Highly anticipated draft prospects are as old as grandparents. Whether Kareem, Ewing, Shaq or LeBron—the fanfare that has preceded the professional journey of a college (or high school) superstar has rarely proved anticlimactic. In ’97, a modest but significant level of anticipation would almost personify the subsequent career of the San Antonio Spurs’ number one pick: Timothy Theodore Duncan.

At SLAM, we knew the hype wasn’t just hot air. We even collaborated with the trading card company The Score Board to create SLAM cover-style cards featuring TD—10 in total—each one educating the collector on a legit element of his game. All this before he’d even stepped foot on NBA hardwood.

Three years later, Tim Duncan had become a household name. He’d found a perfect fit in the Spurs’ winning culture, humbly taking on the position of protégé to the great David Robinson. Not only had TD collected ROY honors, but he’d also made the NBA First Team, become a staple at All-Star Weekend and won a title with a Finals MVP cherry on top. When he took a seat on the cover of SLAM 47’s George Gervin homage masterpiece (shout out to Russ Bengtson), we were presented with an image that articulated what we already knew—Timmy D is cold.

This year’s number-one draft pick has us on board the hype train for sure. I’m riding first class with popcorn and free Wi-Fi. In other words, I’m invested in traveling this journey with Victor Wembanyama. Not only is he joining a franchise that specializes in producing elite players who win titles, but he also possesses the physical and skill attributes that the NBA has been evolving toward for the past 20 years. Wemby is the fulfillment of basketball prophecy. Not that I’m getting carried away or anything…

In the words of Yasiin Bey: “The kids better buy my rookie card now, ’cause after this year the price ain’t comin’ down.” I’m assuming you copped the rookie card already—so let me make one last bold statement: You need that Wembanyama Issue 240 and 247 cover. Gold Metal Edition. Do it for the grandkids.

The post The SLAM Archives: SLAM 47 Featuring Tim Duncan From December of 2000 appeared first on SLAM.

Robinson accomplished the extraordinary feat late in the first quarter off his first shot of the game. Robinson played 14 minutes and ended up posting nine points, four rebounds, and a steal in Miami’s 113-110 win over Minnesota.

No. 800 on his 1st attempt in the game. Pure shooter. pic.twitter.com/9s6CVxFkyG

— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) December 27, 2022

Robinson is also the quickest player to hit 200,300,400,500,600 and 700 triples in his career. It took him 263 outings to do, 25 fewer than perennial MVP contender Luka Doncic. The previous fastest four players to hit 800 were Doncic (288 games), Buddy Hield (296), Donovan Mitchell (302), and Stephen Curry (305).

Fastest in NBA history to do it! pic.twitter.com/7XicNkQMwS

— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) December 27, 2022

Robinson has knocked down 802 career threes as of Tuesday and is four away from tying Hall-of-Famer Tim Hardaway for the all-time lead in franchise history.

The post Duncan Robinson: the Fastest to Knock Down 800 Career Three-Pointers appeared first on SLAM.

Last night’s 116-109 victory versus the Golden State Warriors was a huge statement win for Miami, as Kyle Lowry (13 points, nine assists, five rebounds) made history, passing Jason Kidd for 12th on the NBA’s all-time made three-pointers list after going 3-8 from beyond the arc. The Heat’s sharpshooters Max Strus and Duncan Robinson also came alive off the bench to combine for 41 points to power Miami to the win!

Lowry finished the game with 13 points on 50 percent shooting (5-10), nine assists, and five rebounds. The Strus got loose and went for 24 points to lead the team in scoring, making eight of his seventeen shots and shooting forty percent from deep. Then the icing on the cake was Robinson, who contributed 17 points on 62.5 percent shooting from three.

“For us to get a win like that is huge for us with how our season has gone thus far,” Strus said in a postgame interview with Bally Sports Sun’s Will Manso. “To grind one out, out of the mud, and win one like that is huge for our confidence, and hopefully, it pushes our momentum forward.”

Manso also caught up with Robinson postgame and asked about the Heat’s “next man up” mentality. Robinson had this to say following his hot shooting night;

“We’re a deep team, so somebody goes down, different guys are going to step up and try to contribute.”

Miami seems to be heating up at the right time and is looking to keep things rolling tonight versus the Sacramento Kings at home. There are still a lot of games left, which means that the Heat can only continue to improve from here on out.

The post Kyle Lowry Moves Up to 12th On All-Time Made Three Pointers List appeared first on SLAM.

On June 30, the night NBA free agency began, a black SUV with tinted windows rolled up to Udonis Haslem’s vacation home in Orlando, FL. 

“That s**t almost got shot up,” Haslem said on teammate Duncan Robinson’s podcast, The Long Shot. “It’s creeping and it’s slow, I’m like, Who the f**k is this?!”

To his surprise, a delegation of six Miami Heat employees got out of the car. It was 6 p.m., the literal minute free agency began, and they were there to make a personal pitch for the big man to come back for his 20th season—tied for the second-longest tenure with any one team.

Usually, this type of pitch is reserved for high-profile targets. Haslem, on the other hand, has only played in 58 regular season games the last six seasons. So why the royal treatment? 

UD’s impact within the organization is undeniable. He was a key player on all three of their championship teams. He’s the Heat’s all-time leading rebounder. And when his number was called last year, he stepped up.

On the other hand, a roster spot is a valuable thing. After all, an NBA team only has 15 of them. Haslem’s critics say that spot should be used for an up-and-coming player, a new free agent or more. So why use it on a 42-year-old power forward? 

Well, the Heat clearly know the answer. His teammates know. And you can be sure that UD knows. And he was kind enough to sit down with SLAM and tell us. 

SLAM: We heard your interview on Duncan Robinson’s podcast this summer. You said: “Another misconception is I take up a roster spot…People are so focused on my age and why I’m here. There’s a reason why I’m f***** here.” So, what’s that reason?

UD: I mean, for me, there’s very few people, at any level, that can pay attention to every single detail, and that can actually do it consistently. I’m one of those people. I’m anal that way. But it doesn’t always translate when it comes from a coach to a player. But when it comes from player to player, it translates differently. 

I raise the level of everything. Not just on the court. I raise the level off the court, I raise the level of the organization. I’m raising the level of the trainers, I’m raising the level of Pat [Riley] when he’s sitting there watching. I raise the level of everything around me. I am the Heat way. We’ve rotated players, but it doesn’t matter. Regardless of who’s come here or who’s left, I remain here, and I am the Heat way. And it rubs off on others.

But every year, I have to earn the respect. Nobody’s given me s**t. Every year these guys are walking in here saying, This old motherf***er back again, and I gotta earn the respect of the new guys. The guys that have been here, they know. They understand. But I gotta earn the respect of the new guys that come in. And then I’ma show you. I’ll go out there and I’ll play. And I’ll do what I have to do. 

SLAM: Speaking of leadership, ownership is something you’ve aspired to. Could you talk a little about that? 

UD: My influence is very, very strong. And the only way I can maximize that and use it in the right way, for the Miami Heat and for myself, is to be in the highest level of leadership, and that goes in ownership. 

But I have influence around this entire NBA, as the OG. A lot of guys look up to me. A lot of guys reach out for advice. And I appreciate that. You lose those relationships if you step into a coaching situation. But I think when you step into a leadership role of an owner, and somebody who guys have trusted as a player, I think it just maximizes the power that you have and for the organization that you’re working for. 

SLAM: It seems you do have a gift, or a knack, for impacting these younger guys. I mean, the Heat have turned into this elite developmental organization for undrafted players.

UD: I call them “My Undrafted Minions.” I love those dudes, man. Those dudes, man, they got my heart. Max [Strus]. Gabe [Vincent]. Duncan [Robinson]. Caleb [Martin]. Dewayne Dedmon. 

SLAM: Why is that?  

UD: Because I understand, man. It’s such a short leash when you come here in that situation. There’s no room for error. And odds are literally stacked against you. They probably got a guy that they drafted that plays your position, or another guy that came from another team that plays your position. I just understand the pressure of that situation. If you can come through that and be out on top, and not just be on the team but be actual rotation players and guys that actually move the needle? All these guys have added years onto their career, have gotten their money…these guys have literally beat the odds.

But I don’t think people really understand the work I’ve put in to be able to impact these guys. I can’t just show up and smoke cigarettes and throw s**t at the walls and see if it sticks. 

SLAM: The only way to tap into these younger guys is to show it and to earn it. 

UD: Yeah, and I have to earn it every year, bro. I have to earn it every year. I can’t take a summer off. As soon as the season’s over, I give myself a week or two and I’m back at it. That’s how it has to be. 

SLAM: It’s amazing you’ve continued for this long at such a high level. When those guys come in, day one, the Undrafted Minions, what do you say to them?

UD: Follow me, I f**k with you. Off the top. I don’t know you, I know nothing about you. I know your situation, and based off your situation, you my brother. You’re not just my teammate. Based on your situation, you have now become my little brother. 

SLAM: Still, though, it’s one thing to say you enjoy someone else’s success, but it’s another to actually embody it. 

UD: It’s very hard. I had to learn some of these things the hard way. When you get to a point in your career and the organization starts to make a shift toward younger players, you have a choice. You can bitch and moan and complain, get shipped out or go somewhere else, or you can settle into your situation and figure out how to make the best of it. And how to win. And any situation I’ve been put in, I’ve just said, F**k it, I’m not gonna whine. Whine? How can I win in this situation? Whatever it is, whatever you put me in, how can I win here? And that’s all I’ve done. 

And oftentimes you can’t control the situations you’re in. You ask these guys around the League, there’s maybe 10 guys around the whole League that actually play the role that they want to play. Everybody else, you’re in the supporting cast. Everyone else is in the supporting cast. So, how can you star in that role? 

SLAM: It definitely takes a humbling. How do you do that? 

UD: There’s been the dark nights. You don’t wanna get out of bed, you’re in the dark all day. You’re frustrated. You don’t understand. But it’s the nature of the business. It can be nothing that you’ve done wrong.

And for me, yes, I could’ve left a long time ago and went and played somewhere else. But would my heart have always been in it? No. It’s not all about the money, it’s not all about playing. I’ve always had a long-term goal. My long-term goal was to be part of this organization for my whole career, and then from that, impact the city. I’ve always had a bigger vision.

SLAM: You’ve gone toe-to-toe with so many guys. You’ve been the enforcer, holding them accountable. What makes you so fearless? 

UD: My pops. I remember I thought he was nuts. I couldn’t imagine a man that wasn’t afraid of anything. But now that I got older, I appreciate that. My pops never thought anybody was better than him. He never thought he could lose. And you believed that if you had him on your side, you had an army with you. I just kind of inherited that. It wasn’t always like that, but I inherited that. 

That’s something I’ve been able to give to my guys. Because I do believe in each and every one of them. Even if they have doubt, I’m gonna look them in they f**king eye and tell them, I believe, so you better! You better, because I do! I don’t give a damn if you’ve been drafted 1, I don’t give a damn what school he went to. I believe in you. Kick his ass! 

SLAM: You’ve won championships. You’re in the Heat history books. You’ve got the respect. At this point in your career, what brings you joy? 

UD: Watching these dudes come in here, man, and getting their money. Getting their recognition. Watching Caleb Martin get paid this summer. Watching Duncan Robinson get paid a few years ago. Watching James Johnson get paid his $66 million when he was here. Dion Waiters getting paid his $60 million when he was here. Hassan Whiteside getting paid his max contract when he was here. That is what I enjoy. 

All those guys that I named that have gotten their money, gotten their contract, resurrected their careers, have come here on their last leg when nobody else believed. Like Omer Yurtseven. You know how much of an ass kicking I had to do with O last year? And to watch O get out there, when Bam was out, to have all those double-double games? That’s it, bro. That’s it. That’s what I need. That’s all I need. Don’t waste my time. When those guys listen, and those things manifest for them, I’m happy. 

Photos from Getty Images.

The post Udonis Haslem Has Lasted 20 Years in the NBA, and the OG Did it His Way appeared first on SLAM.

The team has relied on Max Strus and Duncan Robinson to handle the load at the power forward slot, but the team looks to be losing hope in their defensive powers as reports suggest the Heat are looking at trade suitors.

“Kyle Kuzma and Taj Gibson aren’t the only potential moves that the Heat have been linked to recently,” according to Heavy.com’s Thomas Darro. “Link them to PJ Washington from the Charlotte Hornets, as well as finalizing a reunion between Crowder and the Heat. But another has been Bojan Bogdanovic from the Detroit Pistons and Lauri Markkanen from the Utah Jazz.”

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Kuzma of the Washington Wizards is off to a fantastic start to the young season as he’s averaging 19.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.3 blocks, and a staggering shooting at 46.5 percent from the field and 40.0 percent from beyond the arc. His size and length could turn him into a problem under the talented Heat coaching staff, but Heat President Pat Riley always keeps the door open to other options.

Washington is a restricted free agent this upcoming off-season due to the inability to negotiate a contract extension. The Hornets may be focused on providing their star point guard LaMelo Ball an enormous deal for the 2024 season, leaving little cap space to work for Washington.

The Heat wouldn’t mind one-year rentals, especially when there’s a lot of talent that needs to be proven out of the group. The 24-year-old would add the floor spacing, agility, and defensive intangibles that much up well against star rivals like Jaylen Brown, Khris Middleton and Demar Derozan.

Finally, the reunion Heat fans would welcome with open arms. Not too long ago, Phoenix Suns’ Jae Crowder was part of the resilient 2020 Heat squad that, as a 5th seed, went six games against the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals. The chemistry on display, both offensive and defensively, is in no way bound to be lost in just the two seasons apart.

With this possibly being his 10th straight playoff appearance, a reunion with the Heat opens the door to a final run at a championship.

The post REPORT: Heat Linked to Kyle Kuzma, P.J Washington, and Jae Crowder appeared first on SLAM.

The second-year man had the opportunity to fill in a roster spot last season, but he suffered a similar injury to the one he’s dealing with now. Although Garrett’s chances of filling the Heat roster spot have slimmed, Coach Erik Spoelstra offered an optimistic outlook to Garrett for when his time will come.

“This is the journey for young players sometimes,” said Spoelstra. “Sometimes you just can’t predict it. Sometimes it doesn’t go how you want it to. But he has that perseverance and grit to get healthy and get back at it.”

As demoralizing as the injury is, Spoelstra doesn’t rule out the possibility of Garrett making the roster. He, and small forward Jamal Cain, have put in extensive hours during practice and proved their worth on the court, making effort plays.

Recent Undrafted players for the Heat, like Duncan Robinson, Max Strus, and Gabe Vincent, had made their impact offensively when the team needed it most. In Garrett’s case, his defensive tenacity during the Summer League put Miami’s front office on notice, leading to his second two-way deal with the South Beach franchise.

“We’re all here getting at it every day,” says Jimmy Butler on the significance of pre-season games. “Whenever you get in the game, I think that’s the easy part. You just need to maintain your conditioning and then make sure you’re in a rhythm.”

Garrett may not be involved in the rotation or even be on the roster to start the season, but his determination has earned the locker room’s respect, and he now presents himself as a ‘Next Man Up’ target.

The Heat opens its 2022-2023 season at FTX Arena against their Eastern Conference rivals, the Chicago Bulls.

The post Marcus Garrett Set to Miss Final Preseason Stretch After Suffering a Wrist Fracture appeared first on SLAM.

Ginobili enters the Hall of Fame after a 16-year career as a Spur, helping guide the franchise to four NBA championships while becoming one of the greatest sixth men ever. Ginobili won the Sixth Man of the Year just one time but is synonymous with being the first guy off the bench. His legacy is the fact he was willing to sacrifice being a starter and take a role with less glamour. Ginobili also earned two All-Star nods and two All-NBA selections.

Within that role, Ginobili anchored a bench unit that Gregg Popovich could rely on to hold leads. Ginobili was also frequently on the court with the closers. The most coveted spot you can have on a roster competing for titles. The Argentinian superstar was even better on the international stage. He was the go-to star when Argentina beat Team USA for the gold medal in the 2004 Olympics.

During his time on the international stage, Ginobili earned a FIBA AmeriCup MVP, a Euroleague championship and Finals MVP, was the top scorer in the Finals twice, was voted to the All-EuroLeague First team, won the Italian League championship, the Italian Cup twice and was named the Italian Cup VMP in 2002, the Italian League MVP twice, was an Italian League All-Star three times, and even won the Italian League dunk contest.

To top off his international success, Ginobili was named to the 50 Greatest EuroLeague contributors in 2008.

“It’s unreal that I’m here in this moment,” Ginobili said during the Hall of Fame press conference. “I guess (kids) don’t really expect to be in the Hall of Fame when they grow up but being from a small city in Argentina, a country that is known for its soccer teams making it all the way to the NBA, was for me at that point already an unreachable dream. And then things started to happen year by year, improvement, growth, development. And then one thing brought the other one. I get drafted just by sheer luck by one of the best franchises in sport, and we start winning.”

“And when things start to happen like that, then you start thinking, “oh Woah,” people start thinking that I may become a Hall of Famer. I said, “that’s ridiculous.” But at 45 years, a few years after retirement, here I am. So a very unlikely outcome for a kid born where I was born.”

“A very unlikely outcome for a kid born where I was born.”@manuginobili on his journey to the @Hoophall pic.twitter.com/AvOEcju7pU

— NBA TV (@NBATV) September 9, 2022

Ginobili also recognized that his success came from his individuals but his teammates, that helped him play on some “special teams.”

“I’m not the type of player who would have gotten here regardless. I needed a great team.”

Ginobili will be presented at the Hall of Fame by Duncan.

The post Manu Ginobili On His ‘Unlikely’ Journey to a Hall of Fame Career appeared first on SLAM.

Beal is the 10th player in League history to ever have a no-trade clause in his contract. He is also the only player in the NBA with a “true” no-trade clause.

Beal becomes only the 10th player to have a no trade clause joining LeBron, KG, Melo, Dirk, Kobe, DWade, Duncan, David Robinson and John Stockton.

The contract also has a 15% trade kicker and player option in year 5. https://t.co/NcUmDcyUMM

— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) July 6, 2022

Beal’s massive deal comes off a tough season for Washington. The Wizards couldn’t capitalize off their playoff appearance last year and struggled to a 35-47 season after Beal underwent season-ending wrist surgery in February. Beal’s max contract also ends any speculation that he wanted to leave Washington via free agency. He told Taylor Rooks that his decision was about more than money.

“If I feel like I can win in D.C., that’s what I’m gonna do, and I want people to respect that,” Beal said.

Speculation ramped up after Beal opted out of the final year of his last contract. However, the 29-year-old has complete control over his future with his current contract. The former Florida Gator averaged 23.2 points. 4.7 rebounds, and a career-high 6.6. assists per game after averaging at least 30 per game over the last two seasons.

The post REPORT: Bradley Beal Becomes 10th-Ever Player to Have No-Trade Clause in Contract appeared first on SLAM.

At this point in the list, we’re getting into dynasty territory. Clutch moments and high-pressure situations were the norm for these squads, many of whom won multiple championships over a three to five year period. Different.

From iconic three-peats to historic dubs, here’s our picks for No. 32-22:

32. 2004-05 San Antonio Spurs

Coach: Gregg Popovich

Record: 59-23

Roster: Brent Barry, Bruce Bowen, Devin Brown, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Dion Glover, Robert Horry, Linton Johnson, Sean Marks, Tony Massenburg, Nazr Mohammed, Rasho Nesterovic, Tony Parker, Glenn Robinson, Malik Rose, Beno Udrih, Mike Wilks

The Spurs and Pistons came into the season having split the previous two NBA championships, and both upset higher-seeded opponents (the Suns and Heat, respectively) in the Conference Finals that spring. That set up a title bout that made up for a relative lack of star power with heavyweight intensity and dominant D. Five of seven Finals games ended with the losing team not breaking 80 points. The series ended with Tim Duncan securing his third ring.

31. 1963-64 Boston Celtics

Coach: Red Auerbach

Record: 59-21

Roster: John Havlicek, Tom Heinsohn, KC Jones, Sam Jones, Jim Loscutoff, Clyde Lovellette, Johnny McCarthy, Willie Naulls, Frank Ramsey, Bill Russell, Tom Sanders, Larry Siegfried

Yawn, another title run, but at least Boston got a new Finals opponent to break up the monotony. The San Francisco Warriors tried to play immovable object to the Celtics’ unstoppable force, and in Wilt Chamberlain, the Dubs at least had the firepower. But Boston had the balance, experience and pedigree: John Havlicek and Sam Jones led the offense, and Bill Russell did his usual work, dominating defensively and on the glass to lead Boston to its seventh championship in eight tries.

30. 1969-70 New York Knicks

Coach: Red Holzman

Record: 60-22

Roster: Dick Barnett, Nate Bowman, Bill Bradley, Dave DeBusschere, Walt Frazier, Bill Hosket, Don May, Willis Reed, Mike Riordan, Cazzie Russell, Dave Stallworth, John Warren

When a new decade brought an end to the Celtics’ dominance, the Knicks asserted themselves as the class of the League. Behind MVP Willis Reed’s 21.7 ppg and 13.9 rpg and Walt Frazier’s stylish 20.9 points and 8.2 dimes per, New York rolled to the League’s best record and a Finals meeting with the Lakers. What followed was a seven-game classic against West, Wilt and Baylor, best remembered for Reed’s Game 7 effort on a bum leg that inspired his teammates to victory.

29. 1981-82 Los Angeles Lakers

Coach: Paul Westhead, Pat Riley

Record: 57-25

Roster: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jim Brewer, Michael Cooper, Clay Johnson, Magic Johnson,Eddie Jordan, Mitch Kupchak, Mark Landsberger, Bob McAdoo, Mike McGee, Kevin  McKenna, Norm Nixon, Kurt Rambis, Jamaal Wilkes

Pat Riley was second choice. When Paul Westhead was fired (at Magic Johnson’s urging) 11 games into the ’81-82 season, Lakers owner Jerry Buss named Jerry West head coach. Only West didn’t want it, so Riley—the former player turned broadcaster turned inexperienced assistant—got the gig. Duly motivated, Magic, Kareem and Jamaal Wilkes led L.A. back to the Finals, where they bounced the Sixers in six. Showtime was in effect, and one of the greatest coaching careers was born.

28. 2001-02 Los Angeles Lakers

Coach: Phil Jackson

Record: 58-24

Roster: Kobe Bryant, Joe Crispin, Derek Fisher, Rick Fox, Devean George, Robert Horry, Lindsey Hunter, Mark Madsen, Jelani McCoy, Stanislav Medvedenko, Shaquille O’Neal, Mike Penberthy, Mitch Richmond, Brian Shaw, Samaki Walker

The third title of the Shaq-Kobe axis didn’t come easily. That Western Finals series with Sacramento was brutal, and there were those who thought the Lakers shouldn’t have won it. But they did, and then L.A. dusted Jersey in the Finals, behind another overpowering performance from O’Neal. The dynamic duo was again tremendous, while Derek Fisher provided stability at the point, and supporting players like Rick Fox and Robert Horry stepped up when needed.

27. 2006-07 San Antonio Spurs

Coach: Gregg Popovich

Record: 58-24

Roster: Brent Barry, Matt Bonner, Bruce Bowen, Jackie Butler, Tim Duncan, Francisco Elson, Melvin Ely, Michael Finley, Manu Ginobili, Robert Horry, Fabricio Oberto, Tony Parker, Beno Udrih, Jacque Vaughn, James White, Eric Williams

These Spurs scored when they needed to, and they moved the ball like no one else. But the real strength of the team was on defense, where San Antonio could stifle rivals, just like it did Cleveland in the Finals sweep. Tim Duncan was a no-frills frontcourt star, with point guard Tony Parker’s creativity and Manu Ginobili’s flair and passion the keys to the team’s success. Role players like Bruce Bowen and Michael Finley helped complete a pure team.

26. 1980-81 Boston Celtics

Coach: Bill Fitch

Record: 62-20

Roster: Tiny Archibald, Larry Bird, ML Carr, Terry Duerod, Eric Fernsten, Chris Ford, Gerald Henderson, Wayne Kreklow, Cedric Maxwell, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Rick Robey

After Magic Johnson got his title in 1980, it was Larry Bird’s turn. He and the Celtics waged a year-long battle with the Sixers that culminated with a seven-game Eastern Finals series that featured three big Boston comebacks. Kevin McHale and Robert Parish were interior forces, while Tiny Archibald, Chris Ford and Cedric Maxwell patrolled the perimeter. The Rockets were tough in the Finals, but they weren’t tough enough to stop the Celtics machine.

25. 1989-90 Detroit Pistons

Coach: Chuck Daly

Record: 59-23

Roster: Mark Aguirre, William Bedford, Joe Dumars, James Edwards, Dave Greenwood, Scott Hastings, Gerald Henderson, Vinnie Johnson, Stan Kimbrough, Bill Laimbeer, Ralph Lewis, Dennis Rodman, John Salley, Isiah Thomas

The Bad Boys went back-to-back with the same formula that won their first title: ferocious defense, timely offense and a Mean Streets attitude. Isiah Thomas smiled a lot, but he was a killer. Joe Dumars quietly piled up the points. Bill Laimbeer made no friends inside. Dennis Rodman rebounded and defended like a dervish. Mark Aguirre scored in many ways. James Edwards was a force in the post. And nobody wanted to mess with John Salley.

24. 2008-09 Los Angeles Lakers

Coach: Phil Jackson

Record: 65-17

Roster: Trevor Ariza, Shannon Brown, Kobe Bryant, Andrew Bynum, Jordan Farmar, Derek Fisher, Pau Gasol, DJ Mbenga, Chris Mihm, Adam Morrison, Lamar Odom, Josh Powell, Vladimir Radmanovic, Sasha Vujacic, Luke Walton, Sun Yue

The first of back-to-back titles was Kobe Bryant’s initial one as undisputed leader of the Lakers and redemption for the Mamba. A year after losing in the Finals to ancestral rival Boston, the Lakers piled up 65 wins—third most in franchise history—with Bryant leading the way but receiving plenty of help from Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum inside. The anticipated Finals matchup with Cleveland and LeBron James didn’t happen, so L.A. whipped Orlando instead.

23. 2007-08 Boston Celtics

Coach: Doc Rivers

Record: 66-16

Roster: Ray Allen, Tony Allen, PJ Brown, Sam Cassell, Glen Davis, Kevin Garnett, Eddie House, Kendrick Perkins, Paul Pierce, Scot Pollard, James Posey, Leon Powe, Gabe Pruitt, Rajon Rondo, Brian Scalabrine

Depending on how you define it, the Super Team era started in Boston in the summer of ’07, when future Hall of Famers Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen joined Paul Pierce to give the Celtics their best team in (at least) 20 years. Behind Pierce’s scoring, Allen’s shooting and KG’s two-way play, the Cs posted an NBA-high 66 wins and bounced LeBron and the Cavs en route to the Finals, where they renewed their rivalry with the Lakers. Not long after, they hung banner No. 17.

22. 1992-93 Chicago Bulls

Coach: Phil Jackson

Record: 57-25

Roster: BJ Armstrong, Ricky Blanton, Bill Cartwright, Joe Courtney, Jo Jo English, Horace Grant, Michael Jordan, Stacey King, Rodney McCray, Ed Nealy, John Paxson, Will Perdue, Scottie Pippen, Trent Tucker, Darrell Walker, Corey Williams, Scott Williams

The Lakers and Pistons had taken some of the magic out of title repeats by the time the Bulls
won their second straight, but no team since the Celtics’ ’60s dynasty had won three in a row. The Bulls felt like making history. The formula by now was familiar: Jordan averaged League-
highs in points (32.6) and steals (2.8), Scottie Pippen was a terror at both ends and Chicago made the big plays when it mattered, edging Barkley and the Suns in the Finals to seal the threepeat.

Read here to find out who made it on the rest of the list, including No. 75-66, 65-55, 54-44 and 43-33.

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

The post SLAM’s TOP 75 NBA Teams of All Time: No. 32-22 appeared first on SLAM.

From dominant big threes and electrifying duos to all-around greatness, here’s our top 43-33:

43. 1958-59 Boston Celtics

Coach: Red Auerbach

Record: 52-20

Roster: Gene Conley, Bob Cousy, Tom Heinsohn, KC Jones, Sam Jones, Jim Loscutoff, Frank Ramsey, Bill Russell, Bill Sharman, Bennie Swain, Lou Tsioropoulos

The greatest rivalry in NBA history began, for all practical purposes, in the spring of ’59, and it foreshadowed the decade to come. Led by veteran guard Bill Sharman’s 20.4 ppg, five Celtics averaged better than 15 ppg en route to the League’s best record. They needed seven games to dispatch Syracuse in the conference finals, setting up a first-ever Finals meeting with the Minneapolis Lakers. Three Cs averaged 20-plus, Bill Russell pulled down 22.1 boards per and Boston swept their way to the title.

42. 2002-03 San Antonio Spurs

Coach: Gregg Popovich

Record: 60-22

Roster: Mengke Bateer, Bruce Bowen, Devin Brown, Speedy Claxton, Tim Duncan, Danny Ferry, Manu Ginobili, Anthony Goldwire, Stephen Jackson, Steve Kerr, Tony Parker, David Robinson, Malik Rose, Steve Smith, Kevin Willis

The Kings, Mavs, Spurs and Timberwolves all finished ahead of the three-time-defending-champion Lakers in ’02-03, but one of them would still have to beat L.A. when it mattered. Led by Tim Duncan, fresh off a second straight League MVP award, and second-year point guard Tony Parker, San Antonio got its chance in the second round and dispatched Shaq and Kobe in six games. They handled Dallas and New Jersey in similarly businesslike fashion en route to the chip.

41. 2018-19 Golden State Warriors

Coach: Steve Kerr

Record: 57-25

Roster: Jordan Bell, Andrew Bogut, Quinn Cook, DeMarcus Cousins, Stephen Curry, Marcus Derrickson, Kevin Durant, Jacob Evans, Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala, Jonas Jerebko, Damian Jones, Damion Lee, Shaun Livingston, Kevon Looney, Alfonzo McKinnie, Klay Thompson

The three-peat was never a given, but it was right there, within reach. As injury-impacted NBA championships go, this one is right up there. With Steph, KD and Klay, the Dubs were the scariest offensive team in the League; but a mix of minor and major injuries to the Splash Bros, Durant and much of the supporting cast in May and June were too much for the Dubs to overcome. Toronto got them in six games in the Finals. You just know they’d love a do-over.

40. 1993-94 Houston Rockets

Coach: Rudy Tomjanovich

Record: 58-24

Roster: Scott Brooks, Matt Bullard, Sam Cassell, Earl Cureton, Mario Elie, Carl Herrera, Robert Horry, Chris Jent, Vernon Maxwell, Hakeem Olajuwon, Richard Petruska, Eric Riley, Larry Robinson, Kenny Smith, Otis Thorpe

Go ahead and attribute Houston’s first title to Michael Jordan’s baseball flirtation. Others have done it, and it’s just wrong. The Rockets excelled at both ends of the court, had all-time great Hakeem Olajuwon and his Dream Shake in the middle and boasted a versatile lineup of fierce gamers like guards Kenny Smith and Vernon Maxwell and rugged Otis Thorpe. Houston outlasted the Knicks in a classic Finals series and deserves a title with no asterisk.

39. 1983-84 Boston Celtics

Coach: KC Jones

Record: 62-20

Roster: Danny Ainge, Larry Bird, Quinn Buckner, ML Carr, Carlos Clark, Gerald Henderson, Dennis Johnson, Greg Kite, Cedric Maxwell, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Scott Wedman

After two years of watching hated rivals Philadelphia and the Lakers hoist the trophy, Boston reclaimed its rightful spot atop the NBA. Or at least that’s how Celtics fans figured it. Call the roll: Larry Bird, Robert Parish and Kevin McHale were up front. Dennis Johnson, Cedric Maxwell and Gerald Henderson handled the backcourt. The Celtics had way more regular-season victories than anyone else and won a thrilling seven-gamer over L.A. to take the title.

38. 2011-12 Miami Heat

Coach: Erik Spoelstra

Record: 46-20

Roster: Joel Anthony, Shane Battier, Chris Bosh, Mario Chalmers, Norris Cole, Eddy Curry, Mickell Gladness, Terrel Harris, Udonis Haslem, Juwan Howard, LeBron James, James Jones, Mike Miller, Dexter Pittman, Ronny Turiaf, Dwyane Wade

Although LeBron James had taken his talents to Miami a year earlier, the Heat hadn’t won a title. In the lockout-shortened ’11-12 campaign, James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh & Co. changed that. The Big Three were a force all season, and a strong supporting cast helped fuel a focused postseason run. The seven-game Eastern Finals series with Boston was a grind, but the Heat dominated OKC in the Finals to take the title.

37. 1972-73 New York Knicks

Coach: Red Holzman

Record: 57-25

Roster: Dick Barnett, Henry Bibby, Bill Bradley, Dave DeBusschere, Walt Frazier, John Gianelli, Phil Jackson, Jerry Lucas, Dean Meminger, Earl Monroe, Luther Rackley, Willis Reed, Tom Riker, Harthorne Wingo

If it’s possible, the Knicks five-game wipeout of L.A. in the Finals was actually an anticlimax after their thrilling Eastern Finals upset of the Celtics. The Knicks were the consummate collection of team players. Backcourt men Walt Frazier and Earl Monroe were practically unguardable. Dave DeBusschere was a force inside, while Bill Bradley patrolled the wings. Jerry Lucas was the League’s best passing big man, and Willis Reed could still hang with the best centers around.

36. 1999-2000 Los Angeles Lakers

Coach: Phil Jackson

Record: 67-15

Roster: Kobe Bryant, John Celestand, Derek Fisher, Rick Fox, Devean George, AC Green, Ron Harper, Robert Horry, Sam Jacobson, Travis Knight, Tyronn Lue, Shaquille O’Neal, Glen Rice,
John Salley, Brian Shaw

This was the first of three straight for the Big Brother-Little Brother Lakers. Shaq and Kobe were together for three seasons before ’99-00, and although their relationship wasn’t always the warmest, their talent was overwhelming. There was just no stopping the Diesel. O’Neal overpowered defenders and swept the boards clean, while Bryant provided offense from all over. Glen Rice was a potent outside weapon, and a cast of veteran winners completed the Laker machine.

35. 1979-80 Los Angeles Lakers

Record: 60-22

Roster: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Ron Boone, Marty Byrnes, Kenny Carr, Jim Chones, Michael Cooper, Don Ford, Spencer Haywood, Brad Holland, Magic Johnson, Mark Landsberger, Butch Lee, Ollie Mack, Norm Nixon, Jamaal Wilkes

Showtime made its NBA debut in Magic Johnson’s rookie season, when the 6-9 point guard brought fun back to the Lakers and kick-started perhaps the League’s most entertaining decade. Johnson revitalized center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and served as the trigger for a raucous L.A. attack that was bolstered by Norm Nixon, Jamaal Wilkes and Jim Chones. The Lakers ruled the West and finished off Philadelphia in six, with Johnson scoring 42 in the Finals-clinching victory.

34. 2014-15 Golden State Warriors

Coach: Steve Kerr

Record: 67-15

Roster: Leandro Barbosa, Harrison Barnes, Andrew Bogut, Stephen Curry, Festus Ezeli, Draymond Green, Justin Holiday, Andre Iguodala, Ognjen Kuzmic, David Lee, Shaun Livingston, James Michael McAdoo, Brandon Rush, Marreese Speights, Klay Thompson

The Warriors’ first title in 40 years—and the first of three in four seasons—was accomplished primarily by the never-ending shooting of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, whose solution to tough defenses was simply to move back another step or two. Draymond Green handled the tough work and never backed down from a soul, while Harrison Barnes and Marreese Speights did what was necessary. The Warriors dumped the Cavs in six to take the crown.

33. 1976-77 Portland Trail Blazers

Coach: Jack Ramsay

Record: 49-33

Roster: Corky Calhoun, Johnny Davis, Herm Gilliam, Bob Gross, Lionel Hollins, Robin Jones, Maurice Lucas, Clyde Mayes, Lloyd Neal, Larry Steele, Dave Twardzik, Wally Walker, Bill Walton

The Blazers weren’t overpowering during the regular season, but by the playoffs, they had become the perfect team, working as a highly efficient unit under coach Jack Ramsay. It all started with Bill Walton, a pivot savant who could pass, score and rebound. Maurice Lucas provided the muscle, with Lionel Hollins, Dave Twardzik, Bob Gross and Larry Steele willingly playing supporting roles. Portland overcame Julius Erving’s high-flying Sixers in the Finals with textbook unselfish basketball.

Read here to find out who made it on the rest of the list, including No. 75-66, 65-55 and 54-44.

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We’re gonna keep it real though: this list was pretty tough to put together. It was mostly guided by the idea that the way to measure the true quality of a team is to think about how much better they were than everyone else they played against. Some decent team in the 2000s would almost definitely destroy an excellent team from the ’70s if we teleported all of the players into the same dimension and let them go at it, but that’s not how this works. This is about dominating your era. Read here for No. 75-66, and 65-55.

Here’s our top 55-44 best teams of all time:

54. 1978-79 Seattle Supersonics

Coach: Lenny Wilkens

Record: 52-30

Roster: Dennis Awtrey, Fred Brown, Lars Hansen, Joe Hassett, Dennis Johnson, John Johnson, Tom LaGarde, Jackie Robinson, Lonnie Shelton, Jack Sikma, Paul Silas, Dick Snyder, Wally Walker, Gus Williams

For the greatest team in franchise history, it was all about balance. Seven players averaged double-figures for Seattle in ’78-79, led by the high-powered young backcourt duo of Gus Williams (19.2 ppg) and Dennis Johnson (15.9 ppg), while second-year big man Jack Sikma held it down in the paint to the tune of 15.6 and 12.4 per game. The Sonics rode that young core to the Finals, where they dropped the series opener in Washington before taking four straight from the Bullets.

53. 1974-75 Golden State Warriors

Coach: Al Attles

Record: 48-34

Roster: Rick Barry, Butch Beard, Steve Bracey, Bill Bridges, Derrek Dickey, Charles Dudley, Charles Johnson, George Johnson, Frank Kendrick, Jeff Mullins, Clifford Ray, Phil Smith, Jamaal Wilkes

Rick Barry led the NBA in free-throw percentage and steals in ’74-75, League-leading numbers
to go along with a casual 30.6 ppg, 6.2 apg and 5.7 rpg. The Dubs were solid, with silky-smooth rookie Jamaal Wilkes averaging 14.2 ppg and a steady backcourt pairing of Butch Beard and Charles Johnson. But it was Barry, a decade into a spectacular career, who carried Golden State to a Finals sweep of the Bullets for the franchise’s first championship since relocating to the Bay.

52. 1987-88 Los Angeles Lakers

Coach: Pat Riley

Record: 62-20

Roster: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Tony Campbell, Michael Cooper, AC Green, Magic Johnson, Jeff Lamp, Wes Matthews, Kurt Rambis, Byron Scott, Mike Smrek, Billy Thompson, Mychal Thompson, Ray Tolbert, Milt Wagner, James Worthy

It had been 19 years since an NBA champion successfully defended its title, so when Pat Riley guaranteed his Lakers would do just that after the ’87 Finals, the pressure was on. If not for Isiah Thomas’ injured ankle, Detroit might have made Riley a liar, but don’t tell a Laker fan that the last title of the Showtime era was a fluke. James Worthy confirmed his Hall of Fame bona fides with a 36-point triple-double in Game 7 to ensure his coach’s guarantee held up.

51. 2020-21 Milwaukee Bucks

Coach: Mike Budenholzer

Record: 46-26

Roster: Jaylen Adams, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Thanasis Antetokounmpo, DJ Augustin, Elijah Bryant, Pat Connaughton, Torrey Craig, Mamadi Diakite, Donte DiVincenzo, Bryn Forbes, Jrue Holiday, Justin Jackson, Rodions Kurucs, Brook Lopez, Sam Merrill, Khris Middleton, Jordan Nwora, Bobby Portis, Jeff Teague, Axel Toupane, PJ Tucker, DJ Wilson

You can focus on the pandemic-shortened schedule, or the placement of Kevin Durant’s toe, but as time passes, what people will remember about the ’20-21 season will mostly come down to one dude: Giannis. A two-time League MVP who still faced skeptics who said he couldn’t produce when it mattered most, Antetokounmpo did just that, first against KD and the Nets (31.9 ppg, 12.9 rpg) in a seven-game Eastern Conference Semifinal thriller, then even more impressively against the Suns (35.2, 13.2) in the Finals.

50. 2009-10 Los Angeles Lakers

Coach: Phil Jackson

Record: 57-25

Roster: Ron Artest, Shannon Brown, Kobe Bryant, Andrew Bynum, Jordan Farmar, Derek Fisher, Pau Gasol, DJ Mbenga, Adam Morrison, Lamar Odom, Josh Powell, Sasha Vujacic, Luke Walton

It was Kobe’s team, but even prime Kobe knew he couldn’t do it alone. In 2010, with a title to defend and a matchup with the hated Celtics in the Finals, the Lakers’ star once again relied on the steadiness of Pau Gasol (18.6 ppg, 11.3 rpg), and got invaluable defense and clutch play from a resurgent Ron Artest. “Kobe passed me the ball!” the man now known as Metta Sandiford-Artest said after hitting a title-sealing three late in Game 7. Every Laker fan shared his joy.

49. 1973-74 Boston Celtics

Coach: Tom Heinsohn

Record: 56-26

Roster: Don Chaney, Dave Cowens, Steve Downing, Hank Finkel, Phil Hankinson, John Havlicek, Steve Kuberski, Don Nelson, Paul Silas, Paul Westphal, Jo Jo White, Art Williams

Russell and Cousy were retired, Red Auerbach was no longer on the bench, and it had been five long years since the Celtics last hung a banner from the Garden rafters. But with John Havlicek (22.6 ppg) still around and young Dave Cowens (19 ppg, 15.7 rpg) already looking like a future Hall of Famer, Boston decided five years was long enough. They needed seven games to take down Kareem, Oscar and the Bucks, but soon enough, Red was lighting that stogie once again.

48. 2010-11 Dallas Mavericks

Coach: Rick Carlisle

Record: 57-25

Roster: Alexis Ajinca, JJ Barea, Rodrigue Beaubois, Corey Brewer, Caron Butler, Brian Cardinal, Tyson Chandler, Brendan Haywood, Dominique Jones, Jason Kidd, Ian Mahinmi, Shawn Marion, Steve Novak, Dirk Nowitzki, Sasha Pavlovic, DeShawn Stevenson, Peja Stojakovic, Jason Terry

There was still a sense that calling Dirk Nowitzki “the greatest European player of all time” was sort of a diss. Nobody doubted his production, but plenty of people questioned whether he could be that dude when it mattered. All questions were answered that June: With help from a veteran supporting cast that included Jason Terry, Shawn Marion, Tyson Chandler and 37-year-old Jason Kidd, Dirk averaged 26 points and 9.7 rebounds in the Finals to dispatch the Heatles and confirm his spot among the all-time greats.

47. 2005-06 Miami Heat

Coach: Stan Van Gundy, Pat Riley

Record: 52-30

Roster: Derek Anderson, Shandon Anderson, Earl Barron, Michael Doleac, Gerald Fitch, Udonis Haslem, Jason Kapono, Alonzo Mourning, Shaquille O’Neal, Gary Payton, James Posey, Wayne Simien, Dwyane Wade, Antoine Walker, Matt Walsh, Jason Williams, Dorell Wright

A decade dominated by the Lakers and Spurs didn’t leave much room for Eastern Conference contenders, but in ’06, a Miami team loaded with loose parts and a wild array of past-their-prime big-name vets coalesced around a dynamic third-year guard from Marquette. Sure, Dwyane Wade benefitted from some friendly officiating in a Finals matchup that Dirk and the Mavs are probably still mad about, but mostly, Flash earned what he got in leading the Heat out of a 0-2 Finals hole and on to the title.

46. 2003-04 Detroit Pistons

Coach: Larry Brown

Record: 54-28

Roster: Chucky Atkins, Chauncey Billups, Elden Campbell, Hubert Davis, Tremaine Fowlkes, Darvin Ham, Richard Hamilton, Lindsey Hunter, Mike James, Darko Milicic, Mehmet Okur,  Tayshaun Prince, Zeljko Rebraca, Bob Sura, Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, Corliss Williamson

Larry Brown talked all the time about playing basketball “the right way,” but he had never
won a title until the Pistons hit the League with their stifling defense. Sure, Richard Hamilton was a potent scorer, Chauncey Billups was good all year (especially in the Finals win over the Lakers) and the mid-year arrival of Rasheed Wallace was huge. But the embodiment of Detroit was lunch-pail center Ben Wallace, whose relentless approach keyed a championship.

45. 1998-99 San Antonio Spurs

Coach: Gregg Popovich

Record: 37-13

Roster: Antonio Daniels, Tim Duncan, Mario Elie, Sean Elliott, Andrew Gaze, Jaren Jackson, Avery Johnson, Steve Kerr, Jerome Kersey, Gerard King, Will Perdue, David Robinson, Malik Rose, Brandon Williams

It was the post-Bulls era and a lockout-shortened season, but the Spurs were ascendant. Their first championship team featured the Tim Duncan-David Robinson interior axis, one of the few times a twin towers configuration had enjoyed supreme success. Avery Johnson ran the team, Mario Elie hit big shots and locked down opposing high scorers, while Sean Elliott was a do-everything type who fit in perfectly. The Spurs lost just two games the entire postseason.

44. 1994-95 Houston Rockets

Coach: Ruddy Tomjanovich

Record: 47-35

Roster: Tim Breaux, Scott Brooks, Chucky Brown, Adrian Caldwell, Sam Cassell, Pete Chilcutt, Clyde Drexler, Mario Elie, Carl Herrera, Robert Horry, Charles Jones, Vernon Maxwell, Tracy Murray, Hakeem Olajuwon, Kenny Smith, Zan Tabak, Otis Thorpe

If Houston’s ’94 title run was inspired, the ’95 version seemed unlikely to ever happen. The Rockets posted the NBA’s 10th-best record and were pushed to the distance in their first two playoff rounds. But something about matchups with arguably the other two best centers in the League seemed just what Hakeem Olajuwon needed: He Dream-shook and dominated newly crowned MVP David Robinson in the conference finals, then went for 32.8 and 11.5 to sweep young Shaq and the Magic for the title.

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KD’s first appearance in SLAM? Issue #92 in November of 2005.

Subscribe now for more gems like this in the SLAM Digital Archive: https://t.co/bjzCbjnqmw pic.twitter.com/Mc9IyV8mWl

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) March 3, 2022

After missing almost a month of basketball due to a sprained MCL, Kevin Durant was surely ready to get back to work. Coming into the contest against Miami, the nine-time All-NBA selection made it clear he didn’t want to be deemed the savior of the Nets’ title hopes.

Easy Money Sniper dropped 17 points, four rebounds, and two assists in the first half of action. His first bucket of the night was a smooth mid-range jumper over Heat center Omar Yurtseven.

After scoring nine points in almost nine minutes of play in the first quarter, Durant didn’t touch the floor again until late in the second quarter when he strung together a vintage scoring outburst, starting with a two-dribble middy over Bam Adebayo.

Moments later, Durant knocked down another mid-range jumper from the right elbow over Duncan Robinson and Caleb Martin.

Then the former MVP turned the temperature up a notch on the Heat after cashing in a hesi pull-up triple with ninety seconds left in the 2nd quarter over Martin, AGAIN!

As expected, the Durants second half was just as good as his first. With the Nets trailing the Heat, 88-84, Durant continued to do what he usually does, get buckets.

Durant tried his best to bring his team back during a gritty fourth quarter during the final frame. The Heat built a lead as large as 10 after two free throws from Tyler Herro. Durant made it interesting late after burying a 13-foot jumper and sinking a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to two, but that’s as close as the Nets would get.

Adebayo slammed the door shut after making a short jumper, and Herro iced the game from the line to give the Heat a 113-107 win.

Although the performance felt sweet to most, winning would’ve put the icing on the cake. Durant ended his comeback game, scoring 25+ for the 30th time this season.

There’s no doubt that Kevin Durant was locked-in and eager to play in front of a jam-packed Barclays Arena, debuting what looks like a new signature colorway for his 14th signature shoe.

After putting on an outstanding performance, Kevin Durant and the eighth seed Brooklyn Nets (32-32) will look to break their four-game losing streak when they take on the sixth-place Boston Celtics (38-27) on Sunday afternoon.

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And though the Heat has been an excellent start to the season, Shooting guard Duncan Robinson has struggled so far.

Robinson, who signed a massive five-year, 90 million dollar contract, is currently shooting 32.8 percent from three, short of his historic 44.6 percent from the season prior. He struggled during Monday’s games against the Denver Nuggets, shooting 1-9 from the three-point line.

Although Duncan has struggled to get his shot to fall, people throughout the franchise are still confident in Robinson’s abilities.

“I know Duncan is a heck of a shooter,” Heat guard Kyle Lowry said to the Miami Herald. “We all understand what he is, what he’s doing and how he can get the ball off, and how many shots he can make.

“Duncan knows exactly what he’s doing,” Heat teammate Max Strus said of Robinson per the Miami Herald, “He just got paid $90 million, I think he’s good enough. So he’s an unbelievable shooter. He’ll be fine. Trust me, it will all come around. It’s just a slump and he’ll get out of it.”

Robinson is still a lethal weapon in the Heat offense and should be more of an asset moving forward with Bam Adebayo out with a thumb injury.

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“If they’re in the NBA, or playing overseas in the G League, whatever they do obviously got them somewhere. So, you want to continue to groom that stuff,” he explains over Zoom. “Let’s say you watch 30 games of a guy and he’s a really good three point shooter [and] he shoots the ball really well from both wings and the top of the key, we’ll go through that stuff. And then when you see that he struggles from the corner, [or] he struggles off the pick and roll or off the dribble, then the workout would consist of trying to improve that.” 

Training typically starts in June following the NBA playoffs. As a coach, Derrick says he’s “super big on the details of the game,” and, through extensively studying a player’s film, he’s able to simulate in-game play to help player’s maximize their potential. 

“I’m not inventing some new style of training that doesn’t exist. What I try to do is watch film on these players so that when they come in, I know where they’re at out on the floor, I know what type of system that their team is currently running. So, when I’m putting together the drills, it basically mimics what they would do in the game.”

He continues: “[Using] SWOT analysis, one thing I do is track their percentages, even in the workouts. It holds them accountable. If we start in the middle of June and we’re shooting—let’s say we shoot 100 three’s at the end of every workout, and they’re making 60-70. And then by the time you get to July, you know, they’re consistently hitting 80-85, sometimes 90. Once they see that, they know what we’re doing is working. And then obviously a lot of this stuff is mental, so that when they get in the game, they just have the confidence that they put in those hours and those reps. Hopefully it leads to some kind of success in their season.”

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Derrick knows the game well, having grown up around it his entire life: his father, Octavio De La Grana is currently the Assistant Coach/Player Development for the Miami Heat, but prior to coaching in the NBA, he led the high school program at Florida Christian in Miami. During those early years, a young Derrick would often accompany his father to camps and clinics, where he’d be fully immersed in skills training and coaching. 

In high school, Derrick suited up for Florida Christian, where as a point guard he amassed over 2,000 career points and earned First Team All-County and All-State honors. He then took his talents to the NAIA’s Reinhardt University in Georgia.

While attending college, Derrick’s father joined the Miami Heat’s staff in 2007, the season after Shaquille O’Neal and D-Wade won the title. It was then that Derrick got an exclusive inside-peek at what it took to run a successful championship organization. After graduating in 2010, Derrick took his talents overseas to play for the Universidad Católica de Chile in Santiago, Chile. While there, he was also commissioned to run skills clinics in Chile, as well as China, Costa Rica, Germany, and Puerto Rico. 

Following his pro career, Derrick took on a head coaching job at Calusa Preparatory School in 2012. He says it was then that a lot of young hoppers in the area also started hitting him up to run through drills and workouts, prompting him to pick up a “side hustle” in training one or two players at a time. 

“I really started studying, watching film and designing my own workouts to cater to a specific player. So, if a kid was 6-foot-8 and he was a bigger type of guy, [I would try] to do stuff for that kind of kid,” he says. “Just kind of doing more detail oriented stuff.”

Since then, Derrick has worked with hoopers at every level of the game: from Tyler Herro’s lil’ bros Austin and Myles Herro to Columbia-commit Emily Montes and basketball influencer Tristian Jass, who has 2 million followers on Instagram.

He started consistently training pro players, such as James Johnson and Ellington, five years ago. With Miami being a vacation spot for many players, as well as his dad’s ties with the Heat, Derrick and a friend decided to put together an open gym.

It was then, Derrick says, that he started to learn the ropes, and through working with Johnson and Ellington, he built up his confidence as a trainer. 

“I’ve always been confident in what I did, and what I brought to the table with that stuff. But when those guys are telling you, you’re onto something, we like what you’re doing, that really gave me the confidence to just step into any gym or training facility and be able to do what I do without questioning stuff. That was probably what got me going.” 

His clientele has grown by fostering relationships with players and coaches around the League. He linked up with D-Lo through Johnson—the two played together on the Timberwolves, and Russell had even bought a house near him. 

“JJ was like, Hey, this is a guy that I work with sometimes, you know, if you ever need a gym, you ever want to workout, hit him up. And we spent last summer together when everything was shut down [during the pandemic], going from random gym to random gym trying to get working. It was cool.” 

Derrick uses the opportunity of working with NBA players to pick their brains and learn from them, as well as other coaches around the League.  

“Sometimes with different players on different teams, some of their coaching staff will sneak in, so that I get to coordinate with those guys and learn from them, too. It’s been pretty dope to [work with players] when [they] go to different teams and branch out a little bit.” 

While he didn’t necessarily see being an NBA Player Development coach as his exact career path—growing up with a coach as a father, he “always knew” he’d follow that route, and even aspired to become a basketball coach like Pat Riley “with all the swag and all that”—his journey has led him to skills training. With a “laid back” approach to his craft and music blasting in the gym, he tries to make sure that his players are comfortable and tapped in while they dedicate their offseasons to the grind.

“I try to keep a chill vibe, because at the end of the day, this is offseason,” he says. “These guys come in and they’re here to get better. They’re here to work.” 

Photos via Kimberly Toledo and Ethan Zabari. Follow them both on Instagram, @holytoledophoto and @ethanzabarifilms.

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All of those accomplishments added up to Duncan Robinson signing the largest contract by an undrafted player in NBA history. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, he’s signed a five-year, $90 million extension this week.

Duncan Robinson – host of the @TheLongshotPod – has agreed to a 5-year, $90M contract to stay with the Miami Heat, his agent Jason Glushon of @GlushonSM tells ESPN. The deal, largest ever for an undrafted player, also includes an ETO after the fourth year.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 2, 2021

The Athletic’s John Hollinger reports that even though the market for Robinson was in the $16-$18 million range, the Heat would match the offers for him.

“One thing that seems more clear – League sources expect the price on Duncan Robinson to land in the $18 million a year range, and that the Heat will likely match offers on the restricted free agent at this price point,”

Last season, Robinson averaged 13.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game on the strength of an impressive shooting display of 40.8 percent from behind the three-point line. Duncan finished fifth in the NBA in three-pointers made behind Stephen Curry, Buddy Hield, Damian Lillard, and CJ McCollum.

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The Hall of Fame Class of 2020 decides the selection of previous inductees to make the presentations. Due to Kobe Bryant’s tragic accident back in January of 2020, his family made the decision of selecting Jordan, who spoke at Kobe’s memorial service in February 2020.

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It was at the memorial service where Jordan gave the true insight of their close relationship.

“At first, it was an aggravation,” Jordan said of Bryant constantly peppering him with questions early in his career, per ESPN. “Then it became a passion.

“As I got to know him, I wanted to be the best big brother I could be.”

Jordan will be a busy man at the ceremony. He is the only Hall of Famer that will present two candidates to the Hall of Fame, introducing Baylor’s women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey into the Hall as well.

The other 2020 Hall of Fame Inductees and Presenters are as follows.

• Patrick Baumann, presented by Russ Granik (’13), Vlade Divac (’19)
• Kobe Bryant, presented by Michael Jordan (’09)
• Tamika Catchings, presented by Alonzo Mourning (’14), Dawn Staley (’13)
• Tim Duncan, presented by David Robinson (’09)
• Kevin Garnett, presented by Isiah Thomas (’00)
• Kim Mulkey, presented by Michael Jordan (’09)
• Barbara Stevens, presented by Geno Auriemma (’06), Muffet McGraw (’17)
• Eddie Sutton, presented by John Calipari (’15), Bill Self (’17), Sidney Moncrief (’19)
• Rudy Tomjanovich, presented by Calvin Murphy (’93), Hakeem Olajuwon (’08)

The 2020 class of honorees had to wait a year for induction due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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15 of the finalists were added to the 2021 USA National Team roster on Thursday, with U.S. Men’s National Basketball Team managing director Jerry Colangelo revealing the rationale for an expanded field of finalists in an official press release:

“With the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics from 2020 to 2021, it’s important that we continue to remain flexible and consider all players who can contribute to our efforts to field the best USA team possible. These additions we are announcing today will help ensure that we are doing that.”

The 15 finalists that were added to the original list of 42 players is as follows:

Center Jarrett Allen (Cleveland Cavaliers); guard Eric Gordon (Houston Rockets); forward Jerami Grant (Detroit Pistons); forward Blake Griffin (Brooklyn Nets); guard Jrue Holiday (Milwaukee Bucks); center DeAndre Jordan (Brooklyn Nets); guard Zach LaVine (Chicago Bulls); forward Julius Randle (New York Knicks); forward Duncan Robinson (Miami Heat); center Mitchell Robinson (New York Knicks); Guard Fred VanVleet (Toronto Raptors); guard John Wall (Houston Rockets); forward Zion Williamson (New Orleans Pelicans); center Christian Wood (Houston Rockets); and guard Trae Young (Atlanta Hawks).

Among the 57 finalists, 29 players have participated in international competition, whether it was the Olympic Games or a FIBA World Cup. This includes 11 players who were represented on the 2019 FIBA World Cup roster.

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, who remains noncommittal about playing in the upcoming Olympic Games, has the most Olympic appearances in the player pool, appearing on the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympic rosters.

Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul and Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant both have two Olympic appearances each.

Of the 57 players, only two have never represented the United States internationally or participated in a United States Basketball training session: Wood and Robinson.

Meanwhile, only 24 of the NBA’s 30 teams are represented in the player pool, with only the Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Orlando Magic, Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies and Oklahoma City Thunder not represented.

The U.S. Men’s Olympic Basketball Team will be coached by San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, with Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, Villanova head coach Jay Wright and former Atlanta Hawks head coach Lloyd Pierce joining him on the bench as assistants.

The 2021 Olympic Games are scheduled to take place from Jul. 23 – Aug. 8 in Tokyo, Japan.

The post USA Basketball Men’s National Team Announces 57 Finalists for Tokyo Olympics appeared first on SLAM.

NBA veteran Udonis Haslem was recently a guest on the Neat and Unfiltered Podcast with Kenyon Martin Sr. and said that Duncan Robinson is the best shooter he’s ever seen. 

“Duncan the best shooter I ever seen bruh. I’ve been with the greatest ones. Ray Allen, Mike Miller, James Jones, Rashard Lewis, Daequan Cook. I’ve been with some people that have won 3-point competitions.”

Haslem, currently a member of the Heat and teammate of Robinson, would go on to give more detail on what makes him so special when it comes to converting from beyond the arc. 

“The thing that makes Duncan the best shooter is the way he gets his shot off. He gets his shot off in multiple different ways: off the dribble, off the handoff, step back, side step. I ain’t never seen nobody don’t stop moving throughout the whole game.”

Robinson is a second-year NBA player who went undrafted and started his college career at a Division III school. As a rookie in the 2019-20 season, he broke the team record for the most threes in a single season and got roughly a third of the way to becoming the franchise’s all-time leader in the category in that single season. 

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Bam Adebayo and Duncan Robinson have shown up to work through the first stretch of the season and will be instrumental in the team’s success for the rest of the year.

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

Tyler Herro	17.0p, 6.5r, 4.5a
Gabe Vincent	7.0p, 2.0r, 2.0a
Avery Bradley	14.0p, 2.0r, 1.7a
Max Strus	7.0p, 0.0r, 1.0a
Kelly Olynyk	8.3p, 5.3r, 2.3a
Goran Dragic	16.5p, 2.8r, 4.8a
KZ Okpala	1.5p, 2.0r, 0.0a	–
Duncan Robinson	12.5p, 3.8r, 0.5a
Bam Adebayo	19.0p, 7.3r, 5.0a
Andre Iguodala	2.0p, 5.0r, 1.7a
Chris Silva	1.0p, 0.0r, 0.0a
Jimmy Butler	11.5p, 4.5r, 6.0a
Meyers Leonard	4.5p, 1.5r, 0.5a
Kendrick Nunn	6.0p, 1.7r, 2.3a
Maurice Harkless	0.8p, 1.0r, 0.3a

Team-by-Team Breakdown

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“Basketball is all I know,” Pryor, who averaged 7.5 points last season last season for the Utah Jazz’s G League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars, says over the phone. “I’m a professional basketball player,”

But not for the past nine months. It’s not that he’s given up on his NBA dream, or that he’s grown tired of the G League’s long bus rides and poor pay. The issue is that, right now, jobs for players like Pryor don’t exist.

“A lot of players are getting squeezed,” one veteran agent says.

The coronavirus has wreaked havoc on the professional basketball ecosystem, and no one in that world has felt the brunt more so than those players on the fringes of the NBA. The cancellation of Summer League robbed undrafted rookies and young free agents of a critical audition space. The uncertainty of the G League’s future (the plan as of this writing is to implement some sort of limited bubble, but with many NBA teams strapped for cash, some, reportedly, are uninterested in footing the bill for their G League squads) has thrust professionals like Pryor, who haven’t played a game since the league shut down in March, into a state of limbo. That many of these players were stretched financially even before the coronavirus arrived—last year’s average G League salary was $35,000—creates even more angst.

Going overseas would typically be an appealing option, but the virus has made doing so more difficult. Some international teams, agents say, weren’t interested in dealing with the quarantine periods that come with signing Americans, or the added expenses of finding them homes. Meanwhile, some players are hesitant to leave loved ones and others didn’t want to worry about adjusting to a new country amidst a raging pandemic.

“Our options are limited,” says Phil Booth, a guard who played last season for the Washington Wizards’ G League team.

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Pryor says that he speaks to his agent multiple times a day, seeking any sort of update. In the meantime, he keeps busy by staying ready, just in case the call comes. Wake up at 8, weights at 9, on-court work at 10. Finding an open gym was hard—until a good friend of his, an overseas guard named Rayshawn Simmons who happens to be close friends with Wizards All-Star Bradley Beal, offered Pryor the use of Beal’s half-court set-up, near Pryor’s Fairfax, VA, home.

It’s one of the many reasons Pryor says he’s lucky. Another is that his wife has a steady government job—meaning he doesn’t have to look for side gigs, like the teammate who recently began working at Chick-fil-A.

Still, the uncertainty of it all weighs on him. He and his wife married over the summer—they got their first place together, a one-bedroom apartment they were only able to afford because its price had been slashed—and would like to celebrate with a ceremony, so they’re saving up. They’ve talked about starting a family, too.

“Finances are a big concern,” Pryor says.

CJ Williams isn’t married, but he shares those worries. At 30, he’s older than most of his G League peers, so he thinks about the future in ways they don’t. He knows his career is winding down. “But I think a guy like me still has something to contribute,” he says. He’s played 53 NBA games, and traveled all over the country and world. Now he’s living in North Carolina, and thanks to a friendship with a local middle school coach he was able to secure time at a nearby gym. He spends most of his time training, but also calling his agent and scanning the latest NBA news. When he sees players like former All-Star Isaiah Thomas unsigned, he grows concerned.

“A team in the G League might take him over me,” Williams says. “Stuff like that is on my mind every day. It’s hard not to worry.”

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Undrafted players like Nate Pierre-Louis are facing different stresses. A 21-year-old guard out of Temple, Pierre-Louis declared for the draft early after graduating in three years. Had this been a normal year, he’d likely still be playing in college. Maybe he would have stayed at Temple, or perhaps he would have looked to transfer to another school. “But with the coronavirus everywhere, it didn’t seem like a good idea,” he said. Too much uncertainty, too many concerns.

Pierre-Louis knew it was unlikely he’d get drafted and that NBA scouts didn’t think he had the jump shot or handle to make the NBA. But he also thought his game would translate better at the pro level, no matter where that was, and that someone, somewhere, would give him a chance. He says money isn’t a problem, but he does worry about falling off the basketball map.

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“I just want an opportunity to prove myself,” he says. “I haven’t been seen for nine months. That’s literally two college off-seasons I’ve had to work and to get better. One thousand shots a day. Things like that.

“I’ve gotten better, but I haven’t gotten a chance to show it,” he adds. Even if he did, it’s unclear where a player like him would find a home. As one prominent NBA agent puts it, “If there is a G League bubble, I’m not sure how much emphasis from the teams there will be on developing young guys versus trying to find players to immediately add to the NBA roster.” He and others bring up Duncan Robinson—the Miami Heat sharpshooter who became a revelation after spending a season with the Heat’s G League unit—and say they’re dubious his story could be replicated under the current realities.

Recently, Pryor has taken the plunge and begun planning for life after basketball. He’s working on an apparel company. He wants to leverage his contacts across the sport and supply gear for athletes at schools that can’t afford Nikes or Jordans. He also wants his company to provide those schools with a curriculum “to help athletes find their identities on and off the court.” He has a logo already and is calling the company ID.

Pryor’s excited, but not ready to give up basketball yet. He believes in what he brings to a team. He’s heard the news about the bubble setting the G-League is hoping to set up in the winter and thinks there will always be a place for players willing to let others do the scoring, who want to pick up full court and don’t care about their individual stats, who care about winning the way he does. And if not?

“I heard Puerto Rico might be doing a league,” Pryor says. “I can check that out.”

The post What It’s Like to Be a G League Player During COVID appeared first on SLAM.

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

Biggest Questions

• Were the things the Heat did on the 2020 postseason run sustainable? They kicked it into another gear once the regular season came to a close. Will the Heat be a top three or four seed in the East?
• Can Goran Dragic stay healthy? He was one of their most important players early in the playoff run and ultimately got hurt. If he gets hurt again in the upcoming season, Miami will look like a completely different team.

All NBA Team Offseason Summaries

The post Miami Heat: Projected 2020-21 Depth Chart appeared first on SLAM.

In a recent media availability session, Spoelstra gave additional insight into the Heat’s priorities. He talked about how they owe it to Jimmy Butler to make sure they’re making moves to win now, rather than building for the future. 

“We feel a great responsibility for Jimmy to win now, instead of pushing this thing down the line.” 

After losing in the 2020 NBA Finals, Miami will look to run it back and try to win a title this season. This experience will be good for their young players in Tyler Herro, Kendrick Nunn, and Duncan Robinson. 

The post Erik Spoelstra: ‘We Feel a Great Responsibility tor Jimmy to Win Now’ appeared first on SLAM.

San Antonio’s current veteran stars — LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan — don’t seem like they really want to be there. However, while they might be looking forward to becoming free agents in 2021 (DeRozan can actually decline his player option for the 2020-21 season if he would like), it means that the Spurs will either take another step back in the 2021-22 season or that they put more pressure on themselves to expedite their rebuild.

Frankly, with a lottery pick and the chance to cut a substantial chunk of their team payroll in a summer when there will be a sizable amount of marquee free agents, San Antonio’s future isn’t as bleak as it may seem. The Spurs have just been dominant for so long that the rebuild feels as if it’s taking much longer than it really is.

Related: Full San Antonio Spurs 2020 Salary Cap Preview

2020 NBA Draft Picks

Spurs Draft Needs

There’s a perfect player for the Spurs to select with their lottery pick in Saddiq Bey. However, finding out how to utilize their second-round selection will be a bit more tricky for San Antonio.

It’s no secret that the Spurs have been somewhat resistant to falling in line with the rest of the NBA when it comes to taking 3-point shots. Not that they weren’t efficient when they did take them, shooting .376 from deep last season (4th in the NBA). It’s just that they didn’t do so too often; their 28.5 3-point attempts per game ranked 28th in the NBA.

That said, while improving their potency from behind-the-arc will help them transform a traditional offense into a modern one, San Antonio’s primary issues last season were on the defensive end. With five rotation players that were at least 30-years-old last season, the Spurs needs to get younger and more athletic in their frontcourt.

2020 NBA Draft Prospect Watchlist

What The Mocks Are Saying

Projected Roster

The post San Antonio Spurs: 2020 NBA Draft Preview appeared first on SLAM.

Guided by one of the league’s best coaches in Erik Spoelstra and one of the most influential NBA executives in Pat Riley, the Heat have excelled in the player development department and built a gritty culture in Miami. This bodes well for the Heat entering the 2020 NBA Draft, as they hold a top-20 selection that could be as impactful as Duncan Robinson, Kendrick Nunn, Bam Adebayo or Tyler Herro have been for them.

With Goran Dragic’s future with the team unclear though, Miami may not have the luxury of missing on the pick.

Related: Full Miami Heat 2020 Salary Cap Preview

2020 NBA Draft Picks

Heat Draft Needs

Miami appeared to run out of gas in the 2020 NBA Finals, raising questions about whether or not the Heat truly have enough high-level shot-creators.

Yes, Miami had seven players averaging at least 10 points last season. Yes, the injuries to Dragic and Adebayo severely hampered the offense. Yet, the Heat ranked 15th in the NBA with 112.0 points per game in the 2019-20 regular season and only averaged 104.5 points in the NBA Finals.

This could be an effect of multiple Heat players being better as an off-ball option offensively rather than making a move with the ball in their hands.

In fact, four of Miami’s rotation players — Robinson, Jae Crowder, Andre Iguodala and Kelly Olynyk — took at least 50 percent of their total shot attempts from 3-point range in the 2020 NBA Playoffs. Two others, Nunn and Herro, took at least 45 percent of their total shot attempts from 3-point 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 Miami Heat: 2020 NBA Draft Preview appeared first on SLAM.

Robinson’s quick release and ability to get his shot off without much space gave the Heat an unexpected extra offensive option last season. That elite skill, coupled with his team-friendly $1.6 million contract, make him a coveted asset throught the league.

Since being a deadly three-point shooter in the NBA is more important than ever, Robinson’s market value and his precision from the perimeter go hand in hand.

Despite going undrafted in 2018, the 26-year-old has showcased a lightning-quick stroke from deep and extraordinary accuracy, leading to him starting for the Heat for nearly the entirety of the 2019-20 regular season and 2020 NBA Playoffs.

Having just wrapped up his second NBA season, Robinson shot a blistering .446 percent on 8.3 three-point attempts per game in 2019-20, ranking third in total three-point makes with 270 and fourth in three-point field goal percentage,

With those numbers comes a higher price tag and if Robinson can replicate his performance from beyond the arc next season, he’ll be worth a hefty sum as Harper notes.

If Miami doesn’t want to pay him in the 2021 offseason or if they simply receive an offer for Robinson they can’t pass up, the New England native may find himself shipped out of South Beach.

The post Duncan Robinson a ‘Top Commodity’ on Trade Market 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

Projected Dead Money

Projected Renouncements/Waivers

2020 NBA Draft Picks

Exceptions Available

• Room Exception – $4,767,000

Key Offseason Decisions

• Will the Heat stay over the cap or go under? Miami projects to get to about $22M in cap space this summer if they choose to that route. The other option is to stay over the cap and retain most of their own free agents.
• How much does planning for the 2021 offseason factor into the 2020 offseason? Miami is positioned to go big game hunting in 2021. The market will be filled with superstars and stars. Expect the Heat to be conservative this offseason, in order to retain flexibility for next year.

Projected Team Salary

$85,425,589

Expect the Heat to initially stay over the cap, but to dip under if an unexpected player or deal comes their way. Either way, look for Miami to re-sign Goran Dragic, and possibly Jae Crowder, to bigger than expected contracts, but for only one year. That way, the Heat can overpay both players as a form upfront payment now, for more team-friendly deals down the line. That will allow Miami to have them next year, while maintaining flexibility moving forward. (@KeithSmithNBA)

Cap Space Forecast

$21,917,791 (4^th out of 30)

Team Salary Cap Outlooks

The post Miami Heat: Salary Cap Space 2020 appeared first on SLAM.

Aside from the superstar matchup, Heat forward Duncan Robinson dazzled in Game 5, dropping 26 points with 7 three-pointers—setting the record for most threes made in a Finals game by an undrafted player.

While in college at Michigan, Robinson knocked down 41.9 percent of the threes. Last season, while playing for the G League’s Sioux Falls Skyforce, Robinson buried an eye-popping 48.3 percent of his threes on 9.8 attempts per game.

This season, Robinson made 44.6 percent of his threes on 8.3 attempts per game. His percentage has dipped a bit in the playoffs, where he’s shooting 39.6 percent from deep.

With little wasted motion and a lightning-quick release, the 26-year-old sharpshooter should be one of the League’s premier three-point threats for a long time.

The post Duncan Robinson Sets NBA Finals Record appeared first on SLAM.

Both teams have had a great amount of success on their respective roads here. It took each team 15 games to get to this point, both losing just three games total through their three series. 

In the 2019-20 regular season, the Lakers and Heat matched up twice, both times before Christmas. Los Angeles took both games by a combined 18 points. What stood out most was that the Lakers dominated the glass by an average margin of 13.5 rebounds per game. While both teams struggled from deep in these two contests, it came more to the detriment of Miami who shot .235 from beyond the arc on average in the matchups. Just like they should in this NBA Finals matchup, James and Anthony Davis stole the show in the regular season series, producing a combined 112 points, 31 rebounds and 26 assists through two games.

With both teams playing very different now than they did when they last played over nine months ago, let’s take a look at what to watch for between the Lakers and Heat in the 2020 NBA Finals.

Three-Point Shooting

The Lakers are great at limiting their opponents’ three-point attempts. They allow 32.9 attempts per game, which is the second-fewest allowed in the playoffs. The Heat rely heavily on threes, shooting the second most of any team that made it out of the first round. Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, Goran Dragic and several other members of the Heat produce a good portion of their points from beyond the arc.

On the flip side, Miami has shown that they like playing their zone defense. This will certainly be key in limiting James and Davis getting to the rim as easily. The one way to bust a zone is three-point shooting, which this type of defense is known to giving up. The Lakers have made the second fewest threes per game in the playoffs of any team at 11.3 per contest. In very different ways, shooting from beyond the arc will be crucial to both the Lakers and the Heat.

Getting to the Line

Both Miami and Los Angeles are excellent at getting to the free throw line to get easy points with the clock stopped and are second and fourth respectively in the playoffs when it comes to attempts per game. With that being said, Miami has shot 7.4 percent better from the stripe in the postseason.

With the way the games have been officiated in the bubble and the lopsided amount of fouls that have been called which have affected outcomes of several games, each team will need to put pressure on the refs to blow the whistle. Just like in most playoff series, it seems the team who is able to dominate the battle at the free throw line could have a lot of success, especially late in games.

Second Chance Points

Miami and Los Angeles have been nearly identical in the playoffs when it comes to generating second chance points. Heading into the Finals, both teams have scored 197 total points through second chance opportunities. When it comes to second chance points allowed, only six points separate the two teams through all three of their previous series combined.

Offensive rebounding is key in determining who will win this battle and the Lakers have the tools to win on the offensive glass. The Lakers pull down 10.1 offensive rebounds per game in comparison to the Heat’s 8.3 per contest. Los Angeles has gotten the offensive rebound on .297 of their missed attempts thus far in the postseason. While Miami has pulled down .260 of their missed shots and gotten the offensive rebound, the size the Lakers will roll out with Javale McGee and Dwight Howard gives them a slight edge.

Final Thoughts

The Lakers are certainly favorites in the 2020 NBA Finals behind one of the best to ever play basketball in James. However, looking at the numbers and how each of these teams got to this point, it should be a very even series that could go the distance. Game 1 of this series will take place Wednesday, September 30 at 8:00 PM EST.

The post 2020 NBA Finals Preview appeared first on SLAM.

Let’s take a look at what to expect in this Eastern Conference Finals matchup. You can also view our Western Conference Finals Preview.

Regular Season Series

These teams matched up three times during the regular season, twice before the hiatus and once in the bubble. In the two games outside of the bubble, Boston looked like the better team by far, winning both contests by a combined 27 points. Although Jimmy Butler averged 28.5 points in these two games, it wasn’t enough to pull off the a win with the Celtics’ stars all stepping up.

However, more recently, Miami and Boston played in a bubble seeding game. Even with Butler resting, the Heat won this one by six points behind 20-plus-point performances from Goran Dragic, Bam Adebayo and Duncan Robinson. Although Butler has been the best player overall in the regular season series between these teams, the Celtics won the crown 2-1.

The Path Here

The Heat are perhaps the hottest team in the 2020 NBA Playoffs. After an impressive sweep of the Indiana Pacers in the first round, they were set to play the Milwaukee Bucks, who had the best record in the NBA during the regular season. Miami stepped up to the challenge, beating Milwaukee in just five games, bringing their playoff record to 8-1.

While Jimmy Butler has been great, as expected, the hero of their playoff run has been Goran Dragic. After starting just three games all season in a bench role, he has emerged as one of the most important players for the Heat, averaging 21.1 points per game as a starter.

The Celtics also swept their first round series, taking care of the Philadelphia 76ers without a problem. In the second round, however, it took everything they had against the Toronto Raptors. After starting out the series winning the first two games against the defending champions, they would lose their next two and the series was tied up.

From there, the teams would swap wins and ultimately play in a Game 7 to see who would advance. In a gutsy performance, the Celtics won Game 7 behind 50 combined points from Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. These two young, rising stars have been the story of the playoffs for Boston, leading the team in scoring. Kemba Walker has also had his moments, averaging 19.6 points per game in the playoffs as the team’s third leading scorer.

What to Watch For

While the Celtics are slightly favored in this series, it’s not by much. Both teams have a great balance of experienced veterans and young talent. This is yet another series that could go seven games.

The Heat have a ton of shooters and it has shown in the playoffs to this point. They had a lot of success in the regular season, with their .379 three-point percentage being second best in the NBA. This has been consistent in the playoffs, as they’ve shot .380, good for third-best in the playoffs. Boston on the flip side has struggled from deep, at just .341 and worst of any team that made it out of the first round.

To combat their poor shooting, the Celtics have been great defensively. Their defensive rating of 101.9 is the best of any team in the playoffs. Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart have anchored down the team on that side of the floor which has resulted in Boston winning quite a few low-scoring games. In fact, their Game 7 win against the Raptors came with a final score of 92-87.

When it comes to individual matchups, both teams are loaded with talent. The starting lineups seem to be fairly even. The trio of Kemba Walker, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum going up against Goran Dragic, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo will be fun to watch. However, this series will come down to the other players on each respective team.

While the Celtics have gotten great production from Marcus Smart in the playoffs, they’ve struggled to get consistent performances from anyone else. Luckily for Boston, Gordon Hayward is set to potentially return to action soon after an ankle injury in their first-round series. Boston’s bench has been their weakest link thus far, giving them just 18.2 points per game. Unlike the Celtics, when it comes to depth, Miami certainly has plenty. Getting 29.7 points per game from their bench has been key for their success behind guys like Tyler Herro, Andre Iguodala, Kendrick Nunn and Kelly Olynyk.

The Miami Heat took Game 1 of this series, winning by a final score of 117-114. Jayson Tatum’s 30 points wasn’t enough to get the win as Goran Dragic led Miami with 29 points.

The post 2020 NBA Playoffs: Eastern Conference Finals Preview 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.

Heat NBA 2K21 Ratings

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

The post Miami Heat: NBA 2K21 Ratings appeared first on SLAM.

This year’s version of the game faced unusual circumstances as the 2020-21 version of the game is technically dropping before the conclusion of the previous campaign. Such is life in the year 2020.

Without so much as a 2020 offseason, let alone a rookie draft, the rosters themselves in the launch version of NBA 2K21 are in line with where they were in the most recently updated patch of NBA 2K20 but discrepancies among the ratings still exist. The game is geared toward next season, after all.

We’ve rounded up and sifted through the team-by-team overall rating data below. It’s on you to hit us here or on Twitter with the decisions you think the 2K developers nailed – and where they struck out.

Below the team-by-team grid, we’ve broken down additional trends, so scroll liberally.

The average player ratings were down across the board compared to last year which could indicate a slight game-wide recalibration but the numbers are indicative of how the teams stack up from top to bottom. Any generic average that weighs every single player on a team equally will be flawed, so don’t read more into this than you should, but it’s interesting to note the relative differences between the teams. It’s also a good reminder of just how scary the Warriors and Nets can be when fully healthy.

Average Overall Rating By Team

Biggest NBA 2K21 Ratings Increases

Biggest NBA 2K21 Ratings Decreases

The post NBA 2K21 Ratings: Team-by-Team Lists appeared first on SLAM.

“I really wasn’t even a good high school player,” Robinson told ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne. “I didn’t have any plays for me run in college — ever.”

Fast forward to today and the unheralded recruit is the team record holder for the most threes in a single season and is roughly a third of the way to becoming the franchise’s all-time leader in the category.

Robinson only had one college offer upon graduation and it was a Division III school called Williams College. A year later, however, he managed to secure a spot in an iconic Michigan Wolverines program.

Robinson’s three years at Michigan ended with him going undrafted in the 2018 NBA Draft and eventually signing on with the Miami Heat via a two-way deal.

Shelburne detailed Robinson’s rise from Miami’s summer league squad to where he remains today, a necessary component of the playoff contender’s starting lineup. The transition wasn’t always easy, putting head coach Erik Spoelstra’s mentoring skills to the test the past two seasons.

“He’d just had a really successful summer league with us again,” Spoelstra said. “He’d broken basically all of our shooting records, and he was still struggling with his confidence and whether he belonged here.”

[…]

“You can’t have that kind of clutter when you’re out there to be a sniper,” Spoelstra said. “You have to have a clear mind.”

The post Duncan Robinson: ‘I Really Wasn’t Even a Good High School Player’ appeared first on SLAM.

We’ve broken down each of Tuesday’s matchups below. If you’d like to catch up on Wednesday’s games, including Dallas’ series-tying win over the Clippers click here.

No. 4 Pacers 100, No. 5 Heat 109

MIA leads series 2-0

The Heat rode the hot hand of Duncan Robinson to a second win over the Pacers, capitalizing on the forward’s 7-of-8 three-point shooting night to establish and then maintain a modest lead through the majority of the contest. Robinson’s 24 led the squad but the contributions of its star core helped the team clinch the commanding series lead. Bam Adebayo scored just seven points in the contest but led all players with a plus-19 rating, a testament to the versatile 23-year-old’s ability to impact the game in ways beyond the box score.

No. 4 Rockets 111, No. 5 Thunder 98

HOU leads series 2-0

In a game where James Harden struggled from the field, the Rockets showed once again that their offense can come in many shapes and forms. Houston continued to play five-out unpunished by the Thunder. Oklahoma City kept the game tight for the first half and again at the beginning of the fourth but eventually the Rockets kept getting big buckets from a variety of options. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led all scorers with 31 points but the effort was in vain.

No. 1 Bucks 111, No. 8 Magic 96

Series tied 1-1

The Bucks followed up a stunning loss to the Magic in Game 1 by setting the tone early in Game 2. The top seed in the East stormed out of the gates with a 20-point lead that they ultimately preserved throughout the remainder of the contest. Giannis Antetokounmpo dropped 28 and 20 in the W, becoming the second player in franchise history to do so, along with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Orlando shot just .348 from the field, a number that would drop significantly if you subtracted Nikola Vucevic’s 32 points in the losing effort.

No. 1 Lakers 111, No. 8 Trail Blazers 88

Series tied 1-1

Led by an especially lethal Anthony Davis, the Lakers overpowered the Blazers early in their Game 2 matchup and didn’t look back. What started bad for Portland in the first half only got worse in the second as Los Angeles pulled ahead by 30 and Damian Lillard dislocated his finger swiping for a steal attempt. Dame is expected back in action for Game 3, but the Blazers will need a lot more than just that if they want to prove that their Game 1 win wasn’t a fluke. Portland shot just 8-of-29 from beyond the arc and the short-handed squad scored just 88 points, their lowest point total of the 2019-20 season.

The post Post Up: Empires Strike Back appeared first on SLAM.

Robinson may not see quite that volume of shots in Orlando but the fact that he’s emerged as another weapon that can blow up for north of 25 points gives Erik Spoelstra some interesting depth.

When the hiatus began, Tyler Herro had just returned to action after an ankle injury. In fact, the seven minutes he saw on March 11 were his first since early February. Expect business as usual – 12.9 points and 4.0 rebounds per game – from the rookie at Disney World.

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 Miami Heat

Duncan Robinson
Andre Iguodala
Derrick Jones Jr.
Bam Adebayo	–
Jae Crowder	–
Solomon Hill
Goran Dragic
Gabe Vincent
Kelly Olynyk
Jimmy Butler
Kendrick Nunn
Chris Silva
Tyler Herro

Team-by-Team Breakdown

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

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

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

Per The Miami Herald:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Per The South Florida Sun-Sentinel :

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

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

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

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

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

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

To celebrate #TBT, SLAM will be posting an old, iconic cover story on the website every Thursday.

SLAM 47, featuring Tim Duncan, was published in December 2000.

—

It’s the eve of what will be his first MVP season. The one where he will regain his claim to the throne he lost last year. He knows this, but will never say anything. He’s been trained not to. Understand, he has a degree in psychology. That’s the foundation. He’s smart. He’s cunning. He’s cold as the ice he sits on.

It’s been said that no one has gotten inside the head of Tim Duncan. That he’s been impossible to break down, that no one has gotten him to open up. In that, he’s the closest thing to Michael Jordan and Bill Clinton we’ve seen. Slick like arbitration, crafty like a Beastie Boy classic, coy like the end of a House of Games. Read his bio and you’ll discover more. But still you will come up empty. He planned it all that way. Inside his handshake is a welcome mat followed by a “Do Not Enter” sign. It’s all the brilliant, cognitive contradiction of a 24-year-old man who was born to be different from the norm and superior to the average. He’s become both.

But to get inside of Tim Duncan, we set him up. Played the same mind trick on him that he plays on everyone else. “Tell Tim we want to recreate the Iceman poster from back in the day,” we pitched to Tom James, the Spurs media cat who was in on the fix. “Yeah, yeah, tell him it was Gervin’s idea.” The lie worked. It was only a matter of whether we could out-master the master. Get the interview no one else has been able to get. And though Tim bit, his game recognized our game in the end. The first thing they teach you in Psychology 101 is “never put yourself in a position of weakness, because the payback can be a bitch.” For this story though– just this one story– the real Tim Duncan got got.

“Was I scared? Yes.” This is Tim Duncan’s voice. It’s not cracking, it’s not an extremely high pitch, but it is with emphasis. He has not balled in two months, he’s had major surgery on his left knee, he’s missed the Olympics. There is uncertainty that comes with fear, especially if it affects your mental as well as your physical. The injury, the surgery, the rehab. The fear existed in Duncan through all three. But it was in his mind where the fear manifested most. This was not a faux, Wes Craven-induced dream. Duncan’s being scared is for real. To the point where he thought, well…

“I wondered if I’d be able to play again. My fear was that this was the longest period of time I’d ever gone without touching a basketball. And I really didn’t know when I was going to be able to.”

“And that scared you?”

The calmness comes back to his voice, “Yes it did.”

But to look into his eyes and in his face, you could never tell. He’d never let you there. Not to focus so much on the injury, but the impact of it cannot be denied. Beyond a slight bit of confidence lost and skepticism gained. His status/title/rep as the “best ballplayer in the league” got passed around last season to all who came crawlin’ up his mountain. One week it was Vince, the next it was AI, then Kobe, then KG, then anyone else who wanted it. “That didn’t bother me a bit,” he says of his lost pound-for-pound crown. “I’ve heard everything. I think, no doubt, last year Shaq was the best player. I also think Vince is an amazing player. And you’ve got to give some props to Allen [Iverson]. And KG, that kid’s incredible. He’s as good as anybody but he doesn’t get as much [credit] as he should get because his team right now doesn’t do as well as it’s going to… ” Tim pauses and thinks about exactly what he’s saying. The analytic in him ekes out. “Well, hopefully it will stay that way as long as I’m around,” he continues with a Western-Conference-rivalry-with-the-Timberwolves laugh.

“To me, there are a lot of players who can be given that title at one point or another during the year, but the one who’s going to carry [the “best” title] through for that year is the one who takes his team to the top,” he adds. “I was given that title the season we won [’98-99]. Shaq got it last season. Was it due, did I deserve it when I supposedly had it? Yeah, I think so, a little bit. But I can’t really worry about it, because there’s going to be arguments about every year. You know what they say, ‘You’re only as good as your last game.’ And that is so true.”

So true to the point that one “unnamed” (OK, Lindy’s) pre-season basketball magazine had Duncan ranked No. 3 in the League—not among players, among forwards! Rated behind KG and the person who really should have replaced Duncan on the Sydney Squad (no disrespect Antonio McDyess), Chris Webber. When told of this, Duncan laughs in hesitated breath. It’s as if the split personality that he doesn’t have separates: part of him agrees, part of him doesn’t.

But after about 20 seconds of thought, the conclusion is made. The left hemisphere overrides the right. “Chris had a great year, he’s an incredible player. He had some great games against us, that’s for sure. And he did a helluvalot for that team. So who am I to argue? I won’t dispute [the ranking] at all.” Then the right hemisphere emerges. “But when we go head-to-head, it’s a different story. He’s gotta play, I gotta play. So it doesn’t matter what [the magazine] says.”

Still, nothing sweats him. Even when he’s being pushed for answers of anguish and being personally challenged. Doesn’t he understand we’re trying to piss him off, get him rattled? He’s fucking up the plan. Damn you, Duncan.

If you follow him over time (especially during the season), what you find is illuminating. Tim Duncan is not a brooder. He’s not boring, stiff, or flat. He isn’t slow, either; he moves at what is called “island speed,” an “irie pace” that is indicative of his St. Croix, Virgin Island, roots.

“People think he’s all shy, buy he’s sly.” Scott Duncan is Tim’s half-brother. Maybe more than anyone, he knows the Tim Duncan we are in Leonard Nimoy of. “Many people don’t get him, they think he’s boring, but he’s really opposite. He has this cool intensity, and the deepest running sense of humor. He catches everything. Nothing gets by him.”

He says the family is proud of Tim and that he’s on the path he set for himself as a child. “[Tim] knows his destiny and has been knowing of it for a very long time. He’s always been true to his inner self and totally trusts his instincts and feelings, which is why he is so cool. That’s why giving him the name ‘Ice’ is so perfect,” he continues. “It fits him. In his personality, it’s like he always keeps the ice flowing.”

If you get to know him, he’ll surprise you with his quick wit and sarcastic sense of humor. He’ll say the illest things, but only under his breath so no one except the person he’s talking to can hear. He’s a computer-head, specifically on the galaxy game StarCraft, where he attacks the program as if it were Rasheed Wallace. On laptops, he, David Robinson, Malik Rose, and Sean Elliot will battle for hours, especially when on the road. He’s a film buff and critic, the black Roger Ebert. He can also spit some Nas or DMX lyrics if anyone claims he “ain’t ghetto enough.”

He’s a playground legend by default (“Growing up where I did,” he says, “all we had was outside courts.”). He’s an icon of Ian-Thorpe-in-Australia proportions in his hometown, to the point that he can’t go back without getting mobbed with the deepness of Havoc and Prodigy. Even he admits, “I don’t get back [home] as much as I should.” His clique consists of his two sisters, Tricia and Cheryl, Scott, and his long-time girlfriend Amy.

He plays the crib a lot, meaning: He likes to spend time at home. Not that he’s shy, but he doesn’t invite distractions in his life. The brotha who grew up in the neighborhood who never came out of the house to floss, but wound up with the flyest whip because he saved his allowance by not hitting all of the parties? That’s Tim. The rumor (one explains a lot about Duncan) is that he’s so laid-back that during the weekend of his first All-Star Game (in ’98 in New York), he didn’t do anything. Never went to one of Puffy’s 300 parties. Instead, he and Amy room-serviced. Understand that everyone doesn’t need the spotlight to shine. Some gleam on their own.

Most important, though, in this search for the inner Tim Duncan, is the discovery that no one in the League will say anything bad about him. There are no enemies who pray and pray for his downfall, even though he may slay them and lay down law on court. Around the NBA, Duncan and Vince Carter seem to receive the most universal and unconditional love. And in a League filled with literal “player hating,” that the truth speaks more than volumes about Duncan. It soundbombs.

The phone rings once in his spacious San Antonio crib before he picks it up. It’s one day after he had eye surgery to help him “never lose sight of the rim.” He laughs at this, as he does at most everything. He’s just cool like that. After a few “wassup young fella,” it’s the business. “Tim Duncan? Let’s talk about Tim Duncan…”

George Gervin is the second installment of the Iceman moniker originally given to Jerry Butler, who used to sing with Curtis Mayfield. But Gervin took it to a level beyond resurrection—until now. When he blessed neighborhood sports store windows in the ‘80s with that unforgettable image for Nike, the understatement could be made that he “redefined what cool is supposed to look like forever.” Like Clyde Frazier before him, Gervin was on some other shit that no other athlete could pull off. No one had the character, no one exemplified the persona, no one else had the game. When told of the concept for this cover, Gervin had one thing to say: “Am I mad? Hell naw! I’d be mad if you called somebody else that. That’s a compliment to me.”

It’s not just the “iceness” that connects these two, but something deeper. It’s what occurs when they touch a basketball and bless the floor. It goes beyond the eerie coincidence of both playing in Spurs uniforms. As Gervin attests, “The things he can do at his size remind me of a guy named “Ice.”

They share the cashmere-soft, Victoria’s Secret-smooth jumpers from angles Willie Mosconi would love; the footwork reminiscent of Bill Robinson and Maurice Hines, unmatched by players their size; the effortlessness with which they perform and their ability to become instantly undefendable in (big) game situations, never “playing outside of themselves;” the finger roll.

The Original sees it in Duncan, probably more than he does in his own son, Gee. “There are players you pay to see. Tim Duncan is a player I’ll stand in line and pay to see,” he says. But in conversation with Gervin, it’s clear the love he holds for Duncan is far more important than what Tim has done on the court—even more important than the ring Tim brought the city last year and the one he’s planning to bring back this season (Duncan: “Don’t forget we are the same team swept the Lakers and Portland in the playoffs two years ago. We just need to be healthy and consistent, not necessarily better.”). It’s about the person Tim Duncan is, the one we are trying to expose in this story. Gervin gives us an answer.

“Whenever a guy of his stature still asks me for an autograph, that says something to me. I love that. See, don’t nobody want to be forgotten. I did my thing, you know. But every time I see him, he makes me feel as if I meant something. Meant something to the game, meant something to him personally. And he’s done that without even saying it to me. That’s class. You want to know what type of cat Tim Duncan is?” Another signature laugh comes out. “The young fella is a beautiful person.”

The first true encounter of “the individual that is Tim Duncan” came at a Nike Camp about four years ago when he was a summer counselor following junior year at Wake Forest. Somehow the rumor had gotten around that Tim’s nickname was “Cookie Monster” (A joke started by another counselor named Todd Harris). Tim hated the name. For the entire week, he got grilled with the name, never even knowing why he was being called that. “I hated that shit,” Tim would say. But did he say anything about it then? No. He never gave it power. His shell would not be cracked, not by that. He even read it in print before he entered his senior year, but still he gave SLAM love.

But it was after hours at that Nike camp where “Tim Duncan the ballplayer” emerged to our eyes. For two to three hours after the “invitees” night sessions were over, Tim got his freak on. He was often teamed with then-Eastern Michigan 5-6 point guard Earl Boykins. For an entire week, every night against other college All-Americans including Vince Carter and Miles Simon, Duncan and Boykins played something that looked a lot like 2-on-5 basketball. And they were winning. No one had any idea that Duncan could play transition basketball like that. As fast as Boykins was, there were times when Tim was beating him down the court, waiting for the oop. He was freaking smaller players with spin moves that gave him the baseline so open Monique from The Parkers could have slid right on through. He wasn’t just the “post-up” player we had labeled him; in all honesty he wasn’t even a center. But he wasn’t going to say anything. He let the secret about his game get out all by itself. And here’s the funny thing: by the end of that camp, no one was calling him “Cookie Monster” anymore.

This was the first lesson of understanding the psyche of Tim Duncan and how it works against others to his advantage. But still there are depths that remain untapped by anyone. The game continues. Tim seems to be getting mad comfortable with the tape recorder rolling. Our plan is working.

“What makes you laugh?”

He laughs. “Stupid humor. Jim Carrey movies, the Three Stooges, Friday, things like that. Who makes me laugh? Man, Antonio [Daniels] and Malik [Rose], those guys make me laugh more than anyone because they are silly, stupid for no reason.”

“Just like you, right?”

“Exactly,” he says.

“What’s the worst thing you ever did as a kid? We know you quiet and humble, but you had to do something scandalous coming up.”

He laughs big. “Uh, shit, I can’t think of anything big, but I got in trouble a lot…”

And just when he gets comfy, we change the pitch up. Hit him like we’re interested in basketball.

“Are you ready to do this solo?”

“What do you mean?” he says.

“Are you ready for the day that DR [David Robinson] stops playing?”

“Oooo…good question. No,” he says. “David is a big part of the reason I didn’t go anywhere.”

“You said that in the press conference, but tell us the real reason.”

“That is it,” he confirms. “And I love the area. I love playing with David and I think we have a chance to win another championship here. Plus, I like playing for Pops [S.A. head coach Greg Popovich]. I love the way he motivates the team and the direction we’re going.”

“Then why’d you only sign a three-year deal instead of signing for the long money?”

“Always keep your options open,” he says, being totally candid. “I’m not sure that I’ll even want to be in San Antonio in four years. DR may not be here, Avery may not be here. I’m protected, I’ve got four years of really good money. But after that time, I gotta be able to do what I want to do.”

“Did it piss you off when you heard the Spurs were trying to trade Avery Johnson last season?”

“You know what, the one thing I learned from day one in this game is that it’s a business, it’s not about friends,” he continues. “Ever since the day I got here, all of my best friends got traded or they weren’t re-signed. Chuck Person, Monty Williams, Cory Alexander, none of those names are still here. And those were my best friends in the world. But it doesn’t take away from the fun of the game. And I’ve been able to separate that. When we’re on the floor. Out there, basketball is basketball.”

“What scares you?”

He stands up. “Heights. Yeah, heights and sharks.”

“What about on the basketball court?”

“Not being able to play anymore,” he says as we relive the opening of our conversation. “Being injured again, that scares me. That scares the hell out of me.”

“Nice.” He says this while looking at his name iced in the chair he just finished sitting in. Then it hit him, the whole scam. He figured it out without expressing that he knew. If you play poker, you can see it in someone’s expression, there’s a small glisten in the eyes. But maybe it’s just a sparkle of what Tim sees in himself. No, he know. He figures he’s just been played. He figures that SLAM did all of this to “get me to open up, say something that I normally won’t say in an interview—they were trying to get to know me.” He mentally acknowledged that we’d done a good job. He appreciated the skills. Like we said, game recognizes game. But if you’re a psychologist with a superlative b-ball game, you don’t settle for that. Instead, you get even.

“Who do you see in you?” Tim asks, flipping the interview, setting up the set up. The question is posed after a discussion about who he identifies with. “There’s always one person,” I say. “That one person we see ourselves in.” It’s fantasy versus reality. “I see Sidney Poitier in you,” is what Tim Duncan hears. He relates. “I always saw him in my father,” is his response. It’s the epitome of that dignity thing that white Americans see in Cary Grant that we both see. I see it in Tim, Tim sees it in his father. Many mistake Tim’s quiet for something that it is necessarily not. It’s like “whatever” when his name is mentioned. “Man, people think you’re boring but you’re far from it.”

“I’m fun to myself,” he says.

The conclusion: Yes, Tim Duncan is quiet, but not uninteresting. Too few see that.

I answer Duncan’s question by saying, “Spike Lee.” Tim’s head shakes in agreement, he can see that too. “What about you?” I ask him. “What other individual do you see in you? Who does Tim Duncan see?” It’s the deepest and most personal question I asked him on this day. It’s the one answer that will complete the story, the answer none outside of the people around him has ever gotten. Instead, for the first time, except for when the photos are being shot, he’s silent. Five minutes pass. Then 10. He’s still quiet, says he’s “thinking.” I see that famous smirk of his. He just played us back. By the time you read this story, Tim Duncan will still have not given us an answer. He purposely did this. That was ice cold. Payback is a bitch, ain’t it?

—

Scoop Jackson is a senior writer for ESPN.

Cover photo by Atiba Jefferson.

The post ICEMAN 2000: The Tim Duncan Cover Story from SLAM 47 appeared first on SLAM.

Also included in the team-by-team breakdowns are all partial/non-guaranteed players for the 2020-21 season, essentially expanding the list to include any individual that could plausibly hit free agency this summer.

Related: CBA Explained – Different types of NBA free agency

Atlanta Hawks

Charlotte Hornets

Miami Heat

Orlando Magic

Washington Wizards

The post 2020 NBA Free Agents – Southeast Division appeared first on SLAM.

If this game was any indication, the future of basketball is in very good hands. Luka Doncic (30 points, 17 rebounds, 10 assists) came up big for the winners in overtime, but he wasn’t the only young stud to turn in a solid night.

Brandon Ingram had 27 points, Zion Williamson scored 21 and Lonzo Ball hit seven 3’s en route to 25 points for New Orleans.

Kristaps Porzingis led the way on both ends for the Mavs with 34 points, 12 rebounds and 5 blocks.

Celtics 112 (42-19), Cavaliers 106 (17-45)

Jayson Tatum’s hot streak continued as he chipped in 32 points, 9 rebounds and 6 dimes for the Celtics. The wing shot 5-for-10 from deep, keeping his 3-point percentage at .500 since the All-Star break (38.2% before).

Thunder 114 (38-24), Pistons 107 (20-43)

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was a team-best plus-12 in his 35 minutes of game time as he scored 27 points on 12-for-15 shooting. Dennis Schroder added 23 on 7-for-14 shooting off the pine.

Magic 113 (27-35), Heat 116 (40-22)

Duncan Robinson shot 9-for-12 from deep en route to a team-high 27 points for the Heat as they picked up a win over their in-state foe.

Wizards 104 (22-39), Trail Blazers 125 (28-35)

Carmelo Anthony scored 20 points in the first half en route to a 25-point night on an efficient 8-for-13 shooting.

Despite the loss, Bradley Beal turned in his 20th straight game with at least 25 points as he finished with 29.

Bulls 108 (21-41), Timberwolves 115 (19-42)

Six Timberwolves scored double-digit points to overcome a 26-point night from Coby White.

Grizzlies 118 (31-31), Nets 79 (27-34)

Twelve Grizzlies got on the scoring sheet as they held the Nets to just 30-for-90 shooting from the field and a staggering 7-for-42 performance from deep. Josh Jackson scored a team-high 19 in 17 minutes off the bench.

Jazz 112 (39-22), Knicks 104 (19-43)

Julius Randle scored 32, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Jazz as Donovan Mitchell and Bojan Bogdanovic each scored 23.

Pacers 100 (37-25), Bucks 119 (53-9)

The Bucks started off hot with 36 points in the first quarter and never looked back as Giannis racked up 29 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists. Donte DiVincenzo scored 19 in 23 minutes off the bench to aid the effort, too.

The post Post Up: Luka, KP Lead Mavericks Past Pelicans in OT Thriller appeared first on SLAM.

In Tim Duncan’s head coaching debut, the Spurs picked up a win in a tight game on the road in Charlotte. San Antonio was led by Dejounte Murray, who finished with 21 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds. For the Hornets, Terry Rozier dropped 20 points to go along with 5 assists and 6 rebounds, and PJ Washington added 19 in the loss.

Nets 129 (27-33), Celtics 120 (41-19)

It was an absolutely wild one in TD Garden.

The Nets trailed by as many as 21-points in the second half, and were down 17 heading into the fourth. Then Caris LeVert put on a show. The Nets outscored Boston 51-34 in the fourth to force OT behind an insane 26-POINT quarter from LeVert. He stayed hot in OT, scoring all 11 points for Brooklyn and lifting them to the win. Despite having just 14 points at the start of the fourth quarter, LeVert finished with a career-high 51 on 17-26 shooting and 5-10 from downtown. The Boston defense just had no answer for the Michigan product, who put on one of, if not the best performance of the 2019-2020 season thus far.

The Celtics were led by Jaylen Brown, who dropped 22, and Kemba Walker, in his return from injury, who added 21. Marcus Smart stuffed the stat sheet with 14 points, 10 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 2 steals in the loss.

Timberwolves 139 (18-42), Pelicans 134 (26-35)

In a high-scoring affair, the Timberwolves outscored the Pelicans 30-23 in the final frame to pick up the win on the road. Malik Beasley led the way, finishing with 28 points on 11-13 shooting and 4-5 from three. DeAngelo Russell added 23 points and 8 assists in the win, and James Johnson dropped 19 points, 5 assists, and 6 rebounds off the bench.

Zion Williamson extended his streak of 20-point games to 12, finishing with 25 points and 8 rebounds on 10-19 shooting. Zion was one of five Pelicans to finished with 24 or more points. Jrue Holiday was awesome, completing a triple-double with 27 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds. Lonzo Ball added 26 points (including 7 threes), 8 assists and 5 rebounds, and Brandon Ingram dropped 24.

Clippers 109 (42-19), Thunder 94 (37-24)

In a battle between two Western Conference playoff teams, the Clippers picked up the impressive win on the road, their 5th straight victory. Kawhi Leonard scored 25 to go along with 8 rebounds, and Paul George added 16 to lead the way. For OKC, Dennis Schroder dropped a team-high 24 in the loss. Chris Paul added 14 points and 7 assists.

Warriors 116 (14-48), Nuggets 100 (41-20)

The Warriors picked up one of their most impressive wins of the season, beating the Nuggets by double digits in Denver. Andrew Wiggins showed out, finishing with 22 points, 10 assists and 5 rebounds to lead Golden State. Eric Paschall added 22 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists off the bench. Paul Millsap and Will Barton each dropped 18 in the loss for Denver. Nikola Jokic added 16 points, 13 rebounds, and 7 assists.

Raptors 123 (43-18), Suns 114 (24-38)

Trailing by 7 at the break, the Raptors rallied in the second half to beat the Suns in Phoenix. Pascal Siakam was dominant, dropping 33 points on 12-20 shooting and 5-9 from deep. Kyle Lowry added a very solid stat line of 28 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds, and Norman Powell dropped 26 in the Raptors win. Devin Booker scored a team-high 22 and added 10 dimes, and Cam Johnson finished with 21 points on 5 made threes in the loss.

Lakers 120 (47-13), 76ers 107 (37-25)

The Lakers blew the game open in the second quarter, outscoring Philly 37-19, and maintained the lead in the second half to secure the home win. Anthony Davis went off, scoring 18 of his game-high 37 in the second quarter. AD also finished with 13 rebounds and 4 blocks. LeBron added a light 22 points, 14 assists and 7 rebounds on 9-16 shooting in the win. Without Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, Philadelphia was led by Glen Robinson III, who dropped 25 points on 10-15 shooting off the bench.

Kings 133 (27-34), Wizards 126 (22-38)

The Wizards stormed back after being down by 28, outscoring Sacramento 46-19 in the third quarter to tie the game heading into the fourth. But Washington responded, winning the final frame 38-31 to secure the win on the road. The Kings were led by De’Aaron Fox, who dropped 31 points on 12-19 shooting in the win. Bogdan Bogdanovic added 21, and Buddy Hield scored 17 off the bench. For the Wizards, Bradley Beal finished with a game-high 35 points in the loss.

The post Post Up: LeVert Erupts for 51 in Win Over Celtics 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.

In this post, just one of a series of 30, we’ll break down the reports that have started to trickle out about Heat 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

• Jimmy Butler
• Tyler Herro
• Bam Adebayo
• Kendrick Nunn
• Udonis Haslem
• Chris Silva

Offseason addition Jimmy Butler has helped raise Miami’s ceiling and the Heat are unlikely to move him as they have hopes of making some noise come playoff time. Bam Adebayo, who is a serious candidate for the Most Improved Player award, isn’t going anywhere either. Rookies Tyler Herro and Kendrick Nunn seem like safe bets to remain with the squad through the deadline unless the team makes a major trade. Udonis Haslem, who is in the midst of his 17th year in the league, has a no-trade clause by virtue of re-signing on a one-year deal but let’s be real, the Heat would not likely trade the Florida-native anyway. Chris Silva inked a three-year deal with the club earlier this month and isn’t eligible to be traded before the deadline.

Biggest Name Available On Market

• Goran Dragic

Miami agreed to trade Goran Dragic over the summer only to see Dallas pull out of the deal. While it could have been an awkward situation, Dragic has remained professional and he continues to contribute to the Heat’s winning ways. He’s on a $19.2M expiring deal, so this could be his last season in Miami regardless of whether the team trades him or he looks for work elsewhere this offseason.

Logical Trade Pieces

• James Johnson
• Dion Waiters

Miami is paying James Johnson $15.3M this season and up until recently, he hadn’t played much. Dion Waiters is seeing $12.1M this season and his playing time has been non-existent because of several suspensions and him falling out of favor with the team. Both players have pricey player options on their respective contracts for next season and both players could be tricky to trade should the Heat decide to go that route. 

Trades Are Possible

• Justise Winslow
• Kelly Olynyk
• Meyers Leonard
• Derrick Jones
• Duncan Robinson
• KZ Okpala

Justise Winslow is making $13M this season and he’s missed significant chucks of time with various injuries this year. He’s expected to be back on the court in February, just before the trade deadline. Kelly Olynyk’s role has fluctuated during the 2019-20 campaign. He’s making $12.7M this year and has a $13.2M player option on his contract for next season. Meyers Leonard’s first season in Miami has gone quite well. He has started every game for the team so far. Derrick Jones has been able to showcase his abilities lately and he’s going to make Erik Spoelstra’s rotation decisions much harder once the whole team is healthy. Duncan Robinson is one of just six players who are making at least three triples per game and shooting at least 40% from deep. KZ Okpala has only appeared in three contests for the Heat this season, seeing a total of three minutes of action.

The post 2020 NBA Trade Deadline Primer: Miami Heat appeared first on SLAM.

Today is the day that NBA players on non-guaranteed deals learn their fate. For some, like Miami Heat starters Kendrick Nunn and Duncan Robinson, the milestone is a mere formality. For others, the day can mark the end of an era.

Technically speaking, any player on a non-guaranteed pact that remains on a roster after 5 pm EST on Jan. 7 has their contract effectively guaranteed for the remainder of the season because they won’t be able to clear waivers prior to Jan. 10. Prior to today, teams had the liberty of waiving players and minimizing the cap hit accrued on their payroll.

Late last night the Golden State Warriors opted to part ways with promising young forward Marquese Chriss in an attempt to limbo under the tax apron. The Cleveland Cavaliers, too, took the opportunity to waive a player that’s become somewhat of a familiar face over the years when they released Alfonzo McKinnie.

In the majority of cases, players squeezed out of a situation at the guarantee deadline are the victims of financial circumstance. Especially in situations where teams are near or over the luxury tax, shedding part of an expendable player’s contract can be highly impactful.

The post Deadline For All Non-Guaranteed Contracts Looms 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.

While Waiters’ latest six-game ban is coming to an end, Marks writes in a much recommended Insider feature that executives he’s spoken to agree that the guard’s career is likely over barring a turn of events.

Given the distractions that Waiters has caused over the course of the 2019-20 campaign the Heat could look to move the swingman’s contract but there are few scenarios in which a trade seems realistic.

Waiters is owed $12.1 million and an additional $12.7 next year, so the Heat would need to include some sort of sweetener to a franchise willing to take on that obligation.

Marks writes that Miami’s young core of Kendrick Nunn, Bam Adebayo, Duncan Robinson and Tyler Herro aren’t available to be thrown in as incentive to facilitate a move. The franchise is unable to include a first-round pick this year, as well.

The Heat, then, have to consider the benefits of buying Waiters’ contract out and eating the money or simply just eating the money and keeping Waiters on the roster but away from the team.

The unceremonious end to Waiters’ tenure with the Heat is difficult to watch given the narrative that unfolded in Miami during the team’s impressive 2016-17 campaign.

Waiters averaged 15.8 points per game for the Heat that season and played a major role in the club’s memorable push for a playoff spot. He was rewarded with a four-year contract months later.

The post Report: Dion Waiters’ Career In Jeopardy Barring Turnaround appeared first on SLAM.

This was a really solid team effort by Charlotte, with all five starters scoring double digits, as well as Cody Zeller chipping in 14 and 10 off the bench on an efficient 5-6 shooting. Devonte’ Graham continued his absurd breakout season, scoring 29 points, dishing 6 assists and splashing 6 treys.

The Wiz kept it close, thanks mostly to Davis Bertans’ scorching hot hand from deep. The former Spurs forward hit 8-12 from three for 32 points and 9 boards off the bench. Dude is a certified sniper, and one of his threes had Rui Hachimura pretending to give CPR to Bradley Beal on the bench.

But it was not enough, as Miles Bridges drained a dagger corner 3-pointer to seal the win.

76ers 97 (18-7), Nuggets 92 (14-8)

The 76ers are an incredible 13-0 at home after narrowly defeating the Nuggets. Rookie Matisse Thybulle, already one of the stauncher perimeter defenders in the league, was an incredible spark plug off the bench, hitting three 3-pointers and recording a +20 plus/minus. Joel Embiid stuffed the stat sheet per usual, with 22 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals, as well as this acrobatic trick shot and subsequent shimmy.

The Nuggets lost Jamal Murray five minutes into the game, but all indications are the injury is nothing serious. Will Barton did an admirable job of picking up the slack, scoring Denver’s first 13 points of the game and compiling a fantasy player’s ideal stat line of 26 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks.

Heat 135 (18-6), Hawks 121 (6-18)

What a game. We had OT, the Heat going on a 22-0 run to bring their home record to 11-0, Duncan Robinson draining a career-high TEN 3-pointers and a Jimmy Butler cold blooded shot.

It was an awesome game, and the Heat have Robinson (34 points), Butler (20 points, 18 rebounds, 10 assists), Bam Adebayo (30 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists) and Kendrick Nunn (36 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists) to thank. It’s rare when that many players have such ridiculous nights for the same team.

Blazers 115 (10-15), Knicks 87 (4-20)

Yup, David Fizdale really was the problem.

On a serious note, it would be pretty difficult for the best NBA coaches to field a winning record with a Knicks team that just dropped to 4-20 at the hands of the Blazers. It was a demolition derby out there.

Damian Lillard was his usual excellent self, scoring 31 points, dishing 6 assists and bombing 8 3-pointers, while Hassan Whiteside put together a busy stat line with 17 points, 15 rebounds and 5 blocks. Also, sweet revenge for Melo, who must have been enjoying himself.

The post Post Up: Jimmy Butler Ices Shot as Heat Best Hawks in OT appeared first on SLAM.

On one hand, being able to sign two players to two-way contracts allows teams to dibs players that they like above and beyond the 15 players typically allowed on standard contracts.

Of course there’s more to two-way contracts than just reserving fringe roster players, the ability to pass players up to the big league squad for a set period of time throughout the season while developing them in the G League for the rest of that time gives teams vital injury depth.

We’ve already seen several teams bit hard by the injury bug less than two months into the regular season and those teams can call upon players who they might otherwise stash in the G League if they need additional hands on deck.

Another important but less discussed benefit of two-ways deals is the financial flexibility that they allow as well.

After an offseason where we saw several franchises hard-cap themselves because of sign-and-trade deals or the use of certain exceptions, utilizing two-way players rather than players on standard contracts can be beneficial.

Teams that are hard-capped are not permitted to exceed a specific tax apron. This year’s tax apron is set at $138.9 million, a number derived by an algorithm determined when the latest CBA was deployed, which started at $6 million north of the luxury threshold and has increased relative to fluctuations in the salary cap ever since.

Players inked to two-way deals are paid a prorated sum of the league minimum for the number of days they rack up with the big league club but that total doesn’t count against a team’s salary cap hit.

That last part allows teams dangerously close to the hard-cap to add bodies despite financial limitations and we’ve seen several teams take advantage of this so far this season.

Yesterday, Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports broke down the two-way players who have racked up the most service time in the NBA so far this season and not surprisingly the three teams that have leaned most heavily on these players are all staring at a hard cap.

Leading the way with 20 days’ worth of service time through December 4 is Golden State Warriors guard Ky Bowman. The 21-year-old has played 23.6 minutes per game for the Dubs so far this season and seen action in 23 games. Bowman has averaged 8.9 points per game for the team during this span

The decision by Golden State to utilize a two-way player like this is a no-brainer, not only are the Warriors pinned up against the NBA hard cap (they have $136.9 million in guaranteed money on their books this season), they’ve also been obliterated by injuries through the first few months of the season with no shortage of absences to key rotation pieces.

The player with the second most days of service time this season is Chris Clemons. Clemons has racked up 18 days with the Houston Rockets and has 14 games played and over 9 minutes per to show for it.

The Rockets have $137.1 million in guaranteed deals on their payroll this season so being able to call upon Clemons on occasion allows the team to fill out its rotation without creeping closer to the hard cap.

Chris Silva sits just behind Clemons with 17 days of service time and has suited up for the Miami Heat in 19 games so far this season. The Heat don’t have quite as much immediate financial pressure as the other two given that Kendrick Nunn and Duncan Robinson technically remain on non-guaranteed deals but assuming Miami ends up retaining the two breakout rotation pieces, their payroll creeps up to $136.1 million.

Smith adds that the Oklahoma City Thunder have already used up 13 days of service time with Devon Hall and that the Cleveland Cavaliers have reached 11 days of time with Tyler Cook.

Neither the Cavs or OKC teams face a hard-cap but they’re non-contenders who’d likely prefer to limbo under the luxury tax threshold if at all possible. Keeping their payroll in check by utilizing two-way players is one way to do that.

Teams aren’t able to milk their two-way players for service time all season long, however.

If the Warriors want to use Bowman for every game this season, they’ll eventually exceed the 45 days of service time permitted under league guidelines and be forced to convert his deal to a standard contract (or let him ride out the season in Santa Cruz).

At that point the team may be able squeeze the prorated minimum contract cap hit under the tax apron but it would limit their other transaction options significantly.

The three-year-old two-way contract mechanism may not be be the flashiest way for teams to make transactions but if managed and optimized creatively, it’s a valuable tool for contenders and rebuilding teams alike.

The post Warriors, Rockets And Heat Lean On Two-Way Players appeared first on SLAM.

Nothing beats the first set of returns that come in after the early success stories around the NBA. Time and again we see both fresh and familiar faces take the first weeks of the season to make a statement.

NBA 2K20 has released its first batch of rating updates and the names that have gained the most are turning heads across the country.

We’ve assembled team-by-team breakdowns for each squad, which you can access in the table below. See which players are trending up and which saw their ratings decline since the video game launched in September.

Early Season Risers

+7 Devonte Graham (76): It’s a brave new world in Charlotte as the Hornets adapt to life without Kemba Walker. Fortunately, 24-year-old Devonte Graham has burst out of the gates with some enormous performances in the first stretch of his sophomore campaign. Graham dropped 23 in the season opener, 35 earlier this week and even dropped 12 dimes in a game late last month.

+6 Eric Paschall (77): The injury ravaged Golden State Warriors needed all the help they could get early on and found some in the form of their 2019 second-round pick Eric Paschall. Paschall followed up a 25-point gem with a 34-point showing on his 23rd birthday last week and could be a big part of the Dubs rotation heading forward.

+6 Kendrick Nunn (76): If Kendrick Nunn’s 40-point preseason finale wasn’t enough of an indication that the undrafted rookie can fill the statsheet, his three games of 24-plus in October may have done the trick. No player since Kevin Durant has scored more points across their first five games in the league. Now we wait to see if the volume can hold now that Jimmy Butler is back in the lineup.

+6 Duncan Robinson (73): The Heat have always been good at filling out their rotation with homegrown, meticulously developed talent. Consider Duncan Robinson one of the latest to prove that he’s capable of more than we initially expected. Robinson hasn’t filled the statsheet quite like the players above him on this list but he’s topped 20 twice, showing that he’s got an extra gear when head coach Erik Spoelstra needs it.

+4 Trae Young (89), Brandon Ingram (85), Derrick Rose (84), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (83), OG Anunoby (77), P.J. Washington (76), Isaac Bonga (72),

+3 Luka Doncic (90), Andre Drummond (89) , Malcolm Brogdon (86), Wendell Carter Jr. (81), Aron Baynes (78), Tyler Herro (76), Josh Okogie (76), Brandon Clarke (76), DeAndre Bembry (76), Mortiz Wagner (74), Damion Lee (73)

The post Updated NBA 2K Ratings Show Early Movers appeared first on SLAM.

TJ Warren scored a game-high 26 points and Malcolm Brogdon was the Pacers’ second-leading scorer with 22 points. TJ Leaf scored 13 points off the bench.

Heat 129 (5-1), Rockets 100 (3-3)

Duncan Robinson (23 points) and Meyers Leonard (21 points) combined for 44 points at home; Jimmy Butler had 18 points. The Heat never trailed once in the contest and led 46-14 after the first quarter.

Kings 113 (2-5), Knicks 92 (1-6)

All five Kings players scored in double figures with De’Aaron Fox leading all scorers with 24 points.

Lakers 103 (5-1), Spurs (4-2) 96

After Friday’s overtime thriller against Dallas, the Lakers defeated the Spurs to go 2-0 on their three-game road trip. LeBron James finished with his second-consecutive triple-double: 21 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds.

Anthony Davis put up 25 points and grabbed 11 boards. Dwight Howard had 14 and 13 in 21 minutes off the bench. This is the Lakers’ best start since the 2010-11 season.

Mavericks 131 (3-2), Cavaliers 111 (2-3)

Luka Doncic dominated in The Land – 29 points, 15 dimes and 14 rebounds – on Sunday night. Doncic became the youngest player in NBA history with consecutive 25-point triple-doubles. Kristaps Porzingis had 18 points and 9 boards.

Clippers 105 (5-2), Jazz 94 (4-3)

After scoring five points in the first half, Kawhi Leonard scored 25 points to finish the night with 30. The Clippers bench outscored Utah’s, 50-19.

The post Post Up: LeBron James Puts Up Triple-Double to Lead Lakers Over Spurs 👑 appeared first on SLAM.

I watched in awe, too. 

A day later, at a family function, my Maama—uncle—asked me, for the first time, about work. 

“So, the NBA is coming here in a big way, aren’t they?”

I smiled. In India, the ‘NBA’ and ‘basketball’ are buzzwords for the youth. People of my uncle’s generation would never “get it,” we thought. The game was too niche, the League was too far away from everyday Indian concerns for any of them to bother. There were a thousand other distractions in mainstream Indian culture. 

But even he had heard about it. The Sacramento Kings and Indiana Pacers were coming to Mumbai for the first ever NBA India Games in early October. A mere blimp on the NBA’s calendar, a preseason exhibition between two non-contenders. But for India, a giant leap in its basketball history. The jump-ball start to a new era. 

As an Indian child in the ’90s, I knew of the NBA’s existence only in the peripheries. I’d heard of Michael and Magic. I knew that the “Chicago Bulls” meant something good. I’d seen Space Jam a half dozen times. 

But back then, I didn’t quite understand the value of the world’s greatest basketball league. No, back then, my Lord Almighty of Sports wasn’t Michael Jordan, but an un-athletic 5-5 Indian cricket player with the voice of someone who had been skipped over by puberty: Sachin Tendulkar. Like every good Indian boy, Cricket was my Bible and Tendulkar was my God. The NBA was too far away, across oceans, across continents, a sport that spoke in a different accent from the post-colonial cricket commentators, a game that moved in a faster pace than I had ever been accustomed to. 

Around middle school, however, that began to change. Space Jam helped, of course. So did the friends who brought home NBA trading cards and copies of SLAM Magazine from abroad. My school in the Indian Himalayas was obsessed with basketball, and, in every moment of our free time, that’s all we did: stand around a rim shooting baskets, talking shit. I overheard names like Jordan and Malone, and Ewing and Shaq and Kobe. I began to see more basketball games on TV in India: broadcasted live only a few times a week, and at the ungodly early morning hour, awake only with the chokidaars and the roosters. 

In 1999, the new hobby became an addiction. I followed the playoffs closely, especially because of this underdog eighth seeded team in the East—the New York Knicks—that overcame all odds and beat all favorites to make it to the NBA Finals. Sure, they got whooped by the Spurs and the duo of Duncan and Robinson once they got there, but I was already in love. Houston, Sprewell, Camby, and SLAM’s first-ever cover-star LJ had become my favorite team. 

Later, out on the courts, my friends and I would re-enact these Finals. I chose to be on the Knicks, of course, and worked day and night on my baseline turnaround fade-aways, hoping to emulate Allan Houston’s devastating midrange shots. 

Fast forward the next two decades, and my NBA fandom went in the opposite direction of the Knicks’ credibility. From over thirteen thousand kilometres away, I watched the Spurs become an annual threat, the Lakers become a dynasty, the Suns change the pace and size of the game, LeBron change everything, Kobe make 81, Iverson step over Lue, the Heatles, the Warriors, and a lot of Knicks losing seasons. At least we had Linsanity. 

For most of this time, the NBA and its biggest stars felt as alien to me as the Monstars. They were from a different world, a different time-zone, stars in the sky so dominant and charismatic that they felt almost unreal, as if they were fictional characters living in a world I could never access. They might as well have been the Avengers. Some definitely had superpowers. 

Over the years, the NBA superheroes began to feel a little more mortal. I visited the USA, attended my first game (Knicks at the Garden, of course), and later, interacted with and interviewed many stars professionally. But despite the cynicism that comes with age over most of the world’s magic, the NBA remained something pure and special. Something shudh, as we would say in Hindi. Something that, back home to us in India, was still a beautiful galaxy far, far away. 

Once the NBA opened its first office in India (Mumbai) in 2011, the pace of the game’s growth here took a mid-2000s-Suns-esque boost. NBA and WNBA players of the past and present visited multiple times a year, peaking with Kevin Durant dropping by in 2017, freshly minted with his first title and Finals MVP. 

Meanwhile, the stream had flown the other way, too, and some of India infiltrated the NBA. Most prominently, Vivek Ranadive became the first Indian-born person to become a majority owner of the NBA when he bought the Sacramento Kings. Immediately, Ranadive began to share his vision of one day taking the Kings back to his birth-city—Mumbai—for an exhibition game. 

For those of us watching and covering the sport from back here, this idea barely seemed feasible. India didn’t have the infrastructure or the market ready for an NBA game—even a mere preseason matchup. Ranadive’s vision, I had thought, was stuff of science-fiction. 

And then, the stars came within reach. 

Early in the 2018-19 season, the NBA officially made the surreal announcement: The first-ever NBA India Games would be held in Mumbai on October 4-5, 2019 between the Kings and the Pacers. One team, owned by an Indian-American. The other, interested in reaching out to the Indian market.

The news was a pataakha for us Indian NBA fans, blowing our minds like fireworks. The long-foretold day was near. 

The NBA had, of course, been holding preseason (and some regular season) games around the world for years, all over Europe, South and Central America, Asia, and the special Africa Games. In Asia alone, the League had become a preseason staple in the massive China market, as well as in Japan, Philippines, and more. 

The League’s landing in India had seemed both inevitable and impossible—before it became a reality. 

Mumbai—formerly Bombay—is the perfect choice to host the event. It is the country’s financial capital. But it is also seeped in local hoops history, featuring some of the country’s most iconic courts, tournaments and legends of the game. It’s India’s largest city, densely traffic-jammed with the country’s diverse population, and the home of Bollywood, readymade for all the drama and action that the NBA promises to present. 

Basketball existed before the NBA, and India was a colonised country and collection of states hundreds of years prior to that. But coincidence married these two histories together. The Basketball Association of America (BAA) was founded as the BAA in June 1946, and its first season was held from November 1946 to April 1947. In August 1947, India won its independence from British rule. 

Two years later, the BAA and National Basketball League (NBL) merged to form what is known as today’s NBA. During the course of the first ‘proper’ NBA season in early 1950, India’s constitution went into effect, officially forming the Republic. This was also the year that India’s own governing body—the Basketball Federation of India (BFI)—was born, and independent India’s first basketball team, captained by the late Ranbir Chopra, participated in the 1951 Asian Games. 

But ever since, India has merely remained a reserve on the world’s basketball roster, barely able to register a blimp in hoops history. While the NBA eventually became the most popular and powerful basketball league in the world, India had to settle for fragments and scratches of success. We finished fourth in the FIBA Asia Championship once, in the 70s. In 1980, our men’s team took part in the Moscow Olympics, only because the USA and a number of its allies pulled out of participating. A few of our players got to play in low-tier pro leagues around the world. In 2014, we defeated China on their home soil at the FIBA Asia Cup. 

Yet, India remained a potential pot of gold for the NBA, with its rising youth population and the prevalence of basketball around the country, albeit as a much smaller sport compared to cricket and others. The NBA continued to increase its India presence, and we had our big moment of cheer when Satnam Singh became the first Indian to be drafted—by the Dallas Mavericks—in 2015. The 7-footer never played in the NBA itself, but we felt that it was the beginning of something big. 

Soon, the NBA launched an elite NBA India Academy to hone more talented prospects and eventually take the next big leap after Satnam. 

The announcement of the NBA India Games brought the two varying histories into confluence. A couple of days after I saw that TV commercial and spoke to my uncle, NBA-India relations took another unexpected step. At a reception event for India’s Prime Minster Narendra Modi in Houston, US President Donald Trump jokingly suggested in front of the thousands gathered that he could show up to Mumbai for the historic preseason games. A couple of world leaders had used the NBA’s moment to inflate US-India relations—and suddenly, everyone from my local samosa-wallah to my other uncles and aunties understood that this “NBA” thing—whatever it was—was a pretty big deal. 

And then, there’s the matter of the games themselves. Remember, that after all this shor-sharabaand hoopla, this is a mere preseason contest. In true sporting terms, it counts for nothing. In the absence of the injured Victor Oladipo, there will be no All-Stars on the floor. In a country where casual fans only know names like LeBron, Curry, Durant and are learning to pronounce Antetokounmpo, there is little global name-recognition that the Pacers or the Kings can offer.

Nevertheless, both these teams are going to be stacked with exciting, young players, and even the easy-preseason flow will offer a brand of basketball far higher than ever witnessed in India. Fresh out of the FIBA World Cup experience, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Nemanja Bjelica, Myles Turner, Harrison Barnes, Domantas Sabonis, and Isaiah Pineiro will all likely feature at the games. Barnes is already familiar, having spent a week in India earlier in the summer to promote the upcoming contests. Bogdanovic, in particular, was one of the breakout stars of the FIBA WC, and will hopefully continue his momentum in Mumbai. 

Additionally, several other enticing players from both teams like De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield, Marvin Bagley III, Harry Giles, Malcolm Brogdon, TJ Warren, and more will potentially suit up in the two matchups. The Kings’ young core in particular is being slated for a major leap, and the games in Mumbai could be their first chance of stating their intent for the upcoming season. 

Expectations will be high for these games from the in-arena crowd at the NSCI Dome in Mumbai, as well as all those around the country who will watch the games on live TV; but we’ll have to remember that most preseason games are duds, rarely producing moments of magic or note, and rarely showcasing a team’s true form or shape before the start of the regular season. 

But even these “meaningless” exhibitions will mean a lot to the players who participate. They’ll get to be a part of history, and stake their flag in unchartered NBA grounds. Those Indians unaware of the NBA—my uncle-types—will hear about Fox and Turner long before James and Curry. Who knows, maybe impressionable young minds—like my friends and I—will re-enact Pacers and Kings like we did with the Spurs and Knicks twenty years ago. 

Some of the most intriguing action will take place on the sidelines and off-court. Being in the heart of the Bollywood film industry, the game is sure to be star-studded with some of the biggest Indian celebrities. Indian athletes, including national basketball players, coaches and more will be in attendance, too. Every bigwig industrialist or sponsor present will co-opt this moment for their own. And true fans are coming from all over the country to have this unlikely dream come true. 

The players and teams are going to participate in off-court charity and fan interaction events around the city. The league’s commissioner, a handful of NBA legends, and international media will gather. And Mumbai’s returning native son—Kings owner Ranadive—will get to shine in the spotlight of helping make this possible. 

It’s pretty surreal for me, personally, to see how far things have come since my childhood. NBA fandom in India had felt like a secret society, a code with which only those ‘in the know’ communicated. Living in smaller cities in India isolated me even further. Behind the hazy of the night sky, the stars were barely visible. 

But the haze has cleared away now, and the entire galaxy is shining brightly above us. Although basketball remains a smaller sport in relative terms, the NBA’s popularity is already something that a younger me could’ve never anticipated. 

Of course, the league still has a long way to go to catch up with other sporting brands, like Cricket’s IPL or even foreign football/soccer leagues like the EPL or La Liga. The media in India often talks about waiting for our own “Yao Ming Moment,” for the day that an Indian player makes an impact in the NBA, and thus, propels the market back home. India, of course, still doesn’t have its own full-time pro basketball league and our national team still isn’t making any waves in the global game. 

And yet, with the upcoming NBA India Games, we’ve taken a historic step forward. If it’s just a preseason game, if it doesn’t really matter, then it’s just about to become the most meaningful meaningless game ever. 

—

Karan Madhok is a SLAM contributor. Follow him on Twitter @Hoopistani.

Photos via Getty.

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Below is a list of the contract types the Miami Heat 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.

Miami Heat

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

The post Miami Heat Roster Count: 2019 Training Camp 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.

Miami Heat 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!

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The move to convert Robinson’s deal bumps Miami’s roster count to the league minimum of 14. They had been at 13 since waiving Rodney McGruder over the weekend.

In 13 contests and 8.8 minutes per game for the Heat, Robinson has averaged 2.4 points per game. In 33 G League games with Miami’s affiliate in Sioux Falls, however, the 24-year-old dropped 21.4 points per contest.

Robinson will sign a standard contract just days after fellow two-way signee Yante Maten had his own contract converted.

Story: Heat convert Yante Maten’s two-way deal.

When McGruder’s contract was claimed by the Los Angeles Clippers earlier today, the Heat dropped below the luxury tax threshold. The addition of Robinson, on a prorated minimum deal, will not push them back over.

The post Heat Convert Duncan Robinson’s Two-Way Deal appeared first on SLAM.

Time is running out for NBA teams to add players prior to the end of the regular season. A total of five franchises, three of them playoff-bound, could all bring at least one player aboard.

Any player signed in this way would be playoff eligible for their new team so long as they haven’t been waived by another team since the eligibility cut-off on March 1.

It’s worth nothing that clubs may sign players up until the last day of their own regular season. For four of the five teams, that means Wednesday, April 10. The Washington Wizards, however, play their final game of the year tonight.

Already today, the Celtics and Raptors fortified their rosters ahead of the postseason by signing Johnathan Gibson (story) and Eric Moreland (story), respectively.

For some teams, like the Raptors, even the addition of a player on a prorated minimum contracted could have disproportionately large tax implications. Front offices in those situations would need to weigh the importance of depth insurance in the postseason versus the financial burden.

Here’s a summary of all the teams that can still add bodies to their standard roster, whether that means bringing in an external free agent or converting one of their players on a two-way contract as the Heat did with Yante Maten earlier this week (story).

**If Rodney McGruder is claimed off of waivers, the Heat will drop below the luxury tax mark. If he is not claimed, they’ll finish the season above it (story).

For more NBA transaction news follow @SLAMnewswire on Twitter.

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“He’s the definition of Spurs basketball,” Tony Parker said of his longtime former teammate.

Tim Duncan and head coach Gregg Popovich were among the featured speakers, with Pop concluding that “without Manu, there were no championships.”

Per The San Antonio Express-News:

“What I am doing here?” Ginobili said when he finally took the microphone. “This wasn’t supposed to happen to me.”

It was a long, strange trip for Ginobili from Bahia Blanca, Argentina to the top of AT&T Center.

He became the ninth player in club history to have his jersey retired, joining Tim Duncan, David Robinson, George Gervin, Sean Elliott, Avery Johnson, Bruce Bowen, James Silas and Johnny Moore.

“I’ve just been dealt amazing cards,” Ginobili said. “I just had to play them OK.”

The post Manu Ginobili’s Jersey Retired: ‘He’s the Definition of Spurs Basketball’ appeared first on SLAM.

The Bucks’ All-Star duo of Khris Middleton (39 points) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (34 points) combined to shoot a blistering 26-for-43 from the field as they fended off the red-hot Clippers.

Rookie Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a team-high 21 for the Clippers.

Cavaliers 110 (19-57), Spurs 116 (44-32)

Patty Mills knocked down a dagger 3 in the game’s closing minute to give Spurs fans something to cheer about as Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobli and Tony Parker were in the house to celebrate Ginobli’s jersey going into the rafters.

DeMar DeRozan scored a team-high 25 points in the win.

Magic 98 (37-39), Pistons 115 (38-37)

Wayne Ellington knocked down seven 3’s en route to a game-high 25 points and Andre Drummond added 18 points, 18 boards and six blocks as the Pistons picked up a HUGE win in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

With the win, Detroit — currently the 6-seed — moved 1.5 games ahead of 9-seed Orlando.

Nets 110 (38-38), Sixers 123 (48-27)

Joel Embiid stuffed the stat sheet with 39 points, 13 rebounds, six dimes and three steals as the Sixers jumped out to a 15-point first quarter lead and never looked back.

Boban Marjanovic scored 16 off the pine in 18 minutes of action.

Mavericks 99 (29-46), Heat 105 (37-38)

Dwyane Wade and Dirk Nowitzki entered their final match-up tied up 17-17 all-time in head-to-head meetings, and round 35 went down to the final minute as Wade’s dagger secured himself a winning record in one of the League’s most underrated rivalries.

Wade finished the night with 11 points and four steals and Nowitzki scored 13 points and nailed three 3’s.

Raptors 117 (53-23), Knicks 92 (14-61)

Pascal Siakam scored 31 points as the Raptors blew out the Knicks at MSG. Rookie Mitchell Robinson shined for New York, scoring 19 on 8-for-12 shooting and grabbing 21 rebounds.

Nuggets 85 (50-24), Rockets 112 (48-28)

James Harden scored 38 as the Rockets blew out the Nuggets in what may have been a Western Conference playoff match-up preview.

Kings 118 (37-38), Pelicans 121 (32-45)

The Kings’ backcourt got theirs — Buddy Hield scored 27 and De’Aaron Fox had 25 — but it wasn’t enough to overcome 34 points and 11 boards from Julius Randle.

The post Post Up: Spurs Win for Ginobli, Wade Edges Nowitzki in Final Battle appeared first on SLAM.

Today’s paint patrollers are largely relegated to the bench, and asked to watch the action, according to Pop.

"Big guys are, like, bored to death," says Gregg Popovich, describing life for tall people in the NBA's small-ball era. Saturday, the Spurs welcome Anthony Davis — aka a dose of human No-Doz https://t.co/xFFAtGFtBJ

— Jeff McDonald (@JMcDonald_SAEN) November 2, 2018

Surely, the irony is not lost on Popovich that he built multiple championship teams in San Antonio around the twin tower domination of David Robinson and Tim Duncan.

Per San Antonio Express-News:

The NBA’s first true star was George Mikan. Its first scoring sensation was Wilt Chamberlain. The league’s first signature move was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s skyhook.

Many of those players wouldn’t recognize the downsized game popularized today.

“Big guys are like bored to death,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “They just sit on the bench and watch.”

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‘They Don’t Want Us Here’: JaVale McGee Says NBA Marginalizing Centers

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100-51 
50-11
No. 10: Larry Bird
No. 8: Wilt Chamberlain
No. 7: Bill Russell
No. 6: Shaquille O’Neal
No. 5: Kobe Bryant
No. 4: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
No. 3: Magic Johnson
No. 2: LeBron James
No. 1: Michael Jordan

Order your copy of the SLAM TOP 100 issue at our store. 

—

Gregg Popovich stood under a spotlight at the AT&T Center in San Antonio in December 2016. He looked down and fumbled with a tissue, saying out loud that he promised himself he wouldn’t use it. With the mic in his right hand, he looked up and turned to Tim Duncan’s sisters.

“This is the most important comment that I can make about Tim Duncan,” he said. “That I can honestly say to Mr. and Mrs. Duncan, who have passed, that that man right there is exactly the same person now as he was when he walked in the door.”

Pop hugged Timmy after he said that, an emotional moment between two friends with 20 years of memories. They’d won five championships together and delivered 19 consecutive winning seasons to Spurs fans. Pop established himself as the best coach in the NBA over those years, displaying an unmatchable wealth of basketball knowledge. He’d shown that no one in the NBA was better at helping players reach their potential.

But Pop might not have reached his potential without Duncan’s help. Even with everything that Pop knew about the game, he and the Spurs weren’t successful until David Robinson stepped aside and gave Duncan the ultra-green light. Timmy led the Spurs to the 1999 Championship by averaging 27 points and 14 rebounds in the Finals. After dominating the Knicks that year, he never looked back.

He would finish his career with two MVP awards, three Finals MVP trophies, 15 selections to the All-NBA and All-Defensive Teams and 15 All-Star appearances. He racked up more than 26,000 points, more than 15,000 rebounds and more than 3,000 blocks. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the only other player in NBA history with those numbers.

Stats aside, TD established the Spurs as a model franchise. Pop had the Xs and Os covered. It was up to Duncan to take care of the rest. So he went to work, every day for nearly 20 years.

He built a culture of dependable excellence. He broke down film, hit the weight room, got up extra shots, just like he was one of the guys. But he wasn’t just one of the guys.

He was the guy.

Duncan was a once-in-a-generation franchise cornerstone, someone the rest of the basketball world looked up to. Teammates in San Antonio got to know his secrets, while players around the world watched how he gave consistent effort, subtly controlling the offense and defense.

He eventually stepped aside offensively, like Robinson did before him, lending a guiding hand to help the Spurs continue their winning ways. There was no drama, no complaining. Duncan was just a normal guy disguised as the best power forward ever. He’s timid around strangers, but playful with those he trusts. He has terrible taste in style and amazing taste in cars. He’d rather be with his family than at some exclusive party. That’s the way he is now and it’s the way he’s always been. Just ask Pop.

Photos via Getty Images.

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SLAM Presents TOP 100 is Out Now!

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100-51 
No. 10: Larry Bird
No. 9 Tim Duncan
No. 8: Wilt Chamberlain
No. 7: Bill Russell
No. 6: Shaquille O’Neal
No. 5: Kobe Bryant
No. 4: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
No. 3: Magic Johnson
No. 2: LeBron James
No. 1: Michael Jordan

All player write-ups by Michael Bradley, Peter Robert Casey, Ryan Jones, Max Resetar, Drew Ruiz, Abe Schwadron, Alex Squadron and Yaron Weitzman.

*Active players

50. Earl Monroe (Hall of Fame, 4x All-Star, 1x NBA Champion)

No player has been handed so many fantastic nicknames (Black Jesus, Earl the Pearl) and for good reason: Monroe was the epitome of playground flash meets NBA substance. His moves, like his favored spin, might seem simple now, but in the late ’60s and early ’70s, they were groundbreaking.

49. Bill Walton (Hall of Fame, 1x NBA MVP, 2x All-Star, 2x NBA Champion)

He was the center for, and of, what many consider to be the greatest team ever (the ’76-77 Blazers) and proof that big scoring numbers aren’t the only path to greatness, as Walton never averaged more than 18.9 points a game. If not for chronic injuries, he’d likely be in the top 10.

48. Nate “Tiny” Archibald (Hall of Fame, 6x All-Star, 1x NBA Champion)

During an era dominated by stalwarts, Tiny never let his height plague his play, leading the league in points (2,719) and assists (910) and was the League’s scoring champion during the 1972-73 season. He spent 13 seasons in the NBA with six teams, including the Celtics’ 1980-81 championship squad.

47. Willis Reed (Hall of Fame, 1x NBA MVP, 7x All-Star, 2x NBA Champion)

A staple on the great Knick teams of the late 1960s and early ’70s, The Captain was a fearless interior player and is best known for playing Game 7 of the 1970 Finals with a torn thigh muscle. Unfortunately, injuries limited him over the last three years of his career and forced him into early retirement.

46. James Worthy (Hall of Fame, 7x All-Star, 3x NBA Champion)

It’s an imperfect metaphor, but it helps to think of James Worthy as the Klay Thompson of the Showtime Lakers: easily overshadowed by superstar teammates but no less invaluable to a dynasty. A Game 7 triple-double of 36, 16 and 10 in the ’88 Finals cemented Big Game’s nickname for eternity.

45. George Mikan (Hall of Fame, 1x NBA MVP, 4x All-Star, 4x NBA Champion)

Throughout the ’50s, nobody could draw a slew of fans or help defenders quite like George Mikan. The 6-10 bespectacled big man—who won four titles with the Minneapolis Lakers—redefined the center position, caused multiple league rule changes and was selected as the greatest player of the game’s first half-century.

44. George Gervin (Hall of Fame, 9x All-Star)

It’s tempting to think Gervin scored each of his 26,595 career points on finger rolls, but the Iceman had much more in his arsenal than that. He claimed his fourth and final scoring title in 1981-82, at age 30, averaging 32.3 per at a time when the three-point shot was still largely an afterthought.

43. Clyde Drexler (Hall of Fame, 10x All-Star, 1x NBA Champion)

Drexler graduated from Houston’s Phi Slama Jama to become one of the NBA’s most potent wing scorers and exciting performers. Drexler was almost unstoppable off the dribble, and when he hit the open court, he was a highlight reel waiting to happen. Later in his career, he extended his game and became a solid three-point shooter.

42. Wes Unseld (Hall of Fame, 1x NBA MVP, 5x All-Star 1x NBA Champion)

Nothing better sums up Unseld’s uniqueness than the fact that his first NBA season was his best. His rookie averages of 13.8 points and 18.2 boards helped him earn both ROY and MVP honors in ’68-69. At 6-7, 245, the dude who turned outlet passes into highlights remains the game’s most sublime bruiser.

41. Dominique Wilkins (Hall of Fame, 9x All-Star)

You can’t talk about dunking without mentioning The Human Highlight Film. But the two-time Slam Dunk Champion was so much more. A nine-time All-Star and League scoring champ in 1985-86 (30.3 ppg), Nique was a bucket machine. His career scoring average of 24.8 ppg is 13th in NBA history, ahead of Larry Bird and Dr. J.

40. Kevin McHale (Hall of Fame, 7x All-Star, 3x NBA Champion)

We could recite the accolades (three-time champion, seven-time All-Star) but instead here’s a suggestion: Drop whatever you’re doing, cue up YouTube, type “Kevin McHale post moves” into the search bar and spend the next 10 minutes watching one of the game’s all-time artists go to work.

39.  Gary Payton (Hall of Fame, 9x All-Star, 1x NBA Champion)

The Glove became one of the most feared players during the ’90s for his tenacity on the defensive end. For 48 minutes, Payton was looking to make his opponents’ lives hell, as he’d lock up and let guys know all about it with legendary trash talk learned on the playgrounds of Oakland.

38. Bob Cousy (Hall of Fame, 1x NBA MVP, 13x All-Star, 6x NBA Champion)

There’s a scene in Blue Chips where 66-year-old Bob Cousy, wearing a shirt and tie, hits 10 consecutive free throws—the last one left handed—while engaged in serious dialogue with Nick Nolte. It wasn’t scripted. Also, he averaged 18.4 ppg through his career and led the NBA in assists eight times during 13 All-Star seasons in Boston. Legend.

37. Russell Westbrook (7x All-Star, 1x NBA MVP)*

How do you capture the brilliance, essence and ferociousness of Russell Westbrook in just a few short sentences? Let’s try this: TWO-TIME SCORING CHAMP! 2017 MVP!! ARCHITECT OF PERHAPS THE GREATEST INDIVIDUAL SEASON EVER! FIRST SINCE OSCAR TO AVERAGE A TRIPLE DOUBLE (AND HE DID IT TWICE)!!! STYLE ICON!!!!

36. Walt Frazier (Hall of Fame, 7x All-Star, 2x NBA Champion)

To a millennial, Walt Frazier is the guy with the crazy suits and crazy vocabulary calling Knicks games a few times a week. To the OGs, Clyde was a Hall of Fame point guard who helped lead New York to a pair of NBA titles in the ’70s. Frazier finished with career averages of 19 points and 6 assists per game, plus seven NBA All-Defensive First Team nods.

35. Chris Paul (9x All-Star)*

The greatest point guard of his generation. A brilliant passer who has led the League in total assists three times and a tenacious defender who has led the League in steals five times. Try to ignore the lack of playoff success (he’s never played in a Conference Finals, but that could change very, very soon)—that’s like scanning the Mona Lisa for a blemish.

34. Steve Nash (Hall of Fame, 2x NBA MVP, 8x All-Star)

The floppy-haired guard looked more suited for the skate park than NBA stardom, but the PG was a two-time MVP who could score from all over and set up his teammates like few others. He rode shotgun with Dirk in Dallas and then thrived in Phoenix’s “seven seconds or less” attack as the perfect pass-first maestro.

33. Elvin Hayes (Hall of Fame, 12x All-Star, 1x NBA Champion)

One of the most durable players in NBA history, the Big E missed just nine games in 16 seasons while piling up over 27,000 points and 16,000 boards. A tough defender and fierce competitor, Hayes helped Houston beat Lew Alcindor and UCLA in 1968’s “Game of the Century.”

32. Rick Barry (Hall of Fame, 8x All-Star, 1x NBA Champion)

Known for his unorthodox free-throw shooting form, Barry is the only player to lead the NCAA, ABA and NBA in scoring. The eight-time All-Star led the Warriors to their first Golden State-era title in 1975 with a Finals MVP performance.

31. Jason Kidd (Hall of Fame, 10x All-Star, 1x NBA Champion)

J-Kidd’s list of accomplishments could take up an entire magazine itself, but the CliffNotes version is this: 10-time All-Star, 5-time All-NBA First Team, Olympic Gold medalist, NBA Champion, and Hall of Famer. He’s top-10 all-time in three-pointers made and games played, and second highest ever in career assists.

30. Patrick Ewing (Hall of Fame, 11x All-Star)

The No. 1 pick in the 1985 NBA Draft is one of the greatest to ever suit up in the Knicks orange and blue. Ewing averaged 22 and 10 during his remarkable stretch in Manhattan, earning him ROTY, 11 All-Star appearances and three All-Defensive honors en route to a Hall of Fame career.

29. David Robinson (Hall of Fame, 1x NBA MVP, 10x All-Star, 2x NBA Champion)

He averaged 25.6 points, 11.8 rebounds and 3.6 blocks in his first seven seasons, a run so ridiculous it’s easy to forget that he sat out what should’ve been his first two seasons while fulfilling his Navy service. His consistency is overshadowed by Tim Duncan’s, but don’t get it twisted: The Admiral still ranks.

28. Allen Iverson (Hall of Fame, 1x NBA MVP, 11x All-Star)

Do we really have to spell it out for you? At (maybe) six-foot, Iverson’s style and determination made him one of the most iconic players to ever pick up a basketball, point blank, period. Oh, and he has an MVP Award, 11 All-Star nods and four scoring titles to his name as part of a Hall of Fame career.

27. Dirk Nowitzki (1x NBA MVP, 11x All-Star, 1x NBA Champion)*

First he was a curiosity, then he was Steve Nash’s long-haired running mate. Then he was another too-soft Euro who scored in bunches but couldn’t win, and then he did win. And now it’s been 20 years with the same team and that same ugly, beautiful shot. Swish.

26. Kevin Garnett (1x NBA MVP, 15x All-Star, 1x NBA Champion)

Drafted straight outta high school, KG took the T-Wolves to eight straight playoff appearances, then led the Celtics to an NBA title in 2008. Want proof of his insane versatility as a big man? Garnett became one of only five players in League history to lead his team in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks in 2002-03.

25. John Stockton (Hall of Fame, 10x All-Star)

Stockton played 19 seasons in his Hall of Fame career, and his Utah Jazz teams made the playoffs in all 19 of those campaigns. By the time he hung up his short shorts, he was the NBA’s all-time leader in total assists and total steals.

24. John Havlicek (Hall of Fame, 13x All-Star, 8x NBA Champion)

Havlicek stole the ball! That much you knew. You might not know that Hondo was arguably the best all-around defender of his era and finished his career as the Celtics’ all-time scoring leader. Eight of his 16 seasons ended with titles. Best sixth man ever, and it’s probably not even close.

23. Dwyane Wade (12x All-Star, 3x NBA Champion)*

Wade has the rings and the stats (12-time All-Star, a scoring title and career averages of 23, 5 and 6) to put him squarely in the conversation for third-best shooting guard in NBA history, behind Mike and Kobe. Low-key, he’s one of the best shot-blocking guards to ever do it, too.

22. Scottie Pippen (Hall of Fame, 7x All-Star, 6x NBA Champion)

It’s easy to dismiss Pippen as Michael Jordan’s lieutenant, but the 6-8 small forward helped redefine the position with his ability to pass, defend multiple positions and score from all over. Pippen’s Central Arkansas pedigree made him an unlikely star, but his all-around game made him much more than a supporting actor.

21. Karl Malone (Hall of Fame, 2x NBA MVP, 14x All-Star)

Alongside John Stockton, Malone was part of one of the greatest guard-forward combinations in NBA history, and is currently second on the all-time scoring list with 36,928 points. The Mailman may never have hoisted the Larry O’Brien trophy, but he achieved virtually everything else, making a remarkable 11 straight All-NBA First Teams.

20. Charles Barkley (Hall of Fame, 1x NBA MVP, 11x All-Star)

Sir Charles was strong, bold, mobile and wanted to win by any means necessary. A one-time MVP and 11-time All-Star, the Round Mound of Rebound is one of only four players in NBA history to rack up 20,000 points, 10,000 boards and 4,000 dimes.

19. Stephen Curry (2x NBA MVP, 5x All-Star, 2x NBA Champion)*

A skinny kid from Davidson whose early career was sabotaged by bad ankles, Curry has become the NBA’s most deadly long-range assassin. His skill to launch bombs quickly off the dribble and his amazing ability to slalom through defenses make him virtually unguardable.

18. Elgin Baylor (Hall of Fame, 11x All-Star)

Baylor’s résumé is ridiculous. He was an 11-time All-Star. He was named All-NBA First Team 10 times, a number only three players have surpassed. Most noteworthy, though, might be the protest he helped lead prior to the 1964 All-Star Game (Google it) that led to the formation of the player’s union and the rights today’s players enjoy.

17. Isiah Thomas (Hall of Fame, 12x All-Star, 2x NBA Champion)

Zeke may have had a disarming smile, but on the court, the Pistons’ point guard was a stone killer. He directed the Bad Boys’ physical symphony and stuck daggers into the hearts of rivals with clutch playmaking. The engine of two Detroit title teams and survivor of Bob Knight’s Indiana program, Thomas was a ruthless leader.

16. Jerry West (Hall of Fame, 14x All-Star, 1x NBA Champion)

West was so good and so prolific that the NBA still uses his silhouette at its logo. That says it all. He played in the All-Star Game during every one of his 14 seasons, made more clutch shots than just about anybody else and was the only player to be Finals MVP on a losing team.

15. Julius “Dr. J” Erving (Hall of Fame, 1x NBA MVP, 11x All-Star, 1x NBA Champion)

The Doctor defined cool with his otherworldly vertical jump, trademark afro and overall swagger. Until his knees intervened, Erving was a hardwood acrobat, tormenting ABA and NBA defenders with his hang time and ferocious play around the run. He developed a jumper later on but was known primarily for his high-flying highlights.

14. Moses Malone (Hall of Fame, 3x NBA MVP, 12x All-Star, 1x NBA Champion)

As the first player to go from high school to the pros, Big Mo knew he could hang with grown men from the beginning. He was the 1982-83 Finals MVP and champion, and his ability to corral rebounds put him in the top-5 (16,212) all time.

13. Kevin Durant (1x NBA MVP, 9x All-Star, 1x NBA Champion)*

KD hasn’t even hit his 30s yet, and his résumé already makes him a lock for the Hall of Fame. He was a four-time scoring champ even before he joined the modern day dynasty that is the Golden State Warriors, where he added the hardware that ought to cement his place among the greats to ever play the game.

12. Hakeem Olajuwon (Hall of Fame, 1x NBA MVP, 12x All-Star, 2x NBA Champion)

In an era of great centers, Olajuwon proved himself the greatest. David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, young Shaq—he vanquished them all while leading the Rockets to consecutive titles in ’94 and ’95. He’s also the NBA’s all-time leader in blocked shots. The originator of the Dream Shake, too. That alone validates this ranking.

11. Oscar Robertson (Hall of Fame, 1x NBA MVP, 12x All-Star, 1x NBA Champion)

Oscar Robertson was ahead of his time. The first player to ever average a triple-double for an entire season (in 1961-62), the Big O was balling on a different level. He won an MVP and led the Bucks to their only NBA title as part of a 14-year Hall of Fame pro career.

RELATED
SLAM Presents TOP 100 is Out Now!

The post SLAM’s Top 100 Players Of All-Time: 50-11 appeared first on SLAM.

Dejounte Murray is 21-years-old and has been summoned to replace a future Hall of Famer in Tony Parker as the starting point guard for the San Antonio Spurs.

Parker held the job when healthy from November 6, 2001 until January 21, 2018.

But that merely scratches the surface.

A dynasty that has spanned two decades, hung five banners in the rafters, and resulted in nineteen 50-or-more win seasons, is currently at a crossroads. Tim Duncan is gone. Parker and Manu Ginobili will soon follow. For the first time in awhile, the Spurs are fighting for their playoff lives in the final weeks of the regular season.

The burden now falls on players like Murray to ensure the torch remains lit as it is passed – To prolong the success of one of the most dominant empires in not just basketball, but all of sports history.

Yes, the task is daunting, especially for someone who graduated high school only a few years ago. But Murray isn’t afraid of it.

And Spurs fans worried about the future can find comfort in this: Dejounte Murray is all in.

—

—

Alex Squadron is an Associate News Editor at SLAM. Follow him on Twitter @asquad510.

Photos via Getty Images.

The post Dejounte Murray Won’t Settle For Anything But Greatness appeared first on SLAM.

In an interview with HoopsHype’s Alex Kennedy, Robinson credited Duncan for helping him win championships and allowing him to “grow up and be a better a player.”

Robinson on Tim Duncan: "Tim is probably the best thing that ever happened to me in my career. When somebody like that comes in, they can only enhance what you’re doing. Playing together was the best thing for both of us. I think we both understood that." https://t.co/fwzI4di7fE

— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) March 23, 2018

“Tim was maybe the best thing that happened to me in my whole career. Obviously, having owners like Red McCombs and Peter Holt was fantastic and coaches like Larry Brown and Pop were phenomenal.

“But I can say that Tim is probably the best thing that ever happened to me. He helped me as an individual to grow up and be a better a player.

“He helped us achieve the long-term goals that we set, winning championships. And he helped us become the model franchise over a 25-year period.”

RELATED:
David Robinson: Gregg Popovich Doing ‘One of His Best Coaching Jobs’

The post David Robinson: Tim Duncan Is ‘The Best Thing That Happened To Me’ appeared first on SLAM.

“Jordan does that all the time in practice, he makes buzzer shots all the time,” Michigan coach John Beilein said. “The guy is an overdose of swag … he lives for those shots and that’s what he loves.”

Needless to say, the shot Poole’s been preparing all his life to take dropped as Michigan downed Houston 64-63 and advanced to its 15th Sweet 16 in school history.

MICHIGAN NAILS THE 3⃣ AT THE BUZZER AND THE WOLVERINES ARE DANCING THEIR WAY INTO THE SWEET 16 (via @MarchMadness) pic.twitter.com/Vh6hhdITZP

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) March 18, 2018

“Jordan does that all the time in practice, he makes buzzer shots all the time … The guy is an overdose of swag … he lives for those shots and that’s what he loves.”

Michigan coach John Beilein on tonight’s hero, Jordan Poole (via @marchmadness) pic.twitter.com/PrZTFM1vJr

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) March 18, 2018

Poole finished the night with eight points on 3-for-5 shooting in 11 minutes. Four other Wolverines scored in double-figures: Duncan Robinson (11), Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman (12), Charles Matthews (11) and Moritz Wagner (12).

Rob Gray, Houston’s hero in the round of 64, scored 23 and grabbed 10 rebounds.

The post Jordan Poole’s Buzzer-Beater Advances Michigan Past Houston to the Sweet 16 appeared first on SLAM.

***

It’s early January, which means the NFL playoffs are in full swing, and the buzz floating through the Ochsner Sports Performance Center in New Orleans is all about the Saints. Team staffers are gearing up for Sunday’s Divisional Round matchup with the Vikings. It’s the only thing anyone is talking about.

After a light practice, a monstrous player with bulging, tattooed arms and a frame wide enough to make you wonder how he even fit through the door walks out in full uniform. He looks like he’d be a savage of a defensive lineman, or play tight end better than Rob Gronkowski. A few minutes after his arrival, in walks another player. This dude has the build of an all-time wide receiver freak like Randy Moss—only six inches taller.

But we aren’t even in the football facility. Adjacent to the Saints’ practice fields here at Ochsner are the hardwood practice courts that DeMarcus Cousins, Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans call home. It’s here, inside these walls, where the two aforementioned Monstars lock horns in scrimmages, games that often get so physical that, honestly, they may as well be on the football field.

“The practices we do go against each other, it’s very intense,” Cousins, 27, says of his behind-the-scenes battles with the 24-year-old Davis. “It’s usually our best practices, because we try to bring out the best in each other. We already had a lowkey rivalry before we were teammates, just being brought up as the best two bigs, Kentucky, all of that. And the rivalry sort of creeps back out in the practices—they’re very competitive.”

Veteran Tony Allen—who has seen plenty of battles during his lengthy career—says he’s witnessed it in practice plenty of times. “To see two of the top premier bigs go at it pay-per-view style in practice, it’s fun to watch. But most importantly it makes them better, when they’re playing against other guys who aren’t as talented as them. It pushes them to be great,” says the Pels’ old head, who compares Davis and Cousins to Tim Duncan and David Robinson of the Spurs—only with a hell of a lot more shit talking. “I like when they jawing at each other,” TA adds. “The trash talk is at an all-time high when they play against each other. I approve.”

With Davis averaging 26.7 points and 10.5 rebounds per game and Boogie’s numbers at 25.6 and 12.9 (both players are top-10 in the NBA in each of those categories) as we went to press, the modern-day Twin Towers had the Pelicans sitting in the 6-spot in the Western Conference (25-21) at press time. They are the only teammates in the history of the game to both average 25 points and 10 rebounds a night. Halfway through the 2017-18 season, Cousins already has 12 games with 20-plus points and 15-plus rebounds, and Davis has eight such performances. Charlotte’s Dwight Howard is the next closest on that list, having done it six times this year. Davis is even shooting a career-high 36 percent from three-point range, same as Boogie. Oh, and they’re both averaging career-highs in assists, too. Good luck trying to stop a pick-and-roll involving these guys together. In an era when small-ball is all the rage, New Orleans has something no other team does: two big men who are flat-out better than most guards, even at doing guard things.

Future’s “Solo” plays from a laptop as Davis (a five-time All-Star) and Cousins (a four-time All-Star) pose for photos sitting in the bleachers facing the near court of the practice facility. For a brief moment they look like your average kids at an AAU tournament waiting on their next game, joking and flipping basketballs in the air—just supersized. Their long frames unfold over four or five rows of benches. Their attention quickly turns to the far court, where Allen is running sprints, working his way back from a fractured left fibula. Today happens to be The Grindfather’s 36th birthday, and Boogie and The Brow are letting him have it.

“Hey, TA, go sit down!” yells Davis.

“How old you turn today?!” Cousins laughs.

Around these two, there is never a dull moment. Darius Miller, who played one year each with Cousins (2009-10) and Davis (2011-12) during his career at the University of Kentucky and is now teammates with both of them in NOLA, confirms that both former ’Cats are the same fun, goofy dudes they were in college. “They haven’t changed,” Miller insists.

The pair’s playful spirit manifests itself in constant bickering. Like an old married couple, they argue about everything. Who’s taller? Who eats more? Whose Kentucky team was better? Which one is Batman and which one is Robin? (“Two Batmans,” they finally agree.) But ever since the stunning All-Star Weekend deal last year that sent Boogie to the Big Easy, it’s been all love between the two.

Neither can believe it’s already been a year since that crazy-ass weekend. Davis won the All-Star Game MVP in his home arena, and after the game all hell broke loose on #BasketballTwitter (OK, and in real life, too) when the Kings traded Cousins to New Orleans for a package of players and picks. At the time, it was an unceremonious breakup for Boogie, who felt betrayed after Kings management went out of its way to publicly promise he’d stay in Sacramento. After all, he’d remained loyal despite never having the pieces around him to win more than 33 games in any of his six previous seasons in Sac. Now, though, that’s all in the rearview.

***

SLAM: What do you remember about All-Star Weekend last year, when the trade was finalized?

AD: When I found out, I went immediately to our GM’s [Dell Demps] office in the arena downtown, and I was like, Is this true? So then I texted Cuz, like, “Are you still in the arena?” He was like, “I just left. But it’s crazy…TEAMMATE.” He ended up coming back a few days later, and it was all surreal. Like, he’s really on my team.

DC: It was rough. It was tough to deal with. That’s supposed to be a weekend of celebration and relaxation, but it was the opposite for me. I wouldn’t wish that situation on anybody. But that’s the nature of this business. That’s the nature of the beast. I think everything happens for a reason. There’s a reason I was sent here. I’m the type of guy that tries to make the most of any situation I’m put in.

SLAM: The way things went down—in terms of your departure from Sacramento—didn’t sit well with you. How long did it take before you were able to put those feelings behind you completely?

DC: After I got a couple games under my belt, I was OK. Like, I’m back playing basketball. To say I was completely fine and it was out of my mind? No. And part of that is due to the storyline that everybody wanted. To me, it was over. It was time to move on. But to the outside world, they weren’t ready to let it go. Because of course they wanted the story. It took a while, it did. Time has flown by. I’ve gotten accustomed to the changes, to New Orleans, to my teammates. It’s a normalcy for me now. Last year it was kind of awkward walking into the building all the time.

SLAM: What was your guys’ friendship like prior to the trade?

DC: Me and him were cool before this. That was the bro before this. Our relationship hasn’t done anything but grow since. He made this transition easier for me. The coaching staff, Dell [Demps], they all made this transition easier for me—as easy as possible. They understand it was a tough time, a rough transition.

AD: I’d see him, we’d compete on the floor, during the offseason we’d meet up somewhere. All that. I had his number. It’s been fun so far getting to know him better on the floor—I know him well off the floor, but getting to know him on the floor—spending this time and sharing this experience with him.

SLAM: What’s the hardest thing about guarding one another?

AD: The hardest thing about checking DeMarcus is that he’s versatile. He can score on the block, he can score from three, he can take you one-on-one isolation. So trying to guard different actions, especially when we’re scrimmaging, you just don’t know what he’s going to do. He shoots the ball so well, but when you close out on him, he’s able to drive by you and get a layup or a dunk, so that’s the toughest thing. It helps us, for the simple fact that when we’re in a game and we’re guarding someone with his skill set, it’s easier to defend.

DC: The hardest thing about guarding AD? I would say it’s him in 2-on-2 action. When he’s in a pick and roll situation, if he’s popping or he’s rolling to the rim, it’s damn near impossible to guard, with his shooting ability and his ability to put it on the floor. And I don’t think there’s a big in the League that’s able to jump with him, so it’s kind of a lose-lose situation.

SLAM: What one skill would you take from each other’s game, if you could steal something?

DC: I’m taking his athleticism, all day.

AD: What I’d take from DeMarcus’ game is his passing. He’s a tremendous passer, sees the floor very well for a big.

SLAM: What’s something about DeMarcus that you’ve learned, that media and fans don’t know?

AD: He’s soft, man—he’s a teddy bear, honestly. Of course he gets this rep about being a certain type of guy, but honestly he’s really not like that. Off the floor he’s one of the coolest guys I’ve ever been around. He gets perceived as this angry type of guy. You really just gotta know him to know him, honestly. You just can’t go off what the media tries to perceive him to be.

DC: [AD is] that guy that they try to make me out to be! [Everyone laughs.]

AD: The roles are really reversed, honestly.

DC: He’s the meanest guy you’ll ever meet. He’s grouchy every morning.

AD: Everybody says I play too much.

DC: He plays all day. He’s a big kid.

***

The night after our shoot, New Orleans beats Portland 119-113 at home. AD goes for 36 points, 9 boards, 2 assists and 2 blocks, while DeMarcus puts up 24 points, 19 rebounds, 8 dimes and 2 blocks. Light work. Two days later at Madison Square Garden—with much of the city of New Orleans focused instead on that Saints playoff game—the Pelicans pull out a 123-118 OT win over the Knicks off the strength of 48 points, 17 boards, 4 steals and 3 blocks from AD. Meanwhile, Pelicans TV play-by-play man Joel Meyers mentions something about Cousins “just not having it today from the field.” And though he’s right (4 for 16), Boogie still finishes with a ridiculous 15-point, 16-rebound, 7-steal, 5-assist, 3-block stat line. How’s that for an “off” night?

Most recently, DMC hung 44 points, 24 rebounds, 10 assists, 4 steals and a block on the Bulls in double-OT, a performance the likes of which only he, Elgin Baylor, Oscar Robertson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain can lay claim to.

And that’s what makes this duo the most underappreciated tandem in the sport right now. On some Batman-and-Batman-type shit.

“It’s fun,” Cousins says of suiting up next to a fellow top-10 player every single night. “It’s a pleasure to know I got one of the most talented players in the world as my teammate. It’s not every day you get a chance to play with a talent like that. I’m grateful for it, and I’m sure he feels the same way. We’ve both been in situations where we’ve been the guy on our team, and we go out and score 30 every night and go home with Ls. We’re past that part in our careers. We see the bigger picture, we want the bigger picture, which is a chance at winning a championship. We’re putting in the work every day, putting in the sacrifices to make it work. I think we’re growing and getting better every day. And eventually, things will click.”

—

Abe Schwadron is the Managing Editor at numberFire and a former Senior Editor at SLAM. Follow him on Twitter @abe_squad.

Additional reporting by Yaron Weitzman

Cover design by Pen & Pixel Graphics

Portraits by Rayon Richards

—

SLAM 214 is on sale in early February. More coming soon!

The post AD and Boogie Are On Fire appeared first on SLAM.

A concept that brings us, inevitably, to Tim Duncan.

Yes, it’s a tired and predictable thing to joke about TD being the least colorful superstar in NBA history. It also remains undeniably true: Quiet, business-like, and media-averse, Duncan was a perfect fit for one of the NBA’s least-fashionable media markets, and for a franchise that was (and remains) content to thrive outside of the day-to-day spotlight. It’s all the more fitting that one of the League’s most consistent and least flashy legends exercised his dominance in a uniform that was—as the physicists would tell you—essentially devoid of color.

And that iconic No. 21 never looked better than it did during the 2002-03 season.

Duncan began the year in peak form: five seasons under his belt, the most recent ending with a career-high 25.5 ppg and his first MVP award. But, Duncan being Duncan, that ’01-02 campaign would never go down as a truly great one, ending as it did with a lopsided loss to the rival Lakers in the Western Conference semis. Going into ’02-03, he was not only at the top of his game, but motivated by the sting of disappointment, a job unfinished.

The ’02-03 season kicked off with a showcase game in Los Angeles, in which Duncan scored just 14 points on 3-14 shooting. And yet the Spurs pulled out the win, and in one sense, it was a peek at how the dynamic (and yes, even flashy) young talent that San Antonio had added around Duncan meant he wouldn’t always have to carry the load. With third-year wing Stephen Jackson, second-year point man Tony Parker and rookie guard Manu Ginobili supplementing vets like David Robinson, Malik Rose, Steve Smith and Bruce Bowen, the Spurs had a supporting cast built for a deep run.

But still, and most important, they had Duncan.

With almost robotic efficiency that complemented his monochromatic on-court attire, TD was nearly as dominant as he’d been while earning MVP honors a season earlier: 23.3 points, 12.9 boards, 3.9 assists and 2.9 blocks per game. Then came the playoffs, when it mattered most, and when he was somehow even better: 24.7 ppg (on 53 percent shooting), 15.4 rpg, 5.3 apg, 3.3 bpg. They paid back the Lakers with a 4-2 series win in the conference semis en route to beating the Nets in the Finals.

Season MVP, Finals MVP, NBA champ—at season’s end, Duncan had more trophies than hands to hold them. And just as the silver trim meant those Spurs jerseys weren’t entirely without color, Duncan, the flash-free superstar, didn’t mind hoarding all that gold.

—

Photos via Getty Images

The post Color Blind appeared first on SLAM.

Serrano’s book contains beautiful illustrations from artist Arturo Torres and 33 interesting chapters ranging from “Who’s the Greatest Dunker in NBA History?” to “What Attributes Make for the Best Basketball Villain?” The book also includes a foreword from one of Serrano’s favorite players, Hall of Famer Reggie Miller.

With the 2017-2018 season fairly new, SLAM caught up with Serrano to talk about his new book, his beloved Spurs, and get his thoughts on players throughout the NBA.

SLAM: What really caught your attention while you researched for Basketball (and Other Things)?

Shea Serrano: I learned a billion things, but the one thing that I’ll never forget is that Kobe Bryant scored more points against the Spurs in the playoffs than any other player ever in history. And I’ll always remember that because watching the playoffs—when the Lakers and Spurs were going back and forth—it 100 percent felt like that was the case. Not that it was actually true, but it was like, Oh, shit, I’ll never forget this.

SLAM: In one chapter you sorted out each of Kobe’s averages per season and determined if he was the best player in the League that year. Have you gotten any slander from Kobe loyalists?

SS: Not anything serious—it’s mostly jokey things. I think it’s because when you read the chapter, it does a pretty good job explaining why he was never the best player in the League—or maybe one year he was in 2009. But other than that, it’s really hard to argue he was the best player in the League.

SLAM: You also wrote about how Reggie Miller drew you to basketball at first. At what point did Tim Duncan eclipse Reggie as your all-time favorite?

SS: Probably by, like, the 2003 season when he became the best player in the world, because we never had that on the Spurs ever. We never had the guy that everybody was afraid of. That was when it really started and I loved it.

SLAM: You mentioned that you had planned to write a book about basketball after you wrote The Rap Year Book. What was the thought process like writing BAOT? How were you able to decide what you wanted in this book?

SS: I wanted to do a cool book about basketball that I hadn’t seen yet. The way we decided what was going to be in there was I made a spreadsheet and it had the “X” number of chapters that were super researched and gave a big picture of the NBA’s history. I wanted to have “X” number of chapters about specific players, and “X” number of chapters about other things.

Along with that, I had a list of 50 questions that I wanted to answer. I was just grabbing them and plugging them in where I thought they needed to go. Then I was arranging it so that it felt like it had the correct pace and correct tone. And there you go, that’s how we made the book.

SLAM: When you drafted the book, was it really long and you had to cut it down? Or was it the other way around?

SS: Yeah, it was like fucking five hundred pages or something beforehand. When they give you the specs of the book—before you start writing and after you sign the contract—it was 240 pages. So after I laid down all the chapters, I realized, OK, I need to cut down a lot of shit here. What’s the stuff that’s the least important to me? Then just work backwards like that.

SLAM: What do you want an average joe to come away with after reading BAOT?

SS: Come away with whatever you want [laughs]. You know, books mean different things to different people all the time. All I wanted to do was write a book that celebrated the NBA. Even the stuff about Kobe where I’m like poking him in the eye, it’s all very reverential and we’re acknowledging he’s one of the greatest of all time and I’m terrified of him. But also he’s kind of a nerd. I just wanted to people read it and go, Oh, this guy really appreciates the NBA, he loves the NBA. But as far as individual things, take from it what you will.

SLAM: Did you think it was mathematically impossible to catch and shoot with four tenths of a second left in a game like Derek Fisher did against the Spurs in the 2004 playoffs?

SS: No, the only reason I didn’t think that was because they tell you that 100 times before. As long as there’s four tenths of a second, you can get a shot off. If anything, I was mad at the shot clock people in San Antonio. Like, just let that shit run out when Duncan’s shot goes in.

If you watched the Alonzo Mourning buzzer beater that he hit in Charlotte in the 1993 playoffs, he makes it with a good 8/10 of a second left, and the clock just keeps on running. Ball goes all the way through the net, bounces around, and the clock just runs and runs until it’s out. They should have done that in San Antonio.

SLAM: Did you feel like Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals between the Lakers and Kings was rigged?

SS: I didn’t realize it was rigged until people started saying it. I’m never that insightful or smart. I just thought, Oh, that sucks, they lost. They should have won. You know, I just didn’t think that was something that could have happened. That was just beyond comprehension for me, there’s no way the NBA’s ever rigged. I still don’t think it was rigged. It was just a shitty game. Sometimes you have shitty games.

SLAM: In the book you find ways to poke fun at Rick Fox whenever you get the chance. What’s your beef with him?

SS: I don’t like Rick Fox because he’s all the things I’m not: Tall, very handsome, great teeth, successful in basketball and acting. Like, he’s just a guy you look at and you hate.

SLAM: By comparison, do you relate more to someone like Patrick Beverley? An underdog-type that wants to destroy everything in his path?

SS: That’s exactly what this is. I love Patrick Beverley because he’s that kind of person. Those are always my favorite types of players.

SLAM: Who are you jumping into a foxhole with? Matt Barnes or Stephen Jackson?

SS: Give me Stephen Jackson. If only because he was the first guy behind the stands with Ron Artest [during the Malice at the Palace]. He’s that kind of person. That’s who I want to be with.

SLAM: How much do you hate Karl Malone?

SS: San Antonio and Utah was a very heated rivalry in the ’90s and Karl Malone is just kind of a dick. He hammered David Robinson, I think [Malone] broke [Robinson’s] thumb. He knocked him out of a game, elbowed  him in the back of the head. He was just a bad guy, so it was cool to find out that he was a bad person as well. Then you can just hate him all the way around.

SLAM: What about John Stockton? Do you hate him?

SS: No, I like John Stockton because he wasn’t supposed to be the player he became. He was always thought of as just too small or too slow. I can relate to that. Also, he was fucking clutch, he hit every big shot you needed to get hit. When you think of all the big shots in Jazz history, it was always John Stockton doing it. It was never ever Karl Malone. You remember Karl Malone getting the ball stolen from him, you remember Karl Malone missing the two free throws after Scottie Pippen told him that, The Mailman doesn’t deliver on Sundays. You remember Malone fucking up. John Stockton, you remember Game 6 against Houston when he hit the game winner. You remember him almost winning Game 6 for Utah against the Bulls. If Karl Malone doesn’t fuck that up, they win that championship.

SLAM: From the 1990s eras of Charles Barkley, Clyde Drexler, and all those other superstars, who do you think got screwed the most legacy-wise by Michael Jordan?

SS: Charles Barkley, he was the one who would have benefitted the most if he won a championship. He would have been a legendary figure if he had gotten a ring. He would have been up there as top-15 all-time.

SLAM: Who do you think is the best rookie out of this past draft class, and why?

SS: Right now, I’m going Lonzo. I think he will win Rookie of the Year. I’m not sure he’s the best, though. I think maybe Dennis Smith Jr  might be the best secretly. But I’m pretty sure Lonzo’s going to win, mostly because of how much attention he gets and how famous he is. As long as he’s not playing Patrick Beverley every night, he should be okay.

SLAM: Do you think LaVar is detrimental to Lonzo’s career?

SS: I don’t know. That’s a tricky question because I definitely don’t think he’s a top-3 pick without the dad around barking at everybody. I don’t know if we’ll get to a point where it’s a LaVar thing first, now that he’s in the pros. It made sense to me that dad was doing that in college or leading up to college in high school. It makes sense because you’re the man of the house, but once your kid is full grown in the NBA, I don’t know if that starts to hurt him or not. It’s all very interesting.

SLAM: What is your favorite SLAM cover?

SS: My favorite SLAM cover is the Tim Duncan, Iceman thing they did in 2000 [SLAM 47—Ed.]. Of course, I like the one from 2014 when Kawhi was on the cover celebrating the title.

SLAM: Would you have been pissed if SLAM put LaMarcus Aldridge on there?

SS: [Laughs] Nooo, I’m pro-LaMarcus this season. I did the thing last season where I shitted on him all year and it didn’t work out that way, so I’m going the opposite way.

—

Related: What If Nick Anderson Made One Of Those Free Throws? An Excerpt From Shea Serrano’s Basketball (and Other Things)

–

Sam Yip is a contributor to SLAM. Follow him on Twitter @samyip_.

Illustrations by Arturo Torres

The post Shea Serrano on ‘Basketball (and Other Things),’ Kobe, Lonzo Ball, and More appeared first on SLAM.

I realize that might read a little absurd. The MVP of the NBA is underrated? To quote the man himself, “Bruh… what?”

And listen, I’m not out here trying to say that he’s the best player in the NBA by leaps and bounds, or that the close 2016-17 MVP race should’ve been a landslide, or that if the ball bounced a different way once or twice that Westbrook would’ve added Finals MVP to his award collection. That’s a little ridiculous.

I’m just trying to say that despite the fact that the very top of this list might (or might not!) feature a better basketball player, there’s nobody on this list that is more iconic in 2017 than Russell Westbrook. And that should count for more than just something. That should count for everything.

There are lots of good basketball players. You love them and think about them and if they’re lucky, you’ll hang onto a few memories and forget the others. But with Russ there’s going to be none of that. You’re going to remember it all.

You’re going to remember the outfits. The press conferences. The quotes. The triple-doubles. The dancing. The intensity.

Here’s the best part, though: He’s not slowing down. Our hero did this the other night. The 28-year-old is more amped up than ever before. He spent the summer honing his craft. He has two v talented new teammates, which will either be a bit of a disaster or help him elevate both his and their games to a whole new level.

He averaged 31.6 points, 10.7 rebounds and 10.4 assists per game last season. He’ll probably average a few less points, slightly less rebounds and slightly more assists this year. All of that stuff is cool and validates him being ranked the No. 3 basketball player in the League, which is a fair ranking, and you know it is, even if you want to argue that he should be a spot higher or a spot or two lower—I mean I understand if you think that, but you’re lying to yourself. Like, come on. He’s third. For now. Next year he might be first or second or fourth or fifth.

It doesn’t really matter, though. What matters is you’re going to remember everything he is doing, because he’s perpetually iconic, and that’s how we treat icons. If you’re of a certain age, you have more Charles Barkley memories than you do David Robinson ones, and you have more Allen Iverson memories than you do Tim Duncan ones. I don’t mean to compare Russ to any of those guys—I’m just trying to put into context the undeniable fact that all of these amazing things Russ is doing everyday are one day going to be put together into a 30 for 30 or an E:60 or a Showtime documentary or a Facebook mini-movie or God knows what kind of soon-to-be popular media format, and you’re going to watch it, and you’re going to think to yourself, “My God, what a fucking legend.”

Which is really my point: Russell Westbrook is underrated because so often we see him do things, incredible things, and we don’t immediately think, “My God, what a fucking legend.” And we need to. We need to be thinking that every single time.

Previous Rankings:
2016: No. 3
2015: No. 5
2014: No. 6
2013: No. 12

Rankings are based on expected contribution in 2017-18—to players’ team, the NBA and the game.

No. 50 – Dion Waiters
No. 49 – Ben Simmons 
No. 48 – Brook Lopez
No. 47 — Harrison Barnes
No. 46 — Jrue Holiday
No. 45 — Lonzo Ball
No. 44 — Myles Turner
No. 43 — Goran Dragic
No. 42 — Andre Drummond
No. 41 — Al Horford
No. 40 — LaMarcus Aldridge
No. 39 — Kevin Love
No. 38 — Paul Millsap
No. 37 — Hassan Whiteside
No. 36 — Andrew Wiggins
No. 35 — Marc Gasol
No. 34 – DeAndre Jordan
No. 33 — Bradley Beal
No. 32 — Kemba Walker
No. 31 — CJ McCollum
No. 30 — Devin Booker
No. 29 — Nikola Jokic
No. 28 — Joel Embiid
No. 27 — Mike Conley 
No. 26 — Kyle Lowry
No. 25 — Rudy Gobert
No. 24 — Gordon Hayward
No. 23 — Kristaps Porzingis
No. 22 — Carmelo Anthony
No. 21 — DeMar DeRozan
No. 20 — Blake Griffin
No. 19 — Draymond Green
No. 18 — Chris Paul
No. 17 — Klay Thompson
No. 16 — Jimmy Butler
No. 15 — Isaiah Thomas
No. 14 — Karl-Anthony Towns
No. 13 — Damian Lillard
No. 12 — DeMarcus Cousins
No. 11 — Kyrie Irving
No. 10 — John Wall
No. 9 — Paul George
No. 8 — Anthony Davis
No. 7 — Giannis Antetokounmpo
No. 6 — James Harden
No. 5 — Kawhi Leonard
No. 4 — Stephen Curry

The post SLAM Top 50: Russell Westbrook, No. 3 appeared first on SLAM.

Bad news: So what? He’s never been to the playoffs.

He’s the most dominant center in the NBA today with the numbers to back it up—27 and 11 per game. DeMarcus is a big body they can’t handle in today’s hands-off game of H-O-R-S-E. He’s more athletic than stunned defenders realize, but he has the Z-Bo junk game, too. Sounds good? Well, DeMarcus can stretch the floor, hitting more than two 3-pointers a game last season. Larry Bird never did that (the NBA game is different than it used to be). Dominant bigs are like franchise running backs in the NFL. As both leagues play funny games with the rules to crank up the offense for fantasy and to make real life basketball seem more like a video game, the dominance of the big matters less.

As the latest disaster of a season was unfolding in Sactown, Anthony Davis was going off for 52, breaking Wilt’s record in the All-Star Game. The final score won’t fit on your screen. And then it was forgotten as Cousins was traded to team with the aforementioned Unibrow for the potential for frontcourt domination unheard of. If New Orleans could provide some stability, then you could see a flourishing partnership like great twin towers of the past: Sampson and Olajuwon, Duncan and Robinson. Better than that? Well… it gets complicated.

Not only that, DeMarcus is both superstar and enforcer. If someone on the other team disrespects the star, he makes them pay with violence. This may not be a good thing, and it’s time to talk about the other side of Cousins. He never reached the playoffs because the Kings were a mess. Or, were the Kings a mess because of DeMarcus? Few can match his talent. The drama he brings hasn’t been helpful yet. Separate the player from the drama if you can, but you can’t. DeMarcus brings the best low post scoring, outside touch from a big, strength, mobility, rebounding. But he also brings enough baggage to stop a plane from taking off.

When you talk about Russ Westbrook, you dismiss the negatives because they are part of the package. A guy who is so dynamic because he’s fearless will also make reckless mistakes. Cousins has a lot to offer, but his negatives don’t help him, they just take him off the court and cost his team. If he could eliminate the drama, the immaturity, the needless technicals, he would be one of the key forces in the League. Can he?

There is a plethora of excuses for why DeMarcus has never made the playoffs. The West is tough, he’s had bad coaching, Sactown dysfunction. Subpar teammates. George Karl has been butting heads and burning bridges with rebellious superstars for decades: Shawn Kemp, Big Dog Robinson, Carmelo. DeMarcus broke him. NOW, the West is more loaded than ever. DeMarcus should have more stability than ever. This year it’s time to break through, or he could see this ranking drop next year.

Previous Rankings:
2016: No. 9
2015: No. 9
2014: No. 20
2013: No. 29

Rankings are based on expected contribution in 2017-18—to players’ team, the NBA and the game.

No. 50 – Dion Waiters
No. 49 – Ben Simmons 
No. 48 – Brook Lopez
No. 47 — Harrison Barnes
No. 46 — Jrue Holiday
No. 45 — Lonzo Ball
No. 44 — Myles Turner
No. 43 — Goran Dragic
No. 42 — Andre Drummond
No. 41 — Al Horford
No. 40 — LaMarcus Aldridge
No. 39 — Kevin Love
No. 38 — Paul Millsap
No. 37 — Hassan Whiteside
No. 36 — Andrew Wiggins
No. 35 — Marc Gasol
No. 34 – DeAndre Jordan
No. 33 — Bradley Beal
No. 32 — Kemba Walker
No. 31 — CJ McCollum
No. 30 — Devin Booker
No. 29 — Nikola Jokic
No. 28 — Joel Embiid
No. 27 — Mike Conley 
No. 26 — Kyle Lowry
No. 25 — Rudy Gobert
No. 24 — Gordon Hayward
No. 23 — Kristaps Porzingis
No. 22 — Carmelo Anthony
No. 21 — DeMar DeRozan
No. 20 — Blake Griffin
No. 19 — Draymond Green
No. 18 — Chris Paul
No. 17 — Klay Thompson
No. 16 — Jimmy Butler
No. 15 — Isaiah Thomas
No. 14 — Karl-Anthony Towns
No. 13 — Damian Lillard

The post SLAM Top 50: DeMarcus Cousins, No. 12 appeared first on SLAM.

What happens when your training parter is 7ft tall ?? #martialarts #kickboxing #echolsfitness #training #timduncan #goat #SanAntonio pic.twitter.com/5cQUj0r0V5

— Jason Echols (@EcholsFitness) July 26, 2017

In an interview with Bleacher Report, Duncan’s trainer Jason Echols‏ calls Duncan “a f–king monster” and says he would be a “legit competitor” in MMA.

If Tim Duncan or David Robinson wanted to get into MMA, would they would be able to compete?

 

JE: [Duncan] would be a legit competitor. For sure. He has a desire to learn and compete. He has the heart for it. He most definitely would be a competitor.

 

“I would highly encourage him not to. Being a retired Spurs player, I wouldn’t want him going out there and getting punched and kicked by some of those guys, but Tim would be a competitor.

 

“David would learn to become one. They are both competitive guys and not used to losing.

RELATED:
A Look Back at the Best of Tim Duncan’s Nike and adidas Sneakers

The post Tim Duncan’s Trainer Says He Would Be a ‘Legit Competitor’ in MMA appeared first on SLAM.

“It was fucking miserable,” Green says now. “Y’know, going through the offseason, playing as long as we would have to win a championship, but we couldn’t close it out—fucking miserable.”

Things have picked up since then. On July 4, 2016, Kevin Durant signed with Golden State, largely thanks to Green’s persistent recruiting. Eleven months later, the Warriors won their second title in three seasons, vanquishing the Cavaliers again. There was little drama this time around, not in the five-game series itself, nor with Green, who averaged a double-double while flashing his trademark versatility. A couple weeks later, Green was named Defensive Player of the Year.

“I feel completely different this summer,” he says. “Last year, there was a dark cloud. Now I’m just on a cloud.”

Green is spending a late-June afternoon at Terminal 23, the Jordan Brand-sponsored gym in midtown Manhattan. The space was opened in 2014, and the main attraction here is a dazzling basketball court. Its walls and ceilings are white, and so are the Greek-style columns that stand in each corner. The site hosts pickup games and training sessions—which occasionally include Jordan athletes like Carmelo Anthony—as well as brand events. Today, Nike is promoting the new 2017 Hyperdunk Flyknit, for which Green is the frontman.

Indeed, in a summer full of success, Green’s latest achievement has come off-court. Last season, Green mostly played in a customized Zoom Rev PE that had a “D23” logo stitched in. But that’s not so special—Devin Booker, for instance, also had his own custom pair. Now, though, Green is representing a sneaker on his own—a notch up in the Nike food chain.

“It’s a dream come true that they want me to be the face of the shoe,” Green says.

As he speaks, Green is wearing black ’17 Hyperdunks. The Flyknit material streaks across the shoe in straight lines. On Green’s model, the upper Flyknit promises a rare combination of flexibility and support around the ankles. The shoe’s base is white, as is the Swoosh. The tip is a dark, glittery silver. In all, it’s a clean shoe, which works for Green.

“If it’s an ugly shoe, you’re skeptical, like, Ah, I don’t know if I can wear that,” he says. Green has always taken fashion pretty seriously, though he admits that he didn’t always have the money to let it show. Last year, borrowing from his lucrative second NBA contract, he hired a stylist to purchase his outfits, like the turquoise jacket and tight black shorts Green wore to accept the DPOY award at the inaugural NBA Awards in June. Luckily, Green says of the ’17 Hyperdunk, “I think it’s a pretty slick look.”

That was the goal, according to Ross Klein, Nike’s Senior Innovation Designer. “There’s a simple visual aspect because there’s so much info housed within the shoe,” Klein says.

Specifically, Nike is introducing React cushioning, which, according to Klein, is the brand’s “most complete foam. It blends cushioning, great energy return, a light weight, and durability. We tried to target everything our athletes are asking for.”

The result is a shoe that supports any style of play—perfect for the adaptable Green. “We consider Draymond to be the Swiss Army knife of athletes,” Klein says. “He can play all five positions. So he has quite a breadth on court, and this is the most versatile shoe that Nike has to offer.”

React was perfected through two years of testing. First, Nike worked with high school athletes and incorporated their feedback. Then it was on to collegiate players, then over to Asia, where Nike stores are just as ubiquitous as they are stateside. Finally, the shoe was workshopped by the pros, Green included.

Green first tested it out in practice a few weeks before the Finals. “As soon as I put my foot in it, I could feel the difference with React technology and the cushioning in the back of the shoe,” he says. Green has played in Hyperdunks since his days at Michigan State, where he wore the original model.

“My whole game is reacting, especially on defense, and these shoes give me the support, flexibility and versatility to move and go. The shoe moves with me, and it makes a huge difference.”

Green offered to wear the ’17 Hyperdunks in a low-pressure NBA game. But Nike had bigger plans for him, which were revealed to Green by his company rep, Adrian Stelly.

“[Adrian] was like, ‘No, we want you to debut them in the Finals, and you can be the face of everything,’” Green says. He would wear a grey colorway in a Game 1 win. “I’m like, Oh man! That’s dope. Obviously the goal is to get your own shoe, and this is a step closer to that.”

Currently, Nike has signature deals with LeBron, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Paul George. Each guy makes sense for two reasons: He is a superstar, and his style represents the modern game. These seem to be the brand’s requirements.

In the bruising ’90s, Nike had signature deals with a number of low-post players—David Robinson, Charles Barkley, Alonzo Mourning, Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan, among them. That made sense back then, when basketball was played in the post. But the game has moved outward in the last decade.

In a clear sign of the times, no pure center or power forward has a signature shoe with a major American brand. Looking around the League, it’s fair to wonder if Green might break through first.

Consider the NBA’s premier bigs. The defensive styles of Rudy Gobert, DeAndre Jordan and Hassan Whiteside no longer lead to sparkling endorsements. Neither of New Orleans’ stars, Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins, stand out as particularly marketable off the court at the moment, at least until they find some team success in the Big Easy. Nikola Jokic, the talented plodder, would be a tough sell. Karl-Anthony Towns, Kristaps Porzingis and Joel Embiid likely need to spend some time in the national limelight—i.e. the postseason—before entering the signature conversation.

On top of it all, there is the old adage that nobody wants to buy a big man’s shoe, because, A) most fans are not seven feet tall, and therefore prefer to mimic guys like Kyrie and Stephen Curry in their driveways, and B) because big men are inherently slower and less cool than guards.

That makes Green the perfect signature candidate. He is relatable for being undersized at his position and for having been overlooked in the draft. His playing style is relatable, too—every pickup player who’s not great at any one thing likes to believe that he or she brings a little bit of everything to the game, just like Draymond.

Moreover, like past signature Nike athletes, Green represents the modern NBA—his game somehow combines all of today’s trends. He is the desired 3-and-D wing, and the point-forward ballhandler, and the stretch 4 turned stretch 5.

Finally, Green plays in a major market, where he’s won two championships.

That means the Warriors are constantly on TV and in the news, producing an entire roster of household names. This past season, despite being the fourth-best seller on his own team, Green’s jersey was the 11th-best seller in the NBA. He’s always making headlines.

Last year, for instance, there were the groin kicks and his own accidental NSFW moment on Snapchat. But 2016 also brought his successful recruitment of Durant, and later his thoughtful defense of KD’s decision, in which he asked the San Jose Mercury News why NBA players are held to different loyalty standards than, say, CEOs at Apple or Google.

Most recently, there was his amusing feud with LeBron. That was initially sparked last year, when James wore an Ultimate Warrior t-shirt to the Cavaliers’ championship parade, trolling Golden State. In June, Green was finally able to punch back, wearing a shirt that read: Quickie.

“The Q, that’s what those guys’ arena is called,” Green explained to NBA TV at the time. “Got them outta here quick, with a trophy. Quickie.” (Said LeBron, on Instagram: “That’s what she said.”)

In another era, those offbeat comments may have sparked a PR crisis. But today Green’s takes are a lock to go viral, and, besides, they’re all in good fun, anyway.

“I appreciate Draymond’s personality,” Klein says. “He shows an element of fun, right? He definitely has his stance on the game and what he brings to the game. The emotional level is just something that I really vibe with.”

Where Green and Nike go from here is anyone’s guess—signature deals are hard to come by, even for the most deserving of candidates. Regardless, Nike has helped Green bounce back from a tough summer, and then some.

“Debuting the Hyperdunk with new technology is special,” Green says. “But to debut it in the NBA Finals, and then win the NBA Finals? It puts a whole different story to a whole different narrative.”

—

Leo Sepkowitz is a Senior Writer at SLAM. Follow him on Twitter @LeoSepkowitz.

Portraits by Justin Borucki.

The post Wins and Losses appeared first on SLAM.

Duncan will become the eighth Spurs player in franchise history to have his jersey retired, joining Bruce Bowen (12), Sean Elliott (32), George Gervin (44), Avery Johnson (6), Johnny Moore (00), David Robinson (50) and James Silas (13).

Tim Duncan to the rafters!

We will retire No. 21 on December 18th in a special postgame ceremony » https://t.co/ysH8Epa5Hm pic.twitter.com/EPF8V8Cvj0

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) November 16, 2016

The Big Fundemental retired in July.

From the press release:

Originally selected by the Spurs as the first overall pick in the 1997 NBA Draft, Duncan guided San Antonio to five NBA championships and posted a 1,072-438 regular-season record, giving the team a .710 winning percentage, which is the best 19-year stretch in NBA history and was the best in all of the NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB over that time. He helped the Spurs reach the playoffs in each of his 19 seasons and became the only player in league history to start and win a title in three different decades. The Silver and Black won at least 50 games in his last 17 seasons, the longest streak in league history, and posted at least a .600 winning percentage in each of Duncan’s 19 seasons, an all-time record for most consecutive seasons with a .600 win percentage in the four major U.S. sports.

 

In his final season with the Silver and Black, Duncan became just the third player in league history to reach 1,000 career wins, as well as the only player to reach 1,000 wins with one team. He helped the Spurs to a franchise-best 67-15 record and also became one of two players in NBA history to record at least 26,000 points, 15,000 rebounds and 3,000 blocks in his career (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar).

 

Duncan totaled 15 All-NBA Team selections (tied for most all-time) and 15 NBA All-Defensive Team honors (most all-time), garnering both honors in the same season 15 times, the most in league history. The 1998 Rookie of the Year was named NBA MVP twice (2002, 2003) and NBA Finals MVP three times (1999, 2003 and 2005).

Related
Tim Duncan Retired After Basketball Was ‘Not Fun Anymore’
Gregg Popovich With an Emotional Tribute to Tim Duncan
NBA Players React To Tim Duncan’s Retirement

The post San Antonio Spurs to Retire Tim Duncan’s Jersey appeared first on SLAM.

Jackson acknowledges the current small-ball revolution, but The Zen Master is quick to point out that he won six titles in Chicago without a dominant big man.

Jackson thinks the game will continue to evolve, and that the giants of the paint aren’t going extinct anytime soon.

Per Today’s Fastbreak:

“However,” says Jackson, “this is nothing new. Boston, New York and even Chicago won championships with undersized players. People forget how many titles the Bulls won with MJ, Scottie Pippen, Ron Harper, Toni Kukoc and Steve Kerr on the floor in the endgame. Small ball is just the latest cycle.” […] Jackson recalls when “Twin Towers” was all the rage. Hakeem Olajuwon paired with Ralph Sampson. Wilt Chamberlain and Nate Thurmond. And, don’t forget, David Robinson and Tim Duncan. “The pendulum will swing back,” Jackson predicts, “when big men make a habit of crushing smaller defenders.”

 

Until then, Jackson has a few suggestions to improve the pro game: “Why not have a four-point line about 35 feet out? It wouldn’t be long before players will get reasonably comfortable shooting from out there. And having a four-point line would certainly serve to enable teams to catch up in what are now blowout games.”

 

In addition, Jackson supports adding six seconds to the shot clock: “This would give offenses more time to get low-post players involved, make defenses work harder, and encourage more passing and player movement.” […] Overall, though, Jackson is not opposed to small ball. “I’m certainly not against it,” he says. “In fact, I’m not against anything.”

The post Phil Jackson: ‘Why Not Have a Four-Point Line?’ appeared first on SLAM.

It’s been said that no one has gotten inside the head of Tim Duncan. That he’s been impossible to break down, that no one has gotten him to open up. In that, he’s the closest thing to Michael Jordan and Bill Clinton we’ve seen. Slick like arbitration, crafty like a Beastie Boy classic, coy like the end of a House of Games. Read his bio and you’ll discover more. But still you will come up empty. He planned it all that way. Inside his handshake is a welcome mat followed by a “Do Not Enter” sign. It’s all the brilliant, cognitive contradiction of a 24-year-old man who was born to be different from the norm and superior to the average. He’s become both.

But to get inside of Tim Duncan, we set him up. Played the same mind trick on him that he plays on everyone else. “Tell Tim we want to recreate the Iceman poster from back in the day,” we pitched to Tom James, the Spurs media cat who was in on the fix. “Yeah, yeah, tell him it was Gervin’s idea.” The lie worked. It was only a matter of whether we could out-master the master. Get the interview no one else has been able to get. And though Tim bit, his game recognized our game in the end. The first thing they teach you in Psychology 101 is “never put yourself in a position of weakness, because the payback can be a bitch.” For this story though– just this one story– the real Tim Duncan got got.

“Was I scared? Yes.” This is Tim Duncan’s voice. It’s not cracking, it’s not an extremely high pitch, but it is with emphasis. He has not balled in two months, he’s had major surgery on his left knee, he’s missed the Olympics. There is uncertainty that comes with fear, especially if it affects your mental as well as your physical. The injury, the surgery, the rehab. The fear existed in Duncan through all three. But it was in his mind where the fear manifested most. This was not a faux, Wes Craven-induced dream. Duncan’s being scared is for real. To the point where he thought, well…

“I wondered if I’d be able to play again. My fear was that this was the longest period of time I’d ever gone without touching a basketball. And I really didn’t know when I was going to be able to.”

“And that scared you?”

The calmness comes back to his voice, “Yes it did.”

But to look into his eyes and in his face, you could never tell. He’d never let you there. Not to focus so much on the injury, but the impact of it cannot be denied. Beyond a slight bit of confidence lost and skepticism gained. His status/title/rep as the “best ballplayer in the league” got passed around last season to all who came crawlin’ up his mountain. One week it was Vince, the next it was AI, then Kobe, then KG, then anyone else who wanted it. “That didn’t bother me a bit,” he says of his lost pound-for-pound crown. “I’ve heard everything. I think, no doubt, last year Shaq was the best player. I also think Vince is an amazing player. And you’ve got to give some props to Allen [Iverson]. And KG, that kid’s incredible. He’s as good as anybody but he doesn’t get as much [credit] as he should get because his team right now doesn’t do as well as it’s going to… ” Tim pauses and thinks about exactly what he’s saying. The analytic in him ekes out. “Well, hopefully it will stay that way as long as I’m around,” he continues with a Western-Conference-rivalry-with-the-Timberwolves laugh.

“To me, there are a lot of players who can be given that title at one point or another during the year, but the one who’s going to carry [the “best” title] through for that year is the one who takes his team to the top,” he adds. “I was given that title the season we won [’98-99]. Shaq got it last season. Was it due, did I deserve it when I supposedly had it? Yeah, I think so, a little bit. But I can’t really worry about it, because there’s going to be arguments about every year. You know what they say, ‘You’re only as good as your last game.’ And that is so true.”

So true to the point that one “unnamed” (OK, Lindy’s) pre-season basketball magazine had Duncan ranked No. 3 in the League—not among players, among forwards! Rated behind KG and the person who really should have replaced Duncan on the Sydney Squad (no disrespect Antonio McDyess), Chris Webber. When told of this, Duncan laughs in hesitated breath. It’s as if the split personality that he doesn’t have separates: part of him agrees, part of him doesn’t.

But after about 20 seconds of thought, the conclusion is made. The left hemisphere overrides the right. “Chris had a great year, he’s an incredible player. He had some great games against us, that’s for sure. And he did a helluvalot for that team. So who am I to argue? I won’t dispute [the ranking] at all.” Then the right hemisphere emerges. “But when we go head-to-head, it’s a different story. He’s gotta play, I gotta play. So it doesn’t matter what [the magazine] says.”

Still, nothing sweats him. Even when he’s being pushed for answers of anguish and being personally challenged. Doesn’t he understand we’re trying to piss him off, get him rattled? He’s fucking up the plan. Damn you, Duncan.

If you follow him over time (especially during the season), what you find is illuminating. Tim Duncan is not a brooder. He’s not boring, stiff, or flat. He isn’t slow, either; he moves at what is called “island speed,” an “irie pace” that is indicative of his St. Croix, Virgin Island, roots.

“People think he’s all shy, buy he’s sly.” Scott Duncan is Tim’s half-brother. Maybe more than anyone, he knows the Tim Duncan we are in Leonard Nimoy of. “Many people don’t get him, they think he’s boring, but he’s really opposite. He has this cool intensity, and the deepest running sense of humor. He catches everything. Nothing gets by him.”

He says the family is proud of Tim and that he’s on the path he set for himself as a child. “[Tim] knows his destiny and has been knowing of it for a very long time. He’s always been true to his inner self and totally trusts his instincts and feelings, which is why he is so cool. That’s why giving him the name ‘Ice’ is so perfect,” he continues. “It fits him. In his personality, it’s like he always keeps the ice flowing.”

If you get to know him, he’ll surprise you with his quick wit and sarcastic sense of humor. He’ll say the illest things, but only under his breath so no one except the person he’s talking to can hear. He’s a computer-head, specifically on the galaxy game StarCraft, where he attacks the program as if it were Rasheed Wallace. On laptops, he, David Robinson, Malik Rose, and Sean Elliot will battle for hours, especially when on the road. He’s a film buff and critic, the black Roger Ebert. He can also spit some Nas or DMX lyrics if anyone claims he “ain’t ghetto enough.”

He’s a playground legend by default (“Growing up where I did,” he says, “all we had was outside courts.”). He’s an icon of Ian-Thorpe-in-Australia proportions in his hometown, to the point that he can’t go back without getting mobbed with the deepness of Havoc and Prodigy. Even he admits, “I don’t get back [home] as much as I should.” His clique consists of his two sisters, Tricia and Cheryl, Scott, and his long-time girlfriend Amy.

He plays the crib a lot, meaning: He likes to spend time at home. Not that he’s shy, but he doesn’t invite distractions in his life. The brotha who grew up in the neighborhood who never came out of the house to floss, but wound up with the flyest whip because he saved his allowance by not hitting all of the parties? That’s Tim. The rumor (one explains a lot about Duncan) is that he’s so laid-back that during the weekend of his first All-Star Game (in ’98 in New York), he didn’t do anything. Never went to one of Puffy’s 300 parties. Instead, he and Amy room-serviced. Understand that everyone doesn’t need the spotlight to shine. Some gleam on their own.

Most important, though, in this search for the inner Tim Duncan, is the discovery that no one in the League will say anything bad about him. There are no enemies who pray and pray for his downfall, even though he may slay them and lay down law on court. Around the NBA, Duncan and Vince Carter seem to receive the most universal and unconditional love. And in a League filled with literal “player hating,” that the truth speaks more than volumes about Duncan. It soundbombs.

The phone rings once in his spacious San Antonio crib before he picks it up. It’s one day after he had eye surgery to help him “never lose sight of the rim.” He laughs at this, as he does at most everything. He’s just cool like that. After a few “wassup young fella,” it’s the business. “Tim Duncan? Let’s talk about Tim Duncan…”

George Gervin is the second installment of the Iceman moniker originally given to Jerry Butler, who used to sing with Curtis Mayfield. But Gervin took it to a level beyond resurrection—until now. When he blessed neighborhood sports store windows in the ‘80s with that unforgettable image for Nike, the understatement could be made that he “redefined what cool is supposed to look like forever.” Like Clyde Frazier before him, Gervin was on some other shit that no other athlete could pull off. No one had the character, no one exemplified the persona, no one else had the game. When told of the concept for this cover, Gervin had one thing to say: “Am I mad? Hell naw! I’d be mad if you called somebody else that. That’s a compliment to me.”

It’s not just the “iceness” that connects these two, but something deeper. It’s what occurs when they touch a basketball and bless the floor. It goes beyond the eerie coincidence of both playing in Spurs uniforms. As Gervin attests, “The things he can do at his size remind me of a guy named “Ice.”

They share the cashmere-soft, Victoria’s Secret-smooth jumpers from angles Willie Mosconi would love; the footwork reminiscent of Bill Robinson and Maurice Hines, unmatched by players their size; the effortlessness with which they perform and their ability to become instantly undefendable in (big) game situations, never “playing outside of themselves;” the finger roll.

The Original sees it in Duncan, probably more than he does in his own son, Gee. “There are players you pay to see. Tim Duncan is a player I’ll stand in line and pay to see,” he says. But in conversation with Gervin, it’s clear the love he holds for Duncan is far more important than what Tim has done on the court—even more important than the ring Tim brought the city last year and the one he’s planning to bring back this season (Duncan: “Don’t forget we are the same team swept the Lakers and Portland in the playoffs two years ago. We just need to be healthy and consistent, not necessarily better.”). It’s about the person Tim Duncan is, the one we are trying to expose in this story. Gervin gives us an answer.

“Whenever a guy of his stature still asks me for an autograph, that says something to me. I love that. See, don’t nobody want to be forgotten. I did my thing, you know. But every time I see him, he makes me feel as if I meant something. Meant something to the game, meant something to him personally. And he’s done that without even saying it to me. That’s class. You want to know what type of cat Tim Duncan is?” Another signature laugh comes out. “The young fella is a beautiful person.”

The first true encounter of “the individual that is Tim Duncan” came at a Nike Camp about four years ago when he was a summer counselor following junior year at Wake Forest. Somehow the rumor had gotten around that Tim’s nickname was “Cookie Monster” (A joke started by another counselor named Todd Harris). Tim hated the name. For the entire week, he got grilled with the name, never even knowing why he was being called that. “I hated that shit,” Tim would say. But did he say anything about it then? No. He never gave it power. His shell would not be cracked, not by that. He even read it in print before he entered his senior year, but still he gave SLAM love.

But it was after hours at that Nike camp where “Tim Duncan the ballplayer” emerged to our eyes. For two to three hours after the “invitees” night sessions were over, Tim got his freak on. He was often teamed with then-Eastern Michigan 5-6 point guard Earl Boykins. For an entire week, every night against other college All-Americans including Vince Carter and Miles Simon, Duncan and Boykins played something that looked a lot like 2-on-5 basketball. And they were winning. No one had any idea that Duncan could play transition basketball like that. As fast as Boykins was, there were times when Tim was beating him down the court, waiting for the oop. He was freaking smaller players with spin moves that gave him the baseline so open Monique from The Parkers could have slid right on through. He wasn’t just the “post-up” player we had labeled him; in all honesty he wasn’t even a center. But he wasn’t going to say anything. He let the secret about his game get out all by itself. And here’s the funny thing: by the end of that camp, no one was calling him “Cookie Monster” anymore.

This was the first lesson of understanding the psyche of Tim Duncan and how it works against others to his advantage. But still there are depths that remain untapped by anyone. The game continues. Tim seems to be getting mad comfortable with the tape recorder rolling. Our plan is working.

“What makes you laugh?”

He laughs. “Stupid humor. Jim Carrey movies, the Three Stooges, Friday, things like that. Who makes me laugh? Man, Antonio [Daniels] and Malik [Rose], those guys make me laugh more than anyone because they are silly, stupid for no reason.”

“Just like you, right?”

“Exactly,” he says.

“What’s the worst thing you ever did as a kid? We know you quiet and humble, but you had to do something scandalous coming up.”

He laughs big. “Uh, shit, I can’t think of anything big, but I got in trouble a lot…”

And just when he gets comfy, we change the pitch up. Hit him like we’re interested in basketball.

“Are you ready to do this solo?”

“What do you mean?” he says.

“Are you ready for the day that DR [David Robinson] stops playing?”

“Oooo…good question. No,” he says. “David is a big part of the reason I didn’t go anywhere.”

“You said that in the press conference, but tell us the real reason.”

“That is it,” he confirms. “And I love the area. I love playing with David and I think we have a chance to win another championship here. Plus, I like playing for Pops [S.A. head coach Greg Popovich]. I love the way he motivates the team and the direction we’re going.”

“Then why’d you only sign a three-year deal instead of signing for the long money?”

“Always keep your options open,” he says, being totally candid. “I’m not sure that I’ll even want to be in San Antonio in four years. DR may not be here, Avery may not be here. I’m protected, I’ve got four years of really good money. But after that time, I gotta be able to do what I want to do.”

“Did it piss you off when you heard the Spurs were trying to trade Avery Johnson last season?”

“You know what, the one thing I learned from day one in this game is that it’s a business, it’s not about friends,” he continues. “Ever since the day I got here, all of my best friends got traded or they weren’t re-signed. Chuck Person, Monty Williams, Cory Alexander, none of those names are still here. And those were my best friends in the world. But it doesn’t take away from the fun of the game. And I’ve been able to separate that. When we’re on the floor. Out there, basketball is basketball.”

“What scares you?”

He stands up. “Heights. Yeah, heights and sharks.”

“What about on the basketball court?”

“Not being able to play anymore,” he says as we relive the opening of our conversation. “Being injured again, that scares me. That scares the hell out of me.”

“Nice.” He says this while looking at his name iced in the chair he just finished sitting in. Then it hit him, the whole scam. He figured it out without expressing that he knew. If you play poker, you can see it in someone’s expression, there’s a small glisten in the eyes. But maybe it’s just a sparkle of what Tim sees in himself. No, he know. He figures he’s just been played. He figures that SLAM did all of this to “get me to open up, say something that I normally won’t say in an interview—they were trying to get to know me.” He mentally acknowledged that we’d done a good job. He appreciated the skills. Like we said, game recognizes game. But if you’re a psychologist with a superlative b-ball game, you don’t settle for that. Instead, you get even.

“Who do you see in you?” Tim asks, flipping the interview, setting up the set up. The question is posed after a discussion about who he identifies with. “There’s always one person,” I say. “That one person we see ourselves in.” It’s fantasy versus reality. “I see Sidney Poitier in you,” is what Tim Duncan hears. He relates. “I always saw him in my father,” is his response. It’s the epitome of that dignity thing that white Americans see in Cary Grant that we both see. I see it in Tim, Tim sees it in his father. Many mistake Tim’s quiet for something that it is necessarily not. It’s like “whatever” when his name is mentioned. “Man, people think you’re boring but you’re far from it.”

“I’m fun to myself,” he says.

The conclusion: Yes, Tim Duncan is quiet, but not uninteresting. Too few see that.

I answer Duncan’s question by saying, “Spike Lee.” Tim’s head shakes in agreement, he can see that too. “What about you?” I ask him. “What other individual do you see in you? Who does Tim Duncan see?” It’s the deepest and most personal question I asked him on this day. It’s the one answer that will complete the story, the answer none outside of the people around him has ever gotten. Instead, for the first time, except for when the photos are being shot, he’s silent. Five minutes pass. Then 10. He’s still quiet, says he’s “thinking.” I see that famous smirk of his. He just played us back. By the time you read this story, Tim Duncan will still have not given us an answer. He purposely did this, That was ice cold. Payback is a bitch, ain’t it?

—

Portrait by Atiba Jefferson

The post ‘Rebirth of Cool’: Tim Duncan Cover Story From SLAM 47 appeared first on SLAM.

Blessed with speed, strength and agility, Sprewell began his career with the Warriors, where he was an All-Star in 1994, ’95 and ’97.

He was at his most dangerous with the ball in his hands, being able to take his man off the dribble and attack the basket with amazing ferocity. Spree joined the Knicks during the lockout-shortened 1998-’99 season and led New York’s inspired Playoff run that ended in a defeat to the David Robinson and Tim Duncan-led Spurs.

He was traded to the Timberwolves during the summer of 2003 and teamed up with regular season MVP Kevin Garnett and Sam Cassell to lead Minnesota to the Western Conference Finals.

Sprewell never won a title, but he played a key role on three NBA franchises over the course of two decades. His passion and grit were unmatched every time he stepped on to the court.

Watch more SLAM 200 mixtapes:
Michael Jordan Vs Allen Iverson Mixtape (VIDEO)
WATCH: Damon Stoudamire SLAM 200 Mixtape
YouTube: Steve Francis SLAM 200 Mixtape

Video by Meir21. Follow him on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.

The post WATCH: Latrell Sprewell SLAM 200 Mixtape appeared first on SLAM.

The three-time NBA Slam Dunk Champion last played for the New Orleans Pelicans in October of last year, before spending the bulk of the 2016 season tearing up the Israeli League. Earlier this month, ESPN reported that Nate was working with Odell Beckham Jr. and DeSean Jackson’s trainer to work on molding himself into an NFL wide receiver.

On Saturday, Robinson was in Austin, TX for the third annual Kick & Roll Classic, a sneaker-themed 3-on-3 charity basketball tournament hosted by the Kiel Colon Cancer Foundation.

He was rocking an iced-out Seahawks chain and a University of Washington hat (the college where he starred as both a high-flying guard on the basketball court and a ball-hawking defensive back on the football field). So we caught up with him briefly to see where his head is at in terms of the NFL vs. the NBA, and to get his thoughts on the biggest NBA storyline of the summer.

https://twitter.com/KickRollClassic/status/751907743900930048

On his tryout earlier this summer with the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks:

I had a workout with the Seahawks. I just want to thank them, the whole organization, the coaches, everybody for giving me a shot to be on the field again. For me, just that alone was enough for me as a former football player—and a dream come true because you know, not too many people get to say they worked out at the Seahawks facility. Super Bowl champs at one time. Our city’s been dying for a team to be that good. We had the Sonics that were good, we had the Mariners that were good, now we have the football team, and hopefully we can just keep it going.

On whether he’s expecting another call from the Seahawks this fall:

Hopefully in August, some time, something happens. If not, right now my main focus is basketball, getting back in the NBA. Just trying to change a couple—tweak some of the things that they need me to tweak that they say is “off the court problems” or whatever it is. I just want to show them that I put in the work. I’m one of the hardest working NBA guys that’s out there, and I think I deserve another shot to show that I can be everything that people saw when I was in Chicago.

On Kevin Durant’s decision to sign with the Golden State Warriors:

I love it. I love how he stirred up the mix. LeBron did it, and a lot of guys are going elsewhere. The NBA is the NBA. You have a job. You’re always on the road, that’s how I look at it. I played on six or seven different teams, there’s only a few guys that get the opportunity to play for one organization their whole career. And you see it’s Kobes, it’s Tim Duncans, it’s the Dirk Nowitzkis, it’s guys like that who stay with one organization. For me, I just think when you play for multiple teams, you just get a bigger fan base. Some people will hate you for leaving but I think it’s a great move.

Look out for more from Nate, and from the Kick & Roll Classic, in this summer’s print issue of KICKS—coming soon.

The post Nate Robinson: ‘Right Now My Main Focus is Basketball, Getting Back in the NBA’ appeared first on SLAM.

So to help you get a handle on where to catch the best summer league action, we’ve provided you a primer below, including the best from the East Coast, West Coast and everything in between.

By no means are these all the summer leagues that are worth watching this summer—there are dozens more in cities across the country—but these are the most prominent, the most famous and the most important summer runs that we’ll be keeping an eye on in 2016.

Drew League

History: Arguably the most competitive summer league in the country, LA’s Drew League has been around forever, but rose to new levels of notoriety when LeBron, Kobe and Durant all showed up during the NBA lockout.
Where: Los Angeles/Compton, CA
Notable Alumni: Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, James Harden, DeMar DeRozan, Stanley Johnson, Nick Young, The Game, Baron Davis, Klay Thompson, Paul George, Gilbert Arenas, Brandon Jennings
Website: drewleague.com

EBC at Rucker Park

History: Widely considered the OG of summer streetball, showing out at Rucker Park is a rite of passage for any player wishing to earn his stripes—and a nickname.
Where: Harlem, NY
Notable Alumni: Pee Wee Kirkland, Julius Erving, Rafer Alston, Earl Monroe, Fly Williams, Bone Collector, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, Stephon Marbury, Lance Stephenson, Terrell Owens, Chris Brown, Sebastian Telfair, Jamal Crawford, Brandon Jennings, Ron Artest, Corey “Homicide” Williams
Website: ebcruckerpark.com

Dyckman Park

History: Now 25 years old, the Dyckman tournament is a true landmark in New York City. Kevin Durant and Fat Joe have already attended games this summer.
Where: Manhattan, NY
Notable Alumni: Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Kemba Walker, Brandon Jennings, Ron Artest, Tyreke Evans, JR Smith, Michael Beasley
Website: dyckmanbasketball.com

Nike Pro City DC aka Kenner League

History: The brainchild of legendary coach John Thompson, hundreds of former Georgetown players have dominated the Kenner League since the ’80s.
Where: Georgetown/Washington, DC
Notable Alumni: Allen Iverson, Alonzo Mourning, Dikembe Mutombo, Arne Duncan, Jeff Green, Roy Hibbert, Josh Selby, Steve Francis, Nolan Smith, James Gist, Brandon Jennings, Greivis Vasquez, Walt Williams, Curt Smith, Otto Porter
Website: @kennerleague

Chosen League

History: Founded in 2002, the Chosen League has become the top summer league in Philly, an undeniable hoops hotbed.
Where: Philadelphia, PA
Notable Alumni: Kyle Lowry, Markieff Morris, Marcus Morris, Gerald Henderson, Wayne Ellington, Amile Jefferson, Dion Waiters, JaKarr Sampson
Website: thechosenleague.com

Seattle Pro-Am

History: Credit former NBA baller Doug Christie for starting up this league back in ’96. Credit Jamal Crawford for helping it gain national recognition.
Where: Seattle, WA
Notable Alumni: Zach LaVine, Jamal Crawford, Nate Robinson, Isaiah Thomas, Spencer Hawes
Website: seattleproam.com

San Francisco Pro-Am

History: The top summer ball in the Bay, for nearly 40 years, goes down at the SF Pro-Am.
Where: San Francisco, CA
Notable Alumni: Stephen Curry, Jason Kidd, Gary Payton, Tim Hardaway, Jason Richardson, Gilbert Arenas, Aaron Gordon, Jeremy Lin, Dorrell Wright
Website: sanfranciscoproam.com

Goodman League

History: Founded in 1975, if you can make it “inside the gates” at Barry Farms, you can make it anywhere. Just ask legendary commissioner—and the man on the mic—Miles Rawls.
Where: Barry Farms/Southeast Washington, DC
Notable Alumni: John Wall, Gilbert Arenas, Kevin Durant, Michael Beasley, DeMarcus Cousins, Ty Lawson, Nolan Smith, Victor Oladipo, Gary Neal, Baby Shaq
Website: thegoodmanleaguelive.com

Nike Pro City NYC

History: Pro City plays indoors, but it’s still all streetball vibes, and NBAers are almost always in the building. Hence the “pro” in the name.
Where: New York, NY
Notable Alumni: Kyrie Irving, Keivn Durant, Nate Robinson, Danny Green, Al Harrington, Charlie Villanueva, Sundiata Gaines, Justin Burrell, Andre Barrett, Jeremy Hazwell, Gary Ervin, Smush Parker, Tyshawn Taylor
Website: @procitynyc

Venice Basketball League

History: Birthed in ’06, the VBL was all about “bringing fun back to the game.” They’ve succeeded.
Where: Venice Beach, CA
Notable Alumni: Sik Wit It, Bone Collector, Terrell Owens, Metta World Peace, Chris Brown, B Dot A Dot, Romeo Miller, Keith Closs
Website: veniceball.com

Nike Chi League

History: Whitney Young High School serves as the overcrowded venue for the best summer basketball in Chicago, where NBA talents take on local legends.
Where: Chicago, IL
Notable Alumni: Jabari Parker, Draymond Green, Will Bynum, Draymond Green, Iman Shumpert, Shawn Marion, Andre Drummond, Tyler Ulis, Kyle Anderson, Penny Hardaway, Tony Bennett
Website: nike.com/chicago

The Basketball Tournament

History: A couple summers ago, TBT drew the attention of fans and players alike after offering a $1 million prize to the champions. This summer, the grand prize is up to $2 million.
Where: Los Angeles, Charlotte, Chicago, Philadelphia, New York
Notable Alumni: Brian Scalabrine, Eric Devendorf, Mike Bibby, Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Aquille Carr, Marshall Henderson, Hakim Warrick, Jason Williams, Jamaal Tinsley, Nate Robinson, DerMarr Johnson, Royce White
Website: thetournament.com

For more info on BODYARMOR, click here.

The post BODYARMOR Presents: 2016 Summer Streetball Leagues Guide appeared first on SLAM.

Of course, if anybody’s getting an honorary spot on Mike Budenholzer’s bench, it’s Nique.

Wilkins led the Hawks to the post-season eight times in the late-’80s and early-’90s. In his prime, he was the NBA’s greatest dunker—in transition, in the half-court, in a contest, didn’t matter. He’s also the game’s 13th-leading scorer, peaking in ’86 with a League-best 30.3 points per game.

On Saturday morning, though, the 56-year-old was none of those things. Instead, he was one of an estimated 2 million people in New York City living with diabetes. Speaking as a patient and advocate at the American Diabetes Association’s NYC EXPO on the west side of Manhattan, in association with Novo Nordisk, Nique’s job was to “educate people, give them healthy options, and send them to our website, diabetesDreamTeam.com, which gives you a clear look at how you manage diabetes and how to build your own Dream Team,” a supporting cast that “pulls together to make sure you manage it right.”

Graciously, The Human Highlight Film also spoke to SLAM about the strangest year of his NBA career, the current status of his jump shot, and this year’s Playoffs. (Spoiler Alert: He likes the Hawks’ chances.)

SLAM: When were you diagnosed with diabetes?

Dominique Wilkins: Almost 17 years ago, a year after I retired. Diabetes ran in my family. My father died of diabetes, my grandfather died of diabetes. But out of eight brothers and sisters, I’m the only one to have diabetes. I decided when I was diagnosed to not let diabetes do to me what it did to my father and grandfather. So I made lifestyle changes. Changed my diet, started exercising and got on medication. Those three things got me on track. But you can’t have one without the others. So that’s the key. Staying consistent, staying regimented. You still can have your favorite foods, but not so much of it. Everything in moderation.

SLAM: Was it something you worried about often?

DW: No, I didn’t. Growing up, even though it was in family, diabetes was a situation where you thought just old people get it. That was our ignorance to the disease. Now we realize it hits every age group.

SLAM: What were your early symptoms?

DW: Dry mouth, frequent urination—like every five minutes. Fatigue—I was always so tired. I just felt off.

SLAM: What’s the best advice you can now give to the public?

DW: Get screened. When you feel like you’re having a tough time, get screened. Get a blueprint of your health so if something is wrong, you know how to fix it. And accept diabetes, if you have it, not so much as a curse, but as an obstacle that you can overcome. If you manage it the right way, you can live like everybody else. The fear that people feel is that once they got diabetes, they all of a sudden stop living. That’s their biggest mistake.

SLAM: What’s your daily workout like?

DW: A lot of walking. Just get yourself physically moving. You don’t have to go to a gym. Go outside. The gym is right outside your front door. I’m a very active guy anyway, and so I walk 2-3 miles a day, and I do a lot of work outside in the yard. I always ride bikes—I try to do at least 60 miles a week. And I shoot around with my son.

SLAM: Do you play any pickup ball?

DW: No sir, no sir.

SLAM: One-on-one?

DW: Just shooting around.

SLAM: How’s your jumper these days?

DW: I can still shoot, I just can’t run. When you try to run, you realize how winded you’ve become. But if I’m out there just shooting, no problem.

SLAM: One of your sons plays ball at UVA. When was he able to beat you one-on-one?

DW: Never. ‘Cause I quit when he got to the age that he thought he’d beat me, around 16-17 [laughs]. I’d never let my son beat me. I have two sons, my other son is 9. He’s gonna be a monster. He could probably be a 7-footer. He’s a big, long kid. He’s all me, too: Personality, attitude, I mean we’re like twins. He had a ball in his hands when he was born.

SLAM: It’s an interesting time to be developing as a forward. Everybody’s shooting threes and all that—

DW: It’s really hurting. Teams don’t get enough points in the paint. If you’re not making your threes, it leads to long rebounds, and teams are running out on you. So it’s hurting a lot of teams. We played the Celtics, and they took 32 threes (in Game 6). Everybody is trying to emulate Golden State. Everybody can’t be Golden State.

SLAM: Paul Millsap played an amazing first round against Boston.