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Bill Simmons Reveals 'Stupidest' Thing About NBA That Continues to Bother Him

Bill Simmons Reveals 'Stupidest' Thing About NBA That Continues to Bother Him

Yahoo5 hours ago

Bill Simmons Reveals 'Stupidest' Thing About NBA That Continues to Bother Him originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The NBA Finals continued Monday night with the Oklahoma City Thunder taking a 3-2 lead over the Indiana Pacers at Paycom Arena after a 120-109 win over their Eastern Conference opponents.
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The game included 28 points from Pascal Siakam of the Pacers and 40 points from rising Thunder star Jalen Williams, who was one of two Thunder starters in double digits along with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored 31 points for OKC.
The Thunder's win has sparked conversations about what a potential OKC championship would mean for a superstar dominated league, especially considering the controversy that has surrounded him for his alleged "foul baiting" on the court.
On Monday, longtime NBA scribe Bill Simmons shared his thoughts on the one thing about today's NBA that appears to bother him more than any other in comments viewed over 670,000 plus times.
Shai-Gilgeous Alexander takes it to the rack, finishing with his left hand against Aaron Nesmith of the Pacers on Monday. © Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
"Can we ban the 'Face of the League' convo? Let's just make it illegal. It's the single stupidest NBA conversation," Simmons wrote on X Monday.
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The conversation surfaced earlier this year when fans debated whether Celtics star Jayson Tatum was worthy of the moniker after he helped lead the Boston to the 2024 NBA title.
"Honestly, it's between Luka, SGA, Wemby or Cooper Flagg right now," one fan said.
"Lmao you started it," another reader said.
"Ur just mad it ain't Tatum," another added.
"We all know Adam Silver is the face of the league," another fan added.
"Yep. The league doesn't need one face. Plenty of stars to drive the entertainment factor," another reader added.
Related: WNBA Makes Big Angel Reese Announcement During Sky's Win Over Sun
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 17, 2025, where it first appeared.

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NBA Finals: Pacers' Haliburton plans to play through injury in Game 6
NBA Finals: Pacers' Haliburton plans to play through injury in Game 6

UPI

time16 minutes ago

  • UPI

NBA Finals: Pacers' Haliburton plans to play through injury in Game 6

Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (R) shoots against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Aaron Wiggins during the first half of Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City. Photo by Maneula Soldi/EPA-EFE June 17 (UPI) -- All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton was slowed by a calf injury and failed to make a field goal in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, but plans to play through the issue in Game 6 as the Indiana Pacers try to avoid elimination. The Pacers star provided an update on the injury early Tuesday morning after the 120-109 setback to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday in Oklahoma City. Haliburton went 0 for 6 from the field -- failing to make a field goal in a playoff game for the first time in his career. Pacers coach Rick Carlisle that Haliburton insisted he could continue to play when the two spoke at halftime. "I mean, it's the NBA Finals," Haliburton said at his postgame news conference. "It's the Finals, man. I've worked my whole life to be here and I want to be out there to compete. Help my teammates any way I can. I was not great tonight by any means, but it's not really a thought of mine to not play here. If I can walk, then I want to play. They understand that. And it is what it is. "Got to be ready to go for Game 6." Haliburton appeared to aggravate his right calf in the first quarter and returned in the second with a wrap over the area. He sustained an ankle injury in the same leg earlier in the series. His 34:09 of action were his fewest minutes of the series. Haliburton averaged 17.8 points, 7.5 assists and 6.0 rebounds per game through the first four games of the NBA Finals. He made an average of 7.3 field goals, including 2.5 3-pointers, per appearance to start the series. He went 0 for 5, including 0 for 4 from 3-point range, and failed to score through the first half of Monday's loss. Haliburton scored his first points with two free throws 4:53 into the second half. "He's not a 100%," Carlisle said. "It's pretty clear. But I don't think he's going to miss the next game. We were concerned at halftime, and he insisted on playing. I thought he made a lot of really good things happen in the second half. "But he's not a 100%. There's a lot of guys in the series that aren't." The Pacers (2-3) will host the Thunder (3-2) in Game 6 of the best-of-seven game series at 8:30 p.m. EDT Thursday in Indianapolis.

The rest that's built into the NBA Finals can be a good thing, especially now
The rest that's built into the NBA Finals can be a good thing, especially now

Associated Press

time27 minutes ago

  • Associated Press

The rest that's built into the NBA Finals can be a good thing, especially now

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Given the way Indiana guard Tyrese Haliburton was limping on his way out of the postgame news conference after Game 5 of the NBA Finals, it's safe to assume he's a fan of the schedule right about now. Put simply, he could use a couple of days off — at least. Haliburton has a lower leg injury — nobody's saying exactly what it is, whether it's ankle or calf or something else — and it seems to be the sort that if this were a back-to-back situation in December, he'd be missing at least one game. But these are the finals, this is June, there no back-to-backs in the playoffs and when the league gets to the last series two-day breaks between games aren't uncommon. Amen to that, the Pacers are probably saying right about now. 'The Finals, the NBA Finals, is one of the great stages in all of sports,' Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. 'And so, it shouldn't happen quickly and abruptly. It should happen at the right pace and the right tempo, and the space in between games does help player health. That's a very important aspect of it.' There was a one-day gap between games in this year's finals just once, separating Games 3 and 4 in Indianapolis. Everything else has seen a two-day gap, as will be the case going into Game 6 at Indy on Thursday night. And if the Pacers win to force a Game 7 back in Oklahoma City, that'll be preceded by another two days off going into an ultimate game on Sunday night. It should be noted that the Thunder don't mind the schedule being drawn out, either. 'We recover,' Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault said. 'The finals are great because you get extra time in between the games. I think that's huge in terms of rest and recovery at this time of the year. I think it's good for the product. I think it's a good thing and by the time the ball goes up in the air, everybody is going to be ready to play and everybody is going to be excited.' Even those who aren't dealing with an injury seem to be welcoming the two-day gaps between finals games. 'It's a lot of games. It's tiring, for sure,' Thunder star and league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. 'But every game is tiring. When you're giving your all, every possession, you're going to be tired. I don't think I'm the only one out there that is tired.' It wasn't always like this. The first NBA Finals were in 1947, before the league was called the NBA (it was the Basketball Association of America then) and before the title round was called the finals (after being called the BAA Finals in the early years, it was called the NBA World Championship Series until the mid-1980s). That first year, Philadelphia and Chicago played five games in seven days. It would be unthinkable to play at that pace now; the NBA, for much of the last decade, hasn't even scheduled stretches like that in the regular season. The finals between Minneapolis and New York did the same thing — five games, seven days — in 1953. Boston and the Los Angeles Lakers played a five-game series in an eight-day span in 1965. Golden State and Washington played four games in eight days in 1975, with two cross-country flights in there as well. And this was long before charter flights became the rule in the NBA, too. 'We're fortunate in this series. Travel is pretty reasonable. Not a long distance,' Carlisle said, evidently aware that the finals has the shortest distance between the dueling cities — Oklahoma City and Indianapolis are separated by 688 miles by air — than any finals matchup since 1956. 'Not a long flight. I do believe it's a better circumstance for the overall integrity of the competition.' The two extra days gives everybody — Haliburton, coaches, everyone — more time to get ready. Daigneault, the father of kids ages 3 and 2, said it gives him more time to be a dad between games. 'I do twice as much parenting,' he said, 'not twice as much work.' Carlisle said coaches get more time to study film, though at this point in the series it's pretty clear that the Thunder and Pacers know each other about as well as they can. And Haliburton will get another 24 hours of whatever scheme the Pacers' medical staff draws up to try to get his leg good to go in Game 6. 'All these guys playing in this series on both sides. I think it's pretty clear now that we're going into the sixth game, and all attention and the crowd noise in both arenas, everything, this is a lifetime opportunity,' Carlisle said. 'Not many guys are going to sit, even if they are a little banged up.' ___ AP NBA:

Dell Curry On Steph Curry's Emergence As A Top Athlete Golfer: ‘It's Really Unfair How Good He Is'
Dell Curry On Steph Curry's Emergence As A Top Athlete Golfer: ‘It's Really Unfair How Good He Is'

Forbes

time30 minutes ago

  • Forbes

Dell Curry On Steph Curry's Emergence As A Top Athlete Golfer: ‘It's Really Unfair How Good He Is'

It's no secret that Steph Curry is a great golfer. The greatest three-point shooter of all time has talent outside of the basketball court, proving to be one of the best athletes on the golf course. The four-time NBA champion won the 2023 American Century Championship and will return in 2025 after a one-year hiatus due to playing in last year's Olympics. He'll join his father, Dell Curry, and his younger brother, Seth Curry, along with 90-plus athletes and entertainers in the tournament. His father, Dell – who first played in the tournament in the 90's as an active NBA player -- is looking forward to joining his sons on the course in Lake Tahoe yet again. 'Steph has won it, the only active player in any sport to win it,' says Curry. "He's eager to get back and just like the year he won it, he has a good shot to win it this year. With a second round exit this year, he's had time, and will have time to work on his game. But it's just a great week for me to spend some time with my two sons on the course. 'Any time you can get on a golf course, it's an uninterrupted time, and it's a great week," Curry continues to say. "We've got me and my sons and some friends that make the trip every year, and it's just a great week.' The elder Curry says this is the fourth year that he and both of his sons will play in the American Century Championship. He says that Seth joined the tournament later on when initially it had been Dell and Steph as a duo. He says that both of his sons watched growing up as he played golf in Charlotte in the 90's as a player of the Charlotte Hornets. 'They'd follow me while I'm on the next tee box, doing the green putting,' says Curry of his sons watching him play in the 90's. 'They got some lessons early about etiquette and how to get around the course. We learned together. Steph took off. He passed me and became a better player than I did quickly. 'Seth was a late bloomer the last 18 years,' Curry continues to say of his younger son. 'Seth has really started to play, we have some great matches together. Seth, his golf game has really improved in the last five or six years he actually won.' The 60-year-old Curry says they're all competitive when they're on the golf course and says they have 'belts' for whoever wins in the family. He says that Seth won last year after they 'spotted him' way too many points. 'It's a great time,' says Curry. 'The golf course is a great way to spend time together, uninterrupted, and with the handicap system, you can be as competitive as you want.' As he mentions, Steph is quite the force on the greens. The father of the Golden State Warriors star says it's 'unfair' how good he is considering how little he plays golf, since he's still focused on his basketball career and when factoring in that he has four kids. The 37-year-old Curry just completed his 16th season in the NBA, leading the Warriors to the second round of the playoffs. He remains a force this deep into his career, clinching his 11th All-Star bid after averaging 24.7 points and 6.0 assists per game to go along with 93.3% shooting from the charity stripe. 'It's really unfair how good he is with how little he plays with everything he's got going on and off the court with four kids,' says Curry of his son. 'I'd say he doesn't get to practice hardly at all, if any, but he'll shoot even under par like it's nothing. He hits it a long way, but his touch around the greens able and his putting to get up and down. That's how you score on the golf course. It's just phenomenal, because he hits it so far. He doesn't have to hit driver in a lot of holes, and that puts him in play.' While basketball players generally don't translate into great golfers – even Curry admits this – his son has managed to defy the odds. Outside of Curry, Vinny Del Negro is the only basketball player to win the American Century Championship since it began in 1990. 'I think it's just a competitive spirit,' says Curry. 'It's a game that's hard. Every single shot is different, and like a three-pointer, that's kind of repetitive. But every shot in golf, every hole is different. It brings a new challenge to every single shot. Both of my boys, they love a challenge. They love the competition of anything.' He attributes Steph's 'soft hands' as for why he's able to translate success from the basketball court onto the golf course. 'When you're challenged as an individual to beat your playing opponent is when your competitive juices can really go above board,' says Curry. 'But the way Steph just has this ability to watch golf on TV and incorporate anything that he sees into his game is tremendous. The way he can put and his soft hands around the green make him the golfer that he is.' While his son is certainly a menace on the golf course, Curry mentions a former notable tennis player – Mardy Fish – who has found his calling following his own playing career. Fish won last year and in 2020 and has finished as a runner-up on three other occasions. 'I have to say our good friend, Mardy Fish,' says Curry of the biggest threat in the tournament. 'Mardy's won a couple times, won last year, beat Steph with an eagle putt on 18, the year he won it. Mardy's one of our good friends. We enjoy playing the practice around with Marty, great guy. He's definitely got to be up there as a favorite as well as Tony Romo.' The American Century Championship will begin on July 9, with the first round starting on July 11.

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