When is the 2025 NBA Draft? NBA Draft order, TV, start time, salary cap, offseason dates
The NBA season just ended, but the league will stay in the news. The NBA Draft is scheduled for Wednesday-Thursday, June 25-26 in New York. The Dallas Mavericks won the draft lottery and are scheduled to make the first pick, which will almost certainly be Cooper Flagg, who played one season at Duke.
Here is the full draft order, which likely will change with draft-day trades.
New York Knicks forfeited their second-round pick, which would have been 56th overall
First round: 8 p.m. ET Wednesday, June 25, 2025, at Barclays Center in New York.
Second round: 8 p.m. Thursday, June 26, 2025
Making moves: Pacers trade away their first-round pick, but have a second-rounder
First round: ABC, ESPN
Second round: ESPN
Watch the NBA Draft on Fubo
That will be confirmed in July. Spotrac projects it at $154.6 million, with the luxury tax threshold at $189 million.
July 5-8: NBA Summer League play in San Francisco and Salt Lake City.
July 6: NBA teams can sign free agents beginning at 12:01 p.m. ET.
July 10-20: Las Vegas Summer League.
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New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Nique Clifford's path to the NBA Draft is becoming a rarity: The mid-major star who stayed
Nique Clifford calls himself a 'dying breed.' The history of basketball features plenty of success stories like his — players who stuck with a mid-major, were rewarded as high draft picks and turned into great pros — a list that includes the likes of Steph Curry, Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum and Pascal Siakam. But will the sport's future have many more of those stories? Advertisement If those current NBA stars went through college just a few years later, they would have had to deal with the temptation of a bigger payday to transfer to another school. When Clifford, who broke out as a true senior at Colorado State after three years as a role player at Colorado, decided to return to college after mixed feedback during the NBA Draft process, he had options. High-major schools let his agents know that they were interested, and Clifford said multiple schools offered at least $1 million. Colorado State could not match or even come close to it, but Clifford never hesitated. 'It was not about the money,' he said. 'It was moreso a long-term investment. I knew, going back to CSU, I was going to be in a great situation. I was going to be around a great staff and great people that I love being around every day and continue to grow with them. 'I've been on the other side of things where you're not in a good situation, necessarily, so I didn't want to risk doing that for some extra change.' Now Clifford, who is expected to be a first-round pick in this week's NBA Draft with a chance to sneak into the lottery, could be one of the last of his kind. Sam Vecenie's latest mock draft for The Athletic projects 13 players who transferred up to higher-level Division I basketball programs during their college career. (Clifford is one of just three projected first-rounders to finish their college careers outside of the traditional high-major conferences: the ACC, SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 or Big East.) That is the new pathway for most mid-major stars: Develop at a smaller school, emerge as a star, transfer up and get paid, show your talent on that stage and get drafted. That last step doesn't always come to fruition. Transferring brings an element of uncertainty that Clifford did not want to risk. And his bet on himself already feels like an exception to the rule that money drives everything in the race to the top of the basketball world. Clifford was far from the NBA's radar in March 2023, when he entered the transfer portal after three seasons at Colorado. He became a starter midway through his sophomore season, but the Derrick White/Spencer Dinwiddie-esque creator role coaches initially pitched to him never materialized. 'I wanted to finish out my career there and be loyal, but in terms of getting to where I wanted to be, it just wasn't going to happen there,' he said. Advertisement Clifford was more of a 3-and-D wing, spending most offensive possessions in the corner. The problem was his 3-point percentage dipped to a career-worst 28.8 percent his junior season. 'There wasn't a lot of 3,' said Colorado State head coach Ali Farokhmanesh, who was promoted from an assistant role this spring. 'It was only D.' Farokhmanesh had recruited Clifford out of high school and saw him then as more of a point guard: 'He made plays that other kids didn't see.' Farokhmanesh was Clifford's first call, two minutes after his name showed up in the NCAA transfer portal. Clifford, who is originally from Colorado Springs, wanted to get out of the state to start over, but former CSU coach Niko Medved and Farokhmanesh's belief in his game and vision for what he could become was the perfect marriage. When Clifford arrived in the summer of 2023, Farokhmanesh implemented a developmental plan that started with addressing his shot. 'There was some mechanical stuff that he had to work on,' Farokhmanesh said. 'His feet were not good. They weren't strong. The follow-through wasn't consistent, and the rotation of the ball wasn't consistent.' Clifford was also apprehensive when he got open looks, opting instead to drive during summer pickup games. 'You could tell he was a little broken,' Medved said. Clifford slowly started to play more like he had in high school. It helped that point guard Isaiah Stevens told him his teammates wanted him to take those open shots, make or miss. The 2023-24 Rams got off to a 9-0 start, including wins over No. 8 Creighton and Clifford's former team, Colorado. Clifford scored double figures in seven of those games. In Medved's motion offense, which involves all five players reading and reacting to the defense, Clifford played instinctively and quit overthinking. Advertisement 'He really did an unbelievable job of just kind of giving himself over to what we were asking him to do,' Medved said. Clifford more than doubled his scoring average (12.2), doubled his assists (3.0), nearly doubled his rebounding (7.6) and shot career-best numbers inside the arc (59.7) and from deep (37.7). The Rams made the NCAA Tournament after a one-year absence, and Clifford started appearing on draft boards. But when the feedback wasn't quite what he wanted, Clifford decided to return for a fifth season and see what it was like to be the face of a program. Before every game, Farokhmanesh handed Clifford a notecard with a message: Mask on. 'You would invite him over to babysit your kids, and he'd put them to bed and then clean your house after too,' Farokhmanesh said. 'He's salt of the earth.' But Farokhmanesh wanted Clifford to be more of a killer on the court, creating an alter ego more aligned with the Joker tattoo on his left forearm. In his first season with the Rams, Clifford mostly blended in: Despite his pro potential, he had only the fourth-highest usage rate on the team. Last season, the Rams needed Clifford to take the most shots, facilitate, rebound and be the team's best defender. Clifford arrived early before practice every day to work with Farokhmanesh, stayed after practice for more work and returned at night to work out on his own. The personal results followed at the beginning of his final college season, but the Rams got off to a shaky 6-5 start. It would have been easy to point fingers, especially when Clifford started to hear from the doubters. 'Even family and friends were telling us we were trash,' Clifford said. 'I'm not going to say his name, but one of my uncles, he was just like, 'Man, y'all are not very good. I'm a not a big believer. I'm not a fan of the point guard. You're just having to do too much and too much on your plate. Y'all aren't going to be very good.'' Advertisement 'There was no panic,' Medved said. 'Nique was unbelievable, because as a coach, you're like, 'All right, this kid's coming back. Obviously, he wants to go play in the NBA. Is he just going to worry about himself, right?' And he did the opposite. He was just so consumed with what our team needed to do on both ends of the floor, how he could help us and just the way he modeled that every day for our guys, he did everything and anything I ever asked him to do.' The Rams ended the regular season on a seven-game winning streak, capped by a win in front of a sold-out crowd at Boise State with the No. 2 seed in the Mountain West tournament on the line. Clifford scored 36 points on only 18 shots. 'That might go down as the best regular-season performance ever at CSU,' Medved said. Clifford was just as good in the conference tournament, averaging 25 points, 10.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists to help the Rams secure an NCAA Tournament bid. Then, CSU upset sixth-seeded Memphis in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. A buzzer-beater by Maryland's Derik Queen stopped the Rams from being the only mid-major to make the Sweet 16. In Clifford's final college game, he put up another stellar line: 21 points, seven rebounds, six assists, two blocks and a steal. Clifford was one of the most valuable players in the country, finishing sixth in KenPom's Player of the Year standings. He enters this NBA Draft with no doubt that he can make an impact in the pros. 'I think the thing that gets lost in this, not just to make it at the next level, but to have an opportunity to stay at the next level,' Medved said. 'So much of it is mental and emotional. … Can you handle the drive? Do you really believe? You almost have to have an irrational confidence in yourself that you can succeed at the highest level. And that's really hard sometimes for people to be honest with themselves. 'I think that was a big part of it for Nique. It was so new to him. He'd come out on the scene, and he needed another year. And, man, this year you just saw what he did for us. Obviously, his play on the court, but also his leadership, just how much more confident and comfortable he was with his game and himself. And that's why he's in the position he's in.' Will there be another Clifford? Nine players from the Mountain West who earned all-Mountain West or honorable mention honors this spring will be back in college basketball next season. Only three (Utah State's Mason Falslev, San Diego State's Miles Byrd and Magoon Gwath) remained with their 2024-25 school. The other six transferred to high-major programs. Advertisement From outside the high-major leagues, only two players attended the NBA Draft combine and returned to school: Byrd and UAB product Yaxel Lendeborg, who transferred to Michigan. It's rare now for an all-league player outside of college hoops' top five leagues to stay put. San Diego State, which made the national title game three years ago, is more high-major-ish, but even the Aztecs have felt the shift. Three members of the SDSU core that made the 2023 national title game finished their careers elsewhere. 'It's super rare (to stay). I felt it this spring,' said Farokhmanesh, who lost point guard Kyan Evans to North Carolina in April. 'It's also really rare to make the NBA, too.' Clifford has no regrets, even about his three years at Colorado. He also has a message for those players who will one day be in his shoes and have the chance to transfer up. 'If the feedback is they want you to go to a bigger school and play better competition, maybe I can see why you would transfer and go up to a big school,' Clifford said. 'But if you're already in a great situation and could risk your stock by going somewhere else just for some money, I would definitely not recommend that. I would definitely stay a part of the culture that you helped build and have a sense of loyalty to that college of the people that helped you get to where you were at. You know you're gonna grow and you're going to get better with those people, because they've helped you get to that point.'
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Why Cooper Flagg should be a rare impact player ‘the first day he steps' into NBA
Thirteen-year-old Cooper Flagg needed a challenge. He was posterizing peers as a 6-foot-6 eighth grader in Newport, Maine. Playing against his age group, the game was easy. While Flagg's inner circle often exposed him to older competition, his trainer, Matt MacKenzie, felt the need to try something extreme. Advertisement MacKenzie asked another player he was working with — a sophomore guard at the University of Maine named Ja'Shonté Wright-McLeish — if he would match up against the middle schooler in one of their sessions. 'The intention was to get him uncomfortable,' MacKenzie said of Flagg. 'I asked the player to come in, really try to be physical, be aggressive. Get his hands in Cooper's air space. Really try to frustrate him to try to make adjustments.' It worked. Flagg looked flustered. He struggled to get to his spots and he turned the ball over. About a week later, MacKenzie pitted them against each other again. Before the rematch, Flagg nodded, which MacKenzie took as a sign of his pupil's quiet confidence. MacKenzie also remembered Flagg's mother, Kelly, smirking. 'Let's see how it goes,' Kelly told MacKenzie. This time, Flagg was the clear winner. He played poised basketball as MacKenzie ran them through games of one-on-one and three-on-three. MacKenzie began telling people he was working with an eighth grader who had gotten the upper hand against a Division I starter. His claim was met with skepticism. 'They really didn't believe that an eighth-grade player could get the best of a Division I starter in small-sided games. But he did,' MacKenzie said. 'I think at that point, he started to develop this level of confidence that he could dominate. Not only at his own level, but beyond.' Flagg has spent the time since crushing older competition. As a freshman at Nokomis Regional High, Flagg won a state championship and was named the Maine Gatorade Player of the Year. From there, Flagg and his twin brother, Ace, transferred to Montverde Academy, the prep school in Florida that has become a pipeline for NBA talent. Montverde went 33-0 in Flagg's second season at the school — which was his last. Advertisement In August 2023, Flagg chose to reclassify so he could attend college a year early. In his one-and-done season at Duke, Flagg averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks. He was the consensus best player in the country for a Blue Devils team that went 35-4, clearing the way for him to become the NBA's No. 1 draft pick on Wednesday. The Dallas Mavericks, who had a 1.8-percent chance of winning the first selection at last month's NBA Draft Lottery, plan to take Flagg, according to multiple league sources. Part of their calculus is that Flagg is good enough to help them win right away. They believe dropping the 18-year-old (he won't turn 19 until Dec. 21) into their starry-but-aging lineup will immediately make them more dynamic on both ends of the floor. Flagg has always been able to drive winning, no matter the age discrepancy. The Mavericks and others who have tracked his rise closely are betting that it will be no different in the NBA. 'He's the full package, honestly,' said Wright-McLeish, who now works for MacKenzie as a trainer in Maine. 'He has offensive skills, he has defensive skills and he has basketball IQ. When you have all of that, you're kind of unstoppable. He did it at the high school level. He did it at the college level. 'And I know for a fact he's going to do it at the NBA level on the first day he steps on that court.' The U.S. Select Team that converged in Las Vegas last summer had one goal: stress test America's Olympians. The 15-man roster of up-and-comers scrimmaged twice against a U.S. team that won gold about a month later in Paris. Every player on the Select Team roster was 21 years or older, with one exception. Flagg, then 17, had earned an invite. 'People are like, 'Should he be there?'' said New Orleans Pelicans forward Trey Murphy III, a fellow Select Team member. ''He hasn't done anything,' this, that and the third. But he more than proved that he belonged there.' Advertisement In one of the clips that made the rounds on social media, Flagg nailed a 3-pointer from the right wing over Anthony Davis. Moments later, Flagg triggered a fast break with a hit-ahead pass up the court. The clip ended with Flagg converting a put-back shot over Bam Adebayo, in spite of getting fouled. It was a 20-second glimpse of the shot-making ability, court vision, motor and athleticism that Flagg would flash later that year at Duke. 'He's going to be someone who can plug and play,' Murphy said. 'He's going to be one of the most ready-to-play guys.' Jamahl Mosley, the Orlando Magic coach who has led the Select Team for the past two years, also believes Flagg can make an immediate impact at the next level. 'He just has an air about him,' Mosley said. 'There's a confidence, a knowing. But also, you can tell he's reading and thinking the game the entire time.' At Duke, coach Jon Scheyer let Flagg bring the ball up the floor and get the team into its offense. Flagg racked up 156 assists in 37 games, 41 more than his next-closest teammate. He was one of eight players in the Atlantic Coast Conference to average at least 10 points per game with an assist percentage of 25 percent or higher. The other seven players were guards. Flagg had five seven-assist games for Duke. One of them was in a win against Arizona in the Sweet 16, a Flagg masterpiece. Besides spoon-feeding teammates for easy looks all game, he scored 30 points, snatched six rebounds and blocked three shots. 'One of the best tournament performances I've ever coached or been a part of,' Scheyer said postgame. GO DEEPER Cooper Flagg is on the clock Mosley felt Flagg was one step ahead of the defense, even against the best players in the world last summer in Las Vegas. 'He was reading the defense,' Mosley said. 'The biggest thing is he wasn't afraid of what was coming at him, no matter who was guarding him.' A basket Flagg scored in the paint is a moment that has stuck with Mosley. Jrue Holiday was defending the teenager. One of the NBA's best perimeter defenders, Holiday is also unusually good at defending post-ups as a guard. When Flagg started to back Holiday down, Mosley wasn't sure he would succeed. Advertisement The result: two points for Flagg. 'I'm like, 'That's Jrue.' Nobody backs down Jrue.' Mosley said. 'He just finished it on Jrue. He wasn't afraid of any moment, no matter who was out there with him.' One of the reasons talent evaluators feel so confident in Flagg's chances to succeed in the NBA is that his game has so few holes. Flagg can handle the ball and find open teammates, and he's good off the ball as a screener and cutter. Flagg also loves to play defense. He doesn't take possessions off and his physical tools (a 7-foot wingspan and a 35 1/2-inch vertical) allow him to swipe steals and spike shots. If there's one part of Flagg's game that can be nitpicked, it's his jumper. In his first 13 games at Duke, he shot 27 percent from 3-point territory. Before the college season started, Flagg began making mechanical changes. MacKenzie felt good about Flagg's progress, but during the holiday break in December, he decided to spend time in Durham, N.C., to help fine-tune Flagg's shot. MacKenzie wanted to make sure Flagg was generating enough power from his base. Flagg worked on dropping his hips lower before he uncoiled. Additionally, MacKenzie coached Flagg to relax his guide-arm elbow. The result was a lower release point and a more fluid shooting motion. 'It was really about keeping his body stacked and landing with balance, and then freezing both hands high on his follow-through,' MacKenzie said. Flagg showed significant improvement as an outside shooter throughout the college season. In his final 24 games at Duke, he shot a sizzling 44 percent from behind the arc. He finished his freshman year as a 38.5 percent shooter from distance on 3.6 attempts per game while making 84 percent of his free throws. One of the reasons Flagg has been successful, MacKenzie believes, is that he can accept criticism. Advertisement 'He knows I'm always in his corner,' MacKenzie said. 'But he also knows I'm going to keep it real with him. He doesn't want people around him who's going to kiss his ass. He craves honest coaching. He wants to be pushed to get better every single day. I think that's what's going to continue to move the needle for him as he makes this transition to the NBA.' MacKenzie grew up in Warren, Maine, and played collegiately at a Division III school called Husson University in nearby Bangor. Flagg's selection as the No.1 pick will represent a watershed moment for basketball in America's 42nd-most populous state. Maine has never had what MacKenzie considers a 'born and bred' player drafted in the NBA. Jeff Turner, the former Nets and Magic power forward, was born in Bangor, but he attended high school in Florida. Duncan Robinson was born in York, Maine, but grew up in New Hampshire. 'We are seeing folks all over the state become Cooper Flagg fans,' MacKenzie said. 'Even if they're not necessarily basketball fans, watching his story and how he's been able to do this at the highest level, a lot of people have started to buy in and follow him now. It's going to be interesting to see whichever team he gets drafted to, see some of these Maine natives switch their allegiance and maybe start to cheer for a new NBA team.' Andy Bedard was watching the NBA Draft Lottery on TV in Boston. A former University of Maine guard who twice led the America East Conference in assists, Bedard had coached the Flagg brothers — who were the same age as his son, Kaden — in AAU basketball since the boys were in grade school. The Charlotte Hornets, Utah Jazz and Washington Wizards were the three teams with the best odds (14 percent) of winning the No. 1 draft pick. Thus, Bedard had mentally prepared for Flagg to wind up in any of those markets. Bedard knew the New Orleans Pelicans (12.5 percent), Brooklyn Nets (9 percent), Toronto Raptors (7.5 percent) and San Antonio Spurs (6 percent) were other possibilities. But Dallas and its 1.8 percent chance? 'We never even thought about Dallas,' Bedard said. 'That scenario never came inside the circle, really.' Advertisement When the draft lottery results were announced, a group of about a dozen Mavericks decision makers watching from a steakhouse in Chicago erupted. Nico Harrison, who in February traded one-time face of the franchise Luka Dončić, hugged and high-fived coworkers. Dallas' future — bleak on the surface after Kyrie Irving tore his ACL in February — instantly appeared sunnier. Once the shock wore off, Flagg's inner circle became excited about the prospect of his becoming a Maverick, too. The chance to win right away appealed to them. 'It took a little bit to settle in. 'Did that really just happen?'' Bedard said. 'Dallas is a great city, a great franchise. Your fan base is bonkers, even when you're mediocre. It's safe. It's easy to get into. There's no state tax. Let alone, the veteran leadership and maybe even be a contender with what our guy can do to plug holes on any given night.' Flagg was in third grade when Bedard watched him play for the first time at a YMCA in southern Maine. Naturally, Flagg was there playing against kids who were a few years older. The AAU team the Flaggs and Bedards formed was called Maine United. The boys chose the moniker. Early on, the goal was to get as many of the team's players college scholarships as possible. 'Let's see if we can get them a free education,' Bedard said. 'What a gift that would be, right? Learn all the lessons of basketball, make a friend and get a free education.' COOPER FLAGG IS RIDICULOUS 🚨 He just led Maine United to the E16 Peach Jam Championship game! 🔥 34 PTS🔥 20 REB🔥 5 AST🔥 10 BLK@NikeEYB @Cooper_Flagg @maine_united_1 — SLAM HS Hoops (@SLAM_HS) July 8, 2023 By the time Flagg was in seventh grade, Bedard believed he had a chance to be a pro. Bedard particularly enjoyed watching Flagg snatch rebounds and go coast to coast. As Flagg plucked the ball off the rim and took two dribbles down the middle of the floor, Bedard would go silent and take a seat on the bench. Advertisement 'There's no point in yelling and cheering,' Bedard said. 'Just sit back and take a look and watch him execute. … He's going to make the right play.' In Flagg's first season at Montverde, he averaged 9.8 points per game. Bedard started to hear chatter that Flagg was a so-so scorer. Before one of Maine United's AAU games on the EYBL circuit against Texas-based ProSkills, Bedard told Flagg to do something out of character: hunt for his own shot. Flagg finished the game with 52 points on 17-of-18 shooting. 'A couple people asked me at the game what happened,' Bedard said. 'I said, 'I don't know what happened. But I guess he can score, can't he?'' One of Bedard's other favorite Flagg stories came during another EYBL game. It was after halftime, and Flagg hadn't broken 20 points. He had 17, Bedard thinks. Maine United had a comfortable lead, and it was clear it was going to win. The opposing team's bench started talking trash. 'They started chirping (to him),' Bedard said. ''You're not scoring. We're not giving you 40.'' Flagg looked amused. 'He's like, 'Look at the score. We're up 30,'' Bedard said. ''I'll pass, rebound, defend all day long.' He couldn't care less.' Flagg is unflappable and happy to do whatever is required to win. He's been this way since he was the fearless eighth-grader holding his own against a Division I guard. (Illustration: Demetrius Robinson / The Athletic; photos: Jeff Haynes / NBAE via Getty Images; Patrick Smith and Ethan Miller / Getty Images; Stu Boyd II / The Commercial Appeal / USA Today Network)
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
After the Thunder's NBA title, any organization can learn from these 4 culture lessons
Editor's note: This story is a part of Peak, The Athletic's desk covering leadership, personal development and success through the lens of sports. Follow Peak here. After the Oklahoma City Thunder won the NBA championship, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the MVP of both the finals and the league this season, discussed what he considered the most impressive aspect of the accomplishment. 'Our togetherness on and off the court, how much fun we have … it made it so much easier,' he said. 'It made it feel like we were just kids playing basketball. All the achievements and accolades don't even come close to the satisfaction of winning with your brothers and people you are so close to and want to succeed just as much as you want yourself to succeed.' Advertisement The Thunder are no doubt a team of talented players. However, they are also a team and organization full of lessons about culture, mindset and teamwork that can be applied to any company or organization. Here are our four favorites: During his time coaching in the G League, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault started a ritual with his players. He called it 'be where our feet are' time. For 30 seconds before practices, everyone in the gym was asked to close their eyes and take a moment to be present. As Daigneault told The Athletic's Christian Clark in January, 'You don't want to be thinking about the past. You don't want to be thinking about the future. Life is lived in the moment. The game is played in the moment.' It's a cool idea anyone can use. Earlier in the season, Gilgeous-Alexander called some of his teammates 'cockroaches' and 'hyenas.' He meant it as a total compliment. 'The world is seeing … what we call the cockroaches in our locker room, the cockroaches and hyenas,' he said. 'The guys that do the little work, that don't get the most plays, that don't average 30, but their part of our season, our winning, is just as big.' A quote that may seem funny at first actually has a deeper significance to it. By appreciating the 'little work' and the guys 'that don't get the most plays,' Oklahoma City fosters an environment of appreciation and teamwork. Everyone's role becomes important, a piece of the big puzzle. The Thunder took that seriously this season, and it's exemplified in what Gilgeous-Alexander said in John Hollinger's story months ago: 'We're not just one or two guys; we're 15 guys.' A great example happened during the playoffs. In Game 4 of the NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers, the Thunder listened to Jaylin Williams as he spoke up in the huddle. Not Jalen Williams, the All-Star, but Jaylin Williams, the reserve center from Arkansas, who played 15 minutes in the finals. Advertisement When Hollinger talked to Williams about why he felt comfortable sharing his opinion, it was evident in his answer that his decision to speak up stemmed from the team's culture at large. 'Being able to watch it from the side, I get a different view,' Williams said. 'Trying to kind of echo what we need to do, echo the plan. Sometimes it's different hearing it from a player that's going through a battle with you than hearing it from a coach, so I'm trying to talk to the guys. 'We've always had this saying where if you feel like there's something that you want to say to a teammate, like, nobody's bigger than the program. So, you just say it to each other.' A championship-caliber team in the NBA must have a program full of hard-working, driven players and coaches. However, there's also something special about enjoying what you're doing. The Athletic's Sam Amick pointed this out following the Thunder's Game 5 win in the Western Conference finals, which sent them to the NBA Finals. Amick compared the Thunder, the youngest team in the NBA, to college freshmen at a fraternity party. As the players celebrated their win, Daigneault praised his team. 'These guys are uncommon,' he said. 'They're high character.' But as Daigneault spoke, his players hung towels on his shoulders and tossed a hat on his head. Quickly, Daigneault added, 'They're idiots.' But as Amick put it, they're Daigneault's idiots. And it's an energy that is hard to replicate. It's also a secret weapon. When a group that has a common goal also gets along exceptionally well, the chemistry will help carry that group to where it wants to go. Just look at the Thunder. 'These guys really make you feel like … I'm a kid playing AAU basketball, like I'm 15 years old again,' Gilgeous-Alexander said. 'They make it seem like it's just fun. I think that's what makes us really good. We have so much fun being out there together.' (Illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic; Jesse D. Garrabrant, Brian Babineau / NBAE / Getty Images)
