
Jalen Williams has NBA 2K26 rating revealed
After winning an NBA championship, the Oklahoma City Thunder are prominently featured in the list. They have five players among the top 100. That shouldn't be a surprise. After all, they had one of the greatest seasons ever with a historic 68-14 regular-season record and a Larry O'Brien trophy.
One of those top 100 players is Jalen Williams. He has a 90 overall rating, which ranks No. 21 in the league. Other Thunder players in the top 100 are Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, Lu Dort and Isaiah Hartenstein.
After a breakout season, Williams has skyrocketed among the league's top players. He enjoyed being a first-time All-Star, All-NBA and All-Defense Team player last season. The 24-year-old averaged 21.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.1 assists.
After being questioned if he was a championship-caliber second-best player, Williams shushed any doubters with an all-time playoff run. It was highlighted by a 40-point outburst in a Game 5 win during the 2025 NBA Finals. He's now viewed as one of the best forwards.
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USA Today
8 minutes ago
- USA Today
Boston Celtics jersey history No. 30 - Mark Blount (2000-06)
The Boston Celtics have had players suiting up in a total of 68 different jersey numbers (and have three others not part of any numerical series) since their founding at the dawn of the Basketball Association of America (BAA -- the league that would become today's NBA), worn by well over 500 players in the course of Celtics history. To commemorate the players who wore those numbers, Celtics Wire is covering the entire history of jersey numbers and the players who sported them since the founding of the team. With 25 of those jerseys now retired to honor some of the greatest Celtics to wear those jerseys, there is a lot of history to cover. And for today's article, we will continue with the eighth of 15 people to wear the No. 30, Boston big alum Mark Blount. After ending his college career at Pitt, Blount was picked up with the 55th overall selection of the 1997 NBA Draft by the Seattle SuperSonics. The Dobbs Ferry, New York native instead played abroad and in other leagues until he signed with Boston in 2000. His first stay with the team would span two seasons, coming to an end when he signed with the Denver Nuggets in 2002, with Blount returning the following campaign for parts of another four seasons, ending with a trade the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2006. During his time suiting up for the Celtics, Blount wore only jersey No. 30 and put up 7.6 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game. All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference.


USA Today
8 minutes ago
- USA Today
Defending champion Penn State volleyball unbothered by No. 2 ranking behind rival Nebraska
Penn State head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley was joined at the 2025 ESPYS by her five graduating seniors as she was honored with the Jimmy V Award for perseverance after she battled cancer during the 2024 season. The Nittany Lions ended up finishing the year hoisting their first NCAA national championship since 2014. "I was so happy that my entire family was there, the five (graduating) seniors and the coaching staff to just rehash stories of the Final Four and just the season," Schumacher-Cawley recalled to USA TODAY Sports on Wednesday, referring to graduates Jess Mruzik, Taylor Trammell, Camryn Hannah, Anjelina Starck and Quinn Menger. "When the season ended in December, all the seniors were done and kind of went their own way. So for us to get back together and to enjoy some time, it was so special and it was something that I'll never forget." The 2024 season had a storybook ending. Penn State went 29-2 in the regular season, clinched a share of the Big Ten title for the first time since 2017 and defeated rival Nebraska twice in the same season for the first time in program history, all while navigating Schumacher-Cawley's breast cancer diagnosis. It's now officially time to turn the page on their championship as Penn State prepares to open the 2025 season and start their title defense against Creighton on Saturday. "We're done talking about last year's team," Schumacher-Cawley said. "Every semester is a new team and a new season. We'll take the lessons we've learned and move forward with this group and let them find their identity." Penn State will look a little different this year after losing five seniors, including Mruzik, the 2024 Most Outstanding Player of the 2024 NCAA tournament, who you simply "can't replace," Schumacher-Cawley said. That may explain why the defending champion Nittany Lions are ranked No. 2 in the preseason AVCA Coaches Poll behind Big Ten foe Nebraska. But if you ask Penn State, they "don't necessarily care." "The rankings are for the fans and it gives everyone something to talk about," Schumacher-Cawley said. "We don't really talk about the awards and we don't talk about the preseason rankings. "With our players we just stress getting better every day in the gym. ... Every week is a different challenge and it's just how you attack it." New leaders emerge after seniors graduate Schumacher-Cawley said the team will rely on returning players like senior libero Gillian Grimes and senior middle blocker Jordan Hopp to take on leadership in the locker room. "I try to empower every single player to be a leader in their own way, in their own voice," Schumacher-Cawley said. "It's the players that were on the team last year that got a taste of what it took to win a Big Ten (title), be at a Final Four and win a championship. "They've taken the responsibility to help the new players and the younger ones on how we do things here and what's helped us be successful." Grimes is one of three Nittany Lions named to the preseason All-Big Ten Team, in addition to sophomore setter Izzy Starck, the AVCA National Freshman of the Year last season, and junior outside hitter Kennedy Martin. "I couldn't be on that list without my teammates and without my coaches, so I'm really happy for that," Grimes said at the Big Ten media day last month, highlighting a team-first philosophy that pulses through Penn State. Schumacher-Cawley didn't even wear her championship ring at media day after becoming the first female women's volleyball coach to win an NCAA championship. "It's for (the players) to show and wear. I'll keep mine in the nice box at home and let it sit there." The ring features two pink diamonds in honor of Schumacher-Cawley's battle with breast cancer. She announced she was cancer-free in February. Penn State reloads through transfer portal Penn State landed All-American Kennedy Martin in the transfer portal, who Schumacher-Cawley said "just fits in" with the team's culture. Martin led the nation in points per set (6.28) and was second in kills per set (5.57) last season during her sophomore campaign at Florida. "(Kennedy) brings a high level of play, but she is so fun to be around and she is such a great teammate," Schumacher-Cawley said. "I'm excited to see her wear the blue and white and see her compete this weekend for us. And I think she just brings a level of confidence to the group and she's going to help everyone be better." The Nittany Lions also added Saint Louis setter Addie Lyon and Ohio State outside hitter Emmi Sellman, who Schumacher-Cawley said "almost single handedly beat us last year when she was at Ohio State." 'There's always been pressure for us' Penn State women's volleyball is used to having a bullseye on their back. The Nittany Lions have won eight national championships, the second-most of any school behind Stanford (9), including a historic four-peat from 2007 to 2010. "There's always just been pressure for us," Starck said. "Coming into this season, it's just the same mindset we always have of how we work hard with each other and how we push each other. I definitely think winning the national championship last year helps us, because we know what it takes and we know how to help the new players." The Nittany Lions have a tough schedule and will have to go through Nebraska twice (Oct. 3 and Nov. 28) during the regular season, in addition to facing at least 15 other teams that made it to the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The spotlight will be even brighter as Penn State will have 16 nationally televised matchups across FOX, BTN, and FS1, up from 12 nationally broadcast regular-season games last year. "You have to play great competition to prepare for the Big 10 Conference," Schumacher-Cawley said. "Being in these opening tournaments will set the tone and show us what we need to do and how we need to be better... the end goal is to be great in November and December." Penn State opens the season against Creighton on Saturday at the AVCA First Serve Showcase at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska. The matchup will be broadcast on FS1 Network at 5 p.m. ET. The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.


NBC News
9 minutes ago
- NBC News
Serena Williams reveals she's taking weight loss medication: 'I don't take shortcuts'
Tennis champion Serena Williams said Thursday that she is taking weight loss medication after struggling to see results from diet and exercise following the births of her two daughters, Olympia and Adira. 'As an athlete and as someone that has done everything, I just couldn't get my weight to where I needed to be at a healthy place, and believe me I don't take shortcuts. I do everything but shortcuts,' Williams said in an interview with NBC News. After Olympia was born in 2017, she said, she would run and walk for hours to try to lose weight. 'I literally was playing a professional sport, and I could never go back to where I needed to be for my health, for my healthy weight, no matter what I did,' she said. 'I would always lose a lot of weight, and then I would stay. No matter what I did, I couldn't go lower than that one number.' There were other health considerations too, Williams said: Diabetes runs in her family, and African American adults have a higher risk of being diagnosed with it. She also hoped that losing weight would relieve pressure on her knees. 'I had a lot of issues with my knees, especially after I had my kid,' she said. 'That, quite frankly, definitely had an effect on maybe some wins that I could have had in my career.' On Thursday, she launched a campaign with Ro, a company that prescribes GLP-1 medications through telehealth, to normalize the use of weight loss drugs and combat the narrative that taking them is the 'easy way out.' Her husband, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, is an investor in Ro and serves on its board. Williams joins a growing list of celebrities who have publicly shared their use of weight loss medications, including Oprah Winfrey, Whoopi Goldberg, singer Meghan Trainor and basketball legend Charles Barkley, who is a Ro ambassador. Comedian Amy Schumer has said she tried Ozempic, but couldn't tolerate the side effects. Williams said her weight loss journey became more challenging after Adira was born in 2023. By then, she had announced her exit from professional tennis after a 27-year career marked by 23 Grand Slams and four Olympic gold medals. Nearly a year ago, she started on a class of weight loss medications called GLP-1 receptor agonists, which includes Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro. The drugs suppress appetite by mimicking a hormone in the gut. Ozempic and Mounjaro are also used to treat diabetes since they can lower blood sugar levels. And Wegovy is approved to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in adults with heart disease who are overweight or obese. Williams said she has been consistent about taking the medication since April and has lost 31 pounds to date.