Just as Page, who had always loved hoops as much as music (even if he’d never worked in the sport), started to get anxious about what magazine he might launch next, a friend of his from the music business, Alan Grunblatt, suggested he start, effectively, “a hip-hop basketball magazine.” 

Sports media would never be the same.

Professional athletes have been “cool” for almost as long as sports have existed as a vocation. Page’s first favorite players were guys he saw in person growing up in Trenton, NJ—local legend Tal Brody, and New York City’s Lew Alcindor, whose Power Memorial team had visited Page’s hometown to take on Trenton Catholic. As Page’s hoops exposure grew with sports media’s gradual growth, he fell in love with players like Earl “The Pearl” Monroe and Julius “Dr. J” Erving. Then there was Isiah Thomas. And by the early 90s, of course, there was Michael Jordan. But the way these superheroes were covered by the press stayed pretty static. Newspapers focused on games and stats. TV focused on broadcasting games. Street & Smith’s magazine took the time to care about spotlighting young players and Sport and Sports Illustrated raised the level of writing in the field, and Page devoured all of them. There wasn’t much flavor, though.

As Page writes in the intro to the recently released book, 30 Years of SLAM: The Definition of Basketball Culture, “The idea crystallized as a basketball-only magazine from a hip-hop point of view. I could see it in my head clear as day; the design would look like those Nike/Mars Blackmon/Michael Jordan print ads, the photography would be as good as VIBE, and the writing would be irreverent like Rolling Stone.”

There were some hiccups over the early years—Michael Jordan retired just as Issue 1 was being planned, Reggie Miller didn’t appreciate some of the jokes made at his expense, some long-time NBA execs and old-school reporters did not enjoy SLAM’s tone—but more or less, Page’s vision played out beautifully. SLAM’s covers showed the players like the “rock stars” they were. SLAM introduced fashion shoots to sports magazines and has covered the look of basketball players in some manner ever since (most famously in the 2020s with its must-follow Instagram account, @leaguefits). SLAM introduced a KICKS section about sneakers that for many years was the first place players and fans would turn when they opened an issue. The KICKS section begat a KICKS Magazine that has come out annually since 1998 and in many ways set the tone for the now-countless numbers of sneaker mags, blogs, and social media accounts (including @slamkicks, natch) that have popped up since.

The mag’s almost non-stop ascension as a business lasted from launch in 1994 to early 2004, when the 10th anniversary issue dropped at a whopping, lucrative and Vogue-like 260(!!) pages, stuffed with ads from every sneaker brand and hip-hop label you could think of and it was the best-selling sports magazine on American newsstands.

Then the internet took over. SLAM—and in particular, Harris Publications, the old-school family publisher that operated it—was pretty slow to figure out how to monetize online. Issues shrank in terms of revenue and page count. There were some terribly hard times from a business perspective, but the staff—Page always had a gift for hiring and empowering talented folks who were on the rise in the profession, the best of whom had a gift for hiring and empowering an even newer generation of on-the-rise future stars—never stopped caring about the sport, the lifestyle, or the “#slamfam” that stayed loyal through it all. 

While SLAM had been slow to convert to the world wide web, it was lightning-quick as social media became the new place to reach fans, surpassing one million followers on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook very quickly on each of those platforms without ever spending a dime to “buy” or “boost” its reach. SLAM was, and is, an organic media outlet fueled by the love of the game.

In the most-recent stage of SLAM’s life, from about 2017, when SLAM was acquired by JDS Sports and Page became an actual part owner of the magazine he’d started, to today, you’ll occasionally “hear” Page say—either literally, in his classic South Jersey accent, or virtually, via an Instagram post or comment—“this shit ain’t easy.” 

It wasn’t. And isn’t. But with Page’s dedication to the game and the brand, and the many great folks who learned from him matching that devotion, SLAM has made it to 30 years and transformed the sport every step of the way.

Reprinted from the Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement 2024 Yearbook courtesy of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Ben Osborne is a longtime sports writer and editor who served as SLAM’s Editor-in-Chief from 2007-2016.

The post How Dennis Page Founded SLAM and Transformed Sports Media appeared first on SLAM.

SLAM 251 featuring Alyssa Thomas + DeWanna Bonner is available now. Shop here.

An uplifting energy was flowing throughout our office on a Monday morning in late June. After a two-and-a-half hour drive from Connecticut to NYC, all that can be felt and heard is an abundance of love and laughter shared by the couple as they pose for photos at their first-ever SLAM cover shoot.

Rocking their bright orange Explorer Edition uniforms, both Alyssa and DeWanna are fully present in the moment, while creating pockets of time where they fall into a world all to their own. They’re holding staring contests while we snap flicks and poking fun at their height difference.

“I love playing with Alyssa. She’s one of the hardest working competitors in the League, so it kind of makes me want to go harder,” DeWanna says. “Even at my age, I’m like, I’ve got a little bit more in there to give because I see her going just as hard.”

The two have been dating for the past few years, and during 2023 All-Star Weekend out in Las Vegas, Alyssa proposed to DeWanna underneath the shade of palm trees accented by candles and hundreds of roses. They started off as competitors and still are in some ways. DeWanna drafted to the Phoenix Mercury in 2009. Alyssa drafted to the New York Liberty and immediately traded to the Connecticut Sun in 2014. Ahead of the 2020 bubble season, a blockbuster trade sent the two down the path of a relationship as teammates that eventually turned into partners.

The past five seasons have been a journey of ups and downs: new teammates, new coaches, new positions, new responsibilities. And yet, the two remain anchored to the culture they’ve instilled since they first teamed up four years ago. It’s a culture that has the Sun sitting at 18-6 as the second-best team in the W with both DeWanna and Alyssa dominating, again. The wedding’s gonna have to wait ’til after the Olympics, though.

Before the morning of June 11, Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner had never been inside the Connecticut Sun offices. As Alyssa walked down the hallway with DeWanna closely behind, the four-time All-Star peered through the frosted glass of the room to her right. She instantly dropped her head to the side as the emotions began to build. A familiar figure stood in the room, Connecticut Sun president and USA Basketball’s Women’s National Team Committee Chair Jen Rizzotti. In her hands were Alyssa’s deep red, white and blue USA Basketball threads, honoring her with a spot on the 2024 US Women’s Olympic team.

“Honestly, they told me I had a meeting,” Alyssa says. “I turned the corner and I see her [Jen] through the glass and my heart kind of just dropped that it’s finally happening. I’m probably the second-oldest on the team at 32, and I’m getting my first opportunity to be on a team like this—it meant a lot to me.”

In the video posted to USA Basketball’s Instagram, the loudest voice in the room is DeWanna’s, cheering and clapping for her person with pride. “It’s funny because I think I was more anxious than her during that waiting process. I’m just like, When is it going to happen?” she says. “So for me, I’m just so proud of her, I’m so happy for her. It’s something that she really, really worked hard for, like she said, at 32. Yeah, we’ll be in Paris.”

Throughout her 11-year career in the WNBA, Alyssa’s offseason timeline has rarely matched up with the Olympics. She prefers to recoup her mental and physical in what little downtime there is between the season ending and the start of her overseas schedule. The 2020 Olympic Games (held in 2021 due to Covid) were at one point an option, but the rehab process for a torn Achilles that she suffered in January took priority.

AT was back on the court nine months later. And when the season wrapped, Cheryl Reeve convinced Alyssa to suit up for her and Team USA in the 2022 FIBA World Cup. Winning Gold has been an inescapable feeling ever since.

Just three days before our shoot, the first voting update for the 2024 WNBA All-Star roster was revealed. DeWanna ranked in the top 10. Knowing the festivities this season will see the USA Basketball roster face off against the WNBA All-Stars, the two are already looking forward to playing opposite one another in Phoenix. “Oh, I’m gonna whoop her up,” DeWanna chimes in immediately.

“She’s not scoring. She’s not getting a bucket,” Alyssa interrupts.

“Shut up,” DeWanna says in a playful tone as Alyssa laughs out loud. “Please. I don’t care where I am, I don’t care how crazy of a shot it is, I’m going to try and make it. And if I make it, oh, I’ve won a championship. If I make one shot on her, it’s over.”

“It won’t happen,” Alyssa fires back.

The back-and-forth is more than just a great sound bite—it’s a peek into their unique dynamic, one filled with love, teasing and a very, very healthy amount of competitiveness.

GET YOUR COPY OF SLAM 251 + COVER TEE

“We almost had the opportunity to do that overseas, but I got hurt, which I was happy about,” DeWanna says about playing against each other. “I was a little nervous playing against her, because Alyssa is a little rough and I’m not. But in this environment, where it’s not too much on the line, it can be friendly. But I promise you,” she says looking right at AT, “I’m trying to bust you up.”

“It’s not friendly at all. It’s all business,” Alyssa replies.

For the past five seasons, it’s been just that: straight business. After DB was traded from the Phoenix Mercury—where she won two championships and was a three-time Sixth Woman of the Year—to the Sun, the two quickly formed one of the most dominant duos in the history of the W.

Under their purview, sustained success has become routine out in Uncasville, CT. Numbers 24 and 25 have led the Sun to four straight semifinal appearances plus a trip to the 2022 Finals. They’re insurmountable in high-low actions, transition and half-court defensive schemes. In the midst, a list of collective and individual accolades has been running longer than the Susquehanna River.

“They really are the heart and soul of this franchise,” head coach Stephanie White told the AP. “You think about not just what they do on a day-to-day basis, but the consistency with which they’ve done it since they’ve been here.”

Unstoppable doesn’t even begin to describe AT’s game. She’s a point-forward who sets the game to easy mode for everyone while leading the team in assists, rebounds and steals. This season, she’s putting up 11.5 points, 9.4 rebounds and a League-high 7.9 assists a game. And to start the season against the Indiana Fever, she threw down a 13/13/10 triple-double. Yeah, last season wasn’t just a one-off.

In her 15th season, DeWanna has only continued to expand the mastery of her offensive repertoire. The midrange is lit up with hot spots like a Christmas tree for DB. Transition treys stick to the net and post-up fadeaways sing of swishes. She uses her length to snatch steals on the defensive end, plugging up gaps and sending shots into the third row. As of press time, the 6-4 bucket-getter is pouring in a team-high 17.1 points, pulling down 6.3 boards and swiping 1.3 steals a game.

“I always say we have to be that much better than other teams. We’re not a super team or anything of that sort, so our margin for error is a lot smaller than other teams,” Alyssa says. “And just trying to get everybody to buy into that and understand that there are no off days. There’s no relaxing or taking plays off. We’ve got to go hard for 40 minutes.”

This season, the two have been clocking in overtime. Alyssa’s already popped off for two triple-doubles and DeWanna’s posted eight 20-pieces. Between Alyssa, DeWanna and two-time All-Star Brionna Jones, the only other constant that resides in Connecticut is change. The past five years have seen a revolving door of coaches, players and front office personnel.

“I think that’s just the nature of the beast in Connecticut,” Alyssa says. “It’s not a favorable market for people that like to do the other things, be in the spotlight, things like that. It’s a quiet area, you’ve got to be a different type of player to come there. We don’t have all the bells and whistles that other people do, so it’s really about the basketball for us.”

The 2024 campaign has been filled with even more adjustments. DeWanna and Alyssa spent the majority of last season surveying the paint at the 4 and 5. With center Brionna Jones back from a torn Achilles, they’ve dipped back into their typical roles while infusing elements of last year’s success. They’re developing chemistry with the new backcourt pairing of DiJonai Carrington and Tyasha Harris, who have stepped in to the starting guard positions. The newest additions of Rachel Banham and Moriah Jefferson coming off the pine have been an added piece to juggle, too.

“I don’t want to say we started over again, but it’s implementing new people and trying to get them to understand the system. But in the same way, reworking it to fit everybody’s style of play and get the best out of everyone,” Alyssa says. “We’ve had our ups and downs so far, and it’s still a work in progress, but it’s going to come down to us and the coaches coming together and figuring out what is best for this team. That’s why it’s a long season and it’s about playing your best basketball come playoff time.”

The playoffs are still a bit in the distance, but in June, the Sun were already in midseason form, posting an early 13-1 record and becoming just the seventh team in League history to win 13 of their first 14. All six of those previous squads reached the Finals, and four of them won it all. We’re not saying it’s destiny, but history has a way of repeating itself.

“We’ve been right there on the cusp, so now this year, I think we’ve kind of taken the fun out of it a little bit, but we’re trying to get that back,” DeWanna says. “It’s championship or bust for us. That’s where we are.”

As seamless as the highlights look, the couple warns that playing basketball every single day with your partner isn’t as magical as one might think it is. There are angles, reads and passes that Alyssa may see that DeWanna doesn’t, and vice versa.

“It’s like a gift and a curse. You’re playing with somebody that’s the best in the world and she’s also your partner, so you get to bounce ideas off of each other, you talk basketball. But also, it’s competitive; we go at it on the court as well,” DeWanna says. “But I still want to bust her up on that court.”

“It’s mostly that she wants to bust me up on the court,” Alyssa responds. “Nine times out of ten.”

“Tune in! When is the [All-Star] Game? July 20th. Vote me in, ’cause tune in,” DeWanna exclaims.

“Drinks on me the night before,” Alyssa says with a laugh.

Portraits by Marcus Stevens.

The post Power Couple: Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner Talk The Olympics, Their Engagement and Building A Winning Culture With the Connecticut Sun appeared first on SLAM.

An oatmeal, dairy-free Greek yogurt with frozen fruit, unsweetened almond milk and agave nectar smoothie has already been consumed. Numerous t-shirt and short combinations, along with shower shoes, socks and enormous size 15 low top LeBron’s have been neatly stuffed into his official 2024 Final Four backpack. Ambling, but not with a residual slumber as Lil Wayne’s high pitched helium balloon voice swims through his headphones, he folds his immense 6-foot-10 frame into the passenger seat of the waiting gray Toyota Highlander with red leather interior. 

The day’s work beckons. 

At 7 AM, he begins the first of his scheduled workouts, this one at the OverDrive Elite facility in New Canaan, pushing himself through strength and conditioning drills that stress speed, lateral movement and the loosening of the hips along with lateral, forward and vertical explosion. 

Within minutes he’s drenched in sweat. Throughout the day he consumes copious amounts of water.

Two hours later he’s devouring a savory egg white breakfast bowl with spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms and rye toast, between gulps of coconut water as the Highlander eats up the road and the scenery transitions from the bucolic pleasantry of Connecticut to the suffocating congestion of lower Manhattan.

Burns was the third ranked prep prospect coming out of his home state of South Carolina, behind Zion Williamson and Ja Morant, the top two picks in the 2019 NBA Draft. 

A bright student, he earned enough credits to graduate after his junior year at York Preparatory Academy and accepted a scholarship offer from Tennessee, where he redshirted.  

After transferring to Winthrop, he tore through the Big South and was named the conference Player of the Year as a junior in ‘21-’22.

“We were looking to get older and I knew he would be a great addition to our program,” says Wolfpack head coach Kevin Keatts. “I like underdogs, kids that have innate leadership skills and unique personalities.”

“DJ comes from a great family,” Keatts continued. “He wasn’t as valued as much as he should have been. What he does can’t be replicated. And his vision is extraordinary. I really liked the kid and his game was completely different from anyone I’ve ever coached.”

That March Madness success had long been marinating, going back to when his parents watched in wonder as their two-year old son danced and glided around a roller skating rink with his much older cousins. 

“DJ was a very active child who was always physically advanced for his age,” says his mother Takela Burns, a longtime educator and assistant middle school Principal in South Carolina. “He was this hyper ball of energy and inquisitive. If he wasn’t running around these country acres somewhere, he was talking me and my husband’s ear off.”

One of the things he internalized was the family tradition of sharing and giving. His grandmother was a foster parent that also adopted kids from challenging circumstances and with various disabilities. His parents took in a number of children from unstable homes, some of whom lived in the Burns household for years. 

Takela, who played ball in high school, was DJ’s first basketball tutor at the age of six. His father took over the coaching responsibilities when his son began playing rec ball at eight.

That unselfishness, vision and passing acumen on the court that had television announcers like Bill Raftery, Jay Bilas, Ian Eagle and Grant Hill gushing during the NCAA Tournament—pronounced spontaneous combustions of “His footwork’s incredible!”and “Is there anything he can’t do out there?”—were present from Day One.

“Little DJ was such a happy kid who’d give you the shirt off his back,” says his father, Dwight Sr., a South Carolina probation and parole agent who can be seen on fall Saturday afternoons sprinting beside Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney during halftime and post-game jogs to and from the locker room. 

“DJ loved being in the gym. He played guard, center, forward and was very skilled at a young age,” Dwight Sr. continued. “He had a soft lefty shooting touch and a sweet handle. The thing he loved most was passing. He’d celebrate more when his teammates scored than when he did. The only thing he cared about was winning.”

When the coaches would assemble to pick their squads, 8-year-old DJ served as his father’s de facto scout and general manager. “He’d be like, ‘Daddy, pick him!’ and he’d be pointing to a kid that wasn’t very good but was hungry, willing to hustle, unselfish and a good person,” he adds. “I’d ask him about a kid that was scoring a lot during tryouts and he’d be like, ‘Nah, we don’t want him. He’s selfish, doesn’t pass and travels all the time.’ I always listened to him and our teams always won.”

—

At 10:45am, Burns saunters onto the basketball court inside the high-end waterfront condominium One Manhattan Square building located on 225 Cherry Street. The wide grin splashed across his robust face immediately brightens the sleepy atmosphere. 

He stretches while listening to the playlist he’s cultivated that now fills the gym, with his favorite artists Lil Wayne, G Herbo and Lil Tony in heavy rotation.

“Lil Wayne is obviously the GOAT!” he playfully shouts to no one in particular before starting his workout under the direction and watchful eye of his trainer Nate Brown, who has previously worked with Malik Monk, Derrick White, Brandon Ingram, Tobias Harris and Jamal Murray, among others, during their pre-draft preparations. 

For the next 90 minutes, he pushes through a high-tempo, dizzying array of full court dribbling drills while handling two balls simultaneously. He then transitions to shooting every conceivable shot off pick and rolls, pick and pops and screen and catches. 

The angles while smooching the rock all over the backboard are reminiscent of a pool shark’s english. 

“This summer, our objectives were to sharpen up an overall skill set that he could showcase in an NBA setting,” says Brown. “We elaborated more on stretching the floor because in the pro game, you have to be able to knock down that deep ball.”

Back in the Highlander, he relaxes while heading towards Greenwich Village for a well-deserved lunch break. Stalled in traffic near Union Square as food options are being discussed, the conversation shifts to what his favorite movie is. 

Burns excitedly scoots forward in his seat and straightens up. Through a thin smile, the words burst gently out of his mouth.

“Yo, fo’real, I love Paid in Full with Mekhi Phifer, Wood Harris and Cam’ron,” says Burns. “The dialogue, the cinematography, the music, the Harlem scene in the ‘80s, the wardrobe, the acting, the slang, the story arc, the message and the fact that it’s based on a true story? Maaaaan, I love how all of that comes together. That’s my favorite movie of all-time!”

The driver, stuck at a red light, turns with a mischievous smile to meet Burns’ steady gaze. “Oh, word?” he says to his oversized passenger. “Cool. Change of plans, we’re going to Harlem right now then.”

As the vehicle idles in midtown traffic on the sun-splashed, pleasant spring afternoon, Burns glances out the window at the teeming sidewalk while his ears are assaulted by honking horns. 

“Why is there so much traffic at lunchtime? Why is everyone honking their horns? Why is everyone so angry looking and walking so fast? Man, all of these folks just need a massage,” he says while shaking his head.

As the street arteries become uncongested and the glass skyscrapers of multinational corporations give way to the opulent billion dollar apartment buildings inhabited by wealthy celebrities and business tycoons, Burns notes to himself, “Oh, this is where the rich folks live. I need to come back here sometime and do some shopping.”

When they pass 96th street and creep a little further uptown, as the previous decadence gives way to the Spanish Harlem version of Park Avenue, with its sagging, depressing, brown brick housing project facades, Burns is amazed at the dichotomy. 

He’s told that this neighborhood forged Alpo, the real-life teenage drug lord that inspired Cam’Ron’s character, Rico, in his favorite movie. “This is amazing,” he says softly. “To experience this neighborhood and these streets, to see these people and the real culture behind Paid in Full. Maaaaaan, this is awesome.”

While exiting the Slutty Vegan takeout restaurant on West 135th Street with his order of a plant-based burger and fries topped with vegan beef and cheese, jalapenos, onions, lettuce and diced tomatoes, along with a large raspberry lemonade, he looks up and down the wide bustling thoroughfare and says, again to no one in particular, “Maaaaaan, I love Harlem! There’s so much Black history here.”

His meal is consumed while double-parked with the windows down. As the laughter and rhythms of the street pour in, the crew heads back toward the FDR Drive en route to lower Manhattan.

 As the banter turns toward his musical tastes, he casually mentions that he plays the piano, standup bass, tuba and the saxophone.

—

Burns sneaks in a quick cat nap before arriving at the Basketball City complex at Pier 36, 299 South Street. 

He walks gingerly into the mammoth complex, where all seven regulation courts are empty. The silence is soon replaced by his curated playlist once again when he pairs his iPhone with a nearby speaker device. Armed with the knowledge of his proficiency as an instrumentalist, as he works out with another of his trainers, Mike Collins, it’s now evident that he moves and plays to an inner biological symphony. 

There are elements of Jazz, Hip Hop, Trap, New Jack Swing, smooth R&B, Rock and Roll, buck nasty Funk and a taste of heavy metal in his gait and body language during the hour-and-a half workout that stresses the long ball off the dribble and the catch-and-shoot from the corners, wings and straight away.

“We started working together after the Final Four run, and I was pleasantly surprised by his humility, hunger, and ability to work at a high level with an attention to detail,” said Collins. “DJ enjoys the hard work. I know he’s tired and sore by the time he gets to me, but he has never complained. Not once.”

“People see how big he is, but they don’t understand how quick he is in tight spaces. He has a nice, smooth release and he’s banging in 200 to 300 long-range jumpers a day during our sessions alone, making over a thousand a week. He’s going to show folks some things they never saw from him in college.”

At 5:00 PM, Burns is back in Stamford at the Haute Healing Oasis Whole Body Wellness Center for an hour and a half of massages and non-steam infrared sauna treatments that soothe his joints, ligaments and muscles. 

After a short rest, he’s back at the Overdrive Elite facility from 8 to 9 o’clock for rigorous stretching exercises and medicine ball work to reduce his upper body excess and strengthen his core. 

From there, he’s off to grab a small dinner portion of baked fish and vegetables before being dropped back off at the Marriott, where a comfortable bed and a good night’s sleep await.

The next morning, around 5:15 AM, he’s up and eager to do it all over again. It’s a routine that he’s been following for six days a week over the last month.

—

Burns, who received his Bachelor’s Degree from Winthrop in Sociology and is currently pursuing a Master’s in Psychology at N.C. State, has yet to fully reflect on his spectacular nine-game postseason run. 

His mind will invariably wander toward the 24-point, 11-rebound, four-assist gem against Oakland in the NCAA Tournament, where he converted an absurd 75 percent of his shot attempts. 

And then there’s the monstrous performance against Duke in the Elite Eight, scoring 29 points, snagging four rebounds and dishing out three assists in the 76-64 victory that propelled the Wolfpack into the Final Four. 

He quickly turned the page to address the next challenge, proving those who relegated him to an afterthought as the NBA Draft approaches wrong.

At the pro day organized by 4Life Sports Management, the agency that reps him, at the Lakers training facility in El Segundo on May 21st, NBA reps in attendance were shocked at his body transformation. The buzz at the combine centered on his surprisingly accurate three-point shot and the fact that he’d shed approximately 50 pounds after his Final Four appearance. He has since been invited in for private workouts with the Cavaliers, Nets, Bucks and Rockets, with others calling to express interest. 

When Burns recently returned home for a brief visit, he even kept it real while trying on an expensive Gucci shirt that he purchased during the NCAA Tournament.

“When it first arrived, I couldn’t fit into it. Maaaan, those buttons were screaming at me” says Burns. “When I got back from New York, that beautiful butter soft thing fit me perfectly.”

In essence, that’s all he’s searching for moving forward, the perfect fit. “I just need one general manager, one organization, one coaching staff to believe in me and take a chance on me,” says Burns. “It won’t bother me if I don’t get drafted. When I get to Vegas for summer league, they’re gonna see what I can do. And the one team that gives me a shot will not regret it. I’ve been a winner every step of the way. I see no reason for that to change now.”

Photos via Getty Images. Exclusive photos by Kim Toledo and Brandon Christopher Hyman.

The post The Behind The Scenes Story of How DJ Burns Transformed His Body Heading Into the NBA Draft appeared first on SLAM.

When the legend herself walks in wearing an all-white fit, her aura and energy is mesmerizing. Her presence commands the entire room. This is the same visionary who just led her team to an undefeated season and the program’s third national championship, a feat very few expected them to accomplish. This is the very trailblazer who is the highest paid Black coach in all of women’s basketball. This is the Dawn Staley, the dream merchant who has led not just a program, but the culture, into a new day where no one can deny what she’s done and no one can doubt that she is one of the greats. It’s written in the banners, in the stars, and on this very cover. She is in charge. The CEO of excellence. 

SLAM 250 featuring Dawn Staley is available now.

With her right hand man, Champ, prancing a few steps behind her, Staley exudes calm, cool and collected as she walks onto set. Biggie is blasting through the speakers in the background, serving as the perfect anthem for what we’re trying to capture: her aura, her energy and all that damn swaggggg. Not only is this Dawn’s first-ever solo SLAM cover, but it’s the first time ever that any coach has had their own cover for the magazine. Today is about capturing the legacy of someone who is way bigger than the box scores—but, if we are talkin’ hoops, a legacy that includes 38 straight wins this past season. The Gamecocks were out here destroying teams by upwards of 50, 60, nah, 80 points per game. 

As legendary photographer Diwang Valdez snaps away, Staley, who is now wearing the team’s 2024 National Champions tee, effortlessly poses in front of the camera. Just when you think the flicks couldn’t get any more fly, Dawn turns things up with another outfit change. This time she’s rocking a black blazer, tearaway joggers and, of course, a crisp Louis Vuitton tee. She goes from giving soft smiles and playful banter to transforming, as she leans back into the chair she’s now sitting in, crosses her legs and rests her elbow on a basketball. She stares into the lens, giving the same look that we’ve seen from her on the court. It’s deeply methodical, poetic even. Right now, Dawn means business. 

This is the face of someone who has personified strength, resilience and authenticity for decades. Here, she gives us a glimpse into her mind and her magic—a conversation that is as much about basketball as it is about how she sees people, her legacy, and—with true sincerity—herself. 

SLAM: You’ve mentioned in the past how you didn’t really have an interest in coaching, at least early on. Can you bring us back to when you were playing in the WNBA and coaching at Temple at the same time?

Dawn Staley: One of the most gratifying moments of my life was to be able to play and then be able to coach all at the same time. Because it played on both sides of my brain and the passion was on full display. If any of the younger players in the WNBA ever have the opportunity to do both, they would find that it’s so fulfilling. You’re able to get out the aggression of playing while also being a dream merchant for younger players and giving them an experience that you are actually living. A lot of coaches have to go back in time to that place when they were playing, but when you’re able to do it in real time, it is an automatic respect from your players because they know you’re doing the very thing that you’re asking them to do and to be disciplined at.

SLAM: You often refer to yourself not just as a coach but a “dream merchant.” Can you elaborate on what you mean?

DS: Anybody that is coaching this game, that’s what you are. I know we try to figure out our purpose in coaching, and it’s just that: being a dream merchant for young people. Helping young people find their passion [and] work towards that. It’s not always basketball—it’s not. For 90 percent of them, it’s not basketball. It is figuring out what you want to do, because I want people to work in their passion. It is a lot easier to work in your passion if that’s what you do on a daily basis. The real world really is taxing. It pulls you in a lot of different directions and if you’re not passionate about it, you are not going to give it your full effort. And maybe half of you is good enough in some instances, but for you as a person, your fulfillment is most important. 

So, what does a dream merchant do? That person guides, that person helps to navigate, that person is a listener [and] an observer. That person is someone that is trustworthy of not only the student-athlete but everybody that touches that student-athlete, because it’s not just a one-way street. All young people have people in their lives that impact them. I find that young people talk to their parents every single day…I think back to when I was their age, I probably talked to my mom or my dad maybe twice a month. And you know when that was? When the funds were low. But they talk to them every day, so I’m like, OK, well, I may have to change my style. I may have to pivot a little bit because I want to be the biggest voice in my players’ heads, and if it’s the parents that have access in that way, in talking to their daughters every day, [then] I gotta talk to the parents. 

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SLAM: Who were your mentors? And did any coaches inspire you?

DS: I really didn’t have coaching mentors. I’m more of a private person. I don’t like to show weakness, and that’s probably a downfall of mine, but it’s the very thing that keeps me going, because it has me working. It always has me preparing for the worst, and I don’t like to take my problems to anybody else. I will say I have people in my life that I bounce things off that [are not] as close to the game as probably some other coaches, and I like them to give me feedback from the outside looking in, because when it’s all said and done, I like to be covered. My mind works as a basketball coach most of the time, so I’m always looking for basketball things to teach lessons to our players because I believe that sometimes they learn better from that standpoint. 

And then, if I get advice from somebody that’s not in the basketball world, I can balance that and make sure that I’m giving our players what I see, as well as what somebody else may see that I’m not covering. 

SLAM: Has your approach to coaching changed at all over the years? Are there things that worked early in your career that may not work now and vice versa?

DS: We’re in an era where we have to pivot. What worked 24 years ago will not work today. I’ll say this: The core principles of who I am as a person and coach doesn’t change. [The] battles I fight? They change. Take for instance this year—my approach was entirely different than my approach in just the recent years. In recent years, we had a group of players that got it. They understood the assignment and what they needed to do and they executed on and off the court, so they gave us no issues. I was just able to be a basketball coach. 

This year, they were different. They were younger, their approach was different. They were lackluster, they didn’t really have a plan as individuals—they may have thought they had a plan. Their plan was just to play more. You can approach it that way, but it’s shallow, so you gotta put something behind it. We worked from a place that we hadn’t worked from in a long time, which was, Hit the ground running. We couldn’t [even do that] because they couldn’t run, they were outta shape. They came in just thinking, I wanna play. I sat for a long time. It’s my time. Well, their time, and who they thought was taking their time, [the] approach was a lot different. Zia, Aliyah, Brea [Beal], they all came in shape. Every time that we had to come back in the summer, so we could hit the ground running…It was more of creating better discipline and habits, because they hadn’t formed it to the degree of them being ready to rock and roll. So, I looked at it as a challenge, and once I looked at it [as that], I got more passionate behind it because I’m drawn to challenges. It was cool because they did teach me [that] there are a number of ways to be successful and a number of ways to approach things.

One of the battles that I did not fight that I normally fight: if everybody had the same sweatsuit on, and one person didn’t, I knew that they spoke to that person. I knew it. I could see it, I’m looking at [it] and it looks strange to me…I approached it as a mistake that had been handled. But that’s one of the things I didn’t fight, because I knew this team had a way of delivering the message that I would deliver. 

SLAM: As you mentioned, the start of the season was a little different for you. What do you attribute this year’s success to? 

DS: We’ve had the best team in the country prior to this year, I would say for years. The best team in the country and this one ended up being the best team in the country by way of default, so to speak. But it was a way that was formed by them and I will give them all the credit because they could’ve balked, they could’ve said, I should be starting—for a while, they could’ve said, I’m the It. I should be starting. Tessa [Johnson could’ve been like], I could play with the best of them. Let me get some of Breezy’s time. Let me get some of Raven’s time. [But] they didn’t. Actually, the youngsters just allowed the older players to guide them to the point where they were so confident entering the basketball game that they knew that they were going to make an impact. And they kept holding each other accountable. Ashlyn [Watkins] found her superpower, and her superpower is on both sides of the basketball, but it was also leading. Her voice was prevalent in huddles, and it got to the point where they didn’t want to lose. It wasn’t even being undefeated, they just didn’t want to lose. It was nothing about winning each and every game, but in the moment of each game, they didn’t want to lose. So, they would listen to each other and they were very coachable, and then we just got momentum. We kept pushing through and then when we got to the Final Four, they were like, We gonna win this thing.

Before the national championship game, they were talking major cash ish. The coaches’ locker room is connected to the big locker room, and we don’t go in there [to] let them have their space. I’m too close to the situation, I don’t want to hear them, [but] they’re like, We’re going to kick their A, and I’m like, Lord, they don’t know what they don’t know. Either we’re going to get blown out, or we’re going to blow somebody out because they were talking. And I know they’re hyping themselves up, but as coaches, you know, we gotta go out there and face Caitlin [Clark] and them. Like, they got themselves here, they got momentum. 

As coaches, too, we would ask each other, You drinking the Kool-Aid? We would literally ask each other. So, for the most part we were like, Nah, we ain’t drinking it. Towards the end of the year, we asked, How about now? You drinking the Kool-Aid? I’m like, I’m sippin’. I ain’t taking a big gulp, but I’m sippin’. Because they’re putting it on display. I think, just overall as I reflect, it was a super cool journey and environment to be around them. They just played loose. I told this to a friend, I said, “They played free.”…So, I think that was really kind of cool for them to take us coaches down their journey. It’s usually, like, our journey—how we want to direct them and guide them. Nah. Nah, we got on their train and we rode their coattails. 

SLAM: Now that you’ve accomplished it all—going undefeated, winning your third chip—how does it feel?

DS: It feels great, like seriously. It’s unbelievable to me…[The] 2022 [team] looked the part. They looked the part, they played the part. They played just freer, but with pressure. And then this group was just unlike any of them. I don’t think anybody saw it coming. We didn’t see it coming, so that’s what I like about it. I’m sitting [here] and I’m happy…I want to share our story. I want to share the good, the bad, the ugly but also the likelihood of someone else doing what we did—I want to give them hope, because we didn’t look like a national championship team at the beginning of the season. We looked like most of the teams in the country, so we’re relatable to most of the teams. If we could do it, anybody could do it. 

SLAM: Your legacy reaches far beyond Xs and Os, wins and losses. We could go on and on, but what do you, Dawn Staley, want your legacy to be? 

DS: I want my legacy to be an “odds beater.” I am an odds beater. The odds said that I wouldn’t be an Olympian, I wouldn’t be the head coach of an Olympic team. To have coached 24 years in this game, I know that I don’t care about a personal legacy. I want to let my players talk about the legacy that they were able to feel every day from our coaching staff. I don’t have to say anything, they say it. Historically speaking, you don’t really hear my name as being a great coach, whether it’s X-ing and O-ing. I’m probably known to be a player’s coach, whatever that means. But to win three national championships, to not be an X and O coach and only be a player’s coach, I think we’re doing pretty good. If the X-ing and O-ing coaches aren’t winning national championships, I know they would probably flip it and be a player’s coach, if it produces national championships. I really don’t care about any of that, but what I do care about is our players, their experiences [and] their legacy, because the more of a legacy they have, it comes back. I just want to do right by our players. 

SLAM: You’ve seen women’s basketball skyrocket from a business standpoint, starting from your playing days to what it is today. What has it been like to see this transformation in real time?

DS: Women’s basketball is super cool, now. I would say now. It was super cool to me when I was growing up playing it and going to college because I didn’t know what I didn’t know. Now that I know what I know about our game, one, we’ve been intentionally held back. I know that because it just doesn’t come out of nowhere. It seems like our game has just come out of nowhere and now everybody is falling in love with it, when we know different. We know that back when I was playing in ’88, in college, in ’89, people were watching. They would tune in. I know it because I know when I go to different places, I’m more known for playing at Virginia than anything. So, they were watching it. 

So, what happens between then and now? Decision makers are making some really good calls when it comes to our game…They know that women’s basketball is a mainstay. So, the biggest difference now is we are being treated like a real sport. The good, the bad and the ugly because in sports you have storylines, like a Caitlin Clark. In our game you have storylines of us being undefeated, winning a national championship. You’ve got Juju [Watkins], Hannah [Hidalgo], MiLaysia [Fulwiley], all of these storylines that are being played out now because the fans want more and more and more. And now, finally, and maybe, it’s the new negotiated TV deal that is allowing us to continue to grow. Maybe there’s somebody in the room that’s making sure that we have different people telling our stories. You got Elle Duncan, Chiney Ogwumike, Aliyah Boston, [Andraya] Carter, Carolyn Peck…I thought that whole crew broke basketball down like no other. Wasn’t biased, because we gotta get the bias out of our game. So, you saw what happens when it’s unbiased. It was absolutely beautiful.

SLAM: You don’t seem like the type to chase milestones or history, it just sort of finds its way to you. With that being said, is there anything that you have your eyes set on before you bow out of coaching?

DS: Selfishly, it’s just one thing that I wanted out of this game: I wanted to be a Hall of Famer. So, I went in [to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame] in 2013 as a player. Now, I do want to go in as a coach. 

Portraits by Diwang Valdez. Action photos via Getty Images.

The post The Excellence of Dawn Staley: South Carolina Head Coach Talks Championship, Being a ‘Dream Merchant’ and Growth of Women’s Hoops appeared first on SLAM.

So the brands adapted. With an impeccable roster headlined by Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi and Jewell Loyd, Nike began releasing their player’s exclusive colorways to the public. 

Bird and Loyd, each known for their affinity with Kyrie Irving’s former Nike signature shoes, received a number of colorways in the marketplace, with Bird headlining the “Keep Sue Fresh” collection that spanned from the Kyrie 4 Low to the Kyrie Infinity. 

Out in Phoenix, DT began repping ‘Bron’s signature series, from the LeBron 9 and LeBron X to the LeBron 19—she even had compiled an extensive Mercury-colored collection of LeBron PEs, including the LeBron 18 “La Cabra”—which translates to the GOAT in Spanish.

In Washington, six-time All-Star Elena Delle Donne was paying homage with her PE rotation, dawning a Swoopes I-inspired colorway of the Nike Hyperdunk 2017 alongside a steady influx of KD 12s. But at the tail end of the 2019 season, Delle Donne flipped the script, electing to wear a lace-less model, the Nike Air Zoom UNVRS. Constructed around the brand’s newest technology, Flyease provided wearers with a hands-free, easy-access design geared toward those with disabilities. The latter would serve as a three year-long smoke signal of what was to come. 

In October of 2022, Nike and Elena Delle Donne officially released the Nike Air Deldon. While the high-top model wasn’t specifically marketed as a signature offering, the silhouette was as close to one as you could get. Built with Flyease technology at its foundation, the Air Deldon was inspired by the two-time MVP’s younger sister Lizzie, who is disabled. The model represented several aspects of Delle Donne’s personal journey, detailing her battle with Lyme disease on one colorway while joining Nike’s BE TRUE initiative that heralds the LGBTQIA+ community with a rainbow-treated installment.  

Then there’s Sabrina Ionescu. Before the legend of Caitlin Clark arose, Ionescu captivated the nation in college—breaking national and school records at the University of Oregon with a flashy play style and an unstoppable pull-up three. 

While standing on the shoulders of the legends that came before her, Nike announced Ionescu would be the eighth women’s signature athlete in Nike Basketball history. After 17 years, The Swoosh had returned in full to the women’s game and they flooded Sabrina’s business with support. An expansive marketing campaign, a full release schedule featuring more than a dozen colorways, a full unisex apparel collection and intricate storytelling that ran throughout the model. 

Touted as the first-ever unisex signature basketball shoe, the Nike Sabrina 1 sold out the first handful of colorways during the late summer. Then it took things to another level when the model was added to Nike’s customizable Nike By You platform. With layers of detailed fabrics, stitching and panels, the Sabrina 1 brought out the platforms’ full potential, allowing fans of the already praised silhouette to create their own 1-of-1 versions.

Custom Nike Sabrina 1s engulfed social media in the following months, with creators drawing inspiration from their favorite colorways of past signature models like the “Bruce Lee” Kobe 5. Some designs even stuck and were replicated at mass, like the titular rendition dubbed the “What The” colorway—inspired by Nike Basketball’s mid-2010s run of taking every colorway from one signature shoe and compiling it into one loud, expressive and surprisingly cohesive ensemble.

From the W and the NBA to men’s and women’s college basketball and the G-League, the Nike Sabrina 1 exploded in popularity. As soon as the 2023-24 season tipped, the low-top model quickly became a go-to for many Nike-endorsed NBA players with Mikal Bridges, Jalen Brunson, Tyler Herro and others customizing their own PEs at a frantic pace.

This time around, Sabrina’s sneaker won’t be a one-and-done: she confirmed during this year’s New York Liberty training camp that her second signature is currently in the works. 

And then there’s the long awaited announcement of the Nike A’One. As the first Black woman to receive a signature shoe with the brand since Sheryl Swoopes, A’ja Wilson continues to cement her legacy as not only a great, but a player deserving of the utmost recognition and respect. After headlining the Nike Cosmic Unity last season and dawning a regal black and gold LeBron 21 PE during the 2023 Finals, two-time WNBA Champion and New York Times Best-Selling Author A’ja Wilson has been positioned for an insanely bright future, and arrival of the A’One in the Spring of 2025 was met with top-tier marketing: Wilson posted a flick of herself wearing an iconic hoodie that read, Of Course I Have a Shoe Dot Com with the caption: “The answer to the question.” It was just as iconic as Wilson and her illustrious career. 

Wilson and Nike aren’t just only releasing a signature sneaker though—the two-time WNBA champion and MVP has been working for over a year now on a full apparel collection and signature slides, too. She’s been heavily involved in each step of the process, consistently checking in with the brand and going as far as to suggest satin-lined hoods so women wouldn’t have to wear a bonnet during travel days. 

As for other stars, in the summer of 2021, Jordan Brand announced the largest women’s roster in the brand’s history, signing Dearica Hamby, Satou Sabally, Jordin Canada, Aerial Powers, Te’a Cooper, Crystal Dangerfield, Arella Guirantes and Chelsea Dungee. Joining an established core of Kia Nurse and Asia Durr, the Jumpman went out and put pen to paper with Rhyne Howard, Dana Evans, Isabelle Harrison and Gabby Williams over the next year and a half. 

Picking up the legacy of the since-retired Moore, Jordan’s revamped athlete roster has brought a fresh perspective to the brand’s once-reserved approach to the ladies’ side of the game. Player Exclusive colorways have flooded WNBA hardwoods as a result. Kia Nurse’s Toronto Raptors-treated Tatum 1, Satou Sabally’s international-inspired Air Jordan 37 and Isabelle Harrison’s butterfly-coated Jordan Luka 2—in homage to her late sister—have each extrapolated a piece of the respective athletes’ journeys. In turn, sneaker blogs and team social media accounts have begun to add another element of storytelling to the WNBA’s atmosphere. 

Even though signature silhouettes and exclusive colorways continue to draw headlines, both Nike and Jordan have been cultivating their next generation of partners in the backdrop through the new possibilities presented by NIL. Mirroring the selectivity of their signature lineup, Nike has signed reigning National Freshman of the Year Juju Watkins, former AP Player of the Year Paige Bueckers and top high school sophomore Jerzy Williams to NIL deals. 

In the same realm, Jordan Brand has signed Rutgers-bound guard Kiyomi McMiller, LSU’s SEC Freshman of the Year Mikaylah Williams and UCLA point guard Kiki Rice. 

While it’s yet to be officially announced, Caitlin Clark has reportedly signed an endorsement deal with The Swoosh as well. Clark was one of the brand’s first NIL signings before her senior year at Iowa. 

This is just the beginning, and with investment, attention to detail, and unwavering support for women’s basketball, the renaissance continues.

Feeling nostalgic? Here’s a history lesson on how past WNBA legends paved the way in the sneaker game.

The post Today’s WNBA Legends Are Shifting Sneaker Culture  appeared first on SLAM.

Held in Atlanta at Quavo’s alma mater, Berkmar High School, Huncho Day featured a 7v7 football exhibition game between Team Huncho Basketball and Team Huncho Elite, as well as a celebrity flag football game and a Team Huncho basketball game.

Guest coaches included none other than LSU standout Flau’jae Johnson—who can drop buckets on the court and spit bars in the booth—as well as comedian/social media sensation, Drusk, former NBA Champion Stephen Jackson, Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ safety Richard LeConte III, Utah Utes’ guard Deivon Smith, rapper King Harris and more.

Johnson even coached the white team alongside Quavo, while the orange team was led by Druski and McCloud. 

The sold-out event, which brought together both sports and culture, was all for a greater cause, raising $50,000 for The Rocket Foundation in support of gun violence prevention. Quavo founded the Rocket Foundation in November of 2022 to honor the life and legacy of Takeoff.

Photo credit Chris Shine

The post Quavo Hosts 7th Annual Huncho Day in Atlanta with Druski and Flau’jae Johnson appeared first on SLAM.

A first-generation Canadian whose parents migrated from the Philippines, Niko grew up around hoops ever since he could remember.

“Filipinos in general, we love basketball. That’s what I was exposed to very young. I got okay at playing. I played in the OBA—it’s almost like AAU but a Canadian version. I played for an organization called the Scarborough Blues, which made a lot of basketball players that play in the NBA right now—whether it be Corey Joseph, Kellly Olynyk.” Niko says. “My dad played college ball in the Phillipines and then when he came in the ‘70s to Toronto, he kind of found his love again for the game in these small adult leagues. He would bring me with him and that’s kind of how I fell in love with the game.” 

Eventually, the Toronto Raptors arrived to town, and Niko says he still recalls attending the franchise’s first ever youth camp. Like with most hoopers, though, he eventually came to the realization that it wouldn’t be something he’d pursue professionally. As fate would have it, it was the music industry he’d enter, helping his close friend Drake became a global icon. 

Nonetheless, Niko still found ways to keep himself around the game. He launched OVO Bounce, a local summer pro-am tournament that drew NBA stars from across the border. OVO Bounce blew up and became a summer hoops staple. For Niko, though, this was only the beginning of his journey with the sport. 

As his name and reputation grew—known for being Drake’s right-hand man since Day 1 as co-founder of OVO and for helping push hoops in Canada via his OVO Bounce tourney—he says he was eventually approached by the Canadian Elite Basketball League post-pandemic about helping establish a new professional team in Toronto. 

His initial response was that he’d only be interested if the team would be based in his hometown of Scarborough instead. As expected, his response raised some eyebrows at first but the league ultimately agreed and the Scarborough Shooting Stars were soon born, with Niko serving as co-owner.  

“I gotta shout out the commissioner, Mike Morreale, because initially when I brough that up, everyone was just like, Why? Why are we doing Scarborough? Scarborough is a small suburb, and they wanted obviously a Toronto team because it’s a bigger market and to capitalize off that. But my heart wouldn’t be in it if the team wasn’t in Scarborough. I’m passionate in what raised me… [Marreale] was like, there’s this guy that’s just as passionate about Scarborough as you are. I’m like, Yeah? Who is it? And that’s how I met Sam [Ibrahim]—he’s one of our partners that contributes greatly to this organization.” 

The Shooting Stars essentially serve two purposes: a culture of community and culture of winning. While the Raptors have become a global brand, and do in fact stay active in the community, their demanding schedules and off court obligations in many ways limit how accessible players can be to the community. That’s where the Shooting Stars come in. Niko says the goal has been to host some type of community event every week during the season—whether it be camps, clinics, or meet-and-greets. And that doesn’t just apply to the players, he’s applied that same responsibility of accessibility to himself as well.     

“When we made this team, I wanted to make it about the youth. For the kid that couldn’t afford tickets to the Raptors. I didn’t ever go to a Raptors game until I was probably 18 years old. The Shooting Stars is one of those things where it’s accessible,” he says. “Let’s reach out to all the youth basketball programs and high schools, and give them tickets. Doing camps and having them meet the players and meeting me. And going through a full day of what it’s like to be a professional basketball player. Just trying to find a way to inspire kids… I’m just trying to stay as connected as a I can with them and be personable with them. We’re not unreachable. I want Scarborough Shooting Stars to not be unreachable. You can reach out, you can shake hands. Us being a community team, we can do that.” 

The CEBL, which launched in 2019, is comprised of 10 teams across Canada that play about 20 regular season games and a single-game elimination playoff structure, where after the quarterfinals being played at home, the semis and title games are played at a rotating neutral site (last year was in Vancouver, this year will be in Montreal) during a championship weekend. The league, which goes from May to August, has unique rules that aim to prioritize local Canadian talent. For example, only 4 imports are allowed on each team—3 of them being Americans and the other being an international player from anywhere else. The rest of the roster is all Canadian hoopers. The league also requires for two Canadians on each team to be on the court at all times. If a team doesn’t follow that rule, it’s an automatic technical foul.    

The way the season is structured does bring some challenges, of course. The roster is made up of guys that play professionally in the EuroLeague and other top divisions across the globe, as well as NBA G League and Sumer League regulars. Some of the players on the roster in previous years included Jalen Harris, Isaiah Mike, Cam Chatman, Kasssius Robertson, Kyle Alexander, Cat Barber, Kalif Young…and Grammy-winner J. Cole. 

But with high-level talent comes obstacles. Some of the players arrive late if their season overseas goes deep into the playoffs, some have to leave early if their respective overseas teams start early, and some have even gotten invited to NBA Summer League in the middle of the CEBL season. It creates a roster puzzle that Niko and his staff have to constantly navigate through with precision, forecasting which players they might lose or start without and coming up with contingency plans. To Niko, navigating through the roster shuffles just means that his guys are experiencing upward mobility in their careers and that the Shooter Stars are playing a role in their development.  

On the court, though, those challenges haven’t affected the team’s success at all. In just two years of existence, the team made it to the championship game in their first year and won it all last year. The early success is of no surprise to Niko, whose ultra-competitive nature helped establish an expectation of claiming the top spot from the very beginning. He knew that the team would automatically have much more eyeballs and pressure on them (and naturally haters, too) than any other team in the league due to their affiliation with OVO and Drake. 

Whether being in the studio with The Boy, or on tour across the globe, or in business meetings talking strategy around the most-streamed male artist ever, it all prepared Niko for this very moment. 

“I learned from Drake a lot in terms of, he’s involved in everything of his creation—whether it’s concepts for his music videos, the beat production, writing, hooks, whatever the case may be, he’s involved in everything. And that’s what I did with this. On a regular day, I’m going to training camp, I’m watching film with the guys, I’m going to coaches’ meetings—I’m just learning and soaking it all in, and contributing with anything I can,” he says. “I just wanted to win or lose at my own merit, and I didn’t it want for it to be a thing where it didn’t work out but I was right. So, I wanted to be as involved as possible, so if I lost, it was on my own merit.” 

“The expectations are high. We’re repping a big city. We’re repping the east side of Toronto We’re repping OVO. We’re repping Drake. There’s a lot at stake here. I think that’s something I don’t take lightly. I want to be competitive here. I learned a lot from Drake, you can’t settle, you can’t be content. We cannot not have a successful season. We have to continue to find ways to stay on top somehow.”  

Beyond the wins and losses, the Xs and Os, and the championships, Niko’s story is a very relatable to the natural human experience. One that ultimately revolves around finding your true purpose and calling in life, living out your passion not just yourself but also ideally while pulling up those around you. It’s been quite the full circle moment for the Scarborough native. 

“Growing up, I wanted to be the starting point guard for the Raptors. But, obviously, being Filipino, I didn’t really grow much,” Niko says with a laugh. “I didn’t really know what [else] I wanted to be. I went to college for one year before Drake kind of snatched me and brought me on the road. I went to college to be a social worker. So, I always wanted to inspire and help the youth, troubled kids. I don’t want to say I was a troubled kid, but I wandered. I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I always felt stuck. I never thought I could be a sports team owner, working in sports professionally. Now, I just want to inspire those that look like me.  

“It was tough, in terms of that feeling of being stuck—it’s a scary thing. That feeling of helplessness. Like, what’s next? Waking up every morning and being, like, Yo, what’s next? What am I going to do? Like, I don’t know what I’m going to do. There’s life after that. As long as you keep at it, good things will happen for you.”           

Photo credit: PlaceNEW.

The post Niko Carino, aka OVO Niko, Has Emerged Into a Successful Pro Team Owner After Transitioning From the Music Industry             appeared first on SLAM.

As we continue to celebrate Women’s History Month—and Black history every day—WSLAM and the Black Coaches Association are spotlighting those coaching DI, DII and DIII college hoops.

Regardless of whether they’re competing in the NCAA tournament right now or not, these are the women leading favorite squads.

Dawn Staley:
South Carolina | Began as head coach in 2008 |

Accolades include getting inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, leading the program to two National Championships (2017, 2022) and five NCAA Final Fours

Felisha Legette-Jack:
Syracuse | Coaching Career began in 1989 | Joined Prior to 2022 season

2024 ACC Coach of the Year and CAA Coach of the Year in ’04

Ashley Langford:
Stony Brook | Coaching career began in 2009 | Joined Prior to 2021 season
Has the ​​best winning percentage (.683) of any head coach in program history and has led her squad to an average of 20 wins per season

Vanessa Blair Lewis:
George Mason | Coaching career began in 1996 | Joined Prior to 2022 season
1998-99 NEC COY and 4x MEAC COY

Niele Ivey:
Notre Dame | Coaching career began in 2007 | Joined prior to the 2020 season
Led the program to its first regular season ACC title since 2019 and named the 2022-23 ACC Coach of the Year

Aqua Franklin:
Lamar | Coaching career began in 2009 | Joined prior to the 2019 season
Finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Award

DeLisha Milton-Jones:
Old Dominion | Coaching career began in 2016 | Joined prior to the 2020 season
Ranks top-10 in NCAA all-time wins; three national championships, 25 tournament appearances, 17 conference championships and 55 All-Americans

Tomekia Reed:
Jackson State | Coaching career began in 2006 | Joined prior to the 2008 season
Led the program to four straight SWAC regular season titles, back-to-back SWAC tournament titles and NCAA appearances, as well as the program’s first even WNIT appearance

Mary Grimes:
Le Moyne | Coaching career began in 2009 | Joined prior to the 2021 season
In the first two years of being head coach, led the team to two Northeast-10 Conference Regular Season Championships, and 2023-24 NEC Coach of the Year

Dawn Thornton:
Arkansas Pine Bluff | Coaching career began in 2007 | Joined prior to the 2019 season
Qualified for the conference tournament for the first time since 2017

Erin Dickerson Davis:
William & Mary | Coaching career began in 2020 | Joined prior to 2022 season
Led the team to the most wins by a first year head coach in program history

Jesyka Burks-Wiley:
Florida International | Coaching career began in 2013 | Joined prior to the 2020 season
Led the team to their first winning season since 2012-2013 and matched single-season win record by having 12 CAA wins

Carrie Moore:
Harvard | Coaching career began in 2010 | Joined prior to 2023 season
Led Harvard to highest NET ranking in program history and was named ESPN coach of the week in January 2023

Margaret Richards:
Alabama A&M | Coaching career began in 2005 | Joined prior to the 2016 season
Led the team to SWAC tournament semifinals and to a program record of 17 wins against Division 1 opponents

Freda Freeman-Jackson:
Alabama State | Coaching career began in 1991 | Joined prior to the 1998 season
Has led the program to three SWAC Regular season titles, numerous trips to theNCAA Tournament and one WNIT berth. 

Adia Barnes
Arizona | Joined in 2016
WNIT champion and led the program to the Final Four in 2021.

Natasha Adair
Arizona State | Coaching career began in 1998 | Joined prior to the 2023 season
Started the season 5-0 for the first time since 2002 and CAA coach of the year in the 2020 season

Destinee Rogers:
Arkansas State | Coaching career began in 2015 | Joined prior to the 2018 season
First African-American female head coach to win a game in school history and reached the Sun Belt Conference tournament quarterfinals for the first time since 2017

Johnnie Harris:
Auburn | Coaching career began in 1998 | Joined prior to the 2022 season
Inducted in Watson’s Chapel High School Hall of Fame and defeated Texas A&M for the first time in 2019

Brittany Young:
Austin Peay | Coaching career began in 2013 | Joined prior to 2023 season
First head coach in program history to lead the team to back to back conference tournament semifinals and the 37 wins are the most by head coach in their first two seasons

Janell Crayton:
Bethune-Cookman | Coaching career began in 2007 | Joined prior to 2021 season
Member of Women’s Basketball Coaches Association and in the first year recorded five wins in BCU’s inaugural season in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC)

Charmin Smith:
California | Coaching career began in 2003 | Named head coach prior to 2019-20 season
First Black female coach in program history. Led team to most overall (19) and Pac-12 (7) wins in five years. Listed as 2020’s top 100 Most influential figures in Women’s College Basketball.

Katrina Merriweather:
Cincinnati | Coaching career began in 2001 | Joined in 2023 season
3x Horizon League Coach Of the Year

Ganiyat Adeduntan:
Colgate | Coaching career began in 2007 | Joined prior to the 2022 season

Tamika Williams-Jeter:
Dayton | Coaching career began in 2002 | Joined prior to the 2023 season
Led the team to A-10 Championship Tournament

Sarah Jenkins:
Delaware | Coaching career began in 2006 | Joined prior to 2023 season
Led the team to the Colonial Athletic Association regular season title

Jazmone Turner:
Delaware State | Coaching career began in 2014 | Joined prior to the 2022 season
Part of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association 30 Under 30 Class

Doshia Woods:
Denver | Coaching career began in 2001 | Joined in 2020
Led the team to be in the top 50 in NCAA free throws made and ranked 12th in the country for blocked shots per game

Kara Lawson:
Duke | Coaching career began in 2019 | Joined in 2020
Led the team to the best season in recent history, a 26-7 record; ranked third in NCAA in scoring defense (51.0).

Kim McNeill:
East Carolina | Coaching career began in 2013 | Joined in 2019
Named AAC Coach of the Year and won the 2023 AAC Tournament championship

Ke’Sha Blanton:
Eastern Michigan | Coaching career began in 2010 | Joined in 2022
Led the team to Horizon League Women’s Basketball Championships

Charlotte Smith:
Elon | Coaching career began in 2002 | Joined in 2011
Led the team to four consecutive years of advancing to the CAA championships and was the 2016 CAA Coach of the Year

Bridgette Gordon:
Florida A&M | Coaching career began in 2004 | Joined Prior to the 2023 season
Coached six players to the WNBA

Jennifer Sullivan:
Florida Atlantic | Coaching career began in 2008 | Joined prior to the 2022 season
Guided a 140% increase in wins and season sweep over rival FIU

Bridgette Mitchell:
Fordham | Coaching career began in 2013 | Joined prior to the 2023/24 season
Won CAA Coach of the Year

Anita Howard:
Georgia Southern | coaching career began in 2012 | Joined Prior to the 2019 season
Led the team to the first 20-win season since 2002 and ranked 5th out 348 NCAA Division 1 in scoring offense (79.3 ppg)

Courtney Simmons:
Grambling State | Coaching career began in 2008 | Joined prior to the 2023 season
Guided prior teams to Sun Belt Tournament Championships

Danielle Santos Atkinson:
Hofstra | Coaching career began in 2006 | Joined in 2019
Led the team to CAA Women’s Basketball Championships and the first 12-seed in the CAA Championship that advanced to quarterfinal since 2006

Ty Grace:
Howard | Coaching career began in 1998 | Joined in 2015
Won first MEAC Tournament title since 2001 and 2020-21 MEAC Coach of the Year

Special Jennings:
Jacksonville | Coaching career began in 2016 | Joined in 2023

Octavia Blue:
Kennesaw State | Coaching career began in 2008 | Joined in 2020
Fasted KSU head coach to 30 Wins

Kia Damon-Olson:
Lafayette | Coaching career began in 1993 | Joined in 2017
Brought the team to Patriot League Semifinals

Lauren Sumski:
Lipscomb | Coaching career began in 2014 | Joined in 2019
First Female in Lipscomb History to be Head Coach and tied the program record for wins (20)

Rene Haynes:
Long Island | Coaching career began in 2012 | Joined in 2019
12th Head coach in 54 years and Greater Columbus Legends Hall of Fame

Erika Lang-Montgomery:
Longwood | Coaching career began in 1995 | Joined in 2022
In the first season, Longwood to a sixth place finish in Big South standings

Danielle O’Banion:
Loyola (MD) | Coaching career began in 2002 | Joined in 2021
2023-24 Patriot League Coach of the Year

Aarika Hughes:
Loyola Marymount | Coaching career began in 2011 | Joined in 2021
Named Top 21 Coaches by The Athletic Magazine and recognized by Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s Top 30 Coaches Under 30

Alex Simmons:
Memphis | Coaching career began 2009 | Joined in 2018 but named head coach in 2023
Named Big South Coach of the Year

Kimberly Anderson:
Mississippi Valley State | Coaching career began in 1982 | Joined 2022
6th Women’s basketball head coach

Trelanne Powell:
New Orleans | Coaching career began in 2007 | Joined 2023
Second Coach of the Year in 2023

Jada Pierce:
Niagara | Coaching career began in 2004 | Joined 2015
Set new program record with 16 MAAC wins and earned a bid to WNIT

Priscilla Edwards-Lloyd:
Northeastern | Coaching career began in 2010 | Joined 2023
8th Head Coach in Program History

Tanya Warren:
Northern Iowa | Coaching career began in 2007 | Joined 2007
3x MVC Coach of the Year

Yolett McPhee-McCuin:
Ole Miss | Coaching career began in 2004 | Joined 2018
Led the team to 11th Sweet 16 in Program History and 19th NCAA Tournament appearance

Carrie Banks:
Omaha | Coaching career began in 2007 | Joined 2020
Led the team to 29 Wins and made it to the Summit League Tournament in 2022

Sandy Pugh:
Prairie View A&M | Coaching career began in 1987 | Joined 2018
Led the team to WNIT Appearance

Erin Batth:
Providence | Coaching career began in 2004 | Joined 2023
Guided former teams to NCAA Tournament appearances and 11th coach in the program’s history

Jen Brown:
Queens University | Coaching career began in 2005 | Joined 2020
Led the team to the D1 Level

Coquese Washington:
Rutgers | Coaching career began in 1999 | Joined 2022
WBCA Carol Eckman Integrity in Coaching Award and 3x Big Ten Coach of the Year

Ravon Justice:
Sam Houston State | Coaching career began in 2004 | Joined 2019
Led the team to 35-23 record and 2018-19 Southland Coach of the Year

Stacie Terry-Hutson:
San Diego State | Coaching career began in 1999 | Joined 2013
Made the WNIT which is the First Postseason Appearance Since 2012

April Phillips:
San Jose State | Coaching career began in 2013 | Joined 2022
Led the team to first Mountain West Conference Tournament win since 2020

Yolisha Jackson:
South Alabama | Coaching career began around 2016 | Joined as assistant coach 2019
10th women’s basketball Head Coach in program history

Rekha Patterson:
Southeast Missouri State | Coaching career began ain 2022 | Joined 2015
Led the team to second OVC Tournament Title and 2019-20 OVC Coach of the Year

Kelly Bond-White:
Southern Illinois | Coaching career began in 1999 | Joined 2022
Coached the team to score at least 100 points on three occasions and 2021-22 MVC Coach of the Year

Toyelle Wilson:
Southern Methodist | Coaching career began in 2003 | Joined 2021
First Black Female Head Coach at SMU and brought the team to its second consecutive WNIT appearance

Keila Whittington:
St. Francis (PA) | Coaching career began in 1991 | Joined 2023

Led the team to 1st in free throw percentage (.810) and defensive rebounds per game (27.1)

Diane Richardson:
Temple | Coaching career began in 2000 | Joined 2022
Led the Team to 11-18 Record with Eight Players and 2018-19 CAA Coach of the Year

Joni Taylor:
Texas A&M | Coaching career began in 2002 | Joined 2022
2021 SEC Coach of the Year

Vernette Skeete:
Texas Southern | Coaching career began in 2009 | Joined 2022
Reestablished the TSU brand in community

Zenarae Antoine:

Texas State | Coaching career began in 1999 | Joined in 2011

All-time winningest coach and 2023 Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year

Shereka Wright:
Texas-Arlington | Coaching career began in 2006 | Joined 2020
Won Sun Belt Coach of the Year in 2021

Styia Messer:
UCF | Coaching career began in 2000 | Joined 2022
Led the team to 6-0 Start since 1984

Denise King:
UMass Lowell | Coaching career began in 2005 | Joined 2018
Led the Team to Two Straight America East Playoff Semifinal Games

Dionnah Jackson-Durrett:
UMKC | Coaching career began in 2010 | Joined 2022
Led the Team to Summit League Championships

Trina Patterson:
UNC Greensboro | Coaching career began in 1991 | Joined 2016
2x SoCon Coach of the Year, 1993 CAA Coach of the Year, and 2007 AEC Coach of the Year

Nicole Woods:
UNC Wilmington | Coaching career began in 2009 | Joined 2023
Inducted into the Gatson Sports Hall of Fame

Amaka Agugua-Hamilton:
Virginia | Coaching career began in 2006 | Joined in 2022
Two-Time MVC Coach of the Year

Semeka Randall Lay:
Winthrop | Coaching career began in 2007 | Joined in 2020
Led Rivalry Wins in 2021-22 against Presbyterian, UNC Asheville and Charleston Southern

Marisa Moseley:
Wisconsin | Coaching began in 2005 | Joined in 2021
Won the 2019 Patriot League Coach of the Year

Dalila Eshe:
Yale | Coaching began in 2006 | Joined in 2022
Coached Ivy League Co-Defensive PLayer and Top 10 finalist for Nancy Lieberman Award

Michelle Clark-Heard

Mercer College | Coaching career began in 2018 | Joined in 2024

Photos via Getty Images. Portrait via AAMU and Harvard Athletics.

Featured graphic designed by Abdel Kyle Traore.

The post WSLAM x BCA: Meet the Black Women Coaching DI College Hoops appeared first on SLAM.

While W players have long been showing out in the tunnel, Harrison and Austin are continuing a movement of women’s hoopers in the high-fashion space. Thanks to the visionary work of renowned stylist Sydney Bordonaro—who credits the weekend’s success to the help of writer and strategist Kirsten Chen (@hotgothwriter)—Harrison, a dynamic forward on the Sky and Austin, a standout center/forward for the Mystics and ’22 All-Rookie Team honoree, looked stunning in pieces by Kim Shui, DAILY PAPER and more.

To give us the inside scoop, Bordonaro joined the latest episode of hoop(ish) to talk about their recent WNBA NYFW takeover.

Bordonaro was in charge of working around the outfits given by the shows with flashy accessories that best complemented their looks and personality. She says Harrison’s sister, @dolledbydorie, also worked her magic with both players’ makeup, too.

It was Harrison’s second show since her appearance for Kim Shui two years ago and a first for Austin. “Izzy and Shakira ate,” Bordonaro says. “The girls just did what they needed to do.”

On Friday and Saturday, Harrison and Austin both rocked elegant, flowy designs by Collina Strada while accessorizing with handbags.

Then, on Saturday, they took things to another level with more edgier looks. Harrison’s outfit included a Jumpman original with a beaded-corset overlay, while Austin rocked designs by KidSuper. They both also wore more looks by DAILY PAPER.

After an eventful weekend, Bordonaro hopes this was a much-needed wake up call for the fashion world to include even more women’s hoopers. “It was a good introduction for the fashion space to get basketball girls,” Bordonaor said. “They handled themselves like they were stars. So many people when they saw them were taken back.”

This is just the beginning, too. From the tunnel to the runway, we’re hyped to see more looks by Bordonaro this upcoming season and to watch Harrison and Austin show out on, and off the court.

Check out the entire episode of hoop(ish) below:

Photos by Dominique Oliveto (@dommyo).

The post WNBA Stars Isabelle Harrison and Shakira Austin Takeover New York Fashion Week appeared first on SLAM.

It all starts with the man in the middle, Armando Bacot. Bacot decided to forgo the NBA draft and return to Chapel Hill for a fifth and final year. The highly decorated senior is North Carolina’s all-time leader in rebounds and double-doubles. A mainstay in the starting lineup since he first touched down on campus, Bacot is the heart and soul of the program and the perfect piece to build a culture around. There’s arguably nobody in the country with more expectations to succeed this year than Bacot, who was voted a Preseason First Team All-American and named one of 20 candidates on the preseason watch list for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, given to the nation’s top center. Aside from his physical ability, his wealth of experience will prove to be the most valuable asset for this Carolina squad. Being one of NIL’s biggest beneficiaries certainly helped make his decision to return easier, but the team-first big has his eyes set on making one more historic run in the tourney. 

RJ Davis is another senior who’s had a lot of major moments at UNC and decided to return for another run at a title. The 6-0 guard from White Plains, NY, is destined to see his notable work ethic and commitment to excellence pay off. His game, along with his confidence, has grown each year, and that makes him a tough cover for whoever his matchup is on any given night. Voted to the preseason watch list for the Bob Cousy Award, RJ is motivated to prove himself as one of the best point guards in the nation. UNC’s leading assist man for the past few seasons, he’s one of the most reliable guards in the ACC when the game is on the line. It’s no secret that the key to success in March is having good guard play, and that should be of no concern for the Tar Heels with RJ leading the backcourt.

Freshman guard Elliot Cadeau is the most highly touted recruit thus far in the Hubert Davis era. He reclassified up a year after committing to UNC and is expected to make an instant impact this season. The Diaper Dandy was voted 2023-24 Preseason ACC Rookie of the Year and will have every opportunity to solidify his place at the top of his class.

Other newcomers to keep an eye on are two snipers: 6-5 graduate transfer Cormac Ryan by way of Notre Dame, and 6-7 junior transfer Harrison Ingram by way of Stanford, who was voted to the preseason watch list for the Julius Erving Award.

It’s early, but this year’s Tar Heels have started the season full steam ahead. Will they be able to carry the momentum and bring home their seventh national championship come April? It won’t be easy, but they have the makings of a team ready to cut down the nets in Phoenix. 

The post The 2023 Jumpman Invitational: The UNC Tar Heels Men’s Squad are on a Revenge Tour this Season appeared first on SLAM.

There will be tons of upsets throughout the 2023-24 college basketball season, of course, but we’re betting the last teams standing next April will be some familiar names. Don’t @ us.

Here’s our official 2023-24 Men’s College Basketball season preview.

1. Duke: The returns of Kyle Filipowski, Jeremy Roach, Tyrese Proctor, and Mark Mitchell, along with another crop of four and five-star standouts, will make Jon Scheyer look like a pretty darn good coach this year.  

2. Kansas: The Jayhawks are deep, versatile, and nasty on defense. Adding Michigan center Hunter Dickinson makes them lethal in the pick-and-roll. If KU can stroke it from the outside, it will be national title time. 

3. Michigan State: Tom Izzo says a Big Ten team has to win it all to prove the conference is elite. Here’s a squad that can do it. The Spartans will grind like no other team, have plenty of experience and boast a first-rate backcourt.  

4. Marquette: The Golden Eagles aren’t that big, and they don’t bang the boards like Visigoths, but oh, that backcourt. Tyler Kolek, Stevie Mitchell, and Kam Jones can pile it on, and there should be enough inside for a shot at the Final Four. 

5. Tennessee: Behold the college basketball equivalent of oral surgery. The Vols play like someone wants to steal their rent money. The guards are rugged, and if Zakai Zeigler’s knee is healthy, big things—and sore opponents—lie ahead. 

6. Purdue: He’s back! The Big Maple, unguardable 7-4 center Zach Edey, returns to own the paint. The question is whether Fletcher Loyer and the perimeter team can hit shots. If they can, the Boilermakers will thrive. 

7. Houston: Kelvin Sampson has done a masterful job creating a sustainable powerhouse with defense and tough love. The Cougars aren’t pretty and certainly aren’t fun to play, but they have won big—and will continue to do so. 

8. Creighton: The Bluejays lost some talent to the portal but then added experienced contributors the same way. Call it a wash. Ryan Kalkbrenner is a two-way force inside, and he’s surrounded by strong perimeter scorers. 

9. Baylor: There are a bunch of new Bears, but they are good. Really good. Look out for freshmen guards Ja’Kobe Walter and Miro Little. Transfer RayJ Dennis can fill it up, and holdover Jalen Bridges is a steady frontcourt piece. 

10. Florida Atlantic: Last year was a magical one-off, right? Right? Nope, all but one of the key Owls are back and ready for more. FAU is loaded with talented, experienced guards and has good depth. This encore should be fun. 

11. Arizona: The Wildcats were big and slow last year. They’re a lot quicker this time. Transfers Caleb Love and Keshad Johnson will be immediate standouts, and big man Oumar Ballo will cause all sorts of problems inside. 

12. Villanova: It’s time for Nova to head back to where it belongs. Last year was an anomaly. Guard Justin Moore and big man Eric Dixon are major producers, and four transfers will add depth and versatility.  

13. Connecticut: The defending champs lost some real stalwarts, but big man Donovan Clingan is a budding star, Tristen Newton and Alex Karaban have plenty of experience, and Rutgers transfer Cam Spencer and a loaded crop of freshmen have arrived. 

14. North Carolina: Armando Bacot and RJ Davis are back for their ninth seasons in Chapel Hill. At least it feels that way. Freshman point man Elliot Cadeau is the human assist and transfers Harrison Ingram and Cormac Ryan are welcome additions. 

15. Gonzaga: You want points? The Zags score plenty of them. Drew Timme’s gone, but Mark Few found a bunch of high-octane newcomers to join returning starters Nolan Hickman and Anton Watson. Time to spin the scoreboards again. 

16. Kentucky: It’s been a while since John Calipari’s bunch has made a national splash. It could happen this year. The freshman class is ridiculous. There are actual seniors (Antonio Reeves and Tre Mitchell) on the roster. UK is back. 

17. Illinois: The Illini were supposed to be tough last year, but they sagged. Terrence Shannon Jr is back to make ’23-24 different. He’s joined by the usual strong cast of transfers. If Illinois can shoot it, plenty of wins will follow. 

18. Miami: Wonder why Jim Larrañaga keeps hanging around Coral Gables? It’s teams like this. Nijel Pack is a top-shelf guard, Norchad Omier can cause big problems inside, and wing Wooga Poplar is ready for big things. 

19. Texas A&M: The Aggies waited until after the calendar turned to 2023 last season to play their best ball. There should be no delay this season, thanks to point man Wade Taylor IV and three other returning starters. 

20. Arkansas: Mr. Transfer is at it once again in Fayetteville. Eric Musselman imported seven players from other schools, with Tramon Mark and Khalif Battle expected to team with returnee Davonte Davis in a potent backcourt. 

21. San Diego State: The Aztecs lost a lot, but they will still grind and defend and fight. That’s worth a lot. Lamont Butler leads four key holdovers, and USC transfer Reese Dixon has plenty of talent. 

22. Texas: High-scoring Oral Roberts transfer Max Abmas brings serious juice to the Longhorns’ attack. Rodney Terry is now the full-time boss, and he has guard Tyrese Hunter and forward Dylan Disu as featured performers. 

23. UCLA: Presenting the most interesting roster in college hoops. The Bruins are filled with international players, could start two centers, and could look like a Euro professional team, style-wise. They might even try to play with one of those orange-and-white FIBA basketballs. 

24. Virginia: The Cavs lost in the first round again last year. When that happened in 2018, they won it all the following season. It will be about defense again at UVA, with Reece Beekman up top and a bunch of stingy friends around him. 

25. St. John’s: Fast-talking Rick Pitino spent the offseason convincing a pile of high-scoring transfers to join potent pivot Joel Soriano in Queens. Jordan Dingle and Chris Ledlum were Ivy League killers, and Daniss Jenkins was a big producer at Iona. 

Duke fans, this one’s for you. Get your copy of SLAM 247 copy and cover tees.

Photos via Getty Images

The post SLAM’s 2023-24 NCAA Men’s College Basketball Preview appeared first on SLAM.

For the cover of SLAM 247, two-time WNBA champion Sydney Colson reflects on what this title represents for the city, her teammate A’ja Wilson’s legacy, her own self-transformation and the team’s place in history. Get your copy and cover tees here.

The year I joined the Aces was the first time I met A’ja Wilson. Well, technically I met her during training camp in 2018, but I officially joined the team in 2019, so we’ll count that. 

I’d obviously watched her play in college at South Carolina, and I remember thinking, OK, this is their franchise player, but I also wanted to see what she’d do at this level. Looking back, and just seeing the growth that she’s made over the years, how vocal of a leader she is and how her game has changed…the way she’s branded herself and markets herself, it’s so cool to see. 

As I write this now, on the day of the championship parade, it brings me back to that moment. I still remember when I had the phone call with Becky Hammon, which was the first time in my career that I was on the phone with a coach and our GM—usually when you’re getting training camp contracts or you’re not a guaranteed player, people don’t just make calls. She was talking about the culture of the program and how they saw me impacting the team and fitting in the locker room. It was amazing to hear that from her. 

One thing that I can’t stress enough is that, as a team, we all genuinely enjoy one another’s company. There are times where you feel like, Alright, I need to not see y’all for a couple of days, but that’s what regular friends do when you need to recharge and be by yourself. But when we’re around each other, it’s easy for stuff to flow because it’s not forced. Our relationships are as genuine on camera as they are off, and I think that’s hard for a lot of people to grapple with because maybe that’s not how they are in their real lives. Or you’re very weary of joy. Seeing too much joy, you don’t believe that it’s real, which is sad. But it is real. I feel bad for the people who always have something negative to say when we’re genuinely having fun. That’s hard for them to fathom, and I get it. You don’t see a lot of teams behave like us in professional sports.

I saw someone say that there’s never been a team more entertaining than us since the 2016 Cavs. That’s interesting, but I think a lot of times, too, in women’s pro sports, women will show their personality more than guys. There’s some things guys are not going to do in a group because of fear of not being cool enough. But we don’t care. We’re going to do stuff that’s cool, stuff that’s corny, whatever. We’re just enjoying life, and the quicker people can get hip to that and accept that it’s the truth, I think the easier it’ll be for them to like and appreciate us. But also, if you don’t want to, that’s fine, too. We’re not losing no sleep.

A’ja embodies that. She just gets it on and off the court. She knows what has to be done and I love how she’s unapologetically Black. Ain’t no code switching. You are getting A’ja. Her book is coming out, Dear Black Girls, and I know that the reception for that is going to be crazy. Once it’s out and people are getting their books, they’re going to love to hear her story. I don’t even know the full story, so I can’t wait to read it, too. 

Here’s a funny thing you might not know about her off the court, though: she’s actually the type of person that, even if they can’t make the function, she’ll still want an invite. Let me clarify. Before we went out to bingo as a team, Kiah Stokes and Alysha Clark had recommended going and I brought my girlfriend there first a day or two before we went as a team. I was on Instagram Live when A’ja hit me on some, “Thanks for the invite.” I’m like, Girl, you don’t be going places when we invite you sometimes so I’m not gonna…” She’s that type of person. But then we all decided to go, and it was a vibe. 

As for the wigs, I can explain. We really wanted to do them throughout the season with our tunnel fits, but then we lost a game and we were all like, Scratch that, we’re not wearing it. We don’t want to be doing stuff and look like we’re not taking the game seriously. Once the season was done, though, we decided to go play bingo and wear them. As a team, we really do the same stuff you’d do with friends: the movies, going to somebody’s apartment, playing games on the road in each other’s room, go get dinner, do this or that. 

Our team already had a sense of togetherness last year, and considering a majority of our team returned this season, it was easy to just pick up where we left off. I think this is what makes our team so special: we can just let it flow and remain unbothered about anything. We just joke with each other—we’re fake mean like we’re siblings or cousins that you grew up with. We have that best friend energy, like, I love you. I wouldn’t do this with just anybody. Honestly, joining this team reinvigorated me in a way that made me more appreciative of every moment, especially this year. When the playoffs started, I told myself that if this is the last year, make sure that you’re fully present for every practice, every film session, every bus ride when we’re joking around together. Make sure that you are enjoying the hell out of every single moment on this run.

I think there was also that added element of people not thinking that we were going to run it back once Chelsea Gray and Kiah went down during the Finals. I remember Coach Becky and the assistants kept saying that it’s so much harder to do it the second time. You got to be that much more locked in and focused, because while you have the benefit of having done it, you have that added oomph that people are going to bring when they play you. But A’ja, her confidence is unwavering. She keeps her people around her, and when you’ve got people who love and care about you, people who at the end of the day, no matter if there’s people who don’t even know you for real or are doubting you, these things really don’t matter. She’s got her parents, siblings and loved ones around her. She’s not concerned about this internet stuff. She’s like, This stuff is for fun, it’s for play and a lot of y’all take it to the head. But if we were to get rid of social media and media today, she knows she’s got her people who care about her. It’s like, I don’t need y’all to affirm me in any kind of way. 

We saw that throughout the playoffs, too. Chicago, they were feisty. They got Kahleah Copper, Courtney Williams, Izzy Harrison will be back in the future. They got people who are gonna talk, but I know they gotta be a fun team because I know some of the players individually. As for Dallas, they’re huge. They’re like The Monstars: they got players who can score at all three levels, they got good guards, posts, they’ll play fast and rebound the ball really well. Coach T (Latricia Trammell) did a good job with them this year. 

As for New York, they’re talented. They’re a really, really, really good team, and I think our matchup was really great for the game and for the W. When you think about sports, you want to see the rivalries, right? The highlights, the stars are going to be out at the game, viewership will be high. That’s what you want to see for many teams around the League and hopefully we’re on the way to getting into that. 

It wasn’t until after Game 4 in the Finals, as the media was conducting interviews, that I thought about saying something about being disrespected. It’s not even that I had to get it off my chest, because I’m not a trash-talking person. I didn’t say anything throughout the whole game, but once I stood on that podium, I definitely let my intrusive thoughts win. If you disrespect me publicly, I’m gonna disrespect you publicly. 

While I may have not played a lot of minutes in the League throughout the course of my career, I’m still here. Fortunately, teams and coaches still see my value, but even if they hadn’t, I was going to always be good in life because God enables me to see my value. I lowkey get emotional talking about it because I’m like, He will put things in your life and people in your path. Even when I think about how my faith has grown from when I got to the League to where I am now, I’m a transformed person. I want to do something to make God proud, to make my family proud, to make myself proud.

This is one of those moments. It’s taken me a couple of days to process everything; I was just telling Alysha about it, that it still doesn’t feel real. I think partially because it’s really, really hard to go back to back and, as we saw, it hadn’t been done in 20 years. I think it just hadn’t set in for us. Like, dang, we did it. We’re really going to get to celebrate another one again.

It was dope last year to be the first pro team to win one here in Las Vegas—obviously the Vegas Knights, shout out to them. They won the Stanley Cup. Hopefully they repeat, too. That’d be awesome. It just feels cool to be in a city where that wasn’t what it was known for, but hopefully people are coming into Vegas now, not just to go to the Strip, but because they want to come see us play.

To the fans: I speak for all of us in saying that we appreciate the support so much. It’s amazing to be able to go out there and feel how electrifying the arena is and how you love our team and appreciate us being role models to your children. When you stop us to sign autographs and take pictures, that makes us feel cool. It makes us feel supported and appreciated. You all are the best fans in the League. 

We’re truly blessed.

SLAM 247 cover tees and more are available now.

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Important reminder: there was women’s basketball before the WNBA, and there were players who helped elevate the game the whole time. The W has helped take the sport to a whole new level, and for that we are all thankful—and excited to see what’s next. But women were hooping way before David Stern and his gang got involved.

As the authors Pamela Grundy and Susan Shackelford detail in their 2005 book, Shattering the Glass: The Remarkable History of Women’s Basketball, women have been playing the sport since 1892. If we at WSLAM are allowed to use this platform to encourage further research on this topic, we’ve got it for you. Read the aforementioned book, and visit the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, TN. Completing these “assignments” will give you a sense of just how wide this sport’s reach has been and just how many memorable players have influenced
the game’s history. 

For the time being though, we really wanted to concentrate on five players from the pre-W era who we feel every fan of women’s basketball must know about. Some of the players we considered—that we can perhaps cover in the future or that you can simply look up—include Molly Bolin, Joan Crawford, Denise Curry, Anne Donovan, Hortencia Marcari, Pearl Moore, Uljana Semjonova, Theresa Shank-Grentz and Ora Washington. There were also folks who, whether you think of them as pre-W or not, did play in the W era, such as Nancy Lieberman, Katrina McClain and Lynette Woodard.

In the meantime, consider this a Cliffs Notes of sorts. This is an all-WSLAM, pre-WNBA team that would have lost exactly zero games and consists of players that we promise would have been in editions of SLAM/WSLAM had we existed back then.

All fans of the sport should know every single person listed, all members of the inaugural class of inductees into the aforementioned Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999. Class is in session.

Cheryl Miller: The GOAT

It is not sacrilege to say that women’s basketball was not a big part of the zeitgeist when many old-school SLAM staffers—or the mag itself—were growing up. But Cheryl Miller? She seemed to float above the sexism and noise to just be known as a baller. A 6-2 small forward who could score from anywhere on the floor, Miller was a four-time Parade All-American during an outrageous high school career in Riverside, CA, that once saw her put up 105 points in a game her senior year. Miller basically repeated her high school exploits at the college level, staying close to home to star at USC where she again received All-American honors all four years. She led the Trojans to national championships in ’83 and ’84 and posted career numbers that border on the absurd.

Over a four-year, 128-game college career, Miller averaged 23.6 points, 12 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 3.6 steals and 2.5 blocks per game. There was nothing she couldn’t do on the court, and she did it all with a flair and grace that transcended the sport. In the summer of ’84, Miller was the star of the US Olympic team that won Gold right at home in L.A. She hurt her knee soon after college, or else she surely would have made it as a pro with some combination of men’s teams, overseas women’s outfits or hanging on til ’97 and playing the first few years of the W like some of her contemporaries. And yes—her brother is Hall of Famer Reggie Miller, an all-time great in his own right. But don’t get it twisted—Cheryl was the far better player.

Carol Blazejowski The Blaze

A 5-10 shooter with the perfect nickname for a quick scorer, Blazejowski was a late-blooming baller from New Jersey who didn’t get serious about the game until she was a senior at Cranford High School. The Blaze moved just up the Parkway for college, becoming a three-time All-American at Montclair State from 1976-78. Playing before there was a three-point line, Blazejowski nonetheless scored a nation’s best 33.5 ppg in ’76-77 (including a Madison Square Garden-record 52 points in a March win over Queens College) and 38.6 ppg in ’77-78 (including topping 40 in her last three collegiate contests.)

Her hoop options after college were AAU and international play, and she excelled at the latter, winning gold at the ’79 World University Games and FIBA World Championships, where she led Team USA in scoring. She would have been a star on the ’80 Olympic team, but the US boycotted that summer’s Games in Moscow. Blazejowski signed a reported three-year, $150,000 deal with the New Jersey Gems of the short-lived WBL but the league did not last. Fittingly for a woman who set MSG on fire with her performance as a college player, Blaze returned to the Garden as vice president and general manager of the Liberty in ’97 and worked for the W’s flagship franchise through 2010.

Lusia Harris-Stewart: The Queen

A product of the deep South, Harris was one of 11 children born to the sharecropper Willie Harris. All of them hooped, but the 6-3 Lusia had a special gift. A classic big who piled up points and rebounds, Harris attended (barely) integrated Delta State University where she played for legendary coach Margaret Wade (whose name is on the annual Wade Trophy, awarded to the best women’s college player). Harris helped make Delta State the preeminent power of the AIAW, which was the biggest platform for women’s college sports in the ’70s. The only Black player on her team, Harris led Delta State to AIAW championships in ’75, ’76 and ’77 and finished her college career with per-game averages of 25.9 points and 14.4 rebounds. She was also the leading scorer for Team USA at the 1976 Olympics.

Harris achieved notoriety when the NBA’s New Orleans Jazz chose her in the seventh round of the Draft, but she declined the chance to try out for them and was largely out of the sport’s spotlight after that, living a quiet life as a married mother in Mississippi. Lusia’s story got a well-deserved injection of attention with the release of the 2021 documentary, The Queen of Basketball. Directed by Ben Proudfoot with Stephen Curry and Shaquille O’Neal listed as executive producers, the film won the 2022 Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject) just months after Harris-Stewart passed away at the age of 66. Needless to say, the film is a must-watch for readers of this issue.   

Ann Meyers Drysdale: The Athlete

Born into a sports-loving family in Southern California, the 5-9 Meyers’ high school career(s) alone is the stuff of legend: she lettered in seven different sports and won 13 (!) different MVP awards. Meyers then attended UCLA from 1974-78, where she became the first woman to ever receive a four-year athletic scholarship. UCLA more than got its money’s worth from the deal as Meyers was a star the whole time she was in Westwood. She was a four-time All-American and concluded her college career by leading the Bruins to the ’78 AIAW championship. Meyers also hit the podium for Team USA repeatedly in the late-’70s. After college she became the first-ever pick in the WBL and was co-MVP of the fledgling league in ’79-80. Shortly thereafter, she signed a contract with the NBA’s Indiana Pacers and had a legit tryout with them.

When her playing career ended, she pivoted into a ground-breaking, lengthy and extremely successful career as a broadcaster for the likes of the Pacers, Phoenix Suns, WNBA and the Olympics. As for the Drysdale part of her last name? That came when she married former Los Angeles Dodger pitching great Don Drysdale in ’86. When Meyers was voted into the Hoop Hall in ’93, they became the first married couple ever with both parties in their respective Hall of Fames.

Nera White: The Pioneer

Pre-WNBA can still feel like near-modern history when the players in question can still be seen on TV broadcasts and around the sport. But the women’s game has people who built it even before hooping in college was a realistic option. The greatest of the game’s true building blocks from the playing side of things has got to be Nera White. A native of Tennessee who played primarily for Nashville Business College’s AAU team, the 6-1 White was an AAU All-American 15 years in a row (1955-69) and won the AAU Tournament’s MVP award 10 times. As the Basketball Hall of Fame puts it in her bio, White was “quite simply faster, quicker and stronger than most women of that generation.”

Women’s basketball was not an Olympic sport until 1976, but the FIBA women’s World Championship has been around since 1953. White made her mark on that tourney in 1957 in Brazil, when the US faced the Soviet Union for the first time in a major competition. The Americans won the title game over the Soviets, 51-48, wrapping up MVP honors for White, who averaged a team-high 14.1 ppg for the event. White’s performance earned her the unofficial title of best female player in the world, which she could stake a claim to for years after.

Photos via Getty Images.

WSLAM 3 features cover stars A’ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum, Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young.

The post The Hall of Famers Who Helped Pave the Way Long Before the WNBA—from Cheryl Miller to Nera White appeared first on SLAM.

For former 25-year NBA referee Monty McCutchen, that recurring metaphorical journey has become a staple pillar in his weekly meetings with the League’s Referee Development Program. Perfection is impossible as an NBA official, but striving for excellence is always the case. And those inevitable mistakes, they lead to growth. It’s an aspect McCutchen is currently instilling within the program’s six proteges. 

“When you realize you don’t have to be perfect, but that you are willing to push the rock up the mountain every day – every single day – then the pressure becomes an internal dialogue about how you personally want to achieve excellence,” McCutchen tells SLAM. “Not, whether I was perfect in Golden State last night or Oklahoma City or Memphis. And when I make a mistake, I’m going to meet it head-on and try to grow out of it. Training is what overcomes pressure.”

The NBA’s Referee Development Program was once an avenue for the League to attract former players to the profession. Just a few years ago, the program received a revitalized initiative centered on cultivating the next generation of officials. 

Intended for up-and-coming referees looking to gain the skills and foundation necessary for a career in the L, hundreds of thousands of hopefuls applied for the three-year program in 2021. Through rigorous assessments and interviews, only six trainees were selected for the third RDP class. 

Leaving their homes and former jobs for the opportunity the program presented, each trainee made the move to New York City where the NBA’s corporate headquarters are located. On top of their weekly game assignments, the trainees are required to work within the League’s Basketball Operations floor on 5th avenue from Tuesday to Thursday each week. 

The 20th floor of the Olympic Tower in mid-town Manhattan is packed full of basketball expertise. Around the corner, you could bump into Executive VP of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars with a nugget of knowledge. Down the hall, you can find President of League Operations Byron Spruell with a word of advice and a warm smile. 

For three days out of the week, the trainees are submerged within the bustling Basketball Operations floor that McCutchen currently occupies on our Monday morning Zoom call in early March. 

“The RDPs learn the visual syntax of our language. And they’re hearing this all day long, through all the different discussions that we have,” McCutchen explains. “By having them in the office it allows for a much more osmosis type of learning.”

Televisions take up nearly every inch of wall space. Conference rooms are wrapped in NBA logos and player imagery. A collection of signed basketballs line a myriad of shelves and decorative tables. And of course, basketball games are constantly playing. Even the bathrooms have screens positioned above urinals and toilets. 

“This place is basketball heaven,” Dominique Harris says, one of the six trainees enrolled in the program. “There’s not a second that you can’t learn something here.”

Each week every member of the program meets personally with McCutchen to review film of their past games. It’s a collaborative session, one where McCutchen builds on glimpses of success while instructing on missed opportunities to be better. 

Are you in the right spot to read a foul correctly? When a shot goes up, did your eyes go from the wrist to the feet to your secondary responsibilities with the baseline official? In that order? Visual sequencing and repeating the same motions are what ingrain the group with the confidence and know-how necessary for the next step. The mundane is vitally necessary. 

“I found if you don’t create an internal procedure for yourself and how to handle situations, a lot of times little small details can be left out and it can be a big part of the game,” Cynthia Do tells SLAM – who quit her engineering job to move to NYC for the program.

Appointed as the Senior VP and Head of Referee Development and Training in 2017, McCutchen knows it’s his responsibility to provide the group with honest feedback. “One of the things that we are committed toward is this idea of radical candor, delivered compassionately,” he adds. 

Constant exposure to your mistakes, however, can easily take a toll on your mental. With all the external pressures of being assessed and watched while fine-tuning flaws, “you have to balance how you separate, this is my job, and this is me, and my mistakes do not define me,” Do says.

Currently 13 months into the three-year program, resources for the trainees run as rife as the amount of rules and regulations to master. Staten Island native Ashley Olsen has been keen to pick the brains of former officials in the Operations Department. Learning their different philosophies, ways of teaching and experience. 

After finishing her playing career at Wagner College, Olsen caught the refereeing bug from her old middle school teacher. Working high school games in her hometown, the former Northeast Conference Free Throw Champ began attending grassroots camps where she met a few of the women a part of the inaugural RDP cohort, including current G-League official Kesley Reynolds. 

Once introduced to the application, she dove head-first into the pool of opportunity. 

“As a referee, we have to be able to run the game, which means moving it along as best we can without disruption. Managing any disruptive plays we may have, having quarter-by-quarter awareness, knowing this team just went on a run, let’s see how this team responds,” Olsen explains of her most valuable takeaway thus far. 

All six individuals share one common thread; a love for the game was instilled at a young age. Whether they hooped at the Division 1 level, extended they’re playing days in college rec leagues or coincidentally, are the sons of professional referees, that passion has blossomed into a guardian-like stature to uphold the values of the game through officiating. 

For some, like Jacqui Dover, the culture of refereeing here in the states has presented a learning curve for the Gold Coast, Australian native. Dover played in a semi-professional league until a dislocated shoulder pushed her into picking up a whistle while rehabbing. Working her way up over the years, she’s since received appointments in the FIBA World Cup U17 Games alongside the NBL and WNBL – shout out to the good people at the Illawarra Hawks. 

The nuances, mechanics and terminology are all new, and so is the continent. When the group was invited to the NBA’s preseason week, she walked out on the first day with over 30 pages of notes. 

The vast amount of material presented isn’t the only foundation being built upon, as each trainee was tasked by both McCutchen and veteran NBA referee and Referee Association Board Member James Capers to soak up their environment. 

Having run the replay center for the NBL, the NBA’s own center of operations has been a main source of building her acuity. 

“That’s something I always find really valuable to be in the room to see games live and how that operates on the back end,” Dover tells SLAM. “It’s all just like a nice ref nerd heaven.”

“You hear how we’re addressing issues in and amongst the league,” McCutchen adds of the office’s atmosphere. “You hear my commentary in various meetings. You hear the hallway and the water talk in the lunchroom and we talk refereeing at naueseum around here.”

Dover isn’t the only international representation within the diverse group. Carlos Ortega Peralta hails from Ecuador. His mother and grandmother are both well-accustomed to the pebble grain leather ball, making the game inescapable in the best way possible. 

However, it was the influence of his father’s profession—who currently referees in the coastal South African country—that pushed him into wearing the stripes. After asserting his skillset, Ortega Peralta began officiating in the FIBA Ameri Cup while sharing a few games together with his pops during the country’s National Championships. 

He describes the atmosphere on the floor as a machine. The shift in terms, and rules, let alone the language, have all been an adjustment. One he’s learned to hone through McCutchen’s reference of Sysyphus’ daily grind up the hill.

“Everything is about knowledge because when you have more knowledge, you have more control of the game you have more control of you,” Ortega Peralta tells SLAM.

Carlos isn’t the only member with referee blood running through his veins. The older generations may recognize the last name of Jafar Kinsey, son of former NBA official of 14 years Jim Kinsey. 

After playing at the University of Central Missouri and the University of North Dakota, Kinsey’s father nudged him onto the idea of crafting a career from the hardwood on the sidelines. 

Filling in his father’s footsteps, one of Kinsey’s biggest influences through the past year plus has been one of his father’s former partners, James Capers. Described as the workhorse of the program, Capers is just as hands-on with the group as McCutchen. Throughout each interview with the group, Capers’ name is brought up. His influence and expertise are felt immensely.

“Having someone like that in your corner who’s gonna support you through the ups and downs and motivate you to be a better person, as well as a referee, it goes a long way,” Kinsey tells SLAM. “He’s someone you want to work with and make proud of at the end of the day.”

The program wouldn’t be complete, of course, if the group’s proficiency and skills weren’t tested. During the Basketball Without Borders event during this past All-Star Weekend, the group got to flash their acumen in front of McCutchen, Capers and other assessment personnel. 

The chance to impress isn’t taken lightly, especially knowing the more than rigorous hiring process that succeeds the program remains faintly in the distance. 

Throughout a year-long assessment of over 3,000 referees, only the top 100 are placed into the League’s grassroots system, including those underneath the RDP banner. Following further evaluations, the top 50 are elevated to a mid-level camp. Then, only 30 are invited to the elite camp where anywhere from four to thirteen are hired as G-League officials. 

Of the hundreds of available referees within the NBA’s developmental league, only one in five advances to either the work in WNBA or NBA. 

The odds may be daunting, but “I think they all really believe I want them to make it,” McCutchen tells SLAM. “And so from that standpoint, we create a culture in which honest exchanges take place. And that’s the groundwork for dealing with pressure.”

Pressure is a sentiment Dominique Harris has become more than acquainted with through the game. Receiving a scholarship to Gonzaga out of Redondo Union, Harris jokes that she’s been involved in every aspect of basketball from the Referee Operations floor on Zoom. 

Receiving an undergraduate degree in broadcast journalism and a graduate degree in sports management, Harris’ roots in the League were sewn as an intern for the Clippers in college where she connected with now associate VP of Referee Development George Tolliver. 

After freelancing, doing some play-by-play and serving as the head coach for several girl’s high school basketball programs in the LA area, Tolliver was able to convince Harris to apply for the 2017 class. She bombed it. But when 2021 came around, Harris lept at the second chance and made the cut. 

While the group is only required to be within the office three days out of the week, Harris admits she’s taking full advantage of the extensive amount of resources present, clocking into the office from Monday through Friday. 

“I have a feel for the game that I don’t think I would have if I didn’t play or if I didn’t call a game. If I didn’t see it out of all these different lenses, I wouldn’t have this perspective,” Harris tells SLAM of her unique viewpoint. 

Emulating the greats while remaining true to herself has been a certified solution for Harris as she rolls the boulder up the hill daily. 

“It’s been an amazing journey. Everyone has adversities in their life, but in my life, I had a situation where it kind of took my voice. And refereeing gave me my voice back, it gave me courage. Honestly, refereeing brought me back to me, so I don’t imagine my life without it,” Harris tells SLAM.

The Referee Development Program not only readies the next crop of basketball officials but simultaneously removes some of the antiquated myths about the profession. Each and every day the group rolls up their sleeves and fall’s deeper in love with their individual journeys towards becoming a great referee. 

The end goal will always be to referee on an NBA court. In the meantime, McCutchen and Capers are hammering down on the routines and habits the group will rely on years down the road. And the boulder continues to roll. 

“If we allow them to learn the craft, then we really believe that they’re gonna go do good work and serve basketball, wherever that may end up,” McCutchen tells SLAM. “This class, in particular, has been wide-eyed in the best possible connotation of that phrase. They are so eager to learn, and so receptive to what good officiating looks like.” 

The post Inside the NBA’s Referee Development Program appeared first on SLAM.

The 6-7 forward was the obvious choice for this month’s “G League Player to Watch”—not just because of his absurd individual production, but because he led the Rio Grande Valley Vipers on an impressive run to sneak into the playoffs.

First, a brief history lesson. Rio Grande Valley (RGV) has been the most successful franchise in the history of the NBA’s official minor league, reaching six finals and claiming four championships since 2010. Last season, an RGV squad led by MVP Trevelin Queen cruised to the title, going undefeated in the playoffs. The Vipers also won it all in 2019 with a roster that included Gary Payton II and Isaiah Hartenstein.

This year…it wasn’t looking good. Heading into March—the last month of the regular season—RGV had a 10-12 record. The team had dropped four of its previous five, including an embarrassing 26-point loss to the South Bay Lakers at home. If the Vipers wanted to keep their streak of six straight playoff appearances (excluding the season canceled due to COVID) alive, then they had to turn things around right away.

OK, back to Days. An undrafted rookie out of LSU, he signed a Two-Way contract with the Houston Rockets back in October. The 23-year-old is an extremely versatile forward, capable of filling multiple positions with his size, strength and mobility. He has spent most of this season with the Vipers and proven to be a reliable 3-and-D player. At the beginning of March, he stepped up big time…

27 points, 7 rebounds vs. Oklahoma City

33 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals vs. Birmingham

26 points, 10 rebounds vs. Greensboro

28 points, 11 rebounds vs. Iowa

32 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals vs. Iowa

22 points, 12 rebounds, 2 steals vs. Memphis

The Vipers won all six of those games to climb back into the playoff picture, and after splitting their next four, they locked up the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference. Days posted 25.7 points, 9.9 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game across that stretch, shooting 50 percent from the field and 40 percent from three. He barely turned the ball over—just seven times in 10 games—despite averaging 38.6 minutes (the fifth highest mark in the league). Less than 72 hours after the Vipers clinched their playoff spot, he was named G League Player of the Month for March.

The Vipers upset the 2-seed Lakers in the Conference quarterfinals with guard Jalen Lecque sealing the deal with this tough game-winning lay-up. And Days? He delivered, of course: 21 points (on 7/13 shooting), 8 rebounds and 2 blocks. 

You can catch Days and the Vipers in the G League Finals as they face off against the Delaware Blue Coats. Tune in now through April 9 on ESPNU and ESPNews.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Luka Garza, Forward, Iowa Wolves: 30.5 points, 10 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.3 blocks, 68 FG%, 46 3P% (4 GP)

Carlik Jones, Guard, Windy City Bulls: 26.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 6 assists, 2.3 steals, 46 FG%, 35 3P%

Jahmi’us Ramsey, Guard, Oklahoma City Blue: 26 points, 4.4 rebounds, 58 FG%, 38 3P%

Lester Quinones, Guard, Santa Cruz Warriors: 24.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 46 FG%

Jack White, Forward, Grand Rapids Gold: 23.3 points, 10.8 rebounds, 55 FG%, 38 3P%

Trevelin Queen, Guard, Fort Wayne Mad Ants: 23.2 points, 7.4 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 2.1 steals, 50 FG%

Mfiondu Kabengele, Forward, Maine Celtics: 21.7 points, 11.9 rebounds, 61 FG%, 41 3P%

Zavier Simpson, Guard, Lakeland Magic: 17.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, 8.4 assists, 1.7 steals, 50 FG%, 43 3P%

REGULAR SEASON CHAMPS

Eastern Conference: Long Island Nets (23-9)

Western Conference: Stockton Kings (25-7)

Scoring Champ: Carlik Jones (26.1)

Assists Champ: Jacob Gilyard (9.7)

Rebounds Champ: Jayce Johnson (13.5)

Blocks Champ: Jay Huff (3.1)

Steals Champ: Jaden Springer (2.3)

3PT Champ: Mychal Mulder (129)

MARCH CALL-UPS

Luka Samanic, Forward, Maine Celtics to Utah Jazz

Xavier Sneed, Forward, Greensboro Swarm to Charlotte Hornets

Jay Scrubb, Guard, Lakeland Magic to Orlando Magic

Lester Quinones, Guard, Santa Cruz Warriors to Golden State Warriors (twice this month)

Trevor Keels, Guard, Westchester Knicks to New York Knicks

Lindell Wiggington, Guard, Wisconsin Herd to Milwaukee Bucks

Jamaree Bouyea, Guard, Sioux Falls Skyforce to Washington Wizards

Jared Butler, Guard, Grand Rapids Gold to Oklahoma City Thunder

Sam Merrill, Guard, Cleveland Charge to Cleveland Cavaliers

Jay Huff, Center, South Bay Lakers to Washington Wizards

Xavier Moon, Guard, Ontario Clippers to Los Angeles Clippers

More below:

Willie Cauley-Stein, Center, Rio Grande Valley Vipers to Houston Rockets

Kobi Simmons, Guard, Greensboro Swarm to Charlotte Hornets

Gabe York, Guard, Fort Wayne Mad Ants to Indiana Pacers

Skylar Mays, Guard, Mexico City Capitanes to Portland Trail Blazers

Shaquille Harrison, Guard, South Bay Lakers to Portland Trail Blazers

Jeenathan Williams, Guard, Salt Lake City Stars to Portland Trail Blazers

Justin Minaya, Forward, Mexico City Capitanes to Portland Trail Blazers

Photos via Getty Images.

The post G League Player to Watch (March): Darius Days appeared first on SLAM.

“At that time my dream was already to make the NBA, so I was saying, hey that’s a Japanese guy playing in the NBA, I feel like I can do that too. I gotta go to work,” Watanabe tells SLAM.

Once time expired he picked up his basketball and went straight to work. He hasn’t looked back since. 

It’s been no secret that “Yutamania” has struck the Brooklyn Nets at their core this season. As of press time, the 6’8 forward is leading the League in three-point percentage, a scintillating 50.6 percent to be exact. From “Big Shot-anabe” to “Got-anabe” to “Yuta the Shootah”—Ian Eagle’s been having a whole lot of fun this year—Watanabe always seems to be in the right spot at the right time.

Sprinting to the deep corner on each possession and crashing the glass as the shot clock dwindles, the former G-League product has been a driving catalyst for the Net’s climb back toward the top of the East with his marksmanship and adhesive defensive presence. 

“It didn’t just happen over the summer or only this season, I’ve been putting in work since day one. It’s just slowly paying off now,” Watanabe says over Zoom from a downtown Phoenix hotel in mid-January. 

The career numbers aren’t just a factor of (formerly) sharing the court with KD, Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons, but as Watanabe says, it’s the confidence they have in him that’s added fuel to his accuracy. Anytime he knocks down a trey, dives for a loose ball or strikes up a clean contest at the rim, there’s Kevin dapping him up, or Royce O’Neal smacking his head in approval. 

“The other reason I’m shooting well is because of them. They always support me, give me confidence, all kinds of stuff,” Watanabe says.

For an 18-year-old graduate from Jinsei Gakuen High School, Watanabe had to blaze his own path to the League. Spending a year at St. Thomas Moore led to a four-year career at George Washington University. From earning a two-way contract with the Grizzlies to suiting up in Toronto to having his contract with the Nets guaranteed in early January, Watanabe has left breadcrumbs in his wake for the next generation to follow.

Sift through any highlight of Yuta on YouTube, and we mean any, and you’ll find comments sprinkled throughout written in Japanese. The second-ever Japanese-born player to reach the Association has grown accustomed to being one of the firsts. From becoming the first Japanese player to earn a Division 1 scholarship at George Washington to having the best-selling NBA jersey in Japan two years running. 

The Nets were also the most-watched team on Japan’s NBA Rakuten streaming service through January. 2nd, up 83 percent from last season.

Droves of Japanese reporters have followed the dubbed “Chosen One” since he was 16 years old playing for the country’s national team. He’s always provided candor and grace. Expanding his time for questions more than once over so that publications thousands of miles away can report back as much information as possible about the 28-year-olds journey.

As just the second-ever Japanese-born player to play in the L, there’s rarely been a time when talk around Watanabe has fallen to a whisper. As such, the son of two former Japanese professional basketball players has long since been keen on his controllables. 

“There are a lot of things that I can’t control, but there are always things that I can control like my work ethic. Every day, that should never change no matter what,” Watanabe tells SLAM.

The effort he exudes on a daily basis has only begun to pay off on the biggest hardwood stage in the world. 

Dropping a season-high 20 points in Portland on a gloomy mid-November night, the following home game against the Memphis Grizzles would prove to be yet another defining moment in his budding career. 

Ending the third quarter up by three in their crisp white Basquiat-inspired City Edition jerseys, the Nets were shot out of a canon to start the fourth enacting an 18-5 run fueled by four threes from Watanabe against his former squad. 

Subbing out of the game to a standing ovation from the Barclays crowd, thousands of voices shouted his name in unison. A prototypical sporting gesture, but one Watanabe had never experienced until that fateful November night. 

“After the game they’re all standing up calling my name, that was something I never thought would happen. It was an emotional moment for me,” Watanabe says. 

Atop his NBA responsibilities, the weight of an entire nation’s hopes surrounding the sport rest, in part, on Watanabe’s shoulders. An ambassadorship he’s always been keen to foster; knowing his growth broadens the avenues for future hoopers. 

And with over 30,000 Japanese Nationals living throughout the five boroughs and beyond, you’d be hard-pressed to not find the culture’s immense impact. Case in point?  the Keio Academy of New York located in upper Purchase, Harrison. 

An overseas branch of Minato City’s Keio University, Yuta got to witness firsthand the impact he’s made as he ducked through the door frame of the main gym on the morning of November 28th.

Shaking each other in uncontrollable excitement while boasting permanent smiles strewn across the gym, the cheers of the boys and girls varsity teams grew louder with each cross-over, step-back three and throwdown. Oh no, Yuta didn’t take it easy on ‘em. “That’s something every NBA player has to do even when you’re going against even high school players, you gotta show them who we are,” Watanabe says with a laugh.

Rekindling his joy for the game, the eyes and expression of each player’s face mirrored the look etched onto an 8-year-old Watanabe when he watched Tabuse take the court on TV. Reminiscing back to a time when he shared their same hopes and dreams, Watanabe said to himself afterward, “Yeah when I was in high school I was like them. I was just enjoying basketball, always smiling. It was really amazing.”

But when he first expressed his NBA dreams and traveling to the States, jubilantly youthful Watanabe was laughed at, told his “dreams” were too far-fetched, unrealistic. It’s not like a path was clearly paved for Yuta to walk like the hundreds of US-born draft hopefuls each year. In the meantime, the work would have to do. And now that he’s here, he’s steadfast on broadening the avenue he’s strutted down thus far.

“I think it’s really important for me to keep inspiring them,” Watanabe said. “They don’t have to be me. I want them to dream bigger. I want them to feel like, ‘I wanna be Kevin Durant. I wanna be like Kyrie Irving.’ Just don’t be Yuta Watanabe. Dream bigger.”

But to be honest, being Yuta Watanabe sounds pretty great. 

Photo via Getty Images.

The post After Leading the League in Three-Point Percentage, Yuta Watanabe is Continuing to Blaze his Own Path appeared first on SLAM.

Unheard. 

Felt. 

Seen. 

The bright beam reverberates through all of Sacramento as a visual sign that the Kings have won again. 

The glow reveals. 

It’s been accompanied by a surprising surge from the League’s most dormant franchise. On the day that the Kings opened the doors of Golden 1 Center to us, the squad had climbed to fourth place in the Western Conference. More winning has been joined by flow ideals, an offense ever in motion. 

In this new tradition of the beam, De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis have shined brightest for the revamped Kings. 

SLAM 242 is available now featuring De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis.

But there had been much darkness before the duo helped bring about this newfound purple illumination. The Kings haven’t made the playoffs since 2006. An ownership change, countless player transactions and nine different head coaches have been part of the last loss-filled 17 years. The days of Chris Webber’s stellar squads were followed by 20-point-guarantee Kevin Martin and then the promise of DeMarcus Cousins. Time and time again, though, nothing happened. Just losing. Almost forgotten up in northern California over these long years, this year’s Kings team came out from all of that darkness with a bright signal sent up into the NBA’s atmosphere—the beam.

“I think we were in L.A.,” Fox says about his first memory of the beam. “I think that was, like, what, three, four games in this season? Yeah,” he checks with Sabonis sitting on his right. “So this is early on, this season. I want to say we were in L.A. when the beam came out and they kept it up for when we came home.”

From the imagination of Tim Anderson, owner and founder of Nu-Salt Laser International, the beam is officially called the Laser Space Cannon. Anderson lives in Folsom, CA, which is about 30 minutes from Golden 1. He’s been operating Nu-Salt for 28 years and has gotten to play a major role in the Kings’ journey from the dark to the light. Somehow, neither Anderson nor anyone on the Kings’ staff told the players about the beam before the season began. 

“Oh, we had no idea,” Sabonis tells us. “Even when it started, like, the first couple of games, we didn’t really pay attention to it. It was only until Kev[in Huerter] hashtagged #BeamTeam and then after that it blew up.” 

Fox jumps in to tell the story of when he first caught it with his own eyes. “I think my first time seeing it was after a home game. I was leaving and, right here on Fifth Street, there’s a light. And if you’re in the driver’s seat, you can’t see it. So I literally got outta the car to see it.”

He says it was too late in the night for any fans to notice him. But that’s pretty much been the only time he’s gone unnoticed this year. Fox has been impossible to miss for fans, opposing players, scouts and coaches. Still possessing all of the untamed speed that made him famous coming out of Cypress Lakes (Katy, TX) High School in 2016, the lefty point guard has totally harnessed his floor general skills, repeatedly capitalizing on drop coverage out of pick-and-roll with mid-range pull-ups or hitting waiting shooters on the wings and in the corners. Most importantly, he’s been unflinching in the clutch, whether those final moments have called for him to shoot or run the offense. 

Over many, many years, the really, very, actually legitimately smartest doctors and scientists around have studied the hippocampus, the part of the human mind that is the center of memory. Those really, very, actually legitimately smart doctors and scientists have found that strenuous physical activity done with peers can form incredibly strong and lasting memories. 

Under the glare of the incredibly strong bulbs of the Golden 1 Center, where Fox and Sabonis have been forging memory after memory, we ask them to share which moment so far has created the most enduring memory. A countdown of 3, 2, 1 produces: 

“Fox’s buzzer-beater,” Sabonis says. 

“You know what’s funny? I was gonna say that one at first,” Fox says giddily. “The one in Orlando, right? Dang. I was gonna say that, too. I also didn’t wanna sound selfish.”

“That shot changed, I feel like, everything, the vibes in the locker room,” Sabonis follows. “Because it was early in the season, too.”

Just the eighth game of the year for the guys in purple, they were knotted at 123 with the Magic in overtime. The crowd was going crazy after the home squad got a steal and tied the game with a dunk. There were 6.6 seconds left on the clock. Sharpshooting big Trey Lyles inbounded the rock to vet Harrison Barnes. Fox was visibly calling for the ball, holding out both of his hands at Barnes. He wanted to take the shot. Four right-handed dribbles got him across the timeline and he transferred the ball into his left hand. 

They weren’t stopping the ball? 

They really weren’t stopping the ball. 

The official NBA box score lists that game-winner as a 31-footer. But he was barely inside of the halfcourt stripe, just above the star in the Magic’s logo. The shot cashed right as the red lights flashed and the horn sounded. They were all seeing him in the light now. It was a clutch moment where Fox had to lead his guys, an extremely important memory that was crafted together. Sabonis was under the hoop, motioning for his point guard to put it up. When the shot dropped, Sabonis ran all the way across the court with both of his arms raised high. 

“I was like, Shoot! Is he gonna shoot? Because he slowed down and I’m like, Wait, what’s he doing?” Sabonis says. “In my mind, he’s so fast. He’s gonna lay it up, and then he slows down and I’m like, There’s two seconds left. What’s he doing?”

“And what I saw was, they started loading up, so I’m like, There’s nowhere to go,” Fox joins in. “So I just kind of started lining up a shot and I was gonna do the, I told you,” he says with a look to Sabonis, “the ‘Gilbert Arenas,’ where you shoot it, turn around. I was starting to turn around because it felt good. I told Malik [Monk], I was like, It felt good when it left my hands, but I didn’t want to turn around and then you miss, now you look like Swaggy P. It felt good. Like you said, it was great vibes for the team after that.”

Team being the key word. In addition to these two, Huerter, Monk, Lyles, Barnes, Keegan Murray, Terence Davis, Davion Mitchell and Chimezie Metu have each had multiple moments in the spotlight. The Kings have a top-five offense because of Fox, for sure. Also because Sabonis can score and pass like very few other centers in the League. He’s a real-ass seven-footer, standing sturdy and immovable. Head coach Mike Brown has fully utilized his playmaking ability. Top of the key, elbow-extended or from the post, that flow ideal movement revolves around him like he’s the sun. There are very few who convert better than him, with more frequency, as the roll man. Huerter leads the League in points off dribble handoffs because Sabonis is the one doing the setups. He’s a two-time All-Star who somehow only shoots 11 times a game and still averages 18 points with ultra efficiency. Predictably, Sabonis downplays his role in establishing this year’s squad as a scoring machine. 

“We have these couple plays that we run,” he says. “[I’m] always looking for the backdoor. We have a lot of shooters, you know, [defenders] try and load up, so [I’m] always looking for that. And then, I don’t know, I see a shooter—I mean, it’s pretty easy on this team. Everyone can shoot. So there’s not much I have to do. I just gotta set a solid screen without getting an offensive foul. And then they take care of everything.”

That’s a rudimentary explanation of an offense only possible with the rare big man capable of spotting cutters on the backline, reading coverages in real-time and being able to go get a bucket by himself when necessary. Fox attributes it all to a feel and knowledge of the game that can’t be quantified.

When pressed just a little harder about his shine this season, Sabonis goes more in-depth. 

“I feel like they did a great job this summer of putting a plan together on the offensive end where it really shows that I can playmake more,” he says of Coach Brown and his staff. “There’s a lot of elbow-catching where I’ve wanted to do in the past, so they’ve really let me be myself. And then the team with the shooters, with Fox, the speed, everything, like, it just makes it so much easier. I don’t even think they knew we could do all this, to be honest, you know?

“And, like Fox said, our chemistry and relationships with different players, that’s what’s making, I think, the offense click so good,” he continues. “Everybody knows each other, and we’re basically reading or making up things as we go on in the game. Very freelance. We’re not playing selfishly, we’re just playing the right way, so it looks good, and coaches agree, and then they just let us do our game.”

The other aspect of this special offense is that the Kings’ best players are both lefties. Because the world’s population is only made up of about 10-15 percent left-handed people, being lefty in any sport is a special advantage. It’s even more specialized in the NBA, where only 5-10 percent of players are left-handed. Nearly every hooper grows up learning to defend righties. Basketball neurogenesis is established early to react to the hand that about 90 percent of players favor. It’s an important distinction that Fox’s speed and Sabonis’ strength result in left-handed baskets. 

Because it’s so rare to be left-handed, most lefties don’t grow up with similarly-handed teammates. Playing with other lefties requires adjustment and discussion in order to fully optimize the uniqueness of the anomaly. 

The majority of lefties favor the right side of the floor so that when they come downhill, their momentum is leaning back to that left side. The February 2022 trade that sent Sabonis to Sac resulted in an early conversation between the Lithuanian star and Fox. 

“Everybody guards me to go right,” Fox says. “And whenever we would play against [Sabonis], we would send the ballhandler left so that he would roll right. So when he first got here, I told him, I was like, Yo, I’ll go right so that you can get back left. And most teams are gonna force me right anyways. It’s worked out.”

How much it works out into April and May remains to be seen. Sabonis is 26 years old and Fox is 25. By the time this issue ships to our printers, they will have just played 50 games with each other, meaning that even if it doesn’t work out in April and May, the darkness that the Kings have gone through is about to be a faded memory, replaced by new stories physically written under the gleam of increasingly glaring lights.

The night is always darkest before dawn. Look to the west for the rising of this new light, a purple among the haze of night, brighter still with hope that had long been missing from Sacramento. 

SLAM 242 is out now in this exclusive Gold Metal Edition and Cover Tee.

Portraits by Atiba Jefferson.

The post De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis and the Beam Team are Lighting up the NBA appeared first on SLAM.

Here’s what happened in the NBA and WNBA over the weekend. Let’s get it!

Draymond Green Gets Candid in Interview with Taylor Rooks

Draymond Green recently sat down with Taylor Rooks of Bleacher Report. The Warriors legend dropped some revealing gems during their interview. Green admitted “the writings on the wall” when he was asked about leaving the Warriors as a free agent.

The two parties have had some incredible highs as four-time champs and a record-setting 2015-2016 regular, but the lows have been low during public spats with head coach Steve Kerr, Kevin Durant, and a controversial altercation with teammate Jordan Poole. When it comes to that infamous moment, Green said their relationship is “a work in progress,” and he’s willing to do the work because he was wrong.

He also said they “definitely moved forward” and that he’s “seen improvements day by day, week by week, month by month.”

TOMORROW pic.twitter.com/avHPFxt6MV

— Taylor Rooks (@TaylorRooks) January 13, 2023

Ja Morant’s Challenge to All Rim Protectors: ‘Jump with Me if You Want to Go Viral’

Do not get it confused; Ja Morant will never back down. The former No. 2 overall pick has posterized many a rim protector. Few, if any, were as impressive as Morant’s yam on Jalen Smith. The unbelievable slam was punctuated by Memphis winning their ninth straight game after beating Indiana, 130-112, on Sunday.

Postgame, Morant admitted his thunderous dunk was his best of the difficulty. Morant felt so good about it that he challenged all rim protectors to jump with him if they wanted to go viral.

“It’s what everybody has been waiting for. I finally made it.”

jump with me if you want to go viral https://t.co/3ESSiC3A1w

— Ja Morant (@JaMorant) January 15, 2023

Jonquel Jones is Headed to New York Via Blockbuster Trade

Jonquel Jones is on the move! The 2021 MVP was a part of a three-team deal that will send her to the New York Liberty, while Rebecca Allen and Natasha Howard will be sent to the Connecticut Sun and Dallas Wings, respectively. The Wings will also receive Liberty guard Crystal Dangerfield, Kayla Thornton will go to New York, and Ty Harris is headed to Connecticut.

Connecticut will also receive the No. 6 overall pick in the 2023 WNBA Draft.

JONQUEL TO BROOKLYN?!

Welcome to free agency @RachGall @Winsidr pic.twitter.com/PpZqvW1hgn

— WSLAM (@wslam) January 15, 2023

Nikola Jokic’s Game-Winner Sinks Orlando

Nikola Jokic delivered a stepback game-winner to sink the Orlando Magic 119-116. The back-to-back MVP posted 17 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists on 8-11 shooting from the field and 1-4 from beyond the arc.

“He stepped back, got the space, and just shot over the top,” teammate Aaron Gordon said per ESPN. “It was a beautiful shot.”

EVERY ANGLE OF NIKOLA JOKIC’S STEPBACK GAME-WINNER pic.twitter.com/007JQYDLas

— NBA (@NBA) January 16, 2023

LeBron James Inches Closer to History After Scoring 38,000 Career Points

The King is the second player to score 38,000 career points and is now 364 points away from breaking Hall-of-Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbarr’s career scoring record. James accomplished the historic feat after knocking down a three-pointer from the top of the arc. The four-time MVP posted 35 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists in the Lakers’ heartbreaking 113-112 loss to the 76ers.

LeBron tonight:

35 PTS
8 REB
10 AST

Only the second player in NBA history to score 38,000 career points pic.twitter.com/W7DvUvFB7s

— NBA (@NBA) January 16, 2023

The post Weekend Recap: LeBron James Makes History and Ja Morant Challenges All Rim-Protectors appeared first on SLAM.

When we caught up with Redick after filming was done, he was just as reflective about his playing career and going into broadcasting and sports media.

“I think a big part of it was just going to play for the Clippers, to be honest with you,” Redick says of how he’s transitioned into media while being introverted. “Duke felt like a bubble. And then Orlando is a smaller market, even when we were really good it didn’t feel big. And when I went to the Clippers, big media market, a lot of eyeballs, we were a good team. The city’s huge. You start meeting people, you’re randomly at a fundraiser for the Democratic Party at Magic Johnson’s house and you’re up on stage with Harry Reid. And you’re like, what? How did I f***ing end up here? I’m taking a picture with Diane Keaton. 

“By the time I was doing ESPN [and] by the time we had launched the ‘The Old Man and Three’ in 2020, I was very comfortable by then. I look at those four years in L.A. as sort of the growth and the journey. That, to me, was a pivotal moment in my life—and it coincided with me becoming a father.  That gave me a whole new perspective on things and what mattered and not caring as much to be honest with you. Not being so sensitive.” 

The decision to get into podcasting for Redick really started out of curiosity. “It was something other than basketball, which is something that I had thought about for a long time,” he says, later adding: “It’s weird, because I grew up so introverted and now I have to have gotten comfortable. I have to talk a lot on camera.” 

It was around 2012-2013 when Redick, who was then playing on the Orlando Magic, took a trip to Boston to visit his best friend from high school. They hit up Fenway, as well as Harvard, where they ended up having a two-hour long conversation on the quad. “I remember thinking at the time, ‘I wish somebody had recorded that.’ I didn’t have the podcast [yet].” This moment ultimately contributed to the start of a journey that would lead to Redick diving into podcasting. 

Now, Redick has established himself as one of the strongest voices within sports media, offering both a deep knowledge of the game, as well as a player-first perspective. Whether he’s challenging Stephen A. Smith on ESPN’s First Take, interviewing superstars around the NBA on the “The Old Man and Three” podcast, including Stephen Curry and Jayson Tatum, alongside co-host Tommy Alter, or going back and forth with the DraftKing’s Starting Five about the state of the game today, Redick admits that these are all skills—public speaking, asking questions, getting subjects to open up—that he’s had to learn and develop over time. Since he became the first active player to host a podcast when he launched a weekly show with Yahoo Sports in 2016, Redick has spent the past five years perfecting his craft with the same preparedness and attentiveness to the game as he did as a player. 

“There are certainly comparisons, there are certainly similarities. I think a lot about preparation. For me, being undersized with a short wingspan, not particularly bouncy, not particularly agile—I mean relative to you, I’m a better athlete, but relative to NBA players, I was on the lower end of the spectrum. So I had to prepare and people tell me all the time, and it drives me f***ing crazy, ‘Oh, you’re a natural.’ And I’m like, ‘Mmm, no, I’m not.’ It goes back to the extroverted thing. I’m not. I’ve actually got hundreds and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of reps. Like last year, I would do a f***ing five-minute SportsCenter hit at 12 o’clock, I’m preparing 45 minutes for that. I get the questions. I’m doing my research. I’m thinking about clips. I do it the same way I played. That’s how I had to play and I look at it [like] I have to do it the same way here…Look, if we’re being honest, you go to Miami in Game 4, you’re down and you hit a big bucket down the stretch, you make the game-sealing free throws, and Joel gets the rebound to end the game and you’re going back in the locker room with your teammates to fly back to Philly to close them out. There’s no better feeling than that. We probably, as athletes, we probably won’t ever feel that again. There’s got to be some level of acceptance on that but you can still grind and search and challenge yourself in ways that you approximate that.”

When he’s watching the game these days, Redick pays keen attention to body language—a skill he learned at Duke while playing under Mike Krzyzewski. 

“I think it’s because I played for Coach K, I am big on watching body language—and I know that sounds weird. There’s four or five actions you can run in the NBA, and there’s three or four ways to defend those actions, generally. There’s some creativity around watching Phoenix or Dallas—the different ways they get into the pick and roll. I find it fascinating and when I call their games, I’ve tried to find ways to point this out and break it down because I think most casual fans [are like], ‘Explain pick and roll. What’s that?’ [and] the Twitter nerds, they love it.  But I watch body language a lot and when I’m evaluating a team, I’m watching the body language. When I’m evaluating a team winning or losing, I’m watching the body language. I’m watching players that have edge—I am fascinated by Jose Alvarado, T.J. McConnell, Marcus Smart. I love watching those guys. 

“And then, as a true basketball fan, and this is where I, like, for whatever reason, run into such headwinds. I appreciate greatness. Shouldn’t we all? I guess not because so much of the narrative side of it is pointing out all the failures of great players versus celebrating the longevity, the scoring, the winning. It annoys the f**** out of me, to be honest with you. It does. I love watching Tatum play, I love watching Ja Morant. I view games through the analytical lens for sure, but I’m also just a basketball fan. I retired and I was like, I’m going to take a break, and then I had to sign up for ESPN, but then, like, f***ing two weeks into the season I’m like, Jesus, man, I’m doing the same thing I did as a player. I’m watching eight [NBA] League Pass games, switching back and forth channels, channels, channels, and then it’s 12:30 at night and I’m like, Okay, I can finally go to bed because I’ve watched all the games.”

For Redick, there’s “two components” to the way he approaches his work now as an analyst and podcast host: “There’s the analysis of the game, which to me, seems very black and white,” he explains. “In that, I can go look at advanced stats, and I can talk about them all day, I can watch a play, and I can break that down. It’s cut and dry. The narrative side of media, which is where I think I’ve made some headway, if that makes sense, that is the gray. Tobias [Harris] and I talk about this all the time, because he was such a black and white person, and it used to drive me crazy. I’d be like, ‘Dude, you gotta learn to live in the gray.’ And I like to live in the gray. That’s how I operate in my life. And so I think, every conversation we have about narrative, it’s always super nuanced. I enjoy having those conversations. That, to me, is where you get a lot of disagreement. And that’s inevitable, because so and so player, team, their stans. And you are never going to change the opinion of a stan. You’re just not. But I enjoy having those conversations. And I’m not always right. I know I’m not always right. And I knew when I was wrong. I do, or at least I try to. Kings fans, I’ve acknowledged that I’ve admitted the whole trade, whatever.”

Then there’s Redick’s ability to understand his subjects, an attribute that has made him so compelling as an analyst. He’s been there, not just on the court, but as a professional athlete who’s been put under a magnifying lens by the media and general public. When the scrutiny surrounding Russell Westbrook gets brought up mid-interview, Redick offers both perspectives—there’s the one that only he, and his former NBA teammates, could ever possibly understand, and then there’s the outside, fan perspective. “So, number one, we’ve all been memed and GIF-ed. I think we’re all cognizant that the camera is on us, but we’re also human. And I remember during the [NBA] bubble, our second game, we got blasted by the Clippers and I had to lay down because of my back, so I never sat on the bench. I’m rolling my back …and I’m, like, staring into the abyss. That became a GIF for, like, four days and it’s like, Yeah, you caught me in a bad moment. I was f***ing pissed. We were losing by 30 in the third quarter. Like, it happens. So, the body language part I get and certainly players like Russ are scrutinized, especially once different storylines get added in.” 

It’s in the gray area where Redick shines most. By intertwining his knowledge of the game and 15 years of playing experience with his understanding of how NBA fandom works, as well as the media, Redick has been able to get players around the League to let their guard down and open up about never-before talked about topics, from mental health to getting cut from a team, in a way most broadcasters could only imagine. He’s still that same determined, competitive and straight-up clutch sharpshooter that he was at Duke and in the League—the only difference now is that he’s bringing that same passion to every assignment, every game and every interview. 

“It’s the juice. Yeah, that’s the juice for me,” Redick says of getting players to open up. “When I played, the competition part was such a drug. And the highs of it were just so good. The lows were so bad. But it was so addicting, all of it was so addicting. And as athletes we really struggle to recapture that in our post-playing days, it’s damn near impossible. I sometimes get it on the golf course. Going back to recording, for the podcast, for me, that is the drug. When PJ Tucker talks about how, at the end of his first season, the Raptors cut him and prior to cutting him for the playoff run, they brought him into the office, the whole staff was there, and they showed we’ve had a camera on you. For the last two weeks, here’s your body language in huddles, here’s your body language when your teammates scores, here’s your body language in practice. Like, when he tells that story, that’s a high for me. When DeMar [DeRozan] opens up about his mental health approach and his struggles and his journey there, that’s a high for me. You don’t always get that in every interview or every episode, but when you get it, God, it’s so f***ing good.”

Watch the latest episode of the DraftKings Starting Five series featuring JJ Redick here. 

The post JJ Redick Quickly Became a Rising Star in Sports Media by Approaching it the Same Way He Approached the Game appeared first on SLAM.

The former first-round NBA draft pick has evolved from carving out a valuable 3-and-D wing to a versatile swiss army knife capable of scoring and defending in multiple ways. This season, Anunoby is averaging 18.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and an NBA-leading 2.4 steals per game on 47.4 percent shooting from the floor and 33.6 percent from beyond the arc.

NBA leaders in Matchup Difficulty (min 250 minutes):

1. Quentin Grimes
2. Dorian Finney-Smith
3. Jrue Holiday
4. Lu Dort
5. Jevon Carter
6. OG Anunoby
7. Herb Jones
8. Kevon Harris
9. Deni Avdija
10. Alex Caruso

These defenders guard the NBA’s elite most often.

Explainer Vid pic.twitter.com/Bojz552Kkq

— BBall Index (@The_BBall_Index) December 20, 2022

According to Lowe, if Anonoby gets traded, people around the League will be surprised that the return “might be on par almost with what the Cavs gave up for Donovan Mitchell.”

Anonoby’s two best offensive performances came in season-high 32-point efforts against Miami in Orlando. Defensively, he collected six steals in a win against the Atlanta Hawks. He’s held former MVP Kevin Durant to 2-6 shooting, Mitchell to 2-7 shooting, and Jimmy Butler to just one field goal with his unique blend of strength, size, and athleticism.

At his current level, Anonuby’s game represents the ideal example the Raptors or any NBA franchise seek, a two-way menace capable of locking down their matchups that can create turnovers and extra buckets and can get buckets in various ways.

For now, Anonuby will suit up with the Raptors (13-18) and look to break up their six-game losing streak with a win against the Knicks (17-13).

The post REPORT: the ‘Entire League’ is Looking to Add OG Anunoby appeared first on SLAM.

“I also want to make one thing very clear: I intend to play basketball for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury this season, and in doing so, I look forward to being able to say ‘thank you’ to those of you who advocated, wrote, and posted for me in person soon. 

When news broke of the eight-time All-Star’s freedom, the basketball community rejoiced and sent all BG their best wishes and celebrations.

Griner thanked her family, friends, supporters, and her faith for “keeping her going” during her wrongful detainment in Russia.

“I am grateful to each person who advocated for me, especially my wife, Cherelle Griner, my family, Lindsay Kagawa Colas and Casey Wasserman and my whole team at Wasserman, Vince Kozar and the Phoenix Mercury, the players of the WNBA, and my entire WNBA family, Terri Jackson and the WNBPA staff, my Russian legal team Maria Blagovolina and Alex Boykov, the leaders, activists, and grassroots organizations, Gov. Richardson and Mickey Bergman of the Richardson Center, the Bring Our Families Home Campaign, Roger Carstens and the SPEHA team, and of course, a special thank you to President Biden, Vice President Harris, Secretary Blinken and the entire Biden-Harris Administration,” she wrote.

Griner’s full statement is below.

View this post on Instagram

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The post Brittney Griner Shares Public Statement for the First Time, and Plans on Competing this WNBA Season appeared first on SLAM.

While Brunson is averaging 21.3 points and 6.5 assists at a career-best rate for NY, the Mavericks have fallen short of expectations in the first quarter of the season. Other than Luka Magic – the Slovenian is averaging 33.6 points (1st in the League), 8.7 assists (4th in the League), and 8.7 rebounds a contest – the Mavs offense has struggled, resulting in an unsettling record under .500.

A Western Conference Finals team last season, Dallas fans and critics alike have searched for critical shortcomings in the team’s current makeup and performance. General manager Nico Harrison spoke with Dallas News and broke down his perspective on the Mavs’ slow start. 

Mav’s shooters aren’t shooting well:

Harrison believes a core component of their losses is their failure to knock down shots. The shooting struggles have led to Dallas dropping games to Detroit (6-18 record), Orlando (5-17), Houston (5-16), and OKC (9-13). They’ve failed to execute on the road; their drive-and-kick offense is struggling to produce. Doncic is the offense’s engine as both the primary drive-and-kicker and scorer, and Harrison wants to see shooters ease Doncic’s workload by doing a better job of finishing plays. 

Although “not resigning Jalen (Brunson) wasn’t [their] choice,” the GM has no regrets:

The front office received heavy criticism for a) not resigning Brunson and b) not pursuing other point guards in free agency after losing Brunson. The Mavs undoubtedly feel his loss. However, Harrison has no regrets. 

“I have faith in the guys that we have here. Again, guys haven’t made shots, but we’ve seen them do it, and I have faith in them. I think if guys make shots just at the rate or slightly below what they normally do, we’re not even having this conversation. I think that erases a lot of the doubt or the feeling that we’re not quite achieving what the expectations would’ve been. The law of averages, they eventually equal out, and guys will make shots.”

Josh Green and Kemba Walker are two bright spots:

In his third season in the League, Josh Green is stepping up as a solid role player for Dallas. VP of Basketball Operations Michael Finley called Green the “MVP of the summer.” Harrison added, “he was in the gym working hard, and you can see. You see the production that he’s had. Not surprised. Happy for him. Happy for us, too, but more for him.”

Additionally, the Mavs signed Kemba Walker earlier this week. Harrison has no expectations for Kemba and simply hopes his body holds up and he brings a veteran presence to the team. The GM called Kemba an “amazing person.”

“I think that’s the point. He’s an amazing person. He’s been through everything in the League. He obviously can handle the ball, and everybody knows he’s an ex-All-Star. I won’t even say ex-All-Star. He’s an All-Star. He’s a scorer. Adding that veteran presence for if and when we need it ready will be helpful.”

The turn-around point is coming:

Harrison urged Dallas fans to be patient and reminded them that last year the Mavs opened the season 9-14 and finished as Western Conference runners-up. A spark can come at any point, and the GM believes “it’s just a matter of us turning the corner, and it’s going to happen sooner than later.”

“I don’t think it’s an external thing. Our team — they’re connected, they’re together. Like, they’re still even though it’s a different team than last year, there’s still a lot of remnants from last year. They’re still very connected.”

The post GM Nico Harrison Hopeful Despite Mavs’ 10-11 Start to Season appeared first on SLAM.

On Monday, whatever KD saw from Orlando allowed him to post a season-high 45 points on 79 percent shooting from the field, 3-5 shooting from downtown, seven boards, five assists, two steals, and two blocks to lead Brooklyn to a 109-105 win over Orlando.

“I really don’t know. I really don’t know,” Durant said, per Fan Nation. “I had games where I shot incredible in warmups and had the worst shooting night that night. Mainly, if my mind is in the right place coming into the game as far as following the game plan, I felt that’s when I’m going to have a solid game. I’m just trying to stay locked in as far as what we are doing on the defensive side of the ball and try to stay locked in on how the coach wants to play the offense and the game flows naturally for me.”

No lies detected. pic.twitter.com/eoOp10Qe0E

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) November 29, 2022

Getting buckets is natural for the four-time scoring champ. This season, he’s score at least 30 in the last three games, and 11 times overall. However, his last two 37-point outings weren’t enough, Brooklyn dropped both games to the Dallas Mavericks and Memphis Grizzlies. This time around, KD got some air support from Joe Harris (17 points) and Kyrie Irving (20 points), and the rest of the supporting cast got some time stops down the stretch.

“Just keep playing within the flow because respectfully, I feel like I’m always on. I feel like I always, even if I’m not making shots that night, I feel like my jumpshot is always sharp,” Durant said. “So I just got to see how the game has been played, see how the defense is being played, what my teammates are doing as well. It’s a lot to think about out there but it’s a fun mental game that I play.” 

Never ceases to amaze. pic.twitter.com/Mq7FPBY6sC

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) November 29, 2022

KD’s scoring outbursts never get old to watch. Irving said that he does his “best to still be in engaged but it’s hard not to just stare and just watch somebody that special and talented” when he see’s KD catch fire like he did on Monday. Head coach Jacque Vaughn said Durant put up an “unbelievable effort” and credited him his superstar forward for leading Brooklyn to a win that “took a lot out of him.”

Durant is averaging 29.3 points, 6.6 boards, 5.4 assists and 1.8 blocks per game on 54.8 percent shooting from the field and 34.6 from beyond the arc. He’s played the most total minutes in the League so far.in

The post Kevin Durant on His Season-High 45-Point Outing: ‘I Always Feel Like I’m on’ appeared first on SLAM.

They now have the highest offensive rating in the League t. 

DeAaron Fox battled Ja Morant throughout the night, and he finished with a big 32 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and four steals. He also made five three-pointers en route to victory. His backcourt mate and newcomer Kevin Huerter continued his impressive play and great shooting as well; he had 18 points on 60 percent shooting and 57.1 percent from the three-point land.

Domantas Sabonis filled the stat sheet with nine points, 13 boards, and eight dimes. The veteran Harrison Barnes also had 26 points. Malik Monk coolly knocked in two free throws to extend their lead with 3.9 seconds remaining in the game and permanently out of reach (amidst Morant’s heckling). 

Head coach Mike Brown’s new scheme has the Kings playing inspired basketball and has freed up the talented roster for balanced contributions from all over the roster. 

“We made a lot of mistakes down the stretch that could have cost us the game, but we found a way to win,” Brown said following the game. “Hopefully, we’ll learn from that.” 

This is the Kings’ first time winning seven straight games since 2004. Sacramento hasn’t made the playoffs since 2006, but if they continue at this rate, their winning streak might be enough to break their sustained absence. 

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When Brown was asked how to keep the Kings head on straight following their recent successes, Brown said, “you just keep telling them the truth. There’s nothing tricky about it, you know?”

“You play well; you tell them you play well. When you don’t play well, you tell them we’re not playing well,” Brown said. “As long as you keep it real with them, all those guys in the locker are all competitive, and they want the truth. And they’ve responded to the truth. We’ll keep them grounded that way.”

The post Don’t Look Now: the Kings Have Quietly Won Seven Straight Games appeared first on SLAM.

Joe Harris, a two-time three-point percentage leader, put it best when he said that Watanabe “definitely got a flamethrower right now. Watanabe’s getting the most out of his job as one of Brooklyn’s lowkey most dangerous long-distance marksmen due to Kevin Durant drawing attention as a premiere walking bucket and Ben Simmons pushing the tempo whenever he gets the ball in transition.

“Yeah, my shots are easy because of KD, Ben, those guys pushing the ball, giving me great passes,” Watanabe told The New York Post. “So I’ve got to appreciate them for giving me great passes. And my job is just make those open shots. So, I’m going to just keep shooting with confidence. I know I can do that.” 

On Sunday, the fifth-year small forward helped deliver Brooklyn’s 127-115 win over Memphis with 16 points on 4-6 shooting from deep, hitting all of his triples in the pivotal fourth quarter, and received a standing O from the Barclays Center faithful and received warm congratulations from KD.

Durant went on to say that the Nets “love his energy” and that “he’s playing great.”

“He’s playing great,” Durant said. “We love his energy. He’s hitting big shots for us. So you always get excited for your teammates, especially guys who come in and don’t necessarily have a guaranteed spot on the team but work their way into the rotation and put their imprint on the game from Day 1. 

“So I’m excited for him, and at this point, I think we should expect that he’ll go out there and play good basketball. I’m not saying he’s going to make every shot and shoot 70 percent from the floor for the rest of the year, but he’s playing solid ball on both ends of the floor. But we expect that from him now.” 

The 28-year-old has reached double-figures in a career-best four straight contests and is averaging 8.1 points per game on 60.9 percent shooting from the field and the aforementioned 57.1 percent shooting from beyond the arc.

The post Yuta Watanabe On Leading the NBA in Three-Point Shooting Accuracy appeared first on SLAM.

The Nets are 1-5 as of Monday, losing four straight to the Grizzlies, Bucks, Mavericks, and Pacers. Brooklyn’s loss to the Dallas Mavericks came in overtime after Ben Simmons forced a turnover and dished the ball to Kevin Durant, who subsequently took off from below the free-throw line to tie the game up with a few ticks left in regulation. The Nets ultimately lost after the Mavericks outscored them 17-13.

“That had some good players and have been playing together for a while so they had some camaraderie that we’re trying to get and six games into the season, our best basketball is ahead of us for sure.”

— Nick Friedell (@NickFriedell) October 31, 2022

When Morris was asked about Brooklyn’s slow start, the former Kansas Jayhawk was dismissive and said that “things aren’t bad.

“We lost a basketball game. I think that we have to realize that six games into the season with a brand new team — Indiana was a bad loss because they just really out-played us, but the games before that we against some good teams —”

Morris also went on to talk about how their prior losses came against teams that have built more chemistry and equity amongst their teammates.

“That had some good players and have been playing together for a while, so they had some camaraderie that we’re trying to get, and six games into the season, our best basketball is ahead of us for sure.”

What is holding Brooklyn back is the circumstances surrounding why the Nets haven’t played together. Durant and Kyrie Irving have played 50 games together after becoming teammates in 2019 due to injuries and Brooklyn deciding not to play Irving while he was unvaccinated against COVID-19. There still waiting for Seth Curry to come back. Joe Harris is acclimating after missing most of last season while healing from a surgically repaired ankle.

The Nets will have a chance to break their losing streak when they host the Pacers on Monday.

The post Markieff Morris Dismisses Brooklyn’s Slow Start: ‘Best Basketball is Ahead of Us for Sure’ appeared first on SLAM.

The energy has truly shifted around the Association since the Golden State Warriors put the haters to sleep and won another NBA championship. This offseason, there was a sudden coaching change in Boston, a reported trade request in Brooklyn by Kevin Durant (that didn’t actually happen), and some major moves during free agency, from Donovan Mitchell teaming up with Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley on the Cavaliers to Jalen Brunson becoming a New York Knick. Then there’s the highly-anticipated return of Zion Williamson, Ben Simmons and SLAM 240 co-cover star Kawhi Leonard, who is sure to be a scary sight alongside Paul George now that they’re both healthy.

While we’ve dished out some bold takes in the past, this year’s preview might feature our boldest takes yet. Here’s the official 2022-23 SLAM Staff NBA Preview:

Anthony Holt, Slam Goods Apparel Designer

The Cavaliers will emerge as a top three seed in the East. 

With the blockbuster trade for Donovan Mitchell, the Cavaliers will claim the No. 3 seed. The championship experience of Kevin Love and Luke Walton will evolve Mitchell into the leader the franchise needs to make a playoff run. The Cavs will reach the second round of the playoffs before being eliminated by the Celtics, who will face the Bucks in the ECF.

NBA Finals Matchup: Bucks vs Grizzlies

Deyscha “Sway” Smith, Associate Editor

Ben Simmons will make a case for winning Most Improved Player of the Year.

Before any of you mention me on Twitter or pop off in the comment section, hear this one out. We all know what happened last year, and by no means is Ben Simmons, a three-time NBA All-Star, any sort of “up and coming player.” But if this preseason showed us anything, it’s that Ben is actually back and playing basketball again. After averaging 15.9 points per game during his time in Philly, if he brings that same energy and presence (both literally and in terms of his defensive game) to the Nets this year, by technicality, it’s really only up from here in terms of his overall improvement.

Will he win MIP? Unlikely, but then again, just imagine if he actually did put himself in the running for the award.

PS: When I predicted the Celtics would make the ECF in our season preview last year, y’all called me real bold for that take back then. If Ben gets active and starts playing at that All-Star level again, just make sure your apology is as loud as the disrespect has been.

ECF Matchup: Celtics vs Nets

Joshua Tapia, Editorial Intern

Damian Lillard takes the Portland Trailblazers to a top 5 seed in the West while securing his first MVP. 

Damian Lillard will finish the season above 32 points a night with eight assists. If he disciplines himself defensively, Dame could become a reliable defender against the League’s best scorers.

Here’s my playoff prediction: Lillard will lead the Blazers past the No. 4 seed Mavericks in the first round, the Warriors in round 2, but get defeated in Game 6 against the Clippers.  

Adam Figman, Chief Content Officer

The Sixers are winning the championship.

Everything is coming together at the perfect time in Philly: James Harden is healthy and more motivated than ever, Joel Embiid has a better understanding of how to treat his body to make it last a full season plus playoffs, Tobias Harris is the perfect starter to play next to two stars, Tyrese Maxey is making a leap, and Daryl Morey is going to be aggressive adding role players throughout the season to put around this group in order to ensure the team has everything it needs come postseason time. The 76ers: 2023 Champs. 

Michael Harris, Editorial Intern

The Lakers will make the Western Conference Finals.

The Los Angeles Lakers will figure it out this season. Russell Westbrook will embrace his role off the bench, Anthony Davis will be healthy and be a top three candidate for MVP, while Patrick Beverley will bring the defense at the guard spot necessary to help the Lakers lock down shooters. The Lakers will also finish as the top three seed in the West and make it all the way to the WCF to face the Grizzlies.

NBA Finals Matchup: Heat vs Lakers

Ajayi Browne, Editorial Intern

The Dallas Mavericks will win the NBA Finals.

The Dallas Mavericks will reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 2011 and Luka Doncic will average career-highs across the board while having his most efficient season on his way to winning MVP. The team’s new additions, Christian Wood and Javale McGee, will give this team what they were missing last year, while Tim Hardaway Jr’s return will be vital, too.

Theus McBee, Co-Host of No Pump Fakes

Anthony Edwards will make his first All-Star Game and the Minnesota Timberwolves will make it to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in nearly 20 years. 

The conversation of Ant Man “possibly” being a part of the top five under 25 group will come to an end and we will finally give him his rightful title of “Best Shooting Guard in the NBA.”

Check out the latest episode of No Pump Fakes below:

Najee AR Fareed, Editorial Intern 

Trae Young will make First Team All-NBA, lead the League in assists and take the Hawks all the way to winning a championship. 

The Hawks had a down year last season but their defense should be bolstered by a resurgent Clint Capela, Dejounte Murray’s arrival, and the rise of Onyeka Okongwu. The offense? Ice Trae might hold it down on the offensive end, but the Hawks have much more than just him. Deandre Hunter is taking big steps and John Collins’ lesser offensive load, with the addition of Murray, should free up his game for lobs and catch-and-shoot threes.

The Hawks will win one this season. For 3 Stacks and Lemon Pepper Wings and Zone 6 and Old Nat and everything else we love.

Colby Cusano, Brand Partnerships and Analytics Intern

Zion Williamson will bring the New Orleans Pelicans from an No. 8 seed to a No. 4 seed in the Western Conference and take home the Most Improved Player Award. 

After a decent season that saw them squeeze into the playoffs, the Pelicans are ready to make another run and with a healthy Zion Williamson. They now contain one of the most talented trios in the League.

NBA Finals Matchup: Mavs vs Celtics

Delon George, Marketing Manager SLAMgoods

The Brooklyn Nets will win the title.  

Though a lot of politics surround the Nets’ Big 3, I believe they have a lot to prove individually and together as a team this season. With Kyrie Irving will playing full-time from the start of the season and Kevin Durant avoiding injuries, the Nets are bound to have momentum this year. 

Brooke Brennan, WSLAM Intern

Lonzo Ball will return mid-season and take control of the Bulls’ offense, pushing them to be a top four seed team in the East.

While injury plagued his 2021-2022 season, Lonzo’s return mid-way through this year could give the Bulls the point guard anchor they need to take control on offense. After losing in the first round to the Bucks last year, the Bulls proved that they can be a playoff team, but have to make those adjustments. Returning key players, rising young talent, and added veteran depth will help to develop this team unit.

As for Zo, I project he’ll make an All-Star team in the near future. 

Andrew “Pitt” Pitagorsky, VP of Brand Partnerships

RJ Barrett will win Defensive Player of the Year. 

RJ Barrett will become an NBA All-Star and win Defensive Player of the Year. Going into Year 4 of his young career, RJ will take the next step in his growth and make the leap to the All-Star player we all know he could become. With the help of the coaching staff, and a pure point guard in the lineup, RJ can focus more on the defensive side of his game, and be an elite defender of the League.

Andres Puerta, Social Media SLAMFTW 

The Miami Heat will win the Eastern Conference Finals. 

The Miami Heat have a solid starting lineup. They are coming off a great season, with a solid performance in the playoffs from Jimmy Butler who showed what he can do in the playoffs. Tyler Herro showed out as the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year. They have a competitive group of guys and it doesn’t matter who is on the court. With the Heat being one of the top teams in the East last year, this will be the year they win the Eastern Conference Finals.

Arvind Pitchai, VP of Social Media

Luka Doncic will average a triple double and win MVP. 

Here’s another Luka Doncic prediction: when he averages a triple-double this season, he’ll definitely win MVP. We all know about Luka’s scoring prowess and ability to see the floor, but he also can clean the glass at a high clip. Will this lead the Mavs to the Finals? Who knows but it’s going to be a fun season watching Luka regardless.

Marcus Allen, Social Graphic Designer

The Knicks will make the Eastern Conference Finals.

A big season from the New York Knicks is upon us as they will make the ECF in 2023. Future star, RJ Barrett will have the best season of his career with his new backcourt partner Jalen Brunson and ultimately earn Most Improved Player and or Defensive Player of the Year. Let’s get it.

Dave Schnur, President

The T-Wolves and the Cavs will go on a playoff run and make the Conference Finals.

Karl-Anthony Towns moving to the 4 full time will be a matchup nightmare for opposing teams. He’ll hit a career high number of threes this season, Ant Edwards will make his first All-Star Team, Rudy Gobert is gonna Gobert and D-Lo will get his, too. The Cavs already have a great young core with Garland, Mobley and Allen. Adding a perennial All-Star SG like Spida that can stretch the floor and facilitate will bolster an already potent offense. Garland and Donovan may be the best backcourt in the East. 

Max Resetar, Editor 

Stephen Curry will break his own record of 402 threes in a season. 

The Dubs finally have everyone healthy. Every player on the roster has a clearly defined role and they each understand that their number one target on offense is No. 30, whether that means passing to him, screening for him, or getting the f— outta his way when the reign starts to rain. With a complete season of all the major hitters, their offense is gonna hum all the way to an easy 450 threes for the most recent Finals MVP. 

Celebrate the return of the NBA season, the 2022 WNBA champs and the future of the game with SLAM 240.

Photos via Getty Images.

The post SLAM’s 2022-23 NBA Preview: Crazy Bold Takes for this Season appeared first on SLAM.

As the starting point guard of a 76ers team looking to feed MVP candidate Joel Embiid and as the mentor of a rising star in Tyrese Maxey, Harden will have a chance to dispel those misconceptions while looking to make Philly a championship contender. On Monday, Harden told The Athletic that he hadn’t been given the proper credit for taking a $14 million pay cut so that the 76ers could build a title-threat roster around him and Embiid.

“Nope, but guess what? I don’t care,” Harden said when asked, shaking his head for emphasis. “There’s like a stereotype (of Harden) where people always want to talk. People don’t really know me, so they feel like they can just say anything. One thing I won’t do is give them any attention. I won’t say anything, media-wise, publicly. I don’t care because I’m comfortable, and I’m confident in the things I do on and off the court.”

what’s @JHarden13 listening to?

wrong answers only! | @SociosUSA pic.twitter.com/jOhQZVr3fj

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) October 10, 2022

what’s @JHarden13 listening to?

wrong answers only! | @SociosUSA pic.twitter.com/jOhQZVr3fj

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) October 10, 2022

Harden called his new contract “the right decision not only for myself but our organization, giving us a really good chance of putting the right pieces together.” The 2018 MVP can opt out next summer and look for a bigger payday with the Sixers or leave.

Last season, Harden averaged 22.0 points (lowest since his third year in the League), 7.7 rebounds, and 10.3 assists per game on 41.0 percent shooting from the field and 33.0 percent from deep, the worse of his career. His dip in scoring led to Embiid saying that this current version of Harden is “more of a playmaker.”

“You do things, handle business on the court and off the court, and the money will always come back,” Harden said. “So, I’m fortunate and blessed to be in the position I am, and I’ll just continue to be me.”

top of the three. pic.twitter.com/UHQKSIqv75

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) October 11, 2022

Coming off a rough regular-season and postseason, Harden’s choice to take a pay cut helped Philly acquire P.J. Tucker and Danuel House Jr. to their bench. The 76ers are now a deep team with a dangerous lineup headlined by Harden, Embiid, Maxey, and Tobias Harris. Embiid will be looking to exercise his MVP demons this season and could make a compelling case after losing the reward to back-to-back MVP winner Nikola Jokic.

“That’s what we’re going through right now,” said Harden, who finished with 11 points, six rebounds and four assists in 24 minutes against Cleveland. “The world knows how dominant Joel is, how versatile Joel is, and I’m playing with a sense of not even scoring but making guys better, making guys’ jobs a lot easier. That’s what I’m here for, whether it’s Joel or Tyrese or Tobias or anybody on our team.”

The 76ers will open the season with a road game against the Boston Celtics.

The post James Harden Believes Signing Pay Cut Was ‘the Right Decision’ appeared first on SLAM.

Despite all that Harden has been able to accomplish over the first thirteen seasons of his career, critics often call his conditioning into question. This has been amplified by lingering hamstring injuries that affected his mobility during his short stint with Brooklyn and the beginning of his time in Philadelphia.  

When asked about his “terrific shape” as he entered this year’s training camp in a Media Day interview with SiriusXM NBA Radio, the Beard said, “I’ve always said that if my conditioning can be level with my skill set, my IQ, and the work I put in, it’s MVP.” 

Harden believes that he will return to MVP form for this upcoming season because of his lack of severe injuries in years past.

“A hamstring is nothing to play with; you know what I mean?” Harden said. “Fortunately for me, I’ve never had a serious injury throughout my time, in life in general. The last two summers with the pandemic, it was all recovery. All rehabbing and doing those other things. Now I get a full summer where I can actually play pickup. Working out individually and actually playing pickup and playing basketball are two totally different things.” 

Although Harden has only won one MVP, he was the first runner-up on three different occasions and finished third in MVP voting as recently as 2020. During Harden’s nine seasons as a member of the Houston Rockets, he averaged 29.6 points per game, 7.7 assists per game, and 6.0 rebounds per game.

If Harden can integrate that production into Philly’s mix of talent, including fellow MVP runner-up Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, Tobias Harris, and PJ Tucker, Philadelphia will be a formidable contender during the 2022-2023 campaign.

The post James Harden is in ‘Terrific Shape’ and Believes He’s Back In MVP Form appeared first on SLAM.

What happens when you look to blend the best of speed and flight? Jordan Brand asked that question, and the answer was the Air Jordan 37.

Jayson Tatum and Satou Sabally are what we call, in the new age of positionless hoops, the ultimate hybrid. The Prince of Boston coupled with that suave demeanor is smooth yet shifty. He’ll cross you with ease and bully you on the block with his 6-10 frame, fresh out of bed.

Sabally, third-year forward for the Dallas Wings, is brilliantly versatile; her game reads like poetry. The J? Silky. Handles? Filthy. Spin cycle? Gracefully elegant. Chase down blocks? Loads of ’em. 

Two of the most multifaceted hoopers on Jordan Brand’s expanding roster of basketball brilliance not only have the type of games that general managers salivate over, they’re leading the Brand into a new era of sustainability and peak performance.

Built for the future of the game and its athletes’ multi-directional play, Jumpman has always kept the visceral sense of rising through the air with blistering speed at the forefront of its discussions when dropping one of the most coveted performance sneakers on the market. The 37th iteration of Jordan’s signature line isn’t any different in that respect. 

“We wanted to create this pretty much one-of-one system that really no other basketball player could feel other than in the shoe; that really celebrates the best of speed, and the best of flight,” Chad Troyer, Senior Product Line Manager at Jordan Brand, tells KICKS.

And with a roster featuring players of nearly every build in men’s and women’s professional basketball, the 37 needed to be able to blend a myriad of properties to support their athletes; from the debut of a Jordan-only foam, evolving the Leno-weave upper and delving into the three phases of a jump, all while maintaining their commitment to sustainability (but more on that later). 

Nearly four decades of basketball history and heritage reside in Jordan Brand’s upcoming hybrid. So when constructing a lightweight support system that functions with the natural movements of the foot, Troyer and the Brand swung their gaze straight to the Air Jordan VII’s interior make up. 

While serving as a wink to the VII during its 30th anniversary, the buffed-up ankle collar, underlying forefoot pattern and familiar geometric color blocking on the outsole all seek to evoke 1992 nostalgia. 

Bam Adebayo, Rui Hachimura and Dearica Hamby all need both distinctive and effective support while wreaking havoc on the block and drawing defenders out to the midrange. The Leno-weave upper takes direct inspiration from the exoskeleton construction of the famous Nike Air Huarache and the targeted areas of protection of ankle straps and tape. 

Blending Tinker Hatfield’s past innovations with modern-age performance served as an empowering anchor of inspiration throughout the 37’s process. “We’re just wanting to make it newer and better now,” Troyer adds.

From the inner paneling of the VII to the carbon fiber shank’s return for the first time since the 32, the new aesthetic created by merging the structural design with the Leno-weave upper has excited Troyer the most.  

Yet the evolution of the upper is seen in a whole new space with the 37, “allowing the structure to be very strong where you need it,” says Troyer, “and then opened up and lightweight and flexible when you don’t.”  

Allowing varying light and colors to poke through the panels of the forefoot, the introduction of a specialized TPE yarn amidst the tooling of the zoned upper– crafted out of a single fiber of monofilament called Arkema—pays direct homage to the meticulous craftsmanship displayed in West African basket weaving.

“You can really see inside, you can see your sock, you can see the insole. It’s just going to become a unique aesthetic where we haven’t been before,” Troyer adds.

We’re not talking about picking and pulling random ideas and influences just to be sorted 
out later down the line here, we’re talking going into the deepest depths of the bottomless bag of Jumpman’s creative and technological capabilities.

The bevy of His Airness’ insurmountable athletic feats on the hardwood provide Nike’s Sport Research Lab in Beaverton with a scientific treasure trove of jumping sequences to dissect and translate toward designing footwear for the future. The result was an amalgamation of modern sports research and a contemporary treatment of reductive layering. 

The basis of Jumpman’s newest modernization is rooted in NSRL’s study of the three stages of jumping: load, launch and crash. So while the ultimate goal is to create lightweight products, Troyer and the Brand knew in order to achieve their ultimate realization, a little bit of additional weight and structure was necessary—enabling them to remove copious amounts of weight from the upper by way of the Arkema threads. 

The Load Phase acts as a conduit for transferring motion from the heel through the forefoot. By way of the AJ XI’s staple carbon fiber shank underneath the midfoot and the inclusion of Formula 23 foam, which is being debuted in the Jordan Luka 1, the users’ second-long movement of loading is instantaneously softened. 

“It’s more responsive, more comfortable, and also more sustainable than any foam that we’ve been able to use,” Troyer tells KICKS. “So it has performance properties that are great just to provide new solutions.”

The Launch Phase may mistakenly feel like the final stage of the process, but by creating additional protection for the heel and landing, athletes are much more inclined to “engage the rest of the system and ultimately jump higher,” Troyer says. 

Affixed with full-length Zoom Strobel alongside an additional Zoom Air unit in the forefoot for increased responsiveness and the sensation of a double-stacked propulsion, the inserted rebound technology is placed as close to the foot as possible.

The Crash Phase, the instantaneous deceleration of the jump, is an aspect rarely traversed within performance sneakers, but no longer. 

“It’s really integrating those aspects and creating the system based on the insights and asking if we can help athletes crash harder, meaning protecting their heel and allowing them to put more force into their jump, then they’re going to be able to engage the rest of the system and ultimately jump higher,” Troyer says.

The sleek and structured heel features a TPU mold that encases the Brand’s proprietary foam technology, ultimately acting as a crash-landing pad for the energy and force the wearer exudes when striking the court. 

“It’s totally a balance,” Troyer adds.

His Airness was the ultimate hybrid on the court. Just like his game, his 37th signature is a quintessential blend of strength and grace, of dominance and modernism. 

Beefing up their roster with the additions of Paolo Banchero, Rhyne Howard and Isabelle Harrison this summer, the Brand is able to bring their young athletes behind the curtain of crafting the model early in their careers. “They’re really along with us on the journey throughout, before it’s even done,” Troyer says. 

And among the first few flavors of the silhouette to drop—including “Beyond Borders” in September and “The Hare” this Fall—are both Tatum’s and Sabally’s PEs. 

“Now that we have this new roster of young exciting talent,” Troyer says, “we’re really learning from them as well to help inform what the ultimate hybrid means.” 

Photos courtesy of Nike.

The post Light Show: An Exclusive Look at the Air Jordan 37 appeared first on SLAM.

Inaugural Ballers: The True Story of the First U.S. Women’s Olympic Basketball Team, written by New York Times best-selling author Andrew Maraniss, tells the inspirational, true story of the Team USA’s pioneering women’s basketball team that won a silver medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. Inaugural Ballers features interviews from members of the ’76 team, which paint a vivid picture of the times in society and sports.

Packed with detailed photos that reveal the origins of women’s basketball in the United States, Maraniss’ passion for sports history and storytelling shines through brilliantly in Inaugural Ballers, as he smoothly explores not only women’s basketball but the social change required for the game to form and evolve.

Maraniss also makes it a point to artfully detail the stories of the forgotten women’s basketball pioneers, like the Fort Shaw Indian School, a barnstorming team of indigenous girls who ended up beating the St. Louis All-Star girls team, an undefeated group of white alumnae from the cities Central High School, at the St. Louis World’s Fair.

“It’s incredibly important to me; first of all, it’s the truth,” Maraniss said about his inclusive storytelling in Inaugural Ballers. “The first women to play basketball in an Olympic setting were Native American women at the St. Louis Olympics, which was also the World’s Fair. I thought that was an incredibly important part of history that isn’t talked about very much.”

“I also made a point of talking about the growth of black basketball for women in the country. In (the) decades prior to the Olympics. These women may have been excluded for playing for white colleges or YMCA or even excluded from abilities to try out for early national teams prior to the Olympics, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t playing or that they weren’t great players like Ora Washington, who were denied these opportunities. If I’m gonna write a non-fiction book that’s supposed to tell the truth, that history is important.”

Maraniss also explores the harmful misogyny and sexism, generations of systemic racism, and shortcomings of White-centered feminism leading up to and beyond the landmark passage of Title IX in 1972. Although the landmark legislation didn’t outright target girls and women in sports, it did help women athletes compete at the same level as their male counterparts.

Once the International Olympic Committee added women’s basketball to the 1976 Olympic games in ’73, Team USA built a squad out of the members from the ’73 World University Games and open tryouts. Mildred Barnes, a Team USA admin, empowered Coach Billie Moore and Sue Gunter and allowed them to build an underdog team that ultimately captured a silver medal.

“You look at Gen Z or kids who are in high school or college now, care and are active on so many social issues that are vital to this country and to the planet,” Maraniss said about the broad appeal of his book. “So I hope that a book that deals with feminism and women’s rights and inequities in athletics, I think that will be very appealing to this generation of students and of athletes. They can look and see where we were, to the degree we’ve made progress, and have a really good context and framework for the additional progress that still needs to be made that they’ll be the ones fighting for. I think it’s really important for them to know the history and where we’ve come from.”

As of 2021, the Team USA national women’s team has won seven straight gold medals.

The post New Book ‘Inaugural Ballers’ Surveys the Historic 1976 Team USA Women’s Basketball Squad appeared first on SLAM.

New York Knicks guard RJ Barrett is finalizing a four-year rookie extension that could be worth up to $120 million, his agent Bill Duffy of @BDA_Sports + @WME_Sports told ESPN, complicating the franchise’s offseason trade pursuit of Utah Jazz All-Star Donovan Mitchell. pic.twitter.com/6KkGm4ch8o

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 30, 2022

Barrett is the Knicks’ first draft to agree to a multi-year extension after his rookie deal since Charlie Ward in 1990, ending a remarkable 23-year drought for New York. The agreement also muddies the water of a possible trade to acquire Donovan Mitchell. Barrett’s new deal includes a poison pill provision that would force the Jazz and Knicks to switch up any trade package significantly.

At this point, New York is the primary suitor for Mitchell. Utah is set for a rebuild after moving Rudy Gobert to the Timberwolves this summer. The former Duke star’s involvement in trade negotiations was why his extension deal took so long to be discussed.

Knicks president of basketball ops Leon Rose reportedly set a Monday night deadline with Utah to reach a Mitchell-Knicks trade agreement; otherwise, New York would commit to extending Barrett, according to Woj. Woj reported that Jazz-Knicks trade negotiations heated up on deal points that included Barrett in the package tightened over the weekend and into Monday.

However, there was still a divide on a Mitchell trade per Woj. Once the Knicks and Jazz exhausted their options on Monday, Rose and Barret’s agent, Bill Duffy, began to finalize the extension deal that players from the 2019 draft class were eligible to sign.

Barrett averaged 20 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game on 40.8 percent shooting from the field and 34.2 percent from downtown. Barrett is one of only five players to amass 3,000 points, 1,000 boards, and 200 made triples before his 22nd birthday, joining Kobe Bryant, Luka Doncic, Kevin Durant, and LeBron James in the exclusive club.

Barrett was the centerpiece of several negotiated trade packages between New York and Utah, but there were hurdles about the amount of unprotected first-round picks that would be included in the deal and whether or not Quentin Grimes would be involved in the agreement. Any deal that didn’t include Barrett would mean New York had to offer more future draft picks to sweeten the deal.

Once the Knicks were adamant about signing Barrett to an extension, reality set in that New York’s front office would have a much more difficult path in acquiring Mitchell. But that doesn’t mean New York and Utah have ruled out restarting negotiations at some point. Talks could begin before the start of training camp per Woj. Of the 179 players to have a poison pill provision in their contract, only one, Devin Harris, was traded.

In the case of a trade, the poison pill is computed with a formula that would put the Knicks’ outgoing salary for a Barrett trade at $10.9 million but require the incoming compensation for a team acquiring him to be $26.2 million. The restriction will be lifted next offseason, July 1. Because of this development, the Jazz and Knicks would need a third team with salary-cap space to redirect Evan Fournier’s $37 million contract.

The post REPORT: RJ Barrett ‘Finalizing’ Rookie Extension appeared first on SLAM.

The first-round series between the Sun and Wings was full of double-digit wins, with no win being more impressive than Connecticut’s 15 point Game 3 win. The Sun put on a defensive clinic after they held the Wings a season-low final score of 58 points, including holding Dallas to 22 points on 6-27 shooting from the field during the secone half. Connecticut also forced Dallas to commit 11 turnovers during the final 20 minutes of Wednesday’s contest.

“I think the biggest thing they learned is they’re very good,” Johnson said per ESPN. “I told them when Arike went out to just believe in themselves. Play together, play with energy and effort, and that’s what we did.”

Dallas’ troubles began after Isabelle Harrison suffered an ankle injury in the first quarter that was severe enough to make Dallas hold her out for the remainder of the game. Not even Arike Ogunbowale’s short-lived return from abdominal surgery could spark Dallas’ stagnant offense. The former national champ went scoreless in six minutes, going 0-3 from the field and 0-2 from beyond the arc.

The loss led to interesting postgame introspection from Dallas, specifically from Marina Mabrey and Veronica Burton about the culture and the kind of team that the Wings are looking to build.

“I feel like we’re growing here in Dallas,” Mabrey (team-high 20 points) said. “We had so many fans and they’re always so supportive. They know we gave it our all, we put our hearts in it so they’re always super proud of us and I can’t thank them enough from our whole team.”

Sentiments that Burton echoed, going on to say that the fans “supporting us means the world” and the Wings appreicate the consistency of the fans in the building too.

We’re building something special, and we couldn’t do it without you, fam pic.twitter.com/GN1htO2F4u

— Dallas Wings (@DallasWings) August 25, 2022

The Wings have now made their first back-to-back playoff appearence since 2017-2018 where they lost in the first round to the Mystics and Mercury, respectively. After consecutive stinging losses to end their season, Dallas will look to make the next step towards winning a playoff series, than on to becoming a Finals threat. The Wings haven’t won a WNBA title since moving from Detroit to Tulsa and now Dallas as of 2016.

The original Detroit Shock franchise won three titles during the 2000s, taking home the Finals Trophy in 2003, 2006, and 2008.

“When you see yourself do something, you believe it more,” Mabrey said. “Not that we didn’t believe before but watching this horn go off and winning in COnnecticut, (it’s) just a confidence booster. Now we know we can do it and (now) it’s back to work.”

“We played a veteran team that’s lost plenty of times, they won so they know exactly what it feels like, they know exactly what to do with their backs gainst the wall and we lacked that a litle bit so that’s okay. It comes with experience so take the good with the bad.”

“When you see yourself do something, you believe it more.”

– @mmabrey1 pic.twitter.com/2wbDKxGAUa

— Dallas Wings (@DallasWings) August 25, 2022

The post Dallas Wings ‘Believe it More’ Despite Season-Ending Game 3 Loss appeared first on SLAM.

HOW DOES IT FEEL, SUN FANS??? #CTSun pic.twitter.com/3twme5dlRy

— Connecticut Sun (@ConnecticutSun) August 25, 2022

DeWanna Bonner led all scorers with 21 points, five rebounds, and five assists. Alyssa Thomas followed up with 13 points, eight rebounds, and two assists. Jonquel Jones dropped 11 points, 10 rebounds, and two assists, and Natisha Hiedeman rounded out Connecticut’s double-digit scorers with 11 points, two boards, and two dimes.

Bonner also became the 10th player in WNBA history to knock down 300 career field goals and passed Angel McCoughtry in the process of doing so.

“Our team is incredibly confident in what they do and who they are,” Sun Coach Curt Miller said, per ESPN. “We’re back to the semis for four straight years. This group wants to take another step, and there’s not one person that’s going to pick us to beat Chicago. So we’re going to go with the underdog mentality and give it our best shot.”

.@DEEBONNER24 with a BIG 21-5-5 Game 3 to lead the @ConnecticutSun to the Semifinals of the #WNBAPlayoffs presented by @google pic.twitter.com/eJAZpTCFrM

— WNBA (@WNBA) August 25, 2022

Marina Mabrey posted a team-high 20 points, Veronica Burton contributed 10 points, six rebounds, and four dimes, and Teaira McCowan followed up with eight points, 12 boards, and two blocks.

The Sun won Game 3 after holding the Wings to perhaps the worse scoring effort of the season. Connecticut held Dallas to 22 points in the second half, and their final tally of 58 was a season-low. Dallas shot just 6-27 from the field in the second half and turned the ball over 11 times.

Part of Dallas’ offensive struggles could be attributed to Isabelle Harrison suffering an ankle injury in the first-quarter that she wouldn’t come back from. Not even Arike Ogunbowale’s short-lived return from abdominal surgery could spark Dallas’ stagnant offense. The former national champ went scoreless in six minutes, going 0-3 from the field and 0-2 from beyond the arc.

Bonner credited Connecticut’s defensive clinic to second-year guard DiJonai Carrington. The 35-year-old forward believed Carrington’s “defensive pressure was unbelievable,”, especially in the last 20 minutes of the game.

Carrington was so successful as a defensive pest that she got into a squabble with Mabrey midway through the fourth. The two guards were jaw-jacking as Mabrey set up to inbound the ball from the sideline.

“Forget all that; the credit to this game goes to DiJonai Carrington,” Bonner said. “I think she was the difference maker for us this whole game. Her defensive pressure was unbelievable; she kinda jump-started us the whole game. So take the ball out of my hands and give it to her cause tonight was all about her and her pressure. She definitely jump-started us that second-half, and (I’m) definitely so proud of her.”

The semifinal matchups will start on Sunday, with Las Vegas and Seattle kicking off the action at 4 p.m EST on ESPN. The Sun and Sky will play at 8 p.m. EST on ESPN 2. The Sky swept their regular-season series with the Sun, 4-0, winning by an average of 4.5 points per game.

The post Connecticut Advances to Second-Rounds After 73-58 Rout Over Dallas appeared first on SLAM.

That news came just a day before the Nets announced that Kevin Durant had decided to rescind his trade request and that he and the franchise “have agreed to move forward with our partnership.” The Nets are likely confident KD and Kai, combined with the healthy returns of Ben Simmons and Joe Harris, the free agent acquisitions of Royce O’Neal and T.J. Warren, and re-signing Patty Mills and Nic Claxton, will help the team make a return to title contention.

However, there is one team that lost out on some superstar talent after Brooklyn decided to keep Irving on the roster, the Lakers. The Lakers were reportedly keen on acquiring Irving through trade this offseason and set up negotiations with third teams like the Pacers and Spurs to make it happen. Trade talks never materialized, though, and now the purple-and-gold will have to search the market a little longer to find more talent.

“We told you a month ago it was not gonna happen,” Charania said about an Irving-Lakers trade during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show. “As of right now, the Lakers are open to anything that will make their team better. So if there’s a deal out there and they can go get multiple different players, that makes the team better.

"We told you a month ago that Kyrie to the Lakers wasn't gonna happen.. the Lakers are open to anything that will make their team better" ~@ShamsCharania#PMSLive pic.twitter.com/Swjio4siWD

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) August 23, 2022

Charania added that the Lakers would be looking to add rotation players that they can plug into their lineup. The insider believes players like Patrick Beverly and Bojan Bogdanovic will be targeted in trades during the season.

“Those are the type of moves you’re gonna see the Lakers try to make. I don’t think that they’re done necessarily. I think they’re still gonna try to get this team better. Yes, Kyrie Irving to the Lakers, for now, is not a thing.”

The Lakers will look to improve after adding rookie head coach Darvin Ham, who they hope can turn around Russell Westbrook’s Lakers tenure and help Anthony Davis get back to his top-five player status after a rash of injuries doomed his season and the Lakers’ title hopes over the last two seasons.

The post REPORT: Lakers Will Stay On the Market After Kyrie Irving Trade Talks Stalled appeared first on SLAM.

Although the Nets have yet to gain traction on a trade, new suitors have emerged in the KD sweepstakes. The Celtics, Raptors, and Heat are the biggest threat to land the 12-time All-Star, but Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that the Nets, and those three front-runners, haven’t been having any conversations lately.

Charania reported that the 76ers expressed their interest in acquiring Durant while the Bucks and Nuggets reached out in June and inquired again in July to determine Brooklyn’s asking price. That asking price is still an All-Star, other high-level players, and draft picks to this day. When the Pelicans inquired with the Nets in June, they reportedly told Brooklyn that Brandon Ingram was untouchable, per Charania. Atlanta reportedly offered John Collins, De’Andre Hunter, and a draft pick.

Because of that high price tag, suitors like Toronto possibly pulled out after refusing to make Scottie Barnes available. Boston made Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, and a first-round pick available, but Brooklyn didn’t bite. According to Charania, Miami hasn’t offered a package built around Bam Adebayo.

The Memphis Grizzlies have reportedly become the newest trade suitor. Memphis could put together an attractive package surrounding their five first-round draft picks, four unprotected and one protected 2024 pick via Golden State, and young players like Jaren Jackson Jr., Desmond Bane, Zaire Williams, Brandon Clarke, Kennedy Chandler, and David Roddy.

Despite all the new traction in trade partners, Boston is still the premier front runner to acquire Durant. When Boston offered Brown, White, and a draft pick, Brooklyn countered by requesting Smart, more draft picks, and one more rotation player per Charania. While Boston has the assets to make something happen, there appears to be a reported gap in what the Celtics are willing to let go.

Brooklyn believes they have improved their roster after trading for Royce O’Neal, signing T.J. Warren, and re-signing Patty Mills and Nic Claxton while expecting the healthy returns of Ben Simmons and Joe Harris. Kyrie Irving is set to return as well after signing his player option. According to Charania, Irving has been working out with teammates and held a constructive dialogue with the Nets this offseason.

With four years remaining on Durant’s current deal, Brooklyn has no incentive to move the four-time scoring champ. Entering his age 34 season, Durant is less likely to sit out a season and has already dismissed rumors that he would rather retire than play for Brooklyn again.

The post REPORT: New Suitors Emerge in the Kevin Durant Sweepstakes appeared first on SLAM.

Allisha Gray led the Wings with 17 points and five rebounds, followed by a 13-point, five rebounds, and three assists outing from Tyasha Harris. Marina Mabrey contributed 11 points, and four rebounds, and Satou Sabally rounded out Dallas’ double-digit scorers with 10 points, two rebounds, and two dimes in 15 minutes of action.

SUN TAKE GAME 1

— WSLAM (@wslam) August 19, 2022

Created to create separation in the third quarter after going on a 13-0 run that helped build a 20-point cushion in the third seed’s favor. The Suns kept the Wings scoreless for over five minutes, leading to the Sun closing out the third quarter with a 17-5 run that gave them an 18-point lead going into the fourth quarter.

After the tough Game 1 loss, Coach Vickie Johnson told assembled reporters that she didn’t “recognize” who the Dallas Wings were on the hardwood and noted that some players were noticeably “complaining” and “not taking accountability.”

“The first thing I told my team is ‘I didn’t recognize my team tonight.'” Johnson said. “If we can think we can do it individually and beat Connecticut, it’s not gonna happen.”

Vickie Johnson: "The first thing I told my team is 'I didn't recognize my team tonight.'"

Said players were "complaining," "not taking accountability."

"If we can think we can do it individually and beat Connecticut, it's not gonna happen."

— Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) August 19, 2022

Arike Ogunbowale, Dallas’ leading scorer, is still not healthy enough to play due to an abdominal injury she aggravated during the final days of the regular-season.

It’s really that simple for DB pic.twitter.com/do0bk85mpV

— WSLAM (@wslam) August 19, 2022

The Wings will look to tie the series up with a Game 2 win over the Sun on Sunday.

The post Vickie Johnson Didn’t ‘Recognize’ Dallas Wings Team That Lost Game 1 appeared first on SLAM.

According to SNY’s Ian Begley, the disgruntled Brooklyn Nets star sees both the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers as desired trade destinations. Begley went on to report that Durant would also want to play with reigning Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart if he were to land in Boston.

Despite Begley’s report, there is said to be no progress between Brooklyn and Boston on any sort of trade centered around Durant. Last week, Begley reported that there had been “pessimism” about a Durant trade being completed in the near future. As for Philly, no major reports have dropped, though Tyrese Maxey, Tobias Harris, and Matisse Thybulle are all logical trade pieces in a Durant trade.

As the Durant saga—particularly with Boston—continues to run its course through the NBA offseason, Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe reported that the Nets initially asked for Boston stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown in Durant trade talks, but the Celtics quickly shot the proposition down.

And while there are no tangible signs of progress involving a Durant trade to any team, the four-time scoring champ reportedly informed Nets owner Joe Tsai that Brooklyn would have to choose between Durant or keeping general manager Sean Marks and Coach Steve Nash. Tsai responded to the report with a tweet throwing his support behind the Nets’ front office and coaching staff.

Durant sent shockwaves around the League when he requested a trade on June 30, but it’s been over a month, and the 12-time All-Star still has yet to be dealt. Initial rumors indicated the Miami Heat and Phoenix Suns were among Durant’s desired landing spots, and that list has reportedly since grown to include the Celtics and 76ers, according to Begley.

On paper, a fit with Boston makes sense, as Celtics coach Ime Udoka was an assistant under Steve Nash in Brooklyn during the 2020-21 season. Durant also played with Tatum on Team USA during the 2021 Olympics. Add in Durant’s desire to play with Smart, and KD seemingly has some chemistry building in Boston. But for now, it’s a matter of the Celtics offering enough to Brooklyn so a trade can go down.

Photos via Getty Images.

The post REPORT: Kevin Durant Views Celtics and 76ers as Desired Landing Spots appeared first on SLAM.

Sources: Kevin Durant informed Joe Tsai that he does not have faith in the Nets‘ direction. The meeting was described as transparent and professional, with a clear message: Keep me — or the GM and coach. https://t.co/W1voNf9MDC https://t.co/0lbBay2OxF

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 8, 2022

KD and Nets owner Joe Tsai reportedly had a meeting over the weekend in Londo, where the two-time Finals MVP reiterated his trade request and gave Tsai an ultimatum. According to Charania, Tsai will have to choose between Durant or keeping GM Sean Marks and Coach Steve Nash in the fold.

Durant also told Tsai that he doesn’t have faith in Brooklyn’s direction, according to Charania. Additionally, Charania reported that the Nets have direct knowledge of the reasons behind Durant’s trade request that came out a month ago. Brooklyn also understands that Durant is resolute in his trade request and wants a scenery change.

The Nets are coming off a tumultuous offseason after the Boston Celtics swept them in the first round of the conference playoffs. It began with the uncertainty around Kyrie Irving’s extension status that reached the point of Irving preparing a list of trade destinations he’d like to play for.

Despite Irving deciding to sign his player option for next year, Durant has been adamant about wanting to leave Brooklyn. The two reportedly want to play together, but Irving is prepared to play in a Nets uniform regardless of whether or not KD is on the team.

The Nets are hopeful about Ben Simmons’s and Joe Harris’s healthy return. They also added Royce O’Neale and T.J. Warren and brought Patty Mills and Nic Claxton back.

The Celtics, Raptors, and Heat are his most significant suitors this offseason after Phoenix re-signed Deandre Ayton to a record-restricted free agent offer sheet. Durant reportedly grew close to Coach Ime Udoka, the second-year head coach of Boston, while Udoka was on Brooklyn’s coaching staff and Team USA during the 2020 Olympics.

The post REPORT: Kevin Durant Gave Brooklyn Ultimatum During Weekend Meeting appeared first on SLAM.

On Thursday, Phoenix Mercury teammate Skylar Diggins-Smith gave an emotional response when she was asked about the WNBA proceeding to play following the news.

“Nobody wanted to even play today,” Diggins-Smith told reporters. “How are you supposed to approach the game with a clear mind when the whole group is crying before the game?

From Griner’s agent and both WNBA teammates and competitors, as well as players across the NBA, many have continued to shared their thoughts and sentiments via social media.

Skylar Diggins-Smith:

Lindsay Kagawa Colas:

Phoenix Mercury:

Connecticut Sun:

Stefanie Dolson:

Breanna Stewart:

Elena Delle Donne:

Jaren Jackson Jr:

Diamond DeShields:

Amanda Zahui B:

Arike Ogunbowale:

Kia Nurse:

Tyasha Harris:

Dawn Staley:

AD:

Layshia Clarendon:

WNBPA:

The post WNBA and NBA Reacts to Brittney Griner’s Sentencing appeared first on SLAM.

In a recent interview with Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News, Green discussed his offseason regimen, focusing on his body and the improvements he wants to see in his game.

Green told Caplan that he and his trainer met with Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison to put an offseason plan in place for the 21-year-old Australian. The two sides agreed that Green would have to work on his body and change his diet to play a more significant role next season.

“I changed my body a little bit,” Green said. “Really looking at what I’m eating. Just a lot of specific things going into one thing, but making sure that I’m able to have a great year next year. It’s been a lot of stuff. It’s been a long two months, but it’s fun.”

The former University of Arizona standout says he feels a difference in his athleticism and basketball-based skills. After training for two months in Las Vegas, Green will return home to Australia to keep working on his game.

“I feel more explosive and jumping a lot better, moving a lot better,” Green said. “Obviously, my ball handling is going to be a big focus for me this offseason. Literally just attacking everything. Each day means a lot. I’ve been playing a lot, making sure I’m getting up and down [the court] against a lot of overseas and NBA players. It’s been good. We’ve come up with a great plan, and it’s been everything.”

Green struggled with his shot, particularly his three-pointer and free throw when he came into the League. He shot 16 percent from long range and 56.5 percent from the charity stripe in 39 games as a rookie. But last year, Green’s numbers from three and the free throw line both improved. He shot the three-ball at a 35.9 percent clip last season, and his free throw percentage jumped to 68.9 percent in 67 games.

Green played 7.6 minutes per game during Dallas’ run to the Western Conference Finals. The third-year forward is confident that making strides with his jump shot will result in more playing time next season.

“Shooting has been a big focus for me this offseason, trying not to do the ‘stanky leg’ no more on my right side. That’s just been building up my core strength, and just yeah. Building up core strength and changing my shot a little bit, and I’ve seen it be a little more consistent, but really I’m just going in ready to go. I wish training camp started tomorrow. I’m ready to play.”

He averaged 4.8 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game while playing 15.5 minutes per game last season.

The post Josh Green Plans on ‘Attacking Everything’ and Focusing on Ball Handling During Offseason appeared first on SLAM.

Free agent guard Jalen Brunson has agreed to a four-year, $104 million deal with the New York Knicks, his agents Aaron Mintz and Sam Rose of @CAA_Basketball tell ESPN. The deal includes a player option on the final season.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2022

Jalen Brunson reportedly intends on signing a four-year deal with the Knicks once free agency starts on Thursday, per Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Free agent Jalen Brunson intends to sign a four-year, near $110M deal with the New York Knicks in free agency, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. The Mavericks never received chance to make offer, sources said.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 30, 2022

The Knicks have long been infatuated with bringing Brunson as the lead guard of the franchise. GM Leon Rose made multiple trades to free up $30 million in cap space to sign the Villanova product to a “near-max deal.” Those aspirations are likely to come true after Brunson canceled a meeting with Dallas and reportedly decided to sign with New York. NBA reporter Marc Stein was the first to break that the meeting was canceled.

Brunson averaged 16.3 points and 4.8 assists per game during a breakout season that saw Brunson establish himself as the clear-cut No. 2 option behind Luka Doncic. He helped lead the Mavericks to their first Western Conference Finals appearance since their 2011 title run against the Miami Heat. During that run, Brunson averaged 21.6 points per game, exploding for 41 points and 31 points during the first round against the Utah Jazz.

“It’s a great fit [in Dallas], but at the end of the day, my son is no different than the next man,” Rick Brunson told ESPN during that first-round series. “You try to raise them the right way in terms of understanding the game, but everyone wants what Luka has. I don’t care who you are. Everyone wants that feeling of, ‘Hey, I can do this too.’ I don’t always think the grass is greener on the other side, but we’ll sit down this summer and go through all the pros and cons of staying here or going somewhere else.”

Brunson became an unrestricted free agent after declining to sign a four-year extension after the trade deadline. Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and GM Nico Harrison were willing to offer Brunson a five-year contract this summer. Brunson informed the Mavs that he was ready to sign an extension in January if they offered but the Mavs decided to hold on to those negotiations instead and offered Brunson the aforemnetion deal at the trade deadline.

The post REPORT: Jalen Brunson Signing Four-Year Deal With Knicks appeared first on SLAM.

So far we have seen the Knicks land, Jalen Brunson, on a massive four-year deal, and Nikola Jokic and Karl-Anthony Towns have re-signed to their teams on supermax deals. Zach LaVine and Bradley Beal will remain with the Bulls and Wizards respectively after signing max deals. Young All-Stars like Ja Morant, Darius Garland, and Zion Williamson have also signed max extensions with their teams.

The Warriors will also look to be putting a different bench mob on the court this coming season after they let Gary Payton II, Otto Porter Jr., and Juan Toscano-Anderson walk away in free agency. The decision seems to imply that the Warriors will invest 100 percent into their win-and-develop model as they keep their championship core intact while empowering Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Poole, Jonathan Kuminga, James Wiseman, and Moses Moody.

Dallas Mavericks forward Maxi Kleber is finalizing a three-year, $33 million contract extension, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Kleber was entering the final year of his deal, now under contract through 2025-26.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 8, 2022

Montrezl Harrell is headed to Philly after a tumultuous offseason where he dealt with some legal troubles surrounding marijuana trafficking that was later reduced to misdemeanor possession in a Madison County (KY) courthouse. The charge will be expunged from his record in 12 months if Harrell doesn’t get in any more legal trouble.

James Harden recruited Harrell due to their relationship as teammates on the Rockets. Harrell is expected to bring some toughness and grit to a Philly team that needed a backup big man behind two-time MVP runner-up Joel Embiid.

ESPN Sources: Free agent C Montrezl Harrell is signing two-year deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, including a player option. Harrell brings more toughness to a team searching for it this offseason. He was Sixth Man of the Year with Doc Rivers/Sam Cassell in 2019-2020 w/ Clippers.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 6, 2022

Sources: The Toronto Raptors signed Thaddeus Young to a two-year, $17 million extension, which includes player incentive bonuses and a $1 million partial guarantee for the 2023-24 season, @hoopshype has learned.

— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) July 5, 2022

Gary Harris’ two-year extension with the Orlando Magic is flat $13M each season. The second season is fully non-guaranteed, a league source told @spotrac.

— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) July 5, 2022

Sumner is fully recovered from a torn left Achilles that cost him the entire 2021-2022 season. He had been coming off his best NBA season with the Pacers prior to the injury, and now he’ll join the Nets’ backcourt rotation. https://t.co/5HfzZmkDZN

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 5, 2022

Free agent TJ Warren has agreed to a deal with the Brooklyn Nets, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 5, 2022

Free agent center Gorgui Dieng has agreed to a one-year deal with the San Antonio Spurs, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 5, 2022

Cole Swider signed a two-year Two-Way contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, a league source tells @spotrac.

— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) July 4, 2022

Free agent center Serge Ibaka has agreed to a one-year deal to return to the Milwaukee Bucks, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 4, 2022

The Brooklyn Nets signed Wake Forest Alondes Williams to a 2-way deal.

— Mike Vorkunov (@MikeVorkunov) July 4, 2022

Dragic is signing a one-year, $2.9M deal with the Bulls, sources said. https://t.co/f6VK9np1cf

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 3, 2022

Free agent Josh Okogie has agreed to a one-year deal with the Phoenix Suns, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 3, 2022

New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson has agreed on a five-year, $193 million designated maximum rookie extension that could earn him as much as $231 million, CAA Sports’ Co-Head of Basketball Austin Brown tells ESPN. pic.twitter.com/z4lnVLD1GM

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 2, 2022

Restricted free agent Cody Martin has agreed to a four-year, $32 million deal to return to the Charlotte Hornets, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 2, 2022

Free agent G Eugene Omoruyi has agreed to a two-way contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder, his agent Mike George of @OneLegacySports tells ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 2, 2022

Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star guard Darius Garland has agreed on a five-year, $193M maximum designated rookie contract extension that could be worth as much as $231M, @KlutchSports CEO Rich Paul tells ESPN. It is the largest deal in franchise history.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 2, 2022

Free agent guard Damion Lee has agreed to a one-year deal with the Phoenix Suns, source tells ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 2, 2022

Free agent Donte DiVincenzo has agreed to a two-year, $9.3M deal with the Golden State Warriors, sources tell ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2022

Free agent guard Raul Neto is signing with the Cleveland Cavaliers, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2022

Free agent center Kevon Looney has agreed to a three-year, $25.5M deal to return to Golden State, sources tell ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2022

Free agent forward Derrick Jones Jr. has agreed to a two-year, $6.6 million deal to return to the Chicago Bulls, with player option in second season, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2022

Free agent center Robin Lopez has agreed to a one-year deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers, sources tell ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2022

Free agent F/C Drew Eubanks is returning to the Portland Trail Blazers on a one-year deal, his agent James Dunleavy of @excelbasketball tells ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2022

John Wall officially agrees with the Clippers on a two-year deal for the taxpayer midlevel. https://t.co/5yCuV4cePg

— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) July 1, 2022

Free agent C Jusuf Nurkic has agreed on a new four-year, $70 million deal to stay with the Portland Trail Blazers, @KlutchSports CEO Rich Paul tells ESPN. pic.twitter.com/6vmHrdOZI3

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2022

NBA All-Star Zach LaVine has agreed to a five-year, $215.2 million maximum contract to return to the Chicago Bulls, with a player option in Year 5, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul told @TheAthletic @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2022

The defending champs lose another valuable two-way star after Otto Porter Jr. signed with the Raptors on a two-year deal that has a player option.

Free agent Otto Porter Jr. — vital member of Golden State Warriors championship team — reached an agreement with the Toronto Raptors on a two-year deal with a player option, league sources tell @YahooSports. https://t.co/ck81fptKZh

— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) July 1, 2022

Free agent G Theo Pinson is returning to the Dallas Mavericks on a one-year deal, sources tell ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2022

Free agent Aaron Holiday has agreed to a one-year deal with the Atlanta Hawks, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2022

Free agent center Mitchell Robinson has agreed on a new four-year, $60 million contract to stay with the New York Knicks, his agents Thad Foucher and Joe Smith of @Wassbasketball tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/dnKtVQmln9

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2022

Bruce Brown has agreed to a 2-year, $13M+ deal with the Denver Nuggets, sources tell ESPN.

— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) July 1, 2022

#Pistons to re-sign Marvin Bagley III, add Kevin Knox as free-agent frenzy begins: https://t.co/WVHahAmeKR

— Rod Beard (@detnewsRodBeard) July 1, 2022

Ricky Rubio played an integral part in the Cavs’ resurgence to the playoff scene last season before suffering a season-ending torn ACL in December. Rubio was traded to the Pacers near the trade deadline but the Cavs and Rubio were mutually interested in bringing back the former lottery pick point guard.

Free agent guard Ricky Rubio is nearing a deal on a return to the Cleveland Cavaliers, sources tell ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2022

Zion Williamson, the 2021 All-Star phenom, has locked in on signing a max extension deal with the Pelicans. Williamson missed all of the 2021-2022 season while he recovered from foot surgery. The deal keeps Williamson in New Orleans through 2027-28.

Williamson said after the season ended, “I couldn’t sign it fast enough.” Indeed, the All-Star locks in commitment to New Orleans.

The deal is expected to include protections that both sides were sorting through overnight and will finalize, sources said. https://t.co/n0hyRwRk9e

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2022

The Golden State Warriors lose one of their best and most versatile defenders after Gary Payton II decided to head towards playing for the Portland Trail Blazers on a three-year deal. Payton led the League in steals per 36 minutes.

Warriors were unwilling to meet that high of a price tag (and resulting tax spike) for Gary Payton II and have now lost their defensive ace off the bench to the Blazers. He led the NBA in steals per 36 minutes last season. https://t.co/iaY6xmUrG7

— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) July 1, 2022

Free agent center Andre Drummond is finalizing a deal with the Chicago Bulls, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2022

Free agent Kevin Knox has agreed to a two-year, $6 million deal with the Detroit Pistons, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2022

Free agent Kevin Knox has agreed to a two-year, $6 million deal with the Detroit Pistons, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2022

Free agent JaVale McGee has agreed to a three-year, $20.1 million deal with the Dallas Mavericks, with player option for third season, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 30, 2022

Ja Morant is locked in with the Grizzlies after his agent told Woj that he signed a five-year max extension to lead Memphis as its lead guard for the foreseeable future.

Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant has agreed on a five-year, $193M designated rookie maximum extension that could become worth $231M, his agent Jim Tanner of @_TandemSE tells ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2022

Karl Anthony-Towns has reportedly agreed to a four-year super max extension per his agent. KAT’s contract will begin during the 2024-2025 season.

Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns has agreed on a four-year, $224M super max extension, his agent Jessica Holtz of @CAA_Basketball tells ESPN. Deal begins with the 2024-25 season and delivers Towns’ total contract value to six years and $295M.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2022

Jalen Brunson has reportedly agreed to the four-year deal that the Knicks offered him. Woj reported that the near-max deal includes a player option on its final season.

Free agent guard Jalen Brunson has agreed to a four-year, $104 million deal with the New York Knicks, his agents Aaron Mintz and Sam Rose of @CAA_Basketball tell ESPN. The deal includes a player option on the final season.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2022

The Wizards have added three veteran guards to join Bradley Beal in recent days — Will Barton, Monte Morris and now Delon Wright leaves the Hawks for Washington. https://t.co/4YFMxR2o7Z

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2022

Kyle Anderson has agreed to a two-year, $18M deal to join the Timberwolves, his agents Thad Foucher and Joe Smith of @wassbasketball tell ESPN. https://t.co/fWzhFhVfkx

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2022

Orlando Magic guard Gary Harris has agreed on a two-year, $26 million contract extension, his agents Austin Brown and Aaron Mintz of @CAA_Basketball tell ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2022

Anthony Gill is signing a two year-deal with the Washington Wizards, sources tell ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2022

Restricted free agent C Nic Claxton has agreed on a two-year, $20 million deal to return to the Brooklyn Nets, sources tell ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2022

Free agent Troy Brown Jr. has agreed to a minimum deal with the Los Angeles Lakers, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 30, 2022

Lonnie Walker IV is signing a one-year, $6.5M deal with the Lakers, sources said. https://t.co/7xBnStLWfo

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 30, 2022

Rockets restricted free agent Jae’Sean Tate has agreed to a three-year, $22.1 million deal to return to Houston, his agents E.J. Kusnyer and Jordan Cornish of @beyond_am tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 30, 2022

Free agent center Dewayne Dedmon has agreed to a two-year, $9 million deal to return to the Miami Heat, agents Mike Silverman and Brandon Grier of @steinbergsports tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 30, 2022

Free agent Davon Reed has agreed to a two-year deal to return to the Denver Nuggets, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 30, 2022

Free agent guard Jevon Carter has agreed to a two-year deal to return to Milwaukee, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 30, 2022

Free agent Wesley Matthews has agreed to a one-year deal to return to the Milwaukee Bucks, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 30, 2022

Free agent G Trevelin Queen has agreed a deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, sources tell ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2022

Free agent F Nic Batum has agreed to a two-year deal to return to the Los Angeles Clippers, sources tell ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2022

Free agent G Lu Dort has agreed to a five-year, $87.5M deal to stay with the Oklahoma City Thunder, his agent Thad Foucher of Wasserman tells ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2022

Chris Boucher is returning to the Toronto Raptors on a three-year, $35.25M deal, his agent Sam Permut of @RocNationSports tells ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2022

Jones’ agent, Austin Brown of @CAA_Basketball, tells ESPN the second year is a player option.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2022

Amir Coffey has agreed to a three-year, $11M deal with the Clippers, his agents Bill Duffy and Marlon Harrison of @BDA_Sports and WME Sports tell ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2022

Free agent G Tyus Jones is returning to the Memphis Grizzlies on a two-year, $30M deal, his agent Kevin Bradbury of @REP1Basketball tells ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2022

Free agent Danuel House has agreed to a deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 30, 2022

Free agent Bobby Portis has agreed to a four-year, $49 million deal to return to the Milwaukee Bucks, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Deal includes a player option in Year 4.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 30, 2022

Free agent PJ Tucker is finalizing a three-year, $33.2 million fully guaranteed deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, his agent Andre Buck (@andrebuck14) told @TheAthletic @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 30, 2022

Free agent Victor Oladipo has agreed to a one-year, $11 million deal to return to the Miami Heat, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 30, 2022

Free agent center Isaiah Hartenstein has agreed to a two-year, $16 million-plus deal with the New York Knicks, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Fully guaranteed deal for Hartenstein.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 30, 2022

Free agent center DeAndre Jordan has agreed to a deal with the Denver Nuggets, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 30, 2022

Sources: Malik Monk is signing a two-year, $19M deal to join the Kings. https://t.co/spgbvRZspx

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 30, 2022

Devin Booker and the Phoenix Suns have reportedly finalized a four-year supermax extension that he will likely sign sometime next week. Shams Charania reports that he will be the cover athlete for NBA 2K23.

The Phoenix Suns and All-NBA guard Devin Booker are finalizing a four-year, $214 million supermax contract extension that he’s set to sign as soon as next week, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.

Booker will also be the cover athlete for NBA 2K23, per sources.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 30, 2022

Nikola Jokic has reportedly signed the richest deal in NBA history after signing a supermax contract extension with the Nuggets on Thursday.

Two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic has agreed to a five-year, $264 million supermax contract extension with the Denver Nuggets, the richest deal in NBA history, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Fifth season (2027-28) will be a player option at $60M.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 30, 2022

Bradley Beal will stay in the Nation’s Capital after he reportedly signed a five-year max deal.

All-Star guard Bradley Beal has agreed to a five-year, $251 million maximum contract to stay with the Washington Wizards, his agent Mark Bartelstein of @PrioritySports tells ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2022

Portland Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons has agreed on a four-year, $100 million contract extension, his agent Bill Duffy of @BDA_Sports + WME Sports tells ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2022

The Spurs are pulling the qualifying offer on Lonnie Walker IV, making him an unrestricted free agent, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Expect a strong market for Walker immediately.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 30, 2022

Jalen Brunson is headed to New York after Shams Charania reported that he intends on signing a four-year deal with the franchise.

Free agent Jalen Brunson intends to sign a four-year, near $110M deal with the New York Knicks in free agency, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. The Mavericks never received chance to make offer, sources said.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 30, 2022

According to Alex Schiffer of The Athletic, P.J. Tucker will be pursued by Atlanta, Minnesota, Brooklyn, Chicago. and Philadelphia during the free agency period of the NBA offseason. Furthermore, Schiffer reports that Tucker is unlikely to return to South Beach.

Multiple teams — including Atlanta, Minnesota, Brooklyn, Chicago and Philadelphia — are expected to compete for PJ Tucker in free agency. All are expected to offer the full mid-level/TPMLE exception. He is unlikely to return to Miami, per sources.

— Alex Schiffer (@Alex__Schiffer) June 30, 2022

Trent Forrest will be an unrestricted free agent after the Jazz decided not to extend a qualifying offer to the point guard out of Florida State.

The Utah Jazz will not extend a qualifying offer to point guard Trent Forrest, making him an unrestricted free agent, League Sources tell The Athletic. There is interest in working something out during free agency. Forrest was a member of the rotation this past season

— Tony Jones (@Tjonesonthenba) June 30, 2022

Per Marcus Thompson of The Athletic, Juan Toscano-Anderson will be an unrestricted free agent once the free agency period of the NBA offseason begins on Thursday. The 29-year-old became the first Mexican-American to win an NBA title after the Warriors won the 2022 NBA Finals.

“I got a championship with my hometown team,” JTA told Thompson during a phone interview Wednesday night.

“I’m stamped in the Town. I’m stamped in my country. That shit can’t nobody take from me. You’ve got to give a little to get a little. And I gave up playing time to, you know, become a legend. I’m a legend in the Town. I’m a legend in Mexico. And I’m not saying that myself. It’s showing, know what I mean?”

Juan Toscano-Anderson is at peace with leaving the Warriors.

“I’m stamped in the Town. I’m stamped in my country. That shit can’t nobody take from me.”

It’s time for the next chapter of his storybook journey.https://t.co/m94B7ILm2u pic.twitter.com/5OxoGWXG6P

— Marcus Thompson II (@ThompsonScribe) June 30, 2022

According to Tim Reynolds, the Heat does not have a meeting scheduled with restricted free agent Jalen Brunson on Thursday.

The Heat are not planning to meet with Jalen Brunson today, and they did not have such a meeting scheduled, per league source.

— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) June 30, 2022

The Cavs are reportedly expected to match offers given to restricted free agent Collin Sexton. Multiple reports say Sexton wants a “starting guard” extension. The Alabama product is coming off a season-ending torn meniscus.

Cavs Expected To Match Outside Offers For Collin Sexton – Hoops Wire https://t.co/9k5zuRmUAd

— Sam Amico (@AmicoHoops) June 30, 2022

The Jazz won’t extend a qualifying offer to forward Eric Paschall, sources tell @Tjonesonthenba.

He will become an unrestricted free agent.https://t.co/fcOCtqEmMN pic.twitter.com/ok07Xpx9Dr

— The Athletic NBA (@TheAthleticNBA) June 30, 2022

Kemba Walker and the Pistons have reportedly agreed to a contract buyout. Walker will be a free agent after he clears waivers. Walker last played for the Knicks last season before he was traded to the Pistons as New York clears space to sign fellow free agent Jalen Brunson.

Four-time All-Star guard Kemba Walker and the Detroit Pistons are finalizing a contract buyout, sources tell ESPN. Once Walker clears waivers, he’ll join free agency.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2022

Per Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald, the Heat have guaranteed the contracts of Max Strus, Gabe Stevenson, and Omer Yurtseven as of Thursday morning.

Max Strus, Gabe Vincent and Omer Yurtseven are still on the Heat’s roster this morning, which means their full $1.8 million salaries for next season are now guaranteed. This was seen as a formality. Carry on.

— Anthony Chiang (@Anthony_Chiang) June 30, 2022

The Sacramento Kings are exercising the option on PF/C Chimezie Metu for the 2022-2023 season, sources tell ESPN. Metu averaged 8.9 points and 5.6 rebounds in 21 minutes a game for the Kings last season.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 29, 2022

Patty Mills will be exploring his options on the free-agent market after declining to sign his player option with the Nets on Wednesday afternoon.

Brooklyn Nets guard Patty Mills declined his $6.2M option and will become a free agent, sources tell ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 29, 2022

The Kings won’t be offering a qualifying offer to Donte DiVencenzo, making him an unrestricted free agent.

The Sacramento Kings are declining to offer Donte DiVencenzo a qualifying offer, which will make him an unrestricted free agent, sources tell ESPN. There will be significant interest in DiVencenzo on the open market.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 29, 2022

Lu Dort will be a restricted free agent after the OKC Thunder decided to not sign Durt’s team option for the 2022-23 season, per Shams Charania.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are declining the $1.9 million team option on froward Lu Dort for 2022-23 season, which makes him a restricted free agent and allows sides to negotiate a new deal in free agency, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 29, 2022

James Harden will hit the free-agent market for the first time in his career but he is likely to re-sign with the 76ers.

ESPN Sources: 76ers star James Harden has declined his $47.3M option and become a free agent. He keeps real the possibility of negotiating a new deal that would deliver the Sixers roster-building flexibility in free agency – including use of the full $10.5M exception.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 29, 2022

Bobby Portis told the Bucks that he’ll decline his player option and will instead become a free agent.

Portis has early bird rights in Milwaukee.

The maximum that he can sign for is 4 years/$49M.

The contract has to be for a minimum of 2 seasons and cannot include an option in year 2. https://t.co/Nu5KC9G8D9

— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) June 29, 2022

Bradley Beal has made his long-awaited decision and will become a free agent for the first time in his career after declining his player option.

Washington Wizards star Bradley Beal has declined his $36.4M option and become a free agent, his agent Mark Bartelstein of @PrioritySports tells ESPN. Beal is eligible to sign a 5-year max to return to Wizards – or sign elsewhere on a 4-year deal.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 29, 2022

Jae-Sean Tate will be a restricted free agent after the ROckets declined his team option for the 2022-23 season. Shams Charania reports that Houston and Tate are mutually interested in signing a new deal once free agency begins on Thursday.

The Houston Rockets have declined forward Jae’Sean Tate’s $1.8 million team option for next season, making him a restricted free agent, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Rockets and Tate have mutual interest in discussing new deal in free agency beginning Thursday night.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 29, 2022

The Cavaliers have reportedly elected to not offer Moses Brown a qualifying offer to Moses Brown, per Michael Scott of the Hoopshype. The decision allows Brown to enter the free-agent market as an unrestricted free agent.

Sources: The Cleveland Cavaliers won’t tender a qualifying offer to center Moses Brown, @hoopshype has learned. The 7-foot-1, 22-year-old center will become an unrestricted free agent. Brown could be an intriguing development option for NBA teams around the league.

— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) June 28, 2022

According to Adrian Wojnarowski, Taurean Prince and the Timberwolves have reportedly agreed to a two-year contract extension.

Minnesota Timberwolves F Taurean Prince has agreed on a two-year, $16 million contract extension, sources tell ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 29, 2022

Ivica Zubac and his reps have reportedly agreed to a three-year extension with the Clippers, per Woj. The Clippers declining to sign his team option led to the agreement with Zubac.

Los Angeles Clippers center Ivica Zubac has agreed on a three-year, $33 million extension, his agents Jeff Schwartz and Mike Lindeman of @excelbasketball tell ESPN. The Clippers declined his $7.5M team option for 2022-2023, clearing the way for Zubac’s new deal.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 28, 2022

Tony Bradley is reportedly opting into his player option and will remain with the Bulls next season, per Woj.

Chicago Bulls center Tony Bradley is exercising his $2M player option for next season, sources tell ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 28, 2022

The post 2022 NBA Free Agency Tracker appeared first on SLAM.

Source confirms Mavs will trade the No. 26 pick, Boban Marjanovic, Trey Burke, Sterling Brown and Marquese Chriss to the Rockets for center Christian Wood.

Trade will officially convey on draft night.

Nico Harrison works hard and works fast. What a swap.

— Callie Caplan (@CallieCaplan) June 16, 2022

The move will help clear playing time for whoever the Rockets pick at No. 3 overall and Alperen Sengün, per Tim McMahon of ESPN.

Rockets were looking to move Christian Wood to clear playing time for Alperen Sengun and likely the No. 3 overall pick, whether that’s Paolo Banchero or Chet Holmgren. They pounced on chance to acquire a first-round pick (and no long-term salary) in the process.

— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) June 16, 2022

Wood arrived in Houston last year via a sign-and-trade deal from Detroit. In his lone season with the Rockets, Wood averaged 17.9 points and 10.1 rebounds per game on 50.1 percent shooting from the field and 39.0 percent from beyond the arc.

The post REPORT: Mavs Trade No. 26 Pick, Boban Marjanovic for Christian Wood appeared first on SLAM.

Northeast offers individual and small group training, limited competitive team play, as well as NBA pre-draft training for players looking to make the League. Northeast Run, an invite-only open gym competition for highly-skilled players, features high school All-Americans and NBA vets.

 Founder and director Trevor Harris has just announced NEBC’s inaugural “Club Member” ambassadors, which features of group of young players making an impact in their community both on and off the court.

“I greatly appreciate the athletes and families that came out to celebrate this year’s ambassador class,” Harris says. “Each and every athlete is extremely special both on and off the court, and I’m happy to have them a part of our program at Northeast. I couldn’t imagine a better group of individuals to represent our inaugural  club members class.”

That list includes Alabama guard Jahvon Quinerly, who is hosting his own basketball camp, powered by the club, in August. There’s also Bergen Catholic’s Elliot Cadeau, who is the No. 1 point guard in the Class of 2024, Roselle Catholic guard and North Carolina commit Simeon Wilcher, Hudson Catholic’s Tahaad Pettiford, The Webb School’s Angelica Velez, St. Peter’s Prep’s Jackson Tindall, Rutgers Prep’s Jordan Atkins and Kent School’s Keith Mency.

“I’ve been playing with Northeast since I was in the 8th grade and Trev always allowed me to challenge myself and play up with the older guys while I was still an underclassman in high school,” says Quinerly. “I feel like that really helped my development as a player before I got to college. Northeast has been a great asset for players in New Jersey who love getting better. Trev is a testament of building a brand and program from the ground up and it’s came a long way. The event in Soho was really cool to be a part of. The venue was really chill and I feel like everyone who came through had a good time.”

“Northeast is great, every time I get in the gym whether it’s runs, a game, or just a workout, there is always elite players right next to me. Even when I go out to events that have nothing to do with basketball, I’m always surrounded by elite athletes,” adds Cadeau.

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The Northeast Basketball Club also hosts the Northeast Classic, an annual all-star game in North Jersey showcasing some of the nation’s top talent, as well as “Point Guard University,” an invite-only one-day guard training session featuring some of the top guards in the country.

“Being apart of the northeast ambassadors crew is something I truly feel humbled and honored by!” says Velez. “Especially, being the only female to work and develop along side some of the most elite level male athletes in this area is something that I hold near and dear to me. The event recently hosted in NYC was my first chance seeing the impact and movement we have and are creating. Through our ambassadors program, I get to develop me as a woman and as a basketball player and I am excited about the future of what we will all do together.”

To learn more about the Northeast Basketball Club, read here.

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Though Brooklyn Tea sits in downtown Atlanta, the quaint shop would easily be at home in Brooklyn’s Park Slope or Dumbo neighborhoods. It’s clean, quiet and keeps the cups of tropical green coming. You can see why Long Island native Jah Rawlings would want to meet there to talk basketball. 

“I was born in New York, but Atlanta raised me,” says Rawlings, who hooped for Georgia Perimeter College before founding the Atlanta Entertainment Basketball League (AEBL) in 2010. “[Atlanta] gave me the opportunity to get my dreams out and flourish and do the things that I wanted to do. That’s why I rep so hard for the city.” 

On this day, Rawlings doesn’t order anything at the tea shop, but he does explain how he’s poured his heart and his wallet into the AEBL, a pro-am summer league he envisioned having the swagger of ATL with the soul of Harlem’s Rucker Park. 

“If anyone can do it, I can,” Rawlings, 39, says. “My mentor was Greg Marius, rest in peace. He started EBC [the Entertainer’s Basketball Classic tournament at Rucker Park—Ed.]. My uncle, Bob McCullough, created the Rucker [Pro Tournament]. It’s already in my DNA.” 

Rawlings admits that the first few seasons of his outdoor hoop dream were a challenge—light crowds, heavy rains—but he kept at it. A former member of the Atlanta Hawks organization, Rawlings knew the city had a thirst for streetball, he just needed more time for things to simmer. 

First step, take the game indoors. Second, ask another “uncle” for an assist. In 2017, Kyrie Irving was filming Uncle Drewin Atlanta. A friend of a friend invited Irving to come through and the point guard said he would. Rawlings didn’t get his hopes up until he saw the future Hall of Famer walk into the gym. And once he did, a buzz shot through the rafters that still hasn’t cooled.

Over the past few years, a who’s who of Hawks (John Collins, Trae Young), NBA ballers (Jaylen Brown, Montrezl Harrell) and future stars (Auburn’s Jabari Smith) have suited up. And they aren’t out there half-assin’ it. Once vets like Lou Williams and Isaiah Thomas get a taste of the competitiveness and massive crowds, they’re hooked. 

Much like Rucker’s legendary summers, AEBL games are about more than just the action on the court. It’s the energy and the engagement everywhere else. At any given game, 2 Chainz or Tee Grizzley could be in the stands. Halftimes almost certainly turn into mini concerts. In-arena host Bria Janelle is magnetic on the mic. The “E” in AEBL really means something. 

Still, Rawlings is as proud of his league’s ability to prepare young staffers for careers at Nike and in the front office with the Atlanta Dream as he is about seeing ’21 MVP Kevon “Cheat Code” Harris ball out in the G League. Additionally, AEBL participates in community initiatives, donates to local athletic programs and volunteers at shelters over the holidays. 

“I want young kids to know that I made it pro as a CEO,” says Rawlings. “I’m still in the game. I’m actually a major player in basketball. I’ve never stepped foot on an NBA court, but look at what I’ve done. My mentors are like, Man, we see you being a GM. I’m like, I got my own NBA.”

AEBL’s 2022 season kicks off with a bang on July 4th weekend. In addition to the men’s action (former Hawk Joe Johnson is debuting a squad), the calendar will include a dope women’s league and other events. With adidas as a sponsor, AEBL is also dropping a Trae Young 1 sneaker, draped in the league’s logo and stylings.

“AEBL is bigger than basketball,” says Rawlings, who spearheads an HBCU-focused camp and a program aimed at elite high schoolers throughout the year, too. “We’re culture. We’re community. We’re entertainment. We’re mentorship. When people look at us now, they’re like, Oh, this is bigger than just some NBA guys playing on the court.” 

Photos courtesy of AEBL.

The post Jah Rawlings’ AEBL Pro-Am is Making Waves Across the Summer League Circuit, But it’s Bigger Than Basketball appeared first on SLAM.

10. 2012-13 Miami Heat

Coach: Erik Spoelstra

Record: 66-16

Roster: Ray Allen, Chris Andersen, Joel Anthony, Shane Battier, Chris Bosh, Mario Chalmers, Norris Cole, Josh Harrellson, Terrel Harris, Udonis Haslem, Juwan Howard, LeBron James, James Jones, Rashard Lewis, Mike Miller, Dexter Pittman, Jarvis Varnado, Dwyane Wade

After LeBron James made his famous announcement that he had decided to play for Miami, he sat on a stage with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade and talked about how many championships the trio would win with the Heat. “Not two. Not three…” And so on.

Well, after two years in South Beach, James had one title, not two. Nobody was restless, but there was clearly an expectation that after winning it all in 2012, Miami was about to start rolling.

The Big Three was on hand to try for a repeat, but the Heat had also added sharpshooter Ray Allen, who, though 37, provided some needed long-range production and finished the season making 41.9 percent of his three-point attempts. The formula worked. Miami rampaged to 66 wins, 12 better than any other Eastern Conference team.

James once again was the biggest star, leading the team in points, rebounds and assists. But Wade and Bosh were big every night, too. And while Allen was past the days when he could dominate with his long-range shooting, he was an undeniable weapon, as was do-everything forward Shane Battier, who actually shot a higher percentage from behind the arc than Allen did.

The regular season presented few hurdles for the Heat, and neither did the first two rounds of the playoffs. Miami swept Milwaukee in the first round and dusted away Chicago in five after that. But things got interesting in the Eastern Finals, when Indiana—led by Paul George and Roy Hibbert—extended the Heat to seven games in a series so heavy on defense that only one time did a team hit triple figures. In the finale, James scored 32, and Miami routed the Pacers, 99-76, to earn a Finals meeting with San Antonio.

The Eastern Finals series was great, but the Heat-Spurs showdown was even more dramatic. After five games, the Spurs held a 3-2 series lead, and it looked as if Pop’s bunch would close things out in the sixth contest. With 28.2 seconds left, the Spurs led, 94-89, but an Allen three-pointer with 5.2 left forced overtime, and the Heat ultimately prevailed. Game 7 was similarly dramatic. With San Antonio trailing by 2, Duncan missed a pair of shots close to the hoop, and the Heat held on to take the title. Though Miami wouldn’t win seven, as James had insinuated, the Heat had put up back-to-back banners, and that was still pretty darn good.

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Here’s our No. 21-11:

21. 2015-16 Golden State Warriors

Coach: Steve Kerr (Luke Walton, Interim Head Coach)

Record: 73-9

Roster: Leandro Barbosa, Harrison Barnes, Andrew Bogut, Ian Clark, Stephen Curry, Festus Ezeli, Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, Kevon Looney, James Michael McAdoo, Brandon Rush, Marreese Speights, Jason Thompson, Klay Thompson, Anderson Varejao

Never before in NBA history had a team finished the regular season with a single digit in the loss column. When these Dubs did it, fresh off the first of what seemed sure to be three or five or 10 titles with the Curry-Thompson-Green core, a championship seemed like almost a formality—and even more so when they took a seemingly insurmountable 3-1 lead in the Finals. Only then it was Cleveland’s turn to make history.

20. 2015-16 Cleveland Cavaliers

Record: 57-25

Roster: Jared Cunningham, Matthew Dellavedova, Channing Frye, Joe Harris, Kyrie Irving, LeBron James, Richard Jefferson, Dahntay Jones, James Jones, Sasha Kaun, Kevin Love, Jordan McRae, Timofey Mozgov, Iman Shumpert, JR Smith, Tristan Thompson, Anderson Varejao, Mo Williams

There would be no shame in a second straight Finals loss to the mighty Warriors—no shame for LeBron, Kyrie and Kevin in falling short against the historically elite Dubs. There would be disappointment, sure, that the title LeBron came back to Cleveland to win, as part of arguably the most talented team in Cavs history, simply wasn’t meant to be. But this was Cleveland. They were used to disappointment. They weren’t used to making history. Until they did.

19. 1991-92 Chicago Bulls

Coach: Phil Jackson

Record: 67-15

Roster: BJ Armstrong, Bill Cartwright, Horace Grant, Bob Hansen, Craig Hodges, Dennis Hopson, Michael Jordan, Stacey King, Cliff Levingston, Chuck Nevitt, John Paxson, Will Perdue, Scottie Pippen, Mark Randall, Rory Sparrow, Scott Williams

One title, against an aging Lakers team, did not make a dynasty, and so the Bulls came into the ’91-92 season motivated for more. Those 67 regular-season wins were a statement, as was another MVP award for Michael Jordan (30.1 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 6.1 apg). But as ever, the playoffs were where it mattered, and Chicago needed to survive a seven-game series with the Knicks en route to the Finals. Once there, a hungry and talented Portland team promised to make the Bulls earn it. And so they did.

18. 2013-14 San Antonio Spurs

Coach: Gregg Popovich

Record: 62-20

Roster: Jeff Ayres, Aron Baynes, Marco Belinelli, Matt Bonner, Shannon Brown, Austin Daye, Nando De Colo, Boris Diaw, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Danny Green, Damion James, Othyus Jeffers, Cory Joseph, Kawhi Leonard, Patty Mills, Tony Parker, Tiago Splitter, Malcolm Thomas

The whole thing with the Spurs’ post-millennial dominance was that it was Duncan, Parker and Ginobili, and then whatever spare parts Coach Pop managed to perfectly align around them. It wasn’t supposed to be like this: A 22-year-old, third-year forward who averaged 12.8 ppg in the regular season emerging as the most impactful player in the entire postseason, including a Finals MVP performance in a five-game humbling of the Heat. This Kawhi Leonard guy might be pretty good.

17. 1997-98 Chicago Bulls

Coach: Phil Jackson

Record: 62-20

Roster: Keith Booth, Randy Brown, Jud Buechler, Scott Burrell, Jason Caffey, Ron Harper, Michael Jordan, Steve Kerr, Joe Kleine, Toni Kukoc, Rusty LaRue, Luc Longley, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Dickey Simpkins, David Vaughn, Bill Wennington

The Bulls kept the gang together for the “Last Dance,” and the result was a sixth title in eight years. There was plenty of tension and pressure. As usual, Michael Jordan was a hard-driving, big-scoring winner, while Scottie Pippen rode shotgun. Toni Kukoc did a bit of everything, and Dennis Rodman pounded the boards. Chicago survived a seven-game thriller with Indiana to reach the Finals, then dispatched Utah in six to end it all in style.

16. 1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers

Coach: Alex Hannum

Record: 68-13

Roster: Wilt Chamberlain, Larry Costello, Billy Cunningham, Dave Gambee, Hal Greer, Matt Guokas, Luke Jackson, Wali Jones, Bill Melchionni, Chet Walker, Bob Weiss

After years of dominating the scorebook but not the winner’s circle, Wilt Chamberlain finally won a title. He did it by playing great defense, grabbing nearly every rebound and, amazingly, passing. He had plenty of targets. Hal Greer, Chet Walker, Billy Cunningham and Wali Jones were dangerous scorers, and few were tougher inside than Luke Jackson.
The Sixers whipped the Celtics in five to reach the Finals and then stopped the Warriors to give The Big Dipper a championship.

15. 1984-85 Los Angeles Lakers

Coach: Pat Riley

Record: 62-20

Roster: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Cooper, Magic Johnson, Earl Jones, Mitch Kupchak, Ronnie Lester, Bob McAdoo, Mike McGee, Chuck Nevitt, Kurt Rambis, Byron Scott, Larry Spriggs, Jamaal Wilkes, James Worthy

The Lakers had lost in two straight Finals but ’84-85 would be different. L.A. trampled all Western Conference competition and was led again by maestro Magic Johnson. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was still a force in the paint, while James Worthy, Byron Scott and Michael Cooper were a formidable supporting cast. After L.A. lost by 34 in the Finals opener, Abdul-Jabbar took over and was MVP of the Lakers’ first-ever championship win over Boston.

14. 1988-89 Detroit Pistons

Coach: Chuck Daly

Record: 63-19

Roster: Mark Aguirre, Adrian Dantley, Darryl Dawkins, Fennis Dembo, Joe Dumars, James Edwards, Steve Harris, Vinnie Johnson, Bill Laimbeer, John Long, Rick Mahorn, Pace Mannion, Dennis Rodman, Jim Rowinski, John Salley, Isiah Thomas, Micheal Williams

The Pistons won a title with a team as tough as their town. The Bad Boys were physical, to be sure, but they had plenty of talent. Isiah Thomas teamed with Joe Dumars in a lethal backcourt, with Vinnie Johnson providing heat off the bench. Rick Mahorn and Bill Laimbeer handled the rough stuff, and the mid-season trade for Mark Aguirre brought it all together. Detroit ended the Showtime era by sweeping the Lakers in the Finals.

13. 2017-18 Golden State Warriors

Coach: Steve Kerr

Record: 58-24

Roster: Jordan Bell, Chris Boucher, Omri Casspi, Quinn Cook, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala, Damian Jones, Shaun Livingston, Kevon Looney, Patrick McCaw, JaVale McGee, Zaza Pachulia, Klay Thompson, David West, Nick Young

For the Dubs, regular-season records had long since been rendered meaningless. This was about trophies, and the last of Golden State’s trio of titles ended up being its most conclusive. KD and Steph both missed chunks of the season but still functioned as the League’s most reliable cheat code when it mattered, and after a seven-game scare from Houston in the West Finals, the Warriors swept a depleted Cavs squad for the championship.

12. 1996-97 Chicago Bulls

Coach: Phil Jackson

Record: 69-13

Roster: Randy Brown, Jud Buechler, Jason Caffey, Bison Dele, Ron Harper, Michael Jordan, Steve Kerr, Toni Kukoc, Luc Longley, Robert Parish, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Dickey Simpkins, Matt Steigenga, Bill Wennington

By now, it was only a question of how long they could keep it going. A year after that 72-win campaign, the Bulls started the ’96-97 season with 12 straight victories and had five winning streaks of seven games or more. The machine just kept humming right up until the Finals, and then, there was a moment in Game 6 when it looked like the Jazz might force a Game 7. But they didn’t, because against these Bulls, nobody ever did.

11. 1964-65 Boston Celtics

Coach: Red Auerbach

Record: 62-18

Roster: Ron Bonham, Mel Counts, John Havlicek, Tom Heinsohn, KC Jones, Sam Jones, Willie Naulls, Bevo Nordmann, Bill Russell, Tom Sanders, Larry Siegfried, John Thompson, Gerry Ward

The best team of Boston’s ’60s dynasty? It’s at least in the conversation. Six Celtics averaged double figures, led by Sam Jones’ 25.9 ppg. It was the last of Bill Russell’s five MVP seasons, and the last of Tommy Heinsohn’s Hall of Fame career. The defining moment, thanks to a legendary call by Johnny Most, came against Philly in Game 7 of the East Finals: “Havlicek stole the ball!” A 4-1 dispatching of the Lakers in the Finals was almost anticlimactic.

Read here to find out who made it on the rest of the list, including No. 75-66, 65-55, 54-44, 43-33 and 32-22.

Get your copy of SLAM Presents TOP 75 NBA Teams Of All Time

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From dominant big threes and electrifying duos to all-around greatness, here’s our top 43-33:

43. 1958-59 Boston Celtics

Coach: Red Auerbach

Record: 52-20

Roster: Gene Conley, Bob Cousy, Tom Heinsohn, KC Jones, Sam Jones, Jim Loscutoff, Frank Ramsey, Bill Russell, Bill Sharman, Bennie Swain, Lou Tsioropoulos

The greatest rivalry in NBA history began, for all practical purposes, in the spring of ’59, and it foreshadowed the decade to come. Led by veteran guard Bill Sharman’s 20.4 ppg, five Celtics averaged better than 15 ppg en route to the League’s best record. They needed seven games to dispatch Syracuse in the conference finals, setting up a first-ever Finals meeting with the Minneapolis Lakers. Three Cs averaged 20-plus, Bill Russell pulled down 22.1 boards per and Boston swept their way to the title.

42. 2002-03 San Antonio Spurs

Coach: Gregg Popovich

Record: 60-22

Roster: Mengke Bateer, Bruce Bowen, Devin Brown, Speedy Claxton, Tim Duncan, Danny Ferry, Manu Ginobili, Anthony Goldwire, Stephen Jackson, Steve Kerr, Tony Parker, David Robinson, Malik Rose, Steve Smith, Kevin Willis

The Kings, Mavs, Spurs and Timberwolves all finished ahead of the three-time-defending-champion Lakers in ’02-03, but one of them would still have to beat L.A. when it mattered. Led by Tim Duncan, fresh off a second straight League MVP award, and second-year point guard Tony Parker, San Antonio got its chance in the second round and dispatched Shaq and Kobe in six games. They handled Dallas and New Jersey in similarly businesslike fashion en route to the chip.

41. 2018-19 Golden State Warriors

Coach: Steve Kerr

Record: 57-25

Roster: Jordan Bell, Andrew Bogut, Quinn Cook, DeMarcus Cousins, Stephen Curry, Marcus Derrickson, Kevin Durant, Jacob Evans, Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala, Jonas Jerebko, Damian Jones, Damion Lee, Shaun Livingston, Kevon Looney, Alfonzo McKinnie, Klay Thompson

The three-peat was never a given, but it was right there, within reach. As injury-impacted NBA championships go, this one is right up there. With Steph, KD and Klay, the Dubs were the scariest offensive team in the League; but a mix of minor and major injuries to the Splash Bros, Durant and much of the supporting cast in May and June were too much for the Dubs to overcome. Toronto got them in six games in the Finals. You just know they’d love a do-over.

40. 1993-94 Houston Rockets

Coach: Rudy Tomjanovich

Record: 58-24

Roster: Scott Brooks, Matt Bullard, Sam Cassell, Earl Cureton, Mario Elie, Carl Herrera, Robert Horry, Chris Jent, Vernon Maxwell, Hakeem Olajuwon, Richard Petruska, Eric Riley, Larry Robinson, Kenny Smith, Otis Thorpe

Go ahead and attribute Houston’s first title to Michael Jordan’s baseball flirtation. Others have done it, and it’s just wrong. The Rockets excelled at both ends of the court, had all-time great Hakeem Olajuwon and his Dream Shake in the middle and boasted a versatile lineup of fierce gamers like guards Kenny Smith and Vernon Maxwell and rugged Otis Thorpe. Houston outlasted the Knicks in a classic Finals series and deserves a title with no asterisk.

39. 1983-84 Boston Celtics

Coach: KC Jones

Record: 62-20

Roster: Danny Ainge, Larry Bird, Quinn Buckner, ML Carr, Carlos Clark, Gerald Henderson, Dennis Johnson, Greg Kite, Cedric Maxwell, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Scott Wedman

After two years of watching hated rivals Philadelphia and the Lakers hoist the trophy, Boston reclaimed its rightful spot atop the NBA. Or at least that’s how Celtics fans figured it. Call the roll: Larry Bird, Robert Parish and Kevin McHale were up front. Dennis Johnson, Cedric Maxwell and Gerald Henderson handled the backcourt. The Celtics had way more regular-season victories than anyone else and won a thrilling seven-gamer over L.A. to take the title.

38. 2011-12 Miami Heat

Coach: Erik Spoelstra

Record: 46-20

Roster: Joel Anthony, Shane Battier, Chris Bosh, Mario Chalmers, Norris Cole, Eddy Curry, Mickell Gladness, Terrel Harris, Udonis Haslem, Juwan Howard, LeBron James, James Jones, Mike Miller, Dexter Pittman, Ronny Turiaf, Dwyane Wade

Although LeBron James had taken his talents to Miami a year earlier, the Heat hadn’t won a title. In the lockout-shortened ’11-12 campaign, James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh & Co. changed that. The Big Three were a force all season, and a strong supporting cast helped fuel a focused postseason run. The seven-game Eastern Finals series with Boston was a grind, but the Heat dominated OKC in the Finals to take the title.

37. 1972-73 New York Knicks

Coach: Red Holzman

Record: 57-25

Roster: Dick Barnett, Henry Bibby, Bill Bradley, Dave DeBusschere, Walt Frazier, John Gianelli, Phil Jackson, Jerry Lucas, Dean Meminger, Earl Monroe, Luther Rackley, Willis Reed, Tom Riker, Harthorne Wingo

If it’s possible, the Knicks five-game wipeout of L.A. in the Finals was actually an anticlimax after their thrilling Eastern Finals upset of the Celtics. The Knicks were the consummate collection of team players. Backcourt men Walt Frazier and Earl Monroe were practically unguardable. Dave DeBusschere was a force inside, while Bill Bradley patrolled the wings. Jerry Lucas was the League’s best passing big man, and Willis Reed could still hang with the best centers around.

36. 1999-2000 Los Angeles Lakers

Coach: Phil Jackson

Record: 67-15

Roster: Kobe Bryant, John Celestand, Derek Fisher, Rick Fox, Devean George, AC Green, Ron Harper, Robert Horry, Sam Jacobson, Travis Knight, Tyronn Lue, Shaquille O’Neal, Glen Rice,
John Salley, Brian Shaw

This was the first of three straight for the Big Brother-Little Brother Lakers. Shaq and Kobe were together for three seasons before ’99-00, and although their relationship wasn’t always the warmest, their talent was overwhelming. There was just no stopping the Diesel. O’Neal overpowered defenders and swept the boards clean, while Bryant provided offense from all over. Glen Rice was a potent outside weapon, and a cast of veteran winners completed the Laker machine.

35. 1979-80 Los Angeles Lakers

Record: 60-22

Roster: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Ron Boone, Marty Byrnes, Kenny Carr, Jim Chones, Michael Cooper, Don Ford, Spencer Haywood, Brad Holland, Magic Johnson, Mark Landsberger, Butch Lee, Ollie Mack, Norm Nixon, Jamaal Wilkes

Showtime made its NBA debut in Magic Johnson’s rookie season, when the 6-9 point guard brought fun back to the Lakers and kick-started perhaps the League’s most entertaining decade. Johnson revitalized center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and served as the trigger for a raucous L.A. attack that was bolstered by Norm Nixon, Jamaal Wilkes and Jim Chones. The Lakers ruled the West and finished off Philadelphia in six, with Johnson scoring 42 in the Finals-clinching victory.

34. 2014-15 Golden State Warriors

Coach: Steve Kerr

Record: 67-15

Roster: Leandro Barbosa, Harrison Barnes, Andrew Bogut, Stephen Curry, Festus Ezeli, Draymond Green, Justin Holiday, Andre Iguodala, Ognjen Kuzmic, David Lee, Shaun Livingston, James Michael McAdoo, Brandon Rush, Marreese Speights, Klay Thompson

The Warriors’ first title in 40 years—and the first of three in four seasons—was accomplished primarily by the never-ending shooting of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, whose solution to tough defenses was simply to move back another step or two. Draymond Green handled the tough work and never backed down from a soul, while Harrison Barnes and Marreese Speights did what was necessary. The Warriors dumped the Cavs in six to take the crown.

33. 1976-77 Portland Trail Blazers

Coach: Jack Ramsay

Record: 49-33

Roster: Corky Calhoun, Johnny Davis, Herm Gilliam, Bob Gross, Lionel Hollins, Robin Jones, Maurice Lucas, Clyde Mayes, Lloyd Neal, Larry Steele, Dave Twardzik, Wally Walker, Bill Walton

The Blazers weren’t overpowering during the regular season, but by the playoffs, they had become the perfect team, working as a highly efficient unit under coach Jack Ramsay. It all started with Bill Walton, a pivot savant who could pass, score and rebound. Maurice Lucas provided the muscle, with Lionel Hollins, Dave Twardzik, Bob Gross and Larry Steele willingly playing supporting roles. Portland overcame Julius Erving’s high-flying Sixers in the Finals with textbook unselfish basketball.

Read here to find out who made it on the rest of the list, including No. 75-66, 65-55 and 54-44.

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The girl’s national game starts at 6pm ET, while the boys play at 8pm. Here’s the tentative roster for this year’s event: 

Girls Roster:

Kymora Johnson (USA Trials ‘23) 

Zoe Brooks (USA Trials ‘23) 

Angelica Velez (ESPN top 50 ‘23) 

Aalyah De Rosario (ESPN Top 20) 

Paris Clark (MAC Jordan NY Gatorade POY + Arizona ‘22) 

Ayanna Patterson (MAC + UConn ‘22) 

Paulina Paris (UNC commit ‘22 & Jordan Cllassic)

Kate Koval ‘24 fro Ukraine JR National team )

Caroline Lau ( ‘22 Northwestern)

Mackenzie Nelson (‘23 Connecticut Gatorade POY)

Carys Baker (‘23 ESPN #60))

Grace Sundback (‘23)

Zhara King(‘24)

Sahnya Jah (‘23 ESPN top 25) 

Ariel Little (‘24)

Talayah Walker (24)

Qadence Samuels(‘23)

Mia Pauldo (‘25 ESPN #17)

Mya Pauldo (‘25 ESPN #18)

Boys Roster: 

**Subject to change**

Tahaad Pettiford (ESPN #34 ‘24)

Elliot Cadeau (ESPN #10 ‘24)

Chance Westry (Auburn ESPN #33)

TJ Robinson (Bishop Walsh ‘24)

Darryn Peterson (Cuyahoga ESPN #4)

Ian Jackson (ESPN #3 ‘24)

Jaquan Sanders (Seton Hall Commit)

Jerry Easter II (Emmanuel Christian)

Quadir Copeland (Syracuse Commit) 

Rowan Brumbaugh (Texas ESPN #90) 

Malik Bowman (OTE)

Akil Watson (ESPN #24 ‘23)

Christian Watson (Miami ESPN #92)

Tarik Watson (Rivals 41 ‘24)

Ryan Bewley (OTE) 

Elijah Jones (East Carolina Commit) 

Tobe Awaka (Tennessee Commit ‘23)

Aaron Bradshaw (ESPN #20 ‘23)

Kyle Filipowski (Duke Commit) **

Brandon Miller (Alabama Commit) ** 

Desmond Claude (Xavier Commit) **

Justin Edwards (ESPN #13 ‘23) **

Youssouf Singare (Bella Vista Prep) ** 

Isaiah Miranda (ESPN #26 ‘23) **

ACES is a cultural lifestyle brand platform that’s focused on storytelling through collaborations, products, and unique event activations. Founded by former pro hooper turned CEO Brian Kortovich (who joined the ranks of Kevin Durant and Dr. J, Joe “The Destroyer” Hammond when he won a scoring title at Rucker Park in the summer of 2012) the brand has always been tapped into the culture. That impact continues this year as they spotlight the elite talent that hails not only from the five boroughs, but nationally.    

“Grassroots basketball has always been a part of the Brand ACES ethos,” says founder and CEO Brian Kortovich. “The Omni Elite Classic (OEC) is unique because of its organic inception, relevance to hoop culture and how it rallies the local community together. The OEC platform consistently attracts some of the top ranked HS players in the country to NYC, the Mecca of Basketball. We will continue to impact and empower these student athletes by giving them a stage to shine on a national level and organically giving them an outlet to tell their stories.

Special shoutout to the OEC Team. Trevor Harris & Jess Villaplana, Dwight Shaw, Mark Westman, Eric Jones & Dayon Floyd for all of their hard work and efforts.”

Last year, the showcase featured standouts including UConn and SLAM 235 co-cover star Azzi Fudd and NCAA national champion, Kansas’ Kyle Cuffe Jr. In the past, New York’s very own Jahvon “JQ” Quinerly, who just graduated from Alabama, Minnesota Timberwolves’ center Naz Reid, Orlando Magic’s Cole Anthony and Mo Bamba and Pelicans’ PG Jose Alvarado have suited up in the OEC as well.

“Omni Elite Classic is a great platform to allow student athletes to come out and compete at the highest level, in the Mecca of basketball,” says the program’s Boys Director, Trevor Harris. “While the focus is on putting together a roster of high caliber athletes, we also focus on rewarding those that equally excel in the classroom.”

“I am excited for this year’s Omni Elite Classic showcase. It’s the last exclusive HS basketball event of the year where we bring some of the top players in the country from different classes to compete against each other in NYC,” adds Girl’s Director Jess Villaplana.

Read here for more information on the Omni Elite Classic. 

For live coverage of the event, and all things high school hoops, follow @slam_hs.

Photos by Luke Schlaifer, Moving Pictures and Johnnie Izquierdo.

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“To join such an elite company is amazing,” Howard said in a statement. “Overall, just super stoked to be a part of a family that cares about you on all levels in life.”

BREAKING: WNBA #1 pick Rhyne Howard of the Atlanta Dream has signed a multi-year shoe deal with Jordan Brand. pic.twitter.com/uMXYtimf7x

— Nick DePaula (@NickDePaula) May 5, 2022

Isabelle Harrison of the Dallas Wings and Dana Evans are the other two recent Jordan Brand signees. Evans is the first NBA or WNBA player that has won a championship in Chicago to sign with the brand since Jordan himself.

“I was always a sneakerhead, and now understanding that Jordans are a symbol of excellence and being a part of the Jordan Brand Family is everything I thought it would be and more,” Evans said.

Howard will make her professional debut on May 7, when the Dream takes on the Wings in College Park Center.

The post No.1 Overall Pick Rhyne Howard Signs Multi-Year Deal With Jordan Brand appeared first on SLAM.

Lost in that important story is the job Tobias Harris (11 points, 12 rebounds on 4-9 shooting from the field) did in springing Embiid free with a screen. Harris also held Raptors star Pascal Siakam to just 12 points on 6-16 shooting from the field, all in the first half. Much fewer than the 30 points per game he averaged against the Sixers during the regular season.

“The unsung hero, I don’t know what he scored, but Tobias Harris tonight was unbelievable,” said coach Doc Rivers per Sixerswire. “All over the floor defensively, he did so many little things. He set the last pick of the game, he was fantastic.”

Harris has held Siakam to 24 points (9-18 shooting from the field) in Game 1 and 20 (7-20 shooting from the field) in Game 2. Coach Doc rivers said that Harris’s job has been all the more impressive since Harris still has the energy to contribute meaningfully during crunch time of close games like Game 3.

“Just being able to slide and be physical,” he said. “This is a physical team. They have drivers, they have guys who are used to bullying guys. This is a forward-based team. These guys are strong and have length to get downhill, and I just use that exact same thing against them in all those plays.”

The former Tennessee product also made sure to establish that he enjoys these kinds of matchups and being able to cut off his matchups water when the Sixers need a stop.

“I pride myself on not letting guys blow by me or whatnot and being able to guard my yard, that’s what I call it,” he said. “Any time I’m able to do that, I know if I got a guy dribbling three or four times, he’s in for a long night there because I know I’m gonna be able to slide with him and be able to contest and live with the type of shots we want them to shoot.”

The post Tobias Harris Proving to Be Unsung Hero of 76ers appeared first on SLAM.

JOEL EMBIID STOP IT MAN (via @espn) pic.twitter.com/Zh46DYZ3Fs

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) April 21, 2022

Embiid’s dagger not only gave the Kansas alum his first career game-winner but it also gave the Sixers a commanding 3-0 lead over Toronto. The jobs not finished yet but with no team in League history ever coming back from a 3-0 deficit, it’s as close to being finished as you can get.

“That’s the best [shot of my career], but the job is not done,” Embiid said per CBS Sports. “We got one more, so we have to come back here in two days and try to beat them again.” 

The loss has to be incredibly deflating for a Raptors team that gave the Sixers as much trouble as possible. Their sense of urgency and intensity was evident as they built a 10-point going into halftime. However, when the best player on the court is wearing different colors, no lead is safe, especially in the NBA. Embiid showed precisely why he’s an MVP front-runner after scoring 18-points in the third quarter, bringing the Sixers to within one going into the final frame.

EMBIID CAUGHT A BODY IN TORONTO!!! (via @NBA) pic.twitter.com/M0DjLs0LAU

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) April 21, 2022

By the way, the 76ers never lead until overtime, which has to be even more challenging for Toronto to accept.

Embiid scored a game-high 33 points and added 13 rebounds, while James Harden and Tyrese Maxey scored 19 apiece. Harden added 10 assists as well. The Sixer’s balanced attack was punctuated by Tobias Harris’ 11 points, 12 rebound double-double.

The post Joel Embiid Sinks Raptors With Overtime Game-Winner appeared first on SLAM.

First Team:

Justin Anderson – Fort Wayne Mad Ants

Mason Jones – South Bay Lakers

Justin Tillman – College Park Skyhawks

Trevelin Queen – Rio Grande Valley Vipers

Moses Wright – Texas Legends

Second Team:

Cat Barber – College Park Skyhawks

Charles Bassey – Delaware Blue Coats

Braxton Key – Delaware Blue Coats

Saben Lee – Motor City Cruise

Reggie Perry – Raptors 905

Third Team:

Luka Garza – Motor City Cruise

Jared Harper – Birmingham Squadron

Justin Jackson – Texas Legends

Carlik Jones – Texas Legends

Anthony Lamb – Rio Grande Valley Vipers

The G League also released their All-Rookie and All-Defensive Team rosters. Notable players are the 2021-22 Rookie of the Year Mac McClung and the 2021-22 Defensive Player of the Year Shaquille Harrison. The teams are as follows:

All-Rookie:

Charles Bassey – Delaware Blue Coats

Luka Garza – Motor City Cruise

Carlik Jones – Texas Legends

Mac McClung – South Bay Lakers

Micah Potter – Sioux Falls Skyforce

All-Defensive:

Charles Bassey – Delaware Blue Coats

Braxton Key – Delaware Blue Coats

Tacko Fall – Cleveland Charge

Shaquille Harrison – Delaware Blue Coats

Trevelin Queen – Rio Grande Valley Vipers

The post 2021-22 All-NBA G League, All-Rookie, and All-Defensive Teams Announced appeared first on SLAM.

Joel Embiid on Toronto: “The way they defend me has never changed. They just play recklessly, sending 3 guys at me as soon as the ball is in the air. They made me better honestly, over the years, just playing against them and watching them. Definitely made me a better playmaker.”

— Rich Hofmann (@rich_hofmann) April 14, 2022

Embiid, who just became the first center to win a scoring title since Shaquille O’Neal, has averaged 29.3 points against Toronto. However, the Raptors have proven to be a challenge for The Process. Of the 13 times, Embiid has 10 or fewer points in a game; five came against Toronto. The Raptors even held him to a zero-point outing in 2019.

“The way they defend me has never changed,” Embiid told the media, per Yahoo Sports. “They just play recklessly, sending three guys at me as soon as the ball is in the air.

“They made me better, honestly, over the years, just playing against them and watching them. Definitely made me a better playmaker.”

When the two met in the 2019 Eastern Conference semifinals, Coach Nick Nurse designed a defense that held Embiid to 17.3 points per game on 37 percent shooting from the field.

Joel Embiid the first 76ers player with 30+ points in 6 straight road games since Allen Iverson in 2006.
Tobias Harris notched his 1st career triple-double.
Georges Niang 19 points off the bench.

Game Highlights vs. Toronto Raptors | 12.28.21 pic.twitter.com/tiD2wfni0F

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) December 29, 2021

Embiid and the 76ers hope that the solution to the defensive gameplan Nurse designs will be the Kansas products’ improved playmaking and the improved play of James Harden, who they acquired at the deadline to take them over the top as a Finals threat. The 76ers went 14-7 with Harden in the lineup this season.

The post Joel Embiid on Raptors Defense: ‘They Made Me Better’ appeared first on SLAM.

Round of applause for the National Champions.

(: @Silkyyphotos) pic.twitter.com/qYfGaTsrub

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) April 5, 2022

The fact that the Jayhawks were able to be in that position after being down 40-25 at the half is astounding. The Jayhawks overcame the largest halftime deficit in Final Four history and the biggest comeback bid in title game history by applying more pressure to Tar Heel point guard R.J. Davis, clogging up the passing lanes, and forcing UNC into rushed shots. All staples of a championship-level defense.

The switch-up in their defensive effort helped Kansas score eight fast break points and turn their 16-point deficit into a six-point lead with 10 points left.

“With the group of guys as experienced as this and been around and know each other so well, it’s kind of hard to see us get rattled,” said sixth-year Kansas forward Mitch Lightfoot, per ESPN. “Coach had a great message for us, and he challenged us to be better and to have more pride.”

McCormack sealed it @slam_university (via @CBSSports) pic.twitter.com/nkP9AGkDIn

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) April 5, 2022

When things got tight late in the game, the Jayhawks leaned on their blooming big man in the middle, David McCormack (15 points and 10 rebounds), who provided back-to-back clutch buckets, including the game-winner, a hook shot over Brady Manek (13 points, 13 rebounds, four blocks) with 22 seconds left on the clock.

“All year in the most clutch times, times when the game is on the line, he put the ball in my hands,” McCormack said per The Athletic. “It shows that he loves me. He feels that I deserved that and that I worked hard to get in this position.”

On the subsequent possession, UNC guard Caleb Love (13 points) attempted a deep three-pointer that fell short, but Davis corralled the offensive rebound; Puff Johnson tried to hit the game-tying three but was off. When Manek secured their second offensive rebound, he turned it over after attempting to pass it to the corner. However, hope was not lost after Dejuan Harris turned the ball over, trying to tight rope the sideline.

Love had another chance to tie the game with just one second left, but that attempt also fell short, sealing their fate and cementing Kansas in the record books as NCAA champions.

Okay… who else is counting down the days until next season already?? pic.twitter.com/R1tjSTd9R1

— SLAM University (@slam_university) April 5, 2022

Armando Bacot paced the Tar Heels with 15 points and 15 rebounds.

The post Kansas Crowned Men’s 2022 NCAA National Champions appeared first on SLAM.

Dangerous in a manner that it should invoke and inspire you to re-imagine an established world. 

To challenge conventional thought. 

To re-envision what generations have developed in order to create something new. 

The same should be said for coaching. 

For years, there has been a set of standardized systems in basketball. A form of coaching that damn near secured wins. A blueprint for winning a national championship at the collegiate level.  But there comes a time when evolution is not only needed but craved. A time when a world moving on autopilot requires a shock to its system, like a lightning bolt shooting down from the heavens. A necessity for a movement toward the future. 

Dawn Staley is that movement. 

SLAM 237 featuring Dawn Staley, Aliyah Boston, Zia Cooke, Destanni Henderson Cover SLAM 237 is available now!

The first coach to challenge the norms set forth by the UConns, Notre Dames and Tennessees of the world. The first to play in the WNBA and coach in the NCAA at the same time. The first Black female head coach to raise the national championship trophy over her head in nearly 20 years.

But it wasn’t always back-to-back No. 1 recruiting classes in Columbia. The roster wasn’t always stacked with WNBA talent like Aliyah Boston, Zia Cooke and Destanni Henderson. It wasn’t always easy. 

With change comes fear. Fear of the unknown. Trepidation of the uncomfortable feeling that accompanies growth. But for Staley, the concept of a challenge is what has fueled the South Carolina women’s basketball head coach from the very beginning. 

“I grew up in North Philly, in the housing projects, the Raymond Rosen housing projects. I’m the youngest of five. So, every day was a challenge,” Dawn shares with SLAM. 

Even when speaking of her early years and the struggles she faced, she speaks with such pride and ease. Those moments made her the player, coach and overall person she is today. 

A three-time Olympic gold medalist, a six-time WNBA All-Star, and most recently, an NCAA national champion as a coach. This was the path meant for her, even if she didn’t always see it herself. 

“Obviously, someone had to plant the seed, because I never wanted to be a coach. And it’s funny how this game finds you in the likeliest or unlikeliest ways,” Staley says. 

It was in 2000 when Dawn was gearing up for her second Olympics with Team USA. It ultimately became the year when her life would change. 

With a job playing in the WNBA, she had no interest in thinking about any other opportunities, until Temple’s then-athletic director Dave O’Brien came calling. 

“The AD posed two questions. One was, Can you lead? Can I lead? I’m the captain on every team that I played on, I’m a point guard. The position demands that you lead. And then I answered the question. I know my facial expression showed that that was not a good question. All questions are good, but that wasn’t a good question. And then he asked me the next question, which was, Can you turn Temple’s women’s basketball program around? And that was the aha moment, where he challenged me. I never looked at coaching as a challenge, and if I did, I probably would’ve been coaching a lot sooner than what I had done.”

She went on to do exactly what she promised and led Temple to four A-10 conference championships and a 172–80 record—the program’s best overall record—all while finishing out her final playing years in the WNBA.  

“Coaching is like…No day is the same. I like that, but I also like being a dream merchant for young people,” she says. “My cup runneth over when it comes to being successful and what the game has given to me. I want people to feel it.”

As I listen to Dawn speak, I don’t feel like I’m on set in a gym with one of the greatest figures this game has ever seen, but rather like I’m in her living room just chopping it up, talking about life, laughing at the good old days and just soaking up every nugget of advice from lessons learned. It’s easy to see why she resonates so deeply with players. Sometimes it feels like she’s less of a coach and more of your auntie, there to guide you through the ebbs and flows of life. That connection to her players at Temple and the proof that she can turn a program around is what landed her at South Carolina.

It was 2008, and practically no one in women’s basketball even thought of the Gamecocks program as a contender. Wasn’t even an afterthought. 

Dawn knew what she was up against, but with that Philly toughness stored deep within the core of her soul, it wasn’t an obstacle she was going to shy away from. 

“When I first took the job here at South Carolina, I wanted to change the culture. I wanted to make sure that we’re all cut from the same cloth. I work hard, everybody around me works hard. So, we wanted that reciprocated, with everybody that has a hand in our program and the players are a big part of it.”

She was meticulous and hungry to make it happen, but most of all, she treated herself and those around her with compassion, understanding that she had to coach each team and each player differently over the years. Most importantly, she had to have patience as she took the time needed to begin building (and recruiting) the team she wanted in order to become one of the best in the country. 

But she did it her way. 

It was just six years later that she went on to lead South Carolina to the program’s first Final Four appearance and its first No. 1 overall ranking. 

Then the movement came to fruition. 

Dawn had one of the best college basketball teams assembled, with what would eventually be four WNBA lottery picks. The roster was unbelievably stacked with star A’ja Wilson, Kaela Davis, Allisha Gray and Alaina Coates, not to mention future WNBA draft picks in freshmen Kiki Herbert-Harrigan and Ty Harris. 

It was the culmination of what Dawn had worked years toward. A vision finally realized. 

“[The year] 2017 was pretty special for a lot of reasons,” Dawn recalls. 

She would go on to lead the Gamecocks to their first-ever national title in their first-ever national championship game appearance. 

“Selfishly, it was one of the goals I set for myself in the projects in North Philly because I only saw women play on TV in two events. One was a national championship game, and then the other one was the Olympic Games. Those were the two things that kept me just going. I got the gold medal, several gold medals, but I never got the national championship. When I got that, I selfishly loved it and then I switched, and I just put it outward.”

That moment wasn’t just for her. 

It was for the women who played for her all those early years at Temple. It was for the residents of the Raymond Rosen housing projects. It was for everyone in her life who helped her get to that historic moment. 

In The Last Dance, Michael Jordan said that all it took was “one little match to start the whole fire” when speaking on the greatness he achieved with the Bulls. Dawn Staley was that match in women’s college basketball. Winning that title changed everything. 

Now she has one of the toughest rosters in the country. For starters, there’s National Player of the Year favorite Aliyah Boston, who recently set the record for most consecutive double-doubles in the SEC. Then there’s Ohio-made superstar Zia Cooke, whom the world remembers for dropping a defender and pointing after it happened. And Destanni Henderson, a senior who made her name known in last year’s NCAA tournament and now is a top WNBA prospect.

“I got to keep it honest. I just fell in love with Coach, as far as how real she was with me. I’ll never forget the first time I met her. I was super nervous,” Cooke says. 

Staley has now had the top recruiting class two years in a row and a roster already in position to win another (and possibly multiple) national championships. She doesn’t take any of it lightly, though. 

“[Forward] Laeticia Amihere, her mom [is a] God-fearing faithful woman. She’s got strength, and you could tell she’s a people-feeler. I had, probably, several conversations with her on the phone, and you really can’t get it until she’s sitting across from you and she’s talking to you. And then at the end of our visit with both of them, she came up to me and she was like, I give you my daughter. I’m from Philly—I’m hard, I’m tough—[but] that almost brought me to tears because I’ve never heard a mother say that,” Dawn recalls with a softness in her voice. 

That’s how she approaches not only building a championship-contending team, but a family. 

“Coach Staley has been through it all. She’s experienced it,” Boston shares.  “She’s someone that we look up to. She helps us with everything, on and off the court.” 

A coach who’s been through it all is especially what this group has needed over the last few years. Aliyah, Zia and Destanni, like everyone else, had their world put on pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was South Carolina’s year to take back the throne, but they never got the chance. 

“I feel like we’re on track as a team. It was the first time I felt like our team actually had a bond, and then COVID happened,” Henderson says. “We had to take a step back and reflect on life outside of basketball.”

They picked up right where they left off last season, only for it to end in heartbreak. Down 1 to Stanford in the Final Four, Aliyah’s final put-back effort fell just short. It was a moment of anguish for the then-sophomore, whose tears streamed down her face after leaving it all out on the floor. It’s an image that mainstream media lazily uses over and over. 

“After the game, we were sad, obviously. But when the coaches came in, Coach Staley told us that she was proud of us and that we worked hard and basically that we’re going to use this to continue to fuel us. We didn’t get what we wanted this year, but we still have another shot,” Boston says. 

Another shot is right. This year’s South Carolina crew has steadily remained the No. 1 team in the country. As we walk into the practice facility to set up for our cover shoot, while practice begins to wind down, evidence of why the program has been at the top of the standings all season becomes quite obvious.  

The gym is roaring as the Gamecocks scrimmage. You can hear every player (both on the sidelines and on the court) involved. They’re fully coaching themselves. No one is needed to get on the players who are making mistakes or talking through plays; the players are doing that together, for each other. 

“I think we’re a lot more mature. I feel like our games have all matured in a way,” Zia says. 

It is truly the Dawn Staley effect. Her mantra is simple, and she holds herself to the same standard. 

“You got to be vulnerable, you got to stand in your truth even when it doesn’t make you look good. That’s your truth,” Coach says passionately. “Everybody doesn’t live in their truth because everybody wants to paint a picture of being perfect. Hell, nobody’s perfect. Nobody.”

It’s that openness that’s allowed three of the best college basketball players right now to become the stars that they are. This resilient group has been through the ups and downs of everything and has now reached a point where they honestly play for each other more than themselves. 

What does their living legend of a coach want to see at the end of this year, when it’s all said and done? 

“I want to turn Aliyah’s frown upside down,” Dawn says definitively. 

Zia interjects after a long pause. “HELLO!!!”

Dawn continues: “Because that is something that media outlets use a lot. She’s more than the frown. 

“I want them to use the picture of her crying happy tears.” 

SLAM 237 is also available in this exclusive gold metal edition. Shop now.

The post Dawn Staley and the Gamecocks Are College Basketball’s Authors of Evolution appeared first on SLAM.

Mike Singer of the Denver Post reported that it’s a toss-up on when we will see Murray back on the court this season. His time with Grand Rapids Gold will only consist of 5-on-5 action in practice and not full gameplay.

Jamal Murray averaged 21.2 points, 4.8 assists, and 4.0 rebounds in 48 games in 2020-21. With the Nuggets (41-28) currently sitting sixth in the Western Conference the return of the Blue Arrow would make the Nuggets a serious post-season contender.

We linked up with Jamal Murray to talk about creativity, music, mindfulness and Bruce Lee. Read his SLAM 230 cover story: https://t.co/m8J6UEeQKf pic.twitter.com/H1D6JswiAd

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) December 23, 2020

The post REPORT: Nuggets Assign Jamal Murray to the NBA G League appeared first on SLAM.

From the jump, history was made. Using his signature stepback move, former Brooklyn Net James Harden moved past Reggie Miller for third place on the all-time made three-pointers list.

Sitting courtside announcing the game for TNT, Miller had nothing but love for Harden.

Opposite Harden, Kevin Durant was looking like his usual self for the Nets, scoring eleven points in the quarter.

Kyrie Irving continued his stellar play from Tuesday’s historic game, as he also scored eleven in the first, including this beautiful pull-up with 0.1 seconds left on the clock.

The Nets led 40-23 at the end of the first, with Durant and Irving scoring 11 apiece while Seth Curry had nine. For the 76ers, it was Joel Embiid carrying the load, scoring a massive 16 points with 10 of them coming from the line.

For the Nets, the trio of Durant, Irving, and Curry carried the offensive load in the second quarter, combining for 49 points. Durant, however, continued to give us highlight plays, including this coast-to-coast and one.

Brooklyn built a 21 point first-half lead thanks to their perimeter trio and hard-nosed defense. The Nets held Embiid to only five points in the quarter, with Harden entering the locker room with 11 points on 3-15 shooting.

When the action restarted, it was more of the same from the first half. Nearly two minutes into the second half, Durant put Tobias Harris in a blender to knock down a three-pointer.

By the time the third quarter was over, the once boisterous Philadelphia crowd had been all but silenced with the host down by 32 points.

The fourth quarter saw the onslaught continue and by the time the final horn went off, the Nets defeated the 76ers 129-100, their second largest margin of victory this season.

For Philly, the blowout loss is just the first they’ve suffered from Harden in the lineup. The main culprit was tough shooting (32.3 percent from the field) and turnovers.

Durant posted 25 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists, two steals, and one block. Irving finished with 22 points. Embiid led the way for Philadelphia, finishing with 27 points and 12 rebounds.

The Nets move to 34-33 while the 76ers fall to 40-25. The Nets will host cross-town rival New York Knicks on Sunday, while the 76ers will be traveling down to Orlando to take on the Orlando Magic.

The post The Brooklyn Nets Run the 76ers Out of Wells Fargo Arena, 129-100 appeared first on SLAM.

Unfinished business. That’s the only thought that will be on Josiah Harris’ mind until the end of March. Having turned down options to leave The Land to attend any prep school in the country, he only has one goal on his list at the moment: a state championship.

“I just felt like this year is the year to bring a state championship back to Richmond, and we definitely have the pieces to do it,” the Richmond Heights senior, who has previously reached the Final Four, explains. “Coach Q [Quentin Rogers] and the coaching staff can get me prepared to go to West Virginia and can definitely get me right.” 

Originally from Canton, OH, Harris attended GlenOak HS his freshman year and was next in line to follow CJ McCollum, Errick McCollum and Kosta Koufos as that next dude out. Ultimately, his family decided to move to Cleveland to be closer to his grandmother for his sophomore campaign, and the love that the city has shown Josiah ever since hasn’t gone unnoticed. “The community is much more tight-knit [in Cleveland],” he says, “and the basketball environment is much better with everyone coming out to support the program.”

When it came to college options, the 6-7 forward with a 7-1 wingspan had his pick. He chose to play for Bob Huggins at West Virginia over Ohio State, Virginia Tech and a myriad of others. It was the love that the coaching staff and fans showed when he visited campus that made him pick Morgantown in the end.

“My relationship with the coaches, and then once I saw the atmosphere there myself, it was absolutely amazing,” he recalls. “Having the whole state come out to support you and having such a winning culture made me want to be a part of it.”

In today’s positionless era, Josiah is a dream for any coach. He uses his long wingspan to routinely lock down four different positions defensively. If you throw a smaller guy on him, he’s going to take you to the block. If you put a bigger guy on him, he’s going to face you up on the perimeter and go to work.

Harris agrees, telling SLAM he’s going to bring his “versatility and being able to play just about any position on the floor. I can post up smaller defenders, then take bigger ones off the dribble.”

Running on the AAU circuit with All Ohio Red in the EYBL has prepared him to step in and make an immediate impact in the Big 12. He led the squad in both scoring and rebounding, playing against the nation’s finest all summer. Quentin Rogers, former coach of AOR and now the head coach at Richmond, believes that the range Josiah showed defensively will be his calling card as his offense follows. 

“Buying into defense will help him get on the floor earlier [at WVU] as opposed to his offense,” says Rogers, who has coached the likes of Jared Sullinger, Terry Rozier and Caris LeVert. “He’s a very inquisitive player who is real knowledgeable and an absolute sponge.”

Aside from being a talented hooper, Josiah has put in just as much work in the classroom. Owning over a 4.0 GPA at press time, he’s set to graduate with his Bachelor’s degree in communications from WVU by the time he’s 19.

“I’ve taken all college classes since my sophomore year and got my associate’s degree at the end of my junior year,” says Harris, who has gone to school on a college campus since he was 15. “I am working toward my Bachelor’s degree now and should have it finished by the end of my freshman year.” 

SLAM Presents All-Star Vol 2: The Land is available now!

Portraits Courtney Payton.

The post West Virginia Commit Josiah Harris is Transcending on the Court and in the Classroom appeared first on SLAM.

That’s why Nets fans had a reason for optimism on Thursday when general manager Sean Marks told the YES Network that newly-acquired forward Ben Simmons would begin being worked “into game shape” after next week.

Simmons has yet to play a game this season, as he has sat out the entirety of the year waiting for a trade from the Philadelphia 76ers. Simmons got that trade at the trade deadline a few weeks ago, when he, Seth Curry, and Andre Drummond were shipped to Brooklyn for James Harden and Paul Millsap.

Simmons is also not the only one missing time for the Nets at the moment, with Kyrie Irving still only able to play away games and Joe Harris recently ruled out for the rest of the season with an ankle injury.

Curry and Drummond have already picked up some slack since the trade, with Curry averaging 16.6 points per game for the Nets and Drummond averaging 9.6 points and 9.1 rebounds per game.

Before this season, Simmons had more than proved his worth as one of the NBA’s best, accumulating three All-Star appearances and being named to two All-Defensive teams and one All-NBA team.

The Nets are currently fighting to stay in the playoffs altogether, as they are now eighth in the East with a record of 32-32 but are just 2.5 games ahead of the 11th-placed Washington Wizards (28-33) and 5.0 games back of the sixth-place Cleveland Cavaliers (36-26).

Brooklyn looks to end their three-game losing streak on Sunday when they head to TD Garden to take on the Boston Celtics (38-27).

The post REPORT: Ben Simmons to be Worked ‘Into Game Shape’ Next Week appeared first on SLAM.

On Thursday night, the YES Network spoke with Nets GM Sean Marks, who confirmed that guard Joe Harris would miss the rest of the season due to ankle surgery.

Harris has been out since November after first suffering the injury in a November 14 showdown against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Harris subsequently had surgery to repair the ankle in late November and was ruled out for one to two months but has remained out ever since.

Marks confirmed in his Thursday interview that Harris needed additional surgery on the ankle that would require the remainder of the season to rehab. Before the injury, Harris had played 14 games for the Nets this season and averaged 11.3 points per game on 45.2 percent shooting from the field and 46.6 percent shooting from beyond the arc, a tick under his career average with the Nets of 12.4 points per game.

This comes as a significant blow to the Nets, who are fighting just to be in the playoffs at the moment and doing so with limited players. Kevin Durant just returned to the lineup on Thursday. However, Ben Simmons remains with a back injury, and Kyrie Irving is still limited to playing away games due to New York City’s private business vaccine mandate.

The injury bug has led to the Nets holding on to the fringes of the playoffs, currently sitting eighth in the conference with a 32-32 record, just 2.5 games ahead of the 11th place Washington Wizards.

The post Nets Announce Joe Harris Is Out for Rest of Season with Ankle Injury appeared first on SLAM.

One of those players is forward Tobias Harris, who has seen his production take a slight dip since the addition of Harden. In Harden’s first two games as a 76ers, Harris scored a total of 18 points, six in the first game and 12 in the second, both well below his current season average of 18.3 points per game.

Harris recently spoke to NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Noah Levick about this change in his role and how he was more concerned with winning games than the total number of points he has at the end of the game.

“It’s been two games,” Harris said. “I’m not worried about my offensive points and production. I think everybody has this notion of, ‘Oh, you’ve got to score this many points.’ Yeah, I get it, but at the end of the day I’m a winner and I incorporate into winning basketball. If that’s me taking 15 shots or if that’s me taking eight shots, it is what it is.

“As long as we’re winning basketball games, that’s what the name of the game is about. A lot of people may not like to hear that, but that’s the predicament we’re in right now. We have a lot of firepower, especially with James and Joel on this team. So my goal is to be out here, be ready, and when shots are available and the opportunity is there, take advantage of it and do whatever I can for our group.”

While Harris has had to take a backseat to Harden, the first signs for the team have been encouraging, albeit in just two appearances thus far, the 76ers are 2-0 with Harden so far, winning both games over the New York Knicks and Minnesota Timberwolves by double-digits.

In his first outing as a 76er, Harden put up 27 points and 12 assists and followed that up with a 29 point, 16 dimes, and 10 rebound triple-double.

The 76ers acquired Harden as part of the blockbuster trade deadline deal that sent Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, and Andre Drummond to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Harden and Paul Millsap. Simmons has yet to suit up for the Nets, but Curry and Drummond have played six times thus far, with Curry averaging 17.8 points per game over those appearances and Drummond averaging 9.8 points per game.

The 76ers and Nets are scheduled to face off next Thursday, March 10, in Philadelphia.

The post Tobias Harris on New Role: ‘At the End of the Day I’m a Winner’ appeared first on SLAM.

After hanging up the phone with Stony Brook’s Director of Athletics Shawn Heilbron, Ashley Langford couldn’t help but let out a stream of joyful tears before calling up her pops to break the news that she had just become the new head coach at one of the best mid-major programs in the country. 

“You visualize it, but when it actually happens, you’re like, Man, it’s amazing. I made it,” Langford recently told SLAM of becoming head coach last April.

Langford, who grew up in Harrisburg, PA, was a standout at Tulane University and graduated in ‘09 as the program’s record holder in assists (722), games started (119) and minutes played (4,162). Pouring in 1,047 career points while setting Tulane’s single-season assist record twice, the 5-5 former guard could have easily pursued professional opportunities overseas, but the chance to help young women carve out a life after basketball, all while establishing a competitive program, spoke to her. 

Langford began her coaching career as a graduate assistant with the Auburn women’s basketball program, all while completing AU’s MBA program in 2011. She then continued to hone her craft as an assistant at Old Dominion, the U.S. Naval Academy, Bucknell and Denver before joining the coaching staff at James Madison in the summer of 2017. In four seasons, Langford helped lead the Duke Dogs to a 91-31 overall record and three Colonial Athletic Association regular season titles. She was promoted to assistant head coach prior to the 2020-21 season. 

In Harrisonburg, VA, Langford says that she had found that “fit” within a program that every coach yearns for. “I had a chance to really just, I think, thrive,” Langford says of her time at JMU. “I’m really big on fit. And I think when you find your fit, it’s a beautiful thing because you can maximize your potential.”

And now, as head coach at Stony Brook, that fit has allowed Langford to not only strive for excellence, but to want that out of her players both on and off the court. 

“I tell our team all the time, knowledge is power,” Langford says. “That’s been instilled in me from a young age, it’s also been instilled in me to just be the best that you can be, at whatever you’re doing.” 

“So, to me, it’s no different than [how] we want to win every game—well, I wanted to compete in the classroom, too. I was trying to be the best. And that’s just how I’m wired.”

With four seniors and three graduate students on the Seawolves’ roster this season, Langford wants her players to have a multitude of options once their collegiate careers wrap. “I gotta be able to succeed and be successful in this life. And so do young women. We’re already at disadvantages. So you got to be ahead,” Langford says.

“We’re playing basketball, yes, that’s paying for your school, that’s paying for your undergraduate degree. That can also pay for your master’s degree. Continuing your education is key to me,” Langford continues. “And at the end of the day, I want my players to graduate and then be able to actually be successful in society.”

Stony Brook finished the regular season 23-5 overall and ranked No. 2 in the America East. The team boasts a conference-best 68.1 points per game with five players averaging nearly double figures; all while holding teams to the third-least points in the conference on 36 percent shooting from the field. 

Langford is a player’s coach through and through. From the moment she was announced as the 10th head coach in Stony Brook’s history on April 28, 2021, her staff has poured themselves into strengthening the team’s already immense potential on the court, all while making connections off the court; in the coaches offices, they’ll chop it up about life, family and a little bit of X’s and O’s. 

The player development, relationships and investments made since April has paid off exponentially this season—Stony Brook has wins over Rutgers, St. Johns and Washington St. With water flying throughout their locker room and dousing Langford after Stony Brook’s 53-44 win over the Scarlet Knights, it’s evident that her expectations, and the work the team is putting in behind the scenes, is paying off. 

“I’ll be honest, I’m pretty tough in terms of my expectations, because they’re capable. And when you’re capable, I got to get you there. I got to get you there. That’s my job to do that,” Langford explains. 

That genuineness, her realness, has resulted in not only one of the most lethal rosters in the country, but also in helping empower her players, especially Black women. She even plays Lift Every Voice and Sing before every home game and has had important conversations with the team regarding the inequalities they’ve faced. 

“They need to understand that we should be praised, that we should be valued. They should be proud to be a Black woman,” Langford says.

When the America East announced earlier last month that the school was ineligible for the upcoming conference tournament because of its decision to join the Colonial Athletic Association next year, Langford had to break the news to her team that they would have to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA tourney the day of their game against Binghamton.

The news weighed on them for several days until Langford and her staff held a gratitude circle before practice. Langford says that at halfcourt, 11 of the 15 women in the circle were emotional and cried. As she heard her players’ stories and watched them open up, it finally hit her that she and her staff have continued to create an environment that supports, loves and plays for one another.

“That moment for me, we’re doing the right thing here. We’re really creating lifelong bonds and connections with these players, and they are too with each other. And that’s what it’s about to me. And that is going to result in a win. That is going to result in success once they graduate. And that is going to keep us all connected for a lifetime.”

Photos courtesy of Stony Brook Athletics.

The post Stony Brook HC Ashley Langford is Building a Successful Program and Empowering Players for Life After Ball appeared first on SLAM.

With less than 24 hours left before the trade deadline and Nets Coach Steve Nash claiming James Harden is not being traded, rumors of a possible Harden to Philadelphia still exist.

One player that is tired of the scenarios is Sixers forward Tobias Harris. Even if the team can’t get Harden at the trade deadline if the pursuit continues in the offseason, Harris’ contract would need to be moved to open up cap space.

But for now, with Harris’ having experienced in-season trades four times during his NBA career, he openly admitted via ESPN that the rumors that have surrounded his team this season have been difficult for the team to ignore.

“That will be good for us because you’re just hearing everybody’s name. I’ll just be honest, it’s one of those things — trade rumors always come around, even for guys around the NBA, but in this situation, yeah, I was reading an article, and there were five guys on the top 10 list to be moved, whatever,” he said. “So, obviously don’t get twisted: that has an impact on guys’ mental, psyche, focus, all the way down the line. So we’ll see what happens.”

“I think everybody else is in the same position as well, checking their phones to see what happens,” Harris said. “It’s our livelihoods and our jobs.”

It has been rumored by the Philly Voice that there are two potential teams with cap space, notably the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Sixers could move Harris to clear space for a possible James Harden deal.

The post Tobias Harris Frustrated Being Included In Philadelphia 76ers Trade Rumors appeared first on SLAM.

TRADES:

The Lakers and Knicks didn’t make any moves according to Adrian Wojnarowski, the Lakers will reportedly be focusing on the buyout market.

No deal for the Lakers, source tells ESPN. THey’ll focus on the buyout market.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 10, 2022

Houston is trading Daniel Theis to the Celtics for Dennis Schroder, Bruno Fernando, and Enis Freedom. Freedom has been waived by the Rockets.

Boston is sending guard Dennis Schroder to the Rockets in the deal, source tells ESPN. https://t.co/4RFdjoULq3

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 10, 2022

The Wizards are trading Davis Bertans and Spencer Dinwiddie to the Mavericks for Kristaps Porzingis.

The Wizards will send Davis Bertans in deal too, source tells ESPN. Mavericks send a second-round pick to Wizards. https://t.co/RJdybUd0Lw

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 10, 2022

The Wizards are flipping Montrezl Harrell for Charlotte’s Vernon Carey and Ish Smith.

Charlotte is acquiring Washington center Montrezl Harrell for Vernon Carey and Ish Smith, sources tell ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 10, 2022

The Pacers are reportedly working on a deal to send Torrey Craig to the Suns for Jalen Smith.

The Celtics will acquire Derrick White from the Spurs.

Romeo Langford and Josh Richardson are included in the deal to the Spurs.

The Celtics are trading PJ Dozier and Bol Bol to the Magic for a future second-round pick.

The Celtics are trading PJ Dozier and Bol Bol, a future second and cash to the Magic for a future second-round pick, sources tell ESPN. Dozier and Bol are both out for the season. Cost-savings for Boston.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 10, 2022

The Spurs are working on a trade for Goran Dragic and are expected to buy out his contract. The Mavericks, Bucks, Bulls, and Clippers are reportedly interested in the Dragons services. Thad Young, Drew Eubanks, and a 2022 second-round pick are headed to the Raptors.

The Raptors are trading Dragic and protected 2022 first-round picks to the Spurs for Thad Young, Drew Eubanks and a 2022 second-round pick via Pistons, sources tell ESPN. Pick is protected 1-14 in 2022; 1-13 in 2023 and would turn into two seconds beyond that. https://t.co/SN0sFyVurm

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 10, 2022

The Bucks have traded Rodney Hood and Semi Ojele to the Clippers, Serge Ibaka to the Bucks, Donte DiVencenco to the Kings and Marvin Bagley is headed to the Pistons on Thursday according to Woj.

ESPN Sources:
Full trade participants:
Kings: Donte DiVincenzo, Trey Lyles and Josh Jackson.
Bucks: Serge Ibaka, two future second-round picks, cash.
Clippers: Rodney Hood, Semi Ojele.
Pistons: Marvin Bagley Jr.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 10, 2022

According to Adrian Wojnarowski, the Utah Jazz is receiving Nickeil Alexander-Walker and the Juancho Hernangomez of the Spurs in a three-way deal. Spurs receive Tomas Satoransky and a second-round pick, and the Blazers get Joe Ingles, Elijah Hughes, and a second-round selection.

The Utah Jazz are acquiring guard Portland’s Nickeil Alexander-Walker and the Spurs’ Juancho Hernangomez in a three-way deal, sources tell ESPN. The Spurs gets guard Tomas Satoransky and a second-round pick, and the Blazers get Joe Ingles, Elijah Hughes and a second-round pick.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 9, 2022

The Pacers are sending Domantas Sabonis, Jeremy Lamb, and Justin Holiday to the Kings for Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield, and Tristan Thompson. 

Jeremy Lamb AND Justin Holiday. https://t.co/0GbRwKcRBP

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2022

The Pelicans receive CJ McCollum, Larry Nance, and Tony Snell in a trade with the Blazers. Portland gets Josh Hart, Tomas Satoransky, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Didi Louzada, and a protected first-round pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. 

Full trade, per sources:
Blazers: Josh Hart, Tomas Satoransky, Nickeil Walker-Alexander, Didi Louzada, 2022 protected first-round pick, two second-round picks.
Pelicans: CJ McCollum, Larry Nance, Tony Snell.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2022

The Pacers trade Caris LeVert and a 2022 second-round pick from Miami to Cleveland for Ricky Rubio, a lottery-protected 2022 first-round pick, 2022 second-round pick from Houston, and a 2027 second-round pick from Utah.

Full trade: Indiana sends Caris LeVert and a 2022 second-round pick via Miami to Cleveland for Ricky Rubio, lottery-protected 2022 first-round pick, 2022 second-round pick via Houston and a 2027 second-round pick via Utah, per sources.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 6, 2022

The Clippers and the Blazers agreed to a trade last week. The Clippers move Eric Bledsoe, Justice Winslow, Keon Johnson, and a future second-round pick to the Trail Blazers for Norman Powell and Robert Covington. 

The Clippers are trading Eric Bledsoe, Justise Winslow, Keon Johnson and future second-round pick to the Trail Blazers for Norman Powell and Robert Covington, sources tell ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 4, 2022

RUMORS:

REPORT: James Harden is pushing for a trade to Philadelphia by ‘screaming in every way he possibly can,’ to get out of Brooklyn.

James Harden is pushing for a trade and is ‘screaming in every way he possibly can’ to get out of Brooklyn, per @WindhorstESPN. https://t.co/D7l2VI9IZq pic.twitter.com/GcFCoivKjF

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 9, 2022

REPORT: Philadelphia refuses to include Maxey in any deal, causing Brooklyn to counter with an asking price of Simmons, Curry, Thybulle, and Drummond. Philadelphia is hesitant to have Curry, though Mills would reportedly end up in Philadelphia.

Update: Sixers have refused to include Tyrese Maxey in any deal with Brooklyn. Nets have countered with an asking price of Simmons, Curry, Thybulle, and Drummond. Sixers are hesitant to include Curry. Any deal would likely send Patty Mills to Philly aside from Harden.

— Jason Dumas (@JDumasReports) February 9, 2022

Brooklyn needs to see Curry in the deal alongside Simmons for them to be willing to move Harden.

This is from Sunday night’s BS Podcast and nothing has changed — Brooklyn wants Seth in any Harden deal. (And Embiid loves playing with Curry.) pic.twitter.com/sTD2vyY1co

— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) February 9, 2022

Teams around the League think a deal between Philadelphia and Brooklyn is close to being done and that it would open the ‘floodgates’ if the agreement were to be done before tomorrow’s deadline.

It sounds like rival teams think a deal between Brooklyn and Philadelphia may be getting close. One team told me “They’ve kind of put other talks on hold. If that deal finally happens, then the floodgates will open around the league for a lot more to happen.”

— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) February 9, 2022

Philadelphia has talked to Oklahoma City about Tobias Harris, though it may be a ploy to put more pressure on Brooklyn to trade Harden before tomorrow’s deadline.

Now arrives another stretch of uncertainty, with the trade deadline approaching Thursday afternoon and sources telling The Inquirer that the Sixers have explored trading Tobias Harris. https://t.co/Kv6MEFjDDh

— The Philadelphia Inquirer (@PhillyInquirer) February 9, 2022

Buddy Hield may not end up in Indiana after claims of Pacers opening to flipping him to another team before the Thursday deadline.

Small trade note: As of now — and everything can change in the next 26 hours — the Indiana Pacers do not plan to trade Buddy Hield despite some interest from other teams, sources tell ESPN.

— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) February 9, 2022

Detroit is listening to offers for Jerami Grant but may wait until the offseason to move him. Detroit wants two first-rounders in exchange for Grant, and the Portland Trail Blazers have shown the most interest. 

Pistons Listening To Offers On Jerami Grant, Could Wait Until Offseason For Trade https://t.co/nImk0qLAHF

— RealGM (@RealGM) February 9, 2022

The post LIVE: NBA Trade Deadline Tracker appeared first on SLAM.

A Harris has been out since November after undergoing ankle surgery. Since he’s gone down, offseason free-agent signing Patty Mills has emerged as one of the Nets’ best shooters, averaging 13.8 points and 2.5 assists per game on 43.6 percent shooting on the field and 42.5 percent shooting from distance.

Mills’ emergence as a playmaking shooter as a plug-in starter and coming off the bench could possibly make Harris expendable to the Nets, who averages 11.3 points and 4.0 rebounds per game on 45.2 percent shooting from the field and 46.6 shooting from beyond the arc.

The post REPORT: Nets Are Shopping Sharpshooter Joe Harris appeared first on SLAM.

Before the Nets played the Nuggets on Sunday, Nash stated that the Nets plan on keeping Harden for the foreseeable future. According to ESPN, Harden missed the Nets’ loss to the Nuggets due to hamstring tightness.

“I’ve talked to James; he wants to be here,” Nash said. “He wants to be here long-term as well, so I don’t think anything’s changed other than noise from the outside. James wants to be here, we’re building with James, and we think we have the best chance to win with James. I don’t think anything’s changed on the inside, in our locker room, in our communication; it’s just all the noise from the [outside].”

Brooklyn guard Kyrie Irving also believes that his starting backcourt mate will be around after the NBA trade deadline on Thursday.

“I think James can speak better to that than I can,” Irving said. “We’ve had conversations, but I’m just getting back into the swing of things, how all those media plants start going around with rumors and stuff like that; I really do not concern myself with that.”

The speculation of Harden’s unhappiness and reports of Harden wanting to explore free agency options after the season fueled possible issues behind the scenes. Accounts that were strongly refuted a couple of weeks ago.

The reports on James Harden being unhappy in Brooklyn?

He has no idea what you’re talking about pic.twitter.com/OQS32id1KV

— Nets Videos (@SNYNets) January 26, 2022

After losing to the Nuggets 124-104, the Brooklyn Nets are struggling through an eight-game losing streak along with a lengthy injury list that includes Harden (hamstring tightness), Kevin Durant (knee), Joe Harris (ankle surgery), LaMarcus Aldridge (ankle) and Nic Claxton (hamstring tightness).

On Tuesday, the Nets return from a winless road trip to take on the Boston Celtics.

The post Brooklyn Nets HC Steve Nash Closes Door On James Harden Trade Rumor appeared first on SLAM.

Matt Moore of The Action Network recently reported that one player they could look to trade is guard Dennis Schroder. 

Moore reports that Boston’s priority is to clear salary to save on the luxury tax, with Schroder being a feasible way to do just that. He says there are two offers on the table for the veteran guard, one from the Milwaukee Bucks and another from the Chicago Bulls. 

Both the Bucks and Bulls are among the best Eastern Conference teams and could use another scoring punch to further strengthen their respective bench units. 

On the season, Schroder is averaging 14.4 points, 4.3 assists and 3.3 rebounds per contest. A microwave scorer, it would be interesting to see what Boston could get in return for the veteran point guard. 

The post REPORT: Celtics Have Offers on Table for Dennis Schroder from Bucks and Bulls appeared first on SLAM.

That has led to some members of the Nets venting their frustration in the media.

Following Brooklyn’s 112-101 loss to the Sacramento Kings Wednesday night, point guard Kyrie Irving lamented on the level of basketball opposing teams are playing against the Nets every night.

“From our side, it just looks as though we can overpower teams with just our talent alone, but that’s not going to get it done.” Irving said per The Sports Rush. “We gotta continue to do the little things and when teams are out there playing against us they know us very well and they’re making playoff adjustments.”

The Nets’ slightly disappointing performance on the court – which has them sixth in the Eastern Conference with a 29-22 record – can be traced in large part to the inability of their stars to stay on the court together. They remain just three games back of the no.1 seed in the Eastern Conference.

Kevin Durant and James Harden have missed a substantial amount of time this season due to injury, with Durant and Joe Harris currently out with leg injures for Brooklyn. Irving has only played 10 times this season for Brooklyn due to sitting out nearly the entire first half of the year due to his refusal to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

Since his return in December, Irving is still only allowed to play road games because of New York City’s vaccine mandate.

The frustrations have also led to rumors of dissatisfaction in the locker room. Multiple reports indicate that Harden may want out of Brooklyn this offseason because of many issues, including Irving’s refusal to get vaccinated.

The Beard has since dismissed those claims. However, he does have a $47 million player option on his contract at the end of the season, and there is still a possibility he decides to test free agency for the time in his career.

The Nets will have the chance to bounce back from a tough stint of play on Friday night when they take on the Utah Jazz (31-21) on the road.

The post Kyrie Irving Says Nets’ Opposition is Playing ‘Playoff-Adjustment Basketball’ appeared first on SLAM.

Michael Scotto of Hoopshype listed Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Jaxson Hayes being available for the right price, while Josh Hart’s cap-friendly contract brings interest from NBA teams.

“The New Orleans Pelicans appear to be buyers heading into the trade deadline and have expressed interest in trading for several players, including Harrison Barnes, Robert Covington, and Eric Gordon, league sources told HoopsHype. Rival executives also believe Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Jaxson Hayes are both available for the right upgrade as well.”

“According to multiple executives, the Pelicans are more willing to listen on moving Alexander-Walker than in the past. Josh Hart is also a player to keep an eye on, thanks to his team-friendly contract, which is non-guaranteed next season, as noted on our Pelicans salary page. Some teams have liked him from afar. One of those teams is Atlanta.”

Through 48 games this season, Alexander-Walker averages 12.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.8 assists. In comparison, Hayes has worked his way into the rotation as the backup center behind Jonas Valanciunas, with averages of 7.6 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. Both have guaranteed contracts through next season but could become restricted free agents if they decline their qualifying offers.

The post REPORT: New Orleans Pelicans Looking to Trade Two Players For the ‘Right Upgrade’ appeared first on SLAM.

Inside of two weeks until the February 10 NBA trade deadline, the Kings believe the asking price for Simmons is too steep and that a pathway to reaching an agreement with the Sixers doesn’t exist, sources said.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 28, 2022

The Kings was one of the more aggressive teams for Simmons offering rumored deals surrounding guards DeAaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton, but the team now believes the asking price is too high for Simmons, and they have run out of feasible offers.

Sacramento has players like Harrison Barnes, Buddy Hield, and Richaun Holmes to easily match Simmons’ contract salary, along with rumors of James Harden being unhappy in Brooklyn. Wojnarowski believes an in-season trade at this point could be unlikely, and the team could wait until the offseason to make a deal.

Ben Simmons continues to sit out due to mental health reasons and still hasn’t changed his mind on his trade requests. On the other hand, Simmons is signed with 6ers through the 2024-25 season, which gives them patience and leverage to wait on a deal.

The Philadelphia 76ers are off to a 29-19 start, two games behind the first-place Miami Heat, while the Sacramento Kings are in 13th in the Western Conference at 18-32 after losing five straight.

The post REPORT: Sacramento Kings Out of the Running For Ben Simmons appeared first on SLAM.

The list of players the Sixers currently are monitoring is just as long as the rumors in the news cycle of potential players that included Damian Lillard, De’Aaron Fox, and Draymond Green going back to last summer.

Morey and the team recently discussed a potential Simmons package with the Atlanta Hawks for John Collins. But as soon as Tobias Harris was added to the deal, the Hawks quickly said no, according to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto.

“The 76ers and Hawks briefly kicked around a trade of Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris for John Collins, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Danilo Gallinari, League sources told HoopsHype. However, those talks stalled quickly, with Atlanta uninterested in Harris and unlikely to be able to flip him to a third team.”

This year, the Sixers have been looking for specific pieces to put around Embiid for a championship run. Collins’ athleticism and his ability to defend inspired Philadelphia to put an offer together. According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania and Sam Amick, the asking price for the Sixers hasn’t changed.

“In return for Simmons, the 76ers have wanted a top-level All-Star or a package featuring a bevy of first-round draft picks for Simmons.”

It is understood that this Simmons deal may be pushed back to the offseason, especially with rumors of James Harden being unhappy in Brooklyn.

The post REPORT: Philadelphia 76ers Made A Ben Simmons Offer For John Collins appeared first on SLAM.

Because of this, and the strong play of superstar center Joel Embiid, 76ers’ General Manager Daryl Morey said while on 97.5 The Fanatic that he would consider expanded options for Simmons as the trade deadline approaches in the next few weeks.

The pressure for Morey to move Simmons could be heating up; despite his absence, Philadelphia is fifth in the east with a 26-18 record. Some recent reports from The Athletic indicate that Simmons has no intention of playing for the 76ers even if he doesn’t get moved before the deadline.

“Make no mistake, sources close to Simmons continue to insist that he’ll sit out the entire season if a deal isn’t done by the deadline.”

Simmons, who has not played a game for Philadelphia this season, is a three-time All-Star and a two-time All-Defensive team member in just four seasons of play in the NBA.

The NBA’s trade deadline is Feb. 10, now only a few weeks away with questions still aplenty about the future of Simmons.

The post REPORT: Daryl Morey Open to Further Trade Possibilities for Ben Simmons appeared first on SLAM.

Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving is expected to make his season debut Wednesday on the road against the Indiana Pacers, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. After missing the Nets’ first 35 games of the season, Irving has targeted Wednesday for his return.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 3, 2022

Reports that the Nets were willing to bring Irving back first came out mid-December. The development surprised many around the League and media since the Nets front office was seemingly adamant that Irving would not play unless he were vaccinated and eligible to be a full participant.

However, the Nets were hit hard by health and safety protocols, even losing Kevin Durant, James Harden, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Paul Milsap for some time while they were in protocols. As a result, the Nets have now decided to bring back Irving as a part-time player, allowing him to play road games and practice with the team.

The Nets (23-11) are only one game behind the Bulls (24-10) for first place in the Eastern Conference. The Nets are close to full health and will be even more dangerous once Irving returns and Joe Harris, who is still recovering from ankle surgery.

The post REPORT: Kyrie Irving Set to Make Season Debut on Wednesday appeared first on SLAM.

But there’s one name that currently sits atop the list that may come as a surprise, Jonas Valanciunas.

Valanciunas is currently the NBA’s leader in three-point percentage, shooting at an astounding 51.7 three-point clip, nearly four percentage points higher than Mills’ mark of 47.8.

Last season, Valanciunas was a 36.8 percent three-point shooter, and his previous career-best mark from beyond the line came from the 2017-18 campaign, where he shot 40.5 percent on 1.0 attempts per game.

Valanciunas’ numbers are helped out from his unbelievable effort on Monday night, where Valanciunas went 7-for-7 from deep in the first half of the Pelicans 123-104 win over the Los Angeles Clipper.

In total, Valanciunas ended the night with 39 points and 15 rebounds.

To be fair to others on the list, Valanciunas notably has fewer three-point attempts than others on the leaderboard, having shot 58 so far this season compared to Mills’ 138 attempts or Harris’ 88 attempts.

Valanciunas’ hot shooting start has not led to wins thus far for the Pelicans. So far this season, the Pelicans are 14th in the Western Conference with a record of 6-17, beating out only the 4-16 Houston Rockets. The Pelicans look to build on their latest win Tuesday against the Dallas Mavericks (10-9).

The post Jonas Valanciunas Has Emerged As the League’s Three-Point Percentage Leader appeared first on SLAM.

Griffin, who has started in 17 games so far in the 2021-22 Season, is averaging 5.5 points and 4.9 rebounds while shooting 31.6 percent from the field and 16.1 percent from the three-point line, his lowest averages throughout his career. His struggles have led the way for Aldridge to take his spot in the rotation while he puts up 13.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game in Griffins spot.

When asked about being taken out of the rotation by media members, Griffin said that he understood getting taken out of the starting lineup, but was surprised that he wasn’t playing at all.

“No, I mean listen, [LaMarcus Aldridge] has been playing unbelievable,” Griffin said via ESPN. “So, I totally get starting him, especially Joe [Harris] has been out, and I totally get that. Being completely out of it, though, I didn’t necessarily see that coming. But that’s not my decision. As players, it’s our job to do whatever coaches see best, so at this point, that’s what it is.”

The Brooklyn Nets picked up Griffin after getting waived by the Detroit Pistons. After joining the Nets, the six-time All-Star experienced a bit of a comeback with solid performances in the 2021 playoffs and showing that he still had a bit left in the tank.

The Nets (14-6) play the Knicks (11-9) on Tuesday

The post Blake Griffin on Being Removed From Rotation: ‘I Didn’t Necessarily See That Coming’ appeared first on SLAM.

With a little over five minutes to go in the third quarter, the Nets found themselves in a 12-point hole. After checking in, the 20-year-old immediately made big plays scoring eight points in the third frame, including a 15-foot jumper to give the Nets a two-point lead going into the final frame. 

“I got in and knew the game-plan and knew what we had to do. I got in. I got great looks and got open looks, so I feel like those are really good for me coming in right away, getting open looks, and I made most of them,” Thomas says, per the Nets Daily. “When James [Harden] or KD kicks it to me, you got to knock it down when you’re wide open. A great building block to me.

Thomas delivered for Brooklyn when it counted the most, finishing with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting and 2-of-3 from behind the arc in 15 minutes. With major pieces like Joe Harris and others out, the Nets were open to rotating players on the hardwood to help clench Brooklyn’s 117-112 win over the Cavs.

“Without Joe, we were down a shooter, a spacer,” Nash says, per the Nets Daily. “We have to go with some different lineups and different guys. Cam was great. He stepped up with confidence to take shots. I think he is a kid who we all love and think has a bright future, but sometimes these early stages of the season, you’re in tight games. It’s difficult, just some of the mistakes that are inevitable with these young guys. But tonight, he really hung in there. Made some big shots for us and I thought was really aware defensively. I was proud of him tonight.”

Thomas’s confidence-boosting game comes two days after a 46-point performance with Brooklyn’s G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets.

“I always had that confidence. Whenever coach puts me in, I just try to be ready at all times. The 46 didn’t really do anything tonight. It was just my role on that team and tonight, I just had the opportunity to have a chance, coach put me in and I made the most of it.”

The Nets (13-5) don’t play until Wednesday when they play a surging 10-8 Boston Celtics squad on ESPN.

The post Cam Thomas Pulls His Weight in Nets Win Over Cavs: ‘I Got In And Knew the Game-Plan And Knew What We Had to Do’ appeared first on SLAM.

Porter Jr. was going for an easy dunk in the first quarter during a Nuggets’ 95-94 win over the Houston Rockets (1-9) over the weekend. After gathering a loose ball near midcourt, the young forward somehow fumbled the play, readjusted for a layup, and smoked it.

Michael Porter Jr. really missed this layup pic.twitter.com/kFlZ2zvUau

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 6, 2021

Porter Jr. appeared to suffer the back injury on the play and attempted to fight through it but left for the rest of the game midway through the first quarter. The team described the injury as low back pain. An injury that held him out of practice and the next game against the Miami Heat (7-2) on Monday, according to Harrison Wind via HoopsHype.

Nuggets say Michael Porter Jr. (low back pain) is out for tomorrow vs. the Heat.

— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) November 8, 2021

According to the Denver Post, Porter Jr. will be receiving ongoing treatment and could possibly miss the next several games as he recovers.

Porter Jr. and the Nuggets will look to be careful considering his history of back injuries dating back to his lone college basketball season at Missouri. The fourth-year forward had to sit out his entire rookie season recovering from back surgery.

The Nuggets signed Michael Porter Jr. to a five-year contract extension worth up to $207 million in the offseason. He’s struggled to start the season with averages of 9.9 points and 6.6 rebounds while shooting 35.9 percent from the field.

The post Michael Porter Jr. Out Indefinitely With Lower Back Pain appeared first on SLAM.

On Thursday afternoon, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Isaiah Joe had entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols and would be unavailable for the 76ers’ game against the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night. Wojnarowski also says that the entire 76ers team would be tested prior to their Thursday night game against the Detroit Pistons.

Joe joined fellow 76er Tobias Harris, who has also been placed in health and safety protocols.

To return from health and safety protocols, players have two options: they can either wait for 10 days after a testing positive or “onset symptoms” or pass consecutive negative PCR tests that are 24 hours apart.

Joe is in his second season out of the University of Arkansas and has played sparingly so far for the 76ers. So far this season, he’s suited up for seven games and averaged 7.7 minutes and 2.0 points per game.

The post 76ers’ Isaiah Joe Enters NBA Health and Safety Protocols appeared first on SLAM.

Cleveland’s Lauri Markkanen has entered Health and Safety Protocols, team says.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 3, 2021

This marks the second player on Cleveland’s roster to enter health and safety protocols in the past week after Kevin Love entered the same protocols on Monday. Both forwards will be out indefinitely and not be allowed to be around the team per Chris Fedor. Markkanen’s quarantine will be the fourth the League has seen this week after Milwaukee’s Khris Middleton tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday and Philadelphia 76ers forward Tobias Harris underwent protocols earlier this week as well.

Per Wojnarowski, players who test positive have two avenues toward being reinstated; waiting 10 days post the first positive test or passing consecutive negative PCR tests 24 hours apart. Players who exhibit symptoms must also pass cardiac testing upon their return to the court and respective organizations.

Markkanen is currently averaging 12.9 points and 5.9 rebounds in just eight games so far this season.

The Cavs (4-4) will take on the Portland Trail Blazers (3-4) on Wednesday.

The post Lauri Markkanen Enters Health and Safety Protocols appeared first on SLAM.

According to The Athletic’s Eric Nehm, Budenholzer says that the team “thought he just had a head cold or some type of non-COVID illness. And then didn’t feel good again the next day. And got tested and has come back positive.”

Ahead of tonight’s game against the Detroit Pistons, Middleton had been listed as out.

A positive diagnosis means that a player has to sit out for a minimum of 10 days, meaning that Middleton could “miss the next six games” potentially until next week (per ESPN). The 30-year old, who is currently averaging 20.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and and 4.5 assists this season, is one of the latest players in the League to enter health and safety protocols—including Kevin Love and Tobias Harris.

The post REPORT: Mike Budenholzer Says Khris Middleton Has Tested Positive for COVID-19 appeared first on SLAM.

The Sixers now say Tobias Harris is out due to the NBA’s Health and Safety Protocols. Furkan Korkmaz is starting in his place. Philly is already without Joel Embiid, who is resting tonight, in addition to Ben Simmons.

— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) November 1, 2021

Harris, who missed Monday’s 113-103 win against the Portland Trail Blazers, will be given a timetable for his return after 12-24 hours per ESPN Insider Adrian Wojnarowski’s report.

So far through seven games this season, Harris is currently the second-leading scorer on the Sixers, averaging 19.8 points and 9.0 rebounds along with 4.2 assists. Furkan Korkmaz will start in his place. 

It’s a significant loss to a Sixers’ roster, who will be without All-Star Ben Simmons, who hasn’t played a game yet this season, and Joel Embiid, who is dealing with a nagging knee injury. The Sixers are currently 5-2 and sit at fourth place in the Eastern Conference. They play a League-leading Chicago Bulls (6-1) on Wednesday.

Tobias Harris is the second player announced to be in the League’s health and safety protocol, along with Kevin Love.

The post Sixers Tobias Harris Enters Health and Safety Protocol appeared first on SLAM.

Sports Illustrated took over a decade to figure out a blueprint for what their magazine should look like.

SLAM took one issue.

The magazine would change over time. Their voice would evolve. The magazine cover looks drastically different today. But flip through a present-day issue of SLAM, and it still reads pretty much the same from front to back as the very first issue, which came out almost 30 years ago. 

The first issue of SLAM featured short-bit culture stories on Pearl Jam’s near-decision to name themselves after Atlanta Hawks guard Mookie Blaylock and basketball’s growing popularity in Japan. There’s a dunk of the month. There’s a one-page feature on high schooler Steve Wojciechowski, along with profiles of college point guard Jason Kidd, perennial NBA All-Star Charles Barkley, and New York–playground legend Joe Hammond. There are full-page photospreads of the latest sneaker releases, and a six-page photo essay on playground hoopers around the country, including a cameo from a 16-year-old Paul Pierce. 

This is what SLAM still is today: a magazine celebrating the sport of basketball. A casual voice. An all-encompassing approach of covering high school, college, and the pro game. A magazine highlighting sneakers and athletic apparel. A personality-driven publication. A magazine that didn’t tie themselves to the current news cycle.

Founder and publisher Dennis Page established a blueprint for what a modern-day basketball publication could look like from the very beginning.

“We were passionate,” he said. “The feel of the magazine was like if you were playing in the playground. That’s how people spoke.”

Page was inside the Paramount Theater at Madison Square Garden where the 1994 Source Awards was taking place when record label executive and friend Alan Grunblatt tossed out the idea of a magazine merging basketball and hip-hop. He went home that evening and drafted up a table of contents.

A Trenton, New Jersey, native, Page studied broadcasting and film at Boston University and got his first full-time job selling ads for the alt- weekly Boston Phoenix. Page loved magazines. He dreamed of running his own one day. The goal was always Rolling Stone. Page was working for another rock ’n’ roll magazine, Circus, in 1980 when Stanley Harris called. Harris was the founder of Harris Publications, a New York–based publisher started in 1977 with a portfolio of special-interest magazines. They had puzzle books and monthly magazines on topics ranging from gardening to guns. Page was offered a job to manage a new guitar magazine. It was a chance to run a magazine even if it wasn’t Rolling Stone. 

“I didn’t know shit about playing guitars,” Page said. “But I was good at the advertising and publishing business. So I said yes.”

He became the publisher of Guitar World, which arrived on newsstands in 1980 and became the number one guitar magazine. The success of the publication earned him a lot of goodwill with Harris. Page kept searching for the next idea. He convinced Harris to start another magazine in 1987. It was called New York Talk.

“We launched it during a huge snowstorm and couldn’t get the issue out to the newsstands,” Page recalled. “It was an omen of failure.” 

The magazine borrowed from the concepts of Village Voice and the East Village Eye and covered the local news along with the New York film, television, and music scene. The newsstand was about taking a successful idea you liked and trying to improve upon it yourself. A lot of these publications failed, including New York Talk, which folded after three years.

Page’s new magazine idea, inspired by his conversation with Grunblatt, was more aligned with his interests. He fell in love with basketball in sixth grade watching a high schooler named Lew Alcindor, became a high school and college hoops junkie, watched streetball legends at New York playgrounds, and joined the NBA craze during the era of Julius Erving, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson.

But he couldn’t figure out the table of contents.

“I started by building a hip-hop magazine about basketball,” Page explained.

He had the two components in the wrong order.

Another lightbulb moment hit.

It would be a basketball magazine with a hip-hop voice and not the other way around.

It would look like Vibe.

It would read like The Source.

He pitched the idea to Harris, who asked him to get it on newsstands immediately.

Page needed an editor-in-chief. He called Village Voice editor Tom Curtis, who said no, but recommended Time Inc. writer Cory Johnson, a St. Joseph, Michigan, native who studied journalism at NYU and wrote for a bunch of magazines, including Sports Illustrated, People, and TIME.

“Tom told me this guy who makes Guitar World wants to start a new basketball magazine and asked me if I had any ideas for it,” Johnson recalled. “I said, ‘Abso-fuckng-lute-ly I have ideas.’ I was in the thick of learning how magazines were made. It was what I did all day.” 

A meeting was set at a French bistro restaurant located in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan, New York, named Raoul’s. Johnson sat down and pitched his vision to Page. He read a lot of Marvel comics growing up and loved how comic book writer Stan Lee would engage readers at the back of every one of them. Lee responded to fan letters and sent no-prizes—an envelope with no contents inside, which became a running joke with the readers—to anyone who wrote to him about continuity errors or typos. Johnson wanted the magazine to start by engaging their readers in the letters section.

“I presented a pretty laid-out plan,” he recalled. “There would be short features in the front like New York Magazine’s Intelligencer section. There would be one-page profiles like Interview magazine. The features section would be in the style of Vanity Fair. The sections in the back would be devoted to angles around the business of hoops. I wanted the last page of the magazine to be a dunk of the month.

“I wanted it to feel like Surfer magazine. I loved that magazine so much I taught myself to surf. Their ideal was: surfing was not about the celebrities at the top of the pyramid who did it, but instead it was about the everyday experience of the sport. I always thought Sports Illustrated had this pyramid when it came to basketball where they didn’t love the game, but instead they loved the heroes of the game. Their editors thought it was all about the stars and not about the game itself. I wanted to flip that approach upside-down. I wanted the magazine to be about the experience we all had playing the game of basketball. Sports Illustrated was only about Michael Jordan. I wanted us to be about the game of basketball.” 

There was one last thing they needed to figure out together.

A name for the magazine.

The two tossed out every basketball-related term they could think of. 

Crossover.

Dribble.

Jam.

None of them felt right.

They finally landed on SLAM.

Johnson was hired and moonlighted as the magazine’s editor-in-chief. “I would be fact-checking a murder story for People and I’d get a phone call from Dennis,” Johnson said. “I would hop in a taxi, race downtown to approve a layout, then race back. It was like I had moved on to my new girlfriend without telling my existing girlfriend.”

Page scrambled to place ads in the magazine. Today, he credits The Source and Vibe for making his job easier back then. Page didn’t have to explain what hip-hop was to advertisers. Guitar World art director Susan Conley designed the magazine layout. Johnson assigned stories to people he knew in the industry, including basketball writer and New York–streetball historian Vincent Mallozzi, People reporter Nancy Jo Sales, and Vibe senior editor Bonz Malone. He also wrote a couple of stories himself and attributed them to made-up names in the masthead. “I wanted to make it look like a real magazine since it was just a couple of other guys and myself working on it,” Johnson explained. “Russell Shoemaker, the senior editor in the masthead, that’s me. Russell was my best friend from church. Shoemaker was my godfather’s last name. I just put their names together.” 

Page cringes at some of the stories today, especially a SLAM NBA All-White Team feature where the magazine interviewed white players around the league and nominated Chris Mullin, Dan Majerle, Detlef Schrempf, Tom Gugliotta, John Stockton, and Rony Seikaly. Scott Hastings, a white power forward from Independence, Kansas, who played 11 seasons in the NBA, nominated Karl Malone, who didn’t make the team. “The guy drives a diesel and raises cattle,” he explained. “You don’t get any whiter than that.” 

Fortune business writer Andy Serwer flew to Charlotte, North Carolina, and wrote the cover story on Larry Johnson. The Hornets forward was one of the most exciting young stars in the league. Selected first overall by Charlotte in 1991, Johnson won Rookie of the Year after averaging 19.2 points and 11.0 rebounds in his first season. He played an above-the-rim game and was a product of a UNLV team that embraced a hip-hop aesthetic. Johnson was a signature sneaker athlete with Converse, starring in a series of popular commercials wearing a grey wig and flower-print dress as Grandmama, an elderly woman alter-ego. He fit the profile of what SLAM envisioned as their ideal cover subject.

The first issue was finally ready for the newsstand. 

The cover featured a photo of Johnson soaring in mid-air wearing Charlotte’s famous white-and-teal jersey. The basketball in his right hand sat just above the magazine’s logo. Above the logo was the magazine’s slogan THE IN YOUR FACE BASKETBALL MAGAZINE. The caption said LARRY JOHNSON, LIVIN’ LARGE! Cover lines filled the rest of the cover, including BARKLEY: KING WITHOUT  A CROWN; KILLER BLOCKS! SHAQ, ROBINSON, MOURNING, OLAJUWON & MORE; JASON KIDD’S KRAZY MAD MOVES; KENTUCKY’S BLUE MADNESS; SLAMBOYANT SNEAKS; and SLAMADAMONTH! Every caption was a way to draw a potential reader into picking up the magazine.

Page waited to see if anyone was interested in his new project. 

“That was the business at the time,” he explained. “There was no internet, Instagram, or Facebook. The newsstand was the true test of whether there was a community out there who cared about your idea. We would have three issues to test whether there was an audience. If it sold, we would keep it rolling. If it didn’t, then we wouldn’t.”

There was some concern about starting a basketball magazine immediately after Jordan retired, but they were alleviated when Harris delivered some excellent news. The newsstand sales were strong enough for SLAM to continue. A second issue arrived on newsstands in October of 1994, with Seattle Supersonics forward Shawn Kemp on the cover. Johnson was replaced by Tony Gervino on the masthead three months later when Shaquille O’Neal appeared on the cover of the magazine’s third issue. He had accepted a job offer to become a Vibe senior editor.

“We sold more copies of our first issue than they did,” Johnson explained. “They spent like $15 million to launch it. We spent $100,000 tops. I was called into their office, and they asked me, ‘How did you do it?’ I explained how the magazine worked and what our editorial focus was. They asked me if I would be interested in being a senior editor. I figured I would eventually have a shot at the editor-in-chief role, so I made the jump.”

Today, he is still proud of leaving an editorial blueprint behind for his successors.

“The magazine unquestionably looked better in the years after I left,” Johnson said. “But the fact it is still largely all the same ideas I brought to the table is enormously gratifying to me and tells me I got a lot of stuff right. I didn’t get it right because I was a genius. I got it right because there was something wrong with the way magazines were covering sports.” 

***

IF YOU SCAN THE FIRST THREE ISSUES OF SLAM today, you’ll notice the cover photos didn’t come from original photoshoots. The photos of the early covers were licensed from the NBA. “None of the players would pose for us,” Page said. “We had to buy existing photography in the very beginning.” SLAM had a vision to one day follow the lead of Rolling Stone. Founder and publisher Jann Wenner was a 21-year-old UC Berkeley dropout who couldn’t get anyone to take his music writing seriously in 1967 when he scraped together $7,500 from family and friends and convinced San Francisco Chronicle writer Ralph J. Gleason to help him put together a new magazine. The first issue of Rolling Stone arrived on newsstands in the same year, with John Lennon of The Beatles on the cover. The magazine debuted at the height of the hippie movement and became the definitive counterculture magazine of their era, introducing a new generation of artists, including the Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, and Janis Joplin, to the world. Wenner described Rolling Stone as “a publication not just about music but also about the things and attitudes that music embraces” in his first column. The magazine plucked writers from obscure places and turned them into culture-defining voices. Their photographers captured defining images of an entire generation of rock stars. The magazine’s portrait photography of cover subjects set the standard for every other publi- cation. Being selected for the Rolling Stone cover became the highest honor for any music artist. 

“Jann broke the mold on alternative magazine publishing,” Page said. “As far as I’m concerned, they changed print publishing. The way Rolling Stone shot their covers provided the vision for every magazine that came after them. Nobody had shot athletes that way before and we wanted to be the first. We would consider ourselves lucky if we could shoot a cover that was one-tenth as good as Rolling Stone.”

By the time SLAM published their first issue, Rolling Stone was no longer a cultural force on the newsstand. The magazine, which was once bursting with creative energy, grew into a $250 million conglomerate in the 1980s and lost the qualities that defined them. The Rolling Stone cover increasingly became a landing spot for established celebrities and was no longer a birthplace for new stars. A writer who joined the mag- azine in 1993 compared his new job to showing up to the party just in time to see a cigarette floating in the last cocktail of the night.

SLAM’s goal was to become the modern-day basketball version of Rolling Stone, embracing the same rebellious streak which gave birth to the rock ’n’ roll magazine three decades earlier.

But they needed to find their voice first. 

Cover Story: The NBA and Modern Basketball as Told Through its Most Iconic Magazine Covers is reprinted with permission from Triumph Books. All rights reserved.

The post The Story of How SLAM Was Founded, as Told By Those Who Were There appeared first on SLAM.

In an interview with DNVR’s Harrison Wind, Nuggets guard Austin Rivers said that he thinks Porter Jr. is in for an All-Star season.

“I think Michael Porter Jr. will be an All-Star this season,” Rivers told DNVR. “We’re still working with him defensively. He’s putting the effort into that. But he’s going to be an All-Star. 6-10, top-2 or 3 jump shooter in basketball. It’s hard to see a guy like that who we’re going to be featuring on offense not making the All-Star game. He’s too good, man. He’s just too good.”

Rivers also took time to defend Porter from some of the criticism he has faced over the past few years.

“You should be allowed to be human. Unfortunately, in our sport, sometimes you’re not allowed to be human. You make a couple mistakes, and you’re a bad guy. It’s hard to change in the league. It takes years and years to get people to see who you are and understand the type of guy you are. It’s been a process, and I’m still working at it now, honestly.”

Rivers is clearly not the only one who believes in Porter, as the Nuggets in recent days signed him to a five-year $207 million extension, money you only give the best players in the league.

Looking at MPJ’s numbers in his first couple of seasons, it’s easy to see why he is held in such high regard. In just his second season in the NBA, he averaged 19 points and 7.3 rebounds per game while shooting an outstanding 44.5 percent from three point range.

The Nuggets will be looking to improve on their excellent season from last year, where they finished third in the Western Conference but lost in the second round of the NBA Playoffs to the Phoenix Suns.

The post Austin Rivers Anticipates All-Star Season for Michael Porter Jr. appeared first on SLAM.

After one season with the Mavericks in a limited role on a two-way deal, he was not extended a qualifying offer and became a free agent before being acquired by Houston. 

With roster decisions having to be made between now and the start of the season, the Rockets decided to part ways with the 23-year-old after just a few weeks of acquiring him. 

Still an intriguing young prospect, Bey will certainly have the opportunity to be signed to a team’s training camp roster. If all goes well over the next few weeks, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Bey on a two-way contract or minimum deal somewhere around the league for the 2021-22 season. 

Last season in the G League, Bey averaged 15.1 points and 9.2 rebounds per game, showing just how much potential he has. 

The post Houston Rockets Release Former Second-Round Pick Tyler Bey appeared first on SLAM.

“It’s dope. It’s amazing in a league where there are so many great players—like, players you’ve seen growing up and watching while in college—to be considered one of the top players for the future, that’s important,” says the 24-year-old Dallas Wings guard.

“I can be the future [of the League] but I am also taking advantage of my time right now and not wasting any time,” she continues. “I want to be one of the top players now and in the future.”

And she’s willing to do whatever it takes to be the best—on and off the basketball court—in everything she does.

WSLAM 1 featuring Arike Ogunbowale, Diamond DeShields and Betnijah Laney is OUT NOW!

Take, for example, a recent toasty 95 degree Sunday afternoon in Dallas. Inside the Singing Hills Recreation Center is Ogunbowale, a mere two weeks after winning WNBA All-Star MVP honors and returning from vacation.

Hair pulled back in a long ponytail and wearing a white Nike headband, she stands with a basketball in the corner of the large, empty gym. She’s there on her off day for a photo shoot for Red Bull.

There’s Arike dribbling the ball with both hands. There’s Arike twirling the ball, first on one hand, then on one finger. There’s Arike shooting the ball and showing off her handles. There’s Arike posing. She’s laughing. She’s smiling, that wide, toothy grin we’ve all grown accustomed to, and chatting with the camera crew.

Dressed in a white T-shirt, blue shorts, black tights, white Nike socks and orange, black and white Nikes, she walks confidently down the gym floor near a basketball hoop. She chats with her trainer, Melvin Sanders of SandersFit Performance Center in downtown Dallas, before he begins passing her the ball. She effortlessly puts up a bucket. Then another. And another. She hits 10 straight before she misses. 

There’s no one there but me, a handful of Red Bull staff, Arike and her trainer. But she’s as focused as if she were in College Park Center where the Wings play their home games. She’s tending to business, but watching her up close and on the court alone, you can see how at one she is with the ball, how shooting baskets is second nature. She’s always working on her craft, always trying to get better, always trying to improve, even taking a photo shoot with seriousness. And it’s this work ethic, grit and determination that has propelled her in just three short years to become one of the unquestioned faces of the WNBA.

You just knew she would be.

You knew it when she led her Notre Dame team to the 2018 National Championship on a last second shot. 

You knew it when she passed fellow Irish alum Skylar Diggins-Smith to become the Notre Dame’s all-time leading scorer. 

You knew it when her name was called at No. 5 overall in the 2019 WNBA draft. 

You just knew the 5-8 walking bucket was going to take the League by storm. And in a way, so did she.

“I have a lot of confidence in myself. So I knew whatever I brought to Dallas, I would help the team for sure. No matter what it was, off the court, on the court,” she shares with WSLAM. “I knew I would help the team however I could and make a name for myself in Dallas.”

And throughout the League. 

And what a name.

She was a unanimous All-Rookie selection and WNBA Rookie of the Year runner-up after finishing third in the League in scoring (19.1 ppg) and leading her team in scoring. With a total of 630 points (third in League history in rookie points), she tied Maya Moore’s record of 30 or more points in four straight games. 

For her sophomore year, Ogunbowale—who admires the game of legends Seimone Augustus, Lisa Leslie, Maya Moore and Diana Taurasi—won the WNBA scoring title (22.8 ppg), recording four 30 point games in back-to-back years.

This year, a few games left in the regular season, she is averaging 18.8 ppg and is on pace to reach career bests in three-point and free-throw shooting. She was also named the All-Star MVP in her first All-Star Gajme after dropping 26 points.

“I want to be one of the top players now and in the future.”

– Arike Ogunbowale

But it’s not just on the court where Arike is making her name known. Recently, she joined some big names, including Kevin Durant, Elena Delle Donne and Kelley O’Hara, as investors in Just Women’s Sports, a growing media platform. 

“As you get more into the League, you want longevity and want to start investing in things,” she says. “What better way to start investing than in women’s sports? I’m involved in women’s sports. It’s what I do. If I have daughters, this is what I want them to do, and I just want to inspire young kids.”

“This is really putting my money where my mouth is, elevating women and all that they do, so why not invest in it and have a part in helping it grow? That was really important to me.” 

Ogunbowale, who’s signed with Nike and most recently partnered with Red Bull, also has her hand in uplifting young people. She recently worked with the Dick’s Sporting Goods Foundation to give away clothing and other gear to young girls. 

“I have a lot of things in store. Whatever I am doing, I am definitely trying to make young girls and our community the focal point. That’s what I’m big on.”

Get your copy of the first all-women’s issue of SLAM!

She’s also big on basketball, and getting into the playoffs remains her top priority; something she’s yet to experience after a 10-24 finish her rookie year; 8-14 in the shortened 2020 wubble season, and currently 10-13 this season, one game out of the playoffs.

“I’m good. I’m locked in and getting ready for the second part of the season,” she answers with trademark confidence when asked about her current state of mind. 

And she has to be. 

Although there are other talented veterans on the Wings, including Olympic Gold medalist Allisha Gray, defensive stalwart Kayla Thornton and Isabelle Harrison, it’s Ogunbowale who’s the face of the franchise and the leader of the team. She has been since she was drafted and named starting point guard in the absence of Diggins-Smith. How challenging has it been for her to step into the role of leader and help put the Wings in the best possible position to succeed? 

“I wouldn’t say challenging, it’s just a process, especially with me being young myself,” she explains. “I already had to be more of a leader even in year one when I was starting point guard. I’m not even done with year three and I’m already considered a leader, and that’s just who I am and what I add to this team.

“In order to be a top player, you have to lead as well, so I think I’m growing in that and learning and that’s still a process, too. I’m not the best leader yet,” she admits. “But I’m definitely working at it. And it helps to have teammates and coaches who trust you, trust what you say; believe in you as a leader. That definitely elevates my confidence as well.”

Wings teammates Harrsion and Bella Alarie, who have played alongside Ogunbowale for three and two years respectively, have seen the growth and evolution of their teammate and see no limits on her ascension to the top of the League.

“My favorite thing about Arike is how talented she is, but still has a listening ear,” says Harrison. “Even when she got here her first year, she was our leader. Arike was the person we were going to give the ball to at the end of the game so she stepped up a lot. This is her third year now, I think she is just getting more comfortable in her role as far as being vocal, leading off the court, encouraging  people and holding herself to a standard defensively. She wants to grow. I don’t know if people see that about Arike. She wants to grow and she wants to be better.  

“So any Arike slander, I don’t listen to it. I don’t care who it comes from,” Harrison says laughing, but also very seriously. “That girl wants to be better. And I love that about her. She is just so humble. She is just putting herself on the next level. She can only go up. She is pushing herself to be good.”

Alarie calls Ogunbowale, “a fantastic player, playmaker and extremely confident. And that’s something I look up to her for. She’s not afraid to take those last second shots that make or break the game. I really admire that.”

“The way she’s grown into herself, she’s done a great job of carrying us along with her,” she continues. “I really love playing with her. She brings a great attitude to the court. She plays hard and she is only going to get better.”

One area Ogunbowale is striving to improve upon is reading defensive schemes other teams are throwing at her as they try to make it more difficult for the bucket-getter to score.

“Everyone knows I can score, but every night it’s a different defense. The hardest thing is being able to adjust every game to different defenses because teams throw different things at me,” she says. “Being able to adjust and read the right plays—you know, if I’m getting trapped, I gotta swing it quick—just being able to get up on those things faster.”

There’s no doubt she’ll improve defensively and in any other way she desires. Ogunbowale has that kind of will, dedication and focus—much of which comes from her family, whom she calls the source of her inspiration and motivation and with whom she connects with every day. “My support system is really big and definitely keeps me going.”

What also keeps her going is her competitive nature and her desire to take her team further than they’ve ever gone. 

“I’m locked in. We’ve got some important games. We’ve gotta get these wins in order to make this playoff push. I’m really locked in right now.” 

Go behind the scenes with Diamond, Betnijah and Arike for their WSLAM 1 cover shoot!

Portraits by Raven B. Varona. Follow Ravie B. on Instagram, @ravieb.

Action photos via Getty Images.

The post Arike Ogunbowale Continues Making Her Presence Felt On and Off the Court appeared first on SLAM.

According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Millsap agreed to a deal with the Brooklyn Nets, joining one of the favorites to win the 2022 NBA Championship.

Charania also reported that Millsap had offers from various playoff contenders, including the Golden State Warriors, Chicago Bulls, and Los Angeles Clippers.

Millsap, who is 36-years-old, spent the past four seasons with the Denver Nuggets, playing in 215 games and averaging 11.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.

Over his career, Millsap has averaged 13.7 points and 7.2 rebounds per game in 1,057 career games.

A second-round pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, Millsap has been named to four All-Star teams, making the All-Defense team in 2015-16z

The only thing missing is an NBA Championship.

To that point, the Nets are coming off a very strong season, finishing second in the Eastern Conference, and will be returning all of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, James Harden, Joe Harris, Blake Griffin and Bruce Brown. Brooklyn also went out and acquired Patty Mills in free agency, while drafting Summer League standout Cam Thomas.

The post REPORT: Paul Millsap Signs Deal with Brooklyn Nets appeared first on SLAM.

According to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Simmons will not show up for training camp later this month.

“In a meeting with the 76ers last week in Los Angeles, Simmons told team co-managing partner Josh Harris, president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, general manager Elton Brand and coach Doc Rivers that he no longer wants to remain a Sixer, according to multiple sources,” Pompey wrote. “Sources said the three-time All-Star also does not intend to report to training camp.”

Simmons has been rumored to be on the trade block almost immediately following the 76ers being bounced from the playoffs in the second round by the Atlanta Hawks.

It’s also been reported by Pompey, via 97.5 The Fanatic Philadelphia, that Sixers head coach Doc Rivers’ comments throwing him under the bus at the end of the series was “the final straw.”

“Apparently, Ben is upset. He’s upset that he feels like Doc threw him on the bus.”

Simmons has been linked with multiple teams around the NBA this offseason, including the Portland Trail Blazers and Minnesota Timberwolves. In the same article, Pompey reports that Simmons would prefer a trade to three of the four NBA teams located in California.

The 76ers will have some time to work on a trade, as their training camp doesn’t begin until the end of the month on Sept. 28 in San Diego, California.

The post REPORT: Ben Simmons Won’t Attend Sixers’ Training Camp appeared first on SLAM.

In return for Gordon, Denver traded Gary Harris, R.J. Hampton and a future first-round pick to Orlando. This was a move the clearly indicated they wanted him as part of their core long-term. 

With that in mind, Mike Singer of The Denver Post recently reported that the Nuggets and Gordon share optimism about a potential contract extension with a deal possibly being reaching within the next few days.

He is is eligible for a four-year, $88 million extension, but Singer reports that a deal could be for two or three years at an at $20 million to $21 million per season. 

At 25 years old, Gordon is entering the final year of his current four-year, $80 million deal as a member of the Nuggets. 

The post Nuggets, Aaron Gordon Optimistic On Extension In Near Future appeared first on SLAM.

Dudley will be a front of the bench assistant under Mavs head coach Jason Kidd, who was hired earlier in the summer due to the departure of Rick Carlisle (now the head coach of the Indiana Pacers).

Last week, the Mavericks hired former WNBA star Kristi Tolliver as an assistant coach, where she and former Phoenix Suns head coach Igor Kokoskov (said to have a strong relationship with Mavs star Luka Doncic) will headline the bench.

Strategist Greg St. Jean, a former assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers (where Dudley played for the past two seasons) and Sean Sweeney (who served under Kidd at two stops previously) are also newcomers to Dallas’ coaching staff.

With Tolliver, Kokoskov, St. Jean and Sweeney each bringing a wealth of coaching experience, albeit in various roles, Dudley could hardly ask for a better constructed staff to surround him at the beginning of his new journey.

The post Jared Dudley Agrees to Assistant Coach Role with Mavs After 14 NBA Seasons appeared first on SLAM.

Harris, who was the 59th pick in the 2020 NBA Draft out of Nevada, averaged 7.4 points per game on .500 percent shooting from the field and .472 percent from 3-point range in 13 games last season.

Per Charania, the 22-year-old Harris will be able to apply for reinstatement in one year.

O.J. Mayo (2016), who currently plays for the Liaoning Flying Leopards, and Tyreke Evans (2019) were the last two players who the NBA suspended for violating the anti-drug policy. Though neither player has been reinstated as of today, Evans is eligible to reapply following the 2020-21 season.

The post Jalen Harris Disqualified from NBA for Violating Anti-Drug Program appeared first on SLAM.

The first-ever winner of the award, the 10-time All-Star chose the Portland Art Museum’s Black Arts and Experiences Initiative to receive a $100,000 donation on his behalf.

Per the NBA’s press release on May 13, the award “recognizes a current NBA player for pursuing social justice and upholding the league’s decades-long values of equality, respect and inclusion.”

Humbled, honored, and motivated to live up to the namesake of this inaugural award. I can promise that I’ll continue to carry the torch and shine a light in the places that need it most. #STAYME7O pic.twitter.com/t5H0H6Y8B5

— Carmelo Anthony (@carmeloanthony) June 30, 2021

The 37-year-old has instrumented volumes of change in the fight for social justice. In July of 2020, Anthony partnered with Suns guard Chris Paul and former star Dwyane Wade to create the Social Change Fund. Anthony also serves as a board member for the National Basketball Social Justice Coalition.

Anthony, who served as a guest editor for our Social Justice Issue back in August of 2020, most recently partnered with 94-year-old activist Opal Lee in March to raise awareness for Juneteenth and its advocacy to become a national holiday.

Tobias Harris, Harrison Barnes, Jrue Holiday and Juan Toscano-Anderson were the four runners-up and will each designate an organization to receive $25,000.

In the near future, Anthony and Abdul-Jabbar – who presented the award to Melo before Game 4 between the Bucks and Hawks – will develop and design a trophy that draws inspiration from both of their visions with the help of a team of emerging and diverse designers from the Marcus Graham Project.

The post Carmelo Anthony Inaugural Winner of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion Award appeared first on SLAM.

Alvin Brooks III didn’t envision coaching as his future career path. As the son of the legendary Alvin Brooks, who was the first Black head coach in program history at the University of Houston, Brooks grew up knowing just how demanding the job was. While still in high school, he’d often go to games with his father on school nights, staying late in the gym, sometimes until 3 am after a tough loss. Then, they’d still have a 30-45 minute drive back home. 

 “I’d have school the next day and be like, there’s no way I’m doing this,” Brooks says over ZOOM. 

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A post shared by Alvin Brooks III (@coach_ab3)

After playing for Midland College, the Houston native transferred to Idaho State, where he graduated with a finance degree, Brooks had initially been more interested in financial advising. Having befriended Rashard Lewis, who was playing on the Seattle Supersonics at the time, Brooks would go to the team practices and quickly became intrigued with how then-head coach Nate McMillian and then-assistant coach Dwyane Casey approached the game. It was then that he thought, perhaps one day, man I could do this.

He initially thought he’d start his career coaching at Texas A&M alongside his father, but Alvin Brooks had other plans.

“He made me start at junior college because he wanted me to be more than a recruiter,” Books recalls. “I was forced to do everything because there were only two assistants.”

Long before he joined Baylor’s staff, Brooks’ first coaching gig was in ‘04 as an assistant at Arkansas-Fort Smith, where he helped lead the Lions to a 2006 NJCAA Division 1 championship. He then returned to Midland and helped his former squad claim another NJCAA title during the 2006-07 season.

Not long afterward, Brooks took his talents to the NCAA-level, where he was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Bradley for three seasons, followed by two seasons as an assistant coach at Sam Houston State from 2010-12. The following season, he joined the coaching staff at Kansas State for four seasons, and then was hired by Baylor prior to the 2016-17 season.

With 17 years of coaching experience under his belt, Brooks has become a key component in Baylor’s championship-winning coaching staff. Before the 2019-20 season was canceled due to COVID-19, the No.1 nationally ranked Bears had embarked on their most successful season in program history, finishing 26-4 with hopes of earning an NCAA tournament No.1 season. 

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A post shared by Alvin Brooks III (@coach_ab3)

Those ambitions, as we all know, came true this year during a season that, like the previous one, was met with hardship. As the Bears dominated throughout the regular season and finished with an even better record, 28-2, the team also had to navigate the pandemic, and grapple with the reality of the Black lives lost to police brutality. Even with their success, what stood out most to Brooks was how his team built a bond and developed a level of understanding during those times. He learned, especially, how to support his players through it all. 

“I think everything helped us become closer as a staff, and helped us grow closer with our student athletes,” he says. “Coach Drew, like he did an unbelievable job of just really showing us how much he cares and he didn’t just talk it. Like he figured out, okay, how can we move steps forward, like he’s a fixer. He had migraines because he was like, how can i fix it? How can I fix it? We’re like, man, there’s really nothing you can fix. Like by yourself, not overnight. So we actually did a lot, we had a lot of team meetings, we had a lot of guys open up and talk about their different backgrounds and got to know one another on a level that we hadn’t before.”

After learning that private prisons look at the literacy rates of third graders and use that to determine the future number of beds in prisons, the Bears decided to volunteer their time reading to and teaching elementary school students over Zoom during the season. As they made their way into the NCAA tournament, guard Jared Butler, a projected NBA lottery pick in this year’s draft, spent his Sundays teaching Sunday school classes to students at Harris Creek Baptist Church in Waco. 

“We want to try to make sure that we make a change in our community as far as helping the inner city kids and helping them to where [we’re] not just talking about it but actually doing something,” Brooks says. 

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A post shared by Alvin Brooks III (@coach_ab3)

Championship teams are built by trust—which is something Stanford assistant coach Britney Anderson has also learned, especially, as her Cardinals also went on a historic-run to claim their first title in 30 years. Like Brooks, she didn’t think coaching was for her, either. And while suiting up for Virginia Tech in college, Anderson flat-out told her own coach that she wasn’t really interested in the profession.

“I felt like they didn’t have a life,” Anderson admits on the same Zoom call. “It wasn’t fun, you’re always stressed out, you’re chasing down kids. I knew how my teammates were so I was like, I just don’t want to do it.” 

Still, Anderson ended up giving it a try after graduating from Virginia Tech in ‘07, where she averaged 10.2 points and helped lead her team to three-trips to the NCAA tournament and one to the WNIT, all while earning a degree in apparel design and merchandise management. While working as a corporate recruiter for M.C. Dean in Virginia, she also coached girls’ basketball at Potomac Falls High School in Potomac Falls and AAU in the summer time for six years. 

It was then that her former Virginia Tech assistant coach, Bobbie Kelsey, encouraged her to look into coaching at the collegiate level. 

“She said to me, hey, you should think about college coaching. She then came back and said it again. And that’s when I kind of was like, well maybe this is my calling, maybe this is my purpose. I honestly had no idea it would get me here.”

While applying for a Department of Basketball Ops position at Radford, Anderson was also told to look into becoming an assistant coach. Yet, she hesitated. 

“I’m like, no, I’m just trying this out to see if I like it, and kind of got pushed to being an assistant.”

And yet, she immediately made an impact on the program, assisting with recruiting, scouting, scheduling, and even community service and camp coordination while focusing, specifically, on the wing players. While helping will the program to a redemption season in 2015, where the Raiders led the Big South in three-point shooting, the team made a postseason run in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament. Anderson then returned to her alma-mater, Virginia Tech, in June of that year, leading them to a trip to the WNIT. She joined the Cardinal’s staff last season. 

And yet, just as Brooks’ Baylor Bears learned, this season had its challenges for the Cardinals—who played on the road for 10 weeks straight. By the time they made it to the bubble for the NCAA tournament, Anderson was impressed with how her team handled such a long season, which included being away from their families and friends. 

“I was proud of our team, it was a long season,” she says. “We were on the road for 10 weeks. I don’t know how we made it. We made it to the end.”

The lessons learned inside the bubble were bigger than basketball. Anderson saw her own players speak up, and speak out against systemic racism and gender-inequality—in reaction to what was going on around the country, and, specifically, after the controversy regarding the NCAA-provided weight rooms sparked. It was during those moments, especially, that she learned how important it was to help her players work through tough moments and use their platforms to create change. 

“I was blown away by the whole weight room situation,” she admits. “I was in complete, what is this? I had to go back to my room and collect my thoughts like, okay, what is this? What’s going to come from this? What can we do about this?” Anderson admits. “[Seeing] them use their platform this season was the biggest thing that stuck out. Yes, we won a national championship, yes it was a marathon and all that. But I learned a lot this season about this next generation [and] how when athletes speak up, things change, things can happen. I think that was the biggest that I got out of the season—that we just need to continue to speak up, and when these athletes want to speak up or feel the need to speak up, help them use their voice because they’re not always sure how to go about something and they want to come across to where people will listen to them.” 

As the Cardinals prepared for the second round of the NCAA tournament, Anderson made the decision to wear her team-issued Black Lives Matter shirt to every game throughout the postseason, despite backlash. 

“To be honest with you, I got a lot of people who were like, well you don’t match everybody else. And for me it was bigger than the game, we’re here, we’re playing. Me wearing this t-shirt doesn’t affect how our team plays. But I just made a decision to continue to wear it. If people had issues with it, people sent me messages, but I said, you know imma just wear this shirt. It’s one of those things where you go through the tournament, you’re dealing with everything we’re dealing with and you realize basketball is just a piece of everything that’s going on around us.”

Brooks admits that he’s also had moments during his own career where he feels like it was important to speak up against racial tension. While suiting for Idaho State, he saw a clear-divide between teammates of different races and backgrounds, specifically when traveling to games on the team vans. There, Brooks says six Black players would sit in one car, while six white players would be in another. When the team would go out to eat all the Black players would sit at one table together, while the white players would sit separately. 

“Me, being the team captain, I probably could’ve fixed that but you know I was kind of selfish because K wasn’t playing as much as I thought I should,” he admits. “I see those things now and I’m able to say no no no no that’s not what we doing.”

Now, Brooks says he’s learned just how important it is to coach based on the needs of his players, and to support them outside of the game, especially when it comes to societal issues and things they may be dealing with, or exposed to on their social media feeds. 

“These kids are exposed to a lot more, they see a lot more,” Brooks adds. “Life comes at them faster, especially with social media, [and I’m] helping them get through that. These kids want to know you care about them outside of basketball first before they’re going to trust you on the court.” 

Having both learned how important it is to use their platforms, and to encourage their players to do the same, both Brooks and Anderson also believe that it’s important to support other Black coaches around the game, too. Given the limited opportunities for Black coaches, there’s often a sentiment of competitiveness between each other:

“I feel as Black coaches we feel like there can only be one on a staff,” Anderson says. “And we don’t want to share too much of what we have learned in situations or even to help somebody get through something. I came from Virginia Tech where the head coach is a Black male, and it was myself and another black female as an assistant. I think that can be the norm, but I think it’s not something that we see on a daily basis so it’s something we don’t think about. I think we’re seeing it more.” 

When she got a DM from BCA co-founder Pooh Jeter asking her to join the BCA’s ZOOM meetings, Anderson admits she was intimidated at first, having just moved to the west coast and not knowing too many other coaches. 

“It opened my eyes to more as far as there’s other coaches that are out here that I can reach out to that have more to share but sometimes we don’t reach out to each other because it’s like they’re not going to respond. And I had made it a point even when I got into this business that anybody reached out to me. If I can help you, I’ll help you. If it’s a player that I know you’re interested in and I can’t get them, and you can get them, I’ll help you. But I think with that organization it’s becoming more of how we can help each other. I went from sitting on the first call like, I don’t know, like, I’m here to be able to see that this is something that can grow and this is something that is very unique in that this is the first time I’ve been on that call and I’m pretty sure I’m not the first person that’s been a part of something like that.”

For Brooks, whose father was a part of the original BCA that formed in the ‘80s and ‘90s, he grew up hearing stories about John Thompson, John Chaney and the meetings they led. 

 “I thought that generation did an unbelievable job of helping one another, I mean they would go on recruiting trips with each other and recruit the same kid and be in the same car at different schools and wait for one another. Well now, my generation, we won’t even tell you where we’re going to recruit because we see it as competition and I think the BCA can bridge that gap. As far as getting all of us to see that we’re not enemies, it’s just competition and I think they understood back in the day that it’s just competition but we still got to help one another where I think some of us look at each other as enemies. And it’s like, bro we’re not enemies, we all can succeed in this business. But we definitely can’t do it alone.” 

He adds: “The only way we can do it is if we do it together. And so I think the BCA calls are great because I get on and I take notes, I learn from everybody. I’ll take notes and try to figure out what it is that I can learn from this person? And so if they’re willing to share knowledge then it’s up to me to take it and apply it.” 

—

Photos via Getty Images and Stanford Athletics (via Britney Anderson).

The post Stanford’s Britney Anderson and Baylor’s Alvin Brooks III Highlight the Impact and Lessons Birthed From Their Championship Teams appeared first on SLAM.

Portland signed Chauncey Billups to a five-year contract on Sunday night.

Breaking: Chauncey Billups has reached an agreement on a five-year deal to become the head coach of the Trail Blazers, sources tell @wojespn. pic.twitter.com/r9C6JzHrU5

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 28, 2021

The conflicting reports of Lillard’s involvement in the coaching search along with concerns on building a contender may lead to Damian leaving according to Chris B. Haynes of Yahoo! Sports.

“The enormous backlash from the Portland Trail Blazers’ process to hire a new coach and his concerns on whether a championship contender can be built have become factors that may push the franchise player—Damian Lillard—out the door, league sources tell Yahoo! Sports.”

Social media backlash has been mounting on the hire based on a sexual assault allegation made against Billups back in 1997. Billups denied it and was never charged criminally. A civil settlement was reached.

Some of the backlash fell back on Lillard, who answered critics on Twitter.

Really? I was asked what coaches I like of the names I “heard” and I named them. Sorry I wasn’t aware of their history I didn’t read the news when I was 7/8yrs old. I don’t support Those things … but if this the route y’all wana come at me… say less https://t.co/N1GPkX3Ohd

— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) June 26, 2021

According to Haynes’s sources, the search was done by Neil Olshey, the president of basketball operations and none of the candidates interviewed were from suggestions from Lillard.

Lillard did endorse Jason Kidd for the job, but Kidd took his name out of consideration and eventually landed in Dallas last week.

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported on his podcast that Damian was a part of the hiring process.

“I was told that he sat in on the interview for Chauncey Billups. It was virtual… he joined the Zoom meeting, but it’s not a normal thing I think for players to sit in on that.”

The Trail Blazers are scheduled to announce Chauncey Billups in a press conference on Tuesday.

The post Damian Lillard and Blazers Reportedly At Odds Over Chauncey Billups Hire appeared first on SLAM.

We broke down Sunday’s games here.

No. 2 Suns 120, No. 4 Clippers 114

PHX Leads Series 1-0

In Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, both teams were without their best player. It came down to which secondary star would step up to the occasion, with Devin Booker taking the edge. While the Suns won the opening matchup of this series, we know all too well the Clippers are still in it after surviving 2-0 deficits in each of their last two series.

Booker led all players with 40 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists. Outside of him, five other Suns scored in double-figures as Phoenix inched by without Chris Paul. For the Clippers, Paul George notched 34 points while Reggie Jackson finished with 24. DeMarcus Cousins provided a huge spark off the bench with 11 points and four rebounds in 13 minutes, but it wasn’t enough.

No. 1 Sixers 96, No. 5 Hawks 103

ATL Wins Series 4-3

The Sixers have been trusting the process for years now, hoping that they would finally get over the hump. They had the chance to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals on Sunday in Game 7 against the Hawks, but fell short at home. Ben Simmons continued to be the weak link in the series, lacking aggressiveness on offense as Philadelphia failed to crack 100 points on the night.

Joel Embiid scored 31 points to go along with 11 boards while Tobias Harris and Seth Curry produced 24 and 16 points respectively. No other Sixers scored in double figures. Kevin Huerter was deadly for the Hawks on offense on Sunday with a team-high 27 points. Trae Young finished with a 21-point and ten assist double-double and Danilo Gallinari gave Atlanta a huge boost off the bench with 17 points. The Hawks will now face the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The post Post Up: Hawks Stun Sixers and Suns Take Series Lead appeared first on SLAM.

The early evening game saw a chance for the Milwaukee Bucks to rebound after a disappointing loss to the Brooklyn Nets in Game 1, while the Denver Nuggets and Phoenix Suns kicked off their first game of their semifinals series to end the night.

No. 2 Brooklyn Nets 125, No. 3 Milwaukee Bucks 86

BKN leads series 2-0

Milwaukee struggled to deal with the Nets’ offensive weapons in Game 1 but longtime head coach Mike Budenholzer and the Bucks looked no more prepared in Game 2.

By the end of the first quarter, Brooklyn had already jumped to a 36-19 lead, and at no point for the rest of the game did the Bucks ever look like they had a chance. The ever-lethal Kevin Durant was automatic for Brooklyn, scoring 32 points on 12-for-18 shooting while chipping in six assists. Kyrie Irving ended the night with 22 points (on 9-17 shooting) and six assists, and fellow starters Joe Harris and Bruce Brown each had 13 points apiece.

The Nets also get big minutes from their second unit, getting 38 points from seven different players on their bench (including 23 combined points from Landry Shamet, Nic Claxton and Mike James).

Despite Brooklyn not having All-NBA guard James Harden, Milwaukee still couldn’t find an answer on either end of the floor. No Bucks player scored at least 20 points, and two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo finished his night with a team-high 18 points (on 8-15 shooting).

Though the Greek Freak was efficient, Milwaukee had another poor shooting night from distance, knocking down just 29.6 percent of their 3-point attempts in the game. All-Star forward Khris Middleton struggled the most, going 7-20 from the field and committing a game-high five turnovers.

The Nets, on the other hand, lit it up, going 21-for-41 from deep and took care of the ball, with just eight team turnovers to the Bucks’ 16.

Now down 2-0 against a team looking like the favorites to come out of the East, Milwaukee will have to find a way to close the gap before heading back home for Game 3 on Thursday night.

No. 2 Phoenix Suns 122, No. 3 Denver Nuggets 105

PHX leads series 1-0

The Nuggets and Suns kicked off their first game of the Western Conference semifinals on Monday, and though the Nuggets did lose by a double-digit deficit, it was a closer game than its predecessor for the majority of the contest.

In fact, Denver entered the half with a 58-57 lead over the Suns but Phoenix shut down the Nuggets’ star frontcourt in the second half, allowing just 47 points over the last two quarters. Four players finished with at least 20 points for the Suns in Mikal Bridges (23), Chris Paul (21), Devin Booker (21) and Deandre Ayton (20) as Phoenix picked apart Denver’s defensive strategy.

The Nuggets got uncharacteristically poor shooting nights from their two stars; Nikola Jokic and Michael Porter Jr.

Jokic had a team-high 22 points but got there on 10-for-23 shooting, including 3-12 shooting in the second half. Porter, who would leave the game with a back injury, had 15 points on 6-for-13 from the field but shot just 1-5 from the field in the second half.

Monte Morris had a solid series against the Portland Trail Blazers but it would be a game to forget for the Nuggets fan favorite, who played 23 minutes and scored two points on 1-for-10 from the field. A 47.9 percent shooter for his career, Denver will certainly be looking for more from Morris and company with a chance to even the series on Wednesday night.

The post Post Up: Are the Playoff Nightmares Back for the Bucks? appeared first on SLAM.

The past two matchups have seen game-tying and game-winning shots by Seattle’s Jewell Loyd but, last night, the basketball gods evened the score as Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale hoisted a high-arching last second three-pointer for the win.

Take another look at this @Arike_O game-winner pic.twitter.com/QBWaHoxXNS

— WNBA (@WNBA) June 7, 2021

Ogunbowale, now in her third season with the Wings, scored 24 points and grabbing six boards in a stunning 68-67 win over the Storm. Dallas—who trailed the entire second half—went on a 8-0 run strung together by Ogunbowale (who scored the final eight points for the team).

The Wings successfully curtailed a third straight overtime contest between the two teams, which Seattle won last Friday’s contest and on May 22 by a combined six points.

In each of their five losses this season, Ogunbowale has willed the Wings with 20+ points.

Last night’s game-winning 3-pointer finally rang poetic justice for the Wings who have lost their past five by six or less points. Both Marina Mabrey and Ogunbowale have stepped up their game against the defending champs, each averaging 25.0 points per game in their three games against the Storm.

This combo crossover and deep three from Arike Ogunbowale is not fair pic.twitter.com/DbkKUngl48

— WNBA Got Game (@wnbagotgame) June 5, 2021

Mabrey added 15 points (on 7-12 shooting), seven rebounds, two steals and a block, while Isabelle Harrison chipped in 14 points, eight boards and a block off the bench. Dallas (3-5) is now in sole possession of ninth place, 0.5 games out of the final playoff spot.

Midway through a five-game road series, Dallas travels to Phoenix to face the Mercury on Tuesday and Friday, their respective final matchups of the season.

The post Arike Ogunbowale, Wings Hand Storm Second Loss of Season appeared first on SLAM.

We broke down both of Sunday’s games here.

No. 1 Sixers 124, No. 5 Hawks 128

ATL leads series 1-0

Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks came out hot in Game 1 against the Philadelphia 76ers, making a huge statement on Sunday afternoon. The Hawks were up by as many as 26 early in the game after going on a 17-0 run and held a 19-point lead with just over eight minutes remaining. From there, the Sixers would climb back in and nearly pull off a late comeback win, pulling within three points with a minute remaining. 

Young scored 25 of his 35 points in the first half, with Bogdan Boganovic carrying the team late, finishing with 21 points. John Collins produced 21 points of his own while Kevin Huerter led the reserve unit with 15 bench points. Joel Embiid returned to action from his knee injury, notching 39 points and nine rebounds. Ben Simmons finished with 17 points and ten assists while Tobias Harris and Seth Curry both scored 20+ points each. 

No. 4 Clippers 126, No. 5 Mavericks 111

LAC wins series 4-3

Luka Doncic came out with intention in Game 7, notching 19 first quarter points and 29 through the first half. After being down by five points early in the second half, the Clippers went on a 24-4 run to finish the third quarter to go up 15 points entering the final frame. After being down 15 or more nearly the entire fourth quarter, Dallas went on a 13-3 run late in the game to pull within seven points with two minutes left, but couldn’t get within striking distance.

Terance Mann played a huge role in the Clippers’ win, scoring 13 points off the bench in a game where all of his buckets felt like they came at the perfect time. Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Marcus Morris combined for 73 points, 21 assists and 21 rebounds in Game 7. Doncic finished with 46 points, 14 assists and seven boards. 

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Congratulations, @Jrue_Holiday11!! pic.twitter.com/1ujUYOnBJt

— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) June 4, 2021

“It means a lot,” Holiday said after receiving the Joe Dumars Trophy, which is given to the NBA player who best represents the ideals of sportsmanship on the court. “Just knowing that it came from the players, the guys that go through this with me and put their bodies on the line, train in the offseason, it means a lot.”

Holiday received 130 of 343 first-place votes and was one of six finalists selected by a panel of NBA executives after all teams nominated a player from their rosters. The award honors a player who best represents sportsmanship on the court.

The other finalists included two-time winner Kemba Walker (Boston Celtics); Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat); Harrison Barnes (Sacramento Kings); Derrick White (San Antonio Spurs); and Josh Okogie (Minnesota Timberwolves).

The NBA Sportsmanship Award honors Hall of Famer Joe Dumars, a six-time All-Star and two-time NBA champion. Dumars, who spent all 14 seasons of his career with the Detroit Pistons, won the first Sportsmanship Award after the 1995-96 season.

Holiday, a 12-year veteran that’s long been known to be well-respected by his peers and community, donated a portion of his 2019-20 salary to form the Jrue and Lauren Holiday Social Impact Fund. His foundation funded close to $1 million in grants for African American-owned businesses and other African American organizations in the Milwaukee, New Orleans, Indianapolis and Los Angeles areas.

The 30-year-old won the Twyman-Stokes award as the league’s best teammate last year. This past week, Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers was selected as the award winner.

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