MJ, of course, hung in the air over a helpless Ehlo and knocked in an iconic buzzer-beater to eliminate Cleveland from the 1989 NBA playoffs.

Harper, who eventually won championships alongside Jordan in Chicago, “had never really talked about defense or guarding people,” says Ehlo.

Per Cleveland.com:

One thing Ehlo doesn’t remember: Ron Harper’s version, which he relayed in Episode 3 of “The Last Dance” — a hit ESPN documentary that chronicles the Chicago Bulls’ quest for a sixth NBA championship in 1998.

“I never said I was a Jordan stopper like Gerald Wilkins or anything,” Ehlo said during an extensive call with cleveland.com this week. “But back then Harp and me were on the court at the same time and he was our big offensive threat. So, when I came in it was a no-brainer that I would guard Jordan so Harp could rest on defense and play on offense.

“Harp had never really talked about defense or guarding people. He wasn’t a bad defender, I will give him that much, but I think those years with the Bulls where he got those championships, he was definitely third or fourth fiddle, so all of a sudden he becomes this lockdown defender, apparently. I don’t really remember him during our time wanting to play defense that much. He kind of shocked me with those comments, saying he wanted to guard Michael.”

On Sunday night, Harper openly questioned coach Lenny Wilkens’ polarizing decision to use Ehlo as the primary defender on the final play — a clip that has since gone viral.

“We’re up by one and I said, ‘Coach I got MJ,’” Harper explained. “Coach tells me, ‘I’m going to put Ehlo on MJ.’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, OK, whatever. F**k this bullshit.’”

Related Agent: Michael Jordan Would Average ‘Between 50 and 60’ Today

The post Craig Ehlo: ‘I Never Said I Was a Jordan Stopper’ appeared first on SLAM.

MJ has the highest regular season (30.1 PPG) and playoff (33.4 PPG) scoring averages of all time, and no current player is “remotely” in his league, says Falk.

The renowned agent adds that he believes Scottie Pippen “has a certain level of jealousy” towards his former Chicago Bulls teammate.

Per NBC Sports Washington:

“With virtually zero defense, no hand-checking, I think if Jordan played today; if he was in his prime in today’s rules, I think he’d average between 50 and 60 a game. I think he’d shoot 75% from the floor. If you couldn’t hand-check him, he would be completely unstoppable,” Falk said. “Now that I watch [the documentary], I realize that, unless you’re legally blind, you can’t possibly think that there’s another player who ever played the game that’s remotely in the league that he’s in. Nobody.”

Falk continued.

“I hope personally, and I’m sure it won’t, that the doc ends all talk about like is Jordan competitive with LeBron [James]? He’s in a different league. If you don’t see that with your eyes, maybe the doctor’s office can help because you should have an eye test,” he said.

Falk has apparently seen the remaining episodes of “The Last Dance” and says some things he and others have known for a long time will come to light.

“Pippen has a certain level of jealousy towards Michael. He has said recently many times he thinks LeBron’s a better player. Now, if you’re Scottie Pippen, and Michael Jordan made your career, completely made your career; even if you think that, keep it to yourself,” Falk said. “Scottie’s problem, as the documentary points out in so many different places after the episodes you’ve seen, is that he wasn’t a great competitor. There were times for silly reasons. The migraine; you think that Michael Jordan [would do that] unless he had his leg amputated?”

Related Jeff Van Gundy: Michael Jordan ‘Would Average North of 40 Points’ Today

The post Agent: Michael Jordan Would Average ‘Between 50 and 60’ Today appeared first on SLAM.

Instead, the Pistons humiliated a Los Angeles squad that featured four future Hall of Famers in a 4-1 beatdown, and Billups walked away with Finals MVP honors.

Mr. Big Shot adds that he was confident heading into the title round matchup when the Purple and Gold emerged from the Western Conference.

Per Bleacher Report (via ESPN):

“If you look at the names on the back of the jerseys, yeah, they should have swept us,” Billups said. “They really should have.”

However, he pointed out, “styles make fights, and our style against theirs was superior even in the regular season when we played them.”

He averaged 21.0 points, 5.2 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.2 steals throughout the series behind 50.9 percent shooting from the field and 47.1 percent shooting from three-point range.

“When [Los Angeles] beat Minnesota, I was happy,” Billups said. “Because I felt like there was no way the Lakers could beat us.”

Related Larry Brown: Detroit Would Have ‘Many More’ Titles With Carmelo Anthony

The post Chauncey Billups: 2004 Lakers ‘Should Have Swept’ Pistons appeared first on SLAM.

“The point is we’re right there and we’re a contender, and I’m proud of that,” Riley said in a video released by the team Wednesday.

Miami compiled a 41-24 record, good for the fourth-seed in the Eastern Conference, before the coronavirus global pandemic shut everything down last month.

Per The Miami Herald:

“We had a very, very good basketball team,” Riley said. “Very well-coached, and I think we proved it on the court night in and night out. We overcame some adversity, some injuries. When that happened, next man up. That’s one of [Erik Spoelstra’s] sayings. I think we were [41-24] or something along those lines and headed to home-court advantage in the playoffs. It was a great year. I’m really disappointed that we haven’t seen the finish, especially after we made the trade when we brought in Andre Iguodala, Solomon Hill and Jae Crowder. I thought that was going to give us a little bit of an edge going into the playoffs.”

The NBA playoffs were scheduled to begin April 18, with the Heat owning home-court advantage in a first-round series against the Indiana Pacers based on the current standings.

“For all of us when we started the season, we thought we had something good,” Riley said. “Especially when we had the opportunity to sign Jimmy Butler. We didn’t really know how great Tyler Herro or Kendrick Nunn or Duncan Robinson, Chris Silva at times and a lot of our young guys, Derrick Jones Jr. And having Goran [Dragic] and having Jimmy Butler and having Bam [Adebayo], who has been around three years and having Meyers Leonard and his infectious personality and Kelly Olynyk. For all intents and purposes, I’m so happy that we turned a lot of things around and we found the right players, the right mix of pick-and-roll players, guys that can post up and really found a couple of guys that can shoot the ball — really shoot the ball — so we’re happy for that and we’re really optimistic about moving forward into the future with these players.”

Whether this season is saved or not, Riley’s goal hasn’t changed. At 75 years old, he wants to build another championship team.

“I don’t have much patience. You know me,” Riley said, with the Heat set to have enough cap space to sign a max player in the summer of 2021. “I want to build another championship team and we’re close. Maybe we need another player. Maybe we need less. I don’t know. The point is we’re right there and we’re a contender, and I’m proud of that.”

Related Pat Riley: Heat Drafted Dwyane Wade after a ‘Horrible Workout’

The post Pat Riley: Miami Heat ‘Close’ to Being a Championship Team appeared first on SLAM.

“Isiah’s name never came up during that conversation,” says Thorn, pushing back against the long-held popular assumption that MJ and other NBA superstars didn’t want Zeke on the squad that dominated en route to Gold at the 1992 Summer Olympics.

Thorn acknowledges, however, that Thomas and the Detroit Pistons hadn’t exactly built up a lot of goodwill around the League.

Per ESPN:

“There was never anything in my conversation with (Jordan) that had to do with Isiah Thomas, period,” Thorn said Wednesday. “He said, ‘I’ll do it.’ … Isiah’s name never came up during that conversation. And he never backtracked and said he didn’t want to do it from that time on, to those of us in the NBA office.

“Now, if that in fact happened, then it happened with somebody else; because when I talked to him, he ended up saying he would definitely do it.”

Thorn was asked why Thomas was not on the roster, assuming Jordan had no input.

“That’s a good question, because Isiah was a great player, a fantastic player,” Thorn said. “There was some controversy with the Pistons regarding not shaking hands with the Bulls — there was some bad blood, obviously, there. … But when we ended up going with the first 10 guys, he did not end up making the team.”

Related Isiah Thomas ‘Definitely Surprised’ Michael Jordan Called Him an A-Hole

The post Dream Team Architect: Michael Jordan Didn’t Ban Isiah Thomas appeared first on SLAM.

Thomas says Jordan has always been pleasant in his presence, and that he long ago left their fierce competition where it belonged: on the basketball court.

Zeke adds that MJ is the fourth greatest player he ever faced.

Per CBS Sports:

“I was definitely surprised,” he says. “Because we’ve been in each other’s presence before, and I’ve never gotten that type of reaction from him. We were even at dinner a couple times and he was always pleasant. Always good to my kids. Always good to my son. He even gave my son a pair of gym shoes.

“The competition that we all had on the floor, I truly just thought it was on the floor.”

For Thomas, Jordan’s greatness too often overshadows the ’80s own version of historically great basketball, and its historically great players.

“When you put Jordan and his basketball team in the ’80s, they weren’t a very successful team,” he says. “They just weren’t. When you talk about Jordan and his team dominating, they dominated the ’90s. But when you put him with those Lakers teams and those Pistons teams and those Celtics teams, they all beat him. They just did.

“What separated Jordan from all of us was he was the first one to three-peat. But he didn’t three-peat against Magic [Johnson], Larry Bird and [Julius Erving].”

Related Isiah Thomas: ‘I’ve Paid a Heavy Price’ for Not Shaking Bulls’ Hands

The post Isiah Thomas ‘Definitely Surprised’ Michael Jordan Called Him an A-Hole appeared first on SLAM.

Gordon put out a “diss” track in response to Wade’s inexplicably low score as a judge during February’s controversial dunk contest.

The 24-year-old Orlando Magic forward says everything is cool between the two of them.

Per ESPN:

Wade was one of three judges — along with Hall of Fame forward Scottie Pippen and actor Chadwick Boseman — who gave Gordon a score of 9 during the dunk-off, resulting in Gordon losing the title to Miami’s Derrick Jones Jr.

“I hear that and I kinda just am like, I think that was a response to the diss track without going back into the studio,” Gordon said. “So I take it with a little pinch of salt. But it’s really cool, man. Me and D-Wade, we talked a little bit about it — he told me he liked the song; I told him I liked his wine. So everything’s good.”

Gordon, 24, said making the song helped him process the event.

“People would ask me for it, so I just gave the people what they wanted, just my perspective,” he said. “I had to talk a lot about my opinion and my perspective on the dunk contest, so I thought this was a fun, creative, expressive, uplifting way to voice my opinion and tell the world what I was going through and what I was seeing on that day.”

Related Pat Riley: Heat Drafted Dwyane Wade after a ‘Horrible Workout’

The post Aaron Gordon: No Beef With Dwyane Wade Following Diss Track appeared first on SLAM.

“I actually never wanted to come out West,” recalls Paul, who was hooping for the then-New Orleans Hornets.

Former Dubs general manager, Larry Riley, has refuted that a blockbuster swap for CP3 was ever discussed.

Per NBC Sports Bay Area:

“Yeah, I remember it. True story,” Paul told Maverick Carter and Paul Rivera.

“Yep. that happened with a few teams. I actually never wanted to come out West. I’m born and raised on the East Coast, so I never was crazy about [Los Angeles] and all that until I finally got out here and lived out here. But at that time, all I really knew about The Bay, because I had been there to play the games, and everything was so hilly … “

The deal fell through when Paul said he wouldn’t re-sign with the Warriors, who at the time, were not yet a consistent NBA playoff team.

“First off, that’s false. That never took place,” Riley said on 95.7 The Game on April 17. “And therefore, I think everyone learned something. When you — I had to tell my mother this because she grew up in the days of Walter Cronkite — when you see something on TV or you read it in the newspaper, it’s not necessarily true.”

Related Chris Paul Appreciated Blake Griffin a ‘Lot More After’ Leaving Clippers

The post ‘True Story’: Chris Paul Rejected 2011 Trade to Warriors appeared first on SLAM.

“It’s unfortunate that it happened,” laments Thomas, adding that he remains hurt for supposedly not being selected to The Dream Team due to a “lapse in emotion.”

It bears noting that MJ trashed the Pistons as “undeserving champions” prior to the infamous walk-off.

“The Pistons are undeserving champions,” Jordan said on the day between Games 3 and 4 in Detroit in 1991. “The Bad Boys are bad for basketball.”

Per ESPN:

“We were coming down, Michael Jordan was coming up,” Thomas said. “And in coming up, you have certain emotions; and in coming down as champions, you have certain emotions. … Looking back, over the years, had we had the opportunity to do it all over again, I think all of us would make a different decision.”

With 7.9 seconds remaining in the Bulls’ 21-point rout to end the series, the Pistons — at [Bill] Laimbeer’s behest, according to Thomas — walked off the court without shaking the Bulls players’ hands or congratulating them.

“I’ve paid a heavy price for that decision,” Thomas said. “And in paying that price — I understand this is the sports world and everything else, but at the same time, looking back over it in terms of how we felt at that particular time, our emotional state and how we exited the floor — we actually gave the world the opportunity to look at us in a way that we never really tried to position ourselves in or project ourselves in that way. So it’s unfortunate that it happened.”

The Hall of Fame guard also was asked about his omission from the roster of the 1992 Dream Team at the Barcelona Olympics, and whether he believed his refusal to shake Jordan’s hand was a factor.

“I thought I should’ve made that Dream Team,” Thomas said. “However, I wasn’t a part of it. That hurt me, and looking back, if I’m not a part of the Dream Team because a lapse in emotion in terms of not shaking someone’s hand — if that’s the reason why I didn’t make the Dream Team, then I am more disappointed today than I was back then when I wasn’t selected.”

Related Bill Laimbeer: Michael Jordan’s Bulls ‘Just Whiners’

The post Isiah Thomas: ‘I’ve Paid a Heavy Price’ for Not Shaking Bulls’ Hands appeared first on SLAM.

There’s zero regret on Laimbeer’s part for leading the decision to not shake hands with MJ and company after being swept in the 1991 Eastern Conference Finals.

Laimbeer adds that Detroit was only vanquished after they “got old.”

Per ESPN:

“Why would I regret it now today? I don’t care what the media says about me. I never did,” Laimbeer said. “If I did, I’d be a basket case, especially back then.

“I was about winning basketball games and winning championships and did whatever I had to do to get the most out of my ability and our team — and we did. At the end of the day, we’re called world champions.”

[Isiah] Thomas took a much more conciliatory tone in his interview Monday morning, saying he is “personally hurt” by his portrayal in [“The Last Dance”] docuseries and apologizing to the city of Detroit.

“They whined and cried for a year and a half about how bad we were for the game, but more importantly, they said we were bad people,” Laimbeer said. “We weren’t bad people. We were just basketball players winning, and that really stuck with me because they didn’t know who we were or what we were about as individuals and our family life.

“But all that whining they did, I didn’t want to shake their hand. They were just whiners. They won the series. Give him credit: We got old, they got past us. But OK, move on.”

Related Michael Jordan: Pistons Hatred ‘Carries Even to This Day’

The post Bill Laimbeer: Michael Jordan’s Bulls ‘Just Whiners’ appeared first on SLAM.

“They made it personal,” Jordan said of the Pistons’ physically dominating his Bulls during Episode 3 of “The Last Dance” documentary that aired Sunday night.

Chicago finally got rid of their nemesis in a four-game sweep of the 1991 Eastern Conference Finals, en route to its first NBA title, and several of the Pistons infamously walked off the court without shaking hands.

Per ESPN:

“Oh, I hated them,” Jordan said. “And that hate carries even to this day.”

Jordan and the Bulls lost to the Pistons in five games in the Eastern Conference semifinals in 1988, in six games in the conference finals in 1989 (after holding a 2-1 lead) and in seven games in the conference finals in 1990.

“We knew Michael Jordan is the greatest player, and we tried to use it as a rallying cry to come together,” Pistons star Isiah Thomas said in Episode 3. “We had to do everything from a physicality standpoint to stop him.”

The Pistons tormented Chicago’s high-scoring shooting guard, employing a bruising style of defense that came to be known as “The Jordan Rules.”

“They made it personal,” Jordan said. “They physically beat the s**t out of us.”

Related Steve Kerr: Being Punched By Michael Jordan ‘Helped Our Relationship’

The post Michael Jordan: Pistons Hatred ‘Carries Even to This Day’ appeared first on SLAM.

Golden State was “unstoppable” with Durant—who suffered a ruptured Achilles against the Raptors in Game 5 of the championship round—says Green, adding that he’s confident they will get back to the mountaintop.

Draymond believes KD could’ve pushed for him to get traded if he wanted to remain with the Dubs, and that things truly soured for the two-time NBA Finals MVP when he wasn’t universally recognized as the world’s best player after outdueling LeBron James for the 2017 title.

Per Bleacher Report and NBC Sports Bay Area:

“Once we got Kevin, we were f**king unstoppable,” Green said on the “All the Smoke” podcast. “Even losing last year, Kevin don’t get hurt—you seen the game he came back in Game 5, I looked up, it was like six minutes to go, we had like 40 points in the first quarter—and so they wouldn’t have stood a chance if Kevin didn’t get hurt.”

He then discussed the narrative that KD left the Warriors in free agency because of him:

“This is f**king Kevin Durant we’re talking about. Yeah, I’ve done great things here. But let me tell you this — if Kevin really wanted to be here, all he would have done is went to [GM] Bob [Myers] and said, ‘Yeah, I’ll stay. But Draymond gotta go.’ And guess what — Bob Myers would have called me and said, ‘Draymond, I love you — and I won’t trade you to a bad team — but where do you want to go?’

“So to try to point the finger and say, ‘Oh man, I left because of him.’ Get the f**k outta here. I still love K. His feelings about me may not be the same. But I’ll ride with him for the rest of my life. I got that type of love for that brother. But you ain’t leave because of me. You’re fking Kevin Durant. If you wanted to be here, I would have been out. I would have been long gone.

“And guess who would have understood that? (he points at himself). I understand the business of basketball … he ain’t f**king leave because of me. That’s just the real.”

Related Agent: Media Didn’t Drive Kevin Durant from Warriors

The post Draymond Green: Raptors ‘Wouldn’t Have Stood a Chance’ vs Healthy Kevin Durant appeared first on SLAM.

“I feel like I kind of passed the test,” says Kerr, adding that he earned MJ’s trust after refusing to back down during their tussle.

Kerr notes that teammates coming to blows was not uncommon during his playing days.

Per USA Today:

“I would say it definitely helped our relationship, and that probably sounds really weird,” Kerr said on “The NBA on TNT” Wednesday night. “I wouldn’t recommend that to anybody at home. … For me in that case, Michael was definitely testing me, and I responded. I feel like I kind of passed the test and he trusted me more afterwards.”

In [Phil] Jackson’s book, “Eleven Rings,” Jordan is quoted explaining how the fight with Kerr helped him trust teammates: “It made me look at myself, and say, ‘You know what? You’re really being an idiot about this whole process.'”

Kerr explained Wednesday how the fight was less severe than it might sound in today’s game.

“It has to be understood in the context of intense competition,” Kerr said. “One thing that was more prevalent back then than now was the intensity of practices vs. now. I think we’re smarter now with preserving our players. We don’t have as many practice days. It’s more about rest and recovery. They were a huge part of the Bulls and Michael setting a standard for our play. There were practice fights on every (NBA) team that I played on. It wasn’t really a huge deal in the grand scheme of things.”

Related Steve Kerr: ‘Nobody Resented’ Scottie Pippen for Delaying 1997 Surgery

The post Steve Kerr: Being Punched By Michael Jordan ‘Helped Our Relationship’ appeared first on SLAM.

“Look man, I’ve got Giannis ahead of you,” Perkins told James prior to the season.

Perkins, 35, has thrived as a TV talking head following a 14-year NBA career.

Per The Athletic:

“I do my homework and I do my research on things, and I just feel like I’m a guy who, in his media, I don’t ever want to mess up my credibility, so I just speak facts,” Perkins said. “I never want to be biased and I never try to sway one way or just be taking up for my homeboy.”

Perkins pointed to, as an example of his avoiding bias, picking Giannis Antetokounmpo as his preseason pick for MVP, over his friend LeBron, with whom he spent a summer playing for the Oakland Soldiers, an AAU team, in high school.

“I sent him a text and I said. ‘Look man, I’ve got Giannis ahead of you,’” Perkins said.

“And that’s when he texted me back and said, ‘Oh don’t worry, I’m gonna reclaim my throne.’ And I was like, ‘OK, well then do it mothafucka.’ He’s like, ‘I am, mothafucka.’”

Related POLL: Giannis Earns 60 of 70 First-Place MVP Votes

The post Kendrick Perkins: LeBron Vowed to ‘Reclaim’ Throne from Giannis appeared first on SLAM.

Malone, who was an assistant coach during James’ first stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers, says LeBron is “arguably the greatest of all time as well.”

Unprompted, Malone offered his opinion on the two basketball legends to a group of reporters.

Per USA Today:

“It’s always an ongoing argument about who is the GOAT. Michael obviously is up there and is the greatest of all time,” Malone said Tuesday in a Zoom call with reporters. “There are not many Michael Jordans out there. I coached LeBron James for five years and have a great relationship with him. LeBron did not have the same mindset or killer mentality that Michael Jordan is supposed to have had. But LeBron James is arguably the greatest of all time as well.”

Malone sided with the player he grew up watching (Jordan) instead of the player he coached as an assistant with the Cleveland Cavaliers (James).

“Michael Jordan was not just a great player. He would reach into your chest and pull your heart out if he had to win a game,” Malone said. “You don’t see that really often. He had that killer mindset and brought it every single night. That’s why all of these many years later, he’s the greatest of all time.”

Malone often watched Jordan play when his dad [Brendan Malone] coached Knicks and Pistons teams that often employed the so-called “Jordan Rules.”

“They were just trying to beat up on Michael Jordan. Every time he drove to the basket, he would wind up on his ass,” Malone said of the Pistons and Knicks. “Through Phil Jackson and through Michael Jordan — the face of the NBA — the league really started changing and said, ‘We really have to protect our players. We want this to be something that our fans want to come and watch and, more importantly, to watch on their TVs.’ “

Related Bill Laimbeer: LeBron James the ‘Best Player That’s Ever Played the Game’

The post Mike Malone: LeBron James Doesn’t Have ‘Killer Mentality’ of Michael Jordan appeared first on SLAM.

“It’s giving them way too much power,” says Kleiman, responding to a newly-released book that spills the beans on Durant’s tense relationship with reporters covering the Golden State Warriors during his three-year tenure.

Durant continues to recover from a torn Achilles, and has yet to suit up for his new Brooklyn Nets squad.

Per NBC Sports Bay Area:

“When I hear the media broke up the Warriors — that’s so ignorant,” Kleiman said. “It’s giving them way too much power. Or that Draymond (Green) and Kevin getting into it in a game — it’s ignorant.

“Anybody who wrote that clearly hasn’t played competitive sports at any level.”

It’s interesting to hear Kleiman mention the media narrative because last week, ESPN’s Jay Williams — who works closely with Kleiman and Durant on the digital series “The Boardroom” — was singing a much different tune on ESPN’s “First Take”:

“As much as the media speculated about whose team it was — we act like players don’t listen to what we have to say. A lot of these players are fans — they watch shows, things trickle into the locker room — it creates awkward situations between players. I think the media — the more time (that goes by) — as guys win and they win championships, the media, we’re like, ‘Well what else can we talk about? What else can we find to make this interesting? Oh, it seems like there are challenges.’

“And I think those challenges naturally throughout the course of time — that every team faces, but for teams that win at a high level — get blown out of proportion. And I think we saw that trickle into the locker room and that led ultimately to this team separating. That’s the realness and that’s the fact of it.”

Related Draymond Green: Kevin Durant Free Agency Was ‘Elephant in the Room’

The post Agent: Media Didn’t Drive Kevin Durant from Warriors appeared first on SLAM.

Pippen was deeply angry and resentful of Chicago’s front-office at being criminally underpaid for so long, and “nobody resented him for having that surgery,” says Kerr.

The Hall of Fame forward eventually rejoined the squad, and helped lead the Bulls to their second three-peat of the decade.

Per ESPN:

“Scottie was wrong in that scenario,” Jordan said in Episode 2 of the documentary series “The Last Dance,” which debuted Sunday night. “He could’ve got his surgery done as soon as the season was over and be ready for the season. What Scottie was trying to do was trying to force management to change his contract. And [owner Jerry Reinsdorf] was never going to do that.”

Asked whether there was resentment from other Bulls players over Pippen’s decision, Kerr said, “No, not at all.”

“Everyone respected Scottie so much,” Kerr said. “We felt his frustration. He probably should have been the second-highest-paid guy in the NBA or definitely top-five. So we all felt for him, nobody resented him for having that surgery. Later, we all understood, let’s give him his space, and he’s going to be there for the second stretch of the season for us.”

Pippen, the clear No. 2 on the Bulls, ended that 1997-98 season as only the sixth-highest-paid player on the team, playing out an $18 million extension he had signed after Chicago won its first championship in 1991.

“I decided to have surgery late because I was like, ‘You know what, I’m not going to f**k my summer up,'” Pippen said in the documentary.

Related Scottie Pippen: ‘I’m No Longer Employed By the Bulls’

The post Steve Kerr: ‘Nobody Resented’ Scottie Pippen for Delaying 1997 Surgery appeared first on SLAM.

“Don’t ever talk to me in my house,” Jordan yelled at the fallen defender, his basketball fire still very much burning.

Mike spent five months with the Birmingham Barons prior to the returning to the Chicago Bulls, and leading them to their second three-peat.

Per The Athletic:

Asked how he thought Jordan the baseball player was different from Jordan the hoop god, Francona summed it up like this: “You know, I think maybe the easiest way I can do this is (to say) when you put a basketball in his hand, it’s amazing how much stronger he looked. That’s probably the easiest way I can say it. He was really open, though,” Francona went on. “When he became a baseball player, he said, ‘I’m the worst player on the team … I know it. I’m the most inexperienced, and I have the most to learn.’ And so … he made it easy to want to help him. Again, he knew what he didn’t know. And because of that, it was easy to want to help him.

“Michael made it easy to be patient,” Francona said at another point. “And you needed to be patient with him because he hadn’t played since high school. You know how it is in rookie ball and A-ball. You learn a lot of the things and you get those mistakes out of the way. And you get to Double A, and you’re starting to become kind of a polished player. He didn’t have that. But to his credit, he respected the game of baseball. That was probably the most important thing to me, was that he respected the game of baseball. And because of that, it made it really easy to be patient with him.”

Jordan was never great at baseball. He struck out nearly 30 more times than anyone on that Birmingham team. He slugged just .266. He did steal 30 bases but, in his struggles to learn how to be a base-stealer, also got thrown out 18 times.

“He wanted to play every day,” Francona said. “He didn’t want a day off. The stories of his competitiveness are legendary, but they’re true. This guy likes to compete, and he wants to find a way to beat you one way or another — whether it’s golf, baseball, basketball, ping-pong. It doesn’t matter. He wants to beat you. And he wants to beat you into oblivion.”

Related Jeff Van Gundy: Michael Jordan ‘Would Average North of 40 Points’ Today

The post Michael Jordan Dunked on a Trash-Talker in His First Retirement appeared first on SLAM.

Ultimately, the Philadelphia Sixers’ head coach decided against it, and vows to keep prodding Simmons to launch from beyond the arc.

The 23-year-old says the shooting will eventually come, but that he is focused on unstoppable aspects of his game instead.

Per ESPN:

“Some people put so much emphasis on it,” Simmons says. “It’s a little too much. It made me back check and say, ‘Let me focus on what I’m good at.’ There are things I do on the court where nobody can stop me, when I’m putting up steals, assists, scoring in the paint.”

Simmons agreed to work with a sports psychologist, while Sixers personnel, friends and teammates have tried — and failed — to instill the necessary impudence to get him over the hump.

“I know it’s going to come,” Simmons says. “It’s a matter of me being comfortable doing it. Some of that is getting the reps in. I can take a hook shot from the elbow, because I’ve done it so many times, I’m confident it will go in. It’s second nature. With 3s, it’s never been like that. I’ve got to make it a point of emphasis. I could be one of those guys shooting 30% right now. But I’d rather be one of those guys shooting 40%.”

“I told Ben, ‘If you aren’t willing to shoot, then do I just bench you? Because I can do that,'” Brown says. “We could have gone that route or continue to coach him as it relates to spacing. We worked on the ability to use it as a choice to shoot the 3, catch and go, get in the paint, or find someone else.

“This was all discussed. I opted to take this path. I think only down the road will we be able to truly assess if it was the right one. In the meantime, he’s a two-time All-Star, a kid that’s gone from a college 4 to an NBA point guard. His story is a pretty darn good one.”

Related Brett Brown ‘Convinced’ Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons Will Win a Title

The post Brett Brown Discussed Benching Ben Simmons for Not Shooting appeared first on SLAM.

Green saw similarities between how things unraveled for both the dynastic Chicago Bulls and his Dubs after watching “The Last Dance.”

Draymond says his former teammate, who left Golden State to sign with the Brooklyn Nets, should have addressed his contractual situation with the group before play began.

Per ESPN:

“It definitely hit close to home,” Green said on Uninterrupted’s “WRTS: After Party” show with Paul Rivera and Maverick Carter. “Ironically, our season was the 20-year anniversary of that season. And we have a very important piece of our season, who was a piece of that season, which was Steve Kerr. I think Phil [Jackson] did what was great, which is acknowledge the elephant in the room. Because all year, if Phil doesn’t do that, all year everyone else is dealing with that somewhere. And whether it’s coming in questions [from the media], so now once you get these questions from the media, we’ve already addressed that as a team. We really don’t need to talk about that. And our season was a little different from the standpoint of it was contracts, but it was on players. It wasn’t necessarily the organization.”

“So, for instance, Kevin took the one-year deal on his own. So that was kind of the elephant in the room,” Green said. “And although Steve’s approach was like, ‘Hey, guys, let’s approach this year because we don’t know what next year brings,’ you’ve got Kevin’s contract, you’ve got [Klay Thompson]’s contract, and I kind of got thrown in that contract thing, although I had another year after that year, which was this year. And so that was kind of the elephant in the room, and although Steve would kind of hit on it, [saying], ‘Let’s just enjoy this year for what it is because we don’t know what next year holds,’ it didn’t necessarily carry the same weight because what should have happened was Kevin come out and say, ‘Hey, man, this is it, so let’s do this,’ or, ‘This isn’t it.'”

What bothered both Warriors players and coaches throughout the season was that they were constantly asked what Durant would do when the campaign ended, and Durant never publicly committed to a decision — a fact that Green expounded upon during the show.

“But you can’t just leave the elephant in the room, because what happened was the question came to us every day, like every time we spoke to the media, Klay and myself was asked about our contract,” Green said. “It was strictly due to Kevin, because while that was going on, Klay was saying, ‘I want to be a Warrior forever. I want to be here. We started this thing. This is where I want to be.’ I’m saying, ‘Yo, I want to be here for my career. We started this, we built this, I want to finish my career here with the guys I started it with.’ And then you kind of had Kevin, [saying] like, ‘I don’t know what I’m going to do next year, and it don’t matter’; but it does matter, because you’re not the only person that has to answer that question.

“To be quite frank with you, you’re honestly the last person that has to answer the question because you don’t really say sh*t. Like, you don’t say much to the media. If anything, you tell them to shut the f**k up. Well, I don’t tell them to shut the f**k up. I kind of have a conversation, and so I’m stuck answering that question all the time. And due to that, there was always an elephant in the room amongst us, as opposed to with [the Bulls], they didn’t have that elephant. [General manager Jerry Krause] had said it was Phil’s last year. Phil had told them this was the last dance. Mike already said, ‘Well, if Phil ain’t coming back next year, I’m not either.’ So everybody knew it was Mike’s last year. They didn’t have that elephant. Whereas I think we had a huge elephant sitting in the room, and Steve was trying to address it as best as he could, but it was kind of out of his hands.”

Related Kevin Durant: ‘Started Isolating Myself’ After Draymond Green Incident

The post Draymond Green: Kevin Durant Free Agency Was ‘Elephant in the Room’ appeared first on SLAM.

It was also reported that “gummies” were involved, and that the 28-year-old may have had a panic attack.

Waiters, who ended up with the Lakers in March, says he still has plenty of love and admiration for the Heat’s braintrust.

Per The Players’ Tribune and The Miami Herald:

“Even the hardest motherf***ers in the world go through depression, man. No cap. You know, I think sometimes the world needs to be reminded that we’re not superheroes. I came from the bottom. I seen it all. But when I go home at night, I’m just like you. I go through depression, just like you. I go through anxiety, just like you. This last year and a half, I done been through it.

“The plane incident in Miami? It’s on me. I own that. It was idiotic on my behalf — point-blank, period. What’s crazy is, my whole life I been a leader. I’m not a follower. Pat knows me. He knows I don’t do drugs. But sometimes when you’re going through dark times, you can fall trap to things you’d never do in your right mind.

“I never had a seizure, though. Ask the doctors. Ask my Heat teammates. They can speak on it. For that b.s. to come out, it ain’t right. I made a mistake, but for someone to leak that, and for my family to hear it? Shit. It ain’t right.”

Waiters ultimately played just three games for Miami this season — three straight games in January while the Heat was short-handed — and averaged 9.3 points on 38.5 percent shooting in 14.0 minutes per game.

Waiters said he’s still on good terms with [Heat team president Pat] Riley and owner Micky Arison, although he knew even before the season his time with the Heat was nearing an end.

Related Dion Waiters Apologizes for Plane Incident

The post Dion Waiters: ‘The Plane Incident in Miami? It’s on Me’ appeared first on SLAM.

JVG, the former MJ nemesis, says Jordan dominated the NBA during a much more physical era, and would be “living at the free throw line” now.

Van Gundy’s first win as head coach of the New York Knicks came against Mike and the 72-win Chicago Bulls.

Per Sports Illustrated:

ESPN is showing two versions of the Bulls documentary–an unedited version on ESPN, replete with a vernacular that is common during games but shielded from the viewers, and another on ESPN2 with some of the more adult language edited out. In order to receive the full Michael Jordan experience, don’t you need to watch the unedited version?

Jeff Van Gundy: “I think the essence of Jordan is the same with or without the inflammatory vocabulary that may be in there. Every family is going to have to make that decision for themselves, and you would like to see kids be able to understand what a great competitor and player he was. I think either way is fine. I didn’t know they were doing that, that’s terrific.”

This documentary is a time capsule for the NBA. What do you think viewers will be most surprised to learn about the league as a whole? And having already had a front-row seat to the Bulls’ dominance, what are you looking forward to seeing most in the documentary?

Van Gundy: “I lived it. And fans, if they watch closely, they’ll see how little room Jordan had on the floor. The three-point shot was in less use and there was less three-point shooting. If you look at how tight the spacing was in the triangle, and how much physical contact was allowed, people will be amazed. Everyone thinks they know how good Jordan was, but until you go back and actually study him, you’ll never understand what a great, great player he was. He shot over 50% a lot of times through the physical contact he had to play through—if that happened in today’s game, you’d be absolutely living at the free throw line.

“That’s why I have no doubt, if you dropped him in at his prime, in today’s game, he would average north of 40 points a game. He would be either living at the line or his variety of shots would just be too hard to handle. If fans watch the game footage closely, the amount of contact that was allowed then versus now, you’re going to be even more astounded at Jordan’s efficiency from a scoring perspective.”

Related Michael Jordan: ‘People Got Bored With My Skills’

The post Jeff Van Gundy: Michael Jordan ‘Would Average North of 40 Points’ Today appeared first on SLAM.

Or so believed His Airness.

Jordan said he had grown tired of “the drama, the jealousy, the infighting” in the League, which he triumphantly rejoined in 1995 and went on to dominate over the next three seasons.

Per ESPN:

“Can you believe this s—?” Jordan said to me. “That’s the part of the NBA I don’t miss at all. The drama, the jealousy, the infighting.”

It was May 15, 1994, and two days earlier the Chicago Bulls had eked out an Eastern Conference semifinals playoff win over the New York Knicks. Coach Phil Jackson drew up the final play for Toni Kukoc, opting to utilize Scottie Pippen as the decoy. An incredulous Pippen, who had assumed the mantle as the Bulls’ main attraction post-Jordan retirement, spewed some expletives at Jackson and refused to take the floor. Kukoc nailed a 22-footer at the buzzer, but everyone was still fixated on Pippen.

“Phil knew how much that would piss Scottie off,” Jordan responded. “I wonder why he did it?”

Why did he turn his back on the NBA? He was the most dominant player and the most dominant personality, winning title after title. His answer astonished me.

“People got bored with my skills,” he answered, “and what I accomplished was no longer viewed as excellence.”

Related Michael Jordan: Final Bulls Season a ‘Trying Year’

The post Michael Jordan: ‘People Got Bored With My Skills’ appeared first on SLAM.

“The Bulls had no great centers,” says Johnson, who led Los Angeles to five championships in the 1980s.

Magic adds that Kobe Bryant and Jordan would “cancel each other out,” but that Scottie Pippen “couldn’t do what Shaq could do.”

Per AM 570 LA Sports and Essentially Sports:

Magic’s response: “The Bulls had no great centers, what Shaq would have done to those guys it would have been unfair. Shaq was right it would have been unfair. The Lakers role players were better also.”

Magic was very clear and he said, “Well I think that Shaq would’ve been the difference because we all know that Kobe and Michael would’ve cancelled each other out. So if Jordan got 40, Kobe was going to get 40. Because one thing about Kobe, he was not going to give into anybody. I don’t care who it was. And, he patterned his game after Michael.”

Magic added to why he supports Shaq’s statement is because of the role players in Lakers of the 00s: “One guy Scottie Pippen. But see Scottie couldn’t do what Shaq could do.”

Johnson also said, “It would have been fun to see them.”

Related Shaquille O’Neal: Lakers Would ‘Easily’ Beat Michael Jordan’s Bulls

The post Magic Johnson: Shaq’s Lakers Would Beat Jordan’s Bulls appeared first on SLAM.

With Bulls management determined to break up a legendary squad, head coach Phil Jackson galvanized his players by calling it “The Last Dance,” resulting in their second three-peat.

Though understandably heartbroken to see their historic run come to an end, MJ ensured they finished things off “the right way.”

Per The AP:

“We were all trying to enjoy that year knowing it was coming to an end,” Jordan told Good Morning America on Thursday. Jordan appeared on the show via video conference from his home in Florida to promote the “The Last Dance,” a 10-part documentary series focused on the final year of the 90′s Bulls dynasty that won six NBA titles in eight years.

“The beginning of the season, it started when (general manager) Jerry Krause told (coach) Phil Jackson that he could go 82-0 and he would never get a chance to come back,” Jordan said. “Knowing that I had married myself to him, and if he wasn’t going to be the coach, then obviously I wasn’t going to play. So Phil started off the season saying this was the last dance — and we played it that way.”

Jordan said Thursday that after Jackson told the team it was to be the final season together, the Bulls focused on completing the task of a second three-peat.

“Mentally it tugged at you that this had to come to an end, but it also centered our focus to making sure we ended it right,” Jordan said. “As sad as it sounded at the beginning of the year, we tried to rejoice and enjoy the year and finish it off the right way.”

Related Michael Jordan: ‘Winning Has a Price’

The post Michael Jordan: Final Bulls Season a ‘Trying Year’ appeared first on SLAM.

“And I was the rap version of him,” adds West, who was devastated by Bryant’s untimely death in late January.

Ye is now determined to honor The Black Mamba’s championship-or-bust mentality with his newfound approach to life.

Per GQ:

When Kanye West shows up for breakfast in the central cabin at the ranch he recently bought near Cody, Wyoming, I ask how he’s doing. “Not good,” he says, turning to look at me. Not good? How come? “Because,” he says, “Kobe was one of my best friends.”

Of course. It’s the morning of January 29 — 72 hours after Bryant’s shocking death.

West: “One thing I thought was really amazing is that we were able to find a groove with the photographs today even as out of it as I was with the loss of Kobe. We were able to just go to the court and play ball. There’s one street that I drive to go from either my office or my home to the property where the domes were built. [Editor’s note: The street is Las Virgenes Road, the site of the helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant and eight other people just four days prior.] So now there’s no way for me not to be as determined as Kobe every time I drive down that street. It’s game time. There’s no move that we can’t make, or that we’ll wait to make. Everyone in our life is now a member of the Lakers on one of Kobe’s championship teams. The way that Kobe would say that we all have to come together and win this championship is the way I look at life now. To an infinite, other level.

“This is a game changer for me. He was the basketball version of me, and I was the rap version of him, and that’s facts! We got the commercials that prove it. No one else can say this. We came up at the same time, together. And now it’s like, yeah, I might have had a reputation for screaming about things—but I’m not taking any mess for an answer now. We’re about to build a paradigm shift for humanity. We ain’t playing with ’em. We bringing home the trophies.”

Related Vanessa Bryant: Hall of Fame Induction ‘Peak’ of Kobe Bryant’s Career

The post Kanye West: Kobe Bryant ‘Was the Basketball Version of Me’ appeared first on SLAM.

“The factor is me, and my free-throw shooting,” says O’Neal.

The Diesel adds that he would have “killed” any big man Chicago threw at him.

Per Bleacher Report (via ESPN):

“‘Cause I would’ve killed Luc Longley, Bill Wennington, [Bill] Cartwright,” O’Neal said.

“The factor is me, and my free-throw shooting.”

Shaq then questioned which team Phil Jackson would be coaching, as he guided both teams. [ESPN’s Ariel] Helwani answered that Jackson would be with the Bulls since he coached in Chicago first.

“So he would’ve tried the Hack-a-Shaq thing,” Shaq responded. “I still would average like 28, 29, but the key would’ve been free throws. With me, it’s always 50-50. If I would’ve been on, we win. If I would’ve been off, we lose.”

Related Michael Jordan: ‘Winning Has a Price’

The post Shaquille O’Neal: Lakers Would ‘Easily’ Beat Michael Jordan’s Bulls appeared first on SLAM.

Pippen says the talent level on Chicago’s roster is “below what it needs to be” to be a competitive NBA team.

The Hall of Famer cemented his place in The Windy City by winning six rings.

Per NBC Sports Chicago (via the “Thuzio Live & Unfiltered” podcast):

The interview with Pippen was recorded ahead of the 2020 NBA All-Star game, but was released on Spotify on April 15. Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune, asked Pippen what his role with the team was while introducing him.

“You all know the resume, but let’s run through it a little bit because it’s pretty gaudy, kind of fun to say these things,” Greeinstein said. “Six-time NBA champion, seven-time All-Star, eight-time All-NBA first team defense… Named one of the greatest 50 NBA players of all-time, had his No. 33 jersey retired by the Chicago Bulls. And you’re an ambassador for the Bulls, is that right?”

“I was,” Pippen responded. “I got fired this year. I didn’t really want it to be in the public, but I’m no longer employed by the Bulls.”

Before the 2019-20 season began, the Bulls and Pippen met to discuss his role now that he appears regularly on ESPN’s “The Jump” and spends most of his time where that show is filmed. Pippen wanted to keep his gig as Bulls ambassador, but when the Bulls asked for specific commitments, the two sides couldn’t agree on compensation, according to a source.

“It’s probably a good thing, right?” Pippen said to Greenstein. “I like to associate myself with winning.”

Related Bulls Hire Arturas Karnisovas, Fire Gar Forman

The post Scottie Pippen: ‘I’m No Longer Employed By the Bulls’ appeared first on SLAM.

In addition to his physical gifts, Laimbeer says what separates James from the pack, is a preternatural ability to “involve his teammates to win.”

Laimbeer adds that Michael Jordan—a longtime and hated rival during Chicago and Detroit’s playoff wars of the ’80s and ’90s—was a “one man band” for several years prior to adopting a more team-oriented game en route to six NBA titles.

Per USA Today:

“I’m very vocal on this. I think LeBron is the best player who has ever played the game,” Laimbeer said. “He’s 6-foot-8, 285 pounds, runs like the wind, jumps out of the gym. … At the end of the day, I firmly believe he’s the best basketball player in the history of the game.”

Laimbeer, who coaches the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces, said Tuesday in an appearance on ESPN’s “First Take” he doesn’t even see a debate.

“More importantly, when (LeBron) came in the league from Day 1, he knew how to involve his teammates to win,” Laimbeer said. “That’s something Jordan had to learn for a long time.

“Now if you go by championships, obviously Michael Jordan has more championships. But I think LeBron in any generation would be doing what he’s doing right now all these years.”

Related Bill Laimbeer: LeBron James is Better Than Michael Jordan

The post Bill Laimbeer: LeBron James the ‘Best Player That’s Ever Played the Game’ appeared first on SLAM.

“You’re talking about nine years now and I’ve gotten so much hate,” added Allen, who reveals that he bolted due to “so many unresolved” locker room issues.

The Hall of Fame guard felt “removed” from Beantown’s “Big Three” by former teammates Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.

Per NBC Sports Boston:

“I left as a free agent,” Allen told [Cedric] Maxwell, via CLNS Media’s Josue Pavon. “I left because there were so many unresolved issues that the team wasn’t considering or willing to change.”

Allen turned down a two-year deal from the Celtics in 2012 to join LeBron James and the Heat, who had just defeated Boston in the Eastern Conference Finals.

“These guys kind of removed me from the ‘Big Three,’ said so many negative things about me and I haven’t had one negative thing to say about any of them,” Allen said. “We had tough times, we’re brothers. We went through a lot. But that doesn’t change anything that we’ve done. It hurt me over the course of this time just to hear some of the things that have been said.”

Former Celtics head coach Doc Rivers said recently he hopes Allen will return to Boston for Garnett’s jersey retirement ceremony next season, noting that C’s fans would give the Hall of Fame guard a standing ovation.

“You’re talking about nine years now and I’ve gotten so much hate, death threats, vitriol from Boston fans,” Allen said. “As far as me being there, I think that is a subject that is really undecided yet. It would take Kevin and I to have a conversation moving forward.”

Related Ray Allen Says Rajon Rondo Stopped Passing Him the Ball

The post Ray Allen: Celtics Fans Made Death Threats After Leaving for Miami appeared first on SLAM.

“It’s not easy,” Ujiri said of his fateful decisions to trade DeRozan and fire Dwane Casey after winning a Coach of the Year award.

Ultimately, Ujiri’s calls (none bigger than pulling the trigger on a one-season swap for Kawhi Leonard) helped lead Toronto to its first NBA championship in franchise history.

Per ESPN:

“It’s not easy,” Ujiri said of such decisions in an interview with TNT’s Ernie Johnson that aired on the NBA’s Twitter account. “If you have that human part of you, you feel it in your heart.

“With Casey, it has gotten so much better now with his family and him. With DeMar there is still plenty of work to be done. But, by the grace of God, it will all get better. We have to continue to make these decisions that are tough. But that’s the business of basketball, and the position that we are in.”

That combination of events led to a roller coaster of emotions — something Ujiri said is simply part of the job.

“I always say that the two hardest things in our world, in our business, is trading a player and then when a player leaves, if a player leaves in free agency,” Ujiri said. “And it’s hard on both sides. When a player is traded, it is hard on the player side, and when a player leaves, like us [with Leonard last summer], it is hard on that side. I’ve experienced all of it, from wonderful people.

“It sometimes puts a strain on relationships, as we saw with DeMar. People don’t know even with [when we traded] Rudy Gay, I was close to Rudy. Incredible kid. Incredible kid with DeMar, where you build and you’re trying to preach a culture of good, of trust, of being with people, and then you have to make this decision [to trade him]. With Kawhi, we just built a relationship where we trusted each other, and that friendship has evolved even bigger after he left, and I’m proud of that. I support him with everything he does as a human being, and his family, and you move on. You’ve got to move on to the next …”

Related Masai Ujiri: Raptors ‘Going to Die Trying’ to Defend Title

The post Masai Ujiri: ‘Plenty of Work to Be Done’ on DeMar DeRozan Relationship appeared first on SLAM.

“I challenged people when they didn’t want to be challenged,” says Jordan, adding that being considered a “tyrant” in order to win was a price he was more than willing to pay.

MJ opened up during multiple interviews—along with 105 other people that bore witness to his legendary NBA career—over the years as the 10-part series painstakingly came together.

Per The Athletic:

“Look, winning has a price,” says Jordan. “And leadership has a price. So I pulled people along when they didn’t want to be pulled. I challenged people when they didn’t want to be challenged. And I earned that right because my teammates who came after me didn’t endure all the things that I endured. Once you joined the team, you lived at a certain standard that I played the game. And I wasn’t going to take any less. Now if that means I had to go in there and get in your ass a little bit, then I did that. You ask all my teammates. The one thing about Michael Jordan was he never asked me to do something that he didn’t fucking do. When people see this they are going say, ‘Well he wasn’t really a nice guy. He may have been a tyrant.’ Well, that’s you. Because you never won anything. I wanted to win, but I wanted them to win to be a part of that as well. Look, I don’t have to do this. I am only doing it because it is who I am. That’s how I played the game. That was my mentality. If you don’t want to play that way, don’t play that way.”

Jordan then does something extraordinary, and I’m glad the filmmakers left it in. He asks for a break. He has become so emotional, near tears, that he has to get away for a moment.

“The moment when he asked for a break came early in the first interview,” [director Jason] Hehir recalled. “To get something that raw, candid, honest and genuine out of him that early in the interview process was kind of a turning point for all of us in the crew. We all thought: ‘Wow this could be something a little bit different than just basketball. It looks like he came to participate and understands what we’re trying to do here.’ It was one of those answers where you just let the person go, almost like a therapy session. He did stop himself and say ‘break.’ And we did. I got up and left the room for a little bit. We’d been going for about 45 minutes and I knew we had at least two more hours to go. What you don’t want to do is gas out your interview subject less than an hour into it.

“But it was so telling to me that this is what’s at this guy’s core. No matter what we discussed, it funnels back to that deep-seated drive to be the best at all costs. We were talking about his intensity as a teammate, his intensity as a competitor. We had just finished talking about the roots of his competitiveness, competing against his brother Larry for his Dad’s attention. One of the things that I was interested in exploring when we first started studying his entire story was this notion from his perspective. By all my experiences, he was a nice guy. He was very respectful to me. He was very respectful to the crew. He couldn’t have been more generous with his time and candor. I was really interested in whether or not it hurt him that the perception of him was this stone-cold killer and not as Mr. Nice Guy. The question produced probably a nine-minute answer. Was it worth to you to have that reputation for intensity and ferocity? Is it worth the tradeoff of not being considered nice guy quote unquote?”

Related Michael Jordan 10-Part Documentary Moved Up to April 19

The post Michael Jordan: ‘Winning Has a Price’ appeared first on SLAM.

Shaquille O’Neal offered his new Laker teammate a cool $10,000 “in one dollar bills” to start a fight with Kobe Bryant, according to Rider.

Rider wisely turned Shaq’s offer down, and went on to collect an NBA championship ring that season.

Per The Miami Herald (via “All the Smoke”):

“When I first get to the Lakers, Shaq tells me ‘If you and Kobe get into it, it’s 10 G’s in the locker,” Rider said on the “All the Smoke” podcast. “This is three days into practice… I’m like ‘Man, come on, you playing, man.’ [He said] ‘There’s 10 G’s in one dollar bills, man. If you ever get into it and you handle your business, grab that.’”

Luckily, nothing ever materialized of Shaq’s rather generous offer and the Lakers would go on to win their second of three straight championships. While Shaq and Kobe were able to repair their fractured relationship prior to Bryant’s untimely passing in January 2020, Rider’s story shows just how toxic things had gotten between the duo.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Rider added.

“I’m coming to the Lakers, I’m like ‘Man, these boys are crazy, bro… But this my thing: I would’ve been off the team so fast if somebody laid a hand on that man.”

Related Shaquille O’Neal: 2002 NBA Finals Were ‘Boring’

The post JR Rider: Shaquille O’Neal Offered $10K to Fight Kobe Bryant appeared first on SLAM.

Riley says the franchise had more than enough information to convince them that picking Wade fifth overall was the right decision.

Player workouts may be shelved because of the NBA’s current hiatus due to the coronavirus global pandemic.

Per The South Florida Sun-Sentinel:

“I always go back to the Dwyane Wade workout,” Heat President Pat Riley said. “He had a horrible workout. We still drafted him.”

As part of pandemic precautions, individual team workouts and in-person draft interviews were halted by the NFL. For the NBA, it is possible the process never starts before draft time, whether that remains June 25 as scheduled, or sometime after Aug. 1, as has become the new preferred approach.

“The body of work and all the interviews and everything a player’s done will transcend a bad workout, a nervous workout, a poor interview,” Riley said. “Because by the time they come in, we have enough information. It would really take something to change that.

“That player that we really like and maybe we want to draft,” Riley said, “it would take something really bad for us to maybe not draft him.”

Related Pat Riley: Dwyane Wade ‘Was Better’ Than Kobe Bryant in 2006

The post Pat Riley: Heat Drafted Dwyane Wade after a ‘Horrible Workout’ appeared first on SLAM.

Ewing never put New York “on his back,” according to Oakley, who adds that the Hall of Fame center “ducked away” from adversity and was a “high maintenance” superstar.

Oak has also “lost so much respect” for Knicks legend Bernard King for failing to show solidarity in his long-running feud with team owner James Dolan.

Per The NY Post:

“He never put us on his back like he should have because every adversity he ducked away from,” Oakley said of Ewing on CBS Sports Radio. “He gave the same f–king answer after every 82 games of the year.”

Oakley, 56, called Ewing “high maintenance” and said everything revolved around the Hall of Fame player who now coaches at Georgetown. “You got to be special to play with Patrick,” Oakley said. “You had to do so much out of your ordinary just to be on the team, and that hurt us sometimes. As a team, we’re supposed to be close and together. It wasn’t that. We had to make sure he was happy. He didn’t care if we [were] happy or not. That’s a sad situation, and I see why the Knicks won’t give him a job. He treated them bad – inside out. Chris [Childs] will tell you. He was tough to play with, but he wasn’t no problem to me because I understand. ‘Mase’ [Anthony Mason] had a problem with it because Mase always hollered and cussed at him.”

Oakley, a vocal critic of Dolan and the Knicks, was handcuffed and arrested during a game on Feb. 8, 2017 at the Garden and banned by Dolan, who suggested he had a drinking problem. The two are still embroiled in a lawsuit brought by Oakley against the MSG chairman. The game after the incident, Latrell Spreewell, who hadn’t been seen around the franchise since getting traded in 2003, showed up and sat next to Dolan. King was there next to him as well, [and] told Oakley his wife wanted to go to a game, and that was why he was in attendance that night.

“I wanted to smack Bernard. Serious,” he said. “I lost so much respect for him. I can’t even speak to him.”

Related Charles Oakley: ‘NBA Has Got to Take a Look’ at Knicks Drama

The post Charles Oakley: Patrick Ewing ‘Never Put Us on His Back Like He Should Have’ appeared first on SLAM.

“The most value should be in the wins,” says Nunn, who continues to make his case for the award.

The 24-year-old is averaging 15.6 points and 3.4 assists for a 41-24 Miami Heat squad.

Per The South Florida Sun-Sentinel :

“I’m a starting guard in this league,” the mostly soft-spoken 24 year old said. “I’ve done that all season long and we’ve been a winning team, a playoff team. So I definitely proved myself there.”

Confidence clearly is not an issue from arguably the biggest surprise of the Miami Heat’s season, at least this side of Duncan Robinson.

“I’m Rookie of the Year,” Nunn said in an interview with the South Florida Sun Sentinel, not backing down even when reminded of the superior statistics of Memphis Grizzlies breakout rookie Ja Morant.

“I think people will say that he is Rookie of the Year, but I don’t believe it,” Nunn continued. “The most value should be in the wins. And we’re both starting guards on teams, and our team has been holding it down. We’re a playoff team, so go ahead and give that Rookie of the Year to Kendrick Nunn.”

Related POLL: Ja Morant is the Unanimous Rookie of the Year

The post Kendrick Nunn: ‘I’m Rookie of the Year’ appeared first on SLAM.

“It is true that we didn’t speak for awhile,” Gobert admitted, but downplayed any potentially negative long-term effects on their relationship.

The big fella says he and Mitchell are focused on moving past this and winning an NBA title.

Per The Salt Lake Tribune:

“It is true that we didn’t speak for awhile, a few days, but we did speak a few days ago and, you know … we’re both ready to go out there and try to win a championship for this team,” he told reporter Taylor Rooks. “It’s all about being a professional. And, you know, everyone’s got different relationships, it’s never perfect — people that are married, it’s never perfect. So me and my teammates, it’s far from perfect. But at the end of the day, we both want the same thing — and it’s winning. We’re both grown men, we’re both gonna do what it takes to win.”

A few minutes before, Gobert had been speaking with comedian Michael Blackson, and first broke the news that he and Mitchell had, in fact, had a conversation: “We spoke, and we’re professionals. It’s all about going out there and trying to win for the team. We did speak. … People like to believe everything they read.”

He just hoped that some good came out of it, that his testing positive first encouraged people to now take it seriously — something he acknowledged he didn’t really do himself until it landed on him.

“All the fans want is for us to go out there and play basketball. … They’ve watched us grow as people, as players. They want us to to be happy with one another, and we will,” Gobert said. “You know, we’re gonna go out there and do what it takes to help this team. And hopefully we can both keep bringing awareness around this and keep doing as much positive as we can. It’s not really about me and Donovan — this little fight is no fight. It’s about thousands of people are dying every day, and it’s all about, ‘What can we do to help? What can we do to bring some positive?’ And at the end of the day, that’s really what my focus is on right now.”

Related Report: Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert’s Relationship Strained

The post ‘No Fight’: Rudy Gobert Downplays Rift With Donovan Mitchell appeared first on SLAM.

Mitchell is reportedly still angry at Gobert’s cavalier attitude over the COVID-19 threat prior to both young All-Stars being diagnosed and eventually recovering from the deadly virus.

Utah’s braintrust is working to repair the damage, though Mitchell is said to be “reluctant.”

Per The Athletic:

The Jazz have already begun working on the Mitchell-Gobert relationship, but sources say Mitchell remains reluctant to fix what might have been broken.

“It doesn’t appear salvageable,” one source with knowledge of the situation said.

There is hope that the relationship will improve over time, and the fact that there could potentially be a lot of time to sort things out could work in Utah’s favor.

“I’m confident our team is going to be totally fine,” [Joe] Ingles said. “I heard Donovan’s response (on GMA), or whatever it was, to that question, and a part of that is on Donovan and Rudy to sort out if he’s frustrated with him or whatever. But I have no doubt when we go back to training, or when our season starts again, our team is going to be what we have been and what we are. … I’m confident our team will be completely fine. The chemistry will be fine.”

Related Donovan Mitchell Took a While to ‘Cool Off’ at Rudy Gobert

The post Report: Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert’s Relationship Strained appeared first on SLAM.

“I believe we’d have won many more,” says Brown, who was at the helm when they won the 2004 title.

Not everyone who was on that squad agrees, of course, and this what-if simply refuses to die.

Per Bleacher Report (via Sirius XM NBA):

Detroit won the NBA title in 2004 during Brown’s first season with the team and reached the NBA Finals in his second and final year. The team went on to reach the Eastern Conference Finals in each of the next three years but couldn’t win another championship.

[Darko] Milicic was part of the title team but made a minimal contribution while averaging 1.4 points per game. He was traded after two seasons in Detroit and averaged just 6.0 points per game in his career.

“You walk in a room with guys like that, you’re going to figure it out,” Brown said.

“And I think Carmelo would have had that.”

Related Larry Brown: Pistons Said They Were Drafting Carmelo Anthony in 2003

The post Larry Brown: Detroit Would Have ‘Many More’ Titles With Carmelo Anthony appeared first on SLAM.

The Dubs’ braintrust is “very excited” about Wiggins’ potential next season, and beyond.

Lacob adds that Golden State’s sudden and unexpected rebuild perhaps isn’t the worst thing that could have happened to them.

Per NBC Sports Bay Area (via “The TK Show“):

“Our coaching staff is very excited about Andrew and how he may fit here going forward,” Warriors owner Joe Lacob told Tim Kawakami of The Athletic on Thursday. “Very hard — it’s so hard — to find wings right now in the NBA with good positional size and athleticism.

“He’s a walking 20 points. He’s gonna go out there and he’s gonna get you 20 points in any game. He’s capable of doing a lot more than that. But that’s pretty good.”

The 25-year-old averaged 19.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.4 blocks, while shooting nearly 46 percent overall and just under 34 percent from 3-point range.

“When Harrison Barnes was with us — and I loved Harrison, different kind of player a little bit — but we would sit there and say, ‘If we can just get him to get 20 points in a game it would really help,'” he said. “You know (you’ve got a) good chance to win a game if you got three guys scoring 20 in a game. And we needed that.”

Related Draymond Green: Andrew Wiggins ‘Not a F**king Bum’

The post Warriors Owner: Andrew Wiggins a ‘Walking 20 Points’ appeared first on SLAM.

Rivers says Leonard will benefit from the unexpected in-season break to train his body, something he couldn’t really do in the summertime while recovering from injuries and a title run with the Toronto Raptors.

Doc adds that his squad was, at last, “turning into the Clippers” before the coronavirus global pandemic brought everything to a grinding halt.

Per ESPN:

“I know Kawhi’s overworking. I can guarantee you that,” Rivers said with a laugh Wednesday on a video call with reporters. “And the difference is, during the summer, Kawhi couldn’t work, you know, so now he’s got this break and he’s able to train.

“The Kawhi we’ll see will be in phenomenal shape. PG [Paul George] is another guy that’s gonna be in phenomenal shape.”

When the season was suspended on March 11, after the Utah Jazz’s Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19, the Clippers (44-20) had won seven of their previous eight games.

“We’re really good,” Rivers said of what he knows about his team after studying the season. “What I know for real was the last 10 games, we were turning into the Clippers. You could literally feel it. … We started understanding each other. … We were playing seamlessly through Kawhi and PG. It wasn’t forced anymore. Guys weren’t trying to stay out of each other’s way. You could feel the rhythm. Even the Lakers loss [on March 8], where we, in my opinion, played horrendous in that game, and that was one of our step-back games … we still had a chance, and it was our D-game, you know?

“I really thought we were about to make a crazy run down the stretch. And unfortunately, bam, it stopped. … I love where we were at. And seeing the way we play and how we were coming together, this team’s good. I think we could beat anybody.”

Related Doc Rivers: Clippers Not a ‘Flip the Switch’ Team

The post Doc Rivers: Kawhi Leonard ‘Will Be in Phenomenal Shape’ appeared first on SLAM.

Stackhouse felt he was the “better player” at that point in their respective careers—it turned out to be MJ’s final NBA season—after being traded from Detroit to D.C.

The Wizards finished with a 37-45 record and missed the playoffs.

Per Sports Illustrated (via “The Woj Pod“):

“Honestly, I wish I never played in Washington and for a number of reasons,” Stackhouse said. “I felt we were on our way in Detroit before I got traded there. It was really challenging to be able to be in a situation with an idol who at this particular point, I felt like I was a better player.

“Things were still being run through Michael Jordan,” he continued. “[Head coach] Doug Collins, I love Doug, but I think that was an opportunity for him to make up for some ill moments that they may have had back in Chicago. So, pretty much everything that Michael wanted to do [we did]. We got off to a pretty good start and he didn’t like the way the offense was running because it was running a little bit more through me. He wanted to get a little more isolations for him on the post, of course, so we had more isolations for him on the post. And it just kind of spiraled in a way that I didn’t enjoy that season at all. The kind of picture I had in my mind of Michael Jordan and the reverence I had for him, I lost a little bit of it during the course of that year.”

The duo averaged 41.5 points per game—21.5 points per game from Stackhouse, 20 from Jordan.

“It was good to have the experience of playing alongside one of your idols, to be able to get the camaraderie,” he told ESPN in 2013. “Nobody has more fun away from the game than Michael Jordan. He has fun. Whether it’s on the plane playing cards or going out to dinner or having fun. I don’t think people realize that about him because they see all the seriousness on the court, but he’s as funny and fun-loving guy as you’re going to see away from the game.”

Related Jerry Stackhouse Says Michael Jordan Never Sang Trash Talk to Him

The post Jerry Stackhouse Lost ‘Reverence’ Playing With Michael Jordan appeared first on SLAM.

James, 35, is doing everything in his power (at home) to “stay mentally and physically prepared for whatever may come next.”

Bron, however, says he would have “some satisfaction” about what the Los Angeles Lakers were able to accomplish before things came to a screeching halt last month.

Per The LA Times:

“How do you assess what’s going on over the last three weeks or however long this pandemic has been going on? It’s unnatural,” James said during a Zoom video call with about two dozen reporters Wednesday. “It’s something that’s never happened before. Some of you guys are older than me, probably never seen this happen before. You just kind of take all the information you have on a day-to-day basis.”

If the NBA season can’t resume, it will be left incomplete for James and his teammates, but not without special moments.

“I will have some satisfaction of being with my brothers, being with my guys, thinking about some of the road trips that we had, thinking about some of the games we lost, some of the games we won, some of the games we overcame, and then everything we’ve been going through this season,” James said. “Just the ups and downs not only on the floor but off the floor, everything that we’ve had to endure as Laker faithful, us as players and coaching staff and an organization.

“Closure? No, but to be proud of what we were able to accomplish to this point, I’ll be able to look back and say we did something special in that small period of time.”

Related LeBron James: Photographic Memory ‘Something That I Was Born With’

The post LeBron James: No ‘Closure’ if NBA Season Doesn’t Resume appeared first on SLAM.

Thunder point guard Chris Paul, Bulls shooting guard Zach LaVine and Hawks floor general Trae Young are reportedly set to face off.

The showcase, inspired by the League’s current hiatus due to the coronavirus global pandemic, is also expected to include WNBA stars and retired NBA players.

Per ESPN:

The NBA and ESPN are finalizing plans to televise a H-O-R-S-E shooting competition, with stars Chris Paul of Oklahoma City, Trae Young of Atlanta and Zach LaVine of Chicago among those expected to participate, sources told ESPN on Wednesday.

LaVine competed in the NBA 2K20 Players Tournament, losing in the first round last week.

The NBA suspended play on March 12 because of the coronavirus pandemic, and there is no expectation that the league can resume play anytime soon.

Current NBA isolation protocols governing players prohibit them from competing together in the same location.

Related Adam Silver: NBA Won’t Decide on Season Until at ‘Least’ May

The post Trae Young, Zach LaVine, Chris Paul to Compete in H-O-R-S-E appeared first on SLAM.

Klay tore his left ACL in Game 6 of last summer’s NBA Finals, but no longer has “any kind of limp — no kind of soreness,” says the elder Thompson.

With the League on lockdown due to the coronavirus global pandemic, the 30-year-old five-time All-Star is rehabbing on his own.

Per NBC Sports Bay Area:

“He’s feeling good. He’s working out on his own. He’s doing all of his drills. He says he feels good,” Klay’s father, Mychal, said Monday during a radio appearance on 95.7 The Game. “He walks around without any kind of limp — no kind of soreness.

“He says he’s feeling great and he’ll be ready to go at full speed next year.”

At this point in time, unfortunately, nobody knows when “next year” will begin.

“He’s going to be so ready to play next year and so excited and the rehab is coming along really well,” coach Steve Kerr told Tim Kawakami of The Athletic a couple weeks ago. “So I have no doubt that — assuming everything starts in September and October like it usually does — that Klay and Steph will be in great shape and ready to roll.”

Related Steve Kerr: ‘It’s Been a Really, Really Hard Season’ for Klay Thompson

The post Klay Thompson ‘Ready to Go at Full Speed Next Year’ appeared first on SLAM.

Melo would’ve disrupted Detroit’s locker room chemistry, says Wallace.

The Pistons won the 2004 championship after picking Darko Milicic.

Per NBC Sports (via 120 Watts The Podcast):

“If we would’ve drafted Carmelo, I honestly don’t think we would have ever won a championship,” Wallace said.

“Melo wanted to play right away. It would have had the potential to disrupt the team chemistry … By drafting Darko, he came in and said that he is not ready to play on this team. Who I am going to play in front of. I’m not ready, and by him doing that and accepting his role, it allowed us to build and grow and get stronger and eventually win a championship …

“If we drafted Carmelo, Tayshaun [Prince] wouldn’t blossom to be the type of a player that he way. We won that championship on the back of the best block I’ve ever seen in my life, and I blocked a lot of shots. That is the type of grit and grind that the team had.”

Related Chauncey Billups: Pistons ‘Would’ve Won Three’ Titles With Carmelo Anthony

The post Ben Wallace: Pistons Wouldn’t Have Won Title With Carmelo Anthony appeared first on SLAM.

The coronavirus global pandemic led to the NBA being the first U.S. pro league to shut down.

“We’re in listening mode right now,” Silver said.

Per The AP:

“Essentially, what I’ve told my folks over the last week is that we just should just accept that, at least for the month of April, we won’t be in a position to make any decisions,” Silver said. “And I don’t think that necessarily means on May 1 we will be.”

The league’s regular season was to end April 15, and the playoffs were to begin April 18.

“We miss it badly,” Silver said. “To all the families watching this, I know the NBA is a big part of their lives. We just want to assure everybody that while we’re putting the health and safety of everyone first, we’re looking at every possibility to get our players back on the floor and to play NBA basketball again.”

Silver also discussed Saturday’s 45-minute conference call that he and other major U.S. sports leaders had with President Donald Trump.

“It wasn’t just a pep talk, but I think it was a reminder of what the meaning is of sports to Americans, to our culture in particular,” Silver said. “What came back from all the leagues collectively was once we get the all-clear, however that’s determined, of course with public health officials and by our government … we’re going to be ready to go. But first and foremost is the health and safety of everyone involved.”

Related Report: NBA Mulls Holding Entire Playoffs in Las Vegas

The post Adam Silver: NBA Won’t Decide on Season Until at ‘Least’ May appeared first on SLAM.

Garnett has a lot of unresolved animosity towards team owner Glen Taylor, who he considers a “snake” for backing away from a business arrangement.

KG will be among the headliners for the 2020 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class.

Per The Athletic:

The Celtics announced in February that they will retire your No. 5 jersey during the 2020-21 season — but your jersey still isn’t hanging in the rafters in Minnesota. How soon will we see that take place and where do you stand on it?

(When Garnett returned to Minnesota in 2015, a move brokered by [Flip] Saunders, he had discussed his desire to one day join the ownership group succeeding Taylor and/or being a key decision-maker in the franchise. When Saunders passed away, Taylor charted a course forward and hired Tom Thibodeau to take over the franchise, which Garnett felt was going back on the plans he and Saunders had discussed. League rules prevented Taylor from having ownership discussions with Garnett while he was a player.)

KG: “Glen knows where I’m at, I’m not entertaining it. First of all, it’s not genuine. Two, he’s getting pressure from a lot of fans and, I guess, the community there. Glen and I had an understanding before Flip died, and when Flip died, that understanding went with Flip. For that, I won’t forgive Glen. I won’t forgive him for that. I thought he was a straight up person, straight up business man, and when Flip died, everything went with him.

“There’s no reason to complain. Just continue to move on. My years in Minnesota and in that community, I cherish. At this point, I don’t want any dealings with Glen Taylor or Taylor Corp. or anything that has to do with him. I love my Timberwolves, I’ll always love my guys, I’ll always love the people who fuck with me there. I’ll always have a special place for the city of Minneapolis and the state of Minnesota in my heart. But I don’t do business with snakes. I don’t do business with snake mu’fuckas. I try not to do business with openly snakes or people who are snake-like.”

Related Kevin Garnett: ‘To Be Called Hall of Famer is Everything’

The post Kevin Garnett ‘Not Entertaining’ T-Wolves Jersey Retirement appeared first on SLAM.

Garnett, 43, is a headliner of the 2020 HOF class, joining Tim Duncan and the late Kobe Bryant.

Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor, despite their up-and-down history, showered KG with praise.

Per The AP and The Star Tribune:

“This is the culmination,” Garnett said. “All those hours … this is what you do it for, right here. To be able to be called ‘Hall of Famer’ is everything.”

Garnett is the only player in NBA history with at least 25,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, 5,000 assists, 1,500 blocks and 1,500 steals. He also was part of Boston’s 2008 NBA title.

“This is an honor so well deserved,” said Taylor. “We congratulate Kevin on being selected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. From the day we drafted him in 1995, we knew there was something special about him that Minnesota had never experienced before. I’ve watched Kevin grow on and off the court and will forever be grateful for his contributions to the Timberwolves organization.”

Garnett led the team to its only trip to the Western Conference finals in 2004 and led it to eight straight playoff appearances.

“He was beloved by our fans in a way that only few players experience and will always have a place at Target Center,” Taylor said. “To be elected in his first year of eligibility validates the impact he had on basketball in Minnesota, the NBA, and around the globe. We are so happy for him to receive this recognition.”

Related Doc Rivers: Kevin Garnett the ‘Greatest Superstar Role Player Ever’

The post Kevin Garnett: ‘To Be Called Hall of Famer is Everything’ appeared first on SLAM.

Duncan, 43, headlines the 2020 HOF class alongside Kevin Garnett and the late Kobe Bryant.

TD spent his entire career in San Antonio, leading the Spurs to five NBA titles and becoming widely recognized as the greatest power forward ever.

Per The AP:

“An amazing class,” Duncan said.

With Bryant, Duncan and Garnett as perhaps the top NBA trio to ever enter simultaneously, the Hall wanted to make sure that no enshrinee would be overlooked.

“It’s kind of the end of the journey here,” Duncan said of his enshrinement.

“It was an incredible career that I enjoyed so much. To call it a dream come true isn’t even doing any justice to it. I never dreamt I’d be at this point.”

Related Tim Duncan Earns First Coaching Win in ‘Big Boy Chair’

The post Tim Duncan: ‘It’s Kind of the End of the Journey Here’ appeared first on SLAM.

Kobe and his 13-year-old daughter, Giannia, were among nine people killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, on Jan. 26.

Bryant was 41 and in the first year of eligibility for the HOF.

Per ESPN and the Lakers’ team website:

Speaking with her daughter Natalia by her side, Vanessa Bryant said, “It’s an incredible accomplishment and honor, and we’re extremely proud of him. Every accomplishment that he had as an athlete was a steppingstone to be here.”

Vanessa and Kobe Bryant were married for 19 years. They had four daughters: Natalia is 17, Bianka is 3 and Capri is 9 months.

“No amount of words can fully describe what Kobe Bryant meant to the Los Angeles Lakers,” said Lakers Governor Jeanie Buss. “Kobe was not only a proven winner and a champion, he gave everything he had to the game of basketball. His fierce competitiveness, work ethic and drive were unmatched. Those qualities helped Kobe lead us to five titles – and have now brought him to the Hall of Fame, where he will be enshrined with the greatest to have ever played the game. No one deserves it more.”

“Kobe was always one to downplay his professional accomplishments – MVPs, NBA championships, gold medals, Oscars, and on and on and on,” said Lakers Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Rob Pelinka. “But all of us can trust that this Basketball Hall of Fame honor is one Kobe would, and will, deeply appreciate. The highest of congratulations to you, dear friend. This one is so well deserved — for all the hard work, sweat and toil. Now, a part of you will live in the Hall with the rest of the all-time greats, where your legend and spirit will continue to grow forever.”

Related Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnet HOF-Bound

The post Vanessa Bryant: Hall of Fame Induction ‘Peak’ of Kobe Bryant’s Career appeared first on SLAM.

The League’s reigning MVP says he does not “have access to a hoop.”

The Milwaukee Bucks, similar to other teams, have provided their players with tailored workouts and catered meals to maintain a proper diet.

Per The AP and ESPN:

“I don’t have access to a hoop,” the Milwaukee Bucks forward said Friday during a conference call. “A lot of NBA players might have a court in their house or something, I don’t know, but now I just get my home workouts, (go) on the bike, treadmill, lift weights, stay sharp that way.”

Center Brook Lopez said workout plans have been sent to them via a phone app.

“So, obviously, they give us bands, a bike,” Antetokounmpo said. “They provide us with workouts that we can do at home and also provide us with food. They have a catering company that brings us food for us and our families in the house.

“That’s pretty much it,” he continued. “We’re supposed to stay home, do our workouts, take care of our bodies at home, and that’s pretty much it.”

Related POLL: Giannis Earns 60 of 70 First-Place MVP Votes

The post Giannis Antetokounmpo: ‘I Don’t Have Access to a Hoop’ appeared first on SLAM.

They had their “issues,” according to Paul, who adds that he didn’t realize what he had with Griffin and the Lob City crew until it was too late.

Per NBC Sports (via the “All the Smoke” podcast):

“It’s seriously one of those things you don’t realize what you have until it’s gone,” Paul said.

“I think about it at times. And me and Blake Griffin absolutely had our issues here and there, but I actually appreciated Blake probably a lot more after I left.”

CP3, who serves as head of the players’ union, also addressed the NBA’s forced hiatus due to the coronavirus global pandemic:

“In this situation, nobody knows,” Paul said.

“Like it’s crazy, I was talking to Adam [Silver] the other day … shout out to Adam and the fact that he actually communicates with us and is trying to figure out what’s right. But, just there’s no answers right now. Everybody’s just basically gotta wait and see how this thing plays out. Obviously, at the end of the day, we all miss hooping … I don’t think we all realize how much we appreciate the game, or appreciate all the little things.”

Related Chris Paul on Turning Down Player Option: ‘No Chance’

The post Chris Paul Appreciated Blake Griffin a ‘Lot More After’ Leaving Clippers appeared first on SLAM.

Players have been flocking to Sin City for Summer League since 2004, and though nothing is close to being official at the moment, they could be returning there for considerably more meaningful games.

The League and its associated businesses are bleeding money as a result of the coronavirus global pandemic.

Per Sports Illustrated:

The league is exploring the feasibility of holding its entire postseason in Las Vegas, sources briefed on the NBA’s thinking told SI.com. A league source told SI.com that the NBA was nowhere close to formalizing anything, but added “nothing is off the table.”

Quarantining in one location is the only solution, and Vegas is the only city the NBA is currently giving any kind of serious consideration, per an NBA source. But even that faces enormous hurdles. Thousands of players and staffers would descend on Las Vegas for an event like this. Thousands of supports staff at hotels and arenas would be needed to make it work. Not to mention broadcasters and media. Testing would have to advance significantly in the coming months. Rapid tests, like the one now being produced by Abbott Laboratories, would have to be widely available. An event that could be squeezed into a few weeks would require tens of thousands of tests.

“I think they’re turning over every rock they possibly can to play and looking at every different outcome,” Nets GM Sean Marks said.

Said Bucks GM Jon Horst, “We believe that we’re going to play and everything we’re doing every day and our communications and our preparations, everything we talk about is be prepared to play at some point and finish out the season and have a resumption.”

Related Mark Cuban: ‘I Have No Idea’ When NBA Will Resume

The post Report: NBA Mulls Holding Entire Playoffs in Las Vegas appeared first on SLAM.

Chauncey Billups concurs, adding that his Detroit squads “would’ve won three championships”—they ended up with just one—if they hadn’t instead gone with Darko Milicic.

Anthony, 35, built a Hall of Fame career largely in Denver, and says his Nuggets would’ve have swept the NBA Finals in 2009 had they gotten that far.

Per NBC Sports:

Anthony on Instagram with Dwyane Wade: “I was sick, because we were supposed to beat them that year. I don’t like saying ‘We should have.’ I don’t like saying all that. But when you re-evaluate everything. We really wanted Orlando in that Finals that year. We was like, ‘If we get Game 1 in L.A. or Game 2, we’re going back to Denver, we’re sweeping them.’ We was going to beat them. We was going to beat them that year if we would’ve won in L.A. If we would’ve won both games, we would’ve beat them. And we would’ve swept Orlando that year.”

Wade: “Orlando was alright, but they weren’t…”

Anthony: “No, would’ve swept them. We would’ve swept them that year.”

Related Chauncey Billups: ‘Scoring 30 Meant Too Much’ to Carmelo Anthony

The post Chauncey Billups: Pistons ‘Would’ve Won Three’ Titles With Carmelo Anthony appeared first on SLAM.

“All I can say is we have to be preparing for everything,” Nets general manager Sean Marks told reporters Wednesday, adding that he had no idea if either player would be able to suit up should the NBA resume its season.

Durant, 31, continues to rehab from a Achilles tendon injury suffered during last summer’s NBA Finals; the 28-year-old Irving, meanwhile, only played in 20 games before arthroscopic right shoulder surgery shut him down.

Per The AP:

“I don’t think that’s fair, one to those athletes, nor the performance team, to put a timeline on this. I think everybody is dealing with bigger items, far more pressing items,” Marks said during a conference call.

“I do know that those two players are continuing their rehab, but again, when you’re practicing social distancing and you’re in self-isolation, I haven’t physically seen them in three or four weeks. So it’s difficult for me to gauge, let alone the performance team, as to where they are.”

And without the team being able to see them, only the players know for sure where they are.

“We’re talking to them and FaceTiming them and so forth, but it’s quite different to having those guys on the court,” Marks said. “And they know their bodies better than anyone else, so at the right time and when they’re a hundred present and they’re up for it, I’m sure they’ll be making those decisions.”

Related Agent: Kevin Durant Playing This Summer ‘Not Very Realistic’

The post Nets GM: No Timeline for Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving’s Return appeared first on SLAM.

“I have no idea,” Cuban responded when asked for a potential timeline of the League’s current hiatus—caused by the coronavirus global pandemic—coming to an end.

The Dallas Mavericks owner added that “we cannot put anything ahead” of health and safety.

Per ESPN:

“I have no idea,” Cuban said Wednesday. “I mean, the only thing I know is that we’re going to put safety first and we’re not going to take any chances. We’re not going to do anything that risks the health of our players, our fans, our staff, the whole organization. So right now, I really don’t have anything new to say.”

In an interview with Dallas television station WFAA published March 21, Cuban cited “people I’ve talked to at the CDC and other places” for his admittedly optimistic projection that enough progress would be made with the coronavirus crisis for the NBA to play games, probably without fans, “hopefully by the middle of May.”

In a setback to the resumption of professional sports, the Chinese government issued an order Tuesday delaying the restart of the Chinese Basketball Association and other group sporting events, according to documents obtained by ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.

“All the experts have got to say it’ll be absolutely safe,” Cuban said. “We cannot put anything ahead of the health and safety of our players and staff; that’s it. It’s such a moving target, and nobody really has specifics. I mean, I haven’t had any conversations where anybody’s even discussed an actual date at this point.”

Related Mark Cuban Hopeful NBA Returns ‘By the Middle of May’

The post Mark Cuban: ‘I Have No Idea’ When NBA Will Resume appeared first on SLAM.

Wall, 29, continues to recover from a ruptured Achilles tendon injury he suffered 14 months ago, but looks good back on the floor.

The five-time All-Star was routinely abusing G Leaguers with his trademark explosiveness.

Per The Athletic:

[Wall] threw down a lefty slam glorious enough that its release today should quench any fans’ thirst for the sports world’s first new highlight in weeks.

“I tried to catch up with him and jump with him, which was a bad mistake because he put it on my head. It was bad,” [Garrison] Mathews said between chuckles. “I heard it from everybody in the gym.”

[Go-Go coach Ryan] Richman believes the Go-Go’s final practice of the year, the one when he robbed Mathews of a little piece of his dignity, “was the best I’ve seen him (play).”

“He looks slim. He looks really good,” Richman said. “If we didn’t take him out, he’d just go the whole time.”

Related Wizards: John Wall Not Returning This Season

The post Rehabbing John Wall Was ‘Playing the Way He Was Playing Before the Injuries’ appeared first on SLAM.

James says he was born with a photographic memory, allowing him to stay a step ahead of his competition on the court at all times.

The 35-year-old living legend adds that his “basketball IQ” allows him to make up for whatever Father Time chips away from his body every year.

Per Sports Illustrated:

“I’ve always had it,” James told Sports Illustrated. ” A lot of my friends when I was younger playing the game, they were like, ‘Man, how did you remember that play? Or how did you remember that? It was so long ago.’ I never thought about it. I didn’t even know what photographic memory meant when I was younger until I got older. It’s something that I was born with or blessed with.”

That ability has made James nearly invincible on the basketball court.

“There’s a lot of people in the league with LeBron’s body,” Clippers’ coach Doc Rivers said. “There’s no one in the league with his brain.”

James, a 16-time All-Star, four-time MVP and three-time NBA champion, said he put in a lot of work this offseason, both physically and mentally, to be able to play so well in year 17.

“How I take care of my body. How I take care of my game. How I take care of my mind. I want to try and continue to get better,” James said. “…If I lose a step here, but if your mind is sharp and you have a big basketball IQ, you can always cover for these things.”

Related LeBron James: Long Layoff Not Helpful

The post LeBron James: Photographic Memory ‘Something That I Was Born With’ appeared first on SLAM.

According to the collective bargaining agreement, players lose roughly 1 percent of salary per cancelled game, based on a “force majeure” provision that includes several catastrophes such as epidemics and pandemics.

The League continues to hold out hope that its current hiatus due to the coronavirus global pandemic won’t lead to the rest of the 2019-20 campaign being wiped out.

Per ESPN:

Commissioner Adam Silver, NBPA executive director Michele Roberts and a group of league and union lawyers have been discussing a number of ways to prepare financially for how the likely canceling of scheduled games will impact some percentage of lost salary for players, sources said.

The NBA has no plans to announce the cancellation of games in the immediate future, sources said. The league’s plan is to continue working on a number of contingencies for return from a hiatus that started March 11, based on how many days the league has to work with to salvage a season, sources said.

The NBA has committed to paying full salaries on April 1, but the league and union are discussing options for an orderly redistribution of money based on the number of regular-season games that could be lost in the 2019-20 season.

The force majeure becomes one more mechanism for the NBA to make the financial formula work on delivering the players to the agreed-upon 51% share of the revenues with owners.

Related Report: NBA Reducing Execs’ Pay By 20 Percent

The post Report: NBA May Hold 25 Percent of Player Salaries in Escrow appeared first on SLAM.

The highly-anticipated 10-part documentary is a close examination of Michael Jordan and his Chicago Bulls’ quest for a sixth championship in 1998.

The series will air Sunday nights on ESPN over five weeks, and be made available outside of the U.S. on Netflix.

Per the press release:

ESPN statement: “As society navigates this time without live sports, viewers are still looking to the sports world to escape and enjoy a collective experience. We’ve heard the calls from fans asking us to move up the release date for this series, and we’re happy to announce that we’ve been able to accelerate the production schedule to do just that. This project celebrates one of the greatest players and dynasties ever, and we hope it can serve as a unifying entertainment experience to fill the role that sports often play in our lives, telling a story that will captivate everyone, not just sports fans.”

In the fall of 1997, Michael Jordan, Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf and head coach Phil Jackson agreed to let an NBA Entertainment film crew follow the team all season long. The result would be a remarkable portrait of an iconic player and a celebrated team – a portrait only now being revealed, more than two decades later, in “The Last Dance.”

“Michael Jordan and the ‘90s Bulls +weren’t just sports superstars, they were a global phenomenon,” said director Jason Hehir. “Making ‘The Last Dance’ was an incredible opportunity to explore the extraordinary impact of one man and one team. For nearly three years, we searched far and wide to present the definitive story of an era-defining dynasty and to present these sports heroes as humans. I hope viewers enjoy watching our series as much as we enjoyed the opportunity to make it.”

Related Michael Jordan Beat BJ Armstrong 1-on-1 Wearing Loafers

The post Michael Jordan 10-Part Documentary Moved Up to April 19 appeared first on SLAM.

Marbury says he has made arrangements with a mask supplier in China willing to sell each mask for $2.75 (well below the $7.50 that retailers are quoting the state.)

The masks would be delivered 2 million at a time over five weeks, but there’s plenty of political and administrative gridlock to get through first.

Per The NY Post:

“At the end of the day, I am from Brooklyn,” Marbury said during a call from his Beijing home. “This is something that is close and dear to my heart as far as being able to help New York.

“I have family there in Coney Island, a lot of family … who are affected by this, so I know how important it is for people to have masks during this time.”

Despite the good intentions, Adams’ efforts to connect with Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio’s staff to present Marbury’s offer have gone anything but smoothly.

“We’ve been communicating back and forth with the city and state, and for some reason they are saying they don’t need any more masks, but the hospitals are saying they do,” Adams said Thursday.

Related Stephon Marbury Talks Life Journey in Ultimate Interview with Dennis Page

The post Stephon Marbury Plans to Deliver New York 10 Million Masks appeared first on SLAM.

“It’s actually the opposite for me,” James revealed Thursday, adding that the NBA’s sudden work stoppage due to the coronavirus global pandemic halted his building momentum as the postseason approached.

James will begin working out with his personal trainer Monday, two weeks after the Los Angeles Lakers were all tested for COVID-19.

Per The LA Times:

“It’s actually the opposite for me,” James said. “My body when we stopped playing was like ‘what the hell are you doing?’”

He was a guest on the [“Road Trippin’”] podcast that regularly features his former teammates Richard Jefferson and Channing Frye, along with Spectrum SportsNet studio host Allie Clifton.

“The only timeline that we’ve been given as far as training is that I will be allowed to work out with Mike Mancias again on Monday, which will be the two weeks away from the quarantine they put us on after we all got tested after the Nets had four guys who tested positive,” James said. “… I’ve just been training. I’ve been training five days a week and staying ready. What they always say. Stay ready when your number’s called.”

James said less training might work if the only goal was to finish the regular season, but players’ bodies would need time to adjust before the playoffs.

“My body was like, ‘Hey, man, what the hell is going on? It’s March 13. You’re getting ready for the playoffs. Why are you shutting down?’” James said. “I was right there turning the corner. I feel like I was on third base.”

Related LeBron James: NBA Shouldn’t Go ‘Straight to the Playoffs’

The post LeBron James: Long Layoff Not Helpful appeared first on SLAM.

Curry continues to use his celebrity to bring more awareness to the global pandemic, and everyone’s role in combating the lethal disease.

Dr. Fauci told Curry that a vaccine is in the works.

Per the Golden State Warriors’ team website:

Curry: “What metric are you looking at to be able to determine when large gatherings and sporting events are OK to revisit as not a threat to continue spreading the virus?”

Dr. Fauci: “What you need to see is the trajectory of the curve start to come down. We seen that in China they went up and down, they’re starting to get back to some normal life. They got to be careful they don’t reintroduce the virus into China, but they’re on the other end of the curve. Korea is doing that, they’re starting to come back down. Europe, particularly Italy, is in a terrible situation: they’re still going way up. The United States is a big country. We have so many different regions like New York City right now which is having a terrible time, and yet there are place in the country that are doing quite well… we could start thinking about getting back to some degree of normality when the country as a whole has turned that corner and started coming down.”

Curry: “I know there’s a timeline for developing a vaccine. I heard it’s a 12 to 18-month timeline to be able to roll that out. What does that process look like and what is the likelihood we get to success in that time?”

Dr. Fauci: “We have started on the development of a vaccine faster than ever in the history of any virus, from the time it was discovered to the time we actually made it and put it into a trial. But when you test the vaccine it takes multiple phases. The first thing you got to do is make sure it’s safe. We started that a couple of weeks ago… Phase two is pretrial to determine if it works. That’s the thing that’s going to take an additional eight months or so. So when you add up the three or four months for phase one plus the seven or eight months, you get about a year to a year and a half.

“If we really push, we hope that we will know by the time we get into next winter whether or not we have something that works. A vaccine is going to be totally relevant if it cycles into another season, which Steph quite frankly, I think it’s going to do because this virus is very, very transmissible… I cannot imagine it’s just going to disappear. So vaccines are going to be important the next time around, not for what we’re dealing with now.”

Related Steve Kerr: Curry’s Return is a Springboard Into Next Year

The post Stephen Curry Hosts Coronavirus Q&A With Dr. Anthony Fauci appeared first on SLAM.

“It discredits the 60-plus games” already played in the battle for postseason seeding, says James.

As the coronavirus global pandemic continues to wreck havoc, LeBron added that he’d be disappointed if players had to initially get back on the court without fans in the stands.

Per ESPN (via the “Road Trippin’ Podcast“):

“What is the word ‘sport’ without ‘fan’?” James asked. “There’s no excitement. There’s no crying. There’s no joy. There’s no back-and-forth … That’s what also brings out the competitive side of the players to know that you’re going on the road in a hostile environment and yes, you’re playing against that opponent in front of you, but you really want to kick the fans’ ass too.

“So to get back on the floor, I would love it. I’m not going to sit here and say nothing. Like, if it’s get out there and get back on the floor 5-on-5 … but like, we can do that in scrimmages. Let’s just go to each other’s practice facility, put out a camera, just scrimmage and livestream it. … I just don’t know how we can imagine a sporting event without fans. It’s just, it’s a weird dynamic.”

James also thinks a truncated regular-season finale of five to 10 games would be necessary before the playoff bracket.

“One thing you can’t just do is go straight to the playoffs,” James said. “Because it discredits the 60-plus games that guys had fighting for that position.”

Related LeBron James to ‘Listen’ if NBA Bars Fans Over Coronavirus

The post LeBron James: NBA Shouldn’t Go ‘Straight to the Playoffs’ appeared first on SLAM.

The pay cut, in response to the devastating financial impact of the coronavirus global pandemic, is said to include commissioner Adam Silver.

The NBA recently extended its credit limit to $1.2 billion.

Per ESPN:

Many of the executives and officials impacted work in the league’s New York headquarters, including commissioner Adam Silver and deputy commissioner Mark Tatum, sources said.

These reductions will be implemented immediately and are expected to continue through the course of the coronavirus crisis, sources said.

NBA spokesman Mike Bass wouldn’t confirm ESPN’s reporting on the story, but said: “These are unprecedented times and, like other companies across all industries, we need to take short-term steps to deal with the harsh economic impact on our business and organization.”

There are no widespread cuts to the rest of the organization, and no support or administrative staff are impacted, sources told ESPN.

Related Adam Silver: ‘Too Soon to Tell’ Economic Impact of Coronavirus

The post Report: NBA Reducing Execs’ Pay By 20 Percent appeared first on SLAM.

Washington’s braintrust maintatins that the plan is for Wall, 29, to suit up in 2020-21

The five-time NBA All-Star ruptured his Achilles’ at home in January 2019 while recovering from heel surgery; he’s in the first season of a four-year, supermax contract.

Per The WaPo:

With each turn of the calendar, promising signs continued in Wall’s rehabilitation from a Achilles’ tendon injury. Those flashes might have led Washington Wizards fans to envision Wall suiting up for the first time in more than a year if the NBA returns this season.

That won’t happen.

“We’ve said all along that we can’t wait until John plays next season, and I think that will still be our attitude and our stance,” Wizards General Manager Tommy Sheppard said in a recent interview.

“We’re very anxious to see John Wall in uniform next year. I don’t think any of this changes that.”

Related Scott Brooks: John Wall ‘Coming Back and Being as Good as Ever’

The post Wizards: John Wall Not Returning This Season appeared first on SLAM.

Morant, 20, is averaging 17.6 points and 6.9 assists for the Memphis Grizzlies.

Zion Williamson was limited by injuries to just 19 games so far—but played spectacularly—and appears headed for a distant second-place finish in the ROY race.

Per ESPN:

After trading Mike Conley last summer, the Grizzlies were projected to finish last in the Western Conference. Instead, led by Morant, Memphis found itself with a 3 ½-game lead for the final playoff spot over the Portland Trail Blazers and Williamson’s New Orleans Pelicans when the season was suspended. If the NBA were to play an abbreviated regular-season schedule upon resuming the season, Morant’s Grizzlies would be more likely to hold onto that spot, solidifying his Rookie of the Year case even more.

If Morant were to win the award unanimously as he did in this straw poll, he’d join Karl-Anthony Towns, Damian Lillard and Blake Griffin as the only players to do so over the past 30 seasons.

Williamson has played only 19 of the Pelicans’ 64 games. No player has won Rookie of the Year playing fewer than 50 games (Patrick Ewing played exactly 50 in winning the award in 1985-86).

Related Ja Morant: ‘I Honestly Don’t Care About Rookie of the Year’

The post POLL: Ja Morant is the Unanimous Rookie of the Year appeared first on SLAM.

The Diesel says Nets center Todd MacCulloch didn’t exactly present him with the greatest of challenges.

O’Neal averaged a ridiculous 36.3 points, 12.3 rebounds and 2.8 blocks, completing the four-game sweep in his native New Jersey.

Per Heavy.com:

What was your favorite NBA Finals moment, period?

O’Neal: “That was my first one, right? The Pacers? Because after making it to the Finals in ’94 and getting embarrassed by Hakeem Olajuwon, I said to myself, ‘If I ever go back, I gotta put on a performance so dominant that it won’t be a question who the champ is…’ and then, I had another thing motivating me. Rik Smits used kill me when I was younger. So I know he’s way older. He came in the game — ‘Oh yeah, Shaq’s a dog. He’s the same ol’ Shaq, giving out elbows to the face and in your mouth and in your nose …’

“I’m coming to take this trophy by any means necessary. So there was something that I had to prove and set an example and something that had to be done because, if we don’t win that first one, they’ll probably break us up and it’ll be a lot more negative stuff to talk about.”

The one against the Nets

O’Neal: “It was boring … It was boring because, what was that center’s name? Todd MacCulloch. Todd MacCulloch playing me? Stop it. You know what’s crazy? I actually got mad when we were playing in Jersey. You think Todd MacCulloch is going to stop me at the crib in Jersey in front of my grandma and grandpa? Sheeeeeit! No. Stop it.”

Related Penny Hardaway: Magic ‘Would’ve Won’ Titles With Shaquille O’Neal

The post Shaquille O’Neal: 2002 NBA Finals Were ‘Boring’ appeared first on SLAM.

Cuban says games could initially be played without fans.

Cuban adds that he is “proud” of commissioner Adam Silver‘s handling of the League’s response to the coronavirus global pandemic.

Per WFAA:

“Hopefully by the middle of May, we’re starting to get back to normal and the NBA is playing games,” Cuban said. “Maybe not with fans, but we’re playing it because sports plays such an important role. You know, people want something to cheer for, people want something to rally around, people want something to be excited about.

“I’m proud of Adam Silver. I’m proud of the NBA and the way we’ve reacted. I think we’ve led the way, and hopefully will lead the way out of this. I mean you know no one has perfect information right now, and so all decisions are tough. But, you know, if I had to guess based off the people I’ve talked to at the CDC and other places — I would say that the over under would be June 1, and I’m taking the under.”

If Cuban’s prediction were to come to fruition, the NBA could play the roughly 15 to 18 games that teams have remaining from mid-May to mid-June, and start the playoffs in late June.

“I mean, sports is what we need right now and… I think the NBA is ready to play that role,” Cuban said.

Related Mark Cuban: NBA Season Suspension Not About Basketball

The post Mark Cuban Hopeful NBA Returns ‘By the Middle of May’ appeared first on SLAM.

“I definitely would’ve been way more successful and gotten more credit,” says Hardaway, who eventually left Florida himself.

Penny adds how frustrating it was for him that injuries derailed what had initially seemed like a sure-fire Hall of Fame career.

Per HoopsHype:

I think the people who watched you and played against you during your prime know how great you were, but how do you feel about the way you’re perceived? Do you feel like you’re underrated at all?

PH: “Absolutely. I think some guys give credit, but not the majority. My first seven or eight years in the NBA can rival anyone who went into the Hall of Fame – the numbers, the style of play and the way I impacted the game, and I don’t know if I get enough credit for that. I was watching a show and they were talking about the Top 50 and they were all fantastic players, but I saw a couple of guys were saying that I wasn’t in the next 50 and I beg to differ with that. I’m sorry but when I was healthy, I’m definitely part of the next 50 – without a doubt.”

If you had played most or all of your career with Shaq, do you think you’d get more credit? And what do you think would’ve happened if you two had stayed together?

PH: “Yeah, definitely. Obviously, if I wouldn’t have gotten injured, I would have a different ending to my story. And I know hindsight is always 20/20, but I really feel like if Shaq would’ve stayed, I definitely would’ve been way more successful and gotten more credit because we would’ve won championships.”

Did you and Shaq ever have a conversation later on where you talked through everything and worked it all out?

PH: “Yeah, we had a conversation. We did that E:60 documentary together and we kind of talked it out a little bit and talked about ‘what if.” I’ve always appreciated Shaq; I always appreciated him and I’ve always let him know that if it weren’t for him, my career wouldn’t have gone the way that it did. He knows that about me, and he’s said the same thing to me as well.”

Related Shaq Compares Leaving Orlando to Durant Leaving OKC

The post Penny Hardaway: Magic ‘Would’ve Won’ Titles With Shaquille O’Neal appeared first on SLAM.

SVG has zero interest in working for the Knicks, an organization he considers to be “extremely dysfunctional.”

The Nets, on the other hand, are the “more stable” and attractive franchise, says Van Gundy.

Per The NY Post:

“Of the two the Nets are the better job. There’s no question about that right now,” Van Gundy said on ESPN Radio. “The organization has been more stable. They’ve won more games. They have more talent.”

The Nets were 30-34 when the NBA season was suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic, sitting seventh in the Eastern Conference and on pace for a first-round playoff date with Toronto. The Knicks were 21-45 and bound for the lottery. But the talent gap is far greater than that.

“I’m not interested in the New York Knicks. No,” Stan Van Gundy said. “First of all, there’s a family history there. If anyone would be interested in that — and I’m not sure he is either — it would be my brother.”

That would of course by his younger brother Jeff, who led the Knicks to the 1999 NBA Finals and spent parts of seven seasons as head coach in the Garden. He’s 430-318 overall.

“And I just – I’ve said this – I’m different than a lot of coaches in looking at jobs. To me, it’s all who you work for and you work with,” said Stan, the older Van Gundy brother. “Everything I’ve seen in the last few years with that organization says that it’s extremely dysfunctional.”

Related Charles Oakley: ‘NBA Has Got to Take a Look’ at Knicks Drama

The post Stan Van Gundy: Nets ‘Better Job’ Than the Knicks appeared first on SLAM.

The reigning MVP earned 60 out of a possible 70 first-place votes for a commanding lead over LeBron James, who had built a seemingly convincing late-season argument that he was equally worthy.

No one else earned a first-place vote, and with the season currently on hold due to the coronavirus global pandemic, there’s no telling if anyone will get to raise the Maurice Podoloff trophy.

Per ESPN:

To make the balloting process realistic, ESPN sought to mimic the league’s official voting process as closely as possible. Our MVP voting panel includes a mixture of local beat writers from across the league, as well as national and international reporters, just as the NBA’s does at the conclusion of the regular season. And, to conform to the NBA’s voting system, every first-place vote is worth 10 points, followed by seven for second place, five for third, three for fourth and one for fifth.

Using that rubric, Antetokounmpo led the way with 670 of a possible 700 points, as he was listed in second place behind James on the 10 ballots where he wasn’t listed first. James, meanwhile, was second with 514 points, and was either first or second on 68 of the 70 submitted ballots, finishing third on one and fourth on another.

Antetokounmpo is averaging 29.6 points, 13.7 rebounds and 5.8 assists, while his player efficiency rating of 31.71 ranks among the best in the history of the sport. He has a real plus-minus of 7.96, more than a full point higher than James, who sits in second place.

James, meanwhile, is averaging 25.6 points, 7.9 rebounds and 10.6 assists — leading the league in that category for what would be the first time in his career. He also has helped the Lakers clinch their first postseason berth since 2012-13, and the team’s .778 win percentage would be the franchise’s best since 2008-09, when Kobe Bryant won the fourth of his five NBA championships.

Related ‘He is the MVP’: Anthony Davis Lauds LeBron James

The post POLL: Giannis Earns 60 of 70 First-Place MVP Votes appeared first on SLAM.

Karl, it should be noted, never won a NBA title as a head coach.

Melo also made his former coach’s list of his “top 5 starters.”

Related Carmelo Anthony: George Karl’s Comments Are ‘Irrelevant to Me’

The post George Karl: ‘I Wish I Had Done a Better Job’ Coaching Carmelo Anthony appeared first on SLAM.

Kerr understood Thompson being so frustrated with rehab that he needed time away from the team.

Golden State scraped the bottom of the barrel, compiling a 15-50 record this season prior to everything suddenly grinding to a halt due to the coronavirus global pandemic.

Per The Athletic:

He was quite visible on the bench at most home games, but in the Warriors’ day-to-day activities, Klay was a lot less present than ]Stephen] Curry has been. Obviously, Klay had his ACL rehab and the frustration of knowing that he couldn’t play this season. And maybe that leads to a very energetic Klay Thompson season in 2020-21.

“It’s been a really, really hard season for Klay,” Kerr said. “He loves to play basketball so much and just not being able to play has crushed him. And so he was, unlike Steph, over the last couple, few months, he hasn’t been around as often as Steph was. I was OK with that just because it was so frustrating for Klay just to be at practice watching and not really being able to do anything.

“Finally over the last few weeks he was able to start shooting with our guys, running through some drills and he was so happy to be out there. But for much of the season, it was just about getting away and not torturing himself by watching us play. He’s going to be so ready to play next year and so excited and the rehab is coming along really well, so I have no doubt that assuming everything starts in September and October like it usually does that Klay and Steph will be in great shape and ready to roll.”

Related Steve Kerr: ‘We’re Never Going to Be the Team We Were’

The post Steve Kerr: ‘It’s Been a Really, Really Hard Season’ for Klay Thompson appeared first on SLAM.

“Obviously, it’s not a pretty picture,” concedes Silver.

The League continues to hope that its current hiatus—a work stoppage that will eventually cost it 259 games by April 15—will not result in the 2019-20 season’s total cancellation.

Per The AP:

“It’s too soon to tell what the economic impact will be,” Silver said. “We’ve been analyzing multiple scenarios on a daily if not hourly basis and we’ll continue to review the financial implications. Obviously, it’s not a pretty picture but everyone, regardless of what industry they work in, is in the same boat.”

The financial losses will be massive and will obviously just keep growing if this season cannot resume or if next season is affected.

“Adam is obviously cautious, cautiously optimistic,” Cleveland forward Kevin Love said earlier in the week. “We don’t know what the future holds but the NBA has been through a lot, we’ve seen a lot and I think we’ll be incredibly resilient. It just might take time.”

Silver’s sixth full season as commissioner of the NBA started with the league getting into a major rift with China. His mentor and NBA Commissioner emeritus David Stern died two months later. Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash less than a month after that.

“It’s been a challenging season,” Silver said. “For all of us.”

Related NBA Mulling ‘Diversion’ Exhibition Game

The post Adam Silver: ‘Too Soon to Tell’ Economic Impact of Coronavirus appeared first on SLAM.

As Jordan readied to make his comeback following an 18-month hiatus chasing curveballs as a minor league outfielder, former Bulls teammate BJ Armstrong recalls goading The G.O.A.T. —who was dressed in street clothes and a pair of loafers—into an ill-fated game of one-on-one.

Mike would go on to lead Chicago to its second three-peat, completing a legendary run of six titles in eight years.

Per The Athletic:

“He takes off his coat, and we’re playing. I’m like, ‘You’re serious.’ Now, he has his shoes on. And, you know, cold weather climate, there’s soot, and here he’s playing and he’s got some loafers on. I’ve got my Bulls gear for practice and all I’ve got to do is put my sneakers on. Now, it was a joke, it wasn’t a joke. I’m like, ‘I know him, I can’t give him anything. It was for real. I’ve got to play now.’

“Before I knew it, he’s in a full sweat, in his clothes. We’re playing and no one comes on the court, but everyone is watching. I didn’t want to lose to a guy in his street clothes. I don’t care who it was. You’ve got to at least put on sneakers. Let’s be honest. I’m not losing to a guy in street clothes. I don’t care who you are. It’s fouls. That’s how it happened. He’s playing in his loafers, so the floor is all messed up. He’s scuffing the floor and we’re playing.”

The outcome is easy to guess.

“Oh, he won. He won. At the time, I was pissed. I’m still kind of pissed about (it),” Armstrong recalled, with a laugh. “And then I realized, the light never went off. Everybody was like, ‘How you going to lose to an old guy?’ I said, ‘It never stopped. That’s who he is.’ The light has never gone off, and it will never go off, because the score is always zero-zero.”

Related Michael Jordan Dominated Warriors’ Practice Prior to 1995 Return

The post Michael Jordan Beat BJ Armstrong 1-on-1 Wearing Loafers appeared first on SLAM.

James, who scored 45 points in a historic Game 6 performance against the Celtics that pushed the Heat into the championship round, said it might’ve been the “quickest breakup in basketball history” had things gone south during a forty-five minute Instagram Live chat with fans Thursday night.

LeBron added that his legacy would “take a huge, huge hit” had Pat Riley broken up the squad.

Per The Miami Herald and ESPN:

“My mentality was if we lose, [Miami Heat president] Pat Riley may break us all up,” James said. “And I don’t want that. It might be the quickest breakup in basketball history. Not only might they break it all up, but my legacy is going to take a huge, huge hit if I don’t go out here and perform at an all-time high.”

The Heat won the series in seven games and defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder in five games to win the franchise’s second NBA title. James was named the NBA Finals MVP.

The Heat won the 2013 NBA championship in seven games over the San Antonio Spurs, marked by Ray Allen’s 3-pointer in Game 6 that flipped momentum to the Heat as they faced elimination.

“Win, lose or draw, I had to be focused. I had to lock in and lead us to victory,” James said Thursday. “Didn’t know if it was going to happen that way, but that was my mindset.”

Related Kevin Garnett: 2010 Celtics ‘Broke’ LeBron James

The post LeBron James: 2012 Loss to Celtics Would’ve Ended Heat Big 3 appeared first on SLAM.

Jordan took part in a few Golden State Warriors practices in the lead-up to his celebrated comeback, and after hearing some ill-advised trash talking, proved he could still dominate.

According to Chris Mullin, Jordan “went out there and basically single-handedly beat the Warriors down by himself.”

Per The SF Chronicle:

Of those interviewed, two are former Golden State Warriors (Tim Hardaway and Chris Mullin), one is a former Warriors assistant coach (Rod Higgins), and one is current Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, who won three straight NBA titles playing alongside Jordan from 1995-98.

“I might get in trouble for this,” Hardaway says. “But him and Rod Higgins were really good friends. He came and practiced with us a few times in Oakland.”

“I was on my way to practice, and (Jordan) asked, ‘Do you think it’s OK if I practice with you guys?’ I said, ‘I don’t think so, lemme call [then-Warriors coach Don Nelson],” Higgins says. “Nelly’s response was ‘hell yeah.’”

According to Mullin, Jordan didn’t show up in basketball gear.

“I was injured at the time so I do remember Michael coming down to practice and we’re basically the same size, the same sneaker size,” Mullin said. “I think we had Tim Hardaway and Latrell Sprewell at that point in time. They might have been popping off a little bit. Michael said, ‘Mully, let’s go, get me your gear.’ He went to my locker, put my gear on, and went out there and basically single-handedly beat the Warriors down by himself. And that’s when I was like, this guy is coming back.”

Related Michael Jordan: ‘You’re Paid to Play 82 Games’

The post Michael Jordan Dominated Warriors Practice Prior to 1995 Return appeared first on SLAM.

It could be a “giant fundraiser or just for the collective good of the people,” Silver said.

The League remains on hold due to the global coronavirus pandemic, and there still isn’t a sense as to when real games will be held again.

Per The AP:

“Maybe it’s for a giant fundraiser or just for the collective good of the people,” Silver said. “You take a subset of players and is there a protocol in which they can be tested and quarantined and isolated in some way. … People are stuck at home. They need a diversion. They need to be entertained.”

Silver offered no predictions on when NBA games would resume. He said the league may, when conditions allow, resume games but without fans — a move the league was going to make last week before Utah’s Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19 and prompted the league to go on what it thought would be a hiatus, not a stoppage that is certain to reach multiple weeks and likely months.

“One thing I’ll say about the United States … we’re an incredible country and some of the greatest inventions, some of the best innovations, some of the best minds are in this country,” Silver said. “And I’m sure as people are sitting home but still working they’re thinking of these various things like how can we restart the economy and what role can the NBA play?”

Silver also said he doesn’t know when play can return.

“I don’t have a good enough sense of how long a period this is going to be,” Silver said.

Related NBA: Season Hiatus to Last at Least 30 Days

The post NBA Mulling ‘Diversion’ Exhibition Game appeared first on SLAM.

The Nets say some players and staff were exhibiting symptoms, which led to testing “through a private company.”

Forward Wilson Chandler also complained of facing discrimination once word got out that four of his teammates tested positive for COVID-19.

Per The Athletic:

Though they didn’t say the words, if their tone was an indicator during their conference call with reporters on Tuesday, general manager Bob Myers and coach Steve Kerr want their players to be tested. They want to know where they stand. But on this one, their fame doesn’t seem to matter. Their standing doesn’t benefit them from the same plight the rest of California is facing with the shortage of COVID-19 tests.

“To be clear, ” Myers said, “we’re not any different than anybody.”

Who gets the tests, according to the CDC guidelines, is up to the judgment of the clinician. Since the tests are limited, the resident expert makes the call. In the case of the Jazz, it was deemed by the Oklahoma State Department of Health “a public health decision” to test the entire traveling party. Especially at the time, Oklahoma had low demand for testing. According to the COVID Tracking Project, the state has tested a total of 396 people even including the guests from Utah.

“It is frustrating, but it’s just the reality,” Kerr said. “We’re in the same boat as everybody. It’s very difficult to find a test in California and many places.”

Related Kevin Durant Among Nets Players Positive For COVID-19

The post NYC Mayor: ‘An Entire NBA Team Should NOT Get Tested for COVID-19’ appeared first on SLAM.

The measure would aid the League’s finances in what could be a months-long shutdown.

The NBA’s credit line has been $650 million in normal times.

Per ESPN:

The NBA discussed the plan on a call with the league’s board of governors Tuesday, a meeting that included former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy delivering a grim forecast for the pandemic’s potential impact on the United States and further convinced owners that there could be no resumption before June — if that is even possible, sources said.

Murthy told the board of governors that he was more optimistic in recent days, once state officials took the lead in trying to mitigate the transmission of the virus, sources said. Murthy’s words were consistent with those of other credible health officials, warning those on the call that the worst is yet to come.

“Basically, [Dr. Murthy] said: The only good news is that people are starting to stay home,” one high-ranking league official told ESPN. “No one left that call thinking we could be playing anytime soon.”

The NBA has been considering numerous contingency plans, which include playing only several more regular-season games and shortening early playoff series from best-of-seven to best-of-five, but everything remains fluid, sources said.

Related Steve Kerr: Team USA Still Planning on Tokyo Olympics

The post Report: NBA to Raise Credit Line to $1.2 Billion appeared first on SLAM.

“We’re just going to plan as if it’s going to happen and we’re going to try to put together a roster,” Kerr told reporters during a conference call Tuesday, but admitted that everything remains very much “up in the air.”

The Olympics are scheduled to kick off July 24.

Per The AP and ESPN :

“Everything’s just up in the air,” Kerr said. “There’s no sense of whether things are going to be delayed or anything. We’re all kind of wondering what’s going to happen and so is the rest of the world.”

The International Olympic Committee said Tuesday that the uncertainty of things right now is “an unprecedented situation for the whole world.”

“The IOC remains fully committed to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, and with more than four months to go before the Games there is no need for any drastic decisions at this stage,” the IOC said, adding that any other “speculation at this moment would be counter-productive.”

Officially, no part of that plan has changed yet. Like the NBA and the rest of the sports world, USA Basketball is very much in wait-and-see mode.

“(Team USA head coach Gregg Popovich) and I have spoken a couple of times over the last week or so,” Kerr said. “We’re all kind of sitting here wondering what’s going to happen, and so is the rest of the world. We’re just going to plan as if this is going to happen, and we’re going to try and put together a roster, and that’s all we can do.”

Related Steve Kerr: ‘We’re Never Going to Be the Team We Were’

The post Steve Kerr: Team USA Still Planning on Tokyo Olympics appeared first on SLAM.

“How could you not draft me No. 1?” Embiid yelled at then-Cavs GM David Griffin, who ultimately selected Andrew Wiggins with the top overall pick.

The Philadelphia Sixers ended up with the irrepressible big fella, who had also implored his agent to figure out a way for him to land with the Los Angeles Lakers: “Work your magic.”

Per Bleacher Report:

The Cavs moved Embiid to the mid-range. His jumper was fluid and smooth. He finished the workout by stepping out behind the three-point line. He splashed his first shot from behind the arc.

“How could you not draft me No. 1?” he shouted at Griffin. He swished another. “Look how good I am!”

Another ripped through the net. “You need me, Griff!” A fourth make. “Come on, Griff, you gotta draft me!”

A fifth. “I’m so good!” A sixth. “I gotta be No. 1!”

A seventh. “How can you not take me?”

Related Joel Embiid Calls Himself the ‘Best Player in the World’

The post Joel Embiid Asked the Cavs: ‘How Could You Not Draft Me No. 1?’ appeared first on SLAM.

Both All-Stars tested positive for COVID-19, but report they’re feeling well and on the road to recovery.

Mitchell, 23, told ABC’s “Good Morning America” that he remains symptom-free for the time being.

Per The Salt Lake Tribune:

“I can walk down the street; if it wasn’t public knowledge that I was sick, you wouldn’t know it,” Mitchell said. “That’s the scariest part about this virus, is that you may seem fine, be fine, and you may never know who you may be talking to, and who they’re going home to.”

When (Robin] Roberts asked Mitchell if he’d had any contact with the Frenchman, the guard was measured in his response, which was as notable for what it did not say as for what it did.

“It took awhile for me to kind of cool off,” Mitchell said.

“I read what he said and I heard what he said. I’m glad he’s doing OK, I’m glad I’m doing well. I’m just happy, to be honest — I hate to say that it’s two of us — but that it wasn’t the whole [Jazz traveling] party. At the end of the day, neither him nor I have children at home — I have some teammates that have children, some staff that have children at home. So I’m glad that we were able to contain it as much as possible.”

Related ‘I Was Careless’: Rudy Gobert on Coronavirus Diagnosis

The post Donovan Mitchell Took a While to ‘Cool Off’ at Rudy Gobert appeared first on SLAM.

Players are usually subjected to “six random, unannounced urine drug tests during each season and off-season.”

The League says operations will remain on hold for at least 30 days.

Per Yahoo Sports:

Marijuana, steroids and performance-enhancing drugs are some of the banned substances in the league’s anti-drug program, even though some states allow recreational and medicinal marijuana use for those 21 or older.

According to the CBA, players testing positive for drugs of abuse are banned from the league for a minimum of two years, and players testing positive for performance-enhancing substances are suspended for 25 games for a first violation, 55 games for a second violation and are banned from the league for a minimum of two years for a third violation.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended on Sunday that all events with the expectancy to hold 50 or more individuals be postponed or canceled for the next two months.

But with this crisis being categorized as a pandemic and the uncertainty of when the outbreak will subside, the league is left wondering how long it will.

Related Report: NBA Teams Mulling a Mid-to-Late June Return

The post Report: Drug Testing Halted During NBA Hiatus appeared first on SLAM.

The two have “not even spoken about” the possibility.

KD appears to be progressing along nicely in his rehab from a ruptured Achilles tendon during the NBA Finals last June.

Per ESPN:

“Honestly, not very realistic from my standpoint, and not even spoken about,” Kleiman said.

Nets GM Sean Marks has repeatedly stated that the team expects Durant to miss the entire 2019-20 season, given the traditional recovery timeline for Achilles injuries.

“It feels like (Durant playing in the 2019-20 season) clearly was not something that was in the cards prior to all this,” Kleiman said. “And now, I think just like the rest of the world, it’s hard to take anything more than day by day.

“I think that Kevin is going to figure out the space that he needs to be in to continue to rehab during this time. But even that is hard to answer at this point, with the new kind of rules that were put in place last night.”

Related Joe Lacob: Kevin Durant Had ‘Every Reason in the World to Stay’

The post Agent: Kevin Durant Playing This Summer ‘Not Very Realistic’ appeared first on SLAM.

Understandably, there are fears within the League that the entire season may be in jeopardy.

So far, three players have tested positive for COVID-19.

Per ESPN:

Fears exist of a season completely lost, especially based on what some experts see as the slow response of the United States to flatten the curve of the coronavirus and make testing available on a widespread basis. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a recommendation on Sunday night that no events or gatherings should include more than 50 people for the next eight weeks.

The league office has given teams no guidance yet on a timeline for a resumption of play, but organizations themselves are preparing for the possibility of a long hiatus based upon the facts surrounding the coronavirus outbreak.

“Our world has changed since Wednesday’s [board of governors] call,” one team president told ESPN. “The reality isn’t lost on anyone right now.”

For now, there’s a working plan that games would return without fans, and teams have been told to search out arena dates well into August for the playoffs, sources said. Teams have been directed to give the league office potential dates at smaller nearby game venues, including team practice facilities, that could spare the use of empty, cavernous arenas and possibly provide backdrops to unique television viewing lines.

Related NBA: Season Hiatus to Last at Least 30 Days

The post Report: NBA Teams Mulling a Mid-to-Late June Return appeared first on SLAM.

With two players having tested positive for COVID-19, Silver added that “of course it’s possible” the entire season could be over.

259 games remain unplayed on this season’s schedule.

Per The AP:

“What we determined today is that this hiatus will be, most likely, at least 30 days,” Silver said on TNT’s “Inside The NBA” while making his first public comments since the league suspended play Wednesday night after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the coronavirus, or COVID-19. A second Jazz player, Donovan Mitchell, said Thursday that he has also tested positive.

Silver said the league and the players association will have to continue determining “what makes sense here without compromising anyone’s safety and I think it’s frankly too early to tell,” Silver said.

Silver was also asked if the season may be over. “Of course it’s possible,” Silver said. “I just don’t know more at this point.”

Meanwhile, NBA great and longtime commentator Charles Barkley was not on the “Inside The NBA” broadcast and revealed that he is self-quarantining for 48 hours because he has not felt well since a recent trip to New York. Barkley said he has been tested for COVID-19 and has not yet received the results. “This thing is so scary,” Barkley said.

Related ‘I Was Careless’: Rudy Gobert on Coronavirus Diagnosis

The post NBA: Season Hiatus to Last at Least 30 Days appeared first on SLAM.

The All-Star center, who mockingly touched local reporters’ digital recorders prior to his diagnosis, says he was “careless.”

Gobert’s Utah Jazz teammate Donovan Mitchell also tested positive for COVID-19.

The NBA has suspended the season in response to the global pandemic.

Per The AP:

It started as a joke: Before leaving a media session at shootaround in Salt Lake City on Monday in advance of a game against Detroit that night, Gobert touched all the tape recorders that were placed before him on a table, devices that reporters who cover the Jazz were using.

“You know, there’s not much we can do right now,” Gobert said in that session when asked about how teams are dealing with the virus. And a minute or so later, before he ran out a side door, he touched all the recorders.

It is not known if Gobert is responsible for Mitchell contracting the virus, or vice versa.

The NBA shutdown could cost teams well into the hundreds of millions of dollars depending on how long the shutdown lasts. Those teams that have faced Gobert in recent days will likely face some testing. And at least two Jazz beat writers who were tested revealed Thursday that the results came back negative.

Related Rudy Gobert Tests Positive For Coronavirus

The post ‘I Was Careless’: Rudy Gobert on Coronavirus Diagnosis appeared first on SLAM.

Carter, 43, thought it would be “weird” to call it quits with 15 games remaining on the schedule, but said he was at peace with everything.

VC hit a crowd-pleasing three in the final seconds of the Atlanta Hawks’ 136-131 overtime loss to the visiting New York Knicks.

Per The AP and The Athletic:

“It’s cool,” he said, breaking into a big grin. “Basketball’s been good to me. I’ve enjoyed each and every moment of it, the good and the bad. If this is it, it’s all good.”

It wasn’t supposed to end like this for Carter if the NBA decides to cancel the rest of the regular-season games. He didn’t have his family in attendance Wednesday night. He only had one of his friends in the stands. The Hawks had planned to honor Carter on April 15 in what they were calling “H15tory Night” for what would be his final NBA game. But there was no fanfare or video tribute on Wednesday night.

“This was fun. If it ended today, this day and the end of the season with these last 16 games will be talked about for a very long time,” Carter said. “That’s something I’ll always remember. At least I scored my last basket. It’s a weird but cool memory.”

Carter entered the league in the lockout-shortened 1998-1999 season and is possibly walking away from the game on “unfinished business,” he said.

“I’m not one for the whole thing anyway,” Carter said as tears began to fill his eyes. “You can ask a lot of people around me, and they would tell you this. I’m appreciative. I do my time and just walk out the door, and it’s OK with me. Believe it or not. It’s cool. Believe me. It’s cool. The game’s been good.”

Related Mark Cuban: NBA Season Suspension Not About Basketball

The post Vince Carter: ‘If This is it, It’s All good’ appeared first on SLAM.

“It seemed more like out of a movie than reality,” said Cuban, who agreed with the League’s precautionary decision to protect players, its workforce and fans.

Dallas will be creating a program to support employees during the sudden work stoppage:

“The Mavs will work with our and the arenas hourly employees to make sure they continue to have income,” Cuban told The Athletic. “I know the Hawks are doing the same thing.”

Cuban copied Atlanta Hawks owner Tony Ressler on the email and he replied: “We are indeed and feel strongly it’s both the right thing to do and good business,” he wrote.

Per ESPN:

“This is crazy. This can’t be true,” the Mavs owner told ESPN’s Tom Rinaldi during an in-game interview, summing up his initial reaction. “I mean, it’s not within the realm of possibility. It seemed more like out of a movie than reality.”

The rest of the Mavericks’ 113-97 win played out as usual, albeit in surreal circumstances. Dallas coach Rick Carlisle was informed about the NBA’s decision as soon as Cuban and described it as “good information to have for this game” because he felt comfortable extending key players’ minutes more than he otherwise would have.

“This is not a situation where you fake it ’til you make it or try to sound or act important,” Cuban said after the game. “The NBA has hired people with expertise in those areas and they are working with people from the government and other people with expertise. We have to defer to them and that’s exactly what we will do.”

Cuban said the NBA has great flexibility regarding when the season might resume because arenas typically don’t have much activity in the summer.

“It’s stunning, but we are where we are,” Cuban said. “We have to be smart in how we respond. This is people’s lives at stakes. This isn’t about basketball, this isn’t about the Mavericks. This isn’t about when do we start, do we start? Or how do we start? This is a pandemic, a global pandemic where people’s lives are at stake. I’m a lot more worried about my kids and my mom who is 82 years old — in talking to her and telling her to stay in the house — than when we play in our next game.”

Related The NBA Has Suspended The 2019-20 Season

The post Mark Cuban: NBA Season Suspension Not About Basketball appeared first on SLAM.

Antetokounmpo, 25, was hurt Friday night after taking a hard fall late in a 113-103 road loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Milwaukee has the NBA’s best record at 53-12, but is mired in a season-worst three-game losing streak.

Per ESPN and The AP:

“Yeah. I sh*t my pants,” Antetokounmpo said with a smile after practicing fully with his teammates Wednesday ahead of Milwaukee’s game against the Boston Celtics on Thursday night. “When I was on the floor [during Friday’s game against the Lakers], I was thinking about, ‘This is my knee.’

“But thank God, I got the good training staff that trained me real well and prepared my body for all those types of falls and those types of moments. Thank God it wasn’t something really, really serious. I was happy. The team was happy. My family was happy.”

Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said the team would remain careful.

“I felt good, but at the end of the day, I’ve got to go, I’ve got to come back tomorrow and see how I feel tomorrow,” Antetokounmpo said. “I might go back home and my knee swells up. I don’t know.”

Related Giannis: ‘If We Win a Championship, it is Going to Be Amazing’

The post Giannis Antetokounmpo: Knee Injury Not ‘Really, Really Serious’ appeared first on SLAM.

“I didn’t know who the f**k was in charge,” says Butler.

The five-time NBA All-Star diplomatically called his relationship with Sixers head coach Brett Brown “professional.”

Per The Miami Herald (via “The JJ Redick Podcast With Tommy Alter” podcast):

“It was difficult. It was so different,” Butler said. “On any given day, me as a person and as a player, I didn’t know who the [expletive] was in charge. I think that was my biggest thing. I didn’t know what the [expletive] to expect whenever I would go into the gym, whenever I go into the plane, whenever I got into the game.”

When Butler was asked for the moment he knew he wouldn’t be returning to Philadelphia, he brought up a conversation he had early in the free agency process.

“Somebody told me a main reason that I didn’t go back was because somebody asked, ‘Can you control him? Can you control Jimmy? If you can control Jimmy, we would think about having him back,’” Butler recalled. “I was like, ‘You don’t got to worry about it. Can’t nobody [expletive] control me.’ For one, I ain’t just out there doing no [expletive]. But the fact that you’re trying to control a grown man — nah, I’m cool.”

Butler said he didn’t agree with the coaching staff’s decision to take the ball out of Ben Simmons’ hands late in the season, a move that allowed Butler to run Philadelphia’s offense in the playoffs.

“To this day, I don’t think that was fair to switch over like that,” Butler said. “Even though I think we played great basketball like that, I don’t think it was fair because the entire year, Ben had the ball. The entire year, Ben had the ball. So you mean to tell me that in one playoff series, you just switch it up like that? I would be like he was, I would feel a type of way.”

Related Jimmy Butler: ‘I Didn’t Have a Problem’ With Joel Embiid or Ben Simmons

The post ‘It Was Difficult’: Jimmy Butler Details Sixers Experience appeared first on SLAM.

“Did my Mama say it?,” a smiling DeRozan asked reporters Tuesday night after San Antonio’s 119-109 win against the visiting Dallas Mavericks.

The 30-year-old, four-time NBA All-Star leads the Spurs in scoring (22.2 PPG) and assists (5.6 APG) while shooting a career-best 52.6 percent from the field.

Per The San Antonio Express-News:

“Who reported it? Did my Mama say it?,” DeRozan said. “Don’t listen to it then.”

It is unclear how the 30-year-old fits in the Spurs’ long-term plans, especially if the team aims to rebuild after a season in which it is struggling to make the playoffs. DeRozan has never been much of a defender, and his inability to shoot a volume of 3-pointers makes him an anachronism as a modern wing player.

Absent a new, long-term deal, it would make sense for DeRozan to test the waters of free agency, where he would be among the bigger names in a watered-down class. Seven teams — Atlanta, Memphis, New York, Detroit, Charlotte, Cleveland and Phoenix — are projected to have salary cap room this summer, putting them in a position to help DeRozan recoup the $27.3 million he would have to surrender in order to leave the Spurs.

Related Report: DeMar DeRozan to Decline Player Option Without Extension

The post ‘Don’t Listen to it’: DeMar DeRozan Denies Free Agency Report appeared first on SLAM.

Neutral sites are also said to be in play.

So far, the League has resisted banning fans from arenas as the global health crisis mushrooms.

Per ESPN:

After the board of governors call on Wednesday — which is expected to include one designated ownership representative of each team, sources said — two additional calls are set for Thursday for team presidents and general managers, sources said.

So far, individual NBA teams have been hesitant to become the league’s first to voluntarily eliminate fans from home games, sources said. Even with the conference call set for governors and owners on Wednesday, there has been a tremendous amount of communication among teams, the league and public health experts in recent weeks.

San Francisco health officials have yet to mandate that the Golden State Warriors play games without fans, but those conversations have been ongoing with the franchise. The Warriors are the league’s highest-grossing team on game nights, averaging somewhere between $3.6 million and $3.8 million per game, sources said.

Related LeBron James to ‘Listen’ if NBA Bars Fans Over Coronavirus

The post Report: NBA Considers Moving Games Due to Coronavirus appeared first on SLAM.

Adebayo, 22, is enjoying a breakout season in Miami and earned his first NBA All-Star nod.

Bam has rewarded the organization’s faith in him after they traded away Hassan Whiteside.

Per The Athletic:

“It’s kind of like, it’s the hard work I put in in the summer and it’s my coach seeing how hard I work and it manifesting on the court. I’m able to thank them for putting me in the position to be who I am and who I want to become,” said Adebayo, who joined [Dwyane] Wade as just the second homegrown All-Star in Heat franchise history. “When the trade happened and it gave me an opportunity to really show my game and not have to have a shadow on my back. My first two years I was kind of timid where sometimes I didn’t want to mess up. Coach [Erik Spoelstra] is really letting me off the leash and letting me do my thing.”

Adebayo has been a stunning revelation this season, ascending from his role as a high-energy, change-of-pace performer off the bench to an essential bedrock of a contender.

This season has provided several “Bam, Oh, Bam” moments. He’s had three triple-doubles and 24 double-doubles, with four coming in the points-assist variety. But he’d put Sunday’s 27-point, 14-rebound, six-assist effort in Washington up with any of them — “my coming out party,” Adebayo called it — when he took over after fellow All-Star Butler and Goran Dragic left the game with injuries and scored or assisted on the Heat’s final 25 points.

“That’s what future max players do,” Butler said. “He’s definitely all of that and more. We’re glad to have him. Glad he’s the leader of this team.”

Related Gregg Popovich Told Bam Adebayo He ‘Wasn’t Ready’

The post Jimmy Butler: Bam Adebayo a ‘Future Max’ Player appeared first on SLAM.

James says he wasn’t aware the possibility was being discussed by the League.

The global health crisis hasn’t caused LeBron to alter any of his personal habits.

Per The LA Times:

LeBron James spoke to reporters in front of a Lakers backdrop, as he normally would, but this time there were ropes for reporters to stand behind. The ropes had been measured to be six feet away from where James was standing.

“So much safer. You guys are such a threat every time I come out,” a smiling James said facetiously. “No. No. I don’t even know who to … listen, I have no idea what happened with … I miss you guys being right here.”

What was clear during his news conference was that James isn’t concerned about his own health.

“It’s funny, because when I was asked the question of would you play without … fans, I had no idea that there was actually a conversation going on behind closed doors about the particular virus,” James said. “Obviously, I would be very disappointed not having the fans, because that is what I play for, I play for my family, I play for my fans. They say no one could actually come to the game if they decide to go to that point, so I would be disappointed in that. But at the same time, you’ve got to listen to the people that’s keeping a track on what’s going on.

“If they feel like it’s best for the safety of the players, the safety of the franchise, the safety of the league to mandate that, then we all listen to it.”

Related NBA to Ban Media from Locker Rooms

The post LeBron James to ‘Listen’ if NBA Bars Fans Over Coronavirus appeared first on SLAM.

The Warriors forward playfully threatened to take his television gig, but Sir Charles isn’t worried.

Barkley joked that Green is “the least famous person” in the Golden State’s “boy band,” adding that he likes him as both a basketball player and person.

Per NBC Sports Bay Area (via The Dan Patrick Show):

“My job is safe. Draymond Green is a nice guy. You know what he is? He’s like the guy in the boy band who’s the least important member,” the Hall of Famer said.

“He doesn’t realize he’s standing next to Justin Timberlake. He’s the least famous person in the boy band, and he thinks he’s a star. And he’s not. He’s lucky to be in the boy band. He thinks all the girls are screaming for him. No, they’re screaming for Justin Timberlake. Enjoy being in the band because you’re never gonna have any hit singles … I like messing with him.”

Would the 1993 NBA MVP trade his career for Draymond’s?

“No. My career is what it is. I was a great player,” Barkley said. “I didn’t win a championship. But there’s a lot of guys who didn’t win a championship that are much better than some of these guys who get championship rings.”

Related Draymond Green: Charles Barkley ‘Should Stop Before I Take His Job’

The post Charles Barkley Fires Back at Draymond Green appeared first on SLAM.

James led the Lakers on both ends of the floor in a 112-103 statement win over the Clippers.

Bron finished with 28 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists, suddenly making the MVP race a true contest down the stretch.

Per The LA Times:

As was the case when he locked down reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo on Friday night, it’s his defense that’s forcing the hand of MVP voters.

“People forget what he gets like after the All-Star break; he’s a different guy,” Lakers assistant coach Phil Handy said.

“He’s preparing himself for that — that’s what you saw today and Milwaukee, you see him saying ‘Let me get myself and help my team in the right frame of mind.’ So for him diving on the floor for loose balls and taking the challenge defensively, that’s what you see.

“Last night I texted LeBron and asked him who he wanted to guard and he texted back, ‘I’m guarding Kawhi [Leonard].’”

Related ‘He is the MVP’: Anthony Davis Lauds LeBron James

The post ‘I’m Guarding Kawhi’: LeBron Accepted Defensive Challenge vs Clippers appeared first on SLAM.