Hosted by AND1 as they continue pushing the envelope of streetball, the Open Run Tour was jam-packed with high-flying dunks and whiplash-inducing crossovers. Beyond the classic five-on-five matchups, the event featured a dunk contest, electric one-on-one matchups, shootarounds and a women’s three-on-three game. By bringing back some OG mixtape legends as judges, the Open Run built an atmosphere and energy that starkly contrasts that of the League; it’s physical, expressive, and most importantly, requires a completely different mindset.

“It’s a physical thing, but I think it’s also a mental thing. I think with streetball, as well as the NBA, you have to have a lot of mental toughness, you know?” says AND1 Brand Director Dexter Gordon. “It’s no blood, no foul. It toughens you up, and that’s the whole thing. … You’re gonna get knocked down, you’re gonna have the fans talking trash shit. … You get bumped around, [but] you know what, you learn a lot.”

Dating back to the days of Julius Erving and Wilt Chamberlain playing at Rucker Park, New York City has been the Mecca of streetball. The parks are where hip-hop meets basketball, where people come together through the power of sport. And though most will immediately think of Rucker Park when they hear the word “streetball,” it’s Coney Island that holds a special place in the hearts of many, including AND1’s. “It’s just good to get back out in the community. The first [NBA Ambassador] we ever signed, Stephon Marbury, was born and raised in Coney Island,” Gordon says. While Marbury and the history of his inaugural AND1 signature sneaker were felt from afar, another Coney Island native and longtime member of the AND1 family, Lance Stephenson, pulled up to the runs.

And in the decades since its humble origins in the parks of New York, streetball has forever permeated itself into basketball culture. Not only for what ensued on the court—with Shane “The Dribbling Machine” Woney, Leaky Roof, Whit3 Iverson, The Pharmacist, Skip 2 My Lou, Aaron “AO” Owens, Duke Tango and Hot Sauce selling tens of thousands of mixtapes, racking up millions of views on YouTube and leaving a mark on every streetball event they attend, including this year’s Open Run at Coney Island—but off the court, as well. Whether that’s the two headbands, the high socks or the big baggy shorts, those fashion sensibilities had ’00s hip-hop and NBA circles routinely rocking the infamous AND1 aesthetic.

Nevertheless, a lot can change in over a decade, and it’s no understatement to say the basketball landscape has radically shifted in a post-Mixtape Tour world. Dexter Gordon encapsulates this sentiment, saying, “We really kind of started the mixtape, but now look, every kid has a mixtape.” And when everyone’s playing catch-up, you have to stay one step ahead.

But Gordon isn’t too concerned with acclimating to the age of social media; quite the opposite. “As big as AND1 was in the ’90s and early 2000s, think about this: there was no social media. But we still reached other countries with the Mixtape Tour and the VHS mixtapes, and then they went to the DVDs, but now everything is online,” Gordon says. “So I think social media is a great tool, you know?”

Looking forward, AND1 is undergoing a balancing act of sorts, introducing streetball to a new generation of fans while preserving its decorated roots. “We’ll never stop celebrating our past, our legacy, our culture. … [But] moving forward, we kind of have to meet the younger kids where they are. So, of course, some things have to change, [and] you have to adapt to what’s going on,” Gordon says. And that starts with finding new talent to represent the culture, with current Globetrotter and former national champion Alexis Morris—AND1’s first female athlete—being one of their key additions.

This isn’t just basketball; it’s about creating a community and giving out opportunities. And nothing captures that better than streetball.

When asked about the impact the Open Run holds off-the-court, Dexter Gordon had many things come to mind—whether that’s the gratitude people expressed towards the OG Mixtape Legends or young NBA players recounting memories of watching Hot Sauce. But one stood above the rest: “We were going to the communities and, you know, for that day and that time of that event, man, there was no violence. You had gang members, guys that had beef with each other that would come together in this park [and play ball].”

Portraits by Evan Bernstein.

The post AND1 Celebrates Decades of History With The Return of The Open Run in Coney Island appeared first on SLAM.

Campers receive mentorship from current and former NBA players and follow an advanced training regimen designed to prepare them for the next level. In addition, every camper participates in group discussions and classes centering on topics such as stress management, recruiting pressures and more. 

Since ’94, hundreds of NBA players have come through the Top 100 Camp. This year’s event is set to take place at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at the Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, FL, from June 8-13.

But first, to celebrate 30 incredible years, we’re looking back at the top 30 NBPA members who have hit the court at the Top 100 Camp.

30. Zach LaVine 

Of all the high-flyers on this list, Zach LaVine might have the craziest hops. At 6-5, 200 pounds, he somehow makes zipping past defenders, soaring through the air and punching a nasty jam over a seven-footer look effortless. His jaw-dropping highlights and incredible performances in dunk contests—like his legendary duel with Aaron Gordon in 2016—alone make him a suitable candidate for this list, but LaVine is also a two-time All-Star and an elite all-around scorer who has averaged over 20 points per game for his career. 

29. Zion Williamson 

It’s rare for a high school player to land on the cover of SLAM. But then again, it’s rare for a high school player to be like Zion Williamson was in 2017. The kid from Spartanburg, SC, demanded our attention, regularly going viral on social media for his unfathomable dunks and blocks. The eventual cover line: “He’s 16. He’s 6-7. He’s explosive like Russ. He dunks like LeBron. Are you ready for Zion Williamson?” No lies told. In fact, at the Top 100 Camp in 2016, he was named MVP. Unfortunately, the Zion experience has been limited in the NBA due to injuries, but when the New Orleans Pelicans star has been healthy, he’s been an unstoppable force who still lights up social media.

28. Bam Adebayo

In an interview with SLAM in 2019, Jimmy Butler described his teammate Bam Adebayo—now a 3x All-Star—perfectly: “He works super hard and he’s everywhere on the floor. You need him to pass it, he can pass it. He rebounds, he handles the ball, he sets great screens. You can’t take him off the floor. He’s a key part to what we want to do and what we will continue to do. [Head coach Erik Spoelstra] knows—in order to win, you gotta have Bam out there on the floor.” That all still applies today.

27. De’Aaron Fox

Don’t blink—you might miss De’Aaron Fox do something spectacular. The lightning quick guard was a McDonald’s All-American in high school, ranked as one of the top recruits in the nation. He went to the University of Kentucky for one year, starring alongside Bam Adebayo and Malik Monk, before entering the 2017 NBA Draft, where he was picked fifth overall by the Sacramento Kings. Slowly but surely, Fox has developed into an All-Star and made the Kings exciting and relevant for the first time in a long time. 

26. Karl-Anthony Towns

We have seen very few big men in the history of the NBA with the versatility and skill set of Karl-Anthony Towns. That’s to say: We have seen very few big men in the history of the NBA who are just as comfortable behind the arc and in the mid-range as they are in the paint. KAT, now 28, stands seven feet tall, has averaged 10.8 rebounds per game over his nine seasons in the League and is a career 40 percent three-point shooter. And he just helped lead the best Timberwolves team in two decades all the way to the Western Conference Finals.

25. DeAndre Jordan

During those peak Lob City years, DeAndre Jordan owned the paint for the Los Angeles Clippers. He controlled the glass, averaging 13.1 rebounds per game from 2013-18. He protected the rim, averaging 1.8 blocks over that same span. And occasionally, he threw down a dunk so vicious, so powerful, so unbelievable, that teammates and fans were left wondering what the hell just happened (please go rewatch his poster on Brandon Knight). Jordan now brings veteran leadership to the Denver Nuggets, where he helped the franchise capture its first championship in 2023.

24. Donovan Mitchell

Twelve teams passed on Spida in the 2017 NBA Draft. Twelve. Mitchell, who hails from Elmsford, NY, and went to college at Louisville, made most of those teams regret that decision almost immediately. He averaged 20.5 points as a rookie and was an All-Star by his third season. He’s now made five straight All-Star Games, including in 2023 when he was named a starter. Very few players in the League possess Mitchell’s combination of athleticism and skill. To put it plainly: the explosive guard—currently on the NBPA Executive Committee—is impossible to stop. And at 27 years old, he’s just entering his prime.

23. Al Horford

For the past 16 years, Big Al has been a big presence in the NBA. The reliable center is still playing a pivotal role for a historically good Boston Celtics team that just tore its way through the Eastern Conference. Horford was a star at Grand Ledge High School in Michigan, won back-to-back national championships at the University of Florida (2006, 2007) and has been named an All-Star five times during his lengthy NBA career (four times with the Hawks, once with the Cs). And he ain’t done yet. 

22. Kyle Lowry

When he entered the League in 2006, Kyle Lowry didn’t take off right away. In fact, it wasn’t until his fifth season in the NBA that the 6-0 point guard, who had been traded by the Grizzlies to the Rockets in ’09, became a permanent starter. Lowry hasn’t looked back since, guiding teams in Houston, Toronto, Miami and Philly with his hard-nosed, aggressive, energetic style of play—a style that has made him a fan favorite and earned him six All-Star selections. In the North, where he won a championship in 2019, Lowry will always be known as Mr. Raptor.

21. Baron Davis 

Baron Davis was an artist with the basketball. Ridiculous dribble packages, flashy assists, monster posters—the 1997 Gatorade National Player of the Year and two-time NBA All-Star always put on a show. After starring at UCLA, Davis was the third overall pick in the 1999 Draft and helped lead a formidable Hornets team for the first stretch of his pro career. He later joined the iconic “We Believe” Warriors squad that advanced to the second round of the 2007 playoffs as a No. 8 seed. Injuries robbed us of more years watching him play, no question, but when the electrifying guard was at his best, that was some of the most entertaining ball to watch.

The post NBPA Top 100 Camp Top 30 Players: 30-21 appeared first on SLAM.

The New York event was located at the legendary Kingdome basketball court. As expected, the atmosphere was on another level, as AND1 brought back OG mixtape legends, including Skip, Hot Sauce, Shane, The Pharmacist, Duke Tango, as well as hoopers Briana Green and Aaron Owens, to name a few. There was also a dunk contest, skills and drills clinics for kids, dance contests, and basketball trivia challenges.

Additionally, it brought back its iconic mixtape tour bus.

When asked what made it all so special, AND1 Brand Director Dexter Gordon’s simply says “The energy.” Later adding: “[In New York], if an NBA player or somebody with a name comes to play in a tournament, players look at it as, Oh, I’m gonna get my name off this guy. I’m going at it. Everybody’s trying to go at it. And it’s just the energy. Like I said, you got the crowd on the court, you got the music going, the players are talking, the fans are talking to you, and it’s just that energy of New York.” 

Game always speaks for itself, and when it comes to the legacy of AND1, the brand has continued to elevate itself at the forefront of streetball culture. 

“Basketball is that sport, man. You could have five guys on the court who speak five different languages but when you put them on that court, they all know our goal is to get that ball in the hoop,” says Gordon. “They have to communicate. They have to work together. So basketball is a great community builder.” 

See photos below for a visual recap of the events: 

Photos by Soul Brother.

The post AND1’s Iconic Mixtape Tour Bus Makes Grand Return To Celebrate Brand’s 30th Anniversary  appeared first on SLAM.

It’s a simple but important designation that has become a rallying cry of sorts for fans who’ve waited nearly half a century to be taken seriously on the game’s biggest stage. Because despite the lazy misnomer that Denver is some barren mountain town only capable of football obsession, hoops culture in this part of the country has been thriving. And now, for the very first time, that basketball city is home to the best basketball team in the world.

It has taken exactly 47 years, 29 trips to the playoffs and one exceptionally talented man from Serbia to fully exorcise the NBA demons that have haunted this land for decades. That’s not even taking into consideration the extra nine campaigns that Denver spent in the ABA prior, each also ending in postseason heartbreak. But that was then.

This is now; a now where the Denver Nuggets really are world champions and a fan base can finally break free from playoff purgatory. It’s a beautiful outcome for a dream that has been brewing for years, with a team culture all their own. Equipped with a starting unit all age 30 or under and all returning next season, it might actually be the beginning of a whole new future for both the franchise and city, too.

Having grown up in Denver myself, it’s also something I’ve thought about for well over two decades. What if they actually won it?

So, as Kentavious Caldwell-Pope snatched that final rebound in the waning moments of Game 5 against Miami, and confetti rained down from the Ball Arena heavens above, it made me reflect on the road the Nuggets took to get there. On how far the city has come in reclaiming its passion for the sport. And on how powerful the connection to both a team and a hometown can be for so many.

Let’s take it back. I didn’t inherit this path—I chose it. As the son of a Midwestern salesman and realtor, my family moved around a lot before settling down in the surprisingly vast metropolitan sprawl of Denver, CO. After living in basketball-obsessed cities like Chicago and Dayton, OH, I touched down in Denver in 1998. The Nuggets had won just 11 games all season and couldn’t fill their arena. It wasn’t exactly electric, but it was the beginning. The Nuggets have held a piece of my heart since, but it took a minute to capture everyone else’s.

The thing about Denver is that despite its mid-market classification, it’s still a city with teams in all four major professional sports—three of which have been crowned champions since 2015. If we’re talking about the last decade, the Mile High City has as good a case as any for the distinction of Title Town. So, fighting for relevancy and attention doesn’t always come easy, even locally.

One thing that is sure to bind the masses, though, is an underdog. And what’s great about an underdog story is that it can assume many forms. It can be about a city that feels overlooked and miscast as some small David out west. It can be about a franchise that was close to glory before, but never able to summit the mountain until now.

It can be about Jamal Murray, a flamethrower from Kitchener, Ontario, returning stronger after a devastating knee injury to light up the 2023 Playoffs. Or Nikola Jokic, a back-to-back MVP from Sombor, Serbia, who has defied both logic and expectation at every turn since he was drafted 41st overall. Similar can be said about players up and down this roster, from Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr to Bruce Brown and rookie Christian Braun. Each carries a chip on their respective shoulders—both individually and together as one.

This town has always embraced that underdog mentality, and its basketball team has embodied that to its core.

Head coach Michael Malone knew that when he first came to Denver in 2015. So did the front office when it went to work rebuilding a team in that image.

Think what you want about his delivery methods, but there’s nothing vague about both Malone’s personality or the culture he’s worked to instill. He’s direct, often bluntly so, passionate and intensely steadfast about what the mission at hand is—driving home the narrative, round after round, that Denver was disrespected and overlooked. Whether you agree or not, that locker room believed it in its bones. Underdog fuel.

Hell, Malone popped off one of the greatest championship parade performances of all time at the podium, and I’m confident it was only partially due to the cinnamon whiskey coursing through his veins. Still, all that fire(ball) and fierceness only goes so far unless your players are buying into the message. Thankfully for Denver, if playing the role of challenger is the script bonding its players together, selflessness is the super glue keeping anything from falling apart.

“When we win a championship, it’s 17 players strong,” said Malone in front of an estimated 750,000 Nuggets faithful at the championship parade, screaming until his voice was gone. “It’s the coaching staff, it’s the front office, it’s the ownership, but more importantly, it’s all of you [the fans].”

He paused slightly before extending out the mission.

“Y’all wanna do it again? Let’s do this. Dynasty. Dynasty. Dynasty. I love y’all.”

You could almost feel him working through next season’s narrative in real time. Surely no one believes they can repeat again next year, right??? Underdog fuel.

These Nuggets have embraced the journey. They play for each other and often talk about how, to win for the next man, you’ve gotta sacrifice your own ego at the door. Every player, every coach, every fan. That’s the only way you can break a curse that’s lasted 47 years—and how you run through Minnesota, Phoenix, Los Angeles and Miami to do it. You’ve got to earn it.

I’ve never been to a championship parade before, so I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect.

I definitely didn’t expect that upwards of 750,000 people would come out to celebrate on a Thursday morning. But they did—littered in championship swag, Mile High jerseys and about a thousand shirts featuring Murray and Jokic photoshopped onto the Step Brothers movie poster.

It also became clear that not only had the city’s passion and mentality rubbed off on the team, but the fans had taken a page straight from the Nuggets handbook.

What’s immediately evident when you watch Denver play is that they all seem to genuinely like each other. In every interview and at every opportunity, each player on the team comes back to this central point: they root for the guy next to them. And granted, every fan who found themselves at the parade was there to celebrate a literal world championship, but for at least a few hours it did feel like everyone in the city genuinely liked each other, too. Not one of them can drop a 30-point triple-double in the Finals, so maybe that’s where the similarities end, but it was admittedly cool to see.

For a guy who has largely watched this current team blossom and grow from a thousand miles away in California, it was a bit surreal to see how many, and how much, other people truly cared.

It meant something to these fans, and it means something to this city. That something is different for everyone, including Jokic, who also provided the most notable on-stage appearance of parade day.

When it was finally his turn at the microphone, he stood there for a minute and waited, smiling and taking in the overwhelming chants of “M-V-P” below, with his entire team hyping up the crowd from behind. That moment of crowd swell felt like an avalanche of joy and relief. Like a great communal weight had finally been lifted.

Being a fan of anything is a journey, and it can mean a lot of things to a lot of people. A connection to home, a love for the game, a family bond, a piece of a community. For 47 years, this community has seen the ups and downs of where that journey can take you. From the lottery to the bubble to the Finals. The painful lows only made the epic ascent mean that much more.  You’ve got to earn it.

Yet, and rightfully so, none of that seemed to matter much as Joker finally quieted the crowd back down to reality. In the end, maybe we don’t need to overcomplicate it, but rather just enjoy the view. Especially when you’re looking at it from an all-new elevation.

“I f—ing want to stay on parade,” said Joker smiling to the crowd. “This is amazing. We are all going to remember this our whole lives.

“We love you Denver, this one is for you.”

Amen, brother. It’s finally a parade inside my basketball city, yeah.

SLAM 245 featuring Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets is available now.

Photos via Getty Images.

The post The Denver Nuggets’ Rise to Becoming NBA Champions Marks a New Beginning for the City 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.

Here’s what happened across the L over the weekend. Let’s get it.

James Harden is Reportedly “Seriously Considering” Returning to Houston:

According to NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski at ESPN, Harden is reportedly considering a reunion with the Rockets if he doesn’t re-sign with Philadelphia as a free agent in July.

However, after the Sixers’ win over the Knicks on Christmas Day, Harden addressed the media and let them know how he really feels about being in Philly.

“I’m here, we’re playing very well, and I don’t know where that report came from,” Harden said, per NBC Sports Philadelphia. “But I’m excited to be here, and we’re playing well. We’re continuing to get better.”

Meanwhile, Harden caught everyone’s attention with this colorful holiday fit. Hide y’all presents.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by LeagueFits (@leaguefits)

Joel Embiid and Harden Combine to Score 64 Points against the Knicks:

The Beard (29 points and 13 dimes) and Joel Embiid (35 points) put up a combined 64 points, 12 rebounds, and 14 assists to help the 76ers extend their win streak to eight games with a 119-112 dub over the Knicks on Sunday.

The Sixers outscored the Knicks 24-9 to open the fourth and turned a one-point deficit into a 116-102 lead late in the fourth quarter.

“It was one of those games where you’ve just got to stick around,” Harden said per ESPN. “Like, stick around, stick around, and then fourth quarter, you give yourself a chance.

64 PTS | 12 REB | 14 AST @JHarden13 & @JoelEmbiid‘s combined Christmas Day stat line. vote both for NBA All-Star: https://t.co/kNf5hhEIQx.

presented by @palottery pic.twitter.com/Lu2cQROE6c

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) December 25, 2022

Jayson Tatum Torches the Bucks For 41 Points while Jaylen Brown Takes Over:

Jayson Tatum posted 41 points, including a ferocious first-half yam over Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Jaylen Brown scored 29 points to help Boston (24-10) reclaim the top record in the League with a 139-118 win over the Bucks (22-11).

Boston grabbed a 100-86 lead after Tatum scored 20 points in the third quarter, and Brown brought the Celtics home with 13 points in the final frame; he also refused to back down after posting a screen that sent the Greek Freak to the ground. Brown and Antetokounmpo had a back-and-forth, but y’all know it’s only basketball. The players don’t take it seriously, and neither should basketball fans.

Boston gave Milwaukee their first three-game losing streak, while the Celtics have now won back-to-back contests after losing five out of six recent games.

HE CAUGHT ONE @jaytatum0 hammered it home in tonight’s @JetBlue Play of the Game pic.twitter.com/ZU6oCbvRB0

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) December 26, 2022

Jordan Poole Put Up a Dominate 32 Points to Lead Golden State Past Memphis:

Jordan Poole did what he had to do to play Grinch and ruin the Grizzlies’ Christmas after he dropped a team-high 32 points to lead the Warriors past Memphis on Sunday. Draymond Green (13 rebounds, 13 assists, two blocks) and Klay Thompson (24 points on 8-25 shooting) also put up some solid performances. They played up the burgeoning rivalry they have with Memphis with some sublime shi*t talking toward Dillon Brooks as well.

“He knows that he can’t get a second one. He’s still a young player,” head coach Steve Kerr said per ESPN. “Jordan was fantastic tonight, and we needed his offensive firepower.”

Dray Jordan

» https://t.co/ocDF2EGGU9 pic.twitter.com/HL0YggMOBa

— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) December 26, 2022

Nikola Jokic Drops a Christmas Day Triple-Double Against the Suns:

Nikola Jokic (41 points, 15 boards, and 15 dimes) dropped his 83rd career triple-double and led the Nuggets to a 128-125 win over the Phoenix Suns. The two-time MVP recorded a 40-point, 27-rebound, 10-assist performance a week ago. It was the fourth 40-point, 15-rebound, 15-assist game in League history. Oscar Robertson (1961, 1962) accomplished it twice, and James Harden did it in 2016.

“Sick,” Aaron Gordon said of Jokic’s outing, per ESPN. “Those are video game numbers.”

Another MVP performance

41/15/15. Triple-Double 8⃣3⃣ pic.twitter.com/W5PNYlDFar

— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) December 26, 2022

Jamal Murray (26 points, five rebounds, and five assists) forced overtime with a game-tying dunk, and Aaron Gordon put the exclamation point on the win with a poster over Landry Shamet.

“Yeah,” Gordon said. “Because of the time and score.”

Nuggets Nation BROUGHT THE ENERGY tonight. For that, we leave you with this

Goodnight, Wuggets Wation pic.twitter.com/WOYUm1twk7

— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) December 26, 2022

The post NBA Weekend Recap: Elite Christmas Day Matchups and James Harden Addresses Reports of His Return to Houston appeared first on SLAM.

Since then, the Magic have settled in on their lottery picks with Jalen Suggs and Paolo Banchero and trading their star big Nikola Vučević to the Chicago Bulls. Building a young athletic core seems to be the philosophy of the front office in Orlando. Their premiere defensive player believes it’s just a matter of time until he makes his emotional return to the court.

“I’m closer than I’ve ever been,” Issac said to the Orlando Sentinel. “I’ve been playing the last few weeks and just getting in shape. I’m still getting there. But in terms of body, knees, and hamstrings, everything is great. I’m just not in game shape.”

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A post shared by Jonathan Isaac (@jonisaac_01)

His defensive tenacity was fully displayed before getting hurt in the 2020 season. He averaged 2.3 blocks and 1.6 steals per game, leading the team in both categories. Issac was also as pure as it gets going 47 percent from the field, ahead of notable pieces like Aaron Gordon and Markelle Fultz.

Though the team hasn’t given a clear date as to when Issac can play, he’s undoubtedly pushed the strides to get back out there. It’ll certainly be a surreal night for when the time comes, but the star forward remains on the task at hand, fully healthy.

“The only step is continuing to get in shape,” Isaac said. “We played the other day, and I was gassed. Obviously, I haven’t done it in a long time. Continuing to get in shape and playing 5-on-5 four times a week. Just being able to run up and down and get in shape is what I’m focused on right now.”

The post Jonathan Issac Inches Closer to His Return From Two-Year Injury appeared first on SLAM.

While it helps, you don’t have to win a championship to be on this list. There were some pretty incredible NBA teams that fell short of championships but were still so far ahead of the rest of the League (besides the champion) that they deserve to leapfrog some actual champions. 

This week, we’re unveiling who we think deserves to be included on this list, which is featured in our SLAM Presents TOP 75 NBA Teams of All Time special issue. Here’s our top 65-55:

65. 1983-84 Los Angeles Lakers

Coach: Pat Riley

Record: 54-28

Roster: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Cooper, Calvin Garrett, Magic Johnson, Eddie Jordan, Mitch Kupchak, Bob McAdoo, Mike McGee, Swen Nater, Kurt Rambis, Byron Scott, Larry Spriggs, Jamaal Wilkes, James Worthy

The Lakers would have to wait one more year to finally beat the Celtics when it mattered most. Led by Kareem’s 26.6 ppg and 8.1 rpg in the series, the Lakers forced a Game 7 on the road. But whether it was the mystique of Boston Garden, that famously tricky parquet floor or simply a deep and talented Celtics team that had the benefit of homecourt advantage and League MVP Larry Bird, L.A. couldn’t quite vanquish its franchise kryptonite.

64. 1976-77 Philadephia 76ers

Coach: Gene Shue

Record: 50-32

Roster: Jim Barnett, Henry Bibby, Joe Bryant, Fred Carter, Harvey Catchings, Doug Collins, Darryl Dawkins, Mike Dunleavy, Julius Erving, World B. Free, Terry Furlow, Caldwell Jones, George McGinnis, Steve Mix

This Sixers squad might be best remembered for a roster that included future coaches (Doug Collins, Mike Dunleavy) and the fathers of future All-Stars (Joe Bryant, Harvey Catchings, Henry Bibby). Of course, Philly also had Dr. J in his first NBA season after a legendary five-year ABA run, and second-year big man Darryl Dawkins, a few years shy of his Chocolate Thunder prime. A fascinating roster, but no match for Bill Walton and the Blazers in the Finals.

63. 1967-68 Philadelphia 76ers

Coach: Alex Hannum

Record: 62-20

Roster: Wilt Chamberlain, Larry Costello, Billy Cunningham, Ron Filipek, Johnny Green, Hal Greer, Matt Guokas, Luke Jackson, Wali Jones, Bill Melchionni, Jim Reid, Chet Walker

Philly finished with the League’s best record, eight games clear of the Celtics in the East, thanks to balanced production from future Hall of Famers Hal Greer (24.1 ppg), Billy Cunningham (18.9 ppg), Chet Walker (17.9 ppg) and of course, Wilt Chamberlain, who put up 24.3 points and pulled down 23.8 boards per. The Sixers didn’t lose more than two straight all season…until the East Finals, when they blew a 3-1 lead against Russell, Havlicek and the eventual champs from Boston.

62. 2001-02 Sacramento Kings

Coach: Rick Adelman

Record: 61-21

Roster: Mike Bibby, Chucky Brown, Doug Christie, Mateen Cleaves, Vlade Divac, Lawrence Funderburke, Bobby Jackson, Scot Pollard, Brent Price, Jabari Smith, Peja Stojakovic, Hedo Turkoglu, Gerald Wallace, Chris Webber

For Kings fans, it is still a crime, the grandest larceny ever. Game 6 of the Western Finals against the Lakers was flat stolen from Sacramento. Missed calls. Allegations of referees fixing the proceedings. It was ugly, nasty business. And it robbed the team with the NBA’s best record, the one with Chris Webber in charge down low, Peja Stojakovic shooting from everywhere and a deep supporting cast of a title. It’s that simple. And that outrageous.

61. 1995-96 Seattle Supersonics

Coach: George Karl

Record: 64-18

Roster: Vincent Askew, Frank Brickowski, Sherell Ford, Hersey Hawkins, Ervin Johnson, Shawn Kemp, Nate McMillan, Gary Payton, Sam Perkins, Steve Scheffler, Detlef Schrempf, Eric Snow, David Wingate

What happens when one of the greatest teams in franchise history meets the greatest team in NBA history? Well, you can figure it out. The Sonics won the Pacific by 11 games and had a star-studded lineup with ferocious Shawn Kemp, Gary Payton on the perimeter, talking junk and stealing everything, smooth Detlef Schrempf all over the place and Hersey Hawkins shooting the lights out. Seattle was great. Really great. Unfortunately, the Bulls were greater.

60. 1956-57 Boston Celtics

Coach: Red Auerbach

Record: 44-28

Roster: Bob Cousy, Tom Heinsohn, Dick Hemric, Jim Loscutoff, Jack Nichols, Togo Palazzi, Andy Phillip, Frank Ramsey, Arnie Risen, Bill Russell, Bill Sharman, Lou Tsioropoulos

The birth of a dynasty. Led by the in-their-prime backcourt of Bob Cousy and Bill Sharman, and the frontcourt pairing of rookies Tom Heinsohn and Bill Russell, the Celtics made the franchise’s first Finals appearance in the spring of ’57. St. Louis took Boston to double OT in Game 7, but Heinsohn (37 points, 23 boards) matched Bob Pettit (39 and 19), and Russell went for 19 and 32 to help the Celtics claim the first of their 17 banners.

59. 2017-18 Houston Rockets

Coach: Mike D’Antoni

Record: 65-17

Roster: Ryan Anderson, Trevor Ariza, Tarik Black, Bobby Brown, Markel Brown, Isaiah Canaan, Clint Capela, Eric Gordon, Gerald Green, James Harden, Nene, RJ Hunter, Aaron Jackson, Demetrius Jackson,  Joe Johnson, Luc Mbah a Moute, Chinanu Onuaku, Chris Paul, Zhou Qi, Tim Quarterman, PJ Tucker, Briante Weber, Troy Williams, Brandan Wright

Unfortunately, these Rockets, which featured the dynamic backcourt of James Harden, Chris Paul and Eric Gordon, won’t be remembered for their NBA-best record or high-scoring ways. They will be remembered for that 25-point second half in Game 6 of the Western Finals against Golden State and then a homecourt loss two days later that ended the series. Houston played fast, used Clint Capela to handle the rough stuff inside and still wonders what might have been.

58. 2004-05 Phoenix Suns

Coach: Mike D’Antoni

Record: 62-20

Roster: Leandro Barbosa, Zarko Cabarkapa, Steven Hunter, Jim Jackson, Casey Jacobsen, Joe Johnson, Maciej Lampe, Shawn Marion, Walter McCarty, Steve Nash, Bo Outlaw, Smush Parker, Quentin Richardson, Paul Shirley, Amar’e Stoudemire, Yuta Tabuse, Jake Voskuhl, Jackson Vroman

These Suns didn’t care much about defense, and they flamed out in the Western Finals against San Antonio, despite having the NBA’s best record. But what a fun team to watch. Led by League MVP Steve Nash, Phoenix pushed the tempo feverishly and featured a talented collection of scorers. Nobody could dunk like Shawn Marion, unless it was Amar’e Stoudemire. Joe Johnson was deadly from three, and Quentin Richardson shot from everywhere. Good times.

57. 2019-20 Los Angeles Lakers

Coach: Frank Vogel

Record: 52-19

Roster: Kostas Antetokounmpo, Avery Bradley, Devontae Cacok, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Alex Caruso, Quinn Cook, Troy Daniels, Anthony Davis, Jared Dudley, Danny Green, Talen Horton-Tucker, Dwight Howard, LeBron James, Kyle Kuzma, JaVale McGee, Markieff Morris, Zach Norvell, Rajon Rondo, JR Smith, Dion Waiters

One year after failing to make the playoffs, the Lakers won it all in the COVID-19 bubble. Anthony Davis joined LeBron James in a formidable pairing, and the duo combined for 51.4 ppg. The Lakers lost only five games in their four playoff series. James led the NBA in assists, the supporting cast handled its roles without complaint and the Lakers won it all in a season they dedicated to the late Kobe Bryant.

56. 2009-10 Boston Celtics

Coach: Doc Rivers

Record: 50-32

Roster: Ray Allen, Tony Allen, Marquis Daniels, Glen Davis, Michael Finley, Kevin Garnett, JR Giddens, Eddie House, Lester Hudson, Oliver Lafayette, Marcus Landry, Kendrick Perkins, Paul Pierce, Nate Robinson, Rajon Rondo, Brian Scalabrine, Henry Walker, Rasheed Wallace, Shelden Williams

The Celtics’ Big Three led the squad on another trek to the Finals that included an Atlantic Division title. Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen were again the engine on an Eastern Conference title team, with help from point man Rajon Rondo and center Kendrick Perkins, while Rasheed Wallace provided support up front. Boston led the Lakers, 3-2, in the Finals, but ultimately lost a seven-game decision.

55. 1996-97 Utah Jazz

Coach: Jerry Sloan

Record: 64-18

Roster: Shandon Anderson, Antoine Carr, Howard Eisley, Greg Foster, Jeff Hornacek, Stephen Howard, Adam Keefe, Karl Malone, Chris Morris, Ruben Nembhard, Greg Ostertag, Bryon Russell, John Stockton, Brooks Thompson, Jamie Watson

The Jazz had plenty of great seasons during the Karl Malone-John Stockton years, but this might have been the best. Malone was League MVP, and Utah set a franchise record for wins that still stands. Stockton once again ran the show and set up everyone, while Jeff Hornacek and Bryon Russell were valuable on the perimeter. The Jazz looked good, but as usual, the Bulls looked better, taking the Finals in six.

Read here to find out who made the No. 75-66 spot on the list.

Get your copy of SLAM Presents TOP 75 NBA Teams Of All Time

Photos via Getty Images.

The post SLAM’s TOP 75 NBA Teams of All Time: No. 65-55 appeared first on SLAM.

Per Amick, Porter is set to return by mid to late March. The Missouri product was thought to be done for the season after undergoing his third back surgery in November.

Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr., is progressing to be cleared for on-court contact within the next week, freeing a path for him to return to the lineup sometime in March, his agent Mark Bartelstein of @PrioritySports tells ESPN. Story: https://t.co/kGgAmFvgZs

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 27, 2022

The 25-year-old guard has been out since April 2021, when he tore the ACL in his left knee. At the time, Murray averaged a career-high 21.2 points per game on career-best 40.8 percent shooting from distance. According to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, the target for Murray is sometime in March as well.

Denver could potentially get back both Porter and Jamal Murray in the next month. They have the potential to be an extremely dangerous team come playoff time if they can get healthy. In a very brief sample last year, those two, Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon were dominant together https://t.co/h2vNimwKEV

— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) February 27, 2022

Denver has seemingly been optimistic about Murray and Porter coming back since early February when team president Tim Connely told Denver sports radio that both franchise cornerstones could return “in the not too distant future.”

On Wednesday, the Nuggets (36-25) will play the Trail Blazers (25-36). The return of Porter in the coming weeks could provide a big boost for a Nuggets team that’s struggled with injury but stayed afloat because of another MVP-quality season from reigning MVP Nikola Jukic.

The post REPORT: Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. On Track to Return By Playoffs appeared first on SLAM.

The contest featured Obi Toppin (New York Knicks), Cole Anthony (Orlando Magic), Juan Toscano-Anderson (Golden State Warriors), and Jalen Green (Houston Rockets).

The one thing that this contest brought that fans would remember is the footwear of a particular contestant that went back to hit NYC roots to attempt a dunk.

First Round: (Jalen Green and Cole Anthony get eliminated)

Cole Anthony pulled off a stunt that is difficult in any YMCA, much less an NBA arena. He put on some Timbs to bring the New York vibe to the contest. Then he put on his father, Greg Anthony’s, Knicks jersey to show homage. After two non-attempts, he put down a left-hand windmill for a score of 40.

Timbs on? Still bouncy.@The_ColeAnthony @GregAnthony50 #PhantomCam pic.twitter.com/noKTQv0fu7

— NBA (@NBA) February 20, 2022

However, Cole injured himself on the dunk and missed three times on his next dunk, and was eliminated. It was a shame considering that dunk brought a lot of energy to the crowd and the announcers. Even Toppin was pointing to his wrist, wondering when the clock would start.

While Cole Anthony provided the theater, Green probably had the most impressive dunk of the first round with an impressive between-the-legs 360 dunk finishing away from the basket.

Jalen Green defying gravity in #PhantomCam pic.twitter.com/kE6Gzifvny

— NBA (@NBA) February 20, 2022

What doomed this year’s pre-competition favorite was completing his first dunk. The plan was to get a pass off the backboard from Josh Christopher running out of bounds in the corner. But after two misses, Green had to settle with a windmill off an underhand lob that received the lowest score of any completed dunk in the first round.

Toppin and Toscano-Anderson made the final the old-fashioned way by not missing any dunk attempts.

Final round: (Juan Toscano-Anderson had some controversy on his first dunk)

In the finals, Toscano-Anderson tried to put his elbow in the rim ala Vince Carter but did not get enough lift to hang on the rim to finish. According to the rules, it was considered a dunk attempt, and he could not try again. The score of 39 basically doomed his chances.

He then tried to replicate Jason Richardson’s iconic dunk with a pass off the backboard into a left-hand windmill between the legs that went nowhere. He missed all three attempts, and for all practical purposes, the contest was over with a score of 30.

Obi Toppin went on to take the Slam Dunk Contest with some impressive dunks.

Obi Toppin had some creative dunks to become the #ATTSlamDunk Champion! #StateFarmSaturday #NBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/Mt0DJqgjbc

— NBA (@NBA) February 20, 2022

With the win, Obi Toppin became the third Knicks player to win the Slam Dunk Contest along with the three-time winner Nate Robinson and Kenny Walker.

The post Obi Toppin Uses Consistency to Take the NBA Slam Dunk Contest appeared first on SLAM.

On Thursday night, Jackson announced via Instagram that he had released his first album titled “Suddenly.”

The album is a rap album released under Jackson’s pseudonym “Triple J” and features a seven-song tracklist with a total run time of 16 minutes and 46 seconds.

Players across the NBA flooded Jackson’s Instagram to show love for the release, including Denzel Valentine, Brandon Clarke, Wayne Selden Jr., and Miles Bridges, who’s another hooper turned rapper during his free time.

Jackson joins a growing club of NBA players with side hustles in music, including Bridges, Damian Lillard, Marvin Bagley III, Andre Drummond, Lonzo Ball, and Aaron Gordon, among many, many others.

Jackson’s having a strong season on the court for the Memphis Grizzlies as well. Through 59 games this season, Jackson is averaging 16.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game for a Grizzlies team currently sat third in the Western Conference with a record of 41-19.

As for Jackson’s debut album, you can stream it now on Spotify or Apple Music.

The post Jaren Jackson Jr. Releases Debut Rap Album Titled ‘Suddenly’ appeared first on SLAM.

“You don’t really realize what you’re doing in that moment,” Wagner later said. “I just tried to jump as high as possible and finish the play.” The clip is posted to his Instagram account—the only thing he’s posted since entering the NBA a few months ago. And the caption, in German, reads: “Immer weiter, immer weiter.” Translation: “On and on and on.”

Wagner had 28 points that night, in what was just the eighth outing of his professional career. 

“That locker room is so happy for him, because they know how hard he works,” Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley said following the game. “He has such a high basketball IQ—making the right reads, finding the open teammates, knowing when to turn the corner, knowing when to get downhill and when to pass the ball. His basketball IQ and knowledge of the game—the things he sees—it makes him special.”

There wasn’t much buzz around Wagner heading into the season, partly because the Magic also drafted Jalen Suggs—the well-known, highly-touted prospect who helped lead Gonzaga to the national championship game—with the No. 5 pick. Wagner, a 6-10 forward out of Michigan, was taken three spots later. Much of the excitement in Orlando, thus, centered on Suggs. But Wagner quickly asserted himself. He started from day one, impressing the coaching staff with his versatility and high basketball IQ, as Mosley referenced. “He’s a very smart player,” teammate Robin Lopez reaffirmed in an interview with NBA.com. “He’s extremely versatile. I like the mentality he’s got to top that all off. He’s relentless out there. He doesn’t get easily discouraged.”

If you watched the video above, you don’t need me to tell you that Wagner has elite athleticism and great size for a wing. He helps out on the boards (averaging 4.4 rpg so far) and defends multiple positions effectively. As of this writing, he’s matched up with guards such as Trae Young and James Harden, bigs such as Julius Randle and Aaron Gordon and unicorns such as Kevin Durant.

On the other side, Wagner uses his physical tools and a solid handle to navigate to the paint. He’s under control attacking the rim—sometimes elevating for huge dunks (see another below); sometimes stopping short for little floaters or soft layups off the glass; sometimes euro-stepping around defenders. There were concerns about his ability to spread the floor after he shot just 34 percent from deep last year, but Wagner has upped his efficiency in the NBA (38 percent) and currently ranks third among rookies in three-pointers made. Overall, he’s scoring 13.8 points per game, the second highest mark on the Magic.

With Suggs sidelined by injury, Wagner has been handling the ball more and initiating actions. His playmaking in pick-and-roll situations has really stood out for a 20-year-old still adjusting to the League. Over his last eight, Wagner is averaging 4.6 assists while continuing to limit his turnovers. As both Mosley and Lopez alluded to, the former Wolverine just has an outstanding feel for the game.

Do yourself a favor and watch the highlight mix below. Wagner scores in pretty much every way possible and shows incredible poise orchestrating the offense—making the right decisions out of pick-and-rolls, from the mid-post and in transition. He finished with 27 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, joining Cole Anthony, Victor Oladipo, Jameer Nelson, Penny Hardaway and Shaquille O’Neal as the only Magic rookies ever with a 25/5/5 line.

Afterwards, a reporter asked Wagner whether the game was beginning to slow down for him at this point in the season.

“At times,” he responded. “I think there are still a couple moments in the game where I wish I would take it a little slower for myself and give [myself] more time to read what’s out there, but there’s definitely a couple situations where I’m making reads that I definitely didn’t see earlier in the season.”

Only 26 games in and Wagner is already seeing reads he wasn’t before. As he continues to progress, expect more playmaking, more all-around performances, and, of course, a lot more IG-worthy posters.

The post SLAM x Panini Rookie Spotlight: Franz Wagner appeared first on SLAM.

Anthony, a charismatic young guard with a knack for scoring, has appeared in 47 games as a rookie for the Magic, averaging 12.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game.

He started in 34 games after Markelle Fultz’s injury, showing what he can do in a larger sample size.

Hampton, the 24th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, was traded to the Magic midseason as part of the Denver Nuggets’ deal for Aaron Gordon.

Notably, Hampton was named Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for his performance in May, when he was able to average 16.0 points, 7.1 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game on 45.7 percent from the field and 43.5 percent shooting from 3-point range.

Okeke, the 16th overall in the 2019 NBA Draft, averaged 7.8 points and 4.0 rebounds per game last season. He has shown flashes of being a great defensive player and was ranked sixth amongst rookies in steals (Okeke’s rookie season was in 2020-21).

The post Orlando Magic Exercise Team Options on Anthony, Hampton, Okeke appeared first on SLAM.

Per Wojnarowski, Porter’s deal is worth $172 million and must make an All-NBA team in order to reach the designated max criteria.

Last season, MPJ had a breakout season for the Nuggets after averaging 19.0 points and 7.3 rebounds per game while shooting 44.5 percent from deep in 61 games played. He got the chance to take on more responsibility with point guard Jamal Murray suffering a significant injury following the trade deadline and responded by averaging 23.9 points per game in April (21.0 points per game in May) .

It’s been well-documented that the Nuggets took a risk drafting Porter with 14th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft.

However, although he missed a significant amount of time due to his back injury, sitting out of what would have been his original rookie season, he’s routinely flashed the shooting potential that made him such an enticing prospect prior to his indoctrination into the NBA.

Now, he’s a major factor in Denver’s championship aspirations, and his extension serves to highlight his importance. Furthermore, with this agreement, the Nuggets now have their core of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, and Porter all locked up long-term.

The post Michael Porter Jr. Agrees to 5-Year, $207 Million Max Extension with Nuggets appeared first on SLAM.

Gordon was traded to the Nuggets ahead of the 2021 NBA trade deadline, promptly finding a fit with reigning MVP Nikola Jokic the Western Conference contenders after spending the beginning of his career as the face of the Orlando Magic.

The fourth overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft and three-time Slam Dunk Contest participant, Gordon has become more known for his high-wire act than his proficiency as a basketball player.

However, Gordon’s defensive pressure and his diverse offensive skillset allow him to be a significant piece of the Nuggets’ rotation, as evidenced by the team winning their first seven games with him on the roster and 12 out their first 15.

Gordon has also struck up a close friendship with Denver’s youngest star, Michael Porter Jr., another player deemed to be key to the Nuggets’ championship hopes. While less of a factor than his overall fit with the club, this also likely played a part in Denver’s decision to extend Gordon’s contract, particularly with them currently working on a contract extension for MPJ.

Now approaching his eighth season in the NBA, Gordon holds career averages of 12.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.6 blocks per game.

The post REPORT: Aaron Gordon Agrees to Four-Year, $92 Million Extension with Nuggets 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.

Fine, let’s put it this way: This version of Denver Nuggets do-all frontman Nikola Jokic is playing like the best basketball player in the world right now.

 The skills, stats and eyeballs all pass the same test; at 6-11 and 26 years old, Jokic has become the most uniquely skilled player in the Association today. Because despite his fun-loving Joker persona and unheralded path to the NBA via the 41st pick in the 2014 Draft out of Sombor, Serbia, Jokic is both the League’s frontrunner for MVP (as of this writing, which we now know he’s taken the crown) and perhaps its most unsolvable matchup equation.

If he does take home the MVP crown, he’ll be the lowest-drafted player in NBA history to claim the honors, and the first in Nuggets team history. Still, how the Joker ascended from quiet second-round pick into one of the most unguardable players on Earth, and fearless leader of those Nuggets, well, that’s another thing.

 “He’s an algorithm,” Nuggets President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly tells us. “The game’s going at half speed for him…he’s impossible to guard.”    

 Jokic is a problem, alright, one that 29 other teams are routinely left scratching their collective heads on just how exactly it is you stop this guy.

 That’s because while Nikola has been busy dissecting the game at half speed for the better part of six seasons, the rest of the League is still trying to adjust to his pace. Which, as is well-documented by now, is not exactly in the express lane. For an era built on extreme athleticism and fast-twitch quickness, it seems only fitting that one of its most statistically efficient players approaches the game from a far different vantage point. In fact, as this mag went to print, Jokic was working with the fifth highest total box plus/minus score for a season of all time. The only guys ahead of him? Stephen Curry (’16), Michael Jordan (’88, ’91) and LeBron James (’09); not exactly the easiest group to crack.

 “I think just because you are slow, it’s going to give you more options,” Jokic told Dwyane Wade and the NBA on TNT in-studio crew after a win against Portland in February. “The game is so fast, but when you slow it down, then you kind of slow everybody down and that’s not their rhythm. If you can just freeze them, then they’re playing in my rhythm.”

 Brilliant. It’s also clear just how easy the game is for Joker right now—and even easier to take for granted just how often and successfully he makes the right play, every play. And because he processes the game on a near molecular level, opposing defenses have found there aren’t a whole lot of ways to limit him. Leave him open on the perimeter or uncovered on the roll? He’ll bury the jumper (good for 42 percent from deep through 57 games). Press up or double? He can see over the defense and pick you apart with passing. Let him get down on the block 1-on-1? It’s a wrap.

 “I think people overlook the way he’s dominating the game so easily, night to night. I just don’t think he gets enough credit for what he does and the way he plays, the way he sees the game,” Nuggets star guard Jamal Murray told reporters in February. “He’s never trying to force it, always trying to make the right play and keep everybody happy. It’s a lot of fun.” 

 “I just think it looks like that,” laughs Jokic, as to why it seems like he’s never forcing game action. “Sometimes I just maybe know what’s going to happen. Maybe know where [defenders are] coming from, like if they’re going to double me. Sometimes I just go aggressive and force it. Maybe it doesn’t look like I’m forcing it, but I’m forcing it. To me, it’s just playing basketball.”

That’s actually a good way of putting it, because in a season largely shaped by injuries, infrequent rest and strict safety protocols League-wide, Jokic hasn’t missed a game. He’s also doing so while playing the third highest total minutes in the NBA. Hell, despite a shortened offseason made even shorter after Denver’s postseason run to the Western Conference Finals in the Orlando bubble last fall—done while overcoming two 3-1 series deficits in the process—that’s just about all Jokic has done, just play basketball.

 But to say that Jokic is the probable MVP mainly due to injuries of other superstar players does a disservice to just how good he’s been.

 He’s had a 50-ball this season. An 18-assist game. Fifteen triple-doubles, and career highs across the board with 26.2 points, 10.9 boards, 8.6 assists and 1.4 steals a game—all as both Denver’s center and its main ballhandler, through which almost everything on offense flows. In fact, the Nuggets local broadcast crew threw up an in-game graphic that showed how Nikola led Denver in nearly every conceivable stat worth recording. According to Jokic, both he and the Nuggets play at their best when they’re having fun, and that’s exactly what they’ve done with him at the helm. When the ball is popping, cutters are moving and Jokic is dealing, everyone in Denver eats on game day.

 “He has to have fun,” Connelly says. “He’s going to play with intensity, but [we tell him to] take chances, do funky things. Don’t play in a box. Have a bad turnover here or there; he’s an artist, man. He’s like a jazz player, he’s not playing classical music. [Coach Michael Malone] and his staff have done a great job. We want him to be this guy.”

 Ahh, but therein lies the conundrum of the modern pro athlete and marketer; Joker is not loud about his prowess. He’s not on social media or proclaiming he’s the rightful MVP from a media scrum. “I’ve been an underdog my whole life, to be honest,” he says, after dropping 17, 10 and 11 in a win over Miami. “I’m kind of used to it; it’s a normal position for me.”

 “I think he got [to Denver] wide-eyed; he wasn’t some Serbian wunderkind, he wasn’t a prodigy,” Connelly adds. “So, he had pretty modest expectations. I remember the first year we met after the season, Yo, what do you think? He’s like, I can’t believe how well I played, I’m shocked I can play at this level. So, I think [he’s got] that kind of modesty mixed with an unbelievably fierce competitive freak between the lines.”

 Jokic is an anomaly; a basketball savant who regularly turns garbage into gold. It’s where the true genius of his game lies, in the little details that would otherwise pass by most players and fans. His use of leverage, touch and timing is on another planet, and his game oozes with creativity. Plays normally destined for turnovers actually become opportunities for him to attack. Take what was supposed to be a simple give-and-go between Jokic and guard PJ Dozier against the Detroit Pistons in early April. As Dozier looked to dump it down to Jokic with a blind wrap around pass on the baseline, the ball was tipped, sending it flying in the opposite direction. In the span of a nanosecond, Jokic water polo-flipped it to himself and into the basket, never needing to properly gather the ball with two hands. It was the stuff of basement mini hoop lore, and yet, just another footnote in Nikola’s night.

And before you fall prey to old and tired narratives of defense and athleticism, watch the man play this season. Yes, Jokic is not an elite shot blocker or making a push for the All-Defensive team, but he’s not exactly getting roasted on that end either. As of this writing, the Joker was top 10 in both rebounds per game and total steals, thanks to his long arms and extremely active hands. He’s also ranked fifth in the NBA in total defensive plus/minus on the season, pairing nicely with his ranking of first League-wide in offensive plus/minus. The Nuggets have partnered him with two hyper-athletic big wings in Michael Porter Jr and Aaron Gordon, filling in the front court around him with size to allow Joker more freedom outside of the paint. Malone no longer needs to hide Jokic on defense because he’s actually been pretty good on defense.

He’s also got 36 dunks and counting through 57 games, up from 26 in the prior two seasons combined. I know this because the Nuggets broadcast team keeps a very loud running counter every time he throws one down, followed promptly by screams to “put him in the Dunk Contest!” When asked about leveling up his aerial game and the potential of challenging Gordon, a three-time Dunk Contest veteran, he gave a very Joker-esque response.

“I don’t know, it just seems like I’m dunking more—well, I am dunking more, that’s a fact. I’m just trying to be aggressive,” says Jokic. He pauses and laughs sarcastically, “…and yeah, I think I’m a much better dunker than Aaron Gordon.”

Jokes aside, it’s no secret that Denver asks a lot of their point-center. They count on him to control the pace and flow of an entire game from the tip to its final shot. That formula will surely be tested to its limits this postseason, where Denver will now be without the aforementioned Murray, who’s recovering from a season-ending ACL tear suffered in early April. And in the Western Conference, that will be no small feat; good teams will most certainly get bounced in the first round. Joker will be sure to stay focused.

“To be honest, I think my life is not really creative,” he laughs. “All my creativity goes to basketball.”

 Compared to the majority of the League, that creative process can appear slow. Yet, few can overwhelm an opponent, or a stat sheet, quite as quickly as Nikola.

 Relentlessly imaginative, effortlessly composed and entirely clutch, this is the Nikola Jokic experience in 2021. And in the end, what it all adds up to this season is actually quite clear—that despite both the injury woes and stellar play of his fellow All-Stars across the League, in the opinion of this writer, Jokic is very much the deserving MVP.

 Guess some algorithms are easy to solve after all.

—

Get your copy of SLAM 232, available now.

Photos via Getty Images.

The post Can’t You See? Nikola Jokic is the 2021 NBA MVP Because of His Vision appeared first on SLAM.

What was described as a “mutual decision” between Clifford and the Magic was reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

As the Orlando Magic move into a full rebuilding process, coach Steve Clifford and the franchise have agreed together to a parting, sources tell ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 5, 2021

Orlando brought in Clifford ahead of the 2018-19 season after he was released from the Charlotte Hornets following disappointing postseason runs. Clifford led the team to 42-40 and 33-40 records in his first two seasons with the Magic, both good enough to land Orlando in the playoffs.

PRESS RELEASE:@OrlandoMagic and Head Coach Steve Clifford mutually agree to part ways#MagicTogether pic.twitter.com/9VrkA7TzPv

— Orlando Magic PR (@Magic_PR) June 5, 2021

“We would like to thank Steve for his contributions to the Orlando Magic,” president Jeff Weltman said in a release. “We appreciate the many sacrifices he has made as our head coach and understand the timeline of our new path does not align with his goals as a head coach in our league.”

“I would like to thank the DeVos family, Magic leadership and the entire staff, and certainly wish everyone well,” Clifford said in a statement released by the team. “It’s been an honor and privilege to coach this team in this community.”

Clifford reached the playoffs four times in his eight seasons as head coach of Charlotte and Orlando.

An early name already in the rumor mill is former head coach Terry Stotts, who was just tenure with the Portland Trail Blazers ended after their first-round playoff exit.

The Magic have interest in former Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts, league sources say, after Orlando and Steve Clifford parted ways today.

— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 5, 2021

The post Orlando Magic, Steve Clifford Agree to Part Ways appeared first on SLAM.

After teammate Jamal Murray suffered an unfortunate season-ending injury back in April, Porter—outspoken, confident and arguably the team’s most naturally gifted talent—knew he needed to step up. He was expected to.

And, as we’ve seen over the past few months, when the moment has called upon MPJ to help lead his team, he’s answered right back.

“At first, I was playing more off-ball. Playing off of Jamal and [Nikola] Jokic on the weak side, getting wide-open threes and driving closeouts,” Porter tells SLAM. “But when Jamal went down, more was expected of me and my role expanded.”

Was it difficult, I wondered, for Porter to compensate for Murray’s absence when given more opportunities within the offense?

“To be honest,” Porter says, “it wasn’t difficult because it’s something I’ve done my whole life.”

That being said, despite his confident nature weathering stormy stretches over the past two seasons, it does appear that Malone’s holistic and structuralist philosophies have rubbed off of Porter.

“It’s about roles,” Porter would insist when asked about a heftier workload being placed on his shoulders. “I’m still playing plenty off-ball.”

However, while his role as a secondary scorer or rebounder may be the first thought many have when assessing Porter’s performance as of late, it appears that it’s actually the intangibles that have been at the forefront of Porter’s mind during Murray’s absence.

“When Jamal went down, my mentality had to switch to more of a leadership role. Being a consistent leader with my energy and my consistency.”

In that aspect, Porter has learned plenty from Jokic. While some may scoff at the notion of the understated Jokic being a leader, Porter has developed plenty of respect for the face of the Nuggets, paying close to attention to how the MVP candidate improves every day.

“First off, Joker’s not even from here. So he’s not going to be the most vocal. But you don’t have to preach and tell people what to do to be a leader; you can lead by example.”

Jokic’s leadership, “his consistency [and] how he takes care of his body,” haven’t just rubbed off on Porter though. They’ve become formulas for him to be just as successful as the Serbian center, both individually and for the Nuggets.

In a similar vain, Porter can also reflect on conversations he’s had with veteran guard Austin Rivers, invaluable lessons from a player who went from a lottery pick to almost out of the league in what seemed like the blink of an eye.

Rivers, who signed a rest-of-the-season contract with Denver on April 30, is a player Porter has long been fond of.

“He has one of the best high school mixtapes ever,” Porter exclaims. “But even though you want to be this—you want to be an All-Star—it’s about what’s best for the team.

“It’s about roles,” Porter says.

While Jokic and Rivers have all played the part of the veteran mentor, Porter really has to look no further than close friend Aaron Gordon for an example of why roles may be the most important factor in a players success.

Gordon, whom Porter calls “one of the coolest people that he’s met in the NBA” because of how well they click off the court and their similar interests, was acquired by the Nuggets back in March while they looked to shore up their frontcourt defense.

The former fourth overall pick had been miscast in a two-way role in Orlando that did a disservice to his elite athleticism and defensive versatility. Finally, after seven-plus seasons with the Magic, the 25-year-old requested a trade that eventually led him to Denver.

No longer tasked with being a go-to scorer, Gordon hasn’t looked back, reveling in his role as a defensive specialist while the Nuggets have looked the part of a legitimate championship-contender ever since.

The same level of peace appears to be on the horizon for Porter, whose desire to develop to be a complete player doesn’t have to come with the same level of burden that was cast upon Gordon.

All because Porter has bought into a role and because his organization understands the importance of them.

Nuggets head coach Michael Malone, who has had somewhat of a contentious relationship with Porter at times, has probably been the largest catalyst for MPJ’s shift in mindset though.

Discussing his coach’s approach and the growth in their relationship following a record-setting victory over the Toronto Raptors on April 30, Porter candidly notes how “growing up you play for certain coaches that literally let you do whatever and you develop bad habits.

“I was lucky enough to have some coaches that didn’t do that. They knew my potential, so they were super hard on me. Coach Malone is no different.”

A five-star recruit who played under former NBA star Brandon Roy at Nathan Hale High School in Seattle, Porter is still only a few years removed from leading his teams to state championships (2016, 2017), being named the McDonald’s All-American MVP (2017), or being named as the National High School Player of the Year (2017).

In fact, considering that his rookie season in the NBA is the only time in his basketball career that Porter wasn’t looked at as a go-to player, it shouldn’t be surprising that he needed time to adjust to a tertiary role.

A role that he excelled in but one that truly has expanded over the past couple of months.

The numbers themselves only tell part of the story, with Porter averaging 23.5 points per game on a blistering hot .560 percent shooting from the field and .489 percent from 3-point range since April 14.

A three-level scorer who can make tough shots look like run-of-the-mill acrobatics, Porter operates as pressure relief valve for Jokic and the Nuggets, especially when he’s dotting i’s from behind the 3-point line.

Blessed with as pure a shooting stroke as you’ll find, Porter’s 6-10 frame and shooting touch have all but prevented Denver from missing a beat, with the Nuggets going 13-5 (in the regular season) following Murray’s injury.

Still, for a player who once made headlines by suggesting that he—then a rookie—needed more touches for his team to play up to its potential, Porter’s elevated mindset can only be attributed to the leadership found in the Mile High.

Not that Porter wasn’t on the money when he advocated for greater ball-movement and a few more touches during the 2020 NBA Playoffs. His soundbite simply led many to wonder—and not quietly—whether MPJ was a team player.

Yet here Porter is, reveling in the fact that he’s part of a system rather than the face of it. In a year’s time, that type of evolution isn’t unprecedented, but it’s certainly fascinating. The evolution has even been televised.

With the Nuggets set to embark on their most promising postseason journey since 2009, facing the Portland Trail Blazers (and former franchise cornerstone Carmelo Anthony) in the first round will be a test that determines the true identity of the Nuggets.

Regardless of their showing in these following weeks, Porter’s transformation into a sagacious sharpshooter appears to have the same level of solidity as Jokic’s standing as an elite player.

The show has already started, but the best has yet to come.

—

Photos via Getty Images.

The post It’s Showtime: The Evolution of Michael Porter Jr. appeared first on SLAM.

Playoff seeding came down to the wire, with a play-in tournament deciding the final two seeds in each respective conference. In a season where things seem wide open, nearly every series should be competitive.

With the playoff matchups finally set, let’s take a look at each Western Conference series in the first round. Our Eastern Conference series preview is available here.

1 Utah Jazz (52-20)
8 Memphis Grizzlies (38-34)

The Memphis Grizzlies, although finishing the regular season with the ninth-best record in the West, won two games in the play-in tournament to capture the No. 8 seed in the playoffs. After beating the San Antonio Spurs, the Grizzlies beat Steph Curry and the Warriors in overtime on Friday night to secure this spot.

Now, Memphis will take on the Utah Jazz, who finished the season with the best record in the League. Ja Morant is the clear player to watch for the Grizzlies in this series, as the rising star will make his playoff debut. For the Jazz, Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert will look to show exactly why they both signed massive contracts last offseason. In the regular season, Utah won all three matchups against the Grizzlies and will look to continue that trend in the postseason.

2 Phoenix Suns (51-21)
7 Los Angeles Lakers (42-30)

After a season full of injuries, the Lakers fell in the standings late in the year and were ultimately part of the play-in tournament. In an absolutely exceptional game, the Lakers beat Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors to claim the seventh seed in the Western Conference and a series with the Phoenix Suns. On the back of a LeBron James’ game-winning three, both he and Anthony Davis will look to defend their title.

In three matchups this season, the Suns got the best of the Lakers, winning the season series 2-1. However, the Lakers were without one or both of James and Davis in all three games. Although Phoenix was excellent in the regular season, they’re going to face one of the most talented No. 7 seeds we’ve seen in the last decade or more. With veteran point guard and a future Hall of Famer at the helm, an overall young Suns team will need him to help navigate the playoff waters. One key storyline to watch will be Devin Booker and his first ever playoff appearance.

3 Denver Nuggets (47-25)
6 Portland Trail Blazers (42-30)

Unlike last season, there was a pretty significant drop-off between the top and bottom halves of the Western Conference playoff race. Although just a few seeds apart, the Nuggets finished the shortened regular season five games ahead of the Trail Blazers. Although they lost their starting point guard in Jamal Murray late in the season, Denver finished the season as strong as anyone could have expected.

The Nuggets won the regular season series against Portland 2-1, proving to be the better team. With that in mind, both teams will look a bit different in this series. Denver made a significant move at the deadline acquiring Aaron Gordon, while the Blazers made a splash bringing in Norman Powell. Nonetheless, the question for the Nuggets will be where their ceiling is without Murray. Although they’ve got the projected NBA MVP in Nikola Jokic, Michael Porter Jr. will need to continue his dominance to keep their offense alive.

4 LA Clippers (47-25)
5 Dallas Mavericks (42-30)

In one of the most anticipated matchups of the first round, the Mavericks will take on the Clippers for the second-straight season. The only first round rematch in Western Conference year-over-year, Dallas will hope for a different result this time around. This is yet another series in which the seeding is close, but five games separate the two teams.

After being knocked out in the first round by the Clippers last season, Dallas took the regular season series 2-1 during the 2020-21 season. This included hem coming out swinging in 51-point win early in season after their first matchup since the 2020 playoffs. In their last playoff series, Kristaps Porzingis missed the final three games of the series due to a knee injury and will likely be the X-factor of the entire series this time around. If he can stay healthy and contribute on both ends of the floor, him and Luka Doncic have a real chance at a first-round upset.

The post 2021 NBA Playoff Matchups: Western Conference appeared first on SLAM.

Although Murray will miss the remainder of the season, Michael Porter Jr. still has the same goals in mind. When speaking to Mike Singer of The Denver Post, he emphasized that winning an NBA title is still his main focus.

The goal’s the same. That’s a championship.”

Even without Murray, the Nuggets will still be a solid team the remainder of this season and into the playoffs. Especially with the performance he had in the playoffs last season, it will take a team effort to fill his void.

While their ceiling was lowered following this devastating injury, Denver still needs to look forward. The Nuggets still remain one of the most talented young teams in the NBA, especially after acquiring Aaron Gordon at the trade deadline.

With 17 games remaining for the Denver Nuggets this season, they currently hold the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference with a record of 35-20.

The post Michael Porter Jr.: ‘The Goal’s the Same. That’s A Championship’ appeared first on SLAM.

Murray, a fifth-year guard who has become one of the league’s most popular players due to his scoring abilities, sustained the injury on Monday night while driving to the rim late in a contest against the 10th-seed Golden State Warriors.

The Ontario native’s knee would buckle as he crumpled, yelling and in obvious pain.

Murray has been having a career season, averaging 21.2 points and 4.8 assists per game while shooting .477 percent from the field and .408 percent from 3-point range. An exciting shot-creator, Murray’s injury is both a blow to both the NBA as a whole and the Nuggets, who had emerged as one of the truly elite teams in the West following their trade deadline acquisition of forward Aaron Gordon.

Now, the Nuggets’ must find a way to manage without Murray for what will likely be months, considering the time it typically takes to recover from a torn ACL.

Denver is currently 34-20, 4th in the Western Conference Standings.

The post Nuggets Star Jamal Murray Tears Left ACL, Out Indefinitely appeared first on SLAM.

More recently, they’ve taken things to a whole new level. This has been a direct result of their trade deadline acquisition of Aaron Gordon from the Orlando Magic. While the Nuggets gave up quite a bit to acquire the forward, it’s paid off in a big way. Denver is now 6-0 with Aaron Gordon in the active lineup.

Gordon does so many things on the floor. While he’s not necessarily elite at any particular part of the game, he’s solid everywhere and does everything for the Nuggets. Additionally, the connection between him and superstar center Nikola Jokic has clicked from their first game together. 

In his six games with the Nuggets, Gordon has averaged 12.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists per games while shooting an efficient .608 from deep. 

The post Nuggets Winners of Six Straight with Aaron Gordon in Lineup appeared first on SLAM.

Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports adds that Drummond will listen to the pitches from the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, and Charlotte Hornets as he decides on his playing future.

While the Knicks and Hornets will be able to give Drummond the highest-paying contract, the Lakers and Clippers are legitimate Finals contenders that could entice Drummond to sign with them in hopes of securing a title.

It’s worth noting that Drummond, born in New York, is quite familiar with the New England area having been raised in Connecticut. In addition to Drummond is known to be close friends with Lakers star Anthony Davis and to view potential teammate LeBron James as the best player of all-time.

Per an official press release from Cleveland, Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff would compliment Drummond’s professionality and camaraderie despite not playing since Feb. 12, as well as his ability to keep the team afloat with a high level of play.

A four-time rebounding champion and two-time All-Star, Drummond has averaged 17.5 points, 13.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists. 1.6 steals and 1.2 blocks per game this season but shot a career-low .474 percent from the field thanks to a subpar shooting percentage of .519 inside of the restricted area and .437 in the paint (non-restricted area), per NBA.com.

The post Cavs, Andre Drummond Agree to Contract Buyout appeared first on SLAM.

The Nuggets will send the Magic shooting guard Gary Harris, point guard R.J. Hampton and a top-5 protected 2025 first-round pick (per ESPN’s Zach Lowe), while Orlando will also send forward Gary Clark as part of the deal.

This trade is perfect for both teams, with Orlando acquiring two young players that excel defensively while rebuilding under head coach Steve Clifford.

Hampton, a charismatic rookie selected with the 19th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, has length and athleticism that allows him to play both guard and wing spots. He’ll join a fresh and promising backcourt in Orlando that already has Markelle Fultz and Cole Anthony.

Harris, a seven-year veteran, has a chance to re-establish himself as an offensive threat in Orlando. However, while injury-prone, Harris is already one of the league’s most notable perimeter defenders.

Denver, whose defensive deficiencies have been a talking point for the better part of the season, cures their ailment with the addition of a versatile and explosive athlete in Gordon.

Gordon is averaging 14.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 0.8 blocks per game this season, shooting .437 percent from the field and .375 percent from 3-point range.

The post Nuggets Make Splash Trade, Pry Aaron Gordon from Magic appeared first on SLAM.

Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Orlando Magic have traded All-Star center Nikola Vucevic and forward Al-Farouq Aminu to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for center Wendell Carter Jr., forward Otto Porter, a 2021 first-round pick and a 2023 first-round pick.

At 15-29 (14th in the Eastern Conference standings), the Magic’s decision to trade Vucevic signals the end of an era, with teammates Aaron Gordon and Evan Fournier long-rumored to be on the trading block. That being said, replacing Vooch with Carter not only improves Orlando’s defensive potential but gives them another versatile center that can grow into a role similar to the one Vucevic held.

Porter, 27-years-old, could begin displaying the potential he showed while with the Washington Wizards while in a new environment. A multi-dimensional forward with a defensive lean, Magic head coach Steve Clifford could become of his biggest fans.

Wojnarowski adds that Chicago’s leadership — executive vice president Arturas Karnisovas, general manager Marc Eversley and head coach Billy Donovan — wanted a “productive, serious-minded veteran player to be a cornerstone” for the Bulls.

30-years-old and in his 10th season, Vucevic is a playmaking center who’s averaging 24.5 points, 11.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game this season, numbers that all match or exceed his previous career-highs.

Aminu, 30-years-old and in his 11th season, is a defensive-minded player who has averaged 5.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game in 2020-21 (17 games).

The post Magic Trade Nikola Vucevic to Bulls for Wendell Carter Jr., Otto Porter appeared first on SLAM.

One of those teams that will be active this week is the Denver Nuggets. According to the Denver Post’s Mike Singer, the Nuggets have expressed interest in trading for the Orlando Magic’s Aaron Gordon and Sacramento Kings’ Harrison Barnes.

Gordon is in his seventh season in the NBA, all with the Magic, and he’s matured into an excellent player over the years. Gordon is averaging 12.9 points, 2.5 assists, and 6.4 rebounds per game over his career, and this season he is averaging 14.6 points, 4.3 assists, and 6.6 rebounds per game. Gordon has also taken a major leap as a shooter this season, shooting a career-best 39.3 percent from the three-point range this season.

Barnes has proven himself one of the best two-way wings in the league over the past few seasons. Barnes has been in the NBA for nine years with three teams, averaging 13.8 points and 5.0 rebounds per game over his career. This year, Barnes is putting up 16.3 points and 6.5 rebounds per game while shooting 36.9 percent from the three-point range.

Both Gordon and Barnes would bring a defensive ability to the Nuggets team that could use pieces to improve on that end, ranking 16th in defensive ranking in the NBA with a 112.3. They’d also provide additional shooting to a team already fifth in the NBA in three-point percentage, holding a 38.8 percent as a team.

The Nuggets currently hold a record of 26-17 and are fifth in the Western Conference.

The NBA’s trade deadline is this Thursday, March 25, at 3 p.m. ET.

The post Nuggets Interested In Acquiring Aaron Gordon and Harrison Barnes appeared first on SLAM.

Gordon, 25-years-old, is averaging 13.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 0.8 blocks per game this season while shooting a career-high .368 percent from 3-point range. The fourth overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, his current contract is set to expire after the 2021-22 season.

Denver has interest in Orlando forward Aaron Gordon ahead of next Thursday’s trade deadline, league sources told The Denver Post, and the Nuggets need to assess on-court fit and whether he’s a player capable of vaulting them past some of the other Western Conference powers.

Singer adds that the Nuggets completing a trade for Gordon is unlikely given that the deadline is just around the corner. That being said, teams looking to add Gordon are expected to surrender at least young one player and a draft pick.

If it was March Madness, the Nuggets would have been one of the Cinderella teams of the 2020 NBA Playoffs with their historical comeback performances against the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Clippers in consecutive rounds.

This season, the Nuggets’ have achieved national relevance only to get off to a slow start that highlighted their offseason loss of forward Jerami Grant while putting their burgeoning Big Three of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. in the spotlight.

Now 24-16, tied for the fifth-best record in the Western Conference, Denver has caught it’s stride in recent weeks thanks to the improved play of Murray and Porter. Adding Gordon, who could replicate Grant’s 2019-20 role as a tertiary scorer and versatile defender, may be what puts the Nuggets over the top during the second half of 2020-21.

The post Aaron Gordon on Nuggets’ Radar Ahead of Trade Deadline appeared first on SLAM.

While there are a few teams on the trading chopping block, most are willing to make upgrades within specific positions even if that means cutting ties with veterans — the Orlando Magic has entered the chat.

With only guard Markelle Fultz and forward Jonathon Isaac deemed “untouchable” by Orlando, veterans Aaron Gordon, Evan Fournier and All-Star Nikola Vucevic are on the Magic’s trade block (per Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix).

The 22-year-old Fultz has experienced a career resurgence in Orlando, averaging 12.2 points and 5.2 assists per game in two seasons with the Magic while starting in 68 of 80 contests.

Isaac, who will miss the 2020-21 season with a torn ACL, averaged 11.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.3 blocks and 1.6 steals in the 2019-20 season.

13-26, Orlando is likely ready to fully re-tool, as each of Gordon, Fournier and Vucevic were acquired by the Magic before they hired Jeff Weltman to be their president of basketball operations in 2017.

Mannix adds that Magic head coach Steve Clifford has a particular fondness for Boston Celtics guard Kemba Walker.

Walker, who has averaged 18.0 points and 4.5 assists per game this season, would make a nice addition to Orlando.

This trade shouldn’t be ruled out, as the Celtics have a host of draft picks in their arsenal, along with a $28.5 million trade exception. In addition, Walker continues to struggle with his efficiency in Beantown, shooting just .388 from the floor this season.

Boston has long been reported to have their sights set on Sacramento Kings forward Harrison Barnes as well, although the Kings haven’t shown a willingness to move the veteran leader.

The post Markelle Fultz, Jonathan Isaac Are Magic’s Only ‘Untouchable’ Players appeared first on SLAM.

According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, the first step towards this could be acquiring a solid power forward. He recently reported that Minnesota has shown interest in power forwards around the league, including Atlanta’s John Collins and Orlando’s Aaron Gordon. With that in mind, both Gordon and Collins have significant asking prices in the marketplace.

On paper, Minnesota already has an extremely talented young core with D’Angelo Russell, Karl-Anthony Towns, Malik Beasley and Anthony Edwards. While it’s unclear if one of these core pieces would have to be moved to acquire Gordon or Collins, they would both be excellent fits with the Timberwolves. 

An efficient, productive power forward would do Minnesota a lot of good, especially on the defensive end of the floor where Karl-Anthony Towns has proven to struggle a bit. As the upcoming trade deadline approaches, it appears that the Minnesota Timberwolves could be active on the market. 

The post Timberwolves Targeting John Collins, Aaron Gordon Ahead of Trade Deadline appeared first on SLAM.

In a January 8 contest against Sacramento, Boucher was his typically efficient self—23 points, 10 boards and 2-4 from long distance. His most memorable highlight of the night, though, was an emphatic block against Marvin Bagley III. It was probably the best moment of the game, and so it became a Moment, literally; a platform called NBA Top Shot, owned by a company called Dapper Labs, immortalized the block by minting it into a digital collectible.

We purchased the highlight, or “moment” as they’re called by Top Shot, for $9 on February 15. By the time we went to press for this issue a few weeks later, three of the same moments, albeit rarer ones, sold for over $1,000 each. Yes, a Chris Boucher rejection clip has had that kind of return. 

OK, we might have lost a few readers there. Our bad. Let’s back up a bit. As you’ve probably heard, the sports card industry is bananas right now. Individual sales are shattering records. Good luck finding a proper pack—Target shelves are empty. eBay is experiencing unprecedented transactions. NBA Top Shot is simply leaning into the frenzied collectibles space, but doing so with a revolutionary approach. 

Top Shot is a blockchain-based platform that allows fans to collect, trade, and sell officially licensed game clips. Moments are placed in virtual packs sold exclusively on NBATopShot.com. Packs, priced so far between $9 and $1000 (depending on the potential exclusivity of the pack’s contents), sell out very quickly and are only released at certain times, announced a few hours or at most a day before the pack’s drop. Tens of thousands of people have been “lining up” (digitally) to get their hands on them, and most are usually unable to. 

But they aren’t just selling out. Early adopters are also cashing out. Like with traditional cards, NBA Top Shot releases Commons, Rare clips and elusive Legendary moments. The latter comes with a production cap of at most 99, sometimes less. People who’ve lucked into one have doubled, tripled or 10-timesed their profits on the site’s marketplace. A clip of a LeBron James dunk recently sold for a whopping $208,000. 

What’s crazy is that even with the buzz, things are only just starting here. 

“As far as adoption cycle, we’re super early,” says Roham Gharegozlou, the CEO of Dapper Labs, NBA Top Shot’s parent company. “I think we are still at the ‘insider’ stage going to the ‘early adopters’ stage.” 

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We sense your hesitation, though. Real money? Virtual highlights? Can’t I just go to YouTube for free if I want to see a Ja Morant dunk? Of course you can. You could also have your cousin in art school design a Kobe Bryant rookie card for you in Photoshop instead of paying $42,000 for a gem mint 1996 Topps Chrome on eBay. 

“That is a question that comes up from people who don’t necessarily understand collector economies,” says Gharegozlou, who’s already tasted success in the virtual world with the CryptoKitties virtual game. “What you’re buying in an NBA Top Shot isn’t the video rights, it’s not the intellectual property rights. It’s the asset itself. It’s kind of analogous to a trading card. The difference with a digital item is you don’t have to prove that it’s [real]. The blockchain is what ensures the authenticity.” 

Blockchains have made plenty of headlines the past few years. In simple terms, they’re databases where blocks of information are chained together. Bitcoin transactions are done on them. In NBA Top Shot’s case, its moments (which are, in technical terms, minted as non-fungible tokens or NFTs) serve as digital certificates on the blockchain that collectors show for ownership of a video asset. 

Many see this concept as the future of the industry. Investors like Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and influential entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk loudly agree. Other companies such as StarStock and Otis, essentially stock markets for cards and collectibles, differ from TopShot, but are relevant examples of how the collecting world is changing to a more digital, you-don’t-even-touch-what-you’re-paying-for space. 

The NBA, one of the more forward-thinking professional sports leagues, saw it, too, which is why it and the National Basketball Players Association decided to partner with Dapper Labs for Top Shot. “They already identified this technology as something that could make an impact on their business,” says Caty Tedman, Dapper Lab’s head of partnerships, of the joint venture that started in July 2019. “What we brought was an idea of how to bring it to consumers.” Tedman says more than 150,000 have registered on the site when we spoke with her, and The Action Network reported that NBA Top Shot has already eclipsed $180 million in marketplace sales, with more than 60 percent of that coming just in February 2021. (By the time you read this, all of these numbers will be much higher.)

Those around the League also noticed the potential. Though players get a cut of the sales via Dapper’s partnership with the NBA and the PA, some have decided to purchase their own moments. And when Dapper Labs announced a $12 million round of funding in August 2020, its list of investors included the Nets’ Spencer Dinwiddie, the Magic’s Aaron Gordon and the Cavs’ JaVale McGee. 

“The company is very innovative,” says McGee. “I understand how [sports] cards work so the fact that they were technically digital cards, sitting on the blockchain, it was definitely one of the most impressive things that I’ve seen. I’m really into Bitcoin and all the cryptocurrency. I was taking a chance with this company, but it worked out perfectly.” 

Of course, with any investment comes inherent risks. Top Shot prices fluctuate with demand, the moment’s scarcity and other factors. And sure, with any new tech company comes growing pains. Collectors have grumbled about packs being too hard to obtain. The NBA Top Shot site has been buggy at times. But to the company’s credit, they’ve faced every challenge head on, made the appropriate fixes and have smoothed out subsequent drops.

Still not convinced? Neither was Michael Ferguson. A passionate Ohio card collector, Ferg turned his love into Rated Rips, a vibrant online card business that live streams pack-ripping sessions called breaks, submits subscribers’ cards to grading companies and runs an informative Discord community that talks about everything surrounding the hobby, including NBA Top Shot. 

“Somebody did bring it up in one of the live streams one night,” says Ferguson. “I don’t know. It’s hard to understand yet because they’re so new and have some kinks to work out. But it’s insane the amount of money you can make on that platform. It blows my mind what people are paying for these moments. It’s really a fascinating idea. It’s a big opportunity with how high everybody is into the card market right now. The only problem with it now is that it’s almost impossible to get packs because they sell out in an instant.”

The topic of Top Shot kept coming up in Rated Rips’ chats. So, like any good businessman, Ferg started a discord channel on the subject and dabbled a few dollars into the company. “I try to get through [on release days],” says Ferguson, who stood with us and 12,000 others in the virtual line for a recent pack drop, “because the return on investment is almost a guaranteed profit. The first pack I bought was $9. I pulled a LeBron out of it and I sold it for $380.”

And honestly, that’s all the NBA Top Shot team wants basketball fans to do—give the platform a chance. “We really want people to check it out and make up their own minds,” says Gharegozlou, who’s aiming to add games and more vintage moments to the lineup in the future. “The $100k sales get the headlines but there are a million ways to collect and grow a collection you love and care about. It’s easier to get into than anyone thinks.” 

The post The Future is Now: NBA Top Shot is the New Digital Frontier appeared first on SLAM.

Not one to accept mediocrity peacefully or quietly, Boston has long been looking for reinforcements, and general manager Danny Ainge mentioned that they might not be far from making a trade on the ‘Toucher and Rich’ morning show on Thursday.

“We’ve been close a couple times,” Ainge said in regards to potential trades. “It’s rare that trades get done [not close] to the deadline. We’re talking and we’re trying to do some things… Time will tell.”

Ainge hinted at the kind of player the Celtics may be looking for on the trade market, saying that Boston needs to “surround them [Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown] with more scoring off the bench.”

Brown and Tatum are both averaging over 25.0 points per game this season, with the next highest scorer being point guard Kemba Walker, who is averaging 17.1 points per game. In total, the Celtics only have four players averaging more than 10.0 points per game: Brown, Tatum, Walker and the currently injured Marcus Smart.

Some names that spring to mind for a potential Boston trade include Sacramento Kings’ wing Harrison Barnes, averaging 15.9 points per game and Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon, averaging 13.8 points per game. Both have been subject to a multitude of trade rumors this season and would provide the scoring Boston needs deeper in their rotation.

The trade deadline is a month away, Mar. 25, giving Ainge and the Celtics a bit of breathing room to get a deal done.

The post Celtics GM Danny Ainge: ‘We’ve Been Close’ to Completing Multiple Trades appeared first on SLAM.

Gordon likely sustained the injury while dribbling up the court against Toronto Raptors forward Stanley Johnson during Orlando’s loss to Toronto on Jan. 31. The Magic, battling for playoff position, have already lost forward Jonathan Isaac and guard Markelle Fultz for the season.

A top-five draft pick in 2014, Gordon has been having his best all-around season, averaging 13.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 0.8 blocks and 0.7 steals per game while knocking down a career-high .369 percent of his 3-point attempts. The Magic, 8-13, have a net rating of +5.1 points per 100 possession with Gordon on the court.

With Gordon’s recovery timeline taken into account, he may not suit up for Orlando until the second half of the NBA schedule is released.

The post Aaron Gordon Out 4-6 Weeks With Severe Ankle Sprain appeared first on SLAM.

Veterans Nikola Vucevic and Terrence Ross have looked solid out of the gates and the result of so many players starting out strong has given the still-undefeated Orlando Magic a significant boost early on.

For more information about the numbers behind our Heat Check series, hop over to our main Heat Check 2020-21 post.

Markelle Fultz	18.3p, 3.8r, 5.8a
Dwayne Bacon	7.5p, 3.8r, 1.0a
Terrence Ross	21.0p, 1.8r, 0.8a
Nikola Vucevic	20.0p, 11.5r, 3.8a
Khem Birch	6.8p, 4.0r, 0.8a
Michael Carter-Williams	5.5p, 5.0r, 1.8a	–
Evan Fournier	17.8p, 1.8r, 2.0a
Gary Clark	0.0p, 3.0r, 1.0a
Aaron Gordon	12.8p, 6.8r, 1.3a

Team-by-Team Breakdown

The post Heat Check 2020-21: Orlando Magic appeared first on SLAM.

We broke down the Magic’s depth chart for the 2020-21 season below. We’ve also previously published a summary of the Magic’s offseason.

Biggest Questions

• Will Mo Bamba play? To this point, he’s been held out of games due to the fact that he is still recovering from having COVID-19 earlier this year. Everyone across the league hopes that he recovers soon and is able to take the floor early in the season.
• Can Cole Anthony be the steal of the draft? As good as he has the chance to be, he fell to No. 15 in this year’s draft and gives Orlando much needed playmaking. He looked excellent in the preseason and will have plenty of opportunity in the upcoming season.

All NBA Team Offseason Summaries

The post Orlando Magic: Projected 2020-21 Depth Chart appeared first on SLAM.

Now, Hayward has left, Walker is nursing an injury and East has only gotten tougher. Boston’s new additions will have to have a major impact in their first season with the team.

Celtics Roster Additions

Biggest Acquisitions

• Tristan Thompson: Tristan Thompson has developed into a strong two-way player, capable of generating his own offense and being a dynamic defender. Unlike Enes Kanter, he won’t be getting himself played out of games because he’s not mobile enough.

• Aaron Nesmith: An elite shooter with All-Star potential, Aaron Nesmith suddenly finds himself needing to replace Gordon Hayward, another smart player and skilled shooter with positional versality. It would be unfair to expect him to do it alone but the weight falls on his shoulders, primarily.

Celtics Roster Subtractions

Biggest Losses

• Gordon Hayward: Gordon Hayward’s time in Boston definitely didn’t go as planned but he had the resilience to battle back from a major injury and be an upper echelon glue player for the Celtics. His playmaking is going to be more difficult to replace than his shooting.

• Brad Wanamaker: One of the most steady backup point guards in the league since coming to the NBA in 2018-19, Wanamaker quietly proved himself to be the type of competitor and savvy veteran that any contending team could use.

All NBA Team Offseason Summaries

The post Boston Celtics: Offseason Summary 2020 appeared first on SLAM.

It’s been 15 years since the party and details are now murky.

Time, after all, dulls memory. Especially when those memories are mixed with a looooooong night of dark liquor, bubbling champagne and melodic violin. Still, even if the minutia is somewhat blurry, in many ways the night of June 11, 2005 was unforgettable.

For Que Gaskins, the evening actually began roughly three months prior when Tawanna Iverson reached out for help. Tawanna, Allen Iverson’s wife, wanted to throw him a 30th birthday party and she knew Gaskins, then a director at Reebok and friend of Allen’s, could help execute her vision.

The concept was simple: A surprise party, packed with all of Allen’s favorites, right at the family’s mansion in Villanova. A party that would emit love and evoke laughs. A party that would celebrate 30—an age that too many people who grew up around Allen in Newport News, VA, never reached—the way some do 80.

With a rough sketch of the event in hand, Gaskins turned around and called up Ayiko Broyard, someone Reebok worked with frequently, to help him produce the party. Broyard, led by Tawanna and with the help of her co-workers, spent the ensuing months laboring over every decoration, every morsel of food.

On the night of Saturday the 11th, four days after his actual birthday, AI crept up his circular gravel driveway. As he unfolded his pedestrian frame out of the passenger side of his luxury vehicle and brushed off his XXXL white t-shirt, Iverson looked confused. Why was Gaskins standing there?

“He was shocked,” remembers Gaskins, “[that] we were able to pull off this party without him knowing.”

Iverson was pointed toward his side yard, a swathe of grass that had been covered by a Ringling-sized white tent and a smaller sister tent. The walkway between where he stood and the tents was lined with photos. He stopped and picked one up. A toddler version of him with his mom, Ann. He took a few more steps. Him at age 9 with a football and his coach-turned-manager Gary Moore. Shuffled some more. Him in his green-and-gold Bethel High basketball uniform.

The photos traced the arc of his life—from Stuart Gardens Project to stardom at Bethel to lock up to Georgetown; from meeting Tawanna to the birth of his eldest, Deuce, to Draft night, the Finals and All-Star MVPs—in chemicals and cotton paper. Iverson, soft in the eyes and shaky in the chest, worked his way through the sticky humidity to the front flap of the tent. When he stepped inside, Iverson broke down. The scene laid out in front of him was a shrine.

The walls were decorated with action shots and portraits pulled from ad campaigns and newspapers. The ceiling was lit up in red and blue. One tent, the larger one, was populated with an open layout, a DJ booth and live music from unorthodox violinist Miri Ben-Ari. The smaller rental was highlighted by round poker tables and a TV. Both of the rooms were lined with bars with ample amounts of Iverson’s favorite champagne and food trays prepared with favorites, like crab, driven in from Newport News.

The décor was on point. The food was just what The Answer would’ve ordered. But the people present sticks with guests to this day. Three or four or maybe even five busloads of friends and family were transported up from Virginia. Ann Iverson, Gary Moore and the inner circle. Of course, Reebok reps Brian Lee, Gaskins, Todd Krinsky and photographer Gary Land. Andre Iguodala, Billy King and other former Sixer execs and teammates. Bow Wow, Charlie Mack, Jill Scott, Patti LaBelle. LeBron James and his mother, Gloria. If you were somebody, you were in that room. If you were somebody, despite it being the middle of the NBA Finals and the day of the Belmont Stakes, you wanted to be in that room.

“[Iverson] was like, ‘Why are they all here for me?’” Broyard recalls. “It was almost like a surprise, like he didn’t really know who he was or the level of influence he was having on people.” 

The evening was filled with death-grip hugs. Iverson held on to Julius Erving for what felt like forever and was, soon after, tackled to the ground by James. Later, there would be an intense game of Guts and a viewing of the Mike Tyson-Kevin McBride fight.

“Despite the prevailing opinion that Mike Tyson is shot, unfocused and undisciplined,” the PPV telecast started, “this has the elements of a short and painful night for Kevin McBride.”

Six sloppy rounds later, Tyson failed to emerge from his corner. McBride was declared the winner by TKO. Iverson fell to his knees and enveloped the TV in tears. It was the end of Tyson’s career, but just the start of the party.

At around 5:00 a.m., the event staff wanted to leave. There was still more life to be soaked up. Iverson was in his element, immersed in love but unaware of the worship.

“He represented what Black kids were all about, and he resonated with every inner-city kid in the world who had a struggle,” LeBron James once told Sports Illustrated. “Michael Jordan inspired me, and I looked up to him, but he was out of this world. AI was really the god.”

Allen Iverson entered the NBA as the No. 1 pick in 1996. In his very first regular season game, Iverson was the only player to register 30 points—and the only one to sport visible tattoos. Over the next 14 seasons, scores of players would start openly showing ink, but very few would match Iverson’s career averages of 26.7 ppg, 6.2 apg and 2.2 spg.

Between ’96 and 2010, when he reluctantly retired, Iverson left dozens of defenders grasping for air—as he crossed them over or just used his speed to run by them—and even more fans gasping for air. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2016. Along the way, Iverson popularized arm sleeves, braids, headbands, tattoos and more. He didn’t invent any of it—it was authentic to the Black community he came from—but he was the first superstar to bring it with him to a national audience.  In doing so, Iverson changed the NBA and, in ways, America.

“Iverson was the first [NBA player] to genuinely be himself that I noticed,” says Master Tesfatsion.

Tesfatsion, a Senior Writer and Host of Untold Stories at Bleacher Report, grew up in Section 8 housing in Dallas during Iverson’s prime and remembers window-shopping for the icon’s apparel. He also vividly remembers looking for, and rarely finding, Black people on TV that resembled him. “Athletes now say they’re ‘more than an athlete,’ but Allen Iverson helped break the mold so they could say that, so LeBron James could say, ‘I’m more than an athlete.’

“I truly believe his impact is just as relevant, if not more, than Michael [Jordan’s] to the millennial generation,” he adds.

Don’t ask Iverson about his impact. It’s not so much that Iverson’s unwilling to be an icon as it is that he is a humble one. He has a couple stock answers, and he often falls back on them in interviews.

“I took an ass-whooping for being me,” Iverson has repeated like a hook, “but if I die today, I’d rather come back as me than anybody else. I took a beating for guys to be themselves, and I love the fact that now guys don’t have to conform.”

Another bar: “A little kid saying, ‘AI, you’re my favorite’ goes a long way with a dude like me. If I ain’t nobody else’s favorite, I’m his or hers. That never gets old.”

Better to ask those around him, those influenced by him.

Gaskins spent the early part of Iverson’s career hanging with him on behalf of Reebok. A friendship blossomed. He came to understand what made Iverson transcend hoops.

“He didn’t change his taste palate because he was the No. 1 pick and on his way to becoming a global star,” says Gaskins. “He wanted to be around people that looked like him, that talked like him, that ate like him, that dressed like him.”

In that way, from night clubs with dress codes to the NBA’s social norms, explains Gaskins, Iverson was able to bend society towards his will and world view. 

Many bucked, of course. They labeled Iverson a “thug.” Talked about his “posse,” hair style and clothes. Gaskins remembers that during Iverson’s rookie year, he had his own hair twisted into braids. The idea would’ve been ludicrous for a young Black man at a sneaker company a year prior, but now it felt OK. Not long after getting braids, Gaskins wore them naively to a meeting at Reebok’s HQ. 

“I remember someone saying, ‘You’re supposed to be having an impact on him—it looks like he’s having the impact on you.’” 

Gaskins didn’t flinch. It wasn’t a problem. It was becoming Iverson’s America.   

GRAB YOUR COPY OF SLAM PRESENTS ’96 DRAFT FOR EVEN MORE GOODIES FROM THE ISSUE

Datwon Thomas has a unique perspective on Iverson. He’s been the Editor-in-Chief at XXL and VIBE. He was the Founding Editor of KING Magazine and helped unearth many now-popular artists along the way. Thomas has spent an adulthood around talent, and he once spent a week with Iverson in Asia. 

“Allen is a little different,” Thomas says. He remembers seeing Iverson at clubs around New York. Remembers seeing rappers sending Iverson bottles, making sure he—their favorite hooper—was taken care of. “That’s aura. You can feel it. You can tell he’s somebody, even if you don’t know who he is. Automatic.”  

Madison Blank grew up in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. As a kid, she went to as many of Iverson’s games as her father would take her to, and she had all of his signature shoes. One summer, she rocked a pair of early model Answers during the days. At night, she would take them off and tuck them into bed, dirt and all, right next to her. Nowadays, Blank helps move fashion trends. She still considers Iverson her inspiration.

“Swag and confidence are everything, and that’s him,” says Blank, Manager of Brand Relations at GOAT. She wears a gold No. 3 necklace as a form of homage. “He could be in a white tee and grey sweatpants and he carried himself like he was in a Christian Dior suit. It’s just a bravado that he has.”

Across the country, in Tacoma, WA, Isaiah Thomas also had the sneakers, had the magazine covers hung up, had the mimicked wardrobe. The undersized guard with pro aspirations loved Kobe Bryant, but he saw himself in Iverson. Saw the way he would have to play. Saw the way he could act like himself, dress like himself and still be successful.

“I’ve looked up to him, on and off the court, since I first knew who he was,” says Thomas. “He’s one of the most authentic athletes ever. Ever. Ever.

“Ever.”

Eleven years later, another party. This time Stance is hosting their annual Spades tournament to start off All-Star Weekend. Like Iverson’s 30th birthday, a VIP crowd pulls up. Dwyane Wade, the tournament’s co-host, is there with his wife and star in her own right, Gabrielle Union. Aaron Gordon, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Isaiah Thomas, James Harden, Klay Thompson, Victor Oladipo, and other influencers and hoopers fill the rest of the room.

The One Eighty, a restaurant situated on the 51st floor of a downtown tower in Toronto, was not built to host this event. It is packed to an uncomfortable degree. A few hours into the tournament, it becomes impossible to even nudge your way around the room. It’s a rush-hour subway car.  

Gary Moore texts, though, that Iverson and his SUV are on the way. They show up—Iverson is in a white-and-gold t-shirt, black-and-gold fitted, gold watch and chains—and magically slip in. It is unclear who notices them, but within seconds, energy in the room shifts from cards.

Everything slows to a stop. Anthony parts the crowd. Too much time has passed since they last saw each other. They share a close embrace.

Iverson doesn’t work the room, but the room works him. Oladipo daps up and gets a photo. Paul and Wade, who both wear No. 3 in part because of Iverson, take a picture with three digits in the air.  More people pay homage. The room starts spinning on its axis again.

“There are two people who have stopped Spades cold: Beyonce and Allen,” says Clarke Miyasaki, an executive at Stance. “When Beyonce showed, everyone wanted to look at her and say she was there. With Allen, though, everyone wanted to get time with him to show love.” 

Thomas, preparing to appear in his first All-Star Game, was one of those people. The two diminutive guards had shared phone calls, but they had never met in person. Thomas used to razz Lee, his old rep at Reebok, about it so Lee was not going to miss the chance to link the two.

“He told me I reminded him of himself, that I was a killer,” says Thomas. “Once that happened, nobody could tell me anything about hoop. Those words, coming from his mouth, made me feel like the best player in the world. That changed my life—and he doesn’t know it.”

The conversation ended. Thomas walked back to Lee, eyes wide. Lee offered him a drink to calm down. Thomas would go on to have the best season-and-a-half of his career. Meanwhile Iverson, oblivious to the magnitude, sits down at a table and asks to get dealt into a game of Spades. 

His career is long over, but Allen Iverson’s influence endures forever.

—

SLAM PRESENTS ’96 DRAFT IS AVAILABLE NOW. 

The post The Everlasting Influence of Allen Iverson appeared first on SLAM.

Clark, 26, played 24 games for Orlando last season, providing floor-spacing outside shooting while playing smart, all-around defense.

After signing a couple of 10-day contracts with the Magic in January, Clark joined the team for the remainder of the season. He filled in for an injured Aaron Gordon in the Playoffs, playing 28.8 minutes per game and shooting 34.4% from three.

The post Magic Re-Sign Gary Clark to 2-Year Deal appeared first on SLAM.

That they’re doing all this without a superstar is even more impressive. It can’t be said that the Magic will be competing for a championship anytime soon but what they’ve done with their roster so far deserves more recognition.

Related: Full Orlando Magic 2020 Salary Cap Preview

2020 NBA Draft Picks

Magic Draft Needs

The Magic have a bunch of players that can get to the rim off-the-dribble but they don’t have any that excel from 3-point range outside of Evan Fournier. If Orlando can draft one or two strong perimeter shooters, it will go a long way towards improving their offensive efficiency and spacing the floor for their athletic slashers.

With both D.J. Augustin and Michael Carter-Williams entering free agency this offseason, the Magic also need to address their point guard depth. That said, Orlando may be able to solve both issues with the same pick.

If so, the Magic would be wise to try and find an athletic forward that can mimic Jonathan Isaac’s play. Isaac will miss the entire 2020-21 season after tearing his ACL and meniscus in August.

2020 NBA Draft Prospect Watchlist

What The Mocks Are Saying

Projected Roster

Team-by-Team NBA Draft Guides

More: SLAM’s 2020 NBA Draft Preview

The post Orlando Magic: 2020 NBA Draft Preview appeared first on SLAM.

One has to wonder whether the rumors regarding their interest in packaging multiple picks to move up in the upcoming draft has anything to do with the rumors that Gordon Hayward wants out of Boston. However, once again the Celtics enter an offseason in the uncomfortable position of being a championship contender with the future of one of their star players up in the air.

Unlike most other contending teams, how the draft pans out for Boston could wind up being incredibly important to how well they perform next season.

Related: Full Boston Celtics 2020 Salary Cap Preview

2020 NBA Draft Picks

Celtics Draft Needs

The Celtics have great depth at every position but so much is dependent on the players that it’s difficult to project their rotation next season; Hayward, Enes Kanter while Semi Ojeleye will become a restricted free agent.

That said, if the Celtics were to play without Tatum for any extended period (without Hayward in particular) they would be in a world of trouble. It would be wise for Boston to prioritize shoring up their forward depth. While Ojeleye and Hayward may not return, the type of impact Grant Williams makes on the court doesn’t pop out on a stat sheet.

For this reason, trading up in the draft and securing a top-10 pick could help address that scenario.

Adding depth at the center and point guard positions is also important for Celtics. Although Boston is likely to bring Daniel Theis — who’s contract is non-guaranteed — back, Kanter opt may explore the open market for a more lucrative contract (and find it). At point guard, the steady veteran Brad Wanamaker and neophyte Tremont Waters are set to become free agents this offseason.

Fortunately for Boston, the 2020 NBA Draft has a bevy of intriguing prospects at point guard, forward and center in their draft range.

2020 NBA Draft Prospect Watchlist

What The Mocks Are Saying

Projected Roster

Team-by-Team NBA Draft Guides

More: SLAM’s 2020 NBA Draft Preview

The post Boston Celtics: 2020 NBA Draft Preview appeared first on SLAM.

In addition to a summary for each of the 30 teams (accessible in the link grid below), we’ve also tiered the top NBA free agents league-wide and published a general comparison of all teams’ cap space. Follow @SLAMnewswire on Twitter for constant offseason updates as we head into free agency.

Projected Roster Players

Projected Free Agents

2020 NBA Draft Picks

Exceptions Available

• Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception – $9,258,000
• Bi-Annual Exception – $3,623,000

Key Offseason Decisions

• Will Evan Fournier opt in? Fournier is coming off his best season, which is normally a guarantee a player will opt out. Unfortunately for Fournier, it’s not a great market to be a free agent. That puts it in question if Fournier will opt in for $17.1M for 2021.
• Do the Magic try to sign Markelle Fultz to an extension? Fultz hasn’t lived up to the promise of being the first overall pick, but he has made great strides in Orlando. If the Magic can lock Fultz up on a team-friendly deal, they’ll do so. Otherwise, he’ll play it out and hit restricted free agency in 2021.
• What happens with extension talks for Jonathan Isaac? Isaac was likely to get a healthy, but non-max extension. Now, he’s probably going to miss the 2021 season and is yet to turn in a full season in the NBA. Like Fultz, his talent is such that Orlando should lock him up to a team-friendly extension if they can. If not, like Fultz, he’ll be restricted in 2021.

Projected Team Salary

$160,650,834

If Evan Fournier is back, Orlando will probably bring back a similar team. They may lose D.J. Augustin, as re-signing him will bring them closer to the luxury tax than is probably comfortable. Expect the Magic to add 2019 first round pick Chuma Okeke to the roster for the 2021 season. After that, the remaining big items to watch are extension talks for Markelle Fultz and Jonathan Isaac. (@KeithSmithNBA)

Cap Space Forecast

-$48,225,714 (21^st out of 30). $18,234,834 under the Luxury Tax.

Team Salary Cap Outlooks

The post Orlando Magic: Salary Cap Space 2020 appeared first on SLAM.

Gordon just dropped the debut single off his upcoming rap album (above). The track, “LVL UP,” features Moe (an artist signed to Epic Records) and is meant to inspire others to improve in every aspect, becoming the best they can be and leveling up their own lives in the face of adversity. Gordon’s work ethic and perseverance to reach the NBA shine a light to motivate people.

While a release date for the full album (“All Good”) has not yet been revealed, you can expect to hear more motivating lyrics that will make you want to grind harder.

Gordon used his time in quarantine to sharpen and really pursue his musical aspirations. Back in April, he put out his first song, “Pull Up,” which also featured Moe. Around the time of that initial release, Gordon said there was a lot more to come and hinted at a project for September.

It appears that he put his heart into the music and is keeping his word. Tune in.

—

Charlie Desadier is an intern at SLAM. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

The post Aaron Gordon Releases New Single ‘LVL UP’ appeared first on SLAM.

We’ve listed the entire roster with comparisons to last year’s launch rating below. We’ve also identified some general NBA 2K21 ratings trends for the league as a whole.

Magic NBA 2K21 Ratings

View the NBA 2K21 player ratings for other teams below.

The post Orlando Magic: NBA 2K21 Ratings appeared first on SLAM.

Gordon hasn’t played for the Magic since Aug. 5, so his absence won’t leave the team any more shorthanded than they have been but that’s one less voice on the bench and in the locker room.

Of course Gordon officially leaving the bubble would mean that he’d need to quarantine upon his return if anything drastic changed. Given that the Magic are down 1-3 in their first-round series with the powerhouse Bucks it’s unlikely that this would be the case.

There was no major damage to Gordon’s left hamstring when he was initially evaluated but the string of DNPs that have followed since could indicate that the franchise has reason to be cautious.

Gordon saw his role with the Magic reduced slightly this season, the 14.4 points per game he averaged this year were the fewest he’s logged since 2016-17, but he remains under contract through the 2021-22 season.

The post Aaron Gordon Leaves Bubble Due to Hamstring Injury appeared first on SLAM.

Criminally underrated Nikola Vucevic took his game to a new level before the shut down, averaging 23.0 points and 13.4 rebounds per game in March (up from 19.1 and 10.8). Terrence Ross, too, turned up the jets to bump his 14.1 point-per-game average pre-March to 22.8

Equally as impressive as the improved scoring figures are Aaron Gordon’s assist numbers. Gordon was averaging 6.5 assists per game when the shutdown began (versus the 3.5 he averaged prior), and that doesn’t include a 12-assist game he put up in late February.

Will the dunk contestant continue to serve as a playmaker in the bubble? Does Jonathan Isaac’s return the the rotation impact that?

SLAM’s Heat Check series compares each individual player’s personal production in the month of March with their production prior. The goal is to get a sense of the direction in which players were trending when the league stood still. For a more in-depth description, check out our Heat Check (Hiatus Edition) introduction.

Heat Check Orlando Magic

Terrence Ross
Aaron Gordon
Nikola Vucevic
Markelle Fultz
Michael Carter-Williams
Vic Law	–
James Ennis III	–
D.J. Augustin	–
Wes Iwundu
Gary Clark
Mo Bamba
Evan Fournier
Melvin Frazier Jr.
Khem Birch

Team-by-Team Breakdown

The post Heat Check (Hiatus): Orlando Magic appeared first on SLAM.

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

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

Per ESPN:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Spencer Dinwiddie scored a team-high 24 points in Brooklyn, including two clutch free throws down the stretch. Joe Harris and Caris LeVert each had 23 apiece.

Pelicans 120 (28-36), Timberwolves (19-44)

Jrue Holiday (37 points) was one rebound and two assists away from a triple-double. Zion Williamson was the Pels’ second-leading scorer with 23 points and had a MEAN windmill dunk the fourth quarter.

Lakers 112 (49-13), Clippers 103 (43-20)

LeBron James (30 points) and Anthony Davis (28 points) combined for 58 points in Sunday’s matinee against the Clippers. Avery Bradley was the other starter who finished in double digits, scoring 24 points.

Suns 140 (26-38), Bucks 131 (53-11)

All five Suns starters finished in double digits – Devin Booker (36 points), Ricky Rubio (25), Aron Baynes (24), Mikal Bridges (24) and Dario Saric (11).

Thunder 105 (40-24), Celtics 104 (42-21)

Dennis Schroder made the game-winning layup after stripping the ball from Jayson Tatum with 8.5 seconds in the 4th quarter. The Thunder overcame a 18-point deficit due to the stellar play of Schroder (27 points) and Chris Paul (28 points).

Heat 100 (41-23), Wizards 89 (23-40)

Bam Adebayo finished with a double-double (27 points and 14 rebounds) in the Nation’s Capitol. Ducan Robinson caught fire from deep, knocking down six 3-pointers, en route to a 23-point performance.

Pacers 112 (39-25), Mavericks 109 (39-26)

Victor Oladpio scored the final six points to give Indiana the W in Dallas. Domantas Sabonis finished with 20 points and 17 rebounds, TJ Warren and Myles Turner had 16 apiece.

Magic 126 (29-35), Rockets 106 (39-24)

Orlando’s bench came up huge in H-Town – D.J. Augustin scored a team-high 24 points, and Michael Carter-Williams and Terrence Ross each had 16. Aaron Gordon finished with 19 points.

Knicks 96 (20-44), Pistons 84 (20-45)

New York pulled away in the fourth to get the win at The Garden. Julius Randle had 22 points and 12 rebounds, Elfird Payton finished 16 points and RJ Barrett added 12.

Queensbridge’s finest. (via @nyknicks) pic.twitter.com/BTUvAOyhTd

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) March 9, 2020

Cavaliers 132 (19-45), Spurs 129 (26-36)

After Rudy Gay hit a jumper to force OT, Kevin Love’s late-game 3-pointer gave the Cavs the lead. Love finished with 14 points, Andre Drummond had 28 points and 12 rebounds and Collin Sexton finished with 26.

Raptors 118 (45-18), Kings 113 (28-36)

Both teams went back and forth, but Pascal Siakam made some huge plays to give Toronto the edge on the road. Siakam finished with 23 points. Norman Powell finished with 31 points and Kyle Lowry had 30 points.

The post Post Up: LeBron & AD Combine for 58 Points in Battle for LA appeared first on SLAM.

The Magic played incredible, with Terrence Ross recording a season-high 33 points, Nikola Vucevic having 27 points and 10 boards and Aaron Gordon enjoying his first triple-double of his career with 17 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists.

D’Angelo Russell was solid for the Wolves, scoring 28 points and dishing 7 assists with a respectable +8 plus/minus on the night.

Hawks 141 (18-43), Nets 118 (32-36)

This wasn’t just a promising game for the Hawks because they won, but also due to the fact that their young core of players were the biggest contributors to their success. Trae Young dropped 22 and 14 assists. John Collins popped off for 33 and 12 boards. Kevin Huerter scored 15 on an efficient 60% from the field. The rook DeAndre Hunter had 18 points and 10 rebounds and Cam Reddish had perhaps his best game of the season with 26 points on 6-9 from deep.

As for the disappointing Nets, Spencer Dinwiddie did his best with 24 points and 13 assists, but it simply wasn’t enough.

Hornets 99 (21-38), Raptors 96 (42-17)

Well, this was a surprise.

The Raptors usually steamroll objectively inferior opponents, but not tonight, apparently. No Hornets starter even scored 20 points, but they all reached double figures. Solid performances from Pascal Siakam, Norman Powell and Kyle Lowry weren’t enough to offset a bench that only mustered nine points.

Despite all that, there was still a chance to win, with the game tied at 96 with about two seconds left, Hornets ball. But Rondae Hollis-Jefferson was called for an off-ball foul. Tough way to lose.

Heat 126 (37-22), Mavericks 118 (36-24)

This was a very quality win for the Heat, beating a bona-fide playoff team in the West and one of the best offenses in league history. Jimmy Butler predictable led the way in scoring with 26, but Duncan Robinson (24 points, 6-9 from deep, +24 plus/minus) and Kelly Olynyk (13 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists in only 19 minutes) were the unsung heroes.

For Dallas, despite a Seth Curry explosion of 37 points and stars Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis both scoring in the 20’s, Miami was too tough.

Kings 104 (25-34), Grizzlies 101 (28-31)

The Kings are closer to the 8th seed than you think. After beating the Grizzlies, a team currently above them in the chase, Sacramento is only three games out of a playoff berth. De’Aaron Fox led the way with 25 points in what was a very solid all-around team win.

The Grizzlies are crumbling right now, through no fault of their own. Young bigs Jaren Jackson Jr and Brandon Clarke are out with injuries, and they traded two reliable wings in Jae Crowder and Solomon Hill for a Justise Winslow, who is still recuperating from injury. Dillon Brooks led all scorers with 32.

Bucks 133 (51-8), Thunder 86 (37-23)

This was simply an annihilation. The scary part is OKC is a tough, gritty and respectable team with the second best record in the entire damn league since Thanksgiving. But they were no match for Milwaukee and their unskilled star, Giannis Antetokounmpo, who dropped an easy 32 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists in 27 measly minutes.

Pelicans 116 (26-33), Cavaliers 104 (17-42)

The Pelicans have now won six of their last 8 games thanks to a mixture of superhuman Zion Williamson efforts and excellent supporting cast members in Brandon Ingram (an All-Star!), Jrue Holiday and Lonzo Ball, plus a deep cadre of role players.

Ingram led the Pels with 29 points, Zion followed with 24 and Holiday had 22.

Pistons 113 (20-41), Suns 111 (24-36)

We were just treated to a throwback Derrick Rose game.

Rose dropped 31 points and the game-sealing bucket, a beautiful driving, off-balance floater. Also, shoutout to Brandon Knight, who has endured many tough injuries, for scoring 19 points in the win.

Jazz 129 (37-22), Wizards 119 (21-37)

Between a losing streak, uncharacteristic drop in efficiency and some epic role confusion over who is starting and sitting between Mike Conley, Joe Ingles and Royce O’Neale, Utah needed this. Donovan Mitchell once again put the team on his back, going for 30 points and this monster dunk on poor Rui Hachimura.

Bradley Beal can’t be happy after dropping 42 points, 5 boards, 10 assists and 2 steals and still coming away with a loss.

Clippers 132 (40-19), Nuggets 103 (40-19)

Big win for the Clips, who inch closer to the Nuggets for 2nd place in the Western Conference standings.

It was quite the balanced victory, with all ten rotation players notching between 19 and 25 minutes.

Paul George had 24 on an efficient 9-15 shooting, and Kawhi had 19 points on 50% shooting.

The post Post Up: Giannis Antetokounmpo Goes Off Against Thunder appeared first on SLAM.

On Thursday, the NBA announced that, for the third straight year, they will bring together 13- and 14-year-old boys and girls from across the globe for the 2020 Jr. NBA Global Championship.

The tournament will return to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando from August 11-16. After airing 16 games last year, FOX Sports will once again broadcast this year’s games.

The Global Championship will feature 32 total boys and girls teams, 16 from US and 16 from international regions. The teams, however, are not chosen randomly. They must first win their regional competitions before earning a spot in Orlando.

In the next few months, US squads will square off in eight separate regions, including the Central, Mid-Atlantic, Northeast, Midwest, Southeast, Northwest, West and South. International teams will do the same, split up between Canada, Mexico, Latin America, Africa, Europe & Middle East, India, China and Asia Pacific. Last year, the regional competitions featured 15,000 players from 75 different countries. 

Just like in the Little League World Series, the winning teams from each region will meet in Orlando. The United States and abroad teams will then compete in separate brackets before the top two meet in the championship.

The 2019 Global Championship drew interest from people around the basketball world. Adam Silver, Dwyane Wade and Swin Cash presented the winning teams with trophies, while Grant Hill facilitated the award ceremony. Current Orlando Magic players Aaron Gordon and Mo Bamba even stopped by to watch the week’s action. 

2018 WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart already announced her excitement over the 2020 tournament on Twitter. 

More information about the event will come out as the Jr. NBA Global Championship tournament nears its August start date. In the meantime, fans can stay updated on the regional rounds by visiting jrnbagc.nba.com.

—

Benjamin Simon is a contributor to SLAM. Follow him on Twitter @BenjaminSimon05.

The post Jr. NBA Global Championship Returns to Orlando in 2020 🌎 appeared first on SLAM.

• Atlanta Hawks – The Hawks are going to be shorthanded at the center spot once again. Dewayne Dedmon had a non-surgical procedure to help alleviate some right elbow pain. Dedmon is expected to miss at least three games and will be re-evaluated after that. With Clint Capela still out for at least another week due to an injured heel, Atlanta will lean on rookie Bruno Fernando and Damian Jones for minutes at the five.
• Boston Celtics – The Celtics return home to Boston off a 3-1 trip to west coast. All four of those games were played without Kemba Walker. You probably know all about how Jayson Tatum went off, and you might be aware that Jaylen Brown had a big trip as well. But did you know that Daniel Theis averaged 16.8 PPG on 64.1% shooting and 10.3 RPG out west?

• Charlotte Hornets – Charlotte has begun to focus on their future, as the 2020 playoffs have slipped out of reach. Terry Rozier, Devonte’ Graham, Miles Bridges and P.J. Washington will all be in the starting five, while rookies Cody Martin, Caleb Martin and Jalen McDaniels are now rotation fixtures. That means veterans like Cody Zeller, Bismack Biyombo and Nic Batum will likely see sporadic minutes the rest of the way.
• Chicago Bulls – There might not be an NBA team more banged-up than Chicago. The Bulls are already without starting big men Wendell Carter Jr. and Lauri Markkanen and now their backup Luke Kornet is joining them on the shelf. Kornet has a severely sprained ankle and a fracture in his foot and will likely miss the rest of the season. The wing group is also struggling, as Kris Dunn is likely out for the year and Chandler Hutchison and Denzel Valentine haven’t been able to stay healthy. On the plus side, Otto Porter Jr. recently returned to practice, so he could come back soon on a limited basis.
• Cleveland Cavaliers – The Cavs are finishing the season in a bit of a weird spot. They’ve got older players in the frontcourt and mostly young players in the backcourt and on the wing. Collin Sexton and rookies Darius Garland and Kevin Porter Jr. have all had flashes. Porter dropped 30 points this week in a win over the Miami Heat. Look for new head coach J.B. Bickerstaff to emphasize the team’s youth the rest of this season.

• Detroit Pistons – Reports surfaced this week that Detroit will not attempt to work a buyout agreement with Derrick Rose. The Pistons like Rose’s fit with their team and he’s signed for a reasonable salary for next season. With Reggie Jackson out of the mix, Rose has taken over as the starting point guard for Detroit. He’s expected to hold that role for the rest of the season.
• Indiana Pacers – Indiana lost Jeremy Lamb this week to a torn ACL, torn meniscus and a fracture in his left knee. Lamb had started for the Pacers while Victor Oladipo rehabbed during the first half of the season, and went to the bench when Oladipo re-assumed his starting two-guard role. Now, instead of having a double-digit scorer off the bench, Indiana will ask more of Justin and Aaron Holiday and T.J. McConnell on their second unit.
• Miami Heat – The Heat’s road woes continued this week, as they dropped their sixth-straight game away from South Beach. Miami was also upset at home by the Minnesota Timberwolves. With key rotation players Tyler Herro and Meyers Leonard out, the Heat’s depth has been tested. Erik Spoelstra is also dealing with the task of trying to work Andre Iguodala and Jae Crowder into his rotation. All of that has added up to Miami slipping five games behind Boston in the race to stay out of Milwaukee’s half of the Eastern Conference bracket.
• Milwaukee Bucks – Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: The Bucks are on a win streak. This time around it’s “only” four games (and counting!). The most recent of those games was a victory on the road against the Toronto Raptors. Giannis Antetokounmpo said that last year’s playoff loss to Toronto was on his mind entering that game and a motivating factor to come away with a win. The Bucks also became the earliest playoff-clinching team, when they locked up a postseason spot this week.
• New York Knicks – The Knicks continue to have flux at the point guard position. This week Frank Ntilikina went down with a groin injury. This time around Ntilikina will likely be out for a couple of weeks according to head coach Mike Miller. As Ntilikina went out, Elfrid Payton returned from a sore right ankle. Payton immediately reassumed his starting spot, which sent Dennis Smith Jr. back to the bench. The point guard revolving door continues in the Big Apple.
• Orlando Magic – The Magic have inserted trade deadline addition James Ennis III into the starting lineup. Ennis’ presence as a starter gives Orlando another shooter on the floor. While Ennis’ stats aren’t great, it seems to have opened things up for Aaron Gordon. In the month of February, Gordon is averaging 19.9 PPG, 9.0 RPG and 5.0 APG. That’s helped Orlando climb to within half a game of Brooklyn for the seventh seed in the East.

• Philadelphia 76ers – Philadelphia is going to be down both of their All-Stars for at least a little while, as Joel Embiid hurt his left shoulder on Wednesday. Embiid will join Ben Simmons on the sidelines, as Simmons’ return from an impingement in his back is still unclear. Philadelphia went back to Al Horford in the starting lineup with Simmons out, and Horford will remain a starter for however long Embiid is shelved.
• Toronto Raptors – The Raptors dropped a game to the Bucks, but have won 17-of-19 games, including a 15-game win streak. Toronto is getting a little bit healthier too, as they’re now down just Marc Gasol and Norman Powell from their regular rotation. Powell’s return is imminent, as he returned to full practice this week. Gasol will be a little bit longer, as he just started light practice, but the Raps are almost back to full strength in time for the stretch run.
• Washington Wizards – Bradley Beal is playing out of his mind right now. Beal has scored at least 26 points in 14 straight games. This week, he went supernova, as he scored 53, 55 and 30 points. That scoring binge has helped the Wizards cling to playoff life, as they’re 4.5 games behind Orlando for the final postseason spot in the Eastern Conference.

The post Newswire Notebook: Brad Beal’s Scoring Spree and More appeared first on SLAM.

Dinwiddie is in the first year of a three-year contract extension he signed with Brooklyn during the 2018-19 season. That extension comes with a combined $22M over this season and next, and Dinwiddie holds a player option of $12.3M for the 2021-22 season.

Dinwiddie was originally drafted by Detroit in the second round of the 2014 NBA Draft. After two non-descript years with the Pistons, Dinwiddie was traded to the Chicago Bulls. He never appeared in a regular season game with the Bulls and was waived prior to the 2016-17 season.

Marks then plucked Dinwiddie off the scrap heap. Dinwiddie earned regular minutes under Kenny Atkinson as Brooklyn launched a rebuild. Over the course of his four years with the Nets, Dinwiddie has blossomed into a near-All-Star, as he’s shuttled between the starting lineup and bench.

This season, Dinwiddie is averaging a career-high 20.8 points and 6.6 assists per game. He’s started in 42 of his 57 appearances, mostly due to Irving being out of the lineup with a shoulder injury. The 6-6 guard was also reportedly a key figure in the Nets’ recruitment of Durant and Irving as free agents this past summer.

The challenge is Brooklyn has guard depth and is believed to need athletic players who can play off the ball. Begley speculates that a trade of Dinwiddie for Aaron Gordon could be a move that makes sense for both the Nets and Magic.

Gordon is seen by some as expendable for the Magic due to the emergence of fellow young forward Jonathan Isaac. The two overlap positions and neither are considered a pure scorer, which can make it tough for Orlando to put together lineups with enough scoring punch. Gordon is under contract for slightly more money than Dinwiddie, but his deal does decline in value each season through 2021-22.

Even though Markelle Fultz has had easily his best season as a professional, the Magic still lack players who can create offense, especially off the dribble. Dinwiddie would solve that, while being comfortable as either a starter alongside Fultz or in a bench role.

Ultimately, no deal was reached, but often in-season talks can lead to a deal over the summer. This was most recently seen in the case of the Memphis Grizzlies and Utah Jazz discussing a Mike Conley deal at the 2019 trade deadline. Trades involving big contracts can be hard to swing in-season, due to cap and roster issues but sometimes the groundwork is laid for teams to re-connect in the offseason.

It’s unclear how Marks will build out his roster around Durant and Irving, but it seems more changes may be on the horizon.

Brooklyn was never really building just for this year, with Durant sidelined due to a torn Achilles but they are hoping the 2020-21 season will be the first in a string of years as a title contender.

A Dinwiddie trade could bring in the depth and lineup balance to help put Brooklyn on their way.

The post Report: Magic, Pistons Discussed Spencer Dinwiddie Trade appeared first on SLAM.

Charlotte’s backcourt duo of Terry Rozier (26 points) and Devonte Graham (21 points, 5 assists) led the way as Charlotte picked up a home victory.

Alonzo Trier scored 15 points in just 16 minutes of action off the pine for New York.

76ers 94 (36-23), Cavaliers 108 (17-41)

Joel Embiid joined Ben Simmons on the injury report after logging just 8 minutes for the shorthanded Sixers.

Collin Sexton scored 28 points to lead the Cavs to their second straight win.

Nets 106 (26-31), Wizards 110 (21-36)

Jerome Robinson hit the game-winning 3-pointer for the struggling Wizards in just his seventh game with the squad.

Bradley Beal’s hot streak continued as he poured in 30 points.

Magic 130 (26-32), Hawks 120 (17-43)

Trae Young dropped 37, but the Magic’s one-two punch of Aaron Gordon (25 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 blocks) and Evan Fournier (28 points on 11-for-18 shooting) was too much to overcome.

Timberwolves 129 (17-40), Heat 126 (36-22)

The Timberwolves overcame a 12-point deficit with under 5 minutes to go as D’Angelo Russell (27 points, 6 assists, 3 steals) made a clutch block on a driving Jimmy Butler in the game’s closing seconds.

Grizzlies 112 (28-30), Rockets 140 (38-20)

Russell Westbrook was a team-best plus-37 in 34 minutes of action as he stuffed the stat sheet with 33 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 steals. James Harden added 30 and Austin Rivers chipped in 23 off the pine.

Once in the clear driver’s seat at the No. 8 spot, the Grizzlies are feeling the pressure after dropping their fourth straight contest.

Mavericks 109 (36-23), Spurs 103 (24-33)

Kristaps Porzingis (28 points, 12 rebounds, 3 blocks) and Luka Doncic (26 points, 10 rebounds, 14 assists) put up big numbers as Dallas ran out to a 16-point first quarter lead and held on the rest of the way.

Clippers 102 (39-19), Suns 92 (24-35)

Kawhi Leonard made his impact felt on the box score, racking up 24 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals as the Clippers picked up a needed victory.

DeAndre Ayton had 25 points, 17 rebounds and 3 blocks for Phoenix.

The post Post Up: D’Angelo Russell hits Seven 3’s, Leads Comeback in Miami appeared first on SLAM.

Cavs rookie Kevin Porter Jr. scored a career-high 30 points to help Cleveland upset the Heat. Bam Adebayo almost finished with a triple-double, registering 22 points, 13 rebounds and 9 assists.

Hawks 112 (17-42), 76ers 129 (36-22)

Joel Embiid showed out against the Hawks, dropping a new career-high of 49 points to secure the home win. Trae Young scored 28 points in the loss.

Bucks 137 (49-8), Wizards 134 (20-36)

Bradley Beal did everything he could to drag his team to the win, putting up his second 50-point game in as many nights, but the Wizards fell at home in overtime. Khris Middleton was the standout for Milwaukee, leading the team with 40 points.

Magic 115 (25-32), Nets 113 (26-30)

Aaron Gordon came up with a clutch block in the final seconds that sealed the road win for Orlando; Gordon finished with 27 points and 10 rebounds in the winning effort. Spencer Dinwiddie contributed 24 points for the Nets.

Knicks 112 (17-40), Rockets 123 (37-20)

Houston had no problems in the second half as they coasted to a home win against New York. James Harden scored a team-high 37 points and added 9 assists. Knicks rookie RJ Barrett put up 21 points to lead the team.

Timberwolves 123 (16-40), Mavericks 139 (35-32)

Dallas led from start to finish in their victory against the Wolves. Tim Hardaway Jr. (23 points) and Luka Doncic (20 points) gave the Mavs the scoring edge. D’Angelo Russell scored 29 points for Minnesota.

Suns 131 (24-34), Jazz 111 (36-21)

Ricky Rubio helped his new team beat his ex-team by contributing 22 points and 11 assists in the Suns’ win; his teammate Devin Booker added his own double-double of 24 points and 10 assists. Donovan Mitchell popped off for 38 points in the loss.

Grizzlies 97 (28-28), Clippers 124 (37-19)

LA took a 40-14 lead after the first quarter, a sign of how this game would go. Kawhi Leonard led the Clippers with 25 points.

The post Post Up: Joel Embiid Drops Career-High 49 Points in Win vs. Hawks appeared first on SLAM.

Cleveland jumped ahead with 33 points in the first quarter and never looked back. Tristan Thompson registered a double-double of 27 points and 11 rebounds.

Pistons 112 (19-38), Magic 116 (24-31)

Both teams hit clutch threes to send the game into overtime, but it was the Magic that came away with the win. Orlando featured a two-headed attack by Aaron Gordon (25 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists) and Markelle Fultz (22 points, 10 assists).

Raptors 91 (40-15), Nets 101 (25-28)

Toronto’s 15-game wining streak came to an end Wednesday in Brooklyn. Five Nets players hit double digits, including four of their five starters, led by Caris LeVert’s 20 points.

Bucks 111 (46-8), Pacers 118 (32-23)

Milwaukee fell short in Indiana as Giannis Antetokounmpo missed his second game due to the birth of his son. TJ Warren set the tone for the Pacers with 35 points and 4 steals.

Wizards 114 (20-33), Knicks 96 (17-38)

Washington turned it on in the fourth quarter, scoring 37 points to seal their road win. All-Star Bradley Beal paced his team with 30 points.

Blazers 104 (25-31), Grizzlies 111 (28-26)

The Grizzlies’ young duo of Brandon Clarke (27 points) and Ja Morant (20 points) helped fend off Portland. CJ McCollum scored 23 points for the Blazers.

Hornets 115 (18-36), Timberwolves 108 (16-37)

Minnesota reclaimed the lead in the closing minutes, but Charlotte rallied and earned the victory. Devonte’ Graham put up 28 points for the Hornets, while his teammate Malik Monk added 25 points.

Kings 111 (21-33), Mavericks 130 (33-22)

Luka Doncic was back to normal in his return after a seven-game absence due to a sprained ankle. Doncic posted 33 points, 12 rebounds and 8 assists in the Mavs’ home win; Kristaps Porzingis added 27 points and 13 rebounds of his own.

Warriors 106 (12-43), Suns 112 (22-33)

Devin Booker’s 27 points led Phoenix in their victory over Golden State. Andrew Wiggins scored 27 points for the Warriors.

Heat 101 (35-19), Jazz 116 (36-18)

Utah received an offensive boost with three 20-point scorers: Donovan Mitchell (26 points), Bogdan Bogdanovic (22 points) and Jordan Clarkson (21 points). Jimmy Butler put up 25 points for the Heat.

Lakers 120 (41-12), Nuggets 116 (38-17)

Anthony Davis (33 points) and LeBron James (32 points) gave L.A. the firepower it needed to top the Nuggets in overtime. Davis and James connected for two straight threes in the extra period that sealed Denver’s fate. Jamal Murray led the Nuggets with 32 points.

The post Post Up: Luka Doncic Puts Up 33 Points in Return From Ankle Injury appeared first on SLAM.

In this post, just one of a series of 30, we’ll break down the reports that have started to trickle out about Magic players that may or may not be on the move. While there’s no guarantee when it comes to a league as wild as the modern NBA, it doesn’t hurt to brush up on each squad’s roster as the deadline draws near.

Players Unlikely To Be Traded

• Jonathan Isaac
• Al-Farouq Aminu

No player on Orlando’s roster is truly untouchable in trade talks. Jonathan Isaac, who is sidelined with a knee injury, and Al-Farouq Aminu, who had surgery on his right knee last month, seem unlikely to be traded because of their long-term injuries.

Biggest Name Available On Market

• D.J. Augustin

The Magic are in a bit of a transition period at point guard. 32-year-old D.J. Augustin won’t be the future point guard and with one year left on his contract, trading him might be the prudent move for the Magic. He’s nursing a knee injury and is expected back any day now, just in time for the NBA trade deadline.

Logical Trade Pieces

• Nikola Vucevic
• Aaron Gordon

With the Magic investing top-10 draft picks in Isaac and Mo Bamba in recent years, it would make sense for the team to move on from the Nikola Vucevic-Aaron Gordon frontcourt at some point. Each player is on a contract that decreases in value year-over-year and that’s no accident. Gordon has two years remaining on his deal after this one and Vucevic has three; don’t expect both of them to finish out their deals in Orlando.

Trades Are Possible

• Evan Fournier
• Terrence Ross
• Markelle Fultz
• Mo Bamba
• Khem Birch
• Michael Carter-Wiliams
• Wesley Iwundu
• Amile Jefferson
• Melvin Frazier Jr.

Fournier has been as important to the Magic’s success as any player on the team. He could be a free agent after the season if he turns down his $17.2M player option for the 2020-21 campaign. Terrence Ross is fresh off signing his four-year, $54M deal and he’s having a dreadful shooting campaign, making just 39.2% of his attempts. Markelle Fultz may not ever live up to the status of a true No. 1 overall pick, though he’s showing progress in Orlando. The 21-year-old has started 44 games for the Magic this season. Mo Bamba is slowly coming along. He’s third on the team in NBA Math’s Total Points Added metric, with all of his value coming on the defensive end. Khem Birch re-signed with the club on a two-year deal this past summer. Only three players with at least 20 minutes per game of action have as a low of a usage percentage (9.2%) as Birch does. The Magic brought back Michael Carter-Williams during the offseason and the former Sixer has been solid for the team. The good news is that he’s shooting better his career average from behind the arc. The bad news is he’s shooting .268 from behind the arc. Wesley Iwundu will be a restricted free agent after the season. The 25-year-old wing is seeing 18.2 minutes per game. Amile Jefferson’s salary for next season is non-guaranteed. He’s played just 74 minutes for the Magic this season. Melvin Frazier Jr. has shuffled back-and-forth between the Magic and their G League affilaite. He’s appeared in just 13 NBA games this year, spending a total of 47 minutes on the court.

The post 2020 NBA Trade Deadline Primer: Orlando Magic appeared first on SLAM.

Markelle Fultz registered a double-double of 12 points and a career-high 14 assists to beat the Hornets on the road. Teammate Nikola Vucevic added 22 points and 7 rebounds.

Knicks 139 (15-36), Cavaliers 134 (13-38)

Amid swirling trade rumors, New York came out with a win. Marcus Morris Sr. led the team with 26 points. Kevin Love put up 33 points in 41 minutes.

Mavericks 112 (31-19), Pacers 103 (31-19)

It was a battle of the big men as Kristaps Porzingis (38 points, 12 rebounds) and Domantas Sabonis (26 points, 12 rebounds, 9 assists) dueled in Indiana. Dallas grew its lead in the second half to secure the victory.

Warriors 125 (12-39), Wizards 117 (17-32)

Golden State enjoyed double-digit scoring from six players, led by Alec Burks’ 30 points. Bradley Beal impressed with 43 points, but fell short of the win.

Celtics 123 (34-15), Hawks 115 (13-38)

Boston featured three 20+ scorers against Atlanta: Jayson Tatum (28 points), Gordon Hayward (24 points) and Jaylen Brown (21 points). Trae Young dropped 34 points and 7 assists for the Hawks.

Suns 97 (20-30), Nets 119 (22-27)

Brooklyn took control after the first quarter, growing their lead to as large as 26. The Nets shot 48% from the field and 44% from deep to sink the Suns. Caris LeVert led Brooklyn with 29 points.

76ers 106 (31-20), Heat 137 (34-15)

Jimmy Butler feasted against his former team. He scored 38 points in the first three quarters, sitting for the entire fourth as the Heat cruised to a win. Goran Dragic also contributed 24 points for Miami.

Pistons 82 (18-34), Grizzlies 96 (25-25)

Jonas Valanciunas set the tempo for Memphis, leading the team with 26 points and 17 rebounds in the home win. Andre Drummond registered a double-double of 25 points and 18 rebounds for Detroit.

Timberwolves 109 (15-34), Kings 113 (19-31)

The losing woes continue for Minnesota, who just dropped their 12th straight game. De’Aaron Fox (31 points) and Bogdan Bogdanovic (23 points) gave Sacramento the scoring edge.

Spurs 105 (22-27), Clippers 108 (35-15)

The Clippers used a late run to retake the lead and beat San Antonio. Paul George (19 points) hit the dagger to put the game out of reach.

The post Post Up: Jimmy Butler Drops 38 Points in Win vs. 76ers appeared first on SLAM.

Toronto held off a Cleveland rally late to hold on to the road win. Serge Ibaka led the team with 26 points, while Kyle Lowry added 23 points. Collin Sexton and Kevin Love each scored 23 points for the Cavs.

Hornets 107 (16-32), Wizards 121 (16-31)

Bradley Beal was fed up with his All-Star snub. The Washington guard went out and let his game do the talking, posting a near triple-double of 34 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists.

76ers 117 (31-18), Hawks 127 (13-36)

Trae Young had a career night and earned the victory to boot. Young posted 39 points, 18 assists (a career high) and 6 rebounds to beat Philadelphia. Ben Simmons led the 76ers with 31 points.

Warriors 104 (10-39), Celtics 119 (32-15)

Boston took control after the first quarter, growing their lead to as large as 19 while they coasted to a win. Three Celtics hit 20+ points: Gordon Hayward (25), Marcus Smart (21) and new All-Star Jayson Tatum (20).

Jazz 100 (32-16), Nuggets 106 (33-15)

The Nuggets outscored the Jazz by eight in the second half, which was enough to lift them over Utah. Nikola Jokic put up a double-double of 28 points and 10 assists. Jordan Clarkson went off for 37 points for Utah.

Kings 124 (18-30), Clippers 103 (33-15)

Sacramento blazed the Clippers from beyond the arc, setting a franchise record with 21 made threes in the win. De’Aaron Fox also registered a career-high 34 points.

The post Post Up: Bradley Beal Nears Triple-Double in Win After All-Star Snub appeared first on SLAM.

In this post, just one of a series of 30, we’ll break down the reports that have started to trickle out about Pacers players that may or may not be on the move. While there’s no guarantee when it comes to a league as wild as the modern NBA, it doesn’t hurt to brush up on each squad’s roster as the deadline draws near.

Players Unlikely To Be Traded

• Victor Oladipo
• Malcolm Brogdon
• Domantas Sabonis
• Goga Bitadze

Victor Oladipo just made his return to the court and he’s the safest bet to remain with the team through the deadline. That said, many of the Pacers are relatively safe bets to stay in Indiana as Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer reports that the team isn’t likely to make any major deals.

Biggest Name Available On Market

• Myles Turner

We’ve heard rumblings in the past about the Pacers being open to trading a member of their frontcourt given the questionable Domantas Sabonis-Myles Turner fit. Speculation picked up even more after the team drafted Goga Bitadze in the first round in this year’s draft. O’Connor reported Turner is a potential trade candidate, though an offseason deal is more likely than an in-season one.

Logical Trade Pieces

• Doug McDermott

Former first-round pick Doug McDermott has a had a quiet stay in Indiana, though he has excelled lately. He’s scoring 15.3 points per game on 54.5% shooting from three-point land over his last eight contests. The 28-year-old is making $7.3M this season and will take home the same next year before his contract expires.

Trades Are Possible

• T.J. Warren
• Jeremy Lamb
• Justin Holiday
• T.J. McConnell
• T.J. Leaf
• Aaron Holiday
• Edmond Sumner
• JaKarr Sampson
• Alize Johnson

The Pacers stole T.J. Warren from the Suns in a draft night deal this summer. Warren is having an efficient campaign, as he sits inside the top-20 league-wide in field-goal percentage. Jeremy Lamb signed with the team this offseason on a three-year deal. He’s helped the team remain a force while they were waiting for Oladipo to return. Justin Holiday is shooting 41.7% from three-point land. He’ll be a free agent after the season. T.J. McConnell inked a deal with Indiana this summer. His $3.5M salary for next season is non-guaranteed. T.J. Leaf hasn’t sprouted since being drafted with the No. 18 overall pick in the 2017 draft. He’s seen action in 22 games this season, though he received 20 minutes or more in just one of those games. Aaron Holiday started 18 games this season as he filled in when the team needed because of injuries. He’s making 42.5% of his triples, which is a massive improvement from his rookie campaign where he hit just 33.9%. Edmond Sumner received a new deal during the offseason. He’s seen action in 19 games this year. Former Processer JaKarr Sampson has appeared in 17 games for the club. He’s on an expiring deal. Alize Johnson has spent considerable time with the team’s G League club, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. The Williamsburg, Pennsylvania-native has seen just 46 minutes of NBA action across 11 games.

The post 2020 NBA Trade Deadline Primer: Indiana Pacers appeared first on SLAM.

Gordon joins previous commits Dwight Howard and Derrick Jones Jr. in the competition. All three confirmed participants have been in the dunk contest previously, with Howard rocking a title from 2008.

Earlier this month we wrote about Memphis Grizzlies rookie Ja Morant declining his own invitation to the contest.

Another player in the mix for the contest who has neither confirmed or denied is Bulls guard Zach LaVine. LaVine’s portfolio as an electric dunker speaks for itself but his narrow victory over Gordon in one of the league’s most memorable contests ever makes for a juicy potential side plot for 2020.

The post Aaron Gordon Commits To Slam Dunk Contest appeared first on SLAM.

Carmelo Anthony scored 18 points on 7-for-10 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds as he picked up a win in the city that let him go a season ago. CJ McCollum and Dame Lillard combined for 49 points.

James Harden had a season-low in points, scoring 13 in 36 minutes.

Pistons 116 (15-27), Celtics 103 (27-12)

Sekou Doumbouya scored 24 points on just 13 shots and Derrick Rose added 22 as the Pistons picked up an upset win in Boston.

Magic 119 (20-21), Lakers 118 (33-8)

Aaron Gordon (21 points) put on a dunk show at the STAPLES Center and Markelle Fultz (21 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists) came up big in crunch time to take down the No.1 team in the west.

LeBron James had 19 points and 19 dimes in the effort.

Nets 106 (18-22), 76ers 117 (26-16)

Tobias Harris scored a game-high 34 on 14-for-20 shooting and grabbed 10 boards to lead the Sixers’ scoring effort. Ultimately, Philadelphia’s defense secured the W, holding Brooklyn to 16 fourth quarter points after trailing at the end of the third quarter.

Wizards 106 (13-27), Bulls 115 (15-27)

Zach LaVine’s hot streak continued, and this time it got the struggling Bulls a win. The Seattle-native finished with 30 points, 7 boards and 7 assists as he went 6-for-11 from deep.

Spurs 100 (17-22), Heat 106 (28-12)

Kendrick Nunn dropped 33 on a blistering 13-for-18 shooting night to put Miami past San Antonio.

Mavericks 127 (26-15), Kings 123 (15-26)

Luka Doncic stuffed the stat sheet with 25 points, 15 rebounds and 17 assists and Seth Curry provided a spark off the pine with 21 points and five made 3’s.

Sacramento’s trio of De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield and Harrison Barnes combined for 77, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Dallas.

Hornets 86 (15-29), Nuggets 100 (28-12)

Michael Porter Jr.’s time to shine was well worth the wait. His energy off the bench (19 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals in 28 minutes) led Denver past Charlotte.

Terry Rozier scored a game-high 20 for Charlotte.

Pacers 104 (26-15), Timberwolves 99 (15-25)

Domantas Sabonis scored 29 on 13-for-17 shooting and tacked on 13 rebounds and 6 dimes to lead Indiana. His plus-minus of +21 led all players in his 36 minutes of playing time.

Raptors 130 (26-14), Thunder 121 (23-18)

Oklahoma City cut Toronto’s 30-point lead down to just three in the fourth quarter, but the defending champs were able to right the ship in the game’s final minutes to escape with a win.

Norman Powell scored a team-high 23 for Toronto and OG Anunoby added 21 points, 5 boards, 5 dimes and 3 steals.

Dennis Schroder scored a game-high 25 off the bench for OKC.

The post Post Up: Markelle Fultz Leads Upset in LA, Melo Wins in Return to Houston appeared first on SLAM.

TJ Warren’s 36 points helped give Indiana the scoring edge over Charlotte. Terry Rozier scored 28 points in the loss.

Nets 89 (16-19), Magic 101 (17-20)

Markelle Fultz continues to thrive in Orlando. The third-year guard notched a career high of 25 points in the home win. Aaron Gordon added a double-double of 11 points and 14 rebounds.

Thunder 113 (20-16), 76ers 120 (24-14)

Philly took the lead heading into halftime and never gave it up. The 76ers connected on 50% of their 3-point attempts on the night; Josh Richardson led the team with 23 points.

Celtics 94 (25-9), Wizards 99 (12-24)

Washington never trailed in their home win, holding a lead as large as 11. Ish Smith paced the team with 27 points. Jaylen Brown put up 23 points and 12 rebounds for Boston.

Nuggets 123 (25-11), Hawks 115 (8-29)

Nikola Jokic’s career-high 47 points powered the Nuggets over the Hawks. Trae Young stood out with several highlight moves and registered 29 points, but fell short of the victory.

Jazz 128 (24-12), Pelicans 126 (12-25)

New Orleans had a chance to tie the game at the buzzer, but missed the layup as time expired. Bojan Bogdanovic impressed with 35 points; Brandon Ingram matched him with 35 points of his own.

Bulls 110 (13-24), Mavericks 118 (23-13)

It was another night as usual for Luka Doncic. The second-year player registered a triple-double of 38 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in the win.

Bucks 104 (32-6), Spurs 126 (15-20)

San Antonio bested Milwaukee after losing to them in their previous game. DeMar DeRozan (25 points) and Patty Mills (21 points) helped the Spurs get the home victory.

Warriors 98 (9-29), Kings 111 (14-23)

The Kings’ stud backcourt of Buddy Hield and De’Aaron Fox accounted for 21 points apiece as Sacramento overwhelmed the Warriors. Glenn Robinson III scored a team-high 16 points.

The post Post Up: Nikola Jokic, Markelle Fultz Post Career Highs in Scoring appeared first on SLAM.

The Celtics did not miss a beat without star guard Kemba Walker, as they defeated the Hawks to bring their home record to an admirable 14-2. Jaylen Brown was excellent, scoring 24 points on an efficient 8-13 shooting with 10 rebounds and 2 steals. Marcus Smart, back from a recent eye infection, stuffed the stat sheet as usual, and even though he only scored 15 points, he made his presence felt with 6 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks. If I’m in the playoffs, I want him on my team.

For the Hawks, Trae Young was marvelous, with 28 points, 10 assists and some jawdropping long-range bombs, but this game showed exactly why the Hawks were reportedly targeting Andre Drummond. They lost the rebounding battle 42-54, and the Celtics had twice as many offensive rebounds. Bring on the trade rumors.

Magic 106 (16-19), Heat 85 (25-10)

Remember when 85 points was a normal score? Nowadays, if a team scored that many, it usually doesn’t end well. Despite a valiant effort from star Jimmy Butler (23 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals), center Bam Adebayo was the only other player to reach double-digit points.

Thanks to 25 points on a scorching 6-10 from deep from Terrence Ross, the Magic were able to take advantage of Miami’s off night. They also got this wild dunk from renowned leaper Aaron Gordon:

Blazers 122 (15-21), Wizards 103 (10-24)

The Blazers easily handled the Wizards thanks to their core four. Damian Lillard dropped 35 points, CJ McCollum contributed 24 of his own, Hassan Whiteside had 23 points, 21 rebounds and 5 blocks, and Melo had a sweet put back jam to go along with 16 points on 7-9 shooting

The Wiz can take solace in an unexpected 35 points from reserve guard Jordan McRae at least.

Rockets 118 (24-11), 76ers 108 (23-14)

James Harden broke out the braids, and the results were fantastic as usual. The braided Beard dropped 44 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in a convincing win over the inconsistent 76ers. Clint Capela also exploded for 30 points and 14 rebounds on 80% shooting.

Sure, Ben Simmons had 29 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists, but it simply was not enough.

Suns 120 (14-21), Knicks 112 (10-25)

The Suns got to throw out their original starting lineup of Ricky Rubio, Devin Booker, Kelly Oubre, DeAndre Ayton and Aron Baynes for the first time in a while, and the result was a victory. Sure, it was against the Knicks, but it was a victory nonetheless.

Booker was fantastic per usual, with 38 points and 7 assists; it was his fifth straight game of 30 or more points. Oubre continued his phenomenal season with 29 points on 11-16 shooting and Ayton added a double double and 5 assists.

Lakers 123 (28-7), Pelicans 113 (11-24)

It was a big reunion night for all involved from the blockbuster Lakers-Pelicans trade this summer. Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball combined for 45 points, but it was not enough against the rolling Lake Show.

AD was out for vengeance, exploding for 46 points, 13 rebounds and 3 steals, while LeBron supplanted a modest 17 points with a monster 15 assists. Danny Green also splashed home six 3-pointers for 25 points.

The post Post Up: The Braided Beard Handles 76ers in Primetime appeared first on SLAM.

The Celtics are the real deal. This time last year, there were clearly chemistry issues and something seemed off. But this season has been a complete heel turn.

The two main factors to thank? Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, who have both leveled up their games to an All-Star level caliber. Brown had a career-high 34 points with 9 rebounds, while Tatum had 30 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks as the Celtics improved to 13-1 at home.

There’s not much better to watch two young studs realize their potential and turn that into consistent dominant production. Brown is 23-years-old, and Tatum 21. They aren’t going away anytime soon.

Magic 98 (14-17), 76ers 97 (23-11)

The Magic hung on for one of their best wins of the season against a 76ers team that, albeit inconsistent, was coming off a fresh pounding of the league-leading Milwaukee Bucks. Aaron Gordon had himself 19 points and 11 rebounds (and one sweet lob throw down), Nikola Vucevic had a 19-12-7 line, and Terrence Ross contributed 17 off the bench.

Bucks 112 (28-5), Hawks 86 (6-26)

Absent Giannis Antetokounmpo and Eric Bledsoe, the Bucks still managed to steamroll the slumping Hawks. Trusty veteran Ersan Ilyasova was phenomenal in only 24 minutes, recording 18 points, 17 rebounds and a monster + 37 plus/minus in relief for the resting Greek Freak. Khris Middleton also had a highly efficient game, scoring 23 points, grabbing 8 rebounds and dishing 7 assists.

It was another brutal loss for the lottery-bound Hawks, who unfortunately lost Trae Young to an ankle injury halfway through the game, but X rays were luckily negative. Get well soon Trae, the league is not the same without you.

Thunder 104 (16-15), Hornets 102 (13-21)

This was a thriller.

Dennis Schroder, who has quietly become one of the best sixth men in the league, dropped 24 points, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 27 (and had a filthy euro-step), and the reliable Steven Adams had a 14-12 double-double to knock out the Hornets in overtime.

Despite the loss, Devonte’ Graham was excellent. He had a clutch full-court drive to the rack to force OT in the first place, and he stayed splashing tough shots down the stretch. He was one rebound off of a triple double with 15 points, 13 assists and 9 boards. Terry Rozier also had 26.

Heat 113 (23-8), Pacers 112 (21-11)

It all came down to a wild late possession, as Jimmy Butler passed to Duncan Robinson, who zipped the ball to Kendrick Nunn in the left corner. Nunn attacked the rack, and just missed a reverse layup, which was tipped into the air by Butler, and recovered by Bam Adebayo. Adebayo kicked it out to Goran Dragic on the perimeter, who swerved into the lane for a silky game-winning floater.

Follow that? In short, it was exhilirating.

Warriors 105 (9-24), Suns 96 (11-20)

After trailing for a majority of the game, the Dubs came roaring back down the stretch, and finally secured the lead with a thunderous Glenn Robinson III cutback dunk. An underrated aspect of the game that the Warriors crushed the Suns in was turnovers. While Phoenix coughed the ball up a stunning 26 times, Golden State limited themselves to 10 turnovers.

D’Angelo Russell led the way with 31 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists, while Devin Booker had his eighth game of the season with 30 points or more for the Suns.

The post Post Up: Thunder Edge Out Hornets in OT appeared first on SLAM.

A sprained ankle forced Luka Doncic to exit Dallas’ Saturday night contest in the first quarter of action. ESPN’s Tim MacMahon confirms the sprain and notes that x-rays performed on the injury have come back negative.

The Mavericks guard sprained the ankle while driving into the key early against the Miami Heat, he hit the deck and appeared to grab high up on his ankle leading some to speculate that it could be a high ankle sprain.

We’ve seen several prominent NBA players fall victims to ankle sprains so far this season, most recently Sacramento’s De’Aaron Fox and Orlando’s Aaron Gordon. Those two examples illustrate just how different the prognosis for ankle sprains can be.

Fox was projected to miss three-to-four weeks with his ankle sprain and is nearing a return next week (after five weeks). Gordon simply missed three games.

The post Luka Doncic Exits Game With Sprained Ankle appeared first on SLAM.

After a sluggish start to the season, the Magic have found their grove, winning four of their last five contests and getting to a .500 record. Starting point guard Markelle Fultz may have had a substandard stat line, but it’s clear he is becoming more comfortable with his game. On one early play, he spun between two defenders and spoon-fed Aaron Gordon an easy layup.

The Cavs’ season has been the opposite of the Magic. They started off playing inspired ball, but have since tailed off, losing 11 of their last 12 games amid reports of discontent with coach John Beilein’s tendency to treat his team like a college program, according to Shams Charania and Joe Vardon of the Athletic.

Pistons 108 (9-14), Pacers 101 (14-8)

Andre Drummond had a monster double-double with 25 points and 22 rebounds, while Blake Griffin, who has become one of the most well-rounded players in the league, chipped in 25 points, 5 assists and 2 steals.

The Pacers are a tough, disciplined team, and no wins come easy against them. TJ Warren led Indiana in scoring with 26 points, but only contributed 1 assist and 1 rebound. Malcolm Brogdon had a solid outing with 21 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds.

Nets 111 (12-10), Hornets 104 (9-15)

The Nets have done an excellent job withstanding Kyrie Irving’s lingering shoulder injury. It was another balanced effort, with Joe Harris (22 points, 5 assists, 6 three-pointers) leading the way and Jarrett Allen, Spencer Dinwiddie, DeAndre Jordan, Taurean Prince and David Nwaba hitting double-digits.

There were some bright spots for the Hornets amid defeat. Devonte’ Graham (who is making a strong case for Most Improved Player) dropped 29 points and eight assists, while backcourt mate Terry Rozier added 24 points of his own, as well as this slick step-back jumper:

Heat 112 (16-6), Wizards 103 (7-14)

Jimmy Butler tripled-doubled (28-11-11) and Bam Adebayo double-doubled (24-13) as the Heat breezed by the Wizards without Goran Dragic and Justise Winslow.

For the Wiz, Bradley Beal put up 23 points and 8 assists, but also 6 turnovers. Second-year big man Mo Wagner was solid, with 19 points and 10 boards.

Warriors 100 (5-19), Bulls 98 (8-15)

The Warriors broke a mini four game skid to take down the struggling Bulls. Well, truth be told, both these squads have been struggling, but there is hope. The Warriors found a late-round gem in Eric Paschall, while the Bulls have a promising young core that simply has not jelled yet. Zach LaVine is prone for a scoring explosion at any second. Also, Coby White is electric.

Celtics 108 (16-5), Nuggets 95 (14-6)

After a bumpy season for both of them last year, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum have morphed into complete wings capable of winning games by themselves. Tonight was yet another test the two passed with aplomb. Tatum dropped 26 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists, as well as some advanced step-back three-pointers, while Brown added 21 points and 7 rebounds of his own and a monster jam in transition.

Thunder 139 (8-12), Timberwolves 127 (10-10)

If it seems as if every Thunder-Wolves game is a banger, that’s because they are. From Andrew Wiggins half-court buzzer beaters to what feels like dozens of nail-biters, this latest edition did not disappoint. There was a plethora of gaudy stateliness (30 points for KAT, 32 for Jeff Teague, 30 for CP3, 29 for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and 22 for Steven Adams), quirky calls (Jordan Bell getting called for a delay of game because Chris Paul told the refs he did not have his jersey tucked in) and an electric finish.

Trailing by 2 points in regulation with one second to go from under their own basket, Steven Adams heaved a beautiful touchdown pass to Dennis Schroder, who floated in a graceful shot. The Thunder proceeded to dominate in OT, and you have to think that completion pass gave them a jolt of momentum.

Bucks 119 (20-3), Clippers 91 (16-7)

Well that was surprising.

In what was supposed to be the marquee matchup of the night and a feasible Finals matchup, the Bucks trounced the visiting Clippers.

On his 25th birthday, Giannis Antetokounmpo had 27 points, 11 rebounds and one poster dunk in only 26 minutes, while the rest of the Bucks shot efficiently and held the Clips to a measly 35% from the field. Kawhi led the Clippers with 17 points, but he was inefficient (5-14 FG) and sloppy with 5 turnovers. The takeaway here is it’s probably a blip in the road, but it’s nonetheless an impressive win by a Bucks team now on pace for 70 wins.

Spurs 105 (9-14), Kings 104 (8-13)

The Spurs are having a small resurgence after going on a brutal losing streak, as they’ve quietly won three of their last four games. Thanks to a clutch Marco Belinelli three-pointer to force overtime, the Spurs eked out the one-point victory. The Kings had plenty of opportunities to score on the final possession (four of them, to be exact), but just couldn’t cash in.

Lakers 136 (20-3), Blazers 113 (9-14)

Before we get into the results, let’s send some prayers up for Rodney Hood, who suffered a torn achilles and is out for the year. He was in the midst of an awesome campaign, and was shooting a blistering 49% from beyond the arc, the fourth best rate in the entire league. Come back better than ever, Rodney.

LeBron and AD had another amazing day at the office, with AD pouring in 39 points and 9 rebounds to complement LeBron’s 31-7-8 line. Damian Lillard mustered 29 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists, but it wasn’t nearly enough to dethrone the Lakers.

The post Post Up: Bucks Blow out Clippers on the Greek Freak’s Birthday appeared first on SLAM.

Carmelo Anthony (20 points), Hassan Whiteside (22), Dame Lillard (24) and CJ McCollum (33) led the way as the Trail Blazers shot a blistering 56 percent from the field and 50 percent from deep.

Portland improved to 4-3 since signing Anthony.

Warriors 91 (4-19), Hornets 106 (9-14)

Terry Rozier got the Hornets rolling early with 12 points in the first quarter and Devonte Graham finished the visitors off with 10 made 3’s en route to a 33-point night. Graham’s 10 3’s tied a franchise-record.

D’Angelo Russell scored 18 points in 25 minutes of action — his first game since Nov. 15 — but it wasn’t enough for the struggling Warriors.

Bucks 127 (19-3), Pistons 103 (8-14)

Giannis Antetokounmpo only needed 28 minutes to put up 35 points (4-for-8 from 3), nine rebounds and two blocks as the Bucks won their 13th straight contest.

Andre Drummond had the highlight of the night, dunking over Antetokounmpo and Robin Lopez. He finished the night with 23 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, two steals and three blocks.

Suns 114 (9-11), Magic 128 (10-11)

Aaron Gordon shot 5-for-5 from deep and 13-for-15 overall as he clocked out with 32 points, five assists and five rebounds. Evan Fournier added another 21 to help lead the Magic.

Frank Kaminsky scored 21 points in the first half for Phoenix, but he cooled off after the intermission, finishing with just 23.

Lakers 121 (19-3), Jazz (12-10)

There were complaints about the Lakers’ strength of schedule (or lack thereof) to open this season, but back-to-back wins over Denver and Utah have put doubts of Los Angeles’ legitimacy to bed.

Anthony Davis scored 26 on only 11 shots and LeBron turned in 20 points and 12 dimes in just 29 minutes. Rajon Rondo moved up to 17th all-time on the NBA’s assists leaderboard.

Nets 130 (11-10), Hawks 118 (5-17)

Taurean Prince shined against his former team, scoring 23 points on 9-for-15 shooting.

The Nets trailed be four to the end first quarter, but a second quarter surge made the difference in what was an otherwise close game the rest of the way.

Trae Young scored a game-high 39 points and dished out 10 dimes.

Heat 93 (15-6), Celtics (15-5)

Jimmy Butler followed up his triple-double from the previous night with a game-high 37; however, a combined 59-point outing from Kemba Walker and Jaylen Brown was too much for his team to overcome.

Grizzlies 99 (6-15), Bulls 106 (8-14)

Zach LaVine continued to shine, scoring a team-high 25 points. All four other Chicago starters (Satoransky: 13 points, Kris Dunn: 10, Wendell Carter Jr.: 16, Lauri Markkanen: 15) scored double-digit points.

The Grizzlies struggled to get its backcourt going as Ja Morant missed his third game due to injury.

Pacers 107 (14-7), Thunder 100 (8-12)

Seven Pacers scored double-digit points as TJ Warren’s 24 led the way.

Steven Adams had 20 on 8-for-8 shooting to lead OKC.

Timberwolves 114 (10-10), Mavericks 121 (15-6)

Dallas’ bench got hot in the fourth quarter — Jalen Brunson was a team-best + 21 with 16 points — as the Mavs closed out the final period with 41 points.

Luka Doncic turned in 22 points, six assists and seven boards to keep the Mavs hot. Dwight Powell added 24 on 9-for-9 shooting. Karl-Anthony Towns had 26 points, nine boards and seven assists for Minnesota.

The post Post Up: LeBron, Lakers Blow Out Jazz, Bucks Win 13th Straight appeared first on SLAM.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the team is attempting to determine if the injury can be treated without surgery. A more precise timeline should be revealed when they reach a conclusion.

Aminu has been a significant part of Orlando’s rotation so far this season and has averaged 4.3 points and 4.8 rebounds in 21.1 minutes per game. His absence will be felt by a team that’s dealt with a number of them.

In addition to Aminu’s absence, the team has dealt with recent injuries to Nikola Vucevic and Aaron Gordon, the former of which is still sidelined.

The post Al-Farouq Aminu Out Indefinitely With Torn Meniscus appeared first on SLAM.

The Orlando Magic have been without star forward Aaron Gordon since he sprained his ankle against the Toronto Raptors last week but the 24-year-old is making progress in his recovery.

According to John Denton of the team’s official site, Gordon returned to a full practice on Tuesday and had his status for Wednesday’s game formally upgrade to ‘doubtful’.

The Magic will monitor how Gordon reacts to the Tuesday practice but won’t play him during the Wednesday night tilt against the Cavaliers. The team hosts the Raptors in Orlando on Friday night.

Gordon has had a relatively quiet season this year, averaging just 13.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per game after a 2018-19 campaign on 16.0 and 7.4, but he’s a valuable depth piece on a team with multiple weapons.

The club will welcome the high flyer back to the lineup and hope for yet another healthy campaign out of him. Gordon has played at least 78 games in three of the past four seasons.

The post Aaron Gordon Progressing After Ankle Sprain appeared first on SLAM.

LeBron James scored 20 points in the first half — his most in any half this season — to get the Lakers rolling quick in their blowout win at the STAPLES Center. James only logged 26 minutes in the victory, finishing with 23 points and 12 dimes. The Lakers’ 9-2 start is their best since 2010.

D’Angelo Russell’s hot play continued as he scored a team-high 21 points for the Warriors.

Wizards 133 (2-7), Celtics 140 (9-1)

Isaiah Thomas (18 points) received a warm welcome back to Boston, but his squad was unable to overcome three Celtics (Jayson Tatum, Kemba Walker, Jaylen Brown) each scoring at least 22 points.

Bradley Beal led all scorers with 44 points.

Clippers (7-4), Rockets (8-3)

James Harden scored a team-high 47, 17 of which came in the fourth quarter, as the Rockets held off a late Clippers surge to earn the W on national TV.

Kawhi Leonard had 26 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists to lead Los Angeles.

Grizzlies 119 (4-7), Hornets 117 (4-7)

That Ja Morant kid is special. Seconds after Devonte Graham hit a game-tying 3-pointer for Charlotte, Morant called his own number to finish the game as he made his first-ever game-winner in the NBA.

Morant finished with 23 points (10-for-15 shooting) and 11 assists.

Terry Rozier tied a career-high with 33 points for the Hornets.

76ers 97 (7-4), Magic 112 (4-7)

Aaron Gordon stuffed the stat sheet with 18 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and as the Magic outscored the Sixers 32-15 in the final period to secure the win.

Markelle Fultz chipped in 8 points, three rebounds and four assists in 21 minutes of work against his former club.

Spurs 114 (5-6), Timberwolves 129 (7-4)

Andrew Wiggins notched his fourth 30-point game of the past seven days to lead the Timberwolves. Karl-Anthony Towns added 28 points and 11 rebounds.

Raptors 114 (8-3), Trail Blazers 106 (4-8)

Pascal Siakam added another impressive game to his resume, scoring 36 points as he led the Raptors to the win. Fed VanVleet also had 30 on 10-for-16 shooting.

The post Post Up: Ja Morant Takes on Entire City of Charlotte, Hits Game-Winner appeared first on SLAM.

The Celtics won their 5th straight behind a monster night from Gordon Hayward, who finished with a career-high 39 points (17-20 FG), 7 rebounds, and 8 assists. Kemba Walker added 25 points for the C’s. Collin Sexton dropped 21 points in the loss.

Hornets 122 (4-3), Pacers 120 (3-4)

Devonte’ Graham went off for a career-high 35 points off the bench, including the two go-ahead free throws in the final seconds that gave the Hornets the overtime win. TJ Warren lead the Pacers with 33 points on 15-18 shooting.

Hawks 108 (3-3), Spurs 100 (4-3)

Trae Young returned after missing one game with a sprained ankle, leading the Hawks with 29 points and 13 assists. Demar DeRozan finished with 22 points on 10-16 shooting for San Antonio.

Lakers 118 (6-1), Bulls 112 (2-6)

The Lakers trailed by 13 heading into the fourth but outscored the Bulls 38-19 in the quarter to secure their 6th straight win. The King notched his third straight triple-double, finishing with 30 points (10-16 FG), 10 rebounds, and 11 assists. Zach LaVine led the Bulls with 26 points, 7 boards, and 7 assists in the loss.

Thunder 102 (3-4), Magic 94 (2-5)

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dropped a game-high 24 points and CP3 added 20 to lead the Thunder to their third win of the season. The Magic had five players score in double figures, lead by 15 from Aaron Gordon.

Nuggets 109 (5-2), Heat 89 (5-2)

The Nuggets cruised to a road win over the Heat, snapping Miami’s 3-game win streak. Denver was led by Jamal Murray, who finished with 21 points, 5 boards, and 4 assists. Jimmy Buckets dropped a team-high 16 points to go along with 7 rebounds in the loss.

The post Post Up: LeBron’s Triple-Double Leads Lakers to 6th Straight Win appeared first on SLAM.

Orlando was powered to the win thanks to performances from Nikola Vucevic (21 points, 13 rebounds) and Aaron Gordon (15 points, 11 rebounds). Julis Randle led the Knicks in scoring with 16 points.

Bulls 111 (1-4), Cavaliers 117 (2-2)

Chicago led coming into the fourth quarter, but Cleveland outscored them 37-29 in the final frame to steal the home win. Kevin Love put up 17 points and 20 rebounds. Collin Sexton (18 points) sealed the game with an exclamation point.

Timberwolves 95 (3-1), 76ers 117 (4-0)

This game was interrupted in the third quarter as Joel Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns were both ejected for fighting. Both teams had to step in and break it up.

Philly cruised to the win behind six double-digit scorers, led by Embiid’s 19 points in 20 minutes.

Bucks 105 (2-2), Celtics 116 (3-1)

The Celtics erupted with 38 points in the third quarter to get back in the game before closing it out in the fourth. Kemba Walker (32 points) and Jayson Tatum (25 points) fueled Boston’s offensive attack.

Pacers 118 (1-3), Nets 108 (1-3)

Indiana lost big man Myles Turner to a right ankle sprain early, but gutted out the win in his absence. Domantas Sabonis dominated with 29 points. Kyrie Irving finished with 28 points for Brooklyn.

Pistons 113 (2-3), Raptors 125 (4-1)

Toronto rode hot shooting from the field (59%) and from deep (48%) to earn their fourth win in five games to start the season. Pascal Siakam continues to shine; he put in 30 points in 30 minutes to lead the Raptors in scoring.

Rockets 159 (3-1), Wizards 159 (1-3)

James Harden and the Rockets took home the win in this high-scoring affair thanks to a last-second free throw made by Harden. The former MVP finished with 59 points. Bradley Beal notched 46 points in the heartbreaking loss.

Blazers 102 (3-2), Thunder 99 (1-4)

Damian Lillard (23 points, 13 rebounds, seven rebounds) helped rally his team in the fourth quarter to finish their road trip with a win. Chris Paul registered 21 points in the loss.

Clippers 96 (3-2), Jazz 110 (4-1)

Utah took control in the second half against the Kawhi-less Clippers. Mike Conley set the scoring tempo for the Jazz with 29 points, leading all scorers. Lou Williams popped off for 24 points as a starter.

Hornets 118 (2-3), Kings 111 (0-5)

Hornets rookie PJ Washington impressed with a team-high 23 points on 10-13 shooting from the field. Buddy Hield scored 23 points for Sacramento.

Suns 121 (3-2), Warriors 110 (1-3)

An already rough game for Golden State got infinitely worse when Stephen Curry left the game with what’s now been as a broken left hand. The injury is just another blow to the defending champs, who are also without Klay Thompson.

The post Post Up: James Harden Drops 59 Points in High-Scoring Win appeared first on SLAM.

Below is a list of the contract types the Orlando Magic have heading into training camp. This resource will be updated as players are signed and waived. Check back often to see if your team’s roster configuration has changed.

Orlando Magic

Chuma Okeke will not sign a deal with Orlando’s big league squad for 2019-20. He’ll sign with the team’s G League affiliate in Lakeland while recovering from an injured ACL.

For a complete list of all the NBA teams and links to each team’s roster breakdown, check out our 2019 NBA Training Camp Index. Follow the curators of this database, Chris Crouse and Austin Kent, on Twitter.

More NBA Training Camp Rosters

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NBA teams have until October 31 to exercise rookie scale team options for the following season but Isaac’s future with the franchise has never been in doubt. In 75 games for the team last season Isaac averaged 7.6 points and 5.5 rebounds per contest but those number rose in the back half of the season.

The Magic have a promising young core coupled with solid veteran players and the Isaac – Aaron Gordon forward pairing is as good of an example of that.

Orlando announced that in addition to Isaac’s team option, they’ve also picked up the rookie scale team options for Markelle Fultz and Mo Bamba.

Related: Magic exercise third-year team option for Mo Bamba
Related: Orlando picks up fourth-year option on Markelle Fultz

The post Jonathan Isaac’s Fourth-Year Rookie Scale Option Exercised appeared first on SLAM.

We’ve broken down the overall ratings for each player and sorted them by team so that you can see how your squad stacks up against the rest of the league.

Orlando Magic NBA 2K20 Ratings

This table is updated as of Nov. 22, 2019

Can’t get enough 2K? SLAM’s dedicated gaming channel, @SLAMftw, is blowing up. Hit us with your best uploads and watch our streams!

More NBA 2K20 Ratings

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DSJ was in the 305 the week before with Remy and his Knicks squad.

The post Dennis Smith Jr DROPPED 50 Points vs. Aaron Gordon & Kevin Porter Jr? 👀 appeared first on SLAM.

Watch the latest episode of Yerrr or Nahhh above!

RELATED: D’Angelo Russell Plays SLAM YERRR or NAHHH

The post Aaron Gordon’s Back in the 2020 Dunk Contest? 😈 SLAM YERRR or NAHHH appeared first on SLAM.

Jefferson saw limited action in 12 games for the big league club but averaged 18.0 points, 11.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game for the G League affiliate in Lakeland.

Jefferson will compete for backup reps behind Aaron Gordon and Jonathan Isaac in 2019-20.

The post Magic Agree To Re-Sign Amile Jefferson On One-Year Deal appeared first on SLAM.

Detroit Pistons

The Pistons have perennial playoff goals and Westbrook would help them secure a second-straight postseason appearance. Acquiring Westbrook would allow Detroit to take some pressure off of Blake Griffin, who was one of the best players in the Eastern Conference last season before going through knee woes down the stretch.

Detroit’s level of interest in the point guard is unclear. Along with the Heat, the Pistons were considered to be among the top contenders for Westbrook. However, Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press hears that Westbrook’s contract makes the franchise wary of acquiring him.

Sending Andre Drummond ($27.1M) out would be the easiest way for the Pistons to acquire Westbrook. The Thunder could include Andre Roberson($10.7M) in exchange for Drummond, Reggie Jackson ($18.1M), and Luke Kennard ($3.8M) and nearly match up the salaries perfectly.

Oklahoma City may look for a third team to take Drummond in this scenario. The team could also take back Jackson, Kennard, Langston Galloway ($7.3M) and Thon Maker ($3.6M), though that kind of deal would put the Pistons over the luxury tax.

Orlando Magic

Orlando trading for Westbrook this offseason means likely giving up Aaron Gordon ($19.9M) and Evan Fournier ($17.2M) in addition to one other player. The team could also cobble together a package of either Gordon or Fournier along with Markelle Fultz ($9.7M), D.J. Augustin ($7.2M), and Mo Bamba ($5.7M).

Neither deal seems favorable to the Magic, which would explain why there were reports that Orlando was unlikely to have interest in bringing on the former MVP.

If the Thunder are going to give up Westbrook, it seems like they would want to shed salary. The Magic are not in a position to take back salary, though the two sides could always involve a third team to solve that issue.

Miami Heat

The Heat are hard-capped, which complicates a trade if the Thunder are looking to shed salary. Other complications include Miami’s draft pick situation (the team cannot trade another first until 2025), Tyler Herro signing his deal (he can’t be traded for 30 days from the signing), and OKC already owning a pair of Miami picks (2021, unprotected; 2023; lottery protected).

While there may be barriers, both Westbrook and the Heat seem to have interest in the pairing. Miami appears to be the favorite to land the 30-year-old.

Within the salary-matching rules, Miami could offer Goran Dragic ($19.2M), Justise Winslow ($13.0M) and Kelly Olynyk ($12.7M) and take back Westbrook and Patrick Patterson ($5.7M). Would that kind of deal be enough for the Thunder? Would Miami balk at adding additional draft capital in addition to Winslow?

Miami may wait 30 days and include Herro in the trade, as OKC reportedly has eyes for the Kentucky product. The franchise could also agree to take off the protections on their 2023 pick or create other combinations of players for salary matching purposes, such as including Dion Waiters (Waiters Island back in Oklahoma alert!) or James Johnson to justify them sweetening the pot.

The Westbrook-Jimmy Butler pairing feels awkward but the duo would likely vault Miami into contention for a top-4 seed in the Eastern Conference

Houston Rockets

Houston is a long-shot destination for Westbrook because it would likely mean finding a taker for Chris Paul even if there were rumblings that the Rockets would consider a Paul-Westbrook-Harden trio.

The Rockets don’t have the draft pick shortage that Miami does, owning all of their future selections. While it seems unlikely, Houston could search for a third team to take Paul and reunite Westbrook and Harden.

Houston could come to the Heat-Thunder negotiation table and solve issues for both parties. Miami wants to add talent and win now but the team has limited assets to complete a deal. Oklahoma City is building for the future and additional draft picks will give general manager Sam Presti even more flexibility.

The Rockets have the ability to offer Chris Paul to the Heat, telling the franchise to simply match Paul’s salary with any combination of players of their choosing, and include draft picks to the Thunder to entice them to take back those salaries.

It’s not a likely deal; it would certainly involve James Harden signing off on it and may take a fourth team to get involved and take some salary off of OKC’s hands, though it’s an angle Houston has to be considering.

The post Examining Four Trade Destinations For Russell Westbrook appeared first on SLAM.

On the topic of the KT4, Klay Thompson dropped 32 points in a team colorway of his signature model and Kevin Durant led the Warriors in scoring with 33 in the “University Red” version of his Nike KD12 as Golden State dispatched L.A. 113-105. Also sporting the 12 was Andre Iguodala, who came out in the model’s “Black/Pure Platinum” iteration.

For the Clippers, Montrezl Harrell continued the KD vibes with a pair of grail-status “Weatherman” Nike Zoom KD4s and the Nike Zoom Kobe IV “Prelude.”

Closing out, despite their loss, the Thunder’s all-star tandem of Russell Westbrook and Paul George impressed once again with their PEs as Brodie’s latest Jordan Why Not Zer0.2 paid homage to the Seattle Supersonics and PG3’s navy/gold Nike PG 3 was a certified banger. Dennis Schroder also went with the gold theme as he donned custom pair of Nike Zoom KD 6 “All-Stars.”

Get caught up on the rest of Easter Sunday’s best NBA playoff kicks below.

Photos via Getty Images

The post NBA Playoff Kicks of the Night appeared first on SLAM.

Paul George also went the PE route with a clean colorway of his Nike PG 3 which featured a white base with a navy secondary color and orange accents. Like he’s done all season, Jerami Grant stayed true to the classics as the wore the Air Jordan VIII Retro in Black/Gym Red.

Peep the rest of the night’s NBA playoff kicks in our recap below.

Photos via Getty Images

The post NBA Playoff Kicks of the Night appeared first on SLAM.

The Clippers outscored the Cavs by 14 in the final quarter to secure their 12th win in 14 games.

Montrezl Harrell dropped a team-high 23 points (10-13 FG) off the bench. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 22 points (9-12 FG) and 8 dimes.

Cleveland has now lost six straight.

Celtics 96 (45-32), Nets 110 (39-38)

Brooklyn outscored the Celtics by 11 in the third quarter and maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way.

D’Angelo Russell dropped 20 of his game-high 29 points in the third quarter. He also dished out 10 dimes.

Kings 108 (37-39), Rockets 119 (49-28)

James Harden went off for the fifth 50-point triple-double of his career and his second this season. He finished with 50 points, 11 boards, 10 dimes and a +17 plus/minus.

Clint Capela added 24 points (10-13 FG), 15 boards and a +21 plus/minus.

Blazers 90 (48-28), Pistons 99 (39-27)

Detroit erased a 12-point second quarter deficit to snap the Blazers’ six-game win streak.

Reggie Jackson dropped a game-high 28 points, and Andre Drummond added 22 points (9-13 FG) with 19 boards, 4 steals and 3 blocks.

Magic 121 (38-39), Pacers 116 (45-32)

Orlando picked up another huge win for their playoff hopes.

Aaron Gordon dropped a team-high 23 points with 10 boards and 7 dimes.

Heat 100 (38-38), Knicks 92 (14-62)

After falling behind by 9 with 9:32 left in the third, the Heat outscored the Knicks by 17 points the rest of the way.

Dion Waiters dropped a game-high 28 points with 6 dimes.

New York has now lost six straight.

Raptors 124 (54-23), Bulls 101 (21-56)

No Kawhi Leonard, no Pascal Siakam, no problem?

The score was tied with 8:42 left in the second quarter, and then it was all downhill for the Bulls. The Raptors’ lead kept growing until it reached 25 points by the end of the game.

Serge Ibaka scored a game-high 23 points and added 12 boards. Fred VanVleet dropped 23 points with 6 assists and a tremendous +30 plus/minus.

Sixers 118 (49-27), Wolves 109 (34-42)

Even without Joel Embiid, the Sixers led for nearly the entire game.

Jimmy Butler dropped 12 points with 13 boards and 5 dimes in his return to Minnesota. Ben Simmons narrowly missed a triple-double with 20 points, 11 boards and 9 dimes, and had a +20 plus/minus on the night.

Grizzlies 120 (31-45), Suns 115 (17-60)

Memphis withstood yet another scoring onslaught by Devin Booker (48 points) to get back in the win column.

Mike Conley dropped 33 points with 5 assists and a +20 plus/minus.

Phoenix has now lost six straight.

The post Post Up: James Harden Goes OFF for 50-Point Triple-Double 🚀 appeared first on SLAM.

While DeRozan broke out an exclusive for Manu, PJ Tucker rocked one of DeRozan’s old PEs in Houston’s tilt with Denver. Tuck sported the red and white Nike Zoom Kobe 1 Protro along with a pair of the Nike Zoom Kobe 4 FTB. Since debuting his Jordan CP3.XII, Chris Paul has been wearing some pretty wild colorways and his latest pair followed that tune as it featured a two-tone white and volt upper with red accents.

Montrezl Harrell is finishing the regular season strong as he brought out another two pairs of vintage Bron lows as he donned the “Multicolor” Nike LeBron 11 and “Red Plum” Xs. Out in Miami, Derrick Jones Jr flexed with the “Easter” Nike Zoom KD 4 and Dwyane Wade wore a custom pair of his Li-Ning Way of Wade 7.

Make sure to scroll through our latest NBA sneakers’ recap located right below.

Photos via Getty Images

The post NBA Kicks of the Night appeared first on SLAM.

Four of five Clippers starters finished in double digits, as Danilo Gallinari posted 26 points. Ivica Zubac had a double-double (10 points and 10 rebounds), Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell combined for 53 points off the bench. The Clippers are now in fifth place in the Western Conference.

Bucks 127 (55-19), Cavaliers 105 (19-55)

Giannis Antetokounmpo put up 27 points and grabbed 10 boards. Khris Middleton had 17 points and Eric Bledsoe and Tony Snell had 12 apiece. The Bucks improved to a League-best 55-19.

Pacers 124 (45-29), Nuggets 88 (49-23)

Bojan Bogdanovic scored 26 of his 35 points in the first half, setting a career high. Both Myles Turner (17 points, 11 rebounds) and Domantas Sabonis (15 points, 13 rebounds) had double-doubles. Aaron Holiday and Tyreke Evans had 11 off the bench.

Hornets 115 (34-39), Raptors 114 (51-23)

Trailing two, Jeremy Lamb got the ball, lost control and heaved it from half court to give Charlotte the win at the buzzer. He finished with 13 points. Dwayne Bacon was the team’s leading scorer with 20 points.

Rockets 113 (47-27), Pelicans 90 (31-44)

James Harden had 29 points in 28 minutes of action. Eric Gordon, who knocked down six 3-pointers, finished with 18 points. Chris Paul had 10 points and 13 dimes, and Clint Capela was two points shy of getting a double-double, but had 17 rebounds.

Spurs 115 (43-31), Celtics 96 (43-31)

Boston had no answer for LaMarcus Aldridge, who scored 48 points at TD Garden. He also grabbed 13 rebounds. DeMar DeRozan had a double-double (16 points, 11 rebounds).

Warriors 121 (50-23), Pistons 114 (37-36)

Twenty-four hours after losing to Dallas, Steph Curry (26 points) and Klay Thompson (24 points) combined for 50 points in the home win. Kevin Durant and Draymond Green each had 14 points. This is the Warriors’ sixth-straight season with 50 or more wins.

Lakers 111 (32-41), Kings 106 (36-37)

LeBron James finished with 29 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds to get his eighth triple-double of the season and snap a five-game losing streak. Kyle Kuzma had 21 third quarter points and finished with 29 points. The Kings came back from a double-digit deficit and cut it to two with 16 seconds in the game, but LeBron James made it a two possession game.

The post Post Up: LaMarcus Aldridge Puts Up 48 Points Against Celtics appeared first on SLAM.

When the 76ers needed a bucket, Jimmy Butler rose to the occasion. After fending off tough defense from Kyrie Irving, Butler planted his feet and hit the dagger to ensure the win for his team. Butler finished with 22 points, while Joel Embiid put in a monstrous effort of 37 points and 22 rebounds.

Raptors 123 (51-21), Thunder 114 (42-30)

Russell Westbrook went coast-to-coast to tie the game at the end of regulation, but with Paul George fouling out also at the end of regulation, OKC fell short in OT. Pascal Siakam put in 33 points for the Raptors.

Bucks 102 (52-18), Cavaliers 107 (17-53)

The Bucks lacked a spark on offense with Giannis Antetokounmpo out, losing on the road to Cleveland. Collin Sexton hit several clutch buckets down the stretch to lead his team to the win; he scored 25 points.

Pelicans 96 (30-42), Magic 119 (33-38)

Orlando scored 39 points in the opening frame to grab the lead and never looked back, leading the entire game. They enjoyed scoring from the trio of Evan Fournier (22 points), Aaron Gordon (20 points) and Terrence Ross (19 points).

Jazz 137 (40-29), Knicks 116 (14-56)

Donovan Mitchell dropped 30 points in just 28 minutes as the Jazz cruised to a win. Teammates Joe Ingles and Rudy Gobert each added 18 points. Knicks rookie Kevin Knox scored 27 points.

Wizards 120 (30-40), Bulls 126 (19-52)

Bradley Beal hit a clutch bucket to force the game into overtime, but Chicago pulled it out at home. They were led by Lauri Markkanen’s 32 points, while Kris Dunn added 26 points.

Rockets 125 (44-26), Grizzlies 126 (28-42)

James Harden scored eight straight points in overtime and dropped 57 points, but Houston fell on a last-second free throw by Jonas Valanciunas. Mike Conley and Valanciunas combined for 68 points, 20 rebounds and nine assists.

Heat 110 (33-36), Spurs 105 (41-29)

Miami had just enough offensive gas to push them ahead on the road. Goran Dragic led the team with 22 points in 22 minutes. Dwyane Wade, who finished with 11 points in his final game in San Antonio, hit a ridiculous shot down the stretch to hold off the Spurs.

Mavericks 118 (28-43), Blazers 126 (44-27)

Three Blazers notched double-doubles in their win: Damian Lillard (33 points, 12 assists), Enes Kanter (14 points, 10 rebounds) and Jusuf Nurkic (13 points, 10 rebounds). Luka Doncic led Dallas in scoring with 24 points.

RELATED: Jimmy Butler Plans To Retire by Age 35

The post Post Up: Jimmy Butler Nails CLUTCH Shot as 76ers Beat Celtics ❄️ appeared first on SLAM.

New York ended the game on a 13-1 run to get the late win at Madison Square Garden. Mario Hezonja, who found himself in between the basket and LeBron James, shadowed James as he drove and blocked the potential game-winning shot. All five Knicks starters finished in double digits with Emmanuel Mudiay leading the way with 28 points.

Heat 93 (33-36), Hornets 75 (31-38)

Goran Dragic (19 points) and Dwyane Wade (17 points) were big off the bench for Miami, who are now two games ahead of Charlotte in the eighth seed. Bam Adebayo (16 points, 9 rebounds) was one rebound shy of a double-double.

Sixers 130 (45-25), Bucks 125 (52-18)

Sunday’s matinee between two of the top teams in the East lived up to its expectations. Giannis Antetokounmpo (career-high 52 points) and Joel Embiid (40 points) dueled, as the Sixers came out with the win on the road. Jimmy Butler was the Sixers’ second-leading scorer with 27 points.

Pistons 110 (36-33), Raptors 107 (49-21)

Blake Griffin and Reggie Jackson combined for 45 points as Detroit came out with the win down the stretch. Andre Drummond posted another double-double with 15 points and 17 rebounds.

Magic 101 (33-38), Hawks 91 (24-47)

Nikola Vucevic had a monster stat line – 20 points and 27 rebounds – at Amway Center. Aaron Gordon added 22 points, and D.J. Augustin and Evan Fournier finished with 11 apiece.

Kings 129 (33-35), Bulls 102 (19-51)

De’Aaron Fox dropped 17 points and Buddy Hield had 16 points in front of their home crowd. Marvin Bagley III scored a game-high 21 points off the bench, and Harry Giles finished with 16 points. The Kings dominated the paint, outscoring the Bulls 80-56.

Rockets 117 (44-26), Timberwolves 102 (32-38)

Chris Paul had 25 points and 10 dimes, and James Harden and Clint Capela had 20 points apiece. The Rockets made 17 3-pointers and are 11-1 in their last 12 games.

Clippers 119 (41-30), Nets 116 (36-36)

With the game tied at 116, Lou Williams got the rock, shot from way behind the arc to knockdown his first career game-winning buzzer beater on Sunday night. Williams finished with 25 points and six rebounds. Six Clippers finished in double digits.

The post Post Up: Lou Williams Knocks Down Buzzer Beater Against Nets 🔥 appeared first on SLAM.

Wes Matthews tipped in an offensive board with less than two seconds to give the Pacers a much-needed win to move into third place in the Eastern Conference standings. Prior to scoring the game-winner, Matthews locked up a red-hot Paul George in the final minute of action.

Bojan Bogdanovic led Indiana with 23 points.

Russell Westbrook recorded another triple-double with 19 points, 14 rebounds, 11 dimes and four steals and George dropped a game-high 36 points.

Mavericks 99 (27-41), Nuggets 100 (45-22)

Denver moved just a game out of first place in the Western Conference thanks to Nikola Jokic’s third winning shot of 2019. Before Jokic’s floater won the game, Luka Doncic (24 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists, two steals) threw down a dunk in traffic with 5.8 seconds to go on what looked like a potential winner.

Dirk Nowitzki knocked down three 3’s for Dallas.

Cavaliers 91 (17-52), Magic 120 (32-38)

The Cavaliers never stood a chance as the Magic ran out to a 16-point first quarter lead and never looked back.

Aaron Gordon, DJ Augustin and Nikola Vucevic combined for 60 points to lead Orlando.

Collin Sexton was a bright spot for Cleveland, scoring 23 points — his plus-minus of -17 was the best of all the Cavs’ starters.

Kings 120 (33-34), Celtics 126 (42-27)

Buddy Hield’s game-high 34 points wasn’t enough as Kyrie Irving racked up his second career triple-double with 31 points, 10 rebounds and 12 dimes.

The Kings started off strong, leading 38-25 at the end of the first quarter, but 70 second half points from the Celtics spearheaded the comeback.

Lakers 98 (31-37), Raptors 111 (49-20)

Kawhi Leonard hit five 3’s en route to a team-high 25 points as the Raptors cruised to their ninth straight win against the Lakers.

Los Angeles, who has lost six of its last seven, scored only 14 points in the final quarter. LeBron James finished the night with 29 points, four rebounds and six assists.

Timberwolves 100 (32-37), Jazz 120 (39-29)

Donovan Mitchell scored a team-high 24 points as the Jazz held onto the six-seed in the Western Conference. Three different Timberwolves dished out at least six dimes (Joe Ingles: 6, Mitchell: 6, Ricky Rubio: 8).

Karl-Anthony Towns had a game-high 26 points.

The post Post Up: Nikola Jokic Makes Third Game-Winner of 2019 appeared first on SLAM.

The Warriors dropped their second straight game as the Magic outscored the defending champs 33-15 in the final period of play. Aaron Gordon had 22 points and 15 boards and Terrence Ross scored 16 off the bench. Ross’ plus-minus of +17 in 27 minutes led all players.

Steph Curry scored 33 points, but he shot just 12-for-33 from the field.

Cavaliers 125 (15-47), Knicks 118 (13-49)

Four Cavaliers (Kevin Love, Cedi Osman, Collin Sexton, Jordan Clarkson) scored at least 20 points as Love led the way with 26 in just 28 minutes of work. Cleveland outscored New York 40-21 in the fourth quarter.

Alonzo Trier led the Knicks with 22 off the pine.

Heat 118 (27-34), Rockets 121 (37-25)

Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade met for the 22nd and final time as Paul improved his career record to 15-7 against one of his closet friends.

James Harden went off for 58 points — his sixth game with at least 50 points this season — 10 dimes, seven rebounds and four steals.

76ers 108 (40-22), Thunder 104 (38-23)

Tobias Harris led all scorers with 32 points as the Sixers snapped a 19-game losing streak against the Thunder.

Both sides were without arguably their best players as Joel Embiid and Paul George both sat.

Jazz 111 (35-26), Nuggets 104 (42-19)

Donovan Mitchell scored six unanswered points late in the fourth quarter to secure the win and give Utah breathing room at the 6-seed spot in the Western Conference standings.

Mitchell finished the night with 24 and Kyle Korver scored 22 (6-for-10 from 3) to lead the way for Utah.

Timberwolves 115 (29-33), Pacers 122 (41-22)

Karl-Anthony Towns took over the night with 42 points, 17 rebounds and four dimes, but Bojan Bogdanvic’s 37-point outing was the deciding factor as the Timberwolves fell to the Pacers. TJ Leaf added 18 points for Indiana.

The post Post Up: Dwyane Wade and CP3 Meet for Final Time, James Harden Scores 58 appeared first on SLAM.

Kyrie Irving had a lot to say postgame but what stood out was “The young guys don’t know what it takes to be a championship level team. What it takes every day. And if they think it is hard now, what do they think it will be like when we’re trying to get to the Finals?”

— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) January 13, 2019

Irving, speaking to reporters after a frustrating 105-103 loss Saturday night in Orlando, pointed out that the road will only get harder for the young C’s.

Aaron Gordon led the way for Orlando with 28 points and 12 rebounds.

Beyond what he said in the main story, Irving pretty well throws down the challenge to the younger Celtics. https://t.co/DuCZhdPvUq

— Steve Bulpett (@SteveBHoop) January 13, 2019

Per the Boston Herald:

“I mean, we had nothing to lose last year,” Irving said. “We had nothing to lose, and everybody could play free and do whatever they wanted and nobody had any expectations. We were supposed to be at a certain point, we surpassed that. Young guys were supposed to be at a certain point, they surpassed that.

“We come into this season, expectations, and it’s real. Everyone from the coaching staff to the players, it’s very much real every single day, so that’s new. It’s tough. It’s hard, you know, so I think that what we’re facing now is nothing compared to being on that stage trying to get a gold trophy. It’s hard now, what do you think it’s going to be when we get to The Finals?

“We’re trying to play for a position right now trying to get a great seed. That should be our number one goal, and that right there is a realization for me that even when I’m thinking about the future, I’ve got to think about how do we get there, but what steps do we need to hit. That’s a goal first just getting a seed. We can’t be comfortable being in fifth. I’m not comfortable in it, so now I go back and really re-work things and try to think about how I attack the next day.

“But the frustration is still inside of me. You know, I’m a competitor. You know, last play happened, let it go, and we move on. We’ve got one more game on this road trip [Brooklyn]. It’s always good to go home for me, and I’m always good to see my family. I know guys will enjoy New York, as well. It’ll be good to just play in that type of environment, but Orlando deserved this win. They earned it. A few loose balls we could have gotten, you know, 50-50 basketballs. But that happens. Things that we can control we can get better at.”

Related
Marcus Morris Pushes Jaylen Brown in Celtics’ Timeout Huddle

The post Kyrie Irving: ‘The Young Guys Don’t Know What it Takes to Be a Championship Level Team’ appeared first on SLAM.

Giannis Antetokounmpo made it a special return for Mike Budenholzer, the former Hawks coach that’s now at the helm for the Bucks. Antetokounmpo scored 33 points in Atlanta and Eric Bledsoe had 24 points and 10 assists. The Bucks now have the second-best record in the Association.

The Greek Freak finished the weekend off with 3⃣3⃣ points and the W. (via @NBATV) pic.twitter.com/fXkE4mGKN2

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) January 14, 2019

Sixers 108 (28-16), Knicks 105 (10-33)

Emmanuel Mudiay had a look at the end of regulation to take it to overtime, but the Knicks fell on their home court. Four of five starters finished in double digits as Joel Embiid led the way with 26 points. Ben Simmons was one dime shy of a triple-double but finished with 20 points and 22 rebounds. Kevin Knox had a career-high 31 points. This was the Sixers’ seventh straight win over the Knicks.

20 points. 22 rebounds. 9 assists.

Ben Simmons balled out in the Big Apple. (via @NBATV) pic.twitter.com/9RbmYYaTev

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) January 14, 2019

Raptors 140 (33-12), Wizards 138 (18-26)

Both Kawhi Leonard and Bradley Beal dueled out in D.C. Leonard scored 41 points and 11 rebounds, and Beal had 43 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds as the Raptors got the road W in double-overtime. Leonard had 13 straight points in the fourth quarter and in OT.

Beal joined Oscar Robertson as the only player to record multiple 40-plus point, 10-plus rebound and 15-plus assist games in a season.

BIG duel out in DC. 41 points and 11 rebounds for Kawhi Lenoard and 43 points, 15 assists and 10 boards for Bradley Beal. (via @NBA ) pic.twitter.com/34VpfdSItg

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) January 13, 2019

Magic 116 (19-24), Rockets 109 (24-18)

The Magic closed the game on a 20-6 run in the fourth quarter to get the win at home. Nikola Vucevic and Aaron Gordon had 22 points apiece. Terrence Ross had 17 off the bench for Orlando. James Harden had a near triple-double with 38 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists. This was Harden’s 16th straight game with 30-plus points.

Warriors 119 (29-14), Dallas 114 (20-23)

Stephen Curry went off for 48 points, knocking down 11 3s, Sunday night in Dallas. Kevin Durant also had 28 for the Dubs. With the game tied at 114, Curry called his own number, broke down his defender and hit his final three-pointer of the game.

Mavs guard Luka Doncic had 26 points, his fourth straight game scoring 25 or more points, and joined Curry (5 games) as the only rookies in NBA history to do that.

.@StephenCurry30 put on a SHOW tonight in Dallas.

Peep his 1⃣1⃣ made three-pointers. (via @NBA) pic.twitter.com/y0V6WGl5h3

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) January 14, 2019

Steph Curry with the DAGGER in Dallas! (via @NBCSWarriors) pic.twitter.com/Oe4ldcGNSK

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) January 14, 2019

Nuggets 116 (28-13), Trailblazers 113 (26-17)

Nikola Jokic had 40 points (season-high), 10 rebounds and eight assists in the Mile High City. Jamal Murray added 24 of his own as this was the Nuggets’ 12th home win in a row. Damian Lillard had 26 points for Portland.

Cavaliers 101 (9-35), Lakers 95 (23-21)

The Lakers went into the fourth quarter trailing by 10 and would cut it to three off a Kyle Kuzma triple with 22.6 seconds left in regulation. Kuzma had 29 points in the loss.

All five of the Cavaliers’ starters finished with double-digit performances, as Cedi Osman was the team’s leading scorer with 20 points. Tristan Thompson posted 15 points and grabbed 14 boards. The win on Sunday also snapped a 12-game losing streak for Cleveland.

The Young Bull dancin’ to the cup! (via @NBA) pic.twitter.com/4E1UD4owUN

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) January 14, 2019

The post Post Up: Kawhi Leonard, Bradley Beal Duel Out in D.C. 🔥 appeared first on SLAM.

In his first game against the Clippers at Staples Center, Blake Griffin took his revenge.

Griffin dropped a game-high 44 points (on 23 shots) with 8 boards, 5 dimes and 3 steals as the Pistons handed the Clippers their second straight loss.

The former “Clipper for Life” refused to shake owner Steve Balmer’s hand after warming up—causing NBA twitter to erupt. But after the game, Griffin said that running straight to the locker room has always been part of his pregame routine.

Grizzlies 108 (19-23), Heat 112 (21-20)

Miami squandered a 13-point third quarter lead but was able to outlast the Grizz in crunch time.

Justise Winslow stepped up and had a game-high 26 points (on 16 shots) with 7 boards, 4 dimes and a +23 plus/minus.

Celtics 103 (25-17), Magic 105 (18-24)

Boston had a 12-point lead in the third quarter and watched it all slip away as the Magic outscored the Celtics by 13 in the second half.

Aaron Gordon had a game-high 28 points (on 14 shots) with 12 boards as Orlando snapped a four-game losing streak.

Thinking he should have gotten the final shot with a chance to win the game, Kyrie Irving called his teammates in the locker room, saying his young teammates don’t know what it takes to be a championship-level team.

Pelicans 106 (20-23), Wolves 110 (21-22)

Karl-Anthony Towns went off for 27 points and a career-high 27 boards and blocked Anthony Davis twice in crunch time as the Wolves picked up a win with potential playoff implications.

The win was the second of the Ryan Saunders era, and the Wolves are seemingly playing with new life and energy.

The Pelicans, on the other hand, continue to be dreadful on the road, where they’re just 5-17 on the season.

Spurs 112 (25-19), Thunder 112 (26-16)

OKC got their usual contributions from Russ, PG and Steven Adams, but it was Dennis Schroder and Adbel Nader who sparked the Thunder to victory.

Schroder scored all 19 points in the second half, and Nader shot 6-6 for 15 points.

It was a nice bounce-back win for OKC after losing three straight.

Russ made him #TOUCHEARTH (via @NBATV) pic.twitter.com/2q2JDjEp2c

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) January 13, 2019