Portland Trail Blazers

Brendan Malone, whose coaching career spanned six decades, is the recipient of the 2023 Tex Winter Assistant Coach Lifetime Impact award, the National Basketball Coaches Association announced today.
&ldquo;Brendan Malone has been a name synonymous with NBA success for many decades,&rdquo; said Rick Carlisle, Indiana Pacers head coach and NBCA president. &ldquo;He's helped develop players and young coaches, and been a multiple NBA champion on Chuck Daly's Detroit coaching staff in 1989 and 1990. Congrats to Coach Malone on this prestigious recognition.&rdquo;&nbsp;
&ldquo;I want to thank the National Basketball Coaches Association for this award,&rdquo; Malone said. &ldquo;Tex Winter was a man I got to know and respect. I also want to thank all of the head coaches that I enjoyed working with during my 29-year career in the NBA, in particular Hubie Brown who brought me into the league; Chuck Daly and our two championships; the Van Gundys, Stan and Jeff, and Don Chaney. Lastly, I want to thank my wife Maureen and our six children for sharing my journey.&rdquo;
Wetting his whistle with a few years of coaching CYO basketball, Malone began his coaching career in 1967 at the legendary Power Memorial Academy in New York City where he won three city championships and three Coach of the Year awards.
He then moved to the college ranks in 1976 as an assistant coach at Fordham, then Yale, and then Syracuse. At Syracuse, the Orange went to the NCAA Tournament four times. Malone was a Syracuse assistant for the first five years of the Big East. He left Syracuse to become head coach at the University of Rhode Island (URI) in 1984.
While at URI in 1986, Hubie Brown recruited Malone to join him as an assistant for the New York Knicks, the beginning of his 29-year NBA career. Malone had three different tours with the Knicks, the most notable of which was the four years with head coach Jeff Van Gundy. From 1996 to 2000, the Knicks went 177-119 with two Eastern Conference Finals appearances, as well as a trip to the 1999 NBA Finals.
Malone was an assistant coach for Stan Van Gundy for five years (2007 to 2012) in Orlando. The Magic won 50-plus games four straight years, went to the Eastern Conference Finals twice, and to the 2009 NBA Finals.
Malone was also an assistant coach for Bob Hill and Rick Pitino in New York, Don Chaney in both Detroit and New York, Isiah Thomas in Indiana, Paul Silas in Cleveland and Stan Van Gundy in Detroit. He was also a scout for the Detroit Pistons.&nbsp;
But it was in Detroit with Chuck Daly that Malone made his name, orchestrating the Jordan Rules defense that helped propel the Pistons to back-to-back NBA championships in 1989 and 1990.
Malone was the first head coach of the Toronto Raptors in 1995-96 and also served as head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers for 18 games in 2004-05.
In 27 seasons of NBA coaching, teams that Malone coached went to the playoffs 20 times, to the Conference Finals seven times, and to the NBA Finals four times, winning the title twice. His teams compiled a 1165-1001 record (.538).
Brendan and his son, Michael, who is the head coach of the 2023 NBA champion Denver Nuggets, are the only father-son coaching duo to have both won an NBA championship.
&ldquo;I want to thank the NBCA Selection Committee for acknowledging my father&rsquo;s impact and career in the NBA,&rdquo; Michael Malone said. &ldquo;His work ethic, his love of the game, and his passion for teaching were the foundation of my coaching career. This is a well-deserved honor and I feel very fortunate to be a part of this celebration.&rdquo;
Brendan Malone was enshrined in the New York Catholic High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 1993. In 1997, he was inducted into the Basketball Old-Timers of America Hall of Fame (which recognizes and honors individuals who have made outstanding contributions to New York City basketball). He is a 2017 enshrinee in the Power Memorial Academy Hall of Fame.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Assistant coaches generally operate behind the scenes and almost never receive enough public recognition for their team&rsquo;s success. However, any head coach will tell you that they are an indispensable part of the team equation,&rdquo; said David Fogel, NBCA Executive Director and General Counsel. &ldquo;Coach Malone&rsquo;s contributions to the accomplishments of his teams are well known inside the NBA and his contributions to the game continue through his son Michael&rsquo;s tremendous success. Congratulations to Brendan on this well-deserved honor.&rdquo;
The NBCA Tex Winter Lifetime Impact Award honors the tremendous achievements and commitment of Hall-of-Famer Tex Winter, who set a standard of innovation, integrity, competitive excellence, loyalty, and tireless promotion of NBA basketball throughout the course of his outstanding NBA coaching career.
The award is selected annually by the NBCA Selection Committee, comprised of some of the most respected coaches and executives in the game, including Rick Adelman, Hubie Brown, Doug Collins, Wayne Embry, Danny Ferry, Mike Fratello, George Karl, Doc Rivers, Rod Thorn and Lenny Wilkens.
This year&rsquo;s nominees included assistant coaches Bob Beyer, Dan Burke, Jeff Bzdelik, Gordon Chiesa, Carroll Dawson, Hank Egan, Jim Eyen, Brian Hill, Jim Lynam, Bob McAdoo, Brendan Suhr and Bob Weiss.
Prior recipients of this award are Ron Adams (2022), Dick Helm (2021), Bill Bertka (2019), Tim Grgurich (2018), Ron Rothstein (2017) and Phil Johnson (2016).

Brendan Malone is the recipient of the 2023 Tex Winter Assistant Coach Lifetime Impact award, the NBCA announced today.

Brendan Malone given Tex Winter Assistant Coach Lifetime Impact award

Rick Adelman, a Hall-of-Fame coach and one of only 10 coaches in NBA history to have won more than 1,000 games, is the recipient of the 2023 Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award, the National Basketball Coaches Association announced today.
&ldquo;Rick Adelman&rsquo;s NBA coaching career has been highlighted by innovation, integrity, and excellence,&rdquo; said Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle, who is also the NBCA president. &ldquo;His teams always played to their strengths, and Rick always found subtle ways to reinvent NBA basketball to help his players thrive. His quiet, unassuming nature belies his impact as one of the great NBA coaches of all time.&rdquo;
&ldquo;I am honored to receive the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award,&rdquo; Adelman said. &ldquo;To be included with the past winners is special. Chuck was a great coach and respected by all those who coached against his teams. To receive an award like this I have to thank all those who helped me along the way, in particular my assistant coaches and front offices. I would also like to thank the players I had through the years. Their effort and cooperation made everything I did possible. Good players make coaching much easier.
&ldquo;This event makes me think of Michael Goldberg, who was a big help to all coaches and especially to me. He was a good friend who I miss. Thanks to the National Basketball Coaches Association, Coach Rick Carlisle and David Fogel. I also want to thank the Selection Committee for presenting me with this honor. I am grateful to all of those who made this possible, especially my wife Mary Kay and my family. Thank you.&rdquo;
Adelman coached in the NBA for 29 years, including 23 as a head coach for five different teams (the Portland Trail Blazers, Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings, Houston Rockets and Minnesota Timberwolves), amassing a 1,042-749 (.582) career record. He led his teams &ndash; known for their free-flowing, read-and-react motion offenses &ndash; to the playoffs 16 times, to the Conference Finals four times and to the NBA Finals twice.
He played collegiately at Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles and, as a senior in 1967-68, was voted West Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Year. Drafted by the San Diego Rockets in 1968, Adelman played seven seasons in the NBA.
Adelman began his coaching career at Chemeketa Community College in Salem, Oregon, in 1977 where he led his teams to a 141-39 record and three conference championships in six years. It was while at Chemeketa in 1983 that he was hired by the legendary coach Jack Ramsay as an assistant coach for the Blazers, a position he held until he was named head coach midway through the 1988-89 season.
In his first full season as an NBA head coach in 1989-90, Adelman led the Blazers to a 59-23 record, the Western Conference championship and a trip to the NBA Finals. Two years later, the Blazers were once again Western Conference champions and back in the NBA Finals. Under Adelman, Portland had four straight seasons of 50-plus wins, a record of 291-154 (.684) and were in the playoffs all six seasons.&nbsp;
Adelman coached the Warriors for the 1995-96 and 1996-97 seasons before assuming the reins in Sacramento in 1998. In eight seasons as head coach of the Kings, Adelman had a 395-229 (.683) record, winning 50 games or more in five consecutive seasons and taking the team to the playoffs each year.
In 2007, Adelman was named the Rockets' head coach, leading Houston to back-to-back 50-plus win seasons in his first two years and a winning record in all four seasons. Adelman closed out his coaching career with the Minnesota Timberwolves, where his teams improved from 17 to 26 to 31 to 40 wins in his three seasons at the helm.
In 2014, upon his retirement, Adelman ranked ninth all-time in both games coached (1,791) and games won (1,042). Today, he ranks 10th in games won and 13th on the all-time playoff wins list with 79. His teams had a total of 11 50-win seasons and two 60-plus win seasons. Adelman finished runner-up in Coach of the Year voting four times with three different teams (1990-91 with Portland, 2000-01 and 2001-02 with Sacramento and 2008-09 with Houston) and was a three-time All-Star Game coach.
Adelman was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach in 2021. He was inducted into the Loyola Marymount Hall of Fame in 1986 and was named Oregon Sports Person of the Year in both 1990 and 1992. In 2015, the West Coast Conference (formerly the WCAC) inducted him into its Hall of Honor.
&ldquo;Rick Adelman is widely respected for his teaching, his tough-to-defend motion offenses, and his ability to get players to buy into his philosophy,&rdquo; said David Fogel, the National Basketball Coaches Association's executive director and general counsel. &ldquo;His commitment to the game and his players is reflected in his career accomplishments and makes him a most worthy recipient of this award. Congratulations to Coach Adelman on this prestigious recognition.&rdquo;
The National Basketball Coaches Association&rsquo;s Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award honors the memory of Hall-of-Fame coach Chuck Daly, who set a standard for integrity, competitive excellence and tireless promotion of NBA basketball. The award is determined annually by a Selection Committee comprised of some of the most respected coaches and basketball executives in the game, including Bernie Bickerstaff, Billy Cunningham, Joe Dumars, Phil Jackson, Gregg Popovich, Pat Riley, Donnie Walsh and Lenny Wilkens.
The prior recipients are Mike Fratello (2022), Larry Brown (2021), Del Harris (2020), Frank Layden (2019), Doug Moe (2018), Al Attles and Hubie Brown (2017), K.C. Jones and Jerry Sloan (2016), Dick Motta (2015), Bernie Bickerstaff (2014), Bill Fitch (2013), Pat Riley (2012), Lenny Wilkens (2011), Jack Ramsay and Tex Winter (2010), and Tommy Heinsohn (2009).

Rick Adelman is the 18th recipient of the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award.

Rick Adelman named winner of Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award

A list of 12 of the top talents in modern NBA history to have never appeared in an All-Star Game.

The 12 best modern-history players to never make an NBA All-Star team

ATLANTA (AP) &mdash; Trae Young had 24 points and a season-high 17 assists, De&rsquo;Andre Hunter added 24 points and the Atlanta Hawks beat the reeling San Antonio Spurs 125-106 on Saturday night.
The Spurs (14-43), losers of a season-high 12 straight, are a half-game ahead of last-place Houston (13-43) in the Western Conference. Atlanta (29-28) has won two straight and four of six. The Hawks are eighth in the East.
The losing streak is San Antonio&rsquo;s longest since the 1988-89 club dropped a team-record 13 in a row.
&ldquo;They play their (butt) off,&rdquo; Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. &ldquo;They do everything they can. We&rsquo;ll just keep forming good habits and hope that this builds and builds as the weeks and months and next season come along.&rdquo;
Atlanta never trailed after Young&rsquo;s layup early in the third made it 65-64. The Hawks went on a 12-0 run to take a 75-64 lead, the game&rsquo;s first in double digits, on a pair of free throws by John Collins. A dunk by Clint Capela made it 82-70 at the 4:39 mark of the third, and the Spurs called timeout.
&ldquo;San Antonio is always going to play hard and always play the right way, meaning there&rsquo;s going to be five guys out there connected,&rdquo; Atlanta coach Nate McMillan said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re going to be moving the ball. They&rsquo;re going to be working hard trying to outscrap you. That&rsquo;s just the way they play.
&ldquo;It took us 24 minutes to start establishing and coming with that urgency that we needed on both ends of the floor.&rdquo;
Young hit two free throws to make it 93-77 entering the fourth with Atlanta&rsquo;s biggest lead. San Antonio was just 5 for 22 from the field in the third and was outscored 32-17. The lead swelled to 23 in the fourth.
&ldquo;I think we just picked up the pressure defensively and got out and ran more and got some better shots and some faster shots,&rdquo; Young said. &ldquo;I think we were going too slow in that first half, and they were pushing the pace and pushing it at us. We just knew we had to pick up the pressure.&rdquo;
Keldon Johnson, San Antonio&rsquo;s leading scorer this season, was back in the lineup after missing Friday&rsquo;s double overtime loss at Detroit with left ankle soreness and finished with 25 points. Jeremy Sochan added 18.
Capela finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds, and Collins added 17 points for the Hawks.
The Hawks led 61-60 at halftime as Hunter had 17 points, Capela had 12 points with eight rebounds and Young 12 points with 10 assists. Johnson and Sochan each scored 18 before intermission for San Antonio.
Atlanta outscored the Spurs 25-12 in points off turnovers.
TIP-INS
Spurs: One night after scoring 31 points to set a franchise record in a San Antonio debut, Devonte&rsquo; Graham, acquired in Thursday&rsquo;s trade with New Orleans, finished with nine points off the bench. ... G Tre Jones was back in the lineup after missing four straight games with left foot soreness and scored eight points. ... Sochan returned after missing four straight games with lower back soreness. He scored 11 points in the first quarter and finished with a career-high nine rebounds.
Hawks: In his first game against his former team, Dejounte Murray scored 18 points. ... Young passed Lenny Wilkens for fourth place on the Hawks&rsquo; career assists list with 3,050. ... Newly acquired C Bruno Fernando and G Garrison Mathews were not in uniform, but McMillan hopes they will be ready to debut Monday at Charlotte. ... Hunter had 12 points and Young had six assists in the first quarter.
ON SITE
McMillan said Saddiq Bey sat on the bench as the newly acquired swingman was in limbo with Thursday&rsquo;s four-team trade uncertain because Gary Payton II allegedly failed a physical with Golden State. Payton was supposed to return to the Warriors from Portland. Bey was acquired from Detroit. Golden State has until Sunday to decide whether to go forward with the deal or nix it.

Trae Young had 24 points and a season-high 17 assists, and the Atlanta Hawks beat the reeling San Antonio Spurs 125-106.

Young, Hunter pace Hawks past reeling Spurs 125-106

NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Ben Simmons streaked behind the defense and caught a pass in transition that he dunked. About a minute later, he fired a cross-court pass to a Brooklyn Nets teammate for a 3-pointer.
Those were the types of plays the Philadelphia 76ers had seen many times before.
On Monday, Simmons finally made them for another team.
Simmons played against his former club in his first NBA game since June 2021, making him among a number of big names who got back to basketball action.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m grateful just to be able to step on that floor, step on an NBA floor again,&rdquo; Simmons said. &ldquo;So I had a lot of fun out there.&rdquo;
Kawhi Leonard also returned for the Los Angeles Clippers, as did Jamal Murray for the Denver Nuggets, after they both sat out last season recovering from surgeries for ACL tears.
&ldquo;539 days later&hellip; BOUT THAT TIME!!&rdquo; <a href="https://twitter.com/BeMore27/status/1577028842304462850?s=20&amp;t=ONs7jrBtujD6lJ4WvMznnw">Murray wrote on Twitter</a>.
&ldquo;Just being able to put all that hard work that I did throughout the, whatever, 14, 16 months, just being able to put that into test playing against NBA talent was good,&rdquo; Leonard said after the Clippers 102-97 win over Portland. &ldquo;Just being out there with the guys, talking, I missed it. It was a great experience for me.&rdquo;
That's no doubt how their teams felt after expecting to be title contenders last season but instead having those hopes wrecked by injuries. Paul George also missed significant time for the Clippers, and Michael Porter Jr. was out for all but nine games for the Nuggets.
They all played Monday, along with Damian Lillard returning for Portland after missing the final 47 games last season, when the Clippers and Trail Blazers met in a preseason game.
&ldquo;As a fan of the game, Kawhi being back is great for basketball, Jamal Murray being back is great for basketball,&rdquo; the Nets' Kevin Durant said. &ldquo;All the guys that have been out injured and able to play again, it&rsquo;s a great feeling just seeing them out there.&rdquo;
Simmons hoped he was close to playing last February after getting traded to the Nets in a deal headlined by James Harden. Simmons had cited mental health reasons in seeking a trade from the 76ers following a disappointing postseason when he took a bulk of the criticism after the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference was ousted by Atlanta in the second round.
But a herniated disk kept him from making a late-season debut and forced him to get offseason surgery.
Fully cleared now, Simmons was in the starting lineup and finished with six points, five assists and four rebounds in 19 minutes. He went weakly out of Philadelphia, with the last memory of the 2016 No. 1 pick's time there passing up a layup down the stretch of the Game 7 loss to the Hawks. But he looked confident pushing the ball in transition or playmaking from the post &mdash; though did miss his only two free throws.
Simmons said he thought he would feel nervous but didn't. Durant recalled feeling anxious when he returned after missing the 2019-20 season after Achilles tendon surgery.
&ldquo;You wonder how your lungs are going to feel playing in an organized game because playing pickup, working out is different than playing in a game,&rdquo; Durant said. &ldquo;So you just want to see where your legs are on the jump shot. So being away for a year, you get a lot of anxiety coming back. I know I did.&rdquo;
In Seattle, a bevy of big names made their preseason debuts before a sold-out crowd in just the second preseason game between NBA teams in the Emerald City since the departure of the SuperSonics for Oklahoma City.
While there were Clippers and Blazers fans, the prominent color was overwhelmingly green and gold amid constant hope that some day the Sonics will return.
The fans that showed up were treated to Leonard&rsquo;s first action since injuring his knee during the 2021 Western Conference semifinals, just a few days before Simmons.
Leonard looked just fine, knocking down his first shot 15 seconds into the game and scored 11 points in 16 minutes in the first half. John Wall also made his debut with the Clippers after the five-time All-Star did not play last season. Wall scored five points in 11 minutes and George added 12 points in 16 minutes. All three played just the first half.
Lillard played into the second half and had 16 points in 23 minutes.
The royalty of Seattle basketball turned out, including Lenny Wilkens, Shawn Kemp, Gary Payton, Jamal Crawford, George Karl, Detlef Schrempf, Sam Perkins and many others connected to the city&rsquo;s hoops history. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer grabbed the microphone before tipoff and thanked his hometown for turning out.
&ldquo;I watched thousands of basketball games in Seattle &mdash; CYO, little kids, AAU, pro, college, you name it. So if this is a basketball city, damnit, let&rsquo;s hear it,&rdquo; Ballmer screamed right before tipoff, eliciting huge cheers from the crowd.
Murray's absence in Denver was even longer, having torn his ACL in April 2021 and leaving him unable to try to duplicate the brilliant postseason he had while leading the Nuggets to the 2020 West finals at Walt Disney World.
Murray scored 10 points in 15 minutes for the Nuggets in their loss to Oklahoma City.
&ldquo;Those long-term injuries are tough, dark,&rdquo; Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault said. "These guys do not have long windows to play basketball, they cannot play until they are 50. It&rsquo;s tough and takes a lot of commitment and work. The progress, especially early on, is almost invisible. You are non-weight bearing for a large amount of time with those types of injuries. Certainly happy for him and wish him well, in terms of staying healthy. He&rsquo;s a really good player and their team will benefit from having him back.&rdquo;
___
AP Sports Writers Pat Graham in Denver and Tim Booth in Seattle contributed to this report.

"All the guys that have been out injured and able to play again, it’s a great feeling just seeing them out there," Kevin Durant said.

Ben Simmons, Kawhi Leonard, Jamal Murray among happy NBA returns

It&rsquo;s an annual occurrence in the NBA. Teams change head coaches and the roster of candidates who should get those jobs starts getting bandied about, and especially in recent years those lists almost always included Black candidates.
Case in point: Ime Udoka, who is of Nigerian descent.
For five years, he was one of those can&rsquo;t-miss candidates but never got hired. That is, until the Boston Celtics gave him the opportunity. And all Udoka did in Year 1 was reach the NBA Finals.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t understand what took so long, to be honest,&rdquo; Celtics guard Jaylen Brown said.
Udoka&rsquo;s hiring by the Eastern Conference champion Celtics, who open the NBA Finals on Thursday night against the Golden State Warriors, was part of a transformative year for the league when it comes to diversity within the coaching ranks. In the last 12 months, eight coaching jobs have been filled by Black candidates &mdash; and for the first time, half the league&rsquo;s franchises, 15 of the 30, have Black head coaches.
&ldquo;It means a lot,&rdquo; said Golden State assistant Mike Brown, one of the eight recent Black hires; he&rsquo;s taking over the Sacramento Kings when this series ends. &ldquo;When my son, and my oldest son&rsquo;s about to have his first son, when they turn on the TV and they see people that look like them leading an NBA team on the sidelines, it can be inspiring.
&ldquo;For me, carrying the torch and then passing it to the next generation is something that I think about often &mdash; not just for my family, but for others out there.&rdquo;
Detroit&rsquo;s Dwane Casey, Phoenix&rsquo;s Monty Williams, Cleveland&rsquo;s J.B. Bickerstaff, Philadelphia&rsquo;s Doc Rivers, the Los Angeles Clippers&rsquo; Tyronn Lue, Houston&rsquo;s Stephen Silas and Atlanta&rsquo;s Nate McMillan are the seven Black coaches who had their current jobs last season. They&rsquo;ve been joined in the last year by Udoka, Brown, Portland&rsquo;s Chauncey Billups, Dallas&rsquo; Jason Kidd, Orlando&rsquo;s Jamahl Mosley, Washington&rsquo;s Wes Unseld Jr., New Orleans&rsquo; Willie Green and last week, the Los Angeles Lakers hired Darvin Ham.
Mosley interviewed for nine jobs before getting hired in Orlando. Ham, like Udoka, had been a can&rsquo;t-miss name for years, but never got a chance until now.
&ldquo;Darvin is about as good a guy as you&rsquo;re going to see, a big competitor,&rdquo; Boston&rsquo;s Al Horford said. &ldquo;Extreme competitor. The Lakers are really lucky to have a guy like him. He&rsquo;s the kind of guy that you want.&rdquo;
It&rsquo;s been nearly 60 years since Bill Russell broke the NBA coaching color barrier when he became the first Black man to coach a team; he accepted the role as player-coach of the Celtics starting with the 1966-67 season and won a championship in his second season.
Al Attles and Lenny Wilkens were the next two Black coaches to get opportunities; they would eventually become champions as well. There have been roughly 260 different coaches in the NBA, excluding short-term interim fill-ins, since Russell was hired, and 1 out of 3 of those coaches have been Black. But most of those Black coaches have either lasted in their first job no more than three years or not gotten a second chance at leading a team.
Players wanted that to change. Evidently, so did other coaches.
&ldquo;For many years qualified young coaches of color like Ime Udoka, Jamahl Mosley, Willie Green, Wes Unseld Jr., Darvin Ham and Stephen Silas, to name just a few, were not getting consistent opportunities to interview for NBA head coaching positions,&rdquo; said Indiana coach Rick Carlisle, the president of the National Basketball Coaches Association. &ldquo;The last two years changed everything. The league office has tirelessly made franchises more aware of the qualifications and journeys of these talented young coaches. This increased awareness has led to qualified coaches of all backgrounds having greater opportunity to interview and the numbers speak for themselves.&rdquo;
Part of that awareness came from a meeting that three league officials &mdash; Commissioner Adam Silver, chief people and inclusion officer Oris Stuart and president of social responsibility and player programs Kathy Behrens &mdash; had with Carlisle, representing the NBCA, in February 2019.
Out of that meeting, the NBA Coaches Equality Initiative was born. The NBCA worked with the league in many ways to get it started, including the building of a database; in a couple of clicks, teams in need of coaches could get information, including qualifications, experience and even an on-camera interview in some cases, on every available candidate.
&ldquo;You have to talk about these issues all the time,&rdquo; Silver said Thursday. &ldquo;If you care about diversity and inclusion in your workplace ... it has to become a focus.&rdquo;
There are still areas where the NBA can improve in terms of diversity. Most front-office positions are not held by people of color and Michael Jordan is the lone Black principal owner of a franchise; Jordan leads the Charlotte Hornets, the only team that has a coaching vacancy right now.
It&rsquo;s an issue, and while there has been improvement in some areas, Silver wants more.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s more work to be done,&rdquo; Silver said.
That said, the numbers in the NBA wildly exceed the other major U.S. pro leagues.
There are three Black coaches in the NFL: Pittsburgh&rsquo;s Mike Tomlin, Houston&rsquo;s Lovie Smith and Tampa Bay&rsquo;s Todd Bowles. That does not include Miami&rsquo;s Mike McDaniel; his father is Black, but McDaniel identifies as biracial. The person McDaniel replaced in Miami, former coach Brian Flores, is suing the Dolphins and the NFL for what he says is racial discrimination in hiring practices.
&ldquo;Our league leads the charge,&rdquo; Mike Brown said. &ldquo;Hopefully other leagues will follow suit.&rdquo;
But he also points out that he longs for a day when 50% of the coaches in a league being Black won&rsquo;t seem like a milestone, saying that&rsquo;s &ldquo;the dream.&rdquo; And Silver echoed those sentiments.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m particularly proud of numbers and roughly 50% of our head coaches are Black now, the goal is that that&rsquo;s not newsworthy,&rdquo; Silver said. &ldquo;And when people are hired, the first reaction isn&rsquo;t the color of their skin.&rdquo;

“Our league leads the charge,” Mike Brown said. “Hopefully other leagues will follow suit.”

Transformative year: Black coaches now lead 50% of NBA teams

CLEVELAND (AP) &mdash; When things got tight down the stretch, the Bulls' experience &mdash; and their All-Star power &mdash; showed up.
The Cavaliers caved.
Zach LaVine scored 26 points, DeMar DeRozan added 20 and Chicago stayed alone in the No. 5 spot in the Eastern Conference with a 98-94 win Saturday night over Cleveland, which didn't wake up until the second half.
The Bulls held the Cavs to just 35 points in the first half, then held off Cleveland's comeback in the fourth quarter to win on the road for the first time since March 9.
Chicago came in holding a one-game lead over Cleveland for the fifth playoff spot. The Bulls were determined not to give it up.
&ldquo;We played desperate tonight and it showed,&rdquo; said center Nikola Vucevic, who had 16 points and nine rebounds. "We needed to. It goes to our approach, knowing how important these games are.&rdquo;
With the loss and Toronto's win, the Cavs fell into seventh place &mdash; one of the play-in positions &mdash; and are one game behind the Raptors, who beat Indiana 131-91.
&ldquo;Reality is what reality is. We've got young guys who are trying to figure it out and you never figure it out until you&rsquo;re in those positions,&rdquo; said Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m proud of our guys because it didn&rsquo;t take them the whole game to figure it out.&rdquo;
Darius Garland scored 28 points and Caris LeVert had 17 in his second start for Cleveland since coming over in a February trade.
Down by 18 at halftime, the Cavs woke up and kept chipping away. They got within 10 several times before finally making a run and closing to 83-80 on LeVert's dunk &mdash; off a nice dish from Garland &mdash; with 5:35 left.
The Cavs were still within four when the Bulls reeled off eight straight points on buckets by LaVine, DeRozan and two by rookie Ayo Dosunmu to open a 95-83 lead, sending many in the sellout crowd at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse toward the exits.
DeRozan missed the Bulls' previous game with a groin strain, and spent a good chunk of the first half on the bench in foul trouble. But when Chicago needed a bucket, the All-Star forward came through with a mid-range jumper or drive.
&ldquo;DeMar DeRozan is one of the best small possession offensive players we have in this league,&rdquo; Bickerstaff said. "His efficiency, his ability to get a two-point make is top tier. You put yourself in that position and you put the ball in his hands, he&rsquo;s a guy who can close on you and we saw that tonight.&rdquo;
The Cavs came out flat, sloppy and disconnected defensively in their biggest game so far in this turnaround season.
They weren't much better on the offensive end, committing eight turnovers and going 1 of 18 on 3-pointers in scoring 35 points &mdash; matching a season low &mdash; in the first half.
&ldquo;We allowed them to keep pushing, pushing, pushing and at no point in the first half did we say, &lsquo;Enough is enough&rsquo; and push back,&rdquo; Bickerstaff said.
TIP-INS
Bulls: G Alex Caruso added 10 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. ... F Tristan Thompson was fined $20,000 by the NBA for directing profane language at a game official Thursday in New Orleans. ... Chicago plays five of its final eight games at home and owns the season-ending tiebreaker over Toronto.
Cavaliers: Rookie F Evan Mobley had 11 rebounds. ... Kevin Love made his 1,000th 3-pointer with Cleveland, joining LeBron James (1,251) as the only players in team history to reach the plateau. ... Love didn't play in the fourth quarter. ... Dropped to 6-1 in home games against Central Division opponents. ... All-Star C Jarrett Allen missed his 10th straight game with a broken finger. Bickerstaff said Allen's pain has decreased, which has allowed him to do more on-court activity without risking further injury.
CELEBRATING THE CAVS
World B. Free, a flashy scoring guard who kept the Cavs relevant in the 1980s, was honored with a spot on the team&rsquo;s Wall of Honor along with former owner Gordon Gund, Hall of Famer Lenny Wilkens and forward Campy Russell.
Free only played four seasons in Cleveland, and was the only good thing for a franchise during some lean years and one that nearly moved.
Gund stopped that, buying the Cavs from Ted Stepien. He was the team&rsquo;s principal owner from 1983-2005.
Wilkens has the most coaching wins (316) in team history. Russell was a member of Cleveland&rsquo;s &ldquo;Miracle of Richfield&rdquo; team in the 1970s.
UP NEXT
Bulls: Visit New York on Monday night.
Cavaliers: Host Orlando on Monday night.

Zach LaVine scored 26 points as Chicago stayed alone in the No. 5 spot in the Eastern Conference with a 98-94 win over Cleveland.

LaVine's 25 lead Bulls to 98-94 win over young Cavaliers

Red Auerbach. Lenny Wilkens. Don Nelson. Going back to the end of the NBA&rsquo;s inaugural season 75 years ago, before it was even called the NBA, they&rsquo;re the only coaches to hold the distinction of having more wins than anyone else.
Until now.
Pop has finally joined the club.
Soon, perhaps as soon as Wednesday, Gregg Popovich will stand alone in NBA history. The longtime San Antonio coach &mdash; a winner of five NBA titles, the coach of the reigning Olympic gold medalists, a lock for enshrinement in the Basketball Hall of Fame as soon as he tells them that he'd like to be considered &mdash; got career win No. 1,335 on Monday night when the Spurs beat the Los Angeles Lakers 117-110, tying him with Nelson atop the league&rsquo;s all-time regular season victory list.
&ldquo;He deserves it," Spurs guard Dejounte Murray said.
Predictably, Popovich never was on board with that sentiment. He&rsquo;s been waiting somewhat impatiently for the last couple weeks for the pursuit &mdash; more specifically, all the questions about it &mdash; to end. Making matters worse, the Spurs had lost each of their first four attempts to get him the record-tying victory.
Now, one more win &mdash; the first chance comes Wednesday against Toronto &mdash; and he&rsquo;ll be alone atop the regular-season victory list. More importantly to him, he won&rsquo;t have to hear as much about it anymore.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;ll be a good thing,&rdquo; Popovich conceded.
His place in basketball history, his legacy, his stamp as one of the game&rsquo;s all-time greats &mdash; if not the greatest of the greats &mdash; was secure long ago. He's one of only eight coaches in the four major U.S. sports leagues to be with one team for at least 25 years. And by adding in his 170 playoff victories, his total is at 1,505 in the NBA, which is 93 more than anyone else.
It was a circuitous path to this point. He played at the U.S. Air Force Academy, famously wasn't picked in a bid to make the 1972 U.S. Olympic team, wound up becoming a coach and probably would have been perfectly content to run a Division III program in California for the entirety of his professional life.
Eventually, the NBA called. In time, Popovich would be paired with David Robinson, then the patriarch of a dynasty fueled by Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. The rest is history. Historic, actually.
&ldquo;Everyone knows the amazing job he&rsquo;s done and all the accomplishments,&rdquo; longtime coach Larry Brown said last year. &ldquo;I wish more people really could know the type of person that he is.&rdquo;
Brown was a big part of how Popovich got here.
Popovich&rsquo;s path to the NBA, and then to the role as coach of the Spurs, wasn't exactly traditional. Popovich was coaching at Pomona-Pitzer, a small Division III school in California. He inherited a program not exactly teeming with expectations: Pomona-Pitzer had lost 88 consecutive conference games before hiring Popovich.
He delivered a league title in 1985-86, the school&rsquo;s first in about 70 years. And then Popovich asked for a sabbatical, telling the school he needed to go learn more about the game. He spent a month at North Carolina, absorbing the teachings of Dean Smith. And then he sat on Brown&rsquo;s bench at Kansas, reuniting with a coach he met through ties he made while a student at the Air Force Academy.
Popovich acknowledged that he has wondered what would have happened if Smith and Brown hadn&rsquo;t extended those opportunities his way.
&ldquo;Each of us does that, right? Each of our lives is the sum of experiences, if-this, if-that,&rdquo; Popovich said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m no different than anybody else.&rdquo;
After the sabbatical, Popovich, true to his word, returned to Pomona-Pitzer. Brown invited his team to Kansas for a game the following season; the Jayhawks, predictably, toyed with the D-III team, winning 94-38.
A year later, Brown called again. He had left Kansas to coach the Spurs. He wanted Popovich to come along. Popovich was in San Antonio until 1992, when Brown &mdash; and the whole coaching staff &mdash; got fired. Popovich got a job as an assistant in Golden State, working for Nelson.
It was at a cost.
&ldquo;He emptied my wallet every time we golfed. He knew he was better than me and he did it anyway,&rdquo; Popovich said.
It begged the question why Popovich continued golfing and giving away his money.
&ldquo;He was my boss,&rdquo; Popovich said.
Consider the golf money tuition for a basketball education. Popovich is still affected by Nelson; a recent highlight play from Murray was akin to something Nelson had drawn up a couple decades ago, Popovich said. And even the reminders that Popovich uses on the bench to keep some thoughts fresh are a nod to the lessons learned from Nelson.
&ldquo;To this day, I have plays and things written on cards &mdash; I keep them now in my pants, used to be your sportcoat &mdash; and I couldn&rsquo;t live without them,&rdquo; Popovich said. &ldquo;I never used them before. I got that from him and now I need them, badly. He was a joy and there was a lot to learn from him.&rdquo;
After two seasons with Nelson, Popovich was wanted by the Spurs again &mdash; this time, as vice president for basketball operations. That was in 1994. In 1996, he fired Bob Hill and named himself coach of the Spurs. And he&rsquo;s stayed in that chair ever since.
&ldquo;They were two wonderful, wonderful years,&rdquo; Popovich said of his time with Nelson. &ldquo;Basketball-wise, the biggest thing I took away was he was a master of understanding the rules and knowing how to use the rules, isolate players, take advantage of another team&rsquo;s weaknesses based on your own personnel. Very creative on offense, very much so. He got a big kick out of it.&rdquo;
Funny. That&rsquo;s what many say about Popovich now. At 73, he&rsquo;s teaching a young team, building a new program with the Spurs, and still innovating.
&ldquo;Every way you can win in this league, they&rsquo;ve done it,&rdquo; Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
Spoelstra and Popovich are forever linked, after going head-to-head as coaches in the NBA Finals in 2013 and 2014. The Heat won the first one, the Spurs won the rematch for Popovich&rsquo;s fifth and most recent title. They have spoken of each other in the most admirable terms since.
&ldquo;The basketball part of it is Hall of Fame, arguably the greatest to ever do it,&rdquo; Spoelstra said. &ldquo;But it&rsquo;s the human side that has really impacted everybody.&rdquo;
The stories are legendary. If Popovich sees players in a restaurant, he picks up their check or sends something over. USA Basketball coaches have raved about his infamous dinners, where everything but basketball is discussed, usually over copious amounts of some of the world's finest wine. This is a man who considered becoming a spy &mdash; he majored in Soviet studies at the Air Force Academy &mdash; before deciding to make a life out of basketball.
&ldquo;He has an amazing sense of humor,&rdquo; Boston forward Jayson Tatum said during the Olympic run. &ldquo;I guess the casual fan sees the person who does those interviews postgame, but that&rsquo;s not the case of who he is at all. I absolutely love spending time with him."
Seems like everybody does.
Exactly 200 players have appeared in a game for the Spurs during the Popovich era. He's coached against 1,991 different players, including a bunch of fathers and then their sons. He's coached against 163 different men, who have held 273 different jobs over that span.
Pop has remained the constant. And the standard.
&ldquo;It's hard to put into words just how much he's meant," Spurs guard Josh Richardson said.
Auerbach was the NBA&rsquo;s winningest coach after its first season and held that spot atop the list for nearly a half-century.
Wilkens passed Auerbach with win No. 939 on Jan. 6, 1995, when he and the Atlanta Hawks topped the Washington Bullets 112-90. And Wilkens stayed in the top spot until April 7, 2010, when he was passed by Nelson on a night where he and the Golden State Warriors beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 116-107.
At that point, Popovich was 15th on the all-time list.
No more. He&rsquo;s tied for No. 1 now.
And soon, the top spot will be all his.

Soon, perhaps as soon as Wednesday, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich will stand alone in NBA history.

Pop's way: From a sabbatical to the NBA coaching summit

Officially, NBA players began participating in games that were scheduled to celebrate and honor the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1986 when the federal holiday commemorating the civil-rights leader was observed for the first time.
Oscar Robertson knows the tradition dates long before that.
King was shot and killed while standing on a balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968. A day later, Robertson began planning a benefit game in King&rsquo;s memory &mdash; and on Aug. 15 of that year, on an outdoor court in New York, he was among 27 NBA players who wound up taking part.
Among those on the court that night: Wilt Chamberlain, Lenny Wilkens, Dave Bing, Dave DeBusschere, Willis Reed, Walt Bellamy and many others.
&ldquo;What happened years ago with Dr. King is still part of our social fiber,&rdquo; the 83-year-old Robertson said.
The annual reminder of that comes Monday, on the annual celebration of the King holiday. The NBA has scheduled 12 games &mdash; including the traditional home games in King&rsquo;s birthplace of Atlanta and in Memphis, where he was killed at 39.
Memphis hosts Chicago in a matchup of two of the league&rsquo;s biggest surprises so far this season, while Atlanta will host reigning NBA champion Milwaukee. And Robertson believes it&rsquo;s critical players in this generation are reminded of what those who preceded them in the game had to endure as the <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/nba-at-75">NBA celebrates its 75th anniversary</a>.
&ldquo;When I was younger there were so many things couldn&rsquo;t do,&rdquo; Robertson said. &ldquo;I couldn&rsquo;t go here or there, had to ride in the back of the bus when I went back to see my grandparents in Tennessee, and all these types of things. But these things, you become aware of them. The players today didn&rsquo;t have to go through any of that. They&rsquo;ve only read about it.&rdquo;
NBA teams have been paying tribute to King in many ways in recent days. Teams have been warming up in shirts bearing the message &ldquo;Now is the time to make justice a reality for all," a nod to a line he used in his famous &ldquo;I Have A Dream" speech in 1963.
Some teams are also taking part in other ways; 10 clubs are planning youth events in their cities as part of the &ldquo;Team Up For Change" initiative that focuses on &ldquo;uniting, inspiring and activating around a shared commitment and call for racial equality and social justice." The Washington Wizards held a roundtable discussion late last week on how King still impacts the push for social change &mdash; and Wizards forward Daniel Gafford said it's important for even pro athletes to find time to help their communities.
&ldquo;There's 24 hours in a day," Gafford said. &ldquo;There's always time you can put in."
Robertson still has vivid memories of a college tournament he played in, the 1958 Dixie Classic in North Carolina, an event that featured his Cincinnati team and Michigan State, among others.
And he recalls how he and Michigan State&rsquo;s Johnny Green stood out in that event.
&ldquo;We might have been the only two Black guys in the arena,&rdquo; Robertson said. &ldquo;That was the way things progressed. I&rsquo;m so glad it&rsquo;s gotten better.&rdquo;
Robertson was the third president &mdash; and first Black president &mdash; of the National Basketball Players Association, and he urged players to participate in that August 1968 exhibition that doubled as a two-hour telethon. It was broadcast on television in New York and raised around $90,000, some of that going to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference that King championed.
He said he&rsquo;s proud to see how players have continued using their platforms, such has speaking out against injustices and the decision by the Milwaukee Bucks to not take the floor for a playoff game at the NBA&rsquo;s restart bubble in 2020 in response to a Black man from Wisconsin being shot by police.
&ldquo;I think players today are more informed about what&rsquo;s going on, and also they have a great advantage of getting their voices out to people because of the social media and whatnot,&rdquo; Robertson said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m so glad that the NBA and the players association have gotten together to try to confront all these issues.&rdquo;

“What happened years ago with Dr. King is still part of our social fiber,” the 83-year-old Robertson said.

As NBA prepares to celebrate King, Robertson also remembers

The&nbsp;<a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="https://www.basketballnetwork.net/gregg-popovich-passes-larry-brown-in-top-5-games-coached/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-stringify-link="https://www.basketballnetwork.net/giannis-antetokounmpo-shares-why-he-doesnt-associate-or-practice-with-other-nba-players-in-the-offseason/" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">following article</a>&nbsp;first appeared on&nbsp;<a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="http://basketballnetwork.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="http://BasketballNetwork.net" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">BasketballNetwork.net</a>:
After a hard-fought overtime battle with the Brooklyn Nets, Gregg Popovich matched the prestigious Larry Brown for fifth-most games coached in the NBA.
The prestigious list now reads like this:
<ul>
<li>Lenny Wilkens: 2,487</li>
<li>Don Nelson: 2,398</li>
<li>Bill Fitch: 2,050</li>
<li>Jerry Sloan: 2,024</li>
<li>Gregg Popovich and Larry Brown (tied): 2,002</li>
<li>George Karl: 1,999</li>
<li>Dick Motta: 1,952</li>
<li>Pat Riley: 1,904</li>
<li>Rick Adelman: 1,791</li>
<li>Doc Rivers: 1,735&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
For the players, we idolize those select few who scored more points than anyone else in history. Kareem, Malone, LeBron, Bryant, Jordan &ndash; their faces are forever carved on the central podium that we behold for the best of the best within our hierarchal imagination. For coaches, total games is a way to appreciate their longevity, but it doesn't necessarily epitomize the best.
For example, Lenny Wilkens stands at the peak of that mountain, but finished his career with a 53.6% winning percentage during the regular season and 44.9% through the playoffs. He won one championship and one Coach Of The Year award across six different teams.
Now, the list of those coaches with the most wins as an NBA head coach, that's a much better talking point. Here's what that looks like:
<ul>
<li>Don Nelson: 1,335</li>
<li>Lenny Wilkens: 1,332</li>
<li>Gregg Popovich: 1,325</li>
<li>Jerry Sloan: 1,221</li>
<li>Pat Riley: 1,210</li>
<li>George Karl: 1,175</li>
<li>Phil Jackson: 1,155</li>
<li>Larry Brown: 1,098</li>
<li>Rick Adelman: 1,042</li>
<li>Doc Rivers: 1,013</li>
</ul>
Gregg Popovich is fewer than 10 wins away from the all-time wins record.
Admittedly, Gregg Popovich hit the jackpot when the San Antonio Spurs drafted arguably the most coachable superstar in league history with Tim Duncan. Through The Big Fundamental&rsquo;s grace and humility &mdash; paired with an unbreakable bond with his coach &mdash; Popovich was allowed full rein to unleash on Duncan when he felt necessary, and that set an organizational standard for years to come.
But while having Duncan was a one-in-a-million type of luck, Popovich&rsquo;s Spurs were much more than their franchise star and ethos; it might've been best encapsulated through the 2014 Spurs, who won the NBA championship over the Miami Heat and sent LeBron James back to Cleveland. Even the post-Duncan Spurs continue to impressively overachieve each despite rosters that would seem to plummet by default if not for outstanding coaching. Popovich remains the X-Factor.&nbsp;
If, or when, Pop eventually hits that milestone of &lsquo;Winningest Coach in NBA History&rsquo; this season, it will be a day we'll never forget.
But for now, all you can do is admire him because this could be his last season on the sidelines.&nbsp;
Check out more articles from BasketballNetwork.net&nbsp;<a href="https://www.basketballnetwork.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

Gregg Popovich continues to climb the all-time NBA coaching ranks.

Gregg Popovich ties Larry Brown for No. 5 all-time NBA games coached

The NBA released the remaining 25 players of the league's 75th anniversary team Thursday night on TNT.
Here is the official release from the NBA, which lists all 75 players that made the team and the people that voted on the NBA's top 75 players of all-time team:
"A total of 158 NBA championships and 730 NBA All-Star selections. &nbsp;A combined 110 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Awards and Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP Awards. &nbsp;More than 1.5 million points scored.
Those are just some of the collective accomplishments of the players who comprise the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, which was announced across TNT and ESPN from Oct. 19-21 as the league tipped off its landmark 75th Anniversary Season.
The NBA 75th Anniversary Team was selected by a blue-ribbon panel of current and former NBA players, coaches, general managers and team and league executives, WNBA legends and sportswriters and broadcasters. &nbsp;Voters were asked to select the 75 Greatest Players in NBA History without regard to position. &nbsp;Panelists did not rank their selections. &nbsp;Current and former players were not allowed to vote for themselves.
As a result of a tie in the voting, the 75th Anniversary Team features 76 players. &nbsp;Team highlights include:
&bull; Eleven active players have been named to the 75th Anniversary Team: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Carmelo Anthony, Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, James Harden, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Damian Lillard, Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook.
&bull; All 50 members of the NBA 50th Anniversary Team, which was named in 1996, have been selected to the 75th Anniversary Team.
&bull; The 75th Anniversary Team includes four players who played in the first NBA All-Star Game in 1951 (Paul Arizin, Bob Cousy, George Mikan and Dolph Schayes), the first winner of the Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award (Bob Pettit for the 1955-56 season) and the first winner of the Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP Award (Jerry West for the 1969 NBA Finals).
&bull; Bill Russell joins Cousy, Mikan and Pettit as the only four players who have been named to all four NBA Anniversary Teams: the 25th Anniversary Team (10 players named), 35th Anniversary Team (11 players named), 50th Anniversary Team and 75th Anniversary Team. (The 25th Anniversary Team was the only one of the four teams that did not allow for the inclusion of active players at the time.)
&bull; Six international players from six countries and territories have been selected to the 75th Anniversary Team: Antetokounmpo (Greece), Tim Duncan (U.S. Virgin Islands), Patrick Ewing (Jamaica), Steve Nash (Canada), Dirk Nowitzki (Germany) and Hakeem Olajuwon (Nigeria).
&bull; The five NBA legends who are serving as ambassadors for the 75th Anniversary Season are part of the 75th Anniversary Team: Clyde Drexler, Magic Johnson, Nowitzki, Pettit and Oscar Robertson. Representing different eras of the league&rsquo;s history, the ambassadors will make appearances throughout the 2021-22 season and have a significant presence at NBA All-Star 2022 in Cleveland.
The NBA 75th Anniversary Team is listed below in alphabetical order, followed by the list of voters. &nbsp;The balloting was tabulated by the independent accounting firm Ernst &amp; Young LLP. &nbsp;For player profiles on each member of the 75th Anniversary Team, click here and visit NBA.com/75."
<table style="width: 95.7926%; height: 464px;">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 27px;">
<td style="text-align: center; width: 149.879%; height: 27px;" colspan="4" width="691">NBA 75TH ANNIVERSARY TEAM</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Kareem Abdul-Jabbar</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">Clyde Drexler</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Damian Lillard</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">Scottie Pippen</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Ray Allen</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">Tim Duncan</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Jerry Lucas</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">Willis Reed</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Giannis Antetokounmpo</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">Kevin Durant</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Karl Malone</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">Oscar Robertson</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Carmelo Anthony</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">Julius Erving</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Moses Malone</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">David Robinson</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Nate Archibald</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">Patrick Ewing</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Pete Maravich</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">Dennis Rodman</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Paul Arizin</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">Walt Frazier</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Bob McAdoo</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">Bill Russell</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Charles Barkley</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">Kevin Garnett</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Kevin McHale</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">Dolph Schayes</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Rick Barry</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">George Gervin</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">George Mikan</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">Bill Sharman</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Elgin Baylor</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">Hal Greer</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Reggie Miller</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">John Stockton</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Dave Bing</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">James Harden</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Earl Monroe</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">Isiah Thomas</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Larry Bird</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">John Havlicek</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Steve Nash</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">Nate Thurmond</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Kobe Bryant</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">Elvin Hayes</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Dirk Nowitzki</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">Wes Unseld</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Wilt Chamberlain</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">Allen Iverson</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Hakeem Olajuwon</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">Dwyane Wade</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Bob Cousy</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">LeBron James</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">Bill Walton</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Dave Cowens</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">Magic Johnson</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Robert Parish</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">Jerry West</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Billy Cunningham</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">Sam Jones</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Chris Paul</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">Russell Westbrook</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Stephen Curry</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">Michael Jordan</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Gary Payton</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">Lenny Wilkens</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Anthony Davis</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">Jason Kidd</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Bob Pettit</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">Dominique Wilkins</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 27.0755%; height: 23px;" width="173">Dave DeBusschere</td>
<td style="width: 27.5653%; height: 23px;" width="173">Kawhi Leonard</td>
<td style="width: 19.6609%; height: 23px;" width="173">Paul Pierce</td>
<td style="width: 75.5776%; height: 23px;" width="173">James Worthy</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
&nbsp;
<table style="width: 97.1703%; height: 798px;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center; width: 170.677%;" colspan="4" width="719">NBA 75TH ANNIVERSARY TEAM VOTING PANEL</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Kareem Abdul-Jabbar</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Tim Duncan</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Jack McCallum</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">David Robinson</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Marv Albert</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">David DuPree</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Brian McIntyre</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Bill Russell</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">David Aldridge</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Wayne Embry</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Ann Meyers</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Bob Ryan</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Sam Amick</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Julius Erving</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Yoko Miyaji</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Bill Simmons</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Giannis Antetokounmpo</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Patrick Ewing</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Earl Monroe</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Sam Smith</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Steve Aschburner</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Walt Frazier</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Steve Nash</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Stephen A. Smith</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Charles Barkley</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">George Gervin</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Rachel Nichols</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Marc Spears</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Rick Barry</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Russ Granik</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Dirk Nowitzki</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Erik Spoelstra</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Howard Beck</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Becky Hammon</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">John Stockton</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Dave Bing</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Elvin Hayes</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Robert Parish</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Hannah Storm</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Sue Bird</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Ernie Johnson</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Candace Parker</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Sheryl Swoopes</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Carol Blazejowski</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Magic Johnson</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Chris Paul</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Isiah Thomas</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Mike Breen</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Sam Jones</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Bob Pettit</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Rod Thorn</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Doris Burke</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Michael Jordan</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Scottie Pippen</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Rudy Tomjanovich</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Jerry Colangelo</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Steve Kerr</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Gregg Popovich</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Peter Vecsey</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Doug Collins</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Bob Lanier</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Shaun Powell</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Bill Walton</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Cynthia Cooper</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Kara Lawson</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Ahmad Rashad</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Rick Welts</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Bob Costas</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Lisa Leslie</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Willis Reed</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Jerry West</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Dave Cowens</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Nancy Lieberman</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Tim Reynolds</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Michael Wilbon</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Billy Cunningham</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Zach Lowe</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Bill Rhoden</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Lenny Wilkens</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Stephen Curry</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Jerry Lucas</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Pat Riley</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">James Worthy</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Clyde Drexler</td>
<td style="width: 24.8663%;" width="180">Jackie MacMullan</td>
<td style="width: 24.5989%;" width="180">Oscar Robertson</td>
<td style="width: 96.613%;" width="180">Jeff Zillgitt</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Some notable snubs include Tracy McGrady, Bernard King, Alex English, Vince Carter, Tony Parker, Chris Bosh, Dwight Howard, Bob McAdoo, and Pau Gasol to just name a few. This list was part of the NBA's marketing campaign for the league's historic 75th season and will surely spark a conversation/debate amongst NBA fans all over the world.

The NBA released the final 25 players of the 75th anniversary team Thursday on TNT.

Final 25 members of NBA's 75th Anniversary Team announced

Hall-of-Famer and Boston Celtics legend Tommy Heinsohn has passed away at the age of 86.
The Celtics sent out a <a href="https://www.nba.com/celtics/news/pressrelease/celtics-statement-tommy-heinsohns-passing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">team statement on Heinsohn's death</a>:
It&rsquo;s hard to imagine the Boston Celtics without Tommy Heinsohn. There isn&rsquo;t a generation of Celtics fans for whom Tommy&rsquo;s presence hasn&rsquo;t been felt. He is the only person to be an active participant in each of the Celtics&rsquo; 17 World Championships, an extraordinary and singular legacy.
His career with the Celtics had an auspicious start, as he earned NBA Rookie of the Year honors in 1957. Even more notably, he was the best player on the floor in the decisive Game 7 of that season&rsquo;s NBA Finals against the St. Louis Hawks, leading the team with 39 points and 23 rebounds as the Celtics delivered their first championship banner. Dominant performances and championships were no mere opening act; they would come to define his NBA playing career (1956-65), in which he was named to six All-Star teams and won eight NBA Championships, the team&rsquo;s leading scorer for four of those title runs.
Red Auerbach named Tommy the team&rsquo;s Head Coach in 1969. Like his playing career, Heinsohn's coaching tenure was punctuated by prosperity, as he directed the 1974 and 1976 squads to World Championships, won five Atlantic Division crowns, and was picked the league's Coach of the Year in 1973 during which he won a team record 68 games.
Tommy was honored on multiple occasions as a player, a coach, and a broadcaster. Among those honors, his number 15 was retired by the Celtics in 1965, and he was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in 1986, and then as a coach in 2015. He is one of just four people to be inducted as both a Player and Coach, joining former teammate Bill Sharman, John Wooden and Lenny Wilkens.
For all of his accomplishments as a player, coach, and broadcaster, it is Tommy&rsquo;s rich personality that defined the man. A loving father, grandfather, and husband. A talented painter and a lively golf partner. Unofficial mentor to decades of Celtics coaches and players. A frequent constructive critic of referees. Originator of the most &ldquo;Celtic stat&rdquo; of them all, The Tommy Point. And a boundless love for all things Boston Celtics, a passion which he shared with fans over 64 years.
We take this time to celebrate his life and legacy, and to share in the sorrow of his passing with his family, friends, and fans. As long as there are the Boston Celtics, Tommy&rsquo;s spirit will remain alive.
STATEMENT FROM WYC GROUSBECK, STEVE PAGLIUCA AND THE BOSTON CELTICS OWNERSHIP GROUP
This is a devastating loss. Tommy was the ultimate Celtic. For the past 18 years, our ownership group has relied hugely on Tommy&rsquo;s advice and insights and have reveled in his hundreds of stories about Red Auerbach, Bill Russell, and how the Celtics became a dynasty. He will be remembered forever.
BasketballNews.com extends its deepest sympathies and condolences to Heinsohn's loved ones at this difficult time.

BasketballNews.com extends its deepest sympathies and condolences to Heinsohn's loved ones at this difficult time.

Hall-of-Famer Tommy Heinsohn passes away at 86

After NBA players decided collectively to use their voices and platforms to take a unified stand against police brutality following the horrific police shooting of Jacob Blake, praise came from across the nation. Politicians, actors, musicians, journalists and many others expressed their support for NBA players and commended them for demanding justice.&nbsp;
ESPN&rsquo;s Stephen A. Smith <a href="https://twitter.com/stephenasmith/status/1298731743395147789?s=21" target="_blank" rel="noopener">joined in on this</a>, saying that he was so proud of the players.&nbsp;
While Smith is praising the players now, let&rsquo;s not forget that just two months ago, he said that Kyrie Irving, Dwight Howard and Avery Bradley &ldquo;sound foolish&rdquo; for even suggesting that players should take a stand against police brutality and refuse to enter the bubble. He went on one of his overdramatic rants and ridiculed them <a href="https://youtu.be/OcNEqq-U0Nk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">on First Take</a>, acting as if he was personally offended that they had the audacity to suggest something so &ldquo;utterly ridiculous.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Here were Smith&rsquo;s exact words:&nbsp;
&ldquo;I absolutely do not agree with them. As a matter of fact, I&rsquo;ll go so far as to say that their position has been foolish, as far as I am concerned. I respect the fact &mdash; and I want to make sure that I&rsquo;m clear about this &mdash; I am not talking about if you&rsquo;re not going back to work because of the coronavirus; I totally understand that. If you choose to make that decision for the well-being of yourself and the family members who you are near, then obviously that has a profound impact and I totally respect and understand that. But that&rsquo;s not what Kyrie Irving and Dwight Howard are talking about. What they are talking about is [not playing] because of the protests&hellip; Well, I'm sorry, if that's a reason not to go to work, black folks wouldn't have been employed for centuries now. That is utterly ridiculous. The fact that racial oppression or racial inequality, brutality on the part of police officers and all of that stuff exists is not an excuse not to show up to work&hellip; 
"If you have the LeBron James&rsquo;, the Kyrie Irving&rsquo;s and others playing their role in bringing attention to these issues, then you hand it off to people that know what to do with that attention and that elevated level of awareness to really provoke the kind of change that we&rsquo;re talking about here. We seem to think that, excuse me, just protesting and raising holy hell is going to get done what we need to get done. That is not the answer, and certainly it&rsquo;s not refusing to show up because of that issue. &hellip;&nbsp; It makes no sense for somebody to sit up there and say, 'Don't show up to work because of that.' No! I totally disagree with Dwight Howard and Kyrie Irving and I suspect that I&rsquo;m not alone, that a lot of people agree with what I&rsquo;m saying.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Max Kellerman tried to break it down for Smith, showing him the error of his ways, but he still wouldn&rsquo;t budge. How ironic is it that a white man tried to explain to a Black man the significance of what Irving, Howard and Bradley were trying to do? Kellerman talked about how this was connected to the bigger picture of Black entertainment being used in the history of this country while conditions for Black people were not improved, specifically as it relates to police brutality. He said that he respected their position that they didn&rsquo;t want to be a distraction and take away from the movement gaining momentum across the country after the gruesome murder of George Floyd.&nbsp;
A white man shouldn&rsquo;t have to break that down for Stephen A. Smith. But after Kellerman made his eloquent points, he still didn&rsquo;t get it. Smith immediately pivoted to discussing the money that they were giving up and seemingly missed the entire point. He repeated that what Irving was doing just &ldquo;didn&rsquo;t make sense,&rdquo; despite Kellerman&rsquo;s detailed explanation.&nbsp;
Then, Smith attempted to shift the focus to Irving somehow undermining Chris Paul and LeBron James by forming a separate Players Coalition and not going along with the Players&rsquo; Association vote to start the season. Because Smith disagreed with Irving&rsquo;s position, he attempted to pit him against his NBA brothers.
Then, Smith said (<a href="https://youtu.be/KgQV0khEOnA?t=310" target="_blank" rel="noopener">and I quote</a>): &ldquo;It&rsquo;s about making sure you know what you&rsquo;re talking about before you open your mouth.&rdquo;&nbsp;
When you disagree with someone, that is the most insulting response you can give. It&rsquo;s demeaning. Belittling. Rather than acknowledging that they just have a different opinion than you, this suggests that they need to be educated so that they can fully understand how ridiculous their position is. How dismissive and insulting was that?&nbsp;
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/SAS1_lg.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="AUTO" />
But it wasn&rsquo;t just you.&nbsp;
Charles Barkley is also guilty of publicly ridiculing Irving and Howard for their stance.
&ldquo;I think it would be stupid to not play,&rdquo; Barkley said on <a href="https://twitter.com/getupespn/status/1272558639241445377?s=21" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN&rsquo;s Get Up</a>. &ldquo;LeBron [James] is probably the most famous athlete in the United States. He won&rsquo;t be visible anywhere [if they don&rsquo;t play]. So out of sight, out of mind. Also, these guys have got to realize, this money ain&rsquo;t gonna come back and they&rsquo;re gonna lose billions of dollars that the players can use to go into their own communities and do some great stuff. It&rsquo;s not good on any front. I have no idea what Kyrie and Dwight are talking about, but it&rsquo;ll be a catastrophic mistake not to play.&rdquo;
Many others were completely dismissive of their positions and used specific language to drive home the point that this stance was misguided, ridiculous and absurd. These people didn&rsquo;t say &ldquo;shut up and dribble&rdquo; like Laura Ingraham did to LeBron, but the dismissiveness was similar.
Before the 1968 Olympics, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar elected to not play. When Abdul-Jabbar recently joined me on <a href="https://www.fli.tv/rematch-w-etan-thomas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">my show, The Rematch</a>, he specifically explained why he chose to not participate in the Olympics and instead opted to work and save money for school.
"I was going to pursue my goals and I wasn't going to pursue the goals of a country that, at that point, still didn't respect my citizenship," Abdul-Jabbar told me. "I wanted to get my degree and I had a job, so I made the money that I needed to have a comfortable year at school. That was my agenda and that's what I pursued. And I left UCLA with a degree in my pocket."
Would Smith or Barkley have criticized him for that?&nbsp;
John Carlos and Tommie Smith participated in the &lsquo;68 Olympics and made a statement that resonates even today, raising their Black Power fist on the podium after their race. They chose different ways to send a message, and both are equally deserving of respect.&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s important to note that past NBA players (who were activist pioneers) utilized boycotting as a way to push the NBA to use its collective power to adopt policy change and recognize the players&rsquo; union, so there is a precedent here.
Prior to the 1964 NBA All-Star Game, players threatened to boycott. This was the first All-Star Game to be televised, so Hall Of Famers such as Oscar Robertson, Bill Russell, Jerry Lucas, Tommy Heinsohn, Hal Greer, Sam Jones, Chet Walker, Jerry West, Bob Pettit, Elgin Baylor, Walt Bellamy, Wilt Chamberlain and Lenny Wilkens recognized the leverage that they had.&nbsp;
The players took a vote on whether they would refuse to play if the NBA didn&rsquo;t recognize the players&rsquo; union and implement a pension plan. The vote was reportedly 11-9 in favor of a strike.
&ldquo;Fifteen minutes before tipoff, NBA commissioner Walter Kennedy agreed to the pension demands, and pro sports had its biggest union victory by far,&rdquo; <a href="https://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/1856287-181/1964-stars-threatened-to-boycott" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> Robert Rubino of The Press Democrat.
These are the footsteps the players are following in.&nbsp;
The NBA has scheduled a special Board of Governors meeting on Thursday morning, <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1298778627669143558?s=21" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to ESPN&rsquo;s</a> Adrian Wojnarowski.
What if the NBA players - now that they have everyone&rsquo;s attention - demanded that NBA owners like Marc Lasry, Wes Edens and Jamie Dinan (Bucks), Ted Leonsis (Wizards), Steve Ballmer (Clippers), Jeanie Buss (Lakers) and even James Dolan (Knicks) use their influence to pressure cities to threaten to cut the funding of police departments if they don&rsquo;t adopt tangible police reform and police accountability measures? I bet you would see results immediately. If they can pressure cities to fund the building of new arenas, I&rsquo;m sure they can do this. That would create tangible change through the power of the NBA that Congress hasn&rsquo;t been able to bring about, that no politician has been able to bring about. That would change the entire country.&nbsp;
I respect Kyrie Irving, Dwight Howard and Avery Bradley for what they expressed then, and I respect what the NBA and WNBA players are doing now. And, no, they didn&rsquo;t sound foolish and their idea wasn&rsquo;t &ldquo;ridiculous&rdquo; or &ldquo;absurd.&rdquo; No, they weren&rsquo;t looking for a reason not to show up to work like you disrespectfully claimed, and their suggestion definitely wasn&rsquo;t &ldquo;stupid&rdquo; (like Charles Barkley said). They simply didn&rsquo;t want to divert attention away from everything that was going on. This is a special movement that&rsquo;s taking place right now. It&rsquo;s an awakening. And they wanted (and want) the focus to remain on that.&nbsp;
With everything going on, basketball was the furthest thing from their minds. LeBron James recently admitted the same thing.
&ldquo;I got half my brain locked on the playoffs, the other half on how I can help Black people,&rdquo; James <a href="https://twitter.com/melissarohlin/status/1298115880610435072" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
You can see why Stephen A Smith suddenly praising NBA players for boycotting can be seen as problematic.&nbsp;
He and Barkley (and everyone else who publicly ridiculed them) owe Irving, Howard and Bradley a public apology. Not a personal text or call; be as loud and demonstrative on your national ESPN platform with your apology as you were with your criticism.&nbsp;
And PS: Stephen A. Smith, you also owe Colin Kaepernick an apology for <a href="https://youtu.be/_y7fzEHKI9Y" target="_blank" rel="noopener">publicly lambasting him</a> and saying that he wants to be a martyr and doesn&rsquo;t want to play football after the tryout hoax put on by the NFL.

Stephen A. Smith praised NBA players for boycotting games. Now, he owes Kyrie Irving, Dwight Howard and Avery Bradley an apology, writes Etan Thomas.