Latest news with #EasternConferencePlayeroftheWeek
New York Post
6 days ago
- Sport
- New York Post
Natasha Cloud sparkling Liberty start earns her Eastern Conference Player of the Week
We've got you covered on the Liberty beat Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Madeline Kenney about all things Liberty and WNBA. tRY IT NOW A championship team needs a sparkling addition to provide a different feel when chasing a repeat title. Anyone can see and hear 10-year veteran and tenacious defender Natasha Cloud — the Liberty's answer. Advertisement Cloud has had an immediate impact on the Liberty offense, which led to her first career Eastern Conference Player of the Week honor on Wednesday after averaging 18.7 points, 7.7 assists, 5.7 rebounds, 2.7 steals, and 1.3 blocks per game over the first three games. That is the best start of her career and it speaks to how well the Liberty offense operates with the 33-year-old in it. A skilled facilitator, Cloud's passing has had a big impact on the Liberty, averaging 8.3 assists per game for an assist percentage of 41.8 across four games. Advertisement Natasha Cloud shoots a jumper during the first half the Liberty's blowout win over the Valkyries on May 27, 2025. Heather Khalifa for the NY Post The 8.3 assists per game surpasses her previous career high of seven assists per game in 2022. Cloud is also on track to chase down her 44.8 assist percentage, also achieved in 2022, while playing with the Mystics. 'She just needed to come to New York, that's all,' Jonquel Jones said in the Liberty's Player of the Week announcement video. Advertisement In the Liberty's convincing 95-67 win over the Valkyries on Tuesday, Cloud recorded 10 assists — five of which went to Breanna Stewart, who she often found down low or up by the charity stripe for a right elbow jumper. Breanna Stewart and Natasha Cloud of the New York Liberty smile after the Liberty's blowout win over the Valkyries. NBAE via Getty Images The performance gave her the No. 10 overall ranking on the WNBA's all-time career assists list with 1,555. 'I wouldn't say we have gotten that much practice time together,' Stewart said of Cloud after Tuesday's victory. 'I think our chemistry can only grow, but she has a great awareness of where people are. Especially Golden State, they're in a zone a lot. So, to break the zone, you want to get the ball to the middle. Sometimes I'm sealing off a guard most of the time and Tash was able to lead me to where I wanted the ball.' Advertisement Cloud leads the Liberty in assists to help their 25.3 assist average that is just 0.2 behind the league-leading Lynx in that category. The Liberty are off to a 4-0 start, tying their third-best undefeated start in franchise history from 2024. In 1997, the Liberty started the season by going 7-0. In 2007, they went on a 5-0 opening run. A soft schedule over the next five games gives the Liberty a shot to break the franchise record. On Thursday, they will face the Valkyries again and their upcoming matchups include the Sun, Sky and two meetings with the Mystics until their second meeting with the Fever on June 14. Advertisement Nyara Sabally (right knee) is listed as questionable for Thursday.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
NBA names Paolo Banchero the Eastern Conference Player of the week
Orlando Magic Forward Paolo Banchero was named NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week from March 24, 2025 to March 30, 2025. Banchero averaged 30.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 4.3 assists in 35.6 minutes per game and shot 54.3% from the field during the four-game stretch, where the Magic went 3-1 in those games. Advertisement Banchero led or tied the Magic in scoring three times, in rebounding once and in assists three times during that same period. Banchero scored at least 20 points in all four games and had at least 30 points three times. The announcement earlier this week marked the second time Banchero has received the honor in his career. He was also player of the week for the period ending Nov. 26, 2023. Banchero has scored at least 20 points in 18 consecutive games, going back to Feb. 25. Banchero also scored a minimum of 30 points in five outings in a row from Mar. 19-27, tied for the fourth-longest streak in franchise history. Advertisement In the 42 games Banchero has played in this season, he has averaged 25.9 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists in 34.4 minutes per game. He missed all games in November and December with a torn right oblique before returning Jan. 10. The Magic play their next game against the Washington Wizards on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Magic forward Paolo Banchero wins weekly NBA award
For the past three weeks, Paolo Banchero has been nominated for Eastern Conference Player of the Week but he had yet to win the award. That changed Monday. After helping Orlando go 3-1 when he averaged 30.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists during 35.8 minutes, the Magic forward was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for Week 23 of the regular season, the NBA announced. Advertisement It marks just the second time that Banchero has won the league's top weekly honor during his career. He also won it last season in late-November. Although he missed 34 games earlier this season because of a torn right abdominal muscle, Banchero has found his groove since the Magic returned from All-Star break. Having scored 20-plus points in 16 consecutive games dating back to Feb. 25, he scored 30-plus points in five straight outings from Mar. 19-27, which is tied for the fourth-longest streak in franchise history. In the past week alone, Banchero led (or tied) the Magic in scoring three times, in rebounding once and in assists three times. He scored 20-plus points in all four games and had 30-plus points three times. Advertisement For the entire month of March, Banchero is fourth in the league in scoring on a nightly basis (30.3 points). Banchero won the weekly award over a handful of other nominations including New York's OG Anunoby, Toronto's Scottie Barnes, Chicago's Coby White and Josh Giddey, Indiana's Tyrese Haliburton, Miami's Tyler Herro and Cleveland's Donovan Mitchell. In the West, Rockets guard Jalen Green won the award instead of nominees Luka Doncic and Austin Reeves of the Lakers, Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Clippers' James Harden and Houston's Alperen Sengun. After hosting the Harden and Clippers at Kia Center on Monday, the Magic hit the road Tuesday night at San Antonio. Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Afternoon Briefing: Dolton board defends salary increase for superintendent making $450K
Good afternoon, Chicago. Tiwanda Parker, a college and career coach at Marshall High School, wonders how she could make a convincing argument for students to apply for jobs at Chicago Public Schools without a more stable pension picture. 'We have to make sure that we believe in this profession,' she said. 'And a part of believing in this profession is … making sure that those basic benefits are in place.' Who picks up the bill for the disputed $175 million pension payment for nonteaching CPS staff has been a looming question mark for the district in recent weeks and months. It is part of what led to the resignation of the previous school board and the subsequent firing of schools' chief Pedro Martinez late last year. Fast forward three months, and the ongoing back-and-forth is part of what led to last week's delay of a budget amendment to balance the city's books by the end of March. Here's what else is happening today. And remember, for the latest breaking news in Chicago, visit and sign up to get our alerts on all your devices. Subscribe to more newsletters | Asking Eric | Horoscopes | Puzzles & Games | Today in History Dolton Elementary School District 148 Board members say they were excluded from discussions leading to a salary increase for Superintendent Kevin Nohelty, boosting his $450,000 salary $30,000 each of the next two years. Read more here. More top news stories: Illinois AG pushes for more funding amid legal battles with Trump administration Will County Board member Jacqueline Traynere cited after accident with child bicyclist Once a Chicago-based firm with only a local presence, @properties has grown into the largest residential real estate brokerage in the Chicago region and the eighth-largest residential brokerage in the U.S. by sales volume. Read more here. More top business stories: Former Chicago Bulls player Zach LaVine lists Chicago condo for nearly $7M Evanston OKs lakefront mansion's 40-year lease as event venue, hotel The Bulls' success is propelled by a thunderous series of performances from Coby White, who became the first Bulls player since Michael Jordan to earn back-to-back Eastern Conference Player of the Week awards. Read more here. More top sports stories: Chicago White Sox pitching prospects Noah Schultz, Hagen Smith and Grant Taylor will be on display at Double A Chicago Cubs name RHP Ben Brown as the 5th starter while RHP Brad Keller makes the bullpen About 2% of the global population reports hearing what researchers and conspiracy theorists alike call 'the Hum.' The real-life phenomenon, which is still unexplained, inspires a new opera at Lyric Opera of Chicago. Read more here. More top Eat. Watch. Do. stories: Lady Gaga announces 'Mayhem' tour with Chicago concerts in September Northlight Theatre breaks ground in Evanston, plans to open in fall 2026 Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said today it was a 'mistake' for national security officials to discuss sensitive military plans on a group text chain that also included a journalist — a leak that has roiled President Donald Trump's national security leadership. Read more here. More top stories from around the world: The Atlantic releases the entire Signal chat showing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's detailed attack plans against Houthis Palestinians protest Hamas in a rare public show of dissent in Gaza
Chicago Tribune
26-03-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Afternoon Briefing: Dolton board defends salary increase for superintendent making $450K
Good afternoon, Chicago. Tiwanda Parker, a college and career coach at Marshall High School, wonders how she could make a convincing argument for students to apply for jobs at Chicago Public Schools without a more stable pension picture. 'We have to make sure that we believe in this profession,' she said. 'And a part of believing in this profession is … making sure that those basic benefits are in place.' Who picks up the bill for the disputed $175 million pension payment for nonteaching CPS staff has been a looming question mark for the district in recent weeks and months. It is part of what led to the resignation of the previous school board and the subsequent firing of schools' chief Pedro Martinez late last year. Fast forward three months, and the ongoing back-and-forth is part of what led to last week's delay of a budget amendment to balance the city's books by the end of March. Here's what else is happening today. And remember, for the latest breaking news in Chicago, visit and sign up to get our alerts on all your devices. Dolton 148 Board defends salary increase for superintendent making $450,000 Dolton Elementary School District 148 Board members say they were excluded from discussions leading to a salary increase for Superintendent Kevin Nohelty, boosting his $450,000 salary $30,000 each of the next two years. Read more here. Illinois AG pushes for more funding amid legal battles with Trump administration Will County Board member Jacqueline Traynere cited after accident with child bicyclist @properties Christie's International Real Estate CEOs talk about 'secret sauce' for success, sale to Compass Once a Chicago-based firm with only a local presence, @properties has grown into the largest residential real estate brokerage in the Chicago region and the eighth-largest residential brokerage in the U.S. by sales volume. Read more here. More top business stories: Former Chicago Bulls player Zach LaVine lists Chicago condo for nearly $7M Evanston OKs lakefront mansion's 40-year lease as event venue, hotel Column: Wait, are the Chicago Bulls good now? Here's what to make of their 8-2 stretch. The Bulls' success is propelled by a thunderous series of performances from Coby White, who became the first Bulls player since Michael Jordan to earn back-to-back Eastern Conference Player of the Week awards. Read more here. In Lyric Opera's 'The Listeners,' one little sound drives a woman to the edge About 2% of the global population reports hearing what researchers and conspiracy theorists alike call 'the Hum.' The real-life phenomenon, which is still unexplained, inspires a new opera at Lyric Opera of Chicago. Read more here. More top Eat. Watch. Do. stories: Lady Gaga announces 'Mayhem' tour with Chicago concerts in September Northlight Theatre breaks ground in Evanston, plans to open in fall 2026 Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard calls Signal chats a 'mistake' as Trump officials face grilling over leaked military plan Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said today it was a 'mistake' for national security officials to discuss sensitive military plans on a group text chain that also included a journalist — a leak that has roiled President Donald Trump's national security leadership.
