Latest news with #BasketballHallOfFame
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Dwight Howard Makes Announcement Before NBA Finals
Dwight Howard Makes Announcement Before NBA Finals originally appeared on Athlon Sports. NBA legend Dwight Howard is one of the most underrated stars of his era. An eight-time All-Star and three-time Defensive Player of the Year, Howard was not named to the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team which was widely considered the list's biggest snub. Advertisement While Howard was not considered a top-75 player all-time by that list, he was recently inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Adding an NBA championship to his resume with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, Howard was a critical piece of LA's bench that season, appearing in 69 games and finishing ninth in Sixth Man of the Year voting. Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard (39)© Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images Still a presence in the NBA media space, Howard has his own podcast and often makes appearances across different platforms. With the 2025 NBA Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers beginning on Thursday, Howard made an announcement that he will be in attendance. "Catch me at the finals today," he wrote on his Instagram story. Basketball Hall of Fame center Dwight Howard posts on his Instagram / Instagram Howard was seen in the crowd by a fan (via Big Rex on X), which confirmed he did end up attending the game. This announcement from the eight-time All-NBA star did not just include the news that he would be attending the game. Howard also revealed on his story that he will be live on Kick, a popular streaming platform. Advertisement Keeping his word, Howard did go live from the crowd at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City. Not too far removed from his playing days, the first-ballot Hall of Fame center is staying around the game in different ways. Related: NBA Star Sends LeBron James Message After Being Traded by Lakers Related: Lakers Fans Excited After Chris Paul's Message on Thursday This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 6, 2025, where it first appeared.
ABC News
3 days ago
- Sport
- ABC News
How two Paul George trades set Pacers and Thunder on path to NBA Finals
Paul George will go down as one of the best forwards of his generation by the time he decides to call time on his NBA career. George, now with the Philadelphia 76ers, has tallied nine All-Star appearances, six All-NBA nods, and has a list of accolades that will likely land him in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame one day. The one thing missing from his resume is an NBA title. As this year's NBA Finals tip off between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers, George is the common thread between the two franchises and will have to watch one of his former teams reach the mountaintop he so desperately craves to reach himself. George was drafted 10th overall by the Pacers in 2010 and quickly blossomed into one of the most exciting wings in the league, going toe to toe with LeBron James as Indiana's star player against James's Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers teams in the early to mid-2010s before he wanted out at the end of 2017. Incredibly, two separate transactions involving the Pacers and the Thunder spread two years apart with George as the centrepiece have indirectly led to this year's Finals match-up. The Thunder surprised the league by acquiring George, who was expected to land in LA as a California native, in exchange for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis in the 2017 off-season. Both Oladipo and Sabonis recorded multiple All-Star appearances as Pacers, but it was Sabonis who proved to be the pivotal piece in constructing this current Pacers roster that is in the finals for the first time in 25 years. Five years after sending George to OKC, the Pacers shocked the NBA again, flipping Sabonis to the Sacramento Kings for Tyrese Haliburton, who was considered to be one of the best young guards in the league. Haliburton has blossomed into an All-NBA level guard and led the league in assists last year before winning a gold medal with the United States at the Paris Olympics. He is the engine that makes this current Pacers team tick. On the Thunder side of things, they too benefited from George, both when he was on the team and once he left. George was a perennial All-Star during his time in Oklahoma City and was outstanding in the 2018-19 season, where he finished third in the MVP voting and was named in the All-NBA first team for the first and only time in his career. That summer, the Thunder shocked the league by sending George, who had signed a four-year extension 12 months earlier, to the LA Clippers to pair him with Kawhi Leonard, who had chosen to join the Clippers as a free agent. Leonard had told the Clippers he would only sign with them over the Lakers if they could acquire George in a trade to be his running mate. At the time of the trade, Leonard had just won the Finals MVP and was considered a top five player in the NBA, and as a result the Clippers sent OKC a monster trade bounty in exchange for George. The smart take at the time was that this trade package was essentially for George and Leonard, making it feasible to part ways with such a large haul of assets. The Clippers sent young guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Italian forward Danilo Gallinari and a total of five first round picks to the Thunder. OKC also obtained the right to swap first-round picks with the Clippers in 2023 and 2025 in the bumper trade deal. That haul essentially hit reset on the Thunder's initial era of contention after the franchise was controversially moved from Seattle in 2008, but has given birth to a new era that is just four games away from delivering an NBA title. Gilgeous-Alexander was voted the league MVP this season after another stellar campaign. The Canadian guard is one of the best at his position in the NBA and has made three straight All-Star teams and has been voted onto the All-NBA first team in the last three seasons. OKC's other current All-Star, forward Jalen Williams, was selected with the 12th pick in the 2022 draft, one of the five first-round selections the Clippers sent to the Thunder in the George deal. Incredibly, the Thunder have already gone further than the Clippers did with George and Leonard together, and with George having already left LA, the deal remains one of the all-time NBA trade heists. Shrewd asset accumulation over the last five years has allowed the Thunder to steadily stack together a haul of first-round draft picks that is virtually unprecedented. They have an incredible seven first-round selections coming their way over the next three drafts, a war chest that can be flipped for whoever the next disgruntled superstar is should the Thunder choose to really push their chips into the middle of the table. Haliburton and Gilgeous-Alexander are the two heads of the Indiana and Oklahoma City snakes, and operate in completely different ways, making for a fascinating match-up. The Pacers floor general is a passing savant, and has the uncanny ability to protect the ball despite having it in his hands regularly. Haliburton has registered 156 assists and just 31 turnovers in Indiana's 16 playoff games this year. The only other player to enter the Finals with at least 150 assists and less than 50 turnovers is NBA icon Magic Johnson, who achieved the feat in 1984. Most things positive on the offensive end for Indiana run through Haliburton, but by no means are the Pacers a one-man offence. Veteran Pacers coach Rick Carlisle, who coached the Dallas Mavericks to the 2011 title, has been masterful during this playoff run, and has his side humming offensively. The Pacers are a team that operates in perpetual motion on the offensive end. Haliburton is able to break down defences at will by penetrating and then dishing off snappy cross-court passes, but is equally adept at giving the ball up and slithering around screens before getting it back the moment his defender falls asleep for a half-second. The NBA season is an absolute marathon, and so much of what it takes to win a title comes down to timing your run perfectly, and Indiana has done just that. Watching the Pacers dispose of the Bucks, Cavaliers and Knicks en-route to the finals makes it hard to believe they started the season 10-15. Indiana has been scorching hot as an entire team so far in the playoffs. They have converted a hair under half their field goal attempts (49.7 per cent) and have shot a ridiculous 40.1 per cent from three-point range as a team. The Pacers' ability to put five shooters on the floor at once has given teams defending them fits. Snooze for one second as a defender on any given possession and your opponent either has a lay-up at the basket or an open three somewhere. Sometimes NBA offensive sets can feature motion for motion's sake, but none of Indiana's movement is wasted. Every second of the shot clock is utilised, whether it is at the start or the very end of the possession. It is constant chaos, and Indiana thrives in it. Indiana is just about as unselfish as a team gets on the offensive end. The Pacers rank second in the playoffs in passes per game with 314.3, a figure which dwarfs the marks set by every Thunder playoff opponent to date. The Pacers' 28.1 assists per game is also easily the best mark in the playoffs. This quick-twitch, egalitarian offence will be imperative against a Thunder defence that preys on over-dribbling of the ball (more on that later). In a perfect nod to their team name, Indiana turns every game into a track meet, forcing opponents to match their speed up and down the court. The Pacers have been the most effective transition team in the entire playoffs, averaging 1.32 points per transition possession. They are able to do this via pinpoint outlet passes from Haliburton and the other guards, which often find one of the team's athletic forwards such as Pascal Siakam or Obi Toppin streaking out ahead of their opponents for dunks and lay-ups. If you're playing the Pacers, you are sometimes at your most vulnerable the moment you hoist a jumper at your own basket because a missed jumper could mean an easy bucket just seconds later at the opposite end of the court. Make the basket and you still might be in trouble, such is the Pacers' transition prowess. There is one problem for Indiana if it wants to turn these Finals into a track meet - the Thunder are one of the few teams to play at a faster pace. Since 1990, only two teams have made the Finals playing faster than the Pacers: the 2017 Warriors, considered by many to be the best team in NBA history, and this Thunder team. The Thunder's 25.3 transition points per game in the playoffs is a hair below the Pacers' mark of 25.8, but comes via a completely different method. The NBA has not seen a team that is so prolific at swiping the ball like this Thunder team in literally decades. They lead all playoff teams in steals and deflections per game by wide margins. OKC averages 10.8 steals per game so far in the playoffs. The only other teams to have recorded more while playing at least 10 playoff games are the 1976 Warriors (12.8) and the 1975 Warriors (11.3). The Thunder very rarely put a player on the floor who isn't a plus defensively. Williams and Lu Dort were both named on this year's All-Defensive teams, while Chet Holmgren would have also likely ended up on one of the two teams had injuries not restricted his regular season to just 32 games. Get through the devilish starting group and you have Alex Caruso streaming off the bench and causing all hell to break loose. Good NBA defences are often said to contain five players on a 'string' meaning they are all connected and aware of each other's movements, and the Thunder are the perfect example of this. The moment any opponent puts his head down to dribble into the lane, he is usually met with multiple defenders attempting to swipe at the ball, usually successfully. If they don't swipe the ball away, usually Holmgren or fellow big man Isaiah Hartenstein are at the rim ready to evaporate a shot attempt on demand. Over-dribbling against this defence is a cardinal sin that is punished instantly. OKC's defence does an excellent job of junking up the paint by leaving the corners wide open and the key to beating them is the ability to consistently find your best shooters in the corners. If there is one player in the league who has the ability to make this pass time and time again, it is Haliburton. The Pacers have come up against elite scorers such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Donovan Mitchell and Jalen Brunson so far in these playoffs, but defending Gilgeous-Alexander is an entirely different riddle. In an era where analytics have resulted in players either living at the three-point line or at the rim, Gilgeous-Alexander is the antithesis of this. There is no spot on the court the league MVP isn't comfortable taking a shot from. At different points during this playoff run, fans on Twitter have hilariously compared Gilgeous-Alexander's offensive game to the Pink Panther and a slinky toy, and both are somehow perfectly adept descriptions. The Canadian guard is as shifty as they come. He is able to wriggle around screens where there is seemingly no space to create openings and constantly toggles between different gears, often on the same drive, a nightmare for defenders. Gilgeous-Alexander isn't considered to be one of the quicker guards in the league, but can pounce on a millisecond of hesitation to get to the rim in a blur. He is also equally adept at putting the breaks on at a moment's notice to pull up for a patented mid-range shot. This mid-range jumper is the one that has been killed out of the game in the last decade as the analytics movement has become more and more prevalent, but it is what has made Gilgeous-Alexander an unguardable offensive force. Almost 27 per cent of Gilgeous-Alexander's shots come in between 10-16 feet from the basket, the true 'mid-range' zone. The analytics heads consider this to be a 'bad' shot, but Gilgeous-Alexander converts them at a 53.3 per cent rate. Take that and put it in your spreadsheets. Gilgeous-Alexander's ability to draw fouls has driven every single opponent mad and has even resulted in ESPN commentator Doris Burke explaining that the internet calls him a "free throw merchant" on multiple occasions during the playoffs. He is an expert at feeling any sort of contact and instantaneously rising up for a shot attempt to get the whistle. Teams have tried to be extra delicate with Gilgeous-Alexander and have still given up touch fouls. The Pacers, namely Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith, have not been afraid to be handsy and extremely physical on defence so far in the playoffs. It'll be interesting to see whether they lean into this and essentially force the referees to make the calls. If the ploy is successful, the only problem is it benefits the Thunder on the defensive end as well. Good luck scoring with Dort, Caruso and friends having a license to be even more physical than usual. This OKC team is a juggernaut, and it is going to take a monumental upset to beat them in this series. The Thunder have racked up 80 wins so far this season, combining its 68 in the regular season and 12 in the playoffs. Of the 12 teams to have won more games in a single season, all barring one, the 2016 Warriors, have won the title. But this Pacers team doesn't care for history and isn't daunted by mountaintops that are yet to be scaled. It's how they have gotten this far. Naysayers have pointed to an NBA Finals between Indiana and Oklahoma City as lacking the sex appeal of the traditional 'big market' Finals featuring teams from either Los Angeles, Boston, Miami or San Francisco. However, this is a match-up of two incredibly deep and masterfully-coached teams who play the game the right way. If you want to turn the TV off because there's not a big market team playing, I hope you're OK with missing basketball nirvana.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
"I'm sorry that I haven't been a father, haven't been a dad or been a son" - Dennis Rodman on apologizing to his family after getting inducted to the Hall of Fame
Dennis Rodman's career came full circle when he was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011. It was a moment of reflection for a man whose off-court chaos had long defined him as much as his rebounding titles. The five-time NBA champion and two-time Defensive Player of the Year walked into Springfield that night with his head high, his iconic look intact and his past trailing behind him like a shadow. Rodman's apology Rodman wasn't just there to bask in applause. He stood before legends and fans to acknowledge the reality that many of his greatest victories had come at the cost of personal wreckage. Advertisement And as his speech unfolded, it became clear that the applause meant little compared to the people sitting in the front row — his family. Not fans, not teammates. Just them. "I had my family right in front of me," Rodman said. "I was talking directly to them. I wasn't to anybody else but them. I said, 'I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I haven't been a father, haven't been a dad or been a son, sorry about that.'" That moment on stage wasn't polished or rehearsed. It was raw. Years of fame, rebellion and isolation had built a wall between Rodman and the people closest to him. As a player, he thrived on chaos, diving onto the floor for rebounds, coloring outside the lines of structure. But as a man, he often drifted — detached, unavailable and unreachable. Advertisement Rodman's estrangement from his family had deep roots. He grew up in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas, Texas, a neighborhood marked by poverty and crime. His father, Philander Rodman Jr., abandoned the family when Dennis was just a child. According to Rodman, his father had at least 29 children by 16 different women. That absence left a crater in his childhood, one that echoed in his adult life as he cycled through headlines, marriages and moments of mayhem. When he stood at that podium, what filled the silence between his words was the sound of a man breaking the chain that bound him to his father's legacy of absence. Related: "He's Mr. Discipline, Mr. Straight, Mr. Conservative" - Dennis Rodman admits Gregg Popovich was "the big problem" in San Antonio Taking responsibility Rodman had walked almost the same path as his father. He married multiple times, fathered several children and left behind a trail of broken homes. His highly publicized marriage to Carmen Electra in 1998 ended in just five months. Before that, he was married to Annie Bakes, with whom he had a daughter. Advertisement Later, he would have a son and daughter with Michelle Moyer, a relationship that ended in divorce after several years of turbulence. The pattern was familiar — connection followed by collapse, presence followed by absence, which was why he owned up to his actions in front of all of them. "A lot of guys cannot do that," Rodman said, reflecting on apologizing to his family on stage. "Really like that. I wasn't trying to do that to get people to like me, I'm always like that." The truth was, behind the piercings and the painted nails and the North Korea trips, Rodman carried a load that many never saw. He wasn't trying to be liked. He was trying to survive. Over a 14-season NBA career, Rodman led the league in rebounds per game for seven consecutive seasons — an unmatched feat. He never averaged more than 11 points per game in a season, yet found himself on five championship teams and made eight All-Defensive Teams. His effort was unrelenting, his motor unmatched. But while he chased every loose ball and put his body on the line in every arena, he couldn't seem to stay grounded at home. Advertisement His children often saw him from afar, as a figure in headlines, a caricature on TV. And while his antics generated buzz, the distance they created became a wound. In the years that followed his playing career, Rodman struggled publicly with alcohol addiction and legal issues related to child support. Rehabilitation stints came and went. Each time, he promised change. Each time, the weight of his past kept pulling him back. So when he stood under the lights of the Hall of Fame, he didn't need any career validation. He was owning up to what he missed. He was no longer the young man chasing rebounds and controversy. He was an aging father finally looking into the eyes of those he had left behind. Related: "One thing led to another" - BJ Armstrong reveals how the breakfast with Michael Jordan led to his return in 1995
CNET
23-05-2025
- Sport
- CNET
Today's NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints, Answers for May 23 #242
Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today's Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles. Connections: Sports Edition might be tough today. Read on for hints and the answers. Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That's a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn't show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic's own app. Or you can continue to play it free online. Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta Hints for today's Connections: Sports Edition groups Here are four hints for the groupings in today's Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group. Yellow group hint: Which year are you? Green group hint: College conference. Blue group hint: LA hoops stars. Purple group hint: Football hometowns. Answers for today's Connections: Sports Edition groups Yellow group: College student classifications. Green group: Big 12 schools. Blue group: Lakers in the Basketball Hall of Fame Purple group: NFL team locations Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words What are today's Connections: Sports Edition answers? The completed Connections Sports Edition puzzle for May 23, 2025. NYT/Screenshot by CNET The yellow words in today's Connections The theme is college student classifications. The four answers are freshman, sophomore, junior and senior. The green words in today's Connections The theme is Big 12 schools. The four answers are Colorado, TCU, Texas Tech and West Virginia. The blue words in today's Connections The theme is Lakers in the Basketball Hall of Fame. The four answers are Baylor, O'Neal, West and Worthy. The purple words in today's Connections The theme is first words in NFL team locations. The four answers are Green, Kansas, New and San.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
The Gregg Popovich Call That Adam Silver Can't Forget: 'He Yelled at Me!'
It's officially the end of an era for the San Antonio Spurs after longtime coach Gregg Popovich recently announced his retirement following the mild stroke he suffered in November. While the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer won't call the shots from the sideline anymore, he will remain with the Spurs as the president of basketball operations. Advertisement It's hard to overstate the impact the 76-year-old Popovich has made during his coaching career. He led San Antonio to five championships and an NBA-record 22 straight appearances in the playoffs. But perhaps more importantly, Popovich built the culture of the famous "The Spurs Way," which many teams still try to emulate. As soon as he became the Spurs coach in 1996, he planted the seeds of his vision. San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich shakes hands with NBA commissioner Adam Im-Imagn Images According to a report from ESPN's Baxter Holmes, one day in the late 1990s, Popovich called NBA commissioner Adam Silver, who was then the head of NBA Entertainment, to voice his displeasure about a promotional spot for San Antonio that "featured one player above everyone else." Advertisement "He yelled at me!" recalled Silver. "His point was you've never run a team and have no idea how even what seems like a small issue to you could disrupt the chemistry of my team." Silver said it underscored Popovich's strong values, which were instilled in him during his time as an Air Force cadet. Silver added that the NBA's all-time winningest coach's honesty and humility were a "big part of his extraordinary success." "It spoke to Pop's enduring belief that no individual player is bigger than the team, and the intensity and attention to detail necessary to win championships," Silver said. "In typical Pop fashion, he never sought credit for what his teams accomplished or the role he played in developing generations of players and coaches." Advertisement Mitch Johnson, who temporarily took over for Popovich last season, was officially named the team's new coach, adding to the ever-growing tree of the Spurs icon. That's something he could yell about. Related: Tim Duncan's Rare Photo With Girlfriend Grabs Attention Related: Bronny James Excites Fans With Victor Wembanyama Surprise
