannot be overlooked.
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3. 1995-96 SEASON RECORD: 60-22 FINISH: LOST IN CONFERENCE FINALS
The 1995-96 season was another successful year for the Magic. The team finished with a record of 60-22, which was the second-best in the Eastern Conference and is still the franchise record for most wins in a single season. Led by one of the best one-two punches in the league in Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway, Orlando went 7-1 through the first two rounds of the 1996 NBA Playoffs, eliminating the Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks with ease. But in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Magic ran into Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, who got their revenge from the previous year by sweeping Orlando.
2. 2008-09 SEASON RECORD: 59-23 FINISH: LOST IN NBA FINALS
This team was ahead of its time, as Stan Van Gundy surrounded Dwight Howard with shooters and made teams pick their poison. The Magic had a terrific core of Howard, Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu and Jameer Nelson, plus excellent role players such as Rafer Alston, Courtney Lee, Mickael Pietrus, J.J. Redick and Marcin Gortat. Orlando's run in the 2009 NBA Playoffs was incredible, as they defeated the Philadelphia 76ers, Boston Celtics (led by the Big Three) and Cleveland Cavaliers (led by LeBron James). Until this year, the Magic were the only team to defeat James in a Conference Finals series. In the NBA Finals, the Magic matched up against Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers, ultimately losing in five games. What if Courtney Lee hits the game-winning layup at the end of Game 2 in the 2009 NBA Finals? That's one of the biggest "what ifs" among Magic fans to this day.
1. 1994-95 SEASON RECORD: 57-25 FINISH: LOST IN NBA FINALS
The 1994-95 season was the most successful season in the Magic's franchise history. Shaquille O'Neal was virtually unstoppable, averaging 29.3 points, 11.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.4 blocks, while shooting 58.3% from the field. Penny Hardaway was excellent as well, averaging an efficient 20.9 points, 7.2 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1.7 steals on 51.2/34.9/76.9 shooting splits. The team won 57 games, which was the best record in the East. Prior to the 1995 NBA Finals, the Magic became the only team to eliminate Michael Jordan in the playoffs during the 1990s, beating Chicago in six games in the Conference Semifinals. Jordan came out of retirement midseason and the Magic spoiled his return. After defeating the Indiana Pacers in seven games in the Conference Finals, the Magic faced off against the Houston Rockets in the NBA Finals. Hakeem Olajuwon put up 32.8 points, 11.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 2.0 blocks and 2.0 steals per game and helped the Rockets sweep the Magic. Still, the Magic's run to the Finals was nothing short of spectacular.
While the Magic have not won an NBA championship, they have had some great seasons and provided their fans with plenty of memorable moments.&nbsp;

From Shaq and Penny to the Dwight Howard era, Basketball News looks back at the five best teams in Orlando Magic history.

Ranking the 5 best seasons in Orlando Magic history

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

NBA announces 242 early-entry candidates for 2023 NBA Draft

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) &mdash; The Sacramento Kings might just be riding the beam all the way to the NBA playoffs.
The resurgent Kings are on the verge of ending the longest postseason drought in league history, with first-year coach Mike Brown employing a fast-paced offense led by the dynamic duo of De&rsquo;Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis to put Sacramento in first place in the Pacific Division.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a great feeling. It&rsquo;s great because it&rsquo;s my first time,&rdquo; Fox said of being in the playoff hunt. &ldquo;This is something we want to make annual. We want to be contending for a title. ... It&rsquo;s great for the city and organization. We still want bigger things for ourselves.&rdquo;
The Kings (43-29) are in third place in the Western Conference and might be able to clinch the franchise&rsquo;s first playoff berth since 2006 during the final three games of a four-game homestand that ends Monday night against Minnesota.
The 16 seasons without a playoff berth are the longest in NBA history and the longest active postseason drought among any team in the NBA, NFL, NHL or Major League Baseball.
&ldquo;I do feel that that group believes in themselves, not just because I&rsquo;m telling them they&rsquo;re good, but because they&rsquo;ve actually gone out and proven it time after time after time, whether it&rsquo;s individually in certain situations or collectively as a team,&rdquo; Brown said. &ldquo;When you have a team that believes, they can be dangerous. You&rsquo;ve got a connected team that believes, they can be a very dangerous team and that&rsquo;s what our group is right now.&rdquo;
The Kings are also one of the best feel-good stories of the NBA this season with an entertaining style of basketball that leads the league in scoring at 120.9 points per game for the highest mark in the league since 1983-84.
Each win at home is punctuated with the lighting of the beam &mdash; a beam of light from purple lasers atop the Golden 1 Center &mdash; and fans have even chanted for the beam at road games around the country.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s like a playoff atmosphere every night,&rdquo; swingman Kevin Huerter, one of the key offseason acquisitions, said after a recent home win. &ldquo;The only thing that&rsquo;s missing is handing out the T-shirts and maybe some towels, whatever they&rsquo;re doing for the playoffs. But it really is this every night.&rdquo;
The Kings have been one of the most success-starved franchises since moving to Sacramento in 1985. They had a losing record in each of their first 14 seasons in California, winning just one playoff game.
That all changed in 1999 when general manager Geoff Petrie and coach Rick Adelman built a winner around players like Chris Webber, Vlade Divac and Peja Stojakovic that played an entertaining style in a grind-it-out era that nearly delivered a championship.
The Kings posted eight straight winning records and playoff berths under Adelman, but lost a heartbreaking seven-game series to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2002 and then saw their title hopes derailed the following year when Webber went down with a serious knee injury in the second round of the playoffs.
Adelman kept the team competitive through 2006 but was let go following a second straight first-round playoff exit.
Then the dark era began with 16 straight losing seasons under 11 coaches, an ownership change and fears that the city would lose its only major pro team to Seattle.
Vivek Ranadive bought the team from the Maloof family in 2013 and kept the team in Sacramento by building a downtown arena, but there was no on-court success until this year.
The Kings traded away star DeMarcus Cousins and botched several high draft picks. But they have been revived following last year&rsquo;s trade with Indiana that sent promising guard Tyrese Haliburton to Indiana for a playmaking big man in Sabonis and the decision to hire Brown as coach.
Sabonis proved to be the perfect piece to team with the speedy Fox, giving Sacramento a dynamic duo.
Fox is averaging 25.4 points per game and has been the best clutch scorer in the league this season, scoring double figures in the fourth quarter a league-high 25 times.
Sabonis, acquired in a controversial trade from Indiana midway through last season for promising guard Tyrese Haliburton, has been the perfect piece to team with Fox with his playmaking ability as a big man. Sabonis is averaging 19 points, 12.5 rebounds and 7.3 assists with 12 triple-doubles.
Add in outside shooting from Huerter and rookie Keegan Murray, the veteran presence of Harrison Barnes and scoring off the bench from Malik Monk and the Kings have gained the attention of other contenders.
&ldquo;Give a lot of credit to Mike Brown,&rdquo; Celtics star Jayson Tatum said. &ldquo;He has the guys playing a lot better. Fox is playing at an All-NBA level. Sabonis has been great for them. They play with so much pace. All those guys have a lot more confidence.
&ldquo;When you&rsquo;re playing with confidence, it naturally opens things up for the individual and the group.&rdquo;
___
AP Basketball Writer Brian Mahoney contributed to this report&nbsp;

The resurgent Kings are on the verge of ending the longest postseason drought in league history.

Success-starved Kings close in on long-awaited playoff berth

College basketball is full of excitement and drama. While winning a national championship is the ultimate goal for every team, there have been many loaded squads that came up short.&nbsp;
While the teams on this list didn&rsquo;t win a title, they are still often mentioned among the best teams in the history of college basketball. Here are the best college-basketball teams that failed to win it all.&nbsp;
11. 1965-66 Kentucky Wildcats
The 1965-66 Kentucky Wildcats were coached by Adolph Rupp and their talented roster included future NBA stars Pat Riley and Louie Dampier. The Wildcats finished the season with a record of 27-2 and advanced to the national championship game, where they faced the Texas Western Miners. In a game that would later be immortalized in the movie "Glory Road," the Miners upset the Wildcats, 72-65.
10. 2006-07 Ohio State Buckeyes
Led by future No. 1 overall draft pick Greg Oden and longtime NBA point guard Mike Conley, the Buckeyes were hoping to win their second national championship in program history. Ohio State, traditionally a football school, finished the season 35-4 and ranked No. 1 in the AP poll. The Buckeyes advanced to the national championship game, where they faced a loaded Florida Gators squad that was led by future NBA All-Stars Joakim Noah and Al Horford.&nbsp;
In the national championship game, Oden avoided the foul trouble that had plagued him earlier in the tournament and put up a dominant 25 points and 12 rebounds. However, it wasn&rsquo;t enough, as the Gators defeated the Buckeyes 84-75 behind Horford's 18 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks. Four players from the Buckeyes' roster would go on to play in the NBA: Conley, Oden, Daequan Cook and Othello Hunter.
9. 2004-05 Illinois Fighting Illini
The 2004-05 Illinois Fighting Illini were a dominant force in college basketball. Coached by Bruce Weber and led by Dee Brown and Deron Williams, the Illini won their first 29 games of the season and finished with a 37-2 record.&nbsp;
Illinois advanced to the national championship game, where they faced the North Carolina Tar Heels (who were led by Raymond Felton, Sean May, Rashad McCants and Marvin Williams). Despite a valiant effort, the Illini fell just short, losing 75-70. Five of their players would go on to play in the NBA: Williams, Brown, Luther Head, Roger Powell and James Augustine.
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8. 2007-08 Memphis Tigers
Yes, John Calipari has back-to-back teams on this list. Coach Cal&rsquo;s 2007-08 Memphis Tigers were absolutely loaded and they were led by Derrick Rose, who would go on to be the No. 1 pick in the 2008 NBA Draft and the youngest MVP in NBA history in 2011. Chris Douglas-Roberts, Joey Dorsey and Antonio Anderson were also key contributors who eventually had stints in the NBA.
The Tigers finished the season with a record of 38-2 and they advanced to the national championship game, where they faced the Kansas Jayhawks. Despite a strong effort, the Tigers were unable to overcome the Jayhawks. Memphis missed a number of late free throws, which opened the door for Mario Chalmers to hit <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/march-madness-ranking-the-top11-ncaa-tournament-buzzerbeaters" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one of the most memorable buzzer-beaters in modern NCAA Tournament history</a> and force overtime. Kansas would go on to win, 75-68.
7. 1974-75 Indiana Hoosiers
Led by head coach Bob Knight, the 1974-75 Indiana Hoosiers finished the season with a record of 31-1 and advanced to the Final Four, where they faced the Kentucky Wildcats. Despite a strong effort, the Hoosiers were upset by the Wildcats, 92-90.&nbsp;
The Hoosiers would have eight players who would go on to play in the NBA: Scott May, Steve Green, Kent Benson, Quinn Buckner, John Laskowski, Bob Wilkerson, Tom Abernethy and Wayne Radford.
6. 1996-97 Kansas Jayhawks
The 1996-97 Kansas Jayhawks featured a pair of future NBA stars (Paul Pierce and Raef LaFrentz) and one of the best coaches in college-basketball history (Roy Williams). The Jayhawks finished the season with a record of 34-2 and advanced to the Final Four, where they faced the&nbsp; Arizona Wildcats.&nbsp;
Pierce put together a monster performance &mdash; 27 points, 11 rebounds, 3 threes, 2 blocks and 2 steals on 69.2/60/100 shooting splits &mdash; but it wasn't enough to defeat Mike Bibby&rsquo;s Wildcats. The Jayhawks lost 85-82 in overtime. In addition to Pierce and LaFrentz, Kansas had four other players go on to the NBA: Scot Pollard, Billy Thomas, Jacque Vaughn and Ryan Robertson.
5. 2014-15 Kentucky Wildcats
The 2014-15 Kentucky Wildcats, coached by John Calipari, featured quite the collection of young, high-upside talent. Led by future NBA superstars Karl-Anthony Towns and Devin Booker, the Wildcats finished the season with a perfect record of 38-0.
Kentucky advanced to the Final Four, where they faced the Wisconsin Badgers and were ultimately upset 71-64. In total, a whopping nine Wildcats would go on to play in the NBA: Towns, Booker, Trey Lyles, Willie Cauley-Stein, Aaron Harrison, Andrew Harrison, Tyler Ulis, Dakari Johnson and Alex Poythress.
4. 1984-85 Georgetown Hoyas
The 1984-85 Georgetown Hoyas, coached by John Thompson, were a powerhouse team that featured future NBA star Patrick Ewing. The Hoyas finished the season with a record of 35-3 and advanced to the national championship game, where they faced the Villanova Wildcats.&nbsp;
In one of the biggest upsets in college-basketball history, the Wildcats defeated the Hoyas 66-64. In addition to Ewing, Georgetown had four other players who went on to play in the NBA: Reggie Williams, Bill Martin, David Wingate and Michael Jackson.
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3. 1992-93 Michigan Wolverines
The prior season, the Fab Five took college basketball by storm, with bald heads and baggy shorts. They started five true freshmen and had a great season, making it all the way to the national championship game, where they were handled by a veteran Duke squad that was led by Christian Laettner, Grant Hill and Bobby Hurley, losing 71-51.
In the 1992-93 season, the Wolverines were widely regarded as the most talented team in the country and they were the favorites to win it all. Unfortunately, they fell short to North Carolina in the national championship game in one of the most memorable endings in sports history. Future No. 1 pick Chris Webber called a timeout that Michigan didn&rsquo;t have, as they lost 77-71. Michigan had five players who would later play in the NBA: Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King and Eric Riley (plus Rob Pelinka would go on to run the Los Angeles Lakers' front office).
2. 1982-83 Houston Cougars
Led by future Hall-of-Famers Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, the 1982-83 Houston Cougars were known as "Phi Slama Jama" for their high-flying style of play. The Cougars were a dominant force on both ends of the court. They advanced to the Final Four, where they faced the N.C. State Wolfpack. Despite a 20-point lead in the second half, the Cougars were upset by the Wolfpack, 54-52. In addition to the superstar pairing of Olajuwon and Drexler, Houston also had two other players who would go on to play in the NBA: Michael Young and Larry Micheaux.
1. 1990-91 UNLV Runnin' Rebels
The 1990-91 UNLV Runnin' Rebels are one of the greatest college basketball teams of all-time, despite not winning the national championship. Coached by Jerry Tarkanian, the Rebels had an incredible season, finishing with a record of 34-1.&nbsp;
Led by Larry Johnson, Stacey Augmon and Greg Anthony, the Rebels played an up-tempo style of basketball that was both thrilling and effective. In the Final Four, they lost a close game to the Duke Blue Devils, who would go on to win the national championship. Johnson, Augmon and Anthony would go on to thrive in the NBA, and two other Rebels would also make it to the league (Elmore Spencer and Eyric Gray).
Would you rank these teams differently? Who is missing from this list? <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tweet us your thoughts now</a>!

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The NBA went into Christmas with a night like none other.
For the first time in NBA history, five players scored at least 43 points on the same day. It happened Friday, with Dallas&rsquo; Luka Doncic leading the way with 50 points against Houston.
The others: Philadelphia&rsquo;s Joel Embiid scored 44 against the Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City&rsquo;s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a career-high 44 against New Orleans, New York&rsquo;s RJ Barrett had 44 against Chicago and Indiana&rsquo;s Tyrese Haliburton scored a career-best 43 against Miami.
&ldquo;Luka is Luka," Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s the best player in the world and he showed that tonight, carrying the load offensively again."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
THAT'S A 50-PIECE FOR THE DON 🔥🔥🔥 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MFFL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MFFL</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/dallasmavs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dallasmavs</a> on <a href="https://twitter.com/BallySportsSW?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BallySportsSW</a> 📺 <a href="https://t.co/1deZTcSzwv">pic.twitter.com/1deZTcSzwv</a>
&mdash; Bally Sports Southwest (@BallySportsSW) <a href="https://twitter.com/BallySportsSW/status/1606492306965659650?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 24, 2022</a></blockquote>

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As he usually does, Doncic deferred the credit.
&ldquo;My teammates trusted me," he said after his 17-for-30 night that also included 10 rebounds and eight assists.
The biggest shot of the night in <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/breakingnews/doncic-scores-50-mavericks-edge-rockets-112106" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dallas' 112-106 win over Houston</a> might have been Doncic hitting a 3-pointer with 19 seconds left to give the Mavericks a five-point lead.
And that wasn't even the most dramatic 3 that the night's big scorers had.
That honor went to Haliburton, who made 10 3-pointers &mdash; the last of them with 4.3 seconds left to give the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/breakingnews/haliburton-hits-winning-3-scores-43-as-pacers-beat-heat" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pacers a 111-108 win over the Heat</a>.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Haliburton seals the deal with a clutch game-winner from downtown 🔥. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Pacers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Pacers</a> TV: Bally Sports Indiana Stream: <a href="https://t.co/dJ7DfL7kr9">https://t.co/dJ7DfL7kr9</a> <a href="https://t.co/1hfDgmDm20">pic.twitter.com/1hfDgmDm20</a>
&mdash; Bally Sports Indiana (@BallySportsIN) <a href="https://twitter.com/BallySportsIN/status/1606492549950197760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 24, 2022</a></blockquote>

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&ldquo;Tyrese Haliburton is an artist," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said when asked about Haliburton's different-than-most shooting stroke. &ldquo;And you know, some people that have unconventional ways to be successful in this game, you have to just leave them alone and allow them to do what they do. His artistry is the way he gets the ball in the basket, the way he sees the game, the way he connects teammates and the special person that he is."
Embiid's big night came in <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/breakingnews/embiid-harden-help-76ers-beat-clippers-for-homestand-sweep" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Philadelphia's seventh consecutive win</a>. Barrett and the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/breakingnews/derozans-jumper-gives-bulls-118117-victory-over-knicks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Knicks wound up falling to the Bulls</a>, and Gilgeous-Alexander's 44&nbsp;came in an <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/breakingnews/murphy-scores-23-pelicans-beat-thunder-in-ot-without-zion" target="_blank" rel="noopener">overtime loss to New Orleans</a> &mdash; which he nearly extended into double overtime, with a 40-foot desperation shot at the end hitting the front rim at the buzzer of a 128-125 final.
&ldquo;It was close. Not close enough," said Gilgeous-Alexander, whose great start to this season has cemented himself as an early front-runner for NBA's Most Improved Player honors &mdash; not to mention other postseason accolades, and likely a trip to the All-Star Game as well.
There now have been just over 4,400 instances of a player scoring 40 or more points in a regular-season game. Friday was only the fifth time that five of those happened on the same day &mdash; and the second time it happened in 2022.
On April 10, the final day of the 2021-22 regular season, Obi Toppin had 42 for New York, Jalen Green had 41 for Houston, Malik Monk scored 41 for the Los Angeles Lakers, Klay Thompson had 41 for Golden State and Victor Oladipo scored 40 for Miami.
The other three instances of five 40-point scorers:
&mdash; Feb. 21, 2003:&nbsp;Tracy McGrady scored 52 for Orlando, Jamal Mashburn 50 for the New Orleans Hornets, Michael Jordan 43 for Washington, Allen Iverson 41 for Philadelphia and Kobe Bryant 40 for the Lakers.
&mdash; Feb. 2, 2001:&nbsp;Allen Iverson scored 47 for Philadelphia, Bryant 44 for the Lakers, Chris Webber 41 for Sacramento, Paul Pierce 40 for Boston and Jerry Stackhouse 40 for Detroit.
&mdash; Dec. 25, 1961:&nbsp;Wilt Chamberlain scored 59 for the Philadelphia Warriors, Tom Heinsohn 45 for Boston, Elgin Baylor 40 for the Lakers, Richie Guerin 40 for New York and Oscar Robertson 40 for Cincinnati.

The NBA went into Christmas with a night like none other. For the first time ever, five players scored at least 43 points on the same day.

A record NBA outburst: 5 players score 43 or more points on same day

DETROIT (AP) &mdash; Dalano Banton scored 27 points and Chris Boucher added 20 as the short-handed Toronto Raptors snapped a three-game losing streak with a 115-111 win over the Detroit Pistons on Monday night.
O.G. Anunoby added 19 points and seven rebounds for Toronto, which played without Fred VanVleet (non-COVID illness), Pascal Siakam (abdominal strain) and Gary Trent (hip).
Rookie Jaden Ivey scored 21 for Detroit, which lost its fourth straight. Bojan Bogandovic added 18 points.
Detroit trailed by as many as 14 point before Hamadou Diallo hit two free throws with 7:37 remaining to cut the deficit to 94-93. Banton hit a 3-pointer that put the Raptors up six with 4:54 remaining before Isaiah Livers' 3-pointer made it 103-100.
But, the Pistons committed a key turnover &mdash; their 19th of the game &mdash; and missed their 12th free throw, slowing their rally.
Pistons coach Dwane Casey juggled his lineup, going with two bigs in Isaiah Stewart and Marvin Bagley III, and using Saddiq Bey as a scorer off the bench. Stewart, though, played only 13 minutes before leaving with a sprained right foot.
The Raptors led 58-51 at halftime, thanks to 14 points from Banton and 13 from Boucher. Toronto then scored the first seven points of the third quarter. They led 88-77 going into the fourth quarter, aided by 10 missed free throws from the Pistons.
TIP INS
Raptors: Toronto won despite shooting 29.6% on 3-pointers and committing 17 turnovers that led to 24 points by Detroit.
Pistons: Detroit's reserves went 13 for 19 (68.4%) from the line and hit 4 of 13 3-pointers.
HONORING THE SAINT
The Pistons debuted their green jerseys designed to pay tribute to the mats on the walls of the gym at St. Cecilia's Church, located about five miles from Little Caesars Arena. The &ldquo;Saint&rdquo; opened in the 1960s and became the center of the Detroit basketball scene when Hall of Famer Dave Bing trained there during a holdout. He was followed by local stars like Magic Johnson, Isiah Thomas, George Gervin, Chris Webber and Glen Rice. It even hosted multiple generations, with Pistons star Jimmy Walker playing there in the 1970s before his son, Jalen Rose, arrived in the 1990s.

Dalano Banton scored 27 points and Chris Boucher added 20 as the Toronto Raptors scored a 115-111 win over the Detroit Pistons.

Blanton, Boucher lead short-handed Raptors past Pistons

In his "Blazing the Trail" series, Mat Issa analyzes how Chris Webber's decision-making unlocked the Kings' revolutionary offense.

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Blazing the Trail: Anfernee 'Penny' Hardaway, the floor giant

DETROIT (AP) &mdash; Chris Webber, Shane Battier and Chauncey Billups have been inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame.
The trio of former basketball players were enshrined Saturday night.
Webber and Battier attended Detroit Country Day before going onto Michigan, Duke and the NBA. Billups played for the Detroit Pistons, winning the 2004 NBA MVP award.
Detroit native and former San Diego Charger star tight end Antonio Gates and former Michigan basketball coach John Beilein were also inducted.
Former Michigan softball pitcher Jennie Ritter, former Detroit Red Wing sportscaster Mickey Redmond, former Western Michigan athletic director Kathy Beauregard were also part of the class along with Olympic ice dancing medalists Meryl Davis and Charlie White.

Chris Webber, Shane Battier and Chauncey Billups have been inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame on Saturday.

Webber, Battier, Billups inducted into Michigan Sports Hall of Fame

Recently, the John Wall Foundation hosted an event at The Salvation Army, where John Wall opened up about how difficult the last few years have been for him. The five-time All-Star described the last few years as &ldquo;the darkest place I&rsquo;ve ever been in.&rdquo;&nbsp;
&ldquo;At one point in time, I thought about committing suicide,&rdquo; Wall admitted. &ldquo;I mean, just tearing my Achilles, my mom being sick, my mom passing, my grandma passing a year later &mdash; all of this in the midst of COVID at the same time&hellip; me going to the chemotherapy and sitting there, seeing my mom take her last breath, wearing the same clothes for three days straight and laying on the couch beside her. My team, the mother of my kids has been great, my two boys, it's my motivation for me. Looking at all that, I'm like, 'If I can get through this, I can get through anything in life.'
"Everybody goes through something, we all went through tough times, nobody's got it easy. But I don't think a lot of people could get through what I went through. To me, to be back on top where I want to be and see that the fans still want me to play, having support from my hometown, their support means a lot in a time where I had to go find a therapist.
"A lot of people think, 'I don't need help, I can get through it,' but you gotta be true to yourself, find out what's best for you, and I did that. I'm just happy to have this opportunity to play basketball again. I think everything I have been through has all been a part of God's plan&hellip; Even though I was in a dark place the last couple of years, I'm super excited... to play the game that I love."
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This admission sent shock waves throughout the entire sports world.&nbsp;
I reached out to former Washington Wizards center Marcin Gortat, who played with Wall for five seasons, to have a discussion about his former teammate.
Etan Thomas: What were your thoughts when you heard John Wall&rsquo;s interview detailing everything he has been through?&nbsp;
Marcin Gortat: &ldquo;First of all, I was shocked. I didn&rsquo;t know that he was going through so many different issues. I was a witness a couple years ago while we were teammates and there was this little 6-year-old girl, Miyah Telemaque-Nelson, who <a href="https://twitter.com/johnwall/status/537085825767735296?s=21&amp;t=isslghfV3tQMWGH-SXWKbg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he had really connected with</a> who passed away from cancer. He had been raising money for her and doing charity work for her, and I remember the big impact her death had on him. He literally broke down during a postgame interview where he dedicated the game to her.&rdquo;
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Thomas: Yeah, I remember seeing that video. He really took that hard.
Gortat: &ldquo;Even harder than most people know. He was really down for a couple of weeks after that. So when I heard that he lost his mom and then his grandmother, I thought back to how hard he took [it] when little Miyah passed away. After hearing this past interview, I felt bad. Like as a former teammate, I should&rsquo;ve been supporting [him] more. Yeah, I texted with him a couple of times while he was in Houston. I knew he was struggling with the situation as far as the team and them pushing him to the side, so I knew that alone was catastrophic for him because I know how much he loves basketball. But couple that with losing people as close to you as your mother and grandmother [and that] had to have been just devastating.&rdquo;
Thomas: He mentioned that he has a positive outlook now and feels optimistic with his new situation with the Los Angeles Clippers, so that was good to hear.&nbsp;
Gortat: &ldquo;Yeah, I&rsquo;m hoping that basketball will be something that can help him since he seems to be in a much better situation with the Clippers so that will occupy his mind and his emotions somewhat, but I really hope he heals and gets all of the support toward his healing.&rdquo;
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Thomas: I definitely agree. One of the things that bothers me is when I hear different fans or people on social media or in the sports media reporting on rumors that are just inaccurate. They cast a negative light on an athlete based on these rumors. Stephen A. Smith <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/clippers/news/stephen-a-smith-apologizes-to-john-wall" target="_blank" rel="noopener">publicly apologized</a> to John for his role in demonizing him last season in Houston. I was glad to see him do that because the media really went after John Wall and swayed public opinion on him in a very cruel and uninformed way.&nbsp;
Gortat: &ldquo;Yeah and that&rsquo;s very unfortunate that that happens a lot in the media nowadays, but this is how it is in this league. A lot of people owe John Wall an apology. I understand the media has to write something or say something on their shows that&rsquo;s controversial and that gets all of the people&rsquo;s attention because that&rsquo;s what they are paid to do. But people who know John know that they were unfairly demonizing him. Not that he&rsquo;s perfect, nobody is perfect. Did he make mistakes? Yes, but everybody makes mistakes. But he is not the person they were making him out to be, and it&rsquo;s terrible how much that happens.&rdquo;
Thomas: I had a debate with David Aldridge and Marc Spears about the power of the media. Marc came out publicly and said that he regretted doing the interview, but I was trying to explain to them the power that the media has to sway public opinion, and how the media should be held accountable when they talk recklessly. And they just weren&rsquo;t willing to accept that the media has that kind of power. But this is a prime example. It&rsquo;s good that Stephen A. publicly apologized, but hopefully that changes the way he and many others in the media target players and demonize them because it happens too often. Just here with the Wizards, I saw it happen with Kwame Brown and with Chris Webber after he got traded (back when they were the Bullets). It really happens way too much.&nbsp;
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Gortat: &ldquo;I definitely agree. So let me say, as someone who played with John Wall for many years: When he is healthy, he is one of the best point guards in the league &mdash; hands down. The guy is a beast. I don&rsquo;t know what Houston was doing with him. That was completely absurd. Here you have a guy of his caliber and you have him sitting at home? Not even on the bench, but at home? I can&rsquo;t imagine how he felt going through that for [an entire] season? And to have these prominent people in the media vilifying him while he is going through all of this, as he&rsquo;s dealing with injury after injury and losing his loved ones?&rdquo;&nbsp;
Thomas: Yeah, I don&rsquo;t care if anyone says there wasn&rsquo;t any cruel or malicious intent behind their reporting &mdash; that doesn&rsquo;t mean that it wasn&rsquo;t still cruel and malicious.&nbsp;
Gortat: &ldquo;Exactly! Many people think athletes are like robots &mdash; like video game characters who just perform, and that&rsquo;s not true. We are human beings with emotions and we go through tragedies and hardships in life, but are still expected to push all that to the side and perform at the highest level every night. I remember seven or eight years ago when DeMar DeRozan was in Toronto and he was going through depression and he said that he was going to the games, but he wasn&rsquo;t really thinking about the games because he was dealing with so much personally.&nbsp;
&ldquo;The NBA is getting better at helping players now when they are going through tragedies, but we still have a long way to go. I remember my fourth year and definitely my fifth year playing in Washington &mdash; specifically when things with me and John were not the best &mdash; there was a lot that I was dealing with and I didn&rsquo;t have too much help. But honestly, it wasn&rsquo;t a concern. Many people just wanted me to perform and push my personal life to the side, and sometimes that&rsquo;s hard to do.&rdquo;
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Thomas: &ldquo;I can definitely attest to that. I lost my grandmother, who I was really close with, while I was playing with the Wizards. And I remember our trainer, Eric Waters, trying to rush me back and I was like, &ldquo;Can you give me a minute please?&rdquo; When I came back, that&rsquo;s when I had the first issue with Brendan Haywood. Normally, I would&rsquo;ve ignored him throwing tantrums over not getting enough playing time, but that day just wasn&rsquo;t the day, so I flipped on him. The team actually formed a human barricade and escorted him out of the locker room. Then, everyone &mdash; Ernie Grunfeld, Eric Waters, Coach Eddie Jordan &mdash; was like, &ldquo;What&rsquo;s wrong? Why did you get so upset?&rdquo;&nbsp; And I was like, &ldquo;I told y&rsquo;all I needed a minute!&rdquo;
Gortat: &ldquo;Yeah, and my issues with John kind of formed in a similar way, to be honest &mdash; because I was holding so much in and suppressing what I was going through and reacting to different things on the court like not getting the ball as much as I wanted to or us losing games I felt we should&rsquo;ve won. Interesting, I didn&rsquo;t know that&rsquo;s what started y&rsquo;all&rsquo;s issues.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Let me tell you this quick story. I went to Cleveland and I was on this stupid streak of 250 or 280 or something games [in a row] without missing a game, so I was playing like three seasons straight. And all of a sudden in December, my mom had a stroke. I got the message while I was in Cleveland and I was shocked. I broke down crying. They had found my mom after like a day-and-a-half, laying at home unconscious; my friend found her. So when I came back to the locker room that morning, I was there physically but I wasn&rsquo;t really there. But John and Brad [Beal] were the first people who said, &lsquo;Give him some space, let him go deal with what&rsquo;s going on with his family because that&rsquo;s bigger than basketball and he has our support.&rsquo; So, Coach [Randy] Wittman came down and told me, &lsquo;Go to Poland, don&rsquo;t worry about the team for now.&rsquo;
&ldquo;That meant a lot to me. They knew what I was going through. And when you&rsquo;re so close to a teammate, you feel their pain. And in turn, I know how close John was with his mom. He talked about her all the time. When we finally sat down and squashed our issues, we had a real &lsquo;kumbaya moment.&rsquo; We talked about all of our personal struggles, all that we were dealing with and had been dealing with. We cleared the air and connected on a whole &lsquo;nother level as teammates, and it was exactly what we needed. So, hearing last week that my teammate contemplated suicide was devastating. Yeah, we had our issues in the past, but none of that matters now. I am cheering for John and want him to be successful both on and off the court.&rdquo;
Thomas: I&rsquo;m glad we did this interview, to have us &mdash; two former Wizards &mdash; encourage our brotha. You know, once a Wizard, always a Wizard. I really want to see him do well too. I was already rooting for him to really have a new beginning with the Clippers and shine like the old John Wall, but now I&rsquo;m rooting for him times 1,000.&nbsp;
Gortat: &ldquo;I couldn&rsquo;t agree with you more! I wanna see John demolish every other point guard in the league. Just go on a tear. I remember seeing him battle every game &mdash; Kyrie Irving, Derrick Rose, Chris Paul &mdash; and people forget how good he was, how fast he was end to end, how explosive he was. John was special, and I want to see him get back to that. But more importantly, I want him to heal because he has literally gone through hell over these last years.&rdquo;

John Wall recently opened up about his struggles. Former Wizards centers Etan Thomas and Marcin Gortat discuss his comments.

Marcin Gortat: 'A lot of people owe John Wall an apology'

To understand why Damian Lillard is still with the Portland Trail Blazers in 2022, examine why he enrolled at Weber State in 2008.
Weber State showed serious interest in Lillard before any other school. That resonated with Lillard, and when higher-profile schools came calling late in the recruiting process, he didn&rsquo;t forget how Weber State was the first one to believe in him.
So, he went there. And he stayed there. Fast forward to now: Portland was the team that drafted him a decade ago, and Lillard hasn&rsquo;t left there, either.
Lillard&rsquo;s tale is a reminder: NBA players may be more empowered now than ever before. They can align with their friends and form superteams. They can force trades (even though asking for one publicly is against league rules). They can get coaches fired.
Or they can do what Lillard has done, decide to stay in one place and try to win a ring instead of bouncing around from team to team and chase one.
And with the NBA waiting to see how the latest bit of big drama &mdash; Kevin Durant&rsquo;s request to be traded out of Brooklyn &mdash; plays out, Lillard hopes more will jump off the spinning carousel.
&ldquo;It shows that there&rsquo;s something there for being committed and having your heart in the right place and having your mind in the right place,&rdquo; Lillard said. &ldquo;Hopefully it&rsquo;ll have the impact going forward on players seeing that it doesn&rsquo;t have to be &lsquo;Oh, the media says this&rsquo; or &lsquo;Everybody is telling me this&rsquo; and you just get swayed into doing what everybody is trying to convince you to do, because nobody is going to have to live with those decisions like you will.&rdquo;
It also should be noted that Lillard, by staying in place, has maximized his earning potential. He came to Las Vegas and hit a jackpot this past weekend: Lillard signed a two-year, $122 million extension with the Trail Blazers on Saturday, a deal that will keep him until contract through the 2026-27 season.
By the time that season ends, he will have been paid $452 million in his career.
&ldquo;Superstars in our game today are different than in my generation, in the way that they&rsquo;re taking ownership of their careers,&rdquo; Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said. &ldquo;And what I mean by that is there&rsquo;s a lot of superstars that will want to be somewhere and they&rsquo;ll find a way to get where they want to go.&rdquo;
Here&rsquo;s the full list of current players with at least 10 years in the NBA and have never changed teams: Miami&rsquo;s Udonis Haslem, Golden State&rsquo;s trio of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, Washington&rsquo;s Bradley Beal, and Lillard. That&rsquo;s it.
They&rsquo;re doing it their way.
Others are choosing a different way and moving around when they think there's something better to be had.
Durant, if he gets traded and doesn&rsquo;t go back to Oklahoma City or Golden State, next season will be playing for a fourth different franchise. LeBron James has played with three franchises, winning titles with Miami, Cleveland and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Chris Paul has played for five teams. James Harden has played for four. Russell Westbrook has played for four and Kyrie Irving has played for three. And if Westbrook and Irving get traded for one another, it&rsquo;ll be time to add another one to their totals.
That said, not every big name was filling out change-of-address cards this summer.
Zach LaVine returned to Chicago for more than $200 million over five years, a decision that made a ton of sense considering the Bulls could offer him $56 million more than any other team could. Beal got a new $251 million deal from Washington. Two-time reigning MVP Nikola Jokic signed an extension with Denver worth $270 million.
&ldquo;We focus a lot on ensuring through a salary-cap system that teams, in essence, have the same fair opportunity to compete,&rdquo; NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said. &ldquo;And that is something we&rsquo;re always looking at as part of our system, something we are constantly talking to the Players Association about. And to me, that should be not just a concern shared by fans of all 30 teams but for all players in the league, all 450 players, presumably want an equal chance to win championships and be part of championship teams.&rdquo;
Lillard wants a ring. Everybody does. It would just mean more to him to win one in Portland than anyplace else.
So, he&rsquo;s staying.
&ldquo;Something that&rsquo;s missing in our league is the character and the fight and the passion and pride about not just the name on the back, but the name on the front and how you impact the people you come into contact with,&rdquo; Lillard said. &ldquo;I think because of how much I&rsquo;ve embraced that, and haven&rsquo;t pretended to embrace it, this just shows the power in that.&rdquo;

Damian Lillard hopes more of his NBA colleagues will jump off the spinning carousel of moving from team to team.

Damian Lillard shows NBA players have power to stay, too

Paolo Banchero never worked out for the Orlando Magic. He didn&rsquo;t have to, either.
His year at Duke provided all the information they needed.
The latest &mdash; and perhaps most important &mdash; piece to Orlando&rsquo;s rebuild is Banchero, the 6-foot-10 forward who went No. 1 overall in Thursday&rsquo;s NBA draft. He met with the Magic several times in recent weeks, taking part in everything from personality profiles to get-to-know-you interviews, and what happened in those sessions only steeled Orlando&rsquo;s belief that he was the best pick.
&ldquo;We feel he was the best player in college basketball,&rdquo; Magic President Jeff Weltman said. &ldquo;And we feel that he will continue to grow every year for many years to come.&rdquo;
Banchero averaged 17.2 points in his lone college season, along with 7.8 rebounds and was a third-team Associated Press All-American. There were roars from the crowd at Amway Center &mdash; Banchero&rsquo;s new home court &mdash; when NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced just past 8 p.m. that the Magic were on the clock.
It didn&rsquo;t take long for the Magic to send in the official word. Banchero is heading to Orlando, with plans for his official welcome at his new home on Friday.
&ldquo;A dream come true," Banchero said, when detailing what the moment that he heard his name as the No. 1 pick. &ldquo;It was a really surreal moment."
Silver is a Duke grad. And as is tradition for the commissioner, he gave Banchero a handshake and warm embrace after the new No. 1 pick put on a Magic hat and took the stage for his big moment.
The whole scene was overwhelming for Banchero, and yes, he cried.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;d never been brought to tears by anything that was positive," he said.
Banchero joins a young core in Orlando that already includes 2017 top overall pick Markelle Fultz, a pair of top-eight picks from the 2021 draft in Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs, and Cole Anthony &mdash; the No. 15 pick in 2020.
Orlando also has the No. 6 picks from the 2017 and 2018 draft, Jonathan Isaac and Mo Bamba. It&rsquo;s possible that when next season starts Orlando could have as many as six lottery picks, nine top-16 selections and 12 first-rounders on its roster.
There's a lot of room to grow. The Magic went 22-60 this past season. Banchero's Duke team won 10 more games than the Magic did.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m super excited to get out to Orlando," Banchero said. &ldquo;Like, really, I&rsquo;m excited about the team. I think that&rsquo;s the most exciting part, to get out there with the team. I feel like we have a real talented team. A lot of guys are hungry, ready to win, and I'm the same way."
Orlando later drafted Michigan forward Caleb Houstan with the No. 32 pick, the second one of the second round. He averaged 10.1 points for the Wolverines last season.
Banchero will make about $10 million next season, the start of his four-year rookie deal, plus whatever he lures in off-court earnings. Given that he's a No. 1 pick, out of Duke, it's likely he'll have plenty of appeal in the endorsement world.
Choosing Banchero was a mild surprise, after weeks of speculation that Auburn's Jabari Smith Jr. or Gonzaga's Chet Holmgren might be the ones atop Orlando&rsquo;s list. Holmgren went No. 2 to Oklahoma City, and Smith No. 3 to Houston.
Weltman hinted earlier in the week that reports might have been wrong, even boasting that the Magic pride themselves on keeping big decisions like this a surprise.
They pulled it off, too.
&ldquo;I think that it it&rsquo;s important that people know that information is managed discreetly with us from every corner of this business, from agents to other teams to the media," Weltman said. &ldquo;And obviously, when you&rsquo;re playing poker, you don&rsquo;t put your cards on the table, right?"
This was the fourth time that Orlando made the No. 1 selection. If history holds true, Banchero is going to have a long career in this league.
The Magic took Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal with the top selection in 1992. Chris Webber was the No. 1 pick by Orlando in 1993, and he got traded that same night for Penny Hardaway and a package of future picks that eventually led to Vince Carter and Mike Miller. And in 2004, the Magic selected Dwight Howard with the first pick.
Miller has his fingerprints on this pick as well: He&rsquo;s been working with Banchero in recent weeks, getting him ready for the NBA grind.
Now, it&rsquo;s Banchero&rsquo;s turn to be the prized rookie, after Orlando decided to choose him over the two other highly touted candidates for the No. 1 pick &mdash; Smith and Holmgren.
Banchero also became the 13th consecutive player to get drafted No. 1 overall after just one year of college.
&ldquo;I can't believe what just happened, honestly," Banchero said, after embracing his mother &mdash; Rhonda Smith-Banchero, a former WNBA player.
Believe it. The Magic are betting a big part of their future on the 19-year-old.
&ldquo;Our team got a lot better tonight," Weltman said. &ldquo;Paolo hasn't played one minute in this league yet and everything that he gets, he's going to have to earn. Obviously, he has a tremendous future, tremendous future, in front of him."

“We feel he was the best player in college basketball,” Magic president Jeff Weltman said.

It's Banchero to Orlando: Magic grab Duke standout at No. 1

College basketball season ended almost three months ago, the NBA draft lottery was more than a month ago and the draft itself is later this week.
Seems like the process should be winding down.
Orlando Magic President Jeff Weltman sees it differently.
&ldquo;I tell you, it&rsquo;s still early in the process,&rdquo; Weltman said Monday.
Translated: The Magic haven&rsquo;t decided yet what they&rsquo;ll do on Thursday night, when the draft rolls around and they have the No. 1 pick. Other teams have called to gauge what the asking price would be if they want to trade for that selection, and the Magic have evaluated all the top candidates.
But Weltman sees no reason to decide anything before it&rsquo;s absolutely necessary, especially given the opportunity that Orlando has by holding this No. 1 pick.
&ldquo;Dialogue is always ongoing,&rdquo; Weltman said. &ldquo;But, most importantly, we get to do what we want. That&rsquo;s the real benefit of having the No. 1 pick.&rdquo;
The top candidates for the pick are well-known: <a href="https://apnews.com/article/orlando-magic-nba-sports-basketball-37f5b4e51c1c0f27654f5085db1a5ba5">Auburn&rsquo;s Jabari Smith Jr. worked out</a> for Orlando earlier this month, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/orlando-magic-oklahoma-city-thunder-nba-sports-basketball-dde5e85cc308308d487671721169795f">Gonzaga&rsquo;s Chet Holmgren met with the Magic</a> for multiple days last week and <a href="https://twitter.com/LIFTSPORTSMNGMT/status/1535771015925665792?s=20&amp;t=o5sDVzD31FNFRkKVGEJSOw">Duke&rsquo;s Paolo Banchero has been working out with former Magic guard Mike Miller.</a>
Weltman wouldn&rsquo;t say that those are the only three candidates Orlando would consider at No. 1.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s confirmed that there are a lot of talented players at the top of this draft, that&rsquo;s for sure,&rdquo; Weltman said.
This is the fourth time that Orlando will be making the No. 1 pick. The Magic took Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal with the top selection in 1992. Chris Webber was the No. 1 pick by Orlando in 1993, and he got traded that same night for Penny Hardaway and a package of future picks that were eventually turned into Vince Carter and, later, Miller. And in 2004, the Magic selected Dwight Howard with the first pick.
The No. 1 pick on Thursday will join a young core in Orlando that already includes 2017 top pick Markelle Fultz, a pair of top-eight picks from the 2021 draft in Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs, and Cole Anthony &mdash; the No. 15 pick in the 2020 draft.
Orlando also has the No. 6 picks from the 2017 and 2018 draft, Jonathan Isaac and Mo Bamba. It&rsquo;s possible that when next season starts Orlando could have as many as six lottery picks, nine top-16 selections and 12 first-rounders on its roster.
This is all part of the challenge for the Magic &mdash; who also have the No. 32 and No. 35 picks this year &mdash; going into Thursday: Finding more youth that fits with the current core, finding ways to be better next season and sustainably better for years to come.
&ldquo;We do want to get better but not at the expense of rushing back to mediocrity,&rdquo; Weltman said. &ldquo;And we do want to have something sustainable. But you have to elevate the standard to do that. You can&rsquo;t just stay at the basement level, you know, interminably. So those are conversations that we&rsquo;re having, which players do that for us.&rdquo;

“Dialogue is always ongoing,” Jeff Weltman said. “But, most importantly, we get to do what we want. That’s the real benefit of having the No. 1 pick.”

Orlando Magic still evaluating all options with No. 1 draft pick

The Orlando Magic have won the NBA Draft Lottery and now have the top pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.
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LFG!! <a href="https://t.co/6xaKTDrtsp">pic.twitter.com/6xaKTDrtsp</a>
&mdash; Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) <a href="https://twitter.com/OrlandoMagic/status/1526721039090196480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 18, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Going into the lottery, the Magic had the best chance to win it at 14% along with the Houston Rockets and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
It's the third time in franchise history that the Magic have the first selection in the draft. The previous times were in 1992 (Shaquille O'Neal), 1993 (Chris Webber) and 2004 (Dwight Howard).
ANALYSIS:&nbsp;The Magic now have its choice of talented players to add to its young core that includes Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs who just finished their first seasons in the league.
Those choices include Auburn forward Jabari Smith, Gonzaga forward/center Chet Holmgren, Purdue guard Jaden Ivey, Duke forward Paolo Banchero, and Iowa forward Keegan Murray.
BasketballNews.com currently has <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-nba-mock-draft/players/jabari-smith" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Smith ranked as the top selection</a> in the upcoming 2022 NBA Draft.
&nbsp;

The Orlando Magic have won the Draft Lottery and now have the top pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.

Orlando Magic win draft lottery, get No. 1 pick in 2022 NBA Draft

The 2001-02 NBA season was Michael Jordan&rsquo;s first with the Washington Wizards, a time when he decided to unretire and return to the league for the second time in his career.
Some would have you believe that MJ&rsquo;s Wizard years &ldquo;diminished his legacy," while others feel that he was still the best shooting guard in the league. Wherever he actually stood, Jordan was clearly still exceptional given his age, production and general persistence.
In that '01-02 campaign, there were plenty glimmers of &ldquo;old&rdquo; Jordan &mdash; as well as old Jordan, who turned 39 that February &mdash; but were they enough to make him a Most Valuable Player candidate at one point? It was at least discussed.
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Around this time 20 years ago, Jordan had just returned from a chronic knee injury that had <a href="http://www.espn.com/nba/news/2002/0225/1340423.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly been bothering him throughout the season</a>. He even came off the bench upon being reinserted to the lineup for the final seven games of the season, and he scored more than 14 points just one time. But before missing 12 games of action between Feb. 27 and March 18, Jordan&rsquo;s comeback season had been a successful one.
When Jordan went down, <a href="http://www.shrpsports.com/nba/stand.php?link=Y&amp;season=2002&amp;divcnf=div&amp;month=Feb&amp;date=23">the Wizards were 27-27 and in the playoff chase</a>, tied for seventh in the Eastern Conference with Allen Iverson&rsquo;s Philadelphia 76ers and Baron Davis&rsquo; Charlotte Hornets. Washington was also just three games behind Paul Pierce, Antoine Walker and the Boston Celtics, who were sitting in fourth. Jordan had been averaging 24.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.5 steals per game on 41.9% shooting from the field and 78.8% from the free-throw line at the time of his injury, which forced an extended absence.&nbsp;
(Just days before the setback, the Wizards were 27-23 and fifth in the East, and that was about three months following a 2-9 start to the season).
There's at least one notable story regarding Jordan&rsquo;s MVP candidacy that you can still find on the internet. Here's an excerpt of an article <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/13/sports/pro-basketball-inside-the-nba-jordan-lifts-wizards-and-his-mvp-bid.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">written by Mike Wise in the New York Times</a> on Jan. 13, 2002, for example.
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Who else besides Jason Kidd, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett has been more important to his team? O'Neal and Chris Webber have been injured, and neither Tracy McGrady nor Vince Carter has elevated his team to the top of the Eastern Conference. Allen Iverson, the reigning MVP, is muddling through a disappointing season in Philadelphia.
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By that point in the season, the Wizards were 18-16 and on track to not just make the playoffs, but also match the 19-win mark that the team recorded the previous season that same week. (That's how D.C. ended up with 2001 No. 1 overall pick Kwame Brown).
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Just two weeks earlier, Jordan dropped 51 points against the Hornets and 45 points (plus 10 rebounds and 7 assists) against the first-place (and soon-to-be East champion) New Jersey Nets in consecutive blowout victories. Those were his two highest-scoring totals of the season &mdash; though he did have back-to-back 40-point games in late January in wins over the Cleveland Cavaliers and Phoenix Suns.
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More importantly, that two-game, 96-point outburst against the Hornets and Nets stemmed from an uncharacteristic 6-point effort against the Indiana Pacers just days earlier. It's a time that our own Etan Thomas, then a rookie teammate of MJ's on the Wizards, specifically recalls.
&ldquo;I remember the media was ripping him to shreds,&rdquo; Thomas said. &ldquo;After that, they were like, 'He&rsquo;s too old, he shouldn&rsquo;t have come back, he&rsquo;s tarnishing his legacy,' yadda, yadda, yadda. So I remember going into the locker room, and he was sitting in this chair reading the papers. I remember seeing him rockin&rsquo; and, like, humming and biting his lip, and he was like, 'Uh huh.' So I guess he was just reading it over and over again. He was very intense.&rdquo;
On the 51-point eruption in particular, Thomas highlighted: &ldquo;In that game, it was like magic. It was electrifying, like every move, and he was on fire!&rdquo;
In Wise's aforementioned story, then-Miami Heat center Alonzo Mourning had his own <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/13/sports/pro-basketball-inside-the-nba-jordan-lifts-wizards-and-his-mvp-bid.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">thoughts on Jordan's aging process</a>.
<blockquote>
"Every player reaches a point in their career where their game starts to decline. Some earlier than others. Look at Michael. He's 38. He's not averaging 30-something points a game like he used to. He's in the low 20's now. Is he still effective? Yeah, he's very effective. Is he the old Michael? Hell no. Far from it, even with those 50-point games now and then.
"I played against the old Michael. I've seen him at that level. But he's made the adjustment. He's learned to cope with his body playing at a certain level and not expecting to play at the old level. He's raised his game in other areas."
</blockquote>
Thomas, though, explains that people didn&rsquo;t realize the severity of Jordan's ongoing ailments. Beyond nearing 40 years old, MJ was simply overcoming more than the public knew.
&ldquo;This is the part that people don&rsquo;t understand: how injured he was. I saw it firsthand,&rdquo; Thomas said. &ldquo;Somehow it leaked that he was getting his knee drained, and I was sitting there like, &lsquo;I see him do that every other day!&rsquo; Literally, his knee would swell up like the Elephant Man! I was sitting in the training room getting some treatment or whatever, and he was on the table next to me. I saw it! They came in, and they pulled out this needle and drained his knee. They drained it and this black-tar goo stuff came out and he was in excruciating pain and it looked terrible!
&ldquo;I asked him, &lsquo;Why are you even doing this?&rsquo; He didn&rsquo;t need to prove anything to anybody. And when I said it, the whole training room got quiet, and he just looked at me and kinda shook his head. He didn&rsquo;t give me an answer, he just kinda shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. He was really in pain, he just didn&rsquo;t tell nobody.&rdquo;
In the NYT piece, Sacramento Kings general manager Geoff Petrie &mdash; who won NBA Executive of the Year in both 1999 and 2001 &mdash; <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/13/sports/pro-basketball-inside-the-nba-jordan-lifts-wizards-and-his-mvp-bid.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said Jordan had a shot at MVP</a>, albeit a fringe one, saying he&rsquo;d vote for Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal and Kobe Bryant instead, who then had the Lakers at 26-8.
<blockquote>
"I'd say Shaq and Kobe, who are almost indistinguishable because both are so good. Then [Jason] Kidd, [Tim] Duncan and maybe [Kevin] Garnett. But if the Wizards keep going the way they are, Michael would have to have a shot.
"There is another reservoir of talent there with [Jordan]. He's so driven. I was reading something Grant Hill said recently, about the fact that it's so easy to get caught up in Jordan's athleticism. The level of athleticism has dropped, but the skill level is so high."
</blockquote>
Thomas adds that, while Jordan was nearing 40, you&rsquo;d still often get those glimpses of his true game in practices &mdash; and his competitiveness on a daily basis.&nbsp;
&ldquo;You saw the flashes of him being MJ MJ,&rdquo; Thomas assured. &ldquo;But his game was different, so now, it wasn&rsquo;t that explosive game that you&rsquo;re seeing on all the highlights with him coming down dunking on everybody. He started working the mid-range. And I saw him torch people with that mid-range. We had that little drop play to 'em &mdash; kinda semi-triangle &mdash; but he would work off the elbow and he would just be torching cats with it. So his game changed.
&ldquo;I was there seeing all of that. I was like, 'Man, he&rsquo;s still MJ!' It was just different. It wasn&rsquo;t like, 'Oh, come down the lane and dunk on everybody,' it was just killing everybody with the mid-range. It was like he had everybody on a string! He was making these moves and they could not stop him! They kept going for all of the fakes! And these were all top defenders!&rdquo;
Jordan subsequently finished 13th in MVP voting with 16 voter points. His finished with averages of 22.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game on 41.6% shooting from the field and 79.0% on free throws. He led the team in points, assists and steals per game through 60 appearances.
The Wizards finished the season 37-45, but they were 7-15 in the games that MJ missed.
Tim Duncan <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/awards/awards_2002.html">wound up winning the MVP that year in a close race over Jason Kidd</a>. Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal, Tracy McGrady, and Kobe Bryant rounded out the top five.
But when healthy, Jordan was far better than people would have you believe that season.
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Bryan Fonseca revisits Michael Jordan's comeback season with the Wizards, with insight from MJ's former teammate Etan Thomas.

Did you know Michael Jordan was an MVP candidate with the Wizards?

Shawn Marion wants you to put respect on his name.
It's a common retort for former and current players who feel their games or resumes are being slighted. Marion isn't the first nor the last player to make the request, but man was his version one of the more emotional ones we've gotten to date.
To be clear, I do not mean emotional as a pejorative.
During a Twitter space on Tuesday night, Marion found himself on stage defending his own honor. Comments about his shooting form, admittedly a wonky one, put him on the defensive. He felt the shots at his form were unfairly discounting the overall impact he had during his playing career.&nbsp;
And he let the people know about it. Put your headphones in if you're at work, or around children.
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Shawn Marion&rsquo;s RANT is an All-Time Classic 😂💀👏 <a href="https://t.co/tQVDO3NClE">pic.twitter.com/tQVDO3NClE</a>
&mdash; MOC dude 🏜 (@moc_dude) <a href="https://twitter.com/moc_dude/status/1506490247604961287?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 23, 2022</a></blockquote>

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There are some bad words in there [shivers], but the heart of his message is absolutely correct. Let's get to the key notes, shall we?
"That was the one thing they (detractors) did to me, talk about my [expletive] shot," Marion said. "Nobody in the [expletive] league shoots the same! Get the [expletive] out of here. I was shooting 35, 40% from the [expletive] three-point line at one point of my career."
Marion has a point. There were, and are, plenty of unique jumpers in the league. He shot from his chest; Kevin Martin shot from his hip like he was pulling a gun from a holster. If it goes in, it goes in.
And to further Marion's point, he shot 37.2% from three (3.1 attempts) over a three-year stretch from 2002 to 2004.
That isn't a ton of volume when looking at things through the context of today's league, but considering the league average for three-point attempts was a shade under 15 attempts per team (and around 35%) during that stretch, Marion held his own in that regard.
"You want to talk about my [expletive] shot, but don't want to talk about everything else I did on the floor?" Marion argued. "I'm averaging 20-plus points, and over 10 rebounds per game at 6-foot-7 in a league that's dominated by bigs at the time &mdash; dominated by power forwards and centers. Then, I'm getting 2&nbsp; blocks, and I'm getting 2-plus steals per game."
There's some minor fact-checking needed, but again, the heart of Marion's argument is correct.
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His 2005-06 season is one of the most underrated over the past 20 years. The man averaged 21.8 points (.577/.331/.809 splits), 11.8 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.7 blocks while playing 40 minutes a night.
That's wild box-score production and an even wilder workload, especially when you consider how fast (relative to the rest of the league) the Phoenix Suns were playing, and the defensive assignments he was tasked with as their best/most versative defender.
If we want to zoom out a bit, Marion had a seven-year stretch between 2001-2007 where he averaged 19.3 points (.511/.344/.829), 10.4 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.4 blocks. The Suns had a plus-4.2 Net Rating with him on the floor, and a minus-1.9 NET with him on the bench,<a href="https://www.pbpstats.com/wowy-combos/nba?TeamId=1610612756&amp;Season=2000-01,2001-02,2002-03,2003-04,2004-05,2005-06,2006-07&amp;SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason&amp;PlayerIds=1890" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> per PBP Stats</a>.&nbsp;
Marion made four All-Star games and two All-NBA teams (third-team selections in '04-05 and '05-06) during that stretch. It's hard to overstate how unlucky Marion was in terms of award selections.
Think about the forwards he was up against. Pantheon guys like Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki. Drop it a tier, and you still have Paul Pierce, Chris Webber at the peak of his powers, Tracy McGrady or Vince Carter depending on their positional designations and Ron Artest (we don't talk about his peak enough). Towards the end of the run, you're adding LeBron James to the mix.
Marion not having an All-Defensive team on his resume says nothing about him &mdash; the stocks (steals and blocks) are eye-opening, but he legitimately could defend 1-through-4 while being an absolute menace as a weak-side helper &mdash; and more about the era he played in.
Here are some clips of older, post-title Marion on defense. Look at the range of players and responsibilities he has to deal with. Now, imagine this with even more athleticism.
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Again, All-Defensive teams for Marion meant being one of the four best defenders at forward. You could pencil in Duncan and Garnett. Then there's Artest, Andrei Kirilenko and Bruce Bowen to contend with (among others).
Don't let the lack of team selections fool you: Marion was one of the best defenders of the generation.
"Who's got the No. 1 winning percentage in Phoenix Suns history? Me. I'm top-five in almost every category in Phoenix Suns history," Marion said. "Go back and look at it Numbers don't lie... I adjusted my game to every team I went on because I wanted to win. I got one of the best winning percentages in NBA history."
Marion doesn't have the highest winning percentage in Suns history (.611), though it does rank sixth<a href="https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/which-player-has-the-highest-winning-percentage-ever-in-phoenix-suns-history-with-a-minimum-of-500-games-played" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> among players who have played at least 500 games</a> of the franchise. That kind of win rate shouldn't be sneezed at.
He does<a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/PHO/leaders_career.html"> rank in the top five</a> in total minutes (second), points (fourth), rebounds (second; first in offensive), steals (second), blocks (third) field goals made and attempted (third) and three-pointers made (fifth, though ninth-place Mikal Bridges could catch him in a year or two).
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To the adjusting-his-game portion, he's got a point there too. What made Marion unique was that he could give you buckets without dominated the ball. He got busy in transition, was a timely cutter, lit teams up on the offensive glass, could get busy as the roll/slip man in pick-and-roll and had the aforementioned stretch where he shot well from deep.&nbsp;
His off-ball feel made him an easy fit alongside different primaries. Stephon Marbury early on. Steve Nash. Dwyane Wade (though that overall experiment didn't go well). Nowitzki.
And oh yeah, he won a title in 2011.
Marion's importance ranged from second to fifth on that team depending on who you ask &mdash; especially when Caron Butler was lost for the year &mdash; but the Mavs surely wouldn't have won that title without him.&nbsp;
Let's stop sleeping on Marion, please. The jumper was funky, but he was a star in his own right during his peak.
Heck, teams are looking for Marion-esque players now; 6-foot-7 wings who can fill gaps offensively and defend all over the place are among the most valuable archetypes in basketball.
As Marion said, he left quite an imprint on this game.
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Nekias Duncan defends Shawn Marion defending himself. Put some respect on his name.