FC Barcelona

The success of men&rsquo;s basketball in the 2024 Olympics has opened the eyes of many fans to the fact that there are great teams and players across the planet. While Team USA swept to the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/team-usa-defeat-hosts-france-to-claim-olympic-gold-medal">gold medal</a> with a win over France in the final, maybe you were impressed by some of the tournament&rsquo;s best non-NBA players and wondered whether they might end up in the American league.
<h2>Willy Hernangomez - Spain</h2>
&nbsp;
At 7-foot tall, this center is an imposing physical presence in the Spanish team. He broke through at Real Madrid and joined the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2015 NBA draft before being traded to the New York Knicks. His time playing at Madison Square Garden appeared to start well and was Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month early in his career as he led rebounding for newcomers to the league. He ended his first season in the NBA All-Rookie First Team.
Willy then bounced around a few American teams without realizing his obvious potential. In 2023, he signed a three-year deal with Spanish team FC Barcelona. He was recently reported to be dissatisfied with his role at Barcelona and will have been disappointed that the highly-rated Spanish team dropped out of the Olympics in the qualifying round. Will Willy return to the NBA at some point? After seven years in the American league, he stated that he was happy with the <a href="https://basketnews.com/news-197125-willy-hernangomez-havent-felt-this-much-support-in-all-my-years-in-nba.html">support he received</a> on his return to Spain, so it seems unlikely at the moment.&nbsp;
<h2>Bruno Caboclo - Brazil</h2>
This 28-year-old power forward from Brazil started his career with Pinheiros before joining the Toronto Raptors in the 2014 NBA draft. This selection is still best remembered for Fran Fraschilla saying that he was "two years away from being two years away" when reporting it. Bruno never quite made the breakthrough expected of him in the NBA and returned to Brazil, where he was more successful.
After moving around a few teams in different countries, he joined Partizan Belgrade of the Serbian League in 2023. He averaged 9.4 points over the 2023-24 season, which was ultimately unsuccessful for the team. Given his globe-trotting career to date, it would be easy to imagine Bruno being interested in a move back to the US, but the latest news reports suggest that he is <a href="https://www.nbamaniacs.com/en/nba-rumors/bruno-caboclo-receives-an-offer-from-israel/">considering an offer</a> from Israeli team Hapoel Tel Aviv. At the Olympics in Paris, his 33 points vs Japan was one of the top individual performances.
<h2>Wenyen Gabriel - South Sudan</h2>
Wenyen was born in Sudan but moved to the US as a youngster. His college basketball was played for the Kentucky Wildcats, and he was one of the country&rsquo;s most highly-ranked young players at one point. Despite this, he went undrafted in 2018 but then joined the Sacramento Kings to play in the Summer League. After briefly joining the Portland Trail Blazers, Wenyen moved to the New Orleans Pelicans followed by the Brooklyn Nets and other US teams.
He then went to Puerto Rico with the Vaqueros de Bayam&oacute;n and it was recently announced that he&rsquo;s signed for Maccabi Tel Aviv to play in the Euroleague and the Israeli Basketball Premier League. If you want to follow his career, you can now easily find online content for foreign basketball leagues and stream games. You might also want to check the current <a href="https://www.bodog.eu/sports/basketball">basketball odds</a> for leagues around the world. You&rsquo;ll see live betting odds as well as the numbers for upcoming games. Choose from options like moneyline, spread, and total bet when looking for games to bet on in the Euroleague and elsewhere.
<h2>Carlik Jones - South Sudan</h2>
Carlik was born in the US and grew up in Ohio, becoming one of the highest-rated college players while performing for the Radford Highlanders and then the Louisville Cardinals. He went undrafted in the 2021 NBA draft but then joined the Dallas Mavericks to play in the NBA Summer League. After moving around a few teams, he was named as the NBA G League&rsquo;s Most Valuable Player in 2022 while playing for the Chicago Bulls.&nbsp;
The point guard played in China and was rumored to be moving to Maccabi Tel Aviv this season but surprised everyone by signing for Partizan Mozzart Bet of the Serbian league instead. Carlik revealed after the World Cup that he had some offers from the NBA but that the move to Serbia felt right and that Partizan appears to be the ideal team for him. At 26 years old, he might still have time to move back to the American league in the future.
<h2>Summary</h2>
At the moment none of the non-NBA players who performed well in the 2024 Olympics seems set to join the American basketball league. Yet, some of them have already played here before heading abroad to try their luck elsewhere, so it wouldn&rsquo;t be a major surprise to see one or more players from this list reaching the NBA at some point. &nbsp;

The success of men’s basketball in the 2024 Olympics has opened the eyes of many fans that there are a lot of great teams and players.

Which Olympic Basketball Stars Could Join the NBA?

In November of 2018, Pau Gasol suffered a stress fracture in his left foot while playing for the San Antonio Spurs. It required season-ending surgery, and some wondered whether Gasol would ever play again. After a 17-year NBA career, Gasol seriously considered retirement.
However, he ultimately decided that he wasn&rsquo;t done playing. Rather than limping off into the sunset, Gasol wanted to go out on his own terms.
He fought his way back and, last season, he suited up overseas with FC Barcelona (which is also where he started his pro basketball career back in 1998-99). He averaged 8.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 0.7 blocks in 15.8 minutes per game, while shooting an uber-efficient 56.2% from the field, 46.7% from three and 88.9% at the free throw line. He also played for Spain's national team during the Tokyo Olympics.
&ldquo;I love the game. I wanted to finish my career playing,&rdquo; Gasol told <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/after-serious-injury-pau-gasol-battled-back-to-go-out-on-his-terms" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press</a> in Tokyo. &ldquo;I had such an incredible, extraordinary career that I didn&rsquo;t want the injury to finish it for me. It was a very difficult and challenging injury. So, I set myself this goal to get back on the floor and potentially play the Olympics again with my national team &ndash; and I worked my butt off to do it.&rdquo;
Now, after an incredible 23-year career, Gasol is once again contemplating retirement.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I keep thinking about whether to continue or not,&rdquo; Gasol told <a href="https://www.marca.com/baloncesto/acb/2021/09/16/614325a122601dee378b4602.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joan Solsona of Marca.com</a> (as translated by <a href="https://hoopshype.com/rumor/1554690/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HoopsHype</a>). &ldquo;It will not be an easy decision and when I know it, I will let you know. I have been a professional for 23 years and I am considering all the factors to make a decision soon and be able to communicate it. I have not made a decision 100%. If I look back, it has been many years enjoying very interesting things.&rdquo;&nbsp;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
If he does resume his career, he wants to re-sign with FC Barcelona.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I keep thinking about my future; I don&rsquo;t see myself on any team other than Bar&ccedil;a,&rdquo; Gasol said.
Over the course of Gasol's NBA career, he averaged 17.0 points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.6 blocks across 1,226 games. The future Hall-of-Famer totaled 20,894 points (44th-most in NBA history), 11,305 rebounds (29th-most all-time) and 1,941 blocks (23rd-most all-time).
He won five championships (two in the NBA and three in Spain&rsquo;s Liga ACB) and made six NBA All-Star appearances. He also led Spain's national team for two decades, earning three Olympics medals (two silver and one bronze).&nbsp;
Three years after he was nearly forced into retirement due to an injury, Gasol gets to decide whether he will continue playing &ndash; a luxury very few professional athletes have.

Three years after Pau Gasol was nearly forced to retire due to injury, he now has the luxury of deciding whether he'll continue playing.

Pau Gasol contemplating retirement: 'I have not made a decision 100%'

Bad news ruled the day Thursday, as the NBA universe once again mimicked the world at large. Klay Thompson is <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-news-offseason-golden-state-warriors-klay-thompson-achilles-injury" target="_blank" rel="noopener">out for another year</a>, and the long, dark winter that will include a lot of fresh faces in new NBA places will be proceeding without one of the league&rsquo;s best players.
The year 2020 has been unrelenting when it comes to unwelcome surprises, and the Golden State Warriors and their fans took one on the chin&nbsp;over the past 24 hours.
But while the Warriors were skirting the panic zone, it was safe to say the Philadelphia 76ers, Minnesota Timberwolves and New York Knicks emerged looking a whole lot better after Wednesday night&rsquo;s NBA Draft and Thursday&rsquo;s transaction news. The unfortunates included television viewers who expected clarity over the course of draft night, along with the Milwaukee Bucks, whose deal for Bogdan Bogdanovic is in hiatus mode.
The NBA churned forward Thursday with the countdown to opening night now 33 days away, and the deadline for Giannis Antetokounmpo to accept or reject a supermax offer from the Bucks sitting at 31 days. Yes, Jon Horst is on the clock, and if pen does not meet paper on that supermax deal, let&rsquo;s just say we will have a new Most-Likely-To-Be-Traded candidate replacing Russell Westbrook.
A total of 11 trades were made over the course of the four-plus hour draft, and confusion reigned throughout the night on TV. It was best exemplified when Kentucky coach John Calipari came on the air after pick No. 25 was Wildcats point guard Immanuel Quickley and said, &ldquo;You guys realize he&rsquo;s going to the Knicks, right?&rdquo;
The pick had been made by the Thunder and was part of multi-team transactions involving New York, Minnesota and Oklahoma City. With so many moving parts and so many deals taking place simultaneously, it was not immediately apparent that New York emerged with the SEC Player of the Year, along with the consensus College Player of the Year, Dayton&rsquo;s Obi Toppin.
Leon Rose, William Wesley and Tom Thibodeau made more moves Thursday; they let go of Elfrid Payton, Taj Gibson and Wayne Ellington and declined the team option on Bobby Portis, setting themselves up for free agency as one of the handful of teams with a ton of salary cap space. New York and Atlanta are reportedly interested in Gordon Hayward, who declined his $34 million player option with the Boston Celtics this evening.
That put the Knicks the winners column along with the Sixers, both for what they did in the trade market and what they did in the draft. Early in the day Wednesday, new Philadelphia president of basketball operations Daryl Morey dealt Al Horford and the $81 million remaining on his contract to Oklahoma City for Danny Green, then picked up Seth Curry (Doc Rivers&rsquo; son-in-law) from Dallas for Josh Richardson.&nbsp;
Then, with the 58th pick, Morey picked up a sleeper in DePaul&rsquo;s Paul Reed, and rest assured that Rivers went to sleep happier than he awoke. He now has two new shooters, two new defenders and a better chance of competing with the Milwaukee Bucks and Brooklyn Nets for an Eastern Conference title.
As for the Bucks, their <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-news-free-agency-Bogdan-Bogdanovic-sacramento-kings-milwaukee-bucks-trade" target="_blank" rel="noopener">acquisition of Kings forward Bogdan Bogdanovic is in jeopardy</a>. Bogdanovic stood to make $60 million over four years in a sign-and-trade deal, but wants to see if even bigger money is offered by one of the few teams with major cap space -- none of them contenders unless Miami loses Goran Dragic and Jae Crowder in free agency.
Milwaukee began the week agreeing to a pair of major deals to help ensure that Antetokounmpo stays around for the long term, but they may have to find another shooter elsewhere if the Bogdanovic deal dies. They may have found one with the 60th pick in the draft in Utah State&rsquo;s Sam Merrill, but Bogdan had a body of work that they clearly liked.
The Minnesota Timberwolves were a clear winner because they emerged not only with No. 1 pick Anthony Edwards, but also with a new starting point guard in Ricky Rubio (D&rsquo;Angelo Russell will probably be spending time at shooting guard next season). Along with two more first-round picks, they also brought in rookie building blocks with Jaden McDaniels (Washington) and Leandro Bolmaro (FC Barcelona), both of whom should be NBA-ready a year from now when Karl-Anthony Towns will be 26. Next up for Gersson Rosas is to find a power forward (he moved James Johnson&rsquo;s expiring $15.3 million contract to Oklahoma City today). The Wolves&rsquo; pick next season (protected 1-3) is owed to Golden State from the Russell acquisition.
Golden State, despite coming out of the draft with 7-foot-1 James Wiseman (best described as a mix of David Robinson and Chris Bosh), now must contemplate yet another season that may not include Thompson after the veteran sharpshooter tore his Achilles while working out in Los Angeles on Wednesday. Thompson has not played since tearing his left ACL in the 2019 NBA Finals.
With Thompson, the Warriors were regarded as a legitimate title contender. Without him, it is arguable whether they will be a top-six team and avoid the NBA&rsquo;s new play-in tournament involving the Nos. 7-10 seeded teams in each conference. However, Bob Myers was proactive and struck a deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder to soften the blow, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-trade-rumor-kelly-oubre-golden-state-warriors-okc-oklahoma-city-thunder" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bringing the rising Kelly Oubre Jr. to the Bay Area</a> on Thursday.
The days ahead should be fascinating.Teams can made contact with free agents beginning at 6 p.m. EDT Friday (which is when BasketballNews.com's 2020 Free Agency Show will start). Stay tuned...

Chris Sheridan wraps up notable moments from the 2020 NBA Draft and the fallout going into free agency.

Bad news for Klay Thompson, Warriors overshadows post-draft elation

With the 2020 NBA Draft just two weeks away, our Matt Babcock updated his mock draft and provided his thoughts on each player. Some of the risers include Kira Lewis Jr. (Alabama) and Zeke Nnaji (Arizona), while some of the fallers include Aleksej Pokusevski (Olympiacos) and Leandro Bolmaro (FC Barcelona):
1. Minnesota Timberwolves: Anthony Edwards, SG, Georgia
At 6'5" and a strong 225 pounds, Anthony Edwards has perhaps the most upside in this year's draft. Edwards' raw talent was on full display at the Maui Invitational in November when he scored 33 points in one half versus Michigan State. Although he has significant room for growth in regards to his overall maturity as a player, his uncanny ability to hit tough shots from all over the court gives him the potential to be a special player.
2. Golden State Warriors: James Wiseman, C, Memphis
Although James Wiseman is 7'1" and 240 pounds with an impressive 7'6" wingspan, he should not be considered a throwback, big-bodied center (which is somewhat of a dying breed). Instead, Wiseman is extremely athletic for a player his size. He also has an underrated skill level, and he can be a major contributor for a team right off the bat. That&rsquo;s why he is the first big man off the board.
3. Charlotte Hornets: Onyeka Okongwu, C/PF, USC
Commonly referred to as the "Big O," Onyeka Okongwu had a terrific freshman campaign for the USC Trojans, averaging 16.8 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game. He's an undersized center that can serve as a defensive anchor for a team. He's also a legitimate scoring threat who's capable of displaying fancy footwork and a soft touch with both hands around the rim. He's extremely strong and explosive, which allows him to be an effective rim protector and powerful finisher. Comparisons to the Miami Heat's Bam Adebayo have been drawn regularly for good reason.
4. Chicago Bulls: LaMelo Ball, PG, Illawarra Hawks
The youngest brother of the Ball family, LaMelo comes to the NBA with lofty expectations. At 6'7", Ball has terrific size for a point guard. He has the ball on a string and a knack to make spectacular plays. Despite concerns of immaturity, Ball's talent is undeniable -- look for him to be the first point guard taken in the 2020 NBA Draft.
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/obi_lg.jpg" alt="" width="802" height="AUTO" />
5. Cleveland Cavaliers: Obi Toppin, PF/C, Dayton
After not receiving an invite to the NBA Draft Combine following his freshman season, Obi Toppin returned to Dayton for his sophomore year and he put on a show from start to finish, subsequently being named the National College Player of the Year. At 6'9", Toppin is a high-flyer who throws down jaw-dropping dunks reminiscent of former NBA star Amar'e Stoudemire. He's also a capable outside shooter, as he shot a stellar 39% from three-point range. Already 22 years old, Toppin is probably the most NBA-ready player in the draft and could be considered an early favorite to win Rookie of the Year.
6. Atlanta Hawks: Deni Avdija, SF/PF, Maccabi Tel Aviv
A product of the famed Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv, Deni Avdija has already gained valuable professional experience in the Euroleague (the best league in the world outside of the NBA). At 6'9", Avdija is extremely versatile as a hybrid forward and he's also a capable ballhandler and playmaker who is deceptively athletic. In a draft with significant international talent, Avdija is certainly the cream of the crop.
7. Detroit Pistons: Kira Lewis Jr., PG, Alabama
After entering his freshman season at Alabama as the second-youngest Division-I player in the country (at 17 years old), he returned for his sophomore season and did not disappoint. Perhaps the fastest player in the draft, Lewis Jr. averaged 18.5 points and 5.2 assists per game this past season for the Crimson Tide. Comparisons have been drawn to former NBA player Darren Collison.
8. New York Knicks: Isaac Okoro, SF, Auburn
Perhaps the best overall athlete in the entire NBA draft, Isaac Okoro steps into the NBA from Auburn with a reputation of being an exceptional defender that's capable of defending multiple positions effectively. Although he possesses a relatively simple game on the offensive end, he does have a good feel for how to play. If he is able to improve his outside shooting, watch out; Okoro could end up being a big-time player.
9. Washington Wizards: Devin Vassell, SG/SF, Florida State
Devin Vassell is a long wing that is capable of playing the shooting guard or small forward positions, effectively. On the offensive end, he reminds me of Jeremy Lamb of the Indiana Pacers. He's a capable shooter from outside, has a good mid-range game, and can finish around the rim as well.&nbsp; On the defensive end, he uses his length and instincts to be a high level defender. Overall, Vassell is a solid, well-rounded player, that does not make many mistakes. He would be easy to plug into just about any team's roster.
10. Phoenix Suns: Killian Hayes, PG/SG, Ratiopharm Ulm
After playing in France for years, Killian Hayes decided to move to Germany this last year to play for Ratiopharm Ulm - a decision that certainly paid off, as Hayes took a major step in his development, progressing as a playmaker and scorer. With good size for a point guard at 6'5", whichever team lands the left-handed Hayes should be able to pencil him in as their point guard of the future. If he's able to continue to develop his outside shooting, the future could be extremely bright for Hayes.
11. San Antonio Spurs: Patrick Williams, PF/SF, Florida State
Patrick Williams had somewhat of an up-and-down freshman year for the Florida State Seminoles, but the hybrid forward oozes talent and upside. He's a capable shooter from outside, a strong finisher at the rim and a versatile defender. Williams fits the modern style of basketball, as he's able to stretch the floor and defend multiple positions. It remains to be seen if he will be able to contribute at a high level early on in his NBA career, but if he develops properly, he could be one of the better players in this year's draft in a few years.
12. Sacramento Kings: Aaron Nesmith, SF/SG, Vanderbilt
Aaron Nesmith is likely the best shooter in this year's draft. Prior to a season-ending foot injury in January, Nesmith dazzled with his shooting performances, averaging 23 points per game while shooting 52.2% from three-point range in 14 games for the Vanderbilt Commodores. He's from the same high school as NBA All-Star Khris Middleton in Charleston, South Carolina.
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/tyy_lg.jpg" alt="" width="792" height="AUTO" />
13. New Orleans Pelicans: Tyrese Haliburton, PG/SG, Iowa State
After averaging 15.2 points, 5.9 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game for the Iowa State Cyclones this past season, Tyrese Haliburton will look to contribute right away in the NBA. At 6'5", Haliburton is capable of playing on or off the ball effectively. He has an extremely high basketball IQ and simply does not make many mistakes. Although he shoots the ball with extremely unorthodox mechanics, he knocks them down from deep at a high rate, shooting 41.9% from three-point range last year. He certainly needs to get stronger, as he is only a thin 175 pounds. But he should be a solid NBA player, at the very least.
14. Boston Celtics: Isaiah Stewart II, C/PF, Washington
At 6'9" and 250 pounds of muscle with a 7'4" wingspan, Isaiah Stewart II is a physical specimen and a brute. He would (and could) run through a brick wall, if needed. In his lone season at Washington, he averaged 17.0 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game. Despite being utilized purely as a low-post scorer this past season, he has shown signs of having the potential to shoot the ball well from outside - a much desired attribute in today's NBA. One example: He shot 77.4% from the free-throw line.
15. Orlando Magic: RJ Hampton, SG/PG, New Zealand Breakers
After skipping college to play for the New Zealand Breakers, R.J. Hampton enters this year's draft as one of the players with the most upside. Although not a finished product, Hampton has the burst and athleticism that's seen in many star players. If he is able to develop his point guard skills, outside shooting and overall feel for the game, he could end up being a steal for whichever team selects him.
16. Portland Trail Blazers: Saddiq Bey, SF/PF, Villanova
Jay Wright's list of Villanova alumni who have had productive NBA careers continues to grow and Saddiq Bey seems to be the next in line. He's a 6'8" forward that is well-rounded, dependable and, most importantly, a high-level shooter, which was on display during his sophomore season when he scored 16.1 points per game while shooting 45.1% from three-point range. He also defended the opposing team's best player on a regular basis.
17. Minnesota Timberwolves: Zeke Nnaji, PF/C, Arizona
In his lone season for the Arizona Wildcats, Zeke Nnaji posted an impressive 16.8 points and 8.6 rebounds per game, earning First Team All-Pac-12 and Freshman of the Year honors. At the Combine, Nnaji measured in at 6'10" without shoes and 247.8 pounds, with a 7'2" wingspan and a 38" max vertical. Nnaji <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-draft-prospect-zeke-nnaji-arizona-wildcats-q-and-a-pac-12-basketball?fbclid=IwAR3LerQY7oOuFEQ0ZLYNmkus_sSxCYphs2l0TzJqc69ymtcZmrdWKZDpOPo">recently spoke with BasketballNews.com</a> about his game, his regimented lifestyle, why teams should pick him, his off-court interests and more.
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/pad_lg.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="AUTO" />
18. Dallas Mavericks: Precious Achiuwa, PF/C, Memphis
Initially, Precious Achiuwa was expected to play the majority of his minutes at power forward alongside big man James Wiseman. However, when Wiseman left the team, Achiuwa took over the big man duties and delivered. The chiseled Achiuwa averaged 15.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, 1.9 blocks and 1.1 steals per game, earning him AAC Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year honors.
19.&nbsp;Brooklyn Nets: Jaden McDaniels, SF, Washington
Possessing terrific length for a wing at 6'9", Jaden McDaniels' versatility and playmaking abilities on both ends of the court are extremely intriguing. If he is able to get stronger and mature properly, he could be well-worth the risk, as his upside is nearly as high as any other player in the draft.
20. Miami Heat: Malachi Flynn, PG, San Diego State
After transferring from Washington State to San Diego State, point guard Malachi Flynn led the Aztecs to a spectacular 30-2 record. After averaging 17.6 points, 5.1 assists and 1.8 steals per game, Flynn was named the Mountain West Conference Player of the Year, as well as Defensive Player of the Year. Flynn <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-rumors-2020-draft-malachi-flynn-san-diego-state-aztecs-matt-babcock-analysis-interview-chris-paul">recently spoke with BasketballNews.com</a> about his game, his collegiate career, his goals, the NBA players whom he&rsquo;s modeled his game after and more.
21. Philadelphia 76ers: Cole Anthony, PG/SG, North Carolina
The son of former NBA player Greg Anthony, Cole entered North Carolina for his freshman season with lofty expectations after being touted as one of the top players in his high-school class. Despite an up-and-down season, Anthony is an aggressive and dynamic scorer, which he displayed by averaging 18.5 points per game in 22 contests for the Tar Heels.&nbsp;
22. Denver Nuggets: Jalen Smith, PF/C, Maryland
At 6'10" with a 7'2" wingspan, Jalen "Stix" Smith does two things very well: he blocks shots and shoots the ball from outside -- certainly a unique combination, which has NBA teams intrigued. After returning to Maryland for his sophomore season, he averaged 15.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.4 blocks while shooting 36.8% from three-point range.
23. Utah Jazz: Elijah Hughes, SF/SG, Syracuse
An unheralded recruit out of high school and a subsequent East Carolina transfer, Elijah Hughes emerged as a star player for the Syracuse Orange during his junior season. Possessing solid size for a wing and the ability to make shots from all over the court as well as put the ball on the floor, Hughes should make a smooth transition to the NBA.
24. Milwaukee Bucks: Cassius Stanley, SG/SF, Duke
After playing as a combo guard in high school, Cassius Stanley was asked by Coach K to fill a more limited role during his freshman season at Duke, utilizing his electric athleticism in transition and focusing on spreading the floor as a spot-up shooter. His combination of elite athleticism and the ability to make shots off catch-and-shoot opportunities make him an intriguing option as a role player in the NBA (at the very least). If he develops when it comes to creating off the dribble, his value could increase dramatically.
25.&nbsp;Oklahoma City Thunder: Aleksej Pokusevski, PF/C, Olympiacos
Having displayed an incredibly high skill level this past season with the junior team of Greek powerhouse Olympiacos, Aleksej Pokusevski has caused quite a stir among NBA scouts. Standing 7-feet tall and a frail 200 pounds, "Poku" is the youngest prospect in this year's draft (and younger than many high-school seniors) at just 18 years old. He is certainly a player who falls into the category of "high-risk, high-reward," which is why he's somewhat of a polarizing prospect in terms of his draft value.
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/maxey2_lg.jpg" alt="" width="793" height="AUTO" />
26. Boston Celtics: Tyrese Maxey, SG/PG, Kentucky
A top-10 RSCI prospect, Tyrese Maxey was Kentucky's second-leading scorer with 14.0 points per game. At 6'3" and 200 pounds, he has a well-developed frame, although he's a bit undersized for a shooting guard. Still, he was solid at getting to the rim. He struggled from three-point range (relative to expectations) at 29 percent.
27. New York Knicks: Tyrell Terry, PG, Stanford
After being ranked 88th in his high-school class, Tyrell Terry surprised everyone by posting an impressive freshman campaign at Stanford and subsequently declaring for the NBA draft. Considered to be one of the best shooters in this year's draft, Terry converted 41% from three-point range this past season. His high skill level and ability to shoot the ball has generated quite a buzz among scouts; however, due to his thin frame and lack of physicality, some concerns and questions have been raised as well.
28. Los Angeles Lakers: Josh Green, SG/SF, Arizona
A top recruit coming out of high school, Green is a plus athlete and defensive stopper with good size for a wing. In his freshman year at Arizona, he averaged 12.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game.
29. Toronto Raptors: Vernon Carey Jr., C, Duke
Although a bit of a throwback as a big-bodied center at 6'10" and 270 pounds, Vernon Carey Jr. had an effective freshman season for the Duke Blue Devils, as he averaged 17.8 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game. Some questions have been raised about his inconsistent motor. However, his talent remains intriguing.
30. Boston Celtics: Leandro Bolmaro, SG/PG, FC Barcelona
After logging legitimate Euroleague and ACB minutes this past season with FC Barcelona in Spain, the 6'7" Argentinian guard has slowly but surely moved up draft boards. Although it is unlikely that he will be coming to the NBA right away due to him extending his contract with his current club, Bolmaro could still get consideration from teams selecting in the first round.
Matt Babcock is the owner and founder of <a href="babcockhoops.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Babcock Hoops</a>, which features in-depth scouting reports, prospect interviews and more. He is also a contributor for BasketballNews.com. <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/news/authors/matt-babcock" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Check out more of his 2020 NBA Draft coverage here</a>.
Also, tune in to BasketballNews.com's Virtual Watch Party on the night of the 2020 NBA Draft (Nov. 18). Our live-stream will feature top analysts, NBA players and more special guests!

With the 2020 NBA Draft just two weeks away, Matt Babcock shares his updated mock draft. Find out who's rising and who's falling!

Matt Babcock's updated 2020 NBA mock draft (11/3): Who's rising?

According to Spanish reporter Sergi Carmona, Gasol has finalized a deal with FCB Barcelona in his hometown. The move would signal the end of Gasol&rsquo;s NBA career, which included a ring with the Raptors in 2019. Toronto fans reacted to the news by paying tribute to the big man&rsquo;s career, on and off the court.
Source: <a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://twitter.com/sergi_carmona/status/1311357168751386624" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sergi Carmona (Twitter)</a>
ANALYSIS: This report has not been confirmed by a more credible source yet, but major rumors are swirling that the 12-year veteran big man is set to leave the NBA. Gasol has had an illustrious career in the NBA and has certainly outplayed any expectations people had on him coming into the league. Gasol was selected to three All-Star games and earned All-NBA honors twice. Gasol also went on to win Defensive Player of the year in the 2012-13 season and is now coming off his first NBA championship. 
Marc spent most of his career with the Memphis Grizzlies and was then traded to Toronto where he helped the Raptors win the franchise's first championship. Gasol will look to finish out his player career in his hometown, Spain.

Marc Gasol is planning to leave the NBA, ending a 12 year career as he will look to continue playing basketball in his hometown, Spain.

Gasol leaving NBA to play in Spain?

Sacramento Kings assistant coach Jordi Fernandez is expected to be hired as the next head coach of the Brooklyn Nets, according to ESPN&rsquo;s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Fernandez, 41, will take over a rebuilding Nets squad that finished the 2023-2024 season with a 32-50 record, 11th in the East. He will replace interim head coach Kevin Ollie, who was appointed in the middle of the season after Brooklyn fired Jacque Vaughn.
Fernandez will continue to be part of Mike Brown&rsquo;s staff in Sacramento as they prepare for the 2024 Play-In Tournament for a spot in the 2024 Playoffs.
The Barcelona, Spain native has been one of the leading candidates for the position as one of the fast-rising young coaches in the league. He led the Canadian National team last summer in the FIBA World Cup 2023 to a bronze medal finish &ndash; the country&rsquo;s highest-ever in the tournament.&nbsp;
Starting next season, Fernandez will now handle the Nets featuring their young talent in Cam Thomas, Mikal Bridges, Ben Simmons, and Cameron Johnson as they trek the second year of the post-Big Three era of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden.

Sacramento Kings assistant coach Jordi Fernandez is expected to be hired as the next head coach of the Brooklyn Nets.

Kings’ Jordi Fernandez emerges as top candidate for Brooklyn Nets head coaching job

LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant have become synonymous with the sport of basketball, serving as the gold standard for this generation of players and drawing in fans from all over the world.
Aside from 2021 and 2023, every NBA Finals series since 2011 has featured one of James, Curry or Durant. The trio have a combined 44 All-Star appearances, and at the 2024 NBA All-Star Game in Indianapolis, we got to watch them play together on the same team for the first time ever.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Steph Curry, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant all on the same team for the first time ever tonight 🔥✊ <a href="https://t.co/uUaAKwxaVr">pic.twitter.com/uUaAKwxaVr</a>
&mdash; Guru (@DrGuru_) <a href="https://twitter.com/DrGuru_/status/1759349903652995079?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 18, 2024</a></blockquote>
Seeing the faces of the NBA share the court as teammates was a lot of fun and left fans wanting for more.
Enter Team USA.
The world might witness these three legends team up once again in the coming months &mdash; this time while donning the red, white and blue. in hopes of leading Team USA to a fifth consecutive gold medal at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
While we got a taste of the trio during NBA All-Star Weekend, fans would love to see them in a competitive environment. Curry&rsquo;s otherworldly shooting, James' IQ and playmaking, plus Durant&rsquo;s deadly three-level scoring with extremely high stakes? That would be something to behold.
James, Curry and Durant are all highly intelligent basketball players who complement each other really well, so it would likely be a seamless transition on Team USA.
All three have expressed their interest in playing for the national team and were <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/usa-basketball-announces-player-pool-for-team-usas-2024-mens-national-team" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recently included in the player pool that Team USA announced</a>.
Although the NBA season is still ongoing and a lot can still happen between now and July, but barring injuries or any unforeseen circumstances, the three global basketball icons will likely lead Team USA&rsquo;s pursuit for the gold medal in this year&rsquo;s Olympic Games. This hunt for the gold will coincide with the 50th anniversary of USA Basketball, making their run even more special.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Beautiful, isn't it? Breaking down our 50th Anniversary logo 👇<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/USAB50?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#USAB50</a> 🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/O4F7odCkWY">pic.twitter.com/O4F7odCkWY</a>
&mdash; USA Basketball (@usabasketball) <a href="https://twitter.com/usabasketball/status/1749606150721388855?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 23, 2024</a></blockquote>
The American trio will aim to replicate the success of their predecessors from the original &ldquo;Dream Team&rdquo; in 1992 when NBA superstars Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird won the gold medal in Barcelona.
James, 39, has won three Olympic medals for Team USA (one bronze and two golds) with the last one coming 12 years ago when he won gold in London. The NBA&rsquo;s all-time leading scorer has expressed interest in suiting up for Team USA once again, and he has been in contact with several other NBA stars to join him including Curry and Durant. James&rsquo; impressive track record for his national team speaks for itself. After serving Team USA for eight years from 2004 to 2012, he is second all-time in games played (24) for Team USA.&nbsp;
The 35-year-old Curry has yet to play for Team USA in the Olympics. Curry already has two FIBA World Championships in his trophy case, which also includes four NBA championships and two NBA MVPs, but winning an Olympic gold medal might be the cherry on top of what has been an illustrious career. Curry has notably shown interest in playing for Team USA in the Olympic Games, and he is very likely to do so this year. With Warriors head coach Steve Kerr also calling the shots for Team USA, it makes a lot of sense for Curry to make his Olympic debut in Paris.
Finally, Durant is arguably the most accomplished Team USA player of all-time. Winning three Olympic gold medals (2012, 2016 and 2020-21) and a FIBA World Championship (2010), Team USA&rsquo;s &ldquo;Captain America&rdquo; is gunning for his record-setting fourth Olympic Gold medal. (He's currently tied with fellow USA great Carmelo Anthony, who also has three gold medals). Durant winning another gold medal would likely solidify him as the greatest Team USA player of all-time (if he isn't already). A two-time NBA champion and Finals MVP, Durant is one of the most lethal scorers the game has ever seen.
Aside from James, Curry and Durant &ndash; the NBA&rsquo;s most recognizable faces &ndash; who else will don the red, white and blue? The other finalists for the 2024 USA Men&rsquo;s national team are Bam Adebayo, Jarrett Allen, Paolo Banchero, Desmond Bane, Scottie Barnes, Devin Booker, Mikal Bridges, Jaylen Brown, Jalen Brunson, Jimmy Butler, Alex Caruso, Anthony Davis, Anthony Edwards, Joel Embiid, De&rsquo;Aaron Fox, Paul George, Aaron Gordon, Tyrese Haliburton, James Harden, Josh Hart, Tyler Herro, Jrue Holiday, Chet Holmgren, Brandon Ingram, Kyrie Irving, Jaren Jackson Jr., Cam Johnson, Walker Kessler, Kawhi Leonard, Damian Lillard, Donovan Mitchell, Chris Paul, Bobby Portis, Austin Reaves, Duncan Robinson, Jayson Tatum, Derrick White and Trae Young.
With James, Curry and Durant leading the way, Team USA will the favorite in Paris. However, they'll face stiff competition from the rest of the world, particularly world-champion Germany and star-studded squads like Australia and Team Canada. Generational international talents like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Victor Wembanyama will look to dethrone Team USA.
This iteration of the Olympics is shaping up to be the hardest challenge the Americans will ever face, and hopefully James, Curry and Durant will be at the forefront of it all. In likely their last dance in international competition, James, Curry and Durant will surely want to ride off into the sunset wearing gold medals around their necks.

The next time LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Steph Curry are playing together, it will be with Team USA during the Paris Olympics.

LeBron James, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant set to team up again — this time for USA

Former No. 2 overall pick Jabari Parker is turning heads after taking some shots at the NBA.
The former phenom recently signed a one-year contract with FC Barcelona and when asked why he decided to join the EuroLeague rather than continue his NBA career, he didn't mince words.
"I just want to be a part of something legitimate. I want to be a part of [a league where] &lsquo;every game matters.' Sadly, the NBA is a business and there are 10-12 teams that try to win every game and the other half try to get a draft pick," Parker told <a href="https://www.eurohoops.net/en/trademarks/1557757/jabari-parker-longed-to-be-a-part-of-something-legitimate-in-a-new-home/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">EuroHoops</a>. "Where does that leave good players? You either have to be super good or bad to lose games. It&rsquo;s no excuse to see DeMarcus Cousins, Dwight Howard or John Wall, guys who are potentially going into the Hall of Fame&hellip; not have a job.
"We are seeing the league getting watered down, unfortunately. It&rsquo;s a lot of things that are out of our control. EuroLeague and the fans are expecting a lot, and we as players expect a lot from ourselves and we want to compete."
Parker didn't stop there. He also argued that EuroLeague rosters might be better than NBA rosters from top to bottom since there are more veterans.
"Euroleague might have, arguably, some of the better players consistently on a team," Parker <a href="https://www.eurohoops.net/en/trademarks/1557757/jabari-parker-longed-to-be-a-part-of-something-legitimate-in-a-new-home/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. "In the NBA, you have a lot of counterparts that don&rsquo;t really contribute to a talent, maybe [it's] political, maybe a favor, whatever. Out here, you have to play; you have to be able to be good, you have to have some experience and you see it with teams like us: [Alex] Abrines played with OKC, Jan [Vesely] played in the Wizards, Sato (Tomas Satoransky)&hellip;
"This is not like baseball where you have veterans that stay on a team; there is no minor league. Where is the room for experienced guys and veterans [on NBA rosters]? That arguably says that you do have some better talent [in the EuroLeague], just from the experience. If you have a roster full of guys that have been pro for 10-plus years, how are rookies or two-year guys exceeding them? You see that around Europe, with many other teams, not only ourselves. Real Madrid has some really good guys on their team too."
Parker's last NBA stint came to an end in January of 2022, when he was waived by the Boston Celtics. Rather than continuing to wait on an NBA call, Parker decided to sign abroad instead.
"I knew I wanted to play this season and I didn&rsquo;t want to wait," Parker <a href="https://www.eurohoops.net/en/trademarks/1557757/jabari-parker-longed-to-be-a-part-of-something-legitimate-in-a-new-home/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">explained</a>. "I didn&rsquo;t want to have to go through the extenuating process of trying to figure out an NBA team that was going to take a chance on me.
"As soon as we had the conversations with [FC Barcelona director] Mario Bruno Fern&aacute;ndez, I got down here. They pretty much gave me an offer that I couldn&rsquo;t refuse. I decided this was the best place for me."
Parker has suited up for six NBA teams: the Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Bulls, Washington Wizards, Atlanta Hawks, Sacramento Kings and Celtics.
Throughout his eight-year NBA career, the 28-year-old averaged 14.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 0.9 steals while shooting 49.4% from the field, 32.6% from three-point range and 74.3% from the free-throw line.&nbsp;

Former No. 2 pick Jabari Parker didn't mince words when discussing his move to the EuroLeague and how it compares to the NBA.

Jabari Parker: NBA is 'watered down,' less legitimate than EuroLeague

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; There was plenty of debate in the weeks leading up&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-draft-2023-wembanyama-updates-00f52206057df4b872898010243d3bd8">to the NBA draft</a>&nbsp;over whether the Charlotte Hornets preferred Alabama&rsquo;s Brandon Miller or the G League Ignite&rsquo;s Scoot Henderson with the No 2 pick.
In general manager Mitch Kupchak&rsquo;s mind there was never a debate.
&ldquo;Brandon was our favorite all along,&rdquo; Kupchak said. &ldquo;There was a lot of spirited discussion in the last three days, which I welcome. ... But I think he&rsquo;s the player that is the best player.&rdquo;
Miller gives the Hornets&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6F7obl-vfp4" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">an athletic 6-foot-9 wing</a>&nbsp;with a smooth shooting stroke who can knock down shots from the perimeter. He averaged 18.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game last season for the Crimson Tide, who entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 overall seed before making an early exit.
But the Southeastern Conference&rsquo;s player of the year as a freshman comes with some baggage.
Miller is tied to a case that led to former Tide player Darius Miles and another man&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/alabama-darius-miles-fatal-shooting-indictment-jamea-harris-887b6419c4b576da778b710a58b8acf7">being indicted</a>&nbsp;on capital murder charges.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/Nate-Oats-Brandon-Miller-Alabama-Basketball-4efc92362b106b01ab0d0a2ee9a4ea6c">A police investigator testified in February</a>&nbsp;that Miles texted Miller to bring him his gun that night. Miller hasn&rsquo;t been charged with wrongdoing, though&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/alabama-darius-miles-murder-charge-533386c46d0822a56878b3d3d07717c9">the ongoing case</a>&nbsp;brought&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/sports-alabama-crimson-tide-top-25-college-basketball-today-darius-miles-a32a922ed4e9a483dde15bd24445ce83">intense scrutiny</a>&nbsp;during the second half of the season for&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/brandon-miller-alabama-ncaa-tournament-security-guard-7104ab515dfaf81ae09abf94f0bd3165">Miller and the Alabama program</a>.
Kupchak said the Hornets conducted an extensive background check on Miller, including a trip to Alabama about two weeks ago.
&ldquo;We are comfortable with Brandon on and off the court,&rdquo; Kupchak said.
Miller has said he can&rsquo;t discuss the case.
On much a lighter note, Miller made news last week when he said he considered Paul George his personal GOAT, or the greatest of all-time.
He didn&rsquo;t back off that Thursday night even after being drafted by&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/charlotte-hornets-sale-michael-jordan-527087d134136ef38cae1da8d1c95b01">outgoing Hornets majority owner and six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan</a>, considered by many the best player ever.
&ldquo;I think I made it clear that Paul George is still my GOAT, but Mike is definitely up there when in his prime,&rdquo; Miller said with a laugh. &ldquo;Mike does everything. We wear his shoes and he jumps from the free throw line. But Paul George is my GOAT.&rdquo;
Miller appears to be a better positional fit for the Hornets than Henderson, who would have joined a crowded backcourt that includes LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier, last year&rsquo;s leading scorer.
As a wing, Miller has a good chance to see significant playing time.
Gordon Hayward, who has struggled with injury issues, is in the final year of his contract and it&rsquo;s unclear if the team will try to re-sign restricted free agent Miles Bridges, who missed all last season while dealing with a domestic violence case. Bridges will&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/miles-bridges-suspension-charlotte-hornets-ca37e404209b6298ced4c1a46d5d59d6">serve a 10-game suspension to start the season</a>&nbsp;after&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/charlotte-hornets-nba-sports-los-angeles-miles-bridges-cfb86b443b52ad43038886363feeedc4">pleading no contest last November</a>&nbsp;and being sentenced to serve three years of probation.
Miller feels he should benefit from playing with Ball, who is an above-average ball distributor.
&ldquo;Melo is my guy,&rdquo; Miller said. &ldquo;I think with Melo, as good of a point guard as he is, I just kind of fill in the place (on the court). And I know he is going to be the big brother for me away from home.&rdquo;
The 20-year-old Miller is also considered a much better shooter than Henderson, addressing an area of concern for Charlotte.
The Hornets finished 29th in the league last season on 3-pointers at 33%. Miller shot 38.4% from beyond the arc at Alabama. Henderson shot just 27.5% from deep last season for the Ignite, although the 3-point line is deeper in the G League.
At the Spectrum Center in downtown Charlotte, the Hornets&rsquo; decision to take Miller over Henderson was greeted with a mixed reaction by about 5,000 fans gathered for a draft party.
Before the pick, fans cheered loudly when Henderson was shown on the big screen.
Miller joins a Hornets team that hasn&rsquo;t reached the postseason in an NBA-worst seven straight seasons and finished with the fourth-worst record in the league last season at 27-55. Charlotte managed to move up two spots in the lottery, barely missing out on the No. 1 pick and Victor Wembanyama.
Kupchak said a handful of teams showed significant interest in trading up to the No. 2 spot, but added &ldquo;we never got to the point where we seriously considered moving the pick.&rdquo;
The Hornets selected 19-year-old guard Nick Smith Jr. from Arkansas with the 27th overall pick. Smith had been projected as a potential top-five pick before a knee injury caused him to miss 19 games last season.
Charlotte also added James Nnaji, a 6-foot-11 center from FC Barcelona, and UCLA guard Amari Bailey in the second round.

The Charlotte Hornets preferred Alabama’s Brandon Miller over the G League Ignite’s Scoot Henderson with the No 2 pick.

Hornets select Brandon Miller with the No. 2 pick in NBA Draft

The jacket that Michael Jordan famously and grudgingly wore while receiving an Olympic gold medal has been in Brian McIntyre&rsquo;s possession for more than three decades now.
He figures the time is right to let someone else enjoy it.
The red, white and blue Reebok jacket that Jordan &mdash; a Nike athlete &mdash; was forced to wear on the medal stand alongside the other members of USA Basketball&rsquo;s first &ldquo;Dream Team&rdquo; at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics is headed to auction. Sotheby&rsquo;s, which has the offering that will run through June 28, estimates that the jacket could fetch anywhere from $1 million to $3 million.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve enjoyed it and it&rsquo;s just the right time to do this,&rdquo; McIntyre said. &ldquo;And it&rsquo;s easier to do this than it is to leave things for my kids.&rdquo;
Jordan is aware of the decision to auction the jacket, McIntyre said.
McIntyre was with the Dream Team in Barcelona through his role with the NBA. He joined the league&rsquo;s communications department in 1981 and stepped aside into an advisory role for then-Commissioner David Stern in 2010. Part of his job, outside of overseeing public relations at all the major NBA events, was to help at other major events with NBA players &mdash; including the world championships and the Olympics.
That&rsquo;s why McIntyre was in Barcelona working with the players. The U.S. Olympic Committee had sent word that Jordan would have to wear the full athlete uniform on the medal stand, and Jordan complied &mdash; with one adjustment. For the ceremony where the Americans got their gold medals, he draped an American flag over his shoulder to hide the Reebok logo.
And when Jordan came off the medal stand, he took off the jacket and tossed it aside, then gifted it to McIntyre.
&ldquo;He said, &lsquo;I certainly don&rsquo;t want it,&rsquo;&rdquo; McIntyre said.
So, McIntyre took it. He brought the jacket &mdash; which has a patch that reads &ldquo;Reebok is proud to honor America&rsquo;s finest&rdquo; &mdash; to Jordan at an event when the NBA legend was shifting to baseball in 1994, thinking Jordan would ask for it back.
Instead, Jordan signed it: &ldquo;To Brian, Thanks for Everything, Michael Jordan.&rdquo;
McIntyre kept it the last 29 years, wearing it occasionally. The jacket and Jordan&rsquo;s reluctance to wear it was a big story in Barcelona and became a talking point again when &ldquo;The Last Dance&rdquo; documentary re-told part of the story with sound from Jordan in 1992 revealing his frustration with the situation.
That said, anything involving that team, and those Olympics, has obvious historical value. It was the first time the NBA sent its players to an Olympics, and the game was forever changed.
&ldquo;We watched the &lsquo;Dream Team&rsquo; in the &rsquo;92 Olympics fast-forward the growth of basketball, by a lot,&rdquo; McIntyre said. &ldquo;I mean, it really helped develop the game worldwide &mdash; not just for the NBA, but in basketball in general.&rdquo;
Sotheby&rsquo;s is offering the auction online and will display the jacket in New York from June 24-28.
&ldquo;To be able to sell this relic from such a historic world event &mdash; one that is often credited for multiplying the popularity and global reach of basketball &mdash; is both rare and unparalleled,&rdquo; said Brahm Wachter, Sotheby&rsquo;s head of streetwear and modern collectibles. &ldquo;And beyond its legendary place in Olympic history, the jacket represents Michael Jordan&rsquo;s fierce and devoted loyalty to Nike, a transformative and revolutionary partnership between two powerhouses that has stood the test of time.&rdquo;

The jacket that Michael Jordan famously and grudgingly wore while receiving an Olympic gold medal is being auctioned off.

Michael Jordan’s ‘Dream Team’ Olympic jacket heading to auction

Spencer Davies speaks with Taqwa Pinero about his life journey and how he's preparing both the future and current hoop generations.

Taqwa Pinero's knowledge is its own currency, and he's paying it forward

PARIS (AP) &mdash; NBA Commissioner Adam Silver had a meeting this week in Paris and was asked by a gracious host how he takes his coffee.
&ldquo;Un sucre?&rdquo; French President Emmanuel Macron asked.
Over that coffee, the leader of the NBA and the leader of France struck a deal to work together with hopes of continuing to grow the game of basketball internationally &mdash; a marriage of perfect timing, given how French star Victor Wembanyama is a few months from coming to the NBA and the Paris Olympics are about 18 months away.
The NBA announced some details Thursday, including a collaboration between the league and the LNB, which is France&rsquo;s top pro league; events that France and the NBA will work on together as part of the buildup toward Paris 2024; expanded youth programs; and additional work toward growing the game in Africa, with both the league and France committing to further investments there including facilities capable of playing host to Basketball Africa League games.
&ldquo;His belief, I think, is very similar certainly to the NBA&rsquo;s about the power of sport to bring people together and what a constructive force it can be and even as a global engine to create commonality and empathy among people,&rdquo; Silver said.
Macron, Silver said, happened to have his schedule align with a BAL game during a visit to Rwanda in the league&rsquo;s inaugural playoffs. Macron watched the game with Rwandan President Paul Kagame.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s very familiar with all our global plans, in Africa particularly,&rdquo; Silver said.
Macron had other pressing matters on his schedule this week. At least 1.1 million people protested on the streets of Paris and other French cities Thursday amid nationwide strikes against plans to raise the retirement age, but Macron &mdash; who met with Silver on Wednesday in Paris, and was at a French-Spanish summit in Barcelona on Thursday &mdash; has said he will press ahead with the proposed pension reforms.
Basketball was likely only a brief distraction.
&ldquo;I am delighted and proud of the NBA&rsquo;s choice to make France and Paris one of its privileged playgrounds in the world,&rdquo; Macron said. &ldquo;It reflects the special and long-standing relationship that France has with the NBA. With the excellence of our training, the performance of our national teams and the hosting of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic games, we now have the opportunity to go further and engage in a useful and lasting partnership for the benefit of French basketball, as well as in support of our development policy in Africa.&rdquo;
The NBA is in the process of planning another game in Paris next year, Silver said; he spoke Thursday just before a game between the Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons, with Wembanyama and his family sitting courtside.
Silver and Macron also discussed plans for Paris 2024, including how the current schedule calls for preliminary games in Lille &mdash; about 140 miles north of Paris. That decision is not final, and has been the subject of some criticism given the high-profile status basketball has on the Olympic program.
&ldquo;He assured us everything would be OK,&rdquo; Silver said.
Other topics covered by Silver on Thursday included:
LABOR DEAL
Even though Silver and National Basketball Players Association executive director Tamika Tremaglio were in Paris this week, talks between the league and the union continued in New York.
&ldquo;Our colleagues are back in New York, negotiating as we speak,&rdquo; Silver said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;ve been meeting all week, just going issue by issue and trying to work through those issues that separate us. I would say, though, that I think we start from a very strong foundation.&rdquo;
The NBA and its players have until Feb. 8 if either side wants to opt out of the current collective bargaining agreement. That deadline has been pushed back once already from mid-December, and it would not be a surprise if it gets pushed back again.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a strong sense of partnership between the players and the league,&rdquo; Silver said. &ldquo;That doesn&rsquo;t mean we don&rsquo;t have disagreements.&rdquo;
Among the issues that the NBA and the NBPA have been discussing in recent weeks is a return to letting players enter the draft straight out high school without waiting a year &mdash; that move is expected to be included in the next CBA &mdash; along with what the league considers an &ldquo;upper spending limit&rdquo; that would significantly tighten the rules on how much teams can spend each year on their roster.
LEBRON&rsquo;S RECORD
With LeBron James now perhaps just a couple of weeks away from catching Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and becoming the NBA&rsquo;s career scoring leader, Silver revealed some of the notions the league is considering to pay tribute to the accomplishment.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no doubt we will stop that game and make sure we record for history, the ball, the basket, the uniform,&rdquo; Silver said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll stop and make sure that we&rsquo;ve done our jobs as the archivists of the NBA. At the same time, there&rsquo;s that balance that they will be playing against a team that will very much want to win that night and not be distracted. Most likely we will do something in the moment, but then we will plan a larger celebration.&rdquo;
James is on pace to break the record in early February &mdash; and if he does, it&rsquo;s likely that the bigger celebration Silver spoke of would come at the NBA&rsquo;s All-Star weekend in Salt Lake City later that month.
RETURN TO NORMALCY
The last time the NBA played in Paris before Thursday was January 2020 &mdash; just under two months before the league shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
&ldquo;I actually remember when we were here then, that January in 2020, we started to see people wearing masks. People knew something was coming,&rdquo; Silver said. &ldquo;No one was predicting at that time that the world was going to shut down and we&rsquo;d go on to play in a bubble, etc. Our hope is, of course, that we&rsquo;ve bookended that pandemic, and the worst is behind us. We hope it is.&rdquo;
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

The leader of the NBA and the leader of France struck a deal to work together with hopes of continuing to grow the game of basketball.

Silver, Macron meet to discuss goals with NBA back in Paris

The tributes officially started in 2019 with Dirk Nowitzki Way, a street that was renamed in Dallas to honor the greatest Mavericks player of all time. Then in January, the Mavs retired his No. 41 jersey. Then in September, Germany retired the No. 14 jersey he wore for his country.
Even after scoring 30,000 points, he still is not enjoying all the fuss.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been super surreal,&rdquo; Nowitzki said, &ldquo;and a little embarrassing for me.&rdquo;
Merry Christmas, Dirk. Here comes another celebration. Two of them, actually.
On Wednesday, he was <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/basketball-hall-of-fame-announces-candidates-for-class-of-2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced as a nominee for the 2023 enshrinement class</a> by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. And on Sunday, when the Mavs host the Los Angeles Lakers as part of the NBA&rsquo;s Christmas quintupleheader, the Dirk Nowitzki Statue will be unveiled at American Airlines Arena.
It will be the ultimate Christmas present and incredibly fitting that it comes on a day where a slew of international stars that Nowitzki helped pave the way for &mdash; Philadelphia&rsquo;s Joel Embiid, Milwaukee&rsquo;s Giannis Antetokounmpo, Denver&rsquo;s Nikola Jokic and fellow Maverick Luka Doncic &mdash; will get showcased on the NBA&rsquo;s big day.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been super fun to watch,&rdquo; Nowitzki said when asked about the ongoing imprint international players are making on the game. &ldquo;And along the way, if I inspired somebody to pick up a basketball or if I motivated a guy to work harder or dream of the NBA, of course, that&rsquo;s humbling to me ... super humbling. That makes me proud, for sure.&rdquo;
It&rsquo;s not a new development. The last four MVP&rsquo;s &mdash; in reverse order, Jokic, Jokic, Antetokounmpo, Antetokounmpo &mdash; are from Serbia and Greece. It seems reasonable to think that this season&rsquo;s MVP will be an international player as well, with Jokic, Doncic and Embiid likely among the early frontrunners.
Entering Tuesday, the NBA&rsquo;s top five scorers were from five different countries &mdash; Embiid (Cameroon), Doncic (Slovenia), Oklahoma City&rsquo;s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Canada), Antetokounmpo (Greece) and Kevin Durant (U.S.).
Such was unthinkable just a few years ago. Over a 13-season span, from 2004-05 through 2016-17, only one international player cracked the top five &mdash; Nowitzki, who was fourth on two occasions during that stretch. Every other slot was taken by an American.
This is what former Commissioner David Stern wanted &mdash; and why he prioritized making the NBA go international.
&ldquo;It was his vision to truly make the NBA and basketball a global sport," Commissioner Adam Silver said last weekend before a Miami-San Antonio game in Mexico City. &ldquo;I began at the league in 1992, shortly before the Barcelona Olympics and the Dream Team. We saw the impact that had. Now looking back 30 years, 30 years of playing games in M&eacute;xico City, it&rsquo;s really happening."
It&rsquo;s not an accident that Doncic, Antetokounmpo, Jokic and Embiid are getting the Christmas game treatment. They are brands, huge draws globally, and the NBA has embraced international viewers more and more over the years.
Nowitzki preceded them all, a mop-topped German kid who initially wasn&rsquo;t sure if he wanted to come to the NBA when he got drafted and wound up making the best possible decision for him and the Mavericks. He played three times on Christmas; Dallas went 2-1 in those games and Nowitzki averaged 27.3 points.
The Christmas lineup this year goes like this &mdash; Philadelphia at New York first, then the Lakers at Dallas, Milwaukee at Boston, Memphis at defending champion Golden State, then Phoenix at Denver in the nightcap. Some star power will be missing, with the Lakers without Anthony Davis and the Warriors without Stephen Curry. It&rsquo;ll be LeBron James&rsquo; 17th Christmas appearance, and the first for the Grizzlies.
&ldquo;These are the games that everybody grew up watching,&rdquo; James said last year when asked about Christmas.
The NBA does its part to make sure &ldquo;everybody&rdquo; can watch &mdash; like the NBA Finals, the Christmas games are being sent to more than 200 countries and territories, with commentating happening in more than 50 languages.
German, of course, will be one of them. The Nowitzki statue depicts his famous one-legged jumper, a shot that changed the game. He was a unicorn when he got to the U.S.; a 7-footer who could shoot, pass and dribble and wasn&rsquo;t just a back-to-the-basket guy. Now, those skills aren&rsquo;t rare to see in big men. They&rsquo;re basically required.
Again, it&rsquo;s so fitting that the statue is coming on Christmas. His game was a gift. And with the way it&rsquo;s been emulated by so many in the last 20 years, it&rsquo;s a gift that keeps on giving.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s going to be there forever,&rdquo; Nowitzki said. &ldquo;I think that&rsquo;s what&rsquo;s so unbelievable, that this statue will stand there, and my kids will grow up with it. That&rsquo;s what&rsquo;s really mindboggling and so amazing about it&mdash; that this piece is for really for eternity and will be there long, long after I&rsquo;m gone.&rdquo;
___
Tim Reynolds is a national basketball writer for The Associated Press. Write to him at treynolds(at)ap.org

On Sunday, when the Mavs host the Lakers as part of the NBA’s Christmas quintupleheader, the Dirk Nowitzki Statue will be unveiled.

Fitting that Dirk Nowitzki will be celebrated on Christmas

If this month has given us any indication, the 2023 NBA Draft could be special.
Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson went head-to-head in two thrilling showcases to start October, exemplifying the potential greatness that could headline this prospect group.
Senior NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock has Wembanyama atop <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/nba-draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">his initial 2023 Big Board</a>, with Scoot Henderson at No. 2. But they're just the headliners. Amen and Ausar Thompson, twin uber-athletes, are carving up the court with Overtime Elite. Then you get to the collegiate standouts, led by Villanova's Cam Whitmore and Arkansas' Nick Smith Jr.
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New on <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@basketbllnews</a>: this season's first 2023 NBA Draft Big Board.👇 Link: <a href="https://t.co/UD5Dv0rDJ2">https://t.co/UD5Dv0rDJ2</a> <a href="https://t.co/d6UEUTsjip">pic.twitter.com/d6UEUTsjip</a>
&mdash; Matt Babcock (@MattBabcock11) <a href="https://twitter.com/MattBabcock11/status/1584921955357990912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 25, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Babcock broke down the top names to monitor as the scouting season gets rolling. He also dove into his own scouting process and the challenges that come with criss-crossing the globe to watch basketball's best young talents.&nbsp;
How much did Victor Wembanyama's dominance in Las Vegas change his reputation as a generational prospect compared to before the exhibitions?
In my role as an NBA Draft Analyst, I do my best not to go too high or too low on guys based on individual performances. But to be in Las Vegas in person, sitting courtside to see Victor Wembanyama, an 18-year-old that's 7-foot-4 and has an 8-foot wingspan do the things that he did &mdash; it was remarkable. The combination of his length, coordination, and skill level is unbelievable. I don't know if we'll ever see a prospect quite like Victor Wembanyama again. He's so incredibly unique and has about as much upside as possibly imaginable.
What do you want to see from Wembanyama over this next season before making the likely leap to the NBA?
Although this may seem obvious, I'd like to see Victor stay healthy and out on the court this season. Considering that he has such a unique body type, I think that is very important. He's such an incredible prospect, but he needs to get stronger and take care of his body to maximize his potential.
How does Scoot Henderson compare to some of the dynamic guard prospects we've seen over the past decade?
Suppose we look at the top-tier guard prospects from recent years' drafts. In that case, we'd be talking about guys like LaMelo Ball, Ja Morant, Darius Garland, Trae Young &mdash; and I guess you could put Luka Doncic in that group, too, since he's essentially a big point guard.&nbsp;
Well, I'm comfortable saying I'm just as excited about Scoot Henderson as I was about all those guys at the same stage. But, of course, Scoot needs to take care of his business to get to those players' levels. However, my point is I do think he has that type of talent and potential.
What makes Amen and Ausar Thompson special, and could the twins also be franchise-altering talents?
Although the Thompson brothers are identical twins, I do see differences in their games. For example, Amen seems to have better ball skills and a feel for the game, and Ausar is wired more as a scorer. However, they're both incredible athletes with so much versatility on both sides of the ball. Outside shooting is their swing skill, and their development in that area will likely determine how much career success they'll find. It seems as if both guys are about all of the right things and are serious about their craft, which tells me they'll continue to improve. I think they're both big-time prospects and worthy of being high lottery picks.
Wembanyama, Henderson and the Thompson twins come from unconventional pathways. How does that change your scouting process?
Well, first of all, I take a compartmentalized approach to evaluating prospects regardless of whether they take an unconventional pathway or not. Each evaluation presents unique challenges, so I don't think it changes things for me too much.&nbsp;
Players taking unconventional pathways sometimes allow me more direct access to them. For example, with these players, as mentioned earlier, it's been more advantageous for me because I have unique connections to them. Victor Wembanyama's agent, Bouna N'Diaye, is a good friend, and I collaborated with him and his agency, Comsport, for years when I was an agent.&nbsp;
Scoot's mentor in Atlanta, Desmond Eastman, aka "The General," has been my guy since I played high school ball in Atlanta. The General, Scoot, and his family invited me out to their family's gym, Next Play 360, a couple of years ago to watch Scoot work out, and I got a chance to spend some time with all of them. And I've kept in touch with them since then.&nbsp;
I've also had opportunities to spend some time with the Thompson Twins. Before Overtime Elite was publicly launched, I spent about six months as an advisor for them; I assisted in setting up their scouting operations. So naturally, I'm close with all of the folks out there. A little while back, Overtime Elite invited me to come to Atlanta to speak to their players about scouting, intel, and the business of the NBA. Of course, I'm not always connected to top prospects like I am with those guys, but my background and experience in hoops does tend to serve me well regarding access, which I certainly don't take for granted.
Which other 2023 draft-eligible players do you think have a chance at putting themselves in that Tier 1 prospect conversation?
I'm not sure if any other players will be able to crack that first tier. Still, I am excited to track some college freshmen like Cam Whitmore at Villanova, Nick Smith at Arkansas, Dariq Whitehead at Duke, Dillon Mitchell at Texas, and Keyonte George at Baylor, to name a few. I could list off a handful or so more, too, as I think the freshman class this year has a bunch of talented prospects.
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We hit the Main Line for the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BIGEASThoops?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BIGEASThoops</a> Preseason Freshman of the Year, <a href="https://twitter.com/NovaMBB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NovaMBB</a>'s Cam Whitmore! Cam was the Most Outstanding Player on <a href="https://twitter.com/usabasketball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@usabasketball</a>'s FIBA U18 Americas Championship squad this past summer &amp; was the Gatorade Maryland POTY at Archbishop Spalding! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LetsGoNova?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LetsGoNova</a> <a href="https://t.co/s0JUUeqIPn">pic.twitter.com/s0JUUeqIPn</a>
&mdash; BIG EAST MBB (@BIGEASTMBB) <a href="https://twitter.com/BIGEASTMBB/status/1582344744449019904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 18, 2022</a></blockquote>

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As a scout, how do you make sure you're being fairly critical of top prospects without overanalyzing their flaws?
My process for evaluating prospects is to ask questions constantly, whether by asking myself questions internally or blowing up my right-hand man, Derek Murray's phone, to ask him questions. A comprehensive evaluation or conclusion of the evaluation of a prospect before their draft ultimately comes down to the concept of the sum of all its parts.&nbsp;
Experienced scouts can gather comparable information on prospects, evaluating the players' on-court talent and gathering intel on their background, character, and personality. Generally, we all know a prospect's strengths, weaknesses, and questions that need to be raised at a certain point in the process. The most challenging part is how one weighs out all the different variables within the evaluation.&nbsp;
For example, maybe a player lacks physical strength, has character flaws, or is an inconsistent shooter. How big of a problem are specific players' "issues" compared to how much talent and upside they have, and how much could their issues limit their ability to maximize their potential? It's all about balancing out the risk versus the reward. It's certainly a juggling act, but you know what? I love it. I live for it. I wake up as a scout everyday seeking more information on prospects in hopes of figuring out the big puzzle, which is the NBA Draft.
Which top returning college players are you most excited to see make improvements in their games?
There are many returners I'm hoping will make a big jump in their development. Some players that come to mind first are Terquavion Smith from NC State, Marcus Sasser from Houston, Kris Murray from Iowa, Harrison Ingram from Stanford, Oscar Tshiebwe and Daimion Collins from Kentucky, Arthur Kaluma and Ryan Kalkbrenner from Creighton, Terrence Shannon and Coleman Hawkins from Illinois, and Caleb Love from North Carolina. 
Honestly, I could list off a bunch of guys. I love to see guys return to school and keep grinding. Having a front-row seat to watch young players' stories unfold as they chase their dreams is perhaps the best part of my job. I love it!
Beyond Wembanyama, what does this year's international prospect landscape look like?
Of course, Wembanyama is the big name this year. Some other internationally-born prospects that are playing overseas that I'm excited to track are Rayan Rupert with the New Zealand Breakers, Nikola Djurisic with Mega in Serbia, and James Nnaji and Ousmane NDiaye with Barcelona and Baskonia in Spain, respectively.
How do you set a roadmap for the early scouting season &mdash; do you prioritize geography, teams or specific players at first?
I first get my initial player rankings and priority watch list together, which helps me prepare and organize who I need to see. Secondly, I identify "must-see" games and events. For example, early this college season, I plan to attend the State Farm Champions Classic in Indianapolis, including Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, and Michigan State. Then I plan to attend the Phil Knight Invitational and Legacy events in Portland, which include many talented teams. There are some other double-headers and unique matchups in neutral locations I have penciled in too.&nbsp;
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From there, I look at "low-hanging fruit" games. This would include games and events with NBA prospects that I can travel to cheaply and easily. I live in Denver, Colorado, so the drivable spots for me are mainly the University of Colorado, Colorado State, Air Force, and I drive to Wyoming here and there too. I also pencil in high-priority high school events into my schedule, like the Hoophall Classic in Springfield, Massachusetts, City of Palms in Fort Myers, Florida. My tentative schedule is planned through March already. I still need to squeeze in a couple of trips overseas, and I will likely make some adjustments as we go, but I like to prepare ahead of time.
What are some of the challenges when it comes to planning scouting trips for a draft class that could have several special players at the top?
Having "special players" doesn't change scheduling much, or at all, honestly. However, I will say this; I generally go extremely hard in November and December to get my bases covered regarding scouting the higher-rated prospects. This is because I like to get a head start so that I can pick and choose my spots later.&nbsp;
Injuries can be a significant disruptor. It's impossible to predict who will be healthy throughout the season. Fortunately, my processes have served me well at times. For example, I went to see Vanderbilt play USC in LA a few years back for their season opener, and I'm sure glad I did because I got to see Darius Garland, who was terrific. Unfortunately, he got hurt shortly after and only played five games that entire season before becoming a high lottery pick.&nbsp;
Similarly, I watched Patrick Baldwin Jr. several times before him missing the bulk of the season with a foot injury. He only played in 11 games the entire season. Anyway, I don't underestimate seeing a top prospect while I can; you never know how things will unfold.
What under-the-radar college teams should NBA Draft enthusiasts make sure to watch?
Although they're ranked high, we don't usually see Houston and Creighton mixing it up with the blue bloods and top programs. However, I think both teams have a chance of doing big things this season.
Coach Kelvin Sampson has done a terrific job building up that program in Houston. I was a bit surprised that their stud guard, Marcus Sasser, decided to return to school after doing so well at the NBA Draft Combine, but I'm happy he did. I think he's poised for a breakout year. They have a lot of other talented players too. Most specifically, I'm excited to see five-star recruit Jarace Walker. I have had the chance to watch Walker many times at various high school events. His physical tools, toughness, and versatility are interesting.
I usually head out to Omaha, Nebraska, once or twice yearly to see Creighton games. It's an easy flight to Omaha for me coming from Denver, there is a fantastic Marriott hotel right across from Creighton's arena, and they take great care of the media, as they have always given me a seat courtside. I've seen some terrific games there in the last few years. I remember watching teams like Villanova, including Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, and Eric Paschall, and then a stacked Gonzaga team featuring Rui Hachimura and Brandon Clarke.&nbsp;
I will likely try to see Villanova play Creighton this season because they have highly touted freshman Cam Whitmore, who is projected as a lottery pick. Still, I will also focus on Creighton's prospects this year, as Arthur Kaluma, Ryan Kalkbrenner, and Baylor Scheierman have been generating some buzz.
Has the success of some of last year's rookies changed your scouting philosophies at all?
The biggest thing for me recently is not necessarily adjusting to how individual players have performed but just keeping the pulse on the trends and how the game continues to evolve. For example, the idea that the NBA is moving towards a positionless game is becoming more apparent each year. Subsequently, players with decent size, well-rounded skill sets, and versatility on both ends of the ball have never held so much value.&nbsp;
On the flip side, undersized guards and traditional big men are not carrying as much value across the board as they once did. Of course, there are always exceptions to these rules, but it has certainly changed how I look at specific prospects.
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What is the most enjoyable part of this first month of college scouting for you?
I will be a little cliche here, but I just love getting back in the arena.&nbsp;
I'm a member of the staff for Damian Lillard's Formula Zero, a group of top high school and college prospects. One exercise we do as a group is having everyone take a turn to share one thing they have been doing well and one thing they have been struggling with or would like to improve on. It got me thinking about that recently regarding myself; I've gotten to a point in my career where I've developed to become very organized, detail-oriented, and prepared, which hasn't always been the case. Over time, I've turned these areas from my weaknesses into strengths. And I'm proud to be able to say that.&nbsp;
Alright, now my weakness. Of course, the offseason is a great opportunity to spend time with my family, which I do, and I love having that time! But the fact is, I don't have any real hobbies, and I essentially am obsessed with the game and what I do. So I get impatient and uneasy when I don't have a lot of basketball in my life &mdash; it happens every year. So naturally, when the season starts, it puts me at ease. There is so much great basketball to see in November and December, and I'm just ecstatic to get back out there and start chipping away, trying to figure out this year's NBA Draft.

Ethan Fuller previews the 2023 scouting season with BasketballNews.com Senior NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock.

2023 NBA Draft: Previewing top prospects to watch with Matt Babcock

Last week, continuing its international tour around the globe, the NBA finished its first visit to the United Arab Emirates and the Arabian Gulf for the 2022 Abu Dhabi Games. Participating in the event were the Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks, with star performances highlighting the competition at Etihad Arena on Yas Island. The Hawks came out on top in both games, with 123-113 and 118-109 victories.
Despite it being preseason, Atlanta and Milwaukee allowed their regular rotations to play and put on a show. New Hawks addition Dejounte Murray dazzled in his preseason debut with a 25-point, 9-assist, 8-rebound outing, while former MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo answered with 19 points and 7 boards in Game 1. Two nights later, Trae Young dropped 31 points and 6 assists on a sizzling 11-for-15 from the field, including a 7-for-9 mark from beyond the arc in the first half of Game 2.
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ice Trae went CRYOGENIC in the first half at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBAinAbuDhabi?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBAinAbuDhabi</a>: 31 PTS 6 AST 🥶🥶🥶 <a href="https://t.co/KjzHDtJ4eA">pic.twitter.com/KjzHDtJ4eA</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1578797154847580162?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 8, 2022</a></blockquote>

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However, aside from what happened on the court, the real story is that the NBA continues to reach further into different countries as basketball grows more and more in popularity.
To learn more about the inaugural Abu Dhabi Games and the league's efforts to expand its audience worldwide, BasketballNews.com spoke with the NBA's vice president of global strategy and innovation Samantha Engelhardt.
First off, how nice is it for the league to be back on a global schedule following the pandemic? Logistically, how difficult was that to handle/schedule, and then, get back to a routine of working things out again?
Samantha Engelhardt: "We&rsquo;re excited that we were able to resume playing Global Games for the first time in more than two years. Playing games overseas is an important part of our year-round efforts to engage our passionate international fans and grow the game around the world. Planning for these games and the surrounding events is a highly collaborative process across league and team employees, partners and our regional offices.
"In both Japan and Abu Dhabi, we hosted four sold-out games, interactive fan events, NBA Cares community outreach initiatives and youth development programming that reached thousands of people. We&rsquo;re very pleased with the reception from fans in both markets and look forward to continuing that positive momentum at our regular-season games in Mexico City and Paris."
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What has been the key to building a worldwide fan base over all these years?&nbsp;
Engelhardt: "There are a number of factors. This season marks 30 years since the "Dream Team" <a href="https://www.nba.com/news/history-top-moments-dream-team-1992" target="_blank" rel="noopener">captivated a global audience with their performance at the Olympics in Barcelona</a>. It&rsquo;s remarkable to see how that team inspired generations of fans and players around the world. We&rsquo;re fortunate that in the years since, so many players from outside the U.S. have made an impact in the NBA and WNBA.
"As far as our efforts, we have a three-pronged strategy to help grow the game of basketball globally: Grassroots basketball development (creating opportunities for boys and girls to play the game), making NBA basketball more accessible to international fans on the devices and platforms they use most, and, as in the case of Global Games, bringing the NBA experience to fans around the world through live games, interactive fan events and authentic merchandise."
Why is this matter important to the league? And how much has the international influx of talent in the NBA furthered this objective to reach fans outside of the USA?
Engelhardt: "Our mission is to inspire and connect people everywhere through the power of basketball. Ninety-nine percent of NBA fans will never enter an NBA arena, and they consume our game entirely through some form of technology. It&rsquo;s very important that we do everything we can to reach and engage those fans with the content and experiences they want, which is why we just <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-launches-reimagined-app-with-new-features-exclusive-content" target="_blank" rel="noopener">launched a reimagined NBA App</a> that does exactly that.
"And the level of international talent in the league has been critical to basketball and the NBA&rsquo;s continued growth around the world. This will be the ninth consecutive season we&rsquo;ve had at least 100 international players in the league. And it&rsquo;s not just the quantity, but the quality. International players are having as significant an impact on the NBA as they ever have. Two international players &mdash; Serbia&rsquo;s Nikola Jokić and Greece&rsquo;s Giannis Antetokounmpo &mdash; have won the last four MVP awards. All of these players drive interest and inspire people in their home countries and beyond."
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Giannis on playing basketball around the globe 🌍 <a href="https://t.co/8y67f5Bvlf">pic.twitter.com/8y67f5Bvlf</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1578136757178191872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 6, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Seeing the response before and during the games in Abu Dhabi &mdash; the first time the league has gone there &mdash; it was deafening. How did the opportunity to go there come about?
Engelhardt: "Bringing live NBA games to different regions is a vital part of our efforts to grow basketball around the world. Following the games in Abu Dhabi, we&rsquo;ve now played in virtually every region of the world.
"As far as Abu Dhabi specifically, it&rsquo;s a city with extensive experience hosting world-class sporting events, and we see an opportunity to expand the NBA&rsquo;s presence in a region with a growing number of basketball fans. And our games there are built on the NBA&rsquo;s decades-long history to grow basketball in the UAE and across the Middle East through live games distribution and grassroots development. We believe bringing games and the surrounding community events to Abu Dhabi will serve as a catalyst for basketball&rsquo;s continued growth throughout the region."
To follow up on that, how did the NBA react to the response from those in attendance? Do you feel you'll be back there again next season?
Engelhardt: "The response from the fans in Abu Dhabi was really special, particularly for our first games in the market. In addition to two sold-out games, our NBA District fan event welcomed thousands of people throughout the week of the games, our basketball development programming reached more than 2,000 boys, girls, coaches and basketball stakeholders from across the region, and we opened a new NBA Store at Yas Mall that will serve as a year-round destination for fans based locally and visiting from abroad. The results were really encouraging.
"Our Arabic-language <a href="https://www.instagram.com/nbaarabic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instagram</a>&nbsp;account (@NBAArabic) more than doubled their collective followers during the week of the games, and our social content around the games delivered more than 95 million views. We&rsquo;re pleased with the success of the week&rsquo;s activities and believe these games will continue as a fixture in our calendar."
How did the teams' players, coaches and executives feel about the trip? Anybody who has the travel bug has to enjoy exploring new places.
Engelhardt: "Both teams had a great experience; we&rsquo;ve received nothing but positive feedback from everyone involved. It was many of their first time in Abu Dhabi and the broader region, and in addition to exploring a new place and culture, they were able to bond as a team heading into the season. I think for them, to see Bucks and Hawks jerseys in the stands at Etihad Arena was another reminder that there are NBA fans all over the world."
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appreciate you, Abu Dhabi!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBAinAbuDhabi?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBAinAbuDhabi</a> is live on NBA TV and the NBA App. Start your 7-day free trial: 📲 <a href="https://t.co/rgegl2Wy9W">https://t.co/rgegl2Wy9W</a> <a href="https://t.co/twbcZLpUFu">pic.twitter.com/twbcZLpUFu</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1578781580427927552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 8, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Trae Young, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Dejounte Murray are marquee names that don't always suit up for long in the preseason. The fact that the legitimate rotations of these teams played competitively despite being an exhibition certainly was a bonus for those fans to see the "real thing" as well. Would you agree?
Engelhardt: "Absolutely. It was great to see Trae, Giannis and Dejounte come out and put on some amazing performances for the fans, who came from 59 different countries to see them. Not only them, but I thought all of the players&rsquo; efforts led to two competitive games that were exciting for the fans. I think both teams appreciated the opportunity to be part of history, and their play on the court reflected that."
So you've been to Japan and Abu Dhabi, and will go to Mexico City and Paris as well in the next few months during the regular season. What places are next?&nbsp;
Engelhardt: We look at several factors when evaluating where to play Global Games. It's the availability and capacity of arenas; cities and countries that have an affinity for, or have a growing interest in basketball; and destinations that interest our teams and players. We don&rsquo;t have any news to share at the moment, but there are a number of markets both where we&rsquo;ve played before and where we haven&rsquo;t played before that we&rsquo;d love to bring live games to."
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A simple question: What is the NBA's end game and end goal as a league when it comes to globalizing basketball? It seems like these efforts will continue getting stronger with each season/year.
Engelhardt: "The goal is to continue to grow the game and our fan base around the world. NBA games reach fans in more than 200 countries and territories, and nearly 70% of our social media followers are from outside the U.S. We know that the future of sports will be defined by technology&rsquo;s ability to bring the game directly to fans on their preferred device &mdash; which is especially true about reaching fans outside of North America. So we have to continue to do everything we can to reach and engage our passionate and growing international fanbase.
"That&rsquo;s why things like the re-imagined NBA App are so important. Our fans expect a personalized, customizable, seamless user experience across every touchpoint they have with our leagues. We have ambitious goals for our international growth efforts and are excited about the enormous opportunities ahead for basketball and the NBA globally."

Spencer Davies interviews NBA vice president of global strategy and innovation Samantha Engelhardt about the Abu Dhabi Games.

NBA Global Games Q&A: Abu Dhabi visit, international efforts, more

Australia&rsquo;s&nbsp;Mojave King, a graduate of the NBA Global Academy, and Canadian forward&nbsp;Leonard Miller have signed with NBA G League Ignite, G League president Shareef Abdur-Rahim announced today.
The duo will be part of an Ignite roster that features potential top prospect for the 2023 NBA Draft Scoot Henderson, French U18 National Team star Sidy Cissoko and Nigeria&rsquo;s Efe Abogidi. More on each signee is below:
MOJAVE KING
The 6-foot-5 guard spent the previous two seasons in the National Basketball League&rsquo;s (NBL) Next Stars program, playing for the Cairns Terrapins and Adelaide 36ers. His most recent action came this summer with the Southland Sharks, where he averaged 18.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 16 games.
Born in New Zealand but raised in Australia, King joined the NBL&rsquo;s Next Stars Program after attending the NBA Global Academy in Canberra, Australia, which serves as the NBA&rsquo;s hub for top high school-age prospects from outside the U.S. During his time at NBA Global Academy, King helped his team win several high-profile international events, including the 2019 NBA Academy Games in Atlanta, Georgia, and the 2020 Torneo Junior Ciutat de L&rsquo;Hospitalet in Barcelona, where he averaged a tournament-best 19.2 points.
King becomes the fourth NBA Academy graduate to sign with Ignite, joining fellow Australian Dyson Daniels, the eighth pick in the 2022 NBA Draft by the New Orleans Pelicans, India&rsquo;s Princepal Singh and fellow 2022-23 Ignite signee Abogidi.
LEONARD MILLER
Miller was the youngest participant in the NBA&rsquo;s pre-draft process this spring, including the NBA Draft Combine in May, before electing not to enter this year&rsquo;s draft.
A standout prospect from Scarsborough, Miller most recently joined Canada&rsquo;s U23 squad in July&rsquo;s Globl Jam international showcase. In April, he teamed up with fellow Ignite signee Cissoko on the World Select squad at the 2022 Nike Hoop Summit, where Miller scored 11 points, including 2 three-pointers, plus 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks. He previously represented Canada at the 2019 FIBA U16 Americas Championship, averaging 4.2 points and 1.3 rebounds in 7.1 minutes per game.
The 2022 BioSteel Canadian Boys Player of the Year, Miller averaged 31 points and 11.6 rebounds on his Fort Erie International Academy team to earn Ontario Scholastic Basketball Association Most Valuable Player honors.
The G League Ignite open the season on Friday, Nov. 4 against Oklahoma City Blue in the team&rsquo;s new home arena, The Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nev.&nbsp;

Australian guard Mojave King and Canadian forward Leonard Miller have signed with NBA G League Ignite.

Mojave King, Leonard Miller sign with NBA G League Ignite

Are we absolutely sure that Greg Monroe should&rsquo;ve been&nbsp;out of the league&nbsp;prior to Monday night?
May 12, 2019 is the last time we saw Monroe in an NBA game, when he logged fewer than two minutes of play in the Philadelphia 76ers&rsquo; Game 7 loss to the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference Finals. And while he only logged 9.0 minutes per contest in Philly's 12-game playoff run that spring, he had&nbsp;just&nbsp;been signed on April 4, and played three regular-season games to end the season. (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywCh-CFaW2c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">He played pretty well, too</a>.)
But despite averaging 13.2 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 2.1 assists on 51.4% shooting from 2010 to 2019 in 632 career NBA games, Monroe found himself out of the league for over two-and-a-half years until the Minnesota Timberwolves signed him this week. And fresh off the flight, he put up an 11-9-6-2-1 line against his former Boston Celtics.
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The vet hasn&rsquo;t lost a step! Greg Monroe went for 11 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists in his <a href="https://twitter.com/Timberwolves?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Timberwolves</a> debut. This was his first game in the NBA since 2019. 👏 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBACallUp?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBACallUp</a> <a href="https://t.co/XAiJh53Tw7">pic.twitter.com/XAiJh53Tw7</a>
&mdash; NBA G League (@nbagleague) <a href="https://twitter.com/nbagleague/status/1475679537065349122?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 28, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Monroe, by the way, doesn&rsquo;t turn 32 until June, and when we last saw him, he was one month away from turning 29.&nbsp;
On opening night, the average age of an NBA roster&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nba/news/lakers-oldest-nba-teams-entering-season/1gvfecopluvy71rmj43y8ezgtf">for 2021-22 was 26.1</a>. Though the number precedes what we&rsquo;ve seen regarding roster reshuffling due to COVID and injuries, the 26.1 median age is the youngest the league has been this century. It&rsquo;s also roughly where we&rsquo;ve been&nbsp;for at least a few seasons.
Ten seasons ago, <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2012.html">the average age was 26.7</a>. In 2001-02,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2002.html">we were at 27.4</a>, with five teams hovering around 30 years old on average and only two leveling at 25 or under. Entering the new millennium, <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2000.html">the average was up at 27.8</a>.
Over the last several years, we&rsquo;ve also experienced <a href="https://www.theringer.com/2020/11/16/21566647/nba-undrafted-alex-caruso-duncan-robinson">a boom in undrafted talent making NBA rosters</a>. Many four-year college players are entering the league between the ages of 22 and 24, occasionally older, which &mdash; along with the continual record amount of one-and-dones &mdash; contributes to what generally is a less-experienced league than what we&rsquo;ve seen previously.
Think about this: You already can&rsquo;t have a &ldquo;Greatest Undrafted NBA Player of All-Time&rdquo; discussion without mentioning Fred VanVleet. And he&rsquo;s one of the many reasons NBA teams keep trying to find those possible diamonds in the rough instead of signing a 30-year-old veteran who's been around. The VanVleet revelation doesn&rsquo;t happen often, and he&rsquo;s also a Toronto Raptor; they don&rsquo;t exactly suck at development. Nevermind that a VanVleet or a Wesley Matthews is rare; if the Sacramento Kings had scooped up Gabe Vincent in 2019, he might be guarding Shane Larkin in the EuroLeague right now instead of Tyrese Maxey or... *checks Dec. 26 notes* ... Hassani Gravett. 
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It&rsquo;s something that magnifies an even larger societal complication &mdash; eliminating much of the middle class in any profession. We&rsquo;re increasingly watching decision-makers seek to hire fewer advanced and/or experienced employees in favor of entry-level labor, or shapeshifting transactions with those of the one percent with little in-between. It has long been reported on, and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2021/03/18/the-pandemic-stalls-growth-in-the-global-middle-class-pushes-poverty-up-sharply/">the gap is continually increasing</a>. The NBA, as a business, isn&rsquo;t much different. Look up your favorite team and see how many guys are on minimum deals or minimum-adjacent (think rookie-wage scale) contracts.
No one with Monroe&rsquo;s career production and resume should&rsquo;ve been out of the whole-ass league by age-29. It&rsquo;s not to say he should&rsquo;ve been on a contender&rsquo;s starting five, or even in a playoff rotation, but out of the NBA entirely? Forced to play (<a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/international/players/greg-monroe-1.html">and play well, by the way</a>) elsewhere? In his case, he had been productive in the EuroLeague since leaving the NBA.
(As an aside: In Europe, it&rsquo;s harder to score, rotations are deeper and you don&rsquo;t play as much, so numbers will be lower. Look at <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/international/players/luka-doncic-1.html">Luka Dončić&rsquo;s MVP 2017-18 season</a> or <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/international/teams/barcelona/2021.html">Liga ACB champion FC Barcelona&rsquo;s 2020-21 stats</a> for example.)
Jeremy Lin ranted about this last season where, after averaging 19.8 points and 6.4 assists on 51/43/88 splits in the G League during a shortened season, he was the only top-10 G League scorer to <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3161207/coronavirus-omicron-spreads-global-gloom-over-new-years-celebrations?module=perpetual_scroll_2&amp;pgtype=article&amp;campaign=3161207">not earn an NBA 10-day contract</a> last season. The players who did include Henry Ellenson, 24, Justin Harper, 23 at the time, Tyler Cook, 23, Oshae Brissett, 22, and Ignas Brazdeikis, 22.
Lin, 32 then, 33 now, never received an offer, he said.
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❤️ <a href="https://t.co/7socHMLMkH">pic.twitter.com/7socHMLMkH</a>
&mdash; Jeremy Lin (@JLin7) <a href="https://twitter.com/JLin7/status/1394798832542699521?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 18, 2021</a></blockquote>

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COVID accelerated and exposed <a href="https://time.com/5888024/50-trillion-income-inequality-america/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">much of the nationwide economic imbalance</a>, but a deep dive on that is for another discussion. (Etan Thomas, if you&rsquo;re reading this...)
One of the only good things to come from this particular COVID surge is the temporary <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-four-10day-veterans-who-can-revitalize-their-nba-careers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">revitalization of some NBA careers</a>. It includes James Ennis, Lance Stephenson, Joe Johnson, Langston Galloway and Monroe, along with Alfonzo McKinnie (<a href="https://www.latinorebels.com/2021/12/06/prosportslatinamerica/">Mexico&rsquo;s own &hellip; kinda!</a>), who is the first 10-day to full-timer this season.
In more recent days, <a href="https://www.hoopsrumors.com/10daytracker">we&rsquo;ve seen Al-Farouq Aminu, Brandon Knight and Darren Collison get deals</a>, too. But plenty of the guys we&rsquo;re seeing get these calls probably should&rsquo;ve been in the league longer than they were over some of the undrafted guys who probably aren&rsquo;t true NBA players. Even if they don&rsquo;t play much, the locker room presence and leadership, if you find the right veteran, is priceless.
But hey, <a href="https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2021/12/salaries-for-10-day-contracts-in-2021-22.html">it saves a billionaire money</a> to go entry-level instead, and I&rsquo;m over hear bitching about it on the internet during the holiday week while trying to recover Dr. Dre&rsquo;s phone in the new GTA V: The Contract, so what do I know?

Bryan Fonseca dives into how veterans should hold more importance in the NBA over younger players on smaller contracts.

NBA teams need to show more respect to veterans, and we're seeing why

The <a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="https://www.basketballnetwork.net/when-drazen-petrovic-sorted-his-teammates-out-with-a-single-sentence/" 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>:
Above all else, Dražen Petrović&rsquo;s superpower was his love for the game that translated into an insane work ethic. He was far from the most talented player of his generation, but where others failed, Petrović pushed through. Anything other than basketball was of secondary importance, as his teammates found out in 1993.
Love of his country
Petrović&rsquo;s love for basketball could only be matched with his love of country. While he was playing ball, his family and friends were fighting in Croatia&rsquo;s war of independence. Petrović carried the burden of not being there with them and did all he could to raise awareness of what was going on in the Balkans during the 1990s. For instance, Petrović participated in a protest in front of the UN with Stojko Vranković.
But the best way for Petrović to help was to do what he loved most &ndash; play basketball for his country. No matter how insignificant a game was, Petrović would show up. This was the team that made it to the Finals in Barcelona against the Dream Team. We&rsquo;re talking Toni Kukoč, Dino Rađa, Stojko Vranković, and a strong cast of great players on the European level.
They were good enough to go through European qualifications for international tournaments without Petro, but that was out of the question.
&ldquo;What seems to be the problem?&rdquo;
The team was in Wroclaw, Poland, for the EURO qualifying tournament. To remind you, the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain fell four years prior. Luxury wasn&rsquo;t in high supply at that time, and the team accommodation was consistent with that fact. Soon after arriving at the hotel, a few of the team veterans started to complain.
"Mirko [Novosel] was the head coach, and it&rsquo;s not easy when several stars, veterans on the team start complaining, demanding to change the hotel," Veljko Mr&scaron;ić <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oMVVCoNgAk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said on Podcast Inkubator</a>. "Dražen was sitting at the table, looked at them, and asked &lsquo;What seems to be the problem?&lsquo; They started rambling, &lsquo;The hotel sucks&hellip;,&lsquo; and Dražen interrupted them. &lsquo;Listen to me. All the teams are here [in the same hotel]. We came to play basketball, not [go] on vacation. We&rsquo;re staying here.'"
Mirko Novosel is a Hall-of-Fame coach and a man without reproach in Croatia. But he was still under pressure until Petrović stepped in and sorted his teammates out. This is what leadership is all about. Making sure everyone on the team has their sights set on what&rsquo;s at stake. The only thing that mattered to Petrović was competitive balance. "All the teams are here." If everyone was in the same sucky hotel, all was fine by him.
Everything in Dražen&rsquo;s life was viewed through the prism of winning basketball games. Money, fame, and everything else were irrelevant. That&rsquo;s why Petrović was and is so beloved by basketball fans around the world. He just wanted to ball.
Check out more articles from BasketballNetwork.net <a href="https://www.basketballnetwork.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

Above all else, Dražen Petrović’s superpower was his love for the game that translated into an insane work ethic.

How Dražen Petrović sorted his Croatian teammates out directly

The <a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="https://www.basketballnetwork.net/larry-bird-once-beat-charles-barkley-1-on-1-but-not-in-basketball/" 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>:
The legend of Larry Bird continues to grow each day as former teammates, reporters and friends share special moments with the Hall-of-Famer that are still unknown to many. Charles Barkley is no different. The two were former teammates on the famed 1992 Dream Team, and Sir Charles revealed that Bird beat him in one challenge &mdash; but it was outside of basketball.
Charles Barkley: &ldquo;My head hurt For like two days.&rdquo;
When Barkley said in an interview that his head hurt for two days, it wasn&rsquo;t a result of any commotion or fist-fight between him and Bird, but rather because of beer drinking. The members of the '92 Dream Team, which many consider the greatest team assembled in the history of the Olympics, were competitive NBA players out to prove they were the best, on and off the court. Barkley and Bird hung out in Monte Carlo before the Barcelona Games began. With Bird, any normal thing could get competitive fast, as Barkley found out.&nbsp;
&ldquo;One thing you don&rsquo;t wanna do is drink beer with Larry Bird," Barkley <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IraymSUdK0M&amp;t=3692s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said in a Dream Team documentary</a>. "He drinks Budweiser, but Budweiser is the strongest beer in the world. And my head hurt for like two days.&rdquo;
Even ordinary and safe bonding moments such as drinking beer prompted the Boston Celtics legend to prove he&rsquo;s the best at it. This just shows that knowing the personalities of teammates could lead to better performance as a unit. Team dinners and activities provide a rare glimpse of what makes teammates tick.
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Who&rsquo;s the most competitive in the 1992 Dream Team?
When you put a bunch of superstars and legends in the game, things could get real competitive quickly. The players on the 1992 Dream Team played for pride, and some had an ego. Everyone knew they were the team to beat, but not everyone knew how they pushed each other so hard in practices. So much, that by the time games came around, it looked easy.
Barkley may have led the team in scoring with 18 points per game, but Michael Jordan&rsquo;s commitment helped the team&rsquo;s formation. What pushed Jordan to accept the invitation? Apparently, it was for self-interest, as revealed in <a href="https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/dream-team/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"Dream Team: The Birth of the Modern Athlete" on Paramount Plus.</a>
&ldquo;I never had the chance to see how these other All-Stars prepare themselves for a game or practice. Or compete against them in practice each and every day [to see] what was their desire, their hunger, what drove them to eat, what drove them to play. That to me was why I played for the 1992 Olympic Dream Team," Jordan <a href="https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/dream-team/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
Jordan and the rest of the Dream Team beat each other in practices, but they enjoyed activities that built their chemistry on the court and off of it. The guys on the team played hard and competitive, but they learned to play to each other&rsquo;s strengths, which was a key factor in why the Americans dominated the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
Check out more articles from BasketballNetwork.net <a href="https://www.basketballnetwork.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

Larry Bird and Charles Barkley were teammates on the famed Dream Team that dominated the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.

Larry Bird once beat Charles Barkley 1-on-1, but not in basketball

There are certain things you can count on every NBA season. One of them is a week-long debate in late January surrounding which players should and shouldn&rsquo;t have been named All-Stars.
We can&rsquo;t even agree on who the top-12 players in each conference are, so how on earth were we supposed to somehow figure out who the top 75 NBA players in history were?
Fact of the matter is that we never were.
On Thursday night, the NBA completed its three-day-long process by which it named the members of its 75th anniversary team. It&rsquo;d been 25 years since the league named its 50 greatest players in history in 1996, so &mdash; as has been tradition since the league named its 25 greatest players in 1971 &mdash; it was time to serve up some honors.
Heading into the season, it was unclear whether the league would simply add 25 more names to its top-50 list or effectively start from the beginning. Although there would have been significant overlap, starting anew would have given more players from previous generations a chance at cracking the list.
It wasn&rsquo;t meant to be, though.
As it turns out, the NBA 75 included all 50 of the NBA&rsquo;s Top 50 Players and 26 more (due to a tie).&nbsp;
Bob McAdoo and Dominique Wilkins were the only two nominated players who were snubbed from the top-50 list, with Dennis Rodman and Gary Payton making the cut this time. The other 22 are contemporaries, the great majority of which are no-brainers.
Of the 22 contemporary players named to the 75th anniversary team are 14 with whom the general public can&rsquo;t take issue: Ray Allen, Kobe Bryant, Stephen Curry, Tim Duncan, Kevin Durant, Kevin Garnett, James Harden, Allen Iverson, LeBron James, Jason Kidd, Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki, Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade.
To varying degrees, credible arguments could be advanced against the eight others: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Carmelo Anthony, Anthony Davis, Kawhi Leonard, Damian Lillard, Reggie Miller, Paul Pierce and Russell Westbrook. And for Giannis, Davis, Leonard and Lillard, the arguments against them are mostly with respect to their pitch count, which a voter could reasonably decide to go either way when determining whether that should be a factor or not.
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At the end of the day, we ended up with a list of players who can rightfully lay claim to being one of the top 75 in history.&nbsp;
As is always the case, there are some notable omissions, with Vince Carter and Dwight Howard being the two contemporary players who have the best argument as snubs. That&rsquo;s just the way the cookie crumbles. And that&rsquo;s kinda the point.
Whether it&rsquo;s All-Star selections or where a player is drafted in the All-Star draft, the conversation and controversy that surrounds these lists and distinctions is what has made the NBA a multibillion dollar industry. And that&rsquo;s not to say that there&rsquo;s any nefarious or malicious intent on the part of the NBA for bestowing these honors &mdash; the league named 25th, 35th and 50th anniversary teams before the 75th team &mdash; it&rsquo;s just a fact. Our opinions are formed mostly by what we see and a bit of what we hear. As a basketball community dispersed across the world, we have varying degrees of values and exposures that help us formulate our opinions.
It&rsquo;s important that we keep that in mind.
Somewhere in Barcelona, there&rsquo;s a 24-year-old basketball fan who&rsquo;s shocked that Pau Gasol didn&rsquo;t make the cut. RJ Barrett and Dillon Brooks are probably texting Vince Carter as we speak. Chris Bosh is probably looking at his career profile on Wikipedia and comparing it to Reggie Miller&rsquo;s and trying to make sense of it all&hellip; Klay Thompson came out and posted an IG story wondering why he didn't make it. It&rsquo;s the nature of the beast.
Where we can all find common ground and some understanding when it comes to these kinds of exercises is that the league itself doesn&rsquo;t unilaterally bestow any honor &mdash; it doesn&rsquo;t choose its own MVP or name its own All-Stars, so it certainly wouldn&rsquo;t take the liberty of keeping a responsibility with this magnitude to itself. As it always does, the league carefully selected a panel of 88 individuals to vote for their top 75 players and Ernst &amp; Young LLP &mdash; the independent accounting firm the league entrusts most of its matters to &mdash; tabulated the results.
Those entrusted with votes included former NBA and WNBA greats, select members of the media and team personnel. As a class, they can rightfully be entrusted to know the game of basketball, and at the end of the day, this was the most fair way to come to a conclusion, even if Tracy McGrady, Chris Webber or Grant Hill don&rsquo;t like it.
As the NBA begins the 75th season in its long history, the game has continued to thrive and has grown tremendously. Three of the league&rsquo;s teams have received <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nbas-projected-revenue-and-franchise-valuations-reach-alltime-highs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">valuations north of $5 billion</a> and the league is hoping to leverage our curiosity, attention and willingness to watch and debate into another television deal that may see its revenue <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nbas-projected-revenue-and-franchise-valuations-reach-alltime-highs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">triple once again</a>.
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If you go back and evaluate the tenure of the late, great David Stern, it will become obvious that his desire was to help the league expand and to grow the game of basketball. When he took over the league in 1984, it had 23 teams. By the time he stepped down as Commissioner in 2014, it had increased to 30, including expansion into Canada.
For Silver &mdash; whether his intention or not &mdash; the hallmark of his reign has been the expansion of the league&rsquo;s bottom line. Merely months after assuming his role, he came out in support of legalized sports gambling in the United States and shortly thereafter oversaw the league&rsquo;s negotiation on a TV deal that tripled the league&rsquo;s television revenue.
From minimizing the back-to-back games to reducing travel schedules and revising the All-Star game to implementing rule changes, Silver&rsquo;s tenure has seen the league focus on improving the quality of games and making them more fun to watch. We as fans win.
So does the league&rsquo;s bottom line.
In the end, to a large extent, pro sports will continue to be about debating. That didn&rsquo;t begin with the NBA&rsquo;s 75th anniversary team, and, obviously, it won&rsquo;t end with it, either. We&rsquo;ll continue to talk about it, and for sure, we&rsquo;ll continue to argue among ourselves. Just like the league intends.
It's no coincidence that Silver kicked off his annual start-of-season presser by saying, "In terms of our 75th anniversary, we look forward to celebrating the players and teams, both past and present, that have helped shape the league... Many of you I know have created your own lists, and several of them I&rsquo;ve been reading. There&rsquo;s no doubt that the various rankings will generate a season-long debate and conversation among fans and all of you."
Somewhere, Silver is smiling, even if Vince Carter isn&rsquo;t.

The NBA released it's 75th anniversary team and there were snubs, such as Dwight Howard and Vince Carter. But isn't that the point?

There were major snubs from NBA's 75th Anniversary Team, as expected

Pau Gasol held a press conference in Spain to announce his offical retirement from basketball earlier today.
Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/marca/status/1445415070796812289?s=20">MARCA</a>
ANALYSIS: Pau Gasol will undoubtedly be a Hall of Famer with an impressive resum&eacute; in both the NBA and internationally.
The six-time NBA All-Star won two championships with the Los Angeles Lakers and averaged 17 points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.6 blocks per game.
Gasol was a four-time All-NBA player and won Rookie of the Year with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2002.
Gasol was a gold medalist in the 2006 FIBA world cup, three-time medalist in the Olympics, and seven-time medalist in Eurobasket.
Gasol was a 3-time champion with FC Barcelona in the LIGA ACB, most recently in 2021.
Gasol last played in the Olympics for Spain this summer, where he averaged 6.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1 assist, and .8 blocks in 13 minutes per game.
Injuries had plagued Gasol at the end of his career, and never played in the NBA after signing with the Trail Blazers in 2019.
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😢👏👏👏 Y lleg&oacute; el adi&oacute;s que no por esperado emociona menos. Grande <a href="https://twitter.com/paugasol?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PauGasol</a>, eterna leyenda del deporte espa&ntilde;ol <a href="https://t.co/aVNfOGvfGa">https://t.co/aVNfOGvfGa</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBA</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ACB?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ACB</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Legend?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Legend</a> <a href="https://t.co/LJuIV4bs8U">pic.twitter.com/LJuIV4bs8U</a>
&mdash; MARCA (@marca) <a href="https://twitter.com/marca/status/1445415070796812289?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 5, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Pau Gasol held a press conference in Spain to announce his offical retirement from basketball earlier today.

Pau Gasol officially announces retirement

41-year-old Pau Gasol will a hold a press conference next Tuesday, where he is likely to announce his retirement.
Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/TheSteinLine/status/1443574346325266437?s=20">Marc Stein</a>
ANALYSIS:&nbsp;Pau Gasol will undoubtedly be a Hall of Famer with an impressive resum&eacute; in both the NBA and internationally.
The six-time NBA All-Star won two rings with the Los Angeles Lakers and averaged 17 points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.6 blocks per game.
Gasol was a four-time All-NBA player and won Rookie of the year with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2002.
Gasol was a gold medalist in the 2006 FIBA world cup, three-time medalist in the Olympics, and seven-time medalist in Eurobasket.
Gasol was a 3-time champion with FC Barcelona in the LIGA ACB, most recently in 2021.
Gasol last played in the Olympics for Spain this summer, where he averaged 6.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1 assist, and .8 blocks in 13 minutes per game.
Injuries had plagued Gasol at the end of his career, and never played in the NBA after signing with the Trailblazers in 2019.

2x NBA Champion and future Ball of Famer Pau Gasol likely to announce retirement Tuesday.

Pau Gasol likely to announce retirement Tuesday

No. 23 pick in the the 2020 NBA Draft Leandro Bolmaro will be signing his 4-year, $11.8M rookie contract [with the Minnesota Timberwolves] this week, [Dane Moore has] heard.
Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/DaneMooreNBA/status/1437787069313658884" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dane Moore/Blue Wire Podcasts</a>
ANALYSIS:&nbsp;Bolmaro has yet to play for the Timberwolves as a draft-and-stash player from last season. The 21-year-old averaged 6.4 points per game with Barcelona in the Spanish Liga ACB last season. The Timberwolves moved up in a three-team trade with the Knicks and Thunder to select Bolmaro.

Bolmaro has yet to play for the Timberwolves as a draft-and-stash player from last season.

Leandro Bolmaro could sign 4-year deal with Timberwolves this week

Ricky Rubio has been here before.&nbsp;
Maybe not physically in the city of Cleveland, but in the same predicament.
For the fourth time in as many seasons, the 30-year-old will enter training camp playing for a different organization that&rsquo;s trying to show significant growth with its youthful roster, this time around with the Cavaliers. The feeling isn&rsquo;t so unfamiliar for the veteran point guard.
&ldquo;It doesn't help when you don't have stability because your role or your teammates change a lot, so it's a little different,&rdquo; Rubio told reporters in his Cavs introductory press conference. &ldquo;But my experience says that it doesn't matter where you play &mdash; if you play your best, you're gonna have the role you're looking for. So I feel like I can have a good impact right away. I feel like I grew up a lot from the mistakes I did in the past, the things I've learned too as well. So I feel ready for the challenge.&rdquo;
In the middle of playing for his home country of Spain in this past summer&rsquo;s Tokyo Olympics, the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/wolves-dealing-ricky-rubio-2022-pick-to-cleveland-for-taurean-prince" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Minnesota Timberwolves traded Rubio to the Cavs for Taurean Prince and a 2022 second-round draft pick</a>.
Between the second and third game of group play, he found out on the morning of Usman Garuba&rsquo;s draft party. Ready to celebrate his teammate getting selected after a good night&rsquo;s rest, Rubio turned his phone on and was immediately bombarded by a plethora of messages, heartfelt goodbyes from Minnesota and welcomes from Cleveland. At the time, a surprised Rubio had to block it out. Spain had to gameplan for Luka Doncic and Slovenia, and competing with the national team was his priority. That doesn&rsquo;t mean it wasn&rsquo;t on his mind, though.
&ldquo;When you get traded, there&rsquo;s a lot going on,&rdquo; Rubio said. &ldquo;Especially with a guy with a family, it&rsquo;s like, &lsquo;Where are we going to go, how are we going to do this&rsquo; and all this stuff. At the end of the day, is this going to be the end stop or not?&rdquo;
Being dealt was another thing that added to Rubio&rsquo;s plate. Following what he called a &ldquo;bad year&rdquo; with the Wolves, he was set on standing out on the international stage and carrying that momentum into this NBA season. He referred to his MVP run at the FIBA World Cup in 2019 when Spain won the championship in convincing fashion. Rubio went on to have his &ldquo;best year in the league&rdquo; with the Phoenix Suns after he built his confidence there.&nbsp;
Having just averaged 25.5 points and 6.0 assists on 52.2% from the field (47.8% on threes) over four Olympic games, including a record 38-point outburst against many of his old NBA teammates on Team USA, Rubio is hoping to repeat history with the Cavs in the 2021-22 campaign.
&ldquo;It felt good to play that way, especially after getting traded and all that stuff. You want to show that you're worth it,&rdquo; Rubio said. &ldquo;I think I'm on the best momentum I ever had in my career with the national team, and I feel great shape-wise.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I was feeling great in Phoenix, and then the pandemic happened, and then kind of hit my routine, kind of hit all the timing&rsquo;s off... But I think I'm back on track, and I feel like I'm in my prime with my career. So I can bring a lot to the table.&rdquo;
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While he hasn&rsquo;t spoken in-depth with head coach J.B. Bickerstaff quite yet about what the team will ask him to do, in scanning over the Cavs roster, it&rsquo;s become clear to Rubio that he&rsquo;ll be assuming the mentorship role in his next pro stint. (Although he doesn&rsquo;t feel like the old guy yet, he joked: &ldquo;'&rsquo;Damn, I'm gonna play with people who were born in the 2000s.' That's gonna be crazy.&rdquo;)&nbsp;
Rubio enjoys being a wise, seasoned player with a wealth of knowledge to bestow upon the next generation. It&rsquo;s not like he always knew the tricks of the trade; he too had to soak up advice and compete against veterans. Rubio credits longtime international guard and Badalona teammate Elmer Bennett for always challenging him when he first started his pro career. The same goes for Gianluca Basile when he and Rubio were together in Barcelona in 2009.
&ldquo;He's Italian, and the first year I got to Barcelona, we won the Euroleague,&rdquo; Rubio said. &ldquo;He came to me like, &lsquo;I'm chasing the Euroleague [title] for 20 years, and you come here at the age of 20 and you win in the first year. That's not easy.&rsquo;&nbsp;
&ldquo;Then the international team, of course, Pau Gasol, Marc Gasol, [Juan Carlos Navarro] &mdash; all these guys who won the World Cup in 2006. And I got there in 2008 when I was 17 years old, and in practice, it was amazing just being able to be there.&rdquo;
Just as his vets did with him, Rubio will demand the best out of Darius Garland, Collin Sexton, Isaac Okoro, Evan Mobley and the like in Cleveland&rsquo;s locker room.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I love it because I'm good at talking to [young players] and letting them know that they are good, but they can be even better. When I was growing up &mdash; I was 16 years old playing professionally here in Spain &mdash; I had some mentors like that, who would challenge me every day saying like, &lsquo;You're good, but you're too young to know what I know.&rsquo; And you have to go through a lot of stuff before you know all the stuff. So I'm trying to give them my experience.&nbsp;
&ldquo;But until they go through that experience, they're not gonna, like, really listen to me. So what I can do is give it to them. And if they take it, it's there for them... A good example this year [is] with Anthony Edwards; I was pulling examples of the league, like Damian Lilliard or other guys who had really good rookie seasons, but they took everything that it takes to be better the year after that. So I'm looking forward to being in the role, and let's see how the young guys really accept the challenge.&rdquo;&nbsp;
"He's the best leader I've been around all my life," Edwards <a href="https://twitter.com/DimeUPROXX/status/1370417504829472771?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said in March</a>.
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Lot of people wondered who&rsquo;s gonna be Anthony Edwards vet to teach him the ropes Great to see Rubio coaching Antman up after he made a mistake. <a href="https://t.co/ndA42GNh6c">pic.twitter.com/ndA42GNh6c</a>
&mdash; Barflaan Tedoe 🇱🇷 (@The_Barftender) <a href="https://twitter.com/The_Barftender/status/1348115283207065600?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 10, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Rubio contends that putting together a better year after having a great season prior is one of the hardest things to accomplish. There&rsquo;s a certain amount of attention and pressure for players in those scenarios due to the expectations stemming from their own doing. Asked how he&rsquo;ll approach this with Garland, a savvy Rubio replied that it will be a test of mentality.
&ldquo;&lsquo;Do I have what it takes to be even better?&rsquo; It takes a lot of energy to have the year that Garland] had last year. He had great numbers, great year. But that can translate to a winning team? [Can that] be translated to help the team to win?&rdquo; Rubio sternly stated. &ldquo;That's what I'm going to have to challenge him [with] in that area. I'm going to bring my experience the same way I did with [Devin] Booker, the same way I did with Donovan Mitchell, the same way I did with the young stars that I had on my team...&rdquo;
These cold-hard truths don&rsquo;t just exist on the individual level either. Entering his 11th season in the NBA, his first as a part of the Eastern Conference, Rubio&rsquo;s seen his fair share of players. It&rsquo;s those that buy into the concept of something bigger than themselves that tend to stick.
&ldquo;I think there&rsquo;s a lot of talent, but that doesn't make a good team. What makes a good team is putting the pieces together and [making] it work. So we will see how everything works out,&rdquo; Rubio said. &ldquo;And as a veteran, it's part of my job to really make that work. Seeing where and how the young talent has to sacrifice something for the team. Because a lot of people, a lot of players come to the league knowing I can do that, I can do this, I can do a lot of stuff. But at the end of the day, what the team needs from you is what makes sense for the team.&nbsp;
&ldquo;If you are a rebounder and you want to score, but your job is to rebound the ball and pass it to another guy, I know you can score &mdash; but at the end of the day, you have to do what's best for the team. And at the same time, the team has to help the other players grow and make the best opportunity for everybody. But at the same time, not everybody can score, not everybody can shine at that level. And I think there's a lot of winning teams that show that the 15th guy has to be the best guy, the best 15th guy in the league to win. That being said, everybody has to have a role and accept the role and be the best they can be in that role. So I'm pretty excited [about] helping this team make that happen.&rdquo;
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It always helps to have a familiar face around to ease the transition. Granted Kevin Love stays with Cleveland and isn&rsquo;t moved or bought out, Rubio will reunite with his former Wolves friend for the first time in eight years. (Rubio has a great deal of respect for him championing mental health and admits that Love&rsquo;s courage to speak up has helped him when he&rsquo;s struggled.)&nbsp;
He crossed paths with Bickerstaff as a rookie in that same Minnesota environment with Love; however, due to Rick Adelman&rsquo;s hiring and the departure of his predecessor Kurt Rambis, it was short-lived. Rubio did receive a vote of confidence from Marc Gasol regarding Bickerstaff, who coached the former All-Star big man during their time together with the Memphis Grizzlies three seasons ago.
Aware that his career clock is ticking, and that his timeline doesn&rsquo;t exactly match Cleveland&rsquo;s, Rubio is honest about his desire to compete for an NBA championship. He understands that there are phases to a professional basketball career. It usually starts with personal stats and evolves into a hunger to win. A player in his position usually doesn&rsquo;t backtrack, particularly reverting to another rebuild. And <a href="https://twitter.com/ChrisFedor/status/1435731716874784770?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">who's to say he'll even end the season where he starts it</a>?
Rubio knows how much energy and focus it&rsquo;ll take to combat that realization. That&rsquo;s why, as he issues challenges to the others, he&rsquo;s treating this opportunity as one of his own.
"I think one of my main things is I lead by example,&rdquo; Rubio said. So I'm not going to be just talking, talking, talking and sitting on the side saying you have to do that or this. I'm going to be the first one over there in practice, diving on the floor, whatever it takes to really get it going. So I think they expect all that from me, from the conversations I had, and having like a good impact on the team right away...
&ldquo;...[Can] this young team take the next step? I've been on teams that did that, and I've been on teams that haven't done that. So I know things that work and [don't] work, but at the end of the day, every team is different. We have to know each other. We have to go to training camp with that mentality that we want to win every game. But we want to win every day, get better every day.&rdquo;

Ricky Rubio is looking forward to challenging the Cavaliers' youth and himself this upcoming season, writes Spencer Davies.

Ricky Rubio will demand the best out of young Cavs, himself

After a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/for-a-change-a-successful-free-agency-period-propels-knicks-forward-" target="_blank" rel="noopener">successful free-agency period</a>, the Knicks contingent headed out West with the players they selected in the 2021 NBA Draft, as well as a few familiar faces from last season. And now that Las Vegas Summer League has wrapped up, let's take a look back at how each of the newest Knicks handled themselves under the glare of the Nevada heat.&nbsp;
Quentin Grimes
After entering last month's draft with the No. 19 and No. 21 overall selections, New York had added only Grimes, the 25th overall pick, by the time the first round concluded. This drew the ire of some fans, as Grimes was projected to land somewhere in the second round, according to most mocks. However, one thing has become clear about the Knicks approach to draft day under Leon Rose and company &mdash; New York locks in on specific targets even if they are not necessarily regarded as elite prospects by pundits and prognosticators. Remember, the Knicks were heavily criticized after "reaching" for Immanuel Quickley with the same number pick last year.
Grimes didn't do much to quell concerns early, as he stumbled out of the gate. Over the Knicks' first three games, Grimes shot a combined 8-of-30 (26.6%) from the floor. However, Grimes located his stroke in Game 4, when he scored 15 points on 10 field goal attempts, and he closed out the summer session by showcasing the skills that earned him AAC Player of the Year honors as a junior at the University of Houston. Over New York's final two contests, Grimes averaged 27.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 6.0 made three-pointers.&nbsp;
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No. 25 pick Quentin Grimes (<a href="https://twitter.com/qdotgrimes?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@qdotgrimes</a>) cooks up 28 PTS and 6 triples in the <a href="https://twitter.com/nyknicks?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nyknicks</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBASummer?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBASummer</a> win 👌 <a href="https://t.co/29yYRzfcEL">pic.twitter.com/29yYRzfcEL</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1426727845032873986?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 15, 2021</a></blockquote>

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And even in the early games in which his shot wasn't falling, Grimes didn't let his offensive struggles negatively impact his effort on the other end of the floor. He showed impressive defensive versatility, checking both shifty point guards and stocky small forwards. Grimes also finished second on the team in total rebounds, behind only Obi Toppin, and led all players in Vegas with a total of 22 made three-pointers (NY played a league-high six games). In a league that values 3-and-D wings, it appears Grimes can establish himself as a contributor sooner rather than later. &nbsp;
Miles McBride
In his two years under Bob Huggins at West Virginia, Deuce McBride, whom the Knicks scooped him up with the No. 36 overall pick, earned a reputation as a feared perimeter defender. Those defensive instincts &mdash; along with his quick-twitch athleticism &mdash; were indeed on display in Vegas, where he hounded opposing guards all over the floor. McBride's relentless 94-feet-of-pressure defense undoubtedly brought a smile to even the typically-grumpy Tom Thibodeau, who was said to have fallen in love with Deuce during the pre-draft process and pushed hard for the Knicks to select the youngster out of WVU. &nbsp;
And, like Grimes, McBride was surprisingly impactful on both ends of the court. After two solid games to start, he caught fire in the second half of New York's third contest, when he poured in 20 points and was a perfect 6-of-6 from three-point range. Through three full games, McBride shot 62.5% from the floor, 61.5% from downtown and 87.5% from the FT line. In the Knicks' final contest, a blowout victory over Atlanta, not only did he put the clamps on highly-touted Hawks rookie Sharife Cooper (who had just six points on 3-of-11 shooting), McBride scored 19 points of his own on 7-of-10 shooting, including five made treys. &nbsp;
Over the six games New York played in Vegas, Deuce averaged 15.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 3.0 made triples. He disrupted opponents' flow with his defensive intensity while also scoring efficiently on the other end.&nbsp;
"That's how I get my offense going," McBride said of his defense after Monday's victory. "It's really coming in, stopping guys and giving energy to the team and that gives me offensive opportunities." 
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Still thinking about this defensive possession. <a href="https://t.co/zUOOh58LI0">pic.twitter.com/zUOOh58LI0</a>
&mdash; NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) <a href="https://twitter.com/nyknicks/status/1425878558065315847?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 12, 2021</a></blockquote>

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When asked if he was satisfied with his performance in Vegas, McBride replied, "I thought I played well, but [I'm] never satisfied because that's when your opponents catch up. I had a pretty solid summer league, coming in to learn a whole new system. I did well in that, but there are a lot of things to improve on."
Yes, the Knicks suddenly have impressive depth in their backcourt, but if McBride can knock down long-range shots at a consistent clip, it will be very difficult for Thibs to keep him off the floor. Consider this: Of the 78 players who attempted at least 18 three-pointers at the 2021 Las Vegas Summer League, only three shot 50% or better from deep: No.1 pick Cade Cunningham, No. 2 pick Jalen Green and No. 36 pick Miles McBride.&nbsp;
Looking at the big picture, it's clear the Knicks' summer league coaching staff instructed their players to hunt three-point shots in Las Vegas. Among all the 30 teams in Vegas, New York ranked first in average three-point makes per game (14.2), first in three-point percentage (38%), and third in three-point attempts per game (37.2).
Obi Toppin
After playing limited minutes and struggling through most of his rookie campaign, Toppin encouragingly closed the 2020-21 season on a high note, providing New York with a much-needed spark in the team's first-round matchup with the Hawks. He built on that momentum in Vegas, excelling as a focal point of the Knicks' offensive attack.&nbsp;
Toppin was a force right from the start of their Vegas trip, scoring a game-high 24 points on 10-of-21 shooting to go along with 8 rebounds in his first contest. As a rookie last season, Obi was often relegated to standing in the corner or dunker's spot. However, in Las Vegas, Toppin had plenty of transition opportunities and was actively involved in pick-and-rolls, alley-oops, pick-and-pops, dribble hand-offs, etc. This was similar to how the Dayton Flyers deployed Obi during his sophomore season, when he led the country in dunks, averaged 20 points per game while shooting over 63% from the floor and was named the National Player of the Year.
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Obi Toppin, stoppin' &amp; poppin', <a href="https://t.co/rjX7ifxCna">pic.twitter.com/rjX7ifxCna</a>
&mdash; NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) <a href="https://twitter.com/nyknicks/status/1425647930271145985?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 12, 2021</a></blockquote>

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In Vegas, Toppin led all summer league participants in minutes played, logging over 35 minutes per game, while averaging 21.0 points (on 44.5% shooting), 8.3 boards, 1.3 assists, 2.0 made treys and 1.3 steals. The only player in Vegas to <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/chicago-bulls-evolved-patrick-williams-offensive-game-at-nba-summer-league" target="_blank" rel="noopener">average more than 20 points and more than 8 rebounds was Chicago's Patrick Williams</a>, last year's No. 4 overall pick. Toppin became the first Knick to ever average 21-plus points in summer league action.&nbsp;
The question for Obi moving forward is how much playing time he'll see next season. Will Thibs look to reduce Julius Randle's workload after Randle led the NBA minutes played a season ago, or will Toppin get some time as a stretch 5 alongside Randle?&nbsp;
Immanuel Quickley
After a solid showing (15 points and 8 dimes) in his first contest, Quickley put on a show in Game 2, racking up a game-high 32 points (11-of-21 shooting) and dishing out a game-high 8 assists (vs. just one turnover). IQ scored 25 more points in the third game and averaged 24 points through New York's first three contests.
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Immanuel Quickley was balling today 👀 <a href="https://t.co/szpTZvRHZ1">pic.twitter.com/szpTZvRHZ1</a>
&mdash; Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) <a href="https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1424829362789040133?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 9, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Yet, Quickley missed the Knicks' fifth game due to a sore groin and was woefully inefficient offensively over his final two appearances, shooting 7-of-36 from the floor. All told, IQ averaged 20.2 points, 7.8 assists, 3.8 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 2.4 three-pointers in Vegas. Although the shooting numbers were disappointing (33.7% from the floor and 24% from downtown), Quickley showed he might very well possess the patience and skills necessary to develop into an NBA point guard, which was a pleasant surprise. Time and time again, IQ successfully read ball screens, facilitated the offense and found open shooters, all while taking care of the basketball (averaging less than 2.5 turnovers per game).&nbsp;
It had been over a decade since a player averaged more than 20 points and 7 assists in the Las Vegas Summer League. (That player was John Wall for the Wizards in 2010.)&nbsp;
Jericho Sims
When the Knicks selected Sims with the third-last pick in July's draft, it was assumed the 6-foot-10 Texas product would spend the vast majority of the 2021-22 campaign toiling in the G League. Yet, after watching him in Vegas and getting an up-close look at his mind-boggling combination of size and athleticism, it seems possible Sims may earn some time with the big club in 2021-22.
His two best games came in his first and final summer league contests. In the opener, Sims was a perfect 6-of-6 from the floor (including this incredible alley-oop) for 12 points and pulled down 8 rebounds. In the finale, he ripped down 13 boards.&nbsp;
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Go up and get it, Jericho Sims! ✈️<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBASummer?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBASummer</a> on NBA TV <a href="https://t.co/XrySfm1yXM">pic.twitter.com/XrySfm1yXM</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1427407237799157762?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 16, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Over his five appearances, Sims converted 81% of his FG attempts while averaging 8.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 28.0 minutes. (The last rookie to attempt more than 20 total shots and shoot over 70% from the floor in Las Vegas was Rudy Gobert for the Jazz.)
Sims also exhibited an impressive basketball IQ and solid feel for the game, continually setting solid screens and staying on his feet defensively, smartly refusing to chase blocks.&nbsp;
If New York's center triumvirate of Mitchell Robinson, Nerlens Noel and Taj Gibson all remain healthy, it will be difficult for Sims to find minutes. Still, he's an excellent insurance policy. And one with some tantalizing upside.&nbsp;
Rokas Jokubaitis
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Really nice two-way sequence from Rokas Jokubaitis. Rokas relocates to the corner and hits the 3, then snags the steal from behind following some good D, and then takes it the other way for the lay in transition. <a href="https://t.co/SoAm5MftEU">pic.twitter.com/SoAm5MftEU</a>
&mdash; Aram Cannuscio (@AC__Hoops) <a href="https://twitter.com/AC__Hoops/status/1425649402706862083?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 12, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Jokubaitis, the lefty from Lithuania whom the Knicks nabbed with the 34th overall pick, appeared in only three games. He played sloppily in his Knicks debut, understandably looking a bit overwhelmed, but seemed far more comfortable in his final two appearances.
He warped up his Vegas experience scoring 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting, to go along with 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 treys and 4 steals in 29 minutes. Jokubaitis will spend next season getting extra seasoning overseas, suiting up for Barcelona in the ultra-competitive Spanish ACB League.&nbsp;
Luca Vildoza
After struggling for Argentina in the Tokyo Olympics, Vildoza looked outclassed in Vegas. He went scoreless, missing all four of his FG attempts in his first two games before sitting out the rest of summer league with a sore foot.&nbsp;
Leon Rose signed Vildoza to a four-year, $13.6 million contract back in May, but the pact is non-guaranteed. The Knicks have until October 21, the day after the season opener, to release Vildoza, which would open up a roster spot and clear his $3.3 million salary off their cap sheet. Considering their backcourt depth, New York may opt to part ways with Vildoza and bring in a wing.
It was reported last week that the <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/08/09/knicks-dwayne-bacon-agree-to-terms-in-guard-depth-addition/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Knicks had agreed to terms on Dwayne Bacon</a> after the Magic had waived him.

Tommy Beer goes in-depth on the Knicks' impressive summer league performance as a team and highlights who stood out.

New York Knicks' youngsters exceed expectations in Las Vegas

The basketball universe is assembling in Las Vegas this week, and it is not just NBA personnel. Officials from EuroLeague teams and EuroCup teams will be in Sin City, too, because teams around the world are looking for players who will not make the NBA. An exception is China, where foreign players will be barred because of COVID factors.
So let&rsquo;s have a look at who is there and has the potential to be &ldquo;eating pasta&rdquo; next season (basketball vernacular for playing overseas) or playing their way onto an NBA roster.
There are some very talented younger players who do not have the height or athleticism that NBA scouts and general managers gravitate towards. Can they break through anyway?
But there also are some accomplished vets who would ordinarily play in China because they can make more money there than they can in the United States. Many of them may end up in Europe, but some may end up making NBA rosters if injuries open up jobs.
Here are 10 names worth keeping an eye on:
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Kenneth Faried, Portland Trail Blazers: He was a very productive NBA player for nine years before becoming one of many veterans who got squeezed out because NBA teams turned to developing younger prospects and players on two-way contracts. He was a member of the U.S. National team that won the 2014 Basketball World Cup and was one of 30 finalists for the 2016 U.S. Olympic team. He last played for the Houston Rockets in the 2018-19 season where he averaged an impressive 12.9 points and 8.2 rebounds in 25 appearances. He will be joined on the Blazers&rsquo; roster by two players who also spent last season in China, Emmanuel Mudiay and Michael Beasley.
Eugene Omoruyi, Dallas Mavericks. Regarded as one of the top undrafted players in 2021, the Oregon product tied for the Ducks&rsquo; team lead in scoring at 17.1 points per game and is considered a strong two-way player. Omoruyi averaged 1.5 steals per game and grabbed 41% of his rebounds on the offensive end. He did so playing alongside the more highly regarded Chris Duarte, the 13th overall pick of the Indiana Pacers.
Jimmer Fredette, Denver Nuggets: He was supposed to play for the Nuggets after spending most of the past five seasons in China, but was a late scratch. Still, his return stateside could land him an NBA job. The 10th overall pick in 2011 played two-and-a-half seasons for Sacramento, averaging seven points per game for the Kings in 15 minutes. He then played briefly in Chicago, New Orleans, Phoenix and New York. He eventually went over to China to play with the Shanghai Sharks, where he averaged 37 points per game in his first three seasons with the team from 2016-2019. He scored 75 points in a 2018 game. Because of COVID restrictions, China is not likely to allow foreign players to compete in its 2021-22 season, so Fredette may end up landing an NBA job without even suiting up in summer league. His pedigree still makes him a name to watch, though.
Mac McClung, L.A. Lakers: He&rsquo;s a longshot to make the roster for a Lakers team that has loaded up on veterans to flank LeBron James and Anthony Davis. When your prospective team adds the likes of Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony, Malik Monk and Kendrick Nunn (among others), there&rsquo;s bound to be a roster squeeze. But somebody has to buy the donuts for the vets. McClung&rsquo;s college stats at Texas Tech were pedestrian, but he would not be with the Lakers unless someone in the organization saw something in him. The team also desperately needs some youth.
Yves Pons, Memphis Grizzlies: The 22-year-old Haitian guard led the Tennessee Volunteers in blocks in each of the past two seasons, and that is pretty much his major skill set. He was the Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 2020, and with a dearth of perimeter defenders in the NBA who also can block shots, the Grizzlies are giving him a look-see because they watched him play in their backyard for four seasons. Try to name another shot-blocking guard. There are not many of them.
Asbjorn Midtgaard, Orlando Magic: The Danish 7-footer rode the bench for three years at Wichita State and then transferred to Grand Canyon, where he averaged 14.2 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. His team made the NCAA tournament, where they lost to Iowa. Still, he led NCAA Division I in field goal percentage (70.6), which is no small accomplishment. He also shot 8-for-11 against Luka Garza in his team&rsquo;s first-round loss in the NCAA tournament.
Keon Johnson, L.A. Clippers: An exception here, because Keon is not exactly "under the radar" after being selected with the 21st overall pick in the draft. He is an exception because his athleticism is exceptional; he recorded a 48-inch vertical leap at the NBA draft combine, shattering a 20-year-old record of 45.5 inches recorded by Kenny Gregory in 2001. One of his teammates will be Jason Preston, who was drafted 33rd by Orlando and was dealt to the Clippers for a future second-round pick and cash.
David DeLeo, Philadelphia 76ers: His father, Frank, was a scout for the Sixers, and he clearly taught his son a bit about how to shoot the ball. DeLeo was the all-time leader in the MAC in three-pointers made with 337, and has spent the past two seasons playing in Spain and Greece. He may end up in an NBA camp before ultimately finding another European job, but then again, Philly needs a three-point marksman to develop behind Danny Green. So you never know.
Derrick Alston Jr., Golden State Warriors: A former ball boy for the Houston Rockets, Alston made the team at Boise State as a walk-on his freshman year. He progressed to the point where he was First-Team All-Mountain West after averaging a team-leading 17.0 points. He is one of 12 undrafted rookies on Golden State&rsquo;s summer league team.
Rokas Jokubaitis, New York Knicks: He finished second behind Rockets draft pick Usman Garuba (the 23rd overall pick) in EuroLeague Rising Star voting after a solid season for FC Barcelona, where he is under a four-year contract. This will be a chance for Knicks fans to get their first look at the pick they acquired from Oklahoma City at No. 34. If he impresses and can negotiate a buyout of his current contract, he could end up battling Luca Vildoza for the final point guard spot on the Knicks.
Every year, whether it be undrafted players or second-round picks, players who end up making an impact manage to fly under the radar. These 10 (nine if you exclude Fredette) hope to do exactly that.

Every year, there are players who outperform the competition in summer league and land an NBA job. Here are some names to watch.

10 under-the-radar players worth watching in the NBA Summer League

SAITAMA, Japan (AP) &mdash; Sue Bird capped off her unblemished 17-year Olympics run with a record fifth gold medal.
All she and longtime U.S. teammate Diana Taurasi have done on the international stage is win and now stand alone with five gold medals &mdash; the first basketball players ever to accomplish that feat &mdash; after a 90-75 win over Japan on Sunday at the Tokyo Games.
&ldquo;Couldn&rsquo;t have asked for a better ending. There&rsquo;s really not much else to say,&rdquo; Bird said. &ldquo;I feel so proud I&rsquo;ve been able to wear this uniform for as long as I have, to play along side this one as long as I have, We&rsquo;ve won, and that&rsquo;s obviously the story, but I don&rsquo;t think there&rsquo;s anyone else I&rsquo;d rather do it with because we just have so much fun and I love you homie.&rdquo;
The U.S. has now won the last seven Olympic gold medals matching the country&rsquo;s men&rsquo;s program for the most ever in a row. The men did it from 1936-68.
With Bird orchestrating the flow of games and Taurasi&rsquo;s scoring, they have been a constant force for the U.S., providing stability for the women&rsquo;s program since the 2004 Athens Games. They have won all 38 of the games at the Olympics they&rsquo;ve competed in.
The pair walked off the court Sunday arm-in-arm for the last time, knowing their work was done. While Bird is finished, Taurasi said that she&rsquo;ll be back for a sixth Olympics.
&ldquo;See you in Paris!,&rdquo; Taurasi said.
The names have changed around the pair, including greats Lisa Leslie, Sheryl Swoopes, Tina Thompson, Tamika Catchings and Sylvia Fowles, but the results haven&rsquo;t.
The Americans are on a 55-game Olympic winning streak dating back to the bronze medal game of the 1992 Barcelona Games.
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The U.S. let Japan know that wasn&rsquo;t going to change on Sunday.
The Americans jumped out to a 18-5 lead behind a dominant first quarter by Brittney Griner. The team lead 23-14 after one as Griner had 10 points, taking advantage of the undersized Japanese team. Japan was able to get within six in the second quarter before the Americans went up 11 at the half and never looked back.
As the final buzzer sounded, Bird and Taurasi embraced and then proceeded to hug all of their teammates and the coaching staff.
Griner finished with 30 points, making 14 of her 18 shots.&nbsp;
While Bird has said she is moving on, the future is bright for the U.S. behind Griner, Breanna Stewart and the six newcomers on this year&rsquo;s team. That included A&rsquo;ja Wilson, who will be counted on to keep the streak going three years from now at the 2024 Paris Games. Wilson, who celebrated her 25th birthday on Sunday, made her presence felt in her Olympic debut, scoring 19 points in the gold medal game.
But there were other milestones of note Sunday besides Bird&rsquo;s farewell.
The victory also made Dawn Staley, the first Black women&rsquo;s basketball coach for the U.S., the second woman to win a gold medal as a player, assistant and head coach joining Anne Donovan.
The game also marked the end of Carol Callan&rsquo;s run as the national team director. She started right before the Americans won the first gold of this streak in 1996 and has been the architect for this unprecedented run.
Japan, which was the only one of the 11 other teams to ever have beaten the U.S. in an Olympics, won a medal for the first time in the country&rsquo;s history. The team&rsquo;s best finish before Sunday was fifth.
The host nation has been on the rise since it hired coach Tom Hovasse. He said when he got the job 4 1/2 years ago that his team would be playing against the U.S. for the gold at the Tokyo Games &mdash; and would beat them.
He was half right.
The two teams met in preliminary pool play and the U.S. won by 17 points after trailing by two after the first quarter. Just like that game, the Americans used their dominant post advantage to control the title game. Japan&rsquo;s biggest player was 6-foot-1 &mdash; no match for the imposing front line led by Griner, who is 6-9.
While the general public and family members couldn&rsquo;t attend the games because of the coronavirus pandemic, Bird did have fiancee Megan Rapinoe in the stands cheering her on. Bird came over and embraced Rapinoe after the game. She helped the U.S. women&rsquo;s soccer team win a bronze medal earlier this week, scoring two goals in that game.
A large contingent of Japanese volunteers, who had been in the Saitama Super Arena for the entire tournament sat and applauded their team. No actual cheering was allowed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The United States women's basketball team won the gold medal in Sue Bird's final Olympic run, beating Japan 90-75.

US women's national team rolls to gold medal in Bird’s last Olympics

Soon after the U.S. women finished off Serbia to reach the Olympic gold medal game, members of the Japanese military honor guard started practicing for the medal ceremony.
The U.S. already knows that drill.
Brittney Griner had 15 points and 12 rebounds to help the Americans beat the Serbians 79-59 on Friday to advance to title game.
&ldquo;This is exactly where we want to be,&rdquo; said Breanna Stewart, who also had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. &ldquo;Everything is on the line. We&rsquo;re going to do what we can to make sure we come home with a gold.&rdquo;
The Americans are now one win away from a seventh consecutive gold medal which would match the U.S. men&rsquo;s team that won seven Olympic titles in a row from 1936-68.
It would also give Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi five gold medals &mdash; the most ever by a basketball player in the Olympics. The Americans will face Japan on Sunday. The teams played in the preliminary round and the U.S. won 86-69. Japan beat France 87-71 in the semifinals, assuring the host nation its first medal ever in women&rsquo;s basketball.
&ldquo;I think everybody here wants to win gold for them, for us, for everybody that&rsquo;s started this streak that got us here,&rdquo; Griner said. &ldquo;You know there&rsquo;s a lot of different reasons why we want to win this gold medal. So I think you&rsquo;re going to see some really good basketball in the gold medal game.&rdquo;
The U.S. got a scare when Taurasi, grimacing and appearing to rub her left hip after collision, left the game midway through the third quarter. U.S. trainer Ed Ryan was talking with Taurasi when she went to the bench and she didn&rsquo;t return. Taurasi missed the three exhibition games in Las Vegas with a hip pointer but appeared to moving without any issues during timeouts.
&ldquo;Yeah, I&rsquo;ve been battling this hip thing for a little bit so it&rsquo;s just a little bothersome,&rdquo; Taurasi said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s fine.&rdquo;
The U.S., which beat both France and Japan in pool play, has won 54 consecutive Olympic games now dating back to the semifinals of the 1992 Barcelona Games.
The Americans got off to another strong start for the second straight game. Trailing 4-3, they methodically went on a 20-4 run to take control with a berth in the gold medal game on the line. Griner had four points on one possession. She hit two free throws after a foul was upgraded to unsportsmanlike and then scored cutting to the basket on a pin-point pass from Stewart and the Americans led 25-12 after one.
Neither team could really get much going for the first few minutes of the second quarter as there were more missed shots and turnovers than points. Serbia cut the deficit to nine points behind Yvonne Anderson, who played at Texas and became a Serbian naturalized citizen last year to play in the Olympics. She finished with a team-high 15 points.
The U.S. scored the next nine points, a run started by A&rsquo;ja Wilson&rsquo;s three-point play and led 41-23 at the half. The lead ballooned to 23 points early in the third quarter before the Serbia reserves started pressing and cut the deficit to 14 late in the period. The Americans scored the final five points to put the game away.
Serbia rested its starters for most of the second half with the bronze medal game roughly 24 hours away. The country won the bronze in the 2016 Rio Games.
&ldquo;When you have one last chance to get a medal, it&rsquo;s definitely who will want it more, who will be more hungry,&rdquo; Serbia coach Marina Maljkovic said.
Serbia didn&rsquo;t get a chance to warm up until 25 minutes before the game because traffic delayed the team&rsquo;s arrival and the NBC Spydercam that hovers above the court had a cable break about 40 minutes before tip.
&ldquo;It definitely was untimely to have these issues,&rdquo; said Anderson. &ldquo;What can you do? We&rsquo;re an hour away and hit traffic. We tried to come out and there were camera issues. In the end you have to take what you&rsquo;re given. We already faced an uphill battle.&rdquo;
Serbia shot just 30% from the field &mdash; including missing 15 of its 19 3-point attempts.

Brittney Griner had 15 points and 12 rebounds to help the Americans beat the Serbians 79-59 on Friday to advance to title game.

Griner leads U.S. women's national team to gold-medal game with win vs. Serbia

SAITAMA, Japan (AP) &mdash; Pau Gasol is at the end of what has been an extraordinary playing career. He&rsquo;s won multiple championships in Spain, multiple championships in the NBA, a World Cup title, three Olympic medals. He has nothing left to prove.
It begs the question: Why is he at the Tokyo Olympics?
The answer: The 41-year-old is going out on his terms.
A stress fracture in his left foot required surgery, derailed the end of his NBA career and had him seriously contemplating retirement until he was able to get back on the court with FC Barcelona this past season and help that club win the Spanish League title. And now, one final Olympic run.
&ldquo;I love the game,&rdquo; Gasol said. &ldquo;I wanted to finish my career playing. I had such an incredible, extraordinary career that I didn&rsquo;t want the injury to finish it for me. And it was a very difficult and challenging injury. So, I set myself this goal to get back on the floor and potentially play the Olympics again with my national team &mdash; and I worked my butt off to do it.&rdquo;
Spain (2-0) plays Slovenia (2-0) on Sunday for the top spot in Group C. Both teams have already clinched quarterfinal berths. Gasol is playing meaningful minutes for Spain, averaging 9.0 points and 6.0 rebounds on 62% shooting in the first two contests at the Olympics.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m very happy for him,&rdquo; said Marc Gasol, Pau's younger brother and fellow NBA and Spain national team veteran. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m proud of him. He didn&rsquo;t have to do this. He&rsquo;s made everything you can do as a professional athlete. He&rsquo;s a role model in every level that you can be, as a human being and as an athlete.&rdquo;
These Olympics were postponed for a year because of the pandemic, and virus-related issues are still affecting every aspect of the Tokyo Games. Daily testing regimens are in effect, athletes are dealing with strict rules about where they can go and most venues have no fans in the seats.
If not for that postponement, Pau Gasol wouldn&rsquo;t be in these Olympics. His foot wasn&rsquo;t ready a year ago. He needed more time to continue recovery from surgery and that, combined with the isolation that the pandemic required, only made a tough task more difficult.
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But this spring, he found his way back to Barcelona and wound up playing a big role in its title run.
&ldquo;I had to be really disciplined and kind of create my own routine and regimen, but with the support of people and creating a team back in the U.S., I had support,&rdquo; Pau said. &ldquo;Obviously, I can&rsquo;t do it on my own, so it was challenging because the doctors weren&rsquo;t giving me a lot of hope on different occasions. But I kept fighting. I kept believing that it was going to work out. And it worked.&rdquo;
He&rsquo;s dealt with more than just the injury in recent years.
Kobe Bryant&rsquo;s death in January 2020 &mdash; they were teammates with the Los Angeles Lakers, the franchise that Pau Gasol won his two NBA titles with, becoming very close friends along the way &mdash; affected him deeply. When he and his wife welcomed a daughter into the world last September, they named her Elisabet Gianna, a nod to Bryant&rsquo;s daughter who also died in that helicopter crash.
As the recovery, the rehab, the working his way back into basketball shape became a grind, Gasol said he thought of Bryant often.
&ldquo;Kobe still inspires me,&rdquo; Gasol said.
It worked. He ignored the suggestions that he could retire, that a comeback from the foot surgery was risky.
He gets to dictate how the final chapter of his playing career will go. Basketball will remain his life &mdash; maybe front office work, maybe ownership, maybe even coaching one day &mdash; but for now, all he&rsquo;s thinking about is one more medal run.
&ldquo;It was worth the effort,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It was worth the risk. And I just felt like I deserved to finish at this stage. ... I like doing extraordinary things and I felt like this was something that it was worth working for and fighting for.&rdquo;

After a Hall-of-Fame career, Pau Gasol has nothing left to prove. So why is the 41-year-old playing in Tokyo? To go out on his own terms.

After serious injury, Pau Gasol battled back to go out on his terms

Five years after the NBA Global Academy opened its doors, Australian swingman <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/big-board/players/joshua-giddey" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Josh Giddey</a> is set to become the first graduate selected in an NBA Draft on Thursday night.
&ldquo;I give a lot of credit to the NBA Academy,&rdquo; Giddey said at his pre-draft media availability. &ldquo;They got me in there at an early age, when I personally thought that I didn&rsquo;t have a big future in basketball. They got me in and they believed in me when I didn&rsquo;t necessarily believe in myself. I was there for 18 months and they worked with me every day, so I give &lsquo;em a lot of credit.&nbsp;
&ldquo;They developed me and pushed me in the right direction and set me up to where I am today, essentially. So, the NBA Academy was big for me. It allowed for me to go overseas and get the exposure that I wouldn&rsquo;t have gotten if I stayed back home in Melbourne. It&rsquo;s a big honor and it makes me pretty happy to be the first NBA-Academy player to be drafted.&rdquo;
Chris Ebersole, the NBA's senior director of international basketball operations, worked closely with Giddey during his time at the NBA Academy and Basketball Without Borders (BWB), and he's watched as the son of two professional basketball players went from an off-the-radar prospect to a top-10 projected pick in rapid fashion.
Ebersole knew Giddey from an early age through Marty Clarke and members of the Academy's coaching staff. (Clarke was actually teammates with Giddey's father, Warrick, in the NBL.) Having shown promise at BWB Asia, Giddey found his way to the Academy in 2018.&nbsp;
When Giddey arrived in Canberra, Australia, he was around 6-foot-5 with a good amount of potential. When he left, he was a 6-foot-8 sensation who was highly coveted by NBA decision-makers. Even Ebersole couldn&rsquo;t predict that his ascent would happen this fast.
&ldquo;To be completely honest, I don't think any of us had potential lottery pick in the 2021 draft in our sights for Josh at the outset,&rdquo; Ebersole told BasketballNews.com in a phone interview.
To be fair, Giddey didn't see this coming either.
&ldquo;Up until I moved to the Academy, I was a good player, but nothing special,&rdquo; Giddey <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nbl-adelaide-36ers-josh-giddey-good-chance-ill-be-declaring-for-2021-nba-draft-prospects-australia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told our Matt Babcock back in March</a>. &ldquo;I was challenged every day by my teammates and my coaches, and at times, I struggled early on and didn't enjoy myself. But as I grew into it, I fell in love with wanting to get better, and my coaches never took it easy on me &ndash; and that was a massive part of my development.&rdquo;
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Giddey didn&rsquo;t make an Australian junior national team until he played for the U18 club. But as he grew literally, Giddey also grew skillfully. Between sprouting three inches to 6-foot-8, developing his perimeter skills, improving as a playmaker and asserting himself as a lead ball-handler, it was clear that his ceiling was rising as a player -- and that was before any draft buzz.
&ldquo;I think from that point [of making the U-18 squad], that was maybe when a switch sort of went off that he had a chance to be special in basketball,&rdquo; Ebersole said. &ldquo;I think it's always been a dream for him, but the fact that he went through some of that adversity at a young age and the disappointment of not making some of those teams probably fueled him. And by the time he was 18, he was not only making a state team, but he was excelling on it and leading those teams.
&ldquo;In basketball terms, in relative terms, you could sort of label him as a late-bloomer in terms of how quickly his stock has risen. I think a lot of those traits have been there the whole time, but a lot of times it's confidence, it's putting it all together on the court, and I think that's the part that's really blossomed.&rdquo;
It&rsquo;s not just his size that stood out, either.
&ldquo;Beyond that, he's also developed his game, and that part is really the key. There are not a lot of 6-foot-8 people out there who are able to do what Josh can do on the court,&rdquo; Ebersole said. &ldquo;I mean the size certainly helps, but the development of his game in terms of growing into such a rare level of passer and leader of an offense on the court, I think that's the part that catches most people's attention &ndash; just how advanced he is in those areas of his game.&rdquo;
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The Academy traveled to different tournaments and took on varying levels of competition. Ebersole recalls the 2020 Torneo Junior Ciutat L&rsquo;Hospitalet, a tournament that featured the top junior teams around Europe. Giddey <a href="https://www.sportingnews.com/au/nba/news/australias-josh-giddey-mvp-nba-global-academy-fc-barcelona-2020-torneo-junior-ciutat-de-lhospitalet/10xt6unne3wrg1b6j6ljrut7yc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">led the Academy to a win in Spain over the local FC Barcelona club</a> and earned MVP honors after averaging 11.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game.
Giddey saved his best performance for last, contributing 15 points, 11 rebounds and three assists in the tournament final.
&ldquo;He was never fazed,&rdquo; Ebersole said. &ldquo;He elevated his game... He makes those jaw-dropping plays look routine. Just an interesting part of his game is that he's able to make passes that no one else on the court, or watching the games, could see [coming]. And so, he'll make a pass and you're almost wondering where the ball is going, and it'll end up in the hand of his teammate right under the hoop. He does that multiple times a game (laughs). He can throw all different types of passes with both hands from any angle, and so he actually ends up making these extraordinary plays look very routine in his game.&nbsp;
&ldquo;There have been countless examples of that just watching him, whether it's games at some of our events [in the] States or overseas; you see him make those types of passes and you just kinda look at each other on the sidelines and you sorta shake your head. It's so advanced, it's so rare to see a player of his age with that understanding of all the moving pieces on the court.&rdquo;
Just two months later, instead of coming to the United States to prepare for the NBA via college or the G League Ignite, Giddey elected to sign with the Adelaide 36ers of the National Basketball League as a part of its Next Stars program (just like LaMelo Ball and R.J. Hampton). It turned out to be a brilliant choice, as Giddey boosted his stock even further.
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With the 36ers, Giddey won the NBL Rookie of the Year Award. He averaged the most assists in the league (7.6), and led Adelaide in rebounds per game (7.3). Giddey also scored the fourth-most points per game (10.9) on the team, while playing the second-most minutes per contest (32.1). The 18-year-old also became the youngest player in NBL history to record a triple-double (taking the record from LaMelo). Then, he did it again the very next night, making him <a href="https://nbl.com.au/news/night-of-sixers-celebrations-against-bullets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the only Australian to have triple-doubles in consecutive games</a>.
&ldquo;Obviously, his time in the NBL [was] a huge factor in developing his confidence,&rdquo; Ebersole said. "He was handed the keys in a lot of ways when he got to Adelaide. The fact that he was able to translate all those skills in a league of that caliber... the NBL is a league of grown men and really talented players. For him to go in and showcase his skills at that level and translate them so quickly at that level, I think, is a huge boost for his confidence. I think at each level, he's able to now realize that he can impact these games and he's not out of place and he can hold his own.&rdquo;
"Great kid, very nice," Giddey's 36ers teammate and former NBA pro Brandon Paul told BasketballNews.com. "I think he's more mature than his years the way he carries himself on and off the court, and he's just someone who's got a crazy ceiling."
Giddey&rsquo;s stint with the 36ers ended on May 16, when both parties agreed to allow him to begin preparing for the 2021 NBA Draft. He carried over the momentum from the NBL into this summer, joining the Australian team&rsquo;s pre-Olympic training camp as one of 24 invitees and giving him a chance to play with some fellow Aussies whom he'd looked up to. Many NBA scouts and executives were in attendance to observe the practices and exhibitions.
&ldquo;He's definitely garnering significant attention throughout this whole process,&rdquo; said Ebersole, who was present with Giddey in Las Vegas. &ldquo;And of course with his time in Adelaide in the NBL &ndash; although there was maybe some limitation on how many scouts could get there to see him just given some of the restrictions on travel &ndash; it was clear the buzz around him was picking up during that time frame... I think he's gotten somewhat used to it.&rdquo;
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Even though the Boomers left Giddey off their Olympic roster, they did name him as a replacement player and the experience was beneficial.
&ldquo;It was fun. Obviously, it sucks I didn&rsquo;t make that team, but I still got to be around the guys and be able to train and compete against them every day right up until they left,&rdquo; Giddey said. "So for me, it was great because I got to compete against guys like [Matthew Dellavedova], Patty Mills, Joe Ingles &ndash; and then learn and train against them every day. So it was such a beneficial kinda month, two months for me, being able to learn from those guys.&nbsp;
&ldquo;And then, it&rsquo;s such a good environment to me. I think for me going forward, it&rsquo;s gonna be critical to get this early taste of it because hopefully [in] the next 12-15 years, I&rsquo;m gonna have a long career playing with the national team.&rdquo;
Ebersole is a California native, and he describes Giddey's personality as similar to his own: laid-back and self-deprecating. He says that Giddey is always fun to be around and has great leadership qualities. He can lead by example, but he's also a good communicator with both teammates and coaches alike.
"I've seen him interact with people and [he's] always very welcoming, even when he's being hounded," Paul added.
Ebersole assures that Giddey is a &ldquo;hooper at heart.&rdquo; As for his off-court interests, the young Aussie is a sneakerhead.&nbsp;
When asked what kind of team or situation would be conducive to Giddey thriving as a rookie, Ebersole confidently said &ldquo;anywhere.&rdquo;
&ldquo;I don't think there's necessarily one team or type of team that sticks out,&rdquo; Ebersole said. &ldquo;I think he does have such a versatile game that he'll be able to have an impact anywhere he goes... He's sort of proven that he can be that primary ball-handler, lead operator out of the pick-and-roll. But if he goes to a team where he's asked to play off the ball and go into some of those secondary actions, I think he's fully capable of doing that as well. When he was with our Academy, he played both roles at different points, so I think he's fully capable offensively playing either role.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Defensively, I think that's one part of his game that people may be questioning. But I think he actually has a chance, just given his size, to be a multi-positional defender too and be able to guard multiple positions. He's versatile on both sides of the ball, and that's gonna allow him to thrive [in] whatever situation that may be. I think he's got a good chance &ndash; whether it's the primary guy or the secondary ball-handler &ndash; to impact offenses and keep the ball moving, which is his number one NBA skill at this point.&rdquo;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
"I love passing the ball and he loved shooting the ball" 🇦🇺 <a href="https://twitter.com/joshgiddey?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@joshgiddey</a> on his friendship with <a href="https://twitter.com/Adelaide36ers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Adelaide36ers</a> guard and fellow NBA Academy alumni <a href="https://twitter.com/Mojaveee?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Mojaveee</a> and how they continue to push each other. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GiddeyUp?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GiddeyUp</a> Watch the 2021 NBA Draft, July 30 on <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ESPNAusNZ</a> and NBA League Pass. <a href="https://t.co/IyEf9UQiyt">pic.twitter.com/IyEf9UQiyt</a>
&mdash; NBA Australia (@NBA_AU) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA_AU/status/1419103123092623360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 25, 2021</a></blockquote>

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

Ebersole acknowledges that he's impressed with how Giddey has handled the pre-draft process and the hype surrounding him. The 18-year-old has approached it with humility, staying grounded and true to himself while &ldquo;keeping those blinders on.&rdquo;
&ldquo;I don't think it's easy for a young person to have this amount of pressure and success and expectation placed upon them in such a short amount of time, especially in Josh's case &ndash; where only a few years ago, he was not on anyone's radar in terms of the NBA-draft potential,&rdquo; Ebersole said. &ldquo;[It] speaks to the type of worker he is, the type of focus he has.
"And that, of course, bodes well for his future &ndash; because once he gets to the NBA, that noise only grows. The fact that he's been able to sort of stay on course through all of this and not get side-tracked or distracted, I think, speaks to that character he has.&rdquo;
In a day&rsquo;s time, Giddey will hear his name called by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.&nbsp;
&ldquo;It's a dream come true for him to be drafted, and I think even for him growing up, this was obviously a dream, but only in the last two years has it really accelerated and evolved into reality,&rdquo; Ebersole said. &ldquo;I think for him, it's somewhat surreal &ndash; but I know he's really excited and probably somewhat anxious to figure out where he's going to end up, as is the case, I think, with every prospect in the draft. But I think he's just beyond excited to finally realize his dream.&rdquo;
And the moment that Silver utters those words, Ebersole will not only be happy for Giddey, but for those who will come after him in the NBA Global Academy.
&ldquo;We're definitely proud of him, obviously. To have our first graduate to be drafted be somebody like Josh &ndash; who's a selfless player, who has just a great approach to the game and approach to life &ndash; I think it makes it that much more special,&rdquo; Ebersole said. "I think it opens the doors to future breakthroughs.
"Our first draft pick in the 2021 draft will likely be Josh, and then you turn around and look at the door that&rsquo;s gonna open. In 2022, we expect to have multiple draft picks coming out of the NBA Academy program. We've now had NBA-Academy alumni in each of the first two years of the G League Ignite program (Princepal Singh and Dyson Daniels) and expect that to continue to grow... It's going to inspire future generations. There's a generation of young Australian players who are looking up to Dyson Daniels, young Argentinian players looking up to Francisco [Caffaro], young Indian players looking up to Princepal Singh. All of these individual successes are great in their own right, but they also open up the possibilities to so many others, so that's the part that really gets us excited. It's much bigger than any one player.&rdquo;
Giddey echoes those sentiments, and is honored to be a part of a global movement in basketball that is only getting stronger.
&ldquo;On the international scale, you see how big the game&rsquo;s growing worldwide, outside of America. I think it&rsquo;s good for players all around the world because they can look at role models in their countries and see how well they&rsquo;re doing, and it allows the next generation to come through," Giddey said. "So, it&rsquo;s exciting times for basketball all around the world. And I think it&rsquo;s evident now, with countries beating the States &ndash; when 10 years ago, it was America just dominating on a world stage. So, it&rsquo;s really good to see.&rdquo;
BasketballNews.com's Senior NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock has Josh Giddey projected to go No. 7 overall to the Golden State Warriors in his <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">latest 2021 NBA Mock Draft</a>.

Spencer Davies chats with NBA international basketball ops director Chris Ebersole, who witnessed Josh Giddey's meteoric rise firsthand.

In the blink of an eye, Josh Giddey ascended to top NBA Draft prospect

The NBA released some key numbers to remember ahead of Thursday's NBA Draft:
The 2021 NBA Draft will take place on Thursday, July 29 at 8 p.m. ET at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.&nbsp;&nbsp;ABC&nbsp;will televise the&nbsp;first round of the NBA Draft&nbsp;for the first time, and ESPN will air both rounds.&nbsp;
Twenty draft prospects are scheduled to attend and have their once-in-a-lifetime experience on the biggest stage.&nbsp;&nbsp;NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer Mark Tatum will announce the selections for the first and second rounds, respectively.&nbsp;
Here is a by-the-numbers look at this year&rsquo;s NBA Draft:&nbsp;
History &middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;4 &ndash;&nbsp;Since the NBA Draft Lottery began in 1985,&nbsp;four&nbsp;first overall picks have won an NBA championship with the team that drafted them: David Robinson (San Antonio Spurs; first pick in 1987), Tim Duncan (Spurs; first pick in 1997), LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers; first pick in 2003) and Kyrie Irving (Cavaliers; first pick in 2011).&nbsp;James won an NBA championship in his second stint with Cleveland. &middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;6 &ndash;&nbsp;Since the two-round format was adopted in 1989, Kentucky holds the record for the university with the most picks in an NBA Draft &ndash;&nbsp;six&nbsp;each in 2012 and 2015. &middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;8&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;Barclays Center will host the NBA Draft for the&nbsp;eighth&nbsp;time.&nbsp;It last hosted the event in 2019 prior to the pandemic. &middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;11 &ndash;&nbsp;A college freshman has been the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft in each of the last&nbsp;11&nbsp;years. &middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;15 &ndash;&nbsp;This marks the&nbsp;15th&nbsp;consecutive year that Adam Silver will announce draft selections as either deputy commissioner (seven years) or commissioner (eight years including 2021). &middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;1947 &ndash;&nbsp;The NBA Draft will be held in July for the first time since&nbsp;1947, the year of the inaugural draft.
Prospects &middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;1 &ndash;&nbsp;In 2020-21, USC forward-center Evan Mobley became the&nbsp;first&nbsp;player to win the Pac-12 Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year awards in the same season. &middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;3 &ndash;&nbsp;Florida State forward Scottie Barnes, NBA G League Ignite guard Jalen Green and Gonzaga guard Jalen Suggs have won&nbsp;three&nbsp;gold medals together with USA Basketball in international play: 2019 FIBA U-19 Basketball World Cup, 2018 FIBA U-17 Basketball World Cup and 2017 FIBA U-16 Americas Championship. &middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;4 &ndash;&nbsp;Four&nbsp;2021 NBA Draft prospects were teammates on the Montverde (Fla.) Academy team that went 25-0 during the 2019-20 high school season: Scottie Barnes, Oklahoma State guard Cade Cunningham, Arkansas guard Moses Moody and North Carolina center Day'Ron Sharpe.&nbsp;&nbsp; &middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;7.6 &ndash;&nbsp;Adelaide 36ers guard Josh Giddey (Australia) led Australia&rsquo;s National Basketball League in assists with&nbsp;7.6&nbsp;per game in the 2020-21 season. &middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;19 &ndash;&nbsp;Besiktas forward Alperen Sengun (Turkey), the 2020-21 Turkish League MVP, turned&nbsp;19&nbsp;on July 25. &middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;48 &ndash;&nbsp;Tennessee guard&nbsp;Keon Johnson set the NBA Combine record with a max vertical jump of&nbsp;48&nbsp;inches.&nbsp;&nbsp; &middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;75 &ndash;&nbsp;Last season, Cade&nbsp;Cunningham became Oklahoma State&rsquo;s first consensus All-America First Team selection in&nbsp;75&nbsp;years.
Teams &middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2 &ndash;&nbsp;The Houston Rockets franchise is set to select&nbsp;second&nbsp;overall in the NBA Draft for the first time in 51 years.&nbsp;In 1970, the then San Diego Rockets selected five-time NBA All-Star Rudy Tomjanovich with the No. 2 pick. &middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;3 &ndash;&nbsp;The Oklahoma City Thunder has&nbsp;three&nbsp;picks in both the first round (Nos. 6, 16 and 18 overall) and the second round (Nos. 34, 36 and 55 overall). &middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;4 &ndash;&nbsp;The Toronto Raptors are poised to pick&nbsp;fourth&nbsp;overall in the NBA Draft for the first time since selecting newly elected Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Chris Bosh at that spot in 2003. &middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;7 &ndash;&nbsp;The Golden State Warriors&rsquo; first pick in the NBA Draft is at No.&nbsp;7&nbsp;overall, a spot where they have selected five-time NBA All-Star Chris Mullin (1985), two-time Kia NBA MVP Stephen Curry (2009) and NBA champion Harrison Barnes (2012) during the NBA Draft Lottery era. &middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;49 &ndash;&nbsp;The Cleveland Cavaliers are set to pick third overall in the NBA Draft for the first time in&nbsp;49&nbsp;years. &middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;51 &ndash;&nbsp;The Detroit Pistons are poised&nbsp;to make the first pick in&nbsp;the NBA Draft for the first time in&nbsp;51&nbsp;years.&nbsp;&nbsp;In 1970, the Pistons used the top pick to select eight-time NBA All-Star Bob Lanier, a longtime ambassador for the NBA Cares program.&nbsp;
Family Ties &middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;9.2 &ndash;&nbsp;Auburn guard&nbsp;Sharife Cooper&rsquo;s&nbsp;sister, Te&rsquo;a Cooper, is currently averaging&nbsp;9.2&nbsp;points per game with the Los Angeles Sparks in her second WNBA season.&nbsp;&nbsp; &middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;10 &ndash;&nbsp;Michigan forward Franz Wagner (Germany) and his brother, Orlando Magic forward-center Moritz Wagner, were both All-Big&nbsp;Ten&nbsp;Team selections with the Wolverines.&nbsp;&nbsp; &middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;12 &ndash;&nbsp;Houston guard&nbsp;Quentin Grimes&rsquo;&nbsp;brother, NHL veteran Tyler Myers, was selected&nbsp;12th&nbsp;overall in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.&nbsp; &middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;33 &ndash;&nbsp;Boise State&nbsp;forward&nbsp;Derrick Alston Jr.&rsquo;s father, Derrick Sr., was the&nbsp;33rd&nbsp;overall pick in the 1994 NBA Draft and played three seasons in the league.&nbsp; &middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;1984 &ndash;&nbsp;Tennessee guard Jaden Springer is the son of Gary Springer, who was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers in the&nbsp;1984&nbsp;NBA Draft. &middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;1992 &ndash;&nbsp;Loyola Maryland forward&nbsp;Santi&nbsp;Aldama (Spain)&nbsp;is the son of Santiago&nbsp;Aldama&nbsp;Ales&oacute;n, who was a&nbsp;member of the Spanish National Team that competed against the Dream Team at the&nbsp;1992&nbsp;Barcelona Olympics.&nbsp; &middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2015 &ndash;&nbsp;Gonzaga guard&nbsp;Joel&nbsp;Ayayi (France)&nbsp;is the brother of&nbsp;Valeriane&nbsp;Ayayi&nbsp;Vukosavljevic, who played in the WNBA in&nbsp;2015.&nbsp;
Global Game &middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;1 &ndash;&nbsp;Australia&rsquo;s Josh Giddey is poised to become the&nbsp;first&nbsp;NBA Academy graduate to be drafted into the NBA.&nbsp;Giddey attended NBA Global Academy in Canberra, Australia. &middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;6&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;If NBA G League Ignite forward Jonathan Kuminga is drafted in the top&nbsp;six, he would be the highest-drafted player from the Democratic Republic of the Congo since Dikembe Mutombo was drafted fourth overall in 1991. &middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;9 &ndash;&nbsp;Last year, a record&nbsp;nine&nbsp;players from or with ties to Nigeria were drafted: Isaac Okoro, Onyeka Okongwu, Aaron Nesmith, Precious Achiuwa, Zeke Nnaji, Udoka Azubuike, Desmond Bane, Daniel Oturu and Jordan Nwora. &middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;13 &ndash;&nbsp;Thirteen&nbsp;international players have been selected No. 1 overall in the NBA Draft, most recently Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton (Bahamas) in 2018. &middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;27 &ndash;&nbsp;A record&nbsp;27&nbsp;international players were selected in the 2016 NBA Draft, including a record 15 in the first round and a record-tying 12 in the second round. &middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;68 &ndash; Sixty-eight&nbsp;former Basketball Without Borders campers have been drafted into the NBA.&nbsp;This year&rsquo;s class features a number of potential draftees with BWB experience, including Gonzaga guard Joel Ayayi (France; BWB Europe 2017), Western Kentucky forward-center Charles Bassey (Nigeria; BWB Global 2017 &amp; 2018), Paris Basket guard Juhann Begarin (France; BWB Europe 2019; BWB Global 2020), Zalgiris Kaunas guard Rokas Jokubaitis (Lithuania; BWB Europe 2017), Adelaide 36ers guard Josh Giddey (Australia; BWB Asia 2018; BWB Global 2020), Texas forward-center Kai Jones (Bahamas; BWB Americas 2017), Seton Hall forward Sandro Mamukelashvili (Georgia; BWB Global 2017), KK Mega Basket forward-center Filip Petrusev (Serbia; BWB Europe 2017; BWB Global 2018), Alabama guard Josh Primo (Canada; BWB Global 2020) and Oostende forward Amar Sylla (Senegal; BWB Africa 2018; BWB Global 2019). &middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;215/25 &ndash;&nbsp;The NBA Draft will reach fans live in&nbsp;215&nbsp;countries and territories in&nbsp;25&nbsp;languages on their televisions, computers, mobile devices and tablets. &nbsp; NBA G League &middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;4 &ndash;&nbsp;Four&nbsp;former five-star high school prospects who helped lead NBA G League Ignite to the 2021 NBA G League Playoffs are entered in the&nbsp;NBA Draft:&nbsp;Jalen&nbsp;Green, Jonathan&nbsp;Kuminga, guard&nbsp;Daishen Nix and forward Isaiah Todd.&nbsp;&nbsp; &middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;24 &ndash;&nbsp;Twenty-four&nbsp;of the 60 players who were selected in the 2020 NBA Draft played in the NBA G League during the 2020-21 season, including five first-round selections. &middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;49 &ndash;&nbsp;Daishen&nbsp;Nix&nbsp;has a chance to join Carlos Boozer, Mario Chalmers and Trajan Langdon as NBA players who grew up in the&nbsp;49th&nbsp;state &ndash; Alaska.&nbsp; &nbsp; ESPN &middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;1 &ndash;&nbsp;The NBA Draft will air on both ABC and ESPN for the&nbsp;first&nbsp;time ever. &middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;5&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;Five&nbsp;virtual technology cameras will be used for the telecast. &middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;12&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;ABC and ESPN&rsquo;s on-air talent will feature&nbsp;12&nbsp;reporters. &middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;19 &ndash;&nbsp;ESPN will present the NBA Draft for the&nbsp;19th&nbsp;consecutive year. &nbsp; NBA TV &middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;4 &ndash;&nbsp;NBA TV&rsquo;s NBA Draft night coverage will include&nbsp;four&nbsp;former first-round picks: Rex Chapman, No. 8 in 1988; Brian Shaw, No. 24 in 1988; Jim Jackson, No. 4 in 1992; and Brendan Haywood, No. 20 in 2001. &nbsp; Partners &middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;38&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;Wilson was last used as the official basketball of the NBA&nbsp;38&nbsp;years ago.&nbsp;Last seen on the court in the 1983 NBA Finals, Wilson basketballs will adorn the green room at the NBA Draft and will join the latest draft class on the court for the 2021-22 season. &middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;75&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;The NBA Draft Cap from New Era features the commemorative NBA&nbsp;75th&nbsp;Anniversary Season logo and marks the first league-licensed product to carry the logo.

The 2021 NBA Draft: By the Numbers

Gregg Popovich has been repeating a similar refrain ever since he got the job to coach the U.S. men&rsquo;s national basketball team. The world, he insists, is catching up.
He&rsquo;s not wrong.
The latest proof: <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/breakingnews/shocker-us-falls-to-nigeria-in-preolympic-opener" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nigeria 90, United States 87</a>.
That was the way the U.S. team that departs next week for the Tokyo Olympics began its slate of tuneup games, a stunning loss on Saturday night &mdash; the end of a 25-game home winning streak for U.S. teams with NBA players, and the first time such an American team lost to any national team from Africa.
&ldquo;In a way, I&rsquo;m kind of glad it happened,&rdquo; Popovich said. &ldquo;That loss means nothing if we don&rsquo;t learn from it. But it could be the most important thing in this tournament for us, to learn lessons from this.&rdquo;
On the one hand, it doesn&rsquo;t count. The Americans will still be the favorites when they get to Tokyo and they have two more weeks before they open Olympic play against France. The team was missing three players who haven&rsquo;t come to Las Vegas yet because they&rsquo;re still in the NBA Finals. And it&rsquo;s not like U.S. teams, even loaded with NBA stars, haven&rsquo;t had trouble before &mdash; for example, the original Dream Team, 11 future Hall of Famers put together for the 1992 Barcelona Games, famously lost to a group of college players in their first scrimmage.
On the other hand, even though Popovich lauded the Nigerian talent multiple times on Saturday night, there was just no comparison between the resumes of the players who got into that game.
The Nigerian players who were on the floor had NBA contracts worth a total of $9.5 million this season, have combined for about 4,000 NBA points, zero All-Star selections and zero All-NBA selections. The U.S. players on the floor had NBA contracts worth $215.9 million, have combined for nearly 98,000 career points, plus 32 All-Star selections and 21 All-NBA selections.
&ldquo;There was a lot of doubt put on us, a lot of expectations for us to get blown out, for the game to get out of hand early,&rdquo; said Nigeria guard Gabe Nnamdi, who is known by Gabe Vincent when playing for the Miami Heat. &ldquo;And if anything, that just put a chip on our shoulder, bigger than we already had.&rdquo;
The Nigerians had been practicing for about three weeks. The Americans had been together for four days. Popovich pointed to that discrepancy as part of the reason why an early struggle for the U.S. shouldn&rsquo;t have been so surprising.
&ldquo;I think we&rsquo;ll just use this to bring us together,&rdquo; U.S. forward Jayson Tatum said. &ldquo;Tough times bring guys and teams and people together. It&rsquo;s not going to be easy. And we knew that coming in. This is just something to build off, spend some more time together and talk about things, because it&rsquo;s all about us.&rdquo;
The Americans were not practicing Sunday. They have back-to-back exhibitions next, facing Australia on Monday and Argentina on Tuesday. They close out their five-game warmup set in Las Vegas with another game Friday against Australia, then next Sunday against reigning World Cup champion Spain.
They&rsquo;ll be looking to shoot much better than they did against Nigeria, too.
Kevin Durant, seeking a third Olympic gold medal, shot 4 for 13; he&rsquo;s shot worse than that only three times in his last 244 NBA games. Bradley Beal shot 1 for 7; he&rsquo;s had only one NBA game out of his last 260 where he shot worse. The U.S. missed four shots in the fourth quarter Saturday that were for the lead; three of them were open looks.
Yet it also lost a game where it held Nigeria to 44% shooting and outscored opponents 25-6 from the foul line. The difference was 3s; Nigeria made 20 to the Americans&rsquo; 10. And when it was over, Nigeria coach Mike Brown made clear that his team played far from a perfect game.
&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t play our best,&rdquo; Brown said. &ldquo;I know, 100%, USA Basketball feels that way too.&rdquo;
If Nigeria &mdash; even not at its best &mdash; could still beat the Americans, that may be an ominous sign.
Popovich coached the U.S. to a seventh-place finish at the Basketball World Cup two years ago, the worst finish for an NBA-manned American roster in international competition. That result came after nearly three dozen players backed out of commitments; this team got many of the biggest names that it wanted.
Saturday was just an exhibition loss. Meaningless in some ways, full of meaning in others, and all of it underscoring the obvious &mdash; that a fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal will not come easily for the Americans.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a great group of guys, high character and we&rsquo;ll figure it out,&rdquo; Popovich said. &ldquo;But I don&rsquo;t think anyone should act, nor will we act, like this is the end of the world. It&rsquo;s about how everybody else deserves a lot of credit, and we will have to play our (butt) off to do this.&rdquo;

Gregg Popovich has been repeating a similar refrain ever since he got the job to coach the U.S. men’s national basketball team. The world, he insists, is catching up.

Loss to Nigeria may become learning tool for USA Basketball

The NBA Draft is often thought about and discussed in terms of finding potential superstars. Top-10 picks and the sure-fire prospects rightfully receive the most attention from media and those who cover basketball, but each year there are a few players in the second round who are selected with a long-term outlook. These international players are filled with untapped potential, but given the right fit and organizational investment, they can become valuable assets to an NBA team.&nbsp;
Here are a few names that have come to NBA fruition:
Bojan Bogdanović - 2011 | Miami | Pick 31 Davis Bertans - 2011 | Indiana | Pick 42 Tom&aacute;&scaron; Satoransk&yacute; - 2012 | Washington | Pick 32 Cedi Osman - 2015 | Minnesota | Pick 31
The 2021 NBA Draft will be no different, with a handful of players likely to be selected as projects with the future in mind.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/big-board/players/ariel-hukporti" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ariel Hukporti | Nevezis | Center | 2002</a>
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Hukporti is physically gifted with his tools and length at only 18 years old. In his 21 games with Nevezis, he averaged 10.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks, and showed that even though his game is still a bit raw on both ends, he has the potential to be impactful at the NBA level. Scoring in the low post has been his bread and butter for a while now, but he is actively working to improve as a shooter. He measured 6-foot, 10.75 inches without shoes and posted a 7-foot, 2.5-inch wingspan. BasketballNews.com's Lead NBA Draft Analyst, Matt Babcock, saw Hukporti live in Chicago at the NBA Draft Combine.
&ldquo;Although I think Hukporti is more of a long-term project than being someone that can be expected to contribute to an NBA team right away, he is certainly not a stiff," Babcock said. "I originally thought that he would only be considered as an option for the draft-and-stash route; however, after watching him in Chicago, I wouldn&rsquo;t be surprised to see a team consider selecting Hukporti and bringing him over right away. It could be advantageous to get him into an NBA strength-and-conditioning program and also on the court with NBA coaches sooner than later.&rdquo;
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/big-board/players/juhann-begarin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Juhann Begarin | Paris Basketball | Guard | 2002</a>
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Begarin is a tremendous athlete with good positional size at 6-foot-5 and 190 pounds. At the recent NBA G League Combine, he played well in the scrimmages, including a steal and Eurostep finish in transition. Our Matt Babcock was able to see him up close in Chicago, as well.
&ldquo;Begarin has a lot of room for improvement in regards to his basketball IQ and feel for the game, but his physical tools are impressive and he seems to have a solid motor," Babcock said. "I do believe that he would be a good option to draft-and-stash.&rdquo;
Still 18 years old, he is physically developed and played 33 games this season for Paris Basketball in the LNB Pro B League. He averaged 11.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.4 steals, and shot 36.4% from deep; with improved feel for the game and refinement on offense, Begarin has tons of untapped upside.
Ibou Dianko Badji | FC Barcelona | Center | 2002
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Badji has incredible physical tools, and he stands 7-foot-1 with a 7-foot-8 wingspan. This length, paired with his innate rim protection instincts, makes him a menace in the paint. His offense is still extremely raw, but he excels with his back to the basket in the post, using his frame to get to the rim and finish over his opponents. Every so often, he&rsquo;ll use impressive footwork and touch to score in the mid-range, as well. His long-term projection is likely as a lob target and rim protector, and he is one to watch as we approach the draft.&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/big-board/players/vrenz-bleijenbergh" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vrenz Bleijenbergh | Antwerp | Guard/Forward | 2000</a>
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In 10 Eurocup games for Antwerp, Bleijenbergh averaged 9.4 points and 2.3 assists in 23.9 minutes per contest. At 6-foot-10, he is comfortable running the pick-and-roll and excels in creating open looks for his teammates as a facilitator. He plays with change of speeds and pace, and is comfortable operating with or without the ball. With his current skill set and continued development, Bleijenbergh has real potential to become a point forward in the NBA.
Yoan Makoundou | Cholet | Forward | 2000
Makoundou is a long, rangy, athletic forward who plays with a tremendous motor on both ends of the floor. He excels scoring off movement and in transition, playing above the rim with ease. In his 30 games for Cholet this season, he has only averaged 16.4 minutes per contest, so he hasn&rsquo;t had a chance to truly show what he&rsquo;s capable of. But with his size and current skill set, he&rsquo;s one to monitor moving forward.&nbsp;
Amar Sylla | Oostende | Forward | 2001
Once regarded as a potential first-round pick, Sylla is a 6-foot-8 forward from Senegal who excels attacking the rim. With his 7-foot-2 wingspan, he is a strong rebounder on both ends, and plays with high activity as a cutter. Stretching the floor as a shooter has always been a concern, but he still has upside with his athleticism and physicality.
Carlos Alocen | Real Madrid | Guard | 2000
Alocen is a quick, shifty guard who is aggressive and flashy as a facilitator. He is tremendous in the pick-and-roll and has great vision, giving promise to him being a rotation-level point guard in the NBA. At 6-foot-4, he is a strong ball-handler, but questions remain regarding his shooting (27% from three in 2020-21). Due to his playmaking and ability to create for others, he remains a viable option in July&rsquo;s draft.&nbsp;
Rokas Jokubaitis | Zalgiris | Guard | 2000
Jokubaitis has good positional size at 6-foot-4 and195 pounds, and has shown to be an intelligent lead ball-handler. He&rsquo;s comfortable in the pick-and-roll and continues to develop as a playmaker, improving as a scorer in an increased role in 2020-21. This season, he hit 38.8% of his three-point attempts, flashing the ability to score in both the mid-range and from deep. His play can be inconsistent at times, but the tools and feel for the game could make him a solid choice.

Each year, there are players selected in the NBA Draft as projects. Derek Murray lists the 2021 international draft-and-stash prospects.

Potential 2021 NBA Draft-and-Stash Options

Team USA's first game is against France; the first battle is against the clock.
Too much time and too few games &ndash; six in 17 days. That leaves an awful lot of downtime for Team USA later this summer at the Tokyo Olympics, and team director Jerry Colangelo is going to have to get creative to keep his players sane halfway around the world.
&ldquo;We need to keep ourselves staying busy. You don&rsquo;t want them sitting around and twiddling their thumbs. That&rsquo;s just not going to work,&rdquo; Colangelo said Monday while formally announcing the 12-man roster that will represent the United States.
It is one of the best rosters <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/usa-basketball-announces-us-olympic-mens-basketball-team-2020-tokyo-olympics-games-japan-fiba" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Team USA has ever put together</a>. Alphabetically, it is Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat), Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards), Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns), Kevin Durant (Brooklyn Nets), Jerami Grant (Detroit Pistons), Draymond Green (Golden State Warriors), Jrue Holiday (Milwaukee Bucks), Zach LaVine (Chicago Bulls), Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers), Kevin Love (Cleveland Cavaliers), Khris Middleton (Milwaukee Bucks) and Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics).
The coaching staff is led by Gregg Popovich (San Antonio Spurs) with assistant coaches Steve Kerr (Golden State Warriors), Jay Wright (Villanova University) and Lloyd Pierce.
Nobody will be able to compete with these guys, correct?&nbsp;
Well, they say that every time Team USA puts a squad together, and then strange things happen in the unlikeliest of places. It was a mere two years ago that the Americans finished seventh at the 2019 World Cup in China, defeating Poland for that honor. Their prior game was a loss to Serbia, which was preceded by a loss to France.&nbsp;
And of all the places for Colangelo to bring his final version of Team USA (he is <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-news-team-usa-roster-director-jerry-colangelo-gregg-popovich-2021-tokyo-japan-olympics-ioc-fiba-international-basketball" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stepping down</a> after the Olympics and handing over the reins to Grant Hill), the Olympic tournament will be held in Saitama, Japan, where Colangelo&rsquo;s first team -- which included LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, Dwight Howard, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh -- was unceremoniously upended by Greece in the semifinals of the 2006 World Championship.
&ldquo;The loss to Greece stuck with us, both myself and Coach K (Mike Krzyzewski) for a long time, but we can&rsquo;t think that way,&rdquo; Colangelo said of returning to the site of that debacle. &ldquo;An arena is an arena. It&rsquo;s still 94 feet by 50 feet. So I have no problem with going back to the same arena.&rdquo;
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Booker, Holiday and Middleton face the possibility of participating in a seven-game NBA Finals while the rest of the team is holding mini-camp in Las Vegas. The last possible date for the NBA Finals is July 22, and the opening ceremony in Tokyo is July 23. Colangelo said the U.S. federation is already putting plans in place to get those players overseas quickly.
&ldquo;They&rsquo;re young. They can sleep on the plane,&rdquo; Colangelo said.
"Booker called me maybe a month ago to express his great desire to be a part of the Olympics, and I knew that just because of the relationship, I didn't have to say a word," he added. "He said, 'If we get to the Finals and we go all the way, I'll be on the plane the next day and I'll be there. It doesn't matter.' When you're young, you can think that way."
As mentioned before, the Americans will play only six games over the course of their 17 days in Japan after FIBA cut down the number of Olympic games from eight. Only the first two opponents, France and Iran, are known. The third opening-round opponent will be whoever wins the qualifying tournament in Victoria, British Columbia that begins Tuesday. The six teams competing are Canada, China, the Czech Republic, Greece, Turkey and Uruguay.&nbsp;
What concerns Colangelo the most at this present time is finding ways to stay active and entertained once the team lands in Japan. The Olympics will be contested under a highly restrictive set of rules that continue to evolve, with organizers currently prohibiting foreigners from using public transportation, interacting with Japanese citizens and straying from pre-planned activity schedules.
Colangelo said &ldquo;it is not really a bubble,&rdquo; which is somewhat true. But as a practical matter, finding things to do away from the Tokyo Hilton while also staying within the rules will be a challenge.
As loaded as the U.S. roster is, there is always a learning curve when it comes to playing in FIBA competitions, where the referees typically let things get very physical. NBA players are not going to get favorable whistles if a defender crowds their landing area when attempting a three-point shot. The games sometimes resemble another Olympic sport, Greco-Roman wrestling, and the physicality will come as a surprise to viewers in the United States who have not watched an Olympics basketball game since the Games were held in Rio in 2016.&nbsp;
The American roster is also somewhat devoid of size, with Adebayo being the only true center. Rudy Gobert of France and Hamed Haddadi of Iran will be the first two centers the Americans will have to contain. Teams from other nations will also keep a close eye on how the Americans are defending the pick-and-roll, because history has shown that if the Americans are not fighting over picks, then the opposition can easily find open three-pointers.
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Greece did that against Team USA in the 2006 World Championship, and the game got away from the Americans before they knew what hit them. As loaded as Team USA's roster is, there is only one ball, and only five players can be on the court at the same time.
This roster is stacked with shooters and scorers, showing that the Americans realize they are going to have to simply outscore each and every opponent, overwhelming them with offense. But historically, problems have arisen when the five-man unit on the floor is unaccustomed to playing with one another, something the U.S. federation hopes to alleviate by playing five exhibition games in Las Vegas after camp opens on July 6.&nbsp;
The opponents are Nigeria on July 10 (8 p.m. EDT); followed by Australia on July 12 (8 p.m. EDT); Argentina on July 13 (6 p.m. EDT); Australia for a second time on July 16 (6 p.m. EDT); and Spain on July 18 (9 p.m. EDT). All of the exhibition games will be played at the Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay.
The U.S. Men's Team has collected a medal in all 18 Olympics in which it has competed, including 15 gold medals, one silver and two bronze medals. The American men own an impressive 138-5 all-time record (.965 winning percentage) in Olympic action. Since NBA players began representing the United States in 1992, the USA is 53-3 in seven Olympics, capturing six gold medals and one bronze medal. The USA currently enjoys a 25-game Olympic win streak that dates back to the bronze-medal game of the 2004 Athens Olympics.
The average age of the 12 U.S. players at the conclusion of the Tokyo Olympics (Aug. 8, 2021) will be 28.2, the third-oldest U.S. Men&rsquo;s Olympic Team in history, behind the 1996 Atlanta Olympics squad (29.4) and the 1992 Barcelona Olympics Team (29.0).
Durant, who also collected MVP honors in leading the USA to gold at the 2010 FIBA World Cup, has finished as Team USA's leading scorer the past two Olympics &ndash; the 2012 London Olympics and the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Owning the top two U.S. Olympic scoring marks (156 points in 2012 and 155 points in 2016), Durant has 16 career Olympic games under his belt, with 311 total points in Olympic games (19.4 points per game). He ranks second all-time for points scored, trailing only Carmelo Anthony (336) by 25 points.

Team USA will play only six games over the course of 17 days in Japan after FIBA cut down on the number of Olympic games.

Boredom is one enemy Team USA must fight at Olympics

Led by now three-time Olympian Kevin Durant (Brooklyn Nets), USA Basketball unveiled today its official 12-member U.S. Olympic Men&rsquo;s Basketball Team.&nbsp;
Selected for the U.S. Olympic Team 2020, which is seeking a fourth consecutive Olympic title, were: Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat), Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards), Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns), Durant, Jerami Grant (Detroit Pistons), Draymond Green (Golden State Warriors), Jrue Holiday (Milwaukee Bucks), Zach LaVine (Chicago Bulls), Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers), Kevin Love (Cleveland Cavaliers), Khris Middleton (Milwaukee Bucks) and Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics).
The USA coaching staff is led by head coach Gregg Popovich (San Antonio Spurs) with assistant coaches Steve Kerr (Golden State Warriors), Lloyd Pierce and Jay Wright (Villanova University) and Jerry Colangelo serving as the USA Men&rsquo;s National Team managing director.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m happy for the selected players and looking forward to having the opportunity to work with this wonderful group when practice gets underway on July 6 in Las Vegas,&rdquo; said Popovich. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m excited to represent the United States in our quest to earn a gold medal in Tokyo.&rdquo;
The U.S. Olympic Men&rsquo;s Basketball Team was approved by the USA Basketball Board of Directors and is pending final approval by the United States Olympic &amp; Paralympic Committee.
&ldquo;We are excited about the 12 players who have been selected to represent the United States in the Tokyo Olympics,&rdquo; said Colangelo, who has served as managing director of the USA Men&rsquo;s National Team since 2005. &ldquo;This was an unusually challenging selection process for many reasons, including the year postponement of the Olympics and the issues related to the timing of the NBA regular season and playoffs.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Our roster features players who are experienced in the international game, and this team has outstanding athleticism, versatility and balance. We also believe we have excellent leadership which is a necessity in order to develop the needed chemistry. We still have a lot of challenges in front of us, but I believe these players will become a team that all Americans will be proud of.&rdquo;&nbsp;
The U.S. roster features the return of Olympic gold medalists Durant, Green and Love. Durant and Green were members of the 2016 U.S. Olympic gold medalist squad and Durant and Love were 2012 Olympic gold medalists. Durant and Love were also part of the 2010 USA team that went 9-0 and captured the FIBA World Cup title, and Middleton and Tatum were members of the 2019 USA World Cup Team.&nbsp;
&ldquo;USA Basketball selects players to represent our country in international competition with the skills, character, experience, and desire to win,&rdquo; said retired Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the USA Basketball Board of Directors.. &ldquo;We build teams that are versatile and resilient in the short, intense competitions we face. We&rsquo;re fortunate that this group of elite athletes has volunteered to represent us in Tokyo this summer.&rdquo;
With his selection to the U.S. Olympic Team, Durant becomes just the fourth United States male basketball player selected to three or more Olympic teams. Carmelo Anthony (2004, 2008, 2012, 2016) has represented and medaled for a USA men&rsquo;s record four Olympics, while LeBron James (2004, 2008, 2012) and David Robinson (1988, 1992, 1996) each have three Olympic medals in as many appearances.&nbsp;
Durant, who also collected MVP honors in leading the USA to gold at the 2010 FIBA World Cup, has finished as the U.S. team&rsquo;s leading scorer the past two Olympics &ndash; the 2012 London Olympics and the 2016 Rio Olympics. Owning the top two U.S. Olympic scoring marks (156 points in 2012 and 155 points in 2016), Durant has 16 career Olympic games under his belt and with 311 total points in Olympic games (19.4 ppg.), ranks second all-time for points scored,trailing only Anthony (336) by 25 points.&nbsp;
Durant in USA all-time career Olympics statistics lists first for points averaged (19.4), tied for fourth for games played (16), fifth for rebounds (86), third for most field goals made (101), third for field goals attempted (191), first for 3-point field goals made (59), second for 3-point field goals attempted (108), fourth for 3-point shooting percentage (.546%), second for free throws made (50), fourth for free throws attempted (59), 11th for assists (49), eighth for blocked shots (9) and ninth for steals (21).
The average age of the 12 U.S. players at the conclusion of the Tokyo Olympics (Aug. 8, 2021) will be 28.2, the third oldest U.S. Men&rsquo;s Olympic Team in history, behind the 1996 Atlanta Olympics squad (29.4) and the 1992 Barcelona Olympics Team (29.0).
Included among the named U.S. Olympians were 2021 All-NBA second team selection Lillard, and third team pick Beal. Additionally, Green and Holiday collected 2021 NBA All-Defensive first team honors, while Adebayo was a second team selection. Four USA players &ndash; Beal, LaVine, Lillard and Tatum -- were named as 2021 NBA All-Stars.
After opening training camp on July 6, the USA Men&rsquo;s National Team will tip off a five-game exhibition series against Nigeria on July 10 (5 p.m. PDT); followed by Australia on July 12 (5 p.m. PDT); Argentina on July 13 (3 p.m. PDT); Australia for a second time on July 16 (3 p.m. PDT); and Spain on July 18 (6 p.m. PDT). All of the exhibition games will be played at the Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay. Ticket information is available online at https://axs.com/USABasketball.
The U.S. men have collected a medal in all 18 Olympics in which they have competed, including 15 gold medals, one silver and two bronze medals. The American men own an impressive 138-5 (.965 winning percentage) all-time record in Olympic action. Since NBA players began representing the United States in 1992, the USA is 53-3 in seven Olympics, capturing six gold medals and one bronze medal. The USA currently enjoys a 25-game Olympic win streak that dates back to the bronze medal game of the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Tokyo Olympic Games 2020
The rescheduled Summer Olympic Games are being held July 23-Aug. 8 in Tokyo, Japan. Twelve nations will compete in the Olympic men&rsquo;s basketball competition that will be held at the Saitama Super Arena. In addition to host Japan, nations qualified for the Tokyo Olympics men's basketball competition include Argentina, Australia, France, Iran, Nigeria, Spain and the United States.&nbsp;
The final four teams for the Tokyo Olympics will qualify through four FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments. Twenty-four teams will compete in the four men's FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments, which will be held from June 29-July 4, in Victoria, Canada; Split, Croatia; Kaunas, Lithuania; and Belgrade, Serbia. The winner of each qualifying tournament will qualify for the Tokyo Olympic Games.
Men&rsquo;s basketball preliminary play at the Olympics, which will see the 12 teams divided into three groups of four teams each, will be held July 25-Aug. 2. The quarterfinals, featuring teams placed first and second in each preliminary group and the two best third-placed teams, is scheduled for Aug. 3. Semifinal action will be played on Aug. 5. The gold and bronze medal games are scheduled for Aug. 7.
The draw for the Tokyo Olympics men&rsquo;s basketball competition was held Feb. 2, and the U.S. was drawn into Group A alongside 2019 FIBA World Cup bronze medalist France, 2017 Asia Cup runner-up Iran, and the to-be-determined winner of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Canada. The American men will open Olympic preliminary round play on July 25, against France (8 a.m. EDT), then will play Iran on July 28 (12:40 a.m. EDT) and will close out preliminary play on July 31 (8:00 a.m. EDT) versus the winner of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Canada.
A draw will take place following the conclusion of the group phase to determine the pairings of the quarterfinals. The winners of the groups and the second-placed team with the best result from the Group Phase are placed in one pot (D), while the two remaining second-placed teams and two best third-placed teams in another pot (E). Teams from the same group in the Group Phase cannot be drawn against each other in the quarterfinals. This stage of the competition is played in a knockout format, and the draw will produce an Olympic bracket for the road to the gold medal.
To be crowned Olympic champion in 2021, a team has to play six games - three in the group phase and three in the Final Phase (quarterfinals, semifinals, gold medal game), instead of eight games as in past Olympics.
2020 U.S. Olympic Men&rsquo;s Basketball Team
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About USA Basketball
Based in Colorado Springs, Colorado USA Basketball is a nonprofit organization and the national governing body for basketball in the United States. As the recognized governing body for basketball in the U.S. by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the United States Olympic &amp; Paralympic Committee (USOPC), USA Basketball is responsible for the selection, training and fielding of USA national teams that compete in FIBA-sponsored five-on-five, 3x3 and esport international competitions, as well as for some national competitions and for the development of youth basketball initiative that address player development, coach education and safety, while promoting, growing and elevating the game.
Connect with USA Basketball at USAB.com and on Facebook (USABasketball, USABYouth), Twitter (@usabasketball, @USABJNT, @USABYouth, @USAB3x3), Instagram (@USABasketball, @USABYouth, @USAB3x3) and YouTube.com/usabasketball.

Led by now three-time Olympian Kevin Durant, USA Basketball unveiled today its official 12-member U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team.

USA Basketball announces U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team

The NBA G League announced in a press release the signing of international prospect Dyson Daniels to G League Ignite:
"International standout Dyson Daniels, a highly touted guard out of NBA Global Academy in Australia, has signed with NBA G League Ignite, NBA G League President Shareef Abdur-Rahim announced today.&nbsp;
&ldquo;'I&rsquo;m so blessed to be joining Ignite and I&rsquo;m ready to take my game to the next level,' Daniels said.
"Daniels joined NBA Global Academy, an elite basketball training center at Basketball Australia&rsquo;s Centre of Excellence at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, Australia, in 2019. The Bendigo, Australia native emerged as one of the country&rsquo;s top young prospects, participating in the NBA Academy Games 2019, exhibition games at the 2019 NBA G League Winter Showcase and the 2020 Torneo Junior Ciutat de L'Hospitalet in Barcelona, Spain.
"He previously represented Australia at the FIBA U15 Oceania Championships before receiving an invitation to join Australia&rsquo;s senior national team in FIBA competition this February, pouring in 23 points alongside four assists, three rebounds and six steals against New Zealand. Daniels is currently training with the Australian national team for the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2021, set for July 3-11.
"Daniels becomes the second NBA Academy graduate to sign with Ignite, following India&rsquo;s Princepal Singh (NBA Academy India; NBA Global Academy). Daniels joins Michael Foster Jr., Jaden Hardy and Scoot Henderson among Ignite&rsquo;s incoming top young standouts looking to continue the team&rsquo;s success from its inaugural year. With five-time NBA champion Brian Shaw serving as head coach, Ignite&rsquo;s first season featured strong professional debuts from elite prospects Jalen Green, Jonathan Kuminga, Daishen Nix, Isaiah Todd and Singh."

Daniels is the fourth player officially signed to next season's program.

International prospect Dyson Daniels signs with G League Ignite

U18 Real Madrid survives!
It took an overall collective effort for Madrid to win the Adidas Next Generation Tournament Final 4 in Valencia. The guard-oriented team faced some adversity and won the tournament without Juan Nunez, who left after their second game, and a limited Matteo Spagnolo, who played with calf pain. But instead of searching for an excuse, Madrid found multiple answers and surprised FC Barcelona in the Final. Here are my takes on some of the best players:
Eli John N'Diaye: 6-foot-8 | U18 Real Madrid | Forward | Age: 16 
MVP Eli John N&rsquo;Diaye played his best basketball, and at the right time! &nbsp;We certainly remember his performance in Istanbul a few months ago, where he averaged 13.3 points and 8.6 rebounds on 55.6% from the field and came up with 28 points and 11 rebounds during the March final vs Stellazzurra.
N'Diaye topped his previous performance by not only showcasing his ability to find scoring opportunities within the offense, but it looks like he is also acquiring the individual skills required to create his offense. He averaged 19.0 points, 13.3 rebounds on 45.2% shooting during the tournament. &nbsp;His touch near the rim, his relentless effort on the glass and his three-point shooting were too much for his direct defender. &nbsp;
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N'Diaye came up with a rock-solid 30 points and 15 rebounds in 38 minutes in a close win vs. U18 ASVEL, reiterated his performance vs, U18 Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade with 18 points and 16 rebounds in 34 minutes. And finally, he overcame the physicality of FC Barcelona (James Nnaji and Teodor Simic), with another solid performance with 17 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals.
Without a doubt, N'Diaye was the best player at the tournament, and even if it seems that he doesn&rsquo;t look like a super-high ceiling player due to his height and set of skills as a power forward, N'Diaye certainly looks like a player that has a lot more to offer if he continues to work on expanding his offense and continues controlling the boards as he has been doing.
Henri Veesaar: 6-foot-10 | U18 Real Madrid | Center | Age: 17 
It was a solid performance overall for Veesaar! He hasn&rsquo;t gained weight, but he tried to be physical, and I loved the fact that he finished with dunks every time he could. His three-ball is becoming a real threat, and he knows where and when he can pull the trigger. As a finisher, he does a good job, but I&rsquo;d like to see him work and create his own shot here and there, as he becomes prone to guards needing to create for him.
As usual, Veesaar used his height and length near the rim to rebound, and protect the paint. What I like the most about him was his fire throughout the tournament; he continuously brought a level of energy every time he stepped on the court. He averaged a productive 12.0 points and 7.0 rebounds on 63% from the field, including 40% from beyond the arc during the tournament in 26 minutes per game.
Sediq Garuba: 6-foot-4 | U18 Real Madrid | Wing | Age: 17 
The unsung hero! It takes more than stats to be able to portray what he brought to his team. Physically capable to defend four positions on the court, as well as help and recover, Garuba brought his A+ defensive game with him. &nbsp;He's still got hours to spend in the gym as an offensive player (1-for-5 from deep), but his defense kept Madrid in the game when the offense wasn&rsquo;t clicking. &nbsp;
Garuba did a great job of cutting and driving the lanes, contesting jumpers and stopping fastbreaks by utilizing his athleticism. His hustles earned him playing time (32 minutes per game), and he was capable of finishing around the rim when it counted the most. &nbsp;If he can develop a steady perimeter shot in the corner, he&rsquo;ll have some solid tools as a pro.
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Baba Miller: 6-foot-9 | U18 Real Madrid | Forward | Age: 17 
I was hoping for him to get more done when Nunez left, but unfortunately, that wasn&rsquo;t the case. He only played five minutes during the Final and averaged 13 minutes in the tournament. Baba was the biggest question mark at the tournament, and I still don&rsquo;t have an answer. &nbsp;I&rsquo;ve seen him in a limited role of shooting threes and slashing from the opposite side where he can either catch a lob and get a quick dunk.
But as a 6-foot-9, athletic, skilled forward, I want to see him get more of an opportunity, as he averaged 2.5 pts and 1.8 rebounds during the tournament. He is still on top of my 2004 board, though, and it will be interesting to follow him when the moment comes for him to get more playing time.
Kostadinov Konstantin: 6-foot-8 | U18 Real Madrid | Forward | Age: 18 
Konstantin's best performance came at the right time, as he had his best game during the Final with 18 points and 12 rebounds. He looks better, being able to play with more responsibility. The advantage of having Nunez is that it allows Kostadinov to finish with a high percentage shot. And by the way, this is probably how his career will go -- threes and dunks. &nbsp;
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But there is still room for improvement, and getting outside of his comfort zone made him look better. Konstantin was a bit stiff with the ball, and still lacks the shiftiness that all players should have if they find themselves isolated at the end of the shot clock. But the more he was aggressive offensively, the more his teammates were able to take advantage of an a slower-reacting opposing defense. He finished the tournament with solid stats: 14.3 points and 8.0 rebounds per game.
Killian Malwaya: 6-foot-4 | U18 ASVEL | Wing | Age: 15 
Malwaya looked aggressive and showcased his athleticism. While most of his damage was done near the basket by either driving, slashing, or rebounding the ball, I&rsquo;m glad he took the open threes! He didn&rsquo;t make much out of it (1-for-7 from distance), but he will need to become comfortable with these shots if he wants to get close to his potential.
Malwaya's defensive presence and efforts were outstanding, too, and he had some great sequences on the ball. As one of the youngest players on the court, I look forward to watching him next year with more offensive responsibilities. He averaged 11.7 points and 5.3 rebounds in 25 minutes during the tournament.
Zaccharie Risacher: 6-foot-8 | U18 ASVEL | Forward | Age: 16 
Risacher continues to impress me with his all-around effort, and his ability to stay close to the action. He is a true modern forward who can stretch the floor with confidence. He averaged 12.0 points and 4.0 rebrounds during the tournament. He did an excellent job behind the three-point line, shooting 4-for-6 in his two games.
What's more impressive with Risacher is his ability to get into the game "ready." His IQ allows him to put forth a high level of productivity and impact the game on both sides of the court. He is already a good positional defender, and he has a good feel for the game, allowing him to defend all positions on the court. I&rsquo;m still hoping that he will develop some kind of go-to move to create for his teammates.
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James Nnaji: 6-foot-10 | U18 FC Barcelona | Center | Age: 16 
Nnaji is improving! We know about his freakish athleticism and his strength, but he is adding a touch around the rim that allows him to finish without dunking everything. I&rsquo;ve kept a close eye on him, and was happy to witness his progression offensively. He still doesn&rsquo;t look to score outside the paint, and at this moment, he wouldn&rsquo;t win a free-throw competition against Shaq. But if he can develop a short hook shot and learn to pivot on both shoulders, it will do the trick at a high level.
It&rsquo;s rare to see a one-dimensional player with such an interesting ceiling. He did a great job rebounding everything on both sides of the court, and his ability to cover ground defensively and get off his feet was remarkable. If you think about it, Nnaji is the reason why bigs love to stretch the floor, because sometimes it&rsquo;s just too physical down there for them to handle. He averaged 14.3 points, 9.3 rebounds and 4.3 blocks in the tournament. Nnaji's next levels of development are improving his free throws and continuing to better his touch around the rim.
Paulius Murauskas: 6-foot-8 | U18 Zalgiris Kaunas | Forward | Age: 17 
Coming off a minor knee injury, there were some questions if Murauskas was going to be ready for ANGT. He played for a limited time, and couldn&rsquo;t find his rhythm. &nbsp;As one of the top players in the 2004 generation, it was not easy for him to assume the offensive load needed for Zalgiris to win games, and they lost all three contests. He started well by scoring 7 points in the first quarter vs U18 Real Madrid, but finished with 9 points and 5 rebounds in 20 minutes. &nbsp;
All through the tournament, he looked out of sync with the rest of his team, and with his lack of conditioning, he wasn&rsquo;t able to create or make his shots. I could see the disappointment on his face, and as the losses piled up, he started to isolate himself from the rest of the group. Murauskas gave his best efforts against ASVEL, and even if he could have done more, you can see that once he&rsquo;s locked in it&rsquo;s pretty difficult to stop him (27 points and 6 rebounds in that game).
I&rsquo;ll be watching his development closely, and how he is going to bounce back from Valencia. With a player of that level, you might wonder what his transition will be within the next two years, as he needs to step into a program where he can play relevant minutes while facing adequate competition. Murauskas averaged 16.3 points and 4.7 rebounds in 24 minutes, making 4 of 15 shots from three.

Jacques Vandescure analyzes the 2021 ANGT Final Four in Valencia, the majority of U18 Real Madrid's team and other players that stood out.

Adidas Next Generation Tournament Final 4: Players that stood out in Valencia

Pau Gasol aims to help FC Barcelona capture its 19th domestic title and third of his own. His return in February receiving an enthusiastic response from the fans has been followed by strong outings all the way up to the best-of-three series determining the Spanish league champion. &ldquo;This can be my last game,&rdquo; he admitted in the buildup to Finals Game 2 planned to be held Tuesday evening at Barca&rsquo;s home court, &ldquo;I have been thinking for years that my last game could have been a long time ago due to the injuries. These thoughts have crossed my mind.&rdquo;
Source: <a href="https://www.eurohoops.net/en/acb/1218305/pau-gasol-previews-acb-finals-game-2-potentially-last-game-with-barcelona/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">EuroHoops.net</a>
ANALYSIS: Gasol, who has been out of the NBA since the 2018-19 season, has had an illustrious, 18-year career in the league, and is a sure bet to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame at some point in the near future. If the big man out of Spain does indeed call it a career following this season with Barcelona, he will end with NBA averages of 17.0 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game.&nbsp;

Pau Gasol has hinted at retirement, saying this upcoming championship game for Barcelona could be his 'last'.

Pau Gasol on Barcelona's upcoming Finals Game: 'This can be my last game'

Marv Albert is retiring after the NBA's Eastern Conference finals, ending a broadcasting career spanning nearly 60 years.
Albert will call the series for TNT. He has been with Turner Sports for 22 years, 19 as an NBA play-by-play announcer.
Albert, known for his signature &ldquo;Yes!&rdquo; call, turns 80 next month. He has covered everything from football and boxing to hockey, baseball and tennis.
But he is linked most to basketball, having called 13 NBA Finals and 25 All-Star Games for NBC and Turner, along with the Dream Team's romp to the gold medal in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
&ldquo;There is no voice more closely associated with NBA basketball than Marv Albert&rsquo;s,&rdquo; NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement released Monday by Turner Sports.
Albert began his Hall of Fame career in 1963 in radio, becoming the voice of the New York Rangers in 1965 and the Knicks two years later. He began doing Knicks games on TV for MSG Network in 1986.
Albert also called eight Super Bowls and eight Stanley Cup Finals.
&ldquo;My 55 years of broadcasting the NBA has just flown by and I&rsquo;ve been fortunate to work with so many wonderful and talented people," Albert said. &ldquo;Now, I&rsquo;ll have the opportunity to hone my gardening skills and work on my ballroom dancing.&rdquo;

Marv Albert is retiring after the NBA's Eastern Conference Finals, ending a broadcasting career spanning nearly 60 years.

Yes! Hall-of-Fame broadcaster Marv Albert retiring after NBA East Finals

The Minnesota Timberwolves plan to add 2020 first round draft pick Leandro Bolmaro to the roster next season, per President of Basketball Operations, Gersson Rosas.
Source: <a href="https://www.eurohoops.net/en/nba-news/1201674/timberwolves-adding-leandro-bolmaro-next-season/">KFAN Sports Radio via Eurohoops.net</a>
ANALYSIS:&nbsp;Bolmaro was acquired by the Wolves via a draft night trade with the New York Knicks, and was selected 23rd overall in the first round. The 20-year-old currently plays 8.4 minutes per game with EuroLeague stronghold FC Barcelona.&nbsp;

Bolmaro currently plays overseas for EuroLeague club FC Barcelona.

Timberwolves 2020 draft pick Leandro Bolmaro to join team next season

Before we know it, the 2021 NBA Draft will be upon us, and it&rsquo;ll be even more of a crapshoot than the last one because NBA scouts have been unable to attend most college games or travel overseas to look at international prospects.
Veteran scouts used to working in packed gyms and arenas are instead poring over grainy game film from overseas and DVR&rsquo;d recordings of college games in order to get the best info they can on the players who will be available on July 29 &ndash; exactly three months from today.
With the 2020-21 NBA season winding down, this is a good time to look back at the 2020 draft and see how each of the first-round picks have panned out.
<ol>
<li>Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves: Either Edwards or LaMelo Ball will win Rookie of the Year, and Edwards probably wouldn&rsquo;t even be in the conversation if Ball had not gone down with an injury. The 19-year-old has increased his field goal percentage and three-point percentages over the course of the month of April, but his scoring has dipped from 24.2 points per game in March to 21.3 in April. His team has won five of seven, including two against the league-leading Jazz. He leads all rookies with 142 threes. (<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/revisiting-the-2020-nba-draft-how-are-firstround-picks-doing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Our Spencer Davies believes Edwards deserves ROY</a>). </li>
<li>James Wiseman, Golden State Warriors: He is out for the season after he had surgery to fix a meniscus injury in his right knee. The recovery time will be months rather than weeks. Wiseman averaged 11.5 points and 5.8 rebounds and showed flashes during his first season. The Dubs will be able to pair him with another top young prospect if Minnesota&rsquo;s pick falls outside of the top three. Golden State acquired it in the D&rsquo;Angelo Russell-Andrew Wiggins trade. It is unprotected the following season. </li>
<li>LaMelo Ball, Charlotte Hornets: He has not played in five weeks, but he is expected back any day after recovering from a broken wrist. He will have only a few days to re-acclimate himself with his teammates, including Malik Monk, whose return from a sprained ankle will coincide with Ball&rsquo;s. The rookie is averaging 15.9 points, 6.1 assists and 5.9 rebounds in just 28.6 minutes per game. </li>
<li>Patrick Williams, Chicago Bulls: He has started all 61 games he has appeared in, but he&rsquo;s averaging only 9.1 points and 4.6 rebounds and has eclipsed the 20-point mark only twice all season. He has reached double figures in points in only one of the Bulls&rsquo; last 11 games, but let&rsquo;s not forget he is only 19 years old &ndash; same as Edwards and Ball. Some 19-year-olds adapt quicker than others. </li>
<li>Isaac Okoro, Cleveland Cavaliers: He has started all 57 games he has played in, but the 20-year-old&rsquo;s numbers are quite pedestrian: 8.5 points, 42.2% from the field, 28.9% from three-point range, 2.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists. He had a season-high 20 points against Toronto on Monday, but went 1-for-8 on threes. He leads all rookies in minutes (31.8). </li>
<li>Onyeka Okongwu, Atlanta Hawks: He was never going to get a ton of run on a roster that already included Clint Capela and John Collins, and he is logging only 11.3 minutes per game. He has reached double figures in points three times and in rebounds once in 41 games. </li>
<li>Killian Hayes, Detroit Pistons: The French-American teenager has been getting consistent minutes this month after recovering from a hip injury (torn labrum) that sidelined him for three months. He has shown a knack for getting steals, but needs to learn how to draw fouls and get to the free throw line. He is 7-for-7 from the line in 10 games this month. </li>
<li>Obi Toppin, New York Knicks: He has appeared in 53 games without a single start and has scored in double figures only three times. But he plays for a coach, Tom Thibodeau, who brings rookies along slowly, and he has shot below 50% in only four of 15 games this month. </li>
<li>Deni Avdija, Washington Wizards: The rookie from Israel is out for the season with a hairline fracture in his ankle after starting 32 of his 54 games. He had been unspectacular, averaging only 6.3 points and making 53 three-pointers. </li>
<li>Jalen Smith, Phoenix Suns: He was sent down to the G-League in February, and he has seen mostly garbage time minutes in his 22 appearances. He&rsquo;s averaging 1.1 points, and he has attempted only three free throws all season (making one). </li>
<li>Devin Vassell, San Antonio Spurs: He has made two starts in 51 appearances and has shown some flashes, but he needs to become more consistent. He has seven double-figure scoring nights, two of which have come in the Spurs&rsquo; past six games. </li>
<li>Tyrese Haliburton, Sacramento Kings: Right now, he has to go down as the steal of the lottery and he&rsquo;s almost certain to finish third in Rookie of the Year voting behind Ball and Edwards. He&rsquo;s averaging 12.8 points and 5.3 assists with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.44, ninth-best in the NBA. In 18 games as a starter, he's averaging 14.6 points, 5.8 assists and 1.1 steals. </li>
<li>Kira Lewis, Jr., New Orleans Pelicans: The 20-year-old backs up Lonzo Ball and plays 16.5 minutes per night. He is steady but has had limited opportunities, having gone for 20 points one time. He ranks 12th among rookies in assists with 2.3 per game. </li>
<li>Aaron Nesmith, Boston Celtics: He had his best game of the season on Wednesday in a victory over Charlotte with 15 points, nine rebounds, three steals and three blocks. It was only his fourth double-figure scoring game of the season. He became <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-news-aaron-nesmith-is-first-boston-celtics-rookie-with-15-points-3-steals-and-blocks-since-paul-pierce">the first Celtics rookie to record a 15-3-3 game since Paul Pierce</a> did it in 1998-99. </li>
<li>Cole Anthony, Orlando Magic: He&rsquo;s experiencing trial by fire after the early-season injury to Markelle Fultz, and has improved every month. He is currently on a run of 10 consecutive double-figure scoring games and ranks fourth among rookies in scoring (12.0), third in assists (4.4) and fourth in free throw percentage (81.3%). </li>
<li>Isaiah Stewart, Detroit Pistons: He leads all rookies in rebounds (6.6), field goal percentage (57.4) and blocks (1.15) despite playing only 20.4 minutes per game. A very solid building block for Troy Weaver. </li>
<li>Aleksej Pokusevski, Oklahoma City Thunder: The 19-year-old is second among rookies in blocks per game (1.1) and is getting a lot of run on Sam Presti&rsquo;s rebuilding project, logging 25-plus minutes in 20 of the past 22 games. He&rsquo;s sixth among rookies in rebounding (4.6). </li>
<li>Josh Green, Dallas Mavericks: The Aussie shooting guard gets a little bit of run here and there, but his season-high is 8 points. He&rsquo;s only playing 10.3 minutes per game, but he has started in five games. </li>
<li>Saddiq Bey, Detroit Pistons: He&rsquo;s second among rookies in made three-pointers (139), seventh in scoring (11.3), seventh in three-point percentage (37.7%), second in free throw percentage (87.1%), 12th in rebounding (4.2) and ninth in minutes played (25.8). He might be Detroit&rsquo;s best rookie. </li>
<li>Precious Achiuwa, Miami Heat: He has appeared in 55 games and does not appear among the rookie league leaders in any category except rebounding, where he is 16th with 3.6 boards per game. He&rsquo;s only playing 12.4 minutes per game. </li>
<li>Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia 76ers: Maxey is a very solid player who caught everyone&rsquo;s attention on Jan. 9 when he dropped 39 points on Denver, which got Rafael Stone of Houston quite interested and may have kept James Harden from becoming a member of the Sixers. He has made 10 of his last 11 shots in the past two games. He&rsquo;s eighth among rookies in field goal percentage (46.1%). </li>
<li>Zeke Nnaji, Denver Nuggets: He cracked the rotation in February and March, but he hasn&rsquo;t played as much recently on a veteran-laden Nuggets team. He has scored just five points this month. In February, he averaged 5.9 points and 1.3 threes while shooting 46.7% from three. </li>
<li>Leandro Bolmaro, Minnesota Timberwolves: He&rsquo;s having a strong season in the ACB for FC Barcelona, where he is teammates with Pau Gasol and Nikola Mirotic. His coach is Sarunas Jasikevicius. Heck of a draft-and-stash. </li>
<li>R.J. Hampton, Denver Nuggets: He was dealt to Orlando as part of the Aaron Gordon trade, and let&rsquo;s just say he was winning a lot more in Denver. He is playing 23 minutes per night with the Magic and has made one start. With the Magic, he's averaging 8.6 points and 4.0 rebounds in 23.0 minutes. </li>
<li>Immanuel Quickley, New York Knicks: He has captured the imagination of Knicks fans, is fifth among rookies in scoring (11.7) and leads all rookies in free throw percentage (89.5%). He is also fifth among rookies in three-point percentage (38.7%). </li>
<li>Payton Pritchard, Boston Celtics: He has been much more productive than Nesmith. He has appeared in 57 of 63 games, is second among rookies in three-point percentage (41.6%, trailing only Desmond Bane) and he has only missed four free throws all season (in 41 attempts). </li>
<li>Udoka Azubuike, Utah Jazz: He has appeared in only 12 games and has a season-high of 4 points. Rudy Gobert is sort of in his way. </li>
<li>Jaden McDaniels, Minnesota Timberwolves: One of the few people who can say &ldquo;I beat the Jazz twice this season,&rdquo; McDaniels is 20th in scoring (6.8), 15th in rebounding (3.7), third in blocks (0.96) and 10th in three-point percentage (36.6%) among rookies. </li>
<li>Malachi Flynn, Toronto Raptors: One of the league&rsquo;s older rooks (22), he has been tutored by Kyle Lowry and has seen his role increase significantly this month as the team from Tampa plays out the string. He&rsquo;s shooting over 40 percent on threes in April, while taking a bunch of them. </li>
<li>Desmond Bane, Memphis Grizzlies: He leads all rookies in three-point percentage (45.5%), and he is 10th in scoring (9.1) and sixth in field goal percentage (47.1%). He averages 22 minutes for a team that has eight players averaging in double figures.</li>
</ol>
With the condensed schedule, limited practice time and COVID protocols, this season has not been easy for these rookies. Let&rsquo;s hope their sophomore campaign isn&rsquo;t as strange or difficult.

As the 2020 NBA Playoffs approach, some rookies are separating themselves from the pack, writes Chris Sheridan.

Revisiting the 2020 NBA Draft: How are the first-round picks doing?

Kevin Durant went down with another injury last night, a thigh contusion, just a couple days after LaMarcus Aldridge was forced into retirement due to an irregular heartbeat. After weighing their options, the Brooklyn Nets decided to sign an overseas player, Mike James, to address their depth. James spent part of this season with CSKA Moscow, but he was recently released after clashing with his coach.
Over the next few weeks, don&rsquo;t be surprised if more NBA teams look to sign overseas players who are suddenly available after wrapping up their campaign abroad.&nbsp;
A bunch of American players who had been playing in China are now available, and a few more will become available once their teams are eliminated from the Chinese Basketball Association playoffs. Other Americans are playing in Europe and could become available just before the NBA postseason begins, if their contract allows for it.
Teams in the Western Conference now have to find ways to defeat a Los Angeles Lakers team that has added Andre Drummond. They also need to compete with a Utah Jazz team that has the league&rsquo;s best overall record (42-16), best home record (42-3) and best point differential (+9.1), as Donovan Mitchell has become the second-leading scorer in the NBA since the All-Star break (29.6 points per game, behind only Stephen Curry at 34.4). The Jazz are the only team in the NBA to rank among the top-five in both offensive rating (116.7, fourth) and defensive rating (107.8, fourth).
So, who is available?
Let&rsquo;s start with China, where the CBA playoffs resumed Monday with six teams remaining. Dominique Jones led the CBA in scoring this season with an average of 38.0 points per game for the Jilin Northeast Tigers, who were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. Another American whose season has already ended is Trae Golden of the Fujian Sturgeons (30.4 PPG).
MarShon Brooks (Guangdong Southern Tigers), Lester Hudson and Manny Harris (Shandong Heroes), O.J. Mayo (Liaoning Flying Leopards), and Darius Adams and Dakari Johnson (Qingdao Eagles) remain alive in the postseason, but they will be available whenever their season concludes.
All of the aforementioned players have NBA experience, and it will come down to which holes need to be plugged on a team-by-team basis as the final month of the NBA season winds down and postseason planning reaches its final stages.
The leading rebounder in China was Donatas Motiejunas from Lithuania (13.7 RPG), whose Xinjiang Fighting Tigers were eliminated from the playoffs Sunday by Shandong. Hamed Haddadi of the Sichuan Blue Whales, who finished second in the CBA in rebounding (13.5 RPG), is also available if visa issues do not exist.
Will visa issues be problematic for these overseas players?
&ldquo;If a player has visa issues, we do try to help them if one of our teams wants to sign them,&rdquo; NBA spokesman Tim Frank said.&nbsp;&rdquo;But we can&rsquo;t speak to any specific individuals, as we certainly haven&rsquo;t studied them nor would we speak about any person&rsquo;s visa status, generally speaking.&rdquo;
In Europe, the Euroleague playoffs begin this week with recently unretired Pau Gasol having joined FC Barcelona, which finished the regular season tied for first place with CSKA Moscow, who lost their leading scorer (Mike James).&nbsp;
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Titula la foto 😜 <a href="https://t.co/6wUUafsAdT">pic.twitter.com/6wUUafsAdT</a>
&mdash; Pau Gasol (@paugasol) <a href="https://twitter.com/paugasol/status/1383844239105089538?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 18, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Jordan Loyd (Red Star Belgrade) and Scottie Wilbekin (Maccabi Tel Aviv) did not make the Euroleague playoffs but will continue domestic league play. Meanwhile, Wade Baldwin and Jalen Reynolds (Bayern Munich), Shane Larkin (Anadolu Efes Istanbul), Cory Higgins and Nikola Mirotic (Barcelona) will be competing in the Euroleague postseason.
&ldquo;Mirotic has a contract that requires him to compete in the Euroleague playoffs and Spanish league playoffs, so in his case he will be unavailable,&rdquo; said former NBA player Bostjan Nachbar, who now runs the Euroleague Players&rsquo; Association. &ldquo;It is a case-by-case, contract-by-contract thing, but for all of the main guys on big teams here, it does not make much sense [to leave].&rdquo;
Nachbar, speaking via WhatsApp from Barcelona, pointed to Mike James as a case study of someone who can sign with an NBA team. James was having issues with the coach of CSKA Moscow, Dimitrios Itoudis, and was let out of his contract. Now, <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/pacers/news/the-brooklyn-nets-will-sign-mike-james-according-to-chema-de-lucas">he will be signing with Brooklyn</a>.
Kyle O'Quinn (Fenerbahce) received some interest from the Toronto Raptors and Dallas Mavericks among other teams last offseason, but he signed in Turkey after he wasn't able to reach a deal with an NBA squad. This season, he's averaging 11.9 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.1 blocks, and he'll be eligible to sign with an NBA team that needs frontcourt depth once Fenerbahce's campaign concludes.&nbsp;
Reynolds is the Euroleague&rsquo;s fifth-leading rebounder (5.8 RPG in 34 games), while Nikola Milutinovic of CSKA Moscow is first with 8.5 rebounds per game (and 14.5 rebounds per 40 minutes). The leading three-point shooter in the Euroleague is Kyle Kuric of Slovakia. He plays for Barcelona and is shooting a ridiculous 58.6% from deep, while also leading all players in threes per game (3.1). Loyd, Baldwin and Wilbekin are all in the top-10 in fouls drawn.
As the Nets look to bolster their roster for the playoffs, could they add another overseas player?
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll do our due diligence as always and keep grinding away,&rdquo; general manager Sean Marks said last week prior to Durant&rsquo;s latest injury. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll look at what we got. I think with certain guys coming back this week and working themselves back into the rotation and playing more minutes, I don&rsquo;t think we want to jump to any conclusions on what we might need or what we might be missing. We&rsquo;ll look at every alternative and everybody out there. Obviously, losing a player like LaMarcus is without a doubt a blow to us. It&rsquo;s about us being flexible and it&rsquo;s a great opportunity for somebody else -- a group or a person -- to step up and take advantage of this opportunity.&rdquo;
Remember, what a team&lsquo;s roster looks like now and what it looks like when playoff rosters are set could be very different. A lot of basketball remains to be played worldwide, and every team is just one injury away from needing an extra body from overseas.

As NBA teams look to bolster their roster, they could turn to unrestricted free agents who recently finished playing abroad.

Which overseas players could be free-agent targets for NBA teams?

Pau Gasol, the 20-year veteran big man out of Spain, has announced that he will return to Spain and play for Barcelona for the upcoming season. Gasol had shown interest in making an NBA comeback following an injury riddled year with the Portland Trail Blazers back in 2019, but given his age and injury history, no team extended an offer to the future hall-of-famer.
Gasol will now return to the place where he started his professional basketball career as a young teenager.
Here is Gasol's statement on it:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Very happy to come back home.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ For&ccedil;a Bar&ccedil;a! 🔵🔴 <a href="https://t.co/6CewIY2Bil">pic.twitter.com/6CewIY2Bil</a>
&mdash; Pau Gasol (@paugasol) <a href="https://twitter.com/paugasol/status/1364248862249152513?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Pau Gasol announced that he has signed to play for Barcelona in Spain.

Pau Gasol signs with Barcelona in Spain

&ldquo;The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.&rdquo;
- Mark Twain (<a href="https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/562400/reports-mark-twains-quote-about-mark-twains-death-are-greatly-exaggerated" target="_blank" rel="noopener">but not really</a>)
- Kim Jong Un
- The Toronto Raptors
Fresh off their first NBA title in franchise history, the Raptors lost their best player, Kawhi Leonard, to the Los Angeles Clippers. The natural thought was that the Raptors would fall off a bit; the more extreme conclusion was that -- with no clear path to contention and a roster headlined by a great-but-aging Kyle Lowry -- Masai Ujiri would sell veterans and opt for a soft reset.
So of course, the Raptors ran it back sans Kawhi and posted the second-best record in the NBA.&nbsp;
Lowry put together an All-NBA caliber season; Pascal Siakam fared well in his first year as No. 1 option, making his first All-Star and All-NBA team. Key role players like OG Anunoby and Norman Powell were given more responsibility and thrived. The Raptors&rsquo; lack of an elite half-court creator eventually bit them in the postseason, but not before a yearlong we-ain&rsquo;t-dead-yet campaign shut up some of their loudest critics.
Now, the fun part begins.
The Raptors are entering the offseason with three of their core pieces hitting the market. There&rsquo;s no real avenue to cap space regardless of what they decide in terms of renouncements; it also wouldn&rsquo;t make sense to go that route anyway. The Raptors will operate as an over-the-cap team and have a non-taxpayer mid-level exception (worth over $9 million) at their disposal. They&rsquo;ll obviously look to improve, but will walk the tightrope between adding talent and keeping cap space open for the offseason of 2021 in their pursuit of Giannis Antetokounmpo. The always-informative Keith Smith has a more thorough breakdown of their cap situation, which you can find <a href="https://www.slamonline.com/nba/toronto-raptors-salary-cap-space-2020/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.&nbsp;
Let&rsquo;s take a look at some guys they&rsquo;ll look to bring back as well as some targets that could help them come back stronger than ever.
Key In-House Decisions
Fred VanVleet: Bring Him Back
This will probably be the most interesting negotiation of the offseason. In a vacuum, bringing back VanVleet is a no brainer. He&rsquo;s already one of the better point guards in the NBA, an elite defender, good shooter and a fearless enough attacker to make hay as a secondary creator. That, combined with his age, makes him a prime candidate to get the bag. The issue is that there will be plenty of suitors willing to drive up the price, and that could conflict with the Raptors&rsquo; chase for Giannis next year. Still, VanVleet is good enough to where you do what you can to keep him, and make moves next offseason to clear space if it comes down to it.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/usatsi_13745643-1_lg.jpg" alt="" width="860" height="AUTO" />
Serge Ibaka: Bring Him Back
Ibaka is quietly coming off of, at least statistically, his best season as a Raptor. He&rsquo;s settled in as a reliable pick-and-pop threat out to three-point range; he knocked down 38.5 percent of his triples this season, which isn&rsquo;t too far off from his career high (39.1 in 2016-17). The block numbers are down, but he remains a legitimate rim deterrent. A one-year balloon deal should be in order to keep this partnership going.
Marc Gasol*: Bring Him Back&nbsp;
Injuries and aging made Gasol look like a shell of himself last year. He really struggles to move laterally at this stage of his career, especially tough considering mobility has never been a strong suit of his. It could be annoying (putting it kindly) to watch Gasol pass up open shots, partly contributing to the Raptors&rsquo; half-court struggles.
Even with those limitations, Gasol is staunch around the rim. Despite passing up shots, he still drilled over 38 percent of his threes on nearly 3.5 attempts. His high-post passing helps open things up in the half-court. There&rsquo;s still utility for Gasol, even if his role should be a bit limited moving forward.
Of course, none of this matters if Gasol decides to head home to Barcelona to cap off his basketball career, which has been reported, though disputed at this point. If Gasol is game to stay in the NBA, the Raptors should bring him back at a reasonable number.
Free Agent Guards 
Mid-Tier Options: Jordan Clarkson
Clarkson is coming off of, by far, the most efficient season of his career. He gave the Jazz a much-needed scoring punch once he arrived, averaging 15.6 points with a 56.9 True Shooting percentage during the regular season. Both of those marks increased (16.7, 57.7) during Utah&rsquo;s first-round showdown with the Denver Nuggets.&nbsp;
Him trading out some of his frustrating long-twos for threes made him a more efficient option. He&rsquo;s an underwhelming defender to be kind about it, but the Raptors have the personnel to mask some of his limitations. This would mostly serve as the &ldquo;VanVleet got the bag elsewhere&rdquo; option, but there&rsquo;s a case to be made for bringing him in anyway to further strengthen the bench.
Bargains: D.J. Augustin
Augustin can fill the table-setter role while occasionally showcasing some underrated pick-and-roll craft. There&rsquo;s also a natural fit with him alongside the north-south dynamism of Powell; Augustin is a career 37.9 percent three-point shooter.
Free Agent Wings 
Mid-Tier Options: Justin Holiday
Holiday is more 3-and-Decent than 3-and-D, but he&rsquo;s coming off of the best shooting season of his career (40.5 percent from three-point range on 4.5 attempts) while being a credible option against 2s and 3s. He&rsquo;d be a natural fit for the Raptors&rsquo; transition attack. His off-ball randomness -- his ability to relocate around the perimeter or catch ball-watching defenders off guard with hard cuts -- also fits well within the motion ethos Toronto has in the half-court.
Bargains: Kent Bazemore
The idea of Bazemore -- an athletic, 3-and-D wing that can defend 1-through-3 -- is probably a little better than the reality. Still, he can knock down open shots, is an active mover off the ball, and competes defensively against both wing positions.&nbsp;
Free Agent Forwards 
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Mid-Tier Options: Danilo Gallinari&nbsp;
If Gallinari is serious about going the &ldquo;winning &gt; pay day&rdquo; route, the Raptors would be a pretty fun landing spot for him. He would immediately boost their shooting and half-court shot creation. He can get to the rack -- and the free-throw line -- on his own, but be able to play off of the dribble penetration of Lowry, Siakam and others would make life a lot easier for him. He&rsquo;s a fine defender, though there&rsquo;s enough excellence around him to cover for the limitations he does have.
Bargains: Patrick Patterson, Bruno Caboclo, Lance Thomas
LOL, just kidding on that first one. 
Caboclo is toolsy, has flashed a jumper and has some ball skills that make him a potential weapon against sloppy close-outs. The Raptors are obviously familiar with his upside since they were the ones that drafted him. His 2018-19 stint in Memphis (8.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.0 blocks in 23 minutes) should be enough evidence to take a flier at the vet minimum; heck, him not being Stanley Johnson should be enough of an argument, honestly.
Thomas has flown under the radar for years as a sneaky-solid forward defender that can knock down open threes. He&rsquo;s converted 38.5 percent of his triples over the past five seasons, though that comes on limited volume. He&rsquo;d be a solid get as a ninth man to get you through the regular season.
Free Agent Bigs
Mid-Tier Options: Aron Baynes
Factoring in money, it&rsquo;s hard to argue against Baynes being one of the most valuable centers in basketball last season. He did the usual grunt work: setting bone-crushing screens as a roller or handoff partner, protected the rim with superb positioning and boxed out well enough to help end possessions or grab the board himself. The new, somewhat surprising twist is that he became a legitimate three-point option (35.1 percent on 4.0 attempts per game).&nbsp;
Baynes doesn&rsquo;t bring the passing or the defensive know-how that Gasol does, but he&rsquo;d be a seamless fit as a big that could spring Lowry (or VanVleet) open with spine-busting picks. He was a more willing shooter than Gasol last year, and he has the brawn to approximate most of the value Gasol brings as a low-post defender.&nbsp;
Bargains: Harry Giles
Giles has a bit of an injury history, dating back to his high-school days. Multiple lower-body injuries have sapped some of his athleticism, and he&rsquo;s still a fluid, jumpy big who can feast in transition. The intrigue lies in his on-ball skill; he&rsquo;s quietly one of the better passing big men in the league already. There&rsquo;s some serious &ldquo;throw-it-to-him-in-the-high-post-and-let-him-do-stuff&rdquo; potential waiting to be untapped. This kind of bet is right in the Raptors&rsquo; wheelhouse.&nbsp;

Nekias Duncan breaks down the Raptors' own free-agent decisions and suggests some players that Toronto should target at each position.

2020 Free Agency Preview: Toronto Raptors

French big man Kevin Seraphin announced in an interview with FIRST TEAM that he&rsquo;s retiring from professional basketball at the age of 30. Seraphin, the 17th pick of the 2010 NBA Draft, played seven years in the NBA with Washington, New York and Indiana. After leaving the NBA in 2017, he returned to Europe to spend the following two seasons in the EuroLeague and Liga ACB with FC Barcelona. 
Source: <a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://sportando.basketball/en/kevin-seraphin-retires-from-basketball-at-age-30/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sportando</a>
ANALYSIS: Kevin Seraphin last played in the NBA during the 2016-17 season with the Indiana Pacers in a limited role off the bench. The French big man was dealing with multiple knee injuries during the 2019-20 season in Europe and ultimately decided to retire. Seraphin spent the majority of his time in the league with the Wizards and will end his NBA career with averages of 5.9 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.&nbsp;
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French big man Kevin Seraphin has announced his retirement from the NBA after 7 seasons with 3 different teams.