Latest news with #Dončić
USA Today
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Projecting the starting lineups for a Team USA vs. World NBA All-Star Game
Projecting the starting lineups for a Team USA vs. World NBA All-Star Game On Wednesday, NBA commissioner Adam Silver revealed some massive news for the format of the 2026 NBA All-Star Game in Los Angeles. It will officially be a "Team USA vs. Team World" setup, which feels very appropriate for the current state of the league with so many international superstars shining, and is a natural pivot to make after seeing the success leagues like the NHL had with its "4 Nations Face Off." If the NBA was worried about meaningful competition in an exhibition, I have a hunch this is the exact way you motivate the faces of the league to give it their all. Now, while the 2026 NBA All-Star Game is still a ways away, it's never too early to project the possible starting lineups. Below you'll find the 10 players who I think will start this affair. I'm factoring in talent, lineup fit, and of course, some good old-fashioned basketball politics into my rationale. Barring health and expected performance during the regular season, here's the starting lineup we should probably expect for Team World: Point guard: Luka Dončić (Slovenia) Widely regarded as one of the best passers in the world, making Dončić the primary guard initiator for the international team is a no-brainer. Plus, if he's not dumping the ball off to his massive frontcourt, Dončić is absolutely lethal as a decelerating, patient scorer in his own right. Shooting guard: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Canada) The reigning MVP has no real flaws in his game. In fact, he's this close to being a 50-40-90 player if he can ever become a more proficient 3-point shooter (not that he's a bad one). Slotting Gilgeous-Alexander next to Dončić in the backcourt is kind of unfair. Small forward: Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece) There's something funny about slotting Antetokounmpo, who is a listed 6-foot-11, 243 pounds, at small forward. But that's more so about who his frontcourt teammates are. And we're not really worried about spacing concerns, considering who else is playing, too. Plus, there's no feasible realm where the two-time MVP and 2020 Defensive Player of the Year isn't starting for Team World. He's too good and too much of a physical force to be reckoned with. Power forward: Victor Wembanyama (France) Before a scary blood clot derailed his sophomore NBA season, Wembanyama was averaging over 24 points, 11 rebounds, nearly four assists, and almost four blocks a game. Oh, and he was also a 35-percent 3-point shooter on high volume ... as someone who stands at 7-foot-3. All at the age of 21. Yeah, he's a lock to start in these kinds of settings for the foreseeable future. Center: Nikola Jokić (Serbia) Jokić followed up his third MVP season by becoming the third NBA player ever to average a triple-double over an entire season. In other words, the all-around big man and best player in the world is at the peak of his powers. And in this specific All-Star context, the all-timer might just have the starting five that can truly accentuate and complement him in the best ways. Likewise, assuming health and expected performance, here's the starting lineup we'll probably see for Team USA: Point guard: Steph Curry Listen, even at the age of 37, Curry remains one of the best players in the game. He's still the league's top shooter. His gravity is still mostly unmatched. And even if you somehow wanted to start someone else, there's virtually no way one of the three core pillars of American basketball this century would ever let you make that decision. As he should. Shooting guard: Anthony Edwards At his current trajectory, Edwards may soon become the face of American basketball. He's led the Timberwolves to back-to-back conference finals appearances and already has an Olympic gold medal, albeit as more of a supporting player. His unique combo of explosiveness and lights-out shooting should make him a lock for the USA's starters. Small forward: Kevin Durant Like Curry, Durant might be older at the age of 36, but he remains an All-NBA-caliber player when he's firing on all cylinders. He's arguably the greatest mid-range "assassin" ever. And again, assuming he's available, you're simply not leaving off someone like Durant from the starting lineup no matter what, especially when he has made playing for Team USA one of his main calling cards. Power forward: LeBron James James, one of the two best NBA players ever, will be an All-Star until he retires. And no one is telling the living legend he's not starting against Team World in a first-time international All-Star environment. Even if James is in his 40s, I would have zero concerns about making him the small-ball power forward for just one game. He can handle it. Center: Joel Embiid There's no perfect answer for Team USA's starting center given Embiid's recent health issues. But the Americans do need something to combat Team World's MASSIVE frontcourt, and assuming Embiid will be healthy, the 2023 MVP is easily the best possible option to withstand and hold his own against that trio.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Could the Lakers end up trading Luka Doncic?
The Los Angeles Lakers and their fans seemingly gained a new lease on life, especially when it came to contending for the NBA championship, when the organization landed generational superstar Luka Doncic in that stunning trade four months ago. While it hasn't paid dividends just yet, that trade was presumably made for the immediate future beginning next season rather than the 2024-25 campaign. But is it possible the Lakers will get buyer's remorse at some point? While Doncic has the potential to become one of the five to 10 greatest basketball players of all time, he hasn't exactly been in great shape, and many have criticized him for allegedly not taking good care of his body. Advertisement Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report listed Doncic as the team's most untouchable player in terms of trade talks in a recent article. But he did imply that there is a scenario in which L.A. may end up wanting to move on from the Slovenian wonder. Via Bleacher Report: "In Dončić, the Los Angeles Lakers have a bridge to their post-LeBron James era," Hughes wrote. "He'll be the superstar cornerstone upon which the franchise's next decade is built. "The only way that'll change is if [Nico] Harrison's justification for moving Dončić this past February—poor conditioning and shoddy defense—reaches a point where Los Angeles winds up with the same concerns. "Of course, if you view the trade from Dallas to L.A. as a wake-up call for Dončić, it's pretty hard to imagine his bad habits continuing." So far this offseason, it looks as if Doncic is already changing those bad habits. He looked noticeably slimmer at a recent Real Madrid game, and at least one report has indicated that he has at least changed his mindset as far as his fitness and conditioning. He has a player option for the 2026-27 season that he can decline in order to become a free agent next summer. But he did indicate in a recent interview that he would like to remain with the Purple and Gold long term. This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Could the Lakers end up trading Luka Doncic?
USA Today
3 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Could the Lakers end up trading Luka Doncic?
Could the Lakers end up trading Luka Doncic? The Los Angeles Lakers and their fans seemingly gained a new lease on life, especially when it came to contending for the NBA championship, when the organization landed generational superstar Luka Doncic in that stunning trade four months ago. While it hasn't paid dividends just yet, that trade was presumably made for the immediate future beginning next season rather than the 2024-25 campaign. But is it possible the Lakers will get buyer's remorse at some point? While Doncic has the potential to become one of the five to 10 greatest basketball players of all time, he hasn't exactly been in great shape, and many have criticized him for allegedly not taking good care of his body. Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report listed Doncic as the team's most untouchable player in terms of trade talks in a recent article. But he did imply that there is a scenario in which L.A. may end up wanting to move on from the Slovenian wonder. Via Bleacher Report: "In Dončić, the Los Angeles Lakers have a bridge to their post-LeBron James era," Hughes wrote. "He'll be the superstar cornerstone upon which the franchise's next decade is built. "The only way that'll change is if [Nico] Harrison's justification for moving Dončić this past February—poor conditioning and shoddy defense—reaches a point where Los Angeles winds up with the same concerns. "Of course, if you view the trade from Dallas to L.A. as a wake-up call for Dončić, it's pretty hard to imagine his bad habits continuing." So far this offseason, it looks as if Doncic is already changing those bad habits. He looked noticeably slimmer at a recent Real Madrid game, and at least one report has indicated that he has at least changed his mindset as far as his fitness and conditioning. He has a player option for the 2026-27 season that he can decline in order to become a free agent next summer. But he did indicate in a recent interview that he would like to remain with the Purple and Gold long term.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Lakers, Mavericks to play an exhibition game in Las Vegas that they decided to schedule: Will Luka Dončić, Cooper Flagg play?
The Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks will play a preseason exhibition game in Las Vegas. This is a decision made not by the NBA, but by the two teams that completed one of the most controversial trades in sports history just months ago when the Mavericks dealt Luka Dončić to the Lakers. Advertisement Since that trade, the Lakers have flamed out of the first round of the playoffs, and the Mavericks have won the NBA Draft lottery. Dallas will presumably select Duke phenom Cooper Flagg, who will be immediately be handed the torch that Dončić carried as the team's franchise player and long-term hope for championship success. Will Luka Dončić actually play in October's Lakers-Mavericks exhibition in Las Vegas? (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) (Allen J. Schaben via Getty Images) Will Flagg, Dončić or both see the court in the game scheduled for Oct. 15 at T-Mobile Arena? Who knows? But the Lakers and Mavericks seem content to cash in on the hype in a matchup that should garner considerably more attention that your average NBA preseason contest. The Lakers confirmed the existence of the game on Monday. And to be clear, this is a game that both teams chose to schedule, as is custom with the NBA preseason. As The Athletic explained in a feature on the NBA preseason last fall: "Teams arrange their own schedules, pick their own opponents and have their own reasons for doing so. ... There are few rules for the preseason. They don't even play games if they don't want to. The NBA doesn't mandate a minimum number of games, just that teams can't play more than six each year. The rest is up to the teams themselves." When will the Lakers and Mavericks play in a game that actually counts? That's yet to be determined. The NBA schedule generally isn't set until August. Until then, both teams will maintain their collective buzz amid the bright lights of the Las Vegas Strip.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Charles Barkley rips Lakers with team on verge of elimination, has more words for his future home of ESPN
The Los Angeles Lakers are on the brink of elimination, and Charles Barkley is already preparing his nails for the coffin. The longtime TNT broadcaster, and soon-to-be ESPN broadcaster, had plenty to say about the Lakers on Wednesday during an appearance on "The Dan Patrick Show," two days after they fell behind 3-1 against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the NBA playoffs. To put it simply, Barkley wasn't surprised. He also had some words for how his future employers at ESPN treat the team: "The Lakers, I told you two months ago, six weeks ago, the Lakers aren't a good team. They got two really, really good players, but not a good team. ESPN just swings on them like everything tastes like chicken, but the Lakers are not a good team. They're going to lose either this round or next round, but more likely this round. They're not very good." Asked to expand on the Lakers' future with Luka Dončić and LeBron James, Barkley didn't sound optimistic about the team's current roster, which was assembled somewhat haphazardly via the trade that brought Dončić to Los Angeles. Barkley took issue in particular with building around a player at James' age, and with head coach JJ Redick's decision to play the same five players for the entire second half in Game 4 on Sunday: "The Lakers are not going to be a contender with the team they have now. Your best player can't be 40. That makes no sense whatsoever. Your best player can't be 40. And JJ was wrong the other night to play those guys the entire second half because, No. 1, it's probably going to affect them tonight. It definitely affected them down the stretch the other night. Both of those guys missed lay-ups and they made some mental mistakes with the ball. 'This is not the Lakers' year. And people think I hate on the Lakers. I told you. I said, 'The Lakers aren't a good team.' But ESPN was just swinging on them like they were damn King Kong.' The Lakers are certainly in an interesting spot despite benefiting from perhaps the most shocking trade in NBA history. Getting a 25-year-old All-NBA player like Dončić is a gift, but as the Dallas Mavericks showed, his presence alone doesn't get the job done. It's worth remembering Los Angeles also tried to pair Dončić with a big man who fit his talents with the Mark Williams trade, but then the team spiked the deal after seeing the Charlotte Hornets center's medicals. Jaxson Hayes, the team's current starting center, played four minutes in Game 4, while Alex Len, the only other traditional big man on the roster, was a DNP. As for the ESPN stuff, this isn't the first time Barkley has hammered the network despite being set to join them for next season as part of an "Inside the NBA" licensing deal. Just last month, he was calling them "idiots" and "fools at the other network," and this time he went out of his way to blast his future business partner. Just as Patrick was preparing to change the subject, Barkley interjected with an additional point about how ESPN has covered Giannis Antetokounmpo's future with the Milwaukee Bucks and contrasted it to the environment during his playing days: 'Dan, you know, the clowns at ESPN, they always make me laugh,' he told Patrick. 'Dan, you know, I'm going to be a straight shooter. It's interesting how they were discussing Giannis [Antetokounmpo] this week, like, 'Should Giannis want to leave?' I clearly don't remember when I played, I don't remember saying, 'We need to get Charles Barkley some help in Philadelphia, or Phoenix, or Karl Malone in Utah. Patrick Ewing some help in New York.' I remember the guys in the media kissing my ass and Karl's ass, and Patrick's ass. 'Well, Giannis should want to leave Milwaukee now, because he can't win the championship.' I wonder where all the guys were when I played, asking me to get some help. 'I mean, they were kissing. They were like loving the Lakers, loving the Celtics, loving Michael [Jordan], loving the Pistons. But I don't remember all these kiss-asses back in the day, saying, 'You know, we need to get Charles Barkley some help, because he can't win a championship in Philly or Phoenix.' It makes me laugh. They're like, 'Giannis gotta leave Milwaukee.' You know, that already started. Like, wow. Y'all more concerned about us other great players back in our day, but y'all of a sudden now y'all like, 'Giannis has got to leave Milwaukee now. Is his championship window closed?' I'm like, 'Man, thanks for helping me out when I went out there with nobody.' You have to figure ESPN knew this going in, but you can never expect Charles Barkley to speak with a filter.
