Harriers

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry has been named the 2022-23 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion, the NBA announced today.
Curry was selected from a group of <a href="https://www.nba.com/news/2023-kareem-abdul-jabbar-finalists-revealed" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nba.com/news/2023-kareem-abdul-jabbar-finalists-revealed&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1684950559417000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0yR7wPqL_AlyY9Kx217W6h">five finalists</a>&nbsp;for his dedication to pursuing social justice and advancing Abdul-Jabbar&rsquo;s life mission to engage, empower and drive equality for individuals and groups who have been historically marginalized or systemically disadvantaged.
Curry prioritizes uplifting communities by fostering equity and creating access to opportunity. As a co-chair of former First Lady Michelle Obama&rsquo;s &ldquo;When We All Vote&rdquo; initiative, Curry uses his platform to drive voter registration, education and turnout, most recently during the 2022 election season. His role encouraged millions of new voters to participate in the political process and make their voices heard through civic engagement. As part of his ongoing voting-related efforts, Curry participated in the National Basketball Social Justice Coalition&rsquo;s &ldquo;Freedom to Vote&rdquo; <a href="https://twitter.com/representus/status/1470182428547244034?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/representus/status/1470182428547244034?s%3D20&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1684950559417000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2xr1diKYJYDyNGBlgPRMQb">social-media campaign</a>&nbsp;to help advocate for the passage of the&nbsp;Freedom to Vote Act in the U.S. Senate. Curry is also committed to raising awareness around issues of community safety, utilizing the Warriors&rsquo; 2023 White House visit to engage directly with President Biden and participate in a White House press briefing with head coach Steve Kerr to publicly address the matter.
Much of Curry&rsquo;s work also focuses on supporting underrepresented groups and reducing barriers to opportunity. In 2022, he graduated from Davidson College and wrote his final thesis on gender equity in sports, an issue that anchors his progressive and innovative ventures across the consumer, entertainment and non-profit spaces. Through UNDERRATED, Curry&rsquo;s lifestyle brand that empowers underrated and underrepresented individuals by opening doors for often-overlooked student-athletes, he creates equity, access and opportunity for basketball and golf athletes around the world to be seen by college recruiters, sports agents and other industry leaders. UNDERRATED has also enabled female athletes to access the same opportunities as their male counterparts, provided scholarships for athletes and offered personal development programming for young people. Among these efforts, Curry committed $6 million in funding to the men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s golf team at Howard University, which hadn&rsquo;t been active for 50 years.
Unanimous Media, Curry&rsquo;s multimedia company rooted in the mission to inspire audiences through authentic storytelling, is dedicated to collaborating with underrepresented filmmakers, creators and writers across the entertainment industry.
Through Eat. Learn. Play., Curry&rsquo;s nonprofit co-founded with his wife Ayesha, Curry works to ensure every child in Oakland has access to nutritious food they need to be healthy and thrive, resources to foster a love for learning and reading, and safe places with equitable opportunities to play. With a mission to address and overcome the systemic socio-economic barriers facing underserved communities, Eat. Learn. Play. and its partners continue making a positive impact in the lives of children and families in need. Over the last year, Eat. Learn. Play. has provided over two million meals and 500,000 books to Oakland students, funded over 1,500 teacher-led classroom literacy projects, remodeled four new playspaces complete with multi-sport courts, playgrounds, gardens and murals, and more.
Curry has selected University of San Francisco Institute for Nonviolence and Social Justice, which investigates, illuminates, and advances the theory and practice of transformational nonviolence to confront and overcome injustice and systemic violence and contribute to the just resolution of communal conflict, to receive a $100,000 contribution from the NBA on his behalf.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m passionate about the work of the University of San Francisco Institute for Nonviolence and Social Justice and its commitment to overcoming injustice and systemic violence through peace,&rdquo; said Curry.&nbsp; &ldquo;As an athlete, I consistently leverage my platform to amplify advocacy and address the pervasive issue of systemic racism. I firmly believe that we must be vocal both on social media and in real life, taking tangible actions to effect real change in our society and for generations to come. Together, with the organization's co-founder and director, Dr. Clarence B. Jones, we have initiated meaningful conversations around social justice with the school's student body, doubled the charity&rsquo;s donations through my foundation Eat. Learn. Play.'s gift matching initiatives, and continued building on its mission in my personal and professional life by holding people accountable and promoting the principles of justice, fairness and equality today, tomorrow and in the future.&rdquo;
The four other finalists &ndash; Memphis Grizzlies forward-center Jaren Jackson Jr., San Antonio Spurs guard Tre Jones, Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul and Boston Celtics forward Grant Williams &ndash; will each receive $25,000 donations from the NBA to the following social justice organizations of their choosing: VisionC (Williams), The Girls Opportunity Alliance/The Obama Foundation (Jackson), Children's Bereavement Center of South Texas (Jones) and the Social Change Fund United (Paul).
The winner of the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion award was determined by a selection committee comprised of Abdul-Jabbar and notable social justice leaders Director of The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport Dr. Richard Lapchick, National Urban League President and CEO Marc Morial, UnidosUS President and CEO Janet Murgu&iacute;a, Rise Founder and CEO Amanda Nguyen and NBA Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer Mark Tatum. This year&rsquo;s youth representative and Jr. NBA Court of Leaders member was Leah Harmon.&nbsp;

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry has been named the 2022-23 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion.

Stephen Curry named Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion

CHICAGO (AP) &mdash; Caris LeVert scored 23 points, Kevin Love added 20 points and nine rebounds and the Cleveland Cavaliers ended a three-game skid with a 103-102 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night.
DeMar DeRozan had 21 points and Ayo Dosunmu added 19 for Chicago, which had won two straight.
Cleveland led 84-77 after three quarters and never trailed in the second half but didn&rsquo;t shake the Bulls until the final minute. The Cavs led 103-96 after LeVert&rsquo;s jumper with 2 minutes left, but Chicago made four free throws to close in.
DeRozan made it a one-point game after a driving layup with 29 seconds to play and Chicago had a shot at a winning basket after forcing a shot-clock violation with 4.8 to go. Cleveland, the NBA&rsquo;s stingiest scoring defense, forced DeRozan into an off-balance shot as time expired.
Chicago managed just one field goal in the final five minutes.
The Cavaliers also got 15 points from Donovan Mitchell in the opener of a home-and-home series. The teams meet again Monday in Cleveland.
Chicago&rsquo;s Zach LaVine had 15 points on 6-for-16 shooting, a night after scoring a season-best 43 in a win over Detroit.
Nikola Vucevic added 11 points and 14 rebounds.
TIP-INS
Cavaliers: All-Star guard Darius Garland missed the game after sprained his thumb in Thursday&rsquo;s loss at Indiana. F Evan Mobley (ankle) also was a scratch. &hellip; The Cavaliers had dropped four of their previous five road games.
Bulls: Coach Billy Donovan sees less reason to closely monitor LaVine in the second of back-to-back games. The Bulls were cautious with his minutes in those situations after offseason knee surgery, but the coach said the All-Star merits more time as long as there are no medical barriers. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s definitely gotten better over time. As long as he&rsquo;s feeling good, he wants to play.&rdquo;
&nbsp;

Caris LeVert scored 23 points, and the Cleveland Cavaliers ended a three-game skid with a 103-102 victory over the Chicago Bulls.

Cavs hold off Bulls 103-102 to end three-game skid

The Atlantic Coast and Southeastern conferences have led the way among the so-called power leagues in hiring coaches of color to lead women&rsquo;s basketball programs.
The two conferences each have five Black head coaches, including three women changing jobs in the most recent cycle: Texas A&amp;M&rsquo;s Joni Taylor, Syracuse&rsquo;s Felisha Legette-Jack and Virginia&rsquo;s Amaka Agugua-Hamilton. Four of the ACC coaches are Black women while Virginia Tech&rsquo;s Kenny Brooks is the only Black male head coach of a women&rsquo;s team at a Power Five school.
The total number doesn&rsquo;t suggest a major shift over the past two seasons across 65 Power Five schools with 14 Black women being in charge of teams &mdash; up one from 2021. That&rsquo;s less than 22% of the total in a sport that was played by more Black athletes (40.7%) than any other race, according to a report with data from the 2020-21 season.
Still, hiring trends are leaning towards more equality with five of the 12 openings in the Power Five conferences this past offseason going to women of color.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a very solid number,&rdquo; Richard Lapchick, who is the head of the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at Central Florida, said of the ACC and SEC. &ldquo;If that persisted over a number of years, I think there would be a lot of happy black women head coaches spread across the Power Five conferences that aren&rsquo;t there now.&rdquo;
Lapchick also pointed to the fact that the ACC has two Black female athletic directors (at Duke and at Virginia). The SEC also has two female minority ADs, at Vanderbilt and Missouri.
&ldquo;I think there is something to be said about leaders making decisions,&rdquo; Duke AD Nina King said. &ldquo;You have a diverse group and you&rsquo;ll bring a diverse group of coaches to the table.&rdquo;
King said that the conversations need to continue: &ldquo;We need to understand what the barriers are and why aren&rsquo;t there more Black women getting hired. We need to knock down the barriers.&rdquo;
The Pac-12 and Big Ten have been giving more Black women a chance. Three of the last four hires in the Pac-12 have been women of color and two of the last three in the Big Ten. The Big 12 has no Black coaches of its women&rsquo;s basketball teams after four hirings over the past two seasons.
&ldquo;There needs to be more opportunity, it should be equal opportunity,&rdquo; Agugua-Hamilton said. &rdquo;And obviously, statistics have shown that that&rsquo;s been a little skewed. So I like to see that the times are changing a little bit and more people are getting opportunities, including myself.&rdquo;
Lapchick pointed to the success of Dawn Staley, who became the first Black coach, male or female. to win two national championships. She was rewarded last year by South Carolina with one of the biggest contracts in women&rsquo;s basketball history, a landmark $22.4 million, seven-year contract.
&ldquo;I think Dawn getting a million-dollar contract was one of the biggest breakthroughs in women&rsquo;s sports,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Long overdue, but it actually happened. So this is going to be good for other women following in her footsteps, not just there but around the country at other schools as well.&rdquo;
Staley has been happy to see the door open for more Black women.
&ldquo;There is an influx of Black women getting opportunities,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Black women are getting more chances to be the head honcho of their programs. I hope we can continue to be successful.&rdquo;
Staley has inspired other Black coaches not just with what she&rsquo;s done on the court, but also what she&rsquo;s done off it, by sending them a piece of her championship net from 2017.
&ldquo;Dawn Staley is a staple for women of color,&rdquo; Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey said. &ldquo;She talks about it, she had the net that she sent out to everyone just to empower all the female head coaches. And I think just having opportunity, understanding how much how much representation really does matter, I think is powerful. I definitely think we&rsquo;re trending in the right direction. And I think it&rsquo;s a positive thing.&rdquo;
Ivey wants to continue what Staley has done.
&ldquo;I want to do a great job because I want my opportunity to be able to extend to someone else,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Obviously you don&rsquo;t want to fail and then the tide changes. It&rsquo;s not something that I think about as far as pressure. I&rsquo;m blessed to be in this role. I&rsquo;m going do my best because I love what I do and I love this university. And I&rsquo;m hoping that my work speaks for itself.&rdquo;
___
AP Basketball Writer Aaron Beard and AP Sports Writer Teresa M. Walker contributed to this story.

The Atlantic Coast and Southeastern conferences have led the way among power leagues in hiring coaches of color in women's hoops.

Small uptick in Black female coaches at Power Five schools

After becoming a popular guest on J.J. Redick&rsquo;s podcast &ldquo;The Old Man and the Three,&rdquo; Tyrese Haliburton was constantly getting asked the same question by fans.
"I get asked all the time: 'Yo, when are you starting your own podcast?'&rdquo; Haliburton <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-interview-tyrese-haliburton-indiana-pacers-chad-buchanan-bennedict-mathurin-myles-turner-sacramento-kings-domantas-sabonis-trade-drew-hanlen" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told me over the offseason</a>. &ldquo;People walking around on the street [ask me that].&rdquo;
Now, Haliburton is giving the people what they want.&nbsp;
This week, the Indiana Pacers star launched his own video podcast with <a href="http://www.autograph.io/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Autograph</a>, the web3 brand co-founded by Tom Brady. &ldquo;Autograph Presents: Get Minted with Tyrese Haliburton&rdquo; debuted on November 1.&nbsp;
Haliburton and Autograph created the show to contribute to the education around web3, break down barriers to entry and help more people holistically understand NFTs. Each episode will feature an influential guest from the world of sports, entertainment, music or tech.
The series will give web3 newcomers exclusive insights into the industry as Haliburton drives conversations on six different episodes weekly, including:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Tony Hawk on Etching His Skating Legacy into Web3 (Nov. 1)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Eva Longoria on Hollywood, Inclusivity and Creativity in Web3 (Nov. 8)&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Charli and Dixie D&rsquo;Amelio on NFT 101: Introduction to Web3 (Nov. 15)&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Justin Blau (3LAU) on The Future of Music in Web3 (Nov. 22)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Arianna Simpson on What&rsquo;s Next in Web3 (Nov. 29)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">TBC on Web3&rsquo;s Influence on Sports (Dec. 6)</li>
</ul>
&ldquo;I am so excited to make my podcast debut alongside Autograph with &lsquo;Get Minted.&rsquo; I know firsthand how intimidating it can be to enter web3, and this podcast will give web3 and NFT newcomers a place to get started,&rdquo; Haliburton said. &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t wait for listeners to hear all of the amazing guests, and to share bits of my own web3 journey along the way.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Since Autograph&rsquo;s inception, our goal has been to bring NFTs to a mainstream audience and reduce barriers to entry for people new to web3,&rdquo; said Patrick Cassidy, CMO of Autograph. &ldquo;Autograph&rsquo;s new &lsquo;Autograph Presents: Get Minted&rsquo; podcast is one of the many ways we are working to create pathways for mainstream consumers to learn more about the value web3 provides across industries, from sports to music and entertainment. Tyrese Haliburton is a great advocate for the space, and we feel lucky to have him serve as our host.&rdquo;
Hawk and Longoria, who are both on Autograph&rsquo;s Board of Advisors, are the show's first two guests.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve focused on emerging technology throughout my life, from playing video games to buying gadgets, and now, my involvement in web3 and NFTs. I&rsquo;m excited to help people understand the industry,&rdquo; Hawk said of the series. &ldquo;&lsquo;Autograph Presents: Get Minted&rsquo; will be an iconic platform for others in the NFT space to help more people understand the value of the technology.&rdquo;
&ldquo;I always tell people who want to get into web3 that they need to do their homework, educate themselves, and figure out how they want to be involved, whether it&rsquo;s as an investor, a collector, or a creator,&rdquo; said Longoria. &ldquo;Autograph was my first exposure to this world, and it got me excited to learn more and find my own path in the industry. You have to want to learn and put in the effort, and a podcast like &lsquo;Autograph Presents: Get Minted&rsquo; is a great place to start.&rdquo;
Check out the first episode below:&nbsp;
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The Indiana Pacers star has launched his own video podcast with Autograph, the web3 brand co-founded by Tom Brady.

Tyrese Haliburton launches NFT-themed podcast 'Get Minted'

Picture this. You&rsquo;re in your early 20&rsquo;s, fresh out of college, living in the big city. It&rsquo;s the first time out on your own, so trivial tasks feel as insurmountable as Hunger Game trials &mdash; meal-prepping in lieu of busy days, keeping up with the bills (ugh, so many bills!) and, wait&hellip; how often do people typically do their laundry?
New York itself can be a daunting place. Smooth travel is but a game of misguided faith; subway lines go down at a moment&rsquo;s notice, there&rsquo;s almost always traffic if rideshare is your transit of choice, and you better learn how to use that Maps app... it&rsquo;ll be your closest ally in a hectic time crunch. Silence &mdash; heck, even just a solitary second to gather one&rsquo;s thoughts amidst the kinetic busyness on the avenues and boulevards &mdash; is fleeting in a city that&rsquo;s ritualistic about pulling all-nighters, its citizens moving in cohesion at the pace of the Road Runner on a 24 oz. Monster Energy drink.&nbsp;
For most of us who migrated into the five boroughs from outside lands, the first six months are a rude awakening. Take it from me, now four years into living in NYC &mdash; all of this can be a lot to deal with initially.
Now, imagine balancing everything I just mentioned while acclimating to the unforgiving rigors of the NBA&rsquo;s travel schedule (and lordy has it been relentless yet again), and all the while getting thrown out to the famished wolves on a contender with a Prospect Park-sized target on its back.&nbsp;
Oh, and let&rsquo;s just add in the outlandish challenge of guarding the likes of MVP-candidate DeMar DeRozan in your ninth NBA game, no biggie. That is what the Nets&rsquo; rookie 3-and-D forward Kessler Edwards &mdash; now six months into his Brooklyn tenure &mdash; was staring at with a mere 128 professional minutes under his belt.
He didn&rsquo;t balk.
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That&rsquo;s been a trend for Edwards, who is no stranger to feeling like the odds against him are stacked like Jenga towers, with one false move causing a swift collapse. Ranked as just a 3-star prospect in high school by 24/7 Sports, he committed to Pepperdine University and spent three full seasons expanding his skill set. Still, Edwards didn&rsquo;t hear his name called until the middle of the 2021 NBA Draft's second round last June; he was taken at No. 44 due to concerns about his creation prospects. His role was anything but a given on a Nets team that&rsquo;s never been more "title or bust."
COVID-19 protocols forced Brooklyn&rsquo;s hand to play the kiddos, and after some impressive play in the middle of December, Edwards was eventually given his shot with the full squad on Jan. 10. There, he earned a start alongside Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden against the best team in the Eastern Conference, the Chicago Bulls, and his assignment was to thwart the Bulls' incendiary wing tandem. Stuck inside what most would consider a pressure cooker, Edwards emerged from the steam and mist to serve up a truly scrumptious feast for fans to sink their teeth into.
Brooklyn&rsquo;s rookie stopper held DeMar DeRozan to just <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/player/1630556/head-to-head/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">1-of-3 shooting</a> that night. Three days later, he bothered Brandon Ingram into an uncharacteristic 2-of-8 showing. Then, it was Evan Mobley, who mustered a mere 3-of-7 outing while defended by the Glendale, California native.&nbsp;
So what has allowed the rookie to hang ten with such a vastly different cast of opponents?&nbsp;
Well, for one, his 6-foot-8 stature and 8-foot-10 standing reach provide him with the requisite length to ace the standardized test of becoming a wing-stopper. He&rsquo;s proficient at flipping his hips and moving backward to track drivers as they bob and weave to the rim, his calves, quads and hamstrings laced with a not-too-shabby 37-inch vertical to wipe away airspace on his contests. Moreover, Edwards has noticeably bulked up since being drafted by the Nets, allowing him to absorb and rebuke opponents&rsquo; jabs in the post with Tempurpedic sponginess. Altogether, he&rsquo;s blocking 1.5% of his enemies&rsquo; shot attempts, good for the <a href="https://www.cleaningtheglass.com/stats/player/4907#tab-defense_rebounding" target="_blank" rel="noopener">81st percentile</a> at his position.
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Yet, in spite of adding all that weight, Edwards is still able to navigate screens with the malleability of a 6-2 slender guard. Seriously, it&rsquo;s highly unusual to see a player of his build tactically evade screens, especially at such a young age. But Kess doesn&rsquo;t just figure skate over and under picks like a seasoned vet; he&rsquo;s also well-versed with his routes of recovery to <a href="https://www.polygon.com/mario-kart-8-deluxe-guide/2017/4/28/15458834/tips-drifting-ultra-mini-turbo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">turbo-drift</a> to the front of his assignment and contest.
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Kess isn&rsquo;t without his flaws as a defender. He&rsquo;s prone to biting hard on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJOtKVfjkh4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ball fakes and pump fakes</a>. He&rsquo;ll get a little too eager when <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MurV0ZwFmIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">digging down on post threats</a>, opening up space for his man to tiptoe out of the picture. He&rsquo;s also gotten his wires crossed on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50Uot7PhcBU&amp;ab_channel=MattBrooksNBA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pick-and-pops</a>, unsure if he&rsquo;s supposed to switch or stay glued to the trigger-happy screener. His <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRjsVhgx_Qc&amp;ab_channel=MattBrooksNBA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">closeouts will vary in diligence</a>, and frenetic fly-bys tend to crop up against threatening long-range detonators. Wholistically, he needs to trust his length more &mdash; it&rsquo;ll help him avoid crowding his assignments and should reduce shooting fouls.
None of these areas for improvement are anything out of the ordinary. The precision of NBA offense is an exhaustingly-daunting learning curve for many young players. If he applies himself, there&rsquo;s All-Defense potential sitting in there somewhere.
Oh, but it gets more enticing.
We&rsquo;ve thoroughly covered the &ldquo;D&rdquo; part of his 3-and-D billing, it&rsquo;s time we take a look at what the 21-year-old can do behind the arc. Edwards entered the draft as a 39.5% specialist from the college three-point line, though his shooting portfolio wasn&rsquo;t without its faults. He had this strange habit of splaying his legs on his release &mdash; his feet basically perpendicular upon landing like he was hitting yoga poses. It was unclear if this mechanical quirk would affect Edwards&rsquo; capacity to relocate and shoot on the move.&nbsp;
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After some time with Brooklyn&rsquo;s G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets, Kessler&rsquo;s idiosyncratic landing mechanics appear to have been wiped clean. Now, his feet travel in unison throughout the entirety of his jump shot. His release point is high, and he shoots on the way up. The elevation on his jumper is majestic; he seemingly hovers for a second with hawk-like composure as the ball leaves his hands. There&rsquo;s a sense of solidarity in Edwards&rsquo; energy transfer, a common goal of producing highly-efficient marks.
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&ldquo;It feels like he&rsquo;s refined his mechanics,&rdquo; Nets head coach Steve Nash told me and fellow Brooklyn reporters. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s what my eye says. It had quite a pronounced motion to it ]before], and now, he seems to have really streamlined the motion and taken a lot of that out. Most importantly, he looks confident.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Confident&rdquo; is definitely one way to describe it. Edwards has nailed 43.2% of his big-league threes, good for the <a href="https://cleaningtheglass.com/stats/player/4907#tab-shooting_accuracy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">96th percentile at his position</a>. Leaving him alone on the perimeter is basically a death wish &mdash; he&rsquo;s 12 of 23 on uncontested long balls. Canning <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HQ3PM3GRuM" target="_blank" rel="noopener">transition threes</a> after a full sprint is certainly within Kess&rsquo; wheelhouse.&nbsp;
Brooklyn&rsquo;s confidence in the 21-year-old&rsquo;s shooting acumen appears to be growing by the game. Against the Pelicans, the Nets ran a set play in the second quarter to have Edwards scamper from the left corner to the left slot by means of a stagger screen. The rookie passed his first pro-level relocation test with flying colors, catching, turning and squaring up to the rim for an all-twine connection.&nbsp;
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Edwards is also one of the few only wing-sized players not named Kevin Durant who can proficiently execute a pick-and-pop. Kess and Irving have showcased early chemistry, in particular. Thanks to his refined mechanics, he&rsquo;s far more apt at shooting while moving to his left. (Popping to his right is obviously a more natural motion). Again, it&rsquo;s early, but he&rsquo;s graded out as <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/roll-man/?CF=PLAYER_NAME*E*edwards" target="_blank" rel="noopener">88th percentile roll man</a> without really, well, ever rolling to the rim. I guess that&rsquo;s what happens when you average 1.5 points per pick-and-pop possession (according to Synergy).
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Kessler&rsquo;s true ceiling will be dictated by how much he can ascend beyond that 3-and-D label. Self-creation remains a point of emphasis for the 21-year-old, though he&rsquo;s shown some competence when run off the line. He&rsquo;ll rise up for two-dribble pull-ups after aggressive closeouts (which he warrants!), and he&rsquo;s yet to miss from outside 14 feet. He&rsquo;s also flashed a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpvR1o5IpMc">rather nifty runner</a> at 42% accuracy, placing him in the 65th percentile at his position from the short mid-range. Just 12 games in, Edwards appears ready-made with a pair of built-in counters for when defenses force him to put it on the floor.
Things get a little harrier when he&rsquo;s forced to make decisions in the restricted area; like, Chewbacca or Cousin Itt hairy. Edwards&rsquo; handle is rigid... no, better yet, it can appear almost arthritic. He&rsquo;s prone to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5QnsVyUWiw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">swipe-down</a> steals due to his high dribble, and he&rsquo;s mostly a straight-line driver. When he does attempt moves that are even slightly complex, the results... erm, you&rsquo;ll see for yourself.
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Kess doesn&rsquo;t have to transform into The Professor overnight to be clear, but some ball control must be cultivated in order to transcend into the Mikal Bridges <a href="https://cleaningtheglass.com/stats/player/4447#tab-shooting_accuracy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">realm of operations</a>. For now, Edwards is a big wing-sized player shooting just <a href="https://cleaningtheglass.com/stats/player/4907#tab-shooting_accuracy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">45% at the rim</a>, a paltry fifth-percentile ranking. Sheesh.
It&rsquo;d help if he could produce literally any force at the basket. As such an explosive two-foot leaper on his closeouts, it&rsquo;s strange to see him hop off one leg with such frailty on his drives. Springing off two would generate actual power, allow him to play through contact and increase his body control. He&rsquo;d have more ease changing directions to evade shot-blockers and a higher likelihood of successfully stretching out for finishes. Most of all, it&rsquo;d slow him down. For now, he works at 2.75-times the usual player's speed on his layups, his brain outpacing his body&rsquo;s ability to function.
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To say that Edwards has had some nice moments for the Nets would be quite the understatement, like calling He-Man a &ldquo;pretty strong dude with decent hair.&rdquo; Kess can already shoot the dang ball at an elite rate while guarding opposing stars at an NBA level, and he&rsquo;s got plus-size at his position. He&rsquo;s basically the exact type of player the Nets have long been searching for, dating all the way back to the D&rsquo;Angelo Russell days.&nbsp;
Expectations have never been higher in Brooklyn. There are <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/report-james-harden-open-to-relocating-this-summer-" target="_blank" rel="noopener">murmurs of Harden wanting out</a>, and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/breakingnews/nets-star-irving-steadfast-on-vaccine-despite-durant-injury" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Irving&rsquo;s vaccination status remains a dark, ominous cloud</a> that hangs over Brooklyn&rsquo;s season, ready to rain on the championship parade. The Nets' rotation feels diverse, yet still unfinished. Far too often do Nash&rsquo;s amalgamations of players feature the spacing of a mall parking lot on Black Friday.&nbsp;
Kessler Edwards offers something different than his contemporaries. On one end, he&rsquo;ll fill the corners while Harden runs the pick-and-roll; on the other, he&rsquo;ll screech around screens like Tokyo Drift to bother brash scorers that dare try him.
Altogether, the Nets have stumbled upon a very special player. They&rsquo;d be foolish to not put him to the test in the playoff crucible.
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Matt Brooks details how Nets rookie Kessler Edwards has been a bright spot for the team and the ways he's impacted the game.

The Nets may have stumbled on something with Kessler Edwards

Demonstrators supporting Nets guard Kyrie Irving and protesting New York's vaccine mandate gathered outside Barclays Center on Sunday before Brooklyn's home opener.
A few dozen people were in the plaza outside the arena, some chanting &ldquo;Let Kyrie play! Let Kyrie play!&rdquo; and holding signs that said &ldquo;Stand with Kyrie.&rdquo;
A small group even broke through barriers and got all the way to the front entrance of the arena about an hour before tipoff.
Irving is not with the Nets because of his refusal to get vaccinated against COVID-19. A New York mandate requires professional athletes playing for a team in the city be vaccinated in order to play or practice in public venues.
The Nets could have allowed Irving to play in road games, but they decided he <a href="https://apnews.com/article/kyrie-irving-covid-vaccine-nets-dcd6d5c6d027934cf763dc167610ce58" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wouldn&rsquo;t be with the team</a> until he could be a full participant. Irving explained during an Instagram Live post that he was doing <a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-nba-sports-new-york-brooklyn-fb9ce80537f259ca8a6a2ed7c9f987e1">&ldquo;what&rsquo;s best for me.&rdquo;</a>
Protester Curtis Orwell said he and others were fighting for &ldquo;bodily autonomy and sovereignty," and the right to choose what goes in their bodies.
&ldquo;We also know so much more than we knew 18 months ago about the virus," he said. "We have therapeutics that have been tried and proven to great success. Unfortunately, those kinds of voices are being totally suppressed and censored.&rdquo;
Orwell said he was not vaccinated and knew some people who had lost jobs because they weren&rsquo;t.
&ldquo;It doesn&rsquo;t feel right to them and that&rsquo;s OK," he said. &ldquo;We need to respect that.&rdquo;
There were many empty seats in the arena as the game against the Charlotte Hornets was set to begin, though it was unclear if the commotion on the plaza caused it. The plaza was set up with some basketball hoops so fans arriving early could shoot and listen to musical performances.

Demonstrators supporting Nets guard Kyrie Irving and protesting New York's vaccine mandate gathered outside Barclays Center on Sunday before Brooklyn's home opener.

Demonstrators support Kyrie Irving vs. vaccine mandate at Nets game

The <a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="https://www.basketballnetwork.net/ray-allen-talks-about-the-possibility-of-making-a-he-got-game-sequel/" 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>:
Ray Allen recently made a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUd8vC7LIj4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">guest appearance on The Dan Patrick Show</a>, where he talked about the possibility of a "He Got Game" sequel, and what it will take for that actually to happen. Directed by Spike Lee, the movie initially came out in 1998 with Allen and Denzel Washington cast in starring roles. It is still to this day considered one of the greatest (if not the greatest) basketball movies ever made, and many fans around the world would likely look forward to a second installment.
Even though 23 years have passed since the movie came out, the possibility of a sequel was never fully explored until now. Allen admits they've already had conversations with a few players, including Zion Williamson, but the main thing that needs to happen is getting Denzel on board; he's not typically fond of sequels. However, Allen is convinced Denzel might be interested in this particular opportunity.
"We talked with several younger players, including women, because there is definitely a dynamic there if you think about since 1998, when the movie came out, there has been so many storylines," Allen <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUd8vC7LIj4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said on The Dan Patrick Show</a>. "There are so many different ways we can take this, but the one caveat for us &mdash;&nbsp; Spike and I talk about it all the time &mdash; [it's] making sure we get Denzel Washington involved. I think until ['The Equalizer 2'] he was against sequels, so when ['The Equalizer 2'] came out, we thought we might have a chance. I think that is the main thing to get him excited and get him on board, because it&rsquo;s not the same if he didn&rsquo;t have something to do with the movie."
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Another essential aspect they are exploring is a woman in the starring role and telling a different type of story. Allen hopes to spotlight women who had a significant impact on the sport, and therefore shred the barriers that previously prevented sharing different stories related to women in sports.
"The story of sport can still be told through a female perspective," Allen <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUd8vC7LIj4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. "There have been so many great stories with Renee Montgomery in Atlanta and now having the ownership of the team and everything that is going with the Black Lives [Matter] movement. There is so much, and being able to point out the limelight at the women&rsquo;s game could certainly help growing that sport just the same."
Whether we&rsquo;ll see the "He Got Game" sequel sooner or later remains to be seen, but it&rsquo;s apparent there are active conversations to try and make it happen. It would be interesting to see Zion or any other athlete in the leading role that Allen portrayed so well as Jesus Shuttlesworth without any acting experience. Having Denzel back is also an important ingredient in making a great movie. There is no question that fans who saw the original film would be intrigued by a sequel that tells a great basketball story from a different perspective.
Editor's Note: Ray Allen spoke to our James Posey on his podcast, "The Posecast" about his role in the popular film, his time with the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat and more. Click <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/podcasts/the-posecast/episodes/ray-allen-(aka-jesus-shuttlesworth)-on-todays-best-shooters-2008-celtics-vs-2013-heat-and-more-(episode-2)-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a> to listen, or watch below.
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Could we see the second installation of Spike Lee's hit basketball film "He Got Game?" Ray Allen says it's a possibility.

Ray Allen leaves door open for 'He Got Game' sequel

The NBPA announced that Tamika L. Tremaglio will serve as its next Executive Director, succeeding Michele Roberts upon her retirement. Here is the official release from the NBA:
"The National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) is pleased to announce today that it has selected Tamika L. Tremaglio to serve as its next Executive Director, succeeding Michele Roberts upon her retirement at the end of the year. Tremaglio will be retiring as the Managing Principal of Deloitte&rsquo;s Greater Washington practice, where she has served as a trusted advisor and consultant to the NBPA since 2012.
NBPA President CJ McCollum said: &ldquo;Tamika has been by our side for many years, advising us on the best practices and policies needed for our organization to operate more like a successful business. Given Michele&rsquo;s strong leadership and guidance that have brought us to where we are today, we were looking for a next-generation leader, who has the skills, vision, and credibility to pick up where Michele will leave off and to elevate our Union to even greater heights. Tamika&rsquo;s well-rounded experience in collective bargaining, staff management, revenue creation, wealth preservation and culture building, undoubtedly will put our players in the best position to succeed.&rdquo;
Ms. Tremaglio, who holds J.D. and MBA degrees, and is also trained as a forensic accountant, currently leads over 14,000 employees across 23 offices in the Greater Washington area. She serves as a leader in Deloitte&rsquo;s Consumer Products and Sports Industry practice, including more than 15 years of service to several players associations. In addition to her pivotal consulting work to strengthen the NBPA&rsquo;s internal business and compliance practices, Ms. Tremaglio was at the table with the WNBA players in 2019 for the successful negotiation of their current collective bargaining agreement.
&ldquo;Tamika will be an excellent Executive Director for the NBPA,&rdquo; said Michele Roberts. &ldquo;I have spent considerable time working with her over the past several years and I know she cares deeply about the players and wants the best for them, just as I do. I&rsquo;m looking forward to retirement, but take solace in knowing the NBPA is in extremely capable hands.&rdquo;
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve worked with some of the brightest business and legal minds in the world,&rdquo; said Ms. Tremaglio. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve broken barriers, challenged misperceptions, and much like the professional athletes I&rsquo;ve supported over the years, I have defied the odds. I&rsquo;m incredibly grateful and passionate about this opportunity to serve the Players and positively contribute to the role that the NBPA will play in the future of basketball, both on and off the court.&rdquo;
The NBPA was advised on its search by the law firm Dechert LLP, led by Christina Sarchio and Amisha Patel, and executive search firm Heidrick &amp; Struggles, led by Billy Dexter, Ben Weber, and Jackie Zavitz."

The NBPA has selected Tamika L. Tremaglio as its new Executive Director, succeeding Michele Roberts.

NBPA selects Tamika L. Tremaglio to serve as its next Executive Director

The Milwaukee Bucks announced that they have inked a deal with play-by-play announcer and broadcaster Lisa Byington, making her the first female full-time TV play-by-play announcer for a major men's professional team.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/LisaByington?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LisaByington</a> becomes the first female full-time TV play-by-play announcer for a major men&rsquo;s professional sports team. Welcome to Milwaukee, Lisa!! <a href="https://t.co/HYZXUqshOa">pic.twitter.com/HYZXUqshOa</a>
&mdash; Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) <a href="https://twitter.com/Bucks/status/1438241102516064260?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 15, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Women around the league continue to break down many barriers in the NBA, from referees to coaches, and now to play-by-play sports announcers. Congratulations Lisa!
AP Story:
Lisa Byington is making history as the Milwaukee Bucks&rsquo; new play-by-play voice on their television broadcasts.
The Bucks announced the hiring Wednesday and said Byington is the first woman to work as a full-time television play-by-play announcer for any major men&rsquo;s professional sports team.
Byington replaces Jim Paschke, who retired after 35 seasons as the team&rsquo;s main television play-by-play broadcaster.
&ldquo;I understand the groundbreaking nature of this hire, and I appreciate the fact that during this process that aspect was addressed, but never made a primary focus,&rdquo; Byington said in a statement released by the team. &ldquo;In fact, I applaud the Bucks for taking the first steps toward making hires like this more of the norm in the NBA. Because it&rsquo;s time.&rdquo;
Earlier this year, Byington became the first female play-by-play broadcaster for the NCAA men&rsquo;s basketball tournament. She was a men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s soccer play-by-play announcer for NBC Sports in the 2021 Olympics and also did play-by-play for the Women&rsquo;s World Cup on Fox in 2019.
The Bucks&rsquo; broadcast crew also includes Marques Johnson and Steve Novak as analysts and Zora Stephenson as a sideline reporter. Last season, Stephenson became the first woman to work as a play-by-play announcer for the Bucks when she filled in for Paschke for one game.
Byington worked as a sideline reporter for the NCAA men&rsquo;s basketball tournament on CBS and Turner Sports from 2017-19. She also has been a play-by-play broadcaster on NBA and WNBA games.
She became the first female play-by-play broadcaster for a Big Ten Network college football game in 2017.
Byington has broadcast games for FOX Sports, FS1, Big Ten Network, CBS, Turner Sports, Pac-12 Network, ESPN and the SEC Network in both play-by-play and reporter roles. She played basketball and soccer while attending Northwestern University.

The Milwaukee Bucks have made Lisa Byington the first female play-by-play broadcaster for a major men's pro sports team.

Bucks sign first female TV play-by-play announcer Lisa Byington

The NBA Draft is the culmination of years of scouting, and it all happens very quickly.
Sixty players celebrate the fact that they are a team&rsquo;s priority, albeit to varying degrees. But what about the guys who go undrafted? They have very big decisions to make in a very small amount of time, and the wrong decision can derail their goal of playing in the NBA.
That paints an overly negative picture, though. While there are certainly more failures than there are successes, there are plenty of examples of undrafted players performing exceptionally well in the NBA. Hall-of-Famer Ben Wallace and NBA champion Avery Johnson went undrafted, as did former New York Knick John Starks. Fred VanVleet and Christian Wood &mdash; two promising, modern-day studs &mdash; were also undrafted.
But the path from undrafted rookie to established player is a hard one, and it varies dramatically from one player to the next. Some luck out and latch on to a team almost immediately thanks to a strong performance in the NBA&rsquo;s Las Vegas Summer League or in training camp (or both), while others build support among front offices via strong play outside of the NBA for weeks, months and sometimes years.
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Either way, undrafted players are faced with very tough decisions, and it is mostly money that complicates it. In a vacuum, remaining in the U.S. &mdash; where they can learn a pro-system, receive top-notch training and remain in contact with NBA personnel &mdash; is ideal. But most guys find that it&rsquo;s simply more lucrative to play overseas. Foreign leagues like the EuroLeague, China's CBA and Australia&rsquo;s National Basketball League all pay significantly better than the G League. And with well-staffed front offices, technological innovations and stronger competition overseas and elsewhere, it&rsquo;s easier than ever to remain on the radar of NBA front offices.
But there are very real drawbacks. For some, traveling overseas for months on end and being away from home is a non-starter. And that&rsquo;s just addressing home sickness and/or family challenges here in the U.S. There are also language barriers, new customs, transportation challenges and new training regimens. And that&rsquo;s before we get into the limitations on Americans (as well as all other foreigners) playing overseas.
Most foreign leagues restrict the number of foreigners signed to each team, limiting the opportunity to the best-of-the-best. For example, the EuroLeague and the CBA allow a maximum of two foreign-born players on a roster at any given time.
But while remaining in the U.S. on a G League contract may not be the most rewarding idea in the realm of one&rsquo;s wallet, for many, relatively new innovations and mechanisms in the NBA&rsquo;s collective bargaining agreement &mdash; like Exhibit 10 contracts and two-way contracts &mdash; have created viable alternatives for undrafted rookies who may not be sold on playing overseas.
Ultimately, Exhibit 10 deals and two-way contracts were written into the collective bargaining agreement for teams to maintain the rights of non-roster players while allowing players to be paid for remaining under the control of an NBA team.
But there&rsquo;s a catch, teams can sign only have six players signed to Exhibit 10 deals and two signed to two-way contracts at a time.
Exhibit 10 deals are essentially one-year, non-guaranteed minimum contracts with built-in clauses enabling teams to convert them to two-way contracts so long as the conversion takes place prior to the beginning of the regular season. Otherwise, players on Exhibit 10 deals become non-guaranteed minimum deals. Exhibit 10 deals also feature bonuses of between $5,000 and $50,000 that kick in if the player is waived and they report to the team&rsquo;s G League affiliate for at least 60 days. They are particularly useful between the draft and the start of the regular season, enabling teams to determine if they want to pursue a longer-term agreement (like a two-way deal) with a player. Only teams with a G League affiliate can utilize Exhibit 10 deals, meaning Denver, Phoenix and Portland cannot.
Two-way contracts allow players to earn as much as $449,155 (as of 2020-21 season), but players on two-way deals can appear in a maximum of 50 games in a given season with an NBA team. Once a player plays 50 games, he must be sent back to the team&rsquo;s G League affiliate for the remainder of the season or the NBA team must covert his contract to a standard NBA deal, which requires an open roster spot.
Both Exhibit 10 deals and two-way contracts are relatively new, having been introduced in 2017, and rules surrounding both have been already re-worked a few times.
Still, these deals appear to be working exactly as intended for the 2021 draft class.
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In the few days since the 2021 NBA Draft, 54 undrafted rookies have already signed contracts with NBA teams, including Daishen Nix (G League Ignite) and Mac McClung (Texas Tech). Of all the undrafted rookies who have signed deals, 23 are Exhibit 10 deals and 10 are two-way deals. The remaining 21 are either summer league deals or deals for which additional details have not been released.
For a better idea of what the deals might do for the league, we can simply look back and gauge how they&rsquo;ve worked so far. Granted, it&rsquo;s a small sample size, but since 2017, two-way deals have paved the way for the success of Duncan Robinson, Lu Dort, Chris Boucher and Alex Caruso &ndash; all of whom went undrafted in their respective draft classes.
Undrafted rookies have more resources to help them succeed than ever before. If they are open becoming an expatriate and living in a new country, going overseas is still a viable option. If they want to remain stateside, though, there are some new, fairly lucrative options.
But whichever route a particular prospect prefers, there are simply more of them than there were as recently as a few years ago. And more options should translate into more talent &mdash; and that&rsquo;s good for everyone involved.

For a prospect who isn't fortunate enough to hear their name called on draft night, there are now viable alternatives to heading overseas.

With Exhibit 10 and two-way deals, undrafted players have many options

The NBA today announced that Portland Trail Blazers forward Carmelo Anthony, Sacramento Kings forward Harrison Barnes, Philadelphia 76ers forward Tobias Harris, Milwaukee Bucks guard Jrue Holiday and Golden State Warriors forward Juan Toscano-Anderson have been selected as the five finalists for the inaugural Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion award. The new annual award, named after six-time NBA champion and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, recognizes a current NBA player for pursuing social justice and advancing Abdul-Jabbar&rsquo;s life mission to engage, empower and drive equality for individuals and groups who have been historically marginalized or systemically disadvantaged.&nbsp;
The finalists for the award were selected from an impressive pool of NBA team nominees who have upheld the league&rsquo;s decades-long values of equality, respect and inclusion.&nbsp; The finalists were determined by a selection committee&nbsp;composed of Abdul-Jabbar, notable social justice leaders, including&nbsp;Director&nbsp;of The&nbsp;Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport Dr. Richard Lapchick, student activist Teyonna Lofton, National Urban League President and CEO Marc Morial,&nbsp;UnidosUS President and CEO&nbsp;Janet Murgu&iacute;a, Rise Founder and CEO Amanda Nguyen, and&nbsp;NBA Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer Mark Tatum.
Each finalist has selected an organization focused on advancing social justice that will receive a contribution on his behalf.&nbsp; The winner&rsquo;s selection will receive a $100,000 donation and the other four finalists will each receive a $25,000 contribution for a social justice organization of their choosing.
The winner will be announced prior to Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals on TNT.&nbsp; Below is more information about the finalists, including their respective efforts and selected beneficiaries, and additional details regarding the selection committee.
Carmelo Anthony, Portland Trail Blazers
A prolific champion in the social impact space, ten-time NBA All-Star Carmelo Anthony has been unabashedly vocal on how systemic oppression, racism and police brutality not only dehumanizes Black people, but prohibits the progress needed for generations of Black people to thrive and progress as a community.&nbsp; He founded the Carmelo Anthony Foundation over 15 years ago as a vehicle for actionable change and social reform through a variety of outreach programs and disaster relief initiatives.&nbsp; In 2020, he served as guest Editor-in-Chief for Slam Magazine&rsquo;s Special Social Justice Issue and established the Social Change Fund alongside fellow NBA greats to focus on investing in organizations addressing critical and timely issues impacting the Black community including expanding access to voting and civic engagement, education, employment, housing, economic equity, and representation in leadership.&nbsp; Anthony currently serves as a board member of the National Basketball Social Justice Coalition.
His work isn&rsquo;t just limited to reform in criminal justice, voting or race spaces, but he also developed an incubator program focused on creativity and the arts. &nbsp;Through his STAYME7O banner, Anthony established the STAYME7O Propel Program in 2020 as a way to tap into the creativity of Black culture through fashion, art and design to develop intricate pieces that honor a vision of&nbsp;Black&nbsp;excellence and inspire a culture to create&nbsp;and move further, together.&nbsp; This spring, Anthony also announced Creative 7, his global, multi-platform content company through which he has been developing a robust slate of projects that&nbsp;speak to the evolution of the human spirit through adversity, social activism and compelling, entertainment-forward storytelling.&nbsp; Anthony has selected&nbsp;the&nbsp;<a href="https://portlandartmuseum.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://portlandartmuseum.org/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1623513737585000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFYpq9TrITwg2RQK9JSfagXue-t0A">Portland Art Museum&rsquo;s Black Arts and Experiences Initiative</a>&nbsp;as the recipient of his donation.
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Harrison Barnes, Sacramento Kings
Over the last year Harrison Barnes has provided meaningful support to youth, families and frontline workers in Sacramento, Dallas and Ames, IA, and&nbsp;has also been a vocal advocate for voter rights, addressing systemic racism and investing in Black youth.&nbsp; Leading up to the 2020 election, he emphasized the importance of civic engagement and voting through speaking engagements, a collaboration with&nbsp;<a href="http://be.woke.vote/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://Be.Woke.Vote&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1623513737585000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHAwEmxFv8NeaxPMFtB-l_sJn-Lgg">Be.Woke.Vote</a>&nbsp;and casting a ballot himself on National Vote Early Day at Golden 1 Center. As part of the NBA restart, Barnes dedicated each Kings game to a different organization supporting racial justice &ndash; including the Trayvon Martin Foundation, the Botham Jean Foundation, The Atatiana Project, Mothers Against Police Brutality, the Michael Brown Foundation, Tamir Rice Foundation, Champion in the Making and the African American Policy Forum &ndash; and contributed $25,000 to those created by the families of victims of police brutality and gun violence.
In October, he was named to the NBA Foundation&rsquo;s inaugural Board of Directors, helping to guide its effort to further economic empowerment in the Black community and in February, Barnes announced his partnership with Goalsetter, a Black-owned finance app that provides an education-first banking experience, to open saving accounts for 500 youth from Build.Black. in Sacramento and TL Marsalis Elementary in Dallas.&nbsp; He also launched a series entitled &ldquo;<a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.instagram.com/tv/CMUxqkEDsNA/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link__;!!PMETyfE!ZDDKwXjBncNGIltP-I1zSE6Ocp2vfJKWWTXUKVKyHIWNUcYTGip-GFMF9cA$" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.instagram.com/tv/CMUxqkEDsNA/?utm_source%3Dig_web_copy_link__;!!PMETyfE!ZDDKwXjBncNGIltP-I1zSE6Ocp2vfJKWWTXUKVKyHIWNUcYTGip-GFMF9cA$&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1623513737585000&amp;usg=AFQjCNF-SR7hwbNVH-6HHGmJ4lIryH9TGA">Conversations with Harrison</a>,&rdquo; in which he speaks with nonprofit and community leaders, educators, athletes, elected officials and business leaders to promote their work and bring attention to their causes.&nbsp;&nbsp;Barnes has selected&nbsp;<a href="https://policingequity.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://policingequity.org/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1623513737585000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFWFky7NK3nNBPEqvlc34ZxZj_7Dg">Center for Policing Equity</a>&nbsp;as the recipient of his donation.
Tobias Harris, Philadelphia 76ers
As a longtime advocate for social justice, Tobias Harris has been particularly focused on eliminating racial inequities within school systems that have historically harmed young people of color.&nbsp; To date through the Tobias Harris Charitable Fund, he has awarded $2 million dollars to help move the needle on educational equity.&nbsp; This year, he awarded $300,000 to The Fund for the School District of Philadelphia to recruit teachers from HBCUs or diverse backgrounds &ndash; who are more likely to carry higher student loan balances following graduation &ndash; and provide relocation stipends to prevent barriers of quality Black teachers in the classroom.&nbsp; Harris also created the Tobias&rsquo; Top Teachers program, to assist in the recruitment and retention of Black male teachers by helping fund 55 professional development workshops and providing 800 new teachers with needed classroom supplies.&nbsp; Additionally, through his Lit Labs program that focuses on improving reading scores among students of diverse backgrounds, he distributed 30,000 books to 8,000 Philadelphia children to prevent summer reading gaps and helped improve the average rate gain for young scholars by 70%.
Throughout 2020, Harris used his voice and platform to speak out against systemic injustice and racism, marching in protest of police brutality, calling for reform while in the NBA Bubble and reflecting on racial injustice in The Players&rsquo; Tribune.&nbsp; With actionable change at the center of his efforts, Harris led conversations with teammates and helped launch the VOTE 76 initiative to encourage civic engagement. He was also named as one of two player representatives to the NBA Foundation board, which aims to create greater economic opportunity for Black youth through employment and career advancement.&nbsp;&nbsp;Harris has selected&nbsp;<a href="http://thefundsdp.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://thefundsdp.org/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1623513737585000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEN6_gT0lgvFAla4HBOTQRjOoC2zw">Fund for the School District of Philadelphia</a>&nbsp;as the recipient of his donation.&nbsp;
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Jrue Holiday, Milwaukee Bucks
A longtime advocate for social justice, this past year Jrue Holiday has focused on creating economic opportunity and empowerment in communities of color.&nbsp; Last summer, Holiday pledged the remainder of his 2020 NBA salary to create The Jrue and Lauren Holiday Social Justice Fund, which seeks to combat systemic racism and increase economic equality by providing funding and support to Black-led organizations and businesses.&nbsp; Earlier this season, the fund announced support for 25 nonprofits and historically Black institutions, as well as 23 Black-owned small businesses in Los Angeles, New Orleans and Indianapolis.
In the fall of 2020, Jrue and his wife, Lauren, also partnered with the Wisconsin Women&rsquo;s Business Initiative Corporation to identify small, women- and Black-owned businesses most in need of assistance.&nbsp; After reviewing grant requests, the Holiday family announced funding for seven local businesses in January: Amri Counseling Services, Carter&rsquo;s Quality Care, Hands at Home, Jamaican Season Island Restaurant, Kid&rsquo;s Kingdom, Legacy Home Health Services and The SW.&nbsp; Beyond financial support, the Holidays provide coaching for the JLH Fund grantees to expand funding opportunities and community engagement and work with Microsoft&rsquo;s Nonprofit Tech Acceleration for Black &amp; African American Communities so that all recipients can also receive technology and support services.&nbsp; In Spring 2021, the Holidays opened the second round of applications and surprised a young man&nbsp;battling sickle cell anemia with tickets to a Bucks game in efforts to support the young man and bring awareness to the disorder that disproportionately impacts Black Americans.&nbsp;&nbsp;Holiday has&nbsp;selected&nbsp;<a href="https://expowisconsin.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://expowisconsin.org/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1623513737585000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGx8YxmJHtj_VW8sgElmIMsNmoXcw">EXPO of Wisconsin</a>&nbsp;as the recipient&nbsp;of his donation.
Juan Toscano-Anderson, Golden State Warriors
Juan Toscano-Anderson, whose parents are Black and Mexican American, is focused on empowerment for Latino and Black communities and established the Journey to Achieve (JTA) Foundation to give back to youth and families of color in the Bay Area, Santa Cruz and Mexico.&nbsp; The Oakland native has continued to use his voice&nbsp;to advocate for&nbsp;social justice&nbsp;and equality&nbsp;in the Bay Area.&nbsp;&nbsp;Toscano-Anderson participated in the Warriors&rsquo; VOTERS Win campaign &ndash; a PSA to encourage Black and Latino citizens to vote in the 2020 election and fill out the census &ndash; and led two Walk in Unity events in Oakland, bringing people together to combat oppression, police brutality and social injustice.
To create opportunity and empower young people of color this past year, he has discussed biases with 6th&nbsp;grade students in San Francisco, spoken to more than 3,000 African youth about his journey and overcoming obstacles and supported Digital Nest, a local nonprofit focused on empowering Latinx professionals, in a live Q&amp;A where he discussed his childhood, basketball career and the pride he felt in playing with the Mexican National Team.&nbsp; In continued efforts to support the Latinx community, he addressed more than 2,000 people in Spanish at the D&iacute;a De Los Muertos Film Festival in Watsonville and purchased equipment and materials for&nbsp;Fundacion&nbsp;Unidos Por&nbsp;Chavinda in his family&rsquo;s hometown that provides medicine and food for senior citizens and supports development and life skills for youth.&nbsp;&nbsp;Toscano-Anderson has selected&nbsp;<a href="http://www.homiesempowerment.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.homiesempowerment.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1623513737585000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFxXidiTpSAFQ2VPJn9JsxFGb-Ucg">Homies Empowerment</a>&nbsp;as the recipient of his donation.

Carmelo Anthony, Tobias Harris, Jrue Holiday, Harrison Barnes and Juan Toscano-Anderson are the finalists for the annual award.

NBA shares finalists for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion award

Hi, hello, and welcome to yet another edition of Roaming The Baseline! This will be a weekly endeavor where I point out some things that caught my eye: a hot or cold streak from a player, a developmental flash, a well-run play, a funny tweet, who knows? There will be film -- it&rsquo;s me, so of course there will be film -- but this will also be a bit looser. It&rsquo;s an extension of my Twitter feed, if you will.&nbsp;
With that said, let&rsquo;s roam the baseline.
GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO IS EVOLVING
Back-to-back games against the Brooklyn Nets. Back-to-back wins against the Brooklyn Nets. Back-to-back eye-opening performances from Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The first game was dominant. The Nets once again went with DeAndre Jordan as their Giannis stopper of sorts, tasking him with hanging back at the rim and absorbing blows whenever Giannis touched the paint.&nbsp;
Giannis straight up gave it to him. Body blows into jump hooks. Fadeaways. Stepbacks. Face-up jumpers.&nbsp;
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The three-ball was going for him as well. When doubles came, Giannis calmly passed out of them. He sprung guys free with screens. The Nets simply had no good answer for any possession that involved Giannis. Hard to sneeze on 49-8-4 plus the W, amirite?
If the first game was dominant, the second one was resilient. Giannis dropped 36-12-4, but it certainly wasn't as smooth as the outing on Sunday. An 11-of-30 shooting clip ain't pretty, though the 4-of-12 clip from deep was intriguing.&nbsp;
The Nets didn't change their coverage. They were more than willing to concede above-the-break triples. Giannis obliged to keep things honest, but still found room to be aggressive (seven shots at the rim, 12 free-throw attempts).
These two games aren't entirely instructive of a future playoff matchup; James Harden's absence is a pretty big variable. What the games did reinforce, however, is that Giannis can dictate terms whenever he wants to. There's no true answer for him.
The hang-back-and-wait plan only goes so far if Giannis is gonna bring the funk anyway. Living with jumpers is cool until he catches a rhythm. It's especially tough if Giannis flows effortlessly into pick-and-rolls or dribble handoffs with either of his All-Star running mates.
In short: good freakin' luck.
MATISSE THYBULLE'S HOUSE OF TERROR
One of my favorite bits of this god forsaken regular season has been my friend, a born-again Sixers fan, hitting me up on Twitter to tell me how quickly Matisse Thybulle racks up a steal or block whenever he checks in.&nbsp;
Sometimes it's a minute. Sometimes it's 30 seconds. It could be even less than that. Thybulle checked in for Danny Green at the 7:17 mark of the quarter, by the way.
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It can be a bit cliche to describe a defensive player as being able to be multiple places at once. It's pretty freaking accurate in the case of Thybulle.&nbsp;
There's almost no way to accurately describe how rangy Thybulle is. Stuff like&nbsp;this&nbsp;is routine for him.
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That's Thybulle dropping to the left block in anticipation of a cut. He finds himself behind the play as Lauri Markkanen lefts to the wing, but is able to block the shot anyway. Seth Curry drops down to the "nail" to pick up Markkanen; Thybulle then rotates over to Garrett Temple, picking off the pass in the process.
Thybulle leads the NBA in blocks on above-the-break threes (16), <a href="https://www.pbpstats.com/totals/nba/player?Season=2020-21&amp;SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason" target="_blank" rel="noopener">per PBP Stats</a>. Overall, Thybulle is <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/traditional/?sort=PTS&amp;dir=-1&amp;Season=2020-21&amp;SeasonType=Regular%20Season&amp;PerMode=Totals&amp;CF=STL*GE*75:BLK*GE*50" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one of four players</a> to have at least 75 steals and 50 blocks this season. This may shock you, but he's logged the least amount of minutes of that group by a pretty wide margin.
I don't think there's a (public) site that tracks it, but my bet is that Thybulle leads the NBA in rearview contests/blocks. As pesky as he is at the point of attack, he still has a tendency to get snagged on screens. What makes him so special is his ability to recover from behind.
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I am literally begging for the three-ball to become a passable weapon for him so we can see more of him.
DEATH, TAXES, AND ISO MELO
The Blazers aren't far removed from a five-game losing streak, capped off by a pair of disappointing showings against the Memphis Grizzlies. Damian Lillard was laboring; CJ McCollum was slumping a bit; the defense was as bad as it's been all season.
So, in typical Blazers fashion, they've won four of their last five.
The stars have bounced back, and the starting lineup (Lillard, McCollum, Norman Powell, Robert Covington, Jusuf Nurkic) has flourished because of it. Their staggered second unit, with Carmelo Anthony operating as the Robin to Lillard's Batman, has blitzed teams <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/lineups/advanced/?Season=2020-21&amp;SeasonType=Regular%20Season&amp;TeamID=1610612757&amp;LastNGames=5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">over the past five games.</a>
Anthony's been on a heater, averaging a little under 15 points off the bench with a 56/57/100 shooting split over his last five. He's been able to capitalize on catch-and-shoot looks when the defense is scrambled elsewhere. His mid-post play is popping right now; smaller defenders just can't keep Melo from getting to his spots. The fadeaway is still money, and the release point is impossible to bother.
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Anthony grades out as a plus contributor in isolation (80th percentile) and post-up (52nd percentile) possessions this season, per Synergy. He's run even hotter over the past five.
Enjoy the run.&nbsp;
THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO "HMMMM"
<ul>
<li>Who is the Mavericks' third best player behind Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis? Tim Hardaway Jr. is making a strong push, averaging 31.3 points&nbsp;over his last three games. He's fresh off a night where he drained 10 threes in a blow-out win against Miami. Just as a quick aside: sign me up for any player with a sway on their jumper. &nbsp;</li>
<li>I don't think enough has been made of the fact that Kevin Durant is shooting nearly 58 percent from two, almost 48 percent from three, and 88 percent from the line. I'm not sure what you're supposed to do with that.</li>
<li>There are 13 players generating at least 1.00 PPP when coming off of screens (min. 75 possessions). Nikola Jokic (1.13 PPP) is the only center on the list. It is absolutely wild watching a man that big (and slow) coming off pindowns for middies.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Another Chris Paul update, because I can't get enough of these: he's now up to 16 games with 10+ assists with two or fewer turnovers this season.</li>
<li>There are 43 players who have logged at least 500 pick-and-roll possessions (passes included) this season, per Synergy. Your most efficient initiator? Kawhi Leonard (1.15 PPP). Second? DeMar DeRozan (1.12). Shoutout to 2019.</li>
</ul>
PLAYS I LIKED
Improvisational Jazz
Watching the Jazz fly around during one of their intricate sets are one of my niche joys. Call me a nerd, I don't care.&nbsp;
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We get the illusion of HORNS Flare to start, but it's a decoy. Joe Ingles "ghosts" the Rudy Gobert screen as the big fella "chases" Mike Conley on the left wing. Instead of stepping up, Royce O'Neale clears the left corner to set up an empty side pick-and-roll between Conley and Gobert.
Even&nbsp;that's&nbsp;a decoy.
Instead of running the pick-and-roll, Conley pitches the ball to Ingles. O'Neale, after clearing the left side, sets a pin-in screen on an unsuspecting Jaden McDaniels, freeing Bojan Bogdanovic for a triple.
Whew.
Bucks clearing a side
Another opening set, another empty corner look, this time from the Milwaukee Bucks.
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I like the moving parts here. Donte DiVincenzo loops around Giannis before petering out to the dunker spot. Giannis comes off a Brook Lopez screen, receives the pass, fakes a handoff with Jrue Holiday, then flows into a two-man action with Khris Middleton.
The Nets attempt to switch, but Giannis does a fantastic job of sealing Kevin Durant off. Middleton recognizes Giannis has inside leverage, and floats in a pinpoint lob.
Slicing for Sabonis
Domantas Sabonis handles the ball a lot. And I mean&nbsp;a lot.&nbsp;He'll grab and go after defensive rebounds. He'll initiate the offense in Delay sets above the break. Pitches to the elbow lead to split action, in which he's the conductor of it all. It's nice to see the Pacers work to get him open sometimes.
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A wing pitch that flows into Double Drag is fancy enough to catch my eye. Having a guard screen for Sabonis at the same time just adds to the funk. The inverted screen is key; it dislodges Alex Len long enough to throw him behind the play. He recovers decently enough, but his front foot is exposed. Sabonis attacks almost immediately, gaining inside leverage on the drive before finishing through contact for the and-one.
THE READING LIST
There is plenty of high-level basketball content out here if you know where to look. I wouldn&rsquo;t be where I am as a writer without reading a ton of Zach Lowe or Chris Herring or Caitlin Cooper or Mirin Fader or, well, you get the point.&nbsp;
Anyway, here are some -- not all, but some! -- of the stories I&rsquo;ve read this week that I think you should check out. Their Twitter handles will be linked under their names, so click and follow if you don&rsquo;t already.
<a href="https://twitter.com/loganmmurdock" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Logan Murdock</a> with <a href="https://twitter.com/loganmmurdock/status/1389776822905184256?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a tremendous feature</a> on Kings rookie Tyrese Haliburton.
<a href="https://twitter.com/jackfrank_jjf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jackson Frank</a> on the <a href="https://twitter.com/jackfrank_jjf/status/1389598688230612993?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">budding stardom of Darius Garland</a>.
<a href="https://twitter.com/seeratsohi" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Seerat Sohi</a> slams the door on the <a href="https://twitter.com/seeratsohi/status/1387931245816946693?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MVP conversation</a>.
<a href="https://twitter.com/WillAldrich_" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Will Aldrich</a> on Indiana Fever rookie Kysre Gondrezick looking to break barriers <a href="https://twitter.com/WillAldrich_/status/1389286735234969602?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">on and off the court</a>.
<a href="https://twitter.com/ZachLowe_NBA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Zach Lowe</a> with <a href="https://twitter.com/ZachLowe_NBA/status/1389929521458159617?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a fantastic feature</a> on Hawks center Clint Capela.

In Nekias Duncan's weekly notebook, he shares things that have caught his eye. He breaks down players, teams, plays and stats.

Roaming the Baseline: Giannis, Matisse Thybulle, Carmelo Anthony, more

Syracuse University&rsquo;s magical Sweet 16 run may have ended on Saturday night against the No. 2 seed Houston Cougars, but this is what March Madness is made of: the story of Jim and Buddy Boeheim, a coach and his son making a tournament push, warmed everyone&rsquo;s heart.
Interviewed on countless shows, laughing and joking, the duo was everywhere. The two talked about everything, from who was the better player to Buddy forgetting his electric shaver and having to run to Jim&rsquo;s room to borrow one before the game. It was March Dad-ness, and the world couldn&rsquo;t get enough of it.
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Of course, this was a dramatic turnaround from the original reaction. Just two seasons ago, the consensus was that Buddy was <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/basketball-news-ncaa-syracuse-orangemen-the-pressure-of-being-son-of-coach-jim-q-and-a-buddy-boeheim" target="_blank" rel="noopener">only on the team because his daddy was the coach</a>, but he definitely shut all of his critics up as he morphed into Buddy Buckets right before everyone&rsquo;s eyes.
However, when the dancing stopped, it really stopped. Coach Boeheim broke the news that he expected four-to-six players to transfer this season, and the Orange Nation took a collective gasp.
One by one, he's been absolutely right.&nbsp;
First, the news came about Bol Ajak, a freshman who only appeared in 10 games this season, entering the transfer portal. He was recruited as a forward and converted to the center spot, and was never able to crack the rotation.
Then came Robert Braswell, who saw his playing time really increase toward the end of the season. In fact, Braswell averaged 7.4 points per game over the last five games of the campaign (including the ACC and NCAA Tourney). He received endless praise from Coach Boeheim, although the praise did appear to be more of continuous jabs at Alan Griffin, who appeared to be in Jim's dog house and was never able to get out.
Griffin went from 30 minutes a game -- and at times carrying the offensive load almost single-handedly -- to being consistently yanked out of the game just minutes after tip-off. It was almost as if Coach Boeheim was waiting for him to make a mistake so he could snatch him out. It wouldn't be suprising to see Griffin as another player to enter his name into the transfer portal, but I&rsquo;m sure he will do well wherever he goes. He&rsquo;s a very good player and handled a difficult situation with maturity and professionalism.&nbsp;
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In <a href="https://www.si.com/college/syracuse/basketball/predicting-players-leave-stay-syracuse-basketball" target="_blank" rel="noopener">an article on SI.com</a> predicting who will stay and go, Mike McAllister said he expected freshman guard Kadary Richmond to continue his career with the Orange.
"Richmond is young, extremely talented and has an NBA ceiling," McAllister wrote. "Syracuse knows how good he is. My prediction is that the coaching staff communicates all of that during exit interviews, reiterating he will play a lot of minutes next season, and Richmond stays."
Unfortunately, that didn&rsquo;t happen. Tuesday morning, Richmond <a href="https://verbalcommits.com/players/kadary-richmond" target="_blank" rel="noopener">entered his name in the transfer portal</a>, officially exiting Syracuse to join his former teammates in looking for a new direction.
How did we get here? How did a point guard who has shown the potential to be included in the upper echelon of Syracuse greats end up transferring after his freshman year? Well, let&rsquo;s take a look back at what transpired this season.
All season long, Syracuse fans screamed from the mountain tops for Richmond to receive more playing time. It&rsquo;s been kind of a rallying cry for one and all. (<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/syracuse-center-jesse-edwards-answers-critics-with-his-play" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Along with "Free Jesse</a>," but for the purpose of this article, we&rsquo;ll focus on Kadary.) Orange Nation would watch Richmond on the bench, puzzled.
Why would a person who is that much of a difference-maker not play more minutes?&nbsp;
Now, this is no knock on starting point guard Joseph Girard, who is capable of shooting the ball from Steph Curry land, as his endless range makes defenses extend their pressure. When he comes off of a screen, catches the ball and goes up to shoot, most onlookers expect it to go in. He has a James Harden-like sidestep or stepback that has proven extremely difficult to guard.
Girard is very good at what he is good at -- but on the flip side, the things that are not his strengths seem to all be Richmond&rsquo;s strengths.
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For example, the end of the game against West Virginia seemed like it was headed for disaster. Syracuse was having trouble inbounding the ball (multiple times) under the opposing basket. They ran scheme after scheme: lined up all four guys across the front, had one person cut one way, had the other set a pick the opposite way, called a timeout to regroup. But each inbound attempt resulted in the team getting trapped in the corner and almost turning the ball over. It happened three or four times in a row in less than a minute.&nbsp;
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Then, Coach Boeheim inserted Richmond to save the day. He casually cut open to receive the ball, and broke the press by himself. That play symbolized what happened the entire season. Kadary would be inserted almost when all other options ran out to save the day, and he would repeatedly deliver, yet never earned the starting position.&nbsp;
Richmond&rsquo;s ability to handle pressure was simply far beyond his years. Opposing teams would smell blood in the water when they would see Girard alone in the backcourt. Teams that didn&rsquo;t even typically press would all of a sudden start blitzing him because every scouting report on Girard read: "Doesn&rsquo;t handle ball pressure well." Even in the half-court, you would see teams bump him, apply pressure and make him put the ball on the floor, which more times than not would result in turnovers for Girard.&nbsp;
They couldn&rsquo;t do that with Richmond. He would almost invite the pressure, calmly crossing over from left to right a few times and knifing down the lane to effortlessly lay it in or find someone wide open for an assist. In fact, if you adjusted his playing time to 40 minutes per game, Richmond would almost lead the ACC in assists per game (trailing only Pittsburgh&rsquo;s Xavier Johnson).&nbsp;
Richmond got everyone involved. He is the type of point guard anyone, including myself, would&rsquo;ve loved to play with. Players know that if they set a pick for him and roll hard to the basket, he will find them. If he drives and they get to an open spot and have their hands ready, the ball will just magically appear in their grasp. If they run the floor hard on a fastbreak, Richmond won&rsquo;t keep it to try to go 1-on-3 or Eurostep into traffic and force up a shot like so many players do today; he will make the right play and hit the open man. If you spot up behind the three-point line, he will find you. (I&rsquo;m still not a big fan of all these threes, but I understand that&rsquo;s just the new age of basketball, and I have morphed into the grumpy old get-off-my-lawn former player in some sense, and I&rsquo;m okay with that...but I digress).
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The point is, what Richmond brings to the game is invaluable.&nbsp;
On the defensive end, Richmond was clearly the best perimeter defender on the team, and it wasn't even close. Multiple times, he would get back-to-back steals as soon as he was inserted into the game. The careless and lazy passes that the opposing team were able to get away with doing when he was on the bench would no longer work. Richmond&rsquo;s lengthy wingspan, physicality, lateral movement, mobility, basketball IQ, anticipation and ability to pick-off ball carriers would be on full display game after game. He would have an immediate impact on both ends of the floor.&nbsp;
Coach Boeheim then gave excuses to the media and writers, who were also wondering why Richmond wasn&rsquo;t seeing more playing time.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s learning. He has his conditioning. I&rsquo;m not sure he can play any more minutes than 20. He could play a few (more) maybe,&rdquo; <a href="https://www.syracuse.com/orangebasketball/2021/02/the-case-for-kadary-can-jim-boeheim-and-su-fans-find-common-ground-in-a-backcourt-battle.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Boeheim said</a>.
That statement left all of Syracuse Nation completely puzzled -- including myself.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
I&rsquo;ve said it before and I&rsquo;m going to keep saying it, Kadary Richmond should play as many minutes as he can possibly play (and that&rsquo;s a lot more than 20) We are a completely different team with him on the floor. Offensively and defensively it&rsquo;s night and day<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FreeWoodyNewton?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FreeWoodyNewton</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cuse?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cuse</a> <a href="https://t.co/wgpbiW7PSO">pic.twitter.com/wgpbiW7PSO</a>
&mdash; Etan Thomas (@etanthomas36) <a href="https://twitter.com/etanthomas36/status/1363241007568084996?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 20, 2021</a></blockquote>
The point guard is the most important position on the floor. Yes, everyone knows he should&rsquo;ve been playing more, but what needed to be communicated to him was that what he brings to this team is invaluable, appreciated, cherished, recognized and respected, and that he would not be hampered by remaining in a Syracuse uniform. I&rsquo;m sure other teams have been whispering in his ear all season that he won&rsquo;t have these issues at their school, that he would flourish at their programs and that they would value him.
Coach Boeheim and the entire staff should have started recruiting him all over again, and all of that should have been communicated to him. Maybe it was, and Kadary was just didn&rsquo;t believe them because of what actually transpired this season. At any rate, it wasn&rsquo;t enough to convince him to stay.
And as the tragic reality settles in on Orange Nation that Kadary Richmond will no longer be with the Syracuse program, we have to come to grips with the fact that we have squandered away a special talent.

Etan Thomas looks back at the Orange's Sweet 16 run in the NCAA Tournament and how Kadary Richmond's exit will hurt the team.

Losing Kadary Richmond is a tragedy for Syracuse University

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) &mdash; Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry&rsquo;s tireless work off the basketball court campaigning for social justice, supporting women&rsquo;s causes and even interviewing Dr. Anthony Fauci about the coronavirus pandemic is drawing acclaim from civil rights leaders.
The NAACP has given him its Jackie Robinson Sports Award. And, for the first time, the nation&rsquo;s oldest civil rights organization is recognizing more than one person by honoring the WNBA Players Association.
&ldquo;This award is truly a humbling and honoring experience. It kind of came by surprise in terms of when you do things in the community and speak on things you believe, it&rsquo;s about the collective effort, not just myself but everybody who is around me in terms of accountability to change,&rdquo; Curry said in remarks provided to The Associated Press by a team spokesman. Curry was unavailable for a formal interview while resting a tailbone injury suffered Wednesday night in Houston.
&ldquo;You don&rsquo;t really do it for the acknowledgment, it&rsquo;s more so about the work that you&rsquo;re doing, that this is a great opportunity to continue to speak on things that are important and honor the legacy of Jackie Robinson and what he stood for and the change he was able to create and the barriers he was able to break and to continue these conversations,&rdquo; Curry added. &ldquo;So I&rsquo;m appreciative of the acknowledgment, the honor and if it gives more inspiration and energy to keep changing things in terms of what needs to happen for the Black community across the country then I&rsquo;m all about it.&rdquo;
The 33-year-old Curry, Golden State&rsquo;s two-time NBA MVP, held a YouTube question-and-answer forum with Fauci last March near the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
&ldquo;I would borrow a Maya Angelou quote to describe Steph and his leadership: &lsquo;I&rsquo;ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel,&rsquo;&rdquo; Warriors general manager Bob Myers said in an email.
&ldquo;Steph has certainly made people in the Bay Area and all over the world feel joy. His commitment to social activism and support of women are another part of the fabric that makes up the person that he is. I&rsquo;m honored to know him for what he does both on and off the court,&rdquo; Myers added. &ldquo;And a much deserved congratulations to the women of the WNBA who continue to fearlessly pursue what is right.&rdquo;
The Jackie Robinson award &mdash; named for the late Dodgers great who broke baseball&rsquo;s racial barrier &mdash; recognizes athletes for their success as well as their commitment to social justice, civil rights and their communities.
&ldquo;He has a strong platform and he utilizes it to the best of his ability,&rdquo; said Curry&rsquo;s teammate, Kelly Oubre Jr. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a great individual.&rdquo;
The WNBA players have been applauded for their activism in a unified movement that has featured kneeling for the national anthem, messages supporting Black Lives Matter and protesting the shooting of Jacob Blake in August by following the Bucks&rsquo; lead in not playing.
&ldquo;I am so proud of the WNBA players for this well-deserved recognition of their continued activism and advocacy for social justice and equality,&rdquo; WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a statement provided to the AP. &ldquo;Their platforms are bigger than basketball, and they are amazing role models for the next generation of athletes and leaders. The WNBA Social Justice Council continues their important work and you can definitely &lsquo;Count&rsquo; on more to come from the players.&rdquo;
WNBA players also notably called out former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler, a Republican and former co-owner of the Atlanta Dream, for her criticism of the league&rsquo;s social justice efforts.
Curry, too, applauded the women for their efforts.
&ldquo;The acknowledgement of the WNBA and what they&rsquo;ve stood for and how they&rsquo;ve used their platform to be bold and courageous and speak for change at every opportunity, that acknowledgement is very much deserved,&rdquo; Curry said. &ldquo;They are game-changers and leaders in terms of using their collective voice and impact on and off the court, so a shoutout to them and all that they&rsquo;ve done and are continuing to do in terms of leadership and using their voice.&rdquo;
Some WNBA players sported T-shirts reading &ldquo;Vote Warnock&rdquo; in support of Atlanta pastor Raphael Warnock, a Democrat who defeated Loeffler in a runoff race in January. Warnock became Georgia&rsquo;s first African American senator.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr, outspoken on many issues himself, admires the WNBA players for their activism.
&ldquo;I love what the WNBA players have done. They&rsquo;ve really taken the lead with creativity and unity in a lot of important causes, political causes but social injustice issues,&rdquo; Kerr said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;ve made their voices heard. They&rsquo;ve done it very creatively and powerfully.&rdquo;
The awards are to be presented during next week&rsquo;s NAACP Image Awards Virtual Experience.
LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Jim Brown, The Harlem Globetrotters, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Sugar Ray Leonard, Eddie Robinson are among prior recipients.
___
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Warriors' Stephen Curry has received the Jackie Robinson award from the NAACP.

Warriors' Stephen Curry receives Jackie Robinson award from NAACP

The only time Nate McMillan cracked a smile during Tuesday's 35-minute introductory news conference was when he recounted how departed Atlanta Hawks head coach Lloyd Pierce actually apologized to him for bringing him aboard as an assistant.
Gallows humor among coaches is a special thing, and they all know what they are signing up for when they vow to do their best in what has been a players&rsquo; league for decades. Unless they are named Popovich or Spoelstra, they are hired to be fired.
And that was what happened with Pierce on Monday, much to the dismay of other coaches around the NBA, who weighed in with very strong thoughts about what may have led to the decision nominally made by general manager Travis Schlenk, but likely made by owner Antony Ressler.
The Hawks have been horrid in fourth quarters and tight games this season, losing 11 of which they held a fourth-quarter lead. The tension between Pierce and many of the organization&rsquo;s younger players was well-documented, and most of the veterans who were brought in to help out have been injured, ineffective or both.
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Atlanta is 11th in the East with a 14-20 record, hands down the most disappointing team in the Eastern Conference with a roster built around three young stars -- Trae Young, John Collins and Clint Capela -- who are still in the process of learning how to become winners, a personality characteristic on the NBA level that sometimes takes years for a player to hone.
&ldquo;I told the players: &lsquo;If you are looking to point a finger, point it at yourselves. All of us,&rsquo;&ldquo; McMillan said, &ldquo;because all have to do better and win some games. Coach Pierce doesn&rsquo;t have that opportunity. He takes the hit.&rdquo;
Pierce exits with a 63-120 record, along with the backing of his fraternity. But the backing of the players on his roster is what ultimately makes or breaks every coach at every level. Pierce had enough trouble breaching the generational divide, and Schlenk cited a need for a new voice as one of the primary reasons why the change was made just two games prior to the All-Star break.
McMillan said Young, in particular, needs to become more adept at reacting to different defensive looks, particularly the box-and-one that at least three teams have employed this season. He noted that Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant adjusted and thrived despite the different defensive looks they encountered over the course of their careers. Can Young do that? He didn&rsquo;t under Pierce, that much we know.
McMillan&rsquo;s prior head coaching experiences came with franchises that each had a culture. In Indianapolis, Portland and Seattle, the teams were civic treasures; in Atlanta, he takes over a franchise that could use a similar facelift. The pieces are in place for this roster to be a legitimate championship contender if everyone is playing at peak efficiency.
But Rajon Rondo, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Kris Dunn, De&rsquo;Andre Hunter and Danilo Gallinari have missed significant time because of injuries, and the lack of practice times that all teams are having to adjust to has been especially difficult for a Hawks group that clearly needs as much acclimation time as possible. That commodity is unavailable during the current pandemic, so we are where we are.
&ldquo;I told them about the three Cs: calm, clear and connected,&rdquo; McMillan said of his message, explaining that bad decision-making on both ends of the floor in the final minutes of close games was what separated good teams from bad teams.&nbsp;
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Going forward, he wants an end to the internal barriers -- deep three-pointers early in the shot clock, failure to help as weakside defenders and losing poise as individuals and as a unit. If the players can listen and harness McMillan&rsquo;s message, there is no reason why they cannot be a top-eight team with the personnel able to present a postseason challenge to a Brooklyn or a Philadelphia.
But if Atlanta continues to be a player-centric type of situation and pays no mind to the message, McMillan does not figure to be a long-term solution (he took the job on an interim basis). Young is 22, Collins is 23, Hunter is 23 and Reddish is 21. Bogdanovic and Capela, both 26, are pretty much the wise old men on this team in terms of players currently producing.
McMillan is 56, a guy who went straight from being a player for the Sonics to being an assistant coach. He takes over for a 44-year-old Pierce that will likely not be heard from again until he resurfaces as an assistant on Gregg Popovich&rsquo;s Team USA squad for the Olympics this summer.
Pierce was the fall guy; he even he saw it coming. It takes a special person to connect with a younger generation that is not always amenable to accepting life experience as a valued commodity. Perhaps McMillan will get through to them, perhaps not.
&ldquo;The sleepless nights have already started,&rdquo; McMillan said.&nbsp;
And he was not laughing or smiling when he said that, because mirth is in as short supply in Atlanta as signature victories.
Time will tell if McMillan can change that.

Chris Sheridan details Nate McMillan's first press conference as Atlanta's interim head coach.

Nate McMillan to Hawks: 'If you are looking to point a finger, point it at all of us'

After it was reported recently that the WNBA's Atlanta Dream would be sold by former U.S. Senator Kelly Loeffler, the deal was publicly announced today by the league that it has been completed.&nbsp;
The league said the following in a press release:
"The WNBA and NBA Boards of Governors have unanimously approved the sale of the Atlanta Dream to Larry Gottesdiener, Chairman of Northland, an industry-leading national real estate&nbsp;firm. The three-member investor group is comprised of former Dream star Renee Montgomery, Northland President and Chief Operating Officer Suzanne Abair, and Gottesdiener.&ldquo;With the unanimous WNBA and NBA votes, today marks a new beginning for the Atlanta Dream organization and we are very pleased to welcome Larry Gottesdiener and Suzanne Abair to the WNBA,&rdquo; said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. &ldquo;I admire their passion for women&rsquo;s basketball, but more importantly, have been impressed with their values.&nbsp;I am also thrilled that former WNBA star Renee Montgomery will be joining the ownership group as an investor and executive for the team.&nbsp;Renee is a trailblazer who has made a major impact both in the game and beyond.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;It is a privilege to join a team of inspiring women who strive for excellence on the court and equity off the court,&rdquo; said Larry Gottesdiener. &ldquo;I would like to express my gratitude to Commissioner Engelbert, Commissioner Silver, and the WNBA and NBA Boards of Governors for the opportunity.&rdquo; Two-time WNBA champion Renee Montgomery will be the first former player to become both an owner and executive of a WNBA team. Montgomery sat out the 2020 season to focus on social justice issues and recently announced her retirement from the league after 11 seasons. &ldquo;My Dream has come true,&rdquo; said Renee Montgomery. &ldquo;Breaking barriers for minorities and women by being the first former WNBA player to have both a stake in ownership and a leadership role with the team is an opportunity that I take very seriously. I invite you to join me as the Dream builds momentum in Atlanta!&rdquo; Founded in 2007, the Dream has qualified for the WNBA Playoffs eight times and has reached the WNBA Finals three times. The team&rsquo;s former owners, Dream Too LLC, the Atlanta Dream ownership group, purchased the team in 2011.Mary Brock and Kelly Loeffler commented on the transaction saying, "Ten years ago we stepped up to keep the Dream in Atlanta, as an important asset for a vibrant and diverse city. It was also important to us to help level the playing field for women's professional sports. We are proud of what we accomplished and wish the team well in their next chapter. We will always value the hard work and dedication, and the memories, fans and friendships that sustained our commitment to the Atlanta Dream over the last decade.&rdquo;The Dream will play the 2021 season at the Gateway Center Arena at College Park, a multi-purpose sports and entertainment venue. The 2021 WNBA regular season schedule will be announced at a later date.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; About Larry Gottesdiener Larry Gottesdiener, Founder and Chairman of Northland Investment Corporation, a $10 billion real estate private equity firm, charts Northland&rsquo;s long-term strategy, oversees innovative mixed-used developments, and guides philanthropy, engagement, and activism. Northland has been recognized by the industry in lists that include Best Places to Work in Multifamily and Best Places to Work in Multifamily for Women. Northland&rsquo;s philanthropy is focused on empowering women, combating racism, and ending homelessness."
Loeffler came under scrutiny this past year as she opposed the Black Lives Matter movement that the league, and her players openly embraced. Loeffler was a Republican representing the State of Georgia in the U.S. Senate, but was recently defeated in a runoff election by Rev. Raphael Warnock, the candidate whom many WNBA players openly campainged for.&nbsp;

One of the new owners of the team is former WNBA player Renee Montgomery.

Atlanta Dream ownership sale announced by WNBA

Sacramento Kings forward Harrison Barnes, Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown, Milwaukee Bucks guard George Hill, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Chris Paul and Dallas Mavericks forward-center Dwight Powell have received the 2019-20 End-of-Season NBA Cares Community Assist Award presented by Kaiser Permanente in recognition of their continued commitment to positively impacting their communities through sustained efforts over the course of the season, the NBA announced today.&nbsp;
This year&rsquo;s end-of-season award recognizes five players whose exemplary work advanced social justice and provided COVID-19 relief and support, reflecting the longstanding passion of NBA players to give back to their communities and stand up for the principles of equality, diversity and inclusion.
The five recipients made concerted efforts throughout the 2019-20 season &ndash; which extended nearly a full calendar year including the league&rsquo;s hiatus and restart &ndash; to leverage their platforms and voices to engage, empower and support different communities amidst the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic and social justice movement following continued incidents of racialized violence against Black men and women.&nbsp; Each winning player will receive $10,000 to their charity of choice, a donation from the NBA and Kaiser Permanente.
Harrison Barnes, Sacramento Kings
Barnes has provided meaningful support to youth, families and frontline workers in Sacramento, Dallas and Ames, IA.&nbsp; Barnes and his wife, Brittany, donated $40,000 to deliver weekly groceries for families and senior citizens in Sacramento and contributed an additional $40,000 to Hunger Busters, a local non-profit that provides daily meals for Dallas Independent School District students, and $10,000 to the Boys &amp; Girls Club of Greater Dallas.&nbsp; Barnes provided nearly $200,000 for refurbishments to his alma mater Ames High School to assist with safe and healthy learning.&nbsp; He continues to take a leadership role in fighting for meaningful change to combat racial and social inequities, speaking about the importance of civic engagement and voting at a peaceful protest in downtown Sacramento in support of Black Lives Matter following the tragic murder of George Floyd.&nbsp; As part of the season restart, Barnes dedicated each Kings game to a different organization, including the Trayvon Martin Foundation, The Botham Jean Foundation, The Atatiana Project, Mothers Against Police Brutality, The Michael Brown Foundation, Tamir Rice Foundation, Champion in the Making and the African American Policy Forum, contributing $25,000 to each non-profit created by the families of victims of police brutality and gun violence.&nbsp; Barnes has selected the African American Policy Forum as the recipient of his donation.
&ldquo;It is a great honor to be named among the winners of the NBA Community Assist Award, which I proudly share with my wife, Brittany,&rdquo; said Barnes.&nbsp; &ldquo;Brittany and I remain committed to helping the communities we are connected to, specifically showing our support for families affected by police brutality.&nbsp; We dedicate this award to the legacy of Breonna Taylor and we stand with organizations such as #SayHerName with African American Policy Forum to shine a light on Black women and girls who have been victims of police brutality.&nbsp; We cannot forget them, and the Black men senselessly killed.&nbsp; Our efforts are not done, and we will continue to make a difference to fuel racial and social justice.&rdquo;
Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics
Brown has continuously demonstrated leadership in Boston and Atlanta and throughout the hiatus and restart, organizing action and advocating for racial and educational equity.&nbsp; Following the killing of George Floyd, Brown drove 15 hours to his native Atlanta and organized a peaceful march on May 30.&nbsp; Brown&rsquo;s impassioned advocacy towards social justice inspired the Boston Celtics United for Social Justice campaign, a multi-focus commitment to addressing racial injustice and social inequities in the greater Boston area.&nbsp; In response to the pandemic, Brown made a significant contribution to the Boston Resiliency Fund, a city-led effort to assist communities most impacted by the pandemic.&nbsp; His generous donation provided meals for senior citizens and families most in need, new technology for students as they transitioned to remote learning as well as continued support for first responders.&nbsp; Brown has selected the 7uice Foundation as the recipient of his donation.
On receiving the 2019-20 End-of-Season NBA Cares Community Assist Award presented by Kaiser Permanente, Brown shared, &ldquo;There is so much more work to be done.&rdquo;
George Hill, Milwaukee Bucks
Hill and his teammates were instrumental in encouraging members of the NBA family to leverage their collective platforms to advance social justice. &nbsp;Electing not to play on Aug. 26, Hill and the Bucks organized a call with Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul and Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes&nbsp;to discuss meaningful measures to address criminal justice reform.&nbsp; In April, he partnered with Represent Justice for a conversation with Xavier McElrath-Bey, who was formerly incarcerated, about the criminal justice system following the Bucks&rsquo; Play for Justice game at Racine Correctional Institution in December.&nbsp; Particularly focused on education, Hill collaborated with community leaders in his hometown of Indianapolis to open Him By Her Collegiate School for the Arts, preparing underserved students for college entry and postgraduate success, and created a youth mentorship program to help Milwaukee Public School students stay engaged during the pandemic called George&rsquo;s Gentlemen.&nbsp; To support those impacted by COVID-19, Hill donated meals to health care workers and contributed to the Bucks Emergency Relief Fund to provide financial relief to Fiserv Forum employees.&nbsp; Hill has selected Represent Justice as the recipient of his donation.
&ldquo;Every day we have to live our lives with greater respect and purpose.&nbsp; This isn&rsquo;t a one-person battle, it&rsquo;s a battle for the entire world,&rdquo; Hill said.&nbsp; &ldquo;Now is the time for us to come together as one and embrace each other, love one another and grow together.&nbsp; Humanity is something we&rsquo;re lacking, and I will continue to do my job to bring back those attributes that we lack today in every community.&rdquo;
Chris Paul, Oklahoma City Thunder
As President of the National Basketball Players Association, Paul played an integral role in ensuring the goal of the season restart would be to take collective action to combat systemic racism and promote social justice, working in partnership with the NBPA and NBA to create social justice messages on jerseys and the court, provide on campus programs and resources for players and use the game&rsquo;s platform to increase awareness around civic engagement.&nbsp; Paul, Portland&rsquo;s Carmelo Anthony and NBA legend Dwyane Wade launched the Social Change Fund in July dedicated to addressing social and economic justice issues facing Black communities and breaking down the discriminatory barriers to success.&nbsp; In March, he collaborated with Live Nation to launch an internship program at North Carolina A&amp;T State University, providing students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities with an opportunity to gain experience in the music industry.&nbsp; As part of the Chris Paul Family Foundation&rsquo;s efforts to strengthen communities, Paul donated meals to feed more than 200 hospital workers in North Carolina during the pandemic.&nbsp; Paul&rsquo;s foundation also partnered with State Farm and Spalding in January to renovate a 30-year-old court at Family T.R.E.E, an organization dedicated to renewing and reunifying families in Oklahoma City, and hosted 100 children from Big Brothers Big Sisters of Oklahoma on a holiday shopping spree, teaching children how to budget their money and give during the holidays.&nbsp; Paul has selected the Chris Paul Family Foundation as the recipient of his donation.
&ldquo;The community assist award is such an honor to me any year, but this year in particular,&rdquo; said Paul.&nbsp; &ldquo;Given everything 2020 has thrown our way, it&rsquo;s important that we the players continue to use our NBA platform to be the voice of the voiceless.&nbsp; I will continue to amplify and support the front-line organizations fighting for racial and economic justice as well as the tireless efforts of the health care workers keeping us healthy and safe during the COVID-19 health crisis.&nbsp; I am so thankful for this acknowledgement as it is one of the proudest accolades an NBA player can receive.&rdquo;
Dwight Powell, Dallas Mavericks
During the pandemic, Powell organized immediate support for families and frontline workers in Dallas.&nbsp; He joined teammate Luka Dončić, Mavericks governor Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks Foundation in donating $500,000 to the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and Parkland Hospital to assist with childcare for frontline workers and provide meals from local restaurants for more than 11,000 health care workers and first responders at the City of Dallas&rsquo; Emergency Operations Center, COVID-19 testing sites and local hospitals.&nbsp; Powell also lifted the spirits of youth during periods of physical distancing, participating in children&rsquo;s hospital virtual room visits, delivering congratulatory messages for 2020 graduates, and making personal phone calls and videos encouraging positivity.&nbsp; He continues to support cancer patients and their families through the Dwight Powell Children and Family Support Fund and as part of NBA restart, orchestrated the entire Mavericks roster to select &ldquo;Equality&rdquo; to wear on their jerseys. Powell has selected Champions of Discovery as the recipient of his donation.
&ldquo;In my opinion, being a member of a community means lending your neighbor a hand whenever needed and searching for ways to help make your community a better place for all who live there,&rdquo; Powell stated. &ldquo;Furthermore, this year has presented us all with challenges that I feel should have reminded us that we are part of a much larger community than our NBA market.&nbsp; The issues at hand regarding public health and equality are far reaching and demand all of our attention.&nbsp; So it goes without saying we as NBA players have felt the need to step up in whatever way we can to try and find ways to help keep people safe, fight for racial justice and urge everyone to register to vote so they too can use their voices. As members of the greater community I feel that&rsquo;s all of our duties.&rdquo;
The NBA Cares Community Assist Award presented by Kaiser Permanente recognizes an NBA player each month who best reflects the passion that the league and its players share for giving back to their communities, and honors the standard set by NBA Legend David Robinson, who improved the community piece by piece.&nbsp; The monthly award recipients in the 2019-20 NBA season included Gorgui Dieng of the Memphis Grizzlies, Kevin Love of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns, DeAndre Jordan of the Brooklyn Nets, Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks and Langston Galloway of the Detroit Pistons.&nbsp;

Harrison Barnes, Jaylen Brown, George Hill, Chris Paul and Dwight Powell received the 2019-20 NBA Cares Community Assist award.

Jaylen Brown, CP3 headline NBA Cares awards

Spencer Davies chats with Georgetown big man Omer Yurtseven about his unique road to the 2020 NBA Draft.

Omer Yurtseven's unique path may give him edge in NBA Draft

James Posey talks to T.J. Ford about his upbringing, the 2003 NBA Draft, getting traded, how a tough season Indiana strengthened their bond and more.

Miami-Hamilton Harriers