NBA

All eyes on you, Wemby

Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs warms up before the game against the Indiana Pacers on January 23, 2025 at The Accor Arena in Paris,...

Victor Wembanyama is having a seismic second season. Averaging 24.4 points, 10.8 rebounds and a league-leading 4.0 blocks per game, he is peerless in that regard and being treated as the king upon returning to his native Paris, having come agonisingly close to Olympic gold in July. Acting as tour guide for the San Antonio Spurs during their two-game overseas trip, he’s a fitting ambassador. Continue reading “All eyes on you, Wemby”

NBA

Curry passes Iverson on all-time points list, but Warriors fall below .500 in Toronto

Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors celebrates a basket against the Toronto Raptors during first half of their NBA game at Scotiabank Arena on...

Stephen Curry’s 26-point outing saw him pass Hall of Fame guard Allen Iverson for 28th on the NBA’s all-time scorers list, but besides a 20-point game from Andrew Wiggins, the undermanned Warriors were unable to maintain their lead down the stretch in Toronto and suffered a 104-101 defeat to drop below .500. Continue reading “Curry passes Iverson on all-time points list, but Warriors fall below .500 in Toronto”

NBA

Cade leads charge, Detroit reach .500 after New Year’s Day for first time since 2019

Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons looks to pass the ball during the game against the Portland Trail Blazers on January 06, 2025 at Little...

Cade Cunningham’s fifth 30-point outing of the season played a pivotal role as the Detroit Pistons reached .500 for the first time after New Year’s Day since 2019 with a nailbiting 118-115 win over the Portland Trail Blazers, whose head coach and former Detroit point guard Chauncey Billups endured mixed emotions on his latest return to The Motor City in their cross-conference clash. Continue reading “Cade leads charge, Detroit reach .500 after New Year’s Day for first time since 2019”

NBA

Gilgeous-Alexander produces career-high 45 and against who else but the Clippers?

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder drives against James Harden of the Los Angeles Clippers during the second half at Paycom Center...

Critics will quickly opine the Thunder are a regular season team, exciting and easy to root for when it’s going well, but if adversity arrives then their supplementary players start to hide or falter under the brightest lights. Nights like this, where their franchise star reached new heights, suggests otherwise. Continue reading “Gilgeous-Alexander produces career-high 45 and against who else but the Clippers?”

NBA

Getting paid: Sengun and Suggs among lucrative rookie-scale contract extensions

Alperen Sengun of the Houston Rockets works to the basket against Harrison Barnes of the San Antonio Spurs during the first half of a preseason game...

Houston locked up the futures of two rising stars in Alperen Sengun and Jalen Green before the rookie-scale extension deadline elapsed, heading into the new campaign with cautious optimism they can improve upon last season’s encouraging strides taken under Ime Udoka should everyone be fortunate with injuries. Elsewhere, Jalen Suggs and Trey Murphy also inked deals elsewhere. Continue reading “Getting paid: Sengun and Suggs among lucrative rookie-scale contract extensions”

NBA

Indiana head coach Rick Carlisle praises Edey, after his 23-point preseason outing

Zach Edey of the Memphis Grizzlies posts up against Myles Turner of the Indiana Pacers in the first quarter of a preseason game at Gainbridge...

Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle was complimentary of the rookie big man, who finished with 23 points and nine rebounds in 19 minutes as Memphis narrowly prevailed against his side – who rested their All-Star duo – during the preseason matchup. Judging by this, the new campaign can’t start soon enough…
Continue reading “Indiana head coach Rick Carlisle praises Edey, after his 23-point preseason outing”

NBA

Stunning three-team trade official, Towns is NY-bound as Randle has a new home

Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves shoots the ball against Julius Randle of the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on January 1,...

Friday night’s blockbuster three-team trade has now been finalised on the eve of pre-season, after the moving parts were agreed upon in a surprising move for cross-conference sides keen to improve wherever possible following deep postseason runs last term. New York already look much different than last term, but will their summer splash prove decisive in their championship charge?
Continue reading “Stunning three-team trade official, Towns is NY-bound as Randle has a new home”

NBA

Mitchell Robinson’s injury recovery setback brings Knicks new preseason woe

Mitchell Robinson of the New York Knicks and Pascal Siakam of the Indiana Pacers go after a loose ball during the second half in Game One of the...

Amid all the excited optimism surrounding a successful offseason for Tom Thibodeau and the New York Knicks, their preparations for the 2024-25 campaign has been tempered by news of big man Mitchell Robinson’s surgically repaired left ankle needing more time to fully heal – having undergone the same procedure last December… meaning they’ll have to be flexible once more.

Continue reading “Mitchell Robinson’s injury recovery setback brings Knicks new preseason woe”

NBA

Timberwolves prez of basketball ops Tim Connelly: Proud but must keep growing

Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves drives to the basket during the game against the Dallas Mavericks during Round 3 Game 5 of the 2024 NBA...

Powered by Anthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns and a second season with Rudy Gobert after their oft-criticised blockbuster trade, Minnesota exceeded expectations en route to a Western Conference Finals finish, having knocked out the defending champion Denver Nuggets – where president of basketball operations Tim Connelly was lured away from – no surprise they want more.
Continue reading “Timberwolves prez of basketball ops Tim Connelly: Proud but must keep growing”

NBA

Domantas Sabonis excited about DeMar DeRozan trade, and why wouldn’t he be?

DeMar DeRozan of the Sacramento Kings addresses the media on July 9, 2024 at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User...

DeMar DeRozan constantly exceeding expectations among valuable but volatile situations from San Antonio to Chicago, has put him in a position where his long-term future was an oft-discussed wrinkle whenever trade season was in play and now he’s part of a handy trio in Sacramento alongside De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis. Why wouldn’t the latter, or his teammates, be excited? Continue reading “Domantas Sabonis excited about DeMar DeRozan trade, and why wouldn’t he be?”

NBA

Rivers and Lillard play key roles as Gary Trent Jr signs one-year Milwaukee deal

Gary Trent Jr. #33 of the Toronto Raptors puts up a shot over Jae Crowder of the Milwaukee Bucks during the first half of their NBA game against the...

Gary Trent Jr will be reunited with former All-Star teammate Damian Lillard this coming season, after agreeing terms on a one-year deal to join the championship-contending Milwaukee Bucks following weeks of speculation about the now-former Toronto Raptors guard’s future. His new head coach Doc Rivers, who knows Gary’s dad Senior, flew to Miami to help recruit his services. Continue reading “Rivers and Lillard play key roles as Gary Trent Jr signs one-year Milwaukee deal”

NBA

Deni Avdija is Portland-bound, as the volatile trade market focuses on future

Deni Avdija of the Washington Wizards and Jerami Grant of the Portland Trail Blazers in action during the first quarter of the game at the Moda...

It’s remarkable in isolation the Washington Wizards received more for small forward Deni Avdija than either newly-crowned NBA champion Kristaps Porzingis or longtime star shooting guard Bradley Beal, but the trade market is so unpredictable that quality players on good contracts are worth their weight in gold – something emphasised by their return haul from this latest trade. Continue reading “Deni Avdija is Portland-bound, as the volatile trade market focuses on future”