Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's NBA MVP win was a moment that Steve Nash — Canada's first MVP — savored
Watching fellow Canadian Shai Gilgeous-Alexander be announced as this season's NBA MVP left Steve Nash brimming with pride.
And then the moment got better.
Nash — until this week, the first and only Canadian to win the MVP award — was someone that Gilgeous-Alexander identified in his MVP acceptance speech Wednesday night as one of his basketball inspirations.
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USA Today
29 minutes ago
- USA Today
'He was wonderful to coach': Nate Oats believes Clifford Omoruyi can flourish in the NBA
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He ranked fourth in the country in blocked shots (93) and was the first player with at least eight blocks in multiple conference games since 1999-00. "Just being Nigerian, you've got to push yourself to be better," Omoruyi told Rookie Wire of his energetic playing style. "Everybody is trying to win and chase their dreams, so if I don't do it, someone is going to do it. It is just better if I push myself to do it." Fresh off a tremendous season, Omoruyi entered the transfer portal and was viewed as one of the top available interior defenders. He eventually chose the Crimson Tide over the likes of Georgetown, Kansas State and North Carolina, among other programs. Omoruyi helped Alabama advance to the Elite Eight for the second straight year, averaging 7.9 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 37 appearances. He registered two double-doubles and ranked ninth in the country in 2-point field goal percentage (73.9). The 23-year-old finished in double figures 13 times this past season, including a season-high 17 points, four rebounds, three steals and two blocks on March 21 in a win over Robert Morris in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. "The best thing he does is protect the rim and rebound, and you've got to have that to win," Alabama head coach Nate Oats told Rookie Wire. "We are the only school in the country that has made the last two Elite Eights, so he helped us have a really successful year. We competed for an SEC championship, and the SEC was the best conference in the history of college basketball this year, and we were one of the top teams. He helped us with all of that." Omoruyi stepped into a starting role at Alabama, averaging 19.2 minutes per game, a decrease from 26.9 minutes per game the previous season. Oats and the team used a more pro-style approach designed to maximize their personnel, including Omoruyi. Because of their depth, Omoruyi wasn't required to log 30-plus minutes a night. By keeping him mostly in the 18-24 range, Omoruyi was able to continue to make high-energy plays by chasing loose balls, crashing the glass and protecting the paint. Omoruyi adjusted well to how the Crimson Tide operated on offense by serving as a consistent lob threat, with his athleticism and 7-foot, 6 1/4-inch wingspan. He put pressure on the rim as a roller in pick-and-roll situations and expanded his offensive game by handling the ball more. "He definitely wasn't used to playing at the pace we did, but I think he picked that up as it went on," Oats said. "He was used to getting the ball a lot more in the post, coming from Rutgers. He had no complaints ever about scoring less. He was really just a team guy and did whatever we needed him to." Omoruyi is now focused on proving himself, with team workouts and interviews ramping up before the draft on June 25-26 in Brooklyn, New York. He signed with Edge Sports, which also represents Indiana Pacers forward Enrique Freeman, among other players. The Nigerian has made his 3-point shooting a point of emphasis during his offseason workouts, putting up at least 500 shots in the gym on most days. He is also working on various other elements of his game, such as pick-and-rolls, ball handling and attacking the rim. "I have really improved greatly because I've been working on everything," Omoruyi said. "During the season, my coaches knew I could shoot, but that wasn't my game. They just wanted me to be a better player and work on what I'm good at, so I've been working on adding the 3-pointer to my game, and that is going well." Omoruyi previously tested the predraft process in 2023, competing in the G League Elite Camp in Chicago, Illinois. He views himself as a completely different player than he was at that time, and is more comfortable doing different things on the court. 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"He is one of the best kids I've ever coached," Oats said. "He is great. He has a high IQ and is all about the team. He was wonderful to coach. Whoever gets him is going to get a great kid. I hope he ends up in a great situation where he gets a real chance to play. I think he'll take full advantage of it."
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Mavericks reportedly have workout set with Cooper Flagg ahead of NBA Draft
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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Fubo, DAZN Strike Multi-Year Integrated Partnership
Sports Streamers Will Reciprocally Distribute O&O Linear Channels in U.S.; Pay-Per-View and Other Collaborations Between Companies To Be Announced NEW YORK, June 03, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--FuboTV Inc. (d/b/a/ Fubo) (NYSE: FUBO), the leading sports-first live TV streaming platform, and DAZN, the leading global sports entertainment platform, announced today a multi-year partnership in which both sports streaming companies will distribute their owned-and-operated linear channels, which include exclusive sports rights, on each other's U.S. platforms. Today's announcement kicks off the first phase of the integrated partnership, which will include additional collaborations in the future. Starting today, Fubo is home to DAZN's exclusive boxing and MMA events through the launch of a new linear channel, DAZN1, featuring DAZN's premium live fights and on-demand content. Available to the marketplace for the first time, Fubo customers can purchase DAZN1 as a stand-alone subscription or as an add-on to Fubo's virtual MVPD product. DAZN is launching Fubo Sports, Fubo's popular free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel featuring 400 live sporting events annually as well as sports documentaries and movies. Launched by Fubo in 2019, Fubo Sports currently features exclusive UEFA soccer matches as well as live events from Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC), Peak Fighting and Ultimate Strongman. Fubo Sports is available on Fubo, as well as nearly a dozen free streaming platforms. Select Fubo Sports programming is also available on the network's YouTube channel. Additionally, the partnership enables Fubo to offer its customers DAZN's live Pay-Per-View events. "Fubo and DAZN's partnership delivers more premium sports to fans, wherever they choose to watch," said David Gandler, co-founder and CEO of Fubo. "Adding DAZN's unmatched fight content enhances our sports entertainment lineup while offering customers greater flexibility. We're also excited to expand our FAST channel, Fubo Sports, through DAZN and explore further opportunities with Shay and his team." Shay Segev, DAZN Group CEO, said: "Our deal with Fubo enables DAZN to increase access to top-tier sports content for fans in the U.S. and Canada, as we continue to provide the ultimate sports entertainment experience. Fubo's viewers can now watch the world's leading fight talent compete in unmissable events as part of a new DAZN premium fight package. Meanwhile, the launch of Fubo Sports on the DAZN platform will be an exciting addition to our ever-expanding portfolio of premium sports content." About Fubo With a global mission to aggregate the best in TV, including premium sports, news and entertainment content, through a single app, FuboTV Inc. (d/b/a Fubo) (NYSE: FUBO) aims to transcend the industry's current TV model. Ranked among The Americas' Fastest-Growing Companies 2025 by the Financial Times, the company operates Fubo in the U.S., Canada and Spain and Molotov in France. In the U.S., Fubo is a sports-first cable TV replacement product aggregating more than 400 live sports, news and entertainment networks and is the only live TV streaming platform with every English-language Nielsen-rated sports channel (source: Nielsen Total Viewers, 2024). Leveraging Fubo's proprietary data and technology platform optimized for live TV and sports viewership, subscribers can engage with the content they are watching through an intuitive and personalized streaming experience. Fubo has continuously pushed the boundaries of live TV streaming, and was the first virtual MVPD to launch 4K streaming, MultiView and personalized game alerts. Learn more at About DAZN DAZN, the home of European football, women's football, boxing and MMA, and the NFL in more than 200 markets, is creating the world's biggest sports entertainment platform. A leading sports streaming service in Italy, Spain, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, France, Portugal, Japan, Taiwan, Canada, the U.S. and UK, its wide range of content covers top-flight football from the world's most popular competitions. DAZN's football rights include Bundesliga, English Premier League, J. League, LALIGA, Ligue 1, Serie A, and the UEFA Champions League, helping make DAZN the largest broadcaster of football in Europe. DAZN is the global home of women's football, featuring the UEFA Women's Champions League and top-tier domestic league and cup competitions. DAZN's platform features the biggest sports from around the world - Formula 1, NFL, NBA, MotoGP and the best in boxing and MMA. It is the only place for fans around the world to watch every NFL match outside North America. DAZN is building the ultimate sports entertainment service, where fans from across the globe can watch, read, bet, play, share, socialise, buy tickets and merchandise, all in one place, with one account, one wallet and on one app. For more information on DAZN, our products, people, and performance, visit Fubo Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements of FuboTV Inc. ("Fubo") that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements contained in this press release that do not relate to matters of historical fact are forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding our business strategy and plans, partnerships, sports programming and live events, and distribution. The words "could," "will," "plan," "intend," "anticipate," "approximate," "expect," "potential," "believe" or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Actual results or events could differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in the forward-looking statements that Fubo makes due to a number of important factors, including but not limited to the following: our ability to achieve or maintain profitability; risks related to the transactions contemplated by our business combination agreement with The Walt Disney Company and Hulu, LLC; the long-term nature of our content commitments; our ability to renew our long-term content contracts on sufficiently favorable terms; our ability to attract and retain subscribers; obligations imposed on us through our agreements with certain distribution partners; our ability to license streaming content or other rights on acceptable terms; the restrictions imposed by content providers on our distribution and marketing of our products and services; our reliance on third party platforms to operate certain aspects of our business; risks related to the difficulty in measuring key metrics related to our business; risks related to preparing and forecasting our financial results; risks related to the highly competitive nature of our industry; risks related to our technology, as well as cybersecurity and data privacy-related risks; risks related to ongoing or future legal proceedings; and other risks, including the effects of industry, market, economic, political or regulatory conditions, future exchange and interest rates, and changes in tax and other laws, regulations, rates and policies. Further risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from those matters expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements are discussed in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2025 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and our other periodic filings with the SEC. We encourage you to read such risks in detail. The forward-looking statements in this press release represent Fubo's views as of the date of this press release. Fubo anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause its views to change. However, while it may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, it specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. You should, therefore, not rely on these forward-looking statements as representing Fubo's views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release. 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