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Edmonton Journal
3 days ago
- Sport
- Edmonton Journal
Hall of Famer Don Nelson selected as winner of Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award
Article content OKLAHOMA CITY — Don Nelson has been invited to the NBA Finals countless times in recent years, always declining those opportunities. This time, his peers found a way to ensure he couldn't say no. Article content Nelson — a Basketball Hall of Famer and three-time NBA coach of the year — was announced Sunday as this year's recipient of the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by the National Basketball Coaches Association. It will be formally given out Sunday night, about an hour before Game 2 of the NBA Finals between the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder. Article content 'History has already reflected Don Nelson's staggering contributions as a cutting-edge innovator and visionary of the NBA game,' said Pacers coach and NBCA President Rick Carlisle. 'Back in the '80s and '90s, he made teams adjust to historic pace, liberal 3-point shooting, inverted offence, and disruptive defensive schemes. All this while establishing himself as one of the most compelling personalities in all of professional sports.' Article content Nelson, 85, retired in 2010 as the NBA's all-time coaching wins leader with 1,335, just ahead of Lenny Wilkens' 1,332. Nelson kept that top spot for nearly 12 years before now-retired San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich passed him in March 2022. Nelson is one of only two coaches in NBA history to have at least 250 wins with three different franchises. He got to that mark with Milwaukee, Dallas and Golden State, and also coached New York briefly in his career. Article content Nelson and Daly were close friends. They went head-to-head 41 times as coaches: Nelson's teams went 21-20 in those games. 'Chuck was an absolute genius in all facets of the game and life,' Nelson said. 'I'm glad I had the opportunity to coach against him, learn from him, and benefit from his knowledge. To say that I'm deeply touched to receive an award that bears his name would be an understatement. This is special.' Nelson took teams to the playoffs 18 times as a coach and won five championships as a player with the Boston Celtics. He started coaching in 1976 and what became known as 'Nellie Ball' soon created a buzz with him being generally credited for introducing what is now known as the point forward. His up-tempo offensive ways were probably best on display with Golden State in the 'Run TMC' era featuring Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin. The award is in Daly's memory and celebrates his 'integrity, competitive excellence, and tireless promotion of NBA basketball.' Prior recipients are Rudy Tomjanovich (2024), Rick Adelman (2023), Mike Fratello (2022), Larry Brown (2021), Del Harris (2020), Frank Layden (2019), Doug Moe (2018), Al Attles and Hubie Brown (2017), K.C. Jones and Jerry Sloan (2016), Dick Motta (2015), Bernie Bickerstaff (2014), Bill Fitch (2013), Pat Riley (2012), Lenny Wilkens (2011), Jack Ramsay and Tex Winter (2010) and Tommy Heinsohn (2009). Latest National Stories
Time of India
6 days ago
- Sport
- Time of India
NBA: Gary Payton makes bold claim about Michael Jordan; believes season's Finals could go the distance
Fformer Seattle Supersonics and LA Lakers star Gary Payton speaks at an event in Mumbai. Mumbai: Gary Payton can talk about defense all day, understandably so. So good were his defensive skills back in the day, they called him 'The Glove'. So much importance he attached to the defensive side of basketball, he drilled it into his son Gary Payton II. He still does. And it's why the Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer, considered one of the best point guards of all time, believes the 2025 NBA Finals featuring Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers is set to be a 'great series'. 'I think this is going to be a great series. I like it because they both play defense. With both teams, you got five guys on the floor at all times who can go at each other,' Payton, a 2006 NBA champion with Miami Heat, told reporters here on Thursday. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! On his maiden visit to India, the former Seattle Supersonics and LA Lakers star, who is in town for the BudX NBA House this weekend, stressed that there was more to the two finalists than just their star point guards, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of Oklahoma and Indiana's Tyrese Haliburton. 'Well, it's not just these two, they lead it. But you have to understand with these two teams, they have other basketball players who are very dominant. And right now it's a different type of style of basketball than I played,' Payton said, adding: 'When I played, I could put my hands on them, I could control them and things, but you can't do that now. But what I would do with either one of the guards, I would try to trap them and make other people win the basketball game. 'With the two superstars, especially MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, you have to get the ball out of his hands. Make other people beat you. Even with Haliburton, when he has a great game, the Indiana Pacers go.' Along their path to the Finals, the Pacers were never taken to a seventh game by any of their rivals. That could be about to change as they battle the Thunder for the famed Larry O'Brien Trophy. 'I really do think it can go to seven games. The first one who loses on their home court is probably going to be the loser,' Payton said. 'They're the best two teams right now in the NBA. Oklahoma has been the best team all year winning as many games they did, 60-plus. Let's see what Indiana got for them.' Asked how he viewed the way NBA basketball has evolved and the direction it was heading in, the 56-year-old made his preference clear. 'I would rather see a lot more defense. Right now, it's a lot of offense. 'I don't want to go to a game and see somebody score 130 points. For what? And somebody has 50 points, another player has 55, that's not a watch for me. That's crazy. I think I want to see somebody stop somebody. I want to see somebody take accountability of taking a person out of the game who's very valuable to their team. That's what I want to see, and that's what I dictate to my son all the time. That's why he's got the old school basketball game to him right now, because he guards everybody from one to five and I love that. ' For his gritty display during the second half of the 1996 NBA Finals where he was tasked with guarding Michael Jordan, Payton would go on to be regarded as one of the best defensive opponents of the legendary Chicago Bulls guard. Is that how he would like to be described to basketball fans who tuned in after he was gone? 'I don't care about being the best defender of Michael Jordan. That doesn't mean anything, I was the best defender of everybody,' he shot back. 'I guarded everybody. (Michael) wasn't just a focal point for me. Everybody in the NBA was a focal point for me. I would want to be remembered as the first two-way basketball player to play on both ends of the floor. I started that. 'I really didn't care about scoring, I cared about stopping the opponent, their best player. Because if I stop them that means I stop their basketball team, because they can't function without him. My legacy started because of defense. People say that. That's great, I love it. But really, my legacy started off with me being just a complete basketball player. Both ends of the floor, complete.'
USA Today
16-04-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Eagles QB Jalen Hurts has formed a friendship with Derek Jeter that centers around winning
Eagles QB Jalen Hurts has formed a friendship with Derek Jeter that centers around winning Eagles Super Bowl MVP and legendary Yankees shortstop have formed a friendship centered around the process of winning championships Jalen Hurts is a Super Bowl MVP, and since winning the trophy, the Eagles quarterback has been spotted having dinner with Michael Jordan and forging a newfound relationship with legendary Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter. Hurts was named to TIME's '100 Most Influential' list as an icon and got the stamp of approval from Jeter, who said this about the Eagles star. This past February, Jalen found himself on the Super Bowl stage again. This time he led Philadelphia to a convincing victory in its rematch with Kansas City. We connected shortly after, and the only thing he asked about was insight on going back and winning again. Sometimes people win, then exhale. Jalen is not exhaling. He's embracing the next challenge. Win or lose, Jalen's resilience and determination offer all of us something to admire. Jeter is a five-time World Series champion and baseball Hall of Famer. Hurts has newfound mentors in Jordan and Jeter, the Yankees legend, who can only do wonders for the Philadelphia Eagles over the next decade. Other sports figures on Time's list include Léon Marchand, Serena Williams, Simone Biles, Breanna Stewart, and Napheesa Collier.
USA Today
16-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
A terrible practice, then a message. Deion Sanders keeps building foundation at Colorado
A terrible practice, then a message. Deion Sanders keeps building foundation at Colorado Show Caption Hide Caption Travis Hunter speaks on Coach Prime's impact throughout his career Travis Hunter explains how Coach Deion Sanders has shaped him as both a player and person and how he's helped guide him throughout the years. Sports Seriously BOULDER, Colorado – It was the worst practice since Deion Sanders arrived at Colorado. So much for the crisp, up-tempo 'Speed Day' that Coach Prime planned for Tuesday's session, the next-to-last practice before spring football drills conclude on Saturday with the annual black-and-gold scrimmage. The effort, focus and attention to detail left something to be desired. Hey, don't take it from me. 'How can you not go all-out for three reps?' Sanders grumbled during a post-practice interview with USA TODAY Sports. 'That's a problem.' Sanders, heading into his third season at Colorado, is challenged to develop a new version of the Buffaloes without the presence of the two stars projected as high picks in the NFL draft next week – Heisman Trophy-winning two-way phenom Travis Hunter and his son, quarterback Shedeur Sanders – but with the same type of intense spotlight attached to the program. We coming? Yeah, and Sanders, the Pro Football Hall of Famer making another mark in the coaching ranks, is staying, too, having recently signed a five-year, $54 million extension that makes him one of college football's highest-paid coaches. Asked about the significance of his new deal, Sanders put it in a larger context that involves resources for the once-sagging football program that he has revitalized. 'We had to make sure we have the foundation that we need to be successful in this turbulent time in college football,' he said. 'Because if the same teams keep going to the playoffs every year, that tells you something about the collectives and the NILs. I don't think it says too much about the programs and coaching – I mean, there are some great coaches, don't get me wrong. There are. But if the same teams go every year and they're spending the same amount of money, it's hard to compete with an institution that's spending $25 million on freshmen alone. 'But our kids come out here to play for me and this staff. They don't come out here for a bag, because they understand the real finances are garnished in the NFL, not with the NIL.' That said, Sanders maintains that even without Shedeur and Hunter, he expects to field a better team than the squad that went 7-4 last season and tied for first in the Big 12 because the unit will be deeper in the trenches. Of course, much will hinge on the process of replacing his son at quarterback, with a competition featuring fifth-year transfer Kaidon Salter and prized freshman recruit Julian 'JuJu' Lewis. Salter came from the portal after four years at Liberty. Lewis is a five-star recruit from Carrollton, Ga. who was the Georgia Gatorade Player of the Year. 'It's going to be a good fight,' Sanders said. 'Salter is good; he has the upper hand right now because he has the experience. Juju's going to be a phenomenal quarterback.' In any event, Tuesday's practice was hardly an example of Coach Prime's big-picture expectations, which include winning a postseason bowl game after last season ended with the thud of an Alamo Bowl loss to BYU. After declaring before practice that he merely wanted three full-speed reps from each player, he wound up cutting the session short because, well, he had seen enough. The whole practice lasted 68 minutes and was interrupted twice when he ordered wind sprints. 'If you're not getting nothing out of 'em, we might as well condition,' he said. At one point, an errant shotgun snap and slow reaction drew his ire. Watching from midfield in a hoodie, behind the defense, Sanders reacted by merely pointing to the sideline. The offensive unit took that cue to run a pair of sideline-to-sideline sprints. 'First of all, how do you get a bad snap in that situation?' Sanders reflected. 'Secondly, why didn't you go for the ball? So, there were like three parts to that.' When it was over, after Sanders called a midfield huddle for a parting message on the indoor field, he took the team upstairs to the large meeting room. 'We watched the film, so they could see what we're talking about,' Sanders said. Jim Trotter advances the ball after settling racial discrimination lawsuit against the NFL He said he also had several of his assistant coaches speak to amplify the theme. 'Sometimes, coaches are not honest,' Sanders said. 'But we've got to stop this delusion. Some kids are delusional. I'm a truth-teller. So, we've got to put it in perspective. 'This is where you are. This is where you think you are, but this is where you really are.' The coaches had to recalibrate these men and let them know who they are and what they need to do to get to the next level.' With another level to pursue on the college football landscape, Sanders knows that one sloppy practice wasn't a make-or-break moment. But no, they can't get used to that. It was hardly surprising to hear him talk about the greater purpose of establishing a standard. 'A lot of the things I'm doing, I'm laying a foundation,' he said. 'Sometimes when I do things, it's not about right then. It's about something that's going to transpire later. I've got to get my team ready to fight adversity and go hard at all times.' In the meantime, as was the case when he arrived at Colorado from Jackson State, he urged the players who are not all-in to hit the transfer portal that opens this week. That, too, is one of the realities of college football. 'I know you always have three or four surprises, so I'm trying to flush 'em out,' he said. Sure enough, within hours of that worst practice, Sanders said he thinks three of his players were set to enter the transfer portal. And perhaps they'll take the memory of a sluggish practice with them. Follow Jarrett Bell on social media: @JarrettBell
USA Today
09-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Was Terron Armstead's career Hall of Fame worthy?
Was Terron Armstead's career Hall of Fame worthy? Offensive tackle Terron Armstead called it a career earlier this month after 12 years in the NFL. For most of his nine seasons with the New Orleans Saints and three with the Miami Dolphins, Armstead was among the best in the NFL at his position and he earned five Pro Bowl nods to show for it. Was it enough for his bust to sit in Canton, Ohio at the Pro Football Hall of Fame? Don't count on it. There's a high bar to clear for offensive linemen hoping to receive a gold jacket and the line isn't getting any shorter. Only three linemen -- Joe Thomas, Tony Boselli, and Alan Faneca -- have been inducted in the last five Hall of Fame classes. Earlier this offseason, former Bills and Eagles tackle Jason Peters also announced his retirement, ending his career with nine Pro Bowl nods and a Super Bowl ring. Former Cowboys tackle Tyron Smith, an eight-time Pro Bowler, may not be far from making that decision too. Those two will presumably be ahead of Armstead in a lengthy queue that already includes several much more decorated linemen. Among those is former Dolphins left tackle Richmond Webb, a seven-time Pro Bowler who has been Hall of Fame eligible for nearly two decades but only became a semifinalist for the first time last year. Armstead walks away from the NFL after proving to be one of the best offensive linemen of the last decade. But his impressive career probably wasn't enough to make him a Hall of Famer.
